Vegan MoFo: Coconut bacon, Avocado, & Tomato on Focaccia

In the trend of trying new things in the kitchen, I made focaccia! I used the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Next time I will make adjustments so that it is thick enough to slice through the middle for sandwiches.

A few years ago I worked as a cook in a coffee shop in Columbia, MO. We made huge cookie sheets of focaccia that we had to slice through for paninis. Initially it was so intimidating! Here you are, faced with a huge sheet of bread, and you're expected to cut through it - no mistakes. But you get the hang of it by starting slowly. By the fourth or fifth pan you'll feel like a pro ;)

I filled this bad boy with coconut bacon, avocado, tomato, fresh sprouts, zucchini, and veganaise. Served up with burrito leftovers (beans, rice and Daiya).

Inside shot:

It's been quite fun (and a bit challenging!) posting every day this week. I was planning to aim for the whole month, but I'm going to change it up a bit. Part of the fun of Vegan MoFo for me is previewing the awesome things everyone else is doing and discovering new blogs. This week I haven't done nearly as much of that as I would like! I would rather make more time for blog reading than fretting about posting daily. So, my current goal will be 3-4 a week during October. Considering I didn't post for nearly two months before that I think it's a good goal ;)

Check back soon for the Banned Books Giveaway!

I'm Sprouting!

Ever since my sister told me how easy it is to sprout I've been meaning to do it. Well, I'm a bit of a procrastinator and a few years have passed. But Sunday I took charge and started soaking some beans.

The beginning of my sprout revolution:

And success! We now have homegrown sprouts :)

Vegan Mofo: Big Fat Burrito

First I'd like to give a shout-out to my friend Bobbie who just started blogging! Her new blog, Budgeting with the Bushmans, is awesome and you should definitely check it out! Bobbie and her family recently moved to a small town in Northwest Missouri near an awesome eco-village, Dancing Rabbit (read about my visit last year here: part 1 and part 2).

Craving a burrito? Here's what we put in ours:

The Beans: After cooking dry pinto beans, I left enough "bean juice" (the water they cooked in) to cover beans, and added: tamari, garlic, roasted red bell pepper, lime juice, chili powder, and salsa.
I usually add cumin, but was out. These tasted great regardless! Black beans always work well too.

The Rice: After cooking I added tomato paste, broth (I used "Better than Bouillon"), lime juice, smoked paprika, green onion and garlic.

Everything else: Kale (from our garden :), green bell pepper, Daiya, and salsa.

This definitely hit the spot!

If you like getting mail and swapping join in on the VFS Recipe Swap!

Vegan Mofo SWAP! 1: Recipe Swap

*Swap is now closed*

Hey, hey, hey! We are long overdue for a swap my friends. If you haven't swapped before don't let that stop you! For VFS swaps we aim for inexpensive, small swaps. Just a happy little something for those of us who like to get "snail" mail ;)

In celebration of Vegan Mofo there will be two swaps this month! For swap one you will share three recipes with three people and for swap two...well you'll just have to wait and see!

Recipe swap rules:

* For this swap you will have three partners (crazy, I know). The people you send to will not necessarily be the people sending recipes to you (it'll be a surprise!). As you might have guessed, you will receive recipes from three different people for a total of three pieces of mail and nine recipes ;)

* Send three recipes to each of your partners. You may send the same recipes to each person. These do not have to be your original recipes. Feel free to choose recipes that have been posted on your blog. The choice is yours ;)

* Recipe design is completely up to you! A few design ideas: zine or mini-cookbook, index cards, written on stationary, bookmarks, anything goes! Keep in mind that this shouldn't cost more than a stamp or two.

* Sign-ups will end on October 15. You may sign-up in the comments or by sending an e-mail to the address listed below. (If you are new see the note below)

* On Sunday, Oct. 16 you will be e-mailed your swap partners' information from me and should send the recipes out by Friday, Oct. 28. If you can not send your recipes out by this date please do not sign-up.  

* If you are new to VFS swaps please send your mailing info. to me at aveganfox*at*gmail*dot*com

* As always feel free to leave ideas for this swap or future swap in the comments :)

Participants:

Amber

Aya

Theresa

me

Vegan Mofo: Coconut Bacon

I've been meaning to post this for a looong time. It all started with this Simple Coconut Bacon on VegWeb.

Coconut Bacon (For measurements see link above or measure to taste)

Coconut Flakes
Tamari (or soy sauce)
Maple Syrup
Smoked Salt
Apple Cider Vinegar (opt.)

Mix all ingredients in a dish until coconut flakes are well-coated. Let sit for as long as you can stand, 20 min. - 1 hour. Heat skillet on medium high and toast until lightly crisp and brown. These will crisp up a bit more as they cool.

We have served this on pizza (see Pizza Time!), as a breakfast side and as a soup topping (see below). We're planning sandwiches this week, so there may be a follow-up post ;) Coconut bacon is quite tasty! It's definitely hard not to stuff it all in your mouth before serving ;)

Vegan Mofo: Raw Hot Cacao

Is there anything better on a cool autumn day than a warm cup of sweetness?

Raw Hot Cacao (inspired by Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)
This will fill two mugs, plus a little to top them off after a few sips ;)

3 c. Water
1/3 c. almonds* (or cashews)
1/3 c. dates
1/4 c. cacao nibs
touch of agave or raw coconut sugar to taste

Put all ingredients into blender* and blend for 7 minutes or until desired temperature is reached. Enjoy!

*Soak almonds for 6-8 hours ahead of time. This will make them easier to digest. They do not need to be completely dry before use in this recipe.
*I used a Vitamix for this recipe. Please let me know the results if you make this in a standard blender and I'll share the info.

Vegan Mofo!!

It seems my urge to start blogging again came just in time for Vegan Mofo :) This will be my first year participating and though I didn't sign up in time to be on the official list, I'll be blogging every day possible. Besides blogging, I'm back to checking Google Reader and it has reminded me of the great inspiration found on other blogs. I'm excited to spend more time in the kitchen and discover new great blogs this month!

As I mentioned in my last post, not every entry will be about food. We have swaps and such on the way after all! But for this month I will try to at least link to other vegan posts to celebrate all the wonders surrounding Vegan Mofo :) Speaking of sharing, I'll be posting many awesome finds on Twitter this month. So stay tuned...