Vegan Pizza Obsession: Classic Slice Pizza, Milwaukee

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Cheese-less pizza is SO MUCH better than pizza with cheese!  No really, I'm being serious...

Don't roll your eyes - it is so true, but with one little caveat: the ingredients must be top-notch.  This means no wilted spinach, old sprouty onions, tasteless tomatoes, or scraps from the bottom of your fridge.  It also means that your sauce must be flavorful and - preferably - home-made.

VeganMoFo: The End + Some Thanks!

It's hard to believe, but VeganMoFo is over, which means it's time for a bit of reflection and a few big thank yous! 

VeganMoFo: Orecchiette Con Broccoli

It's official. I am completely in LOVE (or maybe obsessed is a better word) with broccoli! And it's all thanks to rain-covered basil leaves... and a phenomenal recipe by the Urban Vegan.

A few nights ago I was all set to make my famous pesto pasta recipe for dinner.  A Bulls game was about to come on TV, CH and I had both suffered through very, very long days, and all I wanted to do was sit down to a quick, easy, reliably-delicious pesto dinner.  Instead, what I got was a total recipe upset.

VeganMoFo: Silent Saturday 2

The Morton Arboretum

VeganMoFo: Creamy Dijon-Dill Pasta Salad

Sometimes, nothing quite beats a rich, creamy, vegan-mayo-covered pasta salad. I mean, I'm all for healthier versions of pasta salad (and I usually prefer them) but like I said, sometimes...

For this dish, I basically just subbed in some alphabet pasta for the potatoes in my Creamy Dijon-Dill Potato Salad recipe.  It seemed kinda crazy at first - turning a potato salad into a pasta salad - but it's not that weird if you really think about it.

VeganMoFo: DIY Croutons in 5 Easy Steps!

Store-bought croutons can be filled with scary ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, MSG, artificial flavors, and even icky preservatives. Moreover, lots of the croutons sitting around on your grocery store shelves are completely un-vegan-friendly.

In order to remedy this situation - and because almost every salad benefits from a few croutons - I've decided to provide a DIY post dedicated solely to these tasty little morsels.

VeganMoFo: And The Blog Finally Gets Upgraded...

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this important announcement:

Veggie Terrain will be temporarily unavailable sometime late tonight/early tomorrow morning, while the blog is being tweaked a bit. My VeganMoFo post is all ready to go for today, but I've decided to wait to put it up until the new (and hopefully improved!) site is ready to be unveiled...

VeganMoFo: My Fridge (1 Week In)

It seems as though the weekends will be filled with "Silent Saturdays" and "My Fridge" postings here at Veggie Terrain.

And although I feel bad for not publishing extravagant weekend posts, I'd feel even worse if I missed out on the opportunity to spend time with family and friends due to excessive posting angst.

VeganMoFo: Silent Saturday 1

VeganMoFo: The Poor Man's Bruschetta

When it comes to mid-day snacking, sometimes simple is best. That's why I love nothing more than a couple o' slices of whole grain toast. And although there're several tasty topping options out there (think peanut butter, or vegan butter with nutritional yeast and garlic powder, or just plain old sliced avocado... mmm!), my current favorite is the one pictured here.

VeganMoFo: This is What Love Looks Like

You might not know it, but this is what love looks like: churros from Rick Bayless' restaurant, XOCO.

Please, allow me to explain.

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from CH. We discussed how both of our days were going, and of course, what each of us had eaten for lunch.

It went a little something like this:

VeganMoFo: Vegan Black Bean Tostadas with Corn Relish

It's safe to say that I'm more than a little irked about last night's election results. And while I really don't wanna turn into a self-loathing Democrat, it's pretty tough when my beloved blue state has turned red on most electoral maps.

However, I refuse to wallow in negativity - I did that all night.

VeganMoFo: Whole Food's Favorites

I know, I know, pre-made foods are totally not the way to go.

But what if they're vegan, and not really processed, and, well... completely and utterly delicious? I'm talking so delicious that they'll have you slaving away, trying in earnest to replicate their perfection?

You buy them. In bulk. Each and every damn time you're at Whole Foods.

VeganMoFo: Shaved Asparagus Disaster

It's that time of year again! The time when just about every single vegan blogger (except me) participates in the very tantalizing, very delicious, very hard-core, Vegan Month of Food (aka VeganMoFo).

In case you haven't heard, the idea of VeganMoFo is to "write as much as you can all month, about vegan food. The blog entries can be about anything food related - your love of tongs, your top secret tofu pressing techniques, the first time your mom cooked vegan for you, vegan options in Timbuktu..."

Colorado: We Drove, We Hiked, We Ate!

I have to admit, it's pretty intimidating to try and come up with the perfect thing to post after an - ahem! - almost 6 month blogging hiatus.

There's all of this pressure to come back with something utterly amazing. Something worthy of such a long absence. Something so great that my readers (are you still out there?) will nod knowingly when they see my post, immediately understanding that my MIA status was the result of months of hard work and preparation in completion of the very post they are reading right now.

Hummus Smeared Faux-Dillas (aka Quesadillas)

These faux-dillas will really get your motor running. They're perfect for a quick, healthy lunch, and are ideal for using up random bits of goodness from your fridge.

They're totally carnivore-friendly, too. In other words, you won't hear any of that "Where's the cheese?" nonsense if you serve them up for a half-time snack during the NBA Playoffs. Or mid-way through The Office. Or while TBS is playing a re-run of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Or whatever.

Honestly, dairy-free quesadillas are the only way to go. You'll see, I swear.

Vegan Eats in Texas, Toronto, & Chicago

Despite all appearances to the contrary, I'm not attempting to capture the title of "most idle vegan food blog known to man." It just seems as though life occasionally (frequently) gets in the way of blogging - I know, I know, shocking stuff...

As a result of my long absence, I've decided to post a ton of food-porn pics from places that I've visited, like San Antonio, Texas (where I just returned from my younger brother's Air Force Basic Training graduation); Toronto (where CH and I spent a lovely vaca last summer); and Chicago (the place I nearly call home).

Hopefully all of these pics will make up for my lack of posting during the past few months. I mean, they do say a picture's worth 1,000 words right? So, this should pretty much cover it...