New obsessions -> Avocado sandwiches and Tofurky Italian Sausages

Since I'm Baha'i I've been fasting these past 12 days (7 days left!). Waking up at 5:25 AM and trying to get as much nutritional food and water into my body before the sun rises, means being choosy with what I eat. My current obsessions are open faced avocado sandwiches (with a little bit of salt) and Tofurky's Italian Sausage with sun dried tomatoes and basil. They both get * * * * * stars. Sumptuous!

Avocados provide 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E and B and folic acid. They are high in Omega 3 and 6. Also they are known to promote healthy skin and hair.

Tofurky's sausages have a high protein content with one sausage providing 29 grams. The fat content is on the high side too with 13 grams, but as my fiancee says that's why they taste sooo good. Plus with 15% of my daily requirements for Iron and only 12 grams of carbohydrates it makes it all worth it.

Curry Quinoa Recipe

If you aren't familiar with Quinoa you should be. If your friends aren't familiar with Quinoa you should spread the joy and information. It's a pseudo grain that is 12-18% protein (ie a vegan's friend). It also has a balanced set of essential amino acids and 37% of your daily Iron, see the nutritional stats here. I love the taste and texture of it. Whole food makes awesome burgers with them (unfortunately they have milk bi-products in them).

Curry Quinoa

Ingredients: 1 cup quinoa, 2 tablespoons of curry powder, garlic, onion, any vegetables you want to add (like peas).

• Rinse the quinoa with water to remove the bitter coating
• Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil
• In a saucepan put the quinoa and 1.5 - 2 cups of water
• Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer
• Add the curry powder, sauteed onion and garlic as well as the veggies
• Simmer until the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes)
• Enjoy the protein packaged grain!

Whole Foods' Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Cake

Whole Foods' Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Cake

* * * * * (*), 5 out of 5 stars plus a bonus star. I've

now made it part of my weekly shopping experience to buy a slice.

It's the kind of cake that I try to savour but I finish

in one setting and I feel such a sadness that it's all eaten.

There's a 85% chance this cake will be our wedding cake come July. Mmmmm

Cheese from breast milk

Since I don't have anything to write about today, I'll share with you the story of a NY chef who makes cheese out of his wife's breast milk. How would you like to try Chef Daniel Angerer's maple caramelized pumpkin seed encrusted cheese with concord grapes??? Hmm. It's probably the best vegan cheese option, no animals were hurt in the process and it's closer to the regular cheese than its other vegan counterparts. ::Laughs::

But seriously, I think breast milk should be kept in the family. Maybe I'll make some breast milk cheese 5-10 years from now for my future children. Or is that TMI (too much information). ::Laughs::

So Delicious Ice-cream sandwiches and Whole Foods' Vegan Cake

I heart Whole Foods. Seriously, I love them. I don't care what people say about them being over priced. The quality of food there is fabulous. I tried their vegan chocolate chip cookies scones last month and was pleasantly surprised. Now I tried their vegan vanilla cake and liked it so much I'm considering using it for our wedding cake, * * * * * (out of five). The texture and taste were perfection. Mmmm, baked goods.

Also my fiancee purchased So Delicious' vegan ice-cream sandwiches. He bought the coconut one made with real coconut milk. We both give it * * * *. It tastes just like those ice-cream sandwiches you used to eat as a kid but with a coconut twist (and much less fat). I can't wait to try their other ice-cream flavors/varieties.

Shiitake and Wood-Ear mushroom and tofu Potstickers

We broke the fast at sundown last night with homemade vegan potstickers/dumplings. I made the dough and my fiancee made the filling. The inspiration came from the mushroom dumplings we had last week at Peacefood Cafe. Though the cafe's dumplings taste better, the ones we made were pretty good too :)

Potsticker Wrappers

Makes about 30-40

~ 3 cups all-purpose flour

~ 7 ounces hot (just off the boil) water

~ 4-5 tablespoons cold water

~ 1/4 teaspoon salt

Start by combining the salt and flour in a large bowl. Stir the just boiled water into the flour with a large fork, until the mixture looks flaky and crumbly. Slowly mix in the cold water until the dough pulls together...be careful though, it shouldn't be sticky. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until smooth. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes. After the dough has rested, split it into 4-5 parts. Keep the dough you're not using under a damp cloth until ready to roll out. -Roll out each ball of dough thinly. Cut out anywhere from 3 1/4" to 4" size circles with a cookie-cutter or glass.

Filling:

Wood-Ear mushrooms finely chopped/blended

Shiitake mushrooms chopped

Broccoli stem heart chopped

Green onions/Chinese chives chopped

Sesame seed oil

2 cloves garlic

some salt and pepper

Soy sauce

Mirin

Saute the green onions and garlic in sesame seed oil. Add mushrooms and broccoli, cook for 2-5 minutes. Let it cool a bit. Add some soy sauce, mirin, salt and pepper to taste.

Fill the dumplings! Dip you a finger in water and use to outline the dumpling's edge. This will help the dumpling seal as you roll the edges together.

Cook in boiling water until done.

Reviews of Gimme Lean Sausage, Silk Live! Soy Yogurt and So Delicious Coconut Yogurt

I'm in search of a good diary-free yogurt. I used to

love yogurt, especially the really thick kind.

Unfortunately vegan yogurts are not filling that gap. Sigh. If you know of a great vegan yogurt let me

know. At least I found an awesome veggie "sausage" that doesn't include milk bi-products.

Reviews:

Gimme Lean Sausage

• * * * * * (out of five stars)
• Taste great by itself or dipped in syrup
• Preparation: Cut slices and cook both sides on a frying pan in some olive oil for 5 min
• Packaging becomes slightly messy after the

first use

Silk Live! Soy Yogurt

• * *, so sad. I had such high hopes since Silk

Live!'s very vanilla soy milk and I are best friends.

• Bad after taste and a weird tang
• Ruins my fruit smoothies

So Delicious Coconut Yogurt

• * * *
• Weird tang but not as bad as Silk Live!'s
• Soy and diary free
• Enjoyable coconut taste