Scribbles and Scrambles...V for Victory

I'm excited to announce that after seven or so grueling hours I have put together an adorable play kitchen. 

We've had a borrowed one that gets loads of action. But it had a new house to go to and since our wall was now blank, and Amazon gave me $8.63 off of a purchase, and the new kitchen was adorable retro turquoise, and an 18-month-old chef hangs here and loves it, and scads of visiting cousins might just want to play with it, I pressed submit order. 

It came in a flat box. Very flat. I've lived long enough to know that flat boxes mean lots of assembly. Whew. There were 38 pieces...maybe 39. And then all the supporting screws and bolts and nuts and accessories. I ripped the box open and began tediously putting this together. Note: If you want a play kitchen and you know it will arrive in a flat box, do not, I repeat, do NOT start this project two hours before gifting hour. You will hate yourself. This is not a Christmas Eve project. (Unless you start at 6:00 a.m. that is.)

I did have to enlist Rob's help. For a few things. A) when I exuberantly overtightened a screw on an accessory and heard a crack and suddenly the screw turned real fast I realized I broke the plastic screw housing. Rob came to the rescue with his super glue. Thank goodness the break was behind the cute medallion. B) The HINGES!!!!! I could not get those suckers right! Holy sweet everything that is good and wonderful!!!!! The HINGES!!!!! AUGH!!! So he invested an hour of his life in this activity as well. 

Ironically, I had been thinking I loved the fact that Kidcraft's directions were helpful. Rob did not think so. Apparently, our minds process instructions differently. We both loved that the screws etc were mostly in a bubble packaged box cardboard backing and the letter of the item was on the front and the back. No bags of screws! Once everything was open it turned into a little more complicated mess but it was less overwhelming than 15 bags of screws/nuts/bolts. Rob was so impressed with the quality and workmanship. Every piece of word and screw hole etc was perfectly lined up. The finish is great and it's rock solid. Definitely worth the price. For the record I got it for $112 before the discount. I included a link to it but it looks like the Amazon ones are sold out and it's third party only so definitely look around if you are thinking about getting it. 

It is so cute! 

And it's done! Yay!!! 

Serials and Scenarios ~ So Delicious CocoWhip ~ Reviewed

 I am a converted coconut lover. Going vegan gave me a new reason to get over my coconut squeamishness because coconut is such a great vegan friendly product. It can replace butter or oil in many recipes and is great for your skin, too.  What's not to love. Toasted coconut. Uh yum. 

The earthy yet sweet undertones that pop in food when coconut oil, or cream or milk is added has become one of my favorite flavors. Old fashioned style popcorn popped in coconut oil on the stove is amazing. 

However, coconut can get overpowering. I don't care for coconut milk based ice creams generally. The mouth feel is too ice milk-like sometimes and the coconut is a main player in the flavors. Not that I won't happily eat it, just that it doesn't quite meet premium ice cream mouth feel. I have made coconut whip  dozens of times. Trader Joe's has the best coconut cream that whips up beautifully. But that takes a little prep and planning and sometimes the coconut flavor overpowers the end result. 

But. When I saw this little container of CocoWhip looking oh so much like cool whip style topping, I just had to try it. 

A+. And A+ for being exactly the same almost a week later. This whipped goodness is coconutty but less so than the hand whipped version and less than coconut milk ice creams. The mouth feel is top notch and the whipped creaminess is exactly that. Look at the fluffy cloud on the spoon. Yum. So Delicious...nailed it! 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Gardein Fishless Filet Review

I can't say I'm a "fan" of fish sticks. Honestly, I never have been a fan of fishy smells or tastes. BUT I used to really enjoy shrimp so I realize this is kind of freakazillaish. Because shrimp is pretty fishy. 

Rob loves fish though, and I thought I should give the fishless filet a shot. If I couldn't stomach more than a bite he'd eat them all. And if not that, then there are the dogs. 

At $4.00 a bag and the Target convenience factor I had very little to lose. 

I baked them. All of them. Rob ate his with tartar sauce. I used an orange soy concoction I had in my fridge. He asked twice if they were vegan. 

The dogs didn't get any. 

These freakish little things reminded me of the fish sticks I ate on occasion as a kid or when my kids were kids. The crispy outside, flaky inside tasting of the sea or lake,  and the aroma filling the kitchen with memories. Yeah. It's completely a fish filet. The breading is a heavier than a tempura batter but kind of reminded me of the lightness of tempura. Go to the link below and check out the nutrition stats and ingredients if you are interested. There are some recipes as well. 

Bottom line. If you are looking for something fishy to scratch that little itch and you'd rather not eat meat, reel in some of  Gardein's Fishless Filets. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Natural Balance Dental Chews

Gladys and Gertrude recently won a contest. A blogger I follow offered a Natural Balance Dental Chews giveaway. 

A random drawing = treats!

The ingredients: 

Brown Rice Flour, Rice Starch, Brewer's Yeast, Vegetable Glycerin, Yeast Extract, Coconut Oil, Kale, Parsley, Alfalfa, Sorbic Acid (preservative), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C).

The girls (Gladys and Gertrude) and (Lily and Lola) love them. And I love the ingredient list. The chew went down pretty lickety split with the big gals, but the little ones got to gnaw for awhile. My girls have gotten a bit picky about treats but these ones grabbed their attention. 

I don't have a giveaway for you, but if you are looking for a new treat to try. You can find a coupon at the Natural Balance site. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Gardein Beefless Ground ~ Reviewed and Recipe

Again, thank you, Target for selling Gardein products at the best prices around. 

Now, onto Gardein Beefless Ground. 

Look at that picture. Totally looks like hamburger doesn't it? I don't think anyone would guess it's not the real deal if it's in a recipe. Maybe a taste comparison side by side with no seasonings etc. But who does that? We want a meatless replacement to go into our favorite family dishes and recipes. Right? 

Gardein will do that. I am so impressed with all the products I've tried and this one is no different. 

With the Beefless Ground I made a hearty "Bear" Soup (I have no idea where that name came from, my husband's grandma I think.) Bear Soup is hamburger potato soup. 

I used 1 Cup of the Gardein Beefless Ground
1 small to medium onion finely diced
1 TBSP oil (I used grape seed)
2 finely diced celery stalks
3 garlic cloves minced
4 Large or 7 small to medium diced potatoes)
8 Cups of broth (my broth was no salt added so I added salt to taste)

This will feed 4-6 depending on appetite.

In a dutch oven or soup pot sauté the onion, garlic, and potatoes until golden and crisping. Add the other ingredients and simmer for at least a half hour or as long as needed. 

If you need a hamburger substitute I suggest Gardein's Beefless Ground. Texture and taste are hand down winners. Also the bag will probably make 2-3 solid multi-serving meals. At under $5.00 that's cheaper than beef. Also, it's gluten free. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Gardein's Chick'n Scallopini

I've mentioned that my Target sells Gardein and I'm darn happy about it. So my goal has been to work myself through Target's magic freezer full of Gardein deliciousness. 

Last night was one of those nights...a haircut at 4:30, puppies who needed taken out and fed, and no ideas for a meal. 

I opened my freezer in hopes of inspiration and a lovely sound track played as a light bulb popped up over my head. Chick'n Scallopini is what's for dinner. 

Delicious. Honestly. The texture is flaky and chewy, extremely meat-like. Rob liked it as well. The seasoning was just right. I didn't put anything else on the cutlets though they'd be amazing with a vegan alfredo or marinara sauce or tossed with vegan pesto. 

The package contains 4 cutlets. And the price is right. Yay Gardein. Yay Target. 

Serials and Scenario ~ Product Review...Lightlife Smart Dogs...

Sometimes "junk" just calls your name and you have to answer right? One of the only meat products I actually liked back in the day when I was a meat eater was a beef hot dog. I could pretend that a beef hot dog was purer and somehow nobler. Because we all know and refuse to think about what's really in a $.99 package of hot dogs. 

I didn't really crave them very often. But if there was a picnic or a BBQ I'd hope someone went the classy route and supplied beef hot dogs for the gourmets in the bunch. 

A few weeks ago while wandering through Natural Grocers I discovered they had a markdown section. What the Wha?  Bargains on vegan foods or organic veggies/fruit? Oh yeah. So now I hit the spots every time and nosh on $2.00 bags of organic peppers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and 1/2 price non-dairy items that are at the end of shelf life. Happy. Makes me very happy. 

So I found a package of vegan hot dogs. I wouldn't have purchased because sometimes faux meat is just kind of a cruel sleight of hand. But back two years ago when & and I went to Portland for VegFest we were given a sample of a chunk of hot dog in a bun and were able to put toppings on it and scarf it down. The dang thing was great. But was this sale package the same brand? At 1/2 price I was willing to risk it. I brought the little hummers home and popped them in the freezer for the right occasion. 

Last night was that occasion. 

I pulled them out because we had white processed non-food buns. (Why does uber processed sometimes just taste so good?) And I had a hankering. And I also had to rearrange some stuff in the freezer because things had gotten out of control. I won't tell you the details...but let's just say I need to check my freezer before going to Trader Joe's. There are apparently items there that convince me that they NEED to go home with me on EVERY trip.  But I digress....

My cast iron griddle has a smooth side and a grill side (is that proper? Would it be corrugated? Because that's what it feels like it should be...whatever, we will call it grill -- it leaves little bumpy sear marks on whatever you cook on it.) So I grilled them up. And slapped them on the buns and squirted mine with mustard and spooned on dill relish (organic, of course, ha ha). This is my perfect hot dog scenario. 

And. It was stinking delicious! Seriously. Rob looked at the little flesh colored, striped tubes on the griddle and raised an eyebrow. "Vegan hot dogs." I said. He picked one up and gingerly took a bite. (without any frills and toppers) He chewed. And put them on his plate. And ate them. 

Can I recommend these? Seriously, yes. You have an itch to scratch and only a hot dog will do? ... I don't think you'll be disappointed. On a side note, I took a picture of the back of the package. They aren't as trashy as one would think. Non-GMO soy, 13 grams of protein and 100 calories.  

Thanks Lightlife. Me likey Smart Dogs

Scraps and Snippets ~ Gardein Beefless Slider Review

 I went on and on about how excited I was that Target carried Gardein products a couple weeks ago. Last night was a night that I needed to toss together a quick meal and I had purchased Gardein's Beefless Sliders for just one of those nights. 

I panfried all four sliders in a splash of avocado oil and heated the buns. 

I then topped mine with mustard and organic lettuce. I served these with a side of steamed organic broccoli sprinkled with nutritional yeast and sea salt. Yum. 

Four hours later, after eating two sliders and the broccoli I was still feeling full and satisfied. Definitely a stick to your ribs meal. The serving size is one little burger but that one packs 9 grams of protein and 150 calories. So with two, I had a 400 calorie meal that left me completely satisfied. I don't know that the burgers would "fool" a meaty hamburger fan. However, I was impressed with the texture (that's a biggie for me, I hate a patty that mushes when you bite into it) and Rob liked them as well and said I should definitely buy them again. He goes flexitarian when he chooses so can order whatever he feels like at restaurants....so that's some high praise since they satisfied his meat cravings. Besides the great texture (more like a flatter pre made style patty than a thick burger) a nice charcoaly flavor makes the burgers taste like the real deal to my palate. 

Bottom line? When you need a quick meal that hits the spot and stays with you, this is a great option. I love that the products are GMO free. And even though they are processed most of the ingredients are recognizable and explained. Two thumbs up. And at under $5.00 a box providing two to four meals, it's bargain fast food. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Review of Gardein

I was totally under the effects of a head cold Friday. Rob was feeling punk, too. Saturday was better and unfortunately required a trip to a store. So I ventured out and went to Target. I wasn't planning on cooking. However, I thought I'd check to see if they had a Vegan pizza hanging around in their freezer case. As I browsed around after grabbing soy milk and toilet paper, I discovered a case full of Gardein. 

I don't have a tight relationship with Gardein. I had never actually even tasted it until I was almost a year into Veganism. What I have tried has been pretty yummy so when I saw that freezer case with a bunch of choices I knew what I was buying for dinner. Everything was pretty reasonable, too. A main course that feeds two (or more) under 5 bucks? Okay. 

My review of Chicken Sliders.

These are tasty. I was so hungry by the time I got home I just followed the stove top method and fixed up the package (4 patties and buns which worked out to 2 a piece). Cheaper than fast food. Better than fast food. Vegan. And non-GMO. With fresh toppings, these can have unlimited tastiness. And I think the texture and taste wouldn't clue any omnivore into the fact that these aren't just a cute little chicken sandwich. I'm thinking vegan ranch dressing with tempeh, eggplant or coconut "bacon".  spaghetti sauce with Daiya mozzarella melted on top. Buffalo sauce. Tapenade. Oh, the possibilities. I give these a double thumbs up and will buy them again. 

My review of Szechuan Beefless Strips


I mentioned I shopped while hungry. So I bought a few Gardein products. I thought the Sizzling Szechuan would be a quick idea for after church. 

I had some leftover pepper and onion strips. Also some cauliflower and mushrooms to use up. So I added some garlic infused grape seed oil to a pan, chopped the veggies and dumped half the package of the Szechuan Beefless into the pan. After browning everything I added half the sauce packet. Yum. The sauce is a little sweeter than I like, but I did add more soy sauce which fixed that for me. Since I used only half the package and almost always have veggies that need to be tossed into a stir fry or medley there is another meal waiting. A very good deal, 4 meals for under $5.00 and just the time it takes to chop veggies and cook em up. Another double thumbs up. 

These items were just the tip of the Gardein iceberg at Target. Thanks, Target. You've always been one of my favorite stores but this is vegan icing on the cake. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Connectivity and Stuff...

The connectivity of social media and the ability to reach out and touch just about any one in the world is freaking me out a bit. 

I bought a tiny kitchen appliance to make my life easier with some Amazon sweet deals and gift cards and etc. The darn thing worked twice, half worked twice and then, well, didn't. Color me annoyed! Are you like me? When something needs to be shipped back do you do anything you can to avoid that process? I'm so cheap. I use Amazon for loads of things because I can get free shipping most of the time. But I don't know how their return policy works. So, I contacted the manufacturing company asking if there was a local place I could trade this sucker in. I mean, the cost of the item was $30.00. If I have to spend $8.00 to ship it somewhere I'm just going to be really crabby. (Imagine that if you dare!)

I did this customer service request via email because that's an option. (Oh, bunny trail, I also did this with a company recently that shorted me on an order...one I had placed with a Groupon and got way more than I wanted to get free shipping....do you see a common theme? They answered back and mailed me the missing items plus a few more. Uh. Okay. I'm good with that.) Back to the appliance snafu... the customer service people asked a few questions. I provided answers. They then had me cut the cord (ha,ha I love this, they did tell me to unplug it from the wall first) off the unit, take a picture of the disabled unit and email it to them. Then they will ship out a replacement. 

SWEET! I'll reveal the company name when the replacement comes and works consistently. (Also, did you guess that I ordered this one because it's red?  Ding, ding, ding, what do we have for them, Johnny?) 

The one that shorted me items and made good on that was Go Picnic. I can honestly recommend them. They run sales frequently and the stuff I've had of theirs is great. They have vegan and gluten free options and I've begun taking one or two any time I travel because they are easy to pack and way tastier than an iceberg lettuce salad with a slice of cucumber and a mealy tomato. Yo. They sell them at Target, too. 

The other random connectivity issue is over the past week two people have told me or someone else that they read my blog regularly. 

Weird. 

I know I put it out there for the whole world to see, but honestly, writing it feels anonymous to me on some level. And it's one of my resources to find my recipes when I need them. And to get up on a soap box now and again, or just play around and have a good laugh, ya know? 

So. If you read my blog and you know me, a big hi, and a sorry for not knowing you hang out with me in cyberspace. I also hope I've never used you as an example ever. Ha. Ha. Just kidding, I don't ever use real people in my stories and examples. :  )  To my friends, coworkers, former coworkers and ???,  thanks for reading my thoughts about life and stuff. (Bonus take away...your vocabulary word for the day, stuff, use it at least four times to impress those around you. It will, trust me.) 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza ~ Reviewed

 I hadn't tried Amy's Pizza yet. To be honest, I'm okay with Vegan cheese (Daiya is the best in my book) but I'm not a fan. Some pizza's are covered with cheese and honestly, it's just a little slippery to be tasty. 

Pizza is a favorite food of mine though. When we go out and Vegan pizza is an option I usually order it without cheese. 

Sometimes, when it's late in the day and I know there is no chance I'm going to get dinner made and I'm at the grocery store I cave and go for processed, simple, comfort food. 

I love that Amy's contains many organic ingredients. I also loved that Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza had the perfect amount of cheese. Just enough to give a nice mouth feel and a satisfying flavor. I baked the pizza on a cookie sheet to get the soft version and the crust was satisfying, too, not overly bready, but not cardboard thin either. Margherita pizza is tomato, cheese and basil. The toppings were pureed and subtle and I would have preferred a fresh version with fresh basil and sliced tomatoes. However, that would not be easy to pull off in the freezer case. 

So, bottom line, if you are hungry and at the grocery store, and you want pizza real bad you could do worse. It won't scratch all your culinary itches, but it's definitely a quick, easy comfort food and satisfying on many levels. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Earth Balance Aged White Cheddar Popcorn Review

One of my favorite all-time, so-bad-for-me but I loved it, snack was cheese popcorn. I rarely bought it because I was like the Coneheads at Subway with it. As in inhale the stuff. It was crack in a bag for me. If it had cost more than $3.00 or so a fix, who knows what I would have done if I needed me some. So. In case you didn't pick up on that, I really, really liked cheese popcorn. 

Then came Vegan. And pretty much the end of cheese anything. No more cheesy nacho tortilla chips, etc. etc. 

NO MORE CHEESE POPCORN! yeah. So I tried to satisfy that itch on occasion with nutritional yeast sprinkled over freshly popped corn. Delicious in it's own way, but not the bagged cheese popcorn mouth party. 

Yesterday, while doing massive amounts of grocery shopping, after I got overwhelmed with the vast amount of activity in my week and ditched a violin lesson and Bible study, I found Earth Balance aged white cheddar popcorn on Whole Foods shelves. It was on the highest shelf, just out of my reach, and I never would have seen it if it hadn't called out to me. "Look up!" it said. I asked for help in retrieving it and hoped that what I wanted in to be in there truly was. 

Oh yeah. It is. That crunchy squeaky mouth feel that only bagged popcorn has. And the taste. Oh my. Powdery, but not so much it coats your fingers, cheesy, sharp, savory, deliciousness. I won't ever have to feel shame at succumbing to the vivid orange, greasy, dairy infested cheese popcorn that the rest of the world has to offer ever again. Nor will I have to deal with the digestive distress. Also, this product is made without GMOs, and with the fiber it's nearly a health food. :  ). Thank you, Earth Balance. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ What's for Dinner?

 Sometimes nothing sounds good for dinner. Honestly, I would probably be content with popcorn or oatmeal most of the time. Or standing at the sink and eating a tomato like an apple and letting the juice run down my arm. Or hummus smeared on something. Yeah. But when you know you have to put some effort in to make someone else satisfied, well, that's where I gotta think things through. 

We still have tomatoes, and a few cucumbers, thanks to our crazy weather. Not all of them are beauties, but we still have some to pick and eat. So chopped cucumber and tomatoes with balsamic vinegar. Yum. 

Since trying the Harmony Valley dehydrated "hamburger" last week, I've been wondering if the sausage was any good. Wonder no more. I added the water, let it sit and fried it up in a pan sprayed lightly with coconut oil. Then I crumbled a few patties over crescent roll triangles, rolled em up and baked them as per the package. Okay. We were hungry. But darn, they were good. 

Harmony Valley dehydrated sausage? Yep. Going to be ordering that again. I'm thinking overnight breakfast casserole, shredded potatoes, some chunks of bread, a tofu "egg" base, non-dairy cheese or "cheese" sauce, onions and Harmony Valley sausage. Going to have to get to work on this very soon. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Meatball Soup and Harmony Valley Vegetarian Hamburger Mix Review...

Why on earth would I make soup on a humid 82 degree October day? Because it seemed easier than coming up with something requiring a bit more creativity. 

I was apparently online shopping while hungry a few months ago. And Spencer's Market (a vegan mecca) was offering free shipping if I spent $50.00. So, being the kind of bargain hunter that I am, when what I really wanted was some of their delicious looking vegan candy, and had emotionally spent $15.00 on candy to share with my honey, I only needed to spend $35.00 more to score free shipping. That's when I found this.  Now, part of me, in my crazed shopping mindset thought that a dehydrated bag of hamburger was going to be somewhat disappointing. But. I bought two and two of their sausage mixes, too. I mean, at $5.00 a bag they would work as expensive dog treats if fails, right? 

Tonight was the night to use one of these bad boys up. And, dang, I think I'm kind of a fan. (On a side note, the dogs were very interested and were completely willing to lick the bowl, clean off my hand and pick up the stray morsels that occasionally hit the floor....so they would be a-okay with this as a dog treat, but that's not happening.) 

It's a textured dry powder. You add a cup and 1/4 (I think) of cold water, stir and let hang out in the fridge for awhile. I preheated the oven to 375 and then, when the burger mix was ready, I rolled it into meatballs and baked them for 23 minutes. Easy Peasy. The raw texture was pretty burger like, almost freakishly so. And they tasted good right out of the oven without any sauce. Not exactly super burgery, but really close,  Of note, I never ate hamburger that wasn't smothered in sauce or mustard when I was a meat eater, so I'm not sure I'm the best judge of that. Also, of note, a vegan meatball that mushes in the mouth is nasty. I want something that bites back a little, that gives some texture. A vegan burger that, when you bite, burger oozes out the bun...ugh, ick. And these meatballs, they had some nice texture. Next time, I will spray the pan a bit because I didn't and they stuck a little.

Here was the acid test for me and the meatball. A soup. Hmmm. Would they disintegrate? 

Meatball Soup (serves 2 to 3 depending on sides and appetites)

6 Cups vegetable broth
1/2 large small dice onion
3 stalks small dice celery
3 medium to large potatoes medium dice
salt and pepper to taste
15-20 vegan meatballs

Seriously. Simple. I put all the veggies in the veggie broth and cooked until the potatoes were almost tender (20 minutes or so) while my meatballs were baking. Then I tossed the meatballs in the soup and finished cooking it for 15 minutes or so until all the veggies were super tender. 

The meatballs did not simmer apart, fully intact meatballs. And the soup tasted really good. Rob even said it was amazing and that he thought he could fool some meat-lovers with it. And he's a pretty tough customer to win over with a meat substitute. So. Even though the hamburger mix is processed and a cheater meal, I'm going to have a few on hand. Because sometimes you don't want to reinvent the wheel and dirty the food processor, sometimes you just want to eat some satisfying simple food. And that's exactly what you get with this one. 

I'll let you know when I make the sausage. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ No-Cheese, Cheesy Scallped Veggies, A Review AND A GIVEAWAY

Some days my mailbox feels like Christmas. 

I was given the opportunity to try out one of OXO's Healthy Eating Tools. Not only did they gift me with one sweet Hand Held Mandoline Slicer to try out...they sent me another to send to one of my readers. These gifts arrived in my mail last week...Merry Christmas to me and to one of you.

Hmmm. Would you like Christmas to come early to you? Best keep reading, or jump to the bottom of the post for instructions.

The Hand Held Mandoline Slicer is a pretty sweet tool. 

For starters. It's simple. And it's adjustable. Simply slide the little lever and tell it the thickness you want. I got some sweet thin slices out of this bad boy. It conquered the potatoes and onions in record time. The mushrooms didn't slice as easy, but they are kind of finicky, so I wasn't too surprised. The slicer is a good size for hand and bowls. I also found the finger protector (and guest protector, ha, ha) easy to use. Basically, it was really easy to use for someone who has been known to occasionally poke a hole in her dermis (sounds better than stab myself with a knife). Clean up was also a breeze. 

This is what I made with it. See the pretty veggie slices.

No-Cheese, Cheesy Scalloped Veggies

1 Cup soaked cashews (soak at least 30 minutes)
1 Cup cauliflower florets
2 Cups veggie broth
1 TBSP flour
3 TBSP nutritional yeast
1 TBSP tahini
2 Cloves garlic minced
1 and 1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp salt
5-6 medium potatoes thinly sliced
1 onion thinly sliced
7-8 mushrooms thinly sliced.
2 TBSP Earth Balance Spread

(Keep potatoes in salt water until you use them.)

Heat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 pan.

In a large pan, turn flame up high, add 1 TBSP Veg margarine (Earth Balance) to pan. Toss in potato slices and the onion. Don't turn until the potatoes and onions begin to caramelize. Then turn. Repeat until they begin to grow tender and both sides of the potatoes and onions are golden. Add the mushrooms when potatoes are beginning to cook. Adjust heat as needed. You don't want them to burn, you want them crusty though. Place onion/potato/mushroom mixture into the 9 x 13.

Drain cashew water. Add 1 TBSP Earth Balance to the large pan you used for the potatoes. Heat. Add cauliflower and garlic.  Add the flour, stir until all the veggies are coated. Then add Veggie broth, lemon juice, cashews, nutritional yeast, tahini and salt. Simmer/stir until mixture thickens.  

Cool. Run the mixture through a food processor. Then pour over potato mixture. Use it all.

Bake for 35 minutes at 350.

Okay. Here are the rules for the giveaway. 


Open to US residents.
Open from April 30, 2012 thru May 15, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. (Will be announced on the 17th)

Winner will be chosen at random.
Each activity counts as one entry. So each activity needs a separate comment. 


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