VeganMoFo VIII: Banana Split Gel Shots

As promised in yesterday's party post, I have a fabulous recipe for jello shots.  These are pretty damn tasty and effective.  I was shocked how fast these went down.  For this recipe, I opted for boxed vegan gelatin which is readily available to me.  If you don't have access to that, stay tuned because I've been working on a recipe that involves agar.  Here we go...

another pic taken by Gina.  must remember to photograph everything before the party.  haha.

Banana Split Gel Shots

(makes about 20)

Marashino cherries w/ stems

3 ounce box vegan cherry jel dessert (like Gefen)

1 cup water

½ cup chocolate whipped flavored vodka

½ cup banana liqueur

vegan whipped cream (store bought or homemade)

sprinkles

Take 20 souffle cups and place one cherry in each one.  In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Add alcohol and let come to a simmer.  Remove from heat into a glass measuring cup, and add the vegan gelatin.  Stir until thoroughly combined.  Pour into the souffle cups and let chill until set.

Right before serving, pipe on a small dollop of whipped cream and add sprinkles.  Enjoy responsibly!

All right y'all.  For the remainder of MoFo, I'm challenging myself to post multiple times a day because I missed last week.  Party on!

VeganMoFo VIII: Haters Gon' Hate

In case you haven't heard, I'm a mothatrucking hater.  I hate fresh mint.  I hate rum.  So, naturally, I be spittin' haterade all up in the face of mojitos...until now.  Slightly inspired by the refreshing drinks I seek out at my local bars ("desert facial" from Ace Hotel and "eden" from Bar), I opted to replace the grody mint with something fresh and enticing...cilantro!  I just feel that cilantro is a bit brighter than mint.  It works well here.

cilantro makes all the difference

Cilantro Mojito

(serves 1)

gluten free (with gluten free vodka)

soy free

¼ cup loosely packed cilantro

1 small lime, quartered

3 tsp sugar

ice

¼ cup white rum

½ cup club soda

In a medium tumbler, muddle cilantro, half of the lime, and 2 teaspoons sugar together.  Feel free to strain out the cilantro at this point.  Add another lime wedge and the last teaspoon of sugar.  Muddle everything again.  Add ice to the top of the glass.  Mix in the rum and top off with club soda.  Enjoy!

Of course, if you're a cilantro hater, you can just do all of this with mint.  Just...don't tell me.  I will never look at you the same for the betrayal.  The horror.

VeganMoFo V: Taste the Rainbow

Ever since I heard of Skittles vodka a couple of years ago, I've wanted to make it.  Skittles were my favorite candy as a kid, so I was beyond stoked when they took the gelatin out.  Plus, vodka is my favorite alcohol.

This is super easy, and doesn't yield a crazy amount.  Basically, you have enough to make a handful of drinks with each flavor.  I used mason jars because we don't buy bottled water.  It was just as easy to do, though I split them up into batches.

lemon skittles vodka

I can tell you my favorites right away: lime, orange and strawberry.  Lemon reminds me too much of Limoncello, which kinda sends me into full body shivers.  Grape reminds me of cough medicine, giving me flashbacks of being pinned down to take my meds.

These make for vodka on the sweet side, so I think they are best with unsweetened things.  Maybe tea, tonic, club soda.  I'd even like to try it with gingerale.  I think I'm going to save all of the lime for Halloween, though.

vodka party up in herre

Not quite sure what I'm doing tomorrow.  However, I'll be reading a lot of blogs when I get home tonight.  Later y'all!

Happy Festivus!

The video is finally finished after multiple setbacks!  Sorry about the quality.  We are away from our usual equipment.



Onto the recipes...  This salsa is really good and perfect for winter when the tomatoes are pink and disgusting.  Letting it sit overnight is non-negotiable.  The flavors have to mesh, but it's worth it.  I like adding lime right before serving to make it taste extra fresh.

muy caliente!

30 Second Salsa
28 oz can diced tomatoes, rinsed and thoroughly drained
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded or not, roughly chopped
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup tightly packed cilantro
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 tsp salt
lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, onion, cilantro, vinegar, and salt until the consistency of chunky gazpacho.  Pour into a bowl and refrigerate overnight, the longer the better.  Right before serving, add the lime juice and taste for salt and pepper.

Ginger Balls are a variation of Oreo Truffles.  Super easy to make, which works great for a party.  Save money by using store brand cookies and buying chocolate chips in bulk.

Ginger Balls
1 pkg creme-filled ginger cookies (like Ginger-Os)
8 oz vegan cream cheese
12 oz (generous 2 cups) semi sweet chocolate chips
crystallized ginger, chopped

In a food processer, chop the cookies into fine crumbs.  Add the cream cheese and blend until combined.  Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate for 45 minutes, until easy to roll into balls.  Roll into balls and place in the freezer until firm.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (stir every 30 seconds).  Dip the balls into the chocolate and top with ginger.  Freeze until solid.  Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Spiced Caucasians are just a holiday tradition at our house.  There really is no measuring.  Just add as much alcohol as you like.  Here's what I do...

deliciousness

Spiced Caucasian
ice
lowball glass
1 oz coffee liqueur like Kahlua
1 oz espresso vodka like Seagram's
vegan nog
freshly grated nutmeg, optional

Fill the glass with ice.  Top with liqueur and vodka.  Fill will nog.  Stir.  Top with nutmeg, if so desired.  For a truly caffeinated version, try Mocha Kahlua!

I hope everybody has a great holiday season!  Happy Festivus and Happy New Year!

A Tale of Two Pies

Thanksgiving this year was kinda ridiculous. We had guests coming but they couldn't make it because one of the kids got sick. Era and I had a decent amount of food, but it got done so late that I couldn't photograph it. My kitchen has no overhead lighting. There's one small fixture that is supposed to light the kitchen and dining room. Ridiculous! But the dinner was absolutely delicious and drama free.

Clockwise from top: cornbread dressing, cranberry, mac n cheeze, green beans, wellington w/ madeira gravy, cajun corn maque choux, champ, roasted brussels/sweet potatoes/onions, and seitan roast w/ mushroom gravy.

My absolute favorites were the wellington and the cajun corn maque choux.  These will be staples at every Thanksgiving henceforth!  Ha ha.

What I was really looking forward to was the pie.  In my pregan days I was all about the lemon meringue and pecan.  Of course these are probably the hardest pies to veganize.  I just have to be difficult.  I made Bryanna Clark Grogan's Reliable Vegan Pecan Pie.  Unfortunately, it wasn't so reliable for me.  The filling tasted good, but it really didn't set.  Somewhat disappointing because it means I'm still on a quest for great pecan pie.

What wasn't a disappointment: the lemon pie with cheesecake topping and shortbread streusel.  It was just a combo of a few recipes.  I used a premade crust and baked it according to directions, but took it out a little early.  I used this recipe for lemon filling and let it set.  I topped it with the Mini Ice Box Cheesecake from My Sweet Vegan (leave out the lemon juice and add 2 tsps of tapioca starch).  Then I topped it with the Old-Fashioned Pie-Plate Shortbread recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.  I didn't add too much because this was my first time making it, but it was good.  After I assembled the pie, I threw it in the oven at 375 until the shortbread turned a little golden.  SO GOOD.

And now for a cocktail "recipe."

Spiced Caucasian
ice
lowball glass
1 oz coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
1 oz espresso vodka (recommended: Seagrams)
vegan nog

Fill a lowball glass with ice.  Pour coffee liqueur and espresso vodka over the ice.  Top with nog and give it a little stir.  Enjoy the deliciousness.

Triple Caffeinated Caucasian variation: replace regular coffee liqueur with mocha liqueur (recommended: Kahlua).

Perfect for sipping on while you lounge around in your bathrobe.  Mmm.  I hope everybody had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

VeganMoFo: Sippin' on Some Sizzurp

When it comes to alcohol, I am a vodka girl all the way. I've tried a lot of alcohol in my life. I think most of the time between 18 and 21 was spent drunk or standing over porcelain. I started off with wine coolers and worked my way into liquor. The thing I love about vodka is that it's powerful but the flavor is subtle. Of course, this totally depends on you getting middle to top shelf. Bottom shelf tastes of rubbing alcohol. And seriously...the smell of McCormick makes me gag.

Today, I discovered that Polar Ice makes Huckleberry flavored vodka. I'm drawn to all things purple, so I had to try it.

Now vodka isn't vodka without cranberry juice. I am pretty anti soda. I find that cranberry gives me the sweetness I want without being too sweet. I like 100% juice so I got a cran-grape blend.

My drink of choice is a Cape Cod. It's easy to make, not incredibly sweet and really hard to mess up. Bow down to the queen!

Whenever I want to cut back on sugar or calories, I like a vodka sodas with a splash of cranberry. I accidentally picked up tonic instead of club soda. But it ended up really good. This is a huckleberry vodka tonic with a splash of cranberry.

Other vodka things that rock the casbah: Absolut Los Angeles (acerola, acai, pomegranate, and blueberry) and extra dirty vodka martinis.

And keeping with the posting while drunk theme...I made vegan Bailey's Irish Cream. What the hell am I gonna do with all this? Suggestions?

And I snapped a picture before I got buzzed. I swear I just take bad pictures. This was the first sip of the first drink.

Well, I have a gang of mofo entries to read. I haven't read anything since Monday.

VeganMoFo: Gourmet Wine Tasting

Because cheese crackers are so classy. Let's take a moment and talk about the awesome that is Eco Planet's non dairy cheddar crackers. Those things are like vegan crack. Seriously addictive. Rec-o-gnize!

Anyway. In a couple of weeks I am dedicating a day to alcohol. Today, I wanted to get into wine pairing. I don't know much about wine. I know that I generally like whites and loathe reds. I picked up a Smoking Loon Viognier and a Rex Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon today. I made me a plate of the aforementioned cheese crackers, strawberries, black grapes, Teese and bread soaked in olive oil and toasted.

I basically tasted the wine by itself, took notes on my initial impression, then tasted it with each item. This is totally not scientific. This is me getting my buzz on at 3 in the PM. Here are the results:

Smoking Loon Viognier
Sweet, fruity, spicy

Grapes-Made the wine a bit bitter.
Teese-Hell.no.
Crackers-Not very good.
Strawberries-Made the wine tasteless.
Bread-Quite tasty.

Rex Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon
Sweet, barrel-ly

Grapes-Made the wine bitter.
Teese-Fuck.that.
Crackers-Really quite tasty.
Strawberries-Super bitter.
Bread-Yum to the max.

At the end of the day, that Viognier is effing great to drink but I'm not about to pair it with anything. And the Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with things, but tastes like booty (b-b-booty). And Teese should not be paired with wine. Blech. Also today I made the Curried Split Pea Soup from VWAV. So stinking good. I'm eating it right now even. This is such a delicious soup. The picture so does not do it justice.

Tomorrow, I'm typing my entry a lot earlier. And I can't wait until Iron Chef ingredients are revealed.