“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” -Mark Twain
Mr. Samuel Clemens certainly nailed it on the head with that quote. Isn’t this historic occasion quite the mixture of joy and relief? We have some hard times ahead of us, most certainly, but to have someone like Barack Obama taking the reigns after having a president in office for 8 years who was barely literate and trigger happy… what can I say?
Okay, politics aside, we’re here to discuss food.
This weekend we went up to Seattle for my mother-in-law’s birthday. I am still getting used to blogging again, so I don’t have much to show for the trip. First, we ate at Araya’s and I forgot the camera and then we ate at Cafe Flora and I brought the camera but forgot to use it. Oops. Picture’s aside, you must, must, must eat breakfast at Cafe Flora if you are ever in Seattle. Their breakfast scrambles are heavenly.
I did remember to take pictures of birthday treats. This is the carrot cake from Damn Tasty:
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheeze Frosting
This is the new Triple Berry Pie with a light glaze. Pic’s not so good because the lighting was low in the dining room. Your tastebuds can daydream to fill in the blanks.
Triple Berry Pie
Now, back in the swing of things at home, we’re back to our weekly quick meal plans. One of our favorite quick meals is a Papa Murphy’s pizza with our own homemade tofu ricotta cheese. Papa Murphy’s crust and red sauce is vegan. We get the deluxe vegetarian, cheeseless, because it has better toppings and sub the white sauce for red sauce. When we get home, I toss on the ricotta and pop it into the oven.
My ricotta recipe is my own variation from the Real Food Daily Cookbook. It’s very different, so at this point I suppose it’s more like RFD was the inspiration for it. I go through phases of being so addicted to this ricotta I’m making it several times a week and it finds it’s way onto anything and everything. It’s so delicious and versatile and it only takes minutes to prepare. Stuffed shells, lasagna, creamy pasta sauce, you name it! It’s very omni-friendly, too. My youngest brother, who only eats chicken and french fries, had no idea he wasn’t eating “real lasagna”.
Tofu Ricotta
1 container water-packed firm tofu (not silken)
1/3 cup light colored miso (I use white)
2 tbsp. tahini
2 tbsp. olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 teas. dried basil
1/2 teas. salt
1/4 cup water.
Toss all ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth. Add more water for a thinner consistency. Blend in 1 cup of fresh basil for a super creamy pesto sauce that is out-of-this-world.
Tomorrow we are having an inauguration potluck at work and I’m bringing some cupcakes. Something old and something new.
First off, the cupcake version of the Black Forest Cake from DTV.
Black Forest Cupcakes from DTV
I was too lazy to make my cherry topping in the book, so I just used a can of cherry pie filling.
Secondly, my new Banana Split Cupcakes for the new cookbook. I think these are best served slightly warmed with a little scoop of ice cream and some salted peanuts on top, but for sake of ease, I topped them with the Peanut Butter Frosting recipe from DTV. You may remember that this frosting recipe is paired with the Banana Cake recipe in DTV. Rest assured, while these two recipes have bananas in them, but are very different.
The Banana Republic- Banana Split Cupcakes
The cake batter for this recipe is the closest to a vegan white cake recipe that I have come. Punctuated with bits of pineapple, banana slices, chocolate, maraschino cherries and the salty burst of peanuts, this is one of my favorite new recipes. And don’t you love my patriotic flair to celebrate tomorrow?
I hope you all are able to sneak away to experience a bit of tomorrow’s festivities. CNN.com is streaming everything live. Regardless of your politics, this is a very historic occasion!
20 Responses to i’m an american girl
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It’s here!
Everything looks delicious- and very patriotic!
That’s a lot of yumminess in one post! Getting seriously hungry now……….
WOOOOOOOOT for Obama!!!! I know he’s not the messiah or anything, but I am THRILLED that he will be the new American president (in a few hours!).
You are killing me with all the yummies! I really want me some of those cuppers…I’m drooling!
A blessed day, indeed! We’ll be nibbling Veg*con Pumpkin Cranberry scones and toasting our new president with mimosas :-)!
I’ve majorly been in the Cafe Flora mood….lots of cooking from their cookbook (details at JJ). I just love their “fountain” dining room!
Cupcakes look fab! Have an excellent day!
ooohhhh, i’ll have to check out the CNN site on my lunch break! Obama = my favorite! he makes me most happyfaced!
i hope your inauguration potluck is most yummy! i am drooling over the cuppers, especially the banana split ones – mmmmmmm!
my sister got us RFD for christmas, i really need to make something from it. and thank you for the ricotta recipe. dan & i just had our first tofu ricotta experience last week when we made lasagna. i wasn’t too sure how he’d like it ’cause he abhored ricotta when he was an omni. turns out he loooooooove tofu ricotta. really loves it. we ate a whole pan of lasagna in one sitting – so i’m gonna have to give your tofu ricotta a try – and on pizza = brilliant! yay!
might i also add that the berry pie & carrot cake look absolutely awesome! sugar rush!
thanks for the ricotta recipe, can’t wait to try it. I have yet to find a veg version I like!
woah, had no idea one could get a vegan meal from papa murphy’s. that is such useful info for me!
I was so excited by the inauguration I wasn’t even hungry – until I saw this post!
Yay Obama! We all gathered around a co-workers computer and watched his speech live on CNN :o) It would have been even better to be at YOUR office enjoying your delicious looking treats!
Courtney
They do look gorgeous! I hope they taste as good as they look. The tofu ricotta is a keeper!
Check out my latest (Nov/08). It’s already getting great reviews:
Tried and True Recipes from a Caterer’s Kitchen—Secrets of Making Great Foods
http://www.howfoodswork.blogspot.com
Now available on many internet booksellers’ websites.
What is Damn Tasty? Where can I find the recipe for the carrot cake?
Damn Tasty is the vegan baking cookbook that I self-published in 2007. This fall it is getting republished by an actual publisher with twice as many recipes. Unfortunately, I can no longer sell copies of the original book, so you’ll have to hold out for the new book this fall. You can read more about the old book at my old blog, http://www.squirrelsvegankitchen.com
I really like the ricotta from vegan with a vengeance but I will definitely try your ricotta. You have tahini, that’s intriguing!
mmmm. i love tofu ricotta so much. also, i’m intrigued by the idea f glaze on pie!? this had never occured to me before, and it looks good!
Awesome as always Kris! Is the Tofu Ricotta recipe the one you use to add to Papa Murphy’s take ‘n’ bake veg pizza?
It is indeed. It’s sooo good. When you take a break from being a work-a-holic you should come over and have some with us sometime.
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Your ricotta recipe looks so good & easy; any idea if it would work as an ingredient in a “white” pizza (under mozz Daiya)? Yum!
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