Calzones and Teese! and veggie stew...

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be sent a sample (a large sample!) of Chicago Soy Dairy's new recipe for their Teese Mozarella.  I got it several days ago and decided to try it in my calzones.  I was going to try it on pizza, but I'd never made calzones and thought this would be a good test.  So behold my calzone:

Tanya's Whole Wheat Calzones:
-makes 4 large calzones

1/2 of my whole wheat pizza dough, prepared in the bread machine (or by hand)
3 thin slices of Teese mozarella for each calzone (I used 2 my first time....but wanted more on my second try)
Any filling (I used sauteed kale,broccoli, and shiitake mushrooms...all from the farmer's market)
Tomato sauce (I combined strained tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes)
optional: soymilk for glazing

Divide the dough in 4.  Roll each one out and spoon the veggie filling onto one side as shown in the picture.  Top with tomato sauce and then the cheese slices.  Take the empty half and pull it gently over the filling to meet with the other side of the dough.  Take the bottom edges of the dough and fold it over the top edge, pressing to seal.  (on my second try, I overfilled the calzones, so there was tomato sauce oozing out of the edges!) Take a sharp knife and slowly make three holes in the top of the calzone, for venting...evenly spaced (small holes...just as wide as the knife, but no wider).  Repeat with other calzones. You can brush with soymilk to get a nice brown glazed look if you want.  Bake at 400 degrees for 17-20 minutes.  I only baked two at a time on the middle shelf, so if you bake more, you may need to adjust the cooking time.

So I'd never had Teese before.  I tasted it right out of the package first....I really liked the taste. It was a bit salty, like normal mozarella (I think!), but it was just a tad oily.  It didn't however seem oily when baked.  I thought it worked great in the calzones....melted really nicely and had a great flavor. Thank you, Chicago Soy Dairy!! I don't know if I'll ever have access to this stuff again....hopefully I'll find it somewhere.

Meltiness:

So that's my big post for the week.  Oh wait...I better give you a summary of last week's market before I go again tomorrow:

Fava beans, shiitakes, purple top turnips, beets, brown rice, lettuce, strawberries, broccoli, kale, and sweet potatoes.

Oops, one more important food item: Bankrupt Vegan's Hearty Veggie Stew!

This stuff was so good, I made it two nights in a row.  It's really easy and really tasty :)

My changes: I didn't use oil and I used whole wheat flour.

Blogger of the Week: Bankrupt Vegan (since this soup came at the right time....while I was sick!) She's got great ideas for staying on budget while keeping a vegan diet. Check her out :)

Eat smart,

T.

Catching up on food:chard and cupcakes!

I know I hadn't posted in a while before I left for my trip, so today I'm going to post some of the things I made that I didn't have a chance to blog about, and I've pictures of my Brattleboro Food Co-Op stash and latest Pangea order!!

First, let's start with chard.  A couple of weeks ago I saw some Rainbow Chard at my local farmer's market, so I said what the heck and bought some. It was so pretty, I couldn't pass it up.  Of course, I had no idea how to cook it.  After a little research, I just folded over the chard leaves and cut off the stem.  I chopped up the stem and put it in a saute pan with some water and let it cook a bit.  Then I tore up the chard leaves and added them.  I served it over brown rice with a soy-based Asian sauce I make (McDougall recipe).  It was really good.  The chard was just a tiny bit bitter, but that's ok.

Next, I made a nice raw salad with my own cherry tomatoes and sprouts, and lettuce, turnips, kale, and carrots from the local farmer's market:

On to the cupcakes!!

I bought Isa Moskowitz's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and finally got a chance to try one of the recipes: Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake.  They came out rather nicely...I only made a couple of small changes.  I used only a drop of oil and the rest water and I replaced the all-purpose flour with whole wheat bread flour.  They didn't rise a ton, but maybe if I only make 10 instead of 12 next time and can fill them up a little more, they'll be bigger.   I used her Rich Chocolate Ganache Topping to frost them....wow, delicious! I used agave nectar instead of the maple syrup, because that's all I had.  A big success...we loved 'em!

I think we're caught up now with stuff I made before my trip.

Here are a couple of pictures of the awesome stuff I scored at the Brattleboro Food Co-Op:

Plus....I got some hulled barley and oat groats, yay!
Here's what I just got in the mail from Pangea:

Coming up: really easy veggie stew and calzones!
Coming in May: book reviews

Eat smart,
T.

Happy Earth Day and pics from my trip!

Wow, I guess it's been a while since I last posted.  I've been out of town for a few days....went to visit my parents in Vermont and meet my nephew for the first time too! So I'm going to post just a few pics from my trip, since this is really a food blog.

Me and my nephew, Finn:

My parents' alpacas:

The amazing Brattleboro Food Co-op:

My dad drove me back to the airport yesterday and I got him to stop for lunch at a vegan cafe I'd found online! He liked it (he's not even a vegetarian).  I thought the food was amazing (we both tried the specials).  The folks working there were really nice too.  I definitely recommend the place if you're going anywhere near Northampton, Mass. It's not far off of I-91.  Check our their website: Cafe Evolution.

The Spring Bowl Special with potatoes, tempeh, and asparagus:

The Lentil/Parsnip Curry Special with a side salad:

Both were delicious.  And yes, I bought several items to take on the plane with me back home...a chocolate cupcake with mint cream cheese frosting, a mocha cupcake, a blondie, a brownie, and a cowgirl cookie.  I couldn't help it!  The cupcakes got squished on the plane a little....so I didn't take pictures, but they sure are tasty :)

And as a late birthday present, I made my mom a birthday cake while I was up there.  It's the Decadent Almond Cake I'd made previously.

Oh, and yes, I got sick on my trip.  My ears are still blocked from the plane ride.....and wow, was my ear in absolute pain on our descent. Ouch!

Update: Airport info.

I flew through Chicago O'hare on my way to Hartford.  There was a Saladworks there!  You can create your own salad, which is really nice. I've eaten at a lot of those in New Jersey.

On the way home, I went through Atlanta.  I found a Nature's Table Bistro in Terminal E.  The gentleman in front of me happened to be vegan as well (he heard me asking about vegan options), so he pointed out the items he's eaten.  I got the vegetarian chili and hummus with pita crackers.  It was all very good!

I think that about covers it for my trip.  For now anyway....hope you're all having a great Earth Day!!

Eat smart,
T.

Stuff I've been eating and an apology

I'm so sorry I haven't been posting....been so busy with taxes and rehearsals, etc....and I know I missed last week's farmer's market and blogger of the week post. Again, I apologize.

It's 77 degrees and I finally have a day off.  In a week, I get to meet my 1 1/2 year old nephew for the first time, so I'm excited about that! Taxes are finally done...except for one small detail, but I have a lot on my mind.  I've been contemplating about buying a new camera and/or a new smartphone.  If I'd won the lottery, I'd buy both before my little trip next week. But......I don't know what to do. Maybe I shouldn't get either.  I don't want to take my big Panasonic camera with me on the plane....just too big. The one I've been looking at keeps getting more expensive and out-of-stock everywhere, because everyone wants it! Grrrrr......And I wish I had a bigger and better phone to use while in the airport waiting. They've replaced mine twice already....although I've had it for a few years by now. Maybe it's ready to go. And my wall phone charger just died too. Was that a sign??  I just feel cheated, because I've paid for insurance for the phone, yet they keep giving me ones with problems and that's what they'll keep on doing if I bring it back.

Ok, sorry....off topic.

This week's farmer's market: strawberries, rainbow chard (excited about that...and it's so pretty!), collard greens, kale, shiitakes, brown rice, lots of lettuce, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

Stuff I've been eating:

My Mix n' Mashed Potatoes with Kale/Tomato gravy:

Sprouted Grain Pasta with brussels sprouts, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, fresh basil, salt, garlic, and pepper:

Refried bean quesadilla on corn tortillas with assorted sauteed veggies and a slice of melted Rice Vegan cheddar:

And I won a jar of Artisana Cacao Bliss from Elena's blog!! Thank you, Elena :)

We held auditions the other day and I made some Cocoa Banana Muffins in mini-muffin form from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan. I used all whole wheat flour instead of half barley and half oat. I also used agave nectar instead of maple syrup.  They were really good and not too sweet.  I should've filled the tins a bit more, as they were rather small muffins (leftover batter used for regular sized muffins in this picture):

Blogger of the Week: Elena's EatHealthyBeHappy Blog.   She's written some really great posts, including one on reversal of hypothyroidism....very interesting. She's also got some really good recipes and giveaways!

Other giveaways:

Avery at LoveVeggiesAndYoga is giving away a $25 shopping spree for Chocomize! Go check it out...it's a really clever idea.

Elena's Green for Life giveaway!

I think that's about all I can handle for today.

Eat smart,
T.

Winner announced!

Just wanted to thank all of you for entering my first giveaway! I can't believe there were so many entries. I hope to do another one soon.  And the winner of the Le Creuset giveaway is........EMMA!

Congratulations, Emma.  I will be emailing you about your prize!

We're back to work after a few days off, and I'm still trying to finish our taxes, so there probably won't be a ton of blogging in the next few days.  I'll do my best.  But I'll be posting about Saturday's market and Blogger of the week in the next day or two.

Also, if you live in the New Orleans area, I highly recommend La Divina Gelateria for your favorite gelato, or in my case, sorbet!  We went there the other day and I got the TurboDog Chocolate Sorbetto and it was absolutely amazing and NO DAIRY :)  I even sent an email and one of the owners wrote me right back with a list of ingredients. How nice.  (They even ship FedEx!!) I'm very impressed with this place as they also do a lot of recycling and composting and try to use as many local ingredients as possible, like Abita beer (TurboDog), Louisiana sugar cane, and Louisiana strawberries.  Go treat yourself to a delicious dessert! 

Eat smart,

T.

Another Raw Pie: Chocolate Mousse/Strawberry

Don't forget to enter my very first giveaway here!!

I recently bought another raw "cook" book: "Raw Food Made Easy" by Jennifer Cornbleet.  It's published by Book Publishing Co. in Tennessee.  I already had this particular book, but the publishing company offered to send me any books I wanted to review here.  I will be reviewing the books they sent me sometime over the next month (Vitamin D:The Sunshine Vitamin and Sweet Utopia).  But since I already had this book, I thought I'd give a quick review.  

First of all, this book doesn't require much more than a blender and/or food processor, which is great, because I can't afford a dehydrator.  I like how she gives you a list (in the beginning of the book) of basic "kitchen staples" and equipment you'll need.  She also explains how to soak nuts and seeds, which is a big part of the raw food diet.  Now there's only a very small section of pictures in the middle of the book.  I always like my cookbooks with tons of color pictures, so that would be my only negative comment.  Yesterday, I tried my first recipe: Chocolate Tart with Strawberries.  Wow!  It's so good. It basically combines two of her other recipes in the book, her Almond Crust, and her Chocolate Mousse.  This is the first time I've made chocolate mousse out of avocados and it was even kid-tested last night with much success! Overall, this looks like a great book and I'm looking forward to trying more recipes. I only wish it had more pictures.

Update: You can find this chocolate mousse recipe on Jennifer Cornbleet's own website.

Other giveaways:

I just entered to win 5 FREE product coupons from Turtle Mountain, but I need YOUR help. Go to HeatherEatsAlmondButter & comment to win. Be sure to mention that I sent you. (that way we BOTH win)

A Life Factory bottle giveaway at the HealthyVoyager. (these bottles are cool!)

So....

Eat smart,

T.

My First Giveaway!!! [CLOSED]

Ok, I know you've all been waiting for this.....haha, well I have.  I've seen so many other bloggers with great giveaways and I've wanted to do one myself, so here we are at last!

I recently had a post asking you to vote on what I should give away.  Between my blog and facebook, it looks like most people wanted Le Creuset.  Soooo the kind people at CSN stores offered me a really nice giveaway. They've got some awesome stores for all sorts of things, including dining sets, corner tv stands, cookware, espresso machines, and bedroom sets too! Check them out.

So, enter to win a Le Creuset 7" x 5" Rectangular Dish in Cobalt! (to see who won, click here!)

Here are the rules to enter:

(make sure to leave an email address where I can contact you if you win)
-leave a separate comment for EACH entry please.

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite vegetable is and how you like to eat it.

For extra entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter (leave me your Twitter ID), leave me a comment
2. Become a Fan on Facebook, leave me a comment
3. Follow my blog via GoogleFriendConnect (on the right side of this page), leave a comment
4. Tweet about this giveaway (leave me your twitter ID and you can tweet once per day):
- "Enter to win Le Creuset Stoneware on @TanyaTheViolist's first giveaway: http://bit.ly/9bfDiQ"
-make sure to leave a separate comment for each day tweeted!
5. If you have a blog, blog about this giveaway and leave me another comment that you did (and a link to your blog post).

This giveaway is only available to residents in the U.S. and Canada.  You have until April 6th at noon CST to enter. A winner will be chosen from www.random.org. Good luck!

Please let me know if there's something I've forgotten, as this is my first giveaway and I'm sure I did something wrong! (I'm not sure if you have to enter your email to comment....and if you'd rather not leave it in the public comment form, you can email it to me privately: CookingWithT@gmail.com -your email address ony, NOT your entry) Hmmmm, maybe I do need a better comment system. Any suggestions?

Coming up in the next month: Book Reviews (Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin and Sweet Utopia)

Eat smart,
T.