Vegan Corn Salad for Thanksgiving

Hello everyone.  I am continuing my series of Thanksgiving meal posts with some corn salad.  With my new quest in trying veganism, I have been paying more attention to what foods are and aren't vegan.  When most people think of corn, they picture it on the cob and slathered in butter.  I wanted to try something more unique for Thanksgiving.  Last year I made a corn salad, so I brought it back again this year.

Here's what I used



1 Bag of frozen corn
1/4 Cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 Onion, diced
Oregano or Basil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:
Defrost the frozen corn and put in large bowl
Dice onion and mix add to the bowl



Add oil and vinegar and mix
Mix in the basil or oregano and salt and pepper
Let chill and serve cold





I love how simple but flavorful this dish is!  It is definitely something easy to make for when I am eating vegan, and for those that are vegan all the time.  Even meat eaters will love this dish!

Will you be trying out this simple corn salad recipe?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes from the Heart

Hello veggies!  How was your thanksgiving?  My family ended up celebrating on Wednesday this year, and today I am at my boyfriend, Ben's, house to celebrate with his family.  Thanksgiving is always a cross roads for vegetarians. Most people automatically associate Thanksgiving with turkey.  I mean a whole holiday centered around dead turkey.  Actually, it is one of my favorite holidays.  I love all the seasonal foods, and I love to cook.  I really enjoy looking for new recipes for each year to try to make for my family.  I think it is really sad that people just need to have their turkey on thanksgiving.  Why?  Its tradition? So change tradition!  So many turkeys are mass tortured and killed for a tradition.  But hey, I guess so were the Native Americans.  I digress.

I love to make a verity of "sides" for my family's dinner.  My dad makes the turkey, which I of course opt out of, and I make everything else, which becomes my meal.  When I was about 13 years old I made mashed potatoes for my first time.  Well with just a little help from my dad.  And everyone loved them!  Now my mashed potatoes are a staple of thanksgiving every year.  They are so easy to make and taste amazing, I am always happy to make them.

Sadly, I have been making these so long, just by adding ingredients and tasting, that I don't actually know how much of each ingredient goes into these.  They way my dad taught me to make them was to add a little bit, then taste, add more, and taste.  His piece of advice was "you can always add more, but you can't take the extra away."  So that's what I did.  One day I will figure out the amounts and then I can sell my recipe and win a mashed potato medal.

Here's what I used:


6 large white potatoes
1 clove of garlic
Half and half
Butter
Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:
Start by setting a pot of water to boil
Then peal and cube potatoes
Add potatoes to the boiling water until they are soft enough to split them with a knife
Drain the potatoes, and then put them back in the pot



Time to get mashing!

Always start with the butter.  You want the butter to melt so the potatoes need to be hot.  The more cold ingredients (like half and half) and the more you mash, the cooler they will get and it will take longer for the butter to melt.  I believe I put in about 4 tablespoons.
Once the butter is in and melted, add a small pour of half and half and start mashing!
Continue pouring, mashing, and tasting until your potatoes are smooth and creamy.  I like my potatoes to still have some chunks of whole potato so I don't do over board on the mashing.  If you like them smoother, then keep mashing away!
Once you get the creaminess you want, add in once diced clove of garlic and mix
Finally add salt and pepper to taste.  Again my dad made me follow his rule and only let me add just a bit, so I always needed to add more salt to my serving.





The key to these potatoes is to make them from the heart.  Add a little of each ingredient until you know the amount is just right.  In the end, that's what cooking is really all about.

Do you love mashed potatoes as much as I do? Will you be whipping these up at your next family dinner?

My next few posts will highlight some of the other dishes I made for my family's thanksgiving dinner.  It is super easy to enjoy an amazing thanksgiving dinner without the need to eat turkey.  I have been doing it for 12 years and I never feel like I am missing out on anything!

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Amy's Spinach Feta in a Pocket Sandwich

Hello everyone! Sorry about the late post, I have been so busy working and getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner that I haven't had much time to sit down and post.  Today I just have a quick one, reviewing one of my favorite foods!

SPANIKOPITA! Which is my favorite Greek food.  The traditional way to make it is with spinach and feta cheese in layers of phyllo dough.  This was my favoirte food that my grandma would cook for me, but to make it healthier, she used whole grain crust.

I was ecstatic when I found Amy's Spinach Feta in a Pocket.  It is pretty easy to fine pre-made and frozen traditional spanikopita.  But the Amy's pocket is in a crust, not phyllo dough, like my grandma made.





These pockets are stuffed with delicious spinach and lots of feta cheese! They are so tasty, and really remind me of my grandma's on unique spanikopita.  As I have told you before, plain Greek yogurt and spanikopita are a match made in heaven.  When I pair the two, I am taken back to my delicious childhood.





What foods remind  you of your family? Do you love spinach and feta as much as I do?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

The Veggie Burger Chronicles: Scarsdale Metro Restauraunt

Hello everyone! Today I am going to introduce a new segment on my blog, The Veggie Burger Chronicles.  As all you vegetarians know, a major staple in out diet is veggie burgers.  Mostly because if you decide to go out to eat with your meat eating friends and family, pretty much the only thing you will find to eat on most restaurant menus is a veggie burger.  But that's ok with me since they are delicious!  Many frozen food brands like Boca and Garden Burger, which some restaurants serve.  However many make their own veggie patties with a variety of ingredients like veggie, beans, lentils, and even quinoa!

I have decided to show you guys all the different veggie burgers I have from local restaurants  to chains, and even the frozen brands you can buy in your own super market!  I find that most veggie burgers fall into two categories  the ones that are made to look like meat, and the ones made to look like veggies.  I tend to like the ones that you can see the vegetables in it.  The meat-like ones taste to meaty for me, and unless I can read what's in them myself, I am wary of them.

For the first installment of the Veggie Burger Chronicles, I am going to show you a veggie burger I had at a local diner by my house, The Scarsdale Metro Restaurant.  My mom actually took my brother, sister-in-law, and I there over the summer during our last visit.  Not only do they have a great veggie burger, they also have a whole PAGE of different salads! Now, normally I am not a big salad person, but they had so many kinds to ones with fresh veggies, and my favorite with goat cheese and avocado, mmm!  So I knew that I needed to go back again...and again and again!




This Veggie burger came just like the meat ones do, with lettuce, tomato, coleslaw, pickles and fries.  Oh the fries!  Some of the best fries I have had in a long time! They reminded me of McDonald's fries, at least I think they do, since its been 11 years since I had them.  They were so salty and crunchy, yum!

As you can see, this burger is the veggie packed kind.  You can even see the soy beans in it, so you know you are getting lots of protein in this burger.  This was so delicious, packed with veggies and spices. Of course I loved it, since I made sure to come back just to have it again, or maybe it was for the fries :-P

Do you like the the meaty, or veggie veggie burgers? What are some of your favorite local veggie burger spots?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Amy's Cheese Pizza

Hello everyone!  Today I have another Amy's meal to show you.  As a lazy vegetarian, Amy's meals are a staple in my diet.  Everything she makes is always vegetarian and organic.  She even has a number of vegan options too.  Right after I first gave up meat, I discovered Hot Pockets.  Out of all the verity of flavors, only one was vegetarian, the plain cheese pizza.  But as a 11 year old kid, I happily filled my face with the hot cheesy goodness. I then made a discovery some time after: Amy's Pocket Sandwiches.  I've shown you guys the vegetable pie pocket, but now I have something for when you are craving some unhealthy food.

This is Amy's Cheese Pizza Pocket sandwich.



All of the hot cheesy pocketness of a Hot Pocket, but completely organic, and preservative free!



These are so good! A great way to feel like you are eating unhealthy, but you know it is still good for you!  These pockets are always filled with amazing cheese and sauce.  They are so tasty and a great quick comfort food.




Mmm, look at that hot melty cheese!

These are a great option for both vegetarians and meat-eaters if you are looking for something really delicious and quick to make, but with out all the chemicals.  You can eat "bad" food, but still feel good about it!

Have you tried Amy's Cheese Pizza Pockets?  Are you going to pick these up?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

The Corner Room

Hello veggie world!  As I am writing this I am enjoying a nice evening inside, cuddling with and getting kisses from my cat, while a blanket of snow covers my yard and all the trees still standing from the hurricane.  I really hop everyone is getting by after these past two storms in New York.

However, I want to talk more about my birthday weekend that I spent at Penn State.  I used to go to PSU frequently, back when I went to school in PA, but now that I am back home in New York, I only go about twice a year.  While visiting there often, I found many places that I loved eating at, and now when I go back to visit I make sure to hit all my favorites.  One of my absolute favorite places to eat at is The Corner Room.  The restaurant itself is nothing too special  just a nice little place connected to a bar.  But they have a few vegetarian options and they are all delicious!




I started with an appetizer on the specials list, green salad flat bread.  This was so good! It was spinach  feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes and kalamata olives on top of a layer of amazing garlic hummus, all piled on four slices of flat bread.  I cannot tell you how good this was! I love Greek flavors (yay Greek heritage!) and this was so fresh and delicious!




Ben started with an order of mozzarella sticks, and of course I had to steal one or two.  These were so good too!  The outside was perfectly crispy while the insides were soft and cheesy.  It came with some really tasty marinara sauce for dipping.

The main reason I go to The Corner Room is for the amazing veggie burger they have!



They serve Garden Burger brand for their veggie burgers and they add a verity of California flavors. This burger comes with tomato, sprouts, avocado, red onion, tomato mayo, and melted cheese all on a deli roll. So good!  This veggie burger always comes with a side of mangos! How awesome is that??

I happily stuffed my face with these amazing vegetarian dishes.  If you ever find yourself in the Penn State area, first go to Mario's, then go to The Corner Room.  Then to the creamery!

What are your favorite veggie burger toppings?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Awareness Wednesday. Marsmallows

Hey everyone and welcome to today's Awareness Wednesday.  I was saving this topic specifically for November.  When some people think of marshmallows they picture a warm summer night making s'mores by the campfire.  However, my all time favorite season is fall! I live for the cool air, changing leaves, changing fashions, and most of all PUMPKIN!  So when I think of marshmallows I think of Thanksgiving sweet potatoes and hot chocolate.  So November was the perfect month to talk about marshmallows.


Source.

Everyone knows what marshmallows are are everyone has eaten them.  They are sweet and really fun too, with lots of possibilities.  But not too many people know, or even care, about what's in them: lots of sugar, chemicals  water, and...Gelatin!!  I linked to my original Awareness Wednesday post, but again just to remind everyone, gelatin is the bones and connective tissues of various animals like cows and pigs.

Remember, I am not just talking about the big, white, fluffy marshmallows.  Marshmallows are in a lot of desserts and breakfast cereals. If anything says it has marshmallows in it like Lucky Charms, Rice Crispy Treats, Mallomars, or rocky road ice cream READ THE  INGREDIENTS before eating!


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Well I might have to give up fish sticks, turkey burgers, and leather shoes, but I was NOT going to give up marshmallows, especially when they are a staple of my favorite season. One year my dad and I tried a recipe to make our own vegetarian marshmallows and it was a complete disaster, until I remembered about marshmallow fluff! You remember? The amazingly delicious marshmallows out of a jar that's great with peanut butter?  I mean, basically all it is is marshmallows that don't retain their shape, so why would it need to have gelatin?  Well I was right!  Fluff only contains corn syrup, sugar, eggs whites, and vanilla!  Ok so you can't stab it with a stick and cook it in a fire, but you can substitute all your fall favorites with it!


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While most thanksgiving sweet potato dishes call for marshmallows on top, I just cover it with dollops of fluff on top and pop it in the oven.  The marshmallows end up melting and looking like the fluff anyway, and it still gets golden brown and tastes the same just without the dead animal parts. Can't beat that! Try adding a scoop to your hot chocolate too! And if you just can't live without that marshmallow, graham cracker, chocolaty goodness, then try assembling your s'more with the fluff, wrap it in tin foil, and put it on the edge of the fire. BAM! Warm, sweet, melty, gooey summer goodness that's vegetarian!


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My goal is to show people that you can be a vegetarian and still eat just like everyone else does, just with a few tweaks here and there.  And you never know, you might even get a meat eating friend to switch over just for one meal.

Will you be trading marshmallows for fluff this fall?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Birthday Dinner at Mario's

Hello everyone! Sorry for a bit of a late post.  Yesterday was my 23rd birthday and I have been celebrating with my boyfriend, Ben, all weekend at Penn State.  We started with Halloween celebrations, then moved on to a nice dinner, and seeing the Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

Mario's is a nice American Italian Restaurant at Penn State College.  We actually went there last year for my birthday dinner too.  We both really love the food, but I love how many vegetarian options they have!  It is by no means a vegetarian restaurant, but they do an amazing job creating a menu with a lot of vegetarian food in a variety of flavors.  Its really nice having the ability to make choices out of so many amazing dishes.  I especially love going there for my birthday because they always create an amazing fall menu. I am literally obsessed with fall flavors, and they certainly don't hold back.




I started with the butternut squash bruschetta. This was probably the most unique item I had, but it was so good!  This toasted bread was topped with pieces of butternut squash and walnuts which gave it a really nice bite.  They topped it off with some melted cheese.





For  my main course I got the pumpkin ravioli.  This is one of my favorite fall meals, and a staple in my diet every fall.  The pumpkin was so creamy and perfectly spiced in a whole wheat ravioli. The sauce was buttery, and again topped with nuts for a unique crunch.  I got this dish last year as well, because it is just that good.




Just when I thought dinner was over, the waiter brought out a tiramisu with a birthday candle! I think this was the best tiramisu that I have ever tasted, and not just because there was a birthday candle in it. The flavors were amazing and the top layer of cake was so light and delicious.




Overall I had both an amazing birthday dinner and and amazing birthday!  Here's to 23 and all the things this year will bring!

What are your favorite fall and birthday foods?

Bye from the Veggie Side!