My Favorite Posts of 2014

The New Year will be here in just a couple days, so I thought now would be a good time to take a look back at all my favorite Veggie Angie posts from this past year. I know it’s cliché to say that the year flew by, but seriously I have no idea what happened to the last several months. Oh well, time for the best of 2014!

My Favorite Vegan Recipe Posts

Corn and Potato Chowder
A recipe I made over and over again and was always appreciated by family and friends. Now I’m thinking I should make this recipe for New Years Eve, it’s going to be a cold one!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
An easy and delicious recipe I adapted from A Beautiful Mess Blog, they are moist and just perfect they way they are – no frosting needed!

Veganized it: Chinese Challah
A veganized recipe from My Name is Yeh, one of my favorite blogs. Molly’s mixed heritage inspired this Chinese Challah. The green onions and sesame seeds made this homemade bread so special. I really enjoyed braiding bread for the first time!

White Vegan Pizza
This pizza dough is the softest and most perfect I’ve ever eaten, much less made myself! The two-hour wait for the dough to rise may discourage you, but don’t let it! If you make this recipe you will be rewarded handsomely with yummy pizza.

Vegan Zucchini Bread
My baking recipes tend to be easy and delicious, and this recipe is no exception. Just make sure you give yourself time to bake it, since at 45 minutes it has the longest bake time on this list.

Chuck’s Curry “Tuna Fish” Salad
I took a hiatus writing this blog in July to focus on producing our documentary following the life and work of artist Chuck Ramirez. Since the summer I have only published three posts, including this one. While working on our film I kept hearing about Chuck’s Curry Tuna Fish recipe, so I decided to veganize it and share my delicious results.

I have so much to be grateful for this year: my wonderful hubby, my family, and my friends. We found out my father has cancer recently and it has really helped put things in perspective in terms of appreciating the time I have with my loved ones. I’m also so grateful to have received the support we needed to make our documentary following Chuck Ramirez. I have truly enjoyed all the time I spent baking and cooking with my hubby, working on film projects, celebrating the holidays with our family, and continuing to make our house a home. Here’s to the New Year and the many wonderful possibilities it holds for us!

Happy New Year!

xo angie

Merry Christmas Eve!

Vegan Christmas Sugar Cookies

Today is Christmas Eve and I’m spending the day with my hubby baking sugar cookies for all of our Christmas Parties we’ll be attending, four in total over the next three days! I was baking all last week as well, making cookies for the two parties we threw here at the house.

Christmas Sugar Cookie Cutters

I love cutting out all the shapes!

The best cookie recipe I baked this Christmas has been Minimalist Baker’s 1 Bowl Vegan Sugar Cookies. They come out perfectly – just make sure you freeze your batter as recommended (at least 15 minutes) before rolling and cutting your cookies. I used the cookie cutters I inherited from my Mom (meaning she left them behind and hasn’t taken them back…yet).

Vegan Christmas Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles!

Vegan Christmas Sugar Cookies ready to take to our first party!

These Sugar Cookies were the hubby’s favorite, especially when we covered them in colorful sprinkles. My favorite ones were the Christmas Trees with Dark Chocolate Chips as ornaments. They are best served with a glass of almond milk or a warm mug of cocoa. Try making your cocoa with a couple drops of peppermint extract, so good!

Vegan Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

I’m looking forward to sharing these cookies with our families and friends soon. Many of our friends already received their cookies last week after I threw a Cookie Party with my Mom, Sister, and adorable niece.

Christmas Cookie Party Success!

The hubby and I decided not to exchange Christmas gifts so we could go all out for our parties. We made Chuck’s Curry “Tuna Fish” Sandwiches, gathered fun Photo Booth props, and I purchased lots of different cookie gift boxes to give away to our family and friends. I’m so glad I got to spend time with my Mom, Sister, and Niece – they are so much fun!

A couple of days later the hubby and I had a small party with a few friends. We ate yummy Vegetable Fajitas and Chili, played Christmas Minute to Win It games, slow danced, sang karaoke, and had fun in our Christmas Photo Booth. Mark and I spent a couple of days planning that party, but it was so worth it.

Our friend Jerry stopped by yesterday to give me a wonderful Christmas gift – a handmade frame for a Keith Haring print I bought earlier this year. It goes perfectly over our fireplace mantel.

I did almost all of my Christmas shopping and decorating a few weeks ago and our home has been filled with Christmas spirit since then. My favorite thing was wrapping presents and baking cookies while blasting Christmas music – thanks to my hubby for always providing the perfect music mixes!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas Eve!

xo angie

p.s. We’ve watched 10 Christmas Movies and counting, my favorites were Christmas at Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Home Alone 2. What’s your favorite Holiday Movie??

Veganized it: Chuck’s Curry “Tuna Fish” Salad

My vegan version of Chuck’s Curry Tuna Fish Salad

Mark and I have been working full-time on our documentary film project following our friend, the late artist Chuck Ramirez. We recently traveled to New York to film interviews for the film and I ate the most delicious vegan donuts at Cake Shop in the Lower East Side. Other than that, I haven’t discovered any new restaurants I’d recommend (although Mark continues to search for Mexican restaurants that don’t use lard in their beans and tortillas) or tried any new baking recipes. Since my last post in July I haven’t felt compelled to share anything, but then Mark stumbled upon Chuck’s recipe for Curry Tuna Fish Salad in his research for the documentary.

Sliced and ready to share!

Golden raisins, who knew?

After Chuck passed away our friend Hills Snyder compiled stories from those close to Chuck in an article for Glasstire. In the article, our friend Chris Sauter shares the recipe for Chuck’s Curry Tuna Fish Salad. Chris had talked about it in the interview we filmed with him earlier this year, but we hadn’t considered trying it since it had tuna fish. Mark showed an interest in the recipe while re-reading the article, so I suggested using chickpeas since they have a really great tuna-ish flavor. We got excited and went shopping for the ingredients that night so we could make Chuck’s recipe for dinner. It came out good enough to share!

Best sandwich I’ve had in a while!

Chuck’s Curry “Tuna Fish” Salad
My vegan version of the recipe Chris Sauter posted on Glasstire.com

“There are no accurate measures as Chuck was a ‘pinch of this, dab of that’ kind of cook.”
– Chris Sauter

· 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
· About 2 tbsp of vegenaise (enough so the mixture isn’t dry but not swimming in mayo)
· About 1 tbsp of your favorite yellow curry powder (no garam masala)
· A couple sliced green onions
· A handful of golden raisins
· A handful of roasted almond slivers or shelled sunflower seeds
· Ground sea salt to taste

Throw the chickpeas in the food processor – pulse, stir, and pulse. You want the chickpeas tuna-like, not blended into hummus. Mix the chickpeas, mayo, curry, green onion, and raisins together in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with the almonds or sunflower seeds and add sea salt to taste. Serve on slices of delicious bread with fresh arugula, “slightly sweetened ice tea, endless vodka tonics, surrounded by people you love”.

Chuck’s Curry “Tuna Fish” Salad, closeup

This recipe is an even more delicious take on my recent Vegan Chickpea Salad, the curry, sesame seeds, and golden raisins make for the perfect sandwich filling. We don’t typically use arugula in sandwiches, but the peppery notes from the greens bring all the flavors together. Feel free to play with the measurements until you get it to your liking!

Chuck’s Curry “Tuna Fish” Salad Sandwich, profile

It’s been so long since I’ve written a blog post, but it’s nice to take a break so I can have better focus on our documentary. I’ll most likely continue my hiatus unless I stumble upon another incredible recipe. I just couldn’t resist the tie between Chuck and my blog with this recipe. I like to think that he would like it, but what’s most important is that it’s made with love and shared with people I care about. Enjoy!

Only half left!

xo angie

My 4 Year Blogging Anniversary!

Happy Monday friends! Today I’m celebrating four years (and one day) of vegan blogging here on Veggie Angie. I wrote my first blog post on July 6, 2010. Wow, it’s kinda hard to believe I’ve had this blog for four years!

I would have baked a vegan anniversary cake, but why go to the trouble when I have delicious Vegan Zucchini Banana Bread left over? Apologies to my friend Karl, who missed out on this zucchini banana bread after band practice yesterday. I forget it needs extra time in the oven, but it’s worth the wait. I’ll make it for you next time Karl. Oh, time to blow out my candles!

I would tell you what I wished for, but then it wouldn’t come true! I thought this post would be about reflecting on the past, but I’m much more excited about my future. We’ve been making great progress on our current documentary film following the late artist Chuck Ramirez. This film has been a long time coming and we’re so thrilled to be in production.

We are taking the rest of the year to focus on completing this film, so I’ve decided to put my blog on hiatus. I’ve really enjoyed bringing you vegan recipes and restaurant reviews each Monday. I’ve also appreciated all the positive feedback I’ve received from family, friends, and all you sweet bloggers out there! I’m not sure how long I’ll be on hiatus and I might drop in to share a recipe now and then. This is no time for goodbyes, just a “see you later!”

xo angie

Vegan Chickpea Salad

Happy Monday friends! I hosted a playdate yesterday for my niece Lillian and my friend Jessica’s daughter. They are only a few months apart in age and were so adorable together. We spent the afternoon playing with toys, looking at books, drawing with chalk, and listening to music. I put together a lunch menu for my lovely guests including fresh fruit, white bean hummus dip, these chickpea salad sandwiches, zucchini chocolate chip cookies, sticky buns, and watermelon drink. I realize now how much of a photo-op I had on my hands yesterday, but I enjoyed just spending time with everyone and not worrying about my camera. I know there will be lots of playdates and picnics in my future!

Vegan Chickpea Salad
Makes 6-8 sandwiches. Easy, vegan, and gluten-free!

· 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
· 2 tbsp vegenaise
· 1 cup red seedless grapes, cut in half
· 1 cup hamburger dill chips (pickles), chopped
· 1 cup walnuts, chopped
· 1/2 cup raisins
· 1/2 cup green onions, diced
· salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Puree the chickpeas and vegenaise in a food processor or mash with a fork. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Adding 1 tbsp additional vegenaise if you’d like a creamier constancy. Spread on your favorite bread or wrap and enjoy! I used Sundried Tomato Bread and Southwestern Tortillas, but feel free to use any bread or wrap you’d like. You can also cut this recipe in half if needed, but the chilled leftovers are just as delicious!

These sandwiches are perfect for packed lunches, picnics, and potlucks. I took a plate of sandwiches over to my friends Ryan and Jenn’s house last week for Ryan’s surprise birthday party. I got a lot of great feedback from the hostess and party guests. Today is actually Jenn’s birthday, Happy Birthday Jenn! I dedicate this recipe to you, it made me so happy that you liked these sandwiches enough to ask for the recipe. Here you are, I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful birthday!

I originally saw the idea for chickpea “tuna” sandwiches in the Sunny Days in Texas Zine. I’ve slowly changed the recipe over the years and I’ve finally got it just the way I like it. Feel free to modify my version to suit your own taste. This recipe is also perfect for any upcoming 4th of July party you are throwing or attending. I love vegan food that’s easy to make and share.

Have a wonderful week!

xo angie