Vegg Omelet & Chocolate Peanut Butter Bacon Fauxnut Holes - From The Vegg Cookbook (and Bonus Taco Tuesday!)

In yesterday's post, April and the hedgehogs had decided to use April's brand new The Vegg Cookbook and Upton's Naturals Bacon Seitan to create some delicious food that would impress her omnivorous host, Duane. For the main course, April decided to go with Mimi Clark's Vegg Omelet (with seitan bacon and veggie filling) from page 15 of The Vegg Cookbook.

The hedgehogs helped April gather all the ingredients for the omelet.



April poured the Vegg/tofu mixture into the pan. The recipe had said to cook it for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges set. After 15 minutes, April's mixture was still kind of soupy.





She let it cook for about 20 minutes total, when it looked as if the top was starting to solidify a bit. She grabbed two wide spatulas, went to flip the omelet in half...



...and watched in dismay as it glooped partway over the veggies and bacon. She turned the heat up a little bit, and continued to cook the omelet for another 10 minutes or so. Unfortunately, April's finished omelet didn't really look like Mimi's finished omelet, so April slid her resulting half-set mixture into a loaf pan and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. The result was an omelet that, while not nearly as solid as a traditional omelet, still held together and tasted pretty good. Duane's review was that it had a "good flavor (not quite as egg-like as real eggs) and interesting texture." He wasn't fond of the cooked spinach (a fact which April will keep in mind for the upcoming Vegg Fritatta), but thought that the seitan bacon was "fantastic". April has a sneaking suspicion that, since she was using a propane stove, the heat wasn't high enough, and will try raising it the next time she makes the omelet.



For dessert, Duane had chosen Mina Azarnoush's Peanutbutter Bacon Chocolate Donuts from page 78 of The Vegg Cookbook (she has also posted the recipe here). Instead of buying a donut pan, April decided to use Duane's mini-muffin pan instead, resulting in Fauxnut Holes.



Instead of instant coffee, April used her existing canister of Cafix. She also used powdered peanut butter (PB2) for the glaze, and cut up cooked pieces of seitan bacon for the topping.

The fauxnuts cooked perfectly in the mini-muffin pan, but the glaze was VERY liquid-y. Buttercup suggested adding some arrowroot powder to thicken it, and Hedgie suggested putting that mixture into the freezer for a bit, but the glaze was still not thick enough. April ended up drizzling the glaze over the fauxnut holes on the plate instead of dunking each fauxnut hole into the glaze, and then sprinkling the bacon bits over the top.





April and Duane both loved the fauxnut holes. They were extra cocoa-y, and the crunch of the bacon was a great addition. Duane mentioned that some powdered ginger would taste good in the glaze, so next time, April will add ginger and use a bit less liquid, as well as cutting the bacon bits smaller so they're easier to eat.


BONUS PICTURE - since it's also Taco Tuesday, here's a picture of the tempeh soft taco April made for lunch. It has heirloom organic green tomatoes and salsa.

RECIPE - Faux Mocha / RESTAURANT REVIEW, Part Deux - Mud Pie Vegan Bakery, Kansas City, MO / Green Acres Market

After getting unpacked and situated in her temporary living quarters, the hedgehogs told April that she was required to drive into the big city and get some chocolate.



She decided that the best place to do that was Mud Pie Vegan Bakery.

Mud Pie Vegan Bakery
1615 W 39th St, Kansas City, MO 64111
Facebook page







Since April didn't get anything chocolate on her last visit to Mud Pie, this time would be different.



April got a Cashew Milk Mocha, Lemon Blueberry Bread, an Eggy Breakfast Burrito (made by KCMO restaurant Fud), and, to satisfy the chocolate craving/requirement, a s'mores cupcake. The was the second time she had got some food from Fud without actually going there (they always seem to be closed when she wants to go out). The burrito was gooey and delicious, the lemon blueberry bread was the perfect level of sweetness with a great flavor, and the s'mores cupcake was the perfect way to get that chocolate fix. The mocha was a great compliment to it all, and April was once again impressed by the milk options - soy milk is standard and *free*, and various other milks are available for a bit extra (like cashew, rice, coconut, almond, and hemp!)

While enjoying the yummy food, Buttercup's sharp eye discovered that the bookshelves on the wall were actually a door. Hedgie said that all doors should also be bookshelves.



On the way back to Leavenworth, April decided to stop in north KCMO and check out Green Acres Market, as she needed to pick up a few groceries (i.e., Hedgehog Bribes).

Green Acres Market
4175 N Mulberry Dr, Kansas City, MO 64116 (Also has locations in Wichita, KS and Jenks, OK)
Facebook page

Green Acres is located in a collection of shops, at the end of a row next door to Sugar Mama's Bakery (but not the one in Austin!) It's a decent-sized store; not too small, and not so big that you get lost. April picked up some organic produce - a couple of pluots (a combination between a plum and an apricot), some lemons, some broccoli, and some sweet potatoes, and also got a couple more heat & eat Indian packet meals and some cocoa powder from the bulk section. Since hearing about The Great Vegan Yogurt Shortage, she was pleased to find a brand new offering -


Quick review - the plain was the only flavor they had. It's not sweet, and the texture is good; not too thick or thin.

She also found a couple of things that looked very tempting, but that she didn't buy (yet!)


This company sells three types of coffee drinks and two varieties of plain almond milk in very cool bottles.


BBQ jackfruit and jackfruit tamales! April will definitely be getting some of this before leaving Kansas.

When she got back home, April decided to try her hand and making an instant iced mocha drink mix for the hot days out at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. While at Green Acres, she had picked up a canister of Cafix, a barley/chicory drink which seemed very similar to Teeccino, except that it was labeled 'instant' (no brewing required!). The Cafix can said to mix with "very hot water", but Hedgie told April to go ahead and try making a small cup with cold. You know; for science.



April went with a 1/1/3/3 ratio - 1 spoon of Cafix, 1 spoon of cocoa powder, 3 spoons of coconut sugar, and 3 spoons of soy milk powder. She then added cold water and stirred well. It didn't all mix up immediately, but it did mix fairly well within 30-45 seconds. The hedgehogs tossed in a few ice cubes. It was good! April tripled the amounts for her giant wooden faire mug, and put the resulting mix in a small container to take with her to faire.

More faux-mocha info - this mixture tastes good hot, too! Also, the Better Than Milk company makes a rice milk powder, but don't use that for a cold faux-mocha; the rice milk powder doesn't blend well in cold water at all (though it's ok in hot, and mixes beautifully in a blender.)

Bonus Post! Taco Tuesday

Unfortunately, April is not participating in the Great Taco Cleanse of 2013, like so many of her fellow bloggers. However, she's doing her best to participate on the edges of this great movement, like celebrating Taco Tuesdays as best as she can while in Kansas.

Today for dinner, she made a delicious soft taco with Daiya pepperjack cheese and Upton's Naturals seitan bacon. April has tried tempeh bacon before, and thinks it tastes ok, but it's really not even close to actual bacon. Now, Upton's seitan bacon? Nirvana. Simple, unadulterated, crunchy, smoky, deliciousness. Just pan-fry each strip in a bit of coconut oil for about a minute on each side. (You'll perhaps notice that Hedgie and Buttercup aren't in either of these pictures. They stole a piece of seitan bacon and ran off with their prize!)






Back in Austin, Sweet Ritual is participating in the Taco Cleanse by making vegan Choco Tacos.

Post by Sweet Ritual.

April was super sad when she heard about it; she won't be back in Austin until mid-October. However, in an extreme demonstration of true love, her fiance, Tim, texted her a photo of what would be waiting for her in the freezer once she got home -



Yay! Now, to make the most of her remaining time in Kansas - perhaps Hedgie and Buttercup can tell her some entertaining stories? (Nope; looks like they're still nomming on the bacon!)

Exodus From Port Aransas (RESTAURANT REVIEW - Vegeria, San Antonio, TX)

When April left Port Aransas, she had hoped to eat at Yin Yang Fandango & Tango Tea Room in Corpus Christi, but since Monday was a holiday, they apparently decided not to open.





April and her friends decided to stop at Vegeria on the way back to Austin instead.

Vegeria
8407 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209
Facebook page





The last couple of times April visited Vegeria, they had a full menu which featured all sorts of yummy dishes, including a burrito stuffed with two tamales that she thought would be delicious. On this trip, they were instead offering a buffet of salads, soups, and pasta -



April decided to try a little of everything. The Not-So-Chicken Salad and Sweet Potato Salad were favorites, but it was all delicious. The biscuits were extra-tasty.



Vegeria was having a "buy two, get one free" dessert special, and since April wanted the Chocolate Peanut Butter Quinoa Cup, Hedgie fancied the Black Pepper & Sea Salt Chocolate Pie, and Buttercup had her eye on the Payday Bar, April decided to get all three.





The Peanut Butter Cup was ooey-gooey and very rich, with just a bit of crunch. The pie was rich enough to require sharing between April and her fiance, Tim (the hedgehogs had tiny nibbles). The Payday bar was also yummy, though April never had an actual Payday bar in her pre-vegan days, so can't speak to the accuracy of the taste.

On the way out, Hedgie pointed out some Doctor Who art on the wall. Yay, geeky vegans!



Here's some pictures from previous Vegeria visits -
















The bookstore next door to Vegeria. They have some fun stuff!

In Which Everything Goes Awry (RESTAURANT REVIEW - Crazy Cajun, Port Aransas, TX)

Something that April didn't mention in the last few blog posts was that, upon returning to Austin, she had a gall bladder attack every other day. The 3rd one was extra painful, and didn't stop after a couple of hours like all the rest did. After several hours of pain, she decided that a trip to the emergency room was in order. A couple of days later, the gall bladder was history, and April was discharged from the hospital. The doctor said that it would be a bad idea to try and fly back to Kansas and play at the faire, so April reluctantly agreed to take another week off. Her fiance had already planned a trip to the Texas coast with his friends, so April went along with them. If one is going to recuperate, the beach is a nice place to do so!



The downside of recuperation was that it hurt to laugh, breathing deeply was impossible, and occasional abdominal discomfort made things not so great. The upside was that, with no more pesky gall bladder, April could eat pretty much whatever she wanted. Her fiance, Tim, and all of their friends had rented Tim's family's condo in Port Aransas, so a full kitchen as well as community grills were at their disposal.

Tim started out the long weekend by making a ton of chalupas (one of April's favorites!) with Daiya cheese, refried beans, avocado, and Wheatsville's popcorn tofu.



The next day, a couple of their friends took turns grilling all sorts of things. April and Tim (the two vegans in the group) got grilled corn on the cob, veggie skewers, and grilled pineapple and strawberry skewers (delicious!)



For desert, there was Purely Decadent Chocolate Obsession and So Delicious Cookies 'n' Cream.



On the last day, everyone wanted to go eat at The Crazy Cajun, a place they had enjoyed on the last trip to the coast.

Crazy Cajun
303 E Beach Ave, Port Aransas, TX 78373


The hedgehogs have their own special spot in the car.

April was a bit worried about trying to eat at a seafood restaurant, but Tim assured her that there was something they could eat. Upon arriving, the hedgehogs explored the waiting room -



After a bit of a wait (accompanied by what may have been the Crazy Cajun himself - a guy with a fiddle and a harmonica), the group was seated.


For reference, thecrazycajun.com doesn't actually work.

The actual Crazy Cajun entree is a large bucket of corn, potatoes, and dead sea animals that gets dumped on the paper-covered table, while diners are given wooden mallets to crack open shells. April and Tim sat at one end of the table and did their best to ignore the carnage. The veggie option (which isn't on the menu) consists of a smaller bowl of just corn and potatoes. Make sure to tell the waiter that you don't want them cooked in butter.



The Crazy Cajun uses a spice mix that's actually quite spicy but very, very tasty. Tim bought a big bottle of it to take home.


The Blues Brothers in the window of The Crazy Cajun.

While April has almost no sense of smell, she has heard that The Crazy Cajun has a fairly strong fish smell (perhaps a rotten fish smell), so people with sensitive noses might want to find someplace else to go.