Raw Thanksgiving Demo and the Fly Trap Restaurant Review

A few weeks ago I attended my second raw vegan cooking demo. The food did not disappoint! When I arrived there was a delicious salad waiting for us with nuts, dried cranberries, and a maple balsamic dressing (recipe here). So delicious! The cooking demo was put on by an undergraduate named Katie. You should check out her blog here, she does excellent work! She is an upbeat ambassador to the raw and vegan food lifestyle.

We ate cauliflower mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, cranberry relish (so good), squash soup, and sweet potato casserole. All RAW!

Sweet potato casserole and cranberry relish

By far my favorite part was dessert. Pumpkin Pie! Check out this beauty (well maybe the beauty is really in the taste...):

Click here for her "Fully Raw Pumpkin Pie" recipe. 

Even more important than the food - after the demo was done and we were enjoying the pie, Katie asked us to each share how we were going to stay healthy this holiday season. When it was Katie's turn she said she was going to suggest doing active activities with family members when they spend time together. Rather than watching a movie - take a walk! I love that idea. Plus, walking and talking is much better bonding time than watching TV!

I put her advice to work when I visited Detroit recently. I asked the friend I was visiting there to walk with me to breakfast and she was game! We went to the Fly Trap in Ferndale, MI. The place is small but we did not have to wait long. I ordered the vegan Veggie Rumble (sub tofu and no eggs) and the mini muffin of the day.

Unfortunately I did not take a picture of my breakfast but it was very good! I would recommend it. Next time I would order no mushrooms. Why are mushrooms considered "seasonal vegetables" to most people?? The Reeses inspired muffin was extra good. And you can't beat the totally hipster-chic salt and pepper shakers on each table. Ours were a pair of dogs (cats?) in sailor outfits!

How are you planning to stay healthy this holiday season?

Recipe Review: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is in the air... and I had some left over pumpkin to use after I made chocolate chip pumpkin brownies last week...

And so we have chocolate chip pumpkin muffins! I found the recipe here (and you can too) from All Recipes. These muffins are moist, thick, chocolatey, and delicious. Super bonus: they are also low fat. The pumpkin takes the place of any oil or butter.

I followed the recipe almost exactly but I used white wheat flour, mini-chocolate chips, and sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar mix on top.

I give this recipe a 6/10. I love the festiveness of the orange muffin, but I prefer my muffins filled with fruit instead. :-) Also, after the muffin cooled it was a big spongey. It is great for the season though. I love that a muffin is practically a dessert that can pass as a good breakfast option too.

Happy Fall! I hope you all are staying warm. I'm using my oven as much as possible to help heat up the house!

Vegan in Kalamazoo: The Crow's Nest

The Queen Anne's Revenge at the Crow's Nest in Kalamazoo might seriously be my favorite vegan meal of all time. I would eat this stuff all day and all night if I could! 

Queen Anne's revenge is a scramble of vegan pesto, sun dried tomatoes, tofu, zucchini, onion, and mushrooms in it. The Crow's Nest serves it as a huge helping with hashbrowns and toast. 

They also have a coffee shop downstairs with vegan desserts, breads, and of course coffee. I had a vegan "Dirty Chai." If you don't know, a dirty chai has a shot of espresso in it! What could be better?

One last note about the Crow's Nest. I read on Urbanspoon a lot of hating on the place for poor service, bad atmosphere, etc. To be honest, I love the service there. It can be a little spotty but it is such a neat little place with a great atmosphere, I don't mind it at all. Don't go there if you are in a rush. To be fair, I took my dad there once and he will never go back. We went at a busy time and were too close to a group of loud women + he wasn't too hip on the atmosphere for some reason. Not his scene I guess!

Pie Crust Recipe + Quiche & Cookie Tarts

Making apple pie in the fall is must, and making cookie tarts out of the leftover pie crust is an important tradition in my family. Sometimes I just skip the apple pie and make a big batch of cookie tarts instead! I have only made the vegan version of my mom's cookie tarts a couple of times but both times they turned out great. 

While not the healthiest food, cookie tarts are a very special treat. To make the cookie tarts simply whip up a pie crust recipe and cut it into rounds. Add a spoonful of jam to the center of each one and cover with another round. Press around the edges with your fingers. Sprinkle sugar on top and bake! Above, the "cutting flour into shortening" step is shown.

Vegan Pie Crust 
(makes 2)

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup shortening
1 Tbl vinegar
1 1/2 tsp egg replacer mixed with 2 Tbl warm water (I use Ener-G)
1 tsp salt
4-5 Tbl ice water

Cut flour and shortening into small pieces (see photo above). Add egg replacer, salt, and vinegar. Mix. Add in ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix with a fork until the dough clings into a ball. Do not over handle. Roll out 1/4 at a time.
Bake at 375 for 1 hour (for pie) Bake only 10 minutes for cookie tarts.


I like to use an upside down cup to get the perfect round shape. Cookie cutters work great too.

Bonus recipe review: Vegan Tofu Quiche from the Vegan Stoner Cookbook
I used the rest of my pie crust recipe for this delicious quiche!

The recipe called for mushrooms, onion, and broccoli but I am not a mushroom fan. I subbed in extra broccoli and carrots.

This quiche is seriously amazing. One of my new favorite recipes! 10/10 for sure. I have always been a little nervous to try tofu quiche because really, how could it possibly be good? It really really is. The recipe uses soft tofu which I have never really experimented with before but it blended up nicely in my ninja.