Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Brownies

I found this fall-appropriate brownie recipe just in time for the cool weather to come rolling it. These brownies are so fudgey and delicious! Another great recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie. You can find it publicly posted here.

I give this recipe an 8/10. It was very easy and quick. I used all-purpose white flour instead of ww pastry flour and baked my brownies a little longer than Katie suggested: about 27 minutes at 330 degrees. My husband voted for a 7/10. After I tell him what is in the recipe he always changes his mind a little. I did add a little squirt of Hersey chocolate syrup before I baked these - a brownie habit (HFCS!) that is hard to break.

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!

Recipe Review: Cheezy Broccoli Orzo

Time and again I have been disappointed by "cheezy" sauce recipes or mixes or jars. I am happy to announce that today I finally made one that is as good as it looks! I made just a few slight variations to this recipe which can be found posted publicly here on My Vegan Cookbook or pinned to my Vegan Recipe Pinterest board here.

First, I omitted onion powder because we didn't have any, second, I added a squirt of Dijon mustard and third, I cut the amount of nutritional yeast in half (because I'm not a huge nooch fan!). I also steamed (instead of boiled) extra broccoli because I love love broccoli!

I give this recipe a 10/10. It is so creamy and comforting. I hope it heats up well... I'll get back to you on that. I think this would make a really great side dish or even an entree. I ate it by itself for lunch today. It reminds me a lot of non-vegan broccoli rice casserole but even better.

P.S. Isn't orzo amazing?

Charleston Vegan Eats: Puree

Next on our journey through vegan cuisine in Charleston, SC was Puree Cafe, an adorable little restaurant in Mt. Pleasant. The service was great and the atmosphere was very clean, crisp, and fresh feeling. My husband did say it was a little offensive to his manliness (not all vegans/vegetarians are chicks ya know!) but I thought it was charming.

T.J. ordered the BBQ tempeh sausage burger with lentil salad on the side (both were delish!)

I got the tofu scrambler with pesto toast. I think I would have preferred jam on my toast because I like to do a little salty a little sweet, but it was very good. The tofu chunks were a little big for my taste, but overall a healthy and hearty lunch.

We topped it all off with a little key lime cheesecake, because when in the South I must eat key lime something! The only drawback to this place was the price tag. If I still lived in CHS there is no way we could afford to eat here often. But since it was on vacation, why not!