Thirsty Thursday ~Margarita~

Thank you, Jojo, for the last minute inspiration!

Looking for that special touch to make your margaritas stand out?  I have found the ultimate secret:  three (3) to four (4) dashes a grapefruit bitters per serving, and prepare to fall in love.  

As you can see, there is no salt on my rim, you don't need it.  The grapefruit bitters give it that special something that, I think, beats a salted rim any day.  I bought the Fee Brothers bitters at a gourmet grocer up in Boston this past Spring, and this had been my favorite use for them so far:

I am bad with measuring my cocktails (I reserve that for my better-half), but if I WERE to measure, it would go something like this:

MARGARITA

2 oz Tequila Blanco

1 oz Triple Sec

3-4 dashes grapefruit bitters

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1 tsp agave

lime or orange slice (or both) to garnish

If you are fancy, you can use a Boston shaker to mix the ingredients above with ice, and then strain.  I am not fancy, and prefer to pour everything over ice cubes in an Old Fashioned glass, and stir with one of my rainbow swizzle sticks.

As you may notice, there is no sour, acid-reflux, pre-made bottled margaritas here. In our house, we like to use freshly squeezed limes, or make our mix from scratch.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I helped test recipes from Joni Marie Newman's book, Vegan Food Gifts.  I haev to say, she has one FANTASTIC recipe for home made margarita mix, using fresh limes, oranges, and agave.  Do you self a favor and try it out!  If Google books is behaving, I believe you can get a sneak peek of the mixture here.  Let me know what you think ^_^

Recipe Urban Legends (Facebook Edition) ~Crack Potatoes~

For those of you on Facebook, I am sure you have seen a few of these "reposts" sneak through your feed from time to time...  I call them Recipe Urban Legends, because they are usually posted with such a sense of urgency, while shrouded in awe and mystery:

~Finally!! I FOUND it! DONT want to lose this again - DON'T be like me! SHARE to save this on your wall!! You won't believe it!!!!!!
NO FLOUR, NO OIL, NO WHITE SUGAR
**SHARE so it will save in your timeline**
✔ Like ✔ “Share” ✔ Tag ✔ Comment ✔ Repost ✔Follow me
To SAVE this , be sure to click SHARE so it will store on your personal page.
SHARE THIS TO YOUR WALL AND U WILL ALWAYS BE ABLE TO FIND IT!! 

Of course, I have yet to see a vegan one.  Maybe they exist.  Who knows? For the most part these recipes are something along the lines of: bacon, ranch, crescent roll, buffalo, biscuit, cheesy, chicken, 1-dish crockpot, casserole. Most of the time, I think to myself, EW who on EARTH would eat this, or better yet, make it for family or guests?  But then sometimes I think, "well, if you swap out a couple things... this could make one fine vegan dish..."

So, for those of you who do not know, I am in my most busiest time at work: University back-to-school.  Think: 12 hour days, six days a week, some pretty intense overtime pay, and hardly a moment to put together a decent, healthy meal.  And, then there is Vegan mofo on top of all that...  

So, as I gazed at 6 lonely potatoes sitting in a bowl on my counter, as well as a lovely sample of Wayfare whole grain bacon-y bits from Vida Vegan Con:

a recipe "urban legend" that passed through my Facebook feed earlier that day came to mind:  

CRACK POTATOES.  The name says it all... or does it?

Either way, I had everything on hand, including leftover vegan ranch dressing that I made up from Joni's mix in Vegan Food Gifts (great book, I tested recipes for it ~ check it out)!

Crack Potatoes - Vegan Style!

*Now, this recipe has been shared up, down, and all over Facebook, but, to give credit where credit is due, the original post and recipe I used is here.  (Apparently, there is a Crack Dip, too...)

Ingredients

• 3 lb potatoes, washed and cubed

• 4 Tbsp, butter Earth Balance (I used half this and it was STILL too much. 1T at the most)

• 1/4 c. Real Bacon Bits Wayfare Vegan Bacon-y Bits

• 1/4 c. ranch dressing

• 1/2 c. cheese Daiya Cheddar shreds

Instructions

1. Put potatoes in an 8x8 in glass dish. Put butter on top of potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle bacon bit on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

2. Take potatoes out of oven and top with ranch dressing and cheese. Stir. Put back in oven until cheese is melted.

Before baking

Ya know, these weren't half-bad. Not quite the level of "crack" I was expecting, but not too shabby either. I would definitely cut the Earth Balance way back next time, and maybe sprinkle the potatoes with the dried ranch seasoning mix instead. My vegan ranch separated from the heat of the oven before the cheese was melted.

So, you all may be the judge, and I am curious your thoughts:  Just because a recipe CAN be veganized, should it? ^_^

Vegan Food Gifts!

I received my tester copy of Joni Marie Newman's new book in the mail yesterday, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I have tested for three different vegan cookbooks, but this is the first book that I've received, so I feel super special!

I signed on a little late for testing this one, but all the recipes I've made have been fantastic: Chocolate Espresso Mini Loaves, Cool Lemon Cookies, Saltine Cracker Bark, Pizza Dough Mix, Pizza Sprinkle, Pepperoni Crumbles, Chipotle Ranch Dressing, Spiced Nuts-sweet and spicy, and Homemade Granola (hopefully) pictured here!

L and I are actually roadtripping today, so I am attempting to post from the road...

I am hoping this little mobile app works out, as I have been a bit of a mofo slacker this past week.

Recipe Testing: Lemon Coolers!

I'm not sure WHAT possesd me to take on another recipe testing project, but when I saw a tweet asking for testers for VEGAN Holiday recipes, it was all I could do to contain myself!

These lovely little cookies are from Joni Marie Newman's (Self-appointed Queen of Veggie Burgers) upcoming cookbook: Vegan Food Gifts.

How exciting is that?!  The bulk of my holiday gifts are baked cakes and cookies.  Last year, I even made up batches of home made cinnamon granola.  Testing for this book is a treat, because I already socked away forty of these lovely cookies in my freezer for the end of the month.

Think of these as a lemony twist on the holiday butterball cookie.  The coating on these has a special suprise ingredient that adds a hint of tart to these sweet and lovely lemon cookies ^_^