Vegan Mofo VI-Day 25: Doggone Delicious

My dogs won't stay still so I stacked them around my coaster.

My pup is four years old and today is the first time I've ever made her treats. I always plan to make her a little cake or something to celebrate our anniversary but I've yet to follow through. Luckily I do meet all my other obligations so I don't think she even knows to be concerned about homemade treats so long as she's getting treats.

These are "Peanut Butter Dog Treats" from Chloe's Kitchen. I had other recipes I wanted to try, but I couldn't find them. I decided to make these to use up some of the whole wheat flour I bought to make tortillas a few weeks ago. The ingredients were really simple. Flour, peanut butter, black strap molasses and water. There is an option to dip them in melted carob chips, which I would like to try another time. I need to hit up the bulk bins for that though. The only thing I didn't have was black strap molasses so I used regular. When I have money to burn I will splurge on some black strap. I mostly used natural peanut butter but I had to steal a bit of regular from my family because I used most of mine up on yesterday's peanut butter cups.

I wasn't able to press the dough into 1/4" thickness with my hands. I had to use a rolling pin. I think I didn't leave my peanut butter out long enough for it to soften. I have had bone cookie cutters for a while so I was excited to finally use them. I probably could have cut them larger but since most of the dogs I know are small, I decided to stick to the instructions and get about 50 smaller sized biscuits. Now that I know Penny loves them I can do a round of larger ones just for her. I tried one and thought it needed more peanut butter and a touch of salt, but I have more taste buds than my dogs.

Believe it or not, it wasn't my first time eating a dog biscuit. When we were kids, I foolishly asked my brother what was for dinner and he said, "dog biscuits, try one." Because I was stupid and did most things my brother told me to, I did. It was a pink milk-bone and from what I can remember it wasn't that bad. Of course now I take everything he says with a grain of salt.

Vegan Mofo VI- Day 13: Use Your Noodle

When planning recipes I've been looking at what I have and making sure I only need to buy one or two items to make it. I also do not want to buy anything I won't use more than once. This is something I probably should have done from the beginning but now that my budget is a lot smaller I am definitely finding new ways to make it work. The really funny thing is that I am eating much better than I did when I had more funds available.

Anyhow, I always have flour, nooch, butter and more seasonings than anyone else in the house will ever use. I already had opened a soymilk to make fritters and I wanted to use it before the 7-10 day window closed. The "Best Ever Baked Macaroni and Cheese" recipe from Chloe's Kitchen calls for 3 cups of soymilk, perfect! I only had to buy macaroni and breadcrumbs. I probably could have gotten by with plain breadcrumbs I had in the pantry but since I was able to find seasoned ones, I "splurged." I know I'll use them again for something else.

Macaroni and cheese is easily one of my top five favorite foods. I'm still searching for my favorite veganized version, though I've yet to find a replacement for the heart attack on a plate I used to eat 10 years ago. I want to say it involved a stick of butter, sour cream, and three or four different cheeses and the pan probably weighed ten pounds. Good thing I don't eat like that anymore, right?

Chloe's mac is pretty damn good, but I'm not sure it's the best I'll ever have, it's too early to make that call. I am always trying out new mac recipes so who knows when I will find "the one." However, this is definitely a runner-up after making a few small changes. I loved how creamy it turned out but I think it needed a bit more seasoning. I sneaked in some paprika and more garlic powder before adding the lemon juice and agave, but it still needed something more. Also my breadcrumbs did not get toasty so I had to throw it under the broiler for a bit. Maybe I need to spray the top before putting it in the oven? Doomie's Home Cookin' serves their mac with "bacon" bits on top so I tried that with the second serving I had after work. That might be just what it needs.

p.s. Tomorrow I am participating in AIDS Walk Los Angeles for my 6th year in a row. I'm late to the party but I plan on showing up as long as I can, even when I have to AIDS Roll. If you're a big spender and want to sponsor me, you can do so here. Otherwise send me a message about pledging another amount. Thanks!