Vegan blueberry pancakes

I have made these buttermilk pancakes a number of times, but this was the first time I added blueberries. Usually I add chocolate chips if I add anything at all to them, but last night my son was requesting blueberry pancakes so I went to the store and picked up the couple of extra items I needed to make these pancakes. They were definitely tasty, but I think next time I will also make some kind of a blueberry compote or syrup to go with the pancakes.

I adapted the buttermilk pancake recipe from The 30-Minute Vegan: Over 175 Quick, Delicious, and Healthy Recipes for Everyday Cooking by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray.

Vegan mac and cheese

In having to give up dairy the loss of my beloved mac and cheese was probably the hardest on me. I was so excited the day I came across the cookbook Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food: 65 Everyday Meal Ideas for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Over 150 Great-tasting, Down-home Recipes by Alicia C. Simpson. The picture on the front cover (a picture of mac and cheese) was almost enough to make me buy the book and I must say that I am glad I decided to give this book a try. I have also made the cornbread and both dishes make my husband tell me that I am shattering his preconceived notions about vegan food. 

This mac and cheese was absolutely amazing, it is a baked mac and cheese and it made more than enough for my husband to pack some leftovers to bring with him for lunch tomorrow and to put a container in the freezer for a quick meal another day. It is so nice to be able to enjoy some of our old favorites, especially now that there is often a chill in the air and a desire for a heavier meal. By the way this mac and cheese recipe sneaks in some veggies that will totally go unnoticed by picky eaters. 

Make your own pita chips

This week I am preparing for my son's 3rd birthday party. Among other things, that means lots of baking. This year I am making 2 kinds of Vegan cupcakes and 2 kinds of Vegan muffins as well as some pita chips and "egg" salad sandwiches and cucumber sandwiches. Of course the cupcakes won't get frosted till the day before the party so you'll have to wait to see them all frosted.

I started off by making lots of pita chips. I bought 4 bags of whole wheat pita chips. Then I cut them up into chip sized pieces. I used a bread knife to do this and simply cut each piece of pita into 4 strips lengthwise and then cut the strips into smaller pieces and ripped the edges where the front and back meet so that I have thin chips. Once all that is done I line them up on cookie sheets and spray them with a little olive oil and then sprinkle them with a little bit of salt. Once all of that is done put them in the oven at about 350 degrees until they are as crispy as you want them. If you are baking 2 sheets at once I suggest rotating the sheets about half way through so that both sheets get baked about the same. I will admit it takes a while if you make as many at once as I do, but I really think they taste so much better than the store bought ones which tend to taste greasy to me.