Happy Stroganoff Day!

Blogger of the Day: Bex at Vegan Sparkles
Pubs:
Freebie ebooks including Dessert Superfood Smoothies
Eating for Energy

Bex is a shot of sunshine if you're snoozin' through life! Stop by her site for inspiring health and lifestyle advice, some sassy soulful sobriety and colorfully easy vegan recipes too!

A rich hearty serving of stroganoff makes any soul sing! Ladle it liberally on a bowlful of pasta or a mountain of rice, or scoop it straight out of the pot with a wedge of bread for the ultimate comfort indulgence!  :)

Rustic Creamy Portobello Stroganoff

Chana Masala Pizza

Sweet Potato Bruschetta

Zucchini, Pea & Mint Salad

Tempeh Veg Skewers with Party Rice

Pickled Beet Mini Tacos

Toasted Banana Bread with Passionfruit Butter

Healthy Choc Hazelnut ‘Nutella’ Smoothie

Champagne & Orange Marmalade

Mum's Lemon Melters

Ten-Minute Raw Peppermint Slice with Choc Ganache

How do you serve your stroganoff?  :)

Check out the rest of our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!

It's Manatee Awareness Month!

Go hug one of these sweet gentle swimmers!

Happy National Mushroom Month!

Bloggers of the Day: Erin & Jeff at Olives for Dinner

My uncle is the grooviest guy on the planet...he's an accomplished musician, a dedicated teacher, a JamesBeardworthy vegan chef and little did I know...a mushroom hunter! Last fall he went foraging with a roving band of local mycologists and gathered a bounty of beautiful shrooms. He treated us to a multitude of mushroom feasts including several elegant pizzas, delicate stir fries and marinated grilled TowerOfVeggiePower megamushroom burgers...it was zoommoverthemoon shroom heaven!  :)

Someday I'd love to learn more about mushrooms and go mushroom hunting with an expert...until then I rely upon the local farmers' markets and specialty stores for an excellent selection of traditional and exotic varieties. Their surreal shapes and sublime flavors are a call to be creative and no one is moreso than Erin and Jeff at Olives for Dinner! Their posts are pure pleasure to read, every recipe delivering exuberant flavors, photographed in magnificent detail. They are a dynamic culinary duo, up to the challenge of any ingredient, including what to do with shrooms! Here are a few of their solutions...  ;)

Roasted Maitake Mushrooms in Sesame-Miso Broth

Baked Oyster Mushrooms with Dynamite Sauce

Spicy Shiitake Mushroom Roll

Panisse Bruschetta

Coconut-Chickpea Crepes with Smoky Herbed Mushrooms

Thyme-Scented Pearled Barley with Brown Beech Mushrooms

Caramelized Vegan Scallops in Pasta with a Minted Pea Puree

Tofu and Shiitake Stack with Bok Choy-Ginger Puree

Oyster Mushroom Wonton Soup with Wilted Kale

Save room for dessert...  ;)

Peanut Butter and Sambal Wontons with Chocolate Sauce

Fungi facts from the mighty Mushroom Council...
• Mushrooms are filling but happily low in calorie.
• They can contribute a savory taste, known as umami, to a dish so you'll never miss the meat.
• They provide immunityboosting antioxidants as well as potassium, phosphorus, copper, vitamin D and B vitamins.
• You can sauté or grill a mountain of mushrooms and add them throughout the week to soups, scrambles, stews and sandwiches, or freeze them for up to a month.
• You can choose from a worldful of unusual mushroom varieties!

Have you ever gone mushroom hunting? Where do you find unusual shrooms? Do you prefer classic criminis or exotic enokis? What's the most delicious mushroom dish you've ever tasted?  :)

Find more feasts in our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!

Magic Mushroom Stacks

Happy National Mushroom Month!
I love shroom sammies...they're a heavenly handful of vegan magic, whether they're snippety little snacks or towering shroomapaloozas!
Spice them, sauce them, stack 'em up and chow 'em down.  ;)

Portabella Sandwich

from VeganJoy

Back to School Sandwich: NYC Prep Style

from Kathy at Healthy. Happy. Life.

Mushroom Sandwich

from Kurryleaves

Mushroom Sandwich

from Uma's Culinary World

Mushroom Melt Breakfast Sandwich with Sweet Potato Home Fries

from Kathy at Healthy. Happy. Life.

Vegan Pibil Torta Sandwich

from Namely Marly

Black Lentil, Pistachio and Shiitake Mushroom Burger

from Erin at Olives for Dinner

Toasted Baguette with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Mushrooms

from Alicia at Mangia, Gioia!

Tempeh Mushroom Burgers

from Beverly Lynn Bennett via VegNews

Mushroom Pecan Sliders

from Dreena's Plant-Powered Kitchen

Portobello Sliders with Caramelized Onions

from Sarah at The Sweet Life

How do you make mushroom magic?

More Shroomy Stuff!

Forgot to mention...it's also National Stuffed Mushroom Day!
...And Chef Chloe knows how to deliciously stuff a 'shroom!

Harvest-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms 

from Chef Chloe

Other stuffables...
Easy Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms
from Jennifer at Virtually Vegan Mama
Portabellas Stuffed with Red Pepper Hummus
from Susan at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen
Hot & Spicy Stuffed Mushrooms
from Robin Robertson at VegNews
Almond Stuffed Mushrooms
from veganhealthy at VegWeb via 8 Delicious Vegan Aphrodisiacs
Stuffed Mushrooms with Herbed Cream Cheese
from Lolo at VeganYumYum

It's Super Bowl Day! (no, not THAT Super Bowl)

Find your super hugest soup bowl because today is Homemade Soup Day!
I was a picky little chickpea. The only soups I'd (willingly) eat as a kid were Mom's homemade soups, and my favorite was her chunky mushroom rice soup...it was rich and thick and salty and totally satisfying.
My least favorite soup was the tomato soup they served in my grade school cafeteria. If there was anything other than ketchup, pepper and water in it I'd be surprised. The only way I could choke it down was by piling in a mountain of oyster crackers. All hail Adam Exton, genius inventor of the Oyster Cracker!  :)
Here's a vegan version of my favorite...

Mushroom Lentil Wild Rice Soup

from Amy at Fresh & Natural Foods

More steamy hot soupaliciousness...
Vegan Pho
from Kittee, Cake Maker to the Stars
Lablabi (Tunisian Garlicky Chickpea Breakfast Soup)
from Keira at Around the World Vegan
Chickpea & Rice Soup With A Little Kale
from Isa Chandra at Post Punk Kitchen
White Bean Farro Soup with Chickpea Parmigianino
from Terry Hope Romero at Vegan Latina
Amey's Minestrone Soup
from Amey at Vegan Eats & Treats
Vegan Avgolemono (Greek Easter Soup with Lemon)
from Gena at Choosing Raw (not a "raw" recipe...you do cook it)
Creamy Potato Carrot Leek Soup
from Heather at Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes
Fall Spanish Pardina Lentil Soup with Seeded Baguettes
from Heather at Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes
Super Chunky Lentil and Zucchini Soup
from Nada at One Arab Vegan
Spicy Lentil and Carrot Soup
from Dianne at Veggiegirl
Curried Peanut Pumpkin Soup
from Dianne at Veggiegirl
Almond & Broccoli Soup with Tofu Crumble
from Claire at Almost Skinny Vegan Food
Vegan Asparagus and Fennel Soup
from Liz Martin at Vegetarian Living
Alphabet Soup
from Isa Chandra at Post Punk Kitchen

Outpost has all sorts of soupy things in bulk on sale right now including organic barley, brown rice, great northern beans and alphabet soup mix!

What's your most favorite soup? Least favorite? With or without oyster crackers?