Vegan MoFo DIY Pantry Round Up

Wow! This is the 18th post during the Vegan Month of Food! That's a whole lotta vegan food! There are two posts left, kind of a finale of sorts which I'm very excited about it. The only thing I'll say is one is very colorful and the other is a dessert that features Pumpkin, for Halloween, of course!

I am pretty proud of sticking to my theme of including a DIY pantry item with every recipe - even the Iron Chef and Chopped Challenges - so to give myself a little pat on the back and a visual display of each DIY item, I present this round up.

The month kicked off with some fakin' bacon, made of adzuki beans and buckwheat, which was featured in a BLT.

Next came my first dessert, Limoncello Macaroons with Lemon Icing. Both the limoncello and the preserved lemons were DIY, but since I hadn't written a post on the limoncello, the recipe is courtesy Local Lemons.

Spinach Pesto was my next DIY pantry item and it was served with Beet Ravioli, the first Iron Chef Challenge: Secret Ingredient - Beets!

Simple, easy to make, Herb Fermented Cashew Cheese. And the ingredient that makes it all ferment? Rejuvelac! The whole point of DIY pantry items is to make it cheaper and quicker at home.

Caramel Flan made with DIY Pantry Vanilla Extract. Wow, this was a show stopper: for it's simplicity, it's unbelievable texture, and it's amazing taste. Coming soon to my next dinner party for sure!

The buckwheat crust was the DIY ingredient in this Kale, Cashew Ricotta, and Olive Tart; kind of stretching the theme a bit, but the tart was so delicious, I decided it was worth it!

Next up was the Chopped Challenge of Butternut Squash, Apricot Preserves, Rosemary and Popcorn! My Sweet and Spicy Butternut Phyllo Rolls has some DIY Pantry Chipotle in Adobo, perfect combo with the apricot preserves and rosemary salt!

Back to the savory side of things and a Chick Pea Cutlets with Cashew Parmesan Sauce with DIY Pantry Tomato Sauce. Homey food inspired by Italian peasant cooking, this may have been my favorite dish of the month!

The final Iron Chef Challenge included potatoes of any sort and sesame. Since I already had plans for sweet potato latkes, it was simple to shift continents and make the dish an Asian inspired Sweet Potato Cakes with Cashew Sour Cream, which included sesame oil and other Thai flavors.

Quinoa is one of those trendy ingredients that I always seem to be at a loss for incorporating into my standard fare, until I hit upon this brilliant idea: stuff mushrooms with it! Add DIY Pantry Slow Roasted Tomatoes and they are a masterpiece!

Ahhh, Vegan Buttermilk Sausage Biscuits. Life is good! Although it was the first time making them, the sausages were the DIY Pantry item here, and many are frozen in my freezer because they were so good!

Buffalo Style inspired Kickin' Mock Chicken Pizza with DIY Pantry Hot Sauce that will warm your whole house when ole man winter blows through, this was so good that I wished there was some more waiting in the freezer! Luckily, there is more pizza dough and more hot sauce, so more pizza for everyone!


Whew! So much food, so many blogs I've discovered and so many new cookbooks purchased! Guess I'll just have to top it all next year! Happy vegan eating!

Hugs!