VeganMoFo

MoFo is coming to an end and as the month of October comes to an end, most of the Northern Hemisphere is cooling off. For me, this time of year means getting cozy with a big bowl of soup.

Jes of Cupcake Punk cooks up a nicely spiced Curried Winter Squash Soup, perfect for using up the squash popping up at your local farmer’s market.

Tom from Yours for Good Fermentables also uses squash in his Never Ending Veggie Pot o’ Soup, but also fortifies it with beer, something he knows plenty about. Dannibazaars Vegan Emporium veganizes a pumpkin soup from the Food Network, and Deb at Invisible Voices cooks up a recipe perfect for the autumn harvest.

MoFoers also cooked lots of hearty bean soups and chili this week. Smacky Tomato fed her family a cannelini bean soup with my favorite vegetable, kale. Meanwhile, the Whole Food Vegan creates a three bean chili using heirloom beans. I have some beans in my pantry just begging to be used in this recipe! Beer makes another appearance in both the chili and bread at What Your Momma Didn’t Know. I’m not a beer drinker, but I love the taste it gives to certain foods! There is also a lovely raw chili featured at Fashion Peace while the chef at Intellectual Blackout uses hummus and lentils to create a yummy chowder.

Kelly at Vegan Thyme lists miso as one of her reasons for being vegan, then uses it to whip up a hearty Miso Soba Noodle Soup while Cyn at What the Hell Does a Pink Haired Girl Eat? whips up a classic Potato Leek Soup from fellow blogger Jessy, who also enjoys some lovely soup with her sister at a local restaurant.

I’ve really enjoyed reading all of the blogs this month, and I hope Vegan MoFo has been as inspiring for you as it has been for me!

xoxo
Luciana

Whether you are throwing your first vegan potluck like Melissa or you’re a seasoned pro at hosting shindigs, this time of year seems to bring the party out of people.  With Halloween around the corner and the rest of the holidays coming up, I thought it would be nice to do a roundup of some great party ideas!

Since Saturday is fast approaching, why not get a candy making party together?  Have your friends come over and do all the hard work under the guise that fun will be had!  Muahahaha.

Or you can get the spook in by serving your Halloween guests these gnarly eyeballs courtesy of Allyson at Manifest Vegan!  Mmm.  Just look at ’em staring back at you.

Maybe you want to, heh, charm your guests instead of scaring them.  Use some not-so-wicked magic with this fantastic book o’ spells from our very own Jeni Treehugger!

I don’t know who decided that parties have to be super extravagant.  Why not invite some friends over for some alphabet tots?  But if you want to be all fancy, here is a cool idea that makes any party look like a million bucks: float some pomegranate seeds in a glass of sparkling dranky drank like Kat Reeves did.

Of course, desserts are a must at any decent party.  Lisa Marie uses leftover pie filling to make these fantastic pumpkin pie cups!

For the chocoholic in us all, take a gander at these babies.  Chocolate Truffles from Herbivore Dinosaur!

For the more advanced party hostess/host, why not throw a Vegan Chopped Challenged.  Test your cooking skills and entertain your friends with your supreme food geekery!  Best picture ever:

Make sure you don’t forget the dips!  Everybody loves a good layer dip and Jessica made a killer one.

And a party isn’t a party until the hummus shows up!  Look at all this chickpea and tahini action.  Mmm.

Hope you got some great ideas for the holiday season.  With only a few days left, I just wanted to say it’s been a pleasure MoFos.  Y’all are an awesome bunch!  Also, have a safe and happy Halloween!

-Mo

wow! we are really rounding the last corner of VeganMoFo III here! Tuesday will have been the 5th to last day of the month! How are your mofos coming along? If you need a little inspiration, here are some of the coolest posts from mofotown in the last few days…

Mihl, over on Seitan is My Motor, gives us the science behind Speculoos (a.k.a. those quintessential holiday spice cookies so popular in Europe). And then, she kicks it up a notch by using the same spice mixture to make, wait for it, wait for it, SPECULOOS WAFFLES!!

Holy pink alcohol, Batman! Go check out these Pink Russian cocktails over on Scrumpdilly blog:

Life on the Vegan Highway is Good is the name of the blog, and mock tuna is the name of the game – go check it out!

This cake from Mama VeeGee’s Vegan Kitsch-n is kind of absurdly fabulous:

Yes, those are peanut butter cookies you see all up in there.

Woah woah woah. Go here to the Mama kocht vegan blog and enter to win one of these serious-looking chocolate bars!

Finally, the always lovely Elizavegan blog gives us this recipe for Welsh rabbit/rarebit, with nary a rabbit harmed in the process, natch. Perfect cold-weather stick-to-your-ribs comfort food here!

-bazu

Artichoke

As bad as it looks has a lovely shot of red callaloo.  Too bad there’s no such thing as red spinach.  Someone please let me know if it does exist, I’d love to rock some purplish saag.

Banana

In a Gadda da Vegan (who might just win for best vegan blog name ever) reveals a true Lebanese recipe for tabbouleh and explains why fresh parsley is not only energizing but so very healthy.

Cucumber

Herding Cats is working the Fall weather by stuffing chili into hollowed out pumpkins and chasing it with cheezy macaroni.

Daikon

Disposable Aardvarks Inc., might just be the new Wing it Vegan with very inspiring and awesome scary Halloween bentos.

Beware!  This olive spider is about to make off with all your couscous!!

Eggplant

Eating with the Rabbits reminds us what Summer is like with raspberry vanilla cupcakes topped with coconut creme.  Cream or Creme?

Fig

Full of Beans gives it up for peanut butter. Actually, let’s all take a minute and hold hands in group appreciation.

Green Smoothie

Grow Peace shares a pesto dish made with home grown purple pesto!

Habanero

Hugger Food has been packing expert lunches full of nutrient dense food such as quinoa and ruby red grapefruits.  I want that.

Idly

The I-40 Kitchen has been rockin’ the MoFo nonstop.  Recent highlights include tasty smoked yeast and desserts for The Dead.

Jackfruit

Just the Food, tries to make me less cranky with XgfX chocolate chip cookies made with coconut flour!  Coconut flour sounds much tastier than the garbanzofava recipes I know about.

Kiwi

Kellybot ruminates over what to make for Thanksgiving.  Go help ‘er out!

Lemon

Over at Lisasthoughts, they’re doing it right with warm pumpkin donut holes and steamy hot beverages.

Mango

Oh my!  Madcap Cupcake has gone mad with a layer cake; sweetened with maple syrup and iced to perfection.  Seriously, the pictures are eye-ball poppin’.  Go have a looks-y at the others.

Nachos

Not Just Greens has gorgeous photos of chili topped spaghetti.  I really want this right now, even though I just had two slices of pretty good pizza.

Onion

October Vegan is collecting mac ‘n’ cheeze recipes.  Got any to share?

Popcorn

Get on over to P.H.D. Delicious ‘cuz there’s crazy stuff going on over there with Dandies, chocolate and peanut butter.

Risotto

Don’t know what to do with kohlrabi?  Recipe for Water gives us a recipe plus inside and outside shots, just in case you don’t know what one looks like.

Strawberry

Mollyjade from Scratch and Sniff offers a review of yet another new vegan cookbook, Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food.  Check out her post to spy a cute pod o’ okra.

Turnip

The Green Bite has all sorts of yummy treats going on, but I can’t help but be distracted by the birthday cheesecake, all decked out on top of an oatmeal crust!

Umeboshi

How the hell have I missed Urban Girl Scout Cooking all month??  Seriously, there is crazy stuff happening over there like banana splits and microwaved date/peanut butter sundaes.  Seriously, just up my alley, I need a week to catch up.

Vanilla

Jeannette’s giveaway over at Vessels and Wares is so awesome that it deserves as much  MoFo Headquarters attention as possible.  Get over to her blog and win a handmade MoFo mug, she’s gifting a few of ’em.

Watermelon

Whole Food Vegan made me do a double take with pictures of their Dr. Cow’s aged cashew cheese.  The most cheese looking non cheese I have ever laid my eyes upon.

Tofu Xpress

I have no idea what’s happening over at xbeepsx, ‘cuz I  am far  too distracted by whatever is topped upon their holiday pumpkin pie.  Whatisititlookssogood!

Huh??

Yam

Yo Soy hits a paneer free saag with lots of love and some tomatoes.  A blog after my own heart…

Zucchini

Finally, Zoey’s Kitchen is so overwhelmed with all the Autumn squash, they’ve taken to feeding it to their cat.  Since the cat won’t eat it, Mr. Zoey took over and now all is well.

xo kittee

Andrea from Very Vegan Holiday is getting ready for a huge party.  She’s got some great ideas in tune with the holiday spirit.  Just look at these fabulous pumpkin bat cookies.

Nothing calls to me quite like a delicious brunch or brinner.  If you say “waffles,” I’m there!  So, naturally, I gasped when I saw these.

Ooh!  Check out this badass giveaway from Jeanette at Vessels and Wares.  Awesome VeganMoFo merch!

Woah.  Is it nog season and nobody told me?!  Much thanks to Vegansaurus for the heads up.

Finally, check out these lower fat pumpkin muffins courtesy of the Vegan Minded Blog.