how to feed a vegan

Why We Don't Need Dairy - Nutritionally

2010-02-10T17:34:00.010-05:00

Everyone already knows that calcium is key to strong bones and teeth. It's a little less known that it's required for nerve and muscle function as well as blood clotting. Ninety-nine percent of the calcium in the human body is stored in the bones and teeth while the remaining one percent is stored in the blood and other tissues. Calcium moves about in our bodies in two ways, from consuming it and pulling it from our bones. Extracting it from bones happens when blood levels of calcium drop too low, usually when it's been awhile since having eaten a meal containing calcium. Ideally, the mooched calcium will be replaced later on, but this doesn't always happen and replacing the borrowed calcium can't be accomplished simply by eating more calcium.

One of the most common questions a vegan will hear is "Where/how do you get enough calcium?" If we don't consume dairy then we must struggle to get this vital nutrient no? We listen to our televisions, schools, parents, governments tell us our whole lives that not only do we need calcium but we need to get it from milk, cheese, yogurt and all things dairy. It certainly seems like you need dairy to get to the amounts of calcium recommended. While we do indeed need calcium there are many ways in which to get it. Chances are good that we do not need quite as much as the US RDA suggests and there are other healthier ways to get it than the dairy overload diet more and more people are led to eat.

To look at the issue simply, milk from other animals is nutritionally too much for us. The milk produced by each mammal is especially formulated to fuel their infant's extremely high growth rate during those first weeks/months/years (depending on which mammal we are looking at). Cow's milk has more than four times the calcium content as human breast milk. We do not need this amount of calcium during our greatest growth cycle. Why would such a concentration of calcium, ideal for a baby not even of our species, be required when we stop growing bones as adults? Just look at the size of cows. Their bones are much larger than human bones . Comparatively we humans are tiny. Not once during our entire life span do we need to grow to the size of a cow.

Most mammals are weaned after this first big growth stage because they are able to finish growing and thriving on the diets of their parents and others of their kind. We drink milk as babies and normally by the time we reach the age of about 5 we stop producing the enzyme to digest milk, lactase. The ability to truly digest lactose (people who continue to produce lactase in sufficient quantities) occurs in only about one third of the world's population, mostly Caucasians. Which brings us to another issue, lactose intolerance. It is portrayed as an illness or a defect but it is in fact part of our natural maturation. We're supposed to grow out of milk. Our mommies don't need to provide us with milk anymore because we are big kids and can eat big kid foods and our bodies know this.

The consumption of cow's milk also means a big shot of saturated fat and protein at the same time. The jury is still out about protein and calcium but there seems to be some evidence of increased calcium loss through urine while also consuming lots of protein. So you might be dumping most of that calcium from that glass of milk or hunk of cheese literally down the toilet. Sodium also increases calcium loss, 5-10mg of calcium for each gram of salt. Depending on how the rest of your diet looks, again, all that calcium might be going right down the drain.

There are few studies on vegans and calcium. However we don't need lab results to find the evidence we need. The world picture fails to support benefits claimed by the dairy industry. Countries that have the highest traditional consumption of dairy products (United States, Sweden, Israel, Finland, and the United Kingdom) also have the highest rates of osteoporosis-related hip fractures. Places in the world with a traditionally low intake of dairy such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and countries in rural Africa have the lowest incidence of osteoporosis. Worldwide, the incidence of osteoporosis correlates directly and strongly with animal protein intake. The highly acidic nature of animal protein could be the major cause of bone loss in these animal intensive regions. We must also take into account that the calcium in cow's milk is supposed to come from the grass but most cows never see grass, never mind eat any of it. Their feed is supplemented with calcium. Since the cows are being fed supplements couldn't we not just supplement our own feed? The closer we look, whole idea that we need to drink milk becomes more and more unnatural.

So how much calcium do we need? A good question as the authorities cannot seem to agree. The US RDA states that we need 800-1000 mg of calcium per day. The World Health Organization puts it at 400-500 mg and Japan's recommendation is 600 mg and in the UK it's 700 mg. In the end I don't think exact figures are important. It is only recently, when humans started over engineering their food, that we have started worrying about specific levels of nutrients. Osteoporosis is also a recent problem. Coincidence? Couple that with companies and industries wanting to sell as much of their product as possible and it is clear that we are over complicating the matter. We have allowed ourselves to play mother nature thinking we could make food better. It is no coincidence that we have so many diseases (such as osteoporosis) that simply were not an issue before our over engineered consumer driven society emerged . You can get all the calcium you need without suckling at the teats of other animals.

While the amounts of absorbable calcium from vegetarian sources varies, it is clear that a diet containing a wide variety of foods (and if you are worried, a supplement – from vegetarian sources of course) will get you to any of the recommended calcium levels you subscribe to. To help you actually get the calcium where you need it keep in mind that vitamin D, and likely K, aid in the absorption of calcium. When blood levels of calcium begin to drop, the body responds in several ways. It promotes the conversion of vitamin D into its active form, which then travels to the intestines (to encourage greater calcium absorption into the blood) and to the kidneys (to minimize calcium loss in the urine). Get your vitamin D primarily from the sun just like most of the other animals. Animal products that claim high vitamin D collect it mostly through enriched feed or sun exposure, both of which we can do directly to ourselves. There is also the third option of eatting foods that contain some vitamin D. Essentially vegans are at no more of a disadvantage than omnivores to get enough vitamin D. If you do start taking a vitamin D supplement make sure it is D2 (ergocalciferol) which is vegan (usually derived from yeast), D3 (cholecalciferol) is animal derived (usually sheep's wool or fish oil). Vitamin K, which is found mainly in green leafy vegetables, likely plays an important role in calcium regulation and bone formation.

I'll give you a little reference so we have somewhere to start on this "we don't need no stinkin' dairy" journey but remember that these are not the only foods with these nutrients and ultimately you should be eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and grains. In this way you can be sure to hit all your nutritional needs. In addition there are several vegan multi or specific vitamins available on the market to be found in your local coop, natural food store, mail order, or maybe even in your local chain supermarket.

Souces of Calcium in common veggie friendly foods:
Collards (1 cup) 357mg
Spinach (1cup) 291mg
Blackeyed Peas (1cup) 211mg
Calcium set tofu (3oz) 163mg
Canned Baked Beans (1cup) 154mg
Broccoli (280g – 1 stalk) 112mg
Green Peas (1cup) 94mg
Fortified Soymilk (1 cup) 93mg
Kale (1 cup) 93mg
Oranges (1 cup) 72mg
Almonds (1 oz - 24 almonds) 70mg

Sources of Vitamin K (mcg per 100g)
Cauliflower 3600
Brussels sprouts 800
Broccoli 800
Lettuce 700
Spinach 600
Tomatoes 400
Cabbage 400
String beans 290

What we hear coming at us from such trustworthy sources as our schools and our government is actually advertising from the dairy industry. They wish to continue selling as much of their product as they can. Yes, humans are omnivores. We can eat just about anything and get energy and nutrients from it. We're lucky like that. However, ethics aside (because this is primarily a post about nutrition and health), humans were not built to handle, over the long term, many of the things we feed ourselves, including dairy. Pay attention to who is doing the latest study claiming the latest breakthrough, a business studying it's own product is probably not the best source of reliable information on that product. When a popular yogurt brand tells you that "calcium helps you lose weight and yogurt is a good source of calcium!" remember that it's just a commercial meant to sell you yogurt.

Why Vegan? Reason #768 and the current olive climate

2009-10-05T08:39:00.007-04:00

Just one of the endless reasons. I came across this story from the NY Times through a few other blogs and I just felt I needed to help pass it on. The story talks not only on food borne illnesses but also touches on how food safety procedures and "laws" are not followed and barely enforced.

If the story about where hamburger comes from isn't enough to put you off your meats then the food safety issue certainly should put you over the edge.

"But I only buy organic meat" you say. "Happy meat," as it is often referred to, is not safe from this particular issue. Organic and conventionally raised cows go to the same slaughter houses. They are killed the same way and processed on the same conveyor belts by the same under paid and over worked employees.

I'm traditionally not the pushy type really but I'm growing into a slightly pushy person the more I come up against this denial from the majority of the world's population. Eating meat this way isn't healthy and it isn't natural. How is this natural? It kinda freaks me out to look at. A crop of cows. For a happy meat view just imagine grass under their feet.

a CAFO - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
(Image source: http://www.epa.gov/region7/water/cafo/)

But as this is mofo let's have a little food here to take the pain out of my head from the above mentioned insanity which was kinda chaotically written.

Yesterday I went on a crazy walk around Granada in search of an herbolario (natural health/whole foods stores) to try and buy some grains other than rice and maybe if I'm lucky some reasonably priced tahini. Of course these shops are tiny so no matter how well stocked they won't have loads but that's ok because I have neither loads of money or loads of space to store random bits. I'll share my finds another post but I was super excited to find olives.
The olives might not seem like anything special but let me tell you. This is the first place I've come to that I can buy olives in bulk. Spain grows plenty of olives, lots of green olives which is ok because I like those too. However in just about all the shops you can only buy canned green or black olives. The black ones taste like nothing, a true crime if you ask me, but that's no different than canned olives in the US. The green ones vary from tasting lightly olivy to pretty good. Getting the ones with pits still in them is the key here but still stay away from the black ones. Even with the pits they taste of nothing. The green pimento stuffed ones are acceptable (watch out for anchovy stuffed olives, the most common stuffing). When you come to the plastic packets of green olives with pits, these are the best cheap packaged olives.

If anyone has some tips for olive consumption in Spain for me please let me know. Spain produces just under half the world's olives. Why is it so hard to find good ones? Are they hiding them in the midst of all that meat so I won't see them as I run past?

Juicy Jones

2009-10-04T08:11:00.004-04:00

The absolute best place to spend all of you food money when in Barcelona. Once we found Juicy Jones we couldn't come back enough. They stole us away from going back to Vegetalia as we had planned.
There are two Juicy Jones locations: Cardenal Casañas 7 (just off Rambla) and Hospital 74. We only went to the Cardenal Casañas location. I hear Hospital is the larger of the two.
Juicy Jones is awesome. AWESOME!! Ok, must not get too excited and focus. I'm ok now.
I wanted to eat everything. It was all so tasty. Tasty and vegan. The decor is bright, funky, graffy but the furniture is clean and basic. Even though the walls are really busy it's not over whelming. The above photo is of the bar as you walk in. At first appearance it's just a simple bar and a tiny shop but behind me is the restaurant dining area pictured below. You can order and eat at the bar or grab a table. We tried both and I'd recommend a table for a full meal but the bar is perfect for a milk shake and hummus.
Our first visit consisted of a cookie. We accidentally found the place wandering around and had already eaten lunch but I had to get something. When we came back we took things more seriously with some hummus and a couple milk shakes (they use soy milk for these). Lex got the Fruit Slam: mango, pear, strawberry, papaya, soy milk, sugar and ice. I saw chocolate and I couldn't turn away, I tried the Banana GoGo: banana, cocoa, soy milk, coconut, cane sugar and ice. These were so so so so yummy. The hummus was also super yummy.

The next time we came back it was with the intent to eat a full meal. After careful consideration we ordered from the Menu del Dia.
1. Sopa/ensalada (soup or salad)
2. Thali/Plato del dia (Indian plate or plate specials)
3. Postre (dessert)
From the listings on the specials board we went with a good sampling of items.
Lex got 1. Hummus (he really liked this hummus) 2. Nidas de Patata con setas y queso vegano y ensalada de judias. No pics of the hummus but this was a kinda potato and vegan cheese pie with a green bean salad. Really good and comfort foodie.
I went for 1. Crema de Calabacin (cream of zucchini soup) 2. Thali (Brocoli masala, papad dam, onion, bhajee, mixed dal, mixed veg, plain rice, chatni itimati. No pic of the soup but it was lovely. As was the whole Thali plate. Lex helped me polish it off in the end. We both thought it was the business.
Dessert - Biscuit de Piña y Crema de Chocolate. They were a good size though, just a little bite to finish off the meal. I got the last Crema de Chocolate, score!
We were stuffed to the rafters after this meal but it was so good. Could not stop eating. All this food came to 8.50€ per meal. An awesome deal as this was far too much food. We could have shared one. This also comes with a beverage. Water (bottled in glass) or wine. You can also just get one of the main dish specials and the juice selection of the day for 7.95€. Probably a slightly healthier option than stuffing yourself sillybut for the extra 0.55€ get the appetizer and dessert and share with a friend.

The next time we came back we tried something else from the printed menu which never grows tiresome to look at.
To have a closer look at the menu you can click the picture and zoom in. They have this menu bound to look at in the cafe but this one was nicely displayed at the entrance for people to peruse the selection.To drink a Strawberry Mary (another milk shake of strawberries, papaya, soymilk, cane sugar and ice) and a mixed juice of beet, ginger, carrot, orange, and lemon. Both were to die for naturally. And for our chewing pleasure, sandwiches.
Toscano: hummus, green beans, sundried tomatoes, onion and spinach.
Tofu: oven baked tofu, avocado, carrot, scallion, sprouts, lettuce, and ginger satay sauce.

So in conclusion we would like to offer our services in opening a Granada (that's where we are at the moment) branch of Juicy Jones. WE LOVE JUICY JONES!! Get your tapas, salads, sammies, huge meals, sweets and drinks here!

Vegetalia

2009-10-03T08:14:00.000-04:00

Barcelona has a few vegetarian options and a couple really tasty ones for vegans. Check out HappyCow for some good places to start because I'm only going to tell you about the two we went to here.

After looking at HappyCow for suggestions we decided to start with a little place called Vegetalia. This started our adventure with Spain and "open hours." In the US I was used to shops small and large having their posted open hours and those being fairly accurate give or take a few minutes. Here it seems you're lucky if they have posted hours, those hours are merely suggestions, and they will almost certainly be closed for siesta and on Sundays. So we had to walk by Vegetalia a couple times over a couple days before we hit it open.

Vegetalia

Escudellers 54

08002 Barcelona

Vegetalia is not strictly vegan so be sure you talk to your server. As is the case all over Spain, they may not speak English but they know what vegan means here (you might get blank stares in other restaurants). When we went our server did not speak English and he did not know for sure which items were vegan but he was super friendly and more than happy to consult with other staff to check on veganness. Don't speak Spanish? no problem! We don't either. Vegano is Spanish for vegan when you're lucky enough to encounter people who know what it means. This isn't so different from the US when you think about it. How many times have you asked for vegan and maybe even spelled it out, "so no dairy, eggs, honey, etc" and received a soup with chicken stock or a sandwich with traditional mayo on it? So at Vegetalia, if you don't speak the local language, simply point to what you are interested in and ask "Vegano?"

So let's actually talk about some food yes? We were in the mood for burgers so that's what we went for. Expecting a burger on a bun, we were surprised to receive a burger on a pile of salad with wholesome brown rice. For me to eat healthier why don't you. In all seriousness though it was very tasty. The brown rice was lightly seasoned and ever so slightly sweet. The burgers were both very tasty. Lex ordered a seitan based burger (I'm sorry to say I forget the flavor) and mine was seaweed tofu. Again, not all the burgers are vegan so be sure to ask.

Really like the burgers and maybe need some other bits? Well Vegetalia also stocks a small shop area with a mixture of items including some of their own brand foods like the burgers and tofu. They also stock a small selection of books. I didn't peruse these due to my abysmal Spanish and our backpacking/travel lightly state. The Vegetalia brand can also be purchased in other supermarkets around town like El Corte Ingles.

Vegetalia offers a little of everything from the Menu del dia, a set menu for 9.90€, to a simple coffee and juice bar. Sit at the bar or grab a table. Snag the local animal rights paper, Anima Naturalis, off the rack to remind yourself you have local allies and to look for other cruelty free businesses to visit in Spain. Definitely visit Vegetalia when you're in Barcelona. It's cute, tasty and friendly.

It's all about me.

2009-10-02T08:27:00.002-04:00

Where would Vegan MoFo be without a survey or two? I admit they are kinda fun to fill out. Weather you find them fun to read I suppose depends on if you are interested in that kind of thing and if the answers are entertaining.

Our first survey comes from Lauren of the Whoa Wren blog. I like to throw in one or two of these little bits here and there. It helps us get to know each other a bit. Because if I just love eggplant and you can't stand them, can we ever really be friends? Lesser things have caused wars. Just kidding, I'm too lazy to be that judgmental.

on with the interrogation:

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
Almond milk, hands down. I don't get it super often though, it's just too pricey.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
I've been doing lots of cooking on the fly since we started traveling but we seem to be holding in one place for a little while so I'm thinking of a falafel tester for Isa's new cookbook, peanut ginger tofu (because we need to have that at least once a week), maybe some crepes but I haven't decided on a filling yet.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Nooch!

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Hmm, that would have to be the rice pudding I was going to try and make but walked away while leaving the stove on. Burnt the crap out of it.

5. Favorite pickled item?
It's a toss up between ginger and good ol' dill cucumber pickles.

6. How do you organize your recipes?
My cookbooks were in alphabetical order by author, I was thinking of organizing them by the rainbow next. Now I'm down to keeping things online. Those are mostly bookmarked through GoogleReader and I have them sorted into basic type (breakfast, dinner, snacks, cookies, indian, thai). The cool thing about that is you can have them tagged in multiple categories.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Trash

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
Almonds, Avocados, Tomatoes

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
My mom used to make bread rolls for holidays, I remember getting one (or three) still warm, and spreading butter/margarine on. Watched it melt and then mowwed it down. It was probably a pretty basic bread recipe it was just the homemade, fresh, warm, awesomeness of it. The rolls also made awesome holiday leftover sandwiches hehe

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
So far I think I'll have to go with the pomegranate chip flavor from So Delicious.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
My vitamix was the business!

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
We go through a potentially unhealthy amount of cumin at times.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Moskowitz was my first vegan cookbook and it really got me into cooking, veganism and not being afraid to try new things.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
If we're talking the good stuff, mixed berry.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Lentil and tomato sauce over pasta. There are a few really good ways to tweek it and there is a good amount of familiararity so as not to cause a panic.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Seitan and tofu are both in my heart, it's like having to chose between two children.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Afternoon/early evening which is usually dinner.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
I no longer have a refrigerator but the communal refrigerator here has our stock of pots and pans on it.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Only two things in there right now, peas and green beans.

20. What's on your grocery list?
Flour, fennel seed, whatever vegetable looks good and doesn't cost me all of my money.

21. Favorite grocery store?
It was City Market in Burlington. They pissed me off a lot but they usually had most things I was looking for and didn't rip you off too much for them. Now I frequent Mercadona in Spain, the prices are pretty good.

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
I don't really have anything looming over my head at the moment.

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
Vegan Dad, Have Cake Will Travel, Diet Dessert & Dogs

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
I'd love a vegan fruit and nut bar but until then I'll keep buying plain chocolate and making my own. I've recently fallen in love with Valor chocolate, they have a banana bar that is sooooo frikin good!

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Peanut butter is pretty extravagant here. No less than 3.50€ a jar. Highway robbery, for cheap crap stuff, not even all natural.

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
I'm always a little scared to work with new things. I hate to ruin things and waste food and money but you just have to throw caution to the wind and go for it.

Bienvenida a España

2009-10-01T13:30:00.001-04:00

Hopefully that's grammatically correct. Did I mention I don't speak Spanish? I'm trying to learn but let's face it I suck. Anyway, we've entered Spain via Barcelona. Spain is one of the gazillion places I haven't been to before and Lex hasn't spent any time here either (aside from some islands as a kid) so it's new for us both.

We took an over night flight from Athens to get here on a fairly budget airline. Let's just say it was a rough ride but luckily I was tired and still managed to sleep through most of it. Arrival time was about 5am. After waiting around for about 30 mins for the buses to start running and a little argument with the ticket machine for the bus we snagged a ride to Placa de Catalunya. Then to a little metro ride back out of the city center for our first hostel stay (my first hostel ever). This was located within a 5-10 min walk to the metro stop and on a mountain/hillside. Due to it's partial woodland location, one night when we were walking back to our dorm we saw this litle piggie:
Yup, a wild pig. Also a first for me. It (can't honestly say whether it was a boy or girl) was munching on grasses and roots around the buildings making her little (big) piggie sounds. When we saw him we just froze, carefully got out the camera for a couple of quick shots before it wandered off in search of more munchies.

It is true what they say about Spain and veganism. It can be hard. It really depends on how you approach it. Speaking some Spanish will definitely help you here but it's not necessary. Eating out at your regular omni establishments is hammy and fishy. Only tell you are vegetarian and they will bring you fish and ham or just stare at you as if to say "how do you live like this?"

Traveling in Spain my first bit of advice would be to stay at hostels with a kitchen. Lots of them have communal kitchens and there isn't a shortage of delicious ingredients. And please for the love of cute furry bunnies don't leave your mess in the way of other people waiting to cook. Cook your grub, wash your pots, then go eat. But I won't rant on about it. Due to this being the land of pig legs and chicken of the sea I don't feel like I'm missing out by cooking for myself all the time. Hit any supermarket and you'll find: rice (brown isn't as common but it's usually available), pasta (watch out for eggs), canned/frozen/fresh fruit & veg, sauces and condiments (as usual don't assume and read the labels), bread, herbs/spices, and oil. Even the little markets seem to have all these things.

Vegetarianism isn't completely missing here and there are restaurants to go to. The ones we've hit I'll blog about don't you worry. There are also healthfood stores and even the larger supermarkets seem to carry a few "specialty" or "international" items like tofu, veggie burgers, seitan & tempeh. Barcelona is especially easy to shop in due to it's size. There are healthfood stores and large supermarkets where you will find almost everything you are accustom to eating and more (kamut milk?!?! I didn't buy it because it was rather expensive but I am intrigued). Soy milk is easy to find everywhere, Spain does cater to it's lactose intolerant. Almond milk also seems to be easy to find although, again, it is rather pricy.

And just for pure touristy stake:
and welcome to Vegan MoFo 2009!!

Nomads

2009-07-30T06:56:00.006-04:00

So in the event that you did not know, and how could you as I haven't said anything about it, Lex and I have become vegan nomads. We've decided to see some of this fantabulous world and knew that keeping on with the ol' nose to the grind stone wasn't really getting us anywhere nor was it making us happy. So why not throw caution to the wind and head off into yonder places with our trusty back packs and tent.

Well ok, the backpacks and tent hadn't proven themselves to be trusty just yet as they are new. The cookware and camp stove as well but we did some reading and some research so we weren't just picking any old random junk, we hoped.

So far our first stop has been Greece. Visiting family, taking a few days to relax and recover from the jet lag that hit me hard. The poster child of Greece?

One awesome, knarly olive tree. The trees are everywhere but I love these big ones that just have trunk and branches everywhere. Awesome. This one we came across walking back along a trail beach side on Ithaki.

We spent a couple days in Athens. We've been before so we didn't go crazy with touristy stuff but we did visit the new Acropolis museum which wasn't open last time we were in town. It's awesome (but doesn't allow photographs) so I would highly recommend it. I did get this photo just outside the museum which is perched in the midsts of "a series of small walls" as Mr Eddie Izzard would say.

From Athens we went to Ithaki, an island in the Ionian sea just off the much larger island of Kefalonia. There are no shortage of sights to behold, some simple, some delicious, some cuddly.
Montage

Needless to say, all these adorable kitties keep any hint of a rodent problem at bay. Unfortunately some people find them to be a nuisance and they do breed rather easily. There are some nice people around including vets who are trying to keep the population under control by humane means.

As this is a food blog I will be providing yummies to drool over and to try out. Today I give you:

Lex's Banana Rice Breakfast Pudding

So simple and nice. So easy to make even when you're camping! Also great as dessert.

Serves 2

1/2-3/4 c brown rice (quick cook or old school)

2 bananas

2-3 Tb olive oil (or oil of preference)

cinnamon to taste (optional)

Fill medium pot with 2-3 c water and bring to boil over high heat.

Meanwhile add oil to small-medium saucepan and slice bananas into it. You're looking for enough oil to keep the bananas from sticking while they cook briefly.

Once water is boiling add rice and cook until done. Al dente to well done is fine, whatever your texture preference. Quick cook will take 10-15 mins, regular brown rice will be more like 30-40 mins.

When rice has about 10 mins left, place bananas over medium heat and cook to a nice mush. As they cook down they will soften and sweeten.

Add cinnamon to taste, you shouldn't need additional sweeteners. Remove bananas from heat and set aside until rice is done.

Drain rice of excess water and mix together with the bananas.

Serve warm or at room temperature, probably cold too but we couldn't test that as we are operating without refrigeration at the moment.

The Vegan Scoop

2009-07-20T10:08:00.007-04:00

Having to hunt around for vegan ice cream seems to be a thing of the past for a lot of us which is a wonderful thing. There's soy, rice, coconut, hemp and who knows what else to make you forget what that silly dairy based ice cream even tasted like let alone why you ever ate it. And along with this vegan ice cream boom seems to have come a vegan ice cream recipe book mini boom with two books released nearly back to back for our summer ice cream eating enjoyment.

Wheelers Ice Cream contacted me a while ago asking me to try out one of their recipes and to share it with you all to promote it's book offering, The Vegan Scoop. Do I want to try out a new ice cream recipe? Are you mad? Hells yeah!

Normally (I say normally but in my experience it's 100% of the time) when you find mint ice cream in your local freezer case it's just mint flavor, not identifiably any particular mint (or at least I don't know which mint this is). Sometimes if you're lucky you might find a seasonal peppermint type thing. Wheelers have given us a new one to try out, spearmint. I must say I was pretty excited to give it a go. Spearmint has always been my favorite mint flavor. I've been known to, as a child, mow my way through an entire pack of Life Savers spearmint candies/mints in a remarkably short period of time.

My only worry was finding spearmint extract. I've never seen it before. Maybe the coop will have it . . . .nope. Health food store . . . nope. Regular old super market . . . they have an extract just labeled "mint" but after having a look at the ingredients it turns out it's spearmint with a touch of peppermint. I gave this one a try and it was spot on. I think they just added a little peppermint to give it a kick as spearmint is a bit more subtle. I don't remember the brand but it's a common one and you should find it in your regular old supermarket in the spices and/or baking areas.

The ice cream was good although the flavor was strange at first because of eating that generic mint flavor for so long. My tongue was confused. This was bright and refreshing while still being wonderful creamy ice cream.

Spearmint Ice Cream

1 cup (235 ml) soy milk, divided
2 tablespoons (16 g) arrowroot
2 cups (470 ml) soy creamer
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons (23 ml) spearmint extract

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup (60 ml) soymilk with arrowroot and set aside.

Mix soy creamer, remaining 3/4 cup (175 ml) soymilk, and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat. Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add arrowroot cream. This will cause the liquid to thicken noticeably.

Add vanilla extract.

Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2 to 3 hours. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instruction.

Yield: 1 quart (approximately 600 g)

Thank You Joanna!

2009-05-10T10:06:00.002-04:00

Reading through my list of vegan blogs yesterday I came across some very important information. Something that the people at Boca and Garden Burger don't want you to know. The secret diy burger formula. Joanna Vaught, creator of many a delicious recipe, posted a basic tried and true equation for making burgers just the way you want them or a different way every night. Whatever strikes your fancy. She just knows the way straight to my heart.

I had to get right on this. Could it be true? Oh the possibilities. My first thought was hoisin sauce. I wanted some. Hosin made me think stir fry, I had bell pepper and carrots already. And I was off.

This is what I came up with:

~2 cups finely chopped carrots and shiitake mushrooms (vegetables)
1 cup black beans and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds and 1/4 cup black sesame seeds (protein)
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup oil and a splash of water (liquid)
1 T black bean garlic sauce (liquid seasoning)
2 tsp crumbled dry red chili and 1 tsp ground ginger (dry seasoning)

This made 6 good sized burgers to fill out our Ezekiel buns. Building went as follows: bottom of bun, Vegenaise, cucumber, greens, burger, pan fried red onion and orange bell pepper, hosin sauce on top bun. Unhinge jaw and eat.

I'm loving this formula. Brown rice and vital wheat gluten are a pantry staple. These burgers will take whatever you have around. Read through Joanna's suggestions and you'll get the idea. What a great way to pull together different theme patties or to just help clean out the cupboards in a super tasty way. Don't feel confined to burgers here either. Go for cutlets (add a little more gluten if you like more chewy texture) or balls (yeah I said it, balls) for a sub, pasta or whatever.

Have you checked out Yellow Rose Recipes? No? What is wrong with you?!?!

It's almost time for another wonderful book

2009-05-09T09:34:00.005-04:00

So you're all wondering, "How the hell am I suppose to feed a vegan if you keep disappearing?" All I can say is, sorry about that. I'm working on a big project at the moment (nothing crazy exciting for anyone but myself I'm afraid) that is keeping me more then busy. I'm a bit overwhelmed really but I'm just going to keep chipping away.

Aaannnyyway . . . I thought I should probably post something for the April Daring Bakers Challenge. I did it, I just have the worst time sitting down to post about it. Well, I kinda did it.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

So this challenge allowed for some creativity. I took that permission and stretched it to a tester recipe for Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero's new cookie book. So I would like to reveal one delicious brownie.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownie

It's in the spirit of cheesecake at least. I just couldn't bring myself to buy 3 tubs of vegan cream cheese for a whole cake. That's not something I need lying around. Now I realize that this isn't the best picture of this delectable treat so I would also like to direct you to the flickr pool for more photos from this highly anticipated book that looks like it will be a companion to Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, to be entitled Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar. This takes care of the ever present chocolate craving as well as the cheesecake need we sometimes experience. For chocolate chips I used Lindt 70% thins all crumbled up. That was the ticket let me tell you.

So I ask that you please stick with me here. I have some tasty treats waiting in the wings and I will try to set aside time to complete the posts for them.

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T10:00:00.005-04:00

You really must love these awareness days if for nothing more then it gives us bloggers something to talk about. I don't know how I feel about "Earth Day." I love my Earth in all its dangerous beauty and therefore everyday is Earth Day. I try to live my life with lighter steps and help clear up the debris of those who want to stomp around. I am by no means perfect but I keep stiving to be better, be more educated and clean up old habits.

In an effort to use this day as it was intended, to bring awareness to the issues. Everyone knows the basics and a lot of people subscribe to them: reusable bags, drive car less, fuel efficient vehicles. Fewer people seem to get into the "eat less or no meat" and won't touch the dairy and egg issue with the ever popular 10 ft pole. If you truely want to save the planet. If you really really want to shrink down that ol' "carbon foot print" you'll need to go vegan. That's all there is too it. If I'm not only preaching to the choir here let me just say that it is easier than it has ever been to go vegan. There are an array of amazing delicious vegan cookbooks out there (just check out my library for a start). You'll find great vegan online social networking which can translate into real life social networking. Yes there are other vegans out there and chances are there is at least one near you. My favorite is The Post Punk Kitchen a couple other very welcoming communities are Compassionate Cooks and Just the Food. Speaking of Compassionate Cooks, Colleen does a very informative podcast that is worth checking out. She talks about food, animal rights, animal "processing" and literature.

I have already read several articles and posts about the benefits of the vegetarian lifestyle on this oh day of the earth so I won't really go on about it. I'll just point to the following.

If you are familiar with Mr Mark Bittman (author of How to Cook Everything and of the more recent Food Matters) here is an article from the New York Times about meat consumption. Now I don't completely buy into the Bittman philosophy (he mentions something about being "vegan plus" which is a term that will only serve to confuse people as it's inaccurate) but I think he makes some good points and he will reach a lot of people that a vegan will probably not for the simple fact that he is not vegan. He's got some good information.

When I read Kelly's post at easyVegan.info I understood the possition completely. It can be tough to keep the faith when so many just aren't willing to take the necessary steps to get it done. While I would like people to do something rather then nothing at all, there does seem to be a lot of half-assing going on. Use your whole ass people. Don't just take one step and call it quits. Keep taking steps, see where they lead you.

Check out The Girlie Girl Army for some great factoids about what your vegan choices do for the planet and the creatures that try to live on it. I kinda like their Earth Pride.

I hope everyone had a good day. Do something for the Earth everyday. Go vegan! These guys really want you to. Did I mention don't "process" them?

Coconut Bacon!

2009-04-20T22:33:00.004-04:00

Yes, that's right. I said it. Coconut bacon. It had to be done. Not that I don't love tempeh bacon. That still has it's place on my plate but coconut bacon fits into that little niche between the larger strips and bits although I suppose it could be made into these as well. I went for flakes.

I didn't come up with exact measurements but kept it simple. Don't be afraid to dump some stuff in a jar and see what happens. It's a science experiment. A delicious, wonderful science experiment.

First you'll need your coconut. I went for flakes, unsweetened of course although now I think of it. Sweetened probably wouldn't be horrible but I'd rather sweeten them myself. I like to know what's going in my food.

The marinade: soy sauce, garlic (powder or microplaned), some dark soy sauce if you have it around, apple cider vinegar, and a touch of liquid smoke.

Method: put coconut in a jar, add marinade ingredients (mostly soy sauce and vinegar and a sprinkling of the rest), cover and shake it like a Polaroid picture. I left this concoction in my refrigerator for a couple days. Dump it out onto a baking sheet and set your oven to it's lowest temperature. Bake the coconut until it's dry. Allow it to cool then store it in a jar.
Sprinkle this delight into sandwiches, on salads, in your tofu scramble . . . wherever you need a salty smoky kick. This goes great in a BLT.

Play around with the flavors. Maple would probably go great in this.

Convenience Store Challenge!

2009-03-31T17:57:00.005-04:00

I love a good fun challenge and when I came across this post on Vegan Soapbox I knew I wanted to participate. It would be a fun challenge and with my cookbook addiction the chance to win my choice of cookbook to add to my library was just too much to resist.

The rules of the game are simple. Go to a convenience store with $10. Get vegan ingredients. Make them into a meal. It doesn't have to be a well balanced or healthy meal which is good considering the selection available in most convenience stores. There does seem to be a theme though. If you have a little quick stop type store that sells slightly more then chips, soda and candy then it will have pasta, sauce, and an array of nonvegan items. If you're lucky you will find a few more vegan goodies but no such luck for me. My choices for meal items were spaghetti, mac, veg oil, tomato soup and tomato sauce. Crap. I made my grabs and had a look at what was available for snack items. I left the store with this:
-1 lb elbow macaroni
-8oz can tomato sauce
-3oz bag of salted cashews
-5.25oz sleeve of Oreos
Spending a grand total of $8.06. Sweet, two rules complete - shop at a convenience store and spend only $10.
Now I have to make a recognizable meal. I made my way home and got cracking. We can only add herbs, spices and nutritional yeast. First I opened the nuts and covered them with water, sloshed them around a bit and drained. I repeated this a couple times because there is enough salt in that tomato sauce already, no more will be needed. After rinsing a couple times I left the cashews to soak while I got a pot of water on the stove to boil.

In a blender jug (or you could do this in a food processor), I dumped:
-the can of tomato sauce
-about 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
-1 tsp dried basil
-1/2 tsp dried oregano
-1/2 tsp dried garlic powder
-the cashews, drained
Process this all together and get it as smooth as possible. The cashews just add to the creaminess, they could be omitted and you would still have a slightly cheezy sauce. Set this aside until your pasta is done.

I went ahead and cooked all the pasta. Why the hell not! Maybe you'll need to feed a crowd on your convenience store gourmet skills. I'm ready.

Once the pasta was ready I simply drained it, dumped it back into the pot, poured on the blender sauce (scrape out every last bit you can) and stir it all around. The ratio of sauce to pasta was perfect for me but if you like more sauciness just cook less than a pound of pasta or make more sauce. Easy.

Now, the moment of truth.
I sprinkled a little more nooch and oregano on top for added flair. This was actually pretty good. Because I usually make a whole grain pasta this was kinda junk foodie but it was quite tasty if I do say so myself. Although not balanced it does offer your carbs, fat, and protein. And because no meal is complete without dessert, enter the Oreos. I actually wanted to take this one step further and make chocolate covered Oreos but there wasn't even a smidgeon of vegan chocolate to be found in this forlorn little gas station. They did have a fair amount of premade sandwiches and hot coffee ready to go. Not a bad place to stop if you are on the road and need a fuel fill up for both your car and your tummy . . . but not for a vegan.

I have plenty to share. Stop on by and have a taste!

All about the bechamel

2009-03-27T22:55:00.000-04:00

This month's challenge was a familiar favorite but still had it's challenge. First I want to have a little rave about the Daring Baker's new look. They have the new site up and running so check out The Daring Kitchen! And how awesome are the new logos?! Here is the whole new crew of Daring Kitchen mascots. I can't decide who to use.
Anyway, back to the challenge. The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge. I am a Splendid Table listener. I used to try and catch The Splendid Table at it's scheduled time on NPR but I am usually working so it was a fairly rare occation. Then I discovered podcasts and haven't looked back since. Of course now I'm addicted to podcasts but there are worse things to become addicted to (isn't it funny we use this line everytime we find ourselves spending too much time with something, "There are worse things to be addicted to.")

Moving right along. The first thing you need for a good lasagne is the noodles. This brings us to the part of this challenge that was the challenge. I have never made pasta from scratch before and the Lynne's recipe calls for eggs so taking the suggestion of other alternative Daring Bakers I tried out Bryanna Clark Grogan's recipe. This was a good move. Pasta came out fantabulous and I highly recommend it for any of your pasta needs. Even me, who usually screws up these things on the first try, got it to turn out well easily the first time.

After the pasta I just needed to decide on sauce and cheeziness. I kept it simple. I find the simplier the better for the taste and for my time management. I wanted to stay within the components of the original recipe which included something I have never used in a lasagne before, Bechamel Sauce. I've never heard of this. Has anyone else? Is this a wonderful secret that has been kept from me all these years? It's pure genious! So smooth and creamy. I happened to have Veganrella in my fridge from a friend but in the future I don't think I'll be using any cheese sub at all. The bechamel is perfect for that creamy factor.

Bechamel Sauce

4 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan margarine
4 tablespoons all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups nondairy milk of choice (I used almond)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the margarine over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

I kept the marinara sauce simple. I'm not even sure you'd call this a recipe. Just heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add a little oil or water just to prevent sticking. Add a chopped onion and 4 minced cloves of garlic. Cook 5ish minutes. Add a large can of diced tomatoes. Add some oregano, basil, a little salt if you like. That's pretty much it. To add some extra protein to the mix I rehydrated some soy/tvp chunks I happened to have around but you could use cooked lentils, tvp mince, veggie crumbles, crumbled tempeh, whatevs.
To assemble this beautiful masterpiece (ok it doesn't look that beautiful but I never claimed to be a photographer). I boiled a layer of pasta at a time and applied the fillings as the next layer was cooking. So first add a little bechamel sauce to the bottom of your pan (I used a 9x13"), then noodles, then a little more bechamel, then tomato sauce, grate vegan cheeze if using, fleck a bit more bechamel on there, another layer of noodles, bechamel, tomato sauce, cheeze & bechamel. Continue this wonderful cycle as long as you can finishing with cheese and bechamel on top. Bake about 30 mins covered with foil and uncover and bake a bit more to brown up the top a bit.

I'm pretty damn excited to have successfully made my own vegan noodles and I will definitely be doing this again because it was so easy and it feels great to have a much better understanding of what exactly is going into your food.

It's about time for another ice cream

2009-03-03T22:57:00.003-05:00

No, it's no longer February but I needed to get this challenge behind me and look to the new challenge this month. For February the word came come down from our hosts:

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

I decided to go raw for this challenge. Well mostly raw. These recipes aren't vegan to start with so modifications would have been necessary anyway. Is this raw version just like the original? No. Maybe I could, with lots of work and the Vitamix I might work out the right consistency. Maybe in a couple months time when I might possibly find myself with free time on my hands this is something I might work on . . . . who knows what the (my) future holds.

I apologize for the slightly blurry picture. My dessert pictures always seem to come out this way. I just can't hold still. I get too excited!

Raw Flourless Chocolate Cake (take 1)

1/4 c raw cocoa nibs
1/4 c cashews
1/2 c walnuts
5 pitted dates
1 vanilla beans or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add cocoa nibs to food processor and process until well broken up. Add nuts (you can replace these with any nuts you prefer really, they all go well with chocolate) and process again until nuts are finely ground. Add dates and vanilla. Process this until mixture comes together in a pasty dough. Press this mixture into a small tart pan or shape with your hands however you'd like. Enjoy!

I decided to pair this with an ice cream that I've been meaning to make for a while. A simple creation to carry over the cocoa nib deliciousness. I would like to try some raw ice creams at some point. When young coconuts aren't ridiculously expensive maybe.

Stracciatella Coconut Ice Cream

1 can coconut milk
2-4 Tb agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c raw cocoa nibs

Stir together coconut milk, agave to taste and vanilla. Place in ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions to freeze ice cream. 5 mins before freezing cycle is complete add cocoa nibs. Place completed ice cream in freezer to firm up more until ready to serve. You may need to set out homemade ice cream a little ahead of when you need it as it tends to harden more then comercially made ice creams.

Bake It Pretty Contest!

2009-02-25T10:41:00.003-05:00

Hey Guys!

Just a quick little note about a couple of fun contests for all you pretty bakers out there.

A couple months ago I found out about Bake It Pretty through Walking the Vegan Line and I fell instantly in love. They have a little of everything to dress up your baked beauties to really make them shine. So check them out and check out My Aim Is True and Fresh Vintage for contests to win a $25 gift certificate to get you started. I know I wouldn't have any trouble spending $25 and then some there.

I think I'll go for the frog mold. Just too neato!

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

2009-02-19T21:47:00.004-05:00

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant is a great read. I definitely recommend picking it up from the library next time you are there but this post isn't about this book.

While in City Market a couple days ago I remembered to look in the sale produce section. The section is more like a couple baskets set a top one of the regular produce cases. They aren't very flashy (why would they be?) and they are mostly hidden almost exactly behind one of the hanging scales they have dotted about the place . So, whenever I have a final glance around before heading off to the bulk bins I usually miss having a look in them. This time I remembered. Often there isn't much to find there, some rediculously ripe avocados (way beyond guacamole stage I think), potatoes with eyes that have grown into something more like arms or legs, squashes well and truely beaten but it's always worth a look. In the past I have found bags of citrus that didn't look awesome but knowing that they would be fine to juice I snatched them up. This time there were two glorious eggplants. Why are these beautiful eggplants in here I wonder and pick them up to investigate. I found they both had been slightly damaged, an indentation as though from the corner of something had punctured each of them but otherwise they were perfect. I grabbed them without a second thought.

I don't know if I've ever really mentioned it here but I love eggplant. Love it. Strangely I don't eat it all that often. When Lex and I are in Greece we eat it almost daily (along with far too many olives but I'm pretty sure this has been covered). These eggplant would be roasted. The best way to enjoy it. This is not up for debate by the way, my mind is set. This brings me to a super simple and delicious dinner I whipped up for us last evening.

This can be prepared easily a few different ways depending on preference and doesn't require much in the way of ingredients. I just love the sweet creaminess that roasted eggplants impart. Why oh why don't I cook them more often?

Roast Eggplant & Tofu Pasta

3-4 servings whole grain spaghetti (or other whole grain pasta)
2 medium eggplants
1 lb extra firm tofu
14oz can diced tomatoes
Herbs of choice to taste (basil, oregano, thyme, whatever you have that sounds good)
Salt & pepper to taste

First roast your eggplant. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with foil (clean up can be a nightmare). Wash your eggplants and prick a few times with a fork to allow the steam to escape. We don't want any explosions. Roast until eggplants until they deflate, insides will become very soft. You can allow the skin char a bit, about 40 mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile press your tofu for about 30 mins to force out some of the moisture. Cut it up into cubes or whatever shapes you desire. Prepare the fu either by browning it in a pan with a bit of oil or baking it (this can cut calories as you don't need to use oil if you do not wish) in the oven for about 30 mins, turning at least once to allow all sides to brown.

Start pot of water for pasta to boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions for al dente (or prefered texture). Continue on to prepare sauce while pasta cooks. Drain pasta when ready, rinse with cold water to stop cooking and set aside.

Once you can handle your eggplants, open them up and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Discard skins. Using a fork mash the eggplant a little just to help break it up.

Heat a medium sized pan over medium heat. Add tomatoes and mashed eggplant and heat through. Add in herbs, salt & pepper. Tasting as you go. Add in prepared tofu. Allow flavors to combine. Add pasta to sauce mixture and toss to coat. Serve it up and enjoy.

try try again

2009-01-29T20:00:00.003-05:00

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Attempt one was a spectacular failure. I have no pictures. Well I could go photograph the bin if you want but y'all should just take my word for it. Complete crap. That, however, is to be expected. My first attempt for all these Daring Bakers Challenges are failures of varying degrees. Sometimes salvageable, sometimes better forgotten. It's all the more frustrating when you use a recipe that has worked for people and it doesn't work for you. You start wondering what the heck is wrong with you that you couldn't follow simple directions. In the end this doesn't necessarily accomplish anything and it's just not that easy. Simple directions can still produce something fairly complex or delicate. In this case a very delicate balance in the batter, in the oven temperature, in the timing and then in the final cookie.

I feel a bit silly about it all now. My second attempt was in another direction. Chocolate. Silly because I work in chocolate. There is always chocolate around my house, around my work. I talk chocolate every day. Why then did I not just go with the chocolate route to begin with? Because I thought I'd be clever and make it a challenge for myself. That'll learn me.

Anyway on with the successful part of the challenge.

Chocolate Tuiles

3.5 oz (100g) dark chocolate (I used Lindt 75% Ecuador)

Temper the chocolate. Spread into desired shapes on a sturdy piece of plastic (or silpat could work). Once set enough to move, shape them as desired (over a glass, rolling pin, whatevs). Remove them from mold right before serving to preserve shape and sheen.

If you are not into tempering you could add a little (1 tsp or less) of vegetable shortening. This should keep the chocolate from blooming. This may also keep the chocolate from completely setting at room temp so you may need to keep it chilled to hold it's shape.

Strawberry Banana Sorbet
1 yellow ripe banana
1 bag frozen straberries (thawed)*
1 tsp-1 Tb lime juice

Toss strawberries, banana and lime juice in the blender of food processor and blend until smooth (or as smooth as you'd like. I went for no chunks). Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers directions.
You could also use frozen fruit and process this into something of a sorbet in your blender or food processor but unless you have a Vitamix it might be a challenge to get a good consistancy.

*bag can be of any size really depending on how much you want.

This is the taste of summer. Strawberries get me every time.

Recommendation Withdrawn

2009-01-03T10:25:00.006-05:00

It is with great disappointment that I write this post. I'm certain that this will not be the last time that I am disappointed in such a way and I am also certain that most if not all of you vegan readers out there have already experienced this.

In general, if I am offended by something I will be upset for a little while but then I just shrug it off and decide to have nothing further to do with the offending object. In this case however I feel obligated to write about it here at least (and talk about it to anyone who asks) because not only have I recommended this place through this blog and by word of mouth but they have offended our deeply held beliefs that mean a great deal.

I speak of Magnolia Bistro. Some time ago I wrote about this cafe's great atmosphere and tastiness. Now everything has changed. Most of the staff looks the same, the owners are the same, the menu even looks the same as it did those many months ago. I have just learned, through my husband who went there more often then I as a day off breakfast treat, that for about 6 months they have been feeding us (and anyone else who ordered) non-vegan veggie sausage. They did indeed once have vegan sausage but it ran out and was replaced with a non-vegan option.

Now, let's stay focused on the issue here. It is not that they changed their sausage. It is that the sausage was changed and they continued to serve it to people who specifically specified VEGAN when ordering. I want to make this clear because in a restaurant that claims vegan friendliness ("vegan" specifically written on the menu) one would assume that everyone in the place would understand what this means. Everyone, from the owners who wrote the menu to the waitress who takes the time to write vegan on your order slip to the cooks behind the scenes who have to read the ticket and make the food. One would assume that somewhere along the line someone would notice that they were feeding vegans something that was not vegan! Furthermore, the first explaination of why they changed the sausage was "I think it was a taste issue." I think most vegans know that is plain silliness. Yes, there are veg'ns that do not like fake meats but if they don't like fakes they aren't going to order them. Changing the brand will only net you one or two orders max. The staff seemed annoyed that this was an issue (but you are vegan friendly, how can you not understand that this is an issue?) Eventually the owner was spoken to and Lex got to the bottom of it. The original vegan sausage wasn't available for a while so they had to switch until it was available again. Fair enough, but why does your staff not know this? They have been serving the veggie sausage for months and no one said a thing. Not once until this one waitress who thankfully knew it wasn't vegan but unfortunately didn't know why. Even after attaining this explaination she did not really seem to take it seriously. She simply said she would talk to the waitress to let her know the real reason they switched the sausage. After a customer finds out you have been wronging them for months when they put their trust in you is this really the best you can do? It would seem so.

It doesn't stop here. Over the course of the yearish that it has been since I wrote that first post there is something else that doesn't quite jive with the place. They claim to have vegan options for most things on the menu. This is where I thought "Great! these guys get it. It isn't difficult to make vegan food. It isn't difficult to feed vegans." To veganize items on the menu they simply take away the non-vegan things and still charge you the same price. So you get less food . . . .but pay the same . . . .not cool and weak veganizing. If you have read my previous Magnolia post you probably noticed my excitement over Earth Balance. Yup, they still have it but you might still get butter on your toast. Again, a place that proclaims it greenness and vegan friendliness, you should not have to send food back to the kitchen because they put sour cream on the plate, butter on the toast, or whatever animal suffering they might pour onto an omnivore's plate even though you know for certain that you said you were vegan and the word "vegan" was written on the slip.

So in short (or not so short). They don't get it. They put "vegan options" on the menu to get in line with the Groovy Btown that everyone seems to think Burlington is. Yes you can get vegan food their but it may or may not be vegan. Eat at your own risk. I wouldn't.

Yule Love It

2009-01-02T23:17:00.000-05:00

A little late but done none the less here it is.

And the Challenge this month is…

A French Yule Log!!!

In France you can buy two kinds of Yule log, either the Genoise and Buttercream type that that is rolled up (the one most of us are familiar with), or what is more commonly purchased which is a frozen Yule Log very reminiscent of an ice cream cake, only often it’s not made of ice cream but rather frozen mousse of some sort. In French this is called an entremets which is sometimes loosely translated in English as simply a cream dessert. This also means that this recipe is not holiday-specific, it is just a scrumptious dessert recipe. I had never heard of this other aparently more common yule log but then I've never actually eaten the rolly up kind either so there ya go.

This Yule log is made up of six components:
1) Dacquoise Biscuit
2) Mousse
3) Ganache Insert
4) Praline (Crisp) Insert
5) Creme Brulee Insert
6) Icing

In keeping with my recent focus I wanted to complete this challenge using only items in my pantry. I had to veganize the recipe anyway which required replacing a few eggs so I threw caution to the wind and dove in with whatever ideas struck me. There were definitely a few bumps in the road but this is what came of it.

Coconut Biscuit
Dark Chocolate Ganache
Cherry Almond Crisp
Coconut Mousse
Cherry Creme (which for some reason refused to freeze hence the droopiness of the layer)
White Chocolate Icing

Over all the flavor was good but it could use more tweeking to something really good and reliable. But I suppose that's what you get when you are throwing things together from your cupboards and fridge. Maybe next holiday I'll revisit this. Looking at other DB results you can see the possibilities are endless for flavor combinations as well as presentation. This battle is not over Sir Yule!

And now a closing word from our sponsor . . .
This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T21:31:00.002-05:00

It's been one of those years where I feel so much has changed but when asked I cannot describe one thing. Luckily 2008 was when I chose to dive into my blog. I have almost completed a full year and each day I come across something I think I might blog about. Of course then life gets away with me and the post does not happen. Many do await in draft form, waiting for life. I am definitely glad for this blog. It's a lot of fun and it does give me an outlet from time to time for my excessive cookbook collecting and fooding.

In keeping with a New Year superstition that is not my own, we had black eye peas for dinner this eve. I had only encountered this a couple of years ago at a friend's New Year's gathering. No one really knew where eating black eye peas for luck came from. This year I became curious again and did a quick little google and turned up a couple guesses:

"My mother always told me that the origin of eating Black-eyed peas on New Years day started during the Civil War. The Northern soldiers raided the South's food supplies one New Year's Eve night and took all the food except for the dried black-eyed peas and the salted pork. On New Years day, all that the southern soldiers had to eat were the peas and pork to keep them alive, so it is considered good luck to eat black-eyed peas on New Years because of this event."

"Supposedly, the Yankee soldiers burned all the southern crops, except for the black-eyed peas, which they thought were weeds. So, the southerners considered it good luck they still had something to eat. (This may have some validity, since in parts of the north black-eyed peas are still known as cow peas.)"

It seems to come to the idea that the peas (and greens) were the only things left to eat at that time of year for whatever reason. Eat poor today to eat rich the rest of the year. Peas for coins and greens for paper money.

I'm not so sure this is eating poor though. This was pretty gosh darn tasty. Quick and easy too! No greens though. I guess I'll just have coins to look forward too. Pretty typical for me.

Black eye pea hummus with grilled eggplant and roasted red peppers.
Happy 2009!

Clearing the Cupboards

2008-12-29T20:52:00.003-05:00

With the new year approaching I am quite hooked on the idea of simplifying my life. My kitchen is full of random ingredients that I don't use regularly or bought and never tried. I'm also trying to spend as little money as possible. Using ingredients I already have on hand accomplishes both goals. Hopefully in the coming weeks I will be able to post tasty money saving recipes.

Now, of course, I understand that not everyone has the same random assortment of ingredients to use in their pantry but the following two options are made of rather cost effective ingredients whether you already have them or not. They also have the added bonus of being quite quick when all is said and done. Little prep work and not long cooking times.

After a little Google search through my trusted blogs I came across my first victim, err recipe.

Red Gold Black and Green Chili (adapted from Fat Free Vegan)

1 cup hulled barley, soaked overnight, cooked in 4 cups water and drained, cooking time is reduced by soaking
2 14oz cans canned diced tomatoes, undrained
3 tablespoons water or oil (optional)
3 medium chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaping teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon hot sauce (we have an atomic hot sauce so I used only 1 tsp)
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 1/2 cups (1 can) cooked black beans, drained
1 1/2 cups (1 can) cooked red kidney beans, drained
salt to taste

Heat a large saucepan adding the 3 tbsp. water or oil if using (I was using a cast iron pot and did not need additional moisture to prevent sticking). Sauté the onions until they are soft; then stir in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, hot sauce, and bell peppers and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and beans to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in the corn and the drained barley. Cover and simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to meld. Add salt to taste.

This ended up filling my 3 qt pot to the brim and I used all my barley. Pearl barley will work just fine in this recipe but hulled is more nutritious. I have noticed that canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables and canned beans go on sale frequently so it's best to grab them when they are reduced so you always have a quick easy dinner in your kitchen ready to be thrown together. I also pounce on dried beans when they go on sale and then cook and freeze them as needed to have beans ready for use in my freezer. Once they are cooked you only need to run them under hot water for a bit to slightly thaw and separate them. Drain and toss them in the pot.

Tonight's dinner made me feel super clever but I can't be the first person to think of this. I'm not a fan of split pea soup. I am also not a fan of canned soup. Now I like soup in general, just not the split pea variety and not canned. Canned is ok in pinch but there is also too much salt. So how three cans of split pea soup made it into my pantry I have no idea. Well I do have an idea and it wasn't mine but I never turn down free vegan food. I figured we would find a use for it and if not we would donate it to the food shelf. Anyway, while at work today I had the bright idea of adding currying the soup. That might actually make it palatable. Ok but what to do with all that extra salt. Potatoes! Potatoes can suck up a lot of salt flavor so once I got home I set out to make mashed potatoes with

Chick & Split Pea Curried Gravy

1 can split pea soup (ours was Muir Glen Organic)
2-3 cloves garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder (start with this and add more to taste)
1 Tb curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1 1/2 cups (or 1 can) cooked chickpeas

Heat sauce pan over medium heat. If you are using fresh garlic then add this to the pan with a splash of water and heat gently for 1-2 minutes. Empty in can of soup. Continue to heat, stiring occationally until simmering. Reduce heat slightly to keep from burning and add spices (including powdered garlic if using). Mix in well then add chickpeas. Let mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes. The timing isn't important but simmering it will allow some of the excess liquid to evaporate off and naturally thicken the mixture and also allows the flavors to blend. Serve over potatoes, rice, veggies, couscous, whatever you can find in your cupboards!
As much as I say I do not like canned soups, they do go on sale frequently and there are so many varieties you can always think of something to add to them to make them a more hearty meal (and to spread out the salt a bit). I didn't measure how much this made. I would guess about 3-4 cups which is easily 4 servings. Since the soup is a fairly blank palate, add whatever your heart desires (and what you have on hand).

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T18:12:00.005-05:00

Well it's Christmas day at last. After weeks of working the buns off the shopping season has come to a close pretty much. All my plans for Christmas, as usual, went by the wayside. The holidays kicked my tuccas. My family and friends will be receiving their gifts late and I hope they don't mind. Most of my friends understand because I see them often and they know Christmas in retail is insane, especially for those in charge. My family, well that remains to be seen. None of them are here. My husband's family is in Europe and our jobs prohibit us from being with them during the holidays. I'm sure they get that we work a lot. And they must know by now we are crap at organization and timing. As long as everyone knows we think of them often, that's all that matters during this time of year or any time and we do think of them often.

So anyway, on with my Christmas. We've been pretty low key these last few years. Since it's just us and we don't really want for much stuff it's mostly a day of resting, good food, each other's company and A Christmas Story (the only Christmas movie I could seriously watch over and over again each Christmas without getting sick of it and it's the only Christmas movie I own).

For first breakfast we had our usual fruit, a couple bananas and cranberry juice. As I was preparing second breakfast, Lex juiced some oranges on our new kitchen aid juicer attachment and we drank that as preparations continued.

Second breakfast or maybe brunch looked like thisand consisted of Sweet Potato with Cinnamon Drizzle (my drizzle is more of a blob but it was damn good) and Tofu Scram from Get it Ripe and tempeh bacon from VWAV. This was delicious. It's only the 2nd and 3rd recipes I have made from Get it Ripe and both are winners.

One delicious meal is not enough. Not for the first day off I have had in two weeks so on with lunch.

Even though I did not get to prep like I wanted to for all this things came together in time for a late lunch at about 2:30. I was pretty proud of myself.
Dinner is served
We have some teriyaki baked tofu (I used a teriyaki marinade that Lex brought me from the tip top of Vermont), cranberry sauce, Poppy Seed Pull Apart Rolls from the Vegan Brunch testing, the famous green bean casserole, mashed taters with a touch of garlic and loads of chives, on top we have GIR recipe #4- Miso Gravy, and simple mashed rutabaga. This was all awesome and there is plenty of leftovers for later tummy grumblings.

I'm so glad everything turned out so nice. So on to the treats.
There was chocolate of course.
I found the Terra Nostra bars at Healthy Living. We've tried their chocolate before from City Market. They had carried them for a hot minute before they decided not to because they didn't sell fast enough or something. This is what happened with the So Delicious Coconut Yogurt and the Temptation Ice Cream but I'm not bitter (read here, I am bitter but I put up with it because they do still have some good stuff they just irritate me sometimes with their half efforts). The Lindt Dark Santa was a given as it's a delicious chocolate vegan Santa but what made this Santa even more special was my friend Dave adding a filling to this once hollow chocolate figure. Dave makes the most delicious vegan ganache, this one spiked with a little Amaretto. He penetrated Santa's wimpy aluminum foil defences topped it up with insanely good ganache. I mean really, this stuff is easily $3 a truffle good.

For my own homemade goodies I managed to make these ahead of time.

Peanut Brittle

Fudge from Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs. This was rockin' awesome. Lex used some expletives in a good way to describe it's tastiness.

After all this chocolate craziness you'd think I'd be passed out on the floor in a puddle of my own drool but I do have an unusually high chocolate tolerance which I attribute to my mother who was also a chocoholic.

The only present actually open on this Christmas day was a gift from the inlaws. They definitely get that I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and wish me to do it in style.
If you can't tell from the worlds worst picture there we have an apron and oven mitts. This apron is much appreciated as it fits better then the BBQ man style one we currently have. Now we have a more his and hers apron set up. I am especially enjoying this apron for it's kind of vintage look even though it's new. Pretty neato.

I've rambled on enough I think for one post. Now that the holidays are over I hope to get more regular posts in. Even if they all aren't as exciting as this one.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Oh and just in case you were wondering how Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) is lookin' these days.

Photo courtesy of A Christmas Story House

and from Austin, TX!

2008-12-10T22:22:00.000-05:00

I received my care package (swap organized by Lindsay) from Diann full of awesome Texas-ness. Actually I received this on Friday but am only now sitting my butt down to write about it. I just love care package swaps!
I don't know if you can tell from the picture but this box was big. It's a Zappos box, we're talking boot sized. Just opening it up was lovely. Everthing packed so nicely, a note & post card and a lovely scent. I figured I'd have to dig a bit to get to the bottom of the lovely scent.
A wonderful box of Texas goodness:
Agave Nectar
Blueberry Jam
Cranberry Habenero Jam
Soap (this was the aroma)
Corn Tortillas
Salsa
Mexican Oregano
Texas Shaped Corn chips
Whole Foods shopping bag
Laura's Wholesome Junkfood cookies
Yam
Grapefruits

Shortly after opening the box Lex ran off with one of the grapefruits.

I got a kick out of the cornshipsThey really are Texas shaped! Neato!

Mac got something out of the package too. Remember that ribbon tying it all together from the first pic?
Yup, that is the best thing ever!
The cookies are super yummy. Probably a good thing I can't get them around here or I'd be broke buying them all the time. Lex has already started in on the corn tortillas so if I want one I'd better get in there now. The stolen grapefruit was delicious, the other probably won't be around for much longer. Some oregano has found it's way into some tester chili to be posted at a later date. Mac is still loving the ribbon.

It's the T-giving

2008-12-02T21:56:00.000-05:00

A couple days late but I still gotta share. This was the most stress free Thanksgiving I can remember that I have cooked for. I now understand the beauty of advance prep.

So here's the line up:
Seitan stuffing roulade, Kittee's totally awesome seitan and a bread/lentil/herb stuffing
Green Bean Casserole with home made fried onions from VeganYumYum
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, from Eat Drink Be Vegan by Dreena Burton

So the night before, after work I made the green bean casserole, made the fried onions, cut up the potatoes (store those in water in the fridge), cranberry sauce, the stuffing, caramelized onions for the seitan and the pumpkin pie. It helped that Lex had to go out for a bit so while he was out I just kept cooking. It worked out well as I had very little to do the next day. So we went to beddy bye at around midnightish which is actually pretty normal for us anyway.

Next morning we had a relaxing coffee and a little fruit. Then a killer tofu scramble (tofu, veggie sausage, tomato, avocado, hells yeah. Oh, and some oven home fries. I've found that I really like making home fries in the oven. Cut up chunks of potato, toss them in just enough oil to coat and bake in oven at 400F for 10-15 minutes until they are golden. You can add any herbs you want to the oil as you toss them. The cook just right and have much less oil then pan fried ones. I do accept that classic homefries are an awesome comfort food, no denying that but with all the calories of the holidays I didn't think I'd miss them here. Cooking them in the oven allows you to multitask better as well.

Case and point, while my breakies was cooking away (it only took 10-15 mins) I whipped up the seitan dough, pressed it out into a rectangle on my Silpat and spread the stuffing mixture on top leaving a little border and rolled it up into a frikin huge roast. I set up my biggest soup pot into a steamer. Wrapped the roast in foil and set it to steaming for about an hour and a half. Then we set to eating breakfast. No pictures of that. Sorry.

Around 2ish we headed to our friend's (Megan & Dave) apartment to complete our killer vegan feast. They were just finishing up so we added our green bean casserole to be heated and the roast to finish cooking in the oven with the casserole to their rosemary batard. On the stove some more magic was happening. Home made pumpkin ravioli, a red wine broccoli rabe saute, the potatoes I had prepped boiling away and a bechamel sauce.

While these bits finished up we noshed some super awesome black bean dip (Megan made that).
That's Lex snagging some more dippage.

So dinner is almost ready. Let's meet Megan & Dave's fur babies before we fill our plates and bellies.

Aspen puppy (she loves having his picture taken. She loves love really).
Chloe cat
Poppy cat (Poppy is actually Mac's brother)
Tiger kitty

Ok, enough! Let's eat. Just look at this spread!

And my crazy full plate!
After such a feast we were all pretty much zombies. Then crammed in some pie.

Sugar Sugar

2008-11-30T22:33:00.003-05:00

This month's challenge is Shuna Fish Lydon’s recipe for Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting hosted by Dolores of Culinary Curiosity, Alex of Blondie and Brownie, and Jenny of Foray into Food. I managed a good result the first try which is great because these days I'm not finding myself with a lot of time (read here retail and holiday season) but I can't let that keep me from a potentially delicious Daring Bakers Challenge. Well I say potentially delicious but I have yet to experience a not delicious challenge so it's pretty much a sure thing at this point.
I followed the recipe pretty closely. First, I halved the recipe just to save the calories during this season of excess. My modifications to vegandom were:
-Earth Balance for the butter in both the cake and frosting
-1 Tb flax meal and 3-4 Tb water for the egg (remember I halved this recipe so you may want to double this for the original recipe which calls for 2 eggs)
-vanilla soy milk for the milk and I also omitted the vanilla since the soy milk already had this
-doubled the baking powder
-a little Mimic Cream in the frosting instead of the heavy cream

So as you can see the substitutions were fairly straight forward. I made mini cupcakes because I haven't made them in ages and they are super cute. To get into the holiday spirit I used gingerbread print ones. Aren't they adorable. I had to eat them right up. The cake came out very nice actually. Quite light in density as well as flavor. The frosting piled on the sugar but that's to be expected from frosting. I give this cake two frosting covered thumbs up.

Happy baking everyone!

This isn't what it looks like. Ok, it is.

2008-11-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

So I kinda remember saying during Mofo that I was going to eat a little more healthy this month. That's kinda happened. But then there's this
That may or may not be a plate of fried green tomatoes, mashed taters and jalapeno poppers. In my defense I had green tomatoes to use up as well as a surplus of jalapenos that were just begging for popperdom.

Also, when I said I would be caught up with mofo posts in a week. Well, as you can probably guess by my absence over the last few weeks I am still not caught up. Work is burying me in loads of work in preparation for the holidays. I'm hoping to plow through it and just have normal days at work again soon but we'll see.

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-11-23T20:11:00.003-05:00

It was my birthday on Friday. I did a little work but over all it was a pretty nice day. It's kinda still going as I just received another gift of yummy chocolate peanut butter bars from one of my work team mates. They are super yum.
I received my present early from Lex. A couple weeks ago he brought home this beauty.
and out of the box.
Actually the rack that it's on is a bit of a present too as I couldn't really keep it on the counter. It's too tall so I can't open the cupboards.

My friend Megan gave me the grooviest My Little Pony card. Do I have to tell you that I loved My Little Pony when I was a kid? I didn't think so. Along with was a rainbow wood spoon. It's so pretty. And a gift card to a local kitchen store Kiss The Cook.
Lex and I met up at New Ethic for lunch. We split a Sweet Chili Burger and Chicken Ranch. So really, you all need to make a trip to Burlington and hit up New Ethic. They are groovy peoples and make some delicious foods.

Back home I had to make some cookies and put that new mixer to use. I also started munching the delicious Pfefferminz bar I received from Amey at Vegan Eats & Treats. Holy hell this is a tasty chocolate bar.
Then, Lex and I went to dinner at Single Pebble. Buddha Beef. Salt and Pepper Tofu. Dry Fried Green Beans. Aw yeah. No pics, sorry. Too busy stuffing my face.

We got out in time for a showing of Quantum of Solace. I think Daniel Craig is the bestest Bond ever.

End of VeganMoFo 2008

2008-10-31T22:49:00.002-04:00

As VeganMoFo '08 comes to a close I wanted to make a quick post thanking everyone for their fantastic stories, insightful product reviews, drool worthy food porn and delicious recipes. I have hundreds of posts still to read. I managed to keep up for about the first week or so but then things just careened out of control but I will keep reading and now that most people will slow down on the blogging I should catch up in another week. The recipes will probably take a year to catch up on but no matter. I love collecting recipes, tried and to be tried.

Congratulations to everyone who acheived MoFoEnlightenment (20 or more posts) during the month. I think we did a fantastic job wreaking havoc on the net for the month. With our excessive posts you can be sure there will be many more hits for vegan related searches. The most awesome thing being that some of these hits will teach nonvegans how unscary we are. Notice I didn't say "unweird" because I myself am all kinds of weird. Even if you didn't make loads of posts, mofo probably got you thinking a little bit more about cooking, about being vegan, about other vegans, about introducing people to veganism, about something! Hopefully everyone will continue with awesome blogginess because I hope to carry on following the journey.

I enjoyed mofo although I am a little glad it's over for now. I work in retail and we are about to begin the crazy season. Although with the economy, it may not be as crazy as hoped. If mofo had been in November there is a distinct possiblility I would not have made it.

Thanks again for an awesome mofo everyone!

Hugs!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:26:00.002-04:00

It is time again for the little ones (and the not so little ones) to go door to door demanding tooth rotting goodies. They will fill their sacks then go home, or to a friends home, where they will dump out aforementioned tooth rotting goodies onto a surface. Probably their bed if they are home or maybe their floor. Secure in their room where they can stay on their guard and watch all angles of approach for any candy snatchers. They will sort out the good candy from the gross and then attempt to trade the "gross" candy with friends like depreciated currency. Do you remember this? If you are really lucky 10 packets of candy corn might buy you a fun size snickers from your friend's "keep" pile but usually those items are not for sale. You can only purchase from what your friend has deemed "gross" or at least less then good. Often your get rid of pile and theirs has many matching items but if your lucky your buddy actually doesn't like chocolate in which case you have struck gold. This is what parents should be advising their kids on. How to pick trick or treating buddies. Pick someone who doesn't like what you like (like chocolate) so that you can buy all that stuff they don't like with stuff you don't like. You're doing them a favor after all and helping their candy economy.

Ok enough with the trick or treating. I, for the first time ever, made Halloween goodies. Or a Halloween goody. Spiderweb cuppers. I used the vanilla cuppies recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (a crazy awesome book that you should run out and buy right now if you don't have it yet, how could you not have it yet anyway, get a friend to buy it for you if you can't, truly, get the book, bake more cupcakes!). I frosted them with the basic chocolate ganache recipe and helped Mrs Spider build her web with a quickie royal icing.
After webbing we enjoyed a quick fried rice dinner and for desert enjoyed one of these delicious looking treats only to find Mrs Spider had already caught some suculent flies.
Well the next time someone asks you where you get protein you can tell them you pick flies out of spider webs. Ok I'm just being silly. They are just currants but they are almost grossly the size of flies.

You may make a squash lover out of me yet.

2008-10-30T20:34:00.006-04:00

I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong. I need to rethink squash. I've eaten it of course. I don't hate it I just don't love it. I'm talking the hard winter squashes, not summer squash and zucchini. I have always eaten some kind of squash with Thanksgiving meal and usually Christmas. More tradition then craving. I am changing my tune now though. Over mofo with all these amazing looking recipes featuring soooo many squishes, I mean squashes. So I decided to try one. It's actually not from a mofoer but some mofos have tried it and verified it's deliciousness so I trusted and went for it.

With one carnival squash at hand I made Vegan Yum Yum's Squash Bisque. Yes I was using a different squash than was called for. Yes I had to scale down the recipe because I only had about 1 lb of squash. Luckily the recipe is all embracing, or very forgiving. It can be both can't it?
See how beautiful it is. So coming from a not-quite-a squash lover, try this soup.

So you need dessert too don't you? Lex though I was making too many chocolate desserts. I that even possible? Well just to satisfy him I threw together some non chocolate cookies tonight. The oatmeal raisin cookies from Eat Drink Be Vegan.
This woman knows cookies! I like that most of the recipes (as in, the ones I've made so far) make one sheet of cookies. They are truly quick recipes.

Pizza Pizza

2008-10-29T11:01:00.004-04:00

I almost miss those Little Caesars commercials.

It is almost as though the Daring Baker gods that be were smiling down on our VeganMoFo-ness. This month's challenge was another no-alterations-needed project. This month we were to make pizza but not just make a pizza. Make real authentic pizza dough and attempt to do the dough toss.

Looking at everyone else posting their favorite pizzas over the month it was so hard to hold back. Yes I could have shared my favorite toppings but to be honest I still haven't nailed down my perfect pizza. I also didn't want two posts to be nearly the same so I held back. This dough does put me a little closer to the perfect pizza.

The dough is made over the course of two days but don't let that put you off. It's not a quick recipe but it's not hard either.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH

Original recipe taken from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, chilled

1 3/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp dry yeast

1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil

1 3/4 Cups water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)

1 Tb sugar

Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.
NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.
The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.
NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven if you have one. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

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Now I've never tossed a pizza dough and as it turns out my dough is a little soft so it's all too willing to be stretched. I got in a couple little bounces on the knuckles before it was ready to go. Any more and I would have been wearing dough bracelets. So that explains the wonky look of my pizzas. I made only two of the six for now. The remaining four doughs are in the freezer for another day so maybe I'll have better luck by the end of those.
This first dough was topped with roasted red pepper hummus, baby spinach, slivers of garlic, seitan strips and a sprinkling of oregano and basil.Pizza number two was topped with baby spinach (can't get enough of the green stuff), olive muffeletta (check out the Vcon recipe!), strips of roasted red peppers. This one was my fave. Oh god I love olives.

sweet & tangy

2008-10-28T22:34:00.004-04:00

First off. If you haven't made Kittee's seitan, go, do it now. So easy and so good. Thanks Kittee. Your seitan will become one of my permanent recipes.

Now for my latest recipe. I wanted to use this fantabulous seitan in something super yum. I think I did ok here.

Sweet & Tangy Seitan

1lb seitan, cut into bite sized pieces
1 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb mirin
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 Tb corn starch
sesame seeds
sauce
3 Tb sweet chili sauce
2 Tb ketchup
2 Tb agave nectar
2 Tb soy sauce
1/4 cup water

Marinate the seitan in soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and sugar. You can do this for as long as you like.
Mix your flour and corn starch together and set aside. Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside.
Heat large pan or wok with a coating of oil over medium heat. Dredge the seitan in the flour and fry until golden on each side. Set seitan on paper towel or paper bag to drain. Remove the oil from the pan.
Add sauce to the pan and bring to a boil, sauce should thicken slightly. Add the seitan back to the pan and toss to coat. Serve with rice and broccoli or whatever you are inspired to pair it with. This should also work equally as well with well pressed tofu.

note: this sauce makes enough to cover the seitan, if you like lots of sauce then you may want to double this.

After a hard day's work

2008-10-27T22:01:00.001-04:00

After a long day of work sometimes involving difficult customers, just a lot of paper work or manual labor. Brain kinda shuts down but tummy still grumbles. That's when the craving for junk food can come in. My junk food of choice? Garden Burger Ribs, Spud Puppies (organic tater tots) and baked beans. This meal is stupid proof (unless you fall asleep while baking the tots).
So my prescription for a stressful day in need of junk food:
-stop at the store on your way home and pick up your three ingredients (this will probably cost less than $10 and you'll get at least two servings out of this)
-when you get home, preheat your oven to the temp indicated on the tater bag
-go change into something more comfortable (bow chicka bow bow)
-come back to the kitchen and dump your tots onto a baking sheet (only dump what you need if you aren't sharing)
-put the sheet in the oven
-grab a plate and prep your ribs and set those in the microwave, don't turn it on yet though
-dump your beans in a small saucepan and heat over medium, give it a stir every now and then but they don't need a lot of attention
-ok now turn on your ribs for 3-4 minutes on high
-tots take about 10 minutes so everything should be ready about the same time. Go pop in a movie, come back and take out the tots.
-Dump your grub on your plate(don't forget to turn off the stove and oven, this is important to remember in your exhausted state) and go relax yo!

a day off

2008-10-26T21:04:00.005-04:00

What does a vegan girl do on her day off during Mofo?

First she takes a little trip to South Burlington to visit some places she hasn't been in forever even though they are only 5 (or less) miles away.
I managed to blow $100 but it was fun. I went to Barnes & Noble and it was almost like they knew what books I hadn't gotten yet because Borders doesn't have them and I haven't been shopping online. I couldn't get everything of course but they had 5 or 6 books that I would have bought without a second thought. I couldn't really blow tons of cash (ha!) so I went for lower priced ones so I could get 2. You see my logic here? I picked up A Vegan Taste of Thailand and The Artful Vegan. That's pretty good restraint right? Then I walked a little further along to Healthy Living. I haven't been there since they moved to their new location and everyone keeps saying it's really nice, cool stuff, yadda yadda. Ok, they were right. City Market downtown Burlington has a lot of cool stuff but Healthy Living also has some cool stuff. Both places are good as they each have things the other doesn't. I limited myself to things I can't get downtown and of course tried to show a little restraint.

-Vitasoy Holly Nog (they also had Chocolate Peppermint so I'll need to go back for that)
-Unsweetened MimicCream
-Maine Root Sasparilla
-Grapeseed oil Veganaise (lots of people say this one is better and I usually only get the regular kind)
-So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt in plain, Strawberry Banana, & Raspberry
-Plain vegan gel (I want to try and make trifle like my husband remembers from home)
-another book The New Now and Zen Epicure (it's like they knew I had been looking at this book for a while or something, bastards!)
-smoked sea salt
-peanut butter filled prezels
-ginger beer (the good stuff, from England)
I feel like I just sent myself a care package, a heavy and expensive one. Healthy Living is definitely trying to woo me. At City Market they have a little cookbook section with veggie, omni and local cookbooks. Vegan books are light and they never have Isa's books there (I've had mixed results in requesting stuff). In Healthy Living there she is, looking out from the cover of Vegan with a Vengeance and look on another shelf and there's Veganomicon peering out over the top of a Moosewood cookbook of some kind. I fixed that by moving the Moosewood book. I stupidly keep looking and see the Zen Epicure book and just had to get it.

Actually the whole reason I went to South Burlington was to check out the mall for our holiday shop I'll be helping to set up in a couple weeks (yes the holidays are actually almost here) and I figured I'm already here may as well spend all my money.

What does she do next?
Reclaims her kitchen!
Before:
After:
Working full time and blogging like crazy can have the effect of letting things get away from you. The dishes were piling up. Lex was helping a little but it just took a good couple of hours of focused attack to clear it up.I am most proud of the rack and shelves. Not that a had a good before picture (maybe you can tell from the old kitchen post) but now all of my spices are organized and together (kinda). The bottom racks are full but tidy and navigable. Books are all straight and nice. Jars all straight and nice. Ah well, I'm liking it anyway. And yes, that's a jar of pickled onions on the floor. My husband is strange. Right next to it is a big ol' bag of shallots. He wants to make pickled shallots which are much better than pickled onions according to him. We need some malt vinegar though and I can't find any anywhere. Anyone have a bunch of malt vinegar they would like to send to me?

Iron Chef: Stuffing

2008-10-25T17:19:00.002-04:00

This week's Iron Chef turned out to be a twofer for me. I love stuffing so I was stoked to hear that this was the challenge. I've also been needing to use some of the random ingredients I've accumulated and of course those couple of perishable items that really need using. Yeah you know you all have them. An ingredient you bought for a recipe but don't use regularly so you have a 1/2 cup or so sitting in the cupboard doing nothing but taking up space for the next several months. That piece of fruit that rolled behind something on the counter so you didn't eat it while it was prime.
So yeah, this is my cupboard. it's pretty full of stuff and only about 1/3 of it is easily navigable. Enter Iron Chef Challenge.

I decided not to go out for any ingredients for this challenge. It's not like I needed to. I have enough random stuff to make several kinds of stuffing.

This isn't the most beautiful plate of food for sure but it's pretty good and everything was what I already had in the house. With the stuffing I made kidney bean cutlets (replaced chickpeas in the VCON chickpea cutlet recipe) using left over kidney beans. The sauce is VCON Red Wine Roux halved, I had the perfect amount of red wine to use up. And then the stuffing. I don't have a recipe for you but stuffing is good like that.

Almond Apple Bread Stuffing

1 onion, diced
2 medium apples, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
some thyme, oregano, sage
a pinch cumin and black pepper
1/3 ish cup rye flakes
1/3 ish cup barley flakes
2 cups veg broth
2 ish cups stale bread

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a 9x9" square pan. Saute the onion until softened, add garlic and apples. Cook 7-8 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except bread and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins. Remove from heat. Stir in bread. Press into prepared pan and bake 30 mins.

Sweet Vegan!

2008-10-24T22:22:00.000-04:00

When Vaishali on Holy Cow! announced her Sweet Vegan event I knew I wanted to make something for it. I'm usually veganizing something and I can't stay away from the sweets. I've made a couple desserts this month (aside from endless cookie testing) but here's my contribution. I think I can make this a little better but this is quite good as is.

Butterscotch Pudding
6 oz silken firm tofu
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tb vegan margarine
1 cup vegan milk of choice (I used half soy creamer and half almond milk)
3 Tb flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend tofu in food processor or blender until smooth, leave for the moment.
Mix sugar and margarine in heavy bottom saucepan and heat over low heat until both melt, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 cup milk and stir in. Mix flour and salt into the remaining 1/2 cup milk and whisk into pot. Mixture should thicken slightly.
Pour mixture and vanilla into food processor with the tofu and blend until smooth. Scrape down sides as needed.
Pour into serving bowls, this will make two pretty good sized servings or 4 smaller servings. Place in refrigerator to chill.
Serve with vegan whipped cream (I had some Soyatoo in the fridge already), with vanilla ice cream or on it's own.

Cooking with Friends

2008-10-23T23:15:00.001-04:00

Have you ever taken the time to cook with your best buds? I highly recommend it. It's only half about the food the other half is shotting the shit. It's been ages since I've cooked with my bff (as one of my younger employees would refer to her). It's not easy to cook together since we live in two different states. I wasn't vegan when we hung out but we had some great times. Mara and I made a Thanksgiving dinner together and quite a few bbqs. I suspect it will be a while yet until we get to cook in the same kitchen again. Luckily there are phones and the internets. We chat together while peeling peaches, baking pies, cutting veggies. Well as much as you can chat while not cutting your fingers off but it's goes pretty well.

Cooking from other blogs is kinda like cooking with your friends. After reading a blog for a little while you start to know a little bit about a person. While you are making the recipe you are reading their notes, their off hand comments about their life or the dish. The only thing you are missing is the actual person.

Tonight I did some cookin' with Mo of Mosetta Stone. After I read her post about vegan haggis and champ I knew it was my kinda thing. I've never tried the prepackaged vegan haggis and I've never tried the traditional scary non-vegan haggis so I wasn't sure what to expect but I trusted Mo not to pass on anything yuck.
This was really good. Like really good. It was like stuffing and mash. Woah mama. I'm dreaming of holiday meals now. I'll make this again for sure. Thanks Mo!

Checking off some Vegan Hundred

2008-10-22T22:07:00.000-04:00

Remember this post? The ol' Vegan Hundred. Knockin' some of them out today.
Yup, looks a little gross but it's on the list and this is actually the first time I've tried this stuff. Soyatoo is actually pretty good. Just another junk food to add to the list.

Then I got this mad craving for root beer floats. It's been ages. I made vanilla ice cream and picked up the most local root beer I could get in a bottle. There is some Burlington root beer but it's not available in a bottle so I'll try and talk about that later. I know a guy.
This is Maine Root Root Beer. Maine is pretty local and I'm from Maine originally so there ya go. This stuff is pretty tasty. I've always loved root beer anyway. A big ol' root beer float is just awesome.

Check off
35. Root beer float
75. Whipped cream straight from the can

oh, also
11. Nachos
I had those at New Ethic. Remember?

The Un-cooked

2008-10-21T22:33:00.002-04:00

I've been eating a higher percentage of raw food in my diet since our Greek vacation. Fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch. Not everyday because I'm lazy and shiz. I've long been interested in raw food recipes. Recipes beyond you're smoothies and salads. Actually I think I began flipping through raw food books before I became vegan. It was all very fascinating but it sounded too hard. It still seems a little challenging to me. Probably because it's not familiar yet and my husband is not into going raw so I have to sneak bits in here and there. Mostly it's been tasty, not that I've made a lot.

Let's start with what I'm not really into so far. Savory cream soups. I've tried a couple and although I like the ingredients separately together the flavor is almost too rich. It might be something I'll like later but next I think I'll try a more veggie broth type soup and see if I like that.
This one did come out pretty though.

Ani Phyo's Garlic Walnut Soup

Ok, I know I said more than salads but I love salads so I made one.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Marinated Onions in Mustard Seed Dressing

I loved this. Ate a big ol' bowl full myself. Oh this is another Ani recipe. If you have the book then make it.

So I've mostly focused on deserts. Who doesn't like desserts. Raw deserts are soooo nice.
I had some figs so I made Fresh Mission Fid and Pear Tart. This has a cookie kinda crust. I had a hard time not eating all of this before I pressed it into the pan. It's a little ugly due to laziness. I wanted dessert fast and didn't want to press it nicely.
I made this one a while ago. The Real Cheezecake. This is so rich but oh so good.

Like I said, I'm new to this but I'm going to keep going for it. I have a few raw books now but for this post I'm going to recommend Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. It's full of tasty looking recipes and great information.

Yes, I am the last person to make this.

2008-10-20T18:39:00.000-04:00

So I finally made the Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon. Yes, I know, I know. I'm the last person alive to not have made this. We I did ok? Finally. It was wonderful. Perfect actually for this cool rainy day when work was a complete waste of time. Well not a complete waste of time, just not the best.
I also made the Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans. After seeing so many mofoers making soup I kinda got jealous and had to make something. Couldn't be left out of the soup loop. The roasted garlic gives this a warm rounded flavor and the rice & beans make this a meal in itself.
These aren't my first VCON recipes. I'm getting mighty familiar with this book and it's pretty good from what I can tell. In a post from a couple days ago I mentioned the useful bits in this book about cooking veggies, grains and beans and outfitting your kitchen and pantry. Now let's talk about the recipes. I've actually already mentioned the super awesome and quick bean burgers and coconut lemon bundt cake. We will now move along to:
Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes. Let's just say these are little boats of deliciousness. If there is one thing I love as much as potatoes it's peas. I dunno why. I just do. Ok?
Sauteed Spinach and Tomatoes. Indian spiced spinach yum.
Tamarind Lentils. Many people have raved about these and I am no different. Really if this book is in your home and you haven't made them then get your arse in the kitchen and get them on the stove. These are crazy amazing. I have discovered a love for tamarind.
Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Broth Dip. These are kinda like those French dip sammies you might have heard about but with a not so French flair. These had a meatiness from the seitan slices with the cool crunch of cucumbers. Oh and the broth. I may or may not be drooling just thinking about these again
Seitanic Red Bean Jumbalaya. I just love how this dish is one of those one pot meals. A great meal..
BBQ Black-Eyed Pea Collard Rolls. It's pretty self explainatory. The sauce made this feel like a cookout without having to fire up the grill.
Jalapeno-Corn Gravy over some mashed taters. I never thought I'd have a corn gravy but now I'm thinking "where have you been all my life?"
Seitan Piccata with Olives and Green Beans. Aside from it's insane deliciousness and beauty this was actually a quick dinner to put together. It looks much harder then it is but the taste is all there.

Sauteed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach. I served this over Broccoli Polenta. Hells yeah!
Spaghetti and Beanballs. This cures the ghetti meatball craving that pops up every now and then.
Pasta Della California. Yup, it's pasta with avocado. It's got a little something special that makes this an awesome weeknight dinner. It comes together so quickly.
Eggplant Rollatini with Spinach and Toasted Pine Nuts. More impressive looking then the photo suggests and oh so delectable.Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding. I picked this one out because I had bananas the needed using, some bread in the freezer that would be suitable and bread pudding is always a good idea. The bread I used was actually a fairly grainy loaf so this was quite a hearty dessert but still forking devourable. I may or maynot have been very generous with the chocolate. Yes, I admit, I might have a problem.
And finally we come to the ice cream that started an addiction. Vanilla Ice Cream. It's a simple flavor that compliments the Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownies nicely.

I've made more that never made it to film but it's not over yet.

Cooking the other blogs

2008-10-19T21:28:00.001-04:00

Sometimes you just need to force yourself to put down the cookbook and check out one or two of those bookmarked recipes on your computer you've said you're going to try. Over the last couple of days I've managed to do that. So many good recipes and so little time. I wish this were my job.

I've been gravitating toward the quicker recipes for dinners because they were to be used for weeknight delights.

First up is Lolo's Super Quick Tomato Basil Creamy Pasta. This really is super quick and super tasty.
My pic doesn't look anywhere near as good as hers but good food doesn't have to look good. Just taste good. I used whole wheat fettucini.

A couple nights ago we had Desdemona's Eggplant, Chard & Chickpea Curry. I had two eggplants in the frige just begging to be in this so away it went. As far as quick dinners go there are quicker but this was easy and only too about 1 hr with a little multitasking. Also I'd like to show off the pile of spices to go into it.

Last night I went for something super quick and trusted Jennifer to get me there. We ate her veganized version of a Health Magazine recipe, Pasta with Brussels Sprouts and Sausage. I suspect that her recipe is actually the healthier one. I did have to modify it from brussels sprouts to broccoli as there were no sprouts to be found but it was good with broccoli.

And finally today I wanted to make more seitan and I really wanted to try Kittee's seitan recipe. This makes a ton (3lbs) which is awesome. I am a huge fan of preping ingredients ahead of time if possible. I don't have a pic of this just yet. It's steaming on the stove right now. It was super easy to put together. I have a good feeling about this one.

Money Saving Tips

2008-10-18T22:20:00.001-04:00

It's time to save some money. You know you have to. The economic climate today, wallstreet, blah blah blah. In the end you may or may not care what's going on in the world of everyone else's money but I know you care about your money and you don't want to spend anymore of it then is necessary unless it's on something really cool and/or fun.

So you want to save some money?
Let me hear you say "yeah!"
*crowd screams* YEAH!!!
I can't hear you
*crowd screams louder* YEAH!!
Then stop buying those damn canned beans!

Silliness aside, really the canned beans have got to go. I know what you're going to say. It's convenient, quick, ready to go, already cooked, etc. I hear you, they are pretty great but there are drawbacks and the alternative isn't as hard as you think.

Canned beans cost (at least in my area) between $0.99 a can to $2 a can, depending on what store you are in, if there are any sales, and conventional versus organic. In a can you get what? About 1.5-2 cups of cooked beans. The labels say 15oz.
For the price of one can of beans you can buy a pound of dried beans. Depending on the bean this roughly equals 6 cups cooked beans. That's equivalent to at least 3 cans, more for some beans. So that's what? $0.30 to $0.50/can? It's a rough estimate but like I said, every bean is a little different as far as weight and cooked size and of course per pound weight on beans varies. But unless I am buying a super special heirloom bean, I never pay more than $3/lb. Usually it's less than $2/lb and that's for organic.

Yesterday, my day off, I spent refilling my freezer with cooked beans. That isn't to say I spent the day slaving over a hot stove cooking beans constantly. I kinda just had them on in the background while I did other things like read blogs, do dishes, cuddle the kitty (even if he didn't want to), chase a bad kitty away so my kitty could come down from the tree so the birds would stop dive bombing him for being up in the tree, you know regular household day off stuff. You can even keep beans cooking pretty safely while you leave the house.

First you gotta buy some beans. Since there are so many colors and sizes I just keep jars of them on the shelves in my kitchen. I find them kinda pretty.
So cooking beans, for me is a vary, umm, unscientific process. Starting the night before I did some necessary prep work. Now I know this is already starting to sound like a long process and it kind of is but not really. Most of the "work" is hands off so hang in there. So the night before I picked some beans out the kinds don't matter. You can soak as much as you'd like, in my containers here about 1-1.5 cups (there are some markings on the sides) will expand to fill the container so I aim for that. Measure out your beans, dump them out onto a rimmed baking sheet (or somewhere you can spread them out without dumping them all over the floor) and have a quick look for nonbeans (you may find pebbles or bits of dirt, these are usually a similar size to the beans so they were not detected during processing), once they are picked over, rinse them and put them in your container. Fill the container with at least as much water as beans. I usually just fill the container with water, a little extra won't hurt them so no worries. Set them aside for 3-8 hrs (over night is easy).
Now when you come back to your beans you'll find them to be significantly bigger then when you left them. Maybe they are even trying to bust out of the container you put them in. It's pretty neat really. Well I think so anyway. Go ahead and drain off your rehydrated beans and now we are ready to cook them. Yesterday I had two cooking processes going. Like I said, I needed to completely refill my freezer so I was cooking a lot of beans.
I usually just use my slow cooker. Dump the beans in, cover with water plus an inch or two, cover slow cooker, set to low or high depending how quickly you need these puppies done. If I'm leaving them on while I'm at work I'll set it to low and they'll be done when I get home. This is perfect for chickpeas which are pretty hardy. I find my beans are done in 2-4 hrs when set to the high setting, the low setting may be too low on your slow cooker to get the job done in a reasonable timeframe but definitely experiment.
The other, no special equipment necessary, method is stove top. Medium size saucepan, cover with water as with the slow cooker and get the water boiling then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 1-2 hrs. While the beans are going you don't really need to hover over them. Make sure the beans stay covered with water though. Get other stuff done, this is a perfect lazy day off task or to keep a steady flow of beans, do a batch once every couple of days. I hear pressure cookers are awesome for this but I have never had one or used one.
Once your beans are cooked . . . go ahead and try one silly, that's the only way to check if they are cooked. Unless you've really let them go and it's kinda a pot of mush. If that is the case then we'll call it soup just add some seasonings and enjoy. What I do is drain them and freeze them in freezer bags. Some people really like that bean gravy though so you might want to save that, it's tasty as a replacement for broth in recipes or whatever you can think of. You can freeze the broth separately in containers or ice cube trays then bag the cubes. Since I use freezer bags which are pretty thick/tough I reuse them (just give them a quick rinse and dry them with the rest of the dishes).
Like I mentioned before, my cooking methods here are decidedly unscientific but I dug up some sites to help.
Pressure Cooker cook times chart
Bean Cooking Chart (includes soaking times, regular stove top method and pressure cooker)

So in the end I'm actually going to say, some canned beans can be a good thing. A backup to your freezer when you accidentally use all the ones you had cooked and didn't make more before you needed to use them. Also in the event of an actual emergency, especially if you are expecting to lose power, canned goods are going to serve you pretty damn well.

A caring package

2008-10-17T23:25:00.003-04:00

Most people know them as care packages but sometimes you gotta mix it up even if it's just a little. On the ppk I took part in a little swap. Organized by Katie at Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk (she's just great isn't she?) my partner was Erin in LA and my package came today. By a strange set of circumstances (i.e. we communicated well and sent the packages at the same time and via priority mail) her package arrived today too so we were pretty much both opening them at the same time.

Let's see what goodies we have here shall we?
This package was super cool. Full of stuff I wanted (just like asking Santa) and bonus neato bits.
A bag of chocolate coffee chips (I've never tried these!) and a bag of white chips. There were two rice forms (I've been wanting these to make my bento even more fun). One for traditional sushi piece size and triangular onigiri ones. I can't wait to play with these.

Staying with the Japanese theme we also have a little minature set (i'll try to set this up and add a pic, it's cute) and red bean cakes. I've been interested in trying red bean paste for a while but haven't gotten to it yet. It's good, unique but good. Lex says these cakes kind taste like dates. I agree, you could pass this off as dates. Not that you would have to but you could.
Oh and Mac got the best bit of all, in his little kitty opinion. The box! and tissue paper too?!?! You shouldn't have.
So the box is his new buddy.
He barely fits but he was determined to sleep in there.

So I need something special to use the chocolate coffee chips in. Suggestions?

Why I didn't do this earlier I do not know.

2008-10-16T21:25:00.000-04:00

During this month, one of my goals was to cook from a cookbook I haven't before. I don't have a lot of those but I am ashamed to admit there are a couple. I chose Hot Damn and Hell Yeah, Recipes for Hungry Banditos by Ryan Splint and Vanessa. I picked this up from Food Fight Grocery when I placed an order with them a while ago for the Vegan Passport. We were taking our first trip to Greece and were preparing for people to not understand that we didn't any animal stuff to eat. Turns out, over all people understood just fine. Just about everyone speaks enough English to communicate this but the passport is still a good thing to have around just in case.

Anyway back to the book. I've had it for over a year and looked at it from time to time but never got around to making anything from it. It's a cool little book actually. One half is Hot Damn and Hell Yeah but you flip it over and it's another book, The Dirty South Cookbook. I'll have to make something from this too.
I figured I should go for something kinda unhealthy. Why not right? I had a craving for mashed taters and comfort food. I seem to get this craving often actually. Here's what I went for . . .

Country Fried Tofu and Vegetable Mountain with Gravy

I would buy this book for this plate of food alone. It was that good. The tofu marinade flavored the inside while the crispy lightly spiced fried outside made for happy mouth times. The vegetables were a quick and easy side dish to pile on top of my mashed taters. The gravy was the perfect diner quick basic gravy. Holy cows this was tasty. I shared this with my husband, who I share most of my food with. he also enjoyed it. Enough so he made a comment that would not be appropriate to share with the general public but it was complimentary anyway.

This book is pretty fun to look at besides cook from. The descriptions are written with a bit of a southern twang. The illustrations are da bomb diggity. I couldn't find any examples online (I didn't look super hard, maybe they are out there) but they're pretty cool anyway. I'm not going to try and describe them. You should just get the book.

On Cookbooks

2008-10-15T20:50:00.002-04:00

Don't you love those titles. It's one of those lead-ins that make you think the author knows what they are talking about. I'm not saying I'm an expert but as you can see from my ever growing cookbook collection on the sidebar), I do have an insight.

When shopping for new cookbooks in person, like lots of people do, I flip through the recipes to estimate how much of the book I might find tasty. I look at the pictures (if there are any), if the food looks tasty then it might actually be tasty. I often even have a quick read of the "about the author(s)" bit. Where is this person coming from that they have such an awesome insight into vegan cooking. People who run or used to run veggie businesses usually have tasty treats up their sleeves. Bloggers are a good bet too, their recipes have one of the greatest testing bases in the world, everyone reading their blog.

When I'm shopping online, especially for a book I have never seen in person I have to rely more on reviews, both word of mouth and written reviews. This is where things can get dicey though. Some people review books like the author was supposed to write the book especially for them and they did it wrong. I've seen a lot of reviews say things like "this book could have used more recipes, half of the book is a tutorial on how to cook basics." The book probably has a section dedicated to basic cooking skills and the reviewer did not appreciate this. Unfortunately, in my mind, this makes the reviewer ridiculously self centered. The book was not written for them in particular, cookbooks are written for as large of an audience as you think you can capture. Especially vegan cookbooks. Any good vegan cook knows that good food is one of the best ways to create a favorable avenue to vegan discussion (and possible future new vegan commitments). Review a book for what it is. If none of the recipes work out for you, by all means say so, maybe the author didn't have the recipes thoroughly tested and that is a problem. But don't complain there weren't enough cookie recipes in the breakfast book you just bought if you catch my drift.

After reading another blogger's daily mofo post I realized something about most vegan cookbooks that I hadn't really acknowledged before. Vegan cookbooks really take care of you. No, I don't mean they cuddle you when you are sad (although I've found lots of recipes that are good stand ins for this), I mean they teach you about food. What tastes good, how to prepare it. Common issues and how to fix them. How to cook grains, beans, vegetables. This sometimes causes bad reviews because some people stop appreciating it after the 4th or 5th cookbook purchase. Everyone, please remember, this might be some new vegan's first cookbook into mysterious new world of veggiedom. Don't fault the author for accounting for this and trying to make sure it's a happy, easy transition. And you should still read this info. You might learn something new and if not you will just be reinforcing your know-it-all-ness.

I would like to mention some of my favorite cookbooks to learn something from. These aren't reviews, I'd like to devote a separate post for an actual review. These are just books that have taught me something. Books that are good to read from as well as cook from.

Voluptuous Vegan

by Myra Kornfeld

This book has an ingredient section that gives you a good introduction to grains. What they are, where they come from & preparation tips. Not on every grain of course. Just a few that you will come across, particularly in this book. How practical, right? There are also equally useful greens and beans sections.
There is a kitchen equipment and terms section. For me I find equipment sections less than useful until I am looking to actually get a new item, then I want to know what the other people that I cook with use. The cutting techniques section can be invaluble to a kitchen noob and even someome fairly familiar with chopping things. There are terms, descriptions and handy illustrations to help you aquire the skills. Then you get into the recipes. I can tell you they are mighty fine. At the end of the book you will find a glossary filled with familar and foreign terms (depending on how long you have been cooking vast arrays of deliciousnesses). Following this is a mail order section, good for those who don't have ready access to awesome stores with every ingredient they will need and then some. The very last page is all about conversions from imperial to metric. Not just that but typical American termanology (that might have been used in the book) to possibly more familar termanology (lima beans - broad beans, cheesecloth - muslin). Again, you might know all this but maybe, just maybe you'll learn something new.

Vegan with a Vengeance
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

This book will always have a special place in my heart as this was my first vegan cookbook. This book doesn't have huge sections about kitchen stuff. It spreads it out a bit, giving you bits of information as you need it. Using new information in a practical hands on way will help you remember it and apply the knowledge again. In the begining of the book is a good little section on outfitting your kitchen, not a huge remodel, just the basics in tools and food. It then goes straight into recipes but here's where the information starts to flow. There are little hints & tips (some of them from her cat Fizzle) about what kind of pans to use or how to cut something easily or what something is that you might not know about (like tvp), you get the idea. There are lots of these tips, they are very accessable but you can also easily ignore them if you want to. There are also 1-2 page sections scattered about with personal stories and super useful tutorials like how to press and cut tofu. Let me tell you, this might be common knowledge to some but I was new to tofu, without this little guide I might not feel as comfortable with tofu as I now do. Now, tofu is my bitch. This book also brought me to The Post Punk Kitchen the most awesome vegan community of the web.

How It All Vegan
by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer

This is a good beginner vegan book. I'm not saying you can't still like it when you aren't a beginner. I'm just saying that it makes a good starter book too. First we learn what veganism is and how to get there. We also learn how to replace familiar animal products in your life with nonanimal products. Not everyone approaches veganism with needing replacement, some people like to start fresh and incorporate new things into their diet. But some people need replacements and that's not a bad thing. Whatever works for you is great and you should go with it. In this substitutions section we aren't just learning how to replace eggs and milk we are also learning about the loads of new foods you probably have never heard of in your narrow omni existance (ok this isn't true for all omnis but I think it's true for most of them). They can't cover everything but it's quite a start. It would get you going in the bulk section of your co-op. There's also a section on making your own household cleaners and an appendix covering typical nonvegan ingredients.

The Garden of Vegan
by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer

This is the second book and here we get some Q & A, some personal stuff some practical advise stuff. Also you'll find a list of kitchen tips & tricks (these are just a good array of stuff to know). A list of 45 things to do with baking soda, yes this really is a versatile ingredient. Kitchen first aid, we all hope we'll never need it but in truth we'll probably all need it at one time or another (I've cut myself several times, luckily no fires yet and only minor burns). At the end we get some party tips (if you are new to hosting any kind of party then you could probably use all the help you can get right?) and a terms glossary (vocabulary lessons are never a waste of time).

La Dolce Vegan
by Sarah Kramer

This book begins with some great little "common complaints" for lack of a better term. Things people say to justify their not following a vegan diet. This probably isn't necessary for someone who owns the book, they are probably already vegan buying vegan cookbooks and all. This is useful for those inevitable discussions you have with people who aren't supportive, the dreaded ex-veg*n, or the just plain argumentative. Here you will also find time management and emergency tips as well as basic cooking tips like cooking pasta, rice, tofu, veggies, baking (separate cake & pie). And where would we be without another cool list of "45 things to do with salt"?

Veganomicon
By Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

What isn't to learn from this book? The recipes cover a wide range of cooking ingredients, styles, and events (casual to fancier). The begining of this book does a fantastic job of orienting the vegen to their kitchen. Equipment recomendations and basic panty stocking aside it also talks about the basic cooking of grains, beans and veggies. Sometimes you might not need these instructions, especially if you are following a recipe but what these little tips do is teach you to create for yourself. It's like a gentle push on your backside to get into the kitchen and take a chance (if you're the kind of person that needs a little butt nudge). I reference these pages a lot for grains and beans I haven't cooked enough to remember how to cook them properly. Yes there is always trial and error but why take the chance of screwing it up beyond edibility when help is right there on your bookshelf?

Get it Ripe
by Jae Steele

This is one of my more recent cookbook purchases and so I haven't made any recipes from it but I've been hearing over this crazy mofo month of delights coming from this book so I'm going to (I think safely) assume that this is a good tasty addition to your collection. Now just because I haven't cooked from this book doesn't mean I haven't cracked it open. I've actually read everything in the book aside from each recipe. There is some awesome information that really got me thinking in there. I didn't have to be convinced to become vegan, I am already there. Jae talks a lot about food cleanliness and fair trade practices. I found the beginning of the book to be a really great motivator to think about where your food is coming from and learning the value of organic foods. You are conveniently presented with a list of most contaminated conventionally grown foods and least contaminated so help you make those shopping decisions whether it is to switch to organic or to just stop buying that item (except maybe sales and special occasions, like me with bell peppers) because the organic item is really quite expensive but the conventional is just filthy. At the beginning of the baking section there is a little about vegan baking and tips. And at the back you will find a section of cleansing. This came at a good time for me because I have recently become interested in cleansing. I'm still doing reading about it so who knows if I will actually perform a "cleanse" but the information is useful, interesting and a jumping off point to do your own research if you would like to know more. Suggested resources are also given.

Ok I've gone on long enough for one post.

What's in your (vegan) freezer?

2008-10-14T21:39:00.004-04:00

What's in your (vegan) Freezer?

Started by Billy

Here's how it works:

Take a picture of the items in your freezer

Post the picture to your blog and give a summary of the items

Tag 5 vegan bloggers

I've been tagged by Lindsay at Cooking for a Vegan Lover. This is kinda fun, seeing what people have in their freezers on any given day. So let's take a look in mine.
In the door shelves we have . . .
Starting from the top left: ice packs, peas, corn, rhubarb, lime leaves, 2 extra Gardenburger Flame Grilled burgers, 1 Gardenburger BBQ Riblet, Ezekiel burger buns. Next shelf: more Ezekiel buns, cherries, half a loaf of Ezekiel sliced bread.
Ok, on the the main event. Standing up on the side I have a package of tofu sheets (I think there are two in there, I'm not sure what I should do with them yet), eggroll wrappers, grape leaves, and a pie crust. On the little shelf thing there is quite a collection: bread crumbs, box of Gardenburger BBQ Riblets (are you seeing what we have for junkfoodnight?), organic tater tots, homemade peach ice cream (recipe not quite right yet), 2 slices of chocolate sin-namon cake (from EDBV), dumpling wrappers. On the base of the freezer there is a bag of sliced bread that I think is stale and needs to be made into bread crumbs when I have some room in the container, homemade phish food type ice cream (still working on that recipe too, it's almost there), homemade rum raisin ice cream, mango, and ice trays.

I've tagged:
VancouverVegan
Alien on Toast
Crafty Vegan
I am not a rabbit
Level 20 Vegan Bard

Favorite Pot Luck Dish

2008-10-13T20:23:00.002-04:00

Everyone needs one. A go-to dish. Something you can make just a little of or vatloads of. Something you can share with people of varying tastes and eating habits. Something you can eat when you are at the omni or "vegetarian" pot luck and there isn't a thing you can eat because even the vegetable dishes are covered in cheese.

I first made this dish for a little get together for a friend who was in town for a short time. The inspiration for this recipe came from La Dolce Vegan! I haven't made much from this book but this was a lucky find. This is an easily modified dish and it's quick to put together. We were two of three vegetarians at this get together and everyone loved these beans. Like, loved them so much I almost didn't get any.

Sorry for the poor looking food quality. I used beans that I had over cooked so they were a little too soft to begin with but this still tasted awesome. I added some kale on there to fill out the required green veg category for the day.

Smoky "Oh My Goodness" Beans
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 Tb olive oil
3 cups of your favorite beans, cooked
1 tomato, chopped
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1 tsp salt (unless your stock is salty)
1 Tb maple syrup
1 tsp liquid smoke

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute onion, garlic and jalapeno in the oil until onions have softened. Add the beans, tomato, stock, salt, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Bring mixture to a gentle boil then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes uncovered. The liquid should reduce some.

Iron Chef: Pears & Nuts

2008-10-12T20:37:00.003-04:00

Here's a little dish that didn't quite work first time around but should be a good and easy little dessert.

Bex' Not Quite Cooked Barley Pecan Pears
2 Pears, cut in half
some barley flakes,
sugar, cinnamon, canola oil, & flour
agave for drizzling

I kinda fail this Iron Chef challenge but oh well. They were still tasty. I want to make something quick and small that doesn't really need a recipe.

Happy Birthday Lex!

2008-10-11T23:24:00.004-04:00

Today was the hubby's 34th. I did my best to make it special with some treats throughout the day.

First a good ol' plate of homefries with a red bell pepper and a leek along with a little pile of pesto tofu scramble with some kale and a tomato.
Next I decided to go for RayRay's Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls. Yeah you heard me. If you haven't tried these and you are at all a fan of peanut butter then do it. And check out the pictures on his blog cause I slightly over baked mine so they are a little dark on top but they were still amazing. I'll make them again and keep a closer eye on them.
Ok so the cinnamon rolls kind of ended up being lunch.
The cake requested was a "death by chocolate, really fudgy chocolaty." Ok, a chocoholic should be able to come up with something. This is what was produced:

Chocolate Truffle Cake
Cake Layers
1/4 cup chocolate chips (or 2 oz of your favorate chocolate bar)
1/4 cup canola oil 3/4 cup all purpose flour (wheat would be f ine here too)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 small ripe banana, mashed (apple sauce would probably work)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain soy milk (or other nondairy milk)
1 Tb flax meal
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F and oil two 9" round cake pans. Set up your double boiler (or makeshift double boiler) and melt chocolate chips with oil. While chocolate is melting, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In your liquid measuring cup, combine soy milk, flax and vanilla. Set aside. Whisk your melted chocolate and oil well to combine well. Add in mashed banana and sugar, mix well. Fold in soy/flax mixture. Stir the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients. Split the batter evenly between the two pans. There should be enough to cover the bottom of both. Spread the batter to the edges of the pans and even out as much as you can. These will be fairly thin layers. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean. The edges should pull away from the sides of the pans. Cool the layers in the pans.

Creamy Center Layer
6 oz semisweet chocolate (or darker, I used 75% dark bars)
1 12oz pkg extra firm silken tofu
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in your double boiler. Pour off any extra liquid from the tofu and add to food processor. Process until smooth scraping down sides as needed. Add sugar & vanilla. Process until combined. Add melted chocolate. Process until smooth.

Ganache

6oz of semisweet or bittersweet choocolate (I used 75% Dark Bars for this too)

6 oz (3/4 cup) soy creamer (or nondairy milk of choice)

1 Tb light corn syrup

1 Tb dark rum (optional)

3/4 tsp vanilla

Chop chocolate and place in a medium sized bowl. Heat creamer and corn syrup in saucepan on low until it reaches a gentle boil. Immediately pour over chocolate. Allow to set for one minute then slowly stir and mix chocolate and cream together until melted and mixed. Blend in vanilla and rum. Glaze will thicken but should still be pourable.

Assembly: Place one cake layer on plate, add creamy center layer and spread to near the edges, place second cake layer on top, press gently to bring center layer even with edges of the cake (the center layer doesn't need to have smooth edges but you can smooth them if you want. Pour ganache on top, you can spread to edges and allow to drip over sides or you can smooth it evenly over top and sides. Add chocolate shavings to top to pretty up the presentation if you'd like.

We went out for dinner to Single Pebble but more on that in a later post.

Feasting Greek Style

2008-10-10T22:51:00.003-04:00

So I finally got around to making a small Greek feast the other night. It's only been months since we have been back from that beautiful country but time flies huh.

As this is a food blog on with the food. I didn't make anything particularly difficult but I did try some things I had never made myself before. The most exciting being dolmades. Right off the bat I had a little challenge. How to get the grape leaves out of the damn jar. Upon inspection I realized the leaves are kind of rolled and put in the jar as a tube so they are only coming out as one unit. So there was some dumping the brine, some squeezing shimmying and out they came.

Dolmades

8oz jar grape leaves
4 Tb olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup rice
1 cup vegetable stock
juice of one lemon
2 Tb pine nuts, chopped
1 Tb fresh dill, chopped
1 Tb fresh mint, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed

Rinse the vine leaves in warm water, pat dry. You want to pick out 24 leaves without rips or missing bits. Cut off any stems that are still attached. Do not toss out the extra leaves, you'll still use those.
Heat 1 Tb olive oil in pan over medium heat and cook onion until soft. Add rice and toast for 30 seconds or so. Add veg stock and half of the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts, dill & mint.
Lay out your 24 vine leaves, shiny side down. Divide filling evenly among them, about 1 rounded Tb per leaf, at the base of each leaf. Fold in the sides of each leaf then roll up. Line the base of a heavy pan with some of the extra grape leaves then fill the pan with the dolmades. Pack them together or they might come open during cooking. Mix the remaining oil, lemon juice and garlic and spoon over dolmades. Add enough water to the pan to cover then place an inverted plate on top to hold them down. Bring the water to a boil then cover, lower heat and simmer gently for about 1 hr. Towards the end of the hour, remove the lid and let the water evaporate. Remove from heat and allow the dolmades to cool.
Store in the fridge until ready to serve (remove a little early if you don't want them so chilled, I like them at room temperature). You can use extra grape leaves to decorate your serving plate.

I made skordalia (a potato & garlic dip/spread) and melitzanosalata (an eggplant salad/dip). The skordalia needs some work but the melizanosalata was delicious.

Melitzanosalata

1 lb eggplant
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pierce eggplant with a fork several times and roast in the oven for about 1 hr. Eggplant should look deflated and skin should blacken a bit. Scoop out the pulp and combine with remaining ingredients, mashing eggplant with a fork to create a creamy texture. To create a completely smooth dip use a food processor, stick to a fork for more texture.

We had a chickpea salad at our first meal in Athens. It was awesome. Simple, cool, a sprinkling of large salt crystals. Yum.

Chickpea Salad
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1 small cucumber, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cup black olives, chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb balsamic vinegar
1 Tb fresh thyme or oregano (or blend of both)
freshly ground black pepper

Combine ingredients except black pepper in large bowl. Toss to mix & coat everything in oil & balsamic. Season with fresh pepper to taste.

At every meal you have bread, so perfect for sopping up that beautiful green fresh olive oil. Usually it was white bread although wheat bread seems to be making more frequent appearances these days. The older ladies of the village will still think you strange for wanting whole meal bread. I served this with some fresh wheat oregano olive rolls.

An Ode to Nooch

2008-10-09T22:16:00.001-04:00

Hi! I'm Mac.
I'm cute and sometimes cuddly but I like to make sure I'm always a little bit of a butt pain.
That's what my people say anyway.

I pretty much only eat my kibbles 'cause I'm picky like that.
But I have a hankering for a special treat.

Nooch, nooch, I love you nooch but where oh where are you.

Are you under the sink? No I guess not. Seems like a good place to keep it.

Hey you! Get the nooch out for me. Do my bidding!
Nomnomnomnom I nomnom like nomnom nooch nomnom

Ok it wasn't an ode so much as Mac begging for some nooch.

Nutritional yeast (fondly known as nooch to some in the vegan community) is a deactivated yeast used as a nutritional suppliment and a delicious cooking ingredient. You can find it in health food stores, co-ops and well stocked supermarkets in powder and flake form. I buy mine in the bulk section but it can be found prepackaged too.

Nooch has a kinda cheesy taste but not really. It's one of those things you either love or hate. I love it. It makes appearances frequently on mac & cheese, popcorn, spaghetti, toast, need I go on.

Miss parmasan cheese?
Whir some nutritional yeast and walnuts in a food processor until mixture turns to small crumbles like parmasan sprinkly cheese.

Cookies! and a good book

2008-10-08T23:01:00.001-04:00

Chocolate Mint Melties. Yes, that's right. Chocolatey, minty, melty.
Chocolate mint melties from Eat, Drink, Be Vegan, Dreena Burton's latest cookbook offering.
Ok, I can hear the cries for more cookies
These are 5-spice Almond Cookies. There is just something about that crackled look on the top of a cookie. I love it. Can't say why. It's just cool looking and comforting in some holidays with your gran kinda way.

So many people have already sung the praises and talked the talk of this book. I've had it for a while and made a lot of the recipes in it. Talk about a tasty, useful, weeknight dinner book.

This book is broken up into ten recipe sections: Breakfast, Hummus, Nibbles, Sauces/Dressings, Soup/Stews, Sandwiches, Mains, Sides, Desserts, Beverages. In addition to the recipes there are sections there are cooking notes, kitchen tips, baking notes, grain and bean cooking guides

Cocoa Banana Muffins
Also from the breakfast section I can recommend the Tomato Basil Quesadilla.

Black Bean & Orange Hummus (I wasn't completely into this, just too citrusy for my hummus taste) but the Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Hummus was too good.

Zucchini Chickpea Tomato Curry

Sweet & Sour Chipotle Tempeh with Sweet PotatoesGoddess Garbanzos with Polenta Fries. I had never had polenta fries before and she made it sound like I was missing out so I had to try them. She was right. I was missing out.

Sesame Lime Soba with Shiitake and Snow PeasBean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna

Allow me to also recommend:
Pan Fried Tempeh (if you don't think you like tempeh you might be wrong here)
Tamari Roasted Chickpeas (my husband went crazy for these. There were some on the plate. He gobbled those up then pointed at the empty spot and said "any more?")
White Bean & Walnut Bruschetta (I've made this a couple times now. Really good as a appetizer or as a side with pasta).
Coco-Coconut Chili
Sweet Potato Lentil Chili (awesome awesome cold weather dish)
Popeye Pasta
Teriyaki Quinoa

Chocolate Sin-namon Cake with Creamy Vanilla Frosting. Check out the crumb on this cake. It was so light I couldn't get a neat slice. This was a really good cake.

For more desserts do try:
All-purpose Vanilla Cake (the best vanilla cake I have tried so far)
Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Frosting (for the vanilla cake obviously)
Strawberry Cream Frosting
Super Charge Me! Cookies (good travel cookies when you think the airline might ignore the fact you're vegan even though you chose the "pure vegetarian" option).

I still have more recipes to try so I'm sure I'll eventually have another collection of photos to drool on. If only I had better photography skills and a really kickass camera then you'd be in real trouble.

Burlington has a New Ethic

2008-10-07T21:35:00.002-04:00

I'm seeing a lot of people finding this blog by searching for New Ethic. Unfortunately New Ethic has closed. There was definitely a lot of interest in the place by the veg and nonveg community so we hope to see another restaurant give it a go. May I suggest the old Smoke Jack's location on Church and Main? It won't be cheap rent but you are definitely right in the thick of it. 5/9/09
I know you will all think I'm a great big fibber but you have to believe me. Burlington Vermont has an all vegan cafe. Let me just say that again,

BURLINGTON VERMONT HAS AN ALL VEGAN CAFE!!!

Sorry for the yelling I just wanted to make sure those of you at the back could hear the news.

New Ethic Cafe, located at 260 North St (right on the corner of North St and S Winooski Ave) in the old north end of Burlington. They are all shiny and new so let me show you around. Ok, it's a cafe so it's not all that big but you can have a look anyway.
Look, door to door service. How nice am I?As we step in you'll notice another person taking pictures. He works here though. I managed to walk in opening day so they were documenting their shiny new cafe just as I was.So you've got your tables, big window, bar seating. Also that cozy nook with the cool artwork about the couch. And I really like the post/pillar (I don't know what the techinical difference is). It's all asymmetrical cool and who doesn't love bamboo? The big glowing orbs you see floating around are those big paper lantern lights, my camera just doesn't pick up the detail of their brightness (I know you were hoping they were aliens but they were just lights, trust me, I talked to them).

So by now you're saying "yeah this is all well and good but how's the food?" I'm getting to that Mrs & Miss' ImpatientPants, geez.

I've been there twice now and will keep going back. Not only to support the business but to try everything on the menu. How can you make a recomendation of a place without trying lots of their stuff? Most places you can't try everything because it's not all vegan, but here, it is so I will. So there.

The first meal I shared with my veggie pal Megan. We split two sammies down the middle in the middle of our hard work day. What you can't see is that this plate is on a cardboard box. It was the perfect time out.
First up, the Plantain Burger with lettuce tomato onion and the New Ethic special sauce. Now I'm new to plantains so I went straight for this, and it sounded cool. So it was cool. It contained two small plantain patties and they special sauce was finger lickin' good.
And next up we have the BLT (hickory smoked coconut bacon, lettuce, tomato, and house mayo). I had to order this the first time out. Coconut bacon? No way! Yes way. This is the shiz. I like how little or lot you can have of this bacon, it's not crumbles like bacon bits so it has a better mouth feel. The flavor is all there.

The second time around I went for Sunday lunch with the husband guy. He ordered
The sweet chili burger. A house made burger with onions and sweet chili sauce. He added a bit of bacon cause it's hard to resist. As you can see this came with a small side salad and dill pickle (I love dill pickles and stole this right off his plate). The take out order I placed the first time around did not include the salad so that might be an eat in perk. I got a bite of this and it was awesome. If you have ever made veggie burgers you know they can often come out a bit too soft. This had an awesome texture. I highly recommend it.
I went for the nachos. This are pretty self explanatory. You can barely see in the picture but there is a little sprinkle of nutritional yeast on top. I loved this cause I have a thing for nooch. Cheese, black beans, salsa, corn, avocado. Yup, these were great, I loved every bite.

So check out the menu for yourself. It has a good offering of various foods covering things between bread, comfort foods, healthy smoothies. I'll report back on more delicious eats as I try them but . . .

if you're in the area. eat there
if youre coming to the area. eat there.
If you're thinking about coming to the area. Do it and then eat there.

Don't think you can find it? That is soooo not an excuse, let me know, I'll get you there.

Peter Piper didn't pickle these peppers

2008-10-06T22:25:00.000-04:00

And here my friends are the fruits of my labor. Ok, there wasn't much labor. These peppers practically grew themselves. I watered them a bit sure. Oh, and put them in the ground in the first place. Ok, yeah, the fruits of my labor. Some thai chilies, jalapeno, and I forget the big bell peppers (I'll fix this when I remember, tee hee).

When the pepper harvest came around I knew I needed to resurrect the Thai curry but then I'm usually not home until 7 or 8 so I want to make something quick. Enter ready to go red curry paste. You can make your own and store it in the fridge and I will because I need to do something with all these thai chilies. I just didn't this time.

Thai Red Tofu Curry

2 Tb peanut oil
1lb extra firm tofu, drained and gently pressed
2-4 Tb thai red curry paste
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 14oz can coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves
Juice of 1 lime (optional)
Handful of thai basil (optional)

Cut tofu into 1/2" pieces, you pick the shape (triangle, cube, rectangle, whatever). Heat the oil in wok or lg heavy bottom pan over medium heat, add tofu and cook 3-5 minutes per side. You want to lightly brown the pieces. Do this in batches if this makes it easier, I think I did two batches in a wok. Set the tofu aside and set your wok back over the heat.
Add the curry paste to the pan and heat for 1 minute stirring a couple times. Add the red pepper and cook until slightly tender, 5 minutes or so. Add the coconut milk and stir to incorporate the curry paste and coconut milk. Add lime leaves and tofu and let the mixture simmer for 20 mins.
Serve your curry over the rice of your choice (we had brown basmati rice). Sprinkle serving with thai basil leaves and with a squeeze of lime juice (or serve with lime wedge) if desired.

Crack of Noon

2008-10-04T22:41:00.010-04:00

You know, brunch time. Isa has been feverishly working away at a new cookbook and I was able to do some recipe testing. This has resulted in some pretty tasty meals. I know you want to see some previews so I'll show off some of the recipes I tested to get your mouths watering. This book will need to be on your wish list.

Bagels, yes bagels from scratch
Leek & Mushroom Breakfast Pie
Sausages
Morning Casserole
Peanut Butter Waffles
Beer Battered Tofu
Corn waffles with seitan & mole
Banana Rabanada
Matzoh Brie
Sesame tofu (this is probably my favorite)
Tofu Benny
Polenta Rancheros
Pumpkin French Toast
Samosa mashed potato pancakes

This is just what I too pictures of, there was much more yumminess enjoyed. This is going to be a seriously delicious book. You'll be able to put together a stellar brunch for anyone, omni or vegan.

Don't forget to get yourself a copy of this when it comes out. It's already up on Amazon for preorder but it will probably also be available at your usual vegan venues (Herbivore, Cosmos, Food Fight, etc).

Alright, it's late. Keeping up wit all these MoFo posts is almost a full time job, keep the vegan food flowing guys!

Iron Chef: Apples & Ginger

2008-10-04T22:41:00.009-04:00

This VeganMoFo Iron Chef Challenge comes to you from Katie at Don't Eat Off The Sidewalk. I'm posting this a little late but there's a recipe in it so I've got to share that.

For this Iron Chef Challenge our ingredients were Apples and Ginger. Immediately I thought dessert and could not escape the allure. I asked my husband what he thought I should make (sometimes two heads are better than one, sometimes you want everyone to shut up, today I wanted ideas). After throwing out a few standard flavors, pie being the quickest to mind, he stopped and got this slightly excited look on his face.
"Make ginger cake"
Me: "Make a ginger cake, ok . . " It sounded kinda boring to me but I had forgotten, he's a brit, he didn't mean just any ol' ginger cake
Him: "Yeah ginger cake, my Nan used to love them. Ever heard of Lyons Ginger Cake? "
Me: "No . . . What was that brand name again?" Now I'm poised over my keyboard, cursor at the search bar.
After some searching around I kinda found what he meant. This wasn't just any ol' ginger cake indeed. This was a classic packaged cake. One that I had never had so I was going to have to try and make it and then rely on his sensory recollection for the flavor and texture.

For the cake a did a little searching for recipes for a jumping off point. I found one and it seemed easy enough to veganize. My version goes a little something like this:

Like Lyons Ginger Cake

2 Tb flax meal 6 Tb water
3/4 cup earth balance vegan margarine
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup agave nectar 1 scant cup nondairy milk
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2-3 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 300. Lightly spray loaf pan and line with baking parchment. Whisk together flax and water, set aside. In a saucepan melt the margarine with sugar and agave. Remove from heat and mix in milk then add in flax mixture and combine well. In a bowl mix together flour, ginger (use anywhere between 2-3 tsp depending on how strong you want your ginger flavor), baking powder and baking soda. Combine flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hr then cover the top with parchment (so top doesn't burn) and bake another 25 mins. The cake is done when tester (or knife) inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool for 5 mins in pan then turn onto rack to cool completely.

This cake may keep forever, you'll see what I mean when you slice into it. That's one dense cake. You get an idea on how this is pretty shelf stable.

So now I needed an apple component.
I used local Ananas Reinette Apples from Scottfarm in Dummerston for this delicious fall treat. Ananas Reinette, an old European variety that resembles a Granny Smith a bit which makes it great for baking or just eating, means royal pineapple for it's flavor has a slight pineapple twang to it.

Caramel Candy Apple Topping
4 Ananas Reinette apples (or 2 Granny Smiths)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tb water
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon a pinch of nutmeg

Slice or dice your apples, go for 1/4 inch thickness. Combine all the ingredients in a large heavy bottom skillet. Simmer this mixture over medium heat for 5-8 mins, you want the liquid to thicken to a syrup consistancy and the apples to get a little tender but not fall apart.
Serve this however you like. The cake is moist enough to eat on it's own if you want so fear not if you run out of topping, or just double to topping recipe.

Fear not your kitchens, great and small

2008-10-03T23:01:00.000-04:00

I'm in my second kitchen since becoming vegan. I don't have any photos of our previous kitchen but think studio apartment (big room with a bathroom). As you walk in the door you have a small square of counter next to a small apartment size stove. On the upside, this was a gas stove and aside from the oven seal leaking half the heat out it worked pretty well.
Beside the stove was a small doorless closet/pantry type room. This housed the sink, about the size of a normal bathroom sink. Another small square of counter, smaller than the first but big enough to hold a dish strainer. Washing dishes in this sink was a job. You would bang dishes against the taps* and you would get wet.** After reading How To Cook In A New York Apartment by Laura Dave I know that it could have been much much worse.*** At the back of this room were strangely deep shelves where we kept our dishes, silverware, nonperishables, everything kitchen basically.

I'm surprised I didn't give up on cooking there, vegan or no. I wasn't really raised on processed junk so I don't think I have it in me to live on junk. I surely have eaten the boxes of macaroni & cheese as a kid and as an adult I've had mac and chreese (or whatever) but I have always wanted to create my own meal. Bring together the parts to make something bigger, sometimes better sometimes not.

The new apartment is much more spacious, the kitchen much bigger, with cupboards! I'm using up all the counter space and loving that my cookie sheet fits all the way in my sink.
The stove is electric (boo!)
And after a few months of cooking I built up a pretty decent spice collection. There is actually another row of herbs & spices behind the visible on in the bottom picture.
Before making the shift to vegan, my cooking sucked. I could make edible foods but you would never call any of my creations "culinary delights." I could bake, thank my mom for that one. She always baked from scratch. You would never find a mix in our house. You will never find a mix in my house now. Since becoming vegan I have lost my fear of trying new foods, new techniques, and of screwing up. I still screw up, not all recipes turn out as intended but I'm no longer afraid of the potential results. This is most likely because my ingredients are less likely to kill me if improperly prepared but we shall leave the dangers of meat cooking/preparing/eating for some other time shall we?

*yes taps, there were two, poised right over the tiny sink forcing everything to be angled around and under them
**the sink was low enough to get that stereotypical wet patch across the front of your pants normally reserved for public restroom adventures. You would probably end up with wet feet, top of bottom, from the unavoidable splash & dump of water out of this inadequate sink.
***this essay can be found in the book Alone In The Kichen With An Eggplant edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler

Stone Soup

2008-10-02T20:15:00.000-04:00

Oh Burlington, now that we have learned your mysterious ways. We have found your hidden vegan delights and shout the delicious praises far and wide. Zabby & Elf's Stone Soup is one such place. There is always a vegan option, several actually. On their permanent menu (well as permanent as I can tell as it hasn't changed since I've been going there) you'll find:

Vegan Club (tofu & tempeh mega yum)
Hummus & Veg (pretty self explanatory)
Seitan Pepper Steak (seitan, sweet peppers, onions - make sure you ask for this without the cheese or "make it vegan" they will either use vegan cheese if they have some or just leave it off).
Seitan Reuben (seitan, sauerkraut, you know, a reuben - make sure you ask for this without the swiss or "make it vegan").
Roasted Tofu (a roasted/baked tofu hot sammie)

All these sammies are $7.95-$8.50. That may or may not sound like a lot of money for a sandwich depending on where you're based but you aren't just buying a sandwich here. You're buying more like two sandwiches. These are huge. Yes I've seen people eat a whole one in one sitting (*cough* my husband *cough*) but they really are big enough for two meals. See for yourself . . .

This is my seitan pepper steak I brought back to eat at my desk. Don't mind the papers everywhere. The filling is barely contained within those giant slabs of bread.
Is that kale? Why yes it is. Everyday, like clockwork there will be hot kale. It says so on the Stone Soup t-shirts. All the sandwiches are served with chips but if you ask nicely they will give you kale instead.

The kale brings me to another great feature of this little cafe, the hot/salad bar. Most of these items can change daily. As I mentioned, kale is everyday (horray!) with the hot items. You'll usually find a few other vegan items here like seitan stew or pot pie, tofu sesame stew, brazilian bean stew, roasted sweet potato. The salad bar is usually rockin' with greens, beans (edemame, chickpeas, etc), peas/corn, sprouts, carrot, seeds, tomatoes, great stuff and of course a selection of dressings.

On the bottom left of that handy chalk board will be the daily soup selection. This day there weren't any vegan choices but there is usually at least one. I've had a pretty tasty carrot soup as well as a superb lentil. And check out that wall of bread, so pretty.
I have been known to stare off into that kichen, mesmorized by the prep for next day, the giant soup pots, the equally giant tubs of spices.

Did I mention that they also have vegan desserts? I didn't? It nearly slipped my mind. Yeah, they make vegan chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, macaroons, brownies, peanut butter chocolate bars, a couple other things I'm probably forgetting. They are a great treat after a ginormous salad or sammie. If you can pack it in.

Sometimes while I'm waiting for my order to come up I'll listen to other people order. The main courses aren't so interesting. Either you're a vegetarian or you're not, either you like veggies/tofu/seitan or you think it's strange. No, I like to watch people pick out a dessert. It is immediately obvious who thinks vegan food is not only strange but potentially gross and poisonous.

Customer: "I'll have a chocolate chip cookie"
Server: "The vegan chocolate chip?"
Customer: "Actually I'll have a (insert whatever they see next that does not say vegan on the sign)"

I have to giggle everytime.
Oh and they have a fresh fruit bowl too so if you are in a eating healthy kinda mood you are covered.
Beverages range from the complimentary filtered water to bottled water, juices, iced teas, to wine and beer. I think they also have some house brewed iced tea, unsweetened.

So the only drawback to this place is that it is pretty small. They've crammed as many seats in as possible and in the warmer weather there is outside seating too but when that lunch crowd hits, watchout. Don't let that put you off going though. They food is good, homey, comforting, fresh and I haven't had a snooty or rude encounter yet. It's a great place to go with your omni pals because they cater so well to both so no one feels left out.

Oh and on the corner of the counter there is a shelf below with a copy of, yup, you guessed it, Stone Soup.

A Cherry Happy World Vegetarian Day to You!

2008-10-01T20:22:00.000-04:00

How fitting that the first day of VeganMoFo is also marked by World Vegetarian Day. No, it's not World Vegan Day, that's next month, but everyone needs to start somewhere right? And vegans are vegetarians (just not all vegetarians are vegans, you see how I snuck in some of that logic I learned in school. Man I hated writing out all those proofs, so easy to mess up one step and the whole proof is in shambles. And if you have an instructor how insists on perfection . . but I digress).

In honor of the day I will stand in the meat section of our local supermarket growling at anyone who dares even thinking about eating meat. Ok I won't actually do that. I'm working all day and I'd probably be carted off by the police.

What I will do is share with you a super yummy new ice cream recipe. You all know I'm in Vermont, the birthplace of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. One of their most famous/popular flavors has been Cherry Garcia. It's actually THE most popular flavor, see for yourself. The number 9 flavor on that list is the frozen yogurt version of this illustrious flavor.
It has been, of course, quite some time since I've had this ice cream. There is no comercially available vegan version. It is time to make one people!

Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
Vegan Style

1 14oz can coconut milk (you can use a light variety or use yogurt for froyo goodness)
1/4 cup cherry juice (if you use a concentrate you might want less)
1/4 cup frozen cherries
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cherries (fresh pitted or frozen) cut in half
1/4 cup chocolate chunks or shavings

Add the coconut milk, cherry juice, 1/4 cup cherries and sugar into a blender.
Blend until cherries are well broken down and everything is mixed well.
Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the normal directions.
About 1-2 minutes before the mixture is done add the halved cherries and chocolate pieces. You can also stir these in separately just work quickly so your ice cream doesn't turn to soup.
Place your ice cream, covered, in the freezer until it is your desired hardness.

At the last ice cream unveiling received some compliments my ice cream bowls. I'm not sure if they are still available for sale but I actually picked these up from the above mentioned ice cream super power, the down town Burlington Ben & Jerry's scoop shop.

Vegan Blogs Take Over the World

2008-09-30T22:30:00.000-04:00

For a month anyway. October is
Participants write as much as they can about vegan food over the course of the month (at least 20 days of the month). I missed this last year for whatever reason (no blog, not so good at paying attention to the world around me, realizing there was a VeganMoFo at all until it was nearly over). There are quite a few of us taking part so do your best to keep up because it's going to be crazy (I hope!). A vegan blitz of the blogoshere. Of course this is all going to be taking place on our own blogs, it's not like we are taking over other peoples' blogs, although if those others would like to join . . .

Check out the list of participating blogs compiled by Isa on her blog. The list of participants include not only vegans but not yet vegans who have pledged to post all vegan if not become vegan for all of October. I wish everyone much inspired writing over the month and much inspired eating.

I've started a list of potential posts, taken lots of pictures, chatted with other bloggers, I'm ready. I think.

Are you?

Daring Lavash

2008-09-27T22:09:00.002-04:00

This had to be the most relaxed Daring Bakers Challenge yet. Why? Not because it was something I've made before, it wasn't. Not because it was done in 5 minutes, it wasn't. This challenge was all vegan. Yup, that's what I said. All vegan. No alterations necessary. The challenge for September was lavash crackers, an Armenian style of yeasted cracker.

I was ever so slightly worried about rolling out this dough. The instructions say the thinner the better except I am dough challenged. Everyone knows that. I just went for it. Mix the dough, knead for 10ish minutes, let rise then stretch/roll. I had nothing to worry about, this dough is awesome, so stretchy and supple. I actually had enough dough for two trays rather than the one the recipe claims. I served my lavash with good ol' hummus. You really can't go wrong there.
Lavash Crackers
Recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart

1 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 Tb agave syrup or sugar
1 Tb vegetable oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb water, at room temperature
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (see http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Bre … ong-Enough for a discription of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

7. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

Mango Tango

2008-09-16T22:07:00.001-04:00

Or more accurately Mango Teriyaki Tofu with Brown Jasmine Rice from Vegetarian Times June 2008. Mine is slightly modified because as usual, I can't leave well enough alone.
I've always found VT recipes to be hit or miss or not vegan. This one was vegan and I had a mango ripe and ready.

Mango-Teriyaki Tofu with Brown Jasmine Rice
Sauce
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup tamari
2 Tbs sugar
Tofu & Rice
1 1/4 cups brown jasmine rice
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb tofu, drained and cut into 12 slices
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Add rice, salt and 2 cups water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 25-30 mins, until liquid has been absorbed.

Make you mango sauce. Puree all sauce ingredients in blender until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer stirring. Remove from heat.

Heat grill pan over medium heat, spray with cooking spray. Coat tofu slices with mango sauce and grill 3 mins per side (rotate slice 45 degrees to get cross hash grill pattern).

Stir 1/3 cup scallions, 1 tsp sesame seeds and sesame oil into rice. Mound rice on plate. Add tofu. Drizzle with remaining sauce and the sprinkle with remaining scallions and sesame.

Ultimate Comfort

2008-09-14T20:05:00.003-04:00

If I were to make a list of all time ultimate comfort foods pot pie would be in the top 5. Even before I went to the vegan side I loved loved loved pot pie. Unfortunately most of those pot pie experiences were from the frozen food section of the super market. As most ingredient conscious people know, the frozen food section is rarely a smart place to be. Even as a vegan the freezer section can be a pronunciation nightmare. I admit I can be found there from time to time (maybe more than I'd like to confess) but frozen pot pies are a rarity in the vegan variety and even if you find one it's probably going to be a disappointment. Barely any filling ingredients, too much gravy, not enough gravy. So needless to say, I don't get my pot pies all that often. Sure I could make them but in case I haven't mentioned it yet, I am pie dough challenged (because we're being all PC here). The doughs always taste fine, I can salvage them into something usable but they just don't work like they are supposed to. I can't just roll them out, can't fold them or drape them to place them in a pan or on top of a pie. They brake, crack, laugh at me. It's all very distressing.

Dispite my dough ineptity I really really really wanted a pot pie and I wanted it the right way. Lots of filling ingredients, smooth creamy gravy, flakey crust, the works. The result was perfect! I even was able to transport the dough from the counter to the pie and everything. It all worked.
Ok the husband helped me. Those are his leaves. Aren't they cute? I did roll out and place the dough though, my biggest challenge.

Seitan Pot Pie

Filling
3 Tb Earth Balance margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lg potato, scrubbed & diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 med carrots
Salt & pepper
1 lb seitan, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb green beans, frozen or fresh cut into 1" pieces
1/2 lb peas, fresh or frozen
Sauce
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup flour
2 1/2 cup vegetable stock (or 2 1/2 cup water with a veggie boullion cube)
1/2 cup almond milk
Salt & pepper
Crust
1 cup chilled Earth Balance
3 cups flour
10oz cold vegan cream cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

For the filling, melt the margarine in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion & potato. Saute for about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic, bell pepper, carrots and cook for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Stir in the salt and pepper to taste. Add the seitan, green beans & peas. Set aside.

For the sauce, melt the margarine over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the flour, mixing until smooth. Slowly whisk in the stock keeping the mixture smooth. Add almond butter, salt & pepper. Pour the sauce over the filling and mix.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Get a casserole dish or 9"x13" dish or even individual pie pans ready, lightly oil. Cut the margarine into little pieces. In the bowl of your food processor (with blade attachment), pulse margarine and flour until crumbly. Add cream cheese, salt & pepper. Continue pulsing until dough comes together into a ball. Roll the dough on a floured surface to a 1/4" thickness large enough to cover your pan or big enough to be cut into rounds to cover individual pans. Pour filling into pans. Cover with dough cutting off excess and press down edges. Place a baking sheet under whatever shape your dish is as there will almost certainly be some bubbling over and bake 20-25 mins.
This is easily open to modification. Add beans, corn, squash, whatever strikes your fancy. I need more pie.

Green Smoothies Here I Come!

2008-09-02T12:20:00.001-04:00

People have been talking about green smoothies for a while now. I'm an open minded person, willing to give most things a try so I did not write off this phenomenon. Yes they sound strange and if you are a greens hater they might even sound revolting. Luckily I am not a greens hater. In fact, I think I've liked all the greens I've tried so far. After posting the Vegan's Hundred I knew it was time for me to take the green smoothie plunge.

Yesterday at the farmers market funds were a little low so I had to be very careful of my choices. Tomatoes are always irrisistable, local plums won't be around for much longer, with my final $3 I picked a bunch of beets. The greens looked pretty good so I could eat those too. Of course this morning the greens looked less than good but I cut them from the beet root, picked out the yuck ones and placed the rest in a clean sink of cold water. After about 1 hr they looked new, bright, beautiful. What an amazing transformation. Now was the time for my first green smoothie.

Into my blender jug I tossed:
1 ripe banana
1 lemon, rind cut away but the white pith left (I hear it has some good bits) cut into chunks to pick out the seeds.
2 dried dates, pitted
6 medium beet greens
1/2 cup frozen chopped mango
1/2 cup water

I started up the blender on low quickly turning the speed up to high and as I watched the mixture blend together I hoped for the best. Could this be good? Will I need to add something else to make this edible?

The answer, luckily, was no. This came out to taste slightly creamy and sweet from the banana and dates. A little lemonade like from the whole lemon with the added roundness of mango and just an ever so faint taste of greens. If I had added fewer greens you would probably not even know they were there except for the green color of the finished product. I did not mind the light green flavor though. It just added to the bright alive over all feeling of the smoothie. I will be doing this again.

Teeny Tiny Itsy Bitsy

2008-08-31T11:00:00.007-04:00

August comes to a close and another Daring Bakers Challenge also comes to an end. This month brought me yet another delicious dessert I had never made before, chocolate eclairs. Now that I think on it I don't think I ever ate one pregan so this was extra special.

I started out in search of a vegan pate a choux recipe. I luckily found my match at Baking Love. The dough came together rather quickly and without much fuss. I ended up using this dough to make the most teeny tiny food yet. To make these really small just use a pastry bag with a large tip to pipe the dough onto the baking sheet into mini puffs or lil' eclairs. These will expand a little but not tons so you can gauge the size of your puff well by the raw dough.

Pate a Choux

1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or baking powder
2 Tb shortening or oil
1 cup non-dairy milk
2 Tb Ener-G egg replacer whipped until stiff with 1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Prepare Ener-G egg replacer & water.

Stir together flour, vegan sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. In a saucepan, bring the non-dairy milk and oil to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the flour mixture all at once, return to heat, and reduce the heat to low. Stir constantly until the dough forms a ball that pulls away from the sides and the spoon and is smooth. Working quickly, remove from heat and add the egg replacer in thirds, beating well after each addition until the dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from the sides.

Using a pastry bag, dispense the choux paste onto baking tray. Alternatively, you may use two spoons to form eclair shapes or simply drop spoonfuls to form puffs.

Bake for 10 minutes at 400F, then lower the heat to 350F for another 10 minutes. Turn oven off and allow to cool, with door slightly ajar, for another 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on racks before serving or filling.

Custard

1/3 c sugar
2 Tb flour
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c water
1 1/3 c nondairy milk
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, flour, starch and water in a blender and blend until smooth, transfer to a bowl or measuring cup. Alternatively combine in a bowl and beat until smooth.

In a medium saucepan bring milk to a simmer over medium high heat. Pour about 1/2 c of the hot milk into the sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Add this mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk. Heat this mixture over medium low heat whisking constantly until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat.

Transfer to a bowl and cover to cool to room temperature. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Chocolate Glaze

100g (3.5 oz) bar semisweet chocolate
1 tsp vegetable shortening (optional)

Melt chocolate and shortening in double boiler stirring until smooth.

Assembly

Split your pastries on the horizontal. Place bottoms aside and the tops on a rack over parchment.
Glaze should be barely warm, pour or spoon over tops to cover each evenly.
Pipe or spoon custard into the bottoms, don't be afraid to mound it up.
Place tops over the custard and enjoy!