Veganatic

No Other Way

2011-04-18T20:56:00.002-04:00

The new blog is up and running. Join me at nootherway.net. I've been posting there for about a month now. And like I said, Veganatic will remain up because I have lots of my favorite recipes here!

A Different Direction

2011-02-20T12:48:00.008-05:00

I've been gone for awhile. A whole lotta life seems to happen between blog posts, I have noticed. One thing that you may be interested in is that I am re-thinking my blogging. Not as in quitting but as in re-directing.

I began my blog in January of 2010 with the original intent of sharing culinary techniques and recipes. I have enjoyed, learned from, and come to respect so many vegan bloggers over the past few years and I wanted to join their ranks with my own contributions.

At first it was fun just to share my recipes and photos. My friends and family were supportive but as the year has gone by I have discovered several things.

I knew from the beginning that I would not be a traditional vegan blogger. That was obvious because I am not a traditional, stereotypical vegan. I am an evangelical-leaning, conservative - both politically and theologically - vegan. Put bluntly, I am a weirdo. I don't really "fit" in anybody's camp.

What's more, my readers (at least the ones I know about) continue to be folks who are more conservative-leaning who want to argue me down, or people who are looking towards a healthier lifestyle and are curious about why we have made the choices we have, not just about veganism but about our health care and points of view on issues like being good stewards of Creation.

I have found myself defending the vegan way quite a bit lately. I have discovered a great deal of resistance to this "radical" lifestyle, especially among fellow Believers who simply cannot fathom how an evangelical-conservative-type could even consider something that has stereotypically belonged to the more liberal camps. After all, God created the animals to be eaten, right?

That last sentence makes me crazy. Even a cursory reading of the first 3 chapters of Genesis make it clear that that is not the case.

But I digress. My point in this post is to say that this will likely be my last one on Veganatic. One reason is what I wrote about above - my audience.

The other - and primary - reason is that I am finding I have more to say than seems to belong in a blog dedicated to vegan recipes. I have some thoughts to share on healthy, ethical living that encompass more than veganism. That doesn't mean I will no longer share recipes; I will. And I will continue to defend the vegan way; I have never been one to run away from an argument, as anyone who knows me will confirm!

I am finding, however, just as most people do along their life journey, God is doing more than one thing at the same time and I feel the need for a different venue to chronicle those things. I also have some thoughts on faith that also seem to demand a different venue.

So, thank you for reading Veganatic. It has been fun and it has been a blessing to me to write it. It will stay here with all my posts so if you liked one, you can still find it. Be on the lookout, though, for my new blog, No Other Way. It isn't up and running yet, but when it is, you will find it at nootherway.net. I will post a link here when the new one is up.

What in the World Does a Vegan Eat, Part II,

2011-01-13T20:20:00.006-05:00

Well, this might not have been the best week to post my daily diet, but I did warn you that there are almost always curve balls / changes in the plan during the week, and this week is a perfect example. The only thing that isn't likely to change is breakfast, which is almost always toast and smoothie.

Sorry that there are no photos this post. That's a first for me. I tried, I really did. As you will read later in the post, my camera phone died just as I was snapping a picture and then the pictures I took of the Curried Red Lentils just looked gross. I could be more descriptive about just how nasty the pictures looked, but I'll spare you...... If you saw the photos, you'd never make the recipe! I promise to come up with some better shots next time I make them.

Tuesday night was Spin, so dinner was a quick peanut butter and - are you ready for this - cranberry chutney sandwich. Yep. I was out of any kind of jam or jelly, so cranberry chutney it was. And yes, it was YUMMY!

Wednesday was a crazy. It was one of those days at work and I had a doctor's appointment in the middle of the day. I ended up having a veggie sub from Subway with some chips on my way back from my appointment. That was so not worth a picture.

I was too tired to even heat up leftovers, so my ever-so-thoughtful husband took me to my current favorite eatery, Bluegrass Brewing Company for dinner. I always have the same thing - a spinach/walnut burger with homemade chips and cabbage slaw. Oh, and a Raspberry Mead. That burger is definitely photo-worthy, but just as I snapped the picture with my phone's camera, my iPhone died! Really, it did. Yesterday was a hard day.

Today (Thursday) was a bit tamer. Standard breakfast. Lunch was leftovers - Creamy Lasagna Casserole. The longer that stuff sets in the fridge, the better it tastes. Seriously good.

And dinner tonight was Curried Lentils over basmati rice. This is a very quick and easy meal. It's another one that tastes better as leftovers.

Tomorrow's lunches will be leftovers - there are several choices in the fridge. Noodle Soup, the casserole, or tonight's lentils. Paul will have to take both his lunch and dinner with him in the morning since he has Pageant rehearsal tomorrow evening and won't be home til late. While he's gone, I'll get the grocery shopping done for next week, make Wesley's dog food, and update you on what we ate.

Here is the Curried Red Lentils recipe. Like I said, quick, easy, yummy!

1 cup red lentils
1 tbs olive oil
2 veggie bullion cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbs curry powder
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbs cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
water to cover lentils

Rinse and sort lentils.

In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and fry until they pop. Add onion, curry powder, chili powder, and cayenne. Cook until onion is translucent.

Add lentils. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve as is or over rice.

What in the World Does a Vegan Eat, Part I

2011-01-09T12:11:00.021-05:00

I've been noticing that most of my readers, at least the ones I get comments from, are non-vegans. Some of you are loyal friends and family, supporting my blogging efforts because you love me, some are health-conscious omnis looking for healthy recipes or who are at least considering the vegan leap, and others are confounded carnivores who just can't figure out why in the world somebody would give up Big Macs and ribeyes for tofu and seitan. So, the idea came to me this morning as I was chopping salad and making seitan for the week that it would be fun to document everything I eat this week. Break it down to how we eat on a daily, meal-by-meal basis.

I am writing this on Sunday, so I have already missed photographing my breakfast and lunch, but that's okay - they are easily described. My breakfast this morning was two slices of cold pizza leftover from game night last night. It was topped with onions, red and green peppers, mushrooms, Field Roast vegan sausage, and Daiya vegan cheese. I will admit that I used pre-made whole wheat organic pizza crusts from Whole Foods. No matter - the pizza was yummy last night and even better cold this morning! Reminded me of my college days......

Lunch was a big ol' salad of mixed baby greens and cucumbers, toasted almonds, flax seeds, and creamy tahini salad dressing. I'll be eating more of this salad later in the week, so I'll take pictures then.

Sunday evening I've already deviated from the plan. I just can't help myself - cooking is my creative outlet! I decided to try a new seitan recipe just for grins. There was a big pot of simmering broth left after I made the seitan and of course I had to use it to make soup!

I added some chopped celery and carrots, some delight soy popcorn chik'n, and 1/2 a package of linguine, broken into thirds, to the leftover broth. That simmered for half an hour or so and we had chik'n noodle soup for supper! Once again, the photo will have to wait....

Monday breakfast Had my normal breakfast of toast and smoothie. Toast is nothing exciting to photograph - a couple slices of organic whole wheat bread with some Earth Balance. My smoothie has mango, banana, and collard greens. Paul's breakfast is always a Clif bar and his smoothie.

Monday lunch Had my salad finished before I remembered to take a picture, but here is the Chik'n Noodle Soup I had for lunch today. Paul's lunch today was leftover Creamy Lasagna Casserole that I made on Saturday.

Monday dinner I stuck to the script tonight for dinner. I made my version of VeganDad's Cajun Chickpeas. I ate mine wrapped in whole wheat lavash with a little vegenaise. (The lavash didn't make the photo....) and pan roasted brussels sprouts.

Paul had his on top of some of that yummy salad I made Sunday, along with some raw organic cashews.

I probably won't be posting tomorrow night because it is a Spin night and we won't get home til late. I'll post Tuesday's meals along with Wednesday's.

On the Menu....

2011-01-08T11:24:00.012-05:00

It's bugging me that the little corner fruit and veggie market 1/2 mile from my house is closed now. They close on Christmas Eve and don't open again til March. Their produce is really fresh, organic, for the most part, and much cheaper than Whole Foods. My goal for next year (as it was last year, but I blew that one....) is to grow more of our food ourselves. We have some friends who are very generous from their garden, but I really want to do better this year!

Each week I plan my menu - and make my grocery list - on Thursday or Friday. Then I shop on Friday afternoon after work. Okay, I gotta tell the truth. Most of the time, Paul does the shopping for me. His work is much closer to Whole Foods and I get a little wigged out by traffic.

So today I'm posting the menu for the entire week for your reading pleasure. And even though I have planned the menu, that doesn't mean I will stick too closely to it. Seems like there's always at least one curve ball during the week and we end up going out or eating leftovers.

So here is what I plan to make for the week. I'm not saying which day I'll make what, because that always depends on how I feel when I get home from work! Green Smoothies and fresh fruit are on the menu daily, and most main course recipes are served with a green salad or other green veggie.

Creamy Lasagna Casserole
Vegan Pizza with Daiya vegan cheese
Basic Lentil Dahl
Bean and Barley Stew
Cajun Chickpeas (based on this recipe, with a number of changes)
Ethiopian Cabbage

Hopefully I'll find time to follow up on the results of each dish that I actually make. The only thing on this week's menu that I haven't made before is the Ethiopian Cabbage. I'm not worried about how this will turn out, though. Every single ingredient is something we love, so how could it fail?

Each week I try to make one big "pot o' something" that will provide lunches for us to carry through the week. This week it is the Lasagna Casserole. This is loosely based on this vegan lasagna recipe from vegweb.com. I have made this as lasagna, but I find that the casserole is much less time consuming and much less messy!

Creamy Lasagna Casserole
16 oz rotini pasta, cooked half as long as pkg directions
1 cup red lentils
2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and chopped (or use an 8 oz jar of prepared roasted red peppers)
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped crimini mushrooms
3 large clove garlic, minced
oil, as needed
4 cups tomato pasta sauce (jarred or homemade)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pkg Daiya mozzarella style vegan cheese

White Sauce
3 tablespoons Earth Balance
2 tablespoons flour, plus more as needed (I used chickpea flour and it works great)
1 tbs nutritional yeast
pinch of white pepper
pinch of nutmeg
2 cups nondairy milk, divided

I roasted my red peppers on top of the stove this time, directly over open flame. I'd never done it this way before, and I probably won't do it that way again. It was kinda neat and novel, but much messier than the way I usually do it, which is to halve the peppers, remove the seeds, and put them on a baking sheet under the broiler. Which ever way you choose, freshly roasted peppers are delicious and much better than the jarred kind.

For directions on how to roast fresh peppers, go here.

Roast the peppers, place in a paper bag, and set aside to cool.

In a medium sauce pan, cover the red lentils with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. REduce to a simmer and cook until they look mushy.

Cook the rotini per package directions, but only half as long. drain and set the pasta aside.

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add onions, celery, garlic, and mushrooms, and cook until onions are translucent.

Peel off the blackened skins and chop the roasted peppers. Add them to the pot.

Add lentils, tomato sauce, and seasonings and stir to combine well. Reduce to a slow simmer, cover, and let cook while you prepare the white sauce.

Put the Earth Balance, flour, and nutritional yeast in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until Earth Balance is melted and the mixture is bubbling. Stir constantly to prevent burning. Whisk in 1 cup of the milk. Continue to whisk gently to mix. When the the mixture is very thick, remove from heat and add the other cup of milk, whisking until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Add the prepared pasta to the tomato sauce. Stir gently until pasta is even distributed.

Add the entire package of Daiya and again stir gently until cheese is evenly distributed.

Now pour the white sauce over the mixture, once again stirring gently to distribute the sauce throughout the casserole.

Transfer the casserole to a baking dish. You may want to set the whole thing on a cookie sheet to prevent spills in the oven. Mine bubbled over.

Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the casserole is bubbling. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

The finished product!

Not sure what I'm doing wrong with my camera these days, but my pictures keep
coming out blurry. I'll keep working on it.....

The plan may already be changing. I'm thinking about a creamy pumpkin risotto recipe I saw recently. Stay tuned.....

Thanksgiving, Birthday, Christmas, New Years......

2011-01-01T13:41:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year!!

I can honestly say that I don't remember getting from Thanksgiving all the way to New Year's Day. It's like I went to sleep on Thanksgiving night and all of a sudden I've awakened on the first day of 2011! It has been a busier time that I can remember in a very, very long time! So here are some ramblings and random photos from the past month......

My Thanksgiving menu turned out very nicely; the pictures didn't turn out at all. Every single one of them were blurry and not fit for publishing. I ended up with way more food that we needed and even after eating leftovers for a week and a half, I ended up throwing stuff out. Should have thought ahead and frozen stuff.

My birthday was a week after Thanksgiving. We went out with a bunch of friends to my current favorite restaurant - The Bluegrass Brewing Company (BBC). As their name indicates, they brew their own beer. My favorite is their Raspberry Mead. They have several vegetarian/vegan selections on their menu. My favorite is their Spinach Burger. It is by far the best vegan burger I have ever had. They make their own fresh potato chips too! YUM! After dinner we went to see a couple of my favorite bands in concert - tobymac and Skillet.

My birthday presents - 2 enameled cast iron pots! I've already used the heck out of them!

Then came some really, really cold and snowy weather. Because of where I work, bad weather during the holiday season most always finds me working yucky hours out in the air park, handling packages and generally making sure that your Christmas packages get sorted, loaded into Big Brown airplanes and Big Brown package cars, so Santa can deliver your gifts on time!

My parents came to visit us from Western North Carolina for Christmas this year, for the first time in about 10 years. They are getting along in years and once they got here I realized that making that trip was not the best idea we've ever had. They are getting quite feeble and Mom had a very tough time managing the stairs. Then came the huge snowstorm and their hometown got a foot of snow. We got enough to call it a white Christmas, but they couldn't leave for a couple extra days and my dad was pacing like a caged cat!

Christmas dinner was a much simpler affair than Thanksgiving. Here is the menu:

Baked Stuffed Manicotti
Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Tossed Green Salad
Fresh French Bread
Death By Apple Pie
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing
Pumpkin Pie

The Christmas table

Christmas Dinner

Death By Apple Pie

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

A huge Christmas surprise from Paul's mom was a pair of tickets to tomorrow's Colts game with the Tennessee Titans. Paul surprised me with this jersey. GO COLTS!!

As soon as my parents left to return to N.C., one of my closest friends' dad became critically ill. We have known for some time that he was terminal but he suddenly went downhill very quickly. He passed away early New Year's Eve morning. Rest in peace, Russ. You are sorely missed, but we know you are pain-free now.

So that brings me to New Year's Day. Our lunch was simple and traditional.

Blackeyed Pea Cakes

Blackeyed Pea Cakes (under the cabbage), Curried Cabbage (minus the broccoli and coconut-sesame paste) garlicky collard greens, mashed potatoes, and cornbread

Sweet Wesley - so calm and laid back.......

So tomorrow we go to Indy for the football game, Monday is Russ' funeral, and Tuesday I go back to work. I've had 2 weeks off but I am more exhausted than if I'd been there the whole time!

I hope 2011 bring every one of you joy, peace, and prosperity! Oh, and in case I forgot - GO COLTS!!

A Thanksgiving Celebration

2010-11-21T11:44:00.011-05:00

Today I started cooking for Thursday's feast. We are looking forward to a special day with our family and friends.

Here is the planned menu (subject to change at the pleasure of the chef.....) I have linked to some of the recipes that are online. Some of the others I have already posted and I will link to those as well. Others are in my head and when I get them down on paper, I'll link to those.

I'll be back with photos later in the week, but til then Paul and I wish you and yours a blessed and safe holiday, rich with the comfort of family, friends, and wonderful (vegan) food!

A Thanksgiving Celebration

Beginnings
Creamy Baked Cashew Brie with Seeded Flatbread Crakers
Curried Pumpkin Soup
Cranberry Salad with Whipped Coconut Cream
Mixed Green Salad with Spinach, Arugula, Radicchio,Red Onion, Walnuts, Tofu Feta and
Black Raspberry Vinaigrette

Main Event
Black-eyed Pea Cakes with Chipotle Remoulade
Cornbread Dressing
Mashed Potaotes with Chickpea Gravy
Balsamic-Roasted Vegetables
Maple Sweet Potatoes
Freshly Baked Whole-Grain Rolls
Cranberry Chutney

Sweet Endings
Pumpkin Custard Pie
Death By Apple Pie
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

Lightly Sweetened Iced Green Tea
Freshly Ground French Roast Coffee
Chilled Chardonnay
Shiraz

Curried Cabbage with Broccoli and Coconut Almond Rice

2010-11-06T15:32:00.020-04:00

It's been a hard week and a half since we lost Winston. He was our precious Sweet Boy and we miss him so much. So many wonderful, silly, funny, memories since he came to live with us 12 years ago when he was only 5 weeks old, so tiny he fit in Paul's shirt pocket.

All the "firsts" have been hard. The first time I came home from work and he wasn't barking joyously to greet me. The first time I made dog food and only needed to make half as much. The first time my mother-in-law came by and she refused to ring the doorbell because she couldn't bear not to hear him barking, so she called from the car to tell us she was here. The first time the neighbors mentioned that they hadn't seen Winston outside for awhile. And then when the vet called to say his ashes were ready for use to pick up.

But time does go on and we keep breathing and eventually we hurt less and less until the memories bring more smiles than tears. Winston, we will never, ever forget you, Sweet Boy. And of course Wesley is still here and we do love him so. He has adjusted fairly well - we have given him lots and lots of extra attention. I think he kinda likes being an "only child".

And now for a yummy new recipe. I threw this together as a pantry challenge sort of recipe amidst a week that was challenging from many perspectives. It took about 30 minutes to prepare from start to finish. (Hmmmmmm.......does that make me the vegan Rachel Ray???? Naah.) It is based on a recipe I came across on the blog One Hot Stove. Very, very yummy served over Coconut Almond Rice. I learned a new condiment from this recipe, ground coconut and sesame seeds, that I will use again. I'm sure this combination has a name but I couldn't find it online anywhere.

Curried Cabbage and Broccoli
3 tbs unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tbs toasted sesame seeds
1/2 medium head of green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 bag frozen broccoli
2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander

Grind coconut and sesame seeds together to make a fine powder and set aside. I use my spice-dedicated coffee grinder for this, but you could use a food processor.

In a pan, heat 2 tsp oil.

Add mustard and cumin seeds and fry for a minute.

Add onion and cabbage and fry for another minute or so.

Add chili powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and coconut-sesame powder. Fry for another minute or so.

Add tomato and salt to taste.

Let this cook unattended over med-low heat for 12-15 minutes. Do not add water or cover.

Serve with Coconut Almond Rice (recipe below).

Coconut Almond Rice
Prepare white basmati or jasmine rice according to package directions with this exception: Use one can of coconut milk (I use lite, but use full fat for extra richness and LOTS more calories....) in place of an equal amount of water. In other words, pour the coconut milk into your measuring cup. Add water to equal the amount of water called for to cook your rice.

While the rice is cooking, lightly toast 1/4 - 1/2 cup of slivered or sliced almonds by heating them in a skillet until they are lightly golden. Watch them closely and stir frequently because they will burn quickly. On a rather odd note, Paul always says that toasting almonds smell like scrambled eggs. ???????

When your rice is done, add the almonds and stir gently to mix through.

And right now I have simmering on the stove, a bog pot of leek and potato soup with an added bonus - cauliflower! It smells wonderful, so if it turns out as nicely as it promises, that will be my next post.

Good-bye, sweet Winston

2010-10-28T18:37:00.004-04:00

Winston LeRoi Jones
6-24-98 - 10-27-10

We are heart-broken to loose our sweet boy, Winston. He brought us so much joy. He was a bright light and we miss him terribly.

When I fell sleep last night I didn’t know

That you would leave today.

You went so quickly and I’m left here

With all these things around me

That remind me that you are gone

And I don’t know what to do.

Your dinner bowl sits there

By the big green water bowl.

It still has speckles of your breakfast

And I can’t bear to wash it.

So your papa does it

And I can hear him crying.

Your toys are still in the basket

But I know you won’t mind

If I leave them there for

Your brother to use.

Your bed has a clean blanket because

I couldn’t stand to leave it empty.

Your papa cries again

This time because he found

Your brand new dog tag

Lying on his desk.

How will I sleep tonight

Without you curled into my belly?

Who will sit and give me the

Silent Stare that says “Let me out,”

But what it really means is

“Go get me a treat”?

Your brother doesn’t stand

At the door and bark like you do.

And I know I really need

To clean the blood spots off

The top stair but I don’t want to

Because it feels like

I am washing you away,

Sweet boy.

These tears keep on coming

Falling, rolling, pouring now.

They don’t wash away the hurt.

I knew that you would be leaving soon

But when I went to sleep last night

I didn’t dream it would be today.

Moroccan "Chicken" Stew

2010-10-23T14:03:00.018-04:00

I love fall! It is my hands-down favorite season. I love the smell of a wood fire in the fireplace. I love the changing color of the leaves, the color of a September sky, a full October moon. I love crisp mornings and warm, sunny afternoons. I love brilliant hardy mums, and bright pansies. I love college football (GO CARDS!) and I love NFL football (GO COLTS!)

I love winter squash and fall crop greens, pumpkins, cabbage, and broccoli. I love thick, hearty soups and stews with warm, crusty bread just out of the oven.

So, without further ado, here is today's recipe: Moroccan "Chicken" Stew. This has become one of my all-time favorite dishes. It is true fall fare - comforting, sweet and spicy and savory all at the same time. This dish is easy and quick to boot! It comes with a bit of controversy, however, and here it is: It calls for honey. Honey is the one thing that I have never completely let go of in my vegan journey. I don't use it often, and a jar of raw, locally produced honey will last a very long in my pantry. And while I know about all the vegan substitutes (feel free to use any of them you prefer), for this dish, I use honey. Let the beatings begin......

Moroccan "Chicken" Stew
1 lb vegan soy nuggets
2 tbs olive oil
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 red onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
2 fresh tomatoes, pureed (or 1 can crushed tomatoes)
1/4 cup honey
2 cans chickpeas, drained.

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add peppers, onion, and garlic and cook 5-6 minutes.

Add cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook another few minutes. Add tomatoes, honey, and chickpeas. Stir to combine and cook another 5 minutes.

Stir in vegan chicken. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice. Add a salad with this Vegan Ranch Dressing and some fresh crusty bread.

Here is a quick dessert I made this weekend too. You may have made this or some variation of this cake, but this was my first time, and I was really impressed. This was so easy to throw together!

Pumpkin Spice Cake
1 18-oz spice cake mix (read the ingredients to be sure it's vegan)
1 15-oz can of pureed pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 glass baking dish or a square baking pan.

Combine the cake mix and pumpkin puree. Mix well. Add any or all of the optional ingredients you desire (see below). Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Frost with Vegan Cream Cheeze Icing.

Optional ingredients:
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup raisins soaked in rum for 30 minutes
1/3 cup chopped nuts

Ranch Dressing

2010-10-23T11:47:00.006-04:00

1 cup Tofutti sour cream
1 not chikn bullion cube dissolved in 3-4 tbs water
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp onion granules
1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning - optional
3-4 tbs unsweetened soy milk - more or less according to desired thickness

Whisk all ingredients together and chill before serving.

My Favorite Things (or Things I Can't Cook Without).....

2010-10-17T12:18:00.024-04:00

She's baaaaaaack.......

Sorry for the long absence. Life has been kinda nuts. Like I said in my last post, there has been a vacation (white-water rafting in Tennessee), 2 car accidents (a fender-bender on the freeway and the garage door opener malfunctioned and smashed my car), a bad case of bronchitis which set off my asthma in a big way, work madness, and lots of fun stuff going on in the sports and fitness ministry of my church, where I volunteer teaching spin and doing other cool stuff.

Then there is the fact that my little poodle, Winston, is sick with a mysterious illness that causes his nose to bleed. That all by itself has made me a basket case. The last severe bleed put him in the veterinary ICU for 4 days. He is home now and sometimes he goes for 3-4 days with no bleeding, but usually there is at least a small trickle of blood. I say mysterious because the vets that have examined him all concur that this is most likely a nasal carcinoma, but all the scopes and scans he has had reveal nothing other than inflammatory tissue. No tumor at all. He doesn't act sick - he eats well and he is energetic and happy and doesn't act like a 12-year-old dog.

Statistically, dogs who demonstrate this kind of bleeding and are diagnosed with kind of cancer are usually dead within 90 days of diagnosis. Winston's first bleed occurred over 2 years ago. I don't know - maybe it's his vegan diet keeping him alive. And maybe it's his sweet nature and tenacious spirit.

I'm happy to say that I am healthy and exercising again, although the bronchitis interrupted my training for the Army 10-miler to the point that I had to withdraw from the race. Sorry Jenny - you're gonna rock it even without your mom! You too, Jason!

I've been relying on lots of tried-and-true favorite standby recipes. Not much experimenting or innovating lately. So, I thought I'd write about some of the things you will always find in my pantry, spice cabinet, fridge/freezer. If I have these things on hand, I can always come up with a tasty, healthy vegan meal. These are items that I will buy even if they aren't an ingredient in my meal plan for the week, just because there will usually be a glitch in the plan or something unexpected come up during the week where I need something quick and easy. So, here they are, in no particular order.

With Vegenaise (I think this is the only decent-tasting vegan mayo) and some relish (I like dill best), I can use a can of chickpeas, some poultry seasoning, and some celery seed to make chickpea salad. Makes yummy sandwiches!

Vital gluten for seitan, vegan sausages, or chickpea cutlets is a must.

Many different herbs and spices. Cumin, ginger, cumin seed, fennel seed, coriander, thyme, basil, rosemary, chili powders (ancho, chipotle, regular - several to choose from), marjoram, herbs de provence, poultry seasoning, several paprikas, several curry powders, garam masala, saffron, fenugreek.... the list goes on and on. If I have to choose a few I can't live without, I'd have to say cumin, cumin seeds, coriander, basil, thyme, and a couple I'll mention later. Thanks to Paul for installing the sheet of stainless steel which holds the magnetized canisters.

Yeah, I know this is funky-looking. These are chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. They come in a small can in the Mexican foods section. I never use but one or two of them at a time, so I put the rest in a plastic freezer bag and store them in the freezer til I need them. These are delicious in Cashew Chili-Lime Sauce.

For soups or stews.

Pan-roasted broccoli is the BEST!

Tahini for roasted cauliflower, seitan, or hummus.

Slice these sausages up with cabbage or pizza or grill them just like brats!

Sometime I just like a bowl of rice cooked in broth.

I always have several types of pasta. Rotini or fusilli is my favorite because the ridges hold whatever sauce you use. Easy tomato sauce and Cashew Chili-Lime sauces are my favorites.

Always buy organic soy milk. Organic will never be made from genetically modified soy beans. I like to have unsweetened on hand for sauces that don't need to be sweet.

I go through this stuff like water.

Coconut milk - the large can is the lite to save calories. Bit I keep a small can of full fat when I want more richness and flavor. For Asian recipes, especially soups, and adding richness to baked goods.

These are the best canned tomatoes ever. Throw a can in the blender, add one clove of garlic, some basil and thyme, an a bit of salt. Process, then add a little unsweetened soymilk. Heat. Voila! Almost instant Tomato Bisque!

I keep a variety of canned beans on hand. Hummus, chickpea cutlets, soups, chickpea salad. Lots of quick easy meals start with a can of beans.

Had to include this tea. We make tea in our coffee maker. It's crazy how much tea we drink. Four tea bags and 1/2 cup raw sugar make one gallon of the best iced tea any southern girl ever drank!

Red lentils are a life saver! They are a great meat substitute in pasta sauce and make a delicious dahl. Even my dogs eat red lentils!

Paul loves to snack on these,but I keep them on hand to make Cashew Chili-Lime Sauce, which takes about 5 minutes to make and is wonderful on veggies and pasta.

Red pepper flakes are one of those things I try to never run out of. Even if you don't want much heat in a dish, red pepper flakes add depth and flavor to any recipe.

Yes, fresh is always better, but when you're in a hurry...... And note, these are GRANULES not powder. Yes, there is a difference.

Smoked paprika, how do I love thee...... I love thee in cabbage, I love thee in seitan, I love thee in vegan sausages...... If you have never tried it, you really must buy some smoked paprika. It is my new favorite spice.

I really cannot cook without these wonderful veggie cubes. Rice, soups, seitan, I use them in everything!

Full spectrum sea salt has not been bleached or processed. It has less sodium and lots of trace minerals, including iodine, that are lost when salt is processed. Try some pink Himalayan sea salt and you'll never go back!

My kitchen shuts down when I run out of nutritional yeast. Really. I use it just abut everything. Seitan, salads, sauces, you name it. I try to buy it in bulk and when I have to buy the cannister, I save it to store the yeast in.

This is one of those ingredients that once you try it, you'll use it in everything. Use it in any recipe that calls for soy sauce and in many recipes instead of salt.

So, there are most the things I have on hand on any given day. I'm sure there are probably other things I could have mentioned, but these are the biggies.

What are the ingredients you can't do without? I have learned about many of these items by reading other blogs. Leave me a comment. Maybe I'll learn about a new can't-live-without ingredient!

Amazing Chickpea Salad

2010-10-16T15:31:00.002-04:00

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic granules
1/4 tsp onion granules
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1/4 cup dill relish
1/4 - 1/2 cup vegenaise
salt and black pepper to taste

Place chickpeas in a food processor and pulse several time until chickpeas are chunky but not smooth.

Scrape chickpeas into a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Combine well. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Serve with crackers or as a sandwich.

Rich, Spicy, Delicious Chili-Lime Sauce

2010-10-16T15:20:00.004-04:00

1 cup raw cashews
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1-2 clove garlic
2 cups boiling water (if you are cooking pasta, use some of the pasta water)
1/2 tsp onion granules
1-2 chipotle peppers plus 1 tbs adobo sauce
zest and juice of 1 lime
soy milk to thin as needed

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Add teaspoons of soy milk if sauce is too thick.

Serve over pasta or veggies.

Vegan Cream Cheeze Icing

2010-09-23T14:49:00.000-04:00

1 container Tofutti Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Earth Balance
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Cream Earth Balance and cream cheese together using a hand or stand mixer. Add sugar a little at a time. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Mix well by hand or with a mixer.

Lest You Think I'm Gone for Good......

2010-09-19T15:43:00.004-04:00

I'm not! Ever since the triathlon I have been busier than I think I've ever been. Work, family stuff, training for the next adventure, vacation, getting sick, oh, and did I say work?? Right now I'm recovering from a nasty chest cold that has worn me out with coughing.

I've been cooking but sticking to my favorite tried and true (and QUICK) recipes, not trying anything new or complicated.

So, look for me back, hopefully soon, when things have settled a bit and I feel better.

I came. I saw. I TRI-ed!

2010-08-08T17:59:00.005-04:00

Up way before the sun!

It's a mother-daughter thing!

Swim.

Bike.

Run.

No food today. Too tired. This grandma had both grandbabies in the house from Thursday night til this morning AND my daughter and I completed our first triathlon. Now, don't hear any complaints in there, 'cause there are none! Anytime I get to hang out with my kids or my grandkids is a great day!

I have to say, in fact, that this was one of the best weekends of my entire life. I really mean that. Preparing for and completing this challenge has meant alot to me. Doing it with my daughter was indescribable. And having Emma and Jane-Claire around for the whole thing, well, there is nothing better. And I gotta brag on my husband, too. He is the true athlete of the family, but he has been so encouraging and has made such a big deal out of me and this crazy goal of mine to do a triathlon! I am a blessed woman, no doubt!

The distance - 1/2 mile swim, 14-mile bike ride, ad 5K (3.1 mi) run. How did we do? Well, my time was over 2 hours, but that was what I expected. The swim went faster, the bike ride went faster, but the run went much slower than I'd anticipated. Just couldn't get my legs back under me after I got off the bike. But we both finished and that was the goal. Next year I'll do it faster!!

It's a Party!!

2010-07-25T13:47:00.030-04:00

Party at Renee and Paul's house! Well, it was a party. Took me awhile to get a post together. It was actually a work function last weekend to say good-by to my former boss and wish him well in his new assignment. So of course I volunteered to host! I love to have company and I especially love to cook for people.

It was a blast with people that I know well and have worked with for many years. Everyone brought a little something so there was quite a variety of goodies! Here are my contributions.

Southwestern Pasta Salad

This a sort of a pantry challenge dish. I pretty much just used what I had on hand to make it. This dish is best when made the night before, chilled overnight, then allowed to come to room temperature before serving.

Ingredients
4 medium cucumbers, peeled and diced
1 red onion, chopped
3 sweet bell peppers - I used 1 red, one green, and 1 yellow - diced
2-3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 bag frozen white corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 recipe Spicy Vinaigrette dressing
1 16 oz bag rotini pasta, cooked al dente

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to mix. Chill.

Hummus

Hummus has just a few ingredients and is quite easy, but there are a couple of secrets to making delicious and creamy restaurant-style hummus. The first is starting with fresh cooked chickpeas. Fresh cooked chickpeas don't even taste like the same legume as canned.

When I cook chickpeas I always cook at least 2 pounds and freeze what I am not going to use immediately. I also save the cooking liquid, which is important for yummy hummus.

The second secret to perfect hummus is the tahini. I'll describe this in the recipe directions.

Ingredients
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 - 1/2 cup water or cooking liquid from chickpeas
2 large cloves garlic
3 cups cooked chickpeas
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt, more to taste

This first step is the most important for smooth, creamy hummus. Place tahini in a food processor. Process for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth and creamy.

Add 1/4 cup of liquid and process another 30 seconds. Add more liquid if it seems too thick. Add garlic and process for another 45 seconds. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, salt, and cumin. Process until the whole mixture is very smooth. If it seems too thick, add more liquid; too thin, add more chickpeas.

Refrigerate for at least an hour and adjust seasoning as necessary. Sprinkle paprika over top as a garnish.

Salsa Fresca
The secret to wonderful salsa is fresh ingredients. Use tomatoes and peppers right out of the garden when possible.

Ingredients
4-6 medium-size ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (remove the seeds for less heat)
1 green pepper, chopped
juice and zest of 2 limes
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt, more to taste

Combine all ingredients and chill for several hours.

There is one more thing...... See those yummy-looking candy-coated pretzels? Well, I promised to add the how-tos for these on my blog. Kathy brought them and she says they are very easy!

Use one bag of Snyder's pretzel logs, a package of vanilla Candy-Quick (I'm certain this is not vegan, but you could use vegan white chocolate chips instead), and candy sprinkles. That's it!

Melt the Candy-Quick (or vegan white chocolate) in a double boiler over low heat. Dip the pretzels in it, then roll them in the sprinkles. Lay the coated pretzels on wax or parchment paper to cool. That's it!

Bye-Bye Bob! Good luck!

So please be thinking about me next Saturday! I'll be swimming, biking, and running in my very first triathlon. I'm feeling scared but excited. Actually scared is an understatement - it's more like terrified, but it just makes me that much more determined!

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta Sauce

2010-07-18T13:59:00.014-04:00

It’s been a wonderful summer weekend! Hot, hot, HOT, and humidity off the scale, but the summer produce is rolling in. Preparing, preserving, and eating it is such a delight.....

Yesterday I did my first brick in preparation for the upcoming tri. A brick is when you cycle and then get off your bike, change shoes really fast, then run. It’s really kind of insane when you think about it, especially in this heat, but I did it and it rocked! I think they should call it a “brawl” instead of a “brick”. Bike, run, then crawl the rest of the day....

I spent most of this morning in the kitchen. I had tons of plum tomatoes that I didn’t really feel like canning, a whole basket of different kinds of peppers, and a couple eggplants that needed to be used. So, I put all the peppers in the dehydrator. There’ll be lots more coming and I already had some in the fridge that I’ll use this week. Some of the hot ones I’ll grind into chili powder after they’re dried. Some I’ll keep whole to use when I cook beans or cabbage. The dried sweet peppers will be wonderful this winter in soups and stews.

I made a wonderful thick pasta sauce with the tomatoes, eggplant, and caramelized onions that we’ll be enjoying all week. Here’s how this worked:

2 medium eggplants, sliced about 1/2” thick
20-25 plum tomatoes, quartered
5-6 (or more) large garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapeno or other hot pepper pepper, cut in half (optional)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 large onions, sliced
2-3 tbs olive oil
2 cups good red wine
1 cup water
2 veggie bullion cubes

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and arrange the eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and jalapeno in a single layer. This will probably require two baking sheets. Roast the veggies for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook slowly until they are soft and sweet and brown.

When the tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, and pepper are done, dump them into a food processor along with the caramelized onions and process until all the big pieces are gone. This won’t be quite smooth, but won’t be chunky either. Now dump all this into the dutch oven. Bring to a simmer and stir in the wine, water, and bullion cubes. Return to the simmer and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring, occasionally. Serve this over your favorite pasta. The roasted garlic and caramelized onions make this soooooo flavorful. And it’s so good for you to boot!

Just so you know I sometimes make a huge mess of things in the kitchen, I totally screwed up a batch of pita bread I tried to make this morning. I forgot that I was using the oven when I set the dough on a back burner to rise. When I got around to punching it down so I could make the loaves, it was already half baked from sitting on top of the hot oven. I went ahead and baked it like I normally would have, and we’ll eat it, but pita bread it ain’t! It didn’t puff at all and is more like a heavy whole wheat loaf bread. Oh well. Guess I’ll go to the bakery later in the week. Ain’t makin’ any more today!

Roasted Veggies and Middle Eastern Hot Green Chili Paste

2010-07-14T17:50:00.006-04:00

Still trying to get caught up from vacation. I just returned from my childhood home in Western North Carolina to attend a funeral. Funerals are always sad, but I did get to visit with my cousins and a very good friend, all of whom I see far too infrequently. Combine that travel with training 6 days a week for the triathlon, which, by the way, is in 3 1/2 weeks, and I just can’t find a minute to get anything posted. It has taken me almost 2 weeks to get this written!

I have been cooking, though, never doubt. I’ve already made falafel a couple of times and I have put together my own recipe for that wonderful hot green chili paste we had in Israel.

Curried Roasted Veggies
We have been feasting on roasted veggies ever since we returned. No real recipe to this - just whatever fresh-from-the-garden (or market) things you have on hand. This particular night I had:

eggplant
mushrooms
yellow squash
zucchini
red and green peppers
red onion
sweet potato
canned tomatoes (best with 1-2 fresh tomatoes but I was out)
5-6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2-3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs za’atar (optional)
2-3 tbs good curry powder
1-2 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste
pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)

I have also used cauliflower, broccoli, new potatoes, butternut squash - throw it all in there! I always shoot for leftovers, ‘cause this just gets better as it sets. Talk about making your co-workers drool over your lunch......But I digress.....

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop or slice all your veggies. Place them in a large bowl and toss with remaining ingredients.

Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray and transfer the veggies onto it. Roast for around 25-30 minutes, stirring a couple of times to make sure nothing is sticking.

Serve this with whole wheat couscous or brown rice and some schug or harrisa. Or, split open a loaf of pita bread, slather on some hummus, and stuff the roasted veggies into it. Top with as much schug as your mouth can stand. Heavenly!

Schug (Middle Eastern green chili paste)
Schug, also known as “zhuk”, is more of a method than a recipe. Best I can tell, this dish originates in Yemen. If you Google it, you will find a dozen different recipes for this. Here is how I make mine.

4-6 hot green peppers (I usually use jalapenos), seeded or not, depending on the heat you desire
2-3 tbs olive oil
2 tsp freshly ground cumin seed (toast first if desired)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tbs za’atar (totally optional)

You can add cardamom or cloves, more or less garlic, omit the lemon juice - this really is your own creation!

Dump everything into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth but not chunky. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Return to Reality

2010-06-26T10:32:00.022-04:00

I'm back! And no, I didn't just randomly disappear. I've been on the vacation of a lifetime! On June 11, Paul and I, along with 140+ of our closest friends, left for Israel. We spent the next 9 days exploring, learning, discovering, and having a life-changing experience in the land where Jesus walked.

I'm not going to chronicle the whole experience on this blog, but I do want to share the highlights of the food. Oh, the food! Now, I knew I loved Middle Eastern food (especially falafel!) and I knew this was going to be a treat in that regard, but man, oh man, did it exceed my expectations! All you vegetarians and vegans out there know how hard it can be to travel and eat well. Not on this trip! This was vegan paradise!

We stayed in four different hotels, and in each one of them, the food was amazing! They provided extravagant buffets with vegetables and salads and breads and desserts. Oh my, you have never seen such breads and deserts! (I sound like the food addict, don't I?!?)

While we traveled pretty much the entire length and breadth of the country, our primary stops were in Tel Aviv, Tiberias (on the Sea of Galilee), the Dead Sea, and then Jerusalem. The touring and sight-seeing were non-stop and we crammed a whole lot of places into those few short days. I could have easily stayed a week at each location.

A couple of food discoveries I made were za'atar, a hyssop (or thyme) spice combination that is awesome, and schug, a green chili sauce that is HOT! I brought some of the za'atar home with me and have already used up about half of it. It is delicious on salads, sandwiches, or used to make a salad dressing. And I made schug this week for the first time. A little of that stuff goes a looooong way! I'll be posting the recipe for both on my next post.

So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are food photos from Israel. (With a few non-food photos thrown in just for fun!)

Oh - and just in case anybody doesn't get it, falafel is my FAVORITE food! If you've never eaten this culinary delight, it is deep-fried balls of mashed chickpeas stuffed in pitas with hummus, various salads, tahini sauce, and optional schug. Never had falafel? Find your nearest Middle Eastern restaurant and discover it TODAY!!
The market in Old Jerusalem. I so want to shop like this all the time!

More of the market. This was one of my very favorite parts of the trip. The senses were overwhelmed by the sights, the sounds, and the smells!

Trying to beat the heat. It was up to 117 degrees in the desert.

A spice shop in Old Jerusalem. I wanted everything in there!! The smell was indescribable!

The pyramid is made from spices! Cool, huh?!?

A view of the Negev from Masada

At the Dead Sea - this is the man who used to weigh 432 pounds!

Floating in the Dead Sea

Paul eating falafel from a street vendor in Old Jerusalem.

Me waiting (impatiently) on falafel........

From the hotel in Jerusalem.

Yes, that's me and Paul on a camel in the desert........ And afterward we were served a wonderful meal by the Bedouins. Didn't post the food photos because they were rather dark, and because there was meat on the trays with which they served (no, we didn't eat it, but it was in the photos.)

At the Bedouin camp. Amazing how much cooler it was under the tents!

Just in case you wondered........ The kosher ones do not serve cheeseburgers. Jewish dietary laws forbid eating meat with the cheese from the same animal.

From the restaurant at the Dead Sea......

Falafel at Qumran. This was the very best falafel of the trip!

Yummy falafel!

A beautiful display of some of the locally grown veggies served at every meal, including breakfast.

From the restaurant in Jerusalem........

A little restaurant on the Jordan River. A fellow UPSer and his beautiful family.

And yes, more falafel!

Yummy curried carrot salad. There will be a post on this soon!

The chef at this little family-run restaurant near Mt. Carmel. See the spread below.

This goes in your pita with falafel.

From the hotel in Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee.

A little cafe in Old Jerusalem. Guess what we ate......

And finally..... they do love Elvis in Israel. Who knew???

The Conclusion of Our Story, and Pasta with Sausage and Peppers

2010-06-02T07:07:00.011-04:00

Paul at the finish line
of the Marine Corps
Marathon

Paul and me in his size 60 jeans

Every time I try to tell our story, I am surprised at how long it is! There are so many twists and turns, so many side stories and funny turns of events. Paul's book will have to include all those details; I can't possible remember them all! I do promise, however, that this will be the final installment of "Our Story".

One day it dawned on me that if things continued along the path they seemed to be taking - Paul exercising and faithfully eating well and me doing neither, he was going eventually weight LESS THAN ME!! That was a moment of crystalizing clarity. I got on board with a vengeance. I started counting calories right along with Paul. I started going to the gym without having to be browbeaten. And the weight loss followed like a well-behaved child.

Adventures began to come our way. Paul went on a mission trip to Africa, a life-long dream of his. We started camping and hiking, something we had never done together. Paul learned to snow ski and water ski and I began horseback riding for the first time since college. In time, I had the opportunity to own my own horses, a life-long dream of mine.

We began taking spin classes, which we now both teach. I dragged out my old Trek bicycle and had it refurbished, Paul bought a new bike, and we began outdoor cycling. Paul ran his first half marathon, then his first full-length marathon. I ran my first series of foot races and then a half-marathon. I am currently training for my first triathlon in August and a 10-mile road race in October, both with my older daughter.

We were eating locally as much as possible, and buying as much organic as we could find, but up until 2006, we still were not vegan. Two things happened to change that. The first was my "accidental" reading of The China Study, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. I say accidental because when I came across this book I was actually trying to buy a different one which had nothing to do with veganism. I have no idea now what I was looking for, but I couldn't find it and this one kept crossing my path. So I finally bought it. And what I read rocked my world. I read that book in about two sittings. I couldn't put it down. And when I finally did put it down, the die was cast. We would be vegan. Period. Paul was 100% with me on the decision.

The second event occurred on a camping trip just after I read The China Study. We were still figuring out how to make the shift and we were still eating meat. It was September and we were camping at Kentucky Lake near the Land Between the Lakes area. It was pouring rain and we were stuck in the camper. We decided to get in the truck and drive out to a game preserve out in Land Between the Lakes. We figured that since it was raining 1) there wouldn't be many people there and 2) the animals would be active. We were dead on on both counts.

We were driving slowly through the preserve, enjoying the frequent glimpses of elk and deer and other critters. Then out of nowhere came a herd of bison. Hundreds and hundreds of bison. Mama bison and daddy bison and precious shaggy little baby bison. We had to stop for them to cross the road and they just kept coming. I rolled down the truck window and I could feel their hot breath, could have touched them, they were so close. And those majestic creatures just kept marching out of the woods. I was so moved I was sobbing as I shot video. We sat there for almost an hour.

When we got back to camp, Paul and I just looked at each other. Three guesses what had been on the menu for dinner. Yeah. Bison burgers. That was NOT gonna happen! From that moment, we have never eaten another bite of bison or any other meat or animal product.

In the end, we lost a collective 336 pounds. I lost 104 pounds, and Paul lost a whopping 232. Many people ask if we had bariatric surgery. We did not. Paul did have reconstructive surgery after he had lost his weight. That was quite an experience as well - 11 hours and 12 pounds of skin removed from his chest, back, and abdomen! The scars have faded quite a bit, but I know Paul wears those scars as a badge of courage and commitment!

To be honest, I still struggle with the daily discipline that is required to maintain a healthy weight. Not the cooking part, because I love to cook. It’s not the vegan part, because I will never eat another animal. It is the self-control and commitment to good health part, because, believe me, a vegan can still be fat and unhealthy!

The past year and a half presented us with some of the most difficult family struggles we have seen in our 15+ years of marriage. I tend to turn to food for comfort and my exercise routine got a little sketchy. As a result, I gained 17 pounds over the past winter.

The name of my blog describes me rather accurately - I am indeed a food addict. And just like any addiction, it must be managed or it will take over. At this writing, I have lost 5 of those extra pounds, my eating is under control, I am exercising like a crazy woman again, and I feel confident that my renewed commitment to a healthy and active lifestyle will prevail.

So here we are. Healthy, fit, vegan, and loving the adventure! On August 7th I will take part in a triathlon and on October 25th I will run 10 miles with my daughter in Washington D.C.. Ten years ago if anyone had told me what I would be doing when I was 50, I would have slapped them for being stupid. And turned around and eaten another donut.......

Paul and me before a training run for the Derby Mini-Marathon

So here is a quick recipe that I threw together mostly from leftovers. It turned out yummy enough to share!

Pasta with Sausage and Peppers
2 tbs olive oil
4 Field Roast vegan sausages, halved length-wise and sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced 1 medium onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp onion granules
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 can Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups cheezy sauce
1 box cooked bowtie pasta

Cook the pasta (mine was leftover) and set it aside. In a large dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the peppers, onions, and sausage, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the sausage is browned. Add the fresh and canned tomatoes, the garlic granules, black pepper, and onion granules. Stir in the cheezy sauce, then the add the pasta. Let the mixture simmer for 10-12 minutes, but not long enough for the pasta to get mushy.

Our Story, Part II, and Stewed Cabbage with Rice and Lentils

2010-05-27T19:43:00.009-04:00

Yes, I've been away for too long. Lots going on - vacation planning, a new laptop, training hard for two up-coming events - a sprint-length triathlon in August and a 10-miler in October. It might seem early to be training for an event in October, but you have no idea how hard I have to work to get my head ready for a long distance run! My body is ready looong before I get my head into it!

Now on to the next part of our story, and a quick recipe.

Our Story, Part II
So Paul and I find ourselves a family of four. Two very busy daughters keeping us running constantly and both of us in grad school. No time to plan for or cook healthy meals. Most of our meals during that time were either Hamburger Helper-type deals or fast food. Junk and more junk. During this time, Paul and I reached our heaviest weights. I maxed out at around 254 pounds, Paul at 432. I was wearing a size 24 and Paul's jeans were a whopping size 60.

This is Paul and me at a family reunion in September of 1998.

During this time, Paul was diagnosed with hypertension and Type II diabetes. Before long he found himself on 8 different drugs to control the two diseases. The diabetes was a bit of a wake-up call. I began to cook more and we began to pay more attention to the amounts of food we were consuming. Paul dropped around 60 pounds. I didn't.

The new resolve didn't last and Paul regained all of what he had lost. Then a series of events began that turned our lives upside down. I will condense this very long story to the bare bones. No, there were no tragedies. Paul decided to change careers. He had been doing psychiatric social work for many years and thought it was time for a change. He quit his job and went to work managing a woodcrafters' supply store.

It was a disaster. He hated it from the moment he started. And when I say he hated it, that is an understatement. He lasted all of 3 days. The store owner was furious with him, but Paul knew it was not where he belonged, so after those 3 days, he quit. And was unemployed. He was only unemployed for two weeks, but those were very long weeks!

Now, anybody who knows my husband at all knows what a conscientious and responsible person he is. To be unemployed with a family was devastating to his sense of responsibility. The anxiety was overwhelming. He began having panic attacks. He couldn't sleep or eat. To manage the anxiety, he began taking long walks. And lo and behold, by the time he started his new counseling job, he had lost around 15 pounds!

He kept walking every day. In the rain, in the heat, in the snow. And the weight kept coming off. I was becoming more aware of the types of food we were eating. I was preparing more fresh vegetables and we cut fast food out completely. I lost a few pounds, but nothing compared to what Paul was loosing!

Then Paul began "branching out". He started going to the gym. I hated him for it. Because he dragged me along with him. I would walk on the indoor track and mutter mean things while he pumped away on the elliptical machine. You see, I had long since made up my mind that I was fat and would stay that way for the rest of my life. Not because I liked it, but because I didn't think I could do anything about it.

To be continued..........

And now for a quick, easy, and delicious dinner......

Stewed Cabbage with Red Lentils and Rice
1 cup red lentils
1 cup basmati rice
5 cups vegetable broth
1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1 tbs dehydrated onions (or 1/2 tsp onions granules)
1 tbs caraway seeds
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 cups cabbage, thinly sliced (I used 1/2 red cabbage and 1/2 green)

NOTE: Seasonings for this are flexible. Use flavors and amounts that suit your taste!

In a large dutch oven or soup pot, bring bring broth to a boil. Add lentils and rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add cabbage, tomatoes, and all seasonings. Return to a boil, them simmer covered for another 15-20 minutes, adding water or more broth if it starts to stick or gets too thick. It should be somewhat saucy.

I served this over mashed potatoes and it was soooooo savory - comforting and delicious!

Our Story, Part 1, and my Broccoli Rice Casserole

2010-05-12T10:49:00.011-04:00

I've been waiting to tell our story for awhile until I felt a little more comfortable with the whole blogging thing. But I didn't want to wait too long because our story is so very vital to the whole reason Paul and I are vegan to begin with. I think now is the time. So, here is Part 1 of how Paul and I became vegan.

In The Beginning……A Love Story
I moved to Louisville from Western North Carolina in 1994 to attend seminary. I was a single mom with two daughters, aged 9 and 11. I met Paul three weeks after moving here while we were registering for our first semester of grad school. It really was love at first sight. It just took us a few weeks to figure that out. A very few weeks. In fact, we met in the registration line on August 27th. Our first date was homemade pizza (the theme is already developing…..) at my house on November 11. On December 19th we picked out my engagement ring, and on March 26th, 1995, I became the wife of the most awesome man in the world. (That isn't hyperbole. It is the absolute truth.)

Now let me just go ahead and put this out there so you don't start trying to count on your fingers later on in the story. Yes, I am a cougar. At this writing, I am 50 years old. Paul is approaching his 40th birthday in the next few weeks. I attribute our relationship to God's wonderful sense of humor.

Our wedding was a bit ecclectic. We were married in an after-church ceremony in a Southern Baptist church by a woman pastor and an Episcopal priest. We wrote our own non-traditional vows. And we had no music. Which was strange because I was working towards a masters' degree in music. Our reception was a HUGE potluck lunch in the church basement (the theme continues) where we did have a string quartet, our only financial indulgence.

That's Paul, third from the left, and I'm right next to him in the pink dress. (This is the only digital wedding picture I have.)

You may be wondering what the "theme" is here. Well, the day Paul and I were married, our combined weight would have tipped the scales at somewhere close to 600 pounds. Yup. We were rather large people.

To be continued........

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Of course, broccoli casserole is mandatory at any potluck in the south, and especially at church potlucks. Here is my veganized version using Delight Soy popcorn chicken nuggets, which are optional in this recipe but totally delish!

Rice and veggie mixture:
2 - 2 1/2 cups basmati rice
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c celery, chopped

1 veggie bullion cube

appropriate amount of water, depending on whether you cook on the stove or in a rice cooker

Cook rice and veggies together with the veggie cube either on the stove or in a rice cooker. While it is cooking, make the sauce.

Sauce:
3/4 c flour
3/4 c nutritional yeast
3 c water
2 veggie cubes
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp spicy mustard
1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tbs Bragg's

juice of 1/2 lemon
3-4 tbs Earth Balance

Combine the flour, nutritional yeast, water, and veggie cubes in a pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened. Stir in garlic granules, mustard, lemon juice, and Earth Balance. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the following to the sauce:
16 oz frozen chopped broccoli, cooked according to package directions
4-6 oz chopped mushrooms
12-16 oz popcorn chicken, sliced (optional, or substitute chicken-style seitan or even tofu)

Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray and combine the rice and veggie mixture with the sauce. Stir gently to evenly distribute the sauce. If you want to, at this point you can add a bread crumb topping.

Bake for 30 minutes.

This may look like a lengthy process, but it comes together pretty quickly if you have all your ingredients at hand. And oh my, it is so good.

Next time, Our Story, Part 2.

A Review of Daiya Vegan Cheese and Field Roast Italian Sausages

2010-05-01T13:59:00.015-04:00

If you live anywhere close to Kentucky, then you know what the first Saturday in May means! It's DERBY DAY! And where I live, Derby Day is almost a sacred holiday. I have mixed feelings about horse racing. I am very much aware that there are abuses that happen in horse racing. Living in Kentucky, however, and being a horse lover, I also know how these animals are treasured and well-cared for in most situations.

Some horses were just born to run, like Secretariat and Seabiscuit and Affirmed and Man O'War.... My favorites of the past few years have been Big Brown - shame on his trainer - and Barbaro (what a heartbreak). I love Rachael Alexandra and Zenyatta and I will never, ever forget Eight Belles. These horses and fillies run / ran for the love of running and winning. Others, well, not so much. But we won't go there today. Today we shall celebrate the most beautiful and fastest horses in the world! (And some of the ugliest hats.....) And our hearts will be thrilled with the majesty and power of these amazing and magnificent animals!

Today's post includes pizza made with Daiya vegan cheese as well as cabbage and white beans cooked with Field Roast vegan sausages.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Whole Foods now carries Daiya vegan cheese. The first time I bought it at Whole Foods I had to get it from the deli, but now you can find it in the dairy section along with other vegan cheeses. The deli had the italian blend style, but the dairy section, at least in my local store, carries only the cheddar and mozzarella styles.

As I have already said, this stuff is a bit pricey. The deli charged $8.99 per pound. For the pre-packaged Daiya it was $4.39 for 8 ounces. It is so worth it, in my opinion, though, especially if you are making pizza. It is melty and stringy just like real cheese. And, as far as I can remember, its tastes pretty much like it too. Below is a pizza I made this week using Daiya. It has mushrooms, onions, red and green peppers, vegan pepperoni, vegan sausage (which I'll talk more about below), and Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce. I used pre-made organic whole wheat crusts, also available at Whole Foods.

This was seriously good!

This next dish uses Field Roast vegan Italian sausages. Field Roast products have been around for several years. They are made from gluten and vegetables. I first tried them when I used their stuffed roast for our Thanksgiving meal. It was pretty good, but I wasn't inspired to keep purchasing their products. They recently began making vegan sausages, however, and wow, do we love these! I have used their chipotle sausages which are quite spicy but most often I get their vegan Italian sausages, which I used for the pizza above and for the dish coming up next. Field Roast also makes sandwich slices, which are quite good as well.

This dish was a quickly thrown-together meal this week - pretty much a pantry challenge deal.

Cabbage and White Beans with Italian Sausage

2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1-2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs caraway seeds (always with cabbage!)
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained (I used cannellini beans)
2 field roast Italian sausages, sliced
a pinch of red pepper flakes
lots fresh ground black pepper
salt to taste

Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Add olive oil and then the onions and cabbage. Reduce the heat to medium and cook 5-6 minutes. Add sliced sausage and cook until it browns and vegetables are tender. Add caraway seeds, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt. Add the beans and stir gently to combine. Cook over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, or until heated through.

I served this over oven-roasted potatoes. To prepare these potatoes, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cut 2 1/2 pounds of russet potatoes into 1-2 inch cubes. Toss in a bowl with 2-3 tbs olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and black pepper. Spread on a cookie sheet in a single layer and roast until they are brown and crispy. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the potatoes!

Spicy Southwestern "Steak" Salad, a rainy race day, and a sick puppy

2010-04-23T17:17:00.022-04:00

Looks like a wet, stormy weekend has begun. Paul is running the Derby Festival Mini-marathon this morning with about 15,000 of his closest friends. Sadly, I am not running it this year. Stepped in a hole in the back yard on Easter Sunday playing badminton and badly strained my calf muscle. There are more races to come, but this one is special and I hate missing it. Praying that the storms hold off for another few hours and that all the runners finish safely.

***UPDATE ON THE RACE: Paul finished in 2:47. This by the man who used to weigh over 430 pounds!! SO proud of him!!!

One of our poodles, Winston, has been having nosebleeds off and on for the past year. He had a massive bleed on Thursday and scared me to death. The vet can't find a tumor or any other cause for the bleeding. Mostly it has been an inconvenience because he sneezes blood all over the place, but this one was different. He is 12 years old, but is so healthy in every other way. Worries me. I love my fur babies......

Top - my sweet Winston. Above - Winston interrupting Paul's daily crunches.

Okay, on to a brighter note.

Here is the first of at least a couple of recipes that I will be sharing using Delight Soy products. If you have ever eaten vegan General Tso’s Chicken, vegan Beef and Broccoli, or vegan Southwest Steak Salad from Whole Foods’ salad/hot bar, then you are already familiar with these products. I did not know until recently that you can special order them from their deli department. Check these products out at this website: http://www.delightsoy.com/product.php

Here are some observations about these products:

I had to order in advance (2-3 days) and in bulk. I ended up with 5 pounds of popcorn chicken and 3 pounds of sliced beef. Both came frozen.

The popcorn chicken comes with or without General Tso’s sauce. I originally ordered it without the sauce, but when I got home, I found that they had given me the product with sauce. I wasn’t very happy about that, but I made my own sauce anyway and added it when I made the General Tso’s. It was still yummy. I will be blogging about that recipe on another post, hopefully within the next few days.

This stuff ain’t cheap. I paid $8.99 a pound for both the chicken and beef products. It’s worth it, however, if you have a special meal to prepare or just want to treat yourself!

I like the popcorn chicken much better than the beef. That isn’t to say the beef isn’t good. In fact, both products are so much like the real thing I have to keep reminding myself that it is not a dead animal! The recipe I am posting this time uses the beef, although I am sure you could use the chicken instead – we had already eaten up all the chicken when I made this and I needed to finish up the beef.

I made two batches of this. Paul loved it and says it’s “Reneé at her very best – tasty, spicy, pretty, healthy, and very filling.” Awww…. thanks sweetie…….

You can substitute tofu, seitan, or even marinated tempeh for the sliced beef. But I recommend trying the sliced beef at least once! Try to make the vinaigrette a day in advance so the flavors can meld.

Spicy Southwestern Steak Salad

Salad
16 oz. Delight Soy sliced beef (or substitute of your choice)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
*2 cups roasted corn kernels, fresh or frozen will work
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
2 red peppers, thinly sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions, sliced, with green parts
8 oz grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 head romaine, torn into bite-sized pieces
1-2 heads red leaf lettuce (depending on size), torn into bite sized pieces

Spicy Vinaigrette
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of 2 limes
**½ tsp chipotle chili powder
**½ tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion granules
1 heaping tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs dried cilantro
2 tsp salt

Preparation
In a 9” x 13” glass baking dish, combine all the salad ingredients except for the lettuce. Toss to combine well. Set aside.

Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a glass jar with screw-on lid or in one of those make-it-at-home bottles that come with packaged dry salad dressing mixes. Shake vigorously until emulsified.

Pour ½ of the dressing over the salad and toss to coat everything. Reserve the rest for serving at the table. Cover and chill for a couple of hours, if possible. Note: some diced avocado would be fabulous on this. Although I adore avocado, I am severely allergic to it, so you won't see it in anything I make. So sad......

Garnish with toasted slivered almonds. Serve over the lettuce with the extra dressing on the side.

*To roast the corn, preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Spread the kernels out in a single layer in the pan and roast until brown. It should take 10-12 minutes. Watch it so it doesn’t burn! Alternately, roast the corn on top of the stove in a dry cast iron skillet.

**If you prefer less heat, use 1tsp of regular chili powder plus a tiny pinch of cayenne. The chipotle and ancho chili powders, however, give it a wonderfully smoky taste and smell!

I'm not dead yet.......

2010-04-20T07:29:00.006-04:00

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I have been working crazy, crazy hours and visiting my daughter and grandbabies in D.C. I've been cooking, alot, actually, and have lots to write about. I just can't seem to get my act together enough to blog.

Some new products I have been experimenting with are Delight Soy's Popcorn "Chicken" and their sliced "beef" product. At least they are new to my kitchen. The "chicken" product is what Whole Foods uses to make their vegan General Tso's which they serve on their hot bar. The "beef" is what they use for several difference entrees including vegan beef and broccoli. I love, love, love the popcorn chicken and have been feasting on homemade General Tso's but the jury is still out for the beef product. More later on both of those.

I have also gotten around to trying out Daiya vegan cheese. I tried the Italian blend style. I used it for a pizza and a vegan quiche. It melted very nicely and tastes pretty cheesey, as far as I can remember what real cheese tastes like, anyway.

All three of these products are a bit pricey, so I'll be enjoying them in moderation.

Here I am with Jane-Claire on her first birthday.

And here is my Emma being a silly girl.

Curried Chickpeas

2010-03-28T16:05:00.009-04:00

What a great weekend it's been! I took a vacation day Friday since we were celebrating our anniversary.. Friday and Saturday were wonderfully warm, sunny days and I got the raised beds and one of the flower beds bed cleaned out. I planted lettuce and spinach and sowed wildflower seeds. The only down side to the weekend was Kentucky loosing to West Virginia.

Friday night Paul and I had dinner at Shiraz, a relatively new restaurant here in Louisville. We enjoyed generous servings of tabbouleh, quinoa, hummus, falafel, and eggplant, along with a sampler of various flatbreads. We had a lovely chat with the owner, a first generation immigrant from Tehran. It never occurred to me to take pictures until it was too late. Next time!

I've had a couple pounds of dried chickpeas hanging out in the pantry for awhile waiting for me to get some inspiration. Inspiration actually came in the form sticking to the pantry challenge. So, yesterday afternoon I put the chickpeas to soak in my older, smaller crock pot. Last night I turned the crock pot on high, expecting to wake up to bubbling chickpeas, fragrant with the dried chipotle peppers I seasoned them with. Not! I woke up to very well-soaked chickpeas that were cold as a stone. Alas, my old crock pot is dead. Which is a little sad, since that old crock pot was a wedding gift to Paul and me many years ago. So I dumped the chickpeas into a big soup pot and cooked them on the stove, which worked out fine.

Two pounds of chickpeas will make a bunch of hummus and a big ol' pot of curried chickpeas, which was perfect for a cool, rainy weekend. This is my take on Curried Chickpeas.

Curried Chickpeas

4 cups cooked chickpeas (fresh are best, but canned will work in a pinch. If you use canned, drain and rinse well.)
1-2 tbs olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded (I used one of the chipotle peppers I cooked with the chickpeas for a smoky flavor)
1/2 large onion, cut into chunks
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground ginger or 1" fresh ginger
2 tsp curry powder (more or less to taste)
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
juice of 1 lemon

Place the onion, jalapeno, garlic, ginger, curry powder, chili powder, coriander, salt, turmeric, and garam masala in a food processer and blend into a thick paste.

Heat the oil in a dutch oven. Add cumin and mustard seeds and fry until they start to pop. Add the onion-pepper-garlic paste, and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mix well.

Place 1 cup of the chickpeas in the food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are almost pureed. Add the processed chickpeas to the pot and stir to combine.

Add the remaining chickpeas to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, or longer if you want, stirring frequently. Add a little water if it gets too thick. Taste for seasoning and add salt if desired.

Serve this over rice if you want, or scoop it up plain with pieces of torn toasted pita bread.

Jamaican Black Beans and Tofu

2010-03-24T19:22:00.007-04:00

Yes, I have made some changes to the blog's format. Any thoughts on the new template? I can't decide.......

Little by little the pantry has been filling back up and getting more cluttered. So, I am once again challenging myself to shop as little as possible and use only what is in the pantry and fridge to prepare our meals. Tonight's meal was the first of this current pantry challenge. It is bold and spicy and nutritious and delicious!

Jamaican Black Beans and Tofu
1-2 tbs olive oil
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 block extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups bottled barbeque sauce (I used Bulls-Eye Original; it contains no high fructose corn syrup)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning
zest and juice of an orange

Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add sliced onions and sauté until onions are transparent. Add minced garlic, tofu, and the orange zest. Sauté until the tofu is browned on most sides. Add barbeque sauce, jerk seasoning, orange juice, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine and add beans. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer for at least 10 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Once again, tonight's photo is blurry. I think I'll switch cameras for the next post and hopefully it will turn out more clearly.

Cheezy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

2010-03-21T16:45:00.011-04:00

Proof that spring is here! The day lilies are poking their heads up even though the crape myrtle is still as bare as a winter day. The roses are putting out new leaves and I can see tiny green shoots peeking out of the wildflower bed. We spent the day mulching, trimming, pruning, weeding, and raking. It has been a wonderful weekend!

This super quick and easy recipe is based on the cheezy sauce I make for tofu scramble. I added a bit of heat and a lot of roasted red peppers. I usually double this, because it is super versatile. Serve it as a macaroni and cheeze-style main dish or over veggies as a side dish. It also makes a delicious dip. After it is chilled, it is a really awesome sandwich spread - use it with your favorite veggie deli slices!

Cheezy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp onion granules
8 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
pinch of red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, more or less to taste)
2 cups water
1-1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
2-3 tbs Earth Balance
smoked paprika

In a blender, combine the flour, nutritional yeast, garlic, granules, onion granules, mustard, water, pepper flakes or cayenne, and roasted red peppers. Blend on high until smooth. Pour into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until it becomes very thick. Remove from heat and add Earth Balance. Sprinkle with smoked paprika.

African Peanut Stew with Whole Wheat Couscous

2010-03-17T18:08:00.016-04:00

This isn't exactly Irish fare, but I wanted comfort food tonight. So, please forgive me for making a Nigerian dish on St. Patrick's Day. It's just been one of those kinds of weeks!

In case you hadn't noticed, I love bold flavors. Doesn't always have to be "hot" spicy, but it must always have LOTS of flavor. Becoming vegan opened up a whole new world of spices and seasonings for me, and so far I haven't found one yet that I don't like. I have definitely discovered some peppers that I can't tolerate, but no seasonings that don't suit me.

This dish has the wonderful smokey flavor of cumin and chili powder, with the slight sweetness of coriander, and while I made it pretty hot with crushed red pepper flakes, it would be just as delightful without the heat. In fact, I think kids might really like the peanutty-ness of this one!

This dish is loosely based on a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. If you have never checked out her cookbooks, they are quite wonderful!

African Peanut Stew
2 cans beans - I used pintos, but kidney beans are more traditional
1 cup chopped celery
1 onion,chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 tbs whole cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp salt
a BIG pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven. Add celery, onion, and carrots. Cook until vegetables are tender.

Add cumin seeds, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and coriander. Cook until seeds begin to splutter, or pop, and the spices form a kind of paste.

Add beans, with their liquid. Stir to combine. Add tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 8-10 minutes.

Stir in peanut butter, stirring until it melts into the rest of the dish. If you use freshly ground peanut butter, you can mix it with some of the hot liquid from the stew before adding it to the pot. Replace cover and return to simmer while you prepare the couscous.

Follow the package directions to prepare the couscous. I used whole wheat couscous, cooked with about a tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tsp of salt. I also added 1/2 cup of lightly toasted pine nuts, which adds a yummy crunch. If you like, you can squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon over the couscous.

Finish off the stew by stirring in the lemon juice and spooning it over bowls of couscous.

Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini and Panch Phoran

2010-03-11T19:20:00.008-05:00

I had no intention of blogging about tonight's dinner. I had planned to have broccoli - yes, again - but I didn't have any. I did find a head of cauliflower in the fridge, so I improvised. Paul took one bite of the cauliflower and actually yelped. "You gotta write about this one!" So here I am. The photo is a bit blurry, but Paul is right - this is a keeper!

This is super simple. It came together in about 5 minutes and took about 25 minutes in the oven. We had it with chickpea cutlets, based on this recipe, a staple in our kitchen.

Panch Phoran is a Bengali spice medley made up of five different seeds. You can find it in most international and Asian grocery stores. Sometimes you may find it already ground or you may find it as a bag of whole seasonings which you will need to grind yourself with a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder. (I have 2 electric coffee grinders - one for coffee and one for spices.)

Roasted Cauliflower with Panch Phoran

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup tahini (You may want to use more depending on the size of the cauliflower. Or just use more 'cause tahini is yummy!)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbs freshly ground panch phoran
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine well. Make sure the tahini and spices coat all surfaces of the cauliflower. Dump it all out onto a cookie sheet and spread into a single layer. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. Stir once while cooking.

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Broccoli, Almonds, and Mushrooms

2010-03-07T16:11:00.015-05:00

SUNSHINE!!! SOOOO happy to see sunshine! Even if it does rain all next week! I sat out on the deck and took a nap this afternoon and the horses got to spend all weekend out in the pastures. I might actually survive this winter!

Here is a quick, nutritious, and yummy dinner. It was great for the kind of week we had. The ingredient list is long, but it comes together very quickly!

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Broccoli, Almonds, and Mushrooms

1 box extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into 1" cubes
2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 4 tsp water
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup peanut or canola oil
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp garlic granules
1 1/3 cup vegetable stock
4 tbs soy sauce
4 tbs brown sugar
red pepper flakes to taste
2 tbs sherry (optional)
2 tbs seasoned rice vinegar (can use plain white vinegar)
1 tbs corn starch mixed with 2 tbs water
1 lb frozen broccoli florets
8 oz crimini mushroom, sliced
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 tbs sesame seeds for garnish

For the tofu:
After draining and pressing tofu, cut it into 1" cubes. Toss these cubes in the Ener-G egg mixture, making sure to coat all the tofu. Put the 1/3 cup of cornstarch in a plastic bag. Add the tofu and shake to coat. Set aside.

For the sauce:
In a medium sauce pan, combine ginger, garlic, vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. Heat to a simmer and add corn starch and water mixture. Stir constantly until thickened. Remove from heat.

Heat oil in a wok, large non-stick, or cast iron skillet until very hot. Add tofu cubes and fry until browned on all sides.

While the tofu is frying, pan roast the broccoli and mushrooms using this method.

When tofu is brown and crispy on all sides, add the broccoli and mushrooms and pour the sauce over everything. Stir gently to combine. Sprinkle toasted almonds over top and garnish with sesame seeds.

Serve over fragrant jasmine or basmati rice.

Beefy Seitan and Mushroom Stroganoff

2010-02-27T20:43:00.013-05:00

Wow, it's been too long since I last posted. Didn't intend to take so long and I have definitely been cooking, but life keeps happening and there are only so many hours in the day……

The good news is, the snow melted and we had a sunny day or two. The not-so-good news is, more snow fell this morning, but just a dusting. And the Mac's keyboard went out. The really bad news is that I am selling my horses and it is breaking my heart. Truth is, there are, as I said earlier, only so many hours in the day. And there are only so many dollars in the bank account. That's the biggie - money. Horses are so darned expensive to keep, especially when you have to board them out. That's about all I'm going to say about the horses or I will have to stop writing to cry. Which is the biggest reason I haven't been blogging.

Today's post - Beefy Seitan and Mushroom Stroganoff. I've been meaning to make this and post about it for awhile. I finally got around to making it Tuesday night, and man, is it good! And even better as leftovers. I just finished having it for lunch and my tummy is very full and very satisfied! Now I need a nap………

12 oz. beefy seitan, thinly sliced
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove fresh garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cups water*
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces vegan sour cream
12 ounces bag wide egg-free noodles or pasta

*If you have the simmering broth from making Beefy Seitan left, use 2 cups of that instead of the water. It works great!

In a zip-top bag, combine flour, seasoned salt and black pepper. Shake to blend, add the seitan strips, and shake to coat.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until transparent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add the seitan strips and flour then brown for about 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. Add the salt, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar and water to the pan and stir to scrape up all the flavorful brown bits.

Simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes. Stir in the sour cream gently for the final minutes of cooking. Do not boil. Serve over egg-free noodles.

I served this with garlicky spinach which is super simple. It goes like this:

Heat 2 tbs olive oil in a cast iron or non-stick skillet.

Sauté 1-2 cloves minced garlic in the oil and add a pinch (or two) or crushed red pepper flakes.

Add one bag of frozen chopped spinach and cook until the spinach is completely thawed, stirring frequently.

Add salt to taste.

It takes like a total of 7-8 minutes.

Anybody out there planning your spring garden? I'd love to hear what you're planting!

Parmesan Substitute

2010-02-15T18:36:00.011-05:00

One of the things I really missed after becoming vegan was Parmesan cheese. Here is the best substitute I have come up with. It ain't quite Parmesan, but it does the best job of filling the gap I have found so far!

Almond Parm
1 1/2 cups raw almonds
1 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp sea salt (more or less to taste)

Yep, it's that simple! Throw it all into a food processor and let it run until it is smooth and powdery. I like it better than Parma, which uses raw walnuts.

For dinner tonight I am experimenting. Shocking, I know.... another concoction. It's one of those soups that happens quite often in my kitchen. If it's left over, it goes in the pot. This one is a bean, barley, and veggie soup with a tahini and miso base. I think it's gonna work but I'll let you know!

Lentil-Spinach Pasta and NO MORE SNOW!!

2010-02-14T20:08:00.006-05:00

More snow coming. 6-10 inches, depending on which forecaster you listen to. I guess I shouldn't whine. We've had less than a foot here in Kentucky. My daughter still has more than 30 inches in the DC area. But I just need to say I AM SICK OF SNOW AND COLD!! Okay. I feel better - for now.

I am still debating whether or not to post a picture of this dish. Not one of them came out looking the least bit appetizing. But I promise, this dish was yummy. And really quick to put together. I made it twice this week, it was so tasty. Once even for company! So after I tell you that and post the recipe, maybe I'll include the photo at the very end.

Shout out to Linda, Mark, and Alana! We had fun, guys!

Lentil-Spinach Pasta

1 large onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup red lentils
3 cups water
2 veggie bullion cubes
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
3 tbs tomato paste
28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1-lb bag frozen chopped spinach
pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil. Cook onion, mushrooms, and garlic until onion is soft.

Add water and bring to a boil. Add red lentils, return to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and spinach. Add bullion cubes and a pinch of nutmeg. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Serve over your choice of pasta with some Parma or your favorite parmesan substitute.

This was the least bad of the photos......

Tofu Scramble

2010-02-07T15:32:00.017-05:00

Back in my pre-vegan days, I didn't like eggs very much. Kind of a carry-over from my pregnancies when I had huge food issues. I couldn't stand the sight or smell of meat or eggs and I craved strange things like powdered sugar donuts and BBQ potato chips. (Yeah, I gained a LOT of weight with both my babies….) The disdain for meat and eggs persisted after my babies were born, so becoming vegan wasn't a huge stretch for me. It was no surprise that the thought of a tofu scramble was never particularly appealing to me. Nonetheless, I have tried several different approaches to this scrambled egg substitute technique, with limited success.

Thursday night's dinner was very different! For some strange reason I was craving breakfast when I got home from work. I mean, the full eggs, sausage, home fries kind of southern breakfast. So, tofu scramble it was. I guess breakfast doesn't usually include roasted broccoli, but I did want to serve a balanced meal. This ended up being so good I just had to post on it. The sauce is really simple but quite tasty, and makes enough to use later for something else. The whole thing qualifies as a pantry challenge, too, since it was thrown together from leftovers and things that have been in the pantry / fridge for awhile. Unfortunately, I didn't remember to take pictures until I was eating the leftovers for lunch on Friday.

TOFU SCRAMBLE

For the cheezy sauce:

1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp onion granules
2 cups water
1-1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
2-3 tbs Earth Balance

Combine the dry ingredients in a saucepan and mix them well. Add the water. Heat slowly over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mix is thick and bubbly. Don't leave this or you will end up with a mess on your hands! When the sauce reaches the desired thickness, stir in the mustard and Earth Balance and set the pan aside.

For the scramble:

2 tbs olive oil
1 cup of chopped green pepper
1 vegan sausage, chopped into small pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tub extra firm tofu, drained well, and crumbled
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp smoked paprika (you can use regular)

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Add the pepper, onion, and sausage pieces. Cook for several minutes, until onion is translucent and sausage is well-browned.

Move the sausage-vegetable mixture away from the center towards the edges of the skillet, leaving a round empty space in the middle.

Add the tofu to the skillet and sprinkle the turmeric and paprika over it. Cook until the tofu absorbs the spices and begins to brown just a little. Incorporate the sausage-vegetable mixture with the tofu and continue to cook for a few more minutes. Spoon 2/3 to 3/4 cup (more or less to taste) of the cheezy sauce over the scramble and stir to incorporate. Use some of what's left for pouring over the broccoli.

ROASTED POTATOES

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut as many potatoes as you want into 1-inch cubes. In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, 2-3 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp garlic granules, 1 tsp onion granules, and 2 tsp salt. Stir to combine. Pour the potatoes out onto a cookie sheet in a single layer and spray them with non-stick spray. Roast for 30-35 minutes, checking periodically, to prevent burning.

Beefy Seitan and a Cheeze "Steak" Sammich

2010-02-01T08:51:00.026-05:00

I'm going to have to stop calling my posts part of the pantry challenge. For all practical purposes, the challenge is over, although there are still many unused items left in my pantry. I am starting to have to buy more and more things at the grocery to be able to use those items and still produce balanced meals! That doesn't mean I am not still being frugal. It just means I don't feel like I can honestly call it a true pantry challenge any longer. Either way, I'm impressed at how far we got with it!

This weekend I made some really tasty beef-style seitan. I do not remember where this recipe came from - it is one of those recipes that's been hanging around in one of my binders for ages and I just now got around to making it. I knew I wanted something rich and savory that I could slice up for "steak" sandwiches and fajitas, as well as a Seitan and Mushroom Stroganoff.

BEEFY SEITAN

Seitan
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vital gluten
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups warm vegetable broth
2 tsp Marmite
2 tbs tahini
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp Liquid Smoke
2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet

Cooking broth
vegetable broth - if simmering on top of stove you will need 6-8 cups; if baking, 4 cups
1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup tomato juice or V-8

2 tbs Marmite
1 tbs Kitchen Bouquet
1/2 to 1 tbs Liquid Smoke

If using the stovetop method, combine the broth ingredients and bring them to boil in a large pot over medium heat.

If baking, preheat oven to 325.

Saute onions and garlic until onion is translucent.

In a bowl, mix seitan ingredients. Add onion/garlic mixture and stir to combine well. You can use a food processor, but I prefer to use my hands. Mix until a soft dough is formed and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for a few minutes.

Divide gluten into a dozen or so "steaks" and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

If using the stovetop method, slide "steaks" into the simmering broth, cover, and allow to simmer for 1 hour. Do not boil.

If using the oven method, place "steaks" into a casserole dish and pour the broth over them. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.

Save any leftover cooking broth. This makes a killer "au jus" for "roast beef" sandwiches or can be used as a gravy base.

Here is a delicious toasted cheeze "steak" sandwich with onions, peppers, and mushrooms on a homemade crusty French roll. YUM!

Roasting Broccoli or Brussels Sprouts

2010-01-30T17:16:00.001-05:00

This is so easy. Heat a dry skillet for several minutes over medium heat. Add a bag of frozen broccoli florets to the hot skillet (no oil). This cooks quickly, so don't leave it. Stir the broccoli frequently to prevent burning. You want some browned places on the broccoli. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked to the tenderness you like. Add a couple splashes of Bragg's or soy sauce and let it cook down. Remove the broccoli from the pan to a serving bowl and drizzle a little hot chili oil over it Optional, of course). Cover this with some foil to keep it warm while everything else is cooking.

This method works for brussels sprouts and green beans as well. You can add mushrooms to the mix too.

Pantry Challenge Day 14 - Lovely Lemons and Sausage and Bean Soup

2010-01-30T07:24:00.013-05:00

This past week was a very trying one. My dear friend lost her sister to cancer and her 15-year-old nephew to suicide within a few hours of one another. Sometimes there are just no words for the grief. I haven't given much attention to food or cooking since Monday.

So, it was a delightful surprise to come home yesterday to a UPS delivery on my front porch. It was a box of sunshine! Really! My friend Anile in San Francisco sent me lovely, fresh Meyer lemons from her neighbor's back yard (I hope her neighbor knows.....). Oh what a wonderful sight and smell on a cold, snowy Kentucky day! Paul laughed at me and suggested he give me some "alone time with my lemons" when I started dancing around the kitchen, sniffing in their fresh citrus-y scent!

I have several ideas for their use - hummus, to begin with. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks, Anile!

On a savory note, last night's dinner was a concoction of leftover. Paul always says he loves my "concoctions" the best. The photo may look just like a soup I made last week but it is quite different. And quite tasty!

Here is the list of leftovers. You can come up with your own "concoction" based on the leftovers in your fridge!

about 2 cups of leftover tomato-spinach pasta sauce
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes (fire roasted, of course)
2 vegan sausages, sliced, then slices quartered
about 1 1/2 cups leftover basmati rice
about 1 cup leftover vegetarian baked beans

Threw it all together in a soup pot, brought it to a simmer, and left it there for 10 minutes. That's it. And it was hot and spicy and satisfying while the snow was falling outside and we watched reruns of "The Unit" inside.

Game Day Pizza! GO COLTS!!! GO VIKINGS!!!

2010-01-24T14:52:00.010-05:00

Can't call this one part of the pantry challenge 'cause I went shopping for this one! One of my friends made a post on Facebook early this morning about making pizza for today's playoff games. I was inspired! So off to Meijer I went and here is the result. I intended to make one thin crust and one thick crust, but what I ended up with was one thick crust and one deep dish.

I topped these with Glen Muir Organic Pizza Sauce, diced red onion, roasted red pepper strips, sliced criminis, crumbled, browned vegan sausage, and shredded vegan cheeze. The crust recipe is below.

Thanks, Rene T., for the inspiration!

GO PEYTON!!

GO BRETT!!

Pizza #1 - deep dish just out of the oven.

Move over, Bearno's!

Pizza #2 - thinner crust

Here is the crust recipe. I doubled this recipe and had enough dough left to make some bread sticks later in the week.

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. (I used my Kitchen Aid.) Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it. **I pre-baked these crusts for about 10 minutes before topping them.

Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Hot, Fresh, Homemade Bread!

2010-01-23T19:01:00.002-05:00

Okay, I admit it. This is a teaser. I am not going to do a full bread post tonight. I'm not sure when I'll get around to doing that, but Saturday is my baking day and the loaves came out so nicely today that I couldn't resist sharing. This is my normal 10-grain seeded bread with pumpkin, sunflower, and flaxseeds. I make 2 loaves each week and we usually eat the first loaf before Monday morning! Gluttons? Yes, we are!

Pantry Challenge Day 12 - Creamy Kale and Mushrooms with Orzo

2010-01-23T08:05:00.011-05:00

I didn't plan to post tonight's dinner but it turned out so nicely that I thought I should share it. This is day 12 of the pantry challenge and it is actually becoming a true challenge. I'm starting to scramble a bit and find that I need to be much more creative than in the beginning.

This recipe requires some background because it was created from leftovers. Night before last I was on my own for dinner - Paul's night to teach - and I was tired, so I made quesadillas. They were tasty but nothing I thought worthy of blogging about. The leftovers, however, became the sauce for last night's dish, so here is the quesadilla recipe:

White Bean Quesadilla Filling
2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained (cannellinis or great northerns)
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp onion granules
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Couple shakes of liquid smoke

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until thick and smooth. To make quesadillas, just slap some of this between two tortillas and cook in a cast iron skillet until toasted on both sides. Use a pizza cutter to slice it into fourths. This is definitely worth a try, even if it's only for the leftovers to make the recipe below!

Creamy Kale and Mushrooms with Orzo
1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
6-8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion or 1 tbs onion flakes
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 package (8 oz) whole wheat orzo
Leftover quesadilla filling

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add chopped kale and onion. Sauté until kale is wilted and onions are transparent. Add mushrooms, pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth. Cover, bring up the heat, and allow to steam for 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Stir quesadilla filling into the kale and mushroom mixture. Add vegetable broth. Simmer over low heat for a few minutes. Stir in the orzo. Turn off heat, cover, and allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Pantry Challenge Day 11 - Oat and Bean Burgers

2010-01-20T18:39:00.010-05:00

Of all the "burger" recipes I have tried since becoming vegan, this is by far my favorite. It tastes awesome and it holds up without squishing through the bun. This recipe surprises me how good it is. Really good. Like I can't wait to have it for lunch good. Even without the vegan cheese, which I used up last night. And it is really, really simple, which makes me like it that much more. Throw it together while you are making dinner tonight, and your dinner is essentially done for tomorrow night, too!

I served these with leftover mashed potatoes and gravy and some pan-roasted broccoli. Was wishing for some french fries, but alas - no potatoes left in the pantry…….

Oat and Bean Burgers - makes 8 patties

2 cups rolled oats
1 - 1 1/2 cups cooked pinto or black beans, mashed
2 cups water
1 cup soy milk
2 veggie bullion cubes
1 1/2 tsp marmite
2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
1 tbs dried herbs - you choose - I used italian seasoning, basil, thyme, and rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup vital gluten

In a large saucepan, bring water and soy milk to boil. Add oats, beans, and remaining ingredients except vital gluten. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir well. Add gluten and mix well. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Transfer mixture to a bowl or loaf pan, cover, and let set in the fridge overnight.

When ready to serve, shape oat and bean mixture into 8 patties. Heat 2 tbs oil in a skillet. Fry patties until brown and crispy on both sides. Serve on buns with your favorite burger toppings. Don't forget the french fries!

Pantry Challenge Day 10 - Beans, Greens, and Barly Soup and some Doggie Treats

2010-01-17T13:46:00.044-05:00

This really is day 10 of the pantry challenge we started the first week of January. It's crazy how little we have actually spent on groceries in the past two weeks. I am beginning to suspect, however, that once I decide to actually grocery shop normally, I'm gonna be out of EVERYTHING! Either way, it's been fun!

It's a cool, rainy Sunday. For lunch we had Amy's No-Cheese Pizza with shredded mozzarella-style Follow Your Heart cheeze. That doesn't mean I didn't cook today, though! Still in pantry challenge mode, I used a bunch of leftovers to create this soup, and from initial tasting, it's a keeper!

I cooked a big pot of dried beans last week and had a bunch of those left. I also had some leftover tomato soup, a couple of carrots and the end of a stalk of celery. I used all of these plus a bag of frozen collards.

When I cook dried beans, I usually do it in a crock pot on low for 5-6 hours (or while I am at work). I season them with 2-3 dried chipotle peppers and don't salt them until they are done cooking. I'm sharing this with you now because the flavor of these beans really contributes to this soup. Here's how it went together:

Beans, Greens, and Barley Soup

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (fire roasted, of course)
5-6 cups water
3 Rapunzel vegetable bullion cubes
1 cup pearled barley
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup chopped celery
1 onion, chopped (or 2 tbs onion flakes)
1 bag frozen greens (I used collards)
3-4 cups cooked beans
salt and pepper to taste

Combine tomatoes, water, and bullion cubes in a dutch oven or soup pot. Bring to a boil and add barley. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20-25 minutes.

While the barley is cooking, slice the carrots and chop the celery.

After cooking the barley, add the carrots, celery, onion, and greens. Return to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Stir in the beans, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. Cook for another 10- 15 minutes. For a beefier flavor, add a couple teaspoons of marmite and a couple teaspoons of Kitchen Bouquet.

This is gonna make some killer lunches this week!

Peanut Butter Dog Treats
Now for something that's just fun! Here is the recipe for the treats I give to our poodles, Winston and Wesley. They love, love, love these things and beg (politely, of course) for them!

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 1/2 - 2 tbs unsulphured molasses
2-3 tbs canola oil
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a food processor, combine everything except water. Process until the mixture is fine and crumbly.

While food processor is running, add the water, a little at a time, until a dough forms and no longer sticks to the sides of the food processor bowl. Add a bit more water or flour as needed.

Roll the dough out to about 1/2" thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut into the size squares you desire. If you're really cool and have a bone-shaped cookie cutter, use that!

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 20 minutes, turning after the first 10 minutes. Cool. Let the begging begin!

NOTES: Some dogs are sensitive to wheat. The whole wheat pastry flour can be replaced with brown rice flour or cooked quinoa. If you use cooked quinoa, reduce the amount of water you use in the recipe. For a little variety for your puppers, the peanut butter can be replaced with the same amount of steamed sweet potato.

"Treats, please......"

Pantry Challenge Day 9 - Sauerkraut and Spicy Vegan Sausages

2010-01-16T08:03:00.040-05:00

I forgot all about the jar of German sauerkraut in the pantry. I was kind of excited when I remembered, cause that meant just one thing - sausages! So tonight it was sauerkraut, spicy vegan sausages, and mashed potatoes with gravy. I have made these sausages many times. The recipe I use most is a combination of Julie Hasson's and vegandad's.

These sausages have it all. The texture is perfect. You can grill 'em, slice 'em up and fry 'em, put 'em on a pizza, or put 'em in a bun and pile on the toppings. The flavors can be whatever you love - fennel, garlic, crushed red pepper. Using white beans leaves little pieces in the sausage which are reminiscent of the little white pockets of fat in meat sausages. Makes 'em almost too realistic to eat, but they sure don't last long in my house!

If this is your first time trying steamed vegan sausages, don't be afraid of this recipe - it can stand up to a lot of variation and experimentation!

Vegan Sausages - makes 6 large or 8 small sausages

2 ¼ cups vital wheat gluten
½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
¼ cup chickpea flour
½ cup white beans
2 tsp granulated onion
1 to 2 tbsp fennel seed, optional
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, preferably freshly ground
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp dried chili flakes, optional
1 tsp ground smoked paprika (or extra plain paprika or ½ tsp liquid smoke)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground allspice
2 1/4 cups cool no-chicken broth (I used 2 Rapunzel bullion cubes for this)
6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce

In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.

Whisk together the water, garlic, olive oil and soy sauce and using a fork, gently stir into the dry ingredients. Stir just until ingredients are mixed. If dough mixture is too dry, you can add another tablespoon or so of water.

Using your hands, knead the dough gently until strands of gluten begin to form.

Divide dough in half, then divide each half again into fourths. Divide each fourth in half yet again, so you end up with 8 pieces.

Shape each piece into a log. Place each log on a piece of aluminum foil and roll up, twisting ends (think tootsie roll).

Place sausages in steamer and steam for 30-40 minutes.

Slice and serve immediately or place in the fridge until ready to eat.

Brown Onion Gravy

3 tbs olive oil or Earth Balance
3 tbs flour
2-3 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tsp marmite (optional)
1 tbs onion flakes
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 rapunzel bullion cubes
1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet

Heat oil/Earth Balance in a medium pot over medium heat.

Stir in flour.

Cook until a smooth paste forms and begins to brown a bit.

Add nutritional yeast, onion flakes, and marmite. Stir to combine. Add water and bullion cubes and Kitchen Bouquet. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Taste for seasoning. Add more water if it gets too thick. You can slice some crimini mushrooms and add to this for a savory mushroom gravy.

A Note on Marmite
Marmite is a yeast extract with flavoring quite similar to that of beef broth. It really adds the "beefy" flavor to seitan and brown gravies. In Britain it is spread on toast or crumpets. You can find Marmite at Whole Foods and Meijer.

To serve the sauerkraut and sausages, slice up the sausages and brown them in some olive oil. Be generous with the oil. I used about 3-4 tablespoons. Let them get all crunchy and caramelized on all sides. Add about a tablespoon of caraway seeds - gotta have caraway with cabbage! Dump in the sauerkraut and combine well. Cook until sauerkraut is heated through.

Oh! If only there was some corn meal in the pantry........ I really wanted cornbread with this!

Pantry Challenge Day 8 - Green Lentil Dahl and Dosas

2010-01-13T19:48:00.017-05:00

Indian-style cooking - and lentils - quickly became staples in our kitchen after we become vegan. The seasonings are bold and aromatic and the textures are rich and satisfying. I am still trying to learn the differences between Northern Indian cooking and Southern Indian cooking. This article provides some interesting reading about regional differences.

I was torn tonight between using the green lentils in the pantry for dahl or for soup. I finally decided that tonight it should be dahl and dosas. I'll detail a curried lentil soup in a later post.

As part of the Pantry Challenge, this recipe is put together based on what I had on hand. It is quick, easy, and nourishing, and can be changed up based on the type of lentils you have, the kinds of vegetables, or the kinds of spices in your cabinet.

Green Lentil Dahl

2 cups green lentils, sorted and rinsed
4 -5 cups water or broth
3 potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs curry powder, more or less to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
1 cup frozen green peas
Salt to taste

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and fry til they start to pop ("splutter"). Add onion and remaining spices and cook until onion is tranparent, stirring frequently.

Add water/broth, potatoes, carrots, and lentils. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until lentils and vegetables are tender, 25-30 minutes. If it seems too thick, add a bit more water/broth. Add peas and cook for 3-4 more minutes.

Red Lentil and Rice Flatbread (Dosas)

Tonight's red lentil and rice flatbread is based on this vegandad recipe. Unlike the dosas I made in my first post, these are made from scratch. They take a bit longer in terms of preparation and are more substantial.

1/4 cup red lentils
3/4 cup basmati rice
1 cup warm water
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbs dried cilatro or 2 tbs fresh

Place water, lentils, and rice in a small bowl. Cover and allow to soak overnight. (I found that I needed to add another cup of water because it all soaked in.)

Place lentil-rice mixture into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Return to bowl, cover, and allow to ferment overnight.

Add salt, turmeric, pepper, and cilantro to the batter.

Heat a well-seasoned cast rion skillet over medium heat. Brush the pan with oil. Pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and spread it out with the back of a spoon. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until pancake looks dry around the edges. Flip and cook for another minute or so. Cover cooked pancakes with a towel while the others are cooking. These do not keep well, so serve immediately.

Pantry Challenge Day 7 - Creamy Penne Rigate with Spinach, Baked Dumpling Squash

2010-01-11T19:12:00.008-05:00

Well, I never made that second post for the weekend. Too many wheelbarrow loads of "stuff" from the horse stalls and too many NFL games (GO ARIZONA!). We had leftovers and take-home from the Whole Foods salad bar for the rest of the weekend.

My grocery budget for this second week of the Pantry Challenge was $50 but I blew that pretty badly. It wasn't that I bought a ton of stuff to cook. It was more that I was out of things like dish detergent and soy milk and salt and personal items - very basic things that you just gotta have. Everything I will make this week is still stuff that was already hanging around.

Tonight I am finally getting around to baking the two sweet dumpling squash that have been sitting on my countertop for well, forever, it seems like. These squash are so pretty that I'll miss having them sitting around to look at! These beauties take a bit of time to bake but the wait is worth it. You can use the same recipe for acorn, delicata, or butternut squash. I so meant to take a photo of the squash before I cut into it, but I so totally forgot.......

To go along with them, I made Creamy Penne Rigate with Spinach.

Creamy Penne Rigate and Spinach

I lb package whole wheat penne rigate
16 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 – 2 ½ cups water
2 no-chicken bullion cubes
1 cup non-dairy milk (make sure it is unsweetened)
3 tbs Earth Balance
3 tbs flour
3 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp crushed rosemary
½ tsp garlic granules
½ tsp onion granules
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt and black pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, melt Earth Balance over medium heat. Add flour and stir to mix. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until flour begins to brown lightly. Add yeast, poultry seasoning, rosemary, garlic, nutmeg, and onion granules.

Pour in 2 cups of water and bullion cubes. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Add milk and continue to stir. Taste for seasoning.

Add spinach. Stir to combine well. Heat until bubbling.

Add pasta and stir to combine. Let sit while finishing off squash.

Baked Sweet Dumpling Squash

2 sweet dumpling squash (can use delicate or acorn squash as well)
juice and zest of 1 orange
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tbs maple syrup
2 tbs Earth Balance, melted
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the squash into halves and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Using a fork, pierce the skin of the squash in several places. Place squash halves in a baking pan, skin-side down.

Mix cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, and Earth Balance together in a small bowl. Add pine nuts. Divide the mixture among the squash halves.

Add 1” of water to the bottom of the pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until squash is tender.

Alternately, you may allow the squash halves to cool partially, remove the skins, and mash or puree the squash.

This one got mixed reviews. Usually if Paul and I disgree on a dish, it's him loving it and me not so crazy about it. Tonight, Paul didn't like the squash; he thought the orange zest made it bitter. I, however, really liked how the squash turned out. We agreed on the the pasta and spinach, though - loved it!

Creamy Tahini Dressing

2010-01-09T12:31:00.001-05:00

Oh tahini, how do I love thee......let me count the ways.......

Tahini is sesame seeds ground into a creamy butter similar to peanut or almond butter. I like it way better than peanut butter. It has a deeper, richer flavor and it packs a powerful protein punch. I use tahini in many recipes but salad dressing is my favorite.

If you like ranch or bleu cheese dressings, you will love this. It is rich and creamy and garlicky with the tartness of lemon. Make it soon!

Creamy Tahini Salad Dressing
1/2 cup tahini
juice of 1/2 large lemon, about 1/4 cup
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup plus 2 tbs oil
3/4 cup water
3 tbs Bragg's or soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Store in the refrigerator.

Pantry Challenge Day 6 - Thai-inspired Noodle Soup

2010-01-09T07:56:00.025-05:00

This was actually Friday's dinner, but with the bitter cold, the horses have required a bit of extra attention, so I have been rather busy. Shoveling out stalls is a challenge when everything you are trying to shovel is frozen solid and you can't feel your hands! Hopefully I will have another post before the end of the weekend.

This is just the soup you want to come home to after working outside in the snow and ice. It is not entirely authentic and I rarely ever make it exactly the same way from one time to the next. I just know it is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. I love the combination of coconut milk, lime, and sriracha, or rooster sauce (a Thai hot sauce that some people call Thai ketchup). I would normally use lite coconut milk for this, but all I had in the pantry was full-fat (darn…….NOT!).

6-8 cups water or broth
1/2 block extra-firm tofu (NOT silken), cut into 1" cubes (I didn't have any tofu, so I left it out)
3 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
6 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, chopped or shredded
2 green onions, with green parts, sliced (I only had regular onion, so use 1/2, chopped)
1 tbs curry powder
½ tsp cumin
1” fresh ginger, minced or 1 tsp ground
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 can coconut milk
Sriracha, to taste
12 oz pad thai noodles (I used brown rice rotini this time)

In a large soup pot, bring water or broth to boil. Add cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, green onions, curry powder, ginger, and cumin. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add pad thai noodles, tofu, coconut milk, lime juice and zest, and srirracha. Return to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until noodles are done – about 7-10 minutes. NOTE: If you are using something other than pad thai noodles, pay attention to the required cooking time for that pasta - you may need a few more - or less - minutes here.

This tastes even better the next day, but you may have to thin it out with a little water.

Okay - after having this for dinner Friday and as leftovers last night, I feel compelled to come back and make a quick disclaimer. How to say this delicately..... If you are unaccustomed to consuming full-fat coconut milk, or even if you eat it frequently, please be aware that it can have an interesting effect on your digestive system. 'Nuff said??

Pantry Challenge Day 5 - Chicken Fried Seitan

2010-01-07T18:29:00.012-05:00

Hold on to your pom-poms, sports fans, 'cause mama just ran it back for a touchdown. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little. Or maybe not. I may live in Kentucky, which is sorta the South and sorta the Midwest but I was born and raised in North Carolina where I grew up eating fried chicken and chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes (or rice) and gravy. And in my family, the gravy was pretty much the most important part of the meal. My cousin Billy used to say that the only thing mashed potatoes or rice were good for was holdin' up the gravy!

When I made the chicken-style seitan last week for the buffalo bites we served at the party, I set aside four chicken-breast size pieces to use for this meal. (I'll do a post on seitan sometime and post the seitan recipe I used for this.) Tonight I double-breaded them with a mixture of flour and cornmeal and fried 'em in a cast iron skillet, then made cream gravy. I served them with rice and the gravy and pan-roasted broccoli drizzled with chili oil. Now this may all sound complicated and time-consuming for a weeknight dinner, but I promise you, we were sitting down to eat inside 30 minutes from the time I got started.

To get started, I put some white basmati to cook in the rice cooker. I actually prefer rice to potatoes most of the time.

Next, I prepared the pan-roasted broccoli. This is my favorite way to eat broccoli. I am all about minimizing time and effort, so I used the same cast iron skillet for both the broccoli and the seitan.

This is so easy. Heat a dry skillet for several minutes over medium heat. Add a bag of frozen broccoli florets to the hot skillet (no oil). This cooks quickly, so don't leave it. Stir the broccoli frequently to prevent burning. You want some browned places on the broccoli. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked to the tenderness you like. Add a couple splashes of Bragg's or soy sauce and let it cook down. Remove the broccoli from the pan to a serving bowl and drizzle a little hot chili oil over it. Cover this with some foil to keep it warm while everything else is cooking.

Chicken Fried Seitan

4 seitan "fillets"

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional but yummy)

1 cup non-dairy milk
1 tsp cider vinegar

In two separate bowls, prepare the dry ingredients and the liquid ingredients. Sprinkle a little olive oil on the seitan and dredge each piece in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Now dip each piece in the milk and dredge again in the flour mixture. Set aside.

Wipe out the same skillet with a paper towel and heat it up again. Add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of safflower or canola oil and let it heat. Carefully add the breaded seitan pieces. One of the beautiful things about this is that unlike frying chicken, the seitan is already cooked, so there is no worry about eating under-cooked meat - no biting into bloody chicken - YUCK! And no salmonella worries. Not to mention no cholesterol or saturated fat. And nothing died so that you could eat dinner!

Fry the seitan for several minutes on each side, turning a couple of times, until it is golden brown all over. Remove from the skillet onto paper towels.

For the gravy, sprinkle about 1/4 cup of flour into the hot oil remaining in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the flour mixture starts to bubble. Add 1-2 cups non-dairy milk, stirring constantly with a metal spoon, scraping up all the yummy brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add water (or more milk) as needed to thin the gravy. Cook for several minutes and taste for seasoning.

Now bust a move to the table and dive into some serious southern-style home-cooking! All that's missing is a big ol' fat biscuit! Another post for another day!

Oh! And ROLL TIDE!!!

Pantry Challenge Day 4 - Soup and Sammies

2010-01-06T18:23:00.013-05:00

Last night I was out mucking stalls, so we were on our own for dinner. Leftovers!

Tonight's is the third meal created from only what could be found in my pantry, fridge, or freezer. It has been almost 10 days since I shopped for groceries and that day was mostly with our New Year's Eve party in mind. We ended up with quite a few leftovers from the party and I made use of some of those tonight.

Paul teaches on Wednesday nights so I'm solo for dinner. Tonight's fare is very simple , but it was healthy, filling, and satisfying.

First is a simple tomato bisque made from Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed or Diced tomatoes. If you have never used these canned tomatoes, you really need to try them. They are a bit more expensive than say, your store brand, but man oh man - they are so worth it!

For the soup, all you need is a can of tomatoes (size depends on how much you want to make), a clove of garlic (or some garlic granules), a pinch or two of italian seasoning, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, and some soy creamer or soy milk. Use as much or as little milk/creamer as it takes to make the consistency you prefer. Throw everything into a blender, process until smooth, then heat. Adjust the seasonings to your taste.

For the grilled cheeze, I sliced some leftover cheez log, spread it on homemade bread, and grilled it with a little Earth Balance. I'll do a bread post sometime soon - I've been making homemade bread for over 30 years!

And there you have it! Dinner in 10 minutes! Comfort food, even. I mean, who doesn't love tomato soup and grilled cheese?

They're calling for snow tonight - 4-6 inches. Brrrrr!!! Is it SPRING yet??

Pantry Challenge Day 2 - Chickpea Stew and Dumplings

2010-01-04T19:12:00.014-05:00

Last week I cooked about two pounds of dried chickpeas to make hummus for our New Year's Eve party. After making two big batches of hummus I still had 4-5 cups of chickpeas left in the fridge. I also had some cabbage and a couple of carrots so tonight's dinner was a no-brainer - a thick stew of chickpeas and veggies with tender rosemary dumplings, perfect for a cold Kentucky night.

For the stew:

3 tbs olive oil
2 carrots, cubed
2 ribs celery, sliced
2-3 cups green cabbage, chopped
2 potatoes, cubed
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbs flour
8-10 cups vegetable broth
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp celery seed
2 tsp caraway seeds (I always have to have caraway with cabbage.)
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, cabbage, potatoes, onion, and garlic. Cook for 6-7 minutes. Add flour, poultry seasoning, celery seed,caraway seed, and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes more, stirring frequently.

Add vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer while you make the dumplings, or for at least 15 minutes.

For the dumplings:

2 cups flour
3/4 - 1 cup non-dairy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed dried rosemary
1 tbs baking powder
1/4 cup margarine (I prefer Earth Balance)

Combine milk and vinegar and set aside (This sours the milk so you have vegan "buttermilk"). In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, rosemary, and baking powder. Mix well.

Mix margarine and flour mixture together until crumbly. Add milk and vinegar and stir until just combined. Drop by spoonfuls into the simmering stew. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes, being sure not to overcook.

The result was a protein-packed stew with delicious, savory broth, tender veggies, and light rosemary-infused dumplings.

Challenge Day 1 What's in my pantry?

2010-01-03T10:28:00.020-05:00

It's freezing outside this morning! Beautiful sunshine but it's 6 degrees with a wind chill below zero. Brrrrr!! Don't like thinking about going out to muck stalls, so I'll think about something else for a little while....

I took another look at my pantry this morning so I can start thinking about a plan. Here is part of what I have to work with:

several kinds of dried beans, mostly a cup or less of each
dried soybeans (for making tofu)
several cans of Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes
box of quinoa
a box of penne and chreese
couple of cans of cooked beans - pinto and garbanzos
2 cans vegetarian baked beans
a cup or so of red lentils
about a cup of french lentils
1/2 bag of brown basmati rice
bag of white basmati
small amount of TVP
a few soy curls
box of dosai mix
box of sambhar mix
several bags of whole wheat pasta
box of pad thai noodles
2 cans coconut milk
1/2 bag of white whole wheat flour and 1/2 bag of all-purpose flour
a variety of oils, spices, and condiments
vital gluten
nutritional yeast
5 lb russet potatoes

I'm thinking Indian today, so maybe the sambhar and dosai. They're easy and the sambhar is spicy and yummy for such a cold day. I buy these mixes at the local international market and try to keep a couple on hand for nights when I need something quick. And I have some leftover samosa filling that will be tasty with the dosai. If you have never made dosai before, leave yourself some extra time. You have to start with a cold pan for each pancake.

The dosai turned out crispy and delicious.

For the sambhar, I followed the directions on the package with a few exceptions. After adding water to the mix, I added the following:

14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground mustard
1 cup frozen peas
3 smallish potatoes, cut into small cubes
3 tbs french lentils

The end result was spicy and sour and a bit sweet. And completely delicious!

Shout Out to Hubby

2010-01-02T14:24:00.006-05:00

And just to brag a little on my awesome husband - as I write this, Paul is downstairs cleaning out the fridge, getting us further ready for the Pantry Challenge. Thanks, sweetie!

Much Larger Fur Family

2010-01-02T13:48:00.009-05:00

Josie (black TWH)

Rusty (bay Mustang)

Fur Children

2010-01-02T13:36:00.007-05:00

Winston

Wesley

Welcome!

2010-01-02T12:13:00.011-05:00

Welcome to the home of a first-time blogger. One of my goals for the new year was to create my own weblog and here we are!

My vegan journey continues to be greatly influenced by wonderfully creative bloggers and it is with great humility that I will be offering some of my own recipes and kitchen perspectives.

We are beginning the year with the Pantry Challenge. On New Year's Day, I cleaned, condensed, and culled our pantry contents. The goal is to create as many meals as possible using only what already exists in the pantry, freezer, and fridge. There will be, of course, the inevitable necessities, but the intention is to keep those purchases to a minimum, hopefully under $50, for each week that we can hold out!

I'll be keeping you up to date on how the Challenge shapes up. I'd also love to hear from any of you who are doing something similar.