Vegan at Home

Favorite Sandwich Spread

2011-12-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

This is really simple and really good. I have been making it for years.

1 can vegetarian refried beans

1 T veganaise

2-3 T ketchup

lots of chopped pickled jalapenos

Mix it all together. The amount of ketchup depends on the consistency you like.

That's it!

Last Visit to My Favorite City (At Least For A While)

2011-11-30T12:12:00.000-05:00

The day after Thanksgiving was 55 and sunny, so I thought it would be a good day to visit my favorite city for the last time before we move. Nothing specific to do, just visit our old house and favorite places in the neighborhood. I will miss it so much!

Winter sun and trees make a striking landscape. You can see the art museum behind the trees. The "wings" open up daily and have a 218 foot wingspan!

It seemed much colder here with the wind whipping off the lake!

Must climb trees! Hohn bridge in background.

Surfers in Lake Michigan in November!

St. Mary's and Water Tower. The old hospital on the right, with the new Columbia-St. Mary's behind it.

The pavilion at Bradford beach. This reminds me of the pavilions in South Beach, except they are not made of brick!

Looking north on Bradford Beach. No one wanted to walk with me. Look at those white caps!

We ate at the Comet Cafe on Farwell. Love this place - makes both me and the Carnivore happy. I had the seitan Philly steak with a vegan nacho cheese sauce. Why can't my seitan taste like that? No cardboard here. In the foreground is the mashed potatoes with beer gravy. Only in Milwaukee!

This was the only good thing at my Thanksgiving dinner. It is a cranberry marinated and pan fried tofu. For some reason none of the side dishes were good! Don't know why - I have made them all before.

Had these for dinner the other night. They are really tasty. No nasty soy after taste. Yes, I know they are processed, but I just don't always want to eat beans!

Thanksgiving Message from a 7 Year Old

2011-11-22T11:32:00.000-05:00

This was written by my daughter in school, without any prompting (or editing) from me:

"Please don't eat me for Thanksgiving dinner. I look better sitting at the table, not on it. I have a bad case of turkey pox and I will make you very sick. I'm too young to die. I'm a loving bird, not a meal. My meat's not ready yet. I'm so fat that I'll make you fat.

So you can see, I wouldn't be a good meal for Thanksgiving dinner."

Not sure where this came from - we don't talk much about things like this and we are an omnivorous household, with the extended family always making a huge deal about the turkey. Wow!

Also, they did an essay using the letters in "Thanksgiving" as the first letter of every sentence:

"G": Giving thanks for what we eat. Making prayers for God.

"V": Vegetables all over the table. I love to eat with my family.

"I": Instead of turkey I eat cranberry sauce with my sisters.

"N": Now we're all happy together. We eat.

"G": Giving and doing good things is a good thing to do on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving, however you celebrate!

Cheater Curry

2011-11-09T10:15:00.000-05:00

Sautee in oil.

Add sauce and bring to simmer.

Add pressed, cubed tofu.

Add halved grape tomatoes. Simmer 15 minutes.

Add spinach, simmer 5 minutes.

Yum!

Serve over brown rice.

Can you tell where I like to shop?

Beans for One

2011-11-01T22:16:00.001-04:00

Here is something easy and delicious to add some protein to your dinner.

3 baby carrots, chopped

olive oil

2 T chopped onion

salt

1/2 c pinto beans

1 T tomato paste

1 bay leaf

dash soy sauce

scant 1 T paprika

Sautee carrots in oil until browned. Add onion, sprinkle with salt, and cook until browned. Add beans, tomato paste, bay leaf, soy sauce and paprika. Add water just to cover beans. Smash some beans against the side of the pot so the liquid will thicken. Cook about 12 minutes more, till sauce is the thickness you like. Serve over pasta.

Banana Party

2011-10-27T09:49:00.000-04:00

Those of you with young children are probably big fans of Elmo's World. This was the show that used to buy me yoga time when my kids were little. My 3 year old and baby would sit on my bed transfixed by the cute furry red monster (and I must admit how much I enjoy him myself, unlike that big purple guy). By the time the third baby came along, the oldest had outgrown Elmo and had control of the remote, so the youngest never really got a chance to enjoy him. Now she is seven, and she and her nine year old sister and their friends have rediscovered the old tapes (yes, tapes!). Their favorite is the banana episode, where they cook all things banana. We decided to recreate the all banana meal in our kitchen.

First up, banana smoothies. Just fresh and frozen bananas, vanilla extract, and vanilla Silk. Creamy and delicious!

Banana bean dip. Sauteed onions, garlic, pickled jalapenos, pinto beans, and banana chunks. This came from a banana cookbook (you knew I had one, didn't you?) It was great with corn chips. I was so happy that my two non-eaters loved this - they ate beans!

Banana soup from the same book. Bananas, habanero pepper sauce, broth, soy creamer, salt and pepper. This was Just okay. My middle girl (on of the non-eaters) actually ate some, and I was proud of her for being adventurous. I didn't like it that much myself, but it was something fun.

Banana chocolate chip bread from Vegan Diner. I subbed 1/4 cup lime juice for some of the soy milk and made a streusel crumb topping. Couldn't really taste the lime in the finished product - maybe it would have worked better if I had used grated lime zest. No matter, still great. Very moist and cake like.

Side view.

Well, there was a big pile of dirty dishes, but worth it to have fun with my kids and have them try some things they wouldn't normally eat!

The Stack

2011-10-24T10:46:00.001-04:00

I have a habit of printing recipes off the internet and sticking them in the drawer. Many of them I have never (and will never) cook, but still I save them. For some reason, I just can't throw them away (kind of like how old magazines suddenly get really interesting when you are trying to get rid of them.) The stack also contains old family recipes scribbled on paper, and favorites cut out from magazines. I have to search through the stack whenever I want one of these treasures. It is actually fun (although time consuming) to do, because then I remember with fondness all my favorites! Nowadays I just bookmark files on the internet - takes up much less room. But it is not quite as much fun!

This is one of my daughter's contributions to the stack. If all that was mixed together, it would indeed be an interesting concoction! I believe vacation milk refers to cow milk, which is what they usually call it (soy milk being just "milk.") Not sure why, because on vacations we still buy soy milk to go on our vacation cereal (Fruit Loops and Cocoa Puffs, which we are not allowed in real life!)

Anywho, this tomato recipe is what I was looking for in the stack. (You can also find it here - a much easier way to find recipes.) It is a salad with two sesame dressings - one vinaigrette and one creamy. So delicious, you must make it!

Is there anything better than a tomato sandwich on whole wheat with veganaise? Won't be having these for a while now. Hoping Georgia has a longer tomato season that Illinois!

Does It Count?

2011-10-20T17:42:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite soups. It has onion and celery sauteed in Earth Balance, white beans, broth (Better Than Bouillon No Chicken), lemon and orange juices. An unusual combination for sure, but so good.

This tofu was (I think) from Better Homes and Gardens new cookbook. Can't remember exactly as I returned it to the library. The tofu was marinated in a sauce of mint and cilantro. After grilling it was amazingly juicy (can tofu be juicy?) and flavorful! I will have to get that book out again and write it down this time!

Here is the 40 clove chickpeas and broccoli from Appetite for Reduction. Good but the broccoli was overdone. The recipe calls for roasting first, then adding broth and cooking another 15 minutes. I think next time I will take the broccoli out before adding the broth. Why, yes, that is ketchup on my pasta!

Here is the new label on the Junior Mints box. As you can see, the gelatin has been removed, as a reader previously reported. How about that line "milk and egg may be present?" Guess that is just a CYA line for allergy sufferers. Does it count?

On The Road Again....

2011-10-12T12:36:00.000-04:00

Well, here we go again. After two years in Chicagoland, we are taking off for the Atlanta area! I have mixed feelings about this. My husband is really happy, so that is good. Kids are lukewarm, not so good. For me, I have been really happy here. It was easy to move here since I was already familiar with it and already had lots of friends here. I have never been to Atlanta and don't know anyone. So it will be a bit of a challenge. However - average temperature is 50 in January! And no snow to speak of. Today in Chicago it is a beautiful 68, and I can't help thinking it will be like that in March in Atlanta. And it's always exciting to try new restaurants, shopping, etc. But I will miss my friends, neighbors (who are also friends), yoga teacher, church, house dearly.

On to the food - more gluten free adventures. Here is a stew from the book Gluten Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook by Leslie Cerier. This book is really interesting to me because it focuses on whole foods and of course is vegetarian (mostly vegan). Most of the gluten free cookbooks focus on combining different flours and gums to approximate the wheat based cooking we are all used to (or they focus on meat). This stew had cabbage, tomatoes, parsnips, and other veggies in a peanut butter broth. Yummy.

The next recipe is from Carol Fenster's 125 Vegetarian Gluten Free Recipes. The burrito filling is made of marinated mushrooms, black beans, spinach, onions, etc. The sauce is green chile based and brothy. Different than a green salsa. I liked it. This book is also mostly vegan, and references vegan products with dairy alternatives. I will be trying more recipes from these books in the future.

Well, now I will be cooking out of my pantry and freezer to try and empty them by the time we move. Isn't it amazing what accumulates in there? So my cooking will either be very boring or very creative!

Sushi Success and Edamame Mustaches

2011-09-30T11:54:00.000-04:00

My oldest daughter really loves Japanese food. Last year for her 11th birthday we took her and her friends to a hibachi style Japanese restaurant. This year she wanted sushi, so we decided to have a party at home. This gorgeous sushi platter was made for us by a local Japanese restaurant. It was so delicious and fresh. I had never been to this restaurant before, but I picked it because it had so many vegan rolls on the menu. Great choice!

I made the rest of the meal myself. Edamame, salad with "Japanese restaurant" dressing, and garlic noodles! This summer on our annual Lake George trip, we ate at our favorite Japanese restaurant (and the only good restaurant in Lake George). It is actually a Chinese and Japanese restaurant, and I usually order Szechuan tofu there. This year we went with friends, and they wanted to sit on the hibachi grill side. They made these garlic noodles on the grill that my daughter could not get enough of. They are made of spaghetti, tons of garlic, butter (Earth Balance), soy sauce, and brown sugar. So simple and so delicious! It cracks me up to see the big gobs of butter they put on everything at hibachi restaurants. Do the real Japanese even use butter at all?

Here is the salad dressing made from this recipe. I substituted carrot for the celery. I think it really tasted like the dressing at the Japanese restaurants! I have tried many times to duplicate it and this is the closest I have come.

That is the birthday girl with the edamame mustache.

Of course the little girls only ate the noodles.

Except for this one....she eats everything I give her. It is a pleasure to have her over for dinner!

Because we are an omnivorous household, my husband grilled some chicken, thinking most of the girls would not eat sushi. I was so pleased that the chicken went almost untouched - only one girl had any! And yet the vegan seaweedy sushi was devoured. A great party all around!

Mom's Special Cereal

2011-09-29T14:30:00.002-04:00

Doesn't my pantry look like Seinfeld's? We always have at least 5 or 6 cereal boxes open at the same time. This drives me crazy - hate stale cereal.

This one is what my daughter calls "Mom's Special Cereal." We used to be able to get a cereal called "Familia." It was raw oats, nuts and dried fruit. Not sure you can even get it anymore, and it was super expensive. So here is my own version. I have been making it for years and it never gets old!

Mom's Special Cereal

6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (you can mix in other rolled cereals for variety)

1/2 c sunflower seeds, chopped

1/2 c almonds, chopped

2 cups dried fruit, chopped (have at least some tart fruit like cranberries or cherries. A bag of mixed chopped dried fruit works nicely and is super easy.)

2 t cinnamon

3 t vanilla extract

1 t almond extract

Mix together the oats, nuts and fruit. Sprinkle the cinnamon and extracts over the top and mix well. Cover and wait a day before eating (to let everything get scented with the cinnamon and extracts). Pour milk of your choice (I prefer vanilla Silk) over cereal 5 minutes before eating so the cereal gets soft.

No sugar needed!

Gluten Free Adventures

2011-09-23T10:59:00.000-04:00

Once again I am trying to be gluten free for a while to ease my achy joints. It annoys me to be so creaky at this age - thought I had at least another ten years before that. It has been a week, and I must admit i do feel better. An interesting side benefit is that I am not even thinking about candy. I know I have mentioned what a sugar junkie I am - mostly candy and cookies. When I try to quit sugar, I always crave it. But I am not really trying to quit sugar, just gluten. And I haven't thought about candy once! Also, I do have a marked increase in energy. I have never been an energetic person. Usually I get really tired around 3 pm, and also around 9 pm. Not having those energy slumps at all this week. Don't know how long I'll be able to keep this up. It's easy at home, but really hard on the outside. I am grateful that I do not have celiac, where even a trace of gluten is dangerous to your health!

Although of course it is better to concentrate on whole foods, I wanted to try some gluten free pasta. This is a famous one, and it is pretty good. A bit too much of an aftertaste to eat plain, but it is good mixed with sauce and veggies.

Tomato rice soup with the last of the basil from my yard.

The kid who won't eat anything loves kale chips!

I am grateful to Trader Joe's who makes specialty products that are affordable. This bread is too heavy for a sandwich, but makes good toast!

Oats are naturally gluten free, but most commercial products have cross contamination from wheat (both from processing and from wheat fields grown close to oats). Trader Joe's gluten free oats are $3.99. Similar product in Whole Foods was $7.99!

I mentioned the Paula Reds last fall. They are only available for 3 weeks in September. At my old house I used to drive out to a farm a half hour away just to get them. Here I found them in my local grocery store!

Gratuitous dog shot. Their hair is finally growing back in. I think this is a good look for them!

The Musical Fruit

2011-09-16T09:48:00.000-04:00

I have been on a bean kick lately. Although it may seem odd to be eating hot soup in hot weather, to me beans are a very light and digestible protein when compared to eating animal flesh. As a kid I always hated a big grilled steak in summer, which felt like it sat for hours and hours in my stomach.

I have been cooking out of a new book, "The Indian Slow Cooker," by Anupy Singla. First up is Dad's Rajmah, a red kidney bean dish with a relish of raw onion, cilantro, hot pepper flakes, salt and lime juice. Very delicious.

Next is yellow spit pea (split moong) dal. Here is what is looks like going in....

.....and the finished product! I didn't like this one as much as the Rajmah. Interestingly, I read an article about slow cooking that says the long cooking can make the spices fade and give a bitter taste. That is exactly what I experienced! Perhaps that is why in traditional Indian cooking the spices are sauteed separately and added at the end of cooking. Need to do some more experimenting on this one. One thing I really like about this book is that they show pictures of all the different kinds of beans. I find that in some Indian cookbooks, the names they use often mean different things (eg. lentils don't always mean the brown ones we are used to).

This is the hummus from "Peas and Thank You." The recipe instructs you to peel the chickpeas for an ultra smooth and creamy hummus. I probably would not do that every time, but the hummus was delicious. I haven't had homemade in a while - it is so much more lemony and tahini-ish that store bought!

Here are some veggies from my neighbor's garden. I wish the perspective was better - that zucchini was as big as a small baseball bat! I used it to make a raw zucchini salad marinated in lemon dressing. I'm not much for raw zucchini, but this salad was good. I made ribbons of zucchini with a vegetable peeler. They were very thin and kind of "cooked" in the dressing - kind of like an escabeche. Pretty too - but I forgot to snap a pic.

Is there anything better than a tomato sandwich? These tomatoes were the real deal. When I ran out, I bought some at the farmer's market and they were terrible! All white and mealy inside. Next year I must grow my own!

A New Book!

2011-08-22T12:13:00.000-04:00

I was so excited to receive the new book, "Peas and Thank You," by Sarah Matheny. I follow her blog every day, and it is my favorite not only because of the great food, but the hilarious stories and great pictures of her family. My own girls are not much older than Sarah's (aka Momma Pea), so I can relate to all the things she is going through as a mom to two young girls.

The day the book came was a gorgeous sunny day. I was sitting on the deck reading it when my husband came home. "Why are your eyes all black?" he wanted to know. It seems that I had been laughing so hard at the stories in the book that my mascara was running down my face. "But it's a cookbook," he said incredulously. And then some!

I tried the salsa recipe and the black bean burgers recently. Both were delicious and easy to make.

The salsa is made from canned fire roasted tomatoes, with fresh onion, cilantro and lime juice. A great short cut for a fantastic tasting salsa.

Here are the black bean burgers cooking in the skillet......

.....and plated up with all the fixin's. They were juicy and delicious.

What I like about this book is that the recipes are very accessible. They don't have long ingredient lists, and don't require a trip to the specialty foods store for exotic ingredients. I have tons of cookbooks that I don't use, but I think this one will be a staple in my kitchen. Go get it!

Two Old Friends

2011-07-07T11:30:00.000-04:00

My best friend from North Carolina and her daughter (who is the same age as my oldest) came to visit us last week. We had lots of fun staying up late, crafting and drinking lots of wine, shopping, and visiting tourist attractions. We went downtown and took the Chicago architecture boat tour, which I have never gone on. It was so fun - I love tours! We went to a Thai restaurant that I used to go to 20 years ago when I worked downtown. I can't believe it's still there. I almost cried when the spring rolls came out - they were exactly the same as way back then. I have never had better spring rolls anywhere. I had to order two entrees, because I'm not sure I'll ever get back there! I ordered the Pad Thai, and the green tofu curry. As you can see, I ate all the tofu in the curry before I snapped the picture (these are the leftovers)!

We drove up to Milwaukee one day - my favorite city in the whole world. I drove past my old house and the people were hanging out on the front porch. I went up to them and it turns out that they are the same people that bought the house from us 18 years ago. They actually took me inside and gave me a tour! Pretty nice of them to invite a total stranger into their home.

I finally got to the Comet Cafe in Milwaukee. Although not a vegetarian restaurant, they have many vegetarian and vegan items on the menu (and they are on purpose, not accidental). It's kind of a hippie biker veggie cafe. Totally awesome. I had the vegan meatloaf (which was Field Roast) with beer gravy (it is Milwaukee, after all) and mashed potatoes with seared Brussels sprouts. Also the creamy broccoli soup. It's very refreshing to ask a waitress a question and have her response be about nutritional yeast. I took pictures, but don't seem to have a cord to connect my phone to the computer.

My poor little dogs got a summer hair cut. Despite our brushing them frequently, they had a lot of mats in their long hair and had to be shaved. They don't even look like my dogs! They shaved them too close and we actually had to take one to the vet. Poor babies - I hope it grows back soon. The only consolation is that they will be much cooler for summer - they do really hate the heat!

What We've Been Doing Lately

2011-06-08T12:45:00.000-04:00

Nothing terribly exciting, just life. Which I am thrilled and grateful for every day, even though sometimes I don't show it.

I was so excited when I read about this in a magazine - algae-based DHA at a reasonable price ($14 for 30 300 mg. capsules)! I opened the package, and then noticed the fine print on the bottle itself - porcine gelatin and carmine (beetle juice). Ugh. Should have known better, but I assumed if someone went through the trouble to make it fish free, it would be animal free. Silly me.

Our little robins hatched - 4 babies. They grew and flew away so fast!

Double decker doggies.

Dog party - our two nuts and two sharpeis. They slept good that night!

I chaperoned the first grade zoo trip. Here's a little monkey love.

And some cats that behave just like the ones at home.

Coriander Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes from AFR.

Baked BBQ Tofu from Veganomican. I always wanted to make the Apricot BBQ Sauce but never got around to it. I added 1/4 cup vinegar because to me it's not BBQ sauce without vinegar. Also added 2 more tablespoons molasses and 1 t more liquid smoke. And salt. Then it was perfect! BTW, those are Trader Joe's garlic fries. So easy and so delicious.

Today was the last day of school. They only went for an hour. Seems silly but they need a certain number of days for state funding. How does one hour count for a day?

"What are we going to do all summer?"

This is the dinner menu that my kids made up. You can see both the Carnivore's and my influence here. Where are the veggies?

This hangs in my kitchen. Now if only I enforced it!

A Fun Visitor

2011-05-26T10:28:00.000-04:00

It has been an exciting week. We had a visitor from New York - Flat Stanley! He has done all sorts of activities with us.

Miniature golf.

Going to the park.

Going on a picnic (with crabby patty sandwiches - don't ask.)

He got his own Bears jersey and Cubs cap.

Then he went back to New York.

But the fun doesn't end - we have dogs that do tricks! At least someone uses that swing set.

And good food - Mediterranean Rice Salad. Brown rice, spinach, artichokes, basil, sun dried tomatoes, and lemon mint vinaigrette.

Some recipes from Appetite for Reduction: Caribbean Black Eyed Peas with Steamed Plantains (I used black beans). Was this ever delicious. Isa is right - steaming the plantains makes them far more delicious than frying them. I recommend not adding the salt.

Buffalo Tempeh - so wanted to like this, but it was so salty it was inedible. Maybe the fat that's normally in the recipe offsets the saltiness of the hot sauce? I didn't use a low sodium broth, but still.

Cool Slaw: yum. It has a blended cashew dressing. I find that really convenient, rather than having 3/4 of a box of tofu hanging around from a tofu based dressing, or having to buy expensive vegan sour cream or mayo.

I used this veggie mix to make the slaw. Much better than packaged shredded cabbage. It has green and red cabbage, carrots, jicama, celery, and a few other things. Also really good with goddess dressing.

It is cold and rainy in Chicago today, but the holiday weekend promises to bring sun and warmth!

Mango Mush

2011-05-20T10:18:00.001-04:00

I have read that you can peel and cube a mango the same way as an avocado: cut around the center, lengthwise, run the knife around between the skin and the fruit, cut cubes within the shell, and turn them out of the shell. This doesn't work at all. My mangoes always stick the the giant pit, requiring me to saw at them and get mush. Does anyone know the trick?

This is the Greek scramble from Vegan Diner. Good but not fabulous. Maybe because I am not a fan of oregano.

This is the Tofu with Hoisin Mustard sauce from Appetite for Reduction. Delicious. As good as takeout but without all the grease and MSG. Next time I will add toasted cashews, although I guess then it would not be low calorie. Also the Potato Scallion Pancakes from the same book. These were okay. As you can see, there are no scallions in them. I had none and so used onion. Definitely would have been better with scallions.

Favorite Saturday morning pancakes. It was Thursday, but the kids had off for "Institute Day." These are light and fluffy and delicious despite containing no fat or eggs.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1 large ripe banana
1 1/4 cups vanilla soy milk
1 T vinegar
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c chocolate chips

Mash banana well and stir in milk and vinegar. Add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir briefly, just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Lightly oil a non-stick pan and preheat for 5 minute. Use a 1/4 cup measure (not quite full) to scoop the batter. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Soup and Sammy

2011-05-07T12:00:00.001-04:00

I was excited to see fresh peas in Trader Joe's, and was trying to think of what to do with them. I remembered I had this awesome soup in a restaurant once. It was so simple - basically just vegetables in broth, but the veggies were so fresh and the broth so delicate that it was outstanding. I think I was pretty successful in recreating it!

Essence of Spring Soup

olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned well and thinly sliced
5 cups water
1 T "Better than Bouillon" No Chicken broth concentrate*
15 asparagus stalks, in 1 inch pieces
2 oz. tiny pasta (I used stelline - little stars)
2 cups fresh shelled peas
15 fresh basil leaves, torn

Sautee leeks in olive oil until soft but not brown. Add water an broth concentrate and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add asparagus. Cook 5 minutes. Add pasta and peas and cook for the amount of time on the pasta box (for this pasta it was 7 minutes, just the right amount of time for the peas. You want the peas to be just slightly crunchy). Add basil leaves and simmer a few more minutes.

*this small amount of broth concentrate makes for a very delicate broth. This is on purpose, so as not to overwhelm the veggies. You may want more, or you may want to add some salt.

I wanted to have a sandwich similar to a lobster roll, only made with tofu, of course. I turned to the Horizons cookbook for ideas. The author has recreated many seafood dishes that he enjoyed in his youth at the Jersey Shore. Not that they taste like fish, which is a good thing! They just taste good.

Tofu Roll

1/2 lb. tofu, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. Old Bay
1/4 t. curry powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 T olive oil
1 t mustard
1 T sherry

Mix all ingredients. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Let tofu cool.
Chop 2 stalks of celery finely. Add tofu to celery and add some mayo to your desired consistency. Serve on whole wheat hot dog buns. Makes enough for 3 buns. (To be really authentic, you would get those weird hot dog rolls with the flat sides, butter the outsides, and toast them on a griddle).

A Stolen Sandwich

2011-04-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

I was reading the blog "Good Good Things" yesterday and copied this sandwich for my dinner last night. Miso Teriyaki Seitan and Grilled Onions. Here are the components:

"Beef" strips (seitan) marinated in teriyaki and white miso, seared in a pan.

"Blue Cheese Dressing" from the Blooming Platter cookbook. This was one of the sample recipes in the Amazon "Search Inside This Book," and I couldn't wait to try this dressing. It is made with beer - what a great idea! It has tofu chunks in it- would have been fine without the tofu, just as a sauce. This was not in the original sandwich, but was a good addition.

Grilled onions.

Chipotle dill mayo.

Here is the awesome result.

Back shot so you can see the pretzel roll. I never heard of these before moving to the midwest, but the Carnivore says they had them in NY. They are delicious, but really high in sodium (1600 mg. for the roll. Of course, that roll was supposed to serve two, but in what universe?)

A lovely, salty, caloric meal.

I must confess, although they tasted good, I did not save the leftover beef strips. Not to be gross, but when I took them out of the package I had just come in from cleaning up my backyard from the dogs. I just could not get past the appearance of those beef strips! Glad they were hidden in a big roll.

Another Way to Choose Recipes

2011-04-12T09:45:00.000-04:00

You would think with all the cookbooks I have that it would be easy to figure out what to make for dinner. But I think mostly I love to read them as if they were novels, and dream about which recipes I would make if my family would eat something besides macaroni. Sometimes, just for for fun, I go to Amazon and read reviews of the books I have to see which recipes other people have loved.

One such book is called "Olive Trees and Honey." It was published a while back. It's a book of Jewish vegetarian recipes from around the world, mostly eastern European and Middle Eastern. It's interesting because it gives you a lot of different versions of a recipe, depending on country of origin. Lots of emphasis on eggplant, peppers, chickpeas, tahini, etc.

The recipe I chose for last night was for Hungarian cream of mushroom soup that someone raved about in a review of the book. I had some soy creamer to use up, and had bought some fresh mushrooms that day. The soup is seasoned with lots of paprika and cayenne, and not much else. It was simple and good.

I made some croutons for my salad. I cut up bread ends and sprinkled them with olive oil and garlic salt, and baked them at 400 for about half an hour.

The croutons were really good, but they took away the freshness of the salad. Turns out they were much better in the soup!

The salad dressing was really good. It was just rice vinegar, mustard, a sprinkle of sugar, and basil olive oil. We have a store here that sells all different flavors of olive oil and balsamic vinegars. They are all in big urns and you can pour them into tiny paper cups for tasting. I love the basil oil best - it adds so much to a salad.

Of course there was macaroni, too!

A Repeat and Cute Kid Pics

2011-04-08T17:56:00.000-04:00

Well, the reason for the clean out the fridge menu of last was that we were driving to Florida the next day. My parents live there, and we have not visited for 5 years (usually my parents come to visit us). Also, I wanted to bring my kids to Disney while they are still young. It was a very long drive but I'm glad we did it. The flights would have cost $4,000, plus another $1,000 to rent a van. What gives, airlines? I know it is spring break but are that many people willing to pay those prices? We only went to Disney one day because that, too, has increased dramatically. I read in a guide book that the ticket prices have increased 44% since 2003 (or was it 2005?) Anyway, the kids and I really enjoyed it. The Carnivore refers to it as "that evil Mickey place."

One little princess is not happy at this point.

Waiting for Mickey's Philarmagic show.

Waiting to see princesses. Over an hour on line at 10:00 pm.

But worth it for these smiles.

This was taken about midnight. The girls were still going and Bill and I were ready to drop.

They had almost as much fun the next day for free at the shopping area. Well, maybe not so free. I could not resist the Mickey martini glasses.

Waiting for the water to pop up - I have this same pose of her at 1 1/2.

We visited the Kentucky Horse Farm on the way home. Where thoroughbreds retire to.

Visited Nashville on the way down. This is at the Grand Ole Opry.

And here's the repeat - Chinese BBQ Tofu. Original link and recipe here. This stuff is good - try it!

Clean Out the Fridge Meal

2011-03-25T09:45:00.000-04:00

Chick Pea Curry

3 scallions, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

olive oil

1/2 can chopped tomatoes

2 t. curry powder

1 can chickpeas

fresh basil leaves

a little water

1/2 bag baby spinach

Sautee scallions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Smash some of the chickpeas to thicken the liquid.

Sear some brussels sprouts in olive oil. Turn and add juice and zest of lime and some salt. Cook until softened.

Not bad for a clean out the fridge meal!

Springtime in Chicago

2011-03-23T11:59:00.000-04:00

I am standing outside in a winter coat which totally covers my shorts. My bare legs are exposed over my daughter's snow boots that I pulled on as I ran out the door. Waiting for the dogs to go to the bathroom. Instead they just want to roll in the muddy grass (I have never seen a dog do a deliberate tumblesault before now - they really get a kick out of this). The dogs are not allowed out by themselves until this Midwest black mud dries out - they came in totally caked in it the other day. The big snow pile has finally melted - we live at the end of the street in a cul de sac and so get all the snow from the entire street in our front yard. The lawn is spongy as we walk on it. I see some tulips starting to come up. Monday it was near 60 and tonight we will have snow. The last time we lived here it snowed on May 7th. Springtime in Chicago!

No good food to post - today I ate my Larabar in the shower because I ran out of time for breakfast! Not an auspicious start to the day.

Apologies for the Junior Mints

2011-03-16T10:31:00.002-04:00

So, I finally got out to the store yesterday and looked at the label of my Junior Mints. There it was, the very last ingredient. Gelatin. Ugh. I switched to Junior Mints after finding that my former favorite, York Peppermint Patties, had egg white in them. Not sure if I just missed the gelatin or if that is a recent addition. Why does all my favorite crappy mass produced candy have some kind of animal product in it? Thank God for Trader Joe's dark chocolate. Thanks to Shenandoah Vegan for pointing this out.

On a happier note, here is a delicious dinner, courtesy of Appetite for Reduction (the Thai Red Tofu), and Happy Herbivore (Teriyaki Chickpeas). And look at all that green stuff!

Two Seinfeld Episodes in One Post

2011-03-11T10:16:00.001-05:00

Those of you who are fans know that Seinfeld basically applies to every situation in life. In this case: "Jam-ba-laaii-a" and "Junior Mint?"

My church usually holds a Mardi Gras supper, and last year I signed up to make a pot of Jambalaya. Well, of course it was not vegan, but my daughter loved it so much that I decided to veganize the recipe. I don't know about the original, but this one sure was good. I made my favorite Cajun red beans from "American Harvest" by Nava Atlas, candied yams, and cornmeal crusted okra from "Cookin' Southern" by Ann Jackson ( I really recommend this book - it is so fun and the food is so good).

Have you cooked with okra? This is what it looked like before I cut it up. I was browsing through a few cookbooks since it is not something I cook with regularly. Apparently the way to eliminate the "slime factor" (did I just scare you off of okra?) is to make sure the okra are perfectly dry. So I did not wash them before. I figured that cooking in hot oil would destroy any germs, and anyway if there was something really nasty on them a quick rinse would not get rid of it. So, we survived and the okra was crisp and delicious. And the girl in the market did not even ask me what it was - this tends to happen with the uncommon veggies (and sadly some common ones, too).

Why Junior Mints? I asked the Carnivore to stop on his way home from work to get me a big box - I decided to give up candy for Lent and this was my last chance to eat it for 40 days. This was not so big a deal when I was a kid, because we didn't eat much candy anyway. But now it is much tougher for this sugar addict! Yes, I ate the whole box in one sitting, although I did share a few with the kiddos.

This dumb dog has decided she likes sitting on the kitchen table. She sure has a lot of bad habits. But isn't she pretty?

Mardi Gras Jambalaya from Messiah Lutheran Church

1/2 c Earth Balance (no wonder it tastes so good)
2 red onions, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 T. Creole seasoning (I used Tony Chachere)
1/2 t. cayenne
1/2 t. oregano
2 T. Tomato paste
1 package vegan sausage (I used Tofurky kielbasa)
4 cups broth ( I used no beef bouillon cubes)
1 16 oz. can tomatoes, with liquid
3 c. long grain rice (white, please!)

Melt EB in a large pot. Add all veggies and seasonings. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Mix in tomato paste. Cut sausage into chunks. Add with broth and tomatoes and rice. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice is very tender, about an hour.

I found I needed to add A LOT more water throughout the cooking time. The original recipe also called for ham, but I didn't have any vegan ham on hand and it was great without it. I did also add a little smoked paprika for extra flavor.

The candied yams I ate as a child had 1/2 lb. butter and 1/2 lb. brown sugar in them (also used canned yams packed in syrup!) Here is a more sane version.

Candied Yams

2 large yams
2 T. Earth Balance
2 T. maple syrup
3 T. brown sugar
3 T. orange juice

Microwave yams until just tender. Let cool, peel, and cut into chunks. Heat all other ingredients. Add yams and cook until heated through.

Hope y'all had a great Mardi Gras feast, too!

Sometimes Simple Is Best

2011-02-24T18:31:00.000-05:00

What is the question we hate the most? "Where do you get your protein?!" Although it is true that a non-animal diet can provide plenty of protein, in my case I feel the need to be extra vigilant about this. It is too easy to live on crackers and spaghetti. I am trying to add beans and tofu/tempeh/seitan to each meal. And of course vegetables, which I am sometimes lacking. This means I have to cook a lot more than I might otherwise. Yes, I should automatically be doing this considering I have three children to feed. But in reality sometimes we have cereal for dinner.

I was craving peanut sauce last night. I saw a simple one in "Vegan Yum Yum." I mixed it up and put it over very simple sauteed tofu (no extra seasoning). Easy and good. The fresh garnishes (shredded carrot and chopped scallions) really added some flavor. The black beans are my favorite lemon garlic beans from "5 Ingredient Vegetarian Gourmet."

This group of six (one is hidden in this picture) deer were playing in the marsh behind our house last night. They were running and jumping at each other just like the pups! So cute.

What Will Trader Joe's Think of Next?

2011-02-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have always been a huge fan of chocolate covered cherries (aka cherry cordials). In the old days they only had them as part of the box of mixed chocolates. There would only be two cherries - one each for my brother and me. Then you could get Cella. Then you could get Cella dark chocolate! Never mind the Queen Anne version with that nasty creamy thing in it. Now you can get these little gems from Trader Joe's for only $1.99 for a great big box. They are truly cherry cordials - the first time I had one, I was like "did I just do a shot of something?"

Got to love that they have so much booze in them that you can't buy them if you are a minor. SV, I think you would really love these - they combine two of your favorite things!

This sign hangs in my bar area- I laughed out loud when I saw it in the store and it always makes me smile still.

Hey, it's Friday - hopefully the Carnivore will make me a chocolate martini when he gets home.

Creole by Way of the Carribean

2011-02-16T14:32:00.000-05:00

I always think of Creole food as being from Louisiana, but these creole beans come from the new "Caribbean Vegan" by Taymer Mason. It is the first recipe I've made from this book. The recipes in here look very interesting. At the beginning of the book, there are several seasoning mixes that can be made ahead and used in many of the dishes in the book. I am not usually crazy about the"recipe within the recipe" format, but in this case it is worth to get that extra special something in your dish. Even my bean haters ate a little. My new favorite way for broccoli is roasted with olive oil and salt. They get all caramelized and yummy - I cannot stop popping them in my mouth. They remind me of kale chips. Sadly I am not a big vegetable lover, so it's good to find something I really love. I also sauteed some bananas with EB, sugar and cinnamon. The kids really loved them, and so did I. Even the Carnivore ate some of this meal.

Easiest fancy dessert ever - roll out a strip of puff pastry (regular old Pepperidge Farm is vegan). Cut in half. Roll out a can of almond paste and place on top of pastry. Spread some raspberry jam on top. Cut slits in the other half of the pastry and place on top. Pinch edges to seal. Bake until gold and puffy. When cool, drizzle on some confectioner's sugar glaze.

Poor pups were spayed yesterday. They were mellow for about an hour, and now they want to wrestle and play in the snow/mud. And I'm supposed to keep them dry and resting!

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-03T11:02:00.001-05:00

I have never actually been in a true blizzard before. We got 20 inches of snow, but the wind made some huge drifts, and there were whiteout conditions at times. My deck had a solid 3 feet which had to be shoveled over the rail. I am not as sore as I thought I would be today! Our snowblower broke halfway through the cleanup, but our very kind neighbor plowed our driveway with his snow plough. He also spent hours doing our street - the town never came around to the side streets until very late in the day. Amazingly by evening the roads were passable!

We had to shovel our way out.

Back deck.

Had to snow blow through to get a path for the dogs.

The kids have a sledding hill!

The final pile on the deck.

Won't be sitting in front of the fire any time soon. The swings are buried.

This is what I shoveled off of the deck.

Mountain climber.

Needless to say we had a snow day.

Snow dawg.

That fence is 6 feet tall!

A good day for soup! It was roasted butternut squash, adapted from the book "Too Many Cooks." It had interesting seasonings - mustard, Worcestershire, maple syrup, cinnamon. We had it with Trader Joe's ciabatta, and apples with peanut butter (a solution for getting plants and protein into my kids, who don't like veggies, beans, and tofu).

2011-01-28T09:35:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the cookbook challenge over at PPK? People are cooking from a different book each week. I was inspired by Sara's blog to make this delicious sandwich from Veganomican. It is the Po' Boy sandwich with chili cornmeal crusted tofu. I thought I made this tofu once before, but I don't remember liking it so much. Maybe I didn't make a sandwich with it that time? It has a nice cool slaw and chipotle mayo. I used my regular tofu marinade (equal parts tamari, nooch, EVOO, and water) to make the breading stick instead of the soymilk/cornstarch mixture in the recipe. Worked like a charm and added an extra layer of flavor! The fries are Trader Joe's frozen garlic fries - happily vegan and even the carnivore loves them!

By the way, the mystery item is a gnocchi board - for rolling the formed gnocchi on to get the little ridges. Will I ever use it or will it be relegated to the unused kitchen gadget drawer?

Back to MY Food

2011-01-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

I mentioned that we had house guests for 10 days. I don't cook my regular food when we have guests because then I would be cooking my food, the kids' food, the husband's food, and the guests' food. Yes, it would be better if everyone would eat the same food, but as I'm sure many of you also experience, this will never be the reality in my house. There are only so many pots I can wash in one night, especially for so many days on end. SO I generally don't eat very well when we have guests, because I just make do. Kind of like when you go to an omni's house for dinner and you just make do.

I was excited to get back into the kitchen and make something yummy. This is from the new book by Isa, Appetite for Reduction. There are so many recipes I can't wait to try in this book. I started with the chickpea piccata. VERY delicious! And easy, too. I tried a new product for this - the "Better Than Bouillon" No-Chicken Broth paste. I really like this product. I usually use the Vegetable flavor, but I like this better. It is much milder - the veggie version, while good, has a very pronounced flavor that tends to take over everything.

Those of you who have this book have probably read the "Caulipots" recipe, a combo of potatoes and cauliflower, designed to reduce calories. I didn't have the potatoes needed for the recipe, so I just steamed the cauliflower and served it with potato gnocchi on the side. Trader Joe's sells gnocchi made without eggs!

For Christmas, my husband gave me a cooking class at the Viking school. If you can ever take a class at Viking, I highly recommend it. They are hands on and use only top notch ingredients and of course all the great cooking gadgets (so you will want to buy them in the store after class). Also, they serve wine when you eat the meal you cooked. This was a class in gluten free cooking. It was very interesting - mostly about how to combine different non-gluten flours to make baked goods. We made pasta, bread, cupcakes, and a few other things. The chefs at the school also made a quinoa salad and the spinach salad I made last night. The salad had a caramelized shallot vinaigrette that was to die for. I seriously could not stop eating the salad (and I don't even like raw spinach)! It also had toasted pecans and dried cherries (in class the salad had goat cheese). Now if I can only figure out how to make those cupcakes without eggs! They were way better than traditional cupcakes. Unfortunately gluten free is not necessarily vegan.

On Saturday we drove my parents up to the airport in Milwaukee. We stopped at the outlets on the way home. They had a gourmet store and I bought this. Does anyone know what it is? The girl that worked there did not know!

We have had a lot of snow (although not as much as my friends in the east!) One day it went all the way up to about 30 degrees, and everything started melting. The dogs love to play in the snow - they play on the slide and in the kids' playhouse! They were out so long that they looked like they had a bath. Don't they look sad? They look so skinny when wet.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T19:02:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! We had lots of fun - visitors, Christmas events, parties, kids and husband off for two weeks. It seems very quiet this week back by myself, and into the regular routine.

Christmas Card 2010

The only picture I got of the girls dressed up.

Smartie Pants's first snow.

The pups when they first arrived......

And now - a little bigger, eh?

Why are kids so amused by toilets?

View from my living room after a snow fall.

I actually have done some cooking lately.......

This is a hollandaze from Robin Robertson - I think the "Meat and Potatoes" cookbook? I didn't think I was going to like it, but it was very good, especially over the nice soft cauliflower. Please ignore the ketchup on the macaroni - this is how my Irish husband grew up eating macaroni, and now my kids love it.

Kale chips? I have read about them so much and thought it was the worst idea I ever heard. Until I tried them. My 11 year old ate the whole batch except for the few I managed to grab.

Have you ever cooked with lemongrass before? I hadn't. I think mine was a little dried out - there wasn't much pulp inside all those layers.

I used it to make this from "The 30 Minute Vegan - Asian." It was supposed to be a Massaman curry - potatoes, pineapple, peanuts and coconut milk. I thought it was not going to be any good. When I made it, there seemed to be way too much liquid. But then I let it sit while I ran out to yoga class, and by the time I got back it was thick and delicious.

I served it with this tofu from the same book - kaffir lemongrass tofu. Also delicious. If you read cook books a lot, you may know that you can sub grated lime rind for the kaffir lime leaves. I did this and it was still good.

I hope to get back to my regular cooking again, although with more visitors coming next week, there probably won't be anything exciting for a while. I tend to cook for the others and make do with pasta and veggies for myself!

A Good Activity for the Day After Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T17:05:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving - spent with the best of friends. We traveled up to Wisconsin to visit them. They used to be our neighbors when we lived in Milwaukee. Now they have an awesome home in the country on 30 acres. Beautiful scenery. I always feel at peace when I am there. Of course that might be from the many bottles of wine we drink! They are always so kind to fix me separate dishes when we visit. This time it was special mushroom gravy, and dressing made from a bunch of different whole grains. And the best Brussels sprouts I ever had. They had just lime and olive oil and salt and pepper, but so good! Here is the gigantic table for 23.

Today it was super cold in Chicagoland, but thankfully sunny after lots of gray days. We have had a pumpkin on the counter for a while that my daughter got on her Halloween pumpkin farm trip. We decided to make roast pumpkin seeds. My neighbor makes them and they are fabulous. I don't know what she puts in them besides butter. I used Earth Balance, salt, and sugar. They were so good!

What to do with the pumpkin? I have actually never cooked a real pumpkin. I cut it in big chunks, sprayed it with olive oil, and threw it in the oven. My 6 year old enjoyed it straight with salt.

For me and my oldest daughter I made this curried pumpkin soup from Kim Barnouin's new book, Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Every Day Cookbook. It has apples and wine, onions, etc. I added some garlic. Very delicious.

Should I be concerned that I have the same hairstyle as my dogs? Shaggy and messy and in my eyes!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Score!

2010-11-22T09:57:00.001-05:00

A copy of Clean Food in perfect condition for $7 at the half price book store!

Here is the bulk of my collection. Not counting the ones I have gotten rid of, or some that are on stray book shelves or my night table. The long shot:

And close ups so you can see what's on there. Maybe it's just me, but I love to see what's on people's book shelves.

AND, there are so many new vegan cookbooks coming out - if you search for "vegan cookbooks" on Amazon, you don't even get to the current ones until six pages in. Yes, it's an obsession, but it is 30 year's worth of collecting!

Speaking of obsessions, I so love Viva Vegan! Check out this delicioso meal:

Stuffed Plantains (I did not use the nuts or cheese), Yellow Rice with Garlic, Zesty Orange Mojo Baked Tofu, and Venezuelan Style Black Beans, with some spinach in garlic and olive oil. This meal was spectacular, all the more so because I have not been cooking anything worthwhile lately. It was worth every single pot and pan. You must make these recipes, especially the beans and tofu. I think I must go eat the leftovers right now!

Two for Tuesday

2010-11-16T10:44:00.001-05:00

As predicted, I have hardly cooked at all over the past 6 weeks. The little monsters have taken over our house and our lives.They are still not housebroken, but I think we are making progress. We have to watch them every second or they will go on the floor. We are teaching them to ring the bell to go out - sometimes they do, most times not! The good news is I have dropped 5 lbs. without trying, due to all the extra activity.

I also had what I refer to as my "lost weekend" (actually closer to a week). Lost because I was on so many pain killers that I slept day and night. I strained all the muscles in my neck and couldn't move at all. The doc said it was from stress! Amazing what stress can do to the body. Fortunately it was something temporary and not a heart attack or stroke. Thanks to the Carnivore for keeping things going while I was out of it, and to my girls for being so good and sharing all their favorite toys with me to make me feel better.

I missed Halloween but the girls and dogs went trick or treating. I am lucky that they lose interest pretty quickly in the candy. Most years I end up throwing most of it out!

Don't have much to share in the way of food. I did make a lentil soup with roasted veggies that was pretty good. It is from The Pink Ribbon Diet. This book is about a plant based diet with the addition of lots of olive oil, which the author has researched and found to be helpful for cancer survivors as well as people looking to lose weight. I was interested in this book because the recipes were created by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Nancy Verde Barr. She wrote a book years ago called They Called it Macaroni. Not vegan or even nearly vegetarian, but it is a picture of life of Italian American immigrants that really speaks to me. It reminds me of my grandparents and other beloved Italian friends. Anyway, I haven't tried any other recipes from the new book, but they are mostly vegetarian and many vegan. There are a few meat recipes thrown in for the masses, although the author does not eat meat.

I tried Vegan Dad's Tofu cutlets in lemon sauce for our tofu Tuesday. I added capers so it was pretty much a piccata sauce. Yummy. I made the regular tofu for the girls, and I scraped all the yummy bits out of the pan for myself!

New Additions and a Great Sandwich

2010-10-04T12:27:00.000-04:00

Well, I think we will only be eating peanut butter sandwiches and spaghetti for a while, because of these cuties. My kids have been wanting a dog forever, and I've always resisted. But who could resist these faces? I feel like I have a newborn again. Both in good and bad ways! But we love them anyway.

This is the eggplant torta and refried beans from Viva Vegan. Eggplant marinated with tomato paste, olive oil, and spices, layered with summer tomatoes, avocado and red onion. Loved it! The beans were good, too - different because of the bay leaf. I have had this book for a while and never cooked from it. I have a bunch of recipes earmarked for when I someday have time to cook again!

Open Face Sammiches

2010-09-26T13:10:00.000-04:00

This is what I did with my leftover baked tofu from "Tofu Tuesday," as we call it in our house. Just whipped up an easy gravy (EB, flour, nooch, tamari, Worcestershire, water, s & p). I like the contrast of the cold tofu against the hot gravy. It is reminiscent of a childhood favorite. Of course, back in the day, the bread was Wonder bread (!) and the protein was turkey, but I like this version much better!

Happy Sunday!

"America's Hottest Diet"

2010-09-16T11:29:00.000-04:00

"Lose 8 pounds this weekend and get healthy fast!"

This was the headline on one of those women's magazines at the grocery store checkout. You know, the ones that profile a different "hot" diet in every issue? Guess what the hottest diet is? A vegan diet! Ha!

I must admit I do have a fascination with diet books, even though most have lots of recipes for chicken. How do people eat so much chicken, anyway (I mean those people who are not opposed to eating chicken)?

I like the new book "The Carb Lovers Diet." The premise is to eat a "carbohydrate star" (bananas, beans, brown rice, rye bread) at every meal. That fills you up so you don't have hunger pangs. Of course, there is also calorie restriction. I was a little skeptical at the recipe that used a 1/2 cup of pasta (uncooked) to serve 2 people. But surprisingly, we were stuffed after this meal, because there were so many veggies and tofu (of course chicken in the original!) in it. And it tasted good. This book is full of good suggestions for meals that are low cal and filling. They are easy to convert to veggie/vegan.

Here is an example from the book: beans with pasta and pesto.

These sesame noodles are from the book "Eating Clean" by Tosca Reno. They were just delicious and really easy to make.

Now, why don't I lose weight?

Eggplant and Apples

2010-09-08T17:26:00.000-04:00

Here is a marinated eggplant dish from the book "My Bread." First the eggplant is roasted, then mixed with some simple seasonings, including plenty of olive oil. The surprise was cilantro - according to the author, it is a common Roman seasoning. It was delicious, and my 11 year old could not stop eating it!

Although it's always sad to see the end of summer fruit, the reward is fresh apples. This particular apple is called a Paula Red. They are only available about 3 weeks a year (happily while summer fruit is still available!) I used to drive about an hour to a farm by my old house to get them. Imagine my surprise when I saw them in the local grocery store! They are kind of like MacIntosh - sweet and tart, but with a better texture. In fact, I never liked Macs until I had one straight off the tree last year. It was a totally different experience from a supermarket market Mac! Be sure to try the Paula Red if you are lucky enough to find one.

4 Pots, 3 Bowls, 3 Knives, 2 Cutting Boards, 1 Skillet, and the Food Processor!

2010-08-26T11:17:00.000-04:00

That's what it took to prepare this meal! First the bread - I used Jim Lahey's recipe again from My Bread. This time I made the whole grain loaf, which is about 25% whole grain flour and 75% white flour. This loaf had much better flavor. You can see it still has excellent crust and large air holes. Of course it was not as light as the all white flour bread, but it tasted really good and the texture was excellent!

The rest of the meal came from Vegan Brunch. On the right is Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes. They were good - no bitter tempeh taste. But I prefer the ones made from tofu.

On the left is the guacamole potato salad - can't remember the exact name of the recipe. Wow! This was incredible. I remember reading on another blog that they didn't love this recipe, but I thought it was outstanding. The dressing was delicious, and the surprise hit is the addition of cucumber chunks. They really made the salad. The string beans were so fresh (out of the supermarket, no less!) that they didn't need any adornment. My kids like their veggies plain, and I have come to appreciate them this way as well. You can really taste the veggies when they are not covered in sauce (although I still really like broccoli in garlic oil!)

Panzanella

2010-08-25T10:39:00.000-04:00

Panzanella is the Italian way to use up stale bread. I have never tried it, but had my leftover bread from the last post to use up. You soak the bread in water to re-hydrate it. Then add tomatoes, onion, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt & pepper. Sounds like a good idea, but I didn't love it. Maybe because I didn't like the bread to begin with? Tonight I am trying the bread with some whole wheat and rye flour added in - we'll see if it's better.

First day of school! We start early in the mid-west.

Two Tofu and Beet Dishes

2010-08-23T15:42:00.003-04:00

I went to the farm stand for some tomatoes, and also got a gorgeous bunch of beets. We only had the jarred, pickled kind when I was a child. I don't know why - they are so easy to cook and they taste so good - sweet and earthy. My favorite way is to bake them - just wash, wrap in foil and throw in the oven for an hour or so (1 1/2 hours for large beets). The peels just slip off when cool.

There was a lady at the farm stand who told me that she had beet and hard boiled egg sandwiches (with lots of butter) as a girl, because her parents were from England. I never heard of that, but it sounded good, so I thought I'd veganize it. My "eggs" were tofu slices fried in Earth Balance. I had intended to sprinkle them with Indian black salt, but I couldn't find my stash. So I used the very un-English Goya Adobo, a mix of salt, turmeric, garlic and oregano. I added extra EB on the bread and raw onion slices along with the tofu and beets. It was quite delicious. I think the hot tofu and cold beet slices were an especially nice contrast.

The next dish is the tofu "salmon" from the Horizons cookbook. The tofu is marinated in olive oil, beet juice, and seasonings and then grilled. Fortunately it does not taste like salmon! It is tender and juicy. Plus it is pink! It's hard to see in the photo, but the tofu is sitting in a pool of dill sauce. This was mayo, EB, a splash of vinegar, dill, salt & pepper. I would have liked more sauce, but since it is almost all fat it is quite caloric.

The beets were pickled with balsamic cherry vinegar. We have a store here that sells all different flavors of olive oil and vinegar. You can taste before you buy! The fruit vinegars are delicious but not always right for salad. The cherry worked very nicely with the sweet beets.

You may have read about Jim Lahey's Sullivan St. bakery and his no-knead bread recipes. He has a book and I found it at the library. You mix the dough, leave it to ferment for 18 hours, and bake it in a covered pot (you can Google it for the recipe). The "oven within an oven" is supposed to simulate cooking in a brick oven, and produce an artisan quality crust and crumb. I really loved the crumb - I have not been able to produce this with other bread recipes. See how large the air holes are? The crust was also good, although not as crunchy as a bakery bread. I thought the flavor was kind of bland, considering the long fermentation. But I will definitely try some of the other recipes that use different flours. It really was so easy and had such great texture.

A Corny Dinner

2010-08-18T11:04:00.002-04:00

'Tis the season - corn season, that is. Oddly, although my house is surrounded by cornfields, I have to drive 10 miles to the farm stand. Likewise, the farm stand is surrounded by cornfields, but the corn comes from a farm another 20 miles out!

Anywhoo, we had some cooked corn and some raw corn in this meal. The cooked is sliced polenta (from the tube!), sauteed in a little olive oil. Very simple, but quite delicious, with a crispy exterior and creamy interior. The raw corn is in the salad, with pickled jalapenos and a citrus dressing. With some New Mexico seasoned pinto beans and a simple guacamole, it was a quick and delicious meal. By the way, the Carnivore took one look and pulled some TGI Fridays chicken wings out of the freezer! And I have gout.

Corn Salad with Citrus Dressing

2 ears corn

pickled jalapenos to taste, chopped

3 T orange juice

2 T lime juice

2 T olive oil

1/2 t garlic salt

Remove kernels from ears of corn. Mix with jalapenos. Whisk dressing ingredients till emulsified and add to corn.

Pinto Beans

1/2 small onion, chopped

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can pintos

1/2 t ground cumin

1/4 t oregano

pure chile powder* to taste

lots of freshly ground black pepper

water

Sautee onion until soft. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add all other ingredients (add enough water to almost cover beans). Smash some of the beans against the side of the pot so the broth thicken. Simmer 20 minutes.

*This is not the kind from the supermarket, which has other spices added. It is simply ground chiles.

Gout?

2010-08-17T12:32:00.002-04:00

What do you think of when you think of gout? I think of old kings from the 15th century who ate nothing but tons of meat and drank gallons of wine. I remember seeing some artwork once depicting just that scene, with the guy's bandaged leg propped up as he's stuffing his face.

So, how does a someone who's been a vegetarian for 30 years and who doesn't drink get gout? Inquiring minds want to know.

Another Yummy Vegan Yum Yum Tofu Meal

2010-06-09T10:56:00.003-04:00

Pineapple Baked Tofu with Seared Pineapple Rings. So good! The gravy was particularly delicious (made of the tofu marinade and coconut milk). Despite the pineapple, this was not a particularly sweet dish. I really enjoyed this one.

No-Chop Black Bean Soup

2010-06-08T13:15:00.006-04:00

Here's something to make when you don't feel like chopping veggies, but want something that tastes better than heated up canned beans.

No-Chop Black Bean Soup

1 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 15 oz. can black beans

1 c water

3/4 t ground cumin

3/4 t ground coriander

3/4 t ground red chilis

1/2 t smoked salt

1/4 t ground chipotle

1 bay leaf

juice of 1/2 lime

Put garlic and oil in a pan and heat a few minutes. Add all else and simmer 15 minutes. Smash some of the beans so the broth thickens.

It's Bacoonnnn!

2010-06-08T09:52:00.004-04:00

Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon, bacooonnnnnn!!!!! Well not, really, but I always loved that commercial. Not for the bacon part, but for the general exuberance of dogs.

This "bacon" was in spaghetti sauce. I like Fakin' Bacon, although it tends to fall apart easily. Has anyone used the Morning Star kind?

Bacon Spaghetti

5 slices bacon of your choice

olive oil

1/2 large onion, chopped fine

28 oz can tomatoes in puree (mine had large basil leaves in it, yum)

1 t sugar

crushed red pepper or Tobasco sauce to your taste (I like a lot!)

1 bay leaf

Salt & pepper

Fry bacon in oil until crisp. Remove bacon and chop into large pieces. Use a fair amount of oil for best taste. Sautee onion until softened, 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and break up into small pieces (I smush them with my hands). Add sugar, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add bacon pieces. Simmer while you cook your pasta. Makes enough for one pound spaghetti. Sweet, spicy, smoky, delicious!

Taste Testing and Easy Tofu

2010-05-24T11:53:00.003-04:00

This easy tofu is from Vegetarian Family Style - "Chinese BBQ Tofu." I loved it so much - with a big pile of American mashed potatoes! It is basically tofu sauteed in a mix of barbecue sauce and chili garlic sauce. Check out Debra's recipe!
These are the two BBQ sauces I had in my fridge. The Trader Joe's is very smoky, but has no high fructose corn syrup. The Sweet Baby Ray's was quite sweet, not smoky. It does have HFCS. But I prefer its flavor, and that is what I

used in the tofu

On the left is Sambal Olek, the one with the rooster on the jar. On the right is chili garlic sauce from my local Thai restaurant. Many years ago I used to eat in a Thai restaurant near where I worked downtown Chicago. It was called Dao. I don't think it's there anymore. Anyway, I really loved their Pad Thai. But what I was addicted to was the chili garlic sauce that they put on the table as a condiment. I used to spoon it onto my plate and eat it straight. Sweat would pour off my face. I couldn't taste the food. My digestive system would go haywire. But no matter, I could not get enough of the stuff. Years later, I found the stuff in the jar and was so excited. But it is not the same! It is much more salty, less sweet, and less vinegary. Maybe I could doctor it up to taste like my favorite? I don't know. But my local Thai restaurant was nice enough to give me some of theirs. I used it in the tofu and it was so delicious! Can not get any easier than this dinner.

Baba Ghanoush Stew

2010-04-29T10:00:00.003-04:00

As it happens when you have millions of cookbooks, when you crave something you can never remember where it came from. And truthfully, most things don't actually come from cookbook recipes anyway - they are compilations of 5 recipes for the same thing. So I was thinking of an eggplant stew with big chunks of eggplant in a tahini sauce. This is what I came up with, and it was quite delicious! Now I have a recipe!

On the side is Quinoa and Cauliflower with Cranberries and Pine Nuts from Vegan Express. I added peas for color, and used cilantro instead of the parsley called for. Very tasty, and I am no fan of quinoa. In fact, if you have no cauliflower, just make it with the peas instead for a super easy side dish. Kid-meter: the 10 year old ate part of it, but then went to the pantry for Cheerios. The little ones would not even touch anything. But I loved it!

Eggplant and Chickpea Stew

1 large eggplant

olive oil

½ a large onion, cut lengthwise into strips

5 cloves garlic, sliced

2 medium tomatoes, cut in wedges

1 T tomato paste

1 c cooked chick peas

½ c water

½ t Aleppo pepper*

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 T tahini

1 t sugar

1/8 t allspice

salt and lots of freshly ground pepper

juice of half a lemon

Cut eggplant into 1 ½ “ chunks. Salt cubes and cover with cold water. Soak for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Sautee in batches in hot olive oil, until lightly browned. Set aside.

Saute onions in olive oil until wilted. Add sliced garlic and cook until onions and garlic are starting to brown. Add some salt as they are cooking. Add eggplant, tomatoes, tomato paste, chickpeas, water, and Aleppo pepper. Cook for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook another 10 minutes. You may need to add some more water. Serves 3-4.

* Aleppo pepper is kind of like tiny dried chili pieces. It is mildly spicy. If you don’t have it, add half as much crushed red pepper.

A Nostalgic Meal

2010-04-26T11:22:00.004-04:00

On cold rainy days, nothing was better than tomato soup and tuna on toast. In summer, the tuna became macaroni and tuna salad, on a plate with lettuce, sliced tomato, slice hard boiled egg, all with french dressing. On this cold rainy day, we had the tomato soup with chickpea and macaroni salad. Perfect after playing softball in 50 degrees and rain!

Chickpea and Macaroni Salad

1/4 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked

1 can chickpeas, chopped in food processor

1/2 c mayo

juice of 1/2 small lemon

1 T soy sauce

1 t celery salt

1/2 t garlic powder

Mix it all up! This made a rather wet salad - use less mayo for a drier salad. The next day it was perfect, as the mayo soaked in a bit.

The tomato soup was very simple - saute sliced garlic in a good amount of olive oil, add a can of crushed tomatoes, some veggie broth, some dried mint, sugar, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer a while. My 10 year old loved this!

Road Trip!

2010-04-09T11:09:00.003-04:00

This yummy slaw is made of fennel! If you have not had fennel (or anise, as it is called in most markets), it is a licorice-tasting veggie with a celery-like crunch. Perfect in a slaw with cilantro, red onion, and a lemony vinaigrette. The recipe came from Cooking Light.

The folks at Gardein have some new products. They have individual serving "trios" - rice, stuffed Gardein, and sauce. This is the Thai style , and it was quite delicious. This was my first experience with Gardein. It is chicken-like in texture, but not taste. It has its own unique taste which is very pleasant.

We took a quick and unplanned road trip to Kentucky for spring break. We've never been there before, and were pleasantly surprised. We spent a few days in Louisville doing touristy stuff. The girls were happy just to swim in the hotel pool! We would like to go back and see many other things in this beautiful state. It was good to get away for a few days, especially to somewhere so warm. We were able to eat outside for most of our meals. Unheard of in Chicago in March! We found a beautiful old church for Easter. My girls look so grown up!

Have You Balanced Your Eggs Today?

2010-03-24T11:07:00.002-04:00

Or rather on last Saturday. Those of you who live with non-vegans, as I do, may have some eggs lying around. On the spring solstice, you can stand them up on their ends and they will balance. This never fails to amuse my kids and anyone else who happens to be around. I think it only works within an hour (or maybe half hour) of the actual solstice.

This is a spicy grilled tempeh that I think may have come off the Whole Foods website. I had high hopes for this one because the marinade was so tasty. I think the tempeh bitterness was actually made even stronger by grilling on my cast iron grill pan. Anyone have any non-bitter tempeh recipes? I really wish I could like tempeh but I just don't! That grilled pineapple was good, though.

A Different Black Bean Soup

2010-03-16T11:44:00.003-04:00

Ah, that vegetarian staple, Black Bean Soup. So many recipes, and most taste the same. Well, this one is certainly different. It is from The Vegan Table, by Colleen-Patrick Goudreau. It has coconut milk and bananas! I swapped out the ginger for ground coriander, and only pureed it part way, but otherwise used the recipe exactly. This was quite good, and my ten year old enjoyed it, too!

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu

2010-03-09T10:51:00.003-05:00

This is the Sweet Chili Lime Tofu from Vegan Yum-Yum. It is indeed yummy. I really enjoy this cookbook. The photographs are beautiful and the food is delicious. Check it out!

I Want Bread

2010-01-14T18:25:00.003-05:00

Well, being a gluten free vegan means lots more cooking than I normally do. Although I love to cook, I hate having a big pile of pots and dishes when it is just me eating. So usually I'll cook a few days a week and supplement with leftovers and prepared stuff. But lately I cook almost every night, and eat the leftovers for lunch (along with rice cakes with almond butter and apple butter from a local farm, yum!)

Can I tell you how very delicious this dish is? It is from "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen" by Jack Bishop. It is the Green Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Mustard-Tarragon Vinaigrette. I was looking for something to do with the turnips left over from $127 Vegetable Soup. Here they are roasted with some red onions, and mixed with lentils (didn't have the fancy French green ones so used plain old supermarket brown) and a wonderful dressing. I almost ate the whole bowl by myself, it was that good. The dressing called for fresh tarragon, which I didn't have. Can I get in a plug for good spices? I had dried tarragon from Penzey's, a huge spice store in Wisconsin. It is far superior to the supermarket variety, and I think really made the dressing. We used to have a retail Penzey's where I lived in NY. They don't have one here in Chicago, but they do have mail order. Check it out!

This is jerk sauce that I put over baked tofu. It's made mostly of scallions and lime juice and spices.

Since we were having Carribean/Cajun food that night, I made red beans and rice. They were good - they have a little peanut butter in them. And lots of red and white pepper. The white pepper is kind of smoky, eh? The recipe is from of Nava Atlas's old books - can't remember the name. It has recipes from all different regions of the country. I had white rice to be traditional and it was really good!

These are chickpea crepes from the new "Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health." I have never worked with chickpea flour before. They were nice and spicy.

Curried Yellow Pepper Soup from the Moosewood Book. Nice and sweet - a little bland, even though I inadvertantly doubled the spices!

Here is the jerk sauce recipe. It's really good with tempeh or seitan (marinate and grill).

3 cloves garlic
4 scallions, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 large jalapeno
1/4 c tamari
1 T worcestershire sauce (or Pickapeppa)
1/4 c fresh lime juice
2 T oil
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 t dried thyme leaf
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t allspice

Blend all until smooth.

Well, all that good cooking and what I really want is a PBJ on whole wheat!

Pan Seared Artichokes

2010-01-08T15:21:00.003-05:00

Usually I make this dish in a non-stick skillet, which doesn't do much for browning foods. All my non-sticks were occupied, so I used my old-fashioned plain stainless steel. I was surpised and delighted to find that the artichokes actually caramelized in the pan! Maybe because of the sugars from the sun-dried tomatoes? It was delicious over brown rice ziti. (And the pan wasn't any harder to clean than a non-stick pan.)

Cawfee Tawk

2010-01-07T17:16:00.003-05:00

This is the East Coast Coffee Cake from Vegan Brunch. I thought it only appropriate to present it with the proper accent. Yes, we really do tawk like this in New Yawk. I have had to lose my accent here in Chicago - they don't much like NY'ers here! This was pretty good, although I like my own crumb recipe better (see Thanksgiving post).

Of course I made the chocolate chip version.

I am trying to do my gluten free, sugar free, alcohol free, (fun free) diet again. A little too much celebrating over the holidays! This gluten free cereal is yummy. It is a blend of rice, corn, sorghum, and buckwheat. Perfect for these single digit temperatures we've been having!

$127 Vegetable Soup

2009-12-17T11:32:00.003-05:00

Why is it that you can't go to the grocery store for just one thing? Such was the case when I went in to buy only ingredients for this delicious veggie soup, but ended up spending $127. Well, this soup actually might be worth that much - it is that good! My friend made it for me when we went to his house for a party - they kindly always make me something I can eat (the "regular" people got shrimp gumbo - boy, did they miss out).

This soup is called "Mike's Vegetable Soup," and it comes from one of Paul Prudhomme's books, in case you are browsing in the library. I don't know which one, but it is an older one back from the days of lowfat cooking. If you can imagine that Paul Prudhomme was ever on a diet, I think the book said he lost 100 pounds using the recipes in this book. The spice list was so extensive that even I had to buy three that were not in my cabinet. But the soup was still easy to make. It has a wonderful smoky flavor, although no smoke flavoring was used. Also it has apple juice in it! It sounds weird, but I urge you to seek out the recipe. If you are interested but can't find it, I can e-mail you the recipe. By the way, those big orange chunks are not squash, but rutabaga - something I would never think to make soup with. Try it!

An Oily Dilemma

2009-12-10T17:41:00.002-05:00

Well, once again I can't get the photos out of my camera. It is so frustrating to have to constantly shut everything off and start over! So in the interest of time, here is a post without pictures.

I know I have mentioned a few times that my muffins/cupcakes have come out with oily bottoms. Well, today I made chocolate thumbprint cookies from VCON, and again, oily bottoms. Now I have made this recipe before, and did not have that problem. I think in the past I have used canola oil from Spectrum. Lately I have been using Trader Joe's. It sounds crazy, but I can't think of any other difference. Does anyone have this oily problem?

On another note, you know how those low carb people always try to make mashed potatoes with cauliflower? Well, I am not a low carb girl by any stretch, but I was trying to find a way to enjoy cauliflower. I just steamed it until very soft, and mashed it with some lemon juice and Earth Balance. It was really quite good! Although not a sub for mashed potatoes!

Hopefully, pictures next time!

The Sweet Vegan Life

2009-12-04T10:03:00.002-05:00

Have you noticed that so many vegan foods are sweet? Not necessarily sugary sweet, but inherently sweet. Like cashews, yams, tomatoes, soy milk, even beans. In a way, that's good, as we are hard-wired to seek out sweet tastes (think (human)mother's milk). But for those of us who were formerly omnis, it takes a bit of getting used to. I think that is why it is so hard for some of us to give up cheese. I crave fat and salt! Umami! And sometimes soy sauce doesn't cut it.

So, our meal last night was based on that craving. Panko breaded fried (baked) tofu with the Hurry Up Alfredo sauce from Vegan Yum Yum's new book. And my sweet potato had EB and Tabasco, and the broccoli had mayo-based ranch. Yay for fat and salt! How do you satisfy you umami cravings?

Thanksgiving Pies

2009-12-01T09:56:00.003-05:00

I made two pies for Thanksgiving. The first is a pumpkin pie from La Dolce Vegan. I must admit I did not care for it. I think because it was made largely with maple syrup as the sweetner. Normally I love maple syrup, but somehow it did not work. I compared the spices to a "traditional" pumpkin pie, and they were similar. The good news is that the texture was good. It was made with cornstarch as the thickener, and it worked well. I will try again with sugar and see if that makes the difference. Also, I topped the pie with melted chocolate when it came out of the oven. I think this would have been good if the pie was good.

The second pie was a cherry crumb. This was really good and easy. Pour cherry pie filling into an unbaked crust. Top with crumb mixture:

1/2 c flour
1/2 c light brown sugar
1/4 t salt
1/4 (or 1/2) t cinnamon
1/4 cup Earth Balance

(Mix all until crumb-like.)

Bake for about 45 minutes at 375 (I covered the crust edges for the first 20 minutes to keep them from burning).

Although I don't have a picture, I also made the Butternut Squash and Orange Soup from Nava's book. This was very nice - mild and comforting.

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was joyful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T16:59:00.003-05:00

It has once again been too long since I have posted. I'm cooking and taking pictures, but haven't had time to post. Also, some of my offerings have not exactly been blogworthy! Thanks to all of you who publish so frequently and have such great looking food!

This was an attempt to replicate the meatloaf of my youth. I still cannot find a recipe I love. Not that I want it to be meat-like, but I don't want it to be mushy-beany, either! And no TVP. This one has my favorite tomato sauce (the plain 8 oz. can) topping and roasted potatoes (they were canned in my youth - and I still like those, too!)

I tried for a while to be gluten free again, which probably lasted for two meals. This is one - sliced avocado on corn tortillas with mayo and mustard. Yum!

This was a cornstarch - coated and fried tofu. Why doesn't it taste as good as at the Japanese restaurant?

There was something I wanted to tell you about this salad but I can't remember what!

Gobi Aloo from Urban Vegan's new book. Delish. Along with some plain old dal. Don't you love those split mung bean? So high in protein.

This was inspired by Urban Vegan's blog - I think it was halushki? It was a while ago. Anyway, sauteed cabbage and onions with noodles. I put mushrooms on mine, but it would have been better without.

Smiley face chocolate chip pancakes for the kiddos (big and little).

Why, yes, I am the only Detroit Lions fan in the whole world. We went to Detroit to see the game (vs. the Rams, who are the Carnivore's team). Of course the Lions lost (to the second most pitiful team in the NFL). But we had a good time. The kids were able to run on the field after the game. It was quite a thrill for me to actually walk on the Lion's field. Oh, for the glorius Barry Sanders days again!

My Thanksgiving will be omnivorous, so I will not have much to show you. I am planning on making the pumpkin pie from La Dolce Vegan - I'll let you know how it turns out. Maybe also the Butternut Squash and Orange soup from Nava's new (revamped) soup book.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Soup and more soup!

2009-10-22T17:45:00.003-04:00

I finally managed to get the pictures out of my camera! Here are some things I have been cooking:

Don't you just love barley soup? It is such a perfect cold weather food. Although yesterday it was 70 degrees and sunny, the past few weeks have only been in the 40's and rainy. Even for Chicago that is cold! I just threw some cooked barley, frozen veggies, and veggie stock together. Of course with olive oil, which makes everything taste better!

I am excited to finally live near a Whole Foods! I saw someone talk about this "chicken" and grape salad on their blog. It was okay - if you are a fan of seitan, you would probably love it. I think I might try my own version with some chewy tofu instead. I did like the celery, grapes, and walnuts.

This is a sweet potato, quinoa, and wild rice burger, also from Whole Foods. Different and kind of sweet.

What's with the bowl of oatmeal? Can't remember if I've shared this before, but I like to stir cooked jasmine rice into my oatmeal. It is super flavorful and nutritious. With cranberries, walnuts, and cinnamon. Topped with vanilla Silk and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Yum! Another good thing for a cold day.

Have you read "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat?" I really like this book. This is adapted from the Japanese power breakfast recipe:

Boil a few pieces of wakame in 3 cups water. Let sit overnight. Next day, heat and simmer some frozen veggies in the broth (mine had sugar snaps and water chestnuts in the mix). Add some cubed soft tofu and cooked rice. Dissolve some miso in a small amount of water and add to the soup. Pour in a bowl and add some chopped scallion greens and finely grated carrot. Delicious and filling. This keeps me satisfied until well into the afternoon. And my 10 year old likes it!

Have a great day!

I'm Back!

2009-10-15T11:59:00.005-04:00

Hey, everyone. Sorry I have been neglecting my blog. We moved all the way back in August, but I can't seem to get my act together!

We love our new house and neighborhood. There are lots of kids on our block so the girls are having fun with their new friends. All the neighbors are very nice so I have made some friends, too. But of course we all still miss the old ones! Chicago is a fun town and we are having a good time exploring. We are somewhat familiar with it as we lived here twenty years ago, but of course things change a lot in such a long time.

Despite having a gorgeous kitchen, I have not been doing a lot of interesting cooking. Plus there are still pictures stuck in my camera. But here are a few things:

Favorite chickpea soup from Diane Kochilas' Greek Vegetarian. It is just chickpeas (cooked from dried), onion, bay leaf, rosemary, salt, and lots of olive oil (the key to its deliciousness). With some homemade foccacia.

Don't these look like giant bagels? they are Crusty Sesame Rings from Mollie Katzen's Still Life with Menu (really good recipes in this oldie).

Stuffed Eggplant with Bechamel from the same book. Just as good without the feta cheese!

We won't see tomatoes like these till next summer.

Some nice sides: cream cheese stuffed celery, chunks of mango, and coleslaw with peanut dressing. I used the dressing from Trader Joe's, and did not care for it.

How's this for a gorgeous kitchen? Obviously before we moved all our junk in!

A Freezer Full of Nothing

2009-07-29T14:38:00.004-04:00

As you know, we are getting ready to move. So I have been trying to eat down my pantry and freezer, which are still both chock-full. How can they both be full and still there is nothing I want to eat? It's not like I buy food I don't like. I was hoping to save some money on groceries these last few weeks, but still I find myself shopping often. Well, partly because of summer fruit, and partly because I have been entertaining a lot, getting in those last visits with family and friends. And partly because none of us eat the same things. I guess my stockpile consists mostly of stuff that I like, which I tend not to make because then I still have to feed the rest of the crew and I am too lazy to cook just for myself. Sadly, then, we all miss out on the good stuff.

Anyway, here are a few of the things I've thrown together lately.

The quintessential New York breakfast of bagel, cream cheese and lox, veganized with Tofutti cream cheese and roasted red peppers. I must get in as many bagels as I can. No offense, midwesterners, but you just don't have the real thing there.

Peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate ganache, from VCTOTW. Yummy, but again, the bottoms are so greasy, as they have been with other cupcakes I've made from this book. Has anyone else experienced this? Maybe it is my canola oil, or something. I must try and refrigerate it - I remember reading that it gets semi-solid under refrigeration - sort of like hydrogenated shortening.

Cauliflower salad with creamy cilantro dressing, from Moosewood Daily Specials. I added the pickled red onions for an extra special touch.

Lemon Cornmeal Blueberry muffins. Wish I could remember what book I got these from. Shows you how befuddled my mind is lately with all this move stuff.

Key lime coconut cupcakes with lime glaze. I got these off some vegan website, before I started writing down where the recipes I copy came from. I brought these to a friend who just got back from Key West, so she could extend her vacation in her mind.

Greek potatoes from Veganomican. Yummy goodness, but not as good as my old recipe (but much easier).

Favorite chickenish baked tofu. Again.

Hain brown gray from a package. Didn't like this. It tasted like those Red Ox beef boullion cubes from my childhood, which I'm sure most of you have never heard of!

This is the Natural Stone Bridge near Lake George, NY. We went on our last vacation there, and we had not visited these caves in previous years. The girls loved the part about crystals and gems. They were kind of intimidated by the river. But I loved it - I was happy to finally do something outdoorsy on a visit to the Adirondacks. I will miss it greatly when we move. I bought two authentic Adirondack chairs to soothe myself. I have been lusting after them for years - so odd looking and yet so unexpectedly comfortable.

Here we are in front of the river.

Cute girls in giant Adirondack chair.

On our last afternoon there, we had lunch at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the beautiful lake. Not much to eat in Lake George for veggies, but they had a veggie burger that was actually listed as vegan on the menu (I would not have thought they knew that term up there). It was good, too - handmade with actual veggies and no yucky chewy TVP. And with perfect fries. A nice finish to a mediocre food week!

Well, the packers come on Monday. We are driving to Chicago when they are done. It's a two day drive, and then we have to wait for the moving truck to arrive the following week. So I will see you all when we get settled!

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-07-03T12:11:00.004-04:00

Today is my birthday, so I get to do fun stuff like post on my blog!

Here is a yummy soup from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special. This book is all about soups and salads from the famous restaurant. I would love to visit there someday - kind of like the vegatarian Mecca. The soup is Algerian Tomato Soup with Vermicelli. I was reading cookbooks and was attracted to this recipe by the unusual spice combination - coriander, cumin, curry powder, cinnamon, orange peel, and of course, onions and garlic. It was delicious and quick and easy, too.

This is Bryanna's cheddary spread from her website. It is very good, especially on Alvarado Street sprouted rye! I think the tahini flavor was a little strong - maybe I would go with cashew butter next time. It has silken tofu - I haven't used this in a while, and was pleasantly surprised at how very creamy it made the dip.

I have a gingerbread candle on my counter now - you are supposed to have good smells in your house when trying to sell it. So I have been craving gingerbread.This recipe for Giant Ginger Cookies was one my aunt made for me as a child. One of the few non-chocolate desserts I loved! Of course the orginal wasn't vegan, but here it is in a form we can all enjoy. As delicious as the original!

Giant Ginger Cookies

2 t ground flax seeds

1/4 c water

2 c all purpose flour

1/2 t salt

1 t ground cloves

1 t ground ginger

1 t cinnamon

3 t baking soda

6 tablespoons Earth Balance

6 tablespoons canola oil

1 c granulated sugar

1/4 c light molasses

extra granulated sugar for the cookie tops

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix ground flax seeds and water. Set aside until gelatinous (1/2 hour).

Sift flour with salt, cloves, ginger, cinnamon & soda.

Whip EB and canola oil until light and fluffy. Add sugar. Blend in flax mixture and molasses, then dry mixture, until well blended.

Shape dough into 1 1/2" balls. Dip in sugar. Place 3" apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with fingers and sprinkle tops with more sugar.

Bake 8-10 minutes. Let stand a minute before removing from sheets.

Makes 18-20.

Have a happy and safe 4th!

Pasta Fagioli - No Chopping Required

2009-06-23T10:20:00.002-04:00

This was a tasty, fast meal for a busy night that required almost zero effort (unless you consider opening cans effort).

1 can tomatoes with celery, onion, and garlic (not Italian style)
1 can cannelini (white kidney beans)
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 t Italian seasoning
2 t vegetable broth powder
1 bay leaf
3/4 c small pasta shells
water to cover by about 2 inches
1 t nooch
4 c baby spinach

Dump tomatoes through water into the pot and bring to a boil - reduec heat and cook until pasta is cooked (the water amount is an estimate - you need enough to cook the pasta). Stir in nooch and spinach and cook a few minutes more, until spinach is wilted.

Tofu Failure and Kitchen Gadget

2009-06-21T15:53:00.003-04:00

Isn't this fresh tofu from my local Asian store gorgeous?

I liked the idea of braising the tofu in a Thai-style coconut sauce, with basil, tomatoes, and scallions. I started out by sauteeing red onions, garlic and ginger in coconut oil. Good start, but then unfortunately I ruined it by adding too much stuff. First mistake was adding soy sauce. That is just wrong - much too strong. Should have just added salt. Then I put the tomatoes in too soon and overcooked them to mush. The kicker was when I added Thai Kitchen's Tom Yum soup seasoning. This was lurking in my fridge for who knows how long. I took a big sip of the sauce - blech, fish. I read the label after the fact and saw the shrimp on the list. What a waste of some beautiful tofu.

Favorite kitchen gadget - my immersion blender. I have long used this to puree soups without the mess of going back and forth between blender and pot. Then Vegetarian Times ran an article about gadgets that talked about using the attachments to make a mini-blender. It is perfect for when the regular blender is too big - chopping small amounts of garlic and onion, and making small amounts of sauces. I love sauces of all kinds, but to make them just for myself seems such a bother. But not with the mini blender! I used it to make this extremely simple sauce of roasted red pepper (one large piece from the jar), 1 T olive oil, 1 T mayo, salt & pepper.

The sauce was used for this Spicy Grilled Tempeh and Zucchini from Kathy Freston's 21 day cleanse. Waaaaaaaay too salty - I think the recipe called for 1 T in addition to the 1/4 of tamari. I even cut it back to 1 t, but it was still too salty. However, it was strongly flavored with chipotle, which is a good way to tame the tempeh. They also suggested an interesting slicing technique - slice on the diagonal, so the slices are wider. This worked a lot better than trying to slice the tempeh into thin pieces through the middle.

I love the soups from Dr. McDougall, and the hot and sour is my favorite. It is sort of smoky, I guess from the shiitakes. All the soups are relatively low in sodium (compared to mainstream prepared soups), and yet they taste really good. And of course, they are all vegan, and some are gluten free. Just add boiling water!

Happy Father's day to all the dads!

Goulash

2009-06-07T15:49:00.003-04:00

When I was growing up, it was very unusual to have food originating in countries outside the US. Probably the most exotic thing we ate was spaghetti and meatballs! And that was a rare treat - pasta (or macaroni, as it was called) was certainly not a several night a week event.

We would occasionally have Hungarian goulash, and I always loved it. As I recall, it was made with ground beef, although I the recipes I checked for veganizing used cubed meat. I have never used vegetarian "crumbles" - it's one of those things I will buy occasionally and then throw out without using because I really hate meat substitutes. I saw a package on sale and decided to give it one more try. I am really glad I did! I don't know if it was the seasoning I used, but it had none of that yucky soy aftertaste that many imitation products have. And the recipe couldn't be easier for a busy day! It was quite delicious.

Hungarian Goulash

1 large red onion, cut in wedges
oil
1/2 package crumbles
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 T mild paprika
1 T soy sauce
1/2 T worcestershire sauce
salt
water to stew consistancy

Saute onion wedges until wilting and starting to brown. Add everything else and simmer for a while to blend flavors.

The salad in the background has Annie's Roasted Red Pepper Vinagrette, which is a dead ringer for the delicious dressing at my local pizza place.

The salad on the left has "real" ranch dressing, while the salad on the right has the vegan ranch from "The Grit Cookbook." I didn't love it, but maybe because I used lowfat mayo for the base instead of full fat Veganaise.

A big ole platter of "chiken fried" tofu. How I love this stuff, especially with gravy!

These are coffee chocolate chip muffins from Isa's new brunch book. I made these for my daughter's class (she was student of the week), so I left out the coffee. I should have added something to compensate, for they were a little flat. Maybe cinnamon? I love the chocolate-cinnamon combo.

Ummm, roasted beets! They were dressed with Citrus Mint Vinaigrette from Dreena's Vive le Vegan. Mint is a lovely complement for beets.

I am trying to use what's in my pantry and freezer in preparation of moving. So not much exciting cooking going on here. I promise not to post pictures of canned lentil soup!

Big News

2009-05-26T14:13:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the long absence. The big news is that we are moving from New York to Chicago! I've been spending all my time painting and cleaning out clutter and trying to make my house look beautiful in order to sell it. And of course all the regular stuff must still be done (laundry, sports, homework, shopping, etc.). It is very hectic and stressful. Plus every time someone comes to look at the house it must be spotless - not an easy feat with three small kids!

With all that crazy stuff and me trying to diet, I have not had much exciting food to share. Mostly we eat stuff that can be made in 5 minutes - for me, that means rice cakes with hummus or peanut butter. Not exactly blog-worthy! I miss bread! Didn't even eat it that much before, but of course you want what you can't have. I'm surprised that I haven't missed sugar all that much - that is my biggest weakness and what I overeat the most. I have lost 7.5 lbs in 3 weeks. This is pretty good, as I'm not that overweight to begin with. I slip up sometimes on the weekend, but am good during the week.

So here are some new products and recipes I have tried.

This white bean hummus is to die for. It really has a lovely basil flavor.

Here it is on rice cakes - isn't it a pretty green? Love the pine nuts, too.

This is a black bean and yam burrito from "The Gluten Free Vegan," by Susan O'Brien. The tortilla is brown rice from Trader Joe's. The filling was good but I can't get used to the brown rice wraps. They taste okay but the texture is wrong. Too rubbery in the microwave and too crisp in the oven (and they got rubbery after being crisp).

"Salad bar salad" with seared tofu. I call it salad bar salad because when I worked in an office, that's what I had for lunch every day. Must include raisins and sunflower seeds! With my favorite dressing of mayo and ketchup.

Trader Joe's low-fat mayo is accidentally vegan.

I've been relying more than usual on prepared foods. This is a black bean and quinoa salad from my health food store. It was really good! I've never had luck with quinoa so I was really pleased with this.

More from the health food store - curried tofu and sushi salad. Lots of big onion wedges in that tofu - yum.

I did not care for these "crackers."

Last time I showed you the brown rice spaghetti that I didn't like. This penne was much, much better. Maybe because I rinsed it? Good thing there is a Trader Joe's in my new town!

Provencial Chickpea Soup from the New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins. I love chickpeas so much and this soup had ground fennel, leeks, tomatoes, and orange zest. So delicious.

Well, I am learning a lot about gluten-free cooking. I must say I am glad I don't have celiac disease - I don't think I could do this forever. But it's good to take a break from eating the same stuff all the time, both taste-wise and for the body!

Spring Cleansing

2009-05-05T11:53:00.005-04:00

I have been rather over-indulgent in my eating habits for the last few months, and it is catching up to me. SO time to behave for a while and drop a few pounds.

I read Kathy Freston's book (the "Oprah cleanse") and was inspired to try to be not only vegan but gluten free. I have had "digestive issues" all my life, and have been wondering if I am gluten sensitive. It is not as hard as I thought - basically rice, beans, veggies, and fruit. Well, that's what we're supposed to be eating anyway, right? I have dropped 3.5 lbs in 6 days, without restricting amounts. And I have not had any more digestive problems. Now, is it because of gluten, or just because I am eating better generally? I guess I'll find out when I add back the gluten.

Anyway, here are some of the things I have been eating.

These are baked and breaded bananas. The bananas are dipped in a mix of melted EB, lime juice, and cayenne, then dredged in cornflake crumbs mixed with nooch (the orignal recipe had bread crumbs and parmesan cheese - sounds weird but delicious)!

I wanted to make tofu with teriyaki, but teriyaki has wheat (gluten) in it. So I mixed wheat free soy sauce with some of my homemade barbecue sauce, poured it on some tofu and baked it. Served with roasted potatoes and peppers. Yum.

Why am I showing you a boring picure of spaghetti? It is Trader Joe's brown rice spaghetti. I have not tried it before. It tasted like - well, brown rice. It was very starchy, which blocked the flavor of the sauce. And low in protein. This tiny pile had 400 calories! Do any of you gluten free people have a pasta suggestion?

These chips are gluten free and quite delicious! They taste like a cross between papadums and corn chips. Not cheap though, at $2.29 for a tiny bag.

Here is the Carnivore being silly for the girls on his pretend birthday. His real birthday is August 30, which he always hated as a kid because it was back to school time. So he has declared his new birthday to be May 1, because he loves spring so much!

I made these before I started the cleanse. They are butterscotch scones from Vegan Homemade's recipe. My new favorite scone recipe!

The Nine Dollar Veggie Burger

2009-04-22T11:13:00.002-04:00

Or, why it is better to eat at home.........

So, three days a week I have two hours to myself for the first time in almost ten years. I generally run my errands since that is much easier than doing it with three kids in tow. Sometimes I walk in the park, browse in the bookstore, or some other fun thing. Sometimes I take myself out to lunch in a place that the kids or the Carnivore would not enjoy.

Such was the case Friday. We have a cafe in town that serves lunch and fancy coffee. I had never been there, thinking it would be a typical omni place with not much for me. However, I recently saw a review in the paper that said they have started serving a tapas menu on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. They listed all sorts of goodies including vegan lentil loaf and other creative things. I figured any place that actually uses the word vegan in its menu might be of interest, so I checked it out for lunch. Sigh. I was right about typical stuff. None of that creative vegan fare in sight on the lunch menu. Just wraps stuffed with meat and cheese. They did have a veggie burger. I asked what kind, because I can't stand those yucky soy based ones (I grew up in the 70's, a time when stretching meat for profit meant adding soy to school lunch hamburgers to make hockey pucks. This is what those vegan burgers taste like to me........). They told me it was a Dr. Praeger's, which is veggie based and tastes pretty good. I can't say it wasn't good - it was on an awesome whole grain sunflower seed roll, had avocado, and fresh sprouts. But I couldn't help thinking that for $9 I could have bought two boxes of those veggie burgers. Should have gone to Aunt Chilada's for the best black bean soup and grilled veggies ever!

My Baby is Five!

2009-04-21T13:08:00.002-04:00

I can't believe my youngest is five. Time really does go fast, doesn't it?

She wanted vanilla cake with chocolate frosting for her birthday. I made the vanilla cupcakes from VCTOTW, but baked it in a 9 inch round pan. As you can see, it did not rise very much. But it tasted okay, especially with the frosting! IS there anything chocolate frosting can't fix?

Can anyone point me to some basic cake recipes (vanilla, chocolate, white) that they enjoy? I always try to find some that use basic ingredients - sugar and canola oil as opposed to maple syrup and Earth Balance - to try and make the cost reasonable.

The Birthday Girl

Easter Girlies

Me and My Girls

Hope everyone had happy holidays!

More Tofu!

2009-04-14T17:31:00.003-04:00

Are you sick of seeing me blog about tofu? Why, yes, I do occasionally eat other things, but I love my tofu!
I must share this with you. It is Tofu Veracruz from the first Horizons cookbook. Oh, how I long to go to that restaurant! But for now I must make do with the cookbook.

Their method of cooking tofu is to coat it with a spice mix and sear it in a cast iron pan. I have tried spice rubs on tofu before and they didn't work. But somehow this one did, and it was so delicious! You can see its crusty goldenness under the sauce. This is modeled after a fish dish of the same name. The sauce is olives, capers, tomatoes, peppers and garlic. So totally delicious - I think I will go have the leftovers now!

The Magic of Cast Iron

2009-04-04T12:45:00.003-04:00

This tofu recipe is an old friend from "Recipes for an Ecological Kitchen" by Lorna Sass. This is an old cookbook (from 1992) that has been republished with a new name. It was my first vegan cookbook, before I even knew what a vegan was! There are lots of great recipes in it - I highly recommend it. Anyway, the recipe is "Oriental Baked Tofu." It is very simple - soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, water, garlic, ginger, Chinese five spice, sesame seeds. I have made it many times, but always in a glass baking dish. No wonder the tofu never browned! This time I baked it in cast iron, and magically it turned brown and chewy. Really delicious with rice, candied sweet potatoes, and broccoli.

Happy weekend!

Spring Food!

2009-04-03T15:43:00.002-04:00

One spring food I always think of is artichokes. In particular, baby artichokes. Supposedly they are easier to trim, but I find that even the babies often have fuzzy "chokes." No matter, they are worth it! These are stuffed with bread crumbs and herbs (mint and basil)and baked. The tofu is Greek Marinated Tofu from The Protein Powered Vegetarian. Store bought tabouli, hummus, and stuffed grape leaves complete the meal. Yum!

2009-03-24T11:43:00.004-04:00

From March's Vegetarian Times. This is Wild Rice with Glazed Carrot and Tomato Ragout. It was pretty good - a little vinegary for my taste, so maybe less vinegar or lemon (or maybe using a good balsamic instead of the supermarket variety!) I added some hot pepper. And it has fennel seeds - my favorite!

Quick Mashed Potato Tip

2009-03-17T08:25:00.002-04:00

This is not my idea, but one I saw on someone else's blog that I wanted to pass along in case you didn't see it (don't remember where I saw it!)

I rarely have unflavored soy milk on hand - we drink vanilla. If I have soy creamer on hand, I use that for my mashed potatoes. But someone said they use Veganaise. I tried this last night, and I can't tell you how good it was! I used a good spoonful for two large potatoes, along with some of the potato water. I also threw a couple of garlic cloves in when boiling the potatoes. Definitely mashed potatoes worthy of St. Patrick!

Charros and Chili Corn Bread

2009-03-13T10:42:00.004-04:00

This dinner evolved from a bunch of collard greens that needed cooking. The book said that collards need corn bread to sop up the "pot likker." Their corn bread recipe used white cornmeal, which I don't have. So I made up my own, and it came out pretty good! It was quite moist.

What to make for some protein? Some charros (Mexican cowboy beans). Traditionally charros have bacon. I did not have any tempeh bacon, but I did have a bag of TVP. I have never used this product before - it has been sitting in my pantry forever. I must say I did not enjoy the texture, but as the flavor of the beans was good, I will print the recipe for those of you who like TVP. I think next time I will use the tempeh bacon! Also, have you noticed that canned organic beans are frequently undercooked? This seems to be true no matter what brand I use. I prefer Goya (too lazy to cook my own).

Chili Cornbread

1 c unbleached white flour
1 c yellow cornmeal
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 8 oz can creamed corn
1 4 oz can chopped green chilis
2 T oil
1/4 water
2 T sugar
1 t salt

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8 inch square baking dish. Mix flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. Mix together remaining ingredients and add to flour mixture. Mix only until just combined. Pour into greased dish and bake for 30 minutes.

Charros

2 cloves garlic, minced
oil
2 small tomatoes, chopped
nacho slices to taste
1 can pinto beans
2 T tvp
1/4 water
2 T maple syrup
2 T soy sauce
salt to taste

Saute garlic in oil. Add tomatoes and nacho slices and cook a few minutes. Add everything else and simmer 1/2 hour or so.

Edit>> I forgot, 2 t liquid smoke for the beans (for that bacony flavor). Also, my beans were low sodium, which is why this high amount of soy sauce worked for me.

Heard From the Dinner Table, Part 2

2009-03-12T10:47:00.002-04:00

"Mom, I hate that white bread you gave me for lunch. I want the brown one." Yay! The white bread was the result of realizing at 9 pm Sunday night that I had no bread for lunch the next day. I chose the natural white bread over the whole wheat with all the chemicals. Guess I will have to be more diligent about running out.

Anyway, the picture is of a great bread I tried this week. I have heard of Alvarado Street bread before, but have never seen it in the store. I have had other sprouted breads and not liked them. They are too dry and heavy. This one was also a little dry, but because it is sliced thinner that is not so much of an issue. It has a really delicious rye flavor, and 5 grams of protein per slice!

WIP Wednesday

2009-03-11T10:19:00.004-04:00

Since last night we ate leftovers, I have no new food to post, and thought I would join in on the WIP Wednesday.

Over the winter break, the kids and I drove to North Carolina to visit my dear friend. We have known each other since 1st grade, but more as acquaintances than friends. We ended up working at the same company as adults and having our babies at the same time, and so became close friends. She moved away 4 years ago, and I miss her terribly. We try and visit as often as possible. Usually I go by myself, but since the kids had off from school I took them. We all had a great time. It is nice to see that the kids are still friends, too, even with all that distance. Maybe they will have babies together, too, and a third generation will form friendships! I also have known her husband the same amount of time, so it is old home week when we get together.

So, what we do is cook, eat, drink, shop, and craft. We make greeting cards.I do not recommend taking up this hobby, because you will end up getting addicted and spending way too much money on craft supplies. So while you can theoretically make a card for 50 cents, which sounds like a bargain, in reality they probably ending up costing $20 because you will want every single stamp and tool availabe. I have never added it all up because I am afraid to. Well, I suppose you can't put a price on all that fun!

Anyway, here are some of the cards we made that week. A disclaimer: they are not all original designs. Some were copied from a card design website.

Beautiful Blue (Green) Smoothie

2009-03-10T10:52:00.002-04:00

I discovered the other day that if I add 1-2 teaspoons of cocoa powder to my smoothie, it adds a deep delicious flavor that has only a hint of chocolate (which allows the other flavors to shine through). And we chocoholics all know that cocoa powder is loaded with antioxidants. This one has soymilk, flax seed, almond butter, banana, blueberries, and two big handfuls of baby spinach! That is cinnamon sprinkled on top, a throwback to our favorite Milwaukee Mexican restaurant where we used to get banana milkshakes sprinkled with cinnamon. Way to get spinach into the unsuspecting kiddos!

The hubby baked cupcakes with the girls this weekend. They were really good, with cream filling and chocolate frosting. The girls love to bake!

A Good Day For Soup

2009-03-03T09:31:00.002-05:00

Since we were snowbound again yesterday, it was a good day to make bread the old-fashioned way (by hand - no bread machine)! This is my favorite french bread. It is made with a sponge - sort of a starter like with sour dough, but made fresh every time. It is supposed to sit for 12 -24 hours, but mine only sat for four, and it still added a lot of flavor. There is also a small amount of rye flour, which also adds flavor. The crust on this bread is awesome and perfectly crunchy. I often bring it when I am a guest somewhere, because everyone is always surprised and delighted with homemade bread.

Of course you must have soup to go with the bread. This one is an unusual potato soup from Moosewood's Daily Special cookbook. It is Oaxacan Potato Soup. The unusual ingredients are mustard, green olives, and pickled jalapenos. In fact, it is even good without the olives and jalapenos - the mustard adds a perfect little kick. I tried to pass it off as mashed potato soup with peas and carrots, but still only one kid would eat it! Oh well, more for lunch today.

The star of the meal was this salad, also from the Moosewood book. Avocado, cherry tomato, and orange bell pepper in a dressing of lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, dried basil, and garlic. So simple, but so delicious. I ate three helpings (well, you can't really have leftover avocados or they will spoil, right???)

Of Snowstorms and Springtime..........

2009-03-02T11:41:00.004-05:00

Check out this snowfall on March 2..........(and it hasn't stopped snowing yet!)

Meanwhile, last week when we visited North Carolina, the trees were flowering already! I thought by the time we got back, it would be spring here. In fact we did have a 65 degree day this week, only to have a foot of snow today. I do remember when we lived in Chicago that we had snow on May 7th!

Anyway, through the miracle of agriculture, we can have spring food even though it is not yet spring. This is my favorite way to prepare asparagus, copied from a restaurant long ago. It is poached, chilled, and has a sauce of lemony mayo with capers (I use the orginal Veganaise with the blue label).

My daughter requested scones for breakfast yesterday. These are chocolate chip (of course) and dried tart cherry. I didn't have any cherry jucie to make the glaze, so I flavored it with a touch of almond extract. They were delicious!

More Green and Orange........

2009-02-28T18:02:00.004-05:00

This soup is Butternut with Chipotle and Croutons with Paprika and Brown Sugar from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. I had bought a package of pre-trimmed squash, thinking it would save a lot of time and aggravation if I didn't have to peel the squash. I was thinking of roasting it with chipotle and maple syrup, and then I came across this recipe. Unfortunately it was quite the disaster! Mostly my fault. I think I added too much chipotle - it was too hot even for me! Also a watery texture (not sure if that was me or the recipe). I think it would have benefitted from adding a little soy creamer. Then I proceeded to burn the croutons ('cause the sugar got all clumpy instead of spreading evenly over the bread). But it sure looks pretty. By the way, the pre-cut squash was pretty slimy, because they didn't do a good job of cleaning off the "strings." Next time I will trim my own.

I used to love a frozen meal of potatoes, broccoli and cheese sauce. I had seen the posts by That Pain in the Ass Vegan, talking about the cheese sauce from the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook (Pg. 68) . I thought I'd try that for my dish (although I had no potatoes, so I subbed rice on the side). This sauce is easy because it is made of tahini and seasonings - just whip it together in the bowl, no need to bother with cooking and thickening a sauce. It was properly salty and cheezy. I thought the tahini flavor was a little strong, and will try it with cashew butter next time. In fact, there is a similar recipe in the book based on cashew butter. It did the trick for my cheeze fix!

Ravioli and Sausage Stew

2009-02-26T10:08:00.002-05:00

This was really delicious and took about 2 seconds to put together.

1/4 very large onion, finely chopped
2 Tofurky Italian sausages, chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
3-4 c veggie broth
1 14 oz can Italian style tomatoes, undrained
1 9 0z package mini ravioli
3 oz baby spinach

Brown onion in some olive oil. (Does anyone remember the Frugal Gourmet? I can still hear him - "hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick......." It is true!) Add sausage and brown. Add red pepper and cook a few more minutes. Add broth and tomatoes. Simmer for as long as you feel like, so the flavors blend. Add ravioli and spinach. Cook 5 minutes and serve. (If your pasta requires longer than 5 minutes, add spinach a little later so it doesn't overcook.)

I really love these sausages. They are so flavorful that no additional seasoning was needed for the stew. Also they have a lovely texture. They are pretty high in fat - I rinsed them off before chopping, with no loss of flavor. Yum!

Heard at the Dinner Table..............

2009-02-25T10:31:00.003-05:00

This from my nine-year-old........ "Wow, all of a sudden I really like mushrooms and squash. It must be puberty." WTF? I am not ready for that conversation!

The squash in question is how my mom used to prepare it - with buttah and brown sugar. What's not to like? The tofu is made with a tomato garlic glaze. Sounds better than it was - basically an Italian style marinated tofu. It was okay, but the recipe needs tweaking. Perhaps more EB? Hmmmm, I remember once a recipe of carrots and scallions in a butter vinagrette. That would probably work well for the tofu. The potatoes are from Vegan YumYum. I think I didn't cook the potatoes enough and didn't use enough olive oil. These have lots of potential and I will definitely try them again. Plain steamed green beans - the kids like them that way and out them out of hand. I am trying to get green and orange on the plate every night!

This Red Pepper and Eggplant Spread from Trader Joe's is fabulous! It doesn't taste like eggplant, just pepper. We used it on paninis when we visited my friend last week. Also as dip for pita triangles. You could probably get the same effect by pureeing a jar of roasted peppers with garlic and basil - just in case you are not lucky enough to have TJ's by you!

Tempeh and Curry Noodles

2009-02-13T09:36:00.003-05:00

This is Pineapple Coconut Curry Noodles and Tempeh Fries with Wasabi Mayo from Vegan Express.

I had a craving for soba noodles the other day, so I saw this recipe and thought I would try it. I wasn't sure that the kids would eat the soba, which was $5.29 for the package! So I used whole wheat spaghetti ($1.59) instead. Wow, whole wheat noodles have come such a long way. For many years I wouldn't eat them because they were so heavy and strange. Now they really don't taste that different from regular, and they have so much more fiber. I think they will be a regular in our house. These are Ronzoni brand from the supermarket. They also have flax seed in them, so they even have some omega 3's. I will save the soba, which conveniently are already divided into individual serving size, for myself! As for the recipe, it was quite delicious, with the noodles soaking up the coconut milk and Thai spices. This is the first time I have cooked with lemongrass. It is quite a lovely flavor.

You know I am not a lover of tempeh (except for Fakin' Bacon), but this was easy and good. It is simply sliced and sauteed in a mix of olive oil and tamari. I did not pre-steam the tempeh, and still the bitter flavor was gone! I was going to add maple syrup to make it more bacon-like, but decided to try the recipe straight first. It was good as is, and no sugar! The mayo was good, too. My wasabi powder was actually horseradish, even though I bought it right from the sushi counter. I had read that most of what's sold as wasabi is actually horseradish, and in fact when I read the label I discovered that this is true!

And a surpise - kid #2, who is a very fussy eater, ate the tempeh, while kid #1, who eats everything, would not eat it!

A Veggie Mom's Favorite Phrase

2009-02-10T21:01:00.005-05:00

What is the phrase a veggie mom wants to hear most from her children? "More tofu, please!" (Well, maybe "more kale, please," but this is darn close.)

This tofu is from the Grit cookbook (highly recommended!), and is based on the holy triune of olive oil, tamari, and nooch. I left gravy off some so you can see how nice and brown it gets, even in a non-stick pan. The nooch and tamari form a sort of breading. The gravy is also from the Grit. It's my favorite - really creamy and flavorful. It has worcestershire in it - I add extra, because that's the best part!

The salad is an oldie but goodie from "The Occasional Vegetarian" by Karen Lee (yes, I know I am dating myself). Despite the title it is all vegetarian (but not vegan). I often use this book when omnis are visiting -everything is delicious and non-threatening. The salad is blanched asparagus, raw shredded carrot and scallion, in a dressing of tahini, lemon juice, and mustard. Really delicious.

I baked these cookies for my daughter to take to a Valentine's party. They are from the Vegetarian Times website, and are vegan. I subbed lemon extract for the almond, which was nice with the rasberry jam.

Did you know that cilantro has flowers? I had never seen that before this extra fresh bunch!

Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal

2009-02-06T11:06:00.003-05:00

Another breakfast creation. Plain oatmeal (I used instant) with a tablespoon of peanut butter swirled in, cinnamon, chopped fruit (here apple, but banana is even better), topped off with a (large) sprinkle of chocolate chips. Why skip breakfast when you can have this?

Tofu Balls and Chickpea Sauce

2009-02-03T09:44:00.003-05:00

These Baked Tofu Meatballs are from Toni Fiore's Totally Vegetarian. I didn't think I would like them. The raw mix didn't taste good, because it has a few bitter ingredients in them (ground walnuts, wheat germ, and parsley. But when baked, they were delicious! Funny, with some other things I have made, I have loved the raw mix and not liked the cooked version.

The sauce is just a marinara with chickpeas added, but I used up some grape tomatoes that were on the brink, and they made the sauce super sweet. I think a meatball sub will work for the leftovers!

Easiest Chili

2009-01-30T21:24:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, everyone knows how to make chili. This is what I did tonight, and it was so tasty and easy that I thought I'd share.

1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 can pinto beans
4 T chili powder (I used 2 T regular chili powder and 2 T pure ground mild chilis)
2 T soy sauce (add only 1 if you want less salt)
3 whole cloves (I know, here I go again with the cloves, but this is how we ate chili growing up, courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens old red and white cookbook (only their recipe had you know what))

Saute onion until soft (sprinkle with salt). Add green pepper and saute until soft (sprinkle with salt). You know Lydia Bastianich says to sprinkle each layer with salt as you add it, don't you? Add everything else and simmer a while until it tastes good! Top with chopped raw onion and that yummy Tofutti sour cream.

We ate it up before I thought to take a picture (even the Carnivore ate it, so you know it had to be good).

Breakfast and Beets

2009-01-28T13:45:00.002-05:00

I guess it is pretty boring to blog about cereal. But I have to tell you about one I just tried. It is Bob's Red Mill Scottish Oats. I have always loved oatmeal (old fashioned, never instant!) But lately the texture is not appealing, for some reason. Too chewy (and eating steel cut oats or whole groats is really too chewy). Now you would think I would like this, since I hate instant oats. But I think that is more because of the cardboard taste than the creamy texture. So, on Bob's package, he explains that he went to Scotland and learned how they grind oats. The raw cereal is almost a powder, but it still has a few chunks. When cooked up (5 minutes in the micro), it is like the Cream of Wheat of my childhood, except that it has fiber and protein! With some orange dried cranberries, a few walnuts, and vanilla Silk, it is heaven on earth!

And then there are the beets. Who hated beets as a child? Well, I never tasted them till I was an adult, and then it was pickled from a jar (which I also love). But fresh beets - yum! They are so easy to cook - roast for about an hour wrapped in foil. Then the skins slip right off. I have always made a kickin' horseradish vinaigrette for them, but recently I came across this recipe for a salad with a Moroccan dressing in Stop the Clock Cooking by Cheryl Forberg. It also has tomatoes in it, which never occured to me, but is delicious!

Halleujah! Sour Cream

2009-01-24T15:04:00.002-05:00

Sometimes when I buy things I haven't tried before (i.e. meat and dairy subs), they sit and sit and sit in the fridge until almost expiration date. I don't know why - maybe because I am so often disappointed when I try some expensive processed product, or because the stuff is so expensive that I want to make sure I find a good recipe for it. Such was the case with the Tofutti sour cream. It sat in my fridge for 2 months before I tried it. Wow! It's delicious. What a great surprise. I used it in some delicious chick pea tacos. I sauteed some chickpeas in olive oil, tamari, and taco seasoning (I meant to put lime juice in but got distracted with joy after tasting the sour cream), and mashed them up a bit. I softened corn tortillas in a nonstick pan sprayed with olive oil (I have not mastered frying the already filled tacos yet). Piled on the chickpeas, lettuce, the wonderful sour cream, and my favorite hot hot hot fresh salsa from Trader Joe's. What a fabulous meal, ready in 10 minutes.

This is my 4 year old's favorite soup. It is Coco Pazzo's White Bean and Escarole soup. It's over $3 a can, but I consider it a bargain because it is 2 meals for her and she is eating BEANS! Of course, she will not eat the same thing if homemade, where that $3 would serve all 5 of us (not that anyone but me would eat it). Bonus that it is much lower in sodium than most canned foods.

Tofu and Artichokes

2009-01-13T12:29:00.002-05:00

I had not yet tried the Italian Marinated Tofu from VWAV. I added fennel seed to my marinade as I do with all things Italian. Simple and delicious. The steamed artichoke has a sauce called Faux Choron from Vegan Planet. It is basically a Hollandaise with white wine reduction, shallots, tarragon, and tomato. It was really delicious.

I know many vegans do not like to replicate the flavors of animal products. But if you are someone who misses eggs, may I suggest Indian black salt (which is actually pink). I first saw this suggested for tofu egg salad over at PPK. I finally got some and it is remarkable how egg-like the flavor is. I don't miss eggs in general, but I did love egg salad and hard-boiled eggs. I used the black salt in my Choron and it really added a nice flavor.

Another recipe from VWAV - chocolate chip raspberry blondies. It was okay. More like cake. I think of blondies as chocolate chip cookies in bar form, so the cake-like texture was wrong to me. But the flavor was good. I think I will have to go make a chocolate raspberry smoothie now to go get that awesome flavor combo in a healthy form.

A Recipe, a Recipe Review, and a Product Review

2009-01-10T21:05:00.003-05:00

So, this started out as an eggplant curry. But when I cut into the eggplant and found it spoiled (yikes, more spoiled produce!), I started searching for some other veggies to use. I came up with potatoes and squash. I thought it was pretty good!

Have you used coconut oil in your cooking yet? I have read mixed opinions about it. Some swear it will kill you, and others say it is a healthy fat because it's composed of medium chain fatty acids, which are apparently difficult to get anywhere else. Whatever, it sure tastes good! It seems pricey at about 8 bucks for a small jar, but it lasts for a really long time. So probably not more expensive than a decent olive oil.

Squash and Potato Curry

1 T coconut oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 minced garlic cloves

1 t black mustard seeds

1/2 t cumin seeds

2 small Yukon golds, in small dice

1 delicata squash, in somewhat larger cubes

1 T tomato paste

3/4 c water

1 t curry paste (I like Patak's)

salt (a fair amount)

Saute onion in oil until starting to brown (sprinkle with salt). Add garlic, mustard and cumin seeds and cook a few minutes until fragrant. Add all else, bring to a boil, and simmer about a half hour, until veggies are cooked and sauce has thickened.

Here is a tomato paste tip - freeze what is leftover, and slice off chunks as you need it. Much cheaper than that stuff in the tube!

Product Review - Trader Joe's Bengal Lentils, bottom right of pic. Pretty good stuff. A bit spicy for the kids - the 4 year old acted like I was trying to poison her. (So then I said we would try plain beans with salt next time, and she happily agreed, heh, heh, sneaky mom.) It comes in a pouch and has 2 good sized servings. Can't beat it for easy protein. Most of TJ's Indian food has dairy, so I was excited to try this one.

Recipe Review - Lettuce with Peaches, Pumpkin Seeds, and Sour Orange Vinaigrette from Jack Bishop's "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen." Super delicious - I have made it several times. As you probably know, pumpkin seeds have lots of zinc, which is a tough one for us. I just love the smoky flavor.

What do you think of produce from Chile in winter? I have heard it slammed for high pesticide use. I don't know if it's higher than the U.S. I find the peaches and nectarines to be quite flavorful with nice texture, considering the distance they travel. They are often better than what comes up from the South in the spring. So perhaps their food production standards are not worse than ours? One interesting argument I have heard is that it is beneficial to get nutrients from different parts of the world. And last week we had cherries from Chile that were excellent, and at $2.44/lb. way cheaper than any from the U.S. in season. Now are we helping the world economy with our consumption or exploiting people? Are the environmental costs of food that travels so far too great? Is it worse than trucking in strawberries from California? I remember once going to a strawberry festival out east on the farms in June (strawberry season on LI). I was disappointed that they used California strawberries instead of local in season ones! So much to consider.

Happy New Year and a Product Review

2009-01-07T14:29:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year! It has been two weeks of partying and having fun with my kids and hubby (he always takes off between Christmas and New Year, and the kids had two weeks off from school). Now we are back to the routine. It was nice to be off the schedule, and it's also nice to get back to reality.

I hope you don't mind a product review, since I have no good recipes to share today. I actually like to read other people's product reviews, because I have spent so much money on things that were terrible. So, it has to be really good for me to mention it here.

The product in question is Trader Joe's Mediterranean Hummus. I am not a fan of commerically prepared hummus. It always tastes off to me - too tangy, or just not fresh. Kind of like that lemon juice in the little plastic lemons. But this stuff is just about as good as homemade. It has the proper creaminess and great flavor. The other versions from Trader Joe's are not as good, although they're still better than other brands I've tried. I guess to me, hummus should not have basil or sun-dried tomatoes or horseradish or olives or any other stuff. Just straight up old fashioned chickpeas and tahini, lemon and garlic. Yum!

Pot Roast Part 2

2008-12-22T10:34:00.005-05:00

So, what do you do with leftover pot roast?

First, make some onion rolls.

Then, make the mushroom fondue from About.com (recommended by Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan - yay, she's back!)

Then, saute some seitan, drizzling with soy sauce and Worcestershire. Also fry up some sliced onions until caramelized. Pile it all on a roll with some barbecue sauce and get ready for major deliciousness!

Here is my favorite barbecue sauce. My aunt used to make it when I was a child. She was really ahead of her time as a cook, especially for that time period. Every meal was from scratch and delicious. It seemed exotic to me to have a casserole she prepared, because we had barbecued meat and frozen veggies every night at home. Although this sauce was served with turkey (prepared on a rotisserie outside - a totally foreign concept to me), nowadays it is great on tofu!

6 T minced onion

3 T margarine

1 c ketchup

1/4 c vinegar

2 T brown sugar

2 T Worcestershire sauce

2 t prepared mustard

1/8 t salt

Saute onion until margarine until tender but not brown. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer 10 minutes.

I recommend that you don't cut down on the fat - it really makes the sauce rich and delicious!

For dessert, butterscotch pudding from The Joy of Vegan Baking. You know the graham cracker shells are vegan, right?

Pot Roast!

2008-12-20T13:50:00.002-05:00

This is the Pot Roast from Vegan Lunchbox. It is made of seitan, cooked in a yummy broth (wine, tomato paste, etc.). The raw seitan was seasoned, too - I tasted it raw and it was even good then. Then it is seared before simmering - more extra flavor. The broth and some of the veggies are pureed for the gravy, which also included a couple of tablespoons of red lentils for thickening - genius! I think seitan lovers would really like this. Even I thought it was pretty good. But for me, all seitan has that cardboard taste. I think it must be like how for some people, cilantro tastes like soap! What is the secret to delicious seitan?