The Condiment Chronicles :: Vegan Mayo De-Classified

The word is out. The mystery is solved. The myth de-bunked. You CAN make delicious mayo at home, cheap, without bothering any hens! (graphic)

Who knew it was this easy? Vegan Epicurean knew!

After reading the article with the original recipe about what she did, Here's what I did:

I went to BigLots and got a $2 bottle of canola oil, so this was REALLY cheap. I used one cup of oil (50c) and a 1/2 cup of soy milk ($3.50 for a 1/2 gallon, even cheaper when I make the soymilk myself) and the price of the spices and salt. That isn't very expensive to make over a cup of mayo.

Vegan Mayonnaise on the Cheap!

1 1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup plain soy milk (very slightly sweet so I left out the sweetener called for in the original recipe)

1/4 tsp vinegar

1 tbs lemon juice 

1/2 tsp salt

Put all in blender with whatever seasonings you want (I used 1/2 tsp dried mustard but you should adjust the salt, sweetness and tartness to your personal taste. It's only as good as you spice it)

If you have a high speed blender you should be able to whip this up in about 30 seconds. With a regular blender, you may have to mix longer.

Makes about a cup and a half of mayo

Scrape the mayo into a jar with a tight lid and store in the fridge. 

I will let you know how long it stores sometime in the future! It should last as long as the milk is good and when it's mixed with vinegar, salt and oil I think the milk should last a while in the fridge. We'll see. Let me know if you find out first!

Cantaloupe Seed Milk Smoothie

This super easy, ONE ingredient smoothie recipe is one of my all time favorites.
Next time you get a cantaloupe, save the seeds, strings and any little pieces of the meat you have left over.















Store the seeds, etc in an airtight container in the fridge. Sometime in the next few days put the seeds, strings and flesh of the cantaloupe into a blender add a cup or two of water (depending on how thick you want it) and blend until smooth and frothy.















Strain, decant and enjoy.















Groovy Cantaloupe Nutrition Facts

Serving size 1/2 cup, diced (78g)
Amounts Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 25
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 10mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 6g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 50%
Vitamin C 50%
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%

Groovy Cantaloupe Warning

I used to not like cantaloupe because I got a stomach ache every time I ate it. Now I know that cantaloupe must be eaten alone. Because it digests so quickly that any other food in the stomach with cantaloupe will cause fermentation of the stomach contents which means, gas, pain, bloating etc. Now when I get a big, ripe aromatic and juicy cantaloupe I mono-feast on the meat one day, save the seed and mono-feast on a creamy seed milk smoothie a couple days later.

I drink this smoothie on an empty stomach and don't eat anything for 4 hours after I finish it. If I combine this with any other foods I get some harsh intestinal difficulties. You might not, I'm just saying. The rule of thumb for me with melon is "Eat it alone or leave it alone".

Stay Groovy.

Today's Green Smoothie for late lunch

1 very ripe avocado
2 very ripe banana
1 tbs lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 large handful of kale
2 tbs flax seeds
Fermented cashew milk. (usually i only put fruit and seeds in my smoothies but the jar was almost empty so I half filled it with water shook that up and poured it in the blender. Nothing goes to waste around here)

Sweet, creamy with a hint of garlic and a little tangy. This was surprisingly good.

Raw Vegan Fermented Cashew Sour Cream or Yogurt Recipe

This recipe changed my life!
Blend a cup of soaked cashews (or any other nut you like) with enough water to make a thick paste about the consistency of sour cream. More water if you want a thinner kefir, yogurt or buttermilk consistency
Put the nut paste in a jar. Leave about 2 inches of room at the top of the jar because it will GROW.

Put the jar in your dehydrator (remove the trays) with a loose lid. Set it at about 95F. (This can be done in any warm place but it may take longer. See note below)

Leave it over night and it should look like this in the morning:

















See the bubbles? It's alive!















Stir it down and add salt or other seasonings if you like. I like it plain.
Store covered in the fridge almost indefinitely. Use just like you would sour cream in just about any recipe, as far as I know.
The longer you let it set the more sour delicious it gets.

I like to take a jar of this on road trips with me. It tastes better every day!

Note for those of you who don't have a dehydrator: If you don't have a dehydrator keep it in a warm place and it will ferment, it just may take a bit longer. My MIL preheats her oven to the lowest temp, turns off the oven then puts the jar in a water bath in the oven overnight and that method works for her. I also know someone who uses a heating pad on low heat in a box. A home yogurt maker might work, too.

The Fruity Trinity 3,2,1 Smoothie

Today's Smoothie!

















3 very ripe bananas
2 granny smith apples, chopped
1 orange (juice and pulp only)
1 head of celery
1 clove garlic
2 tbs flaxseed
2 tbs Renewme!
2 cups or more of water

Put it all in the blender and blend well.

This is a very creamy smoothie that utilizes the fruity trinity of banana, apple, orange. On the sweet side with just a hint of garlic.

I'm eating more raw garlic these days to try and help boost my immunity. The man had the flu or some kind of stomach bug but I will remain healthy.

So mote, it be.
:)

Raw Blended Sun Dried Tomato Soup

Garlic & Sun Dried Tomato Soup

About 3 cups of your favorite leafy green. I used collard and ruby chard.
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
2 tbs onion
1 clove garlic
5-6 sundried tomatoes (not the in oil kind, the dry kind. if you don't have a high speed blender, soak them first)
2 tbs flax seeds (grind them if you don't have a hi-speed blender)
Water to blend

Blend until smooth and a little bit warm.

It's so creamy and garlicy and delicious. The dried tomatoes have a wonderful rich flavor.

I drank the whole thing for lunch but it would easily serve 4 as a soup at your next raw vegan dinner party!

Today's Green Smoothie

Red lettuce and some kale (2 hands full total)
2 bananas
4oz raw cranberries
2 tbs flaxseed
RenewMe!
Water

Blend.














Kitteh



















I've still been drinking green smoothies, just not blogging about them. I need to get in the habit of posting the daily smoothie photos. I think it's a good exercise.
I like to have one every day. It makes me feel grounded. Like, no matter what else happens all day, at least I had my smoothie!

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Soup

I hear many of you saying "Zucchini Breath, now that I know how to roast an eggplant what do I do with all that delicious roasted eggplant that I have and don't know with which what to do?" (or something like that) to which I have but one reply

"Make SOUP!"
















Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Soup
1 peeled flesh from one roasted eggplant
Peeled cloves of one head roasted garlic

Blend together with

2 tbs tahini
2 tbs lemon juice.
Salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve hot or cold.
Garnish with fresh ground pepper and lemon.

We got a Vita-Mix!

Here it is blending my morning smoothie.














Celery, romaine, flax seeds, garlic, Renewme and Ruth's hemp/maca/e3live.

The man bought this beautiful piece at a restaurants yard sale.














I swear, everything I own is second hand. I think I was conceived in a used car. Just kidding, mom.

This gently used commercial model with the logo of whatever they were selling on the front cost an amazingly low $50. It has a timer but it doesn't have speed control.

I think we are going to be together for a long time.
















This is the computer room. It's a mess now but it's a good size room and I think it could be fixed up nice with a little effort.

















This is the satellite dish that brings me to you and vice versa.
















And last but not least, dinner last night:














Baked hash browns, mixed cooked veges and a raw rainbow chard salad.

Raw Vegan Lunch Idea! Seaweed Noodles with Pumpkin Seed Curry Sauce

Talk about quick and easy lunch! I decided I wanted this at 11:30 and was sitting down eating it by noon.


Soak your seaweed strips in cold water for 10-20 minutes. These are the raw noodles.












They have a mild, fresh taste and they aren't too chewy. I bought them in an Asian food market in SF.

Drain them and place in a serving bowl.

Make a raw sauce in your blender

I used

Pumpkin Seed Curry Sauce
1 tbs pumpkin seeds
2 dates
2 tbs water
1 clove of garlic (or less. I looo-oove garlic)
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cumin

Blend all this up until its a creamy sauce and pour it over your raw seaweed pasta
I garnished with sliced carrots for some color















Enjoy!

I love watermelon and curry

No, not together. Not this time, at least!



Easy Vindaloo!















Potato, onion, red bell pepper, spinach, zucchini and mushrooms in a sauce made with curry powder, peanut butter and a pinch of salt.

Steam the veges until tender and then mix the peanut butter with hot water and curry powder and mix the two together and stir over med heat for a few minutes.

Shown served over steamed rice and quinoa on top of a collard leaf.



This morning's smoothie was














1/2 an 8lb watermelon
in the blender and blend until smooth

I only remove the thickest part of the skin and blend the rind up in there too.

Refreshing Summer Drink Raw Vegan Melissa Lemonade

I love the melissa that grows in the back yard. There is so much of it, it's so lush and green, it draws so many honeybees and wasps! The name Melissa is derived from a Greek word meaning bee, owing to the abundance of nectar in the flowers which attracts bees.

But seriously I do like it. It makes the yard smell like lemons. I pick a handful of it and toss it in a green salad or put some in my smoothie or make lemonade out of it like I did today.

1 handful melissa leaves
juice and pulp of one lemon
4 ice cubes, or more
5-7 dates
16 oz water
Blend and strain. Serve over ice.

Vegan Dinner Ideas: Pulp Recipe: Carrot Burgers and Creamy Cashew Cheese Sauce

I made carrot patties for dinner and had them in sandwiches. I used the leftover flat bread for mine.

Curry cauliflower salad with celery and bell peppers















Food porn
















Green onions from the garden woot!















Carrot patty with sauerkraut, seitan sausage slices and creamy cashew cheese sauce
















The arial shot
















Carrot Patties

1 cup carrot pulp
1 onion
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup celery juice you can use vege broth or water
2 tbs lemon juice

Chop in food processor with s blade until a paste.

Bake at 350 for an hour, flip and bake another hour. Should be crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Use 1/2 cup for each patty makes 6 patties.

Creamy Cashew Cheese Sauce

1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup, more or less of water for blending.

Blend until creamy, chill and serve. It will thicken with chilling

Banana Beet Deep Purple Smoothie

mmm beets! The man doesn't like beets very much. I think it's a stigma, but whatever. I try to sneek beets in when I can and this is a good way.
Also see:

Beet Meat Burgers

Beet Tortilla

Beet Juice













1/2 cup strawberries from breakfast that the boy wouldn't eat yesterday
2 ripe bananas
2 cups lettuce and ruby chard leaves from the garden woot!
about a 1/2 cup of beet
e3live and RenewMe!
Juice of one orange
20oz water and blend.
YUUUMMM!!
Seriously, it was too sweet for me! I put a little lemon juice in mine, wow!

It looked black in the blender but it came out a wonderful purple.
















So in conclusion, eat more beets. The roots can be eaten raw, steamed, fermented, marinated, baked (like a potato!) or juiced and the greens can be used like any other greens in salad, juice, steamed like spinach or chopped up in a nutloaf. I love this plant.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about beets medicinal properties:


The roots and leaves of the beet have been used in folk medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. Modern research is investigating in further detail how beet extracts could be used to protect normal and diabetic livers, as well as their effects on elevated cholesterol in individuals with cancer, and other medical maladies.

The Romans used beetroot as a treatment for fevers and constipation, amongst other ailments. Apicius in De re coquinaria gives five recipes for soups to be given as a laxative, three of which feature the root of beet. Hippocrates advocated the use of beet leaves as binding for wounds.

Beet juice can help lower blood pressure. Research published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension showed drinking 500ml of beetroot juice led to a reduction in blood pressure within one hour. The reduction was more pronounced after three to four hours, and was measurable up to 24 hours after drinking the juice.

Since Roman times, beetroot juice has been considered an aphrodisiac. The juice is a rich source of boron, which plays an important role in the production of human sex hormones.[citation needed] Field Marshal Montgomery is reputed to have exhorted his troops to 'take favours in the beetroot fields', a euphemism for visiting prostitutes.

From the Middle Ages, beetroot was used as a treatment for a variety of conditions, especially illnesses relating to digestion and the blood. Platina recommended taking beetroot with garlic to nullify the effects of 'garlic-breath'.

Beetroot has been used as a treatment for cancer in Europe for several centuries. The pigment molecule betanin in the root of red beets is under investigation as the cause of the plant's purpoted protective effects. Hungarian oncologist Ferenczi recommended beetroot juice as an effective cancer treatment. Recent scientific research has shown that beetroot can inhibit tumour growth and has antioxidant properties that may even help prevent development of oncogenesis.

So, yeah! Eat more Beets!

The Condiment Chronicles: MOSTLY RAW Vegan Sandwich Spread Dressing Cruelty Free Mayonnaise, No Soy, NO Egg, No Dairy!

I have been working hard. Late nights in the lab. I have been trying to make a raw vegan mayonnaise sauce. I think I have done it.

I call it mostly raw because of the flax seed oil and the miso.

(MOSTLY) Raw Vegan Mayo

1/3 cup brazil nuts
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 tbs each:
Nutritional yeast
White Miso
Sesame
2 tbs each:
ACV
Flaxseed oil

Blend until very smooth and creamy, add water if needed to aid in blending.

It's yellow, it's runny, it's got brown flecks in it. It's the closest to mayo that I have tasted.

RAW! Wild Green Mint Smoothie w Home Grown Lettuce Chard

A beautiful breakfast smoothe that I made from greens that I grew and wild greens from the yard.

I used some verbena, some mint, some lettuce and red chard















A big red juicy strawberry






























The juice and pulp of one orange (my new reamer from a yard sale this weekend, yay!, $2!)

one banananana















A chopped zuke















Ground flaxseed, Renew me and E3AFA
















20 oz o' water, or less, if you want a thicker smoothie, and BLEND!!














Another wonderful homegrown, wild foraged greens smoothie!

mid Morning Stinging Nettle Smoothie

YUM!

1 cup fresh tender nettle tops
1/2 cup fresh mint
1 banana
e3live and renew me (see link in sidebar)
20 oz water

Blend and drink!

I actually pricked both of my thumbs with nettles today. It itched for about 5 minutes then nothing.

The man doesn't like to eat the nettles. Stigma. He says he wants to but somehow the whole "weeds from the yard" idea makes him a feel a little squee. I say tough, they are going to be in every meal for the rest of the summer! but I only half mean it :)

3 days of raw. today has been the best day, no slip ups, no munching.

I bought a Ronco Dehydrator at a yard sale. Any one want a Dehydrator? Make me an offer.
If I don't get a good offer, I will sell it on eBay next week.
It's not new but it looks like this:

















Lemme know.

VEGAN Eggplant Manicotti Recipe

Filling
1 cup cooked nettles, drained very dry
1 med onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano & thyme
2 tbs vege broth (or enough to mix it all well
1/3 cup eggplant
1/2 cup chopped seitan sausage

Processes all together with s-blade in food processor and set aside.

Assembly
Peel a large eggplant and slice it in to long, thin slices, like lasagna noodles
Put 1 tbs of filling on the skinny end of the eggplant slice and roll it up. Put it in your baking pan seam side down. Keep doing that until you fill the pan, I manage to get 12 out of mine, yours may vary.

Sauce
1 cup agar cheese or sunflower seed cheese
4 tbs yeast
1 cup vege broth
1 clove garlic
Blend well and pour over the rolls.
Sprinkle quinoa over the top
Bake covered for 2 hours.

Shown with baby greens salad, a salad made from kale, cucumber, sauerkraut and a spoonful of veganaise, some leftovers, and a slice of bread with vegan buttery spread.















I thought this was very good and so did the man but our dinner guest found it mushy and yucky.

Second Breakfast: Granola with Acorn Squash Seed Milk

About 10:30 am












Oats, dates, almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, other seeds, nuts and stuff, I don't know. It's a mix of raw granola I made and some commercial organic stuff I bought in bulk at the store. I read the ingredients and they were all acceptable, I just don't remember what they were :)

Raw Acorn Squash Seed Milk

In blender
Raw seeds and strings of one or more acorn squash
1.5 cups water for each squash.
Blend seeds and water until it screams for mercy
Strain.
If desired, blend the pulp with one more cup of water and strain again. Compost the remaining pulp.

Chill, serve, live!

It's quite good, really. It has a slight pumpkin-y taste and would make a lovely nog if blended with banana and dates and vanilla and nutmeg. Yum.

Today's Green Smoothie is...

1 pear
1 banana
3 leaves of kale
1/2 avocado
2 tbs ground flax
1 tbs each Renew Me and E3 AFA
20 0z water

Sweet, crisp and creamy.