Vegan Meatless Taco Filling

I didn't think I could love taco night more than I did but I made up this filling and now I do:

Tasty Taco Filling
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp mushroom soy sauce (find it at your local Asian market)
1 tsp paprika

All in food processor, pulse, scraping the sides as needed.
It should be lumpy, not a paste, do not over-process.

Taco filling, sandwich spread, spoon on pasta, over salad, add to soups, casseroles; Add a spoonful any where you want a BLAST of flavor.

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!

Super Easy, Super Cheesy Dairy Free Multi-Purpose Un-Cheese Sauce

I'm making steamed brocolli for dinner tonight so I made a vegan cheese sauce. I know I posted this recipe before but I've been making it and tweaking it each time and I think this is about the best it's ever turned out so I'm posting this new, updated version of multi-purpose cheese flavored sauce for making vegan macaroni and cheese, for pouring over vegetables, great on baked potato, nachos, quesadilla, in casseroles... I even put it on vegan pizza the other day, fantastic!

Super Easy, Super Cheesy Sauce

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika (optional. Makes it more orange colored)

2 cloves garlic

1 tbs tahini

1 tbs ACV

2 cups water

Everything in the blender except 1/2 cup water.

Blend until liquefied.

Pour mixture into a saucepan

Put last 1/2 cup of water in the blender carafe, swirl it around and pour that in the saucepan, too. (nothing goes to waste around here)

This is the hardest part.

Put the saucepan of liquified ingredients on low-med heat and stir constantly until it reaches the desired thickness, about 10 minutes.

This mixture will continue to thicken even after you are done cooking. Behold the power of Oatmeal!  Store in the fridge in a covered container and add more water as needed to thin.

Bacon/Avocado Burger Vegan Dinner Sandwich

I had some mystery patties in my freezer (I want to say Garden Burgers but here are some recipes for patties), Lightlife Smart Bacon, avocado, lettuce, fermented cashew cream, tomato, onion and plain bagels. I took it to the logical conclusion.

I can't eat something that had a face but I don't mind eating things in the SHAPE of a face :)

Greasy goodness. I cooked them in a tsp of olive oil...
Look at that bacon foam! How authentic :P



This is the man's finished sandwich on bagel, with bacon, onion, tomato, pickle, mystery vegan patty, red lettuce, mayo and ketchup

And mine looking at itself.

"What?? No TOMATO???"

We are really liking the Smart Bacon. The rest are still in the freezer waiting. I'd like to thank Lightlife for making them and for sending me the coupons so I could try them. Thanks!

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.

Making RAW Pickles: Spicy Garlic Mixed Vege Pickle Recipe!

I harvested the last of the jalapenos today. Even the little green one. What to do with all those jalapenos?


Why, make Raw Pickles, of course!














The longer it sits, the better the pickles taste, but if you start this recipe at 7am it can be ready for dinner at 6pm.

Spicy Garlic Mixed Vegetable Pickles

Ingredients:

2 med Cukes sliced into 3/4" coins,
1 med carrot sliced into thick matchsticks,
5-6 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in thick slices,
6 red and 1 green jalapeno, chopped,
1 yellow bell pepper, cut in strips,
2 tsp salt,
one fresh lemon, juiced.

Instructions:

Cut up enough veges to fill a wide mouth, lidded Mason jar.
Pour the veges from the jar into a large bowl.
Add salt.
Stir occasionally. Liquid will start to collect at the bottom of the bowl.
Keep stirring occasionally for about an hour or until all the salt is dissolved.
Pour the vegetables and juices back into the jar.
Put a lid on the jar and let it pickles "cook" in their juices for up to 6 hours at room temp.















Add the juice of 1 lemon (about a 1/4 cup) replace the lid and shake.
Let it "cook" for another 6 hours or longer.
Shake now and then to make sure all the veges get equal time in the juice.
Add enough water to cover the veges and store in the fridge.
These will keep indefinitely in a lidded jar in the fridge but they never last long around here!



















These photos were taken before the lemon juice was added. I love to watch the veges "cook" in the salt.

Note: You don't have to use the same exact veges I did. I make this different every time. Sometimes with only jalapenos.

Ketchup or Catsup Raw Vegan Condiment or What to do with all those cherry tomatoes?

What to do with all those cherry tomatoes?








Make Raw Ketchup!









1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 leaf of lettuce
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp organic cane sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt

This is an instant ketchup, no fermenting required.
Put all the ingredients in the blender and whiz until smooth.
Ready to use! Serve on burgers, salad, fries or where ever you want a tangy zingy sauce
Store in the refrigerator a week or longer. If it goes bad, you will know.

Almost Raw Vegan Lunch Ideas! Salad and Zucchini Chips

Dehydrating zucchini chips. These are very simple, just sliced zukes covered in soy sauce and a tbs or so of nutritional yeast. They are humming away in the big D right now at 125F Should be ready for after dinner snacking.
















My gorgeous salad contains microgreens, green onions, rainbow chard, zucchini, avocado, sauerkraut and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
















Ok, ok, nutritional yeast is not considered raw, I know. Neither is soy sauce. but hey, I'm doing my best.

I could be eating french fries and faux meat on bread, right?

Wednesdays Smoothie Brought to you by Coconut and Peregrin Took

What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? Has he heard of those?








Today's smoothie:






2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup fresh, young coconut meat
1 leaf curly kale
1 tbs each e3live and RenewMe!
1/2 cucumber
20oz water
Blend


I put up some daikon radishes in brine. I added two tsp of acv and a tsp of sugar because daikon is rather bitter.

2 weeks ago I put up a jar of kraut with a green apple in it at the suggestion of a blog entry here. It was a little moldy last week and I scraped the mold off and put it back for another week. Today when I smelled it I didn't smell a bit of mold and it was definitely sour! I will leave it for a couple more days and then put it in cold storage.











Daikon pickles in brine and green apple/cabbage sauerkraut.

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.

Beet Your Meat Raw Vegan Burgers :: They Beat Meat, Hands Down!

********************

My dear friend Brin is trying to raise a little money to help an injured stray. For more details and if you can donate a few bucks, please, click here: For Kitty

*******************
I endeavor to keep it as raw as I can.

This morning I juiced celery, beet greens and carrot with a bit of ginger. I thought it would be nice to have burgers. Raw burgers that are better than anything cooked.
So I made up this recipe:

Beet Your Meat Raw Vegan Burgers

Process about 1 cup of juicing pulp in FP with
1/2 small beet root chopped
2 cloves garlic
one med onion chopped
one roma tomato chopped
2/3 cup walnuts
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Form patties on parchment paper and dehydrate at 125F for about 2 hours.















When the patties get crispy on one side flip them out on the rack and dry for another 2 hours at 115F, until they are crispy on the outside and tender in. These can be made a few hours in advance and warmed in the dehydrator for 15-20 min at 125F before serving.

The Money Shot














Dress them like you would any burger and chow down.

I am keeping it raw so I had mine on a collard leaf with seed cheese, tomato, sauerkraut and onion. I picked the whole thing up and folded it like a taco and yum yum.
Collard leaves are the new bread.

Vegan Falafel. Baked. Not Fried. And Cat Report Update.

Falafel Sandwich Just like I used to get at that joint at 19 and Valencia. Ali Baba's Cave. Better because it's baked and not deep fried.











I was inspired this morning by the newsletter I got from Dr Ben Kim and just ran with it.

Instead of pita I made thin tortillas like the kind you get at the falafel place. Lavash, I think they call them.
Falafel, cucumber, tomato, tahini and a beautiful organic red lettuce that the man picked up at the natural food store, thank you, baby!
I spread tahini on the tortilla, then a lettuce leaf on top of that, then falafel and vegetables and more condiments in there.














The lettuce was really good.

The Magic Grain
















It's all about the condiments, oh, yeah. I bought a tray just for carrying condiments between the fridge and table.














On to the dinner.


First I made tortillas but with mostly white flour and just a 1/4 cup wheat. Nice and thin and just a little bit crispy.















Then:

About 5 med potatoes 3 handfuls dry chickpeas

cook the peas thoroughly and drain.
cut up and boil the potatoes until soft
thoroughly mash the two together with one finely chopped onion. The secret with this recipe, just like any meat sub is using lots of onions. Onion = Flavor + Juicy.

I used the food processor but you could mash them by hand.

Remove the chickpea potato mixture from the food processor and put it in a bowl. Set aside.
No need to clean the fp bowl, the left over chick pea mixture will help to blend the tahini sauce. It's all gonna get mixed together in the end.

In FP
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup each sesame seeds and sunflower seeds
4 tbs lemon juice
3 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped celery heart
1 tbs nutritional yeast use the S blade and pulverize it all. add some more of the chickpea mixture to help it blend.

Mix both mixtures together in one bowl and stir well.
You could then spend a bunch of time and effort rolling walnut sized balls of the mixture, placing them on a pan, bake for 15 minutes, turn over and bake another 15 minutes or you could do like I do and...
Spread mixture into a large, greased 9 x 13" glass pan.
I baked it for 2 hours at 350F and then another hour at 400F. It could have gone a little bit longer but I'm at a high altitude, things take longer and we were hungry.

It's done when it's golden brown on the outside and still tender on the inside.














I hate rolling little balls. It's time consuming and unnecessary. You just smash the ball in the sandwich, anyway. Why not start with it flat?


I cut it into about 8 pieces and people just grabbed chunks of it out of the pan. You could use a fork, I suppose.


Thanks to everyone for the well wishes about our lovely rescue cat Minnie. She really seems to be feeling a lot better and ate some food again today. I'm really hopeful for her. She's happy and doesn't seem to be suffering. She comes to us for attention She has no problem jumping up on a lap or on the bed and loves to be brushed and petted. She was playing with a string today and I caught her sharpening her claws in the carpet. I'm pretty confident that she will live a while longer.
Thanks again for all your well wishes.

Mickey came up today with a funky eye. I put two drops of colloidal silver in each eye and it seems better tonight. Thank goodness. I have a fear of pink eye. I know it isn't that bad but my mom would trip every time I got pink eye. It guess like I got it a lot and I would hate to get it now. Everyone around me has no problem with it, just a little pink eye, it'll go away. I just need to get over my mental issue.

Good night everyone. I hope you had a good dinner and all is well with you.

I'm going to San Francisco for 4/20. Come to Golden Gate Park. I will be at the top of hippie hill, Sharon Meadow. Come see me. I'll be having a raw barbecue!

A Boring Vegan Dinner Redeemed with Raw Vegan Banana Cream Pie for Dessert

The Spread
A nondescript celery soup, green salad, that is a glass of wine. Not mine, sadly. There in the corner you can see the not vegan mac n cheese for the boy. There is some sliced bread and a casserole and in the middle is a raw vegan banana cream pie!
















Casserole was leftover carrot soup poured between layers of potato with a thick layer of tomato on top covered with rye bread crumbs which is just my normal bread recipe with 1 cup of rye flour and one cup of whole wheat flour in place of the white flour the recipe calls for.









It was pretty good.





The bread was my regular bread recipe but I mixed it up in my new food processor. tax refund money well spent.















It came out fluffier some how. I guess over mixing made the air bubbles all tiny instead of large bubbles, I don't freaking know but this was the best bread I made ever. Same recipe, same pan, same oven, same cooking time. different mixer, different bread. Whew.
And the pie. The pie. The lovely, easy RAW pie. I wish there were some left but I don't even dare look, I'm sure it's gone, gone, gone. I had two pieces of six I guess I got my share. I might make individual banana pudding cups for dinner. I still have a few banan' left.















Here is my plate. I like taking a picture of my dinner every night. It's fun.














On the salad is kiwi and tomato salsa and sauerkraut. On the bread is Earth Balance.

Snacking Happens! Raw Living Vegan Nachos :: RAW Snack Ideas and Party Foods

My Recipe for Raw Vegan Nachos














Nachos. Short for Ignatius as far as I can see. Anyone know why they are called nachos? Aside from that joke about the little boy who stole the cheese from the cheese truck and they chased him yelling "that's NACHO CHEESE!!" (Not Yo Cheese, get it? I know, it isn't funny, but do you GET IT?).

Anyway, I posted this the other day and got a response from this guy requesting the recipe.

Here are all the individual recipes for the components of the RAW LIVING VEGAN NACHOS!

Raw Vegan Nachos
As far as I am concerned, this serves 1. Me. But there is always someone who wants to share so you might want to make extra.

Here we go...

Flax Seed Chips.
These are easy to make but you need a dehydrator and you should make them the day before to be sure they are crisp enough to be used as chips.

1/3 cup each whole flaxseed, sunflower seed, sesame seed, soaked over night and rinsed.
1/2 cup vegetable pulp from juicing or 1/2 cup vegetables such as carrots, onions, tomato or a combination
1 1/2 tbs nutritional yeast (optional. I like the cheesy flavor it lends to the crackers)
1/8 tsp salt
Mix well, smooth on a plastic sheet and dehydrate until crackers. There are more detailed instructions to be found by following the link above.

Sunflower Seed Cheese

Soak your seeds over night and rinse then mix in blender:

3 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
juice of one lemon, about 1/4 cup
1/3 cup sesame seed
2/3 cup sunflower (add 1/3 at a time)
water to blend
All ingredients in blender except 1/3 c sunflower seeds. Add enough water to keep it moving.
Could be made spicier with the addition of some cayenne or chili powder.
When it's pretty well blended, add the rest of the seeds and some more water. It will thicken as it sits, so make it sort of thin.

Salsa!

Apple/celery salsa is apple and celery in equal amounts (about half an apple and two small ribs celery), diced
one clove garlic, 2 tbs yellow onion and a tbs ginger, finely chopped,
2 roma tomatoes, diced
4 tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
Mix all ingredients well and let sit overnight or for at least one hour.

Here is another, more complex recipe that I call Mango Salsa! Ai yi yi!
Ingredients:
One very ripe mango
One roma tomato
Half red bell pepper
One small onion, finely chopped
Two cloves garlic, minced
One rib celery, finely chopped
One Tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
Fresh Oregano leaves, chopped.
Juice of one lemon, about 1/4 cup

Chop all ingredients, mix together well and let set 1 hour or overnight

Last, but not least

Guacamole

1 med avocado
1/2 roma tomato
2 tbs lemon juice
1/8 tsp onion powder
mix well. sprinkle lemon juice over the top and store lidded.

If you need heat, and I know some of you must, here is a bonus recipe:
Raw Pickled Jalapeno Peppers!

4 Large jalapenos about 1 cup
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp curry powder
pinch asofoetida

mix together in a clean dry jar and leave for 4-6 hours so the peppers can marinate in the spices. The salt will draw the water out and there will be liquid in the bottom of the jar.

Then add 3 tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 tbs apple cider vinegar

Leave jar with contents for a day then it is ready to eat. Shake the jar every couple hours to mix it up and make sure all the peppers are covered.

Ok, I hope this was helpful. Here is another photo of nachos that I made back in January

Fermenting Vegetables and Sprouting Apples

I read this website today and was inspired to put up some veges.











From left to right:
Cuke and carrot with garlic for pickles.
Carrot and zuke with salt. This will be a carrot-kraut-type-deal
Carrot, zuke, cuke and red bell pepper. I call this one sweet relish.
All three are nothing but veges and salt. The pickles have water in them, too.
It took me about half an hour to do all of this. They should be ready in three days.

I learned today that if it gets moldy on top, just scrap the mold and the under part is good. I have been tossing them out, D'oh! *smacks forehead*





I don't know if you can see it in this photo or not but I left half an apple on the counter over night and it sprouted.















I put the seed in a little pot with dirt but I don't expect much.

Happy Friday!

Raw Vegan Pizza By The Slice

Raw flax seed crust smeared with sunflower seed cheese, vegan sausage (leave the sausage off if you want it really raw), apple/celery salsa* and vegan "parm"** sprinkled over the top.

I put the avocado on the side and ate it like fries, yum yum yum. Best lunch EVAH!!


I wanted to let the world know that this blue funnel:












Is my new favorite kitchen utensil. It is a canning funnel and it makes any jar into a wide mouth jar so it is SOOO easy to get ingredients in.














Thanks again to Goodwill for that.

Footnotes:
*Apple/celery salsa is apple and celery in equal amounts (about half an apple and two small ribs celery), diced
one clove garlic, 2 tbs onion and a tbs ginger, finely chopped,
2 roma tomatoes, diced
4 tbs lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt
mix all in a jar, let rest for an hour and EAT!
** Vegan Parm Sprinkle:
3/4 cup almonds
1 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt
blend until powder, store in a jar in the fridge.

Snacking Happens! Raw Vegan Condiment :: Sweet Pickle Relish on Vegan Vege Quick Bread

Raw Fermented Sweet Pickle Relish on Vegan Vege Quick Bread.












So nice I had to post it twice.


Easy recipes for both found by following the links above!

Dinner Last Night and SNOW This Morning

It rained off and on all day yesterday and we woke up this morning to this:

















Dinner last night was...














very good. I just threw a pot of beans together and made some garlic mashed potatoes and a spinach/collard salad with sauerkraut and mango salsa. Yummy vege soup and home made bread with oat cheese slices.

I also made a fat free apple sauce cake but I think the recipe called for too much baking soda so I am not going to reprint it here. It's ok, we all needed a big burp after that meal, lol.














The flavor and consistency were nice but it was a tad salty and it did make me have a big soda burp.* Everyone else said they loved it so if I ever make it right it they probably won't like it :)

The boy's (almost vegan) dinner
applesauce cake, toast with the horrifying individual slices of dairy cheese and "fried" potatoes.














He ate his salad earlier, without incident.


Footnotes:
*which I recognized from the old pregan** days when I used to get heartburn and treat it with a tsp of baking soda in a glass of water. It works.

**footnote within a footnote? have I gone MAD!?!. Er, Pregan is a term I have heard bandied around (neener) in the vegan blogger community. It means pre-vegan. I tried to find a definition, looked in the urban dictionary and every thing. They define it as

"A person who arrives early at informal office gatherings to chow down on
free cake, cookies and other snacks."
I entered the definition that I know and we will see if it shows up, blah blah

The Condiment Chronicles :: Cucumber Bell Pepper Relish :: Raw Fermented Sweet Pickle RELISH RECIPE! NO WHEY!!! Dairy Free!

My bizarre obsession with fermented condiments rages on, out of control.
















This is my second try. I made the last with cuke and onion and it came out bitter. I kept it for two weeks in the fridge and it didn't mellow out at all on the bitter so i tossed it today :( It was good, just very bitter from the onion.

Of course, I made more.

This time:

Fermented Sweet Pickle Relish

1 cuke
half a small red bell
1/2 tsp salt

Shred the veges, put them in a jar with 1/2 tsp salt. Put a cabbage leaf on the top like you would with sauerkraut and store at room temp for three days.














The result is slightly sweet and tangy. I did it! I made sweet pickle relish with nothing but cukes, peppers and salt. The lacto-bacillus gods were on my side this time.

The boy had a vegan breakfast this morning of sliced kiwi fruit (not shown) and garlic bread. I mix some earth balance with garlic powder and he spreads it on the toast himself. It's his thumbs up breakfast these days. It's better than sugar cereal, IMO and easy to make, besides.













VEGAN is ALWAYS best!
He wants to be vegan but he is pretty concerned about the lack of dairy and eggs. Meat he doesn't care about. We are working on him eating new things. It's a process and every goes at their own pace, right? :)

Dinner last night was soup and salad. That is my "special" vegan vege quick bread that I make using juicing pulp. So good. Not sweet, savory. A hint of garlic and ginger. Dense and moist. Scrumptious when toasted with a soup or salad or with some seed cheese as a stand alone snack.














The soup is random veges with a good dose of cabbage and Brussels sprouts. There is sauerkraut in there. I don't salt when I cook, I add condiments that I make at the table. That way everyone can make it as salty as they want and there is vitamins, minerals, fiber and good bacteria. While eating dinner I look over the table thinking, "Damn, I made almost everything on this table" and I feel a lot of satisfaction.
The salad is spinach with mango salsa on top and the green bread on the side.

Raw Recipe!! Mango Salsa (II) The Condiment Chronicles

This is a different recipe than I posted before.













Mango Salsa

1 mango. the one I used was not quite ripe. Sweet but still pretty hard.
2 roma tomatoes
1 med yellow onion
2 cloves garlic

Chop ingredients to "salsa size" and add 1/4 tsp salt, mix well.
Put the mixture in a wide mouth jar, I used an old pickle jar, and wait one hour.
Add 4 tbs lime juice, cap it and shake the jar. Let it set for at least an hour and eat!

This is a MILD salsa. If you want heat add a jalapeno or other hot pepper to the recipe and it will be hot.



















Cuz it's all about the condiments...