Tomato Gravy

I made up this recipe to use up the remaining black bean liquid and tomatoes from when I made
Bean Balls

Tomato Gravy:

In a sauce pan:
The remainder of the canned tomatoes.
The liquid from the can of black beans
1 cup of liquid from the remaining canned corn.
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
Salt (and any other seasoning you like) to taste

Stir it all up and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until it's thick enough for you.

Spaghetti and Bean Balls

Well, it's not spaghetti but the title was catchier than macaroni with tomato gravy and bean balls. So I went for it :)


Black Bean Balls:

1 can black beans, drained (Reserve the liquid for the tomato gravy)
1 cup thick rolled oats
1 tbs flour
1/2 cup canned italian style tomatoes, chopped (reserve the rest of the can for the tomato gravy)
1/4 cup canned whole kernel corn
1 roasted Anahiem chili, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated carrot.

Place all in large bowl and mix well. Then add:

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tsp ground cumin

Mix well and let stand one hour or more to thicken.

Pre-heat oven to 350F

I made 8- 1/2 cup balls

Place balls on lightly oiled pan

Bake 30 min, turn bake 30 min more.

Super Easy Vegan Peanut Curry Dinner

Sadly, I didn't take a photo but I want to save this one.

First I put some chopped garlic in about a tbs of olive oil and let it cook for a few minutes, just short of getting brown. Then I drained a can of green beans, saving the liquid, and added that to the oily garlic. I looked in the fridge and found some leftover kernels of corn and put in about half a cup. I drained and rinsed a can of pinto beans and tossed that in too. I let those sit over a med heat, stirring occasionally, just to put a little brown on the vegetables.

I added 2 tbs of peanut butter, a couple squirts of Sriracha and a heaping tsp of curry powder. Then I used the green bean juice like it was veg broth (because it is) stirred it all up and let it reduce down to a thick, pasty curry.
Yum.


1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can green beans drained, liquid reserved
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a sauce pan. Add garlic and stir. Just before the garlic starts to brown raise the heat a little and add green beans, corn and beans. Stir occasionally. When the veg begins to brown a little, add:

2 tbs peanut butter
Sriracha to taste (about 2 tsp)
Heaping tsp curry powder
Reserved green bean liquid

Stir until peanut butter is disolved. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced.
Serve with rice or noodles or bread or just eat it by itself.

Fran Costigan Fixed My Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies! Vegan Dessert Recipe!

I made these delicious VEGAN peanut butter cookies from Fran Costigan's MORE GREAT GOOD DAIRY-FREE DESSERTS NATURALLY which is, IMO the definitive dairy-free, vegan dessert cookbook. To save space I will link to my review of this comprehensive guide.

Easy peasy, simple peanut butter cookie recipe veganized w wholesome ingredients. I subbed almond milk for soy milk so it's soy-free, too. 

This "lower fat" cookie is crumbly, mouth-melting-ly delicious w coffee or ice cold nut-milk.

I Fixed My Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies

from More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts Naturally

Yield 30 (2-inch cookies)

3/4 cup light natural cane sugar 

1/2 cup unbleached white flour 

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature 

3 tablespoons canola oil 

1/4 cup soymilk 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

2. Place a wire mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup white sugar, the white flour, pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the strainer. Tap the strainer against the palm of your hand to sift the ingredients into the bowl. Stir with a wire whisk to distribute the ingredients. 

3. Combine the peanut butter, canola oil, soymilk, vanilla, and vinegar in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth; it will be very thick. Add the dry mixture to the peanut butter mixture and pulse a few times, only until the dough begins to hold together. 

4. Transfer the dough to a bowl and press and squeeze with your hands until the dough is smooth and shiny. 

5. Put the remaining 1/4 cup sugar on a plate. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the sugar and place 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. Use the back of the tines of a dinner fork to press each cookie horizontally, then vertically, to flatten them into the traditional peanut butter cookie shape.

6. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned. The cookies will be soft, but will firm as they cool.

7. Set the baking sheet on a rack and cool for 3 minutes until the cookies are firm enough to move. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for two to three days.

Tip: The cookies sometimes puff up during baking, making the crisscross pattern disappear. (This seems to happen sometimes but not always.) If this is the case, remove the cookies from the oven after 8 minutes, and press the design into the cookies again. Bake another minute or two

Click HERE to buy this great book from amazon OR click HERE to buy it from Book Publishing Co

Oat Cheese Recipe

I like the original recipe for oat cheese. 
But this is better.
I added a healthy dose of fermented okara for texture and got a smooth, creamier textured product with a tangy flavor sans the lemon juice and tahini in the original recipe. I also use less water than the original recipe and leave out the cornstarch.

It softens when you heat it and makes a very convincing  vegan grilled cheese sandwich.
Stir into cooked pasta, put bread crumbs on top and bake 20 minutes for vegan mac n cheese.
Slice and layer in a vegan lasagna.
Freeze and grate over vegan pizza before baking.
Heat and add chopped jalapeño; pour over chips for vegan nachos

Put in blender carafe:
1/2 cup fermented okara paste
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup (or less) nutritional yeast
1 tbs paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt (or less)
1 cup water.
Blend until super smooth.
Pour mixture into a saucepan over med heat.
add 1 cup water to blender carafe to rinse the blender and pour that in the saucepan, too (no waste).
Simmer, stirring constantly until very thick and holds it's shape. 10-15 minutes or longer.
Pour into mold and chill.
Turn out for slicing, freeze for grating, spoon for sauces.

Chillin' in the loaf pan. 

Festive Cranberry Sauce Recipe

It's getting to be that time of year again.

No matter what you call it, families will get together and celebrate and that means big family meals.
This 4-ingredient vegan cranberry sauce is made days in advance and waits patiently for your holiday dinner convenience. Leftovers? There probably won't be any but if there are this sauce is very thick and doubles as jam for your toast or biscuit. A couple of tablespoons go a long way to flavor soups, sauces and smoothies. Try a scoop in your oatmeal, you won't regret it.

Festive Cranberry Sauce

12 oz cranberries, separated 10 oz and 2 0z
1 orange, deseeded
2 cups water in large pan
1 cup organic evaporated cane sugar

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a large pot while you

Puree in food processor 10 oz of fresh cranberries and one whole orange (including the peel) cut in quarters. Remove any seeds and thick white pith from the orange if need be.

Add puree and whole berries to the boiling sugar mixture and reduce heat, keep it bubbly.
Stir constantly until it reduces by 1/3. Be careful, the spatters can burn very badly.

Pour into a large jar, cover and cool. Refrigerate for two days and serve.










Happy Holidays and Stay Vegan :)

Toast Your Own::How to Make Curry Powder

Curry is a favorite around here. Of course, I don't like to use pre-made curry powder. You know me. I like to make my own so I know exactly what's in it and I can control the flavor, heat, bitter and sweetness.
Batch to batch, the spices change, the amounts change but this is the general recipe I use for my homemade curry powder.
This is a recipe has a mild heat. The cayenne used is 90,000 SHU. Your heat may vary.

Whole spices:
2 tsp coriander seed
2 tbs cumin seed
1 tsp fenugreek seed
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp whole white pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper


Ground spices:
1 tbs paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbs turmeric
1 tbs mustard seed powder

1/2 tsp hing (asafetida powder) (don't toast)

Toast* all whole spices until smoky and fragrant.
Let cool
Grind to a powder and place in jar.
Toast all ground spices,
Let cool and place in jar.
Add untoasted hing
Mix well and store cooled product in airtight container.

Makes approximately 1/2 cup of curry powder.

*How to toast spices:


Heat dry saucepan or skillet on med heat.

Place seeds or powder in pan and stir or shake until they begin to turn dark and emit smoke.



Once spices begin to release a perfume-y, smoke-y scent remove from heat and allow to cool.

Take care not to burn the seeds.

Product Review: Gladrags & the Mooncup

Like many people I want to lessen my waste output. So I make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of disposable and one use plastic and paper products and packaging I consume.
Then I heard this:

(from gladrags.com) "If you menstruate 340 times in your lifetime, using 20 disposables per period, that amounts to 6800 pads or tampons thrown away. Now consider all the women using disposables in the world. If 500 million women use disposables throughout their lifetime, that's 3.4 trillion pads or tampons thrown away! Not only is landfill space taken up, but these materials cannot be reused and are no longer part of the resources available to us. Then, of course, there's all that packaging, (wrappers, boxes, applicators) that are also thrown away, all the garbage bags used, all the fuel used to truck those products to the stores week in and week out. Using GladRags for even a portion of your cycle makes a difference!"

What? My period is wasteful? Dang. It's so obvious when I think about it.
And then I thought about this:
I want to spend less money. Times are tight. Everyone wants to save a buck. We've cut out some unneccesary stuff but then I realized that at $5 a month for disposables, about one box of tampons and half a box of pads, for 5 years, hm, 12 x 5, carry the 1, that's $60 bucks a year! They say that well cared for Gladrags menstrual pads and the Mooncup can last even longer than 5 years and after seeing and using them, I believe it.

No adhesive. The wings snap securely around the crotch of your undies.

One cup and a couple of pantyliners is all I needed for my whole cycle!

Choosing disposable pad and tampons means a monthly expense of between $5 and $25 for every woman. Over the course of her menstrual life disposables costs the average woman more than $5,000. By comparison, reusable alternatives give years of protection for a fraction of that cost. If you buy a set of 2 GladRags pantyliners and a Mooncup at a cost of $50, that kit (compared to the price of disposables) will pay for it self in 10 months or less and last 5 years or more.

I want to ease the chemical burden that living on this planet causes in my body and the chemical burden my living places on the planet. In our society there is no way to live without producing waste. There is only so much you can eliminate and still function efficiently. Adopting reusable menstrual protection products into your routine is one big way to reduce the amount of toxins you take into your body and reduce the amount of toxins realeased in to our waterways through paper and plastic production and disposal.

My Anecdote:
I entered 2 internet giveaways last month. One for a Mooncup and one for a set of Gladrags pantyliners. I won them both. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either!
Anyway, for my last period I used the Mooncup w GladRags panty-liners to back it up. It took a couple of tries to get the cup placed right but once I got the hang it was amazingly, life-changing-ly wonderful.
I had a heavy flow last month and did leak but only because I forgot about it and it over filled (It's THAT comfortable). Fortunately the panty liner was enough to catch it. It's my recommendation that a cup and two panty-liners (wash-one-wear-one system) is the minimum needed to get through a cycle. I washed the liner by hand every day, even when there wasn't any leakage, I just rinsed it and hung it in the laundry room it dried in less than a day. I usually have a medium-light flow, your experience may vary.

Getting over the ICK Factor
I know that initially when a person hears about reusables the knee-jerk reaction is "ICK! Reusable PADS?!?!? I could never..."
I know, me too! I was apprehensive. I don't have a problem with the washing part, because cloth pads are as easy to wash as your underwear. I didn't know if they would be comfortable, if they would really work and be reliable. How would the practical side play out? It's a risk, it's new territory. It could go horribly wrong and one of our greatest fears as modern women could come true. Disposables have been around all our lives. They were introduced in the 1930s. It hasn't always been that way. Even though most of them didn't talk about it, our great grandmothers used reusable pads because there wasn't anything else. Read more on that here. 


Not convinced? OK, Let's go over the disposable routine: 
With disposable tampons and pads, you
1 Go to the store about 340 times and spend over $5000 in your menstruating lifetime.
2 Use a product once, then throw it in the landfill or flush it into our water, that works most of the time and smells like death all of the time.
3 Put the used tampons and pads in a bin next to the toilet so they stink up the room. Then take them to the landfill where they will stay for 1000s of years.
4 Get a yeast infection, a rash from the adhesive stuck to your butt, an over-dry irritated vagina and a dose of toxins and a lighter wallet every month.

Here is the reusable routine
With a Mooncup and GladRags you
1 Make a one time investment of $50 for 5 or more years of menstruating
2 Reuse your menstrual cup and pads which are worry free so you only have to attend to them once or twice a day, is so clean you almost don't ever see any blood, EVER except when you are dumping it in the toilet and has virtually no odor.
3 Simply rinse your cup (or wipe it out if you're in a public restroom) after dumping in the toilet and reinsert. Give it a good cleaning at the end of your cycle and it waits for you in it's pretty bag (included) until next month. To clean your pads: Soak in cold water (if you need to) then rinse and wash in your machine with warm or cold water (never hot, it sets the stains) with the regular wash, no extra load, nothing goes to waste. Hang or tumble to dry with the rest of your laundry. A whole cycles worth of pads, even if you don't use the cup, isn't any bigger than a large bath towel.
4 Reduce irritation and discomfort. You can't feel the cup AT ALL when it's placed right. The cup collects the flow rather than absorbing it, so the vaginal tissues aren't dried out as they can be with disposable tampons. When you wear cloth menstrual pads you feel nothing but dry, soft, fuzzy, comfy flannel and take in no toxins at all. Your Gladrags are made from organic cotton and the Mooncup is medical grade silicone, no leaching or off-gassing what-so-ever. You absorb nothing.

Save money, time and lessen your waste output with reusable menstrual products.


Now you know. I hope I've given you something to think about or perhaps knocked you over the fence if you've been thinking about it already. It's a very small thing to do only a couple of days a month and it really, really can make a big difference.

Would you like to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals such as dioxin in your life? Remove concerns about yeast infections, irritating fibers, possibly cancer causing agents and other skin irritants?
Would you like to reduce your contribution to "disposable" wastes which can take many years to break down, if they break down at all?
Would you like to support small businesses rather than multi-national conglomerate corporations?
Would you like to save hundreds of dollars a year by walking past the "Feminine Products" aisle in the grocery store and never even have to stop? Imagine never running out of pads or tampons again. Imagine never having to make a late night or early morning run to the store to buy over priced, toxic product.
Would you like to discover that cloth pads made from natural fibers have none of the odor associated with paper products and are as easy to clean as washing your underwear?
Would you like to insert a cup in the morning and not have to think about it again until evening?
Would you like to live your ethics by making an easy, healthy lifestyle choice that will significantly lessen your contribution of disposable plastic to landfills?
You can accomplish all of these things and more by switching from disposable pads and tampons to reusable cloth pads and a menstrual cup.

Take my advice: Buy a reusable pads and cup kit like the one I use. They are available for purchase from Gladrags here: Moon Cup and GladRags Kit. 

How to Make Vegan Tamale Pie: Lesson 2: Make the Filling

Part 2 in a 2 part series. Click for Lesson 1: Make the Corn Meal Mush

Tamale Pie. AKA Tamale Casserole, Tamale Bake, Polenta Pie, Chili Pie, the names go on and on but the result is the same. Layers of creamy polenta surrounding a savory filling, it's a fantastic main dish served with a salad, a hot meal in a bowl and a great side dish. 

Bake individual pies in pint canning jars for food on the go. You will look like a pro at your next potluck when you bake and serve a hot tamale pie in a beautiful covered casserole. Yeah. That's you. Looking good, there. 

The filling of this pie is a bomb vegan chili. Fresh ingredients are best. Use canned if that's all you have.

Ingredients:
1 prepared Tamale Pie Crust
4 stalks celery
1 med onion (yellow or white)
Half red bell pepper
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Chili powder
1 lb tomatoes, raw or canned
1 can black olives

1 cup cooked pinto beans.

1 cup cooked, diced potato. 

Instructions:

Chop celery, onion and pepper into 1/2" pieces.
Saute chopped veg in 1 tbs or less of olive oil with your favorite chili powder until the vegetables are very wilted, almost starting to caramelize.
Add 1 can tomatoes or about a pound of chopped raw tomatoes (preferred) and a half a can of black olives, reserving other half of olives for topping.
Simmer on low heat, with lid, for at least 30 minutes to an hour. The longer the better.
Add more water if needed.
Remove the lid and let the sauce reduce until very thick.
Add cooked beans and potatoes.
Stir well and simmer until thick and hearty.
Cool.

Bomb Vegan Chili Almost Done

When it's cool enough to handle, spoon vegetable filling into prepared Tamale Pie Crust.
Layer 1/4" slices of cold cornmeal mush on top of pie.

I'm no artist. 

Cover and bake in pre-heated oven at 350F for 30min.
Remove cover and add olives and other garnish (vegan cheese, jalapeños, diced bell pepper, etc) to top of pie.
Bake an additional 15 minutes or until top is crusty and brown.
Cool for 15 minutes, slice and serve.

Garnish and bake uncovered an additional 15 minutes

Serves 4 hungry people as a main dish type entrée, 4-6 as a groovy one dish meal, or 6-8 as a side dish.

Enjoy!

Make a Vegan Tamale Pie Lesson 1: The Corn Meal Mush

Tamale Pie. AKA Tamale Casserole, Polenta Pie

For the "cornmeal-mush" crust you will need:
6 cups water.
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
2 cups dried corn meal grits or polenta. I like a coarse grind, you might like finer.
Seasoning is optional. You can use whatever seasonings you want, or none at all if you prefer.
I used
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Place all ingredients in a large pot with a lid that fits. Keep the lid nearby for when it starts to boil.
Bring to a boil, stir constantly with whisk until it starts to bubble violently.
Lid on and lower heat to Low.
Leave it until it's really, really, thick, 5 minutes or so.
Let it cool until handle-able, not completely cold but not lava-hot.
Line an 8x8 pan with about a half inch layer of polenta.

The rest of the polenta goes in a small loaf pan in the fridge; it will be sliced to top the pie, later.

Editor note: I will update later with a link to lesson 2: The filling and baking process, but briefly:

Fill the crust with your filling of choice, reserving some sauce for topping later
Top with cold polenta slices.
Bake, covered, 30 minutes @ 350F.
Uncover, top with  sauce, vegan cheese, or other garnish of your choice like olives, jalapenos, etc.
Bake uncovered @350F for an additional 15 minutes or until brown and crusty on top.
Cool 15min or more. It's even better let to go stone cold and reheat. (yay, leftovers)
Slice and serve

Photos of the indoor vegetables

First I'd like to thank Blogger for changing the photo uploader so I can use it again. Thank you, Blogger

Next I'd like to share these photos of our indoor veg and flowers. Keep in mind, all are being grown VEGAN! No animal derived fertilizers are used in our gardens.

Red lettuce. We have 14 of these.

Here is a photo of the starts on Oct 28 Wow, have they grown in 7 days!

Giant tomato plants. Not sure what these are. There are 6 different types of heirloom. I have the seed packets still; I will have to compare packet pictures with plants and name them.

Ruby Chard. I harvest a handful of leaves for a side dish or smoothie regularly.

Sweet Potato. We grew this from an eye. I think it probably won't produce potatoes in that small pot but it's a beautiful plant, nonetheless.

We found a dead, dried up plant on top of a trash can behind a church in Ashland, Ore. It has a stalk sticking up and I just had a feeling it would grow so we brought it home, put it outside next to the garden and squirted it with the hose once in a while. Near the end of summer it started to grow beautiful green leaves. Now there are 3 or 4 stalks and I hope a flower of some kind pops out. I wish I knew more about flowers!

Ok, That's it for today. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Is the comment section working? ;D

Vegan Benedict

This is a reposted entry from March 2009

This morning for Sunday breakfast/brunch I decided to make this easy dish:
Vegan Benedict
















I got this recipe from the McDougall* quick and easy cookbook that I bought at Goodwill for $3.99. I love that store.
















I changed it slightly.














VEGAN Hollandaise Sauce

1/4 cup peanuts. The peanuts I used were soaked then dehydrated. (you can use any kind of raw, unsalted nuts. Cashews work well.)
1 cup water
blend the nuts and water until smooth pour into a saucepan and add
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs cold water
Mix it all together with a whisk and heat slowly, stirring constantly until thickened. About 5 minutes on med heat.

The sandwiches

Toast six slices of bread
Plate the bread, two slices per plate and put a thick slice of tomato and avocado on each slice of toast.
Pour the hot hollandaise sauce on top of the sandwiches and serve immediately.















Serves three.

Book Review: Alan Roettinger's Speed Vegan. Quick, Easy Recipes With a Gourmet Twist

In this post I review
Alan Roettinger's Speed Vegan. Quick, Easy Recipes With a Gourmet Twist

Speed Vegan by Alan Roettinger
Quick Easy Recipes With a Gourmet Twist


Alan Roettinger has been a private chef for prestige clients from entertainers to presidents. He has absorbed techniques and flavors from many cuisines through his extensive world travel. His first book, Omega-3 cuisine, showcased his ability to bring taste and health together. In this book he shows that anyone can cook fresh, delicious and visually pleasing vegan gourmet food, prepared from healthy, minimally processed ingredients, even if they have very little time.


In his introduction, Alan explains that the while the main function of his book would be to showcase quick, easy recipes for people who are pressed for time, writing the book was a bit of a challenge for him. His personal philosophy is to plan well and start early! He tries to show you how to prepare food "the right way" while insisting there is no "right way" other than using the best ingredients, techniques and flavors and refusing to cut corners or try to save money on inferior ingredients, habits which devalue your final product.
Alan started out to write a vegan cookbook even though he wasn't a vegan. He states that he still considers himself an omnivore but has taken on a strict vegan diet. Alan, how is that going for you? We'd love an update!

Alan encourages us not to be intimidated by cooking. "If ...people could do it with stone knives and clay pots, surelyyou will be able to do it with todays refined tools". Inspiring!

The minimalist Essential Kitchen Equipment chapter is broken down into three sections: Must Haves, Hard Time Working Without and Makes Work More Fun. It's a bare-bones list; I actually have everything on the lists except a microplaner. I think most people who do any cooking at all will have almost every thing on these lists, too. If not, there isn't anything exotic or hard to find and there is a list of online resources in the back of the book.

Stocking the Vegan Pantry is where the going might get a little tough. There are staple ingredients listed which are, while not exactly exotic, may have to be ordered if you live in a small town like we do. Anyone who lives in a city where there are specialty grocery stores or markets shouldn't have any problem. The list is broken down into levels of stability, from items with very long shelf life, like dried mushrooms right down to things that need to be kept frozen.The descriptions are fun to read and thorough, I've learned a lot from this book, and, of course, there is a list of online resources in the back of the book.

Jump Starts is my favorite chapter because time-conscious meal planning, unless you BUY pre-made ingredients, takes a little behind the scenes preparation. In spare time (like at 3am when you can't sleep because you're worried about what you will take to the omnivore picnic) you make basic ingredents to have on hand so later you can put them together with fresh vegetables, pasta or grains to make fantastic meals. Some stand out recipes are Garlic Oil, Roasted Garlic Puree, Hot Red Pepper Sauce, Sun-Dried Tomato Paste and Balsamic Vinagrette.

Snacks. This section contains dips, spreads, chutney and other things you might put on crackers, bread or papadums. It also has a recipe for Tempeh Sticks that are deep fried in coconut oil and served with a coconut-peanut sauce that I'm sure even the most hardcore tempeh disliker would enjoy.

Soups. I love soup. Autumn is upon us and a warm soup is great when weather is in transition. This section contains classics you love (or will love) like Leek and Parsnip, Navy Bean and Swiss Chard and exciting combinations like Tuscan Kale and Coconut soup with Tofu.

The hefty Salad chapter is the biggest in the book, weighing in at 34 pages! There are leafy salads, slaws, fruit salads, pasta, bean and grain salads, salads from many nations, mushroom, warm and cold salads, wild greens and sprouts salads. Main dish, side or dessert, no aspect of salad is left untouched. A great meal planning companion just for the endless salad ideas. A quote "Fennel is an appetite enhancer, a digestive aid, and a palalte clenser, but most importantly, it's freaking delicious." I couldn't have said it better myself, Alan!

Next is Pasta and Grains. Using a wide variety of pastas and grains paired with vegetables you might not eat every day, this section is bound to widen the repertoire of dishes you bring to potlucks! Seriously, though, simple recipes with easy to follow instructions are the order of the day for this chapter with dishes like Orecchiette With Herb Sauce (Orecchiette is a kind of home-made pasta typical of Puglia, Apulia, a region of Southern Italy. See, you're learning stuff already!) and a simple Linguine With Sundried Tomato Sauce
to a very hearty Brown Rice and Carrots with Natto Miso. Flavorful ingredients and bold textures combine seamlessly. If you make it through this section and the salad section (that's more recipes than I care to count) we'll get started on:

Vegetables and Legumes . Asparagus with Canneli Beans, Mashed Aloo Gobi, two kinds of Mashed Potatoes. This chapter could take you from main dish to side dish easily enough on it's own. Black Beans, Mushrooms and  Bok Choy, where have you been all my life! There are some great dishes here that could be incorporated into vegan holiday meals. I don't know about you but I always bring my own food and most of these would travel quite well and be good warm or room temp.

The Sweets section is impressive. Fancy desserts you could serve at an small dinner party and really see everyone's reaction. Little pieces of art like Nutty Chocolate Balls, Spiced Pears in Wine and two vegan sorbet recipes, Spiced Pear Sorbet and Coconut-Banana Sorbet. I really like the Aztec Hot Chocolate Spicy! I want some now.

There are a lot of health-mined original recipes in this book and better than that, there are ideas in this book. Speed Vegan will kick-start your boring vegan rut and make you learn more about some foods you might not have tried otherwise.

"You take from a recipe, but you GIVE to a dish" ~Alan Roettinger

How to Cook Garbanzo Beans in Pressure Cooker In 30 Minutes Flat :: Quick Easy Vegan Recipe

Writing this how-to I assumed you've used a pressure cooker before. If you have not, learn how. Pressure cookers have improved safety vastly in the past few years, save lots of time and energy and are very versatile. I learned a LOT from Miss Vickie's website and you can too!

You will need:
Pressure cooker with rack.
Med stainless or glass bowl with high sides.
Timer.

Ingredients:
1/2 c garbanzo beans (chickpeas) soaked for 8 hours or more.
6 cups water.

Do this:
Put 4 cups water in bottom of pressure cooker with rack inside.
Rinse soaked beans and place in bowl with 2 cups water.
Place bowl with beans and water in cooker on top of rack.
Put the top on and seal your cooker.
Set timer for 30 minutes.
Bring your cooker up to pressure at high heat then turn heat down only enough so it stays at pressure.
When timer goes off release pressure under running cold water, being careful not to block steam vent.
Open the cooker, carefully remove the extremely hot bowl containing the cooked beans. Drain and serve beans as desired.

How to Bake Rice in the Toaster Oven :: Easy Vegan Recipe

You will need:
8x8" cake pan and foil to cover
1.5 c brown rice
2.5 c boiling water or broth

Pre-heat toaster oven to 375F

Put 1.5c rice in cake pan.
Heat water/broth to boiling.
Pour 2.5 c boiling liquid over rice.
Cover pan w foil and place in hot oven for 1 hr.
Remove from oven and allow to stand covered 5 minutes.
Fluff with fork and serve.

A versatile recipe. Add turmeric raisins, nuts, chopped veg for pilaf. Replace half of the water with tomato puree and red pepper for Spanish rice.

Vegan Cookbook Review & Giveaway: More Great Good Dairy-free Desserts Naturally

(If you just came for the VEGAN DESSERT COOKBOOK giveaway click here) 

For the rest of you, On With the Reviewing! (fanfare)

The book: More Great Good Dairy-free Desserts Naturally offers a complete course in vegan, dairy-free, eggless baking, and also serves as a quick reference for when you need a fancy dessert to impress your friends and family. 

The author Fran Costigan, a graduate of the New York Restaurant School and the Natural Gourmet Institute, is a nationally recognized culinary instructor, author, consultant, recipe developer and innovative pastry chef.

Even if you don't want or need a complete course in vegan, eggless, dairy-free baking and just want a sumptuous, gourmet treat made with all natural, minimally processed ingredients, this book is a great reference and kitchen companion.

Recipe sections are:

• Gels, Creams, Puddings and Sauces
• Cookies, Bars, and Little Bites
• Cobblers, Crisps, Biscuits, Muffins, and More
• Cakes, Fillings, Frostings, and Glazes
• Pies and Tarts
• Fruit, Beverages, Frozen Desserts, and Confections

Reference sections include a list of essential ingredients and tools you will need for the recipes in this book (a huge help for making recipe shopping lists!)

There is a detailed glossary of ingredients, explaining many different types of natural sweeteners, leavening agents and vegan gelling agents. Techniques for using tofu in desserts and how different kinds of tofu are used in different recipes is addressed. A very helpful section about pan sizes and how they affect baking times and products is included. 

The section of "Tips and Techniques for Making and Baking Desserts" is full of valuable hints for beginners. Any beginning baker or even experienced baker baking vegan for the first time could learn a lot from this book.

In the back of the book the fairly detailed list of "Resources for Ingredients and Equipment", is a treasure trove of suppliers of vegan products and professional cookware, bakeware, knives and resources for information on vegan and vegetarian nutrition.

The recipes are intermediate to expert level but if you read the book you will learn a lot and probably be able to master any of the techniques presented in this book.

This review copy was graciously provided by Book Publishing Company who is hosting "Luscious Vegan Desserts"  promotion now through the end of October.

You may click here to register for a chance at winning a free vegan dessert cookbook.

Deep Dish Caramelized Onion Pizza Pie

I made a regular yeast pizza crust, rolled it out to about 12" across and put it in a lightly greased 9x2" deep, glass pie pan. I crimped the edges like a pie. Poke holes in the crust with a fork so the bottom will rise evenly.
Bake the crust at 425F for 5 minutes.
I filled the crust with a mixture of caramelized onions, mushrooms and Yves Lettuce Wrap crumbles. It's not just for wraps, says the label!

I baked the whole thing for another 15 minutes at 425F. Even though the outer crust is hard, the pie looks and smells really good.

Delicious. Very sweet with a tender crust.

How to make Irish Moss Gel

Irish moss is a seaweed. It has many uses. This is a Rawfully Tempting article about Irish moss.

How to make Irish moss paste, or gel.
Grab a small handful of dried Irish moss.
Put it  in a medium bowl and cover with cold water. Swish it around once in a while and let it soak for 4 hrs, until it is about tripled in size.
Drain the moss into a sieve, discard the water. That it reconstituted ocean water. You can really smell the ocean during the initial soak but once it's cleaned and blended the smell is not noticeable.

There are little bits of vegetable matter and sand and strings of plastic. It takes a while to pick it all out. Take your time and clean it well, rinsing and picking in between all the little branches. Anywhere you see a dark spot its probably a little piece of stuff you want to pick out.
Once you have the moss picked clean, rinse it one last time and discard the rinse water.
Put moss in high speed blender with 2 cups water for every 1 cup moss.
Blend until there are no more chunks. Add a little more water if needed to blend. Let the blender take breaks and cool off so the gel doesn't overheat and cook.
Transfer your gel to a jar or jars with tight lids and store in the fridge for three weeks. You can use it in desserts and smoothies, as an egg sub in baking as a moisturizer and facial mask and many other applications.

Check out the article at Rawfully Tempting, it's very informative.

Vegan Lunch Soup and Bread

Minestrone soup and individual bread loaves

Vegan Taco Night!

Dinner tonight

Corn tortilla, brown rice, yellow dahl, tasty walnut taco filling, fermented salsa and jalapeño pickle.
Too bad I was out of lettuce :(

I love tacos. I love that I can make every component from scratch without turning on the oven. I love that I can make all the ingredients early in the day, or the day before, store them in the fridge then whenever we're ready to eat I can roll out and cook the tortillas, re-heat the beans and rice and dinner is served!
I love that everyone builds their own, choosing their own condiments and the order in which they are placed on the tortillas. Will you skip the beans and have extra rice? Will you wrap and eat like a burrito, fold like a taco or eat with a fork? It's up to you. I don't judge.