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!

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!

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

I managed to make them semi decent. The photo doesn't look to good but they were tasty as heck. The boy didn't like the peanut butter filling.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

2 tbs peanut butter

2 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp sugar

2 3oz bars of vegan chocolate.  I used Endangered Species, one cacao nibs and one coffee beans. The bat and the tiger, I can't remember which was which.

Mix peanut butter,  yeast and sugar. Spread them on a plate about a 1/2 inch thick and put in the freezer to let it get a little hard. You will cut it in pieces later to put in the center of the cup.

Melt the chocolate. I used an old enamel pot and submerge it halfway in warm water. The chocolate melts slowly but it doesn't scorch that way.

Pour chocolate into glass custard cups, enough to cover the bottom
Take your hardened peanut butter mixture and cut off a piece the size you want. I went with about a 50c piece.

Place it on the chocolate in the cup.
Pour the rest of the chocolate on top
Pop it in the fridge for an hour or more so it sets up.

When you are ready to eat them, fill a pan with 1" of warm water and put the cup in the water. Leave it for a minute or two and the peanut butter cup should pop right out with the help of a bread knife.

Avocado "Fries" & Sprouted Amaranth Cracker Recipes

I love to make raw snacks. Healthy raw oils like those from seeds, nuts, avocados and olives are very important in a vegan diet, especially if you are endeavoring to eat more raw foods.

These are sprouted amaranth seeds. They are tiny and very hard to deal with and hard to photograph.

These are about 2 days old sprouts.


















Sprouted amaranth crackers
1/2 cup sprouted amaranth 1/2 cup flax seed
pinch of salt
1 tsp cumin
water as needed (not much)
In food processor until a thick smooth paste
Turn out and evenly spread on dehydrator sheet, score for the size crackers you want.
Dehydrate at 115F until stable on top (about 1 hour) then turn out on rack and continue to dry until they are as crisp as you want them.

I also made some avocado fries today.

Avocado "Fries"
Slice one avocado into strips
sprinkle with nutritional yeast on both sides.
Sprinkle w whatever other spices you want, a pinch of salt, cumin, black pepper, lemon, garlic, etc.
place on dehydrator rack and dry at 115F for approx 1 hour until you are able to handle them w/out them falling apart.

Red lettuce with avocado fries, sprouted amaranth crackers, turnip pickles and fermented cashew cream.

Create Less Waste By Keeping a Paperless Kitchen

I've lived so long with out paper towels that I had to click on this link to understand what the title meant:

How to Create A Paperless Kitchen

Paperless is very natural for me. Reading this article made me realize that it's important to share how I keep my successful, paperless kitchen with others. It's important for all of us to cut down on waste in any way we can.

I don't have babies or dogs so it's much easier for us, two grown ups who really aren't very messy and one 9yo boy (who is naturally messy but certainly not a toddler, if you know what I mean).

The best tips for a paperless kitchen:

1 Have an abundant amount of cloth towels of various sizes and absorbency.

2 Have the towels and napkins in very strategic locations around the house.

3 Encourage everyone to use them. Old habits die hard

The above along with the cooperation of all household members are absolutely necessary for paperless to work.


Here are the stations of the towels:

1 Basket of kitchen towels that sub for paper towels and for drying dishes, storing greens, etc.















2 Washcloths for the dishes (no disposable sponges, either).














I buy wash cloths at Big Lots. Usually 3 for a $1 more or less. They are a great all purpose wash, wipe, dab, dry, dust, polish or use as a tissue or napkin. I usually have more in the stack than shown in this photo, they are in the dryer now.


3 Basket of cloth napkins by the main eating table within easy reach of at least two people siting at the table.














These "top shelf" cloths are used as napkins and for smaller drips at the table. For bigger messes there are more hearty towels in the middle basket and "company" napkins in the bottom (you notice there aren't many company napkins). I got ALL of those napkins at thrift stores, usually about 3 for a dollar. I keep my eyes open and buy them when I see pretty ones I like.

4 We don't use paper tissues (kleenex) either and everyone has a little pile of washcloths or hankies by their beds.















If you need a tissue and you aren't in your bedroom, go ahead and grab a napkin and when you are done with it just put it right in the laundry basket by the washer, thanks. Everyone also has a basket in their room for laundry.

Thanks for reading and please tell me your thoughts on a paperless kitchen! Be sure to read the article I linked it's got a lot of great tips.

Vegan Pizza!

I made a yeast pizza crust from the recipe on the Bob's Red Mill flour bag, but I used whole wheat flour and I add 1 tbs garlic powder (not garlic salt) to the recipe.

I rolled the crusts out super thin for a change, I usually make them thicker. Both are good :)

Crust drizzled with olive oil.















I like my home made vegan pizza sauce-less so it is topped with sliced tomatoes, basil, grilled onions, green olives, chopped seitan nuggets, chopped pickled garlic and cashew sour cream.















Bake 15 minutes at 425F, until crust is browned and crispy. Don't bake too long or the crust will be like a cracker.

Nom.

Seitan Nuggets Recipe!

As promised, my Seitan Nuggets recipe.

1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tbs sage
1 tbs garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs dulse flakes (it's a seaweed, optional. I think the salty, ocean-y flavor adds itself well to the seitan)
1 tbs olive oil
approx 1/2 cup water.

Put all ingredients in a bowl.
Stir until it all comes together.


















Knead 15 minutes or so.

It will be juicy at first but all the liquid will be absorbed.


Let the ball of dough rest while you make a broth.

Broth for steaming Seitan Nuggets

















4 cups vegetable broth or water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 rough chopped onion
1/2 beet root, chopped (optional. I just had one that needed to be used. It added a great color!)

Bring this to a boil while you cut the seitan into small pieces.

Method 1. Cut the ball in half, then in half, then in half until you have approx 24 or so balls about 2 tbs each or about the size of your thumb.














Method 2. Do it however you like, in whatever shape and size you like. I wouldn't make them much bigger than the palm of my hand but you might be braver than I.

Make them smaller than you want the finished product, they will swell when you cook them.














Put the gluten hunks in the boiling broth about ten at a time, don't over crowd them.














They will sink at first then puff up and float. Let them cook in the broth for about 30 minutes.

Remove seitan nuggets from the boiling broth and add more water to the broth. If you think it needs it, you might add a tbs or so of soy sauce to the broth for flavor. Salty stuff.

Bring broth back to a boil and add more seitan chunks. Repeat until done.

Save the amazingly tasty broth for another recipe.

Put the hot, cooked nuggets on a slanted board to drain until cool.














I press them between two clean towels to remove more liquid. I think they keep longer if they are dry.


Now you have nuggets.
















Store covered in the fridge for about a week.

I'm going to serve mine with steamed veges and rice tonight. I think I might BBQ some this weekend.
What are you going to do with your nuggets?

Beans. Sexy, Sexy Beans

I guess the people in marketing at Fiesta got wind of the fact that sex sells.















I'm not sure which is more of a turn on: The nearly naked woman on the package or the fact that they only cost a dollar a pound. Either way, I love beans. High in fiber, sodium and fat free, and cheap. Where is his other arm?





Speaking of beans, this was dinner last night:














Red leaf lettuce with bean salad. That's garbanzo, black and pinto beans with corn and green beans and chopped red bell pepper. The dressing is jalapeno infused olive oil and raw garlic blended together with a little bit of water. On the side, there is fried polenta with caramelized onions. That is Food Merchant's Brand Ancient Harvest Quinoa Polenta fried in olive oil with onions.

Sunday Brunch with Deer and Compost.

Dinner last night was roasted veges and stuffed squash
















Vegan Sunday Brunch:














English muffin bruschetta with tomato and avocado slices and red leaf lettuce. The bruschetta sauce we picked up at Big Lots. It's Cucina Toscana Artichoke Bruschetta

I looked out the window and saw this deer eating my compost.














































He's a young buck with little bitty antlers.


I updated the tutorial about crocheting plastic bags. Check it out here.

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!

E3live for Breakfast and Buddha in Ginger

Breakfast was 6 oz of blue green algae

E3Live™ - The World's First and Only Fresh-Frozen 100% Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) the 'Invisible Flower of the Water.'














Invisible? Really? I can see it out there in the lake. Hmm...



Dinner last night was nutloaf, curry cauliflower, zucchini and tomatoes and a green salad with a couple of giant olives on top.














Sorry, no recipe today :(

Amida Buddha in a slice of ginger?

















This slice of ginger was sitting on my cutting board while I was cooking dinner last night and I kept thinking wow, it looks like Amida Buddha. When I asked myself "what is that little figurine doing on my cutting board?" I figured it was time to take a photo of it.

Raw Vegan Soft Serve Ice Cream :: RAW Summer Snack Idea!

With inspiration from Gena and she is right, this will change your life!

this is about 2 and a half frozen bananas, half an inch of vanilla bean and 4 tsp of lemon juice in the food processor with the s-blade.
















Process until smooth
















Soft serve ice cream!










You won't believe how easy and good this is!



It's raw and vegan and you can have it for breakfast, brunch, lunch dinner or dessert. The sky is the limit. Dairy-free, Soy-free, Gluten-free and no preservatives. And Cheap? With bananas as low as 29c a lb sometimes, yeah, it's cheap-ola :)

You're welcome :)

Thanks, Gena! Once again you not only change but IMPROVE my life.

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.

My New Dryer and More Egg Free Challenge!

Energy saving, green, good for the environment vegan and freegan
















It's solar powered and really quiet. It dries 4 loads in about 3 hours on a sunny day so it saves time. It's a space saver, that's for sure, what with being outside and all. Downside? It's not gonna work in the rain.


This is the heavy duty area where I dry over sized stuff like rugs













Hey, as long as I don't have to WASH them by hand, I don't care, are you with me?

When is that belt coming? I don't know.

I got the free package of Teese that I "won" by sending a recipe to Compassion over Killing.
Um, what's the word? I don't like it very much. It tastes like plastic and doesn't melt at all. I put it under the broiler, no melt. But, it was free and I don't want to complain, so Thanks, Noelle, you are awesome! I hope you like the egg free breakfast recipe! The rest of you click and go, commit to 30 days of egg free! You can save the lives of chickens and reduce your cholesterol, too!

(Mostly) Raw Vegan Lunch Ideas! A Smoothie That Needs No Glass! Peanut Butter and Banana in Collard Leaf Wrap

An easy answer to "what's for lunch?" this is sort of like a green smoothie that you can hold in your hand. Sort of...

One large collard leaf, cut the stem as shown and apply peanut butter and bananas.









That is one banana cut in four pieces




If you use a raw nut butter this will be a raw sandwich. If you use a cooked nut butter, this will be an almost raw sandwich.

Fold up the cut stem ends first, then the tip of the leaf and roll up the open ends until you get














Something that looks like this














Cut it in half if you like for a nice presentation.














I know, I know. It sounds strange. But it works on the same principle as a green smoothie. The sweet banana makes it so you can barely taste the collard leaf at all! Try it once and you will be sold.

Raw Vegan Dessert Ideas! RAW Strawberry Shortcake

This is sweet and light. A refreshing raw dessert.

Inspiration from Rediscover Raw Food

Serves 3

Cakes!

1 cup pecans
5 dates
5 figs
2 tbs flaxseed, ground
2 tbs lemon juice
1.5 tbs coconut oil
Vanilla to taste
Puree until a dough is formed. Make 6 small cakes and dehydrate on parchment until firm enough to flip off the paper on to the rack.

Dehydrate until they are firm but not crumbly, About 8 hours at 115F.

Sauce!

1/2 cup berries
1 tbs sugar
1 med banana
1/2 granny smith apple
2 tbs lemon juice

Blend until positively saucy.

I made two sauces for extra color on the plate.

Put one cake on a plate, pour a bit of sauce and arrange some berries. Put the second cake on top and add more sauce. Garnish with blackberry sauce and serve immediately.