Veganville

Stop questioning me and ask yourself...

2011-02-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

(This came across my facebook news feed, it is not my writing. Link here)

...There is no reason to argue with me, I have been you. There is no reason to give me your excuses, I have used them. There is no reason to tell me your side, I have been on it.

Have you ever been where I am at? Do you listen to the reasons I give? Understand the side I take?

What will it take for you to leave what you know for what you should know?

Have you ever looked through the eyes of another, let go of your sight to view what they do even for a moment? Are you afraid of what you might see might feel?

Have you ever considered anothers suffering? Do you care? How do you justify someone suffering for you? Is your ego so strong you feel to be above another? Your life is worth more? What makes one child's life greater then another? Why should one mother have their child and another mother lose theirs? Should you be allowed to keep your family unit, while another one is torn apart?

Is a heart beat not a heart beat no matter what chest it rests in? Is pain no less pain if it is not you feeling it?

Is language not a language merely because you fail to understand it? Does communication not exist because you have not yet learned to reciprocate the message?

What will it take for you to look into your soul and question what is around you?

You see the images of suffering, yet close your eyes. You hear the cries of pain, yet do not listen. Why?

How is it you can justify the beliefs in which you hold onto so tightly? When does your compassion come into play? What does it take for anothers life to be as important to you as yours? What does it take for you to acknowledge anothers pain and suffering at your hand?

What does one have to possess for you to consider it to be worthy of life? If it has a heart beat is that merely enough? If it Has feelings, does that qualify? Has desires? Can Communicate? Can gain knowledge, how about then? Why then is it okay for that individual to have to die for you?

Should one not as intelligent as you be put to death or should you have mercy? Should those who have no home have to die? What about those who have lost their family, should they die as well? Those injured what then? Mentally handicapped, how do you find compassion for some yet not others?

Why do you get so offended when the choices you make that effect anothers life are questioned? Why do you feel it is your right to decide the fate of another? What god would stand by while you torture and murder their creation? Does thou shall not kill mean something different to you?

Why is it you call those who have acknowledged and respect anothers right to live as crazy? Is the one who feels the pain of another wrong? One that is openly horrified at the pain caused to another, offends you? Or is it your choice to remain silent that irritates you so deeply? How is it you find the words to defend the atrocities inflicted on another?

I have asked myself these very same questions, and finally found peace in my answers. For way to long I made the choice to live blindly. To refuse to look at reality eye to eye. The selfish excuses were easy to hide behind. Humanity may be a long way away from change, but a human isn't. If you can honestly acknowledge what you chose to ignore, and have any compassion you have the ability to change. If the choices you make in your life cause harm to another they are no longer Your choices to make without accountability. There will come a time when human law is judged by a moral one, and sadly most will be found guilty. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Free yourself of your public excuses and ask yourself privately, why you live how you do Why you hold on to the views you do.

No excuse will ever change the fact. If you indulge in animal exploitation you are directly responsible for the murder of a life. A life which is ended for you.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mercyforanimals?has_verified=1#p/u/2/6RNFFRGz1Qs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce4DJh-L7Ys&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYpafipJyDE

The information is out there what will you do with it?

“Animals do have a voice. If you ignore their suffering, I will remind you of it. If you don't understand them, I will translate. If you don't hear them, I will be their voice. You may silence them but you cannot silence me as long as I live.” ~ Anita Mahdessian

Lentil Loaf and Mashed Cauliflower

2010-11-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

Prep Work

More Prep Work

A little help with the prep work :)

Ready for the oven. Recipe here.

Mashed cauliflower recipe here. (Note: Replaced buttermilk with rice milk)

Dinner!

Chili! Chili!

2010-11-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper - green, red, or orange
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1-2 cups vegetable broth (depending on how thick or thin you want your chili)
3 cans of beans - your choice
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Spices to taste - Cumin, Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Red Pepper flakes

To sweeten the chili just a bit:

Handful of brown sugar
Dash or two of Cinnamon

Directions
1. In a stockpot, saute the onion, garlic, and pepper.
2. Add all remaining ingredients
3. Allow to simmer for about 45 minutes. (Or put everything in crockpot and cook on low)
4. Enjoy :)

Top with cheeze, sour cream, and cilantro/parsley, if desired.

This is an adapted recipe; original found here: Chicken and Black Bean Chili - AllRecipes

(Cornbread recipe here. Topped with agave.)

Tofu Scramble

2010-11-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Tofu (w/ water squeezed out)
Turmeric (for coloring)
Assorted veggies (onions, garlic, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, spinach etc.)
Seasonings of choice (salt, pepper, cumin, hot sauce, etc)

Directions

1. Saute/Cook veggies
2. Add tofu to pan, crumble tofu in pan using spatula, sprinkle with turmeric (will give it yellow color, similar to eggs). Add dash of water to help mix up the turmeric.
3. Season as desired
4. Mix everything up, let simmer for 10 minutes or so, adding water as necessary...done!

Chickpea Cutlets w/ Gravy

2009-02-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Maybe I should call this the "Brown Meal." It sure doesn't photograph well! There was some greens on the side, I promise! This is the second time I've made this recipe and I'm not sure if I like it. The cutlets offer a nice contrast to the (usually) mushy chickpea burgers, but I really don't like the wheat gluten taste.

When I used to eat meat, I always dipped it in applesauce. Why not continue the tradition? The original recipe says to forgo the gravy and try some Agave on the side. I agree, the agave is great. Applesauce, in my opinion, is just a wee bit better:)

Chickpea Cutlets

Recipe copied from: Yeah, That "Vegan" Sh*t

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. chickpeas
2 T. olive oil
1/2 c. vital wheat gluten
1/2 c. plain breadcrumbs
1/4 c. vegetable broth or water
2 T. soy sauce
2 garlic cloves , pressed or grated
1/2 t. lemon zest
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. Hungarian paprika
1/4 t. dried rubbed sage

to taste olive oil , for pan frying or baking

DIRECTIONS

Mash the chickpeas and oil together until no whole chickpeas remain. Add remaining ingredients and knead for 3 minutes until strings of gluten have formed. Preheat large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Divide dough into four equal pieces. Flatten each piece and stretch to roughly 4" x 6"

PAN-FRYING: Add a thin layer of olive oil to to the pan. Place cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minute They are ready when lightly brown and firm to the touch.

BAKING: Preheat oven to 375°F, and lightly oil baking sheet. Brush both sides of each patty with olive oil, place on baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes. Flip patties and bake another 8 to 10 minutes until firm and golden brown.

(Recipe from Veganomicon, posted at RECIPEZAAR)

Gravy

Recipe copied from: Vegweb
I Can't Believe It's Vegan Gravy!

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 vegetable bullion cube
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
few good dashes garlic powder
2 heaped tablespoon nutritional yeast
few good dashes of soy sauce or tamari (add more or less for your tastes)
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/4 - 1/2 cup flour (start with less until it's as thick as you would like it. I use brown rice flour in mine.)
1 tablespoon vegan butter (this adds to the richness)
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in pot, and bring to boil. Cook on medium low heat until done.

Serves: Enough for a dinner with several people

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Baked tofu/Brussels/Potatoes

2008-01-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

I have come to the conclusion that I do not like to eat tofu all by itself. I don't mind it in stir-fry, or scrambled tofu, or things like that, but by itself as a main course, I just don't dig it. I made VeganYumYum's Sweet n Sour tofu recipe using pre-baked garlic/herb tofu and coated it with her sauce. It was good, and everyone else cleaned their plates (which I find funny since I forced tofu on everyone, and I'm the only one not digging it!)

The Brussels sprouts were quite good, although I don't like to roast veggies too often. These were lightly coated with an olive oil/salt/pepper mixture and baked at 400 for about 1/2 hour.

The potatoes were something I sort of remember from when I was a kid. Cubed white potatoes, melted Earth Balance and fresh parsley. I used a little dried parsley too since my parsley plant isn't growing much right now.

The 14 vegetable dinner...

2008-01-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

Inspired by this post at Eat'n Veg'n, we had probably the BEST dinner we have had in a really long time. It was a vegan feast that hit its mark! The picture sucks and doesn't do the dinner justice, but it was very good.

First up are the enchiladas. Finely diced zucchini, cauliflower, red bell pepper, onions, corn and potatoes wrapped in a tortilla. Drizzled with some enchilada sauce, baked for 35 minutes at 350, then topped with a blend of lettuce, radishes, carrots and green onions. Mmm, so good.

Next, the Mexican rice. The recipe is a mix of about 4 different recipes, so I guess I get to call it my own :)

Ingredients

2 cups long grain brown rice
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

Put everything in rice cooker and cook! Your rice cooker might have different water-to-rice ratios, so modify as necessary. When finished, add some peas for an extra veggie kick!

Third on the menu - guacamole with chips. The guacamole is Alton Brown's recipe. I made it as written, except I forgot the garlic and I let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour. Very good recipe.

Ingredients

3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

And finally, we had some black beans with spinach and a mix of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. I didn't get a picture of these, but it rounded out the meal nicely.

All around it was a great meal, and if you want better pictures of what this feast looks like, check out the Eat'n Veg'n blog!

Oh, and the 14 veggies:
1. zucchini
2. cauliflower
3. potatoes
4. red bell pepper
5. corn
6. lettuce
7. radishes
8. carrots
9. tomatoes
10. green bell pepper
11. peas
12. avocado (technically a fruit, but hey, who's counting)
13. spinach
14. broccoli

Don't forget the onions and garlic too!

Cashew-Ginger Tofu

2008-01-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

This dinner turned into a big mess..or so I thought at first glance.

First, I realized that I really like my tofu flavored and baked before I use it a recipe. Somehow I forgot this and tried to make it as the recipe stated. And, like I knew it would, it was still soft and spongy when done. *Kicking my own butt*

Then, I made the recipe as stated, but killed the cashew-ginger gravy/sauce by cooking it too long. And yep, just like the recipe said - it turned into a pasty-gluey-icky mess. And I think I added a wee bit too much ginger..next time I'll measure it out better.

After that - you see how this is quickly turning into a disaster - I realized that I forgot to make the rice. *Another swift kick*

Okay, no rice, looking at the broccoli we were going to have as a side, I decided to put the tofu and sauce over the broccoli. It's just too bad that I WAY over steamed the broccoli. A big mushy mess. *A really hard kick in the rear*

I apologized to everyone as we sat down to dinner, told them all the mistakes I made, and how if everyone would just give it the old college try I would be happy. Well, I couldn't even give it the old college try. I decided to make a salad real quick. Well, while I was making the salad, a funny thing happened. People started eating! Not only eating but asking for more! What!?!? Even Boo ate three pieces of the tofu. WOW! What happened!?

Turns out that I was the only one who cared about gummy sauce, spongy tofu, and mushy broccoli. (Not to mention the green bean salad from yesterday that didn't reheat so well.) Hmm.

Whatever, I'll take it. Next time though I will prebake the tofu, use less ginger, watch the sauce carefully so it won't gum up and make sure to not over steam the broccoli. And, forgetting about the rice actually led to a great "serve it over broccoli" discovery.

Make no mistake, the recipe is a great one, it just happened to fall in the hands of an inexperienced, not-so-good-anyway cook, and, well, you can see what happened.

No picture, because as was par for the course today, I could not find the camera. :(

Recipe Source: Dreena's Vegan Recipes

Cashew-Ginger Tofu

1/3 cup cashew butter
3½ tbsp tamari
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp agave nectar
¾ cup water
1 pkg (12-oz/350-g) firm or extra-firm tofu (frozen or fresh), sliced ¼–½ -in (5–10-mm) thick squares and patted to remove excess moisture

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Using a hand blender or food processor, combine cashew butter, tamari, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and agave nectar and purée, until cashew butter is incorporated and mixture is smooth. Add water and purée again until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Pour a little of mixture into an 8x12-in (20x30-cm) baking dish to cover bottom, then add tofu and pour in remaining sauce to cover evenly. At this point, either cover and refrigerate to marinate for 1 hour or more, or bake immediately.

To bake, cover with aluminium foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove cover, stir well, and bake again uncovered for 5–7 minutes, until sauce has thickened (lightly stir if necessary). Do not overbake, or the sauce will become too thick and pasty.

My Notes:
-Double the sauce (double the recipe, except the tofu)
-Chop/grind some cashews for the top after serving

Metaphysical Quandary Green Bean Salad

2008-01-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

Green Bean Salad

Recipe Source: Yeah, That "Vegan" Sh*t
(by way of Vegetarian Times)

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. chopped walnuts
1 c. packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 c. packed fresh parsley leaves
1/3 c. olive oil
1 T. chopped fresh ginger
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.)
1/4 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 lb. new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
1 lb. green beans, or 1/2 lb. green beans and 1/2 lb. wax beans, trimmed

DIRECTIONS

Toast walnuts in small skillet 4 to 5 minutes over medium heat, or until nuts are fragrant, shaking pan frequently. Cool.

Purée walnuts, mint, parsley, oil, ginger, lemon juice, garlic, sugar and salt in food processor or blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl once or twice. Transfer to bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface of pesto to keep from turning brown, and let stand at room temperature for 1/2 hour, or up to 3 hours.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook 8 minutes. Add beans, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes more, or until vegetables are tender. Drain.

Transfer vegetables to large bowl, and toss with pesto. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(Original recipe from the Vegetarian Times)

Green Bean Salad along with Chik'n Patty, Veg Gravy, and a Salad

Notes:
-Didn't like the mint; use all parsley next time
-Forgot to toast the walnuts
-Used frozen cut green beans/russet potatoes. Would be a better dish with fresh, long beans and small red potatoes

Patriotic Salad

2007-05-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

A simple salad that went well with a beans and rice dish. My mother and grandmother came over for a visit, and my mom made this salad. I think it was the first time she rolled lettuce and cut it confetti style 'cause she thought I was crazy when I explained it to her. I made it again the next week, but substitued spinach for the romaine, and only used strawberies as I was out of blueberries.

The little ones picked at the salad the first time it was made, so the second time I blended it up -- no one told them that pudding isn't green!

Recipe Link - DrFuhrman.com

Dr. Fuhrman's Patriotic Salad

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
6-12 lettuce leaves
1 banana
1/2 cup soy milk

Blend banana and soy milk to make topping. Arrange berries and lettuce leaves in a bowl. Pour topping over fruit and serve.

Whipped Cream, Carrot Raisin Soup

2007-05-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's fruit month around here! If you want the story, it's at the end of this post, but first the food - Strawberries w/ "whipped cream." This recipe turned out great. (Recipe is from DiseaseProof.com and is last on the page.) I almost choked on the price of macadamia nuts, and will probably use cashews next time.

The little ones even enjoyed it, Red ate the "whipped cream" by the spoonful. The "whipped cream" recipe makes a lot, 'cause we still have plenty left over for another night.

Whipped Cream and Strawberries

1 1/3 cups of macadamia nuts
1 cup soy milk
2/3 cup dates

Blend nuts, soy milk, and dates to make the best-tasting whipped cream. Eat with fresh or frozen strawberries (defrosted). A variation on this theme is to soak dried mangoes in the soy milk overnight and use fewer dates.

This recipe - Cabbage Raisin Soup - was interesting. (Scroll down again.) Sweet soup is not something I've had before. This wasn't overly sweet, but the idea of soup with raisins and nuts in it was kinda strange. It was tolerable enough for Boo and I to finish a bowl, Red didn't touch it, and Dilly ate bowlful after bowlful. The Emo kid was gone, but I'm sure she'll hate it. :)

With enough left for dinner tomorrow, I decided to blend it all together and turn it into a cream soup. We'll see how it tastes tomorrow! (Oh, and I only used 2 onions.)

Cabbage Raisin Soup

3 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 large onions
¼ cup split peas
¼ cup pearl barley
1 head green cabbage
1 cup raisins or currants
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 cups fresh-squeezed apple juice
2 cups water
2 cups chopped carrots
1 tsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. VegiZest
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash

Blend raisins with water in a blender or VitaMix until smooth and creamy. Put liquefied raisins and all other ingredients in a large covered pot and cook on a very low flame. Leave the cabbage in large chunks. When cabbage is soft, remove it from the soup with tongs and blend with some soup liquid. Add blended cabbage and liquid soup, and continue cooking on low heat for an hour.

Now, why the fruit month? I eat a lot of sugar. A LOT. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you, but it is a lot. In a full-throttle attempt to eliminate processed sugar, I am swearing of candy, cakes, etc. I figured that fruit (with it natural sugar) would help in this process. Therefore, most meals will be fruit centered. We'll see how it goes. :)

Now that's a sub!

2007-04-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Look at this sandwich.....it was loaded! It's a Veggie Delite (sans cheese) from Subway - and boy, did my 'sandwich artist' make a good one! It was so packed with veggies you could barely see the spinach he packed in there. Man, that was a good sub!

Lentil Burgers

2007-04-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

I decided to give lentil burgers a try tonight. I used a mix of recipes, and the final product was good. Not great, but good. The main problem I have with any kind of homemade veggie burger is that they are kind of mushy. I don't mind it, but want to figure out how to make them a bit firmer. Anyway, here's the recipe.

Lentil Burger

1 cup lentils
3-4 cups water
1 potato, cooked and mashed
1 onion, chopped (although I didn't have onion so I used dried onions)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bell pepper, any color, chopped
3/4 bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Mrs Dash seasoning

Cook lentils in water for about 25-30 minutes, until they split open. Put lentils in medium mixing bowl.

Saute onion, garlic, and pepper in water (or olive oil) until soft. Add to lentils along with mashed potatoes, bread crumbs and seasoning. Mix well. (Careful though, the mix is hot!)

Shape into patties and either fry on medium heat in frying pan with a little oil for 3-4 minutes on each side, or bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Mac-n-Cheez; Nachos

2007-04-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

I have played around with a variety of mac-n-cheez recipes, and each time it gets a little better. I don't know if it's because my taste buds keep evolving, or if the recipe keeps getting better. Either way, we enjoyed the mac-n-cheez today. I wouldn't call it healthy exactly, but certainly better than the blue box stuff. Even the Emo kid piped in with a thumbs up :)

Mac-n-Cheez

1/2 lb pasta of your choice, macaroni works best
1/2 cup flour
1/2 nutritional yeast
couple shakes Mrs Dash Garlic and Herb blend
generous pinch of onion powder
1 clove garlic, pressed or generous pinch of garlic powder
generous pinch of paprika
2 cups water
1/4 cup vegan sour cream
squirt of mustard
salt (sprinkle on individual serving)

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile prepare sauce.(Sauce only takes a few minutes to prepare, so time accordingly.) Mix flour, yeast, and spices in saucepan. Turn heat on medium. Slowly whisk water into dry ingredients, stirring constantly until sauce thickens and bubbles slightly. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Add cooked pasta and stir. Salt to desired taste.

Nachos again, but with a chickpea spread instead of refried beans. I just mashed up some chickpeas in the blender and added a few spices. It was okay, but needs work. The cheese is good, I think its my go-to-nacho-cheez cheez now, and I used up the rest of the sour cream from the macaroni.

Boo went shopping for a few things tonight and came home with this pear. It struck me because it still had a little leaf on it and I thought it looked cute, so I snapped a quick picture.

TART's - a.k.a BLT's

2007-04-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

The thing about calling vegan food by a non-vegan title is that it conjures up images, smells, tastes, and memories that just aren't there. Such is the case of BLT sandwiches. I remember reading about 'fake bacon' early on when I made the switch and was excited about making a BLT. Well, it wasn't the most horrible experience ever, but it sure wasn't a BLT!

So here I am about a year later and I was really wanting a BLT. This time though, I knew not to expect a BLT.......this time I knew to expect a TART - tempeh, avocado, romaine, and tomato - sandwich. A very proper vegan name if you ask me.(Another thing that has changed from a year ago is the avocado part. I was using Veganaise until about 4 months ago and would have slathered that on the sandwich, but not anymore. No more mayo for us. A mashed up avocado does a nice job of replacing it.)

smoked tempeh, mashed avocado, romaine, and tomato on toasted bread

The Emo kid still isn't too fond of these sandwiches, and Red just plopped her applesauce all over her sandwich, but Boo ate 2 1/2 sandwiches. Even more amazing though is the fact that he didn't make his own real bacon on the side to supplement the sandwiches. That's progress I think!

Fresh!, Baked Tofu, Asparagus

2007-04-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

This weeks Fresh! delivery. We got several new-to-us things to try - dates, parsnips, and shitake mushrooms. I did buy parsnips once before when I first became vegan but I didn't like 'em back then. Maybe they will be better this time. As for the dates, I have been thinking of trying a recipe from Disease Proof, so maybe I'll give that a whirl this week.

We eat mushrooms fairly regularly around here now. Partly because I have read so much about how healthy they are, partly because in the right dish they really do lend a meaty texture, and partly because Dilly Pickles really enjoys them. We usually stick with white button or cremini, so I was excited to try these shitakes.

On the menu tonight was baked tofu w/ a mushroom sauce, roasted asparagus, and a really pathetic salad. In defense of my lackluster salad, I have to say that I was lazy and didn't want to wash all the greens to make a new salad. So, I just used the leftover greens from the salad two nights ago - and - if my family doesn't like what I've cooked they always try and eat the salad instead. Now I'm not sitting here complaining because they want to eat salad, but sometimes they don't give unfamiliar stuff a fair shake. So, this sad little salad gave the tofu and mushrooms a fighting chance. The tofu and mushrooms turned out pretty well if I do say so myself :)

Baked Tofu (original recipe from fatfree.com)

1/2 lb tofu, pressed and sliced into 'patties'
6 tbls soy sauce
2 tbls agave nectar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbls grated ginger
1 tsp minced garlic

Combine soy sauce, agave, vinegar, ginger, and garlic in a wide bowl. Marinate tofu for several hours in sauce. (In the 'fridge)

Place tofu on cookie sheet, bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.

*Note: Save leftover marinade for the mushroom sauce

Mushroom Sauce

leftover marinade from baked tofu
large handful of shitake mushrooms (or mushrooms of choice), chopped thick
3-4 green onions, white and green parts, chopped

Saute mushrooms and onions in water for about 3 minutes. Add leftover marinade and cook until heated through. Serve over baked tofu.

Thai Peanut Linguine

2007-04-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

My mother served this to us over the weekend while we were visiting (and picking up the Emo kid who had been staying there for a couple weeks). It was very tasty so I made it when we got home. Mom has blogged about it before, and the original recipe came from VegWeb. My version is below.

I have never had Thai food before, so I'm not sure how it compares, or even how Thai food is suppose to taste. When I was buying some of the ingredients for the recipe I was pleased to see how much of it was vegan. Our local market carries Thai Kitchen brand, so that is what I used for the curry paste, coconut milk, and rice noodles. Thinking that I might really enjoy Thai food, I went and explored Thai Kitchen's website. They have a really good list of Thai ingredients and how to use them. I look forward to making some more dishes in the near future.

Boo liked it, but thought I should cut back on the peanut butter. The Emo kid liked it only because it had so much peanut butter in it. It was more peanut-y than it should be because I halved the recipe, but forgot to half the peanut butter. Red just picked at the noodles, and Dilly at the veggies and tofu, but not the noodles. Go figure.

Thai Peanut Linguine

1/2 brick extra firm tofu
1/2 pound frozen vegetables (peas,green beans, corn, etc)
1/2 lb broccoli, florets and cut stems
1 carrot
1/2 bulb garlic (3-4cloves)
1/2 bunch scallions
1-2 inch fresh ginger
green curry paste (amount will vary depending on your preference)
1 or 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
7 ounces coconut milk
7 to 8 ounces rice noodles
oil (for frying tofu)
rice flour (for coating tofu)

Directions:
For noodles: Cook according to package directions

For tofu: cube and coat with rice flour. Fry until outside is crispy.

For sauce: chop scallions, garlic and grate ginger. Saute in water until scallions are soft. Add in the coconut milk, then some curry paste. Add peanut butter and curry paste until it tastes good.

Shred the carrot, then add it, the frozen vegetables, broccoli, and tofu to the sauce. Cook until the vegetables are done.

Add noodles to mix, toss and serve.

Lentil loaf, rice, green beans

2007-03-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

The weather was great today, so we seized the opportunity to eat outside. Tonight's dinner was 'meatloaf', which I have blogged about before, steamed green beans with garlic-infused olive oil, and white rice.

The 'meatloaf', which is really a lentil loaf, came from a recipe created by the Magical Loaf Studio, which was created by Jennifer McCann at Vegan Lunch Box.

I have tried a few recipes using beans instead of lentils, but I think the lentils make the better loaf. Here's our magically created recipe:

Lentil Loaf

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 large carrot, grated
2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, or water
1 heaping tbls of flaxseed meal
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tbls nutritional yeast
2 tbls ketchup
dash of vegan Worcestershire sauce
pepper
2 tbls low-sodium soy sauce

Topping Sauce

1/4 to 1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp maple syrup
dash of vegan Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray either an 8 x 8 square pan or a loaf pan. The square pan will give you a crunchier loaf, the loaf pan will give you a 'meatier' loaf.

Saute the veggies in broth or water until soft. Add to large mixing bowl along with remaining ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding more broth or water as needed to keep mix moist (moist, not runny!) Press into pan and brush on 1/2 of the topping sauce.

Bake for 1/2 hour, then brush on remaining topping sauce. Bake an additional 15-30 minutes. Cool loaf for 10 minutes before serving.

We have been getting green beans in our weekly delivery for several weeks now. I have used them in two soup/stew recipes and both times the beans didn't get soft. This time though they turned out great. Soft, but with a bit of a crunch. I wanted to drizzle the beans with a garlic/olive oil combination, so I thought I would saute the garlic in some olive oil, let it rest for a bit, strain the garlic pieces out and have a great garlic infused olive oil. Well, I almost made it. I ended up with green beans drizzled in oil (a bit too much) with a hint of garlic. I'll rework it next time and see if I can't get it better.

Nachos, sort of

2007-03-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Craving nachos in all their ooey-gooey glory, I decided to crack open Joanne Stepaniak's Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook and give the 'nacho cheese' recipe a try. Now, it's obviously not cheese (and Boo let me know that!) but I do believe my tastes have shifted enough to actually enjoy the taste of "fake" cheese. The recipe is mainly nutritional yeast and water, but I think the spices really added a tangy punch and suited my tastes just fine. It reminded me of the kind of chips and cheese you get from 7-11 or the movies, but with a nutri-yeast flair and far, far less calories.

I also made homemade refried beans. It was my first try and I think they turned out great! Too bad I ruined 'em by putting way too much rice in the mix. Rice!? What!? Well, Taco Bell (I know, I know) sells a rice and bean burrito that taste really good, so I wanted to duplicate the rice and beans part at home. Too bad I overshot the rice :)

Refried Beans

3 cups cooked pinto beans
1 onion, chopped, diced, minced, whatever you want
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tbls chili powder
1/4 cup tomato paste or tomato sauce
water, as needed
(I also added a couple of mild sauce packets from Taco Bell)

Mash beans with a potato masher, or process in food processor. Add all ingredients except water to a high-sided skillet or saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until heated through. Add water to achieve your desired consistency. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, adding more water if necessary.

I added some salsa to finish off the nachos, and next time I will add some mashed avocado, spring onions, and maybe some olives.

Catalan Beans; Mango Dressing

2007-03-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Along with some roasted asparagus, we had a bean-and-rice dish. It was suppose to be a baked dish, but as I was assembling it I realized that it wasn't going to bake up so well. The original recipe came from the Vegetarian Times Cookbook, but we basically ended up with chickpeas smothered in a spiced tomato sauce with a touch of sweet (nutmeg, cinnamon.)

For the salad, I made a fruit-based dressing. A mango, an orange, some raspberry vinegar, and a shot of orange juice.

A Green Dinner

2007-03-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

A very green dinner tonight - figuratively and literally. Salad, steamed broccoli, and split pea soup. The soup was actually pulled from the freezer and reheated. I used a recipe from all*recipes as my base. I used a bit less potato (because they don't freeze well) and I added some liquid smoke. Oh, and no oil since everything sautes up just fine in water. It is a thick soup, more stewlike actually, but everyone here seems to like it okay.

Vegan Split Pea Soup

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dried split peas
1/2 cup barley
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
7 1/2 cups water
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 potatoes, diced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot over medium high heat, saute the oil, onion, bay leaf and garlic for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add the peas, barley, salt and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, parsley, basil, thyme and ground black pepper. Simmer for another hour, or until the peas and vegetables are tender.

Fresh Delivery

2007-03-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

This weeks food delivery. The boxes are starting to look better. I can't wait for spring/summer boxes! We actually pick up our boxes of food rather than have them delivered. Why would we do that????? Well, if you notice the boxed food in the back area of the picture ---- it was free! FREE! Next to the checkout counter at the Fresh Abundance 'store' is a table of food that is either past its prime or very close to being. That food ends up in a compost pile, but not before they give shoppers a chance to grab some of it. The veggies usually aren't worthy of taking, but the fruit - oh man - the fruit is PERFECT for smoothies...woohoo!

I took a picture of the leaf lettuce that came in today's box. I'm not sure if I captured what I was trying to -- how large it is. Now maybe you have seen a nice head of lettuce like this, but sadly I have not. The ones I usually get at the store are half the size of this one. They (the store) take the outer leaves off the make the lettuce more presentable. Give me a break! Now every time I buy one from a regular store I will feel like I am getting ripped off.

Acorn Squash Lasagna

2007-03-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight's dinner is a modified recipe from the PBS cooking show Everyday Food. I saw this a couple weeks ago and thought I would give it a whirl.

Ingredients

Olive oil, for baking dish
4 cups Acorn Squash Purée or 2 packages (12 ounces each) frozen winter squash purée, thawed
½ teaspoon dried rubbed sage
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 no-boil lasagna noodles (half of an 8-ounce package)
Acorn Squash Purée

Preheat oven to 400°. Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with oil; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix squash purée with sage, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, mix ricotta with ½ cup Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Lay 2 lasagna noodles in the bottom of prepared dish; spread with half the squash mixture. Layer with 2 more noodles, and spread with half the ricotta mixture. Repeat layering with remaining noodles and mixtures. Sprinkle top (ricotta mixture) with remaining ½ cup Parmesan.

Cover baking dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lasagna is heated through, about 45 minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes more

I replaced the ricotta mixture and the parmesan cheese with recipes from The Uncheese Cookbook. The ricotta "cheese" recipe is tofu based, and it ended up tasting like plain ol' tofu to me as the added spices/herbs did not seem to add much. The parmesan cheese recipe tasted weird to me. It was the first time I used miso - maybe that was why.

Anyway, no one really liked this (except Dilly), but no one hated it either. Because I had to make everything for the recipe, it was an all-day off/on project. Here are the pics -

Preparing the squash for baking

Peeling blanched almonds for "parmesan cheese"

Preparing parmesan cheese in processor

Tofu Ricotta

Ingredients ready to go

Layering the lasagna

The final product

Orange Cashew Dressing

2007-03-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Based on a recipe from Disease Proof, I made this dressing for tonight's salad.

Orange Cashew Dressing
2 peeled navel oranges
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tbsp. of blood orange vinegar or pear vinegar

Blend ingredients until silky smooth. Use liberally on salad or as vegetable dip (serves 4-6).

I didn't have orange or pear vinegar, but I did have raspberry vinegar so that is what I used. It was GREAT! The little ones even ate their salad tonight! (Well, Dilly tried but he still can't quit chew the lettuce yet..lol)

Random Smoothie Post #1

2007-03-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Other than oatmeal, our other breakfast staple is smoothies. I make them in the food processor so maybe smoothie isn't necessarily the right word..since they are not always so smooth. (Someday a Vita-mix will be sitting on my counter, but until then the processor works just fine.)

Red kale, broccoli, celery, flax meal, oranges, apples, bananas, and a little almond milk made up this smoothie. The goal for me is to see how much green food I can get in the drinks before the kids notice and quit drinking 'em. *wink wink*

Red and Dilly enjoying their smoothies :)

Broccoli Sauce and Penne

2007-02-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

Having lots of broccoli to use up, I wanted to try something new. I found this recipe for broccoli sauce and decided to give it a whirl. It was alright, but not quite there.

1 cup of cooked broccoli
1/2 cup of lemon juice
basil
garlic

Blend away and add water for consistency. It gives the pasta a tangy flavor
that resembles pesto.

I forgot the lemon, added some seasoning (Mrs. Dash), and added a touch of nutritional yeast. I have never had pesto, so either I am not a fan of pesto-type pasta topping, or I just favor a creamy sauce.

Some modifying might make it work better. I think I need to figure out some sort of creamy stuff to add to it to make it more sauce-like. I just bought the "Uncheese Cookbook" --- maybe I'll find something in it to supplement this recipe.

The reason behind it......

2007-02-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

Reading through my blogroll this morning, I came across an article that someone posted at tribe. Well, it wasn't an article really, but a post from another blog. I was moved by the story, and it reminded me that my original motivation for becoming vegan was because of our animal friends.

The post is from Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary, and although I just discovered it this morning, I think it will serve as a gentle reminder for me as to why I am striving for this lifestyle. Enjoy.

Sweetie and me

"We called her Sweetie. We don't know what she called herself but, to us humans, she evoked the tenderness, vulnerability, innocence and wonder exuded by those we feel compelled to cradle with terms of reassurance and endearment. Sweetie was one of the 700 chickens rescued from the wreckage of a massive Mississippi "broiler" farm destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. When she and 200 other rescued chickens arrived at Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary last fall, they were barely 8 weeks old, still peeping in their baby voices, not even old enough to cluck. Yet their bodies were already huge and soon to be crippled by the abnormally large size that all "broiler" chickens are genetically manipulated to develop in less than two months - long before they reach adulthood - in order to reach what the industry calls "slaughter weight".

A few months later, Sweetie's legs became too weak to support her enormous body. She started to limp, she staggered, she started to fall, so we moved her from the hen house to the human house where we could keep a closer watch on her.

For weeks, our presence terrified her and she'd hide under the desk every time one of us walked into the room. We respected her need for distance and were careful not to intrude in her "personal space". Sweetie kept herself at what she considered to be a safe distance, and we were all getting used to the new routine.

One afternoon, as I sat down at my desk, I felt a gentle pecking and tugging at my legs. I thought it was Phoebe who had been a house hen for months and rarely missed a chance to socialize. But Pheobe was resting in her nest across the room.

I looked down and there was Sweetie preening the loose fibers dangling from my skirt. I sat motionless, not wanting to startle her. She went on with her grooming offering. After a while, I slowly extended my arm and touched her back. She did not run away as before, so I gently scooped her up and cradled her lumbering body in my lap. At first, she tensed up, darted alarmed glances around the room, made sounds of worry - but she did not try to get away. She just sat there and probingly stared at my face for what seemed like hours. Then, in a heartbeat, she relaxed and fell asleep in my arms.

This is the kind of gift that makes you want to weep - the trust of a completely vulnerable being. And the unshakeable, and devastating knowledge that this small, helpless, battered being, whose life isn't worth more than a dime to the industry, is someone who is full of mind, full of soul, full of important questions - "if I trust you, will you hurt me?" - and full of the yearning to not only love, but to be loved.

So much so that she is willing to risk her life to experience it.

Joanna Lucas
© 2006 Joanna Lucas"

Broccoli and Ketchup?!?!

2007-02-21T22:20:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know..it looks really disgusting.
It's some potatoes, broccoli, green onions, and seasoning. (Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Blend. Really good. I'm trying to get Boo to cut back on salt so we tried the original Mrs Dash, but it was way to lemon-y for our taste. The garlic blend suits us much better.) A mid-morning breakfast, and the only way to get the little ones to eat the potatoes is with ketchup. I ate around the ketchup, and the little ones, well they ate around the broccoli...lol.

Lunch and dinner were nothing special, and I forgot to snap pics, so this weird potato dish is all I got for you today.

Fresh Delivery

2007-02-20T22:13:00.000-08:00

This weeks Fresh Abundance delivery. Just sharin' the rainbow. Have a good one!

Fresh and Beany

2007-02-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Fresh Abundance delivery

How great is this box of food? Let me tell you --- not only is all this food organic, and/or safe, it's also local whenever possible. The best part though is that it is delivered to my door every week. Woohoo! Every week, starting this week, we will get a box of fruit and veggies. Do we know what's in the box every week? Nope! Ain't it great. If I really wanted to know, I could go look it up on the website, but I am enjoying the idea of getting a box of food each week and being surprised. This week wasn't all that interesting, they said because of the big freeze the boxes are going to be a little scarce. That's okay by me.....I can wait it out. I didn't do such a great job with the picture, but this week's box had broccoli, collard greens, celery, spinach, potatoes, sweet potato, two varieties of apples, tangerines, bananas, an avocado, and grapefruit. There was even a snack bag of tamari roasted pumpkin seeds.....mmm, good.

Chickpea Loaf, Mashed Cauliflower w/ Gravy, Steamed Broccoli, and a simple salad.

I've posted about the magical loaf studio before, and I used it again to create this chickpea loaf. Not nearly as good as the lentil loaf I made, but with a little tweaking it can be fabulous. My favorite part of this meal though was the mashed cauliflower. With my new food processor and this recipe from fatfreevegan.com, it turned out wonderfully! It is very reminiscent of mashed potatoes. In fact, it will take the place of mashed potatoes around here. (Most of the time anyway.) I made the punk-rock chickpea gravy from VWAV again, except this time I smoothed it out a bit in the processor. This group isn't too fond of chunky gravy.

And here are a couple pictures of the kids eating spaghetti. Just because :)

Food, food, and more food

2007-02-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Baba Ganoush and "ranch" dip

I often read about baba ganoush and thought I would give it a whirl. Um, nope. Not really suited to my taste. I'm willing to give it the mandatory three tries that is required by my own rules for food, but I'm not sure if this is going to be good two tries from now. It may have been the recipe, and I'll try a few different ones, but I'm still trying to acquire a taste for eggplant, so I might wait awhile to try this again. I also tried making a tofu based "ranch" dip. It wasn't great nor was it bad. A little tweaking and I could probably get this dip to my liking.

General Tao's Tofu

General Tao's Tofu from this recipe on VegWeb. Good stuff, but as we were eating it Boo kept suggesting other things that would be good in it--peppers, baby corn, carrots, etc. I told him it might as well be stir fry then. Since we don't usually add tofu to our stir-fry, we decided that we would stick with our own stir-fry recipe, but add some tofu. On its own merit though, this is a good dish. The sauce really needs to be doubled though.

Fruit Pudding

This was an interesting experiment. It started out to be a smoothie, but turned into pudding. Not working off any recipe, I threw a banana, an orange, some flax meal, a handful of baby spinach, a handful of blueberries, and a handful of cranberries into the blender and gave it a few whirls. I was then going to add some soymilk, but the mix was creamy and looked like pudding so I decided to see if the kids would eat it----and they did. Not only did they eat it, but Red wanted as much as she could get her hands on. I was more than happy to oblige, as I added even more spinach to her second helping. Any time I can get spinach, broccoli, or kale into her is a good day!

Over-Roasted Asparagus and Maple Brussel Sprouts with Red Potatoes and Peas

No, that's not a typo.......they were way OVER roasted! I miscalculated the time it would take to make the potatoes so I left the asparagus and brussel sprouts in the oven to keep warm while the potatoes finished. The only problem was I forgot to turn the oven down. Oops. They tasted great, but I know I cooked out any nutrients in them. :) The potato recipe was a Dr. Ornish recipe and turned out okay. It was basically steamed potatoes and peas with a few seasonings.

Breakfast

A typical breakfast for us. Oatmeal with flax, blueberries, bananas, and cinnamon. Fruit on the side varies by what we have in the fridge. I quit buying sugar, and have come to appreciate the sweetness of just the fruit. Boo and the Emo kid are slowly coming around. They still use some agave in theirs. The little ones never used sugar to begin with.

Black Bean Puree with Guacamole

This was a great dip! I'm not sure where the recipe came from. I photocopied it from a cookbook, but didn't write down the name of the cookbook. But as you can imagine, its basically pureed black beans with some seasoning and some guacamole with tomatoes. Mmmm.

Broccomole....in the new blender!

2007-02-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

It's not guacamole, but broccomole! Lately we have been eating a lot of broccoli and I have been trying to figure out ways to use the stems. I've added them to my homemade veggie broth and sometimes I julienne them and add to a stir fry, but with this great little recipe I think I have now found the perfect use for them. This tasted so much better than I thought it would. I used this recipe as the base, but didn't have any chiles handy so I added a couple tablespoons of picante sauce instead.

Of course, I could not have made it without the assistance of my new FOOD PROCESSOR! Oh man, I am so happy. I have been waiting to get one of these since I started this vegan transition...and I finally got it!

Speaking of broccoli, I recently discovered broccoli sprouts. I've read that they are even more nutritious than broccoli itself, and for the little ones it's much easier for me to sneak the sprouts into food than it is to sneak in the florets. While I was shopping at the thrift store this week I ran across a home sprouter - and bought it of course. Now I just gotta figure out where to buy broccoli seeds and I can make my own at home :)

Lica's "Magical" Lentil Loaf

2007-01-16T19:47:00.000-08:00

We had a great dinner tonight. Why was it so great? Everyone ate. It's a happy dinner when everyone eats dinner. Boo liked it 'cause it was "meaty", Emo kid liked it because she was just plain hungry, I liked it 'cause its my kind of food, Dilly liked it because, well, Dilly eats everything. Red is the only holdout. She ate some applesauce. She's sooo picky these days.

On to the dinner pics:

The lentil loaf looks so real, it's kinda creepy, but it really is all vegan! I am not really fond of doing the fake meat stuff, and someday I'll be able to get away from it, but right now while I'm converting the rest of the family, I must prepare look-alikes every once and awhile.

This was actually fun to make. Here's the "magical" link to the recipe.....have fun creating your own special loaf!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I named mine Lica's Loaf...lol)

Here's the whole meal.....lentil loaf with "Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy," baby red potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Good stuff! (Fuzzy picture - so sorry)

Happy New Year

2007-01-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right?

I love, love, love when a product says 'vegan' right on the package. No guessing, no phone calls to the company, no googling the ingredients......the package says right on it vegan. Whoop whoop!! Here is one such product:

Good stuff....everyone ate it! The instructions say to add 3/4 cup veggies if you want.....I added about 3 cups. :)~ The sauce barely stretched, but everyone was eating it up.......mmm mmm goood.

This past Thanksgiving was a little sparse for us. I was wholly unprepared to try and make a vegan feast. So, I decided to prepare throughout the year for Thanksgiving 2007. My first test recipe was a baked acorn squash recipe with apples and spice. Very good and will definitely be served on feast day :)

Based on a recommendation from another blog, we tried these sweet potatoe fries. Pretty good. Will probably buy again, although I think homemade taste just as good.

And finally a sign of the times..organic salsa....weeeeeee! (I'm not sure if Pace is vegan, and I will find out someday, just not quite ready to hear its not.)

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by :)

Frozen Dinner and a Snickerdoodle

2006-11-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

I think I have limited my time in the kitchen as much as I possibly can. Anything I can do to keep from cooking everyday works for me :)

Two nights a week is FFY - fend for yourself - night. Boo and the Emo kid tend to themselves for dinner, and the two little ones get a very simple meal. The big saver though is cooking double batches and freezing half for a second meal. Last night's dinner was just that.....a frozen dinner. Minestrone, which I have posted about before. It is one of the meals that are now in regular winter rotation, along with split pea soup, chili, and the newest quinoa hash. Essentially, I cook the first half of the month and the second half is all frozen and ready to go...weeeeeeeeee! This works great in winter with all the soups and stews. Summer is a bit different as the weather really determines what, if anything, is eaten for dinner.

I was craving something sweet, so I made snickerdoodles. They were pretty good, although next time I will make them a bit thicker as they turned out a bit crispy since I made them pretty thin.

2006-11-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

Homemade pretzels and mustard......good stuff :) The Emo kid made these for school in junior high and we have been making them at home ever since.

Spaghetti for dinner...simple, but always gets eaten.

Fend For Yourself

2006-11-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Twice a week it's FFY (fend for yourself) night --- everyone is responsible for their own dinner, except the little ones who share mine or get a sandwich :)

Last night I wanted to use up the last of some rainbow chard we had so I steamed some brown rice, thawed some black beans, sauted the chard, threw in a few spices and got a tasty little dinner for myself. (And Dilly, 'cause he likes my food!) I have been putting turmeric in any dish that will tolerate it, as the reported health benefits of it have convinced me to do so. (I am also using cloves and cinnamon whenever I get the chance.)

And for dessert - two words ------ Mmmmmm Mmmmmm.

Cilantro and Comfort

2006-11-13T13:40:00.000-08:00

I made Quinoa and Black Bean Salad from this recipe. It didn't go over so well with most of the family......they are definitely not accustomed to cilantro and lime, it's way to bright for their taste buds...but I'll keep working on 'em :) I enjoyed it though, and will keep the lime, but might cut back on the cilantro. And I'm not so sure the olive oil really enhanced the dish. Dilly Pickles ate it, he's become my little vegan buddy since he eats most of the stuff I cook without complaint. Such a good boy.

I tried this "Comfort Casserole" recipe from the Vegan Family Favorites Cookbook thinking it would be sort of like a french toast bake. Well, it was...but not quite what we thought. When I was preparing it, it smelled SO good. (No, I didn't use brown bananas...lol...It's prepared the night before and left in the fridge to soak up overnight; then baked in the morning for 1/2 hour) Everyone was looking forward to it, but it turned out mushy on the bottom and very crisp on the top. Probably won't be making it again , I'll just make cinnamon french toast and top it with bananas and raisins. Although I might experiment with trying to put two french toast pieces together and making a banana/raisin stuffed thingy.

Sunday Scramble

2006-11-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

Sunday brunch...tofu scramble wrapped in a tortilla with avacado and salsa, french toast, fruit and oj.......mmmmmmm!

The scramble recipe is from the post punk kitchen. The only modification I made was to add some green pepper.

This is the first time I've made vegan french toast, and it was very good. I used the wrong bread though, a crusty type bread, or really thick bread is almost a requirement. The regular sandwich bread I used had to be almost burnt to cook it all the way and it was still pretty mushy in the middle. The Emo kid loved the french toast and Boo said it reminded him of summer camp, so YAY!--I'll take every success I can get.

Just like the real thing

2006-10-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

Even the picture looks like it....."chicken" fried steak. It was SO good. Chicken style seiten topped with a cheeze gravy...mmmmmm! This is my second attempt at seiten--the first try was so spongy that I almost wasn't going to try again. But, wow, this time it was great. I made a bread crumb coating and fried the "steaks" up. I think we made about 10 steaks and they all got eaten AND I got compliments, not just placates..wooohooooo! The seiten recipe is from veganforum.com and the sauce is a general vegan cheeze sauce recipe using rice milk and nutritional yeast.

Bean Salad in Pitas

2006-10-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

I think the bean salad recipe is from Vegan Family Favorites, but I can't remember for sure. Everyone ate 'em up tonight, but I think I need to add something to it. Maybe some dijon mustard or avocado or something along those lines. We used mini-pitas, next time though I think I'll stick with the normal size ones.

We also finished up the salad we've been eating all week. Because of the spinach scare, we've been trying some different types of greens in the salad. This time it was dandelion greens. Um, well, they were different. They tasted like, well, grass...lol. Kinda bitter too. I don't know if we'll be eating those again. :)

I have also been trying homemade salad dressings all week. I love, love, love, the agave nectar-avocado-mustard dressing, which was actually a combination of a few recipes. I haven't liked any of the oil dressings though. I think I'll make them all again, without the oil and see what happens. (Maybe add a small amount so the dressing will stick to the salad, but not the amounts called for in the various recipes.)

What, I don't have to buy fruit!?!?

2006-10-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you might think me ignorant or a bit silly, but until this summer the idea of having fruit trees that I could just go pick my fruit off of seemed like a foreign concept. We thought we had an apple tree and a plum tree in our back yard, and we certainly have a plum tree....we have been eating them for weeks now. The "apple" tree is yet to be determined since the squirrels took every last thing off the tree. (Which leads me to believe its a chestnut tree.)

Here is a pic of our plums, along with a pear from a neighborhood tree and some apples from the store.

Red has become quite the picky eater these days. It is getting very difficult to feed her. Last night, I made some tofu nuggets. I though it was going to be a success, but after the first one she quit eating them. The adults liked them though! Dilly Pickles also got his first taste of tofu, in the form of tofu cubes, which he rather enjoyed.

I'm having an affair

2006-09-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Yep, sadly I must inform you that I am having an affair......with my computer. I am spending way too much time with it and must make a clean break.

I think a month should do, but if for some reason I just can't resist two weeks will suffice. Be back soon!

Peek-a-boo

2006-09-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

Today's snack...rice cakes w/ peanut butter, bananas, and raisins. Good stuff. Red ate in layers and enjoyed every bite. I cut mine in half and ate like a sandwich. Can't say I'm overly fond of rice cakes, but they are tolerable.

A peek into the pantry :)~ Only because this is the first time in my 35 years of life that I have anything in my pantry that wasn't hamburger helper and mac/cheese.

Corn chowder for dinner. The recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance---great cookbook, I check it out of the library every month or so and make a couple recipes. One of these days I will break down and purchase a copy.

Two problems I had with this, both mine and not the recipes. First, my veggie broth was way too strong. Second, I didn't blend enough of it to make a true chowder....more like a thick soup. Still good, but next time I will tame the broth and blend more.

Lemon Cupcakes

2006-09-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

Mmm. Inspired by this post, I made lemon cupcakes today. Mmm.

Vegan Subs

2006-09-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

Not sandwiches, but substitutes. I used a ton of substitute products today.

Here's breakfast with vegan creamer and vegan cream cheese. I've been eating this stuff for months now--so it has become my normal, but as my family pointed out to me, just because something tastes normal to me doesn't mean it tastes normal to them. So I guess what I can say is that if you have no other choice, morally or for dietary concerns, and can't fall back on regular creamer or regular cream cheese, then you can most assuredly get used to this stuff.

Carrot-Apple-Banana Muffins from this recipe. Pretty good stuff. This is my second attempt at vegan-ized muffins and both have been successful. But, what is interesting is that both times the muffins came out of the oven really moist, like they weren't done. After cooling though, they bounced up into shape. The vegan-ized items in these are the milk, which is almond, and the eggs, which were replaced with banana

Dinner tonight was stroganoff. Sort of. It's a family recipe, red sauce and rice instead of white sauce and noodles. Its a simple recipe (made even more simple by me so that my then 5-year-old would eat it.) The beef boullion cubes in the recipe were replaced with veggie broth granules and the sour cream with vegan sour cream. Alongside the stroganoff there was french bread made into garlic bread with the help of vegan 'butter' and some garlic salt.

(Wow....talk about alot of soy)

Sweet Potatoes and Spaghetti

2006-09-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this post (you have to scroll down a bit), I made a sweet potato/tempeh bacon sandwich for lunch today. It was good, but the potato made it a bit dry. Not sure what I can do to make it less dry...maybe add some pickles??

This is so bizarre. If you offered me a sandwich like this just a few months ago, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. Now here I am wondering how to make it better.....lol.

For dinner tonight we had a big salad and some spaghetti with angel hair noodles. As much as I would love to add some chunk to the sauce, my family won't eat it any other way 'cept plain old boring chunk-free sauce. I think next time I'll steam myself some frozen broccoli and throw it in my portion.

The meals this week seem heavy to me, and we still have a few more dishes to go. Next week I think I'm gonna lighten it up a bit :)~

Sloppy No-Joes, Janes, Moes

2006-09-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

What do you call a vegan sloppy joe? I like sloppy jane myself, but you can call them no-joes, or moes if ya want. This is the second time I've made these, and they are pretty good. It's a Rachel Ray recipe, I just substituted non-vegan things, like ground beef, with vegan things, like TVP. I make this the night before to allow the TVP to soak up the sauce. Mmmm good! (Although the picture leaves something to be desired.)

Muffins, tomatoes, and burritos

2006-09-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Muffins. Mmmm. Enough said. (From this recipe - although I did substitute rice milk for soy and maple syrup for molasses. Oh, and because I regularly have brain farts I used way too much pumpkin, so the muffins came out more like little pieces of pumpkin pie wrapped in a pie bread. Still good and when made right will be awesome.)

I just recently learned two things: tomatoes are botanically classified fruit, not vegetable, and if the SKU number on the little stickers on fruit and vegetables starts with a 9, then its organic. Last night I ate my first organic, vine-ripened tomato. Wow! Very good, so much better than the kind of tomatoes I'm used to (which are non-organic, regular store bought.) I could eat these like fruit..just chomp away at 'em like they were an apple.

Burritos and tots for dinner tonight...and yes I put tots inside the burrito - yum! I added some rice to the refried beans to bulk it up a bit, and put in my secret suace. (Ok, so it was a mild taco sauce packet I had leftover from Taco Bell, but it did the trick.)

Just like the good ol' days

2006-09-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

This chocolate chip cookie was SO good. I was shopping today when I ran across these....proudly proclaiming themselves Vegan right on the front of the package!

I swear any omni would be fooled by these. It was so nice to eat a cookie again...just like the good ol' days :)~ Now there is nothing healthy about it, but man oh man, it was good for the soul. (Although at $2.50 a piece, I won't be eating too many of these.)

(These are made by Alternative Baking Compnay, who just happens to have website.)

Flat Bread

2006-08-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

My picture taking abilities are horrible. I've tried everything to get these pictures to look halfway decent...grrr. I may have to invest in a better camera. Na, I need a blender first :)

Anyway, minestrone leftovers with Indian flat bread was on the menu tonight. The leftovers were great, but the flat bread was, well, flat. And I think I put way too many seasame seeds in it. This bread would probably be better suited as a wrap of some sort, rather than as a side bread with dinner.

I LOVE all the vegan food blogs that are out there. Love, Love, Love. There are literally hundreds. Many have been going for awhile, so I have to play alot of catch-up to get current. Tonight I skimmed through Vegancore....OMG! I have dinner inspiration for weeks! (Not to mention quite a few treats, oh how I'm missing good, sweet, baked goods)

Mmmm, Mmmm, Minestrone

2006-08-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this post, we had minestrone tonight. Well, I did anyway. Boo and the Emo kid went to a bbq at her school. So, we will have the leftovers for dinner tomorrow night.

Great recipe, although I did make a few slight changes...but hey it's called 'kitchen sink' minestrone for a reason! :)

A veggie success story

2006-08-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get Red to eat carrots for forever now. She loved them when she was just starting to eat, and then liked 'em cut up in circles for awhile. Then she just quit eating them. So, I have been trying to figure out different ways of preparing them so she will eat them. I've tried everything..steamed, cubed, with dip (she just licks the dip off and throws the carrot on the floor), a whole carrot to carry around and play with...nope, nada, nothing.

Today, however, I may have stumbled upon the answer-----carrot matchsticks! Why I didn't think of this before I don't know. She ate a handful of them at lunch while doing her food-happy dance, so I know she was enjoying them. Yay!

Dilly Pickles even got in on the action :)

My most used appliance

2006-08-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

We ate leftover lentils-ole for dinner and nuttin' special for breakfast or lunch, so I thought I'd give you a picture of my most used kitchen appliance -

Yep...my rice cooker. I got it for my birthday a couple months ago and it gets used almost every day. Usually for steaming veggies, but also for rice and stews. Woohoo!

Now, as soon as I stock myself with a blender (I did have one, but I tried to blend a frozen banana, and well, if you want to do that don't use an inexpensive blender!) and a food processor, it just might be a fight for most-favored appliance :)~

Lentils-Ole

2006-08-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I know....tonight's dinner looks a lot like last night's dinner. But you see, the trade-off for buying only organic is that we eat a lot of stews/soups for dinner. It stretches over a few nights thereby maximizing our $$$. (Also, its the final stretch until payday, so it always gets a little lean around this time)

The recipe is from FatFree. I have used several recipes from this archive, and they have all been pretty good. None have knocked me out, but then they are fat-free, so what can I expect. :) It's basically a lentil stew served over rice. I enjoyed it, and had seconds. Boo tolerated it, and I thought he was going to have seconds but he just took some rice and threw some soy sauce on it. The Emo kid just pushed her food around, and Red enjoyed mixing the food up but didn't eat anything but her applesauce. She proudly displayed her plate for the camera -

White Chili - Day 3

2006-08-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

This is probably not the most exciting dish to use as a first post to relaunch this blog, but it's what we're eating tonight and I wanted to get this blog going again :)

This is day number three for this dish, as the recipe made way more than I needed for one dinner. It's actually a mix of several different white chili recipes as I didn't have all the ingredients for any one recipe. It turned out more like a stew/soup than a chili, but it was good nonetheless. I made some cornbread from a recipe at the ppk that turned out okay, but like the description says, it definitely is not a sweet cornbread! (I'm the only one who managed to finish a piece.)

I really need to learn how to photograph food....this is the only usable picture out of 23 taken.......lol.