Mobile blogging and tomato soup

As we all know, life is constantly changing.  That has never been more true for me than over the last 3 months.  Turns out that my Dad is very ill.  Several chemo treatments and a second hospital stay later, he is now in a rehab facility.  Life changes haven't left much time for blogging.  But I'm not completely ready to let it go, so I may be doing mostly mobile blogging in the upcoming days. 

I'm so pleased that I got three new cookbooks for Christmas.  I have a feeling I'll be using Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson a lot more than my average book. 

Here's the first thing I tried: 4 way tomato soup.  (added some homemade gluten free croutons and cubed cheddar Daiya with the other garnishes).

It tasted like I was eating soup from a restaurant with all those toppings! And it was so filling.

Two thumbs up from all three of us that ate it.

Another soup is in the crock pot for tonight. Will try to report back!

ETA: I don't like how little control I have over where pictures are, etc mobile blogging. I'll have to work on it and see if I can figure it out.  Otherwise, there will be phone photos and desktop posts (like this one)

Calming the Kitchen

I realize a lot of people were probably cooking like crazy on Thanksgiving morning.  I, on the other hand, decided it would be a good time to rearrange a few things.  I wasn't boycotting or anything, I'd just done most of my cooking on Wednesday night.

In the past few months I've been thinking of removing more and more plastic from the kitchen.  I've also been realizing, yet again, what clutter does to me emotionally.  So, I'm working on eliminating as much of that as possible too.

I had put most of my gluten free baking goods in half gallon mason jars (available from Ace Hardware), labeled them, and put them back in the cupboard where I had always stored my flours.

Finally, it struck me that every time I opened that cupboard, I smiled.  Something about the organization and the colors of those flours and sugar just made me happy.  Why keep that in the cupboard?

I pulled the jars down and put them on the counter where I could see them.  On my sister's suggestion, I put them in alphabetical order (that also makes me really happy).

My cookbook collection was previously in this spot.  It was handy, but every time I took one out, I'd have a mini avalanche on my hands.  And ALL those colors.  It was visually a bit overwhelming at times.  With this move, the cookbooks are now safely on the top shelf of the cupboard.  Still easy to get to, but not staring me in the face all the time.

BONUS:  The jars don't take up nearly the width of the counter as the books did, so we gained working space!!

There's still more work to do in other areas, but I'm thankful this little area has been calmed!

Smoothie a la Avocado

This is quite possibly the most perfect avocado that I've ever cut into.  The color and texture were just right.  What made it even better was that my sister bought it and left it at my house for me!



Since my dad has been home from the hospital and started treatment, he's been doing a great job of eating mostly veg and tries pretty much anything I make him.

He's even been drinking carrot-apple juice and a green smoothie every day!  So so proud of him for trying new things.

Today's smoothie was blueberry, apple, banana, part of this avocado, almond milk and kale.  He mentioned it was a little thicker so he couldn't just "toss it down" like usual. (I thought it was great.  He's still adjusting)I'm sure it was the avocado, but I'm not sure I'm going to tell him that ;)

By the way, Dad's favorite things have been a version of the Unfried Rice from Appetite for Reduction (chock full of broccoli, chickpeas, carrots, peas and topped with toasted almonds) and the Black Bean Brownies from Super Immunity.

Plans go Awry

Hi all.  Just wanted to post a little something so you didn't think I've dropped off the face of the earth.  Although I planned on doing daily posts throughout Vegan MoFo, my dad is more important to me.  He is still in the hospital and I just can't keep up with posting and being where I need to be.  So, while I hope to get in a couple posts just as I go about life in the next couple weeks, they may be off theme and they may not happen at all.  I'm sorry that I haven't been around posting or readings others' posts.

I do however, hope to get some of the holiday ideas up before the holiday season gets underway, but that really depends on how things go with dad.

love, d-

Keep it Simple in Coconut Heaven

I haven't finished with all the classics, but...

Entertaining thought #9: 

Sometimes you just need to keep it simple.

You're having a Tupperware or Thirty-One party or taking snacks to your church small group?  No reason to go crazy.  Some simple snacks are the answer.

I made snacks for my small group tonight.  It was the first time I've tried Coconut Heaven Cupcakes from Vegan with a Vengeance and it will not be the last!  I love them and they were so easy.

A 1/2 cup of sorghum flour, a 1/2 cup of my go-to flour mix , and an extra 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum was a great fit.  In mini cupcake form they still took about 25 minutes to bake.  Mine are brownish because I use turbinado sugar.

If you haven't tried these yet, I highly recommend them.

Now, I need to go put them in my bag with a pitcher of tea, some carrots and vegan ranch and a bag of chips.  Easy Peasy.

Are you kidney-ing me?!!

Since my fever is still not completely gone, I am going to get my ears checked today.  I've got a few posts up my sleeve, but they're just not ready yet.

So, my post for today is simply a personal announcement in haiku form.

You're 8 weeks along
Size of tiny kidney bean
New niece or nephew!!!



Woohoo...another May birthday in the family :)

In case you want more information on the health benefits of the kidney bean, you can get it at World's Healthiest Foods

Classics are Classics for a Reason: Chocolate Chip Cookies

In the tv world, the classics are in re-runs. Really...what could be better than Wally borrowing the Beav's "turtle dirt" to make it look like they had taken a bath?



Today has just been one of those days.  I had three different options of what I wanted to post today (which means you get at least 3 more classics when I get them done) and none of them worked out for today.

So in true classic style,  I'm going to do a re-run from 2008.  It's one of the few things I made in 2008 that I haven't really changed.  They are a staple in my party attendance, party hosting and Christmas cookie baskets.  Besides, what discussion of food classics would be complete without a chocolate chip cookie?

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For the last couple months I've been desperate for a good chocolate chip cookie. It's not that chocolate chip cookies are really a need, but when you haven't had one in over a year, it surely seems that way. I finally found a recipe I thought I could work from! The original recipe was posted by Isa on the ppk

I deglutenized and changed a couple other things to meet my needs/preferemces. I usually have to try a recipe a couple times before I get the flour substitution just right, but I hit a winner first time with this one. My friend Sherry is often very hesitant about trying my cooking for fear that I will make her try something weird. When she tried these, she told me she didn't really care what was in them and not to change a thing. Then she packed up a few and took them home.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about two dozen two inch cookies (I actually got 21)

Flour mixture:
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup garfava (garbanzo and fava bean) flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/4 cup arrowroot
1-1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 cup turbinado sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened rice milk
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life chips - they are vegan and soy/gluten free)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two large metal baking sheets.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour mixture with a whisk or a fork. Be sure to combine them really well so the xanthan will be evenly mixed through. Set aside.

Mix together sugar, oil, milk and 1 Tbsp tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until it resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important that you don’t get lazy about that step. Mix in the vanilla.

Add 1 cup of the flour mixture, the baking soda and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough is a little sticky, so you'll probably have to use your hands to get the chips really mixed in. For most of the cookies I've made, the gluten free version is much different from a "regular" cookie dough (less stiff, gooey-er) -- they will still work.

For about 2 dozen two inch cookies roll dough into walnut sized balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches. They will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes* until they are just a little browned around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

The only little tweak I've made since 2008, is that now  I flatten them a little before they bake.  It's more of an aesthetic thing, so it's not necessary, but they look more like a classic chocolate chip cookie and less like a little pillow.