Veg-am

Quinoa Patty Breakfast Sandwich

2012-01-21T12:35:00.004-05:00

I had some leftover quinoa from last week's Chickpea-Quinoa Salad (from Appetite for Reduction). I could have made a bowl of quinoa porridge, but I was in the mood for something savory. So I came up with this quinoa patty breakfast sandwich.

I didn't measure anything for the quinoa patties, but it's cooked quinoa mixed with a little ground flax seed and water. Then I added sausage-y spices: ground fennel, sage, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Just enough corn meal (actually it was masa, but it was so little it wouldn't matter) to hold it all together. Then a little masa on the outside to help it brown. Brush the frying pan/griddle with a little canola. Cook on both sides until golden brown. You might have to brush a little oil on the actual patties to keep the corn meal on the outside from being dry.

Lettuce, tomato, a mix of dijon/soy-free vegenaise with these patties on a chickpea flatbread. YUM!!

Menu Planning: A Few Basics

2012-01-21T12:03:00.006-05:00

I'm no expert at this menu planning yet, but it sounds from comments on my last post that some of y'all want to hear it anyway. I've really only been doing this with any kind of plan since the first of the year, but I've learned a few basic things that I want to share before I do a post on this week's plan:

1. Even if they aren't the healthiest meals, it's a good idea to plan in some of your favorites.

If you don't plan for them, you'll end up making them/getting them via takeout anyway. This causes more food waste (or makes you overeat) and costs more money than if you'd just planned for it in the first place. Or you'll just end up feeling deprived and that's no good. Two weeks ago, I wanted pizza. I planned for pizza. I got to eat three meals from it and it was within my weekly budget/food plan. It was darn good too...

2. Even if you've made a dish over and over, check the ingredients and check your pantry for those ingredients before you go to the store.

If you end up coming home without a major ingredient, it's frustrating to have to re-work your whole plan around it.

3. Buy/prep food you will actually eat. Just because it's good for you, if you wont eat it, it's a waste of time and money. If it takes a little extra prep, do it.

I love oranges. I hate peeling oranges. I carried an orange to work for 3 days last week. I carried the same orange home 3 nights last week. If I wash/slice oranges and keep them ready to eat, I'll eat them. In five minutes I can have a bowl of orange slices ready and it will provide multiple snacks. Learn what these things are for you and do them.

4. Find out what schedule works for you.

These things work for me:

Plan weekly. It works best for me to plan menus, write list on Wed/Thurs night, shop on Friday, and to do most of my cooking on Saturday. Sometimes it's on Sunday/Monday before I finish my cooking, but I feel a little rushed all week if I'm still cooking then. And if I've planned well the week before, I'm out of prepped food by the time Sunday rolls around. When I say I do my cooking, I really do cook everything I'm going to eat for the week most of the time. Sometimes I'll just prep things to make a quick throw-together meal. If it's done ahead, I'll eat it. If it's not, I'm out looking for something that I can just open and eat.

I also make it simple on myself. I'm cooking just for me, so 3 different types of meals are good for me for a whole week. My basic plan is: One soup, one salad, one something else. BTW, I don't care if I don't eat regular breakfast foods. Anything I'll eat for lunch or dinner, I'll eat it for breakfast. If you wont, plan specific breakfast foods.

5. Plan in snacks/treats.

Eating on a plan is not a punishment. You can still enjoy your food.

6. Keep some basic questions in mind while you're planning.

Your questions might be a little different, but these seem to be working for me so far.

What ingredients do I have that MUST be used this week?
What ingredients do I have that CAN be used this week?
Is there anything I'm really in the mood for?
Do I have/can I find any coupons?
Is there anything I should add to my pantry this week?

More to come on this week's plan.

Menu Planning in 2012

2012-01-19T08:10:00.007-05:00

As 2011 came to a close, I was thinking about some of my goals for 2012. I didn't call them resolutions, because those tend to last for about a week and then go away. I'm talking long-term goals here.

One of these goals was to become a better menu planner, meal preparer, and grocery shopper. When I don't plan and prepare ahead, I let the stress of every day get in the way and end up with lots of good healthy food going bad in the refrigerator while I head out for a tub of hummus and some carrots or crackers.

For three weeks, I've planned a menu, grocery shopped on a specific budget (even used a few coupons) and prepared meals (or at least ingredients to make easy meals) ahead. As a result, for three weeks, I've had good healthy homemade meals.

At this point, I've mostly been using cookbook recipes (some new, some tried-and-true) and making up very little. At least through the winter, what I'm trying to keep in mind as a basic plan is one soup, one salad, and one something else. Since I'm just cooking for me, that works great. As the year progresses, I'm even hoping to plan in some freezer friendly ideas

So my question is this - are you interested in hearing about the menu planning? I guess included in that would be some recipe reviews, possibly some new recipes, lessons learned, some failures and some successes. It will probably be a once a week post, but it might be split up a little so that I can give new recipes some extra attention. Just a warning, there are a few recipes you will probably get REALLY tired of seeing on the menu list. At the top of that list would be the caesar salad from Appetite for Reduction.

Here's an example of what I did one week:

A batch of chipotle lentil burgers with sweet potatoes cut to make baked "fries"
A batch of hummus
Chopped broccoli for40 clove chickpeas and broccoli later in the week
A jar of Caesar salad dressing
A batch of Arabian Rice and Lentil Soup (one of my favs!)
Roasted vegetables and pine nut cheez for pizza later in the week
Bonus: Extra bread crumbs and chipotle peppers to go in the freezer for future use

I promise if I'm going to blog on the menu, I'll try to take more appetizing photos than this one.

By the way, I'm also doing a project 365 blog this year. If you're interested in keeping up with that it's at http://drsimpson365.blogspot.com/

Shameless Self Promotion & A Really Great Deal

2011-11-28T16:42:00.007-05:00

I don't know if you've spent any time perusing my website beyond this blog, but the bulk of it revolves around my photography. I also have a little shop. So, on this Cyber Monday, I'm going to take a little time for some shameless self promotion.

I'm running a great sale on my cards over at the shop

The cards come in a pack of 8 or I can do a surprise pack of 8 individually packaged cards. The assortments (including 2 Christmas assortments) were originally priced at $18 and are on sale for just $5! That's less than 65 cents per card! Where else can you get a deal like that? They are high quality cards with actual photographs and are a standard 5x7 so they are frame-able if you can't bear to part with them.

There are assortments with flowers, water, black/white photography and more! Here is a small sampling:

Prints are also on sale for only $15 (originally $25).

5.50 flat shipping in the US. While Supplies Last.

Please feel free to post to your Facebook walls, pinterest boards, blogs, or share with your friends/family via email. At only $5 these make great teacher gifts, co-worker gifts, stocking stuffers, etc.

A recommendation: So Delicious Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk

2011-11-14T10:14:00.006-05:00

I'll be working soon on a post about my weekend visit to Richmond. But I just wanted to give you a heads up of this holiday edition of coconut milk by So Delicious.

So Delicious gluten-free, soy-free, vegan substitutes for all manner of dairy items. Unfortunately, I also have a crazy allergy to chemical forms of magnesium. I rarely mention it because I've only ever heard of a couple other people with it and it doesn't affect whole foods, just products. Anyway, my point is that So Delicious uses Magnesium Phosphate in a lot of stuff.

I am thankful that this is an exception to that practice:

Obviously, I lifted the picture fromtheir website. I hope since I'm recommending their product that it's ok.

I've only tried this straight-up and cold. And it is fabulous!! I'm also thinking of mint chocolate milk shakes, mint chocolate mochas, hot mint chocolate, and most definitely the mint chocolate tapioca pudding recipe they have on the carton. If you have access to this beverage, I would highly recommend that you purchase and enjoy!!

Cookbook Challenge Week 7 (catchup): Appetite for Reduction and Viva Vegan

2011-11-07T19:43:00.004-05:00

I got dreadfully behind on the cookbook challenge during Vegan Mofo, but I'm going to try to play some catchup and do at least one recipe for each of the books I have or can get my hands on.

Today, I made two recipes for last weeks' challenge. It was an Isa Chandra Moskowitz/Terry Hope Romero week. So, I could choose any recipes from any of their books.

I chose the Tortilla Soup from Appetite for Reduction (Moskowitz) and the Mushroom Quinotto from Viva Vegan (Romero)

The best thing is that I didn't need to sub anything for either of these recipes!! They were both already gluten/soy free.

And they both earn a **** on my rating system (below). I wouldn't change anything and I will definitely make them again.

I did leave out the optional red pepper flakes in the Tortilla Soup and it would have been a tad too hot for me with it.

Thankfully, I was able to track down the aji amarillo paste for the quinotto. The sweet lady at the tienda Mexicana near my house had no idea what I was talking about (and I did ask for it in Spanish). But I was able to find this nice little Peruvian item in a supermercado in Raleigh. The supermercado carries more South American items. (For you locals I found it at International Foods in the Brentwood Shopping Center at New Hope Church Road/Atlantic). It would have been delicious even without it, but it just gave a little extra yum.

It is not the most photogenic of meals, but it is arguably the best quinoa I have ever had. It was a little labor intensive with the consistent stirring. Before I tried it I was thinking it wasn't worth it, but after I had dinner I decided it was. Can I say YUM just one more time?

I highly recommend both of these. I'd be happy to serve these to anybody that can handle the spice of the soup. If they can't even handle mild spice, the quinotto would still be a great choice without the aji paste.

Ratings (please bear in mind that the ratings are based on the recipes with my gluten free/soy free subs, so if the subs are significant, it's not necessarily the recipe's fault - sometimes I'll add extra notes about this or change the rating slightly to account for the substitutions)

* = yuck, not even worth trying again

** = has potential, but needs significant tweaking

***= good, needs a little adjustment

****= excellent

Mofie Awards!! The Video Edition

2011-11-02T14:03:00.058-04:00

In classic fashion, I read an old post and thought it was current. The post was from 2009 and I got all excited and wrote up a post to present the first annual mofie awards. I'm only two years late for that. Since there is no news on the mofie awards for this year, I suppose I'm in this alone, but since I didn't participate in 2009/2010, these ARE my first annual Mofie Awards. Besides, you lovely winners deserve your awards no less than you did this morning.

I know it's not common for presenters to give a thank you speech, but before I announce my virtual awards, I want to thank my family and friends. My family listened to me go on and on about kitchen failures and successes and encouraged me through it. My friends put up with me being "just a few minutes late" because I was tweaking or posting such and such a recipe. Some of them are even waiting for me to feel like making a particular thing again so they can actually try what they saw in the pictures. Others made rather willing testers. One of them did think for a minute that I was feeding him chicken (:P). My poor mother even tested the first batch of banana nut bread cookies (sorry, Mom). So thanks to all of you. I love you!

Now on to the awards part of this post...

1. The Cheerleading Squad Award

Presented to:

Jessy of happyveganface
Mandee of Cupcake Kitteh
and
Amanda of Newman Improved

I didn't do an actual count, but I'm pretty sure these ladies were my most frequent commenters. Not a day went by that I didn't hear from at least one of them. Frequently it was all three. On the days where I didn't really feel like cooking or posting, I was able to push through because I knew they were "waiting" for me. So thanks, ladies for your consistency and your encouragement (and your own great blogs). I appreciate it!

I award to you:

this virtual cheerleading trophy

And, not that you need it, but just in case you ever want a lesson on spirit fingers or need to loosen your fingers after typing your latest post...here's a clip of Sparky Polastri from Bring it On showing you how it's done.

Oh, and Jessy, you might want to take a look at Cara's award (#3) I think you might find her video pretty interesting.

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2. Extra Effort Award

Presented to:

Sarah of I'm Vegan, and No, I'm not Starving

Not only was Sarah participating in mofo, she was also planning and preparing for her daughter's birthday party and still made time to bake gluten free/soy free cookies for me. She's pretty darn great.

So, Sarah, here's an episode of Phineas and Ferb just for you. You don't have to feel guilty about sitting and watching without the kid because it's your award so you have to watch, right? <3

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3. "Being...er...I mean...Making My Favorite Food Witch" Award

Presented to:

Cara of Fork and Beans for her Fig Witches

For you, dear Cara, I started on a mission to find you a clip of your favorite Teen Witch song. But, what's this? I found a video of the WHOLE movie. Make some popcorn, take a break from your Thanksgiving food posting, put it on full screen, and enjoy Teen Witch and all its Bradaliciousness.

And, yes, I was totally tempted to post something of Justin Timberlake. But since you say you don't really like him, you'll have to search youtube for him yourself.

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4. "Best Posts on the Prairie" Award

Presented to:

Lisa of Panda with Cookie

I grew up loving all things Laura Ingalls Wilder. The books. The TV show. Hating Nellie Oleson. And I know I would have loved the cookbook if I had it. Thanks, Lisa for raising my Prairie awareness.

For you, a clip of one of the finest of Laura/Nellie moments.

I bet they needed a big glass of vinegar-y ginger water after that.

And, a suggestion for your next veganizing vintage cookbook project:

I just hate I no longer have my copy. I'd love to see you veganize the bologna-egg cups. Yes, I used to make and eat those.

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5. "Best evocation of memories while making memories of her own" Award

Presented to:

Kelly of Three and a Half Vegans for her Edible Candyland

For you, here's another favorite childhood memory: Bill Cosby's Picture Pages and his squeaky pen, Mortimer.

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6. Linky McLinkerton Award

Presented to:

Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe and Mel from Veganise This

I didn't do a search of the entire internet or anything, but as far as I can tell from my google stats, the most individual links posted on blogs back to my blog during mofo were made by Johanna and Mel. Thanks for the support and spreading the gluten-free/soy-free vegan love. Hope you enjoy the things you make! Come back and let me know how you go with them.

For you, Schoolhouse Rock's "Conjunction Junction" because as we all know conjunctions link things.

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7. Positive Peer Pressure Award

Presented to:

Amanda of In My Vegan Life

Amanda used her peer pressure powers for good instead of evil. If it hadn't been for her, I may not have even participated in mofo this year. Thanks, Amanda!

For you, a really cheesy peer pressure video obviously from the 80s. But, really, who couldn't use a little more Mr. T in her life? I'm glad you're not a bad influence like these kids.

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8. "Most droolworthy sandwich/sandwich I most want to deglutenize & desoyatize" Award

Presented to:

Celine of Have Cake Will Travel & Tami of Vegan Appetite

For you...a Seinfeld clip. Sit back and relax in the knowledge that you are saving a lot of vegans from a moment like this

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9. " Some Kind of Wonderful" Award

Before I present this award, let me tell you that I don't throw around awards like this every day. "Some Kind of Wonderful" are not words to be used flippantly. After all, it is the title of the best teen drama of the 80s.

That being said, this award is presented to:

The Veganmofo Headquarters team

Y'all are great! Even while keeping up your own blogs, you did daily round-ups & daily giveaways. You kept up the lists of bloggers so it was easy for us to use Google Reader. You put up with complainers. You fostered community in the vegan blogosphere. You gave gluten-free vegans our own category listing this year!! So thanks for all of your efforts and thanks for being you.

For you, since I cant afford to buy you each a pair of diamond earrings: the advice to stay away from Hardy Jenns AND the best clip from Some Kind of Wonderful.

Aside from the hygienic issue of swapping earrings from one person to another without cleaning them with alcohol, this clip does a heart good. 'Cause who doesn't want the guy to fall for the best friend at the end?

1 food 5 ways, Sweet Potato, Way #5: Chipotle Sweet Potato Salad

2011-11-01T07:52:00.005-04:00

Something I've been wanting to mention during mofo, but didn't fit in my theme until now: My local Whole Foods Market also was finally able to get in Follow Your Heart's Soy-Free Vegenaise! If your market doesn't have it yet, ask. It's totally worth it. So how could I use that AND finish up my last sweet potato post? Chipotle Mayo was the clear answer!

Two of my favorite flavors with sweet potato are chipotle and green onion. I've combined them here to make this nice little sweet potato salad. This is just one serving so multiply however you want.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Salad
Serves 1

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cubed sweet potato, steamed
1 green onion/scallion, sliced
2 tsp soy-free vegenaise
3/4 tsp chipotle tabasco sauce

Directions:
In a small bowl mix together the vegenaise and tabasco with a fork until well incorporated and smooth. In a small mixing bowl, put the chipotle mayo over the sweet potato and scallion and mix with a fork until coated. If your sweet potato isn't already cold, you might want to let it chill at this point. But I'd prepared my sweet potato yesterday and let it chill overnight so it was good to go.

Here it is on a brown rice tortilla with some fresh, chopped spinach. Wrap it up and it's ready!

Note: I didn't, but next time I would add a little more chipotle mayo to the tortilla before wrapping it because the tortilla overpowered the salad in some bites. But without the wrap, I think the small amount of chipotle mayo was just right.

And now (just 8 hours late), I can really say that 1 food 5 ways is a wrap! (couldn't resist)

1 food 5 ways, Navy Beans, Way #5: Cranberry Nut Muffins

2011-11-01T05:23:00.009-04:00

After a really bad failure on a pasta dish, I decided to throw caution to the wind, break out those fresh cranberries I picked up at Trader Joe's last week and try baking with beans again. I've never been so happy to fail in all my life. If I hadn't failed at that pasta, I would have never even attempted these muffins. I didn't feel like I had a clue as to what I was doing, but somehow it worked! Oh.my.gosh so much crantasticness in one place. I don't think anyone will suspect you hid in some extra fiber and protein by way of my little friend the navy bean.

Without further ado, I present to you the beaniful Cranberry Nut Muffin. Now stop staring and get in the kitchen!

Cranberry Nut Muffins

Makes 17

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups brown rice flour

1/4 cup arrowroot

1-1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup turbinado sugar

1-1/2 cups navy beans

1 cup orange juice

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1-1/4 cup chopped fresh cranberries

1/2 cup walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tin w/paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, mix brown rice flour, arrowroot, cream of tartar and baking soda. Set aside.

In the blender or food processor, blend sugar, beans, orange juice, canola oil, salt and cinnamon until smooth (it's ok to have some sugar granules, but no obvious beans).

Pour the bean/sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon, just until well combined.

Fold in cranberries and walnuts.

Put 1/4 cup batter into each muffin paper (nearly full).

Bake for 35 minutes, or until muffins are lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean.

Note: It's probably ok to just lightly oil the muffin tins, but I haven't tested that yet. I wanted to use my cute little fall muffin papers.

1 food 5 ways, Sweet Potato and Navy Beans Way #5

2011-10-31T19:14:00.006-04:00

Well, I really hate to end mofo like this. But the attempt at this last recipe was yuck. In theory it was good. The individual components weren't too bad and it smelled great coming out of the oven, but all together I didn't like it at all. It was was sweet potato stuffed shells with a creamy herbed sauce. The sweet potatoes were too sweet, the sauce was too thick and too strong. So, I've got nothin' for way #5 for sweet potato and navy bean unless I come up with something tonight. I'll have to owe them to you!

But, I do hate to end like this, so I have my thinking cap on!

UPDATE: 9:50pm

We might have a winner for way #5...nope not for sweet potatoes (had another sweet potato fail actually). These muffins were made with navy beans! But, they're too hot to see how the texture/taste is. If they turned out as well as they look like they did, I'll definitely post the recipe.

Vegan Month of Food 2011 - 1 food 5 ways, Wrap Up

2011-10-31T17:48:00.029-04:00

Wow! It's been quite the month. I could go through and give you a list of all the recipes and links, but I'll spare you that. You can click on the label 1 food 5 ways and get that. What I am going to do is just list out a few things that have stuck out to me this month.

My favorite meal: I'm a sandwich kinda girl so I'm thinking the bbq'd portabella sandwich.

My favorite sweet: hands down - the banana split ice cream

My most-surprising/most-pleasing accomplishments: Besides actually finishing!... Making mofo headquarters' roundup (more than once) being tweeted, referred to on other people's blogs, being pinned on pinterest. It was all crazy encouraging.

My most frustrating recipe: definitely the banana nut bread cookies. If they hadn't worked the third time, I think I would have cried.

My most surprising recipe: The Creamy Kale Pasta Casserole. I was originally trying to make polenta eggplant sliders with pesto. It was a complete disaster. The pasta bake was a "save" and ended up being one of my favorites. Second Runnerup: The sloppy joe pie. I wasn't sure where it was going when I started, but I sure like how it ended up.

My least favorite recipe: that mango dressing on the blackened portabella salad. The mushroom, on the other hand was fantastic!

And the last recipe that I tried that I didn't even bother posting. Yuck!

My post that received the most "buzz" : Without a doubt, the sweet 'n' sour cashews and chickpea nuggets (thanks to veganmofo.com & dc*vegan)

My most interesting discoveries about my meals: When I'm cooking for the blog, my meals are more carbolicious than normal. I actually miss more regular salads, fruits, juices. I also miss not having to cook if I don't feel like it.

My most interesting discoveries about myself: I'm better at making dishes up than I thought. Back when I went gluten/soy-free and vegan, I lost all confidence in doing things off the cuff. I'm starting to get that back again. And I am capable of finishing a major project like this if I put my mind to it.

My favorite parts of vegan mofo:

I couldn't choose between these three --

1. The kind cookbook authors who allowed me to post recipes (I hope I didn't forget anybody!)
Isa Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, Bryant Terry, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, and Tamasin Noyes.

2. Reading other peoples' blogs. Especially you amazing gluten-free folks! I do want to go back and read/bookmark some now that this month is over.

3. You wonderful readers! You have been so encouraging. If it hadn't been for your wonderful feedback, I might have given up on the days I got tired. Thanks for making it a fun month of 1 food 5 ways! <3

BTW, I am planning on making a pdf for myself of all the recipes from 1 food 5 ways. So if you're interested in having an electronic copy (@ no charge to you), email me at dawn {at} drsimpsongallery {dot} com

1 food 5 ways, Sweet Potatoes, Way #4: Sweet Potato - Black Bean Nachos

2011-10-31T16:04:00.007-04:00

These are arguably the best nachos that I've had since going vegan. Granted, I don't make them much, and I don't usually branch away from the ordinary, but I really liked these. The ingredients were inspired by all the colors I think of for Halloween: orange, black, purple and green. By the time it all cooked up, it was close to the same color except for the guac, but it was Halloweenish going in.

Sweet Potato-Black Bean Nachos

Serves 2

Chips:

6 blue corn tortillas

1 Tbsp Canola Oil

Salt, optional (I actually used yummy smoked salt)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Brush both sides of the tortillas with a little bit of oil. Sprinkle on salt if desired. Bake on a pan until crispy, about 8 minutes. I use my big pizza pan so they all fit on one pan.

Sweet Potato-Black Bean Topping

2 tsp Canola Oil

1/2 cup red onion

2 cups shredded sweet potato

1-1/2 cups black beans

1-1/4 cups water, plus extra to desired doneness

Your favorite Taco Seasoning, to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium to medium high heat. Add onions and cook about 5 minutes until beginning to turn translucent and brown a bit. Add the sweet potato, 1-1/4 cup water and taco seasoning. After sweet potato is well coated, add the black beans. Cook until the water has mostly cooked out, but nothing is sticking yet. Check the doneness of the sweet potato. If it's not done enough for you, add 1/4 cup water and cook until it's almost done again. I ended up doing this twice (adding a total of 1/2 cup of water) for sweet potato that wasn't mushy, but wasn't crunchy anymore either. Total cooking time was about 20 minutes.

Other Ingredients:

Daiya (or your favorite cheese or cheese sauce)

Guacamole

Directions:

Assemble by putting chips on the plate, topping with some of the sweet potato-black bean topping, then daiya, then more sweet potato-black bean topping then a dollop of guac. Really, assemble it how you want, but that's how I did it.

Notes:

1. For the taco seasoning, I used 2 Tbsp of this one and to me it was on the hot side. If I were serving it to others in my family, I would probably just use 1 tbsp)

2. I thought the Daiya would melt when I put some of the hot filling on top. It didn't. I liked it fine unmelted, but if you want the cheese melted, you'll need to put your nachos in a pan and heat in the oven or put it on a microwave-safe plate and melt it that way.

3. If you don't want to make your own chips, use store bought. Blue is great for Halloween, but yellow or white would taste the same.

4. Here's my guacamole, but make it however you like.

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Well, there's one recipe left! Yes, I know you think there are supposed to be two because I still have way #5 for both navy beans and sweet potatoes. But, the plan is to celebrate the last day of the Vegan Month of Food by getting a little crazy and combining them! Let's see how it works...

1 food 5 ways, Sweet Potatoes, Way #3: Sweet Potato Pie Juice

2011-10-30T08:33:00.006-04:00

A couple months ago, I was doing a short juice fast. Generally, I preferred the vegetable-y green juices, but one day I really wanted something sweet. This was it!

Sweet Potato Pie Juice

Makes about 1 cup, depending on your juicer and the size of your ingredients

Put through the juice extractor:

1 large sweet potato (9-10 oz)

1 fuji apple

Stir 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice into the juice

Place in a airtight glass container or bottle and chill. (It is one of those juices that will leave/some sugar or starch on the glass, don't get worried if you see a buildup in the bottom)

Shake and enjoy!

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Just so ya know, YES, I do plan on finishing up the theme and doing a wrap-up by the end of tomorrow. But if I don't finish tomorrow, I will finish up in the days following just as if mofo hasn't ended.

1 food 5 ways, Sweet Potatoes, Way #2: Sweet Potato Pancakes

2011-10-29T11:05:00.006-04:00

I'm not trying to build suspense with the last navy bean recipe. Because, really, I'm not even sure it's going to turn out the way it is in my head. But, I forgot to pick up an ingredient that I really, really want in it. I daresay I need it in there. So, on to sweet potato way 2 (and possibly a couple other sweet potato dishes before the last navy bean post).

Saturday morning breakfast is my favorite meal of the week. I like to take my time in the kitchen and at the table. It's a chill time. Unless I'm rushing out to Saturday cycling class, which I usually am, and then I have to wait and chill later in the day. But today I couldn't go, so I got to make a classic leisurely breakfast. I present to you gluten-free sweet potato pancakes!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Makes 9-12, depending on size you want

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chickpea flour

1/2 cup arrowroot

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1-1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup sweet potato puree, see note #1 below

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-3/4 cup almond milk

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Chopped Pecans, optional for topping

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl (preferably with a pour spout) mix together arrowroot, chickpea flour, brown rice flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar and spices with a whisk. Set aside.

In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the remainder of the ingredients, except optional pecans, until sweet potato is completely smooth (there shouldn't be any clumps). Pour this mixture in with the dry and whisk until everything is well incorporated.

Let the batter sit for 2 or 3 minutes to settle.

Pour out the batter onto your preheated/oiled cooking surface and cook until edges start to brown. This batter didn't bubble up for me like your typical pancake batter so it's all about how brown they are. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown. It took mine about 2-1/2 to 3 minutes on the first side and then about 2 minutes on the second side on an electric griddle set around 375.

Top with chopped pecans if desired. Then drizzle with your favorite syrup. Actually you can drown them in Earth Balance and syrup if that's how you like it. But I'm a minimal syrup girl.

Notes:

1. Make your own sweet potato puree by steaming chunks of sweet potato until soft and then whizzing it all up in the food processor until completely smooth. Easy peasy. The canned kind would probably work just fine though.

2. I got 9 relatively large pancakes. But I made one of them a little smaller just to see and they were a little easier to flip smaller. So next time I'd probably go for 12.

3. These are my favorite gluten free pancakes so far :D

1 food 5 ways, Sweet Potatoes, Way #1: Sweet Potato-Scallion Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

2011-10-28T16:46:00.008-04:00

You may have been observant enough to notice that I skipped over way #5 of navy beans. Have no fear, I will get back it. BUT, as is probably pretty obvious from earlier weeks, Fridays are usually busy days for me. Today is no exception. Tonight is my Sunday School class's pumpkin carving social. So I decided to skip on to way #1 of my last food for Vegan Month of Food so I could take them as my contribution to the snack table. And the last food for the month is...sweet potatoes! Sweet dishes, savory dishes, I love them pretty much any way you can make them and am looking forward to experimenting in the next couple days and to enjoying this favorite of mine!

These are such a favorite, that ever since I came up with this combo, I haven't bothered making any other rice paper rolls. I actually usually use the cashew sauce I posted earlier in the month, but my Whole Foods Market has removed its grind-your-own cashew butter machine and I didn't have time to make it from scratch today. So I just replaced the cashew butter with peanut butter. The lime overpowered the peanut butter a bit, so I added about a Tbsp more of PB, a couple dashes of Coconut Aminos and a little salt. Just adjust 'til it tastes right. That's a double batch in the picture. Probably more than I'll need for the rolls, but I don't mind leftovers :D

Sweet Potato-Scallion Rice Paper Rolls (makes 14)

Ingredients:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 to 2 lbs of sweet potatoes, cut french fry size
14 - 8" rice paper wrappers
4 oz rice noodles (Asian style, not spaghetti noodles) cooked according to package directions, drained and rinsed in cold water
1/2 bunch (about 8) scallions/green onions, white bulb removed and the rest sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. On a rimmed cookie sheet, toss the sweet potatoes in the olive oil until coated. Spread out in a single layer and bake sweet potatoes for 30 minutes, turning them over after 20. Set aside to cool.

When all the components are ready and cool, you can assemble the rolls:

Fill a large pie plate or bowl with very warm water. Place two rice paper wrappers in the water at a time, completely submerged and let sit for about a minute, until they have softened.

Handle each wrapper gently as you place it on your work surface. Place about 3 Tbsp rice noodles in the lower third of the wrapper, leaving about 1-1/2 inches of margin from the far edges on either side (you'll be folding those in.) Place a layer of sweet potato above the noodles (I probably used 8-10 "fries" for each roll). Add scallions (probably about 2 tsp-1 tbsp). To roll, snugly fold the left and right sides of the wrapper over the filling. Lift the bottom of the wrapper over the filling and tuck it underneath the filling, then roll firmly but gently Place the rolls seam side down on a plate or clean cookie sheet. Cut in half when ready to serve. (I cut them at an angle. They just seem fancier that way)

Notes:
1. I cooked 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, but it was a little too much for 14 rolls. So you can cook less. Or do what I did and mix up a little maple syrup and chipotle tabasco. Dip and eat.
2. My work surface is a piece of wax paper taped to the counter.
3. You'll get a setup that works for you after you do it a time or two. My water bowl sits on the counter to the side and I have everything else on the island where I'm assembling the stuff. My assembly station looks like this (sorry for the dark pic - it's raining here today) :

4. Don't feel the need to be too uptight about what goes in the roll. Some will have more rice noodles, some will have more sweet potato. As long as it's close, you're golden. By all means don't stress yourself out by measuring.
3. If you're scared of rice paper rolls, don't be. They are a lot easier than you think!

UPDATE: Harry Potter (kinda) Jack-o-lantern. We had a great time carving, visiting and eating yummies.

1 food 5 ways, Navy Beans, Way #4: Breakfast Scramble

2011-10-27T05:00:00.008-04:00

One of my favorite easy meals to eat pre-vegan was egg scrambles. I can only assume I'd love tofu scrambles too. But, since I can't have that, what to do? I do consider navy beans to be the tofu of beans. So...it was a natural jump. This may seem pretty simple to some of you, but it actually took me until this year to realize I could make a scramble out of navy beans. If you haven't tried it yet, do it! It's totally yum!

You can put whatever you want in it, but I'm a one scramble kinda girl. In fact, I fancied it up a bit for you by actually using onion and garlic this time. It was good, I think I'll add it to my usual. Of course, the likelihood that I'll ever measure it again is pretty slim.

I call it a breakfast scramble, but I eat breakfast for lunch and dinner too. Eat it whenever you want. Call it whatever you want. It's ok by me.

Here it is pictured with my latest failure of a biscuit. Biscuits seem to be my arch nemesis. But one day, maybe I'll get it. Finally, the flavor was decent, but they were a crumbly mess.

But I digress... Don't let the scramble's homeliness fool you, it's tasty!

Breakfast Scramble

Ingredients:

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/2 tsp crushed garlic (approx equiv 1 clove fresh)

1-1/2 cups navy beans

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp black salt, plus extra for sprinkling at the end

1/2 cup large dice tomatoes

1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves, chopped

1/8 nutritional yeast

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add beans and water. (The water is useful for keeping the beans from sticking, for making the beans a little creamier and making a bit of a sauce with the nutritional yeast). Add in the 1/2 tsp black salt and mix throughout the beans. Cook for a minute or two until about half of the water has cooked out. Add tomatoes and spinach and stir to combine well. Cook for a minute or so until warm throughout. Stir in the nutritional yeast until well mixed. Sprinkle on any additional black salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste. Eat up!

1 food 5 ways, Navy Beans, Way #3: Pumpkin Bars

2011-10-26T05:00:00.004-04:00

Sarah's pumpkin cookies and my first ever almond milk pumpkin spice latte (Thanks, Benelux Cafe!!) have got me in the pumpkin spice mood. I used this (non-vegan) bean based blondie recipe as inspiration and added my favorite fall flavors! They aren't super sweet, so if you roll that way you would definitely need to add more molasses or sugar. You would, of course, have to adjust otherwise to make up for it. The lightly sweet molasses and the mild pumpkin flavors make me think they'd be perfect for a nice fall brunch.

Pumpkin Bars
(You could call these something like Navy Bean Pumpkin Bars or Gluten Free Beany Bars, but I figure why scare people?)

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup arrowroot

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 cups cooked navy beans

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup canola oil

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup light molasses

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a 9x9 baking dish.

Using a fine mesh sieve, sift together the brown rice flour, arrowroot, cream of tartar and baking soda into a large bowl. Set aside

In a good blender or food processor, blend the remaining ingredients until really smooth.

Pour the bean-pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.

Spoon the batter into baking dish and smooth with a rubber spatula.

Bake until top has cracks in it, bars start to pull away from sides of dish, and toothpick comes out (mostly) clean, about 40 minutes.

Place on wire rack to cool completely. Slice into bars and serve.

1 food 5 ways, Navy Beans, Way #2: Italian Tacos

2011-10-25T05:00:00.003-04:00

I wanted to try something easy and different. This was both! Pretty tasty too.

Italian Tacos

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups navy beans
1 cup of your favorite marinara or pizza sauce (I used 1/2 cup of the quick pizza sauce from Vegetarian Times with 1/2 cup of water - because it's REALLY thick - salt to taste and a couple squirts of agave to cut the acid of the strong tomato flavor)
Crunchy Taco Shells
Chopped/Shredded Romaine Lettuce
Mozzarella Style Daiya

Directions:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix the navy beans and marinara sauce. Heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through and the sauce has thickened up a bit, about 10 minutes.

Put some of the bean mixture in each shell and top with Romaine and Daiya.

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Since this was a pretty short post, now would be a good time to ask a question I've been wondering about. I was thinking about making myself a pdf of all the 1 food 5 ways posts so I'd have a hard copy of all these recipes complete with pictures. If I do that (after mofo is over of course), would it be helpful to make it available to you? Not for a charge, just to share.

Ciao!

1 food 5 ways, Navy Beans, Way #1: Buffalo Bleu Dip

2011-10-24T16:14:00.010-04:00

If you were to ask me what my favorite bean is, you'd most likely hear a response of garbanzo, black beans or brown/green lentils. My favorite changes a lot because they are so different in taste. But, if you asked what the most used bean is, the answer would always be the same: Navy Beans!! Though a little different from each other, in these posts Navy & Great Northern Beans are interchangeable. Use whichever one you have access to.

Navy beans are a good source of fiber, iron and the mood enhancing amino acid tryptophan. But I wont give you a science lesson here (you can read more about them at World's Healthiest foods if you're interested). What I will tell you is that I consider these the tofu of beans. As a soy free vegan, the "tofu of beans" is very important. The beans themselves have a mild flavor that takes on pretty much whatever flavors you mix in. Sometimes I even actually use them as a tofu replacement in recipes You'll get an example or two of this in later posts. But for now, I give to you the best reason for beans in the world: dip!!!

One of the things I missed most when I eliminated dairy from my diet was bleu cheese. I didn't even need to eat the stuff, but I sure wanted dressing. More specifically, I wanted something that went with Buffalo sauce! Then one day I discovered The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook (really great book for cheese substitutes!). There was a bleu cheese dressing in it. I always found it way too thin for dipping (after all it never claimed to be a dip), but the bleu flavor is delicious. After further consideration, I realized I rarely wanted bleu cheese flavor without Buffalo Sauce. So I used the basic flavor from UUC and changed it into the perfect answer: Buffalo Bleu Dip! It's part bleu cheese, part bean dip, part Buffalo sauce and all yum!!

It's really good with potato chips, but my favorite way to have it is with chickpea nuggets, baby carrots and celery sticks...a nod to the the old days of the Buffalo Wing Basket at Applebee's

Buffalo Bleu Dip

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups cooked Navy Beans

2 Tbsp Tahini

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

2 pinches white pepper

Juice of 2 lemons (about 2 Tbsp)
1 tsp chickpea miso

2 Tbsp soy-free Earth Balance, melted

4 Tbsp Texas Pete Hot Sauce (see note below*)

Water to desired thickness. I use about 1/4 cup.

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Taste for hot sauce and salt. Add to taste if necessary. Refrigerate for at least an hour for the flavors to mix together and the dip to chill.

*Note about Texas Pete. It's not super hot. In fact it's on the mild side, but it has a really great smooth flavor that's perfect for Buffalo Sauce. (And it hails from North Carolina!!) SO if you're not using Texas Pete and your hot sauce is really hot, you will probably want to take this measurement down. You might want to anyway if you're a bit of a heat wimp ;) Just do it to taste. Remember, you can add more, but you can't take it out!

1 food 5 ways, Bananas, Way #5: Curried Chickpea Patties with Banana-Pineapple Chutney

2011-10-23T04:36:00.010-04:00

My original plan for way #5 for bananas was to make banana-coconut short stacks as a sweet breakfast. But - I can't believe I'm saying this - I was getting a little tired of all the sweet! So I decided to go the savory route for yesterday's brunch.

The perfect savory/sweet combo? Fruit chutney and just about anything curried. I'm pretty new to the curry powder world, but it was love at first bite. My main use of it so far has been the curried frittata from Vegan Brunch. Unfortunately, it calls for tofu. While it works with the chickpea based Burmese tofu, that takes a lot of pre-planning and sometimes I don't want to wait that long.

What's a girl to do? I used the flavors from that frittata and came up with these little curried chickpea patties to go with the sweet, but not-too-sweet banana-pineapple chutney. Served with some roasted cauliflower that was lightly seasoned with nutmeg and salt, this was a great little brunch that saved my taste buds from sweet overload.

Bananas-Pineapple Chutney

Makes about 2 cups

Make this ahead so it has plenty of time to cool and let the flavors marry

Ingredients:
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp dry mustard powder

3/4 cup pineapple tidbits

1 cup water

3 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp Agave Nectar

3 medium bananas, cut in 1/2" cubes

Directions:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion in the olive oil until onions are translucent and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger and dry mustard powder until the onions are well coated. Stir in the pineapple and cook another 2 minutes. Add the water, lemon juice, agave and bananas. Stir until all well combined. Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil. After it boils, reduce heat to low. Let it simmer, uncovered, until the bananas have broken down to the consistency of mashed bananas and most of the liquid has cooked out. Stir occasionally (This will probably take about 40 minutes, but I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was trying to evaporate the liquid and left the lid on for a while first, so it took me an hour). Chill until ready to serve.

Curried Chickpea Patties

Ingredients:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for cooking patties

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1 tsp crushed garlic

1-1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1-1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp curry powder (you may need to adjust this depending on the heat of your curry powder and your tolerance for the heat)

1 medium carrot, grated

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Directions:

In a skillet over medium heat, saute the onion in the olive oil until onions are translucent and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

Add the onion mixture and all the other ingredients into the food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. There will still be some texture from the rice, but no recognizable chickpeas. Taste for salt and curry powder and add if necessary.

Form 12 small patties from the mixture. (This mixture was perfect for me for forming, but if it's a little too moist to stay together, add a little chickpea flour. If it's too dry, add a little water.) Using the same skillet you cooked the onions in, over medium heat, add a little more oil (2-3 tsp) and cook the patties until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. I do this in two batches so there's plenty of room to turn the patties. If using a smaller skillet, you might have to do it in 3 batches.

Tomorrow: Moving on to food #5 - Navy Beans!

1 food 5 ways, Bananas, Way #4: Banana Nut Bread Cookies

2011-10-22T18:36:00.009-04:00

You thought I still wasn't going to post these, didn't you? Actually, my Saturday has been chock full. I got the pleasure of celebrating the big 5th birthday of the ever-adorable Livi. Her equally adorable mommy (Sarah from I'm Vegan and No I'm not Starving) spoiled me by making gluten free/soy free pumpkin cookies, a hummus & veg plate and a fruit plate. And her Daddy, who probably wouldn't appreciate being called adorable, even put forth the effort to go find some soy-free chocolate coconut-milk ice cream! BTW, if you saw Sarah's post yesterday both her rainbow cupcakes and her fondant were amazing! But now I am back home and ready to post...

After 2 tries trying to make these agave sweetened and ending up with less than stellar-results, I went back to my old standard: turbinado sugar. This version was a hit with family and friends that tried them. Some game night friends were very happy to have some left behind for this morning's breakfast. After I offered to leave some, I found out that one friend was prepared to request (read: nearly demand) just that. The cookies went especially well with a nice dark cup of French Roast Coffee (Thanks, H, for being a great barista!)

These are not your typical cookie. You're going to think the batter is too thin to give you a decent cookie. But they have a nice banana nut bread consistency with a little crispy edge, almost like a thin muffin top.

And, as a bonus for you xanthan gum haters, there isn't any!! Bananas are a great binder so I didn't need it to keep the cookies from falling apart. Without further adieu, I finally present to you...

Banana Nut Bread Cookies
Makes approx 3 Dozen

Ingredients:
Group 1

1/4 cup rice milk (I used unsweetened, double check that it's gluten free - some brands use barley)
1/2 cup canola oil
1-1/2 cups mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup turbinado sugar

Group 2
3/4 cup garfava flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup arrowroot
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (this is one case where the paper is probably necessary. Because it's a thin batter, I think it would really stick).

In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients from group one with a wooden spoon until well combined. Don't overmix and don't use beaters, it will make the combination of bananas and arrowroot really gummy.

Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the ingredients in group 2 into the banana mixture. Sift in about half, mix with a wooden spoon, sift in the other half, mix with a wooden spoon.

Drop the dough (really more like batter) onto the parchment paper by rounded measuring tablespoon. Leave at least 2 inches of room for them to spread. I found that it worked better to put 9 on the pan at a time than my usual 12. When I tried 12, I ended up with conjoined cookies both times.

Bake until golden brown and the edges are just a little darker than golden, about 16 minutes. Leave on the pan for 5 minutes after removing from oven. Place on wire rack to cool completely.

Voila! Banana nut bread taste in a convenient cookie form!

Personally, I don't eat my baked goods warm. But if you roll that way, I have the sneaking suspicion that these would be good warmed and topped with a little soy-free Earth Balance.

As always, if you have any questions about the directions, feel free to ask. And if you try them, report back and let me know what you think!

Tomorrow, for the last banana post, we're moving back into savory territory :)

1 food 5 ways, Bananas, Way #4 Banana Nut Cookies

2011-10-21T20:00:00.001-04:00

Banana Nut cookies are under construction. I made the first batch and while not a complete failure, they are too dry. If I can get myself to the grocery to get more bananas and nuts, I'm gonna give it another go. Just didn't want you to think I went AWOL today!

UPDATE 8:00PM : Third time's a charm. But it's Nertz night, so I don't have time to post the recipe until tomorrow. Until then, I'll leave you with a picture.

1 food 5 ways, Bananas, Way #3: Banana Corn Fritters

2011-10-20T05:00:00.004-04:00

When I was trying to decide what recipes I wanted to try for bananas, I came across this one from Eating Well. It wasn't vegan. It wasn't gluten free. I couldn't resist trying to fix that.

My version (presumably similar to the original) was lightly sweet and lightly hot. If I were serving it with something mild, I'd up the chipotle. Then again, I really like a good kick. But if you're serving them with something spicy like chili or spicy greens and beans, it's a good balance as is.

Banana Corn Fritters

Pictured here with some spicy greens & beans. I so wish I had written the measurements for that down for you.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup chickpea flour

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp Chipotle Tabasco

1-1/4 cups roughly mashed bananas (about 3 medium)

2 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp canola oil, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with canola oil.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, chickpea flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon.

3. In another medium bowl, mix banana, water, Tabasco

4. Add the cornmeal mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just incorporated.

3. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, using 2 Tbsp batter for each (I used an 1/8 cup measuring cup to dish it out), space 5 fritters evenly in the pan. Cook until golden brown, 30 seconds to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cook a second batch with the remaining oil and batter, adjusting heat to prevent burning. (I had a few extras for a third batch. The Eating Well recipe said it made 10, I got 13. The pan was oiled enough from the previous batches that I didn't need to add any oil for the 3rd batch.)

4. Transfer the fritters to the oven and bake until puffed and firm to the touch, 8-10 minutes.

Notes:

1. I mis-read the directions and didn't turn the heat down to medium after the oil was heated. I also used my cast iron skillet that really holds heat. Therefore, mine were much darker than golden brown. They weren't burned though. All that to say: read the directions, and if you're using cast iron you might want to turn the heat down a little more.

2. Although I didn't measure anything, the spicy greens and beans consisted of the following: frozen spinach, black beans, nutritional yeast, garlic salt, and more chipotle Tabasco. I heartily recommend it with the fritters.

3. It's great to find a recipe that's gluten free and vegan, but I've learned the most from people that tell me WHY they do certain things, so I'm going to try to quickly tell you why I made the changes I made in hopes that it will encourage someone who has previously been afraid to convert their own recipes:

Using Cream of Tartar/Baking Soda instead of baking powder: I used to have a corn sensitivity and just got used to doing it. I don't even think I have any baking powder. So you don't have to do this, but it works. A 2:1 ratio of Cream of Tartar: Baking Soda is a great sub for baking powder.
Using canola oil instead of cooking spray on the pan: Besides the fact that it comes out of an aerosol can, cooking sprays have soy lecithin in them. I don't even keep it around.
Using Water instead of Milk: This didn't seem like a recipe that needed any creaminess or flavor from milk, especially in that small of a quantity. Besides, I didn't have an open rice or almond milk.
Leaving out the egg: The egg was apparently in this recipe to hold everything together. Bananas are frequently used as a vegan egg substitute and there was enough banana to hold it together. The egg was completely unnecessary.
Using the Tabasco instead of ground chile: I had Tabasco. I didn't have ground chile. And I definitely wanted the chipotle taste instead of just cayenne.
Using chickpea flour instead of all purpose flour and using half as much: I don't substitute with chickpea flour often, but it has a little bit of an egg-y flavor and I was leaving out an egg. Just seemed like a natural substitution. I used half as much because without the egg, there wasn't as much liquid in the recipe so I didn't need as much dry

1 food 5 ways, Bananas, Way #2: Banana Split Ice Cream

2011-10-19T05:00:00.009-04:00

I love ice cream. I especially love ice cream that you need to chew. I like it to be hard and have other stuff in it. When you are a soy free vegan who doesn't own an ice cream maker, there aren't a ton of choices out there that fit that description. One of my favorites growing up was a banana split ice cream. Not a real banana split, but the banana flavored ice cream with the fruit and chocolate mixed in. Lucky for me, Dreena Burton made a cashew banana ice cream that I was able to adapt to replace this childhood favorite.

Banana Split "Ice Cream"

"Ice Cream":
5 very ripe bananas, cut into large chunks and frozen (1.25 lbs after being peeled about 4 cups frozen chunks)
1/2 cup salted all natural peanut butter (the stir-in-the jar kind)*
1/4 cup agave nectar

*If you have unsalted peanut butter add 1/8" tsp salt

Add-ins
1/2 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand are vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free)
1/2 cup frozen pineapple, cut in 1/2" dice
1/2 cup frozen strawberries, cut in 1/2" dice
1/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

Directions:
Mix the add-ins together in a large mixing bowl. Put bowl in the freezer while you make the ice cream base so you won't end up with strawberry juice streaks in the "ice cream".

Put the frozen banana chunks in food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. If you have a small processor, you might want to do that in stages. Even with my large one, it almost tossed the processor around a bit. Add the peanut butter and agave nectar and process until smooth.

Get out the add-in bowl and scrape the "ice cream" on top of the add-ins. Then fold in the add-in ingredients until they are evenly distributed.

Put the entire mixture in a freezer-safe container and freeze ice cream until hard, overnight-12 hours. I put that time on it because at 5 hrs after making it was too soft, when I woke up at the 12 hour mark it was perfect! If it's too hard to scoop after refreezing, just leave it sitting out for a couple minutes and it should scoop perfectly.

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

I kinda hate to admit it, but I ate this for breakfast as soon as it was frozen hard enough. I just couldn't help myself. Then again, with all that fruit in it, I guess it's not so bad.

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Liebster Award:

Thanks to Richa from Hobby and More , Mel from Veganise This! and Kelly from Three and a Half Vegans for each awarding me a Liebster. “Liebster” is German and means ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’ but it can also mean ‘favorite’. The idea behind this award is to bring attention to bloggers who have less than 200 followers and show your support during Vegan Mofo!

The rules of winning this award are as follows:

1. Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

I'd like to award Liebsters to the following:

1. Amanda at In My Vegan Life

2. Celyn at Miso For Breakfast

3. Celeste at Growing Up Veg

4. Cara at Fork And Beans

5. VeggieAmanda at Newman Improved

1 food 5 ways, Bananas, Way #1: State Fair Style Frozen Bananas

2011-10-18T07:52:00.002-04:00

I've grown up hearing a story about my older brother visiting my grandparents and asking for a piece of fruit. He was offered apples, oranges, grapes and probably some other varieties of fruit. But with a little pout on his face, he refused them all declaring they didn't have any fruit because there were no bananas.

I'm pretty convinced that most of my family feels this way about bananas. I'd be willing to wager that not one of us goes longer than a day or two without bananas in the house. So it just seemed a natural choice for my next set of posts. (You can read more about bananas at World's Healthiest Foods)

One of my favorite things to do with bananas is to wait until they get really ripe, cut them in chunks and freeze them. It's good to have them ready for smoothies. It's also good to just break off a few chunks and eat them as a not-too-sweet frozen dessert or snack.

But this week is state fair week in NC. Surprisingly, there are quite a few choices I have of things to eat at the fair. But I have to admit I really miss the frozen bananas (which are up to $3 at the fair now!!) So I decided to attempt my own and was pleased with the results.

My original plan was to use Enjoy Life chocolate chips and some coconut oil to get the chocolate coating on the bananas. I'm pretty sure that would be a quick, easy option. However, I made these on Saturday when my sister was over for a visit. She can't do the cane sugar and also loves frozen bananas. That made me determined to find another option. If you can't find vegan, soy-free chocolate chips where you are, my sister made it easier on you :)

State Fair Style Frozen Bananas
Makes 6

You will need:
A small saucepan
A freezer safe container, bottom lined with waxed paper (I used a 9" metal cake pan)

6 Popsicle sticks - see note #6 (6" lollipop sticks might work too, but I haven't tried)

3 Large Bananas (about 8"), ripe but not mushy. You could try 6 small ones, but if they aren't big enough around, they might crack from the popsicle stick.
4 Tbsp Coconut Oil (I didn't use the extra virgin kind, if you do expect a little bit of a coconut-y flavor)
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp Agave
2 tsp arrowroot, mixed with a fork in 1 Tbsp Water
2 Tbsp water
Chopped peanuts, optional (I didn't measure but probably had about 1/4 cup whole peanuts)

Directions:
If using the large bananas, cut them in half. If using the small bananas, cut one end off so you have a flat end to insert the sticks. (You can freeze those ends separately to save for a smoothie). Insert the popsicle sticks. Be as careful as you can not to crack the bananas. If you get some hairline cracks, it's no big deal, just smooth them over with your finger. Put the bananas in the waxed paper lined freezer safe container, uncovered is ok. Freeze them for an hour or two before making the chocolate coating. They don't have to be frozen hard, but the chocolate will work better if the bananas are really cold.

Chop peanuts, if using, and set aside.

Melt the coconut oil in the sauce pan over low heat. Using a fork, stir in the agave nectar and cocoa powder until combined. At this point, it will probably be clumpy in some spots and watery in others. Add the arrowroot-water mixture and stir until everything is well combined and smooth. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp water and stir until smooth. Immediately remove from heat and pour the chocolate into a plate.

Coat a banana in chocolate as well as you can and then use a spoon to fill in the missed spots. (I used a tablespoon - not the measuring kind) Over another plate, sprinkle on the peanuts. Return to waxed paper. Repeat with the remaining bananas. You can use the peanuts that have fallen on the plate to finish up the last banana.

Put container back in the freezer until bananas are completely frozen. 6 hours to overnight.

Notes:

1. The coating is not crunchy a la magic shell. At first I thought this wouldn't be a good thing, but it ended up being better because it didn't crack off the bananas when we bit into them.

2. There will probably be a little leftover chocolate. It will not freeze to become a candy (I tried). At first it looked like it was going to be gummy candy consistency, but leaving it in the freezer longer, it froze into a frosting/spread consistency. We ate it with our fingers, but in retrospect it would have been really good on apple slices or with almonds dipped in.

3. You can eat them before the bananas are completely frozen, but the chocolate gets a little melty. After they are completely frozen, that wasn't an issue.

4. I haven't tried it yet, but I think toasted coconut would be a nice alternative to peanuts.

5. I was totally discouraged at the clumpy/watery stage and was about to throw in the towel. I suddenly realized why so much chocolate has soy lecithin in it (emulsifier). Then my brilliant sister, knowing that eggs are an emulsifier, asked me what I use in place of eggs. Going down the list in my head brought me to arrowroot! Yay, B, for saving an almost-failure especially since you knew I had just thrown in the last of the cocoa!

6. You should be able to buy popsicle sticks at craft stores or craft sections of large discount stores. Or you can do what I did and rely on the kindness of a crafty home-school mom that can share a few. Otherwise, I may have felt obligated to make frozen bananas every week so I could warrant the purchase of all those sticks. Thank you, L, for saving me from myself ;)

7. I ended up holding the sticks with a paper towel because I kept getting chocolate all over the sticks. Would have tasted as good, but not looked nearly as pretty.

This was the first time I've made them, but I'm sure it wont be the last. Let me know how they go if you try them at home so if the recipe needs tweaking, we can.

1 food 5 ways, Mushrooms, Way #5: Mushroom-Prune Tagine

2011-10-17T05:00:00.003-04:00

I got the amazing chance to go to Morocco 5 years ago. In addition to coming home with a lot of fabulous memories and photographs, I came home with a love for tagine.

I wasn't vegan yet when I was there, so my favorite was a meat & prune tagine. This is the version I eat now: Mushroom-Prune Tagine. Ok...I can see you turning your nose up at the prune. Don't be so hard on it. It has bad reputation for being useful for old people that need a little help with their regularity. But it's really a sweet little gem. And it gives a tagine a sweetness that I've never had in a vegetable dish before. So don't diss the prunes. If you do, don't let me hear it.

Tagine is the word for the slow-cooked stew like dish that is traditional in Morocco, but it's also the word for the cool cookware it's prepared in.

Isn't it beautiful? I wish I had gotten one when I was there. They're too expensive here.

But instead, this is my setup...

It's not a great picture, obviously, but that's my large cast iron skillet and a cookie sheet. Nope, it's not as pretty as the traditional dish. But it works. Even if you don't have an oven safe skillet, you can use the skillet on the stove top and then move everything to a covered roasting pan to finish it in the oven. My understanding is that if you own an actual tagine, you'd need a lot less water than written below. But if you have one, you probably know how to use it!

How much you make depends on the size of your skillet/roasting pan. My skillet is a 12" one, so it holds a lot. But this fills it up, so if your skillet is smaller, cut back a little. The vegetables you use and the ratios of them are pretty much up to you, but I find this to be a good balance and these all absorb the spices really well. But, really, don't skip the prunes.

Mushroom-Prune Tagine

Not the most photogenic of foods, but it is tasty!

Ingredients:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 tsp crushed garlic (equiv of 2-3 cloves)

2 large portabella caps (just under 1/2 lb), cut into 3/4" cubes

1 small eggplant (about 3/4 lb), cut into 3/4" cubes

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 parsnips, peeled and sliced (if tops are particularly wide, cut into half moons)

2 small zucchini (about 1/2 lb), sliced. (If zucchini is larger, cut into half moons)

10 prunes, cut into 4-6 pieces per prune

3 cups water (more or less - enough to cover the veg mixture)

Spice mixture:

1-1/2 Tbs cumin

1-1/2 tsp coriander

1 Tbs cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp cardamom

2-3 dashes fresh black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350

Heat the 2 tsp olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for another minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add about 1/4 cup of the water and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are beginning to get tender, about 5 more minutes. Add the other vegetables and stir (more likely fold) to combine. Sprinkle the spice mixture on top of the vegetables. Pour in the water - enough to come up to the top of the vegetable line, not above. Then stir (or fold) to get all the spices mixed in the water and the vegetables coated. Fold in the prunes.

Here's where it goes in the oven. So if your skillet is not oven save, transfer everything into a casserole dish/roasting pan/anything that's a comparable size to your skillet and can be covered. You want the veg not to be spread out on something big like a cookie sheet. The depth of it helps it to all get really tender just like in a slow cooker.

Put your skillet or other dish in the oven and completely cover. The steam should not have a vent. Let it slow cook until all the vegetables are really tender and the water & spices have been absorbed. For me this was about 2 hours.

Notes:

1. The vegetables were "done enough" at an hour, but there was still quite a bit of liquid. So check at an hour and see how the liquid is holding up. If it's gone and the veg aren't soft enough, you can add a little. But if there's quite a lot left, let it continue to cook until it's almost gone, but not completely dry. The vegetables just get softer and sweeter the longer they cook. The texture should be similar to what they would be like if you'd cooked them in a crockpot all day.

2. Tagine is frequently eaten over couscous, but that's not gluten free. Millet, quinoa, and brown rice are all good substitutes if you want a to make your meal more carbolicious, but I like it as is.

3. If you happen to have any leftovers, it freezes and reheats well!

1 food 5 ways, Mushrooms, Way #4: Herbed Polenta Cups with Mushroom-Onion Filling

2011-10-16T04:58:00.006-04:00

More experimenting with mushrooms! I think I hit the flavor straight on, but the execution of it could have been improved a bit. Even with the less than perfect product, I can totally see this sage-y goodness on a plate with gravy for brunch. Or Thanksgiving. Or a Wednesday.

Herbed Polenta Cups with Mushroom-Onion Filling

Makes 12

(is it just me or does the one on the right remind anybody else a little of a Stormtrooper?)

Polenta:
2 cups vegetable broth

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup polenta (Also Known to us Southerners as grits. I use yellow but I suppose white would be fine)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus enough to oil pan
1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 Tbsp dried thyme

2 tsp dried rubbed sage

1/2 tsp ground rosemary

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp salt

Filling:

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1-1/2 cup red onion, coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp water

1-1/2 cup white mushrooms, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Lightly oil a muffin tin with olive oil.

Bring water/vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.

While waiting for the water to boil, begin the filling: Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When oil is heated, add the red onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the 2 Tbsp water. Continue to saute until the mushrooms are tender and the onions are browning, about 5 more minutes. Set aside until ready to fill the polenta cups.

While the filling is cooking and you're still waiting for the water to boil: In a small bowl, mix the 2 Tbsp olive oil and all the herbs for the polenta mixture.

When water/vegetable broth boils, add the polenta in a slow, steady stream. Be sure to mix with a whisk as you pour it. Add the olive oil/herb mixture and mix well so it is evenly distributed in the polenta. Lower the heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, leave covered and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Here's how I molded the polenta (and I'll note how I think it could have been improved afterwards)

I put about 1/4" polenta mix in each muffin cup, let cool about 5 minutes and formed a well in the polenta with my finger. Then put 1 heaping Tbsp filling in the well, trying not to touch the sides, then using a small spoon and my finger, built up the sides and topped it off with polenta to almost full. Push it down to help mold it and smooth the bottom with the backside of a spoon. The one in the picture is actually a tiny bit too full to make twelve polenta cups, so use a little less polenta than shown to finish it off.

Put muffin tin in the refrigerator for an hour or more so the polenta can set.

Preheat broiler and lightly oil a cookie sheet.

Loosen the cups with a fork (being careful not to separate the cups where the filling line is) and put rough side down on the cookie sheet. Broil until golden brown. This depends a lot on your broiler and how far down you put the sheet from the element (or flame). I use an electric oven, put the sheet about 5-6 inches from the broiler and it took 18 minutes. The directions for broccoli polenta in Veganomicon says to broil 3-4 inches away and it will take 7 minutes. So the trick is to put it at a distance with which you are comfortable and keep a close eye on it. Check it every couple minutes. As it gets close to done, you might even want to check every minute. When broiling, you can go from almost ready to burned in a flash.

Serve immediately.

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What I would do differently: The only issue I had with this was there was too much cooling while I was forming the cups, so the final product wasn't as sturdy as polenta typically is. It worked on a plate with a fork so it was far from failure and I wouldn't have been ashamed to serve them.

BUT I think I should have been less OCD about the mushroom mix being in the middle...it ended up showing on the sides any way. So, in the future, I will try one of two things in the molding process to make it just a tiny bit better:

1. Still use the muffin cups, but don't worry with the "well" and definitely dont let it cool before topping it off. Put some polenta in the bottom, toss in the filling - trying to concentrate it in the middle but not getting crazy about it - , put some polenta on the top. Then put in the refrigerator and follow the rest of the process above

2. Put half the polenta as a bottom layer in a 9x9 baking dish, put the mushroom/onion mix in a layer and then do a second layer of polenta on the top. Let refrigerate, then cut into squares before broiling

And I would totally make gravy.

1 food 5 ways, Mushrooms, Way #3: Sloppy Joe Pie (new and improved gluten free crust!) & Bonus EZPZ Pie

2011-10-15T14:44:00.017-04:00

Yesterday was a nice break. After cycling class this morning, I was ready to get back in the kitchen and try Mushroom way #3. I originally was going to make a cheeseburger pie, but it morphed into this Sloppy Joe Pie. I'm so glad it did. It's just the way I like my food: saucy with a little kick.

Even better than the pie is a new and improved pie crust. My sister, who has a lot of the same allergies I have, has recently discovered a problem with cane sugar and tapioca. She's ok with the little bit of tapioca in the daiya, but was afraid of the crust that relied heavily on tapioca starch). So the mission was pie crust without tapioca and using agave. Since I was no longer using my go to flour mix with the tapioca, I decided to ditch the brown rice flour too. I've never been a big fan. I find it to be gritty and a little hard to work with. This new crust was easier to work with, didn't get too hard on the edges (where its doubled up a little from pinching it together) and had a better texture after baking too. The recipe is for two single crust pies or a double crust pie. So I had enough to make an EZPZ Apple pie for dessert!

Sloppy Joe Pie:
1-9" deep dish pie

1 prepared gluten-free, cane sugar free pie crust (recipe follows)

Filling:

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cups cremini mushrooms cut in large dice

1-1/2 cups cooked green or brown lentils
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp salt

2 tsp liquid smoke, optional but recommended (some flavors/brands have sugar, others dont)
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Filling Sauce:
6 oz can of Tomato Paste
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp Agave

2 tsp yellow prepared mustard

Topping:
1 cup cheddar style Daiya vegan cheese (Gluten and Soy-Free!!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and have pie crust prepared and waiting.

Prepare filling: Heat oil in cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. While the onions are cooking, mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Add mushrooms and 2 Tbsp water and continue to cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 more minutes. Add salt, pepper and liquid smoke and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the lentils and stir until well combined. Add sauce and stir to mix well.

Put the filling in the crust. If it doesn't go quite to the top, roll the crust edges in toward the filling a little bit. Sprinkle the daiya on top.

Bake 45 minutes. Check it at about 30 and cover the edges with foil if the crust is getting too dark.

Here's a look at a single piece. To tell you the truth, neither of us could eat just one piece.

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Gluten-free, cane sugar free pie crust:

1/2 cup arrowroot

3/4 cup garfava flour (garbanzo and fava bean flour)

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup soy-free vegan shortening (like Spectrum)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp agave nectar

1/2 cup very cold water (you may end up needing a little bit more for desired consistency)

Directions:

A little tip to start out with - I think it helps if the shortening is cold, so I put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before I start mixing anything.

Put the first 5 ingredients in a fine mesh sieve and "sift" into a medium mixing bowl. Divide the shortening into thirds. Add 1/3 of the shortening into the flour mixture and cut into the flour mixture. Repeat with each of the other two thirds. There should be no big chunks of shortening, just little flour-y crumbles.

In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, water and agave. Again working in 3 batches, mix the water/vinegar mixture into the dry ingredients with a fork. The dough should hold together. If you need to add a little more water to achieve a good dough consistency, you can. (I think I needed about a tsp extra this time)

Gather the dough into a ball and knead until it all holds together. Form into a ball and flatten out a bit. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes it is ready to roll. Keep some of the garfava on hand for folling. Lightly flour the surface (I use wax paper taped to the counter) and the rolling pin.

Use about 1/2 of the dough for a single crust deep dish pie. Roll out and place in pie pan. If the pastry cracks, just use your fingers dipped to "heal" it.

Please note: This crust is a little browner to begin with than most pastry crusts (because of the agave), so you may end up with a darker than usual crust. Mine was a little darker than ideal, but it's certainly not burned. You may be able to cover the crust a little earlier than you would with a regular pie crust and solve that.

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BONUS EZPZ Apple Pie:

Never thought you'd see an apple pie in a post about mushrooms, did you? Me either.
But I had extra dough and a 32 oz jar of EZPZ Pies Apple Pie filling, so I made a bonus pie!

Roll out the crust, put it in the pan, pour in the filling. I had a little crust leftover, so I cut out stars to top the pie. If I had used a 9" deep dish, instead of a 10" deep dish, there may have even been enough for a lattice crust on top. Or I could have used the crumble topping recipe on the jar (which I didn't think of until after the fact!)

Let me tell you a little bit about EZPZ Pies apple pie filling: It has no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors, no trans fat and no gluten! It's full of crisp-tender apples and perfectly seasoned.

The founders of EZPZ Pies are dear friends of mine who have a heart for children and the family. The proceeds from the pie fillings go toward funding their own adoption (which should be complete soon!!) and to support other adoptive families. Please support them if you can! You will not be disappointed in this product! (Note: the crumble crust topping that is included the gift baskets is not gluten-free, but the recipe for the topping is on the pie filling jar so you can use soy-free earth balance and your own gluten-free flour and that should work just fine. If you don't happen to be gluten-free, the topping mix has no butter in it already, so you can just use your usual butter replacement)

Note after eating the apple pie: be careful to roll the crust out thin. I left the stars thicker so they didn't get quite as cooked and were a little beany tasting. The crust itself was not like that presumably because it was thin and cooked thoroughly.

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Happy for a good kitchen day! Hope the next experiment works as well. How did yours go today?

Taking the Day Off & An Oldie but A Goodie...

2011-10-14T15:28:00.006-04:00

Here it is - halfway through the Vegan Month of Food! On one hand, it's hard to believe that it's gone so fast. On the other hand, in order to keep having fun, I want the day off from cooking! But I made a commitment to post every day, so I'm going to do my best to post every day.

While I was at the salon today getting a much needed haircut, it struck me exactly what I should post for my day off. One of the employees put in her "order" for Christmas cookies. It's only October! But she didn't want to miss saying something before my planning began. I take in a cookie basket every year. Apparently last year I didn't make the Sparkled Ginger Cookies. (Well, I did make them...because I had plenty. I just didn't put any in the give-away baskets.)

I'm pretty sure these were the first cookies I successfully deglutenized. Keep in mind that these ARE gluten free and the people I give cookies to are not. Yet, they are requested by friends and family a lot.

When I originally posted these, I think I had about 4 regular readers. It wasn't during mofo or anything. So I'm guessing most people never saw this post of my gluten free version of Vegan With A Vengeance's Sparkled Ginger Cookies. Here ya go...

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

Sparkled Ginger Cookies (repost from December 2008)

The original recipe came from Vegan with a Vengeance. Isa Moskowitz has graciously granted me permission to post the whole recipe here with my substitutions.

4 TBS turbinado sugar (reserved for top of cookies)

Flour mixture:
1-1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup garfava flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour/starch
1/2 cup arrowroot

1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2-1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses (the original recipe doesn't specify blackstrap, but I love the cookies dark and rich)

1/4 cup rice milk
1 cup turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Place the 4 tbsp turbinado sugar in a small plate or bowl.

Sift together the flour mixture, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate large mixing bowl, mix together the oil, molasses, rice milk, cup of turbinado sugar and vanilla. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and combine well. Roll into 1-inch balls, flatten into a 1-1/2 inch diameter disk, press the cookie tops in to the reserved turbinado sugar and place 1 inch apart sugar side up on a prepared cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, let cool on c

ookies sheets for 3 to 5 minutes, transfer to cooling rack.

Enjoy the perfect holiday cookie!

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

By the way, at some point this month, I'll double up so you get all 6 foods all 5 ways.

1 food 5 ways, Mushrooms, Way #2, Blackened Portabella Salad

2011-10-13T05:00:00.001-04:00

I mentioned I would be doing some experimenting during mofo and that some things wouldn't turn out quite the way I'd hoped while others would be exactly what I wanted. This post is a mixed bag. But as promised, I'm reporting to you the good and the not so good.

Blackened Portabella Salad

The success: I used the blackening seasoning from Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen (part of his Blackened Tofu Slabs with Succotash Salsa recipe) to blacken a portabella cap. I cannot describe to you just how good this is. I absolutely love this spice mixture. It's pretty hot from cayenne, but not the kind of hot where you can't taste anything else. The flavors are amazing (not unlike how amazing Bryant's recipe for black-eyed pea fritters and hot pepper sauce is). A big thank you to Bryant for letting me post the spice mix here for you!

To blacken the mushroom...Preheat a skillet lightly coated with oil over medium heat. After removing the stem, brush oil on both sides of the cap and sprinkle with the blackening spice mix (recipe follows). It's really up to you how much to use. I pretty much coat the mushroom with it. And I'm not gonna lie, I keep adding it as the mushroom cooks. Cook the mushroom in the pan until it is releasing it's own water and spices are dark. In order to encourage the mushroom to start releasing it's own water, I put about a tablespoon of water in the pan around the mushroom and cover with a lid. Flip the mushroom a few times throughout cooking to get even blackening on top and bottom. How long you cook it is really up to the doneness you desire. For a salad like this, I like it to still be juicy rather than chewy - that took me about 10 minutes total cooking time. If you want it chewier, you can just keep cooking it.

Cut mushroom cap in half and then cut each half into 1/2" slices. Lay the mushroom slices in two rows across a bed of mixed greens. Dress as desired (see "The so-so" and the "Proposed fix for the so-so" below for what I did vs. what I think I would do in the future)

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

Vegan Soul Kitchen Blackening Spices (From Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry)

Printed with permission

1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp coriander
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients to combine.

A double batch fills up an average size spice bottle that you can buy where bulk spices are sold. This is definitely a mix I want to have on hand.

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

The so-so:

I'm not a huge fan of sweet, fruity dressings. I like savory, tangy dressings. I know this. And yet because of the spicy mushroom I decided I wanted to try a sweet dressing. I certainly didn't think it was bad: it's just not my preference. But it might be yours, so I'm going to post it anyway. Use it if you like, don't if you don't.

Creamy Mango Vinaigrette

1/4 cup raw cashews (soaked for an hour and then drained)
3/4 cup mango, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
6 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp agave
1/4 tsp salt

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until completely smooth (about 5-6 minutes), scraping down the sides as necessary.

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

The proposed fix to the so-so: In the future, I think I'd just put some diced mango and almond slivers directly on the salad and then mix a little red wine vinegar and agave (1:1) to drizzle on top. I'd still get a little sweet, add a little crunch, and get a more tangy dressing. The one thing I wouldn't change is that mushroom! And the mushrooms are what these posts are really about.

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

I have a couple more experiments up my sleeve: 1. Herbed Polenta Cups with Mushroom-Onion Filling and 2. Mushroom-Lentil Cheeseburger Pie. Don't they seriously sound good? Now if my cooking skills can keep up with my imagination, I would be one happy blogger!

Online Veganmofo Flash Mob: This Friday!

2011-10-12T13:41:00.001-04:00

In case you haven't heard, Kittee over at xgfx/vegan.gluten free is organizing a veganmofo flash mob for Friday (the halfway point already!) I have no idea yet what this will be, but she says it's gonna be hot. If you're blogging in this year's veganmofo, sign up to get further information at Online Vegan MoFO Flash Mob

If you are wondering, this is just an extra post for today. The official Wednesday post is below.

1 food 5 ways, Mushrooms, Way #1 - BBQ'd Portabella Sandwich on Arepa Roll.

2011-10-12T05:00:00.020-04:00

I was born in Maryland, but I've spent most of my life in North Carolina. I am a southern girl at heart. And there is little a southern girl loves quite as much as a bbq sandwich. Mind you that I grew up with a spicy vinegar based bbq, but this definitely works when you haven't had it in a while.

Here in NC, it's almost a sin to have a bbq sandwich without slaw. I'm usually a creamy slaw fan. Actually, it's the only kind of slaw you see around here. But when I was working on week #2 of the cookbook challenge, I saw that American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyes includes a Midwest Vinegar Slaw. (I just got this book and there's a lot of tasty looking stuff in there. The movie night potato skins are definitely next on the list. And can you say fried avocado wedges!? Oh my gosh). Honestly, it made me a tad bit nervous to go messin' around with slaw like that, but I figured it would help me out with the missing vinegar from my bbq. The good news: this slaw is fantastic! The better news: I enjoyed it so much that Tami has kindly offered to let me post the recipe here for you.

One more thing for a decent bbq sandwich: the roll...

I've never found a decent vegan, gluten-free, soy-free burger roll. In fact, I've never even found a bad vegan, gluten-free, soy-free burger roll. I've been thinking of trying to make my own, but I enjoy my substitute so much I don't know that it will ever happen.

When I want a burger/sandwich roll, I make the Venezuelan-style arepas from Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero. Instead of leaving them partially attached like you do for traditional arepas, I cut them open and put the burger/sandwich filling on half and top with the other half. It works great. It works especially well here because arepas are made from corn. So it kinda tastes like having barbecue, slaw and cornbread all in one bite. Really...how could that be a bad thing?

Terry has been so kind as to let me post the arepa recipe here. But, if you haven't gotten this book, you totally need it if for nothing other than the gallo pinto and the cabbage salad. If you need more convincing, my friend Mandee over at Cupcake Kitteh (also gluten/soy free) has been cooking her way through Viva Vegan and the results are amazing.

This time, instead of being used in a classic Latina dish, the arepa has been given an American makeover

BBQ'd Portabella Sandwiches on Arepa Roll
Makes 2

2 portabella mushroom caps, sliced thinly (an 1/8" or even a little less).
1/2 cup of your favorite bbq sauce (I used the Backyard BBQ Sauce from Veganomicon)
salt/pepper to taste
a few dashes of liquid smoke, optional but recommended
About 1/2 cup of Midwest Vinegar Slaw (without the green bell pepper - original recipe follows)
2 Arepas (recipe follows)

I like slaw cold so I made it ahead to give it time to chill.

Do stage one of the arepas before you start cooking the mushrooms. Then you can cook the bbq while they are baking. If you do stage one of the arepas in a skillet, you should already have enough oil coating the pan for it to do double duty to cook the mushrooms. If you use a griddle or grill pan for the arepas, brush a little canola oil on a skillet and preheat it over medium-high heat to cook the mushrooms.

Put the mushroom slices in the preheated skillet and saute until the mushrooms have released their water (and it has cooked off) and the mushrooms are getting chewy. This is a really important part: When you first think the portabellas are done, they probably aren't. The longer they cook the chewier/meatier they get. They look done at about 5 minutes, but as long as they aren't burning keep going. At about 6-7 minutes add in a few dashes of liquid smoke. I love the smoky flavor so I do at least 5 or 6 dashes. Add Salt/pepper to taste. Then cook another minute. The key is to get them chewy without completely drying them out. This isn't a great picture, but they should look something like this.

Remove from heat. Stir in BBQ Sauce until mushrooms are well coated.

When the arepas are ready, cut two of them in half horizontally so you can use them like a roll.

Put half of the bbq mixture on the bottom half of each arepa, top with half of the slaw and cover with the other half of the arepa. It is a bit messy to eat. That's ok. It's barbecue.

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

General Notes:

1. If you're one of those who usually removes the gills from the underside of portabellas, consider leaving them. They absorb flavor and give that nice meaty look.

2. I find that a small serrated knife is great for cutting arepas.

3. Arepas are supposed to be a little doughy on the inside. If they sound hollow when you tap on them, they're ready.

4. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE FOR GLUTEN-FREE FOLKS ABOUT THE MASAREPA: On the packaging of one of the most popular brands, Harina Pan, it says that it may contain wheat. I use Doñarepa brand which has no such note. I have never had a reaction using it. So be sure to check the brands in your area to make sure they are safe for you.

5. I try to keep some of the bbq sauce in the freezer in 1/2 cup portions so that I have it available in a hurry.

6. In order to keep my southern status intact, I had a giant glass of sweet iced tea with my sandwich. Don't tell anybody that it was decaf and sweetened with stevia. Yes, that is a quart jar with a handle.

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

Midwest Vinegar Slaw
Printed with permission from American Vegan Kitchen (Vegan Heritage Press, 2010) Copyright Tamasin Noyes

1/2 medium head green cabbage, shredded (6 cups)
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium carrot, shredded
2 Tbsp finely grated onion
2 tsp agave nectar
1-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage bell pepper, carrot and onion. Set aside

2. In a small bowl, combine the agave nectar, mustard, vinegar and marjoram and mix well. Add the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to emulsify. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Serve at once, or cover and refrigerate until needed.

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

Venezuelan Style Arepas (from Viva Vegan! Terry Hope Romero)
Printed with Permission

MAKES 6

Tip: The most common brands of Venezuelan or Colombian masarepa are Harina PAN, Venezuelana, or Goya (Many say Harina PAN when referring to this kind of masa in general.) Check the package; if your masarepa is either manufactured or imported from Colombia or Venezuela, you're in the clear. Yellow and white Harina PAN can be used interchangeably, as they taste the same. Never substitue Mexican-style masa harina.

2 cups white or yellow Venezuelan- or Colombian-style masa harina flour
1/2 tsp salt
2-1/4 cups warm water, or more
A small amount of vegetable oil (use a high-smoking-point oil, such as refined canola) for grilling

1. Preheat a well-seasoned cast-iron griddle or other thick-bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Lightly brush with vegetable oil. Also preheat the oven to 350F and have ready a baking sheet. The griddle is ready to use when a drop of water dropped onto its surface sizzles loudly.

2. In a large bowl, combine the masarepa, flour and salt. Form a well in the center of the flour and pour in the warm water. Use your hands to mix the water into the masarepa to form a soft mass, then knead with your fingers, eliminating any lumps and creating a smooth moist dough. The dough should have the consistency of very firm, moist, and heavy mashed potatoes. If the dough seems too stiff, drizzle in a little extra water.

3. Divide the dough into six equal portions and roll into balls. Place a ball in your palm and, with gentle yet firm patting motions, begin pressing down your arepa. Use your palms to occasionally press the disk just a little flatter, then use your fingers to shape and press the edges outward. Do a little of this motion all at once while incrementally turning the arepa in your palms to work on the edges. Shape each arepa into a disk 3-1/2 to 4 inches wide by 1/2" thick (Dawn's note: book says 1-1/4" thick, but at 4 inches wide it can't be that thick and I've never seen an arepa that thick, so I'm guessing it's just a typo)

4. Gently place two to three arepas in the preheated, lightly oiled pan, leaving enough room that they can be easily flipped. While the other arepas cook, place the remaining shapely new arepas on a cutting board and cover with either a damp, clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Cook each arepa for 8 to 10 minutes on each side to form a crust, flipping just once. Some dark, browned spots are ideal. If desired, try cooking the arepas on a well-greased preheated grill pan, grilling each side for 10 to 12 minutes or until nice browned grill marks are created. Then place the grilled arepas on the baking sheet and bake for another 14 to 16 minutes, flipping halfway through. The arepas are ready when they have a firm crust and sound slightly hollow when tapped underneath.

5. To fill an arepa: Slice horizontally about 3/4 of the way to form a "pocket" not unlike filling a biscuit or pita bread. Add plenty of your desired filling(s) and eat piping hot. Remove a little of the doughy interior if you want to pack in even more filling...ridiculously overstuffed arepas are popular in Venezuela and make messy and fun eating.

6. Serve hot arepas immediately or keep warm by loosely wrapping in foil. Arepas should be eaten hot, as they tend to toughen up when they get cool. Reheat arepas by grilling again, or by warming in a microwave for 30 seconds and then slapping on the grill if you want the interior very hot and the crust recrisped.

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

I realize that this is a mighty long post, but don't let that scare you. It's a pretty easy recipe and definitely worth it! Come back and let me know what you think when you try it out. As always, I'm still pretty new to writing out recipes, so if you have questions, don't be afraid to ask.

Tami & Terry both said they'd be stopping by to see the finished product, so feel free to leave them a thank you in the comment box!

1 food 5 ways, Kale, Way #5: Dino Kale and Brown Rice with Tahini-Lemon Sauce PLUS Confessions and a PSA

2011-10-11T05:08:00.002-04:00

When I first started to eat and love kale, all I knew about was curly kale. It's relatively inexpensive and easy to find. It was sufficiently tasty, and I was blissful in my ignorance. Then my friend Sarah over at "I'm Vegan, and no I'm not Starving" had to go and tell me how much she and her ever-adorable kiddo love dino kale. It raises the bar for the yumminess of kale. I suppose you could make this dish with curly kale, but I wouldn't know. In this case, I am a kale snob...go for the dino.

Dino Kale & Brown Rice with Tahini-Lemon Sauce

(not the most photogenic of my meals, but still delicious

Ingredients:

1 bunch dino/lacinato kale, stems removed, leaves chiffonaded & steamed

1-1/2 cups of cooked brown rice

1/4 cup tahini

juice of one large lemon

water to make sauce desired thinness

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix the tahini and lemon juice with a fork. (With some brands of tahini, the lemon juice will mix in and make a nice sauce. With others when you add the juice and mix the tahini will get thicker. So, I'm going to leave the amount of water you need up to you) Add water to desired thinness. It needs to be pourable but not runny.

In a medium bowl, mix the kale and brown rice. Pour the sauce in and mix until everything is coated. Serve immediately. I don't like to add salt or pepper, but you can do that to taste if you want)

**********

So here are my confessions (which I may have mentioned before, but in case you're new here, you need to know):

1. I steam vegetables in the microwave. Almost exclusively. With the sensor setting. So I couldn't even tell you how long it takes for each vegetable to be done. This kale is no exception.

2. I buy frozen rice in the steamer bags and microwave that too. (Thus the 1.5 cups - the amount in the steamer bag - if you want more, add more. But you'll probably want more sauce too). That takes 3 minutes.

So why do I do these things? I like to have convenient meals just like everybody else. When you are a gluten-free/soy-free vegan, convenient meals don't come along every day. By doing both of those things, I have this meal ready in about 15 minutes. All that to say that this can be a really quick meal, but it doesn't have to be. If you are above (or opposed to) microwaving, do it the old fashioned way and it will be equally (if not more) delicious.

And a PSA:

In case you ever do buy the frozen rice, please read the note that says "this side down" and put that side down. Otherwise, the steamer bag may or may not send all the steam into your Corelle plate and make it explode in the microwave. Just sayin'

Tomorrow: Moving on to Food 3 - Mushrooms!

1 food 5 ways, Kale, Way #4: Kale Salad with Lemon-Pepper Dressing

2011-10-10T15:45:00.002-04:00

Besides the caesar salad I posted earlier this month, this is probably my favorite salad. The remarkable thing about that is that it's probably the easiest salad to make! And best of all, it's autumn-y and sunny all at the same time so I can eat it year round without a seasonal disconnect.

The first time I had a salad like this was a couple years ago at a Whole Foods Market salad bar. I started thinking that even though it was ultra convenient (which is nice sometimes) $7.99 a pound was quite a lot for something I could make for a lot less at home. So I made my own.
That was before pine nuts were $31.99 in bulk. (hint: buy the bags at Trader Joe's if you can $7.99 for 1/2 lb bag).

Kale Salad with Lemon-Pepper Dressing

Salad:

8 cups loosely packed curly kale, stems removed and leaves torn into bite size pieces (about 5.5 ozs)
1-1/2 cups grape tomatoes

1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
6 Tbsp Pine Nuts (raw, unsalted)

Dressing:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together.

In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice and oil with a fork. Grind in the pepper and mix again with the fork.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until everything is well coated.

General notes:

1. This can be served immediately, but personally I like to let it sit together for a little while first. The kale gets softer and and dried cranberries soak in the lemon juice. I have kept it in the fridge for 3 days with no problem.

2. Please note the measurements here are just a general guideline. This is really very forgiving. Change up the quantities to your liking.

3. The dressing is on the oily side, so if you don't like that cut down the oil. I'm not a usually a huge fan of that, but somehow against the crispy kale it works for me.

4. If you're not a fan of pine nuts or they're too expensive or you just happen to be out, then slivered almonds should work just fine.

5. I've made this with orange juice instead of lemon. I don't prefer it, but if you have a lemon hater among you, it works just fine. Not quite as bright a taste, but still good.

6. I really like to taste the pepper against the lemony kale and the sweet cranberries. If you like pepper at all, go for it.

7. The nuts, cranberries and tomatoes tend to slip to the bottom of the bowl. So, if you're serving it at your holiday functions, tell people to dig deep to get all the goodies. Or, don't tell them and save those parts for yourself ;)

1 food 5 ways, Kale, Way #3: Minestrone

2011-10-09T08:21:00.005-04:00

I have to admit that until recent years I wasn't much of a soup fan. I had a few canned varieties that I could take, but nothing homemade ever. Crazy I know. Even in recent years I've been more a fan of the creamy soups and not so much a fan of the ones with a thin broth (with the notable exception of a good lentil soup).

But this is the Vegan Month of Food, the time to try things. It's also week 3 of the cookbook challenge where one of the options was Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of compassionatecooks.com. I just received this book (the color photos are gorgeous!)and hadn't made even one thing out of it yet. But there, in the pages of the "rainbow" section was a soup with kale in it! It fit with my veganmofo theme and worked for the cookbook challenge...how could I not try it?

I was more than pleased. The light tomato-y broth, the kale, the beans, the pasta...yum! Does it take the place of a nice thick potato soup? Of course not. It was never meant to. But it is hearty, healthy, and all around delicious!

Thanks to Colleen for granting permission for me to re-post the recipe here, you can enjoy it too!

Minestrone with Kale

The addition of kale in this classic comfort soup makes it even better, certainly more nutritious, and definitely more colorful! Oil-free if using water to sauté, soy-free.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil or water for sautéing
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can (1-1/2 cups white beans (Cannellini, Great Northern, navy), rinsed and drained
1 bunch kale (about 3/4 pound), stemmed and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
6 cups water or vegetable stock (or half stock and half water)
2 bay leaves
1 cup soup pasta (elbow macaroni, shells, etc.), cooked
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat the oil or water in a large soup pot over medium heat, and add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the onion turns translucent and the carrots glisten, about 7 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute or so, until the garlic begins to smell fragrant. Add the tomatoes and their liquid and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down a bit.

Add the beans, kale, parsley, water, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the flavors are all incorporated and the kale is tender.

Add the pasta, and stir to incorporate. Cook for 5 minutes more, tasting and adjusting the salt and pepper as needed, then remove from heat and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

Food Lore: The Italian word minestrone, refers to a large, hearty soup. The soup itself is part of what is known in Italy as cucina povera - literally "poor kitchen," referring to the necessity of creating dishes based on what was available and in season. As it has been passed down through the ages, there is no fixed recipe and lends itself to many variations.

By the way, I haven't gotten a chance to look at it yet, but Colleen has a new book out: The 30 day Vegan Challenge It has a nearly perfect 5 star review on Amazon. It sounds like it would be especially helpful for people who are just beginning their vegan adventure. But if it's as lovely and intriguing as Color Me Vegan, I would certainly be interested in adding it to my bookshelf. Here's a brief video where Colleen tells you a little more about it.

1 food 5 ways, Kale, Way #2: Creamy Kale Pasta Casserole

2011-10-08T11:35:00.001-04:00

Ever had one of those days when you started out to cook something and nothing turned out the way you planned? I had one of those days yesterday. I started to make something that I thought would be amazing and I met defeat at every turn. When this happens, you have two options:

Give up, throw everything away, cry about how bad it is to be a vegan with food allergies, and eat hummus for dinner again.
Regroup. Salvage what you can and supplement with whatever you have in the house.

I'm sooo glad I've gotten past #1 (most of the time...). Yesterday was definitely a #2 kinda day (ok, stop giggling). And I'm really glad it was. This Creamy Kale Pasta Casserole was even better than I had hoped! The sauce was really creamy and flavorful and the diced tomatoes brightened up the whole dish (almost to sun-dried tomato status without the expense or the added step of rehydrating them). It was a hit with the folks I shared with too.

Creamy Kale Pasta Casserole

Creamy Kale Sauce:

2 cups kale (packed but not ultra tight), torn into pieces & thick stems removed
Juice of 2 small lemons (about 2.5 Tbsp)
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp water
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp salt (see note*)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast

Topping:

1 cup gluten free bread crumbs (I used Food For Life Brown Rice Bread)
2 Tbsp soy-free Earth Balance, softened (you can use another vegan, non-hydrogenated margarine if you're not avoiding soy)
1/2 tsp garlic salt (or to taste)

Other ingredients:

8 oz rice penne, prepared according to box instructions (I used white this time because it's what I had, but brown would work - or any other gluten free pasta)
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium eggplant, cut in 3/4" cubes (about 1 lb)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (14-15 oz can)

1. Put all sauce ingredients except for nutritional yeast in blender. It should blend better if you put the liquids in first. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. When smooth add the nutritional yeast and blend again until smooth and creamy. You could do this while you've got the water boiling, but I did it ahead and let the sauce sit a little while. I think it helps the flavors to meld together a little better.

2. Start the pasta. Depending on the directions, it may be ready a little before or a little after the eggplant, but the timing should be close. It seems every gluten free pasta I try has different instructions, so time it however you think is best.

3. In a large skillet, heat the 2 tsp of oil over medium heat. When hot, add the eggplant. Cook stirring frequently until eggplant is browned and soft (8-10 min). Stir in the diced tomatoes and cook for an additional minute or two just to warm up the tomatoes. Remove from heat.

4. Preheat your oven's broiler.

5. When the pasta is ready and drained (and rinsed if the directions say to), put it back in the cooking pot. Add the sauce and stir until well coated. Add the eggplant-tomato mixture. Stir until well distributed. Salt/fresh ground pepper to taste. (This was delicious right here so if you don't want the added bread crumbs or the casserole look, just put some in a bowl and chow down!)

6. Put the pasta mixture in a 8" or 9" square baking dish.

7. Mix the bread crumbs and margarine with a fork until the margarine is well distributed and the bread crumbs are a little moist. Mix in the garlic salt.

8. Evenly sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta mixture. Put casserole under the broiler until golden brown. It took mine about 4 minutes. Every broiler is different and they tend to be pretty sensitive...so watch it. I'd even start checking at about 1 min the first time you cook this.

Just in case you don't already want to make this casserole, see if an inside look changes your mind...

*Note about salt in the sauce. This measurement made the sauce pretty salty. But since there is no salt (except to taste) in the pasta or vegetables, it works. If you're making the sauce for something else, start with less and add to taste. You can add, but you can't take out!

I don't tend to do a lot of pasta, but this will definitely be added into the rotation. I think it's even good "company food" (with a salad or something). So be warned, if you're coming to visit me for dinner you will very likely have this.

1 Food 5 Ways, Kale, Way #1: Not-so-mean Green Juice

2011-10-07T05:00:00.006-04:00

I have to admit, until about 2 years ago, I was one of those people that heard the word "kale" and turned my nose up at it. How times have changed. There is rarely a time when I don't have kale in my fridge or on my grocery list. It is one of my favorite vegetables and is much more versatile than I ever imagined. And it's so nutritious! Check out kale on World's Healthiest Foods for more information on just how good it is for you. When you're done being amazed, check out way #1 for using kale - JUICE!

I've recently started juicing and I quite like this one that I made up to use some fruit and veg hanging around my fridge. The kale is much less obvious in juice than I would have expected even though it makes up the bulk of it. And don't forget, it packs a powerhouse of nutrients! I would typically drink this as one serving as a light meal or a snack, but if you're serving it along side a full breakfast breakfast, it could serve two.

Not-so-mean Green Juice

1 cup spinach, packed
3 cups curly kale, packed
1 large granny smith apple (If you like your juice sweeter, use a fuji. If you like it really sweet, use two)
5 large strawberries
30 green grapes

Put all ingredients, preferably cold, through the juice extractor (some juicers suggest you put greens through first, but follow your juicer's instructions). Stir final juice, pour and enjoy. It's most nutritious right away, but can be stored in a glass container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Sometimes I'll put it in the freezer just long enough to chill it. Don't let it freeze - glass WILL break.

If you can't convince someone of this juice's sweet, fruity goodness because of its vivid green color, pour it into a cocktail glass and garnish it up! Maybe that'll help. If it doesn't...more juice for you! :)

1 food 5 ways, Cashews, Bonus Way #6 Caesar Chavez Dressing

2011-10-06T22:25:00.006-04:00

Giveaway winner is mmmorgans! (chosen by random number generator) Congratulations! I will attempt to contact you through email, but if you don't hear from me today, email me at dawn (at) drsimpsongallery (dot) com. Let me know if you'd rather have the paperback or the kindle edition and where to send it!

And now, a bonus post on cashews. This is where the majority of the cashews from my pantry go. And since Isa Chandra Moskowitz was kind enough to grant permission to share this with you, I certainly wasn't going to miss the chance.

I've always been a big caesar salad fan. And a lot of vegan recipes for caesar are soy-based or not smooth enough. Enter Appetite for Reduction. This is one of my favorite cookbooks of all time. It is quite possibly THE favorite of all time. And this dressing is reason #1.

Caesar Chavez Dressing

2 Tbsp chopped shallots
2 tablespoons cashew pieces
1 tablespoon tahini

1 tablespoon miso (for us soy-free folks there is chickpea miso)
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon capers with brine

1/8 tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper

Place everything in a food processor and blend for at least 5 minutes using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides often, until completely smooth. It's really important that you blend for the full time, otherwise your dressing may be grainy. Taste for salt. Keep refrigerated in a tightly sealed container until ready to use.

Here it is on the salad with eggplant "bacon" (also from Appetite from Reduction)

A Few Tips from Me:

1. A good blender works just fine if you don't have a processor

2. I soak the cashews for about an hour. Until I went to retype this I thought the directions said to. So it must be in the book somewhere that it's a good idea. Anyway, do it. It makes the dressing really creamy.

3. Even if you don't think you like capers, don't skip them. I did this once because I was out. The resulting dressing was decent, but it lost it's WOW factor.

4. Make a double batch. You'll go through the first one too fast.

If you have this book, and you haven't made this yet...what are you waiting for?

If you haven't gotten this book yet...what are you waiting for?

~~If you are waiting for a give-away...you are in luck! 1 lucky winner will get their very own copy of Appetite for Reduction (paperback or Kindle edition, your choice)~~

Just leave a comment on this post about what you love about this book (if you're trying to win it to gift to someone else), what you think you might love about this book (if you've looked into it and just don't have it yet), or just how amazing this salad looks (let me assure you that it tastes even better). Frankly, anything related to this post, this blog or delicious vegan, gluten free/soy free food will suffice (as long it's not spam - that will be deleted). Please make your entry by 11:59pm EDT, Sunday October 9. I will randomly draw a number on Monday and announce the winner.

BTW, if you're not convinced yet how much you need this book, I have a few more words for you: chipotle.lentil.burger. And don't forget the cool slaw.

The second food in the series will start tomorrow. Get ready to see 1 food 5 ways, the KALE edition.

1 food 5 ways, Cashews, Way #5: Cashew-Apricot Shortbread

2011-10-06T05:00:00.004-04:00

Take a look at this picture.

Do you know what it is? My first cookie recipe! Yep. I've deglutenized lots of other people's cookies. But this is the first cookie I've made with my own "flavor profile". (I did learn the general ratios of shortbread from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar's Choc-chip Chai Shortbread...you can use the same flour ratios here to deglutenize those...yum!)

The best description I can come up with for that flavor profile is Turkish...Not quite Mediterranean...not quite European, but a nice blend of the two. They look like a hard, crunchy biscotti. But they aren't. They are delicate, lightly sweet, perfectly buttery and have the tiniest hint of lemon and spice. But they still pair just right with a cup of black coffee or even mint tea.

Oh wait, you want a recipe? Well, here ya go.

Cashew-Apricot Shortbread Cookies (yields about 28)

Group 1:

1/2 cup vegan shortening (Like Spectrum)

1/2 cup soy-free vegan margarine (like Soy-free Earth Balance - if you're not soy free, this doesn't have to be)

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp Lemon juice

1 Tsp lemon zest

Group 2:
1 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup arrowroot

1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup garfava flour

3/4 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Group 3:

1/2 cup chopped roasted cashews

1/4 cup chopped dried apricot

Preheat oven to 350 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and margarine with electric beaters until smooth. Add the rest of Group 1 ingredients and beat until creamy.

Over the bowl, put the ingredients for group 2 in a large wire-mesh strainer and "sift" half of the mixture into the bowl with the shortening mixture. You can do this by shaking the strainer, tapping the side of it, or "stirring" the ingredients inside of the strainer with your finger. Once 1/2 the flour/spice mixture is in the bowl, mix well with a wood

en spoon (don't use beaters). Add the remaining flour/spice mixture and mix into a thick, smooth dough. You might need to use your hands at this point. (You could use a real sifter, but those are a pain to clean once it's had xanthan in it. I find the strainer much easier. In fact, once after I had xanthan in a sifter I just ended up throwing away because it was all gummy inside)

Add the cashews and apricots. Mix with your hands until evenly distributed.

Divide the dough in two equal portions and make logs about 1/2" thick (mine ended up being approximately 3.5x7). Wax paper is a good surface for this.

With a thin knife, slice logs into slices about 1/2" thick and place them on the baking sheet. If the blade of your knife is wide enough and you're careful, you can use the knife blade to transfer them to the sheet (that's how I do it), otherwise use a thin metal spatula. If they crumble in the slicing you can just press the pieces back into the cookie.

Bake for 12-14 mins until edges are golden brown. Leave on cookie sheet for 5 minutes to cool. If you try to remove them from the sheet immediately from the oven, the WILL fall apart. Believe me, I tried. After the five minutes, move the cookies to wire cooling racks until fully cool.

Now start brewing the coffee...

****

I hope you enjoy these as much as I and the people who tested them for me did. The only negative reactions I got were from a couple children under the age of ten who live by the chocolate chip/oatmeal raisin only rule. And, after all, these are a little bit of a grown-up cookie. Even my dad, who thinks chocolate should be in everything, said that he really liked them. If/when you try them, please report back and let me know how they go.

1 food 5 ways, Cashews, Way #4: Spaghetti Squash with Cashew Sauce

2011-10-05T05:00:00.007-04:00

Shout out to Lazy Smurf for including me in yesterday's Veganmofo Roundup of her fantasy food day! With nearly 700 bloggers participating this year and all the amazing stuff being posted, this was quite an honor.

Yet again, the cashews were begging to be put in an Asian dish. I don't recall anything like this being offered at Panda Express (or whatever local eatery's menu used to reside in my glovebox). So it's probably not exactly Asian. I guess it's more accurately called Asian-inspired comfort food.

This is one of my absolute favorite meals. I make it every chance I get. I'll admit to you that I usually cook the squash in the microwave and buy the cashew butter from the grind-your-own machine at Whole Foods Market. But this time, just for you, I made this the old fashioned way, right down to toasting my own cashews.

Spaghetti Squash with Cashew Sauce

I'm not exactly going to post a recipe for the whole dish because the sauce/squash ratio is such a personal thing. Some days I want more sauce. Some days I want more squash. Yeah, probably not. But somebody somewhere probably wants more squash. What I will give you is the cashew sauce recipe and the directions on how I cook the spaghetti squash.

Cashew Sauce

(I got the general ingredients at some point from a recipe on the Fat Free Vegan database for peanut sauce, but I haven't looked at it in a long time and just made this to my taste)

1 cup raw cashew pieces
2 Tbsp lime juice (juice of one large lime)
1/4 cup of water (plus more for desired thinning)
1 Tbsp Coconut Aminos (or soy sauce if you can use it)
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
Cayenne pepper to taste (I'm a 4-5 dash kinda girl)

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the cashews on a rimmed baking pan/cookie sheet and toast until golden brown. I've had the timing vary quite a bit, so start checking at about 3 minutes. This time it took 7. When you check it at 3, go ahead and give the cashews a little stir.

Remove cashews from oven and let cool.

(Before you actually make the cashew butter, go ahead and raise the oven temp and get the squash baking. You'll have PLENTY of time to finish the sauce while that's baking)

When cool, place the cashews in a food processor with an s-blade. Then turn that processor on and let it go! In the first couple minutes, you might see some cashew crumbs or butter getting stuck in the bottom of the bowl. If so, stop the processor and use a spatula or table knife to loosen that up. After the first few minutes, you'll see the butter really start to form. Continue to process until really smooth.

Mine took about 7 minutes to become a nice thick butter. Depending on the size of your cashew pieces and the power of your processor, it could take a little less or a little more.

1 cup of cashew pieces yielded 1/3 cup+1 tbsp of cashew butter and it looked like this:

After the butter is made, transfer it to a shallow bowl with a little room to mix (a standard cereal bowl is good - not the tiny bowl in the picture) Add the lime juice, garlic and 1/4 cup of water. Use a fork to break up the cashew butter into the water until it gets smooth. (It's almost like cutting in shortening to make a pie crust. If you use the homemade butter or the grind-your-own, this takes a little effort. If you get a smoother jarred butter it will probably be pretty easy.) Stir in the coconut aminos. Add extra water to desired thinness. I use 1/8 cup more. If you use jarred cashew butter, you might not want any at all. Add cayenne pepper and salt to taste.

I dare you not to eat some of it with your fingers before the rest of the meal is ready. I bet you can't resist.

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Baking the spaghetti squash

There are tutorials on baking spaghetti squash all over the internet and I haven't found one yet that has instructions that gets me good spaghetti squash. I'm not sure about anybody else, but I think spaghetti squash should be SOFT. There shouldn't be any crunch left in it at all. Spaghetti is not crunchy when cooked correctly and spaghetti squash shouldn't be either ::steps down from soapbox::

So here's how I do it:

Preheat oven to 375. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Even wrap it around the edges of the pan so all of the inside of the pan is covered. (this will save you A LOT of clean up) Pour in water to get a thin layer over the whole pan (about 1/2 cup)

Wash the outside of the spaghetti squash (so nothing gets inside when you cut it open). Cut off the top stem then cut the squash in half lengthwise. Use your hands and/or a spoon to clean all the stuff/seeds out of the middle. You can save the seeds and roast them too.

Put the squash halves in the pan with the cut sides down. Enclose the squash on the pan with foil so that steam wont escape as it's baking.

Cooking time depends on the size of your squash, but i find most internet tutorials' times to be much too short. Or my squashes are way too big. For this last squash (a little bigger than a football) it took a little over 2 hours. Start checking at about an hour if you have smaller squash. The flesh should come out in strands. If it does that, taste a strand or two. If it still crunches, keep cooking! When it's all soft, use a fork to get all the flesh out of the squash. It should be really easy. If it's not, it's not done.

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Take however much spaghetti squash you want (that bowlful in the picture is 1/2 of that giant spaghetti squash...and yes I ate all of it. A couple hours later, I'm still really full - so you might want to start with a little less than you think you want)

Mix in some chopped green onions. Then mix in sauce to your desired ratio and enjoy!

Coming tomorrow: My very first cookie recipe!

1 food 5 ways, Cashews, Way #3: Sweet 'n Sour Cashews & Chickpea Nuggets

2011-10-04T05:00:00.008-04:00

I was never a huge fan of most Asian food before going vegan, but it seems I want it more often now. And cashews beg to be put in Asian sauces. So I decided to try my hand at a sweet and sour dish (sauce made without cane sugar for my sister!) If you had actually been at my house last night, you would have gotten dinner & a show. The show was my trying to figure out how to eat with my beautiful, previously unused chopsticks! At least dinner was good.

Sweet 'n' Sour Cashews & Chickpea Nuggets

1/2 recipe of Gluten Free Chickpea Cutlets

--the most popular post on this blog! Made into nuggets or made as cutlets and cut into bite size pieces after baking. This is one time I wished I hadn't skipped the coconut aminos/soy sauce substitute. Still good, but it would have given the whole dish a richer flavor. So if you can use that this time, you won't be sorry.

(go ahead and make the whole batch and freeze the other half. I did that because I need the others for later in the month. A whole batch was 48 nuggets)

Sweet and sour sauce ingredients:

1/3 cup rice vinegar (be sure it's RICE vinegar - it's milder than others. If you're trying to be cane sugar free - check the bottle - some of them add sugar)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp coconut aminos (if you're not soy-free you can use gf soy sauce here. If you are soy-free and don't have access to the coconut aminos, I think a little tiny bit of salt would suffice)
2 tsp arrowroot
2 Tbsp water
1/4 cup diced pineapple

Other ingredients:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 large yellow onion, cut into thin half-moons
1 large green bell pepper, cut into thin strips

While chickpea nuggets are cooking, begin the sauce. Whisk together the vinegar, agave, tomato paste and coconut aminos. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. While waiting for the sauce to boil, mix together the arrowroot and 2 Tbsp of water. When it boils, add the arrowroot mixture and whisk vigorously to keep it from clumping. It will thicken quickly. When thickened, remove from heat and stir in pineapple. Set aside.

In large skillet over medium heat, saute cashews in olive oil until golden brown (about 8 mins). Remove cashews and stir them into sauce. Leave the oil in the pan and add onion & pepper. When the oil cooks out, add water as necessary. Cover with a lid and let it steam-fry until vegetables are translucent (15-20 mins). Uncover, turn temperature up to medium high cook until any remaining water is gone and onions are browned.

When nuggets are done, put them in the pan with the sauce and toss to coat.

When vegetables are finished, remove from heat and add the cashews/nuggets/sauce. Stir it all together until vegetables are evenly distributed and coated with sauce.

Serve with rice and a cup of green tea. For me, this would serve 4, but it depends on how hungry you are! If you want to bulk it up some more, add a side of steamed broccoli.

1 food 5 ways, Cashews, Way #2: Capitol Hill Cashews and Asparagus

2011-10-03T04:53:00.001-04:00

A couple months ago, I had a Groupon to use at Savory Spice Shop. I needed to purchase one more thing to use up my $20. When I go to a new restaurant or shop, I commonly ask someone who works there what's something that is a favorite of theirs. The gentlemen in the shop was quick to recommend Capitol Hill seasoning. One taste and the decision was made. Not long after that, I was trying to come up with a nice lunch that wouldn't require a trip to the grocery store. And so my #2 way to use cashews became a fast favorite...

Capitol Hill Cashews and Asparagus

Per serving:

6 oz asparagus spears, steamed*
1/2 cup cooked brown rice*
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tsp Capitol Hill Seasoning (from Savory Spice Shop)**

Fresh Lemon Juice, to taste (optional, but highly recommended)

*I have to admit that I like this to be a quick and easy meal, so I use both frozen rice and asparagus and steam them in the microwave. It would, of course, work with fresh asparagus steamed on the stove top and rice you cook yourself.

* *If you don't have access to Capitol Hill Seasoning any savory mix you can come up with should work, but the dried shallots give it a nice sweet, toasty flavor and a little extra crunch.

In a small skillet at medium-low, heat the olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the cashews and saute them, stirring frequently, until they just start to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the Capitol Hill Seasoning and stir to coat the cashews. Continue to stir frequently and cook until cashews are golden brown and the shallots in the seasoning mix are brown, but not burned (about 2 more minutes).

Assemble: Put a mound of rice on the plate (I mold it in a little dessert bowl and turn it upside down onto the plate so that it keeps that perfect shape). Then arrange asparagus around the rice. Top the rice with cashews. There will probably be some extra crispy shallots stuck to the skillet. If there are, scrape those on your plate on the rice and asparagus. Lightly squeeze a lemon half over everything for a little extra tang.

Tomorrow: A little Asian-inspired flair

1 food 5 ways, Cashews, Way #1: Cashew Goat Cheese

2011-10-02T06:00:00.005-04:00

This recipe has been floating around the internet for a couple years, but I've only recently tried it. And I LOVE it! Vegetarian Times' pepper crusted cashew goat cheese takes some pre-planning, but with a food processor (or possibly even a good blender) it's pretty easy. I can't honestly tell you that it tastes just like goat cheese because I don't remember what goat cheese tastes like. But it's creamy, tangy, and all around delicious.

If you haven't made this recipe before, I have a few tips for you:

Make sure it's really creamy before you take it out of the food processor. You don't want ANY chunks of cashew left.
In step 3 of the recipe where it says to drain out the extra liquid, don't be concerned if you don't get any liquid out. I don't and it still turns out great. But DO give it the 12 hours to sit there and age even if it doesn't need to drain.
To get the cheese as firm as I think it should be, I cook it 50-60 minutes instead of the 35 as listed.
Try it asap!!

For those to whom the recipe is not new, here are a few of the ways I like to use it. Hopefully at least one of them will be something new for you.

Rice cake with cheese and diced fresh peaches

Foodie Tortilla Pizza Wedges
Brown Rice Tortilla, Your favorite pesto (I whipped up a spinach based one), red bell peppers, shallots, crimini mushrooms and crumbled cashew goat cheese
Bake on pizza pan at 400 for 8-10 minutes until edges of tortilla are golden brown

Use as a meal or put out a platter full for appetizers

Pear- Cashew Goat Cheese-Walnut Salad

Spring Mix, 1/4 pear - seeded and sliced, walnut pieces, crumbled cashew goat cheese, dried cranberries and red wine vinegar-agave dressing (1.5 tsp of each)
The tart dressing and cheese against the sweet fruit is delish!

Fig-Cashew Goat Cheese-Walnut Salad
Same as above but replace spring mix with spinach, pears with sliced figs and leave out the cranberries (though they'd be good too)

Enjoy! I'll be back tomorrow with way #2 to use cashews.

Vegan Month of Food 2011! 1 Food 5 ways

2011-10-01T07:50:00.000-04:00

Despite the fact that I only made it through about 7 posts in last year's Vegan MoFo, I've decided to try again. I'm not preparing for craft fairs this year, so hopefully I'll be able to dedicate the time to the blog that it deserves.

This year, for the first time, I decided to subscribe to a veg magazine. I've been enjoying my subscription to Vegetarian Times. One of my favorite things is their "1 food 5 ways" section each month. So, that's what I've decided to try as my theme for the next month. I'm going to attempt to use 6 of my favorite kitchen staples and give you 5 ways to use each of them (some might even have a bonus 6th one).

Most of the time on this blog, I tend to use cookbook recipes and just give you the gluten/soy substitutions. But, I'm really going to make the effort to give you recipes (or at least links to them) for everything that I include in the 1 food 5 ways posts. I'm pretty new at writing out recipes and instructions, so if something is unclear, feel free to ask.

Some posts will be really basic and simple (might even seem un-postworthy, but I remember what it was like to be completely new at this), others will take a little more effort. I'll post some favorites of mine. I'll also be posting some experiments. I might even be trying to veganize/deglutenize some old pre-vegan favorites. I'm hoping for some big wins, but am also fully aware that some could very well blow up in my face. Win or lose, I plan on posting them any way. Maybe you can help me fix them!

No matter how it ends up, I hope we have a good month together looking at "1 food 5 ways" starting tomorrow with CASHEWS.

Click on the picture of the cashews for lots of great nutritional information from World's Healthiest Foods.

Cookbook Challenge Week 1: Appetite for Reduction, Recipes #1 & #2

2011-09-19T21:02:00.010-04:00

It's time for another ppk Cookbook Challenge. The reason I decided to try again despite not finishing the last one, is that there's no minimum number of recipes to shoot for each week. So sometimes I might only do one (especially during Vegan Month of Food in October), sometimes I'll do 4 or more. It really just depends on what I see that fits together for a week's menus.

* = yuck, not even worth trying again

** = has potential, but needs significant tweaking

***= good, needs a little adjustment

****= excellent

Week one is an Isa Chandra Moskowitz/Terry Hope Romano week so we can use recipes from any of their books. But since I've been wanting to delve into it more anyway, I've decided to do all of my recipes this week from Appetite for Reduction.

Recipe #1:
Spinach Linguine with Edamame Pesto (p174)

A pasta dish with a soy based pesto might seem an odd choice for a gluten-free/soy-free blog. But the substitutes were actually really easy:

Tinkyada brown rice spinach spaghetti for the spinach linguine
Frozen green peas for the edamame

This recipe was really straightforward to make and only took longer than the stated 30 minutes because the tinkyada pasta takes longer to cook than normal pasta.

The flavors went together really well. My only issue was that the pesto was a little sweeter than perfect for me. I think it's because in my recollection, green peas are a little sweeter than edamame. Now that I really think about it, the peas came in a 16 oz bag, so I used 2 oz more than called for with the edamame. But rather than have 2 oz of peas sitting in my freezer, all I would change next time is to add a little more lemon juice/salt/nutritional yeast just to cut the sweet a bit. I did add the salt/nutritional yeast on my plate and it made it really good. The serving size was plenty big and with a few fresh tomato slices, I was really full.

Rating: ***1/2 (I think the main issue was with my substitution)

Recipe #2:

Cauliflower Pesto Soup (p 210)

Apparently, I'm in the mood for Italian flavors this week. I really wanted this as a companion for Caesar salad. The few pine nuts in my pantry had been sitting around too long and met their fate in the trash bin , so I toasted a few slivered almonds for garnish instead of pine nuts as suggested.

It was easy to make and didn't take any longer than the noted time of 25 minutes. This would even be easy enough to throw together after a long day at work. With the small serving size and just 50 calories per serving, don't plan on it being your entire dinner. But, if you have dressing ready, you can easily put together an entree salad while the soup is boiling. It was great complement to Caesar salad.

Overall, this was really creamy and good. With both the vegetable broth and the added salt, it had too much salt for my taste (and that's saying something!). Next time, I'll try not adding the extra salt and then salt to taste at the end if it needs more. I'm just starting to like cauliflower at all and I'm a recent basil convert. So even saying that I'd make it again goes to show that it's a really good recipe.

Rating: ***

National Guacamole Day: Guacamole Salad with Spiced Potato Chips

2011-09-16T17:24:00.010-04:00

I got a phone call from my sister early this morning. Boy, am I glad I didn't let it go to voicemail (not that I would EVER do that, B). She was calling to tell me that today is National Guacamole Day. How did I not know that? Furthermore, how did I not have avocado and lime in the refrigerator? Thankfully, there's a grocery store on my normal route and I was able to remedy that part.

Normally, with such news, I would be heading to the tortilla chips and loading them up with guac. But I've committed until the end of the week to eat all fresh produce (with spices and minimal amounts of oil). It was time to get a little more creative. And the guacamole salad with spiced potato chips was born.

I started to just call this guacamole salad, because the guacamole IS the star. But then the spiced potato chips insisted that they get full credit for the crispy wonder that they are.

Guacamole Salad with Spiced Potato Chips - this is a single serving, but can be multiplied as necessary

1/2 recipe guacamole (follows)

1 recipe Spiced Potato Chips (follows)

3 cups chopped romaine

3 thin slices of a large tomato, cut in quarters

1/4 cup frozen corn, thawed

A squeeze or two of lime juice

You can really just toss everything together and enjoy. But I love a pretty salad where you can see everything so this is how I did it:

Put the romaine in the middle of the plate, leaving room on the edges. Arrange potato chips around the edge of the plate. Put tomatoes in two rows across the romaine, leaving room in the middle for the corn and guac. Put corn in the row between tomatoes, leaving a space in the center for the star of the show. Then put the big dollop of guacamole right in the center! If you can get a couple squeezes of lime juice from the lime you used for the guacamole, go ahead and squeeze it again on top of everything.
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Guacamole
I've seen lots of recipes for guacamole that call for tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise, sour cream, you name it. I'm sure they're all tasty because they all still have beautiful green avocado in them, but I'm a guac purist. Only 4 ingredients:

1 ripe avocado

juice of 1 lime (if you have a small avo and a big lime, you might not want to use it all)

1/4 tsp crushed garlic (I really like garlic, so you might want to start with a tad less - this is the equiv to about a clove)
salt to taste

Peel and pit the avocado. (An easy way to pit it is to cut the avocado in half lengthwise and stab the pit with a small knife. Then the pit will come out when you remove the knife). Squash the avocado with a fork until as smooth as you like it. I like some chunks, but not a lot. Squeeze in the lime juice, toss in the garlic and mix with the fork. Then, salt to taste. Enjoy!
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Spiced Potato Chips
(This was a first try, so I might play around with the spices a bit more)

2 small yukon gold potatoes (4 oz), sliced thin abt 1/8". (I used a mandoline slicer)

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried cilantro

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

dash of cayenne pepper, optional

Smoked salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Put the sliced potatoes in a small bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil and toss potatoes to coat. Sprinkle in the rest of the ingredients, except salt, and toss again to coat. Put potatoes on the cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake until golden brown. Check at about 15 minutes. (This is the first time I was making them and I went for 20 - had some that were burned). When you take them out of the oven, sprinkle with smoked salt (regular would work too, but I'm loving that smoky flavor these days) Try not to eat them all before you make the salad. Let cool and begin to prepare the salad and guacamole.

National Celiac Awareness Day

2011-09-13T10:04:00.048-04:00

Wow! It's been almost a year since I last posted. Life didn't get any less crazy. I suspect if I wait for that, I'll never blog again. But, yet again, I'm going to try to post at least occasionally.

What a great reason for new post: it's National Celiac Awareness Day!

My real reason for coming to post is that the first article I saw about celiac awareness day had a photo of some less than stellar cookies and it made me kinda sad. It just reinforced the idea that a gluten free life is one of deprivation. It doesn't have to be. Don't believe me? All of these pictures are things that I've made in my kitchen over the last few years. And all of them are gluten free! (they also happen to be vegan and soy free). There are a lot of them, but bear with me. There is a point.

Zucchini muffins with cinnamon-crumb topping. For more information, see earlier post

Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Seed Rice Paper Rolls - Veganomicon

Coffee Chip Muffins. For more information, see earlier post.

Starting on the left, going clockwise: Sparkled Ginger cookies, Chocolate Chip cookies, Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles, Sugar cookies, Lemon bars in center. For the ones without links (all deglutenized versions of recipes from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar), I'll have to lookup my subs and try to post about them sometime soon.

Lemon pie filling from Fat Free Vegan (I would have subbed rice milk for

soy and I added a little turmeric for extra yellow). In my pie crust

Lazy Samoas from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. Will post substitutions.

Portobello Margherita and Pasta. For more information see earlier post

Portobello Cheesesteak Wrap. For more information, see earlier post.

Black and Bleu Salad. For more information, see earlier post

Colby Block Cheese (The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook) with Food for Life Brown Rice Bread and Grapes. - For more information, see earlier post

Coconut Scones with chocolate drizzle. I made these up in a hurry.
Not sure if I wrote everything down, but I'll look around.

Spinach Hummus Cups. Corn tortillas, cut in quarters (warmed in a damp towel in the microwave to make them pliable), brush on a little olive oil (and optional dried parsley, cumin and fresh ground black pepper) and put them in a mini muffin tin. Bake in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Fill with this spinach hummus and top with 1/4 grape tomato.

Fig, Walnut and Cashew Goat Cheese Salad (spinach base). Dressing was a light mix of red wine vinegar and maple syrup (about 1 to 1, but just do it to taste)

I don't really remember what this is and I didn't blog on it. But it looks like the salad is kale, mango, avocado and most likely I squeezed lime on it. The bell pepper looks like it's stuffed with quinoa, tomato, craisins and probably some kind of nut or seed mixed in.

Silver-dollar corn pancakes with strawberries. For more information, see earlier post.

Individual apple gallette from Veganomicon, but made on my pastry crust.

Sure...it looks as if I'm deprived doesn't it?

So here are a few things to remember about the gluten free life (especially if you're new to it or have been wallowing in self-pity for a while):

1. It's not a death sentence. On the contrary, if you go gluten free because your body can't tolerate gluten, you'll feel more alive than you have in a long time.

2. You don't have to put up with yucky food just because it has a gluten free label on it. If it's not good don't buy it. Find another one or learn to make it yourself. (The things I make myself are usually way better than any pre-made product)

3. You are not a victim in this. You can choose to eat gluten anyway. You'll never feel better, but that's your choice. No one is going to force you to make the change.

4. There's lots of help on the internet. If you don't know how to do something ask. You can even ask here. I might not know, but will try to help you find out.

5. There is a big learning curve. Once you've decided to go gluten free, it's going to take a while for it to feel natural. I've been doing this for years and it still doesn't always feel natural. Be patient with yourself.

6. It can get emotional. Sometimes you will feel left out or deprived. Learn the best way to take care of yourself. The way I do this mostly is take my own version of what the rest of the people are having at a party or dinner and enjoy it. Sometimes I even take something completely different that I like way better than what they're eating. They get jealous...hehe.

7. Don't be afraid to ask for what you need. If you're in a restaurant, ask questions. They'll help you. If they don't, don't go back. When visiting friends for dinner if they ask what they can fix for you, make it easy on them. Don't give them lots of crazy ingredients. I usually tell people stuff like this: I can eat any fruit, any bean, any vegetable, rice and most spices (be careful of mixes or cheap versions that might have gluten ingredients cut in). I tell them which oils are safe for me. These things are tasty, economical and can be made in endless combinations. If they don't ask, bring your own or offer to bring a dish for everyone.

8. It's not all about you. Yes, you want people to consider you at every turn. It's nice to have people take care of you. But they have lives too. You might have to put forth a little extra effort. That's ok. On the other hand, if they want to do for you...let them!

A few things to remember if you're not the one going gluten free, but you have a loved one who is:

1. It's not a death sentence. You might have to change which restaurants you can eat in easily with that friend, but your loved one is still the same person. In fact, when they are in less pain or out of that depression (gluten can cause that for some people), you might even like hanging out with them more.

2. Be considerate. Don't switch utensils or dip things in the hummus (or salsa or guac...) without knowing whether they are gluten free. If you don't know, there's no shame in asking.

3. Be patient. It's frustrating. It's emotional. It's a little bit terrifying. And that's just for you. Think about what it's like for the person who is having to relearn everything they've ever known about food. You don't have to put up with them wallowing or being mean to you, but extend a little extra grace. Also don't be afraid to tell them when they're being ridiculous. Good friends need to be told that sometime.

4. Learn what you can. You don't have to learn everything (unless you're responsible for all their food), but a couple rice & bean dishes and a couple dips are nice things to have in your arsenal. Tip: the cherrybrook kitchen box mix gluten free chocolate cake is really good and will save you the expense of having to buy multiple flours if you don't need them yourself. It could make a birthday special :)

Last, but certainly not least, if you think you might be celiac/gluten intolerant...find out!!

So yeah, that was a long post. But I'm pretty passionate about this. I deal with it every day. The people that love me deal with it every day. I'm pretty sure they like dealing with this better than the nasty symptoms that came from my love for bread. I know I do.

"Wildcard" Wednesday: Mixing things up and Anxiously Awaiting...

2010-11-10T12:08:00.011-05:00

Yes, I've skipped Sunday - Tuesday. I told you anything could happen on "Wildcard" Wednesday.

I haven't permanently skipped them though. "Salad or Smoothie" Sunday, "Make Something New" Monday and "Timesaver" Tuesday should be posted tonight and I will be back on track! I will beg you to cut me a little slack as I've been busy packaging prints and crocheting hats for this weekend's Mistletoe Market (at Wakefield High - Raleigh, NC).

Now on to "Wildcard" Wednesday...
I anticipate December every year. I love December. I love the weather. I love the holiday decorations. I love the Christmas parties. I love singing Christmas carols. I love Christmas movies. I love purchasing, making and wrapping gifts. I'll even admit to loving receiving gifts. Oh, yeah, I love hanging out with my family and friends too. ;)

This December, there is something else I'm looking forward to with much excitement. If you don't know this already, I love good cookbooks. I was so tempted to add this to my Christmas list hoping a family member would buy it for me. But according to Amazon it's supposed to release on December 7 and I didn't want to wait the extra couple weeks. And then what if nobody chose to purchase it? ::shudder::

Appetite For Reduction says it's full of fast, filling, low-fat vegan recipes. All of those adjectives are right up my alley. Unlike most "low-fat" cookbooks, I'm not at all hesitant to try this one. The author, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, knows good food. After all, she's the author of Vegan with A Vengeance, and co-author of Veganomicon. Really, she's not one to slap words like "low fat" on a book and just assume it will sell because people will buy anything that will help on their most recent "diet." She says she wrote this book for herself, so I can be sure that I'll be as happy with the recipes I make from it as I am from the two books mentioned above (my two most used cookbooks, by the way) If you want to be as excited as I am checking the mailbox in the upcoming month, you can do what I did: preorder on Amazon.

For a description of the book from Isa and some sample recipes, visit theppk.com

Playing catch up: "Splurge" Saturday

2010-11-07T22:42:00.013-05:00

This is my first "splurge" post for Vegan MoFo. Let me warn you now that I wouldn't be a bit surprised if every one revolved around some kind of frozen dessert. I'm crazy over "ice cream." When you're a soy free vegan, there aren't a ton of options, but thankfully some of the ones that are available here in the US are REALLY good. One such option, as mentioned in an earlier post, is Coconut Bliss and I used it to its full potential in this splurge.

First of all let me apologize for the less than stellar picture. It was dark outside when I got this little gem out of the freezer. And I wasn't about to wait to eat it until tomorrow. Now moving on to the good stuff...

Ginger-coconut Cookiewich:

2 gf sparkled ginger cookies

1/4 cup naked coconut variety of Coconut Bliss

Put the Coconut Bliss between the two cookies and wrap tightly (I used press and seal, but regular plastic wrap would probably work just fine). Freeze for at least one hour. Take it out, unwrap it and try to make it last for as many bites as possible. The last bite will make you a little sad.

Point value: 8

Playing Catchup: "Favorites" Friday

2010-11-06T21:48:00.006-04:00

Today, "Favorites" Friday is all about soup.

I never really liked soup growing up. Canned Campbell's Chicken Noodle was about as far as I was willing to go. And mostly only if I was sick or if it was accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich. And probably mostly because it had so much salt.

At some point since going vegan, I turned a corner and now LOVE soup. My favorite canned soup is Trader Joe's Black Bean Soup. But nothing beats homemade soup. I can't pick just one favorite, but here are my favorite two soups. Both of them are from Veganomicon (Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero). These soups alone would have been worth the price of this book.

The first is the Baked Potato and Greens soup which I posted about last year. The recipe is posted here. (I hope they had permission!). The original recipe is already gluten free so the only substitution to make is to get rid of the soy: replace soy milk with gluten free rice milk.

The second is the French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme. The recipe is posted over at chow.com (Ignore the comments about all the non-veg stuff people added to it.) One of the best parts is that there doesn't need to be any substitutions! It's already gluten/soy free!

While it's not the most photogenic soup in the world, it is one of the most savory, stick-to-your-ribs soups I have ever had. It's peppery and dare I say it - almost meaty. And I'm convinced that a good dose of tarragon could fix many of the worlds ills (ok, slightly overstated, but I do love the stuff!) If you haven't made this soup before, do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Go directly to your kitchen and whip up a batch.

I haven't figured the points values yet, but I'll post an update when I get that figured.

Playing Catchup: "This Not That" Thursday

2010-11-06T21:07:00.008-04:00

"This Not That" Thursday is about making lower point choices. It doesn't mean not to ever have the higher point treat. That's what those weekly points are for! It also doesnt mean that the lower point choice is more nutritious, because often times lower point choices are more processed and lacking in nutrients that the higher point choice offers. Always use your head and make choices based on what's important to you and your body!

I'm a huge fan of Coconut Bliss frozen non-dairy dessert. It's one of the most delicious, creamy frozen desserts I have ever had. I don't mean since I've become vegan. I mean EVER! I'm not ready to (nor do I suggest that you) sign off on never having Coconut Bliss again. It's natural: made from real organic coconut milk and organic agave syrup. And did I mention it's fabulous? However just a 1/2 cup serving packs a walloping 5 point value!

A lower point (though less natural, not organic) choice is Double Rainbow Chocolate Sorbet. Less creamy, but absolutely delicious, it satisfies that desire for a cold, rich, creamy dessert at only 2 points per 1/2 cup serving. It's also less than half the price.

Whichever choice you make, it should be the occasional treat, not a replacement for nutrient rich fruits and vegetables. But when you make the choice to splurge on one of them, make sure you take the time to really enjoy it!

"Wildcard" Wednesday: Panda with Cookie Apron

2010-11-04T00:00:00.006-04:00

For my first Wildcard Wednesday, which I guess technically I've missed by about 2 minutes, I just wanted to take a moment to show off my new apron. It was custom made in the perfect shade of green by Lisa over at Panda with Cookie. I like to think of this one as Panda with Gluten Free Cookie. I suspect this panda will be covered with gluten free holiday baking flours more than once in the upcoming months. Can't wait!

Yep, you're right...I've got the cutest apron on the block. But you don't have to be jealous, the Panda with Cookie empire can make all kinds of cool stuff for you too.

BTW, Lisa didn't send it wrinkled. Somehow while waiting to have it's picture taken, I covered the apron with a bag of art supplies.

"Timesaver" Tuesday: Soup, Sandwich AND Salad in under 30 minutes

2010-11-02T20:08:00.013-04:00

Timesaver tip 1: Use canned foods on occasion. I'm not usually a big proponent of canned food. I much prefer to eat and serve fresh or frozen foods. But there are a few canned items I like to keep around to help whip up a quick meal or snack:

Trader Joe's Black Bean Soup (it's really hard to find vegan gf/soy-free soup!)
Coconut milk (light or regular)
A few cans of beans for when I'm out of dried/cooked
Diced tomatoes
Tomato sauce
Tomato Puree

The tomato puree is a main ingredient in tonight's quick meal of soup, sandwich and salad. This meal (with the colby cheez from yesterday's post being pre-made) was completed in less than 30 minutes. That included the time it took me to pick the basil from out back.

Tomato-Basil Soup:


	1 Tbsp Agave Nectar**
	1 serving(s) garlic, crushed 1 tsp
	29 oz canned tomato puree
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/4 cup(s) fresh basil, chopped
	3 serving(s) rice milk, unsweetened*

Put all ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat over medium high heat until just boiling. Serve.
Makes 4 servings, 2 points each

*I use Whole Foods Market's 365 brand of unsweetened rice milk. It is certified gluten-free. Not all rice milks are. Many of them contain barley. Be sure to read the label

**If you use sweetened rice milk, omit the agave nectar. Be sure to adjust points of you're counting.

Timesaver tip #2: Plan what you do in the kitchen so you can multitask. This may seem pretty basic to some of you, but other people just don't think this way. . This meal would take a lot longer if I made the salad before I began the soup and sandwich. Think about what takes the longest and what can be left alone while you do other things. For this quick meal, I started the soup and let it heat while I started the sandwich. Then while both the soup and the sandwich were cooking, I made the salad.

Timesaver tip #3: Make extra and use leftovers. This also saves money. It's generally less expensive and less time consuming to make 2 servings of something than to make 1 serving of two different things. If you're single, you still might want to half a recipe so you don't get tired of it, but whatever you make, be sure to plan it in to the rest of the week. If you're feeding a family, you might want to double a recipe to pack lunches or have another dinner a couple days later.

For this meal, I used a serving of colby cheez from yesterday. Plus I made 4 servings of soup. I only ate 1. I'm left with the basis of 3 more meals.

The half sandwich was your basic grilled cheez made with one slice of Food for Life Brown Rice Bread, 2/3 serving of colby cheez, sliced and 1/2 tsp of soy-free Earth balance on the outside of your bread. If anybody really needs me to tell you how to make a grilled cheez sandwich, just comment in the post and I'll give you a tutorial. (BTW, as further review of the colby - it didn't melt, but it was warm and creamy. Even though it didn't look like a regular grilled cheese, it tasted pretty darn close).

Timesaver tip #4: Salads don't have to be complicated! So what if you go to a restaurant and you have 10 different things on your salad. It doesn't have to be that way at home. They can be simple and still be delicious.

The one I made tonight was made of just torn spinach, chopped red onion and the remaining third of the serving of colby cheez shredded on top. (Yes! It shreds!). A quick squeeze of lemon and a little fresh ground black pepper and dinner is ready!

We can have quick, easy meals that are also filling, healthy and delicious! If only I would remind myself of that more often.

Point count for the whole meal: 5.5

(If you don't have the colby premade, but like the general idea of this meal, try substituting 1/4 avocado for the colby. Slices of it would be yummy warm inside the grilled bread. The amount for the salad wont shred, but you can put little cubes on the salad)

"Make Something New" Monday: Colby Cheez

2010-11-01T19:19:00.011-04:00

I've had my eye on the Colby Cheez block from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook for a long time. It just always seemed that I didn't have time and raw cashews at the same time.

I bought a brand new bag of cashews today so this recipe was the perfect first choice for my MoFo Mondays.

I did use one variation - I subbed the paprika for the roasted peppers.

Technically, I can't say I made something new. Rather, I started something new. It has to set overnight. But I did use my fingers to help clean the blender and the flavor is already good. Typically the recipes in UUC are better after they've had time to sit for a while to let the flavors meld. The block is already starting to set. I'm hoping to have sliced cheez on toast for breakfast tomorrow!

I'll come back and update tomorrow with a picture and review of the finished product. As of now, what I can say is I can't believe I waited so long to do it because I didn't have time. It took under 1/2 an hour including chopping the cashews.

Point info: (using 2.5 oz cashews as 1/2 cup chopped & using the paprika sub), based on 8 servings per batch. 1 serving=2 points.

*****UPDATE**** (11-2-10)

Review:

It worked! The cheez is not as hard as a dairy block cheese, but it came out of the container, it slices and you can hold a slice in your hand without it falling to pieces.

I ate it for breakfast with a slice of toast (Food For Life Brown Rice Bread) and a serving of delicious green grapes. (Meal point value=5).

The only thing I would probably change next time is to lessen the onion powder by about half if I'm going to eat the cheez plain. It wasn't bad, it was just a little stronger than I remember colby being. (If I were going to add the miso for the cheddar version, I'd leave the onion powder as is).

It's finally time for Vegan MoFo!

2010-11-01T15:08:00.005-04:00

It's here! It's November! Which means it's time for the Vegan MoFo (Vegan Month of food). It's the month of the year where vegans all over the world commit to keeping their blogs active at least 5 days a week so that everybody can see just how great and creative vegan food can be. As of today, Vegan MoFo has over 550 participants. A list of participating blogs can be found here http://veganmofo.wordpress.com/blog-roll-2010/

After skipping the last two years, I've decided to participate again.

Here's where I am: Besides being vegan, I'm allergic to gluten and soy. I'm also currently doing the online Weight Watchers (from here on out referred to as WW) program and counting points. I don't usually tell too many people when I'm participating in some sort of "diet" program because I hate the word "diet" when used to indicate that you're trying to lose weight. One's diet is what he/she eats on a regular basis. It is not a dirty word. It is not a word to be afraid of. I love my diet. I eat good vegan, gluten-free, soy-free food. Maybe some of it's too good - which is why I'm choosing to use WW right now for a little help in the portion control department.

A note on how these posts fit into my life (when I'm doing what I know to do) and should fit into yours: I DO NOT endorse fad dieting. Healthy weight loss is 1/2 to 2 lbs a week. That is, of course, an average weight loss. I've had times where I gained for a couple weeks in a row and then dropped it all in one week. IF there happens to be a small meal on the blog, it is to be balanced out with larger meals. If there's a "3 point" meal that does not mean I think it's a good idea to eat only "9 points" a day. It means that there are times where I ate a big lunch and need a small dinner. In the same way, if I post a high point meal or a splurge snack, they should be balanced out with lighter meals at other times during the day/week. Balance is key.

This is the plan for Vegan MoFo: Each day of the week will have a different theme. If for some reason I miss a day, I will go back and make up for it on another day.

"Make Something New" Monday: I'll try a new recipe from my cookbooks that are too often neglected. Or maybe I'll try something new that just pops into my head
"Timesaver" Tuesday: It takes a lot of work to be a gf/soy-free vegan, so Tuesdays will be for giving time saving tips, reviewing/recommending convenience foods or showing really quick meals.
"Wildcard" Wednesday: This can be about whatever the heck I want. Though not likely, it could even be a non-food post.
"This-not-that" Thursday: Choosing different brands; adjusting recipes; choosing a different but similar snack or meal, etc to use fewer WW points
"Favorites" Friday: I said that balance is key. So to balance out "Make Something New" Monday, I will have "Favorites" Friday where I hawk all my favorite stuff.
"Splurge" Saturday: Whether it's a small treat or a good way to use up your weekly WW points, these posts will be about those items that you might be tempted to think of as "bad" foods. They're not "bad". They just need to be disciplined.
"Salad or Smoothie" Sunday: Pretty self explanatory.

Black and Bleu Salad

2010-10-16T13:31:00.004-04:00

I no longer have to miss one of my favorite restaurant salads. O'Charley's Black and Blue was a long time favorite. But no longer eating meat, gluten, soy or dairy made that salad SO far out of the realm of possibility. If I had gone to the restaurant and ordered the parts I could have, I would have had a bowl of dressing-free lettuce and tomato. Not my idea of a great restaurant dish.

I've finally come up with my version of that salad and it is fabulous.

Black and Bleu Salad:

This salad is made of mixed greens (spring mix and spinach), sliced onions, blackened portabello mushroom, grape tomatoes, croutons and bleu cheez dressing

Bleu Cheez Dressing:

The recipe from The Ultimate Uncheez Cookbook, with an added 1-1/2 cups of navy beans to make a thicker dressing. Because of the beans, it needs to be made in the blender instead of whisked in a bowl.

Croutons: (make as many as you want, each salad has croutons from 1 slice of bread)

Food for Life Brown Rice Bread
1 tsp olive oil per slice of bread
Dried Parsley
Dried Thyme
Ground Rosemary
Garlic Salt

Cube the bread, toss in olive oil and seasonings (to taste) on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes until golden brown. Don't let them cook to get as crispy as you think you want them. If you do that, when they cool they will be WAY too hard.

Blackened Mushroom:
Do the seasonings to taste, but I use a lot of fresh ground black pepper, a tiny bit of cayenne and a little garlic salt. Sprinkle seasonings on both sides of mushroom. Dry-fry over medium high heat in a iron skillet. Cook about 4-5 mins on the top side, then turn over and push down on the mushroom with spatula to flatten it and make the mushroom release it's natural juices. Cook another 4-5 mins on this side. The mushroom will get a little dry and have a nice chewy consistency. Slice mushroom to top salad. (I actually cut the slices in half again so I could spread the mushroom out some more).

Put about 3 cups of mixed greens on the plate, top with about 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, onion slices (I think red onion would have been even better, but I'm out of red), mushroom pieces, and croutons. Then pour dressing over everything and enjoy while the mushroom is still warm!

How you doin'?

2010-08-25T19:56:00.007-04:00

After one bite, that is seriously what I said to my sandwich. I'm wondering where this portobello cheesesteak wrap has been all my veggie life.

Portobello Cheesesteak Wrap (makes 2)

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 small or 1/2 large yellow (or red or orange) bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced (really thin)
enough water to steam-fry
salt, pepper, oregano
a couple dashes liquid smoke (optional)
1/4 cup mozza style daiya (or your favorite non-dairy mozz style cheese)
2 romaine lettuce leaves, sliced into thin ribbons
2 brown rice tortillas
dijon mustard (abt a tablespoon)

Preheat oil over medium heat in heavy skillet. Saute onions and peppers. (When the oil cooks up and the pan is getting dry, add a little water. You will probably have to do this once about 1/2 way through cooking the onions and peppers and again right before adding the mushrooms. ) When the onions are translucent and both are browning, add the portobello strips. Add oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Continue to steam-fry until the mushrooms are dark brown and the onions and peppers are caramelized.

Stir in the daiya until melted. (I actually did this step in the microwave after putting it on the tortilla, but it made the tortilla a little too chewy, so I would do it in the pan next time)

Brown rice tortillas tend to be a little brittle, so if they feel that way, put them on a plate under a damp paper towel or kitchen towel and microwave 10-15 seconds. Don't do this until you are ready to make the sandwich or it could dry back out.

Put half of the cooked mixture in the center of one tortilla, leaving room on the ends to tuck them in. Top with half of the lettuce. Spread half of the dijon mustard on the side of the tortilla closest to you. Go almost to the edge because when you wrap it up, it will act like a glue to hold the sandwich together. Tuck in the ends and start rolling from the far side of the tortilla and roll towards you. Cut in half. Repeat for the other sandwich.

I now have a much greater appreciation for people who write recipes on a regular basis. If anything is unclear, please let me know, because I don't want you to miss out on something so easy and delicious.

Served with tomato wedges and a couple kosher dill pickle spears, this is only 4 WW points. It doesn't get much better.

ETA: I left one of my tortillas out at room temp last night and it doesn't feel nearly as brittle as usual, so it might work just to leave them out for a couple hours rather than nuking them.

Portobello Margherita and Pasta

2010-08-23T20:17:00.014-04:00

I love Italian food. It's been a while since I've made any. Honestly, it's been a while since I've cooked much of anything. My entire body knows it. It's been screaming, "more vegetables. stat!" Today it finally got it's wish. After a yummy lunch of spaghetti squash, scallions and spinach in Fatfree Vegan's peanut sauce, I decided to try a couple recipes I found on the Weight Watchers site for dinner: The Grilled Portobello Margherita and the Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce. They are both big winners and will be made again -- a lot.

The only substitution I made in the sauce was grape tomatoes instead of campari. I even got to use fresh basil from my herb garden. (The basil and the mint are the only ones that are flourishing, so you might see more of them.) I know. I can hear you now, "But you hate basil. You say it every chance you get." I don't know what's happened. Maybe it's really another ingredient that's commonly used with basil that I don't like, or maybe I was just so proud to be using something I'd planted myself that my hatred melted away. I've never thought of using a "sauce" that hadn't been cooked, but since it was already room temp when I put it on the hot brown rice pasta, it warmed up quite nicely.

I made two subs for the Portabello Margherita: Mozza style Daiya for the cheese and real olive oil brushed on the mushrooms instead of using spray (beware of soy in the sprays!). I also cooked it in a cast iron skillet with a glass lid over it instead of on a grill or grill pan. Since I'd already made the sauce, I just put a little of that on top of the mushroom instead of slicing another tomato.

Of course as with any Italian dinner, I made a big tossed salad.

These may be "diet" recipes, but even if you're not trying to watch your weight, you'll want to dive right in. The worst part of the meal is that I'm not used to eating cheese and I burned by tongue on the Daiya. The best part of the meal is that I get to have it all for lunch again tomorrow! Hopefully, I'll be more careful :)

If you happen to be following the WW plan, the entire meal (1 serving of the portabello w/my subs, 2 servings of the sauce on 1 cup of brown rice pasta, and a large tossed salad) was only 7 points. The spaghetti squash (1 medium - abt 2 cups), scallions (abt 1 cup), spinach (about 1 cup) and peanut sauce (1/4 cup) was only 6.5.

Do Not Adjust Your Monitors

2010-07-26T08:57:00.004-04:00

After over 2 years, Veg-am is undergoing a design change. The reason? I am going to quit playing around with my photo greeting card line, website, and photo blog. I have been piddling around with ideas for all of them for years and have finally decided it is time to take the plunge.

So here it is -- the first official announcement: The greeting card line and online shop are set to launch September 11, 2010! The links above will be more complete as the website becomes more complete, but you can look around the website as it develops with the links above. There are still some design changes to come on the site, and definitely a fleshing out of content, but if you see any words spelled incorrectly or dead links, please let me know.

I also realized as I was setting up the new header for Veg-am, that I don't think any of those dishes are actually ON the blog. Maybe I should try to catch up ;)

Keep checking back for more info on the changes at D R Simpson Gallery and my new venture.

Gluten Free Chickpea Cutlets

2010-07-06T19:31:00.009-04:00

Don't pass out. Yes, it's really me...posting! There's been some recent interest in the gluten free version of chickpea cutlets that I make, so I decided to post it here so I can just send a link to anybody that asks in the future. It will also be a great reference for me the next time I lose the half-ruined piece of paper I have the recipe on. Somehow it happens a lot. If I actually put the papers on the rings of the binder instead of just stuffing them in there, I'd probably keep up with them a lot better. But, that's neither here nor there, and if you have to be gluten free like I do, I know you're only still reading to get your hands on a chickpea cutlet that wont make you sick to your stomach.

This recipe is based on the recipe from Veganomicon for a gluten-y chickpea cutlet. If you've had the original before, let me warn you, these may be nothing like it. I've never had them or any other gluten-y "meat" so I have no idea. If they're nothing like it, call it something else and reset your mind to enjoy them by that name instead of feeling bad for yourself that you can't have "real" chickpea cutlets. ::Stepping down from anti-I'm-a-gf-victim-whininess soapbox::

The first recipe I saw for a gf cutlet was from Cherie over on the ppk, but I've played around with it and come up with this:

GF Chickpea Cutlets

Makes 8-10 cutlets (I never bothered making the smaller batch, I like to freeze some)

3 cups chickpeas cooked (or two cans, drained)
3/4 cup cold water
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
1 cup millet flour
4 Tbsp oil, plus more for brushing on cutlets to bake
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sage
(the original recipe calls for 4 Tbsp soy sauce, so use it if you're not soy free - usually I leave it out completely, sometimes for kick I use 8 tsp balsamic vinegar, 4 tsp blackstrap molasses to give the extra brown color and extra flavor, now that I have Coconut Aminos, I'll prob sub that next time)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl mash the chickpeas. In a small mixing bowl mix the millet flour, water, and xanthan gum. It should be about the consistency of thick, sticky mashed potatos. Add this mix to your chickpeas. Add the 4 Tbsp oil, balsamic and molasses (or soy sauce), garlic, lemon zest, salt, and spices. Mix thoroughly. Shape into cutlets. If the mixture is a little too sticky to shape into cutlets, just flour your hands with extra millet flour and that should give you a little more control. (I've never run into this, but if it seems a little dry, just add more water until it's a good shaping consistency.) Brush both sides of the cutlet with a little olive oil and bake for 20 minutes on lightly oiled baking sheets. Flip the cutlet and bake another 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

For a change, you can shape these into "tenders" or "nuggets" too. My favorite condiment for these is dijon mustard or a mix of dijon with a little agave nectar. Enjoy!

Cookbook Challenge week 4: Yellow Rose Recipes

2009-09-21T06:03:00.004-04:00

Oh my gosh, where did this week go? I did next to nothing with YRR. I picked out recipes and went shopping, but other than one quick dip recipe, that was it.

I was on the planning committee for my 20th high school reunion and it was this past weekend. The week was full of last minute unexpected projects! Because of the tension in my body, I was at least able to fit in an extra cycling class. It was my first week of doing 3. My only regret about that is that I couldn't fit in that 4th on Saturday morning. They aren't getting much easier during class - it's a tough workout - but I don't feel like I have to go lay down when they are over any more. In fact it's energizing.

I can tell I'm still sleepy from all the lost sleep this weekend because I'm beginning to babble. What I am basically saying is that since I don't have a copy of Eat Drink and Be Vegan, I will do a couple simple recipes from it. Thanks to the research of Mandee, I have a few recipes that are on the internet. But mostly, I'm going to try to go back and pickup some of the YRR recipes.

Since I never like to make a post without a picture, here's a pic of me (left) with my high school friends Candy and Kelli. It was surely good to see them! It was a great night with lots of friends, music, and dancing, but I am ready for some sleep :) And I hope the cleaners can get those spots out of my dress.

Recapping the first three weeks of Cookbook Challenge

2009-09-12T19:05:00.007-04:00

I've done a lot more cooking than usual for the last few weeks, but I sure have enjoyed the fruits of my labor. I was getting in a terrible rut and this has helped me remember that I have a lot more options. We're past the 1/4 way point and in case you haven't seen all the posts for the last three weeks here's a recap of what I've made (and posted about). I'm looking forward to moving on to other cookbooks, but I'm also starting to make a mental list of what I want to try from these books when cookbook challenge is over.

Week 1: Veganomicon
Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Seed Rice Paper Rolls
Fresh Dill Basmati Rice with Chard
Broccoli Millet Croquettes with White Bean Aioli
Jelly Donut Cupcakes

Week 2: Vegan with a Vengeance

Green Goddess Garlic Pizza
Chickpea Broccoli Casserole
Apple Pie Crumb Cake Muffins
Mango Summer Rolls with Thai Dipping Sauce
Parsnip-Scallion Pancakes

Week 3: Vegan Brunch - The week of my 2 year veggieversary

Gluten Free Buckwheat Pancakes
Coffee Chip Muffins
English Muffins
Curried Cauliflower Frittata, Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes, Spiced Apple Cider Chutney
Tofu Omelets

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipe #7 : Tofu Omelets

2009-09-12T17:52:00.004-04:00

Yet again, I have gone way over the 3 recipes that I took on the challenge to do. But everything in Vegan Brunch looks so good.

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipe #7 The Recipe: Tofu Omelets (p 13)

The Reasoning: I used to make omelets almost every weekend. I haven't had one in over two years.

The Substitutions: I used burmese tofu in place of the silken or soft the recipe says to use.
Because it's a firmer tofu, I added 1 cup of water

I used the Denver filling except I used blackeyed peas in place of seitan and increased the liquid smoke to 1 tsp.

The Process: Mix everything in the food processor then cook. The cooking was a lot like making crepes. A little tedious since you can only do one at a time, but not difficult and really didn't take that long. Because of the extra water I added to the tofu, I actually got 5 omelets worth of "egg"

The Review: It's unbelievable how much black salt really does taste like egg yolks. Definitely take the advice to sprinkle a little extra on when getting ready to serve. The filling was perfectly smoky.

My omelets weren't as pretty as some. The first side to be cooked was always completely browned like a pancake instead of the nice brown speckles. I don't know the reason. Heat too high? Too much oil? All the water I had to use to make up for the burmese tofu? No matter, put the brown side inside and cover with filling.

I could not have convinced someone that this was an egg omelet, but it was surely very reminiscent of an egg omelet and quite tasty. Served with fresh cantaloupe, an English muffin and an apple spritzer it was the perfect end to a week of Vegan Brunch.

Now on to Yellow Rose Recipes next week!

*******
Points information - 1 omelet (burmese tofu version, makes 5, no filling)=4 points. 1/4 blackeye pea version filling=3 points

This is not figured or endorsed by Weight Watchers. I figured the points value myself using an online point calculator.

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipes #3, 4, 5 The Recipes: Curried Cauliflower Frittata & Friends

2009-09-12T14:12:00.004-04:00

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipes #3, 4, 5 The Recipes: Curried Cauliflower Frittata (p 38), Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes (p 125), Spiced Apple Cider Chutney (p 72)

The Reasoning: It's time for yet another confession. According to reaction on the ppk boards, it's shocking. I have never used curry powder. I have had a container of it in my pantry for over a year and was terrified of it. It was high time to break it out.

The Substitutions:
Frittata - I used a pound of homemade burmese tofu (chickpea flour based) in place of the regular tofu. Left out the soy sauce.

Samosa Potato Pancakes - I used the chickpea flour option

Spiced Apple Cider Chutney - I didn't have sweet white onion, so I use red onion

The Process:
Frittata - You cant really squeeze water out of burmese tofu like you can regular tofu without it losing it's texture. It starts looking a lot like really dry bread. Because of this, it doesn't really resemble ricotta. I broke it in small little chunks and mixed it. Looked more like mashed potatoes. I made quick work of the cauliflower by chopping it with the food processor. I used less than 2 tbsp of curry, but over 1.5 tbsp. And I ended up adding a little extra lemon. Overall, this was pretty easy. Because it didn't seem to be setting well, I cooked an extra 20 minutes.

Samosa Potato Pancakes - I made the potato mixture one night and cooked the cakes the next. My mixture was really watery. I ended up adding ALOT of chickpea flour. It was around a cup before the pancakes really held together. I had drained the potatos. I don't know what the problem was.

Spiced Apple Cider Chutney - lots of chopping but then you just let it cook. It took a lot longer to cook down than the recipe said. But, I did start off with a lid which I probably prohibited evaporation. I took the lid off and it seemed to go a little quicker. Still longer than the 20 minutes stated. It does make the kitchen smell wonderful.

The Review:

Frittata - I got a little of the mixture on my fingers when mixing it. The beauty of egg-free frittata is that I'm not afraid of getting salmonella. I tasted the mixture and I swear, it almost didn't make into the oven. As you can see (presumably because of the difference in texture of burmese tofu), the pieces of frittata didn't hold together. It was mushy and soft. And delicious. But a lovely thing happened the next day. I went to scoop some out and ended up getting a nice whole piece of frittata. I warmed it up at work and it stayed as one piece.

Lesson learned: when subbing burmese tofu, make the frittata the night before. Or this just struck me - maybe arrowroot added to the mixture would help firm it up.

I really cant say enough how much I loved the mixture of flavors in here. I'm thinking these flavors would make a great white bean dip too. I ate it each day until it was gone and am a little sad right now that I don't have another waiting. I honestly think I could have eaten it all in one sitting.

Samosa potato pancakes - meh. They aren't bad, but I found them a little bland. Part of it was that I ended up having to use so much flour that they didn't really even have a great potato flavor any more. They are a little too much work and a little too calorie dense for me to bother with them again. I'd just as soon just make some homefries or oven roasted potatoes.

Spiced Apple Cider Chutney - yum.yum.yum.yum.yum. The flavors here are a perfect combination. You can't really taste the vinegar and onion, they just keep it all from being cloyingly sweet. This sweet with the spicy of the frittata was amazing. I keep thinking that these need to be in some kind of pastry. I'm pretty sure that will happen sometime. But, there's not enough left now to do it. Even if you don't want the frittata, make this. It would be good filling for buckwheat crepes, be good on toast, or good on a spoon!

*******
Points information - Curried Cauliflower Frittata - 1/4 of the recipe = 3 points. Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes - (w/additional flour and cooking oil, I got 13) =3 points. Spiced Apple Cider Chutney (I got 2.5 cups), 1/2 cup=3 points.

This is not figured or endorsed by Weight Watchers. I figured the points value myself using an online point calculator.

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipe #2 The Recipe: English muffins

2009-09-12T13:30:00.003-04:00

Now, I will get back to the recipes between recipe 1 and recipe 6...

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipe #2 The Recipe: English muffins (p 190)

The Reasoning: The only gf English muffins I've been able to find at a store were either not vegan or had soy (I don't remember which). I'm a glutton for punishment and, despite considerable experience to the contrary, apparently think that I should be able to deglutenize any recipe successfully.

The Substitutions: I used soy free Earth Balance for the margarine.
For the 2-1/4 cups of flour, I substituted the following mixture:

3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum

The Process: I don't have a 3 inch biscuit cutter. I didn't want to buy a biscuit cutter for something that might have been a complete and utter failure, so I used a smaller one and got 10 muffins instead of 8.

In case you don't already know this, the process of making gf bread dough is different from regular dough. My understanding is that you knead dough in order to make the gluten do its work. No gluten, no need to knead. All you really need to do is make sure it's mixed in really well. In fact, if you knead it too much it could get a little gummy. Because I didn't have to knead anything, it was really pretty easy. I just had to wait to let it rise.

Which brings me to the main problem I had with these. The dough didn't rise as well as I would have liked. I have a couple thoughts as to why this might be and will probably try to correct these at some point.

The flour mixture was a little heavy. Perhaps I should lessen the garbanzo flour and increase the tapioca.
The water wasn't warm enough. I think my definition of "lukewarm" is different from the actual definition.
The margarine was still too cold.

I think the main culprit was item 2 w/a hint of item
These rolled out great and were easy to cook.

The Review: Please bear in mind that the review is for my gf version of these English muffins. I have not tried the original recipe for comparison. They were a little more doughy than I would have liked at first, but after a day or two they were much better, especially toasted. They don't have big nooks and crannies, but as you can see they had enough for the Earth Balance to pool in a little bit. I still would like to tweak them a little bit so that they rise more and are a little more muffin-y, but if they never get any better, that would be ok too.

*******
Points information - 1 muffin (yield 8)=4 points; 1 muffin (yield 10)=3 points

This is not figured or endorsed by Weight Watchers. I figured the points value myself using an online point calculator.

Cookbook Giveaway

2009-09-11T10:25:00.002-04:00

One frugal foodie is giving away Vegan Brunch and Vegan Soul kitchen. See this link for details.

Just in case you need one more reason crash diets are a bad idea...Ugh!

2009-09-10T08:58:00.001-04:00

Thats Fit Tweets

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Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipe #6 The Recipe: Coffee Chip Muffins

2009-09-09T21:28:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have jumped from recipe #1 to recipe #6. Recipes 2-5 will be posted before the end of the week, but because of this special day these needed to be posted now.

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipe #6The Recipe: Coffee Chip Muffins (p 168)

The Reasoning: It's my 2 year veggieversary! I wanted a special new sweet to celebrate.

The Substitutions: Got your pencils ready? I'll start out with the usual. I used turbinado sugar and I used a 2:1 ratio of cream of tartar:baking soda in place of the baking powder. If I ever miss stating these two things, you can pretty much bet that I did them.

Now for the other changes...

The flour mixture was: 1/2 cup almond meal, 1/2 cup garfava flour, 1 cup gf all purpose mix, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
Because of the fat in the almond meal, I reduced the oil to 3/8 cup
To make up for the liquid from the oil, I increased the milk to 1-1/8 cup
On Vegetation's suggestion, I increased the instant coffee to 2 tbsp. It was decaf. No one in my life wants to see me on caffeine.

The Process: Standard muffin procedure. Not hard; didn't take long. And, drum roll please...for the very first time ever, I had enough batter to make 12 muffins without having to redistribute batter from other tins to make the last two!

The Review: I am quite possibily the only person in the world who doesn't prefer hot muffins. I like them room temp, or better yet, cold. How much would it gross you out if I said I even like them frozen sometimes? I'm hard core like that.

My hard core completely disintegrated when I took these out of the oven. I couldn't wait until they cooled off to try one. They smelled so good. They are so good. I don't know about the original, but my version is a nicely dense*, very moist muffin with quite a lot of chocolate and just a hint of coffee. If anything, they could stand just a touch more coffee flavor for me. But, if you're a coffee drinker and have a cup with the muffin, they're probably just about perfect.

* I like relatively dense muffins and cakes. I got that from my dad. If you don't, I'd suggest leaving out the almond meal and the extra xanthan gum and using 1/2 cup more of the all purpose flour mix. I haven't tried this, so I can't say for sure, but drawing from other things I've made, I think that would make them a quite a bit lighter.

*******
Points information - 1 muffin w/my subs (or original recipe) =5 points.

This is not figured or endorsed by Weight Watchers. I figured the points value myself using an online point calculator.

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipe #1 The Recipe: Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes

2009-09-07T09:54:00.006-04:00

Does it count as brunch at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon? Probably not, but I love brunch food no matter what time of day. I'll be eating Vegan Brunch for most of my meals this week I expect.

Cookbook Challenge Week 3: Vegan Brunch - Recipe #1 The Recipe: Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes (p 82)

The Reasoning: I like the rich taste of buckwheat, and it's not often I find a recipe for pancakes that is already vegan and gluten free.

The Substitutions: I used 365 brand (Whole Foods Market Storebrand) of unsweetened rice milk in place of soy milk.

The Process: My stash of quinoa flour is gone and I couldn't find any at Whole Foods the other day. So, I put some quinoa flakes in the food processor until as fine as possible. Then I put it through a strainer to get the larger pieces out. Other than that the process was pretty standard to making from-scratch pancakes: not done in just 2 minutes, but not hard at all. My ice cream scoop must be small because I got 10 pancakes instead of 8.

The Review: When I saw this batter I was very, very afraid. It was thick. Unpourably thick. I was so close to adding some more milk, but decided to give it a try. I had to spread out the batter with the back of the ice cream scoop and even coming out of the pan these looked REALLY heavy. I was pleasantly surprised. They aren't light fluffy pancakes, but who would expect that from buckwheat? They have hearty body and a hearty taste. Topped with fresh peaches, a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkling of powdered sugar, these were warm and satisfying. The picture doesn't do them justice, which is probably why the book doesn't picture them either.

*******
Points information - If the recipe makes 8, 1 pancake=2 points. If you get 10, 2 pancakes=3 points. As pictured (4 small pancakes, 1/2 peach, maple syrup/powdered sugar)=7 points.

This is not figured or endorsed by Weight Watchers. I figured the points value myself using an online point calculator.