Mama's Little Baby loves Shortnin Bread

This weekend a friend of mine lent me a cookbook she found at a garage sale, Charleston Receipts. Published by the Junior League of Charleston, South Carolina in 1950, it is a compilation of collected recipes(receipts) from members collected over the years. The foreword starts out with a poem lamenting the loss of servants and the necessity of housewives having to learn to and do their own cooking.

There was a time when folks had cooks,
     Who never did depend on books
     To learn the art of cooking.
The help knew all the tunes by ear,
    And no one dared to interfere;
     They brooked no overlooking.

But times have changed, for worse we fear,
     Housewives handle the kitchen ware,
     And must learn how to cook.
With that in mind, we've dug and delved,
     And unearthed treasures long been shelved,
     And placed them in this book.

It goes on some more but you get the drift. Oh for the times when we all had cooks!

The book is full of recipes with regional specialties like shrimp, oysters, fish and venison and the ever present butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese and cream of mushroom soup . Often times all in the same recipe. Silhouettes of black serving women(think Aunt Jamima) doing various chores adorn each page. Each chapter opens with quotes such as the following:

Man, w'en e hongry, e teck sum egg or cheese, an'ting an eat till e' full. But  'ooman boun' fuh meck wuck an' trouble. 'E du cook!

or

I's got okra, tomata and' sweet puhtatih!

It was a different time.Times have changed. But I find old cookbooks such as these a fascinating look into what people were eating and how they lived. As far as I can tell, the only recipe that could be considered vegan is below. Even the vegetable dishes were covered in dairy or meat including the salads. The "shortnin" in this recipe and in "Shortnin Bread" was actually lard. I substituted shortening for the lard.

Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups hot water
2 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 package raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves(ground)
3 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon hot water

Boil together sugar, water, lard(shortening here), salt, raisins and spices for five minutes. When cold, add the flour and soda dissolved in a teaspoon of hot water. This makes two loaves, bread pan size. Bake in 324 degree oven about 45 minutes. This cake is good texture and keeps moist for some time.

                                                                       Mrs. John Laurens (May Rose)

Faux Beef Stew That's Delicious

For more years than I remember, I've had the epitome of beef stew recipes. I inherited it when my daughter was in the ninth grade and I was asked to be one of the moms who made this dish for a parent meeting. I was told, in no uncertain terms, NOT to change the recipe one iota. It was tried and true and always came out perfect.

Now I know many people think their recipe is the best one ever, but since this was for a school meeting, I did as I was told and followed every instruction to the last degree. When the stew came out of the oven, I gave it a taste and promptly threw my old beef stew recipe into the trash. My kids named the new dish, "The Recipe" and ever after, when they'd come home from school and ask what was for dinner, they were always happy when I'd say, "The Recipe."

Who made this concoction up is unknown to me, but I've been thinking and thinking of a way to duplicate it's inherent deliciousness for nearly a year, ever since the doctor ordered me to become a vegan or risk more intestinal disease surgeries.

Yesterday I thought I might have come up with an answer so I gave it a try and even dared serve it to company. Praises all around. I didn't change a single thing except to substitute seitan for stew meat. Imagine my surprise when my taste buds were fooled into thinking it was quite nearly the real thing.

FAUX BEEF STEW THAT'S DELICIOUS...

1 package store bought seitan

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 cup flour

salt and pepper

Break the seitan pieces apart and coat with the flour, salt and pepper mix. Brown in a large pot with the olive oil, but do not cook thoroughly. Set aside.

Scrub 3 carrots and cut into bite size pieces. Do the same with 3 potatoes. I do not peel these vegetables as the vitamins lie right beneath the skin. You do whatever pleases you. I generally use Idaho potatoes, but this time I used fingerling potatoes. I prefer the Idahos.

Put the carrots, potatoes, and 1 medium sliced onion atop the seitan. Add:

1 clove of minced garlic.

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. pepper

dash of cloves

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. sugar

In a separate bowl combine:

1 c. No Beef Broth (use veggie broth if your store doesn't carry the No Beef variety)

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1/4 c. red wine (I used Burgundy)

Pour the liquid over the seitan/vegetables in the Dutch Oven. Give everything a stir to mix thoroughly and distribute the spices.

Cover the pot and bake at 350 degree oven for an hour. 

Serves 4

I served this with a side salad and biscuits.

If the need arises, we can cook vegan food that fools our meat eating friends.

FACEBOOK and French Onion Soup

You can now find Once A Week Vegan on Facebook. If you have a FB account, do a search for our blog under its name, click "like" and you'll automatically have the blog delivered to your FB wall. If you aren't on FB, don't worry. We'll still be right where we've always been so you can find us in the regular place too. We're working on getting on Twitter, but so far that hasn't happened. We'll let you know when and if it does.

The advantage of having us on your FB wall is that you'll receive much more than just our blog. You'll get links from other vegan sites, all the news concerning new vegan products  available to us, and isolated recipes for good vegan food that others have posted and shared on public sites, which allows us to re-post them to Once A Week Vegan. 


Another reason for putting our site on FB is to make commenting easier. No more being asked to sign up for an account you don't want in order to ask us questions or comment on a certain blog. We have tried to make everything as easy for you as possible. We hope to see you on the new site. No matter where you read us, we want to thank each of you for following us. Without our faithful readers, the time we spend blogging would be worthless.

Southern California is full of rain--again. You know by now that I have a penchant for soup when it rains, and today is no different. I have tried to create a vegan version of French Onion Soup. While it doesn't compare to the real thing, it suited my fancy, so just in case it might suit yours too, I'm passing my recipe along. If you come up with a better version, write and tell us. We are always open to new ideas.

French Onion Soup, Sort Of

Use the largest skillet you have and add to it:

5 medium onions, sliced thin
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. vegan margarine

Brown the onions over a slow flame, stirring often until they are completely caramelized. About 40 minutes. The onions should be a mahogany color. Don't rush the process or the onions will burn and you'll have to start all over. If the onions become too dry during caramelization, add some No-Beef broth and continue to cook until there are no white bits left.

Now add to  the skillet:

2 1/2 cups No-Beef Broth (health food store or use Vegetable Broth in a pinch.)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 good pinch of dry thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook another 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. When just about ready to serve, add:

2 Tbs. dry sherry or cognac and let cook another five minutes to cook off the raw alcohol taste.

Ladle the soup into oven-proof bowls. Top with a small piece of toasted french bread just big enough to cover the top of the soup.

Mix 1 cup of Daiya shredded mozzarella cheese with 1 Tbs. of nutritional yeast and place the cheese mixture atop the bread slice. Set the bowls on a large cookie sheet and put into a 450 degree oven, just until the cheese melts and turns a light brown.

While this soup is cloudy, rather than clear as is true French Onion soup, the taste is real. Even extraordinary. I served it with toasted french bread spread with a bit of olive oil and browned it in the oven along with the soup bowls of melting cheese.

If you love real French onion soup and are vegan, try this recipe. I think you'll like it.

 Serves 4

Onions frying on the stove = vegan perfume

Friends don't let friends eat bad food.

Meet my friend Judith Levine. She is someone who always lights up a room with an abundant smile and a quick wit. She is a native of Fayetteville who lived for a number of years in France before coming home to marry the love of her life. Her life is lived with passion and flair and she possesses a curiosity in everything around her. Not only that, she is a fabulous cook. And I do mean fabulous. Every meal is an event and an adventure. And she never picks up a cookbook or uses a recipe!

Judith and I recently started a business together called www.conegratulations.com . We sell petal tossing cones to brides and florists along with display cases. Lest you think this is just a shameless plug(okay, it is...) there is a food connection. The cones are food grade and perfect to hold snacks, canapes, pannise(great vegan treat by the way), hors d'ouvres, candy and the like. Perfect for parties and catering. So every week, Judith and I hold a strategy session at her house and she makes lunch. Sometimes it is more lunch than strategy but really, you should not mix business with food anyway right?

Today my sweet friend made us a lovely soup with ingredients she had on hand. There was no recipe, no prior planning and it took all of ten minutes to make. Coincidently it was vegan(she is not) and it was incredible. I never even thought to ask if it had a name and am constructing a recipe on the hoof.  Come to think  of it, I don't even know if it has a name.It is a delicious quick vegan meal and I urge you to try it.

Judith's Mushroom and Tofu Coconut Soup

1 container silken tofu, drained
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
   juice of one lemon
6 cups or so vegetable or No Chicken stock
1 oz shredded dried shitake mushrooms
a handful of scallions, chopped
a handful of cilantro, chopped

Bring the liquids to a boil with the shitake mushrooms. Simmer five minutes. Add the tofu and simmer a few more. Throw in the scallions and cilantro and serve. Now how easy was that! And oh, so good.

Thanks for the wonderful meal my friend. I hope we have many more together!

There's A Vegan In The Kitchen

Kale and Fennel with White Beans

It wasn't that long ago that I didn't know what to do with kale and fennel. They seemed beyond my reach and for some very silly reason they scared me. Fennel? Licorice? In my salad? In my stir-fry? Kale, be it the very dark green kale or the purple kale I used today, well, I was just not familiar with kale.

The vegan journey has made me much more curious, much braver to try these "exotic" vegetables. And I say to you today - "What was I thinking all those years?"

If you are like me, you will find some culinary courage on-line. I went to YouTube this week and watched many cooks chop and cook fennel and kale. It helped. You have to cut out the tough core of the fennel and cut off the tough stem of the kale. You don't eat the fennel stocks but the lacy leafy part makes a nice garnish. 

With a new "If they can do it, I can do it" attitude, I invented this beautiful dish. The licorice flavor of the fennel is lost in the cooking, the toughness of kale is steamed away. The result is a beautiful plate of contrasts in color and texture. The flavors are simpatico.

1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped garlic

1 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped fennel

4 cups chopped kale
salt, pepper

1/2 cup water

Heat olive oil in a large pan, add garlic and fennel and stir until garlic and fennel are soft. Add kale. Gently stir to fold the kale into the olive oil, garlic and fennel mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup water, put a lid on the pan and steam for 5 minutes. 

Open a can of white beans in tomato sauce. Heat through.

To serve, put a layer of stir-fry kale and fennel down on the plate.  Spoon the heated beans into the center. Garnish with fennel leaves. Serve.

A Health Report Plus Soup You'll Love

This month I am a year vegan. If you haven't read how that all came about, I'll give a short re-cap.

After about fifteen years fighting intestinal disease that landed me in the hospital way too many times--four were for major surgery and one included a colostomy reversed after nine months--the hospital finally called in a new doctor to see me rather than those who had always attended me in the past. I was there, once again, because of a twisted colon. I hadn't requested a new doctor nor had I ever heard of this one. He just showed up one day as I was laying in bed with a tube up my nose and down the back of my throat and into my stomach. He introduced himself and told me the hospital had asked him to come see me.

After five days of laying in a hospital bed with tubes everywhere, I got to know him a bit, for he came twice a day to check on my condition. The day came when I was going to be released and when he popped into my room for the last time, nobody was more shocked than I was when he  told me I needed to eat vegan if I wished to stay out of the hospital.

I was taken aback. In fact I was just plain disbelieving. "But," I said, "that isn't what all the other doctors and surgeons have told me in the past. I'm always told to go home to a liquid diet for two days and semi-soft for two days and then go back to regular eating."

"Has it worked?" is what he said.

"No, I always end up throwing up and in excruciating abdominal pain after a bit. By the time about three months has passed, when I can no longer keep food down or stand the pain, I come to Emergency. By then I know I'm in trouble."

Then he began drawing diagrams of a stomach and intestinal tract, showing me what was happening and why it was happening and how a vegan diet would change everything. I agreed to give it a try, though I doubted it would work or even help the situation. The whole plan seemed far-fetched, but I gave my word I'd give it an honest shot.

Foods that are always
in my home

My first day home, my daughter stocked my cupboards with beans and grains and vegetables and fruits and soy curd and non-dairy milk and all the other things she saw listed. With great unbelief, I did what I'd been told and waited for the abdominal pain to lay me flat. It didn't happen. I figured by day two  it would begin. Didn't happen. The first week went by and while I fought a lot of flatulence, I felt fine. Still, I refused to take hope. I'd been disappointed too many times before.

Before and After

Four months later I was down forty-five pounds. The weight fell off so fast my grandma skin didn't have time to catch up and was now as wrinkled as a crumpled paper. I didn't care. I felt great. I hadn't expected to lose weight. Nor had I expected my skin to come back to life. People who hadn't seen me for a long time stopped me to ask what I'd done to myself. They weren't interested in being vegan, but the women sure were interested in why the skin on my face glowed with health.

The same question everyone
asks me

This month it is a year since I've eaten meat or dairy or any of the other things not on the doctor's list. I look good and I feel good. To my surprise, my primary care doctor gradually took me off blood pressure meds, ulcer meds, and pain pills, saying I no longer needed them. He also told me he thought the doctor who'd put me on a vegan diet was a genius. He admitted that he would never have thought to do that.

Since my clothes were now literally falling off my body, I dug around in the back of my closet for things that might fit me. I'd let my hair go straight and gray because I was tired of paying for tints and perms. I informed my hairdresser to do something new and I actually loved the cut she created. Then I called a good friend who sells Mary Kay and set a time for a make-over.

I think I still carry too much weight, but I believe my body is in a holding pattern, trying to figure out what's going on. My skin is in a holding pattern too--still wrinkled from the fast weight loss. How grateful I am for my mom's English genes, for while my arms and legs resemble elephant skin, my face is surprisingly free of any deep wrinkles, just as my mom was when she passed away at 82. She never did look her age. Maybe I won't either.

My most-used cookbook

All of the above to say, it's been a challenge to find recipes that please my palette. I generally begin with an idea or even a recipe from a vegan cookbook and then start throwing in the herbs and spices and other things I enjoy eating. I've had people question as to how I'm able to stay vegan, for I spent 70 years as an omnivore. I always tell them the same thing.

"FEAR." Fear is a great motivator. Fear of the pain, fear of more extensive surgeries, fear of long hospital stays, fear of being sick all the time, living on pain pills and tossing my cookies at least once a day. Who do you know that would like a life like that? I am truly grateful that growing up, our family ate tons of vegetables from our garden and fruit from our trees. I never met a bean I didn't like and grains have always been a favorite. Changing my diet wasn't a dreaded thing. Learning how to prepare vegan meals was a challenge, but I learned.

What I've learned, I've passed on to you. I think you'll like today's Sweet Potato And Chard Soup. I went back for seconds. I bet you will too. Blessings.

SWEET POTATO AND CHARD SOUP

Into a soup pot put:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 small onion, cubed

1 large zucchini, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

1 small jalapeno, minced, seeds and ribs removed

1 tsp. tikka masala (can use garam masala as a substitute)

1/4 tsp. turmeric

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

2 Tbs.nutritional yeast

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring the mixture to a boil, turn heat to simmer and cook, covered, for an hour. 

Add 1 large bunch of Swiss chard, rinsed and rough chopped. Turn the heat to medium and cook another 10 minutes. Serve with any favorite bread or biscuit.

Serves 4

VEGANS ARE A COLORFUL BUNCH!

What's for Breakfast?

This year, 2012, I resolve to spend more time in nature with my friends. This is a resolution I can keep.

Our first venture was Zuma Beach to Paradise Cove, a 6 mile round trip hike along the beach.  Marybeth (fellow blogger, the juicer you have read on this blog), her husband and the Iron Woman Samantha Pruitt,  (seriously, she can swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and then run 26 miles) met at my house on a Monday morning and set out together. The day was beautiful and we all felt pretty special skipping work, taking a hike on a Monday. A guilty pleasure.

                                      

Samantha had the farthest to drive, so she came on Sunday night. She knows all about our vegan blog, my food allergies (she has some too) and is on board the healthy lifestyle train. Monday morning we decided to drink our breakfast. Inspired by MaryBeth's juicing but not ready to go all in, I made a shake with green tea, chia seeds, lime juice, black kale,  banana, apple, and cucumber. 

Samantha took this picture.

Sunday night I brewed 2 cups of green tea, let it cool, added 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to the tea, shook it up and put it into the refrigerator overnight. On Monday morning, the chia seeds had expanded in the tea and were ready for the blender. To the chia seed tea I added 4 tablespoons of lime juice, 4 Kale leaves, chopped, a little at a time. That is the trick. Kale leaves blend easily if added to the liquid first, before other fruits and vegetables thicken the mix. Next I added, a little at a time: one banana, one seeded and chopped but not peeled apple, one chopped English cucumber, peel and all.

A breakfast shake can be anything. The more often you make one, the braver you will get. I love adding kale or spinach. Just looking at it makes me feel stronger. That dark green goodness, coursing through my body has me flexing my muscles like Popeye. The addition of all the fruit mutes the bitter of raw greens.

A heavy breakfast before a hike would not be a good thing. We were fortified, energized. As Samantha would say, "Whooo Hooo". It was a good start to a good day.

Juicing Recipes

Wow. I've made it to my sixth day of ingesting only fruit and vegetable juices, water, and herbal teas. Although I felt weak during my exercise class, in general, I've felt pretty good. The first thing I noticed about my day that's different, is I don't get my usual afternoon slump. This diet takes me off the roller coaster ride of carbohydrate ups and downs, coffee and candy jerks to the right or left. I've never had it so easy to resist the pull of regular food and drink. Oh, but, the aroma of my dear man roasting a pizza (frozen) in the oven enticed and teased my olfactory nerves once. I just stayed in a different part of the house to resist any temptation until he finished his evening ritual mastications.

I'm really glad that I made a New Year's resolution to stop drinking alcohol, too. Now, over the course of  the first week, I've made some adjustments to this resolve. I have reckoned that moderate social drinking is okay. Just not the daily beer, that turns into two, or three, followed by a glass of wine or two every night. Only half a bottle of red, red wine easily turns into an entire one at a party. The next day lay wasted, due to alcohol poisoning. It's not worth it! Time to make a change before I'm a full blown alcoholic. Before my liver turns into chopped! At my age, its very easy to build up immunity to the affects of alcohol. A daily habit gradually grows into a serious addiction! However, I refuse to give up my good health, and organs.

Actually, I've never had it so easy to resist the pull of regular food and drink. Probably because this is the sixth year I've been attempting to stay on the full 10 days of this cleanse. Practice really does help. A psychological confidence that I won't die of starvation. Even though I hear a few more growls in my stomach. Especially the last couple of nights of guzzling the fiber in a full glass of water right before I hit the pillow. Listening to the twists and turns as it courses my clean, well rested intestine. Well. it didn't sound off Pavlov's bells of salivating hunger, even though, my stomach was indeed empty. This is how you love your digestive tract, people! Just think what an annual break can do to fight colon cancer, the silent killer?

The last two days of the diet are very important. If you need to cut the diet short, cut back on the juicing days, instead of these. Just like the first transition days, only eat fruit and vegetables, steamed or raw, with only lemon juice, fresh herbs and soy sauce to season. Gradually return to normal eating. Use these last two days building back the good flora in the intestine. Take a pro biotic pill three times a day with your meals. Any brand will do, look in the refridgerator section of your healthy grocer for a bottle.

I strongly recommend that you make most of your own juice, but I really do understand how annoying the juicer is to clean. Easy enough to buy your own carrot juice, if not apple and fruit mixes that are put out by Naked Juice or Odella. You should find a juice bar too. Go there every day for a shot of wheat grass.  When I skip a day I take a bigger shot the next day. We have a juice bar inside the health food store in my town. They let you choose any combination of a base: Apple, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Tomato. Then, you can choose more intensive flavors and additives. It's important to keep the proportions of greens, to no more than a quarter of the base mix. I like using a 4 cup measuring cup to check my levels. First I juice the spinach, watercress, parsley, herbs, escarole, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, kale, etc. and a quarter of a beet. I stop at one cup, before I add pungent flavors like a tiny clove of garlic, or ginger, or one eighth of an onion. Here are some of my favorite juice combos:

Breakfast:

1/2 organic cantaloupe with rind or peeled if not organic

OR
1 grapefruit, cut off rind leaving as much pith as possible
2 apples. quartered, unpeeled, un-cored

OR
1/2 pineapple with rind, or peeled if not organic

Lunch, Snacks, Dinner:

1/4 beet with tops, filling rest of 1 cup with greens, (parsley, dandelion greens, kale, spinach, and/or, green pepper, green onions).
spicy, pungent flavors like one radish plus greens, and/or, 1/4 onion, and/or, one small clove garlic
2 pounds carrots will yield 2 cups juice
2-3 apples will yield 1 cup of juice


OR
2 cups tomato juice
1 cup celery juice
1 cup cucumber
add a quarter of lemon with peel and
a big hand full of parsley, and/or, a small clove of garlic

Dessert:
Mango juice from Naked Juice

OR
any fruit mix juice, especially coconut mix!

Meatloaf And Gravy That's Doggone Good

My husband loved meatloaf. Not me. No matter what I did to the fixings, the meatloaf was always too dry for my taste. Even smeared with catsup, it was barely tolerable. Fact is, I'd never had meatloaf in my life until I married my husband. He always raved about his mom's meatloaf, so I asked her to teach me how to make it. Jim always thought it was the best supper ever. He even liked leftover meatloaf in sandwiches. I tried. Honest, I did. But I just never liked it.

So last November, when I brought home a copy of the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook from my local bookstore and saw the meatloaf recipe, I skipped over it. Again and again and again. There would be no meatloaf in this house, even though all the other recipes in Lindsay Nixon's book had turned out delicious. Still, I had no hopes for anything called meatloaf.

Then came a dark and dreary winter eve when I looked into the pantry and came up with nothing that sounded good. Same with the refrigerator. But wait. I did have an unopened package of tempeh. What could I create with that?

Out of curiosity, I hauled out the Happy Herbivore cookbook and looked up tempeh, trying to get some ideas for dinner. Actually, the meatloaf recipe sounded like it might be tasty so I decided to give it a try. I added a few more ingredients than the recipe called for and stuck the dish in the oven. Thirty minutes later out came something that actually resembled meatloaf. I served it with my own version of brown gravy, along with creamed cauliflower, and garden peas.

It was delicious. I even have enough left to make sandwiches. Who knew?

MEATLOAF AND GRAVY

Set your oven to 350.

Place in a mixing bowl:

1 c. instant oats

1 8 oz. package tempeh, shredded with a box grater

1 small onion, minced

1/2 celery stalk, minced fine

4 Tbsp. ketchup

2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

2 tsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

2 cloves of garlic, minced fine

1 jalapeno pepper, minced fine, seeds and ribs removed

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and let it set for a few minutes. In the meantime, grease a small casserole dish or small breadpan. I used a casserole dish so I wouldn't have to slice an already delicate product.

Pack the ingredients tightly for good cohesion. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Smother with my own version of brown gravy if so desired. Serves 4.

Faux brown gravy:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. flour

Mix together in a saucepan set over medium heat, stir until the mixture looks somewhat like paste. Add 1 cup vegetable broth. Whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 Tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet if a deep gravy color is desired. Serve over the meatloaf.

I apologize there is no photo of this delicious dish. When I went to download my pictures, I accidentally clicked remove instead of upload and before my brain registered what I'd done, the photos were gone. Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed.