Beef Stew You Won't Believe Is Vegan

When my daughter was in the 10th grade, she tried out to be a cheerleader and made the team. You'd think there would be no parent involvement in having a cheerleader in the family, but guess again. The first call I got was from the cheer coach, informing me that the cheerleaders always gave a special dinner for parents and faculty and the cheer mothers were to do all the cooking. I was assigned a stew recipe and told in no uncertain terms that I was not to change a single ingredient as this particular recipe had been tried and improved over the years and was now at perfection. I was to double the recipe and show up with it in hand--along with my cheer daughter--at the school cafeteria at 4:30 on a particular afternoon. That would allow us time to prepare for the onslaught that was to descend within the hour.

I did as instructed, never even tasting the stew to be delivered. In fact, I was so busy with the serving, that by the time I got to eat, there was no stew left anywhere. I heard people talking about how wonderful the dinner had been so you'd better believe that by the next night I'd made what came to be called in our house "the recipe" for my own family. Over the years, I've passed this recipe on to untold people because once tasted, they always ask how to make it. I always tell them the same thing I was told: "It's perfect; don't change anything."

Once I became vegan, I wondered if I could replicate "the recipe" using my home made seitan. I experimented over time and finally came up with a stew so similar it's difficult to know it isn't the real thing. Since I promised you last week that I'd pass this treasure onto you, here it is. I made two tiny tweaks to give this stew the mouth feel of a meat dish. Other than that, I reiterate what I was told: Don't change a thing. It's perfect.

VEGAN BEEF STEW

1 lb. seitan, cut into bite sized chunks (home made seitan is much more economical)

2 Tbs. olive oil

3/4 cup flour

Put the flour into a bag, dump in the seitan chunks and give it all a good shake.

In a deep pot, bring the olive oil to frying temperature

Brown the seitan until it resembles beef that's been lightly fried

Turn off the heat and add to the pot:

4 large carrots, cut into 3/4" pieces

4 large potatoes, cut into 3/4" pieces

1 large onion, sliced thin so it will nearly disintegrate into the gravy this recipe automatically produces

2 small bay leaves or 1 large one

1 garlic clove, minced

In a large measuring cup place:

1 1/2 cups of hot broth, vegetable or no-beef broth

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. Kitchen Bouquet (in the spice aisle and vegan; it adds a great beefy taste)

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. sugar

Big pinch of cloves (don't leave this out; it's what gives this stew it's extraordinary taste)

1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup of hearty red wine (I use Burgundy)

Stir the liquid to distribute everything evenly, then pour it over the seitan and vegetables. Cover the pot and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until the vegetables are fork tender.

The seitan will puff up as the dish cooks. That is normal. It shrinks back quickly and gives the mouth-feel of eating read meat.

I serve only a side salad as the dish is a full protein/vegetable meal in itself. My hubby always liked bread so he could sop up the gravy.

Serves 4 and can easily be doubled.

Vegans are always messing with favorite recipes, trying to
change them into vegan deliciousness.

Eggplant Burgers

So my fellow lovers of the non-meat, when I last left you I wrote about grilling my favorite super-food, the wonderful avocado! I know that was such a long time ago and my only excuse is that summer session ended and I became horribly overwhelmed with packing and moving and finding a job. It seems I have hardly had time to sit and breathe, let along give proper attention to my blogging corners of the internet! And for that, I humbly ask your apologies.

Now, I have been living at home with my parents for a few weeks and even though I have yet to settle into a good routine, I have been maintaining a good diet. (I've lost five pounds since the move north, yo!)

The other night my mom barbecued a salmon fillet and I sliced and seasoned an eggplant, all-American burger style.

Our barbecue is not a propane run grill, so before we started preparing the meal we set the coals in the chimney to heat up. This is an important step, lest you contract a case of the hangries staring at your ready-to-go-food and your not-so-ready-to-go backyard barbecue.

I started by slicing the eggplant into half inch to three quarter inch thick rounds. I got a little lopsided and my father teased me mercilessly, but they still cooked just fine. Then I brushed on a little coconut oil. Because it's so hot here, especially in the kitchen because it's upstairs in our un-airconditioned house my coconut oil has changed states from a solid to a liquid. This made brushing it on the eggplant a lot easier, so you know.

Then I sprinkled on crushed black pepper, a smidgen of table salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Flip and repeat on both sides.

The eggplant was then sent to do its time on the grill. I'm not sure the exact length of time, but you want to keep an eye on them so they don't overcook. The eggplant should still be a little firm and not mushy.

After the eggplant had done some hard time on the fire, it was good and cooked all the way the through. I put a little balsamic vinegar on it before I wrapped it in lettuce and went to town. For future reference, I'd skip the balsamic. Something a little milder would definitely add to the flavor. My only advice is to compliment the smokey flavor the barbecue instills, which is all sorts of lovely in your mouth.

I ate my eggplant wraps with fresh carrots and snow peas, perfect and light for a hot summer night!

Vegetable Pot Pie--On My!

I never met a vegetable I didn't like. Well, okra used to be on my "hate" list but I learned to cook it whole, thus eliminating the slime factor. Both of my sisters love vegetables too and I liken it to the fact that we all grew up in farm country. My parents always had a garden--a small one for the kitchen and a huge one for corn or wheat to feed the farm critters.

Our kitchen garden was personally weeded by yours truly and my middle sister. I always thought it was too bad that my parents had only girls because some boys thrown into that mix would have made the "yard work" their job. At least that was my way of thinking when I was a child.

Even so, weeding the garden got me up close and personal with the fruits and vegetables that grew there. I got to see the spring onions peek up through the soil and the radishes grow into red globes and the carrots push their feathery tops higher and higher above ground. I investigated the strawberry patch with great regularity, always hoping to see a ripe red berry that would be mine alone. I watched in amazement as the sweet corn grew so tall it hid me within its leafy maze and afforded me a great hiding place when I didn't wish to be found.

I so often hear parents complaining that their children refuse to eat vegetables and I wonder how that came about. Growing up during WWII, my sisters and I had no choice in the matter. We ate what mom put on the table or we could go hungry. If most of those dishes consisted of vegetables, then we ate them simply because none of us liked going to bed with growling tummies.

I have a daughter who as a child, disliked vegetables and her dad would make her sit at the table until she ate them. Sometimes I'd have the dishes done and the kitchen all cleaned and she'd still be sitting at the table, eyeing stone cold veggies that no longer looked attractive even to me, a veggie-holic. By the time she was a school-kid, she had come to terms with vegetables and ate them willingly. I guess she was tired of sitting at the table by herself. Today, she loves vegetables. All kinds. I suspect her dad was right in making her eat them. At the time, she didn't know she would like them. It was a learning process.

This week I was busy knitting some socks for one of my sisters (who had begged me for a new pair) and while I kept the needles flying, I watched the Food Channel. I observed Ina Garten make a vegetable pot pit that just looked delicious. So I set about veganizing it, not sure what it would taste like. Now you know by now, if I'm giving you the recipe that it turned out terrific. I hope you give this one a try. Then let me know what you think.

VEGETABLE POT PIE

2 cups sliced onions
1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced thin
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 1/2 cups asparagus spears, sliced small
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced small
1 1/2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced

Sprinkle the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast them on a large cookie sheet for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. They don't have to be done, just softened. They will finish cooking in the pot pie.

In a saucepan put:

1/2 cup flour
4 Tbs. vegan margarine

Cook over medium heat until the roux is a light tan. The add:

2 1/2 cups NoChicken Broth or vegetable broth if you can't find the other one
1 pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 Tbs. non-dairy milk

Stir until the mixture thickens.

When the vegetables come out of the oven, add 1/2 cup minced parsley and toss  everything in with the gravy mix. Stir all the ingredients together so it is well blended, then spoon everything into 4 oven-proof bowls. Top each bowl with a circle of pastry dough sprinkled with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour.

I cheated and used ready-made pastry dough. You can do as you wish.

I can't help it. I always eat the crust first.

Lo Mein--Vegan Style

I love all manner of Asian food. I'm partial to Philippine dishes, though Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai all win my approval. Sometimes I just crave those flavors and when that happens, I break out my big wok and start stirring up just about every vegetable hanging out in my refrigerator. When those vegetables aren't sufficient for my cravings, I dig into my pantry till I uncover bamboo shoots or water chestnuts. With everything assembled, it all goes into the wok and in no time at all, the whole house is filled with a tantalizing Oriental perfume.

Growing up in 1940s rural Minnesota, Asian food was unheard of. We were mostly a land of Swedes, Norwegians, and a scattering of Germans. Our fare consisted of meat and potatoes and heavy desserts at supper, steak and eggs at breakfast, and being in farm country, the mid-day meal consisted of a table loaded with several meats, vegetables, and gravies and bread--spread thick with real butter.

I never heard of Asian food till I moved to California as a teenager. That's when I discovered Chinese food and ate it like it wouldn't be around tomorrow. But it wasn't until my husband's Parkinson's disease progressed to the point of having a live-in nurse, that I ventured into Asian cuisine, and then it was only because our Filipina nurse cooked up a storm, filling our home with scents so enticing both my husband and I couldn't wait until the next meal.

She loved to cook. And we loved to eat. And it wasn't only her own cuisine she fed us, it was that of nearly every country around her own island home. I was hooked. I still am. And while the recipe I'm sharing isn't new by any means, I hope you will try this vegan version and let me know what you think.

VEGGIE LO MEIN

6-8 oz. soba or udon noodles, cooked according to package directions

5 green onions, both the white and light green parts

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbs. fresh ginger, grated

1 big pinch of red pepper flakes

1 cup sliced mushrooms, any variety

1 handful of snow peas

1 can bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed

2 yellow crookneck squash, sliced into strips

3 carrots, sliced into strips

1/2 cup No Chicken broth (use vegetable broth if desired)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Pepper to taste

Once the wok is hot, add the No Chicken broth and stir fry the vegetables till they are crunchy tender. If more stock is needed to keep the vegetables from burning, add it a Tbs. at a time. 

Once the vegetables are to your liking, add the cooked soba noodles to the wok. Stir everything together and then pour the Lo Mein sauce over the top and fry a few minutes longer, stirring constantly so everything melds. Just  before serving, sprinkle the dish with the minced dark green parts of the onions.

Serves 4

LO MEIN SAUCE

In a small saucepan put:

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. rice vinegar (I used unseasoned)

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. agave nectar

1/2 tsp. Asian hot sauce (I used sirracha)

1/2 tsp. vegetable oil (makes the sauce stick to the ingredients)

Cook over low heat for a few minutes, till everything is blended. Pour over the Lo Mein and stir everything together.

Vegans savor foods from every nation,
always tempting their palettes with
new flavors.

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!

Faux Chicken And Dumplings

My aunt made the best chicken and dumplings I've ever eaten, although I've learned to make a dish that tastes reasonably like hers. The chicken and vegetable part is easy. It's getting the dumplings to cook up into huge fluffy clouds that are dry in the center, but saucy on the outside that stumped me for a time. After a lot of experimentation, I finally figured out her secret. Read on....

Noodle-like dumplings

Through the years, I've tasted many chicken and dumpling offerings. For the most part, the broth and veggies were fine. The problem has always been the dumplings. Now I know a dumpling war rages, with some people liking those flat, thin things that look like dried pasta and taste just about as good. Others like those tiny balls that resemble gnocchi except that they are firm to the tooth and bear no semblance to anything fluffy or cloud-like.

Gnocchi-like dumplings

But I wasn't raised on those versions. I come from the other side of the dumpling tracks and for me, nothing but what I consumed as a child will do. So here's what I'm saying: Begin your soup as I suggest and then try my light as air dumplings and see if they please your taste buds. Made right, their consistency will remind you of those huge bakery muffins we all relish, albeit savory. If the other kind suit you better, you can always make this dish again and use your dumpling of choice.

Since chicken and dumplings has always been a favorite dish, I've been working on a vegan version for nearly a year and with the inspiration of a few vegan cookbooks, I finally came up with a recipe that's heart-warming, filling, and reminds me of those cold winter days in Minnesota when all a body wanted at dinner was something hot to warm you from from the inside out. This recipe does that for me. My hope is that it not only warms you up but makes you smile.

FAUX CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Soup part:

1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup pea and carrot mix (I used frozen)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Tbs. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. dried parsley (fresh if you have it)
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast (a must for flavor)
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 cup drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, often called chickpeas
dash of hot sauce
salt and pepper

Brown the vegetables in 2 Tbs. canola oil. Add the spices, milk, and beans, along with 1 1/2-2 cups of No Chicken Broth from the Health Food Market. Use Vegetable stock if the above isn't available. Set the pot on a back burner, cover, and simmer about an hour. Taste for seasoning before adding the dumplings to the broth. If the broth has gotten too low, add more stock. Dumplings need a good bath of liquid to cook right.

Once the pot is bubbling, drop the dumplings by teaspoon-full into the hot broth. Adjust the burner so the liquid simmers and leave the pot uncovered for ten minutes. Then cover and simmer another ten minutes. No cheating on the time or the dumplings will not turn out right.

NO PEEKING ALLOWED! If the built up steam escapes, the  dumplings will not be fluffy. Trust me on this. It's where I made my mistake. When the time has elapsed, uncover the pot. Put one or two of those big fat dumplings in a large bowl and ladle the soup over the top. Sprinkle with minced green onions or fresh parsley. Go back for seconds!

Serves 3-4

DUMPLING DOUGH

1 cup white flour (wheat just doesn't make a good dumpling)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. vegan margarine, melted

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

Stir all ingredients together with a fork until the dough just comes together. It will be wet and sloppy. That is how it should be. Drop by rounded teaspoon fulls into the bubbling broth. They will look small now, but will be huge when finished as they expand a lot. Cook as directed above. Serve immediately. 

Busy Day Stir Fry As Good As Take-Out

Every Christmas I ask myself the same question: If Santa has elves to help him get ready for the big day, why can't I? I never receive an answer, so this year I took myself seriously and began hunting for elves for rent.

I looked in the yellow pages, the want ads, Googled elves for rent, put an ad on Twitter and posted my desires on Facebook. Not a single elf to be found. I suppose Santa has them all tied up this time of year. Personally, I think that's being selfish. But then again, the elves are likely thrilled. Seems they are the only ones who never have to deal with being unemployed.

My wishes were few: elves to make the presents or shop for the presents; wrap the presents; write the Christmas cards and get them in the mail; fill the candy dishes with goodies; put up the tree and decorate it; then make the cookies for Santa and make sure they were on the table Christmas Eve, along with a glass of milk. After all, sliding down chimneys has to be hard work.

After reaching the conclusion that no elves were available, I picked myself up and decided to do things myself. Just like always. I'm busy, busy. Just like all of you. That's why I dug out a favorite vegan cookbook and stirred up a favorite recipe. I like Robin Robertson's "Vegan On The Cheap", not only for its tasty offerings, but because everything in it is economical to make.

Since I love Chinese food, and Robin's recipe for stir fry that's as good or better than take-out is not only a favorite dish, but quick to make, I thought you might like to give it a try during this busy season. I made a few adjustments, as I always seem to do. You know me by now. I always have to change something for my own palette. You can do the same. Oh, and by the way, if you hear of any elves for rent in your neighborhood, send me a note so I know where to find them next year.

BETTER THAN TAKE-OUT STIR-FRY

3 cups broccoli florets, cut small

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

1 pound extra firm tofu, drained and pressed

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. cornstarch

4 green onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 tsp. grated fresh ginger

1 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2 Tbs. rice vinegar

2 Tbs. dry sherry (I left out since I didn't have it on hand)

1 Tbs. ketchup

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp. Asian chili paste

2 Tbs. water

Freshly cooked rice

I used my big wok since it makes stir-frying a cinch.

The recipe calls for steaming the broccoli and carrots until tender, but I don't care for steamed veggies, so I stir fried them and placed them aside till later in the recipe.

Cut the tofu into small dice and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the corn starch over the tofu and toss to coat.

In the wok, place a thin layer of vegetable oil and set the heat to medium. Add the tofu and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the tofu from the wok and set aside.

Heat another tablespoon of vegetable oil in the wok set over medium heat. Add the green onions, garlic, ginger, and cook till soft. Stir in the stock, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sherry, ketchup, sesame oil, and chili paste. 

Combine the remaining 1 Tbs. of corn starch with 2 Tbs. of water and pour into the wok, stirring to thicken. Add the tofu and cooked vegetables back into the pan and cook long enough to heat everything through. Serve over hot rice.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do. Even the non-vegans I've served it to always go back for more.

Serves 4

These are the non-vegans who ate my stir fry. Don't they look happy?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Clean Out The Frig Stir Fry

This stir fry is so good
it can be eaten as is
or with the teriyaki
sauce poured over top.

I love nearly every ethnic cuisine. You've seen me post veganized Mexican and Italian dishes but not many Asian ones. I particularly learned to appreciate Asian food when we had a Filipina nurse who took care of my husband with his advanced Parkinson's Disease. She is likely one of the best nurse/cooks we ever employed. Her recipes were awesome. Little wonder. Her mom is a caterer in the Philippines and whenever Maryann wasn't sure of an ingredient, she'd call her mom for advice.

I learned much just by watching as she stirred things together. So yesterday, when I decided I once again needed to use up leftover things hiding in the frig's deep recesses, I purposely put an Asian twist on them by doing no more than creating a sauce that screamed Chinese, Japanese, or Philippine. At least that's my opinion. Whatever I named it, the resultant product was decidedly delicious--or so the people I served it to said. Let me know what you think.

VEGGIE, SEITAN, AND TOFU STIR FRY

Boil 2 cups of water or vegetable stock in a saucepan. Add 1 cup of jasmine rice. I used white because I was out of brown. Bring everything back to a boil, cover, turn the burner to its lowest point and  let the rice steam for 15 minutes. DO NOT PEEK. Lifting the cover will destroy the steam build up that will cook the rice. Follow these instructions and you will end up with fluffy rice that's soft and tender. This recipe works every time. You do not need the expense of a rice cooker.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients for stir frying.

1 cup carrots, cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup broccoli florets, in bite sized pieces

1 cup of sugar snap peas, left whole

3 green onions, chopped, both green and white parts

1/2 cup seitan, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup extra firm tofu, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 of a small jalapeno, diced, seeds and ribs removed

1/2 of a small red bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces

Stir fry the above ingredients in 4 Tbs. neutral oil in a large wok or skillet, adding the vegetables in order of their cook time. I began with the carrots and added the rest in increments, ending with the seitan and tofu. Cook the mixture till everything is lightly brown. To serve, put a large amount of rice in a bowl, top with the stir-fry ingredients. Drizzle the sauce over the top, as much or as little as you like.

TERIYAKI SAUCE

Into a small bowl, put:

1 Tbs. corn starch

1/2 cup water

Mix together and set aside.

Mix together in a small saucepan:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup mirin

1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

1 garlic clove, grated 

1/4 cup agave nectar as a replacement for honey

Place the saucepan on a burner and bring to a low boil. Add the corn starch slurry, beating as you add it in. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens. Don't leave it unattended or you'll have a lumpy teriyaki sauce. Place the sauce in a gravy bowl so those who want it can pour on the desired amount. 

Serves 2

You can use any vegetables hanging out in the refrigerator. I added the seitan and tofu because it was there and needed to be used. It was a good choice because the stir fry had the mouth feel of meat in it.

Easy Autumn Salad

It's turned cool in S. California. Again. October weather is typically up and down. Right now it's down. I so love the cold nights and sunny, breezy days. Now you realize that when I say the word "cold" I'm not referring to my part of the world as being like N. Idaho or MN, where I grew up. What I mean is "cold" for us. And with that cold comes the changing of the leaves. Finally. I'll have to head up to the mountains to see a lot of trees changing colors but for right now, those around town suffice.

Oddly enough, when autumn shows up, my nature is to head toward home made soups and hot out of the oven cornbread or rolls or biscuits an inch high slathered with all good things. Today I decided to be different. I made a cold vegetable salad I found in a magazine, so I tweaked it to suit my own palette by adding some heat and it turned out so good I just have to share it with you. Try it and let me know what you think. I served it with my knock-off version of Marie Callendar's portobello hamburger. The recipe for that is at "Ah, Bella, How I Love Thee."

EASY AUTUMN SALAD

Into a small bowl put:

1 tsp. Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix

1/2 tsp. dill weed

1 tsp. water

Stir together and let it stand for five minutes.

In another small bowl mix together:

2 Tbs. vegan mayonaisse

2 Tbs. soy buttermilk (I made my own by mixing a dash of vinegar with my regular soy milk and letting it sit till it curdled.)

Mix well. Set aside.

Into a large bowl place:

1 1/2 cups fresh corn (I used frozen, uncooked)

1 cup peas and carrots frozen mix, thawed, then blanched for two minutes and cooled.)

1 tomato, seeded and cut into small pieces

1/2 cup green pepper, small dice

1/2 cup cucumber, small dice

1/2 cup red onion, small dice

Pinch of red pepper flakes
Pinch of cayenne

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix the Ranch Dressing and Buttermilk mixture together, then pour over the vegetables. Stir to blend. Let sit in the refrigerator, covered, at least an hour. Several hours is better. Stir occasionally to keep the ingredients mixed with the dressing. Serve cold.

6 servings.

Storms And Soups

I never met a storm I didn't like. Now please understand that I am talking about a thunder and lightning extravaganza. I wasn't crazy about the three Minnesota tornadoes I lived through or the multiple earthquakes that have rattled my California home.

I love storms. Especially the thunder and lightning ones. Growing up on southern Minnesota's farmlands, my sisters and I got used to lightning bolts renting the sky and thunderous claps that seemed to jangle the whole house. I credit my mom with teaching us not to be afraid but to take pleasure in stormy days. How I remember my sisters and I sitting in front of the living room windows, watching the exciting displays and complaining when they were over.

Now we are all southern California girls and have been for a long time. Each one of us loves storms, has taught our kids to love storms, and they, in turn, have taught their children to love storms. I mention that only because these sissy native Californians are mostly so afraid of thunder and lightning that they draw the drapes, lock the doors, and hide in the closet till it passes. At least that has been my experience.

Since we don't get many good storms in San Diego, I have taught myself to be content with drizzly days, overcast skies, and foggy gloom. In my opinion, it's better than nothing. These days, all it takes for me to get in the mood for home made soup like mom used to make is a bit of a drizzle, a cloudy sky, and a lack of sunshine for most of the day.

That's what it was like yesterday. And the first thing I wanted was mom's Navy Bean soup. Being a vegan, I had to leave the ham bone out. Surprisingly, the soup was still delicious. Next time, I'm going to add just a little liquid smoke. I think that might make up for the smokiness the ham bone would have added.

Need I say that this soup recipe has been around a long time. Whether mom created it or got it from her mom or out of a magazine, I can't tell you. What I can say is that every spoonful reminded me of a childhood spent watching storms roll by. You can imagine any scenario you wish. As for me, I enjoy thinking about my times past, those simple days when all I had to worry about was whether last year's raincoat and rubber boots would still fit.

STORMY DAY WHITE BEAN SOUP

Into a large soup pot put:

1 Tbs. oil

2 carrots, small dice

1/2 cup celery, small dice

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 leek, chopped thin, all of the white and a bit of the light green

Saute until the vegetables are soft and translucent.

Add to the pot:

2  15 oz. cans of white beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup corn, frozen or fresh

3 1/2 cups of vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. tarragon

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. cumin seeds

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes or two dashes of hot sauce

Bring all the ingredients to a simmer. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to  break up about half of the beans so they will work as a thickener. Move the soup pot to a back burner, cover, and let it slowly simmer about an hour so the spices have time to marry. 

Serve steaming hot with garlic toast or biscuits or any other kind of bread that sounds good. 

This recipe serves 4 hungry people.

Author's note:

My mom cooked her beans from scratch. I was just too lazy and used canned cannellini beans because I was out of canned navy beans. You do what pleases you.

  

The Carrot Experiment

My friend learned that carrots were a super vegetable. (Indeed they are. You can read the raves here.) And so she ate, and ate, and ate them. Until she turned orange. It is possible to eat too much of a good thing.

The six year olds were at the house yesterday and I had an experiment ready for them. I wondered if texture influenced taste in a six year old. Sure enough.

The shredded carrots got one vote and were eaten up.

The carrot coins were a bust. I ate those myself.

The carrot sticks were the winner, with two votes. They quickly disappeared.

Then I poured three shot glasses of carrot juice. Just the right size I thought for the second part of the experiment. What would these apple juice drinking kids think of carrot juice? I introduced the carrot juice as a sweet drink. I didn't pretend it was anything but carrot juice. They sipped. They shook their heads and handed it back to me. Too weird.

Why weren't they impressed with the color? The color alone calls "try me." That's what I love most about cooking with carrots. They add color and sweetness to the meal.

Savory Roasted Carrots

This recipe takes the lowly carrot from it's picnic vegetable tray, child's lunch box staple, root vegetable status and elevates it to elegance. While roasting in the oven, the house will fill with the combined sharp fragrance of garlic, the musty smell of thyme and the sweetness of carrots, calling your family to the table. Open the windows, let the neighbors know there's something special going on at your house tonight.

1 1/2 pounds of organic carrots, scrubbed

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

10 or more cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole

several sprigs fresh thyme

2-6 tablespoons water

fresh thyme leaves for garnish

While you scrub the carrots, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Line the carrots up in a large baking dish. Drizzle the olive oil over the carrots and shake the pan back and forth, rolling the carrots until they are covered in oil. Add the garlic cloves, the thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper. Now add about 2 tablespoons of water.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and put into the oven for about 25 minutes. Check the water level. If you don't have a good seal on the aluminum foil, you may have a dry pan. Add water, put carrots back into the oven and set the timer for another 10 minutes.  Take the aluminum foil off, and roast in oven another 5-10 minutes to allow the carrots to brown up a little.

Transfer to a serving platter. Discard the thyme springs and garlic, drizzle any infused olive oil left on the bottom of the baking dish, over the carrots. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper.

The next time I make this dish, I am going to roast several heads of garlic at the same time. I think the flavors will compliment each other. Carrots don't get enough compliments.

The 6 year old I shared my dinner with was not crazy about these carrots. "They're OK", she said. She did love the way they were smelled while cooking. Maybe she didn't think they would taste so much like a carrot. I suspected that she would prefer raw carrot sticks and had some ready for her. She ate those right up.

Chopped Salad

"We have ten fingers and ten toes," she said. "That may explain why we like to do things in tens."  My friend was an elementary school teacher. She taught her students that they could remember ten things by using their fingers and thumbs as props. I have applied this idea to today's salad. You don't need to dig up a cookbook, you can remember how to make this salad using your fingers and thumbs. On the Left hand count off the Greens, on the Right hand count off the Others (that sounds ominous). I'm calling it:

 Fingers and Thumbs Chopped Salad

a complete meal

On the Right Hand we have:

1. romaine lettuce

2. arugula

3. cucumber

4. brocolli
5. herbs

and

On the left hand
6. carrots

7. red pepper

8. red cabbage

*9. quinoa

10. dressing 

Measure? How many are you serving? Eyeball it. This salad will keep for a couple of days, so if you over do it a little, it will be an easy lunch tomorrow.

*You can prepare the quinoa ahead of time. Follow the simple instructions on this video. (I never add salt.)

Chop, chop, chop, chop, all of the vegetables. You want end up with a salad that shares all of the ingredients in every bite. As you finish chopping an ingredient, add it to the bowl to form layers. When all of the vegetables and the quinoa are in the bowl, toss everything together. Pass the dressing at the table.

This is a great summer salad that will cheer you up, cool you off, fill you up and keep you going for hours.

Say Hi to Thai



Once I have this vegan thing down pat, I'm going to learn how to photograph food. I realize my pictures look nothing like those in a magazine or book or even those on television. Woe is me. Right now it's all I can do to cook the food, let alone make it look pretty.



My late husband's family invited me to their Easter gathering and I somehow managed to stay completely vegan. Is that a miracle or what? I had such a good time seeing all of them, most of whom I haven't had contact with since Jim's memorial service a year ago. I have a reason for mentioning this. Only Jim's brother and his wife have kept in touch, often coming over to fix things I can't handle. Like electrical problems or water-heater nightmares. So why am I telling you this in a vegan blog? Simply because I want you to to know what they said about me.

The first comment was, with shocked look on face, "Gosh, Aunt Sandy, you're looking really good." Nephew continues to stare at me. "You sure do," another pipes in and gives me a bear hug. "I'm glad to see you looking so great," says a niece.  "What have you been doing?" It was compliments all around, each one saying mostly the same thing as we greeted one another. Taking into consideraton  that last time we'd all been together was a sad occasion, I figured whichever way I looked, it had to be  better than the last time we'd all assembled. 

But then my sister-in-law, who had continued glancing over at me, and whom I'd seen many times over this past year, commented that I really DID look good. I'll tell you a secret. I knew I did. I'm not talking about the "you're beautiful" kind of way but a rosy-cheeked healthy way. I'd noticed the change myself during this past couple of weeks. I'd not only lost weight, but my skin was well-hydrated again. It had been so dry and pasty for so many years, I'd given up on it. No matter what creams or lotions I slathered on, my skin still looked like an old piece of parchment paper. So when they asked what I'd been doing, I just had to confess. "I'm a vegan now," I told them. "Doctor's orders." Then came the myriad questions and while I tried to hold out on too many boring details, I finally gave in and spilled my guts. I told them everything I knew about being vegan 24/7. I was shocked that they were even interested. All I can say is I'm living proof that eating healthy works. Now some of them want recipes. Who knew?

Meatless Pad Thai

8 oz. rice noodles (I used 4 oz. or the dish would be mostly noodles)

3 quarts water, brought to a boil. Turn off heat, drop noodles into the water and set aside for 15 minutes. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse with cold water. Ignore them till later in the recipe.

2 Tbs. fresh lime or lemon juice

1 tsp. soy sauce

2 Tbs. ketchup or chili sauce

1 tsp. sricacha sauce (yum)

2 tsp. oil, I used canola

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. grated ginger

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

3 green onions, green and white parts, cut on diagonal

1/2 cup snow peas, cut into matchsticks

4 oz. firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/4 cup jicama, cut into matchsticks (I left this out because I hate to peel the ugly thing)

1/4 cup chopped peanuts (I used roasted, unsalted)

1/4 cup fresh bean sprouts

1 Tbs. fresh cilantro, minced

1 Tbs. fresh basil, minched

Combine the lime juice, soy sauce, ketchup, sriracha, and 2 Tbs. water in small bowl. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat and saute the garlic and ginger for a few seconds.

Add the carrot and green onions. Saute another 2 minutes or until the carrots are barely crisp-tender.

Add the snow peas, tofu, and jicama and stir briefly.

Add the lime juice mixture and stir to coat the tofu and vegetables, being careful not to break up the tofu too much. (Mine didn't break at all as I used a wok with plenty of room to move everything around.

Add the noodles and stir until they are fully heated through, about 2 minutes.

Garnish the plate with chopped peanuts, sprouts, cilantro, and basil.

Makes 4 servings

This recipe is so good it's right up there in my personal vegan hall of fame--which makes it one of the recipes I'd pass on to my non-vegan family.

This recipe is from The Complete Vegan Kitchen by Jannequin Bennett. Every recipe I've tried from this book has been excellent. Some I just like better than others and so far, this is a favorite.