My First MoFo's End

I can't believe I am late with this post (I am back-dating it to Nov. 30th). I have been a procrastinator forever but I hope that some of those bad habits will change and some good habits like blogging will stay. I have really enjoyed being a part of MoFo 2010, and though I only cranked out 10 or so posts this time, it's nearly half of my blogs history. I have learned that I love the community, the food, the wittiness and talent that I have seen in blogs all around. I am in awe and honored to have been able to participate. I hope that you will continue to look here and at the many blogs I read (check out the blog roll below) and embrace or continue to embrace this wonderful compassionate lifestyle. Peace and blessings to all and remember to Keep it Kind.

Thanksgiving Recap. . .

This wasn't my first vegetarian Thanksgiving, but it was my first vegan Thankgiving and the first time, I was able to share some of my favorite foods with my extended family. With my uncle's house filled with about 40 or so people, the festivities began. My family is very used to me turning down the various meats on the table, but bringing a bunch of "alternative food" sets off their individual "this girl is trying to convert me into one of them veh-gee-ter-ree-Uns" radars. Guess what? They loved it. I don't think half of them knew that they were eating vegan at all, and I only bothered to tell them about the Tofurkey, mainly because I didn't want them to waste it and partly because I didn't want them to eat up all of my only protein option. My hubby and I traveled to Accomac County, which is where I am from originally, with goodies in tow. Included in our trunk for travel where a roasted Tofurkey with carrots, celery, onions, garlic and rosemary;

Tofurkey before cooking...

Tofurkey after cooking (I really enjoyed it and so did my daughter, who also had a completely meat-free holiday too)

Green Bean Casserole;

My Cream of Mushroom Soup made from a roux for the casserole

After blanching my frozen green beans, I mixed in the soup

Topped with store bought french fried onions, (I don't skimp on the crunchies)

Though I didn't get a picture, we also took Rum Carrots (My Hubby made those and they were awesomely sweet with brown sugar, rum and Earth Balance), he also made a wonderful vegan stuffing based on his mother's recipe, I was so proud and hopeful for his Vegan conversion (he is destined to be veganized, I can't wait and I won't ever give up ever, muah-ha-ha-ha), I digress.

The following tasted much better than it looks, I browned it just a bit too much, but I was very pleased with how it turned out and my daughter loved it. She begged for sweet potato pie for a week so I took the plunge. Now, I have never made a vegan version of this until now and I may have taken a few more creative liberties than I should have right out of the box. I used Silk Nog instead of just soy milk, which made the normal sweetening and spice choices a bit tricky, basically I don't recommend it for the virgin veganizing voyage on your recipe, but I really did like the idea of playing around with cool flavors. I know, I know, I am not posting this recipe now, but I will as soon as it's perfected the correct way in my opinion. But, I will say this Sweet Nog Potato Pie did please and has been devoured.

Overall, Thanksgiving went so well and I think that I enjoyed it so much more because of all we were able to bring to the table. It has been a busy week, but oh what a week it was. I hope everyone had as blessed a time as we had. Happy Tofurkey Day!!!!

-Ty

Baking Beer Bread

Until about a year ago, I had never heard of beer bread. I know, I am the only one left in the free world, but I had just been beneath the beer bread radar, I guess. Imagine my glee when as a vegetarian, I flipped over a box of pre-made beer bread and found that it was vegan. Shut the front door! Naturally after taking the step from veggie to vegan, I went back to the sweet dense bread for some more of the guilt-free, cruelty free yumminess. There are recipes everywhere, many vegan already, some easily veganized by using melted Earth Balance in place of butter (or eliminate it all together to make it more healthy). I used the recipe here and used EB in place of the butter, next time I may eliminate it altogether. Please take a look and try these recipes, if for no other reason, than that you get to chew your beer in a good way, duh. These were my finished products, my daughter and hubby devoured it.

Roux to Gravy and Smothered Chickpea Cutlets!

I have real respect for Rachel Ray and anyone else who can get dinner on the table in 30 minutes and have it look like real dinner, but I have officially cracked 45 minutes with the help of two awesome cookbooks and some old skills I try to keep handy. For dinner on this night I aspired to make Veganomicon chickpea cutlets (smothered in mushroom gravy from a roux, read on), not-chick'n broth couscous, and Vegan Soul Kitchen's Citrus Collards Redux. It was a night full of C foods (chickpea cutlets, citrus collards, couscous) I just noticed. I firmly believe in a roux. Even before I was vegan or vegetarian or anything in my diet had changed, I had been taught this awesome technique in a high school food management class and never let it go. In this case, I started with my post chickpea cutlet cast iron (more c's, I know). With all the wonderful bits in the bottom (as Isa would say), I added some Earth Balance to the leftover oil in the pan and heated to a sizzle. I added unbleached flour (you can use any flour you'd like) to the oil, about 1 and half parts flour to 1 part of the oil, then a little more flour if it thins out too much. It should be slightly pasty. Before you start this, be sure to have at least 2 to 3 cups of veggie or no chicken broth heating to a simmer in a saucepan nearby.

Stir constantly and smell the toastiness until it has browned to your desired color of gravy (blond, light brown or deep brown). When you're there, add your veggies to saute to this mixture, remember it's hot oils so be careful, saute them with salt and seasonings to taste (salt them well in order to give your gravy a good flavor). It will look a little dry and you'll think to yourself that you should add more oil, don't. Let the veggies soak up the roux making it look wrong and pastey, then when you can't take it anymore, ladle in your broth one after one and keep stirring. I promise it will get creamy and wonderful. . .

Finished roux based gravy for the soppin'.

Zoom in, steamy shot of my goodies for the evening. BTW, you have to try these collards, the citris and raisins seem preposterous, but are soooooo good, my omni hubby loved dinner. Happy MoFo Folks!!!

-Ty

Quick Favorite Fast it's MoFo Pizza

I love pizza and making it at home is always so much fun. Thanks to wonderful conveniences, like the vegan pre-made pizza dough at Trader Joes and of course the wonderfully melty Daiya shreds, my family can have pizza night that is easy and omni-friendly. Simply flour a surface, roll out your dough, put down sauce, daiya and toppings, pop it into the oven and "you're good to go". (There's a cooking show hostess that says that ALL the time, it annoys me, but it works here). My husband and daughter always get in on the fun. When they do it, there is flour everywhere, the pizza is at times odd-shaped, and I may have more Daiya on the cooking stone than on the pizza, but it tastes wonderful and they are enjoying something completely vegan without missing a thing. My daughter is forever coveting the real "cheesiness" of things, as I have said before. Daiya really gives her that when I can't make my own cheesy product. There are just so many more options for us to enjoy these days, this just goes to show that Veganism will in fact take over the world much sooner than we think.

-Ty

Veganizing an Old Favorite. . . It's Curry Time!

I have a sister-in-law, she is Guyanese and truly awesome. She has introduced me to so many wonderful South American/Caribbean dishes that have become staples in my kitchen at home. One of the first dishes she really "taught me" was curried chicken. Now, I have veganized this before with tofu and then with tempeh, or even veggies only. This was my first time with seitan. I used White Wave seitan, although I have to say that usually I make VWAV homemade seitan, and though I do like that a little better, the tenderness of the store-bought seitan was really great in this recipe. It probably sounds gross, but it gave it a more fatty texture that is custom to many curried meat dishes.

I served it with sauteed kale (olive oil, garlic, and toasted sesame seeds). I thought it was delicious, I am biased I know. I don't really call this a recipe, because it changes so much, but I will give a rough idea of what I do.

Curried Seitan

10 oz to a pound of seitan, tempeh, or extra firm pressed tofu

2 cups (at least) bite-sized cut potatoes (I quartered small red, purple and white potatoes for this batch)

1 bell pepper (any color)

1 medium or 1/2 large onions (I chose red for this)

2/3 can coconut milk (optional)

Curry Powder* (I don't know how much, it really depends on taste and what type of curry you are using) Start with about 2 Tbsp., I would say

4 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp each ground coriander and cumin

1/2 freshly ground black or white pepper

Oil for sauteing

2-3 cups of water

Salt to taste

*I use a combination of Jamaican curry powder (which is diluted some with salt and flour), madras curry powder (be careful this can be hot), and generic bulk bin curry powder for balance (my local health food store has a really great one). How much curry powder you use really depends on what type you get and what spice tolerance you have. Just keep tasting and don't be ashamed to do so.

First saute onions and peppers in oil at the bottom of your stock pot. When onions and peppers have softened and onions begin to become transparent, add in the garlic and continue to saute. Add the curry powder and other seasonings and toast in the veggies and oil to release more flavor. Add your protein and more oil if possible, brown the protein, stirring gently to brown on all sides. Add coconut milk, water and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and add salt to taste here. Continue to simmer and reduce, potatoes and coconut milk will serve to thicken. Remember that the curry will continue to thicken even after it has been removed from heat, so continue cooking until you have ALMOST reached your desired level of thickness. Serve over rice. Such good stuff, I think so anyway.

It's Monday, What Pray Tell is For Lunch?

Some of the challenges that I first experienced with going vegetarian and then vegan were lunch choices. Because of my job, I often grab lunch out and about. Yes, I should prepare my lunch at home and I do that when I can, or steal home to have lunch sometimes too, but it isn't always practical and you have to find options. One of my favorite options is Chipotle. The food is usually great and fresh and there are so many choices. I personally choose, the vegetarian fajita bowl. I get rice, black beans, tomato salsa, corn salsa and my guac on the side with chips. Waaaayyyy too much food always, so you can save some for later, unless you're greedy like me (I can't eat dinner on the nights I go, I'm so full). The food is colorful and pretty and so tasty, if you haven't tried it, just know that there are vegan friendly opts all around. Check out the special diets section where they actually let you know what's out for vegans, yay. I really like what they do there.

My bowl.Chips and guac are a must if you can indulge, if not, guacamole in your bowl is such a winner too. It's so beautiful.

-Ty

Ode to My Cast Iron with a side of fungus?

"Why do you cook in that one, Mommy, it's so hard to clean". I remember saying that to my mother whenever she would pull out the dreaded black heavy frying cast iron to make EVERYTHING. It was crackly on the outside and ugly and hard to clean when Iwas old enough to do the dishes. . . Uggggh.

BUT. . .

One day, my stepfather taught her how and then me how to "season" it. I didn't know why at first, I certainly didn't want to eat it, lol. But when he showed me how to oil it lightly before I put it away and how to care for it and never leave it in a sink of water "soaking" because I hated finishing all the dishes, well I just finally fell in love with them. OMG, things just taste better in my cast iron. My cast iron skillet, which was given to me by my grandmother, when I got my first apartment (she picked it up thrifting, I love her), lives in the oven and gets used ALL the time. I sautee veggies, I make roux (apparently that IS the plural as well), I make sauces, and sear seitan and make chickn fried tofu, and...well you get the idea. The point is that I think all kitchens should have one. And if you have shunned the possibility because you were, like me, afraid of the heavy, black, hard to clean, "what if it leaves particles on my food", potential weapon of opportunity, I am here to tell you that will not regret that you did. treat it with a thin layer of oil after each cleaning and watch it become your favorite nearly-non-stick surface.


My beautiful cast iron skillet.



Oh yeah and I used mine last for sauteed mushrooms. Yay fungus!!



-Ty

My Stove-top Mac and Cheeze

My friends at the PPK just gave me the topic for my MoFo blog tonight. I am going to post my recipe here. I didn't really find this recipe anywhere, I wanted something that tasted like kraft but creamier and more real frankly AND, I needed something to satisfy my daughther's yearnings for real cheesiness and gooeyness like everyone else gets to eat (she is an aspiring herbivore but for now just allergic to dairy). I looked at a few recipes, one on the FFV which is a blog that I love, and it had great flavors, but wasn't completely my style. I also used some of the thoughts from an article on Soul Vegetarian's Mac and cheese (which I have tweaked a bit too for mega creaminess and thickness and because I could never get theirs quite right). I am finally happy with what I have come up with and I hope you enjoy it.

Ty's Stove-Top Mac and Cheese
1/2 box of pasta (sometimes I pick macaroni, other times, I pick more fun pasta)
3/4 to 1 whole package of Mori-Nu firm vacuum packed silken tofu
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plain unsweetened soy milk (soy creamer also works really well)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white miso (or whatever miso you have)
1/2 tsp umeboshi paste
1 Tbsp umeboshi vinegar (in a pinch dijon mustard might work to replace the umeboshi ingredients maybe)

Cook pasta according to directions in a nice size sauce pan. Meanwhile, add all the remaining ingredients to a blender or magic bullet, and blend until smooth. Drain pasta, reserve some pasta water, just in case you need to thin out the sauce. Add the pasta back into the sauce pan along with the blended cheeze sauce, and stir gently over medium low heat until it's fully folded in. Then enjoy.

The munchkin actually loves the mac and cheeze, so of course I am pleased. My wonderful puppy (okay he's not a puppy) Kapone, looks on hopefully.
Nothing is very definite in my world of recipes. I don't keep cute index cards with pictures in the corner, filed neatly in a decorated recipe box. I generally experiment in the kitchen and if my family of omni's like it, I jot down the recipes on nearby scratch paper or printer paper and stuff them all into this well worn blue folder that sits on my cookbook shelf. I keep my own recipes and computer print-off's or magazine tear outs, I recommend everyone get a folder like this and mix it up some days, you might be glad you did.

My scribbled mac and cheeze recipe...
-Ty

Ode to the Pressure Cooker and Navy Bean Soup

This past weekend I made Navy Bean Soup for my family. It has been a regular in my home for a long time. It is a great simple recipe that I have tweaked and veganized (which didn't take much since it is a vegetarian recipe anyway) and I have to credit my ex-husband's religious background for the recipe. Trust me when I say there is nothing like a warm bowl of Navy Bean Soup to cure what ails you.


But, more than all of that, I must to give homage to my pressure cooker. Definitely the cheapest at the store and completely aluminum, however, the thing has changed my life. I cook beans and veggies without much fuss at all and since I LOVE dried beans, it makes my time in the kitchen so much more efficient and fun on beans day. I hadn't used one before my sister swore by it when cooking her mother's Guyanese Dal recipe (I might do that one to later this month, now that I think of it). I had just never been introduced, my family (a beautiful bunch of "suthun cookin'" divas) had never used one to my knowledge at all. Beans were done in a slow cooker or on the stove. So of course, that's how I did it.


Now I have seen the light, and I hope you will try to see it to if you haven't already. A pressure cooker is great for veg-heads, because often times, we need to infuse things with flavor. I am talking tender collards, perfect beans, and super-juicy-flavorful seitan dishes, that will make you think about smackin' your Momma (notice I said think). If you haven't given it a try, do. Read your instructions, maintain it well, and keep it super clean, and it will love you and your belly for years. I don't really follow a recipe, but here is what I usually do each time. I call it bean soup for the soul (much better than chicken soup for a cold, in my opinion).

Navy Bean Soup Recipe

1 lb dry navy beans

4 or 5 pieces kombu

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

6-8 cups water for soaking and

6-8 cups water for cooking (Pay attention to your pressure cooker levels if using one)

1 can tomato paste

~1/4 cup Earth Balance

1 large onion chopped

4-5 celery stalks chopped

4-6 cloves garlic minced

3 carrots chopped

1 green pepper chopped

3 bay leaves

1 Tbsp sugar

~1 tsp each (marjoram, basil, cumin, smoked paprika, rubbed sage)*

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional, I just love it and the vitamin boost is great)

fresh ground pepper to taste

sea salt to taste (I usually start at about a tablespoon, though)

*feel free to play with your seasonings, these are just the ones I love, and they seem to work together well.

Sort and soak your beans overnight in about 6 cups of water and add 2 of the pieces of kombu. After beans have soaked, drain them, rinse them and then add them to your pot or pressure cooker, discard the first two pieces of kombu and add the next two pieces to your pot. Add your 6-8 cups of water and the olive oil (Do Not Add Salt now). Bring to a slow rolling boil for a few minutes and skim off any foam that rises. Once you have skimmed it clean then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover or pressurize. If using a pressure cooker, you want the pressure gauge to get to a gentle rock and keep it there for about 35-40 minutes. If you like your beans pulverized and creamy like me for this recipe, then keep the pressure going for another 15 min. or so. If you are using a regular stock pot, that's fine, you may need to cook the beans covered for about 1 1/2 hours, keep checking them for desired tenderness.

Add all the rest of the ingredients, be sure to stir until the tomato paste is dissolved (leave in or take out the kombu, your call) and then continue to simmer for about 20 min. If you are using a pressure cooker, add the ingredients, stir until tomato paste is dissolved, then bring the pressure back up just until the gauge is gently rocking and then remove it from the heat and let the pressure come down naturally. (It may take about 15 to 20 min.) Enjoy.

Beans soaking with kombu pieces

Pressure cooker at work, I wish I could capture the magic :)

After bringing down the pressure and adding the other ingredients.

A close up for good measure.

The finished product, I hope you try it out!

-Ty

Vegan Mo Fo Virgin

Okay, so today is the first day of the fifth annual Vegan Month of Food (Vegan Mo Fo) and I am excited to participate this year. I wouldn't call myself an avid blogger by any means. I could read all my posts from the last two years in just a couple of minutes. However, I have always been intrigued by blogging and I absolutely love vegan food and cooking, so this is a perfect storm for me, if you will. My only follower right now is my sister, who I love, but maybe others will find something interesting in what I have to say and what I cook up and join in, at least for this month.



Soap box moment: veganism is the best decision you can make for your health, your animal neighbors, and your planet. If you can't commit forever, try to commit this month, or a week this month or every Tuesday this month, any commitment is a step in the right direction and you might find it to be easier and much yummier than you think. (and, Scene)



There are so many wonderful people participating in the Mo Fo madness, check out the blogger list to see who and link up to what they are cooking up.



I personally, don't have a theme yet for my month, but I am committed to sharing my great eats, my family's acceptance (or denial) of what I bring to the table and my cooking adventures in general. So welcome and let's cook!!

Vegan MoFo

I am really excited to get back to blogging and to try my hand at the wonderful Vegan Month of Food. I really love looking at everyone else's blogs about what they are cooking and eating, so I am going to take my shot at it. Alright, alright, I admit, I don't exactly have the best blogging track record, I tend to start and stop and stop some more, but with a month of food photography, I think I can get myself on the wagon pretty good. Keep me posted on what you think and we will see how it goes.