The good news is last night’s pizza was great tonight, too! Unfortunately, here in California, both our home teams didn’t fare so well today. We just wrapped up the 49ers-Bears game. Hot day, and a bummer of a football night.
Thank goodness for vegan ice cream!
Well get ’em next time! Until then, ice cream is the best medicine.
Happy Sunday, everyone!
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
Earlier tonight, I sent this picture of the booger bunny to my sister-in-law. She responded by asking if Thump was on safari. She wasn’t far off.
It’s 5,000 here degrees today, so the temperature feels safari-ish. The monkey and elephant have a giraffe friend, all of whom were purchased by me at the now legendary Target visit the other day. They’re actually dog toys, but since the dog has been quietly eating all the rabbit toys lately, I figured Thump could use some dog toys. Interestingly, the dog is totally ignoring them.
Still riding high from my success with the Beyond Meat grilled strips yesterday, I decided to use the Beyond Meat beefy crumbles tonight. Although everyone is sort of sluggish from the heat, I determined we were all starving. As it turns out, we’re too hot to be starving and I managed to make enough pizza for the rest of the year this weekend.
To go along with California’s idea of roasting the state this weekend, I started out by roasting veggies. I tossed onion, red pepper, green pepper, and diced garlic with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a foil lined cookie sheet. I roasted them for about 20 minutes in the oven at 425.
I threw the Beyond Meat beefy crumbles into a pan with some olive oil and added 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cooked it until browned. It was my favorite kind of too-hot summer night dinner plan: imprecise and easy.
We used Pillsbury Pizza Crusts (on PETA’s Accidentally Vegan list) for the dough and plain ol’ store bought pizza sauce with all vegan ingredients because it was easy. I managed to corral my hungry 19-year-old into helping me decorate the crusts with the roasted veggies, crumbles, mushrooms, olives, vegan pepperoni, and Daiya cheese.
Despite my belief that we were famished, we have four million pieces leftover in the fridge for tomorrow. This is a shocking surprise since I only made one pizza per person. How could that be too much?
My husband said it’ll be breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow. Then, he said, he’d take it to lunch on Monday.
My son thought that was an interesting choice, and I couldn’t help but wonder aloud what the pizza might order on this peculiar lunch date with my husband… Needless to say, my husband thinks we’re hilarious.
So, with enough foil-wrapped pizza stored for the apocalypse, I’m signing off for tonight. I’m not sure what I’ll have to share tomorrow since reheated pizza doesn’t seem too exciting right now. I’m sure I’ll find something. Perhaps, just to spice things up a bit, I should invite a guest to entertain you all. I suppose that if all else fails, the booger bunny can visit you and do show-and-tell with her new toys.
Potential Guest Bloggers: (left to right) Thumper “The Mop” Rabbit and Mocha “It Wasn’t Me” Dog
Or perhaps Mocha can explain her recent obsession with willow-based rabbit toys. We’ve observed Mocha chowing down on dry leaves for years, a strange favorite of hers we dubbed “Dog Salad,” so this isn’t an entirely shocking turn of events. Besides, Thump’s toys are all vegan, and apparently quite tasty to Mo. But Mocha also eats soap, so I wouldn’t put too much stock in her opinion. I suggest taking pizza out to lunch instead.
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Recipes, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
Oh, good heavens, California. Fall is a week from next Tuesday. We get it.
The temperature on my patio was an inviting 102 this evening. We’ve dropped down significantly since then:
Yay, right? I’m not sure what to say about Sunday being 96 but having a “RealFeel” of 98. Hmm.
But wait, there’s more! (And keep reading, because it takes a minute, but this one’s a sincere Yay!)
When I was running errands the other day, I stopped by Target to grab a few things. I always take a quick tour of the grocery area. It’s a habit I have because it’s not easy to grocery shop here. Going to the store is something of a crap shoot around here. I mean, it would be if “crap shoot” meant staring at shelves thinking, “Aww, crap. Shoot!” because more often than not, something I anticipated I could find isn’t even known by the store’s employees.
This happened recently when I sent my husband to a major grocery store looking for “Beyond Meat.” Everyone’s been talking about this product for about two years, but vegan food is a rarity in our grocery stores. Still, I’d heard that other stores in this chain carried it; I assumed that meant the store in my city would.
Nope. Soon enough I got the text, “They don’t even know what that means.”
Ugh. Crap. Shoot.
I wasn’t feeling good about what I’d find at Target because they’d been clearancing vegan food items the last time I was there. I rounded the corner of the aisle, steadying myself for the total elimination of the vegan section. What I found instead was:
Angels sang. The people wept. I almost cried myself. I did whisper, “Target, I love you.”
It’s okay. I’ve lived here for over ten years. Even if people heard me, they’re used to me by now. Well, more or less.
Tonight, studying my package of Beyond Meat Grilled Strips, I considered my options. My mom sent me an email last week with a recipe for Curried Chicken Rice Salad (Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast, Oxmoor House, 2009) and a note that read: “Will need tweaking. I really, really love this. Make lots, the guys will gobble it.”
And it’s served cold. Perfect!
Curried… and Beyond! Rice Salad
Prepare your rice and chill. If you are preparing it right before dinner, prepare the rice first and place it in the freezer while you do the rest of the steps. It’s easier, and cooler, if you prepare it ahead and store it in the fridge until you’re ready for it.
Prepare the grilled strips as directed. Dice them into small pieces.
Chop the celery and apple. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, curry powder, and salt. Add the grilled strips, celery, and apple and mix well to coat. Add the rice and mix completely.
Serve on a bed of lettuce.
The vanilla yogurt and the curry give this such a subtle flavor boost. Sometimes curry is a bit much for me, but I loved what the addition of the vegan vanilla yogurt did for the dish. It was exactly what we needed to cool down and unwind into the weekend.
Our furry, four-legged kids are sprawled out on the floor, nodding off in the warm evening breeze. After this, I’m ready to pack it in for the night, too. Thankfully, the kitchen stayed cool and clean up was simple.
This dish is an all-star summer salad. If you’re experiencing a late summer heat wave like we are, you really need to try it. Even my husband, after surveying me warily as I added the curry, looked surprised as he said, “This is actually really, really good!”
Just like Mom said!
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Recipes, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
You know what’s awesome? Squirrels. Because they just are.
I have a mountain of work beside me that I still need to complete before my day is done. Without the time to make a balanced dinner, I did what any thinking person would do. I made cookies.
Now, before you judge me too harshly, I also had a sandwich. But I needed a bit of extra fuel to carry me through this evening. Dedicated to the MoFo cause as I am, cookies sounded like just the thing to carry me through while also giving me something to share with you!
So, back to squirrels. The other day I was grocery shopping and noticed a darling face grinning at me from the shelf. How could I resist this face?
Especially when I turned the jar around and saw this:
I knew there was some reason that I needed to have such a cool product available, so I purchased it and soon decided it required some cookie-ing.
There are a few people in my family who have problems with peanut butter. Although they aren’t allergic, it disagrees with them. Peanut butter cookies are a favorite of mine, so I can’t imagine what a bummer it is to be without them.
There are some people in my family with a squirrel phobia as well, but I’m fairly certain that’s unrelated to the peanut issue. They once had a traumatic run in with some squirrels from the rough side of town who approached their car in a menacing fashion, or so I heard. Words were exchanged… in the car, of course, between the passengers who were concerned about the suspiciously organized band of squirrels.
I’m not sure what tipped them off that these squirrels were trouble since I wasn’t there. Fortunately, they got out of there before things escalated Anchorman-style. They’ve avoided close contact with squirrels ever since. I’m hoping they’ll be able to reconcile themselves to this peanut/squirrel compromise cookie I’ve created.
On another note, when my husband and I were at the Grand Canyon this past spring, people were allowing squirrels to drink from their water bottles despite signs like this:
And he didn’t understand why I needed a picture of this!
Those squirrels were clogging up paths while they posed for pictures. There were a couple of places where it was hard to get to the vista point because there were so many tourists mobbing the squirrels like paparazzi. I didn’t take a picture on principle and because I see squirrels every day around here, but it was quite a scene.
Being a squirrel fan, I also follow Berkeley Squirrels on Facebook, getting my regular dose of cute squirrels doing all sorts of things while they study at Cal, probably majoring in Physics or Comparative Literature.
Needing some squirrel-like energy, I flung cookie ingredients together to give to you:
Squirrel Cookies
(100% vegan. Squirrels served as creative consultants, but, after fierce contract negotiations, they were well compensated.)
Blend the flours, baking powder, and oats in a bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, Earth Balance, and salt using a hand mixer. Add the agave and vanilla, blend. Next add the ground flax/water mixture, mixing thoroughly.
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix completely. Fold in the chocolate chips, craisins, and sunflower seeds.
Preheat your oven to 300 while your dough chills in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Drop rounded tablespoons on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned at the very edges. I liked the ones that I left in long enough that they were a bit crispy, but if you like a softer cookie, you may want to take them out at the 20 minute mark (or sooner, depending on your oven).
These make an unusual and flavorful cookie. I liked the mix of textures and the salty sweet flavor. They’re heaven when dipped in chocolate almond milk.
I’m off to work. I’ve eaten half my sandwich and, ahem, several cookies. They’re giving me just the kick I need to keep me going as I wrap up my work for the evening.
With the (rumored) inscrutability of a squirrel, I’m not telling anyone here what’s in the cookies. But, of course, that isn’t stopping anyone from devouring them. Quickly. Maybe even too quickly.
So, I’ve got to dash now, MoFo-ers. I’ve gotta get back to work. But first, I need to go grab a few more cookies and squirrel them away for later, just in case.
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Recipes, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
I was buzzing along the freeway at a roaring 20 miles an hour earlier (I do live in California, after all), contemplating my day. I had a meeting in a nearby city this morning, several imperative errands to run, a few not-so-imperative errands to run, and plenty of work I needed to complete.
I was also feeling a little harried about dinner. It’s not always clear how many people will be sitting around my table each evening. Some evenings, it’s just bunny girl, Mocha dog, the crazy conure, and me home at dinnertime. Other days I’m wondering how to stretch a two person meal to cover five or more. I don’t like to let anyone leave the table hungry, so on those days I need to get extra creative.
Last night, I made dinner before my almost-daughter arrived. It was one of my favorite go-to I-don’t-know-who-all’s-coming-to-dinner-but-I’ve-got-it-covered meals.
Once upon a time, I loosely followed the recipe described on the back of the Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n package. What’s evolved since then is delightfully easy, can be made ahead, and is loved by everyone. Even omnivores fill their plates a second — and sometimes even a third — time and marvel (yes, marvel!) at how good this is. It’s the best, so I made it again tonight – and it disappeared once again. So warm up your printer or grab your pad of paper. This one’s a keeper!
Mandarin Orange Chick’n Salad
To begin, you’ll need a very large salad bowl.
Prepare the Gardein as directed, then dice the pieces into small chunks of chick’n.
Place in your very large bowl and toss it with the contents of the included sauce packet. Add the shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, sliced green onions, and chopped shiitake mushrooms. Toss to mix.
In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the cilantro paste, rice vinegar, olive oil, and soy sauce. Pour over the salad and toss.
This is the point at which you can cover the salad and keep it in the fridge until it is time to serve. But there is one final detail that really adds a bit of flair. While you can prepare this next part ahead as well, I always wait because it’s too cool not to show off. If you do this step ahead, however, don’t add this ingredient until you’re ready to serve your meal. Adding this too early allows the moisture in the salad to destroy the wonderful texture it adds.
Now, before we can move on, I must bring you back to a time I like to call “The 80s.” Back then, in the 80s, before Michael Keaton was Batman, he was Mr. Mom. This was also before he was Beetlejuice (don’t say it three times!) and the lesser known but fargin wonderful Johnny Dangerously.
Anyway, in Mr. Mom, Michael Keaton’s character makes dinner for his wife, played by Terri Garr. She’s working late and he tosses some noodles into a pan of oil and they blossom dramatically. When I first saw this, I fell in love with those noodles. My only problem was that no one I asked knew what those magical noodles were.
You see, this was back in the olden days, before we had the internet available for answering important questions and obtaining life-changing information such as “Mr. Mom Making Dinner Scene Kind of Noodles?” If you want a laugh, type in some variation of that sentence now and you’ll see that I’m not the only one who spent years on a quest to discover the name of the “oriental noodles that go WOOSH”!
These were the questions of the 80s, my friends. It was a more innocent time. A time before Batman reboots and Beetlejuice… (Whew! I’d better not say that name again.)
Back then, some of us just wanted to know how Mr. Mom cooked noodles.
It took me AGES to discover that these magical noodles are rice noodles. In fact, it was only a few years ago that I learned this, and it was pretty much like surprise Christmas. I hooted and hollered and uncooked white noodle sticks snowed down on my kitchen floor like snowflakes at the climax of a holiday movie. (It gets less messy when you get the hang of it, but it’s awfully fun when you haven’t yet!)
Now, I have to put on my grown up hat for the serious part:
Be very careful with the hot oil. This may go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway. Hot oil burns, and those burns hurt for a long, long time. Despite your rollicking good time with the noodles, keep the little ones (both human and animal variety) out of the kitchen while you do this.
Do not get water on the tongs during this process. Water on the tongs will cause the hot oil to spit and may cause you to get burned. Please be careful. It’s a noodle party, MoFo-ers, but it’s a controlled noodle party. Beware of the oil and be careful with yourself and all of your lovelies, please.
To prepare them, heat at least two inches of oil in a large, high-sided pot to about 400 degrees and grab a pair of metal tongs. I have found that it’s best to watch the pot as the old adage is true and if you keep watching it and checking the temperature, you can prevent it from boiling. Don’t let it boil or get too hot. Your noodles will turn an unappealing brown and burn before you can retrieve them and you may require fans and a small army to stop the smoke alarm’s persistent shrieking. I use a cooking thermometer to keep track of my oil’s temperature.
Pull the noodles apart to form small bunches. Do this down low in your sink because those noodles can really get airborne if you do this on your counter. I’ve found that I can contain them even better if I use a sharp pair of kitchen shears to cut them in the sink.
Drop the bundle of noodles into the hot oil. They will immediately sizzle, blossom, and rise to the top of the oil. Quickly use your tongs and flip them over one time. There is often a bit more of a sizzle as any previously protected area is placed in the oil. Then quickly remove the noodles from the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain the excess oil and cool.
WOOSH!
Remove the oil from the heat when you’re done noodling and allow it to cool before storing or discarding.
Take the noodles and place them in small bunches into the bowl, crushing them with your hands and tossing them with the salad mixture before adding another bunch. After the last bundle, toss all of the salad well to mix completely. You’re almost there! In fact, all you have left is to…
Reveal your creation!
You can serve this with more soy sauce, salt, pepper, and anything else you and your guests enjoy in an Asian-themed dished. I’ve never had anyone stop at one serving yet. It makes a ton, but it’s never too much. It’s also very forgiving, so if you have enough unexpected guests that you’re concerned, simply add more shredded cabbage and carrots and whatever other ingredients you have on hand to stretch it to make sure everyone has enough, because it will disappear.
Every time I make it, it disappears almost as fast as the noodles go WOOSH!
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Recipes, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
My beautiful almost-daughter visited today. She spent much of last year away at school and recently returned from Haiti. By the end of this year, she’ll be on her way to France for 18 months. I have to savor every moment I get with her, so we spent the afternoon catching up and having fun playing in the kitchen.
Since we were a bit distracted, I figured we shouldn’t attempt anything too complicated today. Dessert seemed like the best possible thing to make because, as she said, “If something tastes good, it’s okay if it looks a little weird.” I agree! Fortunately, what we made ended up looking and tasting MORE than good! I’d like to say that’s because we are fabulously talented cooks, but this was so simple that even a mother and her almost-daughter who were distracted by chatting with each other and family members still managed to get it just right. Plus, we are fabulously talented!
“Accidentally vegan” foods are always a great convenience. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls are one of those easy options that are also surprisingly versatile. I’d started out planning for cinnamon rolls and then accidentally stumbled on recipes that described using crescent rolls as the dough for cinnamon rolls. By using accidentally vegan crescent rolls with the idea that I accidentally discovered, she and I had fun putting together flavors that sounded yummy to us. We made things up as we went along, which was fun and easy, almost too easy to justify writing out as a recipe. So even though I’ll be telling you what we did, this is an idea that you should have fun developing to your own tastes. If you have any ideas that sound good to you, we encourage you to try them out and, if you like, share with us what you created in the comments section.
The first batch we made were strawberry rolls. Super simple and very good!
Strawberry Rolls
Preheat the oven to 375.
Unroll the crescent rolls onto wax paper. Divide the rolls into two equal pieces (what would have been four crescent rolls). Pinch the perforated seams closed.
Spread the softened margarine across the dough, leaving one edge uncovered for the seam. Next, spread the strawberry preserves across all the dough, again leaving one edge for the seam. Sprinkle the length with cinnamon. Finally, place one layer of sliced strawberries on top of the margarine, strawberry preserves, and cinnamon. The measurements I give are imprecise because, again, we were just having fun and using what looked good to us.
Roll the dough to form a jelly roll (like rolling a sleeping bag). Try to keep the roll somewhat tight. I say somewhat because it’s not going to be easy, but if it feels or appears that you aren’t creating a jelly roll shape (meaning it appears like you’re folding more than rolling), unroll to the last point where you were making a roll and try again. Press the end edge gently into the dough to create a seam.
The first ones we rolled were a bit messy. It helps to have the dough very cold so it has more body. Fortunately, once baked, all of the rolls looked equally good.
After rolling, slice the roll into 8 rolls. Place them in a round 9″ cake pans. Place seven along the outside edge and one in the center.
Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Next we made caramel apple rolls. These were her favorite.
Caramel Apple Rolls
Preheat the oven to 375.
Unroll the crescent rolls onto wax paper. Pinch the perforated seams closed. Spread the softened margarine across the dough, leaving one edge uncovered for the seam. Spread applesauce over the margarine, then sprinkle cinnamon on top of the applesauce.
As with the strawberry rolls, roll the dough to form a jelly roll, trying to keep the roll somewhat tight.
After rolling, slice the roll into 8 rolls. Place them in a round 9″ cake pans. Place seven along the outside edge and one in the center.
They may start out like this…
Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
… but they end up looking like this!
I was a little concerned that our talking might make for a less than beautiful result, but both batches looked amazing when they came out of the oven. If only everything we could make would be as forgiving as these rolls! I plan to experiment more with different flavor combinations because they are so easy and fun.
We sprinkled confectioner’s sugar on top of the strawberry rolls and spooned caramel sauce over the apple rolls. For the caramel, we used a quick recipe found here: http://www.thelawstudentswife.com/2014/09/vegan-caramel-sauce/
It made a caramel syrup that added just the right amount of sweetness to the mildly tart apple.
Strawberry Rolls
Apple Rolls
We dazzled the men in the house with our culinary expertise so much so that she’s already been asked back to cook with me again. We’ve even been given our next assignment!
So, my post tonight is short and sweet, sharing with you a sweet and easy dessert, made by me and my almost-daughter as we make sweet memories before she takes off on her next adventure.
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Recipes, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
Yes, the name is a mouthful. I know. And it might seem to be the teensiest bit braggy. But when my husband helped himself to his second slice of meatless loaf this evening and asked if I had a name for the recipe, I hadn’t yet settled on one.
“Well,” he said, “you don’t have to use it, but I think it should be called Super Awesome Crockpot Meatless Loaf. It’s the best one we’ve had!” Then, as if for emphasis, he scarfed down another piece.
Now you understand, don’t you? I mean, come on. When someone proposes a name like that, you kinda just have to run with it. I think it’s even in the rule book.
I’m never going to fight a review like that, especially not from him. Foods intended to imitate foods we ate before we became vegans have often been a struggle for him. For a long time, we only tried recipes that were completely new to us, recipes that didn’t focus on trying to be something they weren’t. We avoided trying anything that suggested it was reminiscent of any kind of meat dish. I think it helped us transition; I highly recommend that method for transitioning into veganism. Being vegan was a big change for a former country boy. He went vegan for ethical reasons, but that didn’t mean he forgot the flavors on which he was raised. It was easier to just make everything different than to choke down those older recipes for omni-meal imitations.
Sure, we’d tried to make different sorts of vegan loafs. Meatless loafs crumbled sadly at holiday dinners. On more than one cold winter night we suffered with a dry Sloppy Joe-looking disaster. Even promising recipes resulted in dense little flavorless loafs of tofu. Still, it was the “Ehhhhh. It’s okay, but it’s not quite right” attempts that really brought a girl down.
Last week, I had a friend recommend that I do a crockpot recipe sometime during MoFo. With an unexpectedly free afternoon and the bunny and 90 pound pup quietly dozing nearby, today seemed like a perfect day.
Vegan meals, like other meals, fail or succeed based on a variety of factors and personal tastes. We like a lot of flavor here, but we all also have issues with unpleasant texture. When attempting a vegan “meat,” there’s a lot of experimenting before you get that texture right. This afternoon, with my family cookbook still nearby from the other night, I decided to mimic my mom’s recipe for the flavor, but to really play with the texture. Based on my husband’s reaction, I kinda think I nailed it. Sweet!
Super Awesome Crockpot Meatless Loaf
In a large bowl, crumble the tofu. Add TVP, oats, and panko. Stir until blended
Next, add the garlic powder, celery seed, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix well.
It’s easy getting the crockpot ingredients ready in the early afternoon sunshine.
Now add the Worcestershire Sauce, HP sauce, ketchup, molasses, onion, garlic, and sugar. Mix well.
Add the flax mixture and stir. After briefly stirring, use your hands and squeeze the mixture through your fingers to blend the ingredients and compress. This reduces the size of your mixture considerably.
When the mixture is sticking together well, shape your loaf. Place your loaf into a lightly oiled crockpot. Spread a little more HP sauce over the top of the loaf if desired. Cook on high for three and a half hours. It takes some time before you can see the loaf begin to brown. When it does, if you have a glass lid on your crockpot, you’ll also see some condensation begin to form.
After three and a half hours, pour as much ketchup as is desired on top of the loaf, spreading it around evenly with the back of a spoon. Continue to cook on high for another 20 minutes. Remove from the crockpot and let stand briefly to cool. Slice and serve with additional ketchup available for those who desire more.
We like our meatless loaf a little burned around the edges, maybe even a lot burned. The end pieces are always the first to disappear. If you want a more tender loaf, reduce the cooking time no more than about a half an hour. If you like it a bit more burned around the edges, you could try leaving it in a tad longer, but it may become unpleasantly dry.
I wasn’t sure I’d hit it just right because it tasted different from what I’d eaten when I was growing up, but my husband was delighted. He raved throughout dinner and clean up, and he just walked in to ask if I was telling you all about “Super Awesome Crockpot Meatless Loaf.” So while I may not have made a meatless loaf just like my mom made, I think I got pretty close to what his did. Since he’s the one who’s been waiting for something like this, I don’t think I’ll tinker too much more. I rather like rave reviews. It makes a girl blush. Aww, shucks…
Anyway, we served ours with mashed potatoes and quick green beans. Since I have a thing about color on my dinner plate, I cooked them with some leftover chopped veggies from my fridge. I’ll quickly share what I did in case you’re curious.
Quick n’ Purdy Green Beans
Heat oil in a skillet. Add the onion, sauté until softened. Add the drained green beans, red pepper, and ground pepper. Stir constantly with a spatula until hot. Serve.
So here I sit, dishes washed, kitchen cleaned, and tummies full. I’ve even had a chance to enjoy the enormous Harvest Moon, the final Supermoon of this dry but beautiful summer.
Crockpot, I think you’re gonna be seeing a lot of action this fall, or late summer, or whatever we call our California season transition. Who knows? Maybe this year we’ll call it Tuesday.
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Recipes, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
After hustling around the house all morning, my husband and I took an hour and a half drive to check out a Potential New Project. After the Potential New Project was promoted to For Sure New Project, we zoomed off with it loaded in the back of our truck and drove for another hour and a half toward home. We also stopped a couple of places to acquire supplies while I tried my hand at being an impromptu sportscaster for someone unable to watch the 49ers-Cowboys game.
When we got home, we caught the end of the game, I did my Sports Wrap Up for my devoted audience of one, and we got to work scrubbing and sanding and constructing and carpeting. Yes, carpeting. It’s a doozy of a project, but we’ll save those details for another day. It was getting dark when we called it a night, and I’m plumb tuckered out tonight, MoFo-ers. What a day. What a week!
One thing that we don’t really have in our neck of the woods is convenient restaurant options. Eating out is always a special treat for us because it’s so rare that it happens. But today, travel took us to places afar. In addition to acquiring the For Sure New Project in yonder Bay Area, we were fortunate enough to have time to stop and check out a new restaurant along the way. While planning our day, we’d discovered this new vegan place had recently opened in San Ramon. We decided to make a well-deserved stop there to refuel our tanks.
I loved the change of pace and the personality of the place, a restaurant called Baagan, which was nestled into a busy little shopping center on San Ramon Valley Boulevard.
Baagan opened in San Ramon last month. They already have a well-liked restaurant in Roseville and a reputation for great food. Reviews on Yelp were a bit mixed primarily because the shop has only been open for a few weeks and is still finessing some aspects of the business. We knew we’d be getting great vegan food, but we weren’t sure what to expect beyond that.
From the start, Baagan’s unique atmosphere and menu surprised us. The woman that met us at the counter was friendly and knowledgeable. She recommended some menu options for us and struck up a conversation with me about my Animal Place t-shirt. After we placed our orders, another employee also asked us how we were and engaged us in friendly conversation.
The atmosphere is different from other restaurants. Someone in a review labeled the décor as stark, but that’s the wrong word. It’s clean. The walls are painted with fresh colors and very little art is on the walls. Most of the tables are white squares with glass tops and the vinyl and metal chairs have clean lines. The overall atmosphere feels welcoming and calming.
The food served at Baagan is organic, non-gmo, and soy-free. Many of the menu items are also gluten free, but be sure to check with the staff to be certain that you choose well for your specific dietary needs.
In addition to teas and smoothies (and, yes, the smoothies are pricey, but I’ve read they’re excellent), there is self-serve filtered water available. You can choose to dine in or eat out. Either way, prepared food is delivered to a pick up window and the customer picks up his or her own order and brings it to the table. When finished, customers clear their own tables. Although some may find that unusual, it felt appropriate to the atmosphere and allowed us to leisurely eat and chat without pressure from a wait staff.
Baagan: Eat the Way Nature Intended
We ordered the Baagan Veggie Burger and the Grilled Veggie Quesadilla. The food arrives on large square plates without adornment. Displayed this way, the food feels like a showpiece, a piece of art to relish and enjoy. It didn’t seem like very much food, but the plates are large and the food is filling and excellent.
The Baagan Veggie Burger is made on site from sprouted chana beans and fresh veggies. The taste is subtly spicy. It’s very tender and easy to eat, almost melting in your mouth. The flavor is excellent and even the bun was toasted just enough to add texture without drying out the bread.
I was worried that after the burger the quesadillas would be a letdown. They looked so simple on the plate; I couldn’t imagine they’d be as satisfying as the burger. Boy, was I wrong.
The quesadillas are spicy and filled with yummy sliced veggies. Both my husband and I devoured them along with the salad that accompanied them. Although we’d intended to try the vegan cheesecake, we we’re too full when we were done. We’ll definitely get that next time! I know we’ll be going back soon.
San Ramon is out of the way for us, but Baagan has the most incredible hours I’ve seen in a long time. They’re open Monday thru Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It’s probably a good thing it is out of the way for me. If I lived too close, I’d be there at some point every day. If you live in the area, make time to check it out. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
There’s a cool breeze scooting through my room and I keep creeping closer to my bed. I’m on the floor with my rabbit girl right now. Once she’s done proofreading this, I’m hoping we’ll hop into our beds and sail off to sleep. Tomorrow we welcome week two of VeganMoFo. It’s also a work and school night, and everyone from bloggers to bunnies needs to rest up for next week’s adventures, whatever they may be.
So, sleep well, MoFo-ers. Happy Sunday. May we all dream happy dreams tonight. Good night.
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
Soooo… if you receive my blog as an email, you may have noticed I made a ginormous grammar gaffe in the first paragraph. I could pretend it didn’t happen since it was fixed online seconds after the post was published, but (grrr) I hate it when I do that. I made a correction that required changing other words, then I corrected that, and then I missed something else in my rush to post before the clock struck midnight and POOF! my computer turned into a pumpkin. In my haste, well… Fooey!
First thing this morning, I resolved to manage my time better. Mere moments later, it was 5 p.m. Bizarre! What in the world caused this inconvenient and poorly scheduled time warp? I’m an information sponge with a powerful research drive. Sure, I needed to be cooking, but… Oh, Google…
I expected to find something amusing, perhaps something very Rod Sterling-esque, to reassure and entertain me. What I found intrigued me enough to want to share it with all of you. So I’m interrupting my regularly scheduled post for a moment to give you a dose of SCIENCE.
Oooohhhhh!
In 2012, scientists Melanie Rudd and Jennifer Aaker of Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management performed a set of experiments to test the result of observing or recalling an awe-inspiring experience versus a happy experience. They asked participants a series of questions to determine the impact of these images and recollections. They discovered that participants who experienced awe experienced an increased sense of well being. They also concluded that the experience of awe changes a person’s view of time by slowing it down and making it seem more abundant. The awe group indicated they were more willing to donate their time and felt they had more time available to them.
These studies suggest that if a person chooses to participate in and witness events that fill them with a sense of awe, that person’s perception of time will be altered, making time feel more plentiful and usable, and thus create a greater sense of fulfillment, happiness, and potential in life.
This conclusion definitely has me thinking. Too frequently, we pass by awe-inspiring experiences in our haste to get everything done in a shrinking amount of time. If taking the time to drink in the awe-inspiring opportunities around us allows us to feel as though we have more time, imagine how much richer, calmer, and happier our lives can be.
So, I’m challenging all of you out there to seek awe-inspiring visions and experiences this coming week along with me. They’re out there. We just have to choose to recognize them.
Aaaaaannnndddd now, back to our regularly schedule VeganMoFo post!
I’ve been thinking about my childhood a lot as I’ve been doing MoFo this year. My mom made family cookbooks for my brother and I several years ago before either of us were vegan. I pull mine out sometimes and experiment with ingredients to veganize our old favorites. One I hadn’t played with was my mom’s skillet spaghetti recipe. I was charmed once again by her note on the recipe, which reads:
“My first recipe. Got it off the back of a bottle of Whirl Cooking Oil back in 1963 in Ohio. And, yes, after walking a mile to the store and back in the snow! Grandpa was already in California and Grandma was working and very appreciative of my first fumbling attempts to cook.”
I’ve been craving pasta and decided tonight was the night to give it a whirl and recreate a vegan version of a favorite staple from my childhood dinner table.
Mom’s Skillet Spaghetti Sauce
Sauté your onions in a skillet with olive oil. Add your remaining ingredients and stir well. Simmer spaghetti sauce at low to medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Add water if needed for the sauce to achieve the consistency you desire.
Mom always put meatballs in her spaghetti, so it was imperative that I recreate those, too. I’ve developed an aversion to certain “meaty” textures since becoming a vegan. Meatballs top the list of things that can creep me out if they mimic the non-vegan texture too closely. I’ve been trying to develop something protein-dense and unexpected, and I keep getting closer. Today, being a bit bored with veggie crumbles as of late, I decided to experiment a little and use quinoa.
By the way, quinoa is a grain that is deserving of our awe. I cup cooked quinoa packs in 24 grams of protein. Quinoa’s vitamin E, foliate, B vitamins, zinc, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, iron and bit of calcium make it even more awe-some!
Feel the awe. Guess what? All of you probably just got an extra ten minutes in your day. Woo hoo!
Quinoa and Shitake Mushroom Meatballs
Cook enough quinoa for two cups cooked quinoa and allow to cool.
In a skillet, sauté the onion and garlic until the onion softens.
In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, onion, and garlic. Add the almond milk, panko, and oats, and stir well. Finally, add the remaining ingredients and stir until completely mixed.
Form the mixture into balls about 1-½ inches in diameter and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake them for 20 minutes. Turn carefully and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until browned.
Heat olive oil in a skillet and, when hot, add the meatballs. Gently sauté the meatballs. I did this step to give the exterior of the meatballs a bit more of a “shell” so they could hold up better in the sauce.
Many of the meatballs did fine in this step, but I definitely saw some quitters in the mix. I think that doubling the flax/water mixture will correct this issue.
Quinoa meatballs fraternizing with some quitters in the skillet.
After the meatballs are nicely browned, gently place them into the sauce, stirring carefully.
Serve them over hot cooked pasta and there you have my snow-free attempt at Mom’s spaghetti. I served ours with a quickly tossed salad and garlic bread. (Almost) just like Mom’s spaghetti meal!
The meatballs, however, were very different from the ones I remember and a denser vegan meatball may be better suited for more enthusiastic sauce dunking and spaghetti twirling. Still, these are flavor-packed protein balls that evaporated almost as soon as they were put on the table. They’re the most popular vegan meatballs I’ve made so far, so I’ll definitely be making them again.
Tomorrow, I’ll be on a drive with my husband because we have too many ideas and an overabundance of enthusiasm and self confidence and we just NEED another project. You can bet I’ll be on the lookout for the awe! (Not the awww, mind you. The AWE!) It’s gonna be a busy, busy day. But I’m not worried; I’m sure I’ll have time to give you a MoFo-tacular post.
With a head and heart filled with awe, I’ll have all the time in the world!
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Recipes, Vegan, VeganMoFo, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
I had a low-key meal planned for tonight, but my day got out of hand. You’d think that when everything started going a bit haywire, my easy meal plan would be even more perfect to me. “Go with the plan!” should’ve been ringing in my ears. “Keep your eye on the ball!” “Focus!”
I don’t play that way.
So, when my car’s transmission decided to act up at one of my least favorite places on I-5 today, locking me in the middle of a five lane highway on which, apparently, no one was in the lane they wanted to be in and, oh, pretty much everyone needed to go 75 while my car locked me in at 50 with the rpms dangerously close to the area I was told meant, “Self destruct sequence commencing,” I stopped singing along with the music and started fretting.
As much as I love my car, I wasn’t thrilled about pulling off in some weird place in a skirt and heels to check my transmission fluid. Plus, I had no idea what I was doing after checking the fluids. I knew it was the transmission, and I also knew that if I couldn’t see the answer by myself right then, I probably didn’t want to know the answer anyway.
I didn’t see anything.
Filled with trepidation, I started her up and… she drove like a pro the rest of the day, reminding me of the time when I brought my son to the pediatrician because he’d been limping. When the doctor told my son to walk down the hall so he could evaluate this terrible limp I’d described, my son obliged by skipping gleefully down the hall, turning around, and running back with a big grin on his face.
Well, that was a little embarrassing.
The limping thing never happened again. I never did find out what was going on with my son before the miracle stroll down the doctor’s office corridor, but I was thankful. I’m really hoping for a similar experience with my car.
The rest of my day was fueled by the flood of adrenaline created by the woosh-wooshing of cars roaring past me. So did I stick with an easy dinner? Naw. I decided I wanted a bit of fiesta time!
I also decided I didn’t want to make the tacos I normally make, so I made the Vegan Chorizo and Potato Tacos from http://www.peta.org/living/food/definitive-list-vegan-taco-recipes/
I followed the recipe pretty exactly for a change, but it really didn’t seem to require any tinkering. We used taco shells instead of tortillas and topped them with sour cream and avocado. They were pretty amazing. But tacos do not a fiesta make. We still needed a side dish! More veggies!
Mexican-Style Veggies
Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until fragrant. Add zucchini and red pepper and sauté for about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from heat and add tomato, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients together and serve warm.
But that’s not all! I did say a fiesta, right? And who came to the party? None other than:
Grilled Corn
I boiled salted water in a very large pot and add the husked corn. After they’d boiled for about ten minutes, I removed the corn and preheated my grill. This part made me a little nervous, but I wanted the corn to have some charring, so I placed it directly on the grill and grilled it for 5-10 minutes, turning frequently so it wouldn’t stick to the grill. The objective was to brown some of the kernels without truly burning them. When I was happy with the amount of browning, I took them off the grill.
Inside again, I whisked together Vegenaise, lime juice, Sriracha, and smoked paprika and brushed it on the corn, turning the corn to cover all sides thoroughly. Then I brushed on the melted Earth Balance and continued to alternate the Vegenaise mixture and the butter mixture until the corn was thoroughly coated. Finally, I sprinkled them with salt and fresh ground pepper and put a few slices of vegan Monterey Jack cheese on each piece. I served it all with some fresh sliced watermelon and ta-da!
Fiesta!
The good news is that dinner was fabulous. The tacos were a nice change in texture and taste from our old standby. I don’t use Soyrizo very often, but it made the tacos crazy easy. I think I’ll have to see what else I can find for quick and easy spicy foods.
The veggies were good, but the corn is what really made the party. It was worth the effort of the barbeque and I’m even going to forgive it for making me boil water in my kitchen while it was 90 degrees outside. Now that I’m thinking about the corn again, I’m remembering how we were short one person at dinner. I may go steal their ear of corn and it eat before they ever know it was here. That’s how good it was!
But, then again, I may be all fiesta-d out. Halfway through dinner, my adrenaline springs ran dry. Fiesta time is going to soon be turning into siesta time, and that’s a good thing. I’m planning to dream happy dreams, and my husband promised to give my car a check up and check her vitals tomorrow. I’m hoping she takes a page out of my son’s book and runs like a champ while I shrug and say, “Well, no, really, that’s not how it was yesterday” and my husband chuckles.
Then I’ll put her top down and go cruising through the parched California hills, blaring music and singing, and come home and cook that sedate dinner that I’d planned on making tonight.
Maybe.
Posted in VeganMoFo
Tagged 2014 MoFo Comfort Food, Recipes, Vegan, VeganMoFo 2014, VeganMoFo2014
x means no onions 