Vegan MoFo, Day 15: Tasty Drinks--Week 3

Drinks, Take Three! I'm always excited to try new drinks from this book. This was my favorite week yet, by far (ummm, chocolate, anyone?!?). Check it out!

First up, a refreshing drink that also offers the warmth of ginger. It's possibly the only appropriate cold drink for autumn and winter, besides good old water. Plus, you can utilize the citrus that'll be in season over the winter months.

Ginger Supreme
adapted from Meatless Meals, page 37
serves 2--supplies mineral salts and sugar

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 knob ginger, sliced into coins
2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 Tbsp orange juice, freshly squeezed
ice
1/2 cup cold water

In a saucepan, heat water, sugar, and ginger slices until mixture thickens into a syrup. In a glass, add ice, orange juice, and lemon juice. In a bowl, add 1/2 cup water and the ginger syrup. Pour over juices in the glass, and stir. Can garnish with lemon and ginger zest. If you have leftover syrup, save it!

{citrusy and gingery and refreshing}

{like my 1920s-themed glass? the actor's photo can be seen through the glass when not filled}

{FAVE drink so far--you MUST try this!}

Next up, chocolate bliss. Now, I know not everyone's a fan of chocolate (why?? just WHY??), but for those of you who are, this is a scrumptious recipe.

Hot Chocolate
adapted from Meatless Meals, page 46-47
serves 2--supplies sugar, fat, and protein

1 square bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup hot water
1/6 cup granulated sugar
2 cups warm soymilk
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon and more for sprinkling

In a double-boiler, melt the chocolate, then add the hot water and whisk until incorporated. Add sugar and warm soymilk, and whisk more until hot. Add salt, vanilla, and cinnamon, and stir. Pour into mugs and garnish with more cinnamon. Serve hot.

{such an easy preparation, yet so delicious}

{plus, by using a double-boiler, you don't end up scorching the bottom of a saucepan!}

{hello, cravings!}

Onward!


Jes

VMF 2011 Day 15: Goodbye, Farmers' Market.
VMF 2010 Day 15: 'Za, I Love It!

Vegan MoFo, Day 14: Vegetable Casserole

Another good, fall-lovin' meal is casserole! Here's the time period where your parents first learned to love to 'role--the 1930s and 1940s! Try this one on for size, and learn to share in the love for all things casserole:

Vegetable Casserole
adapted from Meatless Meals, page 14N
serves 6--supplies essential minerals, Vitamins A, B-1, B-2, C and starch. 

4 potatoes, boiled
1 tsp salt
2 tsp caraway seeds
4 carrots, cooked
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
1 cup green peas
1 can yellow corn
1/2 green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 package silken tofu
1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp marjoram

Day before making recipe: boil potatoes in skins in water with salt and caraway seeds (smells delicious!). Once tender, cool the potatoes. Once cooled, store in the cooking water (this is the water I later used for my White-Wheat-Rye Bread). Day of cooking recipe: Cut carrots into fourths and boil in a pan until tender. Cut potatoes into large cubes and add to a mixing bowl. Cut cooled carrots and add to bowl. To bowl, add red pepper, onion, peas, corn, cabbage, bread crumbs, tofu, melted butter, water, and seasonings. Mix with hands to incorporate thoroughly. Spread mixture into a greased casserole dish, and bake at 400 degrees F for 1 hour. Serve hot.

{casserole!!}

{veggie lovin'}

{just dig in!}

Dude, two weeks down! So much more to go!



Jes

VMF 2011 Day 14: Meal Planning
VMF 2010 Day 14: 'Shroom Toast and Muffins

Vegan MoFo, Day 13: Onion Soup

A dreary, rainy weekend calls for a big bowl (or two) of hot soup. And if you're already feeling puffy-eyed, why not slice up 3 large onions while you're at it? Meatless Meals contains a lovely version of onion soup that I've tweaked and devoured.

Onion Soup
adapted from Meatless Meals, page 22N
serves 4--supplies Vitamins B-1, B-2, C, potassium, phosphorus, iodine and some protein

3 large onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp canola oil or vegan butter
6 cups water
3 cubes vegan "chicken" bouillon
1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
8 slices of bread
1/2 cup grated vegan cheese, like Daiya's cheddar

In a large soup pot, slowly cook sliced onions in oil/vegan butter (low-medium flame). Keep mostly covered, making sure to stir every 2-3 minutes until onions are wilted and a little browned but not burnt. Add water, bouillon cubes, W sauce, soy sauce, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes, and cook soup for about 20 minutes. While soup cooks, cut each slice of bread into a large round (I used a large biscuit cutter), and toast in a toaster. Place one toast round into the bottom of each soup bowl, ladle soup over top, then float a second toast round on the soup. Grate vegan cheese over and serve hot.

{so filling}

 {check out the toast!}

{this recipe's a keeper--really economical, too}

{mmmm...melty}

This soup is so delicious! Even though I don't have bread or vegan cheese on hand this evening, I am thinking of breaking out the quart of soup left over to reheat and eat for dinner. It seems the perfect ward against rainy day blues.


Jes

VMF 2011 Day 13: My Recent Obsession
VMF 2010 Day 13: Amy's Low in Sodium Lentil Veg Soup

Vegan MoFo, Day 12: Stuff on Bread with Fancy Names

The only thing to do after baking loaves of bread is to, well, eat it! Why not on a sandwich? Too predictable and easy. Why not use the bread in some open-faced tastiness?

Here are two tasty recipes guaranteed to warm you up and cure your soul.

Vegetarian Ragout a la Newburg
adapted from Meatless Meals, page 111
serves 4--supplies protein, starch, and mineral elements

1/2 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, sliced
1/4 green cabbage, sliced
1/2 cup peas
1 tomato, diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp vegan butter
2 Tbsp AP flour
1 cup soymilk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
4 slices of bread, toasted

Saute the onion, red pepper, and cabbage in olive oil until softened. Add peas, tomato, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper and saute for several more minutes. In a small sauce pan, mix butter and flour, then add soymilk and whisk until smooth. Add salt and pepper to white sauce. Place toasted bread on plates, top with veggie mixture, and then pour on white sauce. Serve hot.

{perfect autumn recipe}

{totally satisfying and filling}

{gooey white sauce goodness}

Mushrooms a la Sabine

adapted from Meatless Meals, page 39

serves 4--supplies protein, fat, and starch

2 Tbsp vegan butter

1/2 small onion, diced

1 package mushrooms

2 tsp AP flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp vegan butter (for sauce)

1 Tbsp AP flour (for sauce)

1 cube vegan "chicken" bouillion

2 cups hot water

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 slices of bread, toasted

Shredded cheddar vegan cheese, such as Daiya

2 green onions, sliced

Wash mushrooms with a damp towel to remove dirt. De-stem the mushrooms, and peel the caps. In a bowl, sprinkle the mushrooms with flour and salt. Saute the diced onion in butter in a pan, then add mushrooms to brown. If the pan gets too dry from the flour but the mushrooms have browned a bit, add 1/4 cup water (it's OK, you're going to be adding the brown sauce later anyway). In a small saucepan, add 1 Tbsp each vegan butter and flour and mix. Melt the vegan "chicken" cube in the hot water, then add to the pan. Whisk until brown sauce is smooth. Add black pepper to sauce. Add sauce to mushrooms and allow to simmer for five minutes. Place toasted bread on plates, then spoon mushrooms onto bread, and pour sauce over. Top with shredded vegan cheese and sliced green onions. Serve hot.

{an hors d'oeuvre transformed into a meal}

{mushrooms are the best!}

{mushroom-tastic!}

Reminds me of meals my mom used to make!

Jes

VMF 2011 Day 12: Survey Time!
VMF 2010 Day 12: Apple Pancakes with Passionfruit Tea-Infused Maple Syrup. Yup.

Vegan MoFo, Day 11: White-Wheat-Rye Bread

You have to admit that baking bread is a labor of love. It really is. So much can go awry. You could end up with overly-chewy bread that you have to soak in liquid first; your yeast may have expired; and other various sundry mishaps can happen. I've only made two loaves previously, so this was expected to be an adventure. However, I found this recipe from Jean Prescott Adams (Leona Malek) to be easy and produce a wonderfully tasty bread.

White-Wheat-Rye Bread
adapted from Meatless Meals, pages 48-49
makes 2 loaves--supplies starch, protein, sugar, and come mineral elements (iron, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium)

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups AP flour
3/4 cup rye flour
1 yeast packet
1/4 cup warm soymilk
1/2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups hot potato water (I had this leftover from boiling potatoes with caraway seeds and storing them in the water for another recipe in progress)

In a stand mixer, add olive oil, salt, sugar, and hot potato water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let this mixture stand until it has cooled down a bit. In a cup, dissolve the yeast packet in the warm soymilk. Add the yeast mixture to the cooled oil-sugar in the stand mixer. Add all flour and mix with the bread hook for 12 minutes. Separate bread mixture into two bowls covered with tea towels (otherwise you'll need to separate them later because it will have risen so much that it starts pouring out of the bowl). Allow to rise for about 8 hours. After rising, shape bread into loaves and put into greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

{action shot}

{look at the "baby" loaf!}

{freshly baked}

{i see sandwiches in your future}

{look at those gorgeous slices!}

This recipe is a winner. Even my husband liked the bread! (And that means a LOT!) Coming up tomorrow: stuff on bread!

Jes

VMF 2011 Day 11: Recipe for Love Handles
VMF 2010 Day 11: Under the Weather, Up to my Eyeballs in Garlic

Vegan MoFo, Day 10: Carrot and Mint Salad

When I went on a school trip to France in 2001, I ate so much carrot salad that I'm amazed I didn't turn Snookie-orange. Seriously! It seemed like we ate it at 75% of the restaurants our tour guide took us to. I've been turned off of it ever since. It's not that it wasn't tasty, just total overkill.

So when I saw a carrot salad included in Meatless Meals, I was a tad bit hesitant to make it, especially with the ingredients listed (olives, coconut).

Carrot and Mint Salad
adapted from Meatless Meals, page 135
serves 2--supplies calcium, iron, phosphorus, fat, cellulose, and vitamin A

2 large carrots
1/2 lemon, just juice
1 tsp granulated sugar
5-6 mint leaves, torn
4 green olives
2 Tbsp shredded coconut
2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
black pepper

Grate carrots. Mix lemon juice, sugar, and mint with carrots. Plate dish. Sprinkle coconut and pumpkin seeds on salad. Halve the olives and add to salad. Sprinkle with black pepper. Serve with French Dressing.


French Dressing
adapted from Meatless Meals, page 146
makes 1/4 cup (2 servings of carrot salad)

2 Tbsp lemon juice
lemon zest from 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp soymilk
1/4 tsp black pepper

Add all ingredients to a jar that can be lidded. Shake it up! If saving, refrigerate and shake again before serving.

{carrot salad reclaimed!}

{sweet and sour}

{tangy and tart}

{add dressing before serving}

Do you have a food or dish you once hated that has been redeemed in your eyes?


Jes

VMF 2011 Day 10: Spicy Chipotle Seitan Carnitas
VMF 2010 Day 10: Me and Acorn Squash Down by the Schoolyard

Vegan MoFo, Day 9: Sauerkraut with Apple

I used to LOVE eating sauerkraut. My mom and I had a favorite pork and sauerkraut dish that she made when I was a kid. The sauerkraut in it was tangy, salty, and delicious.

Since then, I've eaten it a few times and even made some of my own, but I think somewhere along the way I forgot how much I loved sauerkraut. It's one of those "guilty pleasure" vegetables that some people detest and a select few salivate over, like Brussels Sprouts or beets.

When I first smelled the sauerkraut that I used for this dish, it all came flooding back.


Baked Sauerkraut with Apple
adapted from Meatless Meals, page 173
serves 4, supplies phosphorus, calcium, and some sugar and other necessary mineral elements

1 large Honeycrisp apple
1 can or jar sauerkraut (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Slice apple into thin slices. In a greased baking dish, put in a thin layer of sauerkraut followed by a layer of apples. Crumble half of the brown sugar onto the apples. Repeat with one more layer. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

{my husband saw this and grumbled}

{I didn't think the apples would taste right}

{baked! ready to eat!!}

{this is the point where my husband was all, "Gross! The house smells bad!!"}

{caramelized yumminess}

You might find me eating a whole can/jar of sauerkraut by myself with a fork in the near future. And I have no shame about that.

Jes

VMF 2011 Day 9: I'm Spicy!
VMF 2010 Day 9: Chili Bean Dip & Cornbread...Mmmmm...