Merry Christmas and Soup Mix

VEGAN BISCOTTI (plain anise flavored) with awesome dark chocolate brushed on top and sprinkled with ground up english walnuts. My base recipe came from Bryanna Clark Grogan's Nonna's Italian Kitchen Cookbook, Only I made mine a plain anise flavored variation.
Here's a free recipe that I found though:
Fat Free Vegan's Cinnamon Biscotti Recipe

Now that I have your attention with my tantilizing favorite holiday treat -

Merry Christmas!

I've been trying to post for a couple of days, but I guess NOW is my lucky moment to accomplish the task. After the ice storms came a wonderful Christmas day with highs in the 50's, and sunshine. It was awesome. We had a great Christmas day brunch before opening presents, which we already knew all that there was because we shop together and get what we want .... we just don't get it until after the Bible reading by DH followed by the brunch. Without further ado, I'm going right to the food pictures. Here is my first round Christmas day. The pizza is BREAKFAST PIZZA by Bryanna Clark Grogan Oct/Nov/Dec Vegan Feast Newsletter. Every holiday season since I started subscribing we have had a new awesome main course brunch dish to feast upon. I have been subscribing since the beginning and will not stop. The ideas and personal connection is worth every penny. Bryanna is a kitchen goddess, NO... wait! I take that back, because of Bryanna I AM A kitchen goddess! :) I served the pizza with a sliced pear and a soymilk (made in my soyajoy) cappuchino.

Next trip to the kitchen allowed me to get some of this TENDER BANANA BREAD from Bryanna Clark Grogan's cookbook, FIBER FOR LIFE. I love this because the fat is replaced with a silken tofu mixture which is also great protein and it is made 100% whole wheat pastry flour, yet is still wonderfully tender. The cookbook offers the option to use dates in this, but I use vegan chocolate chips which my family adores, I like that if I am going to add a little fat it comes from chocolate. Mmmm-my kinda fat.
More cheers for Bryanna and the VEGAN FEAST Newsletter again. Here is a picture of her seitan "salami/ pepperoni", I did the pepperoni version. My meat eating sister ate 10 slices of this with crackers and said, I love this stuff! I wasn't a big fan of the seitan o'greatness awhile back due to the fact it was so dry, but this salami / pepperoni is not. The crackers you see on this plate are actually pretzel flats with an everything seasoning, new find at the grocery store and they are not to bad. Back to the seitan, every issue of the newsletter usually has one new way with seitan that I get the pleasure of trying.
I need to back track just a bit. Here is my counter setup for the breakfast pizza. The crust dough, vegan "sausage" crumbles (Bryanna's kielbasa seitan recipe from my freezer that I crumbled up), the tofu frittata mix in the food processor, red peppers, shredded sweet potato, and shreds of Bryanna's sharp chedda' cheez. The crust is interesting, it is like a thick batter that can sit in the frig for up to two weeks until you are ready to use it. The recipe calls for enough to make two pizza crusts. I am going to try a mushroom onion style pizza with the other half, I found a recipe for this that I really want to veganize in a weight watchers magazine.
Okay, I am sure that you are probably thinking Bryanna again? .... yes, I say again. There are so many recipes I still have to try from all of her cookbooks and other vegan feast newsletters that I could sing her praises for a long time. This is my version of CHRISTMAS STOLLEN, the dough has no fat but is not dry. I used the sweet bread dough from her Al-most No Fat Holiday Cookbook. To make it stollen I added cardamom, coriander, orange peel, pecans, english walnuts, rum soaked raisins, cranberries, chopped dates and dried prunes. More backtracking. Here is the seitan salami after it finished cooking in my clay pot, it is wrapped with cheesecloth. It cookes in a small amount of very flavorful broth, which does not get completely soaked up as you can see a small amount is left over.

Last idea to share. I like to make a batch of a recipe I found many years ago called Be Prepared Soup Mix, I call it Five Bean Soup Mix. When I want to make some I take 1 1/2 cups of the beans, 1/4 cup of the seasoning mix and a can of diced tomates. Sometimes I make it in the crockpot, somtimes on the stove top, but all the time when I make it do I enjoy it.

BEAN MIX:

1 1/2 cup pinto beans

1 1/2 cup white benas

1 cup kidney beans

1 cup baby lima beans

1 cup chickpeas

SPICE MIX:

1/2 cup dried minced onion

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp salt

1 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp garnulated garlic

1 Tbsp Frontier chicken flavor bouillon powder
3 Tbsp Frontier beef flavor bouillon powder

1 Tbsp parsley

1/4 cup vegan bac'un bits

1/4 cup dried Frontier mixed vegetable soup flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the beans and place in a large jar with enough room to add the baggie of spice mix.

1 "batch" = 6 generous servings of soup

To make a batch soak 1 1/2 cup of beans overnight, drain and place them in a 3 quart saucepan (or crockpot). Add 5 cups of water and 1/4 cup seasoning mix, you can add the tomatoes now or at the end of simmering time. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer 2 - 2 1/2 hours until beans are tender or crockpot cook them on low all day.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:

Per serving: 187 calories, 12 g protein, >1 gram fat, 465 mg sod, 33 g complex carbs, and 9 grams fiber.

Individual batches can also be prepared separately, add a nice label with instructions, and give as a gift.

Soup glorious soup

I love this time of year! Today will reach almost 90 (60's at night), drop to a high of 71 by Thursday UPDATE: It is Thursday and it didn't reach 70: chilly, windy, with rain drizzle made it pretty chili and good soup weather again. I have heard the saying that if you don't like the weather we have this time of year, don't worry it will by greatly different tomorrow. This is normal for my location. Also, I have finally had the veggies, time, and motivation to try some soup from a couple of blogs I enjoy reading. I copied, pasted, and e-mailed the recipes to myself when I saw them and have kept them in my in box as new so that I would not forget I wanted to try them (hey, gotta remember somehow).

The first recipe I made comes from Catherine at Albion Cooks. I noticed it was similar to a recipe I really liked called "Give me strength" soup that calls for split red lentils and cauliflower, yet a different take on it. I like this one very well also, I will make it again for sure...
Red Lentil Soup (click the title for her original recipe)

Here is my take on the recipe ...

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 carrots, cut into thin 3/4" - 1' fingers
1/2 cup minced green pepper
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups water plus 1 1/2 cubes Knoor vegetarian vegetable bouillon
1/2 cup red lentils
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
1 cup cauliflower, cut into small florettes
1 cup rinsed canned red beans

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and saute the onions for 3 minutes. Add the carrot and cook 2 additional minutes. Add the vegetable bouillon cubes, water and lentils, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered. Salt. If the broth is too thick for your liking, add additional water. Check seasoning. Serve.

I made a mistake reading the recipe and actually ended up with only three cups of liquid added to the soup. The thicker soup made me feel like I was getting a heartier meal. I am eating the leftovers for lunch today along with an apple and a tablespoon of cashew butter to dip it in. Yum!

I also finally tried the Quinoa-Peanut Veggie Soup (from Africa) ... the one I tried came was posted by Odd Tofu Mom (the recipe name link will take you there). This is a bit spicy, but wonderfully different. I did not have access to fresh zucchini, so I subbed and added finely chopped green bell pepper... I thought that chopped cabbage could also be a good sub but I did not have any. I did use 1/2 tsp dried jalepeno peppers (purchased from the spice section) and left out the cayenne pepper called for. Although I am pretty sure that to be true to it's origin it is supposed to be neutral colored, but I added some of the red beans leftover from the first soup to give it a little color boost. I liked this soup well enough to eat some and freeze in small portions for future use, but the family is not accustomed to the spice and texture combination.

GARDEN UPDATE:

I planted broccoli and cauliflower about two weeks ago. They are dead and didn't even bother to say goodbye. One day they were there and the next day.... just gone. I have never had a problem with fluffy bunnies before, but then pup was always around chasing them off. Now that pup is gone, fluffy bunny may have gone to far. Fluffy bunny if you happen to be reading my blog you need to know that I have never been a selfish gardener, I have always shared my produce generously. Considering I had over 30 plants, more than enough, I would have been willing to share one or two with you, maybe even three or four. But you my friend cannot have them all! I will buy more plants of course, but you are no longer invited to my garden until you learn some manners.

Using the harvest, part 3 (tomatoes)

USING WINTER STORAGE TOMATOES

picture: Tomatoes taken directly from the freezer and put into the crock pot. These were cleaned, dried, and placed into the freezer to be used with skins intact and stems removed. More pictures below.

How about red for a cold February day? A red soup fit perfectly with our "HEART"-y meal. Back to my using up the harvest series...

Tomatoes rank number one for garden canning endeavors and as a high acid fruit they can be processed in a water bath canner. They are the veggie I grow the most of, but as far as canning I usually find that when all the tomatoes are ripening I am to busy dealing with all the other garden produce. I learned from a fellow long-time farmer's market vendor (age 65 +) how she deals with the tomato abundance in September - October. ... she just wipes off the fruit to remove dirt and put them in the freezer to use when she was ready. I have done this also for several years. To begin I freeze them in a single layer using a pop flat box (this way they don't mash), then I place them a common grocery store plastic bag to keep them from falling all over my freezer until I am ready.

Tomatoes in recipes usually require 1 - 14.3 oz can or 1 - 28 oz can of tomatoes. I calculate that one pound of fresh (or frozen) tomatoes with skins removed is the amount for a 14.3 oz can recipe. To save time my tom's are usually in a cheap plastic grocery sack and from experience I consider a 1/2 full grocery sack is somewhere around six pounds. A quart size bag of medium tomatoes is the equivalent of a 16 ounce can (or 1 lb) and a sparse gallon size freezer bag of tom's equals the amount in a 28 ounce can, however I use the medium and large size ones which require more "air space" to make it more like a 28 ounce can in recipes. I did actually weigh them for a few years, but then I got to the point where I could eyeball a pound or two pretty well.

FAQ's about freezing tomatoes

Freezer burn ... Since I mentioned that I put them in a common grocery store (thin, cheap) bag, I bet that is what you are wondering. When I intend to make large batches of pasta sauces, BBQ sauce, tomato soup, etc I will have them used up by February. Since these foods are well seasoned I have never really noticed anything awry. I did go to the time and expense of using gallon size freezer bags one year and when I opened four or five at a time it seemed like such a waste. The farmer woman who gave me this advice said she just kept them in the box, she never even bothered bagging them or covering them. Again I stress that we used them up within six months and they were never defrosted and froze again at any point which is usually the reason for ice crystals.

Diced canned tomato similarity? The helpful farmer woman said she made soups and salsa with her freezer tomatoes. I like a chunky style salsa (which a frozen tomato cannot do), so I use them for soups and sauces only. The frozen tomato does not offer body, just flavor and volume. I cut the frozen tomato up when it is still frozen using a paring knife and acting quickly so my hands do not freeze or after it is in a cooking soup and thawed, then I use my kitchen scissors and chase after the tomato body cutting it into bits and pieces (sorry for the graphic description).

picture #2 above:
I let them cook on low overnight. You can see the the tomatoes are actually floating in a potful of clear tomato liquid. Unless pureed or the skins are removed and the tomato body is chopped the texture is not good at this stage, but it does maintain all of the tomato flavor. However you must remember when you buy them form a can salt is added and sometimes acidic preservatives are added, so this fresh tomato pot will not taste the same unless you doctor it.

Picture #3 above:
I used a hand blender to emulsify the tomato body and liquid together. I have a powerful kitchen aid hand immersion blender that works wonderful, and in this picture you can see it brings a bright red color that is basically a tomato puree with the consistency of what you would open from a can but without the salt or other preserving acids. Because my hand blender is powerful you cannot tell the skins are in this. Next I added the other ingredients required of TOMATO SOUP (link to my recipe) and let it cook on low while I went to work. When I came home I pureed again and ate tomato soup for supper with sandwiches. I personally like a red tomato soup that I add some dill or basil to right before eating, however I have known some who like a creamy, pink soup I guess you could add plain soy milk or pureed silken tofu to it if you desired.

Once the soup is pureed with the flavoring I could pour them into pint jars and further process with my pressure canner. Because I have low acid foods in there (carrots, onions, etc) I would process them for as long as the food that takes the most time. With this soup because I added no legumes I would process at 45 minutes for a pint, but then if I also needed to process tomato based pasta sauce of which I add mushrooms and TVP (a legume product), I would go ahead and place these jars with the others and process for 1 hour 25 minutes because that is what is required for the legumes. The way I made the tomato soup above may separate in the jar into the a layer of clear liquid. This is okay and can just be stirred to remix.

Another use for frozen tomatoes:

Bryanna's quick chili from the 20 minutes to Dinner Cookbook

This is one of my favorite fast easy winter soups. I take a frozen tomato and run it under warm water until the skin cracks and then peels right off. I do this with as many tom's as I need. The weight of the frozen fruit is the same as the fresh. I sometimes throw them in the frig and left them thaw after this, but am usually in a hurry and just begin chopping up the frozen fruit with my sharpest knife to throw into the soup. The chopped tomato body will basically dissolve and no texture will be left, just taste since the skins are removed. This works for any soup. Always taste for salt after the product has cooked... remember these have not had commerciall acids nor salt added to then.

MORE TO COME SOON:
Next tomato post will be about canning homemade pasta sauce and Italian Stufado stew.

The Great Potato Challenge

Inspired by my canned potato post Kate of Vegan Ventures asked for ideas on dishes with potatoes.
I could share a few dishes I enjoy that include potatoes and will, but I thought it would be fun to see what other vegan bloggers say about their favorite potato dishes.

The potato picture (click the pix to go to the site I found it) is from www.slate.com and may be copyrighted, so I must give them a proper citation and be thankful this potato recipe page can look interesting.

VEGAN POTATO BLOGGERS: If you would like to link this page on your potato blog entry it will appear at the bottom of this page. Other potato interested readers can click there to see your potato recipe.

When I first changed my diet I was in a position to attend group meals or to help plan them frequently. To allow myself some food choices in a buffet style meal I always recommended a potato bar that would include a big variety of toppings. Baking a bunch of potatoes in a crockpot (and leeping them warm there) was easy work. If we were serving pot luck style guests would be asked to bring their favorite potato topping. I liked to bring my favorite Chili Sin Carne and serve it with a few morsels of vegan chedda' (although I just usually brought a container of some of Bryanna's cheesy sauce and drizzled that on top because I was on a strict budget back then). A side salad was a must also. This type of buffet really allowed flexibility for everyone's food preferences, even low carbers would munch on salads.

On Sunday's we leave for church around 8:30 and get home around 12 - 12:30. I like to fill my four quart crock pot up with potatoes and cook them on high. At four hours they seem just perfect. Then when we get home we have potatoes ready to top and eat. I will usually have things like veg baked beans, smartlife hotdogs, chedda cheese, already cooked and needs reheated cauliflower and broccoli, etc in the frig to pull out for quick fixings. The leftovers get stored in the frig and we eat on them during the week in whatever way strikes our fancy.

VEGAN POTATO LINKS:

• The daughter of Fairly Odd Tofu Mom recently posted this awesome presentation: Olivia's Incredibly Famous (vegan) Brats and Potatoes

• Dori's Dry Potato Soup Mix. When my children were younger I used to make these up ahead of time (and in large quantity so we could just scoop out amount needed) so they could make an easy meal for the family.
• Sweet Potato Oven Fries. Sometimes I wonder why I don't make these more often.
  
• Bazu says, " love potatoes in any form- cubed and roasted in the oven with olive oil, garlic and rosemary? Yes.
  
  Potato salad with onions, celery, vegannaise, and fresh dill? Yes.
  
  Mashed? Oh yes. Mmmmmm, potatoes, how do I love thee. There- that was my valentine's day poem. =)"
• Axtvegan says white food is still a it of a concern for her, but she recently made green beans and red potatoes and purple potatoes she would eat roasted anytime! "
• A picnic in France: New Potato Salad.
• BRYANNA'S POTATO AND MUSHROOM MISO SOUP
  I want to try this sometime, so am adding the whole recipe here to remind me. :b
  Combine in a pot:
  4 c. light broth (to make a quick "dashi" [Japanese broth], I use mushroom bouillon cubes [enough for only 3 cups broth] and a piece of kombu sea vegetable-- you can also use soaking water from shiitake mushrooms)
  4 oz. any fresh mushrooms, sliced
  8 oz. thin-skinned potato, scrubbed and thinly sliced
  1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  
  Simmer about 15 minutes, or til potato is tender. Remove and discard kombu, if using.
  
  Add:1/2 (12.3 oz.) box firm or extra-firm slken tofu, or 6 oz. medium firm regular tofu, in cubes
  
  After heating tofu, turn off heat. Mix some of the broth with:
  1/3 c. brown rice or barley miso
  
  Add back to soup with:
  2 green onions, thinly sliced
  
  Serve immediately. Servings: 4
  
  Nutrition Facts
  Nutrition (per serving): 136.4 calories; 15% calories from fat; 2.4g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 880.0mg sodium; 588.5mg potassium; 22.0g carbohydrates; 3.3g fiber; 4.0g sugar; 18.7g net carbs; 8.4g protein; 2.3 points.
  
• Bryanna's CAUSA (Peruvian Potato Salad). I made this dish to serve at a cultural dinner hosted by us when we invited friends over to share there experiences living in this area for more than a year with us. This was my first experience with blue potatoes, we thought they were so fun that we planted them in the garden the next year.
• Bryanna's Potato and Sweet Potato Gratin
• Bryanna's Bread Machine Sourdough Potato Bread
  

Also, about canned potatoes. Of course I would rather eat a fresh potato, but having them already cooked ready to dice, mash or otherwise prepare to add to another seasoned dish I like them for this use (soups, stir-fries, etc). I have noticed a difference in taste between the type of potato I used to can with, I will not can russet potatoes in the future. I will definitely grow more yukon gold though. I keep hearing reports from my other canning friends that this is what they prefer to use. Personal note: Keep a cold storage potato supply for fresh potatoes and can a few because I like the prep they offer.

I am still working on my tomato using the harvest post and should have some great things to share by the end of this week. Midwest Vegan, I will include pictures and a thorough description of texture, etc in this post.

ALSO HAPPY V-DAY FRIENDS! I hope to bake up something fun for Wednesday, something like a Dreena cake ... maybe something including chocolate and raspberries (oh yummers).

Using the harvest, part 1

Woot! My new canning storage area in the basement is up!

I put this on DH's "Honey Do!" list to be created since I purchased my 23 quart pressure canner/cooker way back in July 2006. Although I had a rack that held 8 jars deep I did not have the width to see what jars were behind others. If I wanted a certain jar I had to move many others to get to it... not convenient at all. I also had zero space to store the jars once they were emptied until they were to be used again, so a corner of my kitchen had a box full of jars needing to be moved somewhere. However all these problems have been solved with one little purchase and Saturday assembly - DH and DS found it to be a good project for a frigid winter day.

Finally, I can show you canned goods that I have left from last years harvest, minus some tomato based pasta sauces and apple sauce or butter (I haven't decided yet) that I intend to make with the fruits stored away in my freezer. I still have broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, greens , and some corn in the freezer that we have been chowing on. Fortunately I can get to this easily now also, previously the rack I had canned goods on made my time getting to and using the freezer in our basement difficult.

Foods on my shelf - - - -
Yearly favorites (links to my previous blog entry about these foods):

Onion curry relish, piccalilly: a dutch pennslvania treat, caraway pickled beets, dilly green beans, dilly cauliflower, dilled cauliflower carrot red pepper mix, bread and butter pickles (stevia sweet), "sushi" ginger carrot cucumber pickles (stevia sweet), salsa, strawberry rhubarb very low sugar (stevia sweet) jam, low sugar orange marmalade, apple sauce, apple butter, pear butter, pumpkin butter, and diced apples (just the whole fruit in a light lemon juice and stevia sweetened water) and cinnamon that reminds me of diced pears, zucchini relish (my purple ribbon county fair winner).

The pressure canner gave me the ability to can russet and red kinebec potatoes, green beans, corn and sweet potatoes. Previously I used a cold storage for these (which I still did for some), but it is so much nicer now to have these veggies ready to open a jar and go.

New in 2006:

• Plum Sauce (made with 2# purchased plums from a farmer's market I went to), nicely seasoned with oriental five spice powder ....kind of like a sweet and sour sauce, but definitely made with fruit. I sweetened mine with stevia. The recipe I based it off of came from the book Summer in a Jar.
• Avjar (link to recipe)- Balkan red pepper relish, a recipe from Bryanna Clark Grogan. Although she doesn't can it I used the same canning time that animal meat takes (1.5 hours under 10 pounds pressure). My thinking was that if the time and pressure can allow animal meat to be preserved then surely it kill the bacteria in this sauce. I opened a jar of it after four months and it had a wonderful consistency and was very good.... just as good as when I made it fresh and refrigerated it.
• Cranberry Chutney (link to the recipe) - I found this recipe in a book called Gifts from the kitchen. I made mine sugar free (using stevia instead) and added apple sauce to measure the quantity of the sugar originally called for. I added this to a sandwich using sliced seitan to resemble some of the after thanksgiving sandwiches I have seen in recipes.... yum. I also used it on crackers and soy cream cheese as well as toast one morning that I wanted to finish up the last of it from the jar. This recipe will make it to the yearly list. I did use marked down cranberries from the grocery store (2 / $1). My recipe says this chutney can be made using frozen cranberries also, I stocked up on that sale so I could make it again if I want but I will most likely use the remaining cranberries in smoothies.
  
• Stevia sweet apple pie filling - our tree gave us nice abundance this year. I adjusted a recipe from our state extension office family hotline. They actually emailed me the recipe I requested (sugar free apple pie filling) and canning requirements. I made mine sugar free however it does use apple juice so it is not watered down sweetness. The family LOVES this recipe. It is a fast dessert to take some of this, sprinkle it with granola and top it with some soy yogurt or ice cream for a fast dessert.
  
• Sweet corn relish - this is delightfully different from Chesman's book, but pretty yummy to dress up a taco salad or wrap. It adds a sweet and sour type flavor combo.
  
• Legumes and home canned soups.... Money saver and time saver. This has been my favorite use. Canned convenience soups can be so expensive. The fact that I can use my own veggies (sometimes I purchase them) and organic legumes makes the whole hassle of learning how to can like this worth it.
  

A garden / preserving resource I added to my side bar is author Andrea Chesman. I love her canning book called Summer in a Jar because of the small batch recipes (one quart or pint at a time). Another one is the Ball Blue Book, it is the canning "bible" if there is one and I use it as a reference on low acid and other food times, but I rarely use these recipes. It is nice because it includes dehydrating and freezing preservation also.

While I am on the topic of garden produce and canning I also will let you know of low-acid soups and legumes I have pressure canned and LOVE.

• Dori's COOP Black Bean Soup (link to recipe)
  
• Sicilean Style Spilt Pea Soup (Bryanna's Fiber for Life Cookbook)
• White Chik'n Chili (my own recipe, but inspired by a Taste of Home magazine recipe)
• Basic white navy beans, black beans, black eyed peas ... (not seasoned, just to open and use), and some seasoned ready to use TVP chunks, ground taco TVP meet, and Louisana style red beans to serve over rice.

This is long enough for now, but since I have access to my preserved food I am totally inspired to use it, which I definitely did. If I mentioned a "my own recipe" food here and you would like me to post the recipe, let me know and I will.

Part 2 using the harvest (coming soon)
It will include pictures of :
Dori's canned potato mash with Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy
Stuffed Mushrooms with bread crumbs from the freezer
Bryanna's Fiber for Life Quick Chili with more garden harvest vegetables

TRASH and Exercise (all in the same entry)

It's a cold out! Time for some soup and Texas Trash (thanks so much ATxVegn) The family LOVED it!. Here's the recipe as posted in the original blog entry. I used whole wheat pretzel rods instead of the tortilla chips, air popped popcorn, with pecans and almond slices instead of mixed peanuts. Matthew was pulling out the pretzel rods to eat and I asked if he liked those the best, he said no that he liked the pecans best which he already picked out.

Texas Trash

4 c. tortilla chips

3 c. Crispix

1 bag microwave plain popcorn, popped

1 can (12 oz.) mixed nuts

1/2 c. corn syrup

1/2 c. margarine

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 T. chili powder

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. cayenne

Heat oven to 250. Combine chips, cereal, popcorn, and nuts in a large roasting pan.
Combine corn syrup, margarine, sugar, and spices in a small saucepan; heat to boiling, then pour over cereal mixture. Stir to coat. Bake one hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Cool on waxed paper. Keeps in an airtight container for two weeks.

I asked Dave what soup he liked the best expecting him to say chili. He said broccoli cheese which was news to me. This soup is my own. I was aiming for a comforting cheesy like texture, the family liked it well enough but I am curious if anyone else tries this how they might adjust the spices and seasoning.

DORI'S GOLDEN CAULIFLOWER SOUP
(link to recipe)

Several years when I first started using a grain mill I started milling my own legumes for quick cooking easy soups. I liked the way white beans thickened the soup and gave body similar to heavy cream dairy soups. This soup recipe is similar to what I used to make with white bean flour, but I decided to try it with besan (chickpea flour) and split red lentils.... the color was spectacular with these choices and add great nutrition that is easier to digest that the freshly milled white bean flour. Although this would not end up on my top five list it was comforting and well liked by everyone else in the family.

MY VERY FIRST LUNCHBOX
Black bean soup, cooked and cut up sweet potato, cabbage sprout craisin apple salad, and pineapple. I was so excited I have actually put forward a good effort of thought into my next lunch box to and making food that would look nice in this.


Using my sprouts salad with broiled seasoned tofu, apple slices, radish, and carrot shreds on a bed of romaine lettuce.

LAST NOTE:

HI SIS!
My oldest sister has been checking out my blog. I think she is interested in healthier eating because she bought a sweet potato and a variety of fresh fruits (she told me this, why would she tell me this and ask for my blog address within a 24 hour period) .... for her this is an accomplishment because she lives in a hotel for weeks at a time coming home for a weekend a month. Also, the water aerobics is to start on the 15th (Monday), but now that I accepted the extra work after school Monday is one of the days I work so I would not be home in time (drats!). I have purchased a few fitness tools below though so that I can meet some personal fitness goals, they are three Pilates workouts from Amazon. Pasta Queen influenced my decision. I had a Pilates workout video several years ago when I was a beginner and the video wasn't ummm, try I may and try I might but me body only got mean (not lean). It is also 13-17 degrees here during the warmest part of the day, so I'm not to disappointed not to be able to do water aerobics other than the fact I wanted to have time with the friend.

1 "Pilates - Beginning Mat Workout"
Ana Caban; DVD; $12.99

1 "10 Minute Solution: Pilates"
Lara Hudson; DVD; $10.99

1 "10 Minute Solution: Rapid Results Pilates"
Lara Hudson; DVD; $7.47

Finished.

Detox with some soup?

The picture is of a no-clam chowder soup that we have had recently. More about this below, But first I want to share with you some info that I found on Vegan Grandma 's blog. She has some great information on her blog about the latest GREAT AMERICAN DETOX DIET. Here is my overview of her suggested detox dietary guidelines:

No!
Sugar, Refined carbohydrates (white bread, white sugar, white rice), Coffee, Caffeine, Alcohol, Dairy, Meat, and avoid using peanut oil, canola oil, corn oil. I think I could do this except for the words in red.... that's a bit restrictive for me. I don't needs me some coffee, but I sure do like it a whole lot.

Yes!
10 to 14 glasses of filtered water a day, Whole grains: brown rice, millet, quinoa, oats, Nuts and seeds, Phytochemical rich -foods: blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, peaches, plums, sea veggies, cabbage, tomatoes, Soy products, Beans and legumes, Acidophilus to replenish good bacteria in the intestines, use mainly extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and sesame oil , focus on organic fresh foods

"The best way to ensure that your body is getting the kinds of carbs it needs to run smoothly and stay "clean" is to keep eating whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits that give you the extra dose of fiber needed to clean out your system. The natural foods with the highest amounts of fiber are lentils; black, kidney, and lima beans; chick peas; potatoes with the skin; peas; non-instant oatmeal; pears and apples with the skin; Brussels sprouts; and peaches."-p. 117

Here's some of our latest foods:
Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
I have been inspired by Bryanna's 20 Minutes to Dinner Cookbook. I am doing alot of cooking from this book lately. I have changed this into my version inspired by the original recipe on page 69 of the cookbook.

Instructions:
Place all ingredients except the cornstarch/ water mix into a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down a simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Add the dissolved cornstarch and bring to a boil, stirring until it has thickened slightly and is clear. Serve immediately. NOTE: I have done this in the crock pot also. I just add the cornstarch at the end and turn the pot to high for 15 or so minutes.
4 C veg broth
6 oz firm tofu cut into strips
1/2 C sauerkraut
3/4 C frozen peas
1/2 C fresh sliced mushrooms (or an 8 oz can drained)
3-5 thin sliced shiitake mushrooms (I just throw them in straight form the package, but you an grind them into a powder or chop them up a bit)
1/2 C thinly sliced onion (or green onions)
2 slices fresh ginger root chopped (about 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp dry sherry
2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp liquid hot pepper or 1-3 tsp of a chili garlic sauce, you choose level of hotness
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water
Thin strips of carrots (I used a veg peeler and 1/2 a medium carrot).


The picture above is a soup from the same cookbook. DH was hankering some clam chowder to eat with those cheap little white flour round crackers. This soup was satisfying to him, Bryanna 20 minute cookbook calls it New England-Style Sea Vegetable Chowder. The original recipe on page 62 calls for silken tofu, which makes a wonderfully creamy and thick soup, but I decided to make mine with soy milk and it was good. Here is my recipe.

Dori's No-Clam Chowder
1 large onion chopped
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes cubed (I leave the skin on)
8 oz mushrooms chopped coarsely
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 Tbsp dulse flakes (I use less than Bryanna calls for, we are not fond of this flavor when it is strong because it is a bit fishy for us)
3/4 cup minced celery
1 Tbsp soy bacon bits
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp kelp powder
ground veggie pepper to taste
2 cubes Knorr vegetable bouillon, this brand has cubes that are equal to 2 cups of broth each when added to water
6 cups fresh soy milk made in the soy milk maker or 1 quart of plain soy milk combined with 2 cups of water
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar or alternate
In a medium pot saute onions until soft and add the remaining ingredients. I did this in the crock pot.

Here is a link to my homemade soy milk recipe:
SOY MILK MAKER

Hope you are all having a great week. I have showed my blog to some of my students. I hope you try all the recipes you find here and impress your family. Extra credit if you bring in a small sample of your food and share with the class about your cooking experience.

What's for lunch?

I have now been working at my new job for one week - woohoo! :) I love what I am doing but I don't love the once a month paycheck - mostly the fact that I must wait a month for it. So far I have carried a bag of popcorn and a piece of fruit for lunch until I find the right routine for me. One day I attended a meeting that took up all of my lunch time which I did not know it would do and then had to go right onto doing something else, I was starved at the end of the day. That evening when I got home I went online shopping (oh no!) and guess what I bought. GUESS and then click HERE for a link to it. I've been wanting one for some time and now feel that it is the right time to splurge as a new job "congrats", I am sure I will get a good many years of use from it.



My teens were still on a holiday break on Tuesday (but DH and I had to be gone), so I had my daughter make supper. She chose Dreena's Three- bean curry tomato soup which happens to look similar to the recipe curried tomato three bean stew link I found in a general search. I also found a Taste of Home internet article about Dreena's food, this article is an interesting read as the writer discusses "slimming" after holiday comfort foods. The soup DD made yielded a big pot, I was a little disappointed that evening though because it lacked favor. The next day I had it again and a little sitting time helped because I could taste the curry then, but added a touch of lemon juice and little salt. I made a note in my cookbook that the next time I make this to use all vegetable bouillon instead of a partial broth / water combination. I use the bouillon cubes anyway so it would be just a matter of adding more.

I have been eating this soup with Stacy's Pesto and Sundried Tomato flavored pita chips which also happened to be on sale this month. I ended up with 6 bags of those and the simply naked kind. I wish they could be whole grain, but I knew I was getting a good deal of fiber and nutrients in the soup I paired them with.

At my monthly buying club Tofurky slices were on sale and up for auction so I ordered some to try for the first time. They are a bit higher in fat than I would prefer, but I am positive that the rest of the family will devour these and right now the little extra convenience is nice. My first use with these were in a sandwich which I unfortunately drowned with strong flavored garlicy hummous and lettuce on a bun, the sandwich was overall good but this was because I liked the strong flavored hummous. I know I could have made my own seitan roast, sliced it and been well fed for at least eight abundant portions for half the cost of a package that had three smallish servings.

In DH and my insane plan to ensure that our children have the skills to survive "in the real world" cooking requirements are back in force in this New Year. Both of our teens are required to choose two recipes a week to share and one must be for supper. DD chose Dreena's squirrely scones from VLV. I searched for other information about these on the Internet and found one picture and reference to them on Squirrel's blog (isn't that funny!). The picture to the right has been copied from her site.

DD's scones were very tasty, but did not spread at all. This is not a bad thing, these will be made again for sure sometimes because the four of us scarfed down a whole batch in one breakfast sitting. In comparison with the picture above our were "lumpy" in that the the batter did not smooth out and with all of the nuts and fruits packed into them. I think that the flour in my area has a tendency to be "drier" because I notice in general that if I follow recipes from cookbook authors in Canada I get a drier result. My results may be affected by the fact that I purchase oat flour, I do not make it with quick oats therefore I may be getting more grain than the fluffier chopped oatmeal version.

I hope the first week of the New Year has been as good as you have resolution-ed it to be ... or better now that the resolutions have been broken and you can get on with "normal" life. I have made a connection with a friend who has a weight loss goal. We will be joining our town's new wellness center and signing up for water aerobics classes to take together. I never imagined how bored I would feel so quickly now that I do not have a ton of writing or school work to do when I come home. I am already concocting various other "big" projects in my mind.

soup, soup and weird biscotti

We have colds here, drats. It is nice to say I eat a healthy diet and I hardly ever get colds - not today! I think that in our previous homeschooling lifestyle the kids and I didn't have to be in closed places with bacteria and viruses so we rarely ever got sick (except Dave who would occasionally bring a bug home from work). This week I met with several other student teachers who also had colds, but then I have heard from long time teachers who have said they think they must have built up a resistance and rarely catch anything going around. I hope to get to that stage soon, until then I will have germ-x at my desk.

Great news for me, but bittersweet for bakehouse customers. I completed my student teaching experience officially on Wednesday! (YEAH ME!) So now I am home for a few weeks and I plan on restocking my canned soup supply because I am nearly out and opening up a jar of MY soup for lunch or a fast meal was way to easy! On Thursday I was offered a full-time contract at my school to begin January 2 .... I was very pleased with the deal and accepted. I intend to continue to be a vegan food and family blogger, but bakehouse work will be at a standstill until maybe summertime when I am on summer break and pull out the garden equipment and prepare for the farmer's market.









I thought I'd do something savory today because we have been eating goods other than cookies, sweet breads, and the other fattening stuff - these are two of Dreena's soups. One is made with wild rice and mushrooms and the other is called soulful chili. I loved the wildness of the soup and will definitely make this again, Dreena said that one pan makes alot so there will be some to store... not at our house. The chili made more. I often purchase mushrooms in a gallon can ..... no, they are not as good as fresh but worked for a wonderfully satisfying meal. A gallon can equals ALOT so some of the mushrooms get made into into burgers, pizza toppings, other soups, and stir fries.

The soulful chili was pretty, but a tad tart for my mexi chili sin carne standard. The chili I usually make calls for a little cocoa powder for a rich, dark bowl of tomatoey, beany and TVP crumble goodness. I also tried VwaV Roasted garlic and white bean stew. DH and I loved this. Although I cook alot I have never roasted garlic before, however I will surely roast it again someday! I took leftovers for lunch with me the next day and carried a little breath mint.

Saturday we went shopping together as a family. Dave has been working towards getting his CDL license because he wants to help our neighbor and owner of a auto repair and towing service with getting broke down and stranded travelers in his spare time. He got his permit so he can now ride along. He is excited like a boy with great big toys to play with.

Anyway we stopped by one of my favorite food coops. They had a vegan miso soup for sale. I enjoyed the simpleness of it. I made some based off of a recipe from the cookbook Lighten Up! with Louise Hagler: Tastey, low-fat, low-calorie vegetarian cuisine. It is vegan though. I enjoyed this tastey soup!

Here's my recipe of MISO SOUP:
1 onion, sliced thin
1 tsp olive oil (to saute the onions in until softened).
Then add:
6 cups of water
3/4 cup red miso
2 carrots sliced thin
1/3 cup chopped dry parsley
1/2 pound of firm regular tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Cook over high heat until liquid comes to a boil, turn down heat and simmer until carrots are soft. Enjoy!

THEN . . .

For fun and uniqueness I wanted to try a different biscotti recipe. Bryanna posted a "breakfast" biscotti recipe some time ago that called for a little tofu, tahini, nuts, dried chopped fruit and whole wheat pastry flour. I thought the recipe looked good, but a tad rich for my personal preference (although I often make rich since I have a family members who needs the extra calories). I am the kind of person who likes to eat big so I often attempt low cal foods that allows me the feeling of fullness. I totally took the recipe out of context and did my own thing. The result I will present to you here.

Dori's weird, but satisfying (to her)
BREAKFAST BISCOTTI:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place parchment paper on oven sheet lightly coat with oil spray.

Dry Mix:
Combine in a medium mixing bowl.
2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp KAL stevia extract powder
a1/2 cup quick oats
3/4 C raisins
1/3 C unsweet carob chips
1/4 C ground flax seed
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Wet Mix:
I blended this in my largest magic bullet cup and it all fit.
1 - 12.3 oz mori-nu firm light silken tofu
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp ener-g egg replacer powder
1/2 c applesauce

Add wet mix into dry and combine until all dry is mixed. It is a thick batter, almost feels kneadable but I just kept working the dry into the wet. With water wet hands shape the dough into a rectangular loaf about 1" thick. Bake for 25 -30 minutes. Remove the pan and reduce oven to 300 degrees. Keep the loaf on the parchment paper, but remove both to a wire cooling rack to cool for 20 minutes. Cut the loaf into 12 slices (about 3/4 - 1" wide), this cut easily with a 8" serrated bread knife. Place the slices on a cookie sheet (see picture above) and bake 20 minutes, turn the biscotti over and bake 20 minutes more. Cool on a wire rack. These taste better when fully cool. The bitterness of the unsweet carob chips combined with the raisins was a real treat for me. Although it didn't have the same crispy/crumbly or hardness as some biscotti I have tried I really enjoyed this. I had them ALL eaten in two days (by myself thank you very much). I don't think that Dave and the kids would have liked these very much because of the bittersweetness of the unsweet carob chips, but I didn't give them a chance to let me know if they did or not.

Calorie wise, eating six of these cookies in a day amounts to 400 calories of whole wheat pastry and 1/4 C quick oats flour combined with 70 calories of lite silken tofu and 1/4 C applesauce. They were VERY filling.

Robin Hood and the merry first day

Finally.

Here is Matt's costume from the renaissance fair last weekend. He has been eyeing a big long cloak on e-bay that he thinks he would like to add if he ever desires a more "royal" presentation, $180 (dori gulps). He discovered that there was a Tuesday night sword practice two months prior to the fair for any volunteers that wanted to come each weekend for various performances, if they did they were admitted free. He desires to try this next year and hopes to stay in the area where he is attending school now.

The first day of school is a favorite time to take pictures. Dave snapped one of me before I left last Monday. It seems like the living room door is the best place to snap pictures, any place else in our house causes light glares in the pictures due to the placement of our windows plus I like the greenery to be a part of the background. My first week went well, despite the unexpected I enjoyed it. Of course every teacher needs a bag with a packed lunch inside. Onto a little of the food we ate last week. ...

I tried Dreena's Coconut Creme Pie, page 193 in Everyday Vegan. I subbed stevia for sugar and the family enjoyed the pieces of pie that I didn't eat... :) This pie reminded me of a Mounds candy bar, so i sprinkled some toasted coconut on top of it and drizzled it with a little melted dark chocolate.

I also enjoyed a tofutti cream cheese and craisin sandwich that I took for lunch one day, different but good for a change. I had it packed with a romaine lettuce, roasted beet, and shredded carrot salad with a small container of balsamic vinaigrette.

PROSTITUTE'S STEW
From page 155 in Bryanna's Nonna's Italian Kitchen Cookbook. She says, "Don't ask - it's delicious anyways, sort of an Italian ratatouille with potatoes added. Can be served hot or cold. Maybe you still have fresh garden produce in your area that you can make it. Last week our gardening season ended with a hard frost, you'd never know considering the very nice weather we've been having yesterday and today. The picture is of the stew before being cooked in my crock pot. I served this with some fresh baked bread.... but I used Vivacious Vegan's idea and baked them in muffin tins.

I give you my variation of this recipe. Place all of the following into the crock pot.
1 lb eggplant cut into small cubes
1 large potato
1 carrot, cut into fingers
1 stick celery, diced
1 large zucchini, sliced and quartered
1 large green pepper, seeded and cut into squares
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 vegetable broth cube (I use Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable)
2 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes (

• I cleaned mine in the sink and took off the stem, then gave them a whirl in my blender. My family doesn't mind the skins on them when I do this)

a small handful of fresh rosemary and Italian parsley, chopped
1 tsp salt
a little fresh ground black pepper

Another last week lunch......
This LRM (Romaine lettuce, red pepper and sweet mustard) Wrap was delish along side of Dreena's Chickpea Mash Stew from Everyday Vegan page 84... the picture of the stew behind the wrap is to dark to see, but I liked it. Dave is not a chickpea fan, so he opened a jar of white chili that I pressure canned awhile ago instead. The soup is handy right now. I will be endeavoring to use my slow cooker more over the next several weeks so that dinner can be ready as soon as or shortly after I get home.

Last lunchbox idea from last week...
My favorite chili sin carne( I use TVP), a couple of "muffin" rolls , slices of cucumber and some fruit . The fruit was actually for morning break, I have a late lunch time, 12:28.

I wish you all a wonderful week. I am looking forward to homecoming week.... they have spirit days planned, I'm not sure that I will participate except maybe superhero day I could wear Melissa's shirt (no cape and no teensy red shorts). I do intend to buy the school's sweatshirt so I can show a little team pride.