Vegan MoFo 1 & 2!

No, I just couldn't watch everyone else do it and not join in (that's right, I'm one of those). Actually, I had every intention of doing my first entry last night, but it sort of sizzled out after I watched this really mediocre movie called Smart People. Heard of it? It was OK... but it fizzled, and I fizzled, and you know. I went to sleep.

So, as a result, this post is going to be filled with food and pictures. Part of the reason for that is because I think Phil and I spend too much on food, so I've decided to start making as many things from scratch as I can. Mind you, I go through this phase fairly often and it usually fizzles, too! But I'm hoping this will stick for at least a little while. Because I'm broke. At any rate, this decision means that I have a lot of cooking/ baking to do, so I started today after work, and I'm pretty proud of the results.

But first I wanted to share another Phil Meal, made and eaten last night:


Fancy pasta by Maestri Pastai, which is made in Italy and therefore is super expensive. Well, the bag (1.1 lbs.) was $5.50 or so, so I guess that's expensive but not super expensive. Phil made the marinara, and "meat"balls from GimmeLean, ground beef style. If you're interested in making meatballs from this stuff, I suggest heavily seasoning it and maybe adding some bread crumbs, or something that will give some variation to the texture!

And then I made a salad:

Using a dressing on the back of an Eden Soy carton of soy/rice milk. Not bad: walnuts, pepitas, cremini schrooms and dried Turkish apricots over a bed of fresh spinach.

So, what did I do today? Well...

I made granola:
Rolled oats, rolled rye flakes, cashews, almonds, pepitas and dried Turkish apricots, with very little sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and a wet mix of molassas, juice, applesauce and water. Most granola is so sweet, but this is not, and that's great by my book.

... dinner tonight:
Mashed potatoes, frozen chopped spinach sauteed with garlic and olive oil, and the Southern Fried Tofu from Vegan Vittles. This was awwwwesome.

And my biggest achievment today:

Vegan Dad's Farm-Style Whole Wheat Bread. Just as his recipe/blog entry boasts, this loaf is light, soft, and versatile. The dough was really easy to work with, it rose beautifully, and the end product is great (even if my loaves aren't perfect!) I'm looking forward to making this bread often and mastering it (and maybe adding some yummy seeds, too)! I'm freezing one loaf, and eating the other this week.



Happy MoFo, y'all!

Irish Parsnip and Apple Soup

I'm back! You didn't even know I was gone, but I've been in NYC for the last few days visiting my sister. So much for Irish week-- we didn't cook once. It was a nice treat, though, as she lives near my favorite bagel place ever. It's called Absolute Bagels and they have great bagels and flavored Tofutti. So Thursday afternoon I got to wolf down a bagel with olive Tofutti-- you can't beat it!

Before I left I made some soup. It was totally different and delicious. I am a little skeptical that it's a traditional Irish soup, but it may be a modern interpretation of a traditional soup (the curry makes me a little suspicious). It sure was tasty, though, and it didn't involve any potatoes! I also hardly had to change anything, so it wasn't very creative. But it was a nice way to eat some apples.

I didn't have cardamom, so I subbed 1/4 tsp. mace and 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon. They aren't the same (obviosuly) but do similar things.

Irish Parsnip and Apple Soup
Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 lb parnsips, thinly sliced
• 1 lb apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom seeds
• 1-2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 1/2 c. vegetable broth
• 2/3 c. soymilk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped chives or parsley

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the parnsips, apples and onions and cook until soft, but do not brown. Add the spices and continue to cook for a few more minutes, stirring well.
Add the broth, stir well, and cover. Lower the heat and simmer for half an hour.
Blend with an immersion blender (you can also strain it but thats not fun), food processor, or blender. Add the soymilk and cook on low heat for a few more minutes. Thin with water if desired.
Garnish with parsley or chives and enjoy!


I also made that whole wheat bread again, and this time I used leftover potato water. It was definitely lighter this time. Yum! Phil and Sean loved it. I will keep making this bread, for sure.

Orange Pesto and Homemade Bread

I have two things to share this evening, and the first is what's in this picture. Forget the fake meat and concentrate on what's below: Orange Pesto.

I was off from work yesterday and I spent the whole day baking. When it was time to start cooking dinner, I wanted something easy but flavorful, and my first thought was, 'Pesto!' It had been a while. Pesto and I used to be good friends, but within the last couple of years Phil and I will more often make a big, tast batch of red sauce and fill our pasta quota that way. But Phil wasn't home, so I decided to change it up.

Once I started making it and I got to the part that requires lemon juice, I reached for my lone lemon and stopped, hand hovering above the fruit bowl. Beneath the lemon lay about 8 oranges, and I couldn't help but wonder what that would taste like. Super weird? I wondered. Probably. But I had to find out.

What resulted was a really subtle sweetness, and you've got to try it, I tell you! I love pesto, and pesto loves me. It's really simple and can be made by taste and sight, but I'll give a simple recipe anyway.

Orange Pesto
(enough for 2-3 servings of pasta)
Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. raw pine nuts
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 c. basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• juice of one orange
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• optional: 2 Tbsp. nurtitional yeast

1. Begin by dry roasting your pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat. While you're doing this (just keep an eye on it and shake the pan every now and then. it only takes about 5 minutes) you can prepare, or begin to prepare, your other ingredients.
2. Throw everything, including 1 Tbsp. oil, in your blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If you want it more creamy, add more oil. Feel free to add more salt and some pepper to taste!

I served this with some homemade bread (see below) and a salad made of baby greens, toasted walnuts and orange sections. The dressing was a homemade red wine vinaigrette (had anyone else ever noticed that Sandra Lee says "vineger-ette" or am the only loser that watches that show? and i hate it, that makes it worse) with a bit of the pesto whisked in for bite. Yum!

As for the homemade bread:


My first loaf! I used Bryanna Clark Grogan's recipe for 100% whole wheat bread. However, she recommends using potato flakes or potato water when proofing the yeast, and I could find no instant potato at silly Essene! Apparently that gives it a lighter texture, so maybe that's why mine didn't rise as much. Regardless, it has really good flavor, and I will do this recipe again with the potato water. I also sprinkled golden flax seeds on the bottom of the pan and on top of the loaf for added flavor, nutrition and crunch!

Bryanna has a lot of pretty awesome information on her website and her blog. Since I really want to stop buying processed stuff (even Tofutti cream cheese, which I worship) and start making as much from scratch as is practical/possible, I forsee her website as being an invaluable resource!

Phil's making dinner tonight-- he's experimenting with seitan for the first time, and I get his homemade guacamole.. yum.