Happy Solstice!

Posted on December 21, 2008 by jodie

Well, I’m behind on my holidays.  It’s been a very busy end of the semester!  I expect to have some extra time to be cook and taking pictures after the holidays, but for now I have some pictures from Thanksgiving.

cranberry sauce
Don’t judge me. I love cranberry sauce from a can.
sweet potato
I had a random sweet potato hanging around, so I mashed it up.
green beans
Green Beans. I used this recipe from Vegetarian Times, except I used hazelnuts.
mashed potatoes
Plain ol’ mashed potatoes. No special recipe for this.
pearled onions
Creamed pearled onions.  I used this recipe, substituting soy milk for the cream, Earth Balance for the butter. The onions are mixed colors, too.
stuffing
So, I looked at probably 20 different stuffing recipes before I made this. It’s cubed sourdough and cornbread, with onions, celery, dried cranberries and some spices. Pretty free form. I’d cube the bread smaller, next time.
celebration roast
Celebration Roast. I really like them- I’m having another for Christmas.
apple crumble pie
Apple Pie with Almond Crumble.  I used this recipe here– it was so, so good.
Coconut-Pumpkin Pie
I made two pies. I really like pie, in case you couldn’t tell. I used Bryanna Clark Grogan’s recipe (scroll down towards the bottom of the page), but I subbed coconut milk for the soymilk. It was delicious.

Happy holidays!
Posted in Food, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Odd and Ends

Posted on December 9, 2008 by jodie

I got nothing for food today.  I have some pictures and recipes to post from Thanksgiving that I hope to get to soon, but it’s end-of-semester madness around here, so there you have it.  

***
I’m contemplating a food-lifestyle experiment for the coming year to help me reduce the amount of vegan junk food that I buy.  Seriously, as long as you can afford to spend extra money, there’s no reason that you should ever miss any kind of animal-type food- there’s just so much available that’s vegan now.  It’s unreal!  And very bad for my pants, which seem to be shrinking.  
***
Speaking of over-availability of things, let’s talk about “The Big Three,” since that’s all over the news these days.
I would feel terribly for people to be out of work.  I want to get that out there.  However, why on earth are we supporting the bailout of the auto industry?  Seriously, how many cars can we possibly need?  Supply – demand… does this mean nothing?  We should be doing something entirely different and moving that industry into something else… what, I don’t exactly know, but can we possibly sustain all this consumerism forever?  I mean really, I don’t know these things, but it seems awfully counter-intuitive.  Encouraging people to buy more stuff that they don’t need and is terrible for the environment to save jobs doesn’t seem to be the answer.  Anyone?
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Here from Foodie BlogRoll?

Posted on November 26, 2008 by jodie

Welcome!  Check out some recent posts, like Apple Turnovers, Vegan Pho, Millet Stuffed Acorn Squash, Pumpkin-Spinach Risotto, Mexican Chayote Soup, Apple-Ginger Autumn Rolls, Vegan Rangooon, Pad Thai, Potstickers,  or Tofu Noodle Soup.  You can also use the tags in the sidebar to explore.  Vegan food can be pretty awesome!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Apple Crisp

Posted on November 26, 2008 by jodie

Need something apple-dessert-ish for tomorrow, but don’t feel like making a crust?  How about an Apple Crisp?

Apple Crisp

  • 4-5 Apples (a couple of pears are good in there, too, in place of an apple or two), peeled, cored and diced
  • 2 Tbs Flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • some grated nutmeg
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup vegan margarine (live it up!  but you can use less if you want)
  • 1/4 cup brown or turbinado sugar
  • 2 Tbs flour

1.  Preheat oven to 350F
2.  Mix apples (and pears, if using), flour, sugar cinnamon and nutmeg; toss into a greased/sprayed pie plate
3.  In a bowl, mix flour, oatmeal and sugar; cut in the margarine and mix well.  Spread over the apples.  If using less margarine, add a little apple juice or water to the oat mixture to make up for the moisture.
4.  Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.  Let sit 15 minutes before serving.

apple crisp

Posted in Recipes | Tagged | 1 Comment

Pasta with Black Grapes, Fennel and Vegan Sausage

Posted on November 26, 2008 by jodie

Oh my goodness, finally some food with a picture!

pasta, sausage, grapes & fennel

It seems the only time I cook these days it’s either dark out because it’s after 5PM, or it’s really overcast, so picture taking has been a problem.  I really need to get myself a tripod and a couple of other mirrors to help with this!

Every now and then, I watch Rachael Ray.  She’s annoying, but I don’t have cable and like watching food-type shows, so there you go.  I saw her make this a few weeks ago, and it looked really good.  My version was good, but you have to weigh that against that the fact that it takes four pans to cook.  The original recipe calls for braising the sausages; I found that didn’t work all that well with Field Roast Sausages- they were falling apart at the end.  It might not be a bad idea to braise them quickly for the extra moisture, but I’m going to say just pan fry them.  I don’t know how it would work out with homemade or a different brand of vegan sausage.  One other note:  I did thickened soymilk for this, but I wasn’t crazy about it.  I might try silken tofu in the future, if you’re looking for other ideas.

Pasta with Black Grapes, Fennel and Vegan Sausage

2-4 Vegan Sausages, Italian Style
2 Cups black grape
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 lb whole wheat fettucini
1.5 cups soy milk
1 small bulb fennel, sliced with fronds reserved
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
1 Tbs vegan margarine
1 Tbs four
salt and pepper
oil for the pans

1.  Put on a pot of salted water, and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.  Drain and reserve.  Best to time this so the sauce will be done around the same time.
2.  Mix margarine and flour over medium heat in a small saucepan.  Add soymilk and whisk all together; add reserved fennel fronds.  Heat over medium and reduce until thickened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3.  Heat 1 Tbs oil in a pan and fry sausage links (if you want it braised, do that before frying).  Add grapes and balsamic to pan, and cook over medium heat until vinegar is syrupy and grape skins pop.
4.  Sauté onion and fennel in a bit of oil (I used less than a teaspoon but I was using a non-stick pan.  Use your judgement).  Cook until onions are browned.
5.  Add the drained pasta, fennel and onions and cream sauce together and mix.
6.  Plate the pasta mixture, and serve grapes and sausage on top or to the side.
Posted in Recipes | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Holidays are Coming, and with Them, Ethical Conundrums.

Posted on November 22, 2008 by jodie

In reading some vegan communities recently, one of my least favorite discussions has come up in regards to the holidays.  It’s the idea of lying to others when asked if the food you’ve prepared is vegan.  No, I’m not talking about your mom lying to you and saying that the mashed potatoes she made with butter and cow’s milk were really made with margarine and soy milk; I’m talking the other way around.  The vegan lying and saying that the mashed potatoes she made with margarine and soy milk were in fact made with animal ingredients.

Personally, I feel it’s absolutely wrong to lie about such things from either direction.  In truth, why I feel it’s wrong has nothing to do with animal rights, but rather basic respect for other human beings.
I’ve seen time and time again some vegans who think the argument is absolutely ridiculous, and that omnivores have no right to be upset that they’ve been lied to that there’s not real butter in their food (or whatever).  Some even go as far as to say it’s too bad for the omni who has an allergic reaction to the soy in the vegan potatoes even when they’ve explicitly asked for the ingredients, unless they specifically said it’s because of an allergy.  Seriously, it was in the VeganPeople community over on Livejournal; I left that community and no longer have access to the post, but it was some time last year.
Allergies aside, I hope that all of us vegans know that while our choices are ethical to animals, they’re not always the best choice morally or ethically for the environment (and in one case, Palm Oil, there’s controversy as to if it’s even ethical to animals- namely the orangutans that are killed each year to make room for oil palm plantations).  The vegan foods that are most likely to be an ethically questionable food for the environment are the very ones that are designed to “mock” animal products (they’re also the most unhealthy ones, too, many containing trans-fats).  So please don’t tell me that no one is allowed to morally question your soy milk and margarine mashed potatoes.  While you may be right (and you may not), you shouldn’t be allowed to make that decision for other people.  Not to mention the whole violating their human rights thing by lying to them to deceive them into eating something they didn’t want, which is really my point.
Over the past few years, I’ve very occasionally found out after consuming something that it had some errant ingredient that made it not vegan.  The occasional hidden fish product or whey that I missed in the ingredient list or the errant di-glyceride of which I didn’t know that I needed to check the source.  While I’ve always been upset about this, I look at it as a   learning experience, move on and don’t make the same mistake again.  Yes, I’ve violated my own values, but not on purpose,  It wasn’t intentional.  Intent is important when it comes to morals and ethics and values.  So if I am not outraged at myself when I’ve made a mistake, why might I get outraged that someone lied to me to get me to eat an animal product?  Because of the intent.  There’s a whole other line that’s being crossed; not only are they disrespecting my moral values and making me violate my own values, but they’ve disrespected me as a person who deserves not to be lied to simply because I exist.  I fully believe that cuts both ways.  If I lie to someone about what’s in my food in order to get them to eat it when I know they wouldn’t otherwise, I’ve completely disrespected them and violated their rights.  That’s not cool, no matter where they stand on animal rights.
I believe that people deserve the truth.  If you ask me what’s in my stuffing, I’ll tell you, even if I know you won’t eat it because it’s vegan.  That’s your loss and an extra serving of stuffing for me.  Just as we believe that animals have rights, people do, too.  Hey, we even think the not-so-cute animals have rights, don’t we?  It’s the same for the not-so-cute or nice people.  So enjoy your holiday season if you’re celebrating one, but please keep the deceit out of the kitchen.  Or dining room.  Or where ever you prepare and eat your food!
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Baked Apples with Barley-Chorizo Pilaf

Posted on November 19, 2008 by jodie

The New York Times has had a lot of vegetarian, often vegan, and easily veganizable recipes lately. I made this recipe the other night, for Baked Apples with Barley-Chorizo Pilaf. i used the Field Roast Mexican Chorizo sausage in place of the meat (just one link was plenty). It was delicious, and I suggest you do the same. However, don’t let the New York Times photo fool you; yours will not look like that when they’re baked. You see, I’m pretty sure that the ones in that picture aren’t actually baked, because mine looked downright gross. But eat it anyway- you’ll thank me.

Mine looked so gross, you’re not getting a picture! I do wish someone would hurry up and invent a way to taste recipes through the computer, though. 🙂

Tagged | Leave a comment

Local Vegan Shopping: Edge of the Woods vs. Thyme and Season

Posted on November 15, 2008 by jodie

Although I’ve been living in New Haven for well over a year at this point, I’d yet to stop into Thyme and Season Natural Market, in nearby Hamden.  It’s a shame, since I was passing it once a week during my summer clinical rotation.  The impression I had gotten from reading about it in various online sources was that it was a pale-er imitation of Edge of the Woods.  Edge of the Woods is in walking/easy biking distance from my apartment, and has some wonderful stuff, so I hadn’t seen the need.  Until I needed some Sweet & Sara Marshmallows.  

Thyme and Season has a large selection of vegan convenience foods.  They had Field Roast deli slices, sausages and the Celebration Roast, most everything in the Tofurky line, several flavors of the Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream and the yogurts, Sweet & Sara Marshmallows, a few vegan chocolates, an amazing selection of cold prepared foods and several flavors of Cheezly.  They specialize more in organic foods.
Edge of the Woods has a larger selection of produce, a much larger selection of bulk foods (including tofu), a larger selection of hot foods, an on-site bakery, a larger selection of personal care items and a bulk spice selection unlike anything that I have ever seen.  They also sell agar powder in bulk!   
Both have a good selection of other vegan food products, including soy yogurt, other vegan cheeses and frozen foods.  Edge of the Woods does carry Cheezly, Tofurkey and Purely Decadent Coconut Milk products, but Thyme and Season has a larger selection.  
The most common items you might need can probably be found at either store, so it’s unlikely you’d need to go to both in the same week.  Prices seemed slightly higher at Thyme and Season, but not by much.  Both seem to have a decent selection of supplements/vitamins, though I’m not too into that so I haven’t really checked them out.  
I’d say that I like both places very much.  I will probably continue to shop at Edge of the Woods more frequently, but that’s largely because it’s much closer to where I live, and I pass by it twice a week on my way to clinical.  If you live closer to Thyme and Season, it’s probably the better place to go unless you’re craving fresh vegan baked goods, need spices/herbs or need personal care – type items.  Beyond that, it’s worth noting that Edge of the Woods is all-vegetarian, whereas Thyme and Season sells meat products.
Posted in shopping | Leave a comment

Vegan Chow Mein

Posted on November 9, 2008 by jodie

I don’t have a picture for you since it was dark out when I made this, but I’ll have to make this some afternoon and take one, because it’s awesome.  Making this at home is awesome not only for the vegan factor, but because you can use veggies you actually like, which is important when you’re picky like me!  This is for one large-ish serving, but would be good for two if you were going to serve it with a side of fried rice or something.  Feel free to throw in some tofu or tempeh if you like.

Vegan Chow Mein

1-2 Tbs canola oil
1 small onion, sliced into half moons
3 stalks celery, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup bean sprouts, washed well
1 cup vegan chick*n broth
1/2 Tbs cornstarch
1 tsp soy sauce (or more if you like it that way)
Chow-Mein noodles

Mix together broth, cornstarch and soy sauce; set aside.  Heat the oil in a wok or skillet.  Add the celery and onion, stir-fry for 3 minutes.  Add garlic, stir-fry a minute more.  Add the bean sprouts, coat with the oil.  Give the broth mixture a quick mix to make sure it’s combined, then add it to the wok.  Stir-fry until broth is thickened and coating the veggies, which will soften.

Serve over Chow Mein noodles.

La Choy Chow Mein Noodles aren’t healthy, but they are vegan, as far as I can tell.  If you can find ones that are a little less uh, industrial, feel free to use them!
Posted in Recipes | 3 Comments

Vegans are Picky?

Posted on November 4, 2008 by jodie

I just noticed that a search that brought someone here today was “vegans are picky.”  

Not all vegans are picky.  I am picky.  I’m also a woman.  Not all vegans are women.  I’m also a student.  Not all vegans are students… the list goes on.  Not all vegans are short, have blue eyes, drive Jettas, play guitar or know how to assess cranial nerves; though those would all describe me.  Please don’t take my being picky as a referendum on all vegans.
Now go on and enjoy the rest of your day.  And vote!
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment