Recipe - Vegan Chunky Monkey and Thanksgiving Recap

Hidee-ho! Hope everyone had wonderful Thanksgiving celebrations this year! It was my second year celebrating Thanksgiving as a vegan, but my first one cooking. Last year we went to Connecticut to spend the day with Johnny's brother and his family, so I picked up a few things from Whole Foods. While I am eternally grateful for the convenience and selection that Whole Foods offers, this year I wanted to try my hand at veganizing some of the classics. It is so much cheaper and, generally, tastier to make stuff on your own, don't you agree?

On Tuesday, I began by cooking the cranberry sauce as I knew it would keep well and it was the only component of the meal that was meant to be served cold. I used this recipe from Sunset Magazine as I remembered my sister making a cranberry sauce with Earl Grey tea in years past that I loved. This called for some exotic spices like cardamom pods, star anise, and whole cinnamon sticks so I made my way to Kalustyan's and managed to buy all three for under $10. Man, I love that place! I simmered the spices and tea bags in a water and sugar mixture, then cooked the cranberries in the liquid until they all burst and cooked into a thickened sauce. I was super pleased with the results of that one, it was a positively delicious addition to the meal! I also made up a batch of hummus on Tuesday for an appetizer - we all know how much better hummus tastes after it sits in the fridge for a few days anyway.

Wednesday night I tackled dessert - the Maple Pecan Pie from the new book "Vegan Pie in the Sky" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Those ladies have stolen my heart when it comes to vegan baked goods and vegan food in general. Their recipes are so thoroughly tested and well-written that I never have to worry about yielding a less-than-tasty result. The on-line reviews of this pie recipe were split: some had great success and others had a bit of trouble. I, too, ran into some issues when I let my caramel cook a bit too long. It completely hardened and crumbled, so I blended it up in the food processor and hoped for the best. Luckily, it all worked out and it was a delicious pie! Johnny said it was a bit too sweet for his tastes, but I thought it was just right. (Though expensive to make... we paid $8 for the pecans and it used most of my $7 bottle of maple syrup. Yikes!)

I wanted to have as little cooking to do on Thursday as possible. We spent the morning making our way to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, only to find that we'd missed all but the last two balloons and Santa. EPIC FAIL. Better luck next year. When we got home, I got to work making mashed potatoes (I baked the potatoes, scooped out the innards, and mashed with plenty of soy milk, vegan margarine, and salt and pepper) and sweet potato casserole (I also baked the sweet potatoes, scooped out the innards and mashed with a bit of maple syrup, a couple tablespoons of margarine, some cinnamon and allspice and about a 1/2 cup of toasted walnuts, then I baked it with some vegan Dandies marshmallows on top. YUM!). Johnny made his famous stuffing using margarine, veggie broth, stuffing mix and lots of chopped apples, celery and onions. Then I just had to heat up the rolls and the vegan mushroom gravy. Our guests brought the BEST ROASTED VEGGIES I'VE EVER HAD that included butternut squash, cauliflower, and turnips. Monica says the secret is to roast them at very low heat for a long time, so I'll be utilizing that method in the future.

Everything came out so wonderfully and I had a plate full of vegan goodness upon which to gorge myself. And thanks to leftovers, I continued to gorge myself through the entire weekend! I was so busy trying to keep everything hot that I didn't really snap any good pics though. Bummer. We also saw the new Muppets movie that night and I must say, it was fantastic. A theater full of adults weeping at the sight of a frog puppet? Yes, please. 

In this brief hiatus between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm trying to get back to eating a bit healthier so as not to send my system into complete meltdown. I bought a gigantic bunch of bananas at the grocery store while shopping for Thanksgiving and they started to get a bit brown. I knew they would be perfect in a baked good like banana bread. But instead, I chose to freeze them and make banana soft serve! This stuff seems to be all the craze these days and I know why: it's so easy to make and it tastes divine. You can mix-in anything your little heart desires, but when I think of banana ice cream, I automatically think "Chunky Monkey". By far my favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor, it combines banana ice cream with dark chocolate chunks and walnuts. This version gives you all those flavors, but with about 1/10th the fat and calories. Big time WIN!

Johnny ate a bowl of this ice cream, licked the bowl clean, then returned to the freezer to eat the rest. I was so happy he liked it so much! A much healthier way to satisfy an indulgent sweet-tooth. Have you ever made banana soft serve? What are your favorite mix-ins?

Vegan Chunky Monkey

5 frozen bananas

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks

1/4 cup raw, unsalted walnut pieces

Break up the bananas a bit and add to a food processor. Begin blending, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. You will have to blend for awhile, 5 minutes or so, but don't overblend as it will start to melt the ice cream. Once everything is smoothe, transfer to a bowl (a chilled bowl would be great here) and stir in the chocolate and walnuts. You can either place this back into the freezer to harden it up a bit, or serve right away. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips over the top and garnish with a mint sprig.

Recipe - Ani Phyo's Raw Sweet Corn and Cashew Chowder

Oh my goodness, it's been too long people! The good news is that my back feels MUCH better. I still have no real answers as to what happened or why I was in so much pain, but I am very thankful to be able to move again and breathe without wincing. 


The last few weeks have been busy with social activities, working out with my new personal trainer (oh, my aching muscles) and flying home last week for my sister's wedding! She awesomely included lots of vegan options on her Lebanese-themed wedding menu like spinach afthiad (olive oil pastry stuffed with spinach and onions), garbanzo bean stuffed cabbage rolls, and hummus/ babaganoush with pita chips. My mom, dad, aunt and brother helped her cook the gigantic feast and every bit of it was so delicious! You could really taste the love. 

Early morning cactus. So pretty. 

Back in Tucson, I had so many people come up to me and tell me that they read and enjoy my blog. What a huge surprise! I often forget that what I write gets sent out into the universe for others to read and getting so much positive encouragement motivated me to get back to posting. I have lots of yummy foodstuffs to share with you. I'd like to kick things off with a simply scrumptious soup I made a few weekends ago. I followed this recipe by Ani Phyo who is a rockstar in the vegan/raw world. I'd never tried anything by her before, but I must say, this soup made me a fan! 

I'm not much into raw foods as my body simply seems to respond better to gently cooked foods. But I do like to add in some raw recipes and meals every now and then. The benefit is that so many of the vitamins and nutrients that would typically be lost in the cooking process stay intact with raw foods. I was a bit afraid that a soup with a base of raw corn would be way too starchy, but it wasn't at all. It was crisp, refreshing and nourishing. It's probably more suited for a hot summer day, but it did make for a perfect light lunch on an unseasonably warm autumn afternoon. The markets around here seem to be selling off the last of the summer corn for cheap, so it's cost effective, too!

I made a few changes to the recipe to cut down on the fat (reflected below) and added in some delicious fresh tomatoes. If you try out this recipe, be sure to use a blender and not a food processor if possible. I don't have a blender and my food processor ended up leaking out 90% of the water I put in. I just processed what stayed in and then added in water once it was in a bowl. You could also try using an immersion blender. 

Ani Phyo's Raw Sweet Corn and Cashew Chowder

Based on this recipe

Serves 4

3 ears of yellow corn, kernels removed

1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small garlic clove

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup water

fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tomato, diced

freshly ground black pepper

In a blender, combine 3/4 of the corn kernels, cashews, olive oil, garlic, salt and water and process until smooth. Divide the soup into four bowls and garnish with the reserved corn kernels, cilantro, chopped tomatoes, and pepper. Serve cold. (Can be chilled overnight.) 

I'm Injured - Vegan MoFo Tapout

Hi guys... As you may have noticed, it's been quite some time since I last posted. Yep, instead of "MoFoing" I've been "NoFoing". ((hangs head in shame)) Sadly, I've been dealing with some nasty health problems and cooking/blogging just haven't been in the cards.

I woke up last Thursday to a terrible, dull ache in my back. It's not my first time at the "Back Pain Rodeo" (apparently, it's where I hold all my stress), so I called in sick to work and started looking around for chiropractors in my area who accept my insurance. I got an adjustment that day and seemed to be feeling a bit better, but as the weekend wore on, I found I could barely breathe without whimpering. I went back to the chiro and got another adjustment on Monday evening, but by yesterday afternoon I was sitting at my desk at work and fighting back tears because my back hurt so much. I am NOT the girl who cries at work, dammit! Back to the chiro I went.

I tried to explain in greater detail the pain I was feeling, the panic of not being able to take a full breath without feeling like I was being shanked with a ballpoint pen, and my overall frustration with the situation. She felt around and realized that I had three rib heads out of place (three!!!) and said that was likely the reason I couldn't breathe. She popped them back in and, at my request, sent me uptown to get some x-rays done. Results of the x-rays are forthcoming.

I am breathing a bit easier today, but am I ever sore! I've just been trying to take it WAY easy and resting as much as possible. That means missing the sneak preview of "Paranormal Activity 3" last night (sniffle) and not cooking a scrap all week. Fingers crossed that I'll stay on the path to recovery and be back in the kitchen by this weekend. I'm super tired of over-salted take out and I really miss participating in Vegan MoFo!

Until then, stay well my peeps.

xo,

Hally

Vegan MoFo Day 14 - A Survey!

I know, I know. Surveys are the worst! But maybe it'll help people get to know a little bit more about me. The official Vegan MoFo survey this year seems to be about gluten-free cooking, which I really don't know enough about, so I cobbled together two old MoFo surveys to make one giant super-survey. Feel free to chime in with your answers in the comments below!

Favorite non-dairy milk?

ZenSoy is pretty much the only soy milk I drink now (just wish it came in smaller cartons because I can never finish all that soy milk in 7-10 days!). Still looking for a good organic almond milk that isn't made by THE MAN.

 

Topping of choice for popcorn?

I make popcorn the old-fashioned way now! Put some organic popcorn kernels in the bottom of a big pot, coat with olive oil, cover with a lid and turn up the heat to medium-high. Shake the pot around until all the popping has stopped, then pour a little melted Earth Balance on top and sprinkle with sea salt. It's like crack.

Favorite pickled item?

My mom just reminded me how I loved pickled green tomatoes when I was a kid. I pretty much like any pickled veggie, especially if it’s nice and garlickey.

How do you organize your recipes?

My parents-in-law made each of their kids a binder of family recipes a few Christmases ago. It’s one of the cutest and funniest things ever! I keep all my hand-written and printed on-line recipes tucked inside there.

 

If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods… what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

If my goal was to stay healthy: green kale, chickpeas, and brown rice. If I wanted to live out my days in debauchery: potato chips, candy bars, and whiskey.

Fondest food memory from your childhood?

The days-long Easter and Thanksgiving cooking frenzies starring my mom, grandma, aunt, cousins and great aunts!

Favorite vegan ice cream?

Lula’s Sweet Apothecary is the stuff that dreams are made of. For store bought, I love Purely Decadent Peanut Butter Zig Zag.

Most loved kitchen appliance?

I use my food processor about 1,000 times a week, sometimes multiple times in one cooking session. Her name is Dolly and she’s a trooper!

 

Spice/herb you would die without?

Cinnamon

 

Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

“The Kind Diet” – I still read it all the time for inspiration.

 

Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

I’m an apple butter girl through-and-through.

Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

Tempeh! It puts the others to shame.

What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

Some of Johnny’s meds, some lightbulbs and occasionally a box of food that won’t fit in the cupboard.

Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

Gardein Seven Grain Chick’n Strips, frozen strawberries, and frozen bananas (just put those in there last night in anticipation of making banana soft-serve!).

Favorite grocery store?

Natural Frontier, a local health food store that is only 3 blocks from my house. They carry so much awesome vegan stuff and have a juice bar!

 

Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

My grandma’s Kentucky Prune Cake. I’m pretty sure its creation will bring about the end of the world, so I’ve been putting it off… you’re welcome.

 

Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Mahalo Bars by Go Max Go! I haven’t tried their other varieties yet, but the Mahalo Bars are like vegan Almond Joys. Yes, I just said “vegan Almond Joys.” <drool>

Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

$10 worth of raw cashews. I always underestimate how much food I’m getting in the bulk bins! I just like to press that lever and let the sundries flow.  

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?

 

Mushrooms, beets, and brussel sprouts. Funny how tastes change so much as you grow.

What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?

I’ve had some good seitan, but I’ve also had enough bad seitan to be completely scared of it now.

What dish are your “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?

Hummus! Our family has hummus flowing through our veins, what can I say?

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?

"One food or dish" I tend to eat too much of? HA! One? Plain potato chips are the biggest offender (though certainly not the only offender). I cannot be trusted with them.

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?

Organic fruits and veggies, especially for juicing. I’d hate to end up with a glass half-full of pesticides and chemicals when I’m trying to be healthy.

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?

Veggie: green kale. Fruit: cherries. Line-straddler: avocado (it's like the androgynous "Pat" character of produce and it's delicious).

What is the best salad dressing?

I’m always down for some Goddess dressing, but Johnny loves when I make my own dressing using olive oil, balsamic, a bit of lemon juice, whole grain mustard and a touch of agave.

What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?

My homemade Nutella. Duh. Runner up: peanut butter and banana slices

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?

Nachos/tacos/burritos/tostadas. The toppings always include homemade guacamole, refried beans, tomato, and lettuce and sometimes include Soyrizo, Daiya Cheese, homemade salsa, or rice. The state of the tortillas matters not, they are merely topping delivery systems.

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?

Olives. Black olives, green olives, Kalamata olives…  I miss you!

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?

About 2 hours. Way longer on the weekends when I can be leisurely.

Vegan MoFo Day 11 - Campfire Chili!

It seems like every good little vegan has their own recipe for vegan chili, but I made up a batch the other night that I thought was worth mentioning. The Red Merlot beans I'd purchased at Smorgasburg were burning a hole in my cupboard and I thought chili would be a great way to showcase them. I soaked them and some pinto beans for a few hours, tossed in the veggies and spices I thought would get along best with the beans, and also added some Texturized Soy Protein (TSP). 

If you're not familiar with TSP, it's made from de-fatted soy flour, it has as much protein as meat, and it's fat-free. Bazinga! TSP is dehydrated, so you have to let it sit in some water and re-hydrate before using. After that, you can pretty much toss it into anything and, much like tofu, it absorbs the flavors of whatever you're cooking it with. It comes in smaller granules and larger chunks - I used the granules here. It's super easy to use and was basically undetectable in this chili. I didn't mention to Johnny that I'd used TSP (he sometimes gets skeeved out by unknown ingredients before he even tastes them) and he certainly didn't notice anything awry. In fact, he ate two bowls of this chili and loved every bite!

I call this "Campfire Chili" because the rich, smoky, tomato-ey sauce and the slight spiciness would be perfect on a camping trip, but it's just as good snuggled under a blanket on the couch at home.


Oh, and a little note about the beans - I used dried beans because they're crazy cheap and it feels more hands on to cook my own beans that getting them out of a can. If you do use dried beans, make sure to soak them first and try cooking them with some dried kombu. Kombu is a type of seaweed and it makes the beans easier to digest. You won't be able to taste the kombu in the beans and you'll toot a whole lot less than you would otherwise!

Campfire Chili

Serves 8

1 1/2 cups dried beans of your choice (I used Red Merlot and pinto)

1-2" kombu (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pint mushrooms, chopped

1 carrot, cut into coins

2 tbsp chili powder (I used Ancho chili powder)

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

4 cups water

2 tsps "Better Than Bouillon" No Chicken Base

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 avocado (optional)

Pick through your dried beans and soak them in water in a large bowl  for at least 6 hours. The beans will double in volume, so make sure your bowl is big enough and you add enough water. After they've soaked and softened, drain the soaking liquid and place the beans in a large pot. Add enough water to cover and a few pieces of kombu - this is optional, but the kombu will make the beans easier to digest. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  The beans should still be a bit firm, but not crunchy.

Drain the beans and set them aside. In the same large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, pepper and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots and mushrooms and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. When everything has softened, add the spices and liquid smoke, stirring to coat everything. In a separate container (I use a large glass measuring cup) whisk together the 4 cups water, bouillon and tomato paste until combined. Add the beans back into the pot and pour in the broth mixture.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or just until the beans have cooked through and the flavors have married. Serve with avocado sliced or diced on top.