Nourishing the mind, body, and soul along the vegan highway.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Brandie's Engaged and I Got Mail!!!

I am sorry I have not blogged for a couple weeks. We have had a whirl wind of events in this home of ours. Dh's birthday is on June 13th and Brandie's (our daughter) is June 15th. Daddy and Brandie have been celebrating their birthdays together forever. So this year was no different, except that Micah, Brandie's sweetheart, wanted to propose. We all went to Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate. After all the presents were open, sneeky mom took Brandie to the restroom while Micah hid the ring inside a rose. Brandie was completely caught off guard. She had no idea. Micah pulled the rose from her bouquet, which she did not like, and asked her if she had ever noticed how beautiful a rose was on the inside. She was pouting and complaining that he ruined her bouquet. She finally said no and Micah asked her to look. Oh My Goodness! Her face was in shock. She looked up at her dad and asked,



"How'd that get in there?"

Then Micah pulled her out of the booth, got down on one knee, and proposed. DH got the whole thing on video. Everyone in the restaurant was whistling, clapping, and celebrating with them! It was a night to remember!

Micah popping the question!


Brandie saying, "YES!"


Brandie's chin was quivering from tears of joy and Micah

was just beaming and happy that part was over.

The Happy Couple! We are so blessed that they wanted us to be a part of this wonderful night. Oh, the wedding date is September 15, 2007! Brandie does not want a fall or winter wedding and waiting another year until summer is out of the question.

I think I might loose my mind, but hey it will be worth it.
More pictures to come, but onto food!
I Got Mail!

I got my new DVD in the mail! The Everyday Dish by Dreena Burton, Julie Hasson, and Bryanna Clark Grogan. I stayed up until 1:00 am watching it. I love it! I am going to make everything. Here is my first recipe from the DVD.

Bryanna's Vegan Chicken Cutlets getting ready to be baked in the oven.
Baking seitan is the best! These are so easy to make. Anyone who has been leery of making seitan, FEAR NO MORE!! Order it now you won't be sorry!

Here is our first dinner with these cutlets. We served them with gravy, potatoes (russets and sweet potatoes) , sliced tomatoes, and steamed broccoli.
These cutlets are so easy to make and they are fantastic!!!!!!!

Our next dinner: BBQ Seitan "Chicken" Cutlets served with mashed russet and sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, corn, steamed Swiss chard, yellow squash and apple sauce.
My DH who is an omni man enjoyed this meal.
Now I have to choose which recipe to make next!! Get this DVD, You won't be sorry!!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Evolution of my First Seitan Roast

I love this time of year. I love fresh fruit. Here is a pretty picture of my breakfast. Fresh strawberries, organic fresh blueberries, and fresh pineapple. All of them were so sweet. They just sweetened up my morning!


Here is my first Seitan Roast ready to be put in the crock pot. I got the recipe from Ellen's Kitchen. We think it needs quite a bit more seasoning to eat on its own, but the texture is great. But look below for our dinners so far. Oh, by the way this is a very easy recipe and it cooks in the crockpot.




Ready to begin is cooking in the crockpot. Boy that garlic looks like little biddy eyes looking at you.



Here is my seitan "roast" fresh out of the crock pot. That is garlic on top, not creepy eyes looking at you. :o)


Our "roast" sliced and ready for the dinner table. It looks so pretty. Scary, I told my husband, it looks so real.

I was in the middle of cooking dinner when we got a long distance call from my father-in-law. He is a great man. Anyway I spent so much time talking to him before I passed the phone to DH, that the veggies got a little, lets say "WELL DONE". Thank goodness they were forgiving when I added some tamari, garlic, and some toasted almonds. Also pictured is our sliced seitan "roast" with gravy, baked Yukon Gold potato, cherry tomatoes, and the disaster "hemp biscuits". I got that recipe from Dairyfree.com, but the taste of these is very bland. They are more like a cracker than a biscuit.


This roast is so versatile. Here we cut it up in little pieces and cooked it with some rice and vegan gravy. My favorite was the sauteed zucchini, fresh spinach, and green onions. Look how yummy green they are. The organic grape tomatoes we get are sweet as sugar. :o)



Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Basic White Bean Soup, Multi-grain Bread, Black Bean Burgers

Hi everyone! This is what has been cooking at our home this week. Hope everyone is doing well. I am still in pool therapy and going to the chiropractor everyday. I am having more good days than bad. I even made it all the way through church. I was so happy for that blessing. Sunday night was bad, but worth it to be in church. Hope you all enjoy the foodie photos.

This is just a quick white bean soup that goes delicious with homemade bread. Mothers Hubbard's cupboards were still bare so, I finished cleaning out the fridge and made this soup.
















Basic White Bean Soup
1/2 pound white beans soaked over night
1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 celery chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
5 cups "no chicken broth" or veggie broth ( we love "no chicken broth)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute veggies in some broth until onions are transparent. Add your broth and beans. Simmer until beans are tender.


I also made some more bread. We are a big bread eating family. We love Dori's 9 grain bread, but I wondered if I could change it around a bit. I am happy to say it turned out awesome. Thanks, Dori for the base recipe!
















Multi grain Bread ( makes a 2 lb loaf)
1 1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup whole wheat flour (red or white wheat)
1 cup whole wheat bread flour
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup of 6, 7, or 9 grain cereal (I use this kind, we like it)
2 teaspoons sea salt
3 Tablespoons Natural sugar (I use Succant)
1 1/2 teaspoons millet
3 teaspoons flax seed meal
1 Tablespoon of yeast
Add all the ingredients to your bread machine according to the manufactures directions. ( I use the dough cycle and finish baking in the oven, if you are going to use only your bread machine make sure you cook on the whole wheat cycle) Once the dough cycle ends, take out the bread knead a couple times and place in your greased bread pan, cover, and let rise until double. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Kate over at Vegan ventures made some awesome black bean burgers. Thank you, Kate! I changed them a bit and they turned out really good. They make quite a big patty and they are only 3 points on Weight Watchers. I made these a week or so ago, but froze them for quick meals.

Here is my version of Kate's New and Improved Black Bean Burgers.


Black Bean Burger
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper ( I used red)
5 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, cumin, and chili powder ( I used New Mexico Mild)
1 teaspoon dried oregano and dried basil
1 3/4 cups of cooked black beans
2 Tablespoons of "no chicken broth"
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2 Tablespoons of flax seed meal

Mix all the ingredients in your food processor being careful not to over process so you have some whole beans. Form them into 8 patties. I used a half cup measure and they came out perfect. Cook and enjoy. 1 Pattie = 3 points on Weight Watchers

We pan fried ours and served them with some
steamed broccoli, avocado and tomato salsa, and a quick macaroni salad. The macaroni salad included 4 different kinds of pasta, grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, and a quick dressing made of equal parts: agave nectar, mirin, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. :o)

Friday, June 1, 2007

Veggie Pizza, Diann's Chickpea Potato Bread

Mother Hubbard's Cupboards are bare. After reading 2 or 3 blogs with veggie pizza posted it was all over with. I had to have pizza. Here is your very basic veggie pizza, bell pepper, tomatoes, olives, spinach, pineapple, and no cheese. I love pizza without cheese. Even though I have vegan cheese I just prefer it without. I love the taste of veggies.







We also had a nice salad with lettuce, green beans, wax beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, and cucumbers. Now the veggie drawer is empty except for a few carrots and some celery. I think it is time to go shopping. :o)

Last, but by no means least, Diann's Chickpea, Potato Bread. Oh My Goodness it is so goood! The family loves it. It has a dense texture, which makes it easy to slice into thin pieces. One thin slice about 34 grams is only 1 point on weight watchers and 60 grams is 2 points. Thank you Diann, for sharing this recipe with me. Checkout Diann's site and see her bread.

Here is Diann's recipe. She says it originally came from a cookbook, "Bread Machine Magic" 1992 edition. It was the Buckwheat Bread recipe, but she veganized it and used chickpea flour.

I changed her recipe a bit by using all soymilk, substituted olive oil for the margarine, agave nectar for the corn syrup, and used regular yeast*

Diann's Version
5/8 c. soymilk - I think this is 1/2 c. + 2 T.
5/8 c. water (sometimes I use all soymilk)
2 T. light corn syrup (sometimes I sub agave nectar)
1-1/2 T. melted margarine
1/4 c. instant potato flakes
2 c. bread flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. chickpea flour
1-1/2 t. salt
1 pkg. dry yeast (I usually use rapid rise)

Mix together liquids and pour into breadmaker. Mix together dry ingredients (except yeast) and add. Make a well for the yeast and add. Run the dough cycle.

When cycle is through, turn out dough and knead a few times, then place into greased 9x5 pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes.