Playing catch up/Heirloom beans/Chanterelles

Woooo! Lots of stuff to talk about.  Oh and Happy New Year!  

I hope you all had a great holiday season.

Dave and I got a new mattress set from his parents for Christmas.  Huge surprise to us!  I can't thank them enough!  I guess we had been complaining alot about the sink hole in the middle of our bed.  Ha!  So our new mattress is a memory foam one with an organic cover.  Nice. To tell you the truth I was never a huge fan of the foam when we would go out and test mattresses at the store.  Being that this was the type they bought us I decided to have an open mind.  It didn't really take too long to get used to sleeping on it.  I guess it may be because our old mattress was so old and uncomfortable.  If I hop on the bed I don't spring back, at all, I just kind of clunk down on it.   It's actually pretty funny.  Do any of you have this kind of mattress?  I heard it can get kind of warm due to the foam but so far it's been nice and cozy because we don't sleep with our heater on.  We are planning on purchasing a cushy layer to set on top and hopefully that will help with any heat issue that may come up during the summer months.

A couple of my girlfriends came up during the holidays for the day and we exchanged gifts. 

Cute black/white lunch tote with a lunch container included, bpa free!  Then a homemade scarf and 4 bags of heirloom beans!

These beans are Ayocote Morado Beans (Purple Runners)

The place where they were ordered from is called Rancho Gordo.  The beans they carry are heirloom beans and the owners are part of the seed saving movement.  Not only are many of the beans grown up in the Napa area but they started a project with bean growers in Mexico that grow heirloom beans. By purchasing directly from the farmers in Mexico, Rancho Gordo can offer some beans we would never have been able to try out here in the U.S. and also helping those farmers continue to grow beans that have been around for generations.  It's a win win! Check out their story and order some tasty beans!

Rancho Gordo's site says that these beans cook alot quicker because they are fresher.  I totally agree on this.  I didn't even soak these beans overnight.  They plumped right up with a quick soak.  Dave, Keaton and I couldn't stop eating them straight out of the pot they were cooked in. 

In a pot I sauteed up some onion, garlic, red chili pepper, one tomato and a bit of cumin.  I then added water to cover and cooked for about 1 1/2hrs.  The juice from these beans came out so flavorful along with the beans.

Chanterelle Tacos

Sauteed Chanterelles

My first Chanterelle was had last winter on top of a pizza at Full of Life Flatbread.  

They were so tasty I couldn't wait to buy my own Chanterelles and use them.  These have a very earthy flavor to them. We did some reading up on where you can find Chanterelles and now we want to go Chanterelle hunting. lol!  If you know anything about these golden earthy gems you know that they are a bit pricey.  I usually see them for sale at about $12-$13 per pound.  Dave and I hit up the Farmers Market the other night right before they were packing up and we were offered 1 lb for $10!  She said they weren't too pretty and many weren't whole but I didn't care.  I cleaned these up and used them the next night as a filling for taco's.  I had a recipe from last year found in Whole Living Magazine.  The recipe is from Heidi Swanson over at 101 Cookbooks.  As a note Chanterelles are very moist so you don't need the addition of much oil or Earth Balance. I served these taco's along with the beans I mentioned above.  Awesome dinner.

Chanterelle Tacos

by Heidi Swanson

Whole Living, May 2011

adapted by JoLynn(dreaminitvegan)

Serves 4 Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

1 red chile, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Fine-grain sea salt

12 ounces chanterelles 

1 1/2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

8 corn tortillas

Optional-chopped cilantro, taco sauce, or anything else you may want to add.

My advice with these tacos, less is more because of the flavor from the mushrooms.

Directions

1.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion, chile, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until onions are translucent, 2 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, over high heat, until mushrooms turn deep golden brown and release their liquid, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with oregano. Adjust salt if necessary.

2.Toast tortillas over the flame of a gas burner, turning with tongs, until crisp and blackened in spots. (You can also char them in the broiler.) Divide mushroom mixture among tortillas and sprinkle with cilantro.

Hope you enjoy and if you have used Chanterelles, how have you made them?  I can't wait to buy more I have some other recipes that I found that look fabulous!

My son Keaton actually got to go Chanterelle hunting with some fellow students from school on their hike club.  Mark, the adult who spear heads hike club, takes the kids out once a year mushroom hunting and then his wife cooks them up to enjoy,  He said it was alot of fun and the mushrooms were delicious!  I wish I could've gone. 

One more thing before I go.  I won a bottle of Ovega 3 from Urban Vegan over the holidays.  This came at a perfect time due to Dave and Keaton needing to take more DHA.  Each gel cap has 320mg DHA and a total of 500mg. Omega 3's!  Awesome.

Enjoy your weekend!

Black bean burgers

First I must say this isn't the best picture. I really need a new camera.
Spring weather. Warm days, cool nights. ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Getting ready for the bbq and stove top instead of that oven that heats everything up. First up, Spicy Black Bean Burgers one of my husband's favorites, he's been begging me to make it. Another one of our favorites is her Mushroom Pecan Burgers. This recipe is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau at Compassionate Cooks. I love Colleen, does that sound weird? Well I say this because I found her website and started listening to her podcasts shortly after becoming vegan. She really helped realize that I did make the right choice in becoming vegan. Anyways, back to the food. I make my own focaccia bread and brush olive oil, oregano and red pepper flakes on top. For the burger part I made a cilantro pesto, spread that on the inside of the bun, then add the black bean burger, lettuce, red onion, tomato and avocado. Also if you have some of that spicy miso mayo you can squirt some of that on there too if you choose. YUM!

Barbecued Vegetable Salad with Seitan Ribz

Warm days, lot's of salads. My husband is a fan of the barbecued salads. You get the flavor of bbq and then use ranch dressing and then drizzle on the bbq sauce. We like the Follow Your Heart Garlic Ranch or something like that, it's the vegan one. We then bbq extra firm tofu or Seitan Ribz, recipe from Susan at http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/ fatfree kitchen. I usually don't use iceberg, but for this one I add it to mixed green lettuce. This picture doesn't show the avocado or tortilla chips. I took the picture too soon and then my camera was acting up. Also the Real Food Daily cookbook has a really good cilantro dressing that goes well with this also.

Recipe:
Add as much as you want of the following this is what I used.

Vegan Ranch
Barbecue Sauce
Mixed Lettuce Greens w/iceberg
1/4 c.cilantro(optional)
1 red onion, diced
3 tomatoes
2 fresh corn, I boil for 15 min. then grill it.
2 zucchini, sliced
2 yellow crookneck squash, sliced
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
2 bell pepper, slice
2 carrots,(I love grill carrots)
1 can 15 oz. black beans, drained
1 avocado
tortilla chips, broken up
tofu or seitan ribz(optional)

If you are grilling tofu, I smother it in bbq sauce and let it sit for about an hour. I grill the tofu or Seitan ribz last. Slice the zucchini, bell pepper, yellow squash about 1/4 inch thick, and carrot,
put in large bowl or casserole dish. Trim asparagus and add to bowl. Mix with some olive oil and salt and you are ready for the grill. I like to grill the vegetables until they have that grilled look to them. When you are done boiling the corn you can brush on some olive oil and salt and add to vegetables. In a large bowl I mix the lettuce, red onion and tomatoes. Crush tortilla chips for topping. When everything is done grilling. Chop the vegetables and tofu or seitan. In the lettuce bowl add the vegetables, black beans. Plate the salad,add avocado, dressing, drizzle with barbecue sauce and top with tortilla chips. Wallah! SO GOOD!