I'm still here and with gumbo!

Howdy everyone!  I'm still here!  It's finally quieted down around here. Keaton is gone this week with the 6th grade class so it will quieter than usual.  No guitar noise in the afternoon.  Our dog Cleo sleeps with him at night so she is a bit screwed up already. 

Last week while I was doing yard work I pulled a muscle right above my wrist.  I have this nice swollen lump on my arm and if I start doing to much a shooting pain goes up my forearm.  So typing even isn't so nice and I tried mixing some mashed potatoes and wow that hurt.  Enough of my complaining.

I found this great new gluten free milk at Trader Joes a couple of weeks ago and I really like it.  My son doesn't like it as much as just plain rice milk but he's getting used to it.  I like to have a few different milks in the refridge at one time.  I usually have vanilla almond for my coffee, soy milk-for anything, and then usually a rice milk, hemp milk here and there.  This has 3g. fiber, vit.A, iron, b12, vit. D, calcium and phoshorus, no protein though.  Rice milk usually has at least 1g. of protein. The thing about this milk is I just wish that the amaranth, millet and quinoa were higher up on the ingredients list instead of the end.

Here is some gumbo I made.  I have been thinking of things I haven't made in a long time and this was one of them and I love gumbo.  This is my version from all of the ones I've made in the past.  This is made with homemade seitan sausages.  Keaton has had stomache issues of which I've spoken about and I try not to serve him alot of wheat products.  I think since seitan is pretty much just gluten it is more intense on his system because he totally had stomache pains later and also with the St. Patty's meal I made him.  You can use a firm tofu, which I have used before  and just broil in the oven to get a bit crispy on the outside, you can also use red beans.  This turned out really good, maybe a tad bit spicy hot more than usual, but that was just me using a heavy hand with the creole spice. hee hee

Veggie Gumbo with Seitan

1/3c. canola or safflower oil

1/3c. flour

2 1/2c. yellow onion, diced

3/4c. green bell pepper, diced

1/2c. red bell pepper, diced

3/4c. celery, diced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2c. okra, sliced(I used frozen)

1/2 c. ale or dark beer

2 bay leaves

1 T. creole seasoning  or less

6-8c. vegetable broth/stock

salt and pepper to taste.

2 vegan sausages*(note below) sliced and browned in a skillet or firm tofu/beans

             (I have used a firm tofu before)

cooked brown rice

To make the roux in a heavy duty pot, I use cast iron, heat 1/3.c. oil.  Once heated up whisk in the flour until smooth.  With a wooden spoon continue to stir often over medium heat.  You want to make sure you don't burn the roux but you want it to turn a dark caramel brown and be thick. This takes patience and can take a bit of time but is important. 

When the roux is complete you will add to that, onion, red and green bell pepper, and the celery.  Cook until the onions start to turn brown. (I like to add a bit of salt to this to sweat out the onions, you don't have to add much but this way you don't have to add more oil).  It will look like this!  

Next stir in the garlic and okra.  Cook about a minute. Then you will want to add the 1/2 c. ale and let that cook down for about a minute or so.  Once that has cooked out you will add in the browned seitan sausage slices, creole seasoning and bay leaves, stir through then add in the veggie broth/stock.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 45min or so.  The creole seasoning I use doesn't have as much salt as some other brands so adjust the salt to your liking.

Once heated through and has become thicker serve over a bowl of rice.

*the vegan sausage recipe I use is Julie Hasson's and you can get it by clicking here.

Have a wonderful day!  It supposed to start raining tonight or maybe tomorrow for a couple of days but that's okay.

Vegetable Nori Rolls

After days of my son asking me to make Vegetable Nori Rolls, he was very pleased and satisfied when I did. I don't know why I put these off so much, they are really so easy to make. The fillings are endless when it comes to these. Sometimes instead of sushi rice I will use short brown rice. These ones are filled cucumber, carrot, avocado and green onion. I got to tell you, I ran out of Miso Mayo (Spicy Red Pepper)! I love that stuff so much! I usually squirt a line of that stuff on the rice then add the veggies onto that. If you've never tried Miso Mayo you've got to! Taste good on just about everything!

WHITE BEAN & SPINACH ENCHILADAS and CILANTRO LIME BROWN RICE

These are great enchiladas to make for spring or any time if you like. These were a hit at Easter one year, everyone said how much they loved them and there were none left to take home. So here's to Karina at Gluten Free Goddess http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/03/enchiladas-griegos-for-two.html for very tasty encho's. My version is down below eliminating the dairy and tweaking it a bit. Do to the cannelini beans these are more on the creamy side. I do add a few tablespoons of tofutti sometimes if I want it even more creamy. Also I have used the original recipes sauce and it is really good but the green sauce makes it a bit lighter.

Next CILANTRO LIME RICE! When I saw this recipe in VegNews months ago I knew I had to make it. The result? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Gooooooooooooood! We all loved it! This went so well with the enchiladas I made. I am already planning to make this for my in-laws and for many future guests.

Recipe for Enchiladas

Preheat oven to 375
Makes 10 Enchiladas

1 lg can green enchilada sauce
10 corn tortillas
1 med yellow or white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 16 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 15oz cans cannelini beans
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sage

dash of nutmeg

1/4 c. cilantro(optional)

1/4 c. tofutti cream cheese (optional)

sea salt & ground pepper to taste

Heat a T. olive oil in large skillet over med. heat and add onion, garlic and red bell pepper. Cook until the onions are on the soft side. Next add the spinach, stir a bit until most liquid is gone. Thoroughly stir in the seasonings then add the beans. Take off heat and mix in the cilantro and tofutti if you choose to.

Coat the bottom of a large casserole dish with sauce. Next heat up half the sauce in a med saucepan, just until warm. Take a corn tortilla, dip into the warm sauce just to coat, then fill with mixture. Repeat until all the filling is used. Pour the rest of the sauce(you probably won't use all of the sauce but use however much you like) over the enchiladas and cover with foil. Bake until cooked through about 30-35 min. Take out and let it sit for about 10min. or so.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed peppers are one of our family favorites. It's so easy too! Usually I use vegan sausage, for this, one of the rare times I use store bought faux meats. I didn't have any on hand so I crumbled tofu and mixed with herbs and sauted in pan. Here is the recipe that again I got from Karina at Gluten Free Goddess, and just changed it up. Oh these are a picture before they went into the oven. I forgot to take one after and well, we ate them up!

Serves 6

3 whole bell peppers, cut in half and seeded

3 cups cooked brown rice or white

1 med. yellow onion, diced

1 cup corn, cooked

2 T. pine nuts

2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

2 T. cilantro

1 package of vegan sausage crumbled

If using tofu I used firm and crumbled it and add following herbs: oregano, red pepper flakes, sage, garlic, fennel, caraway seeds, soy sauce, cumin, olive oil. and sauted until cooked through.

salsa

tofutti

Preheat oven to 375. First saute sausage through or tofu. Put into a bowl and set aside. In another pan or saute onion & garlic in oil. Add corn and saute. Add pinenuts and saute for about min. Next add cumin and oregano for a couple more min. Add rice, sausage and cilantro to the pan a stir through.

Lay the halved bell peppers in a casserole dish. Fill up peppers. Top off with a Tablespoon or so of tofutti and salsa.

Pour hot water into the dish about 1/4 inch or more and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour until peppers are soft.

Stir fried brown rice and veggies

If you don't have a lot of time or just don't really feel like cooking but don't want to eat out. Or if your budget is tight, like us, this dish is easy & quick to make, tastes good and you can use whatever veggies that you like or have around.
I made a pot of brown rice. 7 oz. extra firm tofu cut into chunks, I tossed them in some soy, put them in my cast iron skillet and threw them under the broil for a few just to get a bit firmer and slightly brown. Next in a Medium cast iron pan(you can use whatever pan you like) I heated just a small amount of canola oil. I then added 1/2 a yellow onion cooked until soft. The following vegetable took less time to cook, it's nice to keep them somewhat crisp. Once the onion was done I added a large carrot, red bell pepper, 2 cloves fresh garlic and cooked for about 3 minutes. Then added zucchini and peas just until cooked. Next threw in some chopped scallions and turned off heat. The sauce was a mixture of soy sauce, hoison, fresh ginger, brown rice vinegar & a little sesame oil. You can add more hoison or a bit of agave to sweeten up more.
Once veggies are done I add the tofu to the pan, sauce and the rice. Stir to combine. To plate I put a couple of scoops in a bowl, add more scallion to top, a few sprinkles of seaweed gomasio, and a drizzle of sesame oil. Yummy!