Warm sweet potato and corn stew

My mother-in-law subscribed me to Better Homes and Gardens a while back and I found this recipe last month that I've been wanting to veganize. The magazine itself is adding more vegetarian recipes but many are not. This recipe is actually called Sweet Potato and Hominy Stew. Hominy can look a bit scary looking, it is actually corn without the hull or processed corn, not everyone likes it and if you do you have to really be in the mood to eat it. So I decided to use corn to replace the hominy. Below are the changes that I made to the recipe. The stew has a nice sweet and subtle flavor you can also add beans if you'd like.

Ingredient:
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 14-oz. cans vegetable broth
2 cups water
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped ( 5 cups)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 lg bag frozen corn
1 large red sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
10 oz. seitan, sliced(store bought or homemade)*
bbq sauce
Cilantro
Lime wedges

Directions
First prepare the seitan. If you are using pre-made slice up and add bbq sauce. If homemade seitan, I made the seitan cutlets from VCON and then browned in a skillet. Next I sliced 4 of them and added bbq sauce. Let it sit for at least 3 hours.

1. In saucepan or Dutch oven cook garlic and onion and red pepper in hot oil until tender. Stir in broth and water; add sweet potatoes, chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, and cumin. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Stir in corn and sliced seitan. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until heated through.
2. Serve with cilantro, lime wedges, and Cumin Polenta. Makes 8 servings.

Cumin Polenta: In large heavy saucepan combine 2, 14-oz. cans veggie broth and 2 teaspoons ground cumin; bring to boiling. Reduce heat; gradually whisk in 1 cup yellow cornmeal. Cook and stir until thick, about 6 to 8 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup non-dairy milk and 1 tablespoon EB. Season with salt and pepper.

Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Sorghum/spelt pancakes with sauteed bananas. Can you smell the sweet, carmalized smell of the bananas and cinnamon? Yum. I made these for my son who had his knee lock up on him again last week. I felt bad for him unable to walk and being very uncomfortable so I thought at least this might take his mind off of the pain for a bit. It did thankfully!

For lunch I used up left over veggie burger that I made the previous night. It was a very tasty recipe that I will have to post at a later date when I make them again. Served in a rice tortilla, shmeared with hummus, lettuce, cucumber and grated carrot.

For dinner....drum roll please. Tofu Marsala, mash taters and steamed brocollini. The potatoes were made with veggie broth and drizzled with a delicious olive oil from Global Gardens that's located right here in the Santa Ynez Valley, Los Olivos. I will post more about this olive oil next time. In the mean time check out the recipe below from EATING WELL.com. If you can use fresh thyme, use it. Note my changes in the parenthesis.

4 servings
Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used spelt flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 14-ounce block extra-firm tofu, drained, rinsed and cut crosswise into eight 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 large shallots, minced (or medium sweet onion)
1 teaspoon dried thyme(or 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme)
6 cups sliced cremini, or (baby bellas)

1/2 cup dry Marsala wine

1 cup vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
(you can also use sage to change it up a bit for the cooler weather and for a different taste)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Whisk 1/4 cup cornstarch, flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Pat tofu with paper towel to remove excess moisture.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge 4 tofu slices in the flour mixture, add them to the pan and cook until crispy and golden, about 3 minutes per side. Place the tofu on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven to keep warm. Repeat with another tablespoon of oil and the remaining tofu, adjusting the heat if necessary to prevent scorching.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, shallots and thyme to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the shallots are slightly soft and beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until tender and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in Marsala and simmer until slightly reduced, about 1 minute.
Whisk the remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch with broth and tomato paste in a small bowl. Stir into the mushroom mixture, return to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until thick and glossy, about 4 minutes. To serve, spoon the hot sauce over the tofu. (I put the tofu back into the saucepan to soak up sauce a bit then plated it)

Ingredient Note: Marsala, a fortified wine, is a flavorful and wonderfully economical addition to many sauces. An opened bottle can be stored in a cool, dry place for months—unlike wine, which starts to decline within hours of being uncorked.

Gifts from the heart....

Isn't this firefly stepping stone beautiful? A couple of my girlfriends came up to visit me last friday for the day and they brought me belated birthday gifts! Although just having them visit was a gift. So my friend Dorissa is very crafty/artistic and she loves to do mosaics and is very talented at it. She knows I really like dragonflies and she made this amazing looking stepping stone for me.

This is from her garden as well, swiss chard.

I just had to use up some of that beautiful looking swiss chard so I threw this together. Saute up some swiss chard with garlic and olive oil. Then threw in some cannelini beans and brown rice. Wallah!!! A quick, healthy and yummy dinner. I ate this along with a wonderful glass of Rancho Sisquoc " Meritage" red wine, thanks to my friend Yvette. Girlfriends are the best!!!

Friendship bread

My mother-in-law recently gave me an Amish Cinnamon Bread starter that she received from her Aunt back in Illinois. I did a little research on this bread and you can actually use the starter and make many flavors of breads from it, like pumpkin or chocolate. The cool thing about this whole friendship bread thingy is that after 10 days of mushing the bag, adding ingredients to it, you will have enough of the mix to make your own starter bags to pass on to friends along with the recipe. Thus the friendship part and the story-recipe continues. It's just one more thoughtful way to pass on a sweet and thoughtful treat to a friend.

As I was looking at the recipe I was given I noticed that on day 6 you add milk. Well I know for sure that my mother-in-law used soy milk but I'm sure her aunt didn't. I really wanted to make this bread and pass it along to my girlfriends so on the internet I went and I found a recipe for the starter. YAY!

The recipe says you can fill two loaf pans but I only have one and it's on the bigger side so I used to small bundt pans I had and it turned out great

When you give your friends a bag of starter include the Amish Cinnamon Bread recipe along with it. This would make a wonderful holiday food gift too!

Below are the recipes for the starter I found on-line and a the bread recipe that I adjusted.

Amish Bread Starter:

Ingredients
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 cups white sugar, divided
3 cups milk(any non-dairy will do)

Directions
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.
On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.
Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator or begin the 10 day process with the recipe.

AMISH CINNAMON BREAD
You will receive your starter in a zip-lock bag.
Store it on your kitchen counter.

DAY 1
Do nothing

DAY 2-5
Mush the bag two times during the day.

DAY 6
Add to the bag;
1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk(any kind non-dairy or cow)
Seal the bag, letting out as much air as possible.

DAY 7-9

Mush the bag two times during the day, letting out as much air as possible.

DAY 10
Squeeze contents out of the bag into a large mixing ceramic or glass bowl.
Add to the bowl: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. Stir thoroughly, then measure out 1 cup starters in large zip-lock bags. Tomorrow starts Day 1 for the new bags. **Be sure to date the bags**

To the small amount left in the bowl, add 1 cup oil(1/2 cup oil &1/2 cup applesauce), ½ cup milk, 3 eggs(or Ener-G foods egg replacer equal to 3 eggs), 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups flour*, 1 cup sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda. 1 cup raisins or nuts (optional).

Add the dry ingredients to the first mixture and mix well. Spray two loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray or any oil/shortening. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar. Pour batter into pans and sprinkle batter with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until knife comes out clean.

*Flour - you can use any kind. I used 3/4 cup white, 1/2 cup whole wheat and 3/4 cup sorghum

Note*Don’t worry if you don’t mush your bag twice a day, it will be okay

My Halloween Birthday apple pie and decorations....

My mother-in-law used to make my cake but since we moved and we are vegan I'm making my own birthday desserts. That's okay cuz I like baking anyways. This year I decided to make an apple pie instead of a cake. We have so many apples left on the tree and I don't like wasting fruit. Also I didn't have to go out and buy any ingredients. I couldn't have been happier with the results. My husband ate all of his portion and said how good it was and he's not a fruit pie eater. He's the type that takes out the filling and adds a scoop of ice cream to the crust! So I took his comment as a big compliment.

Yes my birthday is on Halloween ! Some fun facts about me: 1) I love scary movies, not to much on the gore, just scary ones. When I was little I remember my older brother getting home from work late at night and my younger sister and I used to get out bed and watch old black and white monster movies with him. 2) My grandmother, my dad's mom(whom I was never able to meet because she passed away before I was born) was born in Transylvania, seriously, no joke! I was thinking this weekend that if I start believing I am a vampire maybe my mind will have an affect on my body and I will stop ageing. Just a thought. But the only problem is I love the sun. 3) Clowns scare me. I know I love to be scared but clowns aren't my thing.

I know I just said I don't like clowns and here we have a clown! My son just loves doing this to scare me.

Here are some Halloween pic's. I love to decorate for Halloween, well I do have a kid I have to for him! lol! I made this Halloween garland a few years ago and it's still holding up. I really like vintage halloween decorations. Below is a closer view of it.

My dining table.

Outside the house. We are already planning more fun stuff for the outside next year.

My husband is the one who does the carving of the pumpkins. This year and last I had to because he was too busy with work. I was ready to smash it while I was carving it because I was getting so frustrated and it was taking me forever and it's really not my job! Okay I'm settled down now. So the many compliments I received throughout the night on this pumpkin made me me verry happy. It did look even better in person.

My birthday was a pretty quiet one. This is our second Halloween up here and my family couldn't make it. My son went Trick or Treating with his 3 friends and my husband and I handed out candy. When trick or treating was over we took my son and his friends to the awesome haunted house in town. The people who put the Haunted House together are all volunteers and the $6 a person is worth every penny. They really go all out and they do a great job at scaring people. BOO!

Ummmm...smell that warm, rich Tempeh Bourgignon....

I can remember during the winter months as a kid walking in the door after school and sometimes the house would be filled with a warm and lovely fragrance of something good cooking in our crockpot. That smell was one that filled my house up last night but I was cooking in my big cast-iron stew pot. I have been looking for more tempeh recipes and I found this one on the Vegetarian Times website and right away I knew this is what would satisfy because 1)it's been getting really really chilly here and 2) the tempeh marinates in a wine and would take on that lovely rich flavor. Tempeh has a different taste to it that takes getting used to. It took me a while to get used to it and now I love it. The rest of the family is still getting used to it and I have to tell you what a great recipe this is to use it in. Try this one on those carnivores out there. This is a real rich stew that hits the spot and makes you all warm inside and it is pretty rich so you can only eat so much. I served this with some drop biscuits using sorghum and whole wheat flour. Oh one more thing you could even use seitan instead.

Below is the recipe and in parentheses are my additions/changes.

Tempeh Bourgignon
Vegetarian Times Issue: November 1, 2006 p.83 — Member Rating:

This recipe will satisfy your soul with its umami-rich ingredients. Umami is the recently discovered fifth taste—after sweet, bitter, salty and sour—and comes from glutamate and other taste-bud-stimulating compounds found in food. Shiitake mushrooms, tempeh, tomato paste and carrots all have naturally occurring glutamate, making this updated classic a taste sensation.

Ingredient List
Serves 4

2 cups medium-bodied red wine, such as Pinot Noir (Merlot)
1 8-oz. pkg. tempeh, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 small onion, chopped (1 lg onion)
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (3 carrots)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (about 1 Tbs.)
3 Tbs. olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp. herbes de Provence *(recipe below)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. tomato paste
7 oz. sliced shiitake mushrooms (I used 8 oz. baby bellas)
chopped parsley, for garnish
(5 medium potatoes, diced 3/4 inch chunks)

Directions

Combine wine, tempeh, onion, carrot, garlic, 1 Tbs. olive oil, herbes de Provence and bay leaf in large bowl. Cover, and refrigerate 1 hour or more.

Preheat oven to 425. Peel potatoes and dice into large chunks. Toss with olive oil, 1/2 tsp herbes du provence and salt. Pour into large casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake until potatoes are almost done then take off cover to brown for about 5 or so more minutes. Take out of oven when done and set aside.

Strain vegetables and tempeh, and reserve wine.

Heat remaining oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add tempeh and vegetables, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until tempeh cubes are browned on all sides. Add vinegar, and quickly stir to coat evenly. Add tomato paste, and cook 1 minute. Stir in red wine marinade, scraping bottom of pot to release any stuck brown bits. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Add water if mixture seems too dry before carrots are fully cooked.

Add mushrooms and 3/4 cup water,( I used veggie broth) and simmer 10 minutes, or until tender. Remove bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve over rice.(I added the potatoes into the stew and cooked for like 5 more min.)

Nutritional Information
Per SERVING: Calories: 269, Protein: 14g, Total fat: 13g, Saturated fat: 2g, Carbs: 24g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 338mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugars: 9g

Cruelty Free Sheppard's Pie

What a treat this actually was. This turned out so tasty I couldn't stop eating it. Maybe it was the mashed potatoes, I just can't put a stop to eating those mashed potatoes! Sheppherds Pie, it's not just about dumping ingredients into a casserole dish and then topping them off with potatoes, it has to be tasty! This is my recipe for a warm and tasty pie!

CRUELTY FREE SHEPHERDS PIE

Filling:

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil or more

1 Large Onion, finely diced

3 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped or minced

*8 oz. package Veggie Crumbles

2 1/4 C. cooked lentils

3/4 tsp dried Rosemary, crushed

1 tsp. dried thyme

8 oz. pack crimini or baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped

2 1/2 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 1/2 T.Arrowroot Powder or cornstartch

1 cup or more frozen green peas

Salt & Pepper to taste

Topping:

About 4 Large (Russet) Potatoes & 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

Non-dairy milk and Earth Balance or olive oil for mashing.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a med-large pot boil potatoes, drain and mash as you do for mashed potatoes.

In a large cast iron pan or sauce/stockpot heat oil and add the chopped onion. Stir the onion frequently until it is soft add garlic and stir for a minute or so more. Next add the veggie crumbles, herbs and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are soft and cooked. Stir in lentils and cook until combined. Next add vegetable stock mixed with arrowroot or cornstarch, heat to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes. Stir in frozen peas and finish off by adding salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble, use a deep medium sized casserole dish. Pour in the filling and top of with spoonfuls of mashed potatoes and smooth out with a spatula. Cover and heat in the oven for about 20 – 30 minutes at this time it should be bubbling around the edges. Take cover off and let the top brown a bit for 10-15 minutes.

*You can also eliminate veggie crumbles and use more lentils and mushrooms.