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!

Colorful holiday foods

Good day everyone! 

My day started off happy and you want to know why?

Dave(my husband) and I drove down the street to our health food store to get a coffee before he went to work.  We step up to the counter and lying there is the longest, most delicous smelling loaf of unsliced sweet bread.  I told the lady how good it looked and she said that it's a vegan pumpkin chocolate chip bread that was still warm from the oven.  My heart just sped up....she had the other gal slice off a piece for me.  YUM!  I'm saving the other half for Keaton.  Then while we were waiting too pay another girl gives us a sample of pumpkin spice cake...Dave asked if it was vegan and she said "yes".  My lucky morning!  It was soooooo moist.  It's not every day that this kind of thing happens for a vegan.

Pumpkin chocolate chip bread

Want to impress your guests with colorful and delicous foods this Christmas and that don't take hours and hours to make?  How about....

Quinoa Pilaf (recipe below)



Marinated Pan Grilled Tofu, Roasted Asparagus and Quinoa Pilaf

This was a huge hit with Dave and Keaton.

Two Bean Tempeh Chili with finely chopped kale.

This is a great way to add more greens into your diet.  Finely chop your greens and mix into the chili. 

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with a kick.

This recipe is adapted from Gluten Free Goddess.  You can

take any vegetable really.  I used asparagus, roma tomatoes, eggplant, onion and bell pepper.  I also eliminated the use of raisins.  You can also add finely chopped greens to this as well and no one would know.

Quinoa Pilaf

2 C. vegetable broth

1 C. quinoa, rinsed

1 med. yellow/white onion, diced

1 small bell pepper, diced

1/3 C. parsley, chopped

1/4 C. pinenuts, toasted*

S & P

In a medium saucepan heat up broth and quinoa until boiling.  Cover with lid and turn down heat to low.  Cook for about 20 min.  Once quinoa is cooked take off heat and let sit for about 10min. then fluff with fork.  Take off lid and cool down to room temperature.

While quinoa is cooking heat up a heavy pan(I use cast iron) and toast pinenuts.  Keep close watch as to not burn.  This only takes about 2 min. or so.

In a large pan heat up 1 T. olive oil or broth/water to saute onion.  Once the onion is softened add the bell pepper and cook for 2 more minutes.  Take off heat and add the quinoa, onion, bell pepper, parsley and pineuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Scoop into serving dish.



Marinade for tofu

1/3 C. Olive Oil

1/3 C. lemon juice

1/3 C. Italian parsley

1/3 C. Cilantro

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

In a blender or processer add olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, cilantro, garlic.  Blend together.  Add in red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.

Slice tofu up and lay in a casserole dish.  Pour marinade over and let sit in refrigerator for a couple of hours.  Heat up grill pan and spary with olive oil.  Grill tofu.  Serve with leftover marinade.

I hope this gives you all some ideas.  If anything whip it up for dinner one night just for your family.What are your plans for Chrismas dinner? 

Until next post.  Have a great day! 

Feeling warm and toasty...

I did it again!  Not posting for a couple of weeks, bad on me. 
I hope you are all staying well and warm.  It's quite cold this morning 28 out and our heater didn't want to kick on right away.  That's a problem being it was 61 inside.

A quick recap of Thanksgiving.  We drove down to my in-laws and spent the night.
I made an amazing pumpkin pie without any soy.  My crust even turned out awesome.

This is a pic of it the next day which got a little smashed on the drive.

This is the recipe from Gluten Free Goddess blog you can get it here.  I only made the filling for my pie and made just a regular flaky pie crust.   One adjustment that I made in the pie filling is that instead of using xanthan gum, because I was out, I used 1 T. spelt flour.  If you don't have arrowroot powder you can use tapioca starch /you can use flour instead.  The reason for the xanthan and tapioca starch is to thicken it without gluten.  Obviously mine isn't gf because of the crust and flour I used in the filling.

Gluten free cornbread without flour?  You heard me right.  This recipe uses only cornmeal.
I was skeptical at first because I thought it would turn into mush.  As you can see it's not mushy at all but fluffy. I've never been a fan of the cakey cornbread.  My grandma always made cornbread, corncakes, cornbread stuffing,etc which consisted of lots of cornmeal and less flour.  So this was perfect.  I found the recipe at
Notes From the Vegan Feast Kitchen by Bryanna.   Check out her site for the recipe.
Not only does this tastes great but I couldn't wait to use it in a gf corn stuffing recipe I had been eyeing for sometime. 

Gluten Free Corn-Stuffing at Silvie+Maryl.  Silvie and Maryl are two sisters that give fabulous info on health, food, etc.  This calls for pecans and raisins.  I eliminated the raisins but used the pecans that tasted great in this.  I'll be making this again next year.

Root Vegetable Soup

Using the vegetables I had on hand to make this delicious and easy soup

Recipe:

1 Large yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 med. butternut squash, chopped

2 Lg. carrots, chopped

1 white sweet potato, chopped

2 small yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 fennel, chopped

1/2 tsp. red pepper

6 cups, vegetable broth

2 tsp. thyme, dried if you have fresh add 1T.

1 1/2 C. cannelini beans or great northern, rinsed

kale, chopped(optional)

Saute yellow onion in 1 T. olive oil or water/broth until soft.  Add in the chopped garlic, fennel and red pepper for about 5 or so minutes until soft.  Next add the rest of the vegetables and broth. Cook for about 45 min or so until soft.  Mix in chopped kale and stir just until wilted.  Ladle into bowl with a drizzle of olive oil if you wish.

Now it's on to making our Christmas dinner menu.  I'm thinking tamales again or maybe italian? What are your plans for Christmas?



Another holiday meal idea Roasted Root Vegetable Enchiladas with Chipotle Cashew Cream

Whew!  It's that time of year again when we are all figuring out what to make for Thanksgiving.

The other night I made the Roasted Root Vegetable Enchiladas with the Chipotle Cashew Cream from VegNews 2008.  Talk about AMAZING!  One more Enchilada recipe on my list of favorites.

Don't these look soooo goood?  These are some left overs that I packed for Dave's lunch along with Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice which is a favorite of ours.
I know there are those of you who turn your noses at cilantro but we love it. lol!
The recipes for all 3 are down below. You can make everything in advance too.

In some of the parenthesis there I wrote what I used or added to original Enchilada recipe. 

Roasted Root Vegtable Enchiladas
VegNews Nov/Dec 2008 issue
Makes 10 Enchiladas

2 1/2 pounds yams, parsnips, and beets, peeled and diced(I used 1 Lg. white sweet potato, 1Lg orange sweet potato(yam) 1 lg. parsnip and 2 garlic cloves chopped)
1 large yellow onion(1 1/2 Lg. onions)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups Chipotle Cashew Cream (see recipe below)
10 corn tortillas
14 ounces mild green or red enchilada sauce(There is a homemade Enchilada sauce below that someone from Daves work gave him that I finally made, it's definitely less costly to make and quite easy)
(I also added a small can of diced green chilis)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss vegetables, onion, olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper.

Spread veggies evenly on prepared sheet pan. Roast for 50 minutes, or until soft and lightly browned, flipping mixture after 25 minutes.

Remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes and in a large bowl toss roasted veggies with 1 cup of cashew cream. Turn oven down to 350.

In a shallow plate, pour roughly half the enchilada sauce. Dip a tortilla into sauce to coat each side, spread 1/4 cup of roasted veggies into the tortilla, roll up tightly, and place into a 9x13-inch glass baking dish, seam side down. Continue with remaining tortillas, fitting two rows of five enchiladas each.

Pour remaining enchilada sauce over rolled enchiladas, and drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup cashew cream. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes to heat and lightly brown the cashew cream.
(You could also add a white or black bean to this as well)

Chipotle Cashew Cream
Makes 1 1/2 Cups

1 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
1 canned chipotle pepper(I only used about 2 chipotles because it can be extremely hot by adding a whole can.  Use your own judgement on this ingredient)
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

In a blender puree all ingredients until smooth.

Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice  (I cut this recipe in half because the full amount makes ALOT.  This will serve at least 5)
Makes 5 cups
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 cup cilantro, leaves and stems, rinsed and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Zest and juice of two limes
3 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups long-grain brown rice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a blender puree onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, lime zest and juice, and water.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and rice, and lightly toast for 3-5 minutes. Stir in cilantro mixture. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  When the rice boils, place saucepan into oven and bake for 50 minutes. Remove and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Remove cover and fluff rice with fork before serving.  (I like to transfer the mixture into a baking dish with a lid before I bake in the oven).

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce
This is  how you make it:

4-5 Lg garlic cloves, minced
1 T. cumin
Grind if you want this smooth or just stir together until well mixed.

Heat a thin layer of oil to cover entire skillet(this doesn't have to be very thick). 
Once heated whisk in a 1 oz. pkg of California Chili Powder(or another mild chili powder).
Then whisk in 2 T. flour.  Continue whisking and add in the garlic cumin mix.  Next add vegetable broth to create the consistency you desire.
Wallah!  A quick and easy enchilada sauce that's alot less expensive than a canned version.

How's your Thankgiving meal ideas coming along?
Next post:  Making New Holiday Traditions and GF cornbread and stuffing.

Delicious-Eggplant Rollups & No-Meat Balls (Eat to Live)

Smell the garlic and onions.  Feel the warmth as you step inside your house from the cold weather. Doesn't that sound so nice? 

I was so happy to finally check out Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, MD from our library. 

Now I need to buy it because I wasn't able to re-check it out due to other holds on it.  Bummer!

Dr. Fuhrman writes about the science of how food works in the body and how you should consume as many nutrients as you can in each meal.  I was able to make a few recipes which were all very flavorful and packed with veggies.  Dave and Keaton really loved all of these recipes too. 

Eggplant Rollups

These were more flavorful than the tofu ricotta spinach ones I usually make.  Next time I'm doubling the recipe because they were eaten way to quickly. 

Towards the end of summer my heirloom tomatoes were abundant so I was able to use them up by making lots of marinara sauce which I used in both of these recipes.  Dave actually had his fill of tomatoes because I was using them on a daily basis.  Personally I don't think you can eat too many tomatoes. 

No-Meat Balls

from Eat to Live

Makes 16-18 balls

1-2 T. water or low or no salt sodium vegetable broth

1/2 C. diced onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 C. diced celery

2 T. parsley, minced

1/4 tsp. dried sage

1 tsp.dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 1/2 C. cooked lentils or 1 15 oz. can lentils

1/4 C. cooked brown rice (I needed to use 1/2C.)

2-3 T. tomato paste

1 T. arrowroot powder or whole wheat flour

2 T. Dr Fuhrman's MatoZest or other no-salt seasoning

2 T. nutritional yeast

ground pepper to taste

optional: vital wheat gluten for a chewier consistency

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a saute pan heat 1-2 T. water or broth.  Add onion and garlic and saute for 5 min or so.  Add celery, parsley, sage, basil and oregano.  Saute for another 5min. adding more water or broth as needed to prevent sticking.

In mixing bowl  combine sauteed vegetables with remaining ingredients.  Mix well.

Mash lightly with tomato masher.  With wet hands for 2 T. of mixture into a smooth ball.  Place on very lightly oiled baking pan and bake for 30-40min.  (I used a spray oil for pan and then lightly sprayed the balls).

Serving suggestions:  serve with marinara, over pasta or as a sandwich filling.

Have you tried any recipes from Eat to Live?  How did you like them?

Have a great weekend and stay warm and dry!

Liebster Award + Quinoa Basil Stir Fry (under $7)

Previous post: 4 ingredient African Stew for under $8.  I hope you all check it out and try it.



I was awarded the Liebster Blog Award by Nuestracena-Vegan Cuisine  who is just too sweet.

"Liebster" in German means 'dearest' or 'beloved'.  In this case I think it means 'favorite'.

The rules of winning this award are as follows:
1. Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

I get so much from all of your blogs and it's so nice to see the vegan love all around us.  Every blog is special but there are always those that stand out to each of us a bit more.  The following blogs do that for me.

happyveganface - Jessy always seems to bring a smile to my face when I read her blogs and with her comments too.  Along with her wonderful GF recipes.
VegSpinz - she always amazes me with her food art and original recipes
MELOMEALS: $3.33 A DAY - fresh, colorful, nutritious meals for under $3.33.
seitan is my motor - lots of beautiful and original baked goods

Thank you ladies!

Since my last post was a meal under $8 I thought I'd reshare the Quinoa Basil Tofu that cost's under $7 to make.  See vegan food doesn't have to cost much.
Have a great day!

4 Ingredient African Stew + birthday cake

Good chilly afternoon everyone!  Hope you are all staying toasty and warm.  I think we just may put a fire on tonight.

A couple of  months ago a co-worker of Dave's invited us over for dinner. 

They know Keaton and I are vegan and Dave was told not to worry about the meal that they were making a meal they usually  make but with changes to accomadate us.  To our surprise the whole meal was vegan. 

We had a lovely mixed green salad with fresh berries and a light vinaigrette.  Then the main meal was a very delicious...

African Stew with Portobello Mushrooms

We kept talking about how good this meal was I had to get the recipe.

To my surprise there was only 4 ingredients listed in the recipe. 4 ingredients!  I couldn't believe it!

You serve this over a nice bed of brown rice and wallah!  The key to this recipe is letting it cook over a low heat for a couple of hours to let the tomatoes really melt down and the flavors mingle together.  I think this would be a great to make in a crockpot.  Sometimes simple is better and this dish is wonderful left alone without any fancy spices.  Although it makes a great base for adding other veggies, I still like the simplicity for a change.  It makes 4-5 servings. This would be an easy recipe to double for company.  It cost's less than $8 to make.

African Stew

by Eulalia

1)  3 large yellow onions chopped and cooked in olive oil or water for about 45min on low heat until soft and start to sweeten.

2) Add 2 16 oz. cans of stewed tomatoes, drained( I like a bit more tomato so I used 1 28 oz can  + 1 16 oz. can.- if you can't find stewed just add whole plum tomatoes in a can

3)  Add 2 cans of coconut milk(I used lite just because I had it on hand but using regular would give it a bit more thicker consistency and an even richer flavor. The boys loved it with the lite milk just as much)

4) Allow to cook together at least 30 min on low heat.( I found that cooking it for a couple of hours  really helped develop the flavors more and cooked the tomatoes better.)Note- as this cooks you want the tomatoes to break down into it so you can use the back of a spoon or something to help do this. 

5) Once cooked through add salt and pepper to taste.

6) At this point add mushrooms, tofu or anything else. ( I sauteed 8 oz. of portobellos and 8 oz. cubed firm tofu I broil on low until almost golden).  Let cook for about 15 or more minute until ready to serve.

Let me know how you like it!

This was my Halloween Birtthday cake I made for myself.  Chocolate cake, chocolate rice mellow creme filling, thin layer of white frosting and topped with chocolate ganache.  The ghosts are made with rice mellow creme.  I found a recipe at Annie's Eats for a marshmallow filling and adjusted it to a vegan recipe.   My go to chocolate cake recipe is down below.


Moosewood Chocolate Cake
(double the recipe for layer cake)

adapted by dreaminitvegan

- 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
-  1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 c. oil + 1/4 c. apple sauce/canned pumpkin.(The original recipe calls for 1/2 c. oil but I found it's    more moist using apple sauce or pumpkin. Added perk, less fat)
- 1 cup brewed coffee, cooled down
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar


Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and sugar into an big bowl.
In a separate bowl,mix the oil, water or coffee and vanilla.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix the batter just until incorporated.

When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir only until the vinegar is evenly distributed into the batter.

Transfer the batter into an 8/9 inch round pan... or two if you doubled the recipe.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until cake tester/ toothpick comes out clean or the top springs back when touched. Cool completely.


Rice Mellow Fluff Creme

1 cup Earth Balance


2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

7½ oz. Rice Mellow Creme

2 tsp. vanilla extract


Beat together the Earth Balance and confectioners sugar.  Then add in rice mellow creme and vanilla extract.  Beat until smooth and fluffy.
This is so nice and light in between the layers of cake.

This is my first time using Rice Mellow Creme.  Have you used it before?