Circle of moms top 25 nomination

 

The other day I received an e-mail that my blog has been nominated for the Top 25 Vegan & Vegetarian Moms - 2012 list on Circle of Moms.

I was rather surprised by this, being as there are so many great blogs out there.  I feel rather flattered.

5 years ago I began living a vegan lifestyle and I've been blogging for 3 of those years.  3 years go by so quickly. I really enjoy sharing everything I learn about food, nutrition, new products, etc.  It's also nice to be able to converse with people who believe in the things I do.  As I continue to be inspired by others I too hope to inspire those who are thinking about becoming vegan.

Anyways, you can vote for me if you would like by clicking on the circle of moms Top 25 Vote for Me, purple button on the right side of my blog page.  Just one click is all it takes! You can vote once a day until Feb. 14, 2012. 

Until next time....be healthy.

Warm Curry and Sweet Potato Tacos

Happy Saturday!  I hope everyone is staying nice and warm this winter.  It's finally raining out here in California.  It's been a cold winter for us so far, so this rain warms it up...a bit.  I know for some of you reading this it is summer where you live. 

Moving on to some warm and yummy food.

                                                           Coconut Vegetable Curry w/Tofu
This is a mild curry but that's only because I had a mild curry powder on hand.  The nice thing about curries are that they are pretty versatile.  You can find recipes for curries all over the internet.  I just read a few recipes and then made my own.  I can tell you the ingredients but not sure about how much of each ingredient. 
Coconut Vegetable Curry
2 small russet potatoes, white sweet potato, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, white onion, curry, coconut milk, vegetable broth, cilantro(optional), 2 chopped Roma tomatoes.

Sweet Potato Tacos

Let me just say that I LOVE TACOS!  It's actually rare for me not to like a taco but Dave and I really enjoyed these.  These sweet potato tacos are from Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick Goudreau.  Another great cookbook from Colleen.  I highly recommend her cookbooks along with her website and podcasts.  Her podcasts were such a great find when I changed to a plant based diet.  She really helped me from the start and opened my eyes to the realities of factory farming, facts about protein, how to respond to people who aren't vegan, etc.  I can't say enough about Colleen so check out her podcasts if you haven't already.  

Enjoy your Saturday.

Gluten Free Chocolate Lavendar Birthday Cake

My son just turned 14 yesterday.  How the years pass so quickly.  We took him to see Sherlock Holmes 2 last night.  What a great flick!  Just as good if not better than the first.  We don't get out to the movies much, but stream it to our t.v. or watch on dvd's.  Are there any you have seen recently that you would recommend? 

My son plays guitar and so my idea for decorating his birthday cake was to

use the design of his guitar. His guitar is a Schecter Synester Gates, it's black and white and on the neck it has the deathbat(skull with bat wings).  In my mind I pictured this amazing looking cake....in the end it looked like this.   He said it looked amazing...what a kind child he is. ha ha!  Hey the idea was there!  I went online to look up more Synester Gate skulls and found the one with the hat, then I added the bat wings.  Note to self: buy a book on cake decorating or take a class or two.

Chocolate Lavender Cake with a Chocolate "Buttercream" Filling and topped with a White "Buttercream"Frosting/Chocolate Ganache Design.

I usually make cakes from scratch but I was low on gf flours so I thought I would try a packaged mix.  I already had a gf mix in mind so it was on to reading reviews!.  End result-Wholesome Chow Chocolate Lavender Cake.  Our local health food store was out of the white and chocolate mixes so that's why the choclate lavender was made.  The verdict on this cake is 2 thumbs up!  The texture is really nice, doesn't fall apart and is moist.  The lavender is perfect in this too!  When it comes to cost...one cake mix cost about $5.99 and it makes one 9-inch cake.  I used 2 6-inch cake pans so I was able to make a layer cake other wise it would have cost me about $12 to make a 9-inch layer cake.   So it isn't cheap by any means, although gf mixes aren't cheap.  So if you aren't up for making a cake from scratch or just want to keep a mix on hand I highly recommend Wholesome Chow.  The reviews on their Gluten Free All Purpose Pancake Mix were really good too.  That will be my next purchase. 

I tried Bobs Red Mill GF Pizza Crust Mix the other day that tasted really good too!  Have any of you tried that before?  Are there any favorite GF mixes that you  like?  I'm not a fan of using garbanzo flour in my baked goods...just thought I'd add that bit in.

Some of you may know that my son, Keaton, has had stomache issues and so after seeing the Naturopathic Doctor last month, she said to eliminate soy then wheat to see which one was the culprit.  The elimination of soy didn't change his symptoms, it's looking like it is wheat. 

I decided to take Keaton in to see a Naturapathioc Doctor because he was having other health issues and I didn't like what the pediatrician was recommending.  Next week is Keaton's one month check up with the Naturopathic Dr. I'll give you more info. about why we went in to see her and how Keaton's health is doing.

Have a wonderful day!  It's still sunny out here in California but could we use some rain!

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.