Community Vegan Vegetarian Potluck March 23

Flower Arrangements by Christy Payton

I haven't posted in a few weeks.  I bought myself some new cooking tools, ceramic knives.  They're very nice, and, at first, pretty affordable.  As my friend said "They came with an expensive training manual." They got a little more expensive as I ended up needing a little medical attention. I got a little careless and tried to slice the top of my left index finger off like a carrot.  A few stitches and some swelling, it hasn't been very comfortable to use the computer.  Healing, now I can catch up posting some of the great dishes I've been making.  I have since broken down and purchased a cutting glove.  I'm using it too.

First thing I should do is share about our great local potluck.  We've been holding it for a year now in Longview and it's becoming a regular local event.

Our local vegan/vegetarian potluck keeps getting better.  Last week we had 45 people and for the first time, ran out of chairs.  Everywhere I looked people were tasting, chatting about the food, and sharing ideas with each other.  It really was an enjoyable potluck. The food is getting more and more adventurous.  We had some awesome dishes like the General Tso's tofu Felicia brought, or Linda's chocolate mousse with cashew creme. Three of our diners were celebrating their birthday's the same night.  Nice that they wanted to spend their birthdays with us.

Here's some of the great dishes we got to sample and learn about.

Stir Fry Carrots
Veggie Pizza
General Tso Tofu
Cheezy Spicy Kale Chips
Vegan Buttermilk Cupcakes with Vegan Chocolate Frosting
Hazelnut Banana Gâteau de Crêpes
Raw Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Blueberry Coconut Frosting
Homemade Vegan "Sausage" with Sauteed Peppers & Onions
Green Salad with Vegan Ranch Dressing, made with vegan sour cream
Mango Sweet Potato Salad
Vegetarian Fruit Salad ~ Fruit Salad with Greek Yogurt
Tomato Mung Bean Salad
Persian Eggplant Stew
Oven Roasted Root Vegetables
Vegetable Barley Bake
Berry Pie
Vegan Pizza
Vegan Spaghetti with Zucchini Tomato Sauce
Vegan Coleslaw
Quinoa Salad
Chocolate Beet Cupcakes
Baked Apples with caramel sauce

and much more...
 

LV Vegetarian/Vegan Potluck January 27

Vegetarian & Vegan Potluck

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 7:00 pm @ Payton's Produce

1132 Washington Way, Longview, WA 98632

Everyone is welcome to come and learn more about enjoying a plant-based diet. After dinner we’ll be showing the movie Forks Over Knives.

FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

 

For the potluck, please bring a vegetarian (plant-based with dairy or egg) or vegan (plant-based with no animal products, including honey) main dish, salad, or dessert; a card listing its ingredients; and plates and utensils for your use. Need plant-based ideas? Email kaydebbie25@yahoo.com. There are great things you can do to improve your health, your budget and your environment! For those who bring a dish, if you come alone, figure the amount to serve 4–6 generously; increase the amount 4 servings for each additional person in your party/family. This is an alcohol-free event.

 

A donation of $2 per person is suggested, but not required, to help cover the expenses.

LV Community Vegan/Vegetarian Potluck October

Last night was the sixth Community Vegan/Vegetarian potluck in Longview and I think it was one of the nicest.  We had about the same amount of people, thirty or so, made some new friends and ate some great vegan and vegetarian food.  We didn't have very many vegetarian dishes this time or the last. It seems the potluck is going in a vegan direction all by itself.  There were lots of gluten free dishes including cookies, pumpkin scones, and brownies.  I made two batches of the popular vegan mac & cheese one with brown rice noodles and the other with quinoa noodles. I omitted the bread crumbs for gluten free mac & cheese.

All the cooks put on an impressive buffet.  Among the wonderful dishes we had were:  Black eyed pea salad with a homemade dressing, steamed cauliflower with onions, fresh frozen peas, and a sauce made with veganaise and mustard, French green lentil stew, Turkish garbanzo bean salad, a harvest grain salad, a fresh fruit bowl, spinach salad, tofu adobo, a cactus and black bean salad, a pitcher of fresh berry smoothie, and lots more.  The desserts were plentiful, all vegan, and most were gluten free:  Pumpkin spice carrot cake with cream "cheese" frosting, raw cashew chocolate, coconut fudge, Gluten free pumpkin scones, gluten free chocolate brownies, and Gluten free vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  What fun it was trying all the different dishes.  I was thinking that it was such a joy that everyone made something wonderful themselves and it was obvious that they put care into it.  I remember hosting potlucks for another organization years ago and I was usually disappointed when the store deli fried chicken and pre-made macaroni and potato salads showed up. 
Many of our guests are new to plant based eating and it's such a treat to see the joy on someone's face when they discover the many things they "can" eat that they didn't think they could before.  The gluten free folks, for example.  I know many women who are gluten intolerant or avoid it for pain issues and didn't think they'd ever get to eat baked goods again.


Our guest speaker didn't appear, but that didn't hamper our fun at all.  It was a rainy night and there may have been bad traffic.  I was told by Jill from NW Veg when I was thinking about this potluck that sometimes that happens there is no speaker, so they've often just gone around the room and introduced themselves and talked about why they are there.  So, after a lively dinner filled with the conversations about the new and interesting foods we were eating, I talked a little bit about why I suggested we start this potluck and opened up the room for questions, comments, or success and/or failure stories. We had a great discussion.  There was some sharing from a couple people about how eating a plant based diet has changed their health for the better.  There were questions about diabetes and other diseases from people who's doctors have suggested they try a plant based diet to improve their health.  It was a warm, interesting, conversation between us all.  We all got to know each other a little bit better too.   As it turned out, no one missed our speaker at all.  I've had a couple emails and phone calls today from attendees who wanted to tell me what a good time it was and that the discussion was very good.  Each one of them told me they learned something last night.  YES!  That's why I started this potluck.  Smiles and JOY!  I am hoping we can all learn more together.

Thanks everyone for your culinary efforts and for showing up!  Our next potluck will be in January, probably around the third week on a Friday night again.  I'll let you know the date.  I think I am going to round up some equipment and show Forks Over Knives after dinner.

Fall is Upon Us and We're Storing the Harvest

It just might be fall.  Our hot streak is over and we're back to the normal cool, grey weather in the 60's.  Usually we're cold immediately after Labor Day, but this year we were blessed with two weeks of hot summer weather. Soon the sandals will all be put away and the socks will come out.  The pumpkin, winter squash, and root vegetable recipes will appear on the blogs and Facebook posts. I took proper advantage of the summer's harvest and managed to put up 100 pounds of organic tomatoes, 100 pounds of peaches, 50 or more pounds of strawberries, some blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Many are canned, some are in the freezer ready for smoothies, desserts, and jam. We've got garden fresh green beans canned and this year, lots of fruit and vegetables dried. I won't be buying dried tomatoes this year. There's garlic and herbs of all kinds hanging in the kitchen and onions and potatoes stored for those winter meals.  The garden didn't do as well as other years, but we still harvested plenty enough to keep us from buying at the grocery store. What I didn't grow my local organic farmer grew.  The peaches come from Eastern Washington.  They had a short season too this year, they were only at the markets for about two weeks.

Went over to Rachel's house for a good day of canning a couple weeks ago.  She also has her canning set up for outdoors.  She has a double gas burner.  I show up early, bring my canner and we get busy.  Everybody gets in on it.  The guys snapped all the green beans, Scott helped us with the canning, and Damon grilled the tuna. With her burner we can get two batches of jars done with her canner and mine going at the same time.  She can blanch the peaches and get a batch of jars going at the same time.  I get a lot of exercise going back and forth from the deck to the kitchen at my house.  I think I need one of those double burners. We canned 50 pounds of peaches and the close to the same amount of green beans.  When I left late at night, she was putting on another batch of the jars of beans we filled and getting ready for her tomato canning adventures the next day.

I've got six more heads of cabbage from the garden. I'll get in the crock for some home made sauerkraut tonight.  A few more weeks of fresh local vegetables, I'm not sure what I'll put up next, but the tomatoes in my garden could still ripen, I hope, and need to be 'processed'. If they don't I'll just have to get out all the green tomato recipes:  salsa. enchilada sauce, and I even have some for  bread and muffins.

Rachel also enjoys cooking with fresh, whole foods.  She's a great cook and a talented kitchen witch. She has some unique flavor combinations.  I always enjoy whatever she makes. As usual we combined our talents and made a wonderful dinner. She made her vegetable gyoza with a sweet & spicy dipping sauce.  They were ready before the main dishes and were quite welcome with the hungry gang around the fire pit. I had to remember to stop eating them so I could eat dinner.  Her husband brought home a fresh tuna which we grilled on the barbeque.  I made baked fresh bell peppers from the garden stuffed with quinoa, black rice, vegan sausage, and herbs. I topped them with a raw pasta sauce and Daiya cheese. Rachel put together a fresh green salad with her garden veggies and we roasted an eggplant.  It was a perfect summer feast. Her dad joined us and brought in some fresh blackberries he'd picked the same afternoon. She whipped together a blackberry polenta cake.  I think we ended up calling it blackberry pudding cake.  It was so good, like jam filled cake. Very nice of her to include some of it in my leftover package.  After the long day of canning and an hours drive home, it was a very welcome snack when I got into my jammies and settled in the house.

Vegetable Gyoza

Quinoa & Black Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers

Marinating Eggplant

Blackberry Polenta Pudding Cake - Blackberry Goodness

LV Community Vegan/Vegetarian Potluck, August 21, 2011

 We had another successful potluck last weekend.  The sun came out and so did our friends.  We had thirty-five friends, new and old, enjoy dinner outside in the parking lot of Payton's Produce. It's been in the high 70's and 80's the last couple of weeks. It was a perfect summer afternoon.  My friend John came and played his original folk/blues music. Nothing I like better than Sunday afternoon in the sunshine with some live music, good food, and friends.  We put up a few canopies, some tables and chairs, and set up the food.  It's getting much easier now.  It's our fifth one and a core group has formed.  There are about ten friends who try to make every potluck so we all know what it looks like and the set up just takes place.  I am so grateful to friends and coworkers, the tables and chairs and canopies were the would be a big expense. Everybody pitches in to help.  Jimi brought some nice door prizes such as: fresh flowers, fruit, lavender products, and other items from local farms and businesses.  We were able to give a  few copies of Forks Over Knives away.  If we don't have a speaker for our December or February potlucks, maybe we'll just show the movie.  That would be fun.

When I first began this potluck I talked to the people I know at Northwest Veg who've been sponsoring a potluck in Portland for over twenty years and another in Vancouver for the last five years.  I asked them some questions about what works and what doesn't, what to provide, or not, how to get speakers, etc.  One of the things Jill told me was that they weren't always culinary wonders.  She said sometimes it's only six people and sometimes one hundred or more. That's usually the January or February potluck, health and fitness are pretty popular those months. But, ours have turned out to be culinary adventure.  Some of the friends who come to the potluck think about what they might make a month before and even practice some recipes.  We've had some absolutely wonderful food.  It's changing with the seasons too.  This time zucchini was the star of the show.  Our next potluck is in October.  I'm looking forward to the pumpkin and winter squash meals that show up. We're all learning from each other too.  Most of the food this time was vegan, raw, and quite a bit was even gluten free.

Some people took their ingredient cards home so I don't remember them all, but of the wonderful food we had was:

Raw Sweet Potato Salad
Vegan Potato Salad
Organic Fruit Salad
Wheat Berry Salad
Raw Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Trail Mix Cookies
Vegan Potatoes, peppers, onions, and green beans salad
Little apricot tarts
Zucchini Hummus
My Cheesy Chili Flax Crackers with fresh carrots & zucchini
Eggplant walnut paté
Flowerless Chocolate Torte ~ This one was very popular
Vegan Peach Banana Cream Pie
Carrots, snow peas, and honey, with lemon juice
Raw Zucchini Ravioli
Two versions of raw zucchini spaghetti, one with bean sausages



The next potluck is October 21, 7:00 p.m. Dr. Richard Heitsch from the Integrated Medicine Group in Portland is going to give a talk about reversing heart disease. I'll be sure to post the details as it gets closer.

Creamy Coconut Milk Marionberry Ice Cream ~ It's an Ice Cream Party

You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice Cream.  Yum.

Had sort of an ice cream party this weekend.  A few of my friends made ice cream and we all posted on FB. It began with Felicia, she just bought an ice cream machine last week and she was anxious to get started.  She asked for some ideas and I gave her some tips as well as went shopping with her to pick out some key ingredients. She promptly whipped up some chocolate chip ice cream using bananas and coconut milk as her base.  I got to try some and it was delicious. I didn't get a picture of hers though.

Last week I gave Rachel some of my organic cherries I put up in the freezer last weekend.  This weekend she made some Cherry Pecan frozen yogurt. She used: Greek Yoghurt, Coconut Milk, Homemade Vanilla (w/alcohol to ensure it doesn't turn to a brick in the freezer), Fresh Cherries, Honey, Handful of Pecans.  She described it as "Rich and Delightful".  It looks like it is.

Rachel's Cherry Pecan Frozen Yogurt

Barb made homemade apricot preserve cream cheese ice cream.  Looks very creamy. 

Barb's Homemade Apricot Preserve Cream Cheese Ice Cream

It all looked so good, I had to join in with my vegan version of ice cream.  Wasn't sure which flavor I wanted to play with.  It was a toss up between cherry and marionberry.  I mentioned it to Barb and she said she wanted some marionberry. I was lucky enough to be at Payton's Produce when a berry picker came in with his berries a couple weeks ago.  He had fresh raspberries and two flats of plump fresh marionberries.  I took home three flats of his raspberries and one flat of the beautiful marionberries.   I mixed up a creamy coconut milk marionberry ice cream.  

Deb's Creamy Coconut Milk Marionberry Ice Cream

Creamy Coconut Milk Marionberry Ice Cream

Makes 6 cups

Ice Cream:

3 cups organic full fat coconut milk, chilled

2 cups fresh marionberries, or substitute your favorite fruit

3/4 cup agave nectar

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

seeds of one vanilla bean

1/4 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and process until well blended.  I strained the berries and used the juice in the ice cream mixture.  About five minutes before the mixture was finished I added whole berries.   Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to your maker's directions.  Mine takes about half an hour. Once processed, pour into freezable container with a lid, and place in the freezer for at least a few hours, or overnight to firm up for best results.

I mixed about 1 TB pure maple syrup to about 1 cup berries for a juicy berry topping.

Rainbow Gathering 2011

The Stoves & Ovens of Rainbow

The Rainbow Gathering was in our backyard this year.  It was held in a meadow way up in the Gifford Pinchot national forest, about 60 miles from home. It's little piece of home I had forgotten about.  When Scott & I first became sweeties in La Honda, CA, he rented a room from our friend Marilyn.  I lived across the street at Blaine's with my very young son Bob.  It was almost as if we lived together in two houses. Marilyn was an original Rainbow.  She was part of the Brew Ha Ha tea room and she was always ready to show pictures and movies of the gathering, something she would not miss each year.  I'd see her VW bus headed out of town right before the fourth of July headed to the gathering, camping and kitchen supplies packed on top. I remember her showing us home movies and sharing the photo album she kept on her kitchen counter.  I saw that photo album at the gathering this year. I looked through the photos once again and said hello to her as I thumbed through pictures of her in her vibrant tie dye with her huge smile. She wasn't there physically this year as she passed on a few years ago from cancer, I know her spirit was there. It was an extra special experience to be able to drink tea at the Brew Ha-Ha and attend a meeting there. The Brew Ha-Ha held three meetings a day, open to all in recovery. The weather was good to us, even with a little snow on the ground, it was a warm 80º weekend.

Just above the Brew Ha-Ha was the Musical Veggie Café.  I knew I'd be volunteering at one of the kitchens while we were there, this looked like the perfect place.  The folks I worked with were great. It was a grand Sunday in the sunshine preparing lunch while musicians played their songs and the folks around the fire circle sang camp songs, many were folk songs from the sixties. We made rice noodles with a cashew sauce, a very lively coleslaw, and a nice miso soup for about 150 colorful campers.



The kitchens at this event were amazing.  I kept saying I was on a Rainbow food crawl.  I was so impressed at the stoves and ovens created out of mud and rock.  We ate some pretty incredible meals wandering around the meadow all weekend.  Fresh bread was baked and served to thousands. There was curried rice, fresh vegetarian sushi rolls, fettuccine Alfredo, the best oatmeal and pancakes I've ever eaten camping, and much more. One of the kitchens baked fresh bread every day for the dinner circle at the main meadow. The kitchen at "Kid Village" was huge.  I saw them feed probably over a thousand people in one meal.  That kitchen was so under the trees, it was too dark to get a good photo, but it was something.  They were preparing cinnamon rolls for the morning meal.  Bread was cooling on racks made from small branches and twigs.  Another kitchen served just coffee, and good coffee it was.  When each round of coffee was prepared, it only lasted seconds. We waited in front of the tent while they were grinding and brewing.  The crowd gathered as if we were waiting for a band to come out and play.

The fourth of July was very special, the big event of the gathering.  The entire camp was very quiet as most observed the four hour silence in the morning, broken by children's parade, and followed by a very spiritual blessing and an immense prayer circle all around the meadow. We prayed for peace and ended by all singing John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance. It was a very moving experience on that warm Monday morning.

I wondered throughout the weekend why we'd not attended before.  My husband had gone to one in 1984, right before we got together. It's always during the week fourth of July in a different national park and in my profession, it's pretty hard to get that week off for vacation.  I am very glad they held it so close to us this year and the way the fourth fell on the calender this year, we were able to take a four day weekend.  We had a great time, met lots of great brothers and sisters from all parts of the country, and hope we can attend another sometime. Blessings come in many forms.

May Veggie Potluck

We had another very successful vegan/vegetarian potluck in Longview.  I am pleased how well it's turned out.  There were about 25 people and we're seeing new faces each time.  I am impressed at the wonderful dishes we're all getting to try.  This time there were a lot more gluten free choices as well as many raw choices.  Desirée did a great job demonstrating raw cinnamon rolls.  They were very tasty.  I had enough walnuts at home to whip up a batch the next day.  Had to have some more of that.

Just some of the items at the buffet tables:

Arugula-Orange Fennel Salad
Lentil Apple Potato Salad
Black Rice, Mango, & Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Vegetarian Pie Crust Pizza
Sugar Cookie Fruit Bites
Potato Salad with tofu and herbs with a little cumin
Penne Pasta Primavera Salad
Collard Green Roll-Ups
Gluten Free Brownies
Three Bean Salad
Vegan Mac & Cheese with Broccoli
Live Lasagna
Israeli Cous Cous
Raw Berry Cheezecake
Vegan Five Grain Cookies
And Lester grabbed a few pounds of fresh asparagus, steamed and tossed them with herbs and olive oil.

The next one will be on June 26 and this time we have some folk musicians coming to entertain with their songs about plant based living and animal rights.  I was contacted by a couple out of Eugene Oregon who travel around singing, sharing poetry, and telling stories.  They are on a year long tour spreading the message about plant based eating and the benefits.  They will be bringing some vegan soaps, lotions, and fun. If you are interested in adding plant based meals to your life, come on down.  Maybe the sun will show itself and we can have an old fashioned Sunday afternoon party outside. I know, all you PNW residents are giggling at me right now.  But, we do call it liquid sunshine.

Cherry Rhubarb Pie ~ Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

We're headed to Rachel's for the afternoon.  I like it when we get together for a meal.  It's a very relaxing spot out on an island not too far from here on the Columbia River. It's very peaceful out there, she's got a nice spot.  She's a whole foods cook and we really don't know what we're making until we make it.  I usually come up with some kind of salad and a dessert. Most the time we don't even discuss the meal, but no matter what we each make, it usually blends together quite nicely. In the summer, I'll show up with a cooler.  I just throw in a lot of fruit and vegetables and some favorite cooking essentials and figure it out when I get there.  We both like to cook 'in season' and local when we can, so we tend to come up with the same base dishes many times without talking about it.  For instance, I'll post a blueberry cheesecake and later she'll post the blueberry coffee cake she made. It happens a lot.

While looking through the items in my kitchen looking for the inspiration yesterday, I came up with the idea of a cherry rhubarb pie.  I picked up some fresh rhubarb at the farmer's market yesterday and still have some sweet cherries I put up in the freezer last summer.  Cherry Rhubarb pie it is.  Her husband is borderline diabetic so I made this with no sugar.  I used the finely ground dried stevia leaves from the stevia I grew last season.  I also added 1 tablespoon of local honey and the juice of one orange.  This could be omitted or replaced with Agave for a vegan pie. I wanted to mask the potential after taste of the stevia. Stevia is a great sweetener, but it only takes 1 teaspoon to replace a cup of sugar.  It's easy to get a little too much. I'm still not comfortable with the measurements with the dried leaves. I tossed the rhubarb, cherries, stevia, honey, and juice with 3 tablespoons of tapioca.  I tossed in a handful of slivered raw almonds and a half teaspoon almond extract. Baked about an hour at 400º. Very simple.

I made the crust with date sugar instead of sugar.  Date sugar is the best, it's just ground dates.  But, it doesn't dissolve, so it's not a great sugar replacement for everything.  It worked just fine for the crust. I brushed the crust with some hemp milk and sprinkled date sugar on top the last 15 minutes of baking.

And as usual, we think alike.  I sent her a text with a picture of this pie and she returned a picture of her pie.  We did not discuss fruit pies. She returned a picture of the marionberry, raspberry, strawberry pie she just took out of the oven.

Now we will be eating some veggies and grains too.  I cooked up some spelt berries and black rice yesterday.  Not sure what they will be blended with, I'm thinking some cucumbers, red bell pepper, a little jalepeño pepper, some lamb's quarters, and chopped pineapple.  I'll add a little raspberry balsamic vinegar too.  I'll let you know how that works out. I have a couple sweet potatoes. I'll throw those in my bag too.  I'm thinking braised sweet potatoes.

Simple Vegetable Soup & Raw Chocolate Raspberry Pie

I just did the basics last week, pot 'o black beans, a big salad, a simple vegetable soup, and a raw chocolate raspberry pie. I am lucky enough to still have a few berries in the freezer from last summer.

Vegetable Soup: broccoli, carrots, red onions, sweet peppers, garlic, Jerulsalem artichokes, and brown rice.

Raw Chocolate Raspberry Pie

Crust - Raw Almonds,  Med Jul Dates, coconut flakes
Filling - raspberries, coconut butter (pureed coconut flakes), organic cocoa powder, and agave.
Topping - Cashew Coconut Creme

The Potluck Adventures Continue In Longview

The potluck adventures continue. Our next vegan/vegetarian potluck in Longview, WA is Friday, May 20th at Payton's Produce.

This time we're having a raw foods demonstration by Desirée Livingston Ouellette. Desirée is a Live Food Certified/Raw Food Enthusiast & RYT, Registered Yoga Teacher. She teaches Raw Foods preparation with the Parks and Recreation Department of Longview and the reviews have been awesome.

This is for anyone who is interested in plant based eating. No matter
where you are on your journey, if you are interested in adding more
plant based meals to your life or are vegetarian or vegan already. We
can share some food, ideas, maybe a recipe or two and learn together.

The potluck is at Paytons Produce, 1132 Washington Way, Longview, WA.

If you are participating in the potluck, please bring a vegetarian or
vegan (vegan contains no animal products, including honey) main dish,
salad, or dessert; a card listing its ingredients; and plates and
utensils for your use.

Need plant-based ideas? Send me a message, I can direct you to a good
location. If you come alone, figure the amount to serve 4–6 generously;
increase the amount 4 servings for each additional person in your
party/family. This is an alcohol free event. For more information,
email kaydebbie25@yahoo.com. A donation of $2–5 per person is suggested.

A Good Time Was Had by All ~ LV Potluck #2

Our second vegan/vegetarian potluck in Longview was again a success.  There were about 25 people and a great variety of wonderful food.  Mike McKee from Willow Grove Farms talked about organic farming and I learned quite a bit about how to improve my own garden this year.  I always learn something new talking to Mike.  I also found out that I shouldn't have my lettuce bowl under the lights downstairs.  Even before unpacking all the supplies from my car, I ran down and moved the lettuce to a cooler spot on the deck.  They're doing great, by the way.  I should be starting up some gardening blogging soon.  Peter Spendelow from NWVeg also came and spoke to us about the WA initiative 1130 to ban confinement cages for chickens.




Among the wonderful food we had:

A couple fresh fruit salads
Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with vegan chocolate chips and shredded coconut
Roasted Yams and sweet potatoes with molasses
Veggie Ragout with mozzarella cheese
Garden Vegetable Soup
Curried Quinoa Salad
Polenta Casserole
Vegan Deli Cole Slaw
Sengalese peanut, spinach, yam stew
Spanish Rice
Zucchini Pie
Green Salads, herb salads, hummus, and much more.

Thanks to all the cooks, Mike McKee, Peter Spendelow, Jon for arranging the chairs, everyone who helped set up and clean up, and Christy and Lester for allowing us to transform your produce store into a dining room for the evening.  A good time was had by all.

The next one will be in May and I'm hoping to have a raw foods or vegan cooking demonstration.

Vive Bene

Lemon Thyme Pound Cake & Citrus Tofu Tacos

Lemon Thyme Cake

I made  Lemon Thyme Pound Cake, a Martha Stewart recipe. Another find from the jail waiting room. ::) There was an old copy of Martha Stewart Living. I jotted the recipe down really fast on a piece of scrap paper, then was pleased to find it online when we got home. This is a vegetarian recipe as I used eggs.  But, I use fresh local eggs from chickens that really do go outside.  I don't use eggs much, but when I do, I only use eggs from a local source. Martha's sauce is a Muscat lemon thyme syrup. I made a nice syrup with pomegranate juice, a little lemon juice, apple juice, agave, and thyme. My cakes didn't come out as bright yellow as Martha's. That's because I use unbleached whole grain flour and unrefined sugar.

Before the cake we had some  vegan Red rice and citrus tofu tacos. I used a brown rice medley. They came out very nice. My husband likes the grande size.

Mine was a little smaller.

Vive Bene

Asparagus Bread Pudding w/Porabellos

The other night while having a meal with some friends at a local Italian restaurant a friend bought some of the whole wheat bread they make there and gave me some.  I made a bread pudding with asparagus and portabello mushrooms. Not too many mushrooms though, my sweetie doesn't like them too much.  I make sure they are in very large pieces so he can take them out. 

I started with a recipe from a book I read this year, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It's a food journey of a family who lived as locavores for a year.  They grew their own food and obtained other items they needed only from local sources. The daughter contributed commentary and recipes at the end of most of the chapters.  It was nice of them to post the recipes online.

I made a few changes of course.  I used oat milk and coconut milk, vegan margarine instead of butter, and a chopped portabello instead of morels.  I had a portabello that needed a home. I did use eggs, but I am sure they are from free range chickens. I also used an Almond cheese instead of the dairy Swiss cheese.  The Almond cheese was flavored like pepper jack.

Almond Butter Madeleines

 
I told you I was going to make some Madeleines today.  Up until about a week ago, I had never heard of them.  Apparently they are a little cake with quite a long history.

"Some sources, including the New Oxford American Dictionary, say madeleines may have been named for a 19th century pastry cook, Madeleine Paulmier, but other sources have it that Madeleine Paulmier was a cook in the 18th century for Stanisław Leszczyński, whose son-in-law, Louis XV of France, named them for her. The Larousse Gastronomique offers two conflicting versions of the history of the madeleine.^"

They're pretty easy.  I tried them first using a recipe from Cook Almost Anything.  The first time I made them, I followed the recipe pretty closely.  This time I substituted Almond butter for the butter, date sugar for the brown sugar, and sucanat for the white sugar.  They came out pretty nice.  I think I'll try another batch or two this weekend using some egg substitutes to get a vegan version.  These look like a nice treat to take to work Monday, it is Valentines Day, a good day for bringing treats.  OK, any day is a good day to bring treats. 8-)

Almond Butter Madeleines

adapted from a recipe by Cook Almost Anything

1/2 cup ground raw pistachios or raw almonds
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, this time I used spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sucanat slightly ground in the food processor
1/3 cup date sugar
3/4 cup almond butter
about 2 TB vegan margarine
2 eggs

Combine vegan margarine and almond butter together and warm just to melt.  Set aside to cool.

Sift together the ground pistachios or almonds,  flour and baking powder and set to one side.

Place the eggs, sugars into the bowl of a food processor and process until combined. Add in the sifted flour mixture and pulse to amalgamate. With the motor running, slowly pour in the cooled, melted butter - stop as soon as it has been mixed through.

Spoon out the batter into a sealable container and store in the fridge to rest - from a few hours to overnight.

Lightly oil and flour the madeleine molds and carefully spoon in the batter to two-thirds fill each cavity. Bake in a preheated oven, 350°,  for about 10-15 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Allow to cool slightly in the tray before dislodging them. Let them cool completely, ridge side up, on a wire rack.

Finish off with a dusting of icing sugar before serving.

Dairy Free Orange Creme Ice Cream & Pistachio Madeleines

Orange Creme Ice Cream & Pistachio Madeleines

I made a coconut milk, vanilla bean base for ice cream just like the Black Cherry Almond Ice Cream with the juice of four tangelos added instead of the cherry juice.  OMG I hit the orange cremesicle flavor.  I cleaned out the insides of four large tangelos and juiced them. I also stirred in the zest of one whole tangelo. After the ice cream base was made I stirred in the juice and let the mixture rest in the refrigerator. 

I used the tangelo shells for bowls and froze the ice cream in them.

I saw this recipe for Pistachio Madeleines on a blog I follow, Cook Almost Anything.

I made a couple changes by using xylitol instead of the white sugar in the recipe, used sucanat instead of brown sugar, and coconut butter instead of dairy butter.  These came out very nice. I think I might bring these to the next potluck in March. I used eggs this time, I have some good ones. I will try some egg substitutes to see what I can come up with for a vegan Madeleine sometime. I sprinkled them with some cinnamon sugar.

Black Bean Pizza

Michele was talking about a pizza she tried that was really good last week.  She said she blended black beans, salsa, tomatoes for a sauce and used onions and black beans for a topping on  a sliced baguette.  She topped it with pepper jack cheese.  I thought it sounded pretty interesting so I tried one this weekend. I cooked a pot of black and red pinto beans for our meals this week. I drained and pureed about 1 cup of the beans with 1 pint of my tomatoes I canned this summer with about a cup of salsa.  I also added some cumin, oregano, and garlic cloves.

I thought about making my own pizza crust, but with this cold weather, I am not too confident in my dough rising as I'd like it. I used one of those pre-made, whole grain foccacia loaves with the jalapenos and cheddar cheese from the grocery store bakery. That's the only thing that makes this vegetarian and not vegan.  I split it open lengthwise and spread some of the sauce on both sides. On top of the sauce i added caramelized onions, some of the whole black beans, and some sun dried tomatoes I had.  I used daiya mozzarella cheese.  It's a vegan cheese made from tapioca and sprinkled a few red pepper flakes on top. 

I made enough sauce for another sometime this week.  Good thing, this one didn't last too long, it was good. 

Wild Rice and Pecan Pancakes

While sitting in the waiting room of the jail in St. Helens, of all places, there was a Bon Appetit magazine.  I picked it up and started looking at the recipes. I noticed a recipe that looked really good for wild rice pancakes.  What was I thinking?  I went to the window and knocked on the bullet proof glass and asked the receptionist if she would copy it for me.  To my surprise, she did it. I slid it through the little bank drawer you use to give them your ID.  She sent it back with a copy of the page for me.

The recipe is really called Buttermilk Wild Rice Pancakes, but I took out the buttermilk and egg. Although the recipe said they make a great accompaniment to any meat.  I found them a very good main course.

Buttermilk Wild Rice Pancakes

3 cups water
2/3 cup wild rice
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour (I used WW pastry flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 1/2 cup oat milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
1 egg or egg replacer for a vegan pancake
1 tablespoon whipping cream (I used coconut milk creamer)
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
11/2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 teaspoon olive oil

Combine 3 cups water, 2/3 cup wild rice and 1 teaspoon salt in medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until wild rice is tender, about 40 minutes.  Drain well.  cool to room temperature. I made it the night before.

Mix sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground black pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl.  Whisk buttermilk, egg and 1 tablespoon whipping cream in small bowl to blend.  Add to four mixture and stir until well blended.  Mix in cooked wild rice, chopped pecans, and finely chopped shallot.

Cooking in heated olive oil as you would regular pancakes, until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.

We enjoyed them with the roasted roots I made this weekend.

Chickpea Burgers & Smashed Potatoes

This was pretty easy to whip up with the leftover chickpeas.  I used some black bean flour to make a gravy.  They tasted a lot better than they look in this picture. 

Chickpea Burgers

11/2 cups sunflower seeds ground to a fine meal
4 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and smashed
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
wheat germ or dry bread or cracker crumbs

Combine ground seeds and chickpeas in food processor with onion and soy sauce.  If mixture is too soft to hold shape, add some wheat germ or bread crumbs. Fore into patties using 1/2 cup mixture.

They can be baked at 350 for about 20 minutes or broiled for about 5-8 minutes.  I cooked them on a griddle until browned on each side and then simmered them in a little black bean gravy for a few.

African Stew - Vegan

I made a spanikopita for the potluck and I use chickpeas in that recipe. I cooked up a whole pound, so I had some left over beans to use. I made some veggie burgers with them and some African stew.

African Stew

From Becoming Vegetarian,
by Brenda Davis, RD and Vesanto Melina, MS, RD

4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 onion, chopped
2 cups peeled, diced yams or sweet potatoes
1 cup cooked or canned chickpeas
1 cup brown rice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups chopped collards or kale
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos
chili sauce to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons of the stock in a large pot. Add the onion and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, adding more stock if necessary. Add the remaining stock, yams, chickpeas, rice, and salt; simmer for 45 minutes. In a small bowl, blend the peanut butter with 1/2 cup of liquid from the stew to make a smooth paste. Stir into the stew along with the collards and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, pepper, and tamari; add chili sauce to taste.