Apple Fig Crisp with Coconut Cashew Vanilla Creme

Last summer my friend Mary told me of a fig tree that was just loaded with ripe figs.  We promptly went to work picking and drying figs that weekend.  I am really glad I did.  I've store my dried figs in the freezer to keep them from molding.  Dried fruit has a shelf life too no matter how well you keep it.  Some fruit seems to do very well when I store it in the freezer.  I took some out and re-hydrated them in filtered water overnight.  They worked out fine, beautiful sweet figs in January.  I made a nice big apple fig crisp.  It was very easy.

Fig and Apple Crisp

1 1/4 cups dried figs, stems removed and diced
1/2 cup apple cider or fresh apple juice
3/4 cup spelt or whole wheat pastry flour + 2 tablespoons
3/4 cup turbinado sugar + 2 tablespoons (your favorite dry sweetener will work)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons vegan margarine, I used Organic Earth Balance
3/4 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick

Combine the figs and apple cider in a large bowl and let stand 30 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. This will work fine with more moist dried figs, but if they are very dry like mine are, I would soak them for 2 - 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350º

To make the topping, whisk the 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar and spices together in a medium bowl.  Using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingertips, blend in the margarine until the mixture is crumbly and forms moist clumps.  Stir in the pecans.

Mix the apples, 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of sugar into the figs.  Transfer the mixture into a lightly oiled 8 x 8 x 2 baking dish.  Bake for 40 minutes, then cover loosely with foil and continue to bake until the apples are very tender, about 20 minutes longer.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

I made a quick vegan cream I like using the solid potion of a can of chilled coconut milk.  I put the coconut creme in my blender with about a half cup of cashews, the seeds from half a vanilla bean, and about a cup of powdered sugar.  I used about 2 tablespoons of the liquid coconut milk to get the desired texture.  Then I chilled it for about an hour to thicken a little.  Very Nice.

Penne Pasta with Mushroom Onion Gravy & Marinated Tofu

Sunday was another warm day inside watching it rain.  I managed to create a couple more items for our meals this week.  I am enjoying the place I've gotten to with vegan cooking.  It's as natural to me now to put together a meal by looking around the kitchen at the supplies on hand as it was when we were not vegan. I remember being able to tell someone how to cook a chicken a hundred different ways off the top of my head or create a fun dessert.  But put together a variety of vegan meals for the whole week was not easy at first.  I had no idea how to satisfy the appetite or how to get the right nutrients.  Very nice we have the internet now, I didn't have it in the beginning of this journey.  I've read so much and been able to attend educational functions by wandering around the vegan websites and blogs. I think that may have been how my husband found the first immersion cooking class I took with Chef Al in 2006.

I looked around the kitchen at what we had.  It didn't take long for an idea to emerge. I put together a nice pasta dish with a mushroom and onion sauce.  I started by sautéing a couple sliced Portabello mushrooms just until they were browned on both sides.  I used just a teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and didn't add salt until I turned them.  Somewhere I learned that the salt would bring out the moisture too much and they don't brown as well. Better to put the salt on after the browning.  I also had some super firm tofu around so I cubed it, marinated it in a little tamari, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar for about 15 minutes and sautéed those cubes as well.  I removed them from the pan and added a couple tablespoons of filtered water to sauté my onions.  I used two large onions, sliced thinly in half moons.  Added to the onions was four cloves of garlic, minced.  I cooked the onions and garlic until they were nicely caramelized adding water 1 tablespoon at a time to keep them from sticking to the pan.


To the onion mixture I added:

1/4 cup wheat free tamari
2 cups filtered water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
about a quarter teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
a dash of cayenne

I let that simmer for a couple minutes and then added a roux I made with 2 tablespoons spelt flour and 2 tablespoons olive oil.  I added the browned mushrooms and tofu cubes back into the pan and let it all simmer and get thick, about 5 minutes.  I also had some organic peas in the freezer, thought that would be a nice touch so I threw them in too. I mixed all the sauce with a pot of hot penne pasta.  An easy vegan meal with everything I need:  protein, grains, and veggies.

And it's really good warmed up today.

Warm Winter Saturday

Nice quiet weekend at home on a rainy cold January weekend.  The holidays are behind us and I still have one more weekend in between now and my next cooking class.  Life is somewhat relaxing and there's a quiet feeling around here.  Taking some time to do a little winter cleaning.  Still working on the kitchen organization, the deck is in much need of a recyclable run.  There is no curb pickup where we live. We have to take our recyclables to the bins ourselves, we can save up quite a load in the winter. I managed to fit in quite a few meals while working.

We started the day with a pineapple coconut smoothie.  Scott had noticed some coconut pineapple juice in the market the other day.  Even though it may have been organic, it was still processed juice, and about $5 for a quart.  We always have coconut milk, all we needed was a ripe pineapple.  I chopped half a pineapple, two oranges, and a cucumber, added a handful of soaked and dried cashews, and a couple cups of coconut milk. It made for a really creamy, refreshing breakfast.

While going through the kitchen counter clutter I came upon some treasures, one being a bag of bean and grain soup mix from Bob's Red Mill. I got started with my weekend of cooking for our meals this week. I chopped an onion, some celery, and some carrots. Simmered them in vegetable broth with dried thyme, rosemary, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper.  I added about a pint of my canned tomatoes and the soup mix and simmered for about an hour and a half.  When they were almost done I added a couple tablespoons apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of raw agave.

Bean & Grain Stew

While the beans were cooking I through some little squash I had from the garden that didn't quite make it to regulation size in the oven to roast.  I thought I'd make a cake or soup with them.  There's a couple yellow acorn squash, a couple small pumpkins, and a little sweet meat squash.

I thought I'd fit in a millet loaf. It's pretty easy and very good the next day in a sandwich with dijon mustard. This is an easy recipe from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook by Del Sroufe.

Start by cooking 3/4 cup millet in 2 1/2 cups water until all the liquid is absorbed.  I cooked mine in vegetable broth for a little added flavor.

While the millet is cooking sauté a medium onion and four cloves of garlic in a little water or vegetable broth until tender adding a liquid 1 tablespoon at a time to keep from sticking to the pan.

I added 1 TB sage, 1 TB thyme, a dash of fresh ground nutmeg, freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, 2 TB mellow white miso, and 1/4 cup cup nutritional yeast. I let that all simmer together for a minute or two then added about 3/4 cup of my home canned tomato sauce. Let that simmer about five minutes and then added the cooked millet.

Simmering Sauce

Baked at 350º for 30 Minutes

The squash became winter squash cake. The cake is dark brown due to the raw turbinado sugar and wheat flour I used. We ate it warm and soft. It sure is tasty. Glad those little squash didn't go to waste.

Now with a few items cooked, I can relax a bit today. I did re-hydrate some dried figs. I'm thinking about maybe a fig crisp of some sort. We'll see what happens to them.

Beets ~ What to do with a lot of them in the winter

I got to spend some time with Ruth last week. She's my favorite organic farmer. That's a treat in the winter because I don't see her much.  In the spring and summer she's working her organic farm and I get to see her weekly at the farmer's market.  With a full time job, organizing a family, and a working organic farm, she doesn't have too much time to just visit.  We did a short presentation a nutrition class about organic farming and plant based eating last week.  Then we got to enjoy a vegan lunch a local restaurant.

Before she came out she told me she had lots and lots of beets and was worried about them rotting.  There are far too many for just her family.  I told her to bring some and I'd do something with them.  Last summer I dehydrated some of my beets and it worked out great.  I grind them and use them in our smoothies or just eat them like any other vegetable 'chip'.

Beets are some of the vegetables my husband didn't like too much before I got some vegan cooking training.  It's one of those vegetables like spinach, so many of us grew up with this canned over cooked version of what the spinach or beets used to be, no wonder many people don't like them.  I like to chop them and put them in our raw salads and smoothies.  When they're in season and plentiful, I usually just roast five or six and leave them in a bowl for one of us to grab.  That is one of my own motto's, 'have the good stuff handy'. 

Garden beet is very low in calories (contain only 45 kcal/100 g), and contain only small amount of fat. Its nutrition benefits come particularly from fiber, vitamins, minerals, and unique plant derived anti-oxidants. More about beets Beet Nutrition Facts.

Ruth brought out a nice big bag of large red beets, just picked the day before.  I gave a few to my friend Rachel, I made some beet chips, roasted some, pureed some and made some chocolate beet cupcakes with Kaylee.  I used them all.

Seitan Stifado

The second recipe Barb sent for me to try last week was a Stifado.  Stifado dishes are stews, and they are easy to recognize: they include onions - a lot of onions. The most commonly used are whole small boiler or pearl onions, but larger onions can be used as well, and the quantity is often equal in weight to the main ingredient.

Stifado dishes can be made with meat, poultry, seafood, game, or another vegetable as the central ingredient, with onions, wine or vinegar, tomato, and a selection of spices (often including cinnamon) creating a flavorful base. Generally made on the stove-top, there are a few stifado variations that can be made in the oven. I started mine on the stove-top and simmered it on low in the crock-pot for three hours.

I don't remember having or making stifado before, but Barb loved it and sent me her mom's recipe so I thought I'd try it.  I had most of the ingredients, I think the only thing I had to purchase was the seitan and the wine.  I wanted to make it 'vegan style' and  wasn't sure what I would use for a meat substitute.  I had thought about super firm tofu, but then I saw seitan in stew meat size chunks in the cooler at the market.  The seitan worked out great.


It's a rich stew, I am usually a bit leery of Greek cuisine when we go out as I haven't liked some of the strong flavors. I enjoyed the gravy for this stew, but did think it might be a little strong for my husband's taste.  I was tasting it while cooking though and I think by itself it was a little strong. Combined with the roasted red potatoes, I was pleasantly surprised, it's a really nice dish.  I love the color and it made the house smell pretty wonderful while it was simmering too. I think I'll make this with a zucchini or summer squash and a nice vinegar instead of the wine when the vegetables are happening in the summer.

I didn't change this recipe much except to replace stew meat with seitan.  I roasted some red potatoes to pour it on and served it with a fresh green salad of:  chard, collards, kale, red bell pepper, kalamata olives, some roasted and steamed kaniwa seeds, splash of pumpkin seed oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper.  The greens for the salad were picked fresh from my garden. Not out of the ordinary except that it is February.  It's not usually dry enough to get out to the garden, but we have had some warm dry days, it's been very refreshing.

Gert's Stifado, Vegan Style 

1 lb seitan, cut into bite size chunks
Olive oil or your favorite cooking oil, I used hazelnut oil

3 cloves, crushed

3 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick, cut in half

1 teaspoon allspice

1 can tomato paste

1 1/2 cups red wine

3 pounds small onions, I just used 4 very large onions chopped large

In a heavy pan brown seitan over high heat in a couple tablespoons oil, add garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon, and allspice, stir well. Add tomato paste and wine with 1 cup water.  Set aside.

Saute the onions in olive oil until golden brown and then add to the sauce, cover and simmer on very low heat for 2 to 3 hours until seitan and onions are tender.

During the cooking process the sauce should cover the seitan and onions.  Add more water, if necessary.  Sauce should be thick when ready.

Eating Clean Up

It's January and everyone has cleaning up their act, physically, on their minds.  The ads are full of fitness tips and programs.  There are quite a few detox and vegan kick start programs written about on the blogs and webpages I browse.  I recently saw Fat Sick and Nearly Dead and thought maybe I could add more green to our smoothies and even more green smoothies to our daily meals.  Sounds like a good idea to me.  I could use a little clean-up.  Not so much a cleanse, but an 'eating habit clean-up'.  I've been getting a little sloppy in my eating habits, tasting items I know I don't want to eat.  Having my son downstairs with cheese and bread in his refrigerator doesn't help when the urge arises.   I watched this movie last Saturday morning, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, and I had already had beans cooking, cookies made, flax crackers drying, cashew cheese resting, and the meals for the week generally under way.  I decided I could start with adding more green, vegetables, to our morning smoothie, drink a very large whole green juice for lunch, and eat a sensible size vegan dinner.  Then next week, pare it down to green juice smoothies all day and if I really want to munch on something, I'll stick as close to raw as I can.  I'll try it for ten days.

I did pretty good last week, losing the five pounds I had put on during the holiday months.  I also feel like I have much more energy.  Last night after work, I cleaned the refrigerator from top to bottom.  Of course, a refrigerator that holds pretty much just fruits, vegetables, and nuts isn't too hard to clean. 

Today I did very well with the green smoothies.  I'm having fun with it, mixing up different fruit and vegetable combinations. A couple weren't very green in color, I made a beet based juice this afternoon with celery, sweet lime, garlic, apple, garlic, and cilantro.  It was very red and very good too. I also tried a raw caramel smoothie I saw on Vegie Head's website for a breakfast smoothie last week. Amazing!  Just fruits and nuts and I felt like we were having ice cream for breakfast.

Not 100% convinced I won't stray and look for something in the kitchen to munch, I think I need a little bit of something prepared on hand.  I made a simple pot of black beans and a Quinoa and Rice salad with a citrus-pumpkin dressing.  My son does live here too and I don't want to send him to the fast food option because there isn't anything prepared and easy to grab and eat.  I feel like I'll sabotage the effort if I don't have anything available.  For that sweet craving, I also have a batch of trail mix cookies in the dehydrator.  They have no added sugar, the banana and plums take care of the sweetness, and since they consist of nuts and seeds, they're a good protein blast.  I think one would satisfy any 'sweet' craving I might have. I am usually satisfied with one or two of these cookies.  They are more like a granola bar than a cookie.  We'll see how it goes. I am going to do this for ten days, maybe longer if I like it.  Hopefully it will all help me get on track.  I certainly like how I feel so far.

Warm Chana Dal for Dinner

This weekend I made a big pot of Chana Dal using the Madras Rasam spices Timothy gave me for Christmas and some of my home canned organic tomatoes.  Oh it turned out so nice.  I quickly put half of it in the freezer for an easy warm meal another day.  This is a mildly spicy soup or stew, depending on how thick you make it, just right for a cold afternoon or evening.  I'm looking forward to a nice warm bowl right after this post.  I love the first few tastes of this soup because I really feel and taste the smokiness of the toasted spices I added at the end. 

Chana Dal with Tomatoes

    * 1 c. chana dal
    * 7 c. water
    * 1 t. salt
    * 1/4 t. each cayenne, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder
    * 1 T. vegetable oil
    * 1/4 t. black mustard seeds
    * 2 clove garlic, chopped
    * 1 large can of tomatoes, chopped raw tomatoes works great also, about 2 cups
    *  4 teaspoons Madras Rasam powder


Measure the dal into a bowl and sort through it to remove any dark dal, small stones or other debris. Soak the chana dal in 4 c. water for 2-3 hours, then wash under running water and drain.
 
Bring 3 c. water and the salt to boil in a medium-size pot. Add the chana dal and wait for the water to begin its second boil, then cover the pot and cook over medium-to-low eat for 30 min. At this time, remove the cover and stir up the dal. To the open pot add the cayenne, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and the madras rasam powder. Stir well and allow to simmer uncovered while you prepare the next step. I added the tomatoes at this point. 

In a separate small pot or frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over low heat and add the mustard seeds and chopped garlic to it. When the oil gets hot, the mustard seeds will begin to pop (really. and they may spatter a bit.). When they have ceased popping, add the oil mixture to the simmering pot of dal.

Cayenne, Coriander, Tumeric, Cumin, Garlic, Madras Rasam, Black Mustard Seeds, and a Dash of Curry Powder

Immediately cover the pot and keep covered for 2 min. while the dal continues to simmer. Then remove the cover and stir once with a spoon to mix in the new ingredients. Cook uncovered for another 5 min. and the dal is ready to be served with rice or bread.

I made some brown and wild rice to serve it with this week, but so far I've just had the soup.  I almost thought the bowl in the freezer might have to come out right away.  A very easy and tasty vegan dish.

Vegan Adobo Stew

I thought I'd better get busy trying a couple recipes out of my latest Veg News.  The new issue is about to come out and I've hardly cracked this one.  I've read a couple articles, but I hadn't cruised the recipes yet.  It didn't take long to find a couple I wanted to make today.  I made the Authentic Adobo and a Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart.  The tart pictures will have to be posted tomorrow.  I want it to chill all night.  The recipe says one hour in the refrigerator, but I want to make sure the truffle filling is really firm when I cut it for that 'slice of tart' photo.

 Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart ~ Vegan & Gluten Free

 At first glance I thought Adobo was a Spanish dish, Adobo being a Spanish word.  I was thinking it was something like Chili Colorado. I use a can of chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce once in a while and I thought that sauce was really spicy, must be the influence of the chipotles. This dish is a bit spicy, but not hot and not a Spanish flavor. There is a Spanish style Adobo but as it turns out this Adobo is a Filipino dish.  Adobo is a very popular cooking technique in the Filipino kitchen.  It's an ancient cooking method that preserves cooked food in hot climates by simmering vegetables in a healthy dose of vinegar. And as the Veg News article mentioned, the vegetables and seitan respond beautifully to this trick with the blend of vinegar, soy, and garlic.  This dish would satisfy a Veg-curious omnivore. I love the quantity of garlic in this dish. Finally, I thought, a recipe in proportion to the amount of garlic I still have from the garden last year, 3 tablespoons. **smiling**

The original name of the recipe is Seitan Adobo Stew, but I had these nice soy curls made locally.  I picked some up at the Portland Veg Fest last September.  I just soaked the dry curls in filtered water for about an hour and drained.  They sauteed nicely.

Seitan Adobo Stew

     Terry Hope Romero

1 cup small red potatoes, diced
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 cups Asian eggplant, cut into thin slices (I diced mine in about 1 inch dice)
10 ounces seitan, diced 1/2-inch thick (Soy Curls will work well for this dish)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup mild soy sauce (I used Tamari)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 bay leaves

Garnishes:

1 cup diced red cherry tomatoes
1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
2 scallions, white parts removed and green ends thinly sliced (I used all the scallion)
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup white or brown rice

1. In a small pot, cover diced potatoes with 2 inches of cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes,until potatoes turn tender and can be easily pierced with a fork.  Drain and set aside.
2. In a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil.  Add eggplant, frying for 4 to 5 minutes, on both sides until brown. Remove from pot and set aside.  Add another 1 tablespoon oil and brown seitan or soy curls, flipping occasionally until edges are golden.  Remove from pot and set aside.
3. Add remaining oil, garlic, and pepper and stir-fry for 30 seconds.  Return eggplant, seitan or soy curls, and potatoes to pot.  Pour soy sauce and vinegar over vegetables, then add brown sugar and bay leaves.  Bring to a bubbling simmer, and gently stir a few times.  Reduce heat to low.
   
4. Cover and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, occasionally stirring.  Sauce will reuce and eggplant should be very tender.  remvoe from heat, partially uncover, and let stand for 10 minutes.  to serve, ladle stew into serving bowls.  Garnish with tomatoes, banana, scallions, and cilantro.  Serve with a side of steamed rice.

I was really apprehensive about the banana garnish, but it was excellent with the other flavors.  I'll make this again.  It's a very flavorful and satisfying meal.

Madras Rasam Veggie Bowl

I received a package of Madras Rasam powder for a Christmas gift.  Madras Rasam Powder is made with coriander powder, red chilli powder, redgram, black pepper powder, fenugreek powder, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Rasam is a thin, spicy South Indian dish made with toor dal lentils, tamarind and jaggery (brown sugar).

I couldn't wait to try this mixture.  I made the Rasam sauce with the organic tomatoes I canned last summer and fresh garlic from the garden.  I poured it over steamed vegetables and brown basmati rice for a New Year's day treat.  It's got that great Indian flavor without being too spicy. It's a pretty fast and easy meal too. 

Madras Rasam Sauce

3 cups filtered water
4 medium sized tomatoes, medium chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons Rasam powder
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
1 teaspoon curry

Bring the water to a boil, add the tomatoes, garlic, and Rasam powder.  Gently sauté the mustard seeds, coriander, and curry in about 1 teaspoon of oil in a small frying pan. Cook just a few minutes until you can smell the spices.  Add them to the sauce mixture and simmer for about five to ten minutes.  Serve over rice and vegetables.

I steamed together some fresh organic carrots, peas, broccoli, leeks, and chopped red onion and served with some brown basmati and wild rice. 

A little spinach Mango salad went very well with this dish.

Baby spinach leaves, Romaine lettuce, chopped mango, grated carrots, chopped celery, the juice of a sweet lime and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Avocado Fries ~ Vegan Junk Food

Michael Pollan's Food Rule #39

Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

There is nothing wrong with eating sweets, fried foods, pastries, even drinking soda every now and then, but food manufacturers have made eating these formerly expensive and hard-to-make treats so cheap and easy that we're eating them every day. The french fry did not become America's most popular vegetable until industry took over the jobs of washing, peeling, cutting, and frying the potatoes -- and cleaning up the mess. If you made all the french fries you ate, you would eat them much less often, if only because they're so much work. The same holds true for fried chicken, chips, cakes, pies, and ice cream. Enjoy these treats as often as you're willing to prepare them -- chances are good it won't be every day. 

My friend Felicia posted a link to some Halaal Recipes Saturday and some of them looked very interesting.  One that caught my interest right away was Avocado Fries.  I just picked up some avocados at Payton's on Friday and I know there are some ripe, but firm ones in the basket. I also had some organic panko breadcrumbs in the cupboard.

At first glance I noticed eggs and cheese in the recipe. It wasn't difficult to veganize. I substituted 3 tablespoons of flaxseed meal mixed with 1/2 cup water and let it sit for about five minutes to thicken. For the Parmesan cheese, I just used a handful of nutritional yeast flakes. I made a dipping sauce with fresh lime juice, about a half cup of Veganaise, a couple teaspoons of chili powder, a splash of Tamari, and pinch of cayenne.

These fries were really messy to make and that's probably a good thing.They are very high in fat and we shouldn't be eating them too often. They do kind of remind me of the strange things you see deep fried at the county fair.

Avocado Fries by: Vennise Hassen
 
2 large avocados, cut into 6-8 slices lengthwise (for each avocado)
canola oil for frying ~ I used a blend of hazelnut oil and sesame oil
2 cups of panko Italian flavored breadcrumbs I used plain organic panko breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten I used ground flax seed and water
1 cup of flour seasoned with 1/4 teaspoon each, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil, parsley, salt and grated parmesan cheese.   A handful of nutritional yeast flakes worked very well in place of the parmesan cheese. 

Separate flour, egg and panko Italian breadcrumbs into three bowls. Using a fryer or deep wok style pan, pour in enough oil for frying and turn the range to medium heat.  Take one slice of avocado, and coat it in the egg mixture.  Then coat it in the flour mixture and then the breadcrumb mixture. it again in the egg, flour and then breadcrumb mixture.  Put the avocado piece in once the oil is hot.  Cook avocado until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown. These will not take long to cook around 30 seconds on each side, make sure you turn them for even cooking. Repeat with remaining avocado slices. Serve with fresh salsa to dip in.

I used about two and a half medium avocados. This made for about four to five fries per serving. Split between three of us, it wasn't such a bad snack. My son's portion sat on a plate awaiting his arrival and it was difficult not to scarf them down before he got home. He enjoyed them too.  He's beginning to notice that the vegan kitchen does have some good things to eat.

West African Vegetable Stew

It's getting colder and we're spending more time inside.  The electric company is threatening to raise the bill 16% so I'm trying to be a little more aware of our usage.  Keeping the thermostat down, I'm wearing a sweatshirt vest in the house and when I want to get warm, a little romp on the elliptical device turns the heat up.  Our granddaughter was working that thing hard and I asked what she was doing.  She told me she was turning the heater on.  Apparently grandpa told her that's how we turn the heater on.  I just smiled and asked her if she could fee the heat coming on.  That's how we do it.

Another way to warm the insides is with a good, warm pot of vegetable stew simmering on the stove-top.  I noticed some yams on the table and remembered a recipe I had for African Vegetable Stew.  It's a very easy meal that only takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, 15 minutes prep time and about 30 minutes cook time, if you use canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans).  I cooked some up the night before.

West African Vegetable Stew

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 large onions, sliced (about 2 cups)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 sweet potatoes (about 1½ pounds), peeled and cut in half lengthwise and sliced

1 large tomato, coarsely chopped (1½ cups)

10 oz vegetable stock

½ cup water

½ teaspoon each of: ground cinnamon and crushed red pepper

½ cup raisins

4 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach leaves

1 can (about 15 ounces) chickpeas (garbanzo beans_, rinsed and drained

Hot cooked rice, quinoa,  or couscous (optional)

1.  Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium  heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are tender.

2.  Add the potatoes and tomato.  cook and stir for 5 minutes.

3.  Stir the broth, water, cinnamon, red pepper and raisins into the saucepan.  Heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

4.  Stir in the spinach and chickpeas.  Cook until hot.  Serve over rice, quinoa, or couscous, if desired.

Holiday Crafts at Grandma's House

We squeezed in a little holiday fun together too this weekend.

Winter Crafts ~ Warm Hats

One of the big reasons I haven't been to the PC to catch up on the blog is because I've picked up a crochet hook.  The garden work is over for the season and I usually pick up some crafts to work over the winter.  Sometimes it's yarn, sometimes glass, or sometimes the scrap books.  I was clearing off some piles in the house recently and ran across a page with four hat patterns I've saved to crochet sometime.  I grabbed some cotton yarn and started crocheting.  I like this pattern, got hooked right away.  (hooked, hee hee)  It took awhile to get it right on the top, but I knew I wasn't getting it right away.  Instead of ripping out my work, I just repeated the same stitches which created a pattern of their own. I fell in love with the little hats and been gifting them right away as it's getting cold here and a warm gift is always welcome. I bought a stash of cotton and hemp yarn hoping to turn it all into cute hats to help keep my friends warm this winter.

Kaylee Does Farm to Table

Kaylee came over to play yesterday.  I recently downloaded an electronic cookbook for kids, Monkey Mike's Raw Food Kitchen, an Un-Cookbook for kids.  I printed out one for her house and one to plat with at our house.  It's a cute little cookbook with activities and games. It's good for a nice reading practice book too. I found a couple cute and easy recipes we could try together: Dracula's Carrot Salad with Count Your Blessings Salad Dressing and Hunky-Dory Almond Hummus.  She told me on the way to my house she had asked for gluten free treats at the school Holiday party and the librarian told her she bring some hummus.  Kaylee said she was excited about that because she had never tried hummus.  So, we made some together.  She liked it.  Even though there aren't many spices in it, she did say it was a little too spicy by itself.  Mixed with some crunch celery, carrots, and cucumber, she liked it just fine.  I warmed some pumpkin polenta and 13 bean stew I made in the morning and served it with our salad and hummus.  I was pleased she ate a two servings of the salad and hummus.  She liked the stew and pumpkin polenta, but enjoyed the salad more.  Fine with me, the salad, raw veggies, and hummus make for a complete meal.

One of the best parts of the day was when I reviewed the ingredients and realized I had all except some fresh beets.  I do still have some beets growing out in the garden so we had a little "Farm to Table" exercise.  Out to the garden we went to gather some beets.  There were some more treats out there too.  We came home with some chard, a small red cabbage, and a nice big fennel too.

 She's still a bit too small to use a chef's knife, but not too small to use a food processor.  Kaylee read all the ingredients and instructions aloud to me.  I explained what I was doing and what tools I was using when paring and pealing the vegetables.  She ran the processor and helped toss the salad arrange it all for dinner. 

 

The Dracula salad is a version of a beet and carrot salad I already make regularly in the summer.  I like this recipe, the addition of almonds and raisins makes for a variety of textures.

Dracula's Carrot Salad

1 beet
3 carrots
2 green onions
12 almonds
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves

Count Your Blessings Salad Dressing

Juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons macadamia nut oil, (we used hazelnut oil)
2 teaspoons almond butter
Teensy pinch Celtic sea salt

Hunky-Dory Almond Hummus

1 ½ cups almonds soaked in 1 ½ cups filtered water for four hours or more
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup water
Big pinch Celtic sea salt