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.

French Bean & Spelt Berry Salad ~ The Perfect Vegan Meal

I've made it a habit to shop the liquidation stores in town.  We have about four or five in the area and often there are many items I use to cook with that are marked down considerably.  Sometimes the packaging is damaged or the original price was just too high and the items didn't sell well in the local markets.  That is a big deterrent when people are just beginning to incorporate plant based cooking in their diet.  Organic fruits, vegetables, and many products are more expensive in the grocery stores.  It doesn't have to be that way though.

Yes, if you shop in the conventional grocery stores, it will be more expensive to eat whole foods. But, shopping the local farmer's markets and buying what's in season, getting to know the local gardeners and farmers, shopping the discount stores like the liquidation stores, and growing your own veggies, are good ways to keep the cost low.  Many items seem to be more expensive at first glance.  For example, Celtic Sea Salt usually costs about $6-$8 a pound.  But, that pound lasts me for months and months.  I use coconut milk quite often, the only thing I use from a can, and the brand I like is usually $2.29 a can.  I can find it now & then at the liquidation store for sometimes as low as $1 a can.  I usually buy all they have and stock up. I use pre-made organic, low sodium vegetable broth for cooking my beans.  I used to be happy when it was two for $5.  I've found it in the liquidation store as low as ten for $1.

Recently there were a lot of Bob's Red Mill products on the shelf.  I picked up some French beans I'd never seen before, Flageolet Beans, and there was a great recipe right on the back of the bag.  It's the perfect vegan meal, "protein, greens, & grains". The original recipe calls for Kamut berries, but I used some spelt berries I have already.  Any whole grain or combination of grains can be substituted for the Kamut berries such as:  whole oat groats, hull-less whole barley, wheat berries, long grain brown rice, or spelt berries.  I substituted fresh beet greens for the spinach and a fresh white onion from the garden for the green onion.

French Bean & Kamut Berries Salad

2 cups cooked Kamut berries or other whole grains
2 cups cooked Flageolet Beans
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 cups spinach or other fresh greens, chopped

Vinaigrette

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 TB white wine vinegar (I used organic apple cider vinegar.)
2 TB Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Tarragon (I used fresh rosemary)
1 TB fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper.

Soak beans, about 1 cup, overnight.  Drain water and rinse off beans.  Place beans in a pot covered with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer placing lid on pot.  cook beans until beans are soft, about 1 hour.

Place Kamut or other Spelt berries, about 11/2 cups in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and place lid on pot.  Cook until berries are soft, about 1 hour.

While the beans and berries are cooking, mix vinaigrette ingredients together in a large bowl.  Chop veggies and place in bowl.

Drain beans and berries and rinse in cold water. Measure out 2 cups of both the beans and berries and add them to the other ingredients in the bowl.

Blend together  all ingredients and chill for a few hours or overnight.  Serves about 10.

~~Enjoy~~

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

Winter Squash & Beans

The Beans:

1½ cups dried beans, soaked overnight and drained
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 TB Thyme
1 TB Sage
1 TB Rosemary
     (The herbs are approximate, I don't measure herbs or count garlic cloves)

I cooked the beans in the herbs and water until they were tender, about 40 minutes.  While the beans were cooking I cut a couple acorn squash and a butternut squash and cleaned out the seeds. I brushed them with olive oil and sea salt & pepper and roasted them skins down on 350° until they were tender but not too soft.

Great combination and they will make a great lunch this week!

Mango & Carrot Soup

This couldn't be easier, just a few ingredients, carrots, an onion, a mango, and some coconut milk. The recipe calls for water and a bullion cube, but I used low sodium vegetable broth.

Mango & Carrot Soup

   from:  Vegalicious Recipes

Ingredients:

* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 ripe mango peeled and chopped
* 1 lb. carrots (about 3-4 medium), peeled and chopped
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
* 3 cups water
* 1 vegetable bouillon cube (I used low sodium vegetable broth)
* 6-8 tablespoons coconut milk (non-sweetened)
* lemon juice
* parsley or coriander as garnish, chopped

Directions:

1. Peel and chop the onion.
2. Peel and chop the carrots.
3. Heat the oil in a large soup pot.
4. Add the onions and saute until soft and glassy.
5. Add the carrots and saute the carrots for a few minutes, but don’t let the onion brown.
6. Add the water, the bouillon cube, the curry and bring the soup to a boil.
7. Cook the soup until the carrots have softened.
8. Cut and peel the mango.
9. Put 3/4 of the mango in the soup to cook, holding out a about 1/4 to use as chunks and garnish.
10. When the carrots are soft, puree the soup. I used an immersion blender.
11. Add the coconut milk and a splash of lemon juice.
12. Puree once more to mix well.
13. Season to taste with salt and pepper and possibly additional curry as desired.
14. Serve the soup garnished with a few pieces of chopped mango and either chopped coriander or parsley.

I served it with a winter squash bowl of red beans

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. 

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.

Tepary Beans & Zucchini Orzo

One of my holiday gifts this year was a basket of heirloom beans. This weekend I cooked up the Tepary beans. Tepary Beans are a little larger than a lentil, but plump up like a bean.  I just made a simple bean pot. Sauteed garlic, onions, chopped red bell pepper, simmered in low sodium vegetable broth.  I think I threw in some thyme, basil, a couple tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar, and a tablespoon of pumpkin honey.

The Orzo is a variation of a recipe in a book I've been reading this year, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. There are recipes at the end of many chapters and lots of good gardening and food preserving information in it.  There's even a whole day planned out canning chutney, barbecue sauce, relish, and tomato sauce.  The directions even tell you to invite a friend for that day.  Heads up Morgaine.  The chutney and relish recipes look good. I was looking for a recipe I'd tried last summer and came across this easy Zucchini and orzo.  I've had half a box of orzo sitting on my counter looking for a home for about a month.

They talk about the end of the summer when the gardens are overflowing with zucchini. People who don't ordinarily lock their doors make sure they are locked because someone might drop off a bag of vegetables it they don't.  That didn't happen this year in our area, hope it's better this year. They have lots of recipes to hide the zucchini so the family doesn't know how much they are eating. This my version of one called "Disappearing Zucchini Orzo". 

Prepare 8 oz. Orzo
1 chopped red onion
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves chopped garlic, or to taste
2 large zucchini, grated (I used a couple very large yellow zucchini)
2 large carrots, grated
Olive oil for saute
Thyme
Oregano
1/4 cup vegan cheddar cheese
1/4 cup vegan mozzarella cheese

Saute zucchini, pepper, and carrots briefly with chopped onion and garlic until lightly golden.  Add spices to zucchini mixtue, stir thoroughly and remove from heat.  Combine with cheese and cooked orzo, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm or cold.

Four Alarm Vegan Chili

Looking through the posts this morning I realized I haven't posted my vegan chili here yet.  I may have, but I can't find it.  I have been making this chili recipe since 1980 when I first discovered vegetarian food could be wonderful. It was just published in The Flexitarian Cookbook, a benefit for Slow Food USA and Yoga Bear

This chili was pretty popular in the little town where we lived in the bay area, La Honda, California. I used to make it in mass quantities for the local annual Green Peace Festival and other events. I have won four chili cook offs with this recipe, the first one in the "most unusual" category, kind of like me, most unusual. It's not complicated and very colorful. It's vegetarian only because I added cheddar cheese as a garnish, but if you leave off the cheese it is a vegan recipe. It's a great source of protein and fiber as well as a good warmer on a cold day.

Vegan Chili

Vegetarian if you add cheese

Three medium onions, sliced in rings
Three Anaheim peppers, remove the seeds, slice thin
Three stalks of celery sliced thin
Two to three jalapeno peppers, depending how hot you like it, take out the seeds and slice thin
A 28 oz. can of tomatoes, diced, crushed, whole, your choice, I like the fire roasted tomatoes ( I used canned tomatoes from our garden.)
Four or five cloves of garlic, chopped, sliced, crushed, your choice
1 TBL crushed basil, (I dry basil in season and use a coffee grinder to crush the leaves)
One tablespoon Chipotle chili powder, regular chili powder is fine I have just grown to like the smoked Chipotle flavor
A dash of chili sauce, Tabasco sauce or your favorite flavor
One tablespoon apple cider vinegar
About a half teaspoon each of sea salt and pepper, or to taste
Water just enough to cover the beans

About six cups beans:

3 cups white beans, great northern or pinto beans,
3 cups black beans or kidney beans,

I am using dried beans soaked for about four or five hours, if you use canned beans, use three small cans of each color with the liquid in the can, decreasing the water you use Or, you could use six cups of one kind of bean, I like the different colors and textures myself.

3/4 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup raisins
2 TBL chopped parsley

Saute the onions, celery, and peppers until tender. Add the garlic, basil, chili powder, and salt and pepper and saute for a couple minutes more. Add the tomatoes, chili sauce and vinegar and cook for about three to five minutes. Add the beans and water and simmer on a low setting for about an hour, or until the beans are tender. If you are using canned beans, they are already cooked, so simmer for about thirty minutes instead. Add the cashews, parsley, and raisins and simmer until the cashews are tender, usually about 15-20 minutes. Garnish with some sliced green onions and grated cheddar cheese. Leave off the cheese and it's a vegan meal with no cholesterol.

Sometimes I have served it over a little Bulgar wheat in the bottom of the bowl. This adds a little more depth to the meal. I have also used a little beer in the liquid for an interesting flavor.

Everyone balks when they hear that this chili contains cashews and raisins, but they all like it when they try it. The cashews become like a sweet bean and add a nice flavor as well as some added plant protein and fiber.

New Year's Eve ~ Black Eyed Peas & Greens

 Nice to have a Friday off for the holiday.  I got my shopping done and some cooking done that I would usually do on Saturday, so I don't try cram so much into the weekend.  It's like getting an extra Saturday or extra Sunday, however I look at it .  I enjoyed having today.  I wandered out to the garden to peek at the sleeping plants this morning.  It's somewhere in the 20's and very icy, but a beautiful sunny day.  The garlic is still growing and so are the brussels sprouts.  Most of the plants seem a little sleepy or dead, but under some of the ice, I found some green, healthy plants.

Frosty Sage

Brussels Sprouts

The seed catalogs started coming last week, I'm now deciding what to plant soon.  I feel like a kid looking through the Sears catalog making a Christmas list. Late January and early February are when I can start my seedlings downstairs, that adds some sunshine to my heart.

My sweetie and I had a lovely New Year's Eve together.  We stayed close to home and enjoyed each other's company. We took a long walk along the Cowlitz River in the afternoon and played with our cameras.  The sun was out and it was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon.  If it weren't for the temperature being in the 20's the sky and air looks as if we could take a drive in a convertible with tank tops.

Walking on the Cowlitz

Before we left I cooked a pot of black eyed peas.  I just simmered them in water and sea salt so they could be used in other recipes this week. I just wanted the flavor of the peas.

When we returned from our walk. I sauteed a carrot, a thinly sliced onion, about a TB minced ginger, 2 tsp thyme, 2 tsp oregano, and a TB garlic. When they were tender I added six cups chopped beet greens and some dark green kale, 1/2 cup vegetable broth and let that simmer on low heat about 10 minutes.  To that I added about 2 cups of the cooked black eyed peas, 2 TB Shoyu, 1/4 tsp liquid smoke, 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, a dash of sea salt and a smaller dash of cayenne pepper. Let it cook for about 5 more minutes.

 Black eyed peas, greens, and carrots, A great warm meal for a cold winter night.

I WISH YOU PEACE, GOOD HEALTH,AND HAPPINESS IN THE COMING YEAR!

Christmas Limas - Festive Holiday Pie

The other half of the pot of Christmas Limas I cooked up this weekend became a Festive Holiday Tart.  I was looking through a holiday cookbook I purchased from VegNews Magazine this morning.  I thought since I paid for it, I should probably use it.  I found a recipe for something called a Festive Holiday Tart.  I had most of the ingredients in the kitchen.  It called for canned chickpeas so I used the rest of the Christmas Lima beans I had cooked.  It also called for some frozen spinach and I just happen to have some lovely collard greens and kale.  I lightly sauteed them together, just until they were wilted and bright green,  in a little sage oil and set aside.This is a very unusual pie.  It's very good, but I can't describe it to you by comparing it to anything I've tried before. I thought it would be something like a vegan mincemeat pie, but it's not like mincemeat either. It is truly unique.  It combines the some of the most prominent flavors of the holiday season, thyme, cranberries, fresh greens, and Christmas Limas.  It's a complete meal.

 

This is my version of the Festive Holiday Tart Recipe,

by Drenna Burton

I made a whole wheat, dairy free, pie crust and put it in the refrigerator to chill. 

1½ TB rosemary oil, divided

1 cup diced onion

¾ cup diced fennel bulb

5 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups cooked and drained Christmas Lima beans

     Save the drained sauce for making gravy later

¾ cup + 2 TB pecans, chopped and divided

2 TB fresh lemon juice

1 TB plus 1 teaspoons shoyu, divided

1¼ cup slightly sauteed collard greens and kale

    The original recipe calls for frozen spinach, that will work fine, if you didn't have the fresh greens

3½ TB dried cranberries

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1½ TB dried thyme

1. Preheat oven to 400°  In a skillet over medium heat, heat 1 TB oil, add onion, fennel, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook until onions begin to caramelize. Set Aside

2.  In a food processor, add Christmas Lima beans (reserve about ½ cup), ¾ cup pecans, lemon juice, and 1 TB shoyu, and pulse to lightly chop (do not purée).  Remove half of the chopped mixture from the food processor and transfer to a large bowl.

3.  Transfer sautéed onions to the remaining mixture in the food processor.  Purée until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Transfer purée to bowl with lightly chopped beans and pecan mixture.  Add greens, cranberries, parsley, thyme, and the reserved lima beans.  Stir to combine and transfer to the prepared pie shell, spreading evenly.

4. In a small bowl, combine remaining oil and shoyu, and brush on top of pie and crust.  Sprinkle with the remaining pecans.  Bake for about 35 minutes until lightly browned.

Christmas Limas - with Roasted Beets & Quinoa

My boss has some fun with us at Christmas, she does "a twelve days of Christmas" event as our Christmas gift.  It's lots of fun, it sure makes December a fun month at work. Donna and I receive a gift, go to lunch, take an hour at Starbucks, play a light hearted game together of dominoes or cards with the three of us and no phones for an hour, create something crafty and festive, or sometimes it's a scavenger hunt to find a gift.  The scavenger hunts are fun, she goes to quite a bit of work sometimes coming up with her clever clues.  It might catch on too, others in the building have fun watching us wander around the building hunting for the next clue.  Sometimes she involves them in the game.  My husband likes it too, he looks forward to finding out what we did each day.  She also gives most useful gifts.  One of our days' gifts this year was a basket with three different kinds of beans and spices.  I'll get at least eight to twelve meals out of those beans.

Of the three varieties of beans were "Christmas Lima." I'd not heard of these before and the description sound good, "A savory flavor with hints of chestnuts."   

Christmas Limas (Phaseolus Limensis) are related to the lima bean, similar to the giant Peruvian Lima but plumper. This is a large bean with a maroon pattern over a creamy background. The Christmas Lima may be referred to as a speckled lima or butter bean in addition to a calico bean.

I set them to soak Friday night and Saturday morning I cooked them with  filtered water, salt, a diced onion, and a couple carrots.  i wanted to cook them very simply so I could taste the flavor of the bean.  It's a very flavorful bean with a nice texture and doubles in size.

While they were simmering I searched for a recipe.  It didn't take long to find one and I was pleased to find I had all the ingredients handy. 

Christmas Lima Beans and Quinoa

Christmas Lima Beans and Quinoa

 Christmas Lima Beans, Roasted Beets, Quinoa, Avocado, Lemon Juice, sweet onion, honey, and white balsamic vinegar.  The recipe calls this a side dish, but for us it was a perfect winter maindish. 

 

My husband rolled this collard green like a tortilla and had a Christmas Lima burrito. 

Baked Rice Bites

I've had this recipe card laying around the kitchen for awhile for something called "breakfast in a cup."  It's a rice, cheese, and egg mixture you bake in the oven.  I finally decided to play with it today.  I've been thinking of trying to make them with egg replacer.  I had this great idea to use coconut milk instead of water to give it a creamier texture. They came out OK, the outside is kind of crispy and the inside moist.  I served them for breakfast with some fresh fruit salad.  I think they'd make a good buffet item with a nice sauce, maybe some salsa. 

Baked Rice Bites

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 red pepper diced
1/2 cup diced onion
2-3 mild chilis diced
1/3 cup coconut milk
3 TBL egg replacer whipped with 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste.

Combine all in a large bowl and spoon into muffin cups.  Bake at 400° for about 15 minutes until they start to brown a bit.

I added the rest of them to my pot of beans, now I've got beans and rice for lunch this week too.

Homegrown Bean Enchiladas

Homegrown because the beans are from the garden as well as many other ingredients.

I cooked white beans until almost soft but still have some texture.  I then made re-fried beans with a bit of coconut oil and mashed some of them.  I added a pint of Morgaine's black bean salsa and cooked that together for a few minutes.

The verde sauce:  Fresh tomatillos, green peppers, garlic, lime juice, cumin, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Added a tablespoon of beans to a corn tortilla and a tablespoon of shredded almond chedder cheeze and jalapeño jack rice cheeze.  I put a layer of the verde sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan, rolled the enchiladas in the sauce and then poured the rest of the sauce on top of the prepared enchiladas.  I topped it with the cheeze and baked at 400 for about 40 minutes until the cheese was melted and toasty.

I made some chipotle creme with coconut creme, chipotle chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and lime juice.

These are vegetarian enchiladas.  I was hoping for vegan as I bought some almond and rice cheeses.  I have to read the packages better before I buy something at the market. I found out when I got home and took a closer look at the ingredients that they both contain casein.  That's milk protein. Of the many reasons I don't want to ingest cow's milk is the animal protein. Casein has been shown to increase the growth of certain cancers.  It's one of the very first studies discussed in the China Study. The nut cheeses I bought are healthier than dairy cheese since they don't have the fat and cholesterol and made with almonds and brown rice. But, I thought I was buying dairy free cheese.  I used them because I had already bought them, I am a flexitarian. Next time I guess should really just make the nut cheese myself.

I should remember one of Dr. Leslie Van Romer's food  rules: "If it has a package, I probably shouldn't be buying it."

Garden Update - Autumn Harvest

The garden isn't ready to sleep for the winter yet.  There's been some warm fall weather and I'm getting a nice basket of ripe tomatoes every couple days.  Even the cloudy and rainy days have been warm and it seems to be dry right when we want to be out in the dirt.  The moon has kept us company a few times this past week. We have a little less daylight, but enough to get some weeding and harvesting done

Triple Chocolate Vegan Browines

Nana sent me a recipe to try recently.  Triple chocolate brownies made with black beans.  I was instantly intrigued by the use of black beans.  By itself it's a pretty healthy recipe, but I made a few changes, by eliminating the dairy and the animal fat, using date sugar and less of that.  They came out very fudgy. If I want a more cake like brownie, I think I would add a little more flour next time.  This is how I made them this time.

Triple Chocolate Surprise Brownies

Ingredients

    * 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
    * 2  tablespoons sunflower oil
    * 1/2 cup thawed and squeezed dry frozen spinach - I used frozen chard from my garden
    * 1/2 whole apple pureed in the blender
    *  3 TBL egg replacer with 6 TBL water and about half of a mashed banana
    *  1/2 cup date sugar
    * 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
    *  strong coffee, about 1/2 cup
    * 3 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate
    * 2 tablespoons coconut oil
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1/2 cup brown rice flour - I think a heartier flour would have been better like whole wheat or spelt and a little more than 1/2 cup
    * 1/3 cup non dairy chocolate chips
    * 1/3 cup chopped pecans
    * 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Put black beans, olive oil, spinach, applesauce, eggs, egg yolk, sugar, cocoa, and espresso powder in a food processor; pulse for 1 minute or until smooth. Microwave bittersweet chocolate and butter in a glass bowl, stirring every 30 seconds or until smooth; cool for 5 minutes. Add chocolate, vanilla extract, and salt to processor; pulse to blend. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in flour and mini chocolate chips. Pour into an oiled 9- x 13-inch pan; top with chopped pecans. Bake for 25-30 minutes; cool for 15 minutes.

Thanks Nana, these are very good.

Beans, Greens, & Cornbread, Vegan Peach cake and Ice Creme

Beans, Greens, & Cornbread

Had lunch with my granddaughter this weekend.  We had some Cannellini beans  simmered with a little chopped onion, peppers, fresh carrots, and chopped summer squash over steamed beet greens.  I made some quick fried cornbread, dairy free, and some fresh cucumber and tomato salad.

She's a veggie luvin' kid and that makes me smile.  She's only six, but so far she likes what grandma serves her.

We also made some dairy free chocolate chip ice cream and a peach upside down cake together.  We used raw cashews and almonds, coconut, non-dairy milk, a little agave, seeds from a vanilla bean, and wheat sweetened chocolate chips.  I would have liked just the vanilla ice cream, but it was fun for her to add something to the mixture.

Back to Basics - Black Beans and Raw Vegetable Salad

Every week I make a pot of beans and a very large salad so we have some healthy "fast-food" options on hand during the busy work week. This week I made a pot of black beans and a fresh, raw vegetable salad. Many of the salad items are now coming from the garden and the farmer's markets. I just love this time of year. Sun or not, the food still represents summer. When I come home some night this week, I can warm up a tortilla and some beans, add some salad, and I have a great vegetarian burrito. That's my kind of :"fast-food."




What's in the salad? Beet greens, zucchini, crookneck squash, red cabbage, red bell pepper, one large jalapeño pepper, chopped roasted fennel bulb, carrots, chopped cucumber, the juice of one orange, 2 medium avocados chopped, about half a cup of roasted pumpkin seeds, and a handful of dried currants.

Curry, Chickpeas, Onions, and Dried Berries

Another recipe I tried this weekend was very good and so easy.

Curried Chickpeas with Sweet Onions and Pomegranate

I cooked some chickpeas in a 'splash' of oil. (That's what the recipe said, 'splash.') When the chickpeas were getting brown I added some chopped onion and garlic and cooked a little longer. I mixed a half cup of plain Greek yogurt with some sea salt and some curry powder. Mixed them all together and added a half cup of coarse chopped dried cranberries and blueberries. The recipe called for pomegranate seeds, but they aren't in season. I had some dried fruit so I soaked some dried cranberries and blueberries in a little lemon juice and water to add some tartness and texture.