How to Cut an Onion

I often find peace while playing with my food.  Cynthia explain this very well.

Planted Based Cooking Class #3 at Country Village

Another cooking class at Country Village Cafe went very well and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I heard quite a few other folks did too.  I had some great help from my friends in the kitchen and they all said they had a great time. Thanks to all who lent a hand, I am still learning how to navigate through all of this, and it's a lot easier with supportive friends and family. We fed more than 40 people plant based treats, including some grocery store customers who stopped by to view the activity in the cafe.  It's usually closed on Saturdays so the activity was a little curious.  Which reminds me, a few years ago I looked at the closed cafe one Saturday and told Patti I should try to run it on Saturdays.  I thought a breakfast or lunch special, not a full menu, might be fun.  Hmmm, there I was feeding a full cafe.  I loved it!

Country Village was also celebrating 35 years in business by hosting "Customer Appreciation Days".  We contributed by keeping a sample tray of plant based goodies filled throughout the day.

Twenty five students attended, some of them very new to plant based eating.  I did my best to get new tastes and textures introduced to the interested.  I cooked this time.  I just love my portable burners.  It's like a stovetop in my pocket.

This time the guests found cheezy kale chips, savory pepitos, and a crudite of brightly colored vegetables and papaya seed ranch on the tables waiting for them.  Yes, papaya seed ranch.  I learned something new also.  While out picking vegetables at Willow Grove Gardens, Ruth picked some purple caulflower and sprial broccoflower and put it in my box.  I know a lot of people might want to try these out of the ordinary vegetables so I picked up my Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw cookbook in search of a nice raw ranch dressing.  I found a papaya seed ranch, very easy, not many ingredients.  I never knew you could eat the papaya seeds.  I immediately cut one opened and ate a spoonful of the tender seeds.  Wow, they're great!  They have a flowery, yet spicy, taste.  Sort of like a nasturtiam flower.  I'll make more of this dressing, I loved it and so did the students.

We tasted:

Raw Creamy Broccoli Soup
Curried Winter Squash & Apple Soup
Fettuccini Alfredo
Forbidden Black Rice & Polenta Casserole
and Gluten Free and Oil Free Pumpkin Spice Cake

Enjoy the class, I know we did.  Country Village employees made a list of interested shoppers while we held the class.  Looks like I get to do another.

The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast (Featuring Ronnie James Dio)

Processing the Gifts of Summer

It was a big produce weekend that started with picking up our organic peaches Friday and waking up to pick some wonderful figs on Saturday morning.  The first thing I did was whip up a vanilla chia pudding and added some of the chopped ripe figs. My husband is enjoying it right now.  Aside from snacking on the lovelies all day, I dried many of them for future recipes and snacks.

Figs headed for the dehydrator.












I delivered Rachel's peaches to her out on Puget Island and took out a couple of my own boxes.  I grabbed a few random veggies to use for our meal. I love this time of year when I go shopping in my own garden. We spent a lovely day canning, visiting, and enjoying the day.  We picked up Kaylee on the way out and I brought her a bead making kit for something to keep her busy.  She doesn't stay in much there though.  She gets to feed and run with chickens and kitties.  It's a pretty free place for a kid. She and Allison sat together and created bracelets for everyone there.  We were all decorated at the end of the day.  Every one helped out with the peaches, picking up a knife and peeling and pitting throughout the day.  I manned the jars and the canners, keeping them going.  We processed four boxes, eighty pounds, and ended up with 33 pint and a half jars.  That should make for some good peach treats through the winter.  We always have a great time doing this too.  This time Allison joined in and made a fresh apple pie with the apples she and Rachel foraged on the Island.

Sunday at home and I have lots of produce coming out of the garden right now.  I have to get to work preserving it so it doesn't go to waste. Even though we're not able to give away as much as we'd like, we are still pulling out a good amount of groceries.  This morning I had two very large heads of cabbage I wanted to get into something.  I made a nice pot of Tuscan Cabbage & White bean soup.  I used some white onions, red onions, garlic, carrots, collards, and herbs from the garden.  I added a couple of the ripe heirloom tomatoes I picked up at the organic farm Friday, and used some low sodium vegetable broth.  I cooked up about a cup of white beans ahead of time, but you could use a drained and rinsed can of white beans.  I seasoned it very simply with fresh garlic, sea salt, ground black pepper, a sprig of thyme, and a spring of rosemary.  Here's a link to a pretty easy recipe for cabbage and bean soup.

The big red cabbage became sweet & sour cabbage just like my grandmother used to make.  I put three pints up, but I don't think they'll last long.  I really like it. I think of my grandma with every bite.  This is really good stuff. It's pretty easy to make.

 Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegan margarine, non hydrogenized
• 1 2-pound red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 12 cups)
• 6 Tbsp sugar
• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Method

Melt the vegan margarine in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage and sauté until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Add sugar, toss to coat evenly. Add vinegar. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover, simmer until cabbage is tender, stirring often, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 6-8.

The canning station is ready, I quickly put some cabbage soup and sweet & sour cabbage up for a quick meal sometime.

Somehow this weekend I also managed to squeeze in some almond and flax meal crackers with rosemary and garlic.  I made a pretty wonderful vegan capri cheese for them.  I've been playing with a few vegan cheese recipes.  I think I'll have some good ones coming up soon. I roasted up some beets & onions and it all made for a great Sunday dinner.

But that's not all, we still had a large zucchini and probably would like something sweet on hand this week.  I shredded it up and stored most of it for salads and meals this week.  But, not before I made a double batch some of what I call "Zucchini Muffin Top" cookies.  I made these gluten free too.

I should warn my calorie counting friends at work, I'm going to mess with their calorie count tomorrow. ***giggling***

It's a bit of work, but none of the fresh produce is wasted, we have some great handy meals for lunch and dinner this week, and we've stored some goodies for later.  I don't have to cook, if I don't want to, until at least Wednesday.  I'd say it was a successful weekend.

Summer Day with My Sweetie

We had the most awesome day Friday.  It started out very early for me.  I went to work at 5:30 a.m.  so I could take a half day off to go out to Sauve's Island to get our peaches this year.  I am fortunate to be able to do that sometimes. Scott's business was closed for the weekend and he had the time off. The temperature was supposed to get up to 100º or more.  We don't have days like that very often, glad to be able to take advantage of it. We were fortunate to be able to enjoy this summer day while it was here.  Lucky thing too, Saturday and Sunday were both cloudy days.  We slowly meandered our way to Sauve's Island stopping a few times to hike around and take some photos along the way.  It did get up to 105º at one point, but we didn't notice it so much as we found plenty of places to grab some shade.

When we got out to the Island the sun was at it's highest, we stopped to take some photos of some very impressive cabbage and took advantage of the sprinklers.

In the 23 years we've lived in the pacific northwest, this is only the second time we've explored Sauve's Island.  There were some beautiful and creative farms.  I especially enjoyed the farm with all the old trucks turned into planters.  There was a blue one, a red one, a yellow one, and a white one.  There was other old farm equipment with gorgeous flowers everywhere you looked.

We found an organic farm, Bella Organic Farm and ordered our peaches before we arrived.  They had ten boxes of fresh picked peaches waiting for us.  That's 200 pounds, eighty for me, eighty for Rachel, and forty for Ruth. We'll can about half of them, freeze some, and dehydrate some.  I like peach cobbler in November. We picked up some other items in the farm store and explored the grounds.  They've got a HUGE corn maze.  The friendly woman at the store gave us tickets for their Blackberry Bluegrass and Country Harvest Festival on Labor Day weekend.  It looks like fun, we do like outdoor music festivals.  They've got a pretty impressive corn maze as well as a hay maze for the kid's.  We saw one of the employee's making many scarecrows and dressing them up for the big opening of the corn maze. I think it might be a good trip with Kaylee.

We ended the day out at Willow Grove delivering the two boxes of peaches Ruth & Mike wanted for their CSA shares this weekend.  We stopped at the beach to take in just a little bit more sunshine. 

And those peaches... were canned the very next day.

Canning Cherries ~ Summer Fun in The PNW

It's definitely summer and the local fruits and veggies are beginning to show up in abundance.  I like to store lots of them for the winter months while they are 'in season' and fresh.  Much of the fruit and veggies we can get locally I freeze, dehydrate, or can.  I've already got about 50 pounds of strawberries in the freezer and dried, some cherries, and blueberries too.  In the next few weeks I'll get about 100 lb of tomatoes and peaches canned.  I ran out of tomatoes about a month ago.  I can hardly wait for them to begin ripening.

Got together with Rachel and Allison yesterday for a full day of canning cherries and fun in the kitchen.  We canned about 60 pounds of Washington Bing and Rainier cherries.  Rachel whipped up some cherry lavender jam using  dried Stevia for a sweetener.  She also pureed some fresh raspberries and blueberries and added a bit of lemon zest to be used in ice creams and sauces.  No sweetener was added to the raspberry and blueberry puré.  That way they can be used tart or sweetened later. The cherries don't have any added sugar either, just a bit of stevia in some water with lemon juice and a bit of red wine.

How many cooks can you fit in a 'single wide' kitchen?  We did great considering the space we worked in.  Special thanks goes to Scott, he was a great cherry washer, cherry stoner, stem plucker and photographer.

Plant Based Cooking Class

I am so pleased at the interest in the first plant based cooking class I taught in Longview.  Twenty four guests enjoyed a two hour plant based cooking demonstration and participated in some great discussion. It went really well.  I enjoyed doing it and during the preparation work I had many fond memories of cooking for folks back in California when the kids were small.  All the organization work paid off, nothing was left out, and with the help of some great friends, everything went very smooth. The only thing I forgot were my notes I'd been compiling for the last two weeks before the class.  But with veggies, knife, and food processor in hand, I just did what I love to do and everything worked. The folks at Country Village were pleased and it looks like we get to do it again. The next class will be in August and I've got some nice menu ideas rolling around my head.

We made a vegan and gluten free chocolate cake with vegan buttercream frosting, Cilantro Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms, Raw Pasta Puttanesca, and I brought some vegan mac & cheese along.  I only had two hours so I couldn't fit it all in, but the mac & cheese is such an easy and good dish for beginning vegan cooks, I couldn't leave it out.  I also brought some savory pepitos to have on the tables for munchies while the students waited for the tasting.

Keep moving forward

I didn't have such a successful morning yesterday.  It started OK. I got up early and finished pressing and snipping the last 20 tote bags made. I gathered my supplies and headed over to the farmer's market to sit in my friend's stall and sell them.  We set up the rack with a couple bags and showed it to he farmer's market board.  Unfortunately the market has rules about selling the fundraising items.  I understand that, I guess.  The money made at the market really should go to the farmers and not a national organization.  I packed it up and I'll try the Bridge Market today.  Christy has a produce booth along with plants and offered to share some of her space.  Hopefully I can stay a little while this time.

After leaving the farmer's market, I headed over to Rachel's baby shower.  At least I'm on-time, I thought.  The party starts at noon and I said I might be late due to the market.  I got to the house on the street with the balloons in front.  There was a party at this house, but it was a child's birthday party. Ah heck, not only is the party at the house across the street, it is Sunday, not Saturday.  I was a little early.  Oh well, went home and packed up and had a great afternoon in the garden.

About the Tote Bags

Michele read an article last year about how to make a tote bag out of a tee shirt.  She shared it with Donna and I and thought maybe we could use this idea for a Relay for Life fundraiser.  Looked pretty fun to me.  There were a lot of shirts no one ever used for past Relay events. The director of the local event even found us some more shirts to use from other counties. Donna and Michele snipped out the collars and sleeves of the shirts and I sewed them into shopping bags.  The white bags needed some personality so I took them over to my friend's art studio in Rainier, Oregon and she turned them into what I think are the coolest shopping bags in Longview.  These shirts are now useful tote bags good for groceries, gym clothes, or beach bags.  We're selling them for $10 each and the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Garden Update

It's been awhile since I shared a garden update.  We've been out every chance we can get turning the soil and planting our garden.  We're almost planted.  We've got one more section in the back to turn, but we're running out of room now.  Friday afternoon I planted:  eight ball zucchini, delicata squash, broccoli, jalepeños, Thai chilies, some more flowers, & basil.  Yesterday we planted: three or four kinds or tomatoes, persimmons, yellow paddy pan squash, crookneck squash, zucchini, Anaheim peppers, mustard greens, and fennel. We only have one more section to plant. Hopefully we'll get potatoes and collard greens soon, and some more flowers :)

The artichokes have come in healthier than I've ever seen them.  It's the third year for these plants and I've counted more than ten artichokes already on two plants.  There are lots of herbs coming in and the chard made it through the winter.  I love it that we can take something home when we've just begun the harder work of gardening.  The ground was really tough and muddy this year.  It took awhile to get out there in our wet spring, but we managed to get a lot in. 

Introducing Live Nachos

Ruth, my organic farmer friend, and I have been talking to a nutrition class once a quarter at the local community college.  The instructor invited us to come share what we know about organic gardening and plant based eating.  Ruth talks about her farm and shares her trials and rewards of organic farming.  She covers the documentation, the successes and failures of her crops, farmer's markets, and answers many questions about gardening.  Since it is finally spring around here and the gardens are getting planted, there were lots of questions for Ruth this time.  For the next hour I get to talk about the food and why someone chooses a plant based lifestyle.  I've brought in books, articles, recipes, other resources, and share some of what I've learned through this journey.

The first two sessions, I brought some home made vegan treats such as cookies, kale chips, flax crackers, and I think I brought some vegan cupcakes.  This time I brought my Blendtec and my recently acquired Vegan Fusion training and demonstrated how to make vegan nacho cheese.  It was a lot more fun then just talking and an opportunity to practice my own teaching skills.  We weren't sure at first where we were going with this, it seems to be evolving into a nice presentation.

I made the chips at home in the dehydrator ahead of time, a batch of cheese, fresh salsa, and chipotle cream and handed the students a beautiful serving of raw vegan nachos as I began my demonstration.  I wanted them to taste them before I told them I used raw butternut squash and cashews as a base.  There were a lot of questions and really good comments.  I think, it went over very well, I didn't see any in the garbage can when I cleaned up.  Most of these students had not tried a vegan or live dish like this. 

Spicy Nacho Crackers/Chips and Nacho Cheese are from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw.  They're very tasty!


This was more than just sharing the plant based food this time.  The classroom was in a different building than it has been.  It was in the rooms the business classes are taught in. As I walked near the classroom carrying my supplies memories of carrying a heavy backpack in this very hallway came back.  This was not the first time I've demonstrated and shared some of my kitchen witchery with students.  Twenty-five years ago in this very building I was taking some businesses class here, a marketing and a business communications class.  As with most classes I took in college a research paper and a presentation were required.  I usually started with what I know, food, and did a presentation for a business idea, a deli with delivery service.  I decided if I was really presenting a business idea to investors I'd like them to know what I can do. So, of course, my presentation included fresh strawberry cheesecake.  I used my cooking skills through business classes a lot.  But, Oh my Gosh! my cooking habits have changed.  Back then, you could have watched your arteries hardening right before your very eyes from my cheesecake.  I used lots of cream cheese and three or four eggs, processed ginger snap cookies for the crust, cooked in real butter.  I still love to make strawberry cheesecake, but the recipe is much different now.  No animal products and the ingredients in the base of the recipe, cashews or tofu, are usually very high in nutrients.

Learning New Skills

I lost track with the blog for a little while, life has been busy.  In preparation for my upcoming training, I have been cooking mostly out of two cookbooks, The 30-Minute Vegan and The Taste of The East the last few weeks so I didn't feel I should be posting too many same chef's recipes.  It's just not good chef etiquette.

 Recently I spent three days training to teach plant based cooking with one of my favorite chefs and the author of these vegan cookbooks, Mark Reinfeld, of Vegan Fusion.  I am now in the third phase of the training.  I'll assist in a couple five and ten day classes and then give it a try on my own beginning with intimate demos in the local health food store, the produce store, and private homes.  I'd love to do a demo at the farmer's market using just the ingredients on hand there.  I'm a bit nervous, but excited to try out something new.  I always did love working in the restaurant business.  I enjoy helping people create their own meals and participate in their celebrations. This way, I can be a part of sharing wonderful food without the stress of trying to run a restaurant.  I like that idea. We'll see how it goes.  Not quitting the day job just yet. The training was great and I feel like I have the tools to begin exploring this adventure.

This month I'm assisting an experienced teacher with a three part class based on Dr. McDougall's plant based diet. Then towards the end of the month, I'm off to Portland to assist in a five day intensive training.  Looking forward to cooking with new friends.

First Demonstration:  Tomato Mung Bean Salad

 How to clean the seeds from a chili pepper without touching the seeds. 

I'm creating some great meals in my warm kitchen.  I have quite a few fun recipes to share, I'll be posting some shortly.

Tomato Mung Bean Salad

I'm very excited and nervous at the same time thinking about my upcoming Vegan Fusion workshop in Seattle.  The last two day workshop I attended, I was the most experienced vegan cook in the room besides the chef.  This time I will probably be with some experienced chefs who are taking their craft to the classroom or back to their restaurants to teach their cooks.  This class will be a bit challenging, but enjoyable I'm sure.  As time progresses, I find it difficult at times to get what's in my brain to come out of my mouth with grace. :-)

I received an email with the supplies and schedule of the course and I feel like I did when I was getting ready for a college class.  I've also been going through the ten day course via the Healthy Cooking Lessons website, a prerequisite for the course. I have three modules left. Chef Mark has asked us to be prepared with four or five choices of recipes we'd like to try out of the Vegan Fusion cookbooks.  We'll be working on preparing a training demo as well as shopping and prepping for our own demonstrations. I am really looking forward to it.  Two of the books Mark suggested we bring and choose recipes to demo out of I hadn't worked with;  The 30 Minute Vegan, and The Taste of the East.  I promptly purchased them and have been working out of them the past few weeks.

One of the favorites so far is a Thai recipe, the Tomato Mung Bean salad.  I kind of giggle a bit because it's from the 30 Minute Vegan series.  But, it's a thirty minute recipe after I spend three days sprouting the mung beans. Yes, I am finding that most of the recipes are for thirty minutes after I've done my prep work.  I've enjoyed everything I've tried so far. But, there's no possible way I'd find mung bean sprouts, one of the key ingredients, in this town.  As in all the recipes in these books, the ingredients can be substituted many ways, I'm sure I can find alfalfa sprouts and maybe some pea sprouts in town I wanted to make it with the mung beans.  So, it's a thirty minute recipe after three days of sprouting.  I tried it before the local potluck and it was such a great, refreshing salad, also very high in nutrition. I took it to the last potluck and it was a hit.

 

Tomato Mung Bean Salad

     The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of The East

3 large tomatoes, chopped (3 cups)
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1½ cups mung sprouts
½ cup sliced green onions
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 hot chile pepper, seeded and diced, or to taste, (I used a mild Anaheim pepper for the potluck)
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used wheat free tamari for my Gluten free friends)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Dash of cayenne pepper, or to taste
½ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and gently mix well.

~~Enjoy!~~

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...
 

Gert's Moussaka, Vegan Style

While chatting with a my lifelong friend/sister, Barb, on Facebook the other day she mentioned a couple of her mom's family recipes, Moussaka and Stifano.  I think of Moussaka as a Greek lasagna, usually made with eggplant and ground meat, lamb or beef.  It has layers of potatoes, a tangy tomato meat sauce, cheese, and a generous amount of creamy béchamel sauce poured on top of the layers, and topped with cheese.

Gert was one of my favorite mom's growing up.  She had a wide range of talents and great stories to tell of her life experiences.  We remained friends as I became an adult.  I'd come to visit Barb unannounced and if she was not home it wasn't a problem.  I was at home there and stayed anyway. Sometimes Gert & I would crack open a bottle of wine and talk through the night.  I was more at home at her house than my own parents' house. She lost the battle with stomach cancer some years ago and I do think about her from time to time and miss her. Gert was a lot of fun to be around.  She has lived all over the world and when she made an authentic ethnic dish, it was authentic.  I don't think she'd mind what I did with her family recipe. I also made a vegan version of her Stifano, a Greek beef stew, using stew meat size seitan pieces.  I'll be posting that later.  Simmering for three hours in the crock-pot, this dish made my house smell wonderful.

My version of Gert's Moussaka, vegan style.

2 Large eggplants, sliced 1/2" thick
1 14 oz. tube Gimme Lean ground beef style veggie protein - I think Soy curls would work well for this dish
3-4 small zucchini, sliced
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes
1 cup organic Panko breadcrumbs
Cooking oil such as Olive, I used hazelnut oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces tomato sauce, I just blended my home canned tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon chopped dried parsley
small sprig of fresh rosemary
fresh thyme leaves, about 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup red wine
about 1/2 - 3/4 cup Daiya mozzarella style vegan cheese
sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Béchamel Sauce:

1/2 cup, 1 stick, vegan margarine, I used Earth Balance organic
1/2 cup spelt flour
3 cups non dairy milk
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
pinch of nutmeg
sea salt & pepper to taste

Slice and cook the potatoes in a small amount of water for ten minutes or until just tender, al denté.  Set aside.

Peel and slice the eggplant and the zucchini and toss them with a little sea salt.  Then I put them in the dehydrator for an hour or so to let the moisture evaporate.  If you don't have a dehydrator, you can put the slices between paper towels and weight with another plate for an hour or more.

While the eggplant is drying, prepare the 'meat' sauce.  Dice or crumble the veggie protein which looks a lot like ground beef and brown it in a couple tablespoons of oil.  Then add the diced onions, garlic, sea salt, and pepper.  When the meat was brown and onions tender add the cinnamon, nutmeg, herbs, and tomato sauce.  Stir well, add the wine, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring a couple times.

The eggplant can be steamed, or sauteed with or without a breading.  I chose to dip them in some egg replacer and dredged in a little spelt flour.  Then I gently fried them in a little hot oil just until they were golden, not very long.  Then put them aside on a paper towel until I needed them.  I suppose when I have fresh picked eggplant from the garden I could just put the slices 'as is' without any prior cooking. But, since I used eggplant from the market which is probably not so fresh, it needed some tenderizing first.

Lightly oil a 9" x 13" pan and sprinkle the panko bread crumbs in the bottom.  Leave a small space around the edges of the pan so the bechamel sauce can ooze over the sides of the dish. Make the first layer with the sliced potatoes.  Top with a layer of eggplant slices, add the tomato 'meat' sauce, sprinkle with the shredded Daiya cheese.  Add the zucchini slices next.  Top with a layer of eggplant slices.

Preheat the oven to 350º and make the béchamel sauce.

Béchamel Sauce

Melt the vegan margarine.  Using a whisk, add the flour to the melted margarine whisking continuously to make a smooth rue.  Allow the mixture to cook for a minute but do not allow it to turn brown.  Add non dairy mild in a steady stream, whisking continuously.  Simmer over low heat until it thickens a bit but does not boil.  Remove from heat, and stir in turmeric, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the eggplant and be sure to allow sauce to fill the sides and corners of the pan.  Smooth the bechamel on top and sprinkle remaining cheese.  Bake in 350º oven for 45 minutes or until sauce is a nice golden brown color.  Allow to cool for 15 - 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Most of this dish can be made ahead of time, but it's best to make the béchamel sauce right before you intend to bake it.

Enjoy, I am going to go have some right now.

Another Fun Vegan/Vegetarian Potluck

Last week we had another fun vegan/vegetarian potluck in Longview.  There were mostly vegan choices this time. A couple items were made so they could be served with or without cheese as the cheese was on the side.  That was very nice.  This was our largest potluck yet, 43 diners enjoyed a great meal together.  I've heard a couple times that it was the best food yet.  Most stayed to watch Forks Over Knives.  Quite a few people who had seen the movie already said they got a little more out of it this time.

There were so many great dishes.  As you can tell from my husband's plate above, it was difficult to try everything even if you just took a small portion of each.  The plate filled up quickly.  I know there were a couple things I went back to try again and they were gone like Rachel's portabello wellington and Felicia's tofu quiché.

Here's some of the items on the buffet tables:

Broccoli Salad with dried cranberries and toasted  almonds
Vegan Caesar Salad
Massaged Kale Salad
Dirty Rice
Cole Slaw
Bean Curry & Rice
Rotini, miso, & sun-dried tomato salad
Ginger Carrot Beans & Rice
Portabello Wellington
Vegetable Pasta Stir-Fry
West African Stew
Mushroom & Cashew Hummus
Carrot & Beet Celebration salad
Honey Beer Bread
BBQ Walnut Balls
Cashew Burger Casserole
Tofu Quiché
Vegan Coconut Cakes
Vegan Coconut Lemon Cake
Peanut Butter Pie
Raw Caramel Smoothie
Some cute little coconut ginger balls
Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jamaican Gingeraide


As Lester said "They just keep getting better."

Thanks again to all the cooks and for everyone who came out. 

Vegan Meal Plan ~ Start with Basics

A woman I've come to know through our local Vegan/Vegetarian potluck asked me to help her get started in her efforts to change her eating habits.  She wants to eat more plant based meals, but doesn't know how to get started and encourage her husband, who is not so willing to try new foods, to try the vegan meals she's cooking up.

My first thought when answering her question, "Where do I start?", was make a pot of beans.  That's how I start out each weekend.  I start with the basics, protein (beans), grains, and greens. This is what I did this morning.  I do this kind of preparation every weekend.

I put on a pot of black beans that I soaked overnight, 2 cups beans to 6 cups water. Very simple, sauteed an onion and some garlic, threw in a few spices: ground pepper, cinnamon, a little curry, and a dash of oregano. 45 minutes to 1 hour cooking.

I put on a pot of quinoa and black rice, 1 cup each. 20 - 30 minutes cooking time

With those things cooked I can make a variety of meals. I combined the rice and quinoa and added a simple citrus-pumpkin vinaigrette. I can eat it by itself or mix with veggies during the weekend.

I also put the ingredients to soak for trail mix cookies, raw almonds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds,  pumpkin seeds, and some dried plums. (Plums from my friends tree that I dried myself.)

I usually add a very large salad to the menu, with at least ten vegetables in it. For a dressing I cut up avocado very small, (that makes the oil), and the juice of one whole lemon or orange.  If I want to change it up, I'll add some balsamic vinegar or sometimes nuts and seeds or dried fruit.

Since we are doing mostly green smoothies this week, that's about all I'll cook for this weekend.   But with those things made, I have a good base for any simple meal.  Greens, grains, and protein, that's the basics for a vegan meal. The cookies make a great satisfying snack with no added sugar.  There is food already made so when that urge to eat hits, the healthy stuff is handy.

Black Rice and Red Quinoa with Citrus Pumpkin Dressing

Trail Mix Cookies - Ready Tomorrow

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.

My Magic Boots ~ They Cause Smiling

Christmas is all put away, and I start out the new year slow and comfortable.  We spent a quiet warm New Year's weekend at home together. Most the cooking is done for the week and it's a peaceful day. My big plans are to make a salad, finish a crocheted hat, and maybe make it out to take some winter photos in the woods a bit.  My last Christmas ornament, my blog picture, needs to be changed, but I have one more holiday story to tell.

This has been a blessed Christmas having our son home.  I haven't felt like participating in the whole season's traditions and spirit with a whole heart for three years.  It still took awhile for me to pull it out this year, but I got there.  I had a lot of help from some colorful boots I purchased recently. Not out of the ordinary for me, I like art, bright colors, and I like hand made, but pretty wild for some.  My jackets, hats, and scarves are always bright and cheery, especially around the holidays. I put on these warm colorful boots and went around doing my business.  I noticed very quickly that my day changes when I wear these boots. These wild boots make people smile.  I mean smile out loud.  I've had people walk across the room and ask where to get these boots and want to talk about the Mola prints.

I've found that Quilters know these fabrics.  Many women stop me and ask if my shoes are Molas.  Pretty fun, "Yes, they are."  I'm calling them my magic boots.  I cannot go out with these boots on and NOT smile throughout the day.  I have left the house in a normal mood and come home just about laughing while thinking about all the fun I just had going to the post office or grocery store.

The best day was two days before Christmas.  In the process of making sure there were gifts mailed on time, cookies made, and all the things I wanted done for the holidays, I had forgotten to plan our own Christmas dinner.  This meant I had to go to the grocery store two days before Christmas, Yikes!  I had a long list of errands this day and set out to get it all done.  I wasn't thrilled about so much to do on an afternoon 'off work.' I had already heard stressful horror stories about angry people in the local market.

When I got there the parking lot was completely full. So many people were circling, it was like rush hour in a big city. It was hard to stop and scope out an area.  I found a place pretty close after circling only about ten minutes and went inside to find it bumper to bumper shopping carts.  I am lucky that the whole food ingredients I use for cooking are considered the 'health food' section and that's right near the produce, I'm not going to be long.

You could feel the stress in the air. I could tell if I stopped the cart in the isle for any length of time someone might offer some cross words.  As I was shopping a very old gentlemen came up to me and hugged me and told me how much he loved my boots.  Soon after I had another inquiry about my colorful shoes from a lady who said she walked across the room to check them out. Her seven year old daughter was very giggly over them.  They introduced themselves and we exchanged Christmas hugs.  How awesome was that?!? This followed suit throughout my day.  Each place I stopped someone asked about the boots and admired the colors, the animals, and many asked to feel them.  I was laughing out loud by the time I got home. I loved this feeling, I was laughing for a change and feeling that Christmas fun and love in my heart.

I'm not a fashion queen, I consider myself a modest dresser and thrifty shopper.  I'll cruise the discount and thrift stores for deals. I live in jeans most the time, but I love adding lots and lots of color and fun shoes. I love art and I do love wearing art.  I will spend a little more to wear someone's original art. I do like to be comfortable and colorful, very colorful. 

In an effort to live a more vegan life, I've decided not to purchase leather items.  My purses are made from recycled material and so are some of my shoes now.  Last year I came across a website for some really colorful shoes while reading a Veg News.  Kuna Prints has a fun variety of handmade, colorful shoes. I couldn't resist, I purchased a pair of their moccasins right away.   I love art and I love hand made, these are made from hand made Mola fabrics. I saw the fabrics on The Amazing Race when they went to Panama this last season.  I watched for the fabrics on the locals.  I saw them, mostly as those tiny, tight wrap around shorts or sarong things worn by the local native men. Made me wonder wear my Molas had been before I had them. Oh my! They are made with recycled materials. **giggling**
 
I've had some fun wearing these shoes, but not half as much as when I wear their boots.  People have stopped, asked where to get them and even taken photos, but I make a new friend EVERY time I where the boots. They are magic, they cause Smiling. Some are laughing at the wild clothes I wear, I do border circus clown sometimes, I know it, but either way, they are smiling.

Santa saw fit to put another pair under the tree this year.  These showed their magic the first day.  My husband broke his arm a month ago and I'm sitting and crocheting while waiting in the doctor's office during his check up, a woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked where I got my boots.  I handed her one of the business cards I found in the package and she said, with a big smile:  "I'm getting some today!"

I noticed lots of magic this season.  We bought our son a nice used bicycle for Christmas.  Not too expensive, but nicer than the one of mine he's been using for his only transportation.  It was stolen while he was working three days later.  Two days after that someone brought a men's ten speed to work for him that they hadn't been using.  We grabbed the same bow and re-created Christmas.  Life is good.

Happy New Year!

This is just a story about my experience, no one paid me to write about these shoes.