Veggie Potluck & Potato Corn Chowder

It's been a few months since we've had a vegan/vegetarian potluck in Longview.  We had to find a new home, so we ended up skipping a couple months.  The Youth & Family Link building worked out very well, it's almost too big, but we now have room to grow.  We were starting to get a little squeezed in the produce store.  There were about thirty people together for an excellent meal. We had a nice variety of choices of savory dishes, salads, and desserts.  One of my favorites was a potato corn chowder which I promptly recreated today.  It's so creamy and warm, a perfect rainy day meal.  We caught up with some old friends and met a few new people.  Don Merrick from Northwest Veg came and spoke to us about corporate structures of the food industry and filled us in on some of the specifics and progression of the GMO issues.  Everyone seemed to enjoy dinner and a couple of folks were happy to find something like this in town and said they'd be back again.  Our next potluck is March 23.

 



Potato Corn Chowder
Makes 8 cups
Use 3.5-7 qt. cooker

#1  Blend the following ingredients in a blender 1-2 minutes, until very smooth.  Pour into slow cooker.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked two hours
1/3 cup pimento
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
3 tablespoons quick or rolled oats
3 tablespoons Vegan chiken seasoning
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

#2  Rinse the blender with 2 1/2 cups water and add to the cooker.

#3  Add the following ingredients to the cooker and cook until the potatoes are tender.  Average cooker about 4-5 hours on lowest setting.

3 cups peeled potatoes cut into 1/2" cubes
2 cups frozen organic corn
2 cups finely chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion

Garnish with dried parsley, chopped fresh parsley, or chopped green onions.  Add a little non dairy milk or water if the chowder is too thick.

Pumpkin Spice Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting ~ Vegan

This was definitely a big hit at the potluck this weekend.  There wasn't much evidence that a cake had been on that platter when we were cleaning up.  It's a flavorful cake with a dash of cayenne.  I was excited to see how cayenne in a sweet cake would work out, love it! The frosting is fun and really good.  The cashew creme I usually make doesn't hold up it's shape like this one did.  This frosting allows me some time to work with it before it softens too much.  But, this frosting does have quite a bit of sugar.  I'll probably make this cake a couple of times this fall and winter.  I think I'll stick to a dusting of powdered sugar and make this frosting for special occasions  At least occasions where we'll have help eating it.

This is another great recipe from the VegNews 2011 Food Issue, the featured recipe on the cover.  I made two cakes, one a week ago to test the recipe for the potluck.  I just dusted the first one with a little organic powdered sugar and it was great.  Frosting is nice, but it isn't necessary.  This cake is moist and sweet enough by itself.

I didn't make many changes.  I used sucanot for the sugars and any non dairy milk and creamer can be substituted.  I think I used almond milk and coconut milk creamer.  I used fresh pumpkin, pecans instead of walnuts, and coconut cream whipped with a tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice instead of the vegan sour cream called for in the frosting recipe.  I did use the vegan cream cheese, margarine, and shortening.  I thought that was already overdoing it on the processed vegan ingredients, so I didn't want to add any more if I could help it.  The amount of sugar in the frosting is pretty scary too. This frosting recipe will be great for events I want an impressive looking dessert, that's for sure.

Pumpkin Spice Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

     Kathy Patasky, Healthy Happy Life

Makes one 9-inch cake

For the Cake:

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup brown sugar
 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 cup non dairy milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons egg replacer
3 tablespoons water
2 1/4 cups shredded carrots

For the frosting:

8 ounces vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup vegan margarine, softened
1/2 cup vegan shortening, softened
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
5 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons soymilk or soy creamer
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350º, and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.  For the cake, in a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne.  Add brown sugar, sugar, pumpkin, maple syrup, soy milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and vinegar, and mix well.

In a small bowl, combine egg replacer and water, then add to the cake batter.  Fold in carrots and walnuts, and pour batter into prepared cake pans.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until edges start to lightly brown.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with a hand or counter-top mixer until smooth and creamy.  Place in refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes before frosting cake.  When cake and frosting are chilled, frost cake, garnish with freshly shredded carrots, and serve.

Thanks for sharing your recipe Kathy Patalsky!  I think I'll be making this a few times before the year is out and checking out your other recipes.

Summer is Here!

The last two weeks seem like I've been in continual motion.  Summer is here, and I've been taking full advantage of it. Our vegan/vegetarian potluck was June 26 and another success.  We had about 25 people and the sun showed up so we were able to sit outside and visit.  The musicians who contacted me didn't show up, but it was not a problem.  We had a great time getting to know each other and sharing what we prepared with each other.  We had some door prizes this time and my husband made some great flower arrangements with flowers from our yard. Our next potluck is August 21 and my friend John has agreed to play  music for us.  He has his own original folksy-blues kind of music, it should be very enjoyable.


Right after that, we held a bake sale at work for our Relay for Life team and baked for three days. I made about 12 dozen vegan cookies, spelt foccacia bread, and some chocolate beet cake. Donna, Tracy, & Michele were also busy in their kitchens, we filled two long tables with goodies and I think we raised a little over $200 for our team. My favorite was Michele's chai muffins with pistachios.

The very next weekend was the fourth of July and we played with the hippies up at the Rainbow Gathering.  That was an enjoyable experience, it involved a bit more hiking than I was ready for.  If we ever decide to go backpacking, I might have to start working out a bit more before we get going and definitely pack less.  I am so glad we made it, much of it did feel just like home.  I had so many memories of our friends and family in La Honda, especially the ones that are no longer with us. I volunteered at a vegan kitchen on "Serenity Ridge".  It was a beautiful spot with a lot of friendly people, musicians playing their guitars, drums, and singing camp songs.  The weather was great, a bit cold at night, but the sun came out for all three days we were up there.  It was just like being a kid at summer camp.

Last week we were blessed with a reunion with old friends. Tony & Catherine were visiting Oregon from Virginia to support their niece who is walking the Oregon Coast for charity.  We spent Thursday afternoon walking around Portland and had dinner at the Blossoming Lotus, in Portland, and in my opinion one of  the best vegan restaurants in Portland.  The last time we saw them was about 22 or 23 years ago when we met in Yosemite for some camping and hiking.I've known Tony and Catherine since I was about 22, we've had some crazy times together.  Cathy & I were reminiscing about a weekend, long ago, we traveled from LA to Las Vegas in the back of our Chevy Luv truck. Yes, we went all the way on a small mattress in the back of the truck and had a great time.  Can't imagine doing that now. I remember our 'truck lag' lasting all weekend.  Standing still felt like we were still moving.

The garden is growing well and I'm beginning to find treasures every time we go out.  Last week I harvested kale, spinach, garlic scapes, a couple artichokes, and lettuce.  Garlic scapes are the curly flower top that shoots out of the hard necked garlic.  I cut them off to give more energy and nutrients to the garlic head growing below the ground. The garlic scapes are great sautéed and can be stored and used for flavoring future dishes. I've rough chopped them and placed them in the dehydrator.  Woo who, the house is filled with the smell of garlic, so strong, I wonder if the neighbors can smell it. I'll grind some into a powder when they are completely dry to use in raw marinara sauces and other goodies I make this year. Our artichokes are coming in strong this year.  I've already plucked a nice big one to try.

This weekend I'm attending a 2 day Vegan Fusion workshop taught by the co-author of my most favorite vegan cookbooks,  Vegan World Fusion Cuisine, Mark Reinfeld.  I'll be sure to post about the fun I had there.