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...
 

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.

Vegan Pizza with Sunflower Seed Crust

These little goodies were a delightful treat for dinner last night.  There are two more crusts left, I think I'll make two more and use the rest of the sauce in some whole grain pasta with some greens for dinner tonight.

This is an easy crust that can be made in the oven or a dehydrator.  Making the marinara sauce and crusts on the weekend and storing for up to a week in an airtight container, makes for a quick, nutritious, and tasty meal during the week.  Just pour on some sauce, a couple slices of zucchini or whatever veggie that happens to be around and bake for 10 minutes.  You can use raw sunflower seeds or soaked and dried sunflower seeds.  I buy my seeds and nuts in large quantities, soak them, and dehydrate them so they're handy.

Sunflower Seed Pizza ~ Vegan & Gluten Free
This is my version of a recipe from Deliciously Organic.

Makes about 6 – 6″ pizzas

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds (I used soaked and dehydrated seeds, but raw or toasted seeds will also work well)
2 roasted red, orange or yellow bell peppers
1/2 teaspoon dried basil and oregano
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

For the Marinara:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (24-ounce) jar crushed tomatoes (I used home canned organic tomatoes)
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, rosemary, and oregano

Any other toppings of your choice: mushrooms, tempeh, basil, greens, etc.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300ºF, adjust rack to middle position, and place a pizza stone or pizza baking sheet in the oven (the stone/pan needs to preheat along with the oven). Place sunflower seeds in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground. Add bell peppers, Italian seasoning, sea salt and cheese.

Process until smooth.
Place a small sheet of parchment paper on the counter. Place a 1/4 cup scoop of dough on the parchment. Spread dough into a 6″ round. Bake on the preheated pizza stone for 20 minutes.  I used the dehydrator at 115º flipping after about three hours.  They were ready to use in about two to three more hours, crisp, but still a bit pliable.  They are going to bake in the oven for another ten minutes, so not quite crispy is desirable. I don't know, is there an 'al dente' for seeds and nuts?

Meanwhile add the marinara ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Remove crust from the oven. Top with 2 tablespoons marinara and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of toppings of your choice. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve.

I used simple toppings, thinly sliced yellow zucchini, some of the roasted peppers I used for the sauce, and Daiya vegan cheddar and mozzarella style cheese.

I can't believe it's Tofu ~ Tofu Quiché

I made some awesome tofu quiché in muffin cups yesterday.  I created a variation of my friend Felicia's recipe.  She brought some to the last potluck and I always have some tofu and fresh veggies around. Thought I'd give it a try this weekend. This is an easy meal and can be made with just about any vegetables.  She did find out while creating her recipe that the vegetables that contain the most moisture, like zucchini, should be dried a little or sauteéd first. I sliced a yellow zucchini very thin and weighted the slices between paper towels for about 30 minutes.  I had some fresh asparagus spears and just chopped them in about 1/2 inch sections. I also chopped some green onions to add to the vegetable mixture.  I didn't use mushrooms this time, but that's OK, my honey doesn't care for them much.  I also didn't have soft tofu, but I did have some vegan cream cheese in the fridge, which is made with tofu.  It worked great.  The little quiches came out firm, but fluffy. For my gluten intolerant friends, it's not only vegan, it's also gluten free.

Tofu Quiché

      by Felicia Divina

2 tsp minced garlic
1 c chopped vegetables, spinach works best for me but anything low moisture, if you use zucchini saute first to get moisture out or dry it with paper towels. (I used asparagus, green onions, & sliced yellow zucchini.)
1 1/2 c chopped mushroom, sauteed (add the rosemary here if you are using dried)
tsp chives
tsp rosemary
1 box firm tofu
1/2 c soft tofu
3 or 4 TB nutritional yeast
2 TB cornstarch  (I omitted the cornstarch)
2 tsp tahini (heaping, I love the stuff)
1 tsp tamari (Tamari is my addition to her recipe)
pinch freshly ground black pepper
pinch turmeric (I used big pinch turmeric, about a teaspoon)

I also added a sprinkle of cayenne to the top of each and a little Daiya cheddar and mozzarella style vegan cheese.

Spray muffin tin, spoon veggies into tins

Blend everything but the veggies in food processor or blender until smooth.

Pour over the veggies. Bake at 350º for about 25 to 30 minutes, they will be firm and golden brown.