Apple Sauce

I halved the recipe because I wanted only 3/4 cups and not to use a lot of apples. Turned out tasty for eating or for use in a recipe. Follow directions sans sugar and spice for "unsweetened" applesauce.

I love the steam coming off the freshly made applesauce, but allow to cool before eating or using.

Ingredients:

4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white sugar (sugar in the raw?)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. 
2. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Notes:
Original Recipe

Brown Rice and Curried Tofu Salad

Thinking about dinner on my bus ride home one night and reading Runner's World, I came across this recipe. I had almost all the ingredients and it seemed like a quick and easy meal. I was not disappointed in the tastiness nor the easiness. I modified a bit. You can eat this warm or cold, but I tried it both ways and preferred it warm.

Ingredients:
14-oz block extra firm tofu (I used firm because I had it on-hand and it was fine)
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp curry, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
1/3 cup shredded coconut
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup edamame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
dash black pepper

Directions:

1. Cut a 14-ounce block of extra firm tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. 
2. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon each curry and salt, and 1/3 cup shredded coconut. 
3. Bake at 350°F for 15-30 minutes, until desired warmth and consistency is reached. 
4. Whisk 1/2 teaspoon each salt and curry into 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl. 
5. Add 2 cups cooked brown rice, 1 cup edamame, 1/4 cup each sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes, and a bit of black pepper. 
6. Stir in the cooked tofu.

Notes:

• Serves 3
• Serve warm or cold.
• Gluten-free and vegan.
• Serve as main dish or side salad.

Tofu Scramble

I have learned that I love tofu scrambles. There's very few that I don't like. Given that I keep adding potential scrambles to this page, I should probably break them out into individual ones, but the thing about tofu scrambles is you can do a little of this and a little of that. You never have to follow exactly any given recipe. 

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion or 3 scallions, finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bell pepper (red, yellow, orange, or green), finely diced
One 16-ounce package extra-firm tofu (previously frozen and thawed), drained and rinsed
1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves, rinsed and patted dry
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in the saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and saute for about 5 minutes, until the onion and peppers are tender and turning a little brown.
2. Meanwhile, using your hands, crumble the tofu into a bowl to create the consistency of coarse bread crumbs. Add to the saute pan and stir to combine.
3. Add the spinach, brown rice, turmeric, cumin, paprika, and nutritional yeast, and saute for about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tofu is a bright yellow color (from the turmeric) and thoroughly heated.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:

• Yields 2-4 servings
• Great use for leftover rice
• You can add mushrooms (crimini)
• Adapted from the book the 30 Day Vegan Challenge (book).
• Make Mexican Scramble by adding 1 cup of salsa after the tofu is cooked, and allowing it to heat through. Put into a breakfast burrito by wrapping the scramble in a tortilla and serving with tortilla chips, avocado.
• For an Italian twist, add fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, rosemary, and/or parsley.
• Adapted from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor, you can also do a Kale Scramble (shown right): 7.5 oz extra-firm tofu, 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 0.5 tsp garlic powder, 0.5 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, pinch turmeric, handful of kale. Follow directions above starting at step 2, adding everything except kale. Add in kale at the end, and cook down. Serves 1.
• Adapted from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor, you can do another Italian Scramble (shown below): 1-4 garlic cloves minced, 1 diced roma tomato, 15-oz extra firm tofu (drained), 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric. Saute garlic and tomato until mostly dry, add in tofu and all the seasonings, cooking over medium until warm and well combined. Serves 2. 

Decadent Chocolate Shake with a Hint of Peanut Butter

Wanted a shake. I didn't have exactly what was listed on the other recipe, here's how I made it.


Ingredients:
1 cup chocolate So Delicious ice cream,
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (Trader Joe's brand)
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup ice (~5 ice cubes from fridge ice maker)
2 tsp peanut butter 
2 Tbsp unsweetened (Dutch) cocoa
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Slightly soften the ice cream.
2. Add 3/4 cup milk to blender or Vitamix.
3. Add 3/4 of the total amount of ice cream.
4. Add 2 ice cubes.
5. Add the 2 tsp of peanut butter.
6. Blend on med-high. Use stick, if necessary to facilitate blending. With Vitamix or blend off, push down ice cream with stick.
7. Continue blending until the ingredients get smooth and creamy.
8. Add in the remaining almond milk, cinnamon, cocoa, chocolate chips, salt and ice.
9. Blend on high until smooth.
10. Add in the remaining ice cream (should be about 2 Tbsp)
11. Blend on low for a nice thickness to occur.
12. If shake is too thick, add a tad more milk.
13. For a thicker shake add more ice cream.
14. Add more ice if you want an icier shake.

1. Pour into a frosted shake glass and add a straw or long spoon.
2. Garnish with cocoa powder and cinnamon.

Notes:

• vegan 
• serves 2
• Original Recipe 

Sweet and Sour Sauce

11 year old son made this.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• dash of Salt
• dash of MSG
• dash of Tabasco
• 
  
• 1 tablespoon Cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• dash of White Pepper

2 Tbsp. ketchup

Instructions:

1. Cook first six ingredients over medium heat, then add cornstarch in water, Worcestershire sauce, and white pepper until it is bubbly and thick. Remove from stove and add ketchup.This will stay good in the refrigerator for about a week.

Notes:

• Original Recipe

Baked Potato Soup

One of my favorite meals was Baked Potato Soup. I've adapted that recipe to make Baked Potato Soup I can and will eat. It doesn't taste quite the same, but it's within the limits of thickness of the previous soup, and it's still very good.

Onions and Butter

Onions, Butter, and Flour

Water, Stock, Flakes, and Spices

Stock Added to Onion Mixture

Potato-Loving Dog

All Together and Simmered

 Ingredients:

1 ½ lb baking potatoes (more if you have a potato loving dog, as I do)

1/2 cup Earth Balance (or other vegan butter)

1 yellow onion, diced

1/3 cups flour

5 cups water

¼ cup vegetable stock

1 cup instant potato flakes

¾ teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 cup soy cream

1 cup almond milk

1 can whole kernal corn, drained

salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bake baking potatoes. Allow to fully cool. Remove skin & cut potatoes into 1/2” cubes. Set aside. (The baking can be done a day in advance to reduce total cook time on the day.)
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onions & sauté over medium-low heat for 10 min or until onions are translucent. Don’t allow onions to burn. 
3. Add flour to onions & butter and cook 4-5 min, stirring well until flour is absorbed. 
4. In a separate container, combine water, vegetable stock, potato flakes & seasonings. Stir or whisk thoroughly to eliminate lumps. 
5. Add stock mixture slowly to onion mixture, stirring constantly so no lumps form. 
6. Increase to medium heat & continue cooking until the soup begins to gently simmer. Add milk & cream, stirring until smooth & lightly thickened. 
7. Simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil. Soup should just simmer lightly. 
8. Add cubed baked potatoes & corn, and stir to combine.
9. Remove from heat & serve with sliced scallions.

 Notes:

Do not use coconut cream instead of soy cream, it will add too strong of a flavor. I used Silk soy cream, original.
 Some potato flakes have milk, so find a brand that does not have any animal products.
If you want this to be as similar to the non-vegan version, add cheddar style shreds and bac'un bits  (all vegan) to your bowl of soup.
Makes somewhere around 10 cups. Each 2-cup serving is about 350 calories, according to My Fitness Pal.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls aka "Buckeye Balls"

These are based off a recipe that we've had for years and years. I retested them with vegan ingredients, just to be sure they were okay. And they are. There was nothing inherently not vegan about the original recipe.

Ingredients:

4 (16 ounce) jars peanut butter = 64 oz.

3 1/2 (16 ounce) packages confectioners' sugar = 56 oz

1 cup vegan butter, melted

3 (12 ounce) packages vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips = 36 oz

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Directions:

1. Blend together the peanut butter, sugar and melted butter. Allow to chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
2. Roll into 1 inch round balls and chill in freezer about 20-30 minutes.
3. In a double boiler over medium heat, melt the chocolate and shortening. Whisk together until smooth.
4. With a toothpick inserted in the peanut butter balls, dip them into the chocolate. Place on waxed paper and allow to set in refrigerator.

Other Details:

• Makes about 12 dozen (144) balls.
• Great for sharing, as long as no one has a peanut allergy.
• You can half or quarter this recipe.
• I also think you could use coconut oil instead of shortening, but I haven't tried it. Let me know if you try using coconut oil instead and how it turns out.
• "Buckeye Balls" refers to the mascot of Ohio State University, and is a type of chestnut.

Homemade Potato Chips

These are a quick and easy go-to for some yummy chips. I don't think they are really any healthier than eating processed potato chips out of a bag, but they are fresh and once you get the knack of frying them, terrific! We make them all the time.

Ingredients:
1-4 Potatoes (depending on how many people you are feeding and how long you want to cook)
salt
canola oil for frying

Directions:

1. Peel and slice your potatoes thinly. You can leave the skins on if you like. You can hand cut or use a food processor to cut your potatoes. Since you fry in batches, you can have slightly uneven cuts.
2. Add an inch or so of canola oil to a Dutch oven or deep cast iron pan.
3. Heat oil to about 375ºF. 
4. Add the potatoes so that they are a single layer in the fryer. Flip after a few minutes. Fry until you see a nice golden brown and the chips are at your preferred crispy level.

Other details:
I eat these as is and the child puts ketchup on them.

Curried Red Lentil Soup

Having a large amount of lentils and wanting something hot for the wintery day, I went searching for a lentil soup. We've been making lentil soups a lot since having a great one at Bananas Grill in Seattle. We've generally been disappointed. But this one, this one hit the spot! I found it at Vegetarian Times. I added potatoes and changed a couple spices since I was missing what they called for. Here's my adaptation.

Ingredients
2 cups red lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 qt. low-sodium vegetable broth
1 large onion, finely chopped (2 cups)
4 celery stalks, finely chopped (1 ½ cups)
2 large carrots, finely chopped (1 ½ cups)
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed 
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
couple pinches of dried parsley 
couple pinches of dried basil
1 Tbs. curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbs. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Bring lentils, vegetable broth, and 4 cups water to a simmer in large pot. Skim away foam that rises to top. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, and garlic; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. 
3. Add parsley, basil, curry powder, and cumin, and cook 20 minutes more, or until lentils are soft. Season with salt and pepper and stir in lemon juice.

Other Details:

• Serves 6
• Original Recipe

Things We Tried This Week That Did Not Make the Codex

I only had one thing I made last week that didn't get added to the Codex:

Individual Tourtier with Flaky Pie Crust

Cookbook Review: The Lotus and The Artichoke

I love The Lotus and The Artichoke blog. When Justin P. Moore started his Kickstarter to fund a vegan cookbook, I supported it. 

I received the e-book cookbook and I pre-ordered for my mother the physical copy. We both agree it is a beautiful book. She is interested to make a few recipes. I already made a few of the recipes that appear in the cookbook. Every recipe I have tried has been good and some have made it into the Codex. 

There are only 1000 printed, softcover copies of the first edition. You can purchase a signed copy as of the writing of this blog (12/29/12). 

The book opens with a photo journal of the travels of Justin. The Table of Contents is organized by continent of food origin. The e-book has page links to the recipes in the contents, which is nice. We get a nice Introduction regarding the history of Justin's eating and cooking preferences, followed by setting up the kitchen. 

Each chapter begins with Justin's experiences in that continent's cuisine. 16 pages in, we get our first full page photograph of food and a recipe. Not every recipe has a photo, but darn near every recipe does. I look forward to trying a number of the recipes in this cookbook. 

The website highlights these features to the book: 

• 216 pages of amazing recipes, photographs, tips & tricks
• 100+ vegan recipes inspired by world travel and over 20 years of dedicated kitchen experiences and adventures
• 80+ full-color photo pages of mouth-watering delights
• Cool, custom artwork: Hand-carved blockprints & miniature paintings
• Easy to follow layouts, description, and details on how to prepare delicious and stunningly beautiful meals

Overall, I suggest purchasing either the physical copy or the e-book. 

Pumpkin Pie

The last of pumpkin season for me (runs September thru December.) I made this on the last day of 2012. Both kids enjoyed it. I liked it too and it was quite easy to make. For a reasonably easy dessert in the fall, I'll return to this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups raw soaked cashews
1 cup maple syrup
1 can organic pumpkin puree (16 ounces) 
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
8 ounces Better Than Cream Cheese

optional: 1/2 tsp salt to taste (depends how much salt you soaked your cashews in)

One standard vegan graham cracker pie crust (homemade or purchased from store)

Directions:

1. Soak about one cup of raw cashews in about 2 1/2 cups of water in a large bowl. Add about 1/2 – 1 tsp of salt to the bowl – mix to dissolve.
2. Soak this cashew bowl overnight in the fridge. Soak time should be 8 hours - 48 hours. Do not exceed these times in either direction.
3. Preheat your oven to 400º.
4. Drain the water from your cashews.  Add 1 1/4 cups of cashews to Vitamix, or other blender or food processor.
5. Add in the maple syrup, vegan cream cheese, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Blend on low -> high for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture is completely creamy. If your mixture is a bit thick for some reason – you can add in a few teaspoons of either water, maple syrup or even non-dairy milk. After blending, do a taste test and add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt if needed. 
6. Pour your mix into a graham cracker pie shell.
7. Bake pie at 400º for 10 minutes. Then reduce to 350º and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes. Your pie will firm up significantly upon cooling and chilling in the fridge.
8. Remove pie from oven. Cool on counter for at least 30 minutes. Then place in fridge until ready to serve, at least 2 hours. 

Other Details:

• Original Recipe

Side of Garlic Fries

I am loving The Minimalist Baker! If you have someone in your house who likes garlic fries, these are a fairly easy home version. You are flipping them frequently for half an hour, so not exactly leave and forget. But worth the effort.

Ingredients:
3 russet potatoes, roughly peeled and cut into even wedges or strips
2-3 Tbsp canola or olive oil to rim pan
1 Tbsp olive oil (for coating fries)
sea salt and pepper to taste (~ 1/4 tsp each)
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475º.
2. Soak potatoes in hot water for 15 minutes, then drain and dry thoroughly with paper towels or clean dish towels.
3. Dry the bowl they were in and then place them back in. Drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil and add 1/4 tsp each of salt, pepper and minced garlic. Toss.
4. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with canola oil and drain off any excess. Transfer fries to baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 5 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for 15 minutes more. Remove from oven to turn over with a spatula. Make sure to keep them in a single layer to ensure even baking. Place back in oven to cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, flipping once more. Return to oven for 5-10 minutes more or until golden brown and crispy.
7. Remove from oven and transfer to serving plate. Serve warm.

Other Details:

• Original Recipe

Fettuccine in Coconut Cream Sauce

Marketed as Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo, I was intrigued with this dish. I halved the recipe and it came out great. I also approximated the ratios due to a lack of all measuring utensils since the day before was Christmas and the dishwasher decided not to finish the load of dishes - including ALL the measuring cups & spoons.

I'll make this recipe again, at least for the kids and I.

Ingredients:
1 lb fettuccine noodles
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
dash of onion and garlic powder

Directions:

1. Cook fettuccine noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
2. Blend all remaining ingredients in Vitamix or other blender. Pour over the drained noodles.
3. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens slightly.

Vegan Preston Rolls

As I stated last year, Preston Rolls are a tradition at my house. I love Preston Rolls. However, I became vegan this year, so the standing family recipe would not be suitable. I have been learning vegan baking, and made just a couple edits. Because Preston Rolls are so finicky anyway, I think these turned out just about the same as previously - at least within the variation that one can expect out of Preston Rolls.

Ingredients:

1+ cake yeast
1⁄2 cup lukewarm water


2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
6 tablespoons water


2 1⁄2 cups (unsweetened) almond milk
 1⁄2 cup vegetable shortening  
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup sugar
8 1⁄4 cups flour


For rolling out:
1 stick vegan butter, melted
cinnamon
brown sugar
flour to coat counter and rolling pin
walnuts 


For icing:
1 cup powdered sugar 
1 tablespoon almond milk  

Directions:

1. Soak yeast in lukewarm water. (I have a hard time with the “lukewarm.” Basically, lukewarm is room temperature, so I take my cup of water at a medium temperature out of the tap, and let sit for awhile on the counter. Then I add the yeast and stir just a tiny bit, lightly.) When dissolved, add 1⁄2 cup flour. Beat well and set aside to rise. It should about double in volume. See photo below for end result.
2. Make your flax eggs by beating your ground flax seeds with the water. Set aside in fridge for 15-60 minutes. 
3. Heat milk and shortening together, stirring to dissolve shortening. Cool to lukewarm. 
4. Add sugar, salt, and beaten flax eggs to milk mixture. (Do this in stand mixer using the low setting with beater attachment.)
5. Gradually add yeast mixture and flour. After 1st two cups of flour, switch to dough hook. Knead well. (Let dough hook continue for 10-15 minutes.)
6. Dough should not be stiff. Allow to rise (takes a few hours). Punch down, rise, punch down, rise, punch down.
7. Set in rolls:  Pat out, brush melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts as desired. Roll up, cut up, and put in greased (with shortening, vegan butter, spray, or your favorite method) pans. (The rolls should be crafted within about 12 hours of first starting to raise the dough. Any later and they get a little iffy.)
8. Allow to rise. (Can leave overnight if it's late.)
9. Bake 350º for 30 minutes. Serve warm out of the oven with icing. You can serve straight out of the oven, or microwave individual rolls for about 20 seconds each.
10. Just before serving make icing.

For icing:

1. In a small bowl, stir milk into the sugar until smooth. Should be fairly thick. Add more sugar to thicken, add more milk to hin. Spoon over individual rolls. Icing will harden after a short time. Store in fridge. Stir to continue uese once hardened. Add milk to thin if necessary. 

Notes:

• Makes 1 batch, ~ 4 dozen rolls. Double by adding another yeast cake.

• Where to find cake yeast: Fleishmann's makes cake yeast, which I found in Seattle in the dairy section (next to the Toll House Cookie dough tubs) at a local grocery store (one that is actually a part of a national chain.) When I lived near my mother, she'd procure cake yeast from a local bakery and deliver some to me. Cake yeast is called cake yeast because it is active live yeast in the form of a cake, rather than active dry yeast in the form of granules. Do not substitute other forms of yeast - they will not be Preston Rolls.

This is the end result of step 1 - bubbly mixture about twice the initial volume of the yeast + water + flour.