Raw?

So I've been intrigued with raw foods for awhile, though I haven't actually attempted to make a raw dish. However, to kick start my cooking of raw foods I've signed up for a cooking class that teaches all the basics. It's all about nuts, and soaking, and seeds, and blending, and all that good stuff. It's not until October, but I'm already looking forward to it! Hopefully, I'll get some good recipes I can share with you all!

Black Bean Chili with Dark Ale

Thanks VT, for the awesome picture.

This is a recipe from Vegetarian Times' March 2009 issue. It's delicious! I make up a pot and then I use leftovers for such things as burritos and baked potatoes. The original recipe called for canned chipotle chiles, but I can never use those things fast enough (I'm told you can freeze them... I just hate freezer food though) so I substituted Chipotle Tabasco sauce. The key to keeping this recipe vegan is to make sure you use a vegan beer. VT suggests New Belgium 1554, but I often use local vegan microbrews for cooking. Vegan beer lists are available online if you'd like to check on your preferred brands.

Black Bean Chili with Dark Ale:
2 Tb. olive oil
2 Tb. cumin
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 Tb. minced garlic
1 Tb. Chipotle Tabasco sauce
2 (14-oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
24 oz. dark beer
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes
3/4 c. fresh or frozen corn

1. Heat oil in 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions, bell pepper, and garlic about 5-7 minutes or until soft. Add cumin and cook for 1 minute more or until fragrant.

2. Stir in Tabasco sauce, beans, beer, tomatoes, and corn. Bring chili to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes, or until thick.

Let it simmer the whole time. This really helps get it thick enough and helps to balance the flavors. Enjoy!

To take a look at the original recipe, please click here.

Pasta Primavera

I've been neglectful of my blog for quite some time. I did some research this summer for school, and it kept me busy all summer long! I can't even tell you how many bowls of cereal and celery sticks with peanut butter and nectarines I went through! Now that my busy season is pretty much over with, I finally feel like doing some cooking!

This is a quick and easy version of pasta primavera. I've never been fond of heavy cream-based sauces (even before I went vegan), so this lighter version suits me well. I hope you enjoy it.

Pasta Primavera:
1 Tb. olive oil
1 Tb. vegan margarine
3 c. mixed, sliced veggies such as red and green bell peppers, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, and asparagus
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 tsp. minced garlic
3/4 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. plain soymilk
1 - 2 tsp. arrowroot
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 (12 oz.) bag farfelle (bow tie) pasta
Vegan parmesan, optional

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute all vegetables except the tomatoes in the olive oil/margarine for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook another 3 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Add the vegetable broth, soymilk, salt, basil, and Italian seasoning.

3. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the arrowroot until you reach your desired sauce thickness (it doesn't take much).

4. Drain and rinse the pasta and stir it in with the vegetables. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan to serve.

May Update

So, it's been pretty sporatic around here lately. I was real busy with school since I had a lot of finals. I'm a biology major so sometimes those finals get a little intense. I then followed that with a period of extreme laziness, so it's not until now that I'm finally tired of being lazy and am ready to do stuff. However, from here on out I'm gonna be busy all over again! How does that happen?

For starters, I'm going to take a canning class. They have one coming up next week where they teach you all about canning. Since meat and dairy don't can well, I don't have to worry about us learning how to can non-veg stuff. I'm also looking forward to getting a bunch of salsa and pickle recipes...

I'm also going to Schwagstock here in about a week. I love it. It's a hippie music festival with a Grateful Dead tribute band as it's headliner. We basically just camp there for 4 days (it's down in a secluded part of the Missouri Ozarks) and listen to music and have a good time. Heck, I'm looking forward to the road trip just as much as the festival itself! I plan on taking some veganized Chex mixes and various other snacks with me, so I'll post those recipes (it might not be until I get back though. I work 9-hour shifts the entire week before I leave).

I've also sent in some paperwork to be a volunteer at my local animal shelter. Since I can't have animals in my apartment, and I dearly miss having a dog around, I thought this would be a good idea. I'm thinking I'll do it every Tuesday or so. I just hope I don't get too attached to any of them!

AND I've also be asked to do some undergraduate research this semester. I'm really nervous about it because I've never really done any research before. This particular research is on the determination of pollinator guilds for native wildflowers on northwest Missouri praries. It'll last about eight weeks and when I'm done I have to present my findings. When all that's done I'll have about a month before school starts again, and I have a full courseload once again. I'm trying real hard to graduate in four semesters. This fall I'll be taking two gen. eds. and two majors classes (chemistry, anthropology, sophomore literature, and plant physiology). I'm technically a biology major with a botany concentration, as plants are my specialty!

So yeah. I'll be busy, and the busier the schedule the quicker the meals. More on that later.

Schwagstock 40

Schwagstock 40

May 22-24, Memorial Day Weekend

Camp Zoe, MO

More peace, love, music, and camping!

I will be going to this one. I hope to see you there!

For more info: http://www.campzoe.com/schwagstock40.html

UPDATE:
Here are some photos from my awesome adventure at Schwag:

This is me, grooving the night away in front of a cozy fire (not pictured, lol).

Me, and my best friend (you may know her as the Wandering Hen), and her brother.

Hanging out in the sunshine. I love South Missouri!

Me and my friend, dipping our feet into the Current River. The Current River is part of the Ozark Scenic Riverways in Missouri. It's a beautiful, clear river with a white rocky bottom. This particular bend is nice and shallow. It was still too cold to swim, but it felt great on my feet!

Sticky Buns!

I made these amazing vegan cinnamon rolls for my omni friend's birthday. She loved them! They're really not that hard to make, and if you'd like, you can top them with some sort of glaze or cream cheeze frosting. We just ate them plain, and they're real good with a hot cup of coffee! Enjoy!

Dough:
1 1/2 cups warm soymilk (110 degrees F)

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 pkgs)

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 1/2 Tbs. vegan margarine, melted

a little less than 1/2 Tb. salt

1 cup unbleached white flour

Filling:

1 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. vegan margarine

2 1/4 c. cinnamon

1/4 c. sliced almonds (opt.)

In a large bowl, mix warm soymilk, yeast, and sugar. Add 2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly. Mix in melted vegan margarine and salt. Stir in 1 more cup unbleached flour. Flour a flat surface and knead a few times (dough will be soft). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes).

On a floured surface, roll dough out to about 1/4 in. thickness in a rectangle. Spread the vegan margarine all over the surface, followed by the brown sugar, cinnamon, and almonds. Be sure to leave about 1/4 in. edge. Using the long side, roll up the dough in a jelly roll-like fashion and smooth dough to seal. Using dental floss, cut into 12 rolls. Place on a sprayed baking sheet, cover with a towel, and let rise another 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. As soon as I take them out of the oven I usually flip the rolls over to let them cool. This helps keeps the delicious ooze from running out all over the pan. Flip them back over when they're cool. Top with a glaze, if desired.

Salad Daze

All I've been wanting is salad, salad, smoothies, salad, salad, grapefruit out the wazoo, and more salad. This is one of my favorites. To save time and money, I bake my own tofu and cook the rice ahead of time. I also waited patiently until the salad greens and mixed veggies went down in price. Yesterday I went out and stocked up on fruits, veggies, and tofu. Everything I bought was on sale for very good prices. I was so happy! I plan on eating delicious meal-sized salads for the next month. The weather got cold again, so eating all these fresh greens is a nice way to put a little spring back in my life. This particular salad is simple, tasty, and by far one of my favorites. It's also quite easy to make it into a whole meal for only a few calories (gotta work on that winter pudge).

Simple Asian Salad ("simple" because it doesn't use any fancy dressings)

Baked Asian-style tofu, diced
Leftover rice, quinoa, or other grain of choice
Red onions, thinly sliced
Red pepper, thinly sliced
Sliced almonds
Mandarin oranges, each segment halved
Mixed salad greens (I like to use a mix of frisee, baby romaine, baby spinach, mache, parsley, etc. No iceburg for me).

Feel free to add:
Some thinly sliced carrot
Thinly sliced celery
Snow peas

I like to layer mine up then I sprinkle it with just a little bit of tamari and rice vinegar for flavor.

When made using: 4 oz. baked, marinated tofu; 1/4 c. no-sugar-added mandarin oranges, 1/2 Tb. sliced almonds, 1/2 c. cooked rice, and 1/2 Tb. tamari over about 3-4 c. mixed greens, you're only looking at about 400 calories. This salad makes a great lunch. If I get hungry later on in the day around 3 or so, I usually follow this up with a healthy smoothie. Delicious.

Peanut Butter Monster Cookies!

I'm not gonna lie. These are probably the best cookies I've eaten in a long time (not including my Flarts, that is). To me, a Monster cookie contains a variety of goodies. In this case, I filled the cookies with oats, nuts and coconut. You won't eveb be able to tell they're vegan!

These peanut butter wonders are best eaten warm with a nice glass of soymilk!

NOTE: The peanut butter I use is Skippy All-Natural creamy. It already has sugar in it. If you're using peanut butter that's basically smashed peanuts and oil (check the label) you will probably want to add some additional sugar. But that's up to you.

Also feel free to leave out the pecans, coconut, and cocoa and substitute with 1 c. vegan chocolate chips. Or leave all the extras out and make regular, old-fashioned peanut butter cookies.

1 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1/2 c. rolled or old-fashioned oats (though I'm pretty sure I used quick)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 Tb. milled flax seed + 5 Tb. hot water
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. chopped pecans
3 Tb. unsweetened shredded coconut
2 Tb. cocoa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl or cup, combine the milled flax seed and the hot water. Stir; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, shortening, and oil with a mixer until it's smooth and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and mix until it's well combined. Add the flax seed/water mixture and the vanilla to the brown sugar mixture and beat until smooth.

Beat in the flour mixture until combined. Add the pecans, coconut, and cocoa and stir until well mixed (I add the cocoa and this step in order to give the dough a nice peanut butter/chocolate swirl look).

Make tablespoon-sized balls of dough and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2-3 inches apart. Press down to about 1/2-inch thickness with a fork (you won't know they have peanut butter in them unless they have the fork marks!).

Bake about 12 minutes, or until cookies are golden and dry on top. Cool on the baking sheet a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Quick Pineapple Quinoa Stir-Fry

This was very, very good. It will definitely be a repeat recipe around this house! The sweetness from the pineapple and the hint of BBQ from the hoisin sauce go very well together. By using leftover quinoa and chopped veggies, this recipe can be assembled very quickly.

1 c. leftover quinoa
1/2 block of extra-firm tofu
1/2 red pepper, cut into large chunks
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 c. chopped broccoli florets
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
1/2 small can of pineapple, drained and chopped
1/2 Tb. toasted sesame seeds
1/2 Tb. minced garlic
4 dried red chili peppers (arbol)
Oil and chili oil to saute

Sauce:
1/3 c. hoisin sauce
1 Tb. tamari
1/2 Tb. lime juice
1/2 Tb. seasoned rice vinegar
A few shakes toasted sesame oil

Press and drain tofu until no more water comes out (about 10-15 minutes). Meanwhile, toast walnut pieces in a dry skillet. Set aside.

Cut the tofu into very small dice and saute in some oil and chili oil with two of the dried peppers until browned on all sides. Remove from heat.

In the same skillet, adding a little more oil if necessary, saute the red peppers, onion, remaining dried chiles (2), and broccoli with the garlic until crisp-tender; about 3 minutes. Add the cooked tofu, chopped pineapple, and sauce. Heat another minute or so or until sauce and pineapple are heated. Add the leftover quinoa, sesame seeds, and toasted walnuts. Mix all ingredients until quinoa is throughly coated with sauce and heated. To serve, remove the chili peppers. Enjoy!

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

I love baking bread and I'm always trying out different recipes. This recipe bakes a white loaf and it's the first white bread I've made homemade. I use whole-grain unbleached white flour and regular whole wheat flour when making it. I don't generally buy bread flour, so I added vital wheat gluten to help with its texture. It makes a more tender loaf with a larger crumb.

This is probably the best bread I've ever made. With this bread, I've made the resolution to wean myself off of store-bought bread. I also hope to start experimenting with various grains, nuts, seeds, and spices. Even sprouts! Give this recipe a try and see how much better bread can be!

Simple Whole Wheat Bread:
3 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (or 2 pkgs.)
1/2 cup sugar
5 cups whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat graham flour
2 Tbs. + 2 tsp. vital wheat gluten
3 Tbs. vegan margarine, melted
1 Tb. salt
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tb. vegan margarine, melted

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and sugar. Add 5 cups whole-grain unbleached white flour and vital wheat gluten, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

It should look like this after a couple of minutes:

It looks deceptively like a tasty chai tea.

Mix in melted vegan margarine and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch (this may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).

Punch down, and divide into 2 loaves. Place each loaf in a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch (another 45 minutes to 1 hour).

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. If it sounds hollow when you tap on it, it's done. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted vegan margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely before storing.