Living Without Meat

Ever since discovering nutritional yeast, I have been trying to find more ways to use it. If you are not familiar with it, nutritional yeast comes as yellow flakes or a powder and has a cheesy flavor. It is a good source of complete protein and many vitamins including B. It can be used in recipes such as dips and sauces, or can be sprinkled on top of food as a condiment similar to Parmesan cheese. You can buy it in the bulk section of most health food stores.

My first time using it, I made Kristen Suzanne’s raw Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce. Since then I have also tried it multiple times with pasta and oil at the recommendation of a life-long vegetarian friend. Today was the first time I mixed it into something that was my own creation: a cheesy white bean hummus!

Cheesy White Bean Hummus

In a Vita-Mix or other high-powered blender, mix the following for one to two servings:

* 1/2 can of cannellini beans (also called white kidney beans), washed and drained
* 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
* 1 tsp. garlic powder
* 1 Tbsp. flax seed oil
* 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
* 1/2 cup water, more or less may be needed depending on your blender’s capabilities
* 1 1/2 Tbsp. tahini

Blend all of the ingredients until smooth. If your blender is struggling to mix everything, add a little more water. If you don’t have tahini, leaving it out won’t make a big difference.

Serve it with crackers, pretzels, pita chips, or pita bread and a variety of chopped vegetables - carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, baby corn. Enjoy and share!

I have had to take a few weeks off, but today Suzy Homemaker Sunday was back in full swing! After signing a new lease this weekend for a gorgeous, brand new apartment, I have been inspired to start prepping for moving. Aside from cleaning, doing laundry, and throwing junk out, I decided to make a loaf of herb bread and play around with my Euro Cuisine yogurt maker to start using up some of the food in my pantry because I hate packing and moving food.

Vegan Herb Bread

Throw all of these ingredients into your bread machine and bake it on medium crust:

2 1/2 tsp. yeast
1 1/8 c. warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. oil
3 c. flour - half bread flour and half whole wheat
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt (2 if you are using sea salt and like your bread a little salty tasting)
1 tsp. of several dried herbs, double up on your favorite - I used basil, oregano, rosemary (x 2), and parsley
2 tsp. garlic powder

Specialty Soy Yogurts

Following the directions to make yogurt with a maker, I boiled soy milk, let it cool to room temperature, and then mixed in a small container of plain, store bought, soy yogurt. When I divided it into the seven single-serving containers in the maker, I added a flavor to each one this time. I cannot attest to their flavor yet, but to each serving I added one of the following:

* Fresh blueberries
* Agave nectar
* Cinnamon and sugar
* Raspberry jelly
* Carob powder
* Vanilla extract
* Nothing, because it is so good plain too!

Happy Suzy Homemaker Sunday!

My knowledge of vegan pop culture failed me this week: I missed wishing a happy birthday to well-known, outspoken vegan advocates!

Tuesday, June 9, was the 28th birthday of the gorgeously adorable, much-loved vegan princess Natalie Portman. Then, two days later on Thursday, June 11, it was PETA President Ingrid Newkirk’s 60th birthday celebration!

Celebrating a vegan birthday in your social network? Here are some good vegan birthday cake recipes and ideas to try:

* Figure out to convert your favorite non-vegan cake recipe with the Vegetarian Resource Group’s replacement guide.

* Read up about how the Veg Family satisfies their vegan kids, complete with Elmo cakes and homemade ice cream!

* Isa of the Post Punk Kitchen has included a wealth of cake and icing recipes available on her site.

* For vegan cupcakes, you simply must head over to Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but Vegan CupCake Recipes is a close second resource.

But birthdays are not just about the cake. Growing up, we always got to pick what we wanted to eat for our birthday dinner. I always chose one of three meals: Scalloped potatoes, homemade mac and cheese with breadcrumbs, or kabobs. The last is fairly easy to veganize, but I have never attempted to do so with either of the first two. Try one of there recipes to make a vegan version of my favorite birthday dinner:

* FatFree Vegan and Karina’s Kitchen have good vegan scalloped potato recipes.

* Everyone calls their vegan mac and cheese “the best,” including posters at Recipezaar and VegWeb. Vegan Yum Yum has a yummy sounding one, too.

Keep up with all of the vegan celebrities’ birthdays with Vegetarian Star’s regular feature, “Slice of Vegan Birthday Cake to ….”

Some runners seem to get obsessed with drinking neon-colored, salty, sugary liquids packed with extra electrolytes. I am interested running not only for a personal fitness challenge but because I care about my health, and I don’t want to have to sacrifice my nutrition for my fitness. So I am looking for natural, healthier options for rehydrating.

Browsing the shelves of Giant, I found Liv Organic Sports Drink, an additive- and high fructose corn syrup-free drink that promises a longer lasting, less spastic energy boost and a much better flavor. It comes in four flavors - lemon, berry, orange, and citrus passion. I tried the citrus passion and it had a very refreshing, light texture and taste.

The other natural option that I have tried is coconut water, the liquid that comes out when you crack open a coconut. It comes packaged in single serving juice box-style containers and has the same electrolyte makeup as our body. I am not crazy about it plain, but it makes for a great smoothie base.

There are also other options available that I haven’t tried yet …

Nature’s Flavors’ REBOOST Organic Isotonic Energy Drink is natural and organic. It comes as a powder, with ten different fruit flavors including cherry, kiwi strawberry, and pina colada, that you mix into water for an energy- and electrolyte-filled drink.

Recharge is made of absolutely 100 percent natural fruit juices that “replenish the fluids and electrolytes your body needs after working out without adding sugar or unnatural flavors and colors.”

Then, if you really want to get natural and avoid pre-packaged drinks all together, you could also try making your own. Check out Kitchen Table Medicine for a recipe to make yourself a homemade sports drink.

I made a delicious dinner last night using the “chicken” bits that I bought at the Seventh Day Adventist store in New York City this week. The meal was so good and was different from my normal meals.

Mexican Quinoa

1. Prepare quinoa according to directions. Boil 2 cups water to 1 cup uncooked quinoa. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all of the water is absorbed. Mix in a little sea salt when water is almost gone.

2. Heat up a saute pan with a little olive oil. Add fresh, frozen, or canned corn. Let cook a little if frozen or raw.

3. Add “chicken” bits or other mock chicken meat pieces. You could also use beans or refried beans. For refried, heat them separately and add them on top at the end.

4. Cut up and add tomatoes. Throw in any other fresh veggies that you enjoy on a burrito-style dish, such as bell peppers, onions, or chili peppers.

5. Stir in just enough tomato sauce or salsa to coat and moisten everything in the pan. Add your favorite Mexican spices.

6. In a small bowl, mash up an avocado with some lemon and lime juice and salt.

7. Serve the stir-fry on top of the quinoa, with some of the avocado on the side. Grab a little of each of the three layers in one bite for a unique take on a familar, burrito-esque flavor. The avocado works well to cool down any hot pepper added to the stir-fry.

Try the leftovers as a cold salad for lunch, served over a bed of greens with some tortilla chip strips on top.

The first time that I made a raw cookie I blended together raisins, coconut flakes, raw walnuts and cashews, carob chips, dates, and a little water, then formed balls and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours. They were delicious; the texture was too wet though. A weaker blender may have needed the water, but my Vita-Mix didn’t.

For my second attempt I swapped out the water for half of a banana, I left the dates out because they didn’t blend well, and I added a tiny pinch of salt. Still good, but still not perfect.

Last week I found that blending just coconut, carob chips, raisins (not golden), and any combo of raw nuts was the perfect texture - solid enough to pick up the balls after refrigeration and bite like a cookie. But I found that I felt sickly full after eating just a few.

Today I found that three tablespoon-size balls of this perfect blend make for a quick and filling lunch! I needed a mid-afternoon snack, but I never felt too full or too hungry … and they are so delicious!

Unfortunately, I did not get out to the pool yet. Being an independent contractor, I do not necessarily get holidays off - only if I can rework my week’s schedule to get 40 hours another way. So today, as everyone else was sleeping in and lounging around the pool, I started my morning bright and early with some online animal advocacy work.

I did, however, still enjoy some relaxing time this afternoon: My roommate and I traveled to my favorite grocery store (a Giant with a huge organic, vegan, and gluten free section) for a mega food stock up. We have several meals planned for the next week now, and even came home and cooked a delicious Asian stir-fry.

We sauteed onions, red peppers, snow peas, and baby corn in a little oil. After a few minutes we added some Iron Chef General Tso’s Sauce - one of the few premade Asian sauces without any high fructose corn syrup - covered the wok with a lid and finished steaming the veggies. We also heated up some It’s All Good Veggie Beef Skewers. Served as shown here with the chopsticks that roommate bought me for Christmas, it was a delightful dinner!

After dinner we went out to enjoy the evening, me running and her biking, and both of us stretching, meditating, and showering to cool down.

For dessert, I whipped up one of my famous smoothies using frozen strawberries, Nasoya’s new Silken Creations in dark chocolate, and Bolthouse Farms’ soy protein chai drink. You’re supposed to garnish with flavors that the taster can expect to taste, but I didn’t have any fresh strawberries so raspberries had to do, with a touch of chocolate sprinkles.

And of course, I ended my day with more work. But, if nothing else, it was a very delicious, vegan Memorial Day.

I spent my entire day today at the American Vegan Society’s Garden Party. There was veg food, live music, new friends - and a few old ones too, speakers, coupons, and the part that took up the most of my time: a book room.

The Vegan Society’s book room is just a rinky dink, narrow building with two rooms lined with tall metal shelves, each filled with vegan health, nutrition, animal rights, poem, and recipe books, and much more too. But it was heaven to me! With a copy of the New York Times’ best-selling book When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson already on route to me from Paperback Swap I passed that one by. But I still had another three dozen books that I wanted to buy! Making a decision was hard, but I narrowed it down to three (plus a dozen old Vegetarian Times and Natural Health magazines and a few other free pamphlets):

* Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet, a beginner raw foods prep book that gives a lot of very basic ideas and concepts as well as some more creative creations using the basics.

* The Tofu Cookbook by Leah Leneman, a collection of over 150 meals, desserts, drinks, and more that you can make using the soy veg staple.

* Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness by Kathy Freston, the highly talked and raved about health guide that was featured on both Oprah Winfrey’s and Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show.

It’s been a long, busy week for me!May is easily my busiest month of the year. When I’m stressed and tired, nothing relaxes me better than someone else preparing a meal for me. Earlier this week I was treated to having a delicious vegan dinner cooked at home for me by my roommate. She made beautiful stuffed peppers that she came up with while trying to figure out what to make with couscous. Here, she’s put together the recipe for us:

Meg’s Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 whole peppers (red/green)
1 cup black beans (canned)
1 cup corn (canned)
1 cup couscous
1 1/4 cup water
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Spicy, Mexican seasonings; I used Tastefully Simple fiesta dip mix that contains onion, salt, crushed red pepper, paprika, garlic, parsley, sugar, and other spices

1. Preheat oven 350

2. Bring water to boil, add couscous and remove from heat. Stir in tastefully simple fiesta dip mix, other TexMex seasoning, or your own blend of spices.

3. Chop onion. Cut about one-third of the way down on each pepper, opening it up and cleaning it out for stuffing. Chop up the pepper tops; sprinkle the pepper bottoms with olive oil and salt and set aside.

4. Saute the chopped onion and pepper in a pan with olive oil. When the onions turn translucent, add corn, beans, and pre-cooked couscous. Mix well, adding salt and pepper to taste.

5. Spoon some of the mixture into each open pepper and cover in tin foil on a baking pan. Bake for about 30 minutes.

6. Refrigerate the leftover stuffing for a tasty, cold salad for lunch the next day.

Everyone seems to be in a cooking mood lately. Maybe spring reinvigorates people to get up do stuff, or maybe we vegans just plain love food. Check out what’s been getting cooked up around the blogosphere:

* Before it gets too warm to fire up your oven, bake a loaf of vegan banana bread from Go Dairy Free.

* The Fatfree Vegan Kitchen has whipped up a millet-stuffed artichoke.

* Girlie Girl Army shared a vegan chai tiramisu from Jason Wyrick, the executive Chef and publisher of the Vegan Culinary Experience.

* Urban Vegan put together a great list of topping suggestions for a tartine (open-faced sandwich on sliced French bread).

* Not enough? Over at the Animal Rights section of Change.org you can find even more great vegan food ideas and recipes including black bean brownies, latkes, spicy basil pesto, and raw banana cream pie.

Today was not my average Suzy Homemaker Sunday; it took a dose of steroids today.

I woke up just past 5 a.m. to meet up with friends and head out to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k run in Philadelphia. It was the first run where I ran the whole thing! With a brief pit stop at the one-mile porta-potties, I still came in just at 30 minutes.

In the past, getting up this early and expending this much energy would have required I nap the rest of the day, but not anymore! After a short recoup on the couch, I headed into town with my roommate. A few errands and some grocery shopping later, we ended up tiring of waiting for the bus and walked the mile and a half home … where we made awesome vegan pizza from scratch!

I followed the same pizza dough recipe for my bread maker that I have used in the past, only with a bit of rye flour, garlic powder, and dried oregano mixed in. I rolled it out as flat as I could, covering a rectangular baking sheet, and topped it with pesto, slices of fresh tomato, and sauteed portabello mushrooms.

Once we devoured the pizza, setting aside a few slices for lunch tomorrow, my roommate brought out a locally made shoo fly pie - that just happened to be vegan - that she found at a farmers’ market. Being the weekend between our birthdays, we stuck a few candles in it and sang to ourselves before devouring that, too.

With a belly full of delicious veg food and feet that never want to walk again, I am sure to sleep well tonight!

After sharing my struggles with making spring rolls, the mother of the children that I baby-sit showed me her copy of Clean Living magazine, which had an article all about making the perfect spring roll - vegetarian version included! It was a good how-to, but I was more inspired by their healthy cupcake recipe that just so happened to be vegan.

If you grab a copy of the May/June 2009 issue (not the one shown here), open it up to the back page and you will find this awesome cupcake recipe. They included a chocolate drizzle, which I left off making them more muffin like.

Clean Eating’s Vegan Cupcakes

Whisk together:
3 Tbsp. oil
2/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup and 1 Tbsp. applesauce
1 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (I used my Bragg’s)

Then sift in:
2 cups flour - I did one cup whole wheat
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Fill 12 oiled or lined muffin tins half way, then layer in something for a yummy middle - fresh, dried, or frozen berries, jam, carob chips, etc. Top them off with more batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 mins.

Thanks to everyone who left tips and suggestions in the comments of my recent post “Expanding My Horizons: Attempts at Making Spring Rolls”!

Some of the great ideas shared for making spring rolls include:

* Use a damp tea towel to dry off the wrappers after you rehydrate them.

* When making a big batch, drape a second damp towel over them as you finish rolling them to keep them from drying out while you make more.

* There are two different types of wrappers - the ones that need soaking work best for raw summer rolls while the frozen ones are usually better if you plan to fry them.

* Ingredient suggestions: bean thread noodles and Asian mushrooms, or avocado, snow peas, carrots, cilantro, mint, chopped cashews, and cucumber,

* You can make a goopy paste for holding the rolls shut by cooking a little cornstarch and water until it gels up

Last weekend I stopped in a new corner store called Family Produce. In the middle of the store are tables filled with crates of fresh fruits and vegetables, but around the perimeter are lots of different Asian products - green tea noodles, seaweed, rice, soy sauce, and more. Feeling like trying something new, I grabbed a packet of spring roll wrappers.

When I got home I looked up recipes for veggie spring rolls. Every one started with something along the lines of: if people only knew how easy it is to make spring rolls … but none had very many specific directions. After four attempts now, I have almost figured out the trick to making them.

The first and second try were back to back. I placed the stiff wrappers in some water in a pie pan and started chopping some raw veggies for the inside - carrots and cabbage - and soaking the seaweed too. But when I went to roll them up the wrapper was ripping a lot. I ate the first one raw with a fork. The second one I tried frying, but it turned out as a gooey mess.

Mistake number one: the wrappers shouldn’t be soaked for more than ten seconds or so.

I tried again today, this time adding some sesame noodles in with the veggies. The first worked some what; I was actually able to pick it up finally. But the second one was perfect, and thus I learned mistake number two: after soaking the wrap you need to let it sit for a moment and dry a little.

Next attempt, I will try to make a nicely rolled one and fry it too!

Last week I tried cooking plantains for the first time (read it: Serve It Up: Fried Plantains for Dinner). My post about this stirred up a great response from a regular reader who has her own blog, Marion Silver’s Lux Aeterna.

Marion is Filipino and thus a regular consumer of burro bananas (a short, stocky kind of banana, shown here, often prepared similar to plantains) - and she shared to great recipe ideas in the comment that she left! I didn’t want her show-and-tell to go unnoticed, so here are her suggestions for whipping up a tasty treat with ripe plantains, in her words:

Banana Cue: peel the banana and roll them in brown sugar (vegan brown sugar works best of course!). Fry them in boiling oil until the flesh is caramelized. We call it banana “cue” because it is a popular street food that is cooked in a skewer. You can do this too, I use wooden skewers for this.

Turron: this is basically bananas wrapped in spring roll wrappers. But I love adding sweet and very ripe sliced jackfruit to the stuffing - it adds nice texture and flavor. Once you’ve wrapped the fruits with the spring roll, dip them, once again, in brown sugar. Fry until caramelized and golden brown. It’s very crispy and goes awesome with vanilla ice cream.

Thanks again, Marion! Anyone else have any plantain recipes - or any vegan recipes for that matter - that you want to share? I will always thank you with a link!

Don’t forget to stop my Marion’s site!