I am a very inconsistent blogger and in 2012 I have not resolved to do better in this area...Real talk (as they say). I'm sure I'll have times when I write more, but keep your expectations low :)
I do want to update anyone who read my previous decluttering/minimizing posts. I am still on track to put my 3 bedroom (1300 sq ft) cape cod on the market in March. I hoped to be done with all of my projects by the end of 2011, but I didn't maintain enough momentum to do that.
I've sold, freecycled and donated quite a bit and used the money that I made to make some minor improvements. I'm dipping into my emergency account to make the last few improvements, which include replacing my kitchen countertop, installing a closet door, repairing my porch ceiling and repairing my fence. I have a few small projects that I can complete as well. My goal is to complete everything by the middle of February. I will post pictures when I'm done, hopefully with someone's wide angle lens since my rooms are small.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner
This is the third year that I've prepared a vegan Thanksgiving dinner for my mother's side of the family. They have been so accepting of this change and always rave about how good everything is. I sure hope they aren't just saying that :) As a side note, I choose to cook everything so I can eat everything, not because I am that generous.
There are only 4 of us and I always prepare too much food but it's nice to have leftovers. This year, I delegated 2 dishes since I was bringing everything to my grandmother's.
Pardon the quality of the photos. I used my camera phone and it doesn't do well with low light.
This year, we ate:
I used the press, dry fry, marinate and bake method that never fails me and bottled BBQ sauce. No one ate seconds of the tofu, but everyone tried it. I don't think it's their favorite item on the menu, but I like having it. My only problem was that I purchased firm and extra firm tofu and I could definitely tell the difference between the 2 textures. From now on, if one store doesn't have extra firm, I'll keep shopping until I find it. I'm not a fan of soft tofu. I prefer a chewy texture.
Marinated Portobello Mushrooms
These were so flavorful and I really enjoy the meaty texture of the mushrooms. I used Colleen Patrick Goudreau's Marinated Portobello Mushroom Steaks recipe from The 30 Day Vegan Challenge book.
Marinade Ingredients:
1/2 cup each - balsamic vinegar, tamari soy sauce, water
1 teaspoon each - dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram/oregano
Black pepper
I purchased sliced portobello mushrooms instead of whole mushrooms to decrease my prep time since I had a lot to cook. I bought 2 packages and could have easily bought 3-4. I loved them.
Cranberry Sauce
I delegated this dish to my aunt. We used Vegan Yum Yum's Jellied Cranberry Sauce recipe.
Marinated Vegetables
This is a dish that my mother used to prepare for family gatherings. For the longest time, I wouldn't even taste it even though everyone loved it. I used to be a pretty picky eater. Once I finally tasted it, I realized what all the noise was about. It's one of my favorite dishes now. It requires a bit of chopping but it's worth it.
I delegated it to my grandmother this year. I am not sure of the origin of this recipe; however, I am pretty sure that my mother didn't create it.
1/2 cup cooking oil (I used 1/4 the last time I made it)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 can tiny green peas (le Sueur Very Young Small Early Peas)
1 can tiny/midget butter beans (Baby Lima Beans, Food Lion)
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 can french style green beans
1 green pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 cup diced celery
1. Combine the first 6 ingredients
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 7 minutes
3. Allow to cool
4. Drain vegetables and pour cooled mixture over
5. Refrigerate overnight
Notes: Use 15/16 ounce cans of vegetables and tweak the vinegar and sugar to taste in the morning.
Collard Greens
These greens are courtesy of my uncle's garden. Crazy! Right? I know!
My grandmother did the prep (removing the stems, washing and chopping) for me...bless her heart! Here's my collard green cooking method. I can't really call it a recipe.
1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
2. Add the greens and boil for 7 minutes.
3. Drain the greens.
4. Add a bit of oil to a pan and add the greens.
5. Saute and season with seasoned salt, cayenne pepper and a bit of liquid smoke to taste. If the greens are bitter, I add a touch of agave nectar.
My grandmother asked me how long I cooked them and I honestly can't say but it's not long. I just keep sauteeing and seasoning until they taste the way I like them. It probably isn't more than 15 minutes.
I am not a fan of overcooked, mushy vegetables as is the tradition in most black families.
Mac and Cheeze
My grandmother really likes this recipe so I always make it. It's the Vegan Macaroni and Cheese recipe from VegWeb. I love the flavor, although it tastes nothing like cheese :)
Sweet Potato Souffle
This was a first. I didn't even test it prior to Thanksgiving so I was really lucky that it turned out okay. It's actually so sweet that it should really be a sweet potato pie. I got this recipe from Food.com. The reviews were good so I thought it should work and it did!
Rolls
I am new to bread-making and let me just say-I have a lot to learn. I received my culinary education from the Food Network and I learned nothing about making bread. I attempted sweet rolls twice in the past few weeks: the first batch using Vegan Dad's Pumpkin Pull-Apart Rolls, the second batch using a Sweet Vegan Dinner Rolls recipe from VegWeb. I ended up taking Vegan Dad's rolls with me on Thanksgiving because they were less of a disaster than the VegWeb recipe.
Lessons Learned:
Measure the dern yeast. Vegan Dad's recipe called for 1 tablespoon of yeast. Did I measure? No. Why? I haven't the slightest clue. I used the envelopes/packets and maybe my brain froze and refused to do the calculations to convert ounces to tablespoons, so I used one envelope. Google has since informed me that One package = 2 1/4 teaspoons = 1/4 ounce. Since there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, I would have needed to open 2 envelopes/packets/packages and measure properly and probably waste whatever was leftover.
Mix wet and dry ingredients separately like I normally do when baking. My dough was pretty lumpy. I should have blended the milk and pumpkin well first.
Make balls a lot smaller. This was the main problem with the sweet dinner rolls disaster. Although I didn't think these rolls were sweet enough either.
Watch some YouTube videos on roll-making to learn technique and unwritten rules.
Needless to say, I still have a lot to learn about making dinner rolls but I'm not completely disappointed. I will try again. I haven't eaten rolls since I became vegan 2 years ago and I miss them.
Here's a photo of my Vegan Dad recipe before going into the oven.
Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze
This is delicious! I have taken it to work and fed it to several ominvores in the past and it's always a hit. I used Betsy DiJulio's adaptation of Tracy's pound cake recipe. I made the glaze using the recipe from the Vegetarian Times. Note: The Vegetarian Times pound cake recipe is not as good as the Betsy/Tracy version. I took Soy Delicious Creamy vanilla non-dairy frozen dessert. I take every opportunity to expose people to vegan food!
It was a lot of work but it was definitely a labor of love. My family probably won't eat vegan dishes like this any time of the year so I really enjoy giving them this treat and squashing their preconceived notions about vegan food.
I'm already thinking about next year. I am planning to...
There are only 4 of us and I always prepare too much food but it's nice to have leftovers. This year, I delegated 2 dishes since I was bringing everything to my grandmother's.
Pardon the quality of the photos. I used my camera phone and it doesn't do well with low light.
This year, we ate:
- BBQ Tofu
- Marinated Portobello Mushrooms
- Cranberry Sauce
- Marinated Vegetables
- Collards
- Mac and Cheeze
- Sweet Potato Soufflé
- Rolls
- Pound Cake
I used the press, dry fry, marinate and bake method that never fails me and bottled BBQ sauce. No one ate seconds of the tofu, but everyone tried it. I don't think it's their favorite item on the menu, but I like having it. My only problem was that I purchased firm and extra firm tofu and I could definitely tell the difference between the 2 textures. From now on, if one store doesn't have extra firm, I'll keep shopping until I find it. I'm not a fan of soft tofu. I prefer a chewy texture.
Marinated Portobello Mushrooms
These were so flavorful and I really enjoy the meaty texture of the mushrooms. I used Colleen Patrick Goudreau's Marinated Portobello Mushroom Steaks recipe from The 30 Day Vegan Challenge book.
Marinade Ingredients:
1/2 cup each - balsamic vinegar, tamari soy sauce, water
1 teaspoon each - dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram/oregano
Black pepper
I purchased sliced portobello mushrooms instead of whole mushrooms to decrease my prep time since I had a lot to cook. I bought 2 packages and could have easily bought 3-4. I loved them.
Cranberry Sauce
I delegated this dish to my aunt. We used Vegan Yum Yum's Jellied Cranberry Sauce recipe.
Marinated Vegetables
This is a dish that my mother used to prepare for family gatherings. For the longest time, I wouldn't even taste it even though everyone loved it. I used to be a pretty picky eater. Once I finally tasted it, I realized what all the noise was about. It's one of my favorite dishes now. It requires a bit of chopping but it's worth it.
I delegated it to my grandmother this year. I am not sure of the origin of this recipe; however, I am pretty sure that my mother didn't create it.
1/2 cup cooking oil (I used 1/4 the last time I made it)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 can tiny green peas (le Sueur Very Young Small Early Peas)
1 can tiny/midget butter beans (Baby Lima Beans, Food Lion)
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 can french style green beans
1 green pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 cup diced celery
1. Combine the first 6 ingredients
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 7 minutes
3. Allow to cool
4. Drain vegetables and pour cooled mixture over
5. Refrigerate overnight
Notes: Use 15/16 ounce cans of vegetables and tweak the vinegar and sugar to taste in the morning.
Collard Greens
These greens are courtesy of my uncle's garden. Crazy! Right? I know!
My grandmother did the prep (removing the stems, washing and chopping) for me...bless her heart! Here's my collard green cooking method. I can't really call it a recipe.
1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
2. Add the greens and boil for 7 minutes.
3. Drain the greens.
4. Add a bit of oil to a pan and add the greens.
5. Saute and season with seasoned salt, cayenne pepper and a bit of liquid smoke to taste. If the greens are bitter, I add a touch of agave nectar.
My grandmother asked me how long I cooked them and I honestly can't say but it's not long. I just keep sauteeing and seasoning until they taste the way I like them. It probably isn't more than 15 minutes.
I am not a fan of overcooked, mushy vegetables as is the tradition in most black families.
Mac and Cheeze
My grandmother really likes this recipe so I always make it. It's the Vegan Macaroni and Cheese recipe from VegWeb. I love the flavor, although it tastes nothing like cheese :)
Sweet Potato Souffle
This was a first. I didn't even test it prior to Thanksgiving so I was really lucky that it turned out okay. It's actually so sweet that it should really be a sweet potato pie. I got this recipe from Food.com. The reviews were good so I thought it should work and it did!
Rolls
I am new to bread-making and let me just say-I have a lot to learn. I received my culinary education from the Food Network and I learned nothing about making bread. I attempted sweet rolls twice in the past few weeks: the first batch using Vegan Dad's Pumpkin Pull-Apart Rolls, the second batch using a Sweet Vegan Dinner Rolls recipe from VegWeb. I ended up taking Vegan Dad's rolls with me on Thanksgiving because they were less of a disaster than the VegWeb recipe.
Lessons Learned:
Measure the dern yeast. Vegan Dad's recipe called for 1 tablespoon of yeast. Did I measure? No. Why? I haven't the slightest clue. I used the envelopes/packets and maybe my brain froze and refused to do the calculations to convert ounces to tablespoons, so I used one envelope. Google has since informed me that One package = 2 1/4 teaspoons = 1/4 ounce. Since there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, I would have needed to open 2 envelopes/packets/packages and measure properly and probably waste whatever was leftover.
Mix wet and dry ingredients separately like I normally do when baking. My dough was pretty lumpy. I should have blended the milk and pumpkin well first.
Make balls a lot smaller. This was the main problem with the sweet dinner rolls disaster. Although I didn't think these rolls were sweet enough either.
Watch some YouTube videos on roll-making to learn technique and unwritten rules.
Needless to say, I still have a lot to learn about making dinner rolls but I'm not completely disappointed. I will try again. I haven't eaten rolls since I became vegan 2 years ago and I miss them.
Here's a photo of my Vegan Dad recipe before going into the oven.
Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze
This is delicious! I have taken it to work and fed it to several ominvores in the past and it's always a hit. I used Betsy DiJulio's adaptation of Tracy's pound cake recipe. I made the glaze using the recipe from the Vegetarian Times. Note: The Vegetarian Times pound cake recipe is not as good as the Betsy/Tracy version. I took Soy Delicious Creamy vanilla non-dairy frozen dessert. I take every opportunity to expose people to vegan food!
It was a lot of work but it was definitely a labor of love. My family probably won't eat vegan dishes like this any time of the year so I really enjoy giving them this treat and squashing their preconceived notions about vegan food.
I'm already thinking about next year. I am planning to...
- Experiment with a few more mac and cheese recipes
- Test vegan corn casserole recipes (my mother used to make this one, but it will need to be veganized; Vegansaurus's adapation might work)
- Perfect a sweet roll recipe
- Test a few flavorful tempeh/grain combination recipes - I think stuffed bell peppers would be amazing
Friday, October 21, 2011
Follow Friday: Meg from The Snarky Chickpea
 |
| The Snarky Chickpea's Chickpea Ballz Pasta |
I haven't been following Meg, like I've followed my other Follow Friday Vegan Rockstars but let me tell you...she has just been added to my Google Reader. Another blogger participating in VeganMoFo made Meg's Chickpea Ballz and I followed the link. I absolutely loved reading her recipe! I love that she called these "Ballz" - Yes, I'm a bit immature and that cracks me up :) She also said things like...
- I'm full of awesomeness!
- I mashed mined down in the bowl. I don't know why, I'm just giving the facts!
- See!!! It is so easy a child could do it. Well, not really that easy, but you get the picture.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Thursday Thoughts: What a Plate Should Look Like
Today I'm borrowing again from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's 30 Day Vegan Challenge (page 63). She says everything I want to say but so much better than I ever could...
Some of our blocks about veganism aren't simply about the food itself but are also about how we plate our food. In our meat-centric culture, we're accustomed to having a piece of meat at the center of our plate, surrounded by some token vegetables (most likely covered in dairy-based butter and cream sauces). Many people perceive a vegan meal as lacking because they imagine that piece of meat being removed, leaving the plate with only side dishes. I think this is one of the reasons people think vegans eat "only sides" or "only salads."
But the way we plate our food is a cultural construct-what we've been taught in our families and in our society. If you think about cuisines all around the world and how the food is plated, you'll remember that it can look very different from a Western meal. Think of Indian, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, or Ethiopian cuisines. These plates are made up of what we in the West would call "side dishes." And yet these are the most healthful and flavorful dishes, based on vegetables, grains, lentils, beans and greens. So we need to rethink what a plate of food "should" actually look like as well as embrace the notion of having a plate of what would would call "side dishes."
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
What? They Have That? Wednesday - Vegan Margarine
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Downsizing: Round 5 - The File Cabinet
I must say, I am really surprising myself. Every time I tackle a space, I think..."This is going to be hard!" and then I power through and make it happen. I'm not even procrastinating like I expected. Go me!
So, I emptied the remaining 2.5 drawers in my 4-drawer file cabinet over the course of 2 days.
The first drawer I tackled resulted in this mess. There was some method to my madness though. All of the folders in the foreground are going to be freecyled. The paper in the hidden purple container is recycling. Everything else strewn across the floor needs to be shredded. I did think to get a basket (in the back) for the paper that I need to scan so the space wouldn't be too crazy. Many times during my organization binges...there is chaos before order. I just thought I would share this...
Some of the items in the keep file are for the next home owner and some may end up being shredded once I take the time and go through everything again.
Oh! And I'm really excited because a shredding company (Shred-It) that has "Community Events" will be near me on Saturday, October 29 so I can take 2 boxes to be shredded for free! How awesome is that?!
So...I went from a completely full 4-drawer file cabinet in March to an empty file cabinet today. I responded to a query on Freecycle yesterday for the file cabinet, but am still waiting to find out if the woman is going to pick up the cabinet. If not, I'll post it next weekend.
For the remaining stack, once I go through it at least one more time, if not twice, I'm considering buying 1 of these Stockholm file boxes from the Container Store. I originally thought I wanted to purchase a 2 drawer file cabinet but since I am seriously considering moving into a studio apartment, I think it would be smarter to select a storage solution that is smaller and more portable.
I leave you with a quote from Thom Chambers (said in a very serious tone)...
So, I emptied the remaining 2.5 drawers in my 4-drawer file cabinet over the course of 2 days.
The first drawer I tackled resulted in this mess. There was some method to my madness though. All of the folders in the foreground are going to be freecyled. The paper in the hidden purple container is recycling. Everything else strewn across the floor needs to be shredded. I did think to get a basket (in the back) for the paper that I need to scan so the space wouldn't be too crazy. Many times during my organization binges...there is chaos before order. I just thought I would share this...
 |
| Process, Day 1 |
 |
| All recycling |
 |
| Everything else |
Oh! And I'm really excited because a shredding company (Shred-It) that has "Community Events" will be near me on Saturday, October 29 so I can take 2 boxes to be shredded for free! How awesome is that?!
So...I went from a completely full 4-drawer file cabinet in March to an empty file cabinet today. I responded to a query on Freecycle yesterday for the file cabinet, but am still waiting to find out if the woman is going to pick up the cabinet. If not, I'll post it next weekend.
For the remaining stack, once I go through it at least one more time, if not twice, I'm considering buying 1 of these Stockholm file boxes from the Container Store. I originally thought I wanted to purchase a 2 drawer file cabinet but since I am seriously considering moving into a studio apartment, I think it would be smarter to select a storage solution that is smaller and more portable.
"Limitations help you focus on what's important and decide what's not."
Trying New Foods Tuesday: Jicama
I admit, this not a pretty root vegetable. Jicama is pronounced "HEE-ka-ma." I've also heard people call it a Mexican Potato.
One cup of jicama has about 6 grams of fiber, around 1 gram of protein, and contains less than 50 calories. Jicama is also an excellent source of Vitamin C and potassium.
It is very simple to prepare; you just peel it like a potato. You can then slice, dice, julienne or mash it.
I first had jicama in a slaw at a restaurant. Since then, I wanted to prepare it for myself. Finally, last fall, I made Emeril's Jicama and Apple Slaw. It was very refreshing! I tasted the jicama before tossing it into the ingredients and I can't say that it has a distinct flavor. Some say that it has a slight sweetness. I don't remember that, but that doesn't mean much. The texture is similar to a firm pear.
During my research at the time, I found that a lot of raw foodists use jicama to make french fries. It's nice and sturdy and would be great with hummus or another dip.
Jícama should be stored dry, between 12°C and 16°C (53°F and 60°F). Colder temperatures will damage the root; do not refrigerate it. A fresh jicama stored at this temperature will keep for a month or two.
This raw Jicama Cheese Fries with Catsup recipe looks interesting. The "cheese" is actually nutritional yeast.
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