A Taste of the South

This summer I wanted to try some new recipes that I had never tried before.  One of them was a fantastic vegan key lime cheesecake.  I had no idea what to expect, but I knew what I wanted it to taste like!  A few months ago we went to The Vegetable Garden restaurant in Rockville, MD and I had a slice of their recipe.  It was so good, I knew it was going to be at the top of my list of new things to try.  So I made a similar version and it was...amazing!!!  I tested it out when we had a dinner with some vegans and omnis, and everyone raved about it.  Since it is more like a cheesecake than a typical pie, it is very, very rich.  A little goes a long way.  Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go:

Ingredients:

2 containers vegan cream cheese (Tofutti brand is best)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup lime or key lime juice
2 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 9-inch pre-made vegan graham cracker pie crust
fresh fruit for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a blender or food processor, combine the vegan cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lime juice and zest, and cornstarch. Process until smooth and creamy. Pour into pie crust.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until cheesecake is lightly golden brown on top. Allow to cool, then chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
(Recipe discovered at : About.com)

Squash Soup

I have a lot of butternut squash right now.  It's pretty easy to slice them in half and roast them.  Spread a little olive oil on each half, and throw a few garlic cloves into the cavities where you have (hopefully) scooped out the seeds with a spoon.  Put them on a baking sheet and roast for about an hour at 375 degrees.  Keep checking on them so they do not burn, but do take them out when they start to look dark brown around the edges.  Once you have roasted squash, you can make a lovely soup that tastes fantastic and is super-easy!  Just scoop the squash into a blender, add some water or soy milk, and blend.  This is not a very technical direction, so use your best judgement on how much liquid to use depending on how big your squash is.  Once the squash looks creamy, add the roasted garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and a quarter teaspoon of cumin.  Blend some more and pour into your soup pot.  This soup is delicious and very goof for you if you leave it at that, but I also added sauteed onions and some chopped up new potatoes.  It was even better!  Sprinkle some crackers on top and pat yourself on the back for being a gourmet!

A Veggie Gumbo

One of the most prolific plants in my garden this year was, by far, okra.  It's hard to believe that those three little tiny plants have turned into piles and piles of the stuff.  I have to admit that I have not done a whole lot of research as to the uses of okra in the kitchen.  The only reason we purchased it was because we wanted to try something new.  Well, it turns out that my kids are not big fans of okra.  All kids are different and have different tastes, but I honestly do not know of many kids who like it at all!  Needless to say, I needed to do something with all this okra and the first thing that came to my mind was gumbo.  My grandmother made gumbo, so surely I could make a vegan version of gumbo.  In addition to plenty of okra and tomatoes I also added some eggplant (just happened to have some from the garden), onions, celery, mushrooms, and pieces of vegan sausage.  I just tore up a tube of Gimme Lean sausage.  The base was a carton of organic vegetable stock, salt, pepper, a little cornstarch to thicken it, and a few bay leaves because they are GOOD!  Let this all cook for a while.  The longer you cook it, the better it is.  So it is okay if you are in a hurry and threw this together to eat in half an hour, but it is REALLY GOOD of you let it simmer for a couple hours!Serve over some rice (or mix the rice in, whatever you feel like) with a nice sourdough baguette and a good white wine.  You'll feel like you're dining in New Orleans (use your imagination!).

Garden Feast

Fried green tomatoes in the forefront!

I am completely stoked about all the wonderful things that have been coming out of my garden this year!  Of course, there probably would have been more if our little potbellied pig didn't keep breaking into the side garden...it's a stereotype, but it's true that pigs will eat anything and will do ANYTHING for food.  Regardless, I have been enjoying fresh tomatoes, green beans, squash, zucchini, eggplant, okra, bell peppers, and more.  It's nice to have a garden feast as well.  This is where I make a meal where every dish has at least something from the garden.  I did this a few weeks ago, and invited my family at the last minute because there was so much food, I had to share it.  Good food is a great excuse to get all the family together.  That's why the food has to be REALLY good.  My mom and dad, although they are not vegan (yet), enjoy my cooking so much that they do not care what is in it.  This particular night we had boiled green beans, salad, steamed summer squash, rotini with pesto, and fried green tomatoes.  I beer-batter my fried green tomatoes and they are yummy, even the kids eat them (don't worry, the alcohol cooks out!).  All you have to do is mix flour (you know, estimate about how much you are going to use) with beer (gets really foamy, just make sure there is enough room in your bowl!) and some garlic and onion powder.  Stir till it looks a little like pancake batter.  Blot your green tomato slices with a paper towel (otherwise the batter kind of slides off), dip in batter, and fry in about a half an inch of oil.  Keep turning them as you fry them to make sure they are not burning, as the heat should be on medium.  These are so summery and fun, great for cookouts.  They do not keep well in the fridge, though, so eat em up fast!!  You won't have a problem with that, will you?

I Heart Technology

I have an iPhone, and I love it.  Having any smart phone is like having a mini computer in your pocket, which is sweet because I LOVE to look things up.  Well, it comes in handy so much, especially being a vegan with a family that likes to get around.  Don't get me wrong, by now you know I love to cook.  But I am in love with hunting down new places to eat when I am out and about.  It's such a challenge!  Here in my hometown, we know exactly where to go to eat.  But while we were on vacation a few weeks ago, we were not so sure.  Enter iPhone.  I have a few apps to recommend.  If you have used Happy Cow to find a restaurant, download their app called VegOut for $2.99.  OR if you are in a spot with free WiFi, just use Happy Cow to search for a place to eat.  Vegan Steven is another great app for finding restaurants.  Cooking at your rental house or condo?  VegWeb is a super app, and will provide you with over 13,000 recipes.  Need to find a Farner's Market for ingredients?  Try MrktFinder, which also has recipes as well.  An app that I like is Vegan is Easy...sometimes I am looking at ingredients on the labels at the grocery and I just have no earthly idea what they are or if they are vegan.  Vegan is Easy will clue you in on what's vegan and what is not.  iVegan does the same thing, and includes an extensive list of alcohols as well.  That is how I found out that Pabst Blue Ribbon is vegan!  Thank you God!  iVegan will also tell you if your household cleaning and beauty products have been tested on animals!  While apps are great, I find myself searching the internet on my phone a LOT, and I can use the GPS to get to the places that I am searching for.  I can also listen to my favorite vegan podcasts, like Veg Cast or Go Vegan! with Bob Linden.  And a lot of the photos that I use on my blog have actually been taken with my phone.  I got along fine before my smart phone, true, but I have to say that it makes life much easier...especially when I am standing in a long line and need to get my Angry Birds fix.

Roastfish and Cornbread

 Another great place to eat if you are on or near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, is Roastfish and Cornbread.  It is very easy to get to and the people there are really nice!  The best part is that they have an entire vegetarian menu included and even some raw options if you like.  I had the roasted portabella mushroom (pictured above) with lentil salad on the side.  I have to say that I never thought a mushroom with tomato and mango would be a great combination, but it was.  My daughter got the raw vegetable wrap, and it had raw squash, which she is not a big fan of.  She ate a lot of it anyway, I was proud of her. My son got a salad because it had shaved chocolate on it, but it turns out that you could not really taste the chocolate and the dressing was too tart for a 6 year old.  I kept asking him, "Are you SURE that is what you want???  I expect you to EAT it, you know!!"  How many times have we all been there?  He ate all the cucumbers and apples, skipping the greens and the walnuts.   My husband got the ultimate vegan po' boy sandwich, again full of raw squash.  If you are really into vegetables like I am, this is the perfect place to bring your family.  My husband is more into pastas and heavier foods, so this was a bit light for him, he was still hungry when we left.  He was a good sport in the end.  For the amount of money that we paid, I was hoping everyone would be more satisfied.  But it was an overall good experience, and one of the more unique veg-friendly eateries on the island.

Deli by the Beach, Hilton Head Island

If you are near Hilton Head Island, SC, and you are really hungry but looking for a place that accommodates vegan families, Deli by the Beach is the perfect spot.  This deli is veg-friendly.  They will modify many of their dishes to make them vegan, and the owner of the store is very nice so let her know you are vegan as soon as you go in.  The deli itself is pretty small, we had to squish the 5 of us in there, so if you are vacationing in Hilton Head, this would be better for a small group than a large group unless you are getting food to go.  My daughter had a really wonderful veggie wrap that she raved about, and they have kid-sized portions available.  I asked for an eggplant parmesan sub without the cheese and it was fantastic.  Unfortunately we made our first stop at Deli by the Beach on our LAST day in HHI, so we decided to make it one of our FIRST stops when we come back next year. 

Finger Licking Good for Everyone

In a previous post I talked about cookouts and what to bring/serve at them.  At one of the last cookouts that I had, I made fried "chicken" that everyone thought was really good and not a bad alternative to the real thing.  It was very, very easy to make.  I purchased McCormick Golden Dipt Fry Easy in original homestyle.  I had just made a batch of seitan cutlets with my own recipe that is in a previous post as well.  I took my seitan, rinsed it off, and coated with the Fry Easy.   Then I just fried it in about 1/2 an inch of vegetable oil till it was crispy.  It was very good, and even my kids enjoyed it.  I think that it could probably go on a hamburger bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, and some vegan mayo for a really good fried "chicken" sandwich. 

Garden Goodness

 Every year I am very proud of the gardens that we keep in our family.  We do not have a lot of space, but I feel like we are making the most of it.  We had such a wet spring here in Northern Virginia that the beginning of the season was amazing.  Everything that we planted thrived and produced good yields.  I enjoy gardening a lot for many reasons.  We save some good money during the summer and fall months because I do not have to buy as much from the grocery and the farmer's market (although I love going to the farmer's market!).  This year we have more than enough for ourselves and then we like to share with neighbors and family members.  Green beans, in particular, did very well and we were able to can more than 50 quarts of them.  And everything we have been growing is organic, which is cool because organic veggies at the farmer's market or grocery can get expensive.  A vegan can put away a lot of veggies, and fresh veggies and fruit can take 1/3 to 1/2 of my grocery bill per trip.  I love that my kids can eat green beans that they just picked in the sunshine without having to worry about pesticides.  Other than saving money and being good for the environment, having a garden is really good for my family, which comes first.  My kids help out in the garden all the time, whether it's planting, watering, picking, or whatever.  It's time that we spend together, and it is full of life's lessons.  Gardening has taught my kids how to nurture other living things, that good things come to those who wait, and that life is a circle from seed to fruit to seed and so on.  Even a small garden or a container garden can teach us so much about the world around us.