Don't Forget the Green Beans

Last year I posted the recipe for my grandmother's Baked Corn, and I felt really good about being able to bring something from my childhood to my vegan table.  That was such a cherished Thanksgiving memory that I have now passed on to my own kids.  Another Thanksgiving favorite for a LOT of people is the Green Bean Casserole.  If you have never had this, you have to.  It is delicious and gives green beans (which honestly do not need anything, but stay with me here) and interesting twist.  It's just comfort food at it's best for many folks out there, you know what I am talking about!  So I searched high and low for a great recipe that had been veganized.  I finally decided to go with a recipe from VegWeb.  I served this on Thanksgiving day, and my mom and dad joined us at our vegan table.  It was lovely.  My mom was actually the one who requested the casserole, and even though she is not vegan, she loved it.  Even more important is the fact that my kids ate it all!  Score!  Try this dish for your holiday potluck, and be sure to tell everyone where they can get the recipe!
You Need:
  1-1/2 cups nondairy milk (plain soy is best)
    1 (2.5-ounce) cube veggie bouillon (or teaspoon of better than bouillon)
    1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    1/2 medium onion, diced
    3/4 cup chopped mushrooms (button, crimini, portabella, whatever)
    1 carrot, diced
    1/2 teaspoon basil
    1/2 teaspoon garlic
     1/2 teaspoon oregano
    1/2 teaspoon pepper
    1/2 teaspoon sage
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon thyme
    2 or 3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
    2 or 3 tablespoons cold water
    1 (14.5-ounce) can French cut green beans
    1-1/2 (24-ounce) canisters vegan French fried onions
Do this:
 1. In a saucepan, heat the nondairy milk and veggie bouillon; stir until bouillon cube disintegrates. Just heat the milk, do not boil or scald it.
2. In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions, mushrooms, and carrots; saute until the onions are translucent. Add the herbs and spices (basil, garlic, marjoram, oregano, pepper, sage, salt, and thyme - and whatever other hearty herbs make you happy).
3. Make a thickener by combining cornstarch and cold water; mix well. Pour into the nondairy milk-bouillon mixture. Stir well and FAST, because this will coagulate pretty quickly (translation: LUMPY...and that's gross).
4. Quickly add the can of green beans, the sautéed veggies, and about half of the French fried onions; stir well. Pour that mixture into a casserole dish or pan and top with remaining French fried onions.
5. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the French fried onions begin to brown.  Remove. Eat. Enjoy.
Makes: 4 to 6 servings, Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Meat Analogs Take the Test!

This is not a long post, but for those of you who are interested, I wanted to share this article from the Washington Post.  This is the time of the year where I am always buying a Tofurkey.  We buy this because it is available!  The Food section of the paper decided to taste test 6 kinds of vegan roasts, and they did it so well!  I had a great time reading this, and was pleased that my beloved Tofurkey tied for first place.  It is pretty yummy, although I have to say that I wish that they would put the stuffing on the side...I like my homemade stuffing better and then there would be MORE Tofurkey!!!  The other roasts didn't look all that great, but never say never, I am willing to try anything that doesn't compromise my morals.  Read this, please be sure to click on the link to see the test results!
Here is the Article

Here is how the Roasts Fared!

Go Local for the Holidays

Kimberly's Winchester, VA

One of the things I dread about the holidays is shopping.  I love the atmosphere of the holiday season, don't get me wrong.  I love the decorations and the good cheer, and the food (of course).  Vegans love food, haha!  But one way I have found to easy my shopping anxiety is to shop local businesses.  And by this I do not mean running down to the local Target (although I like the things at Target, really).  For unique gifts that really say something, try one of those shops that you don't see other places.  The local boutiques, thrift stores, and other homespun businesses often have that special thing that you just don't see anywhere else.  The items you find in these stores may or may not be vegan (although they are probably a bit more organic than anything you will find at a department store), but one thing you will be supporting is the sustainability of your local economy and preserving the vitality of small business owners.  Those small businesses really say something about who you are as a community!  Many of these places have handmade items that are the best quality.  Think about that verses the items that were mass produced in a factory.  And we all know how warm and fuzzy a factory is...they might even pay their workers minimum wage.  I always feel like the people in those little shops really go out of their way to cater to my needs because they really appreciate my business.  One of my favorite stores in the northern Shenandoah Valley is called The Purple Fern, and you most likely have a shop like this near you.  It is small and looks like a little log cabin.  Inside you can find locally made jewelry, children's toys, decorative items like wall hangings, pottery, stationary, vintage items, and more.  So take it slow (ahhh!) look around your community for all those little stores that need shoppers.
You will be surprised at what you find.
The Purple Fern   Kimberly's    http://www.shoplocal.com/

Children's gifts, locally made, at The Purple Fern in Winchester, VA

VegNews Peppermint Bark

I found this great recipe in the November/December issue of VegNews magazine...it is amazing and addictive!  Peppermint bark chocolatey and minty at the same time, what a combination.  It is pretty easy to make too, so I am happy to share the recipe.  I was able to whip up a batch while doing about thirty other things at the same time (as any parent/teacher/busy person knows well).  I would like to add that Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips make this bark really, truly gourmet.  My kids and my coworkers gave it two thumbs up!

 Peppermint Bark

You need: 12 candy canes, 4 cups chocolate chips, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Do this: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Crush the candy canes in a plastic bag with a rolling pin (this is super fun for the kids!). In a double boiler over medium heat, melt the chocolate chips (i don't have a double boiler, so I used a glass bowl set on top of a sauce pan that had a couple inches of water in it). Remove from heat and add peppermint extract and 1/2 cup of the crushed candy. On the baking sheet, pour out the mixture and spread as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the remaining candy on top, pressing the larger pieces into the chocolate. Place in the fridge for like an hour or so. Remove from baking sheet and break into pieces. Store in the fridge until you use it! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving With The Turkeys 2011

Me and Will Tuttle

My crew in the food line.

Piggy Nose

We had another fantastic time at the Thanksgiving with the Turkeys at the Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary in Poolesville, MD, USA.  It was a beautiful day, clear and brisk, and it was perfect to hang out on the farm with our friends the animals.  We always enjoy going out to Poplar Springs, but Thanksgiving is the best because they host the biggest vegan potluck I have ever seen.  Table after table of delicious vegan eats.  Since hundreds of people show up, there are hundreds of dishes to choose from.  There was a great selection of wine and drinks and desserts as well.  Even though I do not know most of the people there, I always feel right at home!  The turkeys always eat first, since they are the guests of honor.  They get long trays of corn and other things turkeys like to eat.  Then the people eat, and it is amazing.  Once we got our food and sat down, I got the surprise of the day...right over my shoulder, not more than 30 feet away, was the one and only Will Tuttle!  If you do not know who Will Tuttle is, you need to.  His website says, "Dr. Tuttle presents about 150 events yearly  at conferences, retreats, and progressive churches and centers throughout North America. A former Zen monk with a Ph.D. in education from U.C., Berkeley, he has worked extensively in intuition development, spiritual healing, meditation, music, creativity, vegan living, and cultural evolution."  He wrote the book "The World Peace Diet", which is "the first book to make explicit the invisible connections between our culture, our food, and the source of our broad range of problems—and the way to a positive transformation in our individual and collective lives."  He signed my copy and I got to meet and talk to him.  I was so honored!  The rest of our time at Poplar Springs was spent wandering around and visiting the other animals (especially our favorite, the pigs), talking to new friends, watching the kids run around and play, and digesting!  If you have the opportunity to make it out for this event, you really should!  Start looking for announcements on their website around September.

A Better Blueberry Muffin

I have posted a blueberry muffin recipe before, and it was OK, but the new recipe that I have is BY FAR the best I have ever tried, vegan or not.  They are light, fluffy, and delicious!  The recipe originally comes from The Joy Of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick Goudreau, but the folks at EgglessCooking.com have tweaked the recipe a little bit.  They used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar, which the recipe from the book calls for.  And then I added a twist of my own that I personally think changes the flavor completely.  Instead of lemon extract, I used vanilla extract and left out the lemon zest.  They are wonderful, lemony or not, so give this one a try...everyone will be begging for more.

Blueberry Muffins
You Need:

2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour (I used bleached)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Lemons For Lemon Zest (optional)
3/4 to 1 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk, any (I used vanilla soy, at www.egglesscooking.com they used Rice Milk)
1/3 cup Canola Oil
1 teaspoon Lemon Extract (I used vanilla instead)
1 tablespoon White Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 and 1/2 cups Fresh OR Frozen Blueberries
Do This:

Preheat the oven to 375F for 15 minutes. Lightly grease a muffin tin or use papers.
In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, milk, oil, extract, and vinegar. Mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir until just combined. Don’t over stir.
Gently fold in the berries using a rubber spatula. USE FROZEN BERRIES...I stress this because as the berries cook they get very juicy and toward the end of the baking process they begin to explode and ooze out...this makes a very creepy-looking muffin.  Frozen berries prevents this for the most part, I have found.
Fill the muffin tins about 2/3rds full.
Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. After that remove the muffins from the tins and cool on a wire rack.

Halloween Treats

We had another super Halloween this year, I always enjoy this holiday because it kicks off the official holiday season for me.  The kids wore some interesting costumes...we had an angel and Darth Vader.  Trick-or-treating can be more of a trick than a treat for parents of vegan children, though.  We have played around with different ideas in the past, but this year was the best so far.  That's why I want to share it with you!  We did the traditional door-to-door candy collecting, but immediately afterward we went to my parents house.  Everyone, including the friend we were trick-or-treating with, dumped out their bags and we sorted candy right away!  My guys gave up ALL their chocolate and other non-vegan things and then traded them for candy they could eat.  This was great, and everybody got plenty of sweets!  Our favorites are Smarties, Nerds, and Jolly Ranchers!  Hope yours was great, too :)

Tis the Season...

Vegan French Toast

Here's a great fall recipe that is perfect for Saturday morning!

Tofu French Toast 1/2 lb. of soft tofu 1/4 cup of soy milk or rice milk 1 tsp. of vanilla 1 tsp. of cinnamon and nutmeg 1/4 cup of water soy margarine Four slices of bread...thick slices of sourdough are DELISH Maple syrup Mix tofu, soy or rice milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and water in a blender until you get the consistency of two beaten eggs. Dip pieces of bread into mixture and place in a treated skillet (with margarine) until golden brown. When all pieces are done, top with fresh fruit and maple syrup.  Great with ground tofu sausage (GimmeLean) and coffee!

Vegan Photography

I recently had some very lovely "vintage" themed family portraits done!  I am very happy with them, they turned out great, if you are in the NOVA area check out Abby Neese Photography.  Having family photos taken is a great way to preserve memories and share your life with other family members and friends who may be far away.  I have gotten into the habit of posting my family photos on FaceBook with the security settings very high so that family and friends can enjoy my photos any time that they want.  If you are considering having your portraits done, keep one thing in mind...be SURE to use a photographer that uses digital photography instead of traditional film!  Abby used a Canon digital that was as big as her entire forearm.  "Who cares?!?!" you may be asking.  Well, one thing that many people do not realize is that photography film is not vegan or even vegetarian for that matter.  No really, no lie.  Gelatin is used to make the film, and gelatin comes from rendered animal parts.  "So wait...you mean Jello isn't vegetarian?" you might be saying while trembling in a state of shock.  That's right, do NOT make room for the Jello!  ANYTHING made from regular gelatin is NOT veg-friendly.  That includes marshmallows, a personal favorite of mine.  It's a good thing that there are several different kinds of vegan marshmallows available.  You can also get vegan Jello, if Jello's your thing.  So hunt down a photographer that uses a great digital camera, and if you are still using a 35mm for your personal camera, this is THE time to make the switch to digital because they are not as expensive as they used to be.  And, for your enjoyment, here is a sample of my recent family portraits, lovely AND vegan!