Crafty? Make Your Own!

If you looked at the
reusable sammy baggies in my recent post and thought, “Hey, I could do that!”, you’ll want to check out these instructions on How To Make a Reusable Sandwich Wrap.

According to the website, these “fun, functional sandwich wraps give you a reusable alternative to plastic baggies, plus they are a snap to make. After each use, they can be wiped clean with a damp cloth or tossed in with the rest of the laundry.”

I don’t know about a snap (I routinely sew my sleeves together trying to make a napkin), but they sure are cute!

Sewing Green: 25 Projects Made with Repurposed & Organic Materials

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Retail Price: $24.95

Amazon Price: $16.47

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Seitan Cutlets and Chilean-Spiced Potatoes

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Celebration Raw Chocolate Cake

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Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is the world’s best grilled cheese sandwich ever! Seriously! It isn’t just the best VEGAN grilled cheese sandwich, it is the best grilled cheese sandwich period. I love these things, can you tell?

Crispy, salty on the outside and creamy and spicy and CHEEZY on the inside!

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches)
1 yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
2 Tbsp vegan butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup hot water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp miso paste
1 Tbsp spicy mustard
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup pickled jalapenos chopped
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
8 slices of bread
butter to spread on the bread

-Saute the chopped onions on medium high heat for 8 minutes, until they are soft

-Add the chopped garlic and continue cooking for another 2 minutes

-Lower the heat to low and add the 2 Tbsp of vegan butter and stir until completely melted

-Add the 2 Tbsp of flour and stir for a minute till the flour is completely combined with the butter, garlic and onion

-Slowly add in the 1 cup of hot water, stirring continually until the flour and butter break down and form a thick creamy consistency with the water

* At this point the mixture will look a bit liquidy and not gooey enough to form a good grilled cheese sammy, have no fear! Once you add the nutritional yeast later on it will thicken up into a thick, cheesy consistency.

-Add the salt, pepper, cumin and jalapenos

-Add the lemon juice, miso paste, soy sauce and mustard

-Slowly stir in the 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast and stir and cook for another minute

-Remove cheese sauce from the heat and allow to come to room temperature while you spread butter on the outside of each piece of bread

-Spoon some of the filling onto a piece of bread NOT on the buttered side, then top with another piece of bread

-On medium high heat in a drizzle of olive oil cook the sandwiches buttered side down until they are brown and crispy. Top with a sprinkle of sea salt and enjoy!

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Daring Bakers Challenge: Noodles!! for Lasagna

Time once again for another Daring Bakers Challenge!! Only this month we have a new website, new logos, and a very different kind of challenge: making your own pasta! And not just any pasta, spinach lasagna noodles layered with a country ragu and bechamel sauce. Veganizing this challenge wasn’t even an issue. Those eggs that pasta recipes call for? Not needed at all! For the pasta dough I used a recipe from Nonna’s Italian Kitchen, but substituted semolina flour for regular flour and added pureed spinach. I made my ragu using a simple marinara sauce recipe and adding some texture in the form of sauteed onions, green pepper, soy crumbles, fresh basil, and plenty of garlic. The bechamel started with a simple roux of Earth Balance and flour, with soymilk, white pepper, and nutmeg added to the mix and thickened. But really the whole process is best illustrated in pictorial format…

Since I am lucky enough to have a husband who is half Italian, we actually own a pasta machine! Not that I’ve ever used it until now. With John’s help we cranked out pasta sheet after pasta sheet…
After cutting the pasta into shapes resembling lasagna noodles, they were spread out to dry. I had quite a bit of pasta leftover!Vegan Noodle holding one long vegan noodle!
Sauces simmering….
One thing about making your own pasta… it makes a mess. Flour everywhere and in every crevice!! It was even all over the floor by the time we finished.
But it was all worth it in the end. I’m not sure I’ll ever be quite as happy with dried pasta. The two sauces complimented each other nicely and the noodles were amazing.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

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Seitan, Mushroom and Veggie Stew

First things first. A recipe will follow but the main point of this post is to announce that I’m putting the blog on hiatus for an indefinite period. This is our 600th post but it’ll also be the last for a while. It took two years to get to 500 posts and another year and a half to get another hundred up. Which says something about the amount of time we have now. Not that quantity is more important than quality, but I’m having a harder time with the quality these days too. I’m generally happy with most of the recent posts but I’m struggling more to come up with creative ideas for posts and more importantly, to find the time to actually execute those ideas. Most of our meals lately are repeats of things that have already been posted here. I do have a number of ideas rattling around my brain and I hope to eventually find the time for them. Maybe as I do I’ll save them and get back to posting once I have some things in the can.

At any rate, a huge thank you to all our readers for the comments and inspiration these last 3+ years. Keep us in your feed readers or otherwise stay tuned – I hope we’ll be back here in the near future. (We’re not totally done with blogging either because Darlene is about to start a mommy blog – if you’re interested in that, she’ll be here.)

Now for the recipe – I had some seitan patties that were seasoned in sort of an Italian sausage style and I was looking for a way to use them. When I went to our local produce market I found some nice broccoli and yellow squash, and also a decent deal on dried porcini mushrooms, so here’s what I came up with.

1 c. dried porcini mushrooms
1 c. boiling water
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 lb. seitan, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 ts. dried basil
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 c. red wine
1 medium yellow squash, quartered and sliced
2 c. broccoli florets
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste

In a small bowl, pour boiling water over porcinis, let stand for 15-20 minutes, then drain and dice mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid. Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook onion in olive oil over medium heat for a minute or two then add seitan. Cook for several more minutes until seitan and onion are starting to brown a little then add garlic, marjoram and basil and cook another minute. Add tomatoes and wine and cook a couple more minutes, then add squash, broccoli, salt & pepper, plus the mushrooms and their soaking liquid. Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer until broccoli and squash are cooked to your liking, 5-10 minutes. Serve with rice or pasta.

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VSS 10th anniversary and promoting vegetarianism in Singapore schools

Yesterday Vegetarian Society Singapore had it’s 10th anniversary and Annual general meeting. With the new commitee members, it was really heartening to see the many new ideas and plans being developed and excuted. Among these amazing developments, what stood out to me was the development of the Singapore tourism board brochure for vegetarian food in Singapore (good news for tourists!) as well as the plans to introduce of a vegetarian burger in one of the food stalls in Raffles Institution. We were showed a picture of the burger picture it looks so super delicious that I can’t wait to try it, in fact, those who have tried it said it was good. The burger patty is made out of mushrooms and not the usual mock meat and this burger alone fueled the whole room with excitement and ideas on its promotion in schools were injected into the discussion like a flowing stream. With the introduction of familiar food first, progress can be made towards introducing more fruits and vegetables in the diet of students.

The promotion of vegetarianism in Singapore schools is still in its infant stage. VSS held exhibitions and talks in schools and now is moving towards encouraging consumption of healthy vegetarian food in schools. I really hope Singapore principals and teachers will be open to the concept of vegetarianism, and not brush it off with preconceived myths that it is unbalanced and makes you weak. What will really make us weak are our clogged arteries, high blood sugar levels, and the many kinds of illnesses that plague us as we age. This is the reason why the foundation of good health needs to be build in our youth.

Though we may not be opened to very new ideas that are not yet introduced around the world, vegetarian options are not alien to many schools in the west and also in the tertiary institutions in Singapore. It is perfectly fine to introduce this as a healthier choice in Singapore schools, as well as to make lives of vegetarian students easier.

Back to the AGM…The best thing to forward to about these meetings is of course, and ALWAYS the food served

This time, we had a vegan cake baked by Halimah which tasted so amazingly non-vegan but yet is cholesterol and dairy free.

Aside from the cake we had brownie catered from wholesome living

And the traditional vegan buns and bee hoon… (sandwiches were not vegan)

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Panda Sandwich and a New Shmoo

The lovely people at LunchBots asked if I would give their product a try, so today I put their containers through the ol’ shmoo review. I was babysitting today, so rather than making lunch for my grumpy preteen shmoo (I’m tempted to call him poo-poo shmoo…) I made lunch for my lovely little niece, Summershmoo!

Summershmoo is four years old and a princess-lovin’, pink-wearin’ girly girly girl. Therefore it’s full-throttle cuteness today, starting with a Peanut-Butter Panda: I used cookie cutters and whole white wheat and regular whole wheat bread to make a panda filled with peanut butter and agave. The eyes and mouth are bits of grape fruit leather.

I used cupcake liners and Easter cupcake toppers to make the second LunchBot pretty (I trimmed the pointy ends off the toppers with sharp scissors). Summershmoo is very picky when it comes to fruit; I decided to find out if grapes and mandarin segments would work for her. But I know she loves sugar snap peas and baby carrots.

For dessert I continued the Easter theme with a container of Annie’s Chocolate Bunny Grahams.

Verdict: Summer was thrilled with everything and immediately ate first the sugar snaps and then the baby carrots. She nibbled on the lettuce before eating most of the panda san (“Can I eat his mouth? Can I eat his ears? Can I eat his eyes?”) She put a mandarin in her mouth and took it out again and maybe ate a couple grapes, then shared the bunny grahams with her little sister. 4 stars.

And the LunchBots? You can see from the picture that they come in two styles: one is big enough to fit a sandwich, the other has a permanent divider down the middle, for snacks and smaller items. Both have tight-fitting stainless steel lids; the lids are quite snug (but not water-tight) without any latches to hold them in place. I was worried that small children wouldn’t be able to get the lids off, but both my son and my niece got them off without any trouble. I think the size is just right for a bento-style meal or for a child with a smaller appetite.

Spontaneous Contest: Who else would like to give LunchBots a try? (I like them, I just have a cupboard filled with lunch boxes.) Email me with your name and address — first one gets the set! UPDATE: Wow, I think that took less than a minute. They’re gone!

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Planes, trains and Vegan Fayres

Hey there!
Did you miss me?
Seems like I’ve been away forever.
I have oodles of exciting things to tell you.

The ancient system established by William The Conqueror to protect and manage the woodlands and wilderness heaths is still in place today through the efforts of Verderers, Agisters and Commoners – literally the judges, stockmen and land users of the forest.

The New Forest is one of the most vast natural areas of eastern Europe and it’s beauty is just breathtaking – even still, to me, who has walked it’s many pathways a garzillion times.
This time I visited what has to be my most favourite place IN THE WORLD!
The Giant Sequoias that dominate the depths of the forest where they definitely rule this part of England and basically kick Oak tree ass!

This is the tallest of the two that stands at an impressive 51 feet! It is the tallest tree in England, Ireland and Wales.
The energy in this place is just so awesome – it resonates with my primal heathen instincts and makes me want to shake off conformity and build a house in it’s highest branches and hide away from the world forever. I would be happy.

Click here for more info on this fascinatingly beautiful part of the world.

That just about concludes my five day trip back to the homelands. Of course even more shopping was done and a haul of vegan goodies bought back with me but you don’t want to see photos of that, do you?

YUMMY!

Can you spot the Sosmix? Read the packet and weep vegan tears of joy and happiness.

It seems after all those months of petition signing and emailing – Haldane Foods listened and finally saw sense. So you can all give yourselves a congratulatory pat on the back. And whilst it’s not on a par with banning Seal clubbing – cyber activism DOES work, so don’t give up.

And I know you’re all dying to know how come my blog is adorned with so many wonderful photos – well this particular heathen vegan is cameraless no more.
HURRAH!
Be prepared for lots of food porn over the next few weeks as I have some serious catching up to do.

GO VEGAN!

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FARRO MINESTRONE WITH WINTER SQUASH AND GREENS

Farro Minestrone with Squash and Greens

We’re heading for Vancouver tomorrow, for a much-needed little holiday (4 days only). We’ll stay with my cousin Chris and his partner Roxanne, and spend time with my sister, Karin, my youngest daughter and youngest grandson, an old friend of DH’s, and perhaps another cousin of mine, Charo, from my Peruvian father’s side of the family. I’ll report on the restaurants!

Before I go and pack, I want to leave you with a delicious Italian soup recipe. Instead of pasta or rice, this soup contains a grain, farro. Farro was a mainstay of Tuscan cuisine for centuries. In recent decades, farro was replaced, for the most part, by easier-to-grow-and- harvest varieties of common wheat. But farro is making a comeback! It features in the dishes of upscale restaurants from coast to coast.

According to farro.com, “Farro and its cousins emmer and einkorn are know as ‘hulled wheats’. This means that the berry or kernel retains its hull or husk during harvest and must be dehulled prior to further processing.

In North America, this fine grain is known as Spelt. While there are occasional descriptions of spelt as not ‘true’ farro, the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, via its report on Underutilized Mediterranean Species states that ‘the only registered varieties of farro belong to T. spelta or spelt.’

From the Random House Dictionary:’Farro– This is a type of hard wheat known as ‘spelt’ in English. It has been grown and used in Italy since Roman times and is now mostly grown in Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzo. A famous wedding soup of these regions is called ‘Confarrotio’.”

There is some confusion about what farro actually is. Some will argue vehemently that farro is NOT spelt! But here is a quote from the above-mentioned report, “Farro in Italy“: “It is very difficult to make the distinction between the three different farros (einkorn, emmer and spelt) as particularly the term spelt and farro are often used as synonyms. As mentioned above einkorn (T. monococcum) is the least cultivated form of farro in Italy. The Italian Ministry of Agriculture estimates the cultivation of spelt (T. spelta) and emmer (T. dicoccon) to be 500 and 2000 hectares respectively.”

It goes on: “In Italy, as in other European countries, all three farro species have experienced a comeback in the past few decades. While in Germany and Switzerland the primary species of farro produced is spelt (Dinkel, used for making bread, biscuits or pasta), in Italy emmer has the biggest surface. In Italy since the early 1980′s, emmer has seen a return in various regions within the centre of Italy, as the healthy properties of this cereal attract consumers. Emmer contains high levels of fibre and it is cultivated traditionally, without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Why had it survived there? Not because the farmers deliberately set out to conserve genetic resources, but because farro, handed down from antiquity, offered something modern wheats could not in the steep mountain fields: a reliable harvest.

Farro is particularly spread in the Apennines central-southern areas and concerns prevailingly organic cultivations. This species, indeed, is characterized by a high agronomical and environmental adaptability and these features permit it, more than other cereals, to cope with weeds and to exploit as well as possible marginal and poor soils escaping any fertilizing action. The spread concerns both areas where emmer is “traditional” and areas where it has been recently introduced. While in the traditional areas emmer growing has never been abundoned and landraces have been maintained, in the new areas emmer varieties are imported either from the traditional areas or from recent plant breeding programs. This situation creates an intense market competition that causes loss of competitiveness of traditional areas, favours the replacement of traditional genetic material, doesn’t guarantee the product traceability and makes weaker the local production phases (Porfiri, 2006). One option to cope with this challenge is the establishment of geografical identification labels with clear production regulations (see chapter about Farro della Garfagnana). Todays main production areas of emmer are: Garfagnana, Valneriana and Altopiano die Leonessa, alte Valli del Tronto and dell’ Aterno, valle dell’Aniene, alto Molise, Appennino Dauno and Appennino Lucano (Falcinelli, 2006).”

Okay– you’re yawning! Sorry– I like to know these things. What they basically are saying is that all three of those grain varieties, emmer, spelt and einkorn can be called farro. In any case, the only one I can find where I live is spelt, so that’s what I used. You can use whichever you like or can find. The soup is hearty and delicious!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S FARRO MINESTRONE WITH SQUASH AND GREENS
Servings: 8

This is a delicious soup to make with leftover beans. It’s from my book, The Fiber for Life Cookbook.

1/2 cup whole spelt or farro kernels
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon roasted (Asian) sesame oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery with leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups (or 2/ 15-oz. cans) cooked pinto, barlotti, Romano, Great Northern, cannellini, or white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
5 cups good vegetarian broth
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with juice
2 cup cleaned, peeled and cubed winter squash
2 medium red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed (unpeeled) and diced
4 cups cleaned, trimmed and sliced greens (kale, Swiss chard, collards, turnip greens, etc.)
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or crumbled sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme or rosemary
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on top
OPTIONAL:
1 tablespoon soy “bacon” chips or bits
vegan Parmesan substitute (such as Galaxy Foods Vegan, or Parma!, or a homemade walnut-based or okara-based Parmesan sub)

Bring the spelt or farro kernelsto a boil in a medium covered saucepan in water to cover (the water should be about 1″ above the grains), for 40-90 minutes, or until the kernels are tender. (Add more water if it seems to be evaporating too fast.) Set aside.

In a heavy soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and stir-fry until the onion starts to soften, adding a tiny bit of water now and then to keep the mixture from sticking. Add the cooked spelt or farro (and any liquid left in the pot) and the remaining ingredients, including optional soy “bacon” (except salt and pepper, and vegan parmesan). Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Taste for salt and pepper and serve with the olive oil and/or soy Parmesan to sprinkle on top.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 323.0 calories; 12% calories from fat; 4.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 582.2mg sodium; 1606.7mg potassium; 59.0g carbohydrates; 12.5g fiber; 4.8g sugar; 46.5g net carbs; 17.2g protein; 6.0 points.

Enjoy!

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