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A is for Apple B is for Blog

The first day of Lent and my adventure to eat my way through the alphabet has started strong, but ended weak because I became sick. But I have been holding strong and trying my best to eat my way through the alphabet.

Wednesday is A:

Amaranth and Apples Porage:

1 Apple, chopped

1/2 cup Apple juice

1/4 teaspoon Allspice

Sprinkle of Agar agar (I meant to go for the arrowroot, but this worked)

3/4 cup cooked Amaranth

2 Tablespoons maple syrup (I should have used Agave)

cooked the apple, allspice, and maple syrup in the apple juice for a few minutes. Add the cooked amaranth and sprinkle agar on top, then mix together and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until it reaches a porage consistency.

This has reminded me I am not a fan of amaranth. It's a tiny grain without much substance and too many bites with dirt.

Snacks: Almonds

Dinner: Rice with almond milk and home potatoes (I was sick and the husband was willing to cook!)

Thursday is B:

Breakfast: Smoothie - Blueberries, bananas, and almond milk

Snack: Brazil Nuts

Dinner: B Soup

B Soup:

(vegan) Butter

onions

Butternut squash

Black eyed peas

Barley

Basil and Bay leaf

Broth (veggie)

Saute the onions and bay leaf until caramelized. Deglaze with the broth and add the basil. Add the chopped butternut squash and the remaining broth. Add the cooked barley and black eyed peas.

Simple soup, probably not the best flavor combination, but good. The basil and black eyed peas could have been excluded for a better soup.

Day two of this experiment is interesting and it's allowing me to try new foods, as it was designed to do. And since I have been breaking the rules a bit, I am okay with it because I am still achieving my goal.

Tomorrow is C, for chocolate!

Two weeks ago Jess and I reviewed a bunch of chocolates for our Stumptown Vegans Podcast. I still have a few left over which I will be enjoying tomorrow.

Eating Through the Alphabet

When I was 8 I started participating in Lent - I vowed to turn off the lights every time I left the room. Each year from then on I gave something up every year to better my life. This was odd since I grew up Protestant in a Mormon community, where I picked up this Catholic tradition of giving up something every Lent, I do not know.

16 years ago I gave up meat and never went back.

11 years ago I went vegan and never went back.

The last two years I went without spending any money, but it didn't stick, just good for 40 days.

Two years before this I gave up sugar, one of my main addictions, but I went back.

This year I will be venturing on a different culinary adventure - I will eat my way through the alphabet, one day at a time during Lent. What does this mean? The first day of Lent I will only eat foods that starts with A, the second day, B, and so on.

While only eating these foods may be impossible I feel I do need to maintain health, sanity, and a bit of wiggle room.

The Rules:

1. Drink all the water I want.

2. Eat rice as needed.

3. Dishes with combined ingredients must include 2/3 ingredients that start with the letter. For example: It is not good enough to eat a dish called, "Pasta." The dish must include at least 2/3 ingredients that start with P, "pasta, peas, peppers, olive oil, and paprika."

4. As a food reviewer for Stumptown Vegans I will allow myself at least one meal a week eating out which breaks this adventure in eating.

This will definitely be a challenge and require planning which will be difficult with my busy schedule.

If you are interested in participating, inviting me over for dinner, or even posting a recipe that meets the requirements.

This study is interesting and we'll see how far I can get into it. A-Z-M. As I reach the end of the alphabet I may need to combine multiple letters as there are few foods which with X, Y, and Z.

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

Pumpkin pancakes can often be too sticky and not cook through throughly. These pancakes are thick, but fluffy, and perfect for rainy mornings.

Pumpkin Pancakes:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup graham cracker flour (3 rectangle crackers)2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon oil

Sift the dry ingredients: flour, graham flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar.
Then add the soymilk and pumpkin puree.
Mix well. Add nuts, if desired, and stir well.
Cook over a medium, oiled skillet until the edges are start to dry and bubbles have formed in the middle of the pancake.
Flip and cook about 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. Add oil to the skillet before each pancake.
Serve with your favorite vegan butter and maple syrup.

BattleStar Galactica Pizza

I've been a fan of Battlestar Galactica for awhile. The one element of the show that I always laugh at is the minimization of right angles! Every time I see the books or papers in the show that have corners cut at angles I am thrown out of the show and reminded, "this world is like yours, but different!" Apparently, I am not the only one.

While I was making a pizza-like item the other night (flat bread, pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings) I thought I'd entertain myself and cut off the corners. I burned the first few and my camera lost power for the second set that came out of the oven, but you get the idea.

So Say We All

Orange Julies

Growing up, my mom use to make homemade Orange Julius drinks for my sister and I. It was simple: orange juice, ice, and powdered soy milk. Or so I remember.

When the husband joked about ordering an Orange Julius at the mall, I boastfully said I could make a better one! He took me up on the offer, doubting you could remake one. Over the last two days I made 4 different versions tweeking them to his liking. So while this is named after my mother, Julie, it's really made to Brian's liking.

This sweet orange drink is great for summer days. We're also going to try it using a protein powder for a meal replacer.

Vegan Orange Julies:

1/4 Cup Orange Juice Concentrate

2 Tablespoons Agave Syrup (don't sub for maple syrup, try simple syrup)

1 Cup Soy/Rice/Almond... Milk

1/4 teaspoon Vanilla

2 Tablespoons Soy Milk Powder

1 Cup Ice

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Serving: 1

Squashy Quinoa

Naming dishes is hard, so let's just call this Squashy Quinoa. This is a pretty labor intensive dish, but worth it in the end. Save this for a big holiday celebration.

Squashy Quinoa:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups veggie broth

1 onion, chopped

1 turnip, chopped

2-3 carrots, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

olive oil

3 large delicatta, or other favorite squash

Seeds from 3 delicattas

2 medium apples

1/4 cup pinenuts

olive oil

thyme

Chili powder

Paprika

Maple syrup

1. Peel the squash. Cut off the end and scoop out the seeds and guts. Set the seeds aside in salt water. Cut the squash into 1/4 to 1/2 inch rounds.

2. Place the squash on a baking sheet, single layer. Mist with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake covered at 350 F while preparing the quinoa.

3. Saute the onion in olive oil until slightly browned.

4. Peel and chop the carrot and turnip, or other root vegetables while the onion is is cooking.

5. When the onion is browning, throw in the other veggies and1/2 teaspoon thyme. Saute for 3 more minutes.

6. Add 2 cups vegetable broth and salt to the sauting root vegetables and bring to a boil. Add the quinoa and a bit of olive oil. Reduce heat and cook the quinoa and vegetables until just cooked about 20 minutes.

7. Check the baking squash. Remove from the oven when it's become soft.

8. Peel the apples and slice into 1/8 inch pieces. Coat with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.

9. When the quinoa is cooked spread out into a large baking dish, 9x13. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Lay down one layer of squash rounds. Nuzzle the apples into and around the squash, sprinkle with a bit of fresh thyme leaves. Layer the rest of the squash over it. Sprinkle with oil olive, salt, and more fresh thyme.

10. Bake covered for 15 minutes. Bake uncovered until read to serve.

11. Prepare the seeds by draining them from the salt water. Coat with 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1/4 teaspoon chili powder. Bake on the top shelf of the oven while the dish is cooking until browned, about 5-10 minutes. Watch and stir the seeds as needed.

12. When the seeds are starting to brown and have puffed up, remove from the oven. Place in a hot, heavy bottomed skillet. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil. Saute for 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons maple syrup. Stir constantly for about 1-2 minutes until the maple syrup is reduced. Place on parchment paper until cooled.

13. Before serving, sprinkle with the caramelized seeds.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Goody Lyon-Bolsh

This is not food related, but later this week I will share a delicious recipe for squash and quinoa. But first I wanted to share this memory as I am trying to learn the beauty in death.

Goody Lyon was born a small, long haired dachshund and raised in La Quinta, California. He lived the life of luxury, eating whenever he wanted and sleeping all day long. His younger brother, Baily, a blond Wheaton Terrier, took care of Goody by grooming and protecting. Goody was never tethered roamed the whole house at his own pace and even had his own doggie door. Inside or outside - Goody was a free dog, in fact he never wore a collar until he was 13. At the age of 13 his long-term guardian, Bessie Lou Lyon, passed away and he was sent to live with family in Portland, Oregon, while his brother moved to Hood River, Oregon.

His new family, the Bolsh's, opened their hearts and arms to their new family member. The youngest member, and Goody's new sister, Coda, a black Cocker Spaniel, thought otherwise. She had a difficult time adjusting to a new life with a brother, but later came around as she

learned the benefits of a companion to stay home all day with her. Goody also had a difficult

time adjusting to his new life in the city without Bessie-Lou and Baily.

However, he learned to eat and go outside on a set schedule, go for walks on a lease, and meet a plethora of new human friends who would shower him with love as they saw his sweet soul. Goody's biggest accomplishment during his 22 months with the Bolsh's, was the loss of over 20 pounds from his small frame which allowed him to go for walks to the park, climb stairs, jump, and even dance.

On December 24th Goody became paralyzed from

the waist down which quickly degraded into pain. Surrounded by friends and family he was comforted until being provided the gift of ultimate peace early Christmas morning.

Goody brought added love and laughter into the Bolsh's home with his easy-going attitude and new perspective on life. Goody is survived by his adopted parents, Webly and Brian, his adopted sister, Coda. He will be missed, but his cute little face will live on in our memories.

Fried Green Miso Tomatoes

With my tomatoes not ripening fast enough I've had to pick them hoping they would ripen off the vine, but that didn't happen either so I went with fried green tomatoes.

Fried Green Miso Tomatoes:

4 green tomatoes

1/4 cup miso (red)

Water

1/2 cup flour

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Oil for frying.

Mix the miso with 1/2 cup of water until smooth. Slice the tomatoes and place in the miso. Add more water if needed. Let the tomatoes marinate overnight.

Mix the dry ingredients and coat each tomato slice until fully coated.

Fry on each side until golden brown about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Basic Vegan Sponge Cake

My sister bought me this wonderful cookbook called, Another Dinner is Possible. I haven't had a chance to make anything from this book until last night. I made the Basic Vegan Sponge Cake. I had a difficult time

Basic Vegan Sponge Cake:

400g self rising flour

200g sugar

200 ml vegetable oil

300 ml soy milk

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp lemon juice

Mix the flour and sugar. Then mix the oil. Separately mix the remaining liquid ingredients.

Bake 180 C for 30 minutes.

The cake was not so much spongy, but more wacky cake in texture. It was good, but I think it would be better in round cake form instead of a loaf style.

Check out the book though because it's great!

Favorite Vegan News Man

On Friday, my favorite vegan news man, Tim Riley, lost his job on my favorite radio show, The Rick Emerson Show, along with everyone else - Rick Emerson, Sarah X Dylan, and Greg Nibbler. Tim Riley has the voice of a God, or a 50's news announcer. He made anything sound great, even when he messed up, which was often, for comedic effect. The whole show made my day and now I feel there is a big hole where the trio resided on my ipod.

The Rick Emerson Show is no stranger to station changes, layoffs, and cut backs. But what makes The Rick Emerson Show different from other talk shows that go off the air, when they come back, so do the fans. The last time they sent coffee cups to the GM. This got the attention of other radio stations who later picked up the show a year later.

But back to the man, the legend, Tim Riley. He is often referred to as a vegan, but I am not so sure he is. I think he eats eggs since he's a vegetarian who's allergic to milk. Never the less, he's the token vegan on the show. Or, was. Today, he is my Vegan MoFo!

It's a sad week for the radio waves of Portland. I hope Mr. Riley starts podcasting soon, or gets picked up by another radio station along with Sarah and Rick, because without them, there's not much else to look forward on my morning commute.

Isn't that right donkey?

Here's a photo I took with Mr. Riley 4-5 years ago. I wasn't supposed to touch him.

chicago eating

I made it to Chicago in one piece. thanks for all the eating suggestions. keep them coming.
first place we ate was Handelbar. I ordered the Buffalo Wrap. It had some tastey, spicey setain, letuce, and tomatoes wrapped in a tortilla. A very mild ranch dressing was applied to the whole thing. Unfortunately the flavor was mild but the combination of the thick setain and fresh veggies was nice, but forgetable.
the bbq sandwich was less than forgttable. it was huge. bread the size of your head and soft setain stacked too inches high. it seemed allergy inducing even without a glutten intolerance. the bbq sauce was mild in taste and spice, but pleseant. however, it was too much. some carmelized onions or more tomatoes would have helped.
I do not think we will visit again.

for lunch today we checked out veggie bite. a vegan fast food chain. everything was fried. the beer battered fried and the meatball sub were the two items that stood out among all the food. the chocolate oreo shake was great but just tasted like chocolate sauce. it was too much.
wait until I get back for the photos and proper puncturation.

Chicago Vegan Restaurants

Tomorrow I hop on a plane to go to Chicago to see The Dead Milkmen at Riot Fest. I don't know what I am more excited about, going to see The Dead Milkmen, a band I have loved since I was a kid, but have never seen; Visiting and experiencing Frank Llyod Wright's early work; and eating at vegan restaurants like The Chicago Diner, Green Zebra, and Handelbar. Let me know if you have a favorite Chicago restaurant and I will do my best to visit.

Okra with Tomatoes

Last summer I cooked a lot with okra. making this okra dish over and over again because it is so simply fantastic!
Thanks Martha. But no thanks for the bacon. I used tofu broiled with Braggs. Yum!

Since I enjoy okra so much I decided to try growing it up here in the Northwest. The okra is a bit tough, but still slimy the way I like it.

Lately I have been a canning fool. Earlier this summer I made strawberry jam. Lately I've made peach jam, peach strawberry jam. Both from fruit I've picked. I've also been canning the back yard tomatoes because we have more than we can eat (even when the dogs get to them!) Yesterday I canned cucumbers and okra with spices. As the days are becoming shorter I do not think my green tomatoes will ripen much more, so I am looking for good green tomato recipes. I am thinking of pickling them or doing the fried green tomatoes thing. Let me know if you have a favorite green tomato dish.

Fakin Fest

Last weekend was Bacon Fest in Portland. To counter act that a group of vegans assembled in the park for Fakin Fest.

I rolled fake bacon around dates, baked for awhile then dipped in a maple ganache and sprinkled with vanilla salt.

Suprisingly I won Most Creative Dish!

Muffins that Taste Like Doughnuts

Vegan Vittles was one of the first vegan cookbooks I purchased so I have a fondness for most all the recipes. My poor little book has seen better days, but after being forgotten on the the stove and pages fallen out, it mends together nicely. This is like the recipes - it's a great book to go back to, not just adventures-in-early-veganism.

Muffins that Taste like Doughnuts:

1 Cup flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 Cup soymilk

1/2 Cup apple sauce

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

1 Tablespoon oil

1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

cinnamon sugar

Mix the wet, then the dry, then mix together. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar before baking in muffin tins for 20 minutes. I used my grandmother's muffin top pans.

This recipe is great because they are light and fluffy but low in fat and sugar. This was the first time I added blueberries were good, but I do not know I would add them again. Thank you Joanne Stepaniak for your great vegan recipes.

Vegan Garden

I love vegetable. I always have. I started my first garden when I was 9. My mom helped me turn an old sand box into a garden. My first harvest wasn't much - a bowl of 1" round potatoes, 1" long carrots, and some tomatoes. But it was mine. I grew it all from seed.

Today my entire yard is my garden, thanks to my mom for teaching me to garden. And,

yesterday I planted carrots and lettuce. Tomorrow I will plant some chard. But that's just for the winter.My garden did not do as well as I had hopped it would this year. It was the first year for my large raised garden beds so the soil is still adjusting. My little puppy took over the green beans. She does not seem to understand the idea of sustainability and decided to lay on the plants as she ate each bean without sharing.

I have planted many food producing plants outside the garden bed, so join me in a tour through my yard - both edible and not.

Figs. The husband bought me two fig plants for our 10 year anniversary this year. just beyond the figs, you can see one of my four blueberry plants. Duke and Berkley plants have been my favorite so far.

Okra is something I grew up eating and I still love it. I tried my hand at growing it this year and it's been okay, a bit too tough with the northwest weather. But still a nice adventure.

The potatoes have taken off this year. All those pretty green plants on the left are my potatoes. I am looking forward to a big potato harvest and possibly a potluck to follow.

This is what I think of when anyone says potato flour. After this stage they develop cute little balls.

Earlier this year I purchased two tea plants. From this one plant I can make a variety of teas by processing the baby leaves differently.

There are many more edibles in my yard but 'll skip to my top favorite non-edibles. The rattlesnake is so cute. I cannot wait for this to grow up and make babies so I can have more little rattlesnake plants.

My snowberry is so beautiful right now as the white berries have come on to last all winter long.

Another plant with berries that last all winter is this purple berry. It seems so out of place to see this purple in nature.

Finally, Mountain Laurel. I harvested these seeds from my gandparents gravesite and grew them from seed. It's a very hard plant to grow from seed because it has a hard coating on the seed, like bluebells. So I had to sand it with an electric sander and soak it in water for a long time. I ruined 16 other seeds until this one started. I will plant it in memory of my Nana and Granddad.

Thanks for touring my garden with me.

Watermelon Cake

Fruit is one of my favorite things to eat.

As a kid, I remember picking, cleaning, and eating strawberries until I was sick. Every cherry season you'll hear me say, "I would eat cherries forever if I could!" During blueberry season I dream of quiting my job and joining the ranks of the harvester because I love the way the berries fall into your hands with th lightest of touch - and no juice. I could go on.

Watermelon....ah. Watermelon. I remember feeling releived when I first saw the great/terrible

movie Rubin and Ed with the epic line, "My cat can eat

a whooooooooooole watermelon." It put possibility to my ideas that I too could eat an entire waterm

elon - no need to share. No need for one than one cut. Cut it in half and dig in. I have eaten plenty of watermelons in my life in this manner.

This summer, deep in my watermelon meal replacement kicks, I decided I wanted watermelon cake - a raw dessert. Internet searches for watermelon cake bring up im

ages like this cake. Cute, but not what I was looking for. I thought a raw watermelon cake would be obvious - slabs of watermelon stacked with layered fruit in between. But it wasn't.

It was more difficult than I thought it would be to pair the "filling." It needed to have a consistency that would work well with the cellular crunch of the watermelon - a unique crunch that most fruits don't have. Something too creamy or smooth would feel odd - so no peaches, or bananas. Mangos can be difficult to cut so cutting the cake would not turn out pretty and the top layer would probably slide across the room. A citrus would be nice and compliment the flavor, but I needed it to sit for a few hours and oranges would bring too much added juice. I settled for apples because they have a similar crunch, would cut well without adding too much juice, and a tart apple would pair with the sweet watermelon flesh. This is what I came up with:

Watermelon Cake:

1 whole watermelon

1 green apple

Lemon juice

1/2 cup blueberries

Cut 4 inches out of the middle of the watermelon. Select one that is more oblong than sheprical to avoid irrigular layers. Cut off the rind. Then very carefully cut the 4" slab in half. Set aside.

Core the apple slice into 1/8 inch slices. Dip the cut slices into lemon juice or lemon soda to avoid browning. Arrange on top of one of the watermelon slabs so no piece overlaps but with minimal gaps between the apples. This may take cutting some interesting shapes.

Place the second watermelon slab on top with the angles of the rind cuts aligning with the first slab.

Sprinkle with blueberries and garnish with cut apple shapes. Add other fruit as desired. I created a blueberry compote to "frost" mine.

I came across this similar fun watermelon dessert.

I would have loved to have used more than two layers but I used the other portion of the slabs to make this Watermelon Steak. It was an interesting experiment that turned out very poorly. I might try it again next year, but cooking watermelon for 2 hours is a long time to wait to enjoy the beautiful pink fruit.

Vegan MoFo - The People's Sandwich of Portland

Welcome to my first post for VeganMoFo, and my first post in a long, long time. For the month of October I may or not provide my normal (how can I say normal if it's been so long since updating?) posts with recipes - starting with this post.

As many of you know, I review restaurants for Stumptown Vegans. Most of the time we visit a place at least two times before doing a review. So, there are those few times where we cannot even bring ourself to visit a restaurant for a second visit for a review. Then, there are other times when we cannot wait for the second visit to spread the word. This is one of those times.

The People's Sandwich of Portland is a great little restaurant in Old Town Portland where they handcraft sandwich like the Hammer and Pickle, or the only vegan sandwich - the Peoples' Sandwich with "soylent green." A lightly panfried slab of tofu with hazelnut pesto and wonderfully marinated peppers.

However, this sandwich does not have a people's price tag at $8 a pop - but it's worth it. The flavors tickle all the taste buds in the order they are supposed to - the sweet balsamic vinegar marinated peppers, the salty tofu, and the sweet hazelnuts and basil. Plus there's the side of hand cut potato chips deep fried to crunchy perfection with a light seasoning. I only wish they would give more of these crispy little morsels. I cannot wait to try their curly fries.

Check out this shop by visiting their website page, then heading over to 53 NW 1st Ave.

Dog Treats

My little doggie, Coda, had 33 teeth removed on Thursday. We think she has 5 left, but she won't show us yet. She's recovering well, so most is good. Coda's aunt gave her many homemade vegan cookies a cook book for Christmas called Emma's K9 Kitchen.With Coda's lack of teeth I've been concerned about how she's going to have treats for all the good things she does! Flipping through Emma's K9 Kitchen I came across No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls, but the recipe wouldn't quite work because of the dried fruit and cereal. I modified the recipe with agar so it would go down a bit easier. So here it is:

Coda's Peanut Butter Agar Treats:
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons water
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon flax
1 Tablespoon agar
Buckwheat flour as needed

Mix 2 tablespoons of water with 1 tablespoon agar and set aside.
Bring water to a boil, add peanut butter, molasses. Whisk until combined. Add nutritional yeast and flax. Then add agar mixture and cook for 5 more minutes.
This recipe may need additional water.
Pour/spread into a parchment paper lined paper. Let cool. Once it's cool, cut into pieces and toss with buckwheat flour to prevent from sticking. Place in an air tight container. I don't know for how long, probably 7 days.

Coda recovery post op:

Coda's Peanut Butter Agar Treats: