Vegan MoFo Day 28 - Sandwich Joy

Vegan MoFo Day 28 - Sandwich Joy

Every time I feel like it's been an extra trying time in American politics over the last couple of years, it does a really good job of outdoing itself. This week has been no exception. It's a very challenging time to be a woman, a sexual assault survivor, a person of color, or even just a person with basic decency and compassion. I hope you are doing whatever you need to do to take care of yourself right now. 

Being exhausted and emotionally drained, I decided to have a simple dinner last night. A sandwich with one of those pretzel buns I bought recently at Food Fight. I am so happy these aren't super salty like the ones I tried a couple years ago. 

A good sandwich is a comfort. We grew up eating them. They are portable and can feed us on our travels, while hiking, kayaking or such. And a well crafted sandwich is delicious. 

I am a big fan of Tofurky vegan deli slices. Hickory smoked, original, peppercorn - I like them all! Tofurky is actually made in Oregon not far from Portland. They are a great company and I see a lot of their donated items and coupons at events. They also sponsor an annual Tofurky Trot fundraiser in Portland on Thanksgiving. This year's recipients are: Northwest VEG, Wildwood Farm Sanctuary, Out to Pasture Sanctuary, Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary, and Green Acres Farm Sanctuary. I volunteered last year and it was fun! I think I might sign up to walk/wog it this year. Looks like there is also one in LA the Saturday after Tofurky Day. 

Did you notice the Tofurky shortage last summer? That's because of the wildfires that were near the factory. The shelves got pretty bare around here for a bit. 

Pesto Veganaise, hickory slices, baby greens, pretzel bun. 

Not far from the Tofurky factory is Multnomah Falls which is one of (or the?) most famous falls in Oregon. Maybe because it's so accessible? You can actually see it from the parking lot if you aren't up for walking/hiking. The fires last year came very close to the falls (basically fires were right at the falls) and the historic building there, but the firefighters managed to keep this landmark safe. Thank you, firefighters!

Multnomah Falls

Yes, I'm a dork. 

View from the top. 

Vegan MoFo Day 27 - Dressings

Vegan MoFo Day 27 - Dressings

Earlier in the month I shared my easy tofu method which I love to have on salads. Even though some people seem to think all vegans eat are salads, it's still ok to love a salad. Kind of like how I didn't want to become a nurse because I didn't want to do any traditionally female jobs. Then I realized as a feminist I can do whatever job I want! So enjoy your salad! 

The key to a great salad is a variety of fresh ingredients - and a tasty dressing! I keep a couple store-bought dressings on hand, but prefer the taste of the ones I make from scratch. They are super easy as well - provided you have a blender. 

I've really come around to fruity salad dressing. I started off as more of a ranch girl. Start with a tasty vinegar, some juice like orange or pomegranate and add in some soaked cashews or hemp seeds to make it a little creamy. 

One of my favorite dressing is about a cup of pomegranate juice, handful of cashews, 1tbsp to 1/4 cup of berry vinegar and enough blueberries to thicken it up. So fresh! 

If you want to get a little fancier (and need actual measurements) you can't go wrong with the Orange Peanut Dressing from Dr Fuhrman. He has written several books and works with patients to reverse and manage chronic diseases like diabetes. I highly recommend his book Eat to Live and it has a meal plan and recipes in it. Of course if you have medical conditions and/or take medications, consult with your healthcare provider when making big lifestyle changes. Your medications may need to be adjusted - down!

Orange Peanut Dressing/Dip

from www.DrFuhrman.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/8 cup peanut butter

1/8 cup raw cashew butter or almond butter

1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce

1/4 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

1/4 clove garlic

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth.

This recipe is excellent on kale chips! Wash and spin your kale and tear it into bite size pieces. Then mix the dressing onto it evenly. Either dehydrate or bake at low temperature until dry and lightly browned (if cooking in oven). It's also wonderful as a dip for salad rolls.

Part of my vinegar collection - and big jar of nooch.

Do you have a can't miss dressing recipe? Or a favorite vinegar? As you can see, I buy a lot of mine at Trader Joe's. They really should be sponsoring this blog!

Tumalo Falls in Bend, 97 feet high.

Vegan MoFo Day 25 - Smoothies

Vegan MoFo Day 25 - Smoothies

Smoothies are one of my favorite things. Most days I have one for breakfast. Usually it is chock full of greens and then a couple handfuls of fruit. It's an easy way to start the day with some nutrition. By doing that I start my day with more fruit and veg than the average American eats all day! There are some plant based physicians who eschew smoothies given that they are sort of pre-digested and the body can easily convert them into sugar. I do caution those with blood sugar issues to focus on veg and only a small amount of fruit in theirs to make it palatable. 

If you haven't added greens to your smoothie before then I suggest starting with just a handful or two of baby spinach. This is a mild, forgiving green. As you get used to it you can add more or add stronger greens such as Swiss chard, kale, Romaine lettuce, etc. Banana, mango, or other sweet fruit add sweetness. Berries are a nice low sugar addition. 

Today I was feeling more decadent though and had a smoothie without greens. One of my faves - banana, peanut butter, and cocoa. 

Smoothie maker - and sauces, soups, etc.

You don't need a high speed blender, but it is a nice perk. I waited years before buying one and after I did I regretted not getting one sooner. Worth the money if you like to make sauces, soups, dressings and such.

Ingredients

Regular banana, some chopped frozen bananas, nondairy milk, cocoa powder, peanut butter. Or as I've used here, some defatted peanut butter powder. I used 2 heaping tablespoons, 1 scant tablespoon cocoa powder, and enough milk to get the blender moving.

Ta da! With reusable straw to boot.

 Another favorite combo of mine is banana, apple, half a lime, and water. It tastes like a limeade!

What are your favorite combos?

Hazel says - where's mine???

Vegan MoFo Day 24 - Apps for Vegans

Vegan MoFo Day 24 - Apps for Vegans

It's already the last week of vegan mofo? How is it possible??? It's been an interesting month and I'm glad I've finally done this after thinking about it for so long. Maybe I'll do it again next year and follow the suggested themes? Maybe! 

Today I thought I'd share some apps I like. No, not appetizers. Useful smartphone apps for vegans...or anyone really. Only one is veg specific. 

Food waste is a terrible problem in our country. Some estimates are that 40% of food is actually thrown away and not eaten. This wastes tons of money and resources. I think we've all been guilty at some point of forgetting about something in the back of the fridge or pantry that then goes bad. I recently started looking for apps to help me keep track. I downloaded the free versions of Fridge Pal and Pantry Check. I scanned a bunch of the same food items with each app. Pantry Check was hands down better at identifying the food items I scanned. This included some bean pasta, teas, peanut butter powder, and other items. I'm still playing with it and haven't scanned my whole pantry yet, but so far I'm liking it. I am now getting notifications from my pantry (sort of) telling me a particular item expires in a month or so. 

Have you used an app like this? Any you like? 

Pantry Check

Another app I am trying to get back into using is Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen. Dr. Greger brings us the website nutrition facts.org and his book How Not to Die. His app condenses that information and helps you focus on at least the basics. You check off during the day when you have a serving of beans, water, or cruciferous veggies for example. When you check off everything you don't win a prize - unless you count taking steps toward your best health as a prize! Sure, eat some soy ice cream or a vegan donut, but try to get these healthy foods in also! 

Clicking on the little i takes you to his website and the evidence for the recommendations. 

Lastly one of my most trusted apps - Happy Cow! I have used this all over the US to find me tasty vegan food. Even in unlikely places! When I moved to Oregon I drove from NC up to Ohio and then across on I-80 through states like Wyoming and Nebraska that are not exactly vegan meccas. I found a vegetarian restaurant in Wyoming and a raw, vegan restaurant in Nebraska! I didn't always find a plethora of options, but I always found some. This user driven website and app is terrific. And you can add your finds and reviews to it to help out others. Happy Cow is one of my best friends! 

Veg options in my little town.  

Pages of options in nearby Portland.

I love it when technology makes our lives easier. And makes us healthier and happier (and well fed!) vegans! What apps do you rely on in your vegan life?

Vegan MoFo Day 21 - Upton's Ch'eesy Bacon Mac

Vegan MoFo Day 21 - Upton's Ch'eesy Bacon Mac

Today's post is more of a review. In March I met my friend Cherry in Chicago for a long weekend trip to see Pink. Chicago has many wonderful vegan options and we ate our way through many! One of our faves was Upton's Breakroom. Upton's makes things like yummy seitan bacon and packaged jackfruit dishes. The Breakroom is a small cafe at the factory. We ate there for brunch and then for dinner. 

Upton's chocolate chip waffles

Upton's seitan bacon

The cheesy bacon mac at the Breakroom

While walking around town we went into a natural foods store and saw some Upton's packaged items I hadn't seen before. One of them being a cheesy bacon mac. I vowed to someday try this tempting dish! 

Yes, I took at pic.

Yesterday was that day! The mac comes basically prepared and you just have to add the two pouches together and heat it up. It took me about 4 minutes. 

One thing that I really like is that it has the same number of calories as it has sodium. A good rule of thumb for not overdoing sodium is to have it match or be less than the calories in a dish. So this passes that test! 

While I didn't find it amazing, it was easy and tasty. I would take it camping for sure as it was so quick cooking. This won't be a regular part of my rotation, but this kind of thing isn't anyway. 

Have you tried it? Or any of Upton's other items? 

Similar to the cafe's version

Holding hands in Chicago

Vegan MoFo Day 20 - Easy Tomato Bisque

Vegan MoFo Day 20 - Easy Tomato Bisque

How is it day 20 already?? This month is flying by and Autumn is almost officially here. The weather in my part of Oregon really feels like fall and that puts me in the mood for soup! 

And what could be better than a minimal effort tasty tomato bisque? I can't remember who I got the basis for this recipe from in order to credit them. It was someone I know online, not a book or a blog. I think maybe from Dr Fuhrman's group. I am sorry. Whoever you are - if it's you let me know and I'll give you proper credit!

Tomato Bisque

1 jar tomato sauce (I use a basil sauce)

1/2 cup raw cashews

1-2 cups water

basil - fresh or dried - to taste

Everything about this recipe is very forgiving. I rarely measure anything in it. Use 1/2 cup cashews or use 1 cup. Or 1/4 a cup. It will still taste good! You decide how creamy and how thick you want the soup. Add a little vodka and put it on pasta and now you have a vodka sauce. Really, you can't do this recipe wrong.

But here are the general directions: Soak the cashews in enough water to cover them. How long? I usually do either 20 minutes or maybe a couple hours if I've started doing other things and forgotten about them. If you're having an emergency soup need, skip the soaking. 

Dump the cashew water, then puree the cashews with 1/2 to 1 cup water in your high powered Vita-mix. Don't have one of those? But I thought you were vegan? Just kidding! A regular blender will be fine especially if you did the soaking. 

Once the cashews are well blended, pour in the jar of tomato sauce (or only pour in half and reserve the rest until the end to make it more chunky). Also add a big handful or two of fresh basil or 1 to 12 teaspoons of dried basil. You have all the power in how much basil! Keep adding until it tastes good to you. I like a lot of basil! But I am joking about the 12 teaspoons. That's probably too much!

Your soup probably needs a bit more water. Or not - you decide! I add water to the mostly empty sauce jar to rinse it and get the rest of the sauce in the blender. This also gets you ready to reuse or recycle your jar. Go you! Now give your soup a last little blend. Only briefly if you want it a little chunky. Or go for smooth and run the blender until it heats your soup - if you've got one of those expensive, fancy pants blenders. If not, transfer your soup to the stove or microwave and heat until it's warm/hot. 

There it is! Have you ever heard of an easier vegan soup recipe? I mean, really. Have you? I'd like to hear about it! 

What trust looks like.

Vegan MoFo Day 11 - Swiss Chard Pie

Vegan MoFo Day 11 - Swiss Chard Pie

Today we return back to ultra healthy vegan fare. You may notice I vascilate wildly between healthy meals and vegan comfort food. That's how I roll. For now at least! 

This recipe is a long time favorite of mine. I've been making this for years and it's always a crowd pleaser. 

Are you familiar with Susan Voisin's blog fatfreevegan.com? Susan is one of my favorite people even though we've never met in person. I love her recipes and food pics. I tell a lot of people about the blog including some of my patients. She has delish recipes which feature ingredients most people are familiar with and they are healthy. Don't be fooled by the fat free title - this food is yummy! Her recipes do contain fat, but in the form of whole foods, not oil. And in many cases the recipes can be modified to be even lower in fat if desired. 

You can search her recipes on the blog by ingredient or recipe name, but also by tags such as pressure cooker, vita-mix, or asparagus (I love her roasted asparagus soup recipe). 

I often make little tweaks to her (and everyone's) recipes, but I have never been disappointed. She even includes nutrition facts label info on the recipes. For this recipe I usually use a lot more nutritional yeast and turmeric than she calls for and less cayenne, if any.

Rainbow chard is so pretty. 

Remove and dice the stems as they get cooked first. 

Cooking stems. 

Then add the leaves and cook down. 

In the oven and ready to go!

What are your go to vegan recipe sites? Do you usually follow a recipe exactly or give it your own touch? 

Swiss Chard Pie from https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/06/savory-swiss-chard-pie.html

Ingredients

• 12 ounces chard , 340 g
• 1 medium onion , chopped
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 12 ounces lite firm or extra-firm silken tofu, drained (1 package Mori-Nu is 349 g)
• 1/4 cup plain soy milk (60 ml)
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
• 1 heaping tablespoon raw cashews , optional*(1/2 ounce or 15 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp. dried)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9-inch ceramic pie pan lightly with non-stick spray.
2. Wash the chard but do not dry. Remove the center stem from each leaf. Set the leaves aside and chop the stems into small pieces. In a large skillet, sauté the onion and chard stems until softened (about 5 minutes), adding a tablespoon of water if necessary to prevent sticking.
3. Meanwhile, cut the chard leaves into bite-sized pieces. Add them to the pan along with the garlic, reduce heat, and cover. Cook until all chard is wilted. Remove from heat. If any water has accumulated, drain it; then spread chard in bottom of prepared pie pan.
4. Place tofu and remaining ingredients in a blender, and puree until very smooth. Pour over the chard in the pie pan. Use a spoon to gently open holes through the chard so that the tofu mixture penetrates it. Smooth the top so that tofu layer is even and covers all the chard.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until center is set. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Vegan MoFO Day 8 - Let's get spicy!

Vegan MoFo Day 8 - Let's get spicy!

Being vegan is a revolutionary act. You are rejecting what society tells you is normal. You are rejecting how your mother fed you and thereby rejecting a way she loved you. You are rejecting the industries that are most heavily subsidized. You are rejecting most major corporations. Make no mistake, every day of your life involves rejecting societal norms. 

So it's no wonder that while there are vegan Republicans (Yes, really. Though in my experience they tend to be mainly fiscally conservative), we skew mostly progressively left leaning. And the last couple of years have been difficult political times for us American vegans. They also have the potential to become much worse. 

It's exciting when a company decides to take a stand and put our country and our people before profits. No, I'm not talking about Nike. Instead I'm talking about Penzey's! While they are not a vegan company, the majority of their spices are of course vegan. And since the 2016 Presidential election, they have been very vocal about where they stand. They have supported the Affordable Care Act, been very clear on being against Nazis (why is this controversial again?), vocal supporters of diversity, and have done fundraisers for victims of Hurricane Harvey among other things. They also do lots of giveaways and theme spice mixes. And discounted boxed sets. 

The best part is - their spices are terrific! I am in no way compensated for this endorsement (though I wouldn't turn down any herb blends they want to send me!). I just think we have to lift up and share companies that are speaking out and doing the right thing in this turbulent time. As you'll see from the pics, I'm doing my part to balance out at least one conservative that is boycotting Penzey's because of their liberal politics. Though how basic human rights became liberal I will never understand! 

They have unique blends and the classics.

Yes, that's a Green Goddess mix in the back!

Throw any of their mixes on tofu or soy curls and have an instant meal. 

As I was getting ready to publish this post, I came across this article by Carol Adams and Virginia Messina on the The Anti-Trump Diet You Need Now. It has some great basic tips for surviving and thriving in this challenging time. Have you checked out their new book yet? It's called Protest Kitchen: Fight Injustice, Save the Planet, and Fuel Your Resistance One Meal at a Time. I think I need to get a copy! But then I am rather addicted to vegan cookbooks.

How are your taking care of yourself and staying strong in our current political climate? What companies do you think we should be supporting right now? 

Hazel practices self care by getting out in nature!

Vegan MoFo Day 7 - Green Pea Pesto Spaghetti Squash

Vegan MoFo Day 7 - Green Pea Pesto Spaghetti Squash

7 days of posting in a row! What what!! It feels like a bit of an accomplishment. I hope you have enjoyed some of what I've shared. :) 

Today we are taking a ride in the way back machine and I'm sharing a recipe I've loved for about 7 years or so. It's the perfect combination of Spring and Autumn as it has basil and spaghetti squash. So fresh and easy! Basil makes everything great! 

Is it cheating that I don't create recipes? I'm big on modifying recipes, but have never felt adventurous enough to go it my own. Except with a few sauces I make, but then I just throw stuff in and don't write things down. 

Have you cooked spaghetti squash before? This recipe was my introduction to it. It's so cool using the fork and seeing the 'spaghetti' magically appear. 

Green Pea Pesto Spaghetti Squash

from http://eats2live.blogspot.com/2010/01/green-pea-pesto-spaghetti-squash.html

 4 main dish servings, 6 side dish servings

1 medium spaghetti squash

1/2 cup tomatoes (I used a can of diced tomatoes)

2 tsp oregano

1/2 cup frozen green peas

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup fresh or frozen basil

1 1/2 - 2 oz. pinenuts (I used walnuts)

Cook spaghetti squash by preferred method. I like to pierce it several times and microwave for 4 minutes, then cut it in half & scoop out the seeds, put the halves face down on a dinner plate & microwave for another 8 minutes or so, until soft.

Once cooked, remove strands from one half of squash using a fork and add to a lightly sprayed 6x9 rectangular baking dish (or similar size) along with a little squash from the 2nd half. Stir in tomatoes and oregano.

In a high powered blender add the green peas, garlic, basil, pinenuts and the remaining squash. Blend until smooth & creamy.

Spread pesto across the top of the spaghetti squash and place in preheated oven. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes, until pesto seems to have firmed up some.

Squash, seasoning, tomatoes - before the pea pesto. 

In the oven and ready to go!

Delish finished product!

 I think this will forever be one of my staple recipes. I love the way the baking basil makes the house smell!

My head behind a rock at Gold and Silver Falls.

Happy Friday from the Pacific Northwest!