Vegan

Vegan Stock Powder

Vegan Stock Powder

I’m not the type of girl that has enough freezer space (or the inclination) to store all my vegetable odds and ends and then remembers to boil them down into a broth and then re-store that broth in the freezer. Enter: awesome stock powder that almost tastes like chicken stock (gasp!) I first read about stock powder in a vegan cookbook (can’t even remember which one). I didn’t think much of it at the time. Then Holly at My Plant Based Family did a post on it and I ran to my kitchen and made changes with some Vedged Out flair. Here’s my rendition. Made hearty by the addition of dried shitake mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, more dried herbs and stuff like that.

Mushrooms and Dried Tomatoes

Vegan Stock Powder

  • 1 ounce dried shitake mushrooms
  • 10 sun dried tomato halves (not the kind packed in oil) snipped into quarters
  • 3 T. onion powder
  • 1 T. garlic powder
  • 2 T.  sea salt
  • 1 T. raw sugar
  • 1/2 t. ground black pepper
  • dash cayenne
  • 1 t. dried thyme
  • 1 t. dried oregano
  • 1 t. paprika
  • 1/2 t. turmeric
  • 1 T. dried parsley
  • 1 t. mustard powder
  • 1/2 t. celery seeds
  • 1 C. nutritional yeast

Method: In a food processor, process the shitake mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes until they are very fine. Add all other ingredients. Process for a few minutes more. Just made this in my Blendtec instead of the food processor after reading Annie’s comment below. I highly recommend using a high powered blender instead of the food processor if you own one. Just dumped everything in the Blendtec and ran it through a couple of cycles on a 10. The result was a powder as fine as cornstarch with none of the graininess that I had experienced with the food processor. The powder stuck to the jar like crazy, so I emptied it out as best as I could, then added a quart of water and whizzed it all up to clean the jar. Viola. A quart of stock in my fridge for dinner tonight.

Finished Product

This stock powder stores perfectly in a pint jar in the pantry. Use 1 T. stock powder per cup of liquid in your recipes. If you don’t have the dried mushrooms and tomatoes on hand, this recipe is still good without, it just won’t have as much depth. If you can’t be bothered to make this than at least buy this delicious veggie stock base and stop wasting un-recycleable tetra-paks.

Thanks to all of you for all the love this last week and for helping me get my blogging mojo back.

Blogging and Friendship

Peanut Butter CupDark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, using Annie’s base then adding in the middle: 1/2 cup each: vegan graham cracker crumbs, melted peanut butter and vegan powdered sugar stirred together.

Blogging is a funny thing. At first you start posting your recipes, hoping to garner some sort of recognition, then you start reading other people’s blogs, then joyfully and inevitably some lovely friendships form. Sometimes, you get lucky enough to actually meet and get to know these friends. Pure love. So, I’m apologizing now to all my blogging friends whom I haven’t been by your sites to read or comment on your posts lately. In the last month I’ve sustained two different injuries that have left me mostly couch bound, reading the classics, and drinking lots of tea and trying not to feel sorry for my sad self. My cooking skills have gone down the proverbial toilet (as evidenced by THREE batches of failed cupcakes for a Valentines party yesterday). You may have noticed I haven’t been around, I’m not feeling inspired and I’m sorry to say that the last thing I’m interested in right now is reading about food. I’m sure when I recover I’ll be back with a vengeance, but in the meantime I hope you’ll forgive my absence. It’s not you, it’s me.

PancakesAnnie’s Whole Wheat Nectarine Pancakes (except I used apples) and a blob of her Cocoa Coconut Butter. The best invention ever.

It hasn’t helped my mojo that one of my best blogging buddies jumped ship and moved back to her home in Oklahoma after being here in Utah for the better part of 2012. I’m feeling forlorn and I miss her like I miss my right arm. I thought you might enjoy a post about her food since I’m not creating anything wonderful. At least you can get some inspiration from Annie at An Unrefined Vegan.

Chocolate AssemblyAssembling the chocolates.

Flavors to try: coconut, chopped crystalized ginger, roasted almond and raisin, orange (using a couple drops essential oil), mayan (cinnamon and chili), peppermint (using a couple drops essential oil), pecan, and of course peanut butter cup.

Miso SoupAnnie’s Miso Ginger Soup with mushrooms added in. Nearly as comforting as a hug from the girl herself.

I’ll miss our lunch dates my friend.

DSC_0004The big funny: Emergency pit stop with Annie at the always fabulous Cafe Rio Mexican Grill after a lunch date at another restaurant we were reviewing left us famished and disappointed (minuscule portions, average food).

Pepita Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars

I met Susmitha through a Vegan Facebook Group, the Vegan Temptivists. There’s some crazy good food going down in that group and it’s really fun to see what everyone comes up with and “brings to the facebook table” from all around the world. The best part of belonging to that group though, has been getting to know Susmitha, she lives in India, she’s a sweet little firecracker with a fun and vivacious personality. I’m sure if we ever get to meet in real life, there would be no awkwardness, we’d simply hit it off, like we’ve always been friends.

Pepita Oatmeal Raisin Cookie BarsSweets for the Sweet

When she asked me to do a guest post in the month of February, of course I was delighted and immediately thought of something to share with my Valentine and with you. Head on over to visit Susmitha at Veganosaurus and to nab this very special recipe by clicking on the link below:

Pepita Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars

In the Pan

p.s. If your sweet prefers dark chocolate chips and chopped pecans, go ahead and sub em’ out for the raisins and pepitas for a bar that beats the pants off my other most famous bar on this blog.. I promise it won’t hurt my feelings.

xoxo & Happy Valentines,

Love, Somer

Chocolate Ginger Ice Cream

Close upIn the middle of winter when the sun is shining AND the mercury rises above freezing in Utah, people start wearing shorts, sandals (often with socks) and t-shirts. I don’t belong to that club, but I did I celebrate by going snowboarding, I actually had to take off my jacket on the slopes….. then I made some ice cream.

Chocolate Ginger Ice Cream

  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 1 1/2 C. plain soymilk or 1 can lite coconut milk
  • 1/2 C. agave
  • 1 t. Mexican vanilla
  • 1/2 C. cocoa  powder
  • 1/4-1/2 C. crystallized ginger, roughly chopped

Method: blend ingredients til just combined. Pour into prepared ice cream maker. Churn for 30 minutes. You can eat it now (like soft serve) or transfer it to a container and freeze for 2 hours for ice cream that is nice and firm (like in the photos.

Scoop

I gave up on ice cream a long time ago. Before I went vegan, dairy ice cream just made me hurt. I’ve tried a few brands of vegan ice cream, which ranged from just “meh” to pretty good, but the price tag always makes me want to retch, so I just haven’t been buying it. I decided to acquire a second hand ice cream maker (I suggest you do the same). This ice cream is cheap to make and seriously the best I’ve ever had. It mimics all the creaminess of dairy ice cream, without any of the sore tummy issues afterwards. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, feel free to try this method (without the dairy, of course), though I can’t guarantee the exact same results.

portrait

 

This recipe is also featured on Sunwarrior News.

Vegan Pani Po’ Po

Vegan Pani Po' PoVegan Pani Po’ Po. You knew this was coming, didn’t you? 🙂

I had a little break from the Green Smoothie Challenge and the first item of business was to bake some bread. I’m a little obsessed with bread to tell you the truth. I can’t count the number of times I’ve thanked my lucky stars that I don’t have any issues with gluten. This recipe is adapted and veganized from one my sister-in-law Linda contributed to our family cookbook. She was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. She met my brother in Hawaii. I think all the islanders want to claim this recipe as their own. I can’t blame them. It’s truly fantastic. I can’t call it healthy though, this is pure indulgence. I’m back on the challenge, but I’ll share a couple naughty recipes with you from my break.

Vegan Pani Po’ Po

For the dough:

  • 3/4 cup warm soymilk or other plant milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons agave or pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons organic extra virgin coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon ground golden flax seed
  • 1 3/4 cups unbleached organic flour
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

For the coconut custard sauce:

  • 5 ounces canned coconut milk
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1/4 cup agave or pure maple syrup
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot

Dough Method: Combine all ingredients for dough and knead for 10-15 minutes. Dough will be soft and sticky. Cover and let rise for 60 minutes. Punch down, cut and divide into 16 even pieces. Shape into round balls and place in a lightly oiled tall round dish. Cover and let rise again until double, about 30-60 minutes.

in the pan

Coconut Custard Sauce Method: While the dough is rising (2nd rising)  combine all ingredients for the custard sauce in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat til it comes to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and boil and stir constantly for 1 minute until thick. Let cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the slightly cooled custard sauce over the risen dough. Bake for 18-20 minutes. The tops of the bread rolls will be golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with a little coconut oil if desired. Serve with spoonfuls of the custard sauce. I sprinkled mine with a bit of toasted shaved coconut.

Vegan Pani Po' Po-001This recipe is featured on the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck!

Toasted Sesame Tahini Pictorial

Toasted Sesame TahiniWay better than the store bought stuff

Anyone else tired of paying nearly $10 a jar for Tahini? I stopped buying tahini at the store months ago. If you buy sesame seeds in bulk at your natural foods store, you can make your own way more awesome organic version for around $2 bucks.

Measure OutMeasure out 3 cups organic sesame seeds into a skillet

ToastToast on stove-top over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until seeds are golden brown.

In Food ProcessorDump into food processor, add a teaspoon of sea salt if desired.

Halfway ThroughProcess for 7-10 minutes, scraping down sides every couple minutes. It will look dry and crumbly, but don’t worry it’ll come together.

FinishedTahini is ready when completely smooth.

DSC_0168Store in your old Tahini Jar, if it’s a 16 oz jar, it’ll fit perfectly. For ultimate freshness, keep in the fridge.

 

Creamy Satay Soup with Tasty Baked Tofu

Creamy Satay Soup

As I write this, I’m deliriously tired. I haven’t been so sleep deprived since my kids were newborn babies. Instead of having a wonderful Christmas with my parents, we all contracted a very severe flu. I’ve been on a near 24 hour watch nursing my children through a case of influenza that nearly put one child in hospital because for several days they couldn’t keep anything down, not even water.

To make things worse I used the internet to do all our Christmas shopping and had “Santa” deliver everything on the lists to my parent’s home (5 hours away) instead of ours.  So our Christmas was very bleak and dismal indeed. I tried to pull a Christmas Eve miracle with goods and groceries from the local store. Thank goodness my children were too delirious to care much about what was under the tree, but I was angry and miserable. How could this happen on Christmas?

Needless to say, it took me a bit to get into the Christmas Spirit. I realize we are a very fortunate family and have more than many in the world. I’m a stay at home mom and have been able to care for my children and give them comfort when they needed it most. Neighbors dropped off special gifts for them and have called to check on us regularly. We’ve had some relapses and are slowly recovering. Today we had this glorious soup (the only blog worthy meal I’ve created in the last 10 days).

Close up

Creamy Satay Soup with Tasty Baked Tofu

For the Creamy Satay Soup:

  • 1 diced onion
  • 1 diced carrot
  • 1 diced red bell pepper
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 T. minced fresh ginger
  • 4 C. vegetable stock
  • 1/2 C. brown basmati rice
  • 1/4 C. chopped cilantro
  • 2 T. agave
  • 2 T. soy sauce
  • 2 T. lime juice
  • 2 t. curry powder
  • 1/2 C. natural chunky peanut butter
  • 1 can coconut milk

Baked TofuThis might be the best tofu I’ve ever eaten! Even the “not fans of tofu” people will drool over it.

For the Tasty Baked Tofu:

  • 1 block extra firm tofu
  • 1/4 C. organic ketchup
  • 2 T. agave
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1/2 t. ground black pepper
  • 2 T. soy sauce
  • 1 T. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 t. sriracha hot sauce
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 t. minced ginger
  • 2 T. chopped cilantro
  • 1 t. liquid smoke (optional)

Tofu PressOne of my favorite Christmas presents! The insanely awesome Tofu Xpress

Method: First press the tofu for 30 minutes or so to remove liquid (this can be done before prep and initial cook time). In a large pot, water saute the veggies for the soup until the onion is translucent. Add all other ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, put the lid on the pot and reduce heat to a simmer. This will need to simmer for about 45 minutes. While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove tofu from the press and slice into pieces. Put all the marinade ingredients in a small lidded jar and shake til combined. Put tofu back into the press and pour marinade over it.

Marinate

Let absorb flavors for a few minutes, then pour out tofu and marinade onto a baking sheet (mine is lined with a knock off silpat).

Tofu on Tray

Put tofu into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once during baking.

Serve tofu over the top of the soup and garnish with some crushed peanuts and chopped cilantro if desired.

Creamy Satay Soup-001

 

This recipe is featured on the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck

Mom’s 9 Grain Granola

Mom's Granola1

My mom is one of the most beautiful women I know. Beyond her beauty though is a woman who knows how to work. She’s always moving, creating and inspiring. She’s an educated artist, a mother of nine, a teacher, an industrious woman who knows how to grow fields of wheat, make quilts and knit funny slippers for all her grand-kids.  She taught me how to cook and gave me my love of vegetables. Even in Elementary School I loved spinach when all the other kids hated it.

momandmeMy mom and I in 1995

She’s been sharing some recipes with me that lately I thought you might enjoy. This granola is really special, it is packed with nuts and seeds and is chock full of goodness! It makes for an amazing breakfast start or as a “broken cookie” snack right out of the jar.

Mom's Granola2

Mom’s 9 Grain Granola

  • 2.5 C. rolled 9 grain cereal (or rolled oats if you can’t find it)
  • 1/4 C. wheat germ
  • 1/4 C. flax seed meal
  • 2 C. shaved coconut (not the itty bitty pieces)
  • 2 T. quinoa
  • 2 T. millet
  • 1/2 C. sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 C. raw cashews
  • 1/4 C. sesame seeds
  • 1/2 C. pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 C. sliced almonds
  • 1/2 C. pecans
  • 1/2 C. walnuts
  • 1/2 C. water
  • 1/2 C. raw sugar
  • 2 T. agave (vegan version, mom uses honey)
  • 2 T. pure maple syrup or unsulphered molasses
  • 1 T. mexican vanilla
  • 1/4 C. coconut oil
  • 1 t. sea sat
  • 1/4 t. nutmeg
  • 1/2 t. cinnamon

Jarred

Method: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the 1st 13 ingredients (9 grain cereal through to walnuts) and set aside. Combine the last 9 ingredients (water through to cinnamon) a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat on the stove top just until sugar has dissolved. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is well coated. Pour the mixture onto your largest rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven, let granola cool completely on the baking sheet. Once cooled break into big pieces and store in glass jars (This nearly fills 3 quart sized jars).

BakedBaked Granola

PlainBroken into pieces

Serve with non-dairy milk (mom says cow’s milk smells just like cow’s breath). Sliced fresh, frozen or dried fruit is also a nice addition.

Mom's Granola3

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. I’ll be celebrating the Holidays with my parents at their home in the woods and taking a little blogging break. I’ll touch base with you in a week or so.  -Love, Somer

Truck Stop Jo Jo Potatoes

Truck Stop Jo Jo Potatoes

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of the vacations I had with my family. Camping, river running, Redwood Forest, trips down to Mexico, California and then up the coast. We always had a good time and never missed out on great adventures. Somehow, we often left my little brother Morgan behind and had to turn around (sometimes a half an hour or more later) to go back and get him. As an adult, Morgan chose a career in the Marine Corps (No man gets left behind).

One particular trip our big ol’ Chevy Suburban broke down and we ended up spending the weekend in some po-dunk town in Southern Utah instead of our Lehman Cave destination. We still made it fun however, we ate at the local diner, did some skateboarding at the local park and razzed each other. Inevitably during our road trips we would stop and get gasoline at the Truck Stops, where we would almost always get Jo Jo potatoes and dip them in ranch dressing. This version tastes a lot like the original, without any nasty deep frying.

Truck Stop Jo Jo Potatoes

  • 8 red potatoes (small-ish) sliced into 8 wedges each
  • 2 T. safflower or other neutral tasting oil
  • 2 T. lemon juice
  • 1 t. liquid smoke (optional)
  • 1/2 t. ground black pepper
  • 1/4 C. arrowroot, cornstarch or tapioca starch (I’ve tried all 3 with only slightly different results)
  • 2 T. nutritional yeast
  • 1 t. smoked paprika
  • dash cayenne
  • 1 1/2 t. celery salt or 1 t. sea salt and 1/2 t. celery seeds
  • 1/2 t. onion powder
  • 1/2 t. garlic powder
  • 1 t. mustard powder

Method: Get out your rimmed baking sheet and Preheat oven to 425 degrees with the baking sheet heating up in there too. Slice the potatoes into wedges (as described above). Toss the potatoes in the liquid ingredients, then add the dry ingredients and spices. Toss until evenly distributed. The potatoes may stick together so pull them apart if they do. Carefully remove hot baking sheet and dump the seasoned potatoes onto it in a single layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning potatoes halfway through the cook time until golden and cooked through. Serve with Vegan Ranch. You can also use russet (brown) potatoes for this recipe, but they’ll take 15 minutes longer to bake.

I dipped these in a homemade low-fat vegan ranch dressing

Vegan Ranch

Dip it!

Update: 12/16/12 Another Happy Herbivore Abroad Cookbook Giveaway is going on over at An Unrefined Vegan today. Go over there and enter for another chance to win! Today is also the last day to enter my contest.

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Happy Herbivore Abroad Book Tour Interview and Giveaway!

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Blueberry Bundt Cake, page 151

Lindsay Nixon at Happy Herbivore  just released her newest book: “Happy Herbivore Abroad.” I was chosen to join her Blog Tour! 31 Blogs in December are participating and her publisher, BenBella Books is giving away one copy of her newest book at each and every stop! Woohoo!HappyHerbivoreAbroad_FrontCover

You can enter the GIVEAWAY for a copy of this book below, but in the meantime, check out the interview and have a look at the photos I took of the recipes I tested.

Lentil Taco “Meat”, page 43 with Vegan Sour Cream, page 239

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Somer: “What was your “aha!” Plant Based moment?”

Lindsay: “I’m not really sure I had one. I think deep in my soul I always knew a plant-based diet was the right way to live. I was a vegetarian most of my life — wouldn’t eat meat as a child. I also didn’t like cheese or eggs and fought my parents constantly. I only wanted fruits and vegetables. In my late teens, family and peer pressure drove me towards the SAD diet and it never felt right to me. Then, in my early 20s, I had a serious health scare and immediately went back to being a vegetarian. Dairy and eggs were only in things like muffins I bought at a coffee shop so a friend suggested I give those up too and I did. After I was quote-unquote “vegan” I started reading nutrition books and researching — I stumbled across The China Study and it confirmed what I had been feeling, intuitively, for so long. There was no looking back at that point. That was…. 6 years ago.”

Tabbouleh, page 133

Tabbouleh

Somer: “Did you go cold tofurky or was it a gradual process?”

Lindsay: “I suppose a bit of both. I went back to being vegetarian overnight, and when I decided to give up all animal products (about a year later) that too was effectively overnight. I’ve counseled hundreds of people making the transition since and find those who do it “cold tofu” have the best experience.”

Vegetable Korma, Page 100

., ,,...m, ,,,.,.,..

Somer: “What was harder to eliminate from your diet, cheese or oils?”

Lindsday: “I never cared for cheese (as a child I pulled it off pizza served at parties and just ate the bread). Oil wasn’t really an issue for me either. Once I read about how harmful they were I stopped cooking with them that day. It didn’t really phase me. “

Meusli, page 134

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Somer: “What are your Plant Based tips for dining out?”

Lindsay: “I’ve written about half a dozen blog posts on this 🙂 Try the search bar on happyherbivore.com‘s blog.”

Cranberry Bread, page 279

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Somer: “Are you still running marathons and if so, what are your running motivation tips?”

Lindsay: “My work schedule doesn’t leave me with enough time to properly train for marathons anymore, so I’ve taken on new sports — mainly snowboarding (in the winter) and hiking/TRX in the summer. Running was always an escape for me — I called it my self therapy… I so looked forward to that isolated time with my thoughts that I never needed to really motivate myself — it was it’s own motivation. Find a sport you really love and you’ll look forward to the practice of it!”

Bread Pudding, page 156

Bread Pudding

Somer: “What are your suggestions for reducing sodium? (my biggest pitfall)!”

Lindsay: “Cut it out completely. When my husband and I moved abroad, we stopped cooking with salt and didn’t even buy it at the store. We totally eliminated it. About three months later we went back home to NYC for a visit and dined at our all-time favorite restaurant. We both sent our dishes back, insisting they used too much salt. When they brought new plates out, it was still much too salty, but then our friends tried the food and said “you know, I actually think it NEEDS salt” and I realized I’d finally broken myself of a bad habit. You have to go completely off it — and stay off it. Food might taste bland for a few days (or a few weeks) but it will pass and then you’ll be so glad you stuck it out.”

German Potato Salad, page 63 with homemade TVP “Bacon” Bits, page 246

German Potato Salad
Somer: “What transition advice do you have for those who are thinking about or who are new to a plant-based diet?”

Lindsay: “Just do it. Take it a meal at a time. Don’t get caught up with over thinking. Worry about this meal, right now — not what you’re doing tomorrow, or next week or next Christmas. Never think in “Can’s haves” — it’s not that you can’t have it, it’s that you’re choosing not to. Also, focus on all the food you can have, not what you’re choosing to give up. I eat a wider variety of food now on a plant-based diet than I ever did on an omnivorous one!”

Lindsay Nixon headshot

Click on the link below to enter the giveaway.  Contest ends at Midnight on Sunday December 16th. Winner to be announced on Monday December 17th. This Giveaway is open to residents of the USA and Canada only.

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This giveaway has ended! The winner is Sharanya! Congratulations! I’ve emailed you!

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