Chocolate Ginger Ice Cream

In 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.

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.

This recipe is also featured on Sunwarrior News.

Vegan Pani Po’ Po

Vegan 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.

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.

This recipe is featured on the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck!

Toasted Sesame Tahini Pictorial

Way 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 out 3 cups organic sesame seeds into a skillet

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

Dump into food processor, add a teaspoon of sea salt if desired.

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

Tahini is ready when completely smooth.

Store 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

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).

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

This 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)

One 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.

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).

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.

This recipe is featured on the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck

Mom’s 9 Grain Granola

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.

My 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 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

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).

Baked Granola

Broken 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.

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

V-Dog Review and Sample Giveaway

Lucky has a Giveaway for your dog!

It’s been a week since our first shipment of V-dog arrived! From day one, it was clear that Lucky preferred V-dog to his other up-market brand dog food. Hardly a surprise since most commercial dog food is greasy and smelly. V-dog smells fresh, because it is! He loves the breath bones too (we love them even more, his breath is totally fresh after eating them)! More importantly though, adjustment has been easy and Lucky hasn’t experienced any gastrointestinal upset or problems with the switch!

Since V-dog was kind enough to send us 2 five-pound bags of dog food to review, we want to share with you. I was gonna give the second bag to one lucky winner, but what’s the fun in that? I know lots of you want to try it. So, we are breaking up the second bag to send out samples to the first 10 20 comments here that request a sample! If I get more requests than that, we’ll see what we can work out 😉 Requests only for followers of this blog within the U.S. please.

Update: I’ve received far more than 20 requests and cannot accept any more. Sorry!

Did I mention the bag is compostable?

Why switch to V-dog?

Veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward gave me permission to share part of this article of his:

As a long-time vegetarian vet, I’m often asked whether I feed my pets meat. I’m never certain whether it’s an honest question or an attempt to trip me up. It’s similar to being asked, “If you don’t eat meat, where do you get your protein?”

My protein comes from the same place the animals people eat happen to get theirs — plants.

Can Your Cat or Dog Be Vegetarian or Vegan?

The simple answer is that dogs can do just fine on a carefully balanced vegetarian or vegan diet, while cats cannot. Sure, you can try to work around the whole cats-are-obligate-carnivores thing by supplementing certain synthetic amino acids, but it gets tricky — not to mention dangerous to the cat’s health.

So the answer is yes for dogs, but no for cats.

The comment that I most often hear after I state that dogs can be fed a vegetarian or vegan diet is that canines do better on a meat-based diet. Again, I’m not going to argue. There aren’t any studies that I’m aware of that have compared longevity and disease occurrence in dogs who’ve been fed meat versus canines on vegetarian diets.

Interestingly, one of the world’s oldest dogs, Bramble, who lived to a reported 27 years old in the U.K., was never fed an ounce of meat by her strictly vegan owner.

Still not convinced? Check out the ingredient list above. It’s human grade people!

After lots more research, this particular article really pushed me over the edge: Article used with permission from V-dog:

Vegetarian Diets Can Be Healthy for Dogs

by Dr. Armaiti May, D.V.M., C.V.A.

For both ethical and health reasons, many vegetarians and vegans choose to feed their companion dogs vegetarian or vegan diets. Up to 50 % of commercial pet food brands are comprised of “meat meal” and “byproducts,” which include various body parts (such as beaks, brain, spinal cord tissue, bones, lungs, intestinal tracts) slaughterhouse wastes, 4-D meat (from dead, dying, diseased or disabled animals), supermarket rejects, as well as rendered dogs and cats from animal shelters. Other contaminants which have been found in commercial pet foods include old restaurant grease containing high concentrations of dangerous free radicals and trans fatty acids; PCBs, heavy metals and other toxins, particularly from fish; bacterial, protozoal, fungal, viral, and prion contaminants, along with their associated endotoxins and mycotoxins; hormone and antibiotic residues; and dangerous preservatives.

Many speculate that the increase in incidences of cancers, kidney failure, and other degenerative diseases in our companion animals recently may be due to the harmful ingredients in many commercial meat-based pet foods. This has led people to feed alternative diets. Dogs can be healthy and in fact, thrive on a vegetarian or vegan diet, as long as all necessary nutrient requirements are met. Dogs are biologically omnivorous, but can adapt well to a plant-based diet which meets all their nutritional needs.

Lucky loves V-dog!

The final convincing: one of my Facebook friends, Veterinarian Dr. Michael Roth (Veggivet) mentioned to me that he feeds his own dogs V-dog.

There are other vegan dog foods on the market, but V-dog is the only fully vegan dog food company. To learn more about their company, please visit their site here.

….and I’ve got no doubts your dog will eat it, love it and thrive on it!

Update: I’ve received far more than 20 requests and cannot accept any more. Sorry!

Winner of the Happy Herbivore Abroad Giveaway!

And the winner is…. Sharanya! I’ll be contacting you by email. Congratulations!

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

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.

Happy Herbivore Abroad Book Tour Interview and Giveaway!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!”

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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Vegan Dog Food?

Something special arrived on my porch yesterday. I wasn’t going to talk to you about it til’ January, but I can’t help myself. I’ve been plant-based now for nearly a year. Our Portuguese Water Dog, Lucky, is part of our pack. Since we changed our diet as a family, inevitably, he’s wanted to change his. He’s started to turn up his nose at his (upmarket brand) dog food. He steals loaves of freshly baked whole grain bread. When I open the crisper door of my refrigerator he cries for an apple. He’s been known to sneak off with a whole bunch of bananas if they’re left on the counter-top, later I find the peels (expertly peeled) in my back yard. I suspect he needs to go back to dog training school, but I also suspect he doesn’t really like his greasy smelly commercial dog food much. Who can blame him?

Look at that smile! 🙂 We had to use our “leave it” command to get him to not gobble these up while I was taking the photo.

The owner of V-dog generously offered Lucky a couple bags of dog food and some treats to try out and for me to review my dog’s response here. Lets just say the response was overwhelming. As soon as I cut one of the bags open, he was right by my side. To my surprise, the food didn’t smell unpleasant at all like other dry dog food does. I offered him a few pieces as a treat. Gobble gobble, my kids came home from school and wanted to test it out on him too. Gobble gobble. For dinner that night I mixed 1/3 V-dog with 2/3 of his other commercial food. Guess what? He somehow sorted the bits and only ate the food from V-dog, leaving the other dog food behind in the bowl. I all ready know he’s a convert.

Take it!

For those of you who think I’m nuts (I’m sure even some of you vegans do!), next week I’ll be presenting you with evidence as to how dogs can thrive on a plant-based diet and how commercial dog food is full of yucky stuff. Indeed V-dog meets all the national nutritional standards that traditional dog food does. The label is 100 times cleaner though. In fact, it’s so clean that they say their dog food is human grade… So I ate a piece. It tastes like an unseasoned lentil loaf or a vegetable type cracker…

I’ll let you know how Lucky is doing with it and I’ll be doing a GIVEAWAY to some of you who may be interested in transitioning your dog too. Check out V-dog’s website for more details. Stay tuned for another Giveaway tomorrow!