Happy New Year 2010!

Happy New Year everyone!

We hope 2010 will be a year full of joy, success, peace, and growth!

How was your Christmas? Ours was quiet, fun, and joyous. Our Christmas meal was delicious, healthy, and full of flavor. We wanted to review 4 of the recipes.

Ricki's Tofu Frittata was outstanding! Full of zucchini, mushrooms (instead of potatoes), tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, and olives! A great flavor, with subtle tarragon, and texture like an egg frittata or an egg salad. We would love to try this recipe again with different spices like Mexican spices, Greek spices, or Curry spices.


Another winner - Veganomicon's Cornmeal Masala Brussel Sprouts! We love brussel sprouts, and the subtle masala spice complimented the nutty cornmeal. Lots of cornmeal crumbs, but great as leftovers with beans or other veggies.


We made cranberry sauce, and served it over Italian cornmeal cake. The cranberry sauce was slightly tart, but very tasty, and with a little bit more plum nectar and agave, it turned out great! This is our recipe adapted from the Yoga Journal:

Naturally Healthy Cranberry Sauce
Makes ~ 4 cups.

3 cups frozen cranberries, thawed (or fresh)
1 cup diced apples (about 1 apple) - or try pears
1 cup plum nectar (or other juice like apple juice, cranberry juice, or pear nectar)
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup agave syrup, to your preference
1/8 tsp salt
2-3 tsp currants
1/4 tsp agar powder

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium to medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occassionaly until apples pierce with a fork, 18-25 minutes. May need to cover the saucepan and let simmer.

The Happy Veganarian's Speculaas cookies were perfect for a not-too-sweet snack. Could use a tad more cinnamon, but otherwise spiced and nice with hot tea! We made about 25 round soft bite-size cookies.


So did any of you Southern guys and gals have your black-eyed peas? We enjoyed a black-eyed pea soup with celery and garlic and broccoli for New Years luck! :)

"Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth."
~Martin Luther

Ready for the Christmas Holiday!

Merry Christmas!

What is everyone planning for their big Christmas feast? Since we are staying in Oregon this year for Christmas instead of traveling back to Texas to visit family, we are having fun planning our meal.


Here's our menu:

• Veganomicon's Cornmeal-masala Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Creamy Tomato Soup
• Celine's Pumpkin Yeast Bread Rolls, with added cornmeal
• Diet Dessert and Dogs' Tofu Fritata, with lots of good veggies!
  
• Homemade Agave-sweetened Cranberry Sauce
• Italian Cornmeal Cake, sweetened with all natural date sugar
• The Happy Veganarian's Vegan Speculaas
• Cinnamon Roll Biscuits, this time with a cinnamon-maple-fig filling
• "Egg" Nog Spiced Smoothie
  
• Dark Chocolate Bars for sweets! :)

Yummy, lots of leftovers expected!! We are so excited this year to stay here in Oregon and savor our all vegan meal, instead of being surrounded by non-vegan food and smelling the unappetizing meats. All vegan feast galore!What are all your plans for Christmas holidays? We recently attended a wonderful "Sound of Music" musical at our local theater, which got us into the joyful spirit of Christmas. We also plan to drive around and view the beautiful Christmas lights, as well as attend a Christmas Choir concert. Of course, we wouldn't want to miss all of those great classic holiday movies, such as "It's a Wonderful Life"! What is your favorite holiday movies? What is the one thing you most look forward to for the Christmas holidays?

Christmas can be a hectic time, especially if traveling is involved. This year seems to so far be a smoother, easy-going Christmas season. We also finished our gift shopping many weeks ago, mailed them all off in time, and beat the crazy crowds in the stores. Remember to slow down if Christmas gets to stressful! Christmas is more than just gifts and shopping and planning. Christmas is a time to relax, find comfort in family and friends, celebrate Christ's birth, and reflect on all the blessings God has given us.

May Love, Joy, and Peace dwell in your homes and hearts always!
Merry Christmas and God bless,

More Sucessful Cooking & A Great Shopping Find

This past month, our Vive le Vegan cookbook has been well-used!

- When you want a dish that's flavorful and well-liked by friends and family, just browse through Vive le Vegan; you'll definetely find something worth talking about.

- When you want to give pizazz to your favorite sandwiches and vegetables, just choose one of the delicious dressings and sauces in Vive le Vegan.

- And, when you want a quick and healthy sandwich or burger, choose Vive le Vegan!

We've had such successful cooking, making Vive le Vegan's Sweet Curry Chickpea Casserole, Lemon Zinger Vinaigrette, Sesame Mustard Tahini Sauce, Cumin Lime Vinaigrette, Ginger Dipping Sauce, Lemon Herb Tofu, and Pumpkin Seed Lentil Patties!

When we visited our mom two weeks ago for our grandparent's anniversary, we made our Mom dinner. She loved the Sweet Curry Chickpea Casserole, which had great flavors and textures. Sweet potatoes, apples, onion, celery, green beans, and chickpeas in a subtle coconut ginger curry sauce. A great filling meal and great leftovers!

Dreena's dressings and sauces are so easy to whip up and add flavor and pizazz to rice bowls, sandwiches, and veggies. The Cumin Lime Vinaigrette had a subtle Mexican flavor; we enjoyed it tossed in a salad with tomatoes, zucchini, and chives. It would also be great over black beans or in wraps. We used the Ginger Dipping sauce in rice bowls, tofu, and stir-fried veggies.

We loved the Sesame Mustard Tahini Sauce - a great creamy rich sauce, yet mellow in flavor. Good warm or chilled. We mixed the sauce with pasta shells, tofu, peas, and broccoli, and for leftovers we had a chilled pasta salad. Other ideas to use the sauce: in a potato salad, as a tofu ricotta sauce, in a casserole, or in grain bowls.

We also loved Dreena's Lemon Zinger Vinaigrette over broccoli, snap peas, and salad. Alongside the broccoli-snap pea salad, we made Lemon Herb tofu, which was absolutely delicious! Great as "steaks" but also good on sandwich bread with lettuce, avocado, and cucumber. Both dressings would be good to use over anything!


Another great meal was the Pumpkin Seed Lentil Patties. We didn't have breadcrumbs, so we used oat bran and cracker crumbs. Delicious subtle curry flavor with a great texture. We ate it with avocado and lettuce in homemade pitas and had potato fries on the side. This would be really good with a balsamic dressing, or to flavor it with a different spice instead of curry, such as a Mexican flavor. An easy and quick dinner when you can take a patty out of the freezer, reheat, and eat!


Today we found a great find! At our downtown, there was a festival, and all the vendors on 3rd St. were having sales. At one of the stores, called Found Objects, we found a cookie/flour jar, and sugar and creamer set for just $8.50 (originally $40!). We are using them as utensil holder and tea jars!

We're Melting, We're Melting!

Texas is sweltering HOT. We had the pleasure of going home to see family and celebrate our grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, and it happened to be when San Antonio/Austin were getting record highs of 100-105! It was really nice when we flew back into Portland and basked in the breezy, sunny, 70-degree weather....












Don't you love photos and making memories with family? Our uncle, who is savvy with computers, made a DVD slideshow of 50 years of pictures of our grandparents and all of the children & grandchildren. It was so touching and memorable!

It's really hard to stay cool in such unbearable weather. Ice cream, fruit smoothies, lots of water, and fresh salads really help to stay hydrated. (Oh and dark chocolate is nice, too, lol..)

Speaking of heat, our mouths were on fire when we ordered take-out from our favorite local Thai restaurant. We enjoyed spicy red curry (with eggplant, tofu, bell pepper, bamboo shoots, onion, basil, and cabbage), spicy Pad Ga Prow stir-fry (with tofu, garlic, chili, bell pepper, onion, carrot, basil leaves, broccoli, and mushrooms), and spicy Tom Ka soup (coconut milk, lemongrass, galanga, kaffir leaves, lime juice, tofu, broccoli, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, and mushrooms). So flavorful! As summer continues, we hope everyone enjoys the outdoors and stays cool! And don't let little things in life (like hot weather) get to your mood - stay positive and cherish memories, no matter how unbearable things can get. :)

Fresh Meals for an Active Day

It's already May, and we love that it's warmer outside with beautiful colorful flowers. Spring and especially summer always makes us feel so refreshed and eager to be active outside and also to eat healthy. We love fresh light healthy meals on a warmer sunny day. Here's some recent nutritious fresh meals that we have enjoyed!

Super-powered berry breakfast:
Soaked barley flakes with soy milk, raw flaxmeal, and antioxidant-rich sundried white mullberries and freeze-dried pomegranates. And, a creamy berry smoothie with frozen blueberries, bananas, and more soy milk.

Tart, fruity, and nutritious to rejuvenate us for the day!
Mullberries are very nutritious, full of antioxidants, iron and vitamin C. They taste like flowery dates, with hints of coconut and raisins.

Pomegranates are also nature's superfood, with high levels of vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants.

What unique berry have you tried, and how do you incorporate more antioxidant-rich fruit in your diet?

Salsa Tofu Scramble:
With black beans, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, and spices. When served with tortilla chips, steamed broccoli, and fresh tomato wedges, and eaten on the patio in the warm Oregon spring weather, this meal makes for a nice fiesta dinner!

Tofu is a great meat-alternative, filled with healthy soy protein, isoflavones, calcium, and iron.

Broccoli is one of the most nutritious vegetables, high in vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin A, fiber, folate, and other nutrients. Like other cruciferous vegetables, it is powerful in flavonoids, especially anti-cancer phytonutrient sulforaphane and phytonutrient lutein.

What's your favorite dish to eat broccoli and tofu? What's a unique recipe you use that has soy/tofu?


Whole Grain Millet Bowl:
This tasty and nutritious meal was easy to make - cooked millet mixed with olives, tomatoes, chives, and extra virgin olive oil.

As a gluten-free whole grain, millet has a great nutty, buttery flavor with a texture between rice and couscous. It is a great way to incorporate more fiber and heart-healthy whole grains in one's diet, and is a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and other nutrients.

Olives (and olive oil) is a great way to consume more healthy mono-unsaturated fats and polyphenols.

Which gluten-free grains do you enjoy, and how do you prepare them? What's your favorite brand of olive oil with the best flavor? We love trying different extra virgin olive oils to detect the various aromatic flavors.


Yay for May flowers and fresh eats!
P.S. For delectable eats, Ricki Heller has written Sweet Freedom, a cookbook of delicious vegan desserts. Check out her giveaway post for more information - you can have a chance to win a free copy of her new cookbook!

Tempeh

Only this past month or so have we been eating more tempeh. We have found that it is a good ingredient for veggie burgers, "meat" patties, pastas, and sandwiches. It's also better in nutrition than tofu, because it is made of fermented soybeans and is not as processed as tofu. (Although tofu is still nutritious and we love it!) Tempeh is a good source of protein, riboflavin, magnesium, and other nutrients.

We made tempeh meatlessballs from happyveganface, and they turned out delicious. Kind of like Veganomicon's bean balls. We think this would be a great recipe to make many times and change up the herbs and spices. These balls were delicious with spaghetti - organic tomato sauce, onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, and olive oil. Another tasty way to eat the meatlessballs - in a wrap!

At the health food store/cafe in Salem, we enjoyed a tempeh-salad sandwich. This would be nice to recreate at home - a little herbs, mustard sauce, bell pepper, shredded carrots, and celery served on rye bread with lettuce and tomatoes!

More tempeh delicacies - tempeh "sausage" patties for breakfast! We adapted the recipe from Vegan Chef, and while it was a great idea and tasty, it was EXTREMELY salty (and we even cut down the Bragg's/salt). Next time we will make this with less salt and enjoy it with hashbrowns and biscuits for a real "Southern" breakfast.

For future cooking, we have eye-balled these tempeh recipes:
Tempeh Sloppy Joes
White Bean Tempeh Sausage Gravy
Tempeh Miso Breakfast Patties

What are all your favorite ways to enjoy tempeh?
Enjoy your evening!

Whirlwind of Seasonal Eats Part 2

Since the warm weather didn't last, we also enjoyed hearty comfort foods:

Calazones stuffed with mushrooms, kale, onions, bell peppers, garlic, and balsamic sauce. - We got this idea from Dreena's Moraccan Vegetable Phyllo Rolls. We made calazone dough, sauted veggies, then stuffed the dough with the veggie mixture and baked in the oven. Then we served the calazones with balsamic sauce, which was SO good. The leftover sauce we ended up using later in the week over sauted greens and tempeh.

Tempeh Sausage and Hashbrowns - We got this recipe from iamglutenfree.blogspot.com (adapted from the Vegan Chef blog). A great idea but WAY too salty. Should cut down Braggs to like 1/4 cup or less instead of 1/2 cup. It would be good to make different variations - serve with mushroom gravy, tomato sauce, or mustard sauce; add balsamic; add different spices like curry powder or italian seasoning.

Tandoori Tofu with rice and broccoli - We got a tandoori spice packet from the store (these spice packets are great!), and added it to plain yogurt. Served the sauce over rice, tofu, and broccoli and it was a spicy authentic Indian meal!


Miso Soup with tofu and cabbage - We used Vegan Planet's miso soup, and it made tons - leftovers for the week! Great easy soup, nice on a cool day to sip on healthy miso broth.

and Baba Ganoush Pizza - For the pizza, we used Vegan Planet's baba ganoush recipe minus the fresh mint leaves, spread on homemade pizza crust and topped it with bell pepper, tomatoes, and onion. DELICIOUS! Another easy pizza would to use hummus instead - both make the pizza creamy, and are great substitutes for cheese.


Looking foward to more spring! And Happy Easter! We wish you a great blessed day. - LK

A Little Bit of This & That Seasoned Tofu Cutlets

These tofu cutlets are easy to cook up! (We don't really measure spices or amount of time to cook up...)

A Little Bit of This & That Seasoned Tofu Cutlets

1 block of Tofu, cut into 8-12 cutlets

A little spice of Cayenne pepper
Lots of squirts of Bragg’s
Lots of sprinkles of Garlic powder
Lots of shakes of Dried Basil
Lots of showers of Nutritional yeast
Lots of love of Creamy avocado

1. Add a little spice, squirt, and sprinkle to each tofu cutlet, then brown tofu on either side in a skillet.

2. Tofu is done - now to serve, add lots of love, then on top add more squirts and sprinkles, and lots of shakes and showers! Enjoy with sandwich bread, on crackers, or in a rice bowl.

YUM! Our favorite way to have tofu! - LK

Adding Pumpkin

We like the idea of adding pumpkin to all kinds of foods. In quick breads and yeast breads, cookies, smoothies, puddings, ice creams, oatmeal, soups, and main dishes. This winter we've added pumpkin to a variety of foods and not only does pumpkin make the foods delicious but also nutritious!

We tried this pumpkin pie ice cream, but used all soy milk (no soy creamer), a little more pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice, and added some frozen bananas. Made lots of ice cream! Deliciously spiced, and we read that adding arrowroot powder helps prevent ice crystals from forming.

Other creamy pumpkin treats of course include pumpkin banana yogurt smoothies and pumpkin puddings.

From our wonderful friends at Bob's Red Mill, we made Gingerbread using their Gingerbread Cake Mix, but instead of using eggs and oil, we used pumpkin puree, a little oil, and flax with water. So moist, spiced, and delicious! Will definetely make again. You could add some raisins or orange juice for a different variation.


Last weekend we went on a trip to Salem and to Lifesource Natural Foods, where we got some fresh squash pumpkin veggie soup. Warm and creamy for a cold day! Adding pumpkin to even a bowl of split pea soup is another great idea!

Another pumpkin hide-a-way --- in tofu scramble! We love tofu scrambles, and having pumpkin tofu scramble was no exception. Chewy tofu with creamy pumpkin. Yum! Added green bell peppers and onion, but other veggies like kale or broccoli would have been good.

So, we have a can of pumpkin ready to use for the coming week, and we are thinking of creamy curry sauce with cauliflower and veggies, pumpkin maple banana pancakes, and pumpkin vinaigrette broccoli. Get creative with pumpkin! - LK

Catch Up!

Instead of the raw dessert post we promised, we'll wait till the weekend since we plan on making a tasty raw treat with our new ultra exciting member of the household - a Vitamix!

Until then, here are some photos and quick rants on our most recent foods.






A Farmer's Market feast! Our last time at the farmer's market for the year, and we'll miss it so much until mid April when it starts up again. Curly kale, broccoli, Danish squash, pumpkin, eggplant, garlic, bell pepper, banana pepper, corn, red onion, and yellow onion.

Savory Millet Breakfast - with tofu, Braggs, nutritional yeast, basil, and garlic powder







Orange/Yellow Watermelon - tastes just as sweet, juicy, and delicious as red watermelon!


Crisp Juicy Red Grapes!




Thick sprouted wheat pasta with sauted kale, garlic, onion, tomatoes, and eggplant (farmer's market produce!)



Wonderful salad with local salad greens, tomatoes, bell pepper, and lemon pepper tofu.



Now that the farmer's market is over, we signed up to be apart of the Community Supported Agriculture, and we get produce every week from "Growing Wild Farm". Carrots, spicy radishes, lots of bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, turnip greens, fresh bay leaves, and (not pictured) wonderful mixed salad greens.


Indian Sweet Potato Stew - Sweet potatoes, cabbage, pecans, onion, bell peppers in a spiced Indian sauce served with chewy red rice. Got the recipe from online somewhere. Great hearty warm dish for a chilly day.



We've been enjoying the outdoors whenever we are blessed with a clear sunny day - such beautiful scenic drives, farmland, and trees. The leaves are changing colors! - LK

Mid September Eats

It's already September, and even though we've been cooking up some great eats, we've been very bad bloggers. It's in part because we are still trying to settle in as well as keep up with 8-10 hour work days! We've just been too exhausted. But this weekend we've managed to squeeze in time to blog about our exciting September eats!

Rice Bowls - with baked tofu, yellow bell pepper, broccoli, red onion, sunflower seeds, red rice, and an orange sesame dressing. It was delicious and we love having rice bowls quite frequently.



We made spinach hummus and added red onion and cucumber in a flatbread to make a "panini-style" sandwich. Would be good with agave-mustard dressing!





Using Bob's Red Mill Millet Grits, we made Homemade Millet Cornbread. It was a spontaneous creation, so it may need some work (like reduce the sweetness), but it turned out delicious.

Homemade Millet Cornbread
1/4 cup flax
3/4 cup hemp milk
3/4 cup oat flour (or other flour)
1 cup cooked millet grits
1 cup cornmeal
1 Tb baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup agave
1/4-1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix flax and some milk and let sit. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, except for the bell pepper, then add the flax mixture. Stir until combined, add bell peppers and stir until just blended, then bake in a round pie pan or make muffins in a muffin pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.


Purple cauliflower - roasted with olive oil, garlic, and nutrional yeast!



Had a Bell Pepper with Tofu and Walnuts recipe in our recipe book, and we are so glad we finally made it. The filling you could make into a casserole with broccoli and more tofu and mushrooms. We changed the recipe slightly - for the filling we used Bob's Red Mill Grains and Nuts Hot Cereal (instead of rice), added crumbled tofu, chopped mushrooms, onion, Braggs, curry powder, black pepper, garlic, oregano, and celery seed. Served with nutritional yeast.



One of our favorite cuisines is Thai - and this Thai Coconut Stir Fry was so elegant and full of flavor. Another recipe in our recipe stash, and we don't know where we got it from, but we will definetely make this again.

The dish had coconut milk, garlic, snap peas, mushrooms, bell pepper, bok choy, crushed red pepper, lime and lemon zest and juice, onion, some spinach, and soy sauce. We served with long grain brown rice. Love that it was saucy to serve over the rice. Next time we'll try it with broccoli and chinese cabbage!


Finally after many months, we made pizza again! Homemade pizza crust, with local fresh tomatoes, eggplant, bell pepper, onion, and basil, and with lots of garlic and olive oil. This pizza crust is a keeper - soft but chewy, just great flavor and texture.
LK's Homemade Pizza Crust

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 pack dry active yeast
1 Tb olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup hard white wheat flour
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

Add all ingredients according to your bread machine's directions. Set on dough cycle. When done with dough cycle, flattened into a pizza crust. Place stone in oven to preheat, then add crust to stone and bake at 500 degrees F for only 5 min. Can freeze crusts for easy pizza dinners for the week. To finish the pizza, add toppings, then bake at 425 degrees F for 8-15 min.


Finally, this morning we enjoyed warm tasty Carrot Trail Mix Muffins. We adapted this recipe quite a lot, so here is our version.
LK's Carrot Trail Mix Muffins

1 1/2 Tb ground flaxseed
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/4 cup date pieces
2 Tb sunflower seeds
1/2 cup + 1 Tb pineapple, crushed
1 Tb safflower oil
3 Tb agave
1/2 tsp coconut extract (or just vanilla)
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup carrots, finely grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine pineapple juice and flax in a small bowl and set aside. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir in flax mixture to wet ingredients, then add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Bake in a mini muffin pan for 15-20 minutes (check for doneness and golden color). Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Makes 12 mini muffins.


We especially like the pineapple as a sweetener. Sunflower seeds added a nice crunch, but we may try walnuts next time. Other ideas: apple butter and currant muffins and pumpkin pineapple muffins.


We are praying for all you Texans who may be affected by Hurricane Ike. We hope you are all safe and well.

God bless, LK