Monday, August 1, 2011

Spicy Hashbrown Soup

This is one of those that has an odd ring to it, but if you give it a chance, it just might grow on you. I loved this from the get go, but no one here liked it at all. I will make it again, but I won't have to share. Awwww, ain't that just too bad.

1&1/2 cups hash browns(we shredded our own potatoes)
1-2 T olive oil
1 cup water
3-6 pickled jalapeno slices
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
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In a skillet heat oil if you are NOT using a non-stick skillet, to a medium-medium high heat. Heat potatoes until they are crisp on both sides.

Add water, jalapenos and nutritional yeast and stir until the flakes are blended.

Let heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add slat and pepper to taste.

This is so simple it scares me. And even though my family did not like this one. I loved it for its taste and quirkiness. So try it and see what you think. and as always, make...eat...enjoy.

Everything Jumbalaya

I promised this to a customer I spoke to in connection to my health food store. I surely thought I had posted this,but alas, that was not to be. So here I am after a day of playing catch-up from a want-to-be migraine and now I am on a roll of so many chores that have just fallen by the wayside, and this blog being one of those chores.
So on to this delicious dish. Who doesn't love jambalaya. I use to, until I became a vegetarian. Traditional jambalaya is racked with animal products. But my daughter happened upon a great dish she snatched form The Food Network and we veganized it. And what a lovely dish it is now. I know those who consume traditional jambalaya will say this dish has to have meat to survive. We have disproved that saying and gone one step farther. Ours would stand up against any traditional jambalaya on any day of the week. So go ahead, make this dish and say I am wrong. And for the record, I usually do not like complicated or lengthy recipes, but every once in a while there is one that falls into its own category...this is one of those dishes. so save it for a special occasion or when company comes over and you will not be disappointed.

2 cups brown rice(uncooked)
1 T olive oil
1 T vegan butter
1 block of extra firm tofu(pressed & cubed)
1 package of sausage(Italian if you have it, we use Tofurkey, but use your favorite)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Several drops of hot sauce or 2 pinches of cayenne pepper
2-3 T all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 (14 ounce) container vegetable broth(or your own homemade)
1 t cumin
1 rounded t chili powder
1 t poultry seasoning(there is no meat in poultry seasoning)
1 t vegan Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped scallion for garnish(optional)
Fresh thyme, chopped for garnish(optional)
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Cook rice according to directions.

Place a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Add cubed tofu to heated oil and butter. Brown tofu for approx. 3-5 minutes. Add onion, celery, green pepper, bay leaf and cayenne.

Saute vegetables for 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and broth. Season with cumin, chili powder, poultry seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Bring liquids to a boil. This is best when it slow cooks for a few hours. But be careful for the tofu has a tendency to fall apart if cooked too long. so no more than a few hours on a low slow heat. And served over rice it delicious.

If you want to jazz it up a bit, add some wild rice to your regular rice and have even more fun. So make...eat...enjoy!

A Dear Passing

Well I am ready to get back to posting more. I have been dealing with some life issues. For one, my sisters husband passed away very unexpectedly and it was due to his health. She had begged him for years to take off the weight (which he was morbidly obese), but he never did.
His entire family had serious weight issues and not one of them did a darned thing about it, and it killed them all. And to add insult to injury, two of them got so huge in their final years that they could not even got off the recliner, for the most part. that is not living, that is existing.

So not only is my sister going through the normal anger that goes along with grieving, she is dealing with a second anger, which is related to his not heading her words to get the weight off.

I still hear people say that heart disease runs in my family. Well that is the biggest lie this side of the Mississippi. Heart disease runs in those who eat garbage. And my brother-in-law proved that...with his life.

I am on a deeper mission to get myself even healthier now. I was never worried that I would perish form any of the diseases brought on by eating incorrectly, but I need to step it up a bit. So get ready for some new and as always healthy recipes.