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!

Ginger 'Chicken'

Yeah yeah yeah, you all know I do not eat chicken. But when you are transitioning form eating meat to vegetarianism and then from vegetarianism to veganism, you still want that connection the things you remember eating. that does not mean you want to remember how those meals got to you plate, they were familiar to you and most of the times there were good memories involved around eating time (hopefully).

With that said, I found this little recipe quite by accident. At the health food store I work at, there is a rack of books that I browse through when it is slower. I take away tid bits of information from these cookbooks and sometimes I fall upon a recipe that piques my interest so much that I know that I just have to make that recipe. Well this is that recipe.

This one is not very complicated and if you are already on the road to health then thee ingredients will not come off as odd. I have all these items in my pantry 99% of the time.

I will, however, admit that this is a bit time consuming. So be ready to be in the kitchen. This is one of those meals that you make to show folks just how good vegan food can truly be. From beginning to end, you are looking at about 1&1/2-2 hours. that is from start to dinner table.

Please read thee instructions carefully. I did not on my first time. I did not ruin the dish, but it got better the second and now even the third time making the dish. I love this dish. But the one thing I have not done is change the spices. The spices you see here, give it a classic chicken feel/flavor. And if you are someone who is in the kitchen then you will recognize by name and then by smell the traditional poultry seasoning spices. Ahhh, the small of is intoxicating. Reminds me of Thanksgiving. Anyhow, on to the recipe.

I almost forgot, I found this in the How It All Vegan 10th Anniversary edition book. Excellent book. I can't wait to add it to my collection. Read on-make-eat-enjoy.

Mock 'Chicken':
1 cup wheat gluten 'flour' (may need to purchase at a health food store)
1 cup water

Broth:
4 cups water
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup soy or tamari sauce (we use low sodium versions)
2 t onion powder
2 t dried sage
1 t dried thyme
1/4 t salt

Ginger Dish/Sauce:
3 3-inch pieces of fresh ginger, peeled into paper-thin coins ( I minced mine)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy or tamari sauce
2 t corn starch
1/4 cup water
2 green onions, finely chopped

In a medium bowl, stir together the wheat gluten flour and water until it becomes elastic. Knead for 5 minutes and set aside.

In a large saucepan, bring all the broth ingredients to a boil. Slice gluten into 1 inch chunks(or strips, whatever style you want is fine) and drop carefully into broth. Reduce heat, cover with lid and let simmer for 50-60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until broth has reduced.

In a large pot on medium-high heat, saute the ginger in oil for 3-4 minutes or until ginger starts to soften and change color. Add 'chicken' chunks and saute 2-3 minutes more, stirring often to prevent sticking. Add the say sauce, cover pot with lid, and turn down heat to medium. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the sauce evenly coats the ingredients.

Once the 'chicken' is cooked, stir together the corn starch and water in a small bowl. Add to pot and stir together well until sauce is thickened. Place 'chicken' in a large serving bowl, garnish with green onions, and serve with rice. You can also add some steamed veggies and have a very colorful meal. Please enjoy, we always do.

Cabbage Un-Roll

This is another so easy recipe that it scares me to death. I have such wonderful memories of my father's mother making stuffed cabbage when we would visit her in Michigan. Man she could make that dish like no one else I knew. I would crave as soon as our feet hit the floor of her house. I have made this dish a few times as a vegetarian, but rolling them leaves is a bear. With that said, in walk this recipe. So easy a monkey could make it. So read on and make this with comfort food in mind.

1 head of cabbage, chopped
6 carrots, chopped, (optional, we used them)
1 jar-24 ounces tomato sauce
1 bullion cube, (we used our own broth)
1 package vegan ground beef, (use your favorite)
1 t salt, maybe more
1/2 t pepper, maybe more
8 cups of cooked rice
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Put cabbage, carrots, sauce(plus one can of water), and bullion/broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes., or until the vegetables are soft. Stir in your veggie ground beef, add spices and serve over rice.

Could this dish have been any simpler. Was I lying when I said a monkey cold make this dish...no disrespect to those primates. But see the ease of this lovely comfort food. serve this on a cold night with a slab of cornbread.

This was another great dish from VegWeb.

Shepard's Pie

What a great comfort food. I did not have this made for me as a child growing up. Oddly enough. my mother is from the South, but my mom never made this dish. What a shame, for this is such a simple basic, easily adaptable recipe you could have ever imagined. You can easily adapt it to whatever you have a in your pantry and or freezer and or fridge. It is that inter-changeable.


So let's get down to business and show you this recipe. Just so you know I am finding a great majority of my recipes on VegWeb. This is a strictly vegetarian recipes, but how they break them down into so many different categories is mind blowing. And if they do not have it, you don't need it. Another great plus is that these recipes are submitted by folks like you and me. So these recipes have been tried and tested over and over again. Plus folks who make these recipes send in their reviews with what they have added or taken away, so extremely user-friendly.

Olive oil (As needed)
1 (12 ounce) package veggie ground beef
2 large carrots, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
1&1/2 t rosemary
1T + 1&1/2 t vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1&1/2 t salt
1 cup frozen corn
7 potatoes, boiled and mashed
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-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook ground 'beef' with onion and grated carrot in olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
-Add salt, rosemary and Worcestershire sauce and m ix well.
-Put mixture in casserole dish and top with corn and then potatoes. I would make sure the potatoes are not very stiff, for they will cook more in the oven. So make sure there is a bit of a give to them.
-Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Just give me a piece of cornbread or biscuit and I am good to go.

Lentil Loaf

I recently had an event at my health food store where I work. We were given organic, free range turkeys to cook up and sample out. I was the designated vegetarian who made all the side dishes, showing people that you did not have to have a slab of dead flesh in the center of your table in order to have good food.



We were given samples of pre-packaged, instant gravy to use for our mashed potatoes. They were, luckily, vegan and gluten free. What I loved was the recipe on the back of one of the packages that was for Lentil Loaf. And I am always trying to perfect a mock meat loaf. Yeah, yeah, yeah, i know I will never completely achieve the same exact flavor, but I will keep on trying. And I have to say, this one is not all that bad. I will tweak it a bit, and it is not as close as our Skinny 'B' recipe, but not bad for being 100% non packaged foods. One for the naturalist in me.

I took the little package home and gave it a whirl. And moreso because I had all thee ingredients. So many nights i am flying by the seat of my pants. And luckily for us we do not need to thaw out any meat. And for the most part I have beans cooked in bulk and in the freezer. So for me to throw some frozen cooked beans in a pot of hot water while I get dinner ready is nothing. Shazam, we have dinner on the table. So let's get this recipe up and see how it rolls.

1 onion, diced
2T water
2 cups cooked lentils
1/2 cup ground walnuts
1 cup ground rolled oats
1 cup cooked barley or brown rice
1/2 cup pureed tomatoes
1/2 t each, garlic powder, rosemary, and basil
2T soy sauce
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Cook onion with water for about 5 minutes in a saucepan until onion is tender. Combine cooked onions and all other ingredients in a large bowl. Pat mixture into an oiled loaf pan. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Serve with gravy and enjoy.

I found this a tad bland, but could be easily remedied by adding a bit more spice. And, I could taste the walnuts, don't know how to fix that one, but I will get it. This held together quite well and would make this again without evening thinking about it. try it, you will like it.

Raw Taco

I recently had the pleasure of attending a vegetarian festival in Orlando Florida. The Orlando Veg-Fest is a mecca of vegetarians who are there to have a good time and of course eat til your hearts content. I also was able to ride over there with some really good friends and meet another friend there. with that said, me and Hank went about trying to eat every food available. We nearly succeeded. We decided to split all the dishes. So one of us would purchase the first dish and the other one would purchase the second dish until we were full.

However, we ran out of time before we ran out of money or empty stomachs. Hank had a bicycle race to get to, so he had to cut out a bit earlier than he truly wanted. Bummer, for I had more food to taste.

The first dish that graced our palettes was a raw taco. Now I am extremely open to new foods and new ways of preparing them. But I am also a bit skeptical when something claims to be so close to its traditional dish. But I was up for it. The taco was purchased, split with Hank and instantly regretted that action. Oh, not the eating of the taco, the sharing of it with Hank. Next year he is own his own, i ma in never sharing a raw taco with anyone, ever again.

I then knew that I wanted to make these delicious little roll-ups, so I asked one of the girls behind the food counter if I could have the recipe for I taught raw food classes back in Port Saint Lucie. She gladly gave me her email address and said that I could email her and she would be happy to give it to me. I got home and set the card aside running into a busy week. I kept saying I would email her, but I just kept putting it off.

Then I was looking through one of the little magazines that I get at my place of work, Delicious Living and saw raw food on the front cover. Then it hit me, I had seen a raw taco recipe in there. I could not flip to that page fast enough. I had no idea what was in the taco I had tasted at the festival, but I know that this recipe had to be a variation on a theme. I was willing to give it a go.

This is a dish I have not regretted form the get go. I was in pure heaven as I ate these again. I was transported back to the festival and also elated that I could now make these on my own and still feel confident serving these to guests. Now most folks would have a hard time seeing these as a main entree, but we were very happy eating them as such.

So enough with my babbling, let me post this lovely little recipe and see how simple it is to make and even easier to eat.

Cilantro-Cashew Cheeze(makes 1 cup)
1&1/2 t garlic (about 2 cloves)
1/2 t sea salt
1 cup raw cashews
2&1/2 T fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup filtered water
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Ground Walnut Meat (makes 1 cup)
1 cup raw walnuts
1&1/2 t ground cumin
1&1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t liquid aminos, tamari or soy sauce
Pinch of salt to taste
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to make cheeze: Place garlic and salt in a food processor; process into small pieces. Add cashews and process into a paste. Add lemon juice, cilantro, and water; process to mix well. Set Aside.

To make walnut meat: Place walnuts, cumin, coriander, liquid aminos, and salt in a food processor. Process into small pieces until the mixture looks like ground meat; be careful not to over process into a butter.

Spread 2 tablespoons cheeze down the inside spine of each romaine leaf. Sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons walnut meat. Add salsa and avocado slices. Wrap and serve.

I could eat this fro breakfast...oh yeah, being a raw foodist means there are no meal boundaries. Eat what you want...when you want and enjoy always!!!

Vegan Kibbeh

For those of you who may not be familiar with Middle Eastern food, may I make a suggestion? TRY IT! I was introduced to Middle Eastern cuisine way back in 1991 when my husband found some long lost relatives. If I had to choose one ethnic food to eat from, it would be the Mediterranean food. Their dishes are very vegetarian friendly. And I just discovered how I can veganize one of my favorite meat dishes of theirs. Man am I a happy camper now.

This is a bit on the time consuming part, but trust me it is well worth it and your friends will be impressed. Here is the original recipe for the meat version of Kibbeh. And if you have not visited the Middle Eastern recipe site I have on this blog, then please do so. these are the real deal and looks like it could have come from someones kitchen. I know for I have witnessed their food making first hand.

Thee only thing I changed was I used Gimme Lean Ground Beef style meat substitute. And man was it a winner. But the real critic was to be my son. He is not a vegetarian and my mother-in-law brings him a few kibbehs when she does make them for she knows how much he loves them. So when I made mine, I hoped he wold like them so I could make them at a family dinner. Well low and behold he actually loved them. So I now have another veggie dish I can serve my son. I will convert him yet.

You can add some Hummus to the table along with some Arabic Pickled Turnips. We had some carrot salad and away we went. It was a delicious meal. You could also have some yogurt, vegan or not on the side to dip your kibbeh in. I dipped mine in my hummus. Good times at the Cooking Lady's house.

"Meatloaf"

If you have not read The Skinny Bitch, then please find a copy and do so. But if the title alone has not given you a fore-warning as to its content, then let me warn you now. It is not for the faint of heart. In other words, if you do not like being told the truth about your diet and or what you are putting in your moth in an in-your-face kind of way, then by all means, do not pick this book up.

These two women tell it like it is. And for most people that is too much. There will always be those people who say, 'Well if I don't know where it comes from then it doesn't bother me.' Really? What if folks had felt that way about Hitler, where would we be today. Being passive is not going to make the changes that need to be made in our food realm. Get yourself educated and see what is really going on in the cattle and dairy industry. You may find out that our government who is supposed to be protecting our food supply, is letting it be altered to the point of not being recognized. But that is for another post.

Now, on to this delicious recipe.

• 1T refined coconut oil, plus more for the pan (we now use this oil all the time)
• 1 carrot, cut into 1/4 inch dice (I would shred or grate next time)
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 1/4 dice
• 1 onion, cut into 1/4 dice
• 3 ounces mushrooms, your choice, cut in 1/4 inch dice (about 2 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 t sea salt
• 1 t pepper
• 2 slices vegan whole wheat bread
• 1 cup toasted almonds
• 2 (14 ounce) package Gimme Lean ground beef style
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 2 T chopped parsley

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 10x4x3 inch loaf pan (or anything you have).

In an 8-10 skillet, over medium heat, melt the oil. Add the carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are crisp-tender and any liquid the mushrooms have released is cooked off, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the bread and walnuts, pulsing to form a coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the 'beef', oats, catsup, parsley, and the vegetable mixture. Use your hands to mix well. Transfer the loaf mixture to the prepared pan, spread it into an even layer, and bake for 45 minutes, until tip of a knife inserted into the center, comes out piping hot.

Sweet Mother of Abraham Lincoln. this is bar none, of of the best mock meat loaves I have ever eaten. Make it, eat it and then make some more.

Spicy Tofu Burgers

I am trying to learn how to work with tofu. Sometimes I hit it just right, others...well, I just can't seem to get it. But I will keep on trying. I love burgers. I loved them when I was a meat eater, but I just can't seem to get anything even vaguely close. Yeah, I know, I am no longer using meat. But man do I miss a quality burger. Not that McDonald crap they call burgers. Pfffft!

But I would never go back just to have that flavor again. I am a big girl and can be the grown up. So tonight I tried another McDougall recipe. Now this one id all right, but it needs some tweaking. The burger itself held together fantastically, but it still had that tofu taste. And I even let the tofu marinade before forming the burgers. But I will keep on trying until I hit it just right. so keep on reading and when i hit the jackpot, you will know about it.

1 pound firm tofu, drained
1&1/2 cups rolled oats
2T soy sauce (we use tamari)
1T dijon-style mustard (we had none so we used stone ground mustard)
1/4 t fresh cracked pepper
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1 t grated fresh ginger
2T minced fresh parsley (we were out)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the tofu in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Moisten your hands. Shape into 8 patties and place on a non-stick baking sheet (we have none so I took a wisp of oil and painted it on a cookie sheet).

Bake for 20 minutes on the first side; turn over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite toppings and condiments.

I am finding that with just these two recipes, I am not missing the fat and or the sweetener. I am looking forward to more new dishes from this book.

Tofu With Tortillas

I found this recipe because it was the 4th down and we had to punt, or run with the ball. I, myself, had wanted Mexican night, but I did not call to see if we need anything. then my daughter said that her and her father would be out an about so if we needed anything they could pick it up. My husband then, politely told my daughter that I had just spent nearly $200 on groceries the last time I was at the grocery store, so he was not about to go and pick up miscellaneous items. And he was right.

She then pointed out that there was no cheese. But I told her, there was no rule book that said there 'had' to be cheese on Mexican night. What do vegans do? Oh yeah, do without. Then I realized I had no bulgur, which is what I use as my meat substitution since trying to get away from processed meat analogs. Then it hit me, I had a few scraps of different blocks of tofu and could use that instead. Time to break out the cookbooks....all 13 of them.

I struck gold when I got to number two. I found this gem of a recipe in my Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook. We had at least 95 % of thee ingredients and besides, we were all starving, so we made it work. Here is this simple recipe and is a great introduction for those who want to try tofu but have no clue how to use it. Well here is your chance to dive in.

1T virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped finely
6 corn tortillas, torn or cut into 1-inch pieces (we left ours whole & made our own)
3 plum tomatoes, diced (we used on the vine tomatoes)
1 pound firm tofu (we used scraps of tofu from left over bits of tofu from other recipes I had made through the week)
1-14 ounce can crushed tomatoes or tomato puree (we used Ro-tel lime and cilantro flavor)
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 dried oregano
Salt to taste
1 cup grated cheddar cheese or soy cheese (we had mozzarella)(optional)
Prepared salsa (optional)(we had none)
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Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring until lightly golden. Add the remaining ingredients except the cheese and salsa, cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese, cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes more. Serve as is or top with salsa.

I did not cover mine with a lid, for it was very liquidy and I wanted some of that liquid to cook off. It worked. I also did not put the cheese directly on the dish while it was cooking. Some folks like easy cheese and others like to pile it on, so we grate it into a serving bowl and everyone can do as they please. I would definitely make this one again. I like simple dishes that I can whip together in just minutes and use with few pre-packaged products, and this one fit the bill.

Taco Veggie Meat

I did this all by myself and on a whim. Well, not really a whim, Savanah and I had planned the meal, but we then realized we were out of store bought veggie crumbles and had to improvise... and quickly. Enter bulgar wheat. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, that is the sound of relief and knowing we can finally let go of ground beef veggie crumbles. Who knew?

So there we are trying to put dinner on the table and all went well. We made our own tortillas, cut up a tomato, shredded some cheese, diced a red onion, thee only thing left is the 'meat'. Have no fear, wanna be wing-it-er is here. So try this and adjust it to your own tastes and home. this recipe serves four with a wee bit left over for the next day.

2 cups bulgar wheat
3-4 cups boiling water
Olive oil
1/2-1 onion, chopped small
1 small can tomato sauce
3/4-1 cup water (more or less if needed)
1-2 T taco seasoning (post to follow)
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Put the bulgar wheat in a glass bowl and add boiling water (about 1 inch to cover). While wheat is soaking up water heat up large skillet and oil to cover in a thin layer in bottom of pan. Add chopped onion and cook on low until soft and translucent.

Once wheat has soaked up enough water (15-20 minutes) transfer to a mesh strainer and squeeze out as much excess water as possible. Pour wheat into skillet with oil and onions. Stir to combine. Add tomato sauce, water and taco seasoning and stir until completely mixed together and heated through.

Taste to see if more spice is needed. If ready then serve with your meal. Good times.

Tofurky Sausage

Mr. Cooking Lady come home from work with a bag full of goodies. And they were vegan goodies. I know I should not eat processed foods. And for the most part we do OK. But once in a while I like to have a sausage, or a sandwich, so we have the meat alternatives as a back up. We may not buy them again for months, or we may use them for weeks on end, but that is usually no the case.

The newest product to come into our home is the Tofurky line. When I meet new people who find out that Savanah and I are vegetarians, they nearly run at me with, 'Do you have Tofurky for Thanksgiving?' And up until now, I have told them no, for really and truly we have never had this product. And this next Thanksgiving, there will be no Turkey in our home. Trust me when I say that our dinner table does fine without it.

On to my review. This product had tons of flavor, and held together. A bit to much for me. That is not a complaint. It's just a little too firm. But in the recipe we made it with, it is perfect. So I guess it is doable. Then there was thier lunch meat. Again is was kind of chewy, but I told Savanah, since we load our sandwiches up with gobs of veggies and such, that we would not notice the chewiness. And could I eat it in a plainer sandwich? Definitely, but why when you can pile it high with great fixin's.

Some of you may say, 'Hey, just have the sandwich with the fixin's and ix-nay the fake meat. And like I said, for the most part we do, but I guess this is like our pint of Hagen Daz. We get our fix and move on. But it is nice to know we can purchase these items and fit in with thee others.

And...they are vegan.

Papas Rellenas

My name is Danette and I am Cuban by marriage. Corny, but I like it all the same. I can cook pretty decently in the world of Cuban food. But since going vegetarian and now on the road to being vegan it is going to become increasingly difficult to go anywhere and eat. I mean come on, when we went to Miami for a few days. we took a box of food and a cooler of food as well.

I have told Savanah, that when you make choices there are always consequences. But people always associate bad things when they hear the word consequences. For us it is not a bad thing, it is just a thing. We have made a decision to better our diet and life and we know what we have to do...end of discussion.

Now, on to this recipe. I have always loved Papa Rellenas. They are a basic staple and utilize left overs. Cubans made these when there was too much Picadillo left over and Viola, you have Papa Rellenas. It is not difficult and they differ from region to region, much like our potato salads. And your picadillo will differ as well. But what I learned from making this dish (which by the way is a KEEPER) is two things. 1) Make sure your potatoes are completely drained and free of liquid...ALL liquid. 2) Make them golf ball size like the recipe says.

Making them was simple enough, mine just came out too big, but that did not alter how delicious they were. take a little time, for they are a bit time consuming and make these lovely little things. All we needed was a salad and we were good to go. Yummo!

4 potatoes, peeled and boiled (I boiled them whole)
1/2 t alt (I would bump it to 1 full teaspoon)
2 eggs beaten (We used almond milk in its place) This is what holds the bread crumbs to the potato ball
Dry bread crumbs (At least 1 cup)
1 lb. Cuban Picadillo (Google it, but I will be putting this recipe up soon)
Flour (Enough to coat the potato balls)
Oil of choice for frying (We use peanut oil) And this is only about 1/4 of an inch deep in a frying pan.
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Boil potatoes until they are fully cooked. Drain. Mash potatoes with the salt (do not add any butter, oil, or liquid!) allow mixture to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Grab a handful of mashed potatoes, split the handful in half, and make each half into a little bowl by pressing in with your fingers. Stuff the indentation in each half with the Picadillo. Bring the two halves together and smooth to make a round ball, about the size of an overstuffed golf ball. Dip the ball into the almond milk, and then roll in the flour until lightly covered. Dip the ball in the almond milk again and roll in the bread crumbs to coat thoroughly.

Important: Refrigerate the balls for two to four hours before proceeding to the next step. Heat oil to the frying stage (about 375º F) and gently drop each papa rellena into the hot oil. Let it cook for about two minutes or until golden brown. Turn the balls and cook the other half in the same way. Be careful not to overcook.

Soyrizo & Black Bean Burgers

OK, so I am looking for the perfect veggie burger. This one is so darned close that it scares me. I followed her direction to the letter, but if I had to make them again I would up the flour a wee bit. While ours tasted grand, they had a tendency to fall apart. But they had a wonderful bit to them, not hot/spicy, but a full Latin styled flavor. We have used this Soyrizo before and loved it then. I made them in a potato dish and boy were they great.

We have been trying to curb our processed food, even in the vegetarian world, but I think my otherwise healthy diet lets us slide every now and then. Try them and see what you think.


now that i'm awesome; another crazy vegan blog: Soyrizo & Black Bean Burgers: "Here's the way I made them:
Soyrizo Burgers
(4 burgers)

Ingredients:

1 package of Soyrizo
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon oil
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley(or cilantro)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a skillet, heat Soyrizo and beans until hot. Remove from heat and stir in flour.
Allow to cool enough for handling. Using your hands, mix in the green onion and parsley, until the mixture is well distributed. Form into patties. You can pan fry these in a bit of oil, but I highly suggest basting a little oil on them and placing them directly onto a grill!"

Chopped Mock Liver

I am totally in love with my How it all Vegan cookbook.

I am not a mushroom lover. I cook with them, but then I pick them out. It is a texture thing. But I had run across this recipe in my cookbook and thought I would give it a whirl. All I need to do is get some crackers to put this lovely appetizer on. Make this stuff after you read this recipe, you will not regret it...I did not.

1 cup mushroom, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 T olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper (we used freshly ground)
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In a medium saucepan, saute the mushrooms and onions on medium heat until onions become translucent. In a blender or food processor, chop the walnuts and add the mushroom/onion mixture and salt and pepper. Blend together for 30 seconds. Serve chilled. Makes about 3/4 cup.

I did add about 1 t extra of olive oil to help it blend together, and I could not wait for it to cool down before trying.I am now a lover of mushrooms. And in my opinion, do not skimp on the pepper, it gives it a lovely kick.

Oh My Stars

I love meat analogs. I know they are processed food, but they serve a purpose. When Savanah goes on a sleepover, she can more easily fit in if she brings her Boca Burgers, or her veggie dogs. But this again is not a main staple in our diet. Just recently we learned to make a Kick -A black bean burger. Wow!

But today I want to thank Morning Star Farms for a great little website. Savanah found Italian sausages at Walmart. I know I cringe every time we shop there, but until my financial situation changes, that is thee only place I can get my money's worth. Anyhow, she found the sausages and I knew what our next available lunch was going to be. So today we had Italian sausages on whole wheat hot dog buns smothered in sauteed onions and sweet peppers. But then I just wanted to check out Morning Star Farms to see what they had in the way of recipes. Oh my stars. I found this great little mayo thing that I literally slathered on my sausage. Check it out here

Again, we do not live on this items, but it is not to be able to join in when others have what we no longer do. And it shows them that we can still eat it, just not the same way you do.

Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

This recipe I have had since 2000, when I was still an avid meat eater. I have always wanted a perfect stuffing/dressing recipe, and this is as close as it gets. This makes a decent size baking pan. When you see the final mixture, you can be the judge if you have a pan this size. I used to double this recipe, but it was always too much so I have stayed pretty true to the original. Vegans, you will have to make your alterations. I mean come on, I took it from a meat recipe to vegetarian. Maybe this year I will be able to veganize it. Enjoy!

3/4 pound sweet sausage cut in small chunks (We have also used Gimme Lean, whichever one works for you)
3-4T oil or butter
2 cups chopped onion
1&1/2 cups finely chopped celery, including leaves
1&1/2 cups finely chopped bell pepper, preferably a mix of red and green (this rainbow of color is to die for)
2 T finely chopped garlic (I prefer this through a press sometimes)
1 T chopped fresh thyme or 1 t dried
Pinch dried chili flakes (optional, but I say throw those puppies in there, walk on the wild side)
1 t salt
Corn bread recipe (Post coming soon)
1 cup chopped scallions (Green onions or leeks can work here)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives (I have never used these)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
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In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add enough fat (oil or butter) to the pan to get about 5 T total. Add the onion, celery, peppers, garlic, thyme, chili flakes, and salt. Cook briefly until the onion is softened. With a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits in the pan. Combine in a large bowl with the crumbled cornbread, scallions, parsley, chives and pepper. Toss to combine.

If baking some or all of the stuffing in a casserole, pour a cup or two of stock over the stuffing to replace the juices the stuffing would have absorbed from the bird. Bake it uncovered until heated through, 45 minutes to 1 hour. For a crunchy top, uncover it for the last 15 minutes of baking.

You will have to adapt some of this to your kitchen and your tastes, but rest assured this is slap up delicious. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Mock Meatloaf

I miss meat. Not all of the time, but there are days I miss it. I openly admit it and still struggle when I make my husband and son some of our time honored dishes. Meatloaf being one of them. I have been scouring for a good one that does my old meat one justice. I have found such a recipe. Thanks to Happy Herbivore my daughter and I feasted on meatloaf and potatoes last night. We made our own potatoes and I completely forgot to make gravy, but I was in heaven. I did not change one thing and would not. It worked out perfectly for us and look forward to making it again in the near future.

There is one drawback though, Savanah took the leftovers and reheated them which was supposed to be for my cold meatloaf sandwich. So now we will have to make it again...oh darn!

Meatless Meatballs

I am the first to admit that there are things I miss in the meat world. "Hi, my name is Danette and I miss the taste of some meats." Meetings will be held the 4th Tuesday of every month.

As always, my daughter and myself are looking for the least processed road in the vegetarian world. Granted, we know there will be some things we will forever purchase, but I think the trade off of not having meat in our diet is a decent balance. With that said. We were looking for a meatless meatball. So searching off I went. And low and behold I came across two recipes, both with eggplant as their meat substitute. Can anybody say sweeeet? I love eggplant, and luckily for us so does the rest our my family. Life was looking a whole lot better.

So we happen upon this recipe which we had to tweak a bit. Remember in an earlier post I made, there were keepers, tweakers and those you ditch. This one was a tweaker, and here its the tweaked recipe. Enjoy...for we did.

Eggplant Meatballs

3T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cups unpeeled diced eggplant(1 med-lg eggplant)
2 cups bread crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten(vegans, do your thing)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese(Vegans, you know what to do)
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese(OK Vegans, blah blah blah)
3 cloves of grated garlic
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper
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Heat a large skillet and coat with olive oil. When skillet is hot, add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Saute until it's soft, about 8-10 minutes. If the eggplant dries out to quickly and sticks, add a bit more olive oil. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Place all softened eggplant in the food processor and process into a smooth puree. Return to mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well. If the ingredients seems too dry, add a teaspoon of oil.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.Coat a baking sheet with a small mount of olive oil. Wet your hand(A very important step) with a little water and shape the eggplant mixture into balls, using 2 large tablespoons per ball. Place meatballs on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes until deep golden brown and slightly crusty. Do not over-bake or they will be too dry. Remove sheet from oven and cover lightly with foil to let the meatballs steam until ready.

Can I tell you super yummo. We also realized that they did not have to be in the shape of balls. We could cook them in the shape of a patty and Viola, we have Meatless hamburgers. Man being a vegetarian is fun.

Corn Dogs, Brownies and Salad... Oh My

Well, I have tried to post this at least 4 times, but my main computer does not like Blogger, go figure. So my daughter has let me borrow hers while she takes a break form her online highschool courses(That was tough for her, thanks Savanah). As I am embracing this vegetarian lifestyle, I promised myself I would not fall into the same old routine and make the same boring dishes. In walks the blogging world.

I thought life was grand with just the Internet, but low and behold, we have the blogging world, and man oh man has my recipe book gotten a wee bit fatter. And that is a good thing. My daughter likes having meat analogs handy for that rare emergency occasion that there is nothing to eat(Very rare in this house, since we do not eat out). And we know that those foods are processed. And we also know that if she chooses to stay with meat analogs that she will have to put up with some processed foods. With that said, we are trying to find ways to cut down on processed foods in general and we have found a way to do that. A big round of applause for Wing it Vegan. She has given us some wonderful recipes. We use our dairy where she uses her vegan ingredients, but man, are her dishes fantastic.

Two in particular that are a big hit are These Two. If you have not made these two recipes, then get off your hineys from reading this blog and go make them. Corn dogs and brownies...my meal is complete. We threw in our Asian Slaw salad and bada boom bada bing, life is grand. I am extremely glad I entered the blogging world, but moreso with this blog. I have learned so much about new and different foods, and the support form fellow vegetarians is unbelievable.

Thank you River and keep the recipes coming!!