Soup-er Fall Classics

I just got home from a trip up North to visit my parents and the fall colors are at their peak. The season screams of cool breezes, warm hues and coziness. All this says to me: soup. In the summer, it's too hot. In the winter, not hearty enough. In the spring, too time consuming. In the fall, it's just right.

Here's some classic soups to get your fall off to a good start:

1. Borscht

2.  Stew-alicious Stew

3. Squash Bisque with Cashew Cream


4. Chili

Proud participant in:

www.veganmofo.com

Prepare for an onslaught

October is the vegan month of food on the interweb when over 700 blogs commit to posting at least 20 entries each on vegan food. All the blogs are linked at Vegan Mofo which was an inspiration to me during and after my pledge to be veg last year. It's actually what inspired me to start this blog....all in the goal of being listed on the Vegan Mofo blog roll. Well, this year.... I'm going to be!

My general theme next month is going to be Fall favorites and Halloween inspirations free of animal products. Expect to see slow cookers, stews and hearty meals with the fruits of the Fall harvest.

Hosting a Fall gathering at you house? A simple and delicious vegan menu that meat-eaters will love is chili with all the fixings and cornbread. Trust me, we had 20 people over last week and no one missed the meat and dairy. The trick is to make really flavorful and hearty food people recognize. So, opt for the beans instead of a fake meat. And give them options to make it their own. Double down on the toppings: onions, cilantro, pico de gallo, guacamole, soy sour cream, cabbage, limes, tortilla chips, cornbread.

We made the chipotle black bean chili from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker which is a thick, flavorful soup that can be used as taco or burrito filling. I used Fred's cornbread recipe from Native Foods cookbook which was a huge hit because it's moist with undertones of maple and citrus.

So stop back often in October and celebrate hearty Fall classics and encourage me to be a vegan mofo. :)

Summer Harvest and the Mother of All Grains

It's that glorious time of year when you can't keep up with the fruits (and vegetables) of your garden. This weekend we had friends over and grilled veggies galore for tacos. There was zucchini and yellow squash, poblano and anaheim peppers, onions, mushrooms. We whipped up some homemade salsa because we are literally swimming in tomatoes still. It was really tasty stuff, but we had a ton of grilled veggies leftover. What to do? Drawing on my sturdy Midwestern roots, I did what any self-respecting Minnesotan would... I made a hotdish. Being a bit of a foodie and interested in something a little healthier, I substituted quinoa for elbow macaroni and opted for more of an italian theme with fresh basil instead of chili powder.

Were you with me until the quinoa? Quinoa (prounounced keen-wah or Qin-wah) is a really easy "grain" to work with that has the special status of being the only "grain" that is also a complete protein. That's not its only nutritional claim to fame. Quinoa is also a good source of dietary fiber, calcium, and iron. Oh, it's also gluten-free. No wonder the Incas considered it the "mother of all grains."  Now you're in the know, and just in time for 2013 which has been deemed by the United Nations as Year of Quinoa.

Michelle's Quinoa Hotdish

10-12 roma tomatoes (or a 28oz can)
1 medium onion
1 T oregano
1 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
4 cloves of garlic
1 t salt
2 t pepper
3/4 - 1 c quinoa
1 can black olives
2 c. leftover grilled veggies (or your choice of sauteed veggies)
1/2 c. fresh basil

Use a 2 quart pot and heat the olive oil on medium high while cutting the romas in quarters and dicing the onion. Add onion to the pot and let brown lightly then add in tomatoes. Add balsamic vinegar, diced garlic and oregano, salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium and let simmer for 30 minutes, stir occassionally. If you are using canned tomatoes, you can cut down on the simmer time to 15 mins. Add in quinoa and let cook 15-20 mins, check on it and if necessary add 1/4 c. water or veggie broth. When the liquid is gone (like with cooking rice), stir in veggies, olives and fresh basil.

Too Much Tomato?

It's tomato season in Minnesota. Glorious tomatoes from the garden that want to send you protesting the grocery for calling what they sell year-round the same word. After months without these gems, they flood you for a couple months with more tomatoes than you know what to do with. There are quick fixes; such as, slices with a little salt and pepper or dicing tomatoes with a splash of balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and salt and pepper. Or my personal favorite right now, toast with earth balance mindful mayo and thick slices of tomato. But when, a little more effort is warranted try these plant-based ideas to enjoy the bounty:

Caprese Sandwich                                         photo: Jeff Johnson 

Tomato Caprese
serves 4

1-2 tomato
2 handfuls of fresh basil (or homemade pesto)
1 pkg firm tofu
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
1-2 French baguette (or noodles)

You'd be surprised how well the tofu subs for fresh mozarella (add some salt and oil/vinegar directly to the tofu). Simply slice your baguette in half or 1/3, add some olive oil or pesto to the bread, sliced tomato, sliced tofu (add salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil), basil (if not using pesto) and top with the other slice of bread. If you have cherry tomatoes or just a hankering for pasta, cut tomatoes and tofu in bite sizes and mix with pasta. Yum!

BKAT
serves 2

8 slices tofurky bacon
2 leafs of kale (or sub lettuce)

1/2 avocado (or sub earth balance mindful mayo)
1 tomato
4 slices of bread
olive oil

Toast the bread. Cook the tofurky bacon (I like to use some oil to get a crispier texture, but it's tasty without). Spread the avocado or mayo on the bread, add tomato slices, bacon, and kale. Enjoy!

Garden Pasta
serves 3-4
1 onion
1 eggplant
2 green peppers
2-4 tomatoes (I used romas from my garden)
1 pkg cherry tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 T oregano
1 c fresh basil
1/4 c white wine (optional)
olive oil
salt
pepper
1 pkg whole wheat spaghettini (or noodles of your choice)

Boil water in a stock pot for noodles. Heat 2 qt pan on high and add a splash of olive oil. Brown diced onions and peppers and dd oregano.  Add minced garlic, salt, diced tomatoes (not cherry tomatoes) and diced eggplant (these will cook into a sauce). Turn heat down to medium and toss in white wine and cherry tomatoes. Cover and let cook while making the pasta. Mix all together in the sauce pan, mix in shredded basil, salt and pepper to taste and serve.


Too Many Tomatoes Pizza by Jeff
serves 2-4

2 medium pre-baked pizza crusts (whole foods 365 every day value organic whole wheat crust works well)
5 tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic
1 c shredded fresh basil
4T vegan parmesan (+ too taste as topping)
salt
pepper
olive oil
crushed red peppers

Brush olive oil on pizza crusts and sprinkle with minced garlic and vegan parmesan. Add 1/2 inch sliced tomatoes to cover pizza crust, salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 450 degrees for 15 mins or until crusts brown. Remove pizza, slice and top with shredded basil, vegan parmesan and crushed red peppers to taste. Enjoy immediately (crust will get a little soggy from the tomatoes if you wait too long.)


Other tomato recipes from the web that sparked my interest:

Vegan Good Eats' Sake-spiked Gazpacho
Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Tomato Rosemary Scones
One Green Planet's Fried Green Beer Tomatoes
Vegetarian Times' Fennel and Tomato Soup

Eating plants on the road

This weekend, we went on road trip to the Pipestone National Monument in Southwestern Minnesota. This is hearty meat and potato country as the lack of listings on both vegguide and happycow confirmed.  Both sites have been meal-savers on the road by highlighting vegetarian and vegan friendly restaurants with helpful reviews.

Turns out we didn't need to search far at all. Right next to our hotel was a Pizza Ranch where a prairie pie (veggie galore) with spinach and tomato slices sans cheese is vegan and tasty. The salad bar was your typical heavy on the prepared mayo/dairy items and light on the fresh veggies, yet I was still able to get an iceberg lettuce, fresh mushroom, radish and cucumber salad with sunflower seeds and french dressing.

In addition to a satisfying plant-based meal, we enjoyed the friendly staff who gave us a tip to check out Jeffer's pytroglyphs on our trip home.

On the road, we did some online research and made some calls finding out that Granite Grinder and Cafe in Granite Falls, MN offered veggie sandwiches and salads. They were nice enough to let us check the packaging to learn the tomato basil and spinach wraps were both vegan which they loaded full of veggies. The Neumann's Own light French and Italian dressing packets were both options to bump up the flavor. Added bonus they have soymilk for your coffee pleasures.

It's worth it to have to hustle and research when you get to hike and explore something as beautiful as this.

Re-lentil-ess

I'm on a 3 day work retreat at the YMCA Trout Lodge in the Ozarks. This is my first time in the Ozarks and the scenery is picturesque.

I knew going in that it would likely be difficult to find vegan (and possibly even vegetarian options). I also knew that those options would likely not reflect my food consumption preferences; i.e. organic and sustainably raised. I made the decision to go vegan for the retreat to avoid the most egregious harms done to animals in factory farms. I sometimes consume dairy under the auspices of pasture-raised cows or goats which often times is probably more wishful thinking/denial than reality. Something I'm slowly facing. So slowly, that I allowed myself an exception at the retreat: cookies. (My father has been called "cookie monster"...it's a family weakness.)

Imagine my surprise and delight when the YMCA Trout Lodge labeled our food the first night "vegan" and offered vegan lunch boxes that included hummus sandwiches on gluten-free, vegan bread. The vegan dinner options that first night didn't include protein and were mostly soy sauce noodles with carrots, bagged salad and cooked carrots, but they were labeled and light years beyond my first work retreat experience more than a decade ago when as a vegetarian I was served a half a head of cauliflower steamed with no seasoning or sides. 

After that first night, the lodge continued to offer something for vegans to eat. Though one gets a little tired of hummus and plain tofu isn't really that tasty on a salad bar in my opinion, I appreciated having the protein options for my largely vegetable based meals. However, if you've been to an all day work meeting that really does go more than 8 hours you know they usually ply you with lots of sugar and snacks to stay focused and satisfied. Without those options (except for a cookie here and there) and with the largely veggie based meals, by the middle of day 2 I was noticing myself getting a irritable. 

Just as I was about to call in all my chips to get a large bag of nuts a colleague had squirreled away for the trip, I had a heartening conversation with one of the YMCA staff (who were all very friendly and seemed to really be trying to be accommodating) in which she hinted she was working on a lentil stew for dinner that would be vegan. 

As you may know, lentils are one of my least favorite beans, but that lady knows how to make a delicious lentil stew. She served it with a vegan rice pilaf that included some wild rice, mixed vegetables and I felt like I was queen (rather than a prima donna) 

The people at this work retreat share my concerns about climate change, so I will continue to encourage them to at least make it easy to eat a diet that minimizes its impacts on the climate and planet.

Spicy Date Night

Sorry, if you were looking for a harlequin romance style blog post you're out of luck. If you're looking for a sincere love for my fiance and his great idea that we go out and have a proper date night meal before I leave for a 3 day work retreat in the Ozarks, read on.

Tonight I had my last regularly scheduled sand volleyball game before the tournaments. Since my team has only won twice, I'm thinking this means our season is all but done. I've had a lot of fun playing on a team where I met new people, and wanted to share the wonder that is the recreational center in Roseville with my fiance. He kindly came to our game in the steamy 95+ degree heat and took me out for dinner afterward. I think it's important to find quality time like this, especially if you're going to be apart for awhile, to just hang out and appreciate one another (it didn't hurt that he paid! :) )

We went to Little Szechuan, and I cannot say enough how much I love this place. Even with construction literally up to their front door, they put out super tasty high quality food. The light rail construction has moved across the street recently making it a lot easier to get to the restaurant. My favorite is the Spicy Szechuan Tofu which I request with added vegetables (bell peppers and broccoli):

The dishes at Little Szechuan are family style, so if you go with multiple people you may just want to get the tofu with the accent veggies; however, I find if you ask to add more veggies it turns it into a great entree.One of the great things about this dish is that the spicy isn't just hot. I get medium and have thought about upping that to hot because the predominate flavor I take from the szechuan peppers is slightly floral or citrusy taste that is SO GOOD.

The other crazy good dish there is the green beans:

It's a pretty simple dish with garlic, scallions, ginger, chilis, soy sauce. The trick is to stir fry the green beans for 6-7 minutes until starting to pucker and brown. Remove and add in the spices and add the beans back in to finish off.

As much as I loved the food, I loved the company even more.