Hate Grocery Shopping

Well, I am sitting here preparing a grocery list. This is the part I absolutely hate about food and cooking. The cost of groceries is so unbelievably high, and I wish I were in an environment where I could grow my own veggies. I suppose I could grow them here, but it would be a whole new way of learning how to do it. I think I will try to grow some in large pots out on the patio. It may be time to start growing greens and herbs. I've got a crock pot of great northern beans cooking with some wakame seaweed and a touch of olive oil. Since discovering how to make good beans in the crock pot two weeks ago, I am now planning on doing this and freezing a supply so they'll always be on hand for cooking up interesting recipes and meals.

With colds and flues and the like going around this time of year, I also am amazed at a new remedy I discovered that knocked out my sinus infection/cold in one day. I put some honey in one teaspoon and sprinkle 3-4 shakes of cayenne pepper onto it (about 1/8 tsp.) and then just swallow it down with one swallow. Wham bam, slam, next day no runny nose, no stuffy nose, and no runny eyes. It's marvelous friends. I am doing this a few times a day to keep germs away. I think it's actually helping with inflammation and arthritis as well.

Okay, on to the grocery list now. Wish me luck!

The Veganishta

Soup's Up

What to make for dinner tonight turned into a "toss it in the pot" and "serve it hot" meal.

A Veganishta version of pasta e fagiole was born. Water, vegetable stock base, small shell pasta, white cannellini beans, canned diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and onion made its way into the pot. Sauteed diced yellow onion and fresh ginger also jumped into the mix. Several shakes of some sweet basil and some white pepper along with a few pinches of sea salt topped it all off. Then the asparagus made its way in, and the meal was complete. Simmered for only 20 minutes and served hot, this fast soup creation had a nice light broth, but proved tasty and satisfying for both The Veganishta and her Veganishter.

Not always so unique, but easy and quick, The Veganishta likes to share how delicious meals can be created from food stuffs on hand.

Until next thyme,
The Veganishta

Perfecting the Bean

So, the other day I decided to try a recipe from a cookbook I bought recently, Vegan Planet, by Robin Robertson. While faced with the dilemma of "soaking the beans overnight" or "not soaking the beans," I also referred to another cherished whole-foods cookbook.

I decided to not soak them. Instead, I rinsed them (pintos, by the way) and then covered them with water in a pot and brought them to a rolling boil and boiled them for seven minutes. Then I gently rinsed them with warm water and placed them into the crock pot. I added some seaweed flakes, covered it all with water, and cooked on high for 6 hours. The beans turned out soft in the middle but firm on the outside. They were some pretty good looking beans, I must say. I finally learned how to perfect the bean!

I then put together the recipe from Vegan Planet, "Red Bean and Sweet Potato Curry." This dish was absolutely delicious. I really loved it. The suggestion was to serve some over jasmine rice, but I skipped the rice. I ate this for two days in a row. I am planning on having some over jasmine rice for supper tonight. This was an amazing recipe. I replaced the red beans with the pinto beans, but still, this was great. And, I learned that not soaking them too long actually preserves the enzymes needed to digest the beans so that there are no musical tendencies after eating them.

Happy New Year Veggie Lovers

Okay, The Veganishta went missing or must have been buried in the snow. I know that's what you're thinking. Well, she made her way back and is thawed out now to room temperature.

The crock pot is going today with pinto beans and a few scatterings of seaweed. Later today, the mixture will become a curried, sweet potato delicacy for dinner.

Homemade bread has been keeping The Veganishta busy since the holidays, not to mention the three parties with company ranging from 20 - 60 at each event. Resting and catching up is the theme for this first week of the new year.

More veggie creations will be coming soon.

Checking the crock pot now . . .

The Good Ol' Days in the Kitchen

Today, I felt like going back to the good ol' days in my kitchen. I decided to make some homemade bread as well as some homemade soup. Based on the Amazing Rosemary Bread recipe by Sea of Green on vegweb.com, I made two huge loaves of bread, minus the rosemary. I doubled the recipe. In place of the water, I used unsweetened almond milk. I thought I should read the instructions on the back of the yeast package and as it turned out, it was a good thing I did. I had been adding it to the liquid first. So now that I've figured out the best way to use rapid-rise yeast (you combine it with some dry ingredients; then add it to the liquids) I think I'm good to go from now on. I was super excited, as the mixture about tripled in size in my ceramic bowl (another change I made--I did not use the stainless steel bowl). When kneading the second time, and when the dough seemed to be getting slightly dry, I dribbled a little olive oil on it. That worked wonders! I had two loaves set out on a cookie sheet in a flash, and they rose almost to high heaven. The baking took 50 minutes, but those glorious globs developed into two beauties. I now have a good memorization of how I made this bread, so I'm anxious now to invent some other variations with different seasonings.

Leftover Lunch for Life

Last week, The Veganishta made tofu tacos for the hubby and herself, me! We liked them. I cut the tofu in little squares, but next time I think I'll crumble it to be like ground (uggghhh . . . shh.... meat).  The flavors and all the toppings with the seasoned tofu were very good. I was super, super disappointed, however, to see that THERE WAS WHEY in the taco seasoning mix. Now, why in the world would whey or milk be necessary? I will definitely be making up  my own seasoning mix for the future tacos of The Veganishta household. I didn't die, though. I'm still here, really. LOL

So, the next day, I was in a hurry for a good lunch. I had to get my veggies in. I took the leftover taco makings and threw them all back in a little olive oil in the skillet (including the lettuce), added some garlic, and a huge handful of spinach. I sauteed everything a few minutes, then poured it in a bowl. Then I added some Chia seeds, some Hemp seeds, and some raisins. Oh, I also added some leftover cooked quinoa and barley. Wow! It was a power-house lunch. I had so much energy that entire afternoon and into the evening. This dish had that very satisfying hot/sweet flavor along with all the needed veggie nutrients and added protein to boot. I can't wait to make it again. 

A Very Veganishta Thanksgiving Turkey

Hey there, friends of the blog world. The Veganishta finally completed publishing two client books, now being printed and turning out super! Now that all the busy book work is done, I had some time to create a couple little edible masterpieces. For Thanksgiving I made a tofu turkey with stuffing, inspired by a recipe on Vegweb.com. I could not believe how easy it was to mold, stuff, bake, and even slice up the servings. I modified the recipe somewhat to my tastes and will probably do so again when I try it again. Nevertheless, it did turn out very good. In fact, I cut only one-third of the roasted mold to take to dinner at a friend's house. I had heard there would be one more vegan, so I cut enough for two people. As it turned out, seven (7) people wanted to try it, so I had to slice it up accordingly. Amazingly, they all liked it. The texture was pretty good, and with all ingredients combined, it tasted like Thanksgiving turkey with the stuffing and all the usual flavors one would expect. So now, I will be embarking on a Christmas Eve Ham experiment. I'm excited.