thanksgiving, parts I and II

Thanksgiving, Part I: The Family Gathering Shindig

Overall it was a very tasty meal, with cranberry sauce, stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes, Maple-Mustard-Glazed potatoes and beans (my contribution), roasted sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole. As I said in the previous post, I wasn't expecting a vegan dinner, but I was at least able to convince my mom to use almond milk and Earth Balance for the mashed potatoes! I wasn't able to bring my Tofurkey roast because I hadn't thawed it in advance (bah!), but I made a batch of gravy using the recipe on the box. Which I don't recommend. That recipe is kinda nasty. I should've stuck with the chickpea gravy from VwaV, but I wanted to try something new okay!?


Maple-Mustard-Glazed Potatoes and String Beans

Ingredients:
2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes, halved (about 1-inch pieces)
1/2 pound string beans, halved, ends cut off and discarded
1 yellow onion, thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Place the vegetables in a casserole dish. Mix all of the other ingredients together until the mustard is dissolved, and then pour over the vegetables. Mix well until everything is coated. Cover with foil, and baked for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss everything to re-coat with sauce. Turn the oven down to 350, and cook for 25 minutes uncovered. Remove from the oven, toss again, and cook for another 25 minutes uncovered.


As I've said before, this is my favorite recipe out of VwaV, and it went over really well.


Thanksgiving, Part II: The Tofurkey Experiment

The boy and I came home from Thanksgiving with a ton of leftover potatoes. Despite them going over really well, that didn't compensate for the fact that I'd made enough to feed an army. Thankfully that recipe tastes just as good when reheated as leftovers! Maybe even better, since it's been able to marinate in the sauce for a while.

The Tofurkey though? A total letdown. I really wanted to like it, and it had so much going for it: the stuffing looked delicious, the texture of the "meat" part was great, the basting sauce of soy sauce and orange juice was really tasty. Unfortunately it was also incredibly salty. Not just a little over-salty, but a LOT over-salty, like "when I eat this I want to gag a bit because it is so damn salty." I finished what I'd sliced for myself, but I was so disappointed. I guess I'll have to try something else for next year's Thanksgiving feast. Who knows, maybe by then I'll be adventurous enough to make my own seitan. Then again... maybe not.

dinner on a lazy night #2

When I say dinner on a lazy night, what I really mean is "Still motivated enough to make something instead of hitting up the boxed foods." Because there are definitely even lazier nights than this. I should mention that I found a boxed vegan macaroni & "cheese". :-D Road's End Organics makes a product called "Shells and Chreese", and it's the closest approximation to real (boxed) mac & cheese that I've found yet.

But! This post is not about that. This post is about my attempt at polenta croutons, and my grilled un-cheese sandwiches. So yes -- the polenta croutons were tasty, but still a bit squishy. They browned up more than I expected, so I think I took them out of the oven too soon. They have a lot of promise though, and I'll definitely make them again. If you don't have ED&BV, it's the simplest recipe ever: Use a pre-made tube of polenta, cut off the smooth outer coating, cut into 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch cubes, then toss in olive oil with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes or so.

Instead of the traditional cheddar for grilled cheese, I like to use Tofutti mozzarella slices and sprinkle a bit of dill on top. I worked at a restaurant in the past that made a sandwich like that, and I loved it -- and still do, with my veganized version.

So, Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I'm a little bummed out about the fact that it won't be a vegan one. The more comfortable I become with vegan cooking (and cooking in general!), the less comfortable I am eating any animal products anymore. I was looking at pamphlets at VeganOutreach.org today for something I could give my mom with recipes for vegan cooking/baking, but of course they also have pamphlets talking about the whys of veganism, and the cruelty to animals just makes me cry to read about and look at. But it's important information anyway; a good reminder to me. It's important to know where animal-based food products come from, and to get upset about it, and make more compassionate choices. I never forget why I want to be vegan, but sometimes it becomes a more distant thought. So, it'll definitely be my New Year's resolution to go fully vegan. I think I'm finally getting to a place where that can be practical for me, and given a couple months I think I'll feel confident in that -- even if my meals won't always be awesome, they'll at least be nutritious, and I've gotten the hang of cooking from scratch regularly so I won't be living on boxed Shells & Chreese, haha. Even though I now know that it's an option. ;-)

seitan and polenta skillet with fresh greens

I can't believe I made this and forgot to take a picture of it. Above is a picture that I stole from another blog, and since the recipe is posted there I figure it's safe to post here as well. I'm still not sure about the blog-etiquette of posting recipes from cookbooks! Is there anyone more knowledgeable who can fill me in on that? But anyhow, the reason that I forgot to take a picture is because this looked and smelled so delicious that I just DEVOURED IT. My husband was actually looking at me strangely because I was eating so fast. And I ate so fast that I was a bit woozy afterwards from it, ha. I guess I should make food that looks less appetizing when I feel starved!

Ingredients:

One 18-ounce tube polenta
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Cooking oil spray, optional
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 pound seitan, cut into bite-sized pieces or strips
4 large or 6 medium stalks bok choy, with leaves, sliced crosswise*
5 to 6 ounces baby spinach**
4 scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
1/4 cup oil-packed sliced sun-dried tomatoes, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the puckered ends off the polenta, then slice 1/2-inch thick. Cut each slice into 4 little wedges.
2. Heat a wide nonstick skillet. Add a drop of the oil and spread it around with a paper towel to create a very light coat, or use cooking oil spray. Add the polenta wedges; cook in a single layer over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes on each side.
3. Transfer the polenta to a plate. Heat the oil and soy sauce slowly in the same skillet. Before they get too hot, add the seitan and stir well. Raise the heat to medium-high and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Stir in the bok choy, spinach and scallions, then cover and cook until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in vinegar to taste. Gently fold in the polenta wedges and sun-dried tomatoes, if using. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at once.

* I had no bok choy when making this, but it was still really good.
** When I saw this number I was like "Holy crap, that's a whole package of spinach!" But I learned something new about cooking -- spinach shrinks down a lot when it wilts, so even though I felt like I was putting in a ton of spinach I probably could've thrown in more (I put in about half a package, ~3 oz)

saucy italian "sausage" and noodles thing

Continuing on the theme of my last post, this is yet another "lazy dinner." I had just so happened to randomly purchase Tofurkey Italian sausage during my most recent trip to the health food store, and remembered this recipe from Adventures in Vegetarianism sounding really easy. So, voila, dinner in about 20 minutes! It was very tasty, and very, very filling.

As you can see, this picture and the last both have garlic bread. I'm still perfecting my garlic bread recipe. I'd like to try the one from ED&BV, but I never have whole garlic cloves on hand. So what I do is take frozen Texas toast, spread on a liberal layer of Earth Balance vegan margarine, then spread on a light layer of crushed garlic, and top it with a little nutritional yeast. I always end up thinking it's a bit too dry, but I'm scared to put on more margarine. I mean, I know garlic bread isn't a health food, but I'm trying to find a happy medium.

dinner on a lazy night

This is what I make after I've had a really long day and am feeling frugal enough to not just say "hey, let's eat out." Although this dish looks extremely plain, it has a lot of flavor. Its the Lemon Garlic Pasta recipe from Dreena Burton's ED&BV. The first time I made it I thought it was just okay, but I've found that the key is to use fresh lemon juice. Yes, the recipe already calls for that -- but I thought it would be okay to use the kind in the little plastic bottle. Don't do that. Just give in and buy a lemon, it makes all the difference in the world. I still haven't quite figured out how to juice a lemon, though. I'm sure it would've been quite humorous if someone had been watching me attempt to cut a slit in the lemon and then stick both of my thumbs inside, pulverizing it all against the rind, with the juice dripping down my hands into the bowl. I'm sure there's a better way. But, it was a learning experience!

updated altar

I posted awhile back about how I was having difficulties with my altars: Creating one that was functional as well as aesthetically pleasing, making it something I could connect to, and most importantly, finding a place to actually put it! After a great deal of rearranging I was able to carve out a corner of the bedroom, and this is how it has looked for the past couple months. I am pleased.

On the wall above are pictures of God and Goddess forms I've felt an attraction to. From left to right: Persephone, Hekate, the Star Goddess, Freyja, Thor, Artemis, Shiva/Shakti, Dionysos, Durga. Framed are pictures representing God and Goddess, male/female duality, and the cycle of the seasons.

This altar feels a lot more personal and "me" than the last one, and I'm really happy with it. I feel very comfortable sitting in front of it -- and now it's actually at a position where I can sit, finally! I like all of the little trinkets. The goddess candle made for me (and other coven members) as a Yule gift by the head priestess of our coven, as well as a stone she gave me during my training period. A found key. A small wooden Artemis figure carved just for me, for winning a candle-making contest that was held to honor her light-bringing aspects.

I still plan to work on it a bit more, but now it has room to grow organically.

warm potato spinach salad with pine nut dressing

This is another one from ED&BV. Minus a couple key ingredients: red bell peppers, which I didn't have on hand, and olives, which I hate. It kind of felt like it was missing something, so I would definitely make sure I had a pepper next time, as well as fresh basil instead of dried. I really liked the vinaigrette for this recipe, though! I've come to adore the taste of pine nuts. And artichokes. Mmm, the artichokes were my other favorite part of this recipe.

On a side note, I should have really cleaned up the side of that bowl before taking a picture!

seitan & green beans

I'd never tried seitan before this meal, and had a package sitting in my fridge for quite a while before finally taking the plunge with this recipe from Vegan Planet. I'd also never used shallots, and just so happened to have picked up a bag of them.

Everyone should really own this cookbook. Basically, you steam the beans, brown the seitan for about five minutes in olive oil along with the shallots and garlic, and then transfer the seitan to a bowl. Add some sherry to the skillet, then stir in a little dijon and tamari and vegetable stock and let it reduce for about 10 minutes. Add in the seitan and the beans, let it heat a couple minutes, and then serve over rice. Go pick up the book if you want specifics though!

This meal officially made seitan my favorite meat analogue. It has a such a perfect texture, and the flavors in this dish were divine. The next time I have my parents over for dinner, this is what I'm making. I think even my meat-loving father would approve.

super tasty dish + super tasty soup = tastebuds explode

The potatoes pictured here are my favorite recipe out of Vegan with a Vengeance. I'll admit I haven't tried everything in there, but if all of the recipes were children trapped in a fire, this is the one I'd save: Maple-Mustard-Glazed Potatoes and String Beans. Long name, amazing results -- to quote a phrase from the (yourcityhere)helpwanted.com radio ads. As these potatoes will probably crop up in future meal photos, I want to focus on the soup.

The original recipe came out of Real Simple magazine, which is kind of a crappy magazine, but I bought it once to see what it was like. It was also non-vegan, so I replaced the bacon with tempeh bacon and half-and-half with regular almond milk. Some soy creamer might be pretty good too. Anyhow, the recipe!

Smoky Corn Chowder

3 slices of tempeh Fakin' Bacon
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika*
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 10-oz package frozen corn*
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup almond milk
salt & pepper
scallions to top


Cook the tempeh bacon in a wok or soup pot according to Lisa Specialty: Use wok oil & Mongolian fire oil, and spread a thin layer of A1 sauce on top of each piece. Cook for four minutes, then flip and cook another four minutes. Set aside. Use the same pot to cook the onion for 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and red pepper, stirring, and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the corn, broth, and almond milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, and chop up the tempeh bacon into small pieces while waiting. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pot, and add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the soup into bowls and top with scallions and tempeh.

* Okay, I admit I would be a terrible cookbook chef. This is the recipe I was looking at when I was whipping up this soup, but I didn't exactly follow it. I was initially trying to halve this, and then abandoned that idea, so I put corn in until it was "about right". I have no idea how much was actually in there. So... add corn until you think it looks right! Helpful, eh? Also, I like paprika and made the terrible mistake of thinking that I could just sprinkle in a little bit extra. So I turned the bottle over the pot and... whoosh! I somehow thought it would come out slower! Oops! I scooped out as much as I could, and in the end the soup was very paprika-y, but that somehow made it. Again, no idea how much was in there. If you want more flavor, add more paprika... just do it the right way. ;-)

creative (or uncreative?) use of leftovers

This isn't the most exciting looking dish, but it was actually really good. The night before I'd made the White Bean & Walnut Bruschetta from ED&BV and I had a bunch of leftover cannelli beans, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Instead of pondering what to do with them until they went bad (which is what usually happens), I decided that the ingredients were good enough over bread, so they'd be good over angel hair too. I was right!

continuing with the breakfast theme

On the morning of this picture I'd woken up late and had only about 45 minutes to get ready, but decided that about half an hour of it should be devoted to making breakfast anyway. And you know what? It was totally worth the mad-dash thereafter and the being late to class by 5 minutes.

Judging by the color of this smoothie, I think it was raspberry-strawberry. I always keep a good stock of frozen fruit in my freezer -- bananas, raspberries, and mangos for the most part. Every smoothie I make has strawberries, though, and I also almost always have fresh strawberries in my refridgerator also. I've noticed that if I try to use all frozen fruit for a smoothie my blender chokes up and wants to die, so fresh strawberries is easier on its old bones. I also throw in a handful of spinach since it's not even detectable with all the sweetness of the fruit, then blend it all up with orange juice and a bit of water.

Also pictured: Tempeh bacon doctored to my standards by sauteing it in a mixture of wok oil and Mongolian fire oil, with a touch of A1 sauce in the mix. Also, an onion bagel with fake cream cheese and green onions.

This was like the most awesome breakfast ever!

a breakfast that is not cereal

Normally I eat a totally boring breakfast. I'm not a morning person in any way, shape, or form, so usually my level of functioning upon waking is enough to merely pour myself a bowl of cereal, or if it's a good day then actually operate the microwave to make oatmeal.

I was feeling a bit more ambitious on the day of this picture though, and plus I had some really interesting fruit to use up before it went bad. One was a dinosaur egg, and the other a... plout? I can't remember the exact name. They were both plum-peach hybrids, but had slightly different coloring. I cut them up and spooned some granola and black cherry soy yogurt on top. It was *delicious*, and soooo filling. I was feeling totally stuffed when I went off to class.

Also, organic chemistry book? Gone. That evil spectre has since been banished from my life!

my favorite cookbooks

I thought I'd make a post about my favorite cookbooks, since I'll probably end up referring to recipes in most if not all of them! I also <3 the word games and giant black cat in this picture, but that is unrelated.

I have to say, my *absolute favorite* of the bunch is Dreena Burton's Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan! (ED&BV) I haven't had a failure yet out of this cookbook (except the one time I misread an ingredient and used tahini instead of tamari... oops). I haven't had a chance to try as many recipes as I'd like yet, but everything I've made has been delicious, and everything that I haven't looks delicious. I'm practically drooling thinking of things I want to try. If there was a vote for the one vegan cookbook everyone should have, I would vote for Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan.

As for the others...

The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Cookbook, by Nava Atlas - This isn't strictly a vegan cookbook, but most of the recipes actually are. When I first started learning to cook five ingredients seemed like more than enough, and this book was a lifesaver for me! While many of the recipes now seem overly simplistic, at the time I bought this more involved recipes would've discouraged me. It's a great beginner's cookbook, but it also has a lot of recipes that are great as side dishes, or when you want something fast and easy. I've altered many of the recipes in here by adding ingredients.

Veganomicon, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero - Most of the recipes in here are more time-consuming than I would be able to handle on any given night in the week, unfortunately. Still, there are some really creative recipes that would be good for special occasions... and there are certainly some easier ones scattered throughout. I don't understand why I see everyone recommending this cookbook everywhere -- it is probably my least favorite out of the ones I own.

Vegan with a Vengeance, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz - Lots of basic and tasty recipes! My favorite potato recipe comes from this book, and actually now that I think of it, several of my favorite recipes are from it! Like ED&BV, this is another one I think everyone should have.

Vegan Planet, by Robin Robertson - A comprehensive TOME of all foods vegan. I think this was the very first vegan cookbook I ever bought. If you need a vegan cookbook that will provide you with, like, a bazillion different options... this is the one! Some of the recipes have been hit or miss for me (there is a theme: the ones involving making a white sauce based on tofu, or using silken tofu to replace cheese), but now that my palate has broadened I can tell by flipping through that this is a cookbook I need to revisit.

How it All Vegan!, by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard - I haven't had a chance to use this book too much yet. It seems to focus a lot on making substitutes for non-vegan favorites, and sticks to the basics pretty much as far as other things. Still, there's a whole list of things I want to try in there.

Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking - Another one that's not solely vegan. I'm a huge fan of Asian and Indian cuisine though, so, I very much appreciate this cookbook!

mabon!

I intended to take some pictures of my coven's Mabon festivities, but of course I forgot to recharge my camera's batteries! I snapped one picture before it died on me. We had a nice little outdoor ritual with a part that focused on the senses, and I got to take home that beautiful vase of herbs in the center, which were used to represent scent. Now I have some dried thyme, basil, patchouli, and mint that I need to figure out what to do with. The athame right next to the baby shoe looks a little ominous, eh? :-D Hopefully I can get better pictures at Samhain.

renaissance, expanded

As I said in my previous post, I'd like to resurrect this blog. I think before it was just too limited in scope, so now I'm broadening it. Now that I'm venturing into veganism I'd like to chronicle that journey, as well as post the occasional bit of art or craftiness, and thoughts on spirituality. So that's my idea: to write about the parts of life that make it rich and fulfilling but wouldn't usually make it into my journal (leandra_nyx.livejournal.com). The things that give texture to my life, if not actual form.

I don't get the chance to work on art projects as often as I'd like, but when I do I think it would be nice to able to show off the things I've made. Who knows, maybe having a place to share would actually inspire me to make more art even!

As far as spirituality goes, I'm pretty sure that I'll always consider myself pagan, but my beliefs and practices are always evolving. I've dabbled in a bit of nearly every pagan (and non-pagan) path -- my bulging bookshelf proves it -- out of personal interest or simply a desire for knowledge and understanding. To make a long story short, I'm an eclectic pagan who's roots are in Wicca and Women's Spirituality, who takes inspiration from Hinduism's views on Deity, and appreciates the mythologies of many cultures. I've been part of a coven for four years, and I'll probably post a bit about our goings-on, as well as general thoughts.

I imagine my vegan experiments will probably dominate this blog, however. When vegan cookbook authors tell you that going vegan is easy, guess what -- they're LYING. Vegan cooking by itself is as easy as any other cuisine, but breaking food habits is HARD. Perhaps it's easier for others, but veganism for me has come with the dual challenge of changing my eating habits while simultaneously learning how to cook. Well, that's not quite right. I know how to cook, and I'd say I'm a damn good cook, but what I lack is some of the skills associated with cooking.

Before I learned about veganism I was a vegetarian, but a bad vegetarian. I would cook something from scratch maybe once a week, and my husband and I ate a lot of frozen pizzas, boxed foods, and ramen. I know that's really lame, but sadly, true. Now that I'm attempting to be vegan those foods don't work anymore, and thank goodness! There are always Amy's frozen meals, but those are expensive. So, being vegan is good in many ways: good for my budget, good for my health, and most of all, good for the animals!

Unfortunately, it's not really coming overnight for me. As I said, I'm a good cook, but haven't really been in the habit of cooking a lot, so I'm having to learn some of the basics. Things like: Planning a menu in advance, and shopping for things that are on that menu. Developing a meal repetoire. Making sure that I'm not planning to make too many complicated meals in one week, which burns me out. And the big thing for me, learning how to cook vegetables! All of that may sound silly to someone who has been doing it for a while, but these are skills that take time to learn! My husband is still only vegetarian too, so when I fail at one of those steps, I'll usually break down and go in for the frozen pizza with him. So while I may not be 100% vegan yet, I'm definitely working on it... and I want to document my progress, not to mention the tasty food I make!

renaissance

Egads! It's been quite a while since I posted in here, eh? I can't just let this thing be dead; I have too much to ramble about. So, coming soon... a post. Other than this post, that is. :-)

altars, as they were, and thoughts on the future

My main altar, as it was back in May of 2007. It was pretty, but I didn't use it as often as I wanted to -- partially because I was feeling something of a disconnect spiritually, and also partially because it felt more ornamental. A friend suggested that I meditate on what gods and goddesses I really wanted to have a relationship with, and also reminded me that my altar is as much for me as it is for them. I think that was a big part of my problem with this altar... it didn't contain much of myself.

A separate problem is the position of the altar (on my dresser), which is a bit awkward since I have to be standing the whole time I'm doing something. I would like an altar that I can kneel in front of of just for comfort's sake, but have no place in the house to set something like that up. I've been working on changing this altar around (it's quite deconstructed at the moment), but I'm also thinking I might need to have some tools and supplies stashed someplace in the living room too where I can just set them up on the floor as needed. It's the only area large enough to have a full circle anyway, so I think that's how it'll be. The bedroom altar will have to just be for devotionals.




I love my Aphrodite shrine, however. It's good as it is. :-)