BLT - vegan style

V is for Variety and B is for Bacon

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Is it just me, or has the American public gone crazy-bonkers over bacon? You see it everywhere nowadays: ice cream, chocolate, puddings, cakes, sprinkled on top of just about everything. Maple cured, sugar glazed, deep fried, peppered.  I've seen it wrapped around turkeys, chickens and pork roasts. I've seen it on pizzas, in soups, and of course on top of triple-decker beef burgers dripping with cheese and mayo.  All of a sudden it seems very 'manly' to eat as much bacon as you possibly can, and woe to those of us who do not choose to partake! Wimps! Turncoats! Sissies! Un-American! What's happening here?

I suppose there was a time in our history when bacon was a viable choice for a low cost protein on the plate; maybe during the depression years, served with cabbage or on white bread. Back in the days when women saved the bacon grease to reuse it. But I am telling you, those days are gone. Let them go! Look to your future. Put down the bacon. 

My mom used to make us toasted open face bacon and American cheese sandwiches and I remember that I loved them, but I did not eat a pound of bacon in a sitting! Rather, a slice or two - just enough to satisfy that craving that we humans have for fat, sugar and salt. True, bacon can satisfy that! But so can other foods, and with much less damage to our bodies. 

I could not believe my taste buds when I took my first bite of this sandwich. Fat - check! Sugar - check! Salt - check! I made these BLTs twice last week - it's that good. The second time I served it wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.....HEAVEN! :) drool ...I am telling you this tastes like bacon, but seriously, better somehow. 

So what is tempeh? It's actually soy beans and sometimes other grains (like brown rice or barley) that have been fermented and pressed into a square. You slice it and dice it and you're ready to roll. It's an ancient food and it's eaten all over the world, (except, apparently, by Americans who are eating pounds of bacon). You can saute it, marinate it, grill it. It has a super nutty and chewy taste. LOVE!  

As I set this sandwich down in front of my husband, we exchanged these few words: 

I said, “Vegan rave about this.”
He said, “When vegans rave, we must listen.”

Then we each ate two sandwiches. 'Nuff said.

Oh...here's the recipe! Zillions upon zillions of thanks to the awesome Colleen Patrick-Goudreau! 

Romaine and Sesame Seed Pesto

V is for Variety and R is for Romaine Pesto

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

“You can make pesto from anything!”

“Really? Anything?”

“Yes, just take a green ‘basil-y’ thing, add some type of toasted ‘pine-nut-y’ thing and some seasonings. Plop it all in a food processor and watch what happens. ”

“Sounds too good to be true.”

“Try it! You’ll like it!”

“How about romaine lettuce, sesame seeds, lemon zest, garlic, hot pepper flakes and olive oil. Oh, and salt.”

“Go for it! Add in some sun dried tomatoes at the end for a nice tangy bite.”

Warm Lentil Salad

V is for Variety and P is for Puy 

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Have you discovered the French lentil, also called Le Puy?  I found them at the local health food store and I’m thrilled! They have the most beautiful blue-green color and a really gorgeous dark swirl running through them. They take longer to cook than the more common brown or green lentil and what’s really special about them is that they retain their shape. You are left with a great toothy bite and chewy feel - perfect for salads.  And with 30% of their  calories from protein, you can’t beat them! Lentils are super high in daily iron and they help lower cholesterol. They are loaded with vitamins and minerals, like folate and magnesium, plus - they are super cheap! Love your body - Eat lentils! 

This salad is perfection! If you like lentils, you will LOVE this! And if you are a Dijon lover - you MUST make this! I do suggest serving it with something plain because the dressing is really tangy and tart. I shredded a yellow squash and a carrot and I chose not to dress them, which was perfect. A side of rice or beans would work as would a simple green salad, but again, I suggest that you don't over dress it. 

Here’s what you need for 4 servings: 

¾ C French lentils

1 bay leaf

1 ½ C vegetable stock or water with some vegetable bouillon

1 T olive oil

1 onion, diced

1-2 carrots, diced

1-2 celery, diced

4-5 sun dried tomatoes, diced

2 T red wine vinegar

1 T Dijon

Here’s what you do:

Rinse and sort the lentils. Simmer them with the bay leaf in the vegetable stock for about 40 minutes. Drain the excess water.

In the meantime, sauté the onion, carrot and celery until soft and starting to get some color. Add the sun dried tomatoes. Set aside.

Whisk together the red wine vinegar and Dijon. Combine everything gently and enjoy! Best served warm. 

(printable recipe) 

Japanese Soba Noodles with Toasted Sesame Dressing

V is for Variety and J is for Japanese Soba Noodles

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Getting sick of all the peanut sauces on every Asian noodle salad? Me, too.  I love those dressings, but I was ready for a change and I think I found it. This was especially great on a super-hot evening. I messed around with a few dressings and ingredients from various places and came up with this beautiful salad. Light and cold and refreshing. Totally satisfying. I will save the peanut butter sauces for winter when I crave something more substantial. No kidding, this was excellent.

Here’s the scoop on this great salad:

Japanese soba noodles (aka buckwheat noodles), cooked according to package. Drain and rinse them.

Grated carrots

6 ounces snow peas, blanched and cut in pieces on the diagonal

½ seedless cucumber, grated and wrung dry in a clean cloth

 Scallions, white and green part, sliced

Firm tofu (optional) (I used Wildwood Teriyaki Tofu), about 6 ounces, cubed

¼ C chopped fresh cilantro

For the dressing, whisk all this together.

¼ C rice vinegar

1 t sugar

1 T fresh ginger, grated

1 T honey

2 T soy sauce

1 T toasted sesame oil

2 t hot chili sauce 

2 T canola oil

Grapefruit Jalapeno Martini

V is for Variety and G is for Grapefruit Jalapeno Martini

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Wow your friends or just drink alone. Either way, you won’t be sorry. I have been drinking these all week….sometimes with a touch of vodka and sometimes with extra soda water. Tart and spicy and totally refreshing!

Here’s what you need:

2 C grapefruit juice

½ fresh jalapeno, seeds and veins intact

Soda water

(vodka for you grown-ups out there)

Here’s what you do:

Simmer the juice and pepper for about 15-20 minutes or until it’s beginning to thicken and get syrupy just a bit. Strain out the pepper and any stray seeds. Chill. I used ¼ C of juice, one shot of vodka and then topped it off with soda water for my pretty martinis.  For a super refreshing afternoon drink, make it 50/50 juice and soda. 

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles from Post Punk Kitchen

V is for Variety and A is for Aztec

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Ok, so I want everyone to think way, way back to their 6^th grade geography teacher blathering on and on and on about Hernando Cortez and the conquest of the Aztec Indians way, way back in 1519. Remember any of it? (Probably that the Aztecs performed human sacrifice and ate the beating hearts of those whom they conquered, but I digress.)

Actually, historians (of which I am one) would call the meeting between the native Aztecs and the conquering Spanish one of the most dramatic and caustic clashes of culture ever experienced, anywhere, at any time, in all of world history. I believe I once read that Cortez remained atop a horse in the presence of Montezuma to instill fear and awe. Can you imagine how Montezuma, who was actually awaiting the arrival of a great god, felt when he saw those Spanish ships drawing near his shore? No wonder he gave Cortez so much gold! And speaking of gold, did you know that many Spaniards actually drowned while trying to escape Teotihuacan, which was up in flames? The reason? Their pockets were stuffed with gold and it weighed them down.

Of course we know how it all played out: Aztecs – zero …. Spaniards – one.  

I never tire of learning more about the Aztec culture. I have been to Mexico City to see the ruins and museums and the floating gardens of Chapultepec Park. I look forward every year to teaching a long Aztec unit to my own 6^th graders and seeing how they learn to love this ancient culture, from its language, its art, its architecture and not least to its food!

I bet some of your favorite food is Aztec in origin: tortilla, avocado, tomatoes, corn, beans, CHILIS and CHOCOLATE!

Aztec dudes eating spicy Snickerdoodles. 

You can find this excellent recipe here at the Post Punk Kitchen. I followed it to the letter. 

Caution: these little Mexican Snickerdoodles pack quite a punch; they are not for your toddler’s lunch box. There is a serious cayenne kick in these, but the Aztecs often mixed chili with chocolate, so let’s just call these authentic. Take them to work and watch the faces of your co-workers! I love them and I hope you do also. 

Tabbouleh Salad

V is for Variety and V is for Vacation! 

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

From the far reaches of Northern Michigan to the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee – I have been on vacation! What a special treat to see so much of my family this summer. So much laughter and I guess a few tears also. Really, when it comes down to it, our families make each us the of unique individuals we are. Without them, where would we be?.... um.... alone!  Our histories, our memories, all the unspoken bonds that hold us together. If you are a hobbit lover, then you will appreciate this J.R.R. Tolkien quote, which I guess applies to some families: “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” Can't you picture Bilbo saying that at his 111th birthday party? 

 A few of us were brave enough to test the cold waters of Lake Huron.

 Others huddled in blankets. 

Huge meals were prepared together. 

I actually got brave and made this awesome vegan cheese for the family - *yes* I lugged my Vitamix to Tennessee. Everyone loved it! I mean, like crazy-loved it. 

A special shout out to my mom who was so gracious to prepare vegan food for me – she really out did herself! Today I share her tabbouleh recipe, originally from Ina Garten, as you can see from my mom’s notecard.  I could eat it by the tubful and I encourage you to do the same. 

(one note.... soak the bulgur and then prepare the dressing to pour over- Mom's note might be confusing. notice also that you could serve this in pita bread or with feta cheese.)

Soak the bulgur. Chop the veggies. Make the 

dressing.

Add all the lovely chopped veg. Pour over the super lemony dressing. Mix and serve. 

To round out my month of vacation, I moved our three kids to their new apartments, got them all settled in where they need to be. College, College, Work. I started to tidy up the house (now that we are empty nesters it should stay clean....yeah, right!)

Rhubarb Butter

V is for Variety and O is for Old-fashioned

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Some old-fashioned things are great, like this Rhubarb Butter. My grandmother’s Apple Butter will never go out of style either. Handmade quilts are another old-fashioned thing that I will never tire of. I love the feel of layers of quilts on my bed in the middle of a cold Michigan night. Sunday dinners, roaring fires, board games, tomato sandwiches, singing around the piano, homemade pasta, reading out loud to someone, neighborliness: these simple things top my list of great old­-fashioned stuff.

Other old-fashioned things need to go away: film cameras, record players, red food coloring, eating so much meat (there, I said it), saying ‘groovy,’ cream of mushroom soup from a can….the world is just filled with so many great and new items, why settle?  

Here’s one old-fashioned thing that we MUST say bye-bye to: the homemade laundry soap recipe I shared a few weeks ago.  Yuck! It doesn't work, it leaves clumps of soap on the clothes, it never dissolves, and it was not good for anything – not even rags. (I decided not to delete the original post, because it includes a great picture of my little puppy, Cabby, who we recently lost – I cannot bear the thought of deleting her!!)

My advice about old-fashioned things? Quit the soap. Make the Rhubarb Butter.

Rhubarb Butter

Here’s what you need:

6 cups chopped rhubarb

½ C water

1 C white sugar

1 C dark brown sugar

1-1 ½ t cinnamon

3 pint jars

Here’s what you do:

Place chopped rhubarb and water in food processor and process until the rhubarb is in tiny bits. You might want to do this in batches.

Place rhubarb and all its juice, sugars and cinnamon in a heavy bottom pot. Simmer and stir until thick. I like mine pretty thick, so I cook it until a spoon scraped on the bottom of the pot actually parts the butter in two.  You must babysit the butter while it’s cooking so it doesn’t scorch. It goes from runny to thick pretty quickly.

Spoon butter into 3 clean pint size canning jars. Wipe the rims of the jars clean with paper towels and seal with new lids. Carefully lower jars into simmering water, using rubber tongs or special canning tongs so you don’t drop the jars.

Process in boiling water for 10 minutes, remove and wait for the ping which tells you the jar is sealed.

Zucchini Tart

Food as art. This is what I see when I look at this gorgeous tart. Colors, textures, pattern. I never in a million years thought I could manage this recipe, but I tell you in all honesty, it was simple. Using my hands to make those lovely circles was very satisfying. A true creation.

The recipe comes directly from the fantastic blog, InVegetables We Trust and you can find the original recipe here.  I made a few changes including making it larger than the original. I also used a Pillsbury Brand crust, which is made with lard, so unfortunately, I can’t include this in the VeganMoFo. Speaking of which, anyone out there want to join me in the Vegan Month of Food? You don’t have to be a blogger or even a vegan, just a lover of great food. See what it’s all about here.

Here’s what you need:

6 medium zucchini, both green and yellow

3 T olive oil

Black pepper

Basil

One pie crust

Sesame seeds or poppy seeds for garnish

Course sea salt for garnish

Here’s what you do:

Prebake the pie crust at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Be sure to prick the crust so it doesn’t bubble up while baking. I used a 10 inch tart pan, but the original recipe calls for an 8 inch pie plate. Basically, the bigger the pan, the more zucchinis you will need.

Meanwhile, slice the zucchini lengthwise as thinly as possible – I used my mandolin, so there was a little bit was waste cuz there’s no way on earth I’m getting close to the killer blade on the mandolin. Drizzle the slices with olive oil and liberally season with pepper and basil.

Roll the veg up in circles, adding on to where you left off. Surprisingly, they all just kinda stuck together because of the oil. Keep going until you have enough to fill your prebaked pie shell. I actually recommend using a tape measure or ruler to measure the diameter of the crust.

Carefully place the circle of veggies in the crust and use a fork to arrange them in a pleasing way. I had to flatten the layers of zucchini a bit in order to actually fill my crust.

Bake for about 30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and course sea salt.

Important!! Cool a bit before cutting. Use a serrated knife. Gently hold the tart with your hand while cutting. 

The Empty Nest

I am an empty-nester and I’m not sure what that means.

                No more wet towels on the bathroom floor?

                                Fewer trips to the grocery store?

                                                Yet another change in the way we eat?

                Certainly fewer cars in the driveway.

Different types of TV?

                                Board games after dinner?

                                                More time playing piano?

                Certainly more afternoon walks.      Certainly more time creating care packages.

                Will that pile in the basement go away?

                                And what about late night bonfires?      

                                                Who will ask me to do stuff?

                                                                “Mom, can you_____?”

                Certainly fewer laughs and funny stories.

I am taking it in stride: looking to my future.

I am relying on myself.

I am remembering long years of laughter and tears and worry.

I feel satisfied and melancholic.