Kimberly Steele's Blog, page 15

Daily Vegan Lunch for 1 September, 2013: Basil Cashew Cheese Baked Potato

CHEESE INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cashews, soaked overnight

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1/4 cup plus a few tablespoons water

1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes (I used oil packed from a jar)

1 cup fresh basil

2 – 3 baked potatoes (depends on size) or 5 cups of pasta

DIRECTIONS:

Drain cashews after soaking (you can save the water for blending, I did not this time) and put them in a blender or food processor with lemon juice, salt, garlic, and 1/4 cup water.

Process until very smooth, adding water by the tablespoon if needed and scraping down the sides of the blending apparatus.

Once the cheese is smooth, add the basil and sun dried tomatoes, pulse until they distribute themselves throughout your cheese.

Prick a potato with a fork and bake it — I cooked mine in the microwave for about 5 minutes but I could have stuck it in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees to do the same thing. Split the cooled potato and top it with basil cheese. This also would make an excellent alfredo sauce.

My Vegan Shirt from VeganEssentials!

I have been wearing it everywhere! I love this NonviolenceUnited.org shirt from VeganEssentials.com.

They almost always offer coupons so make sure to Google “Vegan essentials coupons” before you order from them.

I am a shortie (4’11″ and not getting any taller) so that’s why I ordered the Unisex medium size. I don’t think their shirts run all that small though.

What it says:

Front of shirt reads as follows:

Compassion.

Nonviolence.

For the People.

For the Planet.

For the Animals.

Back of shirt reads as follows:

Feed the hungry.

Save indigenous people.

Stand up for workers’ rights.

Be kind to animals.

Stop factory/animal farms.

Save 100 animals every year.

End deforestation for grazing.

Save an acre of trees per year.

End grazing on public lands.

Tell the government

to stop killing wildlife for

corporate ranchers’ profits.

Stop wars for resources.

Help end corporate rule.

Make the world a better place.

Help stop climate change.

Stop the #1 polluter of water.

Support a sustainable planet.

Live your values.

Live with compassion.

Stop the violence.

Daily Vegan Lunch for August 31, 2013: Auntie Pasta’s Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1 vegan sausage

1 teaspoon oil for frying

2 cups cooked macaroni

1 cup artichoke hearts, drained

1/2 cup Greek olives, pitted and chopped

1.5 cups fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-fry sausage by cutting the sausage (I used Tofurky Italian sausage) into 1/2 inch slices and browning on each side in a pan, set aside. Prepare macaroni according to package directions, drain and put in a large bowl. Add sausage, artichoke hearts, chopped olives, basil, and olive oil to macaroni and stir to combine. Salt to taste. Chill before serving.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 30 August, 2013: Spanish Couscous

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 cups tomato purée

1.5 cups mushrooms, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 cup whole wheat couscous (for non-whole wheat couscous, use about 1/2 cup less water)

1 cup water

1 veggie broth cube or salt to taste

2 cups baby kale leaves or spinach

DIRECTIONS:

In the bottom of a large pot, fry garlic and mushrooms on medium heat until mushrooms are slightly brown. Add cumin and paprika, stir for about 30 seconds until spices become fragrant. Turn heat to medium-high. Add tomato puree, water, and veggie broth cube. Stir until water is almost boiling, about 3 – 5 minutes. Add the couscous and baby kale or spinach, cover, and take the pot off the burner. Stir to incorporate the kale and serve.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 29 August, 2013: Mushroom Cream Cheese Rangoons

INGREDIENTS

About 8 wonton wrappers (I used the homemade vegan ones from my wonton soup recipe)

2 cups white mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti)

1 green onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce, to taste

Oil for deep frying

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup ketchup

1 cup pineapple juice

1 teaspoon chili sauce, tabasco, or Sriacha

2 teaspoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder

2 tablespoons soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the sauce ingredients together. Heat the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it thickens — mine took about 1 minutes and a half. Alternately, simmer the sauce on the stovetop in a pot on medium heat until it thickens, about 3 – 5 minutes.

For the wonton filling, mix together chopped mushrooms, green onion, vegan cream cheese, garlic, and vegan Worchestershire in a bowl. Divide into 8 equal portions among the amount of wontons you want to have. Form the rangoons by pinching together the opposite corners of the wonton like a kerchief and sealing up the four sides that result with your finger dipped in some water. I would like to try a veggie meat in this wonton someday like Beyond Meat Chicken. I have not tried it yet but I bet it would be interesting.

Heat 1 inch of oil in a small pan (I use my smallest cast iron pan) until a little piece of mushroom sizzles, bubbles, and floats on the top when dropped in. Fry the wontons for 30 seconds, making sure to get them out of the oil once they turn golden brown.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 28 August, 2013: Home Style Seitan Stew

I made this special stew for my husband’s birthday.

SEITAN INGREDIENTS:

1.5 cups vital wheat gluten flour

1 1/4 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

6 cups water, for boiling seitan

2 teaspoons salt (for seitan water)

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons oil for frying

1.5 cups onion, minced

1 large or two small potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 carrots, peeled, chopped

2 cups water for boiling potatoes and carrots

6 cups water

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon fennel

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

DIRECTIONS

Prepare seitan by putting vital wheat gluten in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or container, mix 1 1/4 cups broth, soy sauce, onion and garlic powders. Stir well.

Pour the broth mixture into the wheat gluten and mix it. It will stick together like dough. Mix it until the broth is just incorporated.

Bring 6 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium high heat and rip off bite-sized pieces of the seitan and put them in the water. Once all the seitan pieces are in, leave the pot uncovered and boil for 30 – 45 minutes.

To save time, I microwaved (pre-cooked) the potatoes and carrots for 8 minutes in 2 cups of water. Fry onions and seitan in oil in the bottom of a large pot on medium-high heat until onions are translucent and seitan begins to brown. The dark flecks you see in the photo are from the seitan when I browned it. Add 5 cups of water, reserving 1 cup for later OR use the reserved water you used to boil the seitan and the leftover water from the carrots and potatoes along with new water, which is what I did. Keep in mind that if you use the seitan-potato-carrot water, you won't need as much water to make the stew.

Add the carrots and potatoes and boil until the carrots and potatoes are fork tender. This will take 3 minutes if you precooked the potatoes and carrots or about 20 – 30 if you didn't. Mix 1/4 a cup flour with 1 cup reserved broth or water. Stir back into the stew. Add the herbs at this time. Stew is done once it thickens, about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 27 August, 2013: Summer Fruits Smoothie

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups mango, chopped and frozen

2 bananas, frozen

3 plums, pitted, chopped, and frozen

2 – 3 cups apple juice plus more if needed

DIRECTIONS:

Break frozen banana into 2 inch chunks. Combine chunked fruit and apple juice in a blender, adding more apple juice if needed. I notice I tend need more juice if the fruits are still very frozen. More thaw = less juice.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 26 August, 2013: Mushroom, Balsamic Vinegar, & Kale Penne

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups cooked penne pasta

2 teaspoons olive oil

1.5 cups sliced onion

1.5 cups sliced button mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups baby kale or spinach leaves

Salt to taste

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Bring oil to medium-high heat in a pan and fry onions until they are slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic. Let them sit there for a minute or two so mushrooms brown. Add kale and stir until begins to wilt, 1 – 2 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and stir for 30 seconds, then add pasta. Stir until pasta is coated. Salt to taste. Add extra balsamic vinegar if desired.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 25 August, 2013: Sprouts, Carrot, and Cucumber in Peanut Sauce

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

3 cups mung or soybean sprouts

1 cup shredded or julienned carrot

1 cucumber, julienned or spiralized

1 green onion, minced

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

1 heaping Tablespoon peanut butter

1 cup apple juice

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

1 – 2 teaspoons tabasco, Sriacha, or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine sprouts, carrot, cucumber, and green onion in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and whip with a fork until blended.

Pour dressing over salad just before serving.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 24 August 2013: Bean Sprout Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups soy or mung bean sprouts

1 cup flour

1 cup water

2 teaspoons sesame seed oil

2 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Oil for frying

Leftover tare sauce or bottled teriyaki sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Combine flour, water, garlic, and soy sauce in a large bowl, stir well. Add sprouts and onion and stir until combined. Fry on medium-high heat in oil, pressing pancakes as thin as possible. Flip once they change color and when lifted, the edge is brown and crispy.