Vegan pumpkin pie

I had trouble with my pie crust this morning - I used a random recipe that I found online and the proportions were all wrong.  It called for 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup margarine and 5-6 tablespoons cold water.  I mixed the first three ingredients (using my brand new pastry blender from Williams Sonoma, which is awesome and only 10 bucks), then added water, water and more water, and it still wouldn't hold together.  I then looked at my tried-and-true pie crust recipe (why I didn't use that in the first place I really don't know) and saw that there needed to be either less flour or more margarine.  So I added some more margarine and it still wouldn't hold together, so I decided to just press it into the pan like a graham cracker crust.  It worked out okay, but was a little too thick for my taste.  But I did manage to do my first sort-of fluted pie crust edge, which looks pretty good.

Then I assembled my ingredients for the pie filling and discovered that my newish jar of applesauce that had been in the fridge for a little while had somehow grown some mold - blech.  No worry - I peeled and chopped a Granny Smith apple, cooked it in a little water with some sugar for 10 minutes, then pureed it in my food processor.  Voila - applesauce!  It was pretty good, and super easy.

So here's what I did after I finally finished making the pie crust and the applesauce.  I'm really pleased with the result - my in-house photographer and I each just had a big slice and it was delicious!

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine:

   3/4 cup vegan sugar
   1/2 teaspoon salt
   1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
   2 teaspoons cinnamon
   1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
   15-ounce can pumpkin puree
   2 teaspoons applesauce
   1 cup soymilk

Whisk until the mixture has thickened a bit, then pour into the pie crust.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Then reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool in refrigerator for about an hour then serve.

Moroccan tagine

I love putting together a recipe to use up all of the odds and ends I have in my fridge and pantry. 

This recipe for Moroccan Tagine appeared in my facebook news feed earlier this week (thank you, VegNews).  I looked at it this morning and realized that I had most of the ingredients it called for, that I could also throw in several of the ingredients I had in the kitchen that I needed to use up soon, and that I could improvise as to the rest.  The result was really delicious - spicy, unique, warming, filling and healthy.  A perfect one-pot meal for a crisp autumn day.  Here's what I did:    


Mix the following spices in a little bowl and set it aside:

   1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
   1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
   1/2 teaspoon turmeric
   1/2 teaspoon salt
   1/4 teaspoon paprika
   1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Chop up the following items and put them in a small baking dish. 

   3 smallish potatoes - one purple, one red and one yellow
   4 small turnips
   6 or 8 cloves of garlic

Add salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven at 450 for 15-20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, chop 4 leeks (just the good, tender part - not too far up the stalk) into 1/4-inch slices.  Saute in a big soup pan with a little olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened.  Then add your spice mix and cook for another 30 seconds. 

Then add:

   4 cups vegetable broth
   2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
   small can of tomato puree
   about 2 cups of fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pices
   15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
   1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Then measure out:

   1 cup dried apricots

While the stew is cooking, soak the apricots in hot water for 30 minutes.  Then drain and cut the apricots into 1/2-inch chunks and add them to the stew.

Cook the stew, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Stir in:

   1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
   2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Cook 10 more minutes then serve hot over brown rice, quinoa or other grain.

Some products I love

Of course I love having a kitchen full of fresh fruits and vegetables and all kinds of grains and spices and accoutrements to help me make delicious vegan food from scratch.  But I also love having certain go-to products that make cooking easier and faster and still meet my standard of not contributing to the cruelty in the world.  Here are a few of those favorite products.

Rice Dream - Vanilla Enriched:  I've been using this product for about 20 years and I love it.  Sometimes I buy the Trader Joe's version because it's a little bit cheaper, but I really think the Rice Dream tastes better.  I use it in coffee and on cereal, for smoothies and protein drinks, and for baking, and I occasionally just have a glass by itself.  An 8-ounce serving has 30% of your daily calcium, 25% of your B-12, and some other vitamins.

Earth Balance products:  Let me count the ways.  I use the "buttery spreads" just about every day - the Whipped version on bagels or mixed in with pasta, rice or steamed vegetables, and the Original version for baking.  The Original version has given me perfect cookies, cakes, breads and even pie crusts.  Plus it's really flavorful and delicious all by itself.  The peanut butter is out of this world - it's no-stir, which is great because I find it pretty much impossible to deal with natural peanut butter that has separated, and it's sweetened with agave which gives it a light, sweet taste.  Really yummy on a sandwich.  I have a recipe for vegan peanut butter cups up on my computer screen right now, and I think the Earth Balance peanut butter will be perfect in it.

Soy Vay products:  I've been using these sauces forever, in my stirfrys and as a dipping sauce for potstickers.  My favorite is the original Hoisin Garlic sauce, but I also really like the Veri Veri Teriyaki and the Island Teriyaki with pineapple juice.  These sauces make it possible for me to come home after a long day and whip up a quick, really good dinner - I just chop up some tofu and veggies and saute them in a little oil until they're almost done, then pour in some Soy Vay, cook it for a couple more minutes, and I'm done.  The flavor is complex and interesting, and it's thick enough that it really sticks to the vegetables.

Imagine Organic Creamy Tomato Basil soup:  The creaminess comes from soymilk.  This is a new discovery for me - I think it's a pretty new product - and I've been using it a lot.  I basically use it as a condiment for rice or pasta.  It has a fresh, comforting, slightly tangy taste. 

Daiya vegan cheese:  I'm so crazy about this stuff - I don't know how I ever lived without it.  I use the Mozzarella Style Shreds on pizza, and it really melts and acts a lot like real cheese.  I usually top my pizzas with Tofurky Italian sausage, broccoli and red bell peppers, but a couple of weeks ago I made one with brussels sprouts, corn, and thinly-sliced purple potatoes, and it was incredibly yummy (not to mention really cool-looking).  The Daiya makes all of this possible.  I also like the Cheddar Style Shreds - I use it for quick mac-and-cheese (cook some pasta - bowtie is best, but any kind will do, drain it, then while it's still really hot stir in some Cheddar Style Shreds and sprinkle in some pepper).  One of my favorite comfort-food dishes lately. 

Whole Foods vegan chocolate chips:  I don't have a link for these, but I almost always have a bag of them in my pantry.  My philosophy in baking is that just about anything is made better with the addition of a little chocolate, so I love having these chips around to throw into banana bread, zucchini bread, various kinds of muffins, etc.

Gardein Chick'n Scallopini:  I'm seriously crazy about this stuff.  I generally stay away from vegan "meats" - they're just not my thing - but Gardein does such perfect things with the texture and flavor of this product that I can't resist it.  You get them in the frozen foods section and throw them in the freezer, then when you want a really quick, warm, satisfying dinner you saute them in olive oil for 3 or 4 minutes and they're done.  They're perfectly seasoned, so you just put them on your plate and go.  Each serving has 90 calories, 2 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein, and 25% of your daily iron!  And I basically always eat two servings in one sitting, so those are some pretty impressive nutritional values.  Gardein has recently published a recipe for Sage and Pumpkin-Seed Encrusted Gardein with Cranberry Cabernet Sauce, which uses the Chick'n Scallopini filets as a base - it sounds amazing and I'm going to try it soon.

New series: Reason to be vegan #1: Lower your cholesterol

I'm starting a new series, because I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking (and eating!), and I am overwhelmed with the number of reasons to be vegan.  I'm not sure that I'll ever run out of reasons.  #1 is not the most important reason, it's just the first one, selected pretty much at random, because it's something I happen to have read about yesterday. 

High cholesterol is one of the major controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. As your blood cholesterol rises, so does your risk of coronary heart disease.  Here, I'm referring to LDL-cholesterol - often called "bad cholesterol," which is the stuff that clogs, hardens, and ultimately blocks your arteries.

People who follow a plant-based diet have significantly lower blood cholesterol than meat eaters, and vegans fare best of all.  Study after study bears this out.  See, for example, the long list of studies discussed here.

• The Oxford Vegetarian Study followed 6,000 vegetarians and 5,000 non-vegetarians over 16 years and published its findings in 1999:  "Cross-sectional analyses of study data showed that vegans have lower total- and LDL-cholesterol concentrations than did meat eaters; vegetarians and fish eaters had intermediate and similar values.

• A study by researchers at The University of Toronto found that following a vegan or near-vegan diet "was as effective as medication at lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in people at risk for heart disease."    

• A 2006 study of people with type-2 diabetes assigned participants to follow either a high-carb vegan diet or a "conventional diabetes diet" conforming to the 2003 American Diabetes Association (ADA) Guidelines.  The study found that "those on the high-carb vegan diet had lower blood sugars (and so could reduce their meds more), lower LDL cholesterol, improved kidney function and over double the weight loss. There were also significantly greater reductions in BMI, waist circumference, and total cholesterol in the vegan group compared to the ADA group."

Cholesterol is found ONLY IN ANIMAL PRODUCTS.  The medical center at the University of California at San Francisco posts useful information about cholesterol intake in the Patient Education portion of its website: 

• Depending on whether you have risks for heart disease, you should consume only 200-300 mg. of cholesterol per day.

• An egg contains about 212 mg. of cholesterol.  An ounce of cheese has 30 mg.  A 3-1/2 ounce serving of beef, chicken or salmon (which, let's face it, is considerably smaller than the average American serving) has 89, 85 or 63 mg., respectively. 

• Fruits, vegetables, legumes, tofu, margarine, and vegetable oil have NO CHOLESTEROL.  

People whose diets are based around animals and animal products find it very easy to eat too much dietary cholesterol - even when they eschew common culprits such as cheeseburgers, KFC meals, pepperoni pizza, ice cream and huge portions for lean meats and "sensible" portions.  The American Heart Association notes that: "Eating one egg for breakfast, drinking two cups of coffee with one tablespoon of half-and-half each, lunching on four ounces of lean turkey breast without skin and one tablespoon of mayonnaise, and having a 6-ounce serving of broiled, short loin porterhouse steak for dinner would account for about 510 mg of dietary cholesterol that day — nearly twice the recommended limit."

Many people who have switched from a meat-based diet to a plant-based diet have found that their cholesterol has dropped.  Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser reported that he became a vegetarian to lower his cholesterol, and his cholesterol dropped 100 points.  My boyfriend had a physical around the time we met, and his LDL-cholesterol level was "borderline high" (130); thereafter he started eating a lot less meat and a lot more vegan food, and his LDL level at his next checkup was 96 (within the 100-or-lower "optimal" range noted by doctors and the American Heart Association).  Coincidence?  I highly doubt it!

Not convinced yet to switch to a plant-based, vegan diet, or at least greatly reduce the amount of animals and animal products you eat?  Don't worry - I have about a million more reasons, so stay tuned!

Chocolate cupcakes

I'm getting ready to make some vegan chocolate cupcakes for the homeless guests in the San Mateo County Home and Hope program tonight.  I'll make a big pot of yummy pasta with vegan meatballs too.
Here are some photos of my cupcakes, which were a big hit at the San Francisco Vegan Bakesale a couple of months ago.  Below the photos is the recipe.  I've made these cupcakes 5 or 6 times, and they're easy and consistently good.

CUPCAKES (makes 12 cupcakes):

1 cup soy milk + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

STEP 1:  Prepare cupcake pan with liners.

STEP 2:  Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl; let sit for a minute or two.

STEP 3:  Add sugar, oil and vanilla and beat until foamy.

STEP 4:  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain.

STEP 5:  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake 18-20 min. at 350.

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FROSTING (makes enough to VERY generously ice 12 cupcakes):

2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup soy margarine (Earth Balance), softened
¼ cup vanilla rice milk
¾ cup unsweetened pure cocoa powder
½ t. vanilla

Using an electric hand mixer, cream the powdered sugar with the soy margarine until mixture is thick but well combined. Add the rice milk, cocoa powder and vanilla, and continue to mix until smooth.

Tofu scramble

It's good to be back in the kitchen now that my September traveling is over.  I'm looking forward to posting a blog entry about all of the amazing vegan food we found on our trip.  But for now, a little post about the tofu scramble I just made.

A tofu scramble is like a stirfry in that it there are several necessary components, and each component can be varied almost endlessly.  For a stirfry meal there's protein (tofu, tempeh, etc.), vegetables (any kind you want), sauce (the sky's the limit) and some kind of starch (rice, noodles, quinoa, etc.). 

For a tofu scramble the components are tofu (of course), liquid, seasonings, and whatever else you find in the fridge or pantry.  I started by sauteeing two cloves of crushed garlic in a little margarine.  Then I opened a package of extra-firm tofu (Whole Foods brand) and drained it by squeezing a lot of the liquid out in the sink.  Some people are really into pressing the liquid out of a block of tofu by wrapping it in towels and putting a heavy book or pan on top of it until as much liquid as possible has been squeezed out, but it's not that big a deal to me.  If I end up with too much liquid I just siphon it out of the pan with a turkey baster.

Then I crumbled the tofu in my fingers and added it to the pan with the sauteed garlic.  It's easy to over-crumble the tofu so that you end up with a very mushy scramble.  I prefer to break it up into pretty big chunks initially, then let it break up further during the cooking/stirring process.

Then I added some flavoring - splashes of tamari and pinches of salt, pepper, celery salt, onion powder and turmeric - and sauteed another minute or two to get everything integrated.  Then I added the other ingredients I had on hand - sliced mushrooms, a diced red bell pepper, and fresh chives from my kitchen garden.  A few more minutes of sauteeing, along with periodic tasting and addition of more seasonings, and I had this yummy scramble.

This dish is fast and easy, and infinitely adjustable.  You can use Italian seasonings like oregano, garlic and basil, or Mexican seasonings like adobo seasoning, chiles and lime juice, or Indian seasonings like cumin and curry powder; and you can throw in whatever vegetables and fresh herbs you want.  If you're using harder vegetables you may want to pre-sautee or steam them before you start cooking the scramble so that you don't end up overcooking your tofu while you're waiting for the veggies to soften up.

Traveling

Just a quick little update.  We're on a big roadtrip, seeing lots of beautiful scenery, meeting fantastic people, and finding all kinds of great vegan food.  I'll post details and pics when we get back.