Monthly Archives: March 2012

Mar31

Amazing! Tomato Soup

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Amazing! Tomato Soup
Amazing! Tomato Soup

We’ve had this soup three times in the last week (not including leftovers which would make it more like 5 times!).  It’s super easy to make (all under half an hour) and it tastes incredibly amazing.  I’ve tried tons of recipes for a vegan, creamy tomato soup and they’ve all been a bit off, but this one is the best tomato soup I’ve ever had in all my life.  You really must try it, I mean it.

I’m not saying it’s healthy.  THIS IS NOT A LOW-CALORIE SOUP!  But it is creamy and delicious and will make you feel warm and fuzzy.  It’s also quite good cold if you like cold soups.

I found the recipe in VegNews magazine in the January/February 2012 issue and was written by Allison Rivers Samson, I’ve adapted it from its original version.

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 T vegan Butter
1 cup Yellow Onion – chopped
2 t Salt
4 cups Vegetable Broth
1, 28 ounce can Diced Tomatoes – Fire Roasted
2 t Agave Nectar
1/2 cup Cashews – raw
1/2 cup Water
1 t Rice Vinegar
1/2 cup fresh Basil – chiffonaded
1 t Black Pepper – fresh ground

  Read the rest of this entry →

Mar30

Zucchini-Walnut Stir on Pasta

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Zucchini-Walnut Stir on Pasta
Zucchini-Walnut Stir on Pasta

 

 

Another fast, delicious recipe for spring!  The ingredients list contains all of my husband’s favorite foods so it’s a total win-win when I make this one.  He also prefers it burned, so if I screw it up…it’s even better!  What more could a hack of a housewife want?

 
Ingredients:
8 ounces Pasta (spaghetti, linguini, udon, whatever you want!)
3 T Olive Oil
1/2 cup Walnuts – roughly chopped
4 cloves Garlic – minced
1 1/2 pounds Small Zucchini – thinly sliced into half circles
3/4 cup Raisins
1/4 t Salt
1/4 t Pepper
Vegan Parmesan to sprinkle on top

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Mar25

Spicy Ginger Tofu Stir-fry

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Spicy Ginger Tofu Stir-fry
Spicy Ginger Tofu Stir-fry

I’ve been all about making dinner and making it fast, lately.  There’s something about spring coming, warmer evenings, and a late sunset that keeps me on the patio and not in the kitchen.  Finding delicious meals that don’t take long is pretty tough, so I’m going to be sharing some fast and amazing meals with you so you too can enjoy the spring weather and leave the kitchen work for the winter.

I’ve been making this recipe for almost 10 years.  The page has a “My Favorite Recipe” sticker on it and my notes are, “Easy.  Very Good. *Could Double*”  Yep, I could eat the entire pan of stir-fry myself so if I double it I can have leftovers or I could let my family have dinner with me.  I’ve adapted the recipe from one I found in Sunset Magazine in 2003.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Vegetable Broth or Not-Chicken Broth
2 t White Wine Vinegar
2 t Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
1 t Cornstarch
1/4 t Red Chili Flakes
1-2 T Vegetable Oil (I usually use olive oil)
12 oz Frozen Shelled Soybeans – thawed (Make sure they’re organic or GMO-Free!)
1 T Fresh Chopped Ginger – peeled first
1 Clove Garlic – peeled and minced (I LOVE getting a small carton of pre-minced garlic from the deli section of my grocery store, it’s a small delight that saves me time!  Well worth the slightly higher price for the garlic!!)
12 oz Firm Tofu – Drained and cut into 1/2-1″ squares or the shape of your choice.  (Make sure it’s organic or GMO-Free!) 

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Mar20

35 Ways I am Saving the Environment

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35 Ways I am Saving the Environment
35 Ways I am Saving the Environment

I’m always trying to do more when it comes to helping to save the environment.  I get stressed out when I think I could be doing more or when I realize that I really don’t want to live without a car (I’m sorry, I just can’t at this point in my life!)  But I started thinking more positively and wanted to make a list of the little things I am doing; it seems I’m doing a lot.  Tell me what you’re doing?  Any secrets to saving energy or resources?!

 

 

 

  1. Eating a vegan diet.
  2. Recycling.
  3. I Up-cycle old license plates into awesome book ends.  Check it out on Etsy!
  4. Talking to the general manager about starting a recycling program at the gym I go to.
  5. Talking to the general manager about having more vegan options at the gym’s cafe
  6. Using a clothesline and rack to dry my clothes – I actually went as far as to unplug my clothes drier so I couldn’t get lazy and use it every once in a while.
  7. Turning down the thermostat at night.
  8. Saving the cold water from my bathtub while I wait for warm water for the shower.  So many uses for 3-5 gallons of extra water!

    Saving Water

  9. I signed up to opt-out of telephone book delivery.  That’s huge!
  10. I use disposable diapers on my baby, but I made reusable wipes.

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Mar19

Denver’s Neat Market

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Denver’s Neat Market
Denver’s Neat Market

Denver’s Neat Market has been going on for 3 months now; it’s a pop-up style market made up of exclusively vegan items and socially and environmentally conscious non-profits.  As a vegan in Denver, a place with precious few vegan resources, I am thrilled to the core to have this market to visit and mingle among like-minded people.  So, I have Plants & Animals Denver to thank for organizing it!  Check out their Chomp link and learn about their monthly vegan dinner on the first Wednesday of every month.

Neat Market in March

We visited the Neat Market last month, but only stayed for a few minutes as the place was TOTALLY packed.  I was very excited and wished we could have stayed longer, but it was a bit much for my 2-year-old to endure.  This month we tried again and it seemed either that it was a larger space (it’s been in a different location each month) or that due to the event being on the day after St Patrick’s Day (and many people being hung over) there were fewer people.  We stayed for a long time this month.

We purchased dinner for later in the day and got lunch from a food truck out front.  Denver’s Vegan Van and Manna From Heaven were both there.  I CAN’T wait to try the Vegan Van but their line is always so, so long; we went with Manna From Heaven, which is Vietnamese inspired vegan cuisine.  We got the tacos and the rice boat – really delicious! Read the rest of this entry →

Mar18

Vegan Quesadilla

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Vegan Quesadilla
Vegan Quesadilla

I often make these quesadillas when I don’t know what else to make for lunch, then I rediscover my love for them and make them every day for a week or so.  They’re SUPER easy and SUPER delicious!

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Prep the “chicken” by microwaving 3 pieces for 1-2 minutes. Just long enough to defrost them and warm them a little. The cooking process for a quesadilla is not long enough to naturally defrost and heat them. If you’re against using a microwave or if you don’t have one, you can cook them in a pan or in the oven first.

    They look just like real chicken strips! Only it's not weird that they're all the same shape.

  2. I start with the tortilla (2 for each quesadilla), put down one tortilla in a dry, medium-large frying pan over medium heat.

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Mar15

“Beef” Stew – Crock Pot Style

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“Beef” Stew – Crock Pot Style
“Beef” Stew – Crock Pot Style

I can’t say that I’d been missing beef stew since I went vegetarian, but it did sound like a great dish for a cold, winter’s evening.  Did I mention that it’s 75 degrees in my backyard right now, I know, not very wintery, but I was in a rush this morning and knew I couldn’t be bothered to make dinner tonight while I could be sitting on the porch drinking a vodka tonic.  So, dinner is in the crock pot…

Ingredients in the Crock Pot

I’ve been making this dish about once a week for over a month.  Odd for me as I tend to make something new almost every day; I’m a total sucker for new recipes and I’m becoming quite the cookbook hoarder.

I adapted this recipe from my newest favorite cookbook, The Vegan Slow Cooker. Read the rest of this entry →

Mar14

Oat Milk!

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Oat Milk!
Oat Milk!

Okay, I’ll admit it, I was probably a milkmaid in a former life.  I just can’t stop experimenting with making new non-diary milks.  Today I thought oat milk would be a great one to try.  I’m not absolutely fond of yesterday’s peanut milk and I love oats, so oat milk should be delicious, right?  Let’s go ahead and see!

I’m using organic thick cut oats and decided to use 1/2 of a cup of oats for this recipe. I soaked the oats in 4 cups of water for half an hour.

After the half hour passed I poured the mixture into my blender and blended for 1 1/2 minutes.  If you want to save on dishes you can certainly soak your oats in water right in your blender.

Oats and water freshly blended

I decided to use cheesecloth to strain the mixture this time, I wanted to make sure I got out all of the little chunks and debris from the oats.  If you haven’t yet gotten used to small chunks in your milk, cheesecloth is a great idea!

Straining the oat milk with cheesecloth

Then I poured the oat milk into a clean jar. Read the rest of this entry →

Mar12

Peanut Milk?

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Peanut Milk?
Peanut Milk?

I’ve been slightly obsessed with making my own non-diary milks lately and I got to thinking about all kinds of nut milks.  I began to wonder why I’d never heard of peanut milk and figured it isn’t mainstream because so many people have peanut allergies.  I don’t know.  I’m not allergic to peanuts, I like peanuts, so I decided to try it.

I got 1 cup of raw Spanish peanuts from the bulk section at Sunflower Market (Hey, did you hear they were just bought out by Sprouts?  Crazy news!)  The peanuts tasted really beany, that’s when I remembered that peanuts are actually not nuts, they’re legumes.  Very beany…in a bad way.

Raw Peanuts Soaking

I let my 1 cup of nuts soak in a bowl of water overnight, well about 10 hours – I sleep long nights when I can.  The peanuts absorbed A LOT of water so make sure you put in more than you think they’ll need!  Then add a little more water. Read the rest of this entry →

Mar6

Extreme Vegan vs. Cheater

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Extreme Vegan vs. Cheater

The following are a few of my extreme vegan tendencies.

  • I buy vegan sugar
  • I use live mouse traps
  • I don’t eat honey
  • I don’t wear silk
  • I don’t buy leather products
  • I’m trying to get our cat to enjoy some vegan dry food

A few of the areas I’m lenient in:

  • I kill spiders in my house – some of the time.
  • I use ant traps when we get ants in the house (I have a low tolerance for pesty pests)
  • I still wear leather shoes I bought years ago when I wasn’t vegan.
  • I don’t buy vegan wine or beer.

I figure that the bones used to make sugar aren’t creating a demand for dead animals and this demand wouldn’t keep the cattle industry in business, but it is gross.  I also read somewhere that if it weren’t for leather the beef sales wouldn’t be able to support the cattle industry.  Leather can be expensive, but I don’t really know that beef alone couldn’t support factory farms.  In some beer and wine isinglass (from the swim bladders of fish) is used as a “clearing” agent.  That is gross and hopefully I will someday step up to drink only vegan and organic wines (grapes are on the dirty dozen list so that pesticide is getting into your wine.  Boo!) Read the rest of this entry →