Hot days, cool eats

As the Dog Days wind down, I realize it's been a dog's age since I did my last food/recipe post. Here's why…

1. I'm an uninspired cook in the summer. I'd rather be out in the sunshine, am busy with outdoor projects, and prefer to avoid heating up the joint with stove and/or oven. Autumn will likely find me eagerly poring over my accumulated recipes and cookbooks and hugging my estranged kitchen gadgets to my so-called bosom ("Built for speed," chortles BW, "not for comfort!" lol), but during the hot summer months our food tends to be simple, quick and, preferably, cold. It's all delicious and healthy, but I've usually either blogged about it before or consider it just too simple to be blog-worthy.

2. I've had too many other things to post about instead!

3. After sharing photos and descriptions of all the amazing food we ate in Colorado, I felt a need to put a lot of posts between them and this, hoping it might reduce any likelihood that our relatively simple cuisine be compared unfavorably. ;-)

But we haven't exactly been fasting around here this summer (not by a long shot!), and a few dishes that we've especially been enjoying have inspired some Kodak moments. So these are the recipes I consider worth sharing as we in the northern hemisphere bask in the last sweltering days of August, while you in the southern half of the globe are looking forward to summer nosh. Besides, BW and I are marking our 11th Veganniversary this month, and what better way to celebrate than with yummy food shared with friends? :-)

Black Bean and Corn Salsa...

The McDougalls call this salsa, but we eat it like salad.

Whenever I make it I always make a double batch,

but it still only lasts half as long as we think it should!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

from McDougall Quick & Easy by John McDougall, MD and Mary McDougall

● 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

● 2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can organic fire-roasted tomatoes)

● ¾ cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (I use organic)

● 4 green onions, chopped

● 2 tablespoons chopped & canned green chilis

● 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

● ¼ cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed)

● ½ tsp ground cumin

● several twists of freshly ground pepper

● ½ cup diced avocado (optional)

● I also like to add a few some several sliced black olives :-)

Combine all ingredients, except avocado, in a bowl. Mix well. Stir in avocado, if desired, immediately before serving.

Makes 3 cups. Prep time: 10 minutes

Lemony Baked Tofu with Rosemary...

Served with brown jasmine rice and steamed broccoli

(After taking this, I seasoned the broccoli with tamari & nooch!)

Here's a typical, simple meal of the sort we enjoy in hot weather, starring this tofu recipe I found at the wonderful blog, Cadry's Kitchen. We've made many batches of her Lemony Baked Tofu with Rosemary this summer (replacing the oil with an extra ½ tablespoon each of tamari and lemon juice). It can be baked or grilled and is delicious hot or cold. Its lemony, herbed flavor is fresh and light and perfect for summer, while the marinade is quick and simple to prepare. And its aroma while baking is divine!

And finally…

Sorbetto!

Since indulging in vegan gelato and sorbetto during our stay in Fort Collins, BW was inspired to whip up several delicious batches of sorbetto at home, all from the superb Nonna's Italian Kitchen by Bryanna Clark Grogan. It contains many sorbetto, granita and gelato recipes (and variations) in several flavors, along with illuminating information on the differences between them, instructions for making alcohol-free versions, and of course lots of other delicious, vegan Italian dessert and non-dessert recipes. So while Bryanna gave me her gracious permission to share the recipe for her chocolate sorbet, I highly recommend you buy her cookbook so you don't miss out on all the other goodies in it!

Strawberry Sorbet

(Sorbetto di Fragole)

Lemon Sorbet

(Sorbetto di Limone)

Chocolate Sorbet
(Sorbetto di Choccolata)

Chocolate Sorbet

Sorbetto di Choccolata (© Bryanna Clark Grogan, 1998)

(soy-free)

Yield: About 3 cups

This dessert tastes so rich and intense that it's hard to believe that it is a water ice! Only for confirmed chocolate-lovers!

Note: Be sure to use only Dutch cocoa.

● 2¼ cups water

● 1 cup unbleached sugar (we use sucanat)

● ½ cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa

● 2 tablespoons coffee, almond, hazelnut, or orange liqueur* (we use Triple Sec)

● optional: 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (preferably organic) (we make a different orange variation; see notes below)

Place the sugar with 1 cup of the water in a medium stainless steel saucepan, and dissolve the sugar, stirring it over high heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder over low heat, and continue to whisk until it is completely smooth and a little cooked. Whisk in the remaining water and other ingredients. Chill the mixture, then freeze according to your machine's directions.

Per ½ cup serving: Calories: 150, Protein: 2 g, Carbohydrate: 33 g, Fat: 1 g.

* The liqueur adds some flavor and keeps the sorbet from freezing rock-hard. If you don't use alcohol, Bryanna's cookbook has instructions for making an alcohol-free version.

The taste and texture of this reminds us of Fudgsicles! Yum. As you can see from my photo, I like to sprinkle mine with a little unsweetened coconut.

We also enjoy our chocolate-mint and chocolate-orange variations. For chocolate-mint, we add ¼ tsp peppermint extract. For chocolate-orange, we substitute 1 cup of the water with 1 cup of organic orange juice and add 1 tsp orange extract. (We've yet to try adding the orange zest because we haven't had any organic on hand).

Update - our latest favorite version of the chocolate sorbetto! - A couple of years ago, BW started making this using 2½ cups of brewed Teeccino Maya Organic Chocolaté herbal coffee instead of water, reduced the amount of sucanat to ¾ cup, and using a well-rounded ½ cup of unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder (the amount of Triple Sec remains the same). It's very rich and dark-chocolately, made even more so with a sprinkling of organic cocoa nibs! :-)

I hope you enjoy some of these easy, healthy, tasty vegan treats before this strange and crazy summer comes to a close. Keep cool, calm and kind, and bon appétit!

Chilly out = chili in!

Ooooh baby, it's cold outside! (As both our thermometer and Punky can attest!) 

And it's supposed to get even colder, with a high of 4ºF tomorrow and 2ºF on Tuesday (with lows well below zero). It's been snowing a lot too!

I say weather like this demands

chili!

(and bread!)

This healthy and delicious heart/soul/body-warming recipe comes together quickly and easily with canned beans and tomatoes. Of course, you can use homemade cooked beans and/or tomatoes too, if you've got them.

This chili is mild to moderately spicy. You can make it hotter by adding some or all of the poblano seeds, using a hotter variety of pepper, or adding hot sauce, cayenne, or more chili powder.

Southwest Four-Bean Chili

(Based on a recipe in The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook by Mary McDougall and John McDougall, M.D.)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks organic celery, chopped

1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can white beans (navy or cannellini), drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 14.5-ounce cans organic fire-roasted diced tomatoes (or Mexican-style stewed tomatoes)

1/2 - 1 can black olives, drained and sliced (optional)

1 cup organic frozen corn kernels

1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped (leave seeds in if you want more heat)

1 1/2 TBSP freshly squeezed lime juice

3 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon sugar (evaporated cane juice) (optional)

fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

1 avocado, sliced or diced (optional)

Vegan Sour Cream (optional: recipe follows)

Directions:

Heat a large pot over medium heat until warm enough that water drops sprinkled in it sizzle. Add the water, onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the cilantro, avocado and sour cream. Cover and cook over low-medium heat for 20-30 minutes (it should bubble gently but not boil), stirring occasionally.

Garnish servings with vegan sour cream, fresh cilantro and/or avocado slices or chunks, if desired. Salt individual portions to taste, if desired.

Notes: The original recipe calls for the Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, but I've always just used fire-roasted. The optional addition of a little sugar to this helps bring out the flavor of the spices. I add black olives now and then, but I always add a dollop of homemade vegan sour cream to our servings, and the avocado and cilantro too, if I've got it. They're optional, but I highly recommend them!

Vegan Sour Cream:

1 14-ounce package firm tofu, pressed and drained

2-3 TBSP fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar (evaporated cane juice)

1 teaspoon sea salt

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate in a covered container.

Of course, chili is great served with fresh-baked bread! Here is a recipe BW came up with for a delicious, basic, homemade boule...

BW's Basic Boule Bread

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups very warm water

1 TBSP sugar (evaporated cane juice)

2 TBSP unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 TBSP dry baking yeast

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups bread flour

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 TBSP coarse Celtic sea salt

Directions:

Put water in a large bowl. Add the sugar and stir till dissolved. Add the yeast and let the mixture sit to allow the yeast to dissolve and become active (about 5 minutes). Then add the salt and applesauce. Next, stir in enough flour to make the dough thick, with a mud-like consistency. Then add the oats and gradually add the flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is fairly stiff. Knead in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise until it doubles in size (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Punch down.

Turn out on a pizza peel dusted with organic corn meal. Shape into a boule and make 4-5 slices in the top of the dough about 1/2" deep. Let rise about 30 minutes. Brush with No-Oil Oil, sprinkle top with the coarse salt, and bake about 30 minutes at 450º. Check loaf by tapping with a wooden spoon handle. If it sounds hollow, it's done.

Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes: These measurements work well at our altitude (5500'). Your mileage may vary! :-)

Here are two of BW's delicious variations on the basic recipe:

Herb Variation:

1 1/2 TBSP rosemary, coarsely ground (with a mortar & pestle)

1/2 TBSP thyme leaves

Add herbs and work through dough AFTER punch down step above.

Kalamata Olive Variation:

3/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced

1 TBSP dried basil

Add olives and basil and work through dough AFTER punch down step above.

Veggies Benedict

Mary McDougall's Veggie Benedicts (that's what she calls them, but I call them Veggies Benedict) are what they served us for breakfast on the last day of the McDougall 10-Day Live-in Program, and they're now a favorite treat that we enjoy for breakfast or brunch on special occasions. What qualifies as a special occasion isn't usually definable, we just know it when we see it, usually when one of us blurts out, "Hey, let's have Veggies Benedict today!" :-) (We'd eat this nearly every morning if we could, but it's too rich for that and we don't often have avocados and English muffins on hand).

Veggies Benedict

seasoned with freshly ground rainbow peppercorns.

Yum!

Here's Mary's recipe, with my notes in red...

Cashew Milk

I have been making this for about 28 years now and it is still the best flavor for rich sauces and "french" toast. Make sure you use raw cashews, not roasted ones, and make sure you blend this thoroughly and then strain it to remove any pieces that did not get blended.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Servings: makes 2 cups

1/2 cup RAW cashews

2 cups water

Place the cashews in a blender jar with 1 cup of the water. Process until very smooth.

Add the remaining water and blend until no large pieces remain. This may take a minute or two.

Strain after processing to remove any remaining pieces.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

I make a half batch of this for the Benedicts recipe, and I don't strain it. I just beat the crap out of it in the blender till it's smooth. :-)

Veggie(s) Benedict(s)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 2-4

For the sauce:

1 cup cashew milk (see recipe above)

2 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/16 tsp turmeric

pinch of paprika

1 TBSP cornstarch mixed with 2 TBSP cold water

Place the cashew milk in a saucepan. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well with a whisk. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Set aside. (If you need to reheat this just before serving, do it slowly while stirring with a whisk.)

For the base:

1 vine-ripened tomato*

1/2 avocado

4 fat-free English muffin halves**

Slice the tomato into 4 medium-thick slices. Peel and slice the avocado. Toast the muffin halves. PLace the tomato and the avocado on the English muffin halves. Ladle about 1/4 cup of the sauce over each muffin half and serve.

Hints: The sauce may be made 1 day ahead of time and slowly reheated. This saves time on a busy morning. The sauce is also great with asparagus, other vegetables or potatoes.

*When the only tomatoes available are pitiful hothouse ones, we use canned organic diced fire-roasted tomatoes. About one can of those, drained (and heated, if you'd like) is good for about 5 Veggies Benedict.

**We use Food for Life's sprouted whole grain English muffins.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

And my little mice friends asked me to remind you...

that Daylight Saving Time ends today!

Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour,

and make your weekend last that much longer! :-)

The Murder of Grabwell Grommet

People are so worried

about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year,

but they really should be worried

about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas.

~Author Unknown

Mary McDougall shared this essay at the end of the McDougall Clinic's 10-Day Live-In Program, to great acclaim. Given the common holiday (and, with alarming frequency, the everyday) unhealthy bingeing with its ruinous repercussions and standard regrets, and the typical resolutions to make healthy lifestyle changes which accompany the dawn of a New Year, this seems an especially appropriate time to pass along...

The Murder of Grabwell Grommet

On the morning of his 42nd birthday, Grabwell Grommet awoke to a peal of particularly ominous thunder. Glancing out the window with his bleary eyes, he saw written in fiery letters:

"SOMEONE IS TRYING TO KILL YOU, GRABWELL GROMMET!"

With shaking hands, Grommet lit his first cigarette of the day. He didn't question the message. You don't question messages like that. His only question was, "Who?"

At breakfast as he salted his fried eggs and buttered his toast, he told his wife, Gratia, "Someone is trying to kill me."

"Who?" she asked with horror.

Grommet slowly stirred the cream and sugar into his coffee and shook his head, "I don't know," he said.

Convinced though he was, Grommet wasn't going to the police with his story. He decided his only course was to go about his daily routine and hope somehow to outwit his would-be murderer. He tried to think on the drive to the office. But the frustration of making time by beating lights and switching lanes occupied him wholly. Nor, once behind his desk, could he think a moment what with jangling phones, urgent memos and the problems and decisions piling in as they did each day.

It wasn't until his second martini at lunch that the full terror of his position struck him. It was all he could do to finish his Lasagna Milanese. "I can't panic," he said to himself, lighting his cigar. "I simply must live my life as usual."

So he worked until seven as usual. Drove home fast as usual. Studied business reports as usual. And he took his usual two Seconal capsules in order to get his usual six hours sleep. As days passed, the man fully stuck to his routine. And as the months went by, he began to take a perverse pleasure in his ability to survive. "Whoever's trying to get me," he'd say proudly to his wife, "hasn't got me yet. I'm too smart for him."

"Oh, please be careful," she'd reply, ladling him a second helping of beef stroganoff. The pride grew as he managed to go on living for years. But as it must to all men, death came at last to Grabwell. It came at his desk on a particularly busy day. He was 53.

His grief-stricken widow demanded a full autopsy. But it showed only emphysema, arteriosclerosis, duodenal ulcers, cirrhosis of the liver, cardiac necrosis, cerebrovascular aneurysm, pulmonary edema, obesity, circulatory insufficiency and a touch of lung cancer.

"How glad Grabwell would have been to know," said the widow smiling proudly through her tears, "that he died of natural causes."

~Art Hoppe

Art Hoppe, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, died of complications from lung cancer in Feb 2000.

If we do not change our direction,

we are likely to end up where we are headed.

~Chinese Proverb

PCRM's free 21-Day Kickstart begins Jan 1.

Click to sign up!

How good it is to be well-fed, healthy, and kind

all at the same time.

~Henry J. Heimlich, MD

Wishing all of you, and all beings everywhere

a safe, happy, healthy, peaceful New Year!

All Hail Kale, Queen of Greens!

Ah, the lovely kale, one of the many foods we'd never eaten before becoming vegan, and now a favorite. Available in several colorful varieties, it's been called the most nutrient-dense food on the planet, the "queen of greens," a food superstar. A powerhouse of phytonutrients, kale is especially high in vitamins A, C, and K, and rich in calcium, iron, folate, and manganese.

Unconscionably, kale currently ranks #8 on the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list of produce contaminated with residual pesticides, so buy organic whenever you can - or better yet, grow your own!

If you've never eaten kale, or know it only as a beautiful garnish or ornamental plant, here are some recipes and ideas so you too can hail the mighty kale!

Steamed Kale with Walnut Dressing & Brown Jasmine Rice

I was introduced to this walnut dressing (a recipe by Anne Esselstyn, Dr. Caldwell's wife) at "Camp McDougall" two years ago, and have to restrain myself from making (and snarfing) it too often! It's fantastic on kale and other raw or cooked veggies, delicious on tossed salads, and sublime on baked potatoes, especially when mixed with vegan sour cream.

Kale/Lemon Sandwiches

Another recipe from Dr. Caldwell and Anne Esselstyn, we just made this for the first time recently. It was messy but very good. I used my own hummus recipe (with tahini), because I think tahini really takes hummus to a higher level. I didn't have fresh cilantro so I used parsley, and whatever "Mestemacher bread" is, you can bet it's not something I can find in East Cowflop, Wyoming. So I used what we had on hand, organic oat bran bread, which was just dandy. BW and I agreed after making and eating these sandwiches that we would leave off the lemon slices next time, or at least peel them first. They really have to be sliced paper thin in order for the rind to not be too chewy to deal with, and with all the lemon juice and zest, we found them pretty, but somewhat redundant. We agreed these open faced sandwiches both taste and look very fresh and summery, though kale is generally a fall/winter crop. Good way to get a nice burst of Vitamin C during cold and flu season, along with all those other great nutrients in kale!

And here's Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks, making a pot of Garlic and Greens Soup (kale is perfect for this dish!)...

Garlic and Greens Soup

I've made this soup and think it's great with cooked white beans and/or brown rice added to it. I made it with buckwheat groats once, too, which gave it an intriguing flavor.

Here are a few more ideas and recipes for kale...

What To Do With Kale from the VeganRD blog.

Kale Chips (This recipe is from VegWeb, but there are many others out there, all pretty similar and all with rave reviews).

Polenta Lasagna with Portabellos and Kale from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog (do a search for "kale" on Susan's wonderful site to find more delicious recipes!)

And though we haven't made this (and won't, it being too high in fat), I'm compelled to include it here because it's definitely one of the more creative and unusual uses of kale I've ever seen...

Mint Chip with Kale Ice Cream

(But I just might try throwing some kale leaves into a batch of mint banana ice cream next summer!)

There are so many ways to prepare kale, if you don't already I hope you'll include this nutritious, delicious regal queen of greens in your repertoire!

"Let your food be your medicine

and your medicine be your food."

~Hippocrates, 431 BCE