Hi Folks! Well I'm officially on my way to JCCFS for the winter. I've made it 2/3 of the way from Rapid City, SD to Brasstown, NC. That equals out to be roughly 17 hours of driving that I split between two days. I'm delighted to not have to drive today.
Friday night I stopped in Omaha, NE to stay with Carl's cousin. It was a wonderful evening filled with many a glass of wine. I had originally planned to stay in Omaha for the whole weekend and visit all the vegan hangouts, but decided to cut my time short, so I could spend an extra day in Illinois.
Robin and I celebrated my arrival in Decatur, IL last night with a Mexican fiesta. During my time in SD, I had really missed traditional Mexican food. TexMex and, what I've heard people call, Colorado TexMex just aren't the same as the traditional Mexican food that I grew up eating. Last night I gorged myself on Vegetarian Fajitas and Chips and Salsa. It was the "Welcome Home" that I needed after all that time spent in the car.
Tonight for dinner I'm making BBQ Tempeh, Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Wild Rice. If I can dig my camera out of my luggage, I'll post picks along with the recipes.
Vegan Love and Many Thanks for reading!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Jon Gorman's White Bean Soup
Here's another piece from Jon's series on cooking vegan as a non-vegan. This recipe sounds like the perfect early fall soup to be served with a hearty slice of toasted Sourdough. Give it a whirl, and tell us what you think.
White Bean Soup
Ingredients
2 TB palm oil
2 small leeks or one large leek, sliced
2 shallots, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 medium potato, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced (about two teaspoons)
3 cups white beans, cooked
6 cups vegetable stock
3 cups white beans
1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
Cook the beans ahead of time. You can probably get away with canned beans, but since they’re the main focus of this dish I prefer to cook them ahead of time. I just cook a 1 lb pound bag of white beans by putting them in the slow cooker to soak overnight and filling the slow cooker with water, then setting the slow cooker on low during the day while I work. We have a cheap light timer we use with our slow cooker to set it to cook for about 8 hours. The beans should have a bit of snap when you first bite it, but otherwise be soft. I scoop out three cups for the recipe and freeze half-pound amounts of beans in sandwich bags for other recipes.
Chop up the leeks and shallots. Put two tablespoons of palm oil into a soup pot. I’d say at least an 8 quart pot is needed, but if you’re neater than me you might be able to do it with less. Once the solids have melted and the pan is hot, add the leeks and shallots. If you don’t have leeks and shallots, two or three onions will do. Cook till the leek and shallots become translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. And add the carrots and celery and a dash of salt. Cook until the carrot starts to become tender, about another 5 to 8 minutes or. Add the garlic for about 30 seconds.
Then add the stock, another dash of salt, beans, and potato and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for about 40 minutes to an hour. Make sure that the potatoes are soft. Once they are, puree the soup with a blender and then add the lemon juice.
This recipe is a merger of a couple of recipes I’ve seen for white bean soup. One, from a cookbook I’ve mentioned before on Season of the Vegan, is “Extending the Table”. The other is a cookbook I got recently from the library, “Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food”. Both recipes are similar, but both use pork fat in the dish.
I didn’t want to use olive or vegetable oil, but I’d thought about trying vegetable shortening or palm oil. I’ve had some packets of palm oil in ramen before, a curious thick shorting-like fat that I’d never think to call oil. In a moment of odd coincidences, a book I was reading had on a flight back from a recent conference gave me the motivation to get off my duff and try palm oil more seriously.
The essay that gave me the motivation was, ironically enough, “An Ode to Pig” by Bethany Ewald Bultman in “Corn Bread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue”. The essay mentions how lard ended up being a substitute in many African dishes for palm oil. That lead me on a quest to one of our local international grocery stores, World Harvest Food. They didn’t have the block form of palm oil, but they had a less refined and very red bottle of the lumpy red palm oil. It is a wonderful, slightly nutty and sweet fat that I’ve been enjoying. I am now using it in many dishes instead of butter or pork fat and in some cases mixing it with another oil or fat. I’m curious to try it in an avocado-centric dish, but haven’t yet. You can probably use olive oil or shortening in this recipe, but it’s worth seeking out palm oil if you can.
In Jon's professional life he combines a love of books and computers by working as part of Library IT for a large academic library. At home, he explores another love, cooking. Not a vegan himself, he's striving to become a conscientious eater, eating more vegetarian and vegan cooking in his normal diet. An avid cookbook reader, he'll share good vegan recipes he comes across on this blog.
White Bean Soup
Ingredients
2 TB palm oil
2 small leeks or one large leek, sliced
2 shallots, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 medium potato, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced (about two teaspoons)
3 cups white beans, cooked
6 cups vegetable stock
3 cups white beans
1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
Cook the beans ahead of time. You can probably get away with canned beans, but since they’re the main focus of this dish I prefer to cook them ahead of time. I just cook a 1 lb pound bag of white beans by putting them in the slow cooker to soak overnight and filling the slow cooker with water, then setting the slow cooker on low during the day while I work. We have a cheap light timer we use with our slow cooker to set it to cook for about 8 hours. The beans should have a bit of snap when you first bite it, but otherwise be soft. I scoop out three cups for the recipe and freeze half-pound amounts of beans in sandwich bags for other recipes.
Chop up the leeks and shallots. Put two tablespoons of palm oil into a soup pot. I’d say at least an 8 quart pot is needed, but if you’re neater than me you might be able to do it with less. Once the solids have melted and the pan is hot, add the leeks and shallots. If you don’t have leeks and shallots, two or three onions will do. Cook till the leek and shallots become translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. And add the carrots and celery and a dash of salt. Cook until the carrot starts to become tender, about another 5 to 8 minutes or. Add the garlic for about 30 seconds.
Then add the stock, another dash of salt, beans, and potato and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for about 40 minutes to an hour. Make sure that the potatoes are soft. Once they are, puree the soup with a blender and then add the lemon juice.
This recipe is a merger of a couple of recipes I’ve seen for white bean soup. One, from a cookbook I’ve mentioned before on Season of the Vegan, is “Extending the Table”. The other is a cookbook I got recently from the library, “Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food”. Both recipes are similar, but both use pork fat in the dish.
I didn’t want to use olive or vegetable oil, but I’d thought about trying vegetable shortening or palm oil. I’ve had some packets of palm oil in ramen before, a curious thick shorting-like fat that I’d never think to call oil. In a moment of odd coincidences, a book I was reading had on a flight back from a recent conference gave me the motivation to get off my duff and try palm oil more seriously.
The essay that gave me the motivation was, ironically enough, “An Ode to Pig” by Bethany Ewald Bultman in “Corn Bread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue”. The essay mentions how lard ended up being a substitute in many African dishes for palm oil. That lead me on a quest to one of our local international grocery stores, World Harvest Food. They didn’t have the block form of palm oil, but they had a less refined and very red bottle of the lumpy red palm oil. It is a wonderful, slightly nutty and sweet fat that I’ve been enjoying. I am now using it in many dishes instead of butter or pork fat and in some cases mixing it with another oil or fat. I’m curious to try it in an avocado-centric dish, but haven’t yet. You can probably use olive oil or shortening in this recipe, but it’s worth seeking out palm oil if you can.
In Jon's professional life he combines a love of books and computers by working as part of Library IT for a large academic library. At home, he explores another love, cooking. Not a vegan himself, he's striving to become a conscientious eater, eating more vegetarian and vegan cooking in his normal diet. An avid cookbook reader, he'll share good vegan recipes he comes across on this blog.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Its alive....ALIVE.....
So, my laptop died a horrible death over the course of the last few weeks. Huge thanks to Carl, who was able to switch out my hard drive and bring my "sweet mathilda" back to life. I was able to save a text copy of my book, but I lost all of my pictures for the book, and the info for the three (yes three) posts that I was working on for here and the one for This Dish Is Veg. Hopefully, over the course of this next week I can rehash what I was working on and get some content up for you lovely folks.
I've only got three weeks left here in South Dakota. I'm hoping to post a "What and Where I'm Eating" log while I'm on the road. It'll be sort of along the same line as what Kristen over at Will Travel for Vegan Food is doing, but without reviews. I've managed to keep up with my travel blog My Journey Back To Me a little better over the past month. It's currently about how I'm in the process of preparing for my adventure to North Carolina. So, if I seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth, you can find me over there. I'll have another delish recipe from Jon's series of Vegan Cooking from a Non-Vegan for you in a day or two.
Have a fantastic week!
I've only got three weeks left here in South Dakota. I'm hoping to post a "What and Where I'm Eating" log while I'm on the road. It'll be sort of along the same line as what Kristen over at Will Travel for Vegan Food is doing, but without reviews. I've managed to keep up with my travel blog My Journey Back To Me a little better over the past month. It's currently about how I'm in the process of preparing for my adventure to North Carolina. So, if I seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth, you can find me over there. I'll have another delish recipe from Jon's series of Vegan Cooking from a Non-Vegan for you in a day or two.
Have a fantastic week!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
July Vegan Food Swap
I feel like a slacker, I haven't posted in almost a month. This heat wave and lack of air conditioning have left me feeling uninspired. I've spent most of the month hiding in the basement reading, since its the coolest part of the house. Luckily its the part of the year where a big fresh salad makes the perfect meal. This has saved us from further heating up the house.
I once again participated in the monthly vegan food swap put together by Cat over at The Verdant Life. This month my giftee won't be receiving hers until almost August, as she is currently on vacation. I didn't want to send it and have it languish in the heat as it awaited her arrival home. My box arrived about a week ago from Gina at Vegan Strong, filled with great stuff. Unfortunately due to some technical difficulties with my camera, I can't post any pictures right now. As soon as I get that fixed I'll post them in the comments. My box included an assortment of teas with a Cuppow to drink them from. I'm loving my canning jar to go cup! Gina also included a bag of Somersaults, which I'm now hooked on, and a couple of snack bars. Thanks so much Gina!
I once again participated in the monthly vegan food swap put together by Cat over at The Verdant Life. This month my giftee won't be receiving hers until almost August, as she is currently on vacation. I didn't want to send it and have it languish in the heat as it awaited her arrival home. My box arrived about a week ago from Gina at Vegan Strong, filled with great stuff. Unfortunately due to some technical difficulties with my camera, I can't post any pictures right now. As soon as I get that fixed I'll post them in the comments. My box included an assortment of teas with a Cuppow to drink them from. I'm loving my canning jar to go cup! Gina also included a bag of Somersaults, which I'm now hooked on, and a couple of snack bars. Thanks so much Gina!
Getting it together....
Sorry I've fallen off the face of the earth this past month. Life has been crazy. I'm planning to get my July Food Swap post up later today and hopefully a recipe or two posted by the weekend. I have however been posting over at My Journey Back To Me, its my new blog about my upcoming trip across the US. I also have a new post up at This Dish Is Vegetarian, if you need a recipe fix. Thanks for reading, folks! Vegan Love!
Friday, July 6, 2012
June's Vegan Food Swap
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Weekly Ramblings and Pineapple Mango Salsa...
It's been a busy week thus far, which makes me even happier that I have a three day weekend to look forward to. This past Saturday's Bountiful Basket brought with it lots of amazing fresh fruit. We got bananas, a pineapple, and a watermelon from small farms in Mexico, and plums and apricots from California. We also received a five pound bag of potatoes from a small farm in Idaho as well as many other goodies. Though I know it would be better for the environment for us to buy local produce, there still hasn't been much at the farmer's market. I plan to go down this weekend and see if we've moved past the jams, meat, and crafts portion of the year and on into the veggies and fruit portion. It would be nice to buy local every other week and from BB on the off weeks, so we could support both while still getting good variety.
I started my travel blog that will document my journey to John C. Campbell Folk School. You can find it at My Journey Back To Me. I plan to try and keep up with both blogs while I'm working as the Student Host at JCCFS. I'm fairly certain that I'll be mostly posting on my travel blog though.
Since its summer time I thought I'd include one of my favorite salsa recipes. This Pineapple Mango Salsa is quick, easy, and perfect on a hot summer day.
Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until desired texture is met. Let set 1 hour and enjoy.
I started my travel blog that will document my journey to John C. Campbell Folk School. You can find it at My Journey Back To Me. I plan to try and keep up with both blogs while I'm working as the Student Host at JCCFS. I'm fairly certain that I'll be mostly posting on my travel blog though.
Since its summer time I thought I'd include one of my favorite salsa recipes. This Pineapple Mango Salsa is quick, easy, and perfect on a hot summer day.
Pineapple Mango Salsa
1 cup Fresh Pineapple
1 cup Fresh Mango
4 cloves Garlic
2 Jalapenos, seeded
1/2 cup Cilantro leaves
1/2 cup Green Onions, chopped
2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
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