Happy Halloween; Your treat: Gorilla Reunion

I once heard one child say to another, as they passed my house on Halloween, "don't go there, they always give out raisins." Ouch. I LIKE raisins, but I guess I'm living in an alternate universe, and Halloween requires better treats. So for a couple of years I gave in and just bought bags of "regular" candy. But I couldn't keep up that kind of nonsense. Then I found treat bags of pretzels and the kids seemed pleased with those, but the cute bags of pretzels are hard to come by, so here's what we're offering tonight to the trick-or-treaters, should any appear. There are Endangered Species Chocolates, Clif Kids Fruit Ropes and Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops. All of which will be welcome at our house should there be any leftovers!



For your treat, I'm giving you this video. It's pretty remarkable, and I hope you like it.

This is my final mofo post for 2011, one of 22. Don't forget to enter to win the Rabbit Food Cookbook on post 21! And to also check the other blogs on the Rabbit Food Cookbook virtual book tour.

October 24—Cake Maker to the Stars

October 25—Cook Vegan Lover

October 26—Bake and Destroy

October 27—Carrie on Vegan

October 28—Vegancraftastic

October 29—Manifest Vegan

October 30—This blog

October 31—Vegansaurus

Rabbit Food Cookbook virtual tour and giveaway; Curry tofu & Peas

When I was asked if I'd like to participate in a virtual book tour for Beth Barnett's Rabbit Food Cookbook, of course I said yes. Although I don't consider myself a rabbit, I do have a cookbook collection that requires frequent feeding, and seems to multiply like rabbits. In exchange for my review, I got another cookbook to add to my collection, and a deadline of today, which is good, because although I'm mildly addicted to acquiring cookbooks, I'm not particularly compelled to use them. If you know what I mean. If you've been following the tour, you probably already know all about the cookbook and wish you could have one, too. Well, maybe you can, if you live in the U.S. or Canada. After reading the review, leave a comment mentioning what most attracts you to the book, or just leave a comment about anything, if you prefer. On Friday, Nov. 4, I'll randomly select a cookbook winner from all the commentators, and it may be you! Be sure your comment links back to an email address where you can be reached.

The book's handy size (5-1/2 by 7-1/2) and spiral binding, make it a pleasure to use, and the winsome illustrations add to the fun, but there's serious information inside the 223 page volume. Barnett provides excellent background information on why choosing a plant-based diet may be optimal for both us, and the planet. From The Food Supply in Perspective, to Health and Nutrition Considerations, to The Industrialization of Food in America, she's got it covered. There's even a section on how to prepare and maintain a garden, as well as instructions for making shopping and produce bags. Add Ingredient Tips, Essential Equipment and Measurements, and you've got plenty of useful advice to help you make the most of the recipes. Most of the recipes seem like the kind of tasty, everyday dishes that can be whipped up pretty easily without a lot of time or exotic ingredients. You'll find recipes for every meal — Waffles, Crumbly Coffee Cake, Crunchy Broccoli Salad, Balsamic Veggies and Potatoes, Seitan Walnut Quinoa, Tofu Knishes, Pasta With White Beans and Special Chocolate Cake — to name just a few of the 90 choices.



I chose to taste test Curry Tofu & Peas, because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, and because another reviewer beat me to making Chickpea Masala. I added the optional coconut milk but was sorry — the flavors were more intense before I added it, and it didn't seem to add anything to the dish. I'd definitely leave it out next time. I added the cashews, too, but left them whole.


Posted with permission.

If you've somehow missed the rest of the tour, you can catch up here:

October 24—Cake Maker to the Stars

October 25—Cook Vegan Lover

October 26—Bake and Destroy

October 27—Carrie on Vegan

October 28—Vegancraftastic

October 29—Manifest Vegan

October 30—You are here.

October 31—Vegansaurus

Full disclosure: A review copy of Rabbit Food Cookbook was provided to me free of charge by Sasquatch Books, Seattle. I was not paid to write a review, nor was I threatened with bodily harm if I didn't write one.

What to eat when there's "nothing" to eat; My cat friend; A boy and his dog

I haven't been cooking a lot lately — or maybe I should say I haven't been cooking carefully followed recipes or composed dishes. It's been more "get-'er done" cooking, which isn't to say it hasn't been relatively healthy or tasty — just fast, and without much pre-planning. Someone once told me I should post these dinners, so here are images from the last two nights. Above is one of my favorite fast meals. It basically consists of Asian rice noodles, which I love for their taste, texture and speed of cooking, tofu, and whatever veggies I have on hand — in this case, broccoli, bok choy and mushrooms. The topping is black sesame seeds and shriacha. (I used Shark brand sriracha, which I've heard is most like the traditional sriracha used in Thailand, and unlike Rooster brand, it contains no preservatives. It's a little sweet for my taste but I use it anyway.) This meal in a bowl made me very full and happy.



Last night's dinner was a soft corn tortilla warmed in the wok, and filled with kidney beans and lightly sautéed cabbage. The beans were from a can, and chipotle in adobo and frozen corn were added to the pot as they heated. Also added were oregano and chili powder. And jarred Food for Lovers vegan queso. This turned out to be really good, and I overate. Tsk.



I have a cat friend. She (I assume she's a she) comes to visit occasionally, and if I happen to be home and see her sitting outside the glass door from the deck to the kitchen, I invite her in for a snack and a cuddle. I have no idea who she is or where she lives, but she seems healthy, well-fed and in good condition. She doesn't have a collar with ID. Personally, for many reasons I won't go into here, I believe that city cats should be house cats. I don't buy into the "cats should be free to roam" theory. All of my cats, even the one I rescued, covered in ice on a winter day, became contented house cats. I've known too many cats, both city and country cats, who died under the wheels of a car, disappeared, or became ill while they were "free." And there are birds to consider.



I'm a sucker for tender portrayals of people and animals — especially kids and loving, devoted dogs. Can you watch this and not shed a tear?

..............................................................................................


You may have noticed the Rabbit Food Cookbook blog tour happening this week on a blog near you. The "tour" officially started Monday, and will hit this blog on Oct. 30, with a review of The Rabbit Food Cookbook, and a giveaway. Here is a schedule so you can follow along during the week—hopefully discovering some great new blogs, and entering giveaways to win a copy of the book!

October 24—Cake Maker to the Stars

October 25—Cook Vegan Lover

October 26—Bake and Destroy

October 27—Carrie on Vegan

October 28—Vegancraftastic

October 29—Manifest Vegan

October 30—Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking

October 31—Vegansaurus

Antonio Bandaras and The Happy Herbivore Cookbook

I had kind of a strange dream the other night. I had just been hired to work in a daycare center where parents left their kids while they worked or shopped at the mall. The odd thing was the kids were high school-aged students, not pre-schoolers. The students were well dressed and attractive, and were from various expensive prep schools, and they were not very amenable to following directions from the teachers. At one point I noticed the students going to the school kitchen and getting food, though a scheduled meal was not being served. I went to ask the other teacher, who happened to be Antonio Banderas, if that was OK, and saw that he seemed kind of harassed, and was rolling beans into tortillas, making burritos to serve the students.



I couldn't help but notice that the beans he was using were from the same chili recipe my husband and I had just made from The Happy Herbivore cookbook. It was awkward asking him stupid procedural questions because, um, he was Antonio Bandaras. He LOOKED like Antonio Bandaras, and SOUNDED like Antonio Bandaras so, as you can imagine, it was quite distracting. He was very nice, but so busy rolling the burritos he didn't really have time to chat, and seeing as I was pretty flustered anyway, I didn't try to make conversation. That's all I remember about the dream — or at least all I'm willing to tell you —so let's just talk about the cookbook.

To be honest, I've had a hard time writing a review of the cookbook because when I first received it from the publisher, we tried a few recipes and didn't like them. Go figure. I know there will always be recipes in a cookbook that don't appeal to me, so after taking a little break from the cookbook, we tried again. So many bloggers are cooking from The Happy Herbivore and loving it, I had to give it another shot. We made the Chili sans Carne and it was delicious. (And as you can see, it might inspire great dreams!) The chili seems pretty typical of the kind of recipes you'll find in the book — familiar, easy-to-prepare vegan comfort food — but without added fat, except for the fat that may be contained in prepared ingredients like Thai chili sauce or ... chocolate chips. Lindsay Nixon aims to provide delicious, healthy, low-fat foods that don't remind you with every bite that your dinner is healthy and low in fat.



When I made the chocolate zucchini muffins, I was really worried about how they would turn out, with no added fat except for a few chocolate chips. They were excellent — moist and tender. I served them for dessert, and everyone who ate one loved it. Although I don't cook fat-free, I generally cook relatively low-fat, low-sugar and low-salt foods, and though the muffins had no added fat, they did call for a range of 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar. While I usually use 1/4 cup of sugar for muffins, for these I used 1/2 cup, to stay true to the recipe. (Sometimes no-fat recipes tend to have more sugar and salt to compensate for the flavor and texture fat usually adds, but in general, this doesn't seem to be the case with The Happy Herbivore.) Because the muffins were so low in fat, I decided to continue the healthy theme and frost them with a version of sweet potato frosting, that I originally found on Diet Dessert and Dogs. Trust me, you can't tell this fudge-y frosting is sweet potato-based, and it makes me feel a little healthier knowing I'm not eating big mouthfuls of margarine and powdered sugar. The other little change I made was to use whole spelt flour instead of wheat.



The last recipe I tried was a pumpkin pie that makes its own crust. I love pumpkin pie a lot, and I still like my old version better, but this one was quite good, and my guests really loved it. I sprinkled it with chocolate chips for a little extra pizazz. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this might be a recipe to keep in mind. It's a much lower-fat interpretation of pumpkin pie that the usual crusted version, and I'll probably make it again for Thanksgiving.

In addition to low-fat renditions of all your favorite dishes, Lindsay offers a whole selection of interesting condiments and spice mixes (Berberé, Cajun essence, vegan Worcestershire sauce, etc.) to add flavor and excitement to food. Anyone wishing to reduce their fat consumption might enjoy this cookbook, but I think it would be an especially good resource for new vegans looking to create healthier meals while still enjoying old favorites.

I tend to cook with very little fat, and sometimes cook with no added fat, but I'm not by any means fat-free. We're bombarded with so much information, research, and expert opinions about what we should or shouldn't eat, it can get truly confusing. Is coconut oil a panacea or a highly saturated fat to avoid? Is olive oil a health-giving fat or just an unnecessary fat? Should we avoid sunflower oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil? What about margarine like Earth Balance? Should we be cooking fat-free or is it OK to sauté veggies in 2 teaspoons of oil? What do you think?

Disclaimer: The book was sent to me free of charge by the publisher. I was under no obligation to review it, or to write a favorable review. For reasons unknown to me, I was not offered payment in exchange for writing a review.

What is chicken soup and why is it so funny?

When my oldest son was four or five, he learned for the first time about chicken soup. Laughing hysterically, he told me that so-and-so had eaten chicken soup. "Can you believe that, Mom? He ate chicken soup." He found the idea of eating chicken soup hilarious, and I had to wonder, why was my vegan child, who knew perfectly well that we didn't eat chickens, so amused at the idea of others eating them. He ran off into another room to play, and I scratched my head.

Aha! I called him back. "What is chicken soup?" I asked. He looked at me gleefully and said with giggles, "Soup that chickens eat!"

Should vegans take vitamins?

Just remember to always look for vegan vitamins, and make sure your partner takes as many vitamins as you do. And share the housework! (Sexist ad, I know, but typical for the time period.)

Seriously, there's a lot of discussion about whether or not a well-balanced diet provides enough vitamins and minerals without the need for supplements. Vegan diets, especially, are subject to scrutiny. After much reading and research, I made the decision long ago to take vitamins. I take a vegan multivitamin and mineral tablet without iron, vitamin D2 tablet, and calcium tablets, which also contain C, D2, K, MK-7, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, potassium, boron. Every two or three days I take a methyl B-12 chewable tablet. Occasionally I get inspired by something I've read to take something else like silica or CoQ10, but usually I give it up fairly quickly and just go back to my standard regimen. Do you take supplements?

Here's a new report on research concerning multivitamins and increased mortality in older women. It's sure hard to know what research to trust and what the best plan is.

Pure pleasure, 50s style —What were they thinking?

The text reads:

This young man is 11 months old—and he isn't our youngest customer by any means.

For 7-Up is so pure, so wholesome you can even give it to babies and feel good about it. Look at the back of a 7-Up bottle. Notice that all our ingredients are listed. That isn't required of soft drinks, you know—but we're proud to do it and we think you're pleased that we do.

By the way Mom, when it comes to toddlers—if they like to be coaxed to drink their milk, try this. Add 7-Up to the milk in equal parts, pouring the 7-Up gently into the milk. It's a wholesome combination—and it works!

I just want to say, please, vegan parents, use non-dairy milk.



Did people really do this? Can you imagine what would happen if an add like this were to appear today?

Souperb chowder: a corny play in two acts

ACT I
Scene 1
Two people are seated at a dining room table. The table is covered with newspapers and mail, which the two are reading. The clock reads 6:00 p.m.

He: What do you think we should have for supper?
She: I don't know. I saw a soup recipe on a blog that looked good. Why don't you make that.
He: Do we have the ingredients?
She: I don't know. I'll go print out the recipe.

She leaves the room.

Scene 2
She comes back with the recipe and He goes into the kitchen and putters about.

He: We have all the ingredients so I guess I'll make the soup.
She: Cool.

Act II
Conclusion
The table is set with two steaming bowls of beautiful, golden soup filled with corn, peppers, potatoes, beans, etc. He and She are seated at the table. He tastes the soup.

He: The soup is good.
She: Was it hard to make?
He: No.

She tastes the soup.

She: OMG. The soup is amazing, fantastic. I can't believe how rich and fabulous the flavor is; like it's been cooking for hours. I really love it. I LOVE IT. We should keep the recipe handy and make it again soon. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Wonderful.
He: Yeah. Good soup.

The End

Sometimes you just know when you read a recipe that the result will taste delicious. That's how I felt when I saw Helen's recipe for Southwestern corn chowder on her blog, Vegtastic. Helen used fresh corn for her chowder, but we used frozen corn and it still came out great. I recommend you scoot over to Helen's blog and try the chowder. It's souper good!

So ends Vegan MoFo week 1, at least for me since I will only be blogging weekdays. Next week my theme will revolve around food and humor — as in, funny but not funny.

Do you want cake?

Lovely lemon pound cake with blueberry topping

My daughter-in-law is not a vegetarian, but she goes out of her way to find delicious vegan recipes to serve to her veg family members. And that includes cake. She used to claim that she wasn't a good baker, but I don't think anyone who has tried her confections would believe that. Her vegan cakes are amazing.


Dad is Great chocolate cake

She found a copy of Kris Holechek's baking book, "Have Your Cake and Vegan Too" at the library, and created fabulous cakes, two of which I've pictured here.



I think you should go buy this book, but if you want a little taste first, you can go to Amazon and take a peek inside the book. There are quite a few recipes you can look at — or try — to get a feel for the book. (I get nothing for sending you there. I'm just providing a convenient link.) Happy baking!

Real Chinese Food part 1

My plate at Katrina's house

I was reading a fabulous post on Vegan Culinary Crusade about a dining extravaganza in San Francisco, and the question at the end of the post was, "What is the most mind-blowing vegan meal you've ever eaten?" Well, because the post was about a restaurant meal, it made me think about all the great vegan meals I've ever had in restaurants. There have been many, but the one that always pops into my head first was a wonderful and unusual Chinese dinner we had on one of our vacation road trips.


Celery and asparagus with marinated tofu

When the kids were younger and still at home, our favorite summer vacation was to pile the kids, cooler and camping equipment into the car and head far away to a beautiful National Park for a week or two of camping and hiking. Once we got to the park, of course, we lived in our tent and cooked and ate outside, but on the way, we stayed in motels, fixed our own breakfasts and lunches, and tried to find suitable vegan restaurants for dinner en route.


Wide rice noodles with tofu and vegetables

We tried to plan dinner stops in towns with vegan-friendly restaurants, but that wasn't always possible, especially back in the "olden days" when vegans and vegan-friendly accommodations were pretty scarce. We were driving through Montana on one of our trips, and I'd previously read a review of a Chinese restaurant in Butte that sounded good. I don't know what Butte is like now, but back then, well, it wasn't exactly a hotbed of vegetarianism. Nor was Montana in general. We weren't staying in Butte, but passing through at dinner time, and the Chinese restaurant sounded like the best option for miles around.


Bok choy with garlic

When we finally spotted the restaurant, we were a little uncertain. It seemed kind of remote from the town, and looked like it needed to be rebuilt, if you know what I mean. We hemmed and hawed, then, mostly out of the necessity of feeding five hungry people — three of them kids — we went inside. Our confidence was not restored when the first thing we saw was a sign from the Health Department warning customers to drink the water at their own risk, with a long list of contaminants. A Chinese dinner without water? Was that even possible?


Lotus root

Once at our table, we perused the menu, and things were definitely not looking up, but I am an optimist, and the waiter was so nice. I explained that we were vegetarians and wanted food with no blah blah blah. You know the drill.

"Vegetarians? Vegetarians?" he asked, with glee and a big smile. I didn't know how to interpret his reaction. Did he find this amusing? Then he said, "The cooks are all vegetarians six days a week. They eat meat on the seventh day, you know, to keep up their strength. They love to cook vegetarian but not many vegetarians around here, so they never get the chance, except for themselves. I asked him what we should order, and he said not to worry, the cooks would make us a good meal.


Tofu stuffed with mushrooms (much smaller than it looks here!)

We were giddy with anticipation and surprise. This was so unexpected. That night we were served an amazing dinner with dish after dish of what I think of as "real" Chinese food. It was unlike anything we had ever had in any other restaurant, and I dreamed about the flavors for a long, long time. I can't even remember what we ate that night, or even the name of the restaurant, but I'll never forget the delight of tasting each forkful.


Spinach and tofu soup

I have a similar reaction whenever I eat at the home of our friend Katrina, who is from China. The photos you're seeing (not so great ones from my phone camera) are from a meal we had at her home this past summer. Everything was exceptional as always. Sadly, I don't have recipes for any of Katrina's dishes from this past summer, but I'm including a link to recipes for two of her other dishes (spinach and tofu soup, and Katrina's cold noodles with ginger and nori), that appeared in a past post, and both are worth revisiting.


Cold noodles with ginger and seasoned nori