The Zucchini Times - Chick Pea Salad

Yea, I know - there's no zucchini in chick pea salad. There is when you're eating your harvest and the cukes aren't ripe yet!  - and it's actually pretty darned good :)

Chick Pea Salad with Zucchini
1 15 oz can chick peas (garbanzo beans - organic if you can)
1 small onion, diced
1 small tomato, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
4 basil leaves, torn
1 lemon, juice and zest
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 chive, diced (if you have it)
1 pinch crushed red pepper
salt and black pepper to taste

Put first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Mix next 5 ingredients in a jar and shake to mix. Pour jar into bowl and add salt & pepper as needed.

Great side dish or lunch :)

Peace,
DharmaDogsFarm

Going Vegan: It's been a week

I'm really feeling pretty good - and liking following my own beliefs a lot more. Danny and I have really had a great week, though occasionally stressing a little over 'what to eat.' The truth is, when you eat vegetarian, you can make an entire meal out of anything you have a lot of, and other staples from the kitchen. For real, you ALWAYS can make an awesome meal - use your creativity, or search a good vegetarian cookbook.

When eating vegan, it's almost as easy - check for animal products - dairy, cheese, honey, dry milk, eggs, egg powder or beaters. Veganism goes a lot further than what you eat. There are animal products in body care products, your clothing, household products - a LOT of things. In this way, I am not vegan yet. I have leather shoes, use a lotion I see has dry milk as an ingredient, I haven't done the research on every single thing I use in my daily life - I did even find my favorite vegetarian cheese contains a bit of casein - which makes it NOT vegan. I've been using rice cheese substitutes, and they do not at all compare - don't believe what is on the package - I haven't found a rice cheese that melts yet.

Okay, so tonight, we have our first ripe tomato :) It's a beefsteak, and we're having  BLTs - I've got homemade wheat bread, Lightlife veggie bacon,  and vegan nayonnaise. We're having homemade french fries (baked potato strips) and vegan cole slaw (previous recipe) and fresh canteloupe.

Two more weeks - who knows?

Peace,
michele

Preserving the Harvest: Freezing Beans

We could can green beans, but we like the texture and flavor of freezing them a lot more. We do our best to can and dry much of the harvest so we use as little energy as possible (none) to store it. There are some things though, like beans, that just taste better frozen.

Wash your beans. De-stem and snap, if desired. If it has been a muddy harvest, wash again.

Set a large pot of water to boil. When you are happy with the cleanliness of your green beans, submerge them into the boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes (depending on the size of the beans).

Remove beans to a towel and allow to cool completely.

Divide into amounts you will need for a meal and place in heavy freezer bags (we've not been able to come up with a more ecological solution for this). Squeeze out as much air as you can and zip closed.

Label and freeze.

Another vegetable that is surprisingly good this way is beets. Wash and roast beets in a 350-degree oven or a grill. Peel, de-stem/root, and cut into the size you would like. Cool completely and freeze in heavy freezer bags. When you want these in the middle of winter, remove from freezer bag and place in 350-degree oven. They will taste like you just roasted them in about 20 minutes!

Corn is usually best frozen, as are cole crops - broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts. I steam all sorts of greens, from spinach and chard, to beet greens and dandelions, and be sure to press all of the water out and freeze in small batches.

Peace,
DharmaDogsFarm

Going Vegan - Day 6

I'm really happy with the way I eat, but still not sure I'm really vegan. That said, I had an awesome vegan dinner and desert :)

I made a totally vegan cheeseburger sub - with vegan mayo, tofutti american cheese, and Boca burgers. It was AWESOME :) The chips are UTZ reduced calorie Sour Cream and Onion - made with whey, they actually have protein content. I had peanut butter swirl coconut ice cream for desert and it ROCKED :)

I think you can find products to make anything you want vegan. I was completely satisfied with this Friday night dinner - it's low calorie, nothing bad for you , and vegan. :)

Going Vegan - Day 4 - I think I can

I feel really good - and I'm not really missing cheese :) Danny is really being very supportive. He got me a new book - The Vegan Table: 200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and we are finding tons of yummy recipes. This book helped me get over my first fear - that my favorite staple food, pizza, would be off limits. She has several vegan pizza recipes in the book that inspire much more flavorful pies. I am starting to wonder why I ever liked the cheese-laden slices I was used to eating. There are also some good recipes for 'cheese' sauces, cheese block and tempeh bacon, which will come in handy when those tomatoes get ripe!

I also check VegWeb.com quite a bit. There are very inventive recipes here for just about anything you could crave - including vegan fried chicken - hmmm.

I've found that I have to eat a lot more to keep my blood sugar stable, but I'm eating mostly fruits and veggies. I've been so busy that I haven't experimented too much with different recipes. I'm really happy with what I've tried so far.

The only cheese issue I really am having is eating out. We are going out for dinner one day next week to our favorite restaurant, where I have several vegetarian favorites - but they all have cheese. I'm not sure what to order.

Peace,
michele

The Zucchini Times - BBQ Sandwich with Vegan Cole Slaw

I love barbecue tofu sandwiches - we decided to use a zucchini in this also and the result was a moister, very yummy sandwich. I blogged about this one in my Going Vegan adventures.

BBQ Tofu and Zucchini Sandwich
1 cake extra firm tofu, pressed to drain off extra liquid (freezing first works wonders), thickly sliced
1 medium zucchini, cut in half, then sliced lengthwise (peel if you'd like)
1/2 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce

Arrange the tofu and zucchini slices in a shallow pan or on a cookie sheet. Brush all sides with barbeque sauce and allow to marinate for about 20 minutes. Light your grill or warm the grill pan. Place the zucchini and tofu directly on the grill - brush with barbeque sauce. Watch carefully, they will not take long. Turn and brush frequently until all are caramelized. Remove from grill and keep warm.

Assemble the sandwich
We used a whole grain wheat bun, topped with a slice of zucchini, two slices of tofu, about 1/4 cup of vegan cole slaw (recipe follows), and a homemade dill pickle (my brother's recipe). Feel free to slather with additional barbeque sauce if you'd like.

Vegan Cole Slaw
1/4 head of green cabbage, shredded
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons soy milk
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon celery salt
Black pepper

Mix mayo, milk, vinegar, sugar, and celery seed and whisk until smooth. Pour over cabbage and carrots in bowl - mix and add black pepper to taste.

Enjoy!
Peace,
DharmaDogsFarm

Goin Vegan - Day 2 - Messed up Already

Today went pretty good - I even slightly noticed I was feeling a little better - well, at least until the total mental breakdown (work related, not food).

For breakfast, Kashi Golden Goodness with soy milk and tea with soy creamer - this is pretty standard workday quick breakfast, so I won't repeat myself.

Lunch was a vegan Boca burger with leftover vegan cole slaw and a slice of Rice Vegan cheese. Don't believe what they tell you on the label - Rice Vegan does NOT melt. Okay, so I haven't yet found a way to make it melt.

Dinner was awesome - we picked the rest of the spring lettuce in the garden, an onion, and a cucumber we didn't realize was there (no, it wasn't huge). We also grabbed a few basil leaves and some chives and tossed these in with our green salad. We had leftover chick pea salad and a slice of homemade wheat bread with this.

So, where did I screw up? I normally make my own salad dressing. I was tired tonite (remember the breakdown?) and just drizzled some Newman's Own Family Italian on my salad, since that is what Danny was using. It wasn't until later that I realized there was romano cheese in the dressing. What? Yea, of course there is, but I hadn't thought of it until later.

It's okay - I better planned for tomorrow!