"Turkey" Pot Pie

I really love pot pie. This one is mostly homemade. I really like using canned potatoes because they keep their firm texture without becoming mushy. Cook your own and feel free to make your own pie crust. I am using premade for time.






"Turkey" Pot Pie
2 medium carrots, chopped into cubes
3 mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 small stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c frozen peas
1 (15oz) can potatoes, drained and cubed
2-2 1/2 c chopped "chicken" or "turkey" seitan- See bottom for alternatives
Cavender's seasoning
pinch dried thyme, crushed with your fingers
poultry seasoning (there's no poultry in it!)
salt and pepper to taste

Gravy
1/4 c oil
1/2 c flour
1/4 c nutritional yest
2-2 1/2 c broth
1/2 c soy milk OR extra broth

*Storebought or homemade pie crust OR vegan puff pastry, thawed according to directions (watch for lard if buying. A lot of store brands are cheap and made with vegetable oil)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*While cooking vegetables, after oven is preheated, you can loosen the crust from the tin by putting in the oven for 5 minutes.

Saute carrots until slightly tender.
Add mushrooms, celery, onion, and garlic until onion is tender, adding poultry seasoning, thyme and cavender's to taste.

Place mixture in bowl and add peas and potatoes.

Saute seitan until crispy, adding seitan broth or other broth for flavor. Season to taste.
Add to vegetable mixture in bowl.

Gravy:
Heat oil in the pan you cooked the seitan in and add flour, and nutritional yeast. Stir well until flour is toasty and fragrant. Do not burn. It will not be a roux, but crumbly and coarse. Using the same pan as the seitan will pick up all the nice flavorful bits the seitan left behind.
Slowly add broth. It will seize into a thick mixture but keep whisking and adding liquid slowly. Add soymilk after broth for a creamier gravy. It's up to you.

Add gravy mixture to seitan and vegetable mixture and mix well. Place in a sprayed nonstick 9x9 2"deep pan and top with puff pastry or pie crust**. I did it in pieces.

For puff pastry, follow directions as follows, but carefully unfold the puff pastry (it will be in thirds) and place on top. Do not mess too much with it or it will be tough.
Cook for about 20 minutes, until crust is golden. May need to adjust for puff pastry.


********
Seitan Alternatives- Be sure to properly season.
-The cheapest one is probably tofu. Try freezing tofu then thawing and squeezing out the extra moisture. It will be like a sponge in appearance and ability to hold water, and it will be chewy when cooked.
- Tempeh- you can marinate some tempeh and saute
-Soy protein chunks/TVP- reconstitute and saute
-Veggie sausage crumbles or whole sausage pieces
-Bean patties or loose beans
-Squash such as butternut squash, in chunks

Fried Green Tomatoes and Greek Tofu Scramble

Both of these are freestyle so please forgive my measurements if mentioned.

I was watching Fried Green Tomatoes the other day, and decided to make some since I've never had them. I looked online and it appeared to be a basic dry-wet-dry recipe so that's what I did. I changed it up a bit by doing panko instead of bread crumbs or more flour.



Fried Green Tomatoes
We bought green tomatoes at a vegetable stand we have here. You have to be careful to not slice them too thin. You want something to grab on to and eat, so slice pretty thick.

Dry: All Purpose Flour seasoned with Seasoned Salt, pepper, and whatever you like.
Wet: Soy Milk with a splash vinegar added. Let it sit a few minutes and curdle. Stir it with your fork. It should be really thick. This acts as buttermilk.
Dry: Panko bread crumbs. They are widely available now, not just in Asian markets. Though you'll get a better deal at the Asian Market. If you don't have panko, just use the seasoned flour again.

Use one hand for wet, the other for dry. It makes it a lot easier.
Dip the tomato in the flour, then the "buttermilk", then the panko and fry in vegetable/canola oil in a cast iron skillet until light brown on each side.

I served this with ketchup and a horseradish sauce (just freestyled a little sour cream, mayo, horseradish, dijon, salt, and pepper).

Greek Tofu Scramble



1 Package (14-16oz) extra firm tofu, pressed
small handful kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
3-4 green olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 small tomato, seeded and chopped
handful of mushroom, chopped roughly
Cavender's Seasoning, to taste
1/4 c or so shredded Follow Your Heart Mozzarella (totally optional)
few good pinches nutritional yeast
Fresh pepper
turmeric for color
fresh parsley if you have it

Drain and press tofu as mentioned. In a large skillet, heat a little oil/margarine and cook the mushrooms until softened.
Add tofu, squeezing it through your fingers. Some large chunks are fine.
Add olives, tomato, and optional cheese with the tofu and cook a few minutes.
Add seasonings and nutritional yeast and cook until nutritional yeast is mixed in well.
Finish with parsley.

Mediterranean Feast, Chocolate "Cheese" Pie

I wanted to make a nice Mediterranean Dinner but didn't have all day so I cheated a little. The Avgolemono Soup was from FreckleFoot over at PPK. It's delicious! Lemony and creamy and rich. The Hummus is from VCON. I added extra paprika and olive oil at the end. The dolmas and eggplant appetizer are canned and from the Middle Eastern market we have here. They were really good, especially for a canned appetizer.

Soup! (The picture doesn't do it justice but we were hungry!)

Plate,Clockwise from left: Dolmas, fried pita, regular pita with homemade tahini sauce, Salad, Hummus, Eggplant


Chocolate "Cheese" Pie
Very similar to one of my other recipes, this one has a layer of cheesecake flavor at the bottom.



Chocolate Cheese Pie
Chocolate Crust (bought or made, I like Oreo)
1/2 or 1 whole tub (8oz) Tofutti Cream Cheese
1/4 or 1/2 c powdered sugar (for 1/2 or whole tub vegan cream cheese, respectively)
1 package silken Mori-Nu Tofu
1 package (about 12 oz/2 cups) vegan chocolate chips
1-3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Let cream cheese come to room temperature and whip with powdered sugar. Spread mixture into the bottom of prepared chocolate crust.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or a glass/ceramic bowl on top of a pot of boiling water. OR if you are careful, I guess you can do it in the microwave. I use the double boiler.

Mix remaining ingredients in a blender very well, scraping down sides. Add melted chocolate chips to blender very carefully, blending very well again. Spread mixture carefully over cream cheese. Refrigerate a few hours. You know it's done when it's firm in the center. Serve with fruit and/or chocolate syrup.

Note- the pie will be pretty tall. You can reduce the chocolate, tofu, syrup, and vanilla by 1/4 if you wish. I let it be. The option for the cream cheese is just if you want more or less cream cheese at the bottom. The one in the picture is the lesser.

Rainy Day French Toast

Whether you are of the maple syrup variety or a powdered sugar purist, french toast hits the spot. Today it's raining outside and there's a smell of cinnamon coming from the kitchen. That might be misleading, because I am actually about 2 feet from the kitchen.
Anyway, I'm making easy french toast. The chickpea flour makes the toast crispy and "eggy". Very simple. Just adjust quantities as needed.

I can't really call this a recipe without being embarrassed, so I'll call it a "method".

All you need is:
Soy/Rice Milk
Chickpea Flour (Besan)
Pinch sugar
Cinnamon
Bread of choice

The only bread I would not advise using is white sliced bread. Bread cut from a loaf (like french bread) would be fine, but a bread like Sunshine or other white pre-sliced bread will probably not hold up.
I use a whole wheat grain bread and I don't even let it get stale first.

To the making! (This makes 2-4 slices of bread)

Place 3-4 Tbsp chickpea flour in a bowl
Pour in a little milk (1/4 cup?) and whisk until most of the lumps are out of the flour.
Add more soy milk (to make about 1 c or less)
Add a generous shake of cinnamon
Add a pinch of sugar

Heat a cast iron skillet and add margarine, oil, or a mix of the two and heat.
Dip each slice of bread on both sides into milk mixture and place in pan.

Don't flip too early, or bread will stick. Once flipped, cook until toasty and done.
Serve with syrup or powdered sugar.

Italian Herb Roasted Corn-Bean Salad, Homemade Pasta

I wanted a simple corn and black bean salad, but was out of black beans and so this came up! I think I like it better than a plain corn and bean salad. The Olive-Tofu Ricotta for the pasta is a very easy variation on the one I regularly make, and today I did a ravioli and tortellini.





Italian Herb Roasted Corn-Bean Salad
1/2 large red onion, roughly chopped
3 ears of fresh corn, husk removed
1 average can white beans (northern, cannelini) drained and rinsed
about 3 Tbsp (more if desired) Italian dressing (I like Balsamic Vinaigrette)
10-15 small button mushrooms (can use other kinds, buttons are cheapest)
1 small sprig rosemary, chopped fine
4-5 large basil leaves, chopped fine
fresh ground pepper
pinch salt
extra salt and olive oil for baking
tamari/soy sauce for baking

Preheat oven to 350
Put corn and onion in a large baking pan and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt/pepper
Put mushrooms in a separate smaller baking pan and add about 1/4 c or less tamari/soy sauce, and drizzle with olive oil.
Let mushrooms, corn, and onion bake for 1 hour.
Remove from oven, cool completely and chill completely.

Cut mushrooms in 1/2, and cut the corn kernels off the ears. Place onions, cut corn, and mushrooms in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and chill further.

Serve with entree and enjoy!


Homemade pasta (Almost Whole Wheat)
This is pretty much entirely Crystal's dough recipe, I just substituted some of the flour for whole wheat pastry flour.

You can do tortellini or ravioli easily. If doing ravioli, be careful and make them small. The large ones break really easily. You can possibly do a fettuccine with a pasta roller; I haven't tried that yet.

Roller

Ricotta Ready To Go

All of them, all of them

All of them, all of them all lined up



Ingredients:
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
2 Tbsp Ener-G Egg Replacer powder completely dissolved in 1/2 c water
6 Tbsp extra water

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Mix all other ingredients together in a small bowl. Make a little hole in the center of the flour and pour in liquids. Bring together with a fork or your hands and knead until flour comes together.
Wrap in plastic and let sit for 1 hour. I refrigerated mine and it still came out fine.

To the rolling!
I rolled to a 5 on my pasta roller.
Dough will seem rough at first. You will have to roll on level 1 3-4 times. After this, keep rolling on to 2, then 3, then 4, then 5.

Olive Ricotta
1 pack tofu (14-16 oz) drained and pressed
3-4 Tbsp vegan mayo (I use Vegenaise)
Very generous shake Italian seasoning (dried)
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder (give or take)
fresh pepper
pinch sea/kosher salt
small handful green olives, chopped
small handful kalamata or black olives, chopped

Process all ingredients in food processor until smooth but not soupy. Tastes best when chilled for at least 1 hour.

White Chili and Brownies

I'd never had white chili as an omnivore, but the basic concept is a chicken-ish base, green chilis, and white beans. You may want to ease up on the green onions- I am an addict! It's personal preference.
Also, this turned out like a soup instead of an actual "chili". Please note the "***"




White Chili
You Will Need:
1 Tbsp olive oil or oil/margarine mixture
2 small/1 med or lg carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced or minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4-6 c vegan "chicken"/vegetable broth of choice***
1 tsp green Tabasco (opt)
3/4 (approx) corn- cut from the ear, canned, or frozen
1 4oz. can green chiles (keep juice)
2 cans white beans (or about 3 cups if you cook your own)
3-4 stalks green onions (white and green parts), cut up into rings
cilantro for garnish
1 package Morningstar Farms "Chickn" strips, 1 1/2 c "chicken" seitan, or protein of choice
vegan sour cream and/or vegan white cheese, for garnish (opt)

*Heat a stock pan and add oil on MED.
*Saute onions, carrots, and garlic until carrots are softened.
*In a separate pan, cook Chikn strips until crisp in a bit of oil. Set aside and chop roughly.
*Add cumin, oregano, and cayenne to onion mixture and saute 1 min more (spices will become fragrant
*Add stock and bring to a boil
*Reduce heat and add chiles, beans, Tabasco & corn and cover. Cook 10 min
*Add chikn strips and cover, cook 10 min more, adding green onions at the 5 min mark.
*Garnish with desired toppings and enjoy. You can add tortilla chips to the soup, or leave plain.

***4 cups for a thicker soup, 5-6 for a thinner one. I went with 6 cups, but it's up to you.


Brownies! I wish I could say this is my recipe, but alas!
Chunky Monkey Brownies by Beverly Lynn Bennet
Originally published in the May + June 2008 issue of Veg News, found on PPK from Love Like A Vegan. I left out the banana chips and subbed pecans for the cashews. I also served these as work to unsuspecting omnis. Score +2 for veganism (evil laugh). Also, I used cornstarch and it worked as well as the arrowroot (made 2 batches).

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup safflower oil [I used canola]
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 tsp arrowroot (I used corn starch)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup dried banana chips, coarsely chopped (I omitted and these were still great!)
1/3 cup chocolate chips, coarsely chopped
2 tbs dried coconut, shredded
1/4 cup cashews, coarsely chopped (I used pecans)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch square pan [I used an 8 inch) and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, oil, water and vanilla. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder and salt. Stir well to combine.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Evenly scatter banana chips, chocolate chips, cashews and coconut over top and press gently with hands into the batter.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set in the centre. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting into nine squares.

Quiche, Spicy Stuffed Mushrooms, and Chinese "Beef" 2 Ways

The Quiche is from Isa over at Post Punk Kitchen. It was really good and held together well. I had no cashews on hand and it still came out great.

Quiche with Spicy Sausage-Cornbread Stuffed Mushrooms (recipe below)






Bryanna Clark Grogan is invited to my house any day! I have 2 of her books: Nonna's Italian Kitchen and Authentic Chinese Cooking. While I will admit that I enjoy the virtues of a 30-minute meal (or coming home to a meal, hint hint) as much as the next gal, there's nothing wrong with a recipe within a recipe.
Many of Grogan's recipes have a smaller recipe in them and that's fine. She does offer an alternative as well for most of them if you don't have the time. Take the time!
Here is homemade "Beef" seitan from the Chinese Cookbook. I made the Beef and Broccoli (added mushrooms and green onions), had some "beef" left over, and just stir-fried it with some Black Bean Sauce, mushrooms and green onions. Truth be told, this recipe didn't take long at all. Did I also tell you I want to marry green onions? I put them in anything that's not dessert.





Spicy Sausage-Cornbread Stuffed Mushrooms
15-20 mushrooms (I had small)
1/4 pack Gimme Lean Sausage Style
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
about 1 C cornbread-style stuffing
about 3/4-1 C light vegetarian broth of choice
1 Tb earth balance margarine or olive oil

Clean mushrooms. Pop stem out of each mushroom and dice small.
In a large skillet/pan, heat earth balance and place mushrooms in stem side up, browning, and flipping over. Moisture will come out of the caps when flipped over and that's fine.

When mushrooms are evenly browned on both sides (but still firm), remove from pan and place stem side up in a baking pan.

Add sausage, fennel, red pepper, and mushroom stems to the cooking pan. Brown sausage and chop while cooking. Add Earth Balance if necessary.

Ad stuffing and broth, and remove and let cool down to handling temperature.

Stuff each mushroom by grabbing a small handful of stuffing, squeezing it to compact it, and placing in mushroom caps. Bake all mushrooms at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. I served them with Campbell's Mushroom Gravy

Avocado Pie-Sicles and Some Soup

You know when you are looking around in some shops and you're like "man, I wish I could have that chocolate covered cheesecake". Well, that's what I was trying to recreate. Portions are reasonable instead of huge and it's so good!

The avocado pie is being re-worked on veganexplosion. Avocado pie might sound a bit unusual, but it's so good. It has a tart citrus flavor balanced with the creaminess of cream "cheese". You can taste the avocado, but I promise it's great! I had setting issues but her avocado pie made a great frozen pie. so it didn't really matter at all. I decided to cut the pieces and make chocolate covered pops! There aren't enough dunked food on sticks. Vegan, anyway.

Cut pie into pieces and place in pop sticks (I used Wilton brand. You can use wooden sticks or omit altogether. The sticks make it easier to cover, though!) Place back in freezer while you heat the chocolate.


This is a makeshift double broiler. I used about 1/2 bag of chocolate chips and 1 Tbsp. vegan creamer. Melt to a smooth even melted consistency.



Dunk, spoon over, whatever you wish. I like leaving some green!


Place back in freezer until chocolate is totally set


ENJOY!


SOUP!
Like most of my recipes, you use what you have. This is what I had on hand!



1 Package Chik'n Strips (Morningstar Farms)
1 med. onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 large or 4 small carrots, chopped
2 pieces yellow squash
2 ears of corn, cut
4 stalks green onion, chopped
8-10 cups vegetable of vegan "chicken" stock
poultry seasoning
handful of pasta
frozen peas.

Saute onion, carrot, and celery until softened and add squash and cook until squash is softened. Season with poultry seasoning and salt.

Meanwhile, prepare your broth and cook your pasta. (I use pasta water in the broth. It makes the soup a tad thicker). Also, saute chik'n strips and chop.

Add broth to cooked vegetables and add pasta. Add corn and green onions right before serving. Add a handful of frozen peas to each bowl and top with fresh ground pepper.

Simple and hearty.

What is a vegetarian?

As a vegan, I know that labels can be very confusing. It seems some people want to define themselves by labels, JUST to "have" the label, and that's a bad thing.
At other times, however, it's a good thing. A label on something can clarify what it is, what it does. (What's in this filing cabinet? What's in this jar? Is this Kosher? Does it have wheat?)

So, today, we will have a little clarification.

There has been a lot of confusion, much of it perpetuated by people who claim they are vegetarian.
Many people seem to think that "vegetarian" means you don't eat cows. Well, this is true, but it means a lot of other things as well.

Vegetarians do not eat any animals, whether they are fish, chickens/turkeys/other birds, pigs, cats, dogs, monkeys, jungle cougars, elephants, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, cows, clams, or any other creature.

When people say they are vegetarian, but then eat animals, it sets a bad example for a few reasons:

1. The person who is not claiming to be a vegetarian is now confused as to what IS or IS NOT acceptable for a vegetarian to eat. The next time they encounter someone who is vegetarian, they may offer them something with meat in it, thinking it's okay. This is especially true at restaurants.

2. People who know what a vegetarian is will now not take that person seriously, and it hurts the movement, if the person is in animal activism.

3. It is simply not a true statement. Red is not blue, and vegetarians do not eat ANY animals, even for "health" reasons.


This clarification is not to bash people on their way to vegetarianism, or even full omnivores who sometimes skip meat for a meal. It's not because I care so much about the label of "vegetarian" as much as the misuse of it.

Every meatless meal counts. Every step to lessen or eliminate animal suffering and the toll meat takes on this planet is effective, and should be recognized.
I know it's not realistic for every person on this planet to be vegetarian or vegan. If everyone just lessened their meat intake, it would have a big effect!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie for Mother's Day

This day is for you, mamas! Thank you for being there for us!
Birth moms, adoptive moms, step-moms, moms-in-law, moms-to-be. You are all lovely.





This is a very rich chocolate and peanut butter dessert. (It is also very easy!)
Since my mother would inject chocolate if she could, I made it for her. I think she is to blame for my sweet *teeth*!
The caramel recipe is from Isa Moskowitz over at the PPK

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie with Peanut Butter Caramel

1 package silken tofu (like Mori-Nu, in the non-refrigerated pack)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
3-4 Tbsp peanut butter (any kind you like)
1- 12oz bag chocolate chips (check for milk ingredients)
1 pre-made or home-made crumb pie crust (like Oreo, Shortbread, or Graham Cracker)

For the caramel:
1/3 c peanut butter
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp brown rice syrup

To prepare the pie:
Blend tofu, syrup, and peanut butter in a blender until completely smooth.
Melt chocolate chips over a double broiler and add to blender and blend entire mixture again, scraping the sides of the blender if necessary. Pour into prepared crust.

Chill until completely firm then make the caramel:

Stir all the caramel ingredients together in a small sauce pan. Gently heat everything over low heat, stirring constantly with a fork, just until smooth and heated through. It should fall from your fork in ribbons. If it seems stiff, turn the heat off immediately and add a little extra brown rice syrup, until it's fluid again.

Spread caramel over the pie and chill again. Makes a decent amount of serving because it is very rich. If you or your mom like chocolate/peanut butter as a combo, try this sometime!

Brina Update

Hello all.

Thanks for bearing with us.

Brina has completely changed from that ill, sad kitty!
She had her feeding tube removed 3 days ago and has been eating on her own with no tube help for a week and a half, and eating with tube help before that.

She is friendly, the coarse fur on her back has become soft, she's very vocal and happy.

We recently moved and she enjoys hanging out on the stairs, and going on the balcony with her doggy brother.




I will still be accepting donations until her bills are paid off, but I am so happy to announce the news that she appears to be recovered. Thank you for all your love and support. It means a lot to our family.

Brina Is Sick!

Update 12/08-
I cannot express my gratitude for the well-wishes and emotional and monetary gifts from everyone. People have been very kind to us. No amount of fancy wording can describe how thankful I am to everyone.

Brina is doing very well! She's very healthy and we are keeping her bowel disease in order. (We found out she has a bowel disorder after her stomatitis issue was over). She eats fine, believe me! (Even though most of her teeth are gone). She's super friendly and talkative. She's happy here with us and we love and spoil her a lot.
Brina's donation button will be enabled until her medical bills on the Care Credit are paid in full. I will take it down immediately after that. I am hoping to pay it off by the end of 2009. ALL donation money through this button goes directly to that card payment.

~~~~~~~~Earlier this year.....~~~~~~~~
Hi all. I am not usually this shameless but my cat is very, very ill. She has been very expensive so far and I do not make much. I am taking donations in ANY amount, and also highlighting my etsy shop. Thank you in advance for any purchase or donation. Brina thanks you, too!
(See update below)





Etsy

Update

Hello all-

I haven't forgotten about you. This week has been a roller coaster, but she's home finally. I figured since I have requested (and still appreciate) donations, I need to let you know what's going on! It's long and since a lot has happened in 1 week, some things may be a little scrambled, but I felt if I could update everyone, they would know where their donations are going, and get a little feel for what her personality is like.


About Brina-
(Pronounced "bree-nuh")
2 and a half years ago, we took her in after my mother adopted her after the loss of our beloved 18-year old cat, Turbo. My mother was not able to keep her, because the vets thought she had a fatal respiratory disease that is transmittable to cats. Since we had a dog and no cats (and returning her to the shelter was not okay with any of us) we kept her.
She stayed in her room for 2 weeks! She finally came out to drink our dog's water and the fun began. 6 months later, she started to really come around. In the past 6 months, she's gotten even lovlier and friendlier. She jumps on the bed in the mornings and walks on our pillows, and "brushes" my hair. She likes to be close to us, and she likes to watch TV when we eat dinner.
She loves the very late/very early hours, and is vocal about her desire for breakfast. She scratches her post just so we will say "Good Girl, Brina". She LOVES her water fountain and will let us know when it's too low. She has a very sweet personality and has bonded with me and my partner. Brina is his first cat, and she won him over. He wasn't too keen at first but I guess her daily greeting and sneezing into his chocolate soy milk every morning did the trick. I guess to know her more you'd have to meet her.

Recently...
From the time we met her, she has had a respiratory problem and very, very bad teeth. Our vet wasn't comfortable putting her under anesthesia because with the respiratory problem, she is a high-risk patient. She also has hyperthyroidism, which is being controlled with medication. I had been using antibacterial gel and trying to gently brush her teeth, but they hurt her too much. Last Sunday she just stopped eating, cold turkey. After blood work we saw some of her organs weren't working properly and my vet actually suspected pancreatic cancer. It's a lot to take in when you think you are going in to increase the amount of Methimazole and you are told your cat probably has inoperable cancer, a cancer in which she wouldn't be without suffering if she died from.

So, we went to see specialists at the University of Florida Small Animal Hopsital in Gainesville, which is over 2 hours each way by car. After a lot of tests (ultrasound, blood, echocardiograph (sp?), etc) we got to take her home and she was put on some medication to help with her organs, etc. and some rest. I fed her by syringe daily, and had to give subcutaneous (sub-Q) fluids, antiobiotics, etc. This continued through her treatment with more of these tests, x-rays, etc.

3 days ago, she was put under anesthesia for oral surgery. She had mucus in her chest and they had to take her out of anesthesia and wait one day. The next day, she went in for oral surgery again. Brina had to have many of her teeth removed.
From the report:
"Brina had severe stomatitis. Stomatisis is a severe oral disease that affects some cats where the body becomes allergic to the plaque around the teeth. The allergic response appears as marked inflammation at the area where the tooth meets the gumline. Specific cause is not known. It is not related to feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus, sex, spaying and neutering, or diet..."

So from what I gather, her teeth's bacteria/allergic reaction was/is affecting the rest of her body.
Right after she woke up, she was really, really irritated and cranky! We saw her at this time (the first anesthesia). They had to put her in an e-collar because she ripped out her arm IV catheter with her teeth (this was the first anesthesia, she still had her teeth). After the drugs wore off, she was back to her usual self, and wanted attention.
2nd anesthesia and tooth extraction went well. She had more mucus but they were able to take care of it. While under, they inserted an esophogeal feeding tube. I will be feeding her through this until her mouth heals and she can eat on her own. Since she didn't willingly eat for about a week, she's very (grossly) thin...you can feel her backbone..but even now since she's had the tube, you can feel a little more padding.

Finally, we picked her up yesterday. She was on methadone (!) and a bit out of it but she recognized us and wanted me to hold her. She was purring, grooming herself, etc. Today she is still really really tired, but dong well with our first feeding/medication, and is friendly. This morning she jumped on the bed and purred. We take it from here. This week has cost us several thousand dollars but she's in recovery and I love her. I know some people don't understand spending so much on a little cat, but for people like me, she's my family. I can photo the invoices if anyone requests them. I don't know the etiquette of posting numbers or amounts or all that so until then I will leave that alone.
..
Here is a picture I took yesterday right when she got home. That antennae thing is her feeding tube. It comes out of the side of her neck, and is held with medical wrap. It goes past her esophagus and ends right before her stomach, so it bypasses the gag reflex. She looks like she got beat up! Her belly, both front arms, neck, and one back foot are shaved.



Most importantly:
I really cannot express my gratitude adequately for those who have helped me with their concern, well-wishes, and/or financial support. The selflessness and generosity of people who don't even know me honestly made me cry. I try not to get too personal on this site because it's just a food blog, but things happen and I feel I owe an update! I read/hear about animal cruelty and human cruelty and it's easy to become misanthropic and depressed. There's so much sadness in the world, especially for the animals. This has been the complete opposite of that. I am grateful for the compassion I have been shown and appreciate what I continue to be shown. Every bit of love and financial support is being used to help her, so again, THANK YOU!

About the google Ads:
I added them only to generate income to help pay for all this. I am not responsible for their content (couldn't Google keep out the meat ads?!?) and don't even really know how all that stuff works..just so you know. I know they are annoying but I need all the help I can get at this time.

Apple-Sage Sausages with Creamed Spinach

Virginwithamemory over at PPK made these delicious sausages. I wish I could take credit! I did, however, make this creamed spinach recipe. I really enjoyed this dinner!



Creamed Spinach
This creamy spinach side dish doesn’t have quite as much fat as a regular creamed spinach, but it is just as smooth and tasty. It gets its thickness from a quick roux and is pretty easy to pull off.

½ average onion, peeled and cut into thin rings
1 clove garlic, sliced very thin
1 Tbsp. flour
1 pkg. frozen spinach
¾ c soy milk, divided
1 Tbsp. vegan sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Margarine and olive oil
2-4 Tbsp. shredded vegan mozzarella (optional, I didn't use any)

Saute onion and garlic on medium heat with about 1 ½ tsp. Each olive oil and margarine. Cook until tender.** Here is where you multitask!
Add about 1 tsp more margarine, and add the flour. Stir well so the flour coats the onions and cooks until slightly golden.
Add ¼ c soymilk and stir well until thickened (this will happen quickly). If using vegan cheese, add here.
Add ¼ c more soy milk and stir in spinach.
Add sour cream and mix very well.
Add salt and pepper and the final ¼ c soy milk. Stir until combined.

**While onions are cooking, defrost spinach completely (I use microwave). Squeeze as much water out of spinach as possible. I mean it. Squeeze really, really hard. You will have a small tight ball. Separate spinach a bit and set aside.


Sausages Peeking from steamer, then exposed!




Apple-Sage Sausage Courtesy of V.W.A.M.! (thanks for letting me share it!)
Recipe:

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tea. salt
1/4 tea. cloves
1/4 tea. allspice
2 1/2 tea. onion powder
1 tea. ginger
3 tea. sage
1/4 tea. cayenne
1/4 tea. black pepper
1/2 cup dried apples, chopped finely

1/2 cup cold mashed yukon gold potatoes
2 tea. marmite
3 Tb. olive oil
1/2 tea. liquid smoke
1 tea. crushed garlic from a jar
1 Tb. maple syrup
2/3 cup water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, mix it up.

Combine wet ingredients in a different bowl, mix it up.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and knead for a few minutes. Form into little sausage shapes and wrap them up in tin foil tightly. Steam for 1/2 an hour. Unwrap them, put some oil in a pan and fry them up a little.

Lemon Lentil Soup

This recipe is based on a recipe from A Higher Taste but with a few variations. Garlic and onion is not suitable for Lord Krsna, but they are suitable for me, so I added them.





You will need:
6 c water
1 c rinsed lentils
1 small potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 in. or smaller cubes
1 c chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
1-2 Tb. olive oil
dash hing
about 1/4 c chopped red or white onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tb. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 lemon {2 Tbsp lemon juice and lemon zest (see below)}
generous amount of salt
few grinds fresh pepper
fresh parsley and cilantro

Bring lentils and water to a boil in a large pot. Simmer for 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat oil and add potato, onion, hing, and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes.
Add garlic and celery and cook 1-2 min longer. Set aside.

Zest the lemon (I use a microplane for fluffy, pith-free zest) and set zest aside. Juice lemon and reserve 2 Tb. of the juice. Refrigerate the rest for another use.

After the 35 min. is up on the lentils, add the contents of the pan. Cook for 10 more minutes. Add lemon juice, zest, coriander, and cumin and cook for 10 more minutes.
Add cilantro and parsley just before serving.

Note: You can blend 1/2 or all of the soup for a smoother texture. I like to do about 1/2 because I like texture and broth together.

Note on hing: Hing is also called asafoetida and is available at Indian grocery stores. Don't be scared- right out of the container is smells like straight up bad B.O. (sorry! ...and let's be honest, cumin smells, too but it is yummy) but in food it tastes fine. In some types of cooking, it replaces garlic and onion completely.

Mushroom and Olive Orzo Salad

Not sure why it's mushroom and orzo, because there's a lot of stuff in it! I prefer pasta salads like this served cold. Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients- these are all pantry and clean-the-fridge items.



1 Tb. olive oil
1 Tb. balsamic vinegar
1 Tb. vegan mayonnaise (I like Vegenaise)
1 Tb. red wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 scallions (green onions), chopped (include white parts)
1/4 c finely chopped red onion
1 deseeded* roma tomato, chopped
Generous pinch salt
Generous grind pepper
Dash garlic powder
1/4 c. finely chopped parsley
5 green olives, chopped (2-3 Tb)
5 black olives, chopped (2-3 Tb)
4-5 large button mushrooms, sautéed then chopped
1/2 c peas, optional
2 c cooked orzo

Start with the liquids in the dressing (oil through dijon). Add all the other ingredients except the orzo, and mix well.

While you are cooking the orzo (about 1-1 1/2 cups dry), prepare the dressing and refrigerate. When orzo is done cooing, drain and refrigerate separately.

When both the pasta and the dressing are relatively cool, combine and chill further. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. You may want to drizzle a little more olive oil.

*To deseed this one tomato, just cut into about 1/4 and scoop the seeds out with clean hands.

If you would like to use a different pasta, I would suggest increasing the amount (3-4 cups cooked) since orzo is a dense little pasta.

Lumber Jill Stew, Supa-Sandwich

This recipe is a variation of the Crosscut Stump Stew from I Like You, Amy Sedaris' book . Serves several hungry-men or hungry-ladies! Stretch that dollar with a salad!






Lumber Jill Stew
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

3 c large-chopped (1-2 in pieces) beef-style seitan
2-3 Tb. olive oil/mix of olive oil and margarine
1 med onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, cut into chunks
1 c tomato puree (or 1- 1 1/2c diced tomatoes if you don't have puree)
2 tsp. vegan Worcestershire
1 Tb. A-1 steak sauce
1/2 c red wine (sherry worked for me)
2 Tb. wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
1-2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves*
1/2-1 Tb. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb pearl onions (instructions are for fresh, but use frozen if you can find them- they're already prepped for you)
Optional:
1/2 can diced potato** or 1 chopped cooked potato

Cook seitan until browned in the oil, adding the Worcestershire and A-1 at the last minute, just to coat. Remove and place in a casserole dish. Add onion, garlic, and carrot to the still-hot pot, adding oil if necessary. Cook until onions are tender.

Add tomato puree, wine, and vinegar to onion mixture and combine well. Pour over seitan.
Add the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon stick, sugar, and salt and pepper.

Bake 45min-1 hour.

While this is baking, cut the top and bottom off the pearl onions and boil for about 2 min. Drain and cool. The skins will slide off. Add to stew after the 1 hour is up. Add potato is using.

Cook for 15-20 more minutes, stirring and adding a little water or tomato puree if too thick.

Serve with rice, potatoes, bread, cornbread, or whatever you'd like.

*I put the cloves in cheesecloth and tied with floss. If you want 4 whole cloves floating around in your hearty meal, be my guest. Cheesecloth is cheap and available at most supermarkets now. You should already have floss in your bathroom. If you don't, we need to talk. Remove the cheesecloth sachet and the cinnamon stick before serving.

**I don't usually suggest canned vegetables like potatoes (since potatoes are cheap to cook yourself). Mostly I stick to canned tomato sauces (cheaper for me than homemade) and canned beans (time-saver), but since this is a stew, sometimes I like the canned potatoes. It reminds me of camping as a kid.

Supa-Sandwich

2 of my animal rights friends made a wicked sandwich that I tried to copy. Let me tell you- it was delicious! Here it is:





Labeled (as layered, pretty much)

Bread
Creole Mustard or Brown spicy mustard
Lots of Tofurkey
Lots of Vegenaise
Lettuce (I do ribbons of romaine)
Tomato
Pepperoncinis (cut into rings)
Black and green olives
Salt and Pepper

Quick Veggie-Udon Stir Fry

No, I'm not ripping off Isa (from a few posts down)! I wanted noodles with a quick stir fry and had all these ingredients in my fridge!



You can use whatever vegetables you want. I like the texture and crunch to my vegetables. You may want to cook longer if you like your vegetables softer, but please try it like this before you cook them longer. You get to taste each vegetable for what it is. I also leave the skin on all the vegetables listed for color and nutrients.

-1 standard carrot, cut in 1/2 length wise, then each of those halves are cut into -1/3 or 1/4 lengthwise (depending on thickness), then once across
-1/2 onion (cut an onion lengthwise then into thin half-moons)
-1/2 zucchini, cut the same size/shape as carrots
-small handful broccoli florets
-4 button (regular) mushrooms cut into 1/6ths (cut in half, then cut into 1/3 the other way)
-4 slabs (8oz) tofu, cooked and cut into strips*
small handful of greens (optional, I used mustard greens)
-3 Tbsp. vegetarian stir fry sauce (I use this one. this guy apparently likes it, too!). You can add more to taste.
-1 Tbsp. soy sauce
-2 tsp. water
-1/4 package soba noodles (they usually come in little bundles. I used one bundle. If you have a large amount..I guess the diameter would be the size of a nickel, if you bunched them up)
-about 5 cashews per serving (optional)
-sprinkle black or white sesame seeds (optional)

Cook soba noodles according to package and set aside to drain.

In a small bowl, mix the vegetarian stir fry sauce, soy sauce, and water. Set aside.

Prep all vegetables as directed. This is essential for a stir-fry, as it is made quickly.

Heat a large pan/wok until hot and add the peanut oil. Swirl around the pan to coat, and add your onion and carrot. Keep it moving.

Cook about 2-3 minutes and add your broccoli. Cook one more minute. Add zucchini and mushrooms. Cook 2 more minutes. Keep it moving.

Add your tofu and heat through. Add all of the sauce mixture, and stir around. Add the noodles, coating with the sauce. Allow the sauce to thicken slightly by continuing to stir, and coat all the vegetables. Garnish with cashews and sesame seeds.

Forgive me if my times are not completely accurate. I didn't have a kitchen timer with me. Basically what you want to do is cook your longest-cooking vegetables first, then the shortest ones last. For example: onions, carrots, potatoes cook longer than zucchini and mushrooms. Since your tofu is already cooked, you are just heating it through. The noodles need no heating, as you just cooked them.


*You can do this! You've seen these before. Cut a standard block of tofu into 8 slabs. Press and cook. You will be using 4 of these cooked slabs. Use the other 4 for sandwiches.

White Butternut Seitan Lasagna

This smaller-pan lasagna includes butternut squash, chicken-style seitan, mushrooms and creamy ricotta, but don't let that scare you. You can make all the components while the others are cooking, and clean up while it's in the oven.







8 average lasagna noodles
1 c chopped chicken-style seitan
8-9 regular button mushrooms, sliced
1 recipe tofu ricotta*
1 1/2 c mashed butternut squash**
2 c béchamel sauce***
1/3- 1/2 shredded vegan cheese, such as Follow Your Heart

Make the ricotta first- you can use any type you like. My general recipe is
1 lb firm tofu, pressed, then mixed in food processor with olive oil, vegan mayo, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

Next, make the butternut squash:
Peel and cube, either baking or boiling until tender. Drain very, very well and mash with salt, pepper, and a touch margarine.

While the butternut squash is cooking, saute the seitan and the mushrooms until mushrooms release the liquid and the liquid evaporates. You can season this mixture with a little of the seitan broth. Cool slightly and pulse in food processor. Small chunks are okay.

While squash is draining well, cook lasagna noodles and make bechemel***. I like Bryanna Clark Grogan's. When noodles are done, drain and rinse in cool water, so you can handle the noodles

Layering:

Spray a 9"x9" pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Layer:
Spread 1/3 of the bechemel sauce
3 noodles, cutting off excess and setting the small piece aside.
1/2 of the ricotta
1/2 of the mushroom-seitan mixture
1/2 of the squash,
then 3 noodles again (cutting off excess).

Layer again in the same fashion, and cover with the 2 full noodles, and the noodle remnants. Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees 20-30 min, broiling the last couple minutes to melt the cheese. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes and serve with a vegetable.

Potato Salad and Friends

This is not your standard potato salad! The key to this yummy dish is roasting everything. There is a good, simple quality about roasting vegetables with just olive oil and salt/pepper- it really brings out the flavors of the vegetables, both sweet and savoury.
This involves some chopping, but is still pretty simple and you can clean everything up and make the dressing while you wait. It's good hot or cold, and the flavor really shines through, and isn't covered up by the dressing (the recipe for that is also below).

Potato Salad and Friends
-Red and/or brown potatoes (you can do sweet, too), unpeeled and cut into roughly 1/2" cubes
-Onions, peeled and thin sliced
-Cauliflower, cut into-bite sized bits
-Garlic, crushed
-Carrots (unpeeled, cut into coins a little smaller than 1/4 in thick)
-Celery, cut into 1" pieces (include the leaves)
-Red and green bell peppers*
-Olive oil
-Salt/pepper to taste

Wash, cut as directed and lay ingredients on a flat baking sheet (or several baking sheets) sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Suggestions for several baking sheets:

Onions/garlic on one
Peppers* on one
Cauliflower/celery on one
Potatoes/carrots on one

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt/pepper. Bake at 350-400 degrees, checking the done-ness of each item.
They have slightly different cooking times; the onions won't take as long as the potatoes, the celery/cauliflower take a little longer than the onions, and the potatoes/carrots take the longest. Since the potatoes are cut small, this will take under an hour. If you have to put all of the veggies in one large baking dish, that's ok.

You will need to check periodically and stir vegetables to ensure even cooking and no sticking.

*For the red and green bell peppers, you can either chop them and roast them along with other veggies, or you can roast them separately and skin them. I like to make sure the red pepper are roasted and skinned. I can take it or leave it on the green. Here is a Google Search on how to roast a pepper. I will do a tutorial sometime when I have several peppers and a helper.

Once vegetables are done, allow to cool slightly (or completely, if you are eating it cold) and gently mix in a large bowl. Set aside.

Creamy Dijon Parsley Dressing
This is *really* a personalized dressing, as some people like saltier, some people like the dijon taste to shine through.

about 1/8th block firm tofu (don't need to drain)
about 2 Tbsp dijon mustard (the kind with the grainy mustard seeds inside)
splash balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper to taste
olive oil
soy milk to thin
large handful roughly chopped parsley (don't worry about chopping finely)

Blend all ingredients in a or food processor, scraping down sides to ensure even blending. Now is the time I warn you not to scrape *while* the blender is running. Don't say I never did anything for you.

Once you have a sufficient amount of dressing, combine with all the roasted vegetables. Serve hot or cold. Top with a little more parsley if desired.

Curry Udon StirFry/ Seitan Piccata

I used 2 Cookbooks for the last 2 Dinners we had. The Curry Udon StirFry is from Veganomicon (also sometimes called "V-Con"). The Seitan Piccata (with White Wine and Caper Sauce) recipe is from Candle Cafe Cookbook. The twice baked potato pictures with the Piccata is below.

I cut the fat in both: for the Stir Fry, I used 1 Tb.+ 1 tsp. oil for the roux, and 2 tsp. oil for the whole stir fry. For the piccata, I didn't use as much oil to saute the seitan, and I cut the margarine by 1/2. It was still very tasty.

First, the Curry Udon. I knew the items featured in this dish would make a pretty plate set up, plus you are supposed to do your mise en place, anyway. With stir fries and the like, I actually do :)


Spices

Ginger

Oh goodness, all together!


Next, the Seitan Piccata, Twice-Baked Potatoes, and Broccoli




Twice-Baked Potatoes (The amounts of everything are totally up to you!)
Desired # of potatoes
Vegenaise
Earth Balance Margarine
Tofutti Sour Cream
Follow Your Heart Cheese (I did about 1/2 c chopped, for 3 potatoes)
"Bacon" bits
Chopped onion (scallions)
Salt
Pepper

Wash potatoes well, and poke holes into them with a fork. Place in preheated 350-degree oven for about one hour. (Right on the rack is fine, no foil or anything).

Test potato done-ness: if a knife easily slips in and out, it's done. If not, place back in oven in increments of 5-10 minutes. PLEASE BE CAREFUL. Use tongs, for the love of all that is holy.

Carefully cut almost all the way through, open, and allow to cool enough to handle. Scoop out potato insides with a spoon, and place in a bowl. Set skins aside. Mash insides with all filling ingredients until smooth. Season to taste.

Spoon mashed potatoes back into skins. (I used my hands, it was easiest). Place back in oven and bake 10-15 minutes more. If you'd like to be super-fancy, whip potatoes with a mixer and pipe back in with a frosting bag.