One Frugal Foodie

No, we haven’t had trouble sticking to the diet … actually today was easy.  We even sampled a few vegan convenience foods, but on my behalf, they were foods that I likely wouldn’t have tried if we weren’t eating vegan this week.  More on that in a minute.

More importantly, I am doing recipe trials for a food allergy cookbook (egg, dairy, nut-free).  This week I thought I would try a few of the quick breads which are consequently vegan.  They have each been delicious (my family positively raving about the results), but in my oven, they keep caving in:

While a novice at cooking, I have been baking for years, though I probably haven’t attempted anything that needs to rise in quite a while.  The strange thing is, the other recipe testers are yielding beautifully fluffy loaves with the exact same recipe.  So what is it that I am doing differently?  I noticed that I was using a white-wheat flour, which is supposed to mimic white flour in baking.  Could it perhaps be too heavy?   I am just barely living at 3000 feet, could I be having some altitude issues?  Has my baking powder gone bad?  Any ideas.  Oh well, as you can tell, it is still an awesome loaf, a very tasty Banana Orange Chip Loaf (sans most of the chip as my husband ate almost all of the little chocolate morsels).  I did the baking powder test, and it does look feasible that mine has fizzled out, so I will head off to the store tomorrow to give it another go!

As for the rest of our vegan noshing day:

Breakfast:  Jumbo smoothies (a mango colada for the husband and a black cherry smoothies for myself) spiked with good stuff like ground flaxseed

Mid-Morning Snack: Rice Cakes topped with almond butter and cinnamon (PB & J for the husband)

Lunch: The beginnings of my new product adventures, my very first mock-meat ever.  Sure, I like a good veggie burger now and then, but really I only eat the grainy ones.  This was true mock-meat, Carey Brown’s Chicken Free Chicken, actually formed in the shape of a chicken.  A little creepy, but it did taste quite good.  In both taste and texture it was like a cross between a real chicken breast and packaged chicken sausage.  My husband kept repeating “smoky.”  We both thought it was surprisingly good, an excellent sub for meaty cravings really. 

However, due to its soy protein base, I probably won’t go for it again.  This specific ingredient isn’t a good one for either of us.  Anywho, I made a wonderful salad with it, a few veggies, and a quick and creamy salad dressing I whipped up.  We both agreed that the salad dressing deserved a repeat performance:

• 1/4 cup Vegannaise (the grapeseed oil version)
• heaping 1/2 teaspoon Lemony Dill Seasoning from Vegetarian Express
• Rice milk to desired consistency

The quick bread was an afternoon adventure.  We noshed on some fruit while waiting for it to emerge.  Though it sunk in the middle, we both wolfed down two thick slices with huge smiles.

Dinner: I got home a bit late from a soccer game, but was feeling energetic enough to whip up a new recipe.  My eye had been on the Quinoa with Sweet Veggies and Almond Butter, and it looked easy enough to give a whirl.  Since I was out of squash, I subbed some steamed kale to get our greens. 

We both liked it, scarfing down every last bite, but the recipe still needs a bit of work.  I thinned the sauce just a bit with a touch of almond milk, and I ended up adding about 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup as it had way too much tamari.  It was very overpowering.  Perhaps if I lowered the tamari and added a pinch of crushed red pepper, or even serve up a bit less sauce than the servings imply.  I also think just a hint of maple helps to temper the overly salty blend.  Anyway, I willl likely experiment with this one some more. 

I have been toying with the idea of giving the vegan diet a whirl for some time now.  After all, I am half way there with dairy-free living and I often feel energized from meat-free meals.  Yet, it wasn’t until two inspirations emerged that I decided to declare our house vegan for this week. 

First off, thursday is World Vegan Day.  Really, what better time could there be?

The second inspiration came from two great vegan friends, Hannah and VeggieGirl.  As if they coordinated with one another to coax me over to the vegan way of life, each sent a package of wonderful baked goodies! 

For my birthday (it seems I have had a month long celebration!) Hannah sent a dozen Vegan Ginger Biscotti …

Though I am not a cake person, she insisted on making me some cake for my birthday as well …

VeggieGirl sent an entire (very large!) loaf of her famed Pumpkin Raisin Nut Loaf …

So with a taste of the good vegan life, I have begun vegan week!  Today I started the morning with some leftovers.  I fortified a large serving of the Orange Spiced Whole Wheat Couscous from The Hippy Gourmet with garbanzos/chickpeas for some extra staying power.

Last night we met with friends at the new Trader Vic’s on the Las Vegas Strip.  I ordered a virgin coconut drink, which hit my taste buds just right.  So, for a lunch starter, I decided to make my unsweetened mango colada.  It contains frozen pineapple and mango, a small ripe banana, a tablespoon of unsweetened coconut, and a bit of unsweetened almond milk.  Seriously, I must have used some super-ripe fruit, as it was the sweeetest thing I have had all week!  It kicked the pants off of the Trader Vic’s drink.  Perhaps I should share my secret with them? ….

Since this was more like a large snack than a lunch, I continued on with an afternoon of snacking:

• Steamed broccoli (yes, I really do get cravings for it)
• Raw carrots for crunching
• Rice cakes slathered generously with cashew butter and sprinkled with cinnamon
• Apple cake from recipe trials for a new cookbook we are publishing
• Tea, and lots of it

At last, it was time for dinner, my vegan stumbling block.  Breakfast and lunch are a breeze, but dinner, when my hearty cravings set in, can be a problem.  Luckily, an old friend was nestled in my vegetable keeper, a large Chinese eggplant.  I stir-fried it up with broccoli, red bell peppers, onions, and ooops… I accidentally left the neatly chopped mushrooms on the counter, uncooked.  Well, I have done some prep-work for tomorrows meal I guess! 

For the sauce I used a Hoisin (sweet potato base) with some tamari (soy sauce) and of course, garlic.  Set alongside a hearty helping of brown rice, and dinner was served.  To my pleasant surprise, my husband scraped up every last bite within mere minutes and proclaimed, “really good!”  He was right, simple but tasty.  Though I am sure all of the salt in the sauces helped a little.

It did fill me up … temporarily, but I can now feel a void coming on.  Thank goodness for that leftover apple cake and some pints of Purely Decadent “ice cream” chilling in the freezer!

I really enjoyed reading and writing on this topic this week, so thought I would let people know it is up on Go Dairy Free - “Surprising Foods to Ease Your Budget Into Organics.” - It adds in a few foods/concepts that I had not considered before in my own shopping.  Just in case I am slow about posting here, and you are looking for something to read on that lunchtime break, Go Dairy Free is updated every day, religiously.

Today, we were running out of food.  Ever been there? With no time to make it to Trader Joe’s or the main market we shop at, one of those market and produce type places, I scrounged the fridge for any remaining items that might make for a hearty lunch.  I found some leftover coconut milk from a prior meal, two broccoli crowns, a bag of baby carrots … hmm, it was looking promising.  A couple of pantry items and viola!  Lunch was served. 

I really wasn’t expecting my husband to like this throw together meal (even though it did taste much better than it looks), but to my great surprise, he said it was great.  So, with both his and my approval of the dish, possibly out of starvation, I will put up the recipe just in case someone else should like to make their own version:

Lunchtime Leftovers Rice (vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free … bad stuff-free)

• 1 cup brown rice (I used jasmine brown)
• 1 cup regular coconut milk
• 1.5 to 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• 1 large broccoli crown
• 1 to 2 cups baby carrots
• 3/4 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) - I used the organic ones, they are littler and more nutty, not quite as potent in flavor
• fresh ground pepper

I have one of those wonderful inventions, the rice cooker.  I put the rice, coconut milk, water, turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in the rice cooker and clicked “on.” I used 2 cups of water, but you may need a little less depending on the rice you use. 

Cut the broccoli into florets, and place the florets and the baby carrots in the steamer basket that goes atop the rice cooker (or steam atop the stove).  If using the rice cooker to steam, allow the rice to cook for ten minutes before placing the vegetable steamer atop them. 

When the rice cooker goes “click.”  It is all done.  I chopped up the cooked vegetables into smaller bites, and tossed them into the rice cooker along with the garbanzo beans. I gave the whole thing a good stir to mix all of the ingredients together, added some fresh ground pepper and a touch more salt to taste, and served!  It wasn’t pretty, but really it did taste pretty darn good. 

On another note that darn cat of ours sneaks into the closet and sleeps on my clothes every time we leave the closet door open.  Today, I was once again haphazard.  With the lower shelf packed to the brim with T-shirts, the little monster decided to make that extra effort to jump up to the next shelf and make herself at home.  Finding several items pushed onto the floor and a tubby house cat who knew she was busted, one might think I would be mad.  But, all I could do was smile and giggle at the site of my fuzzy friend, and of course… take a picture….

Okay, I couldn’t resist picking up another eggplant this week. Though it seems my subconscious was working in my favor, as when I returned home with my loot, I discovered a wonderful aubergine recipe on Pig in the Kitchen (yes, I always jump on my computer the second I get home, it’s a sickness really). 

There was just one catch, I have never fried anything, I mean anything, before.  Oil and I aren’t good friends.  As long as I can lightly drizzle it or pop it in an enclosed pan while still cool, we are okay.  Really, since frying is not considered healthy, I felt no reason to train myself in this art form.  But who can resists Pig’s recipes?!  I was especially intrigued by the coating of quinoa, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.  Aha, the elusion of health!

Alas, my pumpkin seeds seem to have met with a very tragic fate, some moisture snuck into the container, the results of which nearly causing me to lose my appetite.  Luckily, I have yet to find anything that fully succeeds in killing my appetite.  So, to adjust for my ingredient deficiencies, and because I was feeling too lazy to make homemade sauce, I modified the recipe a bit.  If you are ready for the full experienc, try Pig’s recipe, she even ventures a dollop of dijon mustard in the sauce.  I was intrigued, but still too lazy, so out came the jar of pasta sauce… but hey, one new cooking adventure at a time right?

Quinoa Crusted Eggplant

(Vegan, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free)

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• Tomato Sauce (your choice, I used a jar of Classico with mushrooms and olives that was on sale for $1 a jar!)
• 1/2 cup dried quinoa
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Cooked Rice, Brown or White (I put the rice in the rice cooker to prepare while making the rest) (optional)
• Oil for Frying (regular refined olive oil, peanut, or other high heat oil)

Slice the eggplant to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness.  Pour the sauce in a large skillet over medium heat, add 1/4 to 1/2 jar of water, and add your eggplant to simmer.  Allow the slices to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes while you move on to prepare the rest. If the sauce becomes too thick during the simmering process, just add a little more water.

You might use a food processor or blender for this step, but I found a spice grinder to be very efficient and clean.  So, place the quinoa, sunflower seeds, crushed red pepper and salt in your spice grinder and give it a good whirl.  If using my mini-appliance method, then you may need to do it in two or three batches.  It is still very quick with no clean up though! 

Pour the resultant crumbs in a shallow dish.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  The oil should be ready to sizzle, but not too hot, lest you get splattered with drops of hot oil (as I did).

Remove the eggplant slices from the sauce, and coat them in the quinoa/seed mixture (a good flip in the coating should do it).  Carefully place them in the hot oil, and cook about 2 to 3 minutes per side.  As Pig mentioned, there are a lot of little crumbs that disperse, but I tried not to let it bother me.

Remove the slices with a slotted spatula and place them on a wire rack or paper towels to drain and cool for about 5 minutes.  Serve with some of the tomato sauce you were simmering them in and rice or a salad, if desired.

Rational Jenn started a blog carnival for living with food allergies.  I write about food allergies and intolerances with great regularity for Go Dairy Free, yet my mind drew a blank when I was asked to join the carnival.  My scientific-style writing seemed to boring for a blog, and the ideas just weren’t churning. 

It wasn’t until I realized that the easiest ideas are usually the best.  I speak with many food allergy moms, from veterans to newbies, and the one difference I notice from the experience is simplicity.  We get so used to convenience foods and loading on the many foods that turn out problematic (wheat, dairy, soy, etc.) that when we are told we can’t have them, we run out to try to find every complicated substitute available.  I did it too.  My freezer was stocked with dairy-free “ice cream” to get me through those “tough times.” 

But, I later realized that it wasn’t about what I couldn’t have, but really what wonderful foods I could have.  I went back to basics, listing out fruits, vegetables, grains, spices, and proteins.  I started cooking with just a handful of ingredients, and low and behold, some of my favorite recipes turned out to be quite easy.

While it isn’t really a stand-alone dish, the other day, I threw together this simple grain that has turned out to be one of my favorites.  Close to hypo-allergenic (containing just millet and coconut) and mighty nutritious, this basic dish is excellent for breakfast when paired with some fruit, fresh or dried.  For other meals, it makes a pleasant side dish and can serve as the base for a main dish.  It isn’t injected with flavor, just pleasant… sorry, no photo, I ate it too quickly!  The portion below makes one large serving, or two medium sized ones.

Perfect Coconut Millet 

(Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, etc…)

1-1/2 Cups Water

1/2 Cup Millet

2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

2 Teaspoons Coconut Oil

Place all ingredients in a rice cooker and click that baby to on.  When it clicks off, fluff and consume this nutty little grain.  No rice cooker?  Put all of the ingredients in a pot, bring the water to a boil, and simmer the millet (don’t touch!) until all of the liquid is absorbed.  It will take about 20-30 minutes.

P.S. - I included links in case you are not familiar with millet, but I do not typically buy it online, rather I get it in the bulk foods department.  If you are concerned about cross-contamination with nuts and other grains, I would check with the manufacturer and purchase in a package or online direct.  As for coconut oil, I do buy it via the above link.  I love Nutiva’s flavorful coconut oil and it comes in a jumbo container that lasts quite a while.

P.P.S. - If you have any leftovers, reheat the millet with a bit of liquid to regain moisture. 

The other day, I spotted an old friend on sale.  Just $.88 for a large, smooth eggplant.  My husband often makes fun of my eggplant “addiction” as he calls it, so I quietly snuck one in the cart, hoping to go unnoticed.  Of course he caught me.  I quickly proclaimed what a great deal it was and promised to make a fabulous meal with it.  He just smiled.

I can’t say what it is about the giant purple fruit that attracts me so, but  I know that I am not alone…

Eager to prepare the perfect meal, I turned to the eggplant queen, Susan of Fat Free Vegan.  As a fellow eggplant-fanatic, but much more savvy in the kitchen than I, Susan would surely have a whole line-up of purple powerhouse meals. I must say that she did not disappoint.  Well over a dozen eggplant-centric recipes greeted me on a quick search. 

Susan’s Eggplant Paprikash was invented to create eggplant-loving converts.  If this wasn’t reason enough to pick this recipe, I just happened to have all of the ingredients on hand!

I accidentally used double the cashew butter in the “sour cream,” and since I didn’t have any silken tofu on hand, I used extra-firm.  It actually worked out well, but I added a few tablespoons of rice milk to get the “sour cream” to the right consistency.  To keep the whole dish vegan and gluten free, I served it atop a bed of wide rice noodles. 

While I don’t think I achieved an eggplant convert, my husband said the meal was quite good.  We were both surprised by how filling it was; this recipe makes a generous 4 servings.

Eggplant Paprikash from Fat Free Vegan

(Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free)

• 1 large onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. eggplant (about 2 medium) cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 bell peppers, any color, sliced (I used red)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/8 tsp. Liquid Smoke flavoring (I omitted to no major loss)
• 1/2 cup tofu sour cream (see below)

Tofu Sour Cream:

• 1/2 package (about 6 ounces) lite silken tofu
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon cashew butter or tahini
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Blend all the ingredients for the tofu sour cream until completely smooth, and set aside in the refrigerator until needed.

In a large, non-stick saucepan, sauté the onion in a small amount of water until it begins to brown, about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, and red pepper (optional), and stir for one minute. Add the salt, eggplant, peppers, vegetable broth, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer until the eggplant is tender, about 15-20 minutes.

When the eggplant is done, check the seasonings and add more salt if necessary. Stir in the Liquid Smoke (optional) and the sour cream, and cook for another minute, until warmed through. Serve over pasta or rice.

Serves 4

As much as I love grocery shopping, some trips lately have been more frustrating than fruitful. “No, we have to get that organic,” “No, that could be GMO,” “Added hormones….,” “Nope, contains milk,” “It costs how much?” “It’s organic, but ugh!”  So many rules and guidelines that I never had to follow in my early frugal days. 

Both my husband and I are dedicated to purchasing the best quality food, but Whole Paycheck prices are not in our budget.  Luckily, every few weeks we hit the jackpot with some good sales at our local markets that meet all of our criteria … and today was one of those days. 

I loaded up with organic Braeburn Apples to do some baking (more to come this week), wild Alaskan fish, eggplant (how can you not love this giant purple fruit?), and too many other delicious items to think of.  But I do remember our top frugal find…  Our local natural food store carries a good deal of Italian import products and this week they had several little delicacies on for just 99 cents each!  We selected a few, but I will definitely be going back for more…

The garlic and oil may look creamy, but it is a wonderful blend of garlic, sunflower oil, and wine vinegar that is dairy-free, and from what I could tell, egg-free and vegan.  The olive pate listed black olives as the first ingredient, so I wasn’t expecting too much excitement.  However, these were those “real olives” that I have overheard olive aficienados talking about.  They had that pungent spike of flavor that I (with my unrefined kalamata olive taste buds) would equate with green olives.  The crackers were also vegan, organic, and downright tasty.  They looked like ordinary Saltines, but they were spiked with garlic and a light dusting of chili powder that kind of snuck up on you.

We both felt so cultured dining on our little imported appetizers.  It was a fleeting moment, but it was fun while it lasted.  Anyway, if you can get your hands on these BioCrackers or spreads from Valbona for a good price, I highly recommend them!

We all have a favorite comfort food (or two) and my husband’s is wonton soup.  Originally from the cold and rainy Northwest, his cravings start kicking in just as the post-Labor Day chill sets in.  Yes, it does get cold in Vegas, wide temperature swings are a part of desert living.  While we are fairly new to this vibrant town, we lived in the high desert of Lake Tahoe for many years, and have grown accustomed to quickly shifting from swim suits to hats and gloves, all within the same day. 

Anywho, I thought I would surprise him with my first attempt at Wonton Soup.  I altered the recipe from Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee.  She calls for 1 packet of oriental sesame dressiing mix. While we eat a ton of Asian-inspired food, this isn’t a regularly stocked item in our house, so I simply omitted it with no sacrafice.  Also, while I usually have oyster sauce on hand, I was out, so I used tamari (soy sauce) instead.  Also, the original recipe was for steamed wontons.  A quick boil in some basic broth is all that is needed for your basic wonton soup, no bamboo steamer required.  Okay, one last thing, the recipe calls for pork, certainly the best meat for wontons, but they do not sell any antibiotic-free pork in my area, so I use ground turkey instead.  It is a fair substitute.

While this recipe can easily be prepared in a veggie broth, I am very curious on any ideas to veganize wontons.  The egg can easily be omitted from this recipe.  My husband had never used egg in any wontons he had made before, but I wanted to try this recipe.  However, really, what can you fill these little wrappers with to sort of keep that wonton soup like experience?  I would be curious to give it a whirl for fun if anyone has an idea. 

Just in case you were wondering, it was good.  Not as salty as the restaurant types, no msg of course, but a nice soothing meal nonetheless.  If you like a saltier hit, add a bit of tamari/soy sauce to the broth. 

Wonton Soup

• 1 pound ground turkey (the lean kind) or pork
• 1 (5-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup scallions (green onions), finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon jarred minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 tablespoon oyster sauce or soy sauce or tamari
• 1 (16-ounce) pack wonton wrappers
• 1 quart chicken or veggie broth (I like the organic ones from Pacific Foods)

In a large bowl mix pork/turkey, water chestnuts, scallions, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, egg, and oyster sauce or soy sauce/tamari. Fill center of each wonton wrapper with 1 teaspoon of meat filling. Gather wrapper up and twist to secure sides. Brush the edges of the wontons with water to help seal. Fill a pot with 1 quart of chicken broth and an additional cup of water.  Add the wontons and boil until the wonton skins are tender (like pasta).  If desired, add other seasoning, vegetables (cabbage sliced up and cooked in works well), etc for variations on the basic broth.  We like it simple.

To Steam: Arrange cabbage leaves on the bottom of a bamboo steamer. Place dumplings about 1-inch apart and steam until the filling is cooked through, about 20 minutes. 

Following the lead of those ginger-spiked chocolate chip cookies, I snuck some crystalized ginger into a Molasses Cookie recipe I was trialing out.  The recipe was amazingly vegan (dairy-free, egg-free) and didn’t call for any ginger.  Knowing how well ginger goes with molasses, I thought this would be the perfect recipe for some more ginger-spiking (note the little pieces of ginger peaking out in the picture below).

Whoa!  My first bite of the cookies while still warm was like a flavor slap in the face.  Granted, I loved it.  Sugar, cinnamon, molasses, and ginger each competing for a single spot on my taste buds.  Seriously, overpoweringly, yummy!  This flavor concoction is not for those ultra-sensitive taste buds, but for ginger lovers like myself, it is definitely worth a trial.

Alas, I can not divulge the actual recipe I used, since it is coming out in a new food allergy cookbook.  However, it isn’t too far off from this one for Egg-Free Dairy-Free Molasses Cookies.  To avoid a ginger overload, try substituting cinnamon for the ginger in this recipe (the recipe I used had cinnamon as the main spice) and add diced crystalized ginger bits to your hearts content!

A little hint too, I didn’t actually have any regular/dark molasses on hand, but did have blackstrap molasses.  Obviously this is a bit too bitter for a 1:1 sub, but after looking around at substitution ideas, I settled on a 50/50 mix of the blackstrap molasses and maple syrup.  It turned out to be a winner!