Green Salad with Beyond Meat Strips and Easter, 2015

Easter this year was, as usual, a wonderful holiday to celebrate with family and delicious food.  Our gathering was smaller than usual; for dinner I brought a large green salad topped with chopped Beyond Meat chicken-style strips.  It went over really well, and one of the reasons was that I put a lot of goodies in the salad.  See below for our cuisine of the night.  I hope everyone else had a good holiday, too.

Green Salad with Beyond Meat Strips

My dinner plate: We had vegan stuffed shells, broccoli, garlic bread, olives, and homemade pickles with garlic, and my salad.

For dessert, everyone brought vegan desserts!  Is that awesome or what?  From the left we have: Cranberry Almond bars, Almond Cookies, Gingerbread, and my Chocolate Chip Pecan Bars .

Green Salad with Beyond Meat Strips

Ingredients:

2 heads of hearts of Romaine or one large Romaine head
6 large button mushrooms, halved and sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
2 stalks of celery, sliced thinly
1 cup of parsley, chopped small
1 - 15oz. can garbanzos, drained
2 cups of broccoli florets, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 pkg. Beyond Meat chicken-style strips
1 Tbs. olive oil

Favorite vegan salad dressing

Directions:

In a large bowl, put all of the ingredients from Romaine through tomatoes.  In a medium pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Chop the strips into thirds.  When the oil is hot, add the strips, and cook until browned, about five minutes or so.  Drain from the pan, and pat dry, if necessary.  Add to the salad.  Serve and top with your favorite dressing.  Very good and filling.  Feeds five hungry vegans and several of their relatives.

Hidden-Veggies Brownies

Hello, and long time no see!  Where have you all been?  I'm sure it's you that's been away, am I right?  Anyhow, I wanted to put up this post before another major holiday came and went because I made these brownies for Easter.  (Did I just say that?  Easter?)  Yes, Easter!  Argh, anyways, I'm back, I'm back.  A few years ago, both my mom and SR gave me the same cookbook for my birthday.  I kept SR's because she inscribed hers, and traded Mom's in for something else.  Anyhow, it's by Jessica Seinfeld, ol' Jerry's wife, and she made a cookbook hiding pureed veggies in food for her kids, Deceptively Delicious.  I've tried making several of the recipes, and some have turned out "eh," and some have turned out "yikes!," and some have turned out "mmm."  I will share my veganized versions of the "mmm" ones with you.  I did get the idea for my Banana-Flax French Toast from her.  So, like I said, I've veganized these recipes and adjusted the ingredients to suit our tastes, etc.  One important note on these brownies, she says not to eat them warm; I will go so far as to say, eat them CHILLED.  They are a completely different flavor room temp versus chilled.  Yuck versus yum.  I brought these over to the family at Easter and told none of the relatives the secrets hidden within, and all they could taste was deliciousness and cocoa.  They were very surprised when they found out these were healthy!  Yeah!  Enjoy, and I hope to be more regular here, without Miralax!

  Hidden-Veggies Brownies.  These are the brownies cut into 24 squares, and they are huge.  You can easily make 48 squares and be satisfied.  Serve them chilled!

Hidden-Veggies Brownies

Ingredients:

Non-stick spray

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate baking squares

2 cups of carrot puree (about 4 or 5 carrots steamed then pureed)

2 cups of spinach puree (about 8 or so cups spinach steamed then pureed)

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup cocoa powder

2 Tbs. margarine, room temp or softened

2 Tbs. vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 and 1/2 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 baking pan with the non-stick spray, and set aside.  Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring frequently, being careful not to burn it.  In a large bowl or large pot (you'll need something large!), whisk together the chocolate, carrots, spinach, brown sugar, cocoa, margarine and vanilla.  Whisk until smooth.  You can use a hand mixer on low, if you wish.  Add the flour baking powder and salt, and stir with a wooden spoon until well blended.  Pour the batter in the pan, and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool completely on a cooling rack.  Can cut into 24 large squares or 48 smaller ones.  Must be chilled before being enjoyed.  Do not eat at room temperature in order to appreciate the full-deception.  Kids and grandparents alike will love these!  Feeds well more than five hungry vegans.

 

Easter, 2013 and my Four-layered - Coffee frosted - Chocolate Chip - Chocolate Cake!

We had a busy but wonderful Easter celebration.  On Saturday, we went once again to Animal Place like last year, where JK participated in an animal-friendly egg hunt, we all went on a self-guided tour of the pigs, chickens and bunnies, and we enjoyed a lovely picnic afterwards.  The egg hunt is for children two years to seven years old, so JK has only one year left of this event.

We joined a small group for dinner at my parents' home.  I brought my Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad , and we enjoyed burgers, a fruit salad and a green salad.  We also had vegan desserts as well: chocolate chip cookies, fruit cake, and a new cake I introduced to everyone, which I call my Four-layered - Coffee frosted - Chocolate Chip - Chocolate Cake.  It's Easter right?  It has to be something special!  I kept the frosting on the thin side, much to G's utter disappointment, because I thought it was rich enough already.  I'm not a fan of coffee by itself, but I occasionally  like a slight flavor of it in ice cream, and it turned out nicely here, too.  I like the bumpiness of the end result and the bits of brown cake peeking through the frosting.  I could have evened out the tops to make them lay flatter, but I like this look.  It reminds me of old-fashioned times, for some reason, before there were specialty frosting spreaders and electric mixers. This was a  humongous cake, but it was enjoyed by all.  Hope you all had a great holiday, too.

Four-layered - Coffee frosted - Chocolate Chip - Chocolate Cake!

My Easter feast: Boca burger, Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad, Green Salad, Fruit Salad

Our dessert choices: chocolate chip cookies, fruit cake, and my cake.  The licorice that snuck in the picture is from Grandma to little JK.  Artificial flavors and colors are sometimes allowed on holidays, especially if they're from Grandma.  :-)

 

To make the four layers, place each layer on a cake stand.  With a serrated knife, cut through the cake horizontally, while slowly turning the cake stand.

Here's a slice of that tasty treat!

Four-layered - Coffee frosted - Chocolate Chip - Chocolate Cake!

Ingredients:

Cake:

4 and 1/2 cups flour
2 cups vegan sugar
1 and 1/3 cups cocoa
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking soda
3 cups Vanilla Almond milk
3 Tbs. white vinegar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
2 cups vegan chocolate chips

Non-stick spray
Extra flour for dusting

Frosting:

1/2 cup (stick) vegan margarine, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1/3 cup brewed French Roast coffee, cooled completely

Directions:

For the cake:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two round cake pans with the non-stick spray and sprinkle with flour.  Tap out any extra flour, and set pans aside.  In a very large bowl or even a large pot, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar and almond milk and set aside to curdle for about five minutes.  Add the oil and vanilla extract to the milk mixture and whisk.  Pour into the flour mixture.  With an electric mixer on low, blend until the ingredients are somewhat mixed.  Turn up the speed to medium and mix for about another minute until completely blended.  Pour into waiting pans.  Pour one cup of chocolate chips over each of the pans of batter.  Take a fork and gently press the chocolate chips down a bit into the batter.  (When baked, the tops of the cakes will be bumpy.  When sliced in half, most of the chips will be in the top half of each cake.  This will make the end result: chippy, not chippy, chippy, not chippy.)  Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool in pans on cooling rack for fifteen minutes.  Remove cakes from pans and finish cooling completely.  When cooled down, chill cakes in refrigerator for at least a half an hour, preparing them for slicing.  When cakes are chilled, place one on a cake stand.  Position a large serrated knife in the middle horizontally.  Slice a couple of inches into the cake, then turn the cake stand, repeating the process.  The cake should be sliced all the way through by the time the stand makes a complete revolution.  If not, just carefully slice through whatever little piece is hanging on in the middle.  Repeat process with second cake.

For the frosting:  In a medium bowl, beat the margarine on low speed until creamed.  Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat on low speed until combined.  Add the vanilla and coffee.  Starting on low speed, mix until blended, then work up to medium speed and mix for another four minutes to thicken.  Place the first bottom layer on the cake stand.  Take about four tablespoons of frosting and put a dollop in the center of the layer.  Spread out the frosting, kind of like spider legs, then smooth out over the layer.  Top with the first top layer of cake and repeat process until you reach the last layer.  Use the same method with the top of the cake.  Frost the sides as usual, just trying to cover as much as you can.  If there's any frosting left over, take turns with the sides and top, frosting away and smoothing out, until there is just enough in the bowl to justify finishing it off yourself.  Because this is so large, it can be sliced rather thinly to serve a lot of people.  Feeds five hungry vegans and family and friends for a few days!

Easter, 2012 - An animal sanctuary and an old favorite

Alert, alert: this post has many photos, so put on your caption reading attitude and let's go!  My family had a lot of fun over the Easter weekend.  On Saturday, we went to  Animal Place , a farmed animal sanctuary, for their Easter egg hunt.  We went to one of their hunts a few years ago, and I was really glad to make it back for another one.  They are located in Grass Valley, California and have been at this location about two years, after moving from Vacaville.  Their Vacaville location still has animals for adoption and is called Rescue Ranch.  The new location in Grass Valley is strictly a sanctuary and has over 600 acres!  We've been coming to Animal Place for tours since SR, my oldest, was still in her front baby carrier and couldn't walk.  We are so thankful to have a sanctuary like this relatively close to our home. Living in Sacramento, we are about halfway between Vacaville and Grass Valley, so the move didn't affect our driving time to get to it.

Here is JK holding his Easter basket after the hunt.  There were more children than they expected to have, which is a good thing, but the eggs for each child had to be restricted, so everyone could enjoy the fun. Inside were stickers, little toys, tattoos and hard candy.

Here is Marji Beach, Education Manager, and Kim Sturla, Animal Place founder.  I'm always impressed by the memories of these two ladies - they always remember my family and always make us feel very welcome.  They are just as nice as they appear to be in this photo.

After the hunt and a picnic, we were taken on a tour of their sanctuary.  We've been on many tours, but it's nice to see the same animal friends with which we've become familiar and also to meet new ones.  Here is a shot of the sanctuary as we head down the path.

At this new location, they've begun to grow a vegan garden.  They use no bone meal or other animal products in their garden mix.  If they have a successful bounty, they are thinking of opening a produce stand.

Here are a couple of their bunnies inside their enclosure.  This is the outside part, but they also have an inside shelter, as well.  We brought greens and other treats for them to enjoy.

This three-legged sheep is Carmen.  She looks like a goat but isn't.  They do have goats, but we didn't see them this time.  Anyhow, Carmen was saved when a farmer's neighbor noticed her suffering with an infected leg. The farmer wasn't interested in paying vet bills, and was just going to let her die...painfully.  The neighbor contacted Animal Place, and the farmer allowed her to be rescued.

Carmen lives with these sheep in a beautiful pasture.  Look at those sheep tails!  Did you know sheep have tails like that?  Apparently, they are cut off when they are a few days old, but not at Animal Place.

Howie, the big steer here, is one of our old friends.  That's G and SR petting him.  He's enjoying a good rub down - his loose fur was flying off.  JK is having a blast.  GR is petting Elsa, and on the side of the picture, you can barely make out black and white Sadie.  These are their geriatric cows; they have another field for their younger cows.

This is a pot-bellied pig that got too big for someone to keep as a pet.  I love this picture, but it reminds me a bit of the pigs in the movie, Hannibal.  I only saw him eating roots though!

These two pigs literally came running out at us as if they were a couple of dogs.  They ran right up and demanded to be petted.  Everyone had their hands full with these two.

GR and SR petting some beautiful tom turkeys.  During Thanksgiving of last year, they were dropped off in boxes at Animal Place, rescued from being dinner.  I noticed that they were making huffing noises and asked if these were warning sounds for us to stay away.  Marji explained that in fact they were showing off and puffing up to impress us.  They loved being petted and kept strutting around fluffing out.  So funny!  They had lots of turkeys and chickens there.

Okay, so if you want to find out more about Animal Place, follow the link above.  Now, on to Easter dinner.  I was feeling really under the weather, so I didn't make nearly as much as I'd hoped for the family potluck.  When we got back from Animal Place on Saturday, I made my Kids Love It! Potato Salad , and that was all I could do.  I subbed the baco bits for LightLife Smart Bacon, sauteed and chopped.  Sunday I was worse, so we just popped over to Whole Foods and picked up some lemon capellini to bring along.  I was so impressed with the vegan options that my relatives brought this time. Take a look!

This is my actual dinner plate - quite full, don't you think?  My potato salad is in the left upper corner of the plate, a vegan roll, my mom's pickles and garlic, the lemon capellini from Whole Foods, an amazing salad from my aunt, my mom got us Chik patties and make an apricot sauce to go on top, and steamed asparagus.  There was only cole slaw and chicken on the table that wasn't vegan.  As a matter of fact...

...there was also this fruit salad that my other aunt made, and I forgot to put on my original plate - not that there would have been any room., anyways.  Truthfully, this was the best vegan feast we've had with my family...ever.

For dessert, my mom made vegan strawberry shortcake and bought soy whip, and my "fruit salad" aunt made vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.  Hello!!!

I definitely wasn't feeling well, but I'm really glad I went 'cause I would have missed out on all this amazing food!  Hope everyone else had a great Easter, too.

Pecan Raisin Tart

This is a beautiful tart that I think is so elegant looking and tasty. The crust always comes out great and is one of the best tasting ones I make. I made this for our Easter dessert. We had a very simple dinner since our potluck with the extended family was cancelled for unforeseen reasons. So, when I had only planned one dish to share at dinner and this dessert, I was suddenly faced with planning a whole holiday meal. Needless to say, I ended up keeping it very simple.

Here is our menu:

Spring rolls with dipping sauce
Steamed rainbow carrots (that my younger daughter picked out)
Kale with sausage (a very easy recipe that I will share in a later post)

For dessert:

Pecan Raisin Tart

Without further ado, here are the photos and the recipe. This will take an afternoon or morning to make, so don't rush it, and enjoy yourself and the fruits of your labor afterwards!

Pecan Raisin Tart

Wedge of Pecan Raisin Tart

Easter Dinner 2010

Pecan Raisin Tart
Ingredients:

Crust:

1 and 2/3 cups of flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2 and 1/2 Tbs. of vegan sugar
One stick and 3 Tbs. of vegan margarine, chilled and diced
1 Tbs. Ener-G Egg Replacer
5 Tbs. cold water

Filling:

1 and 1/4 cups of brown sugar, packed
2 sticks of vegan margarine
1 cup of homemade or your favorite store-bought maple syrup
A pinch of salt
3 Tbs. Ener-G Egg Replacer
12 Tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
4 and 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions:

I make most of my crusts in my food processor. However, I also have a pastry cutter that I sometimes use. If you do not have a food processor, feel free to use your pastry cutter, or even a butter knife or fork for the following directions. With your pastry blade inserted in the food processor, mix the flour salt and sugar together. Add the diced margarine and process until it looks like fine crumbs. You made need to stop the machine occasionally and scrape the ingredients from the side of the machine before continuing. Whisk together well the Egg Replacer and cold water. Remove the lid from the feed tube and add the whisked ingredients with the machine running. Wait about a minute to see if it turns into a ball, or pretty close to a ball. This is successful almost every time for me. If it is still fairly dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time to get it into a ball. Be sure to not get it wet or sticky. Most of the time you will not need this additional water. Remove the dough onto waxed paper and keep it in a ball. Wrap the waxed paper around it and chill for fifteen minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and on a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to a circle about thirteen inches in diameter. I usually sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough before rolling, so the rolling pin won't stick. In a ten-inch spring form cake pan, carefully lay the rolled out dough. Mine almost always cracks, so don't worry if yours does. Simply press the dough together gently with your fingers. If there are uneven sides to the dough, take the extras and press it in the needed spaces. You will want your dough on the bottom and all around the side of the pan. Prick the bottom and side of your tart crust all over with a fork. Chill for ten more minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and line the crust with waxed paper. Pour one pound of dried beans on the waxed paper, being sure that the whole bottom of the crust has weight on it. Bake for fifteen minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and lower the heat to 350 degrees. Carefully lift two sides of the waxed paper, so it's slightly folded in the center. Use this fold to pour the beans into a spare bowl, and toss the waxed paper. Continue baking the tart for seven more minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Let the crust cool while you make the tart filling. In a medium pot, put in the sugar, vegan margarine, syrup and salt. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for five minutes, stirring often. If it threatens to boil over, reduce heat slightly. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the Egg Replacer and water. Add the vanilla extract and stir. Add the raisins and stir. And, finally, add the pecans and stir very well. When completely mixed, pour in the syrup mixture and stir thoroughly. Pour into the pie crust and bake for one hour. The filling will feel somewhat soft to the touch, but don't worry: it will firm up. Let completely cool on a wire rack. I suggest bringing to room temperature before serving, if you have to chill it. Feeds more than five hungry vegans.