During our joys of jellymaking last fall, I found a really interesting recipe in the tips section of Mother Earth News Magazine (August 2009) where a reader submitted a recipe to make grape juice. Obviously it sparked my attention because I was planning a serious processing party for my grape vine. It sounded easy and straightforward and I am happy to admit it was. Thanks, Suzanne! All I did was set aside enough grapes to test the recipe for 2 quarts of juice concentrate. Well, if I must be honest we did 3 quarts but broke one of the mason jars in the canning bath but I won’t get into that adventure. All you need are 2 cups of grapes per quart jar and she suggests 1 cup of sugar (I did one jar with 1/2 cup and one jar with 3/4 cup of sugar: 1/2 cup is plenty!) and boiling water to fill the jar. We processed the jars for 10 minutes and Suzanne tells us in six weeks to strain out the liquid, dilute by half with water and enjoy.

Juicy Juice minus the devil

Six weeks after we canned the juice we entered the holiday season and I also entered my first trimester (forgetful? check. tired? check. inability to be productive in the kitchen? check) and the grape juice concentrate was sadly neglected on the counter behind my ignored kombucha. So I didn’t follow the directions completely but I’m happy to share that I opened the jars 7 months later (shhh!), strained out the grapes and it tastes absolutely amazing! I diluted a quart of the juice for drinking and re-canned the remaining concentrate (sans grapes) so hopefully they will keep just as a juice. If it doesn’t, then at least I know that canning the whole thing and forgetting it was not a waste of time. This was way too easy to not plan to make massive quantities of juice next fall. I’m not the biggest juice fan but that’s usually because I don’t like all the sugar and high fructose corn syrup. But this came from my garden and is better than any store grape juice I have ever drank! I can imagine it being lovely this summer over ice with a little seltzer water as I lounge in the sun in my hammock (if the sun decides to grace the northwest this year).

One thing I have missed from our house in Seattle was our mini-orchard. We had so many fruit trees (plums, apples, pears) that came with the house and produced abundantly. I love being able to walk barefoot in the yard and pick some fruit to eat. Our current house has a much smaller yard (less maintenance!) and while we could plant fruit trees and wait, there’s something satisfying about established trees in your yard. We found out last year that we have a monster Rainer cherry tree that produces fruit higher than we can pick and an amazing grape vine. It’s rooted on our neighbor’s side of the fence, so hopefully they don’t get rid of it any time soon. Most of the vine grows onto our side of the fence and I expected to get a few bowls of grapes for snacking. Try thirty pounds!

What we’re working with

My parents grew grapes and I always enjoyed snacking on them and spitting out the seeds. The concept of seedless grapes to me was always strange, those were “grocery store” grapes. I have a distant memory of my parents making grape jam one fall. They took over the whole kitchen and I’m sure there was frustration in the air because grapes stain and they are messy. And they have skins and seeds. But the taste of that jam was SO delicious. Better than any Welch’s sugar syrup with grape flavor. I think they only made the jam once and left most of the fruit for the birds.

So I’m not sure if I was crazy to attempt to process our grape harvest but I am not one to let things go to waste. I had an encouraging canning partner, the Mayor of Hooperville beside me with ideas and energy and a shared passion for domestic arts. We went to town on those grapes. It was a project that lasted more than one day and included some fails and some wonderful stand-bys that I plan to use this fall (much more efficiently I might add). Our plan: grape jam (lots of it!), grape juice concentrate and pickled grapes (of course). No wine trials this time around. There is way too much to go wrong and a lot of equipment needed that I am not ready to invest in.

Pickled Grapes

The pickled grapes were relatively easy and the flavor was good. I found a recipe in the September 2009 edition of Vegetarian Times for them. It was very straightforward and was a fun savory experiment for grapes. My only gripe was that this recipe is for seedless grapes (which I disregarded) so when eating these pickles you end up spitting out a lot of seeds. I’d rather make pickles from cucumbers and save my grapes for jam and juice.

Jam on Toast

The jam was the main goal for us and after some trials and staining most of my dishtowels, a great success. We tried the recipe from epicurious (Concord Grape Jame Oct 05) but the process was very laborious and time consuming. You have to peel the grapes, puree the skins, then add them to the naked grapes and cook it down, THEN strain it and cook it down some more. It seemed like there were a lot of unnecessary steps but I wanted to try the recipe because it didn’t call for any pectin. Which is too bad because it never gelled. We had it on the stove for hours and ended up burning it. We tried a batch in the crockpot and ended up caramelizing it (grape molasses, anyone?). It was a waste of time and now I know.

Processing

I am in love with Pomona’s Pectin. Most pectins rely on sugar for gelling so that’s why the majority of jams and jellies out there are loaded with sugar. When a fruit is ripe and at it’s peak, you don’t need to add much sugar, which is why I adore Pomona and her genius. After our epic fails, we followed the recipe in the Pomona box and not only did it gel, but it turned out tasty and not overly sweet. For those of you who want to try it, for one batch I used 7 pounds of grapes to make 8 cups of juice, 1/2 cup of lemon juice (I wonder if apple cider vinegar would work?) and 3 cups of evaporated cane juice to yield 6 pints of jelly. I figured for the first time I would go in the middle of their sugar recommendation range. This method was much easier, used less equipment (less cleanup) and we didn’t have to peel the grapes and go insane and it took two days because the juice needs to drip out overnight, which wasn’t a big deal. I don’t have a jelly bag and I just used 3 or 4 layers of cheesecloth in a strainer over a bucket. It involved some waiting time but I’d rather deal with it the next day than have to peel grapes ever again.

I know there has been a lapse on my part in blogging. I have been blogging in my head but not online because my time in the kitchen has slowed. I had a few epic projects this winter that I will share with you but this spring has consisted of simple meals and very little photography as my focus has shifted to a state of pregnancy, which apparently means hours on my feet in the kitchen haven’t been enjoyable. But I am feeling great and past the food aversions, which is wonderful to enjoy food again.  I had my first food craving last weekend, which was a crazy experience.

All of a sudden I wanted needed horchata. Living in Portland around so many Mexican food carts you would think this craving would be easy to appease. We went to 4 taco trucks and a Mexican restaurant to no avail. But this was a craving… an experience unlike anything I have ever felt. Sometimes I desire certain dishes or ingredients but if I don’t have it on hand it’s not a big deal. This was a big deal. When I realized I wasn’t going to find my horchata I wanted to cry.  I admit I did cry.  My muscles seized up and I felt paralyzed, unable to make decisions.  All I could think about was the creamy refreshing taste of horchata that was not in my possession. Back at home my husband went to try one last taco truck by our house (no luck) while I had a revelation that there were almonds soaking in the fridge. Why not make my own? It would take less time than driving all over the city and crying for want of horchata. So I did. And it was delicious and the beast was appeased.

I must mention that traditionally horchata is made from white rice, usually ground and soaked overnight then blended with cinnamon and sugar (and strained). I have seen a few recipes around that use a combination of rice and almonds but as I did not have the patience to wait 8 hours to soak rice I made a quickie version that satisfied me to no end. I promptly drank my beverage and took a nap. Here is the recipe, it made one pint so if you want to share I suggest doubling or tripling the recipe.

Horchata Almendra
makes 1 pint over ice

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight
• 1 cup water
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 tsp agave (or whatever sweetener you desire)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon

How-to

1. Drain the almonds and rinse them.
2. Place them in a blender and blend until pulpy (you may need to add a little water if your blender is old and weak like mine is).
3. Add remaining water, blend until smooth.
4. Strain using a nutbag, tripled cheesecloth or whatever works best for you.
5. Pour the milk back into the blender and blend with agave, vanilla and cinnamon
6. Serve over ice and enjoy!

I’m sure this would last 5 days in the fridge but I haven’t tested it yet. Horchata never lasts longer than 10 minutes in my hands.

This year for Thanksgiving I became an adult, well, in a way. After a lifetime of attending holidays, sitting at the kiddie table and being the girlfriend/daughter/wife who brought her own main entree because turkeys as food are not in my vocabulary, I hosted a holiday this year. Not just any holiday, the grand poo-bah of food holidays in America. Thanksgiving is about eating until you burst and I’ve never been a fan of that much excess, but I’m a fan of food. I’m happy to provide an excess of food and you can choose how much to (over) eat. I’m very blessed to have in-laws that were willing to make the trip over the mountains and through the woods to Portland to not only spend Thanksgiving with us in our new house, but to have a turkey-free Thanksgiving. I told people if they couldn’t live without the bird, it was their responsibility but everyone was happy and willing to try the seitan animals. We even had special guests at our table this year, the famous Tofu Phil of Small Planet Tofu and his girlfriend. Most people arrived Thursday morning, which meant by default that I did most of the cooking. I was excited to plan a menu for 12 and I went a little overboard. Hey, culinary school ruined me. I can’t just serve three courses and be satisfied. I was a little worried things wouldn’t turn out right but my husband and I worked on some dishes a few days leading up to the big event so the day of we were able to play a few rounds of hearts while the casseroles were in the oven. Everyone helped in the kitchen and I’m happy to say that the food was all hot at the same time, and I’m flattered that everyone ate their fair share plus some.

The savory spread

Let’s talk about what we ate, which is the meat of this post. For snacking there was a wide variety of hummus (even though that’s the stereotype of veg*n food, I do enjoy hummus and was happy to have a million kinds on the table plus chips and crackers and a veggie platter for dipping). The main meal was as follows: (excuse the poor lighting, we were hungry and setting up a light tent was not in the best interest of the group)

• Apple Sage Seitan Creatures (recipe here)
• Maitake-Shiitake Gravy
• Roasted Garlic Mashed Yukon Golds (I used almond milk this year, yum!)
• Green Bean Casserole, courtesy of FatFreeVegan
• Garnet Yam Casserole with Brandied Raisins and Walnuts (this year’s Gourmet holiday issue)
• Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts off the stalk with Garlic
• Fresh Salad with tomatoes from our garden (yes we still have some on the vine)
• Dressings: Raw Caesar (ED&BV) and other bottled options

Dessert Station

Desserts:

• Pumpkin Cheesecake (SweetPea recipe, can not share, top secret) with Gingersnap Crust
• Apple Crisp (Mom’s top secret recipe, email me if you want it)
• Apple Cranberry Pie with Crumb Topping (easily veganized)
• Pecan Pie
• Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (courtesy of MIL)
• Truffles, 2 kinds. One had orange extract and chopped cherries mixed in and the other had banana liquor. They were rolled in toasted coconut, cocoa powder or ground pistachios. I used almond milk and 70% bittersweet chocolate as the base and agave as the sweetener

Apple Sage Seitan Animal-free Creatures

Here are the seitan creatures as they hit the grill pan. I didn’t take many pictures this day as I was focused more of cooking and feeding than blogging or pictures. Thanks husband for snapping a few shots so I can share how much we ate. My advice for people that want to have a big holiday (there were 12 of us) is to definitely prep the casseroles a day or two in advance. Also, make the mashed potatoes ahead and reheat then in a crock pot to save counter space. I did all the desserts the day before and assigned truffle rolling the morning of Thanksgiving to other people. I made most things ahead, especially the seitan, but we seared it off right before we ate. So if you want to know what I did the day of (with help): toss salad, make salad dressing, bake off casseroles, roast brussel sprouts, sear seitan, roll truffles, set up appetizers and reheat everything else. Once the food was set up for the buffet, I put the pies in the oven to reheat so they would be ready.

I don’t remember how young I was when I started sprouting but when I moved out of my parents’ house, the sprouting trays came with me.  My earliest memory is interviewing my elementary school principal for the school newspaper (was I 8? 9?) and on his desk was a mason jar full of alfalfa sprouts.  I remember being so fascinated that he was growing food in his office.  The nice thing about sprouts is that you can do it anytime of year, but spring tends to remind me to sprout more often.  Especially when my peas have just sprouted in the garden, I remember to keep on sprouting in the kitchen. Sprouting is extremely easy and anyone can (and should) do it. Store-bought sprouts are expensive and have less nutrients than freshly sprouted seeds from your counter top. Plus you have a variety of sprouts to choose from at home, unlike the salmonella ridden alfalfa and mung in the cooler section.

Sprouting is not rocket science, yet people are always amazed that I have a tray of sprouts at any given time. It is a natural process, the germination of a seed to become a plant. Sprouts, though tiny, are nutritional powerhouses. Different seeds contain different properties but as a whole they provide antioxidants (anti-aging), phytochemicals (disease prevention) and are high in bio-photons (meaning a high energy life force, read anything about raw diets and this can be described further). So, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and protein all in an easy to digest crunchy sprout. I can continue describing how healthy they are, but doesn’t the world already know? Let’s discuss how easy it is to make…at home.

Fenugreek

For any plant to grow, we need a seed, moisture and eventually sunlight. For sprouting purposes, please buy organic because you don’t want pesticides concentrated in a sprout to enter your body. The best place (and most affordable) to get seeds for sprouting is the bulk section of a grocery store or natural foods market. Then you can buy a tiny bit and see how it goes.  Some bulk areas sell sprouting “mixes” which are a mix of seeds but I think it’s overpriced and the simple fact that not all seeds sprout in the same time period, I would rather buy them and sprout them individually and mix later when they are all at their peak.   Sprouting is not an expensive investment.  I think it’s even one of the most affordable food sources in relation to nutrition.  Most seeds, beans/legumes and grains are sprout-able. Wheat berries sprouted become wheat grass. Lentils tend to be my favorite legume to sprout because they have a mild taste but great crunch. Alfalfa is the most well known sprout and is the most versatile. Radish seeds are nice and spicy and are a favorite of mine as well as fenugreek. I’m not crazy about buckwheat but that’s because I’m too lazy to remove the hull before eating so it’s sort of a rough texture. The list goes on and on…but it’s time to talk about the process.

My sprout trays

I have lovely sprouting trays that have indentations on the bottom and all I do is fill the tray and it has it’s own draining system, leaving behind just enough water to keep the seeds moist to sprout. I’ve seen larger versions of mine as well as a whole plethora of other sprouting systems. The easiest method with materials that everyone around the world can access is the old glass jar with cheesecloth tied to the top. Each seed has it’s own ideal soaking time for sprouting but honestly if you don’t soak it long enough there’s a good chance it will still sprout.

Alfalfa

The method with the jar is easy: Soak seed in water. I use about a tablespoon of sprouting matter per tray. In a quart mason jar I would also put about a tablespoon, or enough to make a thin layer of seeds along the side. The last thing you want is too many seeds becoming a rotting, stinking mess. Drain off water, rinse and drain well. Place cheesecloth (or linen or whatever) over the top, secure with rubber band and store jar on it’s side (just in case there’s too much water left behind the seeds won’t rot in it). At least twice a day, fill jar with water and drain. You might not even need to take off the cheesecloth, just turn it upside down over the sink to drain. Within a few days to a week (depending on temperature/humidity) you will have lovely sprouts. You can eat them once a little tail has grown or give them more time to develop it’s first leaves; it’s up to you. Before storing, I give them a final rinse (some people like to rinse off the hulls but I’m lazy and don’t mind the extra fiber) and put them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Salads are better with sprouts

Remember, sprouts don’t have to be boring. Most people thing their only place is on salads but you can throw some on top of a stir-fry before eating, add to sandwiches, even soups. I’ve been throwing mine in my smoothies lately with good results. Here’s a list of sprouts, soak time and my comments for your convenience.

• Alfalfa (neutral flavor, not too crunchy): I honestly don’t soak these but I’ve heard 1-6 hours. They will sprout in a day or two.
• Quinoa (similar in taste/texture to alfalfa, perhaps a bit less crunchy): Soak 2 hours.
• Lentils (my favorite! Nutty, crunchy and a little bit spicy): Soak 8 hours  Red, green, yellow, French.  They are all good.
• Radish seeds (spicy little sprouts): I don’t soak them but you can do 2 hours if it makes you feel better.
• Fenugreek (smells like curry, great crunch, moderate spice): Soak overnight to 12 hours
• Wheat and Spelt Berries (great at any stage, more chewy than crunchy): Soak overnight to 12 hours
• Mung Beans (neutral flavor, great crunch): Soak overnight to 10 hours.  I can’t get mine to look like the store ones, I think you need to keep them out of the light completely.
• Buckwheat (the hull can be papery.  I prefer to soak and dehydrate buckwheat for granola instead of sprouting.  Don’t use Kasha, I think it’s already cooked.  I haven’t tried hulled buckwheat):  Soak 30 minutes.
• Clover (similar to alfalfa, but more “delicate” tasting): I don’t soak but my guide says 6 hours.
• Chia (is a disaster.  It becomes a gelatinous mess like flax does).  I soak chia overnight and throw the whole thing in a smoothie.  I have not experiemented further.  It clogs up my sprouting trays.
• Flax: same as chia, but I don’t sprout it.  I prefer it just ground and added to smoothies or in baking.
• Broccoli Seeds (great for salad, small sprout, neutral taste): Soak overnight
• Chickpeas (are fun to sprout.  Raw hummus!)  Soak 48 hours.
• Peas (fresh and crunchy) Soak overnight to 12 hours.

This is only a partial list of what I have sprouted.  I think the best compilation of a sprouting guide is in Vegan World Fusion, which has a lot of recipes that uses sprouts or soaked things if you want to enjoy some delicious raw food.

Welcome to the best of both worlds. My childhood banana bread meets the zucchini bread and they live happily ever after. I love this bread because it’s sweet, dense and moist.  It doesn’t fall apart if you want to slather on the jam or butter.  And it’s lower fat and has lovely omega’s (from flax) to boot. The thing that I love about “tea breads” is that it tastes like dessert but I was allowed to have it for breakfast. Aptly named a tea bread, it is also acceptable for the British custom of tea time. And even though it has plenty of sugar, there are vegetables involved so don’t be scared. Bananas are high in B6 and magnesium. Bananas and zucchini both contain potassium, Vitamin C and obviously are full of fiber. The humble zucchini also has plenty of Vitamin A. Luckily, they both store well and where I live, zucchini can grow like a weed.

When I have a huge crop of zucchini in the garden, I grate it, measure it out and put them in labeled ziplock bags so that I don’t burn out on zucchini bread all at once. I tend to get too many bananas at once and instead of letting them go bad and cry about it, I freeze those too. To freeze bananas, I peel them and put them on a cookie sheet and freeze them for about an hour. (this step is so that if they are overly ripe, they don’t freeze together and become a big mass) Then I transfer them to ziplocks and store them in the freezer. I love freezers and their ability to happily handle the fact that I cook for 6 in a family of 2. Whenever I make dinner, I freeze half of it for the eventual lazy day when I want home cooked food but don’t want to wait or go out to eat. Anyways, I’m sure you are ready for the recipe so here it is! Oh, and if you are interested, one of my grandmas goes by the name Keane, so she gets a bread named after her.

Warm with melted Earth Balance

Nana Keane (‘Nana ‘Chini) Bread
Yield: 1 9×5 loaf pan, about 6 servings if you want to share

Enjoy my revamped vegan bread for breakfast, dessert or any old time. My favorite way to eat this bread is warmed and smothered in cream cheese.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup oil/applesauce (I do 50:50 but feel free to play with the ratio)
• 1 cup evaporated cane juice (sugar)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbs ground flax seed
• 3 fl oz water (1/4 cup + 2 Tbl)
• 1 1/2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 2/3 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F and lightly grease a loaf pan.
2. In a bowl, mix the oil, applesauce, sugars, flax and water.
3. Add the bananas and vanilla and mix well.
4. Fold in the zucchini and set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.  I usually just sift the baking powder and soda and mix it all together with a fork or whisk.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix it until most of the flour is incorporated and no large lumps remain.
7. Fold in the nuts if using and pour immediately into your greased pan and put in the oven.
8. Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until a knife/toothpick inserted comes out clean.

It will firm up if you let it cool for a bit but if you can’t wait, don’t listen to me.  This bread keeps for 3 days on the counter, a week in the fridge and forever in the freezer.  If you freeze it, cool it completely then wrap in plastic wrap and then wrap it in foil.  Defrost in the fridge overnight.  I try to keep a loaf in the freezer at all times in case there are unexpected weekend guests.

Fried rice is my go-to meal if I’ve got a leftover rice.  It’s so easy and quick and if you always have a stash of peas in your freezer, you are halfway there.  I like this dish because it’s quick and really versatile.  Plus, who doesn’t like fried rice?  I steam whatever veggies I have and I’m ready to eat within 10 minutes.  So next time you make rice, make extra for that upcoming evening you work late or would rather not cook for 2 hours.

KimmyFriedRice

Yield:  depends on your proportions of everything, usually 4 servings.  Sorry the amounts aren’t exact, I make it different every time and you’ll probably have a different palate than I do.

Ingredients

• canola/vegetable/peanut oil (NOT olive oil, it can’t handle the heat)
• Veggies of choice (frozen peas, diced carrots, snow peas, broccoli, bok choy)
• Tofu/tempeh/seitan
• minced garlic to taste (2 cloves should do it)
• peeled, minced ginger (about 1 tsp)
• Leftover cooked rice (about 3 cups; I use short-grain brown)
• soy sauce or tamari (about 1 Tbl)
• sesame oil (about 1 tsp)
• toasted sesame seeds (garnish)
• thinly sliced scallions (3 Tbl)

Method

1. Steam fresh vegetables in a steamer until al dente or just tender.  Set aside.
2. Heat some oil (1-2 Tbl) in a skillet and saute your protein of choice until it is nice and crispy (I like to fry tofu cubes, but it’s not the healthiest option out there).  Using a slotted spoon, remove it and set aside on paper towels.
3. Now comes the quick part: heat about 1 Tbl of oil in a large saute pan on medium-high heat and add garlic and ginger and saute for about 30 seconds or until the garlic starts to color.
4. Toss in all the cold rice and stir with a wooden spoon to break up any large clumps.  Your rice may stick, that’s okay, it will add a little crunch and make it that much better.  Continue stirring the rice for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat, making sure it’s all coated with the oil.
5. Add the frozen peas and cook for about a minute to defrost them.
6. Add the remaining veggies and protein and cook long enough to heat them back up.
7. Turn off the heat and add soy sauce and sesame oil.  Stir to combine and serve with a garnish of sesame seeds and scallions.  This makes excellent leftovers.

I haven’t foraged maitake (ram’s head/sheep’s head/hen of the woods) (Grifola Frondosa) yet, but it would be a good find.  The genus, Grifola, refers to the griffin a lion body/eagle headed creature, making this mushroom the king of the land and air.  They are traditionally a symbol of God and guardian of treasures…quite a bit of pressure for a fungi.  I don’t know if they grow in the Pacific Northwest, but I do know that I love these mushrooms.  They are meaty and chewy but not too chewy.  They hold up well in a lot of applications and are just plain cute.  I like that they freeze really well from the raw state (no prep necessary), making my mushroom cravings easy to satisfy if I’m home and hungry.  Maitake are native to the Northeast and Japan (and supermarkets worldwide), but you can grow your own in your backyard using “mushroom plugs.”  Perhaps this is my next project, foraging in my pj’s.

Maitake Kale Saute

Maitake grow in the same spot year after year, usually at the base of oak trees.  Maitake is Japanese for “dancing mushroom,” referring to the forager’s excitement since a single cluster can grow up to 50 pounds or more.  I can’t even visualize that because this mushroom is not dense like portabellas can be.  One of the most exciting things that I’ve learned about this mushroom is that it’s an adaptogen, meaning that it balances out the body and increases the body’s resistance to anxiety, fatigue and stress.  It sounds like magic but adaptogens are real and amazing.  I took Ashwagandha the month before my wedding and I didn’t get overwhelmed with stress or anxiety.  I did have trouble falling asleep, though I needed less sleep.

Maitake Wonton Soup

But I digress.  Maitakes are yummy and I ate them recently in a wonton soup that rocked.  I don’t have a set recipe for this, so bear with the chatty directions.  I sauteed the maitake with a lot of garlic and a mixture of earth balance and olive oil.  Once the mushrooms started to release their juices, I added some chopped kale and sauteed that until it wilted and most of the liquid evaporated.  I kept it simple with soy sauce and black pepper for seasonings.  Then I added some sauteed mystery mushrooms to the broth for more mushroomy goodness.  I used VeganYumYum’s wonton soup broth because it’s easy and tastes great.  I simmered the wontons for about 3 minutes in a separate pot of boiling salted water and then added them to the soup.  Wonton wrappers can be deceptive since a lot of brands have eggs in the ingredients.  Read your labels, folks!  It was a satisfying lighter fall soup and I almost didn’t have any leftovers.

I came into an abundance of arugula recently and thought I’d make a pesto from it. I threw in a little leftover basil to maintain that “pesto” taste, but I think it turned out to be a fun alternative to the traditional pesto. It’s not overly intense, so feel free to modify to your own tastebuds. This recipe made over a cup of pesto, so feel free to freeze it in ice cube trays for that upcoming lazy day. The secret ingredient is the vegan parmesan from Veganomicon, which is amazing. Thanks, Isa! I refuse to buy vegan parm, it’s too expensive. Now I can make it on my own and it’s really tasty sprinkled on top of most everything.

Arugula, also called rocket is a great green. It can tolerate the weather in the Pacific NW and grows really well. I love it in salads and on pizzas because it has a peppery edge and crunch to it. I think my first experience with arugula was at the Pink Door in Seattle, where they served it as a happy hour pizza without sauce, just olive oil, cracked black pepper and garlic. The arugula was just barely wilted and it was heaven. Sadly, their happy hour is now lame and not worth going to anymore. So grow some arugula and enjoy the many health benefits. It’s considered a cruciferous vegetable, so we’ve got the antioxidants and anti-cancer angle as well as vitamin a, c, folic acid and calcium. If that’s too healthy for you, wikipedia tells me an island in Italy makes a sweet, peppery liquor from it called rucolino. Maybe when I have a crop of arugula ready for harvest, I’ll figure out how to make rucolino and serve it alongside the pesto.

Arugula Pesto
Yield: I think 1.5 cups

Ingredients
3 cups arugula, tough stems removed
1/2 cup basil (fresh, of course)
1/2 cup walnuts, pumpkin seeds and pine nuts, toasted (I did equal amounts, you can play around)
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp kelp granules (or use more salt)
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil (not the crappy stuff or you pesto will taste like it)
1/4 cup Almesan (V’con)

Method
1. In a food processor (or blender), pulse arugula, basil, nuts, garlic, kelp and salt until it’s good and chopped.
2. With the machine running, pour in the minimum of olive oil. Take breaks to scrape down the sides. Taste the pesto and add more oil/salt to your liking. If it’s starting to taste oily but is not of pesto texture, add some water to the mix to thin it out.

The end. Eat, enjoy, freeze what’s left.

I would never have thought it possible. A vegan omelette. What a silly concept, but in reality it’s amazing. Groundbreaking.I’ve always thought tofu scrambles to be o.k. Tofu can never become an egg, there’s just something noticeable about the taste and texture. I’d prefer granola anyways.

But this recipe over at FatFreeVegan is awesome. Taste, texture, almost creepy. I have a smaller skillet (about 6″) and it’s cast-iron. I think a non-stick would do a much better job. My omelette didn’t fold as easily because of my pan shape and material and found that her recipe made 2 omelettes in my pan. Regardless, it presented well and tasted great. I made the batter and held it for a few days in my fridge and it still cooked up great after sitting. You can’t really do that with eggs (health code violation). So I’m excited to find yet another example in life where eggs aren’t needed, necessary or missed.  In the picture, I ate it with arugula and broccoli. I’ll have to try one with some of my foraged goods!