Spring Roll Salad

Vegetarian spring rolls are so good, but I find that it takes patience to make them. Getting the roll in a good form and not breaking the wrapper are two challenges that can be avoided by making spring roll salad!
On Cooking and Ingredients

Spring Roll Salad

Makes 2 really big salads, or 4 sides

Tofu

10 oz drained tofu (see instructions: http://www.verveggie.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-08-27T17:38:00-05:00&max-results=5 )

1 T canola oil

1 T sweet chili sauce

1 T tamari (wheat free soy sauce)

Dressing

1/4 c brown rice vinegar

2 T brown rice syrup

1 T sweet chili sauce (or more to taste)

Salad

4 oz skinny brown rice noodles or vermicelli

2 T rough chopped mint leaves

3/4 c shredded or finely sliced carrots

2 c shredded cabbage

Garnish

3 T peanuts

green onions

gomasio (crushed seaweed, sesame seeds, sea salt)

Cook 4 oz of noodles according to package directions.  Rinse the noodles in cold water and set aside.

Make the tofu:

In a medium sized oven safe dish, mix the canola oil, chili sauce, and tamari.  Cut the drained tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and place into the dish with the sauce.  Toss the tofu until well coated.  Bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Give it a stir and then bake for 10 more minutes.  Cool the tofu.

Make the dressing:

In a small bowl, mix the brown rice vinegar, brown rice syrup, and chili sauce.  Whisk until well combined.  Add more chili sauce to taste if you would like more heat.

Make the salad:

In a large bowl, mix together the cabbage, carrots, cooled tofu, cooled noodles, and mint leaves.  Add the dressing and toss well.  Add peanuts, gomasio, and green onions and serve.

The Best Vegan Squash Bisque

This squash soup recipe was inspired by this Delicata Squash Bisque recipe:  http://veganyumyum.com/2008/10/delicata-squash-bisque/?vm=r&s=1  The original recipe is really yummy, and delicata squash is soooo good, however, sometimes you can't find it after the fall stock gets used up, and sometimes it's easier to bake and clean bigger squashes.  I find that the sweeter the squash you use, the better this soup tastes.  It's so good that I find myself licking out the bowl. This recipe makes a huge batch, cut it in half if you aren't making it for a lot of people. Also, it's pretty thick.  If you prefer thinner soup, use a little less squash or a less dense squash.

On Cooking and Ingredients

The Best Vegan Squash Bisque

Makes 15 cups

8 cups of mostly cooked squash (see below)

6 cups veggie broth

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup water

3/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 t allspice

black pepper-a lot

salt to taste

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup water

OR

2 cups vegan unsweetened cream

Soak the cashews in water.  Heat the oven to 350 and place whatever type of squash you are using into a baking dish and place into the oven.  Bake until you can stick a knife in it and cut it in half.  Time will vary depending on what type of squash you use and the size of the squash.  Scoop out the seeds and peel the squash.  

Measure out the squash in a measuring bowl, try to smash it a little if you cut it into chunks.

In a large pot, add the onion and half cup of water.  Cook over medium high until onion is soft and water is evaporated.  Add the broth, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, pepper, and squash.   Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Cover and cook for about 25 minutes until the squash is the rest of the way cooked.

Using an immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until smooth.  In a high speed blender, blend the cashews and cup of water until smooth.  Add to the blended soup and blend it again (or add the cream if not using cashew cream).  Heat through and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spicy Veggie Stuffed Peppers with Avocado "Sour Cream"

This recipe is a slight modification of vegetarian times Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers, I just kicked it up a little: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/quinoa-stuffed-peppers-2/   And instead of  topping them with cheese, I made a vegan avocado sour cream that would be good as a party dip too.
I try to make stuffed peppers once a year-in the fall when there's lots of peppers available at the farmer's market for a good price, otherwise, they just don't seem to be very economical.  The stuffing in this recipe is is a great combination of veggies and quiona and I'd make it any time of year to eat without stuffing it in peppers.  It definitely has a kick to it with my spicy pepper additions, so if you aren't a fan of spicy food, you can cut out the jalapeno pepper, and use less of the chipolte in adobo too, but be sure to keep some since the chipolte in adobo gives it a smoky flavor.

Veggie Stuffed Peppers 
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
1 chipolte in adobo sauce, chopped finely
(Tip: when you buy a can of chipoltes in adobo, you can freeze them individually and then take them out when you need them)

4 bell peppers, I like red the best
1 t oil
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper (use half of one of the 4 peppers so you will stuff 7 halves)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped (optional)
3/4 cup packed, shredded kale
3/4 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup black beans
3/4 cup sweet corn
1/2 t cumin
salt and pepper

Rinse and drain the quinoa.  Add it to a medium pan with the cup of veggie broth and the chipolte pepper.  Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Heat your oven to 375 degrees.

While the quiona is cooking, add the oil to a large pan, along with the garlic, red pepper, red onion, carrot, and jalapeno if using.  Saute for 5-7 minutes until veggies are slightly soft.

Add the tomato, black beans, corn, kale, and cumin and heat through for about 2 minutes, then remove from heat.  When the quiona is done, add it to the pan with the veggies.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds as much as possible.  You should have 7 halves to stuff.  Lightly oil the bottom of a 9X13 inch pan so the peppers don't stick.  Place the peppers in the pan, cut side up and spoon some of the veggie/quiona mixture in to each one.

Cover with foil and bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Avocado "Sour Cream"
1/2 cup raw cashews soaked for an hour
1/2 cup water
2 avocados, cut in half, seeds removed, and avocado scooped out
2 T lime juice
1/2 t cider vinegar
1/2 t garlic salt
salt to taste

In a Vitamix or high speed blender, blend the water and cashews until smooth.  Add the scooped out avocado, lime juice, cider vinegar, and garlic salt and blend until mixed.  Add salt to taste.

My Favorite Vegan Substitutes

A friend of mine recently started eating a vegetarian diet.  We were talking this weekend about cheese substitutes-there are tons of animal food substitutes for vegetarians out there in grocery stores, but not all are created equal.  I sent her a list of my favorite products and decided to post them here too ( I do not currently get paid by any advertisers, this is just my personal preferences after years of not eating animal foods).  These are all foods that are cholesterol free, and animals aren't used to make them.  However, instead of going heavy on animal food substitutes in your diet, I'd strongly recommend eating lots of fruits, vegetables and other whole foods, and use these on the side.  It is sometimes fun though, to veganize things that you used to love to eat and also to veganize recipes that look awesome that aren't vegan, and these can help you out.  They can also help transition from a primarily animal foods diet to vegetarian too!

When you are buying animal food substitutes, be sure to read labels-sometimes there are hidden, unhealthy ingredients, like Casein, which is milk protein, or yeast extract which is sometimes covering up for MSG.  All of the products in this list are MSG free.  Also, if something has an ingredient that looks like this: sldkfjeiorrle, try to find out what it really is and what it comes from and you might just want to bypass that product.  If you buy soy products, make sure the soy is non-GMO or organic.  Here's my list of favorites that I've tasted, as well as researched ingredients, with links to the company websites-many of the websites have yummy looking recipes too:


My favorite cream substitute for savory things:
Cashew cream-soaked cashews blended with water-amounts varied depending on how thick you need the cream to be.


Here's my favorite mozzarella substitute:
http://www.followyourheart.com/products/mozzarella-cheese/

Here's my other favorite cheese substitutes, the cheddar wedge is great:
http://www.daiyafoods.com/

Here's my favorite meat substitutes:
http://www.gardein.com/products.php?t=frozen&p=47

Brats and sausage:
http://www.tofurky.com/tofurkyproducts/sausages.html
Tofurky roast is great for Thanksgiving dinner-have the carnivores eating turkey try it-most of them will say it's not that bad:)

Here's my favorite milk substitute for sweet things, but notice it's the unsweetened version still:
http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/coconut-milk-beverages/unsweetened

Here's my favorite butter substitute:
http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/product/original-buttery-spread/

Here's my favorite vegan mayos:
http://www.followyourheart.com/products/grapeseed-vegenaise/
http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/product/original-mayo/

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes

If you have a garden, this time of year can be tomato overload.  Hopefully, even if you don't have a garden, you are benefiting from somebody else's tomato overload:)  I have a date planned with friends for them to show me how to can tomatoes, but in the meantime, I've been freezing and drying.

Frozen Stewed Tomatoes
This is a great way to have BPA-free stewed tomatoes from your garden to use in the winter when making any recipe that calls for tomatoes.  If you have an over abundance of zucchini, peppers, eggplant, carrots, or any other veggie, you can shred them and add them to the tomatoes while they are cooking.  For example, in past years, I've had extra zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes.  I shredded the zucchini, chopped the peppers, and cooked it with the tomatoes and used it during the winter for both pasta sauce and chili base.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half (if you are using cherry tomatoes) and put them in a crock pot.

For larger tomatoes, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  To a large bowl, add ice and water and place near the pot of water on the stove.

When the water is boiling, carefully drop 6-7 tomatoes into the pot.  Boil for about a minute or remove them right away if the skins start to crack.  

Place the boiled tomatoes into the ice water bowl. 

After the tomatoes have cooled in the ice water for a minute or two, the skins remove very easily.  Remove the skins and some of the seeds if you want, and chop the tomatoes in one inch chunks.  Place the tomatoes into a crock pot.

Cooking time and temperature depend on your plans for the day and the temperature of the crock pot. If you want the tomatoes done faster and can check on them in a few hours, cook them on high.  If you are going to be gone all day, cook them on low.  I cook them until they look like a can of stewed tomatoes:

When they are done cooking, let them cool, and place them into glass jars with lids.  Leave at least an inch of room from the top of the jar for them to expand when freezing and place into the freezer.

Dried Tomatoes
Another use for tomatoes is to dry them for later use.  Drying them condenses the flavors and they are soooo good and it's so easy! It works for cherry tomatoes or large tomatoes.

For cherry tomatoes, cut them in half and place them on a dehydrator sheet.  For large tomatoes, cut them into 1/3 inch slices.

My dehydrator setting says 135 degrees for drying fruit, so that's the temperature I used.   Drying time depends on the size of the tomato-for cherries, it takes about 24 hours.  For larger tomatoes, about a day and a half.  Check them, and if they aren't dry, let them go longer.  Here's what they look like when dry:

When they are done, place them into a covered storage container.  I keep them in the fridge.  When you want to use them in a recipe, boil some water, and rehydrate them for a few minutes.  Yum!