Vegan Johnny.....

Marzetti!

I am so excited about this recipe. 

I used to make this casserole, Johnny Marzetti, all the time for my family, when the kids were little....it was such a snap.  Brown ground beef, add in cream of mushroom soup, pasta and pasta sauce and it was a done deal.  Of course, since going vegan, this, and my other claim to fast food fame, tuna slop (tuna, cream of celery, rice and cheese), have been permanently archived.

This weekend, for some reason, I was thinking about ole Johnny and thought, wait a minute....I can figure this out.

I started with my favorite lentils, Trader Joe's cooked lentils.  I don't know how they cook them, but they are so good.

Then I made up some cream of mushroom soup.  After searching the web a bit, I settled upon two vegan versions and basically did a combo of the two.

Virtually Vegan Mama has a recipe here: http://virtuallyveganmama.com/2013/11/vegan-cream-of-mushroom-soup.html

and Healthful Pursuit has one here:  http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6005805

In my version, I sauted about a half of an onion and one clove of garlic in some water.  I used one small box of baby bella mushrooms (chopped), and added those to the onion/garlic.  I soaked about 1/2 C of raw cashews for several hours, and processed those in the food processor with some coconut milk (I had leftover in the frig needing to be used).  As a thickener, I used a couple of tablespoons of flour and blended with some of the coconut milk along with some pepper, celtic salt (my new favorite seasoning) and a dash of onion powder.

Here is the blending of the soaked (and drained) cashews with the coconut milk going into the onion/garlic/mushroom mix that is sauteeing.

I added a bit more liquid after adding in the flour mixture.

Let heat for a few minutes to thicken up.

I lightly seasoned with some white pepper.

At this point, you could puree the mixture again and that would break up the mushroom chunks some, but I omitted that step.  I'm thinking I could boost the nutritional value of this dish and the mouth feel of the bottom layer by adding in some cannellini beans.  I'll play with that a bit.  More veggies could be added as well.

From here it is an easy conversion.

Mushroom mix blended into the lentils.  Pasta on top of the lentil/mushroom mix.  Whole-wheat penne in this case, but spaghetti would be nice too.

And pasta sauce on top of the pasta.

I like lots of oregano in mine.

Top with some ground raw cashews and a quick heat up and it is good to go.

 Both my husband and my (fairly finnicky) son pronounced this as GOOD! 

Fun stuff......already kicking around some ideas for resurrecting tuna slop.... :)

Sue, loving Johnny, in Ohio

Mac 'n Cheez --- Dr. Michael Holick, The Vitamin D Solution ---- Happy 3 years

Who doesn't want a mac 'n cheez recipe and it is one of the hardest to get 'right' on a vegan/plant-based diet.  Mac Not Cheese was one of the first vegan recipes I tried, Rip Esselstyn's recipe from Engine 2 Diet.  That is still on my 'go-to' list as is Christy Morgan's version from Blissful Bites.  Both of these have become well trodden recipes, but I was shopping with a friend recently who happened to show me a dry mix version at our local Whole Foods, and I may have happened to possibly note the ingredients (shhh!) on said version with the intent of creating something similar at home.


Anyway, I came up with something I think is an acceptable version.  It still needs some tweaking, but my husband said he likes this better than either of the two recipes I normally use, and having something to eat that he enjoys is very high on my list of priorities.

My first try went like this:

Dry Mix: 
Whole Wheat flour**:  2 T (1 1/2T)
Nutritional Yeast:         3 T
Potato Starch*:             2 T
Salt:                              1 t
Garlic Powder:             1/2 t (1/4 t)
Mustard Powder:         1/2 t (1/4 t)
Onion Powder:            1/2 t
(cayenne powder:        1/8 t)

(*I used potato starch as the ingredient I was replacing was a root vegetable starch so I reasoned this would be a better substitute than corn starch--corn being a non-root vegetable.  I actually think it wouldn't matter.  I happened to also have a ton of potato starch that I got at our Asian supermarket super cheap.
**I have made this using Garbanzo Bean flour instead of wheat flour and it was just as good).

In parentheses are the changes I am going to make next time I make this.  I believe I will continue to tweak it over time and will post anything earth-shattering here.  My husband likes things a little spicy, so I thought I would add in the cayenne, just a bit.  He did say that he thought this was a bit heavy on the garlic.  It would be very easy to double, triple, whatever the recipe and store in the frig to throw together very quickly.  I'll be putting it to the true test this weekend with my grand-daughter!

Here are the dry ingredients mixed together.

I heated up coconut milk and also tried a version with homemade almond milk.  The coconut milk was far superior, but it would be interesting to try purchased almond milk as my homemade version tends to have flecks of almond in it since I don't strain it and I think that affected the texture of the sauce.

Adding the dry mix to the milk.

Mine got very thick and I ended up adding a bit more milk to get the right consistency before adding on top of pasta.

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I've been reading Dr. Holick's book, the Vitamin D Solution.  For some time I have suspected that I have low vitamin D levels and when I got my blood work done in May, it was confirmed that I have a Vit. D deficiency.  Up here in Ohio, we are lucky to see the sun even in the summer it seems this year, and I've learned a lot from Dr. Holick about just how our bodies make vitamin D and how vital it is to every cell in the body.  Dr. Holick believes we are suffering a pandemic of vitamin D deficiencies, and I find his logic to be very solid.  (Dr. H. knows a thing or two about Vit D having been the first person to identify the active form of vitamin D in the blood.  You can read an interview with him at this link and get a quick overview of the basics about Vitamin D, sun exposure, supplements, toxicity, etc. http://www.alternative-therapies.com/at/web_pdfs/0508_interview.pdf)

We are very limited to what we can get from our diet in the way of vitamin D, and even meat-eaters getting their D by consuming foods are doing so because D has been added, which may or may not be adequate or even accurate as reported on the food labels, per Holick. 

I am also supplementing with Vit. D2 at least until I get my levels up to an acceptable range. I  prefer not to use supplementation, but living this far north may not give me another option.

To make things more complicated, we need calcium to properly utilize and absorb D, and this too can be problematic to get in our diet.  I've been solving the calcium problem by making a concerted effort to get my greens at every meal (here I am back to Dr. Fuhrman's advice to eat a pound or more of greens per day), and I am also aware of other foods that provide calcium and strive to get those foods in.

Sun exposure is important, especially during key times of the day, when UVB rays are at the right angle so that we can absorb what we need and contrary to the fright that has been put into us about avoiding the sun, we need this exposure to ensure good health.

I highly recommend reading Dr. Holick's book for an eye-opening education on the vital role of vitamin D.  http://drholick.com/

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July has come and gone and that is my anniversary month.....I celebrated 3 years on this fantastic journey and way of eating in 2013.  I am so very proud and feel as committed as ever to this lifestyle.  I'll do a celebratory give-away next week.  Happy Anniversary to me!

Til then....

Sue, getting all the sun I can and eating my greens, in Ohio

Mexicali Yum Casserole

It's 5:00, (probably more like 6-6:30!) and you haven't started dinner yet and want something good and also need to cover your nutrient bases, what do you do? 

Start opening cans, baby.

This casserole is based on my dear friend, Renae's, Mexican Rice dish.  Renae has become a wizz at throwing things together, a skill no-doubt born out of necessity from her busy schedule.  I've changed it slightly from the original she sent me and you could do the same....as it is very easily adaptable.

I put on a large pot of brown rice (short-grain is my favorite).  I don't fuss about my rice cooking.  Water in pot, throw in rice, bring to a boil, turn down heat for a few minutes and cover and turn heat off.  I'll check to see if it needs more water and add as needed.

I chop a large onion or two and put them in a large skillet with just a little bit of water.  Stir occasionally and let the pan go mostly dry, then stir, stir, stir, to carmelize.

just starting to brown

getting there....

For this version, I lightly sauteed some leeks and shallots that I had fresh from my garden.  It was a nice treat.

While the rice and onion are cooking I start opening cans/packages.  My newest thing is cooked lentils from Trader Joe's.  Normally I am a bit of a snob about buying things pre-cooked, but I tried these and now am hooked.  YUM!  I layer these in the bottom of a large casserole dish.

When the rice is done, it will go on top of the lentils, but there are no rules to Mexicali!  Layer/dump as you see fit.

I open various cans of beans, my favorites for this dish being black beans and pinto beans.  Usually I will open about 3 or 4 cans, and pull the frozen corn out of the freezer.

Open canned tomatoes, usually one or two cans (omit if using fresh from the garden), and a can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies.

Open a bottle of salsa; I love Trader Joe's black bean and corn salsa.

but this is good too...

Start dumping everything into the casserole dish.  I usually go rice and lentils on bottom, then onion, then beans and corn;  I add tomatoes (fresh from the garden if you have) and salsa last.  Everything is cooked at this point so no reason to put it in the oven, but you can heat if you want.  We usually just warm up a portion, but I also like this cold with avocado slices on the top and Lindsay Nixon's sour cream recipe (from Happy Herbivore) as a topping.  My husband likes to spoon it into small corn tortillas and eat it soft taco style.  I've added Lindsay's queso with this too and that is also quite good.  This casserole is great as a topping on baked sweet potatoes and I've even spooned it on top of greens for a quick salad.

Definite yum!

(Note:  I've been having a side of greens, usually kale/collards with a sprinkling of raw sunflower seeds with most meals, even breakfast, for about a month now.  I've noticed an increase in energy and think it is providing some added calcium and vit A (per Dr. Michael Klaper we need a bit of healthy fat with the greens to help utilize vitamin A in our bodies). 

Sue, comer bien, in Ohio

Vegucated & Black Garbanzo Banzai Bean Bonanza

I recently viewed the documentary film "Vegucated" (more about the project here:  http://www.getvegucated.com/the-film/synopsis/) which features three average meat and cheese-loving Americans as they embark on a 6-week committment to a vegan diet.  I enjoyed the film and feel that it did a good job of covering the basic reasons a person would choose a vegan life-style, including a decent expose of factory farm cruelties.  I like the fact that the film (written and directed by Marisa Miller Wolfson) did not sugar coat the horrific acts of animal cruelty that factory farming has brought about and did have enough graphic photography to illustrate the point, but not so much that I would suffer a two-week depression following the viewing (I still haven't made it all the way through "Earthlings" yet---that stuff just really upsets me).  Exposure of animal farm practices were taken a step further by de-bunking some myths (and advertising implications) of 'free range' animals as well, and that was good to see.

The film features Dr. Joel Fuhrman, who conducts before and after tests on the three participants and also educates them on the nutritional benefits of a plant-based diet.

As the weeks go by, we are shown the day-to-day struggles with trying to maintain a vegan diet, and I think most people who have switched to this life-style or are trying to will recognize the hurdles and relate to the struggles.

I wish there had been a bit more about the actual food preparation and the variety of foods available and more time spent with the experts they interviewed (T. Colin Campbell for one), but it's a nicely done and inspirational film that ends with a great message:  that we all can make a difference, with each and every meal and food choice we make.

As a special feature, there is a 10 minute video of Dr. Fuhrman conducting a Q & A with two of the participants.  (I would have loved to see some other special features as well....maybe one with Dr. Campbell and also Howard Lyman who is featured on the film too---I always want more :-). 

Dr. Fuhrman lays the premises for this type of diet out plainly for Brian and Tesla and expertly fields the questions they have had leveled at them from non-vegans in their lives that don't understand the science behind such a seemingly radical shift.  (This Q & A session contains the one thing about the film that really bothered me....I found the one male participant, Brian, to be a bit of a smart-a#*, and I know he's trying to be funny, but found his attitude toward Dr. Fuhrman disrespectful.....still I applaud his efforts and think it is very brave to offer oneself up as an experiment for public viewing).

Some of Dr. Fuhrman's remarks:

The bottom line right now is that 51% of all Americans die of heart attacks or strokes.
Most Americans eat a diet that is 40% animal products and 50% processed foods.  That diet is particularly dangerous because they are missing not one or two nutrients, but LOTS of phytochemicals and anti-oxidants that are only found in fruits and veggies, nuts and beans.  Natural plants foods provide the full spectrum of nutrients that we need for maximizing our health.

All-in-all, it's a film worth viewing and one that may help you field questions and deflect attacks from others.  If you are already firmly on the plant-based food path, you probably will not learn alot of new information, but still, it is empowering to see others adopt this lifestyle and is always good to re-affirm one's committment.
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I had two interesting things cross my path recently.  I took some of my little grandaughter's outgrown clothing to an area resale shop and happened to be wearing one of my 'vegan' t-shirts.  The sales clerk that was helping me commented that she liked my shirt.  It took me a minute, but then I asked, are you vegetarian?  or vegan?  Turns out she is vegan!  (Insert happy dance here!).  I tried not to leap over the counter and attack her with hugs, but couldn't help but be sooo excited and we chatted briefly about how good we feel about our choices and vegan food in general.  I ended up giving her my blog address so if you are on here reading this, hello vegan-sister!  It just made my day meeting her.

The other thing that happened is the yin to all that yang.....a neighbor down the street had a heart attack and is having quadruple bypass surgery in a few days.  Now, I don't know how to put this delicately, but he has been living a lifestyle that has steered him directly into the path of this particular freight train.  He's very over-weight, doesn't walk from place to place out here (in the country, just walking to get the mail can be a bit of exercise since most of us live set back from the road), preferring to drive his ATV everywhere.  There are other factors in his life as well that predispose him for illness, but I thought it was very interesting that within just a few days, I would meet a trim, fit vegan and find out about this health scare with my neighbor.  He's the person that Dr. Fuhrman talks about in that 51% death statistic.  Of course I am wishing him well and perhaps this will be an opportunity for me to share some food options with him.  There, but for the grace of kale, go the rest of us!

Grand-daughter on 2-yr birthday, modeling some resale clothes (and snatching her uncle's cap)

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Black Garbanzo Bean Banzai Bonanza

(Note:  "Banzai" means 10,000 years---maybe if we eat enough beans & veggies we will have long life.  Plus, I thought it just sounded cool in the recipe title.)

Okay, so remember those black garbanzos I got at Whole Foods?  Well, I decided to cook some up and toss them in with various left-overs I had in the frig.  They are really pretty as they are cooking up....they have kind of a reddish cast to them in addition to the black.  I paired them with some rice, using short-grain brown rice (would be great with a blend of wild and mahogany rice too), and added in some corn, baby peas, left-over broccoli chopped up, cubed roasted butternut squash, (some slivered almonds would be nice on top too) and then I threw together a sauce to layer on top of it all.  The sauce is a variation on Dr. Esselstyn's mushroom gravy.  I chopped up about 5 onions and carmelized them in a frying pan with just enough water to keep from sticking.  Letting them brown pretty well adds more color and flavor to the sauce.  I added veg. stock, I don't measure but probably used at least two cups.  I mixed up a thickener (I used whole wheat flour, maybe 1/4 cup) whisking with some of the stock and about 1 T of soy sauce (would prefer tamari here) and added it gradually to the onion mix.  I tossed in some sliced mushrooms to cook while heating the sauce.  I added more liquid to get desired consistency and lightly seasoned.  (Sauce will thicken so it is better to add a bit more liquid than less).

Black Garbanzo Banzai Bean Bonanza

A layer of spinach could be added as well; another opportunity to add in some greens---the possibilities are endless.  Note:  I really wanted to have the rice as a bottom layer, then veggies and the sauce/gravy on top, but I used a casserole dish that was too shallow so it ended up being in two separate dishes and I heated in a 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Paired with some raw carrots fresh from my garden it was a very nice meal.

As Dr. Fuhrman points out in the Vegucated documentary, virtually all protein and other nutrients consumed on the planet originates through plants.  An animal may eat another animal who ate the plants; but the source is the plant.  I love that, as vegans, we cut out the middle-guy, and get the direct source.



Sue, celebrating good health & eating my beans, in Ohio

Cool Beans and New Winner for my Giveaway

Beans....more than just the musical fruit, they are soooo good for us and I've come to worship them.  Okay, not really worship, but.....  I have reached the conclusion that I am much healthier and have significantly more energy available if I consume my beans daily.  I believe that it is the micro-nutrients supplied by beans that really makes the difference.  I am tempted to launch into an alphabet soup of the nutrients that are found in beans, but will leave that for other more organized bloggers.  Let's just put it like this:  they are good for us.

I am so fortunate to have a Whole Foods store within driving distance (about an hour away) and our store is currently in the midst of a major remodel.  Since I only go there maybe twice a month, it's been a bit of an adventure walking in and suddenly not knowing where things are.  This last visit I quickly noticed the new bulk section and the expansion of beans and other legumes to Whole Foods' already fairly impressive selection.  I couldn't help but try some new ones.  I did contain my legume enthusiasm though and made just four choices:

From left to right they are:  Christmas Lima Beans, Fava Beans, Appaloosa Beans and Black Garbanzos

1. Here's a close up of the Christmas Limas and the Favas.

I'm always playing around with new ways to get beans into my diet, even resorting to tossing them in with my smoothies.  Recently, I made this dish....it's not quite a dip, and not quite a casserole....sort of a dip-sserole I guess.  What it is, is pretty darn good and I found non-vegans enjoyed it as well.


Cool Beans "Dip-sserole"

Layer in a dish in this order or as you prefer:

1 can vegetarian refried beans (or make your own--easy: blend cooked beans with veg broth adjusting amount of liquid for desired consistency)
Cooked short-grain brown rice (I used about a cup and a half for an 8 inch square dish)
Medium salsa (approx. 1 cup)
Cooked black beans (about 3/4 can)
Cooked corn  (approx one cup)
1 C of vegan sour cream (I made Lindsay Nixon's from Everyday Happy Herbivore)
Chopped tomatoes

You could easily adapt this recipe to make it more like the traditional 7 layer taco dip, by adding in a layer of chopped green onions and black olives, also you could add a layer of avocado blended with lemon juice.  I like the simple flavors my version had and it lended itself well as a dip and also was good spread in a wrap. (It's not bad with just a fork either!).

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New winner for my cookbook giveaway.  Valerie, I give up.  Can't find ya, girl, and these books are getting dusty, so I drew a new winner (I put your name in this time too, Todd).  New winner is:

Tom and Patti B.!  Congrats and please e-mail me with your shipping info so I can get these books sent off!  (sunnyhawklane@gmail.com)

Sue, eating cool beans, in Ohio