European Style Beefless Stew

This stew takes a bit of time, but the taste is well worth it. Serves 8.

Ingredients:

2 packages Gardin beefless tips
Two large peeled carrots, diced
Two stalks of celery, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
One small onion, chopped
2 medium yukon gold potatoes, diced
4 oz tomato paste
3 C vegan beef broth (I use Better than Bouillon Brand)
1 C dry red wine
Two cups quartered mushrooms
10 pearl onions, peeled - here is a video on how to peel them
1 C frozen peas
5 T whole wheat white flour
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 bay leaf
Pepper

Directions:

Heat a large saute pan and spray with vegetable oil, add beefless tips and brown on all sides.
Remove from pan and set aside.
Dry Saute carrots, onion,  garlic, celery, herbs and about 1/4 tsp pepper until onions are translucent.
Place beef back on top of the mixture, pour 1 cup red wine over the mixture and reduce liquid by 1/2.
Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir to coat everything.
Stir in the tomato paste.
Stir in the vegan beef broth
Add the potatoes and bay leaf.

Cover and let simmer 1 hour. For a thicker sauce, I place my covered pot in the oven and cook at 325 for three hours.

About 15 minutes before serving:

Dry saute pearl onions and mushrooms until onions are carmalized. (about 3 minutes)

Add this to the stew mixture.  Stir in the frozen peas. Warm for about 5 more minutes. Remove bay leaf. Serve.

Vegan Taco Recipe Using Bocca

This recipe was modified from a meat recipe that I found online.  My whole family loves it.

Ingredients:

• 2 C TVP or one package Bocca meatless ground crumbles
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 c diced green chiles
• 1 can fire roasted crushed tomatoes (I used Muir Glenn)
• 1 cup diced potatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried crushed oregano
• 1  tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions: 

Dry saute chopped onions and garlic until translucent.   Add tomatoes, potatoes, spices and chilies.  Simmer on low for 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.  Mix in frozen Bocca or TVP and and continue to simmer until warmed through (about 5 to 10 minutes). Serve in whole grain non fat tortillas with lettuce, salsa, guacamole, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, etc.

Southwest Chipitole Soup

I modified Rachel's Ray's Chicken, Chorizo, and Tortilla soup to make this vegan alternative.

Southwest Soup

Ingredients

•       1 package Gardein chick n scallopini 

•       Salt and pepper

•       1 package Field Roast Chipotle sausage.

•       Vegetable spray (recommended Spectrum brand)

•       3 cloves garlic, smashed

•       1 red bell pepper, chopped

•       1 medium onion, chopped

•       6 small red potatoes, diced

•       1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted chopped tomatoes (recommended: Muir Glen)

•       1 (15-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained

•       2 teaspoons hot sauce (omit, if you like things less spicy)

•       1 quart chicken stock made from Better Than Bouillon -  No Chicken Base

Directions

1.  Preheat large soup pot over medium-high heat.

2.  Slightly thaw and chop scallopini into bite-size pieces.

3.  Chop chipitole sausage into small pieces.

4.  Spray pot twice with vegetable oil

5.  Add chick n scallopini to pot.

6.  Lightly brown chicken 2 minutes, then add the chipotle and garlic.

7.  Cook another 2 to 3 minutes

8.  Add peppers, onions and potatoes. Cook 5 minutes, 9.  Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, hot sauce, and chicken stock and bring soup to a boil.

10.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour.

The Best Balsamic Vinegar - from Olives and Grapes

OK, today's blog is a product review of "from Olives and Grapes" balsamic vinegar.  If you haven't heard, balsamic vinegar is a great antioxidant as well as providing a potential list of benefits from "possibly" lowering cholesterol levels to boosting energy.  However, I like it because it tastes wonderful and is a great non-fat alternative to salad dressing.

I was waiting for my son to finish with a play practice in Historic Cocoa Village and decided to check out the store "from Olives and Grapes."  I am really glad my son was late, because this store carries the best balsamic vinegar that I've ever tasted and I tasted a lot of these vinegars on a recent trip to Italy.  The store carries numerous flavors of the vinegar as well as oils and if you live close by, you can go in and actually taste them before buying.  My favorites to date are the Traditional 18 year-aged Balsamic Vinegar and the Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar.  You can enjoy these vinegars on salad or as a bread dipping sauce.

If you'd like to check them out, see:http://www.fromolivesandgrapes.com If you'd like to visit them, they are located in Historic Cocoa Village at: 12 Oleander Street

Celebration Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Carrots

I discovered the company "Field Roast" from the Ellen website.  I used the roast recipe from her website, but modified it to make it less work and low fat.  I think the result was still great and my kids and husband loved it.  If you want the original recipe, here is the link.  It sounds complicated, the the entire meal took an hour to make.

Ingredients:

1 cup red wine (cabernet, merlot, etc.)
1 C vegetable broth
1 T Better Than Bouillon, No Beef Base
2 C water
2 carrots diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 onion diced
16 small mixed carrots
Salt
3 T whole wheat white flour
1 tsp thyme
1tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 Field Roast, Celebration Roast
5 large Yukon potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled.


Directions:


Start the sauce about an hour before you want to eat.


1. Add 1/4 red wine to a heated saute pan.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until tender.  
2. Stir in 3 T of flour
3. Add the rest of the wine, water, no beef base, rosemary, thyme, and pepper.
4. Let simmer on low heat for an hour, stir it occasionally
5. After an hour, strain the sauce into another pan.  (You can actually save the carrot/celery/onion mixture that will be left in the strainer and use it in wraps for lunch.)


Start the potatoes about 30 minutes before you want to eat.

1. Place potatoes in a large pan of boiling water and cook until fork tender.
2. Drain potatoes in a colander.
3. Transfer potatoes to a bowl.
4. Add 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth and mash with the potatoes.
5. Add more broth until a creamy texture is achieved.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Start the carrots.

1. Preheat the oven to 425
2. Spray a cookie sheet with vegetable oil.
3. Place carrots on the pan.
4. Spray the carrots with the vegetable oil.
5. Sprinkle about 1tsp salt over the carrots.
6.  Bake for 20 minutes or until tender.


Cook the roast.


I used my panini to grill the roast.


1.  Cut the roast into 8 equal pieces.
2.  Place on the grill and brush tops with the beef sauce.
3.  Cook for about 3 minutes, then turn the pieces over and repeat the process.


Assemble on the plate.


1. Drizzle 2 T of sauce on four plates.
2. Arrange two scoops of potatoes on each plate. ( I used an ice cream scoop)
3. Place two pieces of roast on the potatoes in a v.
4. Arrange carrots close to the roast.
5. Place remaining beef sauce on the table for folks to use.

Vegan No Gluten Low-fat Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 C Agave Nectar
1/4 C Coconut Oil
2 C organic plain pumpkin puree
2 C gluten free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Xanthum Gum
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground cloves, and nutmeg
1/3 cup rice milk
1/3 cup hot water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Oil a 12-cup muffin tin
In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
Add wet ingredients.
Stir until batter is smooth.
Scoop batter into muffin tins.  I use an ice cream scoop to make this easier.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Let stand in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Nutrition Facts * Calculated on Sparkpeople  Makes 12 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		201.9
Total Fat		10.0 g
	Saturated Fat	5.6 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.4 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		451.3 mg
Potassium		87.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate		35.4 g
	Dietary Fiber	4.7 g
	Sugars	17.1 g
Protein		2.5 g

Favorite Vegan and Vegetarian Cookbooks

When I first started down the almost vegan path a year ago, I checked a lot of cookbooks out from the library to get ideas and try something new.  Here are some of my favorites that I decided to purchase. I've listed them in the order that shows the cookbooks I use the most.

Veganomicon - The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

Vegan Fire & Spice 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes

The (Almost) No Fat Cook Book Everyday Vegetarian Recipes

New vegetarian cuisine - 250 low-fat recipes for superior heath

Low-fat Vegetarian Cooking

babycakes - Vegan, Gluten-Free and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked - About Bakery.

lick it! Creamy, dreamy vegan ice creams your mouth will love