Hearty Whole Grain Sun-dried Tomato Crackers

With so many fun ideas recently regarding charcuterie boards, I really needed some wonderful crackers to go with the vegan cheese blocks I found at Costco. Honestly, boxes of crackers that aren’t just white flour and refined oil cost an arm and a leg – and aren’t particularly flavorful. So, I popped online to find vegan whole wheat cracker recipes. There are many gluten-free options, but I didn’t find a lot of whole grain options.

The next step was to dig through my cookbook collection. I ended up in an old cookbook from 1974, that had belonged to my mother. It was plant-based before vegan was a well-known word. Some of those recipes have ingredients that I don’t recognize in today’s market! I knew I had made a cracker recipe from it before, but my hubby hadn’t been a fan. But tucked in between the pages were 2 pieces of scrap paper with scribbles delineating things I had tried years ago in order to make the crackers stand up taller in his eyes. I whipped up a batch and he loved them! And best yet, they pair nicely with the milder kinds of vegan cheese that are out there.

The original recipe called for 1 cup of wheat germ. I try to only eat organic grains to avoid glyphosate (to which I react poorly), however, an organic wheat germ was elusive. Instead, I substituted 3/4 c. coarsely ground flaxseed which I ground myself. If you can only find finely ground flaxseed, I would use 1/2 a cup, because it absorbs so much more liquid from the dough that it becomes difficult to roll out.

Hearty Whole Grain Sun-dried Tomato Crackers

• 3 c. rolled oats
• 2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2-3/4 c. coarsely ground flaxseed (or 1 c. wheat germ)
• 1-1/4 tsp. salt (plus extra for topping)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 T. sweetener of choice (may be liquid)
• 2-4 T. sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
• 1 c. water
• 2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

Adjust your oven racks for using 2 cookie sheets at once, avoiding the very bottom and top slots to prevent burning. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Cut parchment paper to fit inside of a 10″ x 15″ cookie sheet with edges. (If you want thinner crackers, use a larger cookie sheet and larger parchment paper.)

Mix oats, flour, flaxseed (or wheat germ) in a large bowl. Whiz all remaining ingredients in a blender until the sun-dried tomatoes are tiny pieces, or liquified. Stir the wet ingredients thoroughly into the flour mixture with a fork, distributing the moisture evenly. Mix well and knead lightly until the dough doesn’t fall apart. If you need a little more moisture, just dampen your hands a bit at the sink and continue kneading. If the dough is too dry your cracker edges will be quite ragged and it is a challenge to roll out evenly.

Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Place one of your parchment paper pieces onto the counter. Use a rolling pin to roll one of the portions of dough out as evenly as you can to the edges of the paper, being careful to not be too thick in the center or thin on the edges. (Be patient as this can take a while with the oats. If you get rips in the dough, just press it back together. You can even pull off pieces from a thicker edge to press into the torn area and use the rolling pin to even it out again.) Sprinkle with salt and lightly press it into the crackers. Using a dull knife or a bench scraper, score the dough into your desired size of crackers. Once you have accomplished this, you can easily slide the parchment paper with the dough onto the cookie sheet. Set this pan aside and do the same with the other portion of dough.

Place cookie sheets in oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 325ºF. Set a timer for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Swap placements of the cookie sheets to help evenly bake the tops and bottoms of the crackers. Turn the oven down to 200º and watch them closely until they are thoroughly baked. (If the crackers along the edge are browning before the center ones, you may need to remove those earlier.)

To cool crackers, slide the parchment paper directly onto cooling racks. Once completely cooled, store in an air-tight container.

Updated Dark Chocolate Maple-Almond Granola

After messing with this recipe for several years, I realized I had tweaked it without updating the blog. This is still my favorite granola. So decadent!

This is a whole batch in a gallon jar.

If you need to substitute for the almond butter I can only tell you that the chocolate balance and liquids are off if you just use natural peanut butter instead. I would suggest you check out this link for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Granola.

Dark Chocolate Maple-Almond Granola

• 8 c. organic rolled oats
• 3/4 c. organic almond butter
• 1/2-3/4 c. maple syrup
• 1/4 c. water
• 2-3 T. melted organic virgin coconut oil
• 3/4 tsp sea salt or Himalayan pink salt (more if almond butter is unsalted 1 tsp+)
• 1 tsp stevia extract powder (with no other additives) – more if you want super sweet granola
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. organic, unsweetened cocoa powder (the better the brand, the tastier the end product) – sift this if it is clumped in any way.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover a large 17” cookie sheet with unbleached parchment paper. (If you don’t have one this large, maybe spread it between 2 smaller ones and bake it for less time – 10 minutes each round in the oven – and see how that works. I used an enormous pan one time, which spread the mix thin, and baked it for the two 15-minute rounds and it burned the edge pieces despite stirring, so it definitely needed less time when spread thin.)

Place the oats in a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the almond butter, maple syrup, water, coconut oil, salt, stevia, and vanilla. Stir the cocoa into the almond butter mixture and whisk. (OR you can mix the almond butter mixture into the oats thoroughly and then toss in the cocoa powder and mix like crazy.) With a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, fold the chocolate mixture into the oats, making sure they are thoroughly mixed.

Spread the oat mixture evenly on the cookie sheet, making sure to not leave the ends thinner than the middle, or they will burn. 

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir the granola (I use a metal spatula/pancake turner, flipping it over so that what was against the bottom of the pan isn’t anymore.) Evenly distribute on the pan again, and bake for another 15 minutes.

At this point, if you prefer chewy granola, place the pan on a cooling rack to completely come to room temperature. If you prefer crispier granola, turn the oven off, stir the granola one last time, and return the pan to the oven for 10-15 minutes. (You can test the texture of the granola after the second 15-minute bake by taking a piece and setting it on the counter while you are stirring the rest of it. Taste it and see if you like the texture.)

After completely cooled, place in a glass jar, crock, or other non-plastic container with an air-tight lid to keep moisture out. This will make more than half a gallon.

Dark Chocolate Maple-Almond Granola

I discovered that if I eat peanut butter too often, puffiness occurs. While I am not allergic to peanuts, apparently, they do bother me some. I decided that my chocolate-pb granola was out, sadly. With a few modifications to that recipe, however, I quickly fell even more in love with this one instead.

When I first created it, I didn’t add the coconut oil, but something was definitely missing. I accidentally left it out in my last batch, and I will try never to do that again. It just isn’t as good. I realize I gave a wide option for how much oil to add, but measuring it accurately before you melt it can be a lazy woman’s challenge. I mean, who wants another measuring cup to wash? I happen to love my glass Pyrex liquid measuring cups and I use them carefully for everything, even dry items, but it does keep you from having that even measure in the smaller plastic ones that you scrape off the excess with a knife edge. So, don’t fret it too much and see how much you get after you melt it in the microwave in a glass measuring cup. Use what you have as long as it is at least 2 tablespoons. I’ve used as much as 1/3 c. before and still had excellent results.

This is wonderful with chopped berries or banana slices, walnut pieces, cacao nibs, or mini chocolate chips.  It also is good on non-dairy yogurt or smoothies, or just by the handful as a snack. 

Dark Chocolate Maple-Almond Granola

• 6 c. organic rolled oats
• 3/4 c. organic almond butter
• 1 c. maple syrup
• 2-6 T. melted organic virgin coconut oil
• 3/4 tsp sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
• 1/2 tsp stevia extract powder (with no other additives)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. organic, unsweetened cocoa powder (the better the brand, the tastier the end product)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cover a large 17” cookie sheet with unbleached parchment paper.  (If you don’t have one this large, maybe spread it between 2 smaller ones and bake it for less time – 10 minutes each round in the oven – and see how that works.  I used an enormous pan one time, which spread the mix thin, and baked it for the two 15-minute rounds and it burned the edge pieces despite stirring, so it definitely needed less time when spread thin.)

Place the oats in a large mixing bowl.  In a small mixing bowl, whisk the almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, salt, stevia, and vanilla.  Sift the cocoa powder through a wire mesh strainer into the almond butter mixture and whisk.  With a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, fold the chocolate mixture into the oats, making sure they are thoroughly mixed.

Spread the oat mixture evenly on the cookie sheet, making sure to not leave the ends thinner than the middle, or they will burn. 

Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir the granola (I use a metal spatula/pancake turner, flipping it over so that what was against the bottom of the pan isn’t anymore.)  Evenly distribute on the pan again, and bake for another 15 minutes.

At this point, if you prefer chewy granola, place the pan on a cooling rack to completely come to room temperature.  If you prefer crispier granola, turn the oven off, stir the granola one last time, and return the pan to the oven for 10-15 minutes.  (You can test the texture of the granola after the second 15-minute bake by taking a piece and setting it on the counter while you are stirring the rest of it.  Taste it and see if you like the texture.)

Place in a glass jar, crock, or other non-plastic container with an air-tight lid to keep moisture out.  This will make around half a gallon or so. 

Thick and Creamy Vegan Potato Soup

It has been a while since I created a new recipe!  Today, it has finally been cool enough to recognize that it is kind of fall here in Ohio.  It isn’t supposed to last long with the high 80’s and even some 90-degree days coming back, but it gave me an excuse to make a small pot of soup. 

Creating this soup took about 45 minutes from start to finish – and that includes chopping the veggies, fiddling with seasoning measurements until I was happy with the results, and running next door to the garden our neighbors have graciously shared with us so that I could snip a stalk of rosemary.  I diced everything very small so that it would cook up quickly.  It shouldn’t take as long to make on a regular basis following the recipe.

This soup has a mild flavor, which is what my hubby prefers, but if you want it even milder, leave out the rosemary and fennel.  (Then it will be a smaller, thicker version of my gigantic recipe of potato soup.)  I like the interesting notes they bring, though. A quick drizzle of good olive oil in each bowl adds a nice touch, but isn’t necessary.

Thick and Creamy Potato Soup

• 4 c. small-diced red potatoes (I used about 3 sm/med.)
• 1 onion, diced (I used half of a red one and half of a yellow one, because I had them leftover)
• 1 sm. carrot, shredded
• 1/2 c. frozen, chopped spinach
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 c. water

• ¼ c. cashews
• 3 T. barley flour
• 1 tsp onion granules/powder
• 12 fennel seeds (If you like fennel seeds, throw in a few more! My hubby isn’t fond of them)
• 2 tsp chicken-style seasoning
• ¼ tsp dillweed
• 1 T. fresh rosemary
• 1 c. unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used soy)

Bring the first 6 ingredients to a boil in a 3-4 qt. pot, and boil for 5-7 minutes while you ready the remaining ingredients.

Whiz the last 8 ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth.  When the veggies are just tender, stir the blender contents into them, stirring constantly.  Turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Serve with a drizzle of flavorful extra-virgin olive oil and some crusty whole grain bread.

Makes 3-4 bowls of soup.

Tex-Mex outside of Georgetown, TX

We so rarely get away from our little neck of the woods and from home cooking.  However, when the time arises, it can either be fun, or frustrating to find good vegan food in an area, or restaurant that you’ve never tried before. The trick is to relax and not fret about it.  Most times, servers are more than happy to help you figure out something to eat as a vegan.

We went to Georgetown, TX, to help our oldest son and daughter-in-law find a house to buy when they relocate there soon.  When lunch time came, the realtor suggested we break for food.  He took us to Serrano’s for Tex-Mex outside of Leander, TX, in an area that Google Maps declares is Cedar Park.  My daughter-in-law was so happy, because she LOVES Mexican food and both of them love very spicy stuff.  I figured I could subsist on chips and salsa, if necessary (and I could do it happily), but hubby isn’t a fan of spicy and was healing from getting wisdom teeth pulled a week earlier to boot.  What would we find to eat?  Of course, hubby isn’t allergic to dairy like I am, so he could manage if need be.  But I mean, when I was growing up Mexican food was nothing without cheese and sour cream.

I shouldn’t have given it a thought.  We ordered a dinner-sized portion of veggie fajitas to split between the 2 of us.  Not only was it spectacularly delicious, but we walked out stuffed!  There is NO way I could ever eat that whole thing all by myself.  Their fajitas come with a side of separate guacamole, fresh tomato salad, and shredded lettuce (and a pile of cheese, but, like I said, we just left that alone.)  There was a big plate of refried beans and rice, a container of tortillas, and a large wooden platter holding a steaming cast iron flat plate of roasted/fried onions, mushrooms, and peppers of all sorts (look out – one of them is HOT and will take you out!  Just leave it on the platter for those who can’t do 12 alarm peppers.  The realtor ate his and had tears in his eyes.)  Don’t forget the chips and salsa, and we ordered a side of guacamole before we knew more was coming with the fajitas.

I didn’t even think to take pictures.  How I wish I had so that you could see the pretty table full of food.  There was a boat-tailed grackle or two wandering through the open veranda where we were eating as he searched for dropped goodies to scarf down.  He would have made a good picture, but by the time I saw him, my hands were too messy to reach for my phone.  (If you have never eaten fajitas, just plan on making a mess.  It’s part of the fun.)

I look forward to going back some day when we go to visit our kids down there.  (And, yes, they found a house only 12 minutes or so away from this wonderful restaurant!)

Vegan Carrot-Ginger Salad Dressing

We have a new restaurant near us called Corelife Eatery.  It is not only gluten-free, but they serve real, live food!  What I mean by that is that there are so many vegetables available, bright and colorful, right in front of you as they put your order together.  It works similarly to Subway in that you can choose what you want to go in your salad, grain bowl, or broth bowl.  (Seriously, click on their link and check out their menu if you want new ideas to create your own new dishes!  They are amazing.)  While they mostly have meat options, they do have a vegan option in each category, as well as build-your-own options.  I tried a grain bowl the first time just as it was designed – no changes by me in line – with kale as the base, broccoli pieces, shredded beets and carrots, roasted tofu, quinoa, and more.  They topped it with a carrot-chili vinaigrette and shredded ginger on top of it all.  It was SO good!!  Like all restaurants, they aren’t necessarily cheap enough to eat supper there every day of the week, even for an eatery-style dining area.  So, what’s a girl supposed to do?  Create her own dressing, of course!  I mean, the salad part is easy enough.

Corelife made it simpler for me.  It has newspaper menus to take home that tell all about their delicious dishes and list what is in each of them.  (They are meticulous protecting you if you say you have an allergy, which is wonderful.)  The newspaper-menu also lists what is in their dressings.  Their carrot one starts with carrot juice.  Well, now, honestly, when I’m in the midst of the throes of making dinner, I’m not about to get out the juicer to squeeze a couple of carrots just for my dressing, only to have to clean up afterwards!  A food processor for shredding the beets is enough moving parts to wash.  I figured I could use a thicker dressing anyway.  Sooooooo, I threw a whole carrot into the blender with other stuff and gave it a whiz.  It was pretty good, but I forgot to write down exactly what I did…rats.

The next time, I made sure to write it down.  While this dressing works very well on any salad I have put it on, it tastes the best on red curly kale and alfalfa sprouts with shredded beets and avocado.  Anything else you add is…I hesitate to say this…icing on the cake.  (What a strange word picture to use about a salad….sorry.)  Cucumbers, red onion slices, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, olives all work very well.  For those of you who have never had raw shredded beets on a salad, you will be so surprised at how delicious it is!

This dressing is quite thick.  It sticks to the greens nicely.  If you want a thinner version, add more water and/or oil, or use smaller carrots.  Remember, dressings are really, really forgiving and you can add or subtract from the measurements as your tastes decree.  Don’t have flaxseed oil?  Substitute olive, or another healthy oil.  Love garlic?  Throw in another clove or two.  Prefer spicier dressings?  Add more sriracha.  Hate ginger?  Leave it out – it is still amazing.  Or put more in – but look out!  It will knock you off your chair!  If you want to get an extra, hidden veggie into your kids, try making a batch with half the garlic and no ginger so that they are happier with the flavor.  Let them dip whatever raw veggies they DO like into it.

I did not put salt in this recipe, because even a little bit seemed so salty to my taste.  I had crossed it out on my scribbled list, but thought that must be a mistake the second time I made it and added a few sprinkles.  Nope!  I figured everyone could add it directly to their salad if they wish for it.  You can always add a little to your blender if you wish.  I recommend starting with 1//8-1/4 tsp and tasting to see if you want more.

Carrot-Ginger Dressing

• 2 large carrots, scrubbed or peeled, and cut into 2″ pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 penny-sized slice of ginger (I used 2-3 last night and it was SO strong, but delicious)
• 1 T. flaxseed oil
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1-2 tsp liquid sweetener (I used raw honey, but Corelife uses agave)
• juice of 1 lemon (you could use your favorite vinegar instead, but I’m not a fan of vinegar)
• 6 T. water (if you use smaller carrots, use less water)

Throw it all into a high-powered blender and whiz for a minute or so.  You don’t want to go for too long, or it heats it up and destroys some of the nutrients, especially in the flaxseed oil.

Store in a small jar.  Mine fit in a re-purposed Trader Joe’s relish jar, which I would guess is about a cup.  (Don’t you love my exact measurements?  Sorry!)  It keeps in the frig at least a week, but mine never lasts longer than that before it is eaten up.  I recommend spooning it out of the jar, rather than pouring, because it is so thick, you can get more than you bargained for on your salad!

Whole Grain Bread

I love making my own bread.  Kneading the dough is so relaxing.  I made 6+ loaves weekly for my large family for years until we moved to Ohio….where my bread failed suddenly and miserably!  Think bricks.  I tried and tried to make it happen and finally gave up.  Years later I discovered why. The water where we live is extremely hard.  It is also possible that the flour I purchased was an all-purpose flour, rather than hard wheat flour, which will also cause loaves to be rather flat. Thankfully, I recently learned that adding some lemon juice to the dough fixes this problem.  I made sure to buy hard whole wheat flour this time, too.  Hallelujah!  Fresh bread again!  My family has decreased in size as the kids have gradually grown up, so I don’t make 6 loaves a week anymore.  I have to admit….it’s a WHOLE lot easier to only knead 2-4 loaves at a time!

  Homemade Whole Grain Bread

Yields 2 loaves, 8″ x 4″ (see note below)

• 6 c. hard whole wheat flour (hard white whole wheat is even better for a sweeter loaf)
• ½ c. dry oatmeal
• 1 T. salt
• 4 ½ tsp active yeast * (or 2 pkts)
• 1-2 T. olive oil
• ¼ c. honey or maple syrup
• 2 ¼ c. water
• ½-1 T. lemon juice (optional, only for if your water is quite hard)

Mix 2 c. of flour with salt in large bowl.  Set aside 1½ c. flour in a small bowl for kneading into the dough later (you probably will not use all of this flour unless your house is very moist.)  Set aside remaining 2½  c. of flour and oatmeal in yet another bowl.

In a saucepan, heat water, honey or maple syrup, oil, and lemon juice, if using, to 105-110 degrees.  Remove from heat and sprinkle yeast into the water.  Stir briefly and let rest 5 minutes, or until a little bubbly.  Pour yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour and salt.  Beat with a wooden spoon, or a whisk, until smooth and for about 1 minute longer to develop the gluten.  Let rest for 5 minutes (if using a spoon, just leave it in there.)  After that, add the remaining flour and oatmeal, mixing well.  The dough should look shaggy.  If it seems too wet still, add a handful of flour from your small bowl of kneading flour.  Dust the counter or kneading area with some of the kneading flour.  Turn out dough onto this and knead** in the remaining flour (give or take, depending on the weather and how dry the milled flour actually is this time and how accurately you measured the flours and water.)  More can be added if the dough seems extremely sticky.  Knead for 10 minutes, gradually adding a little more flour to the counter under the dough, until dough is elastic and springy.  It will slightly push back as you knead it.  If you add too much flour as you knead, the bread will come out hard; if too little is added, it will come out doughy and won’t bake well.

Let the dough sit while you wash the large mixing bowl out and spray or wipe it with olive oil.  Give the dough another knead or two and see if it bounces right back at you.  This will tell you that you kneaded it enough.  Better not enough kneading than too much!  Place the dough inside the bowl, flipping it over so that the top is coated with oil, or you can spray the dough with the oil.  Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, and place in a warm (not hot!), draft-free area.  Let rise until double in size.

Oil your 8”x4” bread pans.  Punch the dough down and knead 2-3 times.  Divide the dough into 2 parts.  Form into loaves.  If there is any seam, place it bottom side down in the pan.  Slit the loaves lengthwise and spray or use pastry brush lightly coat with olive oil.  Let rise until double in size – about 1” above the pan. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.  The finished loaves will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.  Loosen the sides of the bread with a non-metal spatula and tip them out onto a cooling rack.

The bread slices best when it is 12-24 hours old, leaving smoother slices and less crumbs.  It can be sliced, bagged, and frozen for later use.  It keeps bagged on the counter about a week.

*If using fast or instant rise yeast, you will mix the yeast into the first mixture of flour and salt.  Heat the oil, honey, and water to 120-130 degrees.  You do not have to proof the yeast, or wait for it to dissolve in water.   Beat liquids into the dry ingredients and continue with recipe.

** Knead bread by folding the far side of the dough toward you and push down and away with the heels of your hands.  Then spin it ¼ a turn and fold over again.  Keep doing this for 10 minutes.  You can scrape excess dough off of your fingers that clings at the start and knead that into the dough as you go.  As you near the completion, you will add less and less flour to the surface beneath the dough – just enough to keep it from sticking to the counter and you.  It will change texture and turn from a slight messy shaggy heap into a ball, and finally into a tighter ball of smooth, elastic dough, which will spring back at you as you knead it.  This will be at about the 10 minute mark.  Try not to over-knead the bread.  If you have under-kneaded it, you can knead it a bit longer after you prep the rising bowl.

Note:  If you find that this doesn’t rise as high as you would like, you can double the recipe and put it into 3 loaf pans.  This makes a higher loaf.

Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice

After listening to Dr. Hans Diehl (creator of the CHIP program) speak this weekend, I am once again tweaking our vegan diet.  We already have been consuming vasts quantities of fruits and veggies, including for juicing.  Now we’re ncreasing whole grains (I’m not talking about the flour, but the actual grains) while keeping out the sneaky processed flours that show up when your guard is down and you buy packaged things; cutting back – to the point of eliminating – processed sweeteners (this is my biggest difficulty); and decreasing oils (it’s recommended to not use any added oils, but I’m not sure about that one for me with my mega-dry skin and hair.)  Not only is this a way to maximize health long-term, but in the short term (less than 1 week), I’ve lost pounds!  And I’m eating way more than I was.  Win, win!

BUT!  If my family is going to tolerate me messing with their food – again – it had better be tasty stuff that I fix them, or there will be a revolt against lots of grain, especially plain old rice, showing up on their plates.  While I love the stuff, most of them have never been fans.  Surprisingly, I have a lot of recipes for main dishes using whole grains that we’ve tried.  It’s time to dust off some of the tried-and-true recipes, as well as invent some new ones.

Last night, my son-in-law showed up with a brown bag from Chipotle.  It smelled so good!  Short of putting on my coat and driving to Chipotle, I decided right then that the next day I would make up a really big batch of cilantro-lime rice to split up into smaller amounts for the freezer so that on short notice, I could make something wonderful when tantalizing food teases me.

I’ve tried to make this before, but it fell short.  This time, I thought some onion, garlic, and lime zest would help things along.  And how!!  What a difference.  I had a healthy scoop with some black beans and tomatoes for lunch – yum.

Freeze the extra amounts in meal-sized packages for later use unless you have a large family.

Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice 

• 3 c. long brown rice (basmati or jasmine is nice, but not imperative)
• 8 1/2-9 c. water (or whatever your container of rice indicates is needed)
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• zest of 1 lime, microplaned (this really makes it shine)

• juice from 1 lime
• 1 c. loosely packed cilantro leaves, minced

Bring the first 6 ingredients to a boil in a heavy-duty 3-qt. pan, and then cook over medium-low heat until the water is absorbed (or a little tiny bit is left in the bottom of the pan.)  Taste test it to make sure the rice is soft.  If needed, add a little water and continue cooking.  When it is finished, stir it well and replace the lid, leaving it to rest for at least 15 minutes to steam and get fluffier.  Meanwhile, juice the lime and toss it with the cilantro leaves.

Once the rice is finished steaming, toss it with the lime juice and cilantro.  Serve with any Mexican-style meal, or just with some beans for a quick meal.

Soy Yogurt

I’ve been on a journey for a while now, and it’s really not over yet.  Ever since I got married (32 years ago today!) and we decided to become vegetarian for our health’s sake, I’ve been reading books and learning everything I can about health.  With the internet, things got easier to find.  I love learning new things and I marvel at how well the Creator made us, giving us just the right food to help us live well.

Recently, I’ve been learning about how probiotics and cultured foods benefit us.  I won’t bore you with the details here.  Instead, I’d encourage you to dig into the research for yourself!  There are a lot of kinds of cultured foods out there, from sauerkraut to pickles (not the vinegar ones on the grocery shelves) to kimchee!  It’s easy to choose a favorite one to eat often.

I bought and tried cultured pickles.  They are STRONG.  I can eat them occasionally, but they aren’t something that I’m going to enjoy eating every day.  (And your best bet for getting a healthier flora in your gut is to partake of cultured foods at least daily.)

If you don’t make your own cultured foods at home, then they are pretty pricey in the markets.  I looked into making sauerkraut with wonderful jars that keep the smell from permeating your kitchen.  It looked like a really good way to make fermented foods myself, however, my favorite way of eating sauerkraut involves heating it…and that destroys the good bacteria.  Rats.  I still might make some of my own, but it won’t be my source of the healthy “bugs.”

If the sauerkraut was out, and the pickles weren’t favorites enough to eat daily (and my family wouldn’t even touch them, btw), then I needed to figure something else out.  As I googled “cultured foods” I found the answer.  Yogurt.  I love the stuff…at least most of the non-dairy ones I’ve had.  Unfortunately, it, too, is fairly expensive to buy ready made ~ and full of all kinds of stuff.  Carageenan (which I’ve recently learned isn’t that good for us), tons of sugar, and other tidbits that our bodies really don’t need.  So, back to the computer I went to see about making it myself.

I found tons of recipes, but most of them called for yogurt making machines, which I didn’t want to sink money into until I knew if this process was even going to work!  Then I found the best site yet ~ that I can’t find now to share with you, sorry! ~ one that told many different ways to ferment yogurt without the expensive investment.  This is the second best site that gave different ways to try, but doesn’t actually include the one I’m going to share with you here.

One of the challenges of making your own yogurt is beginning one with the proper culture.  Some recipes call for using probiotic capsules opened into it, but that didn’t feel very authentic to me.  Others said you needed specific starter kits from a health food store, but that they don’t work to re-use your own yogurt to make your next batch.  Instead, you’d need to buy a starter kit again!  What?  Not sustainable?  Next!  I chose the option of buying a non-dairy yogurt at the store and using it to culture my soy milk.  I chose a coconut yogurt that had 6 different bacteria listed on the label.  I figure if I’m going to repopulate my insides, I want the best amount I can get.  My first attempts were actually pretty poor, because I hadn’t found the best way to incubate it ~ I either didn’t keep it warm enough, or killed it with too warm of a spot, so I had to buy more packaged yogurt.  I again started with the 6-bacteria coconut version.  This time it worked!  Yay!  The next time, I used half of a tablespoon of my successful yogurt (with the 6 bacteria) AND half of a tablespoon from Almond Dream yogurt that contains 7 bacteria ~ a couple of which were different from the ones in my coconut yogurt!  I get the best bunch of probiotics going with so many different kinds.  And the more batches that I’ve made, the thicker the yogurt has gotten.

When you make yogurt like this, you must be patient.  (Not my strong suit.)  There are things that you must do to make it work correctly.  Believe me, because I tried the shortcuts that I thought would work.  Nope.  Stick to the “rules.”  For instance, the milk must be heated to 180° even though you have to cool it back down to 110°.  Why?  Because it changes the way the proteins line up with each other so that the bacteria can thicken it.  Otherwise, you get cultured milk….sorta.  (It was very disappointing, but I didn’t waste it.  We had it in our smoothies.)

Okay, here is the recipe.  If you have any questions about “why” something needs to be done, ask me.  I won’t bore everyone else with the details here.  🙂

Soy Yogurt

Equipment you will need:

• a thermos that will hold at least 4 1/2 cups.  (I wish mine was large-mouthed to make clean up easier.  If yours is small-mouthed, get a bottle brush with which to wash it out.)
• an instant-read digital thermometer, or one that can latch onto a small saucepan so that you get a constant reading.
• a small 1-qt. saucepan (mine has a cute little spout on each side to make pouring into the thermos a snap!)

Ingredients:

• 4 c. unsweetened soy milk with nothing other than soybeans and water (the other kinds sort of work, but this type thickens much better.  Trader Joe’s has it in an aseptic package, as does Eden, I believe.)
• 1 T. evaporated cane juice crystals or sugar (I’ve read that maple syrup doesn’t work, but haven’t personally tried it, and honey is antibacterial, so it will kill off the bacteria you are trying to feed.  I don’t know about agave.)
• 1 T. room temperature packaged non-dairy yogurt, or some from your last batch.  Even if you forget to save a little before you eat it all, you can scrape out the dregs from the serving/storage bowl and use those.  It doesn’t take too much, actually!

Take your yogurt culture out of the frig to allow it to come to room temperature while you continue with the recipe.  Heat the milk in the small saucepan to 180°.  If you have used unsweetened milk with no thickeners, you won’t need to stir it, even on high heat.  (I have a ceramic stove top that doesn’t get as hot as gas or some electric stoves, though.)  If you bought a soy milk with other things in it, you’ll need to keep the heat on medium so that it doesn’t stick, and you’ll need to stir it.  At first, you can walk away for a while and just check on the milk occasionally, but once it reaches about 145-150°, you’ll want to stay right there, because it rapidly gets to the target temp.  Remove from heat once it has reached 180°, stir in the sugar, and cool in the pan until it is between 105-110°.  (If you are in a hurry, you can set the pan on a wet towel, or in a sink with cold water in it.)  Once it’s cooled, stir a little of the milk into your yogurt starter until smooth, and then stir a little more to it.  Pour the starter culture mixture into the pan of milk and stir it well.  Pour it into the thermos and screw the lid on tight.  Set it aside for several hours.

When you think of it as you walk through the kitchen, uncap the thermos to allow any built-up pressure from the bacteria growing to escape.  (Sometimes I forget, though.  Then it does whoosh a bit when I open it at the end!)  Just don’t jiggle it around a lot as it’s fermenting, as it seems to dislike that.  After about 6 hours, check to see if it is thickening by opening it and gently tilting the thermos.  If it is thick, you are ready!  The longer you leave it, the stronger the flavor becomes ~ and to a certain extent, the thicker it gets.

Pour it into a glass storage container and cover.  If it isn’t as thick as you’d like, leave it to cool on the counter for an hour or two before refrigerating.  Once it is cold, it will thicken a little more.  Now you can stir in extra sweetener, mashed fruit, jam, or whatever you’d like to flavor it.  It works great as is in smoothies!

Creamy Sweet Rice Salad (formerly known as Rosa Marina Salad)

I promised a short series on breakfasts several months ago…and then I dropped off the face of the planet again.  Sorry.  Life has changed once again and I should be posting more often now.

Preparing fun breakfasts has kinda dropped off around here, too.  I loved eating them, perhaps too much, because I gained weight!  Eating great breakfasts was supposed to help balance the rest of the day and help me eat less, but, apparently, I just love food so much that it didn’t work that way for me.  So, I’ve gone back to a nutrient-packed green smoothie most mornings and save the special breakfasts for special treats.

This salad certainly works for a breakfast treat, or for a healthy dessert!  My preparation of it has changed over the years.  When I first made it, we were vegetarian, but not necessarily healthy ones ~ and it contained eggs, Cool Whip, white sugar, maraschino cherries….obviously, things were going to have to change in the salad when we became vegan and also gave up so many chemicals in our foods!  I finally nailed a tasty version of the salad without maraschino cherries (one of my childhood favorites.)  It still did contain the very small pasta called rosa marina or orzo, which helped the dressing to firm up into a nice, thick creamy dream.

Then…dun, dun, dun…enter gluten issues for me.  This salad was just one of the many casualties of my new way of eating.  It broke my heart (all of the situation, not just losing this salad.)  I tried and tried to come up with suitable replacements, but everything I replaced just failed.  Quinoa was too chewy; long-grained rice’s texture was off; the creamy dressing never set up.  It was very disappointing.  And my family was starting to make disparaging comments about the versions I created, because nothing was as good to them as the orzo!  (Never mind that white flour pasta isn’t good for you and nobody seems to make whole grain orzo.)

This time, I succeeded.  I adjusted the dressing to have less liquid.  I used short grain brown rice to give a better texture and since it is somewhat sticky, it allowed the creamy dressing to thicken properly.  Granted, my family still is a little on the fence about it, because they remember the pasta version and textures are a big deal to them.  Personally, I love it and am so happy to have it back in my life that I fix it despite their opinions.

I’ve been known to add sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen cherries, or blueberries to change things up a bit ~ although they can really change the color of the cream.  (I can guarantee the whole salad to myself this way, because of my fussy eaters, so adding it to individual bowls may work better.)  I have also been toying with the idea of using fresh pineapple, but I’m wondering if that would curdle the cream.  Let me know what adaptations you come up with to try!

Creamy Sweet Rice Salad

• 1 c. short brown rice
• 3/8 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 c. water (or according to rice package)

• 2 20-oz cans unsweetened pineapple tidbits, drained (reserve 1 c. of the juice!)
• 3 11-oz. cans of mandarin orange segments, drained (do NOT reserve the liquid)

• 1 12-oz pkg. Morinu extra-firm tofu
• 3/4 c. raw cashews (soak these for 4 hours or so if you don’t have a strong blender)
• 1 c. reserved pineapple juice
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 c. evaporated cane juice crystals OR 1/4 tsp.+ pure stevia OR other equivalent dry sweetener

Cook rice according to package directions, but make sure it is quite well done so that it isn’t too chewy.  Meanwhile, place fruit into a large mixing bowl.  Blend the last 6 ingredients until very smooth and pour over the fruit.  When the rice is ready, mix it into the fruit and cream.  Refrigerate until cold and the cream sets up nicely.