Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Let's Make a Pineapple Upside Down Cake!

This is how I make my famous "Witness Protection Vegan Gluten-Free Pineapple Peach Applesauce India-Spice Upside Down Cake." Laura came up with the name for this because after three years of dating I finally made this for her (I wasn't hiding it, I just never saw the chance to make it).


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a cast-iron skillet, melt 2 TBSP of Coconut Butter, 
4-TBSP of Earth Balance Organic Butter. 
3. Pour the excess butter into a small mixing bowl, allowing the butter to cover the skillet. 
4. Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the skillet.


5. Cut up two peaches and a medium pineapple into small, pieces. 
Do not used canned fruit. It sucks! 
6. Also, I would advise doing this as your very first step, before the melting of butter.
7. Cover the brown sugar with 2 peaches and 3/4 of a medium pineapple, diced up.
 


8. In a large mixing bowl, add 1.5 cups of All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour, 
1/4 TSP Sea Salt, 1 TSP of Baking Powder, 1/2TSP Baking Soda. 
9. Mix well. 


10. In the small mixing bowl where the excess butter went, add 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar.


11. Add 2/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce. 


12. Add 1/3 cup of Almond or Coconut Milk to the Sugar/Butter mix. 
13. Mix well! 


14. Add 1/2 TSP of ground Cinnamon, 1/4 TSP of ground Ginger, 1/4 TSP ground Cardamon, 1/4 TSP ground Coriander to the dry ingredients. 
15. Mix well.
16. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a TBSP until blended.
 


17. Pour the batter over the fruit in the skillet. 
18. Pat it down with your large spoon.


19. Bake the cake at 375 degrees on the middle rack, for 30 minutes.
20. (Note, as the fruit gets HOT it will bubble on sides, so you may want to put some aluminum foil under the skillet)
 


21. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes.
22. Put a heavy, large plate on top of the cake, quickly flip the cake and put the plate on the counter/table so it doesn't fall to the floor or out of your hands.
23. Gently lift the skillet up, and your cake will look like this. 

YUM!

Possible Alterations:
Note that you can substitute fresh cherries, all peaches, or all pineapple, or a mixture of all either of the three for the fruit. 

You can also dust the cake, after it has been flipped over, with shredded coconut.

Highly recommended that you eat this cake warmed up with a scoop of coconut ice cream.


Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Mr. Fu's Debut

Here is one of the main reasons we are Vegan.

Everyone, say hello to Mr. Fu!
This is his blogger debut!


When in Doubt: Beans and Rice!

When in doubt: Beans and Rice!

Not sure what to make? Thinking of ordering out even though your cabinets have plenty of food? Looking for a nutrient-rich meal in an hour? Low on money? Think that simple means unsatisfied? Well Beans and Rice is the answer!

I am one of those people who are like, "Beans and Rice? That's boring!" And then I make it and I get all, "Beans and Rice? This is so good and so filling, why do I not eat this all the time?!"

Today, a little low on money, but with cabinets full of food staples, Laura made brown rice, black beans, and broccoli, and this is what I had for lunch. She added a 1/2 TSP of Turmeric to the rice water (2 cups of water, 1 cup of short grain brown rice, when the water comes to a boil, add the rice, the turmeric, a pinch of salt, cover and simmer for 40 minutes), then boiled the beans (we used canned beans today, but really, if you are planning on having this dish, soak your own beans overnight), she sprayed the broccoli with olive oil and baked it for 15 minutes. This is what I did with these ingredients:

Added 1 TBSP of olive oil to a non-stick pan, then put 1 cup of cooked rice, 1/2 cup of black beans, 1/8 cup of Nutritional yeast, 2 cups of cooked broccoli, cooked these together for 10 minutes over medium heat, then added 1/2 cup of Frontera brand Mild Salsa.

Beans and Rice is hardcore Vegan food and one of the things that should be in your diet for the long-haul. If you can add some citrus fruits to this, like orange slices, 1/2 lime, you are really providing the perfect meal.

Here is a pic I took of this lunch while I was cooking it:




In Praise of Bagels (and related wheat-based goodies).

I am often asked what I eat for breakfast most days. Being a creature of habit I tend to eat the same thing, with minor adjustments, most days for Breakfast.

Being a Vegan certainly has not robbed me of breakfast options. Scrambled Tofu, Pancakes, Breakfast Sandwiches, Corn Bread/Muffins/Cakes, Biscuits and Gravy, Grits and Greens, Veggie Sausage, Spicy Potatoes, Donuts (which can be a lot of work), not to mention things like cereal, toast, oatmeal, fresh fruit, or the occasional non-traditional breakfast of leftovers (PIZZA!). I tend to eat in seasons, and by "seasons," I mean that whatever season it is tends to impact me differently.

In the Autumn, I like Corn Muffins, Blackberry Jelly, Coffee with Creamer (I use the So Delicious Coconut Creamer brands). In the Winter, Biscuits and Gravy are all I think about. Spring is Grits with Greens (usually Kale and Onions) and gravy, sometimes with Vegan Chorizo and salsa. Once a week we tend to go out to our favorite Vegan breakfast spot (Veggie Galaxy in Boston's Central Square), or maybe make something different than what we had the other five days. Summers seem the most awesome to me, at least they do these days, because they are all about the Bagel. We live near one of the Top Ten Rated Bagel shops in the country, Kuppels, and their bagels are AMAZING, and they make all types of Tofu Cream Cheese to go with them. I literally wake up each day thinking about them, craving them, with a piece of fruits and two cups of coffee.



Personally, I don't understand, nor do I respect this whole "gluten-free" craze in the USA. Yes, if you have a legitimate disease, I understand that and I honor your issues, but the vast majority of people from the USA are treating bagels, bread products, wheat products like the village Witch, and they are waging a war  against them. The amount of people in this country with LEGITIMATE wheat allergies is LOW, very low (1 in every 133 people have some form of wheat allergy, but celiac disease needs to be confirmed by doctors through a series of tests, and stories of people with false diagnosis are nearly as high, and usually among people self-diagnosing) but what is very high is the mind-think that goes, "well others are allergic to it, maybe I am as well, I must be, I have to be, here are my symptoms," and those symptoms are phantom symptoms, created in the head, acted out in the body, and manifested into sensations pretending to be real sickness in the body. I confess that for a while I thought I had a gluten-allergy as well, because I was gaining weight suddenly, and then I realized, once I started counting calories and examining what I was eating, I was just eating around 4000 calories a day, and eating far too many processed foods; no need to discard wheat because I was not eating responsibly.



Listen, I agree, stay away from processed foods. BUT, make your own bread, go to real bakeries and buy real bread and real bagels, make your own pasta. True, there are modified food products out there, strains of wheat being messed with: stay away from them. BUT to miss out on one of life's REAL pleasures, homemade bread, artisan-bakery made bread and bagels, is a serious loss to the experience of being alive and caring about the quality of food that enters your life, the great bakers and chefs who are passionate about offering quality food and fine culinary creations.

As a Vegan, I make choices about what I eat and where it comes from. One of the great perks of switching to this lifestyle was that I got to keep eating great food, while discovering a whole new range of creations and flavors and tastes. I make a trip each week to buy bagels and bread from a local family-owned bakery. I know the people who make it, who sell it, I'm part of a culture that values real Jewish baking, and I know where my food comes from. Transitioning into a Vegan lifestyle means that this rich life experience gets to continue. Sure, I cannot eat the cinnamon twists or the babka or the mundel bread: those I have to make at home on my own. But I don't want to see great bakeries fold, and I don't want to see these old family businesses shut down, I want them to see that Vegans want to do business with them, and I appreciate that they do offer Vegan-friendly products, and I want them to offer more.

Also, as a former history major, I love the history of foods. Wheat products were first turned into food for human consumption some 23,000+ years ago, right as Neolithic people's began to spread into organized civilizations. Bread appears in ancient Sumeria, Assyria, Babylon, Turkey, India, Greece, Rome, Germanic societies, Etruscan civilization: where great civilizations have appeared, wheat products have been there to feed the people, be a part of their rituals and celebrations, empower their brains to develop and expand to think deep, complex thoughts.



The bagel is a product deeply rooted in Polish-Jewish culture, and as such, is rooted deeply in North American Jewish culture, a staple of great Jewish communities as well as the communities and peoples that grow up around and with them. I (Dar) grew up in a very Italian-American culture, but bagels and other Jewish baked goods were a staple of our weekend traditions, whether it was my family in New Haven (CT) or Elizabeth (NJ). The bagel itself first appears in a Jewish historical document in 1610 CE, mentioning that it was given to Jewish women as a gift during childbirth, its shape symbolizing the safe passage from womb into life. I like thinking about the bagel as a birthing amulet, a symbol, a charm, an element of the feminine divine that I bring into being, one that mothers and nourishes me each time I take part in it.  



So, if you are switching to a Vegan lifestyle, wondering what you can eat for breakfast, bagels, tofu cream cheese, toast made with fresh rye or pumpernickel or marble bread (add a little earth balance, coconut sugar, and cinnamon, and you have a wonderful cinnamon toast), a great way to start off each day, a great go-to breakfast when you are on the road. If you are already a Vegan, and you don't have celiac disease, don't give up on wheat. Buy organic wheat products, have a weekly bread/muffins/cookies bake with your friends, family, or loved ones, visit local bakeries and get to know them, take a baking class, take part in the tradition of turning a wild stalk into a fine powder and then into a carb-packing ball of wonder, warmth, and joy.


Sunday, July 28, 2013

Tonight's Dinner

Tonight I made the following dinner.

Grits with gravy, Kale+Onions+Mushrooms, BBQ Tempeh

Italian Vegetable Salad


The Grits: These are white grits, and because finding good grits in New England is like finding the Abominable Snowman in the Sahara, they are Trader Joes variety, the best I can find here. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1TBSP of Earth Balance Organic, 1/4 TSP Salt, 1/2 cup of Grits, reduce to warm, cover tightly, let cook for 8-10 minutes, stir, turn off heat, leave uncovered for 5 minutes.

The Gravy: I can and do make gravy from time to time, but I don't always have the time or money to do it from the start, so I use Vegan-friendly instant gravy from either Whole Foods or Shaws. Tonight I used, Hain Pure Foods Vegetarian Brown Gravy. I add 1/8 cup of Nutritional Yeast and 2 TBSP of Braggs, once the mixture comes to a boil

Tempeh: No, I didn't make my own Tempeh, someday I will. The Tempeh here came from Trader Joes, it's their basic Tempeh, and I find it bakes up better than other brands.

BBQ Sauce: Again, I feel like the laziest Vegan in the world tonight, I promise to do better in the future. This is Jack Daniel's Master Blend BBQ sauce. I cut the Temp[eh into 14 pieces, sprayed a baking pan, placed the Tempeh on the pan then in the Toaster Oven, broiled each side for 6 minutes, then, after both sides were broiled, I painted (used a paint brush) to put BBQ sauce on them, broiled for another 5 minutes on each side.

Kale+Onions+Mushrooms: In a large skillet I placed 2TBSP of Olive Oil, heated up the oil on medium heat, then added 1 large thinly-sliced Vidalia Onion, added 1/2TSP of Turmeric Powder, 2 crushed cloves of Garlic, sautéed for 5 minutes, added 8 ounces of Baby Portobello Mushrooms (each one mushroom cut into fours), sauté for 5 minutes, add 6 cups of chopped Red Kale (I like to do 1-inch ribbons), mix in the pan (I use large metal tongs) for 3-5 minutes, lower heat to simmer, add 1/8 cup of Nutritional Yeast, a pinch of Black Pepper, 1/8 Cup of Braggs, let the liquid cook out for the next 5 minutes.

Italian Vegetable Salad: This one is too simple. 1 English Cucumber cut in half (length-wise), remove the seeds, then cut in slices, thinly slice 2 tomatoes (I use organic Vine-Ripened), add in 1 large jar of Pastene-brand Giardiniera Pickled Vegetables, drain the liquid, add a pinch of Black Pepper, mix well.  

Veggie Fun. Providence, Rhode Island.

We recently took a trip to Veggie Fun, a Vegan restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island.

The restaurant has this great, "old time Americana" feel (the dark wood walls, floors, the time Colonial bathroom), spruced up with some hints of Korean decor. Serving mostly Korean, Japanese, and Chinese-American style Vegan food, it was my second time visiting there, and Laura's first time.

The food here is REALLY great (the Autumn Rolls are addictive) and it is, as far as we could find out, the only 100% Vegan establishment in Providence. We will definitely be returning there soon!

Mint-Lemonade

Steamed Dumplings

Autumn Rolls

Singapore Noodles

Korean Noodles

Tempura Bananas with Soy Ice Cream


Welcome to "In Veganism, Truth!"

Greetings Friends,

Welcome to "In Veganism Veritas," or, "In Veganism, Truth." We created this Blog to reflect our own adventures of cooking and creating Vegan foods, seeking out new Vegan restaurants, products, and Businesses, and to chronicle our adventures in Veganism, our sincere belief that Veganism is intimately connected to the pursuit of Truth and Authenticity.

We hope you will enjoy this journey with us, and become a valuable member of our online community.

In Veganism Veritas!
Daryl and Laura