Radicals and a Thanksgiving Menu

Sometimes I have a hard time not giving up.  Life sucks right now, for everyone.  I'm not hinting at the recent victory of the same party that got us into this mess, either.  Life sucked before then.  It's difficult to get through the week, making sure you and your loved ones have what you need.  What's a person to do in times like these?

Radicals.

I mean it.  Dig out your algebra book and have a go.  Radicals are annoying as hell, but my favorite part about them is that I can solve them.  When my efforts seem fruitless in everyday life, I am reminded that I can see progress when I apply myself.  

My coping strategy

If you really need to cheer yourself up, it's time for a quadratic equation.  Or functions.  Something easy, attainable, just good exercise.  My brain leaps at the opportunity to make them right.  To seek the answer.  To make things okay.

.............

The rest of the time, though, is spent figuring out a menu for the upcoming holiday.

My primary concern is recreating old favorites in a way that is...well, better than the original.  I still haven't decided on a main protein dish.  Tofurky seems too stereotypically vegan-freaky.  Our current menu is as follows:

*Undecided orgasmic bird-carcass-alternative*

Vegan stuffing

Organic cranberry sauce

Rolls

Mashed potatoes & gravy
Pumpkin pie 

If I'm feeling particularly ambitious, there will be a praline topping on the pie and an additional side of yams with cranberries & apples.  Or perhaps a simple side of green beans, or salad!  Since my amazing and cooking-inclined husband is taking on the mashed potatoes & gravy, anything is possible!  There will be a lot of culinary adventures in the next several weeks...

Niles, right after enjoying a carrot in our chaotic living room

Until then, we're filling our little home with comfort food.  Ceddie is currently making a homemade pizza (with beer in the dough!).   Other favorites include Snobby Joes, Karina's Veggie Loaf, and Jess's Nourishing Noodle Soup.  The latter just finished cooking on the stove.

Nourishing Noodle Soup (from The Domestic Vegan)

 Sooo amazingly good. I'm freezing a batch for later in the week, when we're sure to be exhausted.  Between this stuff and math problems, things are sure to be okay!

A Way With Oats

The scene: breakfast.  You’re getting ready for work (or school) and it’s “oh-dark-thirty,” as my mother would say.  You need something quick, something easy.  Something that won’t require you to think before you’ve had your cup of joe.  You hold the refrigerator door open and scan the shelves with bleary eyes.  With a yawn, you feel around in the cupboards.  

At last!  Your eyes settle on the box of cereal.  You start the coffee, glance at the clock, and grab a bowl.  Mmm.  Sugar-laced and fresh from the box, you watch your meal swim in the pool of milk you just doused it with.  Your pancreas shudders in apprehension.  

This is breakfast?  You deserve so much more!  Really!

You’re busy. I totally get it.  In fact, pour me a bowl of Life® and I’ll get downright nostalgic—a pleasant feeling, until the sugar makes me crash an hour or two later.  It used to be a default in our home.  Wake up, convince my husband that it’s his turn to make coffee, and feel my heart beat excitedly in anticipation of the coming jolt. We were being healthy!  After all, our cereal boxes boasted whole grains and were “all natural!”  

I have since reached for a timeless classic, known to many a child as one of the boring-est breakfasts ever: oatmeal.   Only this time, instead of overcooked mush with a trembling glob of butter and fake maple syrup on top, I take great pride in my oats.  Never again will I have vomit-inducing oatmeal [yes, I've had it before].  And I promise, oats are not only delicious and healthy...they're quick!  You can use the simmering time to comb out that unruly bed hair.   

Crazy Fruity Steel Cut Oats

I started out as a strictly-rolled-oats sort of gal.  I remember being slightly confused when other forms were mentioned.  Steel cut?  Groats?  And yet, they are amazing.  Here is a recipe I eat at least three or four days a week:

1/2 c. steel cut oats
1 1/2 c. water or nondairy milk
1/4 c. raisins
Sliced banana, apple, pear, nectarine, peach, grapes, plums, berries (be creative!)
1 tbsp nut butter or diced nuts
Lots of cinnamon, if you dig it like I do!
A pinch of nutmeg
A drizzle of pure maple syrup

Put the steel cut oats and water/"milk" in a little pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the oats are soft and have absorbed the water.  If they aren't done and start sticking, add a little more liquid.

Combine with all the fruit you want and top with nut butter/nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup. Easy, delicious, and healthy! 
Serves 2

 

 

The Deliciousness of Daikon

Cold is hanging in the air, trembling through leaves that dance their way down to sidewalks and lawns.  It mingles with the black crows while they huddle on power lines, eye-level with our cat as he perches contentedly on the living room windowsill.  Boxes of odd-shaped gourds are crowding the entrances to produce departments and barrels of locally grown apples are suggestively hanging out with cartons of caramels.  People are anticipating the spooky holiday by adorning their porches with skeletons and demons.  Yet, for this humble vegan, there is another holiday that begs for attention and careful preparation.  It’s time to test Thanksgiving recipes!

It’s not that I don’t dig Halloween.  In fact, I think it can be fun—and a great opportunity for your neighborhood dentist to rake in the cash before Christmas season.  However, this Thanksgiving is going to be a big deal.  Not only is it the first one that my husband and I will share since we got married, but it’s going to be the first one we’ll be cooking by ourselves.  

No pressure. 

I've been testing out recipes since August because I'm so excited.  Desserts, sides, main dishes.  There are are so many things to choose from!  Experimentation has deepened my love of vegetables and their ability to heal everything from my body to my attitude.  They shine brightly even in simplicity.  A great example: daikon root.

Braised Daikon

I've had a few experiences with daikon and never really liked it.  However, I decided to give it one last chance...and I'm glad I did!  This recipe is based on Alicia Silverstone's fantastic book The Kind Diet.  Haven't read it?  You should!

1 large daikon root
1 tbsp shoyu 

3 tbsp mirin 

Slice the daikon into 3/4-1/2 inch rounds and place them in a medium sized pan.  Fill the pan with water until it nearly covers the daikon, and add the shoyu and mirin.

 Bring the liquid to a boil, then cover and let simmer until all of it is absorbed.  This took about 40 minutes.

Serves 2

Biscuits & Gravy, Minus the Heart Attack!

Happy weekend, everyone!  It looks like it will be a chilly and rainy one for us.  After a string of clear, crisp autumn days, I’m ready for soft rain and heavy clouds—perfect for large mugs of hot tea and a good book!  Although, since I woke up with a cold this morning, I think there will be tea and books in store for me regardless.  

Sunday will mark one month since we moved to Seattle.  We have transformed our simple little apartment into a snug, neat little home.  Streets and neighborhoods that once seemed cold and unfamiliar are now favorite spots for long walks (and the occasional run).  I had the privilege of getting lost on my way home from an interview the other day and came across a beautiful cemetery, surrounded by huge old trees that were scattering musty-smelling orange leaves all over the sidewalks.  There would be pictures, but I didn’t want to risk putting off my potential supervisor by lugging around a big camera.  You understand.

The mornings are especially cold these days, so we’ve been kicking them off with hot and hearty breakfasts.  Big bowls of oatmeal, blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, and tofu scrambles with sweet potato hash browns—oh my!  All this indulgence has made me long for an old favorite: biscuits and gravy.  Cringe not, health nuts! I abandoned this heart attack of a meal long before going vegan.  However, I remembered that this is 2010.  People have created heart-healthy alternatives to artery-clogging ingredients!  Silly me.  

Biscuits & "Sausage" Gravy

I highly recommend making the biscuits the evening before.  It’s easy and it makes gravy preparation in the a.m. that much faster!

Biscuits:
2 cups whole wheat flour (or 1 cup whole wheat & 1 cup white flour)
1.5 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce
½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or nondairy milk of your choice)

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  Slowly add the olive oil and stir until little crumbles appear, then add the apple sauce.  Finally, stir in the milk ¼ cup at a time.  You only need enough to form the dough into a ball; don’t add too much!

Knead your dough on a clean, floured countertop for 2-3 minutes.   Roll out the dough until it’s approximately an inch thick and, with a round cookie cutter or (my preference) the rim of a cup, cut out your biscuits.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Yields about 10 biscuits.

Gravy:
Your favorite vegan sausage (4-6 patties, depending on how “meaty” you want it!)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 cups unsweetened nondairy milk
Black pepper
2 tbsp whole wheat flour

Cook the vegan sausage according to package directions.  Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet.  Add the nondairy milk and bring to a low boil.  Then, reduce to a simmer.

Whisk the flour into the gravy, stirring constantly so as to avoid lumps (ew).  Toss in some black pepper and stir for two or three minutes, letting everything thicken.  When the consistency is to your liking, add the already-prepared vegan sausage and stir.  Cook for one minute.

Arrange 2-3 biscuits on each plate.  If you need to heat them up, do so now.  Otherwise, top with gravy and have at it!

Serves 3-4