TALES – OLD & RECENT - OF LENTIL-BASED CHUNKY SOUP.

I know it’s mid-summer. And, yes, I’m preparing a hot, chunky soup. I LOVE home-made soup and always have. It's healthy. What's more, this kind of soup is not only filling but also helps make us sweat, thereby cooling the body. All tropical cultures, at least, the ones I know about, eat warm and often spicy foods to create a higher level of perspiration. It’s nature’s own cooling system. So, even though it’s the summer solstice, let’s talk soup –chunky-style, at that.

Now, for a bit of personal background lore…
Today, as I prepared what might be my 100th - or more - pot of lentil-based, veggie soup, I found myself a bit misty. Past memories came back to me of a time when chunky soups meant an awful lot in terms of nutrition and comfort. This reminiscence was the product of some Internet news I saw today about not one, but two, tropical storms that appear to be on a target course for Texas or some other Gulf destination.
And I remember a time when my husband, Enrique, his good friend, Bob, and I spent the better part of a month eating chunky soup almost every night. Imagine that, and we didn’t complain a bit, since we considered ourselves more than lucky to have all that soup. It was, back then, when Hurricane Wilma devastated a good part of South Florida, including our own condo and the entire building that we’d been living in for 5 years. Enrique’s friend, Bob, invited us to spend time with him in his condo - nearby - that was not so much affected by the storm. We thought it would be just for a few days or a couple of weeks. But it turned out to be more like eight weeks.

In the first week, we didn’t have electricity and our menus were made up of what Bob had in his pantry and the cans that we’d bought when we knew the storm was approaching. Luckily, Bob had a patio gas-run grill and we were able to heat up essential food and drinks on the grill. Main courses were a bit hard to come up with. Fortunately, we had plenty of cans of chunky soup. So, for that first week, we ate soup out of cans, just warmed over, along with crackers, olives and such in order to conserve cooking gas. Then, in the second week, the electricity came back on. Cooking, was then, less of a problem. Still, we decided to keep our food budget as low as possible, given the economic crunch that we found ourselves in when our work places did not reopen for several weeks. Our answer was to make chunky soup with the addition of white rice and garlic bread as our go-to menu for supper that month. I bought a lot of lentils and other quick-cook and canned legumes, and whatever fresh veggies I could find. The supermarkets, when they reopened, didn’t have a lot of fresh produce – and that lasted for several weeks.

My main productive role during that mostly quiet month was soup cook. I simmered chunky soup all day in the slow cooker. And, with the aid of a large rice cooker, I prepared enough white rice for three days at a time. Plain sandwich bread - the only bread available for some time - was toasted and spread with margarine and garlic salt. We enjoyed our meals and were grateful to be eating well –– or, at least, what we considered correctly – at a time when so many other people were having a hard time feeding their families. So much for reminisces.

Most recent chunky soup
There are a few tried and true soup-making tips that every cook should know. And remembering some of these tips, I've successfully once again made soup – and if I may say so - with great flavor (and as little effort as possible).

 - Sauté all the chopped vegetables to enhance the flavor. But, if you’re short on time, just skip the sauté and add all the vegetables and accompaniments to the pot.
- Use some aromatic vegetables –garlic, onion, leek, etc, among others, and add all the veggies directly into the pot for good flavor and no waste.
- Don’t be shy about using time-savers, including such things as canned beans and frozen veggies.
- Use a stock cube or some soy sauce or pesto to get more flavor into the soup. Any of these can make a big flavor difference.
- Don’t dilute the soup too much when you begin the cooking process. You can always a bit more water later if the soup appears too thick.
- Spices are your friends. Proper seasoning is a must for all dishes and especially so for veggie soups. Salt, pepper, a variety of your favorite spices – even a squeeze of lemon or vinegar - will give some zing to the final product. Just be sure to taste after putting in what seems to be just a little seasoning. Experience has shown that it’s not easy to overcome an over-salted or over-spiced soup.
- Last minute, soup toppings are great, too. A regular tasting soup gets a lift with toppings such as croutons, cut green onions, grated cheese, avocado slices or a few toasted nuts.


So, here’s the recipe for chunky soup that I improvised today, made with fresh veggies and pantry ingredients - no particular recipe consulted. I think this soup would be a winner any time of the year and in all sorts of climate, including hot, cold, stormy and post-stormy weather.

Chunky lentil-based soup, great in all kinds of weather...  (6 to 8 servings)

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves
4 small potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (18 ounce) can lentil soup
Enough water or broth for thinning
4 ounces of tomato sauce
1 ½ cups of red cabbage, cut up in slices
¾ cup of pasta noodles (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Toppings: Parmesan cheese, cut green onions, or sunflower seeds

Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil and sauté carrots, cabbage, garlic, onions and potatoes for 5 minutes.

- Add the canned lentils and other ingredients to the pot.

- Bring the soup mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Add noodles and cook for another 10 minutes.

- Serve immediately or reheat later with one or more toppings. Leftovers keep well for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. (Soup is always better the second day.)

Notes
I made this stove-top soup in less than sixty minutes but it cooks just as well in the crock pot. It might take 4 to 6 hours to slow-cook the soup.

Go veggie-crazy and add any of your favorites. Modifications of this kind of soup almost always taste great. You can also use up whatever veggies you find at the end of the week as a version of “refrigerator-stew”.

This lentil-based, chunky soup is perfect for quick everyday lunches and suppers. What's more, I’ve taken similar soups to covered-dish dinners. And it's always "just perfect" for all kinds of weather.

QUICK & TASTY RADISH & CARROT PICKLES

There are a few veggies that are almost always available at markets and remain fairly cheap all year long. A good deal, right? But, on the other hand, we – you and I - may not be used to buying them. For me, radishes were among those veggies. I always found them somewhat overpowering like raw garlic and onions. My own feeling was that radishes were good – finely sliced - in small doses buried in a green salad but, still, the quantity that I could consume was very little indeed. Most every time I bought a bunch of those rosy red roots, I found some left behind in my vegetable bin at the end of the week.

I, of course, knew what to do - serve the remainder to my husband who loves them and can eat them as a snack without anything – not even a dressing or dip. Now, with this recipe that I'm sharing with you, I know how to love those little red goodies and find no obstacle to consuming some of them most any day. I found that I truly like radishes when they pack a vinegary punch. Actually, the recipe is one my husband showed me how to make. I asked him to add the carrots, thinking - correctly, as it turned out - that the sweet of the carrot would combine nicely with the spicy tart of the radish.

So, here's our recipe for crisp, radish and carrot pickles. We made our first batch this past Sunday afternoon. We have pickled other things, before, and I don’t know why we took me so long to make these tasty pickles. They're so easy to make and go great with all kinds of foods, from tacos to salads, to sandwiches and crackers.

We sliced the veggies very thin because that way they soak up the flavors of vinegar and spices in just a few hours. A sharp chef’s knife was the key to getting the thin slices.

A sharp chef-style knife will make the work a lot easier.

The best thing about these quick pickles is that they’re ready munch on right away. We ate some about 4 hours after they were made – still a bit crunchy but good.

Here is the recipe for these tasty pickled radishes and carrots . The recipe as given below yields about 2 to 3 cups of pickles.

Ingredients

1 bunch radishes (should make 1.5 cups when thinly sliced)

2 medium carrots, also thinly sliced (about a cup's worth)

¾ cup balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar

juice of a medium lime (something my husband always adds for extra zip)

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

2 tablespoons of kosher salt

1 cup of balsamic vinegar

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper or a bit of crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

To prepare the veggies: Wash and slice off the tops and bottoms of the radishes and carrots, then use a sharp knife to slice the veggies into very thin rounds. Peel and mince the garlic. Pack the rounds and garlic into a quart-sized canning jar.  

Sprinkle the kosher salt on top and shake the jar to thoroughly salt the veggies. Leave without a top (or cover with a clean kitchen cloth secured to the jar with a rubber band) and let them sweat for, at least, 30 minutes. This step ensure crunchier veggies.

Add the vinegar, lemon juice and pepper. If you use some other kind of vinegar - other than balsamic - you may want to dissolve a couple of teaspoons of sugar with it. Make sure that there is some space between the veggies and the rim of the jar. This allows a space for the good gases produced by fermentation. Shake, again, to make sure you've coated all the veggies. Put a secure top on the jar and refrigerate. They're good to go from the first day.

These pickles keep very well for a week or ten days, and usually will be gone long before that. 

Best of all, you can pickle almost any thinly sliced vegetables in this manner. Try carrots, beets, cucumbers, red onions, cabbage or cauliflower. The thinner you slice the vegetables, the better they absorb the vinegar solution and taste like pickles.

Vinegar is good for us, too. It helps control high blood pressure, improve digestive system, reduce urinary tract infections and strengthen bone. With this pickle recipe, you will have a delicious way to have a little vinegar everyday. So go ahead with confidence and make pickles of all kinds, knowing it's almost impossible to get it wrong, and, for most people, they're a spicy delight. And get ready to for a lifetime (healthy) addiction to homemade pickles.

HEARTY, SUMMERTIME POTATO SALAD

July has reached its last week and temperatures are rising. With all the heat, “regular meals” just don’t entice. That’s when, for me at least, I begin to think of (did I say crave?) how good chilled potato salad is.  And what I have in mind is a truly hearty potato salad.

While picnics are the main reasons that we prepare potato salad - and as a side dish at that - I like to make mine almost whole meal-sized  – filled with cooked and fresh veggies along with a tangy dressing.  

Since there are a lot of fresh produce offerings at this time of year, I let the season - and what's growing in my small summer garden - suggest some fresh things to fill out the salad with. And that includes right now – besides the potatoes, cooked carrots and nopales, some fresh uncooked green onions and baby spinach. The uncooked greens make for a kicky garnish. Here, I pulled it all together with a mustard vinaigrette and opted for fresh squeezed lemon juice instead of vinegar..

So, take a look at this recipe. I’m sure you’ll agree that it's sure to be a summertime crowd pleaser.

I'd better put away some of this before I eat the whole bowl full.

Ingredients

2 pounds small new potatoes, scrubbed and boiled in skins in salted water

1/2 pound peeled carrots cooked in the potato water

1/2 pound cooked and drained nopales or could be cooked green beans as an option

2 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach, chopped

1/2 cup chopped green onions

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons mustard – regular or Dijon

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise – can be the eggless variety if you want

Smoked paprika powder to sprinkle on top

Instructions

In a large saucepan half filled with water, boil whole small potatoes and carrots.

Boil over medium heat until potatoes and carrots are easily pierced by a fork, about 8 minutes.

Hand peel the cooked potatoes (or not if you want). 

When cooked, reserve ¼ cup cooking water, then drain and cool.

Boil the nopales or green beans separately - until tender. Rinse the nopales. Let cool.   

Transfer potatoes, carrots, and nopales  to a large mixing bowl. Then add the chopped spinach and green onions.

   

Blend together with a fork olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and mayo. Thin the dressing out a bit with some of the reserved cooking water.

Drizzle the veggies with the dressing and mix well.  Let set for at least 15 minutes, tossing it once or twice. 

Notes
If you want to increase the protein in this dish, top it with egg slices, seeds or nuts. I used pepitas (squash seeds - found in almost any store in the Southwest).

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. While best eaten the same day, it can be kept covered for a couple of days in the refrigerator.  

Try it right away to beat the mid-summer heat. I think you’ll agree that this is one super fresh-tasting salad – and much superior to the monotonous usual potato salad most often served up in homes, cookouts, and potlucks.

GOOD-TASTING VEGAN MEATBALLS.

If you've been following Grandma Susan's Almanac for a while, you know that I’m a convinced vegetarian and, more recently, a vegan wannabee who falls off the vegan wagon, now and again. Yes, it’s been hard to be strictly vegan since my husband isn't. But he is vegetarian and we often compromise, ending up with slightly less than vegan meals. 

Also, as I've mentioned, I keep struggling to adapt some of my earlier recipes to fit our new eating style. What has happened, unfortunately, is that we've tended to eat two kinds of meals: rice – white or whole grain - with veggies or whole wheat spaghetti with veggies along with a lot of hummus along with homemade bread, multigrain crackers or tortilla chips. That makes for monotonous meals and we want to do better.

What’s more, when I do the grocery shopping, most of what I buy is organic. When my husband shops, he comes home with what he likes after looking at the prices. That means a lot fewer organic foods. Anyway, it’s been quite an evolution – “teaching two old dogs new tricks” – kitchen tricks, that is. And, in the process, we've put many of our former comfort foods on hold.

You know what I’m talking about. Some of the food that we liked a lot and ate in our childhood - and later on for years - and that we remember with sentimental fondness. And this is particularly true when situations get out of control and stresses rise. That's when we want to reconnect with comfort foods – along with all those accompanying kitchen smells, tastes, and textures. One important comfort food - from our upbringing - were/are meatballs. But, my husband and I stopped eating them because I hadn't found a vegan way to make them the way we like –juicy, tomato-y, and well molded together. (If you've made vegan meatballs, you may have seen them squishy in the middle and tasting more like cardboard than anything else.) I've been experimenting.  This time I think I've got a good recipe, and I’ll share it with you.

I used a mix of tempeh, bread crumbs, chopped onions, minced garlic, spices, organic marinara sauce and lots of olive oil – even more olive oil on top after formed into balls and a zip of ketchup on top of each one.  I made the mixture in just one skillet, then formed the balls and placed them in a glass dish to bake. They turned out crispy on the outside and dry - not at all mushy - inside. They were husband-approved.

Here’s the recipe I made today. It makes about 10 meatballs. You can see the photo of my yet uncooked meatballs (modified slightly in my usual cartooned style).

Ingredients

Half pound of frozen tempeh, thawed and crumpled

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 slices of whole wheat bread, pulled apart to make crumbs

(Use instant oatmeal instead of bread for gluten-free meatballs)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Soy or Worcester sauce, 2 tablespoons

½ cup marinara sauce

Dash of black pepper

About 2 tablespoons of ketchup

¼ cup olive oil

Directions

Brown the crumpled tempeh along with the onions and garlic in the olive oil, holding back just a bit for later drizzling.

When the tempeh has browned, let it cool slightly and add marinara sauce, bread crumbs, spices, soy sauce. Form the moist – but not wet – mixture into 1 1/2″ balls.

Place the balls in a greased glass baking pan. Drizzle a bit more olive oil and ketchup on the top to make them crusty. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Serve the meatballs over rice or pasta with or without more marinara sauce. You can also indulge in a meatball sub - with lots of green salad, Italian salad dressing, and slices of cheese or non-dairy cheese.mozzarella. The meatballs can be frozen and reheated in the oven or on the stove top.

The same recipe can be used for meatloaf, just place the mixture in a greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

VEGAN COFFEE CAKE, A GREAT ADDITION TO POTLUCK DINNERS.

Last February, when my husband and I first started with our new diets – vegetarian for him and vegan for me – I quickly adapted any number of cooking recipes to accommodate our new eating style. Still I was at a loss, at first, as to how to make egg and dairy-free desserts. I researched on the Internet and found that many brave cooks were coming up with vegan recipes. After, studying a few recipe posts, I began experimenting and came up with my own. I decided to concentrate on coffee cake.  I’m always looking for a not-too-sweet treat to drink along with my mid afternoon pick-me-up coffee or tea. Coffee cake is my favorite. Luckily, it's really easy to make vegan coffee cake and it really tastes good.

So, for the past six months months, I've been making vegan coffee cake at home. Lately, I started carrying it to the potluck dinners at our meditation group’s weekly meeting – with a lot of success. It has disappeared from the dessert table quickly every time.  Several people have asked me about the recipe, so here I've tried to remember just what I do. I had to sit down and think about it since I almost never follow or write any notes. The truth is that I've have made it a bit differently every time.

Try making a vegan coffee cake. 

So, here it is. By popular demand, I’m writing up my favorite recipe for vegan coffee cake. It’s a classic kind of coffee cake, but with a twist, of course. There are no eggs or milk in this cake. The moist sponginess of this cake – traditionally associated with eggs, happening here without eggs - is due to some tricks, including a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and 2 heaping tablespoons of cultured coconut (non-dairy) yogurt, and only one minute of stirring in the ingredients. Over beating the batter will definitely flatten a vegan coffee cake.

My first recipe was for in-season fresh blueberries and it turned out fantastic! But since then, I've used raisins and dried blueberries and even pureed pumpkin as additional flavors. Just about any fruit you have on hand or any combination of nuts will combine successfully in this cake. However you make it, it will go great with coffee (or tea) and it’s an excellent choice as a breakfast treat or a snack at any hour - also guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser at covered dinners. The vegans in your group will love you for it. 

For health sake, organic ingredients, while not required, are highly recommended.

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (choose the non-aluminum kind)

pinch of salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use sunflower seed oil)

2 small, ripe bananas or 1 large one, mashed (Canned pumpkin and applesauce are good alternates.)

¼ cup dried blueberries or raisins

1/4 cup coconut milk (or coconut water)

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons of cultured coconut non-dairy yogurt, optional

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

juice of half a lime

½ cup of pecan pieces (or walnuts or cashews, etc.)

 Preparation

 Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees and grease an 8” X 8” baking pan (glass or stainless steel is better).

Stir together the flour, soda, and spices, and other dry ingredients. Whisk in the oil, lemon juice, coconut milk, and vinegar in the same bowl. Don't beat it like you would cake batter. When well mixed, fold in the dry fruit and nuts.

Bake on the center rack, until the middle is firm and the top is golden—about 20 minutes.

For topping, I simply drizzle vegan margarine on top of the hot baked cake and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.

Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before trying to cut this cake. It’s best to let it cool completely. Otherwise, the cake crumbles and the slices tend to be uneven. 

GOING VEGAN - ALL THE WAY OR SOMETHING LESS THAN THAT.

Just a few months ago, I decided to adopt a vegan diet. Now, I’d read quite a bit on the subject and already considered myself a vegetarian – that for many years. But, at the time, I was still eating eggs, dairy, and some fish. So, to motivate myself for change,  I read books and watched documentaries that told me about all the wonderful benefits of the vegan diet. These sources emphasized that I would have more energy, lose some weight, and that my general health and skin tone would be better. All that sounded great. And, important for me, was the moral part – being kind to animals, living sustainably, and eating in an Earth-friendly way.

And so it began, there I was going VEGAN (or trying to go about it) – but still fussing around including a bit of cheese, some eggs and once a week fish in my diet. So, I launched my vegan adventure after that (and now, at this posting) having cut out all dairy and still eating 2 eggs a week and fish, once a week. (See note below.) And, unwilling to eat only at home, I’m not able to rule out occasional small amounts of eggs or dairy in breads and pastries, purchased in the street. On that score, for my general sanity,  I follow the: “Don’t Ask” policy.

Happily, it turns out that vegan meal planning is a lot easier than I thought, and there are quite a few  benefits. And some advantages have appeared that I only hoped to see when I began this challenge. The first was a change for the better in my skin that had been oily with a touch of acne. (Yes, even old ladies like me sometimes have skin problems.) It seems that kicking the dairy habit helped improve my skin. The next benefit I discovered was that I never have indigestion and can sleep for longer amounts of time in the night without waking up. For me, that’s a real plus because I often felt tired in the morning after too many internal wake up calls at night. Also I've lost a few pounds. The weight loss is slow but I have reason to think that it will steadily go down. This turns out to be the answer to a prayer – having been somewhat overweight for a good part of my adult life. And my blood pressure has moved from occasional pre-hypertensive into the solid normal range.

One thing that kept me from trying this sort of diet before was a fear of not getting full. I’m happy to say that's not an issue, as I now eat fairly tasty meals in the same quantity that I ate before.  It turns out that the vegan diet is a culinary adventure. And I get to experiment with meal planning, figuring out how to change over old recipes to conform to the vegan challenge. So, it wasn't so much like giving up something as it was the happy discovery of a new foods and food combinations.

Vegan diet is healthy

So, all  in all, changing to a vegan diet seems to open up a whole new level of health for many people - and now for me. This results from consuming more vitamins and minerals, more fiber, and fewer toxins.  Many of these same benefits are available to vegetarians but the vegan lifestyle seems to be even better – since the dairy and eggs are also often the cause allergies and general inflammation in the body.

Here are some of the improvements that have been documented.
- Mood improvements
 - Symptom relief of psoriasis and other skin ailments
 - Reduced incidence of adult diabetes
 - Lower risk of cataract development
 - Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
 - Lower cholesterol levels
 - Less risk of stroke and obesity

Now, what about eating out?

As I began my vegan quest, I wondered if it was even possible for vegans to go to restaurants. Now, I know from personal experience that it is possible.  That is, of course, if you don’t obsess on the possibility of consuming tiny amounts of animal products that lie hidden away in otherwise vegan appearing menu items.

And you can always ask the chef – via the waiter – to make some changes in the food items so that the end result will be animal and dairy free. And it helps to plan ahead and look up the restaurant menu online or call restaurants for options. If all else fails, ask if they have any vegetarian entrees or get creative with sides.

Sometimes vegetarian menu items can be made vegan quite easily by just replacing the butter for oil and leaving off the cheese. And there are almost always green salads and baked potatoes on the menu. You can ask for olive oil instead of butter.

Above all, don’t sweat it too much. Some restaurants are going to be less than veggie-friendly. So, it’s best to focus on the experience itself – the pleasing ambiance and, hopefully, good flavors. Make your best choices and relax. It’s not going to make a huge difference in the great scheme of things.

So what about a part-time vegan option?

If you’re still not sure that you ready for the total switch, you can become a VEGAN PART-TIMER. That allows for an easy transition that lessens the amount of animal products you eat. And, maybe after that, you'll convince yourself that being a vegan is a worthwhile venture.

Give it a try. Vegan part-timing is something like Meatless Mondays - only you do it more thoughtfully and for more days of the week. That still leaves you with a couple of days  (say, weekends) to eat other things you want.

Anyway, you've got a lot of vegan choices, what with:
Meat alternatives: usually tofu, quinoa, beans, grains in general, and nuts.
Drinks: milk alternatives, veggie/fruit juices, tea, coffee, and water.
Fats: Flax seed oil, extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil.
Vegetables: most all. Soybeans, black eyed peas, artichokes, potatoes, beets are all high in iron, a mineral that tends to be low in a strict vegan diet.
Fruits: most all.

Try taking a break from your usual meat and dairy over-reliance. Begin by cutting out meat and dairy from your meals a few times a week and see how it goes. You’ll do yourself a favor as you lessen your risk for some dangerous diseases and disabilities. Also, you’ll reduce your fat intake, and that should help you shed a few pounds without the effort and effects of unhealthy crash or fad diets. With the part-time vegan diet, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much better you feel and know that you’re doing a pro-animal protection and Earth-friendly thing.

A day’s menu
Here’s my menu today. I’m quite content eating meals like these. And I don’t feel like I’m dieting at all.

A good tasting and filling vegan lunch.

Breakfast

Small grapefruit, organic raisin bran with  small banana and a handful of walnuts with coconut milk, a thick slice of toasted bread with soy-base cheese substitute and coffee.

Lunch (shown in the picture):

Corn fritters (a little soy flour adds some more protein), nopales and greens salad, boiled potatoes with margarine, and tea.

Dinner
White rice, mixed veggie entree with lentils, a bread slice, and a glass of water.

Snacks

Piece of vegan coffee cake, a few nuts, and cultured coconut yogurt with fruit.

Note: I guess I'm still, at this posting, a vegan wannabee. My downfall is sush/maki - something that I still like to eat once a week. For me, part of the joy of maki involves fish. Also, about once a week, I eat out for breakfast, and, in those moments of weakness, I usually order eggs or waffles.

MEATLESS MONDAYS JUST GOT BETTER WITH THIS POTATO-MUSHROOM SKILLET DISH

I like veggies. Always did. And, it's a good thing, too, since for most of my adult life I've been a vegetarian. Perhaps, for this reason, I'm totally captivated with side dishes. In my experience, veggie side dishes are good substitutes for meat-based main courses and usually easier to prepare.

Thankfully, I’m most of the time at home and love to experiment with veggie dishes in my own kitchen. I make them as hearty as I can so that they can be main courses on their own. (When you don’t eat meat, you go to a lot of dinners with friends or family knowing that the very best you can hope for is a simple soup, a garden salad and a dinner roll.)

I strive to make these veggie recipes - that I bring to the table and share with you, here - to be as important and well made as meat-based main dishes. In this way, meatless meals can still produce raves.

Even, if you’re not a vegetarian, challenge yourself at least once a week with "Meatless Mondays". And I hope these tasty veggie recipes help convince you to try several meals-minus-the-meat during the week. It’ll grow on you as a cook and, soon, you'll be as proud of your veggie dishes as you are of what were your best meat-based dishes. And you'll know that you're doing your part to save the planet, one-meal-at-a-time - all this, while preparing real, sustainable food that satisfies the taste buds and nourishes the body.

I served this potato-mushroom dish with white rice and a green salad.

Recipe for potato-mushroom all-in-a-skillet dish

Here's a recipe that I've made in many different ways over the years. You'll like this one. It's my last variation, served up just this week.  Try it out. You'll find that it's elegant enough for an evening meal - even with company. 

It's totally doable in a stove top skillet or can even be done in a slow-cooker (if you have a lot more time). You won't have to light your oven - a plus in these hot summer months. The top and edges get a bit crispy, but the middle is creamy.

Organic vegetables are the best choices for freshness and for nutrition. For those who want to be even more careful, try the non-dairy substitutes that are mentioned.

Ingredients

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic

2 Tbs. olive oil

4 medium potatoes, sliced

2 Tbs. white wine vinegar or 1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1/3 c. sour cream or unflavored yogurt (for non-dairy, try unsweetened cultured coconut milk)

2 tsp cilantro, minced

4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced

1 tbs. butter or non-dairy margarine

Salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup regular or non-dairy Parmesan cheese

Sprigs of cilantro

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil a couple of minutes. Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 more minutes.

In the same skillet, cover the onions and garlic with a layer of potato slices, overlapping them. Sprinkle with the cilantro, and then with salt and pepper. Add all other ingredients except the Parmesan.

Cover with a lid and cook stove top over low heat for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Best if served immediately. Top with fresh cilantro sprigs and Parmesan cheese.

USE THE SEASONAL VEGGIE BONANZA TO MAKE THIS TOMATO, SPINACH & BLACK BEAN SOUP

As summer crops come in this month, mountains of fresh tomatoes are everywhere. And, if you're lucky enough to have them from your own garden, they're free for the picking. If not, all those tomatoes are out there, somewhere - and cheap right now at the Farmers' Markets. So, use the veggie bonanza to make this healthy tomato soup. It has even more nutrients with the addition of blacks beans and spinach.





Made  this great tomato soup, today. 

Also had fried potato cakes, brown rice,
whole wheat crackers and guacamole.



Homemade tomato soup is the stuff of childhood, and nothing could be more comforting. What's more, you can make this soup recipe in only a few minutes. It doesn't involve a lot of veggie cutting. And this recipe doesn't use dairy at all. Instead it uses a dash of soy or coconut milk and a bit of sugar to cut part of the acid that sometimes goes with boiled tomatoes. Canned stew tomatoes can be substituted if you aren't so lucky as to have mounds of fresh ones. (Choose certified organic products whenever possible.)

 

Ingredients

- 8 fresh tomatoes, halved & boiled with just ½ cup of water until tender, then blended OR a large can of diced tomatoes

- 2 large handfuls of fresh, washed spinach or 1 pkg of frozen spinach
- 1 cup of left-over cooked black beans or a can of black beans
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tsp. sweetener (best choice is honey or non-GMO cane sugar)
- fresh or dried basil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions

Dump cooked or canned tomatoes with everything else in a pan.

Cook over a low fire for 20 minutes.
Serve hot with a dash of hot sauce and some grated soy cheese - or Parmesan cheese - sprinkled on top.

SURVIVAL - AT LEAST TO THE NEXT PAYCHECK - DAIRY-LESS, CREAMED SOUP BASE

Let’s be honest…there are times when, potentially or actually, the cupboard is almost bare. Or, more likely, in my case, there's nothing on the shelves that interests me at the moment or fits in with my need for a super quick lunch. Now, I'm not a person who keeps pre-prepared meals in the freezer. So, anytime, when I'm looking for a quick, light meal, I'll think about soup. And I'm not a fan of those salt-laden, canned or prepackaged varieties of soup. So, I either do a fair amount of work to produce  homemade soups or I learn to make my own shortcuts. I tend to choose the latter option, since fixing healthy meals and making life easier are things that I joyfully follow and highly recommend.

While I just love cooking, and mostly don’t mind making things from scratch, sometimes it just isn't going to happen that way. That's when having stand-in, dried ingredients in a jar makes all the difference. Having this in the cabinet gives me a sense of comfort and abundance. I know I can survive in all kinds of odd circumstances - such as a short food budget,  emergency food shortages, or just plain laziness - and come out smelling like a rose or, at least, like a savory-smelling bowl of my favorite cream of veggie soup.

The recipe that I'm sharing with you uses dried rice flour as a dairy substitute and fine ground polenta as a thickening. While, these products are industrial, at least I choose and highly recommend the organic brands. And by using these products as prime ingredients, I can make my own prepackaged mix and avoid paying bigger bucks for organic, processed soups from the store.

This dried soup mix really is super easy. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk together, and store in an airtight container. So, it can be another of your survival staples sitting on the shelf. And it's a only an arm-length's grab from there - to which, of course, you'll need to add the cooked veggies with their broth, a bit of oil, and put these ingredients to a boil. You'll have a delicious, homemade soup in record time. The same can be done for casseroles when combined with less liquid and popped in the oven to bake. This same recipe, when dressed up with a square of bandana material like that shown in the drawing, makes a quick-to-put-together and easy-on-the-wallet gift for others.

Creamed Soup Base Mix
 
2 cups rice flour, organic is better
1 cup polenta, organic is better
1 tablespoon  brown sugar
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (This is not bread yeast.)
1 tablespoon  sea salt
2 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
½ teaspoon powdered garlic (not garlic salt)
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon of chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all dry ingredients together with a whisk. Store in an airtight container.

Combine about 3/4 cup of  mix to 4 cups of boiling water, depending on desired soup thickness, in a saucepan. On medium heat, bring to a boil. Cook and stir repeatedly for 10 to 20 minutes depending on the veggie, until thick. Cool.

For Cream of Red Lentil
Use water, 3/4 cup of dried red lentils, and a teaspoon or two of olive oil, and boil for 20 minutes or until tender.

For Cream-of Mushroom Soup
Use water; 1 cup diced mushrooms, and a teaspoon or two of butter to mixture and boil about 15 minutes or until soup thickens.

For Cream-of Celery or Carrot Soup
Use water, 1 cup thin-diced, celery or carrot and a teaspoon of two of olive oil. Boil for 20 minutes or until tender.

Related posts
ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP IS A MEDLEY OF SUMMER ABUNDANCE
SPROUTS SHOULD BE PART OF YOUR SURVIVAL KITCHEN
REDUCED SODIUM DIET: WORTH TAKING WITH MORE THAN A GRAIN OF SALT. 
TAKE POSITIVE AND PEACEFUL ACTIONS TO CONFRONT FOOD SHORTAGES
COOKING-UP GOOD FOOD FROM DOWN-HOME RECIPES 
 

EGGS FROM HEALTHY HENS – WHAT DOES IT MATTER?

Most of us eggs eaters, like to think that eggs are “lifeless” – sort of like eating cheese, or potatoes or spinach. Of course, our conscious minds know the difference. When we eat eggs we are eating what was once a living being - in the fetal stage. The main difference of the egg from other meat-protein sources is that it never was a living, breathing bird. Still, the hen that produced that egg definitely is or was, and her conditions might mean something to you. And, if you have any heart at all, you don’t want to think that you’re eating something that’s a product of endless suffering, injury and disease.

Several huge salmonella outbreaks at egg production factories seemed to capture public attention on the safety of eggs and the conditions that surround the poultry living there. A New York Times article focused on how the U.S. egg industry treats the over 300 million chickens in phases of annual production and marketing. 97 percent of all US eggs live their entire lives with tens of thousands of other birds, crammed  in filthy and inhumane production units. Certainly no compassionate person could watch the videos taken in these places without being physically ill.


Make a chicken's life a little better and eat healthier eggs, too.

Among the horrors of the conventional battery-cages are total darkness – that means blindness and barely able to move in indoor pens as long as football fields. Birds can’t even stretch their wings and routinely injure and kill others just looking for enough space to stand up. They are routinely de-beaked. The waste that's generated on these gigantic farms causes terrible odors for miles around and pollutes local water supplies.

Any male chicks born in the commercial egg  industry get thrown onto conveyor belts where they are suffocated or pushed alive into chicken meal grinding machines. Any hens that survive their egg-laying life – up to about 2 years, are then near death from stress and nutrient starvation. Then, they suffer “forced molting", a grotesque operation that deprives them of food and water for up to 2 weeks, a final stressing that tends to increase their waning egg-laying frequency.At this point they are thrown together one over another in truck cages where they go to the chicken slaughterhouses where further nightmare conditions lead them to a painful death. There they end up on people’s table, unlabeled as to their ordeal, and sold as “regular” farm-raised poultry.

While it seems logical that the battery cages and other abuses of the egg industry should be outlawed, there is no major push to end these conditions by US consumers. News from the European Union shows that there is a grass-roots move to ban this means of production throughout the region, and some countries have already signed on.

Commercial choices aren’t all that good
Given this situation, some people now regularly buy cage-free or free-range eggs. According to the same Times article, 2% of our commercial eggs are from cage-free hens and 1% is from free-range birds. Of course, just being caged-free or free range, by label, does not mean that the birds are actually living out happy, healthy lives. Many of them don't have access to the outdoors, and aren’t fed optimum food and may be medicated on antibiotics. Also the majority of even the so-called “free-range” birds don’t get much time free from their cages because the doors to the outside pens are too small, relative to the total number of birds. Sadly, the same Times article reported that many "cage-free" and "free-range" eggs come from the very same farms that produce battery-cage eggs. It’s simply an industry ploy to capture well-meaning consumers who will pay more money for eggs that come from somewhat better poultry production conditions.

While the real conditions vary considerable, clearly these 3% are better off than their battery-caged cousins. They are, at least, able to scratch and spread their wings and, sometimes, according to their individual luck, be involved in healthy chicken pastimes. And the eggs they produce taste better and are healthier for you from a nutritional standpoint - with more vitamin E and more total omega-3 fatty acids.

For my choice, I'm trying to be a vegetarian. I eat mostly vegetables and grains. Now, I’m not so strict at that, and I also eat a small amount of  fish during any given week. Also, away from home, when served it, I will eat poultry. But, to get some animal protein on a regular basis,  I eat cheese and eggs. I'm just anxious to find the best eggs I can from chickens that haven’t been brutally abused. The options, unfortunately, aren’t so clear. My personal decision has been to buy only cage-free eggs, even though I pay up to 2 dollars more per dozen. I’d rather eat fewer eggs per week than accept the conditions of battery-caged hens. But, I’m poised to take further action….

Raising chickens may be the solution
Unless you’re ready to accept the high price of eggs from (hopefully) more humanely raised hens, you might consider having a few chickens in your yard. Anyone who has ever been around chickens knows they exhibit many complex and entertaining behaviors. They appear to be sensitive and intelligent animals, and it’s a crying shame that so many of them are forced to lead such terrible lives.

The answer may be easier than you think. Hens, it turns out, are easy to care for and, when treated right, each will provide 4-5 good quality eggs per week. That means that, with an investment of a few cents and a little care, as few as 3 hens can give you at least 12-15 eggs a week. That’s quite a savings over commercial prices. Home-raised eggs are indisputably better in flavor, texture and nutritional value. Your hens also keep down the weeds and eat harmful insects. Their needs are simple - a shelter at night, a watering can and a feed trough. They can get sunlight, insects (their favorite meal) and exercise on their own.

If you’re in a place where you could possibly keep some chickens, you should seriously consider this option. While local residential zoning may differ, most cities allow hens to be kept for eggs  for home consumption.