The Smell of Fresh Baked Bread & Cinnamon

Yummy!  Yummy!  Yummy!

School started.  And so many things went right!  My room was ready.  My students were wonderful.  We kept busy.  It was good.  Mostly.  It was over 100 degrees every day!  Ants not only invaded my kitchen they invaded the TV room.  (I'm not sure what they were after, they just seemed to be wandering all over the place!)  My shower head broke off.  My window fan stopped working.  (In fact, it was making noises like someone had put rocks in it.)  I broke an entire jar of homemade chipolte dressing and it poured all over me and all over the stove and floor. (This was after the ants so that isn't what brought them in the house.)  I started to think I was cursed.  And then I thought of something that would break any curse.  The smell of freshly baked bread and cinnamon.  Really, nothing bad can survive the delicious sweet smell of homemade cinnamon rolls.  So that's what I made this weekend.  I don't know if they broke the curse but I do know they were delicious!  Soft!  Sweet!  Easy to pull apart!  Topped with a light vanilla glaze.  Pure yumminess!  I veganized what seemed to be the standard recipe on the Internet.  (At least they all seemed very similar.)

Cinnamon Rolls Using Bread Machine

½ plain almond milk

½ cup water

¼ cup vegan margarine

½ cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 TB egg replacer mixed with 1 TB oil + 2 TB almond milk

½ tsp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2¼ teaspoons yeast

Softened vegan margarine

Brown Sugar

Cinnamon

Directions for Making Dough:

• 1)   Heat milk, water, margarine, sugar, & vanilla in sauce pan until margarine melts and steam rises but milk does not boil.
• 2)   Place warmed liquid mixture in pan of bread machine.
• 3)  Add egg replacer, salt, flours, and yeast.  (Follow the directions of your bread machine.  Mine calls for liquids first and then flours, and finally yeast)
• 4)  Press dough setting and if you are lucky – go and read a book.  If you are me, go and grade papers.

Directions for making Cinnamon Rolls (I did not measure the margarine, sugar, or cinnamon – I just put what felt right to me at the time.)

• 1)   When dough is ready, roll into a large rectangle.  (I rolled mine until it was the size of my cookie sheet.)
• 2)   Spread the dough with a layer of softened vegan margarine.
• 3)   Sprinkle (Sprinkle is too delicate a word), Cover the margarine with a layer of brown sugar and then sprinkle liberally (really sprinkle this time) with cinnamon.
• 4)   Roll the dough so the sugar mixture is on the inside and you have a long log.  Carefully cut the log into ½ inch rounds.  (I was able to get 15 nice fat cinnamon rolls out of the one recipe.)
• 5)   Place them on a baking pan, leaving space between each roll as they will continue to rise.
• 6)   Set them aside to rise for about 1 hour.
• 7)   Bake in 375-degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.  (I tend to take mine out on the early size because I like them very soft.)

Light Glaze (If you want them even sweeter!)

2/3 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

2-3 TB almond milk

Mix together and drizzle over rolls when you first remove them from the oven.

There are many other things in my life that break the curse of a bad day (or week).  Talking to a friend.  Getting a massage.  Holding a purring cat.  Reading a good book.  What breaks the curses of your life?

Lavender is another curse breaker. It's beautiful and it smells great!

Vegan Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Soft biscuits, creamy country gravy, and yummy breakfast sausage!  And all VEGAN!

It's the Saturday before the first week of school.  And I'm thinking about the teacher I hope to be this year.  I've been thinking about compassion and leadership and equality.  In a classroom, there has to be leadership; and the teacher has to be the leader.  But I've been playing with the idea that leadership isn't the same thing as importance.  The teacher is no more important than the student.  It might not seem like a 'vegan" idea but my thinking began with the vegan diet.  Am I more more important than the other living organisms on this planet?  Do my needs outweigh their lives?  No!  Is the person who makes more money more important than the person who doesn't make that much money?  No!  Is the person with more education more important than the person with less education? No!  I think this way of thinking changes the way I live my life and the way I treat others.  In means that everyone deserves the same respect, whether you are the superintendent, the principal, the teacher, the janitor, or the students. 

And speaking of equally important, when making biscuits and gravy, every part is equally important.  You need a nice fluffy biscuit, like my version of sour cream biscuits.  But you also need a nice creamy gravy with big bites of sage-y sausage .  I've used the Country Gravy Recipe from the New Start Cook Book as my base and then made changes and additions to make it perfect for us.

 Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

(Based on Country-Style Gravy from NEWSTART Lifestyle Cookbook)

2 cups hot water

½ cup clean, raw cashews

3 TB cornstarch or arrowroot

2 TB Bragg liquid Aminos

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon yeast flakes

½ teaspoon salt (optional)

½ teaspoon Mrs. Dash Table blend

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper (or more to taste)

1 cup plain vegan milk (I used almond milk)

¼ cup finely diced onion

2 TB vegan margarine

1 TB flour

1 Roll of Gimme Lean Sausage

1 Recipe of Vegan Sour Cream Biscuits

Directions:

1)   Make 4 large patties using the entire roll of Gimme Lean Sausage.  Bake in 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes while preparing biscuits.

2)   Prepare sour cream biscuits.  Remove sausages and place biscuits in oven.  Allow sausages to cool.

3)   Process cashews in about 1 cup of the hot water in a blender until very smooth.  Add additional cup of water, cornstarch, Aminos, onion powder, yeast, salt, Mrs. Dash blend, and pepper and continue blending.  Add in 1 cup plain vegan milk and blend until very smooth. 

4)   Sauté minced onion in 2 TB vegan margarine in large frying pan until onions are soft and translucent.  Add 1 TB flour and cook for a minute or two.

5)   Pour blended gravy from blender into pan with onion and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook until thickened. Crumble sausage patties and add to gravy.

6)   Biscuits should be done.  Take them out of the oven so the smell of freshly baked biscuits wafts throughout the house

Putting It All Together

These are BIG biscuits!

Step 1:  Place big biscuit on plate!

Split biscuit so the gravy can soak into all the nooks and crannies.

Cover with creamy sausage gravy.
Be generous - It's biscuits and gravy!
It isn't diet food.

And the great thing about this sausage gravy - an intelligent pig did not have to give her/his life so I could eat a yummy breakfast.

One of the pig's at Farm Sanctuary in Orland California that I visited this summer.
Pigs are actually very intelligent animals with long memories.
Pigs are also very clean, although this gal had been cooling in the mud
because it was nearly 100 degrees on the day we visited.

Vegan Fried Chicken Salad and Making a Lunch

In 1 week, I will be walking these hall with hundreds of middle school students.

I like teaching.  I like my students.  I like my job.  I hate having to make a lunch everyday!  I know it's a little thing - I teach teenagers and the one thing that bugs me is making a lunch to take to work.  Even when I write it, I know it's silly but I guess everyone has their little bug-a-boos - mine is making lunch.  So this year, we're trying something different and it starts with dinner.  While making dinner, we immediately pack up the leftovers for lunch or we use the elements from dinner to make lunch.  I have to plan and make sure there are leftovers but we have to clean up from dinner anyway so we feed two birds with one scone (the vegan appropriate saying:).

Last night we made a delicious "Fried Chicken" salad and then used the leftovers to create sandwich wraps for lunch.

First the Salad:  Begin by baking Gardien's 7-grain Crispy Tenders and Sautéing pepper, onion, yellow squash, and zucchini strips in 1 TB of Oil.

Spray pan with a little cooking spray and follow directions on package.
We cooked them in the toaster oven because it was too hot to turn on the oven.

Sauté onion, peppers (we used pasilla), yellow squash, & zucchini.
When veggies and slightly tender, remove from heat and add frozen corn.

Putting the Salad Together:

Start with fresh greens.

Top with fresh veggies: we used carrots, cucumbers, radishes, jicama, & cherry tomatoes.

Add Salad Dressing, We used the Chipolte Sour Cream Dressing.

Add the cooked veggies.

Add extras: Daiya Pepper Jack, olives, and jalapeños.  Then top with 5 of crispy tenders.

And now to make lunch:  All we need to add is whole wheat tortillas and use the fillings to create Vegan "Chicken" tender wraps.  Start with a tortilla, add the lettuce, some cooked and raw veggies, and a little sauce.  Wrap and lunch is ready.

Wrap filled with the leftovers from Salad Ingredients.

Took about 3 minutes and lunch is wrapped and ready to go!

Lunch is ready.  Now I just have to clean my class room, arrange all the desks, put up bulletin boards, prepare lessons, and make copies of everything we need for the first week.  It's a piece of cake (or a chicken wrap) now that I have lunch made.

A Little Bit of Everything Muffins

Mini Muffin with Zucchini, Carrots, Cranberries, and Pistachios

My grandmother made the best zucchini bread.  She had a lot of practice because they grew a lot of zucchini in the garden.  I took her recipe and made a few changes.  I added carrots.  I changed the raisins and nuts to cranberries and pistachios, (because that was what I had).  I used 1/2 whole wheat flour. I reduced the sugar from 2 cups to 1 cup.  I used flax seed meal instead of eggs.  And I changed the bread into mini-muffins.  Okay, I changed it a lot.  And it was still good!  Really!  It would make a great breakfast muffin (as a larger muffin) because it has everything: fruits, veggies, good fats, grains, and nuts!  The best part about cooking is being creative.  However, creativity can be risky, not just in cooking but in everything.  Sometimes the creative adventure is a big ol' flop!  And sometimes, it all comes together and is yummy.  


A Little Bit of Everything Muffins
Ingredients:

3 tablespoons ground flax seed

9 TB reserved pineapple juice + water

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved

1/3 cup nondairy milk + 2 tsp vanilla

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1½ cups white flour

1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup raisins/cranberries and/or nuts , chopped

1 cup carrot, grated

1 cup zucchini, grated

Directions:

1.  Combine flaxseed and juice + water.  Mix well.  Then beat in milk, oil, sugar, and vanilla until thick and foamy.

2. Mix dry ingredients.

3. Add the carrot, zucchini, and raisins/cranberries/nuts to dry ingredients to coat with flour.  Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Stir until just blended.

4. Put in muffin tins sprayed with cooking spray w/ flour.

5. Bake 25 minutes or more (for regular sized muffins) at 350-degrees.

Vegan Chicken Fajita Salad

There really is a salad under those tortilla chips and its a good one -
lots of veggies, an outstanding salad dressing, and a little zip from peppers!

There is nothing better on a really hot day than a nice crisp salad.  Well, a great air conditioner would be even better but since that isn't an option for me, a salad is pretty good.  Today was a great contrast to my last week.  First, I talked to my best friend from college, I talked to two teacher friends, I talked to my Mom, I talked to my sister, and I had a massage.  It was a wealth of good times!  Which is a good thing because it suddenly occurred to me that I have only 1 week before I start teaching!  So I building myself up.  I've been exercising every morning to build my stamina.  I filled my spirit with the positive words of my friends and family.  I've relaxed with an amazing massage and now I'm feeding my body with a delicious salad.  I think it's important to fill myself up (not just my body, but my mind and spirit too) so I can really be the best teacher and person I can be this school year.

Vegan Chicken Fajita Salad with Chipolte Dressing

 A great mix of raw crunchy veggies and flavorful, tender and slightly spicy fajita veggies.

Here's a close-up of the salad after it was tossed.

Ingredients:

·      1-2 TB Canola Oil

·      1 large Red Bell Pepper, julienne slices

·      1 large Green Bell Pepper, julienne slices

·      1 medium Pasilla Pepper, julienne slices (Optional)

·      1 large carrot, julienne slices

·      1 medium onion, julienne slices

·      1 medium yellow squash, julienne slices

·      1 medium zucchini, julienne slices

·      3 cloves garlic, minced

·      1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced

·      1 tsp chili powder

·      1 tsp cumin

·      ½ tsp season salt

·      2 cups sliced vegan chicken substitute  -(I used FYH Country Smoked Chicken Free Chicken)

·      Pico De Gallo or Fresh Salsa

·      Pickled Jalapeño (optional)

·      You may also like to add some fresh crunchy veggies like radishes or jicama.

·      Romaine Lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

·      Red Leaf Lettuce, torn into bite size pieces  (optional – just Romaine lettuce is ok)

·      1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (more or less to taste)

·      Baked Tortilla Chips

·      Chipolte Dressing (Recipe Follows)

Directions:

1)    Sauté peppers, carrots, and onions in 1 TB oil for 5-6 minutes until just beginning to get tender.

2)    Add squash, zucchini, garlic, jalapeño, and seasonings.   (You may need to add more oil at this time.) Continue to sauté vegetables until they are tender and lightly browned but still have a bite to them (tender not soggy!).  Add chicken substitute and continue cooking until chicken is warm and combined with vegetables and seasonings.  Remove from heat and allow to cool. (warm to room temperature is fine)

3)    Prepare Chipolte dressing.

4)    Arrange Salad by layering Lettuce, Cilantro and Dressing, top with Fajita mixture, Pico de Gallo, and Optional Jalapeño peppers or fresh veggies (we added radishes) and tortilla chips.  Toss and enjoy.

Chipolte Dressing

1/3 cup vegan sour cream

1/3 cup light vegan mayo

2 TB Catsup

1 TB agauve syrup

¼ cup Chipolte Salsa

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chili powder

¼ tsp season salt

Juice from ½ lime

2-3 TB plain almond milk

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a jar with a lid.  Shake well until everything is mixed well.  If too thick, add additional almond milk until it reaches the desired consistency.

And since I'm feeling so filled with love and happiness (that's what talking to so many wonderful people does to me), here's is another one of the loves of my life: Winnie.

This is Winnie.  I love to read cookbooks.
She just likes to sit near me while I read cookbooks.

Layered Berry Biscuit Dessert

Dessert for a Special Occasion - The End of a Long Week!

For a vacation week, it's been a long week.  It's been filled with things I don't especially like - doctor's visits, blood drawn, backyard pipe burst, cleaning & restocking cupboards, and the list goes on & on.  I've started exercising again and I'm a little sore.  I suppose it seems counter intuitive to eat dessert when I'm refocused on getting healthier.  I certainly don't think one should have dessert everyday.  But I do think it's important to have some "dessert" in your life.  Maybe it's actually dessert, or your favorite treat, or a new book, or a new outfit, or whatever makes you happy.  Life just can't be work, and worries, and too much to do - you have to have a "dessert" now and then.  Here is one of my favorites.  It isn't fancy but I think it's beautiful with the ruby juices soaking into the soft biscuit.  And it is scrumptious - truly a dessert to top of my week.

Berry Biscuit Layered Dessert

Ingredients

·      1 16-oz bag frozen mixed berries or blueberries

·      4 TB of berry jam

·      1/3 cup sugar (more or less depending on how sweet you like your berries)

·      2 TB Corn Starch + 2 TB Water

·      Juice of ½ lemon

Biscuits from Sour Cream Biscuit Recipe (recipe below)

Vegan Whipped Topping (I used Soyatoo)

Direction:

*Make biscuits & place in oven while preparing berry sauce.

1)   Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice and water

2)   Place bag of berries, sugar, and jam in saucepan and cook over medium heat.

3)   Cook blueberry mixture until bubbly.  Add cornstarch mixture and continue cooking until thick and bubbly.  Allow to cool.

To Serve:

Slice biscuit in half.   Layer 1/2 biscuit, berry sauce, and non-dairy whipped topping.  Top with 2nd half of biscuit, more berry sauce, and more non-dairy whipped.

Sour Cream Drop Biscuits (The BEST vegan biscuits I've ever eaten)

Makes 6 large biscuits 

(I used the Sour Cream Biscuit Sticks from Betty Crocker Quick and Easy Cookbook as a base to create this recipe.)

 Ingredients

1  cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3 teaspoons baking powder   

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1¼ cups vegan sour cream

¼ - ½ cup plain almond milk (make a very wet drop batter)

1) Heat oven to 450 degrees.  

2) Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in shortening until mixture looks like fine crumbs.  

3) Stir in sour cream and stir until mostly mixed.  (Stir as little as possible).  Add milk until you have a very wet batter that will still hold the shape of a drop biscuit.

4) Drop dough in a glass casserole dish. 

5) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

And here's another treat: a beautiful view from Hurricane Ridge in Washington.

This was mid-July and seeing this lovely lady truly was a treat.
The picture's from far away because I didn't want to disturb her.

Garlic Basil Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Spinach

Simple Fresh Spaghetti Dish with Garlic Toast and Gardein Tuscan Breast with Daiya Cheese

I'm cleaning and organizing my kitchen cupboards.  It sounds so simple.  It's not!  Right now my counters are covered with containers that need to be washed and food that needs to be put back in the cupboards.  And of course, it is hot, hot, hot!  And I don't have air conditioning.  I've decided this is a two day job!  And I needed to fix a quick but satisfying meal before everyone got home for dinner.  This meal requires very little prep:  chopping some garlic, dicing some tomatoes, and boiling some pasta and it comes together quickly. With a few additions like fresh artichokes, Garlic Toast and Gardein's Tuscan Breasts and we had a great meal without too much work.

Garlic Basil Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach

Ingredients:

1 box Whole Wheat Spaghetti or Angel Hair Pasta

3 TB Olive Oil

2 TB Vegan Margarine

5-6 cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup Basil, cut in chiffanade strips

6 Roma tomatoes, cored & seeded and diced

2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

½ cup white wine

Directions:

1.     Prepare spaghetti.

2.    Sauté garlic in olive oil and margarine on medium low heat until garlic is fragrant but not burnt. Add tomato, and basil.  Sauté for 3-4 minutes until tomato is heated.  Add spaghetti and wine.  Sauté until everything is heated and flavors have developed.

3.  Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and Vegan Parmesan.  (I used a homemade topping of nutritional yeast, ground almonds, garlic and onion powder, salt, and lemon juice.)

And just because it is so hot and the weather report says it's going to continue to be hot, which made me think about (and dream about) of one of my very favorite, cool green places: the Hoh Rainforest in Washington.  We got a chance to visit there this summer and it was wonderful!  So here are a few of my favorite pictures.  I almost feel cool just looking at them.