Sunday Supper: White Bean Chili

Tonight’s Supper: White Bean Chili
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Beauty and the Beast

The weather has finally started turning fall-like and, well, chilly, so it seemed like a good night for chili!  I don’t really use a recipe for chili, more of a set of guidelines.  I start with tomato sauce as a base, then add chopped garlic or garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, beans of some kind, and vegetables.  It’s great for cleaning out the pantry!  Today I used white beans and chickpeas as the proteins, and carrots, green pepper, and tomatoes for vegetables.  Mix everything together in a pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or so, and you have a quick, easy, one-pot meal that’s wonderful for a fall or winter evening!

Sunday Supper: "Kielbasa" and Cabbage Soup

Tonight's Supper: Cabbage soup with Tofurky "kielbasa"

Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack:  Aimee Mann, The Forgotten Arm

Despite the fact that the weather this weekend was distinctly un-fall like, the end of September always feels like soup season.  Plus, I still had some Tofurky “kielbasa” to use up, so soup seemed like a natural choice for supper.

I love making soup--it’s easy, it’s painless, you can usually do it in one pan.  This recipe is my all-purpose soup recipe.  The liquid amounts stay the same, but you can swap proteins and vegetables depending what you’re in the mood for.  You can also decrease the amount of broth if you want more of a stew!

 

After serving, I also garnished it with some extra sour cream and a little bit of dill, just because.  The result?  Delicious.  

Recipe:

1 pound “kielbasa” sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
5 cups vegetable broth
3 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 medium carrots
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup vegan sour cream 

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook “sausage” in butter until brown. Pour broth and tomato soup into pan with sausage. Stir in cabbage, bell pepper, and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, or until flavors are well blended and carrots and cabbage are tender. Stir in sour cream and heat through before serving. 

Sunday Supper: "Kielbasa" Mac and Cheese

Tonight's Supper: Kielbasa Macaroni and Cheese
Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Scottish Folk at Its Best (I've been a little obsessed with Scottish folk ballads since my headlong dash through the Outlander series this summer)

I was away this weekend, and consequently wasn’t in the mood to try anything too ambitious for supper tonight.  I was, however, in the mood to try out some of the fancy vegan stuff I got while I was on the mainland, including this kielbasa-style sausage:

I settled on kielbasa mac-and-cheese, made with this powdered “cheese” sauce:
because, again, not in the mood for anything involving lots of time on my feet (like a made from scratch sauce).  However, in the recipe below I’ve included directions for how to make a from-scratch vegan cheese sauce.

I fried the kielbasa until it was nice and brown and crispy, mixed it with the pasta and some veggies, added the “cheese sauce” and some Daiya cheddar, and then baked it at 400 for about 15 minutes--just long enough to melt the cheddar and let all the flavors blend. 

Exciting?  No, not especially.  But tasty?  Definitely.  I’ll be back next week with something a little more adventurous.

Recipe:
Tofurky kielbasa-style sausage
1 lb. box pasta (I used rigatoni)
Whatever veggies you want to throw in (I used green peppers, broccoli, and carrot)
1/2 cup Daiya cheddar (optional)

Cheese sauce:
2 cups shredded Daiya Cheddar cheese
3 cups plain soymilk
1/4 cup vegan margarine
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  While that’s cooking, make the cheese sauce:
In a saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add soymilk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheese, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick.  It'll take a little while, but just be patient--it will come together eventually.

Mix together pasta, veggies, and kielbasa, and put into 9x13 casserole dish.  Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta.  Add Daiya cheese on top, if desired.  Bake at 400F for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
 

Sunday Supper + Product Review: Breakfast Nachos with Nacheez vegan "cheese" sauce

Tonight’s Supper: Breakfast Nachos from Post Punk Kitchen (http://www.theppk.com/2014/05/breakfast-nachos/)
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: "Les Miserables" original Broadway cast album

Last week, my parents ordered me a bunch of snacks from veganessentials.com, an excellent source for all kinds of vegan junk food.  This “nacho cheese” sauce:

inspired me to try out this recipe.  I made a few changes: shallots instead of onions, because onions are gross; parsley instead of cilantro, because the grocery store didn’t have any cilantro; I didn’t use jalapeno in the salsa, for the same reason; I added some Daiya cheddar cheese to the top, because why not?; I cut out the nutritional yeast and used extra turmeric, because I didn’t have any nutritional yeast, and I love turmeric; and of course, I used the jarred nacho cheese sauce instead of making it.



The nachos: These were super delicious and really filling.  They were messy--I ended up eating them with a fork--but nachos should be messy, right?  They’d especially be great for a Sunday brunch get-together, because you could make most of the components (the salsa, the cheese sauce, even the roasted potatoes) ahead.  It would also make great filling for breakfast wraps!

The cheese sauce: was delicious.  It was pretty much exactly like the jarred Tostitos cheese sauce--not remotely like any food that comes from nature, but still wonderful and delicious.  I’m looking forward to eating it as dip with tortilla chips!

Recipe:
4 medium sized red potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. salt

Salsa:
1 large tomato, diced
1 small shallot, diced
2 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. lime juice
Pinch salt
1 avocado, diced

Scrambled Tofu:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz extra firm tofu, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

Garnish:
"Nacheez" Nacho Cheese sauce
Daiya cheddar cheese

Potatoes:
Preheat oven to 425.  Toss potatoes with olive oil and salt and spread in roasting pan.  Roast for 30 minutes, or until tender and golden brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Scrambled tofu:
Saute the garlic and onion over medium high heat until the onion turns translucent.  Add the crumbled tofu and salt and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until browned.  Add the cumin and turmeric and mix until the tofu turns bright yellow.  Add the lime juice and black beans and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the beans are heated through.

Salsa:
Mix all the ingredients except the avocado in a bowl.  Let sit for about 5 minutes so the flavors can blend, then add the avocado.

Assemble:
Layer in this order: chips, tofu, black beans, potatoes, cheese sauce, more chips, Daiya cheese, salsa.  Enjoy!

Sunday Supper: Back to School Edition

Tonight's Sunday Supper: Rotini w/roasted chickpeas & vegetables
Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: "Fire Within," Birdy

First Sunday supper of the school year!  After a week of getting back into the swing of things, getting up early, and getting used to only having a few hours a day to get things done (rather than the whole day), I decided it was a good day for a nice, simple, hearty meal.  This recipe takes awhile just due to the roasting time, but the active time is pretty minimal, and if you already have roasted vegetables left over from another meal it will be even quicker!  Otherwise, make sure you start the vegetables about 45 minutes before you actually want to eat.

Roasting is probably my favorite way to prepare vegetables.  There’s something about a nice pan of roasted vegetables that’s just irresistible.  For this recipe, I decided to throw in some roasted chickpeas, because I needed a protein to add and I figured hey, why not?  I used carrots and broccoli for the vegetables because that’s what I had on hand, but you could really use anything that roasts well.


Once the chickpeas and vegetables were done, it was a simple matter of cooking the pasta, tossing everything together, and ta-da!  Dinner!  I used some Daiya cheddar cheese because that was all I had, but vegan parmesan would be better.


Verdict: Excellent!  This recipe required a little bit of planning ahead, since I needed to allow time for the vegetables to roast, but the actual on my feet time was pretty low, it only used a few dishes, and there were plenty of leftovers for my lunch tomorrow--always a consideration once the school year starts!

Ingredients:
1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 medium sized carrots, chopped
1 medium sized broccoli crown, chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 lb. rotini (or other pasta)
1/2 cup vegan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F.  In a large bowl, toss together the chickpeas, carrots, broccoli, 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs.  Set the bowl aside for later (don’t wash yet).  Spread the vegetables and chickpeas in a roasting dish and roast for 35 minutes, turning halfway through.

Once the vegetables and chickpeas are about halfway done, cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain, then put the pasta in the bowl from before and toss with the remaining tbsp. of olive oil.  When the vegetables and chickpeas are done, add them to the bowl and toss everything together.  If using, add the vegan cheese, and serve.

Sunday Supper: Vegan Nachos

Tonight’s Supper: Nachos!
Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: "The Wishing Chair", 10,000 Maniacs

As always, for more pictures see my instagram (hiltheimpaler; #islandvegan)!

This weekend I was on the mainland for a few days and discovered the wonder that is almond cheese.  I decided on a whim to try some, and was amazed.  It melts beautifully, and without the greasiness that Daiya shreds have.  Which made it perfect for nachos!

I learned my nacho technique from my wonderful partner.  Rather than putting the toppings directly on the nachos, make a circle with the chips and put the toppings in the center.  That way the chips stay nice and crisp, and you don’t end up with a few chips covered in toppings and the rest with nothing on them.











I ate this whole thing myself, but it could definitely feed 2 people if they had relatively small appetites.

Recipe:
Ingredients
Tortilla chips
1/2 package veggie crumbles (I used Lightlife Smart Ground)
1/2 tsp. each of salt, chili powder, and crushed red pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup salsa or taco sauce
1/4 cup vegan sour cream
1/2 cup grated vegan cheese
1 avocado

Season the veggie crumbles with the salt, chili powder, red pepper, and cumin; saute over medium heat until heated through.

Place the tortilla chips in a circle around the edge of a pie plate, leaving the center of the plate empty.  In the center, layer the toppings in this order: veggie crumbles, tomato, red bell pepper, salsa, sour cream, grated cheese.  Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted, garnish with avocado, and serve.

Sunday Supper: Hummus bil "lahme" from Vegan Feast Kitchen

Tonight’s Supper: Recipe from Vegan Fest Kitchen: Bryanna's version of hummus bil "lahme" (Hummus with Spicy “Meat” and Nut Mixture)
Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Spotify's "New Music Tuesday"

Vegan confession time: I eat an embarrassing amount of hummus each week. Like, an entire family size tub of it, by myself, every week. So, I was excited to find this recipe for a new way to consume hummus!

I made the recipe pretty much as is, with the major exception that I used store bought hummus. There are many things I love making myself, but hummus is not one of them, possibly due to the fact that I don’t have a very good food processor. The only other changes I made were to use dill as a garnish rather than chives or green onions, and I didn’t have any vegan butter so I used just olive oil to saute everything.



It turned out delicious! After layering everything together, I scooped it into a pita and served it with some carrots and broccoli, just to get some color. It was great.



 I’ll admit I was skeptical about the cinnamon, but it added just the right earthy notes to the meat mixture. And best of all, the whole thing only took 2 dishes; the frying pan and the serving plate! And, it only took about 20 minutes, start to finish, so it would be good for a weeknight, too.

Recipe (modified from http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-version-of-vegan-hummus-bil-lahme.html)

1 10oz container hummus
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
12 ounces vegan hamburger crumbles
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
salt and freshly-ground pepper

Garnish:
about 3/4 cup cooked or canned chickpeas (rinsed and well-drained)
chopped fresh dill
smoked paprika

Pita bread, for serving

Spread the freshly-made hummus on a serving platter and set aside.
Heat the oil in a cast iron skilled. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the hamburger crumbles, almonds, and spices and sauté for about 7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Spread the “meat” mixture over the hummus, leaving an edge of hummus visible around the
outside. Garnish with dill and cooked chickpeas. Serve in pita bread.

Back to Reality!

Sorry for the long hiatus--I've been recovering from my Disney World trip and enjoying the last of my vacation!  Now I'm back on the island after my summer adventures, and will be back to posting regularly.  Stay tuned for Sunday suppers, stress fracture updates, and plenty more exciting stuff!

Disney World Day 4

Check out my instagram for food pictures!

Today was Animal Kingdom, probably my favorite of the four parks, especially food-wise.  A variety of circumstances led to us not eating lunch until 2, so I went with a light snack so that I’d still be hungry at dinner time.  We decided to get lunch from the Gardens Kiosk, which has vegan and gluten-free snacks.  I got hummus and veggies, rice chips, and most excitingly a Babycakes vegan donut!  I definitely recommend the kiosk if you’re looking for a quick bite and don’t want to think too hard about what you can get.  Also, if it doesn’t get patronized they might get rid of it, and that would be terrible!

For dinner, we went to one of my favorite restaurants in the parks--Boma, at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Boma is a buffet with food from various African cuisines.  The great thing about Boma is that if you notify them that you have people with special diets, the chef comes out to walk you around the buffet and let you know what you can eat.  We had not only my vegan self, but my niece who is allergic to a large number of fruits and to latex.  I have to give a shout-out to Chef Brian, who squired us around the buffet tables and gave us the lowdown on all the food.  He also hooked us both up with desserts that fit into our diets, and my fellow vegans know how difficult it can be to get a vegan dessert at a normal restaurant!  The other great thing about Boma is that there are usually a bunch of vegan options.  I ate way too much, but it’s just so exciting to have more than one or two choices!

Overall grades:
Gardens Kiosk: A+; it’s not a place to get a meal, really, but if you’re looking for a quick, guaranteed vegan snack, the Gardens Kiosk can’t be beat.

Boma: A+; lots of choices, conscientious staff, and totally delicious food, Boma is the complete package.  Definitely on my list of must-visits when I’m at Disney World!

Disney World, Days 2 & 3

Yesterday was Magic Kingdom day, which meant 15 hours in the park and no time for a blog post, so I’m combining two days! 

Yesterday we had lunch at Be Our Guest, which was super exciting because I had wanted to go there for dinner but couldn’t get a reservation.  The restaurant is inside the Beast’s castle in New Fantasyland, and it’s very cool inside.  I had a quinoa salad, and it was absolutely delicious.  The fact that it was quinoa also made it filling enough to hold me until dinner, but still light enough not to make me lethargic after eating.

For dinner yesterday we went to the Liberty Tree Tavern.  Their lunch menu, at least in the past, has been pretty vegan friendly--they have a very good veggie burger.  Unfortunately their dinner is a family style set menu, which meant I ended up eating garden salad for dinner.  So, a bit disappointing, especially given the price.  The omnivores enjoyed it, though.

Today was Epcot day, and our pace was a lot slower than yesterday.  We went to Tangierine Cafe in Morocco for lunch, and it was excellent.  I had the vegetarian platter (minus the falafel, which has egg in it).  It was very tasty, and also very big--depending how big an eater you are, 2 people could probably split it and both have plenty to eat.  And, it allowed me to catch up on my hummus intake!  I haven’t had any hummus all week, and I was starting to go through withdrawals.

Dinner today was at Via Napoli in Italy.  We chose them because I had heard a rumor they had vegan cheese.  That turned out not to be true (they used to but there wasn’t enough demand so they don’t anymore), however I just got a pizza with no cheese and it was still very good.  I did not ask about any of their pastas, so I don’t know if those have egg in them or not.  They were very conscientious about talking to me about my dietary restrictions, though, so still potentially worth a visit if you or your dining companions want to eat in Italy.

Overall grades:
Be Our Guest: B+; the only reason they don’t get a higher score is because there’s only one vegan option on the menu.  Still, that option is very good, I don’t expect much more than that from a quick service restaurant, the portions were quite large, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is great.  Highly recommend for lunch!

Liberty Tree Tavern: D; I feel a bit bad giving anyone such a low grade and I might still recommend Liberty Tree for vegans at lunchtime, but when it comes to dinner it’s a definite pass.

Tangierine Cafe: B+; like Be Our Guest, the only reason they don’t score higher is that there’s only one vegan option.  Again, though, even just one option is pretty good for a quick service place, and the food was fantastic.  I would definitely go back, and highly recommend it for a quick lunch at Epcot.

Via Napoli: C; again, limited options lower the grade.  On the plus side, they asked about dietary restrictions when we checked in and then sent a manager out to talk to us and answer questions, and the food was quite good.  It wasn’t quite good enough to make me definitely want to go back, but I wouldn’t discourage people from going there, either.

Disney World Day 1

We got in today, so we only had dinner in the parks, not lunch.  We had dinner at Sanaa, at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It was fantastic!  If you let them know when you arrive that you're vegan, they have a separate vegan menu, which made life so much easier.  All of the staff was super accommodating and helpful.

I got lentil dahl and vegetables and chickpeas with goan curry.  The lentil dahl is on the left, in the middle is basmati rice, and the vegetables and chickpeas are on the right.

The portions were a lot bigger than they look in that picture--I forgot until I was halfway through eating that I wanted to take a picture (oops!).  The food was excellent, and it was a good pairing.  The dahl had a nice kick to it, which contrasted well with the slightly sweet curry.





For dessert, I got to have chocolate tofutti ice cream.  I was not expecting such a big portion, but hey, I'm on vacation!

Overall Grade: A+  The food was delicious, the service was quick and friendly, and the chef and server were extremely accommodating of both my needs and the needs of my niece, who has a number of food allergies.  Having a separate vegan menu also made things much easier for ordering.  I would highly recommend Sanaa to anyone looking for good vegan food at Disney World.

The island vegan is going to Disneyworld!

No Sunday Supper today as I'm traveling, but stay tuned this week for reviews of various restaurants at Disneyworld! And check my Instagram (hiltheimpaler) for food pictures!

Sunday supper: family reunion edition

Tonight's supper: BBQ

Tonight's Sunday supper soundtrack: the sound of children playing, laughing, and occasionally fighting

Just a quick post tonight, as I'm at a family reunion with all of my siblings and their families.  We barbecued tonight, so my supper was a Boca "chicken" burger, cole slaw made with vegenaise, and grilled portobello mushrooms.  Forgot to take pictures, but as far as I'm concerned grilled portobellos are the taste of summer.  Better than steak! 

The island vegan escapes from the island

School's out, and today marks the start of my real vacation--a month off island visiting friends and family (including a trip to disney world, but more on that later). Stay tuned for lots of vegan food adventures, and check out pictures of all of them on Instagram under the hashtag #escapefromtheisland. And be sure to follow me on Instagram @hiltheimpaler!

Sunday Supper: Chipped Tofu on Toast

Tonight's Sunday Supper: Chipped Tofu on Toast
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack

Find pictures of this and every Sunday Supper on instagram (#sundaysupper #islandvegan)!

In the name of cleaning out my fridge before going on vacation, I kept tonight’s supper simple: chipped tofu on toast, or, for the less delicate among us, vegan shit on a shingle.

To start with, I made some breast of tofu (recipe from vegan feast kitchen) and gravy (recipe below).  As you can see from this picture, the gravy was quite lumpy, so I was a bit concerned this post was going to be titled Sunday supper: unmitigated disaster edition.  However, the lumps were mostly a result of my not dicing the shallot and garlic well enough, so they didn’t detract too much from the finished product.


Once that was all done, I toasted up some bread, piled some tofu on top, poured the gravy over, and that’s it!


Easy, tasty, and now I have a little less food in my fridge to deal with.

Gravy:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 shallot, diced
5 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup flour
4 tsp. nutritional yeast
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute shallot and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to form a smooth paste.
3. Gradually whisk in the broth. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper.
4. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 8-10 minutes).

How to Get Your Grading Done: A Theatre Teacher’s Guide

Please note: This post was typed with tongue firmly in cheek.  I fully appreciate the fact that, as a theater teacher, I have way less grading than anyone else in the school.  That being said, I think most of this list can apply to any school-related task that you just don’t enjoy but have to do.

1. Sit down at desk.
2. Open grade book.
3. Realize you need some tea before you start.
4. Close grade book.
5. Go to the kitchen and put the kettle on.
6. Realize that the sink is full of dishes.  Wash dishes.
7. Realize that the sink is filthy.  Wash sink.
8. Pick up kettle to pour water into mug.  Realize stove is dirty.
9. Clean stove.
10. Bring your now-cold tea back to your desk.
11. Open grade book.
12. Stare at grade book.
13. Close grade book.  Check facebook.  Promise yourself that you’ll start working in 5 minutes.
14. Spend 15 minutes on facebook.
15. Close facebook.  Open grade book.
16. Check to do list to see what else you need to do before the end of the school year.
17. Organize to do list by category and priority level.  Panic when you realize “finish grading” is priority one.
18. Realize drinking all that tea has made you have to go to the bathroom.  Promise yourself that when you get back you’ll do your grading.
19. Go to the bathroom.  Come back.  Stare at stack of assignments to be graded.
20. Organize stack of assignments into more manageable chunks.
21. Write blog post about how much you hate grading.
22. Announce that if we would just switch to proficiency based diplomas, we wouldn’t have to do all this stupid grading.
23. Become curious about how the switch to standards based education will affect grading.
24. Spend an hour researching the effect of standards based education on grading.
25. Realize you are in no way prepared for the switch to standards based education.
26. Start going through your old curriculum materials, aligning them to current standards.
27. Decide the current theater standards don’t address whatever you think is THE KEY to theater education.  Give up on standards.
28. Look at to do list.  Realize how much you need to do to be ready for the fall musical.
29.Start making audition packets for the fall musical.
30. Look at the clock and realize it’s past 10.  Decide you can’t grade effectively this late.  Promise to do twice as much grading tomorrow.

Sunday Supper: Spicy Chickpea Wraps with Ranch Sauce

Tonight's Supper:  Spicy Chickpea Wraps with Ranch Sauce 

Tonight's Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Spotify's "New Music Tuesday" playlist

As always, there are more pictures on instagram with the hashtag #sundaysupper

Inspired by this recipe from Post Punk Kitchen, this is another recipe in the series “things I wanted to make but didn’t have easy access to all the ingredients so I reworked it to fit my needs” (ok, so that title needs some work). 

I found this recipe as I was looking for a way to use up the giant container of dried chickpeas I brought back with me last time I was on the mainland, but of course I didn’t have any Frank’s Red Hot or fresh spices.  However, one thing I’ve learned since moving out here is not to be daunted by petty concerns like that!

So, I quick soaked my chickpeas (because naturally I forgot to set them to soak last night), then put them to boil while I assembled ingredients for the ranch dip.  I used dried parsley, dried chives, black pepper, garlic powder, and the last of my Vegenaise.


Mixed them all together in a bowl and tucked them in the fridge so the flavors could meld.


Once the chickpeas finished cooking, I made the spicy chickpeas.  I started by mashing the chickpeas as for chickpea salad.

It was at this point that I realized I used all the vegan mayo for the ranch dip, and didn’t leave any for the chickpeas.  But never fear!  I just added some of the ranch dip into the chickpea sauce instead, along with the sriracha.


To serve, I made these into a wrap, because my personal motto is “Everything’s better as a wrap."  I spread the chickpeas on a wheat tortilla, added the ranch, put some sliced celery on top, wrapped it up, and ate with some BBQ chips and the rest of the celery!  Super healthy?  Ha!  No.  Super delicious?  Oh yeah.


Recipe
For the ranch dip:
1/2 cup vegan mayo
1 tbsp. dried parsely
1 tbsp. dried dill
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Mix everything together in a bowl.  Let sit for 1-2 hours for the flavors to blend.

For the spicy chickpeas:
1.5 cups dried chickpeas
1/4 cup sriracha
1 tbsp. ranch dip

To serve:
Celery
Wheat wrap

If you’re forgetful like me and also don’t have any canned chickpeas, quick soak the dried chickpeas: put them in a saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, and let sit for an hour.  Strain and rinse, then return to saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil again.  Turn heat to low and let simmer for about 1.5 hours.  Mash up--some chunks are ok.  Mix with the sriracha and ranch dip.

To serve: Spread the chickpeas onto a wheat wrap, dollop some ranch on top, add chopped celery, wrap up, and enjoy!

Stress Fracture Diaries, part 2: 1 step forward, 2 steps back

Remember how a while ago I posted about the stress fracture in my foot, and how excited I was that I’d finally been given the go ahead to do low impact cross training?  Well...after a few short sessions on the elliptical, I started having pain in my foot again, and after consulting with my doctor, was put back onto walking only until I have another couple of pain free weeks.  After throwing what could only be described as a tantrum (it’s a good thing I live alone) I’ve more or less accepted being out of commission for at least a couple more weeks.  That doesn’t mean I don’t feel an irrational surge of anger every time I see someone running, but I’m at least able to talk about running without snapping at people.  Mostly.  I did go for a 30 minute walk on a trail this morning without any pain, so I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to start running again sooner rather than later.  Of course, that’s what I was saying two weeks ago, so it’s hard to be optimistic.  All this yoga is getting me back to the flexibility level I had back in my cheerleading days, though, so there is that!  Also, I've learned a whole lot of interesting facts as I've spent a lot of time doing research and looking for something, anything, that can be done for a stress fracture other than resting and waiting for it to heal (spoiler alert: there isn't).  But, did you know that there's evidence that some types of dinosaurs got stress fractures? 

Sunday Supper: Scalloped Potatoes and Breast of Tofu

Tonight’s Supper: Breast of Tofu (recipe from Vegan Feast Kitchen) with vegan scalloped potatoes

Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Garbage, Absolute Garbage

I was on the mainland last weekend, which meant I got to stock up on all the fun vegan things I can’t get here on the island.  Leeks!  Daiya cheese!  Giant tubs of hummus!  All that good stuff.  And, this was the first weekend in a very long time that I haven’t had any kind of schedule to keep.  It was the perfect confluence of events to allow for a fancy Sunday supper.

This supper's prep actually started last night, when I began marinating the breast of tofu (recipe here: http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2014/02/crispy-marinated-tofu-with-apples-onion.html).


Then, when I was ready for dinner today I made the scalloped potatoes.  Full disclosure: this was my first attempt at vegan scalloped potatoes, and it’s been a long time since I made non-vegan ones.

First, I heated the soymilk with some garlic and thyme, then set it aside to steep.


While that was steeping, I sliced up the leeks, potatoes, and mushrooms, and sauteed the leeks just enough to soften them.


Once that was done, I began layering everything into a casserole dish: potatoes, leeks, cheese, salt and pepper; lather, rinse, repeat until all the veggies are in there (I got three layers, but if you had a deeper dish you might get more).


Then I poured the cream sauce over the mixture.  It filled the dish about halfway.  I covered with foil and baked at 350 for about an hour.

While that was baking, I fried up the breast of tofu.


Toss it all on a plate with some spinach salad, and holy mackerel--this was one of the best dinners I’ve had in a long time. 

The tofu was crispy and delicious, the scalloped potatoes were just like I remembered from my omnivore days, it was just an all around wonderful supper.  In fact, it was so good, I decided it needed an exciting dessert to go with it, so I made some cookies and creme cupcakes using some old oreos I had in the cupboard (recipe below).

Recipe for scalloped potatoes:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain soymilk
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 tsp. dried thyme, divided
2 leeks
2 tbsp. margarine, divided
1 lb red potatoes
3 medium sized mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Daiya cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper

1. Heat cream, garlic, and 1 tsp. thyme in a medium saucepan just until bubbles begin to form around edge of pan. Remove from heat; set aside to steep.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add leeks; season with salt and cook, stirring often, until tender (about 8 minutes).
3. Butter a medium-sized casserole dish with remaining 1 tbsp butter. Layer 1/3 of potato slices evenly over bottom of baking dish. Cover with 1/3 of leeks, then 1/3 of Daiya cheese. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp. thyme leaves. Repeat layers twice more. Strain cream mixture into a pitcher or bowl and pour over vegetables.
4. Set casserole dish on a large rimmed baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Carefully remove foil; continue baking until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling, about 15 minutes.

Recipe for Cookies and Creme Cupcakes
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. margarine
1 2/3 cups sugar
Egg replacer equivalent to 3 eggs (I used Ener-g)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup vanilla soymilk
20 oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
24 oreo cookies, pulled apart into halves

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Line the wells of cupcake pans with liners and put an oreo half in each, inside up.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir together and set aside.
4. Cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Blend in the egg replacer.
6. Blend in the vanilla extract.
7. Beat in half of the dry ingredients.
8. Add the milk and beat until just combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
9. Gently fold in the chopped oreos.
10. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sunday Supper: Shchi

Tonight’s Supper: Shchi, or Sauerkraut Mushroom Soup, recipe from Post Punk Kitchen (http://www.theppk.com/2012/10/sauerkraut-mushroom-soup-shchi/)
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: The Irish Tenors, “Heritage”

I studied in Russia for a year when in college, and the highlight of my day was almost always dinner with my host mother.  I was vegetarian then, not vegan, but still, my host mom always went out of her way to make amazing meals for me, which always included a delicious soup to start.  One of the soups she made often was mushroom and sauerkraut soup, or shchi.  So when I found this recipe on Post Punk Kitchen, I knew I had to check it out!

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was!  Soups are not one of my strong suits in the kitchen, so I was excited that this recipe mostly amounted to “saute the vegetables, toss everything in the pan, simmer until everything’s cooked.”  I didn’t have quite 6 cups of vegetable broth, so I used about 5, and I used potatoes rather than parsnips, but otherwise I prepared the recipe as directed.

When I had shchi in Russia, it was always with copious amounts of sour cream, but lacking any vegan sour cream I just sprinkled it with some dill and served with dinner rolls, which I found eminently satisfactory.

Verdict: Minimal active time, only dirties one pot, extremely tasty and will no doubt be even better the next day--definitely worth it!

Breakfast for a Quiet Morning: Scrambled Tofu

Today I woke up and felt like something other than my usual toast and smoothie for breakfast, but wasn’t in the mood for anything bready, like pancakes.  Luckily, I just bought tofu!

For those of you who have never had scrambled tofu, it is a wonderful, versatile, delicious breakfast necessity.  For this particular version, I seasoned the tofu with red pepper flakes, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt, then added some salsa.

Then I chopped up some red bell pepper, tomato, spinach, and shallots, and tossed the whole thing into a pan to saute over medium high heat.  You want to be pretty aggressive with the heat here, to get the moisture out of the tofu.

Once the tofu was heated through, I put it in a bowl, garnished it with some more spinach and some tortilla chips for crunch, tossed in some guacamole, and within 20 minutes of getting up I was ready to eat!

Scrambled tofu, raspberry-banana smoothie, and coffee...mmm.

The great thing about this dish is you can add almost anything you want!  If I have it, I add some Daiya cheese and vegan sour cream, and sometimes I put it in a tortilla for a breakfast wrap.  This is also a great way to use up leftover taco salad fixings.

Sunday Supper: Production Week Edition

Tonight’s Supper: Hummus and veggie plate
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Blacklisted, Neko Case

Today was the final performance of our spring play, always a bittersweet day.  After a long week of tech and performances, and after spending most of today at our matinee, I was definitely not in the mood to cook, so I rummaged around in my fridge and put together the perfect dinner for a lazy Sunday: hummus with carrots, broccoli, spinach, tortilla, and dilly beans (which were surprisingly tasty with the hummus).

And, for dessert, a very yummy vegan cake that some of my student actors made me to thank me for, in their words, “putting up with us.”  I know, I have the best students ever, right?

Sometimes you just need a lazy supper, but I promise to have something fun and exciting up next week!

Mid-week Dessert: Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oreos inside

Full disclosure--I made these cookies (and wrote this post) over the weekend, and just didn’t get around to posting it until today.

Pictures are on instagram, under the hashtag #islandvegan--follow me on instagram @hiltheimpaler

These are the perfect dessert if you, like me, are a total cookie and oreo junkie!  And they’re pretty easy, too.

First, prepare the cookie dough using your favorite recipe.  I like this recipe from Post Punk Kitchen.  I also used vegan white chocolate chips in place of regular vegan chocolate chips.  I suggest doubling the cookie dough recipe, as wrapping the dough around the oreos means the recipe will make far fewer cookies than usual.

Then, assemble the cookies.  Carefully wrap the dough around the oreos.  This is easier if the dough is a little thicker than you’d usually have it for cookies, so you may want to add a bit more flour than usual.  Make sure the oreo is entirely encased in the cookie dough.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until they’re as done as you like them.  Personally, I like my cookies to be just the other side of raw, but I know that’s not for everyone. 

Enjoy, and try not to eat them all at one sitting!

The Stress Fracture Diaries, part 1: Things I’ve Learned

About 3 weeks ago, after having severe pain in my foot for a week, I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a stress fracture in my first metatarsal.  Prescription: Absolutely no running for at least 4 weeks, possibly as many as 12.  As one of my friends said when I told her, “Wow.  For you, that must be like someone telling me I couldn’t eat ice cream for 12 weeks.”

Exactly.

I then proceeded to sulk for 3 weeks.  If someone asked me to describe myself in three words, “runner” would definitely be in there.  I’m a teacher; I’m a vegan; I’m a runner.  But if I can’t run, what am I?  It didn’t help that just a few days after being diagnosed, my foot pretty much stopped hurting, so if was even more annoying to stay off it.  However, I forced myself to baby my foot and do my gentle yoga and core exercises, and I moped around until my follow-up appointment, where I got good news--I can start doing some low-impact cross training and if I have 2 more weeks pain free, we’ll look at it again and I’ll most likely get the green light to (slowly) start running again!  Now, with a light at the end of the tunnel, I’ve turned introspective and am reflecting on what I’ve learned over the last few weeks.

1. I love running even more than I thought I did.  I always knew that running was an important part of my life, but I didn’t realize just how much I depended on it as a release valve until suddenly I couldn’t do it anymore.
2. Abruptly going from running on trails to running the same mileage on concrete is a seriously bad idea.  Seriously.  Don’t do it.  Your body will rebel.
3. Showering feels pointless when you’re not sweaty.  I stand in there every morning and I’m like, “Why am I even in here?”
4. I really don’t like using the elliptical.  I’ve used it twice since getting the go-ahead for cross-training, and I hate it.  It’s loud; it’s boring; and it smells funny.
5. Related to the above: I really, really hate training indoors.  Is there anything more boring than getting on the machine, moving, but not going anywhere?
6. I am really, really, really (insert several more “really”s) lucky to have a body that’s healthy, not prone to injury, and generally able and willing to do what I ask of it.  This is the first time I’ve ever had a serious injury and been sidelined for any length of time, and it’s made me realize just how fortunate I am that that’s the case.

So all you runners out there, what’s your best/worst injury story?  And how do you cope with being laid up for an extended period of time?

Sunday Supper: Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Tonight’s Supper: Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Spotify’s “Decades Dance Party” playlist (don’t judge me!)

As always, there are more pictures on instagram under the hashtag #sundaysupper

I was introduced to vegetarian shepherd’s pie by my partner, many years ago.  He always makes his with store bought vegan ground beef substitute, but here on the island, that can be hard to find.  Often I use lentils instead, and those work well, but this week they didn’t have any lentils at the store and I really wanted shepherd’s pie, so I had to get creative.  Thinking over and discarding several thoughts (chickpeas? black beans?), I finally settled on mushrooms as having the proper amount of toothiness, plus the ability to absorb the flavors of the seasonings.

I started, as usual, by boiling the potatoes until they were soft, then mashing them with soymilk, earth balance vegan margarine, and salt.  I always leave the skin on my mashed potatoes, but you could take it off if you wanted.

Then I chopped the mushrooms, leaving them fairly large to add some texture to the finished product.  I sauteed them with salt, black pepper, thyme, parsley, and dill.

Once those were done, I was ready to layer the pie.  First, 1/2 the mashed potatoes; then the mushrooms; then the creamed corn; and last the rest of the potatoes.  Normally I would top it with some Daiya cheddar cheese, but I ate the last of what I had a few days ago, so no more cheese for me until my next mainland trip!
Pop it in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes or so, and you’re done!


Note on mushrooms: The mushrooms worked very well as a meat substitute, but the end result was a bit potato heavy, so you might want to adjust your amounts depending on how much potato you want.  I will probably use more mushrooms next time I make this.


Ingredients: 4 large russet potatoes; 2 cups mushrooms, coarsely chopped (see note on mushrooms, above); 1 can creamed corn; salt, black pepper, thyme, parsley, and dill, to taste (for mushrooms); vegan cheese for topping (optional)
1. Boil potatoes until they are soft enough to mash.  Should take about 10 minutes, once the water starts boiling.
2. Drain the potatoes.  Mash with a little bit of soy milk, butter substitute, and salt to taste.
3. Saute the mushrooms with olive oil, salt, black pepper, thyme, parsley, and dill, until the mushrooms are tender and have started to exude moisture.
4. Layer the shepherd’s pie in a medium sized casserole dish: 1/2 the potatoes, then the mushrooms, then the creamed corn, then the rest of the potatoes.  Top with vegan cheese, if desired.
5. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until vegan cheese is melted and pie is heated through.

Health and Beauty Recipe Review: Shine Inducing Banana Hair Mask

Recipe: Shine-Enhancing Banana Hair Mask from the July/August 2013 edition of Vegetarian Times

The Adventure: My hair has a tendency toward dullness, so I was psyched to try the supposedly “shine-enhancing” hair mask.  I was doubly psyched because it provided a use for over-ripe bananas (I like my bananas just barely this side of green, so it’s hard for me to keep up with them).  So, Saturday morning, I mash up my banana, add some coconut oil, smear it all over my hair, and, lacking a shower cap, tuck it under a plastic bag that I then secure at the back of my head.  Then I went about my business for a half an hour.  When the time is up, I scrape as much of the hair mask off my head as I can, then hop in the shower and shampoo my hair.  After shampooing, I take a look at the ends and discover that I still have about half a banana in my hair.  Hmm, I think, maybe the vinegar rinse will get rid of it.  Rinse with vinegar, take another look.  No change.  Well, I think, irritated but not yet panicked, conditioner makes my hair slippery.  Maybe if I condition it’ll work out easier.  Condition, re-shampoo, check.  Some change but not nearly enough--I now have maybe 1/4 of a banana in my hair.

At this point the hot water begins to run out. 

Maybe it just needs more time under the water, I think, and go about washing my body under the lukewarm water.  By the time I finish and look at my hair again, the water is completely cold, and I still have a huge amount of banana in my hair.  Not to worry, though--I’m distracted from my discomfort by mentally composing my angry letter to the editors of VT.  Finally, I can’t take the cold water anymore and decide that maybe brushing my hair will get rid of what’s left.  Of course, then I’ll have a brush full of banana, but at least a brush can be replaced, unlike my head.  So I get out of the shower, stand in front of my mirror, and spend the next 30 minutes using a combination of brush and fingers to pick bits of banana out of my hair.

Did it work?: My hair is not noticeably shinier, although it does smell like a pina colada.

Verdict: If you live with a monkey or other critter that might enjoy picking banana bits out of your hair, go for it.  Otherwise, I recommend taking a pass.  My problems might have been due to user error, but I followed the directions to the letter, and frankly if a possible outcome of user error is having a head full of banana for the rest of the day, the recipe should have a warning to that effect.

Overall grade: F

Sunday Supper

Sundays are usually my quietest day of the week, and hence the day when I experiment with cooking new and fun suppers.  Check out more pictures on instagram under the hashtag #sundaysupper (and be sure to follow me, hiltheimpaler)!

Tonight’s Supper: Fried rice with Chicken (Not) Breasts
Tonight’s Sunday Supper Soundtrack: Old 97’s Alive and Wired

A few months ago, my mom bought me a bunch of vegan meat substitutes, including these “chicken breasts.”  Unfortunately, on the first try we discovered that they were roughly the taste and consistency of styrofoam.  However, since I still had a bag and a half of them left, I embarked on a mission to find ways to make them edible.  Through trial and error, I discovered that chopping them very small and marinating the heck out of them made them pretty palatable.  Then today I realized at 2:30 that I had no tofu for my fried rice tonight...and the grocery store closes at 2 on Sundays.  Which led to tonight’s supper adventure: trying out the chicken (not) breasts in a fried rice!  The full recipe can be found below, if you’re not interested in my photos and narration.

I started by boiling the “chicken,” per the package instructions.

While that was boiling, I made the marinade.  Yes, that is Domino brand brown sugar, which means this recipe is not fully, 100% vegan.  I’m sorry.  I live on an island.  I’m doing the best I can.

After finally getting the top off the lime juice container (seriously, never ever buy lime juice in anything besides a glass jar with a screw top) and getting lime juice all over my kitchen in the process, I managed to mix the marinade.

Once the “chicken” was done and had a little time to cool, I diced it up as small as possible.  Seriously, you have to make this stuff really really small for it to taste good.  Then I mixed it with the marinade and let it sit for about half an hour.

Next I browned it in my wok until it started to get just a bit crispy.  Then I added the rice to the wok, seasoned it with soy sauce, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, ginger, and chili powder, added some carrots, broccoli, and green pepper, fried it until it was heated through, and voila!  Supper!


Recipe
For “meat”:
Protein of choice--I used Chicken (Not) Breasts, but you could use tofu, seitan, probably even tempeh would work
Marinade:
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. Sriracha
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup cold water

For rice:
2 cups cold, pre-cooked rice (if you don’t use cold rice, it will get mushy)
1/8 cup soy sauce (I like my food really salty, you could definitely cut back depending on your taste, or omit the extra soy sauce entirely)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tbsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder

If needed, prepare meat substitute according to package directions.  Then, whisk marinade ingredients together.  Dice protein and coat with marinade. Let marinate for about 30 minutes.  Brown protein until it’s nice and crispy on the outside.  Add rice, vegetables, and rice seasonings, then fry until ingredients are combined and heated through.  Enjoy!

Welcome to The Island Vegan!

Hello and welcome to The Island Vegan!  After being vegan for about three years, I recently moved to a small island off the coast of Maine.  This blog is a chronicle of my adventures with living, teaching, and being vegan in a very small, very isolated community.

What this blog is: A place where you’ll find recipes, product and restaurant reviews, suggestions for how to manage vegan cooking when you can’t lay your hands on various vegan ingredients, and occasional rants about how vegan recipe authors always seem to assume that everyone can always get nutritional yeast and raw cashews any time they want.  More generally, a place where I’ll talk about the ups and downs of life on an island.

What this blog isn’t: This is not a vegan 101 blog.  If you want to know about why people go vegan, what the deal is with B12, or where we get our protein, there are lots of great resources elsewhere on the internet.

Who should read this blog:
Vegans who don’t have easy access to a natural food store, Asian market, or other place to get fancy vegan ingredients
Omnivores trying to figure out what the heck to feed your vegan friends
New vegans who are still a little intimidated by the idea of cashew cheese
Lazy vegans (which is to say, all of us at one time or another)
Anyone who loves food adventures

Stay tuned for further developments!