Category Archives: The vegan elephant

Chestnut cookies with almond drizzle

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ChestnutCookies

I love chestnuts and eat them throughout the fall and winter. They work in savoury dishes such as my stuffed acorn squash and in sweet dishes, like these cookies.

Roasting your own chestnuts is charming and also dangerous and labour intensive – a lot like dating. So I buy my chestnuts already roasted. You can find these chestnuts in 100 gram bags at grocery stores and even the dollar store. Aurora is one well known brand.

These cookies are not too sweet and dangerously addictive.

Ingredients

Cookies

100 grams roasted chestnuts (about 9-11 chestnuts)

1/3 cup pecans

2 Tbsp flax or chia seeds

6 Tbsp plant-based milk (I use almond)

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ tsp each of ginger and allspice

¾ tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

¾ cup brown sugar lightly packed

¼ cup melted coconut oil

Almond drizzle

¾ cup icing sugar

½ tsp almond extract

1-2 Tbsp plant based milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl or cup, mix the chia or flax seeds and 6 tablespoons plant milk. Combine to create 2 flax or chia“eggs”. Set aside.

Grind the chestnuts and pecans and 1 tablespoon of the flour in a food processor until you have a mealy consistency.

In a mixing bowl combine the chestnut/pecan mixture with the flour, spices, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. I recommend sifting in the flour, spices and baking powder.

Add the vanilla, oil and “eggs” and mix everything together. I find it’s easiest just to combine everything with my hands. You will have a ball of slightly oily-feeling dough when you’re done.

Pinch off a bit of dough and roll it into a ball about the size of a walnut. Place the ball on an ungreased cookie sheet and press the ball down slightly to flatten it. Repeat. You should end up with 24 cookies.

Bake for 6-10 minutes. Let cool.

To make the icing drizzle, combine the 3 ingredients in a small bowl or cup. Start with one tablespoon of milk and add more if needed, but be patient. You’ll feel like the sugar is never going to turn into icing and in a blink of an eye, it will transform.

When the cookies are cooled, use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cookies. The drizzle will set in about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Bearing witness to slaughter

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Slaughterhouse

Photo by: Rosemary Szponarski

At the end of December I became an animal rights activist.

I attended a slaughterhouse vigil to bear witness to the animals’ last painful minutes alive.

I didn’t understand how bearing witness would matter to animal welfare. Having seen photos of activist holding up signs protesting the slaughter of farmed animals, I thought the point was to help change the minds and hearts of people who were still eating and using animal products.

Bearing witness is more subtle but no less profound. After my vigil I cannot be silent about what happens to farmed animals. I will not stop trying to help them.

A group of about 25 of us met on a cold, wet afternoon outside Conestoga Meat Packers in Breslau, Ontario.

As I reached the gate to the slaughter yard, I heard a pig squeal. The sound was keening, piercing. I moved straight to the transport truck to see the pigs inside. They fell silent as I approached and stuck their noses out the air vents sniffing me. Through my tears I told them that “the world is beautiful and that what is happening is not fair or kind.” I stroked their faces and promised that we couldn’t help them but we would never stop working to make this horror end for other pigs. Those gentle, intelligent animals just minutes from their own death were quiet, but never stopped moving, never stopped shuffling and shifting in their agitation.

We were asked to leave the property and stay behind the marked line on the driveway “so that no one would get hurt.”

A truck loaded with pigs rolled up to the receiving dock to be unloaded.

The endless squeals of the pigs filled the air. They screamed and screamed and screamed in terror and pain as the men unloading them goaded them with electric prods.

The entire truck – an 18 wheeler weighing 80,000 pounds when it’s empty- was rocking back and forth from the violence taking place inside. Hellish, flickering light streamed from the air vents as the men inside the trucks chased and prodded the pigs.

Enraged, I watched and listened and could do nothing, helpless to make the nightmare stop. As soon as one truck was unloaded, another rolled up and the gruesome process started again.

One of the truck drivers casually leaned against a car smoking and watched another worker, prod held high, climb into the truck to move a stubborn or possibly injured pig off the truck. Something was going very wrong because a forklift driver came out and strategically kept moving his vehicle so we couldn’t see what was happening. What did they have to hide? What did they do when there was no one there to see their brutality?

None of the men in the slaughter yard made eye contact with us. I thought, I hoped, it was because somewhere inside themselves they felt shame or grief for what they were doing.

No. This was just a day’s work for them. We were simply annoying.

As the sun set on that cold, muddy slaughter yard where pigs screamed endlessly in trucks that were rocking from the violence inside, a worker strolled up holding the hand of a young child. The man stood talking and smoking with the drivers and handlers and the little boy simply stood and stared at us, then looked at the men, but never once at the trucks. The group in the slaughter yard seemed oblivious to the death and violence all around them.

How will that child escape this numbing, joyless bondage? How can we move to a better future when future generations are being indoctrinated into a lifestyle where pain and violence are considered normal and necessary?

I don’t know. But I won’t stop trying to help the animals… and the little, lost children.

As our cold, sorrowing group disbanded, another truck loaded with frightened pigs for slaughter came rolling out of the gloaming and into the slaughter yard.

NOTE: Every week 24,000 pigs are slaughtered at Conestoga Meat Packers; that’s 1.2 million animals each year in just one slaughterhouse.

Mushroom risotto – classic and comforting

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mushroomrisotto

I used to make risotto all the time before I adopted a vegan diet. But I was very leery of how much I’d enjoy a vegan risotto. No butter? No cheese? Turns out it’s no problem. This version is flavourful, creamy and vegan. If you have 30 minutes you have time to make this dish and wow yourself and a friend.

Making risotto is a bit of an exercise in faith. You just have to believe it’s going to work because halfway through the process, the pan will look like a messy failure. But it always turns out.

This recipe makes 2 generous servings or 3 appetizer size servings.

Ingredients

1 cup Arborio rice (must be Arborio rice)

3 cups vegetable broth

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp vegan margarine

1 shallot finely minced (or 1 clove garlic minced and ½ onion minced)

1/3 cup (or so) of dry white wine

3 cups of mushrooms – I used a mix of white and cremini) sliced

½ cup fresh or frozen peas. If using frozen, thaw the peas.

1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 green onion or 6 chives chopped (optional)

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 to 1 tsp ground black pepper

Truffle oil and chopped pecans for garnish (optional)

Directions

Heat the broth in a saucepan so it’s at a low simmer.

In a large frying pan or skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they release their liquid and are browned. Put the mushrooms in the pot of broth.

In the same pan you fried the mushrooms in,melt the vegan margarine. Add the shallot (or onion and garlic, if that’s what you’re using) and sauté until translucent.

Add the rice and stir until it’s coated with the margarine and shallots and turning a light golden colour.

Add the white wine and stir together.

Now the magic. This step will take about 20 minutes.

One ladle at a time (about ½ cup), add broth to the pan of rice. Try to just add broth and not the mushrooms.

Stir the rice until the broth is all absorbed by the rice. At first the rice will quickly absorb the broth and at the same time it will release its starch, creating a creamy base. As the rice cooks, the broth will absorb more and more slowly. Patience. Listen to music. Ladle. Stir. Ladle. Stir.

In about 20 minutes your rice will be done and all your broth should be used up. The rice will be al dente.

Add the mushrooms you reserved in the broth, the peas, the chives/green onion, pepper and nutritional yeast and stir together.

I garnished my risotto with truffle oil and some chopped pecans.

SUGGESTION: If you have never tried truffle oil, I highly recommend it for a touch of richness and decadence. Yes, the oil is pricey. BUT you can buy a very small bottle and it will last about 18 months, if you keep it at room temperature out of the light. Only a teaspoon on a dish like this will have you feeling like a gourmet chef!

Lemon-garlic soup with lentils and rice

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LemonGarlicSoup

Are you feeling a little less than spectacular after a holiday season of indulgences? Here’s the perfect bowl to perk you up. The garlic, lemon, turmeric and parsley are all ready to give you a detox and boost your immune system. This is also a bright, refreshing soup full of great flavour and textures, and you can whip it up in just 30 minutes. Mmmmm.

Ingredients

4-6 cups vegetable broth

The juice from 2-3 lemons (about ½ cup juice)

1 tsp grated lemon rind

1 tsp turmeric

4-5 cloves garlic. Mince half the cloves and slice the other half.

1 bay leaf

1 piece star anise (optional, but I love the tang it gives)

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (see TIP below)

1 cup cooked lentils. II used ½ cup dried beluga lentils (also called black lentils) because they taste great and cook in 15 minutes.

1 cup cooked brown rice (about ½ cup before it’s cooked)

2 carrots sliced

salt to taste (You probably will need none, but depends on your broth.)

Directions

Put all the ingredients except the rice, lentils and parsley in a pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 10 minutes so the carrots cook. Remove the bay leaf and the star anise. Add the lentils, rice and parsley. Heat through and serve. Enjoy!

TIP: You can freeze your fresh parsley to use in cooking. Make sure it’s clean and dry and place the whole bunch in a zippered freezer bag. When you need fresh parsley for a recipe, simply break off however much you need and crumble it into your dish. No chopping required. Frozen parsley will lose some of its brightness and firmness so I don’t recommend using frozen parsley for garnishes or in dishes such as tabouli.

Linguini with lentils and walnuts …. when condiments get saucy

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linguinicondiments

It’s amazing what very everyday condiments can become with a little coaxing.

I found the original version of this recipe on the Oh She Glows blog. She writes that she made the dish late one night using whatever was in the pantry. My slightly altered version of the recipe adds a few staple ingredients and adjusts some of the measurements. I also used fresh rather than canned lentils.

Beluga or black lentils are much smaller than other lentils so they cook up quickly. You can have a fresh pot of beluga lentils in just 15 minutes and they are nutty and chewy and just generally delightful.

This whole recipe can be ready in 20 minutes – less time than it takes to order in and waaaaay better for you and your wallet!

Ingredients

10 oz linguine or other pasta

½ cup walnut pieces toasted

¼ cup tomato-based salsa of choice

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp ketchup

5 Tbsp nutritional yeast

½ tsp ground pepper

1 tsp salt

1 cup fresh chopped spinach

½ cup fresh or frozen green peas. If using frozen (I did), thaw them or give them a quick zap in the microwave.

½ cups beluga (black) lentils (or 1 cup of canned lentils drained and rinsed)

½ red pepper diced (optional)

Handful of fresh basil chopped (about ¼ cup)

Directions

Place your lentils in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on. Remove from heat and let the lentils sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You may have some liquid left in the pot, so just drain that off.

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Place the peas, spinach, diced red pepper, toasted walnuts, lentils and linguine in a large bowl.

Put the olive oil, ketchup, salsa, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan. I used the same pan I had cooked the lentils in (less dishes!). Heat the ingredients through and stir them until they are blended. Pour over the bowl of pasta, lentils etc. and toss together. Serve up and enjoy.

This recipe makes 3 very generous portions.

How to toast walnuts

Toast the walnuts by spreading them on a baking pan and baking for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. Know thy oven and watch those nuts – they can burn quickly. I use a toaster oven for minimal power usage (I can still hear my cost-conscious mother moaning every time someone wanted to fire up the “whole oven” for one item).

 

Seize her salad….and eat it yourself

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SeizeHerSalad

If you like creamy, garlicky Caesar salad dressing, pay attention.

This recipe comes from Esther’s Kitchen – Esther being the wonder pig. My embellishments are the kale, chickpea croutons and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Get out your blender and let’s get started.

Ingredients

One head romaine lettuce – washed and torn into bite sized pieces

TIP – check prices. It’s December in Canada and a big head of local, organic kale costs less than the imported romaine so this salad is got the nutrition boost of kale. Mmm.

½ cup water

1/3 cup tahini

1/3 cup raw shelled sunflower seeds

Juice of one lemon (about ¼ cup)

1 tsp miso

2-3 cloves garlic

1 medjool date, stone removed

Salt and pepper to taste. I used about ¼ teaspoon each.

Directions

Put everything but your salad greens into the blender and blend until creamy. You will have a thick dressing, but it should not be a paste. If it is, add a bit more water and keep blending.

Put your greens in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over top and toss well. I added roasted chickpeas (see recipe below) and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

Roasted chickpeas

½ cup cooked chickpeas patted dry

1 tsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp each of black pepper, smoky paprika, garlic powder

Toss all the ingredients together in a cup or small bowl. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Let cool before eating. When they are done the chickpeas will be almost melt-in-your-mouth crunchy; they won’t have any chewiness/moisture to them. If they don’t have that texture, roast the chickpeas for another 5-10 minutes.

Pumpkin zucchini bread

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PumpkinbreadI make this bread or variations of it almost every week to have for breakfast. This is a quick bread, but it’s not sweet. It’s intended to be eaten with a nut butter or nut cheese.

This bread is super simple to make and versatile. I’ve substituted applesauce or mashed banana for the pumpkin and mixed up what other fruits and nuts I add. Use your imagination; just don’t mess with the chemistry – the basic mix of flours, baking soda and milk!

Lately I’ve been adding chickpea flour (a/k/a besan or gram flour) to amp up the protein content.

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

2/3 cup regular flour

1/3 cup chickpea flour

½ cup cornmeal

1 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp chopped walnuts

1 Tbsp pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

1 Tbsp raisins

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp cloves

Wet ingredients

1 cup plant milk

1 tsp vanilla

¼ cup molasses

½ – 2/3 cup pureed fruit (in this case pumpkin, but try apple sauce or mashed banana)

½ cup fresh fruit (e.g. here I used grated zucchini, but try berries, diced apples or pears etc)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.

In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients together.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to incorporate but no need to mix well. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. A fork inserted in the loaf should come out clean.

TIP: Pumpkin tends to come in big cans. I dole out 1/2 cup portions of pumpkin in freezer bags and store it in the freezer for up to 4 months. This way, you waste nothing and always have pumpkin when you need it. Ditto zucchini – that grated zucchini in this loaf is from September’s harvest.

Mushroom barley soup

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soup close.jpgI get a cheap thrill fooling non-vegans into thinking they’re eating meat.

This soup is as savoury and dark as any beef broth. However, in this case the beef is still very much alive enjoying his or her life happy in a field somewhere.

My recipe is based on an ancient Moosewood cookbook, but with my own riff to make it more flavourful and less laborious.

Ingredients

300 g sliced mushrooms (about ¾ of a pound)

2/3 cup dried mushrooms – any kind. I buy them in a huge bag for very cheap at a Chinese grocery and use them for making stocks

3 cups water

3 cups vegetable broth

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 onions diced

3 cloves garlic minced

2 ribs celery diced

2 medium carrots diced

2/3 cup dried barley

1 Tbsp tomato paste (you can freeze leftover tomato paste in 1 Tbsp portions and keep it in a freezer bag so you always have tomato paste for recipes like this)

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup cheap red wine or sherry or port (I always keep cheap port – so cheap it comes in a plastic bottle! – for cooking and marinating)

soup 2.jpg

Directions

In a large pot bring the vegetable broth and the water to a boil. Break up your dried mushrooms into fingertip sized pieces and place in the boiling stock/water. Simmer for 15 minutes and remove the pot from the heat.

In the meantime in a stock pot, dice up and slice your other veggies. Saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrots until the onions are translucent – about 5 minutes.

Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms release their juices. I like to cook this right down so some of the mushrooms start to brown a bit. Add the dried mushrooms/stock/water mixture and an additional 1 cup of water and all the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and enjoy!

Beet, quinoa and kale salad

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BeetKaleQuinoaSalad

I love the Thug Kitchen cookbook but, like all cookbooks, I find they are often unnecessarily labour intensive. I guess I’m a lazy-ass thug.

Here’s my lazy version of their beet and quinoa salad.

Ingredients

4-5 medium beets

2 cups kale washed and torn into bite-sized pieces

½ cup uncooked quinoa

Juice of 1 lemon (about ¼ cup)

2 green onions washed and sliced

2 clementine oranges peeled and segmented (optional)

2 Tbsp fresh dill or fresh parsley

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste (I used about ¼ tsp each)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Directions

TIP: I recommend cooking the beets and quinoa the day before so they are nice and cool. If you put hot quinoa or beets on the kale, it’ll wilt.

Cook the quinoa by rinsing it in a mesh strainer and then putting it in a pot with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer covered with a lid for 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

How to peel and cook beets easily

Slice the tops and bottoms off the beets. Place them in a pot with just enough water to cover them. Bring them to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes. A fork will go in easily when they are cooked. Remove the beets from the heat and drain the water. Cover with cold water and let the beets sit for a few minutes. You want the beets to be cool enough to handle.

If you’re making the beets the night before, just drain off the water, put the lid on the pot and put the pot in the fridge.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, remove from the water and slip off the skins with your fingers. Slice the beets and place in a large bowl.

Add the quinoa, kale, green onions, parsley and/or dill and clementines, if using, to the bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and Dijon mustard and toss everything together. Serve up and enjoy!

A vegan shepherd’s pie to die for… except no one actually does

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ShepherdsPie

I have always loved shepherd’s pie. It’s a gorgeous, classic comfort food. Now here’s a version that’s just as delicious as the original AND vegan.

While the ingredients list and steps may seem long, I promise this is a simple recipe that will make you feel like a gourmet when it’s done.

My next door neighbour, a venerable German lady and an excellent cook, came by to sample the dish and declared it to be buttery and sinful. I couldn’t ask for higher praise.

Ingredients

For the mashed potatoes

4-5 potatoes. I use Yukon Gold or any white fleshed potato. Scrub them well, remove any eyes, all or some of the skin and then dice.

1 white turnip peeled and diced. Trust me on this – the turnip gives the buttery flavour to the potatoes.

3 Tbsp vegan margarine

1/3 to ½ cup unsweetened soy or almond milk

Salt and pepper to taste

For the filling

½ cup beluga (black) lentils or any kind of lentils except red lentils, which get mushy.

3 stalks celery sliced

1 small onion diced

2 carrots sliced

1 parsnip sliced (if you don’t like parsnips, then just go with 3 carrots)

2 cups mushrooms sliced (I used cremini)

½ cup green peas (I used frozen)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tsp fresh thyme (or go w/ dried if that is what you have, but use only ½ teaspoon)

1 Tsp fresh sage (or go w/ dried if that is what you have, but use only ½ teaspoon)

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (make sure your brand is vegan. I used Lea and Perrins)

A splash of red wine (about ¼ cup)

I Tbsp flour or arrowroot (for thickening the sauce)

1 tsp salt

Black pepper to taste

Directions

Boil the cubed potatoes and turnip together until they are soft. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Drain off the water. Add the margarine and milk and mash everything together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Put the lentils in a small pot with one cup of water. Put a lid on the pot and bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.

In a large skillet or large pot (you want a wide based vessel), sauté the onion, celery, carrot and parsnip in the olive oil. Sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and sauté some more until the mushrooms have released their liquid.

Add the tomato paste, flour, wine and half the broth. Stir well so the flour and tomato paste are blended well in the broth. Add the remaining broth, thyme, sage, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, cooked lentils and peas and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer uncovered until the liquid has reduced by about half. This will take about 15 minutes.

When the filling is ready, pour it into a very large pie dish or other casserole dish. Top with the mashed potatoes and place under the broiler for 10 minutes until the potatoes are golden.

Dig in and enjoy!