Green Bean Casserole

While I didn't appreciate this tradition quite so much as a kid, in my adult life green bean casserole has always been the food I look forward to most during the holidays. My mom made it the way that I'm sure the majority of people remember their mothers making it--straight out of a can. A can a green beans, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and even jarred mushrooms all got dumped into dish together to bake. Definitely not vegan, and probably not as healthy as it otherwise could have been either. I was skeptical as I searched for a recipe that would even come close to inspiring the joy and comfort I remember from years past, and I was amazed to find that the fresh, home-made, healthy version of green bean casserole is actually even better than the original version!



Home-made Vegan Green Bean Casserole

I found this recipe on this blog.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

First, put a pot of salted water on to boil. Have 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of fresh green beans trimmed and ready to go in. While you are waiting, slice up a container of mushrooms (about 12 ounces) and start those sauteeing in a separate pan. Add in three cloves of garlic, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and freshly cracked salt and pepper. Sautee the mushrooms until soft. When the water is boiling add the beans, cover, and cook for 6 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans in cold water to stop the cooking process.

Sautee the mushroom mixture and cook the beans.

In a bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp of flour and 3/4 cup of vegetable broth. Add this to the mushrooms with 2 tbsp of sherry and 3/4 cup soy creamer (or unsweetned soy milk). Simmer, stirring, until mixture is thick. Taste the sauce here and adjust seasonings--the salt in this recipe is hard to get right, I find. Add the cooked beans, toss, and then pour the mixture into a casserole dish.

Toss the green beans, mushroom mixture, and then top and bake.

In a food processor, process 1 1/2 slices of whole wheat bread, 1 tbsp Earth Balance, salt, and pepper until crumbly. Mix this while one container of fried onions and spread over the casserole. Bake for 15 minutes.

I thought about going all out and making some yummy, healthy breaded onion straws, but in the end I decided that that was more work than I felt like getting in to. Besides, what are the holidays with a little bit of fatty food and indulgence involved? This would be a fun future experiment though!

Soba Noodle Bowl

This soup is one of my favorites, but it originally contained chicken and chicken stock. A little tweaking produced a delicate and flavorful vegetarian dish that is mild enough to be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Soba Noodle Bowl

Begin by bringing to a boil:

• 2 cups of water
• 6 cups of vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (or more to taste)
• 1 lb of sliced mushrooms (I used button because they were on sale)
• 2 bunches (6oz) of buckwheat soba noodles
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped garlic
• 3 slices of peeled ginger (about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick)
• 1 bay leaf
• freshly cracked pepper

After about 4 minutes, add:

• 5 sliced scallions
• 1/2 cup thawed frozen peas
• 2 generous cups of fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup of sliced sugar snap peas

Feel free to play around with any other vegetables you may have on hand, such as water chestnut, carrot, or onion. Boil two more minutes, remove ginger and bay leaf, and serve. This is one of the fastest and easiest recipes to make, especially if you buy presliced mushrooms and jarred chopped garlic. This recipe serves four, and the SparkRecipes Recipe Calculator tells me that each serving is 250 calories, has almost zero fat, and contains 3.5 grams of fiber. Healthy and delicious!

Enjoy!

Black Mushroom Cantonese Stir-Fry

I had completely different ideas about what this dish would be like--it actually turned out to be like a vegetable chow mein. It reminded me of the blue can of La Choy chow mein my mom used to buy when we were kids.

Black Mushroom Cantonese Stir-Fry

Start off by sauteing for 5 minutes a container of sliced shikate mushrooms, half a yellow onion, 3 hot small dried red chili peppers, 3 cloves of garlic, a small can of bamboo shoots, and a handful of sugar snap peas. I couldn't find these peppers at Kroger and I didn't have time to run to the Asian market, so I got some different dried peppers. They were useless and imparted no flavor. Next time I'll add a some red pepper flakes instead, which will be less hassle anyways.

Sauteing veggies.

Next mix up 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and about a cup of water (I will probably use vegetable stock next time for extra flavor). Dump over the stir-fried vegetables and start adding soy sauce, probably around half a cup. While I usually use low-sodium only, this is one occasion where regular would be appropriate. Either that or season with salt. Don't forget pepper as well.

Once the sauce is added...

Serve over rice with scallions and sesame seeds, if desired, and season with extra soy sauce as is necessary. The key to this one is really the soy sauce, so don't be afraid to be liberal with it.

Enjoy!

Portobello Fajitas

Sorry guys--I wasn't very on task today with the cooking, again! Too much homework, not enough time. The one new recipe I did get to try, however, turned out to be pretty darn good.

Portobello Fajitas

Out of pure laziness I decided to try to cook the rice in the microwave while I made the fajita filling--it was okay, but a little too gooey. I probably won't be doing that again. The fajita filling was super easy. All I did was saute onion, red pepper, portobello mushroom strips, and garlic, add some cumin and chili powder at the end, and deglaze with a bit of white wine to finish. The recipe called for just that, but I decided to get fancy with mine and put some cilantro lime rice on the fajita as well. I wanted a little freshness as well so I topped it with a bit of pico de gallo.

Like I said, it was good, but I am dreaming bigger. I'm thinking fajita burrito. Cilantro lime rice, black beans, fajita veggies, pico de gallo, and a big dollop of guacamole. You could make it a fajita burrito bowl too, skipping the tortilla and adding some lettuce. And then there is corn salsa... The possibilities are endless!

One of my favorite restaurants is Chipotle, and this is a lot like something you could get there, though I'm sure theirs is going to be 10x tastier. With all the vegan options they offer, I think I'll have to pay them a visit soon. As a quick fix at home though, this versatile recipe did the trick.

Linguine with Seared Oyster Mushrooms

While there aren't many foods that I don't like, mushrooms have got to be one of my all time favorites. Simmered in white wine, who could say no?

Linguine with Seared Oyster Mushrooms & Wilted Spinach with Lemon

My only complaint here was that this meal was so acidic. Next time I would probably leave the lemon out of the spinach, since there is already lemon, tomato, and capers in the pasta sauce.

If a pan I first sauteed a mix of oyster, shikate, and cremini mushrooms. Half way through I dumped in a little white wine. Let that evaporate and then cook the mushrooms a bit longer just so that they get crisp. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.

Next, put one can of crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, the juice of one lemon, and a tablespoon of capers into the pan. Let simmer while you boil your pasta. Once that's done plate the pasta, top with sauce, and sprinkle the mushrooms on top along with some fresh sliced basil. This goes really well with some oven-toasted garlic bread as well.

The taste makes up for the less-than-stellar looks. Or maybe that's just my plating skills?

Day 7

Today marks one week that I have been following a completely vegan diet as well as Dr. Neal Barnard's book, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart. While not over yet, I can say that this week has had its ups and downs, but has been overall an incredibly positive experience in my life. For the past week I have eaten better than I have in my whole life--and I don't just mean better as in healthy. Better as in more food, more often, and more delicious. This is one diet you definitely won't feel deprived and hungry on. And what's more is that last night at Gobblerfest and the Spirit Rally I could barely keep my pants on me because they were so loose! The poor people sitting in the grass behind me had to stare at my backside all night due to the fact that I do not own a belt. As Carla said, "I wish I had your problems..."

The menu for day seven is:

Breakfast:
Pancakes with maple syrup
Fresh raspberries

Lunch:
Quinoa and Red Bean Salad (recipe)
Hummus and pita bread

Dinner:
Sauteed spinach with fresh lemon juice
Penne al Forno (recipe)
Linguine with Seared Oyster Mushrooms (recipe)
Mixed greens with balsamic vinegar
Baked Cardamom Pears (recipe)

The Asian buffet last night, Hokkaido, turned out to be very good, and had lots of vegan options. I chowed down on sauteed mushrooms, steamed bok choy, vegetable lo mein, rice noodles, and some fried rice (with no egg, yay!). Because of this, I didn't get to cook the lovely menu from last night. So tonight I am going to make a few substitutions. There is no way that I am going to let those mushrooms go to waste, whereas the Penne al Forno ingredients are nonperishable.

Check it out this evening!

Day 6

The menu for today is:

Breakfast:
Pancakes with sliced strawberries
Caribbean Passion Breakfast Smoothie (recipe)

Lunch:
The Perfect Portobello Burger (recipe)
Sweet Potato Fries (recipe)

Dinner:
French Onion Sourdough Soup (recipe)
Linguine with Seared Oyster Mushrooms (recipe)
Baked Cardamom Pears (recipe)

I am especially excited for today because I absolutely adore mushrooms, and here they are featured in two separate recipes! Crossing my fingers that today is a good day.