I'm Bringing Spring Rolls to the Virtual Vegan Potluck

Welcome to the Virtual Vegan Potluck! Over 100 vegan blog posts are linked together here today in one long, delicious chain, starting with appetizers, and ending with dessert. It's my first time participating in something like this, and I think it's just a grand idea.

Today I'm going to finally show you the secret to making perfect spring rolls every time. No more blow-outs. You're going to love this. I learned the technique from Mark Reinfeld of Vegan Fusion, and I think he got  it from a woman from Thailand. I actually got his permission to share this with you here - it's that good a secret. Mark is a great guy, and now we'll all know the Super Secret Spring Roll Wrapping Trick.

Watch the video, and if you need written instructions, visit my earlier post on Those Beautiful Spring Rolls. You might also want to whip up a batch of Buddha Belly Sauce to dip your spring rolls in, or just buy a nice sauce in a bottle. Your friends will still think you're amazing. And you are.



There's so much more to eat in this Virtual Vegan Potluck!
To go to the blog post before mine, visit LemongrassAndGinger (in Australia)
To go to the blog post after mine, visit Don't Switch Off the Light (also in Australia)
To go back and start at the very beginning of the potluck, Click Here.
Enjoy every virtual bite!

Apple Pie Pancakes

Happy Halloween! It's also the last day of Vegan MoFo, which was a ton of fun for me, and really got me into a regular writing habit. I'll probably go to three days a week from here on, with some more videos sprinkled in for fun. Tomorrow is the Virtual Vegan Potluck. I'm really excited about this because I'll be joining over 100 other bloggers in a long chain of posts that will take us from appetizers to dessert. I'm bringing Spring Rolls, and I've also done a little video on how to roll perfect spring rolls every time. You'll be making these with your eyes closed before long!

But first, my last post in Vegan MoFo. Have a nice breakfast, and thanks so much for visiting!

I'm still using apples form our big harvest this year. It's amazing how many apples one little tree can make. Lucky us to have this big juicy apple blessing, right in our own back yard. I've been promising Rick another apple pie, but somehow haven't gotten around to making one yet. I think these Apple Pie Pancakes made him just as happy as a pie would have.

Apple Pie Pancakes

Topping
6 cups chopped apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups water
1 T arrowroot

Place all the topping ingredients, except arrowroot, in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the apples soften. Add the arrowroot gradually, reduce heat to low, and keep the sauce warm until you're ready to serve it. If you like, you can mash it up a little bit with a potato masher.

Cakes
2 cups brown rice flour
2 T baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum (omit this if you use a flour with gluten)
2 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup apples, chopped small
2 cups nut milk
1 1/2 cups water
Mix dry ingredients together. Add the milk and water, and stir until well blended. Let the batter rest about 5 minutes, and add more milk or water if necessary. Cook on a very hot griddle, as you would any pancakes. This makes about 18-20 1/4 cup cakes. Any extras reheat well for snacks later. Serve with the warm apple topping, and a little vegan butter if you like. Hmmm... maybe even some vanilla Coconut Bliss ice cream...

Is It Hot in Here, or is it Just My Eggplant?

To sweat or not to sweat? Eggplant, that is. There are zillions of opinions on the subject, and from my research, there doesn't seem to be one right way to wrangle an eggplant. Sweating, salting, or degorging (eew) an eggplant means simply to salt it on both sides, and wait a few minutes for the salt to draw out excess water, along with bitterness that comes from the dark seeds inside. Some say that when using smaller, younger eggplants it isn't necessary to salt them first, because they contain fewer seeds, and are more firm than larger, older eggplants, meaning there's less moisture to be drawn out. Peeling the eggplant also appears to be optional, and in most cases, I'm all for leaving the skins on vegetables whenever I can. It's easier, and leaves more of the nutrients in the food.

Whether you prefer to salt or peel is up to you. I found conflicting information all over the internet, and even found a difference in opinion between the infallible Julia Child and Eleonora Consoli, the Italian cookbook author from Sicily. I've always sliced my peeled-or-un-peeled, salted-or-un-salted eggplants in nice rounds, but have learned that it's better to slice them lengthwise, so the fibers inside can't soak up as much salt or oil. Grazie, Signora Consoli.

If you decide to sweat your next eggplant, I recommend taking a lesson from the Italian pro. This link to the article, Fry Eggplants Like A Sicilian Mama will take you from slicing and salting to perfectly frying in hot (not olive) oil. I don't fry our food very often, but next time I feel the urge, this is what I'll try. For now I'm content to grill my sweated eggplants, and serve them up in a nice toasty sandwich.

Dog Treats

We're almost done with Vegan MoFo, and wow, it's gone by quickly! In preparation for my next little adventure, the Virtual Vegan Potluck, I've done a short video - on how to make vegan dog treats. It's almost Halloween, and no doubt you'll have plenty of treats of your own, so how about whipping up a little something for your favorite pup? If you don't have a dog, make some for your friend's dogs, or take some to the shelter, or have them ready for trick-or-treating canines that wander the streets with their pet children.

I have big plans to do lots more videos, so this is really the pilot for my "show". This is really a new trick for me, and it's low tech for sure. I'm the camera crew, the prep cook, the dishwasher, the "talent," and everything else it takes to get a video from iPad to YouTube to you. I've decided not to bother learning a bunch of fancy editing tricks. Instead, I'm going for sort of a "live TV" kind of thing, going from start to finish, mistakes included. Maybe I'll decide to add some polish later, but for now, you're getting the real me, which is sort of silly, I'll admit. I hope you enjoy this new venture of mine. Stay tuned for more PVTV!



Vegan Dog Treats

4 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups almond pulp (left over from making almond milk)
1 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup flax seed meal, or whole chia seeds
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup miso
4 cups water

Stir everything together in a large bowl. Spread about 1/4 inch thick on 4 non-stick lined dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 105º for 6-8 hours, or until the top feels dry. Flip the treats over, peel off the non-stick liners, and continue to dehydrate for several more hours, until the treats are dry and crunchy. Break the slab o' treats into bite size pieces.

Here's a little trick that didn't make it to the video. Slip a plastic bag over your hand and you'll easily be able to press the batter onto the trays. Wish I'd thought of that sooner. We learn as we go.

If you don't have a dehydrator, spread the batter onto well-oiled, or parchment lined cookie sheets, and bake in your oven at the lowest possible setting until the treats are dry and crunchy. It might take several hours, but if you cook them at too high a temperature the edges will burn before the center is done. You might need to turn them over, or even break them up a bit at some point, so the center can dry. It's not French pastry. It's dog treats. Don't worry if they aren't pretty. Your dog will still love them.

Red Chile

The official state question here in New Mexico is, "Red or Green?" You'll most likely hear it in a restaurant, and they'll be asking whether you want red or green chile on your food. If you can't decide, ask for "Christmas," and have some of both. Chile is not the same as chili. It's a sauce, and doesn't have beans in it. Sometimes it has meat (boo!), but ask your server, just to be sure, or make your own. There are as many recipes for red chile (and green) as there are cooks who make it. Here's mine.

Red Chile

3 T mild chile powder

1 tsp hot chile powder

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 T olive oil (optional)

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

1 T garlic, chopped

1 tsp sea salt

1 - 32 ounce carton vegetable broth

2 T maple syrup

2 T chia seeds or flax seed meal

Toast the chile powders, cumin, and cinnamon in a dry saucepan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, OR cook them gently in olive oil. I usually do it without the oil, which is not traditional, but really, really good. Cooking the chile powders is important. Don't skip this step.

Add 1/2 cup or so of the vegetable broth. When it's hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until soft.

Add the rest of the broth, the salt, and the maple syrup. When it's hot, add the chia seeds or flax meal to thicken. Adjust seasonings, and serve on things like tofu scrambles, breakfast burritos, rice and bean dishes, and mac and cheese, or use it as an enchilada sauce.

Leather

Everybody comes to veganism in their own way, for their own reasons. Usually it's based on personal health/weight concerns, environmental issues, or animal rights considerations. I think eventually many of us embrace all of these things, and at that point, being vegan is more than a diet, it's a lifestyle. What we eat remains central, but what we wear and buy and support also plays a big role.

At first I was all about the food, and didn't give things like leather much thought. The poor cow was already dead, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was mistaken though, because every time we buy something, we say to the maker of that thing, "Please make more."

My stance on leather these days is this: I do not buy anything made of leather anymore. Not shoes, not purses, not belts, not anything. There are plenty of good alternatives out there now, so it's really very easy. The leather items I still own, from my pre-vegan days, are used and cherished, or passed on to someone else. I won't throw them away, out of respect for the creature they came from.

The one leather item I did buy after going vegan is a doozy - a green leather couch. Before you throw rocks at me, or turn me in to PETA, let me tell you the story behind this purchase. We had been renting our house to tenants who, unknown to us, had over 30 cats and dogs living inside. When we came back to reclaim our home, it was one big stinky mess, and almost everything, from furniture to drapes to carpets had to be thrown out. Not in any position to afford new furniture, I went to Craigslist, and found this beautiful leather couch, here in Taos (not hours away in another town), for only $75. I struggled with deciding what to do, but ended up buying it because we were desperate, and because I knew we were at least the third owners of the couch. I felt we were rescuing it, rather than sending any encouragement to the leather industry. Ideally, I'd have something else, but for now I feel like the Keeper of the Sacred Cowch. I've let go of the guilt, because I didn't cause any harm in buying it. And I say nice things to it every day.

Back to shoes - my favorite thing to buy in genuine not-leather. Check out Alternative Outfitters, Moo Shoes, and Planet Shoes. A quick Google search will turn up even more. Even Zappos has a vegan shoes section. So cool. I just got these beauties from LuLu's.com. Totally vegan, red faux suede, super cute, and cheap - only $32. I can't walk in them, but I can cook!

Cheesy Basil Salad Dressing

This dressing is Rick's favorite. It's rich and thick, and I like it mixed with Kim's Favorite Salad Dressing. It keeps in the fridge for a week or more.

Cheesy Basil Dressing

1 cup raw cashews, soaked
1/2 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp truffle salt (or sea salt)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 T Dijon mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (or balsamic or wine vinegar)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup water

Place everything in a blender, and blend on high speed until smooth.