Good Times!

Our first community potluck and film screening last Friday was great - thanks so much to everyone who attended - it was great to see some new faces and eat tons of delicious vegan food!




If any of the attendees want to email me their potluck recipes, I'd be happy to post them here on the blog!

Muhammara Bliss

(originally posted on the McFarland Designs blog)
This recipe from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's just-released new cookbook, The Vegan Table is da bomb. I made some yesterday and have been enjoying the most spectacular sandwiches ever since. Here's tonight's dinner - foccacia with muhammara, sliced avocado, chopped cucumber, and shredded carrots. It would have been good with some chopped olives on top as well.

Muhammara

2 to 3 whole roasted peppers (from jar or roasted yourself)
2/3 cup bread crumbs (see below to make your own)
1 cup walnuts, toasted
4 large garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons clover agave nectar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more for added spice)

In a blender or food processor, combine the peppers and all the remaining ingredients. Taste, and add more spice or salt as necessary. Serving suggestions and variations:

* Garnish with toasted pine nuts

* To toast walnuts, just place them on a toaster oven tray and toast for 5 minutes; watch closely or they will burn.

* Serve with pita triangles, fresh bread, crackers, chips, carrots, mushrooms, cucumber, etc.

To make your own bread crumbs: Place some bread (stale bread works great) in the oven until it’s crispy but not really browned - at 300 degrees). Let it cool, then add it to your food processor until it is reduced to crumbs. Add Italian herbs such as dried oregano, thyme, basil, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper, etc. Enjoy!

To roast your own pepper: Heat the oven to 525 degrees (or use your broiler if you have one). Place peppers on an oiled cookie sheet. Roast on the highest rack for about 30 minutes or until they turn completely black. It’s not necessary to turn them. Remove them from the oven, and put them in a paper bag right away. Let them cool before handling them. The blackened skin will then just peel off after only about 10 minutes in the bag. Roasting peppers over an open flame is also a great way to do it (and you don’t need any oil). Use your gas range or grill. Use tongs and just turn over an open flame for about 10 minutes until charred. Proceed as above.

May Event Details

On Friday, May 22, the Humboldt Vegetarian Society will host a vegan potluck and free screening of the film, The Emotional World of Farm Animals, at the Humboldt Area Foundation, 373 Indianola Road in Bayside.

This event is open to the public and is free of charge. Attendees are welcome to attend either the potluck or film screening alone, or enjoy the entire evening. Potluck participants should bring one vegan dish to share and their own plates, cups, and utensils. (Vegan means no animal products, including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.) Dinner will begin at 6:00, followed by the film screening at 7:00.

The Emotional World of Farm Animals is a heart warming and thought provoking exploration of the emotional lives of animals that has aired nationally on PBS. The documentary is led by Jefferey Masson, author of When Elephants Weep, Dogs Never Lie About Love, and The Pig Who Sang to The Moon. The film is a coproduction of Animal Place and Earth View Productions.

Free child care will be provided.

Mark Your Calendars!

Our May gathering has been scheduled for the evening of Friday, May 22nd at the Humboldt Area Foundation (373 Indianola Road, Bayside). This event will include a free movie screening (movie to be determined soon) and a vegan pot luck. I'll post more details later, but for now, jot it down on your calendars so you don't book anything else! :-)

Vegan banana nut muffins

I always save 2-3 over ripe bananas for baking. Sometimes my dh will use them for smoothies, upon which I release the wrath of my fury. After I pick up a bunch or two of bananas, I start walking around the store thinking of what I'm going to do with the extra ripe ones. Then I watch them start turning brown on the counter as I thumb through cookbooks trying to figure out what to make with them. So, when he uses them for smoothies, my four days of planning their future has been fruitless (no pun intended!) He says I should put a note on them (how 21st century!).

Typically when the bananas start really turning south I open my cookbooks to find a tempting recipe, but yesterday I did a quick google search and landed on another blog Eat Air - A Vegan Food Log. With ten ingredients, and quick directions I figured I could make these with my 4 year old. The result is a light, delicious and quick muffin. Hope you enjoy:

Banana Nut Muffins
2 ripe bananas
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. + 2 Tbs. soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mash bananas in a large bowl then add oil, sugar, soy milk and vanilla and mix well. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and gently mix until well combined (it will be a fairly stiff batter). Fold in nuts, then divide equally into oiled muffin tins (makes 12). Bake at 350º for 25 minutes.

I'll be making another dozen to take camping with us as muffins are easy to bring on a hike and for little hands to hold.

Vegan Cheese Tasting

I've started a new series on my personal blog called 'Easy Vegan', where I provide recipes and other suggestions for making the transition to veganism easier. One of my readers had asked for recommendations for the best vegan cheeses, so with the help of the rest of the Humboldt Vegans team, I organized a vegan cheese tasting. Last Saturday, before a lovely dinner at Wildflower in Arcata, we all got together and sampled a variety of cheeses. (Thanks Heather, for hosting again!) Sadly, I forgot to bring the camera, so these stock product photos will have to suffice.

Round One - Mozzarella Smack-Down

~ VS. ~

To determine the best mozzarella-style cheese for melting, I made some cute little pizza bites on slices of baguette with sauce, spices, sauteed onions, and of course, cheese. We pitted Follow Your Heart Mozzarella (my personal standby for at-home pizza and sandwich making) against underdog Cheezly Mozzarella. The results of this particular showdown were rather anticlimactic - all of the tasters agreed that they tasted nearly identical, at least in their melted form.

A few quick notes on melting these non-dairy cheeses - If you didn't already read it, be sure to check out my earlier note explaining how to encourage vegan cheeses to melt in the oven. I also just found this promotional video from Follow Your Heart that shows how to use their cheeses for pizzas, mac and cheese, and quesadillas. The chef mentions that the cheese melts at 450 degrees, and I usually cook my pizzas around 425 degrees, so I'm thinking maybe if I just cooked them at a slightly higher temperature, I wouldn't have to go through the water-spritzing routine I usually use.

Back to the Follow Your Heart vs. Cheezly competition - I had some leftover cheese so I decided to follow up today by sampling them both un-melted. I tasted each alone and on crackers. My personal opinion was that I liked the taste and texture of Follow Your Heart better than Cheezly, but that could have been just because it's what I've become accustomed to.

Moving on...

Which Cheddar is Better?

~ VS. ~

We sampled two varieties of cheddar cheese - Teese Cheddar* and Sheese Medium Cheddar. We ate slices of each with crackers, apples, and alone. The general concensus among group members was that the Teese was more Velveeta-ish, and the Sheese was pretty amazing, with a more mature flavor and a nice firm texture. I would definitely buy the Sheese again - it's the first vegan cheddar cheese I've tried that is good enough to snack on straight from the container.

Again, I had some leftovers, and I offered Carlos some of the Teese today, which he thoroughly enjoyed - I think he ended up eating something like four slices. This was a major breakthrough - in the past, he has shunned all of the vegan cheeses I've offered, and I've had to compromise by buying him the soy slices that contain casein. Now that I know he likes Cheddar Teese though, I'm definitely planning to eliminate those nasty processed, casein-laden slices from his diet - hooray! So the loser of the adult taste test (Teese) had some redeeming value from a three-year-old's perspective at least.

* Yes, if you're very observant, you may have noticed that the Teese photo shows the nacho cheese flavor; it's the only decent image I could find online, but the variety we actually sampled was cheddar.

And last but not least -

Dr. Cow's - No Competition

There really is nothing to compare Dr. Cow's cheeses to - except perhaps the other flavors in their lineup. As far as I know, nothing else like it exists - Dr. Cow's crafts exquisite raw, vegan cheeses by hand using traditional techniques. I will confess up front that I never was a 'fancy cheese' connoisseur, so I honestly can't compare it to cheeses like brie and the like; however, everyone at our tasting thought that the Dr. Cow's Aged Cashew cheese was totally delicious and amazing. It was a little tangy, and a lot yummy. If you're looking for a fancy-schmancy, spreadable cheese, and you don't mind shelling out some dough, this is an excellent choice.

I think that just about wraps things up... if you have a favorite (or least favorite) vegan cheese, please leave a comment, and if you were present at the tasting and there's anything I left out, please feel free to add on!

More Potluck Recipes

Here are Heather's recipes from the February potluck. Thanks Heather, both for hosting and for sharing your delicious recipes!

Baked Rice (based on a recipe from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook)

1/3 cup chopped onion (though I use anywhere up to a whole onion)
2 Tbsp margarine/veg oil
1 cup rice
2 cups water
2 veggie bouillon cubes
chopped mushrooms and/or bell peppers (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375F. Saute the onion in the margarine about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir, cooking just long enough to coat it - about 2 or 3 minutes. Pour in the water, bring to a boil, stir in the bouillon cubes, dissolve, and mix well. Turn into a 1-quart casserole, cover, and bake for 30 minutes.

This dish is easily doubled.


Amazing Vegan Cheesecake (from vegweb)

Crust:
16 vegan graham crackers
1/4 cup margarine
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon flour

Filling:
16 oz. (2 tubs) vegan cream cheese
1/3 cup raw sugar or fructose
4 EnerG egg substitute eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
juice from one lemon (optional)

Directions:

Crust: Mush firmly with fingers and press into spring form pan

Filling: Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour on top of crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until set.

Note from Heather: this definitely did not turn out right for the potluck. I forgot the Egg Replacer and that made a big difference. Normally very delicious and I often serve it to non-vegans. Also, for the crust, I often just mash up some cookies, like gingersnaps, since it is hard to find graham crackers without honey.

Note from Tamara: If you're lazy like me, you can buy vegan graham cracker crusts pre-made at the natural foods store. I think I actually scored a few recently at Grocery Outlet as well.


Fava Bean Dip

Ingredients:
1 bog frozen fava beans
1 onion
Olive oil
Salt

Directions:
1. Cook the fava beans according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Chop the onion. Saute in olive oil with high heat for a few minutes. Continue to sauté until onion is soft and then begins to caramelize. Stir frequently.
3. Blend onions and fava beans. Salt to taste.


Creamy Broccoli Soup

vegetable oil
3 onions, chopped
chopped vegetables for broth (I used one carrot and two celery stalks)
4 big broccoli heads, cut into large florets
soy milk
1 package tofu (aseptic package kind)

1. Saute in olive oil with high heat for a few minutes. Continue to sauté until onion is soft and then begins to caramelize. Stir frequently. Set aside.

2. While onion is sauteing, saute vegetables in just a little oil for a few minutes. Add broccoli and saute for another couple of minutes.

3. Add soymilk until most of the vegetables are covered. Cook gently until vegetables are soft.

4. Blend together the vegetables and the onion, adding the soymilk and tofu until you are happy with the taste and consistency. Salt to taste.