Homemade Soy Milk - It's easy!

One thing I've noticed about the soy milk selection available in both Superstore and Sobeys is the lack of any sugar-free options. This annoys me. In Jersey I became used to my Edensoy Original Organic but I can't find it anywhere here. We have actually switched from using soy milk in everything to using dairy milk in coffee and rice milk on cereal. I'm no vegan and don't really have a huge problem drinking dairy milk but there is also a shortage of local organic dairy milk and I don't like the thought of the agricultural practices I may be supporting by not buying organic. Anyway, food ethics aside, I was feeling ambitious this weekend and decided to look into making my own soy milk. Turns out it is very easy! I basically followed the instructions found here: http://www.happyjuicer.com/Dairy-Free/how-make-soy-milk.aspx. The milk turned out pretty well. I think next time I am going to soak some almonds with the soy beans and also try to make a slightly thicker milk. However, it tastes good on its own and works in coffee - so I am pleased:) Maybe I'll give homemade tofu a go next weekend...hmmm.

Soy Milk

1 cup dried organic* Soy Beans
Filtered Water to cover the beans
3.5 cups filtered water for blending
Cheese cloth
1 tsp agave - a non-sugar natural sweetener, you could use another sweetener (honey, sugar)
Optional: vanilla, cocoa powder, almond extract - if you like flavoured soy milk better

Soak the soy beans over night in filtered water (at least 8 hours). You will end up with more beans than you need for the milk but this is ok - just boil the leftovers and use in salads/chili/dips. Drain 1 cup of the soaked beans and put in a food processor with 3.5 cups of fresh filtered water. Puree for about a minute until the beans have broken down. Squeeze the pureed beans through a cheese cloth into a med-large saucepan. Add any sweetener or flavouring you are using. Bring the milk to a boil and boil, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Allow to cool, transfer to a jar or jug and refrigerate. The milk is good for 3 days.

*non-organic soy beans are subject to a lot of genetic modification (90% of soybeans grown in the US are GM), which I try to avoid at all costs.

Tofu Casserole.... yup, tofu mmmm

One of my favourite winter comfort foods is broccoli or cauliflower casserole made with Cream of Mushroom Soup. However, after reading the label on the soup can and reading all the fat, sodium and just general 'crap' inside, I've been avoiding making it for some time. This weekend I decided to try something a little different. Instead of using a can of soup, I mixed up a can of organic mushrooms, a block of tofu, some homemade yogurt and a little mayo. The result was great! Who says tofu can only be included in vegan meals? It turns out that it works well with all of my dairy favourites (cheese, eggs, yogurt...).

Tofu Cauliflower Casserole

1 med head cauliflower, chopped into flowerettes
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained (you could use fresh)
1 block of firm Tofu (the fresher, the better)
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp mixed herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram)
1 egg
1 1/4 cup grated cheese (I used a mix of swiss and cheddar)
2 pieces of bread, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350.
Steam the cauliflower for no more than 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mash together the mushrooms, tofu, yogurt, mayo, herbs and egg. I used my immersion blender, but that isn't really necessary. Stir 1 cup of the cheese into the mixture. Pour the cauliflower into a 9/11 baking dish and cover with the tofu mixture. Top with the bread crumbs and 1/4 cup cheese. Bake for 30 min.

Borscht Borscht Borscht!

Yep, another soup recipe. It seems I post a lot of them. Why not? I love soup, it's tasty, filling, easy and relatively quick. My default weeknight meal is often soup or stew. Not only that, the recipes are usually fairly straightforward so I can remember what I did when I sit down (usually at work) to post the recipe. I just finished eating a bowl of leftover Borscht and realized that I haven't posted my recipe here. Beets are relatively new to my standard ingredient list. My mother hates them so I didn't have much exposure growing up (apart from the pickled beets found at picnics and parties). A year or so ago I took it upon myself to start experimenting with this funky purple root. I now use them in salads, roast veggies and, most frequently, borscht. The recipe here is based on one found in one of my favourite cookbooks: 'How it All Vegan.'

Borscht

1 Tbs Olive oil
1 med onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 large carrots, diced
2 large (4 medium beets), diced
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 28oz can chopped tomatoes
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
pepper to taste.

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and beets and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the cabbage, tomatoes and broth and season with pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat for about 35 min or until the beets are soft. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream. YUM.

Craving Lentils?

That was me yesterday, all I could think about was eating some yummy, hearty lentil soup. Weird, perhaps, but it did help me get through my flavourless Subway sub at lunch. It baffles me that Subway manages to make both bread (even their supposed whole grain variety) and vegetables absolutely tasteless. I suppose it serves me right for being too lazy to make lunch, but blech. Anyway, lentils. For whatever reason I was craving them yesterday so I went home and made up this lentil soup/stew. It turned out quite well but I think it needs some tweaking with the seasoning - likely a little veggie broth would do the trick. I'm posting it here because it was tasty and I want to remember what I did when I make it again. If you have any thoughts about the seasoning, please let me know.

A Simple Spicy Lentil Soup

1 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced - I love garlic, use less if you aren't so keen on it
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp coriander - I didn't have ground so used whole
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - less if you don't like spicy soup
1 large potato, cubed
1 cup green lentils, rinsed
6 cups water
2 tbs Braggs - use soy or tamari sauce if you don't have braggs
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot. Saute all the veggies (except the potatoes) for 3-5 min, until the onions are soft. Mix in the spices and cook another 2 min or so. Add in the lentils, potatoes, water, Braggs, vinegar, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the lentils and potatoes are soft. Enjoy!

Gwen's Not-Quite-Vegan Bran Muffins

It's another rainy day here in Sydney so there will be no hiking (sigh). Instead I decided to get a jump on the week and bake some muffins for Scott and I to take to work. I made carrot raisin bran ones last week and they were great. Unfortunately I used up all the carrots last night, so decided to try a carrot-free version. I started in on the recipe with gusto - mixed the dry ingredients then turned to the liquids... Here I ran into a slight (major) snag - no eggs. I wasn't about to let that stop me though. I turned to my vegan cookbooks for ideas. Another snag - it seems all vegan muffin recipes call for apple sauce as an egg replacer. I do not have apple sauce on hand. I do, however, have apples. So I chopped up 2 apples and put them in a saucepan with some water to make my own apple sauce. The end result was an accidentally made up recipe and here it is.

Gwen's not-quite-vegan bran muffins (to make vegan use soy milk and replace honey with more molases)

1 cup Bran
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs ground flax seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup molases
1/4 cup honey
3Tbs apple sauce
2 Tbs oil - I used non GMO canola
1 tsp vanila

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl (or large measuring cup) combine liquids. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and mix well. Grease a muffin tin and pour batter into it. Bake for 25-30 min, until a fork or toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy.

Oatmeal for Dinner? Why not?

I started a new Hatha yoga class after work last night. It was great - much better than the 'yogaerobics' class I tried a few weeks ago. My only complaint is the timing. The class starts at 5:45 and ends at 7:15, which means I get home at 7:30 with a very grumbly tummy. In the future, of course, I will plan ahead and have something ready.... but last night was not the future. I got home, grumbly tummy and all, to realize that there was nothing quick and easy to whip up in the fridge. Scott had prepared himself a nice grass-fed roast that took him out of the 'what to eat' equation, so I thought outside the dinner box and decided to make oatmeal. Why not, I thought, it's healthy, filling and quick. I decided to get a little creative with it to make it more substantial - here is what I did.

Dinner Oatmeal (makes 2 bowls - Scott wanted some in the end)

1 cup Oats - the slow cooking kind
2 cups Milk - soy would work fine
2 Tbs ground Hemp Seed
1 Tbs Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 Apple, diced - I left the skin on
1/3 cup Raisins
2 Tbs Raw Pumpkin Seeds

Combine the oats, milk, maple syrup, hemp seeds, cinnamon and nutmeg in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 min, until you get the consistency you like. After about 2 min of simmering, add the apples so that they cook a little too. When your oats look ready to eat, stir in the raisins and pumpkin seeds. Serve and enjoy!

Yummy, Crunchy Granola

So far our favourite thing about living in Cape Breton is the proximity to so many awesome hikes and beaches. Every weekend we pack up my trusty old ugly yellow backpack with peanut butter and jam sandwiches, a baggie of gorp and a couple bottles of water and head to the hills (or the shore). I added a little slide show with some of our pictures of these adventures and will keep adding to it. Unfortunately last weekend's hike lives only in memory as the camera threw a tantrum and decided to stay in the car. Ok, I forgot to take it out of the car, which was really a shame as we did a 3-hour hike along the shore by the lighthouse in Louisbourg. Ah well, we'll go back. There are so many hikes around that we should be busy until long after the snow comes - then we'll just have to pick up some snowshoes and keep going.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a food blog, so I decided to post something hike-friendly. And really, what says outdoorsy hiking like a granola bar? This is a conglomeration/adaptation of a number of recipes I found online and ingredients I found in my kitchen. I borrowed most from the recipe found here http://runningtimes.com/blogs/?p=25. They turned out great - even held as 'bars' while not being too hard to chew.

1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup bran
1/8 cup ground flax seed
1 cup nuts and seeds (I used hemp seeds, pumpkin seeks, sesame seeds, soy nuts and peanuts)
1/4 butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey (I'm thinking of trying agave next time)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup raisins
1 Tbs goji berries

Preheat Oven to 325

Combine the oats, bran, seeds and nuts in a 9x13 pan and toast for 25 min, stirring occasionally. Remove pan and increase heat to 350.

While the oats and nuts toast, combine the butter, honey and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted add the peanut butter and stir until well blended.

Pour the toasted oat mixture into a large bowl. Add the raisins and goji berries. Using a wooden spoon, slowly stir in the butter mixture until evenly coated. Place the mixture into the 9x13 pan and press it firmly to form an even block (I put a piece of wax paper over the mixture so i could really press it down without getting all goopy).

Bake at 350 for 12 min (without the wax paper, of course). Place pan on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before cutting. Cut into bars and enjoy. mmmmm