Ice cubes of flavor!

I started making my own vegetable broth a couple of months ago, using mostly my vegetable scraps.  I put the fresh vegetable scraps into a bag in the freezer until I am ready to make my broth.  Even though the broth comes out different each time, because I use whatever frozen scraps I have available, it has been far superior to any commercially processed broths.  It is also practically free, whereas good store bought broth is quite pricey. 


Well, now I am tweaking our diet again, trying to take out most of my use of olive oil and coconut oil.  I do a lot of high heat roasting of vegetables in the oven and also stir fries.  Now I use my homemade vegetable broth instead of the oil. 

This necessitated having a lot of very small containers of vegetable broth, preferably 1/4 to 1/3 cup
each.  I was using all of my small containers to freeze the vegetable broth, and still couldn't get enough small quantities into my freezer.  I had heard of people freezing pesto in ice cube trays, so I decided to try it with my homemade veggie broth.

Wow, it works really well.   The frozen veggie broth slips right out of the ice cube trays.  After I filled the trays with the broth, I slipped them into two gallon freezer bags.  I suppose they could be put into the freezer with no covering, but I didn't want to take the chance of them absorbing any freezer smells or flavors. 

I store the loose cubes of broth in a freezer bag, and then I can take out as many as I need at a time.



Husband's Note:  My wife is amazing.  She finds ways to make our food healthier, less expensive, and more convenient to make.  Yes, brown "broth cubes" in the freezer make look a bit odd but if it helps the chef, I am all for it.  The flavor difference between store bought vegetable broth and these frozen cubes of goodness is remarkable.  Even though they look like a child's science project.

This Isn't Even Edible!

How about a recipe that is not plant based?  In fact, it isn't even edible.  My husband suggested that I should share a recipe that has saved us an incredible amount of money over the last five or more years. 

When I started making this soap, it seemed too good to be true.  Well, it has worked out very well for me.  It cleans the dirtiest of clothes.  If I am not sharing the soap with other people, one recipe of this lasts almost a year for this two person household. 

The recipe takes me about one hour of hands on work, from grating the soap bar, to packaging up several gallons of it.  Usually I only mix up a few gallons at a time, and leave the rest of it in the five gallon bucket. 

HOMEMADE LIQUID LAUNDRY DETERGENT

1 bar Fels Naptha laundry soap

1 cup washing soda
½ cup borax, (such as 20 Mule Borax)

Grate the bar of soap and add to saucepan filled with 4 cups of hot water.  Stir constantly over medium-low heat until soap is melted.

Fill a 5-gallon pail ½ full of hot water.  Add melted soap solution, washing soda, and borax.  Stir  
well until the powder is dissolved.

Fill bucket with more hot water, up to the four gallon mark.  Stir well, cover, and let sit 24 hours.  Do not stir the solution during this initial 24 hours.

After the 24 hours have passed, the solution will be gelled and very   Stir and break this gel up into the solution.  Fill a laundry jug or container half full of the detergent and top off the container with  water, leaving enough room to shake the mixture.  thick on the top, with a thin mixture underneath.

Shake the mixture well each time before adding to clothes washer.  Use ½ cup for top loaders and ¼ cup for front loaders. 

NOTES:  The Fels Naptha can be located by city on the Dial Corporation website.  I was able to find it in the Tulsa area.  If it cannot be found, regular Ivory bath bar can be used instead.  I have used it, and it was fine.  I found the washing soda in a Tulsa area grocery store, under the label of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda.  It is not the same as baking soda.  The 20 Mule Borax seems to be available in most all grocery stores. 

Warning:  In the five years I have used this soap, in one laundry load, I had some color come out of a blouse.  I had purchased a low water use washing machine, (which I hate by the way), and realized that so little water was used, that the laundry soap had not been rinsed out correctly.  Now I make sure the laundry soap is diluted just a bit more, and have not had that trouble again.  Please be careful!  Saving money on soap, only to lose a piece of clothing, is a bummer. 

I tried to figure out cost of the final product-  It costs less than $2 to mix up a batch, which equals 10 gallons of detergent, which equals 3,200 loads of laundry.  If my math is correct, that is  less than 1 cent, (.000625)  per load.   Wowzer, I had no idea it was THAT low!

What you need to begin.

Grate the bar of soap.

Melt it.

Mix solution with water.

After 24 hours it is a gel.

After mixing well, funnel into old one gallon containers.



Final product!  You just saved yourself a lot of money.  

Plant Based Learning Curve

There are many aspects of adjusting to a plant based diet.  Some of them which were expected never actually happened.  On the other hand, there have been  some surprises. 

I expected to miss eating meat.  That has never happened.  I especially thought I would miss a really good burger, but now the idea of eating a burger is very unappealing to me.  Now a veggie burger, that is a whole other thing.  I would definitely miss not having a homemade veggie burger most every week. 

I expected that my grocery costs would rise, but they have actually gone down.  A person could eat extremely cheap on a plant based diet if they wanted or needed to do so.  I like to experiment a lot, which adds some to our costs, but it is still cheaper than when I included meat in our diet. 

I expected a plant based diet might be inconvenient.  Well, that is true at times.  We can't just breeze into a town and expect to luck into finding a restaurant that has plant based food available.  I did find a website that helps with that.  happycow.net  You just plug in the city, and it gives restaurant names for vegan and vegetarian foods in that area.  I have used that quite a few times.





One thing I didn't expect was that so many people are interested in changing to a plant based diet or at least interested in learning more about it.  I was aware that some people would challenge me on whether eating plant based was a sound decision.  The number one question is, "How do you get enough protein?"  That one is so very easy to answer.  I think many people are really tired of not feeling great and are open to such an easy solution. 

Baked Tofu

In my last blog I mentioned that I baked some tofu to add to the top of each serving of stir fry.
We do that quite often.  Tofu is very inexpensive and usually refrigerator stable for several weeks.  I always use non-GMO tofu.  

Tofu is an important source of protein for plant based eaters.  It is naturally gluten free and low calorie, contains no cholesterol, and is an excellent source of protein, iron, and calcium.  It is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, breast and prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and age related brain diseases. 


The first time I opened a package of tofu, I wasn't so sure it was going to be edible.  It is not pretty, and the actual feel of the product was a little alarming to me.  After washing it, pressing out some of the liquid, and then cutting it into cubes, I felt better about it.








When I first started using it, I cut it into very small cubes, maybe 1/2".  That allows for more caramelization of the tofu and a more firm product after baking it.   Now that I have grown to really like the tofu, sometimes I make larger cubes, just because it's a little easier.  I would definitely encourage people to try the smaller cubes first. 




BAKED TOFU
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. dark sesame oil
3 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp. brown sugar
cooking oil spray
1 package extra firm tofu, 14-16 oz.

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix all ingredients except the tofu in a bowl.

Rinse the tofu in water.  Press tofu in a kitchen towel or paper towels to remove some of the moisture.  Cut the tofu into ¾ inch to 1 inch cubes.  The smaller the cubes, the firmer the tofu becomes during baking. 

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray to prevent sticking.  Place the tofu cubes on the baking sheet and pour the marinade mixture over the tofu.  Gently turn the tofu over to spread the marinade over all of the pieces. 

Place the tofu in the oven.  Every 15 minutes, pull the tofu out and turn the pieces over.  When the tofu has reached desired amount of  browning, remove from the oven.  After the tofu has cooled for about five minutes, it will firm up even more. 
 

Husband's note:  I didn't think I would like tofu.  In fact I would have bet you money on it.  Seems it is all on how it is cooked.  Cut into cubes, marinated, and cooked like this makes it a treat.  A real meat substitute.  I found myself popping them in my mouth like tater tots.  They add bulk and flavor to salads. 

 

 

 

Let's Stir (Fry) Something Up

I have a simple stir fry sauce that can be used with any kind of vegetables you have lying around.   If you add in a starch, such as brown rice or noodles, it makes an easy, really tasty meal. 

I wanted to use up most of the vegetables in my fridge, so I chopped up carrots, cabbage, zucchini, onions, red pepper, mushrooms, and broccoli.



I have a really large cast iron skillet which is my
favorite pan to use for stir fries.  If I am stir frying just a few servings, I simply add the vegetables which take the longest to cook first, then add in the rest of the vegetables according to the time each of them take to cook.  If you have never stir fried vegetables before, it will take a little experience for you to figure this out, but it is really not difficult.

This time I was cooking such a huge batch, that I just cooked one or two vegetables at a time, then transferred them to a bowl, then continued cooking the rest of the vegetables the same way.  Then I added them all back into the skillet and added the stir fry sauce.

I always have to remind myself that there will be "carry over" cooking on the vegetables.  That means the vegetables need to be removed from the pan or turn off the heat while the vegetables are still a bit undercooked.  They will finish cooking on their own with the retained heat.

 I doubled this recipe for stir fry sauce since I had cooked such a huge amount of vegetables.  After  the sauce had thickened and I had turned off the heat, I added 4 Tbsp. lime juice and 1/4 cup of cilantro.  I also cooked some Japanese wheat noodles, and these were stirred into the dish at the very end. 

 I baked some tofu to place on top of each serving, and I will provide that recipe in the next blog. 

BASIC STIR FRY SAUCE

1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
1 ¼ cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch

Combine all ingredients except cornstarch in a small bowl.  After ingredients are combined, add the cornstarch and whisk them together. 

To use the sauce, when vegetables are about two minutes from being done, add this sauce.  Stir until thickened, which will happen very quickly. 

Husband's note:  To save money, my wife will often double or triple a recipe and put many meals in the freezer for later.   On this one, she made about 11 meals.  Here are some of the containers she filled an put into the freezer.

What's Cooking?

Well, it wasn't me cooking.  We were ready to venture out and try to find another restaurant where we could find plant based food.  Once again, it was an ethnic restaurant, Vietnamese.  If you are ever in the Tulsa area, the name was Ri Le's. 

I cannot tell you what the name of the dishes were.  The owner came to our table, and when my husband asked what he suggested, he got really excited and asked that we let him make our choices for us.  We agreed, and told him we needed plant based food, no meat or dairy.  That didn't even phase him. 

He brought us two kinds of appetizers, a traditional type of fried eggroll and an uncooked eggroll filled with raw vegetables.  Now being an Okie, I never saw a fried food I didn't like, but the uncooked eggroll was just as good or better.  I need to learn to make these! 

The two entrees both had tofu in them, and the tofu was excellently prepared.  One of the entrees had a great deal of vegetables with it, and because of that, I liked it best.  The more veggies, the better in
my book! 

Notice on one of the plates, the two "characters" which were artfully sculpted for us.  This was a fun meal out. 
Husband's note: Ri Le's is located at: 4932 E. 91st (just east of 91st and Yale)  They had great service, fair prices, and it was very good!

What's Cooking?

A few weeks ago I said that I would start posting some of our meals.  Then I completely dropped the ball.  I swear it hasn't been because our meals have sucked, (ha).  A couple of days ago I made Reuben sandwiches for our lunch.  That is another meal we have missed from our omnivore days.

I made the following changes: 

Instead of using meat, I sliced up a block of tempeh and browned it in a very small amount of olive oil.   This just takes a few minutes. 

I used a can of sauerkraut, squeezing all of the liquid out. I was worried about that, as in the past I always put the meat on one of the bread slices and the slices of Swiss cheese on the other piece of bread, to prevent the sauerkraut from being next to the bread and making it soggy. 

My "cheese" for this sandwich was vegan Pepper jack cheese shreds, (could not find a vegan Swiss cheese).  I knew the vegan cheese shreds would not be sufficient to protect the bread from the sauerkraut juice.  The sauerkraut was squeezed enough so that it was not a problem at all. 

Confession time- I used a packaged Thousand Island dressing on the sandwich, which probably had mayonnaise in it.  Usually I make my own, which would have been easy with plant based mayonnaise, but I got in a hurry and took the easy way out.   I will include this step next time, and I bet it will taste even better.





I used a whole grain bread from an organic bakery in our hometown.  It was a quick and easy lunch
which was very enjoyable. 

Husband's note:  If you go into this expecting a traditional Reuben, you are missing the point.  It is different, but it is very good.  I have always been a big Reuben fan, and found this substitute excellent and very filling.  Give it a try and keep an open mind.  I really think you'll enjoy this one!

 

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

My husband is not a sweet potato lover.  I can't fault him, because this is one of the very few vegetables that he doesn't embrace.   He has grown to love baked sweet potato fries.  I wanted to introduce another sweet potato dish to him while he is still feeling that maybe sweet potatoes are not evil after all.

Well, he loves chili, so why not a sweet potato and black bean chili?  I was a bit concerned that the sweet potatoes may get too soft and turn into a goopy mess in the chili.  I did not need to worry about that.  They remained a very nice, firm consistency. 

Don't think that this is a boring chili.  It can be as spicy as you want it to be.  The ancho chili powder gives  it a deep, rich flavor, without much heat.  The crushed red pepper flakes and tabasco sauce step in to provide as much heat as a person wants.  I made it quite spicy, which I love. 

The lime and cilantro contribute a fresh brightness to the chili.  If cilantro doesn't ring your bell, it can be left out or replaced with parsley.  Diced avocados would be very nice on top of each serving.  I did not have any avocados at the time.

SWEET POTATO & BLACK BEAN CHILI

1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2-1 tsp. salt, divided
½ tsp. black pepper, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
½  tsp. crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
3 Tbsp. mild chili powder
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. ancho chili powder
3 cups vegetable broth or enough to cover the other ingredients
5 cups black beans, rinsed
1 14 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups fresh, frozen, or canned corn, optional
4 tsp. lime juice
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Tabasco sauce, optional

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion and sweet potatoes and saute for about five minutes.  Add the bell pepper and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp. pepper to vegetables.  Make a well in the center of the pan and add the garlic and red pepper flakes, along with a few drops of olive oil.  Stir the garlic and pepper flakes around for about 1 minute, then stir it into the rest of the ingredients in the pan.

Make a well again in the center of the pan.  In this well, add the chili powder, cumin, and ancho chili powder, along with a few drops of olive oil.   Stir these ingredients around in the center of the pan for a couple of minutes to toast them, then stir into the rest of the ingredients in the pan. 

Add the  vegetable broth, black beans, tomatoes, corn, and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about five minutes.  Check whether the sweet potatoes are soft but still firm.  If not, cook for a bit longer. 

When the sweet potatoes are to the desired firmness, turn off the heat.  Add the lime juice, cilantro, and tabasco sauce to taste.                         

I served it with whole grain tortilla chips.  A slice of cornbread would be very good with it also.

Husbands note:  No complaints here. I had two bowls!

Cheap(er) Milk

I have been trying to average about $75 a week for groceries, for a two person household.  Grocery budgets are highly subjective for sure.  Before taking up a plant based diet, and before trying to rein in our grocery costs, it would be common for me to spend $125-200 a week for groceries.  We usually eat out about once a week, and I think that is probably a low number up to many American households.  Since we eat almost all of our meals from home, that drives up the amount of groceries needed.

One of the products that has hindered our budget at times is our (non) dairy milk.  We prefer almond milk, and we don't like some of the brands we tried.  The almond milk at the grocery store I use the most costs $4.29 a half gallon.  Our average use of almond milk is two half gallons a week, for a total of $8.58 per week.   When trying to keep the budget to no more than $75 a week, that is almost 9% of our total budget.  Wow, that doesn't leave much room to purchase all the great veggies and grains that we need.


The only solution I have come up with is to buy as many as possible when they are on sale.  I check out the expiration date and purchase the amount we normally use within that time period.  Fortunately, almond milk usually has an extended period of time for the expiration date.  This weekend the store had a buy one, get one free sale on the brand we like.  My luck was strong that day, as the expiration date was almost two months out.  Gosh, the stars and moon had aligned just for my milk buying experience. 
I bought a total of eight half gallons, for a savings of $17.16.  Woo-hoo!  It truly is the small things in life that get me excited. 
Husband's note: For about two weeks I mixed the almond milk with cow milk.  This helped me get used to the taste.  Then I was able to make the complete transition. Now, surprisingly, it tastes better to me than the cow juice.  Another thing to consider, it's healthier and has a longer shelf life.  Not a bad deal at all! 

Which Came First- The Egg or the Flax Seed?

When changing to a plant based diet, I told myself that some changes would need to be gradual.  I knew I couldn't totally change overnight in every single aspect.  I guessed that I might need to have a meat product every great once in awhile.  Surprisingly, I have never missed the meat.

I thought I might slip up with the dairy thing once in a great while, but those slip-ups have been few and far between.  I actually like the almond milk we drink much more than I ever liked cow's milk, although I was never crazy about milk in the first place.  I thought the cheese thing might be hard, but other than missing my parmesan reggiano in the early days of plant based eating, it has not been a problem.  I actually prefer a more clean looking and tasting dish rather than cheese oozing all over the dish, obscuring the actual taste of the other ingredients.

The one thing I have not been able to totally let go of is the humble egg.  I have continued to buy a half dozen eggs, which last me at least six weeks.  That is certainly not many eggs, but it bugged me that I still felt the need to purchase any eggs.  I don't miss an actual egg dish, such as a breakfast dish.  I have missed the egg in the baking that I sometimes do.  I was convinced that a dish which used ground flax seed instead of egg would be limited in the rising ability of that recipe. 

Well, I decided to address this problem with a new recipe.  The recipe actually called for eggs, but I went ahead and made the ground flax seed substitution.  The muffins rose just as much as I think they would have if made with eggs.  I could tell a slight difference in the texture of the muffins.  They seemed to be just slightly heavier, but they contained a lot of fruit in them, so that may be the reason for this. 


Here is the recipe.  I will be using these for breakfast at work this week. 

CINNAMON APPLE RAISIN MUFFINS

2 medium apples, peeled and chopped

1 Tbsp. water
1 ¾ cups flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. ground flax seed, mixed with 6 Tbsp. warm water, let sit 10 minutes
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup applesauce
½ cup raisins
½ cup toasted, chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400.

Microwave peeled and chopped apples along with the water in a microwave safe bowl for 2 ½ minutes.

Combine apples and all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Divide mixture into oiled muffin tins or muffin tins with paper cups. 

Bake for approximately 17-23 minutes.

 NOTE:  Can also be made into a loaf.  Cook for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

 Makes approximately 16 muffins.

 Now I can't wait to try more recipes sans eggs. 

Husband's note: Lord these were so darn good!

 

Veggies: Use 'Em or Lose 'Em

The grocery store is not my favorite place to hang out.  For many years I have been able to make one trip to the grocery store, (sometimes stores), per week.  Sure, I had an occasional week when I decided there was something I just couldn't live without between the weekly visits, but very rarely. 





When we began the plant based diet, I thought that I would have to visit the grocery store at least twice a week, maybe more.  That thought did not thrill me.  I am happy to report that my once a week shopping trips are working out just fine.

In order to not lose any produce due to deterioration, I go through my purchases and rate the produce from most quick to deteriorate to the vegetables which have the best freshness holding power.  I do not literally sit down and make this list after grocery shopping.  Rather, each day I go through my menu list for the week and determine which menu item has the most fragile produce, and that is the first meal for the week.  This continues throughout the week, until all fresh produce has been used. 

If, towards the end of the week, I run out of fresh produce, I switch to frozen and even sometimes canned fruits and vegetables.  This doesn't happen most weeks, but I have no problem with using them, especially frozen fruits and vegetables. 

Sometimes we have a  "unique" salad or dish at the end of the week to finish up the produce, and sometimes that turns out to be one of the best dishes for the week. 

Husband's note: "Clean out the fridge night" is alive and well in our house.  Spontaneity causes creativity and often the best meal of the week is something you've never considered before. Fried okra and beets.  Grilled red peppers and sweet potato oven fries.  Why not?  It's using what you have and that saves us money and I know my wife loves the challenge!