Brian's Guest Blog

Hello world.  This is Plant Based Okie Jr. here writing a guest blog! Lets get right to it....

If you don't like tacos, then the terrorists have won. 

 
Slight exaggerations notwithstanding, I love Mexican food. I'm a sucker for Tex Mex, straight up Mexican food with a coke cause the water isn't sanitary Mex, or even plant based clean-out-the-fridge Mexican food. Anyhow this is what the spread ended up looking like.Not pictured are some silly big taco shells that more so ended up being tostadas (flat toasted tortillas instead of a curved taco shell). 

 The "meat" is veggie burgers I pulled from the freezer, thawed out, and sauteed with a little bit of olive oil, also with some sauteed green bell peppers and onions. It worked really well.

Cooking 101, for sauteing you want to have your pan really hot before you drop in your ingredients. If it doesn't sizzle, then pull it out and wait till the pan is hotter





Here's where I could improve. I wanted to toast some taco shells in the oven but had never done it before. I was tired of buying them from a plain corn tortilla shells from a box that have a markup that would make Hallmark cards execs jealous (ITS A CARD WITH 12 WORDS ON IT AND ITS 3 DOLLARS?! THAT'S A BUCK FOR EVERY 4 WORDS! THE HUMANITY!)
The problem was that middle crossbar on the oven racks got in the way for these 12 inch tortillas. When I tried 6 inch, they were too small, so I've still got some tinkering to do.





Okay now toast yourself up some chips. I bought plain Jane 6 inch corn tortillas, cut them into quarters and toasted them right alongside my Godzilla sized taco shells. Unless you hate whomever is washing the dishes, grease the pan, and put a little oil of your choice on top of the tortillas as well.
I baked them for two reasons. One is that we already had beans, guac, and veg burgers so it was already a fairly heavy meal. Two is that frying at home is a mess. It would be slightly tastier if fried, but waaay more fatty.



At the end of the day I ended up with something like this. It was somewhere between being a tostada/taco/nachos, but who cares what its called? It was tasty and dare I say healthy? Now go on young Padiwan, make yourself some tacos. Oh, and squeeze some lime on it.

(guac recipe is avos, onion, garlic, lime, lime zest, salt, jalapeno and cilantro)

(pico recipe is roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, lime, cilantro, jalapeno, salt, and a splash of apple cider vin)

google for 1000s of recipes, or just use a variation of what you had in the fridge. That's what I did. Taste, tinker, rinse, repeat.

Drunken Beans

The proper name for this recipe is borracho beans, which means drunken beans because they are cooked with beer.  I have ordered these many times in my favorite Mexican food restaurant, but never knew what they meant or that there was beer in the recipe.

I have never cared for the taste or smell of beer.  I do like the yeasty taste it gives when cooked in a recipe, however.  The borracho beans I had eaten in the past had two kinds of meat in them, chicken stock, and were missing some ingredients I thought would be great in them, so I came up with a recipe that works for us.   

The hardest part for me was obtaining beer for the recipe.  I did not want to buy a six pack, since it would probably sit around our house until it went out of date.  I just wanted one bottle or can, so I figured I had to go to a convenience store to get it.  I had no idea there were so many kinds, strawberry beer, lime beer, tomato beer.  I just wanted plain beer, and it got a little embarrassing how long I stood staring at the beer in this busy convenience store.  I finally grabbed one and made my way to the checkout.  It may have been my imagination, but I really think the clerk was giving me a little judgmental attitude about my buying a cold beer at 10 a.m.  Okay, it was probably just my imagination.

BORRACHO BEANS (DRUNKEN BEANS)

2 lbs. pinto beans

olive oil, coconut oil, or vegetable broth for sauteeing vegetables
2 cups onions, chopped
2-4 fresh jalapenos, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp sweet or smoked paprika
1 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp. ancho chili powder
1 Tbsp. Arizona Dreaming spice seasoning mixture, optional
1 tsp. cumin
6-8 Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. ketchup
2-3 quarts vegetable broth, (according to how thick you want the liquid to be)
1 12 ounce dark lager beer
1 to 1 ½ Tbsp. salt
cilantro, chopped, for top of each serving, optional
lime wedges for squeezing on each serving

Soak beans according to your preferred method, (overnight or quick soak).  Discard soaking liquid.

In a large pan or dutch oven, heat oil or vegetable broth.  Add onions and jalapenos and sauté for approximately ten minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for another two minutes.  Add the chili powder, paprika, pepper, ancho chili powder, Arizona Dreaming seasoning, and cumin.  Stir and toast in the vegetable mixture for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, vegetable broth, beer, and soaked beans.  Simmer for 45 minutes, then check for doneness of beans.  It may take up to 1 ½ hours for the beans to get to desired softness.  When beans are done or almost done, add salt. 

Serve fresh cilantro and lime wedges on the side.

This is very good served over brown rice or with cornbread or corn tortillas.

Notes:  These are also fantastic to freeze and serve later.  With only a little more effort, you can make 10 meals instead of 4.  You just never know when you are going to need to whip out some "drunk" beans.

BEAN WEEK, (or maybe Beano week)

I do not know what I would do without beans.  I keep a few cans in the pantry, but mostly I use dried beans.  The flavor is so much better, the variety much more extensive, and there is a significant cost difference.

I cook a large amount of beans at one time, and freeze them in three to four serving portions.  I then heat them up slowly on the stove-top, and I think the flavor and texture actually improves.  Re-heating them in the microwave is do-able, but I don't think they are nearly as good flavor or texture wise.  That second heating really thickens the sauce and makes a creamier product.


We eat all kinds of beans-  azuki, black beans, anasazi, cannellini, cranberry, great Northern, navy, pinto, kidney, red beans, edemame, etc.

Most of the time I cook four pounds of beans at a time, unless it is a variety for which I have a more limited use.  This weekend I cooked four pounds of black beans and four pounds of pinto beans.  I took half of the pinto beans and made a recipe which I will share later this week, (which was delicious).

For years I could not make a good pot of beans to save my life.  We ate them, but they just weren't great.  Over time, I got the process down to the point that every pot of beans comes out good.  A lot of people make great beans in a crockpot, but for some reason when I tried to do them that way, they weren't very good.  I think I need more control over the heat possibly, or maybe I am just not crock pot savvy.

Here are some tips that got me on my way to great beans:  It is a must to sort through the beans.  Sometimes there are little rocks or balls of dirt which must be discarded.  An acquaintance told of having someone over for dinner.  She served beans, and one of her friends broke a tooth on a small pebble which had cooked in the beans.  That story has haunted me, so I am very diligent about sorting through the beans.  I also discard any bean halves or broken beans.  The way I sort is to put a piece of wax paper on the counter-top, pour a few beans onto it, sort, then pour into a colander for later washing after I have sorted through all the beans.

I always use the quick soak method, i.e., after washing beans, cover with water, (plus about two extra inches of water over the top of the beans in pan), and bring to a boil for two minutes.  Then let beans sit for one hour.  Now here is a little bean controversy- Most people then discard the soaking water, refill with fresh cold water, and then start the cooking process.  This supposedly helps with digestion of the beans.  I know of people who put dried beans in a crockpot, cover with water, and cook until done.  That disputes the rule of throwing out the soaking water.  I have tried it both ways, and I cannot tell the difference in whether either way is more easily digested.  This weekend I chickened out (sorry to my fine feathered friends), and threw out the soaking water.  The soaking water from the black beans was such a beautiful, dark color, that I sort of regretted throwing it out.  The beans turned out good, but the cooking liquid was not as pretty as that first soaking liquid that I had thrown out.  It also seems to me that we must surely be throwing away some nutrition in that soaking water.


The amount of time beans cook relies on the age of the dried beans and the size of the beans.  For smaller beans, I start checking them after about 40 minutes.  For larger beans, I start checking them at about 60 minutes.  It is important to cook them at a low, barely simmering temperature.  I think that is why crockpots work for a lot of people, just not me apparently.




It is very important that salt not be added until the beans are almost done.  This helps to prevent cracking of the skin of the bean.  I like my beans to be mostly intact, although I have cooked some white beans a little too long, resulting in cracked skins.  They looked more like soup, and had the most creamy texture and delicious flavor.

Beans are a healthy food to include in your diet.  They are low in calories, contain complex carbohydrates, have little fat and no cholesterol.  They are a good source of B vitamins, potassium, and fiber, which promotes digestive health.  Beans have been linked to prevention of colon cancer and reduction of blood cholesterol, which is a leading cause of heart disease.

Now that we eat so many beans, I am less likely to experience digestive issues with them.  So enjoy your beans, and pass the Beano if necessary.










Husband's note: My wife is big on always taking the high road.  I'm not that disciplined.  I have the humor of a 14 year old.  All I could think of while reading this post was the campfire scene from an American Classic, "Blazing Saddles."

Fresh Herbs



I wrote about my supply of dried herbs and spices last week.  This weekend, we planted a few pots of fresh herbs for our backyard.   We always go to a local, reputable plant nursery for our plants.  It's cheaper to go to the big box stores, but I have found plants in the past at this type of store which cannot survive our weather.  The plants have usually had more TLC at the local nurseries also. 

We usually have a vegetable garden and a good size herb garden, but we are in transition between homes at this time.  We decided we could not do without some herbs, so we pulled some large pots out of the garage and planted a few herbs.  We also snuck one grape tomato plant into a large pot. 


I usually have about 12-15 types of herbs each year.  I have room in these pots for six herbs, so decisions had to be made.  I knew for certain that I really do need to make some pesto, so I planted three basil plants.  If they do really well, that should be enough to make some pesto for the freezer.  I would like to have more, but I won't be greedy. 

My next choice was two parsley plants.  That may seem like an unusual choice, since parsley is widely available and inexpensive in the grocery stores.  I use parsley several times a week, and it is so nice to have fresh parsley right outside the door.  I also like to add some parsley in my pesto recipe. 

The last herb was a thyme plant.  It is also one of my most used herbs.  If it does really well, it is also easy to dry and keep for the winter. 

I am not very experienced in growing vegetables or herbs in pots.  We grew lots of potted landscape plants, but never vegetables or herbs.   I was surprised that potting soil is what is used to grow vegetables and herbs in pots.  I thought about the rich, composted soil we used in our ground planting, but evidently that doesn't work well in pots, because of decreased aeration and decreased drainage. 



We used some rocks in the bottoms of the pots, to help with drainage.  This made the pots extremely heavy, but hopefully we won't be moving them around.  The day we planted them, the wind became quite strong, so we put laundry baskets over them to protect
them from the wind and also shade them from the full sun for a day or two.  That is an old trick I have used for years, to keep the plants from developing transplant shock.

I put some compost on top of the potting soil and also watered the plants with a solution including fish emulsion fertilizer.  Herbs do not like a lot of fertilizer, so hopefully these two very slow release fertilizers will make them happy. 

I hope our endeavors will pay off.  This girl needs some summertime pesto!




Lightly water once a day for the first few days.

I later staked this to protect it from the wind.

Veggie Pot Pies - A Treat!

I wanted to find a dish that I could get excited about serving on holidays or special occasions.   We used to have turkey pot pie the day after Thanksgiving, and I looked forward to that more than the actual Thanksgiving meal.  I decided to convert my turkey pot pie recipe to a vegetable pot pie recipe.

Let me say from the onset, that this is not a health conscious meal.  I won't be serving this more than two or three times a year, at most.  Just because the puff pastry is plant based does not make it a healthy item.   I do think it will be a nice treat once in a while, and I think non plant based eaters will love it also.


In the past I would use egg to seal the pastry onto the dishes and to brush on the pastry for a pretty crust.  I used olive oil instead for sealing the pastry to the dish and used almond milk for the top of the pastry.  The almond milk brushed onto the top of the crust  did not come out as dark and shiny as when I used an egg wash, but it was still pretty.

When working with the puff pastry, do so as quickly as you can.  If the pastry gets warm, it can get stretchy and hard to handle.  It would be ideal if the completed pies could be placed in the freezer or refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking them.  I got impatient and did not do that, and they came out fine.



VEGETABLE POT PIE WITH PUFF PASTRY CRUST

3-6 small red potatoes, enough to make 2 cups diced after boiled
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
olive oil as needed
¼ cup flour
2 cups vegetable broth, room temperature or warmer
1 cup almond milk
1 cup frozen English peas, thawed
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp pepper, freshly ground
2 sheets packaged frozen puff pastry, vegan friendly, thawed overnight
1 Tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil
 2 Tbsp. almond milk
pepper for top of pies

Boil the potatoes until just tender.  Cut into a small dice and set aside.  Saute the onion, celery, and carrots in olive oil or vegetable broth for about 10 minutes.  If vegetable broth was used for the vegetable saute, add in 2 Tbsp.  of  olive oil to the vegetable mix at this point, to make a roux.  Stir in flour and cook two minutes, stirring constantly.   Gradually add broth and stir until thickened, over medium heat.  Add the almond milk to the vegetable mixture.  Add cooked, diced potatoes and thawed green peas and corn.  Stir in salt and pepper.


Pour into greased ramekins.   Roll one pastry sheet to 1/8 inch thickness.  Roll or cut pastry ½ inch larger on all sides than the ramekins.   Using a pastry brush, paint the outside top of the ramekins with olive or coconut oil, to use as a glue to hold the puff pastry onto the casserole.  Place puff pastry over the filled ramekins, pressing firmly to the sides of the casserole dish.




With a pastry brush, brush the top of the dough with almond milk and sprinkle with a small amount of pepper. Cut several steam vents in the top of each pie.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes, until top is puffed and browned and vegetable mixture is bubbly.   Let the pot pies sit and cool for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.  Beware that the filling will be extremely hot.

At holiday or special occasion times in the past, I would start thinking about trying out a new recipe.  It was nice to try this out without the added stress that it absolutely must be great for guests.  Now I can serve it with confidence for the next special occasion.



Husband's note:  After dinner last night she put a few in the fridge for lunch the next day. My son and I warmed two in the microwave for 2 min. then set in the oven  for 10 minutes.  This made the crust crunchy again.  They were great. You don't have the soggy crust on the bottom, like traditional pot pies, but that means less calories.  I encourage you to give these a try.  My regret: I won't be home for dinner tonight to have another one!  

Barley Bake

Barley bake, fresh green beans, cabbage, mashed potatoes and bread.

One of my favorite soups before becoming plant based was beef barley soup.  I loved the chewy barley in the soup.  I will eventually get a soup worked out that uses barley, but until then I have enjoyed making this barley bake dish.

This dish takes quite awhile in the oven, but it is hands off time once it's in the oven, so that makes it no problem for me. 


When the dish is finished, the barley should still be quite chewy.  That is the characteristic that I enjoy so much with this dish.   This dish is good served hot or at room temperature, which makes it a good dish to travel with.  The last time I made this, I used both the pine nuts and the walnuts, and I really liked it that way.  Pine nuts are crazy expensive, so I also would not hesitate to use only walnuts in it.  We included this dish in our Easter meal. 


BARLEY BAKE

¼ cup vegetable broth, approximate
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
2 green onions, sliced thin
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
½ cup pine nuts and/or 1/2 cup walnuts
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp pepper
4 cups vegetable broth

 Preheat oven to 350. 

 In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. vegetable broth.  Add onion, celery, and mushrooms.  Cook about 10 minutes, or until slightly softened.  Add more vegetable broth as needed to keep vegetables from sticking.  Add green onions and cook a couple more minutes.  Remove these ingredients from skillet.

Add a Tbsp. of vegetable broth to skillet.  Add barley and nuts and cook until slightly browned, stirring often.  Add more vegetable broth as needed to keep barley and nuts from sticking. 

Add the onion mixture back into the skillet.  Add parsley, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth.

Spray a 2 quart baking casserole dish with vegetable spray.  Pour mixture into the baking dish.  Bake for 1 hour plus 15-30 minutes.  Take out of oven when broth is absorbed and barley is to desired texture.

If using a purchased vegetable broth, the amount of salt may need to be decreased. 

Olive oil or any vegetable oil can be used in place of the vegetable broth when cooking the vegetables and browning the nuts, but I chose to replace it with the vegetable broth to take away as much fat from the recipe as possible. 

Husband's note:  This stuff may look a little bland in the pictures but it is delicious, filling, and very healthy.  The red stuff  sprinkled on top is Sriracha chili sauce.  My son has turned us on to this and he puts it in almost everything.  This barley bake heats up great as a leftover and is in my top 10 list as one of my wife's favorites.  

Let's spice things up!

I really do depend on my supply of  dried spices and herbs.  I haven't counted them, but I have quite a few in my pantry.  I also keep a few more fragile ones in my freezer.   I won't list them all, because it's quite an extensive list. 







I buy almost all of my dried spices and herbs online, both because they are much fresher than what I can buy in the grocery store, and because I can buy them cheaper.  For the ones I use frequently, I buy them in bags.  I replenish my spice jars out of those bags and store the rest of the bag in the freezer.  I buy from a company called Penzey's, (no affiliation to this company).  Because I subscribe to their magazine, (free), I almost always have a coupon for a free spice or herb.  Most of the time they also tuck a second free item in my order.  I have found many spice blends that I love because they were sent to me as a  freebie. 


I also buy their vanilla beans and make my own vanilla extract.  The vanilla beans are very pricey, but I just combine them with cheap vodka, and it comes out much cheaper and better than store bought vanilla.  This makes a great gift also. 

If I didn't have my pantry full of dried spices and herbs, my meals would not be nearly as tasty.  I also use fresh herbs and will soon be planting some of my favorites. 

Bringing Down the Fat, (in more than one way).

I discussed in the last blog that I had decided to cut a lot of the olive oil and coconut oil out of our diet.  I know that the "health experts" say that both of these oils are healthy, but they are still fat.  I tend to look at them as the lesser of evils, but that doesn't mean they can be used without concern. 

I have started using vegetable broth in place of the fats for high heat roasting of vegetables, stir fries, and any time I am sautéing.  I make a lot of soups, and I always used olive oil or coconut oil to sauté my onions, carrots, and celery at the beginning of my soup recipe, (mirepoix if you want to get fancy pants).  I thought I needed the oil to produce the fond, (the brown stuff that sticks to the bottom of the pan and produces a great amount of the flavor in the soup).



Well, I am here to tell you that the fond will happen even with the lack of oil.  I add a tablespoon or so of the broth at a time.  As it evaporates, the vegetables will start sticking to the bottom of the pan, (producing the fond).  After they have browned a bit, add another tablespoon  of broth, scraping the vegetables from the bottom, as well as the brown part that is stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Keep doing this until the vegetables are softened to the degree that is needed. 

Homemade veggie broth.

The biggest difference between using oil versus using broth is that I need to watch the vegetables a little closer and add additional broth a couple of times when they start sticking too much to the bottom of the pan or skillet.   I could not tell any difference in the taste of the dishes.

Fond:  French for "base" and commonly refers to the browned bits and caramelized drippings of meat and vegetables that are stuck to the bottom of a pan after sautéing or roasting.