OYMST Day #26: School is in session!

Back in the days of my early veganism, I made hummus with lima beans!

I started teaching a class on compassionate eating at church. Pretty cool, huh? That's the UU denomination for you. I'm pretty sure I'd be allowed to teach just about any subject so long as I could connect it to how the lesson brings people together. I was so psyched when my proposal was accepted! The class meets once per week for two hours for ten weeks. My angle was to teach and NOT preach my experience, strength, and hope eating a vegan diet. No expectations, just sharing good food and fun.

The weather was iffy, so I only had half the class in attendance. It was still a blast! We had introductions and part of the process was to finish the sentence, "When I hear the word vegan I think..." Here were the responses:

"Impossible."
"Fake Blood at PETA demonstrations."
"Underweight."
"Admirable."
"Cool."

What an array of responses! I talked to them about my vegan journey and why I do what I do. Then I launched into a discussion about hummus and schmears. You do NOT have to have the standard hummus as a dip. Live it up and try to make your own unique schmear! A good schmear or hummus is made from the following: a source of protein, fat, vegetable, salt, garlic, lemon juice (or some kind of acid), and spices. I regret not taking pictures of our awesome meal, but I'll let you know what was on the menu:

Black Bean Dip- 1 can of rinsed black beans, 1/2 cup of store bought salsa, 1/4 t cumin, 1/2 t ms. dash's Caribbean citrus, and some sea salt. Puree in a blender. Low fat! Serve with pita, fresh colored peppers, and avocado slices.

A heavily improvised muhamara- 1/2 c. bread crumbs, 1/2 c. olive oil, 1 garlic clove, 1 cap of AC vinegar, sea salt, 1/3 c. raw pumpkin seeds, red pepper flakes, black pepper, roasted yellow peppers and one roasted mirliton. Add contents to blender and add a little water. You want it to be the consistency of pate. Serve with cheesy quackers from 500 Vegan Recipes.

Buffalo Black Eye Pea Dip- Buffalo Dip from 500 Vegan Recipes + 1 can of rinsed black eye peas. Pulse in a food processor. You don't want this to be smooth--let it have some texture! Serve with cuke slices, celery sticks, or both. This was the belle of the ball.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Dip- My own creation! This was inspired by one of my readers, Sharine. I took 2 cups of canned pumpkin, 1/4 c. brown rice syrup, 3 chopped dates, 1/4 t vanilla, 2T soy or coconut coffee creamer, 3T water, 1/4 t nutmeg, 1/2 t cinnamon, and a shy T of cocoa powder. I served this with apple slices as a non-traditional dessert option. It went over so well!

Fig and Lentil Soup from 500 Vegan Recipes- If you can't already tell, this is my new favorite cookbook. Seriously people, this book doesn't get enough love. I own many vegan cookbooks, but not this one. I checked it out at the library and I'm now convinced this is the ONLY cookbook I need. Stay tuned for a full review-(and giveaway!) at a later date.

I brought in a few of my cookbooks, and I had a very informal Q&A session. I discussed where I get my protein, that milk can be made from anything-(that's next week's topic!), and that one could make an exciting dip from just about anything.

One student asked, "How can I make a dip low fat?"

Easy. Bypass the amount of oil. You want a little, but not the standard amount in recipes. You don't even really need the fat, but a little gives a big punch of flavor. Example: the "muhamara" had the most oil, and I cut 1/4 out of the recipe based on a bunch I reviewed. The buffalo dip used light mayo instead of full fat vegan mayo. The bean dip had zero oil added as well as the pumpkin pie dip. I explained one could roast or boil a vegetable-(their choice, try to go with one that is creamy when pureed) and cut it into the bean, lemon juice, garlic, and spice mixture to reduce the amount of oil or nut butter one would normally use. That approach enhances the texture, color, and flavor without a bunch of extra fat.

Their homework? Easy-invent your own creative bean schmear and tell me about it.

Man-oh-Man

Holy Chickpeas, does it hurt me or what when I don't post! I take a week off and my Google stats are horrible, just horrible. That's why I blog, after all--knee deep in chicks-(the cute fuzzy kind I rescue from hatcheries) and the wagons of money that pour in because PITA vegan is the best blog ever on teh interwebs.

Another thing that will surely take its toll on me is the wonder that is known as sweet n' spicy Doritos. Seriously, this is my snack! Accidentally vegan and I'm just now trying them. I'm such a late bloomer. I guess that means I'll have to stop wearing acid wash jeans.

I don't want to waste time hollerin' about the tantalizing flavor because they're just chips. I dare the Food Network to have a vegan episode of Chopped and include this in the basket. I paired mine with this chickpea salad thing I threw together. Psst--breading for the baddy mcbadass buffalo seitan sammich you've ever had! Don't try nachos. They will catch on fire from the chemicals.

I'll be posting pics or videos for the next few days because my son dropped a 5# weight on my hand and my r. ring finger is injured. I never realized how important having all 10 fingers while typing is--((insert Poison's Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone)). It took me 25 minutes to type this and only a half a second for you to roll your eyes at the screen.

A new twist on peanut butter and bacon

Did Elvis really eat peanut butter and bacon sandwiches? I have no idea. Must be one of those urban legends, like pop rocks and soda. This sandwich is not the stuff of fairy tales, this is something I thought about all day long while I sold garden products at work. I kept thinking, what am I going to do with that Thai Sesame Peanut flavored tofu by West Soy and with that eggplant in the fridge?

I took a trip back to 2009 and looked at the concoction I threw together for eggplant bacon. I upped it a notch by marinating, baking, then pan frying in a little oil. I put it on top of some of the said Thai Peanut tofu, put a little arugula on some bread along with onion, beannaise-(from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook), and the obligatory pickle. It was awesome! I decided I'd call it the ElviSteen McNoyes after The King, Celine, and Tami. I just can't test sandwiches for people all Summer and try to think that I can walk away from it all without a little inspiration.

Since daylight savings time has arrived, I can't take pictures outside like I used to. My solution has been to take them directly under the stove light. I'm known for bringin' the funny rather than my photo skills, but I think the results are better than flash, don't you?

Some just don't make the cut

Here's a sammie that didn't make it into Celine and Tami's book. Eliminating recipes when your cook book is too full must be hard. I was bummed about this one getting the boot.

This is a barbecued eggplant over chard open faced dealy. Eggplant is such an egg-celent vegetable to bbq because the flesh lends itself to really absorb whatever you cook it in and it has a meaty texture. When this sweet n' spicy nightshade is paired with the creamy mayo flavor of a swiss chard slaw, well don't say I didn't warn you. If you're using GF bread, then this is an easy gluten free sandwich to throw together. This is also a signature sandwich for a summer bbq, or when you want to pretend you're having a summer bbq in the middle of a snowstorm.

Have you ever tested a recipe that didn't make the cut? You don't have to tell me what it was. Did it bum you out?

MOFO Day #25 True Grub: Amy's Awesome Arugula Potato Salad

I really wanted to make something completely red and raw in honor of Lizzy Caplan's character in season one. I tried making a cauliflower couscous, but that didn't seem sexy enough. Amy is a wacko fer sure, but she has a sweet side. Right before she killed Stephen Root, she said something about being a raw vegan. We all know that vampnapping, draining, and killing the undead isn't vegan. Argue this point with me if you wish, but I stand by my belief. The act of draining is a product of the undead suffering. And using V is illegal.



I'm so funny. I make this sound as if all of this is real.

This salad is very, very real. I'm normally pretty hesitant about making posts about salads because lettuce as the center of vegan cuisine is a stereotype. How could I make this different? I took some fresh arugula and some red swiss chard from my garden and piled on roasted sweet potatoes with T. Marzetti's Simply Dressed Strawberry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. So easy, and absolutely delicious. The key is to roast the potatoes in the dressing and add just a little bit extra on the salad. Perfection! People will think you went to culinary school to come up with that, but I won't tell anyone you're no fancy pants chef.

I received some of this dressing from FoodBuzz's Tastemaker Program, and thank both them and T. Marzetti for their support of food bloggers everywhere. I called the company and confirmed this particular flavor is vegan. Yay!

To roast the potatoes, simply peel and cube the sweet potatoes, toss in the dressing and bake in a pan at 350 for about a total of 45 minutes. Make sure you turn them about half way through. Because the dressing is olive oil based, they will be a tad greasy, but you can remedy this by blotting them with a paper towel after they cool.

If you don't have sweet potatoes around, I'm positive that roasted butternut squash or pumpkin would make awesome substitutions. If you use the butternut squash, add some walnuts. If you use the pumpkin, throw some toasted pumpkin seeds in the mix.

MOFO Day #9 True Grub: Hoyt's No-Fuss Maque Choux

Hoyt don't wanna make no kind of fuss when it comes to cookin'. He keeps things really simple. Of course, until he falls in love with Jessica and his world is turned upside down. No more momma's boy--Hoyt is his own man now.


Since Jessica is a vampire, she doesn't eat and truth be told she doesn't really know how to cook. Hoyt's momma Maxine has done all the cookin' so Hoyt is a little challenged in the kitchen, God Bless Him.

Maque Choux-( Mah Shoe) is just tricked out corn. Even big ol' Yankee me felt perfectly at ease making this. It varies from parish to parish, but it's basically the same stuff. The first time I made it I used a can of cream corn and all my Louisiana friends laughed at me. One consoled me by saying the flavor was spot on, but it looked more like succotash. So I tried again.

I veganized this recipe by Emeril. I replaced the butter with Earth Balance and cut the amount in half. I added a few drops of liquid smoke and eliminated the jalapenos. I subbed the heavy cream with plain coconut creamer. It was mighty nice, just like ol' Hoyt.

This side goes well with any meal, especially Arlene's Etouffee. Enjoy.

I'm not always testing sandwiches...

Sometimes I'm just making them for me. This was part of last week's haul from the food bank: roasted garlic bread with ingredients I recognized, West Soy Thai Peanut Tofu, sauteed red peppers and onions served with a side of oven baked snap beans-(my new favorite way of eating them!)

I didn't get a close up of the beans largely because I was bummed that the purple ones didn't keep their color and ended up looking like the green ones. As I ate them I'm pretty sure Joe Dirt popped out of the bushes and said, "Daaaaang!" because they were so darned tasty. Since that brand of prepared tofu isn't really peanutty-(barely detectable), I made a schmear with a little extra peanut butter, garlic, and mae ploi chile sauce.

To make the oven baked snap beans is, well--um, er it's a snap!

preheat oven to 400

Wash and snap ends off beans.
Juice of 1/2 lemon, 2T olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
Rub lemon juice, oil, and seasonings into beans and spread evenly on a cookie sheet-(spray!) cook for 7-8 minutes on one side, flip, and cook for another 5-7 minutes. These are great on their own, but if you have to have a condiment to dip them in go ahead.

9 more days until MOFO! Are you ready?