Vegan Week - Day 5 (The Finale)

Mexican-Inspired Salad.

Well, today was the last day of my being a vegan lab rat, a plant-based diet guinea pig.

I brought a tote-able breakfast of applesauce and trail mix (almonds, walnuts, berry-flax granola, dairy-free dark chocolate chips, and dried cran- and blueberries) to work. It was quick, it was easy, it was good. It was really good. As someone who has a tendency to graze, it was a perfect snack.

Trail mix and applesauce.

For lunch, I'd made some Italian-style vegetable soup filled with lots of wholesome vegetables: mushrooms, onions, zucchini, tomato, carrots, celery. To go with it, a couple of slices of the ciabatta loaf were easily packed up. But since I had such a late breakfast, eating at work rather than at home, I wasn't actually hungry for the soup before I left to go on my Friday afternoon schlep through Kroger.

Italian-Style Vegetable Soup.

As I'd reviewed my groceries and my menu options before heading out for the day, I wasn't sure what I was going to do about dinner. Then my friend Olivia posted a picture of a salad on Facebook, filled with avocado, corn, lettuce, tomatoes ... all items I had on hand! She and I both planned to make this tonight.

Sure, the original salad contained chicken; but I could simply leave that out. So, I set out all the ingredients around a scoop of the leftover beans from Monday night, drizzled salsa over everything, and enjoyed an exceptionally nice dinner. A few crumbled corn chips on top didn't hurt, either ... :)

So ... my thoughts after five days as a vegan?

First and foremost, I'm looking forward to eating cheese. I want parmesan on my pasta, feta on my spinach, cheddar on many, many things. I want to be able to use eggs again. I want my Coffee-Mate, which offers no redeeming nutritional value along with the richness of cream.

It seems as though I've been snacking more, as though I'm feeling some sort of loss on a cellular level. It's not as though I've deprived myself of calories or protein or fats or sugars or anything else fun. But there must be some sort of recalibration going on. Ordinarily, if I have a big lunch then I only need a salad for dinner. I found myself still nibbling beyond that, though.

Of course, we can thank the Fritos and the faux-reos for that, singing their Siren songs to me in the night. I bought them so I wouldn't feel deprivation, to be able to have treats and not just denial, to show everyone that a vegan diet doesn't have to be just about rice, beans, lettuce, and tofu. But it's so much easier to resist that kind of stuff at the store, rather than at home! I usually don't buy those things, when I'm on my own. I know I'm weak. I proved that once again, these past few days.

I do think I'll be a mostly-vegetarian after this. My personal feeling is that cows are producing milk, chickens are laying eggs, and bees are making honey whether we eat and drink those products or not. As long as the animals are treated humanely, living happy lives, then those items should be a part of our diets. Veganism is simply too extreme, and unnecessarily so.

And while one might adopt a vegan diet for health reasons, bulking up on fruits and vegetables and whole grains, that gets very boring very quickly (for me, anyway, as someone who constantly craves variety). And it's also potentially expensive. I could have special-ordered vegan "cheese" from L.A., and "meat" from Minneapolis. I could have gone to various markets and restaurants around Toledo to get vegan dishes. I could have made "cheese" from cashews.

Really, that's just excessive. Be conscientious about what you eat - for political, ethical, moral, health, financial, and other reasons - but exercise moderation.

The thought of eating some chicken that's in the freezer, though ... I'm not so keen on it. Or the sausage that I'd intended to use in making red beans and rice on Monday.

The seed for this week's experiment was planted at an event a few weeks ago: braised veal cheeks were on the menu.

I was uncomfortable as they were presented to me, even as they smelled divine and were tender enough to melt on the fork. I tasted them, out of politeness (and for work); they were wonderful. I felt guilty.

And yet, I'm debating whether to grab a burger this weekend. How is it that I can eat the mother but was uncomfortable when the baby was on my plate? Because I knew which part of him I was chewing on? Because I buy the mother wrapped in plastic, displayed on styrofoam?

Once again, as I've done many times before, I'm hanging my head in shame and disgust as a hypocrite. I admit it, though not proudly. It is something I ruminate about, contemplate, grapple with, discuss, and consider at great length and with great frequency.

While I don't want to say I'm ruling out meat - or that burger - entirely (especially since I'll be judging a chili cook-off in two weeks, and there are only two or three vegetarian options being served), I can see myself becoming more of a vegetarian. Not that I eat meat all the time, but I can certainly feel comfortable eating it even less frequently now. Until temptation, like barbecued ribs, lures me in, I'm sure.

So, after all the thought and planning I put into Vegan Week's menu - and I probably have another two weeks' worth of meal suggestions that didn't get eaten - I have no idea what I'll have for breakfast tomorrow morning. It may be more Elvis-style oatmeal. It may be bacon and eggs. I might even go all-out and have a steak, which is usually a once-in-a-decade option.

The point is that I'll have a choice. I'll have lots of choices, rather than having entire food groups eliminated and having so many options taken away from me (or, more correctly, taking them away from myself).

Vegan Week was definitely a worthwhile experiment. It fed me, my blog, and also my column for this Tuesday. And it offered food for thought.

But now it's time to go back to eating whatever I want whenever I want. Time to go back to being an omnivore ... except for tofu and sushi!


Italian-Style Vegetable Soup

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large mushrooms, caps removed, sliced
1/3 cup sliced zucchini
1 small stalk celery, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
A very generous splash of red wine
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
A generous handful of baby spinach
1/2 cup water
Pinch of sugar
Italian seasoning

Place the oil into a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat with the red pepper flakes. Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms; cook for 2 minutes, until mushrooms are softening. Add zucchini, celery, carrot, and scallion; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, spinach, water, sugar, and Italian seasoning; bring just to a boil, then cover partially and lower heat to simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.

Yield: 2 to 4 servings
Source: Mary Bilyeu


Mexican-Inspired Salad

Oil
Corn kernels
Shredded lettuce
Chopped avocado
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Chopped red onion
Leftover Pinto Beans with Rice and Quinoa
Fresh salsa
Sprinkle of cilantro
Corn chips, crushed

Quantities are variable, based upon number of people being served and ingredient preferences.

Place the oil and the corn into a small skillet; stir together. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until corn is toasted and golden.

Place lettuce on a serving plate. Place corn, avocado, tomatoes, and onion around the circumference of the plate, on top of the lettuce. Place the leftover beans in the center of the plate. Drizzle salsa over the salad, then sprinkle with cilantro and the crushed corn chips.

Source: Mary Bilyeu (Adapted from cleanfoodcrush.com)

Vegan Week - Day 2

Ramen with carrots, mushrooms, pea pods, broccoli, red and green onions, some chile garlic sauce, and toasted peanuts and sesame seeds.

Well, another day as a vegan!

I still don't like the almond milk coffee creamer, though it was a bit more tolerable this morning. So, while I was at the grocery store to get supplies for tomorrow's photo shoot (for next Tuesday's lead story on the Food page), I looked for coconut milk creamer but couldn't find it; I settled for a soy milk creamer, which I don't have a lot of hope for. But it's not good to start the day with bad coffee ... bleah! This is a work in progress ... or an opportunity for an entrepreneur.

Applesauce muffins and a banana.

For breakfast, I had a banana and an applesauce muffin. Craig had tried one of the muffins yesterday, before leaving, and even said he liked it ... wow! Instead of an egg for protein and structure, I used 1/4 cup silken tofu. The muffins baked up beautifully ... :)

Now, tofu, to my mind, is not food. I've tried marinating it, searing it, chopping it, tasting it in various Asian restaurants, and virtually every other means of dealing with it. And you know what it tastes like? Vomit. Truly. No matter what, unless I simply bury it under chocolate or peanut butter or cinnamon or some other strong flavor. But tofu works perfectly as an egg replacement in baked goods - let's celebrate that, and not employ it for any of its lesser uses. (Your amusement du jour: Craig actually likes tofu! What is it with his taste buds?!?!?)

Fennel Slaw and French fries.

Like yesterday, lunch included a salad: Fennel Slaw, which is one of my very favorites. Lots of crispness and crunchiness, with just a hint of that famous (infamous?) licorice/anise flavor. Because I had prep work to do for tomorrow's photos, I didn't feel like chopping or stirring or sautéing or anything that required much involvement on my part. So I just made a very simple accompaniment for the slaw: a handful of extra-crispy french fries, sprinkled with a touch of salt and an equal touch of Old Bay seasoning.

(Aside: I want some credit for doing a non-vegan photo shoot tomorrow! I could've given y'all tofu, wheatgrass, and other such fare, rather than the omnivore fest that will be of greater interest. As Spock says, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." Even if the one is the one who has to prepare the food.)

Then, after eating the fennel and cabbage and onions, I did my breath - and, thus, the pussycats - a favor and ate a few of the generic mint faux-reos which may be my new favorite junk food. (They're double-stuffed, which is gross and excessive in traditional Oreos, but is perfect for the ones with the minty filling!)

On a chilly, dreary, rainy, snowy, icy "March comes in like a lion" evening, a nice hot dinner was the perfect comfort. Ramen. A huge bowl of it, loaded with carrots, mushrooms, pea pods, broccoli, red and green onions, some chile garlic sauce, and toasted peanuts and sesame seeds.

And there will likely be more faux-reos in my future, this evening ... :)


Applesauce Muffins

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/8 cup silken tofu
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
Pinch of kosher salt
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together applesauce, tofu, and almond milk until smooth. Add flours, salt, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, flax seed, and walnuts. Stir until combined.

Divide batter among the lined muffin cups. Stir together sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle over muffins, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes until muffins feel set when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yield: 12 muffins
Source: Mary Bilyeu


Fennel Slaw

1 small fennel bulb
4 cups shredded green cabbage
1/2 small red onion, halved, sliced thin
1 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons oil
Pinch of kosher salt
Generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Trim stalks, fronds, and root end from the fennel. Slice remaining bulb in half, then slice thin; place into a large mixing bowl along with the cabbage and onion.

Combine sugar, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper; pour over vegetables and mix. Let rest for 30 minutes or, preferably, several hours for the flavors to blend.

Yield: 8 servings
Source: Mary Bilyeu


Vegetable and Peanut Ramen

1 teaspoon sesame oil
Few mushrooms, sliced
Few pea pods
1 thin slice red onion, halved
Few broccoli florets
1 small carrot, peeled, sliced thin
1 small stalk of celery, sliced thin
1 large scallion, root end trimmed, sliced thin
Vegetable broth
2 tablespoons peanut sauce
1/2 teaspoon chile garlic sauce
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 package ramen noodles, seasoning packet discarded
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Handful of chopped peanuts, toasted

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat; add mushrooms and sauté briefly. Add pea pods, red onion, broccoli, carrot, celery, and white part of scallion; cook for 1 minute. Pour in broth to cover vegetables by 1 inch. Stir in sauces and add noodles. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes, until noodles are just done.

Pour everything into a deep bowl and sprinkle with sesame seeds, peanuts, and green parts of the scallion.

Yield: 1 generous serving.
Source: Mary Bilyeu.

Applesauce Pie

My friend Marcy Bishop Kates, of Incu-Bake - her commercial kitchen which rents space, and provides love and support, to an extended family of fabulous food producers - posted on Facebook recently about an applesauce pie. She thought it looked intriguing for fall.

I love applesauce pie, just love it! Sweet, spicy, fragrant, delicious ... I hadn't made it in ages, and had practically forgotten about it. For shame!

This is a deceptively simple recipe that appears to be fairly ordinary; but it is so lovely, so perfect for the season. This pie can be made on the spur of the moment when a craving strikes, or would make an ideal treat during Sukkot (which began last night), for Thanksgiving, or "just 'cause" ....

Applesauce Pie
(slightly adapted from Marcia Adams' New Recipes from Quilt Country)

• crust for a 9" pie
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place the crust into a 9" pie pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk in the butter, applesauce, and vanilla. Pour filling into crust, and bake pie for 40 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The filling will puff up while cooking, then deflate upon cooling.

Serves 12.

Snow Day Applesauce Bars

I wasn't scheduled to have a holiday on President's Day, but the weather gave me a gift -- a snow day! Work was cancelled because of horrendous road conditions.

Now, remember this if you ever happen to be listening to a weather report in Ann Arbor: if they predict a 15" snowpocalypse, there will actually be 8" of snow. However, if they predict 2-3" of snow there will actually be 10", as we had on Monday after rumblings about a few token inches of the white stuff plus some ice that may (or may not!) be buried under the snow but can't quite be found yet. 4"-6" are predicted for tonight ... really, this could either be an avalanche or a dusting, who knows???

The snow just kept a-falling on Sunday night and into the morning, inundating us. I have a 4-wheel drive Suburban, and even *I* was weaving down my unplowed side street on Monday afternoon ... it was pretty scary with no traction whatsoever, and a cab meandering in the opposite direction as badly as I was nearly hitting me. I had been on my way to pick up Tom, who couldn't get down his own street, figuring that putting all of those wheels and some new tires to work would get me through ... ha!

I turned around, shaken, and made a cup of tea. And I indulged in one of the shortbread-based applesauce bars I'd made that morning, as I took advantage of time by myself to write and to bake.

Life is so hectic sometimes that I don't get multiple posts written all at once to free up my schedule; and I don't get to bake as often as I'd like to, either, despite it being one of my very favorite things to do.

There are the chores of daily life, as well as the perks of visiting with Jeremy and spending time with Tom. I've taken up line dancing. (OMG, if y'all only knew how ludicrous that notion is for a prissy city girl like me! But my BFF Wendy wanted to do it, and it turned out to be so much fun!!!) Several of my most cherished loved ones have life and health stressors that require significant attention and care right now. Oh, yeah, and then there's that "day job" thing!

So, a day with no interruptions and no commitments and no errands to run and no place I had to be??? Quite the luxury! My chosen word for the year was "nurture," and I certainly had the opportunity to nurture myself on Monday ... :)

These slightly sweet and subtly spiced bars provided comfort, a treat, aromatherapy -- they were just perfection on a cold, snowy day.

Applesauce Bars

2/3 cup softened butter
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup applesauce
3 tablespoons apple jelly
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 packet instant apple-flavored oatmeal

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8"x8" baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, oil, sugar and brown sugar; stir in the egg and the salt. Mix in the flour. Press 2 cups of this mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.

Combine the applesauce, jelly and cinnamon; spread over the base.

Stir the oatmeal into the remaining batter; spread over the applesauce layer.

Bake for 30 minutes until topping is golden. Cool before cutting into bars.

Cinnamon-Sugared Applesauce Breads

I had some leftover applesauce after serving potato latkes for lunch two Sundays ago, on the 5th day of Chanukkah. Latkes are traditionally served both with sour cream and with applesauce, after all, even though people inevitably prefer one over another (and you'll never get an entire group to agree, so you offer both).

Now, you know me -- nothing goes to waste here: oatmeal becomes cinnamon bread, salmon immerses itself in a mustard-cream sauce to pour over pasta, turkey and mashed potatoes become transformed into a casserole. So I put the applesauce to good use by making mini quick breads to give as Christmas gifts. Ah, the spirit of interfaith cooperation!

This is a non-dairy recipe, because one of my co-workers has a severe dairy allergy. Since I'll be bringing treats to my friends for the holidays, I always want to be sure that I have items that are pareve ([PAHRV] = neither meat nor dairy, a designation within the Jewish dietary laws, a.k.a.: rules for keeping kosher) for him to eat -- he has a sweet tooth even more notorious than my own!

This batter can be made into 1 large loaf or, as I made it, into 3 mini loaves to share the wealth among more people. Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, they are a most fragrant form of aromatherapy even before you can slice into them!

Cinnamon-Sugared Applesauce Breads

1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
8 ounces chunky cinnamon applesauce
1 egg
1 cup apple juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil 3 mini loaf pans.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, whole wheat flour, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking powder, 1/3 cup sugar, and brown sugar. Combine applesauce, egg and apple juice; pour over flour mixture and combine well.

Divide the batter among the loaf pans (1+ cups batter per loaf pan). Combine the 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon with the 2 tablespoons sugar; sprinkle over the batter.

Bake the breads for 30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.