Merry Christmas and Soup Mix

VEGAN BISCOTTI (plain anise flavored) with awesome dark chocolate brushed on top and sprinkled with ground up english walnuts. My base recipe came from Bryanna Clark Grogan's Nonna's Italian Kitchen Cookbook, Only I made mine a plain anise flavored variation.
Here's a free recipe that I found though:
Fat Free Vegan's Cinnamon Biscotti Recipe

Now that I have your attention with my tantilizing favorite holiday treat -

Merry Christmas!

I've been trying to post for a couple of days, but I guess NOW is my lucky moment to accomplish the task. After the ice storms came a wonderful Christmas day with highs in the 50's, and sunshine. It was awesome. We had a great Christmas day brunch before opening presents, which we already knew all that there was because we shop together and get what we want .... we just don't get it until after the Bible reading by DH followed by the brunch. Without further ado, I'm going right to the food pictures. Here is my first round Christmas day. The pizza is BREAKFAST PIZZA by Bryanna Clark Grogan Oct/Nov/Dec Vegan Feast Newsletter. Every holiday season since I started subscribing we have had a new awesome main course brunch dish to feast upon. I have been subscribing since the beginning and will not stop. The ideas and personal connection is worth every penny. Bryanna is a kitchen goddess, NO... wait! I take that back, because of Bryanna I AM A kitchen goddess! :) I served the pizza with a sliced pear and a soymilk (made in my soyajoy) cappuchino.

Next trip to the kitchen allowed me to get some of this TENDER BANANA BREAD from Bryanna Clark Grogan's cookbook, FIBER FOR LIFE. I love this because the fat is replaced with a silken tofu mixture which is also great protein and it is made 100% whole wheat pastry flour, yet is still wonderfully tender. The cookbook offers the option to use dates in this, but I use vegan chocolate chips which my family adores, I like that if I am going to add a little fat it comes from chocolate. Mmmm-my kinda fat.
More cheers for Bryanna and the VEGAN FEAST Newsletter again. Here is a picture of her seitan "salami/ pepperoni", I did the pepperoni version. My meat eating sister ate 10 slices of this with crackers and said, I love this stuff! I wasn't a big fan of the seitan o'greatness awhile back due to the fact it was so dry, but this salami / pepperoni is not. The crackers you see on this plate are actually pretzel flats with an everything seasoning, new find at the grocery store and they are not to bad. Back to the seitan, every issue of the newsletter usually has one new way with seitan that I get the pleasure of trying.
I need to back track just a bit. Here is my counter setup for the breakfast pizza. The crust dough, vegan "sausage" crumbles (Bryanna's kielbasa seitan recipe from my freezer that I crumbled up), the tofu frittata mix in the food processor, red peppers, shredded sweet potato, and shreds of Bryanna's sharp chedda' cheez. The crust is interesting, it is like a thick batter that can sit in the frig for up to two weeks until you are ready to use it. The recipe calls for enough to make two pizza crusts. I am going to try a mushroom onion style pizza with the other half, I found a recipe for this that I really want to veganize in a weight watchers magazine.
Okay, I am sure that you are probably thinking Bryanna again? .... yes, I say again. There are so many recipes I still have to try from all of her cookbooks and other vegan feast newsletters that I could sing her praises for a long time. This is my version of CHRISTMAS STOLLEN, the dough has no fat but is not dry. I used the sweet bread dough from her Al-most No Fat Holiday Cookbook. To make it stollen I added cardamom, coriander, orange peel, pecans, english walnuts, rum soaked raisins, cranberries, chopped dates and dried prunes. More backtracking. Here is the seitan salami after it finished cooking in my clay pot, it is wrapped with cheesecloth. It cookes in a small amount of very flavorful broth, which does not get completely soaked up as you can see a small amount is left over.

Last idea to share. I like to make a batch of a recipe I found many years ago called Be Prepared Soup Mix, I call it Five Bean Soup Mix. When I want to make some I take 1 1/2 cups of the beans, 1/4 cup of the seasoning mix and a can of diced tomates. Sometimes I make it in the crockpot, somtimes on the stove top, but all the time when I make it do I enjoy it.

BEAN MIX:

1 1/2 cup pinto beans

1 1/2 cup white benas

1 cup kidney beans

1 cup baby lima beans

1 cup chickpeas

SPICE MIX:

1/2 cup dried minced onion

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp salt

1 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp garnulated garlic

1 Tbsp Frontier chicken flavor bouillon powder
3 Tbsp Frontier beef flavor bouillon powder

1 Tbsp parsley

1/4 cup vegan bac'un bits

1/4 cup dried Frontier mixed vegetable soup flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the beans and place in a large jar with enough room to add the baggie of spice mix.

1 "batch" = 6 generous servings of soup

To make a batch soak 1 1/2 cup of beans overnight, drain and place them in a 3 quart saucepan (or crockpot). Add 5 cups of water and 1/4 cup seasoning mix, you can add the tomatoes now or at the end of simmering time. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer 2 - 2 1/2 hours until beans are tender or crockpot cook them on low all day.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:

Per serving: 187 calories, 12 g protein, >1 gram fat, 465 mg sod, 33 g complex carbs, and 9 grams fiber.

Individual batches can also be prepared separately, add a nice label with instructions, and give as a gift.

TRASH and Exercise (all in the same entry)

It's a cold out! Time for some soup and Texas Trash (thanks so much ATxVegn) The family LOVED it!. Here's the recipe as posted in the original blog entry. I used whole wheat pretzel rods instead of the tortilla chips, air popped popcorn, with pecans and almond slices instead of mixed peanuts. Matthew was pulling out the pretzel rods to eat and I asked if he liked those the best, he said no that he liked the pecans best which he already picked out.

Texas Trash

4 c. tortilla chips

3 c. Crispix

1 bag microwave plain popcorn, popped

1 can (12 oz.) mixed nuts

1/2 c. corn syrup

1/2 c. margarine

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 T. chili powder

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. cayenne

Heat oven to 250. Combine chips, cereal, popcorn, and nuts in a large roasting pan.
Combine corn syrup, margarine, sugar, and spices in a small saucepan; heat to boiling, then pour over cereal mixture. Stir to coat. Bake one hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Cool on waxed paper. Keeps in an airtight container for two weeks.

I asked Dave what soup he liked the best expecting him to say chili. He said broccoli cheese which was news to me. This soup is my own. I was aiming for a comforting cheesy like texture, the family liked it well enough but I am curious if anyone else tries this how they might adjust the spices and seasoning.

DORI'S GOLDEN CAULIFLOWER SOUP
(link to recipe)

Several years when I first started using a grain mill I started milling my own legumes for quick cooking easy soups. I liked the way white beans thickened the soup and gave body similar to heavy cream dairy soups. This soup recipe is similar to what I used to make with white bean flour, but I decided to try it with besan (chickpea flour) and split red lentils.... the color was spectacular with these choices and add great nutrition that is easier to digest that the freshly milled white bean flour. Although this would not end up on my top five list it was comforting and well liked by everyone else in the family.

MY VERY FIRST LUNCHBOX
Black bean soup, cooked and cut up sweet potato, cabbage sprout craisin apple salad, and pineapple. I was so excited I have actually put forward a good effort of thought into my next lunch box to and making food that would look nice in this.


Using my sprouts salad with broiled seasoned tofu, apple slices, radish, and carrot shreds on a bed of romaine lettuce.

LAST NOTE:

HI SIS!
My oldest sister has been checking out my blog. I think she is interested in healthier eating because she bought a sweet potato and a variety of fresh fruits (she told me this, why would she tell me this and ask for my blog address within a 24 hour period) .... for her this is an accomplishment because she lives in a hotel for weeks at a time coming home for a weekend a month. Also, the water aerobics is to start on the 15th (Monday), but now that I accepted the extra work after school Monday is one of the days I work so I would not be home in time (drats!). I have purchased a few fitness tools below though so that I can meet some personal fitness goals, they are three Pilates workouts from Amazon. Pasta Queen influenced my decision. I had a Pilates workout video several years ago when I was a beginner and the video wasn't ummm, try I may and try I might but me body only got mean (not lean). It is also 13-17 degrees here during the warmest part of the day, so I'm not to disappointed not to be able to do water aerobics other than the fact I wanted to have time with the friend.

1 "Pilates - Beginning Mat Workout"
Ana Caban; DVD; $12.99

1 "10 Minute Solution: Pilates"
Lara Hudson; DVD; $10.99

1 "10 Minute Solution: Rapid Results Pilates"
Lara Hudson; DVD; $7.47

Finished.