facelesseating

YIKES, where the pics?

2009-02-17T05:08:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note and I’ll take this down once the problem is fixed.

The site I host my pics at is currently down. How long? I don’t know. I just didn’t want you to think I was incapable of posting a picture :-)

Hang tight and I’m sure they will be back.

Tex Mex Breakfast

2009-01-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

OK here it is. This is the yummy I made last weekend. I promised I would post a recipe each week. This one is great. I also enjoyed it without the tortilla. Quite tasty and I will be making it again.

The original recipe came from Dr. McDougall’s site. I made a couple of adjustments and was very pleased with the outcome. To see the original recipe just click on the recipe title.

Tex Mex Breakfast

INGREDIENTS

2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 bunches chopped green onions (the original recipe did not have an amount)
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
1 bag of fresh spinach leaves (I used a full bag of spinach, see picture)
2 cups Salsa (The original recipe did not have an amount)
4-6 whole wheat tortillas

NOTE: I did not follow the amounts exactly. So use your own judgment. I actually used a bit more than the original recipe called for. Worked out just right.

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the potatoes in a dry non-stick skillet stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

Add rice, green onions, salsa and corn and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

Place spinach in a separate pan with a few sprinkles of water. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Set aside. (See picture. I used a microwave bag instead)

Add to cooked potato-rice mixture and mix well.

Spoon a line down the center of each tortilla, roll up and enjoy.

Here’s the spinach I used in the recipe

Here’s how it turned out. From the pan to the tortilla. Very easy, and very yummy!

Did that make you hungry? I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Next week I have two recipes to choose from. I made a very tasty Bean Salad and I made a mix for Pita Sandwiches. Both are very tasty. The test will be how well they last through the week. Stay tuned and see which one gets posted next weekend!

Lentil Soup

2009-01-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

OK here’s the yummy stuff I made yesterday. I started out with this as a base.

This came from Soups Online. The ingredients are: Lentils, dehydrated vegetables, parsley, chopped onions and good seasonings. That’s it. That’s what I started with.

I added:

3 carrots chopped
3 stalks of celery chopped
1 can diced tomatoes NOT drained
1 lb of browned and crumbled Gimme Lean

That’s it. I brought the whole thing to a boil and then let it simmer 30 minutes. It made 6 nice sized servings and I’ll be having this for lunch next week. I think it will be even better as time passes. Seems that homemade soups, stews and chilis taste better as they age.

Anyway, here’s how it looks right before I portioned it out for the week. Sure wish you could smell it.

Technorati Tags: lentil soup. soupsonline,vegan recipes,vegan soup

Peppadew Stew

2009-01-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

I found this website and was just fascinated. I love soup but don't really have time to make good homemade stuff. The canned stuff is not a very good choice.

I started digging around this site and found quite a few goodies. The site has all the nutritional information and cooking instructions and suggestions for each product.

Just add water and have a nice, light lunch. This sounds perfect to me.

Here's a great example.

Here's a screen shot from the website. See what I mean! 75 calories and 10 grams of carbs per serving.

What do you think? I think it's awesome. Don't forget to check it out. Click here to go to soupsonline.com

Why?

2009-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Just wondering what your thoughts are on my latest lab results. This was an experiment on myself to see which diet lends itself to better lab results. Here's what I have.

Nov 8 2007 (Low Carb Diet for the full year)

TRIGLYCERIDES 89 mg/dL <150
CHOLESTEROL, TOTAL 217 mg/dL 125-200
HDL CHOLESTEROL 101 mg/dL > OR = 40
LDL-CHOLESTEROL 98 <130
CHOL/HDLC RATIO 2.1 (calc) < OR = 5.0

Dec. 23 2008 (Vegan Diet for the full year)

TRIGLYCERIDES 105 mg/dL <150
CHOLESTEROL, TOTAL 199 mg/dL 125-200
HDL CHOLESTEROL 89 mg/dL > OR = 46
LDL-CHOLESTEROL 89 <130
CHOL/HDLC RATIO 2.2 (calc) < OR = 5.0

The results are both fine but on a vegan diet I did expect the triglycercides to drop even more and the HDL to go up more. Oh well, the results are still just fine.

The rest of the results were fine. My A1c went from 5.3 to 5.4.

Have no fear, I will not be going back to a low carb diet. I love the Vegan diet and that's where I'm staying. But, I am very curious as to why the results turned out the way they did.

Anyone have any ideas?

Tofu and Vegetable Loaf

2008-12-21T05:30:00.000-08:00

I've been looking around for an easy loaf recipe that tasted good. I think I found one.

This was not hard to make and I am so pleased with the results. I only made a few modifications to the recipe. Outside of that, I followed it to the letter.

The recipe came from Wholefoods Market. Give it a try. It's delicious and very filling.

Here it is ready to go in to the oven.

Now, here it is out of the oven, cooled off and ready to eat. Doesn't it look good?

Tofu and Vegetable Loaf

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 pounds firm tofu
1 cup dried bread crumbs, preferably whole wheat
1 egg, slightly beaten (optional) ***Did not use any eggs
1/2 cup ketchup ***used salsa
1 to 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1/2 to 1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
Olive oil cooking spray

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium low heat.

Add onions, carrots, garlic and parsley and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile firmly press tofu between layers of paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible.

Crumble tofu into the bowl of a food processor, then add bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, tamari and Worcestershire sauce and blend until completely smooth.

Transfer tofu mixture to a bowl, then stir in the onion mixture.

Add any additional seasonings that you desire.

Spray a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, then spoon the tofu mixture into the loaf pan, patting it down evenly over the top.

Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until deep golden brown and firm to the touch.

Cool the loaf for easier slicing before serving.

Technorati Tags: Tofu Loaf,Vegan tofu loaf,tofu and vegetable loaf

OK, I Agree

2008-12-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

I've gotten a couple of comments and quite a few contacts via the contact link about deleting this blog.

I have to agree with you. I will keep this blog going but it may not always have recipes that I have made. I will expand the blog to include news items and other goodies related to being a Vegan. It will always be food related but with a focus wider than just my kitchen.

Long live the Veggie!

photo credit: Wikimedia

Thanks to all of you who took the time to let me know you do like this blog. So, with that said I will return between now and the New Year to start posting entries.

Again, Thanks to all of you!

Notice

2008-11-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

On December 31, 2008 this blog will be deleted. Lots of reasons contributed to this decision. So, if there is anything you want off of this blog, get it before the New Year arrives.

I will be using my primary blog for all of my posting. Next year, I hope to see you at http://makingofahome.blogspot.com

Disturbing

2008-11-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

No I don't have any recipes to post. Honestly I probably wont' have any new ones for several weeks. Once I'm on vacation, in December, I'll try some new recipes and get them posted.

In the meantime I just have to post this. This is disturbing on so many levels. I don't even know what Palin was blabbering about as I was in shock at the scene behind her. Is she that clueless? This video was taken after she "pardoned" a turkey. It makes you just want to shake her.

So glad I'm a vegan!

So, be warned. For me this was quite disturbing.

Artichoke and Kidney Bean Paella

2008-11-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a keeper, for sure. This was so easy and is very tasty. I have never used Artichoke hearts for anything, so I wasn't sure about how they would taste. They work very well in this recipe. Just make sure you get the can, not the marinated ones that come in a jar.

Give this a try, it's really quite good.

Almost done cooking. Sorry about the yellow tint. It's because of the over the stove light.

Here it is ready to eat. Very, very tasty

Artichoke and Kidney Bean Paella
from: Karen Sonnessa

Serving Size: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion -- chopped
3 cloves garlic -- finely chopped
1 cup brown rice -- uncooked
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt -- or more to taste
16 ounces red kidney beans -- cooked
6 artichoke hearts -- quartered (1 can)
Tabasco sauce -- to taste

Cook rice.

Heat oil in large skillet and cook onion and garlic until crisp/tender, about 4 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients, and heat 5-10 minutes, until peas are tender.