April 16, 2011

By now, you may know that I don't do dairy or eggs, and chances are you know some other vegans.  You may be even more likely to know someone who is lactose-intolerant, or who just finds that dairy products don't agree with them.

What if your children can't have most of the candy that you find for sale at Easter time?  What if they can't have eggs?  What do you do for them to keep them from feeling left out when all the other kids are eating Cadbury eggs and hunting for colored boiled eggs? How about making some special easy homemade Easter chocolates for them or with them?

It's a stretch for me to even say these candies are homemade, because all you really do is melt chocolate.  First, choose a chocolate that's made without milk products; Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips are one example.

Then, find one of these Easter candy/chocolate molds.  If you plan ahead you could order it online, but if you have a cake supply store nearby like I do, you can find one there.  Craft stores carry some of these, but you usually don't find a very broad selection there.

I'm semi-obsessed with these molds.  You fill the little cavities with a small amount of melted chocolate or hard candy syrup, and refrigerate for an hour or so til completely set.  When you tip it upside down to unmold, you have the cutest little things ever.  I promise you people will be impressed and think you're some kind of culinary genius, when all you did was melt chocolate and buy a $2 mold!

For Easter, I chose this mold with bunnies, duckies, Easter eggs and lambs.  I like to put the chocolate chips in a glass measuring cup, and microwave them until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. It won't take very long; less than 2 minutes usually depending on how much chocolate you're working with at once.  I'd recommend a small amount in each batch so that it doesn't start to cool and thicken before you get it all into the molds.

I spoon the chocolate into a plastic squeeze bottle to fill the molds, but you could just use a small spoon to do it.  When all the cavities are filled, you need to carefully smack the filled mold on the countertop to settle the chocolate into all the little nooks and crannies.  You also want any trapped air bubbles to rise to the surface.  It might take a few smacks to get the job done.

After unmolding, this is what you have.  You can see that I got in too big of a hurry, and didn't get all the air bubbles out of my candies.  No worries though!  We're going to wrap each chocolate in a foil square, and the bubbles won't show.

I found gold and silver 4″ foil squares at my craft store, but I've seen pastel-colored ones at the cake supply store that would have been even cuter.

You could sprinkle these wrapped chocolates into an Easter basket, or you could use them as little Easter gifts or party favors. Remember the origami boxes I made for the painted glass marble cross magnets?  Let's use those to give these chocolates away.

Add some pretty paper shred or Easter grass into the box, fill with the chocolates, and voila!  You have an adorable little gift that is handmade with love, but no eggs or dairy!

~BigSis

April 1, 2011

Do I have a surprising food find to share with you!  And guess what, LilSis?  There's one in your hood!

I'm talking about Loving Hut, a casual and inexpensive vegan cafe. They don't use any MSG, dairy, eggs, or any animal products at all.

So if food is super-affordable, fast, full of veggies and protein, and cruelty-free, is it doomed to taste like an old shoe?  An old stinky shoe?

Absolutely NOT, if you eat at Loving Hut!

I just spent a week in Houston on business with a couple of my girls from the office: one pescatarian and one omnivore.  Plus me: 99% vegan for 15 months so far and vegetarian for 17 years.  We stumbled upon Loving Hut (thanks to UrbanSpoon) and decided we were all up for a food adventure; for better or worse!

We ordered a feast of dishes to share, and actually had to put some of our food on another table.  Here's what we ordered and devoured:

Spring Rolls: Good, but fairly ordinary and a bit bland.  Very carroty!  The jicama was unexpected, and the tofu unnecessary.

BBQ Roll: Love love love these!  Wow!  This subtle little combo of vermicelli, peanut, lettuce and BBQ soy protein blew all three of us away.  I don't know what that orange stuff is, and I don't care.  I just want more of it.  Maybe it's carrot?  All I know is it isn't cheese and that's all I need to know.  When I get to Arlington's Loving Hut, they better have these. I mean it.

Fabulous Pho: Our least favorite dish of the night, but pretty! The broth was a little too perfumey for us.  It seemed to be a well-done dish, just not to our taste.  The flavor tasted strongly of cinnamon basil to me, and was a little more enjoyable when the spicy condiments were added, but we still didn't love it.

Sweet and Sour Divine: Delicious!  I wished for more soy protein and pineapple, with less carrots, onions and peppers, but the flavor was great.  I'm not usually a sweet and sour fan, but we all liked this.  I suspect it was pretty high in calories though, so this wouldn't be my go-to dish.  Our pescatarian was crazy about this dish.

Noble Broccoli: Who could tell this wasn't beef and broccoli? Certainly not our omnivore who always orders it in Asian restaurants!  I loved that the broccoli was cooked perfectly: not too crunchy but not overdone.

Mongolian Wonder: I ordered this really spicy, but light on the ginger since I think it can dominate.  I would order this again.  The flavors were perfect over a little pile of brown rice.  The rice was a touch sticky, but it didn't slow us down.

Carrot and Apple Juice: I'm not a fan of raw carrots at all, so it was a big step outside my comfort zone to order carrot juice.  This was an adventure though, so I went for it.  The carrot and apple blend was actually tasty and I finished the whole glass.  I think I would have loved it even more if it had been colder.

Jasmine Iced Tea: We all agreed this drink was a little bitter. Maybe a touch of sugar would have helped, but it might have just been transformed into bitter sweet tea.

Sunny Forest: What a light refreshing summer drink this was! We're still not sure about what the “zesty petals” were, but we loved this blend of orange juice, mint and sparkling water.

Out of all these dishes, the only things we weren't in love with and wouldn't order again are the Pho and Jasmine Tea.  The good news?  We have a Loving Hut in Arlington, which is where both the girls live.  We don't have one in Big D yet, so for now I'll have to make a small road trip to A-Town.  To get another order of those BBQ rolls that I can't stop thinking about, it's worth it!

There are bunches of Loving Hut locations in the United States. Look for them in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

There are also locations internationally.  Each location has their own menu, so check out the web site for your local Loving Hut menu, if you're lucky enough to have one nearby.

LilSis, you have a few Loving Hut locations to choose from in Southern California.  Take your meat-eatin' boys there and see if they like it!

I know that this kind of food isn't without some downside: it usually has high sodium content and can be high in fat due to the oil used.  But for a vegetarian or a vegan, it's a fantabulous thing to have a quick meal option that actually contains a vegetable or two, and not just beans, bread and lettuce. If you're grabbing an occasional fast meal as opposed to making it a daily habit, I think Loving Hut is a great option!

~BigSis

February 12, 2011

How about another colorful cupcake for Valentines Day?  By the way, have you made the Pomeranian Pomegranate Cupcakes that I talked about a few days ago?  If not, here's option #2 for your Valentine's Day, and it's another vegan one!

These are actually called Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes (I love the name!) and they're from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule. I have several of Isa's other cookbooks, but I just got this one and these cupcakes are the first thing I've baked from it.  This cute little cookbook was named the “Cookbook of the Year” by VegNews.

So, back to the baking.  There was nothing weird in this recipe that required an emergency trip to my favorite little hippie health food store (although that would be dandy with me since I love it there).  Just flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and soda, soy milk (I used almond), canola oil and flavorings.  It was super easy to whip up, so the recipe wins kudos for that too.

I also made the icing recommended for this cupcake, Old Fashioned Velvet Icing.  I can't say that I'm a fan of it though.  I thought I followed the instructions to the letter, but my icing came out grainy, and I hate to say, it was just a tad weird for me.  Sorry, Isa.  I only iced one cupcake for the photo, and just left the other eleven nekkid.  I'd rather have a nice traditional cream cheese icing on my red velvet cupcakes, so I'll try that the next time I bake these.

And I will bake these again.  They were easy, inexpensive, pretty, and most important of all: delicious and moist!  Run out and buy Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, or use the Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes recipe I found online, but do make these cupcakes!

Happy Valentine's Day!

~BigSis

February 5, 2011

You don't want to spend all day Sunday preparing for your Super Bowl party, do ya?  Me neither!

I already talked about vegan Bob Armstrong dip, which is now my go-to football snack.  What else could could I serve along with Bob, without spending a bunch of time or money?

I was noodling around some ideas, and I found this recipe for a Ranch Cheese Ball.  I thought it would be really cool to start with one basic cheesy spread recipe, and then use it in a bunch of different quick ways on Super Bowl Sunday!  Let's do it!

The basic cheese spread can be customized with your favorite flavors.  I started with a tub of Tofutti Cream Cheese, a handful (around 1/2 cup) of Daiya Cheddar and a touch of Veganaise to thin it out a bit.  Then I added garlic powder, onion powder, dried onion, dill weed, pepper and Beau Monde seasoning.  You add what you like: hot sauce, olives, cumin, lemon pepper, whatever.  Allow the spread to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours to marry all the flavors.

Now, here's where it gets fun.  Take that spread and go crazy!

• Serve the spread at room temperature with crackers

• Heat the spread up (nuking is fine) and serve with crackers or toasted bread rounds

• Create a healthier spinach dip.  Thaw frozen chopped spinach or use leftover sauteed spinach if you have it.  Squeeze it as dry as you can.  Mix it with an equal amount of cheese spread and a few good dashes of hot sauce.  Bake at 350 degrees until hot throughout.  Serve with toasted pita or tortilla triangles.  I like to cut up whole wheat tortillas and bake them until they're crispy.  A little spritz of cooking spray on both sides help crisp them up with almost no added fat.  I don't think you even need to salt them, but it's fun to sprinkle on salt-free spices before they bake.

• Make vegan shrimp toast.  Have you tried this Vegan Shrimp product from Vegetarian Plus?  I hadn't before, but they were a fun little experiment!  There are about 22 shrimp in a package, and the entire box is 280 calories and 8 grams of fat, but no protein.  To me, the texture is very shrimpy!  They don't have a fishy flavor as I expected, but instead they pretty much take on the flavors you add to it, kind of like mushrooms do, so season these guys up.

For your toast, saute the thawed shrimp in a pan with a touch of olive oil over medium heat for about 4 or 5 minutes, just until heated through.  I added lemon pepper and garlic salt while they were warming.  Kind of cute, aren't they?

You could use crackers, but I like toasted whole grain bread as a base for the shrimp toasts.  Just brush the bread rounds with a bit of olive oil and bake until golden.

Add a smear of your cheese spread to the toast, and top with a warm shrimp and a sprinkle of paprika.  Ta da!

• Toast up cheesy shrimp quesadillas.  Do you still have shrimp and cheese spread left?  Use it all up with this dish.  Roughly chop your shrimp and add to the cheese spread, along with some Daiya Cheddar and/or Mozzarella.  Don't worry about quantities; just add these ingredients to your taste.

I'm a spicy Texas girl, so I have to add peppers too.  I have a stash of roasted Hatch chilis in my freezer, so I thawed out one of those little babies, chopped him up very finely since he's a hot little bugger, and mixed him into the shrimp/cheese concoction.  You could use mild canned green chilis if you wish, and you could also add onions.

Spread a generous layer of the mixture onto one side of a tortilla (I like whole wheat), and fold over.  Cook in a little olive oil or vegan butter on medium low heat until toasty on both sides.  Make sure your heat is low enough to heat the filling throughout without burning the tortillas.

Cut into halves or quarters and serve with your choice of guacamole, sour cream, or salsa.

There you have it…one easy cheesy spread that very quickly becomes a variety of savory snacks.  If you're going to have a crowd or you're going to do several of these options, be sure to double, triple or quadruple the basic recipe.  Above all, have fun!

~BigSis

February 3, 2011

I wish I could take the credit for inventing this dip, because it's greatness. You have to understand; I love chips and dips more than almost anything so when I tell you a dip is greatness, I mean it's G-R-E-A-T-N-E-S-S!

I hear that Bob Armstrong dip originated with a Mexican food chain called Mattito's.  It's one of those off-the-menu items that everyone knows about and orders, so you know it has to be good.  Mattito's version starts with their cheese queso with a blob of ground beef plopped on top, along with a scoop of guacamole and a dollop of sour cream.  Then it's stirred all around and gobbled up with tortilla chips.

It sounds weird, but trust me, it's scrumptious.  At least the vegan version I make is, since I've never tasted the meaty original.

Let me give credit where credit is due…I found the recipe for vegan Bob Armstrong dip on the Dallas Vegan blog.  You start with a batch of vegan queso, which can be the tricky part.  There are a couple of good ones available online and at stores like Whole Foods, but I'm a me-do-it kind of a girl, so I follow the suggestions from DallasVegan.com and make my own.  It actually comes out fabulous; beyond what I ever expected.  But it gets even better…

Vegan Queso with Seitan Crumbles

Next, add a whole package of sauteed Upton's Naturals Ground Beef Style Seitan into it.  You can stop there, and be perfectly happy with an excellent vegan version of that Velveeta dip that is required at any Super Bowl party.  But don't stop!  Add a scoop of Tofutti Sour Cream and your favorite guacamole, either homemade or store-bought.  Stay with me!

Vegan Queso with Sour Cream and Guacamole

Something magical happens when you stir in the sour cream and guacamole.  You get an unbelievable creamy texture that makes the whole thing sing!  It's creamy and spicy and cool and hot and tangy and cheesy; all in perfect dippy balance!

The first time I made this concoction, I literally inhaled the whole bowl by myself, and I have to admit I was making the “nom nom” sounds that my cats make when they're really relishing their food.

Vegan Bob Armstrong Queso Dip

Bob isn't photogenic, but he's delicious!  I do have to confess that I could have taken a little more care in setting up these photos, but I was in too big of a hurry to eat Bob!

I conducted a highly-scientific experiment and took a batch of this to my carnivorous office, and guess what?  Voila, Bob vanished!  Try your own experiment at this year's Super Bowl Party, and take vegan Bob Armstrong dip along.  There's no reason to tell people that Bob's vegan now…until after he's in their happy little full bellies!  🙂

~BigSis

January 30, 2011

I can't believe that I've been vegetarian for almost 16-1/2 years to the day, and I've never even tasted Scrambled Tofu.  It always sounds and looks unappetizing to me: it's usually neon yellow from the turmeric, and it frequently involves green bell peppers.  Bleh.

I do love tofu though, and I'm making an effort to get more variety into my diet so it's time.  It's time to be brave and do this thing.  I think breakfast foods are awesome for supper, so this week's Sunday Supper is Scrambled Tofu!

I have several of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbooks…Appetite for Reduction, Veganomicon, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, Vegan with a Vengeance, and Vegan Brunch.  Isa hasn't let me down yet, so she had to be the source of my foray into all things tofu and scrambly.

I pulled out Vegan Brunch and followed her recipe for Scrambled Tofu.  It's essentially tofu with, garlic, cumin, thyme, turmeric and nutritional yeast.  The only add-in I used was a big blob of mushrooms that I'd already sauteed with lots of garlic.

I have to say I was VERY pleasantly surprised to discover that I love Scrambled Tofu!  I do!  It was savory and a bit spicy, and not mushy and bland as I had imagined it to be.  The only change I would make next time is to back off the salt a tad.  I love salt, but I think half the amount in the seasoning mix would be plenty.

I used Wildwood Sproutofu extra firm (sprouted tofu) that had been frozen, thawed and squeezed, which I think really contributed to the great texture.  I did add about half a cup of water at the end after the nutritional yeast went in, since it seemed a touch dry at that point.

Overall…delicious!  I will absolutely be making Scrambled Tofu again and again; for breakfast, brunch and supper!  I'm imagining it now with olives, spinach, Daiya cheese, asparagus, Upton's Naturals Seitan…

~BigSis

December 31, 2010

Happy new year!  LilSis and I love making appetizers, and there is no better opportunity for snack-crafting than New Years Eve and New Years Day!  My old Stuffed Mushrooms Italian recipe is a family favorite, and everyone loves it.  However, it's stuffed with meat and cheese so I haven't made it since I stopped eating critters almost 17 years ago.  It's time to veganize this baby!

This is a pretty easy recipe to veganize; I just substituted Tofutti cream cheese for dairy cream cheese, and sausage-style seitan for the pork sausage.  I think it came out pretty well, but I want to keep tweaking this recipe to see if I can elevate it from “delicious” to “ding dang awesome”!

Stuffed Mushrooms Italian Veganized

1 small shallot, minced
1 pkg Upton Naturals Italian Sausage Style Seitan
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko)
1/2 cup Daiya Mozzarella
4 ounces Tofutti Cream Cheese (1/2 tub)
Olive oil
Seasonings to taste: Italian Seasoning, salt, pepper, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, garlic powder
18 to 24 large mushrooms (depending on their size)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute shallot in a small amount of olive oil until softened.  Add seitan and sautee over medium low heat just until heated through; breaking it up with a fork.  When hot, add in the cream cheese and combine well.  Add the Daiya, breadcrumbs and seasonings.  Set aside while you prep the mushrooms.

Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel.  Rub with a bit of olive oil to keep them from drying out during baking.  Stuff with a generous amount of filling and bake until hot throughout.

Notes:

• I think I could reduce the amount of breadcrumbs, and perhaps eliminate them altogether since the dairy-free cheeses might bind the mixture together just fine.

• The filling is nice and creamy before it's baked, but the dairy-free cheeses tend to break down a bit and get less creamy as they're baked.  I'd like to try pre-cooking the mushrooms on the stove top or in the oven, and then add the filling so it cooks for less time.  I definitely want the mushrooms to be completely cooked since raw mushrooms have been found to be carcinogenic.

• This basic recipe is very customizable.  I can see adding chopped artichokes and black olives to the sausage for a tasty variation.

Happy new year, everyone!  Don't forget to have your blackeyed peas for luck and greens for prosperity.  Add a steamy pan of fresh cornbread and these mushrooms, and you have a delicous start to 2011!

~BigSis

October 18, 2010

Remember when President George H.W. Bush mentioned a “kinder and gentler” nation?  BigSisLilSis just celebrated our 2nd blogiversary, and those words “kinder and gentler” just seem appropriate as we think about year 3.

The last two years have seen us publish 607 posts, and we hope to continue at that pace.  We absolutely plan to keep posting with a positive attitude and message, and to keep talking about food, health, fitness, fun and anything else that interests those of us girls who are 40-plus.

What has changed in our worlds since we started BigSisLilSis in 2008?

• We're both focusing on things we can do around our homes to “Go Green”

• We both made a commitment to purge our homes of all products that are animal-tested

• After 16 years as a vegetarian, I went the rest of the way to vegan in January

• LilSis is having to learn how to eat a non-dairy diet

• Recycling has finally become a priority in my household

The result of these changes is a kinder, gentler, greener BigSisLilSis.   We feel like we're finding our voice; figuring out who we are and what is most meaningful for us to talk about.

What does that mean to our readers?

• We'll continue to share reviews of our favorite products, but we won't be reviewing anything that we know to be animal-tested

• Since we both go berserk when we find new beauty products that actually show results, we'll keep sharing our new discoveries

• You'll see BigSis' recipes here from time to time without animal products (you may have already noticed a few)

• LilSis will continue to bring you healthy recipes suitable for a family of hungry guys, but also try to adapt some to non-dairy recipes

• We're both extremely committed to exercise in order to stay healthy and fight the “mid-life, menopausal, almost inevitable, battle of the bulge”.  If we discover anything works for us 40-plus women, you can bet we'll share it!

• We talk about it all the time, but it's true that LIFE IS SHORT.  Too short to be negative!  As we discover motivational tools or reading that helps us stay positive and encouraging, we'll tell you about it asap!

• Our overall goal is to bring you information that will enhance your lives in a brighter, healthier, greener, more compassionate way.

Living this way is a daily learning experience for us, and we hope you'll give us your input along the way.  Thanks for joining us!

Photo credit: Ecstaticist

~BigSis

September 7, 2010

When BigSis initially told me at the beginning of the year that she had made the decision to become vegan, the first thing out of my mouth was “I think that's great, but HOW can you live without cheese?”

We've always been big snackers/grazers in our family. Growing up, we would almost always snack on some cheese and crackers late in the afternoon before SisMama would start on dinner. I can still remember the white cheddar cheese that our parents would bring back from their trips to Nebraska or our aunts and uncles would bring down to us when they came for a visit.

And when we would visit our Grandmama in the summer, a late afternoon snack was always a freezing cold, slushy, orange Crush soda or Dr. Pepper with a big ole' chunk of cheese! I think that was when I fell in love with cheese.

I obviously have some very fond childhood memories that revolve around cheese. So, why the walk down memory lane? Isn't that what you usually do when you're in mourning? I think that's exactly what's going on with me right now.

Some people, like BigSis, make the conscious decision to become vegan, which I happen to totally admire, but then there are those like me, who after 40 something years of eating cheese, are told that they can't have dairy anymore! That's not news that's easy to swallow when it's something that you enjoy as much as I do! 🙁

I've lived with a sensitive stomach my entire life and there are lots of things I can't eat; fried stuff, greasy potato chips, fatty meat, etc., but I've learned to live with that. This is going to be a little tougher. It took every bit of will power I had to not get into the gorgeous cheese tray that we had at our Labor Day party on Sunday!

But, after a few bad episodes, followed by a couple of doctors visits, a ton of tests, some medication, and process of elimination, it's been determined that I've become lactose intolerant. Even though it's not the news that I was expecting to hear, it definitely could have been something worse so I promise that I won't whine about it too much.

I'm now asking myself the exact same question that I asked BigSis about nine months ago. “How am I going to live without cheese?” I don't know the answer to that right now, but I do know that it isn't going to easy.

I've already discovered that low-fat vanilla soy milk isn't bad and Earth Balance buttery spread is actually quite good. BigSis has also given me a few suggestions for “faux cheese” but that's going to be the real trick; finding a veggie/soy cheese that actually tastes good. My first experiment over the weekend with the Trader Joe's soy mozzarella didn't really impress me.

I know there's medication you can take to ease the symptoms IF you do decide to eat dairy, but for now, I'm going to try to do without it completely to see how things go.

If anyone reading happens to be vegan or lactose intolerant, we would LOVE to hear from you if you've found any great cheese substitutes! 🙂

Photo credit from ayngelina's photostream

~LilSis

August 14, 2010

What if I told you I could make brownies without butter? Probably doable, right?

How about without eggs? Hmmm, getting trickier. How will you keep them together without eggs?

Now, what if I told you I made brownies with no eggs, no dairy, AND added blueberries! What?! Get outta here!

Using the Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownie recipe from Veganomicon, that's exactly what I did. And guess what? They're awesome!! I took them to the office and actually got good reviews. Even great reviews! And the comments weren't what you would expect: “I guess they're ok for healthy brownies, BigSis. Better than no brownie at all”.

Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownies

They're moist, they're unbelievably chocolatey, and you really can't figure out what's different about them. I guess blueberries have such a mild flavor usually, that the brownies don't scream “BLUEBERRY!!!!”

These guys have 3 chocolates (I used vegan), fresh blueberries, and a whole jar of blueberry spread. Plus the usual suspects: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, canola oil, vanilla and almond extract,

They aren't completely without guilt, but at least you get a little fruit with your chocolate.

~BigSis