Vegan MoFo Day 30: Bread colored with the blood of my enemies...

OK, so maybe that's not exactly vegan. Let's just call this "Beet Bread" and not ask too many questions. With a tiny amount of veganization, this is from Rosalie Hurd's Ten Talents (1968):

In a blender combine:

2 c cooked beets

1/3 c agave (I want to try sorghum molasses, next time)

2 1/2 c cooking liquid from beets

Pour the results into a mixing bowl and add:

1 T salt

1/2 c oil

1/2 c ground flaxseed

2 T dried parsley

1/2 c soy flour

5 c whole wheat flour

Separately, mix:

2 1/2 T yeast

1/2 c warm water

1 t agave

Allow the yeast mixture to sit for a minute or two. Then, combine with the rest. Gradually mix in:

5 c white bread flour

(I found that it did not take the full 5 cups - more like 4, really. It will depend on many factors, so you have to go slowly and let the dough take what it needs, but no more.) Knead thoroughly. Rosalie says 5 minutes, but I think more like 10-15 is appropriate.

Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise. Mine rose really quickly - doubled in less than an hour. Divide into loaves. Rosalie says 4 to 5, and I got 4 loaves from the batch. Place in greased pans, cover, allow to rise again. Bake at 375 F for 40 - 50 minutes.

The result is a slightly sweet, slightly herbal (from the parsley), soft and pleasant bread. The household Beet Hater pronounced the beet flavor undetectable.

Happy MoFo everybody!

Vegan MoFo Day 24: The Protose Chronicles, Part 2

After the disappointments of my previous adventure with homemade protose, I decided to try again - using a more recent recipe involving gluten, from Linda & Milton Mahabee's A Vegetarian Cookbook & Better Living Guide (1985).

Their recipe calls for:

4 c raw gluten

2 c peanut butter

2 medium onions, grated

1 c water

1 T salt

(I made the gluten by stirring up 4 parts vital wheat gluten to 1 part chickpea flour with enough water to make a firm dough, continuing to add to it until I had 4 cups.)

Mix the peanut butter with onions, water, and salt. Gradually work in the gluten, using your hands. You do not want it perfectly combined. Place into a greased double boiler, and cook forever. The Mahabees imagine that you will be making this in greased soup cans, and cooking about 3 hours. I made a big block in the double boiler, and it took more like 4 1/2 hours. Also, the above recipe was enough to fill my double boiler twice, so you might want to cut it in half unless you have a huge double boiler.

Results: a firm, sliceable, yet somewhat crumbly block. It doesn't really taste like seitan, mostly because the peanut flavor dominates. It is suitable for a sandwich, but our favorite use was chopping and baking it with bbq sauce. I like it fine (especially as bbq!) but I doubt I'll make it again due to the cooking time. I wonder if I could bake it? Even if it took a long time in the oven, I wouldn't have to continually top up the water in the double boiler. More to explore...

Bonus MoFo: Tapioca Fruit Soup

I'm making this a bonus post, as it comes from a cookbook published in 1991, too recent to be considered retro. However, the book in question (Of These Ye May Freely Eat by JoAnn Rachor) is very much from the same Adventist ethos as Rosalie Hurd, the Mahabees, the County Life Cookbook, etc. It's also a damn useful little book. If you are living without a jar of her powdered vegan cheese sauce, you need to change that.

Pictured above is her fruit soup: tapioca cooked in fruit juice, and then combined with a variety of fresh, canned, and dried fruits. We first noticed this recipe about 10 years ago, and have been making it regularly ever since. I won't give you the recipe here. You can find it online if you search, but you should spend the $2.99 (!!) and buy the book.

Vegan MoFo Day 20: Soya Yeast Sandwich Spread, Mmmmm.....

One of Rosalie Hurd's Ten Talents was obviously not creative recipe naming. Soya Yeast Sandwich Spread? Really, Rosalie? Who's going to buy that? Or maybe she was keeping it a secret, so there would be more left for her. In any event, don't let the name steer you away, as the spread is really good. Here it is, in all of its 1968 glory:

First, you have to make her recipe for Soya Starter. This makes a lot more than you need, but she uses it in a number of recipes.

1 c soy flour (you can toast it first, if you want - 15 min at 350 F, stirring occasionally)

2 1/2 c water

1 t salt

Blend everything together, and then cook in a double boiler for 90 minutes. Refrigerate until completely cold before using.

To make the spread, combine in a food processor:

3/4 c soya starter, as above

1/4 c oil (she says soy, safflower, or corn - I used olive)

1 - 2 T lemon juice

6 T nutritional yeast flakes

1 1/2 t onion powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 - 1/2 t turmeric

Process until super-creamy. Scare other people away with the name, while enjoying it all by yourself. I ate half the batch with toasted struan (see photo). It is great on crackers, and would make a super spread on an avocado or tofurkey sandwich. Also, I can see it as a base for mac-n-cheeze or broccoli casserole, or poured over steamed asparagus.

Vegan MoFo Day 18: A "foreign dish" with Rosalie Hurd

Rosalie Hurd must have been fond of Italian food, as "Italian" recipes (some of which definitely deserve the scare quotes) have their own section, apart from the rest of the "foreign dishes" in her 1968 cookbook, Ten Talents. I was tempted by the caponatina - which I gather is the same as caponata, but with everything chopped small enough to spread on bread. I may have chopped too large to be technically caponatina, but so goes a lazy evening after work.

Rosalie's original recipe made approximately one metric ton, so I cut it down a bit, and made it fit the ingredients I had on hand. It was a very pleasant fate for the last of this year's eggplant avalanche.

2 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 small bunch celery, chopped
5.75 oz jar chopped green olives
3.5 oz jar capers (I used the big ones)
1 small onion, chopped
1 t salt
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 t granulated garlic
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c fresh lemon juice

Salt the eggplant and leave to drain for a few minutes. Toss with just enough of the oil to coat, and place on a baking sheet under the broiler. Turn regularly until all sides have browned. Set aside.

Mix everything else except the lemon juice and simmer until the celery and garlic soften - see shadowy November photograph above. Remove from heat and stir in the eggplant and lemon juice. Serve chilled with Italian bread.

Vegan MoFo Day 17: Ackee and Spaghetti

Today we tried another recipe from Linda & Milton Mahabee, A Vegetarian Cookbook and Better Living Guide, 1985. If you have never tried ackees, they are a real treat - and shockingly similar in texture and appearance to scrambled eggs. It is almost impossible to find them fresh in the United States, but Caribbean markets will carry them canned in brine. (Nashvillians, I bought a can this morning at K&S World Market on Nolensville Road.)

With a few slight adaptations, here is the Mahabees' recipe:

19 oz can ackees, drained

14.5 oz can tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)

1 clove garlic, chopped (I used two)

2 scallions, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

thyme to taste

2 t oil

1/2 t onion powder

1/2 - 1 t salt

Saute the garlic, scallions, bell pepper and thyme in the oil until soft. Then add tomatoes and cook a few minutes. Finally, stir in the ackees, onion powder, and salt. Go easy with the salt. The ackees are usually packed in brine and can bring a lot of salt into the sauce. Serve with spaghetti.

Vegan MoFo Day 15: Okra Patties

A couple of years ago, a coworker of mine gave me a Caribbean Adventist cookbook: A Vegetarian Cookbook and Better Living Guide by Linda & Milton Mahabee, published in Jamaica in 1985. I haven't used it much, but I recently noticed the okra patties recipe, which is really more of a description/idea than a formal recipe. It may not look like much, but this is one of my favorites from this month of retro-veg recipes.

The Mahabees start with fresh cooked okra. As okra is out of season, I took a bag of frozen sliced okra and steamed it in the microwave for a couple of minutes to thaw it. Mash the okra with a potato masher. Big chunks are fine. You just want to break up the slices. Gradually mix in enough flour (oat and/or whole wheat - I used some of both) to be able to form patties. It will still be sticky and somewhat loose. Add salt and seasonings of your choice, to taste. I used the All American Seasoning Mix from American Vegan Kitchen. I think a Cajun spice mix would be great, too - or you could stick to the Caribbean theme and use the Bajan Seasoning in Caribbean Vegan.

With wet hands (so the mixture does not stick to you), form patties and place them on an oiled baking sheet. Spray the tops with a little oil, and bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes until crispy. Easy and completely delicious!

Vegan MoFo Day 5: Millet - Pumpkin Seed Patties with Cashew Gravy

As many readers of this blog surely know, the Seventh-day Adventist Church encourages (but does not require) a vegan (or vegan + honey) diet. I have quite a few Adventist cookbooks, and you can check out currently available ones via the Adventist Book Center. One of my oldest Adventist books is Ten Talents by Rosalie and Frank Hurd, from 1968. It has been hard to find in the past, but is now back in print.

I wanted to try a recipe I've never made before, and picked the millet - pumpkin seed patties. These just happen to be soy-free, gluten-free, and completely delicious. We will definitely make them again.

4 c cooked millet

1 c cooked brown rice

1 c raw pumpkin seeds, ground fine

1/4 c cashew nuts, ground - or cashew butter

3 T oil

1 t salt

1 t onion powder

1 t sage

Mix everything together, form patties, and fry. These patties want to stick, so you need a well-seasoned or non-stick skillet, thoroughly heated, with enough oil. The Hurds say you can bake them, but I haven't tried that. They are nice and crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside. You can sprinkle them with paprika if you want more color. The Hurds suggest serving the patties with their Cashew Milk Gravy, which is both easy and tasty:

2 c water

1/2 c cashew nuts

2 T arrowroot

2 t onion powder

2 T oil

1/2 t salt

Blend thoroughly until completely smooth. Cook in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking, until thick.

VeganMoFo Day 8: SDA Appreciation Post

I'm sorry the photo is sideways. I've been fighting with flickr and blogger, and it won't rotate. I give up. Anyhow...

I am sure that the first intentionally vegan meal I consumed was during one of several childhood visits to the Country Life restaurant which was formerly located in Nashville. (The building is now an Adventist-run whole foods co-op, at least the last time I checked.) My mother, while a confirmed omnivore, was interested in health food, and Country Life was near the old Sunshine Grocery.

Country Life was run by members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which encourages but does not require a veg*n diet for its members. This "health message" has a number of theological roots. For example, in the Bible, God gives only plant foods to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with no instruction to eat meat until after the Flood. Thus, one might conclude that a veg diet is the original divine intent for humanity. Also, as our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, we should care for our health, and the veg diet is healthy. If you are interested in Adventist views on these matters, there are a number of books by early SDA leader Ellen White which explore the subject. Those who enjoy cold cereal might note that John Harvey Kellogg was an Adventist vegetarian. These are the people who brought us corn flakes! If nothing else, the Adventists are a reminder to the rest of the veg community that people eat veg*n for a wide variety of reasons, including conservative religious reasons.

My great-great-grandfather was a Seventh-Day Adventist, and I like to think that he would be pleased with my dietary choices, although he might not approve of some of my other views!

The Adventists are a great resource as they run restaurants, food co-ops, and bulk buying clubs, often in areas that are not so veg-friendly. Their church bookstores frequently have a section with pre-packaged veg foods and cookbooks. Despite the fact that I am not Adventist (a fact which is probably quite clear from my appearance), I have never met anything other than friendly helpfulness in their stores in both New York and Tennessee.

SDA cooking tends to be down-home, comforting, and nourishing. Think gravy and veggie loaf and casseroles. This is what you need after a long day of weeding the kale and picking the okra on your vegan homestead. The famous and useful Magical Loaf Studio on Jennifer McCann's website is a computerized version of a flexible veggie loaf formula often given out at Adventist cooking classes. Of course, Adventist cuisine continues to evolve, and new directions can be seen in books like the Seven Secrets Cookbook by Neva and Jim Brackett. There are also some wonderful SDA veg bloggers out there.

If you are new to SDA cooking, I suggest starting with the Country Life Vegetarian Cookbook. No vegan can go wrong with this classic. You can explore further in the cookbook listings at the Adventist Book Center and Country Life Natural Foods. If you happen upon any older Adventist cookbooks in a used bookstore, snap them up! They give a fascinating look into the veg cuisine of an earlier era, and you might find yourself whipping up a batch of protose while remembering those who were veg before us!