VeganMoFo Day 6 - Mushrooms and Onions

I've posted videos before from Great Depression Cooking and it's resident Depression Cooking expert, Clara Cannucciari. This morning I awoke to find a new one posted for one of our family's fave easy and cheap meals - Mushrooms and Onions.



I cringe every time I see her cutting something in her hands like that! She must have some callouses built up on those thumbs of hers.

Unlike Clara, I would never drown those 'shrooms in so much oil but would make mine in my handy-dandy non-stick skillet. And I would never think to add tomato sauce to the pan. I think one 8-ounce can of no-salt-added tomato sauce would do the job quite nicely for a whole package of portobellas (4 caps per package) and one or 2 nice-sized Vidalia onions.

As for the bread, I've been making my own Italian bread for years now using the same recipe I use for my pizza crust.

Mmmm, looks like I may be hitting the grocery store later and have a new dish to make for dinner tonight instead of pasta. Thanks, Clara!

VeganMoFo Day 5 - Vegetable Pizzas

I promised to post recipes safe for McDougallers and so I will. With over 1000 of Mary McDougall's recipes posted right on their own web site I'm sure she doesn't mind if I spread the word and post a few more here. :)

This is a very simple pizza recipe that can be made up in minutes. You can substitute whole grain English muffins instead of pitas if you find one McDougall-legal.

My family isn't a fan of pita pizzas, or English muffins pizzas either. A pizza isn't a pizza without a platter sized crust, and I usually make my own oil-free whole wheat pizza dough every week, although occasionally the guys insist we order from Domino's. I know it's a McDougall no-no, especially since they reformulated things and the crust itself is loaded with oil and cheese flavoring.

Up until a few months ago, the last time I had pizza from Domino's I was still in high school in the 1960's when our family stayed in a campground in rural Connecticut for a week and it was raining every day and we kids needed a reward for not killing each other. I live in urban NJ in a city where there are as many family-owned pizzerias as there are bodegas, newspaper stores, taverns, barber shops - a typical 1950's town stuck in time. There was no need to buy processed pizzas, not when the real thing was being made by an Italian immigrant just down the block. The whole city smelled of oil (We were a refinery town) and oregano! Pies were so delicious back then! Even though many of the same pizzerias are still in business today, being run by either the same person who was there in the 1960's or their kids or grand-kids, the pies just aren't the same. The pies are smaller, made with different flour, cheaper sauces, spices, and other ingredients. Some even subscribe to a servie that brings ready-made dough and jars of sauce right to the restaurant and the bakers only have to open a plastic bag and grab a ball of dough, open the lid on a plastic container of sauce, and toss things together. No more home-made tomato sauce simmering lovingly on the stove all day.

Back in the old days, if you asked for a pie without cheese you got funny looks and a lecture (in broken English) on how without the cheese it's no longer a pizza pie (Think of Poppie in that episode of Seinfeld),

(Darn! Embedding of the clip is disabled, but you can see it HERE.)

but you got what you asked for. Now, many local places charge extra to hold the cheese because it's now a special order, and because they all add "secret ingredients" in their crusts you have no idea what you're ingesting. It's much safer - and healthier - to just make your own.

Or order the Kabuli whole wheat crust from Dallas Bakery that Mary McDougall recommends. There's an email link on the store's web site. I don't know if this is sold in stores or not - I've never seen it. I know Boboli also sells a whole wheat version of their crust, too, but besides palm oil they also have dairy products in the crust.

Whew! For a person who doesn't have much to say about this recipe I sure said a lot! On with the recipe. And don't be so shocked - as late as 1997 Dr. McDougall was allowing soy products such as vegan cheese. They were as greasy then as they are now.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Vegetable Pizzas

Recipe By :Mary McDougall
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:15
Categories : Low-Fat Mc Dougall
Pies Vegan

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 whole wheat pita breads
1/2 cup water
1 onion -- sliced and separated into rings
1 green bell pepper -- chopped
2 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon garlic -- minced
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup soy cheese -- grated; optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut each pita bread along the sides and split into 2 circles. Place the inside up and bake on a nonstick baking sheet for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, place 1/4 cup of the water in a saucepan with the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 6 minutes. Combine the cornstarch with the remaining 1/4 cup water. Stir into the vegetable mixture and cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat.

Spread the vegetable mixture over the pita halves. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired. Bake for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Source:
"The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook"
Copyright:
"1997"
T(cooking):
"0:12"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving: 117 Calories; 1g Fat (7.8% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 177mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Vegetable; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : You can make these pizzas with fat-free flour tortillas. The flour tortillas will bake in 3 to 4 minutes.


Sue's note: No nutritional info given for the soy cheese, so be sure to add it in for whichever brand you're using. Nutritional information shown is for one slice/half a pita bread

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

VeganMoFo Day 4 See The Link in this Post

While I decide what I'm going to do next, go visit The Veggie Gal and her post devoted to those doctors promoting no added fat vegan food plans, like Dr. McDougall and Dr. Barnard.

As for today's food, I'm eating leftovers while my guys load up on pasta. I still have some of that Longevity Soup so that's my dinner, and for lunch I'll nuke up a bowl of veggies and add some leftover plain brown rice from Tuesday. Breakfast will be my usual old-fashioned oatmeal nuked up with some frozen berries.

Just from three days of eating regular (hearty) meals at dinner time I've already gained 4 pounds. That's what happens when I eat more than 1000 calories a day. It looks like I'll be heading back to very plain foods and Jeff's SNAP meals and ease off on the starches and calories that go with them.

Maybe I should look over the Rice Diet once more, at least until my own doctor gets my thyroid med dosage regulated and I can stop gaining weight again. My dose has been doubled twice in the last 6 months and I know it'll have to go up more when I get my next labwork done in December.

Possibly Dropping Out of VeganMoFo

There's a lot of talk going on about how we should NOT be posting recipes from other people's cookbooks for our VeganMoFo posts but should be posting recipes we devised ourselves. Since the most exotic recipe I ever developed consisted of opening a can of this and dumping in a jar of that, this kind of leaves me in a lurch.

I guess today's recipe might the end of VeganMoFo for me.

VenabMoFo Day 3 - Hash Browns

Hash Browns tonight. Traditionally, my guys have theirs with a jar of pasta sauce, a diced onion, and a few cut up hot dogs. To this my son sometimes adds Parmesan cheese. I've made this a number of times with vegan versions of these things and he knows and disapproves. Oh, well, I tried make it healthier.

For me, in a different non-stick pan, I put the taters and onions, sometimes a handful of garlic cloves, dry-fry 'em, and add about a half cup of nooch to my half a bag of Ore-Ida hash browns. Sometimes I add some ketchup when eating them, but these are usually perfect as-is.This much makes 2 breakfasts or lunches or one really filling dinner when served with a salad.

Tonight, the kid will have his traditional ones, but hubby and I will have ours the way I always make mine, plus this on top instead of ketchup for a change:


* Exported from MasterCook *

Red Bean Sauce

Recipe By :Mary McDougall
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:12
Categories : Low-Fat McDougall
MWLP Vegan

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup water
1 onion -- chopped
1 red bell pepper -- chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic -- minced
15 ounces canned red beans -- in sauce; oil-free
2 tablespoons green chiles -- canned; chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce -- vegetarian
dash tabasco sauce -- to taste

Place the water in a medium pot. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic.

Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients.

Cook, uncovered, for about 9 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Source:
"The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook"
Copyright:
"1997"
T(cooking):
"0:12"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving: 128 Calories; 1g Fat (3.8% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 530mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Serving Ideas : Serve over potatoes, grains, or toast.

NOTES : You can buy ginger and garlic ready for use in small bottles in the fresh foods section of the supermarket. Use in recipes calling for fresh garlic and ginger root.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

I always skip the soy sauce to keep this as low in sodium as possible. Knowing my husband, he'll also add a hefty portion of Daiya cheddar to his portion.

More Pics - Longevity Soup

Just playing with the camera Sunday, trying out different settings.

Longevity Soup ingredients using Jeff's Fab Five SNAP Ingredients

Tomatoes - a box of Pomi chopped

Veggies - a 2 pound bag of store brand mixed frozen veggies plus some frozen diced onion PLUS a half cup frozen kale (Gotta have dark leafy greens!)

Starch - about 2 cups hash brown potatoes

Beans - a can of chili beans - mixed pinto, kidney and some other bean. No sauce, just beans.

Spices - Italian Herb Mix from Penzey's Spices. Not shown but liberally applied - roasted granulated garlic




The finished product. I should be finishing it off for today's lunch. If not today, then definitely tomorrow. It does make a lot of soup, even for big eaters like us.

VeganMoFo Day 2 - Tahini Vegetable Sauce

This one comes from the DVD entitled Jeff Novick's Fast Food. Super simple, and someone who already tried it said it tastes just like Annie's Organic's Goddess Dressing.

This dressing (Annie's) is so creamy, so tasty, so addictive, that I put a special request in to Susan V (She of the Fat Free Vegan mailing list, web site and blog) to develop a healthier version of it, and she came up with Susan's Lite Goddess Dressing, which is good but not the same as Annie's. I'm hoping that this one of Jeff's will be closer to the original.

Remember when I said it's "super simple?" All you do is take equal amounts of tahini (Yes, Jeff allows tahini! Rice cakes - no; tahini - yes. Go figure.), lemon juice and water and put them in a blender and give it a whirl.

That's it!

I'm going to make our usual Tuesday dinner of brown rice and veggies - broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix for my husband and myself, peas and carrots for my son. The kid will sprinkle some soy sauce on his; my husband usually drowns his with the stuff, but he said although he really doesn't like creamy sauces he'll try a bit of this stuff. Of course I'll only use this tahini sauce.

I hope it's a hit. I really miss my Annie's. I just have to check the date on my can of tahini - it's been so long since I last used it (a year or so?) that I might have to toss it and get a new supply. In the DVD Jeff uses plain old bottled lemon juice. Yay! I always have that around. So much easier and cost effective than having a drawer full of fresh (Ha!) lemons! Produce around here has been awful for years, and the last time I bought lemons they were all hard as a rock and turning brown before one week was out. Gimme bottled lemon juice any day.

VeganMoFo Day 1 Mexican Layered Casserole

This recipe is form the McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook, and although it's a family favorite I haven't made it in at least a year because I was really trying to lose some weight and started to eat more simply.

Be sure to read the hints and recipe notes to explain how this was made friendlier and healthier than the recipe software's nutritional info says it is.

Because I'm a lazy cook, when I make this I usually just open a jar of McD-safe low sodium pasta sauce instead of going the home made enchilada route. Many times I also just use about a cup of frozen red/yellow/green pepper strips instead of a fresh green pepper.

I might also make cornbread to go with this, too. The recipe for that follows the casserole. I once wrote and asked what size canned creamed corn she uses and it was the 8 ounce one.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Mexican Layered Casserole

Recipe By :Mary McDougall
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:30
Categories : Beans Casseroles
Main Dish Vegan

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup water
1 medium onion -- chopped
1 medium green bell pepper -- chopped
1 clove garlic -- minced
15 ounces canned kidney beans -- drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
4 ounces canned chili peppers -- chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cups enchilada sauce
12 corn tortillas -- softened
4 green onions -- finely chopped

1. Sauté the onion, pepper and garlic in water in a large saucepan until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add beans, corn, rice, tomato sauce, chilies, chili powder, and cumin, stirring to mix well, and heat thoroughly.

3. Preheat oven to 350º

4. Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce at the bottom of a 13" x 9" casserole dish and pour the rest of the enchilada sauce in a large bowl.

5. Dip 4 tortillas, one at a time, in the sauce and layer them in the casserole dish. Spread half the bean mixture over the tortillas, then repeat, finishing up with the last 4 tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and spread evenly. Garnish with the chopped green onion.

6. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes, and allow to rest uncovered at least 5 minutes before serving.

Source:
"McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart - page 351"
Copyright:
"1996"
T(cooking):
"0:40"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving: 369 Calories; 15g Fat (34.2% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 10g Dietary Fiber; 37mg Cholesterol; 826mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Vegetable; 2 1/2 Fat.

Serving Ideas : Serve with salsa.

NOTES : You can dramatically cut the calories by using a fat free enchilada sauce. All the fat and 140 of the calories in this recipe, according to MasterCook, comes from the store-bought sauce.

Here's one from the McDougall's themselves, posted by Puddy to the original McDougall forum on VegSource:

This is from The McDougall Quick & Easy
Cookbook, page 221. Reworded by me. (Puddy)

Enchilada Sauce

Makes 2.5 c
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 5 mins

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
1.5 c water
2T cornstarch
1/8 t garlic powder (I use more of all spices)
1/4 t onion powder
1.5 T chili powder

Dissolve cornstarch in water. Add to pot with
all other ingredients. Mix well, heat and stir
until desired thickness. Recipe doubles well.
Just remember to double all the spices too
(I know this from experience!)

I like to dip baked corn tortilla chips in this
sauce when I haven't made any salsa. The sauce
refrigerates and heats up well.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


Frying the veggies .................... Ready for the oven



LoriM's Cornbread

1 cup self-rising cornmeal mix
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or other flour)
1 can creamed corn
1/4-1/2 cup soy milk (or rice milk) to batter consistency

I wipe the inside of a seasoned 9" cast iron skillet with a paper towel moistened with vegetable oil (in lieu of a fat free spray). Mix the four ingredients, and bake at 400° F for about 25 minutes until brown. Serves 4. Doubles well, but bake in a larger pan.



The finished product (Sorry about the brightness. I'm still getting the hang of the camera). After the pic was taken my husband grabbed the Daiya and smothered the top with yellow cheezy goodness.

Why Do I Even TRY?

I showed my husband the proposed menu and grocery list for this coming week, and he walked me over to the fridge opened the door, and pointed out containers of leftovers of 3 of Jeff's SNAP meals. He then opened the freezer to show me a few more. In other words, he's sick of SNAP meals.

sigh

Yet he asked me to make a pot of "that delicious tomato soup" today, what he calls Jeff's Longevity Soup.


sigh again

I have no idea what I'm cooking this week. All I know is tonight for dinner I'm eating leftovers of Jeff's Pasta Primavera from Thursday and some soup that's been simmering on the stove all day. As for tomorrow, well, your guess is as good as mine. It could be anything from Mexican Lasagna to Two Bean Mexican Delight to some more leftovers. Stay tuned.

Ouch!

While making up my grocery list for this coming week I was struck by how much more I would be spending to follow those recipes by Mary McDougall compared to the SNAP recipes by Jeff Novick that I've been making these past few months.

Mary uses a lot of little things that I don't usually have on hand, like rice wine vinegar and canned sprouts.

She calls for produce that's deemed exotic in these parts, like bok choy and Napa cabbage. I hit 4 different grocery stores and 2 produce markets yesterday and not one even heard of those last 2 items.

Other times she calls for using items that I've avoided for decades because of their sodium content, like canned red beans and rice (480 mg per 1/2 cup serving) and soy sauce (last time I used the lower sodium stuff my blood pressure shot up to over 200/100 - NOT good!).

Now I remember why I really haven't done many recipes in this book.

So, although I may toss in a recipe or 2 from this book as the month goes on, the main focus of this blog for VeganMoFo will now be Jeff Novick's SNAP recipes. I made out a new grocery list using a handful of those, and it's all available in my main grocery store AND much friendlier to the wallet. It'll still be a fun month, and introduce some of you to a very knowledgeable and funny guy.