Curses! Foiled Again!

The thought of 31 days of soup didn't leave my husband too enthused. "Don't we wake up enough overnight to pee as it is?!?!" was his reaction. And I kinda agree. This post-menopausal bladder can't handle any liquids after 4pm as it is, and adding a soup meal on top of that is just asking for trouble. Right now we've been restricting soup meals, even the hearty ones, to the occasional weekend lunches. So no month of soup for VeganMoFo.

I have a few ideas up my sleeve right now, and one in particular is jumping up and down saying Pick ME! Pick ME!! I have to look over my AZZ Cardfile and Mastercook database to make sure I have enough recipes to cover the month before I commit. Well, we don't officially commit to anything, just toss it out there, really.

I guess you'll all find out in another 10 days. I promise it'll be good and very McDougall-friendly.

Soup (minus the grease) is the Word

Sorry if I got anyone's hopes up for potato recipes, but I decided I needed to eat a bit lighter nowadays and figured soup is the best way to do so, so my theme for the 2012 VeganMoFo is going to be McDougall-safe soups. If I make a special loaf of bread to go with the soup I'll include that, too.

Instead of Monday through Friday my recipes will cover Sunday through Thursday, as every Friday we have pizza and every Saturday we have pasta with tomato sauce. I've written about those meals in previous MoFo's so I won't bother at all with them this year unless I make a special pasta or pizza dish. Another day I won't be posting is my birthday, because I'm not cooking that day but having take-out Chinese. We rarely order out so what may be a weekly occurrence for many of you is a feast treat for us. I'll probably write more about this when the time comes.

Now if anyone wants one of those potato recipes I mentioned in my other post just drop a reply to either this or that other post and I'll post it.

VeganMoFo Is Coming in October

For those new to the blog, every year the Post Punk Kitchen site & forums sponsors what is affectionately known as VeganMoFo - Vegan Month of Food, loosely inspired by NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month. If you look at the links to the left you'll see links to previous VeganMoFo participants. I've participated the past few years and always did a McDougall foods theme, and this year is no different.

But this time I'd like to get more specific. So many people on the McDougall forums do a round of Mary's Mini and many use potatoes

as their starch.I once made of list of all the potato-centric recipes I have in my AZZ Cardfile and MasterCook programs and believe me, there are more than enough to cover a 31 day month!

Key to the below list: CP=CrockPot, e2l=Eat to Live/Nutritarian, MMI=McDougall Made Irresistible DVD , SNAP=Jeff Novick's Simple Nutritious And  (Oh, gee, I can't remember now)


Here's the list I'll be choosing from:

List of Potato Meals

MasterCook

Potato Casserole
Potato Casserole - MWLP Version
Potato and Bean Soup
Potato and Cauliflower Curry
Potato Chowder
Potato Curry
Potato Enchiladas
Potato Kugel
Potato Medley
Potato Mushroom Casserole
Potato Peppers
Potato Ratatouille
Potato Rice Medley
Potato Stuffed Cabbage
Potato Zucchini Stew
Potato Pea & Couscous Hash
Potato Cauliflower Soup
Potato Leek Soup
Philly Potato Chowder
African Peanut-Potato Stew
All-Wrapped Potatoes
Cauliflower Potato Curry
Cheezy Potato Boats
Chili Potato Soup
Chili Taters
Chili/Cheeze/Potato Casserole
Chunky Vegetable Stew with Chickpeas
Colcannon
Country Potato Patties
Country Stew
Country-Style Stuffed Potatoes
Creamed Peas & Red Potatoes
Creole Potatoes
Cuban Potatoes
Curried Vegetable Stew
Dijon Mushroom Potatoes
Easy Roasted Potatoes
Eggplant Stew over Baked Potatoes
Forty Cloves Chickpeas and Broccoli
Frijole Stuffed Potatoes
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Hearty Dal Soup
Hearty Potato Vegetable Curry
Irish Bean Stew
Irish Peasant Stew
Irish Vegetable Stew
Italian Potato Casserole
Jan Tz Minnesota Hot Dish
Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans
Marilyn's Crispy Potatoes
Mark's Veggie Spuds
Mashed Potatoes with Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy
No Hurry Vegetable Curry
No Fuss Potato Soup
Red Flannel Hash
Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Shelly's Cheeze Please Soup
Shepherd's Vegetable Pie
Skillet Gradener's Pie
SNAP Curried Indian Potato Stew
Southwest Red Potatoes
Southwestern Hash
Spicy Lentil Potato Stew
Spicy Potatoes, Cabbage & Peas over Rice
Stovetop Stew
Succotash Soup
Tex-Mex Potatoes
Texan Vegetable Casserole
Twin Sisters Vegetable Soup
Veggie Hot Pot
Yukon Gold Potato Soup with Roasted Garlic & Red Peppers
Yukon Stuffed Peppers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AZZ Cardfile
from the Cheap McD Newsletter:

Simple Split Pea Soup
Stovetop stew
Garbanzo Stew
Potato Pancakes
Potatoes, Corn & Cabbage
Mike's Favorite Quick Meal
SNAP Curried Cauliflower
SNAP Curried Potato Stew
SNAP Curried Potato Stew 2
SNAP Curried Split Pea, Potato, Broccoli & Veggie Soup
SNAP Potatoes & Veggies in Tahini Sauce
Potatohead's SNAP
Minestrone Soup (Mary's 1 Pot Meals)
Costa Rican Potatoes & Beans (1 pot meals #2)
Beefless Stew
Carrot Cabbage Medley
7-Layer Casserole
Harvest Bake Casserole
Layered Veggies Casserole
McDougall Right Pie
Pat's Husband's Casserole
Potato Casserole
Potato Dumplings, Sauerkraut & Brown Gravy Casserole
Rice & Tater Hot Bowl Casserole
Tater Tots Casserole
Cauliflower Chowder
Cauliflower Kugel
Any Cheeze Sauce over baked, mashed, chunked, HB or tots
Colcannon Puffs
Corn & Potato Chowder
CP Pizza Potatoes
CP Veggie Stew a'la Sandy
CP Autumn Veggies
CP Easy CP Winter Stew
Creole Potatoes
Lentil, Potato & Cauliflower Soup
e2l Tomato, Vegetable Pot Soup
Potato and Red Bean Goulash
Layered Casserole
Lori's Sausage Casserole
Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes & Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes Enchiladas
Mashed Potato Manicotti
Mashed Potatoes, Baked Beans & Corn
MMI Hearty Split Pea Soup
MMI Potato Chowder
MWLP Letha's Potato Carrot Soup
MWLP Stovetop Stew
New Brunswick Potato Soup
Pea & Potato Croquettes
Pepper Flecked Potatoes & Lentils
Pepper-Potato Casserole
Poorman's Pie
Pot Roastless Potatoes
Potato and Carrot Stew
Potato & Corn Chowder
Potato Burritos
Potato Cabbage Soup
Potato Casserole
Potato Cauliflower Kugel
Potato Croquettes
Potato Dish
Potato Dumplings with Sauerkraut & Gravy
Potato  Cabbage & Onion Casserole (potao ideas)
Potato Kugel 2
Potato Latkes
Potato Medley
Potato Pancakes
Potato Portabello Gratin
Potato Puffs
Potato Spice Mixes - use with roasted potatoes
     Roasted
    Herbed
    Chili Fries
    Cheese Fries
Potato Tacos
Potato Vegetable Soup
Potatoes Corn & Beans
Creamy Scallopped Potatoes
Fry Baked Potatoes
Meatloaf-esque Potatoes
Southwest Twice-Baked Potatoes
Pizza Style Potatoes
Potatohead's Pot of Potatoes
Poutine a'la PPK
PPK Potato & Black Bean Soup
Roasted Garlic & Potato Soup
Samosa Pot Pie
Samosas
Sandy's Mixed Mashed Spuds 1
Sandy's Mixed Mashed Spuds 2
Sandy's Pizza Potatoes
Sandy's Scallopped Potatoes
Skillet Garden Potato Medley
Skillet Peppered Kale & Potatoes
Skillet - Super Quick Succotash
Skillet Taters & Cabbage
Skillet Veggie Hot Pot
Alphabet Soup
Autumn Chowder
Bistro Broccoli Chowder
Can Can Soup
Corn Lima Chowder
Creamed Cauliflower Potato Soup
Gypsy's Potato Soup
Minestrone Soup
Potato barley Soup
Potato Carrot Soup
Potato Corn Soup/Chowder
Potato Kale Soup
Quick & Easy Potato Soup
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Roasted Garlic Soup
Split Pea Veg Soup
Split Pea (with changes)
Thick and Hearty Split Pea Soup
Velvet Garlic Soup
Velvety Carrot Soup
Cheezy Broccoli Soup
Mary McD Low Energy-Dense Soup
Spinach Potato Soup
Lazy Sunday Stew
Potato & Red Bean Goulash
Roasted Veg Stew
Stovetop Stew
Tater Tots
Vegan Cheezy Potatoes
Three Sisters Corn Chowder
Twice Baked Potatoes with Hummus

Easy Way to Peel A Potato

I really should make room in my freezer for some ice cube trays so I can use this method instead of peeling all those spuds first!

Dr. Esselstyn has a DVD Out!

I first saw this mentioned on the McDougall forums, then checked out the details on VegSource and Amazon.com, and found it to be the same price in both places - $54.90. VegSource gives free shipping but I have Amazon Prime and get free shipping there, too, so will most likely order it there.

I already have a DVD of Dr. & Mrs. Esselstyn taken during their appearance at a McDougall Advanced Study Weekend back in 2005   and hope this contains either new material and if it's the same, presented in a different way. And I love Anne's cooking demos so how bad can it be, right?

Engine 2 Farm2Forks Immersion Photos

I found this slide show on another blog, a person who had attended this Engine 2 Farms2Forks Immersion weekend. Looks like they had chilly weather there! I was thinking of attending the one this coming August at the Esselstyn family farm in upstate New York, about 33 miles away from where I live, but OUTDOORS in AUGUST?!?! Not me! Not with my asthma, especially this summer, when we've had a number of 100º PLUS days already in June and July! Now if they had an *indoor* venue . . .

Looks like they had a great time, though.

Here's Rip explaining what they do at an Immersion:

Ginger Peanut Tofu Salad

In my last post I mentioned I'm making that Cheezy Kale Soup to go with sandwiches for today's supper. I guess it would help if I also showed you where to find the sandwich filling recipe.

The  Ginger Peanut Salad is form Julie Hasson's Everyday Dish TV web site.

You can find the video of Julie making it on YouTube:

This will be my first time making it so I can't comment on it. I just figured it's quick, easy, and COOL for this hot July day. I'll be serving it on whole wheat Kaiser rolls with Romaine lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Knowing my husband he'll also be very liberal with the sriracha sauce.

Cheezy Kale Soup

I found this recipe during my web roaming. It's tagged Eat to Live and low-fat, but with that cashew nut butter it's certainly *not* that!

I made this Saturday and ate some for lunch then and Sunday and will finish it off today. Here's the main recipe, as printed in this blog:

http://wholefoodforthewholefamily.blogspot.com/2011/01/cheesy-kale-soup.html

"Cheesy" Kale Soup

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup yellow split peas
1 onion, chopped
1 cup white button mushrooms
2 cups carrot juice
15 ounces no-salt tomato sauce
1 1/2 pounds kale, tough stems and center ribs removed and leaves coarsely chopped
1/4 cup cashew butter
1 teaspoon nutritonal yeast

Instructions:
In a pressure cooker
1. Cover yellow split peas with about 2 1/2 cups of water and cook on high pressure for 6-8 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients except cashew butter and cook on high pressure for 1 minute.
3. Release pressure and blend soup with cashew butter.
4. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast before serving.

To make without a pressure cooker:
1. Precook the split peas until soft.
2. Combine cooked split peas with all remaining ingredients except cashew butter.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until kale is tender (about 15 minutes).
4. Add water as needed to achieve desired consistency.
5. Stir in cashew butter.
6. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast before serving.

---

My changes:

I used a bit more mushrooms because that's what I had left in the box. It was almost 2 cups.

The tomato sauce came out to 16 ounces, as I used 2 small cans of no-salt added sauce.

Instead of fresh kale I used half a bag of frozen. It's a one pound bag, so half a pound of cooked/blanched kale.

Skipped the cashew butter but used about 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, as we like things cheesy here.

This is one delicious, creamy soup! So what if it was 90º outside, this soup was worth it! And because it was made in the pressure cooker it didn't really heat the kitchen up that much, either. I forgot to take a photo of it fresh and warm, so this pic of it cold in the Rubbermaid container will have to do:

DH didn't want any over the weekend, but I plan on making it again today to go with tonight's sandwich supper. just to use up the other half bottle of carrot juice, so he'll get a taste of it then. He'll see what he's been missing out on.

He did make one comment on it when he first saw it. If you ever saw the Kevin Bacon/Fred Ward creature movie Tremors,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100814/
you'll know the scenes he compared this soup to. For the rest of you, consider yourselves lucky you don't know.  

If you DO want to know, watch this video (you may want to mute it - the song is annoying) and the scene it at 1:16

But don't say you weren't warned!

Who Does Dr. McDougall Influence?

I love this new video from Jeff Novick about Dr. McDougall:

Bean Burgers ARE Paradise

Jeff Novick has a new DVD out for the making of healthy vegan burgers based on beans. I pre-ordered it in mid-March and it was FINALLY shipped in early May.




The day it arrived 2 weeks ago, when I was still feverish and hubby was just starting the coughing with this darn flu, I made my first batch. Quick and easy and they were on our plates within 10 minutes from draining the can of beans.

Hubby and I are still coughing, more than 3 weeks after this darn flu started in this house, but at least we've been able to have quick, healthy burger dinners as a break from the pasta or rice bowls I've been able to put together after dragging my butt out of bed for a few minutes in the afternoons. Maybe by next week I'll have enough energy to spend a bit more time in the kitchen. But for now, these burgers are literal lifesavers.

The Nelson twins Nina and Randa, Jeff's helpers in his 2 videos - not the *other* Nelson twins, Gunnar and Matthew, sons of Rick Nelson - are currently in Hawaii on vacation, and with the help of their brother made a music video praising these burgers, called Burgers in Paradise:

Now I have another song acting as an earworm! At least it helps drown out the tinnitis hiss that's been a constant companion. Thanks, girls!