Archive for December, 2008

Vegan Matzoh Ball Soup

Dec 21, 2008 in Clunkers, Cookbook Recipes

In honor of Chanukah, and the first day of winter, Jane made the matzoh ball soup recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. This is the second time she's made this recipe. The first time, the matzoh balls disintegrated.  The recipe suggests refrigerating the matzoh ball mixture one hour to overnight.  We were both excited about the soup and so, after the hour was up, Jane made the balls and then the soup.  What we got was not-so ball soup, or rather a gelatinous mess at the bottom of the soup bowl.  That was very disheartening as we both loved matzoh ball soup in our pre-vegan life.  We'd been rather hopeful about this recipe since many people have expressed real enthusiasm over this recipe.

Fast forward to yesterday in the grocery store.  Jane grabbed a box of matzoh meal.  I asked what she was planning on making with it.  She replied, "I think it's time to try the matzoh ball soup again."  This time she used extra firm tofu and refrigerated the mixture over 24 hours.  (We decided the previous failure was due to the 1 hour refrigeration.)  As they were cooking the matzoh balls floated; they sank when we removed the lid from the stock pot... as expected.  But even though the matzoh balls held together, we were both unimpressed with the taste.

Over time, I've learned there are just some things you can't veganize.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining... perhaps that would have been a complaint last year when I was trying to acclimate to my new way of eating.  But over this last year and a half, Jane and I have discovered some really wonderful dishes we might never have tried otherwise.  I'm just not sure we'll be trying to veganize matzoh ball soup any time in the near future.

Anyway, we wish a happy Chanukah to all of our readers who are celebrating tonight.

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Fit Fruit And Vegetable Wash

Dec 18, 2008 in Product Reviews

I have to admit, I'm not the target demographic for this type of product. Jane's tried to beat it into my head that we need to wash things before we eat them, but I'm a guy, and when I want to eat something, I simply want to eat it.  Washing things tends to get in the way.  However, the vendor contacted us and asked us if we'd like to review Fit Fruit and Vegetable Wash.  Since at least 75% of what we eat is produce, Jane thought it would be worth a test run.

The website and instructions claim you'll notice a marked difference between the produce you wash with Fit and the produce you rinse off in the sink.  Our experience didn't hold that to be true for most things we tried.  However, as I've mentioned before, we buy almost all of our produce at our local farmers market, and most of that is organic and/or spray-free.  So I'm not sure how much residue would be removed anyway.  We didn't find a significant difference when washing supermarket apples however, and that was a bit disappointing.  Jane is torn.  We know that the skin of apples has cancer-inhibiting properties, but there is usually a significant coat of something (wax?) on the skin, so we often eat our apples peeled.

We did notice a huge improvement using Fit on our citrus peel.  If you use the zest of lemons, limes or oranges in your cooking/baking, this product does a great job getting the waxy coating off the citrus rind.  I tried to capture before and after images, but it's too subtle for the camera.  The results are quite obvious in real life though, the rinds felt cleaner and weren't as shiny as they had been prior to washing.  We also had success using fit when washing blackberries.

Fit is easy to use.  You either spray, rub and wash for individual items, or add a capful to a bowl of water and soak things like berries, mixed greens, or cauliflower. Using the product, we noticed no aftertaste, no smell, no residue.

All in all, I can't say I agree with all the advertising claims made by Fit Fruit and Vegetable Wash, but I do see a place for it in our pantry.

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Vegan Kabocha Squash Soup

Dec 17, 2008 in Janes Originals
Wintry Squash Soup

Wintry Squash Soup

It's been unseasonably cold here in So Cal.  There's snow to 3,000 feet.  Which means, when the rains stop and the clouds clear, we'll see lots of snow on all the mountaintops around here.  I might actually know, visually, that it's winter here!

Tonight, we had the perfect winter fare, a hearty soup that Jane concocted, and brown bread from our old standby Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites (veganized, of course).  The soup was so good and filling I almost didn't have room for my salad!

Anyway, here's Jane's recipe for Kabocha Squash Soup

  • One Kabocha Squash
  • 2 Acorn Squash
  • 2 Tbs Olive Oil
  • 1 medium sweet onion, diced
  • 6 Cups vegetable broth
  • salt to taste
  • 3-4 vegan sausages cut into slices
  1. Wash the squash.  Cut into quarters.  Remove seeds.  Then place on roasting pan (lined with Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat and place in 450°F oven for 30-45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and allow squash to cool to room temperature.
  2. Once squash has cooled, scrape flesh from rind.  Add olive oil to stock pot.  When oil is heated through and bottom of pot coated, add onion and sautee until soft and just beginning to brown, 5-10 minutes.  Add squash to stock pot, and mash with potato masher. Slowly add vegetable stock, making sure to mix thoroughly. Heat through.
  3. You can leave the soup "lumpy" which is more reminiscent of a stew to me. Or you can puree the soup with an Immersion Blender. (If you don't have one of these and you make soups, you should really consider getting one. It's so much easier than trying to divide the soup into batches and run it through the food processor!)
  4. Follow the directions to prepare your sausage.  Once "cooked" (some products won't need to be cooked, they can simply be added directly to the soup), slice sausage.  Add to soup.  Heat through.

Jane used Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausage.  Personally, I find them way too spicy, even added to this thick soup.  I think their smoked apple sage variety would work very well here.

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Snips And Snails And Puppy Dog Tails

Dec 16, 2008 in Animal Rights

I was having a discussion with a co-worker today.  She's getting a puppy and she's so excited she's already picked out his name.  This sounds rather reasonable (fun even), until we get to the part where she mentions she doesn't know when she'll be picking him up; she's buying her dog from a breeder.  She wants a male dog and there are only females in this litter.  The best male puppy is already spoken for in the next litter, so it's possible she'll have to wait until spring.  I guess those are the joys of buying from a breeder.

Turns out she's not alone.  Our soon-to-be Vice President, Joe Biden, just got himself a German Shepherd puppy from a breeder.  He's got "the pick of the litter."  (Source: CNN.)

I don't understand.  With all the loving animals stranded in shelters, why do we need breeders at all?  Sure there are some breeds that are more "desirable" than others.  I understand that Labs are one of the most family friendly dogs you can get.   If you have to have a particular breed, why not consider a rescue rather than a puppy?  Tens of millions of "pets" are destroyed in the US annually.  Buying an animal seems like a waste to me.

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