Will Run For Mushroom Soup

As a child I loved Campbell's condensed mushroom soup.  It was an especially good day if your pork chops were baked in the oven with mushroom soup as opposed to the usual salt & pepper in the cast iron frying pan.  Things have changed a little since then.  Now, I don't eat anything with a face or a mother even if it is slathered with mushroom soup.

Mixed Mushroom Soup

(serves 4-6)

ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 portabella mushrooms thinly sliced soaked in 5 cups of warm water (reserve water for soup)

2 cups of crimini mushrooms thinly sliced

0.5 ounces of dried mixed mushrooms (I used a prepackaged mix of porcini, chanterelle, shiitake, portabella & oyster)

2 cooking onions chopped

3 cloves of local garlic roughly chopped

1/6-1/4 C of Bragg liquid soy seasoning (don't substitute soy sauce)

1/4 tsp chipotle chili pepper powder

Place dried mushrooms in 5 cups of warm water.  Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes.  Drain, reserving liquid.

Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add fresh rosemary and thyme.  Heat until herbs are fragrant (1-2 minutes).  Add two chopped cooking onions.  Cook until onions are lightly golden.  Add thinly sliced crimini and portabella mushrooms and cook for 5-10 minutes or until mushrooms are soft.  Add dried mushrooms.

Add 3 Tbsp unbleached flour and stir for approximately 1 minute.  Stir in 1/4 C of Bragg (or less depending on the level of saltiness you prefer), water and chipotle chilli pepper powder.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until soup has thickened.  You can either  serve with a sprig of fresh rosemary and thyme or blend with an immersion blender until desired consistency is reached.

Will Run For Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

I'm not sure why my cousins thought that ice-cream cake & homemade wine was a good idea but who was I to argue.  These are the same cousins that thought it would be a good idea (so I didn't exactly argue) to text a picture of a birthday cake and an inappropriate hand gesture to our cousin who forgot about his own cousins dinner.  Perhaps we shouldn't have let the cousin who had been drinking send the text....sorry Clare who knew J couldn't be trusted to type in a telephone number correctly.

So after too much ice-cream, wine, and a Sunday run I decided to skip out on mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and stuffing and instead make baked oatmeal with some of my favourite fall ingredients: pumpkin, cranberries and maple syrup.

baked pumpkin oatmeal with apple butter

oats, allspice, dried cranberries, cinnamon

soft silken tofu, vanilla, maple syrup, soy milk

30 minutes later baked oatmeal

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

ingredients

2 C old fashioned oats

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice 

1 C soy milk

1/2 block soft silken tofu drained

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/4 C dried cranberries

3 Tbsp local maple syrup

1/2 C canned (or roasted or boiled) pumpkin

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In your favourite corningware combine oats, dried cranberries, cinnamon & allspice.

In your blender combine soy milk, pumpkin, drained tofu, vanilla, & maple syrup.  Blend until well combined.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.  Allow to bake for approximately 30 minutes uncovered.

Top with apple butter, additional soy milk or maple syrup.  Maybe share with a friend.

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for pumpkin, cousins parties, and two very sleepy dogs.

Will Run For Pumpkin Scones

Last week was the last big run (18 kilometres but we'll pretend that it was 19) before the half-marathon which happens in a week (note to self stop eating ice-cream cake and start drinking water).  Last week I ran for pumpkin scones.

pumpkin scones & apple butter 

flour + oats + cinnamon + ginger + nutmeg + tumeric + cloves

pumpkin + oil + vanilla bean paste + maple syrup

add wet ingredients to dry

bake for 12 minutes at 450 F.

add delicious apple butter 

water your kitchen helper 

Spicy Pumpkin Scones

(10 scones)

ingredients

1 C unbleached flour

1/2 C wholewheat pastry flour

1/2 C old-fashioned local oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup  canned pumpkin or my favourite roasted hubbard squash

3/4 C soy milk (almond or dairy works too)

1/4 C olive oil

1/4 C local maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2  tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp turmeric

12 tsp unrefined sugar (to sprinkle on top of scones just before baking)

Preheat oven to 450 F. 

In a large bowl combine flours, oats, baking powder, salt, spices.

In a medium bowl combine pumpkin, olive oil, maple syrup & vanilla.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients.  Gently combine.  Resist the urge to over mix unless you enjoy shoe leather.  

Use your 1/4 C measuring cup to place batter on a baking stone.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake for  12 minutes. 

Top with apple butter.

Will Run For Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

sweet potato lentil soup

"Allium halitosis infinite" (garlic breath f-o-r-e-v-e-r)!  It's been a pretty busy day around here.  There were garlic incantations (Farmer picked 120 heads of garlic yesterday and she's suffering from Harry Potter withdrawals.  Those two things together make for some very lame jokes!).

Farmer: "I like to call this one daddy"

120 heads!

There was apple picking.

glorious apples from my parents' tree

Jeb: "She couldn't possibly mind if I just lick the apple"

Jeb: "She won't miss one little apple"

There were threats even after I offered to buy pace bunny coffee after our run.   Threats that included a bus (and the possibility of me 'accidentally' falling under the wheel) and a tank top that might have been red and might have had some sort of elasticity at one time (thankfully it went 'missing' this morning.  Now if someone could just hide her shorty shorts.)  

Then there was pace bunny soup.

PB makes this delicious sweet potato lentil soup.  PB's recipes are more of a guide than anything else.  If you are lucky she'll remember all of the ingredients.  It's more likely that she'll e-mail after you've already made whatever recipe you asked for telling you about a key ingredient that she forgot to include or an essential step in the recipe.

On that note, good luck!

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

(6-8 servings)

1 large sweet potato cut in small chunks

1 can of green lentils 19 oz (drained)

1 can diced tomatoes 28 oz

2 C vegetable broth

2 inch piece of ginger root minced

1 large onion diced

2 large cloves of local garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

*2 Tbsp chili powder

*pinch chipotlepowder

*2 Tbsp cumin

*2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1.  Warm olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onion, garlic and ginger over medium heat until onions are soft (5-10 minutes).  Add chili powder, cumin & chipotle powder and saute for approximately one more minute.

2.  Add potatoes, vegetable broth & diced tomatoes.  Simmer over medium heat until potatoes are soft (20-30 minutes).  Add drained lentils.  Add balsamic vinegar.

3.  Serve with sliced avocado and tortilla chips.

* adjust spices and vinegar to your personal tastes and add additional vegetable broth if you prefer a thinner soup.

Will Run For Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes

lemon poppy seed pancakes with maple syrup

When life gives you lemons make pancakes.  The temperature in my refrigerator is currently higher than the temperature in my house.  This is after the refrigerator repair person 'repaired' my refrigerator yesterday.  I am currently impatiently waiting for him to return.

My refrigerator is now filled with warm condiments, one limp head of broccoli, leaks, lemons and more condiments than any family could possibly need.

I thought about making a glorious lemon cake or loaf but decided that it was way too hot to use the oven and I was feeling just a little guilty about postponing my run (how am I going to run 21K if I can't drag myself outside to run 5?).

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

(6 medium pancakes)

ingredients

1 flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water)

3/4 C all purpose flour

1/4 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 Tbsp sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 C unsweetened soy milk (dairy & almond will work as well)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

9 thinly sliced pieces of lemon

1 Tbsp maple syrup.

1.  Mix flax and water let sit until it thickens (you can speed this along by heating the mixture in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or on the stove).  Add olive oil and lemon juice to flax mixture.

2.  Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add olive oil, lemon juice & flax mixture.  If you would like a thinner pancake add additional soy milk (1-2 Tbsp).

thick batter

3.  Thinly slice a lemon (washed and preferably organic....mine was not) and place in a bowl with maple syrup.

3.  Heat griddle over medium heat.  It's ready when you sprinkle it with water and the water jumps around.  Coat with olive oil.

4.  For each pancake use approximately 1/4 cup of batter.  Place one thinly sliced lemon on top of each pancake.  Cook until pancakes are bubbly on top.  Turn and cook other side until golden brown.

bubbly, puffed and dry around the edges

5.  Eat with copious amounts of local maple syrup or maple sugar!

lemons and maple syrup

Update: The temperature in the refrigerator is dropping!  I see fresh produce in my future.

pancakes?

pancakes?

Will Run For Local Vegetables & Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus

spicy sweet potato hummus

There isn't anything particularly exciting about hummus.  There is however something very exciting about giant oregon snow peas, garlic and zucchini from Spill The Beans Farm!  My favourite farmer weaselled me  into picking about 30 litres of peas (plus the 3 litres that I ate while in the field) with the promise of being able to eat as many peas as I wanted.  I was also lucky enough to leave the farm with two heads of local garlic and 2 zucchinis.  While all of these vegetables are delicious a little dip never hurt anyone.

hardneck garlic

giant oregon snow peas

farmer & her zucchinis 

Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus

( 2 1/2 C)

ingredients

1 19oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (nothing is more disgusting than bean slime)

1/4 C fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp olive oil 

1 clove local garlic

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp chipoltle chili pepper 

1/3 C mashed sweet potato (optional)

In your blender combine chickpeas, lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, garlic (I put mine through the garlic press first), cumin, chipotle, & salt.

Add mashed sweet potato.  Thin with extra lime juice if necessary.

Serve with seasonal local vegetables.   Garnish with chipotle chili pepper (sparingly) and fresh cilantro.  This hummus also tastes great in a wrap made with an ezekial sprouted grain wrap, sunflower sprouts, avocado, cucumber, and tomato.

If you are in the area check out the Eat Local Co-op stall at Market Square for peas, potatoes, & zucchinis from Spill The Beans Farm

Will Run For Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

peanut butter oatmeal dog biscuits with cilantro & rosemary

How much time have you spent this past week talking about dog treats, dog toys, dog feeding schedules, crate training, obedience classes, vaccinations?  If it is more than you care to admit this post is for you.  We've always been really concerned about what we feed our dog (I endured 3 months of making Jeb's dog food in the name of having a healthy happy dog.  There is only so much meat a vegetarian can take! He now happily eats Acana Lamb & Apple championpetfoods.com

Reading the labels of dog treats can be pretty scary!  So with the help of Dr. Khalsa's Natural Dog: A Holistic Guide For Healthier Dogs and The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur I made some dog biscuits (the same day that it was 28 degrees, there was absolutely no wind, and the air-conditioner wasn't working).

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Dog Biscuits

Ingredients 

1 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup oats (not instant I used Loon Song Garden oats)

1/3 C peanut butter (use a variety that only contains peanuts)

3/4 C just boiled vegetable stock or water

1/4 C chopped cilantro 

1 Tbsp dried rosemary (from Spill The Beans Farm)

Preheat oven to 300F.  Place baking stone in the oven.

In a large bowl combine pastry flour, oats and peanut butter.

Add just boiled vegetable stock.  Mix with hands until well combined.

Add fresh and/or dried herbs.

add herbs to dough

Roll.  Use your favourite cookie cutter to cut out shapes (dog bones, fire hydrants, etc.).  Alternatively you could roll the dough into tiny balls and flatten them to use as training treats.

roll and use your favourite cookie cutter

Bake on baking stone for approximately 25 minutes at 300 F.  Allow to cool before storing.

* I like to keep my dog treats in the freezer but they will stay fresh in a sealed container for 3-5 days.

finished product

Jeb approved

I am my mother (she has a dog 'photo shoot' almost everyday).  I can't pass up an opportunity to share some of my favourite dogs in action.

showers

dog wings

Will Run For Triple Ginger Crackle Cookie Ice Scream Sandwiches

Triple Ginger Crackle Cookie with Pumpkin Ice-Scream

I love everything ginger, everything cookie and everything ice cream!  I've reworked my favourite gingersnap recipe from Homemaker's magazine (don't ask) with some help from Jae Steele's Get It Ripe From Around Here  and Mama Pea from peasandthankyou.com .

I won't lie. I was half expecting the cookies to either turn out like cardboard or a mushy mess.  I figured worst case scenario I would just eat the dough out of the bowl (what isn't there to love about molasses, three kinds of ginger, and brown sugar?) or freeze it and add it to my pumpkin ice scream.  Luckily the cookies were delicious!

TRIPLE GINGER CRACKLE COOKIES
Makes 24 + 3 (the ones that you need to taste test)

Ingredients

1/4 C crystallized ginger (finely chopped)
1 Tbsp fresh ginger (finely chopped)
2 C whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 earth balance (or butter/margarine)
1/2 C demerara sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 C granulated sugar ( I used Camino Golden Cane Sugar) * save 1/4 C for rolling
2 Tbsp molasses (fancy)
1 flax egg (equals 1/4 C)
1/4 C pureed pumpkin (I used canned pumpkin)

Preheat oven to 350F

In a medium sized bowl (save your biggest bowl for the wet ingredients) combine flour with baking soda, ground ginger, finely chopped fresh and crystallized ginger, cinnamon and salt.

In a separate bowl beat Earth Balance with brown sugar and 1/2 C of granulated sugar with an electric mixer (if you have one) until smooth.  Add molasses, pumpkin and flax egg mixing until also smooth.   Placing the bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes makes it much easier to roll the cookies into balls.

Place remaining granulated sugar in a large shallow bowl.  Form small dough balls (eat one of two or maybe three).  Roll balls in sugar.  Place on cookie sheets (I used a baking stone that I preheated in the oven).  Flatten with a fork or your hand.  Place about 5 cm apart.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Enjoy soft chewy goodness!

finely chop ginger

finely chop crystallized ginger

make sure there are no ginger clumps...hot!

add dry ingredients to wet ingredients

roll balls in granulated sugar

remember to flatten with fingers or fork

oh my goodness!

If you manage not to eat all of the cookies ice-scream sandwiches are the next step. 

 PUMPKIN ICE-SCREAM

(2 large servings)

I mostly just throw everything in the blender until it "looks right" (said in my grandmother's voice) but here is a tasty recipe.

Ingredients

*2 C frozen pureed pumpkin

2 C soy, almond or dairy milk (I use So Nice Unsweetened Soy)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg (I used freshly ground)

1 tsp allspice

2 tsp vanilla paste (or use vanilla bean or worst case scenario vanilla extract)

**2 scoops PC Vanilla Soy Protein Powder (optional)

Blend everything together in your blender.  Blend, blend and blend some more until it has the consistency of soft serve.  Whatever you do make sure there are no pumpkin chunks because that's enough to send anyone over the edge.  Or you could make sure that there are chunks and then you'll never have to share again.   I like to add 1 3/4 C milk and then add the last 1/4 C as needed.  Elbows out and enjoy! 

 If you are making ice-scream sandwiches it can be helpful to place the ice-scream in the freezer for 10 minutes or so until it firms up.  You can store these tasty treats in the freezer for a few days if you wrap them in wax paper.

* I freeze pureed roasted pumpkin in silicone muffin cups in 1/2 C portions.

** If you choose not to use the protein powder you might want to add maple syrup or molasses as a sweetener or use a sweetened soy milk or add a very ripe frozen banana. 

Pumpkin ice-scream on it's own

blend

save some for ice-scream sandwiches

hide in freezer behind frozen tempeh

Will Run For Rhubarb Crumble Muffins

Last week I ate the most delicious rhubarb cake at my granny's house.  When I called her this morning for the recipe she reminded me that it was important that I follow the recipe EXACTLY.   In other words no whole wheat flour, no yogurt, lots of sugar, etc., etc. 

     I recently decided that I want to eat less eggs and dairy.  More specifically, I want to eat less eggs and dairy in delicious vegan baked goods that I can enjoy as a treat every now and then.  Poor Granny has had to endure sawdust cake and shoe leather muffins on more than one occasion so I understand why she was a little apprehensive.  She just doesn't appreciate black-bean brownies and chocolate avocado mousse the way that I do.

While these muffins do include wholewheat flour and yogurt I think even your Granny will enjoy them! 

Rhubarb Crumble Muffins

MUFFIN

1 1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour

1 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 C diced rhubarb

Combine dry ingredients thoroughly.  Add diced rhubarb.

1 C vanilla soy yogurt (you can also use 1 cup of soy milk, cow's milk, almond milk + 1 Tbsp lemon juice )

3/4 C demerara sugar (or regular brown sugar)

1/2 C olive oil

1 flax egg*

2 tsp vanilla bean paste (you could also use vanilla extract)

In a separate bowl, mix well together.   Stir in dry ingredients until just moistened (over mixed will lead to shoe leather).  Fill greased muffin tins two-thirds full (I used both aluminum and silicone muffin tins).

CRUMBLE

1/4 C demerara sugar

1 Tbsp Earth Balance (or butter or margarine of your choice) 

2 TBSP rolled oats (not quick cooking.  Personally I like LoonSong Garden's rolled oats)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp flour

Combine and sprinkle on top of batter.  Bake in preheated oven at 375F for 20 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool on wire racks for 5+ minutes.

Eat leftover batter and crumble.  Yum!

rhubarb from backyard

diced rhubarb

add rhubarb to dry ingredients

mix diced rhubarb with dry ingredients

combine sugar, yogurt, oil, flax egg and vanilla bean paste

crumble

sprinkle crumble on batter

bake for 20 minutes or so

Sunday run + muffins = awesome 

They passed the test of a family barbecue!

* About flax eggs.  I can't lie.  My flax eggs reminded me a bit of making slime with my kindergarden class last year but they  work so that's all that really matters right?  Before you decide to follow my advice on how to make flax eggs I  must confess to once telling 25+ CSA customers that it was a great idea to place their wet salad greens in a pillow case and swing the pillow case around several times until there wasn't any water left.  When I tried this myself ( in an old and fairly worn pillowcase) after sharing my tip in a weekly CSA newsletter  I ended up with MUD ALL OVER THE ENTIRE KITCHEN.  So use at own risk.

FLAX EGGS

1/2 C flax seed (either whole or briefly pulsed in the blender)

3 C water

Bring to boil in a small sauce pan.  Simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently (you really do have to stir otherwise you are going to have burnt slime that is fused to your pot.  Don't ask how I know this.).  Strain slime from flax seeds.  1/4 C slime equals one egg.  You may find that you don't have to simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.  It was much easier to separate slime from flax when I didn't let it simmer nearly as long (also don't ask how I figured this out). 

whole flax seed

bring to a boil.  simmer until slimy.

strain slime from flax

Like I said use at own risk.  Or you could always just use 1 T of ground flax + 3 T of warm water.  But that would be easy.