Vegan cookbook with a twist

Yes, I have a new vegan cookbook. There are two things I just can't get enough of -- cookbooks and dishes. Shoes are a close third, of course.

I am very impressed with "Vegan on the Cheap" and I am very impressed with Robin Robertson's cookbooks overall. I thought when I ordered it, that it would be the same recipes as in her other cookbooks, but in each book you find great new material.

The subtitle, "Great Recipes and Simple Strageties that Save You Time and Money" really does describe what "Vegan on the Cheap" is all about.

I think I have mentioned before that I like vegan recipes rather than vegetarian recipes because I don't want to use cow's milk in recipes and vegetarian recipes almost always include cheese and often eggs and are often as loaded with as much fat as the non-vegetarian variety. Vegan recipes usually are much lower in fat, or at least saturated fat.

This new coobook does have recipes for no-milk "cheeze" sauce and no-milk sour cream and quite a few of the expensive ready-made products you get in the grocery store health-food section, (like homemade veggie sausage, bean burgers, tempeh, seitan and more) but Robertson explains how you can make them at home for a considerable savings.

Her strategies help you save money while eating vegan and she tells you how to skimp on some vegan food items and explains why there should be no skimping allowed on others. She has "cheapskate" ideas and some alternative recipes that can take the place of regular foods, like "cheapamole" instead of guacamole -- a recipe where peas are used instead of avocado. Since I am not a fan of peas, this might not work for me, but then it might get me to eat my peas and save me some serious money, if I try it -- so I think I will!

There are menus and cheap meal alternatives, healthy things and fast recipes. I am sure I will benefit from this book. I am very happy with it and feel it was a very good buy from Amazon, listed at from $5 to $12, plus a little change.

I just love cookbooks!

What a difference a day makes

Things can change rather rapidly when working with seed and plants. I was amazed this past weekend just how rapidly they do change with our Roma tomatoes. My sister had planted the seeds in pots filled with potting soil and I snapped a photo with my camera, just as she was saying how worried she was about them. Then the next day ...

I took this photo of the same Romas with my cell phone camera. I think it is amazing how they sprouted and grew in just one day's time. Amazing. I think we will have enough Romas, if they continue to grow as they did in that one 24 hour period.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Sugar Cookies

Today I want to introduce you to a wonderful mom, Brooke Gunton. I think she is remarkable because she found that her children needed to be on a special gluten and milk-free diet. For most mothers that would be an impossible task because the American diet is mostly wheat and milk. You can buy some treats in the health foods section or at specialty stores, but they are very expensive and most often not very appetizing.

Brooke has gone the extra mile, time after time, to make sure her kids have the same things the other children have at school. These cookies, pictured above, were some she took to school this past Valentine's Day. They look wonderful, were a big hit and above all, they were very delicious.

I think Brooke deserves an award for being a great mother and a great cook. Here is her recipe.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Holiday Lemon Sugar Cookies
(Makes 36 cookies)

Lemon extract makes these cookies burst with flavor. The dough holds up to any rolling pin.
1-1/4 cups Mary’s All-Purpose Flour Blend
1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch

1/2 cup potato starch (not potato flour) 

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter or dairy-free substitute, softened

1 cup sugar
1 egg or egg-free substitute

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon gluten-free lemon extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients. Set aside.
3. In the large bowl of a mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat for 3 minutes until mixture is a pale yellow.
4. Add in egg, vanilla extract and lemon extract.
5. Add dry ingredients, slowly mixing until dough forms. Place bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
6. Remove half the dough and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use star shapes or other cookie cutters to cut out cookies and place them on prepared cookie sheets. Re-roll scraps of dough. If dough becomes too sticky, chill again. Repeat with second half of dough.
7. Bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes until light brown. Remove and let cool thoroughly before handling and decorating.

Royal Icing

1-1/2 cups confections’ sugar
1 large pasteurized egg white or powdered egg white mixed with water to equal
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free lemon extract
Food coloring

1. Beat sugar and egg white with electric beater.
2. Add lemon juice and lemon extract and beat until ingredients are incorporated.
3. Separate icing into small bowls and stir in a drop or two of different food coloring, as desired.
4. Chill icing until you’re ready to decorate cooled cookies. Spread icing on cookies, as desired.

Each cookie with icing contains 125 calories, 5g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 19mg cholesterol, 79mg sodium, 19g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, 1g protein.
TIP For egg-free icing, replace egg white with 1½ teaspoons egg replacer mixed in 4 teaspoons warm water. Add mixture to sugar and proceed with recipe, as instructed.
Note: Gluten-free egg replacer is available from Ener-G Foods, ener-g.com.

Mary’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend
(MAKES 6 CUPS)

A combination of white and brown rice flour lightens the texture of baked goods. For a more nutritious mix with lower glycemic index, use all brown rice flour, a total of 4 cups flour.

2 cups brown rice flour

2 cups white rice flour
1/2
 cup potato starch (not potato flour)

2/3 cup tapioca starch/flour

Mix ingredients together. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until used.

Each serving contains 564 calories, 2g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 4mg sodium, 127g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 7g protein.

Quick garden update

Last week our garden really grew. Here are a few garden views to keep you updated on our progress. We are itching to get some summer vegetables in, like squash and cucumbers, but we are a little worried about frost. I do think, when it is dry enough on a day we can till, we will be able to get some summer crops into the ground.

The greens are looking good. They may be a little too thick but growing.

I think after the rain of last night that our lettuce will take off.

I am amazed that our potatoes have done so well this early. We will plant some later, but I didn't expect them to grow this well.

We are very proud that we have some spinach. It doesn't look like much yet, but we have not had any that looked this good in the last several years, so we are very happy.

The red cabbage is much bigger than the green. I am surprised by this. I don't know why.

And we have broccoli! I don't know how much or how good it will be. The heads don't look very tight, but we are happy it has come this far.

Looks like we need to weed. If this was our summer garden we would be mulching to avoid weeds, but I don't know about mulching so early, just to plow it under in a few weeks.

That's it. The rain will make a big difference.

Milk- free Vanilla Cream Cake

Last week i made a cake for the lactose-intolerant members of our family. We didn't expect it to be so good but it really was. The consistency of both cake and frosting isn't quite as creamy as my whipping cream version, but this cake was very good and it worked when I added gel food coloring, so I was very pleased.

I started with my regular recipe, sans milk and I must say it is hard make the cake fluffy without the buttermilk. The texture is not quite as good but it is the original version but acceptable. The cake didn't rise as high as usual. Disappointing, but acceptable.

The frosting was good and I was a bit surprised that it turned out as well as it did. You must use the canned coconut milk and refrigerate it for at least 8 hours so that the milk and water separate. Then you use only the solid and store the coconut "water" plus the leftover "milk" to use in another recipe. It only takes about a half cup, or less, of the coconut milk for the recipe. For frostings like this one, I like to add milk slowly to the mixture because the humidity in the air will make a difference to the recipe. Add slowly, a teaspoon at a time for best results.

There was a slight coconut flavor to this version. I like it and everyone who tasted it thought the flavor was good and weren't troubled by the coconut milk taste. Coconut oil and milk are a good alternative because even though they are a saturated fat, they are better for you than the saturated fat from butter and heavy whipping cream that I usually use when making vanilla frosting.

I also didn't expect to be able to decorate this cake but it held the coloring and didn't run. I am hoping to work with this recipe to see if I can make it better by adding some other ingredients. I would love to make this without eggs with a good consistency, so I will be working on it for our next birthday.

What did people think? Starting with my husband -- he loved it and said he couldn't tell the difference between this and my original recipe. The lactose intolerant reported that it was good and no stomach problems occurred as a result.

Here's the recipe with no milk and plenty of flavor:

Vanilla Layer Cake (Milk-free)

1/2 cup coconut oil
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup almond milk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix coconut oil and sugar until well-blended, add eggs and beat until they are well-mixed and mixture is creamy. Add 1 cup of flour and half the milk. Mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl and blades of the mixer. Blend a few moments longer and the batter will be ready for baking.

To prepare the pans, cut parchment paper to fit the bottoms of two round nine-inch cake pans. Spray pans with cooking spray, insert parchment paper and divide batter between the two pans. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until cakes are done. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Cream Frosting (Milk-free)

1 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 can coconut milk, chilled for at least 8 hours so that milk separates, a full can will not be used.
2 pounds Confectioner's sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
Gel food coloring

Mix margarine and Confectioner's sugar. Add 1/4 cup of the solid coconut milk and the sugar. Add remaining coconut milk a spoonful at a time and whip until mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost cake and use the remaining for decoration, if desired. Add gel food coloring for the desired color and pipe onto cake using a decorator's bag.

Tips for cooking the perfect egg

Here's a tip about boiled eggs. With Easter around the corner, I think it is almost time to cook up a big batch of boiled eggs to decorate.


My husband can boil the perfect egg. He practically has it down to a science. Unless I use his method, my eggs come out dry or even underdone, but if we want to have eggs done just right, we leave it to him.

His method is very easy. Put the eggs in a saucepan. Generously cover with water. Turn the burner on high and turn the timer on for fifteen minutes. If you want you eggs really done, add a minute. Leave the pan uncovered.

When the timer goes off, pour off the boiling water and cover with cold water. As soon as the eggs are cool enough to hold, crack them well all over, and beginning on the small end, peel off the shell and the inner membrane. Rinse them, and they are done. (My friend, Kim peels them under running water. This helps with stubborn shells.) A little salt and pepper and they are yummy.

I think that is a very easy method. His eggs come out perfectly cooked and not in the least dry

Occasionally, one of the eggs might crack while boiling and that egg will not be as good as the others. To avoid this, use a pan that is a good fit for the number of eggs you are cooking to prevent the eggs from moving around, bumping against one another in the boiling water. That is the only caution I need to give about this method. I like to cook one more egg than I need, especially when cooking a large number of eggs for decorating or making deviled eggs.

Also, be sure to store the decorated eggs in the refrigerator. If they are out for a prolonged length of time, it would probably be best if they weren't eaten. When we were children, we didn't seem to worry about this but I think our eggs might have been fresher back then. My family kept chickens, especially in my earlier years, and our eggs were always fresh. I don't know how long it takes these days to go from farm to market, but this could effect the final product. I think that is why it is best, to be careful with even shelled, cooked eggs.

That's about it. I don't know where he learned to boil eggs, but I am so glad he did.

A beautiful special publication

A couple of days ago, my friend Angela showed this copy of Organic Farm & Garden, she found at the bookstore, and asked how I liked it. Without reservation, I told her I absolutely loved it. She then said, "Good, because I bought it for you." I was thrilled of course, because this is not only a lovely, beautifully-designed publication, but is filled with great information about gardening organically.

One of the most interesting tidbits of information I have read so far is that before World War II, everyone farmed organically. It was later that chemical fertilizers and soil supplements were invented. It made me think that scientific advancements are wonderful, but you do have proceed carefully. Just because it is new doesn't mean it is environmentally good, but I am digressing.

There is so much good information in this publication, plus 7 mouthwatering recipes I need to check out. I liked the soil information and the recommendations for fertilizers. I am still reading about composting and I hope the information on pests is good. I really need help there.

I quickly decided I would love a subscription to this publication because it was so informative but unfortunately, it is only a special publication from Hobby Farm Magazine. They also have a number of other publications that are interesting but they don't focus on organic gardening or farming. I am going to try the Urban Farming Magazine and I am interested in Hobby Farm but I hope Organic Farm & Garden catches on because I would love to have a subscription to a magazine like this one.