Vegan Ambrosia

Lunch today was leftovers from last night's dinner: sweet potato gnocchi with home-made seitan , broccoli, and garlic, in a vegan alfredo sauce .  This batch of seitan turned out a little different - the spices were 1/2 tsp each finely powdered garlic and onion, and a pinch each of sage and cumin.  I added maybe a tablespoon extra of wheat gluten and kneaded it twice, letting it rest between and after.  Instead of pulling off chunks, I sliced it as thin as I could, so that the pieces more closely resemble cutlets.  I'm going to try this seitan in a sandwich next.

I have no photos on this one; it's simply a note about a realization.  I have beet juice about once a week for its cleansing qualities (whatever that means).  Really, it's because Boston Organics keeps putting them in my bin, and I'm too lazy to figure out how to cook them.  Also, while I've had delicious beet dishes in adulthood, it's hard to disassociate beets in my mind from the slimy, vinegary canned version. At any rate, drinking beet juice (even with a 1:3-4 ratio of beets:carrots/apples) can be an intense experience on the digestive organs.  It's not pain, but there is a very odd, uncomfortable sensation that brings awareness to the abdomen. I've been using ginger in various forms (ginger candy, ginger tea) to help with nausea and upset stomach for about a year now, with great succes.  So in anticipation of the weird abdominal sensations, I tried putting a bit of ginger in with my juice.  I used a piece about an inch long and half-inch in diamet...

I got a bread machine some weeks back.  When I say "got," I mean I got one from a fellow freecycler .  It's used, but it works pretty well, except that getting the loaf out of the pan is a bit of a chore.  A lot of bread is left in the pan, and I don't love the hole that the paddle makes.  The breads I've been making lately have been collapsing. Today, I finally realized how to solve these problems: make the dough in the machine, and bake the bread in the oven.  Duh.  Now you're asking why I don't just do the whole thing by hand.  Well, as much as I've been assured otherwise, all the kneading and waiting and punching seems like just too much for me.  Anything that can make things easier for me is worth it. I had stopped taking photos of the process of breadmaking because I hadn't come up with anything good enough or interesting enough to share.  Until today.  That's why there are only photos of the finished product here. Put the...

This is less a recipe than an unpaid advertisement for Rising Moon Organics ravioli.  They have a bunch of vegan options, and they seem to be on sale at Whole Foods and food coops on a fairly regular basis.  Also, they are delicious - which is apparently not an easy thing to do; I tried another brand at WF, and it was terrible.  On the other hand, preparing them is very easy.  Anyway, if you are not yet aware of this stuff, give it a try. I used the Garlic & Herb variety this time, but the three shown are my favorites. Cut tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.  In this case, I used these small (1-1/2-2" diameter) tomatoes and cut them in quarters.  (Darn blogger editing won't let me put two photos side by side.  Let me know if you have advice for editing!)  Put cut tomatoes in serving bowl. Cook the ravioli according to package directions (half a package is one serving).  Drain and return to pan.  Add the Vegan Alfredo Sauce and...