Squirrel’s Vegan Kitchen

Thanks to everyone for being so patient and lovely as I have been completely sucking at blogging. The mixture of work, stress, other hobbies that are taking up more time than before and being in a funk for the past few months has made cooking/blogging/web surfing happen less and less for me. But, as we are now well into fall here in the Pacific NW, it’s time to turn on the oven and roll up my sleeves! Yes, nature is calling me to cook and bake and who am I to say no?

So, I come bearing some recipes and lots of foodie foodie goodness.

Fall is here, I hate to say. Well, I don’t hate to say, as it’s my favorite of all seasons. But I do love summer and don’t feel that I got much of one this year. Alas, there’s no use in holding on to something that’s not here anymore, because the maple in front of our house is starting to blaze bright red, I have been wearing a jacket to work and last night I busted out the flannel sheets. When in Rome…

My desire for things fall-ish led me to buy a new crock-pot. My old one was, well, old. And small and cheap and, frankly, scary. I got a nice new one at Target for $39 on sale, and it’s digital and purty and shiny and red, just like other things in my kitchen. Me likey. My first attempt in it was a seitan pot roast.

Pot roast is one the few things my mom would occasionally make from scratch when I was a kid. My favorite part was the roasted veggies, which I could not get enough of. Because of the nature of cooking seitan, and having it covered in water, the veggies didn’t get that addictive carmelized quality that comes with the oven, but they were very fragrant and delicious. The roast recipe can found here.

Slices of seitan roast with a quick gravy I whipped up using the liquid from the crock-pot, carrots and potatoes on the side and a delicious salad provided by Kate
that had a light dressing, strawberries, nuts and seeds and home sprouted grains and lentils. Yum!

Dessert:

Vegan with a Vengeance Raspberry Blondies. I have made this recipe before for Jim to take to work, but this was the first time I was able to try it. Wonderful, as always with Isa (can you WAIT for Veganomicon to come out?!), but I will probably double the raspberry part next time, out of personal preference. Excellent with coffee.

Dinner from boxes:

Fantastic brand sloppy joe mix on some Dave’s Killer Peace Bomb bread, some Shells and Chreeze and steamed broccoli on the side. It was a tasty “junk food” dinner where I picked most of the elements from Food Fight. If you’ve ever made the Mac ‘n Chreeze before and hated it (like I did), I have some pointers. First off, don’t go by the box instructions for making the sauce, or it will be clumpy and gross. Go by sight. I use about 3 tablespoons of EB and about a 1/3 cup of soy milk and then I whisk it up and keep adding milk as needed to get it creamy. The starches in the sauce mix can make it get pasty, but if you keep adding milk, it will get really creamy and then you can add the noodles for faux cheezy perfection.

Food from an impromptu dinner with our Totally Vegan friends:

Too lazy to make the gnocchi from scratch, I opted for store bought gnocchi and then Urban Vegan’s amazing cream sauce. So amazing. I can’t wait to make it legit next time. On the side was a veggie and bean dish that Kate whipped up with black beans, garbanzos, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, tomatoes and other assorted goodies. Delicioso! We ate some more Dave’s bread on the side to sop up the sauce.

Last night I made up Bazu’s Voodoo Stew.

Yum, yum! Jim and I rarely drink alcohol and we have a nice little surplus of beer from his birthday BBQ. This gave us the perfect excuse to use up a bottle and for me to show Jim how to use the crock-pot. We went to the last day of our neighborhood farmer’s market yesterday (the downtown Portland one goes well into December) where I harvested the goods for this stew. It was wet and drizzily. I always forget how hardy and unflappable Portlanders are. No one bats an eye when it rains and the market was buzzing with people, a live band and wet dogs. No one had any kale, so I substituted it for spinach leaves the size of my face. In the last hour of cooking, I threw in a couple of summer squash, too, and I tipped my beer in honor of summer and for Bazu.

Last night I was in the mood to bake and my strawberry soy yogurt from breakfast set a strange craving in mind, so I made up these muffins:

Strawberries ‘N Cream Muffins. I am so pleased with them, I have posted the recipe so you all can share the love. They are a lightly sweet and fluffy muffin with a creamy, strawberry center, perfect for breakfast or lightly warmed up with a cup of tea in the evening. I imagine they would be heavenly with Peaches ‘N Cream or Raspberries ‘N Cream, too.

Today I realized that Jim and I are very selfish. Here we are, dominating this blog with our food, but there is another vegan in the house: Hazel the hamster! Hazel also gets to benefit from the amazing local produce that we get. Along with ample exercise and lots and sleep, Hazelina thrives on a seasonal, organic diet. And she loves it! So here is Hazel’s dinner from tonight:

Some fresh spinach and a segment of a yellow raspberry. For reference, her fresh meals are usually about the size of the surface of a quarter. Every evening after she runs in her ball, Hazel gets fresh dry food, which contains a variety of nuts, dried beans, grains and seeds, as well as her raw dinner. She only gets fruit every other night, to help combat potential diabetes, which hamsters can be prone too. We don’t feed her any pet store junky treats, just fresh goodies. Greens are her favorites, with broccoli and spinach being very popular, and apples coming up a close second. But she also likes fresh, summer berries though. You’ve never seen cuteness until you’ve watched a hamster eat a juicy berry and then lick her hands clean. Painfully cute.

Hope you’re all snuggling up and hunkering down for fall and cold weather. Unless, of course, you’re on the other hemisphere and you’re anticipating warm weather. Happy eating!