Vegetarian Family

A Peek @ Food We Eat & Things We Do!

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Spuds, Soup, & Sauces

Here's some of our famous Idaho Potatoes mashed with Earth Balance, Vanilla Silk, and Sea Salt. Served with 'Mi-So Good Gravy!' from The Everyday Vegan -- I omitted the ginger for personal preference. The gravy was tangy good and made friends with everybody on the plate. Also on the plate is 'Tempeh Bacon' from Vegan with a Vengeance.





Quick, Punk Heads! What's wrong with the ingredient line-up for the 'Tempeh Bacon'? What shouldn't be there? The vinegar. I figured it out in time that I needed apple cider -- we had some apple juice that worked fine. The tempeh is Turtle Island Five Grain, Jess says it's her favorite. I didn't have the recommended peanut oil, so I used sesame oil instead -- and I don't have liquid smoke, so I subbed agave nectar. This marinade is perfect, but next time I'll double the recipe because my 16 strips weren't all submerged. They marinated overnight with several careful flippings.

It rained the other day, so I made some soup. It was delicious, and I froze the left-overs.

BARLEY VEGETABLE SOUP
2 C. uncooked Barley (cook b/f adding)
2 Cloves Garlic
1 White med. Onion
Olive Oil (saute garlic & onion b/f liquid)
1 Carton Imagine Organic Vegetable Broth
2 C. Water
1 Stalk Celery
2 C. Carrots
1 Red Bell Pepper
3 Leaves Kale
1/4 C. Tamari
16 oz. Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
1 Tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 Tsp. Cumin


These are 'Carrot-Raisin Muffins' from Vegan with a Vengeance. I really like these muffins and even ate several the next day. Too bad the girls didn't care for them -- I'm not surprised with Liv, but Abi usually likes everything. Oh well, can't win them all, and we'll try another kind next time.






It was dinner for just myself, and this is what I chose. A cup of guacamole (avocado, tomato, garlic, lime, cilantro, cayenne pepper, sea salt) and a cup of black-eyed pea chipotle dip (blk eyed peas, tomato paste, onion, chipotle pepper, cilantro, garlic, lemon, cumin) from the Sept. 18 issue of Meatout Mondays. For dipping, I have fresh celery and homemade pita chips (WW pita bread cut into wedges, brush on olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake @ 350* for 10 minutes)


18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Everything looks so good Vicki !
That soup particularly makes me drool (:D)

And think I will take my tempeh out of the freezer :)

7:42 AM  
Blogger Carrieā„¢ said...

It's a little chilly here this morning. 8C (46F). I'm lovin' it! What perfect soup weather. That barley soup looks so friggin' good. I could go for that right now.
I was just thinking this morning that I need to make some muffins. After seeing your photo, it's confirmed. I MUST make muffins.
I didn't get a chance to comment on your foot post, but I love your daughter's chubby little toes. So cute!

7:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love your personal dinner with the awesome dips in the mugs. It's a great presentation and I wish I had that much guac!

Thanks for providing the soup recipe, I am definetly going to try it. Oh, and at first I seriously thought you had chicken breast on the plate. The "bacon" looks real and meaty.

9:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

mmmm... your dinner looks so good. My fav type....

and thanks for the soup recipe... soup is awesome this time of year... and it looks so good!

1:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Where do you get all this energy? Yomza.

BTW--your PETA certificate is in the mail. Enjoy.

2:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just love the guac in a mug thing you've got going! I'm planning on making the black-eye pea dip from MM this weekend- I've been eyeing this whole week. I'd love to know your verdict on the taste. OOOhh and your veggie barley soup seems perfect for this cold weather we've been getting here in sf.

-Teresa

5:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, everything looks so good! I'll have to try your soup recipe soon. Loving the personal dinner--the black-eyed pea dip sounds great. I must make that tempeh bacon recipe again--it was quite tasty. LOL, it's funny that Leslie thought it looked like chicken breast--at first I thought it was pork!

Good stuff.

6:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just read your comment about little Marcus Liam's arrival! Yay for your friend! Babies everywhere--it's so exciting!

6:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Laura, chicken breast... pork... oops, I wouldn't know the difference even if it was real. Glad it's not though.

12:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your food photos all look delish! I especially like the soup one, yummmm....love barley and veg soup.

Thanks for sharing, Im hungry now.

Huggs, G

7:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yum! All the food looks great. Thanks for sharing that soup recipe. It's been in the 50's and 60's here so it's perfect soup weather.

7:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mmm, the soup looks really good. I will probably make some soon to use up some barley. Your asparagus(es) are huge! Are they organic? Cherie

8:08 AM  
Blogger Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

hi leslie: Yuck! i don't eat chicken - you'd never see that here. it's tempeh. i guess the photo doesn't reveal the extreme Nutty-ness of it.

hi urban: thanks so much! i can't wait to go shopping. i'm still floating on a tART cloud....

hi vivacious: thanks for your visit - the dishes are from our oregon coast vacation. fiesta ware is so festive!

hi teresa: great to see you! i thought the blk eyed pea dip was OK - prob won't make it again. i prefer vive le vegan's cannellini bean yam hummus. let me know what you think if you go for it.

hi laura: double Yuck! no pork here either. get your brains out of the gutter, girls!! LOL!!!! :o) you like the vwav tempeh too? i think i won't cook it any other way unless persuaded...
thanks for your baby welcome, laura! i saw mom & marcus liam yesterday - both are doing wonderfully! i forget how small they are when born - abi was a giant next to him! soo precious.

hi G: i'm a barley fan as well -- i love the texture.

hi cherie: yes, they are organic....and PICKLED! a local farmer grows, pickles, and sells at our farmer's market. i wondered if anybody would recognize a difference in the way they looked!!

thanks for coming by everybody!!! hope you have a spectacular weekend. :o)

9:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love your cute little single girl dinner!

:) Mikaela

11:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, that looks like chicken, holy cow... errr... never mind. I love the food. Idaho potatoes, you are a woman after my own heart whippin' those up. YUMMERS! My oldest sis, the one who lived in Idaho for 10 years, makes amazing garlic po's, but i'm pretty sure not vegan... and i sure would love yours with that gravy!!!!

Love the barley veggie soup, too. So chock full of goodness there, Vicki!

Nice dinner for one there, i like the plate setup with the cups on board. Really really nice look as well as flavour, no doubt.

8:58 PM  
Blogger Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan! said...

so funny, i must have made the VwaV tempeh 'bacon' four times (at least!) before catching that it was calling for apple cider and not apple cider vinegar. It's a little more tangy that way and I think i may like it best with the mistaken ingredient. :)

all of your food looks amazing, and i just adore the recent post of your girls enjoying their breakfast ice cream. as we're a couple of months off from cooler weather here in sunny FL, i'm quite motivated to start my day soon with some as well. your girls are beautiful. they're so lucky to have such a loving and health-conscious mamma!

9:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm glad you found that tempeh! You have me craving that darn bacon. Strangely, I haven't had tempeh in the house in months..
Also - I love your kale on sandwich idea. I switched out lettuce for spinach a couple years back and may kick it up another notch : )

2:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

loos so yummy, im droling here!

9:05 PM  

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