vegan

Just for Me

by ladypbwiggins

This last week I have begun preparations for my church family’s annual Daniel Fast. I already lead a plant-based dietary lifestyle. So, what to do? I decided to go back to raw vegan meals, especially a week of smoothies.

Along with thoughts about food, I looked at my life this year. What would I change? What would I add? My assessment continually asked “But what have you done just for you?” I heard all my children’s voices asking, Mom what did you do for you?

I realize I have a difficult time to do for me. So I’ve decided to do more just for me in 2020. I now have to figure out what that looks like.

Any thoughts?

Mom’s Buttermilk Biscuits

by ladypbwiggins

Good biscuits are a necessity in southern kitchens. I was happy to find several recipe’s in the Young Living Cookbook using Einkorn flour. Naturally I had to try one. I chose Mom’s Buttermilk Biscuits to try first. I eat primarily a vegan dietary plan so I had to make substitutions. I used coconut oil instead of butter and cashew milk instead of buttermilk.

The results were as expected. It was much like using 100% whole wheat flour. They weren’t flaky but they were tender on the inside and a little crunchy on the outside. The taste was acceptable. If you are not accustomed to eating 100% whole wheat bread products, this taste will require some getting used to. Some of my biscuits are thinner than others because I rolled the dough too thin at first. I left some to compare to the thicker one’s. The thin one’s had a crunch like cookies and the thicker satisfied the “biscuit” criteria.😊 My husband said they were good enough to repeat. They passed the test.

Get the Young Living Cookbook and get cooking. Click on the Young Living link on the page. It will have my information already filled in. Just follow the prompts. Welcome to the YLEO family and YLEO cooking.

Tasty Accidents

by ladypbwiggins

Last night I decided to use my lemon vitality oil to make lemonade. I didn’t have my glasses on and I identified the oil by the color of the label. I picked up my bottle of fennel vitality oil and dropped 3 drops in about 8 oz of water. I sweetened it with raw agave and poured it over ice. It was not lemonade. I enjoyed fennelaide. It was awesome. That was a tasty accident.

It was my night for mistakes. I set out to make falafel burgers. I did everything the recipe told me to do. I thought. I was supposed to leave the chickpeas chunky. Instead I processed the mixture until it was smooth. It was a flavorful hummus. I was not to be denied. I spoon dropped the mixture on a cookie sheet and baked them. We enjoyed falafel biscuits for dinner.

A very tasty accident.

After 1.5 years I did it!

by ladypbwiggins

I have tried other people’s recipes. I have experimented with my own. Today I accomplished my goal. I just threw ingredients in a bowl. Stirred them and put them in a cast iron skillet. What is it you ask?

Oil-free, vegan, gluten free Cornbread

It tasted good. It did not break-up or crumble.

What’s that? Oh, ingredients.

  1. Gluten-free oat flour 1 cup
  2. Organic cornmeal. 1 cup
  3. Pureed banana. 1
  4. Cashew milk. 8 oz
  5. Aluminum free Baking powder 2.5 Tbls
  6. Puree banana in milk
  7. Bake 375° F for 20-25 minutes

It was great with vegetable soup. I guess the best happens when you are not trying too hard.

Enjoy

Finally Oil-free Waffles

by ladypbwiggins

The struggle continues to find substitutes for oil that works in my food. I finally succeeded with my waffles. I have tried pureed applesauce with no success. Tried a blend of pureed applesauce and avocado. That was better but not quite right. Saturday I decided to try just pureed avocado. Success! I added this to my vegan, gluten-free mixture and found success.

Gluten-free vegan oil-free waffles

Now I will try this with my cornbread. Southern upbringing requires good cornbread. Anyone out there with a good cornbread recipe? Biscuits? Not sure I’m ready for green biscuits.

All In The Head

by ladypbwiggins

It’s been a little over a year since we began this raw vegan/vegan lifestyle change. I have learned how to prepare meals which is a real accomplishment; I never liked to cook. I am still learning because my husband’s cardiologist wants as much gluten-free, oil-free, clean food as possible. This is no easy task. Eating out is hard and cooking requires learning how to make good food with these substitutes. The journey has begun again.

I discovered one other thing, your mind is still the main battlefield. Occasionally my mind still test me when I am tired. Catfish and fried chicken, Chinese and authentic Mexican screams at me. The struggling vegan pops up and shouts substitute. That is my present objective; substitutes and the changing of my mind, again.

“…..but Be transformed by the renewing of your mind….” Romans 12:2

This is the key to all lifestyle changes. It all begins with how you think. When you determine to make the change and settle it in your mind the rest is easy.

Montgomery Heart and Wellness Center

by ladypbwiggins

Isn’t it frustrating when the doctor tells you to eat healthy or you need a healthier meal plan but doesn’t explain what he/she means? Or even more so, they give you a list of foods you should or should not eat and that’s eat. Many of us look at the lists and realize we already eat those foods. We make the bake or broiled versus fried substitutions and think we are eating healthy. some of us go to the extreme and replace beef and pork with chicken and turkey. We must be on the right track with that sacrifice. Maybe but could it be better?

Dr. Baxter Montgomery didn’t just tell us to eat healthy He introduced us to his Heart and Wellness Plan; a six week detoxification plan complete with recipes. Also available to us was the Center’s Garden Kitchen (GK). His kitchen staff prepares raw vegan meals for purchase by Center patients and the public. Meal plans are available for those who choose to have the GK prepare all of their meals. These freshly made raw/vegan meals are delivered daily. There is also a steady stream of health conscious foodies in the GK. This was wonderful for me because I had no clue how the dishes were suppose to taste. The GK gave us the opportunity to try the foods we were asked to eat. From juice to desserts it was available. A must try is the Avocado Key Lime Pie. HMMMM. The first 6 weeks were easy preparations because they were juices, smoothies and a variety of salads. Later “cooked” meals were added to the menu. Not everything is raw. Hot soups, beans, and vegan gumbo are cooked. I am told there is a cornbread recipe but I haven’t had it yet. It’s not in our plan, yet. If you are in the Houston, TX area give it a visit.

Video – Dr. Montgomery Explains

Montgomery Heart and Wellness Center

The Garden Kitchen

 

 

 

Homemade Mustard Trials Revisited

by ladypbwiggins

A few months ago I tried a Dijon mustard recipe from The Homemade Vegan Pantry. I thought I had used a white wine that was too dry. The mustard had a very bitter taste. I tried it again with a less dry white wine. I allowed it to sit longer hoping it would be mellower. Today I tested it and it was just as bitter as the first. I gave up on that recipe. I decided to try a different recipe. It was taken from the Homemade Condiment cookbook: the Spicy Brown Mustard.  The ingredients: powdered yellow mustard, kosher salt, tumeric, paprika, water, white wine vinegar, and brown sugar to taste. I used a few drops of agave. I didn’t have white wine vinegar so I used white cooking wine. 20160827_133353

The result is a smooth, spicy mustard paste. It is usable now but I think I will let it mellow a bit. It has a little bitter tinge but nothing like the other recipe. I wonder what would happen if I used white wine vinegar?20160827_133433

Well, I am getting back in the lab. Happy cooking.

 

Necessity Brings Joy

by ladypbwiggins

So now what is that crazy woman talking about? Necessity brings joy. Sometimes when you have a need, the satisfying of that need brings greater joy than you expected.

Here’s the deal, Saturday, I ran out of almond milk. I had no cash. I didn’t want to u20160716_132308 (2)se a credit card for a gallon of milk. I looked around the pantry and saw that I had some cashews. I had been meaning to try making cashew milk. This seemed like the perfect time. It is simple. Put the cashews and water in a blender and let it rip. In minutes, there was milk.

I looked in  my vegan cookbook to get an idea of the ratio of cashews to water for a reasonable milk consistency. It was 2/3 cup of whole cashews to 4 cups of milk. That seemed like a lot of water for so few cashews so I increased it to a full cup of cashews. To my surprise I stumbled upon cashew cream. I did some research on the uses for cashew cream and discovered I had solved another dilemma I was facing. This cashew cream provides the creaminess and consistency I needed for both these projects.I wanted to make vegan ice cream without making a sugary syrup for a sorbet. This will be my substitute. I also needed a sour cream impostor to try in a new cornbread recipe I found. I will try adding vinegar to the cream to sour it. I’ll let you know the outcome.

Back to the milk. I used the ratio suggested by the experienced vegan and was rewarded with a good tasting cashew milk. There are no preservatives, no sweetener, no added anything. Two and two/thirds cup of cashews will make a gallon of milk.  What makes this most appealing is no added cost for  cream.

For you who like a little coffee in your cream, this is a healthy, tasteful preferred choice to the coffee creamers you buy in the store. I don’t usually add cream to my coffee but I tried a little. It was very good and flavorful.

So the necessity for almond milk provided the joy of cashew milk and cream. It was a good day.

 

Sorghum – What Is It?

by ladypbwiggins

When i was a little girl, I loved to visit my great-grandparents in the country. That is what city folks called the very rural areas. I especially loved Sunday morning breakfast. My great-grandmother, Momma Lula, served “from scratch” biscuits, homemade butter, eggs from her hen house and some kind of meat. Now, the meat was either bacon or sausage that my great-grandfather’s friends had smoked and seasoned from their slaughter season or chicken from Momma Lula’s yard. Yeah, the raised them for meat and eggs. But the days that were the best was when Daddy Bush went to get the sorghum syrup from another farmer.  He had to walk a mile both ways to get the syrup. That was good eating with those hot biscuits. I never knew sorghum could also come in the form of flour.

I ran across a recipe for waffles using gluten free flour and I decided to substitute sorghum flour for the one listed. I also changed the milk to almond milk and the vegetable oil to coconut oil. The outcome was quite pleasing and they weren’t green.

Recipe

2 eggs    1 3/4 c almond milk     1/4 c coconut oil     2/3 c sorghum flour

2 Tbs Agave Nectar         4 tsps baking powder          1/3 c potato starch

1 3/4 tsp xanthum gum      1 tsp salt20160716_103545

Mix it all up and put in the waffle maker. In the picture you will see so
me waffles are darker than others. That’s because the darker ones were cooked at a higher setting. They were crisper. So set your waffle maker to the crispness you desire.

About Sorghum

It was probably used as flour before syrup. This ancient grain as it is being described was widely used in Africa and Australia. It has many health benefits. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant properties. It is high in fiber, B-vitamins and protein. According to the World Grain Council it is the 5th most important flour in the world and the 3rd in the USA. So for what was it used in the USA? Animal feed and fuel. Once again we treat our animals better than ourselves. It seems only those with wheat allergies or gluten sensitivities were aware of this flour and its nutritional benefits. I also like the fact that it is non-GMO. Being gluten-free is another plus. Diabetics, cancer patients and cardiac patients may benefit from the eating of sorghum flour. Caution, like any other grain, don’t over indulge. Even with all of its nutritional benefits some people cannot tolerate it.

It is suggested that it be used in combination with other gluten free flours, such as potato or in recipes where a small amount of flour is used because it does not have a good rising ability. Flatbreads here I come.

I am going to try some other recipes I have found that use sorghum flour. I am not quite ready to give up bread completely, so healthier alternatives are definitely on my radar. If you have any other suggestions, please share.