CORRECTION TO CHOCOLATE SORBET

I didn't give quite the proper directions for the way I made the sorbet, in yesterday's post. So, please ignore it, and use these instead.

This is MY way of making it, not the recipe's way. My way turned out really really really good, and is darned near foolproof for anyone who, like me, does NOT have an ice cream maker. In fact, I don't know if this would work in an ice cream maker or not,lol.

........................................JB's Chocolate Sorbet.....................................................

1 cup granulated white sugar

2 cups boiling water

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder(I use Hershey's, and NOT the Dutch processed kind...I hate that stuff, lol.)

1/4 tsp. salt(I didn't use it)

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix the sugar and cocoa together in a medium-sized bowl, until they are well blended. Add the salt if you're using it, and stir it well. Pour the boiling water over all of it, and stir stir stir, until the sugar and cocoa are dissolved. Be sure to stir from the bottom up, as the cocoa tends to lump and sink to the bottom of the bowl. Let this sit on your counter, or, if you prefer, in your 'fridge, until it's cool to the touch, and that's when you stir in the 1 teaspoonful of vanilla. Pour the mixture into a shallow container and freeze. Stir every 30 minutes or so, until the desired consistency, about 2 hours.

What I use for containers isn't flat, but the sorbet is usually ready to eat in about an hour and a half. My containers originally held 3.5oz. of goat cheese, but they hold about 3/4 of a cup of sorbet.

So, that's the corrected version. I think that if you're pouring it into a flat pan to freeze it, you could probably stir in some chopped nuts(I'd use cashews, youcan use what you want. How about Macadamia nuts? I love those, and can't usually afford them)or maybe some shredded coconut? You can add more sugar and less chocolate, too. Or less sugar and more chocolate. Make the recipe your own.

Until next time, God bless.

CHOCOLATE SORBET(Lowfat and Vegan); SNOW SNOW SNOW

I am so totally psyched, but not as much as I was yesterday. Yesterday...well, Friday...afternoon, around 1pm or so, it started to SNOW, and I do mean SNOW. It was coming down in blizzard quality, but sadly enough it stopped around 5 or 5:30pm-ish, sigh. I was soooooo disappointed, but, at least we got about three inches or so. Enough that it's still hanging around, lol. My friend Norene picked me up at 2pm, and she and I headed for the used bookstore, the BookHouse. The roads weren't too bad, even tho the trees were already starting to have that "Winter Wonderland" look, and we couldn't see much more than a block or so ahead of us. Beautiful, I tell ya, beautiful!

So, we got to the BookHouse, which is under new ownership and had moved location, and it's just a wonderful place, it truly is. The books are in categories, just like they would be at Barnes and Noble or Borders, and they are alphabetized by author. She has a small sitting area with three HUGE and oh-so-comfortable armchairs, and, as long as you're buying books, the coffee is free(Take that, Borders and Starbucks, lol), and she provides French Vanilla powdered stuff to put in your coffee. Ok, seriously. I think I fell in love, lol. Much to my delight, the sitting area is in the cookbook section, and what is the first book I happen to see? A copy of the first "Vegetarian Epicure," and I just hollered, lol. I've been trying to find that book for a long time, to replace the one I lost, because it was one of my very first veg cookbooks, back when I was in my late 20's. It was in fantastic shape, and it's now sitting by my table, because I want to "read" it before it goes on the bookshelf. I also found Frances Moore Lappe's "Diet for a Small Planet," which was another of my first veg cookbooks. Then I found Molly Katzen's "Still Life with Menu Cookbook," and bought it mainly for her coloured paintings. The last cookbook I bought was a coffee-table sized book, called "Elegant Food," and I seriously bought that one for the food photos in it, which are some of the best cookbook photos I have ever seen. I bought a few other books, too, and I'm just going to let you wonder about those, lol. I had to put several books back, tho, but hopefully I can get back there again, and hopefully again, nobody else but me wants the ones I put back, lol.

The recipe I'm going to share with you today comes from the vegetarian pages of about.com. I followed the recipe, with unbelievably disastrous results, so then tried it again, and "I did it my way.' Turned out pretty good, too. So, with no further talking, here it is. Well, almost...if you do try it the way the recipe calls for, I'd be interested in knowing how it turns out for you, please. You can either email me(scroll down and my email is on the left side of the page, or you can leave me a note at the end of this post.

........................................................CHOCOLATE SORBET...................................................................

1 C granulated sugar

3 C water

3/4 C pure cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Heat sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat, and don't sir until the sugar begins to melt. Then stir frequently until completely melted and caramelized.

Reduce heat to medium losw, and add water to create a caramel. Stir frequently.

Stir in cocoa and salt until smooth and dissolved.

Remove from heat and let cool. Add vanilla, cover, and chill in 'fridge about 2 hours.

Use in ice cream maker, according to directions.

Without an ice cream maker, pour sorbet into shallow container and freeze. Stir every 30 minutes until desired consistency, about 2 hours.

Makes about 1 quart(4 servings) of low-calorie, almost fat free vegan chocolate sorbet.

I put my sugar on the stove over medium heat, and went to sit down and read for a minute, waiting for supper, as well as for the sugar to do it's thing. Well, it did, ok. Man, I had some of the weirdest stuff in my kitchen for awhile. When that sucker blew up, it made a glorious mess, and turned black...and caked onto my pan like you wouldn't believe, sigh, and I don't know if I'll ever get it clean again.

So I decided to do it my way. The measurements were the same, but I only added 2 cups of water instead of three. The resulting chocolate mixture is very rich, thick, and chocolately. Ok, I added the teaspoonful of vanilla, and poured the mixture into some little "cups" I have, cups that were containers for the only brand of goat cheese I like. Put the cups in the freezer, stirred them after 30 minutes, and then left them alone for a while. I caught them before they froze too solid, and even tho they weren't really frozen enough, they were really great, and I've got some cooling on the counter now to go in the freezer in a minute or so, lol.

So, until next time, Happy Eating!!!!

Tempeh Sausage and White Bean Gravy; Rich Chocolate Vegan Brownies

Today is my day off, so of course I've done some cooking. Most of this past week has just been cereal or maybe a grilled sammich. Just haven't been in the mood for cooking. Work has been getting on my one last nerve, so I've been sorta stressed, and that wears me out. Retirement is looking better and better, and I've only got to wait another seven months before I semi-retire. That's good enough for me, the social security will pay the rent, and I can cut back to four, or possibly even just three, days a week. Ahhhhhhhh...really looking forward to it, too, I am, I am.

The tempeh recipe is from "Vegan With A Vengeance," by Isa Chandra Moskovitz, one of my favorite cookbooks. I tried the recipe because it sounds good, and as I've said elsewhere on this blog, I'm on a quest for recipes that will let me like tempeh. This one came pretty close, but still not quite there yet. But, it's the first one that I've basically enjoyed, and I actually ate two helpings of it. Ok, so I guess I like it, lol. Anyway, it takes two recipes to make this, so let's get down to business here, ok?

Tempeh Sausage Crumbles and White Bean Gravy

Tempeh Sausage Crumbles

1(8-ounce)package tempeh
1Tb. fennel seed
1tsp.dried basil
1tsp.dried marjoram or oregano
1/2tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2tsp.dried sage
2 cloves garlic, minced
2Tbs.tamari or soy sauce
1Tbs.olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon

In a small pan, crumble the tempeh and add enough water to almost cover it. Over medium-high heat, simmer the tempeh until most of the water is absorbed, about 12-15 minutes. Drain the remaining water and add the rest of the ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

White Bean and Tempeh Sausage Gravy
Tempeh Sausage Crumbles...recipe above
2C cooked white beans or one 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed
2Tbs. olive oil or margarine, softened
1/4C vegetable broth or water
1/2 tsp. salt
A few dashes fresh black pepper
10-12 leaves fresh sage, chopped

Prepare the Tempeh Sausage Crumbles and keep them warm in the pan.
Puree the white beans with the olive oil and vegetable broth in a blender or food processor until relatively smooth. Add to the tempeh crumbles along with the salt and pepper. Heat through for a few minutes. If you want to make the gravy thinner, add a little more vegetable broth. Mix in the sage and cook for another 2 minutes. This makes enough to cover 12-14 biscuits.

So, I had to make a couple changes, because I don't use basil nor do I use fennel, so obviously I left those out. I also used only 1Tbs. of soy sauce, as I don't like a strong soy sauce taste...unless it's in my fried rice, that is. When I added the bean mixture to the gravy, it wasn't even close to thin enough, and altho I didn't really measure, I think I added at least another cup of water. It was still thick, but only like a gravy, not paste, so that was ok. I put it on buttered biscuits, and like I said, ate two helpings of it. Will I make it again? I'm not sure, maybe, maybe not. There's a lot leftover, and I'm not sure what I'll do with the leftovers, either...probably freeze them, and then the next time I want biscuits and gravy, all I have to do is thaw and re-heat and make biscuits. I can live with that!!

In case you're new to vegetarianism, here's a quick rundown of what tempeh is. It's made from soybeans, and somehow, they've been inoculated with a mold to cause them to ferment, and then formed into a elongated patty, usually about 1/2 inch thick. It is very high in protein, and because of the soy, it's also high in fiber, as well as B vitamins and some other nutrients. That's not the most exact description of tempeh(pronounced tem-PAY,btw)ever written, but hey, I'm no scientist or food expert. If you want to more specifics about it, I imagine you can google it.

Now for the brownies. I found the recipe on the Care2Green website...and being the chocoholic that I am, I decided that today would be just the perfect day to try it. All in all it's very moist, chewy, very chocolatey, and I'm enjoying it right now, lol.

Rich Vegan Chocolate Brownies

1Cflour(you can use half whole wheat flour if you wish)
3/4C cocoa powder
1 1/2C sugar(or Sucanat)
1/8tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4C chocolate chips
1/4C walnuts(optional)
1/3C soy milk
1/3C extra light olive oil
1/4C silken tofu
1Tbs.vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 350ºF
In large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients, walnuts, and chocolate chips.
In blender, blend soy milk, oil, tofu, and vanilla.
Add blended mixture to flour mixture in bowl, stir just until combined. Batter will be thick(she ain't jokin', either!)
Spread batter evenly in 8 inch square oiled baking pan.
Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the mmiddle comes out clean.

Ok, these turned out very tasty, they really did. The batter is as thick as bread dough or cookie dough, and it took me a long time to incorporate all the ingredients together. I don't have an chocolate chips, no way to get to Kroger to buy them, so baked without them. My oven may not be calibrated correctly, and I have no oven thermometer, so I'm not sure, but by the time 35 minutes was up, the crust around the edge of the pan was rock-hard, while the middle was still kinda gooey. There's no eggs to worry about, so the gooeyness shouldn't be a health problem, and as it sits, the stiffer it becomes, sorta like a really fudgy fudge...I hope that made sense to you, 'cause it did to me, lol. Anyway, I like them, and will bake them again...oh, I think 1 Tbs vanilla is too much, btw, as I can taste it a little bit, so the next time, I'll try only one tsp.

And that's it for now, so, until next time, Happy Eating!

JB's Chocolate/Coconut/Banana Pie with Rice Crust

And it didn't turn out as yummy as I had thought it would, sigh. I'm quite disappointed in it, in fact. After thinking about it, I realized that when it comes to chocolate, I'm much too much of a purist to like a pie with so many other flavors in it. The rice crust was totally an experiment, and I learned something: It don't work, lol. Next time it will be a plain ol' chocolate pie with a graham cracker crust.

The pie isn't actually bad, not at all. It just has too many things going on to suit me, that's all. The rice crust was made just like a graham cracker crust, but with cooked rice...butter and brown sugar...patted into the pan, which was a 9" round cake pan. Then I made the chocolate: blended one package of silken tofu, 1/2C unsweetened cocoa powder, 2/3C sugar, 3tsp. vanilla extract, 3Tbs. of cornstarch all together until it was smooth and creamy, about 4 minutes, I'd say. While it was all whirling merrily in the blender, I patted the crust into the pan, and sliced a large banana over the crust. When I stopped the blender, I poured about one cup of sweetened grated coconut into the mixture, stirred it all in with a rubber spatula, and poured about half of it into the pan, covering the bananas. Then I sliced another banana on top of that, and finished pouring the rest of the chocolate mix on top of those bananas. Then I sprinkled a good handful of the grated coconut over the top, and put the whole thing in a 325ºF pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. The 45 minutes, which was a guess, was the perfect timing for this pie, as it came out exactly like I had hoped it would: solid, but not burned.

Now. Do I like it? Not too much, no. Will I make it again? Nope, I sure won't. Will I try a plain chocolate pie sometime? You bet your sweet whatever I will, lol. And, I will use more chocolate and less sugar, too.

For dinner last night, I went into my beloved freezer and pulled out the last of the cabbage/tomato/sour cream concoction I made, um, last week? I think so. Anyway, I heated that up, baked a potato, and heated up some frozen winter squash I'd found at Kroger this past Wednesday. It's been a long, long time since I've had that kind of squash, and truly enjoyed it, and there's enough left for another meal with it. YUM!

So, I'm thinking that possibly I'll use that leftover squash tonight to make a sorta/kinda/but-not-really succotash for dinner. What I'm thinking is to drain and rinse a can of Great Northern beans, and mix those and the squash together, along with some roasted red peppers and some onions. Maybe. Not sure yet, but will let you know later on, lol.

Until next time, Happy Eating!!!

Vegetarian Chili; Vegan Chili; Creamy Chocolate Pudding

It's been a week since I've added anything here, but, I've been working, reading, catching up on email, and, cooking, so I've been a tad busy. One of the things I'd like to do here is to tell you about some of my menus, especially the ones that don't require using a recipe...for the most part, anyway.

For instance, one night not too long ago, I had a MorningStar All-American Griller, with vegetarian smoked provolone, mustard, and relish on it. Along with it I had a baked potato(I LOVE POTATOES, btw.), and some kind of veggie, probably spinach, because I've discovered that frozen spinach is pretty darned good. Sure beats that stuff in a can, and is cheaper than the fresh stuff to boot! Actually, I think that canned and/or frozen veggies are the bomb, and from articles I've read, here and there along the way, they can be better for you, because they're harvested close to the factories that do the canning and freezing, and haven't had to travel cross country for a day or so. In other words, when they're processed, they are fresher than most of the produce in the grocery store, and therefore have more of the nutrients in them. So, from here on in, I make absolutely NO apologies for using either canned or frozen goods.

One of my other meals was a non-dairy mac and cheese that was to die for, trust me. I'm not vegan, don't know if I've already told you that or not, but I can't handle dairy products: they produce unwanted and yucky gastric problems. Thank the good Lord for soy products, as well as for goat's milk and sheep's milk, lol. Anyway, I digress(I inherited that trait from my beloved Nanny. She used to call it "Going 'round Robin Hood's barn," altho I never knew why). I poured some Silk(wonderful stuff, btw)plain soymilk in a small saucepan, added a little margarine, and crumbled up some herbed goat cheese in it, along with some of the smoked provolone, a little veggie Parmesan, some minced garlic, and black pepper. Then I cooked some pasta shells, and let the cheeses and milk get good and hot, and fairly thick. Drained the pasta, and mixed the sauce and pasta together in a bowl. It was awesome, and I was absolutely delighted with it. Made a total pig of myself, in fact.

Another night I pulled a container of spinach soup out of the freezer, some that I had made last month, I think, and froze for nights I didn't feel like cooking. I don't remember now how I made it, or even if I used someone else's recipe or just threw in what I thought would work, but it was pretty good stuff, no matter what. The main issue I had with it was that it was a very dark green, very thick, and looked like...I kid you not...swamp slime, sigh. Anyway, the night I pulled it out, there was still some of the mac and cheese left, so I decided to throw the two together. I also added some vegetable broth to the soup, to thin it out a bit. Long story short, the mac and cheese and soup went together very nicely, altho all the broth did was make the swamp slime look "only" like swamp algae, lol. I got past the visual aspect of it, tho, and along with some hot, buttered biscuits(Pioneer Baking Mix, if you need to know, 'cause I make yucky biscuits on my own), it was a good meal.

I love chili, and have since I was in high school, which is the earliest I remember my Mom ever making it. Sadly, chili does NOT like me, not at all, so basically, I stopped eating it in my mid-to-late 20's. Talk about major gastric distress, sigh! But not too long ago I got an urge for chili that was almost overwhelming, so I decided to try vegetarian chili. After all, there are only a couple zillion recipes for it, right? So, I found one that looked pretty easy, and off I went to make a pot of chili. Here's the recipe:

Vegetarian Chili
2C black beans 2 C pinto beans 2C red kidney beans
365 Organic Diced Tomatoes, 4 C
36oz. V-8 Vegetable Juice, Low Sodium 4TBS. chili powder
1C fresh sweet corn 3TBS. olive oil
1C raw onions, chopped 3tsp. garlic

Saute onions and garlic in pot w/olive oil. Throw in liquids and everything else. Simmer 10 minutes. 14-1C servings
___(_http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe_details.asp?nutrition_id=11942064 Submitted by SparkPeople user GINGERLJM)

So, I couldn't follow this exactly, as I had no V-8 juice and wasn't about to call a cab to go to Kroger for it, either. And, I can't eat corn, it's another no-no for my gastric system...and like chili, I love corn, too. Oh, well! Anyway, I subbed a can of tomato sauce and some water for the juice. Long story short, I didn't care for this recipe very much, altho it was ok, and I ate a bowlful, along with a grilled smoked provone sammich. It made a huge potful, and next day I gave it to my omnivore neighbor, telling her to add some meat to it. She brought the pot back the next day and told me she thought it was good. I was pleased. But one thing I learned from making this, is that I sure missed the meat in it!!! Soooooooo, here we go again, lol.

Vegan Chili

2 regular cans Ranch Style Pinto Beans
1 can diced tomatoes 1(6 oz.)can tomato paste 1C water
1/2C each chopped onions and green bell peppers
2tsp. chopped garlic 2TBS. chili powder

Put all ingredients in a 2qt. pan. Stir together and let simmer on med-low heat for about 20 minutes, covered. Stir occasionally.
(SparksPeople.com again, user CHELLEBELLE104)

So, one thing you'll learn about me is that I almost never, ever follow a recipe exactly, for one reason or another, which I won't go into now. Anyway, I had to cook some dried pinto beans before I could do anything else. After they were done, I spooned out two cupsful of them, and put them, along with a 19oz. can of white cannellini beans and everything else, in a large pot. I also added two cooked MorningStar "Morning Grillers," fake sausage, in other words, crumbled, and a good teaspoonful of cumin, and let it all simmer for close to an hour...I like my beans really, really, really soft. You may not, and that's perfectly ok with me. Honest. It really is. I also left out the tomato paste. This batch of chili was awesome, it was wonderful, it was great, and I didn't give even one spoonful away, lol. I ate it again a couple evenings later, and what's left is now in the freezer. Really good stuff, and I was sooooo pleased, and will make it again, for sure.

I'm a chocoholic, but it HAS to be dark chocolate, not that wimpy milk chocolate stuff, altho that will do in an emergency. One of my very favorite things in the world is Tofutti brand "Chocolate Cookie Crunch" non-dairy dessert: fake ice cream. It's to die for. So is their "Vanilla Almond Bark," but right now, we're talkin' chocolate, ok? Anyway, I found a recipe for a recipe for a vegan Creamy Chocolate Pudding, on the VegCooking blog, and this is Amy's recipe, not mine. And for once, I didn't play around with it, I followed it to the letter...with an addition that I'll tell you about in a little bit.

Creamy Chocolate Pudding
Combine in blender:
1pkg. silken tofu
2/3C sugar
1/2C unsweetened cocoa
2tsp. vanilla extract
Blend until creamy and thick, pour into bowl, and chill.

Well, I decided I wanted a chocolate pie from this. I put off making it until after I'd gone to Kroger and picked up a package of graham crackers...and I know you can see where this is going, right? Yup, I made a graham cracker crust from a recipe on the box. The recipe was for a crumb topping, and had a little too much melted margarine in it, and then I baked it a little too long, but other than that, it was excellent(I don't recommend the store brand grahams for this, btw, as I found out that they don't quite have the flavor that the name brand ones do. Just my opinon, yours may differ...but it was still really good). After the crust cooled, I poured the pudding into it, and put it in the 'fridge for several hours. OMG! I'm telling you, in no uncertain terms, that Amy sure knows her pudding, she truly does. So, if by any chance she ever happens to read this, which I doubt very much, but hey, it could happen, right?, thank you, Amy. This chocoholic is just delighted with your recipe and will make it over and over and over. And again, I didn't give away so much as a spoonful. Next time I'll buy some CoolWhip to go on it, lol.

One of my dear cyber-sisters, she of "A Dollop of Cream" blog right here on blogger.com, Sherrie, sent me a link to the blog "Happy Herbivore." Reading it was interesting, because the owner does pantry challenges, and MoFo challenges, and came up with some interesting recipes, no kidding. But, it gave me an idea: Why didn't Sherrie and I do a challenge, too? So, we are. We've decided on two different kinds, the pantry challenge, and then an Iron Chef challenge, which I'll talk about in a minute. The first one is the pantry challenge. Sherrie will most likely write about hers on her blog, so I'm only going to talk about mine. I blind-picked two cans from my shelves, and came up with...ready for this?!?!?...diced tomatoes and rutabagas!! What a combo, eh? Took me a couple days, but I've come up with two recipes, one for each can. One is a "Sweet/Sour Unstuffed Cabbage" from, I think, the last issue of Family Circle, and the other one is my own, but not to difficult at all: Potato and Rutabaga Salad. I think it'll work. I'll post both recipes another time, as I'm about typed out for now.

The other challenge we decided on, the Iron Chef, involves a secret ingredient, and as many recipes as possible from the one ingredient. For our first one, her husband is going to decide what we'll be using, and he'll have both our lists of NO WAY items...like, no peanuts, milk, or meat for mine. If he chooses meat anyway, I can figure out a substitute, no doubt, but would prefer not to do that. If we do another one, I'll ask my friend/co-worker, Pam, to pick one for us. That way it's a surprise to both of us. Or, we could pick for each other, too, I guess.

I've set a challenge for myself, too, a personal one that is going to tougher than it sounds, I think...which is why it's a challenge. Duh, right? I read a lot of magazines, I love magazines, I don't know what I'd do without them. But almost never do I utilitze them to the fullest, so, from now on, I'm going to challenge myself to do at least ONE recipe and ONE craft each month from Family Circle and from Woman's Day. One of my favorite magazines is Martha Stewart "Living," but I don't think I'm quite up to her recipes or her crafts...maybe. I may or may not use "Living" for my challenge, we'll see. Anyway, the recipe I'm doing for the pantry challenge is from Family Circle, so I've met 1/4 of my personal challenge for this month, lol. There are a couple crafts I've picked out, too. One is simply to pot a small pine tree to bring in the house...I can do that...from Family Circle(I'm pretty sure, anyway), and the other is paper stars, from Woman's Day. As for a recipe from the Woman's Day, I didn't really see too much I thought I'd like, so, here's my idea. If you read Woman's Day, you know that some issues have a menus for a month feature, in the back of the mag. So, I've checked off some of the menus I thought looked good, and will choose one to make in a vegetarian way. For instance, instead of marinated pork, I'll make marinated and baked tofu slices. That sort of thing. Seems like that would count as a recipe, right?

Until next time, happy cooking and good eating to you!