Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Mushroom Hunter Reports ~ Part 1

I posted a picture of a teeny-tiny mushroom yesterday and said I'd be back with a story.

Here it is. Well, part one anyway.

24 is volunteering at an organic farm in our rural-metro area. This in and of itself is pretty cool. She helped plant heirloom tomatoes in a high tunnel and onions in a 75 foot row. Some of the tomatoes will be striped and colors beyond the traditional red. She has brought a bit of useful information to us regarding our own garden. Did you know that you should rotate tomato sites, eggplants and potatoes? Different crops affect the ground so you shouldn't plant the same old, in the same place year after year or it will affect your yield. So. We have decided to change some things up placement wise. So already it's been a great benefit.

But she was also given the invitation, which included her family, to come hunt mushrooms.

If you are unfamiliar with Morel mushrooms, here is a fan/information page. I'll just say the few times I've eaten one over the years have been pretty magical. To say they are delicious is an understatement.

I've hunted for mushrooms before and have had some luck. There is a very short season (2 to 3 weeks) and the mushrooms like a perfect mix of shade and sun. Some people find pounds and pounds (or should I say hundreds and hundreds...because, as you can see in the picture, it would take a lot of tiny mushrooms to make up a pound). And, like in the days of prohibition and hidden moonshine stills, mushroom sites are a carefully protected secret. (Never heard of a mushroom murder...but...some shroomers are scary passionate about this little fungus. )

That said, being invited to canvas acres of woods for mushrooms was an adventure I couldn't pass up.

We arrived as one team was finishing up. They had found thirty-something mushrooms and one was literally the size of an orange. We had high hopes. Our area was a burned out (this valley, that is just 15 miles from us, is made up of several organic growers and they are slowly -- I say slowly because it will take a hundred years -- reverting the land back to prairie. That takes ridding the land of plants and trees that did not naturally belong there two hundred years ago) section that went straight up the bluff, down, through the garden valley and the into woods on the other side.

An hour into our search one of the owners came to check on our progress. Nada. She suggested we'd find paydirt (literally -- wonder if that's where that word came from) in the other woods. At this point we asked her how she'd done, she said we didn't want to know but she was carrying two plastic grocery bags that were bulgy and swayed with a bit of heft....I'm guessing a couple hundred or dozens of HUGE ones.

To be continued.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan ~ Flexitarian

Final Full Vegan Report

30 Days. Done. Did it.

Rob and I both ended up saying that doing without meat and dairy was not as difficult as we thought it would be, and that it tasted better than we had even hoped for. So, success on all fronts.

Oddly, though we didn't count a single calorie or reduce intake or any such "diet" type thing, I lost 3 to 4 pounds. It's not a pound a day like some people can pull off, but I wasn't dieting. So I consider that to be another plus to cutting animal products.

Yesterday was day 1 of Flexitarian for the rest of our lives. We went out to eat and Rob celebrated by having salmon. I was really struggling with the hanging onto the newly ingrained habits. I ended up ordering a mushroom stuffed ravioli in a smoky cheese sauce. Yep. Full on dairy. But I shared half of it and ate Vegan friendly pomodoro, too.

None of us had raging gastrointestinal consequences. But between you and me, I like my fake cheese sauce better. And if I could find dairy free mushroom ravioli...well....

Tonight I'm going to try my hand at a Vegan classic, Seitan. Not sure how I'll use that particular meat substitute, but gotta give it a shot. We will also be enjoying a teeny, tiny handful of Morel mushrooms. And I'm modifying a cookie recipe for dessert. Mushroom story tomorrow. : )

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan...Day 29

I think I did it. The ULTIMATE Non-Meat Burger (according to our taste buds). Satisfying, full of flavor and texture. I think these are a winner. I looked at more than 20 recipes and then pulled out the formula of what I thought would work. And it did.

I ended up adding a wee bit more texture to this recipe than what I tried in the actual burger making trial run. The minor addition of 1/4 cup mushrooms and a TBSP more of Textured Vegetable Protein (sold in health food section of grocery store - I used Bob's) should give the exact density that a good "burger" needs.

Vegan Adventure Ultimate Burger

1/3 Cup T.V.P. (Textured Vegetable Protein)
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 TBSP ground flax seed
1/2 Cup of Salsa (or Spaghetti Sauce - for Italian version, or Vegetable Broth for Middle Eastern flavor)
3 TBSP water

Put together in a bowl. Set aside.

In 2 TBSP of Earth Balance or fat of choice saute the following until tender then remove from heat.

1 Small dice small zucchini (or 2 grated carrots)
1 Small dice onion
2 minced cloves of garlic
3/4 cup small dice mushrooms (or diced cooked potatoes)

Then toss in one can of beans (with the bean juice) (or two cups of home cooked beans) - pinto or black (Mexican) or kidney (Italian) will give you more color, garbanzo if you want a more Middle Eastern flavor.
Semi-mash as you stir it all together.

Add the following spices to the veggie mixture.

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin (Mexican, Middle Eastern (and if you want to add a teaspoon or two of sesame seeds or tahini to a Middle Eastern burger, go for it.)
1 teaspoon cilantro (or curry if going for Middle Eastern and 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasonings if going for an Italian flavor and omit the cumin).
Add 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup cooked brown rice

Add the flax/TVP mixture and stir together.

Refrigerate for 1/2 an hour or so.

Form into patties. Makes a dozen or more thinner ones, and go for thinner to get a more burger texture.

Fry patties in a little bit of oil (coconut, or Earth Balance or your choice) a couple of minutes on each side. They will crisp nicely and have a decent texture.
(I made them all up and froze a half dozen of them for another meal - I'll toss them frozen into an oven at 350 for 15 min or reheat them on the stove top.)

I toasted the buns (with a little garlic spread) and added avocado slices and tomatoes, lettuce, etc. The usual hamburger stuff.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan...Day 28

We've been talking about what our post-Vegan-trial life is going to be like.

Rob says he is absolutely convinced that the change in his diet has made a huge difference in his health and his pain level. He keeps sharing his journey with others, telling them how good he feels.

He has to meet a business acquaintance for lunch today and he's planning on how he can stick to his plan. He is also talking that fish is one thing he'd like to add back into his life. But he also said that wants us to continue to cooking as we have this month, with the occasional addition of something that may have a mother, a face or both.

I can live with that. This is a man who "needed" red meat three times a week, and chicken wasn't really meat at all in his book.

Personally, I don't think I need eggs in the house, or real butter, or real milk. We have broken past the necessity of these items. I don't miss any of them. Nor do the others in the house. Cheese, sorry, Kim, I think we can leave it alone. Not to say we won't dive into a cheese tray or succumb to a cheesy pizza every once in awhile. I can live with that.

Flexitarian means we can live our lives a huge percentage one way with an occasional splurge or dive into something different. Outside of faith and vows and primary relationships, I'm pretty sure flexitarian is something we should all strive for in life.

However, I think I'm going to miss the focus. The adventure of trying to make sure everything on the table is faceless and motherless but tastes amazing. I don't want it to end. Even blogging about it every day has been a fun challenge.

I think I've learned something about myself in this process. I love learning, and the challenge of making that knowledge work for me and my life. The past few years are coming into sharp focus as I think about my "writing" career, my day career in the medical field, my intensive period learning how to really study the Bible and how to teach from it, etc. etc. etc. Each of those growing/learning periods fed me. And each of them, when the intensive learning bursts quieted into the daily humdrum of just doing...well, contentment is nice, but spark and passion and hunger are hard to satisfy with contented sighs.

So. I guess my soul, my spirit, my spark of life within need good food, just like my body. And I'm not okay with giving in to cheap, fast, and fake there either.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan...Day 27

Last night was pretty tasty.

Here's the recipe if you have a hankering for a Vegan version of Cashew Chicken.



Cashew No-Chicken, No Kidding.

1 cup diced celery
1 minced garlic clove
6-7 green onions (use the whole thing except the hairy tail) chopped.
Melt 2 TBSP of dairy free butter substitute in a pan (EARTH BALANCE) or coconut oil would work.
Saute the veggies in the "butter".
Stir in 5 TBSP flour of your choice. Until pasty.
Add 3 TBSP soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos (less sodium in the liq aminos)
Stir.
Pour in a 32 oz package of Vegetable Broth and begin simmering.
Toss in 2 cups of cashews (I used unsalted and salted would be overkill!!!)
Chop half of a red roasted pepper, toss in.
Simmer until thickens to the consistency you want. 15 minutes or so.
Add 2 tsp of sesame seeds
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

Serve over rice, noodles or quinoa.

Tasty.

I am finding that there are loads of Vegan recipes out there. However, again, I have to admit I just can't leave it alone and make a recipe exactly as directed. There is always an item I want to switch out, or one that needs to be added or tweaked.

I googled Vegan Cashew Chicken and found very few and the two I found had some really complicated stuff. I want tasty AND easy. I had no idea how I'd come up with the texture and flavor. But I considered the strongest flavors in the cashew chicken I've enjoyed and figured out how I might be able to pull off the flavors and the mouth feel. This was pretty close.

I didn't share the recipe exactly how I made it. I put together, tasted, added, scribbled down more details and finally served it. Our meal did not have the garlic clove and the three of us decided that's exactly what was missing. The heat, the texture and the overall taste were there but the garlic would've made it.

And EER, you cracked me up. Don't make me say "no crumbs for you!" And DO NOT bring me your plate!!!

And I need to hear the kefir story. Was your kefir grain from the famed Caucasus Mountains ? I must know this. You will tell me the story or your crumb supply will be cut off!

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan...Day 26

So I'm not going to tell you how amazing last night's meal was. But it was pretty amazing, anyway. It consisted of the new pasta "alfredo" sauce that I've been told looks like an unfortunate byproduct of digestive distress. And the now staple marinara sauce, garlic rolls and roasted brussel sprouts and leftover delish bits from Easter vegan desserts. There could be a crumb or two, EER. And Kim, it's deliciously cheesy...not Cheddar, but tasty. If you lived closer I'd so have you over to taste it.

I do need to give a report about my 21 day commitment to working on the novel. I completed the task. I rewrote a problematic scene. Then wrote and edited three more scenes. And discovered a creative way to work out a fairly big plotting point. I read all that we had written out loud, found several issues and suggested how we might fix said issues. And most importantly, I think I've got the remaining 7 or 8 chapters blocked out, broken down, and skeleton figured out. Now we just need to hang the muscle and meat on the skeleton and pump it full of life.

And I enjoyed it. I had committed to a half hour per day, focused on an aspect of the book. But as I dove in I found that I wanted to spend more time, that I was enjoying writing. I also think I've grown as a writer. The words flowed easier. The sentence structure, the getting under the character's skin, the hanging onto the voice...those happened easier...almost like my brain was still working on those skills while I was refusing to go any further on this story.

Glad I took that little venture on. And I'm going to keep on, keeping on that one, too.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan...Day 25

Scalloped "Cheesy" Potatoes

3 lbs potatoes
4 TBSP of Earth Balance Spread (or fat of choice)
1/2 chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
4-6 ounces of fresh mushooms
5 TBSP of flour
2 and 1/2 cups of non-dairy unsweetened milk
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast (bulk or packaged at health food stores, on-line or some grocery stores.)


Prepare (I just cut eyes out, left most of the skin on) potatoes. Bake in 350 oven for approx 25 min (for small to medium potatoes) until half baked. Cool. Then slice into slightly greased 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle with salt.

In a sauce pan melt:

4 TBSP of Earth Balance
Toss chopped onion, minced garlic and mushrooms.
When veggies are sauteed and tender add 5 TBSP of flour and blend together until pasty.
Stir in 2 and 1/2 cups of non-dairy unsweetened milk of choice. (i.e, almond, soy, oat or rice)
Stir over low heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast (bulk or packaged at health food stores, on-line or some grocery stores.)

Pour "cheese" veggie sauce over potatoes.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Not the best picture. But the potatoes were pretty tasty. Even the non-vegans scarfed them down. Win. Win.

Every dessert we had was Vegan. And, again, no one complained. The chocolate cake was a little crumbly, but oh so good.

These cookies are amazing.


Orange Cranberry Pecan Coconut Cookies

1 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup Sugar
Zest of one small orange. (zest before juicing)
Juice of one small orange
1 Cup chopped nuts of choice
2 and 1/4 Cups flour (King Arthur, unbleached, Oat or spelt flours or a blend)
1/2 to 3/4 Cup of dried cranberries

Set oven to 350. Blend coconut oil and sugar until mixed. Add zest and juice. Mix. Add flour, stir. Add nuts and cranberries. Roll into small balls, or use small cookie scoop. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 oven for 11 minutes. NOTE: These little guys are frail. Loosen them on the cookie sheet. Cool for a few minutes, then place on cookie rack. Store in the refrigerator or they are really fall apart crumbly.

Rob and I were able to pass up the half and half, the ham, the venison (that wasn't tough. Ha.) and a few more non-Vegan items without feeling super deprived. Because the vegan dishes were pretty delish.

And boy, did we ever have fun with Kombucha and the mother. Several brave souls tried a sip of both Kombucha and Kefir. And there were some seriously hilarious expressions on people's faces when they were introduced to Mother in her new home. She now resides in a 6 quart crock pot crock. She was getting too big for her huge pickle jar. One of her babies is now living there. Mother is fully unfurled across the top of her tea bath. Pulling back the curtain on her was quite the trip. Ha. Ha. We also did do a little I Pad/I Phone research and found that Kefir has tons of probiotics...