Caramelized Onion, Walnut and Pear Salad. Franc

I made Betty a tasty salad for lunch today and it turned out great. I actually learned this recipe from my cousin who is the executive chef at Grouse Mountain Lodge  - which happens to be a great resort and a fabulous restaurant in Whitefish, MT.I made just a couple of small modifications to be sure it was Vegan. Enjoy!

Francs - Caramelized Onion and Pear Salad with Walnuts. (Makes 2 large dinner salads)

Slice up 1 cup of Red onion and saute in a pan with about 2 table spoons of Veggie oil. Your going for long skinny pieces of onion, not diced bits.You want the onions to cook over medium heat until the sugars come out and they begin to caramelize and get soft and sweet. It will take a good 10 min till they get to the right point. Stir often and be sure they don't burn. You want a nice golden brown color on them but not a burnt, black color.

Next dice up one ripe pear and add to the cooked onions. You want these to soften up just a bit and start to release some of their juice. You still want the pears to have a little firmness to them, so don't cook them so long they turn to mush. This step should take just a couple of minutes. If your pears are not very ripe (like mine were today) you can sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over them as they cook.

Once you have your onions and pears ready. Plate up a large dinner plate with some spring mix. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of walnuts over each salad. Next put half of the pear and onion mixture over each salad. I dress the salads with Balsamic vinegar (a heavy drizzle to taste) and just a little extra virgin olive oil (about 2-3 teaspoons per salad).

Francs carmelized Onion and Pear salad

You'll really love the different textures in this salad. The crunch and richness of the walnuts, the softness of the onions, the sweetness of the caramelized onion and the pears plus the sourness of the balsamic vinegar. Enjoy with a little crusty Italian bread, if you've got it!

-Franc

Franc does Italian food

Hi All -

I decided to make some yummy Italian food for Betty and I tonight. I love to cook it up when I have the time and this meal was really tasty. Plus I was able to make it with some items I needed to use up in my fridge. Try it out!

Cherry Tomato and Garlic Sauce over Fettuccine:

Boil some water and add a heavy pinch of Sea Salt. Add 1/2 pound of fettuccini or your favorite pasta and cook till it's aldente. Drain and keep back about a 1/2 cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce at the end.

Here's the sauce: Add about a cup of whole cherry tomatoes, 1-2 table spoons of minced fresh garlic, 4 table spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 teaspoons of Italian Seasoning, and 1/2 cup of green scallions finely chopped  to a large frying pan and simmer till the garlic and scallions start to soften. Take a fork and smash each cherry tomato. Be careful because the tomatoes will want to squirt everywhere! The juice from the tomatoes will add to the mixture and start to form a light sauce with the oil. Once you have a basic sauce, toss in the cooked pasta with the extra pasta water and mix well. At this point you can add some garlic salt to taste, if you like. Plate up and serve. I also like to drizzle a little extra EVOO on top just to make it extra rich.

Here's a great and simple Vegan Bruchetta that goes well with this dish...

Take 4 slices of some fresh Italian bread, place on a baking sheet and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Bake at 375 for about 5-10 minutes until golden and very crispy. When the bread is toasted take 1-2 cloves of garlic and rub it into one side of the bread - this will give it a really fresh garlicy taste. For the topping I took 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup of mild onion or scallions, 2 cloves of fresh garlic minced, a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and about a teaspoon of Italian seasoning and combined well. Top the toasted bread with this fresh tomato mixture and enjoy some awesome, home made Bruchetta. You'll love it!

Both of these dishes only took about a 1/2 hour to prep and cook, making this a pretty quick dish to prepare from start to finish.

                                                       Bon Appetito!
                                                         Franc

~Bettys veggie over biscuits

Hello everyone,
 Here's a recipe I made recently that Franc and the girls just loved! It is a spin on my moms chicken over biscuits recipe *disclaimer-This recipe is in no way considered low fat . I made it exactly the way my mom makes her chicken over biscuits but used soy milk, butter and veggie base and vegetables.

Take 2 tablespoons of earth balance and melt in a pan add 2 tbsp of whole wheat flour and cook for a few minutes (this makes your Roux)

Next add 2 1/2 cups give or take of soy milk original flavor

Stir constantly as it comes to a boil. Add a tablespoon of veggie broth base to taste(I ended up adding 2 total)

Continue to stir until it thickens, this will take awhile about 10 minute or so and you will think its never going to thicken but it will. If you would like to expedite the process you can add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch

Add a frozen bag of green beans, corn, and carrots after its thickened up and bring back to a boil

For my biscuits:

 I used 3 cups of biscuick (i used the low fat version)
 1 cup of soy milk
Mix this together and drop large spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 450 for 5-7 minutes
You can also sprinkle a little garlic powder or salt on them before you bake them if you like
And voile Vegan veggie over biscuits!

Bettys vegan veggie over bicuits

         This  makes great snowy day comfort food and I hope you like it as much as we did!

                                                               xoxo,
                                                               Betty

~Day 25 Betty and Franc Mexican Cabbage



 We made two more recipes from the Happy Herbivore cookbook! The first was the one pot Mexican Cabbage it was cabbage onions, garlic, corn, black beans, in a tomato sauce and it was delicious! I'm not really a cabbage person but in this dish its perfect. Franc came up with the idea of putting it in a corn tortilla and it made the perfect burrito!

Happy Herbivore Mexican Cabbage on a corm tortilla

This is one of those recipe that's a go to. I will definitely be making it again and another bonus is it takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. The second recipe we made was the cheater Pad Thai

Happy Herbivore Pad Thai

This recipe was super quick and easy and Franc LOVED it but it was a little spicy for me next time I'm going to reduce the hot sauce and let Franc add as much as he wants to his.  I am anxious to make this again and add a bunch of veggies. Again another great go to recipe!

                                                                         Eating some wonderful dishes,
                                                                              Betty & Franc

~Betty Day 13 Zucchini Stew

~Betty Day 13

Its sooooo Cold here today so I decided to make some homemade vegetable soup. I’ve made my soup recipe for years and I always called it Zucchini stew because I started making it in the summer time when I would have so many zucchini and this I one of the recipes that I’d use them in, but really its just veggie soup J

In a large pot use olive oil and sauté:

 Half of a large onion,

2 carrots,

 2 stalks of celery,

 About three cloves of garlic (more or less),

 Two small or one large zucchini chopped into bite sized pieces (little half circles),

Two potatoes (in bite size pieces),

 Allow these to soften a bit in the olive oil and then

Add two cans of red pack tomato sauce and one can of water,

Add a big handful of fresh green beans trimmed and cut in half,

2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

And I like to add ½ tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes for kick (optional)

Also at some point add a dash of sugar to cut down the acidity

I also like to throw in some fresh basil if I have it

Zucchini Stew and Homemade bread

Let this simmer until the vegetables soften and enjoy, now this is a no fail recipe you can add any vegetables that you have left around your house and make it different every time.

 This recipe makes A LOT of soup but it freezes beautifully so make it once and eat it all month. Serve with some homemade crusty bread J

                                                                     

                                                                 Trying to stay warm,

                                                                        Betty

Day 7 - One week Vegan! - Franc

We'll we've made it to the one week mark and all is going well. So far being vegan hasn't been too difficult. Yes, it does require a little more planning ahead and we're eating out less; which has actually been good on the pocket book. I feel good, have plenty of energy and I'm feeling a little skinnier from eating less fatty foods.

Today we did simple Sloppy Joes that were, in my opinion, exactly the same as the meaty version. Here's how we did it:


We really enjoy Fantastic World Foods Vegan Mixes, and the Sloppy Joe mix is no exception. (They also have a killer taco filling mix we will review a little later in the month)

We followed the Mama's Sloppy Joes recipe on the back of the box but made one important change. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of chili powder, which we feel really over powers the rest of the flavors. Using one tablespoon of chili powder is more than enough and will ensure that the mix is not too spicy. We also feel its important to find some really nice Italian buns and not to use cheap burger buns - just makes it taste a little better. I would challenge you to try this recipe out with non vegetarians and see if they even notice that it's not beef. Enjoy!

~Day 6 Betty & Franc Ode to Joy Soup

~Betty & Franc Day 6

 Today was leftover day at Betty and Francs house J HOOORAY! Nice and easy and even Abby dog got some leftover hippie loaf in her dish tonight, Abby has been a vegetarian her whole life and is enjoying our new diet since she is able to sample all of our dishes :-)

Abby Dog

 Lunch was soup we had in the freezer. This recipe that we've been enjoying for some time was given to me by my girlfriend and I LOVE it the broth is delicious and feels good to your soul when you drink it, perfect for a cold, snowy day like today. Here is the recipe you can add and subtract things to it and mix it up however you like:

ODE TO JOY SOUP:

Saute' Olive oil, carrots, Celery, onions, and garlic

Add gourmet mixed mushrooms (i use slice baby portabellos but anything will work)

Add 2 cartons of organic veggie broth and some water

add salt, fresh ground black pepper, and organic cayenne all to taste (i prefer mine with a little heat)

Add a block of cubed tofu and a bag of fresh spinach I also like to throw in some bean sprouts and let simmer

 *Sometimes i leave out the tofu and add some udon noodles which is also awesome, or add the tofu and the noodles whatever you have just throw it in there and this soup turns out amazing!

I also found this cool link with everyday items that you wouldn’t realize are actually vegan:  I Can’t Believe It’s Vegan!. VegNews Magazine

Some of these things were surprising.

                                                           Have a fabulous day!

                                                           Betty & Franc

Day 5 - Franc Mushroom Gravy

Here's my awesome vegetarian mushroom gravy recipe, that even the meat lovers will dig! We used it over top of vegan mashed potatoes and loved it. Enjoy...


1 cup coarsely chopped baby portabella mushrooms
2 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon thyme
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon Gravy Master browning liquid
3 tablespoons of Soy, non-dairy butter

Start off by browning the chopped mushrooms in one tablespoon of non-dairy butter. This will help to bring out some of the flavor. Next add the vegetable broth, soy sauce, thyme, and pepper and let simmer for about 3 minutes to release all the flavors.

Once you have the sauce prepared you finish the gravy just like any other traditional gravy. Simply add the Gravy Master flour and the remaining butter and whisk over high heat until the gravy starts to thicken. This should only take about 2 minutes or so. Be sure to whisk out any lumps the four may cause. Enjoy!


Franc

~Betty Day 5 Hippie Loaf

Wondering today how I will feel after 30 days? I wonder how much weight I will lose and if I will see major changes happen in just this short time? Thus far I am happy with how things are going and just trying to get through these first few days/weeks. Franc mentioned going away in a few weeks and my mind is already wondering how to keep us happy while visiting family out of state? I am going to start working on a plan….

Tonight for dinner we made a “Hippie Loaf” thanks to the Happy Herbivore website for this recipe ;-) we also made homemade non-dairy mashed potatoes and Franc made absolutely fantastic mushroom gravy from scratch. I really liked the concept of this hippie loaf and it was the first I’ve made but I think I could have done a few things differently to this recipe that would have made myself and Franc like it just a little more. I will be working on this and I will post my recipe as soon as I master my meatless loaf.

On a side note- Normally I am not a night time snacker, but I am finding that come around 9pm I’m REALLY hungry, I need to figure out how to not get in the habit of munching this late?

                                               xoxo,

                                               Betty

Day 4 - Franc Earth Balance and Popcorn

Well here's the latest update on the quest for the perfect veggie wiener... Today I tried another brand of sausage "LightLife - Smart Sausages". I went with the chirizo flavor to spice things up a bit. Much like the brand from yesterday, this was another decent option for me. Again, it's not quite the flavor of it's meaty counterpart, but it's certainly tasty enough to work for me and my new diet.

Was happy with the "All American" burger and fries dinner tonight. I did not even miss the cheese on top of the burger. We sauteed some onions and mushrooms and put a little Vegenaise on top and had a really delicious, flavorful sandwich.

At the end of the evening we were watching some TV and decided to have some popcorn. We had some non salted, non flavored, microwavable, organic popcorn that we added a little melted Earth Balance Butter to and it was a great snack. That E.B. Butter is killer, and has been working great for us since we started! We've also read that nutritional yeast is a great thing to add to popcorn or anything else you want to give a little cheesy flavor to. We looking to pick some of that up soon and will give you our thoughts on it.

~Betty day 4 Veggie Burger

Betty day 4 ~

 Hello all!

 A pretty easy day all in all, Breakfast was some Kashi cereal and soy milk with fruit and juice.

Lunch was leftover brown rice dish from yesterday’s lunch

Dinner we made vegan veggie burgers. We are trying to make everyone in our household happy with this new change and not trying to force it upon anyone (referring to the small fries age 8 and 11) So we chose this meal knowing that my oldest daughter could still eat a regular burger and myself and Franc could have the veggie style. My youngest who has been a healthy eater all of her life now claims she’s a vegetarian?!? Maybe she is? Maybe she isn’t? I’m not really sure at this point, but what I do know is that she did not like the veggie burger,  She was even heard mumbling “curse you non-delicious veggie burger”  at the dinner table, so we opted to make her a peanut butter and jelly and I gave her accolades for trying, As a side note I would like to point out that I have always made an effort to have dinner with my girls as often as possible so it is going to be slightly tricky to make things that everyone can enjoy, without making totally separate meals for everyone and fit all of this into our busy schedules but I’m trying. I love veggie burgers and have been eating them forever so I was happy. We baked some frozen fries which I’m sure we could have made something healthier but we have lots to do so they worked just fine.

 Got a fabulous new book today! This Crazy Vegan Life by Christina Pirello

She is extremely knowledgeable about health and nutrition and I am anxious to make some of the recipes they seem quick and easy and sound delish!!

                                                                     xoxo,
                                                                   Betty

Day 3 - Franc

Once again we started off the day easy with a simple Vegan Breakfast - No problem.

For lunch I had some of Betty's brown rice dish, which I really enjoyed. The citrus of the lemon with the tang of the soy was a nice surprise. I was also pleasantly surprised how quickly she whipped it up - a real time saver!

In addition to the rice I was also excited to try my first Vegan sausage sandwich. As much as Betty is a connoisseur of the curd, I consider myself somewhat of an expert in tube shaped meat. I love Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, kielbasa, brats (beer and cheese are my favs), and also all the cured sausages you could think of. There-for when going Veg, I was very interested in trying a few types of Veg alternatives to see how they might compare. Today I tried the Tofurkey (Italian Flavor) and was pretty happy with the taste. I think the key to good sausage is simply having good spices inside and this one hit the mark pretty well. The only criticism I have is that the casing didn't quite have the crunch or pop that I'm use to. All in all it's a pretty good substitute and kept my sausage cravings at bay. I have another brand I'm going to try tomorrow at lunch, just to compare.


Franc


BONUS - RANDOM PICTURE OF CAPTAIN VEGETABLE!

~Betty day 3 Brown rice veggie salad bowl

Hello!! Lots going on today and we tried a BUNCH of new items that I want to discuss. First of all breezed right through breakfast with some fruit and bagels, this breakfast thing seems simple but I don’t want to come off as overconfident so I will report back on that in the future.

I had a meeting in the morning and had to run home and whip up lunch in about 20 minutes and so I came up with this quick and easy brown rice and veggie “salad” bowl. Turned out great and it was quick and easy. I basically took some brown rice that I had and added carrots, tomatoes, scallions, some balsamic vinaigrette and  the juice of half a lemon topped it with a nice sprinkle of cashews and voila! LUNCH!

We made our first trip to the natural foods store to stock up on some non-dairy staples that I’ve been wanting to try. We got all kinds of stuff. Even a little container of loaded mashed potatoes made vegan style! It was pretty cool to go to a place that had so many options for us. I wanted to taste everything but tried to get a little of this and a little of that, so we don’t get too crazy. I realize that just by eliminating meat and dairy there are still choices that aren’t necessarily healthy so I’m trying to learn as I go and take baby steps. Eliminating dairy for me is a big step so since I don’t eat much sugar normally I’m leaving that alone for now and will address white sugar some where down the road.

When we got home we were sampling  everything! Let me tell you Vegenaise is unbelievable, truly fabulous alternative that I should have been using my whole life. The dairy free sour cream seems fine and will be nice to use for dips and such when we have places and things to see and do. We even bought a non dairy “magic” bar to share just to see if we liked it. Fabulous! The Newmans-O's ROCKED! Now on to my first stumbling block…… We bought follow your heart cheddar. I consider myself and Franc somewhat of cheese connoisseurs’ we are always sampling cheeses from here and there, we have restaurants that we go to just to eat their cheeseboard and enjoy a glass of wine.

There are times when I consume a nice 5 year old cheddar that I reach true euphoria.

So I was very anxious to sample this cheese, the reviews I’ve read online say this is one of the best non-dairy cheeses you can find, first off the consistency was strange felt plastic like and slightly greasy, was strangely light and not at all cheese-ish in texture or feeling, but the taste, the taste was so odd and strange I am actually struggling to find words to describe this odd alien cheese substance. I actually had to spit it out. It was that bad L  Can anyone suggest a better cheese alternative that I could try? I am mourning the loss of cheese today.


Our faux grill cheese



On a slightly better note, Franc convinced me to give faux cheese a second chance and he made us a grilled cheese, I believe he was sensing I needed some comfort food at this point, he used earth balance butter, wheat bread, pseudo cheese and when it was all melty (the mock cheese does melt BTW) he put veganaise on his creation. I was extremely doubtful that I was going to be able to even stomach a bite of one of my former favorites but was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. The veganaise made it creamy and delish, I think it perfectly complemented the counterfeit cheese. We paired this with a nice salad a all was good at the house of Betty and Franc J
               xoxo,
               Betty


                                   

Day 2 Franc

All is going well. Breakfast seems to be easy by just eating cereal or oatmeal. These items are satisfying enough and quick enough, even for the busiest schedule. I'm a little concerned that I may start to miss bacon and eggs in the future. I really love egg sandwiches with cheese on bread or a bagel. I'm hoping that a trip to a local Vegan Friendly Super Market will lead to a decent egg substitute. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

The dinner that Betty prepared was really tasty. As you can see from the picture below, it wasn't much to look at but the rice and chick peas really filled me up and was super tasty. Although this meal was really good, I'd imagine that those not accustomed to trying new styles of food would be put off by the less than fabulous look of the meal ;-)  I'm a lover of spicy food so I put a little Tabasco sauce on mine which really kicked up the heat and gave it some extra tang.

One other quick note... I really enjoy a glass of wine with dinner and have been happy that I didn't have to give that up for this new diet. At this point I really haven't begun to miss any meat or dairy items.

~Day 2 Betty~

Ok second day,things are still going good. this morning for breakfast we had Oatmeal and toast with peanut butter and a banana. This is basically what I eat for breakfast all the time. I haven't drank milk for years so drinking soy milk is no different at all. I did make my daughter a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch today and for one second the smell of the cheese drifted in my direction. LOL! A big challenge in this is cooking for my two non vegetarian children.

For Dinner we made brown Rice and Tahini with chickpeas and artichokes. I got this recipe from the book Super market Vegan. It turned out fantastic. Super creamy from the tahini with a nutty flavor and extremely filling and delishes. Still wondering what I'm missing out on by not eating meat and dairy when I'm eating all of this good stuff.



                                                          xoxo,
                                                           Betty

~Day 1~

1/1/11

Day 1 Betty ~ with a date like today’s doesn’t it seem appropriate to start anew? Today is the beginning of our new lifestyle. I have been looking forward to this for quite sometime, reading, planning and preparing for my plant based diet. I have been a vegetarian for almost a year so the idea of not eating meat doesn’t even bother me, but dairy??? I LOVE CHEESE!! Anyone that know me knows how much J I am however sincere in my desire to go dairy free. Everything that I have done has pointed me in this direction.

Today was an easy day a holiday:

Lunch/ Breakfast was some vegan cereal with soy milk and half a bagel tofutti and a banana easy peasy

Dinner :

Portabello mushrooms steaks a recipe I got from the Happy Herbivore website

Also baked potatoes with earth balance faux butter and steamed mix veg and vegan coleslaw (Since Franc makes fabulous regular coleslaw he  came up with this non-dairy version)

It was fabulous!!! Not missing out on anything here!! So far so good.

                                                          Day one was a success!

                                                                Betty

Ok, this is my first day going vegan. As a confirmed carnivore most of my friends and family think I am crazy for going down this path. Of course everyone thinks that I'm going "veg"  only to appease Betty, but the truth is, I'm really looking forward to challenging myself to see if I can avoid meat and dairy for 30 days. I'm also interested to see what effects going vegan will have on my body. I'm hoping that with eliminating dairy that perhaps my allergies will lighten up. Additionally I'm hoping that my waist line will also skinny up a bit after all the holiday over indulgence. Any way I'm very excited to try some new dishes, experience new flavors and to see if it's possible to keep my cravings satisfied. My concerns are that perhaps cooking vegan will be more difficult and time consuming and also whether I can actually go out to eat and maintain the vegan diet easily. Only time will tell but I'm excited to get started!


Day one was actually quite easy. Breakfast was tasty and quick to prepare. Everyone loves cereal and Bagels. The Tofuti spread is a pretty good substitute for cream cheese. Our dinner was very satisfying. I've enjoyed Portabellas many times and see why Vegans use these as a hearty substitute for steak - they are very rich in texture and filling. I personally made the coleslaw, and as a bonified "creamy" slaw lover, I was very happy with the version we created (see recipe below). Additionally the baked potato with substitute butter was great. It's amazing how much like real butter the Earth Balance substitute really was. So far, I think this Vegan thing will be pretty easy and the food is tasty and satisfying thus far.

Franc ;-)


Vegan Slaw Recipe

1 bag pre cut cole slaw mix

½ medium onion diced

½ cup extra light virgin olive oil

½ cup apple cider vinegar

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 tbs. sugar (to taste to cut sourness of vinegar)

Mix oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and sugar. Pour dressing over slaw mix and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Our plan from the beginning

Being meat and dairy free is the healthiest choice we can make physically, mentally, and spiritually.

We are anxious to see and feel all of the positive effects from eliminating meat and dairy from our diet. We both suffer from allergies and are hoping to lessen or eliminate their effects.

We are a 30 ish couple living in the Pittsburgh area and trying to make a healthy life choice for the long (or short) term.  

Betty~ has been a fish and dairy munching vegetarian for about a year

Franc~ has been a carnivore for most of his life.   

This blog is a documentation of our 30 days of going plant based diet.We have vowed to try this

whole-heartedly for 30 days. Our plan is to document our meals, recipes, stores and restaurants we go to and how we are feeling throughout this process. Good, bad, or otherwise this is our story…….

*Disclaimer- We are an average everyday couple making a whole hearted attempt to go meat and dairy free for a minimum of 30 days we are learning as we go so please feel free to offer suggestions, helpful tips, etc. 

                                                Wish us luck :-)
                                                   Betty and Franc