Vegan Potstickers, Miso Soup, and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, OH MY!

I came across a recipe on Pinterest and made it my mission to make something similar as soon as possible. The recipe was for Vegan Mushroom Potstickers. My brother and sister-in-law used to make Potstickers every once in a while and I always enjoyed them, but thought they were too hard to make. I was wrong. Granted, they do take some time, but they are easy (and so dang good!).

I adapted the recipe a bit because I found some great vegan sausage. Next time, I think this will be a fun meal to prepare together.

I also made some vegan chocolate chip cookies the other night and they are phenomenal. It had been so long since having a chocolate chip cookie that I went a little crazy and gave myself a tummy ache, but in moderation, they are just perfect! I made them with a little tablespoon-sized cookie scooper and they are just the cutest little things! I'll post the recipe below the Potsticker and Miso Soup recipes.


Vegan Potstickers
Makes 40-60 Potstickers, depending on how full you get them.
The link above has the original Mushroom Potsticker recipe, but this is how I adapted it. 
Ingredients:

• 2 containers fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1 pound vegan sausage substitute
• 4 cups loosely packed shredded cabbage
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (green and white parts...save some of the green parts for garnish)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 cup tamari sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• Pinch of sugar or more to taste
• 30 wonton wrappers (I used square ones and almost used a whole package)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, adding more if necessary
• Sesame seeds (sprinkled on top as a garnish, if desired)

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium and cook your vegan sausage (or regular sausage if you eat meat). Try to get it in small pieces so it will fit better into your wonton wrappers. Meanwhile, chop the shiitakes, shred the cabbage, chop the green onions, and grate the ginger (or chop it finely). 


2. Once the sausage is done, add the shiitakes and about 1/2 cup water. Once the shiitakes start to soften, add the cabbage, onions, and ginger and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often so the cabbage softens. Drizzle the sesame oil and tamari, stir well, and taste. DO NOT OVERDO THE SESAME OIL. Sesame oil is delicious but it has A LOT of flavor. Add a little sugar if desired (a little goes a long way, and it makes a huge difference in flavor).


3. Fill a wonton wrapper with a scant tablespoon of mushroom filling.


4. To seal, dip your finger in water and lightly moisten the edges of the wonton wrapper and fold over to form a triangle, pressing the edges together. You can crimp them however you like, as long as they are fully sealed.


5. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and filling. As I was filling mine, I set them on a piece of parchment until they were all ready for cooking.


6. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 10 to 12 potstickers to skillet and cover with a lid.


7. Cook potstickers for 2 to 3 minutes each side, keeping skillet covered. Gently remove potstickers and repeat with remaining postickers, adding more oil if needed. They don't take long at all to cook.


8. Serve potstickers warm with your favorite Asian dipping sauce. We had a chili sauce and peanut sauce.

Miso Soup

This made about 6-8 servings. Feel free to adjust to your needs.

Ingredients:

8 cups water

1 russet potato cut into cubes, skin removed

2/3 cup miso

3 green onions, chopped

2 sheets of nori, shredded/chopped/crumbled

*2 Tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce) (optional)

*1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)

*you may also use 1 blog firm tofu cut into small cubes, I did not use it this time because our potstickers had protein already.

Directions:

Bring water to a slow simmer and add seaweed and potato. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. The longer you simmer the seaweed, the less of a "fishy" flavor it has. Reduce heat to very low and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir the miso until it is dissolved. Do NOT boil. Boiling miso can change the flavor and alter the healthy properties of the miso. Do not add any salt/pepper/etc. This is a very mild, broth-like soup that is meant to be very simple. Your first sip might taste bland, but the more you sip it, the more you will enjoy it. 

 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I doubled the recipe, but the ingredients below should make a couple dozen. When I bake cookies, I like to bake a big batch and freeze half (less work later down the road when I'm really craving a little something sweet).

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup almond milk

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cream together the coconut oil and brown sugar, then add the almond milk and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then fold in the chocolate chips (or walnuts, or whatever you like). 

Roll into Tbsp sized balls or use a cookie scooper and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned. I did mine for about 9-10 minutes. 

Take care, friends! It's looking like it will be a beautiful day...get out and enjoy it!

Squash Risotto

I have been a terrible, terrible blogger recently. When we first began our journey, it was so new and exciting that I could hardly wait to write my next blog post.

Now that we're SIX WEEKS into this journey, it is becoming much more routine (which is certainly not a negative thing). I am still excited to try new recipes (or adapt old favorites), but it doesn't seem like such a "big deal" anymore. Being this far into it, we rarely have to think about our food choices and we both feel so good about how we are fueling our bodies that the healthier choice is the easy choice.

In addition, I have been incredibly overwhelmed with school and my two jobs. I'm coming to the end of my graduate schooling and I am realizing I have more anxiety than I anticipated (for a number of reasons, several of which are out of my control). As for work, in a nutshell, I'm ready for just one full time job. Lately, I'm less concerned with blogging, and more concerned with trying to get all of my ducks in a row for school, work, and potential future career path(s). The free time I do have, I've been spending with my loving and encouraging husband.

I cooked an acorn squash the other day, and since Xavier isn't a fan of squash, I decided I would transform it into something he does enjoy. I do like squash and I ate as much of it as I could handle, but I had to "shake it up." I turned to a recipe that I used to use before we became vegan, adapted it to fit our needs, and it turned out beautifully! It's perfect for this weather.

Squash Risotto
Ingredients
1 quart vegetable stock
1 cup water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine (I used Mad Housewife Chardonnay)
10oz cooked squash (I used Acorn but the recipe calls for Butternut...use what you like)
Nutmeg to taste (probably 1/4tsp...it's best to start out with a very small amount and add more if you want to...it's pretty strong)
1/2 tsp sage (give or take...again, start out with a small amount and add more if you want)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Bring vegetable stock and water to a simmer in a pot and then reduce heat to low.
Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and soften for a few minutes. Add rice and toast for 2-5 minutes. Add wine and cook it out completely, stirring occasionally. Ladle in stock in intervals, a couple ladles at a time. Allow liquids to evaporate each time, while stirring. Risotto will cook for about 18 minutes, total, from the first addition of liquid. Add the squash during the last few minutes of cooking. Taste your risotto around the 18 minute mark to determine tenderness. You may need to add more liquid (I ended up having to add about 1/2 extra water to get it done how I like). Season with nutmeg, sage, salt, and pepper. Enjoy warm.

FAQ

A few people have asked some questions recently that I'd like to address.

What do you eat for breakfast?
A typical breakfast (for me) would be homemade granola with almond milk and fruit (a banana, orange, or whatever we have on hand). Xavier usually also has a piece of toast with almond butter or Earth Balance (vegan butter). When we have extra time (like a weekend day we don't work), we might make scrambled tofu (tastes and looks similar to scrambled eggs, if you do it right) and breakfast potatoes (again, with some fruit). Some store-bought cereal is okay, but you have to really be careful about reading the ingredient text. We've found it to be cheaper and more rewarding to make our own granola, so we usually stick to that.

What do you eat for lunch?
Sometimes we have leftovers from dinner (which ranges from pad thai to lentil stew). I've also been trying to keep eggless egg salad in the fridge at least every other week (we'll have that on bread or with crackers...again, read those ingredient texts!). We also buy vegan sandwich "meat" every so often. It can be rather dry, so I don't care too much for it, but it's not bad with veggies and hummus or Veganaise and mustard. It's more of a textural dislike for me, though. But it's fairly inexpensive, so give it a try if you want!

How do you have time to do everything?
We work really well as a team. I couldn't do this alone. We have a pretty good system down, I think. Recently it seems like I'll make bigger batches of things that will last us the week (like lentil stew, eggless egg salad, etc.) and he will jump in and make delicious evening meals to fill in the gaps. I usually do stews and granola on the weekends because I have more time. It's really about multi-tasking and time management. When I got done with work today, I whipped up a batch of chewy granola bars (hopefully they're good!), a batch of granola, sauteed some kale that needed to be used up asap, and made a big batch of hummus. All within about an hour and a half...but I have a pretty good handle of what order to do my "staples" to maximize productivity ;) What it boils down to is planning your week. What meals are you going to make, and when will you have leftovers? Can you divide the tasks between people, or do you want to alternate weeks?

Do you keep any snacks on hand?
Yes!! We typically have hummus, veggies (for dippin' or munchin'), fruit, nuts (almonds, pecans, peanuts) and pita chips or bean chips. We also like to make popcorn on the stove for movie nights. Mm mm!

Can you have any desserts?
Oh yes, we can! It's pretty easy to find vegan dessert recipes online. Some of them call for "weird" ingredients that we rarely (never) have on hand, so I usually scour the internet for a recipe that has more "normal" ingredients. We're hooked on snickerdoodles and chocolate-pumpkin muffins. BUT...just because it's vegan, doesn't mean you should eat a boatload of it! Everything in moderation :) 

What is your biggest tip so far?
First and foremost, before you buy anything, read the label to make sure there aren't any hidden milk/egg products. Seriously. You might look like one of "those" health nuts reading labels in the aisles, blocking all of the (insert general product here), but it is worth it. I had a very disappointing experience on Monday when I went to Target and bought some yummies that I assumed were vegan...when I got home, I read the ingredients as I was about to tear the boxes open, and I was sorely disappointed when I saw "eggs" and "milk" in the text. Now I have to trek back to Target and explain that I was a dummy and didn't realize it wasn't vegan and beg for my money back...(okay, maybe not beg).



Those are all the questions I can remember currently. If you have any other questions that you'd like me to address, feel free to ask! I'm NOT an expert, but I am certainly becoming more and more comfortable with this lifestyle.

Take care, stay warm, and be kind!

(!!!) Four Weeks (!!!)

Hello lovely readers!

I can't believe it, but we've soared past the 4 week mark! We're settling into this lifestyle and realizing that it is becoming "normal." I don't feel like I'm thinking about the vegan lifestyle constantly at this point, but it's more of a habit now.

I apologize for not being ontop of updating lately. Grad school has zapped most of my energy. It's that time in the semester where I wonder what the heck I'm doing, why I've taken on so many responsibilities, and would rather run and hide than try to tackle the mountain of work I have. I just need to get over the "hump." Grad school has certainly been a learning experience, to say the least. I can hardly wait for May 2014 (graduation!!).

In my last post, I promised some photos and a recipe for vegan cupcakes.

Cupcakes

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flavorless oil (I used canola because that's what we had on hand)

3/4 cup non-dairy milk of choice (I used almond milk)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Pre-heat oven to 365 degrees. Line a pan with 10 cupcake liners (I made mini cupcakes, and it made quite a few because I doubled everything). In a mixer bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix on low for a few seconds to combine. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium till well blended and no lumps remain. The batter will be pretty runny.

Fill the cupcake liners with the batter and bake for 20 minutes, or till a toothpick tests clean and cupcakes bounce back when lightly pressed.

Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely before frosting. At this point, unfrosted, they taste like little pancakes!!

Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup melted and cooled vegan butter (Earth Balance is great)

2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a mixer bowl. Beat on low till well combined, then increase speed to medium-high. Beat till light and fluffy. If frosting is too thick to pipe or spread, add more melted butter – a tablespoon at a time – till it reaches the right consistency. If it is too wet, add a little more powdered sugar. I also added food coloring to make them orange to fit the party (although food color may not be vegan...hmmm).

Pipe or frost as desired; serve immediately or keep covered in the fridge. After a few days, they'll get pretty dry. I bet you could make the cupcakes and freeze them and thaw as needed desired. 

Ready for prom!

I decided to change into lounge clothes :)

Now that I'm somewhat caught up with the blog, I should get back to my schoolwork. I'm waiting for the big winter storm they've predicted so that I have an excuse to stay home tonight. I'd rather not drive to and from Brookings in a blizzard.

Stay warm and be kind, friends!