Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

Just a note to say that we have no phone (and, thus, Internet) access (I'm writing from work again, but I won't be back for a week), and they're not giving us much hope for a speedy recovery. Apparently it's a two-man job, but they won't send another guy out. The local (very kind) technician said he might be able to do a temporary patch job if my DH helped, so we'll see.

UPDATE 5PM: We have phone and internet access again! The technician came late in the day and my husband just phoned and said it was patched up, so, barring any big windstorms, it should hold until he comes back. Sunday there is a forecast of winds up to 90k an hour, but that's less than the last big storm that hit.

In the meantime, I'm keeping busy making food ahead of the holiday and doing a little decorating. Yesterday I made two seitan "pork" roasts:



and two seitan "turkey" roasts :



I also made some vegan Tourtière (a French-Canadian "meat" pie which DH, who comes from Quebec, MUST have every year on Christmas Eve):



The recipe was in an article that I wrote for Vegetarian Times magazine in 1995-- but now I use a package of Yves "Ground Round" (vegan "hamburger" crumbles) instead of the ground seitan. The recipe, unfortunately is not available online, though you can access it through your local libary electronic magazine archives. (NOTE: In the recipe on that site, the baking time inexplicably reads "SO"-- it should read "50-60 minutes, or until the pastry is done to your liking".)  You'll find other French-Canadian recipes there, and some background on the Réveillon (REV-e-yawn), or Christmas Eve, feasting and traditions. UPDATE: DEC. 2014:  See my new vegan Tourtière recipe here!


HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL (and I'd love to hear about your vegan holiday feasting)!

A new version of my old Christmas cookie recipe "Chinese Chewies", which I'm calling "Pecan-Cranberry Chewies"-- these were gluten-free, but you can also make them with wholewheat pastry flour. I made these just before the power went out! This photo shows the cookies cut and un-sugared, cut and sugared, and cut, rolled, and sugared. UPDATE, Dec. 2011: here is a page about the origin of "Chinese Chews" and the original  recipe from 1917. "The origin of the name “Chinese Chews” for a snack with dates and English walnuts is a mystery that has not been explained."


This was the heavy, slushy snow coming down last Thursday-- picturesque, but mucky!

Well, the good news is, after 8 days, we finally have power again! The bad news is, now we have no phone access, until about Thursday! I was so depressed about that I could hardly enjoy the good news! I regret to say that I was in a really foul mood about the phone and DH had to put up with alot of whining and whingeing (as they say in the UK!). But, we attended our first Christmas party last night (very reluctantly on my part), and had a lot of fun and good food, and good laughs, so I feel better now. What can you do about it anyway?

Saturday, our close neighbors got their power back, but we had to wait because we were not a "multiple outage". Our neighbors just below us lent us their 1000 watt generator for the last 2 days or so, so at least we could have a lamp or two on, watch TV now and then, or even use the computer or a kitchen appliance. But, to use the computer, I had to bring the whole set-up down to a different spot and it was a bit of a nuisance, so I only did it once for 1/2 an hour.

Now, I can use the computer, but of course, this means we have no internet access because we have no phone line! I was able to download the photos off of my camera to my computer, resize them and put them on a disc, though. So I could put them on Photobucket from the disc here at work and use them on the blog.

Anyway, you're probably getting tired of hearing about it! I'm getting tired of writing about it! I hope that by Thursday, things will be normal, and I can write about Christmasey things!

Thank you all for your comments and good wishes!


Here is a not very good photo of the debris on our deck after the windstorm. It really doesn't do the whole thing justice, but it's all I have.

FOOD:

Here is a photo of the bamboo steamer set-up on the butane burner, reheating leftovers:


Here are some photos of that Breast of Tofu dish I described in my last blog post:






Here are the pyrogies with Soycurls that I mentioned in the last blog entry:


Here's the recipe for the "chewies". They are fat-free except for the nuts-- very sweet, but pretty good for you, and really delicious. Ps: i will add the nutritional info later.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S VEGAN PECAN-CRANBERRY CHEWIES (CAN BE GLUTEN-FREE)
Makes 32-36 squares or balls
(Adapted from a recipe in my book “The Almost No-Fat Holiday Cookbook”)

The original version these bars (called "Chinese Chewies", and I have no idea where they got the name!) have been a favorite Christmas cookie for years. The original recipe contained eggs. I veganized it, and now discovered that a gluten-free version works just fine!

The first time I tasted these was at a Hanukkah party at my cousins' Baba's (grandmother's) house many years ago. Had to try to make them myself! They were originally made with just dates and walnuts.

3/4 c. wholewheat pastry flour  OR Bryanna's Gluten-Free High-Fiber Flour Mix (recipe below)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tsp. (2 T. plus 2 tsp.) powdered egg replacer mixed with 1/4 c. cold water
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 T. vanilla extract
OPTIONAL: 1 T. grated organic orange zest or 1 tsp. orange extract
1 c. chopped pecans
3/4 c. chopped pitted dates
1/4 c. dried cranberries
OPTIONAL: powdered organic unbleached sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

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

In a small, deep bowl beat together the water and egg replacer with an electric or rotary beater until like softly-mounded beaten egg whites. (NOTE: You can actually beat this with a hand immersion blender for this recipe, beacuse it doesn't have to get really stiff.)

Beat in the sugar and vanilla briefly. Scoop this into the bowl with the flour mixture, along with the dates, cranberries, and pecans. Mix gently but well.

Scoop the mixture into a nonstick or lightly-oiled or sprayed 8" square cake pan (you can line the bottom with cooking parchment, if you like). Bake for 25 minutes, or until it begins to turn golden (it will be soft).



Cool slightly on a rack, then cut into small pieces (32-36) and roll in powdered sugar, if you like.

You can also take the squares while they are pretty hot and roll them and squeeze them into little balls, and roll in powdered sugar, if you prefer.

Cool thoroughly and store airtight.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1 square or bar, recipe cut into 36): 80.1 calories; 24% calories from fat; 2.3g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 15.9mg sodium; 84.2mg potassium; 15.1g carbohydrates; 1.2g fiber; 8.4g sugar; 13.9g net carbs; 0.7g protein; 1.6 points.

Printable Recipe
 
BRYANNA'S GLUTEN-FREE HIGH-FIBER FLOUR MIX
Makes about 13 cups

7 and 1/2 c. brown rice flour (I grind it from short grain brown rice)
2 and 1/2 c. potato starch (NOT potato flour!)
1 and 1/4 c. tapioca flour
1 c. ground golden flax seed
1 c. chickpea flour (besan) OR soy flour
4 and 1/2 T. xanthan or guar gum

Mix well and store in a moisture-proof container in in the freezer. Use cup-for-cup instead of regular flour.

NOTE: Because non-gluten flours lack the structure that gluten provides, xanthan gum or guar gum (available in health food stores) is often added to gluten-free baked goods. This mixture contains enough xanthan or guar gum for cakes, cookies, pancakes, and quick breads. For yeast breads, you may have to add up to 1 tsp. more gum per cup of gluten-free flour.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per cup): 607.8 calories; 9% calories from fat; 6.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 19.0mg sodium; 399.0mg potassium; 126.2g carbohydrates; 10.4g fiber; 0.9g sugar; 115.8g net carbs; 10.3g protein; 11.9 points.


Enjoy!

Hi, again! I am at work writing this again, because we still don't have power (5 days, now!) Parts of the island have power now--- the downtown, and nearby. My mother (thank goodness, because she's 89 and pretty game, but she was getting fed-up) and my son, who live near the downtown, got power last night, so we went to my mom's and had showers! But, on the next island over, Hornby, where my oldest daughter and her family live, NOBODY has power yet!

Thanks for all your good wishes and prayers! The last two storms did not turn out to be as bad as the first one, thank goodness, but there has been lots of rain, and yesterday it snowed 4 slushy, heavy inches and then rained again (now it's sunny!). We did not get the bad winds, thank heavens (we need a break!). But Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Victoria and the Washington/Oregon coast got it really badly, as Debbie mentioned, and I really feel for them.

We just might get power tomorrow, but I think that is overly-optimistic. I think maybe Weds. They JUST got the power to the ferry terminal on Denman Is. this morning. There are contracted tree-cutters all over the island and they did cut the trees off our power line this morning, but the Hydro crew has to reconnect everything, and there are still big lines down on many of the major roads. So, I don't think they'll get to us for a long time.

I was getting a bit depressed, because it's hard to feel Christmasy, and everything takes so long, it's so dark (unless we get sun, like today), etc., etc. I should be working on the newsletter and the e-book! But, I decided to be positive and regard it as a holiday from work. I'm getting lots of reading done and catching up on sleep, since we get to bed really early! And, after all, how can we feel sorry for ourselves when we think of all we have compared to so many?

We got head-lamps (like cavers use) and that has been great--free hands! We're warm and dry; we're collecting lots of rain-water, so water's not a problem; we have lots of food and are eating really well. We still have our phone, and now we can even have showers and wash clothes nearby! Fortunately, as you know, we have no meat in our freezer, so there's nothing we can really lose. The freezer is old and heavily-insulated and I hadn't defrosted it recently, so it's actually still got ice in it! We are eating the things as they thaw (reconstituted Soy Curls, veggies, etc.) and have not even had to resort to canned and dried foods yet! We use our deck as an outdoor fridge.

It reminds me of when I was young and was "homesteading" with my late husband Wayne and my kids in the 70's. We lived voluntarily without power or running water for 3 years, and without running water for several more! As I washed my hair in the sink yesterday after heating up the water on the woodstove and using a pitcher to wet my hair, I was reminded of the school mornings when my 3 teenage girls would all be doing this every day! We didn't even have a TV in those days either, but we had lots of fun.

It also has made me very aware of the over-consumption at Christmas time, for some reason. I'm not THAT old, but I can remember feeling so thrilled to get a special doll and a few other things. Parents might get eachother a nice article of clothing, or something like that. But ordinary middle class people didn't buy what would have been the equivilant of these games and other pieces of technology that cost hundreds of dollars that people spend,spend, spend (and feel somehow obliged to spend!) now. Most of us think nothing of buying these things for ourselves, anyway, so why do we need other people to get into debt to buy us something more?

We're keeping it really simple this year. Getting together is the main thing. And our extended family is helping out a family member who really needs it right now instead of getting gifts for all the nieces and nephews, etc..

My daughter-in-law Amber did a really nice thing (now that I'm on the subject). We have homeless on Denman Island, believe it or not. A couple of individuals who have been dealt some hard knocks in life and, though very smart and hard-working, have a problem with alcohol. They live in donated vans. Amber pre-paid for some gas for their vans at the local store. A very kind gesture.

To digress, I've been taking photos, but I can't upload them and resize them, so blogging with photos will have to wait. I got out my Chinese stacking bamboo steamers and they have come in handy for reheating leftovers.

What did we have for dinner last night? Frozen potato-and-onion pyrogies (well-- half-frozen!), boiiled and then sauteed in a little Earth Balance with mushrooms and oniosn and a few Soycurls, topped with leftover brown gravy. Spinach salad on the side. No too shabby! Oh, and by candlelight, of course!

All the best!

Make that TWO storms coming: read about them here.

I am writing this from work ...I was going to blog yesterday, had some recipes tried and photographed, and was all set to apologize for blogging only once a week lately. But yesterday we had the worst wind and rain storm I have ever seen! Now our power is out again, and may be for some days or even weeks, because there was so much damage!

On top of that, an even worse storm is predicted for Thursday and another after that! Evidently, we are getting the tail-end of the terrible storms hitting the Philippines. We get it about 2 days after they do-- not as bad, but it was really scary yesterday. We live in a very forested area, as you can see from the photos in my snowstorm post. Branches were flying past (one big one almost hit the dining area window!) and hitting the roof, and the end of our driveway was almost flooded (fortunately, it stopped raining overnight). (I hope the reports of upcoming storms are exaggerated!)

There is debris and tree branches all over the yard and the entire driveway. DH walked down the our powerline and there are three big trees that smashed our powerlines, broke the glass covers on them, etc.. There were two big trees down on our little road, but we could get around them. There are two trees hanging on power lines on the hill down to the ferry, but people are driving under them since there is no power. There were trees on lines and lines down on the road we drive on to get "downtown". We have heard of other extensive damage all over the island, and on Hornby Island, where my daughter lives.

The Hornby ferry did only a few runs yesterday, and I believe the Denman Ferry, which can almost always make it, stopped for a while. My 14-year-old grandaughter, who goes to Jr. High from Hornby on two ferries and a bus to Courtenay, stayed in Courtenay with a friend last night. She's coming home today, though, because the power to her school is off. Parts of Courtenay and other outlying areas are without power still, so the Islands will be last on the list!

My daughter who lives north of Courtenay had part of their metal roof come loose!

So, I'll be documenting some more power outage meals! One problem this time is keeping food cold. The last time, I had to keep food from freezing outside when the fridge got too warm. But this time we are having unseasonably warm temperatures from this tropical storm hitting us.

We had a great meal last night, which I took photos of, but I can't resize them here. I made "Breast of Tofu" in a sauce from veggie broth, white wine, marinated artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, thyme and basil, and then melted soy mozza over the top! With leftover re-steamed basmati rice, and stir-fried broccoli and garlic (all done on our little butane burner), it was a feast!

I also had made a new version of my old Christmas favorite, "Chinese Chewies", from my first cookbook, but with pecans, dried cranberries, and gluten-free flour! I made them just before the power went out.

So, stay tuned and stay warm!

UPDATE THURSDAY NOV. 30TH: We had more snow Weds. night and the power went of yet AGAIN at 8:30 PM! It went back on at about 10:40 AM this morning. I added some new photos at the end of this blog post. BCG


Me walking down our driveway; photo by Brian Grogan

NOTE: Why does snow cause such havoc in the lower mainland of BC and Vancouver Island? Because we don't get it very often! People aren't used to driving in it, it's often quite heavy and wet and breaks trees, which cut power lines (and there are ALOT of trees!), and cities don't have much snow-removing equipment. BCG

Tamale square from the freezer, reheated. I had experimented with a baked casserole made from real (but vegan) tamale dough with a vegan "chicken" filling sandwiched between. It was okay, but tasted undercooked and "stodgy". I had frozen two leftover pieces in the corn husks that I lined the casserole with, and I steamed them for our lunch on the first day. I had some of the red chile sauce left to serve with it, and I added some melted vegan mozza. The steaming really improved the texture and flavor...yum! I will be playing with this further!  UPDATE 2011: The completed recipe is actually in my new book, World Vegan Feast!  For "vegan butter", try my new recipe for palm oil-free "Buttah". PS: Our beautiful little cat Tina, in photos below, passed away.


What DH calls a "Boiled Dinner"-- an Eastern Canadian phrase that sounds unappetizing, but is actually "comfort food"! I cook sliced savoy cabbage and julienned carrots in vegan "chicken-style" broth, and serve with steamed potatoes and veggie sausages (in this case, Tofurkey "Keilbasa")-- mustard and vegan butter on the side.

(Oh-oh! The power went off for a minute or two as I was writing this [it's snowing again], and I lost some of it-- I'll keep trying and save more often! Update: It did it once again, but Dh came in and said the Hydro guys were working up on the corner. )

We have had two weeks of intermittent power outages on Denman and Hornby Islands, due to underwater hydro cables being repaired, and wind. But then we had a snow storm and the two islands (and much of BC's Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, which is not used to this sort of thing, and there are never enough snow plows!) lost power for two or more days.


Our poor plum tree!

There were also little local lines down, and that's what happened to us-- a beautiful big old maple tree on our road split in half and fell on the power lines, which were dragging near the ground in the driveway of one of our elderly neighbors. Since there were so many emergencies, we were out of power for 3 days, only getting it back yesterday morning around 8 am. (They did come and cut the tree off the line and make it possible for us to drive on the road.)

It's a bit of an adventure at first, and we were well into the swing of it from the week before, but during those past outages, we got the power back before dark. This time it was different-- it gets dark so early up here (around 5 pm) and gets light so late in the morning, that it gets pretty dreary.




Tina, one of our 3 cats, likes to play in the snow, but now I think she wants us to "turn it off"! UPDATE 2011: Unfortunately, our sweet little Tina succumbed to a fast-acting virus the next winter.

We had the bathtub full of water for washing and flushing the toilet (we do have a back-up outhouse, too);


View of the outhouse from our back deck, taken Nov. 30th

I had containers of drinking water; we have a good wood heater and candles (our one remaining kerosene lantern was acting up), and of course, flashlights (I kept a little one hooked to a belt-loop on my jeans!), and a battery-operated radio. We have a little butane stove and lots of food in the house.


Frying French toast on the butane burner by candlelight.

They plowed our road, so, though we have to walk up and down our quite long driveway to where the car is parked, we can get out and about. So, we have no reason to complain, really, but after 2 days we were having to remind ourselves that we are MUCH better off than most of the world, and to quit whining! (I know you Prairie and eastern Canadians are laughing at us!)

The worst part was the lack of light in the morning and evening. We would light about 6 candles and sit reading at the table, but would get so sleepy that we hit the sheets at about 8:30!


The lonely-looking tire swing beside the forest, viewed from our front deck.

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We did eat pretty well, though. The first day I felt like baking! But, of course, no oven. So, I made candy! I hardly ever make candy, but, I was bored! The first thing I made was my "Double Nut Clusters", which I sometimes make for Christmas. DH was in 7th heaven! Here's the recipe:



BRYANNA’S DOUBLE NUT CLUSTERS
Makes about 20 candies

As I’ve said before, I’m not much of a candy-maker. I like easy candy recipes, and you can’t get much easier than this! High in fat, though.

1 cup semi-sweet organic dairy-free chocolate chips (you can use the naturally-sweetened ones)
1/2 cup any nut or seed butter (I used peanut butter because that's all I had, but hazelnut or almond butter is delicious!)
2 Tbs maple syrup
1 Tbs coconut oil
1 cup chopped toasted nuts of choice (I used walnuts)

Combine and melt the chips and nut butter with the maple syrup and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the nuts. Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper or parchment on cookie sheets. Refrigerate until firm.

Nutrition (per candy): 127.6 calories; 66% calories from fat; 10.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 2.3mg sodium; 77.9mg potassium; 8.9g carbohydrates; 1.4g fiber; 1.9g sugar; 7.5g net carbs; 2.8g protein; 3.1 points.

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On the third day I made these:



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S LOWER-FAT "HOT RODS" (NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE-OATMEAL DROPS)
Makes about 36

This is a recipe my kids used to make-- I lowered the fat and upped the chocolate flavor.

1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened organic cocoa powder
1/3 cup soy or other nondairy milk
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (old fashioned rolled oats)
1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (or other nut or seed butter)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut
1/4 cup chopped pitted dates
unsweetened finely-grated coconut for coating the "Hot Rods"

Blend in a saucepan the sugar, cocoa and "milk". Bring to a boil, stirring now and then. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly over medium-high heat.


Cooking the mixture over the butane burner.

Stir in the oats, peanut butter, vanilla, coconut, and dates.

Drop by tablespoonfuls on cookie sheets lined with parchment or waxed paper. Let stand until cooled and firm. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Nutrition (per candy): 56.3 calories; 23% calories from fat; 1.6g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 4.3mg sodium; 72.3mg potassium; 10.2g carbohydrates; 0.9g fiber; 7.0g sugar; 9.2g net carbs; 1.2g protein; 1.1 points.

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Now, for the breakfasts....

One morning we had Shredded Wheat, but another morning I made an apple version of my Orange-Cranberry-Bulgur cereal:



BRYANNA'S APPLE-CINNAMON-BULGUR CEREAL (A Weight Watchers Core Plan recipe)
Serves 1

This is a delicious breakfast cereal with lots of fiber (both soluble and insoluble), and good fats.

1 cup water
1 small apple, organic and unpeeled, cored and chopped
3 Tbs bulgur wheat
1 Tbs oat bran
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 Tbs golden flax seeds, ground

Mix the water, bulgur, oat bran, ginger, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn down to low, cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Take off the heat and let sit for a few minutes, covered, if it isn't thick enough for you.

Stir in the flax seed. Serve with your favorite non-dairy milk and a little brown sugar or the sweetener of your choice.

Nutrition (per serving): 191.2 calories; 12% calories from fat; 3.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 257.1mg sodium; 301.3mg potassium; 41.1g carbohydrates; 10.2g fiber; 11.3g sugar; 30.9g net carbs; 5.7g protein; 3.3 points.

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Then I made French Toast again, but a different version, and not so low-fat!



BRYANNA'S CRISPY PANKO-COATED VEGAN FRENCH TOAST WITH POACHED APPLES
Serves 2

Panko is a type of Japanese bread crumbs, made from French-type bread and quite flaky. It makes a wonderful crispy coating.

NOTE: For a lower fat recipe (when the power is on!) you can baked the coated slices on dark cookie sheets sprayed with a little oil from a pump-sprayer at 500 degrees F for about 5-10 minutes per side, or til golden on both sides; and poach the apple slices in a few tbs. apple juice instead of brown sugar and vegan butter.
Nutrition for lower-fat version (per serving): 347.8 calories; 8% calories from fat; 3.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 566.1mg sodium; 465.4mg potassium; 67.5g carbohydrates; 13.1g fiber; 23.6g sugar; 54.4g net carbs; 5.7g protein; 6.4 points.

3 small apples,cored and sliced (peel only if the skins are unsightly or sprayed)
1 Tbs vegan butter
1 Tbs brown sugar
4 slices bread (not a heavy bread), hard crusts removed
7/8 cup non-dairy milk
1 Tbs sugar  (or maple syrup)
3/4 Tbs nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
a few gratings of fresh nutmeg
3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 Tbs vegan butter
OPTIONAL:
a vegan whipped topping

Whisk together the batter ingredients. Soak the bread slices in this mixture in a medium-sized shallow baking pan, coating both sides of the bread thoroughly until all of the mixture is soaked up.

In the meantime, melt the first Tbs. vegan butter in a large nonstick skillet or stir-fry pan. Add the sliced apples and toss, then turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and poach until they are softened. Stir in the brown sugar and set aside.


Poaching apples by candleight on my butane burner.

Spread the panko (breadcrumbs) in a shallow dish and coat the soaked bread on both sides (add more panko if necessary).



Heat the last 1 Tbs. vegan butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread slices and brown on both sides until golden and crispy.



Serve each serving (2 slices) topped with half of the poached apples, and some whipped topping, too, if you like!

Nutrition (per serving): 473.7 calories; 29% calories from fat; 14.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 688.8mg sodium; 489.2mg potassium; 74.2g carbohydrates; 13.1g fiber; 30.2g sugar; 61.1g net carbs; 5.7g protein; 9.9 points.

PHOTOS FROM NOV. 30TH:


Night snow scene


Tina trying to decide whether to go out or not


Tina makes a decision and exits the "cat door", while Brian rounds the corner to photograph some snow scenes.


Soup cooking on the woodstove

Stay warm!