vietnamese vegan noodle soup

Thich Nhat Hanh has been a spiritual guide for me since the late 1990's when his book Teachings on Love was just the right medicine for my depleted soul.  I've had many opportunities to study with my teacher since then and even met my husband while on retreat at Deer Park Monastery, the ultimate teaching on love!

In 2008 I went on a pilgrimage to Vietnam with 450 people from 41 countries, invited by my dear friend Jane and accompanied by lovely Holiday from Portland.  We were honorary delegates to the United Nations in Hanoi and visited orphanages and temples all over Northern Vietnam as a Sangha (community) celebrating Thich Nhat Hanh's return to his home country after 40 years of exile.

Most of my time in Vietnam was centered in Hanoi, where Pho (pronounced "Fuh") noodle soup was on the menu every day for both breakfast and lunch.  I learned a process for making the fragrant broth and cooking the rice noodles just enough.

Vegan Broth

8 cups water
3 T soy sauce
8 medium garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, diced
1-inch piece ginger, charred and sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
2 pods star anise
2 large bay leaves


 I've never been asked to char my ginger before, but for this recipe, I gladly skewer a thumb of ginger and blacken it over an open gas flame, like roasting a marshmallow.  First, sweat down the garlic and onion in a large stockpot.  Add soy sauce and water and bring to boil over medium heat.  Char ginger, slice into pieces, and add to stock.  Break cinnamon sticks and add, along with star anise and bay leaves.  Reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered for 20-25 minutes.  Strain out solids.  Return clear broth to pot and keep hot until ready to use.

Veg Pho Bo

8 cups Vietnamese style broth (above)
1 pound rice noodles
1/2 cup Asian cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup tender greens, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup basil leaves, torn into pieces
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
3 scallions, sliced thin
3 T unsalted peanuts, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
chili-garlic sauce

Nice options to add:  tempeh/tofu cubes - bean sprouts -mushrooms

When the broth has been simmering for about 10 minutes, soak the noodles as follows.  Bring 4 cups of water to boil.  Remove from heat, add noodles and let soak around 15 minutes, stirring now and then so noodles are pliable and separate easily.  Drain noodles and divide among six bowls.  Simmer mushrooms and tofu or tempeh in broth until heated through, then remove with slotted spoon and add to noodles.

Place fresh greens on top of noodles and ladle in the hot broth.  With this technique, the greens will retain their freshness, and the rice noodles will not be overcooked.  Serve with lime wedges, chili sauce, basil and cilantro, plus maybe some salt and pepper on the side.

The greens can be whatever is available from your garden and the quantity of greens to noodles is purely subjective.  Once you have a broth that you like, and your rice noodles are soaked rather than cooked, everything else is open to artistic interpretation.

This recipe is for my sister and brother, Kim and Tom.  Happy Holidays!

Adapted from Sally Bernstein, Vegetarian Journal 2000

fennel marmalade and coleslaw

Now a traditional New Orleans Po' Boy has some kind of meat and is served on a baguette. The women of Hearty Vegan Meals created one with a fried sweet potato layer, crusted with cornflakes and other interesting things, which sounds kind of irresistible, but I was seeking more simplicity. The sammy you see here has beautiful thick slices of baked butternut squash on sprouted grain bread (to up the protein content) sprinkled with nutmeg, and dressed with coleslaw and fennel marmalade from Hearty Vegan Meals. I've made the coleslaw three more times since and it's a winner.

Lucinda's column from Suzie's Farm newsletter this week talks about "fennel fatigue" but with fennel marmalade and roasted fennel on the menu, I don't think I'll ever tire of this delicious bulb. I love hearing her musings on the subject, just the same.

Coleslaw

for the slaw:

1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

for the dressing:

1/2 cup plain non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh fennel leaf
1 tablespoon agave nectar
freshly ground pepper, to taste


Fennel Marmalade

1 bulb fennel, julienned, leaves reserved
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced
pinch salt
2 tablespoons agave nectar

Add fennel, garlic, onions and salt to a shallow pan with a little water. Slowly cook until very soft and tender, and just beginning to caramelize, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add agave and toss to coat. Crank up the heat and cook for about 5 more minutes, until sticky and browned. I added a spoon of olive oil at the end to bring up anything good that stuck to the pan.

hearty vegan meals

Suzie's Farm delivers greens galore every week, and has stocked our cabinet with a subtle rainbow of dried beans and winter squash. Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites has been a terrific resource for rounding up ideas for squash and beans and fresh greens, plus herbs and peppers from our own backyard garden. This Chocolate Stout Chili layers on complex flavors topped with Smoky Creamy Almond Sauce from the Recipe Renovator, and a bright handful of chopped cilantro. Oh, and I made a batch of corn tortillas following the tips in Viva Vegan, with help from my trusty aluminum tortilla press from the local Latin grocery store. Being in San Diego has it's advantages!

Chocolate Stout Chili
adapted from Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman

1/3 cup chopped onion
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 large cloves garlic
1 jalapeno, cored, seeded, diced
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (15 ounces) fire-roasted tomatoes, with juice
4 ounces roasted green chiles
12 ounces vegan stout beer (or water or veg broth)
3-and-1/3 cups cooked red beans

Soften onion, bell pepper and garlic in a little water until tender. Add jalapeno and seasonings, cook another minute or so. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, chiles and beer. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook another 15 minutes. Add beans and simmer another 15 minutes, until thickened.

Next up: Cabbage, carrots, fennel and butternut squash make a gorgeous Po' Boy sandwich. Picture and recipe coming soon!

get involved with your food

I keep going deeper into DIY territory food-wise. Everything is fresher and there's no packaging, plus it is an awesome feeling to be intimately involved with my nourishment. A Grist article by Jane Mountain lit a fire under me last week! It's all about five packaged foods you never need to buy again, starting with soup stock.

I'm aware of the unhealthy BPA linings in many canned foods, so I already make my own beans, always with kombu! When it comes to soup I usually go the easy route and use a big onion, water and garlic as my base, but a stock with more complexity adds a lot of richness to the soup. I'll share my Vietnamese noodle soup recipe soon. It was noticeably better when built on this basic stock from Deborah Madison:

Basic Vegetable Stock

1 large onion
2 large carrots
2 celery ribs, including a few leaves
1 bunch scallions or chives
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
8 parsley branches
6 thyme sprigs or 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 bay leaves
salt

In a soup pot, I sweat the vegetables, garlic, herbs and yeast (if using) in a small amount of water (you could use olive oil) for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1-2 teaspoons salt and 2 quarts cold water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain.


Oh my! Who knew granola could be so easy, oil free and irresistible? I used what I had on hand, which meant a handful of almonds and about a cup of walnuts (no pepitas or pecans this time), plus raisins and no oil. Tahini and candied ginger are the secret ingredients! Recipe from Rivka Friedman.

Granola with Tahini

2 1/2 cups oats
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup tahini
1 tablespoon walnut oil, optional
2/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), either salted or unsalted, depending on preference
2/3 cup sliced almonds
2/3 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup raisins, cranberries, or other dried berry (I like half raisins, half cherries)
2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 325˚.

1) In a small bowl, mix syrup, tahini, oil if using, salt, and cinnamon until incorporated. In a large bowl, mix all remaining ingredients until well-distributed.

2) Drizzle the syrup-tahini mixture overtop, stirring with a fork until all dry bits are at least slightly wet and clumps have started to form.

3) Spread granola on a large rimmed baking sheet in a thin layer and bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes.

4) Remove from oven, stir with a fork to move pieces from edge to center and from top to bottom. Make sure pieces that have started to brown are in the center and well-surrounded.

5) Return to oven and bake 10-12 more minutes, until golden brown throughout. Granola will not be crunchy when it leaves the oven; don’t worry — it’ll crisp up as it cools. Once cool, transfer to air-tight container; granola will keep this way for up to 1 month.

BBQ tempeh

Vida Vegan Con in Portland was in a word, fantastic! I came home a more committed vegan, a better writer, and a slightly better photographer. I'm still a work in progress.

The Vegan Vagrant created a great photo gallery of the abundant buffet tables, with meal-after-meal of vibrant dishes, coordinated by the dynamic organizing team: Jess, Janessa and Michele.

Tempeh has been a bit of a digestive challenge for me in the past, so based on a tip from a fellow vegan, I gave it a long steam (30+ minutes). Broiled with Annie's smoky BBQ sauce, and paired with pan fried potatoes and freshly snipped chives from the garden, my tempeh and I had a satisfying VVC moment.

eating with your hands

In Portland I was a regular at Queen of Sheba, a perennial favorite for authentic Ethiopian ginger juice and shared plates of goodness. Here in the University Heights neighborhood of San Diego, Muzita Abyssinian Bistro has mastered a tangy, spongy injera and irresistible Eritrean-style seasoned ground chickpeas. The Kantisha Kilwa veggies can be made vegan on request.

Owner Abel's smile (thanks for the pic, Haunani) and his mom's guidance in the kitchen, bring the ambiance up a notch, making this one of our local favorites. Traveling friends feel warmly wrapped in the care and creativity of every dish. Wash your hands and dig in!

handmade tortillas

I made my first flour tortilla at the Tecate Community Museum opening event in Baja a couple of weeks ago. Thank goodness a friend captured this shot, because my pictures of the cast iron stove and the kind woman who taught me how to stretch the dough, are locked up in our camera and may never be recovered. (I was taking pictures of the family of black phoebes doing test flights in our garden, got all excited when a peregrine falcon showed up in the viewfinder, hurried to show Mr. Smith, then there was a bobble and a crash and now the lens refuses to retract. Might be time for a new camera.)

Fortified by my experience in Mexico, and with Terry Hope Romero as my guide, I made a dozen corn tortillas on the outdoor grill tonight. I flattened each one with a rolling pin and some waxed paper. A tortilla press is definitely in my future! I made a chipotle-asada marinade for the tempeh and grilled some onions from the garden. These tacos are contenders for the best of all time!

I'll be able to thank Terry in person at Vida Vegan Con. It makes me so happy to say those words... can't wait for the conference!

"fish" and chips

At our house, when my husband slathers red miso on the tofu and begins the process of making tofu cheese, it's the beginning of a string of favorite meals! The tofu cheese itself is a fermented wonder, tasting a lot like feta, and it's great crumbled over salad or as a veggie sandwich spread.


Here's where I come in. I slice the tofu cheese into sticks, dress them up with a spicy breading and bake with french-fry-sliced potatoes, for fish-n-chips. The tartar sauce brings it all together. I go for ketchup on my potatoes, but the Mister goes for straight tartar sauce all the way around. Recipes follow.

A couple of days later, it's fish taco time! Find yourself some simple corn tortillas made with just cornmeal, lime and water. Toast over an open flame. Add a fish stick or two, tartar sauce, green tomatillo salsa, shredded cabbage and a squeeze of lime. Tonight we had cilantro on hand, and if avocado is in season, these tacos are even more perfect with guacamole.

In November, Torrey and I stopped in at Native Foods for "Baja Surf Tacos" when we were studying Permaculture together up in Laguna. They're made with battered tempeh, and I love them too! Even better when your friend brings limes to share!

TOFU-CHEESE FISH STICKS (adapted from Shmooed Food)

1/3 cup fine organic cornmeal
1/3 cup ground raw almonds
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dulse flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon dill weed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper (more or less to taste)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Cut tofu cheese into sticks/fingers. Dip them into a shallow dish of plain almond milk, and coat with thoroughly mixed dry ingredients.

Place sticks on baking sheet. Bake for total of 30 minutes, turning them over after 15 minutes. You can sprinkle with olive oil to make them more crispy.

TARTAR SAUCE

1/2 cup Vegenaise
1 tablespoon dill pickles, finely chopped
1 tablespoon stuffed green olives, chopped
1 tablespoon onion, grated
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons capers, chopped
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon garlic, minced

Mix it all up and refrigerate for a bit before serving.

blueberry muffins

Like every recipe I've tried from the Babycakes NYC cookbook, I am completely pleased with these muffins!


Along with pumpkin spice muffins and spelt biscuits, this is one of my new go-to recipes. I made a couple of minor substitutions, like homemade almond milk in place of rice milk, and the zest and a teaspoon of juice from a Meyer lemon in place of lemon extract, and I used less salt. Here's my version:

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

2 1/4 cups whole spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of juice, plus the zest from one Meyer lemon
2/3 cup fresh organic blueberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together dry ingredients. Mix in all wet ingredients, except blueberries. When well-combined, gently fold in blueberries.

Pour about 1/3 cup batter into each cup. Bake for 22 minutes, turning 180 degrees at 15 minutes for more even baking.

hedgehog potatoes

The potato harvest was smallish, so I decided to make them special. From Super Natural Cooking, I modified the recipe for Baked Purple Hedgehog Potatoes, starting with the obvious fact that these potatoes are not purple.


Harissa is a hot chili condiment in a base of carrot and beet. It's been waiting on the shelf since I brought it home from Northpark Produce, for the day the potatoes were ready. The potatoes are spiked with lots of garlic and harissa before baking.

I used tofu cheese (technique from Real Food Daily) in place of yogurt, added some almond milk and spearmint from the garden, to make the cooling topping.


And here they are!

coconut bliss

Locally grown Meyer Lemon (from Steve's garden) was the first ice cream I made in our new Donvier hand-crank freezer. It's wonderfully simple to operate, and makes just one pint, which seems to be perfect for us. The second experiment was with juicy organic strawberries. I added in strawberry pieces at the end, but they made little frozen chunks and didn't add anything, so I'll blend them all the way next time. And tonight, pure dark chocolate!

I'm using recipes from Wheeler Del Toro's Vegan Scoop and trading out the soy, using organic coconut milk in place of the creamer, my own almond milk in place of the soy milk.

Larry and Luna of Coconut Bliss are my guides. I first met Larry and Luna in Eugene back in 2003 at a Buddhist retreat weekend, when they were part of a sustainable community there. Imagine my surprise when I brought home a pint of Coconut Bliss ice cream from OB People's Co-op and saw their beautiful faces smiling back at me. Luna was the "kitchen goddess" at Lost Valley then and I have never had a more colorful, delicious veg menu on retreat... the beet salad, and walnut-pea pate' on rustic artisan bread were incredible!

portland rocks!

My former home still holds a very special place in my heart, because it encourages the very best in me. Portland has been the nurturing nest for my yoga and meditation practices, organic community farming, car-free lifestyle, and cultivating my most compassionate self. Portland is still home to many of my dearest friends.

Portland has some of the best independent and creative minds wandering her streets, like the people at Powells Books, the McMenamin brothers, the folks over at Literary Arts, the Aladdin Theater, and those who make public transportation and cycling work so well in the Rose City. And now, Portland is home to the Vegan Iron Chef competition!

Totally veg foodies are rejoicing! That there are enough people into deeply compassionate eats to support a Vegan Mini-Mall over in Southeast, and to SELL OUT this event is very encouraging indeed. It's being held in the beautifully green Natural Capital Center on the streetcar line and sponsored by Ecotrust, home of the Food and Farms program.

daily harvest

The garden is starting to pop, and every day there are some juicy summer vegetables to bring in for dinner! Today it's tomato and green beans, and some tender mesclun for the salad. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

A call for compassion

I just finished Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's a thorough and thoughtful look at how we got to a point in human history where animals who are being raised for food, are being treated as if they're already dead. It's not a vegan manifesto, just a challenging and well written perspective on our relationship to what we eat.

As a pleasant surprise, I heard Martha Stewart recommend this book on NPR the other day, along with her other hopes for the New Year.

Lemonade and Rootbeer

We just received an entire basket of Meyer Lemons! I squeezed most of them, and froze the juice into ice cubes. It's a great way to store organic lemony goodness when it arrives all at once. Just pop the cubes out of the tray and into a labeled freezer bag. Each cube is about 2 tablespoons. Good for recipes, or mixed with agave to make lemonade. Liquid gold!


The rootbeer is ready. I've tweaked the recipe a couple of times so it's not too sweet and fills six bottles. You'll need clean beer bottles (dark glass, no screw tops), bottle caps and a bottle capper, which you can find at your local home brewing store. That's also where you'll find the extract and champagne yeast.


Smith's Rootbeer

9 cups filtered water
1/2 ounce Zatarains Rootbeer extract
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup organic white sugar
1/2 teaspoon champagne yeast

Mix yeast into a little cup of warm water (I add some sugar too) to dissolve and get it started. In a large glass container (preferably one you can pour from) mix the extract and remaining sugars with lukewarm water. Sterilize six clean bottles with boiling water. I also put the bottle caps in a small dish of the boiled water to soften the seals.

There is a lot of information on the web about sterilization. Use your own intuition to determine how cautious you want to be. The boiling water method works for me...but I always do a squint-check to make sure the inside of each bottle looks pristine before I begin.

Mix all ingredients together including 9 cups of water in all. Using a good funnel, pour into bottles, cap them, and lay them in the sun for two hours. Bring the bottles in and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Holiday Cheer

My husband whipped up the most delicious vegan eggnog for Christmas. It was roughly 2 cups coconut milk (the kind in the carton, which is lighter than canned), blended with 2/3 of a package of silken tofu, maple syrup and agave to taste, and topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Frothy and satisfying, and so pretty in my rose champagne/dessert glasses...a gift from my mom.


And this is the lone remaining gingerbread heart, made from a simple oil-free recipe:

Gingerbread Cookies

1/2 cup organic sugar
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
pinch sea salt
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
1/3 cup almond milk
2 1/4 cups whole spelt flour

In large bowl, combine sugar, spices and soda. Add molasses and almond milk and mix well. Add one cup of flour and mix well, then work in the remaining flour a little at a time to make a stiff dough. Roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper, using some flour above and below because the molasses is very sticky. Cut out with cookie cutter and bake on parchment-lined cookie sheet at 275 degrees for about 20 minutes, until the edges are dry.

Orange Love

The tangerines are happy in our garden this morning. We're juicing a lot of Valencia oranges too. Everything is thriving, now that the rains have moved through and the sun is back to give them life.

And the excellent little "Juic It" workhorse carries on...

When I was living in the Pacific Northwest, working full time in Telecommunications, leading sustainability discussion groups, and beginning the life of a creative freelancer... I wanted to find a business name that would fit whatever direction I might stretch into. I like to write. I enjoy working with my voice. I'm thoroughly fascinated by the art of letterpress and hand-bound books. I like to work with beads and wire. At the time, I was into arranging flowers from the garden and even did a semi-commercial Mother's Day floral operation one year.

I took my inspiration from a pottery business called Butter Bean. Something with a wonderful scent and great graphic possibilities would be a nice naming direction, I thought to myself. I considered Vanilla Bean, Pomegranate, Persimmon... all lovely and calling up rich images from the natural world. I settled on Sweet Orange Productions back in 1998, with not an orange tree in sight!

Maybe it was a premonition, maybe it was an intention forming, maybe it was California calling me home, but I could not have fully imagined that I would now be living in Southern California, blissfully married and growing citrus in my own garden at the edge of a canyon, behind our 1915 Craftsman Bungalow. Home Sweet Orange.

Vegan Pantry - Spork

I subscribe to VegNews magazine and love the positive energy being generated there. Even though there are a lot of packaged products on those stylish pages, I've also found some of my new favorite recipes and always look forward to reading Dan Piraro's take on the world. This video from Spork Foods (click here) is the cutest, created by two young sisters on veganizing your kitchen pantry.

Soon, I'll have the skills to actually paste a video into this blog, but for today...a link will do!

I baked banana nut muffins and more of these delicious chocolate shortbread cookies this morning!

Enjoy the weekend!

apple-hemp muffins

I've tried this recipe a few ways, depending on what's in stock in the kitchen. Today I used all oat bran where the original recipe called for oat flour and it may be the best yet! They have loads of fiber and protein, no dairy or eggs, and only natural sweetening. My husband is working through a cold bug today and they made him smile.

To make the applesauce, I peel, core and cube two apples and simmer them in a shallow pan with a little water until they are soft. Use a potato masher to make them into applesauce. The beauty of this method is that small chunks of apple will be here and there in the finished muffins.

To make your own plain almond milk, soak 1 cup of raw, organic almonds in water overnight. Drain, rinse and blend with 4 cups of fresh filtered water until almonds are ground fine. Strain out the almonds, using a fine mesh sieve. You can compost the spent almonds. I keep a quart of this milk going at all times, so I always have some ready for granola or chai.


Apple-Hemp Muffins...makes 12

1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour
1 cup oat bran
1/2 cup shelled hemp seeds
2 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup plain almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons almond oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, mix together flour, oat bran, hemp seeds, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom until well combined.

In another bowl, combine applesauce, maple syrup, plain almond milk, vanilla, almond oil and salt. Add dry mixture to the wet and gently mix until just combined.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.