Recipe Contest, Quesadillas, Apple Recipes, Agave

October 4th, 2010 by Savvy Veg

Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, is holding a recipe contest, and Savvy Vegetarian is one of the judges.  So are Mollie Katzen and Martha Rose Shulman – we’re in good company!

Anyone may enter an original, healthy, vegan recipe. See Savor Recipe Contest Rules

Prizes: Winning entry published on Savvy Vegetarian Recipes, limited edition Savor tote bags, hardcover copies of ‘Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life’ cookbook.

Browse other recipes and vote for your favorites on the Savor Facebook Wall. Enter and Vote

Want to know how to get your kids to eat beans? Black bean quesadillas are easy to make, kids love them, and they’re packed with nutrition.This is a satisfying vegetarian recipe to serve when you’re busy or tired and the kids are hungry right now! You can have this quesadilla recipe on the table in 20 minutes! And pack the left-overs for lunch.

Apple Crisp: What kind of apples should you use?
Some people like very tart apples like Granny Smith or Macintosh, others prefer the mellow sweetness of Golden Delicious. For us, Gala apples are just right. We also like to leave the peel on, and add just a tiny bit of sugar – but each to his own apple crisp!

Apple Muffins: This mouth-watering vegan muffin recipe, with the classic cinnamon apple combination, is loved by all, a favorite at brunches, for snacks, or for a quick dessert. They freeze extremely well, if there are any left to freeze! Better make a double batch.

Apple Sauce: It’s always wise to make lots of applesauce and hide it from your family and friends, because it’s addictive. Warning: Applesauce tends to disappear before you can use it in muffins or cakes.

Whether you’re an agave fan, or you’re leery because it’s “controversial”, and you don’t know who to believe, agave syrup is here to stay, as a low glycemic, vegan, sometimes raw alternative to honey or other sweeteners.

The “agave controversy” limps on, but the only thing we need to worry about is agave syrup becoming so popular that blue agave becomes an endangered species.

Read Agave, Good or Bad? Recently Discovered Truths About Agave Syrup

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Seasoning Vegetarian & Vegan Recipes with Herbs & Spices

October 22nd, 2010 by Savvy Veg

Message for Savvy Vegetarian:

Question regarding the use of the veggie bouillon cube in vegetarian recipes: Is there some other seasoning option? Bouillon cubes are so full of salt and even the low sodium option isn’t that great for you. Thanks, Ann S.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice:

Hi Ann, I’m so glad you asked! Seasoning vegetarian and vegan recipes with herbs and spices is one of my favorite topics.

Veggie bouillon cubes are used instead of soup stock for convenience in seasoning vegetarian or vegan recipes. You can buy aseptic packs of soup stock but you’ll run into the same problems. By the way, celery has a fair amount of natural sodium, so it’s a good salt substitute.

Mrs. Dash is a spice mix, sodium free, which is available at most groceries, and comes in half a dozen flavors. It’s useful for quickly flavoring any vegetarian recipe, or sprinkling on food at  the table. Spike is another one which comes in an unsalted version, plus Frontier Herbs makes a lot of organic unsalted herb and spice mixes.

You can also get other convenient seasoning mixes, like curries and masalas, Mediterranean herb mixes, poultry seasoning - which can be used in vegetarian recipes such as lentil loaf or vegan stuffing, pumpkin pie spice mix, chili powder, etc. You can also buy dried onion powder and garlic powder. Look for unsalted seasoning mixes and avoid any with “natural flavors” -  which could be MSG, or any other mystery ingredient. If an ingredient isn’t specified, or you can’t pronounce it, it probably isn’t something  you want to eat.

Using your favorite herbs and spices, you can make up and store your own seasoning mixes, for convenient every day use. And it’s very easy to make your own soup stock. Here’s a vegan soup stock recipe you can make in a crockpot. Freeze or fridge what you don’t use.

You can also add flavor to your vegetarian or vegan recipes with fresh or dried herbs (parsley, basil, dill, mint, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, oregano), scallions, ginger slices, minced garlic (heat in oil to mellow the flavor), curry spices like cumin, coriander, gr. fennel, paprika, gr ginger, pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, green cardamom pods, lemon grass.

Other seasoning options are dried kombu (kelp), balsamic vinegar, lemon or lime juice, wine, soy sauce or Braggs liquid aminos, miso. Spices (not herbs) can be heated first, dry roasted or fried in a bit of oil, to bring out the full flavor, and remove any sharp, bitter or raw taste. Many Indian recipes call for frying or roasting herbs and spices, as in this recipe for Carrots & Peas with Cumin

The seasonings that you use in vegetarian or vegan recipes depends on what you’re cooking. For instance, tomato sauce needs seasonings that go well with tomatoes, e.g. basil, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, a bit of sugar. Some of my favorites for soups are thyme, rosemary, basil, bay leaf, kombu, Braggs liquid aminos, slices of fresh ginger. Without a variety of seasonings,  The Cabbage Soup Diet Recipe, for instance, would be very very boring!

All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

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