Vegan Recipe - Seitan and Mushroom Stroganoff

It's the first Friday of the month and that means a vegan recipe to share. Why? Well, eating a plant-based diet ... even occasionally ... is one of the easiest ways to walk gently on the earth. Simply put, it takes less natural resources to produce one pound of plant-based foods than it does to produce one pound of animal-based foods. And with recipes, like the delicious one I'm sharing today, it's truly a joyful way to save the earth.

This month's recipe is from the folks at ChooseVeg.Com who graciously gave me permission to share it with you. It meets my personal criteria for recipes ... it's delicious and it's easy to make. I hope you and your family will enjoy it as much as we do.


Seitan and Mushroom Stroganoff

Serves 4

* 2 tablespoons corn starch
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1-1/3 cups vegetable broth or water
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
* 2 tablespoons tahini
* 2 teaspoons canola oil or olive oil
* 2 cups thinly sliced onions
* 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 4 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
* 2 cups thinly sliced seitan strips
* ground black pepper, to taste
* egg-free noodles

Gravy: Stir cornstarch and soy sauce together in a 2-quart saucepan and make a thin, smooth, paste. Whisk in the vegetable broth or water and garlic granules. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until it thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the tahini. Cover the saucepan and set aside.

Place oil in a large skillet and heat over medium-high. When the oil is hot, saute the onion and garlic for 10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir the seitan strips and the reserved gravy into the onions and mushrooms. Reduce heat to low and stir often, about 5 to 10 minutes, until the seitan is heated through.

Season the stroganoff with ground pepper. Serve at once over egg-free noodles.

My Personal Notes:

• The Stroganoff is wonderful over brown rice or vegan mashed potatoes as an alternative to the noodles.
  
  
• Substitute Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) for the seitan for a "hamburger" texture. Just be sure to soak it in water/broth first to rehydrate.
  
  
• If you don't have fresh mushrooms, try using dried mushrooms (we tried Shitake). Dried mushrooms will also need to be rehydrated before cooking.
  
  
  
• Try adding thinly sliced peppers with the onions for a slightly different flavor.

As always ... I would love to hear from you!

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - Part 3

Here it is ... the post you've been waiting for. This is the final post in our three part series on the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). If you missed the first two "episodes" ... or if you'd just like to revisit these articles ... click on the following links:

Part 1 (Reduce)

Part 2 (Reuse)

OK ... so ... now that we have reduced our consumption of everything and have reused what we do have, what's next? Recycle! This is the part of the process that we're probably the most familiar with. Since I've talked a lot, in other articles, about the "why" of our efforts ... I'm not going to discuss it this time ... I'm mostly going to talk about just doing it.

Many communities in our country encourage recycling and have made it relatively easy for us to do so. Some cities offer curb side pickup ... homeowners, or those living in homes, can set out their sorted recyclables and they are hauled away to become new products. Some areas don't even ask that the recyclables be sorted ... they do it for you. For those that don't have curb side pickup, there may be a recycling center close by. Check with your City Hall or waste management company to find out what your recycling options are ... as well as information on what can be recycled.

As I've mentioned before, I live in an apartment. We have a recycle bin for cardboard but nothing else. Our recyclables must be hauled to one of the centers in our city. While I've wanted to recycle and do my part, the truth is that I've found it difficult to accomplish in a small space. There's the space required for containers ... there's the potential smell ... there's driving to a center ... simply put, there's the EFFORT. But how can I write a blog about being kinder to the environment and not do everything that I can possibly do to reduce my footprint? Good question! So, I made up my mind to find a way to accomplish this task without making myself crazy. You know the old saying ... "where there's a will, there's a way". We began to look around for a space that would be convenient and ... out of sight (one of my personal criteria). With a little rearranging, we were able to put recycle containers in our laundry room. We have room for two containers ... not enough to sort out everything but we can toss everything into those two containers and do the sorting at the recycle center. We've also converted the garbage can in our office to a paper-only can. When our containers are full, we load them into the car and head out to the center. Once there, we each grab a container and start sorting and tossing. We have fun with it ... seeing who is the best "tosser" ... who is the fastest. And in the end ... we've not only had fun with the task, we leave feeling pretty good about our efforts.

Here are a few helpful hints to make recycling successful:

• Rinse out plastic, glass and metal containers so that there is no smell (nothing will end your recycling efforts faster than smelly containers in your home).
• Place your containers somewhere convenient ... usually close to the kitchen. Make it as easy as possible to toss things into them.
• Remove paper labels from containers ... this helps companies use the materials.

So give it a try. I suggest starting out with the easy stuff ... paper, plastic, metal and glass. If you're not sure about what can be recycled, just check the Internet ... there are all kinds of sites with helpful information.

I can now proudly say that I reduce, reuse ... and recycle.

As always, I'd love to hear from you. Let me know what you think of this site ... what suggestions you might have for improving it ... and any ideas that you have for reducing our footprint on the earth.

Inspiration Avenue Blog Party

I'm so happy you could attend our blog party.

My name is Small Footprints and I'll be your hostess for this segment of the festivities.

If this is your first blog party, let me explain a bit about it. I am privileged to be a member of a global Etsy team called Inspiration Avenue. Awhile back we held an art auction for charity and, because of our generous readers, were able to raise over $500.00 for a wonderful organization called Angel Faces. So, in celebration, we decided to have a party.

Each member of the team, and some of our friends, has prepared something special for you ... a "lesson". It might be a recipe, a tutorial or simply some wise words from someone who has lived well. One thing is for sure ... when the party is over you'll go home with a bag full of goodies.

Once you've spent a little time with me, please click on the badge at the beginning of this post to head over to the main party room. There you'll find links to other lessons. Oh ... and I see that some of you have brought treats of your own ... please leave a link to your lesson in the comments section at Inspiration Avenue.

So ... ready to begin? My gifts to you are Eco-friendly, frugal cleanser recipes. Now ... you might not think that these recipes are anything special but, let me tell you ... they work great and they are non-toxic. That means ... no possibility of accidental poisoning ... no harmful fumes to breathe in (ever wonder what causes those headaches that seem to appear when cleaning?) ... and no harm to the earth. And oh yeah ... these recipes are made from stuff you probably already have in your pantry so ... they are easy on the wallet.

First up ... my favorite all-around cleaning/scrubbing compound:

In a wide-mouthed jar with lid, mix equal parts vinegar and baking soda. Add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil, place the lid on the jar and gently shake to mix all the ingredients. Use this to scrub the bathroom, kitchen or even pots and pans. The baking soda is slightly abrasive but won't hurt surfaces. The vinegar, in addition to cleaning well, kills germs and bacteria.

Next ... a real easy, effective window cleaner:

In a spray bottle, mix equal parts water and vinegar. Spray on windows and wipe clean. We're talking brilliantly clean windows here!

One of my favorites ... the best drain cleaner in the world (okay, that's my opinion):

Pour about 1/4 cup baking soda into the drain. Follow with 1/4 cup vinegar. Let it work for awhile then flush with water. For really clogged drains, you might need a couple of applications.

Finally, how about this substitute for bleach in your laundry:

When the washer has filled with water, add 1-2 cups of hydrogen peroxide. Agitate for a minute to mix. Then, let it soak for at least one hour (overnight is even better). Add detergent and wash as normal.

Now that you've scrubbed and cleaned ... I think it's time for a treat! So ... how about a little Strawberry Shortcake? Here you go:


Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup oil or shortening
1 egg substitute (Ener-G), prepared and beaten
2/3 cup soy milk
3 pints fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups whipped topping of your choice (Hip Whip, etc.) or Vegan Ice Cream

• Slice the strawberries and sprinkle them with 1/2 cup of sugar. Let stand.

• Preheat oven to 425 F
  

• Grease and flour one 8" cake pan.

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, 2 Tbs. sugar, and salt.

• With a pastry blender (or two knives), cut in the oil or shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

• Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg sub. and soy milk. Stir until just combined.

• Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

• Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

• Let cool partially in the pan on wire rack.

• Slice partially-cooled cake in half, making two layers.

• Arrange the strawberries on one layer, and the top with the other layer.

• Top with remaining strawberries, and cover with the whipped topping or ice cream.
  
  By the way, if you're curious about why a vegan/vegetarian diet is good for the planet, please click HERE.

So there you are ... I hope you have enjoyed your time with me. Leave me a link so I can get to know you better ... and have a great time with the rest of the party hosts and guests!


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