Spicy Cabbage Soup - vegan

I made this in a med sized (round) crock pot)



1/2 head of cabbage

1 29oz can tomato sauce

1 cup of frozen mixed veggies

a few peeled ends of sweet potatoes

small bunch of fresh parsley

a few leaves of fresh basil

2 dry bay leaves

lots of fresh ground pepper & salt to taste

few dashes of hot sauce

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

1 whole onion

2 slices of facon (optional)

fill remaining crockpot with broth (I used "beef" bouillon and water)



throw it all in a crock pot and cook till desired texture...6-8 hours ish.

Painful Longing...

Tonight I am listening to the awesome music from the 60s. I LOOOOONG to be there. I don't know why or how but I miss it. I never even lived through it (at least not in this incarnation) but I long for it and wish things were like that again. I can't even express it. It seems like much of my life lately is longing for things that are nearly impossible. How do you move past that feeling? What do you do when the things you want soooo badly are impossible to have?
On a side note if anyone has plans to invent a time machine I would like to sign up for its use.

But I'd trade all of my tomorrows....for one single yesterday.....

Balls to Loaf

So I loved my ball recipe sooooo much that I decided to turn it into a loaf recipe. It was just as good. I served it with Parmesan Orzo and cinnamon roasted carrots and sweet potatoes.

Vegetarian Loaf

Ingredients

1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein) (you could probably also use burger crumbles)
slightly less than 1/2 cup hot water (or broth) (don't need this with burger crumbles)

1/2 can rinsed pinto beans (mashed or thrown in the food processor)
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
small handful of old fashioned oats
10-12 saltine and "butter" crackers (crushed fine)
1/4-1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (or flour, breadcrumbs, etc)
1/2 cup ground flax seed
couple of table spoons ketchup and (less) mustard 

garlic powder (a good coating)
onion powder (a little less than garlic)

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1tsp liquid smoke
1tbsp worcestershire sauce (buy vegan or make your own)
1tbsp A1
1-2 tsp molasses
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
a couple of dashes of tabasco

several dashes of nature's seasoning or salt and pepper


mix everything together and form into mini loaves
bake on a lightly greased baking sheet at 425 for 20 mins then flip and finish baking 20-30 mins.

I made vegan balls......

Yes, balls...lol. ya know those little scrumptious balls that most people make out of dead animal muscle and serve with sauce. well, I made those but minus the dead animal. they happened to turn out fantastic and I am going to share the recipe with you so that you can make balls too. Now these measurements are just "suggestions" since I didn't really measure....eyeball it the best you can and add things to your taste.


Vegan Balls

Ingredients

1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein) (you could probably also use burger crumbles)
slightly less than 1/2 cup hot water (or broth) (don't need this with burger crumbles)

1/2 can rinsed pinto beans
small handful of old fashioned oats
5-6 saltine crackers (crushed fine)
1/4-1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (or flour, breadcrumbs, etc)
1/2 cup ground flax seed
couple of table spoons tomato sauce (whatever you are using for the pasta would work)
s&p
garlic powder (a good coating)
onion powder (a little less than garlic)
(btw I typically would use real garlic and onions but i was feeling lazy and this worked out well. )
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1tsp liquid smoke
1tbsp worcestershire sauce (buy vegan or make your own)
1tbsp A1
1/2-1 tsp dry mustard 
1-2 tsp molasses
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
light sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes (unless you like spicy then load it up)
sprinkle of paprika
Italian seasoning (basil, thyme, oregano)

Directions

rehydrate tvp with water/broth let stand for about 10 mins
throw beans into a food processor and grind till you get a chunky paste
combine tvp and bean mixture
add all remaining ingredients and stir until you get a nice "meaty" consistency

roll into balls and bake on a greased baking sheet
425 for 20 mins or till brown and crispy, flip and bake another 20 mins
makes 24 small balls.

TVP Chkn Cheese Steaks!!

So I made these tonight and they turned out really well. They weren't drop dead...OMG, I would eat them everyday or anything but it was a nice, occasional junk food type meal. Both kids ate it and liked it. So here is a pic of what the TVP looked like after I rehydrated it.

And here is what it looked like after I cooked it and made it into a sandwich.

I served it with roasted  Teeny Tiny Potatoes from Trader Joe's and home made succotash from frozen Lima Beans and Sweet Corn.

Recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup dry TVP
1 cup of hot veggie or chikn flavored broth
steak rolls
S&P
cheese (optional)
cooking oil

Directions
combine TVP and broth. stir thoroughly and let sit till all broth is absorbed.
in a large saute pan heat cooking oil
add TVP and and S&P
brown TVP
once browned cover with cheese and put on a lid, turn off burner.
let cheese melt.
throw it on the sub rolls and ENJOY!!

Optional add ons: saute onions, peppers and garlic, add to finished TVP before cheese.
OR mix in Franks Buffalo wing sauce and some ranch or blue cheese dressing.

TMI ahead

Ok I have this slightly embarrassing story to share. I went grocery shopping after work today and on my way there I HAD to go to the bathroom. Like...I was praying in traffic kind of having to go...lol. So anyway, I get into the store at nearly a sprint and this little old lady gets in front of me and heads to the bathroom. I was contemplating on whether or not to cut in front of her because she was moving slllloooow and I could have passed her and got into the bathroom. BUT I was a nice person and didn't knock down the old lady to get into the toilet. So....

I used the men's room.....hahahahha!! Just had to share. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Hooray for TVP!!!

I went to whole foods today and found dried TVP in the bulk section. This is so exciting to me because lately I have been dreaming and drooling at the idea of a buffalo chicken cheesesteak but couldn't figure out what to make the chicken out of. Nothing seemed to be right for making it. But this is PERFECT!!! I am so excited. I will try to remember to post pics and the recipe I end up using when I make it this week. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!