Penne With Peas And White Beans by Gnewvegan

Serves 4 to 6

I was inspired to make this recipe from a family recipe that my friend made.

Ingredients

1 pound penne pasta
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
1 (15) oz can of small white beans, drained , rinsed
1 ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
½ cup vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup pasta water
Salt and pepper to taste , as desired

Directions

1- Boil water for pasta and cook per package directions. When done drain and put back in pot.

2- When the water boils and the pasta is put in the pot start the sauce. Preheat an 11 inch pan for about one minute. Add the oil to the pan and heat for one minute.

3- Add onions and garlic to the pan and on a low- medium flame, lightly brown, stirring occasionally until the onions begin to become translucent; 5 to 7 minutes.

4- Add margarine to pan and melt stirring one to two times.

5- Add beans and peas to pan and 1 cup pasta water. Add salt and pepper to taste. On a low- medium flame simmer ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

6- Add sauce to the cooked pasta in the pot and mix well. Season with more salt and pepper if desired. Serve and enjoy.


Below are pictures of the finished dish... I get hungry just looking at it... :)






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Gnewvegan

My First Easter As A Vegan

As with my first Thanksgiving and Christmas Easter was no exception to a nice holiday. I went to a friends house for dinner and she is really great. I have known her for many years and she is like family. She so kindly told me to bring my soy milk and margarine and she would put mashed potatoes aside so I can make it my way. She liked them too when she tasted it :) I used some vegan margarine in a dish of pasta.. The sauce had meat in it so a dish was taken out for me pre the sauce added. The veggies her and her husband made were delicious and they purposely did not put anything in them I could not eat. She also made a very nice salad and put oil and vinegar on the table because the other dressings had ingredients I could not have. I made the orzo I posted in the “Thanksgiving post” and sugar cookies. I never made sugar cookies for Easter but I saw these really cute Easter cookie cutters so I decided to make cookies. I did it just like Christmas as I wrote on my post “It’s Cookie Time”. I just substituted vegan ingredients and everyone enjoyed the cookies.. As always I had my vegan sugar with me and this time I had the soy milk for my coffee. At the end of the day I was full and had a very nice Easter dinner.. It is not impossible to have a holiday dinner when you are the only vegan. It has worked out well and it always is made easier when you have wonderful friends that do what my friend's did when cooking.. I am touched at the caring and find it really wonderful when people are interested in learning about my veganism. I will be posting one of my pasta recipes in a few days.. Come back soon and maybe try it out.


Thank you for coming to blog. Please come back again soon.

Gnewvegan

I bought Hemp Seed

This is a follow up to my last post. I went into a natural food market and was looking at the hemp products. There were quite a few of them to choose from. Products such as hemp powder, hemp oil, and hemp seeds. Some of the powders were geared towards making shakes although there was a recipe on the back of the bag with the seeds using the seeds as well to make a shake. I asked someone who worked there what was the difference between the oil and the powder or seeds because I did not see protein content in the oil but I did in the other ones. I was told that the reason why the oil does not have the protein is because it is cold pressed which removes the protein. But the essential amino acids and omegas are in there. I decided on the seeds that were not ground so I could sprinkle them on what ever I want. I first tasted them straight out of the bag and they had a nice nutty flavor. This morning I had them on my cereal. I put in a bowl a vegan spelt flake cereal, sprinkled the hemp seeds, drizzled a little agave nectar, sliced a banana, and added soy milk.. It was a nice vegan breakfast. Here are some photos of the product bag and the seeds themselves..

Happy Holidays to all..

Thank you for coming to my blog. Please come back again soon.

Gnewvegan

Is Hemp the super seed?

I came across this topic when I was reading through a store circular. There was a section which stated the following:

"Hemp- The super seed "

"Hemp is one of the most sustainable and nutritious crops on the planet. Similar to a sesame seed in size, and nutty in flavor, hemp seeds are a hot new food trend found in everything from waffles and cereals, to protein powders and now even hemp milk. This super seed is one of the plant kingdom’s most complete sources of digestible protein, with all 10 essential amino acids. Hemp seed also contains a balanced source of Omega- 3 & 6 essential fatty acids with GLA, live enzymes, vitamins, minerals and an excellent source of fiber.
An 8 oz glass of Living Harvest Hemp milk includes 700 mg of Omega- 3 essential fatty acids; all 10 essential amino acids; GLA, vitamins A, B12, D and folic acid; naturally occurring minerals like magnesium, iron, potassium and phosphorus, as well as 40% of recommended daily calcium”.

This caught my eye because I am always looking to learn about new foods that can enhance my vegan lifestyle. It further caught my interest when I learned it is a member of the cannabis family wondering is it the same thing and how could that possibly be safe/ legal if it was. Here are a few web sites that I found helpful in learning about Hemp. One of them I will note next to it is a site for Living Harvest products. If you look on the lower left side you can click on a web address to see a broadcast about Hemp seed and products on the Channel 11 News.

Sites-

http://www.ratical.org/renewables/hempseed1.html

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,1614319,00.html

http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce/ExecMacro/livingharvest/home.d2w/report
(The above site is the one with the Channel 11 news story)

Thank you for coming to my blog. Please come back again soon.

Gnewvegan

Vegan Express by Nava Atlas

I have written on my blog before about a book by Nava Atlas that I use called , "The Vegetarian 5 ingredient gourmet" and highly recommended it.. Nava now has a new book called the "Vegan Express" and I already had a delicious soup from the book this evening. When I first changed my eating habits Nava's book helped me discover my new way of eating. The recipes are very tasty and easy to follow. Her new book follows in the same path and I look forward to cooking up those recipes.. I am posting a picture of her new book and highly recommend it. Thank you Nava for another delightful book.



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Gnewvegan

Vegan Chocolate Chip cookies

One day I was browsing around online to see if I could find some yummy vegan chocolate chip cookies. I came across a recipe that looked good. And they were indeed yummy.. :) Here is the link to the recipe and a picture I took of the cookies.. I will definitely be making these again..

Note: when using the egg replacer as stated in this recipe I did mix it with the water that the box states to mix the powder in. The recipe did not state to do that or not, but it was dry without the water. I only made half of the recipe because I was testing it out so I only added water for one egg amount. I think you are suppose to be able to view the making of the cookies on the site but I was unable to , so I made the choice of adding the water. I wanted to save part of the dough so I made two log rolls, wrapped it in glad press and seal and then put that in a freezer safe bag. So when ever cookies were desired I sliced what I wanted and baked it.. I also enjoyed eating the uncooked cookie dough. :)

http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-chocolate-chip-cookies.asp





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Gnewvegan

Spinach Soup with Low Mein Noodles by Gnewvegan

I was inspired to make my own Chinese Noodle bowl after having a rice noodle soup bowl I bought in the store.

4 or more servings
(yields 5 2/3 cups, 1 cup per 1 serving)


6 oz frozen chopped spinach
5 cups water
* Vegetable bouillon to equal 4 cups (see G note)
* 4 oz wide Lo mein Chinese noodles, broken in half (see G note)
1 small onion, 3 to 3 ½ oz , thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon adobo all purpose seasoning with pepper
salt and pepper to taste

*G note : For the vegetable broth you could use 4 cups of vegetable broth in a box and add 1 cup water.
* If you do not like your noodles long in a soup then break the noodles into three pieces instead of just two.

1- In a 2 qt pot put the appropriate amount of water. Put the bouillon in the pot and stir (break apart with fingers if you can) . If using broth from a box just pour the broth and water amount into the pot and bring to a boil.
2- Put all the vegetables, noodles, seasonings, salt and pepper as desired, and the oil in the boiling water, mix well and bring to a second boil.
3- Simmer on a low- medium flame, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes.
4- Serve and season with more salt and pepper if desired.

A reader of my blog requested pictures of the recipes and I am glad to say I am finally able to do that. Here is a picture of the soup.




I hope you enjoy the soup if you try it.

Thanks for coming to my blog. Please come back again soon.

Gnewvegan