Say Hello To My new Little Friends....

I've always been a huge fan of Silk's Plain Lite Soy Milk. It was the only choice for me...until now.
I came across Silk's newest variety, Silk Plus, at my last trip to the grocery store. This Silk Plus is fortified with Omega 3's and DHA, and the taste is great!

In this same trip I found myself searching for my vegan margarine staple, Earth Balance, and stumbled upon this, insteadAfter a quick comparison of the two, I opted to try this version as it's lower in sodium and in fat. The true test will come, I'm sure, when it's time to bake up a vegan confection. Stay tuned for that!

Next onto an experiment that was NOT my friend...cornmeal coated chicken style seitan, baked not fried.

I know that you can bake the seitan instead of frying it with great results, but I DO NOT recommend doing such after coating it with white cornmeal. The cornmeal just stayed powdery and never fully browned, even though I lightly sprayed it with oil before putting it in the oven.
Live and learn! The sides were fab, though...mashed sweet potato and spinach with wild rice. yum!

For a lazy dinner, I defrosted some of the Bean 'n Barley stew I made a while back. This stuff is reeeeally great. Served with a bunch of sauteed spinach with garlic and the last of my whole wheat biscuits.
I've finally found the package of barley that I adopted this recipe from and will post it below. I really love the flavor of this stew and how the barley just pops when you bite into it. Amazing all over again out of the freezer, too!

With the biscuits all gone it was time for another baked item in the house. This time? La Dolce Vegan's Kissin Cousins Oat Bread.
Think corn bread without the corn but with oats instead. It's a bit crumbly but not terribly so, a little sweet and all kindsa good. I made it with the intention of using it as sandwich bread but have been enjoying a thick slice lightly toasted with a bit of Smart Balance instead.

Craving Mac UnCheese, I thought I'd venture away from our usual variety (from the Nutritional Yeast Cookbook) and test one out that uses tofu in the sauce and doesn't rely on flour, either. This one was from Veg Web
The claim was that this was the Best Mac and Cheese in the Entire World....Seriously, and many reviews said the same. The verdict? blech! we didn't like it. The tamari was too overwhelming and it just didn't measure up to our favorite. I like the idea of adding protein by way of tofu in the sauce, but the flavor was all wrong for our palates.

even a side of our favorite broccoli didn't make it easier to get down.
the worst part? it makes a TON!

We decided a yummy dessert treat was in order that evening.
This was just a simple dish of sliced bananas and fresh strawberries (the berries had been macerating in the fridge with a little sugar during dinner. yum!) topped with a sauce made from Toffuti Better Than Cream Cheese and some Florida Crystals and some shaved 85% cocao dark chocolate.

Adopted from Bob's Red Mill's Hearty Hull-less Barley Soup

Bean 'n Barley Stew

3 T vegan margarine
1 large onion, diced
3-4 Carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp salt
1 T dried Basil
1 T dried Oregano
1/2 - 3/4 c. dried Parsley flakes
6 1/2 c. hot water or veg. stock (I like to use Vegan Planet's basic veg. stock recipe)
2 c. hull-less barley
3 cans crushed tomatoes
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed (I used one Great Northern and one Cannellini, as that's what I had)

makes a ton and freezes really well! i belived i even halved the recipe and still had a bunch to freeze.

Brown the onion in margarine (this reduces the acid of the onion). Add carrots, celery, salt and cook for a few minutes. Add water or stock, herbs, and barley. Bring to a boil and cover. Lower temperature and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Mix in tomatoes and beans and cook for an additional 30 minutes, making sure to not run out of water/ stock and add as needed, if needed.

enjoy!