This Week in Sustainability...

Yesterday's Sustainability Sunday was a HUGE success! Dane and I both had tons of people come out to our supper clubs, and the KC Vegan Crawl made yet another mark on the midwest! Yay!

At my place for lunch, I made everyone's favorite: Brunch!!

My Lemon-Ginger Scones! A big, big hit! The recipe is here...I highly recommend it. I even got the lemons at the Farmers' Market!For the main event, I served up cakes 'n eggs, vegan-style!! Awesome Whole Grain Pancakes, Scrambled Tofu with Local Greens, and Local Homefries, featuring both yukon gold and sweet potatoes.

To mix it up a bit, I gave my guests a choice of different pancake toppings: Plain (Earth Balance and Maple Syrup), Homemade Pumpkin Butter, Cinnamon-Baked Apples, Chocolate Chips, or, for those with a savory tooth, Spicy Seitan Chorizo!

Here's my plate-- I topped mine with both the pumpkin butter and baked apples, being the little glutton I am. Did I mention ALL the produce and tofu used were local? Well, they were! The savory option: Pancakes topped with homemade Spicy Seitan Chorizo Crumbles, drizzled with agave nectar and sprinkled with sea salt. Holy moly this was one tasty plate o' food!!Then, for dinner at Dane's place: Gumbo and Rice! Food for the working folks, for sure!! Tons of okra, Anasazi beans, tomatoes, garlic and more in a delicious, spicy broth, topped with fluffy white rice. I think all the vegan Southerners would be proud!!And there was homemade bread: Whole Grain and French Baguettes!! BREAD!!And, since no meal is complete sans dessert: Depression Cake!! Dane found a recipe for cake from the Depression era, when things like eggs and milk were scarce...so it was already vegan and tasty and cheap to make! Yes!! He jazzed it up a bit with a Cranberry-Orange Glaze, and it was just too good!
Thanks to everyone who has been coming out to the Vegan Crawl!! Hopefully we'll just keep growing and growing! There will be more delish food to come, ya'll!

Yumbo Gumbo!

I am really pumped because I have been wanting to make gumbo for a while...I heart okra...and I finally made it for dinner tonight! I wanted to wait until Steven got back from his climbing trip to Texas to make it for him, so I just got my chance tonight. I kinda winged this recipe based on what I've had before and what I knew about creole-style cooking. Luckily, it turned out great!! The andouille sausage to which I refer in the recipe is another work-in-progress that I finally got to turn out wonderfully--I will post that recipe tomorrow, as I don't want to make this too long of a post with the long gumbo recipe and all. So here it is! I hope you try AND like it!"Andouille" Okra Gumbo (serves 4 hungry vegans)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small jalapeno, minced
1 lb okra, sliced
1 can yellow or white hominy, drained and rinsed (corn will work if you can’t find hominy)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 vegan Andouille sausages, sliced into thin rounds
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs maple syrup
1 Tbs Louisiana-style hot sauce (Frank’s, etc. But really, Frank's is the bomb!!!)
2 Tbs paprika
1 heaping Tbs gumbo filé powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you want less heat)
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup vegetable broth or water

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the diced onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pan. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until onions are softened and translucent. Add in the minced garlic and jalapeno, and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the broth, vinegar, hot sauce, and maple syrup to the vegetables and stir. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly reduced. Stir in the sliced “sausages,” beans, hominy, and canned tomatoes. Stir in all of the spices and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to cook for 15 minutes, stirring every so often to prevent sticking. Add in the okra and cook for another 5 minutes, until the okra is fully cooked. Add extra salt and/or pepper to taste and serve immediately.
I recommend serving this hot with a thick slice of cornbread or over a bed of brown rice!

The cool thing about this recipe is that you can add your own twists and variations to it, and it will probably still turn out tasty! You can modify the cayenne and other peppers if you want more or less heat. I still threw a few dashes of hot sauce on mine once I plated it up, but that's because I like it pretty spicy. If you opt not to make the homemade andouille "sausages" (that I will post tomorrow), you can use any vegan link-style sausage, sliced seitan, or even cubed tempeh. But, seriously, you WILL want to make these fauxsages. For real.