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Vegetable Shopping

Simply By Cynthia

THE WHOLE KIT AND KABOODLE OF BLOG POSTS

Scroll through the page or click on a category. You can also click on the magnifying glass icon to sear for something that way. May these posts give you new ideas and inspire you to live a simpler, easier and more delicious life!

Creamy, Vegan Fire-Roasted Hatch Green Chili and Corn Soup

Feb 7, 2021
4 min

Creamy, Vegan Fire-Roasted Hatch Green Chili and Corn Soup

If you're a chili aficionado, you've no doubt heard of the world-famous Hatch chilies from New Mexico. These amazing, meaty pods have a history that just might surprise you. The name, Hatch, refers to the growing region. Hatch, New Mexico. Chefs claim that the intense sunlight by day, followed by cool nights in the Mesilla Valley are what gives these chilies their unique flavor. Here's where it gets interesting. The chili was developed, in the 1960's-70's, at the University o

Mushroom Bolognese with Seitan

Feb 3, 2021
5 min

Mushroom Bolognese with Seitan

The mushrooms looked so very tempting in my local Winco the other day that I bought a few. Well, a lot. Probably too many. Truth? I filled up one of my drawstring produce bags. The large-ish one. As I dumped them out on the kitchen counter, my 'inner mom voice' said something like "did you leave any for other people?" That's what pandemic shopping and shortages hath wrought. It didn't take long for a plan to emerge: Bolognese sauce. Yeah. Hearty and comforting for the winter

Yes, Virginia. You can have fresh, tasty salad without a single lettuce leaf.

Feb 2, 2021
5 min

Yes, Virginia. You can have fresh, tasty salad without a single lettuce leaf.

Salads can be the definition of 'missed opportunity'. So many people think that if they don't have lettuce leaves and tomatoes, then it couldn't possibly be a salad. How sad. It's especially frustrating now that running to the store on a whim for fresh lettuce can be problematic during the pandemic. Then, there's the whole thing about lettuce not lasting very long. And, what else can you actually use lettuce for unless it's a sandwich? Consider all the wonderful fruits, veget

This Creamy Cauliflower Soup is deliciously vegan, and no-oil, too!

Jan 31, 2021
4 min

This Creamy Cauliflower Soup is deliciously vegan, and no-oil, too!

As I was rehabilitating and organizing my freezer stash of frozen vegetables - I came across a large bag of frozen cauliflower. Hmmmm. Been there awhile. What to do? The pandemic has forced my hand when it comes to keeping food on hand. First there were the shortages and lines waiting to get in for socially-distanced shopping. Then, there's the anxiety over having to mingle with hordes of other grocery shoppers. Finally, not everything seems to be available for on-line orderi

Creamed Spinach: A steak house standard, modernized.

Jan 29, 2021
4 min

Creamed Spinach: A steak house standard, modernized.

If you're of a, ahem, certain age, you probably remember the all-American Steakhouse. It's where people went to get their slabs of meat, potatoes and a vegetable. Salads were also on the menu. Well, not salads per se, but rather Iceberg Lettuce. With Russian or Blue Cheese dressing. The vegetable was often limited to overcooked peas, overcooked green beans, overcooked carrots, or creamed spinach. You've probably noticed a theme. Americans didn't quite know what to do with ve

Carrot, Parsnip and Maple Soup from the Instant Pot

Dec 20, 2020
4 min

Carrot, Parsnip and Maple Soup from the Instant Pot

If you intend to spend much time in France, be sure that you like carrots. A lot. The French love their carrots! I've hauled many pounds of great huge, often dirt-covered carrots out the grocery store home, in eager anticipation of what I'd be using them for. The French know better than those silly little 'baby carrots' - made by cutting away the larger part of the flavorful root. That's wasteful. Go big or go home. And, really, they very often look as though they've just bee

This Lentil-Mushroom Loaf will satisfy your entire family

Dec 11, 2020
5 min

This Lentil-Mushroom Loaf will satisfy your entire family

I've been looking for a decent, basic lentil loaf recipe for some time, and finally decided that I needed to develop one myself. The other contenders seemed: too dry, too crumbly, too dense (like Seitan). The lightbulb went on when I happened to review my own Vegan 'Meatloaf' recipe. Duh! Riff off of that, just replacing the Beyond Beef with brown lentils (and a couple of tweaks)! Mushrooms are one of your best friends - if you can be friends with fungi ... interesting concep

Instant Pot Moong Dal: A healthier alternative to boring tomato soup

Dec 8, 2020
4 min

Instant Pot Moong Dal: A healthier alternative to boring tomato soup

When the weather gets colder, and the days shorter, we start looking for comforting foods. Soups are right up at the top of the list at our house, and I always have at least one in the fridge, and a couple in the freezer. Although we both like good old tomato soup, it just seems like a missed opportunity to not 'amp' it up with more fiber and nutrition. Moong (or Mung) Dal, which is simply the 'split' version of the Mung bean, is a nutritional powerhouse. It provides nearly 6

Butternut squash Mac 'n' Cheez with broccoli and tomatoes

Dec 5, 2020
4 min

Butternut squash Mac 'n' Cheez with broccoli and tomatoes

There must be dozens of ways to make vegan cheese sauce on the internet. And, I've tried several. Most are pretty good but too time-intensive for me. I like things that are simple. That's what appealed to me with this recipe. It's easy, these days, to find butternut squash - even Kabocha squash - bagged and in freezer sections of today's grocery stores. I keep both in my freezer. But, then I get seduced by those gorgeous fat, long-necked Butternut squash, piled high outside t

Simply the best vegan, oil-free meatloaf recipe

Dec 4, 2020
3 min

Simply the best vegan, oil-free meatloaf recipe

Here it is! The vegan meatloaf recipe that everybody keeps asking me for. Seriously. Friends, relatives, people on the WFPB social media groups. I've posted it so many times that I'm putting it here out of self-defense. We love meatloaf, but a truly 'meaty', 'beefy' tasting vegan meatloaf seemed impossible until the Beyond products came on the market. It looks like meat. Handles and cooks like meat. Best of all, it tastes and smells like meat. Here's another tip: Rather than

Simply the easiest, creamiest pumpkin soup

Dec 3, 2020
3 min

Simply the easiest, creamiest pumpkin soup

There are many versions of squash soups out there on the great wide web, but few easier than this one. I'd seen a recipe for a curried butternut squash soup, however I lacked the butternut squash, and wasn't going to make a dash to the grocery store just for that. Hmmmm. The "a-ha!" moment happened as a can of pureed pumpkin caught my eye in the pantry. That could work. It certainly did work, producing a simple, savory soup for the run-up to Thanksgiving. I'll be including it

Simply delicious 'No Beef' Salisbury Steak

Dec 2, 2020
2 min

Simply delicious 'No Beef' Salisbury Steak

Normally, I use the ground Beyond Beef product for meatloaf. I make a killer no-meatloaf. Really. It gets rave reviews. But, it seemed like I should venture further afield. Like patties. Not hamburgers. Something different. More. That comforts you right to the core on a December night. I'd been caramelizing onions and sweet peppers all afternoon in the oven. If you haven't tried this method, it's super simple. Almost completely hands-off. Slice up onions and put them in a cov

How to simply 'vegan-ize' just about any recipe

Dec 1, 2020
6 min

How to simply 'vegan-ize' just about any recipe

When we began the journey to a whole-food, plant-based, no added oil way of eating, my first instinct was to grab for all the new alternative 'meat' products that are now in the grocery stores. It's okay to do that, and I'm certainly thrilled to see those products. It was much harder, back in the day, which is why I 'gave up' on going vegetarian (not to mention, gasp! "vegan"!) then. I could only take just so many 'steamed veggie plates' and spaghetti Marinara. Sigh. The 'mea

"Turk'y-ish" Gumbo for the day after. And, the day after that.

Nov 24, 2020
3 min

"Turk'y-ish" Gumbo for the day after. And, the day after that.

We all know that Thanksgiving leftovers are one of the best things ever invented. It doesn't matter what it is. "Leftover dressing? Sure! Can I have some gravy on that?" Even if you're plant-based, like us, you might have something that closely resembles leftover poultry, and another sandwich isn't quite cutting it. Um, maybe soup? That's where Gumbo shines so brightly. Growing up in the South, I became aware of Gumbo, sorta. It wasn't until I had occasion to spend time with

These 10 simple kitchen hacks will prevent dinner-time meltdowns.

Nov 22, 2020
6 min

These 10 simple kitchen hacks will prevent dinner-time meltdowns.

We've all been there. The clock marches up to the dinner hour and you have that wide-eyed 'deer in the headlights' look. Uh. Oh. What are we gonna eat? Nothing got thawed out. The leftovers in the fridge are now officially moldy 'science projects'. It doesn't have to be this way. With a few tips and hacks, and a bit of determination on your part, you can say 'good-bye' to the expensive last minute takeout blues. The benefits to this are many: saving money, since cooking at ho

Simply beefless stew will comfort and satisfy

Nov 20, 2020
4 min

Simply beefless stew will comfort and satisfy

Warming stews are a must-have here in Reno, Nevada. It gets dark sooner, and the nights are colder, dipping into the 20's. That's why a beefless, yet 'beefy' stew - with plenty of vegetables - is essential. Even if you're plant-based. Today's marketplace is filled with perfectly tasty stand-in's for meat, and if you have ventured further than Beyond Meat, then you have delicious surprises awaiting. My freezer always has a good supply of the Gardein products - the meatless Chi

I'll simply be making a Galette for the holiday dinner.

Nov 19, 2020
6 min

I'll simply be making a Galette for the holiday dinner.

I used to make pies, back in the day, but have decided over the years that a galette, in the French tradition is somehow more satisfying - as well as being faster and easier. You can make a galette on the fly. From anything. Really. All you need are some discs of the pâte brisée dough tucked away in your freezer. When I need galette dough, I'll make half a dozen discs for the freezer. Making the dough takes perhaps an hour ... leisurely. It's craft, so I take my time and enjo

"Chowder" or "Chow-dah" it's the bomb.

Nov 17, 2020
4 min

"Chowder" or "Chow-dah" it's the bomb.

I've always reckoned that I made a pretty decent corn chowder. Plenty of corn, potatoes, carrots, celery and such. But, my husband - a native of northern New England - brought it home yesterday. "That's the best corn 'chow-dah' I think I've ever had." Me: "Hmmm. You mean better than your Aunt Clare's?" His Aunt Clare lived in a 400-year-old house overlooking the site of the oldest school in New England. Or North America. I can't remember. She was a cook worthy of the Norman R

You Can Learn to Ratatouille, Too.

Oct 19, 2020
5 min

You Can Learn to Ratatouille, Too.

A friend told me the other day that Ratatouille was a favorite dish, but just too complicated and time consuming to make. Blink. Blink. "Really?" says I. Yes, I suppose that it can be a complex dish to make - if you're a classically trained chef. In a cozy little bistro in Provence. I'm not. You're probably not. But, learn to make this deceptively simple dish and you'll forgive your friends for thinking that your cooking chops just might be more impressive than they are. You

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