Substance of Living

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. Kristen was our lucky winner!  Congratulations!!! Every time the Universe answers one of my requests, I'm always amazed.  I've been searching for the perfect recipe organizer and Cook'n Recipe Organizer v.11 comes as close as possible. "Cook'n is the #1 Best-Selling Recipe Organizer and is the ultimate kitchen companion." Cook'n Recipe Organizer v.11 How many times have you found yourself or someone in your family asking "What's for dinner?" or looking in the refrigerator or pantry and saying "There's nothing to eat"?  You find yourself getting stressed or upset, throwing in the towel, and going out to eat.  This is a vicious cycle. We used to find ourselves eating out quite a bit and not really even enjoying the luxury.  Then I got a little older and wasn't as willing to put up with the side effects from my food intolerences/allergies and decided t...

Seitan is a Vegan meat substitute.  It is one of the main ingredients in a faux turkey or mock duck.  It's delicious and can be used in many ways. The problem with prepared Seitan is that it is "What Gluten".   This is a very basic Wheat-Free / Gluten-Free recipe to get you started once again or for the first time enjoying Seitan. Ingredients: 1 C Flour Mixture ¼ C Corn Starch ¼ C Nutritional Yeast 1 t Cumin 1 t Turmeric 1 t Sage 1 t Italian Seasoning 1 t Ground Black Pepper 1/3 C Water ¼ C Ketchup 2 T Butter 2 T Amino Acids I hear ya!   It looks like there are a lot of ingredients but you can use as many or few seasonings to suit your taste. Preheat the oven to 350F. Stir all the dry ingredients and slowly add the wet ingredients.   A pastry cutter works really well here because you don’t want to over work the dough. Knead the dough shaping as desired for 2-3 minutes then rest for about 5 minutes.  ...

This Whipped Topping is a cross between a frosting and a whipped cream.  It’s a delicious addition to any dessert.   1/2 C Milk 2 T Cornstarch 1/2 C Vegetable Shortening 1/2 C Sugar 1/2 t Vanilla Extract In a small sauce pan, add Cornstarch and Milk.  Bring to a nice simmer stirring constantly.  Once this begins to thicken, turn off the stove and set it aside to cool while you start on the next part of this very versatile topping. In a bowl, mix the Milk, Vegetable Shortening, and Sugar for about 3-5 minutes.  Add the Vanilla Extract, continue to mix and now slowly spoon in the Cornstarch mixture.  Continue to mix until everything is creamy. I mentioned above that this is a very versatile topping and it is.  In place of the vanilla extract you can add any flavoring (be sure to tinker with the amount because some flavorings are more intense than others) as well as the coloring.  If you want strawberry topping add st...

  Mock Mozzarella Vegan Queso This recipe started out as a Mock Mozzarella by Cindy Demmer.  I followed her recipe except for two minor changes.  First, I halved the recipe and Second, I used flax seed instead of whole wheat flour. I'm not really sure I can agree with her assessment of this cheesy spread being a "mozzarella".  It really is good except DH and I kept comparing it to mozzarella cheese and we couldn't get past what we were thinking it was supposed to be.  To us, mozzarella cheese is white, thick, stringy when melted, and a very mild flavor marrying it up with other ingredients perfectly.  We agreed with her that this could be addictive on pizzas. However, I'm more inclined to agree with Joanne Stepaniak, author of " The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook " and that this is more of a cheese spread.  In fact, Joanne calls this her "Melty Nutritional Yeast Cheese".  This, I concur whole heartily! Vegan Queso Dip...