Delicious Vegan Mushroom Stew

A while back, I created this tasty recipe. At the time I used dried Shitake mushrooms. Today I did a lot of substitutions, but it was still very good. Instead of dried, I used fresh mushrooms, and instead of kale I used Swiss chard.  Shallots were also not available, so I substituted scallions from the garden. Lots of changes!  If you try it either way, I think you will like it!

Having a head of cabbage in the refrigerator at all times is very handy. It is so full of healthy nutrition, it keeps well for a long time, and can compliment any vegan soup or stew. 

I decided to go into the garden and pull out a carrot for the stew. Look at this darling, stubby carrot!  It’s Japanese. 

While I was in the garden, I picked a few Chinese long beans that were cut up and added to the dish. Most Chinese stir fry this long bean, and I have done that too, but sometimes they can be a little tough. By adding them to the stew, they become soft, like our traditional green beans. I love how these grow. See the pretty flowers?

Here is the finished dish, and here is the recipe:

Dehydrating Herbs

This year I decided to grow a garden, a kitchen garden, or potager. A potager has vegetables, herbs and flowers, all growing together in an easily accessible spot off the kitchen. I have some lovely herbs that needed harvesting.  These included Italian parsley, oregano, lemon thyme, savory, marjoram, and a smaller amount of rosemary. I know that the more you pick them the more they grow, so I decided to  harvest each herb plant today.

I combined them together in the dehydrator, that resulted in a fragrant mix.  Thee mixture will be used in soups and stews come winter. See the results of my efforts here:

This is part of my potager. 

The finished product. 

After dehydrating the herbs, I rubbed them over the little colander to remove the stems before bagging. 

This is a fun hobby and the herbs will be a tasty addition to my vegan or vegetarian dishes. 

An Easy and Nutritious Meal

One of the easiest and most nutritious meals to make is a veggie soup. Use whatever you have handy from your garden or in the refrigerator.  Add a grain, like barley, and always add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and a bean.  This could be made in the instant pot or on the stove. Here is my favorite recipe.

Dehydrating Kale

In my flourishing garden, I have been harvesting a good amount of kale. I could harvest it daily!  It’s a good thing because I could use kale all winter long in soups and stews. So lately, I have begun to dehydrate my excess kale. After dehydrating, it reduces in size considerably. Would you believe an armful of kale can now fit into a small quart jar?  Here’s the proof:

Ten Years Since My Last Post!

It has been many years since I last posted, and a lot has happened during that time. At age 71, I am now a retiree. I haven’t eaten meat now for about 30 (?) years. In 2018, I completed the certificate program “Plant Based Nutrition,” the T. Colin Campbell program offered by the Center for Nutrition Studies offered by e Cornell University.

A new hobby this year has been gardening, and cooking delicious food from the garden. Here are some photos of the garden.  In these photos you will see the Kabucha squash, started from seed, trailing across the top of the arbor. Also, check out the size of the squash and the Sugar Baby watermelon!  Actually today these are even larger, and I have now attached little mesh bags to hold them up and make them more stable. I will show the pictures another day.

Well dear friends, I will write again tomorrow. Stay healthy!  It’s the vegan way!