Blood tests | Tomato-artichoke soup | Free bread

I'm a difficult draw. And I don't mean with a pencil. I'm referring to getting a blood sample out of the teeny tiny veins in my arm. Every so often a technician will need to call for assistance to get the job done, but there's always been someone at whatever lab I'm at who could just go right in and collect a sample with one try. Recently, I had an unpleasant (HA! understatement) experience at a lab, where, after trying repeatedly to draw blood from both arms, the first technician turned me over to her partner. Tech #2 tried in both arms and failed. She asked if I just wanted to give up and leave but I said no, I wanted to get this required blood test done. Seriously, I try to stay calm and friendly during these sessions because I don't want to be a negative influence on the proceedings, and make things worse, but sometimes it's sure hard to maintain composure in the face of ineptitude. I was keeping calm as best I could when I glanced at Tech #2, and observed her shaking her head. I looked at her fingers, tapping away at my arm, and they were shaking, too. At that point I said, "OK. I think I'm done." And I left. Sheesh.

On Saturday I was finally ready to give it another go at a different lab, and as I faced my first technician, I gently and calmly told her what she was up against, in case she wanted to bail. She was confident, and I liked her. I had to fast for 12 hours for the test but I had drunk lots of water because that's supposed to help in situations like mine. The technician gave me even more water to drink, and she put a hot pack on my arm. I was beginning to worry. After one unsuccessful poke, she called an associate, and I smiled on the outside and cried on the inside, as I met my new tormentor. This woman, bless her, immediately found a vein and got the sample. I got her name and the hours she works, and when I need blood drawn again, I'm making a beeline for her lab.



It's weird that this post is ultimately going to be about tomato soup. I wasn't thinking about the color connection before I started writing but, there it is. It's a little disturbing to me but I hope you'll take it in stride and try this soup. :) I've been wanting to make tomato soup ever since I had a stellar version in a small café on Bainbridge Island, and I think I figured out the special flavor in that soup — artichoke hearts. I was going to wait for fresh, summer tomatoes to make it but it's just too long to wait. (If you use fresh tomatoes you might want to remove the skin and seeds.)

For the tomatoes I used Bionaturæ organic strained tomatoes with no salt added, which comes in a glass bottle, but I don't see why regular canned tomatoes or tomato purée wouldn't work. This tomato purée is very thick. (I started using jarred tomatoes when I became aware of the the dangers of BPA in the can linings.) The artichoke hearts were quartered and packed in water, but, if you don't worry about extra fat, oil-packed ones would probably be even more delicious. I rinsed the artichokes to reduce the sodium a bit, but you don't have to. I used basil for my dried herb but I think rosemary or savory might be good options.



Tomato-artichoke soup (very fast, easy and delicious)

• 2 cups chopped onion
• olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)
  
• 24 oz. tomatoes (mine were strained, puréed, no salt, bottled)
• 2-1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth, or regular vegetable broth
  
• 1 cup jarred artichoke hearts, drained and quartered (mine were packed in water)
  
• up to 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (to taste)
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 teaspoon dried herb of choice
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. In a soup pot, sauté the onions in a small amount of olive oil until translucent, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally so they don't burn.
2. Add the tomatoes, broth, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, artichokes and frozen corn.
3. Blend with an immersion blender until the vegetables are uniform but the soup isn't completely smooth. It should have a bit of texture but no chunks. (You could also use a regular blender.)
4. Heat until hot. Add herbs, salt and pepper to taste, and more lemon if needed.

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Free bread (for me AND for you!)



Wendy McClelland, the marketing manager at Silver Hills Bakery in Abbotsford, BC. was kind enough to send me a coupon to try a free loaf of their bread. According to Wendy, "Our organic bread is made without flour – when we get our grain (from a farm run on wind energy) we sprout it in a unique 36 hour process. This sprouting increases overall nutrition, triples the fiber and improves the digestibility. We have been making bread this way for [more than] 20 years, and still believe it is the healthiest way."



I found the bread at our local food coop but there was only one loaf left, so I didn't have a choice of which kind to try. I really liked the flavor and chewy texture; it was just the way I prefer bread to taste — not too sweet, not too salty, with a full grain presence. My only complaint was the bread didn't seem particularly fresh, and was a little dry. I don't know how often it's delivered to the store or how long it had been sitting on the shelf. I'd have to try it again before making a judgement.



My solution was to toast it, and it made a great accompaniment to the tomato soup we had for supper. If you'd like to try a free loaf, Silver Hills will send a coupon to anyone who takes simple online survey. I took the survey before offering it to you just to see what it was like, and it's easy and unobtrusive. You can find the survey here. Check their Web site to see if the bread is sold where you live. In addition to the sprouted wheat bread, they also make a gluten-free loaf.

Full disclosure: I was given a free coupon to try the bread but was under no obligation to write about it favorably, or at all. All opinions are mine.

Whole baked squash / Bean and corn fritters /microwave popcorn

My son thinks it's amazing and stupid (amazingly stupid?) that I've never made microwave popcorn; it seems perfectly reasonable to me since I've never owned a microwave. This has come up because lately I've been thinking about, and wanting popcorn, and our hot air popper was left at our house in Wisconsin when we came to Seattle. I assume the renters are using it, and we don't have a popper here, nor do we have an appropriate pot to use for popping corn on the stove. I don't think I can use a pot belonging to the people who own the house we're renting as it could get wrecked by popping corn in it. At least that's been my experience. After half-heartedly looking for a used air popper at Goodwill (though truthfully, we don't really want to accumulate more "stuff" since we have to move again in July), my son pointed out we have a microwave, and could make microwave popcorn. But that stuff is expensive and usually has flavorings and chemicals I don't want to eat. After doing a little Internet research, I've learned you can make your own microwave popcorn in a paper bag. I'm curious to try this to see if it works for me. Obviously it works for others but ya never know until you try it yourself. Has anyone tried this?

So I've learned a new trick this week. Actually it was the second new trick. The first was learned by my husband this past weekend — he learned to bake a squash whole. That's right, no grunting, groaning, teeth gnashing or cursing while trying to cut open a winter squash that seems to be made of steel. He just put the whole thing into the oven and took it out an hour later all soft and easy to open. It happened to be a spaghetti squash which we served with artichoke spaghetti sauce and steamed kale. (I think my husband would eat artichoke spaghetti sauce every day, whereas I prefer a little variety.) You can find more complete instructions here. I found this post after my husband had learned the trick elsewhere, and it's a good description of what to do.



Rambling on, I saw a recipe in Vegetarian Times for chickpea croquettes. I was particularly interested in making this recipe because it contained a whole cup of chickpea flour, and I'd just recently purchased a bag. Once in the kitchen, of course, I realized that yes, I had the chickpea flour, but almost none of the remaining ingredients. Since I changed the recipe so much, I think it will be OK to print it.



I didn't love the croquettes the first night I made them — the taste was good but the texture was weird — almost sandy. I cooked a bunch and served them with the leftover artichoke sauce (not a good idea), a wok-full of a bok choy-related green with garlic, and steamed rice. I wasn't planning to blog about them because they just weren't up to the standard I adhere to for blog posts. I put the leftover, uncooked mix into the refrigerator.



The next day I took the leftover mix, added frozen corn, and fried the fritters in a small amount of oil in the wok. I don't know if it was the overnight rest in the refrigerator or the addition of the corn, but they were FANTASTIC. Perhaps the steam from the frozen corn changed the texture, or maybe the batter just needed more solids in there with all that garbanzo flour. The corn definitely improved the taste and texture. If you make these, eat them hot off the griddle, when they're at their prime. I ate mine unadorned, and they tasted great, but I can see them topped with a sauce of Veganaise and salsa. I'm posting the recipe with the corn included. I know I'll be making these again.



Bean and corn fritters

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
• 1 tablespoon dehydrated onion
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (I tend to use less salt)
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1 15-ounce can canellini beans, rinsed, drained and partially mashed
  
• 4 to 6 green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
• a large carrot, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels

1. Whisk together the chickpea flour, chili powder, salt, chipotle powder and dehydrated onion. Whisk in the hot water.
   
2. Stir in the green onions, carrots, cilantro, corn and beans.
3. Form into fritters and cook in a small amount of cooking oil on a medium-hot, non-stick pan or griddle. You could also use well-seasoned cast iron. You can use a 1/4-cup measuring cup to mold the fritters, if desired. Fill the measuring cup about halfway. (You don't want them to be too thick.)
   
4. Cook until the bottom is brown, about 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and cook until the fritters feel firm and done, about 3 to 4 minutes. I like to press them down a bit as they cook.

I ate mine plain for breakfast but I can see them rolled into tortillas with lettuce and salsa, or even stuffed into pita for lunch or dinner.

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Head over to One Frugal Foodie to enter a one-day only giveaway for "1000 Vegan Recipes" by Robin Robertson. This contest ends at midnight, Nov. 20, 2009.

Fresh garden broccoli stir-fry over quinoa pasta

© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

It seems like just yesterday I bought teeny tiny broccoli plugs for 25 cents each from a farmers market vendor. They looked so small and helpless I couldn't believe they'd survive the rabbits and other predators of tender young plants. The first week I bought four plants, and they did so well in the garden that the next week I bought four more. All have survived and grown huge and one has just yielded a large head of broccoli. It may be just a broccoli plant to you, but to me it was a gardening milestone. The broccoli got planted. The broccoli survived. The broccoli will be eaten by me and not the rabbits! I was practically hysterical with glee. I couldn't decide if I should do something simple or fancy with this ultra-fresh vegetable but decided I really wanted to focus on tasting, not disguising, the broccoli. I made a simple but delicious stir fry with artichoke hearts and lemon zest adding a special punch. Since I have lemon thyme and chives growing in the garden, I added some of those herbs, too.

The Ancient Harvest quinoa spaghetti that we used is gluten-free, and although we're not intolerant of gluten, this noodle has become a favorite of ours. The noodles are bright yellow and have a very good texture and taste. I think the only thing in the dish that wasn't gluten-free was my husband's home-made seitan sausage, and that could easily be substituted with cashews, mushrooms or beans.


© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

Ingredient list

• broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
• garlic, minced fine
• vegan sausage or substitute a gluten-free item
• artichoke hearts
• shredded carrot
• Quinoa pasta
• lemon zest
• lemon thyme
• chives
• fresh ground black pepper
• crushed red pepper

First, I steamed the broccoli gently in a covered wok until almost tender. Then I removed the cover and added some oil to the wok, and added finely minced garlic to cook for a minute. Thin slices of homemade seitan sausage were stir-fried in, then artichoke hearts, shredded carrot, lemon zest and lemon thyme. The cooked veggies were placed on top of quinoa spaghetti, and crushed red pepper, fresh ground black pepper and chives were added.

Garden tour (of our garden) on July 20.

Dill © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking


Basil © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking


This has been eaten. © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking


Three kinds of lettuce. © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking


One of the tomato plants. © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking


Tumbling Tom. © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking


Swiss chard. © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking


Asian lily. © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

Pasta with tomatoes and artichoke hearts

What can I say? I was listlessly thumbing through a Parade Magazine one lazy Sunday when something caught my attention. Although it wasn't labeled as such, there was a great-sounding vegan pasta dish filled with artichoke hearts. I immediately went for the scissors and cut it out because you can never have too many recipes containing artichoke hearts.

As it turns out, the dish was as good as I hoped it would be, though I think it should be served over linguine, which is my favorite pasta shape. We had ours over whole wheat penne rigate with a side of kale.


Tomatoes and artichoke hearts with pasta (adapted from a recipe by Sheila Lukins)

• 12 oz. oil-marinated artichoke hearts
• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 28-oz. cans plum tomatoes, crushed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
• juice and zest of one small lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (evaporated cane juice)
  
• 12 oz. package dried pasta, cooked (linguini recommended)
  

1. Drain the artichokes and cut them in half lengthwise.
2. Sweat the onions in the oil for 10 minutes. (Cook over low heat in a heavy, covered pot, until translucent) Add the garlic during the last two minutes.
3. Stir in the crushed plum tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, rosemary, sugar and red pepper flakes. (Rub the herbs quickly between you hands to release their oils, before adding)
4. Simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes.
5. Add the artichoke hearts and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Stir in the parsley and lemon. Add salt and pepper if needed. Adjust sweetness, if needed.