Jabchai

This is kind of an odd post, but we really like this dish. It just comes off the back of a Korean vermicelli package. We enjoy the vermicelli. It is made from sweet potato starch, and I tease the kids that they're worms! Yep, that's how we roll here at Chateau Chaos!!! :)

I cook the vermicelli according to the directions, then drain it. The directions on the back of the package call for meat, but we use tofu. We fry that up with some Bragg. I also stir fry an onion. When those are done I dump in the sauce which is:
2 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
3 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp sesame oil
roasted sesame seeds (I use about 3-4 tbsp)
black pepper (I just dump in whatever I feel like! Helpful, no?)

After the sauce is mixed in, I dump the noodles in, and then put 1/2 pounds of spinach in. Turn off the heat and mix until the spinach is wilted. I also cook up some baby bellas in olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper to put in mine.

That's it! Pretty simple, vegan, gluten free, and pretty healthy!

Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup

Tonight I made Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup out of Vegan on the Cheap. I really liked it, and it smelled incredibly fabulous cooking! I cooked some quinoa and put the soup (really more like a stew) over it. I am usually leery of dried fruit or fruit juice in savory dishes, but I was feeling adventurous. :) The dish is super healthy. It's filled with lentils, vegetables, and spices as well as dried fruit (I used raisins), fresh parsley, and a small amount of lemon juice. I, having seven people to feed, made more than what was called for, but I still have lots of leftovers. I know what the kids are having for lunch tomorrow! This dish makes a lot. My husband enjoyed it as well as my oldest daughter. The younger kids ate it, but I don't think they were as crazy about it. They didn't complain about it though, so that's good because they're going to get it again! This recipe is definitely a keeper. So far, I am liking this book.

Black Bean Soup with Kale and Rice

Tonight I tried my first recipe out of Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson. I have to say, it was a big success. I made the recipe called Black Bean Soup with Kale and Rice. I didn't exactly measure out all the ingredients which is par for the course for me! I did measure out the spices, but I should have added more because it was a little diluted. I think it was because I added more beans and more rice than was called for. I also didn't have fire-roasted tomatoes, so I used regular canned tomatoes, and I didn't add the olive oil. I also added dried kelp to the beans. The recipe calls for pre-cooked or canned beans. I soaked the black beans overnight, then threw them in the slow cooker. Since I was coming home early today, I cooked them by themselves with the kelp for several hours. When I got home, I added the vegetables, spices, and rice. Next time I think I'll just throw it all in together in the morning. I added some Sriracha in my stew, and it was delicious. This recipe was easy, healthy, and yummy! It was also vegan and inexpensive, so it is definitely a keeper. Tonight was a fabulous start to Vegan on the Cheap!

Vegan on the Cheap

Here's my new cookbook! Seriously - how perfect is this book for me right now? I am trying to eat vegan, and all the recipes are vegan. I am trying to cut out all gluten, and most of the recipes are either gf or easily adaptable. I am trying to eat cheaply but healthfully, and well, look at the title! Perfect. I am trying out my first recipe from the book tonight. It is in the slow cooker as I type. I am thinking about adding a section to put links to blogs where I have tried recipes from specific cookbooks, or maybe groups of cookbooks by the same author. Thoughts?

Energy balls

My friend Christmas told me how to make these energy balls. They are simple and very versatile. Oats, dried fruit, some kind of nut/sunbutter, and liquid sweetener (I use agave). I haven't experimented much. Usually I make them with oats, raisins, peanut butter, and agave. I can get organic raisins and organic peanut butter at Costco, so that's usually what I make. This time, I forgot the peanut butter, but luckily I bought organic almond butter at Costco, so these are made with that! They are yummy. My kids prefer the peanut butter ones, but they ate these this morning. I don't have measurements because I don't tend to measure stuff! Just put the oats in a bowl, dump in the raisins, and then start playing with the nut butter and agave until you can make the mixture into balls. You can eat them then, but I prefer to chill them in the fridge first. I think they taste better that way, and since I use old fashioned oats, the oats have a chance to soften. Also, they don't break apart as easily when they are chilled. Kid friendly - vegan - healthy!

An overhaul!

I have not kept up with this blog very regularly as of late! I started back to school in January, and things have been beyond cuh-razy since then! It is my goal to get this blog up and running again. I have had a long and interesting food journey. I originally cut out gluten due to some digestive issues. When I started adding gluten back into my diet, things seemed to be going fine. Long story short, with a lot of experimenting, I have realized that I cannot continue to eat gluten. I continue to have digestive issues with gluten. I also have insomnia. I have dealt with chronic insomnia for pretty much all of my life. I have tried everything that I have researched to help it. Some things help, but nothing has fixed the problem - UNTIL I cut out gluten. The only time in my life that I did not have to deal with insomnia was when I was completely gluten free. I also have issues with mental fog and energy. The most troubling issue for me though is pain. When I eat gluten, I have pain in my legs and feet. When I don't eat gluten, the pain goes away. That is pretty clear cut - the gluten has to go - for good.

I am also cutting out dairy and eggs. While this is a health issue as well, it is more of an ethical issue for me. I have never eaten much dairy and eggs anyway. It is both an environmental and an ethical issue for me. Honestly, I have no ethical problem with eating an egg that a chicken shoots out of it's booty. I DO have a problem with the way the chickens are treated, the horrible conditions they have to live in, etc. So, from now on, all the recipes on this blog will not only be gluten free, but they will be vegan as well.

I've toyed with the idea of changing the name, but several friends have pointed out to me that Going Against the Grain works perfectly fine, so I am going to leave it as is! I will be changing some other aspects of the blog though. I will revamp the recipe link section to reflect which recipes are vegan/vegetarian, etc. So bare with me while I get everything in order, and I would love to hear feedback as the changes are implemented! Thanks.

Sesame-Broccoli Stir-Fry

I tried a recipe out of Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet recently called Sesame-Broccoli Stir Fry. It was pretty good and pretty simple. My husband really enjoyed it. The recipe called for steaming the broccoli which I didn't do. I just put it in the pan raw and stir fried it. (I should add that due to having to referee kid issues, my veggies got a bit over done which was a bummer.) The recipe also called for red bell pepper, but I switched that out with carrots and bean sprouts. The sauce had sesame oil, soy sauce (I used Bragg), hoisin sauce, and sesame seeds. I, personally, thought there was too much hoisin sauce, and I will reduce the amount next time I make it. Overall though, it was pretty good. Kids ate it, hubby ate it, I liked it - recipe success! We also had green beans with tomatoes, corn, greens, and fresh tomatoes and basil with gf crackers. Yummy meal!