Home Grown Tomatoes presents: Taking the Heavy out of Cream

Cream of Celery Soup

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column

by Giovanina Bucci

Obviously, posting recipes requires cooking and it SHOULD require eating, but alas, I am here on the penultimate day of the Master Cleanse, salivating instead. And to top things off, I planned our Thanksgiving menu this week - what the hell was I thinking?! Clearly, I wasn't. But enough about the silly predicaments I put myself into and onto the Cream of Celery soup that filled Beau's belly for a few a days.

We're big fans of celery in our house; we use it for dipping in all kinds of goodies, most often homemade hummus and peanut butter. (Because celery and peanut butter make me feel like I'm nine again, which is a good thing with a birthday around the corner). Every time either one of us goes to the grocery store, we come home with celery, unknowing whether or not we actually need it. As a result, the moment was bound to arrive whereby celery was literally leaking out of every crevice in our refrigerator. I took all of the "not quite firm enough to dip anymore" celery and went to town, and produced a pleasingly, creamy, perfect-for-a-November-day, soup. And so it goes...

Serving Size: 4 bowls, 6 or so cups (I actually have no idea, this is an estimate)

3 heaping Tbs. Earth Balance Butter

1 medium sized yellow onion (diced)

4-5 large stalks celery (diced)

3 small red potatoes (diced)

1-2 Tbs. Bragg's Liquid Aminos

3 c. (or more, depending on the consistency you enjoy) Rice Milk (or other milk product, you could even do half Veg. broth here)

3-4 Tbs. Tofutti Sour Supreme

1-2 Tbs. Tofutti Cream Cheese

1/2 tsp. celery seed

1/2 tsp. onion powder

dash of white pepper

dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

garnish with spring onion (if you're feeling spunky)

Saute the white onion in the butter and Bragg's on medium high heat until the onion is translucent, or better yet, until the onion is caramelized. Then add the diced potatoes, let them saute for about five minutes, so they begin to get a bit tender. Don't hesitate to add some milk at this point, if it seems like your pan needs some moisture. Finally, add the celery and about 1/2 c. of milk and let all three veggies tenderize for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

At this point, turn the heat down to medium low, add the rest of your milk, sour cream, and cream cheese. (If you're a vegetarian, you can use heavy cream for this recipe and nix the sour cream and cream cheese. Personally, I use sour cream and cream cheese as thickening agents in vegan soups, not to mention they do add a nice punch of flavor.) To top things off, add the celery seed, onion powder and white pepper and let the soup simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Finally, puree the soup to give it a thick and hearty consistency. After I've done this, I usually let the soup simmer on low heat for about 5 more minutes. Add those red pepper flakes if you're into a bit of heat and give it a taste test. I tend to go big on herbs and spices, more often than not, I find myself adding a touch more of this and a tad more of that. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, thinly sliced celery (1" in length) and chopped green onion. Then pour yourself a nice glass of red wine, bundle up with a blanket, and enjoy a perfect, cozy November day.

Baby's First... Everything

This weekend B was in Chicago having a boys weekend, so the little lady and I were holding down the fort alone. As if to reaffirm the fact that I was a (temporary) single parent and that I should obviously not eat red meat while breastfeeding (though that burger was damn good), she rewarded me on Friday night by waking up every hour screaming. We never even made it off the couch.

But in a move that I will never understand and that continues to repeat itself, a night of no sleep, or cat naps at best, led to a very bright-eyed Saturday, whereas the nights of full sleep lead me to only a moderate level of energy. Cest la vie.

So we took our burst of Saturday energy and made french toast, bacon, and coffee for breakfast and then headed out to the local art & history museum. Baby's first museum visit! It wasn't my type of art work, but being an art lover in general, I could still appreciate the paintings. Plus, the portraits were a fascinating study in fashion, so that's always interesting.

The fact that it was her first museum visit was not lost on me, as she continues to have all kinds of "firsts" all the time. It's one of the mind blowing things about being a parent. One of my most vivid (positive) memories in the delivery room was her first kiss. As I was waiting and waiting to hold her - which took a full 45 minutes after delivery thanks to a misplaced needle - all I could think of was that *I* was the one who got to give her her first kiss. Thousands and thousands of kisses would follow - cheek kisses, belly kisses, passionate kisses, kisses from grandparents and girlfriends. From men who are wrong for her, and men who are right for her. Polite kisses, obligatory kisses, the list goes on. But there has to be a first one, and I got to delivery it. It was so symbolic and touching.

She had her first laugh the other day also. She gave it to her daddy while he was singing her the "I've got pee-pees in my pants" song that he invented. Her second laugh she gave to me the next day, also while singing the very same song on the very same changing table. Apparently it's a big hit. But again, all I could think about was the millions of laughs that we'll share together over the years. The unabashed toddler giggles, the 13 year old slumber party squeals, the devious cackles that accompany most of college, and the wine-tinged hysterics over long dinners at our dining room table. Laughter is a huge part of our household and our family, and to see the beginning of that was absolutely enchanting.

I don't have any giggles or laughs on video tape yet, mostly because as soon as she sees the video camera she goes into an immediate catatonic state. So hopefully that will subside as she gets used to it, but in the meantime here's some really sketchy parenting advice for those of you for whom Tummy Time will be a part of your vocabulary one day.

In case you were wondering...

This is how you end a weekend.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

It took three months, but Miles finally discovered the luxurious comfort of the baby papasan.

Home Grown Tomatoes presents: Crust a Must? No.

Crustless Pecan Pumpkin Pie with Maple Pumpkin Frosting

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column by Giovanina Bucci
(in other words...Scarlet Lily did not write this:))

I just like staring at these pictures. They make me happy, except I am doing the Master Cleanse right now, so they're kind of pissing me off, because I can't eat anything for 10 days! Nonetheless this creation, otherwise known as Crustless Pecan Pumpkin Pie with Maple Pumpkin Frosting, is sweet, delicious, and gluten free! In my humble opinion, it's pretty much an edible version of the Adirondacks: pumpkin, maple, pecan...

Beau requested this number for Thanksgiving this year, so I figured a trial run wouldn't hurt anyone. And it didn't. We grabbed forks, spoons, whatever we could find, and dove into this delight like ravaging animals. And now it's gone... :)

I adapted this recipe from My Sweet Vegan, which is a highly recommended, fabulous vegan dessert cookbook with pictures for each recipe. I decided to ditch the crust, add my own little flair for the frosting, and made a few other changes. Speaking of frosting, I was acting like an 8 year old on Christmas this day and couldn't wait for the pie to cool before frosting with my Ziploc bag. Regretfully I piped too soon, but I grabbed the camera just in time. About one minute after these pictures were taken, the frosting started gravitating towards the middle and the pies' decadent appearance disappeared as each pecan was swallowed. Tasty, nonetheless.

Serving Size: apparently 8 slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Pumpkin Filling

1 C. pumpkin puree

1/3 C. sugar

2 Tbs. of Rice Milk (Soy Milk, Soy Creamer, anything milky...)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ginger (which I didn't have, but I'm sure would add a magnificent dimension)

1/8 tsp. allspice

2 Tbs. Non-genetically modified cornstarch

(Note: I am not a huge fan of using cornstarch, and try to use it minimally in my cooking. I haven't experimented yet, but I imagine there are alternatives here, especially if you're not vegan. And as a vegan, I would likely try using something like Arrowroot Powder or something similar to help the pie set up and thicken.)

Pecan Filling:

1 C. pecan halves

2 heaping Tbs. of honey or 1 Tbs. of agave syrup

1/3 C. maple syrup (I used Grade B, which is excellent for cooking)

1/4 C. dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Maple Pumpkin Frosting:

This was a "wing it" effort - so the measurements are, well, approximate.

3 Tbs. Earth Balance butter (room temperature)

1/4 C. confectioner's sugar

2-3 Tbs. pumpkin puree

1 Tbs. maple syrup

Essentially, with frosting, you want to get a good consistency and sweetness, and those two things aren't very hard to accomplish. Begin with the measurements above and modify as needed. The worst that could happen is you'll make too much...which gives you an excuse to eat a spoonful here and there.

First, mix all of the ingredients for the Pumpkin Filling. Once mixed well (either by hand or using a mixer), pour into a well greased 9" pie dish. Mix the ingredients of the Pecan Filling and layer on top of the pumpkin. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes. Once the pie has COMPLETELY cooled, frost away.

As I said earlier, I just used a Ziploc bag and piped small, round swirls to add to the beauty. Honestly, since I dove in head first, I didn't even attempt to slice the pie. However, it did set up nicely and I think would be sliceable. Now that I am looking at the size of this post, it looks overwhelming. Seriously, I don't make things that are overwhelming or take 3 hours to make, because I'm impatient and usually hungry. This whipped up very fast and the outcome is well worth it! Enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

Yikes. Bad blogger lately. As always, I will make up for it by distracting you with pictures!

Do you not look at this picture and want to eat her!?! I barely even eat food from the kitchen anymore as her cheeks and thighs are sustaining me quite well.

Before you write in, I'm well aware that she's tipping over in this picture. There was even a version of this picture where she wasn't, but I didn't look good in it and since I have the ability to type and she doesn't, I win!

B's beautiful pumpkin from Family Pumpkin Carving Night.

Home Grown Tomatoes presents: Turnip the Volume

I 100% could not resist the absolutely ridiculous title - it's been lurking in the back of my brain since deciding on this post, so I figured, what the hell? As you guessed it, we're exploring the strange little land of the turnip. I always remember turnip as that "required" vegetable at Thanksgiving that looked like potato, but did not even remotely compare (remember, these are 9 year old taste buds we're talking about here).

This past summer Beau grew turnips, much to my surprise. So when it came time to do my part in "gardening," I began to explore the white and purple wonder. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of this recipe. But I must confess, it isn't the healthiest side dish in the world, but all will be forgotten (and hopefully forgiven) once you indulge.

Turnip 'n' Cheese:

Serving: 4 polite people, 2 otherwise

1 large turnip (shredded)

1 small yellow onion (diced)

3 Tbs (heaping) of butter (I use Earth Balance, for the vegan version)

6 oz cheddar cheese (Follow Your Heart Vegan "Cheddar Cheese")

Black pepper to taste

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp onion powder

Start by sauteing the onions and butter on medium heat. Once the onion is translucent, go ahead and add the shredded turnip. Let the turnip cook for a few minutes (it really doesn't take long) and then add the shredded cheese. I let the cheese melt for about a minute, and then turn the heat down to low. Add the onion powder and black pepper. Continue to stir and work the ingredients so everything is mixed together well.

The whole dish from start to finish only takes about 10 minutes, but it won't hurt to leave it on low for a few extra minutes until you are ready to serve. This recipe is easily adaptable to any diet just by substituting the butter and cheese for whatever you prefer. If you are using regular cheese, I would maybe suggest using a bit less (than the 6oz) to start with and maybe get the heat to low before you add it (as I imagine, it will melt MUCH faster than vegan cheese does). Nonetheless, however you make it, this little number resembles macaroni and cheese, but there's a bit of unexpected finesse added with the subtle horseradish flavor the turnip possesses. It's a dish that is both tasty and different, which I think makes for a winning combination. Enjoy!

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column by Giovanina Bucci