Paella—Vegans Can Spice It Up Too!

By Linda Lovely

I’m writing a humorous mystery series (with romance, of course) that features Brie, a 27-year-old vegan chef, as heroine. To help her Aunt Eva, a cheese-addict omnivore, Brie has moved to her aunt’s goat cheese farm. Not surprisingly, aunt and niece engage in an ongoing battle of wills over what’s for supper. However, I’ll bet both would agree any variety of paella is a taste pleaser, which is why you’ll find a vegan recipe at the end of this post. Not sure what flavor of moonshine, Brie’s “legal” moonshiner suitor would recommend to accompany the meal. Don't worry, no bulls--or other animals--are sacrificed in this recipe.

A disclaimer: I’ve never been to Spain so I’ve never tasted what many consider the country’s national dish in its natural habitat. But, according to my web research (not necessarily accurate), even different regions of Spain claim their own unique recipes. The oldest variety apparently mixed meats like rabbit and duck with vegetables and rice. Not long after, a coastal version emerged substituting seafood for meat. Inevitably, chefs later started marrying land and sea ingredients with the veggies and rise.

The “mixed” Paella variety is the first one I tried—in Las Vegas, of all places. After one taste, it was a sure bet I’d add some version of this aromatic delicacy to my repertoire. The word paella has its roots in Old French and Latin words for pan, and originally referred to what the dish was cooked in. But you don’t need a special pan to make this. I use a turkey roaster on top of the oven. The biggest problem with paella—at least any version I’ve made—is there are so many ingredients, it’s impossible to make a small batch. The upside is it’s a real crowd pleaser. But, if you don’t happen to have 10-20 friends to invite to dinner, it freezes.

Please excuse my inexact measurements. I tend to measure with my tongue (e.g. needs more saffron) and my eye (looks like there aren’t enough tomatoes). This drives my strict measurement relatives bonkers. I cook like I write (by the seat of my pants) no formal outline or exact recipe. But, hey, it works for me.

“Approximate” Vegan Paella Recipe

Large Onion &1 to 2 cups celery (both coarsely chopped)
Large red bell pepper (or two small) chopped
½ to 1 Tbsp. minced garlic (do you care how your breath smells?)

Sauté the above ingredients over medium high heat in olive oil or coconut oil until “softish”—maybe 2-3 minutes

Add the following 3 ingredients and bring to a boil:

Artichoke hearts halved or quartered (about 2 packages frozen or 3 cans)

I large or 2 small packages of fresh spinach torn

Little less than 3 cups of water with 5 vegetable cubes mashed in water
(Vegetable broth cubes are in same grocery section as chicken bouillon cubes)

Reduce heat, stir in next ingredients, cover and cook about 15 minutes over low heat:

2 cans of fire-roasted tomatoes

(If you buy the variety with garlic, you could leave out garlic in step one.)

1 ½ cups of jasmine rice

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp Saffron

(Recipes usually call for less. Question is: how “old” is your saffron since it loses potency with time. Last time I put in heaping tsp of threads—2-3 years old—
which I mash between my fingers as I add them.)

Stir in frozen veggies (set out earlier to thaw) until rice absorbs water about 10+ minutes.

1 package baby lima beans

1 package green peas

Let sit a few minutes and fluff with fork.

ENJOY!

P.S. If you’re not a vegetarian or vegan, just add chopped up chicken, sausage, and/or all manner of seafood—shrimp, scallops, lobster, crab, etc. YUM.

Thankful for Nuts! (Some aren’t even relatives…)

By Linda Lovely

I’m thankful for…

Given November’s blog theme, I could focus on the truly important reasons I give thanks—a husband who can still make me laugh after almost four decades, warm-hearted and zany family and friends, good health (except for that pesky Achilles tendonitis), a lake view from my back porch, and good books to read by a cozy fire. Instead, I’ve opted for a light-hearted tribute to nuts—the edible kind.

I never appreciated how important nuts were until my husband and I embarked on a vegan diet in early 2013. If we hadn’t been assigned this past January to a new family doctor—a proselytizing vegan—this blog might have been headlined “Thankful for Cheese!” Mom always claimed our family tree included rats given our cheese addiction. She ate every variety and passed along her passion (except for limburger cheese). What’s better than cheese on a pizza? Extra cheese, of course.

So…life sans cheese has been tough. One relative even predicted that no family members would want to visit our home post-diet change. (I do buy non-vegan food items, cheese included, for guests. Don’t think anyone’s crossed us off their lists yet.)

At any rate, this is where nuts come in. Nuts are the saving grace of veganism (if that’s a word). Almost all of my favorite vegan dishes feature nuts—cashews, pecans, walnuts, almonds, peanuts.  Of course, chocolate figures in here, too. Chocolate IS a plant-based food.

Fruit pie with nutty crust

Want a tasty pie crust? Dust off your food processor and mush together 1/3 cup each of walnuts, cashew and almonds with a cup of dates and a teaspoon of vanilla and press into a pie dish for a refrigerator pie crust.

Licking your lips for an old-fashioned pot pie? Here’s a link to an excellent Cashew pot pie! I have to admit I altered this recipe, but I can’t help myself. I modify almost every recipe. I’m certain it would have been just as yummy if I’d followed the directions to the letter.

But who knew you could make CHEESE out of nuts? Mind you it’s not the sharp cheddar of crackerdom fame or the rich, gooey Velveeta that oozes out of a toasted cheese sandwich, but it’s actually quite good and versatile. I’ve used it in a number of dishes, mostly melted or mixed in to the recipe. Here’s a link to an excellent Vegan Cashew Cheese recipe.

So don’t fret if you’re expecting vegetarian and/or vegan guests over the holiday. Experiment. You might actually find some vegan recipes to add to your regular repertoire or a Meatless Monday menu.

Oh, and did I mention the heroine of my Marley Clark Mystery Series will be a reluctant vegan in WITH NEIGHBORS LIKE THESE, my 2014 release? Be sure to read this next mystery to see how Linda (er…Marley) is faring with her new vegan diet.

True Confessions of a Reluctant Vegan

Where’s the beef? Or for that matter where’s the chicken, pork, cheese, butter, eggs, and milk? And how can anyone cook anything tasty if these ingredients—my all time favorites—are verboten? I LOVE to cook (and eat).

If you’d told me a few months ago that I’d be trying to maintain a 90-95% vegan eating regimen, I’d have laughed out loud—then turned around to whip up something yummy loaded with animal proteins (think eggs benedict, prime rib, cheese cake). Nonetheless, my husband, Tom, and I have been on the vegan wagon for more than six weeks, and I think (think) we’ll make a year. Our doctor CLAIMS our tastes will change by then, and we’ll no longer want to beg for bacon. We’ll see.

It all started when Tom and I were assigned a new family doctor—a vegan. He suggested we read The China Study, Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell. He also suggested we read and try to follow the 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart by Neal Barnard, MD. Tom met with the doc a few months before me and immediately read and gave a thumbs-up on both books. He surprised the heck out of me when he expressed interest in giving a vegan diet a shot. We’d talked before about our addiction to cheese, noting that meat would be far easier to sacrifice.

Pleading I was too busy to read the books (head in the sand?), I scanned them before my annual physical appointment. And even my limited reading convinced me that a plant-based diet would be good for me. Our reasons are totally (selfish) related to personal health issues. For me, these issues include taking medicine for high blood pressure and cholesterol, worries about Alzheimer’s (Mom had it), and weight. (Did I mention I love to eat?)

However, I was danged reluctant to “go vegan.” Here are five reasons why:

• We enjoy visits from family and friends. What could I feed them? I had no desire to become a zealot, who tries to force other people to follow her special diet.
• I take pride in my cooking. My top entrees were all loaded with animal protein: lasagna, eggs benedict, ham and cheesy potatoes, turkey and gravy. And we won’t even mention desserts. Suffice it to say that all my pie recipes started with “butter” crusts.
• I’m also lazy. It’s always seemed so much more efficient to make BIG batches of soups, pasta dishes, and casseroles and freeze portions to pull out when I’m into writing and don’t want to leave the computer. Vegan meals with their fresh ingredients often entail chopping, chopping, chopping.
• What about eating out? While I’m no social butterfly, I do visit restaurants with a variety of groups—local chapters of Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America, my book club, the neighborhood ladies, my tennis friends. I didn’t want to be a pain in the behind with my “leave off” requests.
• And, finally, did I mention I LOVE many non-vegan foods. My family could enroll in cheese-aholics.

When I asked our doc if he was a “total” vegan, he said “no”—he couldn’t imagine fresh, summer tomatoes without cheese. He claimed he aimed at a 95% plant-based diet. In his words, we live in the real world—do the best you can and splurge once in a while on the things you miss most. Hmmm. That seemed doable.

Six weeks in, I have to admit most of my concerns turned out to be no big deal. I’ve found many superb plant-based recipes. In fact, it’s become something of a game, a challenge—finding and experimenting with recipes to make them winners. My first pizza attempt fed our garbage disposal. The second rated four stars. Nuts have proven to be one of my cooking saviors. Cashew “cheese” may not taste like “real” cheese, but it’s delicious and a lip-smacking substitute for adding flavor to everything from pizza to soup.   

What does this all have to do with writing and novels? Not much. Except perhaps a willingness to try new things, to experiment can help you grow as a cook or an author. You need to be willing to fail for creativity to blossom. A friend gave me a plaque with this Winston Churchill quote: “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” I keep that plaque on my desk.

How about you? Have some of your writing experiments failed but still helped you become a better, more creative author?

Better yet, if you don’t want to talk about writing, send me some tasty vegan recipes and I’ll play with the ingredients.