Vegan MoFo ~ Cheesy Corn Grits Broccoli

Sometimes when I stock my pantry I grab items that are on sale and then not really know what to do with the product.  I have to admit corn grits isn't something I do a lot with but after I did this dish last night - I will be doing more in the future with this product.  The corn grits I bought were Bob's Red Mill's Brand and YELLOW Corn Grits.  Here's my recipe for this yummy comfort food.

1/2 C Yellow Corn Grits
2 Cups Water

1 C Broccoli (in Ninja/Food Processor)
2 T Nutritional Yeast
2 to 3 T Earth Balance

Optional Add Ins:
Sprinkle Wildtree California Garlic Pepper
Sprinkle (on top) Parma! Vegan Parmesan - Garlicky Green Flavor

Other Add In Ideas that I didn't Use in the Photo Above:
Spray (or two) Bragg's Liquid Aminos (if you want it a bit saltier)
GoL Perfect Food RAW - Green Super Food (if you want to get more 'greens' in there)

A few reasons I enjoy GoL's Green Super Food:

• One serving of Perfect Food Super Green Powder is equivalent to 140g of fresh grass juice.
• Excellent source of natural Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene and a good source of natural Vitamin C.
• Contains spirulina that supports healthy immune function.^†
• Contains algae and cereal grass juices that provide a natural source of alkalizing minerals.
• Select ingredients in Perfect Food Super Green Formula are produced through the Garden of Life proprietary Poten-Zyme^® fermentation process to make the nutrients more available to the body.
• Includes a Probiotic Blend to support digestive health.^†
• Supports healthy carbohydrate metabolism.^†
• Great for those on low carbohydrate diets or people who are unable to eat enough green foods.
• Perfect Food comes in two easy-to-use forms: Powder and Caplets.

Mason Jar Make Over - Part 2 - a Look at My Pantry!

Last year (or more) I posted a lengthy post about me totally re-doing my cabinets and cupboards with 90% Mason Jars...well...it's still that way but even more so.  So much so that I think I finally need to get some more Mason Jars!  This past weekend I took quite a bit of time to reorganize them and make them more tidy.  I'm not the most organized person BUT I have TRIED my best when it comes to my Pantry this past year.  This first photo is taking a look at my Spice Cupboard.  It goes about 4 to 5 rows deep and takes up a whole side.  I have a small spice spinner underneath this cupboard as well.  I usually buy in bulk and reuse old containers.  So when you see some of those old McCormick containers and off-brands most likely I have reused those time and time again.  Some of the clear glass containers that you see (with Cumin in it and Ginger Powder, for example) are from the same place I get my bulk spices from.  The local store I buy bulk from gets most of their items from Frontier Co-Op.

Here's another cupboard that I worked on over the weekend.  On the top row you can see some Spaghetti O looking dry pasta noodles, next is my vegan bread crumbs, Barley, then some Farro, and some Quinoa, and then Black Bean Noodles.  On the middle shelf are a lot of my sprouting seeds.  On the bottom one you can see most of my Wildtree Collection, some more sprouting items, some dry soup mixes, and Potato Flakes.

As you can see most everything is in Mason Jars.  When I was getting low I ended up using some old hard plastic ones I had not used in a while like when you see the one marked Quinoa, for example.

Here is a look at the section I have for some of my alternative flours and sweeteners.  These go about 3 deep so you can't really see everything but when you are standing in front of it it's easy to look at everything there.  What you can see on the top row is Bob's Red Mill's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, Garden of Life Flax Seed with Fruit & Anti-Oxidants, more Flax Seeds, Arrowroot, a Granola from Bob's Red Mills, and what you can't see in the back are various alternative flours such as Soy, Garbanzo Bean, Spelt, etc.  On the bottom row you can see some of my alternative sweeteners - mostly from Wholesome Sweeteners.  Coconut Palm Sugar, Raw Cane Sugar, Sucanat, etc.  Behind that I have others such as Coconut Crystals from Coconut Secret and a few other things.

For this self you will see some of my husband's items that are not vegetarian/vegan but most of it is.  On the top row he has his sugar - regular/standard sugar, there are some raw honey's, Liquid Smoke, Steel Cut Oats, and overstock of flours.  On the middle row you can see Coconut Flour, my NuNaturals Stevia Collection, Bragg's including Nutritional Yeast and Liquid Aminos, followed by Chia Seeds, and Wholesome Sweeteners ZERO.  On the bottom shelf you can see our canned goods.  Most of which are from Aldi.  Yes...you can eye some Tuna which is NOT mine (I don't eat it) that's my husband's!  There are some canned beans and veggies but recently I found some fruit toppings and fillers from a discount store that happen to be vegan so I bought them and might play with those soon!

And FINALLY...the last section...mostly on the top shelf you can see our Coffee and Tea Cups along with some pills for hubby and the pets.  But...underneath that you will see some Pink Sea Salt which will last me a LIFE TIME as I hardly ever use salt but it was on sale a long time again and I bought it.  Next and in the back are various rices...standard, white rice, brown rice, long rice, multi-grain, black rice, purple rice, forbidden rice, Jasmine Rice...you name it!  You may even spot some Millet, Couscous, Polenta, Red lentils, Amaranth, grits, etc.

So that's a look at my updated pantry, cupboards, and cabinets!  I was going to include my Bento Box for today along with a recipe or two but I will put that in a separate post!  Questions of the Day...what do you see that are your favorites?  What haven't you tried!?  I'd love to hear!

Norwegian Potato Salad & Creamed Peas (Grønn ertestuing)

 Just a short post today to share with you TWO Norwegian Side Dishes for Norwegian Vegan Foods Week here at My Blissful Journey!  This first one is Creamed Peas or Grønn ertestuing in Norwegian!  BUT...wait...it's not 'just peas'...it's true!  I added a little more for color and nutrition but the idea is the same!  There are Peas, Corn, Carrots, Green Beans, and Lima Beans in there!  I used an Organic Frozen Bag I got on sale a while back.  Here is how I made it CREAMED, tho...


2 C Mixed Veggies (or straight-up Peas)
2-3 C Water
3 T Earth Balance
3 T All-Purpose Flour (I used Gluten Free from Bob's Red Mills)
1 tea Coconut Crystals (you can also use Sugar of choice)
Salt, Pepper - to taste (I used Wildtree's California Blend)

This turned out pretty good.  Not one of my most favorite dishes or attempts but not too shabby.  I think it was more of a texture thing with me than anything.  I am glad I tried it tho and I did eat almost all of it!  I had a small dish as a snack - since it is fairly sweet - but I had two helpings with my last two Cabbage Rolls.  It worked out nicely!  I'm told TRADITIONALLY this pairs nicely with meatballs but if you were to do the veg*n equivalent - I would assume it would also go well with Veggie Meatballs or a Nutloaf, even!

Another side I did was  Norwegian Potato Salad as you can see a little bit of it in the blue glass dish, here.  I only did enough for one side to accompany my meal...but I will be doing this again and soon because I really enjoyed it!  Here's the quesi-recipe for this:

3 Potatoes
1/2 to 1 Onion
2 T Grapeseed Oil
1/4 C Apple Cider Vinegar
1 T Coconut Crystals (or Sugar of Choice)
2 T Parsley

I'll be back tomorrow with more!  In the meantime...I would LOVE to read your comments!  Have a great day!

EZ Un-Cheese Sauce #2

Here's another EZ UN-Cheese Sauce I tried.  I actually attempted this one before the one I posted the other day but had the other one handy to blog about before this one.

As I mentioned before - I do prefer the taste of this one - over the one I posted the other day - but this one makes far less than the other...I suppose I could always multiply the recipe, tho!

This one was inspired by a recipe I found on VegWeb but I tweaked it.

Here is what it contains...

3/4 C Almond Milk
2 T Nutritional Yeast
Pinch of Wildtree's Garlic Galore (it has both Garlic and Onion in it)
2 T Bob's Red Mill's All-Purpose Flour
1-2 teaspoons of Ketchup (to give it that Salsa-Type Flavor)

Un-Cheese Sauce #1

I have a few Un-Cheese Sauces I will be posting here and this is the 2nd one I tried but the first one - so far - I will be posting.

It was originally inspired by The Vegan Family Cookbook but I made a few minor changes based on what I had access to.  It turned out pretty good and did make a lot more than the other Un-Cheese I did the other day.  So far I have used this on Corn Chips as well as over top of Left-Over Casseroles.

Here is what I used to make it...

2 1/4 C Almond Milk

1/2 C Nutritional Yeast

1/4 C Bob's Red Mills All-Purpose Flour (Gluten-Free)

1/4 C Hazelnut Oil

2 T Almond Butter

1 T Minced/Dried Onion

ALL in a blender and then on stove top on medium until hot and thick

The Vegan Family noted TWO Variations or Kinds of "cheese" flavors as well!  For an Italian Cheese add a little Italian Dressing and Olives - Chopped.  For a Mexican Flair you can add Green Chili's and/or Chili Powder.

This was pretty good...I also liked it better after being in the frig for a night, too!