Vegetarian Frugal Housewife

“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”
~Henry David Thoreau

So you’ve all had the chance to stock up on your dry goods and on your spices & flavourings, now we get to delve into my favorite place…the fridge. This is where most folks keep all of their fresh fruits & veggies, which you should be indulging in at every meal if you’re being a healthy vegetarian.

I love to go to the local market and savor the organic produce as well as other people’s homemade jellies and preserves. And I always buy organic, wherever possible, because modern large-scale farming douses our foods in chemicals, strips the soil of most of the nutrients and therefore produces a substandard, nutritionally deficient crop.

Local farmers markets and small whole foods shops always carry a variety of whatever is in season as well as some responsibly grown imports. Plus you can often get more information in the form of pamphlets, or actual conversation, from the people who grow your food.

When it comes to the freezer, the vegetarian kitchen doesn’t always require a whole lot of freezer space. But a few staples are good to keep around.

As much of what you keep in the fridge is fresh and perishable, I am not suggesting that you keep ALL of what is listed below in your fridge at all ties. Instead just considered some of the suggestions that I make, experiment for yourself and keep those things that you use most regularly. They say that if you have all of the colors of the rainbow in a dish, such as salad or stir-fry, then that is the most healthy way to eat your fruits & veg. (This means, for veggies, Red-Green-Orange-Yellow-White.)

As for the lists below, these are just the frequent residents of our fridge/freezer, what you keep around may be different. Our selections vary according to season. We love to have fresh berries in summer, corn-on-the-cob in the autumn and Serge prefers sauerkraut in the winter. My fridge also has lots of condiments in it, I guess those could also have been listed with the flavourings post, but I’ve put them here because that is where they are stored.

Have fun and let me know if you have a favorite item that you don’t see on the list. :)

The Vegetarian Fridge/Freezer

Preserves:

Apple Sauce
Strawberry Jam
Grape Jelly
Marmalade
Salsa
Pickles
Sauerkraut (Serge loves this stuff.)

Condiments:

Ketchup
Mustard
Relish
Chutney (I like Mango Chutney.)
Sweet Chili Sauce
Nama Shoyu- Soy Sauce
Rice Wine
Cooking Sherry
Homemade Salad Dressings

Vegetables:

Romaine Lettuce
Tomatoes
Large Onions
Green Onions (Spring Onion)
Red Bell Pepper
Green Bell Pepper
Mushrooms (Assorted)
Celery
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Broccoli
Carrots
Potatoes
Cauliflower
Green Chillis
Corn-on-the-Cob
Butternut Squash
Avocado
Snap Peas
Green Beans
Bean Sprouts

Fruits:

Oranges
Grapes
Kiwis
Pears
Apples
Cherries
Bananas
Strawberries
Blueberries
Plums
Apricots
Nectarines

Liquids:

Soy Milk (Regular)
Soy Milk (Vanilla)
Rice Milk
Apple Juice
Orange Juice
Cranberry Juice
Spring Water
Homemade Iced Tea

Other Fridge Items:

Tofu (silken)
Tofu (firm)
Peanut Butter
Cashew Butter
Eggs (if you eat them)
Garlic cloves
Ginger Root
Soy Yogurt

Freezer Items:

Ice Cubes
Vegetarian Sausages
Vegetarian Hot Dogs
Veggie Burgers (a selection of them)
Frozen Veggie Mince (faux ground beef)
Frozen Veggie Pot Pies
Frozen French Fries
Vegan Ice Cream (chocolate or vanilla)
Italian Ice (I like strawberry flavour.)

If you enjoyed this post, perhaps you'd like to buy me some tofu.

“Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite.”
~Georges Auguste Escoffier, French Chef

This recipe is just what it says!

Got a cold? This stuff has as much (actually more) protein in it as Mom’s Homemade Chicken Soup, minus the chicken!

And, with the antibiotic properties in the onions, you’ll be right as rain in no time.

It tastes so close to the real deal, folks would have a hard time telling the difference. :)

Vegan “Chicken” Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

4-6 cups of water
1-2 celery stalks, slivered
3 medium mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced fine
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut in rounds
1 package firm tofu, cubed OR
1 package vegan “chicken” cutlets, cut in chunks
1 tsp thyme
pinch of ground cumin
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
2-3 cubes vegetable bullion
2 large bay leaves
1 tbsp sea salt
2 handfuls of pasta, I use rotini shape
6-8 tbsp of nutritional yeast OR
2 cups of “No-Chicken” broth
1/2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

1. Cut tofu in small cubes and fry in olive oil until slightly browned.

2. Marinade tofu in 1 cup water with salt and 3 tbsp dissolved yeast flakes, or in 1 cup of “No Chicken” broth, for 2-3 hours.

3. Heat the rest of the water with the remaining “No Chicken” broth or yeast flakes, until simmering.

4. Add the onions, spices and carrots, continuing to simmer.

5. Once tofu has finished marinating, add it to the soup pot.

6. Let tofu simmer in the broth for 35-45 minutes and then add any remaining vegetables.

7. Let the completed soup simmer until all veggies are cooked thoroughly.

8. Remove the bay leaves from the pot, add more salt and flavorings to taste.

9. Serve with a nice artisan bread and some cool iced tea.

* You can add other veggies such as broccoli, asparagus or corn kernels, if that’s how your Mom made it. ;)

Bon Appetit and Get Well Soon!!!

“Self-education is the most important thing you can do to protect yourself, cut medical bills, and live a healthier and happier life.”
~Walt Stoll, M.D.

I recently wrote a post about the multiple uses of Stinging Nettle and I thought that it would be a good idea to follow that up by introducing you to some ways of making your own herbal medicines at home.

By far the most well-known and popular way of taking herbs is as a tea. But a very close second is the use of herbal tinctures.

A tincture is an alcoholic or acidic extract of an herb, used to concentrate the herb’s potency in a non-volatile and ingestible liquid that can be preserved for a long period of time before use.

Tinctures are often made with herbs gathered fresh in the wild, though a tincture made from a dried herb is also medicinally of high potency.

Always store tinctures in a dark, glass container to keep them pure protect them from premature degradation via sunlight. Many people keep tinctures in a dosage bottle with a squeezable dropper-top, as this makes for easier administration to the patient.

Treatment can safely be assumed to be one-dropper full 2-3 times per day. You can mix the tincture with water, juice or tea to lessen the bitter taste.

Herbal tinctures can be made in any good sized glass jar, a pickle jar is ideal. Herbs tend to be sold by the ounce and you need enough to fill your tincturing jar half way. I usually use either one or two cups. For smaller batches you can use as little as four tablespoons full.

Tinctures can be made from virtually any non-toxic herb and also from a mixture of herbs for the purposes of treating either general or very specific ailments. *Making a tincture using a powdered herb can be quote frustrating and messy, but it is doable with a bit of perseverance and patience.

It is typical to use either vodka or white vinegar as the extractive compound. The preference is really just based on taste, choose whichever one you wish.

Always buy your dried herbs from an organic source if possible and, when using fresh herbs, always be sure that you are collecting your medicinals from a location that is at least 15 feet from any roadway.

For the sake of example, we will say that we’re making a tincture of St. John’s Wort. St. John’s Wort is an excellent immune booster and has been proven to successfully treat even the most severe cases of depression. You can collect it’s yellow flowers from early-June to early-July in the northern hemisphere. (You need to collect A LOT of them.)

Tincturing Herbs

Ingredients:

Clean glass jar with a tight-fitting top
2 cups of fresh or dried St. John’s Wort flowers
2 cups of vodka or white vinegar *or enough to completely cover your herbs in the jar
A dark, cool storage place
A piece of loose-weave muslin cloth or cheesecloth
An elastic
Smaller, storage bottles (with or without dropper tops)

1. Measure out your herbs and place them in the jar.

2. Pour in enough vodka/vinegar to completely cover the herbs. (Ratio tends to be 1:1)

3. Tightly cap the jar and shake it a bit. Label the jar with the contents and a date one-month into the future.

4. Place the jar right-side up in a dark, cool cupboard (not in the fridge.)

5. Write in your calender to shake and flip the jar in 14-days.

6. At one-month, remove the jar from the cabinet and strain by placing the cheesecloth over the top of the jar and securing it with an elastic band.

7. Pour the strained contents into a spouted measuring cup and then fill your dosage bottles.

8. Always label each bottle with the contents and date of expiry, usually two years in the future.

~ Don’t worry, be healthy :)

“Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor. ”
~William Cowper, 18th-Century Poet

Now that we have talked about dry goods, in Stocking Up: The Vegetarian Dry Cupboard, we should look at what items you use to spice up your dishes. There are many different choices out their for flavourings but I will just highlight the most commonly used items in basic vegetarian cooking.

As they hail from so many different regions around the world, spices, herbs and sauces can be used to make a dish seem exotic and rare or familiar and comforting. Using a different combination of flavours, you can make the same dish taste entirely different, thus making your recipe collection even larger and more versatile.

The more flavours, spices and such that you keep around, the easier it will be to come up with an original meal at a moment’s notice. So, try new flavours often and keep a fully stocked spice rack at all times. You can be frugal in which ingredients you choose to keep in your stock, but always supplement by being generous with your investment in herbs and spices, etc.

Spices, Flavourings and Sauces

Oils

Walnut Oil
Olive Oil
Basil Oil
Coconut Oil
Sesame Oil
Peanut Oil
Sunflower Oil

Flavourings

Yeast Extract
Malt Extract
Nutritional Yeast
Vegetable Bullion
Onion Broth

Vinegars

Cider Vinegar
Rice Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
White Vinegar
Red Wine Vinegar

Sauces

Peanut Sauce
Stir Fry Sauce
Sweet Chili Sauce
Soy Sauce (or Nama Shoyu)

Herbs

Thyme
Sage
Parsley
Mint
Basil
Rosemary
Oregano
Lemongrass
Bay Leaf
Lavendar
Summer Savory
Tarragon
Celery Seed
Marjoram
Chives

Spices

Turmeric
Nutmeg
Saffron
Curry
Anise Seed
Vanilla Pods
Cumin
Garam Masala
Cinnamon
Allspice
Whole Cloves
Ground Cloves
Chinese 5-Spice
Ginger
Garlic
Chili Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Mustard

Other Ingredients

Honey
Lemon Juice
Vanilla Extract
Agave Syrup
Maple Syrup
Rose Water
Raw Sugar
Corn Starch
Raw Cacao Powder
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Baker’s Yeast

~

There are so many more flavourings, spices and sauces out there. I have only mentioned a few of the most common. With at least half of these in your cupboard you will be able to quickly whip up, or experiment with, the bulk of vegetarian recipes that you find online or in a cookbook.

Have fun. Be spicy!

If you enjoyed this post, perhaps you'd like to buy me some tofu.

“Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.”
~Sitting Bull, Chief of the Lakota Sioux

So many questions that I receive about vegetarianism revolve around what to actually eat. This does not surprise me. As humans we are creatures of habit, especially when it comes to eating. Having lived on a diet of meat and veg, or a diet of rice and beans or whatever we are accustomed to, we fail to realize that there are other (equally viable) ways of cooking and eating.

I get so many folks asking me, “what the heck do vegetarians eat?” And also, “what things should I have in my kitchen if I want to cook more vegetarian foods?” In response to those, sometimes cheeky and sometimes quite earnest, questions I thought I’d offer up a short series on Stocking the Vegetarian Kitchen.

For the first post, a quick glimpse into some, but by no means all, of the things that one might want to have in their vegetarian cupboard of dry goods.

You don’t need to run out and buy ALL of these ingredients the day that you decide to become vegetarian. Juts get them as you need them, for experimenting with new recipes. As you add to your cooking repertoire, you will come to know which items you should keep in stock.

The Vegetarian Dry Cupboard

Grains:

Barley
Brown Rice
Red Rice
Buckwheat
Quinoa
Amaranth

Pastas:

Couscous
Semolina
Rice Noodles
Buckwheat Noodles
Penne (whole wheat)
Elbow Pasta (Whole wheat or corn)
Capellini Spaghetti

Beans (Legumes):

Red Kidney Beans
Green Peas
Black Beans
Lime Beans
Red Lentils
Black or Brown Lentils
Chickpeas

Nuts & Seeds:

Slivered Almonds
Whole Almonds
Flax Seeds
Crushed Walnuts
Peanuts (organic)
Hemp Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Sunflowers Seeds
Pecans
Poppy Seeds
Pine Nuts
Cashews

Dried Fruits & Veg:

Dried red chilis
Cranberries
Raisins or Sultanas
Golden Raisins
Dried Apricot
Blueberries
Dried onion

Canned Goods:

Corn
Peas
Spaghetti Sauce
Beans
Pickles
Apple Sauce
Pineapple Chunks
Coconut Milk
Bamboo Slices
Chopped Garlic

Flours, Etc:

Spelt Flour
Rice Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
Corn Meal
Corn Starch
Baking Powder
Baling Soda

Other Ingredients:

Regular TVP
Beef Flavoured TVP
Chicken Flavoured TVP

That should be enough to get you thinking about what lovely, healthy foods you can add to your collection that will shake up the dinner table a bit.

Next up…Stocking up: Spices, Flavours & Sauces for the Veggie Cook