Blue Dog’s Blog

We had a beautiful day in the Seattle area today. Anyone who lives here will tell you that we enjoy the sun whenever we can this time of year. I celebrated by working on my homemade solar oven. It’s not something that I’ll be using often this time of year but I will use it when I can. I can’t wait to use it in the summer — bake cakes without heating up the house. :-)Solar ovens are easy and fun to make. They make great projects for kids and they’re useful when backpacking or camping in an RV not to mention at home. I plan on using my solar oven like a slow cooker: sit it outside in the morning and have a hot cooked meal when I return home in the evening. The food will be ready in 2-4 hours but it won’t burn if you leave it in longer. You can prepare the sames things in a solar oven that you would on the stove top or in the oven: pastas, soups, stews, bread, cake, cookies, pizza, etc. Temperatures in the type of solar oven I am building will get up to about 225-250º F. This is a real oven, not a toy.Some commercial solar ovens can reach temperatures as high as 425-450ºF and will cook things in the same amount of time it would take for conventional cooking. However, you may have to reposition the oven as the sun moves. You can use it as I plan to, though, but cooking times will be a little longer than a conventional oven. Two commercial solar ovens that reach high temperatures are the Sun Oven and the Tulsi Hybrid Solar Oven. The Tulsi Hybrid allows you to use solar alone, electricity alone or a combination of solar and electricity making it a year-round oven even for places like Seattle.But unless you have time constraints for cooking your food, there’s no reason not to start out with a homemade one from cardboard boxes, foil and glue (or wheat paste) and see how you like it. They are inexpensive to make and you should be able to finish a simple one in 1 hour (panel style) to 3 hours (box style). If you don’t have boxes around the house, go to to a grocery store and ask for some of theirs. Or go to an appliance store and ask for a large piece of cardboard from a refrigerator box (perfect for the panel solar ovens).

Benefits

There are many advantages and benefits to using a solar oven. Here are a several reasons directly from the solar cooking wiki:

• Food needs little attention while cooking, leaving the cook free to attend to other matters.Scorching is very rare, so clean-up is simplified.
• Most of the preparation for a meal can be done early in the day, so there is less last-minute fuss.
• While food cooks in the sun, the kitchen stays cool.
• The gentle cooking preserves flavor and aroma, so the food tastes better.
• Foods can be preserved for out of season use at no cost in power, either by solar dehydration or, in the case of some acidic foods, by canning.
• In some climates, the fact that a panel cooker has potential to be used at night as a chiller could be very useful in preserving some types of short-term fresh foods or leftovers.

I hope you’ll consider giving it a try. For those of you who have looms on order from Decor Accents, Inc., the shipping box makes a great box for a solar oven. You’re part way there!

More Information

For more information on solar ovens and solar cooking, check out the following resources:

• Plans for building your own
• Solar Cookers International
• Solar Oven Society
• The Solar Cooking Archive

Looking for an easy way to add organic produce to your diet during the winter? Sprout ‘em! Growing sprouts is easy, takes very little space and time and a great way to get your fresh veggies during the winter. This video is one of the easiest ways to grow sprouts.

The lids can be made or bought from your local health food store. If they don’t sell them, you can always purchase a lid from Sprout People. I use a three-tray Biosta sprouter. It holds the perfect amount of water in each try and has a large yield. The downside is that it takes up more counter space than using a jar but probably not more once you factor that you can grow three different types of sprouts at once.Sprouts are said to be the most nutrient dense food and they are highly digestible. These are two reasons why they are promoted by advocates of raw food diets. Curious about what the nutritional value of sprouts actually is? Here’s a table of some of the most common sprouts folks like to eat. Nutritional data is from the USDA.

Nutrients per 1 cup
Nutrition Info	Alfalfa	Mung Bean	Radish	Soybean	Wheat
Calories	10	26	16	86	214
Protein	1.3 g	2.5 g	1.4 g	1.3 g	8.0 g
Fiber	3% DV	4% DV	n/a	3% DV	4% DV
Vitamin C	5% DV	23% DV	18% DV	5% DV	5% DV
Iron	2% DV	4% DV	2% DV	2% DV	11% DV
Folate	3% DV	9% DV	9% DV	3% DV	10% DV

Safety

There are some health concerns associated with eating sprouts that can be easily avoided.

• Toxins: Some legumes contain toxins that is reduced during the process of soaking, sprouting and cooking. If you are eating sprouted legumes raw, it’s best to limit the amount to 20 oz or less a day which is still quite a bit.
• Phototoxic: If you each large quantities of sprouted buckwheat, you may become sensitive to light. See an article by Gilles Arbour for more information.
• Salmonella and E. coli O157: Some people believe if you sprout your own seeds, you won’t have to deal with these issues but that’s not true. If the bacteria are present in or on seed, they can grow to high levels even under clean conditions. If this is of concern to you, do not eat the sprouts raw.

It’s the bonus round! I received my looms today from Decor Accents, Inc.. Sam makes the most wonderful looms! For those who are not familiar with loom knitting, it’s a form of knitting that creates fabric with the same (or similar) stitches to needle knitting but uses a loom instead. It’s great for those of us with arthritis who find it next to impossible to hold needles.I caught “loomingitis” almost 2 years ago now. As a result, I put up the site Loom Knitting Help which is an encyclopedia of loom knitting. It’s not completed yet — there’s always more to write — but I’m working on it. I’m currently writing a web application that will automatically convert needle knitting patterns to loom knitting patterns. I’ve put up directions to do this by hand but I know some would prefer to have it done automatically.If you are new to knitting, this is a great way to start. You can start out small (and cheap) with Knifty Knitters and then branch out to handmade looms like Sam Phelps makes. For those of you who like to use super bulky yarns, consider using one of the looms made by Cliff of Kiss Looms. Cliff’s looms work like Pocket Looms but he allows you to adjust the gauge from large gauge up to extra large gauge.With the cold weater arriving, I bet it would be nice to have a pair of socks to kick around in around the house. Here are some patterns to get you started. Stay tuned for more patterns. I have a baby sweater waiting to be posted as well as an adult women’s sweater. I think you’ll like the look and feel of both. Plus they’re easy to do!

When I first discovered that I was allergic to egg yolks & whites and whey, I set out to find replacements. Below are what I discovered through many different trials.

Egg Substitutes

The first thing to determine in your recipes is whether the egg is being used for binding, leavening (lift & lightness), and/or taste. Once you’ve determine that, you’ll have an easier time of determining a replacer.Here’s a table of egg replacers in baking that I’ve tried. One of my favorites is using soy lecithin. All entries below equal 1 whole egg. Other egg replacers are noted below the table.

What	Where	When
2 T flax seed and 3 T water. Grind the flax seed in a coffee grinder; mix the ground flax seeds with the water in a blender and blend until smooth.	Baked goods	Binding & Leavening
1/2 T tapioca flour, 1/2 T potato starch, 1/8 t baking powder, 1/16 t xanthan gum, 1/4 c water, and 1 t canola oil. Whisk all ingredients together.	Works well in baked goods, especially ones that are light colored	Binding & Leavening
2 T starch (potato, tapioca, arrowroot, corn, soy flour) and 1/4 c water.	Use in baked goods	Binding & Leavening
2 t baking soda and 2 T water	Use in baked goods	Leavening
1 t psylium seed husk and 1/4 c water. Let it stand for 5 minutes.	Use in baked goods	Binding & Leavening
1/4 c fruit puree (such as apple, pear, pumpkin, or bananas) and 2 t baking powder. Mix thoroughly.	Use in sweet baked goods. Each will leave a specific flavor so keep that in mind when choosing which fruit you want to use. If you are not concerned about the leavening, remove the baking powder.	Binding & Leavening
2 T soy lecithin (granules or liquid) and 1/4 c water. Blend well.	Use in baked goods	Binding & Leavening
1/4 c soy yogurt	Use in baked goods	Binding & Leavening
1/4 c whipped or beaten silken tofu	Use in place of a large number of eggs such as for a quiche; takes on the flavor of the other ingredients	Binding
3T okara and 1T water. Blend well.	Use in place of large eggs such as for a quiche; use to replace eggs in baking bread, brownies, cakes and cupcakes; takes on the flavor of the other ingredients	Binding
1 t Ener-G Egg Replacer and 2 T water. Mix thoroughly.	Works best in crispy baked goods such as cookies	Binding & Leavening
2 T water, 1 T canola oil, 2 t baking powder. Mix thoroughly	Baked books	Binding & Leavening
1/4 c mashed potatoes, tomato paste, or rolled oats	Vegetarian “meat” loaves or anything savory	Binding & taste
2-4 T water	Baked goods that are flat such as cookies and pancakes	Taste

Other substitutions for eggs:

• Egg Whites: Mix 1 T agar agar powder with 1 T water, whip and chill. Whip again.
  

  N.B.: I’m not a fan of powdered agar agar. While it does have 5x the gelling powder of flakes & bars, it’s also highly processed and tends to leave a bad taste in the finished dish. Whenever possible, I use bars or flakes instead but I have not have much luck in that regard in replacing egg whites.

• “Egg” Salad or Scrambled “Eggs”: Use 1/4 c cubed firm tofu or 1/4 c okara per egg in the recipe.

Dairy Substitutes

I’ve found that dairy substitutes are much easier to make than egg.

What	With	When
Butter or Margarine	Flax oil —OR— Udo’s Oil —OR— Nut butters —OR— Apple sauce —OR— Earth Balance	Whenever butter is called for except for Udo’s Oil which should not be heated
Buttermilk	1 T lemon juice or apple cider vinegar1 c plain warm soy or rice milk —OR— 1 c plain soy yogurt—OR—1 3/4 T cream of tartar1 c plain soy milk	Any time buttermilk is called for in a recipe
Cheddar, shredded	Vegan Gourmet brand “cheeses”	Whenever you need cheese to melt. No other vegan cheese melts like Vegan Gourmet.
Cottage Cheese	Crumbled Firm or Extra Firm Tofu or use Okara	In lasagnes and other dishes
Mayonnaise	Vegenaise if you prefer mayonnaise; Nayonaise if you prefer Miracle Whip	Whenever mayonnaise is called for in a recipe
Milk	Plain soy, rice or nut milk	Any time milk is called for in a recipe
Mozzarella, shredded	Vegan Gourmet brand “cheeses”	Whenever you need cheese to melt. No other vegan cheese melts like Vegan Gourmet.
Ricotta Cheese	Crumbled Firm or Extra Firm Tofu or use Okara	In lasagnes and other dishes
Shortening	Earth Balance shortening	Whenever shortening is called for in a recipe
Sour Cream	Tofutti Sour Cream —OR— Soy yogurt —OR— process 3/4 c silken tofu or okara, 2T lemon juice, 3T canola oil, 2t brown rice vinegar, and 3/4 t salt in a food processor until smooth	Any time sour cream is called for in a recipe
Yogurt	Soy yogurt	Any time yogurt is called for in a recipe

This post has also been made into a separate page on BlueDogBlog.com. It’s a question that I’m frequently asked by both vegans and people with allergies so I wanted to make it as easy as possible to find.

Today is a yecchy day outside. To top it off, I have either a bad cold or bronchitis. Either way, it’s one of those stay-in-bed-and-drink-soup sorta days. Below are two of my favorite soup recipes to get you started if you’re having that kind of a day, too.

Organic Produce

We’re often told that we should buy organic whenever possible, for both our own and the earth’s health. I once read that organic produce costs 150% more on average than non-organic produce in the Greater Seattle area. This makes it too costly for many to buy organic. Instead of giving up, be smart about what you purchase. Earth Easy has a list of which produce contains the highest and lowest levels of pesticides. They also provide a list of possible substitutes if you can’t find or afford organic for the produce on your grocery list. Another list is available from Environmental Working Group. They have a free wallet-sized list that you can carry with you when you shop or a grocery bag you can purchase that has the list on it.There is a definite difference in taste between organic and non-organic produce. The flavor is more intense. I find that I feel much better when I eat as much organic as possible, too, but YMMV.

Rebecca Novelli’s Lentil Soup

This soup is great when you are all stuffed up. The heat from the jalapenoes (or Anaheim’s for less intense heat) really clears out your sinuses! Garlic is also supposed to help with infections, especially chest problems. The soup is a pretty peach color and has a chowder consistency. It tastes wonderful served with mustard rye bread (recipe below). Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

• 2 c uncooked red lentils
• 8 c water (6 if using a pressure cooker)
• 1 large Sweet Vidalia onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large celery stock
• 1 large potato
• 2-4 jalapeno peppers (1-2 Anaheim for less heat)
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• Freshly ground salt & pepper to taste
• Balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Pick over lentils and wash. Put aside.
2. In a food processor, shred the onion, carrot, celery, potato and jalapeno peppers.
3. Place the shredded vegetables in a soup pot.
4. Place the 2 cups of uncooked lentils on top of the vegetables.
5. Pour in the water.
6. Add the garlic, bay leaves, salt & pepper.
7. Cook until the lentils have broken down and the soup has the correct consistency. (Approximately 1 hour on the stove top or 5-6 minutes high pressure with a pressure cooker)

Serve with a drop or two of Balsamic vinegar on top of each bowl of soup.

Tofu & Spinach Soup

This is a simple, tasty soup — especially when you’re not feeling well.Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 2 oz bean thread noodles
• 1.5 lbs fresh spinach (or one package of prewashed fresh spinach)
• 8 oz soft tofu
• 4 c vegetable broth
• 2 T light soy sauce
• 3 T rice wine
• 2 t date sugar
• 1/2 t salt

Directions

1. Soak the bean thread noodles in a large bowl of warm water for 15 minutes.
2. While the bean thread noodles are soaking, put the vegetable broth in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
3. Remove the stalks from the spinach and wash the leaves. Be sure to wash away all of the dirt or your soup will be gritty.
4. Cut the tofu into 1-in cubes.
5. By now the noodles should be soft. Drain the noodles, discarding the water, and cut them into 3-in lengths using a knife.
6. Add the noodles to the vegetable broth and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
7. Add the spinach, light soy sauce, rice wine, date sugar, and salt and let it simmer for another 2 minutes.
8. Add the tofu, taking care not to break the cubes, and let it simmer for 2 more minutes until the tofu is heated through.

Serve immediately.

Mustard Rye Bread

This is a moist, spicy bread that goes well with Rebecca Novelli’s Lentil Soup.Makes 1 large loaf.

Ingredients

• 1.5 c water
• 2T flaxseed ground and blended with 6T of water
• 1T and 1t canola oil
• 2T honey
• 1/4 c country dijon mustard
• 2/3 t salt
• 1 t mustard seeds
• 2 t caraway seeds
• 2 t fennel seeds
• 2-4T vital wheat gluten
• 1 c freshly ground rye flour
• 4 c freshly ground whole wheat flour (hard red wheat)
• 2.5 t yeast

Directions

For a bread machine, place the ingredients in the order prefered by your machine and press start.If doing it by hand:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Warm a cup by rinsing it with warm tap water and then measure 1/2 c warm water into it. The water should be 110º (just warm to touch). Sprinkle yeast into the water while stirring with a spoon until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.
3. Measure the dry ingredients (whole wheat and rye flours, vital wheat gluten, salt, mustard seed, caraway seed, and fennel seed) into a bowlmaking a well in the center.
4. Mix the remainder of the water, honey, canola oil, flaxseed mixture, and country dijon mustard in a separate bowl and then pour it into the well in the dry mixture.
5. Pour the yeast mixture on top of this.
6. Stir the liquid mixtures into the flour mixtures until you’ve created a soft, sticky dough.
7. Adjust the dough as necessary, adding more flour or more water until you’ve reached the correct consistency.
8. Knead the dough by hand or in your food processor.
9. Let the dough rise for 1.5-2 hours.
10. Deflate the dough and let it rise again for another hour.
11. Shape the dough and place it in a greased loaf pan. Let it rise for another 30-45 minutes.
12. Bake the bread checking at 30 minutes. Most breads take 60 minutes to bake but depending upon your oven, you may need to lower the temperature (if the crust is too brown) or bake for less time.

After the bread has finished baking, removing from the pan and let it cool before slicing.