Vegan Instant Pot Pinto Bean Soup

 

• 16 oz dried pinto beans
• 6 cups of water
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tb better than bouillion, no chicken broth
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 3/4 tsp onion powder and garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1 can diced tomatoes 14.5 oz
• 2.5 cups of water
• Smoked salt to taste

1.              Put 6 cups of water and dry beans in your Instant Pot , close steam valve, and push the bean button and set time to 60 minutes.

2.              Allow to naturally release for 5-10 minutes and then drain water, put beans aside.

3.              Push the saute button on your Instant Pot and add oil, then add your onions, celery and carrots and let cook til they soften.  Add  garlic and spices and cook for a couple of minutes.  Turn saute off.

4.              Add  tomatos, 2.5 cups of water and bouillion and stir.  Put lid back on.

5.              Close steam valve and push the soup button, high setting for 7 minutes.

6.              Add smoked salt to taste and blend part of soup for added creaminess.

 

Jalapeno Cheese Beer Bread

This is a very easy beer bread with nice crust and tender crumb.  You can vary the spices and add-ins.  Have your oven up to temp when this goes in.  Make sure to lightly combine once beer is added so you don't deflate it.


2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
2.5 Tb sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tb Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup diced onion
1 cup grated vegan cheese (cheddar, havarti, gouda, pepper jack)
2 Tb pickled jalapenos, drained on paper towels and chopped
12 oz beer ( at room temp or close)
2 Tb melted vegan butter, separated
cornmeal

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Lightly grease a loaf pan (mine was 8"x4"). Pour 1 Tb melted vegan butter in the bottom and sprinkle with cornmeal.
3. Put flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper in a large bowl and mix to combine.
4. Add diced onion, vegan cheese, and pickled jalapenos and stir to combine.
5. Pour in the beer and gently fold ingredients together with a rubber spatula.  Try to take 25 strokes or less to combine.
6. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. Brush the top of the loaf with the remaining 1 Tb of melted butter
8. Allow to cool until just warm before slicing.

Enjoy!

Bookbinding again!

I haven't done any bookbinding in a loooonng time.  Somehow, I got bitten with the bug again.  Isn't life so miraculous and mysterious? 

Here is a flip tab book that I made yesterday in my studio.  I love spending time in my studio making things.

On Groundhog Day and Being Happy

I went to see one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day, on groundhog day this year.  It was made extra special by the fact that it was playing at a local art deco theater that is PINK, is the oldest theater in town, and is now owned by vegans!

I love this movie because within it is the secret to a successful and contented life, if one only pays attention.  The main character, Phil, starts out as an egocentric, jaded person, that sees others only in terms of what they can do for him.  He insults the cameraman, the town and sees his producer as his next conquest.  Only when he gets stuck reliving the same day, is he shaken from his know it all attitude.  He starts with denial, then tries to cheat to get what he wants from others by memorizing people's information and using it against them.  When that doesn't work, he gets depressed and tries to commit suicide over and over.  When none of it works, he inches slowly and reluctantly towards acceptance.  When he starts to accept that this is where he is and there is nothing he can do about it, he starts to relax into the situation.  He starts to get to know the town and most importantly, himself.  The old Phil didn't like himself and used people and things to escape.  The accepting Phil now realizes that there is no where you can go where you can escape yourself.  He starts reading books, gets to know people without an agenda, tries new hobbies and learns to use his energy to help people in need.  He learns to be kind to himself and others.  He learns how to be happy by himself.

THE best superpower that you can cultivate is being happy alone.  When you are happy alone, you will make decisions that are healthier and based on want rather than desperation or neediness.  Another person cannot make you happy.  I know that sounds obvious but a lot of people are pursuing relationships BEFORE they are happy by themselves.  You bring your happiness with you into every relationship.  Friends will come and go from your life.  You will make better decisions about who to let in to your life, when you are happy alone.  You will be able to recognize when someone is trying to use you to make themselves happy, which is an impossible task, and sets the relationship up for failure. When friends leave from your life, it may be temporarily sad but it will not be devastating because your happiness does not rely on them, it comes from within.   All of us have the the task of learning to be happy alone.  It is a happiness that no one can take from you.

In this vein, I love this poem by Helen Dunmore, who died last June after a long illness:

My life’s stem was cut

My life’s stem was cut,
But quickly, lovingly
I was lifted up,
I heard the rush of the tap
And I was set in water
In the blue vase, beautiful
In lip and curve,
And here I am
Opening one petal
As the tea cools.
I wait while the sun moves
And the bees finish their dancing,
I know I am dying
But why not keep flowering
As long as I can
From my cut stem?

Taken from Inside the Wave by Helen Dunmore, published by Bloodaxe Books.

On Taking Care of Yourself and Others

Winter brings the need for self-care into sharp focus for me.  Most mammals hibernate but for some reason humans feel like they need to rush around as usual with no recognition that the seasons have changed.  This brings on depression, exhaustion and sickness.  

If I am sick, I do not go to work and I do not go on social outings.  You do yourself and others a favor by allowing yourself to rest and by not spreading your germs.  I can't tell you the number of times people have shown up at work seriously ill.  The work will always be there.  Even when you  cease to exist, the work will still be there.  Let that give you some perspective.  

Even more maddening is when people show up for social functions when they are sick.  I sat down next to someone at a vegan function at a restaurant once and when I went to shake their hand, they said they were sick.  I moved to another seat and I did not apologize for it.  I recently had a dinner at my home.  One of my friends declined because she was sick.  I really appreciated that she cared enough to think of others and also to take care of herself.  

The plan that I've formulated to get through winter entails slowing down, way down.  I take off significant time from work in January and February, when things are at their gloomiest in Rochester.  I do less things outside the house.  I do less things inside the house.  I listen carefully to my body and my mood and I plan or unplan accordingly.  I intentionally lessen the amount of stress in my life.  I spend time in meditation.  I create space in my body and mind with gentle yoga.  I take my vitamins and I try to eat warm nourishing things.  I get lots of sleep and take naps on the weekends. 

Take some time everyday to take care of yourself.  Re-prioritize if you need to.  Examine your feelings of "missing out", if you have them.  And remember that filling your well is not selfish.  It allows us to be more balanced, make better choices, and help others more effectively.

Pizza Dough

Homemade pizza with caramelized onions and sauteed cremini mushrooms

In my opinion, pizza dough has to have the perfect blend of crispy and chewy.  Here is a recipe that I've worked out that I like.

1 (1/4 oz) packet active dry yeast
1.5 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pizza seasoning (optional - I like Frontier brand or use any herbs you like)
1 Tb olive oil

Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and let sit for 10 minutes. 

In a large bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, bread flour, salt, and pizza seasoning.  Add the water mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together.  Flour a clean surface and knead the dough for a few minutes until it is smooth and elastic.

Wash the  bowl and dry and coat with the oil.  Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm spot for 1 hour.  I turn the oven on to 200 F briefly and then turn it off to create a warm space in winter. After 1 hour punch down the dough and give it a light knead in the bowl.  Let rest for at least another hour or longer.  If you don't get to it that day, you can get away with refrigerating your dough and using it the next day.

Makes 1 large pizza crust.

Pizza tips: Use a pizza screen for a nice crispy crust.  You can get them on Amazon and they are inexpensive.  Just make sure you get a size that will fit in your oven.  I bake pizza at 480 F with convection on and it is done in 9 minutes.  Basically you want the oven as hot as you can get it. 

Do Less, Feel More

So, I took a yoga ropes class yesterday.  I had some trepidation about how difficult it would be and if I would be able to _do_it_.   The instructor started us off with a series of gentle spinal waves.  Ahh, spinal waves!  I had forgotten all about spinal waves...how the gentle undulations slowly wake up your body.  With the spinal waves, our instructor set our intention for the practice to "do less and feel more."  These words helped me to relax and to understand that today would not be an exercise primarily in muscular force but instead, in allowing energy to flow and to listen carefully to what messages the body was sending.  As space was created in the spine, joints, and organs, I felt an expansiveness of the mind and a great sense of calm and well-being.  Then I had the thought that I could carry this idea to other areas in my life.  And as I am writing this, I see how this also aligns with my minimalist values, to pare life down to the essentials and find out what is important to you and to spend your resources(time, energy, focus, $) on those things.  So now, one of my intentions for the year is to consciously do less and feel more.