Recipes this month were contributed by members of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia.
From the book Oh, She Glows by Angela Lidden
Debra Prost is the secretary of our Tidewater Chapter, and she is a great vegan cook. Here are a couple of her favorites.
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into one-inch pieces
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (optional)
1 28-ounce can tomatoes with juice
Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup natural peanut butter
4 cups vegetable broth (more if needed)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 handfuls baby spinach (I have sometimes used kale instead)
Method: Sauté onion and garlic in water for 5 minutes. Add peppers, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes with juice; raise heat to medium high and simmer for 5 minutes more. Season vegetables with salt and black pepper. In a bowl, whisk together peanut butter and one cup of the vegetable broth until no clumps remain. Stir this into the vegetables, along with the remaining broth, chili powder, and cayenne. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer ten to twenty minutes or until sweet potato is fork tender. Stir in spinach or kale and cook until greens are wilted. If desired, you can serve this over brown rice or quinoa.
Ingredients:
1 cup vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is good)
1/2 cup almond butter or any other type of nut butter, preferably without added salt or sugar
1/2 cup nuts such as pecans, cashews, walnuts, or hazelnuts, chopped but not fine.
Method: Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Add nut butter and nuts. Put mixture into an 8-inch square pan lined with parchment paper. Be sure there is parchment paper hanging over the pan’s edges so fudge can be lifted out easily. Put pan of fudge in freezer until it is firm enough to cut into squares—approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Remove and cut into squares. Put fudge back into freezer in a Ziploc bag or airtight container to store for the first day. It can then be stored in the refrigerator.
by Chris Walker
Chris Walker is the president of the Winchester Chapter in Virginia. He's also known as Chef Christopher. Chris loves to cook and bake.
For the last several years Chris has been making no-bake cookies for the state convention for the live auction fundraising event. The no-bake cookies are also Chris's favorite childhood memory. He is sharing the recipe below from Simply Baking. It's quick and simple and of course delicious. Definitely give it a try and enjoy!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups oats (oatmeal)
Method: To begin place a sauce pan on a medium to high heat on your stove top. Then you'll add one stick of butter, one and a half cup of sugar, half cup of milk, then add three tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. Then mix well until everything is combined. Bring to a boil then remove from stove top heat and add half cup of either crunchy or smooth peanut butter and one teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Once you have combined everything, add three cups of oats, then mix all together. You can use either wax paper or parchment paper and line your pan. To make things easier, use an ice cream scooper. You can also use a spoon. Scoop on to the pan and then place and put into freezer for thirty minutes. Then all you have to do is enjoy!
by Jenny Blinsmon
Jenny Blinsmon is the vice president of our Tidewater Chapter. Jenny shares a family favorite from her childhood, a recipe she continues to make and savor.
Ingredients:
1.5 pounds hamburger
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 onion, chopped
6 medium potatoes, sliced
Method: Brown hamburger and season with salt and pepper. Add onion and celery. Place in casserole dish. Pour tomato soup over meat layer. Then put potatoes on the meat and pour the mushroom soup over the potatoes. Pour milk over all. Bake 1.5 hours at 350 degrees. You can add corn or green beans if you want. Also I sometimes don’t pre-cook the hamburger.
by Joe Orozco
The next recipe comes to us from Joe Orozco. Joe wears many hats in our Virginia Affiliate, from operations coordinator for both our pre-employment transition service and our blindness skills for seniors programs to coordinator for our Virginia leadership development program and affiliate webmaster.
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked white rice
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast meat
12 ounces processed cheese food (e.g. Velveeta), cubed
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup butter
2 cups crushed buttery round crackers
Method: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Spread rice in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish; set aside. In a medium saucepan melt butter or margarine and stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk, bouillon granules, seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper. Stir all together and bring to a boil. Let simmer and stir for two minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
Reduce heat; add chicken, cheese, and sour cream. Stir until cheese is melted. Mix all together and pour mixture over rice. Melt half-cup butter or margarine in saucepan and toss with crushed cracker crumbs. Sprinkle crumb mixture over casserole. Bake in the preheated oven for ten to fifteen minutes or until heated through.
Yield: 6 servings
by Jody Silverberg
Our final recipe is sent in from Jody Silverberg. Jody is a member of our Virginia At-Large Chapter and is a professional baker. Everyone loves our state conventions, in part because Jody always brings goodies to share.
Helpful tips: use very ripe bananas, or bananas that have been frozen and thawed completely. Always use room temperature eggs when baking.
Ingredients:
9.5 ounces all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
6.55 ounces granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
13.1 ounces mashed bananas
4 ounces canola oil
Method: Insert paddle attachment in stand mixer, or mix well by hand. Scale ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 F. In bowl of mixer, combine bananas, eggs and oil; mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients; mix on medium speed until combined; do not over mix. Portion by 1 cup measure into well of stoneware mini-loaf baking pans. Bake thirty minutes, until cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack before removing from pan.