Thursday, July 1, 2010

Vegan Fondue


The weather has been absolutely amazing for the last two days. I have found it very hard to resist and haven’t spent much time cooking so I didn’t want to bother you with my boring “single lady” meals. However Dan got home very late last night. This meant I needed to make a proper dinner tonight. I considered quite a few things and finally decided fondue would be fun. This is something I haven’t made since we became vegan, but surprisingly it was very easy and tasty. I have no idea why I didn’t do this sooner. Here is what I made:

Vegan Fondue
Makes 6 generous servings (approximately ½ cup each)

Ingredients:

½ cup dry oats, processed into oat flour in your blender
½ cup raw cashews (soaked for 2 hours and drained if not using a high powered blender)
2 ½ cups of water (1 cup reserved to “clean out the blender”)
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, or to taste
¼ cup onion, peeled and minced
½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste (use truffle salt if you have it)

Directions:

Combine everything but the 1 cup of reserved water in your blender and process until smooth. Pour into a pan and simmer. Place the reserved cup of water in your blender and use it to clean out the blender jar. Add that to the pot as well. Cook until the sauce is the thickness you desire and the raw onion and garlic flavor has been cooked out.

Serve with any veggies you like. I steamed some small new potatoes to dip into the fondue. We also had chunks of raw red bell pepper, snow peas, broccoli and cherry tomatoes tonight.

Potato cooking note: I cook my potatoes whole, either in the microwave or by steaming since reading that they lose more nutrition when cooked cut or in water.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 82.74
Calories From Fat (44%) - 36.11

Total Fat - 3.71g
Saturated Fat - 0.66g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 20.2mg
Potassium - 96.01mg
Total Carbohydrates - 8.32g
Fiber - 1.23g
Sugar - 0.8g
Protein - 2.39g

Comments:

This is very similar to my queso dip only without the Mexican seasonings. You can use this for a mild white cheese sauce over veggies and rice and it would great that way. I use the base as a replacement for Mornay sauce.  The overall flavor is mild, no distinctive mustard or nutritional yeast taste. I was going for an overall mild cheese flavor like a Gruyere.

Quick Product Review: Crunch Bar by Mareblu Naturals:


For Dan’s trip I picked up granola bars from Mareblu Naturals at Costco. The ingredient list was what tempted me. Each bar only has 6 grams of sugar. Dan took a few blueberry bars on this trip and liked them. Today I had a strawberry and pomegranate bar and that was good too. Assuming Costco continues to carry this they will be a regular part of our pantry for times when we are out of the house. As usual, this is something we purchased it was not sent to me to review. ;-)

Where have I been recently?:

The weather has been unseasonably gorgeous. It was been very hard for me to focus on my typical activities. ;-) The cooler than normal temperatures and light breezes make it feel like spring at our place. I have been taking advantage of the lovely weather to get a little natural vitamin D. I know that summer and air conditioning will be returning soon and wanted to enjoy this weather while it lasted.

Additionally I have been playing with the new sewing machine and may have reawakened my fondness for sewing. I have been shocked by how much of a difference a new sewing machine made to the process. Sewing has been something that I have always done for the house. I have made curtains, roman blinds, pillow covers, gift bags, that sort of thing. Over the last few days I made an eye mask (to increase our melatonin production) and cotton flannel baby wipes. I am on a campaign to get rid of as many disposables and things that have been bleached at our house as possible. Next on my list is getting rid of plastic bags. That will take a lot more work, but I am determined. I will let you know what I come up with. There are a few ideas swirling around my head now. ;-)

After watching the 2010 Dr. Greger DVD melatonin was fresh on my mind. Then reading about it again in “Integrative Oncology” I felt as though that was a sign. Instead of trying to blackout the windows in the bedroom and covering the alarm clocks I decided an eye mask was a much easier and quicker solution. We will see if it works as well in practice and it does in my head. ;-)

Since my foray back into sewing has been going so well I may make a summer blanket next week. I have some red and white toile that I bought not knowing what to make with it. Now I think I have a use for it. We will see what happens since I have a tendency to change my mind a few times before I commit to things.

Talk to you again tomorrow.

21 comments:

  1. fondue is SUCH a good idea!! good one Alicia:)

    you forgot to mention...you reupholstered an ENTIRE couch...

    im glad you found some bars that you like. i will look for those. you didnt say if they were vegan, is there honey in them?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michelle,

    This turned out really well. I was quite happy with it. And ... it is E2L 6 week approved. ;-)

    Good memory! Reupholstering is more stapling than sewing. But you are right I did have to sew the cushion covers so I guess it counts too.

    The bars are vegan, no honey. They are very lightly sweet, just the way I prefer them.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the mention! Glad to hear you liked the bars. My favorite is the Blueberry Pomegranate.

    FYI: The bars and bags will only be carried intermittently (if at all) at Costco but we are soon shipping out orders to Sam's Club.

    You can also order online, mbnaturals.com, which costs a bit more but if you sign up for the E-newsletter you'll get lots of discounts that usually end up making it cheaper than buying in-store.

    I'll post a link on our twitter page of your review ... twitter.com/mbnaturals

    --Ryan--

    ReplyDelete
  4. The fondu looks great - similar to the cheezeless queso - but love the mustard addition. Must give this one a try for sure.

    We have had a sudden change in our weather (for the better) too. Loving it. So glad you've been able to get outside and enjoy. And how fun with the new sewing machine!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ryan,

    Thanks for letting us know we can buy them on-line and get a discount thru the newsletter. That is great to know! We really like your products.

    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  6. Heather,

    I based this on the cheeseless queso. That is my base sauce for a lot of things, LOL. The dijon was included to give it a touch of a background "tang". Dan and I both liked this last night.

    Glad your weather is cooperating too. We are supposed to have another great day today then the heat returns tomorrow. I am definitely going to enjoy it while I can. ;-)

    Sewing is so much better with the new machine. I had no idea how much of a difference that would make.

    I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend,
    Ali

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  7. The weather has been refreshing here too!

    I will have to give the bars a try.
    They sound tasty. :)
    I am curious do the bars contain "natural flavors" ?
    I wonder if they are gluten-free?

    Dinner looks inviting. :)

    I admire all your plans. Perhaps I will get motivated, and drag out my sewing machine. I haven't had it out in years.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Naina,

    The strawberry bar contains the following: almonds, cashews, pistaschios, sunflower seeds, organic evaporated cane juice, tapioca syrup, dried strawberries, dried cranberries, chicory root, pomegranate, sea salt, and natural flavors. They are vegan, peanut free, kosher and gluten free according to the label. Each bar only contains 55mg of sodium.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the ingredients.
    I react to natural flavors, I am
    not certain why. They cause me to feel fatigue, and make me puffy. :(
    I have read that MSG can be disguised as natural flavors?
    MSG does cause the same reaction.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sorry to hear that natural flavors are a problem. That must be tough they are in most things even the natural and organic stuff.

    When I get a chance I will work on a recipe for a homemade variation of these. I know Dan would love that too. Keep your fingers crossed that I come up with a suitable substitute. ;-)

    I hope you have a great weekend,
    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks Ali! I know you can do it! :)

    Yeah, at times I can have myself a little pity party. Not my most flattering moments. ;)

    This is why I fantasize about going on an extended fast. Reading that others have reset their over-sensitive immune systems gives me hope.

    I also fear an extended fast, thus I haven't acted on it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Naina,

    I have considering fasting as well but have only done it for three days and it wasn't a true fast I drank fresh veggie and fruit juice. From what I have read you should find a doctor that has experience with fasting to monitor you during the fast. If you give it a try I would love to know how it goes. It may encourage me to do it as well.

    I understand the pity party. That happens to all of us. ;-) Don't think you are alone on that one.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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  13. Can you make this with something other than cashews? I am allergic to cashew. I heard someone made a similar one subbing white beans.

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  14. Cricket,

    I think any nut would work. Macadamias are very mild and should be a great substitute. I also make a mushroom gravy with soaked walnuts. White beans would add thickness but the dip wouldn't have the same richness that nuts add. I hope that helped. :-)

    Alicia

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  15. Wow, Alicia...what a great idea! I definitely want to try this vegan fondue! Thanks for posting.

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  16. I have been meaning to ask someone and you seem very nice.. so I figure you're the one to ask! Umm, how do you get samples sent to you to review? Do the companies see your blog or do you send them letters? I've been curious to know how it works! :P

    Anyways, the bars look great and I am going to try this fondue recipe! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Aimee,

    Thanks, we really liked this. I hope you do too!

    enjoy your weekend,
    Ali

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  18. deadwillwalk,

    I have many companies that send me emails and ask me to review things. However, I tend to decline their offers. On my blog if I reviewed something I bought it.

    I used to read blogs that did many reviews (books, machines, etc.) and it seemed as though their goal was getting free stuff to review. For me their credibility came into question when it was obvious they were contacting companies about things to review.

    To answer your question in my experience companies will contact you about reviewing things. If that doesn't happen for you, then you can contact them. I hope that helps. :-)

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  19. I have a question about melatonin. My 17 year old daughter takes it at night to help her sleep, I'm guessing partially as a placebo effect. My mom says that she read somewhere that melatonin pills cause leukemia. But if melatonin is a good thing then perhaps I don't need to help my daughter stop taking them. Did your research deal with supplementing with melatonin? Thanks! I really appreciate your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Aberforth and Billy,

    I wanted to check a few sources before I responded. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

    Both "Integrative Oncology" and "Life Over Cancer" recommend melatonin supplementation if a cancer patient has low levels. One study combining melatonin with interferon resulted in remission of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Melatonin is naturally produced by the body and seems to run counter to cortisol. I didn't read anything that suggests it is dangerous. Both books talked about needing to keep a regular sleep schedule and to sleep in complete darkness. Probably things your 17 year old doesn't do. ;-) She may well have low levels of melatonin. There is apparently a blood test to check your melatonin level. Maybe you can get her doctor to check it with the next blood drawn. I hope that helped.

    Thanks for letting me know you like the blog. If you have any other questions let me know. If I have read something about it I will be happy to share. :-)

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks! This is helpful. I'll have the doctor check her melatonin level next time. She does keep a relatively regular schedule because of her sleeping issues, and her room is reasonably dark when she is going to sleep because her parrot screams when it isn't.

    ReplyDelete

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