August Exchange

From this months exchange.

Even if our group were to lose interest in exchanging and I couldn't find another set of people to trade with I would still freeze quite a bit. Veggie burgers are a great example. If your family does veggie burgers often, and I don't know a vegan family that doesn't, then perhaps making a large batch once a month a freezing portions would serve you well. Breakfast burritos also are great to make monthly. 

Even if you don't want to end up with six gallons of chili, making a double batch and waiting a week to thaw a eat the other half may serve you well. Freezing like this is all about reducing overall cooking and prep time. You can scale up or down according to your needs, freezer space, and interest.

This month we exchanged:

Spanish Lentils

Vegan Taco File Packet

Split Pea Soup

Spinach Lasagna Rolls with Vegan Spinach Ricotta Filling 

Zucchini Carrot Muffins 

Veggie Burgers

April Exchange

This month we exchanged:
Vegan Breakfast Burritos
I combined this and this recipe to make Coffee Muffins
Cold Carrot and Broccoli Soup
Funky Vegan Spaghetti with Marinara and Italian Sausage
Delicious Dal
Curry Stuffed Flatbread made use of this and this recipe
Broccoli and Potato Soup


A benefit of the freezer group that I had not anticipated has been that these meals are easy to give away. We had a family member give birth a few months ago and rather than work to cook a bunch of different meals I just handed over most of that month's exchange. Another friend had a nasty cold that he just could not shake. I guessed what in my freezer he might like best and ran it over to him.


All of the meals come labeled with cooking directions and no dishes to return. (Some groups have casserole dishes and other containers that they trade, reuse or return. Our group has for the most part used Ziploc bags.) Because of this they are particularly suited to being given away. 


Giving a dish away also mollifies the issue of not liking something that you get. Let's say that no one in your family has a taste for breakfast burritos. What do you do with the four servings in your freezer? Just throwing them would be wasteful. Next time you hear that someone is sick, in the hospital, just had a baby, or something else, ask them if they would enjoy it. Chances are they would like it and appreciate the break. Have you ever been the recipient of homecooked meals? What did you get and enjoy?

Vegan Breakfast Burritos for 24 (1 bowl and 1 skillet)

2 bell peppers chopped
1 large red onion chopped
2-3 carrots peeled and chopped

5 med. tomatoes seeded and chopped
1 or 2 blocks firm or extra firm tofu
4 cloves garlic minced
1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 t chili powder (vary this to how spicy you want it)


2 cans black beans
2 cans kernel corn


olive oil for pan
24 burrito size tortillas

Prep veggies. Saute peppers, onion and carrots in skillet. While those cook prep tomatoes, tofu and garlic. Move veggies to large bowl. Saute garlic , tomatoes and tofu. Mix in yeast flakes and chili powder. When hot move to the large bowl. Add beans and corn to the mix. Stuff and fold into tortillas. Below are pictures of the finished product ready for freezing.

There are a couple nice aspects of this recipe. First, while it takes a very large bowl it only takes one normal skillet.  Second, to eat we take one out of the freezer the night before to thaw in the fridge and microwave in the morning. The convenience of the microwave in the morning is great (we cook for 1:20 (my husband has it down to a science) but this may vary depending on your microwave). Third, as far as breakfast goes this is about as healthy as you are going to get. Forth, it is simple to adjust for taste and seasonal preferences. Last and perhaps most important, it tastes excellent.  :)

To evenly divide the veggie mix I spoon out into the tortillas with them folded like this.

Plastic wrap is between all of them accordion style for freezing. 

March Favorites Month

One of our members had a great idea this month--she suggested that rather than have everyone do another new recipe, we would vote for our favorites and divvy up those. There are several benefits to this idea. First, it saves us the research of a new recipe. Second, it essentially guarantees that this month is going to be particualy awesome. Third, it's a nice excuse to try a recipe that another person made before.


I pulled a rough list from this blog, about 25 dishes, and emailed a request for a top three. I was surprised and pleased by the amount of convergence. The winners:

Sweet Potato Burritos- 4 votes

Vegetarian Groundnut Stew- 3 votes

Red Lentil Thai Chili- 2 votes

Vegan Galumpkis and Pierogi- 2 votes

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese- 2 votes 

Lentil Burgers/Quinoa Burgers- 1 each-so I figure some kind of burger got 2 votes.

For the Vegan Galumpkis and Pierogi I did not feel up to repeating the whole process involved in making proper rolls. So I did a modification that I think turned out quite well. With all of the ingredients listed in the recipe I chopped the cabbage (as if making coleslaw) and mixed everything together in a giant bowl. I think it was an improvement for two reasons: first, it was shockingly easy compared to making rolls and second, it became quite a bit more cabbage in proportion to the other ingredients so I feel like we ended up with a healthier dish.