Broccoli Monster

Fresh Pita!

2011-04-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

Making your own pita at home is very simple and it's comes out warm and fluffy... you'll never want to go back to store-bought! Originally discovered this recipe from FromMeToYou, a photographer who is also a fantastic cook.

Ingredients:3 cups flour
1 1/2 Tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 packet of yeast
1 1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together except 1 Tbsp of the oil. Knead for about 10 minutes (I know... your hands are gonna get really tired by about 5 minutes). Cover and leave dough in the warmest spot in your kitchen to rise for 90 minutes.

After dough has risen, cut into 8 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Roll each into a ball and lightly dust with flour. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400° F, with a sheet pan or pizza stone preheating inside. Flatten balls to about 1/4" thickness. Put pita shaped dough onto heated sheet pan and bake for 5-10 minutes. That's it!

Warm Portobella and Pear Salad

2011-04-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

This recipe is simple and elegant. Can be done on the grill or in the oven. Can be made vegan by omitting the cheese.

Ingredients:
4 portobella mushrooms
2 pears
Feta and walnuts for garnish
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp orange or other citrus juice
2 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions:
Slice pears in half and take out seeds and core. If using the oven, place pears cut-side-up and mushroom caps on a sheet pan.
Whisk olive oil, maple syrup and citrus together in a saucepan. Lightly brush the pears and mushrooms with the mixture. Put sheet pan in the oven and turn on broiler for about 5 minutes, or until just slightly browned. If using grill, grill pears and mushrooms until slightly browned or just softened. When finished, allow to cool slightly and slice.

Heat remaining marinade for about 5 minutes to reduce, stirring frequently.

Arrange mushrooms and pears and top with marinade. Sprinkle with feta and walnuts. If desired, serve on top of a bed of greens, rice or other grain.

Delicious Vegan Chocolate Cake

2011-04-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

This cake is amazing and super easy. Recipe origin: Instructables.com.

Cake Ingredients:1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

Chocolate Glaze:1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp soy milk
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix dry ingredients together with a fork. Add all other cake ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour into a springform or 8"x8" pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

When cake is finished, make chocolate glaze. For glaze, heat all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat for about 7 minutes. Stir often. Pour immediately over cake. Top with fresh fruit or sprinkles if desired!

Strawberry Cornmeal Crumble Bars

2011-03-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Strawberries are cheap and local this time of year, so I modified a recipe from April's issue of Everyday Food. They taste like strawberry poptarts. Mmmmm. Not for the faint of calories. Can be made vegan by using Earth Balance instead of butter.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup almonds or other nut of choice
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp coarse salt
3/4 cup Earth Balance or butter
3 cups rough chopped strawberries

1. Preaheat oven to 350°. Line an 8" square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving 1 in overhang on 2 sides.
2. Ground nuts in blender or food processor to create a flour texture. Mix together all ingredients except strawberries. You may have to use your hands to mix the Earth Balance/butter evenly.

3. Press down almost all of the crumble mixture into the pan... reserving 1 cup for topping. Top with an even layer of strawberry chunks. Top with the remaining crumble topping. Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Allow to cool before removing from pan and cutting into bars. If desired, serve warm with a side of vanilla ice cream.

Look at what I have createeeed!

2011-03-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when I actually have two days off of work.

Visit. Share. Contribute. Eat and be merry, Tampa Bay.

No-knead Bread

2011-03-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love fresh made bread. What I don't love is the 10 straight minutes of total arm muscle sacrifice it takes. Here is a delightful alternative... No-knead Bread. You only need about 6-8 hours rising time... perfect for throwing together before work and then finishing in the evening.

The first rendition was pretty tasty, but I would like to experiment using different flours. This one had a mild sourdough flavor, soft in the inside and completely crispy on the outside. Read more for photos and recipe.

This recipe originally found/posted on Apartment Therapy's food blog, The Kitchn, which I was informed about from a friend. Since I'm finally back to one job again (woo hoo!) I celebrated by purchasing my very first dutch oven, specifically for this recipe. (I needed a soup pot, too... I ruined by cheap one earlier this year.)

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour
3/4 teaspoon regular yeast (not instant)
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in the morning before you go to work. This should take about 3 minutes and leave you with a thick, slightly goopy dough. Mark Bittman calls it "shaggy." Cover with a towel or some plastic wrap and leave it in the warmest spot in your kitchen. It should get a 6 to 8-hour rise.

When you come home from work lightly mist a counter or baking sheet with spray oil and turn dough out on it. Shape it roughly into a ball, mist with oil again, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let proof for about an hour, or however long you have. (You can also proof your dough a little faster in the microwave!)

Heat the oven to 450°F. Put a Dutch oven (or one of these alternatives) in the oven to heat. When the dough has doubled in size, put it in the pan. You may have to pour it, pry it off the baking sheet, or just roll it in - the dough is very wet. Don't worry if it looks a mess. Cover the pot with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes to let it brown.

You can be really sure that the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of the loaf reads 210-220°F.

Pumpkin Risotto, Asparagus Spears and Layered Salad.

2011-03-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to clean out the freezer and I still had some pumpkin left over from baking around halloween-time. So for dinner, I made it into a pumpkin risotto. I would suggest adding squash as well, though, because the texture was slightly stringy from the pumpkin. Never-the-less, it was tasty. The layered salad was made up of sweet ginger sauteed mushrooms, home-grown greens, local grapefruit and avocado.

I'm posting the recipe I used for the pumpkin risotto, as well as some process photos. Risotto is somewhat time consuming, but not as bad as some other major culinary undertakings.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

6 cups veggie stock

1 small butternut squash, or 1/2 butternut squash and 1 small pumpkin (roasted and pureed)

2 Tbsp butter or earth balance

Directions:

In a medium-size heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring continuously, just until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rice and continue to stir, using a wooden spoon, to coat the rice with the oil.

Add the white wine and continue cooking, stirring often, until it has been absorbed by the rice. Pour in enough chicken stock to cover the rice completely, about 3 cups, and continue to cook, stirring often, until all the liquid is absorbed. (This takes about 10 minutes)

Pour in 1 cup more of the remaining stock and stir and cook until it has been absorbed. Repeat with 1 more cup. Add the remaining cup and cook, stirring, until the rice is al dente, tender but still very chewy, and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir in the pumpkin puree and reduce the heat to very low so that the risotto doesn't simmer anymore. Stir in the butter to give the risotto a nice, creamy finish, and top with Parmesan if desired. Serve immediately. (This does not keep well at all, so finish what you can right when you make it!) Original recipe fron Food Network.

Mistress Mary, Quite contrary, How does your garden grow?

2011-03-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

I had no garden last year. So I decided for sure I would at least have a small one this year. It's going great! Here are the seedlings soon after transplanting. I've got lettuce, spicy salad greens, basil, thyme, green onions, a few hot pepper plants, a strawberry plant and some flowers. I'm hoping to get in some lavender, oregano and maybe a few more veggies.

Sushi Fest!

2011-03-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

Phil and I have been absolutely hooked on making sushi lately (until I got sick from eating some dim sum... now we're on a bit of a hiatus). It seems intimidating, but it's incredibly simple.

Some ingredients we have tried that were delicious: carrot (peeled and cut into strips), cucumber (peeled, deseeded, cut into strips), mango, cream cheese, smoked salmon, crab stick (imitation crab meat) and avocado. I would suggest not using regular cooked fish and definitely don't use any fish raw you get from the grocery store. You must use sushi grade fish. This is also a very easy meal to make vegan.

Here are a few tips and photos of our efforts so far!

Tips

• Only use sushi rice! Nothing else will do.

• Let the rice cool. I know it's tempting, but your life will be much easier if you do.

• Buy plenty of Nori (the dried seaweed wrapping). We usually end up going through almost 10 sheets each batch (we like sushi lots).

• When storing Nori, be sure to put sure to keep it completely dry (If possible, air-tight)

• Use a VERY thin layer of rice to start with.

• You don't need any additional equipment to make sushi. A rice cooker and rolling mat might help, but are not necessary by any means.

Here is a very basic and helpful link on How to Make Sushi.

Enjoy!

Carrot Veggie Burgers, Kale Chips and Peanut Soba Noodles.

2011-02-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Kale Chips

This recipe is so easy and delicious! And quite addicting.

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Separate leaves of 1 bunch kale from stems. Wash thoroughly and tear into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and a dash of sea salt and black pepper. Mix kale with your hands thoroughly.

2. Spread on a single layer and bake until slightly crispy (about 15 minutes). Turn approximately every 5 minutes, to keep from burning.

Soba Noodle Salad: Prepare soba noodles according to package. Create a dressing with peanut butter, a dash of rice vinegar, a dash of honey, and olive oil. Whisk thoroughly and sprinkle with sesame seeds!

Carrot Veggie Burgers

This recipe is from a great book that Phil got me for Christmas, called Color Me Vegan from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau... the writer of the Joy of Vegan Baking. I've only tried a few recipes, but so far so good! I modified this recipe a bit, but will post a recipe next time!

Banana Cream Cake

2011-02-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

This cake came out wonderful. It's a lot like a banana bread cake with a cream cheese pecan frosting. Read more for the recipe!

This recipe came from Indulge, 100 Perfect Desserts from Claire Clark of The French Laundry. This book is quite amazing. The recipes are great, but the photos are even better. Mmmm.

Ingredients:

6oz plain flour sifted

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

6oz dark brown sugar

2 medium eggs

4 Tbsp vegetable oil

6oz ripe banana, mashed

1 3/4oz pecans, chopped

Frosting:

2 1/4oz cream cheese

6 3/4oz confectioners sugar

4 1/2oz unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4oz pecans, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease a round 8 in springform cake tin or 10-12 muffin tins.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Place the sugar, eggs and oil in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. And the sifted flour mixture and the banans and mix on a low speed for 30 seconds. Stir in the pecan nuts. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin or muffin tins and bake for about 40 minutes for a large cake, 20 minutes for muffins, until the top springs back when pressed gently and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool completely before frosting.

3. For the frosting, combine all the ingredients except the pecan nuts in a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cake with a palette knife and sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Finally, dust with confectioners sugar.

Brown Beech Mushrooms and Broccoli Carrot Stirfry

2011-02-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

Easy stir-fry using some beautiful beech mushrooms from next door at Oceanic Market!

Hoppin' John

2011-01-20T08:03:00.000-08:00

This meal is easy and healthy! A new favorite in our household.

Cook 1 cup brown rice according to directions.

For greens, wash thoroughly and remove leaves from stem. Rough chop and saute 1 chopped clove garlic in a dash of olive oil in stock pot. Saute for 3 or 4 minutes, or until greens are just wilted. Add a dash of vinegar (any type) over greens and saute for additional minute. Add 2 cups water or more as needed (greens should be mostly submerged). Add bouillon cube to create broth for greens to cook in. Bring to a boil and then simmer until other parts are ready.

Cook black eyed peas according to directions. Drain beans. Saute onion, garlic and vegan sausage (if desired) in 1 Tbsp olive oil. Create a rue on the side of the pan, by moving veggies to one side and combining 1 Tbsp butter/margarine and 1 Tbsp flour, being careful not to let flour burn. Add 1 cup broth from greens.

Season with a dash of cayenne and a heavy dash of paprika. Also season with salt and pepper.

When all layers are finished cooking, layer in bowl... rice, greens, beans.

The Easiest Chili You Will Ever Make

2011-01-20T07:35:00.000-08:00

Easy and delicious chili. Also, cornbread!

1 28oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 16oz red beans or other beans of choice

1 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 cup veggie broth or bouillon cube dissolved

olive oil

(optional) ¼ lb ground meat of choice or 1 veggie sausage link

Seasonings: chili, cumin, cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper

Chop onion and garlic. Heat 1 Tbsp oil on medium/high heat and add veggies. Sauté until just tender in large pot (about 8 minutes).
If using, brown meat or veggie meat in pan with veggies.
Drain beans, rinse in colander and add to pot. Add can of tomatoes with juice.
Add 2 tsp Chili powder,1 tsp paprika, dash of cumin and dash of cayenne. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes for flavors to combine. Add dash of salt and pepper and additional seasoning to taste.

Meal idea: Serve with cornbread. Top with a dollop of sour cream.

Variation: Saute 1 container sliced mushrooms and combine with onions and garlic.

Spruced-up Cornbread in a Jiffy

1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

1 small can corn kernels

1 small can green chilies

Cheddar cheese

Mix cornbread as instructed on box, substituting sour cream for milk. Drain corn and fold into cornbread mix. Fold in 1 can green chilies.
Add to muffin tins or pan, leaving plenty of room for cornbread to rise.
Grate light layer of cheddar cheese on top of each cornbread muffin/loaf. Cook as instructed by Jiffy box.

Fresh Market Breakfast

2010-10-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

I love my new job! It has inspired me to get cooking again. (Finally!) This was breakfast this morning. Quick and tasty!

Greek yogurt (Soy yogurt is good, too... I only had peach, though!), topped with homemade granola, fresh figs and honey!

Mini Mushroom and Broccoli Quiche (Not Vegan)

2010-10-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have been broke lately, so I have been eating eggs. I made these mini quiches for dinner last night. Super easy!

First, use a glass as a circle stencil, and cut layers of puff pastry. Bake the puff pastry at 400 degrees for a few minutes to slightly brown the crust. For the filling, I chopped a few pieces of broccoli and sauteed some mushrooms with garlic. Distribute the filling among the cups!

Next, whisk together 5 eggs, 1 cup almond milk, and a dash of salt and pepper. Distribute the egg mixture to each puff pastry cup and bake the quiches at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the eggs are no longer runny.

Beautiful Beets!

2010-10-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

I brought these beets back from my trip to New York, and they are beautiful! I made them into some little puff pastry tarts.

Full menu? Read more!

Puff pastry with layered beets and apples, topped with a sprinkle of cheddar. Oven roasted tomatoes (recipe ala my grandma!). Raw corn salad (corn, scallions, mustard, oil, lemon juice).

Delilah!

2010-10-08T08:22:00.001-07:00

The newest addition to our family!

Chewy Carmel Popcorn and Pretzel Bars

2010-10-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

I tried this recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. It is NOT vegan. The flavors are delicious, I tried substituting equal parts almond milk for cream... which made the bars not stick together as well. They were quite delicious, but I had to eat them with a fork!

Click read more for recipe!

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
6 cups popped popcorn (1 bag)
2 cups chopped pretzels
1 cup sugar
coarse salt
2/3 cup almond milk
1 cup mini marshmellows

Directions:
Spray an 8" x 8" square baking dish with cooking spray. Toss together popcorn and pretzels.

In a medium saucepan, bring sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium high heat. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Allow mixture to boil for about 8 minutes. (I know it seems like a long time, but it's fine!) Remove pan from heat and add almond milk slowly. Immediately add marshmellows and mix until melted. This will take a minute.

Pour sugar mixture over popcorn and pretzels. Stir thoroughly, but quickly, until mixture is evenly combined. Add popcorn mixture to baking dish and spread evenly with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and press into dish. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Allow bars to completely cool before cutting apart!

BBQ Tempeh Tacos

2010-10-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

Wow... it's been forever since I posted something! I got this recipe from a neat little company in Asheville, North Carolina that makes their own tempeh from scratch... Smiling Hara Tempeh. You can find this recipe on their blog! Their tempeh was by far the most delicious tempeh I've ever had. Unfortunately, they don't believe in providing their product to anyone but locals, so the only way to get it is to travel to Asheville!

Even if you can't get fresh made tempeh, the store bought stuff works, too. This recipe is a quick and delicious meal when you don't have all night to spend in the kitchen! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 package tempeh, any kind will work fine
1 jar bbq sause (I suggest Stubbs... no high fructose corn syrup and oh so delicious!)
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 onion, chopped
Dash of cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper

tortilla wraps or hard shell tacos
taco toppings, such as:
avocado
tomato
onion
sauteed mushrooms
spinach/lettuce

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a sautee pan on med-high. Add onion and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Crumble tempeh into saute pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 3/4 of the bottle of BBQ sauce. Turn heat to low and cover. Cook 10 more minutes, stirring every so often.

Prepare taco toppings. Add some BBQ tempeh to the tortilla. Top with goodies!

Fresh Tomato Cocktail

2010-09-01T07:10:00.001-07:00

I had a tasty drink in Asheville and tried to duplicate it at home! It wasn't as delicious as in asheville, but it's a fun play on a classic bloody mary.

1 fresh tomato juiced + lime juice + tequila + a few shreds of basil + a dash of cayenne. salt + pepper rim. yum.

Meanie Greenie Pizza Pie

2010-08-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been addicted to buying whole wheat pizza dough and making pizzas. It's only something like $1.75 for enough dough for a whole pizza at my local Sweetbay Supermarket. It's great, because I hate working with yeast... half of the time it doesn't even work.

I made up some creamy vegan pesto from all the basil I have out back! It is: silken tofu (I had some leftover), basil, walnuts and a dash of nutritional yeast. I added zuccini, olives and tomato sauce (I can't have a pizza without it!).

Veg Breakfast Delight!

2010-08-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

English muffin with zuccini and grilled tofu, potato scramble and fakin' bacon!

Pot Pie Veggies

2010-07-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

That is all.

Raw Zuccini Wraps

2010-07-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

This recipe is still in the works, but this was a pretty good first attempt. Basically like a bite-sized salad! Zuccini, blended cashews, garlic, onion and sprouts, topped with a raw tomato sauce.

(before sauce)

Miami Pizza

2010-07-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

The Taste of Summer... Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake and Broccoli Pizza

2010-06-11T23:31:00.000-07:00

After being off of my feet for far too long, I am finally getting back to (semi) normal walking. I've moved into a new apartment and finally have a kitchen to call my own again! First baked treat out of the oven? Definitely a vegan cheesecake. I also made pizza with broccoli, marinated mushrooms and garlic. Our first meal in our new place! Recipe and photos follow.

Start off by making the crust. It's super easy, but you can also just buy a pre-made one.

1 1/2 cups fine ground graham cracker crumbs (you can buy them already crushed)
5 Tbsp vegan butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the butter in the bowl and warm up in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until the butter is just melted. Add to it the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Mix until all dry ingredients are wet. Prepare a spring form pan and spread the graham crackers in a layer across the bottom. Bake in the oven for 5 min. Remove from oven and allow to cool before adding filling.

For the filling:
3 Tbsp ground flax seeds
1/2 cup soymilk
24oz fake cream cheese (3 Tofutti containers. I know... it's expensive)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
2 tsp lemon zest (extra for garnish if you want)

Take out the cream cheese as soon as an hour before making this to soften it up. Add flax seed and soymilk to a bowl and use a hand mixer or whisk with a fork until thickened. (About one minute) Fold in cream cheese and sugar. Add in other ingredients and mix until combined. Pour into cooled crust and bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Remove from oven when slightly browned. Make fruit topping while you're waiting.

Rinse a pint of blueberries. Set half aside. Add the other half to a saucepan, as well as 3 Tbsp sugar. Heat on low with a lid, stirring frequently, until blueberries start to break down (about 5 min). Mash most of the blueberries in the pan. Stir in the reserved blueberries and a pinch of flour. Remove from heat and top with a lid.

When the cheese cake is done baking, allow it to cool a bit before adding the berries on top. Once the fruit topping is added, allow to cool thoroughly before removing the springform pan. Voila!

Stupid broken foot.

2010-03-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted in a while, and don't plan to. Why? Because on the way to work this week, I crashed my freshly purchased Peugeot. I was, of course, running late, so I was hauling ass. A truck pulls right out in front of me and I literally do not have time to brake at all. So I slam into the truck at full speed.

This is my pretty little bike before the accident. After?

Yep... that's right. This is her afterwards. Completely screwed. I'm not sure yet if the frame is bent or just the front forks. So here's my cast!

I broke a bone on the inside of my heel. It's going to be a month minimum to heal... could be longer. At least Diego's keeping me company!

So needless to say, I'm going to be living off of mostly freezer food and instant stuff, because I can't cook very much. :(

Mini polenta pot pies.

2010-03-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

After an amazing afternoon nap yesterday, I was watching Food Network. On a typical day, I'd be watching CSI or Law and Order or whatever looks good. You see, I have a terrible addiction to channel flipping. But, seeing as I temporarily misplaced the remote (which translates to, I was too lazy to get up and look for it) I watched all of 30 minute meals. So now that I've made a short story long, I will tell you about the recipe I tried tonight. This dish came out grrreat. I did a vegan version of Racheal Ray's tarragon-cream chicken and polenta pot pies.

In my pot-pies, I used a Field Roast Chipotle sausage, and used some soaked cashews to make the polenta a little richer. Really, really delicious... I will definitely be making this again. And, I got picked up these cute red little ramekins from Bialetti. You can't even say it without sounding Italian.

Sorry for the lazy photo.

How to make a beet sandwich.

2010-03-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Step one. Preheat the oven to 400degrees.

Step two. Prepare the beets. Clip the greens (save 'em and sautee 'em up!) and wash the beets thoroughly. You have to scrub beets pretty good... just be warned that they turn everything red. Including your pee!

Trim stems and tops as close to the ends as possible. Slice beets about 1/4in thick. Add to oven safe dish and toss with just enough olive oil to coat (about 2 tsp for one bunch). Add a dash of salt and pepper and cover with tin foil. Put in the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove and stir. Add 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar and toss to combine, and put back in the oven for 10-20 minutes. They are ready when a fork pierces them easily. Make the sauce while you're waiting.

Step three. Make the sauce. This is an easy and delicious addition to your sandwich. In a small cup, add about 1 1/2 Tbsp of vegan cream cheese. To that, add 1 tsp or 1 wedge of lemon. Take 1/2 clove garlic and chop thouroughly. Crush the garlic bits with the tip of your knife to completely crush the garlic into a paste (I learned this trick from Bobby Flay!). You just don't want any big chunks of garlic to overpower.

Stir the garlic, lemon and cream cheese together until consistent throughout. If the cream cheese is cold, pop the mixture in the microwave for a few seconds. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Step four. Build your sandwich. Get out two slices of your choice of bread. Toast if desired. Add a thin layer of the sauce to both sides of the bread. Top with a layer of beets, greens(romaine, baby greena, spinach) and a couple slices of fresh tomato.

Step five. Cut in half and enjoy! Pat yourself on the back... your mom would be proud to see you eating beets.

This sandwich idea inspired by a delicious, seasonal sandwich served at the Sentient Bean. <3

Long time, no update.

2010-03-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

Soooo, I've been on an extended vacation! Here's a quick update to catch you up to speed... I am now a writer and producer for a Vancouver based news blog called NowPublic. Check it out!

I went down to Florida to visit my Grandma for two weeks. It was wonderful! I went to an awesome VW show, with hundreds of busses.

Here's a sculpture Mike did of a naked lady for Nude Nite.

I've started mentoring two girls, they love to cook, too! And here are some tasty food shots! Expect a cooking how-to video this week.

little chef in the works!

2010-02-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

My product was featured on an eco-blog!

2010-02-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

I was featured on Eco-Friends.org! My project idea for a family-friendly energy and water monitor was discussed in an article. Read the full article here!

Comfort Food + Homemade Croutons

2010-02-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

I was craving some serious comfort food, so I roasted up some tomatoes and onions to make some tomato soup! I paired with with a grilled sauerkraut and cheese. It was sooo delicious, but missing something... I still need to perfect it, so I'll post the good recipe when I do. I'm not sure if anyone has tried the Lisanatte brand vegan almond cheese, but it's amazingly delicious. I tried the Monterey Jack variety. Not very Monterey tasting, but mm mm good none-the-less.

Another point of making the soup and sandwich, was to use up a loaf of bread that's going stale. I love fresh baked bread, but it always goes stale so quickly. An easy way to use up the bread is to make croutons for soup or salad.

To make croutons:
Break bread into small pieces. Add a dash of olive oil, 1 clove chopped garlic, and a dash of salt. Mix thoroughly in a bowl. Add to a cookie sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Ta-da!

Raw collard taquitos... Asian style.

2010-01-27T15:33:00.000-08:00

This super simple recipe came out great! I know, I know... the name is a slaughtering of traditions and heritage. I'll have to come up with something better later. Tonight for dinner, I was lazy and sauteed some veggies with some spicy simmer sauce over rice. So, to compensate, I wanted to make some raw salad rolls. I also still have a huge stack of collard leaves in the fridge, so I wanted to use them as well. I will definitely be wrapping these up again!

The peanut sauce was from the Live! Recipe Book. I would highly recommend this cook book to anyone wishing to dabble in raw food. Everything I've made is delicious! The sauce is a combination of ginger, miso, vinegar, tahini (I used peanut butter), agave, soy sauce/nama soya and black pepper.

Makes 2-4 servings

Ingredients:
6 small to medium size collard leaves
1/2 head cauliflower, rinsed and leaves removed
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp miso
1 lime, squeezed
1 avocado
1/4 cup white onion, chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:
To prepare collard leaves, trim thick portions and excess length. Next, marinate the collard leaves for an hour or so in half of the lime juice, 1 Tbsp olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. (Marinating is optional, but suggested) If you marinate the leaves, they are a little easier on the stomach and softer to chew, but a little messier. If you don't marinate the leaves, they are a little tougher (still tasty), but stay together much better. 'Massage' the collards for a minute or two to make sure everything is fully mixed.

Next, prepare your filling. In a food processor, add cauliflower in large pieces (stems don't need to be trimmed), garlic, olive oil, and miso. Pulse until consistency of rice. Stir in a dash of salt and pepper and set aside. Next, prepare your avocado my removing skin and pit, and mashing with a fork. Stir in lime juice and set aside.

To make the wraps:
I chose to do little skinny taquito wraps, but you can also do classic burrito style. Just remember, portions might need to be modified to accomodate different leaf sizes. Add about 2 heaping Tbsp of cauliflower mixture to the center of the wrap. Top with 1 Tbsp avocado and a sprinkling of onion. Wrap them up and set them on a plate! Serve with peanut sauce.

Easy Chunky Beet Soup

2010-01-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

I had leftover veggie broth from the spicy tempeh I made last night and also had beets in the fridge. So... it was only natural that I combine the two and make some beet soup! This soup is very easy, but hearty and delicious.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Ingredients:

2 cups veggie broth
3 small or 2 large beets with greens
3 cloves garlic
1/2 medium red onion
4 or 5 collard or kale stems (leaves removed)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp agave nectar or maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cayenne

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare veggies: Wash beets and greens thouroughly. Remove the top of the beet where it meets the stems and discard. Slice beets in 1/4in thick pieces. Slice greens and stems in about 1 in pieces. Peel the red onion and slice into large, 1/2in chuncks. Peel garlic. Chop collard stems in 1 in pieces.

Add all veggies to a medium sized baking dish. Add spices, oil, vinegar and agave. Toss all ingredients to coat.

Cover and bake for 30-45 minutes... until beets are soft in the center.

In a blender, add veggie broth and the roasted veggies. Puree for 1 minute or until a consistent texture is achieved. If desired, top with some sour cream (or vegan substitute)and chives. Serve with a toasted piece of crusty bread!

Mini vegan feast: Spicy cajun tempeh

2010-01-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I made dinner for dad and Jen. Cajun spiced tempeh (protein), sweet collards with raisins (green leafy veggie and fruit), whipped sweet potatoes (veggie) and southwest orzo pasta (grain). I've been trying to include a little bit of everything when I'm planning dinner.

The tempeh and collards are both from Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry. This cookbook is amazing. Being (mostly) vegan/vegetarian AND from the South, I have definitely felt a void of these types of recipes for a few years now. Bryant speaks in simple terms about each recipe, gives a brief background of their origin and even gives you a suggested soundtrack to listen to while cooking them! In his recipes, Bryant tries to waste as little as possible... using even the rinds of watermelon! He also talks about eating and cooking seasonally. Who would have thought! His delicious tempeh recipe is below. Some other great recipes you'll find in the cookbook: succotash soup with garlicky cornbread croutons, baked bbq black eyed peas, upper Caribbean creamy grits with roasted plantain pieces, and many more. If you enjoy the recipe, I highly suggest his cookbook! You can find it for only $8 on Amazon.

Cajun-creole-spiced tempeh pieces:

Ingredients:
1 8oz. package tempeh
2 cups veggie stock
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp white pepper
olive oil for frying

Directions:
Cut tempeh into 1/2-in cubes.

In a medium saucepan, heat veggie stock to a boil. Add tempeh pieces and bring back to a boil. Cover and lower to medium-high heat. Simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from the head and drain the tempeh in a colander (reserve stock for future use!), and let pieces dry out on a paper towel for for about 30 minutes.

In a medium-sized paper bag, combine the rest of the spices. Shake to combine and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 1-2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add tempeh pieces. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning every few minutes to brown evenly. Remove tempeh from pan and immediately transfer to paper bag of spices. Close bad and shake vigorously until all pieces are coated well with the seasoning, about 1 minute. That's it!

I'm a Florida driver!

2010-01-22T18:35:00.000-08:00

So I am officially a Florida resident... complete with voluntary organ donation, voter registration and drivers license. Woot!

I also bought a car! It's an Acura RSX-S. The tag office had a ton of cute tags to choose from, but I went with one that had a clown fish on it to supprt Florida aquaculture. Finally, I'm completely free and mobile again! <3

What's up with bee pollen? And a recipe to incorporate.

2010-01-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

I've had this stuff on top of a delicious vegan shake before, but I never really knew what it was all about. While visiting our downtown farmer's market this weekend, I came across a bag of the stuff. The local bee keeper told me about some of the benefits of honey and the pollen, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Bee pollen has been considered a 'superfood' for many years, and even spoken about in ancient Chinese and Egyptian texts. To find out what I learned about in my research, and an easy recipe to incorporate bee pollen into your diet, click Read More!

According to the package, 'This substance contains a wide spectrum of vitamins, hormones, carbohydrates, 22 amino acids, 27 mineral salts, thousands of enzymes and co-enzymes, and more. It is also one of the few vegetable sources rich in vitamin B12.' Now I know you shouldn't believe everything you read, but I was pretty sold at this point. I decided to do a little more research on the other claims people make about it.

So how is bee pollen made? "The pollen collects on the legs of honeybees as they move from flower to flower looking for nectar. The bees secrete nectar and special enzymes into the flower pollen to create what we know as “bee pollen”. The pollen is usually collected by placing a special device at the entrance of beehives that brushes it from the hind legs of the bees into a collection vessel." I'm sure in the long run, this could be damaging to the pollination of flowers and plants. That's the only negative I can figure about the harvesting process.

To sum it all up... supposedly bee pollen will:

Short term; increase energy, stamina and endurance... as well as a general increase in a 'feeling of well-being.'

Longer term; 'help alleviate many different health problems, slow down the aging process, and improve your quality of life.'

What does the scientific research say? There is a tremendous volume of research explaining the benefits of different uses of honey and honey products. Here are three studies explaining some benefits of the pollen. 1. 'In a placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial of 60 men, researchers from the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, found pollen extract was an effective treatment for prostate enlargement and prostatitis.' 2. 'In another study, mice with lung cancer survived almost twice as long when treated with pollen extracts compared with untreated controls. Pollen increased the effectiveness of chemotherapy when given simultaneously. Unlike chemotherapy, pollen didn't attack tumors but stimulated immunity.' 3. 'In a third study, rats were exposed to solvent vapors, simulating industrial exposure. This elevated their liver enzymes, indicating diminished detoxification capabilities. Liver damage was significant in the control rats, damage that was nearly prevented in rats given pollen.' It has also been attributed to lowering seasonal allergies.

All quotes taken from the two links below. You can read more about the health bee pollen here and scientific studies here. I'll keep you guys updated on my personal experience.

Homemade raw 'yogurt' with bee pollen and granola

I came up with this recipe as a quick way to integrate some raw food and the bee pollen into my diet at breakfast time. Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened soymilk or almond milk (this is only raw if the milk is homemade)

1/2 avocado

1/2 banana

3-4 strawberries

2 tsp raw agave or honey (if you eat honey)

dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Toss all ingredients into a blender. Blend for a solid minute or two, so all ingredients are creamy and well blended. If needed, add additional sweetener for personal taste.

Place in a bowl and top with 1/4-1/2 granola and 1 Tbsp bee pollen. Eat and enjoy! <33

Nutritional Facts: (yogurt only, per serving)

Calories: 152

Fat: 9.5g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 47mg

Carbs: 14.4g

Sugar: 5.3g

Dietary Fiber: 5g

Protein: 5g

Vitamin A: 7%, Calcium: 16%, Vitamin C: 30%, Iron: 5

Kopi Luwak: priciest coffee on Earth

2010-01-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

I was watching Modern Marvels and I just wanted to share about something I learned. The episode was all about coffee, and I had great fun watching it. One thing I just couldn't go without sharing is a little tidbit mentioned about the most expensive coffee on Earth. The coffee sells for about $100 to $600 per pound.

What makes this coffee so expensive you might ask? The beans are actually eaten and passed through the digestion system of an Asian Palm Civet , a cat-like critter. Unbelievably, the beans pass through, undigested. So there you have it.

Raw dinner: kale bites with tomatoes and spicy carrot filling.

2010-01-14T16:49:00.000-08:00

Tonight I decided to do a raw dish for dinner. I had leftover pulp from juicing some carrots and other veggies, so I wanted that to be my base. I knew about what type of flavors I wanted, and the result was pretty delicious!! These would also be a great appetizer if you wrap the kale like a little taco with a toothpick. Here is the recipe.

Spicy carrot 'meat' filling

Ingredients:
1 cup veggie pulp (mine was from 2 carrots, half a cucumber and a pear)
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
2 Tbsp walnuts
2 Tbsp nama shoyu or soy sauce
3 scallions, mostly white parts
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice (about half of a large lemon)
1 tsp raw agave
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cumin
dash of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp mustard seed (optional)

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until nice and smooth. Add an additional tbsp olive oil or water if your blender/food processor is struggling.

For the raw kale bites:

Take 2 or 3 stalks of kale and wash. Remove leaves from stems in large, but bite-sized pieces. Pat dry and put in a bowl. Add a few Tbsps of olive oil, juice of 1/2 lemon, and a light sprinkling of salt. Massage with your hands until all of the leaves are fully coated in the marinade.

On a plate, lay out a piece of kale, about 1 tsp of the filling, and a slice of fresh tomato or sundried tomato.

Eat them up!

Roasted butternut squash, stuffed with veggies and quinoa, along side a vegan caesar salad.

2010-01-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I made dinner for dad and I! It's been a little while since we've had dinner together, so I wanted to fix up something tasty! We had a butternut squash left over from Christmas dinner, so I know I wanted to use that. Here is dad, posing with the grub!

For easy roasted butternut squash, mix up this savory/sweet marinade!

2 Tbsp maple syrup or dark agave
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp, each, fresh chopped oregano and thyme
1/4 tsp salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl, adding olive oil last.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice squash in half and scoop out seeds. In a baking dish large enough to accomodate both halves, pour 1/4 cup water. Add squash, flesh side up. Brush on marinade and cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until all flesh is tender.

While squash is cooking, prepare filling.

Other ingredients:
quinoa (red or white)
veggie boullion cube
red onion
1 large carrot
olive oil
vinegar
chopped walnuts or pine nuts

In a small saucepan, add 2 cups water, 1 cup quinoa, and a veggie boullion cube. Bring to a boil, and then turn down to simmer and cover. Quinoa is done with liquid is evaporated.

While quinoa is cooking, dice two cloves of garlic and chop 1/4 red onion and 1 large carrot. Heat 2 tsp olive oil to a saute pan over medium/high heat. Add veggies. Saute until soft (about 5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper and a dash of rice wine or red wine vinegar. Cover and keep on low.

When squash is done, sprinkle with pepper and place on plate. Combine the cooked quinoa, veggies and leftover marinade from the squash baking dish. Add 1/4 cup nuts to the mixture. Mix together and fill each half of squash with the mixture!

Easy vegan ceasar dressing...

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Vegannaise
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp fresh or dried italian herbs
1 Tbsp olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper
1 tsp ground flax seed (optional)

Add all ingredients to a food processor, except oil. Blend together. When ready to use, blend in olive oil. Chop fresh Romaine lettuce and coat with dressing. Add an avocado for extra creaminess!

Veggie spirals with sundried tomatoes and fresh herbs.

2010-01-13T17:47:00.000-08:00

I

I threw together this tasty and simple pasta after work today. I boiled up some tri-colored, veggie pasta. In some hot pepper olive oil, I sauteed up some chopped garlic, fresh oregano and thyme and slices of veggie Italian sausage. I threw in some julienne cut sundried tomatoes, and then added the pasta back to the pan. I let it all cook for another minute or two and then tossed on some crushed red pepper flakes.

Mmmm mmmm, good.

Happy trails.... to you...

2010-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

So I'm spending the weekend in Austin. It's freezing cold here (like everywhere else in the country at the moment), so I've done very little walking around! Until today, that is. Just thought I would share my wonderful foodie experiences of the day.

I walked for a couple of blocks down Congress St in South Austin. There are about a dozen, or two, cute little shops around, featuring neat antiques, locally made goods and foods. I picked up a few little trinkets, including a great photograph of a Horny Toad, from a guy on the street! (Definitely going on the wall of the camper). The prices of most stores are surprisingly reasonable. Most places were not very touristy, which was also a plus.

After a few hours of window shopping, I wanted to look around for a place to grab a snack. Low and behold, I stumble upon a chili competition! While this doesn't exactly sound like a dream find for a vegetarian, I was in luck. The host of the competition, Jo's Coffee, cooked up a pot of veggie chili just my kind of clientele. The teller suggested I try the 'veggie chili frito pie'... and I'm so glad I did.

A 'frito pie', I found out, is a layer of frito's topped with the chili, with a few more fritos sprinkled on top. I topped with with some raw chopped red onions and fresh squeezed lime juice. Sided up with a Lone Star ("Texas born, Texas brewed"), this gem only set me back $7. The actual chili was quite flavorful, but not too spicy. They used chickpeas instead of the traditional kidney bean, which I thought was a great choice. I sat and enjoyed the atmosphere for a little while and went on with my journey.

My next sweet find of the day, was this little streamliner diner, Hey Cupcake!

Hey cupcake! just sells delicious cupcakes. They even had 3 vegan options, including chocolate peanut butter, spiced orange, and carrot cake (my obvious choice). They even have an option for a free injection of whipped cream into the middle of any cupcake you purchase! For only $2.50 a pop, I'm hoping to stop by this Streamliner every day until I leave. This is definitely a must if you are in the neighborhood.

First meal back!

2010-01-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry this picture is kind of crappy... I was starving! This was the first really solid meal I've eaten in two days. After getting back from New Orleans, I caught a terrible stomach bug! It was no good.

So for my first meal back, I did a vegan 'steak and potatoes'. I made some quick mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. For the tempeh, I cut it in large pieces and marinated it in some lemon juice, fresh chopped garlic, salt and pepper, a splash of olive oil and some Bragg's amino acids (I'm addicted to this stuff!).

My favorite part of the meal, however, was the roasted onions. They came out fabulously... and I would definitely make them again! I was following a recipe from Barefoot Contessa. Now, Ina Garten is one of those Food Network stars that I literally don't even give her more than 5 minutes to convince me to watch her. In my opinion, her recipes are typically very heavy, and full of butter and meat. Besides that, they never seem to be that creative or intriguing. I am really glad I ran out of stuff to watch while I was sick, though, because I ended up watching her whole episode (including this great recipe)! It was a good companion to the mashed potatoes. The recipe is below. I found that I had to make a second batch of the marinade to coat all of the onions.

Ingredients:

2 red onions

1 yellow onion

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup good olive oil

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root intact. Peel the onion. Stand each onion root end up on a cutting board and cut the onion in wedges through the root. Place the wedges in a bowl.

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the onions and toss well.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to a sheet pan, reserving the vinaigrette that remains in the bowl. Bake the onions for 30 to 45 minutes, until tender and browned. Toss the onions once during cooking. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with the reserved dressing. Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.

The broccoli must die!

2010-01-05T07:28:00.001-08:00

New Years in New Orleans

2010-01-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

After visiting mom in South Carolina, I headed straight down to New Orleans to celebrate New Years. It was a fantastic drive. Lots of bridges.

I got Diego a little booster seat, so he wouldn't be bugging me the whole time. He was a little apprehensive, but ended up really loving it pretty quickly! He napped most of the time.

We stayed at a sweet campsite... The Bayou Segnette State Park. Complete with showers, bathrooms and free laundry. We didn't have a camper, like our neighbors.

New Orleans snapshot

Finnnnally home!

Christmas goodies!

2010-01-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

Mom got me a lovely herb garden for my kitchen! I can't wait for this puppies to get nice and fluffy. Yay for fresh herbs!!

chives, two types of thyme, oregano and rosemary.

She also got me a little strawberry plant. I can't wait to see some ripe berries on this one!

Polish Halupki!

2009-12-29T18:02:00.000-08:00

Halupki is a traditional Polish dish that my grandma, my mom and my family make every Christmas and Thanksgiving. For the first time, though, I got my dad's side of the family to try out some polish food! This recipe is traditionally made with ground beef, but my mom and I make it with portobella mushrooms instead! Here is an easy recipe for you guys to try it out!

Polish Halupki.

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage

2-4 cups veggie boullion

4 portobella mushroom caps

4 cups cooked rice

1/2 white onion

1 clove garlic

1 Tbsp Earth Balance or olive oil

Preparations:

Follow directions and cook rice.

Place cabbage in a pot and cover with water. Add 1 tsp of oil and cover with a lid.

Chop onion, portobella caps and mince garlic. Add butter or oil to saute pan over medium, high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes. Add portobellas and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

As the outer leaves of the cabbage begin to soften, cut and remove from cabbage head. You can do this by taking a paring knife, and carefully removing leaves at the base as they soften. Take the leaves and place them in a colander.

Prepare the cabbage leaves by slicing thick stems down to create a unified thickness throughout the

leaf. (I should have taken photos of this step... so ask questions if you need to!)

When the rice is done, add the mushroom mixture to it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a casserole dish by spraying lightly with nonstick spray. Now it's time to stuff the cabbage! To wrap, place about 1/4 cup of the mushroom mixture at the base of a cabbage leaf. Wrap of the cabbage leaf like a burrito, around the mixture. Make sure not to wrap it too tightly, because the rice still expands a bit.

Line up the cabbage wraps side by side to create a single layer in the bottom of the casserole dish. Add about 1 cup of the veggie bouillon. If needed, add a second layer of the wraps. Add the remainder of the veggie bouillon to the casserole dish. Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. (Until the cabbage is tender)

Top with tomato sauce and/or hot sauce if desired. Chow down!

Pizza contest!

2009-12-24T16:42:00.000-08:00

While all of the family was in Florida, we had a pizza making contest! We were assigned to teams of two and we worked together to create fun pizzas. We were given 20 minutes each. It was a lot like iron chef! It was great fun. Of course I could only eat two of the five pizzas, but it was still a blast.

Click read more to see what we cooked up!

My teammate was my aunt Gale. For our sauce, we blended up some toamato sauce, fresh basil, capers, walnuts, and sundried tomatoes. We topped this with some raw marinated mushrooms, chopped artichokes, sliced stuffed green olives, and sliced strawberries. It was a light and sweet pizza. The sauce was almost beefy from the walnuts.

...

Dad and Missy (his mom) cooked together for the first time ever! They made a barbeque sauce based pizza, with chicken, ham, sundried tomato, basil, pineapple and TONS of cheese on top. It was a big hit!

Mary and Stewie made the only other vegetarian pizza. They did half pesto, half red sauce. They used pinapple, mozzarella, cranberries, and goat cheese.

Here are the boys taking the taste test! Papa was our judge.

Ross and JB were the winners! They had a classic red sauce, chicken, sauteed mushrooms and mozzarella pizza.

They're prize was a bottle of olive oil!

Kissimmee VeeDub Show!

2009-12-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the second annual VW Jingle Bugs Rock show, in Kissimmee, Florida. Mike let me tag along to see what it was all about. I took pictures. Lots of pictures. More food coming soon! Honest!

There were four Herbie replicas. They're pretty popular.

A day at the doggy beach!

2009-12-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

Diego and I have been hanging out at Davis Island Doggy Park lately. This day was an overcast, cold and dreary day. We were the only two out.

dingys at sea

Eddie's Carmengia

rusted gate

little Diego on the beach.

Diego exploring.

full beach view.

Pretzel Party! Vol 1.

2009-12-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

I tried some pretzel recipes today! Woot! I tried a couple of different toppings for the preztels. Next time, I will try and mix the toppings inside with the pretzels. Here are the combos I tried:

1. Fresh chopped garlic and Earth Balance

2. Curry, cayenne, cumin, honey and fresh ginger

3. Stuffed pizza! Fake cheese and marinara sauce

Everything was so tasty, and not that much work to make. The flavors were not as prominent as I wanted, but I will try some further experiments, and keep you guys up-to-date! The pizza filled pretzels didn't stay together, so they were more like pretzel 'boats'. But no less delicious!!!

Cabbage Casserole... Halupki for dummies?

2009-12-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

My family's heritage, on my mother's side, hails from the Ukraine (I think what is now Czech Republic?). As a family tradition, we always eat perogies at Christmas time. We try and make them from scratch most years, but if nothing else, we eat Mrs. T's. I hate to say it, but they come pretty close. Mrs. T's does offer a vegan potato and onion perogie, but generic brands tend to be vegan.

In addition to making perogies, my mom and I have also been making halupki every now and then for the past couple of years. Traditionally, this dish is a baked, stuffed cabbage meal, made with ground beef. Since mom and I have been eating veggie, we substituted diced portobella. Halupki sometimes comes out delicious, but sometimes comes out just okay (Expect a recipe closer to the holidays!).

When I discovered a recipe in the Weight Watchers cookbook with the exact same ingredients, I was very excited to try it out! A mandolin came in handy for this recipe. Just remember, this recipe is easy, but takes over an hour in the oven. When I made this, I shredded the cabbage as the recipe calls for. Next time, I definitely want to try and keep the leaves large. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tsp canola oil

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 portobella caps, chopped

1, 14.5oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chiles

1, 8oz can tomato sauce

1/2 cup cooked rice

1/4 head cabbage, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.

(Don't forget to get the rice going if you don't already have some made!)

In a very large saute pan, head the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook for about 6-7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional couple of minutes.

Next, add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and rice. Brint to a boil, and turn down the heat. Allow to cook for about 6-7 minutes.

Spoon half of the tomato and rice mixture into the prepared pan. Add the cabbage. Cover with the remaining tomato mixture. Cover with foil and pop in the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes, or until cabbage is soft.

This recipe did not turn out to be a replacement for halupki, but a quick and easy dish that has the same flavors. As I said in the recipe, I would like to try this recipe with large cabbage leaves next time.

Vegan fast food; Eastern European style.

2009-12-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the break, but I've been without my camera for almost a week now! So, this is a quick little update for an easy dinner and some new found favorites of mine!

vegan sauerkraut dog with ketchup, dijon mustard and horseradish, cabbage casserole and sauteed greens with onions.

It's as simple as that. I have been craving dogs, so I got some large size Smart Dogs. Threw one on a toasted bun, along with some ketchup, spicy mustard, horseradish, and a huge helping of sauerkraut.

The first side is some very simple sauteed greens. I took a handful of kale and rinsed it thoroughly. I roughly chopped the greens, while heating about 2 tsps of canola oil in a pan. I added one clove of chopped garlic and one full scallion, chopped. To that I added the greens, 1 tsp of red wine vinegar, dash of pepper, salt, granulated garlic and red pepper flakes. Mix up and saute for about 30 seconds. Take off the heat and serve immediately.

The second side is some cabbage casserole! My next post will contain ingredients and recipe for that.

Three cheers for lazy dinner tonight! Hip, hip, hooray.

A Family Filled Turkey Day

2009-11-26T18:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

---

This is a lazy post... cause it's the holdiays. Deal with it. For more snapshots, visit here.

Our menu:

Cornish Hens (for the meat eaters)

Roasted Tofurkey (for the non-meat eaters)

Brussels Sprouts with Stone Ground Mustard Sauce

Sweet Potato Smash

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Carrots, Potatoes and Onions

Golden Orchard Quinoa (Thanks to Kathy's, Healthy.Happy.Life blog!)

And spiced cider to drink.

This Thanksgiving was pretty low-key. Perfect. :)

Happy holidays everyone!!

Raw Quickie : Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms and Avocado Soup

2009-11-22T08:02:00.000-08:00

I am really starting to enjoy this Live's raw cookbook. 'Uncooking' has been getting easier, though. I wanted to try another of the Soups. I tried out the avocado soup... avocados, water, garlic, ginger, and lots of lemon. It came out looking like Ghostbusters slime, but it was quite tasty!

Dad thought too much lemon, I thought too much ginger. Either way, it was damn good.

I also tried the raw mushrooms stuffed with pesto. It turned out to be a great side dish, but would also serve as a fantastic 15 minute appetizer. I modified the recipe, as always, to accommodate my portion size and tastes. The recipe is typically made with basil, but I had spinach on hand, so I used it instead. I also added chopped tomatoes on top for some moisture. Next time, I would like to get Roma tomatoes and add a full, thin slice, but this was still pretty good.

Ingredients:

1 package baby bella or white mushrooms

3 Tbsp Nama Shoyu (or soy sauce)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

- - -

Large handful of spinach

1/2 cup raw walnuts

2 Tbsp sunflower seeds

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

De-stem and wash mushrooms. Toss in a bowl with olive oil and Nama Shoyu. Make sure everything is nice and coated and mix together. The longer this marinates, the better.

Add the pesto ingredients to a blender. The suggested order is: olive oil and garlic, (blend) spinach or basil, (blend) and then everything else. Add water as needed to get everything blended together. I found that leaving the nuts a little bit chunky was still really good!

Stuff mushrooms with pesto. Warm up in dehydrator for a few minutes if desired. Top with tomato.

Devour! I'm really looking forward to trying more of my own creations in this realm.

Annie's Frozen Pizza Review

2009-11-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

As I was participating in my usual trolling of the oragnics section at Sweetbay, an overwhelming moment of giddiness occured. Could it be? A vegan frozen pizza?? Now let me pause for a moment to explain my previous experience with this type of cuisine. Before this discovery, I did once try a Toffutti 'cheese' flavor frozen pizza. Nice, thick greasy crust, red pizza sauce, and loads of fake cheese. That's it. And whilie this is just the thing to fill a void after a long and intense night of liquor drinking, it's not exactly something I typically crave.

So that brings me to Annie's frozen pizzas. The first time I spotted the pies, my inate avoidance of purchasing frozen foods kicked in and I walked away. But the next time I was in the grocery store, I found myself salivating in front of that big glass door. On my previous trip to Sweetbay, I noticed there were two options... Roasted Vegetable, no cheese, and Soy Cheeze. Sadly, between my first and second trip to the store, the Roasted Vegetable variety had sold out! (Awesome!) So I pick up the Soy Cheeze and discover... oh it's not vegan. But as I'm rummaging through boxes, about to claim defeat, I discover this gem...

I could not ask for a better option. A vegetable, some fake cheese, and nice thin crispy crust. And only rice flour, to boot!

So... to finish up a long and unnecessary description... the pizza was incredible. Amazing. Delectable. Friggin, yum. (I've already bought another, since!) At the price point, however ($8.99 at Sweetbay), I definitely sided this pie with a salad and made it two meals. So if you're into vegan stuff... do your part in supporting the widespread production of vegan goodies and buy some of these pizzas!

Thanks Annie's!

Sunday Sailing

2009-11-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

I think that sailing on a warm, Sunday afternoon, might just be the best way to spend a day. Last Sunday, I went with Mike from the shop and his friend Eddie out on the ocean for a couple of hours. Eddie has been sailing since he was 17 (now 40). He hasn't paid rent at an apartment for 3 and half years... but instead lives on his 23 foot sail boat. His little one-cabin ship with no bathroom would make me stir crazy... but it's just perfect for him.

He also has a 17 ft sail boat, which he took us out on for the day. I would have taken more photos, but he made us navigate the sails, so I was nervous to pick up my camera in the water!! Hopefully we'll go out again this weekend.

This is Eddie with our make-shift toilet. This is what we peed in while out on the water. This is the only bathroom he has in his living quarters!

Mike from the shop.

Eddie, our guide.

These kids were like 10 and younger... on their own sailboats.

Sailor Eddie.

Eddie told us this is called a gaff rig... the to of the sail is not attached to the mast.

Tattoo Mike.

Baby's First Birthday!

2009-11-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

Drew from work's baby had his first birthday! It was kind of creepy... but it was fun.

They gave the kid his own cake to destroy. Which be promptly ate and vomited.

This is his happy face!

All smiles...

So irritated that I didn't have time to manually focus this one!!

Best. <3

Pureed Sweet Potato Mash with Portobella Steaks

2009-11-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while since I've updated! The job is going great. I've been busy this weekend meeting lots of new people. I just wanted to post my latest foodie experiement. I have to say... this might just be my tastiest cration yet! And guess what Grammy? It was super simple.

I was craving something 'meaty' so I knew I wanted to make some portobellas. I also had some cilantro and chipotle peppers already in the fridge, so I wanted to use that stuff up.

So for the first time, I tried out a Southwest/Mexican marinade on the shrooms. I used fresh garlic, lime juice, a little canola, and chopped cilantro. I thickly sliced the mushrooms, and mixed them up with the marinade. I wrapped it all in a little tin foil 'packet' and tossed it in a 350 degree oven. I cooked these guys until I was done with everything else (about 20 minutes or so).

Next, I washed and roughly chopped 1 large sweet potato. I boiled it with the skin on, until nice and soft. Then, in a blender, I added a few sweet potato pieces, about 1/2-1 Tbsp butter, a dash of soy milk, and 2 canned chipotle peppers (deseeded). I blended this up, and then added the rest of the potatoes. It took a little work to get everything smooth, but they were nice and fluffy by the end.

Then I just made a mountain! I added the portobellas on top of the potatoes, and then topped it all off with a little avocado relish (diced avocado, lime juice and cilantro). I would have really liked to have some fresh corn in the relish, but sadly it's not the season.

Well that's it! Easy dinner for 1 or 2. Enjoy!

Celebrate good times, come on!

2009-11-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

So, I got an apprenticeship! Woot! I start Thursday at Rustic Steel.

I will be welding and working on creative iron works projects, as well as commercial railings and steel projects.

I treated myself to a celebratory meal:

I realized I only had $6, so I spent it on a bottle of Andre and ate all the unhealthy leftovers I could find!

Chipotle sweet potato fries, with a 'sausage', tofu and onion hash sandwich. Mmmmm.

Tofu benedict with sundried tomato hollandaise

2009-11-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

I have been craving some eggs benedict, so I cooked up a vegan version for breakfast this morning. Toasted English muffins would have made this breakfast classic, but I couldn't find any. The only vegan English muffins I've been able to find are Weight Watchers, and they weren't available where I stopped this morning.

I marinated the tofu with a little lemon juice and liquid smoke. I grilled this up along with a Gimme Lean sausage-style patty (fat and cholestorol-free and so delicious). The sundried tomato sauce was simply some vegan cream cheese, 1/2 of a lemon's juice, water, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, and chili powder. In the future I would use a blender, rather than a food processor, so everything gets to a nice smooth consistency. I topped it with a fresh basil leaf.

Mmm mm good!

Fancy in five... Carmelized bananas.

2009-11-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

This recipe is as easy as it gets. I made this a few nights in a row, and it was a big hit. The great thing about this dessert, is you can throw it together when dinner is ready. By the time you're done eating, dessert is warm and ready to serve!

This makes 2-3 servings.

2 Tbsp Earth Balance or butter

4 tsp raw sugar

dash of salt

healthy sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg

1 banana, sliced

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Warm the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.

When the butter is melted, add the sugar. Whisk together until cosistent throughout.

Add salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk together again.

Turn heat down to low, and add bananas and walnuts (if using).

Top with a lid and allow to simmer for 5-15 minutes.

I served it over vanilla, coconut milk ice cream and crumbled sugar cookies.

Enjoy!

Around the world in a day!

2009-11-08T18:43:00.001-08:00

Dad took me to Disney World this weekend for the annual Food and Wine Festival! It was really incredible, because each country offered a sample of food and beverage. Of course, there were very few vegetarian, let alone vegan options, but it was a fantastic experience. And I got to have some Polish perogies! It's quite incredible what Disney does. They offer contracts to natives of each country for 6 months or longer. The natives come and work in each country at Epcot... and specifically for this festival, cook their native food! Just incredible. Besides the funnel cake stand, I couldn't find one place staffed by Americans. That's what I call a vacation. :)

***

Fresh perogies!! <333

Holiday photos and new website!

2009-11-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy lately I haven't had much time to update! I've been traveling, so I haven't been very good about taking food photos!

Some news though... I will be doing holiday photos of pets! Also, my website is finally somewhat up and running...

Check check check it out!!

This is what 200 calories lookes like...

2009-11-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

I finally tasted the Gardein's buffalo wings. I didn't have time to throw together some vegan ranch, so I just had some garlic hummus and leftover chipotle sauce on the side. I also had a little spinach salad with some sundried tomatoes.

My review of the wings? The sauce was right on. Incredible. It was just spicy enough, and had the incredible hot wing flavor. The texture, however, left something to be desired. It wasn't bad, just not as firm as I would have liked.. kind of a tofu/seiten hybrid. I would still buy them again, though. Incredibly flavorful.

I had a second helping and the entire meal added up to under 500 calories!! I try and avoid the frozen foods section (just like soda and junk food), but if I'm ever in the mood, I will turn to Gardein. ALL of their products are vegan and use only non-gmo soy protein. Score.

leftover experiments.

2009-11-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

I tried to get crafty with leftovers tonight and it turned out pretty tasty. I partly smashed my califlower and chickpea leftovers, and wrapped them in a tortilla. I gave them a little grill, and topped them with a chipotle and tomato sauce and fresh avocado. If I were to do it all over again, I'd put everything that was on the outside, on the inside! All in all it was pretty good, though.

ps...

2009-11-03T20:35:00.000-08:00

Dad and I are building a work bench! Woot! This is day one.

new lens! Canon 50mm 1.8

2009-11-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

I was playing with my new lens today... taking photos of everything I could. The fixed zoom lens is definitely something I'm getting used to. I can't wait to do some portraits! (Besides my usual subject :))

In one day, I am soo so happy with the lens. It's quite a bit cheaper than the next lens I wanted to buy, and it's having some amazing results. Huge depth of field and undeniably crisp focus details. I also got a neutral density filter, which seems to be warming all of the photos up just a little bit.

***

More after the jump!

more feet

***

Last nights din din.

2009-11-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Chickpeas (Tagine)

This meal was super easy. I wanted to do a one pot meal, because I didn't have much time to cook. I would make a few alterations to the recipe, if I made it again, but it was overall pretty delicious. This recipe makes a huge batch, so tonight we're having leftovers! If I were to change this recipe, I would add double the called for tomatoes and about 50% more spice. The timing on the cauliflower cooking also needs to be tweaked a little, but overall quite tasty.

It's been a while...

2009-11-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

So it's been a few days since I've last updated! I went to visit my little brother in Atlanta for the weekend. I just bought a new lens, and I'm so disappointed it wasn't here before I left. Click read more for more photos from the trip!

JB and Shelly were both pirates.

I was a female version of Frankenstein! Complete with artificial green eyes.

***

Also, Grammy said that my previous photo of my dad on this blog made him look 'old'. So here is a better one I took before I left for my trip.

That's all for now.

The Kitchen Sink Bean Salad

2009-10-27T17:37:00.001-07:00

This is a great thing to make when you're about to go out of town, or just want to clean out your fridge. This is just a basic bean salad recipe, that can be completely customized and modified to your taste and supplies.

The basics... I would say you definitely need some tomato, a can of some type of beans, and some onion. Other than that, everything is really interchangeable. The key is to cut all ingredients to about the same size, and adding the right amount of liquid. I kept all of the ingredients besides the beans raw, to stay with the spirit of traditional salad, but some ingredients might need to be baked or blanched.

For my salad... I used the following recipe:

1 cup/can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup raw corn, cut off of the cob

1 cup tomato, diced

1/2 cup raw zuccini, sliced thin on the mandoline and then roughly chopped

1/2 raw onion, slided thin on the mandoline and then roughly chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

half of a fingerhot pepper, diced

For the dressing... my full salad was about 4 cups. I found that about 3 Tbsp oil and 3 Tbsp acid worked well for this amout. For the oil, obviously you can add olive or canola. For the acid, you can use any type of vinegar or citrus. It just depends on the flavors you want.

Because I was using cilantro and hot pepper, I was going for a more mexican tasting dish. So I used 3 Tbps olive oil, 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon. (Should have used lime!) Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation is easy. Chop all veggies to desired size. In a separate bowl, whisk dressing ingredients. Pour over veggies and stir it up! This is best if the flavors marinade together for about a half an hour, but is fine to eat right away. Serve in a stemless wine glass for something fancy!

Score one for the vegetables.

2009-10-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

Dad and I cooked dinner last night! It was great fun. We had whole wheat shells with canallini beans and spinach, and Brussels' sprouts. For the pasta, we used a recipe out of CIA's Gourmet Meals in Minutes. I have to say, I was not impressed. I'm not giving up on this cookbook just yet, but I wouldn't make this again.

So dad worked on the pasta, and I worked on the Brussels. While I was cleaning the sprouts, I asked dad, so what do you think about Brussels sprouts? To which he replied, 'well, besides being the worst vegetable known to man, not much'. (I figured this would be the response... I even bought zucchini as a back-up, just in case!) I oven-roasted the Brussels with a little olive oil, rice vinegar, salt, pepper and lemon juice. I also mixed up a sweet spicy mustard to top them with. (Sauce can make anything delicious!)

Dad ended up going back for thirds on the Brussels. :) He said, 'I think you need to work on the complexity of your sauce, but these are incredible.' Solid ciriticism. So, I've sold my mom on tofu, my grandma who hates kale on kale, and my dad who hates Brussels on Brussels. I'm feeling pretty good about the battle for tasty vegetables!

Laced with brilliant smiles and shining eyes

2009-10-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after doing a bunch of yard work, my dad decides he wants to get in the ocean. Turns out... even though the air is warm, the water is freezing. So I photographed interesting debris instead. I realized that looking at coral is similar to looking at clouds... it's interesting how many similarities nature has among it. Here are some findings.

(shark head)

(dinosaur)

(brain)

For a few more, visit Flickr.

Easy Polenta and Sundried Tomato Spirals with Roasted Asparagus Pesto

2009-10-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

It turns out, left over polenta makes an amazing sandwich filler! I was craving something a little creamy, so I made some creamy pesto. It turned out pretty delicious, so I'm posting a simple recipe! This is for a single serving.

Ingredients:

12-15 stalks of asparagus

2 Tbsp walnuts

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp plain soy milk

1-2 Tbsp Tofutti cream cheese

Dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wash asparagus and snap woody ends. Place on cookie sheet and add about 1 tsp olive oil. Roll asparagus in oil and top with a dash of salt and pepper.

Place asparagus in the oven for about 5 minutes. Take out the pan and shake around to turn asparagus. Add walnuts and put back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes or until asparagus is soft.

In a food processor, add the asparagus, walnuts, garlic and soy milk. Blend together. Add 1 Tbsp of cream cheese and blend. If mixture is not creamy enough, add an additional Tbsp of cream cheese.

To finish off the spirals, spread the pesto on a tortilla or sandwich wrap. (I love to use Flatout brand flatbreads best. They are nice and fluffy, and with only 90 calories and 2.5g of fat, they're healthier than any tortillas I can find.) Top with diced polenta and diced, marinated, sun-dried tomatoes. Roll up like a sleeping bag, and slice with a serrated knife into 4 sections.

Halloween Cookie Mania!

2009-10-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Raw Orange Cashew Macaroons

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Orange Sugar Sprinkles

Bats and Ghosts!

If I don't make another sugar cookie for a year... that will be soon enough for me. Bleh.

Maple Curried Sweet Potato Salad

2009-10-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

I happened to see this dish on TV while at the doctor's office! It was perfect, because not only is it vegan, but it contains green onion and fresh cilantro (which I have left overs of!). I also wanted to get some sweet potatoes to make sweet potato chips with, so that worked out well, too. This recipe is very flavorful and not for those with a mild palatte! Original can be found here. This recipe is low-fat and high protein.

It is somewhat ingredient heavy, but very simple to throw together. The first part is the 'meat' of the salad, and the second part is the dressing. The original recipe says to peel the sweet potatoes, but I would suggest leaving the skin on. As always I've made slight modifications to the recipe.

Ingredients:

5 cups sweet potatoes, chopped (about 2 large ones)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Pinch of Salt and pepper

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 roasted red peppers, chopped (1 small jar)

½ cup green onions, diced

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. After dicing up the sweet potato, toss with salt and pepper, olive oil and cayenne. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and put in the oven for about 15 minutes (or until just soft).

Chop the red pepper and rinse the black beans (this drastically reduces the amount of sodium). Add to your sweet potato bowl. Chop the green onion and cilantro.

Next, prepare the dressing while waiting for the potatoes to cook.

Ingredients:

¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp coriander

2 tsp curry

½ tsp fresh ginger, grated

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together, adding the olive oil last.

When sweet potatoes are finished, add them to the bowl with the red peppers and black beans. Pour on the dressing and mix in. Stir in cilantro and green onions. Voila!

Makes 8 servings.

(Sorry for the mediocre photo... we were hungry!)

Approx Per Serving Nutritional Facts:

Calories: 391, Calories from fat: 87, Fat: 9.6g, Sodium 58mg,

Carbs: 65.9g, Fiber: 12.6g, Sugar: 5.6g, Protein: 13.4g

Raw Mexican Tomato Soup with Cashew Cream

2009-10-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

This recipe was created by Canada's #1 raw restaurant... Live Organic Food Bar. Jeff and I stumbled upon this gem, while visiting Toronto. The restaurant features a colorful and warm interior and atmosphere, as well as a host of incredible eats. Cooked and raw food options are available at Live... but everything is vegan. For a small fee, they sell their amazing cookbook in digital PDF. I asked for the books for my birthday, and I've just been aching to try some out! I can't believe this incredible restaurant gives out their refined and delicious recipes.

I started with something simple for my first raw recipe out of the book, and it was incredible. The flavors were amazing, and it was quite filling. This is basically made in a blender/food processor. That's it. I've modified it only slightly. The recipe follows!

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes

4 sundried tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cob corn

2 cloves garlic

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

3 heaping Tbsp green onion

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chili powder

1/2-1 fingerhot or other hot pepper

3/4 cup fresh cilantro

dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

Core and de-seed fresh tomatoes. Cut kernals off of corn cob. Add first 7 ingredients to a food processor or blender. Give them a whirl, until creamy. (You might need to stop and give them a mix) Add the rest of the ingredients and blend again until smooth! Top with Cashew Cream(recipe follows) and fresh cilantro.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raw cashews

1 lemon

water

dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

Soak raw cashews in water for an hour (or longer if possible!). Add these to the blender or food processor, along with the juice of one lemon. Add 1/4 cup water to start and blend. Continue adding water and blending until a creamy, but not watery mixture results. Spoon on top of soup, or for use a sandwich bag with a clipped corner for a fancier effect!

Goals

2009-10-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

So, I just got my first pair of real running shoes! Of course, just in time for me to break my pinkie toe. Awesome, right? I ran it into the leg of a coffee table. It's nice and purple and puffy today. Thank goodness I have the advice of a nurse mother. :)

I want to do cardio at least a little bit each day. I walk with the dog, but it doesn't get my heart rate up one bit. I took Diego for a walk today, and then jogged back. He was not to thrilled, but he'll learn to like it... or accept it at least. Today was a day of moving stuff and running errands. We finally made it out to the beach. It's really looking nice since dad decided to renovate some things (will post some photos tomorrow). The weather here just turned cold, but it's a lovely and windy 70 degrees.

I can tell dad is really happy to have me here. I'm looking forward to setting up a little jewelry studio in the garage! The closer halloween gets, the more drab it feels like it will be. Halloween has always been a big deal for me... even since I was a kid. Unfortunately, I'm a semi-nomad at the moment. Dad's going to California for halloween, so I'll prob go visit JB in Atlanta. I'm going to carve my pumpkin tomorrow, though! Can't wait to scarf down those seeds!

Tofu and Roasted Red Pepper Taquitos, with Vegan Pepperjack 'Cheese'

2009-10-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last night I used my 'Tree of Life' hot n' spicy tofu that I spoke about in my previous post. This product is not too high in sodium, which is a big change from the typical, highly processed soy foods. The recipe I used was a variation on one from Robin Miller's show on Food Network, Quick Fix Meals. This recipe is easy and delicious... and cholesterol free!

Ingredients:

2 packages, Tree of Life, smoked tofu, chopped

1 jar, whole roasted red peppers, chopped

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

Spritz of Bragg's

12, 6" corn tortillas

1 batch of vegan pepper jack cheese (recipe follows)

Directions:

Make up the pepper jack cheese.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Heat olive oil in saute pan. Add tofu, and spritz with Bragg's. Saute for a few minutes and add roasted red peppers. Turn temperature to low, and cover while you prepare other ingredients.

Wrap a wet paper towel around tortillas and mocrowave for about 20 seconds.

In an oven safe dish, spray with cooking spray. Assemble taquitos as follows:

Take a tortilla and add about 2 Tbsp tofu and peppers, and 2 Tbsp cheese.

Wrap tortilla and place fold side down into the dish. Spray with cooking spray.

**Just as a tip, I found that working with these tortillas is quite a challange. You'll find out how much stuffing can fit as you go along. Spraying tortillas helps keep some from cracking, but it will still happen.**

Place in the oven for about 15 minutes. Turn on the broiler, and crisp for about another 5 minutes.

That's it! I served them up with some extra chopped jalepenos and salsa, with a side of some Tuscan risotto.

Vegan Pepperjack 'Cheese'

This is not a cheese at all. In fact, this recipe did not turn out at all how I thought. It comes out as more like a flavorful paste. Nothing like cheese, though. However, I was using this in some Mexican taquitos, and it was perfect. It was creamy and spicy and delicious.

Nutritional facts of this recipe here.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup jarred jalapenos, diced

1/4 - 1/2 cup flour

1/4-1/2 cup soymilk

Directions:

Head oil in saute pan over medium high heat. Carefully add onion and jalapenos. When onions begin to be transparent, turn the heat to low. Add flour slowly, while stirring, until mixture becomes more solid, but not crumbly. (You might need to add more than 1/4 cup) Next, whisk in soymilk slowly to achieve desired consistency.

Proof of America's addicion to sugar and fat.

2009-10-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

'Paid for by Americans against food taxes'. This... is... ridiculous. Stop drinking sodas, fat ass. And stop feeding them to your fat family.

Vegan grocery shopping

2009-10-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

I found some awesome goodies today, while I was out grocery shopping! I made a video of the results... keep an eye out for recipes to follow!

Tampa travels...

2009-10-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

So, today is officially my first post! After spending a few days visiting my brother in Atlanta, my little Diego and I are headed down on our 7 hour journey to Tampa, Florida. We'll be staying with my dad until further notice. We got a rental car for the drive, a Nissan Versa. It was a decent and cute little vehicle. (Much better than my previous Mercury Le Sable!!)

Along the way, we stopped for a bathroom break at an abandoned hotel. It was very eerie! We walked around and discovered the swimming pool, so I took some photos.