Happy Vegan Yogini

Orange-Carrot Juice Pulp Muffins

2011-03-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

I juice every morning and (I hate to admit this) throw away the pulp. I've saved it a time or two to make crackers, or to throw into a smoothie later in the day, but 99% of the time I throw it away. A few weeks ago as I was cleaning out the pulp catcher it dawned on me that the flavor combo of that morning's juice would make a fantastic muffin, so I set out to experiment with juice pulp muffins.

The particular flavor of juice I made that morning was orange-carrot-ginger; one of our favorites, but rarely served because we like to get our greens in our juice in the morning. To make enough juice for 2 adults and 2 kids I use 3 navel oranges (peeled) , 6 carrots (unpeeled but with ends chopped off), and about 1/2 inch of ginger root. To get the pulp for the muffins I juiced the carrots and oranges first, collected the pulp in a separate container, and then juiced the ginger. Raw ginger seemed to be a bit too strong and spicy for these muffins, so I wanted to keep it separate.

These muffins turned out wonderful. They are moist and delicious with a hint of cinnamon and no processed sugars. Because of the juice pulp they keep best in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Orange-Carrot Juice Pulp Muffins

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk
1 cup juice pulp
1/4 cup maple syrup

Start by sifting through the pulp with your hands to remove any large chunks of carrot or orange. Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients through salt, stirring to combine well. In a medium sized bowl combine soy milk, juice pulp and syrup. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix (being careful not to over mix). Fill muffin tins 3/4 full (you should get about 10 muffins out of this). Place in preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan until cool to touch then remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.

Grilled Asian Tofu

2011-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Guess what friends......I'm back! That's right, spring is in the air, the sun has been shining and I've again been blessed with some inspiration in the kitchen. Our evening schedule has been packed with teaching, kids activities and homework and there's been little time for cooking. Not to mention the cold, gray winter zapped my creativity and left me wanting soups, stews and chilis. But now the days are getting brighter and longer, the produce is looking fresher and CSA season is just around the corner. Our evening schedule probably won't slow down any time soon, and I'm still pressed for time in the kitchen, but indeed as winter fades to spring you will be seeing the frequency of posts increasing here.

Last week the weather the warm and the sun was shining bright and I decided that it was a good night for a salad so I threw together 4 big bowls of deconstructed sushi (edamame sushi salad from Appetite for Reduction). I knew that a salad wouldn't be enough to sustain us and that while the kids love sushi and would happily eat the salad, they'd not be too keen on the fact that there wasn't something else to the meal.

Enter a block of Twin Oaks Tofu I've had sitting in the fridge. Twin Oaks is by far my favorite brand of tofu. It's firm, it's not saturated with water, it holds together nicely on the grill, and it requires little to no pressing before use. I whipped up this quick marinade, let the tofu soak for a few hours, threw it on the grill and............mmmm mmmm good! Enjoy.

Grilled Asian Tofu

1 block extra firm tofu
1 Tbs Brown Rice Miso
1/4 cup Tamari
1 Tbs Toasted Sesame Oil
1 tsp grated ginger
1 clove garlic minced or grated
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Press tofu is necessary. Slice the block of tofu horizontally into thirds, the cut diagonally to make 6 triangles. In a large container with a tight fitting lid mix miso and tamari, whisking to break down miso. Stir in remaining ingredients. Place tofu slices in the container, seal the lid and shake several times to coat each piece of tofu. Place in refrigerator and let marinate for several hours to over night. Spray outdoor grill or grill pan with oil and heat at medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and place tofu slices on the grill, cook for about 5 minutes on one side (watching and being careful not to burn), flip and grill for 5 minutes on second side.

Fall Lentil Salad

2010-10-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

After a busy summer filled with gymnastics practice, cheerleading practice, vacationing, and LOTS of boating, I'm back! We had a HOT summer, with a LONG stretch of days with temperatures soaring above the 100 degree mark, so cooking was the last thing I felt like doing at the end of a sweltering day. All summer we had a lot of simple meals, salads, and home-made sausages cooked on the grill. We're still experiencing above average temperatures, with the day time temperatures rising to near 80. So, while the calendar says it's fall, Mother Nature hasn't quite agreed. Usually by now I've been bit by the fall cooking bug....casseroles, soups, stews and good, hardy warming meals. Needless to say, I've not been bit by that "warm meal" bug yet.

I did however have a burst of inspiration over the weekend, and created this fall lentil salad. It's best served warm or at room temperature, perfect for the cool, but not yet cold evenings we've been having. This salad will delight you with a combination of sweet and savory.

Fall Lentil Salad

1 1/4 cup dry green lentils

3 cups vegetable broth or water

1 Tbs Earth Balance

3/4 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrot

1/4 cup diced shallor

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup diced winter squash, I used delicata

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup maple syrup

1 Tbs dijon mustard

1 Tbs Cold pressed olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Toss diced winter squash in a Tbs of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast on a baking sheet until tender. In the meantime, cook lentils in broth until broth is absorbed and lentil are tender (may need to add more broth or water). In a large skillet, melt Earth Balance and saute celery, carrot and shallots until tender. Add salt and thyme to sauted veggies. When all components are finished, in a large bowl, combine lentils, squash, sauted veggies, pumpkin seeds and cranberries and stir to combine well.

Prepare dressing by whisking balsamic, maple, dijon and olive oil. Drizzle over lentil saland and toss to coat evenly.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Avocado-Pesto Potato Salad

2010-07-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Ahhh summer-time. Kidlets home from school, endless hours spent in the sun and at the pool, vacation, trips to the park.........never a dull moment. Indeed, all of the summer-time activity has left me starving by the end of the day, and rather uninspired in the kitchen. Additionally, we have been receiving quite a bounty from our CSA, and when food is from farm to table fresh I really can't bear to do anything to alter it. Hence, we've been eating a lot of salads, and simple dishes highlighting the freshness of the summer's bounty. It just doesn't seem right to alter the flavor of incredibly fresh fruits, veggies, and berries!

In the past 3 weeks we've been inundated with potatoes and basil. I've grilled potatoes, baked potatoes, made fries and potato salad. I've made pesto, my vegan version of caprese salad, used basil in my salads, on my pastas, and on my sandwiches. While trying to come up with something new for last night's dinner, and faced with yet more potatoes and basil, the only things that came to mind were potato salad and pesto. Then it struck me, why not combine the two?!? It was a pure stroke of genius (although I'm sure someone has come up with this idea before, as it's really not that creative!!).

Avocado-Pesto Potato Salad

1 1/2 lbs potatoes (I used a mix of Yukon Gold and Red Norlunds)
1/2 cup avocado, diced
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1 tsp liquid aminos
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 - 1 tsp water
salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dice potatoes into bite sized pieces. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until tender (yet still firm, you don't want them to be mushy). Pour into a colander and set aside to drain while you prepare pesto.

In the bowl of a food processor combine avocado, basil leave, liquid aminos, garlic, red pepper and lemon juice. Process until well combined, adding small amounts of water if mixture seems too thick.

In a large serving bowl fold together potatoes and pesto. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature, or chill until ready to serve.

Meatless Monday: Pizza Sausage

2010-06-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

We love pizza. Who doesn't right? Now that our local Whole Foods is finally selling Daiya Cheese (pronounced "day-a" according to the company) pizza has been making a rather frequent appearance on our weekly menu.

I start with a homemade, whole-wheat crust, Muir Glen organic pizza sauce, and various toppings depending on our mood. Sometimes we do a more "gourmet" style pizza with fancy veggies like artichoke hearts, arugula, and others. Other times we like to do a Hawaiian pizza, with home-made vegan pepperoni, pineapple, basil and red onion. Then there's the Cuban Black Bean Pizza I've blogged about before. Still other times we are in the mood for a good old sausage pizza. Typically I use Gimme Lean Sausage Style to top my pizzas, and we've always enjoyed it very much. Last week, however, I decided at the last minute to throw a pizza together, and had nothing to top it with except sauce, olives, and cheese. I was really in the mood for a sausage pizza, so I decided to have a look around the kitchen and see what I could come up with. What resulted was the most incredible pizza sausage I think I've ever had. I for one will never use Gimme Lean again!!

Pizza Sausage

1 cup TVP
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion granules
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1 3/4 cup water
2 Tbs Soy sauce

In a small saucepan combine all ingredients, stir together, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, and TVP is tender. Add more water by the Tbs if necessary to fully reconstitute TVP.

The Memorial Day Round Up

2010-05-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day is just around the corner, the official start of summer. Time to throw on your bathing suit, slather on the sunscreen, grab a good book and head for the sun. Of course, this wildly anticipated holiday to celebrate all things summer also means it's bar-b-que and picnic season.

Here you'll find a run-down of the Happy Vegan Yogini recipes that are sure to make your summer kick off bash a hit with both the vegans and omnivores alike. And don't forget, Memorial Day will also be Meatless Monday...... so start your summer off right with this delicious vegan menu!

"The Ultimate" Barbecue Sandwich

Apple-Sage "Faux"sages

Vegan Baked Beans

Creamy Coleslaw

Black-Bean Quinoa Salad

Chocolate Chip Shortcake with Strawberries

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Shortcake

2010-05-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks we've finally been able to enjoy some strawberries. I buy almost everything organic, but I do compromise from time to time (check out the 2010 Dirty Dozen). However, strawberries are one thing I WILL NOT compromise on (and now there's even better reason to stick to organic). Because organic strawberries are only around for a limited time it makes them such a special treat for us.

Whole Foods has had their organic strawberries in for a few weeks now, and they've been pretty good. At least I thought they were good. That was before I tasted the beautiful, fresh, ripe organic strawberries that came in my CSA share this week. Wow! Tender, sweet, and bursting with flavor these berries were just calling out to be paired with a shortcake.

Ms. M's been on me to make some chocolate dipped strawberries, but these were just too tender and too delicious to drowned in chocolate. Shortcake was all that would do. Taking Ms. M's request into consideration, I thought "why not put chocolate in the shortcake", and make us all happy. The result was a deliciously moist shortcake, speckled with melty chocolate chips.

Here's my recipe for Chocolate Chip Shortcake. Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Shortcake

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3 Tbs raw sugar

1/2 Tbs baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance)

1/2 cup plain So-Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage (or other non-dairy milk of your choice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a rectangular cake pan or a small loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients. Cut in margarine using a pastry cutter or knives. Stir in coconut milk and combine well. Pour into prepared cake dish and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely and serve topped with fresh organic strawberries.

Refreshing Fresh Mint Pesto Pasta

2010-05-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

If you follow me on Twitter you'll know that I had my first CSA pick-up of the season today, and among many other great things, I was inundated with mint. More mint than I could ever begin to imagine what to do with. I could make Mojitos, but aside from drinking myself silly, what else could I use all of this for? I put the question out there on Twitter and within minutes received so many fantastic ideas I was feeling sure I would get through all of the mint before next week. I plan on making most, if not all of the ideas that were sent my way, but the one that really intrigued me, and became tonight's dinner was Mint Pesto, suggested by Megan E.

The recipe Megan shared had an ungodly amount of oil in it (a half cup), so I knew immediately this was going to take some tweaking......I've never used a half a cup of oil for anything in my life, and I didn't plan to start tonight. Below you'll find my mildly tweaked, and outrageously delicious adaptation. This dish is so refreshing. We ate it as our meal with a side of mixed greens salad, but it would be a perfect accompaniment to grilled or blackened tofu.

Fresh Mint Pesto

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

1 cup fresh mint leaves

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

3 Tbs Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil

8 oz. Whole Wheat Pasta

1 pint sugar snap peas, cut in half

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cold water and set aside. In a food processor place parsley, mint, sunflower seeds, and olive oil. Process until well blended into a paste. Toss sugar snap peas with pasta, mix in pesto. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Almost Raw Hummus

2010-05-05T12:39:00.001-07:00

Like traditional hummus this version is make with garbanzo beans (chickpeas), tahini, garlic, and lemon. Unlike traditional hummus, my version uses raw, sprouted garbanzo beans. Sprouted beans offer many nutritional benefits and are also easier to digest without the *ahem* side effects that often come with eating beans. Sprouted beans, seeds, and nuts are full of life giving energy. I was unable to find raw tahini at the market I shop at, so I had to use my regular tahini, but if you can find raw tahini, by all means, use it in this recipe to create and entirely raw hummus.

Almost Raw Hummus

1 cup sprouted garbanzo beans

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbs. Tahini

1/4 cup water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander.

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

In a food processor combine all ingredients through coriander. Process until desired consistency. Add cilantro and pulse a few times to distribute cilantro. Serve immediately, or chill until ready to serve.

Meatless Monday: Black Bean-Quinoa Fiesta Patties

2010-05-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

Need a meal for your Meatless Monday dinner tonight? Try this quick and easy Fiesta Patty. Made from pantry staples, you won't even need to run to the store to throw this delicious meal together.

Black Bean-Quinoa Fiesta Patties
Makes 10 patties

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 C. cooked quinoa
1/2 C. frozen organic corn
1/2 onion, diced small
1 roasted red pepper, diced small
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried cilantro
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
2 T. whole wheat flour

In a large bowl, smash beans with a fork until no whole beans are left. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Mash all ingredients together using hands until gluten becomes active and is beginning to hold patties together. Shape measure out 1/4 cup of mixture and shape into a small patty. Continue forming patties until all mixture is used (I got 10 patties from this). Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium heat. Lightly fry each patty until browning, flip and brown other side.

I served the patties on top of a whole wheat tortilla then topped each with a dollop of Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream and a drizzle of salsa. You could also wrap the patties in a tortilla and eat like a taco. Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Just do it already.

2010-04-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Meatless Monday, a campaign to reduce meat consumption to improve our nations health, and the health of our planet. By eliminating animal products from your diet you begin to reduce your amount of saturated fat intake, eliminate cholesterol intake, and reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers. Nixing the animal products from your diet will also have a huge impact on the health of our planet; conserving water and improving it's quality, reducing the amount of harmful greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere, and reducing your dependence on fossil fuels. Not only is eliminating animal products best for your health and the health of our ailing planet, but it's best for the health and lives of the countless beings you will save by not contributing the industry of animal agriculture.

While I obviously think that we should be meat free EVERYDAY, I think Meatless Monday is a good place to start, and we all have to start somewhere, right? It's easier than ever to eat a plant based diet. Not only are there countless blogs, recipe sites and cookbooks that can help you get started, there's more and more pre-made vegan convenience foods popping up every day.....even in your regular, local grocery store. With a little planning, eating meat free is easy. Give it a try, pick a Monday, plan an entire day of meals free of animal products, see how good you feel and how easy it was. Maybe next week it will carry over into Tuesday!!

Tried Meatless Monday already and found out that it's really not that hard? Considering the switch to a more healthful, more green, and more compassionate way of life? Not sure how? Click here to read more about making veganism a lasting change in your life.

Clean up your diet, clean up the Earth.

2010-04-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

April 22, 2010 we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. Now more than ever it's important for people to recognize our Mother Earth and the damage we are doing to her. Climate Change is quite possibly one of the most critical issues facing us today. Climate change is responsible for hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme heat and cold, and many other extreme weather events. It's undeniable that human actions are directly responsible for a vast majority of climate change, and it's becoming more and more evident that we hold the key to healing the planet and that key is our dinner plate. As Danielle Nierenberg from Worldwatch Institute stated in the newly released book Gristle, "When it comes to our food, reducing or eliminating animal products is one of the most effective ways individuals can fight climate change."

So, what exactly is it about meat that's contributing to climate change? In a word, shit. That's right all of that shit that piles up from intensive factory farming. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 500 million tons of shit each year. That's THREE TIMES the amount of waste produced by humans. As a matter of fact, one CAFO (factory farm) can produce more waste in a year than an entire city full of people. All of that shit isn't only polluting the air with methane and nitrous oxide (which has 300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide!!), but it's also polluting the surface and ground water. As a matter of fact, the EPA states that the agriculture sector is "the leading contributor to identified water quality impairments in the nations rivers and streams, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs."

Animal agriculture is actually the leader in green house gas emissions. First, even before the transportation sector including all cars, trucks, buses, planes and trains. Forty-one MILLION tons of carbon dioxide is contributed annually by fertilizer production for feed crops. This isn't including the CO2 emissions from the transportation of these crops, and the operation of these intensive agriculture operations.

In addition to water pollution and air pollution, intensive animal agriculture also contributes to the destruction of the rain forests, particularly in Brazil. In the year 200o 58.7 million hectacres of the Brazilian rain forest were lost to graze cattle and grow feed crops. To make matters worse, the Brazilian rain forest isn't being depleted to feed hungry Brazilians, it's being depleted to feed overweight, gluttonous Americans. Destruction of the rain forests has resulted in irreversible loss of plant and animal species and loss of biodiversity of this delicate ecosystem.

These are only a few of the environmental concerns when it comes to our intensive consumption of animals and animal products. If we are really going to make a difference in climate change we MUST change the way we eat. Adopting a "green" lifestyle is significant, but we will not be able to sustain our meat consumption much longer, the time to act is now! For the sake of future generations, we have NO CHOICE but to change the way we feed ourselves.

This Earth Day, make a commitment to begin eliminating animal products from your diet. Do what REALLY counts to heal our planet, and then celebrate the many joys of being vegan on Earth Day 2011!!!!

Sweet and Sour Tempeh

2010-03-23T12:09:00.001-07:00

It's taken me a long time as a vegetarian to warm up to tempeh. I've wanted to like it for so long, and for some reason I just couldn't. I tried everything, including steaming before I cooked it and I just.never.liked.it (other than Fakin' Bacon crumbled into guacamole......). I had long ago decided I'd stop trying to like tempeh and just give up on it.

Last week when I was doing my shopping the tempeh just seemed to be calling out to me, so I decided I'd give it another shot. I created this sweet and sour version, and lo and behold, tempeh love! You could of course sub in some tofu if you too are tempeh-phobic. This makes a ton of food, enough to feed 6 easily, so scale it back to feed less, or invite a few friends, grab a bottle of sparkling wine (Gruet is vegan) and call it a dinner party.

Sweet and Sour Tempeh

3 cups fresh squeezed pineapple juice (bottled will work too, but it's not as tasty)

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 Tbs. tamari, shoyo, or liquid aminos

2 pkg. plain tempeh (steamed for 15 minutes, then cubed)

1 red bell pepper, large dice

1/2 large yellow onion, large dice

1 bunch baby bok choy, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9x11 baking dish combine juice, sugar, and tamari. Whisk to combine. Add in temepeh, pepper and onion, stir to combine and ensure everything is covered with pineapple juice mixture. Cover tightly and bake for 45 minutes. Remove cover, add chopped bok choy, stir to combine and continue to cook uncovered for about 15 minutes. Serve hot over basmati rice.

I served this over pineapple coconut rice. 2 cups of brown basmati cooked in one can coconut milk plus 1 cup of water. After liquid is absorbed stir in 1/2 cup diced pineapple and heat through.

Hippity Hoppity

2010-03-17T12:25:00.001-07:00

Easter's just around the corner, and as a vegan parent that can make you nearly as frightened as Halloween and Valentine's Day. From school parties to well meaning family members, candy centered holidays mean constant vigilance about what your child puts into her mouth. You'll be on a constant watch for Cadbury eggs and Peeps that find their way into your house, hoping to find and toss them before your kidlets realize you've taken away their booty.

Fortunately, as veganism makes it's way into the consciousness of more people, our vegan children can enjoy the holiday in a chocolate and sugar induced mania along with the rest of their friends. With vegan versions of chocolate bunnies, Peeps, and other traditional Easter candies, vegan children needn't miss any of the special treats that traditionally fill Easter baskets. Check out some of these great items to fill your child's basket this year:

Sweet and Sara: Makers of deliciously addicting vegan marshmallows bring to you Marshmallow Chicks and Bunnies (Peepers and Skippers) as well as chocolate decorated marshmallow Easter Eggs.

Divvies: In addition to being vegan, all Divvies treats are made in a dedicated allergen free facility. For Easter they offer 4 oz chocolate bunnies and pastel Easter Jelly Beans. The chocolate bunnies are made in limited supply, so order soon to get one before they are gone.

Peanut Free Planet: Because of Teeny's allergies, I spend a lot of time around candy based holidays researching and finding safe treats for her. Not all of the products on Peanut Free Planet are vegan, but many of them are. These adorable chocolate baby bunnies for instance are completely vegan, as are these totally sweet Easter Egg Lollipops.

There are, of course, many other vegan candies that will fill an Easter basket nicely. Or, if you are so inclined you could try your hand at this veganized version of the famous Cadbury Creme Eggs. I haven't tried this recipe personally (this might be the year), but I've read many people's absolute ravings on their success, so if you are feeling ambitious give it a go. Or better yet, create your own new, favorite, vegan Easter candy.

And let's not forget, a chocolate bunny, or a few cute Peepers and Skippers will be more than enough candy in the kidlets' baskets. I often fill baskets with stickers, temporary tattoos, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, crayons, coloring books, etc. Point is, an Easter basket can and will be just as fun sans oodles of teeth rotting sweets.

In addition to dealing with the barrage of non vegan candy making it's way into your kidlets grubby little hands, there's the extra special bonus that Easter provides.............the opportunity to be the freaky family that denies their children the opportunity to turn hard boiled eggs a multitude of pastels. Don't fret, it's not a big deal, in my pre-vegan experience children bore quickly of dunking eggs in food dye anyway, so there's really nothing lost. Replace this tradition with a new one that you create. Last year we made these "clay" eggs and painted them. Not only was it great fun, we now have keepsakes for years to come.

Holiday's as a vegan don't have to be stressful, with a little thought and a little organization your vegan holiday will be as special and rewarding as your vegan lifestyle. You can celebrate this Easter season and revel in the knowledge that you are celebrating this holiday of new life in a caring, kind, and compassionate way.

Pizza Crackers

2010-03-11T12:16:00.001-08:00

It's pizza. It's a cracker. It's almost raw; and it's delicious. Unfortunately I can't take credit for this genius idea. You see, the amazing Lindsay at Cook.Vegan.Lover came up with this awesome raw cracker recipe, and as soon as she posted it I new I had to try it. And that's no lie. I read this post at about 8:00am and immediately ran to the kitchen to start the quinoa sprouting. I had both red and white, and decided to give the red a go just to add some color to the crackers. Well, after 24 hours NOTHING had happened (perhaps old quinoa.....we don't eat it much and it had been around for awhile). So much for the red. I cleaned out the sprouter and started on the white, pizza crackers would just have to wait another day. Twenty-four hours later, NOTHING. White quinoa was a bust as well. Not wanting to wait until I could get to the store for more quinoa I set about adapting the recipe to accommodate what I had. The result was brilliant. The aroma from the dehydrator was just as if you'd stepped foot in a pizza parlor. The crackers taste exactly like pizza.....maybe even better!!

I will be giving Lindsay's recipe a try as soon as I get some more quinoa, but in the meantime this recipe will suffice:

Pizza Crackers

2 oz chopped sun dried tomatoes, soaked 1 hour

2 cups raw sunflower seeds, hulled

1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 Tbs. Nama Shoyu (can sub tamari or soy sauce)

4 Tbs. Cold Pressed Olive Oil

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup flax meal

1 tsp dried onion flakes

Put all ingredients through olive oil into bowl of a food processor and process until combined into a thick paste. Remove into a large bowl, add basil, oregano, onion flakes and flax meal and stir to combine completely. Spread thin on parchment paper or teflex sheet designed for your dehydrator, and place in dehydrator. Dehydrate for 2 hours at 115 degrees, then lower temperature to 105 and dehydrate for 10-12 hours, until desired crispness.

Store these crackers in an airtight container. They will last for about 4 days at room temperature (although I guarantee you won't have them around that long!!).

Sweet and Spicy Sprouted Mung Bean Wraps

2010-02-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

The days are getting noticeably longer, the temperature is getting noticeably higher, and the last bit of snow is quickly melting away. I couldn't be more thrilled that Spring is on its way. With the sun high and bright in the sky my thoughts quickly turn to the tasty, fresh salads and wraps that are often my lunch in the warmer months.

Inspired by a weekend of absolutely gorgeous weather, and a rather large jar of freshly sprouted mung beans I threw together this quick and easy wrap to celebrate the first signs of spring.

Sweet and Spicy Sprouted Mung Bean Wraps

1 tsp mirin
2 tsp tamari
2 tsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp olive oil 1/4 tsp red chile sauce
1 1/2 cups sprouted mung beans
2 medium sized collard leaves

Optional garnish:
Alfalfa sprouts
shredded carrot
shredded broccoli
chopped peanuts
sunflower seeds

Remove tough stem from collard leaves, wash remaining leaves and set aside to dry. In a medium bowl whisk together mirin, tamari, hoisin, olive oil and chile sauce. Add bean sprouts to mixture and stir to combine well.

Lay out collard leaves and place half of bean sprouts in middle of each collard leaf. Top with additional toppings of choice. Fold collard leaves burrito style and secure with a toothpick.

Serves 2.

Cheezy Teese-y Au Gratin Potatoes

2010-02-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with Chicago Soy Dairy a few years back when I sampled Temptation Chocolate Ice Cream and found out that not only are they vegan, they are also dedicated nut free, which means Teeny can partake safely in their ice-cream. As a matter of fact, Temptation is the only ice-cream she's ever had the pleasure of eating outside of our house. We love Chicago Soy Dairy so much that Chicago is Teeny's all time favorite place to visit because she can get ice cream cones from The Chicago Diner!! She asks us almost daily if we can drive to Chicago (it's a FOUR hour drive!!).

Chicago Soy Dairy doesn't limit their genius to just ice cream either. They are also the creators of the fabulous (and addictive) Dandies Vegan Marshmallows and the popular cheese alternative Teese. I've used all of these products and can say from experience that they really are outstanding.

A few weeks ago on Twitter Chicago Soy Dairy was offering free Teese to bloggers who would create something beyond the typical pizza and lasagna. Always up for a challenge, I contacted them and they sent me one tube of Teese Cheddar Sauce, and one tube of Teese Cheddar.

Last night I used the Cheddar Sauce to recreate a childhood favorite of mine.....cheesy au gratin potatoes. The result was exactly like I remember my mom making. Cheesy and gooey -- comfort food at it's best.

Cheezy Teese-y Au Gratin Potatoes

10 medium Yukon gold potatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 tube Teese Cheddar Sauce
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs non-dairy milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground mustard seed
1 Tbs dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Line bottom of dish with slices of potatoes, layer on onions, then another layer of potatoes. In a small sauce pan combine Teese, non-dairy milk, garlic, mustard seed, dijon, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine and heat to a gentle boil. Pour hot cheese sauce over potatoes and with wooden spoon gently lift layers of potatoes to allow cheese sauce to combine through all veggies. Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly on top. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for another 15 minutes until top is browned lightly and cheese sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven, cool 5-10 minutes allowing cheese sauce to thicken slightly. Serve warm!!

Field Roast: Review and Giveaway

2010-02-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

***WINNERS ANNOUNCED: Congratulations Kelly (with a Y) and Vegan Wheekers you were both chosen by Random.org as the winners of a coupon for free Field Roast Sausages. Send your address to veganyogini01@gmail.com and I'll get your coupon in the mail ASAP!!

My first experience with Field Roast was at GreenFestival Chicago a few years back. I had a huge Italian Sausage topped with grilled veggies and mustard, and my love affair had begun. I love their sausages for the convenience. There are plenty of recipes for making your own, but let's face it, even those among us who delight in cooking still appreciate the convenience of packaged vegan food. While convenience is great, what I really love about Field Roast products is their ingredients. Their list of ingredients is short, and it's all real food, nothing that sounds as if it came from a science experiment.

Another great thing about Field Roast is that they've taken back the language. They don't call their products "fake meat" or "faux meat" or "meat analog". They call it meat.....plain and simple, grain meat. Meat literally means, solid food, the edible part of anything. The animal products industry does not own the word meat, and Field Roast proudly stands up to that. Field Roast doesn't make fake or faux anything. It's real food, period. Meat (solid food) made from grain. I love supporting companies that go above and beyond creating healthful conscious food for vegan consumers.

But sausage isn't the only thing that Field Roast makes. I'd be remiss if I didn't say that a Celebration Roast or two has saved us from starvation at family holiday meals. I've recently just learned of Field Roast Deli Slices. I can't believe it took me this long to learn that Field Roast made this incredible product. I always very diligently scan the vegetarian meat section at Whole Foods looking for new products (which is where I discovered Gardein, but that's a different story). In all the times that I've looked in this section I'd never seen these deli slices. So, after hearing about them, I contacted the company and they told me I could purchase them at our local health food store, Rainbow Blossom, and that they'd send me some coupons to try out some free products. I was thrilled, and added Rainbow Blossom to my list of places to shop for groceries next time. To my surprise, the next time I was at Whole Foods, there they were, Field Roast Deli Slices displayed proudly front and center in the vegetarian meat case. Wow, talk about ask and you shall receive!!

Of course, I grabbed a few packages, and couldn't wait to get home and try them. I have had the lentil sage and wild mushroom flavor. Honestly, between the two I couldn't even begin to pick a favorite. They are both outstanding (so much better than soy based deli slices). I love that you can see chunks of real food (carrots, lentils, mushrooms) right there in the slices. And these little slices are flavorful enough to stand up to the strongest of condiments. I had one on a slice of toast with hummus, rather sure that the garlicky hummus would overpower the one tiny deli slice I used, but sure enough Field Roast didn't let me down, and the delicious flavor of the lentil sage slice came shining through.

Because I'm already a dedicated fan, and because Valentine's day is coming up and I want to share my love of Field Roast with you I've decided to giveaway two coupons, each for one FREE package of Field Roast Sausage!!

Here's how to enter:

1. Visit the Field Roast website and leave a comment here telling me something you learned while visiting.

2. For a second chance to win, leave a comment here telling me your favorite way to enjoy Field Roast products.

3. For a third chance to win, Tweet "I want to win Field Roast from @veganyogini" with a link to this post. Be sure to include the tag @veganyogini so I know you tweeted.

This giveaway will be open through mid-night Eastern Time February 14th. Two lucky winners will be drawn at random on Monday February 15. Good luck!!

How are food and yoga related?

2010-02-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

If you keep up with the social networking sites and you follow anyone who is in anyway involved with yoga, chances are you saw the New York Times article last week titled When Chocolate and Chakras Collide. This little article moved through the internet like a wild fire through a dry forest. Food is always a big issue when it comes to yoga, it's one thing that no one can seem to agree on. What should we eat, when should we eat, does it all even matter?

This particular article put a new spin on the whole yoga/food debate. Should yoga and food be combined? Is the mat a place to share a meal or is it just a sweaty piece of equipment, a tool of the trade? Can sharing a meal after a yoga class be a sensual experience? Should it be? These were all questions raised by the article and discussed amongst the yoga community.

The thing that struck me first about this article wasn't really about the article at all. What I first noticed was that this was posted on Facebook pages, and tweeted on Twitter innumerable times throughout the day , and everyone seemed to want to know everyone else's opinion on the subject, but no one seemed to want to give their own. Things like yoga and food are taboo, but why? Food is a part of our lives, an important part of our lives. The foods we eat, how we prepare them and how they effect us physically and energetically are as important to our yoga practice as asana. However, for many of us we are either uncomfortable with some aspect of our food intake, and therefore avoid talking about it. Or, we are too comfortable with it and don't want to be forced to look at our habits differently. Discussions about food are often seen as judgemental, sort of a “who's yogi-er than who” contest. That's simply not the case. Speaking about food, our choices and why we choose them is just another form of practicing satya with one another. If we are truthful with ourselves and others no conversations are uncomfortable.

But, I digress, back to this article........can food and yoga be mixed? And, does it matter what we eat?

Yoga and food can most definitely be mixed, in my opinion. Both food and yoga are nourishing physically and spiritually. Food that is prepared in a mindful, compassionate, and loving way fills a person with compassionate, loving energy. After all, food is energy, both physically in the form of fuel for our bodies, but also energetically in the form of Prana. Food is also a way of community building. Community is an important means of support for our spiritual growth. Growing is hard and it's best done with the support and guidance of others.

I don't really think there's much debate on whether food and yoga can be mixed. I think the real issue presented in this article is this, should food and yoga be mixed as a means to draw more people to yoga, and to essentially make money. As David Romanelli, founder of the “Yoga for Foodies” series puts it, “It’s a way of getting people in the door,” he said in an interview. “The world is a better place if people do yoga. And if they come because chocolate or wine is involved, I’m fine with it.” I don't disagree that the World would indeed be a better place if more people did yoga, but I don't believe that's the motivation here. Bringing someone to yoga under false pretenses, doesn't serve the yoga community as a whole. People will find yoga when they are ready, and they will find it for the right reasons, not because someone gave them a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of wine when they were finished. Indeed, Mr. Romanelli even admits in the article that he saw yoga as a business opportunity before a spiritual one. “The “yoga industry” now represents about $6 billion in annual spending by American consumers on classes, videos, mats and apparel like the $158 Apres Yoga jacket at the upscale chain Lululemon, according to Yoga Journal magazine”. Yoga is not an industry, you don't need special apparel, special equipment, or any other material things to follow a yogic lifestyle. This article is just another commentary on the American bastardization of what yoga really is.

This article goes on to discuss what has most definitely become a hot button issue in yoga communities. What foods should a yogi eat? Can a person practice yoga and continue to eat meat? I guess the answer to that question is both yes, and no.

I believe that a person can indeed practice yoga, and eat meat. However, I don't believe that you can fully embrace and understand the true liberation, the true freedom that yoga offers if you are yourself enslaving other beings. We must liberate others in order to experience liberation ourselves.

There are some rather “famous” yogis who openly admit to eating meat. One such yogi, Sadie Nardini is quoted in this article as saying, “Nowhere is it written that only vegetarians can do yoga,” she said in an interview. “We do not live in the time of the founding fathers of yoga, and we don’t know what they wanted us to eat.” Indeed, we don't know what foods the founding fathers of yoga prescribed. However, we know quite clearly that they prescribed ahimsa, non-violence. Ahimsa is viewed by many to be the cornerstone of the yoga practice. Given the modern methods of farming and meat production anyone would be hard pressed to say that it wasn't a violent industry. Whether someone realizes it or not, if they participate in eating meat they are contributing to and encouraging this violence. Not ahimsa by any stretch of the imagination.

This doesn't mean that I think one can't or shouldn't practice yoga if they eat meat. I think everyone should practice yoga. I do however think that one should see this for what it is and stop kidding themselves into believing it's something it's not. Excuses only hold us back from growth. Yoga after all is about refining ourselves and getting closer to god. If one isn't doing the hard work of self examination, and admitting his faults, then it seems wrong to call himself a yogi. You can't live yoga and still keep all of your old habits. Words have definitions for a reason, and we can't just change the definition of ahimsa to suit our meat eating. Ahimsa is the practice of non-violence. Slaughtering animals for unnecessary food is violent. Period.

We have no problem noticing, admitting to, and attempting to change our other faults. Take satya, truthfulness, for instance. None of us would try to change what satya means in order to keep telling non-truths. Instead, we admit that we are human, we recognize and admit that we've made mistakes, and we try our best next time to do the right thing. This doesn't seem to be the case with meat eating. This is a habit so deeply ingrained in us that we can't even detach from it enough to admit that it may not jive with our chosen path.

Speaking of satya, you could examine the meat eating habit as it relates to any number of the yamas and niyamas and see that eating meat is contrary to these important precepts that have been given to us.

Let's look. Satya, truthfulness. We are not being honest with ourselves or others when we refuse to do the self examination necessary to see our meat eating as wrong. Asteya, non-stealing. When we eat animals we not only steal from them parts of their bodies, their babies (in the case of the dairy industry), and their lives. We steal from them their very life purpose. Animals are sentient beings. They all have a life that matters to them. Bramacharya, conservation or redirection of vital energy, or moderation. Our meat eating, and indeed our eating in general, is anything but moderate. Meat is an absolutely unnecessary part of our diets. If we are eating in moderation, following bramacharya, we eat only what we need. Eating the flesh of stressed and scared animals also steals from us our prana (vital life force). Aparigraha, non-greed. If we really examine the reasons why we eat meat we will see that what it all boils down to is greed. We like the way animals taste, we like the way cheese tastes, and therefore we continue to consume them, no matter what the cost. Saucha, purity. Saucha is about purifying our bodies through mindfulness. It's an opportunity for us to consider the foods we put in our bodies. Our food should nourish and sustain us, not weigh us down and fill us with the stressed and terrified energy that we take in when we consume the meat of a slaughtered animal. Santosha, contentment. This refers to appreciating the qualities of our life without greedy desires. Again, taking us back to Aparigraha, the practice of non-greed. Tapas, self-discipline. Breaking old habits is hard. Avoiding animal products and living outside the status quo is a practice in self discipline. Swadhyaya, self study. In order to reach samadhi we must embark on a journey of self study and refinement. Examining the attachment to meat and why we are so reluctant to give it up is in itself a practice of swadhyaya.

So, yes, while we may never know exactly what the founding fathers wanted us to eat, we do know the way in which they wanted us to behave. Eating animal flesh, especially in this day and age is certainly not a behavior that aligns with the founding fathers intentions.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2010-01-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a snow day for my daughter. The roads were icy and slick, and it was COLD outside. I love snow days just as much as the kids do. It means lazy mornings spent in our pajamas, and extra special treats for breakfast. This particular snow day the kids were asking for muffins, and I always treat with something chocolate-y chip-y on snow days!! But don't worry, you'll be happy to feed these to your kids any day of the week. They are whole wheat and virtually fat free.

Chocolate-y Chip-y Muffins

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups fat free soy milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven 350. Spray muffin tins with canola oil spray (spray inside of paper cups if you are using). In a small bowl combine soy milk and vinegar, stir well, and set aside to curdle. In a larger bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and chocolate chips. Add applesauce to milk mixture and then pour into dry ingredients. Mix gently until just combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean and tops are golden brown.

Happy Herbivore Cookbook Testing: Our Favorites

2010-01-24T07:59:00.000-08:00

You'll recall that in November I told you that I'd been testing recipes for the upcoming Happy Herbivore Cookbook. The deadline is drawing near and the recipe testing is sadly winding down. I've been so spoiled over the last few months. It took next to no effort to plan my weekly menus, just checkout what The Happy Herbivore had been up to and add it to my grocery list. Even better, it took next to no effort to prepare my nightly meals. Lindsay's recipes are quick and easy to prepare, use ingredients that you can readily fin in any well stocked pantry, and are all whole wheat and mostly fat-free to boot.

The book will be out in late 2010 or early 2011 and I STRONGLY suggest that you buy it! This will book is filled with recipes that are sure to become your "go-to" recipes. While we simply loved every recipe I tested, below are a few of our standout favorites:

Tofu Egg and Cheeze Sandwich

This Tofu Egg will be ready in minutes. Delicious eaten on it's own, folded over some sauteed vegetables as an omelet, or on a whole wheat bagel with a slice of cheeze.

Banana French Toast

This ingenious french toast recipe comes together almost instantly without the use of any obscure flours that you might not have on hand. A delicious and filling breakfast, even on the mornings when you're running behind.

Cheeze Pizza

This quick, melty cheeze sauce will allow you to fix a pizza anytime the craving hits. These personal sized pizzas also make a quick and delicious lunch for your children.

Gandhi Bowl

You'll be able to throw this exciting and delicious meal together even if you haven't been to the store recently. Made with all pantry and freezer staples, it's delicious and heartwarming.

Low Fat Chocolate Cupcakes

You will never miss the fat. These cupcakes aren't only low fat, they are also whole wheat. These have become a frequent dessert around here. I feel no guilt at all when I serve these beautiful cupcakes.

Chicky Seitan

This Chicken Seitan is so easy to make, and turns out perfect every time. It is so versatile too. The Happy Herbivore provides you with a few options for using this "chicken", but it works in any recipe that you would use chicken in. It has quickly become a staple in our home

Chicken Parmesan and Quickie Marinara

Just one of the variations using the above mentioned seitan. This Chicken Parm is so authentic, even your harshest Italian critics will love it. This beautifully breaded and baked seitan cutlet is covered with the simple yet delicious Quickie Marinara.

The Ultimate Dip

It's too bad you won't have the cookbook in time for this year's Super Bowl. This is party food at it's finest. Seven layers of low-fat or fat-free goodness. Included in this dip are no less than 4 of the recipes found in the book: Bac'n bits, homemade sour cream, Nacho Cheeze sauce, and the Happy Herbivore's very own low fat guacamole. I dare you to find an omnivore that doesn't LOVE this dish!!

Chickpeas and Dumplings

Comfort food at it's finest. This is with out a doubt the best "chicken" and dumplings I have ever eaten. What makes it so phenomenal is the delicious broth made from scratch with HH's Mock Chick'n Broth Powder. Be ready to be amazed.

Egg-Nog Pancakes

Pancakes are breakfast here every Sunday. I've tried lost of recipes for pancakes, and this is my absolute favorite ever. I love the warm comfort of the spices. And best of all, these babies are Whole Wheat and Fat Free.

Wendy's Style Chili

I can't say for sure if this actually tastes like Wendy's chili, as it's probably been a good 10 years or so since I've had it. What I can say is that this chili won over my chili ambivalent husband. He's never been much of a chili lover, and this one knocked his socks off. The secret ingredient in this phenomenal chili is going to leave you saying "genius"!

Skyline Chili

Unlike the Wendy's Chili, I can say for sure that this tastes exactly like Skyline Chili. Exactly! You'll even be schooled on the various ways you can eat this chili. If you are a fan of Skyline you won't want to miss this healthy, fat free vegan version.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft, moist and chewy. The only thing missing from these classic cookies is the fat. Your children are sure to think you are the best mom around when you serve these as an after school snack with a glass of soy milk. You won't even feel a tinge of guilt!

Charleston Red Rice with Rustic Yam Fries

You won't believe how easy this rice and fries are to make. I threw them both together as a quick and filling lunch in just a matter of minutes without needing to buy any special ingredients at all.

Sloppy Joes and Onion Rings.

You've probably tried a thousand veggie Joe recipes, but never one as quick and easy as this!! The real star here are those fat free vegan onion rings you see. Just as delicious as the greasy pub variety minus the fat!!

Maple Kissed Sweet Potato Muffins

You'll never know these are fat free and whole wheat. These muffins became a quick favorite of my kids. A totally sweet yet guiltless breakfast!

I am sure that you will enjoy each and every one of the nearly 200 recipes in this book. Keep your eyes peeled to The Happy Herbivore website for the latest news on the cookbooks release.......or better yet, sign up for her newsletter for the most up to date info, and maybe even a teaser recipe or two.

Thai Pineapple Curry

2010-01-22T13:44:00.000-08:00

Thai is by far one of our favorite cuisines. Among Thai dishes, curries take the cake. The heat, the sweet, and the creamy coconut milk combine to create a veritable party in your mouth. This pineapple curry is one of our favorite Thai dishes. We like this one so much it was even our Thanksgiving meal this year. You'll recall that we were in Hawaii for Thanksgiving, so our curry was made with the freshest, sweetest, juiciest pineapple you can imagine. While Hawaiian pineapple made for a delectable curry, this one is just as delicious, right here in middle American, even in the depths of winter. I recommend that you use a fresh pineapple, but if none are to be found a can of pineapple will do the trick.

If you've never worked with fresh pineapple before it can seem quite intimidating. In reality, it couldn't be easier to work it. Here are a few tips to help you choose and use your pineapple. To choose the ripest pineapple begin by plucking a few leaves off the top. If the leaves give you little to no resistance the pineapple is ripe. Take it home and use within a few days. Store in the refrigerator if you don't plan to use it for awhile. If the leaves resist your pull or don't come off at all, your pineapple is not ripe. Take it home, leave it on the counter, have some patience and it will ripen with time. To use your pineapple, begin by cutting a small slice off the bottom of the fruit. Immediately set the pineapple upright to allow the sweet juices to be reabsorbed into the fruit. After allowing the fruit to sit for a few minutes cut the top off (you can save this leafy top, plant it in soil and grow your own pineapple if you like). Next, cut the fruit in quarters lengthwise. This will leave you with four triangular shaped pieces of fruit. To remove the core simply run your knife down the pointy corner of the triangle. Use your knife to cut away the skin, then cut into bite sized or smaller chunks.

Thai Pineapple Curry

1 Tbs Olive Oil

1 package extra firm tofu, well pressed and cubed

1 yellow onion, sliced in half moons

1 small fresh pineapple, cut into bite sized chunks

1 Tbs Thai red curry paste (adjust according to taste)

1 can coconut milk

2 Tbs light brown sugar

2 Tbs tamari or soy sauce

Juice of one lime

1/4 cup cilantro leaves or basil leaves, chopped

Crushed red pepper flake to garnish

In a large saucepan or skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Add tofu and saute until brown on all sides. Add onion and continue to saute until softened. Add pineapple and saute a few minutes more to release juices. Move contents of skillet to edges and add curry paste. Let curry paste warm for a minute or two, then slowly pour coconut milk into skillet, whisking in curry paste as you pour. Add sugar, tamari, and lime juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer covered 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro. Serve over steamed brown basmati rice and sprinkle with red pepper flake.

Faking It.

2010-01-13T11:16:00.001-08:00

Recently on Twitter there was a Tweet that went something like this......if wearing fur is morally wrong then isn't wearing faux fur and propagating the idea of fur wearing just as wrong? This simple statement then lead naturally to the question of replacing your leather goods with pleather. And not surprisingly it lead to the questioning of the morality of eating fake meats. There is always chatter of this sort going around in the vegan community, sort of like a "how vegan are you" contest. Are you vegan enough that you don't wear clothing resembling animal skins or eat anything that's meant to resemble a hamburger? Perhaps you shouldn't even call yourself a vegan if you do. This crazy idea about which vegans are the most vegan goes on constantly.

I say, enough with the names, enough with the "I'm more vegan than you" attitude, a vegan is a vegan is a vegan. I do believe that veganism is more than a diet. I do believe that veganism is a lifestyle of awareness and compassion. I don't believe that vegans are or should be perfect. If you don't wear or eat animals or their secretions, if you don't use products that were produced through animal testing or with animal ingredients, and if your intent is to cause as little harm to animals, the environment, and yourself as possible then you are a vegan. Let's face it, if your intentions are good but you aren't a "perfect" vegan it doesn't make me any less vegan, so why should I care what you call yourself?

But I digress, now on to the issues at hand. Is it contradictory, or "unvegan" as it were, to wear faux fur and pleather and to eat meat analogs? Honestly, and maybe unpopularly, I don't think so. I've not ever been one to wear fur or even want to wear fur, so faux fur isn't really a huge draw for me. But if you like the look of fur I don't see anything wrong with wearing the faux variety (that is assuming of course your faux fur isn't made with dog fur; you can read more about that here). Pleather is hard to avoid. I mean, if you want to ever wear anything other than canvas sneakers then you pretty much don't have a choice (and canvas sneakers won't keep your feet too warm or dry in this snow and ice). As for meat analogs, I don't see the big deal. It's not meat so really, why does it matter. I mean if I'm honest, I didn't stop eating meat and wearing leather because I all of a sudden decided I didn't like the taste of a hamburger or that leather was "so last year". I don't avoid these things because I dislike them, I avoid them because I disapprove of them. They are cruel, inhumane, and absolutely unnecessary to my survival. So what if I miss the taste of a cheeseburger or like the look of a sexy pair of black knee high boots. I don't consume them and THAT'S THE POINT. Becoming vegan wasn't about thinking that cheese was the most disgusting tasting thing on the face of the Earth. As a matter of fact, I think cheese tastes pretty darn good. Becoming vegan was about becoming unselfish, it was about putting my own selfish desires aside and living my values.

So, if you want to fake it go for it. Get that faux fur trimmed coat, buy those sexy patent pleather heels, and find the tastiest, juiciest vegan burger you can find. It's your intent that counts. If fake fur, fake leather and fake meat and cheese help someone give up their more cruel counterparts we, the vegan community, should be happy about that. Any means to a less cruel society is still a means to a less cruel society.

Vegan Crab Cakes

2010-01-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know there are already about a thousand variations of vegan crab cakes floating around in the blogosphere, but you know what, that's ok. I've created my own anyway. Not everyone that reads this blog will have come across crab cakes on other blogs, and even if you have, it shouldn't stop you from trying a new recipe once in awhile.

These are fried, so they aren't completely healthy, but they aren't something you are likely to eat that often anyway, so what the hell, why not indulge a little once in awhile, right?? And besides they are good!!

Vegan Crab Cakes:

1 can chickpeas

1/2 block firm tofu (drained and pressed)

1/2 onion, diced

1/3 green pepper, diced

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp baking powder

2 Tbs flour

2 tsp Old bay

1/2 tsp celery seed

1 Tbs dried parsley

3 Tbs Vegenaise

1 Tbs Vegan Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp Kelp Granules

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and green pepper until soft and beginning to brown. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine chickpeas and tofu and smash with a potato masher until no whole beans are visible and tofu and beans are well combined. Add sauteed vegetables to the bean mixture and combine. Add remaining ingredients to beans and veggies and using your hands combine well. Heat a few Tbs of sunflower oil over medium-high heat. Scoop 1/4 servings of "crab cake" mixture and shape into patties. When oil is hot lightly fry patties on both sides until deep, golden brown. Serve warm with vegan tartar sauce. Makes about 10 patties.

****To make a vegan version of tartar sauce combine Vegenaise with sweet pickle relish and sweetener such as agave or raw sugar. Using proportions that are customized to your liking.

Triple Chocolate Threat!

2010-01-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

Move over Krispy Kreme, there's a new donut in town. These vegan Triple Chocolate Donuts will not only knock your socks off, they're healthy and nearly fat free to boot. Now you can indulge in that sinful treat we all enjoy with absolutely no guilt!! To make these donuts you'll need a donut pan, which can be bought relatively cheap, and is totally worth the money you'll spend on it. I mean, what could be more fun than surprising your family with chocolate donuts for breakfast, right?? These tasty breakfast confections are baked, not fried, cholesterol free, and nearly fat free (if you ever find a fat free chocolate chip let me know!!). For an even lower fat donut simply leave off the glaze, and for a completely fat free donut leave out the chocolate chips and eat them sans glaze. But, I say, treat yourself, use the chips, use the glaze, and enjoy.

Triple Chocolate Donuts

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2/3 cup raw sugar

2/3 cup chocolate chips

2 flax "eggs" **

1/2 cup + 3 Tbs Fat Free soy milk

3 Tbs applesauce

1 recipe Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray donut pan with cooking spray and set aside. Prepare flax "eggs"** and set aside. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients through chocolate chips stirring to combine well (sifting flour and cocoa if clumpy). Add applesauce to soy milk. Add soy milk mixture and flax "eggs" to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill donut molds 2/3 full and bake in preheated oven for 11 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in donut comes out clean). In the meantime, prepare the Chocolate Glaze. Remove donuts from oven, cool in pan until they are cool enough for you to handle. Once cool enough for you to handle, remove to a cooling rack and cool completely. Re-spray pan and prepare second batch as directed above, filling molds 2/3 full. Spread glaze over donuts with a spoon and serve. Yields 12 donuts.

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3 Tbs fat free soy milk

In a small saucepan combine chocolate chips and soy milk, gently heat over low heat stirring constantly until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before using.

** To make flax "eggs" combine 1 heaping Tbs of ground flax seeds with 1/4 cup warm water and blend until frothy for each "egg". You can purchase flax seeds already ground and keep them in the freezer, or grind them yourself using a spice grinder, a coffee grinder or a blender. Making flax "eggs" can be done by hand beating the flax and water together with a whisk. I've found the easiest and most efficient way to do this is by combining the two and blending with an immersion blender.

If you've bought a donut pan you might as well go ahead and try these Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip donuts as well.

7 simple ways to make vegan a lasting change.

2010-01-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Maybe you've seen Tal Ronnen on Oprah, or Jonathan Safran Foer on Ellen. Maybe you saw Alicia Silverstone on The View or Kathy Freston on Extra!. Maybe you saw The China Study's T. Colin Campbell on Larry King Live or you saw Dr. Oz turn a meat loving cowboy vegan. Maybe you say Zooey Deschanel on Top Chef or maybe your daughter bought you The Kind Diet for Christmas (yeah mom, I'm talking to you). And of course, there's probably no one that hasn't heard of or read Skinny Bitch. If you haven't seen or heard about at least one of these things you have probably been living in a hole for the last several months. Veganism has hit the media big time. With all of the mainstream talk about veganism maybe you've decided to give it a try for yourself.

You may have bits and pieces of information that make veganism appealing to you. It's likely you've heard something here or there about a plant based diet being optimal for your health. You've probably been made vaguely aware of the effects our meat eating has on the environment. Chances are you saw the PETA coverage of downer cows on the news and promptly turned the channel. Aside from these snippets that we see on our television or read in our morning papers many of us never take the issue to heart and continue to do our own research. We think veganism is just another "fad diet".....after all wasn't it just a few years ago when Dr. Atkins told us that we should eschew all veggies and carbs and live solely on meat, cheese and dairy (this remember was before he died after suffering a heart attack, congestive heart failure and severe hypertension), surely something easier than quitting meat will come along, right? Sure we think, factory farming may cause pollution, but so what, right, we've got to eat. We've seen the PETA coverage and either don't care, after all they're just stupid animals, or we ignore what we see because we fear that if we "know" we'll actually have to examine our behaviors and attitudes around our diet.

Maybe with the start of the new year you've decided for the first time (or maybe for the 15th year in a row) to actually examine your diet and examine your attitudes about food and the environment and give up animal products for good. If going vegan was your New Year's resolution (or goal) it's likely that on Day 4 you're still doing pretty well. But with 361 days left in 2010 (and hopefully a lifetime left for your new lifestyle) how do you make this change permanent?

Below are my tips for adopting a vegan diet and making it stick.

1. If you are switching to a vegan diet from a diet of meat transition slowly. Big changes don't happen over night, and you shouldn't set yourself up for failure by eliminating all animal products from your diet in one fell swoop. This works for some people, but doesn't seem to be the case for most. My recommendation is to forgo dairy before all else. It's well documented in Dr. Neal Barnard's book Breaking the Food Seduction that dairy products produce casomorphins when we consume them. A chemical akin to the drug morphine, that causes a physical addiction to dairy products. In order to eliminate dairy from you diet it's best to treat it as you would a serious drug addiction. You wouldn't slowly wean yourself from narcotics, expecting to have a little here or there and actually kick the addiction. The same is true with cheese, milk and yogurt. Every bite serves to feed the addiction. If you are serious about eliminating dairy then by all means, just say no.

Once you've managed to kick the dairy habit (which seems to be the hardest step for anyone adopting this lifestyle) move on to eliminating the flesh foods. This can be done either all at once or in stages. For me, taking it in stages worked best. I eliminated all but chicken and seafood, and then slowly eliminated chicken, and finally seafood. There are many abolitionist vegans who disagree with me claiming that all animal consumption should be eliminated, period. And while that's surely the goal here, I happen to think that some is better than none, and that even slowly reducing your flesh intake raises your consciousness to a level that will eventually lead to the elimination of all animal products. Plus, by not allowing yourself any leniency in the beginning, it's my opinion that you are just setting yourself up for failure. Which, leads me to tip number 2.

2. Don't beat yourself up over your mistakes. Changing the diet you've been eating all of your life isn't always easy, mistakes happen. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and commit again. That said, once you've committed to any one step of eliminating animal products don't give yourself the ok to "cheat" and then call it a mistake. A commitment is a commitment after all, even when it's tough. Reduce mistakes by learning to read labels, learning where animal products are hidden, and being vigilant.

3. Don't let your food choices become an issue in social settings. For instance, you will undoubtedly be invited to a friends house for dinner or out to a restaurant. Don't let your new lifestyle prohibit you from going. Politely let your friends and family know of your diet changes and make sure they know that it isn't necessary for them to go out of their way for you. Ask in advance what the menu is and then offer to bring a dish so that you know you will at least have something to eat. They choose to go to a steakhouse? Assuming you aren't ethically opposed to others having free will to make their food choices go along, you can get salad anywhere. So what if it's not the best meal you've ever eaten, going out to dinner isn't really about eating anyway, it's about socializing, you can eat when you get home. Allow yourself to have fun and not fret over the fact that the menu is seriously lacking in appropriate choices. More often than not you'll find that your friends are more than willing to pick a place that's suitable for you, so lighten up and don't let your lifestyle hold you back. And, speaking of friends.........

4. Know that your friends and family will probably not have the reaction you were hoping for (unless of course your daughter is already vegan and she's so super proud of you....yeah, you again mom!!!). Many of your friends and family are likely to feel attacked and offended by your new choices. They tend to internalize your decision and feel that your veganism is somehow an attack on their choices and their lifestyle. Remind them that your choices are not about them, that what you have chosen is what you feel is the best way for you to live your life. Eventually they will come around, I promise, and if they don't then it's probably worth asking yourself if you need them as a friend anyway.

5. Educate yourself. I think one of the easiest ways to make veganism a lasting change is to educate yourself. My favorite thing to say to people is "Once you know you can't not know", and that "knowing" is all that it takes for me to be committed to a cruelty free way of life every single day. Being educated also won't hurt when you are bombarded with the millions of questions and comments you will undoubtedly receive. The more you know, the more confident you are in your choice and your response, the more effective you are in opening the eyes of others.

There is no lack of information available about the vegan diet and lifestyle. Do a web search, go to the library, check out some blogs. The information is all there for the taking, all you've got to do is open up your eyes, open up your mind, open up your heart and READ!! There are many great books available, following are my recommendations:

For your health:

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell is absolutely necessary reading. If you ever questioned the role of diet and health this is a must read.

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. This is a very easy read and her style of writing is very personable. I have a few issues with this book, but for the most part it is good, with a great message. My only complaint is that she makes veganism seem hard to nearly impossible for people not living in NYC or LA. I live in the midwest and don't have access to some of the ingredients her recipes use, and even so have NEVER had trouble being vegan. So, if you read this book, don't be discouraged by her SuperHero plan.

For the Animals/Environment:

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer is a must read. This book is excellent in describing how in order to change the effects of animal agriculture it is absolutely imperative that we stop supporting the animal products industry. He's not necessarily a proponent of veganism, but very clearly makes the point that if you disagree with any aspect of animal agriculture the only way you can change it is by boycotting it.

Diet for a New America by John Robbins. This book really touches on all aspects of veganism, but particularly on Environmental and Animal Cruelty aspects.

For Spiritual Growth:

The World Peace Diet by Dr. Will Tuttle is an absolutely necessary read if you are interested in how our diet is connected to our behaviors. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

6. Make your choices about something other than yourself. After all of the research you've done you'll know that the Standard American Diet (aptly given the acronym SAD) is killing us, and not only is it killing us it's killing everyone who adopts our Western way of eating. Cancer and diseases of the heart are taking our lives at an alarming rate, an there's very good evidence that all it takes to stop the madness is to stop the consumption of animal products. More importantly you'll know that the meat industry is one of the largest polluting industries (second only to the military) around.......our meat eating habit produces more greenhouse gas than the entire transportation sector combined, this includes cars, buses, trucks, planes and trains! You'll know that the animals are not only born in horrific conditions, but treated in a cruel and brutal manner their entire lives. They are subject to cruel and unusual treatment every single day of their lives. Once you know that by changing your diet you can change so much there's no temptation to ever go back.

For me, being vegan isn't about me, it's not about my health. It's about the health of my children, it's about the health of the planet I want my children to enjoy, the health of the planet that I want future generations to have the pleasure of experiencing. It's about the lives of millions of animals that are needlessly and senselessly abused and killed every single day just for the selfish enjoyment of our tastebuds. It's about knowing in my heart that when I don't fill my body with the fear and violence involved in producing animal products I am in a better place to reduce the amount of fear and violence our world is experiencing. And, with all of these things at stake, how could I ever go back? I've heard from countless other vegans who feel exactly the same way. Make the choice for something bigger than yourself and it will all make sense.

7. Finally, find support. Find vegans in your community. Start a vegan support group. Join the amazing vegan cyber community on Twitter and Facebook. You are not alone in this!!

Go vegan for you, for the animals, for the planet, for PEACE!!!

Help me dehydrate.

2009-12-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

Santa was very good to me this year. I got a food dehydrator!! I've been wanting one for nearly a year now, and was so excited to finally get one. Honestly, I only wanted a dehydrator to make these really rockin' raw corn chips that I have a recipe for. Of course, I'll make some fruit roll ups that I can actually let me kids eat, and dried apples are a must. But, I need help, I don't really know what else to do with this machine.

I know there are all kinds of things I can make in here, breads, crackers, etc. So, I'm asking a favor. Send me your favorite dehydrator recipes please. Comment with your favorite recipes or links to your favorites. Help me get some use out of my new toy.

Do the Practice.

2009-12-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

Do the practice. Words that are familiar to many yogi's. Sutra 12 of Book One tells us that through practice and non-attachment the fluctuations of the mind are brought to rest. It's the mantra of yoga teachers everywhere. Do the practice, do the practice, do the practice. Even that late, great Sri K. Pattabhi Jois says "Practice and all is coming".

But what does this mean? Do the practice on the mat, or keep up the practice off of the mat? Unfortunately no great guru has ever given us the answer to this question. And maybe that's precisely the point. One of the great things about yoga is that it's for each individual to figure out for herself.

For me "do the practice" is a call to live in a yogic manner, and for me that means to do the physical practice. The physical practice of asana is where we come to train ourselves, like warriors preparing for battle. We train to battle the citta vritti, the fluctuations of the mind-stuff. The asana practice is where we come to recharge and refocus, to regroup and reorganize when necessary. From the physical practice we bloom.

So, does this mean to do the physical practice every day? In an ideal world, yes. In a world without the demands of human life, yes. As a daughter, a mother, a wife and a teacher, well yes. As much as I'd love to give myself a break for falling into all three of these categories my honest thought is that there are no excuses. Do I do the physical practice everyday? No. I try, but I don't. What I tell myself is that life gets in the way, that I'm busy or that I'm tired. What I know is that these are all just stories that my mind is telling me. When I start to come up with these stories I know that it's time. It's time to get on the mat, to regroup, reorganize and change my priorities.

How is it possible to keep up the physical practice when the demands of life seem to get in the way? How, especially during this busy Holiday season, can you make time for your physical practice each day? I don't know all of the answers, but I do have some tips that help keep me on track and make my practice a priority.

1. First and foremost, let go of any ideas you may have about how long you have to practice. A yoga practice doesn't have to be 75 minutes. If all you can carve out of your day is 10 minutes, use it. It's amazing what only a few minutes on your mat will do for you. Need some energy? Run through a few sun salutations followed by your favorite standing poses, throw in an inversion and a backbend and you're done; Need some grounding? Try a seated practice of forward bending, savasana and finish with some seated meditation. The point is, the practice doesn't have to be long it just has to be done.

2. Try to attend class at a studio at least once a week. Knowing that you will have the opportunity to practice with a group energy will often be enough to keep you motivated in your home practice through the week. While a home practice is often a beautiful experience of compassion and intuition it can be very powerful to experience the energy of a group. Make the most of your group practice, tune into the energy of the room, recognize the feeling that group practice gives you and recall that feeling as you practice at home.

3. Choose a time each day in which to do your practice. Get up before the rest of your house and practice in the silence of early morning. Send the kids off to school and relish the silent emptiness of your house. Wind your day down with a meditative yin practice or a relaxing restorative practice. Find what works for you and stick to it. If you intended to get up and practice in the morning but didn't? Map out your day and work it in at a later time.

4. Remember that it's called practice for a reason. We aren't perfect at it. We accept the parts that we aren't good at and keep working to make them better. In other words, don't let a day of missed practice be a set back. We make mistakes at it. Accept it and try again tomorrow. It's just practice.

5. Develop self awareness. Notice how the physical practice changes your attitudes. Notice how the physical practice can set the tone of your day. When you begin to develop awareness for what the physical practice does for you, beyond the physical, you will be encouraged to practice.

These are just a few of the ways I keep my self on the path and keep up my physical practice. What does "do the practice" mean to you? How do you make your practice a priority?

My Vegan Care Package

2009-12-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

Here we are again, almost a month since my last post. As usual, I've been cooking, and we've been eating, but unfortunately blogging has taken a backseat to life. I've still been testing recipes for the upcoming Happy Herbivore cookbook. This book is going to rock your world, you're going to want to get your hands on this as soon as it's off the presses. It's loaded with so many quick and family friendly recipes and utilizes ingredients that are always found in any well stocked pantry. To see a sneak peek at what you'll find in the book, check out the photos on flickr.

In addition to testing out all of Lindsay's recipes I spent 10 days in Hawaii over the Thanksgiving holiday celebrating my 10th anniversary. In addition to soaking up plenty of sun, I ate my weight in fruit and avocado. Plus, we found 3 all vegetarian grocery stores, and plenty of fruit stands to keep us sustained. Our Thanksgiving dinner was a pineapple tofu red thai curry. Beats a Tofurkey any day!!

Now on to the focus of this post. The care package. A while back I participated in a vegan care package swap hosted by Lindsay from the Cooking for a Vegan Lover blog. I was fortunate enough to get paired with Amy from the Tahinitoo blog. Fortunate because Amy happens to reside in Portland, otherwise known as a vegan's paradise. I returned home from Hawaii to this incredible box of goodies.......................

.....................a perfect treat to return home to!!

Amy took special care to include peanut free goodies so that Teeny could sample. We received a huge bag of kale chips made in Portland, some Mac & Cheese (which happens to be a favorite of my kidlets), some really incredible Indian dal snacks, soy jerky, fruit bars, chocolate agave, a quinoa bar, Funky Monkey banana snacks, some homemade apple butter, a locally made Thai Massaman curry paste (which we've made a curry from already, and it is superb), and shamelessly, my favorite part of the entire package, a Go Max Go Twilight bar (the vegan version of a Milky Way). Amy also threw in some non food items including a reusable produce bag (which I love and can't wait to get more of.....those little plastic produce bags are so annoying), a bread bag clip, a package of homemade note cards, a Food Fight Grocery sticker, some adorable owl stickers and kitty buttons for the girls, and an amazing bar of locally made soap.

I think it's safe to say that I hit the vegan care package jack-pot!! I can't wait to participate again.

Thanks Amy...............you rock!!!!

Have you missed me???

2009-11-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well hello there, you've been wondering where I've been haven't you? I've been here, right here in my kitchen all this time. Right here cooking up a storm. Right here where you'd expect me to be, cooking all sorts of things I've been dying to blog about.

So, why the lack of food posting lately, you are no doubt asking yourself.......right? Well, as badly as you want to know where I've been, I've wanted to tell you even more!! Waiting to tell you has surely been slow and brutal torture.

Without further ado, the reason for my absence...................................The Happy Herbivore is developing a cookbook that will be published and available for your purchase in about a year!! OK, you're really confused now, right? All of this build up and excitement over someone else developing a cookbook, crazy, no? So what, right? Well, as a matter of fact, this cookbook truly is exciting for me. Exciting you see, because she's asked me to be a recipe tester for her. Yeah, that's right, me a recipe tester!!! Along with a few others I get a first glimpse and a first taste of the recipes that will be included.

I've been a fan of the Happy Herbivore blog for quite some time now and I finally "met" Lindsay (aka Happy Herbivore) on Twitter a few months ago. Not long after that we became cyber-friends, we learned that we had a lot in common when it comes to our ideas about food and veganism, and shortly after that she approached me to test recipes for a cookbook she was hoping to have published. And now it's official, she's made a deal and the cookbook will hit shelves in just about a year.

This cookbook is going to knock your socks off. Lindsay cooks real food for real people, using real ingredients that you can easily find at any well stocked market. Lindsay's recipes use whole foods, whole grains, and include little to no added fat. It's good food you can feel good about.

So, there you have it. I've been here, right here in my kitchen cooking up a storm. Now that it's official I can finally share with you!!! I'll leave you with just a few photos of what's been cooking in this test kitchen...................

Sloppy Joes

Baked Onion Rings

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(low fat, whole wheat, and all of the flavor of it's full fat cousin)

For more sneak peeks at what the testers have been cooking up, check out the flickr pool.

Adopt A Turkey

2009-11-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

Say hello to Rhonda and Hawthorn. These beautiful birdies are the the gobblers we adopted through Farm Sanctuary's Adopt a Turkey Program. This year I let the girls view the pictures and quotes from each of the Turkey's and these were the favorites.

For just $25 you too can Adopt a Turkey and help care for the rescued animals at Farm Sanctuary locations. You can even gift these turkeys. The recipient will receive an adoption certificate with their turkey's name, the sanctuary they reside at, and the personality of their turkey.

According to the USDA more than 45 million turkeys will be cooked and eaten in the United States during Thanksgiving. Help reduce that number, celebrate Thanksgiving the vegan way.

Turkey's that are raised for food are raised under horrible, unnatural conditions, crammed so tightly into their living space that they can hardly move. Because they can't move and are deprived of their natural behavior, the tend to peck one another, leading to a horrific practice of cutting off their beaks with a hot blade, known as debeaking, so they will not be able to peck at one another. These birds are also produced to grow so large that their legs can not carry the weight of their bodies. For more information on how turkeys raised for food are treated visit this link.

Keep your holiday table cruelty free this year. Let your meal celebrating thanks represent your values, create a plant based Thanksgiving, spare a turkey, and donate instead to the cause of offering life to those who have been rescued.

Bean and Bac'n Soup

2009-10-29T18:00:00.001-07:00

Right off the bat, I apologize for the terrible picture.....just as I was about to snap a photo and serve dinner the camera battery went dead, so I had to use my iPhone to take the picture. Hence, the bac'n turned out as a large brown blob in the center of a soup bowl.....less than appetizing, I know, but the soup was worth sharing. I'll be making it again, hopefully with a better photo to share.

With that out of the way, time for a confession. When I was an omnivore I loved Campbell's Bean and Bacon soup, LOVED it! This was my attempt at mimicking that. While this soup isn't exactly like Campbell's, it is really good. Because this recipe calls for such a large amount of beans I recommend using dried beans and cooking them in advance.

Bean and Bac'n Soup

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and cubed

1 bay leaf

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp liquid smoke

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp celery seed

1 tsp tamari

4 cups good quality veg. stock (I use home made)

4 cups water

8 cups white beans, cooked (Great Norther, Cannellini, or Navy)

2 tsp salt

1 package Fakin' Bacon

In a large soup pot, heat oil. Add onions, carrots and bay leaf and begin to saute. Once veggies are beginning to soften add garlic and saute a few minutes more. Add liquid smoke, celery seed, oregano, and tamari. Stir to combine. Add stock and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, add beans and salt and continue to simmer while you cook the "bacon" according to package directions. When bacon has cooked and cooled, cut or crumble into small pieces and add to soup. Stir to combine.

Who wants a giveaway??? (Winner Announced)

2009-10-15T10:18:00.001-07:00

*****October 23, Winner Announced*****

Each entry was assigned a number based on order of comment, and for those of you that blogged or tweeted this contest you were given a double entry.....leaving me a total of 22 entries. Using Random.org lucky number 18 was chosen.......

Sarah (aka @seesaraheat) - Congratulations!!!

How about a giveaway.......everyone likes a giveaway, right?!? I know I do.

I know it's Vegan MoFo, the vegan month of food, but let's face it, veganism is about more than just the food. Veganism is a lifestyle. Cruelty free extends beyond our diet into every aspect of our lives. Food aside, one of the most prevalent places for animal ingredients is in our skin care products.

Today I'm giving away a care package of Sacred Herb Creations vegan skin care products (1 tube of Lip Balm, a bottle of Hand and Body Lotion, and a bar of Handmade Soap). You can read all about Sacred Herb Creations, and their lovely creator Jen here. All you have to do to win a few of these incredible products is just leave a comment here and tell me your favorite vegan skin care products. For a second chance to win, tweet about this contest using @veganyogini so I know, or post about it on your blog and let me know (maximum number of entries 2 per person).

The contest will run from today until next Thursday, October 22. Winner will be announced on Friday October 23. With the weather turning cold the Lip Balm and Lotion will be quite handy, so get commenting and sharing, and win these awesome products today!!

Maple Baked Lentils

2009-10-15T09:41:00.001-07:00

This is just a variation of my Sweet and Savory lentils, using maple syrup instead of agave to sweeten. I also left the nutmeg out of this recipe, because my kidlets don't seem to like the flavor of nutmeg in dishes. I love this recipe, because it's warm and comforting, and because all of these ingredients are things I always have on hand, so I can throw it together whenever I am at a loss for what to cook. It also requires dirtying only 2 dishes, and is a meal that comes together largely unattended.

Maple Baked Lentil

1 1/2 cups Puy lentils
3 c. water
1 bouillon cube
1 Bay leaf
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 onion, diced
1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Add lentils, water, bouillon cube, and bay leaf to cooking pot. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook until lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Remove lentils from heat, drain, remove bay leaf, and set aside. Combine veggies, lentils, syrup and salt and pepper to taste in a casserole dish. Stir to combine. Cover with foil and cook 30 minutes covered. Remove foil and continue to bake uncovered for 10 more minutes. Cool and serve.

Spaghetti Soup

2009-10-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw this on Happy Herbivore I knew I had to make it. First, I love spaghetti squash. Second, this is exactly how I eat my spaghetti......a lot of sauce, a little spaghetti. This recipe is such a fantastic idea, and such a creative way to use spaghetti squash.

I made the soup according to the recipe, only I left the red pepper flakes out of the cooking process to make this soup more kid friendly. Instead, I added them to the individual bowls for Rob and myself. This soup was definitely a hit, happily consumed by by both parents and kids! The soup was perfect served with some crusty homemade baguette. We had plenty left over for the next day, and I think I liked it even better the second day (as is the case with most soups). I highly recommend this soup, especially if you've got spaghetti lovers in your house.

An added bonus of this soup is that it's quick, easy and cheap to make. With the exception of the squash it was made with all things that I already had on hand.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Donuts

2009-10-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

It's been raining, and raining, and raining. All of the rain led to some flooding, and due to the flooding the kidlets had an unexpected day off of school. I promised the smallest kidlet earlier this week that I'd make some donuts for breakfast this weekend. Since we were rained in, today seemed like the perfect day to do that. I had some pumpkin puree lurking in my refrigerator that needed to get used up, so decided I'd throw it into the donuts and see what happened.

What happened was the best homemade donuts I've made. They were so good I was declared the "bestest mom in the World".

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Donuts
with Pumpkin Cinnamon Drizzle
makes 10

2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2/3 cup raw sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 Tbs melted Earth Balance
3 generous Tbs pumpkin puree
1 c. soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 Tbs powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil donut pan and set aside. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients, including chocolate chips. Whisk to combine well. In a small bowl combine all wet ingredients, plus cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine, then mix into dry ingredients. Spoon batter into donut molds about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes, until toothpick inserted in donuts comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling rack and cool completely before adding drizzle.

Once donuts are completely cool, in a small bowl combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin puree. Stir briskly with a fork until mixture thickens. Adding up to 1/4 tsp soy milk if necessary. Drizzle over cool donuts.

Vegan MoFo Day 3: Apple-Sage "faux"sages

2009-10-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

I am sure most of you have seen or heard of the gourmet sausages that they are selling at some of the stores these days. They've got everything from Thai Curry sausage to Mexican Chipotle and everything in between. Back in the day, sausage used to be one of my husbands favorite food, so upon going veg, sausage was one of the first things I learned to recreate. Keeping with my thing of "Go Veg, you won't miss a thing", today I present you with sausage (the original from Isa's blog and my gourmet apple-sage variation).

I've been making these Italian sausages from VeganDad (via Isa) for awhile now. They are always a big hit. I get 6 sausages from the recipe and it only costs me about $2.00 to make them. A good deal compared to the nearly $6.00 I'd pay for a package of 4 Field Roast Italian sausages. And to be completely honest, I think the homemade version beats the store bought version any day. Field Roast are good, and convenient for when you are short on time, but these sausages will have you quickly finding the time to steam some up. They take only minutes to throw together, then you just pop them in the steamer for about 45 minutes. Once they've steamed they can be eaten right away. They are good sliced into pasta sauces, lasagna, or on pizza. Our favorite way to eat them is thrown on a heated grill just long enough to impart some of that delicious smoky grill flavor.

The awesome thing about this recipe is you can take the basic idea and turn it into whatever gourmet variation you desire. With fall coming I decided to use the basic recipe for sausages and change the seasonings to make an apple-sage variation:

Apple Sage Fauxsages

1/2 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cold vegetable broth
1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs pure maple syrup
1 small apple, diced very small
1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

Before you get started, get your steaming apparatus ready, this recipe comes together quickly. Have 6 squares of aluminum foil ready as well.

In a large bowl mash the beans until no whole beans are left. Add all of the other ingredients, and mix well with a fork. I finish off by squishing it all around good with my hands. Then divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Place one part on each square of foil and mold into about a 5 inch log (don't worry about making it too perfect, they expand into perfect sausage shapes as they steam). Roll the log up in the foil, twisting the ends to seal (like a Tootsie Roll). Place in steamer and steam for about 45 minutes, until they feel firm to the touch. Remove from steamer, and unwrap to cool.

For a perfect autumnal meal I served these with roasted butternut squash and roasted beets, with a side of sauteed red chard and caramelized onions. Veggies roast up largely unattended and the chard cooks up in minutes. With a little planning, and a little hands on time you too can enjoy this delicious meal.

Apple Chip Winners Announced.....

2009-10-03T06:03:00.001-07:00

Congratulations ladies.............You are now the proud owners of a month's supply of Yogavive Apple Chips!! Just send your names and mailling addresses to veganyogini01 at gmail dot com, and the Apple Chips will be on their way!!

Thanks to everyone who entered. For everyone who didn't win, visit Everything Flows Onward for another chance to win!!!

Vegan MoFo Day 2: The MoFo Meme

2009-10-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

You knew it was coming right? Another meme. It had to happen, it's VeganMoFo and we all have to have something to post every weekday for a month......what better way to fill some of those posts than a meme so we can get to know each other a little better. All the MoFo'ers are doing it, and you should too!!

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?

Pacific Vanilla Oat Milk and Tempt Vanilla Hemp Milk

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?

Plans?? I'm supposed to have plans?? I don't have a plan for lunch, let alone the whole month.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?

Popped on the stove in olive oil sprinkled with a little sugar and a little salt

4.Most disastrous recipe/meal failure

My first attempt at seitan can't even be described as a disaster. It was the.most.disgusting.thing.EVER!!

5. Favorite pickled item?

Cucumbers and peppers

6. How do you organize your recipes?

I throw them all in a drawer in my kitchen and dig through them when I need them

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?

Traash and recylce, garbage disposal too!!

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

Larabars, avocados, dinosaur kale

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

Nothing really stands out, I guess eating cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving morning, a tradition I carried on with my kids

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?

There are many, but I really love Chicago Soy Dairy's Temptation, chocolate. I love it because it's made in a dedicated nut free facility so my allergic daughter can eat it too.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?

My juicer, hands down

12. Spice/herb you would die without?

Red pepper flakes

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

The cookbook I've owned longest is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. The vegan cookbook I've had longest is Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Strawberry

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

Oh, there are lots, it depends on the friend. Chili is pretty universal, thai curries always go over well,

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

seitan

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

I don't have a favorite, I just like to cook........in the evening

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

Blender, platters and a gravy boat.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

Fruit, vital wheat gluten, corn

20. What’s on your grocery list?

You don't want to know....tomorrow is shopping day, so the list is LONG

21. Favorite grocery store?

Whole Foods Market, and Rainbow Blossom

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

There's nothing really, like I said, not a lot of food memories (my mom didn't cook) and I've veganized my grandma's famous macaroni sala

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?

Happy Herbivore, Vegan Dad, The Urban Vegan

24.Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Not a huge candy fan, but I love any dark chocolate

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

I don't usually purchase extravagant food items

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?

I'm scared of nothing.........especially if I have a good recipe

Vegan MoFo Day 1: Pizza

2009-10-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here's the deal, I'm one busy MoFo'er and I'm just now getting around to my first MoFo post. Almost 24 hours into day one, and I'm just now posting. And yes, for my first post, that is a pizza you are seeing. So, now you're thinking to yourself "damn, she's one lazy MoFo'er too" aren't ya? Call it what you will, lazy, ordinary, yada, yada, yada.....no matter what you say about it all I know is it was damn good!!

So, VeganMoFo, write about veganism every week day for one month. Quite a challenge. Made even more of a challenge by my fellow MoFo'ers who will go out of their way to create some of the most incredible food you've ever put in your mouth. Now not only do I have to remember to blog daily, but I have to get creative in the kitchen again too, sheesh.

I promise, I will create, I will post exotic, or at least not ordinary dishes, yes, I'll do all of that stuff.......but, I have a theme for MoFo this year and it's "Go Vegan: You won't miss a thing". Let's be honest, it's not hard to get a veggie lover to try out vegan, but what about those people that are just so attached to their meat and dairy. You know the one's......"I could never give up cheese", or "I could never stop eating hamburgers", or "but, I need my protein". Yes, we all know those people. So, this year for MoFo, I've set out to show them that they can eat EVERYTHING they used to eat, only minus the icky animal ingredients. Ok, so maybe not everything, steak lovers will have to say good-bye to that addiction. I mean, I can fake a lot of meals, but there's really no way to fake a still bloody piece of flesh on your plate, know what I mean?

I'm kicking MoFo off with pizza, because almost everyone loves pizza, and when you tell someone you are vegan they almost always ask, "but don't you miss eating pizza". Um, no I don't miss eating pizza, because, well, I still eat it. And I still eat it with "sausage" and "pepperoni" and "cheese".........and you know what else? It's good, it's very good, it's damn good.

YogaVive Apple Chips: Giveaway

2009-09-24T17:41:00.001-07:00

Those of you who know me in real life or from Twitter know how much I love YogaVive Apple Chips (commonly referred to as YogaChips in my household!). I tell everyone I know about them. They are a guilt-free snack for kids and adults alike. I carry a few packs with me everywhere I go. After all, you never know when hunger will strike!!

Now you have a chance to try YogaVive Apple Chips for yourself. Just read my review of YogaVive Apple Chips at Examiner.com. Leave a comment on this blog post telling me 2 places where my family has enjoyed YogaVive Apple Chips and you will be entered to win. Two lucky winners will be chosen at random, by my two teeny vegan yogini's, and will be awarded with a free month's supply of YogaVive Apple Chips. Winners to be announced next Friday, October 2nd.

Guac-adilla

2009-09-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

This idea comes from one of my favorite restaurants, The Grape Leaf. I love, love, love their avocado wrap. It's basically guacamole wrapped into a flour tortilla and grilled. I get it without the cheese and it's delicious. Today being National Guacamole Day I thought I'd do a version of the avocado wrap. Unfortunately all I had was small 10 inch tortillas, so I decided to take the idea and turn it into a guac-adilla.

Use this simple recipe for guacamole. Just spread it onto a whole wheat tortilla, top with another and either press in a panini press or toast in a dry skillet. I had mine served with a dollop of Tofutti Better than Sour Cream, and drizzled with some mild salsa. A delicious, filling lunch, or cut smaller as an appetizer for a Mexican fiesta.

Raw Tomato Basil Soup

2009-09-09T10:58:00.001-07:00

For most of the summer I've eaten a High Raw diet, meaning that I've included a high percentage of raw foods each day. Typically I've done raw until dinner. On the high raw diet I've never felt better. It really is incredible what eating whole, living foods can do for you.

Over the past week or so I've really gotten away from this style of eating and have been eating more cooked foods, more left overs, and a lot more carbs. I woke up this morning knowing that something needed to change. While I always include a variety of vegetables, and eat mostly healthy foods, nothing nourishes my body like raw foods do. So today I am back on the high raw diet, and in just this one day can already feel a difference in my energy levels, in my mental clarity, and in the waistline of my pants!!

This delicious raw soup is a fantastic way to savor the last of summer's tomatoes, yet hearty enough to enjoy on a cool day as well. An added bonus is that raw foods are often quick and easy to prepare and require very little clean up.

Raw Tomato Basil Soup
enough for 1 bowl

3 medium tomatoes, peeled and cored

6 or 7 basil leaves

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 tsp Raw Blue agave

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Put all ingredients in to a blender and puree until desired consistency. You can leave some of the tomatoes slightly chunky if you prefer.

VeganXpress Winner

2009-09-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Using the Random number generator at Random.org............our winner is, lucky number 5. Congratulations Lynne, you'll never be stuck at a chain restaurant wondering what to eat again!!

You will be able to download the VeganXpress app using a coupon code that I will supply to you. E-mail me at veganyogini01 (at) gmail (dot) com with your e-mail address and I'll send you the coupon code!!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 5 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Cuban Black Bean Pizza

2009-09-05T19:16:00.001-07:00

This delicious pizza is a veganized throwback to my college days. Avers's Pizza in Bloomington serves up an array of gourmet pizzas, and Cuban Black Bean happens to be one of those. This pizza uses cilantro pesto to replace the tomato sauce, then black beans spiced with cumin are layered on the pesto. From here the topping choices are endless, but we pretty consistently use, sliced roma tomatoes, sliced red onion, pepperoncini, and Follow Your Heart Mozzarella.

For this pizza you'll need one pizza shell. Store bought is fine, but I prefer to make my own, and make it whole wheat. I use my bread machine and it makes it very quick and easy. You'll also need one can or 2 cups of cooked black beans, seasoned with about 1/2 Tbs. ground cumin.

Cilantro Pesto

1 bunch organic cilantro, washed and well dried
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
olive oil

In a food processor combine first 3 ingredients, pulsing to chop and combine well. Then, with machine running drizzle in olive oil until pesto is at your desired consistency. I probably use about 1/8 cup.

Assembling Pizza:

Preheat oven and pizza stone to 450 degrees. If using home made crust, roll or toss into a circle measuring about 12 inches. Poke with a fork, and place on heated pizza stone. Bake for about 3-4 minutes. Remove crust from oven (or if using store bought crust begin here). Spread pesto to within 1-2 inches of edge of crust. Spread beans on top of pest. Layer on chosen ingredients and sprinkle with FYH. Bake in preheated oven on pizza stone for 7-10 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown and FYH is beginning to melt.

VeganXpress Giveaway

2009-09-04T05:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been invited to dinner with your friends and family, they've decided to go to Outback Steakhouse and you immediately think "Ack, what's a vegan going to eat at a Steakhouse?"? For me, part of my vegan advocacy is to always show people how easy it is to be a vegan, and turning down a dinner invitation sure doesn't send that message, does it. And who among us hasn't been on a roadtrip, it's dinner time, you're in the middle of nowhere, chain restaurants abound and you wonder where you are going to find anything vegan.

Wouldn't it be nice if restaurants were required to label which of their menu items are vegan? Unfortunately they don't, but now they don't need to!! With the VeganXpress app for your iPhone or iTouch you'll never wonder what you can eat at a chain restaurant again. This app has saved me from the tedious task of interrogating the server about ingredients, and has saved me from settling for just salad.

With a listing for over 100 popular chains, the vegan menu is right at your fingertips. VeganXpress also has a complete listing of junk foods that you never knew were vegan and a listing of vegan beer and wine to boot.

If you are an iPhone/iTouch user, or know one that would love this app leave a comment and tell me what your favorite vegan find at a chain restaurant is. Tweet this contest or post on facebook and receive an extra entry, just be sure to leave another comment that you tweeted or facebooked! Winner will be chosen at random and announced on Wednesday September 9.

Whole-wheat Blueberry Flax Muffins

2009-09-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

It's only week number 4 of school, and I'm already racking my brain to come up with healthy breakfast options that M will actually eat. She is not a morning person, and in turn is not a breakfast person. She loves tofu scramble for dinner, but surprisingly won't touch it at breakfast and she whines every time I put cereal on the table. Add to that, breakfast need to be quick, and you've got one stressful situation in the morning.

For the past few weeks she's either been eating toasted Sprouted Grain bagels or Whole-wheat Flax pancakes (which I make in big batches and freeze for use through the week). With a little time off from teaching yoga this week I decided to develop a muffin that was both good and mostly guilt free. These muffins are 100% whole wheat, contain very little sugar, and supply you with half of your daily requirement of Omega-3 fatty acid. In addition, unlike most whole wheat and healthy muffins, these are not dense. They are moist and cakey, just like a muffin should be.

Whole-wheat Blueberry Flax Muffins

Makes 24 full size muffins or 48 mini's

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1 cup flax meal (or ground whole flax seeds)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cup low fat soy milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 24 cups muffin tins. Because this recipe is low in fat it's helpful to lightly spray the liners with a small amount of oil to prevent sticking. Combine all dry ingredients. Add milk and oil. Stir just until combined (do not over mix or muffins will be tough). Gently fold in blueberries. Bake 25-30 minutes (15-20 minutes for mini's). Remove to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Ratatouille wraps

2009-09-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

I picked up some beautiful Japanese eggplant at the Farmer's Market over the weekend. I'm a sucker for eggplant, I think it's beautiful, and I've found several different recipes I like to use it in. My family however DO NOT like eggplant. So, whenever I give in to the urge to buy and eggplant I'm always faced with the difficult challenge of finding some way that my family will eat it. Baba ganoush and simple breaded and baked eggplant are about the only ways I've found to please the crowd. These eggplant however were on the smallish side and didn't seem well suited to either. Since my youngest daughter LOVES zucchini I thought maybe ratatouille would do the trick. Knowing my family like I do, a big pile of soft, mushy veg on their plate just isn't going to get any lips smackin'. Put nearly anything inside a whole wheat tortilla and that's a different story. Enter, ratatouille wraps. These wraps have all of the ingredients of a traditional ratatouille, only they are cooked quickly on the stove top and rolled in a tortilla.

Ratatouille Wraps

3 small Japanese eggplant, sliced

1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil

2 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbs pure maple syrup

4 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

4 large whole wheat wrappers

Heat a few Tbs of olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Add eggplant and zucchini and saute until beginning to soften. Add onions and peppers, saute a few minutes more. Add garlic and saute until garlic is fragrant. Add in diced tomatoes with their juices. Gently stir in herbs, then bring to a slow boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, until all vegetables are soft and tender. Add in maple syrup and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. With a slotted spoon place about 1/2 cup ratatouille in the center of a large warm wrapper, sprinkle with about 1 Tbs chopped parley and roll burrito style.

BBQ Ribz

2009-08-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

Something that I don't do enough of is cooking out on the grill. It's the perfect way to enjoy a tasty meal on a hot summer day! Plus, there's something nostalgic about cooking a meal on the grill and eating outdoors. Some may think that a vegan diet limits your options for grilling. That couldn't be further from the truth, from home made or store bought vegan sausages to tofu to veggie kabobs vegan options for the grill abound.

A while back The Happy Herbivore posted a link to a recipe for vegan ribs, as well as a link to her mustard based barbecue sauce. The recipe immediately had me wondering how they would stand up to the grill.

Let me be the first to say that these ribs are awesome on the grill. I followed the recipe exactly adding the liquid smoke and paprika suggested by Lindsay. I cooked them the full amount in the oven. When the seitan ribs were finished baking I removed them from the pan and transferred them to a well oiled warm grill basting with bbq sauce as they cooked. Since they are already cooked, these only need to be on the grill long enough to develop those beautiful markings, and dry the sauce out slightly. My only complaint is that this recipe did not make enough to feed my hungry family. I could easily have doubled the recipe, and will next time. The girls loved these ribs, and Rob, who has never, ever liked ribs could not get enough of these.

As for the sauce........let me just say Oh.My.Goodness. I had no idea that there was such a thing as a mustard based barbecue sauce. I can however, safely say that this mustard based South Carolina style sauce is my absolute favorite. I can think of so many uses for this.

Try these ribs for your Labor Day weekend cook-out with some of that sweet, delicious summer corn. You will not be disappointed!

Should there be so many??

2009-08-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

As the Vegan Examiner for Louisville I just published an article describing the many classifications of a vegetarian diet. It seems that as the popularity of vegetarianism has grown, the number of classifications has grown as well. There's a category of "vegetarian" diet to fit nearly any diet you choose. There's vegan to describe a person who consumes and utilizes nothing derived from an animal to flexitarian which describes a person who actually includes all foods in their diet.......but still, the label identifies them as vegetarian.

My question is this; should there be so many labels. Shouldn't the term vegetarian describe a person who only consumes plant based foods? Why does there seem to be such a need to identify as a vegetarian? Is it perhaps because people realize (either consciously or unconsciously) that consuming animal flesh and secretions is inherently wrong? Is it because people recognize that a plant based diet is better for their health? Is it because they realize that a plant based diet is more sustainable?

My personal opinion is that the myriad labels be dropped, that there be one term. I prefer that the word vegetarian describes a person who does not consume animal flesh, animal secretions, or the result of animal labor (honey), and animal slaughter (gelatin). I feel that the word vegetarian looses it's meaning when we begin to add those that eat fish, or those that sometimes consume meat (flexitarian). Vegetarianism should be a lifestyle of health, compassion and sustainability, period.

Share your thoughts.

Just Breathe

2009-08-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Pranayama is the yogic practice of breath control. Most of us unconsciously breathe short, shallow breaths. This short, shallow breathing taxes the heart and nervous system, exacerbating many common ailments. Through the process of pranayama, or conscious control of the breath, we learn to deepen and extend the breath, thus reducing the number of breaths required per minute. Deep mindful breathing provides relaxation to the nervous system, as well as decreases the workload on the heart. Practicing pranayama also increases the amount of oxygen supplied to the brain. According to Patanjali, sage and philosopher who authored the Yoga Sutras, pranayama helps one develop concentration and clarity, preparing a person for meditation.

In the yoga community there are mixed feelings regarding the practice of pranayama. Because pranayama is thought to be instrumental in raising Kundalini, the dormant energies in the body, some gurus and respected yogi's recommend practicing pranayama only under the strict and watchful guidance of a well trained teacher. Others believe that the careful practice of pranayama is appropriate and beneficial for all yogi's. My personal opinion is that pranayama is a beneficial practice, and that after learning proper technique from a trained teacher, pranayama should be added to your daily practice of yoga.

There are several different pranayama techniques designed to create a different effect on the body, mind, and spirit. I will list and discuss some of the most common techniques here.

Deerga Swasm is also known as the 3 part or diaphragmatic breath. It is a deep breathing technique that fills and empties the lungs completely. Deerga swasm utilizes and increases lung capacity. Deerga Swasm is a great pranayama technique to add to the beginning of any asana or meditation practice, as it is calming and centering.

Deerga Swasm is practiced by sitting comfortably with the spine erect. Begin by inhaling deeply drawing the breath low into the belly, feeling your abdomen expand in all directions. As the abdomen becomes full of air, the breath then moves into the rib cage. Focus on feeling the rib cage expand in all directions; front to back and side to side. Finally, the breath rises into the chest, slightly lifting the chest and clavicle. Once the entire torso is fully expanded by the breath, you slowly release the breath in reverse, from the chest to the belly, drawing the navel in toward the spine to release all stale air before beginning again.

Kapalabhati is known as the skull shining breath. This breath sends energy to Sahasrara, the crown chakra. Kapalabhati is a rapid breath, with the emphasis on the exhalation. This breath is very clarifying and energizing and is beneficial in releasing toxins from the body. Beginners should start this breath slowly and work toward a more rapid breath. One round of kapalabhati is around 25 breaths for a beginner, working up to as many as 300 breaths for a more advanced practitioner.

Kapalabhati is performed by beginning with a deep inhalation, expanding the abdomen. On the exhalation snap the abdomen in actively, then passively inhaling again. Remember the emphasis in kapalabhati is on the exhalation

Nadi Shodhana is also known as alternate nostril breathing. Nadi shodhana cleanses the nostrils and balances the energy channels of Ida and Pingala. Ida ends in the left nostril and represents the moon side of the body. The lunar side of the body possesses more cooling, yin, feminine energy. Pingala ends in the right nostril and represents the solar side of the body, possessing warming, yang, masculine energy. Nadi Shodhana calms the nervous system and begins to draw awareness inward.

There are several ways to practice nadi shodhana. The right thumb is used to close the right nostril, the right ring finger is used to close the left nostril. To begin, sit in a comfortable position, spine erect. Seal off the right nostril, inhale through the left. Seal the left nostril and exhale through the right. Inhale through the right nostril, seal off right, and exhale left. This makes up one round (each round is completed by exhaling through the left nostril). Another popular technique for practicing nadi shodhana is by sealing the right nostril, inhale and exhale through the left. Seal the left, inhale and exhale through the right. This would be one round for this technique.

Other popular forms of pranayama are the Ujjayi Pranayama, Bhastrika (Bellows Breath), Bhramari (Humming Bee Breath), and the Kundalini Yoga Breath of Fire.

The following example of a pranayama practice is designed to calm the mind and create energy in the body. Please consult a trained instructor before beginning a pranayama practice. It may be helpful to have a timer near so that you aren't distracted by how long you should practice. I suggest practicing each section of pranayama for at least 2 minutes, unless otherwise noted.

Begin by finding a comfortable seated position. Sitting on a bolster or blanket to lift the hips if this is comfortable for you. Be sure to relax through your hips, knees and ankles. Allow the spine to become erect, yet relaxed.

Start by closing your eyes, resting your hands on your knees or in your lap, and just breathe normally and naturally. Bringing your focus to the tip of your nose and noticing the breath that flows in and out of your nostrils. Notice the temperature of the air, the texture and speed of the breath. Don’t attempt to do anything at this point to manipulate your breathing, just notice what is natural for you. Take a few minutes of quite time here allowing for focus on breath.

Now begin to deepen the breath and draw the breath deeply into the belly. With each inhalation feel the lower abdomen expanding, then notice the breath rise into the lower lungs as the rib cage expands in all directions, finally you notice the breath rise into the upper lungs as the clavicles lift. Exhaling in reverse. First emptying the upper lungs, then the lower lungs, then finally the abdomen. Draw the navel in toward the spine to release all stale air, and then begin again. Focusing on inhaling in three parts and exhaling in three parts. Take a few minutes of quite Deerga Swasm here.

When the 2 minutes have passed, finish one more complete 3 part inhalation and 3 part exhalation, then inhale deeply through your nose, hold the breath for a moment and exhale through pierced lips. Now return to your normal breath for a few moments.

Moving to Nadi Shodhana, begin by using the thumb and ring finger of the right hand to close the nostrils. Begin with one deep inhalation and exhalation through the nostrils to cleanse. Following the exhalation, close the right nostril with the thumb, inhale through the left nostril. Close the left nostril after inhalation, open the right nostril and exhale. Inhale through the right nostril, close the right, open the left and exhale through the left. This completes one round. Again, inhale through the left, close, exhale through the right, inhale right, close and exhale left. Continue in this manner silently for a few moments. The breath should not be deep or forceful, just smooth consistent inhalations and exhalation. Imagine that there is a feather between your nostrils and try to keep that feather from moving as you breath. This will help develop a smooth, consistent breath. Take a few quiet minutes for Nadi Shodhana.

When the 2 minutes have passed, finish the round of Nadi Shodhana that you are on then complete one more full round. Finish with a cleansing breath in through the nose, out through the mouth then return to normal breathing.

End your pranayama practice with Kaphalabati. During this breath you will be emphasizing the exhalation by snapping the stomach and inhaling passively. This breath can be practiced as fast or as slow as feels comfortable to you. If you get tripped up on your breath just begin again. Do 3 rounds of 25 breaths each, followed by a cleansing breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Now, just return to your normal breath and notice how you are feeling.

Focaccia Ai Pomodorini

2009-08-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

I don't speak Italian, or even read it for that matter, but I do know focaccia, and from the ingredient list of this recipe, I'm assuming ai pomodorini means with tomatoes and olives, but who knows? All I do know is that this focaccia is possibly The.Best.I've.Ever.Tasted!!

I wanted to cook a real meal last night since I wasn't teaching, but the kidlets were pleading for spaghetti. Being the fantastic mommy that I am I again obliged. It was then I remembered this focaccia recipe that I'd torn out of a magazine waiting at a doctors office a while back. This seemed just the thing to cure that cooking bug, because boiling water for spaghetti certainly wasn't going to cut it. I had everything I needed on hand, so really it was a no-brainer.

My family are suckers for home-made bread of any kind. A bunch of carbaholic's they are!! I knew that this bread would be met with loving eyes and taste buds. What I didn't know was that this bread would change my opinion of focaccia forever. Don't get me wrong, I like focaccia and all, but I'll never like another focaccia as much as I liked this one.

The recipe comes from Saveur magazine, but I have no idea which issue. I'm reprinting it here so that you can try this divine delight for yourself. Enjoy!

Focaccia ai Pomodorini

1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. kosher salt

1 Tbs. olive oil +more for oiling bowl and drizzle

2 roma tomatoes, diced small

1/4 lb kalamata olives

Coarse salt

In a small bowl combine yeast, 1 tsp sugar, and 1/4 cup hot water. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together four, 1 Tbs sugar and salt in a large bowl; form a well in the center. Pour yeast mixture, 1 Tbs oil, and 1 cup warm water into the well and mix into a stiff mass. Transfer dough to a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball, transfer to a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Oil bottom and sides of a 12" cast iron skillet. Transfer dough to pan, flip to cover both sides with oil and flatten into the bottom of the skillet with your fingertips. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 475. Gently press tomatoes and olives into the dough and sprinkle with salt. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake until golder brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

**I did all of the kneading in my stand mixer with a dough hook. Some believe that this creates a tougher dough, but I've never found that to be the case. Watch the dough and as soon as it is smooth stop kneading. I believe not over kneading is the key in using the stand mixer.

Diet and Yoga

2009-08-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

As a yogini every aspect of my life is approached with a yogic attitude. Yoga is indeed a lifestyle for me that goes beyond asana, pranayama and meditation. Each moment of each day is a practice of my yoga. We are faced with a plethora of choices on a daily basis, some we act on, some we don't, but there is not one thing we choose more times in one day than the food we eat. It's something we all do, every single day, preferably 3 or more times a day. Food and diet gives us an opportunity each morning, afternoon, and evening to live our yoga. Yoga promotes a healthy body, mind and spirit and without proper nutrition our full potential will not be reached.

In yogic philosophy there are 3 gunas. The gunas are the earthly qualities that bind our spirit to our body. The gunas represent an attitude that can be applied to everything in our life. The three gunas are tamas (the quality of being sluggish or lethargic), rajas (the quality of being over stimulating or over active), and sattva (the quality of being pure, relaxed and clear). These 3 qualities can be evident in all of our choices, from the food we eat to the way we approach our jobs.

In Ayurvedic medicine foods are classified with regard to their guna. Sattvic foods are foods that are wholesome. They keep us centered, and peaceful. Sattvic foods keep us nourished and energized. Examples of sattvic foods would be organic fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and grasses. Rajasic foods are foods that are stimulating to the nervous system. They create an unbalanced effect on the body-mind-spirit connection. This category includes coffee, sugar, tea, tobacco, flesh foods and oily or fried foods. Also included in this category are onions and garlic. While these are both very healthful foods they produce a stimulating effect on the body. Tamasic foods are foods that detract from our health and pollute the body. These are stale, spoiled, decaying, highly processed, and chemically treated. Tamasic foods create an unbalanced energy state within our bodies.

Asana practice teaches us to cultivate mindfulness. We learn to still the mind and allow ourselves to become one with the moment. This is easy to do on the mat, as we twist, turn and contort our bodies it's hard for the mind to be anywhere else. The challenge comes when we move our practice off of our mat. Remaining open, aware, and mindful as we go about our daily lives isn't always easy. There's no better place to start than with the activity you do more often than any other, eating.

As you cultivate awareness around your meals you will begin to notice the subtle energy shifts that occur within you based on your food choices. You will notice that when you include more sattvic foods you feel energetic, full of life, and ready to take on your day. When you fill your body with tamasic foods you will feel sluggish, lethargic and inert. With this increased awareness of your subtle energies you will naturally begin to make smarter and healthier food choices. As the mind becomes centered, peaceful, and clear you will be able to continually evaluate the quality of your diet, and start to question and possibly abandon some of your food addictions that are detracting from your full potential.

Hip Opening Yoga Sequence

2009-08-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of my Lovely friend and fellow Instructor Kathryn

Our hips tend to be one place that is universally tight in a yoga asana class. Mention hip openers and the room is immediately filled with grumbling and groaning. The muscles in and around the hip joint are habitually tight because of the massive load of stress we put on them. The hips are essentially the cross-roads between the upper half of our body and the lower half of our body. Therefore, virtually any gross movement of the body requires some work in the hips. It makes sense then that almost every yoga asana would involve some strengthening or stretching of the hips.

Being that the hips are comprised of thick solid muscles and a plethora of connective tissue, opening the hips is best suited to a yin practice, with poses held relaxed, gentle, and for a long period of time. However, regular hatha practice can be beneficial to the hips if focus on the area is consistent and gentle.

In yoga practice hips are known to hold a lot of unreleased emotions. So, in addition to being physically uncomfortable for most people, they can be emotionally uncomfortable as well. Hip openers are great poses for practicing presence, non-attachment, and non-judgement while on the mat.

The following sequence is designed as a gentle vinyasa flow to fit all levels of practice. As with any exercise routine, consult your doctor before engaging in physical activity.

Begin lying in Savasana and practice Deerga Swasm (3 part breath)

Supta Padangusthasana A-C

Ananda Balasana; rocking up to seated and coming to table-top

Cat/Cow Stretching and Hip Barrel Rolls

Adho Mukha Svanasana; coming to front of mat in Tadasana

Surya Namaskara A (x2)

Padangusthasana --> vinyasa to Adho Mukha Svanasana

Utthita Trikonasana (R) --> Utkata Konasana --> Utthita Trikonasana (L)

Prasarita Padottanasana series --> jump back to Tadasana

Garudasana (R&L) --> Uttanasana --> Uttkatasana--> Uttanasana

Vinyasa to Adho Mukha Svanasna then come forward to Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana (or variations) (R)--> Vinyasa --> Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana (L)--> Vinyasa

Ardha Badha Padmottanasana --> Vinyasa to seated

Upavistha Konasana

Baddha Konasana

Ardha Salabasana --> Ardha Bhekasana (repeat 2nd side)

Balasana

Marichyasana A and C

Ardha Matsyendrasana --> recline to back

Ananda Balasana

Savasana

Mexican Sunflower Salad

2009-08-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hopefully by now you've all heard about and are promoting Meatless Monday. A campaign aimed at reducing meat consumption in America by encouraging everyone to go meat-free for just one day. If everyone adopted a plant based diet just one day a week the environmental impact would be huge. Not to mention the impact for the animals. Some estimates say that nearly 28 million land animals are slaughtered DAILY in the United States for human consumption.

Meatless Monday has been being promoted on Twitter for awhile now, and eventually morphed into adding Tofu Tuesday to the mix. A few weeks ago Lindsay the Happy Herbivore thought it would be a fun idea to give each day a veg related theme, and promote it as Veggie Awareness Week. We've had a lot of fun with Veggie Week so far, and continuing with the theme, today is Raw Wednesday.

I eat raw nearly every day until dinner. Raw food is not only incredibly filling, it is also packed with nutrition. The vital nutrients in the food has not been cooked out, therefore providing an added punch of vitamins and minerals. Raw foods will provide you with energy rather than sapping your energy like cooked foods will. I love to start the day with a glass of fresh fruit juice and a raw smoothie. Fruit and raw food bars are also great choices when you are in a hurry or on the go.

My contribution to Raw Wednesday this week is this beautiful raw sunflower seed salad. I was given this recipe during my yoga teacher training and it's been a favorite ever since. I was handed the recipe on a sheet of paper, with no acknowledgement as to where the recipe comes from, so I guess it's safe to re-print it here. I have a made a few changes, so we should be good!!

Mexican Sunflower Salad

1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds, hulled

1 large carrot, shredded

1/2 large red onion, sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbs Olive Oil

1 tsp Raw agave nectar

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (if you don't like spice decrease this amount)

1 tsp dried oregano

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Alfalfa Sprouts to garnish (optional)

Bib lettuce leave for wrapping (optional)

Soak Sunflower seeds for 30 minutes, rinse and drain. Place sunflower seeds and sliced onion in food processor and process until sunflower seeds are chopped (but not pasty) and onion is diced. Remove from food processor add remaining ingredients up to Alfalfa Sprouts, and mix well. Serve wrapped in bib lettuce leaves and garnished with alfalfa sprouts.

Chewy Chocolate Granola Bars

2009-08-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

We are in to our second week of the school year. Because there are no vegan options on our school lunch menu I pack lunch for M to take to school every day. Like last year I am always looking for ideas to keep M's lunch fresh, new and exciting for her. Just in time for the start of the school year, Lindsay the Happy Herbivore, posted her ideas for great packable vegan/vegetarian lunches. She's got many many great ideas for fantastic kid-friendly lunches. If your school, like many, also has less than vegan friendly lunch options please visit this site, and sign the petition to get healthy vegetarian school lunches available for our children.

In addition to packing lunch every day, I also have to pack a healthy snack for school. Because the snack must be packed in the backpack, and left hanging on a hook for most of the day it needs to be non-perishable and durable. It also needs to create little mess and be able to be eaten in a reasonable amount of time. Therefore, things like yogurts (soy of course) and fruits are not good options. Fruit, except for apples, typically gets smashed and bruised in the backpack. M has an aversion to bruised fruit, and right now she is missing more teeth than she has left, so whole apples aren't the easiest thing for her to eat. We've found that bars typically fit all of the requirements for afternoon snack. She loves Larabars, but they are expensive and not practical to take everyday (especially when mommy has a Larabar habit that she has to feed daily). Chocolate Chip Oat Bars are a good choice, and she took them quite often last year (she was always the envy of the class when she brought these....the teacher was even known to ask if she could break off a bite!!). But, as always, I'm trying to find or develop new snack options.

When thumbing through the latest issue of Yoga Journal magazine I ran across a recipe for chewy granola bars. To my delight these granola bars were totally nut free, meaning S could enjoy them as well. You could of course add nuts to these, and they would be great. I didn't follow the recipe exactly, it called for a lot of dried fruit and crystallized ginger, that I didn't think my kids would eat, and I think the trick to getting kids to eat healthy is to disguise it as a treat. Hence, my version, chewy chocolate granola bars. You can take this recipe, use the method, and develop a plethora of variations on this granola bar......enough snacks to last the entire school year. Once the were ready, I cut them into bars and wrapped them individually in wax paper, ready to go in the back pack all week.

Chewy Chocolate Granola Bars

makes 10 bars

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup oat bran

1 1/2 cups crisp brown rice cereal

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp sea salt

Lightly oil an 8x8 square baking pan. Mix oats, seeds, oat bran, cereal and chocolate chips in a large bowl until well combined. In a small saucepan, combine rice syrup, sugar, vanilla and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir syrup mixture until mixture starts to thicken, about 3 minutes. Pour the syrup mixture over the oat mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until well coated. Spoon into prepared pan, cover with wax paper and press mixture firmly and evenly into the pan. Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature. Remove waxed paper, cut into bars, wrap individually and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

**Remember, taking a few minutes before bed each evening to lovingly prepare a healthy lunch for your child means so much to them. It only takes a few minutes and ensures that your child will have a lunch well suited to a successful day at school.

Welcome

2009-08-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new home of Adventures in Vegetarianism. Since I've been a little remiss in posting over at AiV, I thought it was time to start fresh and combine my love for yoga and veganism into one space. Hence the creation of Happy Vegan Yogini.

All of the posts from Adventures in Vegetarianism have been saved, and are still accessible by me, so if there is anything you want to see again leave me a note and I'll be sure to get it to you. My original recipes will all be visible, as posted, below this welcome message. My reviews of others recipes are all still here, just not visible, and since it's been quite some time since I've last posted, and we've been eating many repeat meals, I will start fresh in this new space with reviews and suggestions.

Now that M is in school and I am teaching more yoga it seems that we are always running short on time. I will keep this blog updated to the best of my ability, but don't be surprised if you don't see me around for weeks at a time. Sometimes life just gets in the way of all of the "extra" stuff we want to do (and sometimes Twitter gets in the way too)!!

I'm glad you are all here. Hopefully we can talk food, talk yoga, and have a little fun along the way!!

What to do with abundant fresh berries???

2009-05-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

Make Raw Berry Cobbler, of course........................

I do believe that this is my new favorite dessert. Well, at least for the summer that is. I'm not going to abandon my first dessert love, the cupcake, but I mean yummy dessert with no oven required, how can you beat that on a hot summer day??

Not to mention, as an added bonus you get ALL of the nutrients from the berries, nuts and seeds because they aren't cooked out. And I guarantee, this is one of the healthiest desserts you will ever eat.

Raw Berry Cobbler

Crust:

2 cups Almonds Soaked & Drained

1/2 cup Sunflower seeds Soaked & Drained

2 Tbs Shredded Coconut

1/2 cup Pitted Dates

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

2 Tsp Vanilla extract

1 Tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Filling:

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blueberries

1 cup Mango, dried and re-hydrated

3 Tbs Agave Nectar

To make the crust: In a food processor, process the almonds, sunflower seeds, coconut, dates, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Press mixture into a pie plate.

To make the filling: In a food processor, process the berries, mango, and agave. Pour the fruit mixture over the pie crust and refrigerate for two hours or more, allowing the pie to solidify.

Deconstructed Guacamole Sandwich

2009-02-19T04:55:00.000-08:00

I'm sure this isn't a new idea, but for anyone who hasn't thought of it, I thought I'd share. My step-dad keeps telling me about this guacamole sandwich he had in Miami. Every time he mentions it I think, "Hmmm, that's a good idea". I'm always up for guacamole, but I don't always want tortilla chips or raw veggies to dip in it. So, yesterday, when contemplating what to have for lunch I finally decided to throw together that guacamole sandwich.

I'm pretty sure that the sandwich my step-dad had was actual guacamole dip on a sandwich, but I decided to save some work and make a deconstructed version of guac to go in my sandwich. Since I already have onions and tomatoes sliced in the fridge all I really had to do was slice open an avocado, and rip off some cilantro tops. I stacked it all up on some sprouted whole wheat bread, squeezed half a lime over the top, topped it with another slice of bread, and it was lunch.

Griddle Sandwiches

2009-02-13T05:06:00.000-08:00

On the rare occasion that we ate at McDonald's before our vegetarian/vegan days, I loved their McGriddler sandwiches for breakfast. The sweet maple-y favor of the pancake paired with the savory spice of the sausage was a fantastic combo. So, in an attempt to provide an interesting breakfast for my kindergartner, I made a veganized version of the McGriddler. Just as tasty, and quite a bit healthier to boot!! There's really no recipe to share with this one. I made Isa's pancake recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance (obviously making them "silver dollar" sized). I made a big batch of these in advance and froze them for quick weekday breakfasts. Add one vegan breakfast patty (I have no brand loyalty here, so buy what you like), plus a side of maple syrup for dipping, and it's a quick, tasty breakfast in minutes.

I realize this isn't the healthiest breakfast to send my kid off to school on, but in my opinion, it's better than an empty stomach. She's not a breakfast eater (she prefers to be awake for quite sometime before she'll actually eat), but she will eat this with no reservations. She does like tofu scramblers, but I just don't have the time for that in the morning. It's a struggle to get her to eat cereal, and any sort of "health" food muffin is left on the plate only slightly nibbled. So, short of waking her up at 5 a.m. so she has a few hours before breakfast, this is what she's been getting a few days a week. If there are any other parents with picky breakfast eaters out there, I'd love to here what your kids are eating for breakfast........maybe some sort of breakfast "cookie".....got any ideas??

Curried Butternut Squash-Sweet Potato Soup

2009-02-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hi to everyone still hanging around here!! It's been so long since I've updated I wouldn't blame you at all if you've given up on me!! I do have several things to post about, I'm just having trouble finding the time to actually sit down, transfer pictures from camera to computer, then transfer to blogger, and finally write something interesting about them.

I just made this soup last night, so I guess I'll start with this. It comes from a recipe my mother in law sent over from Ireland, but I did change it slightly, which I hope added to the yumminess. The original recipe did not call for roasting of the squash and potatoes, but I opted to take the extra time and roast them first to intensify their flavors. I just love the taste of roasted butternut squash.

This recipe makes a HUGE batch of soup, and is very filling, so there will be tons of left over soup to freeze. I froze several single serving containers for Rob to take to lunch, and a few double batches to have on hand for quick dinners. Unfortunately the girls weren't big fans and ended up eating Light Life Smart Deli "Ham" sandwiches.

Curried Butternut Squash-Sweet Potato Soup

1 Tbs spoon Olive Oil (plus more for drizzling squash before roasting)

1 butternut squash (weighing a little less than 1 pound)

2 large sweet potatoes (again, a little less than 1 lb)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbs curry powder

4 cups quality vegetable stock

9 oz plain soy creamer

torn basil leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 425. Peel and dice butternut squash, place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat and roast about 25 minutes, until tender. In the meantime, roast sweet potatoes in their skins on same baking sheet. Remove from oven and cool until you can handle the potatoes.

Heat remaining Tbs olive oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add curry powder and cook for another minute, until fragrant. Add sweet potatoes, squash and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. Using a hand held blender or food processor, puree soup. Stir in soy cream and heat through. Ladle into serving bowls and top with basil leaves.

I served this soup with a big salad and some home made bread. I'm working on a good whole wheat sandwich bread, but I haven't quite perfected it yet. My girls eat a lot of bread and I hate to give them store bought bread. There are only a few brands that I can buy that haven't been processed on a line with peanuts, and some of those brands don't have the best ingredients in it. So, I've set out on a quest to make my own. I've gotten quite good at specialty breads (thanks to Vegan Dad), but my kids really like their sandwiches on that chewy, airy and not at all crumbly store bought stuff. As of now it's not completely whole wheat because I can't find any whole wheat bread flour. Right now we stand at about 2 parts whole wheat flour to one part unbleached bread flour, but as soon as I find some whole wheat bread flour I hope to have a recipe for 100% whole wheat sandwich bread.

Some of our Favorite Juices

2009-02-03T09:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, we've had such a strange week....last week we were hit by a major ice storm, which resulted in school being closed for an entire week. Rob was even home from work for 2 days because of the storm. We had a fantastic time playing in the snow, playing Wii, and spending some great quality family time together. We did eat, and I have some photos to post later to prove it, but for now I'll leave you with some of our favorite juice recipes.

Fresh juice is a fantastic way to start your day. Fresh fruit and vegetable juices are loaded with concentrated vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, bringing you a fantastic burst of energy for the morning. It's best to drink your juice at least 30 minutes before eating your breakfast so that digestion of your breakfast doesn't interfere with the absorption of vitamins from the juice. And, it's always best to drink the juice immediately after it is prepared.

Carrot-Apple-Pear

4 carrots

1 apple (any type)

1 pear (any type)

1/2 inch piece ginger

Run all ingredients through juicer according to manufacturers directions and enjoy immediately.

Super Greens Juice

1 cup tightly packed kale

4 stalks celery

1 1/2 apples (any type)

1 inch piece ginger

1/2 lemon (zest and pith removed)

Juice according to manufacturers directions and enjoy immediately.

Carrot-Apple-Beet Juice

1/2 beet

1 apple (any type)

4-5 carrots

1/2 inch piece ginger

Juice according to juicer directions and enjoy immediately.

Drink Your Greens

2009-01-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

I realized recently that I haven't posted any juice recipes. Partly because I haven't really made up any of my own, and partly because I drink my juice each morning about 7:30 a.m. and I'm just too lazy to get the camera. This morning the camera was already on the counter, so here is the first of my juice posts. This morning we had "Green Pineapple Juice". This is one of my very favorite juices. It's health in a glass!! I got this recipe from my yoga teacher during teacher training, and couldn't wait until I had a juicer of my own so I could make it!!

Green Pineapple Juice

1/2 ripe pineapple (peel can be left on if pineapple is organic)
4 leaves collard greens
1/4 inch piece of ginger
handful of spinach

Place ingredients in juicer following manufacturers directions, juice, and enjoy!!

Green Minestrone

2008-12-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe I veganized from Rachael Ray. Yes, I know I'm a naughty vegan, liking Rachael Ray and all. I've discussed this before, and while she's far from vegan (can you say cheese in EVERYTHING), she inspires people to cook. It would be great if the whole world were vegan, but people skipping fast food and cooking at home is at least a step in the right direction. And for that reason, I like Rachael Ray.

Anyway, this was simple enough to veganize, just leave out the meat and cheese, change the chicken stock to veggie, and there you go. Delicious served with buttered (read Earth Balance) sourdough bread.

Green Minestrone

2 Tbs EVOO (it is a Rachael Ray dish after all)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 medium zucchini, diced in bite sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cannellini beans

2 cups garbanzo beans

8 cups vegetable broth

1 cup small pasta (I used small shells)

1 16 oz package frozen cut green beans

1 10oz package of baby spinach

Heat EVOO in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper and saute, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cannellini beans, garbanzo beans and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Add pasta and green beans and cook about 8 minutes, until pasta is tender. Stir in spinach to wilt. Season to taste.

Smoky Chipotle Black Bean Soup

2008-11-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

The idea for this soup came from a similar soup that they serve at Whole Foods Market. As you all know, Stella loves anything that contains beans, and she's developed a taste for the spicy as well. She loves this soup from WFM, and of course was thrilled to have it prepared for her at home!!

Smoky Chipotle Black Bean Soup

2 cups dried black beans

1 Tbs Cumin

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup onion, roughly diced

1/4 cup celery, roughly diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped

2 Tbs adobo sauce

4 cups vegetable stock

Rinse beans, cover with water and soak for 8 hours, or over night. When ready to prepare soup, drain beans. In medium sized soup pot add soaked beans, cumin, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook beans for 30-45 minutes, or until done. In meantime, heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add onion and celery, and saute until beginning to brown. Add garlic, stir and cook a minute more. Add chipotles, adobo sauce and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. When beans are cooked pour beans with their cooking liquid into soup pot, stir to combine, then puree with a hand blender (or in batches in your food processor). Serve with a dollop of Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream, and a few avocado slices.

Pumpkin

2008-10-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

I have so much pumpkin, I don't know what to do with it all. We've been getting giant pie pumpkins from the CSA every week!! I've done pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cupcakes, and pumpkin cake. I've also made pumpkin sauces for pasta. Now I still have about 4 cups of pumpkin puree in the refrigerator, and TWO more pie pumpkins sitting on the counter! Luckily winter squashes will last on the counter for awhile (because I also have butternut squash, carnival squash, and sweet dumpling squash), but at some point I'm going to have to cook those pumpkins. I'm open to any suggestions and ideas.......by the way, does pumpkin puree freeze well??

Anyway, while I like lots of savory squash dishes, I really do like pumpkin best in sweet, dessert type dishes. Following are my "veganizations" of two pumpkin recipes I love.

Pumpkin Crumb Bars

1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup Earth Balance, room temperature

2 cups pumpkin puree (or one 16 oz can)

2/3 cup hemp milk (or other non dairy milk of your choice)

1/3 cup light brown sugar

Ener-G egg replacer for 1 egg

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground allspice

Preheat oven to 375. Combine oats, flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, salt, baking soda and Earth Balance in bowl of stand mixer. Mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture and press remaining mixture into a 13x9 baking dish that has been sprayed with canola oil. Bake crust for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare filling. Combine pumpkin, hemp milk, brown sugar, egg replacer and spices. Beat until smooth and well blended. Spread over crust, sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until filling is set and crumb topping is golden brown. Cool in pan and cut into bars. These can be served at room temperature, but I prefer them after they've been refrigerated.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup unbleached bread flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 Tsp canola oil

1 6 oz container vegan yogurt (I used vanilla Coconut Milk yogurt)

1/4 cup + 2 Tbs water

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In bowl of stand mixer combine dry ingredients. Mix to combine well. In a small bowl whisk together all wet ingredients. With stand mixer running, pour wet ingredients into dry. Combine just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into 9x5 bread pan that has been sprayed with canola oil. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on wire rack until completely cooled.

Apple Crisp

2008-10-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Apple Crisp is so delicious.......as you can see, we couldn't even wait until the photo was taken before we dug right in. It's a wonderful dessert any time, but especially great when the local apples are in season and it's made with apples fresh off the tree. I used Jonathan apples, but any tart/sweet cooking apple will do. I make my apple crisp with the skin on the apples, because the pectin from the skin helps to keep it thick. I'm sure most of you have an apple crisp recipe floating around somewhere, but some of them can require quite a lot of ingredients. This one is simple to assemble, with only a few ingredients, and bakes up in about 40 minutes. It's perfect served with vanilla vegan ice-cream or drizzled with vegan vanilla yogurt (preferably coconut milk yogurt).

Apple Crisp

4-5 large cooking apples, cored and cut into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

dash nutmeg or allspice

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 stick Earth Balance margarine, cut into pieces

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

Preheat oven to 350. In a 9x9 baking dish combine apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. In bowl of food processor combine flour, oats, Earth Balance, and rest of brown sugar. Pulse until margarine is broken down and mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle crumb topping over apples and bake for about 40 minutes until you see some juices of the apples bubbling up around the edges, and crumb topping is golden brown. Serve warm.

Now I Know My ABC's.......

2008-10-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

I don't often make things that are considered kid friendly meals. Both girls have pretty sophisticated palates for children, so for the most part they eat, or at least taste, whatever I've prepared. This meal however was prepared specifically with the kids in mind. Mairin has been begging for "Alphabet soup", so I obliged with this version that is reminiscent of what your mother used to pour out of that little red and white can. This meal went over really well with the girls.....Stella called hers "elephant soup"!!

I wanted the soup to be kid friendly, and I didn't want the vegetables to overshadow the small alphabet pasta. Therefore, this recipe does require some tedious chopping. But your kids will feel so special that you've made a meal "just for them".

Alphabet Soup

2 Tbs Olive oil

1 onion, diced small

2 ribs celery, diced small

2 carrots, diced into small cubes

3 small yukon gold potatoes, diced into small cubes

3 cloves garlic, minced (optional only if your kids like garlic)

2 bay leaves

1 tsp thyme leaves (dried)

1 tsp oregano (dried)

1 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

6 cups good quality vegetable stock

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn kernels

8 oz alphabet shaped pasta, cooked and drained

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Add onion, celery, carrots and potato and saute until veggies are becoming soft. Add minced garlic, bay leaves, thyme and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss around in pan until fragrant. Add tomatoes and their juice, using juice to de-glaze pan if needed. Add vegetable stock, peas, and corn and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve. Check seasoning and add extra salt if needed. Just before ready to serve, add pasta to pot, stir to heat through. For the adults, I added a few Tbs of chopped fresh parsley to brighten the flavor a bit.

To finish the meal I made the classic childhood favorite, Oatmeal Raisin cookies. I used Dreena's wheat free recipe from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. These cookies are absolutely perfect. They taste exactly like a cookie your grandmother would have baked for you when you were a child.

So, get cookin', and make a special meal for you kids tonight!!

Split Pea - Barley Soup

2008-10-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

I love it when my family surprises me!! I threw together this split pea soup thinking that I was going to be met at the table with an awful lot of grumbling. To my pleasant surprise, there wasn't one single grumble to be heard. In fact, second helpings were had all around, and Mairin requested the leftovers in a thermos for her school lunch!!

There really isn't a lot to this soup. It's very minimalist on the seasoning allowing the wonderful flavor of the split peas to shine through. Even without extra spices and seasonings it's still bursting with heart warming deliciousness.

Split Pea - Barley Soup

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 large onion, diced

2 large carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 tsp Hickory Flavor Liquid Smoke

1 tsp tarragon leaves

2 cups green split peas, rinsed and picked over

4 cups vegetable stock + 2 cups water

1 cup pearled barley, uncooked

3 cups water

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 large radish, thinly sliced

In a soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and saute until tender. Add liquid smoke, tarragon, some salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add split peas, veg stock and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until peas are tender. In the meantime, bring barley and 3 cups of water to a boil with bouillon cube. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and let simmer until liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove barley from heat and set aside. Once peas have become tender, transfer soup to food processor and puree until smooth and creamy (this may need to be done in batches, depending on the size of your food processor; alternatively you could use a hand blender to get the job done). Add barley to pureed soup and stir to combine and heat through. Season with salt and pepper, if needed, to taste. Ladle to bowls and garnish with radish slices in the center.

Squash Enchiladas

2008-10-06T04:40:00.000-07:00

The acorn squash used for this dinner was intended to be stuffed squash, but I knew that wasn't really something that was going to excite the masses. Not to mention, it was back up to around 85 degrees today and stuffed squash just didn't seem appropriate for the weather. Hence the acorn squash became enchilada filling. All I can say is, great idea!! Pureed roasted acorn squash mixed up with some sauteed veggies made for a fantastic enchilada. Both the sauce and the poblano pepper I diced into the filling added some heat, but even so these were deemed likable even by the kiddos!!

Acorn Squash Enchiladas

makes 9 enchiladas

1 acorn squash

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 large onion, diced (or one small I guess)

1 medium poblano pepper, seeded and diced

8 oz white button mushrooms, chopped

9 8-inch whole wheat tortillas

1 can Hatch Roasted Garlic Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and place cut side down in a baking dish with 1/4 inch water. Cover tightly with foil, and bake until soft, about 30 minutes. Remove squash and let cool. Once squash is cool enough to hold, scoop flesh into bowl of food processor, add chili powder, and salt and process into a smooth puree. Meanwhile, saute onion, pepper and mushrooms in olive oil. Add pureed squash to sauteed veggies and stir to heat through. Coat bottom of 9x13 pan with a few Tbs of enchilada sauce. Divide squash mixture evenly among tortillas and fold enchilada style (leaving one end open). Place tortillas side by side in baking dish and cover with remaining enchilada sauce. Place in 350 oven and bake until sauce is bubbly, and enchiladas are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cilantro.

Pumpkin Pie

2008-09-30T04:42:00.000-07:00

I've been craving all things, pumpkin lately. Something about that fall bite in the air really has me wanting pumpkin......not to mention some of the things Vegan Dad has been posting. You'll be seeing those sweet rolls lurking around here soon!!!

I decided to satisfy my pumpkin craving with a pie. Before becoming vegan I was always commissioned to make the pies on Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd get started finding a suitable vegan pie. I wanted to avoid a pie that used tofu. I'm not scared of soy, but I do think it's best to limit it where we can. I also wanted to do something interesting to replace the evaporated milk that my usual pie called for. So, for this pie I just went with Ener-G egg replacer and coconut milk. The result was delicious, although less firm than I was hoping for. I'll post the recipe, just in case you are craving a pumpkin pie too.....but I plan to perfect this one a little, so look for it again in the coming months.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

recipe for pie crust

1 can pumpkin puree

3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 Tbs cornstarch

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

egg replacer for 3 eggs

1 can of coconut milk

Roll out one ball of dough into a circle 14 inches in diameter (freeze the other ball of dough for up to 2 weeks). Fit dough into a 10 inch pie plate, and create edges. Prick dough bottom with a fork and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425.

Cut out a circle of foil to fit in the bottom of the pie, fill pie with dried beans or pie weights and bake for 15 minutes. Remove pie crust from oven, discard beans, and reduce heat to 350.

Combine pumpkin, sugar, cornstarch, salt, spices, egg replacer and coconut milk in a large sauce pot and heat over medium heat. Be careful not to boil. Pour pumpkin mixture into crust, and bake until firm, about 50 minutes. If the crust gets too dark, cover edges with foil.

The pie will be loose in the center, but will continue to firm as it cools. Allow to cool on a wire rack until completely cooled. Transfer to refrigerator to cool for 2 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2008-09-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely upon us. The days are still warm (in the mid 80s), but the humidity is non-existent, and the mornings and evenings are cool and crisp. Not to mention, the farmers market is abundant, and the CSA is stocking us on winter squash.

This past week we received 2 large butternut squash, so I decided to make them into a soup. Served with a salad loaded with diced fall apples and dressed with maple-dijon vinaigrette, it was a delightful fall meal.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

(serves 8)

2 large butternut squash

2 large cloves garlic

2 Tbs olive oil

2 large carrots, cut in half lengthwise and sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 medium sweet onion, diced

1 Tbs fresh thyme leaves

4 cups vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Place squash, cut side up in baking dish with about 1/4 inch water. Roast in oven until soft, about 45 minutes. While squash is roasting, place garlic cloves, skin on, in aluminum foil drizzled with olive oil, and roast along with squash.

In a large soup pot, heat 2 Tbs olive oil over medium-high heat and saute carrots, celery and onion, until soft. Stir in thyme and continue to cook until fragrant. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Once squash is cooked, scoop the flesh into a food processor along with the roasted garlic (skins removed) and puree until smooth and creamy. Add squash puree to soup, return to a boil and stir puree to loosen and combine, then reduce heat to simmer. Salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm until ready to serve. I left the vegetables whole in mine to keep it a little chunky, you could run your hand blender through it if you prefer a creamier, smoother soup.

Beef free Stew

2008-09-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

This hearty stew will satisfy even the omnivores. It's thick and filling, and beef free!!

Beef-free Stew

3 Tbs olive oil

1 large onion, diced large

1 lb potatoes, diced bite-sized

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 lb baby carrots, cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 tsp celery seed

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp browning sauce

4 cup good quality vegetable stock

1 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1 Tbs tomato paste

2 Tbs corn starch

1 cup frozen peas

2 cups fresh greens, chopped (I used chard)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large stew pot over medium high heat. Add onion, cover and cook until translucent. Add potatoes, garlic, bay leaves and carrots and cook until veggies are starting to brown and soften. Add celery seed, thyme, and browning sauce and stir to combine. Then add stock. Bring to a boil, add worchestershire, Braggs and tomato paste, stir to combine and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer on low for about 45 minutes, until veggies are tender. Ladle out 1 cup of hot stock, add cornstarch to hot stock and stir to dissolve. Return cornstarch mixture to stew pot and stir to thicken. Add peas and greens and heat until greens are wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve piping hot.

Carnival Squash-Roasted Garlic Ravioli

2008-09-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

I've had in mind to make some pumpkin ravioli soon, now that fall is in the air, and the evenings are starting to turn chilly. This week in our CSA box we got these beautiful Carnival Squash, so I decided to turn them into a filling for ravioli, instead of pumpkin. I also bought some of the biggest heads of garlic I've ever seen at the farmer's market today, so I wanted to incorporate those as well. The resulting dish was out of this world fabulous! Honestly, I'm still in shock that I created something so delicious right out of my own imagination!! The process of making your own pasta, and then turning it into ravioli is a little time consuming, but with this incredible filling, it's oh so worth it!!

Carnival Squash-Roasted Garlic Ravioli

2 carnival squash (or other winter squash)

1 head garlic

1 small candy onion (or other sweet variety of onion)

6 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 Tbs Olive oil, plus more for drizzling squash and garlic

3 sheets of fresh pasta, cut into 48 ravioli sized circles

1/2 cup Earth Balance

Preheat oven to 350. Cut squash in half, de-seed, and place in a dish with about 1/2 inch of water. Drizzle squash with olive oil and bake for about 45 minutes, until soft. Drizzle garlic with olive oil, wrap in foil and roast in oven while squash is baking. When squash and garlic are finished remove from oven and set aside to cool. While cooling heat olive oil in a small saute pan over medium high heat. Add onion and 4 sprigs of thyme (leaves only) and saute until onion is soft. Add squash flesh, garlic, and onions to food processor, season with salt and pepper, and process until a thick puree forms. At this time, set puree aside and get a large pot of water boiling. Also, melt Earth Balance with leaves from 2 more sprigs of thyme in a large saute pan. Place 1/2 Tbs of puree on 24 of your pasta circles. Top those circles with the reserved pasta circles, and using the tines of a fork, press edges to seal. Drop ravioli in boiling water (in batches of 8) and boil until pasta begins to float, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from water, with tongs, immediately and place in saute pan with melted Earth Balance. Lightly brown both sides of pasta in melted Earth Balance and remove to a platter. There will be extra puree left, it's nice to serve the ravioli over a large spoonful of puree for extra flavor.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2008-09-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

Let's be clear before we even get started.....these in no way have any nutritional value, and perhaps aren't an ideal breakfast on a weekly basis, but on rare occasions, I say "what the heck, go ahead and indulge"!

Just like baking bread, there's something so satisfying about making these rolls from scratch. The end result is incredibly rewarding. I've done homemade cinnamon rolls a time or two before, but the recipes have always called for large amounts of eggs and egg yolks, so I decided to give it ago and try to create egg free cinnamon rolls. I have to say that the end product was quite nice. In fact, far better than many of their egg laden counterparts. And, quite professional looking to boot!

As with the ciabatta, cinnamon rolls aren't a spur of the moment decision.....unless of course you like to eat breakfast about 3 hours after you wake up (which happens to be lunch time around here, but hey, cinnamon rolls for lunch, who am I to judge??)

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

2 tsp sugar

3 tablespoons warm water

1 cup vanilla soy milk

2 tbs Earth Balance margarine

3 cups unbleached bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

pinch ground cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbs ground cinnamon

1 Tbs melted margarine

Mix yeast, sugar and warm water in a small bowl, stir to dissolve yeast and set aside until the mixture becomes frothy. Heat milk and margarine over low heat until warm, then remove from heat. Combine flour, salt, nutmeg and pinch of cinnamon in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn on mixer briefly to combine dry ingredients. Slowly add milk and margarine mixture, followed by active yeast mixture. Continue to knead in mixer until dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Turn dough out into a well oiled bowl and cover to let rise, about 1 1/2 hours, or until double in size.

Punch down dough and let rest for about 10 minutes. In a small bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and roll into a 12x16 rectangle. Brush dough with melted margarine then spread cinnamon sugar mixture on dough, leaving about 1 inch at one end of the dough.

Tightly roll the rectangle, pinching dough as you go (the width of your roll should be 12 inches). When you get to the uncovered end, brush with margarine and press to seal roll. Cut roll into 12 equal parts, and lay them in a well greased baking dish, with as much distance as possible. Cover dish and allow to rise for about 45 minutes, or until all rolls are touching. If using the next morning, cover baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

Preheat oven to 350. Brush tops of rolls with melted margarine and bake for 30 minutes, or until rolls are slightly browned. Allow rolls to cool slightly, then frost while still warm. (I like the icing melted, and the rolls warm. You could cool the rolls completely to keep the icing from melting if you desire.)

Cinnamon Roll Frosting

1/4 cup Earth Balance

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbs vanilla soy milk

Beat Earth Balance with a hand mixer until soft and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar in 3 batches, beating in between. Continue to beat margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add extract and soy milk and beat until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

2008-09-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

Tonight wasn't exactly perfect weather for stew (it was 95 degrees today, and so humid the air actually felt heavy), but I've had my mind set on making a tagine for quite some time now. Not only did the Urban Vegan post a tagine recipe a few days ago, but Vegetarian Times also featured several tagine recipes in their current issue.

The Moroccan tagine is named for the vessel in which it is cooked. I don't have a proper tagine, but a large stock pot will work just as well. Traditionally tagine is slow cooked, however this is a relatively quick cooking version with some of the veggies broiled in the oven rather than braised on the stove top. This recipe is adapted from a recipe over at Vegan Soul Power, however, the recipe there didn't quite jive with the ingredient list and I increased the seasonings, so I'll post my version of the recipe here. I served the tagine over French Cous-Cous, with a side of pita for dipping (or stuffing......Mairin enjoyed her tagine stuffed inside the pita like a sandwich). The ingredient list looks long, but it should be mostly pantry staples (I think fresh thyme was the only thing I bought special for this dish)

Moroccan Tagine

1 large eggplant, quartered and sliced

2 zucchini, sliced

4 Tbs olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 medium yams, diced

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp paprika

1 Tbs ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 sprig fresh thyme

1/2 Tbs chili powder

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 Tbs tomato paste

1 cup water

1 Tbs orange marmalade

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 c. diced dried apricots

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler. Place eggplant and zucchini in a colander and salt them liberally. Allow to sit a few minutes, then rinse, toss in 2 Tbs olive oil, place on a baking sheet and broil 20 minutes or until browned, turning once. In a large stock pot, heat remaining olive oil and add onion, garlic and ginger. Cook until onion is translucent then add potatoes. Add all spices, cover pot and allow potatoes to soften. Once potatoes are soft add tomato sauce, tomato paste, water and marmalade. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add zucchini, eggplant, chickpeas and apricots. Cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over couscous or grains.

One Bite Brownies

2008-09-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

Satisfy your sweet tooth with these delicious One Bite Brownies. They are perfect for when you need a quick chocolate fix, but feel too guilty to eat a whole brownie, cupcake or cookie. They are great stored in the refrigerator for a chocolate "pick-me-up" any time of day.

One Bite Brownies

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cups white sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup vanilla soy milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Spoon into mini muffin cups, filling cups almost full. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until top is no longer shiny. Remove from oven, let cool for 1 minute in pan, then remove to wire rack to cool. Makes 3 dozen mini brownies.

Palak Paneer

2008-08-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

Initially I was going to make Palak Soybina Panira from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. As I was looking over the recipe this afternoon it hit me that Dreena's version of Palak Paneer totally left out that creamy component that makes Palak Paneer so good. So, I set out to hunt down another recipe. I came across this recipe and decided it looked easy to veganize, so this is the one I went for.

For the paneer I used Dreena's recipe of cubed tofu marinated in lemon juice and tamari, and I subbed soy creamer for the heavy cream. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. While this isn't exactly like the Palak Paneer you'd get at an Indian restaurant, it is a pretty close replication. I was very pleased (although the photo looks less than appetizing!!). As was Rob, this was one of his favorite meals we've had in a long time. It is a bit spicy, so you could definitely cut down the red chili powder if you'd like it milder. It was too spicy for the girls, however I only used about 1/2 of the tofu in this dish and they loved the other half.

To help cool the mouth we munched on this delicious homemade naan. I used this recipe, subbing soy yogurt and Earth Balance for the yogurt and ghee. A few of my naan got slightly too thin, and therefore over-cooked. But, even the crispy one's were nice. A terrific Indian feast.

Maple Dijon Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

2008-08-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner was just thrown together using a lot of our CSA veggies from this week, and it turned out superbly. It was a bit more fancy version of the pasta salad I blogged about before, and served warm.

This time I started by roasting 2 large red peppers. Roasting peppers is so simple, and it makes them taste so delicious. For those of you who might not know the best way to roast a pepper, this is a pretty good tutorial.

After the peppers had roasted, I tossed 1 pint of grape tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted them in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes (until they were beginning to burst). While the tomatoes were roasting I also had 4 cloves of garlic roasting (in the skins, drizzled in EVOO and wrapped in aluminum foil).

On the stove I sauteed 2 small zucchini, sliced and 2 small summer squash, sliced with about 1/2 of a large red onion, also sliced. While sauteing and roasting the veggies I cooked about 8 oz of whole wheat penne. Once everything was roasted, sauteed and cooked, I tossed it all together (except the garlic) in a large bowl and drizzled it with a maple dijon vinaigrette.

Rob declare this dish delicious, and we both went back for a second helping. It's really quick and easy to make and a great way to retain the fresh flavors of your summer veggies.

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

1 Tbs Dijon Mustard

2 Tbs Maple Syrup

2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 cloves roasted garlic, smashed into a paste

Combine all ingredients except oil in a small bowl. Whisk to combine, then slowly add olive oil while whisking, until emulsified.

Catching Up

2008-08-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

I've been terribly remiss in blogging lately. This week was our last full week before school starts, so we were rather busy. Not to mention, we had a major heatwave for most of the week and I just didn't feel like cooking. We ate lots of cold dishes, and I fried up some Fakin' Bacon and made BLT's with some of our CSA tomatoes.

I do have just a few highlights from the past week to share with you though. Because of the heat I was trying very hard not to turn on my oven or make anything that would heat up the kitchen too much. Therefore, the grill became the perfect place to cook a pizza. The photo below is just a typical veggie pizza with FYH mozzarella, and some fresh corn from the CSA. Other toppings included onions, bell pepper, and banana pepper (all from the CSA)

Last Sunday I made up a batch of the Ultimate Barbecued Seitan Sandwich to take over to my mother's house for lunch and swimming. With the left over barbecue we decided to throw together a Barbecued Chicken Pizza and cook it on the grill. This one again included corn and banana pepper from the CSA and red onion. No cheese on this pizza. This one was out of this world. I'll be using my left over barbecue for this one many times.

I also managed to throw together this pasta dish using local heirloom tomatoes and again, the apparently ubiquitous, CSA corn. There are also some cooked chickpeas thrown in there. This one was a recipe from a current Vegetarian Times. The sauce is raw, you just boil the pasta, combine it with the tomatoes and corn and dress it with a cumin lime dressing. Very good!!

And finally, I did turn on the oven one morning to make these delicious Cinnamon-Oat Scones. They are becoming a new favorite here. They aren't as heavy as traditional scones, and are actually a bit more like a giant muffin.

Cinnamon-Oat Scones

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup quick cooking oats

1/3 cup soy milk (plain)

2 Tbs. turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Add oats and stir. Add soy milk and mix until a dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and form into a 7 inch circle. Cut into 8 triangles (don't cut all the way through). Place on ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with a turbinado sugar. Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden.

"The Ultimate" Barbecued Seitan Sandwich

2008-07-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

I know it's very un-vegan of me, but I admit, I love The Food Network. It's unfortunate that almost every dish on every show is centered around animal products. None the less, I love food, and I love to watch people cook.

From time to time I'm inspired by something on The Food Network, and come up with a great vegan dish. Take the other day for example, I was watching Tyler's Ultimate, and Tyler Florence was making his Ultimate Barbecued Ribs. There are probably a million different meat analogs I could have used to veganize this recipe, but as soon as I saw Tyler make this barbecue sauce I knew I had to have a barbecued seitan sandwich. Wow, did I ever make a great choice!! This sandwich really is "The Ultimate". Rob, who usually very much dislikes barbecue loved this sandwich so much he ate 2 of them and just couldn't stop raving. And it was another winner with both of the girls!!

For the sandwich I used 1 lb of chicken style seitan. I made the sauce according to Tyler's recipe, only I replaced the bacon with a few dashes of Liquid Smoke. After the sauce had simmered I removed the onion, garlic, and thyme sprigs, then I crumbled in the seitan and let it heat through. I served the barbecue on a bun with some sliced onion. Best barbecue sandwich EVER!!

To go along with the sandwiches I also made Tyler's Ultimate Baked Beans, again replacing the pancetta with liquid smoke. An added bonus of these beans.....I got to use up some of the chipotle pepper I was wondering what to do with a few weeks ago! Again, outstanding dish. The beans had a kick and they were just incredible. Little Stella loved them, heat and all!!

In addition to the sandwiches and beans, we had one of my childhood favorites....cucumbers, green peppers, and onions soaked in white vinegar and salt water. My mom used to make this all of the time in the summer, and I've always loved it. It was perfect for cooling off your mouth after the heat of the beans!!

I can't wait to make this barbecue for my friends and family.......it's definitely the next dish I'll be serving guests.

Muffins x2

2008-07-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

Today I spent almost the entire day in the kitchen. We are taking off on a little camping trip tomorrow (well, not really camping, more like RVing) so I spent the day getting ready for that. Mostly I made a lot of old favorites like Giardino Burgers, Snack bars, hummus, Black bean and quinoa salad and of course pasta sauce so my spaghetti lovers can eat their spaghetti. Vegan camping with children (read picky children) is quite a bit of work. I mean, it's not like my kids are going to set down and eat a bunch of grilled veggies, etc. And, after long days of hiking, biking, and hopefully horseback riding they are going to need some serious refueling come dinner time. Therefore I thought it prudent to bring along some of their favorite meals so we can assure adequate eating at dinner. I also gathered plenty of healthy snacks for the afternoons....lots of fresh fruits, raisins, soy yogurts, whole wheat crackers and smooshed fruit.

I also made some muffins for us to have as a quick grab and go breakfast option. There were a couple of really ripe bananas sitting in my fruit dish, so first up was banana oat muffins. The recipe is adapted from a VegWeb.com recipe.

Whole Wheat Banana Oat Muffins

2 large bananas, very ripe

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup + 2 Tbs plain soy milk

1 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup turbinado sugar

1 Tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl smash bananas. Mix in oil, vanilla and soy milk and set aside. In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix just until combined. Stir in oats. Spoon mixture into oiled muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Next up were these deliciously decadent Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins. They definitely aren't the kind of thing you'd want to serve for breakfast on a weekly basis. But they'll be a great treat for our camping trip, and would make a nice item on a brunch buffet. It's always easy to impress your non vegan friends with a bit of chocolate-y vegan goodness!!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup + 2 Tbs soy milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients. Add soy milk and oil and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill oiled muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes, or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean.

Stuffed Pattypan Squash

2008-06-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

We got some beautiful pattypan squash from the CSA this week, and I just couldn't decide what to do with them. They seemed too unique to just slice up and saute, and I wanted to do something that would more or less keep them whole. Finally, I was inspired by some leftover grains and a big bunch of kale, and I stuffed them. We also got loads of kale this week, and I needed some new ways to use it up. This recipe took care of that! It turned out really nice, and even the girls ate some of it (which is always a good thing if there is kale involved!).

Stuffed Pattypan Squash

4 pattypan squash

1 lb kale

2 Tbs Olive Oil

3 large spring onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup roasted red pepper, diced

1/2 large tomato, diced

1 cup cooked grains (I used a mixture of brown rice and bulgur)

1/2 tsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Braggs Liquid Aminos

1/4 tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup bread crumbs

4 Tbs. Earth Balance

Start a large pot of water boiling. Once water has started to boil place whole squash in to boil until a sharp knife is easily inserted through the skin, about 10 minutes. Remove squash from water and set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 400. Once squash have cooled, cut a small piece off of the bottom of each squash so that it will set evenly. Cut away tops, scrape out seeds and scoop out the flesh. Add scooped out flesh to the bowl of a food processor, along with kale. Process until kale is completely chopped. In a large saute pan, heat 2 Tbs olive oil. Saute onions and garlic until onions become translucent. Add kale mixture to saute pan, along with roasted red pepper, tomato, Worcestershire, Braggs, and nutmeg. Stir to combine then add grains. Heat through and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture, heaping, into hollowed out squash. Sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs and add 1 Tbs Earth Balance to the top of each. Bake for about 30 minutes, until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Vegan Tzatziki Sauce

2008-06-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

Before I get into the sauce, I have to tell you about the new falafel recipe I tried. I've been using a falafel recipe out of an old cookbook for awhile now, and the flavor is really good, but they always fall apart when you go to fry them. So, I decided I'd search around for a new recipe. I found this one, and was intrigued by the use of uncooked garbanzos, so I thought I'd give it a try. The recipe was spectacular, the flavor was right on, and they held together beautifully while I fried them, not to mention they turned a lovely golden brown (which doesn't happen too often when I fry things...you'll recall, I suck at frying!!). I did make just a few minor changes. I omitted the hot pepper, so that the girls would eat them. And, instead of using 2 Tbs of cilantro, I used 1 Tbs cilantro and 1 Tbs mint.

I served the falafel the traditional way, in a pita with some raw veggies. I like them topped with tahini sauce, but decided to give some vegan tzatziki a try. Tzatziki is a cucumber, yogurt sauce that I didn't think would be too hard to replicate. I can only find flavored vegan yogurts here, so I had to use something in place of the yogurt. I happened to have a half container of Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be used. I thought maybe that would make a suitable replacement. I thought correctly, the sauce was incredible, and could also be used as a wonderful dip for crudite, or even as a salad dressing (when you're in the mood for a creamy dressing)

Vegan Tzatziki

1/2 container Better than Sour Cream

1/2 english cucumber, diced very small

2 cloves garlic, minced very small

handful of italian parsley, chopped very small

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow flavors to marry. Serve over falafel, or as a dip for your favorite raw vegetables.

An Old Favorite (and a new one too!!)

2008-06-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made an old favorite of ours. This simple pasta dish is perfect for busy nights, and light enough for a hot evening. The temperatures have been soaring out of control this past week, and we haven't felt like eating much.....which works to my advantage, since I haven't felt like cooking much!! Anyway, I decided it was time to get some real food on the table, but again, the heat really drains the cooking energy, ya know.

This pasta couldn't be easier. Start by cooking your pasta as directed. I recommend penne rigate for this recipe, but any short pasta would do. When your pasta is nearly finished heat 3 Tbs of olive oil over medium-high heat. Mince 6 cloves of garlic and drop them in the hot oil, along with about 10 whole basil leaves. Cook for a few seconds until garlic and basil begin to sizzle. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add one 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes with about half of their juice. Add cooked pasta and simmer until heated through. Serve drizzled with good extra virgin olive oil.

I served the pasta with a simple side of baby spinach drizzled with olive oil as well, along with a baguette from Blue Dog Bakery. The girls devoured this pasta. They either really, really liked it, or they were extremely happy that mommy started cooking again!

For dessert I made another version of my "nice" cream (remember: my name for cruelty free ice cream!!). Tonight I made Mint Chocolate Chip. This is a new favorite!! This flavor got lots of praise from everyone. The peppermint flavor was just right, and was not overpowered by additional sweeteners. I intended to make the finished product green, but they wanted $16.99 for a box of 4 small natural food colorings at the store, so I opted to leave the ice-cream white!!

Mint Chocolate Chip "Nice" Cream

1/2 of a 12 oz package of firm silken tofu (I use Mori Nu brand)

1 cup Silk soy creamer

1/2 cup Soy Dream Vanilla soy milk

1 tsp Peppermint Extract

2 Tbs Brown Rice Syrup

Green food coloring (optional)

1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

In a food processor combine all ingredients up to chocolate chips and pulse until tofu is smooth. Refrigerate for several hours to chill. Freeze in ice cream freezer following manufacturers directions. When ice cream is nearly frozen add chocolate chips while paddles are still churning.

Vegan Pound Cake

2008-06-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of more strawberries from the CSA today, I decided I wanted to make shortcakes for dessert. So I set about looking for pound cake recipes. Most that I found called for silken tofu which I just used the last of in a smoothie the other day, so that was out. Most also called for lemon extract, which again I did not have. What to do, what to do?? Improvise!!

Working from several recipes and ingredients I had on hand I devised my only little recipe for

Orange Tofu Pound Cake:

1/3 cup softened Earth Balance
3/4 cup unrefined sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 package firm tofu
juice of 1 orange (plus 1 1/2 tsp orange zest)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350. In your food processor or blender process tofu with orange juice until smooth. In bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand held mixer) cream together Earth Balance and sugar (unrefined sugar doesn't cream as well as white granulated sugar, but it was all I had). With machine running add baking powder, vanilla, tofu mixture, orange zest and water. Slowly sift in flour until batter forms. Lightly oil 5x6 baking dish and fill with batter. Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until top is golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out clean.

Thankfully the CSA came through with 4 pints of strawberries this week!! After washing them I sprinkled them with unrefined sugar and allowed them to macerate while we at dinner. Then I served them over slices of Orange Tofu Pound Cake. The creamy topping you see on them is just the other half of the tofu from the pound cake processed in the food processor with 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1 Tbs powdered sugar.

Yum yum, strawberry shortcake is a sure sign that summer is on it's way!!!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for............

2008-06-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Ice Cream!!!!

First up were ice-cream cookie sandwiches. I just whipped up a batch of Dreena's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies and made them into ice cream sandwiches using Temptation's French Vanilla Soy Ice Cream. These were a big hit, and so easy to make!

Later in the week I tried the Strawberry Swirl non-dairy ice cream from the current issue of Vegetarian Times. They have a whole section on vegan ice-cream this month......yahoo!! This was delicious, and almost perfect in it's consistency. The only problem with it was that I had to sub maple syrup for agave (as suggested in the recipe) and the maple syrup didn't quite taste right with the strawberry flavor. I'm going to have to play around with the sweetner a little on this one, but it's definitely a keeper. And see those cute, perfectly ripe strawberries on top. They were part of our CSA basket last week. We got 1 quart+1 pint of them, and we're all hoping for more this week!

And finally was this little creation.....Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice-Cream in a Waffle Bowl. Yesterday the girls were eating waffles and it just came over me to attempt making waffle cones. I used my regular recipe for waffles which included baking powder, so no matter how thin I poured the batter on the waffle iron, the dang things kept fluffing up too much to roll into cones, so I improvised and made bowls instead. It was really quite easy. I just removed the waffles from the iron before they were finished and while they were still quite pliable, then formed them over an upside down custard bowl. I then baked them at 350 until they were nice and crispy. I was very happy with the result, although next time I'm going to leave out the baking powder and try to make cones.

I made up the ice-cream recipe as well. Now, I'm not usually one to brag on myself or inflate my own ego, but I must say, this was the best vegan ice-cream I've ever tasted, hands down!! The consistency was right on, just like it's traditional dairy counterpart, and the flavor couldn't be beat. I've decided to call is "nice" cream because it's cruelty free (and nice to taste as well!!). YUM.......I'm so glad summer is here!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Nice-Cream

1/2 block silken tofu
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup plain soy creamer
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1 Tbs. Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Recipe Dreena's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookie dough

In a food processor or blender combine all ingredients, except the cookie dough, and blend or process until tofu is creamy. Chill in refrigerator for several hours, then transfer to bowl of ice-cream freezer and freeze according to your freezer's directions. When ice-cream is nearly finished freezing add in 3/4 of the cookie dough while paddles are still running to allow cookie to dough to be combined into ice-cream.

Graduation Day

2008-05-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my baby brother graduated from high-school. As you can see, he's hardly a baby, but I still remember the day he was born just as well as I remember the days my own children were born. There are 13 years difference between my brother and I. I remember spending mornings laying in my mom's recliner, watching television, and letting that cute little baby boy nap on my chest. I also remember, surprisingly enough, all of the arguing we did. You wouldn't think that with so much age difference there would be a lot of arguing.....well, you'd be wrong. Teenage girls aren't too keen on little toddler boys getting into all of their stuff!! Anyway, reminiscing aside, I absolutely can not believe that he's graduated from high school.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day on Saturday, and our family had a nice little cook out to celebrate the big day (and to celebrate my grandpa's 86th birthday!!). Now, apparently my mom isn't quite down with the whole vegan thing yet, and is seemingly unwilling to accommodate us, seeing as she didn't make one single dish that we could eat. OK, to be fair, she did have chips and salsa and some dinner rolls that were vegan, but I'd hardly call that a meal.

Luckily I didn't come empty handed. I brought the baked beans and orzo salad that I blogged about previously. I also brought along some Creamy Vegan Cole Slaw. I made this on mother's day and my grandpa just raved about it, so I decided to make some for him. I must admit, it is some damn good cole slaw. Rob and I also provided some huge portobello mushroom caps to throw on the barbie. And what celebration would be complete without dessert?? I made some chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing to take care of that!!

Creamy Vegan Cole Slaw

3/4 cup Vegenaise

2 Tbs unrefined sugar

2 Tbs Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbs dry mustard

2 tsp celery seed

1 small onion diced small

1 bag Dole Cole Slaw Mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl whisk together all ingredients up to onion. Add onion and cole slaw mix to bowl and fold to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy.

Now that's what I call a meal!!!!

Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit.........

2008-05-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

I made 2 bean dishes this week. Typically we have more bean dishes than that, but 2 was all for this week. Stella practically lives on beans, so I always have a bunch cooked and frozen. I thaw them out and heat them up for her lunch. She likes them plain (especially black and cannellini beans), so they are a really simple lunch.

This week for lunch I spiced them up a little. I made a variation of a Red Beans and Rice dish from Vegan Planet. Robin's version is Caribbean Rice with Red Beans.......I spiced the beans instead of the rice, so my version is Caribbean Beans with Rice (clever name isn't it??!!)

Caribbean Beans with Rice

2 cups cooked red kidney beans

EVOO for sauteing onion

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp light brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

In a sauce pot heat olive oil and saute onion until softened. Add beans, and seasonings to heat through. Serve over steamed basmati rice.

Quick and simple lunch. The kids loved it, it had just the perfect amount of sweetness to heighten their interest, and the allspice and nutmeg lent a very nice flavor.

I also made some baked beans for a family function. These were probably the best baked beans I've ever had. Canned baked beans are full of stuff we probably shouldn't be eating, and also usually a little too sweet for my liking. These were sweet, but not too sweet (I could still taste the beans, which I like). Not to mention, I know exactly what went into them!!

Vegan Baked Beans

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cooked red kidney beans

2 cups cooked black beans

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Blackstrap Molasses

Preheat oven to 350. In a large oven proof pan heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium high heat and saute onion and celery until softened. Add garlic and saute about 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add beans, sugar, syrup, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, and molasses. Heat through, then transfer to oven for about 45 minutes, until liquid is bubbly. Serve hot.

Asparagus-Potato Soup

2008-05-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Two sure signs of spring.......our first CSA pick-up, and it was loaded with pencil thin asparagus. Unfortunately, due to lots of rain and cold nights early in the season it wasn't loaded with much else (except a nice big bunch of beautiful broccoli). Our baskets are going to be skimpy or absent for the next few weeks. But we've been promised that it'll all be made up for later in the season.

As it turns out, we're leaving town for the weekend, and wouldn't have been able to use up a whole basket of stuff anyway, so I guess it all works out in the end.

So, what to do with over 2 pounds of asparagus?? Well, when your kids won't eat asparagus when they can see what it is, you make asparagus soup, of course. So, that's exactly what I did with this bunch of asparagus. Mairin gives asparagus a big "blech" whenever I mention it, but lo and behold, she ate 2 adult sized bowls of this soup!! She wasn't the only one to eat more than their share of soup......as a matter of fact, we finished off the entire pot!!

Asparagus Potato Soup

2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly diced

2 stalks of celery roughly diced

1 small onion, roughly diced

4 Yukon gold potatoes, roughly diced

2 pounds asparagus, cut into 3 inch pieces

2 tsp dried tarragon

6 cups good quality vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large pot over high heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Saute until softened. Add potatoes and tarragon. Stir around until fragrant then add vegetable stock. Bring to a boil then simmer until potatoes are beginning to soften. Add asparagus and cook until potatoes have softened and asparagus is still bright green. Transfer in batches to food processor and process until smooth. Return to heat, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with raw asparagus tops and home made salt and pepper croutons. (leave off asparagus tops and add extra croutons if you have kids that turn up their noses at asparagus!!!)

Bean Bolognese

2008-05-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

It's been slim pickin's around here lately. I was expecting a basket from my CSA last week, but due to torrential rains and a stretch of very chilly nights early in the season, our CSA shares have been pushed back a week. Expecting to get a big basket of fresh produce last week, I didn't go to the store for my usual shop. When I found out the basket wasn't coming I kind of gave up on getting to the store and decided we'd just stop here and there when we needed to, just to get us through until the next basket was due. So, the meal I am posting is actually from last Friday, and was thrown together with some stuff I had around in the freezer and the pantry.

Traditionally bolognese is a thick, rich, meaty sauce. I found a recipe for this bean version while sitting in the pediatrician's office one day. I have no idea what magazine this recipe came from, so I'm just going to go ahead and post the recipe here for you. This turned out to be a very satisfying meal considering that it was made with all stuff I had on hand. I ate the left-overs for lunch on Sunday, and I have to say, I think it was better after having set for a bit. I think next time I make this I'll try to plan ahead and make it the day before I plan to serve it.

Bean Bolognese

1 14 oz can salad beans (I used Westbrae Naturals brand; a mix of kidney beans, pinto beans, and chickpeas)

2 Tbs olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup carrot, chopped

1/4 cup celery, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 cup hot water with 1/2 veg bouillon cube dissolved in it

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped parsley

8 oz whole wheat fettuccine

Start water to cook pasta. Mash 1/2 cup beans with a fork, in a small bowl. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and salt; cover and cook until softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and bay leaf and cook a minute or two until fragrant. Add water, turn heat to high and boil until most liquid is evaporated. Add tomatoes with juice, 2 Tbs parsley and the mashed beans. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add remaining beans and cook until heated through. Drain pasta, remove bay leaf from sauce. Divide pasta among 4 bowls and top with the sauce and remaining 2 Tbs parsley.

To go along with the pasta I made Vegan Dad's focaccia. As far as breads go, this one is very easy to make (especially if you have a stand mixer to do the kneading for you). I can't tell you how good this bread is, my family couldn't get enough of it (it's a good thing it makes 2 loaves!!). I'm planning to make this again this week........it's that good!!

As American As..........

2008-05-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

You guessed it, Apple Pie. Today we finally got our chance to cast a vote in this seemingly never ending Democratic Presidential Primary. So, in honor of performing our patriotic duty, we had an All American dinner. We'll get to that in a minute though. Let's start with how we finished our All American dinner........with what else than an All American Apple Pie.

This pie was so good. I love pie (actually, I love pie crust). The bottom crust was so "buttery" and moist, and the top crust was so sweet and crunchy. YUM, just perfect!!

Pie Crust

(veganized from Martha Stewart's Pâte Brisée recipe)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp white sugar

1/2 lb (or 2 sticks) Earth Balance, cut into small pieces and kept very cold

Place flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of your food processor, and pulse to combine. Add Earth Balance and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add ice cold water in a steady stream, through feed tube just until dough holds together. Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Vegan Apple Pie

1 recipe for pie crust (from above)

1/2 cup (or 1 stick) Earth Balance

3 Tbs all purpose flour

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup unrefined sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp nutmeg

7 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Preheat oven to 425. Melt Earth Balance in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water and sugars and bring to a boil. Add spices, stir to combine, and reduce heat to simmer.

Line your 9-10 inch pie plate with the bottom crust. Fill with apples, mounded and pressed down firmly. Pour about 3/4 of hot caramel mixture over apples. Cover with top crust (either a full top with slits cut in, or a lattice work). Pour remaining caramel mixture over top crust.

Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for 35 minutes, until apples are soft.

I also made some vanilla non dairy ice cream to go alongside the pie. I haven't had much luck with the consistency of my vanilla ice cream in the past, but this time I used Silk Creamer, rather than regular soy milk, and it turned out nice and creamy (the closest yet to real ice cream).

OK, so, we didn't eat our dessert first. Before we enjoyed the apple pie we chowed on the All American meal of burgers and fries. Our burgers were Original Sunshine Burgers, cooked on the grill and topped with all the fixin's. And, I just baked some crinkle cut fries from WFM. I wanted to try some of the new Amy's burgers that The Chocolate Covered Vegan blogged about not too long ago. However, I couldn't find any of this particular Amy's brand, and the only one's they had at my store all contained nuts, so they weren't an option. Sunshine Burgers were the only other veggie burgers I could find that were vegan and didn't contain nuts. They turned out to be very good, even the girls really liked them!!

It still remains to be seen what the results of our vote will be..........go "hopes and dreams"!!!