this evolutionary life

Vegan Mofo, Day 22: THE END. Also, my deep dark secret.

2010-11-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

So, it's the last day of November! Which means that it's pretty much acceptable to put snowmen on your lawn if you are my neighbor, and it is the last day of this for another year.

I had fun this year, even if I didn't know what I really had to talk about and signed up on a whim. Food seemed to be a good subject, right? Vegans love their food! Lately I have felt like I'm becoming more adventurous in the kitchen and I don't need to stick to a recipe or else DOOM will occur, particularly with raw foods. Though I still love a good cookbook for direction. And thus, my deep dark secret.

My favorite pre-vegan cookbooks were spiral bound (the plaid Better Homes and Gardens, a binder). I hate paperback spines on my cookbooks. I hate holding them open, I hate folding down page corners in case I get lost, and I hate the way the book stands up on the spine like an "M" when I do pin the pages down with cans or something else handy. I can't bring myself to crease a spine and make the book lay flat.

Currently, Veganomicon is the only book by Isa C. Moskowitz I own that has its original backbone. And by backbone I mean spine. And by spine I mean, well that thing books use to hold pages together.

Because the rest of her (& Terry's) books are paperback, and they have been corrupted under my direction, and that's something the book lover in me can't rightly accept. But the busy, OCD part of me that likes her cookbooks to lay flat is overjoyed.

The Vegan Cupcakes and Vegan Cookies books are embarrassed by their black coil treatment and don't wish to be photographed (but the small size of the books means they benefit the most for ease of use).

And the madness doesn't stop at Isa and Terry's tomes. Our most used cookbooks have had the treatment.

This all started when I saw the idea on a knitting blog. It made it so much easier for me to knit while traveling when I didn't have to hold my pattern book open with my feet.

And then I wondered as I lost my place in a cookbook for the ninth time one day, the pages surreptitiously sweeping shut as I turned around, what I was waiting for.

Our most used cookbooks

Sure, I miss my pretty spines, and the bookshelf can be a little tricky to navigate when several books have no indicator of their title (my lazy fault entirely, I should totally tag them somehow). But oh the happiness it has brought me.

I made my husband stand and wait when he took the latest addition to the family up to OfficeMax for binding. Sometimes they will have you drop it off. But I, as you may have noticed, am a little attached to this book right now.

And all it's exciting treasures inside.

Yesterday I mentioned I want to cook everything in this book, and I think that is just what I am going to do. After taking December off to enjoy the holidays with family and recover from this month's posting blitz, I will be back in the new year with pictures, stories, and food, all from Appetite For Reduction. I hope to see you then! Thanks for the mofo love! Be good.

Vegan MoFo Day 21: Appetite for Destructing This Bowl Of Food, A Cookbook Addiction

2010-11-29T20:41:00.000-05:00

This will go down as the longest title I will ever come up with.

Friday I was a lucky recipient of a certain book.

Immediately we put it to the test.

Green Goddess Dressing? Awesome. Devoured on salad.

Veggie Potpie Stew? Tremendous. Eaten with Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits.

Just glancing through this book, I give it two eager thumbs way up, but don't take my word for it-the table of contents is available to preview on Amazon and I recommend you do so if you are interested. And if you are a gluten free type, as I am striving to be, you may be doubly interested- 97% of the recipes within Appetite For Reduction are gluten free or easily made that way by subbing out such things as soy sauce for wheat free tamari, flour to thicken stews like the above Veggie Potpie with arrowroot, etc.

I truly think that this will be the first cookbook I will try every recipe in. In fact, that is my plan, and my future for this blog. Get excited! More on that tomorrow.

Vegan Mofo Day 20: Reese's can kiss my grits...

2010-11-26T22:43:00.002-05:00

While I'm certain the food at Mel's Diner was on par with most diners of the day, I don't think they had these.... Nor does Hershey's, in case you're looking.

Wife and I had talked about making these before, but never actually did. So, finally she says... Lets make them, and so we did.

We started with the Chocolate, a bar each of Green and Black's Organic Dark and Theo's Organic Cherry Almond. Melt in a double boiler, just until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Turn off the heat but leave the bowl on to keep it warm. Don't get any water in it or it will seize on you. If the happens, add some fat to it, like coconut oil to loosen it back up. it won't be quite as good, but it will still work.


So it's a makeshift double boiler, but it works fine

Next, the filling. In this case, we opted for almond butter cups, so some homemade almond butter mixed with nooch. The base recipe can be had here... so you can add your own ideas to it.

Somehow this doesn't SEEM appealing, but it tastes good.

Next, add some cupcake liners to a pan... this to me is the easiest way to make these, and it also gives you those little ridges like on Reese's... you know, if you're into that sort of thing.

You could also use a mini pan, but this one is regular sized...

Pour just enough chocolate into each mold to just coat the bottom, maybe an 1/8 of inch worth. Then spoon on some of the nut butter mixture.

Flatten it out a little with the back of the spoon to make it easier to cover and to press it into the chocolate below.

Don't have to press hard...just a tap...

After that, spoon chocolate on the top until the butter mix is covered. Don't add more than what you need to cover it, otherwise it will be too thick. Oh, and you'll run out of chocolate and have to melt more. I mean, not that it's a bad thing to eat more, but if they get too thick, it's a little hard to bite through, especially if you prefer them frozen.

Ready for the freezer... and no the banana was not an ingredient.

Refrigerate these for a couple hours until the chocolate is set, or if you prefer them frozen, they only need about 20 minutes in the freezer to be ready. Just pull them out of the pan and peel off the paper, and put them in an airtight container and stick them back in the freezer or fridge. Once cold they won't stick together, unless you leave them out too long. The container is to prevent freezer burn or moisture build up, but if they last long enough for that, you're doing it wrong.

These didn't last long; less than two days in fact, and I only got 2 or 3 of them. That's OK though, I know where I can get more.

*A note from Rach: I didn't tell the chrisasaurus beforehand, but this recipe is scaled up from Averie's Raw Peanut Butter Cups (with almond butter subbed for peanut butter, obviously).

Vegan mofo Day 19: Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T23:51:00.001-05:00

There are ten minutes left to this day and the holiday before it officially becomes "Christmas Season" and Black Friday. But I'm here with today's eats:

Tempeh Shepherdess Pie filling from Veganomicon.

This is the filling-sadly there is no final put together shot with the mashed potatoes. It was devoured by omni and veg alike too quickly! We used chickpeas instead of tempeh and it turned out fantastic.

Chocolate Gluten Freedom Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World

A family member has recently been instructed to be gluten free for health reasons, and mentioned that baked goods were one thing that they missed. We brought these cupcakes which were very well received by the omnivore crowd. They were eaten over the pumpkin and pecan pies also present today.

As for our meal, husband and I needed a simple and portable dish since we were traveling across town to visit family. We prepared the shepard's pie up until the point of baking it in the oven and then drove over, finally popping it into an oven about 40 minutes later. This was also made gluten free, as we replaced the flour in the recipe with arrowroot in the gravy. It came out amazing, leaving me to wonder: why have I never tried shepard's pie before?

I am thankful for many things today, one being the path of veganism which has led me to try new things.

Vegan MoFo Day 18: Key Lime Pie!

2010-11-24T18:19:00.000-05:00

My husband is an anti fruit sort of person. He swears it's the texture that weirds him out. So when I try a new dessert that is admittedly very fruit based, being a key lime pie flavored with lots of fresh lime juice, I am very surprsied when he decides he likes it.

And eats it without my prompting. Lots of it!

This would be my daughter's fingers, swooping in for a taste.

This Key Lime Pie recipe came from Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw Desserts. It's cool, sweet and tart-very refreshing for the warm fall days we've been having. Yes, I said warm. Come on, summer, let it go already.

Vegan MoFo Day 17: Raw Energy? Bars

2010-11-23T10:02:00.001-05:00

So, I don't know what to call these treats, really. They are sort of like Larabars, which are billed as energy bars sometimes? When I think of energy bars, I think of cardboard coated in chocolate that tastes like a sock. These are so not that.

There are many, many recipes out there for "lara" type bars. Try googling your favorite flavor + the word "recipe" to see what sort of results you get. Probably at least one or two. I do like to eat them, and other brand name raw energy bars, though they can be costly and don't taste quite as fresh as the ones I can make at home. And boy, do we ever make these at home. They are "cookies" to my almost 3 year old. Packed full of nutrition, I'm not going to complain if she wants to call them that.

Today I'm going to make a chocolate-cashew variety, but I want to say now that you can use any kind of nuts you like! And the chocolate can be optional. Or replaced with carob powder. Mesquite powder also makes an interesting add-in (use just a little, though!) Spices are also a nice touch-cinnamon, as an example. This is the sort of thing that can't be horribly screwed up, so feel free to experiment. Actually, this recipe started out as a quick experiment when my kiddo wanted a cookie, now! while I was trying to make an uncheesecake crust she was determined to eat if I didn't get her something else to nibble on.

First step, gather some ingredients.

Hemp seeds, Flax Seeds, Cacao Powder, Medjool Dates, Cashews, Chia Seeds. Everything raw & organic. Not pictured: Vanilla Extract, Pink Himalayan Salt.

The base recipe is something like, dump in a cup of nuts and measure out an equal portion of dates. So 2 cups nuts = 2 cups dates. Pit the dates, if they aren't already. This is a very important step! Ask me how I know.

Grind the nuts for several seconds alone, until finely chopped.

These are almonds (for another upcoming post), not cashews, but you get the idea

Now run the food processor and add the dates one at a time, so we don't overload the machine.

You'll have a nicely ground mix of dates and nuts after you let it process for a moment.

Stop the machine. You officially have an energy bar. You can stop here if you like. One of my favorites is just pecans and dates mixed together. Or, throw in some other fun things you may like. I believe I added about 2 tablespoons each of chia, flax and hemp seeds.

Note that pre-grinding your flax into meal is ideal if you want it completely ground when making things in a food processor. I forgot here. But that's okay, it's still good.

Now add cacao powder! About 1/2 cup. This is completely dependent on you and your taste buds. Here is where I add some vanilla extract (alcohol free is preferred for raw desserts, but whatever you got!) and a pinch of pink Himalayan salt (less than 1/4 tsp).

Run the machine for a minute or so, and things will start binding together in a gooey yummy mess. Now let's make cookies!

All the fun of baking without the hot oven to contend with.

I find it easiest to make small balls and smoosh them flat by hand, thus the cookie resemblance. You can pat them into a large pan (I would recommend pre-cutting bars in this case, they firm up quite a bit!) or shape them into bars with your hands/plastic wrap. Husband even cut them out with cookie cutters for us recently. Pop them in the freezer if you like them cold like me, or the fridge if you prefer.

A flower cookie for C-bear from Daddy, left most section.

Ani Phyo has a great cookie recipe in her dessert book, Carob Walnut Cookies. They follow the same basics as discussed here, and she puts her cookies in the freezer-this is how I learned I like them really cold!

See you tomorrow!

Vegan MoFo Day 16: Cookbooks & Their Authors

2010-11-22T12:15:00.000-05:00

Hi! How was your weekend? Are you (U.S.-ian's) buisily preparing for a certain holiday this week? We have been invited to a relative's house for Thanksgiving, necessitating a quick and easy dish and a gluten free dessert. More info on that later.

For the majority of this week you may find me babbling about raw desserts. Because they are good! And they are or can be very low in added sweeteners! Also, they are basically free of gluten and soy. And those are all neat things, for the allergen folks, and also for our taste buds and the waist line, things I haven't really focused on before in my life until now. Today though, I want to feature some of my favorite cookbooks and authors, both for raw things and cooked. The first being, of course, Miz Isa of the Chandra Moskowitzes.

My journey to veganism started with the Vegan Lunchbox blog, which shortly introduced me to Isa's website and her books. The Veganomicon had just come out and after picking up this book and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World I was one spoiled, happy food eating vegan. Her latest book, Appetite For Reduction, looks just as promising as all of her current books, and I am so excited for December to get here this year, delivering this book into my grubby little paws.

Terry Hope Romero is the second author I automatically trust when it comes to cooking delicious food, and her latest book Viva Vegan is not a let down. Every recipe we have tried we have liked, if not loved. And the seitan recipes? Absurdly easy. If you had troubles with making your own before, look no further.

The third author that came into my early vegan life was Dreena Burton, and her book Vive le Vegan! Her latest, Eat Drink & Be Vegan and her first, The Every Day Vegan, are just as superb. I like that she uses little if any wheat in her recipes and relies on hemp foods in baking, making her baked goods healthy and delicious. The tamari roasted chickpeas we eat almost daily come from ED&BV. And as a bonus to you vegan mamas wondering what to feed your kiddos, Dreena has included an entire section on this in the back of Vive.

On the raw side of the vegan spectrum, I have two favorite authors who never let me down-Ani Phyo and Matthew Kenney.

My favorite book from Ani will be her dessert book, because hey, who doesn't like a sweet now and then? But her latest book, Ani's Raw Food Essentials, is also a treasure trove of knowledge on raw food. Things I had been experimenting with on my own or recently been reading about are covered here, from kombucha to kefir, dehydrator pancakes to cookies made from leftover almond milk pulp. I have read over this book twice now, and I am still learning things.

Matthew Kenney has several books out. Raw Food, Real World and Everyday Raw contain some great recipes that I really use, well, almost every day. His latest dessert book, Everyday Raw Desserts is also amazing (and the best part is most recipes don't involve needing a dehydrator-bonus for the instant gratification set like me). The photography in his books is always amazing, and I love leafing through them when I'm feeling uninspired.

Some people (not you, gentle reader, of course!) often wonder what a vegan eats, or perhaps presume that veganism involves eating carrot sticks and leaves, and decadent food can not be had. These authors and their books all aim to prove that theory wrong, and in my opinion they succeed beautifully. If you are unfamiliar with these authors or want to learn more about their works I urge you to check out your local library, preview the book on Amazon where available, and try checking them out on Google Books as well (I am always surprised at what book I can find on there to glance through before buying it). They have treated me well, and maybe they will offer you the same enjoyment.

Vegan MoFo Day 15: Dinner, Dessert and a Pantry Challenge

2010-11-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we had an easy going day around the house, finishing up projects and making some good food-pizza and raw "uncheese" cake.

Even the C-Bear got in on the action.

This was my share, with olives, pesto, tomato sauce, and broccoli slaw. Topped with a healthy shake of our parm.

And then, the cake. This was a bit of an experiment but it came out pretty good. A little too much chocolate for me (shocking, I know!)

This weekend I am faced with the project of the pantry. It is a mess.

Part of my end-of-year organizational sprint around here will involve cleaning it up!

Vegan Mofo Stardate 14 : Roll with it baby!

2010-11-19T22:02:00.001-05:00

So, lets talk Spring rolls (no, not old 80s songs as implied by the title). So, these were made at the direction of my wife, who, I might add, likes Spring rolls. A lot. Particularly the ones from a certain Thai place we happen to currently frequent. Truth be told, I do to, so it's not like I'm complaining here; except when she ~~eats all~~ any of mine.

What we were really going for here was a raw roll, or at least mostly raw, in that once made, we wouldn't actually cook the rolls. As it turned out, some of the ingredients in these were cooked, but the roll itself and the accompanying dippin sauce were raw.

You'll need:

1 pkg of Spring roll wrappers.
There are so many varieties of these I can't begin to tell you which ones to buy specifically, but you want ones that are for all purpose use, not frying. Generally, the frying only ones are the "rice paper" kind, and the general purpose ones are wheat based. You can also get them in many shapes and sizes. The particular ones I used this time were dried triangular Vietnamese wrappers. Next time I have a batch of frozen larger square ones to use.

Something large enough to hold the wrapper so it can soak in
Water

As for the filling:
This time around I used shredded Napa cabbage (1 whole head)
shredded raw carrots
some pre roasted green beans
a lightly toasted combination of 1/4 cup of each of the following (6-7 minutes in a 350 oven)
Amaranth, sesame seeds, ground up cashews and ground up walnuts
If you want to leave these raw, I'd swap the amaranth for Hemp or Flax seed instead. Totally up to you, I just chose these because they are mild in flavor.

The assembly table...

To make a roll, soak the wrapper in the water for about 15 seconds, until it gets soft. Don't leave it in too long or else it'll turn to mush. Also, once you take it out of the water it will continue to soften until it starts to dry, so don't worry if it's a little stiff when you take it out.

Lika dissa...

Add the filling ingredients at the bottom, being careful not to over stuff. For these wrappers, you'll notice i put everything in the middle at the bottom of the larger rounded edge. This gives you the ability to fold the sides over before you finish rolling in the vain hope that your filling won't fall out of the ends when you pick it up or bite it. I used about a tablespoon each of the cabbage and carrots, added 1 or 2 beans, then a tsp or 2 of the seed and nut combo.

The order does.....not matter

Once you get everything added, roll up by first lifting the bottom up and over the stuffing, then pulling it back to tighten it up and get it started. Fold the ends over toward the middle, making sure to tuck the wrapper over the filling. You want to fold it once, then go back and pull the little flap that's left over into the middle too. It's hard to explain, but once you do it a few times, you'll see what I mean. If everything falls out, don't panic, just start over. If the wrapper tears, just get a new one, no big deal. The art of making these is something that takes patience and practice, so just hang in there and you'll get it. For reference, the first time I made rolls, I put the ingredients on the wrong end and couldn't for the life of me figure out why they wouldn't roll up correctly. It's all about the skills.

I couldn't take pictures and roll at the same time... so work with me here!

Finish rolling by using your index fingers in the middle, and your middle fingers on the ends, and roll it up, keeping it taught, but not so tight it tears. You can feel the wrapper stretch as you roll, and that's ok. Once you reach the top, make sure to gently press the little pointed part down so that it will bond to the rest. Place it on a cookie sheet to sit for a few minutes, so that the wrapper sticks to itself and seals up the roll. Were you going to fry them, that would be the time, but as I said we chose not too.

1 down.. 4 bajillion to go

After I ran out of beans, I switched to shredded broccoli slaw. I let them sit for about 10 minutes (after I made the last one) before serving them. In the end I stopped because I ran out of wrappers. As you can see I did get quite a few done. After they sit, they will be a little gummy, but they won't stick to your mouth when you eat them. With all the crunchy veggies inside, the texture of the wrapper gets lost pretty easily.

These ones have peanuts and soap in them!!!!

If you can name that show.. you win a cookie.
ANYWHO...
Somewhere in there I made the dippin sauce.

Raw Nut dipping sauce
1/2 cup raw almond butter
2T Tamari
1/4 cup water
1T of Rice Vinegar
a few dashes of Sriacha (or Asian chile sauce)
tsp of garlic powder
tsp of date sugar

I whipped this up in a bowl with a whisk for a minute or so. If you like yours thick like, leave out a tablespoon of the water. This was pretty thick to begin with, so experiment a little with what works best for your desired consistency or flavor. One idea I have is swapping the Tamari with Coconut Aminos...

That's right..I'm awesome. The pan on the right has the string beans, broccoli slaw on the left. It didn't matter..for them.

All was eaten with great fervor by the wife and I. C to her credit tried one, but didn't like the wrapper, so she got something else to eat instead. As far as the filling goes, you could really use about anything. Any crunchy item works well as the base, so any cabbage, or crunchy raw veggie is good (oooooo, I wonder what shredded jicama would be like in these!!!). Rice noodles would work too, just make sure to soak them first to soften them. We would have added avocado to ours, but ours were bad and so we missed out on that. The great part is that since these aren't cooked, you don't have the issue of things releasing water and making the roll soggy, so you can use mushrooms, and the like. I know I used some cooked ingredients, but I'm labeling these as raw because it's very easy to make them that way. I liked the idea of lightly toasting the seeds and nuts for extra flavor, but it's certainly not required. Go crazy, I won't tell.

Vegan MoFo Day 13: Almond Pulp Cookies

2010-11-18T21:12:00.000-05:00

One of the (delicious) side effects of making your own creamy almond milk at home is all the lovely almond pulp that we have leftover. (I sometimes dream of Alots of almond pulp.) In efforts to use it up (read: keep it from taking over the refrigerator and the freezer) I have been experimenting with dehydrator cookies combining it with other fun superfoods to eat.

You know you are not used to blogging when you get about halfway through a project and then think, "Hey, I should take pictures. I could blog this!" This is sort of what that scenario might look like.

The olives were not part of the recipe.

Using the Macaroon recipe from Raw Food Real World and this recipe found by Googling as a guide, I combined a big mess of stuff into a bowl.

Using my hands I mixed it all up, and then scooped the mix all fancy-like into a cookie scooper. (I like that word, scoop. Scooooop).

And then scooped them onto a dehydrator screen.

And popped them into the dehydrator.

And after about 16 hours, ate them.

There were a few more than this leftover, but not many.

They were really good, though next time I might dehydrate them a bit longer-I love these cookies crunchy! I also love how the dried fruit rehydrates a bit and takes on a new texture.

To make this recipe, I used leftover pulp from about 3 batches of almond milk-so 3 cups of almond milk pulp total. This is a rough guesstimate and can be tweaked in either direction.

Leftover Almond Dehydrator Cookies
3 cups of almond milk pulp
1 cup of goji berries
1 cup of cranberries
1/4 cup cacao nibs
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 and 1/2 cups maple syrup (actually a bit less)
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
3 Tbs Chia seeds
(I would use flax meal and hemp seeds next time-I was out this day!)
Cacao powder. Several heaping tablespoons. I would guess about 1/4-1/3 cup, but there will be an accurate measurement after I make them again!

I used the smallest size scooper we have-a size 60, or 2 tsp. Place them on your trays, turn the dehydrator on to 105, and let it run until your cookies are as dry as you like, about 16-24 hours. And enjoy! I think I will go have a couple more myself now.

Vegan MoFo Day 12: Lunch

2010-11-17T14:08:00.000-05:00

A typical adult lunch around here is salad, full of yummy things. I enjoy it layered with a very light drizzle of dressing. Today's salad was washed fresh lettuce and baby spinach, broccoli sprouts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, and tamari roasted chickpeas. My broccoli & carrot slaw wasn't looking good so I skipped it today, sadface. Exciting posts about salads are here and here. Well, exciting if you are a salad nerd like me. Also pictured: My future avocado snack and my "green" smoothie.

Today the C-bear had chickpeas, a small Rhode Island style pizza, smoothie, and carrot sticks for lunch.

Vegan MoFo Day 11: Our Parm

2010-11-15T20:19:00.000-05:00

I love nooch. Nutritional yeast, if you aren't familiar with the term. It's a vegetarian B-12 supplement that resembles "cheese" in its color and slightly in flavor. It's not the same thing as cheese though, so don't expect that! I love nooch so much, I like to eat it on its own sometimes.

A bit dry, a little chewy, but dang, so good.

The other day, my two year old asked for some nooch from the jar. Not on anything in particular, just plain nooch. That's my girl.

Nooch is an important ingredient in the vegan parmesan I make. My recipe is made with stuff we generally have on hand based on the recipe from Yellow Rose Recipes by Joanna Vaught. (Limited copies left! If you want this book, now is the time! It is one of my favorites.) It's great to use around the house and we even take it with us to the local pizza place-order a pie without cheese and apply your parm liberally.

1/3 cup of hemp seeds
1/3 cup of walnuts
1/3 cup of nooch
1/3 cup of brown rice flour
1/2 tsp salt

I use our stick blender's chopping attachment to waz this up. It's kinda handy for small jobs like this.

30 seconds or so should do the trick.

And then I pour it in the stainless steel shaker can, for easy distribution.

A widemouth canning jar funnel work perfectly and keeps me from making a mess. I need all the help I can get.

Slap a label on it if you are so inclined, stick it in the fridge and call it done.

This is great on pizzas, pasta, soups, salads, just about anything you might have eaten parmesan on and some things you didn't think of before (I never was one to put parm on pizza pre-vegan, though my husband did). Enjoy!

Vegan MoFo Day 10: Grocery Shopping

2010-11-13T16:50:00.000-05:00

A weekend post! Because yesterday was a busy day.

On Fridays we usually do the bulk of our grocery shopping. As I mentioned in a previous post, we have a pretty awesome co-op we shop at. This store allows us to order things online a week in advance, such as flours, nuts, seeds, bulk beans, etc. It's quite easy to stock up on things as we need them, and benefit from a member discount as well.

While picking up this order, we will grab our produce in the store at the same time. This store carries a large amount of local produce, all of it organic. This week we bought:
Bok Choy
Avocado
Romaine lettuce
Sweet and yellow potatoes
Apples
Carrots
Celery
Grapes
Kale
Lemons
Limes
Spaghetti Squash
Butternut Squash
Bell Peppers (Purple!)
Strawberries
Tangerines (the 2 year old's new favorite snack)

And picked up from the order:
Buckwheat flour
Spelt flours
Quinoa Flour
White Rice flours
Vanilla Flavor
Olives (C-bear and I LOVE olives!)
Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta (Elbows & Penne)

People often ask me how I handle getting shopping down with two small children, and the truth is I often don't. Husband can usually swing by the store after work to grab our groceries on his way home, leaving me more time to ~~cook~~ ~~clean~~ hmm, play with the kids? We then bulk cook on weekends and have easy meals to prepare during the week. Some things we will be making this week include Smokey Chipotle Split Pea Soup, Raw veggie summer rolls, pizza, and Butternut Rancheros (excited to try this!).

Fun links I've found perusing lately:

Healthy Choice-On the subject of homemade almond butter.
Chew On This-Ready to go mac n' cheese mix!
Quite possibly the best thing ever: Mo makes Thanksgiving in a cake. It is epic.

Happy Weekending!

Vegan MoFo Day 9: Are We There Yet?

2010-11-11T18:55:00.000-05:00

What, this MoFo thing isn't over yet? Are you sure? It feels like I've been blogging about food for like forever. Okay maybe not really forever. It's more like I-Make-Up-Posts-All-The-Time-But-Forget-Them-Almost-Instantly, thus putting me into a perpetual state of feeling like I've already talked about something awesome.

Today I'm going to talk about something awesome I have already talked about. Oh no wait, Husband did. Back here.

Ever have one of those wearying days of working, errands, shopping, kid shuttling, and other fun awesome modern things to do? Sometimes you just want to cook a nice easy meal at the end of the day and not dirty every dish and spend an hour or more to do it. This is that recipe that saves us on those days, like today. Added bonus: It passes the two year old taste test with gusto.

Our Generic Throw What You Got In Stir Fry (Reprise)

This makes enough for 2 if it's all you're eating, 4 if it's a side.

3-4 TBS Canola, Peanut or other light tasting "saute friendly" oil. You could also use Coconut oil if you like that taste in your rice
2 Cups frozen peas
4 cups cooked rice (fresh or even better, cooked and then refrigerated)
1 tsp Sesame seed oil (regular or toasted)
2 tsp Garlic powder
2 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Mustard seed powder
1/4 Cup Low Sodium Tamari, Shoyu or Soy Sauce
Optional, and fun:

Any other veg you have on hand, chopped evenly and finely-shown is broccoli slaw from Trader Joe's and red pepper in addition to peas
Cashews or peanuts
mushrooms!!
Sriracha, or another hot sauce
Seitan (the white steamed seitan from Viva Vegan was an excellent choice for us once) or tofu

Over high heat, cook the peas in 2 TBS oil for 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and add cooked rice, and add a little more canola oil and the sesame oil. Stir the rice for a few minutes, then add the spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the Tamari. Stir through and serve hot.

Feel free to add any veggies you find to your liking. Any long cooking or frozen veggies would need to go in before hand (alternatively you could steam them first, then toss them around at first just to give them a little color.

Vegan MoFo Day 8: Make Your Own Adventure in Nut Butters

2010-11-10T16:27:00.000-05:00

Nut butter can be expensive. Especially the raw kind. Unless you live near a Trader Joe's or your grocery store has a wider selection than the standard peanut butter you might not even see such awesome choices as almond, brazil nut or cashew butters. My grocery stores have such offerings in the "healthy" food section-ringing up at $8 to $12 dollars a jar. Ouch!

We are lucky to have a lovely local food co-op that allows members to make bulk purchases as needed. This makes purchasing organic, raw nuts very affordable for our family. Last month we found on sale and purchased a 25 pound case of organic almonds for nut milks, butters and raw desserts, a 25 pound case of walnuts for the same purposes, and the month before that a 25 pound case of cashews for, you guessed it, nut milk, butters and raw desserts. Cashews also lend themselves to making raw cheeses and pates. So much fun! The other night, Husband and I realized we were nearly out of tahini-and having just picked up a 5 pound bag of sesame seeds, I decided to embark on a tasty nut butter adventure of the mediterranean type. Step 1-Get out your food processor.

Just don't do whatever the Warning is telling you not to do. Pick up spiny sea urchins? Throw Ninja Stars? You decide.

Step 1 can also involve a Vita Mix or Blendtec blender. But I tend to make a large batch at once and the food processor is my chosen implement of destruction.

Step 2-Pick your nuts/seeds. As we mentioned, Sesame is on the menu today. Don't like raw butters? Roast your sesame seeds first in an oven on low heat for a couple of minutes.

Yep, Sesame Seeds. Says so right there.

Step 3-Add to food processor bowl. Guesstimate about how much you want to put in there. There's no right or wrong answer.

This will work.

Step 4-Turn it on!

Spin baby spin.

Now we play the waiting game. I find that sesame seeds, cashews, and walnuts turn into butter fairly quickly. Raw almonds will take the longest, at upwards of twenty minutes. Yep, twenty. Just when you think you are wasting your time and the food processor starts to overheat, bingo-you hit the sweet spot of creamy nut butter.

Luckily, it's not hard to tell when you've reached it.

This is not it. Keep going.

I sort of timed how long this batch took to make. And by sort of, I mean not really. And by timed, I mean I took pictures of the wall, floor, ceiling, entire kitchen complete with Husband not paying attention (I can't really believe I'm going to post it, the mess makes me cringe), the kiddo as she runs in and out of the room, the baby as she watches me in the swing, and some more shots of the food processor spinning. Outtakes, you know.

But don't tell your husband you took this photo, just post it on the blog. He loves surprises.

Back to the nut butter. 3? 5? minutes later, I stopped the machine, scraped the sides and turned it back on. And watched.

Entertaining for a short while.

Let's discuss the Almost-There-But-Not-Really issue. At some point you will see the butter forming a large ball and the standard reaction is "Ding! Butter done!"

No. It is not.

Close!

Scrape down the sides and keep going. Just a few more moments, I promise. It could be 30 seconds, it could be 2 minutes, but the ball will disappear and then the real creaminess will shine through with all the natural nut oils helping things along.

In the meantime, pour all those tiny seeds into a giant container. Don't spill them. You'll think you swept them all up but in fact will be finding them years later, trust me on that one.

After the ball disappears, check the machine periodically, as is comfortable for you. I don't really think this sort of thing can be over processed, so go ahead and ~~stare at the wall for awhile~~ do something productive for a moment.


Fin: Creamy, delicious nut butter.

I know there's not much difference between the last picture and this one, despite this one having a strange color cast (I fail at fixing in Photoshop) but when you are actively doing this in the field, you will be able to tell the difference by touching and tasting. Also if you try to spread it on something, the texture will be evident. Practice! Do not be disappointed by small set backs! This is the advice I have for you.

Step, um, I forget. Pour your butter into a glass mason jar, recycled other-kind-of-jar, plastic tub, whatever floats your boat. Label and enjoy. No matter what direction your adventure takes, the results are just as tasty. Now if you'll excuse me, there are some almonds that need to be pulverized in the refrigerator. Huzzah!

Vegan MoFo Day 7: Brunch for the bunch

2010-11-09T10:05:00.011-05:00

nomnomnomnom....

The mornings fare consisted of what I call diner fries. It combines several things I like in large amounts, all served together.... the only thing missing was some bacon.... (vegan of course)

4-6 organic Potatoes, washed and cut into bite size pieces (I leave on the skin)

This particular time I used half red and half russet

3-4 T organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pkg organic button mushrooms, cleaned and stems trimmed
5-6 small organic garlic cloves peeled

2 large organic yellow onions, large dice
3 organic purple peppers, large dice
Homemade organic Veggie broth as needed (or water)

Spice team
1T + 2tsp organic dried Dill
1 tsp ground organic Coriander Seed
organic fresh ground pepper
Sea Salt

Start by heating the oven to 400, and cut up the potatoes. Toss with 2T of Olive oil, and lightly salt them. Roast for 10 minutes, then toss in the Garlic and Whole mushrooms.

At the halfway point...

Cook until the potatoes are golden brown. Remove from the oven and add the 2 tsp of dry dill.

Done, but before Dill

While the potatoes cook, heat 1 T olive oil in a large heavy skillet and add the diced onion. Saute for 5 minutes, then add the peppers and a pinch or two of sea salt.

Saute until darkened, or about 10-15 minutes. If anything sticks add a shot of veggie broth. In our case, since we use a cast iron Le Cruset pan, things start to get good and dark and stick. Add the spices, (using 1T of dry dill and salt and pepper to taste) and stir for 30 seconds or so. Turn the heat to low and immediately de-glaze the pan with about 1/4 cup of veggie broth. This not only does the job of loosening the stuff from sticking, but it also soaks up all the dark bits that have all the flavor. Continue to cook on low heat until almost all of the broth is gone.

Serve by heaping a pile of potato mixture on the plate, then spoon some of the onion and pepper mix on top. I'm sure you could add things like salsa, vegan Worcestershire and/or avocado to this and it would be good, but we opted for lightly toasted Ezekiel Sprouted bread "buttered' with some homemade Organic White Bean and Dill Hummus I made the night before.

The delicious close up...

The C bear received the following plate for breakfast to eat with us...

That's Organic Red Grapes, an Organic Tangerine and some of the plain roasted potatoes, pre-dill. After all that, she really just wanted the toast, although she did eat the tangerine and some of the grapes. In her defense, she ate a buckwheat and spelt waffle and a banana before I made all this, so she probably wasn't really very hungry. Buckwheat and spelt waffles you ask? Why yes... I made those the previous morning.

In case you haven't picked up on a theme here, my wife likes Dill. Alot. That's right, an alot of Dill....

Vegan MoFo Day 6: Blast Off Pops!

2010-11-08T20:08:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday! While today is day 8 in MoFo festivities, I will be opting to take the weekends of this month off to spend with the family-lots of decluttering, cleaning and general fun to accomplish with my loves! So this is entry 6 for me.

Today I want to post about another quick snack my two year old enjoys. Chocolate fudgesicles! These aren't your ordinary run of the mill fudgesicles, though. These are packed with nutrition and the best part is, my kid loves them. With a capital "L"!

Although I still feel a bit like a delinquent mom when I let her have one after breakfast.

The idea behind this recipe is to make a very thick smoothie, flavored with lots of Cacao powder. The thicker you make it, the more creamy it will be when it freezes! And please note that I use the term "recipe" very loosely here. This is basically a green smoothie in popsicle form, there is a very wide margin of error!

That said, I have been experimenting with this recipe to make about 6 pops (And I always end up with extra, which the kiddo will drink while waiting eagerly for the pops to freeze. I really need a second set of molds!)

Into the Vita Mix, I throw:
6 or 7 medjool dates, pitted
Enough water to cover the dates by about a half inch
1 banana
1/3 to 1/2 cup of cashews
1 heaping handful of washed spinach (pictured) or kale
1 heaping Tbs each of chia, flax and hemp seeds (called the seed trifecta in this house)
1 1/2 Tbs of vanilla extract (alcohol free is preferred in raw desserts, this can also be called vanilla flavoring, though I am using up my extract first and they turn out fine)
3 Tbs organic raw cacao powder, or more or less to taste

To start, place the dates and water in the blender and let them set for 10 minutes or so to soften. This will make them a bit easier to blend. After that, load up the blender with everything else listed-plus anything else you might want to throw in (liquid stevia for sweetness, different nuts or seeds, etc). Remember that you are basically making a thick, creamy chocolate smoothie here-anything you typically put in your smoothies you could add if you like. Experiment!

Pour into molds (these are BPA free rocket pops by Tovolo, gifted to us by a lovely grandmother. This company also makes stars and a large groovy style set. So cute.)

Freeze and enjoy one! Or two. Hey, they are good for you, right?

Happy Monday!

Vegan MoFo Day 5: Soup 'n Stock

2010-11-05T16:37:00.000-04:00

I love the cool fall weather. With fall, comes soups. We love soups! Big hearty bean and veg filled soups. And the base to our tasty soups starts with a nice savory stock.

Stock is very easy to make, and very quick as well. Even chasing around a toddler and nursing a 5 month old all day, I can find the time to squeeze this into our food prep. The added bonus is, once cooked it will hang around on the stove for an hour or so until you are ready to put it away. Homemade stock will taste so much better than anything you can buy at the store! If you absolutely must purchase your stock, we have had great luck trying the Trader Joe's brand low sodium veg broth.

To start with, you need the trinity of onion, carrot, and celery. We are big believers in the benefits of organic produce, so we frequent our local co-op and support our farms in our veg purchases. Excitingly enough, shallots have arrived-I threw some in with the onions when I started this stock.

Sauteed in a quick drizzle of olive oil, we like to let them cook low and slow to really darken the pieces up!

This is the chopping board where I cut up the onion, and celery and carrots. Once the onions are good and caramelized, in go the celery and carrot. Some minced garlic is also a nice addition-add it toward the end so it doesn't burn.

After they cook for a bit and soften up, I add about 8 or 10 cups of water, depending on my mood.

Peppercorns and bay leaves added! At this point I cover it up and let it come to a boil. Then I let it simmer for about an hour. The result is a tasty, delicious soup stock I could drink on its own! Just strain and drain. Be sure to press all the good juices out of the solids in the strainer before tossing them in the compost.

Stock makes a great base for our soups, such as this minestrone we threw together to use up odds and ends in the pantry-all organic kale, kidney and white beans, orzo pasta, and frozen peas.I will top this liberally with our homemade raw parm mix (hiding in the stainless steel shaker there!) and happily slurp up this and a second helping! Store your extra stock in the fridge for quick weeknight cooking.

You may note that we don't add any sort of salt to our broth. We like to wait until making the final soup to add some sea salt in. Also, there are many more veggies that could be added to your stock-this is sort of a quick basic one for us. Try leeks, potato, celeriac, mushrooms, anything in your fridge! Most importantly, have fun with it!

Vegan MoFo Day 4: Kid Snack Plate

2010-11-04T12:04:00.002-04:00

Another quick one, as there are errands to run today!

This is a typical snack plate for my two year old-some nuts (organic raw macadamia) some roasted organic chickpeas (coated in tamari and nothing else-very tasty!) and an organic apple (she loves eating them whole, and will have a fit if she sees me or Husband chopping it up for her). And a big pile of organic nooch* covered kale chips, which she loves-she and I can easily eat two bunches these days. Thank goodness there is plenty growing in the garden!

*nooch=nutritional yeast!

Like reading about food? Check out more Vegan MoFo fun at Vegan MoFo Headquarters International!

Vegan MoFo Day 3: Sweet Potato Falafel

2010-11-03T13:36:00.002-04:00

Today's post is quick-but yummy. A few days ago someone posted about these Sweet Potato Falafels from 101 Cookbooks and I, being a big sweet potato fan, opted to try them. Oh, are they ever good! Even my two year old took to eating them, calling them "dookies", her pronunciation for cookies. Last night, Husband threw together a couple of falafel in a brown rice tortilla, with some shredded lettuce, dill pickles and a tahini-lemon sauce from 1000 Vegan Recipes. Because the recipe is available to preview in Google Books, I feel okay reprinting it here for your convinence!

tahini-lemon sauce (Page 558 of 1000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson)
3 Tbs tahini
1 tsp minced garlic
3 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup water, plus more if needed
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley

In a small bowl whisk together the tahini, garlic, lemon juice and soy sauce. Then whisk in the oil and water. Blend well. Stir in the parsley, adding more water if the sauce is too thick.

If not using right away, cover and refrigerate until needed. It will keep 2 to 3 days.

Our tweaks to this recipe included using tamari instead of soy sauce, and 2 tsp instead of 2 Tbs sesame oil. Even with this adjustment we found the sauce salty and tasting of toasted sesame oil, which lent a smokey, creamy flavor to the wrap. So good!

Like reading about food? Check out more Vegan MoFo fun at Vegan MoFo Headquarters International!
And if you are interested in learning more about the book 1000 Vegan Recipes, may I suggest this blog?

The Chrisasaurus Smokey Dill Dressing

2010-11-02T14:09:00.000-04:00

One of the benefits of blogging is that you can come back and check up on things you may have forgotten you were doing or eating a week, a month, a year ago. Today's recipe is a dressing husband whipped up one day, and we enjoyed often. After a year of not making it, however, he couldn't recall what I was talking about when I requested it again-luckily I had typed the recipe up in a draft post that didn't come to fruition..uh, two years ago. I even saved the title he gave his yummy little creation.

The Chrisasaurus Smokey Dill Dressing

3 tbs organic extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs organic red wine vinegar
1 tbs organic agave nectar, maple syrup, or date paste
2 tsp organic dijon mustard
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp smoked paprika
heavy pinch sea salt

Combine your items in a bowl, whisk and enjoy. We make it in large batches and store it in an old Good Seasons bottle for funsies. As you can see, I am currently running a bit low.

Like reading about food? Check out more Vegan MoFo fun at Vegan MoFo Headquarters International!

It's about to get all vegan up in here

2010-11-01T15:56:00.010-04:00

Oh hay. It's November! Which means it's time for a bunch of bloggers to get together and talk about food. Vegan food, to be precise. Seriously! No, seriously!

I am not totally sure why I decided I would be up to the challenge of posting every day for a month with two small kids running around in the background, but I think it will be fun. Or it will kill me. Either way, you get to read about delicious food, so you win!

Today I'm going to talk about green beans. My eating of green beans was revolutionized two years ago when I first tried them roasted. Oh, here's that entry. I already talked about them, you say? Well that should just double your determination to try them. My two year old will eat a batch of these all on her own. Better tasting and much healthier for you than potato chips, I bet you still can't eat just one.

I sure can't.

Preheat your oven to 450 F!

Take a bunch of green beans-1 or 2 lbs. In the winter, after we have exhausted our own supply we will find organic ones at Trader Joe's.

Drizzle on the amount of olive oil you are comfortable with (1-2 tbs or so)

Sprinkle a little sea salt on them!

Roast for 15 minutes. Maybe a couple more if they are frozen beans. I don't mind if they get a little charred, but you might. Watch them!

Eat them all. Go ahead, right off the pan. I'm not looking, I'm too busy doing the same.

Be sure to stop by the MoFo Headquarters and check out the (way more) awesome things other people have going on!

P.S. Today is World Vegan Day. Hug a vegetable (or a Veg*n!)

coconut haystacks!

2010-09-23T15:23:00.005-04:00

These are the best treat, I think, right now as summer has wound down but fall isn't quite here yet in the south mid-atlantic. Cool, but not too cold. Of course, they are mighty hard to photograph in an exciting, eye pleasing way...
But I find that is normal when I'm rushed, trying to keep tiny hands from grabbing them away before I can take a picture.

These are coconut haystacks, a raw vegan treat brought to my attention by a couple of awesome blogs such as this. The basic recipe is very good on its own, but I also threw in some hemp seeds, flax meal and chia seeds to boost nutrition and get some good EFA's into my kidlet. And boy, do these ever get into the kidlet (and myself!). So yummy, and a great afternoon treat on a warmish September day.

this n that

2010-04-21T08:37:00.007-04:00

Yay 2010 and new garden beds.

We are hard at work with little word on what is going on, mostly due to the planning for, and then the actual arrival of Babysaurus The Second in June. I type now with the six week old darling girl sleeping on my chest, a feeling I hope to never forget, and her older sister nearby telling me all about her stuffed dog. She does love the dogs.

We were late getting things in the spring. Direct seeded peas, lettuce, chard, kale, beans, squash, cukes, tomatoes, peppers and an eggplant. The peppers are barley making it, the eggplant never coming up. Now that the peas are past we have planted more beans. The zucchini had a nasty bout with the vine borers again, and doesn't seem to be fruiting anymore sadly. We are awash in cucumbers and yellow squash, and tiny patty pans are joining in as well.

Loving the bounty of summer.

tomatoes

2009-07-23T09:03:00.005-04:00

We got those.
Romas-

And Green Zebra.

Elsewhere, we are suffering a lack of squash and zucchini after a severe vine borer attack. We uprooted all the plants and killed all the larvae we found. Hopefully we got them all, and next year we will grow our squash under row covers until the threat of aerial attack has passed.

Also steadily rolling in: cucumbers and string beans. And oh, there's lots of taters to dig.

more beans, please!

2009-06-28T17:08:00.005-04:00

I wanted to mention a new book I picked up recently called Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman. Andrea has written several books including The Roasted Vegetable and The New Vegetarian Grill, and has contributed to The Classic Zucchini Cookbook-all new favorite cookbooks of mine with many amazing options (the roasted kohlrabi has convinced me to grow this veg in the fall).

Yesterday we tried the roasted green beans recipe which is in Serving Up the Harvest and The Roasted Vegetable. You can search either book for the recipe on Amazon and I highly recommend you do-it's simple (2 lbs of beans, oil, salt, an oven at 450 for 15 mins) and oh so delicious. It takes the grassy edge off the beans and makes them sweet and juicy. Having picked our plants clean to make this, we are now waiting for them to produce more (and contemplating hitting the farmers market in the meantime). The recipe is correct-there are never enough green beans once you've tried this recipe.

today: 27 June

2009-06-27T12:59:00.004-04:00

Today we have potatoes. Purple Peruvians.
Steamed and mashed, served with fresh dill, salt and pepper. Yum.
It's hot here, hottest it has been all year, but you won't find me outside in less than jeans, knee high socks and long sleeve shirt to garden anymore. The mosquitoes find me quite delicious, apparently, and somehow manage to bite me even through all this protection.

Yesterday's haul: 2 zukes, lots of chard and green beans. Today's haul looked like this, but 2 cukes and 2 yellow squash included. We are not sick of squash....yet.
Lots of stuff growing and growing and growing. Here the cherokee moon and stars watermelon is climbing high. There's already one melon the size of an orange and several more starting to grow. Think we'll start pinching back the vine to focus on three or four good melons. We will slip these melons inside old nylon stockings and support them on the trellis. This way should keep the birds away. I won't believe it until I see it, for we have several fearless deep crows hanging around the yard. They've already attacked the neighbor's tomatoes...

the squash are in

2009-06-23T14:54:00.003-04:00

....seven weeks after planting. It's nice to keep records so I can determine this sort of thing for the future. Now if only we had written down the day we planted the potatoes. I'd like to say it's almost time for them to come out, but all I see when I dig around in the dirt are tiny wee taters that seem smaller than the seed pieces we put in. Any advice?

hidden treasures

2009-06-18T13:05:00.007-04:00

The fun part about gardening, especially if you are trying it out for the first time in years and have forgotten all the cool bits, is going out each day to see what nature has created for you.

Our first snap beans! mmm... purple.

To think that Nature has created this bounty as a byproduct of normal plant growth, and my family will harvest and sustain ourselves from it is incredible in its synergy. Particularly when warped ideas about where food really comes from abound in today's removed society.

Our favorite part of the garden has been tooling around first thing in the morning, still in our pj's, cultivating what's here, dreaming about future plans.

Having a snack or two to munch on is helpful, of course. The bean with a bite taken out of it was nommed by the C-bear. If I told you none of the peas we harvested this year ever made it to the table, barely into the house, would you be surprised?

a favorite passage

2009-06-18T11:15:00.009-04:00

Removing the weeds
putting fresh soil about the bean stems
and encouraging this weed which I had sown
making the yellow soil express its summer thought
in bean leaves and blossoms
rather than in wormwood and piper and millet grass
making the earth say beans
instead of grass-
this was my daily work.
-Henry David Thoreau, Walden

fast grow the weeds

2009-05-28T17:46:00.004-04:00

First, a question for you uber gardeners out there: I have read that tomatoes actually enjoy being planted in the same place in the garden year after year. Fact? Or Fiction?

I am always surprised at how fast the time rolls by, and with a small child the adventures are ... new! Yet the garden, it never sleeps.

We started out this year with the Square Foot Gardening method. I'm sure you might have heard of it. While the book sells like a Ronco infomercial, the logic behind it seems sound. Yet we have discovered that having plants spread out among six beds and the upkeep of the "squares" just isn't our style.

And that's okay.

We are drowning in a sea of lettuce and spinach, chard and kale. The cabbage worms have struck, the thunderstorms have pelted, and now the sun shines brightly. Even as I become tired of all the greens I am eating the tomatoes and squash eagerly shoot out of the ground, promises of the summer harvest.

did you have a good easter?

2009-05-14T14:39:00.005-04:00

We did. And a good vacation to Florida, my birthday was awesome, and oh, mother's day. Check and check.

So, how's things with you?

It has been crazy around here. I'm excited that we are heading into summer and the garden is picking up full steam. I have never grown a full blown vegetable garden from seed on my own before so we're learning this year what to plant when. The chrisasaurus has described the current state of it, and I have just realized my last pictures of the garden were from oh, March? Clearly outdated. We're expecting a thunderstorm soon so I'll take myself outside here with the kiddo in a few.

For now, back to the jamming that's going on in the kitchen. Not the musical kind, the strawberry kind. We went berry picking with the small one and are now knee deep in strawberries. As soon as we got there I realized we took her strawberry picking for the first time ever and I. Forgot. The. Camera. I wish I could say this bonehead move was an isolated event but it seems that it's just par for the course for me these days.

I bought a calendar with no 7's...

2009-05-13T22:07:00.004-04:00

Ok, so it's been longer than two weeks.... But I promise we've been busy. Much progress was made on the garden, so...

Now weighing in with 6 4x8 and 1 4x2 Herb bed... is the garden. Once we get photos off the digital camera we can post some. I leave that to my lovely and talented wife. Our potatoes are huge and ready to flower, as are the first plantings of peas. I'm also pleased to not that my trellis strands are working out for the pea plants; I was concerned (yes Tim Gunn finger and all) that is was a little too far away for them to climb, but they found them, with a little help.

Yesterday was our first application of DE, which is not unlike flouring. Hopefully it takes care of whatever the heck is eating the heck out of our veggies. After a brief invasion of cabbage moths, it's hoped that our broccoli and other related plants will recover. Some organic coffee grounds from work will hopefully keep the rest of the moths away so we can eat the stuff and not them.

Also, we started taking musical instrument lessons. For me, guitar and for TW, fiddle. If I find a jug of shine and some overalls it will confirm that she intends to turn me into a hillbilly (not that that's a bad thing mind you); either that or I'm trapped in a horrible episode of Hee-Haw.

As I said, pictures will be hopefully forthcoming...

snow day

2009-03-02T12:27:00.005-05:00

In march of all times. This place never ceases to amaze me with its weather capabilities.
We got four raised beds completed thursday with the arrival of the dirt. Then the rain began. And it rained and rained and rained. Then the rain turned to snow. So I made scones.
Which look more hearty and rustic than high quality but oh, did these ever taste good. These are the Orange Scones from Vegan with a Vengeance, though I subbed lemon for the orange in all places for lack of one. I expect the orange variety will be yum as well.

I also subbed whole wheat flour for the AP flour called for. I have ceased to buy any flour that isn't Bob's Red Mill and until we get a flour mill and start grinding our own (someday, when I have some semblance of spare time again) I don't think I will buy any other. The whole wheat flour is awesome for the hearty bread I make as well as for the baked goods we use it for. Sift it well and it should be good to you.

P.S. the corn meal makes an awesome cornbread as well. Future post!

working hard for the veggies

2009-02-26T20:48:00.004-05:00

With a 60 degree day on the weather radar we knew that this would be a good one for getting a jump start on our gardening plans. We are essentially starting at square one as far as food gardening, and part one of our Plan To Grow A Crapton of Veg started with building some raised beds. And 8 cubic yards of dirt!

Luckily, wonder hubby has been coming home early-ish from work to get outside every day this week and level the ground to install these beds. It wasn't all 60 degree weather these past few days-it was more like 40s and 30s in the early evening that he braved the cold.

But get them done he did-all but the fifth, which requires another run to the lumber department.
Now for the compost-y filling. And just in time for a large amount of rain this weekend. Woot.

The tomato seedlings are sprouting, coming back strong after a small over watering mishap.
And everywhere else spring it bursting onto our mild climate already. Buds on trees, flocks of robins, fields of daffodils.
This is my favorite part of the year.

the garden, stage 1

2009-02-18T17:23:00.005-05:00

Seed to Seed challenge update:

Somewhere here in the near future there will be raised beds and compost going in. Right after some of the smaller trees come out. These little guys are giving up their lives, though I promised each one we would be planting two more to replace it. Dwarf fruit trees, in the fall. That's the plan anyway!

Is it hot in here....??

2009-02-18T08:37:00.008-05:00

So it appears that now another prominent scientist has come out against the theory of runaway global warming... I'm glad to see that someone else i trying to get across a more objective view.

I suppose some background is in order.. by education, I'm an environmental scientist (concentration in waste management). I find any aspect of science deeply interesting, and I will watch any science shows I can, something that my beloved wife can't usually stand to watch. My original goal was to work for the EPA cleaning up superfund and other hazardous waste sites. I learned how to deal with petroleum spills and groundwater modeling, etc. As it turns out, back then, people didn't want you unless your degree said engineer... sure it's only a few classes, but it's a different college inside the university, and I wasn't a part of that. So now, by trade I'm a Network "Engineer". Oh well, at least I'm not slogging around in a hazmat suit now right?

In any case, during my extended stay in college, I did a research project on "global warming" in it's true form, the process of heat transport and cycling that LETS US LIVE ON THIS PLANET. People have this notion that global warming is a new term that science invented. In truth, without it, humans as we know them would not be able to survive on Earth.

Back to what I was talking about. The man's point is valid, as with most things, the goverment I believe, is using this as a way to gain a stronger foothold. The issue when a large body of people, who generally don't have your best interest in mind, is that truth often gets twisted, or at the least common sense does not prevail. In that regard, I suppose that means I should label Al Gore a villain. I have mixed feelings on this, I believe that he may truly mean well, and his message is good. More importantly, though, his data is fundamentally flawed, in my opinion. It seems that he has chosen to only take the most extreme set of data and use it, which is to say, he's using shock tactics to get his more modest point across. His message that we need to become better caretakers of our one an only planet is on the money, it's just hard to see that behind the power point slides of a post apocalyptic global warming wasteland.

Humankind has not been on the Earth long enough to know all it's inner workings. While that may be the case, I think I can say with relative certainty, as a "scientist", and someone with some shred of common sense, that we cannot continue to go on the way we are. Our food is contaminated, our air is poisoned, and our water is becoming undrinkable. At what point will we wake up and realize that THIS is what we are to blame for. A little temp change seems to pale in comparison to not being able to eat, drink, or breathe without risk of death. What many don't seem to get is that returning to a more sustainable lifestyle will have a dual positive effect of preserving our food and water supply, as well as restoring the environment. The time to start that has long passed, but maybe it's not too late to start.

On cranial offspring.... oh and olives

2009-02-11T20:23:00.006-05:00

So... a recipe...

One note before I start, the pasta needed about another 30-60 seconds of cook time. Being the first time I had made fresh whole wheat pasta, it didn't finish cooking like a white flour pasta would after taking it out of the water, so it was ever so slightly undercooked. (So that's bring water to a boil after adding fresh pasta and cook for about 3 mins instead of 2). Other than that, I would eat it everyday. Yes, all 3 meals...

There is no sauce here per se, although I imagine that a good, savory tomato or a "cream" sauce would work just fine. This particular iteration only has a light olive oil glaze on it, so you could, if you like extra OO on your pasta (I do, she doesn't), you could also add a bit more oil at the end, just drizzle over the top. Anywho..

1 bag Organic peas
1 package Tofurky Italian Sausages, cut into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices
a handful of olives, stuffed or not, the pictures olives happened to be super collossal pimento stuffed spanish olives, probably about 1/2 a cup roughly sliced
4 TBS Organic EV olive oil

I should mention this is a two pan recipe for us, as I do not like olives at all. I've tried them, with my wife as a witness, they are just too much for me. If you like olives, you can certainly do all this in one pan, and save some washing later.

In a small saucepan (or after you cook the peas below if you use the same pot), add a tablespoon of olive oil and over med high heat, saute the olives until they start to get browned, this can take up to 10 minutes depending on your pans and stove, so don't rush. If you heat them too fast, the oil inside can turn on you and make them more bitter than they already are.

In a large saucepan, start out by sauteing the peas (they can be frozen) in a tablespoon or two of olive oil over med high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, until all the peas are thawed, and they start to darken. Remove from the pan and return the pan to the heat. You know they are done when they shrivel up a little after you take them off the heat.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the sausage slices. Saute these until they get color. We have Le Creuset pans, so some of the bits in the sausage stick a little, if you use cast iron or enamel and they stick, it's ok, just stir gently constantly to keep them from burning on. After they cook for about 5 minutes, add 3 tablespoons of water or no/low salt veggie stock (you do use homemade right?) to deglaze the pan (scrape with a spoon or spatula that's safe for your pan; presumably you were already using one to stir anyway). Let this cook until the water is gone, but the sausage still looks moist, then add the peas back in and stir for a minute or two to combine. If you like the olives, then add them in with the peas or add them on top. Once combined, spoon over your cooked pasta, rice or whatever you like.

You'll note a complete lack of additional spices here. With the sausage being so heavily spiced, I didn't see any need to add more to the party. Part of the reason I like to add more oil to them is to bring out the flavors that are oil soluable and use that to coat and season the peas. So far it seems to work pretty well. Adding the peas back in when there is still a tiny amount of water left also aids in that process.

You can also top this with Vegan parm, tomato sauce, a drizzle of olive oil, or a nice lightly flavored cream sauce.

I should also note that we really do try to use all organic ingredients whenever we can. In the recipes I have given below, with a few rare exceptions, all that is organic. From now on, when I post up a recipe I will include the organic notation. This is by no means trying to dictate using organic ingredients, but perhaps it will tip you on foods that are available organically, and if you can't readily find it, maybe you'll get up the nerve to ask where we get it from!

sunday dinner

2009-02-10T23:02:00.004-05:00

Reason #87 I'm a bad food blogger: Sitting down to dinner sunday I barely remembered to snap a photo before devouring this bowl o' deliciousness.

This would be green olives, peas, and some Tofurkey sausage sauteed up together and then added to the top of...

...homemade pasta! Made with the recipe from Bryanna Clark Grogan and my mom's pilfered pasta maker. Rawr!

Husband dearest, would you like to post the recipe? It was your brain child, after all.

ladeda

2009-02-08T21:00:00.007-05:00

Well that was a nice break now wasn't it?
When people ask me "what's new" I have a bad habit of replying "not much". For a number of reasons: I don't want to bore them with a subject they might not care about, or I don't feel like giving a big explanation for something, or I am too embarrassed to admit what I was really doing (looking up vegan food pron, hello). So it's a bit of a change for me to blog about what is actually going on in life here.
And the reality is ... not much. I made stock. Lots of veg stock.

And brownies! More on this development soon.
Also, our sweet bug turned a year old. It's crazy to think that I have been a mother for a year, but even more unbelievable to look at the tiny creature she used to be and all the growth that has occurred since.

So, interesting stuff, yes? Life at its best. And more to come, always. Always.

DING! rice is done!

2009-01-12T23:13:00.007-05:00

Over the course of our marriage, I have at times, stumbled upon dishes that my wife thinks are great. Much more numerous are the times where she looked at me after trying/smelling it as if to ask me if I truly believed she would eat that. She might insinuate it's from me not measuring, (I use my palm to measure things, and experienced cooks/chefs will tell you if you've done it for a long time, it's accurate!) My personal belief is that this stems from a profound difference in our food upbringing, as well as a difference in taste buds. She is much more sensitive to spices that I grew up eating (namely Italian ones) and finds things much more "spiced" than I do in general, particularly if one of the aforementioned (YES!!!) spices is used. Her mother didn't cook with salt or much in the way of spices, so the first few things I made for her blew her taste buds out of the water, to say the least. Over the course of time, she's become less sensitive, but I still make many mistakes here and there.

When I used to make sauce for example (yes, I mean tomato), it was heavily laden with Basil and Oregano, with a shot of Thyme thrown in for good measure. When making it now, I have to tone down the spices quite a bit, so it tastes different than what I remember; still good, but different. I've gotten to the point now that I try and make sure to let her taste it after I've waved the spice jar over the stuff before I add too much. I will say that since going vegan again, she's eating onion in things, a feat I never thought possible.

Being a former professional cook (not chef.. cook, I don't have a culinary degree), this was, suffice it to say, disappointing and frustrating for both of us. You never want to be the cook that makes food no one else will eat but you. While that's certainly a good way to keep yourself fed, it's not a good way to keep your family happy. Thankfully, this is not one of those dishes. It's actually painfully simple, made even more simple by the fact that half the work is usually done for me before I get home.

Fried Rice

Ingredients: (Yes that is a cast iron wok, thanks for asking!)

This makes enough for 2 if it's all you're eating, 4 if it's a side.

3-4 TBS Canola, Peanut or other light tasting "saute friendly" oil. You could also use Coconut oil if you like that taste in your rice
2 Cups frozen peas
4 cups cooked rice (we use organic brown rice, cooked to perfection on the Gaba cycle of our Zojirushi Rice Maker)
1 tsp Sesame seed oil (regular or toasted)
2 tsp Garlic powder
2 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Mustard seed powder
1/4 Cup Low Sodium Tamari, Shoyu or Soy Sauce

A bit on the powder. You could certainly use "real" garlic and onion (in fact I would use whole onion, but my wife is opposed to it in rice), but I find that the lack of other things in this simple rice makes it feel more, I dunno, clean.

Over high heat, cook the peas in 2 TBS oil for 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and add cooked rice, and add a little more canola oil and the sesame oil. I find that damp starchy foods (read: freshly cooked rice) stick to that pan on high heat, despite my attempts to season it over and over again. Stir the rice for a few minutes, then add the spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the Tamari. Stir through and serve hot.

Feel free to add any veggies you find to your liking. Any long cooking or frozen veggies would need to go in before hand (alternatively you could steam them first, then toss them around at first just to give them a little color.)

weekend vittles

2009-01-11T11:18:00.007-05:00

I look forward to the weekends and the opportunity to spend a little more time on food. With my wonder husband present for baby distractionary maneuvers, I have a few more moments to work on my veggie slice and dice skills and put together a meal that maybe has a side dish instead of being just a big pot of soup.

Of course, first the chrisasaurus needs to whip up waffles for breakfast! We use the pancake recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance, doubled for waffle batter.
What you see before you is the king of waffle makers, the All Clad Waffler 9000. (The number is discretionary, I just sort of threw that in.) This was a Christmas gift to our clan and is a ten thousand point improvement over our old waffle maker, the Bamalator, which took about ten minutes to churn out two waffles (and a real let down in the BAM! department as well).
My husband will tell you I have no patience for that sort of lollygagging when it comes to my breakfast foods. This waffler contraption makes all my waffles in large sheets and in 1/4 the time it used to take for us to make them total. That's what I call progress. Above is my daughter's as the rest of them did not last long enough for photos.

Oh and then there was a soup. It was based on the Southern New Year's Day soup from this month's Vegetarian Times. I didn't see it on their website. So if you have the mag, check out that photo because it looks much better.

I kinda made substitutions and additions based on what I had in the pantry. You should know I am a newb at cooking and am usually not confident enough to stray from a recipe. So if I can, you can. I wanted to use up the last bit of black eyed peas I had, so I decided to roll with it. I threw in a pot:

The last glug of olive oil in my bottle into the pot. About 2 Tbs.
Chopped up half an onion
4 cloves of garlic minced
Random dash of assorted spices: Marjoram, Thyme, Sage.
Half a bunch of curly leaf kale, stems removed, and chopped into largish pieces
28 oz can of crushed fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup dried black eyed peas
1 cup squiggly pasta
Less than 1 qt of veg broth (I believe about 1 cup was used from it, then I used the rest in this soup)
7 cups of water

Heat up the oil, saute the onion and garlic, add the kale and cook for a bit until it starts wilting. Add veg broth, water, tomatoes and black eyed peas. This needs to simmer about an hour. Then I added the pasta, let it cook through about ten minutes and we ate it with Vegan Parm (recipe from Yellow Rose Recipes) and the last bit of homemade bread we had. Yum!

Besides the large hunks of tomato in the soup (neither of us are fans of eating chunks of warm tomato) it turned out really well, sort of a spin on a minestrone. The other thing I might try doing is adding less water or more broth. I really need to make some broth, we are out, and I need to freeze it so I have it on hand. I never seem to get from putting it in the fridge to cool to putting it in the freezer for storage. Any tips out there? I am always open to your experiences and suggestions.

I drank WHAT?!

2009-01-09T13:02:00.005-05:00

I just came to the gruesome realization that I made that entire last post without using aforementioned, quite possible my most favorite word in the english language. DO not ask why, and do NOT add water. The results would be far more severe than any old chinese antiquities shop keeper would have you believe.

I am both shamed and disappointed.

Does anyone need anything moistened?

2009-01-08T21:51:00.006-05:00

So it seems that I have been granted access... I thought a long time about how exactly I would form my first post, a smorgasbord of tiny pearls of what little wisdom I have at my disposal. No doubt, my wife would tell you that she would fully expect me to post something that was entirely composed of smart alec comments. While I see no need to disappoint, I will struggle to contain myself. As she reminds me, "Our children will be reading this blog at some point." I sleep soundly knowing they will eventually come to know their father (and my father) as having a derriere that attended only the finest clown schools. I suppose a place of sanctity from that is not such a bad thing, a place where a more serious side can come to the forefront. I am, if nothing else, a creature of reason. Besides, any man with a functioning brain cell dare not wake the ire of a mother. Those of you who do not understand would do well to learn. I have reason to believe a simple search through Google would reveal all you need to know and more.

Being a techie type of person, I find it most amusing that this is in fact, my first ever post on a blog. Oh sure I had a web site here and there, but truly, I have never delved into the goodness that is the modern web site. I stopped posting web pages at home many moons ago, and I haven't been on IRC, AIM or any other messenger for years. I do not twitter, nor will I, unless there is some sort of situation occurring that would require medical intervention. I do not own cool tech gadgets, mostly because I can't afford them, but also mostly because I just don't feel the wanton need for them. I do not see the sense in buying the latest new gadget, nor do I get caught up in the fervor for them. I can barely stand to wait in exceedingly long lines in a grocery store, why would I wait overnight to get THIS new phone, because it has more memory than the last? Keep in mind that I need the things at the grocery store to LIVE. Indeed, I am quite technologically naked, as it were. I do enjoy a good gaming machine though, so I supposed I'm not totally without substance. Some might suggest that my nerd self is weak, or is some ghoulish shell lurking for it's next morsel. I do spend a lot of time reading hardware reviews, in the vain hope that someday, I too will own that video card. Eventually I probably will, I just won't pay 600$ for it. My Frugality beats up your nerd. Sho'nuff.

It would also appear that my wife is a closet blogger. While I knew she spent a good deal of time doing ridiculous things on the interwebs, I had no idea the DEPTH. Gandalf himself has no comprehension of the magnitude I tell you. If he did, I can assure you his robe would not have been white; perhaps variegated. (Did I mention that I've picked up on knitting terms?) Being lost in a sea of blogs and chat windows has to be worse than a Balrog, right? Fly you fools indeed.

By the way, I'm not being paid by the word for this, so I have no contractual obligation to type a long winded post. Having said that, I believe this will be a long winded post. Don't say I didn't warn you.

On a more serious note, and hearkening back to my earlier statement about our children reading this, I would be remiss if I didn't say SOMETHING regarding just that. Being a father is all at once scary, thrilling, intimidating, humbling, stressful, full of wonder and perhaps most importantly, fun. I could have gone on there, but I didn't. See how I've grown? I could also type out everything about me all in one run on post, but that would be a web site wouldn't it? Perhaps someone who is up on this new fangled interweb can enlighten me. I'm still stuck in the html/asp era, and yes, notepad is god for web design.

IN any case I suppose an explanation is in order. I don't mean any of those adjectives in a negative way, or at least not in any serious way. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact I have a child, much less that she is about to be a year old. Perhaps I can sum it up this way. Those of you who are parents will no doubt remember that every time someone talked to you about your fears as a first time parent, they always said, "You'll do fine, just be the best father/mother you can be." (This is assuming of course they didn't tell you exactly what to do...) At the time, you probably rolled your eyes and thought that you had just been given the most corny advice ever. "Being the best parent I can be isn't GOOD enough" you said, "I have to be better than that." A year in, I can safely say that I have come to understand what they meant. It isn't that being the best you can be isn't good enough, it's the only way to be.

It's often said that you should never stop learning, and this is doubly true for a parent. Doing anything less is a disservice to your child, as well as yourself. I have learned things about myself that I never imagined I would learn, and felt things I never fully understood. While it has most assuredly made me a better person, it has also showed me that I am woefully inadequate. You struggle mightily with the fact that NO ONE can be the perfect parent, and it is a constant source of inner turmoil. The fact of the matter is, no matter what you do, there is most likely always a way to do it better, you just didn't think of it at the time (and if you're "lucky", someone else made sure to take the time to tell you).

Having said all that, it is also important that your child understand WHY you do things the way you do. Because I said so is definitely not going to cut it in our house, and I hope it doesn't in yours either. You should never shut out your children, as doing so will only result in bitterness and resentment. While you have to lay down ground rules for your kids, I believe that having them involved with the decisions cannot be a bad thing. I'm not suggesting that you let them run their lives (at least not till they are older), but is it so bad that they want to wear THAT outfit with two different shoes and your sweater? I guess what I'm trying to say is that being flexible makes things a lot less stressful. Here's to hoping that I remember that in the future.

Take note however, that this rule does not apply to boys attempting to date my daughter. I have a foot, and I knew where to put it, so you just keep that in mind, eh? Also, I will be teaching her karate, so in case I'm too old to lift my leg that high lest I break a hip, she can do it for me. Again, don't say I didn't warn you...

Until next time.

Reason: Gardening.

2009-01-07T15:04:00.004-05:00

I am a bit of a transplant. Born in New England, I have lived in several different states and overseas while my military family followed my dad around the world. It was good times and gave me life experiences that some kids my age will never have.

A predominant chunk of my childhood and life was spent in the Pacific Northwest, and it is there that I realize now I truly feel at home. I am a lush green forest kind of girl. But one of the biggest things I remember from my home in Washington was the garden my parents tended. I have pictures somewhere, and I'd love to share them someday. This backyard has super status in my memory as the coolest backyard ever (well, until we moved to California... then I had a naval base for a backyard and that was pretty cool too).

Lately I have felt disconnected and removed from things like my community and the passage of time, particularly the seasons. I realize now that gardening has a lot to offer me besides heavy sweaty work in the buggy, humid summers. It can offer me a new outlook on the life that I sometimes think of as drudgery. It can help me reconnect to the girl that used to hike alone in the woods without fear of spiders, bears, or snakes. It can help me be a better mother to my daughter, wife to my husband, and steward to my land.

Long story short, I want to give my daughter the gift of garden related memories, like the kind I remember with such fondness. As part of this, I'm signing up for the Growing Challenge from Seed to Seed over at One Green Generation. I had already planned to start a basic veg garden this year, and the idea that I can then save the seeds from successful plants and use them next year will motivate me. Also, having to answer to someone else about what I'm doing will keep me honest. So, I suppose I should get to planning what seeds I should buy this year...

intro!

2009-01-06T23:29:00.005-05:00

So here it is, the first post in yet another blog I contribute towards. Since 1997, I have been "blogging" in some way or another... my interests, from the X-Files to Ronin Warriors to knitting have always kept me on the internet in some way or another. The most recent one, fiberjinx, has lost my interest by no fault of its own. Simply, between the advent of Ravelry and the lack of knitting time I have had since my daughter's birth, it has fallen out of my realm of upkeep.

So, another blog you ask? Well, I want to do this for a number of reasons, not least of all holding myself accountable for things I plan to do, finding some kindred spirits in the world, and keeping my mind healthy and active. That makes me sound like I'm senile, but I'm only 25, yet the "mommy brain" syndrome has been dulling my wit like an old pearl eraser. Does that even make sense? I am in no shape to know!

What I don't want to happen is for this to become a chore to me again-and that takes the joy out of things. I'm not going to expect myself to blog daily, or even weekly necessarily. But I do want to keep some record of this family's events, not least of all because someday this can be a well kept record for my daughter to look back and say, "Wow. My mom was kinda weird. But in a good way?"

So. Deep breath, close eyes, dive in. Here goes!