Dine Well

Vegan "Beef" and Broccoli

2012-01-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

I've been on a huge seitan kick lately; making it for myself and for clients in various forms. The latest form was an Asian style stir fry over brown rice. This dish is great for a weeknight after a long day at work. It's super easy to throw together and very tasty. It can get very salty tasting if you leave the sauce cooking too long, so just toss it in at the very end so that the tamari doesn't get concentrated.

Vegan "Beef" and Broccoli
Ingredients
1 T ginger, minced

1 T almond butter
1/4 C tamari
2 T sesame oil
1/4 C water
1 C broccoli florets
8oz block or package seitan*, chopped

Directions
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients, until well blended. Set aside.

2. In a saute pan or wok, add broccoli with a couple of tablespoons of sauce, and a tablespoon of water. Cook for 3 minutes, until broccoli starts to get bright green and tender. Add seitan and heat through.

3. Add remaining sauce and heat for 1 to 2 minutes more. Stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Serve over brown rice.

*For wheat free, substitute tofu. marinate tofu in some of the sauce for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Meatless Monday: White Bean Bruschetta

2012-01-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

I love the combination of rosemary and white beans. The wonderful thing about this white bean mix is you can make it as versatile as you'd like for it to be. You can: serve the beans warm or cold, over toasted bread, and even mix in tomatoes ala bruschetta style; mix the beans into greens for a salad; puree for a dip; warm to serve as a protein main or side; whatever else you can imagine.

It's amazing how something so simple, with just a few ingredients, can taste so delicious.

White Bean Bruschetta
Ingredients
1 C cooked white beans, or one can drained
2 T to 1/4 C olive oil
2 T chopped fresh rosemary

Photo Credit: Abe Lee

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, starting with just 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix with a wood spoon until beans are well coated. Add more olive oil, if desired, if the mixture is too dry.

If making a puree, omit tomatoes, combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

A Very Vegan Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize until just now how long it has been since I've put fingers to keyboard to write a blog post. It doesn't feel like two + weeks have passed. I guess that's what traveling does to you. It has a weird way to make time stand still while also moving quickly at the same time. That has to make sense to more than just me. That feeling when you're on vacation when you've packed in so much activity at your destination that it seems you've been there for 6 days when it's really only been two; and then, suddenly before you know it, 6 days has passed and it's time to head back home again before you're ready to.

This Christmas, Jacques and traveled around the northeast, attending a wedding, visiting with friends and family, and utterly exhausting ourselves by hitting 6 cities in 10 days. We ate at so many vegan and vegan friendly restaurants, with so much amazingly delicious food. While in Manhattan, we dined elbow to elbow with a large group of non-veg friends at the very vegan Angelica Kitchen; and, my very non-veg dad introduced me to Franchia cafe, a cozy vegan Korean tea house on Park Avenue. Jacques' very non-veg Greek dad even managed to seek out a mostly vegan Mediterranean restaurant in Bethlehem, PA, of all places. I was touched by the effort that his parents put into making me comfortable and well fed during our visit with them. (And dang, did we all agree that the falafel at Petra Mediterranean was among the best we've all ever tasted!) I know you're probably dying to see mouthwatering photos of all the glorious food I consumed. Alas, despite getting a new phone (with an 8 megapixel camera for the purpose of taking photos on the go) just before our trip, I was so distracted by catching up with people and stuffing my face, that I forgot to whip out that phone to actually take photos of the food I was eating to share with all of you lovely blog readers.

What I do have pictures of, however, is the very vegan Christmas meal I prepared for my family. I was a little nervous to feed my entire family a healthy, whole foods, vegan feast, when they are used to hams and green bean casserole made with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup on Christmas, but it was a success! This was a much more basic meal than the previous two years, as I tried to keep things as familiar to my family as possible, although adding a healthy twist. Even my uncle, who generally wouldn't even touch a vegetable if it slapped him in the face went back for seconds!

On the menu:

Starter
Cream of broccoli soup

Entree and Sides
Mashed potatoes with herb gravy
Green bean casserole (made from scratch with fresh green beans, and without a can of soup)
Roasted butternut squash and brown rice stuffing
Stuffed Seitan Roast

Dessert
Homemade apple pie

Holiday Egg-less Nog

2011-12-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

Since the holidays are fast approaching, and there are countless variations of nog donning the grocery store refrigerators, I thought it was time to post a recipe of mine own. This eggless nog is something I have mentioned in posts before, but have never actually posted the recipe. I think it's perfectly seasoned, and unlike commercial nog versions, it's not too overly thick (I know this is what you're supposed to get from nog, but who wants to drink something the consistency of pancake batter!) If you add some ice to the blender, you can make a tasty holiday shake.

Egg-less Nog
Ingredients
2 qts soy milk
12 oz package Mori-Nu silken tofu, extra firm
½ C maple syrup (reduce if using sweetened soy milk)
1 T + 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves

Directions
1. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into glasses over ice.

** Tips:
Add ½ C Amaretto, Southern Comfort, or brandy for an adult drink.

Serves 4 - 8 depending on serving size.

Recipe by Christine Oppenheim.

Meatless Monday: Vegan Sushi Rolls

2011-12-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Brown rice, avocado sushi

I love making sushi rolls. It also happens to be one of my favorite items to teach people to make. It is one of those foods that seem intimidating until you break it down and learn just how simple it can be to make. Sushi rolls are a wonderfully versatile treat that can be light for a snack, or made into a more hearty main dish. My preference is to make it with quinoa since it's a little quicker to cook and adds a little extra protein and nutrients than with rice; and when I do use rice, I prefer brown rice. Since sushi is of course made traditionally with fish, vegan sushi allows for creativity. Avocado is popular at sushi restaurants because it has a similar texture to some fish so it makes for a good replacement (it also happens to be my favorite sushi filling!). Other great fillings are shiitake mushrooms, roasted peppers, asparagus, tempeh "tuna"... and the possibilities are endless.

Here is an easy sushi recipe:

Quinoa Nori Rolls

Ingredients

1 C quinoa

2 C water
2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sucanat or sugar

6 – 8 sheets nori

1 T toasted or black sesame seed, optional

Desired filling – i.e. tempeh, avocado, mushroom, yam, cucumber (salted to reduce moisture)

Desired sauce - i.e. spicy mayo, dijon, teriyaki

Directions

1. Rinse quinoa under cold water. Drain and transfer to a small pot and add water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover and reduce. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together quinoa, vinegar and sucanat/sugar.
3. One at a time, lay the nori on a flat surface and spread with a thin layer of the quinoa, covering the sheet except for 1 inch along the top edge.
4. Along the bottom edge of the nori sheet, place desired filling and spread with a small amount of desired sauce, if using.
5. Moisten the top edge of the nori sheet with a bit of water. Beginning from the bottom, roll the nori sheet very tightly, using a sushi mat. Press firmly when you get to the top to seal with the moistened edge. Repeat with the remaining nori and filling. Cut each roll into 6 pieces.

Blissful Bites: A great Christmas Gift

2011-11-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of recipe testing for my dear friend Christy Morgan for her new book Blissful Bites. From the first taste of the Mama Mia Magnifico Sauce, I knew this book was going to be something special. At the time I was testing, I was going through my nightshade cleanse (read about that here) and a tomato based pasta sauce just wasn't an option. The Mama Mia sauce, was the perfect alternative; it looks like a tomato sauce, and the rich herbs make it taste like one, minus all the acid that comes with tomatoes, add to that a lusher, more velvety texture, and this sauce was heaven in my mouth.

When the book came out late this summer, I was so excited to get my hands on the full color copy, with access to all the recipes. Having only tested a handful of the recipes in the book, I couldn't wait to try out some of the 175 recipes I hadn't tasted yet. Of my other favorites that I've tried so far are the Coconut Bliss Granola, Save a Duck Pate, Dijon Dill Green beans, and I could drown myself (in addition to every vegetable and tortilla that I come across) in the Oil Free Nacho Cheeze, it's that good!

Blissful Bites is truly a must have for any cookbook collection. It is a great introduction to healthy, vegan eating. The book is clearly laid out with a wealth of information for those who are new to plant based cooking, and the recipes are unique enough for those with more experience to get something valuable out of it. I truly appreciate the first chapter that walks readers through how to create a pantry, stock up on useful kitchen equipment, and more, including a section demonstrating different knife cuts that will be used in the recipes. Since we all begin to eat with our eyes, Blissful Bites is filled with gorgeous photos, (one nearly every other page!) that will get your mouth watering every time you scan its pages.

I recommend this book as a gift to all your food loving friends and family (vegan or not), as well as a copy or two for yourself. In fact, Christy Morgan has announced that "For Cyber Monday, if you buy Blissful Bites from my website I will include special coupons and ship a signed copy FREE to everyone on your list (US only)." http://theblissfulchef.com/cookbooks/

Grab your copies today!

Meatless Monday: Best Gravy You'll Ever Taste

2011-11-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is almost here! Wow, this year has flown by. While I hate that Thanksgiving means the slaughtering of millions of turkeys for commercial consumption, I do love that it is a time that brings friends and family together. With all those friends and families together, it means food!

As we all know, I love food; and we may even know that mashed potatoes are one of my favorite foods. Fun fact about me, while I have always loved mashed potatoes, I never, ever ate them with gravy until recently. I just didn't like gravy. Starting from when I was a kid, in place of gravy, I would use soy sauce to season my mashed potatoes.

Then one day, while playing with a few of my favorite cheese sauce ingredients, and adding a little tamari (aka soy sauce), I came up with this gravy recipe and I've been obsessed ever since. I thought it was just me that found this gravy so ridiculously good, but after teaching my demo on Saturday, half of the attendees immediately hit the Whole Foods aisles to gather all of the ingredients that go into the gravy. I'm so happy to have inspired people to ditch the giblet gravy this year! Now if only we could get everyone to switch to tofurkey or seitan to save a few of our gobbling friends this holiday. Maybe next year.

No photo for this one since gravy is brown and does not make for pretty photos, but here's the recipe.

Herb Gravy

Ingredients

2 -3 T chickpea flour

1 T olive oil

2 C vegetable broth or water

2 T tamari soy sauce

1/4- 1/2 C nutritional yeast

1 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tsp fresh)

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1⁄4 cup soy or almond milk, optional

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and add chickpea flour, stirring until well combined to make a roux.

2. Whisk in the broth, tamari, thyme, and rosemary and increase to high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, whisk in the nutritional yeast and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens, about 2 to 5 minutes. Use more flour, dissolved in a separate bowl with some of the gravy, if needed to thicken further.

3. Slowly whisk in the milk, if using. Do not boil. Season with salt and pepper and taste to adjust the seasonings before serving.

*Note: I like to add sauteed mushrooms to this sometimes for a little texture and added flavor.

Vegan Thanksgiving Demo at Whole Foods Santa Monica

2011-11-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

Join me tomorrow at 1p.m. for a FREE cooking demo. With the holidays fast approaching, this class will give you great ideas for the meat free holiday dinner table. Learn to make delicious vegan recipes for classic Thanksgiving foods. I'll teach you to prepare:

Pan Roasted Seitan with Herb Gravy

Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Cashew Cheese served with Crackers

Where:
Whole Foods Santa Monica
2201 Wilshire Blvd

When:
Saturday, November 19
1PM

Hope to see you there!

Coming soon... my recap for the final Sustainable Works Session: Food and Shopping.

Meatless Monday: Lentil Millet Patties

2011-11-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

In the ever running quest to find the perfect homemade veggie patty, or just a multitude of really delicious ones, because, really, who wants the pressure of "perfect", I bring you Lentil Millet Patties. During a recent cooking lesson on the topic of grains and beans (and legumes), I taught my eager student how to make these hearty, protein rich, lentil millet patties and they were a huge hit with her meat eating brother and fiance. With the holidays coming up, I find that many people are finding an increasing pressure to feed their families, or at least feed themselves with something their family would be happy eating as well. This protein rich, nutrient dense lentil millet patties, a recipe that I learned to make at Bauman College, are a great addition to any menu.

**Serve with the basil cream sauce mentioned in my previous post for a special treat. :)

Lentil and Millet Burgers

Ingredients

½ C brown lentils

½ C millet

½ C sunflower seeds, toasted and ground

½ C crimini mushrooms, minced

½ C red onion, minced

3 cloves garlic

½ C finely grated carrot

1 T tamari

2 T arrowroot

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp thyme

Directions

1. Add lentils to a pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for about 40 minutes, or until very tender, almost mushy.

2. Once the lentils haves started, add millet to a pot with 1 ½ cups of water. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and cover. Simmer and cover for 20-30 minutes or until water is absorbed and millet is soft and a porridge consistency, but not watery. If the millet is soft but still watery, leave the top off and cook until the water has evaporated.

3. Remove the cooked millet and allow to cool.

4. In the mean time, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350.

5. When the lentils are finished cooking, add to the bowl with millet and mash together with a potato masher until well combined.

6. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form into patties and place on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the oven.

7. Bake for about 20 minutes and allow to cool. The patties may seem a little soft but they will firm up as they cool.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

2011-11-12T16:26:00.000-08:00

I have a new favorite dish to eat and prepare! I posted about it on facebook and twitter and received numerous requests to post a recipe... the people have spoken and I have answered their calls. When I was preparing it, I wasn't thinking about the casserole in the form of a recipe, it was more just things that I threw together, so measurements are estimated not exact.

This is fairly easy to make and ridiculously delicious. I'm looking forward to feeding it to my family and perhaps preparing this dish for clients as well.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole with Basil Cashew Cream
Ingredients
2 lb Spaghetti squash
2 T olive oil, divided
2 portabello mushroom caps, thinly sliced
1 tsp dried thyme, or 2 tsp fresh
1 small bunch fresh spinach, chopped
1 recipe basil cashew cream (below)
2 T fresh basil, chiffonade
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, or a glass baking dish, cut side up. Coat both cut sides with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 45 min to 1 hour, until squash is fork tender. (I like to flip the squash half way through roasting.)

2. Meanwhile, heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute mushrooms, sprinkled with thyme and a dash of sea salt and black pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside. Prepare basil cashew cream.

3. When squash is done, remove from oven, but leave oven turned on. Use a fork to scrap out the pulp of the squash into spaghetti like strands. Transfer "spaghetti" to a lightly oiled casserole dish. Toss with spinach and mushrooms and pour basil cashew cream over the top, mixing in until all is well combined.
4. Bake casserole for 15 minutes, until heated through. Cashew cream will turn to a drier texture, almost like a ricotta. Sprinkle fresh basil over the top and serve warm. Also tastes great cold if you manage to have leftovers!

Basil Cashew Cream
Ingredients
1 C raw cashews
1/2 C water
2 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C to 1/2 C basil

Directions
1. In a food processor, or dry blender, grind cashews to a fine powder.
2. Add remaining ingredients, except the basil, and blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Add basil and pulse until combined.

Sustainable Works: Day Five, Transportation

2011-11-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

We're getting close to the end of our Sustainable Works series. Next week is our last session and we talk about food and shopping. As I've mentioned, I've been so patiently and eagerly waiting for this upcoming class. I wonder what our fearless leader, Becca, and I will come up with as a tasty treat for the other students!

Anyway, yesterday's class was all about transportation. Becca was out of town for this week's class, which is unfortunate because her expertise is in alternative fuel. In Becca's place was the lovely Victoria and she walked us through the perils that LA's environment is facing because of the high volume of single rider vehicles on the roads.

I don't think I necessarily learned anything I didn't already at least have a vague knowledge of in this particular class. It was pretty straight forward and basic. However, I am looking at it as more of a reminder to ride my adorable bike more frequently than I do. I work about two miles away from where I live, but I don't bike very often because I end up really tired after biking and then working on my feet all day. I'm going to work to figure out a way to not exhaust myself so that I can bike more frequently. Maybe it will just be as simple as giving myself extra time before and after work to recover from biking to standing and vice versa. I'm also going to give Santa Monica's mini blue bus another shot some time next week to see if it can redeem itself. The one time I attempted to take the bus to work, I waited for about 40 minutes for a bus that is supposed to come every 15 minutes and it never showed. Reliable public transportation is one of the things that makes me miss living in metropolitan cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco.

As far as other ways to reduce your carbon foot print in regards to transportation, remember that it does not only pertain to how you get yourself from point a to point b. You should also think about the origin of products you purchase and about where the food you eat is coming from. As I'm sure we'll discuss in our food segment next week, it's always best to choose local as often as possible. In the Los Angeles area, we are fortunate in that there is always at least one Farmers' Market going on somewhere every day.

For more information about Sustainable Works, visit www.sustainableworks.org.

Sustainable Works: Day Four, Chemicals

2011-11-04T17:22:00.000-07:00

This week's Sustainable Works lesson has really hit me hard. Before starting these workshops, I already considered myself fairly earth friendly and health conscious. I wanted to take the workshops to learn how I can improve upon what I was already doing. Little did I know that when it came to reducing chemicals in my home, I was taken by "greenwashing" with some of the products I've been using.

Greenwashing is defined as "the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service".

Seeing as I prefer that a human test subject get paid or volunteer to get perfume sprayed in its eye, rather than do that, or worse, to an unsuspecting animal, I tend to seek out cruelty free products. I've also purchased a number of these products because they claim to be "natural" and "organic", which would lead me to believe that they are also good for my health and good for the environment.

As of last night's workshop, however, I've learned that some of the "natural" and "organic" products I've been using rate higher on the hazard scale than some of the more commercial, less eco and animal friendly brands (according to Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database).

This blew my mind. I couldn't believe to find that I've been spending more money on products that are supposed to be healthier for me and the environment are worse in some cases. These are just the personal care products. I've yet to look into the "eco-friendly" house cleaning products I usually purchase. However, I think I'm done with paying extra for household cleaning supplies that are not necessarily as eco-safe as they claim. From now on, it's good old baking soda and white vinegar for me!

Check out http://www.ewg.org/skindeep to see how the personal care products you're using rate.

For more information on Sustainable Works, visit www.sustainableworks.org.

Veggie Grill Give Away

2011-11-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Happy World Vegan Day! How have you celebrated today?

Break out those video cameras and testimonials because Veggie Grill just announced an exciting $500 giveaway to celebrate its 5 year anniversary of serving delicious plant based cuisine to Orange County and Los Angeles.

Here's the info from Veggie Grill:

November marks our 5-Year Anniversary and to celebrate we're giving away five $500 Veggie Grill gift cards!

Post a video on our Facebook wall ... a testimonial, a VG Virgin experience, a song, your "off-the-menu" item, an ad ... anything Veggie Grill related. We'll pick 5 winners at the end of November!

Sadly, I'm not eligible since I work there, but you should definitely get your submission in!

GOOD LUCK!

Vegan Mofo is almost over :(

2011-10-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

It's crazy that October is almost coming to a close! ...and with that the Vegan Month of Food blog posts wrap up. I've impressed myself by actually keeping up with my posts this time around. I even disappointed myself by not posting yesterday, because I was not feeling well and just didn't have it in me. However, I am going to make a deal with myself to continue to post at least once, if not twice a week, or more and not allow myself slack off now that MoFo is ending! (Now enough about "myself")

I've loved reading and following other bloggers who were taking part in Vegan MoFo and have enjoyed this exercise of writing and cooking and sharing with people around the world.

When I checked my comments today, I was honored to find that I had been nominated for a Liebster award by Vegangela. A couple of Angela's posts have ended up in the Vegan MoFo blogroll and everything on her blog looks so yummy! She's also got a thing for cashew cheese and I approve! This is a perfect time to give a little of the blog love back :)

The Liebster award usually requires a lot of re-linking (the idea behind it to get some recognition for blogs with less than 200 followers), but since we're so close to the end of the month, I just thought I'd give a quick shout out to some of the fabulous bloggers who were nice enough to comment on my blog and show some love to my posts this month, as well as a few others that I've also enjoyed.

Kohlrabi and Quince: I was thrilled to learn that Kelly was blogging about vegan slow cooking. I love my slow cooker but it hardly gets any use. Having a source for some slow cooked ideas has been great. Slow cooker + brussel sprouts + coconut= I want to try this!

Miso for Breakfast is always showing a little love with giveaways and keeps us all abreast new books and products. Yay!

vegan.in.brighton has been doing a cookbook challenge, picking random recipes out of random cookbooks and everything on the blog looks fun and delish!

Heather's photos at Better with Veggies always make my mouth water. I love her "VeganizeIt!" posts.

Oh what a Tasty Planet it would be if every meal was filled with a few of the loves Becky and I share in posts: kale, rosemary, and cashew cheese.

I wish Sarah of Winged Snail lived in my oven and would pop out to bake for me all the time. There is only one word for all the baked goods posted on her blog and that is YUM!

Unhealthy Vegan smothered barbecue sauce over squash and that sounds amazing.

I love Crafty Earth Mama for the adorable pictures of babygirl. I want to pinch those cheeks! And the food looks delicious too; a good mix of raw and cooked recipes and vegan mac and cheese.

Sustainable Works, Day Three: Waste

2011-10-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

The topic of tonight's Sustainable Works session was all about Waste - what happens to our waste, what can we do to reduce our waste, and another reason why a plant based diet is good for our environment*. (*This is my personal statement and does not reflect the opinion of Sustainable Works.)

In tonight's class, we learned that the US has only 5% of the world's population, but consumes 30% of the world's resources and creates 30% of the world's waste. Americans, on average, throw away 4.5 pounds of trash per person each day. In the US and around the world, landfills are reaching capacity, and some nations are even shipping their waste off to more impoverished nations with more land space. This is becoming a problem for the entire planet, and we must start making changes individually if we want to see a difference.

The solutions come in the form of the classic Three R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

You can reduce the amount of waste you have by implementing reusable bags, bottles, utensils, containers, etc., and recycling plastics, paper, glass, and cans, rather than tossing them in the trash to be shipped off to landfills. Instead of buying new items, you can shop at vintage stores or yard sales, or on craigslist, to find furniture, clothing, jewelry and more, which will often times be in better quality than the lower priced stuff you'd find at bargain shopping stores (like IKEA and 99C store).

Another solution to reduce waste is unfortunately not in as common practice as it should be: composting. Composting is something I came to embrace while I was living in Oakland for six months, but have unfortunately not been able to keep up since returning to Santa Monica since my space is limited and there are no green bins offered for my apartment complex. If you do have the space to set up compost, or live somewhere that it is offered publicly, I highly recommend it. If you own or live in a house with a garden, this is the best source for reducing and reusing. You have the option to garden compost, where you set up a bin to collect weeds, lawn clippings, branches and kitchen scraps, or to get a worm bin, in which the worms will break down your cooking/kitchen scraps. In both cases, after the compost materials get broken down, they can be used to put vital nutrients into soil to grow lawns or vegetable gardens.

A plant based diet is the best solution to successful composting since animal products (bones, meat, dairy) can not be composted, but vegetable scraps compost very easily. Eating meat products contributes to landfill waste, where as a plant based diet does not.

These are just a handful of solutions to reduce waste. For more information, and to learn more about Sustainable Works, visit www.sustainableworks.org.

How to Cook Tempeh

2011-10-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite cooking lesson topics is how to cook tempeh. I always find that people who thought they didn't like tempeh have just not been preparing it properly. A whole new world is opened for them once they learn a few techniques to cook it appropriately to get rid of the fermented taste. There are three simple ways to prepare tempeh to make it as flavorful as possible. Any one of these methods is going to help the tempeh to better absorb flavor. The first two methods will also soften its texture.

1. Crumble tempeh and add to a pan with enough water to just cover it. Simmer over medium low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until most of the water is absorbed. Use this as a base before seasoning to add tempeh to sauces, tacos, Shepherd's Pie, etc.

2. Cut tempeh into cubes or triangles and place in a steamer basket or bamboo steamer. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes until tempeh has softened. Tempeh prepared like this is best used covered in sauces or salad dressings.

3. Prepare your favorite marinade and pour it over cubes or triangles of tempeh. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. You may also allow the tempeh to sit in the marinade for an hour, flipping halfway through the time, if desired for extra flavor and moisture.

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite tempeh marinades:

Marinade

1 T mirin

1 ½ T tamari

1 T olive oil

½ T rosemary, minced

8 oz tempeh, cut into ½ inch triangles

Pumpkin Pie Dip

2011-10-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

The pumpkin posts continue. It's funny that I have so many pumpkin posts seeing as I used to really not like pumpkin even one bit. I guess this season it's grown on me... or maybe I've just created ways that I can find it tolerable. Sometimes pumpkin pie is fitting for an occasion, but the time and energy isn't available to do the baking it requires. I came up with this pumpkin pie dip recipe as an alternative that still encompasses those lovely tastes of fall, but takes a little less time and effort to prepare. It's a great dessert dip and is perfect served along with fruit, like apple slices, or with gingerbread or other cookies.

The dip also makes for a great ice cream base, if you add about one cup of non-dairy milk and place it in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's directions. It freezes a bit hard, so you do need to let it sit outside the freezer for a bit before serving if you're not eating it right out of the ice cream maker.

Displaying the finished dip at my Whole Foods demo.

Pumpkin Pie Dip
Ingredients
½ C cashews, soaked overnight
¼ C water
1 C pumpkin puree
3 T maple syrup
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions
1. Combine water and cashews in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

2. Add remaining ingredients and pulse or blend until well incorporated.

3. Refrigerate at least one hour for best flavor.

**if you do not have pumpkin pie spice, you may use equal parts nutmeg, cloves, ground ginger and cinnamon. You can make this recipe with unsoaked cashews, but the texture is smoother if they have been soaked.

Meatless Monday: Pumpkin Chili

2011-10-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

It's still gray and chilly in Santa Monica, so I've still been craving comfort foods. I had about a cup of pureed pumpkin and half a red kuri squash in my fridge that I needed to use before they went bad. I decided I'd experiment with a pumpkin chili recipe. Most chili recipes I come across seem to be tomato based, but I wanted to make a more authentic style sans tomatoes. I was only armed with dried, ground spices instead of fresh or whole dried chili peppers, so I definitely want to play with this recipe again when I can shop for ingredients. Considering it was practically a "kitchen sink" chili, however, I think it came out pretty tasty!

Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients
1 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 C pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp - 1 T chili powder (amount depends on intensity of the chili powder and desired spice)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 C cooked pinto beans, or 1 can
3 C pumpkin, cubed
3 C vegetable stock
1 T tapioca flour, optional for thickening

Directions
1. In a medium soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion. Sauté for 2 minutes, until onions are translucent.
2. Add pureed pumpkin and saute 1 minute longer. Mix in all the spices and cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Add pumpkin, beans and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. If you want a thicker chili, dissolve tapioca flour in a small amount of chili broth and return to pot. Simmer for another five minutes.

4. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for about five minutes before serving. Serve with non-dairy sour cream, if desired.

Caramel Sauce

2011-10-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

Only once before have I made a caramel sauce from scratch. It was a yummy recipe, nice and sweet and sticky the way caramel should be. The downside was that it was made with cane sugar and other "bad" ingredients. For my Halloween Tricks and Treats demo at Whole Foods, I wanted to do a caramel sauce that was free of refined sugar, but just as delicious as one that was loaded with the bad stuff. After much experimenting with different ingredients, and some last minute inspiration from yesterday's Vegan MoFo Iron Chef Challenge, I knew just what I needed to use to make this recipe perfect: COCONUT!

Caramel dipped apples with jar of caramel sauce.

Although my recipe contains coconut in two forms, it doesn't really taste like coconut, just a slightly different flavored caramel. At class, I served it in little cups for attendees to dip apple slices in. The caramel was a hit! I received rave reviews all around. One woman said she couldn't wait to make it for her kids because it's a healthier version of the caramel she's been giving them as a treat.

Oh, so ooey gooey. Just look at that caramel streaming down.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

½ C coconut sugar

¼ C brown rice syrup

½ C coconut milk

Directions

1. Combine sugar and syrup in small pot over medium heat, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar.

2. Once sugar is dissolved, add coconut milk and continue to stir until it comes to a boil. Boil for 2 to 5 minutes for a thinner consistency caramel sauce, remove from heat and allow to cool.

**The longer you boil, the thicker the caramel will be come, so leave it on longer if you want a thicker consistency. Use a candy thermometer if you have one to reach your desired temperature.

FREE Cooking Demo at Whole Foods

2011-10-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

With fall upon us and Halloween right around the corner, I seem to start craving sweets more than ever. You can cover up that extra weight in your thicker clothes so it's a little more forgiving to indulge, right?

Of course, I believe that just because you're craving sweets shouldn't mean that you have to give up healthy principles.

Join me tomorrow, Saturday October 22 at Whole Foods Santa Monica for a FREE Halloween Tricks and Treats cooking demonstration. The treats will include adaptations of popular fall favorite desserts, and the tricks are that they are healthier versions that are free of refined sugar but still delicious!

On the menu:

Pumpkin Pie Dip
Pecan Pie Non-Dairy Milk Shake
Caramel Apple Bites

After I'm done preparing all the desserts, you'll get to eat them!

Hope to see you there.

When: Saturday, Oct 22 @ 1:00pm
Where: Whole Foods Santa Monica
2201 Wilshire Blvd (at 22nd st)

Sustainable Works: Day Two

2011-10-20T21:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight's Sustainable Works session was all about energy.

Talking about energy usage is of course a little depressing since the conversation always makes people feel like there is no hope for the planet and our future. The discussion is always centered around how much of the Earth's natural resources have been used up and how much the make up of the planet has changed, including the melting of the polar ice caps.

Fortunately, our fearless workshop leader, Becca was able to keep things positive and focus on the small changes that we can make at home in order to lead to a bigger scale of impact.

It was inspiring to hear how active California is in reducing the amount of carbon used for energy and made me proud to live in this state for its leading role in coming up with environmental solutions.

Here are a few solutions you can do at home to help save energy:
1. Replace light bulbs with energy efficient CFLs or LEDs.
2. Purchase Green Power or Green Power Credits to offset carbon-based power (Check out how to do this in Los Angeles by visiting lawdp.com and click "Green LA", or contact the customer service number on your energy bill in your hometown).
3. Pay attention to heating and cooling in your home:
Use energy star appliances whenever possible; turn off lights and unplug electronics when not in use; use dark curtains to block out sunlight to keep your home cooler in warm months, and use fans instead of air conditioning; install solar panels in your home, just to name a few. :)
4. Finally, a solution to all environment issues, of course, eat a plant based diet, or at the very least, start with one meal a day and move on to one day a week, which saves the energy needed to farm and raise livestock.

For more information and to join the workshops: http://www.sustainableworks.org/

Red Lentil with Chard

2011-10-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a chilly (for Santa Monica) couple of days and that always makes me want comfort food. Indian is one of my favorite cuisines, and I love making it at home and for clients. Red lentils are always fun because they are incredibly tasty, easy to prepare and cook quickly.

This red lentil dal with swiss chard was inspired by a dish that I had at Whole Foods, although, not to brag, but I think mine is much more flavorful. Dal refers to a split bean, lentil or pea (pulse) that has been stripped from its outer hull and split, or the thick stew that is prepared using these pulses. Indian cooking often uses a lot of ghee, which is clarified butter, so when I make it, I use coconut oil instead to keep it vegan. Coconut is pretty popular in Indian cooking so it makes for a good substitute.

Red Lentil Dal with Swiss Chard
Ingredients
1 T coconut oil
2 T minced ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder, or asafoetida
1 tsp salt
1 C red lentils
3 C water
small bunch chard, chopped
1/2 C coconut milk

Directions
1. Heat oil in a medium pot, over medium heat. Add ginger and sautee for 1 minute. Add spices, followed by lentils. Stir to combine.
2. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes, until lentils are tender. Add chard to the pot and simmer covered for another 5 minutes until wilted.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut milk. Spoon over rice, if desired and serve hot.

Cashew Cheese Will Always Please

2011-10-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

I've been on a cashew cheese kick lately. Although the version I make requires a couple of days to prep, it's simple to make and always really tasty. In my experience, cashew cheese seems to satisfy vegans and non-vegans alike, so it may even be considered a good dish to bring people together.

My favorite recipe that I've used for inspiration and adaptation comes from Tal Ronnen's "The Conscious Cook". I use this recipe as a spread, as a dip, as a filling, and even thin it out to make a cream sauce. My super picky French friend, who once argued with me that something non-dairy could not be labeled cheese, has specially requested a batch of cashew "cheese" because she likes it that much.

Here is the recipe, basically as is in the book, with slight adaptation.

Cashew Cheese
Ingredients
2 C whole raw cashews, soaked for 12 to 14 hours, or overnight
1 C Rejuvalac (or 1tsp probiotic powder, dissolved in 1 C warm water)
2 T nutritional yeast
1/2 T onion powder
1 1/2 T fresh chives
2 T minced fresh parsley (I've used fresh rosemary instead)
2 T minced shallot (omit for a milder flavored cheese)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews.
2. Place nuts in a blender with probiotic mixture, or Rejuvalac, and blend on high for several minutes until very smooth. Transfer to a clean glass bowl, cover with cheesecloth, and set in a warm place for 14 to 16 hours to culture. (I line a strainer with cheesecloth, cover the cashews, and place the strainer over a bowl to allow the moisture to drain for a slightly firmer cheese.)
3. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Cashew cheese will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to one week.

Zephyr Cafe - Long Beach, CA

2011-10-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I finally got a chance to check out Zephyr Cafe during a trip to Long Beach. I'd heard about Zephyr a while ago and have had it on my radar for some time. The only thing stopping me from eating there was that I so infrequently get to Long Beach that I realized the last time I was there was maybe four years ago. This is ridiculous considering it takes only 35 minutes to get there from Santa Monica. Oh well. On to my review.

Jacques and I decided that we would take a little walk around downtown Long Beach before dinner at Zephyr. Downtown LB is a mix of cute and slight sketch. Jacques said it reminded him of downtown Philly, only cleaner. When we reached Zephyr, our first impression was that it looked a bit run down from the outside. The inside, however, is way cuter and much more inviting than the exterior. We planted ourselves on the cozy couch with menus in hand and armed with a few soy free suggestions from the guy at the counter.

First, I must say that since going low soy, I've come to realize that finding a vegan menu with plentiful soy free options, can be a bit of a challenge. Zephyr definitely beat that challenge as I had multiple items to choose from. Since I just avoid tofu and tempeh, or things that are made with large amounts of soy product, but am okay with it in small amounts, like soy sauce, I was won over by the Bowls section of Zephyr's menu. They also have a number of yummy sounding salads, a couple of sushi type rolls, a portabello burger, and a couple of their sandwiches are made of chicken style seitan. I still constantly have pineapple on the brain since Hawaii so my pick was the Teriyaki Vegetable Bowl with Seitan: pineapple, mushrooms, seasonal vegetables and teriyaki sauce, over brown rice and black beans. Jacques opted for the Daily Special, Santa Fe Burger with avocado added: Zephyr's black bean patty with grilled onions, bell peppers, soy cheese, and spicy chipotle sauce on one of the fluffiest buns I've ever seen. We decided to split a bowl of the black bean soup to start.

The black bean soup was a bit lacking. The only flavor I really got out of it was a hint of chiptole, but other wise it was pretty bland. We added salt and that perked it up a little, but overall it was just a one note soup. I wouldn't order it again, although, it may make for a nice warming dish for someone else on a chilly day.

The teriyaki bowl was very tasty, but a bit too salty. I don't fault Zephyr too much as this is often the case with teriyaki. I'm not sure if they make their sauce in house, or use a bottled version; I didn't ask. The seitan and veggies were cooked to perfection. The seitan was nice and crispy, and the veggies, which included zucchini, broccoli, and green beans were perfetly tender. The disappointment was there were only a few pieces of pineapple and they left me wanting more. Overall, it was a good bowl and left me very full. It was a big portion and I don't know how I finished the whole thing!

Jacques really enjoyed his burger, leaving his belly quite satisfied. I had a bite and it was definitely a tasty black bean patty. It had a nice spice to it and paired well with that fluffy bun. I'm usually not a fan of hamburger buns, but this one won me over. The burger was served with two large round baked tortilla chips and a tiny cup of salsa. The chips were nice, but I found the salsa to be pretty tasteless. Jacques liked it well enough to add it to his burger however.

For drinks, I ordered a fresh squeezed lemonade. It is pre-made, not made to order and I found it to be way too sweet for my taste. I could feel the sweetener coating my teeth. I added a bit of the cucumber water they have in a dispenser on the counter and that toned it down so that I could drink it. Jacques partook in a bottled cider and really liked it. Zephyr has an impressive selection of about five or six bottled organic brews from small breweries, all of which I had never seen before. We were intrigued by the gingerbread ale, but it seemed like it would probably be a bit too dark and malty for our tastes so we didn't try it.

All in all, we enjoyed our meal at Zephyr, including the round of checkers that I lost in an oh so pathetic slaughtering. If I find myself in Long Beach, I would eat there again, but it didn't knock my socks off enough to drive to Long Beach just to eat at Zephyr.

Zephyr Vegetarian Cafe
340 E 4th St
Long Beach, CA 90802

Madeleine Bistro is creating a new cafe

2011-10-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

I'm sure every vegan in Los Angeles has already heard the exciting news that the chef of one of our favorite restaurants, Madeleine Bistro, is bringing his amazing food to the west side in the form of a new ice cream and sandwich cafe called The Shoppe.

They are looking for capital support to get the cafe going and are offering yummy incentives in exchange for a donation. I know I can't wait to be able to enjoy Chef Dave Anderson's at a closer to home location and definitely want to help spread the word to get funds. To help make the dream a delicious reality, you can make a donation here:

https://www.wepay.com/donate/10696

Pass this link on to anyone you think would be willing to help! Even if you don't live in the Los Angeles area, there's always a possibility you may visit some day and you want The Shoppe to be an option for vegan places to eat... TRUST ME!

Here's a little information from Dave and Molly about the new endeavor. The rest of the story can be found by visiting the web page linked above.

Dear Friends,

The times are finally a-changin! Six years after opening Madeleine Bistro in Tarzana, we are excited to finally announce that we are expanding over the hill and into Los Angeles! Since shifting Madeleine Bistro to a weekends-only operation, we've been using the much-needed extra time to recruit some new, enthusiastic, and experienced team members, to develop mind-blowing new culinary creations, to refine our business and strategic plans, and to seek interesting new locations and opportunities.

The first of our new projects adapts the nationally acclaimed plant-based cuisine of Chef David Anderson to a more casual setting - without any sacrifices in quality. The new “Shop”, a sandwich, pastry, and ice cream cafe, will be located in a busy commercial corridor near the Westside Pavilion and is slated to open up to the public in November. This quirky cafe's menu includes some of the most popular sandwiches from Madeleine Bistro's menu in addition to some newly created sandwiches, paninis and salads. Most prominent, however, will be the frozen desserts which will include a large, rotating assortment of handcrafted ice creams, sorbets, sherbets, soft-serve, frozen yogurt, and more...

Sustainable Works

2011-10-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

Today's post is not directly about food, but indirectly related.

This evening, I attended a workshop about how to live more sustainably, presented by Santa Monica based non-profit, Sustainable Works, and led by my good friend Becca. The six week long workshop discusses different topics of sustainability each week. Tonight's was about water.

During the workshop, we talked about water usage at home and how we can cut down by taking shorter showers, turning the water off while brushing our teeth, soaking our dishes instead of keeping the water running, reusing shower and dish water for the lawn, etc.

We also talked about water waste and usage for agriculture. This is where my favorite part of the workshop came in. Becca brought up that it takes over 2400 gallons of water to raise one pound of beef, in comparison of 24 gallons for one pound of lettuce. The class consisted mostly of young community college students. One particular student shared that the bulk of his diet is meat, and he was stunned to learn this information. He also sounded shocked enough to want to make a change and started asking questions. Becca did a great job of encouraging the class to make small steps to change their diet to make big impacts on the environment. Her suggestions (and of course my back up support) to start with one meat free meal a day, then one meat free meal a week were helpful to perhaps encourage a difference in the way these students eat.

There will be an entire workshop session dedicated to the topic of Food and Shopping. Becca will be asking the students to bring in examples of their favorite meal so that we can discuss ways to change them to be more sustainable (and plant based!). I am really looking forward to this particular class and am sure that I will be Becca's unofficial assistant.

If you live in or near Santa Monica and are interested in taking these workshops, check out the schedule at http://www.sustainableworks.org.

Sweet Potatoes "Au Gratin"

2011-10-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

I had a yam I needed to use and I was in the mood for something saucy and "cheesy", hence this recipe for Sweet Potatoes "Au Gratin" was born. It was quite tasty and I can definitely see this dish having a place at the holiday table.

I've posed this question before, but why are we so comfortable calling them sweet potatoes instead of yams, even though it is a different vegetable? Even I consistently use the re-classification. I guess it's because Yams "Au Gratin" doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Any thoughts on this subject, please share. :)

Anyway, here is the recipe and some not so great photos.

Sweet Potatoes Au Gratin

1 or 2 yams, thinly sliced

1 T olive oil

1 T chickpea flour

1 ½ C rice milk (or other non dairy)

¼ C nutritional yeast

1 T tahini

6 sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat oil in a large skillet, or shallow sauce pan. Add chickpea flour and mix with oil to make a roux. Add tahini and stir so that tahini blends with the roux.

2. Add rice milk and whisk until well combined. Raise heat to create a low boil, then reduce to low and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Add nutritional yeast and whisk again. Continue to simmer for another 2 minutes. Sauce will start to thicken.

3. Layer yam slices evenly in the pan, spread out so that they aren’t overlapping too much (it’s okay if you have multiple layers, you just want it all spread evenly). Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, until yams are tender, carefully lifting yams from the bottom on occasion to keep from sticking.

4. Once yams are cooked, raise the heat on the pan for a minute or two to thicken sauce just a little more, if needed. Remove any thyme stems you can find and serve.

Served alongside homemade seitan and sauteed chard.

Pumpkin Hummus

2011-10-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

The bounty of pumpkins appearing all over the markets right now made me really want to try something new in the form of a pumpkin dip. After combing a few different websites for inspiration, I came up with this pumpkin hummus dip that incorporates the warming spices of fall. The recipe uses cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, but you can also use pre-blended pumpkin pie spice that already contains those spices.


Pumpkin bowl ready for filling.

If you want to get a little fancier, you can even serve the dip in a pumpkin bowl, like I did. To make the pumpkin bowl, I rubbed olive oil on the outside of a sugar pie pumpkin and roasted it in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. When it's done, cut a large enough piece of the top off to be able to fill the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds or, better yet, set aside to roast :) You would use this same method to roast the pumpkins to make your puree. The skin from my pumpkin bowl separated and I'm not sure why so next time I'm going to try poking a few holes using a fork to let the heat escape and see if that makes a difference.

Pumpkin hummus served with fresh cut veggies.

Pumpkin Hummus
Ingredients
2 C pumpkin puree (canned, or freshly roasted)
3 C chickpeas
1/4 C sesame paste (tahini)
3 T olive oil
3 T lemon juice
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 T maple syrup
salt to taste

Directions
Puree chickpeas with pumpkin until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and process until well combined. Adjust seasoning.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

Fall Catering Rehearsal Brunch Menu

2011-10-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

I'm too tired to write a blog post right now, and am taking a day off from blogging tomorrow, so here's a little peak at the spread that was prepared for the rehearsal brunch I catered this afternoon. Recipes to follow. The bride and groom were super sweet and excited to have an all vegan brunch. All of the non-veg family members were full of positive feedback (I received more than one "My compliments to the chef."). I even made one attendees day because she is allergic to eggs and was thrilled that she was able to have quiche.

Egg-less quiche with mushroom, pepper and onion.

Mini applesauce muffins.

Zesty cashew cheese served on endive.

Tempeh tuno salad in whole wheat wrap.

Cucumber and hummus tea sandwiches on spelt bread.

Prepping the pumpkin bowl for dip (not sure why the skin separated so much.)

Pumpkin hummus inside pumpkin bowl.


Currant scones and gingerbread scones.

Getting ready for my catering gig.

2011-10-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've been busy today preparing for that rehearsal brunch catering job I mentioned in yesterday's post, so no time for a real post today. Tomorrow I'll post photos (if I remember to actually take pictures!) and a recipe or two.

A new friend who I will soon be conducting a series of private cooking lessons for stopped by to assist me in the kitchen. To begin all the prep work we had in front of us, we started her first knife skills class and she did great! We both had a blast and I'm looking forward to teaching her over the next month or so. She is newly vegan and her goal is to learn an array of delicious vegan dishes and ultimately prepare a rockin' Thanksgiving feast for her skeptical family; a feast that will knock their socks off and show them that eating vegan and healthy can be fun and delicious.

Hopefully she found something today that she'll want to make on her own and eventually make for her family. While she was here prepping with me, we made tempeh tun-o salad, gingerbread scones, chocolate chip cookies, chopped veggies for mini vegan quiche. Also on the menu for the rehearsal brunch is hummus and cucumber sandwiches on spelt bread, pumpkin dip with crackers and veggies, cashew cheese spread with endive, and herb roasted potatoes.

I'm beat!

Applesauce Muffins

2011-10-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

I'm preparing for a big catering job on Saturday and am getting so excited by the tastes and smells of fall that are coming out of the kitchen. I hope the party goers will be just as excited!

One of my favorite newly discovered breakfast recipes is Applesauce Muffins. They are the perfect way to start a fall day. I've adapted the original recipe to a veganized, healthier version, replacing white flour with spelt flour, brown sugar with sucanat (stands for sugar cane natural), and eggs with more applesauce.

Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
1/4 C + 2 T canola or grapeseed oil
1/2 C sucanat (or brown sugar)
1 3/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C spelt flour
1/2 C oat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cinnamon)

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line it with cupcake liners.
2. Mix the first six ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, sift together, and then fold in the wet ingredients. Do not over-mix; stir only until combined.
4. Pour muffin batter into tins (I like to use an ice cream scooper for evenly sized muffins). Bake for 25 minutes. They are done when the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

2011-10-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when the temperature starts to drop, and even LA starts to see a few days of rain here and there. Today was one of those days. It was one of those lazy on the couch with a hot cup of tea and a nice warm bowl of soup. Of course anyone who has ever read this blog knows that I don't need it to be cold and rainy out to enjoy a bowl of soup. :)

One of my favorite, most comforting soups to prepare is a Creamy Mushroom soup that I learned to make at Bauman College. The surprising thing about this soup is that the base of it is cauliflower, one of my very least favorite vegetables, but you really can't tell. I've prepared this soup during cooking demos to rave reviews and it is something that I often put on menus for dinners I cater and client proposals. It's just so good! The best part, in my opinion, is the crispy shiitake garnish. Don't skimp on that!

Here's the recipe:

Creamy Mushroom Soup with Shiitake Garnish

Ingredients

2 T olive oil

1 C diced onion

½ tsp sea salt

2 T minced garlic

3 C button or cremini mushrooms, diced

4 C chopped cauliflower

4 ½ C vegetable stock, or water

2 tsp umeboshi vinegar, or to taste (optional)

splash of lemon juice

3 C shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 T olive oil

¼ tsp sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a 6 quart pot over medium heat. Add onion and sea salt, sauté for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the button mushrooms and stir until coated with oil. Add cauliflower and stock or water, cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

2. While the soup cooks, prepare the shiitake mushroom garnish. Toss shiitakes with oil and salt. Spread on parchment lined baking sheet in single layer and roast for 25 minutes, or until crisp. Check occasionally to see if they need turning.

3. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until very smooth and creamy. Add more stock or water if necessary, for desired consistency. Return to pot and place over medium heat. Add umeboshi vinegar, if using, and simmer 2 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

4. Just before serving, garnish soup with a small mound of roasted mushrooms.

Recipe adapted from Angelica’s Kitchen, NYC.

Biscuits and Rosemary White Bean Gravy

2011-10-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

Cooking fresh beans is rewarding but can also be a tad challenging. If you don't simmer them long enough, they end up hard/crunchy, if you leave them simmering for just a bit too long, the skins start to separate and the beans fall apart. For the times when you end up with beans that fit the latter description, a little re-purposing can yield delicious results in the form of white bean gravy.

For anyone who has followed this blog for a while, you may recall my post from last year's Vegan MoFo expressing my love for biscuits and gravy (and my biscuit making blunder). Going back to my favorite biscuit recipe from "Vegan with a Vengeance" (with the correct ingredients!), I needed a yummy satisfying gravy to top them. With a different recipe for white bean gravy sitting on the next page of the cookbook, I was inspired. The following recipe was the result.

Rosemary White Bean Gravy
Ingredients
2 C cooked white beans
1/2 C water
2 T tamari
1 T nutritional yeast
1 T dried rosemary, or 2 T fresh, minced
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Directions
1. Mash white beans really well with a fork or masher, or puree in a food processor for smoother texture. Add water and mix until combined. Transfer to a small pot, over medium heat.

2. Once bean mixture starts to bubble slightly, about 2 minutes, lower heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat for five minutes, stirring frequently, scraping down the sides of the pot so to prevent gravy from drying out. Add a little more water, if desired, for thinner gravy. Remove from heat and spoon over biscuits. Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Free Veggie Grill Kids' Burgers!

2011-10-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

Today's post is a shout out to the seven Veggie Grill restaurants all over LA and Orange County. Bring your kids to any location today and order the new kids' burger for FREE! The burgers come with fries or carrot sticks, a dessert and drink (usually $6.25 so a pretty sweet deal even when you're buying).

Offer is valid for kids 12 and under with purchase of adult entree.

What a great way to spend a beautiful meatless Monday during this first week of Vegan Month of Food!

Visit www.veggiegrill.com for more information about Veggie Grill and to view the menu.

How to Cook Okra

2011-10-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

During my last farmers' market trip, I was enchanted by a bin of beautiful okra and couldn't head home without taking some of it with me. I've cooked okra before as part of gumbo or smothered in tomato in some other form, tried it battered and baked or fried, but had never just sauteed it on it's on in all its okra glory. Having never learned to cook okra during culinary school, my okra attempts have all been completely self experimental. I decided I'd give a basic sautee with Indian spices a try.

The result: okra-tastrophe!

I sliced my okra, heat some oil in the pan and tossed it in with cumin, coriander, ginger, salt and pepper; covered it to help it get nice and soft, and tossed it around a whole bunch so it didn't stick to the pan. Once it was soft, I tossed some cooked rice in the pan, mixed it all up and transferred to a plate to enjoy my lunch. I took one bite and immediately put the fork down. It was a slimy mess so disgusting I couldn't even eat it!

I turned to about.com to see what I could have done differently, and found the following helpful tips (which explained that I basically did everything wrong!). So, dear blog readers, I share with you the tips I wish I had so that your okra is delicious and low on slime, unlike mine. You've won this round okra, but just wait until next time...

Here are five tips for slime-free okra.

If your okra was refrigerated, bring it to room temperature first and pat it drying before slicing or cooking the okra.
Cut okra into rounds, diagonally or long slices. Once cut, put into the sun for at least 30 mins to dry and remove some excess moisture. Alternately, leave it on your countertop at room temperature for 1 hour.
Okra cooks up quickly, so cook it on moderately high heat. When sautéing okra, be sure that it is spread out in an even layer in the pan. If the pan is over crowded, the okra will begin to sweat and release moisture (slime).
Add salt to okra only when it is just finished cooking. To add the salt, let the okra cook completely, remove it from the heat and then sprinkle salt to taste and toss quickly. If you add the salt at the beginning of the cooking process or during, it can result in a release of moisture (slime).
Never cover the pan while the okra is cooking. Covering the pot will cause steam and unwanted moisture.

Chickpea Rice Soup

2011-10-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Cold and flu season is upon us. This is evident in that people around me seem to be dropping like flies with illness. The latest person to start coughing up a storm is my boyfriend, Jacques. Lucky for him that he lives with a chef. As soon as I heard the coughing start this morning, I boiled some water for mint, ginger, cayenne tea to help loosen some of that stuffiness in his chest, and immediately got to vegetable chopping to make a batch of soup. While moms and grandmas for centuries have made chicken soup for their ailing loved ones, us vegheads have to get a little creative. Instead of chicken, chickpeas seemed to be the perfect vegan alternative. The soup was definitely inspired by what I had on hand, but also followed a traditional mire poix base (carrots, onions and celery). The result is a hearty, nutrient dense soup that heals. I even sneaked in a bit of sea vegetable in the form of kombu in the broth for added minerals. I didn't exactly measure my ingredients, so here's a estimation for the sake of sharing a recipe, add or subtract seasoning to your preference.

Chickpea Rice Soup
Ingredients
1 T olive oil
2 carrots chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
1/4 C nutritional yeast, optional
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
4 C water
1 inch piece of kombu
1 T tamari
1/2 C pre-cooked rice
1/2 C pre-cooked chickpeas
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion, sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cook for 7-10 minutes, until the vegetables soften and start to brown slightly. Add nutritional yeast, thyme and basil and stir so the veggies are well coated.
2. Pour in the water, stirring while adding to deglaze the pot. Add kombu. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered, for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
3. Stir in the chickpeas and rice and simmer for five more minutes until they are heated. Season with tamari and black pepper and sea salt, if needed. You may remove the kombu, or eat it.

Serve in your "patient's" favorite bowl because food will always taste better when you're sick if it's presented in a fun way. :)

Vegan MoFo is coming!

2011-09-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

I've done it. I've gone ahead and signed up for Vegan Month of Food. It's a month dedicated to blogging about all things vegan. The goal is to put up a post a day. I always love Vegan MoFo for the challenge of pushing myself to blog. Now if only I had a good camera to take better photos of food.

Wish me luck!

Meatless Monday: Comfort Foods

2011-09-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

With fall officially here, we're going to start to see cooler weather and grayer skies everywhere (well, I guess except in SoCal where this week we're expecting increased temps because of those darn Santa Ana winds). I know that for me, with cooler weather comes the desire for comfort foods, and when I think comfort foods, I think back to my childhood favorites.

This past Saturday, I did a cooking demo at Whole Foods in Santa Monica, where I prepared grown-up veganized versions of a few childhood favorite foods. On the menu was a guacamole grilled "cheese" and a creamy tomato bisque. The recipes were such a great hit that I decided to share them here.

Guacamole Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

8 slices sourdough bread

1 C daiya cheddar style shreds (or your preferred brand of non dairy cheese)

¼ C caramelized onions

¼ C guacamole (*see separate recipe)

cooking spray

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet, or panini press.

2. Spray two slices of bread on one side with cooking spray.

3. Place one slice of bread, sprayed side down into the pan. Add 2 T cheese, spread evenly over the bread, and top with other slice of bread. (Add as many sandwiches as will fit in the pan. If using a panini press, assemble sandwich first and follow your equipment instructions.)

4. Cover pan and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until slightly browned and cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

5. Pull bread apart, carefully. Add 1 T of caramelized onion, and 1 T guacamole, and re-close sandwich. Cut in half and serve.

Guacamole

Ingredients

1 small jalapeno, minced

1 small shallot, minced

2 medium avocado, diced

1 lime juiced

1 T chopped cilantro, optional

¼ tsp cayenne powder

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mash diced avocado and ½ of the lime juice.

2. Gently fold in remaining ingredients. Taste and season with salt and pepper, add more lime juice if needed.

Serves 8. Recipe by Christine Oppenheim

Tomato Miso Bisque

Ingredients

1 T grapeseed oil

1 ½ T garlic, minced

3 T ginger, minced

1 large onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 large carrot, diced

¾ C mirin

2 cans tomato, 28oz each, or 4 lbs ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped

4 ½ C vegetable stock

¾ C tomato paste, optional

black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a heavy bottomed pot, heat the grapeseed oil on medium heat and add the garlic, ginger, onion, celery and carrot. Sweat over low heat for about 10-15 minutes.

2. Deglaze the pot with mirin and add the tomatoes, cook for another 10 minutes.

3. Add the veg stock. Bring to a low simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes (if using fresh tomatoes, simmer for 45 minutes to an hour). Add tomato paste, if desired, for a richer tomato flavor. Season to taste with black pepper.

4. Remove from heat. Ladle soup into a blender in batches, or use a hand held stick blender, and puree until well blended.

5. In a small bowl, add a little bit of soup and whisk with the miso until it dissolves. Add the miso mixture into the soup and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings and serve. Garnish, if desired, with scallions and sour cream.

Recipe by Deng Ming-Dao Zen “The Art of Modern Eastern Cooking”.

Veg Dining on Kauai

2011-09-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Roosters and chickens are the kings and queens of the road.

I've found myself missing the sound of rooster calls today. The varying "cock a doodle doos" that would echo throughout the island of Kauai, regardless of where I was: the beach, the grocery store parking lot, the marina, the swimming pool at the resort.

I just got back from a five day trip to Kauai, HI and those five days were no where near long enough. Despite every adventure we packed into our short trip, there was still so much more that we didn't get to see. We kayaked the Wailea River and hiked to a hidden waterfall; snorkeled at Tunnels Beach, which has a reef so large it can be seen from space; swam in a huge tide pool called Queen's Bath; snorkeled some more; took a sunset catamaran trip up the Na'Pali Coast (which can only be seen by air or sea or a really difficult hike), where we encountered dolphins and watched them swimming alongside our boat.

And, of course, we ate so many amazing tropical fruits and veggies. Hawaiin breadfruit, purple sweet potato/taro, fresh, juicy pineapple, papaya, star fruit, avocados the size of my head! My mouth is watering just thinking about these delicious things that we do not have locally here in California (our puny, overpriced Haas avocados do not even come close in comparison to the richness of the avo I had on Kauai!)

I did a little research ahead of time to find the veg friendly places, and when we arrived at our hotel, the concierge offered a few additional suggestions. The most satisfying meals we found were, not surprisingly, at the smaller locations with a more local feel; our favorite of which was literally a hole in the wall - just a window to a kitchen with outdoor only seating.

Stir fry noodle and vegetable plate.

For our first Kauai meal, we found ourselves at Mermaids Cafe in Kapa'a. This was the hole in the wall. We loved it so much, it also ended up being our last vacation meal before we headed to the airport. The menu is tiny, maybe six to eight choices in all, offering different burritos, tacos, or stir fries and one sandwich, with the choice of veggie/tofu, chicken or ahi. As I'm currently not eating soy, I can't vouch for the tofu, but the veggies in my stir fry were fresh and delicious. I watched the girls through the window throwing veggies and seasonings in the pan, tossing it around, moving it to the next burner, adding something else to the mix, and repeat. I'm willing to bet nothing ever tastes the same twice. The bf who is usually not a fish eater, ordered the ahi tacos and said they were one of the best things he ever tasted. On the second visit, he ordered the ahi cilantro pesto burrito and ordered the black bean burrito (this is made vegan by removing the cheese). Again we were both very satisfied with our choices. The black beans were extremely flavorful and the burritos are huge. We couldn't finish the whole thing. Our meals both times were under $25 for both of us. Cheap and delicious. Score!

Right next to Mermaids is Java Kai Cafe. This is a small chain coffee shop with a few locations on the island (and, as I noticed when visiting their website, they have outlets coming soon to Santa Barbara, OC, Riverside and San Diego). They have a nice selection of Hawaiian coffees, smoothies, pastries and a few breakfast and lunch items. We grabbed a Papaya Date shake to share while we waited for Mermaids to open. YUM! Bonus points go to Java Kai for having vegan gluten free muffins. I didn't get a chance to try them, but they were ginormous and looked delicious! I will be seeking out their SoCal locations.

Cashew basil pate with tropical fruit and toast.

Down the road from the other two cafes is Tutu's Soup Hale, a cozy vegetarian cafe with a tree covered patio for outdoor dining. It's easy to miss if you're not looking for it, tucked off to the side in the parking lot for a mini shopping center. Here we were greeted by the friendly owner, a transplant from Southern California (one of the many we met during our stay!), who immediately offered us a taste of the freshly whipped up batch of cashew basil "cheese" she'd just finished making, and a sample of the daily soup, Cream of Breadfruit Soup. While I don't generally eat dairy, I was too intrigued by the opportunity to try breadfruit, something I'd only just heard about earlier from our tour guide during our Wailea kayak trip, to pass it up. We were instantly sold by these samples and knew we'd picked the right place for a quick lunch. The cashew cheese was available as a sandwich, or as a pupu (appetizer plate), which is the way we opted, served with toast and tropical fruits. These light bites hit the spot!

Yummy taro samosa with pumpkin curry soup and Thai noodle salad.

Also in Kapa'a is Caffe Coco. It wasn't so much a hole in the wall as it was a hole in the highway. Set off from the street and nestled among the trees, this place was a nice little treat. We dined here for dinner on Thursday night and were treated to live music from a fun jam band. The prices were a little higher than I'd expect for an order at the counter type of place, and we waited a loooooong time for our food (maybe half an hour at least), but it was worth the wait. We each had a purple sweet potato samosa topped with a sweet chutney. Mine was accompanied by a Thai style noodle salad with peanut dressing and a tasty curried pumpkin soup. The samosa was so good, I almost ordered another! Then I realized I didn't have room in my tummy for it. Nor did I have room for dessert, all of which were listed as vegan! I should have ordered something to go, but I'd already used up my sugar allowance on the sorbet I'd had earlier in the day.

On the North Shore in Hanalei, Postcards Cafe was recommended to us by a couple different people as a relatively new vegetarian restaurant that serves fish. Postcards falls a little bit more on the upscale dining side, with candlelit tables and table cloths. We shared an order of the taro fritters to start. These were nice; crispy on the outside from its polenta coating, soft in the middle, topped with a pineapple chutney and swimming in a pool of sweet chili sauce. The whole thing was maybe a little two sweet for a starter and may have served better as a dessert. The chili sauce definitely could have used a little more heat to balance out the sweet, but over all we were pleased with the dish. My entree on the other hand did not move me. I ordered the tandoori vegetable dish, a mix of vegetables, including zucchini, peas, and eggplant in an Indian coconut curry sauce served with the rice of the day, in this case it was lime ginger. The rice was nice, but the curry itself was rather lackluster; a blend of spices that were not really well balanced. It was almost like there was too much of an explosion of taste that it ended up being quite tasteless. A little bit salt helped to perk it up, but I still wasn't wowed. I'm guessing I just ordered the wrong thing. The bf enjoyed his HUGE wasabi crusted ahi steak, a slab of fish so big he couldn't even finish it. It was served alongside the rice of the day and some broccoli that was so well cooked and tasty that stealing bites of it from him saved my meal.

Also on the North Shore in Ha'ena is Meditterrean Gourmet, large restaurant with ocean front dining and tasty falafel. We stopped here for a quick lunch between snorkeling at Tunnels Beach and swimming in Queen's Bath.

On the West Shore in Kalaheo, we dined at Kalaheo Cafe and Coffee twice for breakfast out of convenience. It's a cute vegetarian friendly cafe that looks like it should be better than it actually is. The food is extremely mediocre, but they have the benefit of being one of few options for early morning, veg friendly dining in the area. The first time I ordered a very standard plain bagel with avocado and enjoyed it well enough... with something that basic it's pretty hard to screw up (the bagel wasn't the best ever, but I'm from NY so I already know I'm a tough critic in that area). The next time around, we went for a larger breakfast. I ordered a veggie wrap, which was kind of on the greasy side, and left my stomach feeling heavy all day. The bf ordered the French toast, Hawaiin sweet bread, topped with pineapple, macadamia nuts and powdered sugar, it sounded like it should be a dream. However, he said it was kind of bland.

Finally, I also have to give a shout out to Papaya's Natural Foods Store in Kapa'a for being there to satisfy my smoothie craving at a time when I needed it the most, and for having an eclectic collection of grab and go items in their deli case, which served as our tasty picnic lunch during one of our beach days. We shared a hummus wrap and sesame noodles.

Meatless Monday: Sweet Potato Pancakes

2011-08-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big breakfast person, but the one exception to that rule has always been pancakes. I'm extremely picky about them, but when they come out just to my liking (thin but still fluffy), it's pure bliss.

I generally avoid white flour and having been eating low oil so I was almost certain pancakes would be off my list. Enter spelt flour and yam. I had a Japanese yam sitting on my table just asking for me to do something fun with it. Bleary eyed and hungry on a Saturday morning, I decided I'd give it purpose. The result was a deliciously healthy, somewhat fluffy pancake. The cooking part was a bit tricky as the yam did make the pancakes have a mushier texture than pancakes usually would and required careful attention to make sure they cooked through without burning. Since yams are so commonly referred to as sweet potatoes, even though the two are different, I decided to call the recipe sweet potato pancakes because it just sounds better. You can use legit sweet potatoes, but keep an eye on the moisture and sweetener levels in the pancakes as they tend to be a little less moist and sweet than yams, especially if you are using the yellow fleshed variety.

Sweet Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
1 medium yam, cubed
¼ C cooking liquid
2 T maple syrup
1 ¼ C non dairy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract (or more vanilla)
1 C spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions
1. Put yam in a small pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until yams are soft. Drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid.

2. In a large bowl, mash yams with ¼ cup cooking liquid and maple syrup, until smooth. Add extracts and milk and whisk until well combined.

3. In a small bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients, until most of the lumps are gone. Do not over mix.

4. Over medium heat, warm a skillet and spray with cooking spray or brush with a small amount of oil. When skillet is heated, pour pancakes in rounds using a ¼ cup or 1/3 cup measuring cup, depending on desired size. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, until the middle starts to firm. The pancakes will not form little bubbles the way normal pancakes do. Flip and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes on the other side, until lightly browned. Stack on a plate and continue until all batter is used up.

Meatless Monday: Zucchini Fritters

2011-08-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

I love the abundance of summer squash at the farmers' markets these days, and I envy my friends with urban gardens who are showing off their bounty. I like to try different things with zucchini since the vegetable is so versatile. One of my favorites is to make zucchini fritters. I've been experimenting with different flavors and seasonings, all savory to this point, but I think I may try a sweet next time. The recipe below has a hint of spice, and in my opinion, is delicious any time of day. This uses a small zucchini so if you have a garden monster like some of my friends do, make sure to up the quantity of the other ingredients. These were so yummy they barely stayed on our plates long enough to take a picture!

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients
1 small zucchini, shredded
2 tsp curry powder
dash cayenne pepper
2 T nutritional yeast
1 tsp Bragg's
salt and pepper, to taste
2 T brown rice flour
2 T almond milk
1 T olive oil, for frying

Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine zucchini with seasonings and stir until well combined. Add flour and milk and fold until completely coated.
2. Heat olive oil on a medium skillet, over medium heat. Spoon zucchini mixture onto pan, forming four round patties that are about three inches in diameter, spreading evenly so that it is thin and smooth, without breaks.
3. Cook patty about 4 minutes on each side, until golden. To tell if it is cooked through after flipping, press gently on middle of patty. It should be firm and spongy.
4. Remove from pan onto a paper towel, if patties are oily. Arrange on two plates. Serve with a dollop of soy sour cream or yogurt if desired.

Serves 2.

Homemade Rosemary Pasta

2011-07-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

I recently acquired the pasta maker attachment for my kitchen aid mixer and have since been on a fresh pasta making kick. It's so easy to prepare and tastes so much better than the dried stuff you can buy in the stores that fresh pasta has become my go to choice for pasta nights at home. I had a lot of fresh rosemary on hand and decided to experiment with an herb pasta. The result was pure deliciousness! Since the pasta itself had such a delightful, aromatic flavor, I didn't want to overwhelm it with sauce or toppings. I sauteed some spinach and shredded zucchini to pair with it. On top of that, just a little bit of olive oil and a splash of lemon juice did the trick.

You can still make this recipe even if you don't have a pasta maker, it just takes a little more time, effort and patience to roll the pasta dough thin enough by hand with a rolling pin.The base recipe for the dough is one that I've adapted from VeganDad.

I remove my pasta from the water with tongs and finish off in a pan.

Fresh Rosemary Pasta
Ingredients
1C semolina flour
1C whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour)
1tsp salt
1T fresh rosemary, very finely minced
1T olive oil
1/2 C water

Directions
1. Fit a food processor with the dough blade and add the flours, salt and rosemary. Process briefly to mix.

2. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, then the water. The dough will slowly start to form as more liquid is added. When it is all bunched together, the dough is ready.

3. Remove dough from the processor and place onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for a bit until it is smooth. If the dough is too dry, add a few drops of water; if it is too sticky, dust with more flour. Cut into pieces and run through pasta machine, per its instructions.

4. Dry the pasta for 20-30 minutes to make it more durable. Add to a pot of salted, lightly oiled boiling water and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, depending on how al dente you want the pasta. Fresh pasta cooks very quickly so be careful not to overcook or it will become mush.

*If you do not have a food processor, mix the dough using the same method of slow addition of liquid, but gently fold with a wooden spoon until you have a formed dough.

Fourth of July - Vegan Style

2011-06-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

America's birthday is just around the corner (my how this year is flying!!!!) and just like every other patriotic holiday, the most popular way for people to be celebrating is in the backyard (or park, or beach, or other public area) with friends and family and a barbecue grill. All the carnivores out there will try to argue that it's not the Fourth of July without the sacrificing of many animals for the grill. However, us veg-heads know better. Don't be stuck with just chips and salsa to eat on Monday. Host an event or bring your own food to share and show people how delicious and versatile veggies can be.

Here is a photo menu for a delicious vegan Fourth of July, with links to some of the recipes:

A Raw Kale Salad with seasonal fruit is a deliciously healthy option for everyone to enjoy.

Grill up some tempeh and slather it with a Homemade BBQ Sauce for a true vegan feast.

Grilled Artichokes are great for the barbie!! Pair with a meyer lemon aoili.

Nothing says summer like sweet corn. This Grilled Corn Salsa is great for the Fourth. Serve it with chips, top veggie burgers, eat it with a spoon, add some avocado for creaminess...

Hummus is a delicious appetizer for any time of year.

A cool watermelon salsa is a delicious and unique alternative to traditional tomato varieties.

Herb Roasted Potatoes are one of my favorite side dishes, out of the oven or over an open fire.

Endive serves as its own spoon. Here it's paired with crackers and filled with a salty olive walnut tapenade.


And of course no Fourth of July feast would be complete without cupcakes! Cookies and cream are one of my favs. The recipe for these beauties comes out of "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World".

Meatless Monday: Chickpeas and Green Beans

2011-06-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I catered a friend's baby shower. When we discussed the menu during the planning process, she said that she would like a unique bean dish and that she really loved garbanzo beans. After a little thinking and trying to come up with something that was better and more distinguishable than your classic three bean salad that is always over-vinegar-ed, I recalled a tasty recipe we had made at Bauman and decided to adapt it.

The garbanzo and green bean dish was mixed with a creamy garlic, dill dressing; and it was a huge hit! The mama-to-be thought that it perfectly hit the mark of what she was wanting and her guests all loved it too. It's a great dish for a picnic since it's served cold, and can stand in as a main or a side since it's packed with protein. For some added bulk, you can serve the beans over mixed greens and have something equally good but different.

Garbanzo and Green Beans with Creamy Garlic Dressing
Ingredients
3/4 C garbanzo beans, soaked overnight
1 lb green beans
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 T fresh dill
1/4 C fresh basil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2T rice vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic
3/4 C olive oil
1/3 plain soy yogurt
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Drain the garbanzo beans and place in a pot with water covering them by two inches. (Add a piece of kombu if on hand.) Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 1 hour, until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Cut ends off green beans and drop into boiling salted water for about 3 minutes, or until desired tenderness is reached. Remove with a slotted spoon and cool in an ice bath, or rinse under cold water. Drain and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.
3. To make the dressing, combine mustard, vinegar and garlic in a blender on low speed, then slowly add oil. Add yogurt, season with salt and pepper to taste and blend well.
4. Combine the beans, celery, dill, basil and scallions in a large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat and serve.

Meatless Monday: Summer Corn Chowder

2011-06-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

We're getting hit with a heavy dose of June Gloom in southern California (at least out my window in Santa Monica; I have no idea what other parts of LA look like), so it's time for another soup post. This Summer Corn Chowder is great served warm for overcast, chilly days like today, and also great chilled for the warmer days (or warmer climates - looking at you southern states). The trick to get a richer corn flavor is to make a corn stock from the cobs instead of using another veg stock. It's really simple to make: cut the corn off the cob and set the kernels aside; put the cobs, and some of the silk, if you'd like into a large stock pot and cover with at least 6 cups water; allow to simmer for minimum of half hour, an hour is ideal.


Photo Courtesy: Florencia Manovil

Summer Corn Chowder

Ingredients
2 T olive oil
2 medium leeks, clean and thinly sliced
4 C vegetable stock
3 cups corn, removed from cob
1 small potato, diced
½ c red bell pepper, diced small
1 small chipotle pepper, chopped, optional for smoky soup
2 tsp Mexican oregano
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
1. In a heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil. Add the leeks and bell pepper; cook until leeks are limp and start to become translucent.

2. Add the stock and potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until leeks and potatoes are very tender, 15 – 20 minutes. Add the corn and simmer 2 more minutes.

3. Add oregano, cilantro and chipotle pepper, if using. Blend the soup with an immersion blender, or place ½ in a regular blender and blend until creamy. Blend completely, or partially for a chunkier soup.

4. Return to pot, if using blender, and gently re-warm, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

5. Pour into bowls and serve. You may garnish with chopped red bell pepper, or cilantro oil for added color.

Meatless Monday: Gingered Chard

2011-06-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

Spring time means an abundance of leafy greens in SoCal (although I suppose in LA, any season means an abundance of leafy greens). I'm usually a very big supporter of kale, but I've been trying to give chard a little more love, as of late. Chard is a great vegetable, not only because of its abundance of nutrients, but also because it gives beautiful color to any dish, especially if you're using rainbow chard.

This Asian inspired gingered chard recipe that I learned to make while at Bauman College is wonderful because it's really easy to prepare and extremely nutritious. It is also excellent for the digestive system as it incorporates miso and ginger, which aid in digestion and soothe the digestive system. To make it a full meal, stir fry some tofu along with the chard and serve over pasta or brown rice.

Gingered Chard
Ingredients
1 T sesame oil
2 medium carrots, grated or matchsticks
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated or minced
2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
2 T agave
1 T white miso
1 T brown rice vinegar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 C water
2 lbs chard, stems removed and chopped
1/4 C sesame seeds, toasted lightly

Directions
1. In a medium pan, or wok, on medium heat, add the oil and saute the carrots and ginger until carrots are tender. (If you are using tofu, you'll want to stir fry that a little bit first and push it aside before adding the carrots.)
2. While the carrots are cooking, whisk together tamari, agave, miso, vinegar, cayenne and water in a small bowl.
3. Add chard to the pan with the carrots and cook until the greens are wilted. Turn off heat.
4. Add sesame seeds and sauce to vegetables, stirring well to coat. Serve.

Meatless Memorial Day: BBQ Tempeh

2011-05-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Today is one of the biggest barbecuing days of the year, so in honor of all the flames that are ablaze, here's a recipe for those of us not consuming the cow. The hardest thing about going to a barbecue as a vegetarian or vegan is the choices are usually limited as to what you can eat and commercial, pre-packaged veggie burgers and kabobs can get old. Also, a lot of bottled barbecue sauces usually have "natural flavor" added, which tend to be derived from animal sources.

This recipe is for an alternative BBQ sauce, using roasted red peppers, instead of a tomato base. It's a bit sweeter than the bottled BBQ sauce your friends are used to, but I guarantee if you bring this along to the party, they'll all be impressed.

BBQ Sauce

Ingredients
4 red bell peppers
1 bulb garlic
¼ C tamari
3 T apple cider vinegar
3 T red wine, or vegan Worcestershire sauce
¼ C molasses
smoked paprika, chili powder, and cayenne to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub the bell peppers with olive (or other) oil and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

2. At the same time, cut off the top of the garlic bulb, drizzle with a little oil and wrap in parchment paper and foil. Place in the oven to roast with the peppers. Roast peppers for about 20 minutes and garlic for about 40 minutes. (Check the peppers and rotate at least once. Time may need to be adjusted. You want to see dark marks around the peppers.)

3. When peppers are roasted, transfer to a bowl and place a lid on top for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle. Remove the peppers from the bowl; peel away the skin and remove seeds. Puree in a food processor until smooth.

4. Add the roasted garlic and the rest of the ingredients in the food processor with the pepper puree and blend until smooth.

5. Add to a saucepan on medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Adjust flavors with paprika, chili powder and cayenne. Spoon over tempeh right before serving.

Recipe Author unknown

Grilled Tempeh

Directions
1. Cut a block of tempeh into equal strips, about an inch in width.

2. Brush with a small amount of olive oil.

3. Place on grill and cook for a few minutes, until grill marks form. Flip and repeat on the other side.

4. Be careful not to over grill or tempeh will be dry.

5. Slater with BBQ sauce and enjoy!

*Note: You may also steam the tempeh strips for about 10 to 15 minutes before grilling, this will loosen the tempeh and prepare it to absorb the sauce a bit more.

Meatless Monday: Spring Vegetable Soup

2011-05-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

We're experiencing a bit of "May Gray" here in usually "sunny California" so it's a perfect opportunity to post another soup recipe. Anyone who has read this blog knows that I love soups any time of year so really two soup recipes in a row shouldn't be much of a surprise.

This spring vegetable soup is great because it's incredibly versatile. I make it with summer squash, but it can be prepared with any number of green vegetables... spring peas, asparagus, broccoli, etc. The other great thing about this soup is that it is wonderful served hot or chilled. In fact, I think the flavors get even better as the soup cools. Try it both ways to see which you prefer!

Spring Vegetable Soup (Zucchini and Coriander)

Ingredients
2 T olive oil
2 medium leeks
1 ½ tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
2 ½ lbs zucchini or other summer squash, coarsely chopped
6 C vegetable stock

Directions
1. Heat oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and coriander seed and cook until almost tender, stirring often, about 6 minutes.

2. Add squash; sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until squash begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the stock. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer uncovered until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.

4. Puree soup in a blender in batches, until smooth, or use a hand held blender. Ladle into bowls and garnish with soy sour cream, if desired.

Meatless Monday: Cheezy Broccoli Soup

2011-05-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I ordered a broccoli soup at a restaurant, only to be disappointed in how bland it was. Thinking at the time that I could do so much better, I did. While I did like the combination of broccoli and almonds that the other broccoli soup had, I opted to do a soup with a cheesy flavor.

This recipe is simple, quick and delicious. It makes for a good main dish or starter. I added cooked quinoa when it was finished to make it a heartier main. I made a small portion for two, but you can double or triple the recipe to serve more people.


Terrible photo, but delicious soup!

Cheezy Broccoli Soup

Ingredients
1 small head broccoli
2 C water, or veg stock
1 T Earth Balance
1 1/2 T flour (I used brown rice to keep it gluten free)
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 C + 2 T nutritional yeast
1/2 T tamari or Bragg's
1 T white miso paste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pan, melt Earth Balance and add flour. Brown slightly, about one minute. Add mustard powder and onion powder and mix until well combined.
2. Add water/ stock and bring to a simmer. Add nutritional yeast and tamari and continue to simmer over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally as the mixture starts to thicken.
3. Add broccoli and simmer another 5 minutes, or until broccoli is tender. Remove from heat.
4. Pour a small amount (a couple of spoonfuls) of soup, trying to get just the liquid, into a small bowl. Add the miso and whisk gently, until the miso is dissolved. Pour the miso mixture back into the soup and stir until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Use a hand held blender to puree the broccoli to desired chunkiness. Reheat, if necessary. Pour into bowls and enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Roasted Potatoes...over the open fire

2011-05-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

Camping season is here! This weekend I went camping in Palomar Mountain with a group of friends. Of course, as the resident chef of the group, I was nominated to take charge of the food. This also meant that we were going beyond just having the typical veggie burgers and dogs. Along with those generic camping/ grilling items, we also had marinated vegetable kabobs, roasted corn and avocado salad, and the hit of the campfire... Rosemary Roasted Potatoes.

Roasted potatoes are really easy to do over the campfire, and way tastier than a whole russet potato cooked in the fire. Here is my favorite way to make the potatoes, enough to feed 8 hungry campers:

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes (over an open fire!)

Ingredients
2 lb baby red and white potatoes
6 cloves garlic
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 C olive oil
few sprigs fresh rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Wash potatoes and cut into about one inch cubes. Smash the garlic cloves to remove skins and cut large cloves in halves or quarters.
2. Place potatoes and garlic in a medium aluminum pan, along with red onion. Toss with olive oil until well coated. Remove rosemary from stem and add to potatoes along with sprinkles of salt and pepper, tossing again.
3. Cover pan tightly with foil and place over the fire. If there is a grill to keep them above the fire, use that as they'll cook more evenly than being directly on the fire. Cook for about 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 10 or 15 minutes to make sure they don't stick to the bottom. You'll hear a beautiful sizzling sound as they cook. The potatoes are done when easily pierced with a fork. Cook a little longer if you want them crispy, but again, keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn.

Meatless Monday: Grilled Artichokes

2011-05-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

Artichokes are still in abundance right now but soon coming to the end of their season. I've definitely taken advantage of all the beautiful bulbs that I've seen at the farmers' market and grocery stores. My favorite way to prepare whole artichokes is to grill them.

Of course, artichokes seem a little intimidating to prepare, with all their spikes and layers and hidden furry chokes, but once the preparation is broken down for you, they're a lot easier than they appear.

1) The first step is to remove the thorns by trimming each outer leaf with a sturdy pair of scissors. Once the outer leaves are trimmed, cut about 1 inch off the top of the artichoke off using a chef knife to get the smaller thorns clustered at the top.

2) To cook the artichoke, I boil water with salt and lemon juice (about 1 T. of lemon juice per 2 qt. of water) and place the artichoke over the water in a steamer basket. Steam the artichoke for about 30 to 40 minutes. The artichoke is done when a paring knife can be easily inserted into the bottom of the artichoke, or one of the inner leaves is easily plucked out. Remove from steamer and allow to cool enough to handle.

3) Once the artichoke is cooled, use a sharp knife to cut in half, lengthwise. Now it's time to remove the furry choke. To do this, first pull out the thin, light colored leaves on the inside and then use a spoon to scrape out all of the fur and discard. This should be easy if the artichoke is cooked properly.

4) To grill, heat a cast iron grill pan (or ready your BBQ grill). In a small bowl, mix together 2 T of olive oil, 1-2 cloves minced garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Brush some of the olive oil mixture on the inside of the artichoke halves and place that side down on the grill. Brush the outer leaves and stem with remaining oil. Grill for about 5 minutes, until light grill marks form, and then rotate and grill the leaves for about 2 to 3 minutes. Place on serving plates and serve with melted butter (Earth Balance!) or favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy the leaves one at a time by scraping off the soft stuff with your teeth. Make sure to save room in your belly for the best part; the heart at the center!

Here is a yummy recipe for a meyer lemon aoili to dip your leaves in:

Meyer Lemon Aioli

Ingredients
1/2 C plus 2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp zest of Meyer lemon
Juice of 2 Meyer lemons
2 oz silken tofu
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool to room temperature.

2. Combine the sauteed garlic and oil with the lemon juice and zest, tofu, yeast and mustard, and blend with a handheld immersion blender, or conventional blender.

3. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup oil and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes about 1 cup of aioli that can be stored refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.

Meatless Monday: GR/Eats

2011-04-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

For today's meatless Monday post, instead of a recipe, I've decided to write a quick restaurant review.

Last week, I met a friend for dinner in the West LA area and she mentioned that she'd walked past a cute little cafe a few times that she's been wanting to stop into. After checking out the menu online and noticing that it had mostly positive reviews, we decided to give GR/Eats a try.

GR/ Eats is a cafe belonging to the Giant Robot Magazine family. To copy the description on their website, "From movie stars, musicians, and skate-boarders to toys, technology, and history, Giant Robot magazine covers cool aspects of Asian and Asian-American pop culture."

GR has store fronts in LA and in San Francisco that showcase all sorts of fun pop art, toys, t-shirts, books, etc. Roaming around the small store on Sawtelle Blvd is always enjoyable, just to see what little knick knacks are on display. It's a great place for kids and kids at heart. Right across the street is GR/ Eats, with a menu just as interesting as the store, embodying the GR spirit of Asian-American pop culture in its food. The menu definitely has something for everyone with an extensive selection of clearly marked vegan items. The menu ranges from burgers to salads to rice and pasta dishes, to Japanese style curry; it was hard to decide as everything sounded so good.

My friend chose the Tofu Burger with a side of mixed fries (a perfect combo of shoestring potato, sweet potato and thinly sliced plantains.) The bread was incredibly soft and the burger had a nice texture... sort of crispy on the outside and smooth in, with an excellent flavor. It tasted much better than you'd expect from something called a "tofu burger". I opted for the Tofu "Meatball" Plate. The "meatballs" were different from burger and equally delicious. There were 6 "meatballs" covered in a delicious sweet and sour, slightly spicy sauce, served in a huge bowl with a mound of white rice and ribbon sliced vegetables; although steamed, the veggies had a lot of flavor (I think whatever they sprinkle on top of the veggies probably contains shiso leaf). I usually don't care for my vegetables steamed, especially zucchini, but these veggies were fantastic. Finally, we were so curious about the paella - it being a mostly Asian inspired menu, and paella being very much Latin American or Spanish (they describe it as El Salvadorian) - that we had to split a half order. The half order was huge, and could have happily filled one of us as an entree. I can't imagine what the full order must look like! Surprisingly, it was very good. The vegetable consisted mostly of tri-colored bell peppers, which I don't care for, but the rice itself was nice and moist and I loved the smoked paprika flavor. What can I say? I'm a sucker for smoked paprika! I wish I had a camera with me so we could have taken pictures of all the delicious and beautiful food.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will definitely be heading back there to try more items off the menu. I'd really like to give the Japanese curry a go. On top of great food, the great eats were very economically priced. With drinks, the shared side and our two entrees, our bill came to less than $25. When we finished eating, the nice older lady who served us brought ice cream for dessert on the house (they even have soy based ice cream), but sadly we had to turn it down because we were just too full. At 7pm on a Thursday, we were the only two people in the restaurant and it always worries me when good restaurants are empty because it makes me nervous that they will soon be closed. Get to GR/ Eats and enjoy the GReat food! And stop at the Giant Robot store while you're over there.

Menu can be found at: http://www.gr-eats.com/

Meatless Monday: Millet with Sugar Snap Peas

2011-04-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

It's spring which means the farmers' markets are bountiful with beautiful things that are green. In addition too fava beans mentioned in last week's post, there are also peas galore. My favorite are sugar snap peas with their sweet round insides and crisp edible shells. If they are of perfect ripeness, they are delicious raw, but otherwise, I find they have a bit of a chalkiness to them that makes them taste better when they are slightly cooked (steamed, sautéd, blanched, whatever you prefer).

I had a bunch of sugar snap peas in my fridge from the market the other day and wanted something quick and filling, without being too heavy, for lunch today. Millet is one of my favorite grains, for it's nutty taste and fluffy texture.

Start by rinsing and draining 1/2 cup millet, then add to a small pan or pot and toast until dry and it smells toasty. Do not burn. (This step is not necessary, but enhances the nutty flavor.) Once toasted, add 1 cup water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over low heat, cover, cook for about 15 to 25 minutes until the millet is soft. I like to check on it to make sure the water is not absorbing too quickly so as to not burn the grain.

Here is a recipe:

Gingery Millet with Sugar Snap Peas

1 T grapeseed oil
1 -2 T toasted sesame oil
1/4 C onion, small dice
1" piece ginger, minced
1/2 C sugar snap peas, 1/2" diagonal slices
1 - 1/2 C cooked millet
2 T tamari
1 T sesame seeds

1. In a medium pan, heat grape seed oil. Add onion and ginger and sauté until onion is translucent and starts to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add peas and cook another two minutes.

2. Lower heat and add sesame oil, followed by millet. Slowly pour in tamari and toss all until well coated. Remove from heat. Top with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Meatless Monday: Fava Beans

2011-04-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

In honor of seeing the first sign of spring fava beans at the farmers' market yesterday (and because I recently watched that clip from "Silence of the Lambs"... because, really, who among us that has seen that movie can't hear the words fava beans without recalling the creepy image of Anthony Hopkins).

Fava beans are not the easiest in the world to prepare. They require much work since you have to shell and peel, but fresh favas are just so darn tasty that you always feel it was worth the effort.

This is a delicious spring time Mediterranean inspired dish that I prepared during my time at my natural chef program at Bauman College. I promise it is worth the effort! This recipe makes a large bowlful, but you can reduce it if you're not eating with a large group (or just make the whole thing and have leftovers!).

Fava Beans with Lemon and Dill

Ingredients

4 lbs fava beans, fresh in pods
2 1/2 T olive oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
1 pinch salt
3 T fresh dill, finely chopped

Directions:
1. Shell the beans into a bowl. Set up a pot of boiling salted water to blanch the beans. Blanch for 1 minute and immediately place in ice bath. Drain. Peel the beans by squeezing them out of their shell.

2. Cook shelled beans in a medium skillet over medium heat in 1 tablespoon olive oil until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the scallions and turn of heat.

3. Whisk together the remaining oil, lemon zest and juice, and a pinch of salt. Pour it over the beans, add most of the dill and gently mix everything together. Season with pepper. Garnish with remaining dill. Serve warm or chilled.

Here is a great link to step by step instructions, with photos, for shelling fava beans.

Easy Miso Soup for a Sick Day

2011-04-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

After getting incredibly sick with some kind of stomach flu or food poisoning last night, I had a hard time even contemplating the idea of eating anything for most of today. I started with some plain millet earlier in the day, followed a few hours later by a toasted brown rice tortilla, and finally by 5pm I felt like I could eat something a little more hearty. Of course, the only thing that really seemed appealing was a brothy soup, but I just haven't had the energy it would take to cook something complicated, or even go out to a store to pick something up. It then occurred to me that I had the ingredients (five of them to be exact!) to make a simple, no prep, comforting shiitake miso soup. It was light enough for me to be able to stomach, while still being hearty enough and filled with a good amount of nutrients to help replenish all that I lost last night. Shiitakes are great for invigorating the immune system and provide an amazing source of antioxidants. They are also a good source of protein, dietary fiber and vitamin C. This soup is great for times when you're feeling sick to your stomach, or for when it's a head cold that ails you.

Shiitake Miso Noodle Soup
3 C water
3 large dried shiitakes
2 tsp tamari
1 small carrot, shredded (optional)
small handful of vermicelli rice noodles
2 T white miso paste
Dash of ume vinegar, if desired

Place shiitakes in the water in a small sauce pot and bring to a simmer. Remove now re-hydrated mushrooms carefully and thinly slice (they will be hot). Return to pot, and add tamari, shredded carrots, if using, and rice noodles. Continue to cook over low heat for a couple of minutes until rice noodles are soft. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk the miso paste with a small amount of the broth until miso is dissolved. Mix into soup. Add a dash of ume vinegar, if desired and serve immediately. You may also garnish with wakame seaweed for added nutrients.

Nightshade and Gluten Free: Re-Introduction

2011-03-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am long overdue on this update post. I know a few people out there have been wondering what the results of the cleanse are and where I'm at now. I'll keep it brief.

As I mentioned when I started my cleanse, I was hoping to notice a big reduction in my joint pain levels. Unfortunately, with my wrists, I did not really notice a difference with the discomfort I usually experience, most notably when I rotate them. (Cue the old joke - Patient: "Doctor it hurts when I do this." Doctor: "Well, then don't do that.") Fortunately, they still aren't in as terrible shape as they used to be so I'll just be continuing with my stretches, flexes and just generally not overdoing it with repetitive motion or heavy lifting, as usual.

With my knees, however, I noticed a reduction in pain when I went "off the nightshades", especially in my right knee, which had gone from hurting sometimes to clicking and throbbing more consistently. I'm curious if this is just coincidental timing that the chronic pain lessened or if it is a direct result of the cleanse.

I'm now in the re-introduction phase of nightshades and it will be a wait and see game. If I do start to feel the chronic pain again, especially if it is almost immediately, I will do another cleanse to better determine if it is directly related or pure coincidence. Overall, however, I do plan on limiting the amount of gluten and nightshades that I eat in general, just to keep the toxin levels in my body low.

As far as gluten goes, I do plan to do an isolated cleanse.

On that note, I'd like to share an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal entitled Clues to Gluten Sensitvity.

Meatless Monday: Veggie Stir Fry

2011-02-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

I've decided to do my very first Meatless Monday post. I guess I never really thought about doing one before since every day for me is meatless, but it's a good opportunity to pass on a delicious, easy recipe for the masses. Since I've been keeping all my meals nightshade free, my favorite fried rice recipe is the perfect easy recipe for tonight's dinner because it's great with whatever veggies you have on hand. If you have the rice prepared in advance, this recipe takes under 20 minutes to prep and finish. Add an extra 40 minutes or so if you're making the rice now.

Veggie Fried Rice

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6-8 as a side.

The pictured version uses red bell peppers. Mix and match your veggies!

Ingredients

2 T tamari, or soy sauce

1 T brown rice vinegar

¼ tsp ginger powder

3T peanut oil (or other high heat oil, if allergic to peanut)

1 small red onion, sauté sliced

1 large carrot, diced

¼ lb sugar snap peas, ½ inch pieces

8 oz medium firm tofu or tempeh, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 C cooked rice, day old preferred

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together first three ingredients to make a sauce.

2. Heat 1 T of peanut oil over high heat.

3. Add vegetables in order, cooking each one individually for about two minutes, or until tender, pushing the previous veggie to the side to add the next one to the hottest part in the middle of the wok, adding a little extra peanut oil with each addition.

4. When all veggies are cooked, keep them to the side, add more peanut oil, then add tofu to the wok and coat with about 1 T of the sauce. Cook until browned.

5. Finally, add rice and remaining sauce. Toss well with veggies, making sure to coat well with the sauce. Continue to cook, constantly moving the rice, until heated through. Serve immediately.

Nightshade and Gluten Free: Week Two

2011-02-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

Week two started off strong. My fellow chef friend, Christy Morgan, asked if I could test some recipes for her for a cookbook she's working on. Of course, with my new limited diet, I welcomed new recipes with open arms and she was happy to send along a handful that were gluten and nightshade free. It worked out that the recipes also fit perfectly for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner.

The dinner menu (and recipes tested) included a gorgeous beet soup, a fuchsia color that could only be made by nature; a tasty dip called "Save a Duck Pate", that I accompanied with my new favorite brown rice sesame crackers; and finally, our favorite recipe, a dijon dill dressing served over fresh, crisp, lightly blanched green beans. It was all so yummy and kicked off a week of happy food eating!

I played with new food modifications at work (probably making the line cooks all hate me for all the changes they had to pay attention to) so that I wouldn't get bored just eating steamed kale and tempeh every day, or get fat feasting on nothing but sweet potato fries. Thank goodness sweet potatoes are not part of the nightshade family!

All was going incredibly smoothly. It's been easier to figure out what foods to avoid and even easier to avoid them. That is, until I had a momentary lapse of judgment on Friday night. After a long week at work, I went out to a fund raiser for Reading to Kids at a bar in the neighborhood. Upon entering, I was lured in by the Fat Tire on tap - it was just calling my name so loudly. Of course, as I drank down my last sip, a sinking feeling came over me as I was snapped back to reality and remembered that beer is not on my gluten free list. Sigh. So much for gluten being the "easier" thing to eliminate for this cleanse.

Guess I'm back at day one for gluten.

And Day One is off with a bang - amazing homemade gluten free, nightshade free vegan pizzas. Yum!

Chocolate Mousse For Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T21:09:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the commercial holiday that promotes love and chocolate, I thought I'd re-post a yummy mousse recipe that is always a hit.

Make this one for your sweetie and there's no doubt you'll be appreciated.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Ingredients

2 medium ripe avocados

1/2 C hazelnut (or other non-dairy milk)

1/4 C + 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder (raw if desired, it gives the best flavor)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C maple syrup or agave

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, adding the milk and syrup little by little and tasting after each addition for desired consistency and sweetness.

2. Pour mixture into serving cups.

3. Chill for at least one hour.

4. Top with any desired toppings and serve.

**Quantities will change based on the size, taste and consistency of the avocado.

Topping ideas:

Chopped hazelnuts

Raspberry Coulis

Nut based cream

Nightshade and Gluten Free

2011-02-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

For my final culinary project when I was at Bauman College, I tackled the subject of osteoarthritis and came up with an extensive menu plan, accompanied by a report about foods that should be avoided if you endure arthritic pain and suffering. Sadly, at a young age, I was informed by a doctor that I had signs of early osteoarthritis. I did a bit of physical therapy for a while upon this first diagnosis, but have not done much else to prevent this condition from worsening. I endured a rough case of tendinitis in my wrists last year and suffer from some occasional pain in my knees, that has recently seemed to worsen.

In an effort to finally practice what I preach, I have re-read my own osteoarthritis report and began an elimination diet of common inflammatory foods. This elimination consists of gluten containing foods, and all nightshade vegetables, which include tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, among others.

I'm not going to lie; it's been a rough start.

The gluten is slightly easier since I've already been eating a limited amount of gluten so avoiding these items has already been on my radar. However, I've found that some form of nightshade is found in so many pre-produced items - meaning dishes prepared at restaurants, and packaged foods. Of course, since I am a whole foods chef, I don't eat a lot of packaged foods, but I do love me some Van's or Nature's Path Gluten Free waffles when I don't have time to make breakfast in the morning. I was happy to have discovered them when I first decided to cut down on my gluten and was excited to have them as an option during my elimination phase. Until.... I discovered that the GF flour mix in both brands contains potato starch. My first reaction was: GAHHH! I just can't win. So much for my quick breakfast! Then I decided I can easily turn to GF toast (mmmm Millet bread!).

I'm now four days in to being strict about elimination, and although difficult, I must say I'm enjoying it. It allows me to get just a little more creative when deciding what to eat and will probably push me towards foods that I don't usually eat on a regular basis. The whole process will probably last about two months. I'll eliminate for 3 to 4 weeks and then slowly start to re-introduce. As the days go on, I'm feeling more and more like I'm not lacking in options.

For brunch today, I made a vegan crustless quiche filled with zucchini, mushroom, leeks and garlic, accompanied with a sweet potato hash. So yum!

I'll document my nightshade and gluten free journey here on this blog and share recipes, as usual. If you have any tips, stories or recipes to share, they are very welcome!

Valentine's Day Desserts Cooking Class at Whole Foods

2011-02-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 8 at 6:30pm, I'll be doing the desserts demo at Whole Foods West LA that I had to cancel last Saturday. Perfectly timed just before Valentine's Day, I'll be teaching a few recipes that will allow you to kick refined sugar, but still enjoy desserts and sweet treats. Recipes will include a decadent chocolate mousse, chocolate coconut truffles, and green tea poached pears with hazelnut cream. Hope to see you there!

FREE @ Whole Foods Market, 11666 National Blvd Los Angeles, CA

To RSVP or learn about other Healthy Eating Opportunities: http://www.meetup.com/Whole-Foods-Healthy-Eaters-Club/events/16444316/

Party Snacks

2011-02-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when some big guys in way tight pants toss around an oval shaped "ball" made of pig skin while some really expensive commercials that have gotten less funny over the years are aired between passes. Yup, Superbowl!

Admittedly, I'm more looking forward to the Glee episode that is airing after this year's big game, but I'm welcoming the opportunity to do some snack food catering.

If you're still looking for some last minute Superbowl snacks, I have a few ideas to share. Some of these are not the healthiest, of course. It's one day to splurge on a few tasty treats. You'll still be dining well, just in a different way. :)

For starters, making a homemade guacamole is a great, simple thing to throw together. Just use a couple avocados, minced garlic, shallot and jalapeno, a dash of cayenne, a squeeze of lime and salt and pepper (all to taste, of course!)

For sides, roasted potatoes and hummus with veggies to dip are always simple crowd pleasers. Finally, the Veg News mac and cheese recipe that I've blogged about before will make for a great main dish.

Finally, one of my personal past time favorites is sure to be a big hit: triple layer chili cream cheese dip. This is more of an assembly dish, which means it doesn't take much time at all to put together, and there are only three ingredients. Start off with your favorite chili, homemade is great, or I recommend Amy's if you're using chili from a can. Pour the chili evenly in a 9x11 baking dish and spread a container of softened vegan cream cheese (I use Tofutti, the version without hydrogenated oils), and on top, sprinkle desired amount of cheddar style vegan cheese, Daiya recommended, of course! Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and melted.

Quinoa Recipes

2011-01-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

A big thanks goes out to everyone who made it out to Whole Foods Santa Monica today. I had a fun time demonstrating three different recipes that can be made using one big pot of quinoa.

The recipes were all huge hits and I thought I'd share a couple of them.

First up is what I call Festive Quinoa Salad. This is a brightly colored salad recipe that I created with picnics and parties in mind. It is super easy to throw together and the multi-colors of the vegetables make it quite pretty to look at. (Photo to come.)

FESTIVE QUINOA SALAD
Ingredients
1 ½ C white quinoa
½ C red quinoa
4 C water
1 red bell pepper, small dice
2 T green onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, small dice
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 T basil, chiffonade
¼ C pumpkin seeds
⅓ C lemon juice
¼ C olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Rinse quinoa under cold water and drain. Add to a pot with water and a pinch of salt and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.

2. Transfer quinoa to a large mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients to the bowl and mix gently with a wooden spoon until well combined.

3. Serve warm, if desired, or allow to cool and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Serves 6-10, depending on serving size.

Next up is a protein rich, delicious breakfast quinoa that I call Sweet and Nutty Quinoa. This recipe was created out of my own general dislike of "standard" breakfast foods and a desire to get more protein in at the start of my day. The recipe calls for macadamia nuts, but you can swap those out with any other nut of your choosing.

SWEET AND NUTTY QUINOA
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, mix of red and white

2 cups water

1 T maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ cup chopped dates

¼ cup chopped macadamia nuts

Fresh fruit, if desired, for garnish.

Directions

1. Place quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse until water runs clear. Transfer quinoa to a small pot and add water. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

2. When water just starts to boil, add maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir gently. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

3. Remove quinoa from heat. Fluff with a fork and gently fold in dates and nuts.

4. Transfer quinoa to individual bowls, garnish with fresh fruit, if using. Enjoy!

*Alternately, you may fully cook quinoa first and then fold maple and spices with the other ingredients. May be eaten cold.

Serves 4.

Two Upcoming Whole Foods Demos

2011-01-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

January is all about being healthy, right? So please join me for two upcoming healthy cooking demos at Whole Foods Market Santa Monica and West LA.

In Santa Monica, I'll be doing a class on Saturday, January 22 at 1pm. If you've heard of quinoa, but have never had it, or been curious what else you can do with it, this is the class to attend. I'll be demonstrating three different ways to utilize one big pot of quinoa. I'll make a quick quinoa salad, make avocado nori sushi rolls, and throw together a sweet and nutty quinoa dish that serves as a great protein packed breakfast. Whole Foods Market, 2201 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA

On Saturday, January 29 (time TBD), in West LA, I'll be doing a demo as part of the New Year's Resolutions Solutions Series. Since this class is just about two weeks before Valentine's Day, the topic will be: kick refined sugar, but still enjoy desserts and sweet treats. Recipes will include a decadent chocolate mousse and chocolate coconut truffles. Whole Foods Market, 11666 National Blvd Los Angeles, CA

Good thing my new year's resolution wasn't to blog more since so far I've been failing miserably... this being my first post of the year and all.

A Very Vegan Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

This year's "Very Vegan Christmas" was a huge success. Not only was the food amazing (as if there was a doubt!), but I also rocked the socks off of all my very non veg friends. To impress a vegetarian/ vegan with good food is easy. To impress a room full of carnivores, now that's an accomplishment. My friends were all raving about the food at the end, and begging me to cook for them more often. Here is the menu, in picture.

Sweet Potato Soup - A delicious recipe I made up the day of. Bad picture, great soup!

Pecan Pie - I came up with a yummy creamy recipe. Will probably post it.


Beets stuffed with Cashew Cream, teamed with Balsamic Figs.

Veggie Pot Pie - Filled with carrots, potatoes, peas, and sunchokes in my delicious savory gravy.

Phyllo Pockets of Caramelized Onion Jam. From "The Conscious Cook".

2010: A Brief Reflection

2010-12-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

This year has flown by and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. Even though I feel like I say that all the time, this year seems to have been particularly speedy.

For me it's certainly been a year of lots of ups and downs, personally and professionally.

Early in the year, Cafe Flourish, which was probably my favorite place to work ever, closed, leaving behind the happy memories of good vegan food and fun with coworkers and awesome guests.

Mid year, I started doing cooking demos at Whole Foods and learned that I love teaching and have magically gotten somewhat over what used to be a massive fear of public speaking (it was so bad I had trouble in front of even small groups).

Later in the year, I launched my website www.veggiefixation.com. I am looking forward to having it as a tool to reach out to even more members of the LA community (and beyond) as we start off a new year that will hopefully leave people yearning for healthy, delicious food. I'm looking forward to opportunities for private catering and for teaching people to cook good food at home.

Also, I started working at Veggie Grill and am excited to be a part of the new Santa Monica location that opened today. It's nice to be a part of some place that is bringing healthy, plant based food into the mainstream and making more people comfortable with eating well.

As I look towards 2011, it's really hard to see past January 1st. I've realized that it's best to just roll with the punches and let things happen as they may. This is somewhat odd considering that I am a planner by nature. A friend once referred to me as a flow chart because I always look at the multiple angles of things and have different outlooks on how things can end up depending on what path is taken to get there. While this is good for business, it doesn't always work in life, and really, sometimes business (especially when you're in the food service business) is dictated by life. My father always says "everything happens for a reason" and each day I believe that even more.

Right now, my focus is not on what 2011 has to bring, but about what 2010 has left to offer. I'm planning out the menu for "A Very Vegan Christmas" and am looking forward to capping off the year with good food and good friends.

Easy Cheesy Sauce

2010-12-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

This post is inspired by a facebook status posted by Veggie OneohOne questioning what to do with a tub of nutritional yeast.

Nutritional yeast has become one of my absolute favorite seasonings. I love it for it's nutty, cheesy taste and rely on it for a healthy boost. Nutritional yeast is an excellent source for B vitamins and has the benefit of being a complete protein.

Recently, I was in the mood for an alfredo type sauce and came up with this yummy easy "cheesy" sauce that is ready in minutes, and delicious for all sorts of things. Toss it with pasta for a mac and cheese type dish, pour it over vegetables, make it thicker to use as a dip. It's just so good!

Easy Cheesy Sauce

2 T Earth Balance
2 T brown rice flour
1 T tahini
1 1/2 C soy milk, or other non-dairy milk
1/2 C nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Add a few dashes of basil, thyme and/or red chili flakes for added flavor.

Directions
1. In a medium sauce pan, make a roux by melting Earth Balance over low heat and mixing with brown rice flour, cooking for a min or two.

2. Add tahini and nutritional yeast and whisk until well combined.

3. Whisk in soy milk and bring to a slow simmer. Continue whisking while the sauce thickens, until desired consistency is reached. The sauce will thicken pretty quickly so keep a close eye on it.

4. Add garlic powder and other herbs/ spices, if using and whisk until combined. Toss with pasta or pour over vegetables. Serve immediately.

Holiday Starters Cooking Class FREE!

2010-12-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

Join me at Whole Foods Santa Monica tomorrow, Saturday, December 4th at 1pm, for a vegan holiday starters cooking class. I will be demonstrating (and you'll be tasting!) the following:

Creamy Mushroom Soup
Olive and Walnut Tapenade
Almond "Cheese"
Egg-less Nog

These quick and easy recipes will get you ready for holiday hosting and offer healthy, delicious alternatives to some classic favorites.

Hope to see you there.

RSVP at Meetup http://www.meetup.com/Whole-Foods-Healthy-Eaters-Club/calendar/15466627/

D for Deficiency

2010-11-30T17:38:00.000-08:00

During a recent physical, my doctor informed me that my blood test results showed that I was vitamin D deficient and she'd like me to start taking high dose supplements of 5,000IU per day. I've been going to the doctor regularly all my life and have been vegetarian for over 15 years and had never once been told I was vitamin D deficient. Of course, I was intrigued and immediately started to do my research.

When she prescribed the supplements, my doc added that "the sun isn't enough for vitamin D anymore". This I have heard before, attributed to multiple factors that I really don't have much information to back up: people are covering themselves up with sunblock, preventing their skin from absorbing D; the ozone layer is so depleted that the correct rays aren't getting to us; sun exposure will lead to skin cancer...etc.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that works alongside calcium to promote the formation and maintenance of healthy bones. Vitamin D deficiency is reported to create vulnerability for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, the flu and other ailments. Since the sun is no longer considered a good source, and the main food sources of vitamin D are fatty fish and fortified milk, it doesn't leave much in the way of options for vegans outside of supplements. Even with supplements, however, vegans need to be careful about the forms and sources of vitamin D, which are often found in gelatin based capsules, and/or are derived from animal products (for example, D3 is usually derived from sheep's wool).

With all this in mind, I started my supplements, which I was told might help improve other conditions my body was experiencing. Since I was prescribed such a high dose, I've been curious to see if there will be some form of evidence that the D deficiency was leading to other issues, by experiencing improvements with my supplement therapy. I'm sure only time will tell.

However, with new research released today stating that Americans are getting enough (in some cases too much) vitamin D, I question the validity of my "need" for 5,000IU. The question especially falls into play when I read that 400 to 800IU is usually sufficient and that the daily intake should not exceed 2,000 to 4,000IU. Medical experts believe that high levels of vitamin D from supplements could increase the risk of kidney and tissue damage and that extra calcium could boost the risk of developing kidney stones in people who take the pills regularly.

I'm left with questions to follow up on: Can I possibly be so deficient that I need to exceed the recommended dose, just to catch up? Will I be putting myself into a different risk category by attempting to get out of my state of deficiency?

For more information about the new study on vitamin D, visit the LA Times article here.

Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Stuffing

2010-11-26T11:31:00.000-08:00

My favorite Thanksgiving day foods are mashed potatoes and stuffing. It's much more of a carb overload than I usual indulge in, but for one day (okay, two or three since there are usually lots of leftovers) I throw all carb caution to the wind. Last year, I came up with a delicious butternut squash and wild rice stuffing recipe and recreated it yesterday. It's a great dish as it's good and hearty and can stand in as an entree, if necessary. I ate this along side mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, and a scrumptious blend of sauteed kale and raddichio (which of course went nearly untouched among all the turkey gobblers at the table).

Here's that stuffing recipe. It's also a good way to use up leftover rolls/bread and some butternut squash if there was any, of course.

Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Stuffing

Ingredients
2 loaves sourdough or French bread, cubed
1 1/2 C cooked wild rice
1 small butternut squash, cubed and roasted
1 T fresh thyme, decrease to 2 tsp if dried
1 T fresh roesmary, decrease to 1 1/2 tsp if dried
1 tsp fresh marjoram, decrease to 1/2 tsp if dried
salt and pepper, to taste
3 C vegetable stock
smoked paprika to sprinkle on top

*it's best to purchase and cube the bread a couple days in advance to allow it to get a bit stale.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a large bowl, mix bread, butternut squash, wild rice, herbs and salt and pepper, until well combined.

3. Transfer to a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Pour vegetable stock evenly over the bread mixture, assuring that all bread cubes are soaked. Sprinkle smoked paprika on top.

4. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the top is crispy.

Pecan Pie Truffles

2010-11-23T18:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't even made these yet but I haven't stopped thinking about them since I saw the photo. I'll be getting to it first thing tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

I was hoping to post the photo from nytimes.com but it's not possible, so just check out this link for yourself.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html#Pecan_Pie_Truffles

I Love Brussels Sprouts

2010-11-22T14:50:00.000-08:00

There. I said it. I love Brussels sprouts and it's my mission to get others appreciate them too. I think they are one of the top misjudged foods (right up there with beets). Brussels sprouts sorely get a bad rap and it's greatly undeserved.Their bad reputation probably comes from too many moms and dads of the past over boiling or steaming their sprouts, creating a sulfurous taste and smell, leaving kids of generations to come to grow up thinking that these cute little "mini cabbages" are gross.

Brussels sprouts make for a great holiday veggie side dish; therefore, it's time to break that bad rap and let the truth out. Brussels sprouts are delicious!, if they are prepared correctly. Their little leaves can even taste as good as chips or candy. It's one of my favorite vegetables to prepare during the winter. I will work endlessly to convert people. In all honesty, I don't really need everyone to love them, I just want the non-believers to at the very least admit they "are not that bad."


With chickpea cutlets and mashed potatoes, topped with mushroom gravy.

My favorite way to prepare Brussels sprouts is simple.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Trim the ends and remove dirty or yellow outer leaves; cut larger sprouts in half for even cooking.

Toss with a few tablespoons of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (depending on the quantity of heads - usually 3 T for 1 1/2 pounds). Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, turning at least once. You want them to be tender and lightly browned. Even better if some of the leaves have fallen off and turned crispy. Yum!

Vegan MoFo Feast for Your Eyes - Breakfast!

2010-11-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

It's the weekend and that means that I usually take the time to do some baking or make an elaborate breakfast for the boy on either Saturday or Sunday. In honor of the weekend, a breakfast feast for the eyes.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Vegan crepes with reduced balsamic strawberries topped with soy whip.

Vegetable frittata, a vegan dream come true!

Gingerbread scones, great for the holidays.

Skillet hash browns.

Gluten free banana waffles.

Butternut Squash Bisque - Another great for Thanksgiving Recipe

2010-11-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has ever read my blog should know by now that I am a huge fan of butternut squash. It's a great winter vegetable that not only tastes delicious, but also offers an abundance of fabulous health benefits. Winter squash is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, manganese, and folate, among others. Since butternut squash is rich in beta-carotene, it has very powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (great for cold and flu season!), and prevents the oxidation of cholesterol in the body, which reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. This, of course, barely scratches the surface of how great winter squash is for you.

What I also love about butternut and other winter squash is that they have an extremely long shelf life. Unlike summer squash, and pretty much any other vegetable, you don't have to worry about using your winter squash immediately after purchase to keep it from spoiling. To me, this means I can feel free to stock up at the farmers' market, or whenever there's a sale at Whole Foods or the Co-op, and keep some squash on hand for those nights when there isn't much of anything else in the house to make for dinner.

This butternut squash bisque recipe is perfect for such occasions, and also a great starter for the holiday meal.

Curry Scented Butternut Squash Bisque
Ingredients
2 T olive oil
1 C yellow onion, small dice
1 C sweet potato, cubed
4 C butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
4 C vegetable stock
1 T curry powder
1 tsp coriander
dash of cayenne
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 C coconut milk

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan or stock pot. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.

2. Add the squash and sweet potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, allowing them to sweat a little. Add the stock and spices and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low, cover the pot, and simer for about 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are soft.

3. Pour the soup in batches into a food processor or blender, or use a hand held immersion blender, and process until smooth. Return to pot, and stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper and reheat slowly, if needed.

Serves 6.

Another Vegan MoFo Feast For Your Eyes

2010-11-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

The topic for this photo post is pizza. Vegan pizza with and without vegan cheeses are something I really enjoying making. They are so fun because the same food idea is easily made different by changing the crust, the sauce, the toppings.

Pear and arugula with Sunergia soy bleu on a whole wheat crust.

Sundried tomato sauce and pesto with mushrooms and spinach on whole wheat crust.

Gluten free crust topped with portabello, artichoke and olives, with homemade pesto and half cheddar style Daiya.

Whole wheat crust topped with homemade marinara and pesto, broccoli and mushrooms, with Italian style Daiya.

Raw Almond Cheese & Whole Foods Demo

2010-11-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

The recipe below oddly enough arrived in my inbox from VegNews today. I say "oddly enough" because this is a recipe that I plan to demonstrate at Whole Foods Santa Monica on Saturday, December 4 as part of my Holiday Starters class. It's a favorite because it's so simple, yet can appear so elegant. I like to add basil or rosemary and sometimes a little nutritional yeast and/or cayenne pepper to spice it up. Also on that menu is Creamy Mushroom Soup, Olive and Walnut Tapenade, and Eggless Nog.

I will write about this again, but for now consider this a Save the Date for Saturday, December 4 @ 1pm, 2201 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Raw Almond Cheese
Makes 2 cups

What You Need:

2 cups almonds, blanched and peeled
1 cup Rejuvelac or Water Kefir (or 1 cup water with 2 capsules probiotic powder)

What You Do:

1. In a high-speed blender, place almonds and Rejuvelac and process until smooth. Add more Rejuvelac if necessary to form a smooth, creamy texture.

2. Into a cheesecloth-lined strainer, pour the mixture. Allow to strain and ferment for 12 to 48 hours, until desired tartness is achieved.

3. Remove cheese from strainer, then refrigerate until ready to use.

Thanksgiving Dessert

2010-11-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

I've never been one for pumpkin pie, which seems to be the quintessential Thanksgiving day dessert. For Christmas last year, I made a delicious and decadent maple "cheese"cake. It was such a huge hit that I think I'll be bringing it back for the holidays this year. It would make a splash at Thanksgiving for those like me who are anti-pumpkin pie. The key to the deliciousness of this cake is that it is sweetened with reduced maple syrup.

It can be challenging to find graham crackers that don't contain honey, so if you're not able to track some down, cookie crumbs would stand in well, in place of the graham cracker crumbs. I veganized this recipe from a Bon Appetit recipe that would stare tauntingly at me every time I opened the magazine.

Here's the Bon Appetit recipe with my alterations:

Ingredients

reduced maple syrup
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup (preferably grade A dark amber)

crust
2 cups ground graham crackers (about 17 whole crackers ground in processor)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon (scant) ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons Earth Balance, melted

filling
3 8-ounce packages vegan cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup maple sugar or (packed) golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup reduced maple syrup (see above)
2/3 cup vegan sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 T ground flax seed, plus 6 T water, mixed until thick, as an egg replacer

special equipment
Heavy-duty stand mixer or hand held beater/mixer (I made this recipe before I gifted myself with my Kitchen Aid mixer and it worked fine with a hand held beater)
9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides

Directions

REDUCED MAPLE SYRUP
Boil maple syrup in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1 cup, stirring occasionally and watching closely to avoid boiling over (syrup will bubble up to top of pan), about 5 minutes. Remove reduced maple syrup from heat and let cool to slightly warm or room temperature.

CRUST
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add melted Earth Balance and stir until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Bake crust until set and top edge of crust darkens slightly, about 10 minutes. Cool crust completely on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

FILLING
Beat cream cheese in large bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with paddle attachment until very smooth. Add maple sugar, flour, and salt; beat until well blended and smooth. Add 1 cup reduced maple syrup, sour cream, and vanilla; beat until well blended. Add flax "eggs", 1/2 mixture at a time, and beat just until blended after each addition. Tap bowl several times on counter to release any air bubbles. Pour filling into cooled crust. Using tip of small knife, pop any air bubbles on surface.

Bake cake until slightly puffed around edges (center will still look moist and will move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer cake to rack and cool completely. Cover and chill overnight. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Cut cheesecake into wedges. Divide among plates.

Berry Breakfast Smoothie

2010-11-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

Smoothies are a great way to enjoy a quick, healthy and delicious breakfast. They are so versatile because you really can make a smoothie with a combination of just about any fruits you have on hand. Frozen berries, almond butter, almond milk and dates are on the list of good things to keep on hand for smoothie making, so that you can always have something nutritious in your belly before running out the door. Almonds add a good amount of protein and the dates and berries add natural sugar which means no need for additional sweeteners.

Here is a recipe for a delicious nutty berry smoothie, but feel free to play with your ingredients, especially your fruits, and/or throw in a banana.

Berry Nutty Smoothie
Ingredients
1/2 Cup frozen berries (or if using fresh, add 1/2 C of ice)
2 T raw almond butter
2 T medjol dates (about 3 or 4 depending on size), pitted and quartered
8 oz almond milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 inch vanilla bean)

Directions
1. Put all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth.

Vegan MoFo Week Three - A Sweet Feast for the Eyes

2010-11-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe we are half way through November already. Where did the month go!?! I'd planned on a minimum of three blog posts per week and somehow seem to have fallen behind. Well the falling behind has finally caught up with me and I'll have lots of posting to make up for in the next 15 days.

For today's post, I decided on a round up of photos of some of the yummy baked goods I've made. The inspiration comes from my spontaneous baking of a persimmon bread today. It's in the oven right now and smelling quite heavenly. If it turns out any good, I'll add it to my sweets menu and post about it in detail later. But for now, feast your eyes and try to control your sweet tooth.

Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Triple Ginger Snaps

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Lemony Vanilla Cupcakes

Veganized Samoas

Great Idea for Vegan Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

Shepherd's Pie is a great comfort food any day of the week, but it also makes for a great entree at the holiday table. It's so hearty, you may even be able to convince those meat eaters to pass on the turkey (in a perfect world!) this Thanksgiving. Either way, all the veg lovers out there can enjoy a wholesome, easy to prepare, delicious meal, with all the fixings. Shepherd's Pie offers the mashed potatoes, gravy, protein and veggies all in one fabulous dish. I served this for Christmas last year and it was a huge hit; it's also a good meal for people flirting with a vegetarian/vegan diet, or making the transition. You can decide how healthy you want it to be. For a healthier option, use olive oil and vegetable stock for the mashed potatoes, or to indulge, Earth Balance and soy milk are the way to go. This recipe is adapted from VegNews.

Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 8oz package tempeh, crumbled
1-1⁄2 C Good Gravy (recipe follows)
1⁄2 C frozen peas
1 T tamari soy sauce
1 T vegan Worcestershire sauce
3 T red wine
1 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1⁄4 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mashed Potatoes
3 to 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1⁄2 C vegetable stock, or soymilk
2 T olive oil, or Earth Balance

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, until onions are translucent.
Stir in the tempeh, gravy, peas, tamari, Worcestershire, red wine, thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 7 minutes to allow tempeh to absorb the flavors. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water until soft, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and mash with veg stock, olive oil and salt. Spoon the filling mixture into a lightly oiled baking dish. Spread a layer of mashed potatoes on top and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Bake until filling is hot and top is golden, about 30 minutes.

Good Gravy

Makes 2½ cups

What You Need:
2 C vegetable broth or water
3 T tamari soy sauce
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
1⁄4 C soymilk

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine the broth, tamari, thyme, salt, and pepper over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and stir until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the soymilk. Do not boil. Taste to adjust the seasonings before serving.

Know Your Ingredients

2010-11-10T14:06:00.000-08:00

Alright folks. Today is a post about what not to do. It's a post in which I push all pride aside and fully admit that I am not infallible (not that I've ever claimed to be infallible). I write this so that maybe someone can benefit from my mistakes and as an example of why knowing your ingredients is key to the success of a recipe.

Recently, I had a craving for biscuits and gravy. Turning to my trusty copy of Vegan with a Vengeance, I found the flour covered page that held the recipe for Baking Powder biscuits. Yum! I've made this recipe so many times that I could probably make the biscuits with my eyes closed. Well, apparently I must have kept them closed.

Following the directions and ingredients (there aren't many of them), I mixed my dough, flattened it out and used my cookie cutter to get uniform shapes and sizes. The biscuits looked great as I popped them into the oven and prepared my gravy. I could hardly stand the 12 minute wait for the biscuits to be done.

Finally, it was time to pull them out of the oven. They seemed to have a yellowish tint that I didn't quite recall them ever having before, but maybe the lighting was just off in the kitchen. Ignoring the odd color, I piled my plate with a couple biscuits and poured some gravy over them, took my first bite and cringed. Something tasted way off. Did I screw up the gravy? Nope, that tasted just fine on its own. Maybe I just got a bad biscuit that had too much baking powder in it. I pushed the gravy filled plate aside and grabbed a dry biscuit, took a bite and again cringed. For good measure I tasted one more. By now the sour, offensive flavor had over taken my mouth and I could no longer tell if the taste was new or just lingering on my tongue. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the heck was going on. Had my shortening gone rancid? Was the Earth Balance bad?

It didn't make any sense, until... I looked over to my left where the flour and salt and baking powder containers were all sitting and realized where I'd erred. In my hungry rage, I hadn't looked at my ingredients carefully and mistakenly pulled out the baking soda. I'd put five tablespoons of baking SODA into my baking POWDER biscuits. Thus the mystery of why my biscuits that are usually amazing tasted so awful, and the lesson learned to always make sure you're using the correct ingredients.

Here's that Baking Powder Biscuit recipe as it's supposed to be:

Ingredients
2 C all purpose flour
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 T nonhydrogenated shortening (I use Jungle brand)
2 T nonhydrogenated margarine (I use Earth Balance)
2/3 C rice or soy milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 450. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cut the shortening and margarine into the flour with a pastry knife, two butter knives, or your fingers.

Add the rice/soy milk to form a soft dough.

Mix well and pat out on a floured counter top until about 1/2 inch thick; cut out 2 inch rounds with the rim of a glass or cookie cutter.

Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Vegan Pad Thai

2010-11-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

For me, Thai food is the ultimate comfort food. When the weather starts to cool off, like it has the last couple of days, there's nothing I crave more than a warm curry or comforting noodle dish. I've never been one to order Pad Thai at a restaurant because it seems as basic and boring a menu item as spaghetti with marinara would be on an Italian menu. There's something about making it at home that changes all that and I often find myself stir frying up some Pad Thai; probably because I usually have all the ingredients on hand and it's a dish that can be prepared in under half an hour. This recipe is one that I default to, and tweak, whenever the mood for Pad Thai strikes me. The key ingredient in Pad Thai is tamarind, a tart/sour tasting tropical fruit pulp that can be found at Asian or East Indian food stores. Pad Thai is usually made with fish sauce at Thai restaurants, but this recipe uses a vegetarian version (soy based) in its place.

Vegan Pad Thai

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
2 to 4 Servings

Ingredients
12 oz Pad Thai rice noodles (thin, flat linguini-like noodles)
8 oz block of tempeh, cut into small cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 small carrot, grated

PAD THAI SAUCE:
3/4 T tamarind paste
1/4 C hot water
3 1/2 T tamari
1/2 tsp red chili flakes, or to taste
3 Tbsp. brown sugar

OTHER:
3-4 T oil for stir-frying
2-3 T vegetarian fish sauce, or more tamari
Cilantro leaves (optional for garnish)
green onions (optional for garnish)
lime wedges, to serve

Directions
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat. Soak noodles in the hot water for 6-10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Tip: Noodles are ready to drain when they are soft enough to eat, but still firm and a little bit "crunchy". The noodles will finish cooking when they are fried. (Double check package directions in case your noodles have a different cooking time.)

2. Dissolve the tamarind paste in the hot water. Add the other pad thai sauce ingredients and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add desired amount of chili flakes, but don't skimp on the sugar (you need it to balance the sourness of the tarmaind). Set aside.

3. Place your wok (or large frying pan) over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 T oil plus the garlic and shallot. Stir-fry 1 minute, until fragrant.

4. Push ingredients aside and add 1/2 Tbsp. more oil to the center of the wok/pan. Add the tempeh and coat with about 2 tablespoons pad thai sauce. Stir fry until the tempeh starts to lightly brown.

5. Push tempeh aside and add a little more oil to the middle of the wok/pan. Add the drained noodles and 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Stir-fry everything together for 1 minute using 2 utensils and a tossing motion (like tossing a salad).

6. Add a little more sauce and continue stir-frying in the same way for 1-2 more minutes, or until the noodles begin to soften and become sticky. Reduce heat to medium if noodles begin to stick and burn.

7. Add the carrots plus the remaining sauce. Stir-fry to incorporate everything together for 1-3 more minutes, or until noodles are done. Noodles are cooked to perfection when they are soft but still deliciously chewy and a little bit sticky.

8. Remove from heat and taste-test, adding vegetarian fish sauce or more tamari if desired for more salt/flavor.

9. Transfer noodles to a serving platter. Garnish with green onion and/or cilantro, if desired, and serve with a lime wedge. Serve immediately.

Eco Friendly Wine

2010-11-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

I've had wine on the mind and thought I'd write a post about a handful of some of my favorites. First, I must start with saying that I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line I became something of a wine drinker. By no means would I consider myself any kind of expert, in fact, I don't even consider myself an intermediate. My "professional" wine knowledge is about as amateur as it comes. The one thing I can firmly state about wine, however, is that I know when I like it. :) I'm a white wine drinker and usually lean towards the sweeter persuasions. Also as a budget conscious wine drinker, I tend to look for wines that are high quality and around $12-20 or under.

Of course, as any vegetarian or vegan knows, or eventually finds out, not all wines are created vegan. When I first heard that wine was possibly not veg friendly I was floored and confused. How could something made of fermented grapes, which are by definition a fruit, contain animal products? The quick answer is that during the filtration process, companies often use things like isinglass (from fish bladder,) gelatin, egg whites, and sea shells, among other animal sources, to remove all the "impurities". If you ask me, adding those items seems to add impurity! Be sure to search available guides before choosing your wine. VegNews has a short list on their website, but the best resource I've found so far is at www.barnivore.com.

The wines I'm putting on my short list come from eco-friendly, sustainable, and/or organic farms.

My favorite wine is the hard to spell and even harder to pronounce Gewurztraminer. In my fridge you can usually find a bottle of Fetzer. This wine is great for it's price, which can be found for under $10 at Trader Joe's and some other locations! Fetzer's white wines are vegan friendly, but steer clear of their reds because they are filtered with egg shells.

Peju Vineyards in Napa Valley is my favorite to visit. It's in a beautiful building and they allow you to roam free through their gorgeous vineyards. Peju has been family owned and operated since 1982; some of the vines on the land have been growing since the early 1900s. The entire family is deeply committed to sustainable farming practices to ensure that the land will be preserved for future generations. I've been told that the wines are vegan friendly, but have not been able to find Peju on any lists, probably because they are not a mainstream wine company. I don't even think they sell their wine in retail shops. Be sure to ask for yourself before you try any of their wines, just in case. Peju does mostly red wines, but they actually impressed me with some of their reds.

Last on the list is Frey Vineyards. A friend introduced me to Frey when she brought over a bottle of their white table wine for vegan mac and cheese dinner one night. The coolest part (to me anyway): she is friends with the owners. Frey Vineyards is America's oldest organic vineyard; they turn out organic and bio-dynamic wines that are produced without sulfites. It has been family owned and operated for over thirty years.

Vegan MoFo

2010-11-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

I've just committed myself to actually keeping up this blog regularly this month! Vegan MoFo has started... Vegan Month of Food, that is. From the VeganMoFo website, here's a brief explanation of what this month is all about: VeganMoFo was originally created on the Post Punk Kitchen, as an homage to NaNoWriMo... The idea is to write as much as you can all month, about vegan food... There aren’t strict guidelines for how often to write, but the idea is to shoot for every weekday, or about 20 times in the month. http://veganmofo.wordpress.com/

Since I'm generally terrible about writing as often as I had intended when I first decided to start this blog, I'm using VeganMoFo as a challenge to myself to actually keep up on my writing. I have a list of topics that I've intended to write about, but haven't yet, a list of new recipes to post, and I'm sure I'll come across plenty of food related articles, or have thoughts to share.

With that, I conclude my first post of the month with some food for thought...

How good for the environment and for your body are vegetables grown in a vending machine under artificial fluorescent light? http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/gardening/dentsu-green-vending-machines-grow-veg-without-sun-131012

No Bake Sweet Potato Pie

2010-10-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Fall already came faster than I realized and I'm sure many would agree. The holidays are creeping up slowly and, before we know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here. This is one of my favorite times of year as far as food goes. Hearty soups to warm your insides, cider to sip, the smells of cinnamon and nutmeg in the air. I love it. From my own experience of preparing meals and also catering events around the holidays, an evident recurring issue is lack of oven space. Regardless of what's on the menu, it seems that just about everything needs some time in the oven.

With this in mind, I tried to think of ways to reduce the number of things that required baking. I recalled a no bake pie crust from "The Joy of Vegan Baking" that was used for a summer strawberry pie and thought that with the addition of cinnamon, the date and pecan crust was perfect for fall. Joined to this, I adapted a recipe for sweet potato filling that I found on the internet and came up with this amazingly delicious, simple to make pie that would be a great substitute to putting one more thing in the oven.

My recipe uses actual sweet potatoes, not yams, which are commonly mistakenly referred to as sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes tend to be on the starchier side (which gives the pie a chunkier, more rustic feel), and have a fairly mild taste, whereas yams contain a higher moisture and natural sugar content. If you do decide to use yams, reduce the amount of sweetener in the recipe.

No Bake Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients

Filling:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 T coconut oil

1/2 C maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cardamon

pinch of salt

For Crust/ Topping:
1 cup of pecans, chopped

1/2 C dates, pitted and quartered (about 8)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Steam sweet potatoes for 8-10 minutes or until tender and breaking apart when pierced with a fork.

2. While potatoes are steaming make the topping.

3. Once potatoes are done cooking, transfer them to a large bowl and using a big fork or masher mash until most of the big chunks are gone.

4. Add coconut oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until everything is well combined. It will be easier to do a little extra mashing at this point if there are still some chunks. Taste and adjust spices and sweetness, as desired.

5. To make individual mini pies, press date and pecan mixture into the bottom of ramekins or small bowls. Top each with some of the sweet potato pie filling and sprinkle additional dates and pecan mix, if desired. For a large pie, follow the same directions, but press all the crust mixture into an 8” or 9” round pie dish, and slice to serve. Enjoy!

The Goodness of Kale

2010-10-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

My demo yesterday was a great success! It was the first cooking demo of the new series to be held at Whole Foods Santa Monica. I stopped by the store on Friday to pick up some groceries for the house, and some produce to prep for the demo. I knew that Whole Foods wanted to promote the heck out of the class, but I had no idea that I'd walk into the store to find my face plastered everywhere! This postcard was strategically placed at every register; and a poster size version even filled the elevator!

It was a weird, yet awesome, feeling to see me everywhere I turned, and I was thrilled that the ads paid off! There were about 20 people at the demo. The biggest hit of the dishes I made was the raw kale salad. A number of people had never had kale and/or were looking for new, delicious ways to eat it. The simple seasonal massaged kale salad was just the dish they were looking for.

Kale is one of my favorite vegetables because it's so versatile: steam lightly, saute, massage, add raw to mixed greens, dehydrate or bake to make chips! Kale also adds great nutritional value to soups and smoothies. It has the highest nutritional value of all leafy greens, rich in vitamins A, C, K, contains B vitamins, calcium, iron, omega 3s, and dietary fiber. It's great for vegetarians especially to get a good about of nutrients into their diet, and has excellent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cancer preventative health benefits. The best kale can be found in the cooler months with frost providing an extra sweet flavor.

Since it was such a big hit, I thought I would share the recipe I made in class here in the blogosphere. Without further ado...

Seasonal Raw Kale Salad
Ingredients
1 large bunch curly green kale
1 small red onion, sliced thin
1 ripe pear, core removed, cut in half and thinly sliced
¼ C chopped pecans (or whole candied pecans)
3 T + 1 T olive oil
2 T Champagne vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
apple cider vinegar
sea salt

Directions
1. Put sliced onions in a small bowl and pour in enough apple cider vinegar to cover. Allow to sit for about ½ an hour, then drain and rinse.
2. Wash and de-stem kale, then chop into small pieces and place in large bowl. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp sea salt and drizzle 1 T olive oil. Massage the kale until it wilts and takes on a “cooked” texture.
3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together remaining 3 T olive oil and champagne vinegar until well combined to make dressing.
4. Add onions, pear and pecans to kale, drizzle with desired amount of dressing, toss to coat. Serve.

*Note: It’s fun to play with the ingredients in this salad depending on the season. Plums, peaches, cherries, apples, strawberries, raspberries, oranges, avocados are all great options. Lemon juice is a good alternative for vinegar.

Cooking Demo at Whole Foods West LA Oct 21

2010-10-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Please join me at Whole Foods Market West Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct 21 at 6:30pm for a free cooking class celebrating Fall. For this class, I will be making Salad Greens with Tangy Apple Dressing, Butternut Squash Soup and No Bake Sweet Potato Pie.

Here's the official meet up invite: http://www.meetup.com/Whole-Foods-Healthy-Eaters-Club/calendar/14939156/

Hope to see you there!

Also, a reminder that tomorrow is my Saturday Vegan BBQ class at Whole Foods Santa Monica on Wilshire and 25th. This will be an outdoor class and I'll be making food that is warm and cozy!

Recipe Testing

2010-10-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy bee in the kitchen this week recipe testing for my friend and fellow chef, Christy Morgan, aka The Blissful Chef. She's working on a fall/winter e-cookbook while traveling through Asia (rough life she has, really) and asked for some help making sure the recipes all worked well. Of course I've been happy to lend a hand and it's been a lot of fun doing it. I can't wait to check out the completed book!

Christy Morgan's e-book is available for pre-sale at http://theblissfulchef.com/blog/2010/10/cooking-with-the-seasons-fallwinter-edition-available-pre-order/

Here is a tease of some of the recipes I've tested so far.


Peach and Apple Crumble... it's just missing some of my homemade ice cream on top!

Oh so healthy for you Moroccan Azuki Beans and Sweet Potatoes. I served it over quinoa.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Blondies: My friends and I have fallen in love with these! Seriously, so happy it was a large batch recipe because we just can't stop eating them! The coolest part; they contain no refined sugar!

Cooking Demo at Whole Foods Santa Monica Oct 16

2010-10-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 16 at 1:00PM, I'll be leading a cooking demo at Whole Foods Santa Monica (2201 Wilshre Blvd, SM 90403). This is the first of two cooking demos I have coming up. I hope you'll join me for this Saturday afternoon class!

In this class, I'll be preparing a Roasted Red Pepper BBQ Sauce with Grilled Tempeh, a Raw Kale Salad and a lovely Spiced Cider to celebrate the new Fall season.

Check out the official Meet Up invite. http://www.meetup.com/Whole-Foods-Healthy-Eaters-Club/calendar/14928863/

The next class will be at Whole Foods West LA on Thursday, October 21 at 6:30pm. That class will feature a different delicious Fall menu!

More about me:
As a Natural Foods Chef, Christine Oppenheim brings people better health, one meat-free meal at a time. She specializes in preparing plant based cuisine to satisfy all palates, and focuses on preparing nourishing, fresh, organic foods for small events.

Fall Fixation: Butternut Squash

2010-09-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

It may have reached triple digits here in Santa Monica a couple days ago, but that doesn't change the fact that according to the calendar and the harvest season, it's fall! I love fall for its abundance of orange colored vegetables. This is the time of year when "winter" squash varieties start to appear in abundance and I just can't get enough butternut (followed in close second, if not tied by kobocha, or Japanese pumpkin). It's always fun to mess around with different soup flavors, steam or boil and eat mashed with nothing but its own deliciousness, roast it up with some garlic and shallots, stuff it with wild rice; or, my favorite way to prepare butternut squash: make a pasta sauce. That's just what I did the other night and was in pure brown rice pasta heaven. A little added nutritional yeast gives this vegan sauce an almost cheese like quality

Penne with Butternut Squash Sauce
Serves 4 - 6 depending on serving size

Ingredients
1 butternut squash (about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs), peeled and cubed
1/2 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup vegetable stock
2 T nutritional yeast
1/2 lb penne pasta, cooked and drained (reserve 1-2 cups of the cooking water)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a large pot, sauté the onions in olive oil over medium low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, allowing to caramelize slightly. When they are translucent and start to lightly brown, add garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add butternut squash and continue to cook until it starts to soften about 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Add the vegetable stock and allow to simmer, covered for another 10 to 15 minutes. Squash is done when a fork goes easily through it.

3. Add nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, thyme and season with salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon or a masher to turn squash into a chunky, paste like texture. Add reserved pasta water little by little until squash sauce reaches desired consistency. Re-season if necessary.

4. Toss the cooked pasta with sauce until well coated. Serve and enjoy!

*Option: During the final 8 minutes of cooking the squash, add a medium size bunch of chopped kale to the pot and allow to wilt while the squash finishes cooking. The rest of the directions remain the same.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

2010-09-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

The coconut milk ice cream fixation continues! It was 80+ degrees here yesterday in Santa Monica (it is the end of September, right?!) and ice cream was a necessity. That's right, not desired, necessary! The BF and I decided to take a walk over to our favorite froyo place a couple blocks away and were dismayed to find they were closed! An alternate plan was imperative so the BF suggested that I should just make us some ice cream. Brilliant!

The only problem is that most ice cream recipes require heating, followed by at least 3 hours of cooling. This process would do nothing to solve our desire... I'm sorry, our need... for ice cream NOW! I wondered how important the heating and cooling process was and made an executive decision that it wasn't, at least in this case. I browsed through some recipes to get ideas of liquid ratios, etc, and came up with the below recipe. Fortunately, I was right about a lack of need for time consuming heating and cooling and the ice cream came out perfect! Just four ingredients and lots of deliciousness.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Serves 4.

1 can coconut milk

1 C soy milk

1/4 C agave

2 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (alcohol free)

1/4 C chocolate chips, chopped (a mini food processor is great for this)

In a mixing bowl, combine the first 3 ingredients and whisk until well combined. Transfer into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers instructions. In the last five minutes, add chocolate chips. (It took about 20 minutes for my ice cream to reach soft serve consistency. Yum!)

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

2010-09-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

As you may be able to tell from this blog, I've been on a major dessert kick. I don't know what it is but I've just repeatedly needed something rich and chocolaty lately. Earlier this week there was another batch of chocolate ice cream (it was tofu based and not as good as the last so I won't bother posting it), and before that there was the Chocolate Avocado Mousse I prepared during my Whole Foods Demo.

An avocado mousse is a perfect way to use up some of those end of season avocados, especially those that have gotten ripe to the point that you can't do much else with them. It's also a perfect treat to tease your friends with because I can guarantee that unless they have super taste buds, they'll never guess it's made with avocado unless they see you stick them in the food processor.

There are many versions of avocado mousse and, in my opinion, the recipe I came up with is "da bomb", as they say. :) I steered away from the typical raw version to incorporate hazelnut milk and maple syrup for an added depth of flavor. If you do prefer to keep it raw, just substitute the non-raw ingredients. The milk gives it more of a creamy, pudding like, texture. It resembles something more of truffle texture without the milk, that is equally delicious, just different.

Having this dessert on the menu for class definitely drew some people in and they did not leave disappointed.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Ingredients

2 medium avocados

1/2 C hazelnut (or other non-dairy milk)

1/4 C + 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder (raw if desired, it gives the best flavor)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C maple syrup

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.*

2. Pour mixture into serving cups.

3. Chill for at least one hour.

4. Top with any desired toppings and serve.

*I recommend adding all ingredients to the avocado little by little to taste. Quantities will change based on the size, taste and consistency of the avocado.

Topping ideas:

Chopped hazelnuts

Raspberry Coulis

Nut based cream

Best Vegan Mac & Cheese

2010-09-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

This post goes out to all the amazing attendees of my demo at Whole Foods West LA on Tuesday. I started talking about "tricking" people with vegan food by not telling them it was free of any animal product until after they've told you how great the dish was. I mentioned this dish as an example. It wasn't something I prepared during class, but as soon as I said the words "Vegan" and "Mac and Cheese" in a sentence along with "no imitation cheese at all", everyone was intrigued and begged that I post the recipe.

My thanks go to Veg News Magazine for sharing this best ever vegan mac and cheese recipe with the world and to my friend Sarah Mac for introducing it to me. I alternate between whole wheat pasta and gluten free pasta when I make it. If going with gluten free, I recommend the Trader Joe's brand brown rice penne or Tinkyada brown rice elbows (the brand with the cute bunnies on the packaging) as they hold up best of any gluten free past I've tried.

Click here for the link to the recipe.

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

2010-08-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

Growing up, I learned that ice cream was one of the most important food groups. We could go without vegetables, we could go without milk, cereal, eggs, you name it, but the moment we were out of ice cream at home, Dad would dart to the nearest corner store to remedy the situation. Regardless the time of night, the weather conditions outside, or the family activity going on, if Dad wanted ice cream, it would always be there within 15 minutes. ALWAYS! I grew up in Brooklyn, and I clearly remember him racing to the store in the middle of blizzards. No joke. This is probably why when I asked the folks for an ice cream maker attachment to my Kitchen Aid for my birthday gift this past May, it arrived on my doorstep less than a week later. Since then, I've been on a never ending attempt to create the perfect vegan ice cream. I've enjoyed converting recipes from the "Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook Ever" that came with it into non-dairy versions; these have so far resulted in limited success. The ice creams taste great while in their soft serve, just churned state, but once they meet the freezer, they take on more of an icy texture. This was fun when I made vanilla chip because it reminded me of my favorite childhood New York Italian Ice flavor, but it just isn't what I've been going for.

To date, the most successful results for a creamy ice cream have been in the chocolate coconut variety. The conversion from dairy requires use of a non-dairy creamer which I normally wouldn't support because they probably contain all sorts of unidentifiable chemicals. For now, until I find a better alternative for the texture I want, these creamers will just have to do. I have at least provided the disclaimer.

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

* 3/4 cup of sugar
* 2 1/2 cups coconut milk (you can use a refrigerated, canned variety, or fresh- I haven't tried it with fresh coconut yet as I usually make my ice cream spontaneously with whatever I have on hand. I guess I got that spontaneous ice cream thing from my dad)
* 1/2 cup plain soy or coconut milk creamer
* 2 t pure vanilla
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Blend the above in a blender for a few minutes so it gets really creamy.

2. Put the mixture in your ice cream maker and freeze according to the directions. When the ice cream is at the end of its freezing process, add in shredded coconut.

3. You can enjoy this as “soft serve” when the ice cream maker is finished or freeze it in your freezer until it gets a harder consistency.

***Alternate method:
1. Combine cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a medium sauce pan. Add 1/2 cup coco milk and whisk until smooth.

2. Whisk in the remaining milk and creamer, cooking over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours.

3. Stir mixture to blend and pour into canister of ice cream maker and freeze according to directions.

Enjoy with your favorite toppings: chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, more shredded coconut. Whatever you like!

Latest Fixation: Vegan Omelette

2010-07-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

Eggs have never been my thing. I foolishly tried to "train" myself to like eggs a few years back because I thought I was feeling a bit protein deficient. It was a very unsuccessful attempt; I just couldn't get past the idea that an egg would have been a baby chicken if nature had been allowed to take its course. However, I've always been drawn to the omelette section on brunch menus. There's always an eclectic selection of extremely enticing combinations of veggies and herbs and spices that tempt me to say "I'll have the Mediterranean (or otherwise named) Omelette, hold the egg". The only thing (besides the crazy looks I know I'd get) that holds me back from doing so, is knowing that the plate of random veggies just won't be the same without something holding them all together. I long ago submitted to the fact that I would never eat anything omelette like and would instead settle on the "Tofu Scramble", which for some reason, more often than not seems to be some sort of teriyaki stir-fry. At home, the scramble takes on different ingredients and flavors, but still always seems to be lacking some kind of flair.

Enter my newly acquired "Vegan Comfort Food" cookbook. I thank my friend Sarah for thoughtfully gifting me this book; and, I graciously thank Alicia C. Simpson for putting such a wonderful book of recipes together and sharing them with the world. "Vegan Comfort Food" contains a fabulous recipe for a vegan omelette that has shot to the top of my list of latest fixations. With the one simple recipe, I can create endless numbers of filling combinations, finally enjoying those oh so tempting omelettes I would never order at a restaurant.

The omelette base is made with silken tofu and seasoned with a few simple spices, including turmeric and curry powder. It takes just a minute to whip it all up and only five minutes to cook; delicious, easy and ridiculously quick to make! As the omelette cooks, it gets nice and crispy on the bottom and puffs up to be fluffy just like an egg would. This recipe seriously blows my mind. Even my non-veg boyfriend was impressed.

My favorite filling so far is a saute of broccoli, leeks, garlic and basil, but as I said the combinations are endless and the creativity is in your hands. Prepare the filling first. All you need to begin is the incredible, edible omellette recipe:

Ingredients
12.3 oz package Mori-Nu extra firm silken tofu
1 T tahini
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp curry powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 T potato starch
1 1/2 T nutritional yeast
2 T soy or rice milk
3 T oil (I prefer olive)

Directions
1. In a blender, combine all omelette ingredients (except oil) until smooth.

2. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. (I use an 8" round skillet)

3. Pour half the omelette mixture into the oil and smooth it out with the back of a spoon, going from the center to the edge of the omelette batter until you have a uniform round omelette.

4. Cover and cook for five minutes.

5. Add the filling ingredients to one half of the omelette and fold over with a spatula to create a traditional crescent omelette shape. Carefully move the omelette onto a serving plate and enjoy!