Little.pink.hat

Two days ago, I mentioned the generous and wonderful bounty basket that I received from Relay Foods. It was bursting with fresh greens, strawberries, and mint–a wonderful offering, if you ask me. I’ve already whipped up one delicious salad with it. But with all of the fresh and beautiful strawberries I had on hand, I figured I had to come up with a smoothie, too! I whipped up a refreshing smoothie with strawberries, avocado, and spearmint, and it’s a new favorite.

This smoothie uses avocado for creaminess and texture, fruit and coconut water for sweetness, and the fresh mint for flavor. It’s not a high protein smoothie in its own right, but of course you could add a protein powder of choice, some hempseeds, or use my homemade hemp milk in place of the coconut water for a protein boost. Otherwise, it’s a light, energizing, and blissfully summery treat, perfect as a snack, a dessert, or a light breakfast option (for breakfast, I’d probably need to eat it with some sprouted toast to stay full).

But no matter how you enjoy this smoothie, I hope you’ll appreciate the silky texture and bright flavors. Be sure to garnish with a sprig of fresh spearmint to get the full effect!

 

If you’re in VA, MD, or DC, and you’d like to try out relay foods for yourself, you can still take advantage of a special offer of $30 off of any order over $50. Simply use this link or enter “ryxh59” as a coupon code at checkout. And don’t forget to check out my kale, strawberry, and avocado salad with basil! Also a beautiful way to put seasonal produce to good use.

xo

 

• 3 large Bananas
• 2 c frozen Pineapple chunks
• 2 c frozen OJ Cubes //or// 2 c Orange Sections
• 1/2 c Coconut Butter //or// Coconut Cream
• 1/2 c AtV Sour Cream (Nut Free: Sub with Coconut Cream/Butter)
• 4 to 5 Medjool Dates 
• 1.5 cups Water

• 2 c chopped/seeded Cucumber (slice cucumber in half and scrape out all of the seeds with a spoon, otherwise leaving seeds will make the salad very watery)
• 1/2 c AtV Sour Cream
• 1/4 c chopped Chive
• 1/4 c chopped *Sun-dried Tomato
• 2 tsp minced Dill
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Apple Cidar Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Nutritional Yeast
• 1/2 tsp Onion powder
• 1/4 tsp Garlic granules
• Salt & Pepper to taste (I used roughly 1/4 tsp of each)

A nice dimly lit cell phone pic of my Salad Pizza slice. You may want to have a fork handy since this tends to get a little messy.

• 2 c AtV Sour Cream
• *Liquid Sweetener to taste
• 1/2 c Date Paste 
• 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 T (packed) Lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp dried Lavender buds

Dr. Seuss Hop on Pop
Special Event, Storytime
Children's
Jun 15, 2013 11:00 AM

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Hingham
The Derby Street Shoppes
96 Derby Street Suite 300
Hingham
MA
02043
781-749-3319

This will come as a surprise to few (and certainly no one who knows me “in real life”), but I’m a rather strange girl. My taste in just about everything (food included!) is at least a little off the beaten path, and I have a history of doing/saying/wearing/liking/
listening to/being interested in/laughing at things that others may find odd. Oh yes, I was definitely one of “those kids” in high school—straddling the line between nerdy and gothy, the wallflower with dyed hair and unusual clothing, pierced face usually buried in a book.

(Me, age 15)

Speaking of “nerdy,” as many of you may know, my B.A. is in Linguistics, and my #1 love (yes, even above and beyond food!) will always be language. Romance languages were/are my specialty, and though my fluency has faded over the years, I still have a working knowledge of several of them. One that I studied for many years was good old Latin, and it remains among my very favorites. Its grammar’s ridiculous complexity, its frozen-in-time vocabulary, its indelible relation to an ancient culture now extinct but never forgotten…I owe my love for all other Romance languages to Latin, the original Italic tongue. It all goes back to Latin! (Well, in truth, it all goes back to Proto-Indo-European. But actually, that goes back to Proto-Eurasiatic. Really, though, that goes back to Proto-Nostratic…but I digress.)

Where am I going with all this? One quirky pasttime I’ve indulged in for the last several years is having parties for unexpected occasions. For example, my Groundhog’s Day parties are always wild, and a JFK Assassination Anniversary Party I had a few years back was particularly memorable. Last Friday, March 15th, I finally had a chance to have a party that my Latin-scholar-self has been waiting YEARS to host (I had to hold off until the date fell on a weekend, you see)—an Ides of March party! An Ides of March toga party, that is. Yes!

And so my friends and I came together to commemorate the 2057th anniversary of the death of one of my favorite historical figures and one of the all-time greatest badasses that ever lived, Gaius Julius Caesar. It was smashing success. Senātus Populusque Rōmānus!

As with all my parties, I made a themed buffet of snacks, this one full of Roman and Italian finger food:
- Choice of crisp wheaten flatbread (i.e. crackers)
- Choice of cubed cheeses
- Manzanilla olives
- Barhi dates
- Raw almonds
- Fresh red grapes
- Ancient Roman honey cake
- Cinnamon swirl caramel cheesecake bars
- Assorted alcoholic beverages (duh)

What’s that? Oh, did you catch the “Cinnamon swirl caramel cheesecake bars” there? Yeah, they were as amazing as they sound. And despite this rambling introduction, they’re the things I’m really here to share with you today.

I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile now to make a cultured raw cheesecake. I wanted to derive the tang not from lemon juice, but from actually culturing the filling. Thing is, I didn’t want to use probiotic powder—I realize it’s not something everyone has in their fridge at all times, plus it can be difficult to find a nondairy (if desired), loose-powder version, so many people skip over recipes that require it. Instead, I’ve been brainstorming this cultured cheese filling made with…yogurt!

I used a dairy-free, coconut-based vanilla Greek yogurt by SoDelicious—but honestly, you can use whatever kind you like, even dairy yogurt. I recommend Greek-style if you can find it, but if not, regular yogurt will work just fine.

So here you have it: high-raw/no-bake, [optionally] dairy-free/vegan, home-cultured cheesecake bars with a dreamy cinnamon-caramel swirl. Caesar would be proud!

These bars were a resounding triumph! The almond crust is melt-in-your-mouth tender, and my idea of culturing the filling with storebought yogurt worked like a charm, imbuing each creamy bite with the authentic tang of traditional cheesecake.

There’s just enough cinnamon in the swirl to give it that “warm” taste, and the coconut nectar and maple syrup intertwine into a deliciously unique caramel flavor.

They’re rich enough that bite-sized portions were perfect for my party guests. Nonetheless, these were the first item on the buffet to disappear!

Do you speak (or have you studied) any other languages?
Do you ever have themed parties?

P.S. If you liked this dessert, you should know there’s less than one month left until the release of my second book, which happens to be made up entirely of sweet treats: Practically Raw Desserts! Have you preordered yet?

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Hello, friends! Thank you all so much for your warm reception of Practically Raw Desserts. If you have the book already and are enjoying it, I’d be honored if you would take a quick moment to leave a 5-star review on Amazon. Also, I’m going on a “blog tour” this week in support of the book! You can check out the details here; feel free to stop by some of those blogs this week to say hello and voice your support. I couldn’t have created this book without YOU guys!

Now, let’s get down to business. The subject of today’s review is Rockin’ Wellness, a relative newcomer to the world of “nutrition shakes.” When I first heard of it awhile back, I figured it was just another protein powder, but I was quite wrong. When I got a chance to sample some recently, I was not only set straight, but I was pleasantly surprised as well.

Rockin’ Wellness is actually a total body nutrition shake made with the world’s top superfoods. Its creators, Seth and Mike, wanted an energizing drink they could feel good about fueling their bodies with while on the go. The result is a gluten-free, vegan, nutrient-rich powder that not only tastes great and provides a natural pick-me-up, but also offers a number of unique health benefits not found in your typical shake mix.

Serving Suggestion: Mix 1-2 scoops with 8-10 oz. almond, soy, rice, or hemp milk or water. Shake well or blend. Tastes great chilled.

Ingredients: raw organic cacao bean, non-GMO brown rice protein, raw organic goji berry, non-GMO lecithin (soy), raw organic evaporated cane juice, banana, raw organic hulled hemp seed, raw organic maca root, chia seed, organic green tea, organic yerba maté, guar gum, organic flaxseed, lactobacillus acidophilus (vegan probiotics; 4 billion cultures per serving), pure stevia extract.

At first glance, Rockin’ Wellness‘ ingredients list may appear to be a mixed bag. Those of us who are quite picky about our diets tend to immediately home in on ingredients we’re not huge fans of. Some people may wrinkle their nose at the organic cane sugar (while others might not like the stevia), or some may dislike the inclusion of soy lecithin (even though it’s non-GMO) or guar gum.

However, when you stand back and look at the list as a whole, I think it’s rather impressive. In addition to the cacao (mmm, chocolate), brown rice protein, and superberry (goji!) powders, it contains tons of raw, organic, and non-GMO ingredients; a bevy of omega-3-rich seeds (hemp, chia, and flax); nondairy probiotics (!); and even natural energy enhancers like green tea and yerba maté. No matter how you shake it (har har), this is a high-quality product, and it’s clear that a lot of thought was put into its development. I’m ok with the small amounts of natural sweeteners, emulsifier, and stabilizer it contains, because I know that’s part of what helps it taste so great—which helps encourage me to consume it regularly and reap the benefits.

Speaking of consuming it regularly, Rockin’ Wellness developed something they call the 45-Day Challenge. They suggest you consume 2 scoops (mixed with 10 ounces of nondairy milk) every morning for 45 days before or instead of breakfast or lunch. Three bags of Rockin’ Wellness will last you 45 days, so that means the total cost of the 45-Day Challenge is less than $3.00 per day.

This “45-Day Challenge” was clearly created in the spirit of the “90-Day Challenge” and “24-Day Challenge” that certain other, lesser-quality, MLM-style, to-remain-unnamed supplement companies have made big. Nothing against those other companies or anyone who works for them, but I say hey, more power to Rockin’ Wellness for creating a healthful alternative to those less-than-good-for-you marketing schemes.

I didn’t take the 45-Day Challenge myself, but I will admit that I have found myself consuming at least a scoop a day of this stuff since it landed in my hands. I honestly didn’t expect to like it as much as I do. Sure, I’ve done the obvious and put it into shakes and smoothies, but I’ve really gotten into employing it in some unusual ways.

For one thing, I’m addicted to this “protein pudding” I’ve been whipping up every afternoon using Rockin’ Wellness and a handful of other powders:

Another fun way to use it is in recipes, especially raw recipes! For example, since Rockin’ Wellness is chocolatey, you can use it in place of cacao/cocoa powder in recipes in Practically Raw Desserts. (Seriously, try the Ultimate Raw Brownies on page 67 with Rockin’ Wellness in place of the cacao. WOWOWOW.) You can also use it in the handful of recipes calling for protein powder, if you want a chocolate-flavored treat.

One thing I’ve been especially enjoying is making…Rockin’ Wellness Cookies! It’s so simple, I can’t even really call it a recipe.

In a small bowl, simply mix together 1 scoop Rockin’ Wellness with 2 teaspoons melted coconut oil.

Stir, stir, stir with a fork until it comes together (it’ll still be a little grainy; that’s ok).

Scoop it onto a small square of wax paper on a plate.

Place in the fridge for 20 minutes or the freezer for 5 minutes, until chilled and firm.

Then eat. That’s it!

So there you have it. If you’re looking for a protein/supplement powder that’s a little out of the ordinary, contains a variety of nutritious, high-quality ingredients, offers a natural energy boost, and tastes amazing, give Rockin’ Wellness a shot.

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Heads up! My Practically Raw Desserts blog tour is happening this week, and there have already been so many great posts (and recipe sneak peeks) so far! Click here to check out all the links.

Is it too late for stew? Considering we’ve had some 40-odd-degree days in the past week, I’m gonna say no, it isn’t. Besides, I’ll go for a good curry any time of year!

I’m calling this curry a “stew” because it’s just barely on the liquidy side, as far as curries go, but you are more than welcome to serve it over cooked brown rice or quinoa like a traditional curry.

It makes use of some of my favorite ingredients, such as legumes (the underutilized split pea), cauliflower (curry-roasted, but of course!), and curry powder (yeah I know, it’s an inauthentic “cheat” ingredient for a “real” curry, but I love it to death). It makes a nice big batch that can feed you all week or can even be frozen for later. In short, it’s nutritious, filling, and flavorful—what more could you ask for?

If you like this recipe, you might enjoy some of my other Indian (or Indian-inspired) recipes as well:

• Dal Makhani (Indian Lentils)
• Indian Curried Lentils
• Indian Spice Hummus
• Roasted Cauliflower-Chickpea Curry
• Spiced Red Lentil Soup
• Tofu Makhani Curry
• Plus the many Indian recipes I included in Practically Raw!

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• 2 c Raw Corn Kernals (Tip: Buy locally grown organic corn when it's in season, remove the kernels and store it in your freezer so you can enjoy it throughout the year)
• 1/2 c chopped Sun-dried Tomatoes (Tip: if packed in oil wash the oil off, if dry re-hydrate the toms by soaking them in warm water for 10 minutes then pat dry)
• 1/4 c fresh Dill
• 1/4 c fresh Chive
• 1 tsp Smoked Spanish Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Onion powder
• 1/4 tsp Garlic Granules
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• Salt to taste -- I used 1/2 tsp

Hi all! Thanks for the warm responses to Meghan Telpner’s interview–and her marvelous recipe for Orange Zest-Infused Stew!

Are you ready for a treat? I was browsing through Food52 this week (I’m one of their columnists, but I also love getting inspired by all of the creativity on the site), and I saw this recipe for mini almond joys, created by Kristin Rosenau of Pastry Affair. They looked easy and delicious, which is how I like my desserts to be. They were already darn near close to a raw food recipe, but I decided to put a homemade raw, vegan spin on them, using the simple homemade raw chocolate coating or chip recipe that I learned from Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman. The results? Bite-sized (almond) joy. 

This recipe calls for cacao butter in the raw chocolate coating. If you don’t want to invest in the cacao butter, or you can’t find it, that’s cool; just go ahead and follow the Food52 instructions for using melted chocolate. That said, cacao butter is a fragrant, beautiful, and fascinating ingredient, and a little goes quite a long way. I’ve had the same bag I got on Amazon for months, and each time I make a batch of chocolate, I get a lot out of it. So in spite of the price tag, it’s worth checking out cacao butter for yourself–you can peek at the one I’ve used here!

Otherwise, this recipe is a cinch. Just watch.

 

See? Easy. Easy, but delightful.

I was never a coconut person growing up–raw foods actually converted me–but I do recall Almond Joys with fondness, and these little raw, vegan snacks are a pretty wonderful adaptation. They’ve also been post-bacc tested, which is currently my ultimate barometer of recipe success.

Make some this weekend, and enjoy every bite!

xo

Hey everyone! Today I’m happy to share with you a delectable recipe from Amber Shea Crawley’s newest book Practically Raw Desserts. This delightful book is exactly what you need when you have a nagging sweet tooth, but a desire to keep the junk food to a minimum. These delicious and wholesome desserts will not disappoint!

My kids gobbled up these Maple Streusel Coffee Cake Squares; however, since they only took about 3 minutes from start to finish, it was quite an easy task to just whip up another batch.

Thanks to Vegan Heritage Press and Amber Shea for sharing the recipe!

Maple Streusel Coffee Cake Squares

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry walnuts
• 1 cup dry pecans
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon maple syrup, divided
• 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar

Preparation:

1. In a food processor, combine the walnuts and pecans and pulse a few times, until the nuts are roughly chopped. Add the oats, cinnamon, and salt, and pulse just until the nuts are coarsely ground (be careful not to overprocess). Trans- fer 2/3 cup of the nut mixture to a small bowl and set aside.
2. Add the coconut flour to the remaining mixture in the food processor and pulse until just combined. Add the dates, 2 to 3 at a time, pulsing between additions until each date is well-incorporated. Add the vanilla and 1/4 cup of the maple syrup and pulse until the mixture clumps together. Transfer the batter to an 8-inch square baking pan (lined with plastic wrap for easy removal, if desired), using your fingers or a spatula to press it firmly and evenly into the pan.
3. Add the coconut palm sugar and remaining tablespoon of maple syrup to the reserved nut-oat mixture in the small bowl. Use a fork to stir it together until it becomes sticky. Scatter the streusel evenly on top of the cake in the pan, and firmly press it down with your fingers or the bottom of a cup. Refrigerate until ready to cut and serve.
4. Store the squares in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.

Yield: 12 servings

From Practically Raw Desserts by Amber Shea Crawley. ©2013 Amber Shea Crawley. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press.

 

Before I start: This is going to be an incredibly “light” post (I had actually scribbled it yesterday morning), but before I say anything else, I want to send my love and good wishes out to everyone affected by the events in Boston yesterday.

Lately, at the urging of Sayward, I’ve been using Instagram more often (you should totally follow me). This means more photos of me clutching things like coffee, smoothies, midday snacks, and lunchboxes. A few of you have commented on my often brightly colored nails, and asked what polish varieties I use, so I figured it would be a good time to talk about vegan nail polish!

My obsession with nail color is a little funny, because it’s pretty much my only major cosmetic embellishment. I rarely wear makeup, and my skin care routine (which I talk about in this post) is pretty basic. Since I wrote that post, I’ve started using a vegan moisturizer with SPF 15 during the day, but at night, I usually just rinse my face in hot water and slather either coconut or Argan oil on it before calling it a day. Easy.

Where my face is au natural, though, my nails are usually all sorts of bold and unusual shades. I’m not sure where my penchant for nail color comes from, but I think it’s a lot of fun.

What’s not fun is supporting nail polish makers who participate in animal cruelty or use animal products in their nail polish, so here’s a quick primer on some brands that are animal-friendly.

If you get your nails done at a conventional salon, you should know that OPI nail lacquers, which can be found in nearly all nail salons, are vegan. I read this via PETA and some other vegan beauty blogs, but Veganize This got word directly from the source, and posted Opi’s information on animal products and testing. The company states,

“Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delayed response. Yes, our lacquers are vegan. Our lacquer does not contain any animal ingredient and we do not test on animals, and we are registered with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). You can visit their web site; www.peta.org.

OPI does not perform animal testing, nor do we contract to have it performed elsewhere. When sensitization testing is necessary, we use informed, consenting, paid human volunteers – not animals.”

You can read the full statement here. It goes on to detail the few animal products used in other OPI products (not nail lacquers) and notes that many are going out of use. It’s an impressively detailed response, and shows willingness to evolve on the part of a major beauty brand—which I like.

Animal testing and cruelty is my major concern when it comes to nail colors, but it’s not the only concern. Many consumers are getting more savvy about toxins in various beauty products, and nail colors are no exception. Three ingredients to be wary of are toluene, DBP (dibutyl phthalate), and formaldehyde (a string of names that brings memories of orgo lab flooding back). DBP has been associated with birth defects (in animal tests, anyway—and sadly), and may disrupt male hormones. Toluene is a mild skin irritant and can exacerbate asthma (it’s also in some glues and in gasoline). Formaldehyde, once a common preservative, has been described by The National Toxicology Program as a known carcinogen; at the least, it is a potent and volatile toxin.

Until recently, I’d believed it was very hard to find “3 free” (no DBP, no toluene, no formaldehyde) nail colors, and I’d thrown up my proverbial hands and reasoned that, so long as I could find vegan shades, I was doing my best. It’s actually much, much easier to find 3 free nail polishes than I thought, as I learned when Rebecca asked me about non-toxic brands on Instagram. Most of the brands that are vegan-friendly are also free of the major toxins, which makes shopping easy. Here’s a roundup of brands that I’ve either seen or purchased myself, and loved.

Opi

Opi nail colors are easy to find, and they’re both vegan and free of DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde (this is a recent development, and details of the switch away from DBP and toluene can be found in a statement on the company website). Tons of fun, constantly updated shades.

Priti

Possibly my favorite nail color brand, Priti has a huge variety of shades. My personal favorite is an electric blue called “blue sage,” but the lighter shades are beautiful as well. At $13.50, these are not cheap, but they do tend to last a while.

Zoya

Zoya is the best—and I say that without having tried any of their colors yet. Vegan, non-toxic, priced at $8.00, and easy to order with easily accessible customer service. Readers recently made me aware of this brand, and I promptly checked out the website—and was mighty impressed!

SpaRitual

Lots of original colors and cool packaging. These retail for about $12.00, and can be a little tough to find, but the company has a good philosophy.

E.L.F.

I’ve used ELF products before and really liked them—plus, it’s hard to beat the incredibly low price!

Acquarella

These polishes are totally non-toxic and water based, which means no powerful odors. I love the idea, but they’re priced at $16.00, which means they’re a tough purchase if you’re on a budget,

Ginger and Liz

This company has been making vegan nail polish for a long time, and it boasts cheeky names for its shades! You can find it at Ricky’s, at Urban Outfitters, and through the company website.

OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics)

Both a makeup and a nail brand, I love the company’s offering of colors, all available online. But I also love the no-nonsense vegan mission statement:

What’s with the ‘Vegan’ thing?

In a time when many cosmetic companies make the claim that their products are "Cruelty Free" simply because Animal Testing has become unfashionable and less cost-effective, OCC felt it was necessary to raise the bar on this issue. We pledge never to use animal-derived ingredients (including Lanolin, Beeswax, Carmine and more) in our products and accessories. Beyond any personal convictions, we simply believe that it’s unnecessary, especially when there are alternatives that are just as readily available, and equally effective in the formulation of our products. Further, you need not necessarily be aligned with animal rights issues to reap the benefits of a vegan cosmetic line: animal ingredients can be amongst the most allergenic and skin reactive, and prevent makeup from being considered Kosher, Halal or otherwise compliant with various dietary (and sanitary!) regulations.

What about you guys—any recommendations? Favorite brands or colors? My guess is that many of my readers are far more savvy about cruelty-free beauty than I am! Speaking of, I cannot recommend the following resources enough for information about makeup, skin, nail and hair care that is animal-friendly:

Cruelty Free Face (Melisser is the best!)

Vegan Beauty Review

Chic Vegan

Enjoy!

xo

Hands-On Learning With Leapfrog
Special Event
Games
Apr 27, 2013 11:00 AM

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Hingham
The Derby Street Shoppes
96 Derby Street Suite 300
Hingham
MA
02043
781-749-3319

Yes, while you've been busy with your X and Y, I've been continuously stuffing things into rice paper wrappers, and then stuffing those into my mouth.   These were a favorite, and the most awesome and enjoyable way to eat greens.  If I might say, which I'm obviously giving myself permission to do.  Seriously, these two rolls contained an ENTIRE Pyrex bowl crammed with greens, fresh cilantro and home-grown sprouts.  You'd just never know, because they get condensed super tightly in the wrap.

xo
kittee

True to form, D.C. has transitioned directly from winter to summer within a week’s time. It is 85 degrees here and sunny, and a short lunchtime walk left me sweating in my long sleeved shirt and jeans. In honor of the abrupt change of seasons, I’m featuring a sweet and cool drink: a vegan mango lassi made with coconut milk.

I first mentioned this recipe in my Food52 column about coconut milk as a versatile and wonderful ingredient. A few of my readers asked me to share the recipe itself here on the site. I’m happy to do so—and it’s such an easy recipe! I hope you’ll enjoy it, and savor it as a midday refresher or after dinner treat as temperatures climb.

Print Vegan Mango Lassi. A Creamy Warm Weather Treat! (vegan, gluten free, soy free)

Ingredients

• 2 heaping cups of frozen mango chunks
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk and 1/2 cup coconut water, OR use 1 cup light coconut milk
• Seeds of 1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise and seeds scooped out (I use a spoon to do this)
• 1/2 tsp garam masala spice (readily available at grocery stores and online)
• 1 pitted date

Instructions

1. Blend all ingredients together in a blender till smooth. Add extra coconut milk as needed to obtain the desired consistency. This drink would be delicious with a sprig of fresh mint!

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Those dark flecks you see in the photograph are vanilla beans from the fresh vanilla. This is a costly ingredient, for sure, but ever since I ordered a bunch, I’ve found that it makes a tremendous difference in my recipes. You can order a quarter of a pound for about $15 on Amazon; a luxury, to be sure, but a small amount goes a very long way (and vanilla extract isn’t cheap, either). If you don’t use the vanilla bean, rest assured that vanilla extract will still make a very tasty beverage.

Mango isn’t my favorite fruit, but with the addition of cardamom (a prominent flavor in the garam masala spice blend) and vanilla, it’s hard not to go crazy for this drink. Enjoy it—stay cool—and I’ll be back soon.

xo

Hats Off to Poetry With Dr. Seuss
Special Event, Children's Event
Children's
Apr 20, 2013 11:00 AM

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Hingham
The Derby Street Shoppes
96 Derby Street Suite 300
Hingham
MA
02043
781-749-3319

As I’ve mentioned before, in spite of the fact that I was raised Episcopalian, the Easter I tend to celebrate is Greek Orthodox Easter (which is really, really late this year). Even so, I like to create at least a couple of holiday dishes every year at this time. Last year, I prepared an easy raw, vegan Charoset for Passover. This year, I thought I’d try to recreating the appetizer that accompanied every (Western) Easter celebration of my childhood: deviled eggs. I think my raw, vegan version turned out pretty well—and it was a lot of fun to make!

The process for these deviled eggs is easy. Simply whip up a creamy cashew pate (with curry and turmeric for yellow color), slice some raw zucchini or yellow squash diagonally, into ovals, and top them with a rounded tablespoon of the pate. Sprinkle with paprika if you want to be all traditional-like, and serve.

These will make a fantastic hors d’oeuvre for holiday gatherings, or a cute appetizer for the table. And though I had a family tradition from childhood in mind when I thought to make deviled eggs, it occurred to me that hard boiled eggs are included in Seder plates as well, so perhaps this recipe will come in handy both for Easter and Passover gatherings this year!

Print Raw, Vegan Cashew and Squash Canapés ("Deviled Eggs")

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashews, soaked 2-3 hours
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp sea salt (to taste)
• 3/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash paprika
• 1 zucchini or summer squash, cut diagonally into ovals

Instructions

1. Place the cashews in a food processor fitted with the S blade. Add the salt, spices, and lemon. Pulse till the cashews are broken down.
2. Run the motor and drizzle the water in. Continue blending till the pate is silky smooth, stopping frequently to scrape the sides of the bowl down. You'll have one cup of pate.
3. Place a rounded tablespoon of pate on each zucchini oval. Sprinkle lightly with paprika, and serve.
4. Serves many--you can reserve extra pate for crudites or wraps!

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So cute and authentic!

I have to say, the filling for this canapé really does taste a lot like the center of deviled eggs (maybe a little less thick). If you don’t believe me, believe my Mom, who tasted one soon after I whipped them up. She looked at me, wide-eyed, and exclaimed “it tastes just like an egg!” My mother is incredibly supportive and open minded about vegan food, but she’s not one to pretend that something is a “dead ringer” if it’s not. I took her words as a high compliment.

The idea of “cravings” is always a little loaded in conversations about veganism. Critics of veganism, some former vegans among them, often cite cravings for animal food as proof that veganism is incomplete or unnatural. But cravings for food, for drink, and for substances are everywhere, all the time, and they don’t necessarily have to suggest some kind of insidious deficiency. Sometimes, cravings are an expression of our desire for stimulation; I crave cigarettes all the time, and I’m perfectly capable of craving a soy latte when I’ve already had three or four cups of coffee for the day, but this doesn’t mean I need either. It usually means I’m bored, tired, or frustrated with studying. Sometimes I crave a particular food simply because I’m hungry; as soon as I have something to eat, whether or not it’s the thing I was daydreaming about, I feel satisfied.

Sometimes persistent cravings really do indicate that a person isn’t eating enough of a particular food. People who are on super low-carb diets tend to crave carbs because they are so obviously deprived of readily accessible energy. When I was obsessed with eating low fat—as I always was in my disordered periods—I craved fatty foods relentlessly. In this instance, the cravings certainly were an indication of something imbalanced in my diet. And yes: if a vegan happens to be craving animal foods, the craving might indicate that he or she isn’t eating enough fat, or enough protein. This is not to be minimized or brushed aside, and it’s something that a vegan-savvy R.D. or health care practitioner can help to troubleshoot.

It’s worth noting, though, that the food one craves isn’t necessarily the very food one must eat in order to feel better. When I was fifteen and ravenous for fried dumplings and pizza, it wasn’t because I needed those two foods in particular. It was because I was crying out for fat. I could have satisfied my cravings with some pizza, sure, but I might also have satisfied them by welcoming all kinds of fats into my diet more regularly. If you are new to plant-based eating and you’re struggling with persistent cravings for something that isn’t vegan, a health care provider (one who is knowledgeable about plant based diets) can take a look at what you’re eating, help you to identify why you’re craving that particular food, and work with you to correct imbalances. You may find that the craving was an expression of something broad and global—not a literal command from your body to eat animal foods in particular.

As a vegan, the cravings I’ve had most often are not, like the cravings described above, an expression either of boredom or of something amiss in my diet. They are an expression of nostalgia. Food is charged with meaning and emotion, and it’s natural to crave dishes or ingredients that evoke a feeling or a particular time in our life. Sometimes I miss laughing with my mom as we piled our plates of spaghetti high with parmesan cheese, or eating turkey wraps from a café that used to be around the corner from my high school, or cups of coffee turned the color of light caramel with half and half. It’s not so much that I can’t live without these foods; it’s that they’re a part of the fabric of my past. The good news is that there are now vegan foods that can help to replace them, both commercial and homemade, and there are other foods that satisfy the craving even if they don’t simulate the food precisely. Piling a bowl of spaghetti high with hemp seeds and/or nutritional yeast replace some of the texture, salt, and umami I miss from cheese.

Obviously, cashew pate situated on top of a zucchini slice is no real replacement for a deviled egg. Egg lovers certainly won’t be fooled, and the nutritional profile isn’t the same. But if we’re talking about cravings for the spirit of a dish—the flavor, the taste, the mouth feel—this dish might just fit the bill. It’s creamy and rich in fat. It’s salty and gently spiced. It has a contrast of textures. And, most importantly, it’s delicious, and worthy of sharing. I may have left out one kind of craving that a vegan might feel, which is a craving for the inclusiveness and shared experience that comes with eating a more conventional diet. The best way to address this craving is to create vegan food that will be savored by all. If my mom gives these little appetizers her ringing endorsement, then I guarantee you she won’t be the only one.

Happy holiday weekend, friends!

xo

Let me tell you about my favorite, absolutely horrible for you, guilty pleasure - brandy fudge! It all started with me attempting to make truffles. I literally have no idea what a truffle is (I mean, unless we're talking about mushrooms!) I've never seen one in person nor do I know what one is supposed to taste like. The recipe I tried left me with something that reminded me of fudge. So the next day I tried again but with my own spin. Instead of making little balls, I poured the mix into a cake pan so I could slice it into squares. I fiddled with the ingredients and even topped it off with some shredded coconut. What I ended up with was perfection. PERFECTION!!! I could eat these until I'm green in the face (which really wouldn't take long considering they're super rich!)
You will need:
4 cups powdered sugar
1 8oz container Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
16oz chocolate chips*
3T Brandy
Shredded coconut for garnishing

Mix together the powdered sugar and "cream cheese". Beat until thoroughly combined. Melt chocolate chips using double boiler. When they are completely melted add chocolate to sugar/cream cheese mixture and beat again. Finally add in your brandy one tablespoon at a time. Mixing thoroughly after each tablespoon. Pour the mixture into a cake pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Spread the fudge evenly at your desired thickness and garnish with coconut. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3 or 4  hours before cutting into pieces. Store in airtight container in the fridge.
Enjoy!
xoxo

*16oz of chocolate chips is around 1.5 bags my favorite chocolate chips to use. Your measurements don't have to be exact. If you're running low on chocolate chips just accommodate by using slightly less brandy.

All images © James Ransom for Food52

No food is more closely associated with veganism, at least in the popular imagination, than tofu (with the possible exception of sprouts). Versatile and nutrient-dense though tofu is, I’ve always thought that it is unduly favored over its fellow soybean-based cousin, tempeh. Today, I’m here to argue that you should get to know tempeh if you haven’t already, and I’m sharing a recipe that I hope will help you to fall in love with this nutritious and unusual ingredient.

While I was researching tempeh a little for today’s Food52 column, I was surprised to learn that tempeh is Indonesian in origin, and not Chinese (like tofu). Soybeans may have been farmed in China as early as the 11th century B.C., but the first written records date to around 2000 B.C.. By the first century A.D., soybeans had spread to Korea, and by the 7th century, they were being cultivated in Japan. Ultimately, they spread to Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal and northern India. The earliest written reference to tempeh dates back to the 19th century, though it is likely that it was a traditional Indonesian food for many years before that.

Tempeh is made by fermenting whole, cooked soybeans with Rhizopus oligosporus, a mold that encourages the growth of Bacillus subtilis (a bacteria that may be used as a beneficial probiotic). The world “mold” is far from appealing, but the process of tempeh making, honed through time and practice already, is now conducted under safe and controlled conditions. The fermentation process binds tempeh together into blocks (traditionally, it was wrapped in banana leaves throughout this process), and it can subsequently be sliced and used in stir fries, on salads, or however you like.

Me? I like to marinate and sear my tempeh in a bit of coconut oil. And in today’s “new veganism” column over at Food52, I give you a recipe for a perfect tempeh marinade, as well as cooking instructions. As an extra incentive to eat this wonderful food, I’m giving you a recipe for a tasty, crunchy salad with red cabbage, snow peas, and mizuna, all dressed in a sweet/salty miso mustard dressing. Phew.

A four ounce serving of tempeh contains 20 (!) grams of protein, about 20% of your daily RDA iron, and about 10% of your RDA of calcium. It also contains nearly half of the official RDA of fiber (11 grams–though getting even more fiber than that is well worth it for many people.) Such a rich offering of nourishment is good reason for you to discover tempeh, but don’t do it for the nutrition stats. Explore tempeh because it is satisfying and delicious—and because this salad recipe is killer  

Enjoy!

xo

EQUIPMENT

• tripod; 
• mirrorless DSLR; 
• shutter remote; and
• mirror.

I hope this has been helpful and gives some insight into the process of taking my self-portraits. If you have any questions, just ask in the comments and I'll try my best to answer them from the best of my knowledge.

Happy Halloween, blog family. Today is the last day of Vegan Month of Food. I decided to participate in veganmofo completely on a whim, literally the day before it started, but I’m so happy I did. I’ve discovered so many wonderful blogs and recipes from it. It’s been a bit of a crazy month between working on my record and writing these posts. It was a major challenge for me to post almost every day, but I succeeded in reaching my goal of at least 20 posts, so yay!

Ok so as a quick aside, I tried the tesco cheese I reviewed in this post in a grilled cheese and it was amazing and I have updated the post to reflect this information.

Today’s recipe is sugar-free pumpkin cinnamon rolls. These cinnamon rolls are not super sweet on their own, but you can add +10 sweetness by glazing them, putting icing on them, or eating them alongside some vanilla ice cream. I don’t have a big sweet tooth so I don’t bother to glaze mine, and I am also lazy, but there’s a fantastic glaze recipes here on Chocolate Covered Katie, or if you know of any other recipe, use that.

Sugar Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

adapted from here
Makes 8 Cinnamon rolls
For the rolls:

• 1 packet dry yeast
• 3 TBSP Granulated Stevia or NuNaturals Stevia Baking Blend
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup (61g) pumpkin puree
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups flour

For the filling:
• 1/2 cup (122g) pumpkin puree
• 1 cup granulated Stevia
• 1 TBSP Pumpkin pie spice
• 1 banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)

Method: Proof the yeast by mixing it with the water and the stevia in a small bowl. It should bubble and look foamy. Once done, add the yeast mixture to the nutmeg and salt in a large bowl and whisk in the pumpkin until it is mostly dissolved in the water.

Add 2 cups of flour to the water mixture one cup at a time and start kneading the dough. As you knead the dough, add the remaining cup of flour little by little. I usually knead the dough for about 15 minutes.

Roll the dough into a ball and put it in a bowl with a towel over it to prevent it from drying out. Set aside the dough to rest for an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling by mixing all the ingredients – either in a food processor or by hand.

Preheat the oven to 175 c / 350 f. Once the dough has risen, divide it in half. Take one half of the dough and roll it out into a 9″x13″ rectangle, and spread half the filling on it, leaving 2 inches at the bottom like this:

Starting at the top, roll the dough until you reach the part with no filling. Then, wet the dough at the bottom a little with some water and finish rolling, like this:

Placing the roll fold side down, cut the roll into 4 equal pieces and place on a cookie sheet or other oven-safe dish.

Repeat the process with the other half of the dough and filling.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Once cool, add icing. Eat. In my opinion, they taste even better the next day!

I love you all and thank you for putting up with my posts all month.

Until next time…

xxxxxxx
adorpheus

Ok! I’ve posted a little bit about the fact that I don’t really eat sugar. I could seriously write an entire book on sugar free eating, because I’ve done that much research on it, but I’ll try not to bore you. However, if a sugar free book is something you’d read, let me know.

I first became interested in sugar free baking and cooking when my beloved dad was diagnosed with diabetes. I’m a firm believer that no matter what diet restrictions you have, you should still be able to enjoy good food. Then I started to wonder if cutting out sugar would help me lose weight. So I stopped eating refined sugar too, in order to learn more about sugar free baking and cooking. I LOVE cookies, ice cream, and so on – and my favourite food ever ever ever is chocolate. I was re-starting my weight loss journey at the time with a renewed vigor, and I am always up for a challenge, so I figured this would be kind of the ultimate challenge for me.

Little did I know what kind of impact this was going to have on my life. When I first stopped eating refined sugar, it was really really hard for a couple weeks. I had no idea I was so addicted to sugar! I had the worst cravings for it.

During this time, I instead ate fruit when I wanted something sweet. I also experimented a little bit with using dates, bananas, and other fruits to make raw food desserts, all of which I loved. I got stevia to sweeten my tea and coffee with.

After a couple weeks, I noticed that I no longer had cravings anymore! It was so much easier to maintain a healthy diet when I wasn’t craving cookies every five seconds. I was still eating plenty of fruit and making raw chocolate, but I wanted to try making pancakes and baked goods sugar free. Back then, most stevia came in a very concentrated powder – there was only one brand that made a variety of stevia that could be used the same way as sugar in baking – NuNaturals Stevia Baking Blend Powder. Now, there’s tons more, like Stevia in Raw, and you can even get stevia here in the UK now. It’s great how far things have progressed in only 2 years.

Eventually I ran into another problem – there wasn’t (and still isn’t, as far as I know) a stevia based sugar free version of maple syrup. There are sugar free maple syrups, but all of them are made with sucralose. I’m actually not super-duper anti artificial sweetener – I think a little splenda every once in a while isn’t going to kill you. However, the main problem with splenda aside from the fact that its an artificial sweetener and some people have a negative reaction to it – is that it’s made from sugar and therefore, eating it will not curb sugar cravings the way replacing sugar with stevia does. Additionally, sugar free syrup (splenda or otherwise) is not nearly as readily available here in the UK as it is in America. So I decided I wanted to figure out a way to make stevia syrup at home – at least that I could use in baking!

I found a few recipes and while I have not experimented with them all, I’ve found one that works, that I adapted from this steviva recipe. I reckon eventually some company will make a commercially available maple syrup that’s made with stevia and not sucralose… but until then here’s my recipe.

Stevia Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (500 ml) water
• 1 tsp liquid stevia, preferably NuNaturals brand
• 2 tsp maple extract (I used this one from Amazon)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum

Please note: The brand of stevia you use in this recipe will have a big impact on the flavor. NuNaturals brand tastes the best. I’ve also made this with the Whole Foods brand and the results were… ok, but not as yummy. If you would prefer to use a granulated brand of stevia, try the original recipe I adapted this from.

Method: In a bowl or pyrex measuring jug, mix the water, maple extract, and liquid stevia. Using a whisk, very slowly add the xanthan gum. You can use a sifter if you have one. I found it very difficult to avoid lumps – but they don’t impact the flavor, so I just let them be!

Transfer to a bottle and use on pancakes (or on the Fronch Toast from Vegan with a Vengeance, like I did above!).

In other mofo news…

tonight for dinner I made the Red Curry Soup with Rice and Kale from thePPK! I used regular kale instead of the purple kind, but it was just as delicious! I can’t wait to have the leftovers tomorrow.

xxxxxxx
adorpheus