Happy Holidays 2012

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

12-12-12 just passed us what an iconic date to witness as it will never happen again in our lifetime.  Did you have anything spectacular that you experienced on the date? I got a little bundle of joy added to the family on that date, not my baby though.  Nothing too drastic happen on 12-12-12.  On to the subject of the Holidays! Are you naughty or nice? My suggestion would be let's be naughty and enjoy the treats the Holiday Season bring.  It's a Monday and I'm craving something sweet and I needed it quick, the culprit to blame is the stress at work normally a smoothie will satisfy me but not today.  Skimming through my cabinets and fridge it came upon me that a trip to the grocery store is needed badly. But I'm a clever lady and came up with the perfect treat  and it great for the season.  Feast your beautiful eyes on these Chewy Gooey Ginger Cookies.  It's something special about the smell of ginger in the winter they just go together well. 

Chewy Gooey Ginger Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup almond milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  In a large mixing bowl add the oil, milk, molasses, sugar and vanilla.  In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combine well.  Using a  tablespoon scoop dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets.  Sprinkle a little sugar atop each cookie and bake 10-12 minutes.  Recipe makes18-24 cookies

 

 

LET TALK ABOUT PLANT BASED PROTEIN

I hear it constantly Vegetarians don't get enough protein.  How do you get your protein?  You don't eat MEAT????  No I don't and I'm thrilled about that.  So where do you get it they ask.

Here's a Quick nutritional lesson, and by all means if what you see interests you please do further research to back up what I’m about to tell you.  Obvious sources of proteins such as beans, nuts, and soy are well known but I want to briefly share those that are complete plant based proteins with you. 

Knowing which plant based proteins are complete can be a little unclear.  What makes a protein complete?  Well, that one source of protein must have all the essential amino acids that the body is unable to make on it’s on and needs to be consumed through your diet.  There are 9 essential amino acids that makes a protein complete you’re in luck I will not name these only give a couple of example of some of the complete protein. Check all these cool foods!

1.      Quinoa

**use it just like you would rice

2.      Soybeans

**organic tofu, tempeh

3.      Spirulina

**it’s blue green algae and the powdered form can be added to water, juice or smoothies

4.      Buckwheat

**Buy buckwheat flour and make pancakes

5.      Flax seeds

Ground vs. whole –use ground flax as this is digestible

**replaces egg in baking or put in a smoothie

6.      Hemp seeds

**there’s hemp milk you can drink

(not one of my favorites) , try it you may like it

7.      Chia Seeds

**Chia, Chia, Chia, Chia yes the chia seeds on the chia pets are a complete protein, use just as you would flax seeds

8.      Amaranth Seeds

**a grain that is similar in size to wheat germ

The recipe below come from Betty Crocker see below!

 

Recipe by BettyCrocker

 

Ingredients

• 1  cup uncooked quinoa
• 2  cups vegetable broth
• 1  cup black beans (from 15-oz can), drained, rinsed
• 1/2  cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
• 1  small tomato, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1/4  cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4  medium green onions, chopped (1/4 cup)
• 1  tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1  clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4  teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Rinse quinoa thoroughly by placing in a fine-mesh strainer and holding under cold running water until water runs clear; drain well
2. In 2-quart saucepan, heat broth to boiling. Add quinoa; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
3. Fluff quinoa with fork. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook uncovered about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated.

Until Next Time....Happy Eating !

Picnic at the Stone Mountain Park

My small family took a small trip to Stone Mountain GA to visit the park.  It's been on my do to list for a while.

For starters the weather was so nice for a day outdoors, since we don't do these things often I decided to pack a picnic lunch for us to enjoy before entering the "Theme Park".  My menu included vegan for my son and I and a couple of non vegan items for my husband.  Here are just a couple of items I packed in my cooler from World Market:

Vegetarian Chickpea Sandwich Filling 
 1 can garbanzo beans drained
 1 stalk of celery chopped
 1/2 onion chopped
 2 tbsp vegan mayo (vegenaise)
 1 tbsp lemon juice
 2 tsp of fresh dill ( or 1 tsp of dried dill)
 salt and pepper to taste

Pour chickpeas in a bowl and mash with fork.  Mix celery, onion, v. mayo, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and keep it chilled.

Corn, Red Bean, and Blueberry Salad with Mango Dressing from Quick Fix Vegan cookbook

For Dessert I made Apple Pie Parfaits recipe also from Quick Fix Vegan cookbook

Enjoy the view from the Mountain!!!! Well, not really it's a rock but it a big one.

Want to plan a visit just click on the Theme Park link above it will give you all the info you need to plan your trip. 

I'm Sexy and I Know it

Well at least that my goal!!!! I'm on a quest to lose 25lbs, trying to get my sexy better.  When I see people loosing 50lbs, I'm thinking WOW and why am I still carrying this extra baggage.  If they can do so can I.  

I'm doing it the Vegan way.  So this week was my first week back in the gym.  And to my surprise I'm am extremely sore.  I've jump on this party bus a few times and always get off.  (Not jumping off this time may I add) But I don't remember being quite as sore.  

Since my goal is to increase muscle mass the only good way to do that is by increasing my protein to build these muscles.  I made homemade Granola Bars with the help of my son :) The protein in these magic bars are pretty high.  You don't have to be a protein kick like I am to enjoy them.  They are great addition to a quick and go breakfast. See picture and recipe below

Recipe:

1.)          1 2/3 cup rolled oats

2.)          1/3 cup oat flour

3.)          ¼ cup flaxseed meal

4.)          ¼ cup brown sugar

5.)          ½ teaspoon salt

6.)          ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

7.)          ½ cup chopped dried cranberries

8.)          ½ cup walnuts, chopped

9.)          1/3 cup almond butter

10.)        1 teaspoon vanilla

11.)        1/3 cup oil

12.)        ¼ cup 100% maple syrup

13.)        1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350 F

Add the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl mix well.  In a separate bowl mix together almond butter, vanilla, oil, maple syrup, and water stir until combined. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and until all is coated evenly.  Use an 8 in square pan and press the granola down into the well oiled pan.  I sprayed it with olive oil.  Bake for 30 and let cool completely.  Cut into squares and enjoy your protein packed granola bar.

**Oat flour is fairly easy to make just measure the oats and process it into the food processor until it resembles flour or you could purchase it from Kroger or your natural food store if one is available.  I recommend just making it yourself much more cost efficient.

Happy Eating :)

 

Whats the Dill ????

I just added more books to my library. Joining the collection is Quick Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson, The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester, Quick & Easy Low Cal Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia Simpson which is her second book and now I own them both and Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites by Steen & Newman.

Below you will find pics of the books!  I have made a couple of recipes from Quick Fix Vegan as I purchased it in June all of these were pretty tasty.Tuscan Vegetable Tart, Blackbean Sunburgers, Rainbow Rotini Salad, Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce which is what I made today (see pic below). This recipe inspired the title of the post as I used fresh Dill in the sauce.

Happy Eating :)

Cool Carrot Salad

I made a batch of Tracye Lynn McQuirter Carrot Salad from her outstanding and eye opening book "By Any Greens Necessary".

Women please purchase this book its so informative and inspires me to continue my journey for plant based living.

The pic below was just snapped as I'm eating as I write. This carrot salad recipe is a sweet treat. It include a suprising ingredient pineapple which is one of my favorite fruit.  And the walnut balance out the sweetness of the dish.

A cool snack on such a steamy day in GA.

Birthday Treat

As a treat for my birthday I decided to bake wheat free chocolate chip cookies.  My son and I  made a batch on Wednesday and sad to say that's all I've been eating since.  So I'm officially in the 30's club and so proud to see another birthday.  The cookie recipe can be found in Veganomicon.  See the pic of cookies and non dairy milk.

Tomato Cobbler with Cornmeal "Chedda" Biscuit

I found this recipe in an article I was reading online through fitness magazine and it was Tomato Cobbler.  Well the idea sounded great but the ingredients weren't Vegan.  Since summer begins this week.  The opportunity to seize the moment came upon me so I thought why not give it a try but veganized the recipe.  So that what I did and low and behold Vegan Tomato Cobbler with Cornmeal "Chedda" Biscuits.  Recipe to follow:

For Biscuits

1 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tbsp of vegan sugar

1 1/2 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp course black pepper

3/4 tsp salt

5 tbsp of non dairy butter

2/3 cup of soy milk

1/2 cup Daiya cheddar cheese

In food processor pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, 3/4 tsp black pepper and 1/2 tsp salt.  Add butter and pulse until forms small crumbs  (About 1 min).  Pour milk gradually until it starts to resemble dough, then add in 1/4 cup of Daiya. 

Place dough on a flour surface roll out to 1/2 in circle and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

For Tomato Mixture

2 tbsp vegan sugar 

1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 3/4 lb heirloom tomatoes

1 tbsp of fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp of dried thyme) 

Preheat oven 375 F. In a 9 inch ovenproof skillet combine sugar and 2 tbsp water.  Cook over medium heat swirly the pan to mix well about 3-5 min.  Add vinegar, add tomatoes, thyme and remaining salt and black pepper to the pan.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat. 

Remove dough from frig and cut biscuit dough into 8 biscuits and arrange them in a circle on top of tomato mixture. ( I use a glass cup to cut the biscuits, works just a well as a buscuit cutter).  Sprinkle bicuits with remaing Daiya.

Transfer cobbler to oven and bake until biscuits are golden about 35-40 minutes. Top with fresh ground pepper.

Happy Eating :)

A MOUNTAINOUS RETREAT IN GEORIGA

North Georgia Mountain view of the river.  Very peaceful weekend getaway.  Much needed retreat.  Check out Blue Ridge Cabins in Helen GA. 

Pictures of the crisp water fall at Unicoi State Park.  You walk on a concrete trail and the air is so refreshing and the mountain rush of waters is incredible.

On our way back to Atlanta we had to stop by and see my friends at the Petting Zoo.  It's a small animal farm just outside of the mountains.
My favorite were the two cows.

Here's the Alpaca with a healthy appetite.

And last were little baby chicks.  So small and adorable.

Vegan Cookbook Club Roll Call Pt. 1

So pretend that we are in homeroom class and its time to see who's all here.  I want to give all the hardworking recipe creators props.  Below are some cookbooks that are in my cookbook library.  You can click the name of each book to get more info, also you will see some of my favorite recipes in each cookbook.

Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Romero - the encyclopedia to Vegan Cooking however some of the recipes are time consuming which may be more suitable on the the weekend to cook.  There are many recipes you can whip up in minutes and in the cookbook the expected time to make each dish is provided.

• My recipes picks are Broccoli- Millet Croquettes ,Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Broth Dip, Blueberry Corn Pancakes, and Wheat Free Chocolate Cookies.                                                                                                                              

Skinny Bitch by Kim Barnouin - a fresh take on food, she gives you the clean list and the shitty list....why we should avoid certain chemicals and how these chemicals can cause so many problems for your body and our earth.  And she does it in an unconventional way which is why I think this book ROCKS!!!.

• My recipe picks are Kale with Peanut Dressing, Lentil Sloppy Joes, and the sweet, tart, and  creamy Avocado, Coconut and Lime Sorbet mmmmm so creamy.  I think I'll make some this weekend.                                                                                                                                        

American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyes - this is your diner book.  Foods that you would find in any American Diner are found in this book. Comfort Food at it's best.  So many appetizer to make just a great representation of vegan comfort food.                                                                                                                                                                              

• My recipe picks are Eggplant Parm with Tomato Basil Sauce, Sweet Garlicky Ribz, Tempeh Stroganoff- Stuffed Potatoes and Tuna Free Noodle Casserole                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Spork Fed by a family duo Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg - a colorful cookbook.  One the best features of this book is that it includes pictures of every recipe.  Which is so helpful to cooks who want to know if their end product matches what it should look like.

• My recipe picks are Ginger, Maple, and Mustard Glazed Tempeh, Beer Battered Tempeh Fish with Tarter Sauce and Strawberry Shortcakes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Asian Takeout at Home

Hey Yall... So I'm sitting in my car on lunch break and wanted to post some pics of what I cooked on a weeknight. This is from Alicia Simpson's cookbook . You can see the book I'm talking about in pic below. I made some revisions to her recipeTeriyaki Rice Bowl. I added fried seitan instead of tofu. My husband and son ate some of this dish. Very easy to throw together on a weeknight. I ate leftovers the next day and it was still good. Cool points to Alicia for the inspiration as most cooks books are for me at least they're inspirations. I'm always adding or omitting ingredients. I like to think of cookbooks as a guide. See the finish product below:

Cookbook Review

My oh my how time has flown by..... so I'm playing catchup but wanted to give a little shot out to Lindsay S. Nixon,  I love her first book The Happy Herbivore so it was natural that I would purchase her second book The Everyday Happy Herbivore. I'm a follower of good quality recipes and she know how to do that very well. There are many recipes that are on my favorite list the one I want to quickly mention is her version of Chicken Style Seitan and it's super easy to make.  It so good!!! The picture you see below are nugget bite size.  Once I get a handle on things you will find more pics of some of the recipes featured in both her books.  With the nuggets  I added green peppers and made gravy to go on top and served with rice. 

Until next post....Happy Reading :^)