Food Prep 101

I'm a true noob in the kitchen.  I've always used my same old remedial techniques on food prep.  So I was browsing youtube and checking out some new knife skills.

how to cut an onion in tiny pieces

how to cut an onion without crying? (it works)

i can't wait to try this pseudo-power tool technique for mincing garlic and also how to make garlic paste (right on your cutting board)

And I've linked this one before, but i love how she uses a chiffonade technique on kale.  This is a technique I have used lots and lots of times since I first saw this video (tonight's dinner included).

I also learned how to cut a mango on youtube.

What have you learned how to do on youtube?

my youtube fetish

I was browsing around youtube the other night, as I often do, and came across this lecture snippet by Jeff Novick.  It's very interesting, about olive oil compared to other saturated-fat-containing foods.

I enjoy searching for youtube videos of some of the big names in the vegan world...Rip Esselstyn, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, PCRM, and Dr. Neal Barnard.  I could watch these videos for hours (and I do).

I also like looking up different tricks of the trade in the kitchen...I composed a post about this but haven't actually posted it yet.  I will find it and do that tomorrow!

No Bake Cinnamon Muffin Balls

Look like cookies, smell like muffins, taste like a raw muffin balls!  Original inspiration by Wayfaring Chocolate, though the two final products are quite different creatures.

These would be raw if the oats were omitted but then they wouldn't be muffin balls.

Cinnamon Muffin Balls

Makes 18 balls

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for 30 minutes, drained, and rinsed

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup dried cherries, soaked for 30 minutes and drained

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

pinch of salt (literally, one small pinch)

1/4 cup raw pecans

1 6 oz. package of dried mango

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

1/4 cup quick oats 

Place everything into food processor and pulse until combined and gooey.  Add oats and process some more.  Pulsing works much better than leaving it on as it gets things moving around on the bottom.  When sufficiently ground and sticky, roll into balls. Garnish with a dried cherry and/or cinnamon if desired.  Store in refrigerator.

Very Bitter Radicchio-Garlic Saute

Don't make this unless you are in the mood for bitter-spice.  It's sharp taste is what I craved the night I made this.  I ate half of the head right out of the pan, and the other half for lunch the next day. Serve with cutlery (a butter knife won't "cut it" here).  Almost looks like fish filets or something, huh?  Read health facts about radicchio at radicchio.com.  When you taste it, it's deliciously mild.  Once you start chewing, you'll get the intybin-induced bitterness.  Enjoy!

Sauteed Radicchio with Garlic
Serves two

Ingredients
1 head radicchio, washed
a few garlic cloves
salt and pepper
mirin, broth, or cooking wine
rice vinegar or balsamic (I've used both but prefer rice)
little oil for sauteing

Method
Heat oil in saute pan on medium.  When hot, add 4-6 whole garlic cloves and a pinch of salt.  Saute for 3-5 minutes.
Slice radicchio into quarters, lengthwise.  Set the cut-side down right on top of the garlic, and line them up in the pan.
When they are almost burned (purple part of leaves get very dark), use tongs to flip them over.  Add a few tablespoons of rice vinegar and mirin.  Grind some black pepper on top and cover, cooking another 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot or chilled with garlic and sauce poured right over the top.

Simple Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

Do you ever just have a big old butternut squash lying around with nowhere to call home?  I do because the show up in my CSA box every time I start thinking the season is over.  This mama was probably a five pounder (I have no experience in weighing squash to back up that statement).

And if the tense in which this post is written confuses you, it's because I wrote some of it at night when I prepped it, some of it when I saw it in the morning, and some of it after I ate it.  I take things sloooow.

Here is roughly (emphasize roughly) what I did.

Beautiful, wonderful, simple, worthy-of-serving-for-breakfast butternut squash soup
Makes 4 bountiful servings

• Bake squash at 350 degrees for 1ish hour.  Let cool.
• Cut off skin and chop into large cubes.  Throw them in the Vita-Mix (seeds, too, why waste) with a few inches of water.  Use thruster thing to plunge down the mixture (don't want those seeds getting stuck in your teeth!).  If you prefer, leave some chunks out so you have some lumps in your soup.  
• Blend on the soup setting (or on highest setting) until it changes color to reflect it's thorough blended-ness.  Mid-way through, add another cup of water with a boullion cube.  Should take 2-3 minutes.
• Dump this mixture into your slow cooker.  Taste it (yum).
• Add roughly
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds or powder
• several (5? 8? 10?) strands of saffron
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (next time--crushed red pepper)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• several grinds of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon tumeric (might as well add some inflammatory herbs in there)
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• grated or minced ginger (I made teeny tiny cubes)
• Taste it again (yum) to see what to add...I had to make a few adjustments.
• Eat it now, or wait until the morning.  Or eat some now like I did and cook some for the morning. (Why am I saying morning?  Am I going to eat it for breakfast?  Maybe.  It is pretty awesome.)
• I slow cooked it on low for over twelve hours.  But it was until the next night (tonight, read 24 hours later) that it was reeeally good.
• With a little umph to be desired, I topped it with spicy mango pickle (Bedekar brand from the Indian market with baby green mangos in it is my favorite!)

You know me, always gotta sneak in pictures of Tristan 

(and is he always checking email on his phone?)

and on the left, a big ol' pressure cooker full of rice

Chocolate Nut Spread

When I saw this Not-ella recipe (and the super funny comments at each phase of processing), I wanted to make some.  But I don't like hazelnuts.  So I made a pecan-walnut version.  Offering omegas, magnesium, and only slightly salty-sweet, it can be eaten with a spoon or on apple slices.

Process until smooth, adjusting sweetness as desired.

Hope you're having a great weekend,

*stephanie*

Beans and Cornbread!

I brought this meal to my desk to eat while I did school work, but of course since I'm a blog addict I wrote this post instead...

Cornbread is not my typical healthy fare, but I happened to walk into the living room while Tosh.0 was on and saw this clip:  Worst Comedian Ever: Web Redemption (go to 4:00 to see the reference).

How to prepare this delicious and hearty meal of chili beans, cornbread, and guacamole:

While the Vegan Maple Cornbread Muffins (from Vegetarian Times) are in the oven, prepare your chili beans.

Quick and Easy 20 Minute Chili Beans
Makes 2 big servings

Saute in a little oil:
1/2 chopped red (or other color) onion
1 small carrot, chopped
1 stalk celergy, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced


Saute for five minutes, stirring frequently.  Add:
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 dried red chiles
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds 
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch or so of salt
(Adjust spices to taste)


Cook for a few minutes and add:
1 14 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

Add enough water to cover.  Bring to boil and add 1 bay leaf if desired (I did).  Cook, stirring constantly, for five minutes, then lower to simmer and cook uncovered until the mixture cooks through and all of the colors are beginning to combine.

At this point the cornbread should be ready.  Take it out of the oven and turn off heat (the oven and the stove).  Prepare you guacamole:

Easy Guacamole
1 avocado
2 heaping tablespoons salsa fresca

Mash avocado, fold in salsa.  Serve on top of chili beans!

Stylish Blogger Award

Thank you, Cheryl (from the Midlife Vegan blog), for passing along this award.  I feel special!  Cheryl and I cook in a similar way (simple, healthy, lots of veggies included)!  And in my opinion, even our photos are really similar.  She's the only other blogger that I've seen to post a photograph of a cross section of a head of cabbage!

More exciting than getting the award was discovering all the new blogs from Cheryl's 10 recipients!

In the tradition of the Stylish Blogger Award, I will now tell you 7 things about myself and pass the award along to 10 recently discovered bloggers.

My husband (doesn't he look like a meat-eater?) and our oldest dog when he was nine months old.

1.  My comfort food of choice is cream of wheat, roasted in Earth Balance, made with almond milk, flavored with saffron and cardamom, and sweetened with molasses or plain old sugar.  2.  I am tall (5'10") and thin (around 135 lbs) and people always assume it's because I'm vegan and I've also been accused of having an eating disorder (I don't).  3.  My moral values about using eco-friendly chemical-free products stop at my neck.  When it comes to my hair, I'm appalled at what I will put on my own head in order to look good.  4.  If I finish, I should have a Master's Degree in Human Development in the next two years.  5.  If I had to choose a religion to join and follow, it would be either Jainism or Judaism.  6.  I am married to my exact opposite.  My meat-loving corporate software sales guy tells people that if it were up to me we'd be walking around naked on the Big Sur coast playing Peter Paul and Mary songs on our secondhand guitars.  He's probably right.  7.  I have a secret obsession with preparing myself for the next major natural disaster or maybe armageddon.  For now, I create small crises to fill time.

Now, the fun part!  The "recently discovered" part may be tricky but I'll try my best!  Since many of my "recently discovered" blogs are not related to vegan diets I'll categorize them for you.

1. Dandelion Vegan Blog.  (Vegan) I was happy to come upon this recent discovery, for sure.  There's something very "home cookin'" about Rose's style and my kitchen has already seen creations inspired by Rose.
2.  Raw Bento.  (Vegan? Raw food) I love Yu's blog, her photos, and her cute little recipes.  I even used this one at the preschool on valentine's day, but instead of making a brownie I scooped out balls and put the pink frosting on top!  We called them "Valentine's Day Candy" (see photo above).  I think she's vegan but I'm really not sure.
3.  Bohemian Single Mom.  (Life) Okay, this is nothing about vegan but I really look forward to her posts.  She writes in a way that keeps me grounded in spirituality despite what else is going on in life.  Go meet her.  You'll see what I'm talking about.
4.  Fancy that, fancy this.  (Life) Again, not a vegan blog but seriously entertaining.  Ameena is my polar opposite yet I find myself living vicariously through her blog.  I'm guessing you will love it or hate it depending on your attitudes toward men, marriage, and materialism.  I would give this the "most cathartic blog" award.
5.  The Global Vegan.  (Vegan) Thank you, Aimee, for bringing consistency and simplicity into my life.  Aimee posts regularly and her posts always provide good food, good photos, and easy recipes!
6.  Manjula's Kitchen.  (Vegetarian) Although Manjula-ji is not a vegan, I find I can easily veganize her Indian recipes.  She posts videos...videos, I said!!!
7.  Vegan Thyme.  (Vegan) Even though it's an oldie but goodie, I just discovered this one a few days ago. Kelly writes about my favorite things: vegan food, gardening, and dogs!
8.  Brick by Brick. (Preschool) I know Scott from the preschool blogosphere, and I had to add his name on here for two reasons.  1.  Male bloggers, represent!  And 2.  He has a great reflective and introspective style that I love and try to embody myself.
9.  Two Little Yoga Monkeys.  (Life) She's awesome.  She tapes her kids to the wall.
10.  The Healthy Advocate.  (Health) I like Brandon's blog because he reminds me of why I eat the way I do and he's scientific about it.  My favorite post of his to date describes his experience on the raw food diet.

And how about a nod to my tried-and-true favorite vegan bloggers: Ali, Angela, Chloe, and SusanV!

*Stephanie*