Compost Bin

When you generate as much food waste as we do, the tiny worm bin just can't handle the load.

This guy (above) gets filled up in just a few days time.

I found this drill bit thingy, whatever it's called, in the garage to make holes in the garbage can that would become my next compost bin.

Those fancy striped pajama bottoms would indicate that I'm still in my pj's at noon.

I drilled holes on the bottom and on the sides.

When I was done, I also drilled a few large holes intermittently so there would be lots of ventilation.

I added some leaves and the first round of food waste. I didn't drill holes in the lid of the garbage can because when it rains it may spoil the compost.

What will go into the compost bin?

• fruit and vegetable peelings, cores, rinds, etc. (no citrus, onions, or garlic)
• used paper towels
• dry yard waste
• leftover kid snacks and garbage (it's always vegetarian). This will limit our use of plastic garbage bags as they won't have to be changed every day as they are now.

Come next spring, we should have a nice layer of compost to add to the garden.

Granola Bars

These are not sugar free, but they meet my standard of refined-sugar-free.

O-Mega Granola Bars

Adapted from Vegan Dad

Toast 2-3 cups of quick cooking oats in the oven at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix:

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup molasses or mixture or molasses and maple syrup

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup ground flax

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup nuts of choice (I used crushed almonds tha

t I crushed in the food processor)

1/4 cup nuts of choice (I used pecans although I would have preferred walnuts)

dash(es) of cinnamon to taste

1/8 cup sesame seeds

Mixture should be wet enough fully cover the oats and have a moist mixture afterwards.

Mix warm toasted oats to coat in the wet ingredients. Pour into into greased and floured (I used rice flour) 8x8 baking dish (or lined with parchment paper). Press firmly with pastry roller or potato masher. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (too long and they will be too crispy and crumbly, like mine). Cool completely and cut into bars.

Comments: I thought they may be too sweet for me so I planned to save these to fatten up my husband. However, they aren't overly sweet and would be a wonderful grab-and-go snack.

The best part of this recipe was using my new pastry cutter.

Coming soon...

Green Health Bar

Vegan Project Update

It's been a while since I've posted an update on The Vegan Project. I guess Tristan has been vegan (or at least extremely vegetarian) for almost two months. His original intention was to do it for two weeks and then get his cholesterol checked. He never did the cholesterol test, so he didn't change his diet back.

He finally went to the doctor today and was told that before he checks his cholesterol he needs to start exercising more (odd because I think of him as a very regular exerciser). And get this--the doctor told him he needs to eat dairy and gain weight! Hello? So gain weight at the expense of what? If anything I'd say beef up with eggs, then you only have to eat one a week to make a difference (my dog and I gained five pounds--each--in a week just eating a half a hard-boiled egg for a few days that week).

So he is now 149 pounds at 5'11". That is pretty skinny. I noticed it and if he wasn't such a healthy guy I would have been concerned. It's better than being overweight, though.

My opinion is that instead of eating cheese, he should load up on more healthy carbs. But I'm not the boss of him and he'll decide what works for him. Whether it's the healthiest choice long term or not is not for me to say. He's a big boy and he'll make his own decisions.

All this just for me : )

This whole ensemble took about 1.5 hours from start to finish, including the time to cook the mung dal and the brown rice. That's pretty good, considering those are easily 40 minutes a pop. Now I am to the point that I enjoy cooking so much (again! I'm back to my old self!) and trying new recipes that I cook even if I'm just cooking for myself.

Click links for recipes, and I added my comments and adaptations underneath. It's a given that if it says they used ghee (clarified butter), then I used margarine or canola oil. Before I became vegan, I would eat this type of meal with some yogurt on the side or in the dal. I was a dairy addict! I'm so grateful that my transition to veganism doesn't leave me wanting dairy products. I'm very satisfied with what I get in my diet.

Moong Dal with Spinach

Didn't pressure cook, but cooked mung beans first and then added other stuff at the very end and just simmered for about ten more minutes. I also added curry leaves to chaunk (this gave it a super delicious aroma and flavor).

Aloo Tamatar Sabzi with Kasturi Methi (a.k.a. Potaoes and Cauliflower with Spicy Tomato and Dried Fenugreek Leaves)

Replaced tomatoes with tomato paste and it worked great. I added the cauliflower because I had a craving, but the recipe only calls for tomatoes. I just added cauliflower in addition to the potatoes rather than substituting and the intensity of spiciness was just fine.

Brown Rice

After the rice was done, I heated some oil and roasted cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and fennel seeds, and added it to the rice (right on top) and mixed it in a little bit. The rice I got is not very good so this made it taste better.

Whole Wheat Chapatis

These were great. I used a food processor. Add water veeerrry slowly and give it a few seconds between each addition of water to give it a chance to clump together. When the dough clumps, take it out of the processor, add a teeny bit of oil, and then knead on a cutting board. Set aside for 20 minutes before rolling into chapatis. I didn't put ghee on afterward. They were fine dry. Great, actually.

Ultra Rich Vegan Chocolate Shake

After yesterday's delicious meal and knowing what great potential lies dormant in my kitchen, I am raising my standards a bit : )

My next contribution to the vegan blogosphere:

Ultra Rich Vegan Chocolate Shake

1 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk

3-4 ice cubes

1 banana

2 dates, pitted

2-4 tablespoons raw cacao powder (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon chia seeds (wouldn't be my recipe if it didn't have redundant nutritional elements--but it also thickens it)

Blend everything until the dates are shredded to bits. Taste and adjust if necessary.

Comments: Now, granted, I haven't had a "real" milkshake in ages, but for vegan stuff this shake hit home. This was my entire lunch and I don't feel guilty about it. I could have added some spirulina or steamed spinach to add some nutrition and I don't think it would have impacted the flavor too much. Next time I might use only half a banana and a little nut butter, or only nut butter. It was pretty banana-y.

Kidney Bean Soup and Asparagus w/Hollandaise

This is a delicious, aromatic, hardy meal. The soup is inspired by my meditation getaway last Saturday atGreen Gulch Farms in San Francisco. It was lovely, and lunch was a simple kidney bean stew with bread baked fresh on site. This recipe is my attempt to replicate the stew, but I must say I think it turned out better and was even easier to digest. I'm so proud of myself [pats own back].

Steamed Asparagus with Hollandaise: recipe can be found here at Vegetarian Times. This was so good I was dipping bread in the hollandaise sauce later.

Kidney Bean Soup

Makes four servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 yellow onion

2 chopped zucchinis

4 cloves of garlic, minced

black pepper to taste

salt to taste

2 cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

4-5 cups of vegetable broth

2 heaping tablespoons of tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon thyme

4 bay leaves (depending on how strong they are...I used two fresh and two dried)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Method:

This can be cooked on the stovetop, but I used a crockpot on high for roughly six hours then turned it to low for a couple more hours.

Place kidney beans, vegetable broth, tomato paste, turmeric, thyme, and bay leaves into crock pot.

Heat oil in skillet on medium. Add chopped onion, saute for just a couple of minutes or until they change color slightly. Turn heat to medium-low. Add zucchini. Stir a bit and add salt, pepper, and garlic. Saute for just a couple of minutes. You don't want everything to cook down, just to mix the flavors a teeny bit. Add this mixture to the crockpot. Cook until desired consistency, removing lid for thicker soup (I removed the lid to the crockpot for about an hour).

Breakfast with nutmilk leftovers and MoFoNoMo

I just don't know what to do with the nut pulp after I make milk with the nuts. My blender is no very powerful, so I know what I'm straining out could very well be useable protein but there are also a lot of nut fibers in there. I'm going to do more research about maybe using them for baking.

Semolina and Almond Pulp Breakfast Cereal

Makes two servings

1 tablespoon earth balance (optional)

1/2 cup strained nut milk stuff (you know the stuff in the cheesecloth when you strain nut milk)

1/4 cup semolina (cream of wheat)

2 tablespoons molasses

pinch of cinnamon (optional)

pinch of cardamom (optional)

dates and raisins

Melt earth balance in frying pan on medium. Add nut pulp and brown for just 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add semolina and stir for another 2-3 minutes. Add date pieces (I used 2 chopped dates) and stir well. Turn heat to medium-low. Add molasses and mix thoroughly, scraping bottom of pan so molasses doesn't stick. Add water and stir well. Add raisins and spices. Cook on medium-low for a few minutes until all water is absorbed.

Vegan MoFoNoMo

I don't know what happened, but I'm not on the list for Vegan MoFo. Looks like I'll have to wait for next year : ) But I sure love blogging so it probably won't affect the frequency of my posts. Maybe no I can also concentrate a little more on my preschool blog which I've been slacking on lately : |

Caio for now!