Celebrating an all-natural lifestyle

Vegan Blueberry Pancakes, Stuffed Peppers, and Well Lit Kitchens

Never invite me over to cook for you. I will take over your kitchen.

I will bombard you with grocery bags full of dark, leafy greens:

And exotic whole grain breads (Mom hates Ezekiel, so I brought French Meadow hemp bread):

And bizarre appliances (that’s my Tribest blender in there, get your minds out of the gutter):

I will spill nutritional yeast on your countertops, I will banish your Splenda, and I will replace your Smart Balance with Earth Balance. All in a days work.

My mother, on the other hand, greeted me with nothing but gentle kindness. Check out the kitchen spread that I arrived “home” to:

I love you, Mom.

I won’t lie: staycation hasn’t been all that restful. I worked later than planned yesterday, and I had to pop into the office today. It’s also hot as heck, which makes Mom’s and my enthusiasm for touristy stuff a little low. The solution, of course, has been to lie on the sofa all evening watching bad movies. And that is precisely what we’ve done.

Thank you for all of your wonderful dinner suggestions yesterday! I may not get to all or even some of these in the next day or so, but you can bet they’re all going into my vault of “must make soon” vegan food. I was also amused at how my readers and I seem to love so many of the same foods: hummus, tempeh, whole grain pasta, nooch, roast veggies, curries, etc. No wonder we all like to hang out virtually.

So what did I end up making for dinner #1? An old tried and true: stuffed peppers. What I wanted to do with this recipe was make it a little “cheesy”; Mom has cut down dramatically on dairy, and eats almost no cheese at all these days (go Mom!) but I sense that she still misses it. Since all raw vegans have made at least one “cheesy” sauce that involved nooch and red peppers, I thought I’d transfer that principle to a rice and bean medly, and then bake it in two bell peppers. It worked out well. Here’s the crowd pleasing recipe:

Cheesy Vegan Stuffed Peppers (serves 2)

2 yellow or red bell peppers
1 tsp coconut oil (substitute olive oil if that’s what you have)
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/2 cup black or aduki beans, cooked
2 roasted and chopped red pepper halves (fresh is best, canned and organic is fine)
3 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp tomato paste (organic, por favor! I like Muir Glen)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Bragg’s (or 1/4 tsp sea salt)
Black pepper to taste

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop the tops off of your two peppers, and then remove the seeds and any white pith. Spray a baking pan and put the peppers on it. Stick them in the oven so that they can begin to cook.

2) Heat coconut oil in a skillet and add the brown rice, beans, and peppers, stirring rapidly until they’re warmed through.

3) Add 3-4 tbsp water to the skillet, along with the nooch, the tomato paste, the cumin, the Bragg’s (or salt), and pepper to taste.

4) When everything is well mixed, it ought to look something like this.

As soon as it’s thoroughly warmed through, remove it from the heat. Stuff the mixture into the peppers and return them to the oven. Cook for another 15-25 minutes, or until the peppers are starting to look soft and a little brown at the edges.

The resulting dish is flavorful and comforting. It’s also filling and loaded with protein, which means that moms who are used to eating omnivorously will probably feel satisfied with the dish! I know my Mom was.

I put hummus on top of mine. Why? Because I put hummus on everything.

For our sides, we decided on a summery and slightly Southern theme, alliteration not intended. First, Mom boiled some corn, which we served plain with a touch of Earth Balance.

And to get our greens in, I decided to make my “cheater’s” braised collards. These are collard greens that taste sweet enough to have been cooked for a good long time, but actually take no more than a few minutes. The trick is to flash steam the collards before you give them a sautee — this allows you to retain some texture and brightness while imparting plenty of flavor (there is nothing that creeps me out more than dark green/brownish collards–ICK).

Cheater’s Braised Collards (serves 2 people who really like dark leafies)

Begin with a small head of collard greens. Wash them all, remove the toughest and thickest stems, and then slice them into ribbons, like so:

Next, steam the collards in a colander or simply a sieve that’s been placed over boiling water until they’re still bright green, but still a little crunchy.

Heat a teaspoon or two of coconut or olive oil in a large pan. Swirl it around to coat, and add your collards. Once they’re coated with oil, you want to add a generous tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a very generous tablespoon of agave nectar (or maple syrup) and tamari or sea salt to taste (I actually used about 4-5 squirts of Bragg’s). Continue to swirl them around till they’re well coated and taste salty/sour/sweet. Yum.

All together, it was a perfect summertime dinner. And Mom even loved her collards. (If I can get her to love kale next time, I’ll really celebrate.)

In the meantime, I celebrated with corn on the cob, and Mom celebrated by stealing my camera for embarrassing candid photos.

Thanks Mom.

The next morning, I awoke to the cozy and welcoming sight of my Mom’s lovely, light-filled kitchen. I love my little kitchen, and I’d never trade it in, but I have forgotten how nice it is to cook in the light of day (my kitchen window looks out onto a stuffy air shaft).

I had also forgotten (since I’m a French press snob) how nice it is to make coffee by flipping a switch.

And I had forgotten — but was grateful to remember — that Mom also likes coffee that’s strong enough to burn a hole in your stomach wake you up quickly.

After a brief gym gaunt, I got to making some blueberry vegan pancakes. I am not a baker or pancake maker by nature — I usually mess up — but these basic vegan pancakes have always given me a pretty generous margin of error.

Vegan Blueberry Pancakes (yields 6 large pancakes, or 2 servings)

2/3 cup spelt or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tbsp flax seed dissolved in 1 1/2 tbsp water (this is what vegan bakers call a “flax egg”)
dash salt
2 tsps agave nectar
2 tsps coconut or olive oil
3/4 cup rice, soy, or almond milk (I like rice milk in this recipe)
1/4 cup blueberries

Mix all ingredients but the blueberries together till wet and incorporated, but not over mixed.

If you’re a perfectionist, you might want to add the blueberries to the tops of your pancakes as soon as they hit the griddle. If you’re not (I’m not, at least not with pancakes), add them once the mix is mixed.

Heat a griddle over a medium flame and spray with coconut oil or olive oil cooking spray. Drop the batter in 1/4 cup blobs onto the griddle.

The key to making perfect pancakes — or at least, pancakes that aren’t a giant mess — is to really try hard not to touch them for a bit once they hit the griddle. As soon as you see lots of air bubbles rising to the tops of the side that’s facing you, you can test the edges. If they feel solid, carefully pry your spatula underneath the pancake, and flip!

Leave it on side #2 till the pancake is obviously cooked through, and continue till batter is used up. You should have six large pancakes.

Serve with earth balance (if desired) and agave (Mom’s plate).

Or, if you’re me, smother them in banana and a touch of real maple syrup (yum).

My opinion was that the pancakes were pretty great. Mom liked them, but thought they had too many blueberries. I sort of agree, but then…the blueberries are my favorite part

Coffee, vegan pancakes, and a heated discussion about French literature. It was a standard morning in my Mom’s house.

After our chat, my Mom paused and said, “you made food you thought I’d really like last night. I appreciate that.” For a moment I wondered what she meant–don’t I always try to make her stuff she’ll like?–and then it was obvious: as much as I love to cook for my Mom, I do have the habit of infiltrating her apartment with heaps of raw kale, raw soups, and raw zucchini slices filled with cashew cheese. She’s pretty open minded, but some of my more “out there” uncooking–though dear to my heart–is a little hardcore for her. These crowd pleasers are better offerings to make, and Mom, I’ll be happy to make many more.

But you’re still getting massaged kale salad every Christmas eve, Mom. Sorry.

Stay tuned for more staycation 2010, and have a great Friday!

xo

Sesame Noodles, Raw and Cooked

Thanks for so many sweet words about the wedding photos. I’m glad you got to see how beautiful the ceremony was, and how exquisite Chloe looked. I’ll try to smile with my mouth open more often–in fact, I’m rather ashamed that my insecurities have manifested themselves in quasi-habitual lockjaw.

I definitely second Kathleen’s request for a guest post from Chloe!

Now that the Choosing Raw epithalamium is compelete, it’s time to get back to our main interest: food. With only a few exceptions, I haven’t prepared much of anything in the last two days that isn’t a salad or doesn’t come in a plastic bag labeled “Food for Life” (i.e., Ezekiel sprouted grain products). Boring. After a long weekend with not enough sleep, I did replenish myself with my nutrient dense salad of the week:

That would be my own spin on Ani Phyo’s almond ginger pate (a similar recipe can be found in the demo here) along with Lydia’s crackers, loads of lemon juice, a touch of flax oil, radishes, and raw kale. Hit the spot!

Do you enjoy Chinese food? I can’t say I’ve ever been lucky enough to try any of the many authentic Chinese regional cuisines, but I, like most people, have tried standardized Chinese American takeout. It’s not my favorite on the whole, but there are one or two dishes I love the taste of–namely, sesame noodles. Now, according to my own fleeting efforts at research, cold sesame noodles don’t use much sesame at all. Instead, they’re made from peanut butter and sesame oil. There’s nothing wrong with this (aside from false advertising), unless you happen to be one of the estimated 3 million Americans with a peanut allergy. Then, the choice to cook with peanuts–or even to have peanut reside on your hands–becomes hazardous. Even if you’re like me, and you have no food allergies whatsoever, you may choose to be leery of peanuts. While I certainly don’t think they’re terrible for you, I do think that they’re a common GMO crop, and that they may be mucous forming. In all, I’m not terrified of peanuts when I happen upon them, but when it’s easy for me to make a choice, I’ll almost always opt for a different kind of nut or nut butter.

This choice becomes really easy in the case of cold sesame noodles, because I happen to be a tahini fanatic! With temperatures climbing up into the 90s, now is a perfect time not only for raw foods, but also for cooked foods served cool. I suggest you start here, with a sesame noodle dish that’s actually full of sesame. It begins with a sauce:

Sesame Noodle Sauce (serves 4)

4 tbsp tahini (I like the raw Artisana variety, but you can use roasted if it’s what you have)
2 tbsp tamari or nama shoyu
3/4 tsp ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp water

Mix all ingredients by hand or in a blender.

This sauce is quite versatile–it would be just as lovely over a salad or stirfry or brown rice dish as it is over noodles. But over noodles I wanted it, and over noodles it went.

I’m often asked why I don’t eat more pasta, and whether or not I “miss” it. It’s a query founded upon the vexing assumption that I’ve “given up” pasta in an attempt to be a better saint–which I have not–or that I avoid it because of carbohydrate content. Let me quickly bat down that latter idea: I haven’t met too many starches (whole grain ones, that is) I didn’t like. I also don’t shun pasta because I think it’s unhealthy, or because it’s cooked. It’s just not something I think about very often, and I really do prefer zucchini pasta most of the time.

That said, most of the time is not always. Sometimes, I do have a hankering for a whole grain pasta. When I do, I like two brands: Tinkyada brown rice pasta (which is, in my opinion, the best whole grain pasta out there) and my personal favorite: soba noodles. These buckwheat based noodles are my absolute favorite, and I always have some of them in my pantry for nights when I’m not in the mood for quinoa, barley, rice, or millet. They’re terrific with steamed veggies, mirin, and nama shoyu, with my Asian dressing, or tossed in a vinaigrette. And apparently, they’re great with my sesame noodle sauce. Behold:

This was a single serving of soba noodles mixed with 1/4 sliced bell pepper, 1 small grated carrot, 1/3 cup peas, and 1/4 julienned zucchini, dressed in about 2-3 tbsp sesame noodle sauce. Paired with a salad, it was a hearty but light summer dinner.

The next day, I whipped up a raw version of the dish, subbing zucchini pasta, which I lazily made on my mandolin, rather than using (and having to clean) my spiralizer:

Same proportions: 2-3 tbsp dressing for the “pasta.” Again, I served it up with greens. And once again, it was absolutely delicious.

A simple tasty, and seasonally appropriate dish that can make equally tasty raw or cooked vegan dinners–what’s not to like?

I’m slowly easing back into life as usual post wedding, and hope that this week goes quickly. So far, it’s flying by. Have a great evening!

xo

Spring Quinoa Pilaf

Great responses to my dynamic wardrobe post, guys. I loved hearing your input, and I’m so glad that some of you were inspired to donate an ill-fitting garment or two!

I’m admit that when I shared my recipe for sprouted wheatberry salad last week, I wasn’t sure how much interest it would get. Sprouting isn’t for everyone; the very idea of it seems to freak some people out. So you can imagine my happiness when so many of you liked the post and expressed some interest in trying more sprouted grains. That’s great! I hope you do.

The following recipe is a great place to start. Why? Because it involves sprouting quinoa, which is one of the fastest and easiest pseudograins to sprout. It requires less soak time than wheatberries do (8-12 hours as opposed to 24) and sprouts in about a day. There’s really no simpler sprouting project for a newbie, and sprouted quinoa happens to be delicious, too. Unlike wheat and buckwheat, which can get a little bitter and starchy when sprouted, quinoa retains its lightness and nutty flavors. It’s a versatile and nourishing foundation for all sorts of meals.

In spite of our peculiar temperatures this June — superhot, super cool, and hot again — we still have some late spring vegetables pouring into the farmer’s market. I missed the zenith of this year’s asparagus and shelling pea crops (shame on me), but fortunately some of the bounty is still around. Traditionally, I make risottos, rice dishes, and grain pilafs with asparagus and fresh spring peas each spring, and I’m delighted that I have a chance to keep the tradition alive this year, if a month or two late. And since I had sprouted quinoa ready for the using last weekend, it was a perfect time to throw together what is possibly my very favorite grain dish. Here it is, in all of its light, bright glory.

Spring Quinoa and Asparagus Pilaf (serves 2)

1 cup sprouted quinoa (instructions below)
3/4 cup asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup green peas (fresh is best, but you can use frozen if you must)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped dill
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

To sprout the quinoa, soak 1/2 cup quinoa in filtered water in a mason jar for 12 hours. Rinse the quinoa, and return it to the jar (without water). Place paper towel, a cheesecloth, or a nut milk bag over the top of the jar, and secure it with a rubber band. Lay the jar on its side in a warm place and leave it alone for a day or so. When you return, the quinoa should be tender and have sprouted little tails, like so.

Store the quinoa in the fridge till you’re ready to use it, but note that it won’t stay fresh for more than another day or two.

When you’re ready to make the recipe, begin by blanching the asparagus and peas in boiling water for one minute, then transferring them to an ice bath (or cold running water) for another minute. Shake them dry. You CAN keep the veggies 100% raw if you like, but I prefer the slight tenderness that blanching will give them.

Mix the veggies, sprouted quinoa, and other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Serve!

This recipe proves more than any other that simple is best. Every time I make it, I feel as though I should add more ingredients or use more complex combinations of herbs. Then I put it all together–just grains, greens, salt, lemon, and dill–and realize that to tamper any more with it would be heresy. It’s perfect, just the way it is.

I hope you’re gearing up for a nice and sunny weekend. I’ve got a significant few days ahead of me: Chloe is getting married on Saturday (gah!), and I’m a bridesmaid. This means that I’m leaving for my happy place in less than twenty-four hours for what I am sure will be a fun, tearful, exciting, nostalgic, and generally beautiful three days. While I’m gone, you’ll be getting two lovely guest posts (full of tips for eating healthy on the go, as I’ve been all month). And you can expect a major photo recap next week, when I’m back. For those of you who want a sneak peek, I can promise you the following:

1) I’m getting a tasty vegan wedding dinner
2) Chloe’s dress is almost as exquisite as she is — I know, because I helped her pick it out
3) I will cry. A lot. I’m hoping not to get my pink frock streaked with mascara. We’ll see how well I do.

xo

Sprouted Wheatberry Salad

Friday! Friday! Friday!

Thank you so much for the thoughtful responses to my conscious shopping post. What I’m hearing is that most of us aren’t carrying our conscientious food habits into our habits as consumers of clothing, shoes, and accessories. But it’s never too late to start!

Each month, I get countless emails about sprouting. What can I sprout? Why should I sprout it? Do I have to sprout it to get nutritional benefits?  How does one sprout something? Is it safe?

I’m delighted to see such a healthy interest in sprouting, though I also have to confess to you that I’m not an expert. Readers often assume that I sprout all of my nuts, seeds, and grains; they’re wrong! I often don’t. Sprouting is a wonderful practice, but I consider it an optional one. If you don’t do it, I assure you that you’ll survive.

What does it mean to sprout something, and why do it? Simply put, sprouting initiates the growth process of a seed, grain, or seed-grain. When a grain is sprouted, some of its complex carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars, which are easier for our body to digest that long chains of starch. Some of the grain’s protein, likewise, is broken down into amino acids, which spares our bodies the labor of breaking it down later on. Most significantly, sprouting wicks away a grain, nut, or seed’s enzyme inhibitors and naturally occurring tannins; these are compounds that reside in the skin of the nuts, seeds, and grains, and they’re very slow to digest. The goal of soaking and sprouting is to “de-activate” them, so that our bodies face no barriers when they digest and assimilate the food.

Sprouting, soaking, and germination aren’t the same things. When you soak nuts, seeds, and grains, you break down their enzyme inhibitors. You also reduce phytic acid, a compound that binds with minerals in the grain–such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc–and makes it difficult for our bodies to absorb them. Soaking neutralizes the phytic acid, and “releases” those minerals for our bodies’ use. Soaking initiates germination (growth), and if you then rinse grains and leave them in a warm, damp place, they’ll begin to sprout.

Which grains can be sprouted? The simplest grains to sprout are wheat, kamut, spelt, barley, and rye. The most sproutable “pseudograins” — or “seed-grains,” as some people call them–are millet, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, and wild rice. I’ve experimented with sprouting all of these grains at home, and my favorites are quinoa, millet, and wheatberries (spelt and kamut are runners up!).

How often do I sprout grains? I’ll be frank: I don’t much like the taste of sprouted grains — at least not in comparison to cooked ones. And while I recognize the benefits of soaking and sprouting, I also believe that cooked grains still retain a great deal of their nutrient value; soaking and sprouting are means of optimizing absorption, but choosing not to soak or sprout won’t negate the value of your grains.

There are times, though, when sprouting grains becomes my prep method of choice. Surprisingly, I sprout grains most often when I’m busy. Why? Because once the grains are sprouted, they demand no prep time! If I have a sprouted grain on hand, I can literally throw it into a salad, mix it with veggies for a cold grain salad, or eat it plain; if I come home and want cooked grains, on the other hand, I need to put aside 20 minutes – 1 hour for the cooking process. And when it’s 9 pm after a grueling day of work, watching a simmering pot for half an hour is really the last thing I feel like doing. Having sprouted grains in my fridge means access to a meal component that’s versatile and nutrient dense; I can simply plate the grains and go.

As I battle my summer schedule, sprouted grains are making frequent appearances in the CR kitchen. Last week, I whipped up a batch of one of my very favorite sprouted grains: wheatberries. As a rule, whole wheat is less nutrient rich than some of my other favorite grains (such as millet, quinoa, or even kamut and spelt). Still, it’s a terrific source of fiber (which can help to manage cholesterol, contributes to heart health, and keeps us feeling sated), manganese (which is an enzyme activator and an aid in lipid synthesis), magnesium (which helps to keep bones healthy). In other words, it’s got tons of nutrient benefits. It’s also pretty tasty

Soaking and sprouting grains — whatever grains they may be — is far easier than you’d expect!

Today, I’ll offer a short grain sprouting tutorial:

1) Place one full cup of wheatberries in a large mason jar. Fill it with 2 1/2 cups filtered water. Let it sit, open, at room temperature for one full day.

2) 24 hours later, drain the wheatberries and rinse them well.

3) Return the soaked grains to your mason jar. Take a paper towel or cheesecloth, put it over the mouth of the jar, and secure it there with a rubber band. Turn the jar on its side, and leave it be in a room temperature nook of your kitchen.

4) Let the jar sit for 12-24 hours — I almost always give it a full day. At the end of this time period, you can remove the paper towel or cloth, and you’ll see that the grains have sprouted little “tails,” like so!

At this point, the grains are ready for consumption. You should have about 2 cups of sprouted grains at the ready. It’s. That. Simple.

See? No fuss! Sprouting is a cinch, and once you get used to it, you’ll love the process. Right now, I’ve got a jar or two of different grains sprouting or soaking almost all the time; it’s such a relief to have them at the ready when I need to toss a meal together on the fly. Note that different grains take different amounts of time to sprout; wheatberries take a long time, relatively speaking, but grains like quinoa sprout in a jiffy. As you get used to sprouting, you’ll get a sense of the times that different grains demand.

What to do with you sprouted grains? I’m glad you asked. As you know, I’m a big fan of throwing grains+avocado onto a nutrient dense salad. I also love mixing sprouted grains with banana and nut milk for breakfast. Sometimes, I grind sprouted grains and put them in cracker or bread dough.

Most of all, I love to use my sprouted grains in grain salads. These are, quite simply, big batches of sprouted grains mixed with raw veggies, oil, and a hint of acid in the form of lemon or vinegar. Here, friends, is one of my favorites.

Sprouted Wheatberry Salad (serves 4)

2 cups sprouted wheatberries
1/2 cup dried apples, chopped into small pieces
2 cups shredded dino or curly kale
1 cup chopped or grated carrots
1-2 tsp agave nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp flax oil

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

« Previous Page — Next Page »