Holiday Cranberry Sauce

by meaghan // November 20, 2007 // No Comments

What is a more grown-up way to get that sweet, tart, cranberry fix that goes along with your holiday meal?
Now I’m not trying to knock down anyone’s favorite canned cranberry mold, but how about a homemade orange ginger cranberry sauce, with crunchy, toasted pecans! Made with using fresh, yes fresh cranberries! This recipe is so much fun, and you and everyone that surrounds it will be amazed!
And you can feel like a healthy grown-up too!

This recipe is delicious served warm. You can pre make this in advance, if you feel overwhelmed with all the cooking on Thanksgiving. Just make sure you stir in the pecans minutes before serving so they hold a slight crunch. If you want to lower the glycemic level, agave nectar works as a great substitute for the sugar.
This recipe also allowed me to use my microplane, for grating that hard ginger. A microplane is a super sharp zester, you not only use for your citrus, but coconut, whole cloves and nutmeg as well! What better season than fall to go out and get one! They are heavy duty durable, and last a long time! Zesting has never been easier!

If you can find a juicing orange, you will have less of a hard time trying to get the fresh juice out of the orange. And as a bonus, they usually don’t have any seeds!Â Â Fresh cranberries should be at any grocery store this time of year. If you can’t find em’ get your butt to the farmers markets! I know you can definitely find them there!Â Did I forget to mention all the Vitamin C this recipe has to offer?!
Ingredients:

1/2 cup organic cane sugar, granulated

1 orange

1 tea. grated fresh ginger

4 cups of cranberries, fresh

1/2 cup pecans, toasted

***To toast your pecans, preheat your stove to 350 degrees. Spread you pecans evenly onto a cookie sheet. Place in oven and allow 4-5 minutes to toast. Be careful not to let them burn! Allow to cool, and chop till small (chocolate chip size) pieces.

Pick over your fresh cranberries and make sure non are discolored or shriveled.Â I’ve heard that rip cranberries ‘bounce’ but I am not urging you to make a mess in the kitchen! If they are slightly firm and have a reddish hue, your good to go!
Grate the orange peel and ginger and place in a medium saucepan along with the sugar. Add the juice from the orange. Over medium heat, cook until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and reduce temperature to low, and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes until you hear them pop! Cool sauce till warm, and add those chopped Pecans!

Save some of the orange zest and pecans to garnish!
I don’t have a picture of my finished project this year yet, but I wanted to share this before the holiday! Have a safe and fun weekend everyone!

Hillcrest Farmers Market

by meaghan // November 13, 2007 // 2 Comments

Ahhh, Sunday mornings. Upon wakening, I open my eyes, do a quick stretch, grab my bike, and I’m out the door. OK so it doesn’t happen quite like that every Sunday morning, but the one thing that I do enjoy waking up early on the weekends for, is the Hillcrest Farmers Market. Some of you might argue with me over which is the best of the 20 plus markets San Diego has to offer, but I think I’m sticking with Hillcrest! Located in the DMV parking lot, every Sunday from 9am-1pm, rain or shine, summer & throughout the small season of what is called winter here in Southern California.
There are so many wonderful vendors, but heres some clips of my favorites!

First, and my most favorite, is La Milpa Organica Farm stand. They carry a HUGE selection of the most vita-rich greens imaginable. Ranging from chards, kales, dandelions, collards, mustards, spring mix, and any other dark leaf you can think of. Lately they’ve had a braising mix, which is a blend of all their amazing greens! Heres a pick of them before cooking!

Another new favorite edition of mine, is the Majestic Garlic booth. Geni is usually there with a ton of different flavors to try. All of their spreads are always vegan friendly, and mostly raw. Try the cucumber mint, tarragon, and the smokey flavors! Great for sandwich spreads, cracker dipping, or baked potatoes. Don’t put up a fuss about the garlic breath either! Garlic has been used to fight disease spreading agents, and is super high in anti-oxidants.

Who can walk buy the raw pie guys without stopping to look at the vibrant pizzas! Live pesto pizza is a favorite, made with a flax cracker crust, pesto sauce, and topped with fresh veggies. The also have all different flavors of dessert pies, as well as zucchini noodle pasta! Raw foodies beware!

And the coolest kids you’ll meet at the market, with the best organic avocados, chiramoyas, and friendliest smiles….. Creekside Tropicals!

So if you haven’t been, you should. Support our wonderful local farmers! Your money goes directly into the hands of the farmer, you know exactly where your food is coming from, and you get the best deals in town! What more could you want? I’ll personally provide a wake up call for anyone that wants to bike down on a Sunday morning with me:) We can shop, then munch on some vegan tamales, and samosas! Your treat!

Rice Paper Lunch Fun

by meaghan // November 8, 2007 // No Comments

Recently, I’ve been using rice paper wrappers to make various versions of spring rolls.
If you haven’t worked with rice paper before, HAVE NO FEAR! When treated gently, and with care, they can be your new best friend. Not to mention they are unbelievably cheap! You can buy a package of rice paper wrappers for under $2 at a local Asian market. Rice paper is usually gluten free, only slightly cooked, and adds an edge to just your basic tortilla.
Here’s how to use em’

Fill a large shallow bowl, with filtered water. Submerge a rice paper sheet in the water, follow with another. Meanwhile, make sure you have a clean, dry, table to roll you wraps. After about 3-4 min. take one out, allowing to drip off excess water, and place on prep table. Follow with the other paper, laying vertically below, and covering the bottom 2 inches of the first paper wrap. Allow another minute to dry
Try to assemble your fillings in a horizontal line, across the bottom rice paper. Once you’ve stacked them, pull the bottom part of the rice paper over the fillings and start rolling upward, tucking and GENTLY securing to a hold. Slice in half, and serve.

Fillings can range from any favorite cold filling, a salad you bought at the market, leftover veggies with your favorite salad dressing. Go for color! They look so pretty when sliced and served!

My favorite fresh veggie filling consists of shredded purple cabbage, julienned yellow bell peppers, alfalfa sprouts, sliced avocado, fresh chopped cilantro and mint, with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. For a dipping sauce try nama shoyu with some thinly sliced scallions.

In the mood for something more hearty? How about some slices of Tofurky, a spread of tofutti cream cheese, fresh chives, sliced avocado, spring mix, and a dash of hot sauce!

These pack well for lunch in a plastic container, and will refrigerate well if wrapped tightly:)

Saag Paneer, Pakoras, and the Queen of Fragrance.

by meaghan // October 24, 2007 // No Comments

Indian flare nights are always exciting at the homestead. Rich spices & flavors, fresh vegetables, and wholesome grains. I also love meals where there are plenty of condiments to choose from. Chutneys are a delicious accompaniment to Indian dishes. Traditionally they contain fruit, vinegar, sugar, and spices, and can range from mild to hot, chunky or smooth. So tonight we made a HUGE meal, with the hopes of leftovers carrying us through the following day.

If you live in San Diego, I have recently been introduced to our “Little India.” And might I add, I can’t believe its taken me this long to get there!
Over in Clairemont, by Black Mountain road, you can find all sorts of cheap, Indian grocery stores, restaurants, and other fun things such as fashion outlets for saroongs! I was blown away with the minimal prices, as well as the authentic selection of food. For a couple staple items, I grabbed a big sack of basmati rice, a bag of imported chick pea flour, incense, bulk turmeric, cold lychee drinks, and some culinary tips from the store-run family!

Saag Paneer tends to be a favorite amongst us veg-heads. I believe its a result of all the minerals we intake when we eat large doses of spinach. But whats a girl to do when most of her favorite Indian restaurants are consumed with using ghee, and paneer?
Get to work in the kitchen thats what!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Paneer, it is a homemade cheese, made by curdled milk and lemon or lime juice. It is quite similar to tofu, so its easy to substitute. Ghee is actually a very healthy way of eating butter, but of course, I ALWAYS use my favorite, earth balance butter. I couldn’t give away my favorite saag recipe, but here is my pakora recipe. This is awesome for those of you trying to stay away from wheat and gluten. It is also *super* fun and simple to make! If you have a mortar and pestle, I suggest using that to grind your seeds and mix your other spices. If not, a coffee grinder will grind them just fine!

Assorted Veggies, broccoli & cauliflower florets are a hit! If your going to be using thicker vegetables, such as yams, or carrots, try steaming them first to soften up.

1 1/2 cups chick-pea flour (besan flour)
1 cup filtered water
2 tea. turmeric
1 1/2 tea. cumin seeds
1 tea. mustard seeds
1 tea. garam masala
1/2 tea. sea salt
1/2 tea. hing
1/2 tea. cayenne

***Start by mixing the flour and water in a bowl to make a stiff dough, then adding a little more while beating with wire whisk, to make a thick batter. Let sit for 30 min.
Meanwhile, grind and mix your seeds & spices.
After 30 minutes, mix spices in, batter should still be thick.

If you have one of those cute little home use deep fryers, they will turn out perfect, but those of us who don’t…..
Heat a pan with a fair amount of oil. (I use sunflower oil)
Submerge a vegetable floret into the batter, then quickly & gently drop into heated oil.
If entire floret is not covered, batter may slightly fall, so just be quick on turning them. When all sides are slightly browned, remove and drain on paper towel. Serve at once, accompanied by a sweet mango chutney.

Echo-Project Festival, GA.

by meaghan // October 15, 2007 // No Comments

No unfortunately I didn’t get to go. But yes, deep down, the dead head inside me would have liked to see Phil and Friends, and grubbed on some southern style vegan food all weekend long! The Echo-Project Festival primarily concentrates on waste management, energy resources, and habitat restoration. Spreading environmental awareness, all of the campgrounds and stages are powered by alternative energy sources! And with acts like The Flaming Lips, The Killers, The Roots, Thievery Corporation, Spoon, Cypress Hill, Moe, MMW, and of course The Album Leaf, whats to stop us echo-heads from going? Drew came back with some great pics. No credit to me!

Long live Jerry:)

AND Jerry Rolls!!!!

Father of the Electronic Synthesizer….

I was reminded of years back, of the Gathering of the Vibes Festival, held once again in Bridgeport Ct. This amazing Solar Smoothie guy, blended your smoothies with his stationary bicycle. So cool. I wonder if I could build one in my backyard…. If not in mine, I’m sure Vieve would appreciate it!

Rub my belly Chocolate Puddin’

by meaghan // October 10, 2007 // No Comments

Yes, even Buddha would appreciate a healthy chocolate pudding every now and again.

As I’ve said before, chocolate is my favorite feel-good super food!
If you’ve read the key lime pie post, I mentioned being fascinated with my new hip grocery item, carbonated soy-whip cream! So this is what else I did with it.
Simple, yet elegant, Rich Chocolate Pudding. Made with only a few ingredients, this dessert can be made in a jiffy. Its also a bonus that most of the ingredients are a probable staple in most veggie pioneer kitchens!

This recipe is really about getting the basics, and using your own taste buds.

Start with 1 pound of silken tofu, drain and set on paper towel for 15 min.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt 1.75 cups of your favorite vegan chocolate chips with about a 1/4 cup of soymilk (I use grain sweetened sunspire chips!)
Crumble tofu, and place in food processor. Add melted chocolate, 1 Tab. of coconut oil, and 1/2 a scraped vanilla bean.
Blend till smooth. Test for sweetness, and richness. If you feel you need a little more sweetener, add in some blue agave syrup. For a boost, you could add a teaspoon of extract such as mint, almond, or orange.
This makes about 4-5 servings. Get funky and add some whip cream, chocolate chips, sprinkled cinnamon, shaved coconut, etc. Have fun!

Some more recent fun facts about Chocolate:

I’ve recently read an article on chocolate fueling our cars….
Well sort of. But how???
Scientists extract hydrogen through gases in waste food. They then began converting formic acid to hydrogen like mad.
The discovery of a way to extract hydrogen from food waste could be a real breakthrough for both industry and the environment, because the process isn’t restricted to chocolate waste. It works equally well on many other types of food waste.
The ability to convert food waste into clean renewable energy instead of garbage has the potential to transform the food industry. Using this process, food factories could conceivably use their own waste products to power their manufacturing operations, or to fuel a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Wouldn’t that be nice? I still have no sympathy for the Hummer drivers of the world, but this guy gets a star…….
The first H20 powered Hummer!

Key Lime Pie

by meaghan // October 5, 2007 // 1 Comment

Just when you thought you’ve had all the hip whip, tofu whips, mylk whips, and cashew creams you could handle, some amazing company has to top off the cake.
I was getting some grub at Rancho’s market in North park, and to my surprise, they had organic vegan pressurized whip cream! When I saw this, something deep inside me screamed key lime pie, cappuccino’s, chocolate chip funny face pancakes, and stove top chocolate pudding. It also reminded me of throwing my head back and filling up my entire mouth with as much of it as possible, even if that meant using the whole bottle. With that thought, I bought 2 cans of delicious-organic-vegan-pressurized whip cream:).
Meringue topping always used to gross me out when I was little. But how I loved that tart key lime custard! I had an amazing vegan version at Food Swings in Brooklyn years back. This is my take on it, with my new sweet whip companion. One of the tricks is using the most silken tofu you can find. I used the Mori-nu brand.

Graham Cracker Crust:

3 cups Graham cracker crumbs (hand crumble crackers if you must!)
2 Tab. Safflower oil
1 Tab. water, purified
Sprinkle of sea salt

***Mix graham cracker crumbs with sea salt. Then add the water and oil, and mix till firm. You may need to add a little more water if still dry. You want the mixture to just gently hold, but not be too damp. Press into pie pan evenly using spatula or spoon.

Key Lime Filling:

1 package silken tofu, mori-nu
12 oz. tofutti cream cheese
1/2 cup key lime juice
2 1/2 tea. lime rind zest
2/3 cup blue agave
1/2 pod vanilla bean
1 Tab. coconut oil

***First, in food processor, blend tofu, vegan cream cheese, and lime juice till smooth. Add the lime zest, and agave. Scrape out the vanilla bean and add, along with the coconut oil. Check for sweetness, etc. then pour into crusted pie pan. Allow to set in fridge for at least 3 hours. Get funky with some whip topping, or the filling works great as pudding with some whip cream as well:)

Lentil Seed Loaf

by meaghan // September 15, 2007 // No Comments

Yum. Yum. Yum.

Its been far too long since I’ve made any kind of loaf. But this one came out so delicious, it made up for lots of lost loaf time! To top, I made a thick nutritional yeasty gravy, with a classic side of garlicky mashed potatoes. This is definitely a filler up meal, so go easy on those potatoes, and make sure you eat all your loaf first! Lentils, as most of us know are high in iron & proteins. Lentils also contain dietary fiber, vitamin B1, and minerals. Health magazine has selected lentils as one of the five healthiest foods. Thats right, so eat up!

Lentil Seed Loaf:

4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1.5 cups lentils, red look the prettiest
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup bulghur
1/3 cup each, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, & pine nuts
2 cups yellow onion, minced
2/3 cup celery, minced
2/3 cup carrots, minced
2 Tab. oil
2 tea. each of sage & thyme
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tea. sea salt
1/2 tea. blk. pepper
1 Tab. parsley
1 Tab. tamari
2 cups oats, quick cooking

*** Preheat oven to 325 degrees. First, bring the 4 cups water, bay leaf, and 1.5 cups of lentils, to a boil. Allow to simmer till tender, about 30 min. Drain and save 1 cup of vegetable broth.
Next bring the 1/2 cup water to a boil. Stir in the bulghur, and remove from heat.
On a sheet pan, toast seeds for about 10 min. Allow to cool. In a large skillet, saute veggies until tender. Stir in parsley & tamari. Add in the toasted seeds & nuts, lentils, bulghur, oats, vegetable broth and stir well. Add more salt, etc. to taste. Place in an oiled 4×7 bread pan, and bake uncovered for 50 min. Cover with foil, and bake for another 20 min. Slice and serve!
….And don’t forget your favorite gravy.