Food Rules

I picked up a great little book today- Michael Pollan's Food Rules. It's a really quick read- only 112 pages and mainly just common sense stuff, but it's fantastic. I highly recommend his other books if you're interested. 

Here's the info from amazon.com:

A pocket compendium of food wisdom-from the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food.  Michael Pollan, our nation's most trusted resource for food-related issues, offers this indispensible guide for anyone concerned about health and food. Simple, sensible, and easy to use, Food Rules is a set of memorable rules for eating wisely, many drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat-buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is the perfect guide for anyone who would like to become more mindful of the food we eat. 

Here are just a few of his rules:

See, not earth shattering stuff, but definitely makes you think! Tomorrow kicks off the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart. "Based on research by Neal Barnard, M.D., one of America’s leading health advocates, this program is designed for anyone who wants to explore and experience the health benefits of a vegan diet. Low-fat vegan—plant-based—diets are the easiest way to trim excess weight, prevent diabetes, cut cholesterol, lower blood pressure, prevent and reverse heart disease, and reduce cancer risk. They even trim our carbon footprint." 

I'm participating even though I already follow a vegan diet. I think it will be a great way to get some new recipes and to learn more about how to easily incorporate the vegan diet into my lifestyle. If you're interested, here's the link: 21-Day Vegan Kickstart

Weekend Fun in Fayetteville

Some shots from a quick trip to Fayetteville with my friend Amy. We hit up the farmer's market, had some yummy greek food for lunch, went to an art fair and the Fayetteville square.

Thanksgiving Desserts--- Vegan-ized.

The countdown is on for Thanksgiving and I'm so excited! Mike and I alternate holidays with our families and this year is a Bull (aka my family) year. We'll spend Christmas with Mike's family (ummm on a freaking fabulous Caribbean cruise, but that's for another post!!). Normally for Thanksgiving I make a huge turkey, and all the typical dishes.. but since this is our first Thanksgiving as vegans, the menu is being modified a bit!

My parents are bringing a few seafood dishes, since they're still meat eaters and it will travel better than a bird. I'll be making some side dishes, and most importantly desserts! I have cheated a bit and ordered a vegan organic carrot cake from our favorite local co-op store, but I'll actually be making the other desserts. I thought I'd share the recipes:

The Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ever

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS
1 can (16 ounces) pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice, optional
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
2-3 tablespoons cornstarch to firm up the pie filling
1 package (10-12 ounces) silken/soft tofu
1 9-in unbaked vegan pie shell

STEPS
Preheat oven to 425 F. 
Blend the pumpkin and sugar.
Add salt, spices, cornstarch and tofu, mix thoroughly. 
Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 F and bake for another 60 minutes. 
Chill and serve. 
NOTE: Don't use the low fat tofu, then the pie tastes like it was made with tofu.
We'll be topping it with some non-dairy whipped cream. YUM!


Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Cranberries

Candied Cranberries

INGREDIENTS
2 Cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained

2 Cups sugar substitute (either maple syrup or agave nectar, whichever you prefer)

STEPS 
Prick each cranberry several times with straight pin.

Bring sugar substitute and water to boil over medium heat.

Cook until sugar reaches 230 F on candy thermometer.

Add cranberries, and cook ten minutes or until syrup gels a bit.

Remove berries with slotted spoon and lay out on plate.
Save in refrigerator for adding to top of cheesecake later.



Crust 

INGREDIENTS
Pre-made organic vegan graham-cracker crust (for ease)
or, if you prefer to make your own
10 sheets vegan graham crackers

1/4 tsp salt

2 oz Earth Balance butter

STEPS (if you aren't using premade)

Process crackers and salt into fine crumbs in food processor.
Add Earth Balance and pulse to combine.

Press mixture into bottom and half way up sides of 9 inch spring form pan.



Cheesecake Filling

INGREDIENTS 
12 oz. silken tofu

8 oz. vegan cream cheese

3/4 can Whole Foods Organic Pumpkin Pie Filling

1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon



STEPS
Puree all ingredients in food processor until very smooth, about 3-5 minutes.

Pour into crust and bake at 350 F for 50 minutes.

Chill completely in refrigerator at least 3 hours, up to overnight.

Garnish with candied cranberries, slice and serve.


I can't wait to make both of these! A big thanks to The Kind Life for being such an amazing online community and resource for vegans- both recipes and pictures from the site.

spelt flour? weird name but sooo good.

finally found a recipe for AMAZING vegan pancakes. I'm not kidding, best pancakes ever! They're quickly becoming our weekend tradition...

I had to snatch the picture before Mike ate them all! haha

Here is the super easy and super yummy recipe- all my substitutions are listed.

1 1/2 cups Organic Spelt Flour (we get ours from War Eagle Mill- a local mill, and they do deliver!)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs. honey (we use organic brown rice syrup, but non-veggies can use honey)
1 tbs. vegetable oil (we use coconut oil or olive oil because I never seem to have vegetable oil in the house)
1 1/4 cup soy milk (you could use regular milk too)

These cook fabulously- quick, easy and so good! We put a little bit of Earth Balance vegan butter and some maple syrup on top.

Don't Be Tardy For The Party

If you don't know the song title above, consider yourself lucky. I did manage to get it stuck in Mike's head this morning, so that was fun! haha
This is a completely random posts of odds and ends that I've gathered:

Bella and Edward...HOT!!
errr I mean Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. From Harper's or Vanity Fair, I can't remember.

 

 Next, I just discovered this stuff at the grocery store- I checked the ingredients and nothing looked suspicious. No casein or whey hiding in there... I was about to google it on my iPhone until I looked on the back of the label and found the certified vegan logo---SCORE!!! mmmm chocolate!!

 

Next, a good friend is working on a project for her daughters and we were talking about children's book artwork- Peter Rabbit and WTWTA came up-- I love the muted colors. So pretty!!

 

 

 

 okay, last thing--- a pic of me, as a ZOMBIE!! Disgusting, right?? Check out those cloudy eyes. The skin lesions- so gross!! LMAO Picnik.com is the photo editing site I use and I just had to try out the zombie feature before they got rid of the Halloween editing tools. :-)

 

taco night & a book recommendation

Not a very exciting post today but I snapped a few pictures with my iPhone while cooking dinner the other night and thought I'd use them. We have taco night about once a week in our house- it's Mike's favorite. :-) Since we don't eat meat we use Fantastic Foods vegan taco filling. It's easy, quick, tastes great and actually good for you!

--and a quick book recommendation-- I just finished The Kind Diet, written by Alicia Silverstone and I highly recommend it! Lots of great information and recipes- perfect for vegans and those who aspire to live a little healthier. It's not preachy, but does present a pretty strong argument for veganism. :-)

Eggplant and Pine Nut Rolled Lasagna

I had to share this awesome recipe with you guys. I came across a fantastic vegan blog: http://veganyumyum.com/

The recipes and pictures there are amazing! This is my second time making the eggplant and pine nut lasagna roll-ups and I'm hooked! Here are some pictures I took this evening when I made it for dinner.

The recipe:

Eggplant and Pine Nut Rolled Lasagna
Serves 4

8 Lasagna Noodles
1 Eggplant
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper
2+ Cups Marinara Sauce (your favorite)
Vegan Mozzarella cheese (or your favorite dairy mozzarella)

Pine Nut Spread
1 Cup Pine Nuts
1 Tbs Water
1/2 tsp White Wine Vinegar, or lemon juice
1 tsp Dried Italian Herbs
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Salt

Slice off both ends of the eggplant and peel.







Begin slicing the eggplant vertically, then slice those in half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.





Boil water for the lasagna noodles.



In a large skillet, begin browning the eggplant strips in olive oil. When strips are very tender and nicely browned on both sides, set aside.





Add lasagna to the boiling water.



Measure out one cup of pine nuts.



Add them to the same pan you used for the eggplant. Toast them over medium-low heat until golden brown, careful not to burn them.



Drain the noodles and set aside. I lay mine out on wax paper.





Add the pine nuts to a food processor. Grind the nuts then add the remaining ingredients for the pine nut spread. Process until well combined.







Spread over the noodles.



Place eggplant in the middle and roll.



Place seam side down in a baking dish.



This is the cheese we like:



Cover with the marinara sauce and the cheese.



Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve!