Awesome summer foods!

I wanted to tell you about some of the great things I've been eating since I got back from the big Europe trip (you can read about my trip here and here).  Let me go back and start with 4th of July:

I made some gazpacho and it was perfect for a hot day:

We had black bean burgers (on a sprouted english muffin, since that's all we had) and my potato salad:

And for dessert we had Kathy's awesome Silk Chocolate Mousse:

Moving on, I made Gena's Hemp Hummus, which is really delicious:

Then I put some in a sandwich with my kale salad:

I don't have a picture of it, but I'm totally addicted to Angela's  Tahini Lemon Dressing!! It is the best thing ever and so perfect for this hot summer weather!! I make large batches at a time now and it's great for dipping too, because it thickens up in the fridge :) Go make it...now!

I recently bought a Gardein product, because I had a coupon for it. We don't often buy this kind of thing, but once in a while is fine. I've heard good things about them, so we picked this up:

I heated them up in the microwave, like the package directions said. S liked them. He called them "smoky". They weren't my thing at all. The flavor of it was just weird. I didn't mind the texture, but...I don't know. I found the sauce to be a bit thick and gluey.  Have you had these before? I guess I'd be willing to try another "flavor" if I had coupons or something for it. But I wouldn't go out of my way for them.

I made them with my pesto:

Lemony Spinach Avocado Pesto:

1 avocado (Hass)
2 cups packed raw spinach, washed
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 small tomato, chopped (if adding to pasta)
raw almonds, chopped small (if adding to pasta)
salt to taste

Scoop out the avocado, minus the pit, and put it into a food processor. Add the spinach, lemon juice, and garlic. If you have a small food processor, like I do, you may want to add the spinach a handful at a time. You can scrape it down and add the next batch of spinach, etc.  Process until nice and creamy. Add the salt and process again. Add it to your pasta in a pot (if eating it with pasta) and add in the tomatoes and almonds. Let the tomatoes heat up and then it's ready! I liked it cold too. You can use it as a dip, with or without the tomatoes, and without the almonds.

And here a couple of finds from the store:

Coconut Bliss Ice Cream (If you want to win a coupon for this, and other items, enter today!!)

This stuff is GOOD!!!

And the latest from Galaxy Foods-vegan cream cheese (yum):

So, don't forget to enter to win some cool vegan food coupons....contest ends tonight!

What cool summer foods have YOU eaten lately?

Eat smart,
T.

Another Raw Pie: Chocolate Mousse/Strawberry

Don't forget to enter my very first giveaway here!!

I recently bought another raw "cook" book: "Raw Food Made Easy" by Jennifer Cornbleet.  It's published by Book Publishing Co. in Tennessee.  I already had this particular book, but the publishing company offered to send me any books I wanted to review here.  I will be reviewing the books they sent me sometime over the next month (Vitamin D:The Sunshine Vitamin and Sweet Utopia).  But since I already had this book, I thought I'd give a quick review.  

First of all, this book doesn't require much more than a blender and/or food processor, which is great, because I can't afford a dehydrator.  I like how she gives you a list (in the beginning of the book) of basic "kitchen staples" and equipment you'll need.  She also explains how to soak nuts and seeds, which is a big part of the raw food diet.  Now there's only a very small section of pictures in the middle of the book.  I always like my cookbooks with tons of color pictures, so that would be my only negative comment.  Yesterday, I tried my first recipe: Chocolate Tart with Strawberries.  Wow!  It's so good. It basically combines two of her other recipes in the book, her Almond Crust, and her Chocolate Mousse.  This is the first time I've made chocolate mousse out of avocados and it was even kid-tested last night with much success! Overall, this looks like a great book and I'm looking forward to trying more recipes. I only wish it had more pictures.

Update: You can find this chocolate mousse recipe on Jennifer Cornbleet's own website.

Other giveaways:

I just entered to win 5 FREE product coupons from Turtle Mountain, but I need YOUR help. Go to HeatherEatsAlmondButter & comment to win. Be sure to mention that I sent you. (that way we BOTH win)

A Life Factory bottle giveaway at the HealthyVoyager. (these bottles are cool!)

So....

Eat smart,

T.

Market Goods and a couple of easy recipes

Wow, I'm getting more and more behind in my blogging....I know I still have to post about our Disney trip.  I promise I will this week.

At least we got back to our market this week (we missed last week, since we were out of town).  Here's the stuff: baby spinach, red mustard greens, oranges, green onions, cauliflower, brown rice, cabbage, hydroponic tomatoes, parsley, Hakurei turnips, baby carrots, mizuna, green curly kale,  and red russian kale.

I found a great recipe for chocolate chia pudding, based on a bunch of different recipes online.  I bought the chia seeds (after reading all about them on other blogs) and thought it was time to use them.  It was really good....a bit crunchy and not too sweet.  It took about 40 minutes total, between the stirring and waiting for the chia seeds to plump up. Check out Love Veggies and Yoga's blog for the recipe.

I needed a snack last night, and so I made up a really great small salad with miso dressing.  Here's what was in the salad: mizuna, green onions, celery, carrots, parsley, and curly kale.

Tanya's Miso Salad Dressing:


2 tbsp miso paste, white
1/3 cup water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar


Mix with whisk.  I used half on my small salad, so you can double or triple the recipe for larger salads or more servings.

Here's another Quick and Easy Taco recipe:

2 corn tortillas (or however many tacos you want)
1/2 cup refried beans
1/2 cup cooked brown rice or barley (I had a mix of sweet rice and barley)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, grated or chopped
chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper
salsa


Mash the beans and rice together, set aside.  Heat 1/4 cup water in saute pan and add the onions, celery, and carrots.  Cook until soft.  Add the spices to taste, then add the bean/rice mixture and mix together well. Cook until heated through.  Heat the tortillas and spoon the mixture onto them.  Top with salsa.


New this week: Recommended Blog of the Week! I will try to recommend one blog each week that I find really interesting and hopefully you will too.

Today's Blogger of the Week: Love Veggies and Yoga

Until next time....
Eat smart,
T.

Quick Tacos

Today's Stash and cake in a cup!

First let's start with today's farmer's market.  Got a lot of good stuff, especially greens...yay greens!   But I was sad they had no meyer lemons this week, boooohooo.  I use a ton of lemons for dressing, or just squeezed onto rice.  Here's the loot: lacinato kale, curly kale, mustard greens, collard greens, baby spinach (is there such a thing as eating too many greens??), grapefruit, oranges, white button mushrooms, hydroponic tomatoes, purple top turnips, green onions, cilantro, brown rice, mizuna, and baby carrots.


And we stopped in at the local grocery store, Breaux Mart (you better not be making fun of the name...), while we were in NOLA this afternoon and look at what I got:

Exciting, no?  Why can't I find this stuff in my really local grocery store? Anyway, I got pretty excited at the store.  Oh, I forgot to include a picture of the frozen vegan burrito I found.  It was pretty low calorie and lowfat too (there were several other vegetarian burritos, but only one that was vegan).  I don't usually buy the prepared foods much anymore, but I thought this would be a nice treat in a hurry.

Last night I got a chocolate craving, and I found a recipe for Chocolate Cake in 5 Minutes.  Yup, you got it.  Chocolate cake right out of your cup!  I did adjust the recipe however, to make it vegan.  It didn't rise a ton, and I did it in a bowl, because I wasn't sure what would happen, hehehe.  I thought it might explode in the microwave.  But nope.  It was really good and not too sweet.  Here's my version:

Chocolate Cake in a Cup:
(adapted from Chocolate Cake in 5 Minutes)

4 tbsp whole wheat flour
3 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp unsw. cocoa powder
1 "EnerG" egg (the equivalent of one egg)
3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
3 tbsp water 


Mix the first 3 ingredients in a mug or bowl (microwaveable).  Add the "EnerG" egg and mix well.  Then add the almond milk and water.  Mix it up really well so it's not lumpy.  Microwave on High for 3 minutes.  You might want to keep an eye on it your first time, just to make sure it doesn't overflow or anything like that.  Wait until it stops rising (mine didn't rise much) and let it cool for a few minutes.  It's not too sweet, so you might want to up the agave, or sugar, or put some frosting on it, if you like really sweet cake.


I will actually be watching the Superbowl tomorrow, due to the fact that I live in New Orleans.  It's a first for the Saints, so I feel I should be loyal :)  Although in general, I'm not a sports fan.  I think I'm going to make some vegan chili for the event, since we do have someone coming over to watch (this of course will be on my small 20" computer screen, since we don't own a TV).

Eat smart and Geaux Saints!
T.

Amazing desserts!

First of all, wow.  I was so surprised at the results of both of these desserts.  You HAVE to try them.  No questions.


Dessert #1:

Banana Soft Serve 


'Nuff said.  This could very well be the best vegan "ice cream" ever!  And I'm not usually a banana ice cream kind of person.  But I went all out....I took those 2 frozen bananas and put 'em in my little food processor and mixed every 5 seconds, because it wouldn't chop them up (they were too big for my poor little 3-cup Cuisinart).  But I stuck with it and sure enough....it became the most perfect soft serve ever.  And I even made the cocoa/agave chocolate syrup to go on top.  It was heavenly!!

Dessert #2:

Chocolate Pudding
(makes 3-5 servings, depending on size)


3/4 cup silken tofu
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract


Put it all in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.  I might try agave next time instead of the maple syrup.  


That's all I have for today.  I think it's enough!  Two freakishly easy desserts.  You don't have any excuses now for not having a nice healthy treat once in a while. I'm definitely going to make the banana soft serve a weekly event.

Eat smart,
T.

Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes and Cookie Dough Babies!

Wow, it's been a busy week....and there's more where that came from.  So I probably won't be blogging again until next week.

Today I made my first recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch, even though I have so many tagged in there to make....too many recipes, too little time!  It was the Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes and they were really good.  I've got plenty leftover to easily shape into patties and "fry" up over the next few days.  I used red potatoes, instead of the Yukon Gold, and the only oil I used was spray oil, to fry them.  I only had black mustard seeds, so I used those instead of the yellow, and I had leftover grated carrots that I used instead of chopped.  And of course, I used whole wheat flour for the tiny bit it called for.  It could've used more salt, but only because I didn't serve it with any sauce.....perhaps it would go nicely with a cucumber raita. You can visit her blog here.

Remember I told you to go to Chocolate-Covered Katie's blog???  I finally tried to make some of her raw "babies", as in, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Babies! Let me start by saying I made a mistake, and bought chopped dates, instead of the whole soft ones, but that's all they had in the store.  I emailed her right away about my mistake, and I was surprised at how quickly she responded (thank you, Katie).  I, however, fixed my little error, by adding a little water.  They were delicious!!  Unfortunately, these have nuts, which aren't really on my diet at the moment, but as long as I don't eat too many, I'll be ok. You HAVE to try them! I'll be testing out her different variations soon.

Until next time....don't eat too many of those amazing raw sweet snacks!
Eat smart,
T.

ChocoSun Oat Bars

Ok, so this was yesterday's experiment.  Didn't turn out bad at all.  Just VERY different from the original....I'm assuming.  It at least looks very different than the original.  And since I left out half the ingredients, probably tastes pretty different too!

I based this recipe on the No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars from the Buns In My Oven blog.

So here's my version:

Tanya's ChocoSun Oat Bars:


3 cups quick cooking oats
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp agave nectar
~1 1/4 cups water
1 cup chocolate chips

1/4-1/2 cup Sunbutter (made from sunflower seeds)

Put the oats in a pot with the water.  Cook for a couple of minutes until thick, but moist.  Add the vanilla extract and agave.  Mix well.  It WILL be sticky.  Take the pot off the stove and let cool....this way it won't be as sticky when you press it into the pan.  Grease an 8x8 pan.  Put the chocolate chips and Sunbutter in a bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so.  Mix well and make sure it's a nice creamy consistency.  Once cooled, press half the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Pour most of the chocolate on top, leaving some for the very top.  Now press the rest of the oat mixture on top of the chocolate.  It's ok if there are holes where the chocolate comes through.  Now pour the rest of the chocolate mixture on top, spread evenly.  Put in fridge for a few hours. I imagine the original version hardens much more.  This one turned out a bit soft.  Still able to cut it into squares, but the oat part is a little soft, probably because there was no butter or anything to harden it.  

Let me know how yours turns out and if you've changed the recipe too!  I'm interested in experimental baking, for my health :)

I don't think this is on the McDougall plan, since it's made with sunflower seeds, well, and chocolate chips, which probably have oil and stuff in them.  But at least I left out butter and oil! And used very little sweetener.

That's probably the only post for today, since I think I'll make my Broccoli Cauliflower a la Lemon tonight.

So glad it's finally Fall.
Eat smart,
T.

Happy Birthday to me!

Ok, the title sounded kind of pompous, no?  Sorry. Well you see, every time my birthday rolls around, I always end up making myself a birthday cake.  So here's this year's version.....kind of an experimental version that turned out pretty well, even with whole wheat flour!

Tanya's 2009 Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Birthday Cake:
(inspired by Rich Chocolate Cake in Vegetarian Cooking & Vegetable Classics by Denny & Ingram)

Almost 1 cup of whole wheat flour, plus a couple of Tbsp of high gluten white flour (to fill the cup)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
~7 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking powder
~1/2 small jar of raspberry jam/preserves

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  You can add a little more agave if you want it sweeter.  For me, the jam and frosting made it sweet enough.  Pour into an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan and bake about 40-45 minutes at 300 degrees.  Let cool on rack.  When cool, slice in half to make 2 layers.  Spread the jam on the bottom layer.  Put the other half on top, and frost.


Frosting:
~3 cups organic powdered sugar
~3 tbsp instant coffee granules, plus a little water

Mix the coffee and water together to dissolve.  Put sugar in a bowl, add the coffee mixture.  If too thick, add a little more water.  If too thin, add more sugar.  You want it firm, but mixable (if that's a word).

Not too many ingredients.....very simple.  The outcome?  Well, it's not fluffy like a regular white flour, eggy, buttery cake.  A little more dry and with the agave nectar it wasn't very sweet.  That's ok, because the jam and the frosting are quite sweet and make up for it.  Again, you can adjust the ingredients to your liking too!  That's what I did.  Maybe next time I try this recipe, I'll replace something else.  Who knows??

And my husband bought me Sunflowers (my favorite)!!  He gave them to me at the stroke of midnight last night! :)

Anyway, sorry no blog post yesterday.  Too busy.  And I went back to work today (on my birthday nonetheless) so only the cake today.  Tomorrow is busy too....I'll see what I can do!  Stay tuned.

Happy cake eating!
Eat smart,
T.