2 Quick Book Reviews

I'd like to thank Book Publishing Company again for sending me some of these books.

The first book here is The 4 Ingredient Vegan by Maribeth Abrams and Anne Dinshah.

Actually, I wasn't planning on reviewing this book, but they sent it anyway. At first I skimmed through it, just browsing the recipes. And most have maybe 5 or 6 ingredients. The only downfall here, for me, is that a lot of the recipes use prepackaged foods, like packaged pierogies, frozen pizza, hummus, spaghetti sauce, and soups. I wish there had been some easy recipes for these instead. Even the hummus can be a 4 ingredient recipe!! I've been so busy, I really only got around to making one of the recipes, but I will definitely make some more of them when I have the time.

Harvest Mash:

Before

After

This was really delicious and so easy to make! Lots of healthy vegetables, seasoned with broth....and I had lots of leftover broth left to use for something else. Of course I spiced it up a little with my Creole Seasoning :)

The author does list all sorts of foods you should stock your kitchen with, but alas, it includes premade soups, vegan meats, vegan sour cream/cream cheese, and canned foods. I suppose if you're in a real hurry, perhaps you should have some of these on hand, but I try to minimize them. I do have vegan cream cheese and sometimes sour cream in the fridge, but I use them very sparingly. Just because it's vegan, doesn't mean it's healthy!

So if you're the kind of person that's always in a hurry and keeps lots of canned tomatoes, beans, etc, stocked in your pantry, you'll get a lot of use out of this book.

Sproutman's Kitchen Garden by Steve Meyerowitz

I'd been looking at this book for a while, so I was excited to get it. Yes, it's a bit old, in that it was published in 1999. But....I really wanted a sprouting book. This one has a lot of various recipes for things, from breads, to pies and snacks. I wish it had a little more info on the actual sprouting process. It does dedicate a small section in the back to sprouting beans, seeds, and grains, but I wish it had explained it a little more in detail.

I tried (and failed) to make the Sprout Bread. I'd always wanted to make sprouted grain bread. Well, this one didn't seem to work for me. It was more like a thick cracker. Although it had a nice sourish flavor. I think perhaps it was my food processor.....I need a bigger, more robust one. This recipe also only called for sprouted wheat. No yeast, no nothing else. So my next try will be the kind with yeast. If you really want pictures of my failure.....here it is:

The nice sprouted wheat (did I sprout them too long perhaps??):

On the pans, before baking:

After baking:

The bottom fell out:

FAIL.

Next recipe, with success: Party Sprouts

The sprouted lentils:

The baked:

These were really delicious! Although they didn't totally dry out in the oven....they did keep well in a container for quite a while. I'll make these again. Great snack!

And lastly, the Hotcha Zucchini

I baked these instead of using the dehydrator, as I don't have one. But they were pretty good too, albeit a bit salty for my taste. S liked them! And he hates zucchini!

The book has recipes using all sorts of sprouts and soon, I will learn to sprout more than lentils and alfalfa. If you're a sprout fan, you should check out this book!

Have you ever made 100% sprouted grain bread? With or without yeast? In the oven, or bread machine?

If you still want to help me out with trip suggestions, you can here.

If you're in the New Orleans area, don't forget to check out the NOLA VeggieFest 2011!!! I'll be there!

Eat smart,
T.

Sprouted Lentil Dip and a new cookbook

I've been sprouting lots of lentils as of late.  (I just tried chickpeas: MAJOR FAIL). They smell so bad, I'm going to throw them out.  I don't know what went wrong. They have long sprouts on them.  I wonder if I soaked them too long..the book said about 24 hours. But I'm reading around, and it says more like 8-12 hours. I rinsed them 2-3 times a day for 3 days. Maybe that's too long too. Anyone have experience with sprouting chickpeas/garbonzos?

On the other hand, my lentils are delicious! So here's a recipe for you:

Sprouted Lentil Dip:

4 cups sprouted lentils (green)
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp minced garlic
3-4 TB water (for texture)
salt to taste
dash of paprika


Blend everything in a food processor.  It may take a few tries, scraping down the sides, as the lentils like to stick to the side of the bowl. Add a little extra water if it's too thick for you. This has a very 'earthy' flavor. I find that sprouted lentils have a very different taste than cooked lentils, so try eating the sprouts first...if you like the strong flavor, you'll love this dip!


I made some raw mustard from one of my new raw books too! I can't even eat it. It's WAY too strong, like horseradish. S loves it, though.  Next time I won't let it "ferment" so long (2 days).

I recently downloaded the Happy Herbivore Cookbook for Kindle. This will be my last cookbook purchase for a while, as it's now time to save money. (if you're listening, DaCapo books or anyone else...you're welcome to send me cookbooks for review!!) Hahaha.....

Well anyway, this is a great cookbook. It's full of Fat-Free and Lowfat Vegan recipes and I've already made 3 things from it:

Red Lentil Dal:

So tasty! I served it on top of barley and kale.

5-Spice Harmony Bowl:

Wow, this sweet potato dish is delicious!! And pretty easy to make.

And for a quick dessert, Instant Cookie Dough:

Mmmm, just eat it by the spoonful!

Go get yourself this awesome new book, just released!!

And of course last Saturday was National Vegan Pizza Day, so here's what I made:

My whole grain pizza crust, made with Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat and 10-grain flours, topped with sauce, Daiya cheese,  and onions, green peppers, and tomatoes! So good! You can find my recipe for it here.

Speaking of Bob's Red Mill, my giveaway just ended....with a surprisingly low number of entries. Nonetheless, three winners will be chosen this week, so check back often!

On another note, it's 70 degrees and pouring today. It will be 33 degrees by 4 in the morning. Major weather changes are happening. This is pretty typical for this area this time of year.

Hope you guys don't have an overload of snow and ice...

Eat smart,
T.

I need your input!! (sprouts)

So I finally got a 3 level sprouter:

(photo from Amazon)

I haven't used it yet, but it's all ready to go. Does anyone have one of these?  I'm a little confused with the soaking part....do the seeds go into the covers to soak, uncovered...then poured into the trays?

I recently sprouted lots of lentils. So good!  They have a really interesting taste...nothing like when you eat cooked lentils.  Anyway, I made some sprouted lentil dip out of it, which I'll post a recipe for soon.  

I need to know what to sprout!  Please give me your ideas. What would YOU sprout and how would you use them?  Salads? Smoothies? Also, if you happen to come across recipes (especially raw recipes) that use sprouts in them, please leave me the link! Or if you have your own, I'd love to hear about it.

I have a recipe from one of my new cookbooks for sprouted chickpea hummus, which I'm going to try. It sounds awesome!

I also made some raw mustard (no, not from mustard sprouts!) which will be ready in 2 days.  Have you made your own mustard? It seems cheaper to buy it at the store, but we'll see how this stuff turns out.

If you haven't done so already, you can enter my Bob's Red Mill giveaway to win some awesome giftpacks from them. There will be THREE winners!! Enter now :)

Eat smart,

T.

A Vegan Roll

Wow! I have to tell you, this is one of the most amazing dishes ever! It's really high on my list to make again and again. This is the 2nd time I've made it and I'm getting better at it.

Today for lunch we had the "Carpe

Diem Carrot Almond Pate Nori Rolls" from Vegan Fusion World Cuisine. I'm not going to post the recipe, just some of the ingredients that I used. The ginger, fresh dill, and lemon juice in

the almond pate give it such a zing! The flavors are really creative.

The vegetables I used in the rolls (you can pretty

much use any you want) were: carrots,

cucumbers, sprouts, and avocado. The key is rolling them up really tightly, otherwise stuff will

just fall out after you cut them. And use a sharp knife to cut them.

And so there you have it! The amazing vegan rolls of the day! You HAVE to try them.

See you for dinner :)

Eat smart,

T.

A Tale of Two Salads

Happy Labor Day!

Today I made two nice refreshing cool salads. One is my own recipe (this is my absolute favorite potato salad!), and one was adapted from a great cookbook.

First salad:

Tanya's Potato Salad Oregano:

1-2 cups cubed, cooked red potatoes
1/2-3/4 cup fresh sprouts
1 1/2 Tbsp Vegenaise
1/2 mild yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
salt/pepper
5-10 sprigs fresh oregano (leaves used in salad)


Notice the importance of the fresh oregano. That's what gives this salad the amazing flavor!
Toss all ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Done. See how easy? Again, ONLY USE FRESH OREGANO!




Second salad:

Summer Tomato Salad, adapted from "Height of the Season Tomato Salad" (Local Bounty, by Devra Gartenstein)

4-5 medium/large tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (any kind...I used purple basil and genovese)
2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and tada! You might want to drain the tomatoes first, just to get rid of some of the extra water. At the end, you may want to refrigerate the salad a bit if you want it cold. I keep tomatoes out of the fridge so my salad is room temperature. It's up to you!

And that's the tale....of lunch today. Tonight: more roasted vegetables with polenta.

Off to do my second walk of the day...
Eat smart,
T.

A little food for a rainy Sunday afternoon

Today will be a light day for blogging, as I haven't cooked anything today and we are meeting a friend for dinner tonight.  BUT, I did make a fine sandwich out of my own homemade whole wheat rye bread, cucumber from the farmer's market, my own sprouts, vegenaise, and some kosher/vegetarian cheese.  So here are some pics...I had to at least have that!  What's a a boring Sunday afternoon blog without at least one picture?

I'm still pondering about those green satsumas. I think I'll try one.  I read that they can vary from green to yellow to orange and still be ripe!  Hmmmm....

Come back tomorrow for some good cookin'!
Eat smart,
T.


PS-I have eaten the green satsuma!  Just a bit tangy and only one seed....tasty!

Don't hate me because I'm a "cooking" pear!

Sorry, I don't have much to say this evening. Dinner was a wrap, like I stated earlier. Kind of boring, I suppose. But easy, which is good, because we had a last minute errand to run and we were sitting in traffic for a while.

Tonight's surprise is Thrice Cooked Pears! Yes, unintentional it was. I was cooking pears today, but was forced to turn the heat off and leave three times. So there I was, finishing up my pear cooking and FINALLY they got mushy. Wow, did that take forever. I think the key was to actually keep them in water. If there's not much water, they won't get soft. I did, however, burn them slightly at first when the water ran out. Oops. Oh well, I'm not perfect. It was all an experiment anyway! So they're cooked pears with a little demerara sugar and cinnamon, with a very slight burnt flavor. :)

On another note, I got great new sprouts out of my Easy Sprouter! Wow, that thing is great. Much better and easier than the jar method, which I'm still using. Tonight I'm soaking my broccoli sprouts!

No pictures tonight. Did you really want to see a picture of a wrap with sprouts and cheese??? Or slightly burnt pear sauce??? Didn't think so.

No idea what tomorrow will hold, except that we're off to the farmer's markets in the morning. I'll let you all know what goodies I get. Do I hear someone saying Satsumas?

Goodnight.

Eat smart,

T.

Tomorrow's Meals

Well I guess I'll discuss what I'm making tomorrow, so that I actually make it AND so my husband can read ahead and see what he's going to get for lunch and dinner.

Tomorrow's lunch: omelette with sauteed yellow squash, onions, tomatoes, and anything else I happen to find (I'll let you know tomorrow!)

Tomorrow's dinner: sandwich of kosher/vegetarian cheese, vegenaise (or mustard for my husband) and freshly sprouted sprouts. Rolled up in a whole wheat wrap. No, I didn't make the wrap. I should learn how to make those. I also love the whole wheat tortillas.

Oops, forgot about breakfast:

Well I didn't get to setting up the rice cooker for my groats tomorrow, so I'll eat one of my own whole wheat/spelt everything bagels for breakfast. Lately though (thanks to my brother) I've been eating oat groats (with flax seed, oat bran, and a tiny bit of almond milk) with a little agave nectar in the morning. It's sooooo good! I love the texture and flavor. So easy to put the groats in the rice cooker and set it to be ready for me to eat in the morning (Thank you, Zojirushi).

I think that's it for today, unless I get another urge to write about food :) Did anyone figure out the difference between jam, jelly, and preserves yet? Or are you going to make me Google it?

Ok then, goodnight all....sleep well.

Eat smart,

T.