Risotto for the Fall and upcoming Vegan Queso!

First off, here's what I got at the market this week (I know, I'm going again tomorrow...I can't seem to catch up!): apples, turnips, kale, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, green beans, satsumas, mixed greens, mustard greens, and yellow squash.

Next up, a great recipe for this time of year, especially with all the sweet potatoes I've been getting at the market!

Sweet Potato Barley "Risotto":

1 cup hulled barley
3 cups water (or broth)
2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large bunch of kale
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 TB Creole Seasoning (less, if you add salt)
garlic & onion powder
juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
some extra water, possibly

Put the the barley and water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer until chewy (1-1 1/4 hrs). It will take less time if you use pearl barley-follow package directions for that.


Put the cubed sweet potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft (30-40 minutes, depending on size of cubes). When done, drain and set aside.


When the barley is done, add in the sweet potatoes and stir well, mashing it up. You may need to add a bit of water so it doesn't stick to the bottom and to make it a bit creamier. Add in the seasonings and mix. Add the kale, cover, and cook another 5 minutes. When done, add the lime (or lemon) juice.  Add salt if needed at this point. Serve!


Other stuff I've been eating:

Amazing salad dressing from Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Asian Greens with Lemon-Tahini Dressing-

(goes great with hemp seeds on top!)

Made my whole wheat pizza again, with Daiya, of course:

Sometimes I crave mac n' cheese, so here's my version:

1 cup cooked brown rice
2 TB almond milk, unsweetened
1 slice Galaxy Nutrional Foods Vegan Cheddar
1 TB nutritional yeast
1 tsp each garlic powder & onion powder
salt & pepper


Heat up the rice (unless you just cooked it)
Mix in the almond milk. Tear up the slice of cheese and add it in. Stir well. It may take several minutes for the cheese to melt in.  Then add in the rest of the ingredients. Add more almond milk, if you like it creamier. Enjoy!


And I am currently addicted to Robin Robertson's Tahini-Miso Sauce. Yup, I've been making tons of brown rice and steamed veggies with that stuff all over it! Delicious. It's in her 1,000 Vegan Recipes cookbook.

And last but not least.....who wants VEGAN QUESO??? ME!!! Ok, so I ran out of the best stuff ever: Nacho Mom's Vegan Queso. That's a disaster right there. I had to think of something. So I made my own! Yup. But it still needs another test, so I'm not putting up the recipe yet.  Now, it's not going to be nearly as delicious as Nacho Mom's, but I'm doing my best. And as soon as it's available here, I will buy it up :) But here's a sneak peek:

Eat smart,
T.

Post Birthday Post

So yesterday was my birthday!  Ok, it wasn't really all that exciting...got in some good walking and a good workout session.  Made myself a cake and we went out to Houston's for lunch.  I got the veggie burger sans bun and sans cheese.  It's REALLY good!  And I got a side of wilted spinach sans oil and cheese....topped my burger with it.  Good stuff! Unfortunately, they don't offer soymilk for coffee or any vegan dessert, so I had to wait until I made my cake :)

It's the Simplest Rich Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting from Sweet Utopia.  You can see my review of the book here. The cake was really good. I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, and I cut down the oil to 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup.  I also used almond milk instead of soymilk.  It was a tad dry, but still very chocolatey and tasty!  I added some coffee to the frosting for a mocha flavor, since I always have some sort of coffee frosting on my birthday cake.  Didn't have raspberry jam to put in the middle this time, so I just used the frosting, which was barely enough!

After dinner, I opened up the fridge and found a birthday card under my cake, along with some birthday beer from S.  Thank you :)

Saturday's market: brown rice, shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, cucumbers, turnips, mustard greens, tomatoes, sprouts, arugula/mizuna mix, peaches, eggplants, jalapenos, okra, and sweet potatoes.

I thought I'd get in an order from Pangea as well, before work starts (in a week!), so I'd be here when UPS arrived.  Here are the goods:

(Primal Strips, Liz Lovely Cookies, Sweet and Sara mini marshmallows, Dr Cow cheese (incl. the new KALE flavor!), Teese (gotta make some calzones), MimicCreme, and the new Dr McDougall's Asian entrees.)

We'll be in Atlanta soon.....and I'm hoping to stop into Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe just north of Atlanta!  If you guys have suggestions for vegan/raw places to eat......let me know and post them on that post please.

And if you have NYC suggestions, please post them there too......I'm surprised nobody's posted anything yet! I know a lot of you have been to NYC and have places you love to eat. But please don't post them here. I want them all in one place, so I know where to find it.

Other stuff I've been eating:

Sweet Potato Lentil Chili:

Raw zucchini noodles with "peanut" sauce:

French Fries (cut up potatoes, put on parchment paper-no oil, sprinkle with Creole Seasoning or other favorite seasoning, put in oven for 25 minutes, turn over, bake for another 15 minutes-on 400 degrees):

More recipes coming soon: Black Bean Polenta Bake and Black Bean Dip (yes, I cooked a ton of black beans).

Upcoming post: special vegan care package swap post!!

Eat smart,
T.

Sweet & Sour Chipotle Tempeh w/Sweet Potatoes and other eats.

I'm up way too early this morning.....so.....I thought I'd get some posting done.

Several days ago, I made a recipe from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan, by Dreena Burton.  (I found a copy of this recipe online here, but I don't know if they had permissions to post it-and it leaves out the chipotle)At the time, I really needed to find a use for all my sweet potatoes.  This recipe is amazing!  It's the Sweet and Sour Chipotle Tempeh with Sweet Potatoes.  If you have this book.....you MUST make this. It's really sweet though, so even though I already cut down on the sugars, I would do it even more next time.  I left out the oil and I used chipotle powder.  I also bought a fresh pineapple to use in it.....and eat the rest :) So good.

Then I made Ani Phyo's Raw Sun Burgers from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. (And I really want her new book....maybe one of these days!).  I didn't have a dehydrator, so for me, these worked better as a "spread" on my sprouted grain bread.  And, to top it off, I put some raw ranch dressing on top and it was sooooo good! The dressing is from Rawdawg Rory (click on his recipe videos). It's my new favorite thing! I had it on some salad the other day and then on some potatoes yesterday....you HAVE to try it.  The only thing is that it called for a bit too much salt for me, so I'll go light on that next time.  These "raw" people are so creative! If only I could come up with this stuff.

The Ranch Dressing:

The Sun Burger:

The meal:

Ok, let's move on to dessert.  Averie always has delicious stuff on her site, and so I made her Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve .  This stuff is unbelievable!

And here's some more Zucchini Spiral pics, with raw marinara:

Ok, I think maybe I'm caught up???

Question:

Vacation planning.....which would you pick and why?
Portland, Maine or Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Thinking of doing a weekend at one or the other sometime this summer.

Eat smart,
T.

Book Review: Sweet Utopia and some Sweet Potato Lentil Chili

The book: Sweet Utopia: Simply Stunning Vegan Desserts, by Sharon Valencik

Book Publishing Company sent me this book to review a little while back and I've only recently had time to actually make something out of it. The book itself is beautiful! Gorgeous color photographs by the author's husband, Milan Valencik, fill the entire book. The photos alone make you want to make every single thing in this book. And once you browse through it, you'll find yourself bookmarking every other recipe, because they look so good. I have way too many page corners folded over, just waiting for me to try my hand at these recipes, which although they look so gourmet, they don't actually seem too difficult to create. Thank you, Sharon! She has some good information at the beginning of the book on using different ingredients and how to substitute ingredients as well (which always comes in handy). I did finally try the Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins, because I had some leftover pumpkin I didn't know what to do with.  Let me tell you....you won't be able to stop eating them....just ask my husband :)  They're phenomenal! And just so you can try them yourself, I'm including the recipe for them below:

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins
   from Sweet Utopia, by Sharon Valencik (with permission to publish from Book Publishing Company)

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar (I used 3/4 cup turbinado)
1/2 cup canola oil (I used water)
1/3 cup soymilk (I used unsweetened)
3/4 cup nondairy chocolate chips (I used 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and oil a standard 12-cup muffin pan or line it with paper liners.  Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda in a large bowl.  Add the pumpkin, sugar, oil, and soymilk and stir until just combined.  Gently stir in the chocolate chips and optional walnuts.  Spoon evenly into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Last night, I made some Sweet Potato Lentil Chili from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan.  I needed to use up some sweet potatoes and this was the perfect choice.  I'm definitely making it again soon.  I just happened to cook up some black beans yesterday morning, so I had some available for the recipe.  It took quite a bit longer to cook than printed, for the sweet potatoes, but that's ok...it was ready by the time my husband got back from his Houston trip.

And by the way, if you're interested in keeping tabs on the recipes in this cookbook, check out Ashlei's blog as she cooks her way through it!

Coming up: another book review (Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin) and my "barley" risotto recipe!

Again, don't forget NOLA Veggie Fest tomorrow! I'll be there. For info, click here.

Eat smart,
T.

Stuff I've been eating and an apology

I'm so sorry I haven't been posting....been so busy with taxes and rehearsals, etc....and I know I missed last week's farmer's market and blogger of the week post. Again, I apologize.

It's 77 degrees and I finally have a day off.  In a week, I get to meet my 1 1/2 year old nephew for the first time, so I'm excited about that! Taxes are finally done...except for one small detail, but I have a lot on my mind.  I've been contemplating about buying a new camera and/or a new smartphone.  If I'd won the lottery, I'd buy both before my little trip next week. But......I don't know what to do. Maybe I shouldn't get either.  I don't want to take my big Panasonic camera with me on the plane....just too big. The one I've been looking at keeps getting more expensive and out-of-stock everywhere, because everyone wants it! Grrrrr......And I wish I had a bigger and better phone to use while in the airport waiting. They've replaced mine twice already....although I've had it for a few years by now. Maybe it's ready to go. And my wall phone charger just died too. Was that a sign??  I just feel cheated, because I've paid for insurance for the phone, yet they keep giving me ones with problems and that's what they'll keep on doing if I bring it back.

Ok, sorry....off topic.

This week's farmer's market: strawberries, rainbow chard (excited about that...and it's so pretty!), collard greens, kale, shiitakes, brown rice, lots of lettuce, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

Stuff I've been eating:

My Mix n' Mashed Potatoes with Kale/Tomato gravy:

Sprouted Grain Pasta with brussels sprouts, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, fresh basil, salt, garlic, and pepper:

Refried bean quesadilla on corn tortillas with assorted sauteed veggies and a slice of melted Rice Vegan cheddar:

And I won a jar of Artisana Cacao Bliss from Elena's blog!! Thank you, Elena :)

We held auditions the other day and I made some Cocoa Banana Muffins in mini-muffin form from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan. I used all whole wheat flour instead of half barley and half oat. I also used agave nectar instead of maple syrup.  They were really good and not too sweet.  I should've filled the tins a bit more, as they were rather small muffins (leftover batter used for regular sized muffins in this picture):

Blogger of the Week: Elena's EatHealthyBeHappy Blog.   She's written some really great posts, including one on reversal of hypothyroidism....very interesting. She's also got some really good recipes and giveaways!

Other giveaways:

Avery at LoveVeggiesAndYoga is giving away a $25 shopping spree for Chocomize! Go check it out...it's a really clever idea.

Elena's Green for Life giveaway!

I think that's about all I can handle for today.

Eat smart,
T.

Sweet Potato Kale Balls

I found a recipe online the other day that used up my sweet potatoes and kale, so yay!  It was from Cupcake Punk's blog: Sweet Potato Kale Balls.

I had 2 white sweet potatoes, so that's what I used.  I don't think I really caramelized the onions, since I didn't use any oil, but that's ok.  I also added about 1/2 cup diced tomatoes (could've used even more).  At first, after I baked the sweet potatoes, I thought it would be really difficult to mash them up.  Might've been easier if I'd boiled them.  But maybe it's a specific texture you're supposed to have...a little crunchiness here and there, from the crispy outsides.  It did take some effort though.  It was easier once I added the tomatoes, because of the liquid.  The flavors mixed really nicely.  It reminded me of my Mix N' Mashed Potatoes.  They were very good....we ate them alone.  Maybe they'd be better atop some pasta, but I'm trying to avoid as much flour as possible!  I'm eating very little pasta these days....although that was one of my favorite foods up until recently....so it's difficult.

Tonight is Mediterranean Veggie Burger night....so look for my blog post tomorrow! And.....I will be posting ways YOU can help Haiti.

And guess what? Yup, I bought dried beans today: garbanzo, black, and kidney.  Wish me luck on cooking them....I'd like to get away from buying cans whenever possible. (will be difficult because I love my canned tomatoes....I use them everyday) Here's a good recent post on chickpeas. That should help me get started.

Until tomorrow...
Eat smart,
T.

Latkes and Applesauce!

Ok, so I'm a little late on the latkes.....don't hate me.  I was trying to find the right combination, based on my online research.  And they pretty darn good!  A hint mushy inside, because I think I still need to get the exact cooking right.  I don't deep fry, so they take longer to cook.  Perhaps a much lower cooking temperature?

So here's my latke recipe. It made about 9 small/medium latkes.

Tanya's Latkes:

3 medium red potatoes
1 small sweet potato
1/4 cup grated onion
salt, pepper, any other spices you want (chives or paprika would work well)
EnerG Egg replacer (equivalent of one egg), mixed with the correct amount of water
2 tsp whole wheat flour

Grate the potatoes and then make sure you dry them well, with paper towels.  Put in a bowl and add the onions and spices.  Add the Egg replacer(pre-mixed with water) and the flour and mix well. Heat a pan on medium heat.  Spray with oil.  When hot, add large spoonfuls of the potato mix and flatten with a spatula.  I covered mine, so the steam would help cook them faster.  You may need to lower the heat if they are browining on the outside, but not cooking on the inside.  Takes a bit of skill, and I still need to perfect mine!
When done, put them on paper towels to blot off extra oil. Serve with applesauce.

I got a good recipe for Cranberry Applesauce from the Clean Food cookbook.  It was a bit watery, so I think next time I'd use a bit less liquid.....or more apples! I used Gala apples.....they didn't seem to be the most flavorful. If you know of a really good cooking apple for this, let me know.


Other potato pancake/latke recipes:

from Clean Food: Sweet Potato and Parsnip Pancakes
from Cooking For a Vegan Lover's blog: Potato Latkes
from Vegan Food; More than Tofu and Sprouts: Sweet and White Potato Latkes


If you know of any other vegan/gluten free/vegetarian recipes for latkes online, let me know and I'll post them here.

And on another note, I got an amazing package from my sister today! She sent her homemade Cran-Apple Butter, Blueberry Jam, Cran-Nagoon Jelly and some other cute stuff. Nope, I didn't know what it was either.....so I had to look it up.  A Nagoon is a sort of berry, and these are from Alaska, which is where my sister lives! So thank you Lizzy!!

That's all for now...but I'm on vacation as of today, so there will be more posts in the upcoming weeks!!

Eat smart,
T.

Oven baked chips and Dal

My first attempt at baking my own potato chips: 6 out of 10.  Hmmmm, perhaps next time I'll be more successful.  I tried sweet potatoes first.  They tasted great!  But maybe they were too thick?  They'd start to burn in the oven, but they weren't crispy yet.  I'd take them out, add salt, and eat them anyway....a bit soft.  Still flavorful though.  Next, 1 single red potato.  Closer!  Should have sliced them even thinner.  I even got a mandoline slicer finally, just for this!  So they were tasty, but a bit soft.  Next time: slice thinner.

On to HappyHerbivore's Red Lentil Dal.  I got this recipe from one of her e-cookbooks (look it up on my last post!).  Had some really good flavors in there.  It turned out a bit watery, more like a soup.  And that's ok.  I think perhaps next time I'll serve it over something......cooked potatoes or brown rice? Something to soak up the extra liquid.  I did have to cook it a bit longer than 15 minutes....maybe an extra 15 minutes or so, just to cook the lentils.  But I definitely give it a thumbs up for flavor!

Had my leftover vegan lasagna for lunch and will have a Monk Bowl for dinner (have leftover rice and sauce from last night's monk bowl!).

You know what's a great snack?  Cooked potato with some simple canned tomato sauce on it and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast!  Yum.

Eat smart,
T.

World Vegan Day!!!

HAPPY WORLD VEGAN DAY!!!!

And now to the food......yes, vegan food.  Tonight I made the Creamy Sweet Potato Bake from the VeganYumYum cookbook.  A very different combination of flavors, but well worth it!  It took a bit of prep time, since I had to cook the pasta first, and cut and boil the sweet potatoes beforehand.  But bake time was only 20 minutes. I only have one medium pot to cook this stuff in, so I had to do them one after another in the same pot.  Here's what I own: 1 HUGE pot, 1 MED pot, & 1 LITTLE pot.  The medium pot is where I do all my boiling.....pasta, potatoes, etc....

Anyway,  I really liked the flavors in this.  My little chopper (mini food processor) had a bit of a melt down and started leaking all over the place (I don't have a blender), so my "alfredo" sauce was a bit soupy with little pieces of cashews in it.  Well it still tasted good!  I could've used more kale, less pasta (I used whole wheat pasta).  I left out the Earth Balance Margarine and thyme (didn't have either) too. And I did add a little tiny bit of salt onto my plate.  I'll make this dish again!

So far, except for those candied sweet potatoes, all of VeganYumYum's recipes have been great and I'd make them again and again.  

That's it folks! Still wondering what to do with all the turnips.....can you cook and mash them like potatoes???

Eat smart,
T.