Miso Soup and Collard Greens

First of all, I want to thank those of you who came out to our NOLA Musicians Benefit Concert for Haiti yesterday in the cold and rainy weather.  We had a lot of fun playing! Thanks to all the musicians who played, and to Eva, Cherie, and Carlos R. for helping to put it together.

And since it's been so cold and rainy, I thought it would be a good day to try some miso soup!  I had some mellow white miso in the fridge so I found a recipe in Robin Robertson's 1,000 Vegan Recipes.  I left out the tofu, since that would add extra calories.  I found it to be a little on the watery side, so I added a little extra miso and soy sauce (which it said you can do....to taste).  It was delicious!  It made a lot of soup, so we've been heating it up for leftovers :)

I've also been reading Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet.  I found a great recipe (Sicilian Collard Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins) for collard greens, which I had in the fridge from the farmer's market.  I left out the pine nuts because I didn't have any....she says you can use pumpkin seeds instead, but I didn't any of those either.  It was still good.  And I left out the oil, because I'm trying to leave out as much oil as possible from my cooking.  My husband thought there were too many raisins for the small amount of greens that it actually cooked up (they really shrink!).  So next time I'll put in fewer raisins, but it was a very tasty dish.

For those of you wondering, the local (New Orleans) vegan bake sale for Haiti will NOT take place on Saturday.  It will be rescheduled due to Mardi Gras and Superbowl happenings.  I will keep you posted.

And here's a picture of the lunch we took to work the other day.  I used the Sunflower Seed Falafel recipe as a spread on the nori sheets and added vegetables. Soooo good :)

Eat smart,
T.

Benefit Concert for Haiti

This is just a quick post today to let you know about a concert some folks are putting together to benefit Haiti here in New Orleans.

NOLA Musicians Benefit Concert for Haiti:

It will take place on Thursday, February 4th from 3:30 pm to 6 pm in the Atrium of Galvez Restaurant in the French Quarter (912 N Peters St, NOLA).  It will feature a string orchestra (including members of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra) conducted by Carlos Riazuelo, the New Orleans Uptown Brass, and the Panorama Jazz Band. There will be a suggested donation of $10 per person.  All donations will go to the Red Cross.

My husband and I will both be playing in the String Orchestra.....hope to see you there!

Eat smart,
T.

Mediterranean Veggie Burgers and Help for Haiti

Ok, I finally made those mediterranean veggie burgers I've been talking about.  The only problem was that they tended to want to fall apart a little when eaten as a sandwich.  My husband ate them with a knife and fork, only because he didn't want the bread.  The flavor is really good though!

Mediterranean Veggie Burgers:

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 jarred roasted red pepper
2/3 cup artichoke pieces
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for at least 3 hours
1 cup cooked millet
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tomato, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, etc.)
garlic powder
salt & pepper


Put the chickpeas in a food processor and process just until still a little chunky.  Put aside in a medium bowl.  Put the roasted pepper, sunflower seeds, and artichokes in the food processor and puree until pretty smooth. Add to the chickpeas.  Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. The mixture will be pretty wet.  Put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Shape into patties and fry until browned on both sides.  Makes 6-8 burgers.

I had mine on sprouted grain bread with kale, tomato, and some Vegenaise.  Tasty! If you want, you could try brown rice instead of the millet.....it might help it keep its shape better when cooked.  I'll probably try that next time.....and maybe more breadcrumbs?  The artichokes, tomato, and roasted pepper are pretty moist ingredients, so you need something to dry it out. Any ideas?

UPDATE: I just had them as leftovers (no bread) with some brown mustard and they are delicious! If you make sure you brown them almost until burnt on both sides, they'll mostly stay together.  I ate them tonight with kale chips...great combination :) I LOVE KALE!!!

UPDATE #2: So I just had the last of the leftover burgers.  I added some whole brown rice (cold from fridge) and baked them.  I could've baked them a little longer.  They did turn out a bit crispier because of the rice, which was nice.  So you could try replacing the millet with whole rice and bake them about 12 minutes on each side on 375.

On to dessert! I made some tasty vegan brownies.  You can find the original recipe here.
My changes: I replaced the oil with water, I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of oats (I ran them through the food processor first), I used 1 1/2 cups of turbinado sugar,  and I didn't add nuts.  So this is my fat free version I guess.  They didn't rise very well, probably because I left out the oil.  Perhaps I could've added in a banana to help?  But they are still really good.  Next time I might try them  in an 8x8 pan.

And of course I went to the market this morning in freezing cold weather.  It was 40 degrees! Brrrrr.  The wind chill was around 33 or so.......so cold.  This is what I got: meyer lemons, grapefruit, oranges, kale, collard greens, mizuna, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, turnips, rice, white button mushrooms, and strawberries.

How YOU can help Haiti:

Check out the list of vegan bake sales going on around the country. There's probably one near you.  There's even one here in New Orleans on February 6th near the uptown Whole Foods on Magazine Street from 11-3 pm. I'll update this info as I get it.UPDATE: the vegan bake sale will be rescheduled due to Mardi Gras and the SuperBowl....stay tuned for a new date!

There will be a concert here in New Orleans to benefit Haiti as well.  Click here for info.

And you can always text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross.  The charge will be on your next cell phone bill.

Eat smart and stay warm,
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.