1. This gorgeous meal would work well as a weeknight dinner, or even leftovers throughout the week. The best part is that the only fresh ingredients you need are asparagus and onions, and since it’s spring, you should be grabbing them anyway! So eat up :) Before I get to the recipe, I just thought I’d mention that there are two days left to vote for us in the Best Food Blog Awards at Saveur - we’re up for Best Original Recipes and would really appreciate your vote! Okay, back to the good stuff. I really loved this meal because it looks like it would take forever to prep, but in reality it was prepped and cooked in less than 30 minutes. Here’s how!  Serves 4Ingredientsflat, long pasta like linguine, pappardelle, or fettuccine, enough for 3-4 people 15-20 stalks asparagus* 1 medium red onion 1 can chickpeas (and/or 1 cup frozen peas), drained and rinsed 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (very important - don’t use sweetened!! seriously.) 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (nooch) 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder salt & pepper *Instead of chopping the asparagus, you can just rinse them clean, then bend them while holding both ends. They’ll break where they need to naturally, and you won’t have to waste time with the extra prep. InstructionsPut on some water to boil - when it has, toss in the pasta and cook until chewy. (Not here to talk about how to cook pasta today, so I’ll assume you know how to do that!) Chop up the onion into bite-sized pieces then toss them in a pan on medium-high heat with a bit of olive oil and fry until translucent. Whisk (or fork) together the milk, nooch, garlic powder, and onion powder. Pour into the onion pan. Add into the onion pan the asparagus & chickpeas, then cover and turn the heat to medium-low. Let these steam for 5-10 minutes or until the asparagus is bright green, crisp but cooked through. Sprinkle some salt & pepper on top before serving. Serve piping hot with some of the sauce on the plate. Enjoy!
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    This gorgeous meal would work well as a weeknight dinner, or even leftovers throughout the week. The best part is that the only fresh ingredients you need are asparagus and onions, and since it’s spring, you should be grabbing them anyway! So eat up :)

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    April 17, 2013
  2. Here’s a quick, simple salad that I devoured this morning for breakfast. It’s got crunchy little white radishes, light soft kale, and crisp pears, and it’s great for any time of the day. Today I got to eat it outside, without having to wear a jacket or anything! And if that weren’t enough reason to celebrate, we also found out this weekend that we’re nominated for Best Original Recipes in the Saveur Best Food Blog Awards!! We’d be honored if you voted for us, right here, and also be sure to vote for our other favorite vegan bloggers, Oh Ladycakes (for Best Special Diets blog), V.K. Rees (for Best Photography) and Thug Kitchen (for Best New Blog). Now, onto the recipe :)   This is a really fresh, quick-to-make salad, with a total prep time of under five minutes. Any small radish will do. I cut mine into bite-size pieces, then put them in a dish filled with a mixture of 1/2 a lemon squeezed, a little drizzle of olive oil, and about 1 tsp balsamic vinegar. I also used the radish greens in this, by slicing them thinly and chopping off the stalks. We have this really great hydroponic kale, but you could just as easily substitute in some lettuce, spinach, or other light-leafed green. Don’t go for something overly tough here, this is meant to be effortless in both making and eating. Shred the kale (about 1-2 cups) and take the stalks out, then toss into the dish. Finely mince some green onion until you have enough for a heaping pinch, then sprinkle on the kale & radish. Toss everything together. Get a pear that’s not completely ripe yet, but also not rock hard. I love eating pears whole when they’re over-ripe and really juicy, but that won’t work to well here. Slice the pear into strips and place on top of everything. Crack some pepper over the top and eat up! This salad serves one person well.   
    High Res

    Here’s a quick, simple salad that I devoured this morning for breakfast. It’s got crunchy little white radishes, light soft kale, and crisp pears, and it’s great for any time of the day. Today I got to eat it outside, without having to wear a jacket or anything!

    And if that weren’t enough reason to celebrate, we also found out this weekend that we’re nominated for Best Original Recipes in the Saveur Best Food Blog Awards!! We’d be honored if you voted for us, right here, and also be sure to vote for our other favorite vegan bloggers, Oh Ladycakes (for Best Special Diets blog), V.K. Rees (for Best Photography) and Thug Kitchen (for Best New Blog).

    Now, onto the recipe :)

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    April 15, 2013
  3. Over the winter I’ve been falling in love with sour foods. Citrus are the easiest to identify: lemons, limes, grapefruit - but also cranberries, vinegars, and fermented and pickled foods. I’ve always eaten too much sugar and soda, so when I wanted to stop consuming (at times) 10 or 20 times the recommended amount of sugar every day, I went sour. What I found wasn’t unpleasant, as you would normally think these foods are, it was a whole new sense that I had never explored, and I’m so glad I did. The biggest way I consumed sugar in the past was in very unnoticeable ways - too much fruit at breakfast, a soda at lunch, too much chocolate at dinner, and adding sugar to each meal I had throughout the day. Even without added sugar, fruit has a ton of sugar already in it. But fruit is the ‘best’ way to eat sugar, it’s got infinitely more vitamins and nutrients than any candy bar or packet of ‘healthy’ sugar. So I wanted to keep with it, without having to add any sugar at all. I did it through slowly lowering the amount of sugar in each drink every day until there was nothing left. At first I drank soda. Then I drank a juiced grapefruit, a packet of sugar, and some carbonated water. Now I drink some version of this photographed drink (recipe below) most mornings. Then if I want something really sweet I’ll add an orange, pear, apple, or a couple of dates to whatever I’m eating/drinking. Now, instead of vegan processed mayo, I add curried sauerkraut or minced sour pickles to my sandwiches. Instead of sugar & sweet garlic in my pasta sauce, I add balsamic vinegar and a little salt. This still doesn’t account for late-night chocolate binging, which I’ve done throughout my whole life, but it does remove a ton of sugar for the rest of my day, and I call that a success. Not only does all of that make me feel better physically every day, but it also tastes great. Working in the sour foods over time especially helped me learn to love their unique and bold flavors. This drink is something I make almost every day. To make this quick and cost-effective I buy a big bottle of unsweetened, plain cranberry juice once every month or so (Trader Joe’s has it for $5 a bottle!) and then juice a bunch of grapefruits for the week and store it in an old glass iced tea bottle. Make sure, if you use any store-bought juice, that you get just a pure juice or juice concentrate. ‘Juice cocktails’ usually have a ton of unnecessary ingredients and added sugar. I love cranberry juice because it’s really good for you and it gives all the drinks I make a great, bright pink color. If you want something less sour but unsweetened, go for blueberry juice. For this drink:1 large ruby red grapefruit, juiced 2 tbsp unsweetened cranberry juice ice (to help you transition, try adding 1 medium orange, juiced, for more sweetness) Juicing is really easy with the right equipment. I use a simple, large glass citrus juicer, a small funnel, and a mesh strainer. The funnel and strainer can be used for a ton of different things, including making tea. Pour the cranberry juice into your glass. Cut the grapefruit in half and juice it. Put the funnel in your glass (if you need it) then the strainer over top. Pour the juice into the strainer and let it pour into the glass. Use a small spoon to stir the pulp around to get all the juice out. Top the drink with lots of ice and sip up! This drink goes really well with a hot, understated dish, like cashew cheese stuffed shells or balsamic chickpeas. In this issue of Chickpea, we also featured 5 drinks that incorporate whole lemons, ginger, cranberry, and much more, to expand your tastes. You can get it right here!
    High Res

    Over the winter I’ve been falling in love with sour foods. Citrus are the easiest to identify: lemons, limes, grapefruit - but also cranberries, vinegars, and fermented and pickled foods. I’ve always eaten too much sugar and soda, so when I wanted to stop consuming (at times) 10 or 20 times the recommended amount of sugar every day, I went sour. What I found wasn’t unpleasant, as you would normally think these foods are, it was a whole new sense that I had never explored, and I’m so glad I did.

    Read More

    April 8, 2013