HIPSTERFOOD

This quick little dish comes together with barely any effort and...

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:33:00 -0400

This quick little dish comes together with barely any effort and both looks and tastes great, especially in the summertime.

Ingredients

10 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
1 tbsp sweet mustard, or 1 tbsp mixture dijon mustard & a little sugar/maple syrup
1 tsp neutral oil (i used safflower)
3-4 drops liquid smoke (found near BBQ sauce in the grocery store)
sprinkle of sea salt
cracked pepper

Instructions

Whisk (or fork) together all ingredients except for the carrots.
Peel the carrots and cut off the ends. Chop the carrots into matchstick pieces, then stir into the mustard mixture to coat.
Enjoy as a sandwich topping, a quick snack, or a side to a bigger meal. Serve cold. Makes about 2 cups.

Spring is finally in full effect, and the farmer’s market...

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:11:00 -0400

Spring is finally in full effect, and the farmer’s market stands sure show it. There were so many great-looking pieces of produce, and I went all purple.

This warm, fresh dish would be great to eat outside, or by an open, breezy window. Full of purple cabbage, purple asparagus, red onion, red radish, and peppered with rich seitan and cashew cheese, it’s sure to fill you up before a long bike ride.

Some notes:

Color isn’t everything - if you can’t find purple asparagus, it’s no big deal. The flavor is very similar, if not the same, if you use different colors!

If you ~totally hate~ cabbage, we beg you to think again. It’s crisp and flavorful and really fills out a plate, and it’s really cheap, too! If you haven’t acclimated yourself to eating cabbage, we suggest making a cole slaw or spring rolls first to test the waters.

The cashew cheese and seitan are essential to making this meal feel full and give it a lot of deep flavor. My suggestion is to make A LOT of it in one day, then have it ready for the next week or two. It saves a lot of time and stress later, trust me! Yesterday I put the seitan on to cook, then made a few juices, pickle relish, and the cashew cheese while it was simmering - it took less than two hours for a week’s worth of food. Worth it!

.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 tsp coconut or sesame oil
1 medium red onion, chopped into petals
1-2 cup piece of seitan, broken into bite-size pieces
2-3 tsp sesame seeds
10 stalks purple asparagus, ends snapped off
1/2 small head of purple cabbage, shredded
drizzle of soy sauce
1-2 tsp mustard
1-2 dollops cashew cheese
a few radishes, optional

Instructions

Toss the oil, onion, seitan, sesame seeds, and asparagus into a sauté pan on medium heat. Let cook down until the onion is transparent, about ten minutes. Stir every so often to prevent burning.
Whisk together the soy sauce and mustard.
Toss in the cabbage and soy mixture. Cook until the cabbage is soft but still a little crunchy, about 5-10 more minutes.
Serve warm with the cashew cheese swirled in, and if you want garnish with radish peel. Enjoy!

One of the best things that comes with warm weather is the...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:14:00 -0400

One of the best things that comes with warm weather is the ability to cook with the freshest ingredients. There’s nothing better than a really juicy peach straight from the tree, or fragrant basil finally poking its leaves through the ground. (The latter finally happened for us!)

This recipe is all about paying homage to whole ingredients - there are a total of just FIVE in this, but the result is incredibly flavorful and light.

We ate this during a break in tilling our garden space; it was perfection in a bowl. The juice from the roasted corn and tomatoes is sweet and fresh, and the basil gives it just enough fragrance to keep this complex. This is also a great dish to make it look like you’ve done a ton of work, but haven’t really. (Those are my favorite.)

Serves 3-4

Instructions

Shuck two or three ears of fresh corn. Wrap them in tinfoil and toss in the oven set at 350°F. To scorch the corn, after cooking place them directly on top of your stove’s flame - I did it on the stovetop for about 5 minutes, turning them with tongs when they started to blacken. You can do the same, even easier, on a grill.
Wrap 4 large tomatoes in tinfoil. (Make sure they’re ripe, don’t get rock hard tomatoes!) Toss them in the oven with the corn.
Bake for about 45 minutes. If you have it, you can also do this on a grill. If we had one, we’d use it!
Prep the other ingredients. Open up a can of beans, then strain and rinse - we like chickpeas and black beans. Finely chop a small handful of fresh basil. Put everything in a large serving bowl.
When the tomatoes are really soft and hot, take them out and slice them open over the beans & basil. Get all of the juice out of them, then if you wish you can chop up the flesh and toss them in the bowl. (We set them aside to use tonight in a tomato soup.)
When the corn is cooked and scorched, place each ear (one at a time, obviously) in the serving bowl and, using a sharp knife and holding it at the top, slice off each side so the corn kernels come off. This takes a little practice but the flavor is so worth it!
Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over top and stir together to coat. Serve warm and enjoy!

This gorgeous meal would work well as a weeknight dinner, or...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:16:00 -0400

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 4

Ingredients

flat, 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.

Instructions

Put 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!

Here’s a quick, simple salad that I devoured this morning...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:44:00 -0400

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.

Over the winter I’ve been falling in love with sour foods....

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:22:44 -0400

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!

This is a warm weather classic, even a staple, here. As we gear...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:56:52 -0400

This is a warm weather classic, even a staple, here. As we gear up for spring we start getting nostalgic for cookouts and long hot afternoons on the beach. This cold pasta salad will probably end up gracing your picnic tables, too.

I don’t know about your moms, but my mom made this pasta salad for every big family event any time of the year, but mostly during hot days. It’s very basic in its construction and it’s not hard to veganize, which is even better.

Serves 6

Ingredients

Fresh vegetables (1 cucumber, 1 bell pepper, 2 medium carrots, 4 plum tomatoes, 1 stalk celery, etc.)
6 cups spiral pasta
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar (red wine or apple cider)
Fresh herbs, minced (dill, basil, oregano, thyme, lemon zest, etc.)
Salt
1/2 block pressed tofu & 1/4 cup crushed almonds (or just a faux block cheese)

Instructions

Cook the pasta.
While the pasta’s cooking, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, minced herbs, and salt.
Chop up all the vegetables to your preference. (We like sliced cucumber and diced tomato but you might be the opposite!) Toss the veg into the bowl with the liquid, stirring to coat. Let this marinate while everything else gets prepped.
Break/chop the tofu into small bits and shake in a bag with the almonds and a bit more salt. The tofu should be coated.
Once the pasta’s ready, strain and rinse with cold water. Once cold, mix into the vegetables and sprinkle the tofu bits in. Chill and serve!

Has spring arrived in your town yet? We’ve been seeing a...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:06:00 -0400

Has spring arrived in your town yet? We’ve been seeing a lot of sun and the temperature has slowly been rising (almost up to 40°!) and all of us are eager to eat fresh, raw foods on a daily basis. Spring rolls are the perfect food to get you feeling like warmer days are already here.

I love spring rolls, but I’ve always been too intimidated to try making them. The wrappers seem so finicky and fragile, and I already know I’m terrible at wrapping based on my burrito experience. On top of that, all of the recipes I found online seemed overly complicated for something so unassuming. After a little practice, I’ve found a great method of making them, even on a day when I don’t feel like cooking.

There are so many benefits to making spring rolls.

First off, they’re super cheap to make. Just grab a few fresh veggies, like carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, sprouts, or cucumber. Toss a small head of cabbage in your cart and you’re good. If you want to add tofu, I would suggest super-firm, high-protein tofu that doesn’t need to be drained/pressed. (You can find this at Trader Joe’s for cheap!) You can use leftover veg & tofu in your fridge, even.

The only “specialty” item you’ll need to get is the rice paper wrappers - I got mine in the international aisle of the grocery store by the “Asian” section. If you’ve ever had rice noodles, they’re basically the same thing but in a sheet. Once hydrated they’re soft and chewy but not heavy.

Other great things about these:

They’re really filling, despite the salad-like composition.
They’re easy to make for a party, like pizza or tacos or sushi. They invite customization and participation!
We rarely tout this, but they’re pretty healthy for you, too, depending on what you put in them.

So, how do you make them? This is how WE make spring rolls, but there are many ways to do it - I just found this to be the easiest way.

Prep all of your fillings. Thinly slice the harder vegetables (like carrots & cucumber), crumble the broccoli & sprouts, shred the cabbage, slice up some super-firm (high protein) tofu.
Put a wide pot or pan of water on medium-high heat - make sure it’s wider than the sheets of rice wrapper.
Lay out something non-stick on the counter to keep the wrappers from sticking & breaking. I like to use the un-used outer leaves of the cabbage, but you can also use a sushi mat or a damp cutting board.
When the water is hot, not boiling, gently place the wrapper in the water. Get it submerged fully and then immediately take it out again, transferring it to the counter.
Gently lay the wrapper flat out. It will probably stick to itself, but when it’s still wet you can carefully pull it apart. Then, like a burrito, put your fillings on, being careful not to over-fill.
Fold the top and bottom of the wrapper over the filling, then carefully roll and tighten it as you go, until the whole thing is closed. This may take some practice, but I would just suggest taking your time. If the wrapper starts tearing, you might be tightening the roll too much. (Luckily the paper packages usually come with a lot of wrappers!)

Make the rolls until you have enough for however many people you’re serving. Usually 2-3 rolls are enough for even very hungry people.

Now’s the time to mix together your dipping sauce. To me, spring rolls are made amazing by their relationship to their sauce. You can make it by whisking together 2 tbsp vegan mayo, 1 tsp sriracha, and 1/4 tsp wasabi. Another good sauce option is 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp sriracha, and some liquid smoke.

We hope you guys enjoy making spring rolls as much as we do, and enjoy them as spring finally comes back!

Want waffles available to you at any time of the week? Fire up...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:22:30 -0500

Want waffles available to you at any time of the week? Fire up your waffle maker and try these guys out.

We’ve sung the praises of making food in bulk before, but this one is a necessity. There’s nothing like hot waffles & maple syrup, and to have them ready in under a few minutes is perfection.

These are soft, hearty, and a little crispy on the edges, thanks mostly to the flax seed. These are like those Eggo’s you had as a kid, but grown up. They can be put in a toaster or microwave and you could really even eat them hand-held without syrup. What about a tofu-scramble breakfast sandwich with waffle bread? The sky’s the limit.

Make sure you use a standard waffle maker here, not a thick belgian maker. We haven’t tried belgian waffles with this recipe, and I can’t vouch for how well belgian waffles work in the toaster.

Whisk together vigorously 3 tbsp ground flaxseed*, 1/2 cup water, 6 tbsp melted non-dairy butter, and 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk. (We use unsweetened almond milk.)
In a separate bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until just combined. We added in a handful or two of chopped frozen blueberries** at this point.
Cook the waffles on your iron according to the machine’s specifications. We have to spray the griddle first with cooking spray, then they cook for about 10 minutes each.

*The flaxseed must be ground to make this recipe work, as the flax is used for binding, instead of using egg. We use a coffee grinder we found for cheap at a thrift shop.
**Freezing the blueberries helps them stay together while mixing/chopping and keeps the waffles from turning purple. If you like that color change, feel free to not freeze!

We quadrupled this recipe which made a huge stack that we later froze for the week’s breakfasts. One batch will make enough for 2-4 servings.

Marionberry Pancakes After watching the latest season of...

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:04:00 -0500

Marionberry Pancakes

After watching the latest season of Portlandia on Netflix, I really, really wanted to make some marionberry pancakes. We don’t live in Oregon, though, so I settled for some blackberry pancakes. Perfect for a late Sunday breakfast right?

I would highly suggest serving these piping hot with the warm blackberry sauce, and walnuts and cold fresh berries on the side. Add pure maple syrup if you want extra sugar. Drink some chilled peachy tea along with it. Any way we ate them, everyone in our household loved them!

Pancake ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
a heaping pinch of salt
1 cup non dairy milk (we like almond or coconut, but soy will also work)
2 tbsp canola (or vegetable) oil
1 tbsp agave nectar (or any other sweet liquid, apple cider would be good with this recipe)
1/3 cup finely chopped walnutss
1 tsp vanilla extract

How to make the pancakes:

Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately, then mix them together in the same bowl - lumps are okay. (Don’t overmix or you’ll get really flat pancakes.) Gently fold in the walnuts.
Grease a flat pan (we use non-dairy margarine) and turn the heat to medium high. Pour on the pancake batter and let cook until bubbles start to form in the center of each pancake. Flip and let cook on the other side until golden brown. This recipe makes enough for about 10-12 pancakes.

How to make the blackberry sauce:

Toss 3 cups blackberries into a food processor or blender and blend them until they’re a consistent liquid.
Pour the blackberry sauce into a pan, and set the heat to medium. Add in the juice of half a lemon and half a grapefruit if you dig extra flavor. Also add in 2 tbsp sugar (we use turbinado sugar.)
Heat until it’s combined and warm, but not burning hot. Serve warm.

quick dinner: sticky sweet smoky maple-mustard seitan &...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:00:00 -0500

quick dinner: sticky sweet smoky maple-mustard seitan & brussels

loosely chop up 1 small onion, 1 small bell pepper, 1-2 cups seitan, and mince two medium cloves of garlic. cut off the hard ends of 1-2 cups brussels sprouts, cut the sprouts in half if you have big ones. i suggest making the seitan in bulk on a sunday afternoon - it saves a ton of time over the week!
toss the ingredients in a sautee pan on high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. let the veg cook down & crisp on the edges. once a bit browned, give it a couple squeezes of lemon, a dusting of garlic & onion powder, and stir in 2 tbsp maple mustard. you can either buy this mustard, usually at farms/farmer’s markets, or just mix together pure maple syrup and a tart mustard at a ratio of 1:3. WARNING - do not use yellow mustard in this, go for a milder mustard with a kick of tartness at the end, like a nice dijon.
after about 5-7 more minutes of cooking, splash on a few drops of liquid smoke and sprinkle on a heaping pinch of sea salt & freshly ground pepper. the brussels should be just a bit crunchy, but soft. stir in a heaping teaspoon of the mustard, to coat. serve hot to 1-2 people.

want to see more quick meals, behind-the-scenes, and what we eat on an everyday basis? follow along on instagram! we hope you’re having a great new year - we’ve got lots of diy posts planned (and some in the works currently) for 2013!

how do you vegans get enough protein though?

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:24:00 -0500

eating food, duh? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc8TrchWeO0
(but in all seriousness, here)

Day two of our food gifting week: salted caramel...

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:37:00 -0500

Day two of our food gifting week: salted caramel corn!

Supplies

corn kernels
2 tsp oil
1 1/2 cup white sugar (beet sugar) or light brown sugar
3 tbsp earth balance (vegan butter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
coarse sea salt

Instructions

Cover the bottom of a medium pot with the corn kernels, then coat in the oil. Shaking every minute or so, heat the pot until all the corn is popped. (Wait until there’s a couple of seconds between pops.)
Transfer the popped corn into a big bowl. Wipe out the pot and pour in the sugar, butter, and vanilla.
Let it all heat, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning. When the mixture starts to bubble, slowly stir it to bring it all together. When it’s ready, it’ll be consistently liquid and light amber in color. NOTE: Don’t lick or touch the mixture, even if it’s “cooled” on the spoon - the sugar is dangerously hot. Also, don’t stir it too fast or the sugar will start to crystallize.
Pour the caramel over the popcorn, folding it in as you go. Quickly sprinkle a couple of heaping pinches of sea salt over top and fold it in. The caramel will harden pretty quickly, so make sure to evenly coat the popcorn before it does! Be careful to not touch the caramel right after it comes out of the pan - it’s still really hot!

To give as a gift, break it into small chunks and package in a small paper bag, taped over with festive washi tape.

All this week we’ll be coming up with easy food gifts that...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:09:00 -0500

All this week we’ll be coming up with easy food gifts that you don’t have to make with your oven. The first one up is this super simple peppermint chocolate bark. Click through to read how to put it all together!

As always, check labels (or company websites) to make sure the ingredients you use are vegan.

Bark Supplies

a 24 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp mint extract
4-5 candy canes
parchment or wax paper

Bark Instructions

Line a rimmed flat baking sheet with the parchment/wax paper.
In a double boiler (or, if you’re unequipped like me, a small pot inside a large pot filled 1/4 with water) melt your bag of chocolate chips with the mint extract, until it’s consistently smooth and creamy. Be careful to stir slowly - if you do it too fast the chocolate will seize up and become hard. (Not that I’ve ever done that or anything….)
Meanwhile, crush the candy canes with a hammer or in a food processor/blender.
When the chocolate’s melted, pour it into the baking sheet. Spread it out carefully until the whole pan is filled. Sprinkle the top with the crushed candy cane. If you want to keep the top very flat, lay another piece of parchment/wax paper on top and roll it with a rolling pin.
Freeze for a few hours, at least one hour.

How I packaged these bark pieces:

Break the bark into small pieces.
Wrap in tissue paper, then tie it up with twine.
Get some small gift boxes - I got mine from a craft store in the baking aisle. Before assembling, write your message on the box - I carved “to” and “from” stamps myself, but you could just as easily draw/write it out.
Put the bark in the box, then tape it shut with some washi or decorative tape.

Make sure to keep the bark in the freezer until you plan to give it away. Hope you like this little project, and find it easy enough to make! :)

the winter issue of chickpea is finally done! preview it online...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 03:04:41 -0500

the winter issue of chickpea is finally done! preview it online here or support us and order a print copy (or subscription). we hope you like it as much as we like the almond cookies we got to make from it :)

I had this pretty little plate of carrots, apples, beets, and...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:03:00 -0500

I had this pretty little plate of carrots, apples, beets, and dried cranberry cooked in apple cider for breakfast this morning. Really though, it can be eaten whenever, and makes great use of leftover vegetables from Thanksgiving.

10 baby carrots, about two handfuls, either left whole or diced
1 small apple, diced
3 small beets, previously cooked and peeled, about 1.5 cups, diced (i used canned whole beets to make it easier on myself)
cinnamon, turmeric, salt, sugar
apple cider and olive oil
dried cranberries and walnuts (optional)

toss all the carrot, apple, and beet into a sauté pan on medium heat, then pour in enough apple cider to cover the bottom of the pan and then some. cook until the cider has been absorbed into the veg, and they’ve been softened a bit.
once they’re soft and the cider’s gone, pour in about a tbsp of olive oil along with a dusting of cinnamon & turmeric and a heaping pinch each of the salt and sugar. add more to taste as you go. toss in the walnuts & cranberry if you like, then turn the heat up to high and stir everything together, letting the edges crisp, about 10 minutes on the pan.
serve hot with some leftover field roast and/or mashed potatoes. it would also be great in a tofu scramble! this recipe makes enough for 2-3 servings.

we’ve been prepping all of the foods that will be gracing...

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 08:48:46 -0500

we’ve been prepping all of the foods that will be gracing the thanksgiving table early this year, as we’re traveling hours to a relative’s house. a lot of you have been asking what we’re eating for thanksgiving, so here’s the basic menu! hopefully it’ll give you fellow vegans/vegetarians some ideas for your own thanksgiving meal.

for snacking throughout the day // shredded cooked brussels sprouts with toasted chopped walnuts, dried cranberry, and orange zest, tossed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sea salt (served hot but just as good at room temperature later on!)

main course // oven roasted cauliflower, carrots (pictured!), sweet potato, fingerling potatoes, brussels sprouts (use the small ones and you won’t have to chop them up!), and mushrooms (toss in olive oil, sea salt, and pepper and roast until toasty golden brown - very simple to put together)

mini pot pies with cornbread biscuit topping, filled with rosemary seitan, jerusalem artichoke, butternut squash, potato, and mushroom gravy

sides // the standard mashed potatoes, roasted corn, and cranberry sauce

dessert // booze-glazed citrus bread (a secret family recipe that we might show you later) and pumpkin cheezecake

sorry we don’t have pictures yet, but i really don’t want to make all of that twice! if you click through the links, it’ll take you to a similar recipe to what we’ll be making. the place we’re eating isn’t vegan friendly (sort of the opposite) so we need to bring as much of our own foods as possible. if it’s anything like the last time i ate there, though, our desserts will be the first to go. ;) hope you all have a great thanksgiving!

I like to think of this as a “better than nutella”...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:33:00 -0500

I like to think of this as a “better than nutella” hot chocolate. It’s incredibly rich, decadent, and will be sure to impress at a big wintery breakfast. And even if you don’t like hot chocolate (what?) you can use the basic hazelnut milk to add to granola or coffee. Try it out! :)

2 cups hazelnuts
water
1/4 cup sugar (i use sugar in the raw)
1 cup chocolate chips/minced chocolate chunks
2 tbsp dutch-processed cocoa powder
heaping pinch sea salt
dash nutmeg & cinnamon

pour the hazelnuts into a shallow pan, then heat on medium-high until the nuts are golden and fragrant. make sure to shake the pan to keep them from burning.
put the toasted nuts in a blender, then cover with water. blend and continue to add water until you get a milk-like consistency. (should be about 6-8 cups of water total, depending on your blender.)
pour the milk into a pot that’s lined with cheesecloth or a nut milk/sprouting bag. (if you can recall our almond milk post, they’re identical processes.) let the milk sieve through the cloth, squeezing out as much as you can until there’s just dry pulp in the bag.
put the pot on medium heat and add in the rest of your ingredients, stirring until everything has melted into the milk - about 5-10 minutes. add more spices as you see fit before serving.
serve hot to 4-6 people, depending on how big your mugs are. :)

It’s way too dark and rainy today to make a regular post,...

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:30:03 -0400

It’s way too dark and rainy today to make a regular post, and I have too much regular work to do, so instead I’ll let you in on all of the updates we made to our website, set to some pretty photos of a pomegranate I ate today for breakfast.

We updated nearly every page on our website, most noticeably our recipe archives.
We’re adding a bunch of new features that’ll be coming out in the next couple of months, including teaching cooking techniques, going more in-depth on specific ingredients, and taking gorgeous photos of local places to eat.
What’s most different now is that we’re accepting submissions and guest posts on our blog. You can learn a lot more about it here, but I encourage you all to send us something! :)

There are still some dead-end links to sift through, but the design is pretty much done. We’re really looking forward to posting more, and posting more great quality content for you.
Oh, and here’s a bonus coupon for anyone who went through this whole post. Help motivate me to finish my work! -____~ (Or I’ll probably just watch my favorite Halloween movie instead!)

This is that kind of meal that used to worry me. Will the...

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 16:28:00 -0400

This is that kind of meal that used to worry me. Will the potatoes be soft at the same time as the brussels? Will the tofu have enough time to absorb all the flavors it needs to? How do I make all of this come together? Timing is everything in cooking, and making a meal like this makes me feel pretty good in the kitchen.

Not only that, but this breakfast demonstrates exactly what a tofu scramble is best at. I never would have dreamed in my life that I’d ever be eating brussels sprouts, let alone at breakfast. But tofu scrambles have this weird power, making me excited to add vegetables to my morning meal. It really made me love vegetables, even the most hated of all vegetables, the brussels. Try this out on your next cold morning, and I think your mind will be changed about greens at breakfast too.

2 large sweet potatoes
4 cups small (I’d even say tiny!) brussels sprouts
1 cup super firm tofu, or 2 cups firm tofu
3 tbsp olive oil
spices to taste, I used: turmeric, cinnamon, mild curry powder, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper

Prep your ingredients. Cut your brussels off the stalk and cut off any tough stems, slice them in half if you get any large ones. Dice the potatoes. If using firm tofu, press it.
Coat the potatoes in olive oil and a heaping pinch of sea salt. Cook them on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft.
Meanwhile, steam the brussels. Put a steamer basket in a pot with an inch or two of water in the bottom. Cover the pot and turn the heat to medium. Let steam until the brussels are soft and bright green, about the same amount of time it’ll take the potatoes to cook.
When the potatoes are pretty soft and getting crisped a bit on the edges, break in the tofu and add the spices. (Remember: this meal is all about flavor from the foods, so spices are pretty secondary. The ones I listed are what I thought worked best, but feel free to create your own mixture. That’s the point of cooking, right, learning what you like?)
Pour in the strained brussels. Stir and let cook for another 5 minutes or until everything is flavorful and awesome. Add more salt as needed.
Serve hot and enjoy! This makes enough for four people, or two hungry people. ;P