Have a go at vegan pimento...cheese that is!

PIMENTO CHEESE...

Well, with pimento cheese, you either love it or you hate it.  I ate it all my life made in the vegan way.  It's one of those things that I only want now and then.  I find that it is good for finger sandwiches when having intimate socials.  Actually, at a small social after work, I remember having my first taste of non-vegan pimento cheese.  "Whoa!" I thought.  I remember discreetly spitting it out into my paper napkin and discarding the package. It may have been the catering company's fault (I don't know), but in truth, I never wanted a non-vegan pimento sandwich again.  I like the vegan version much better.  Not that the taste is all that different, but something was amiss..yes, a "miss." Perhaps if done properly, I'm sure, some of you pimento cheese zealots will highly disagree with me.  For me, the vegan version wins this taste test hands down!

So, if you don't know what pimentos are, I should tell you.  Pimentos are small sweet red peppers usually soaked in brine.  I only buy the ones in glass jars and they're fairly inexpensive.  You may usually find these stuffed into green olives ("Oh! That's what they are!").  They have very little nutritional value about 1% of DV of Vitamin C and 2 mg of potassium.  They are often more full of sodium than anything else.  However, folks who love pimentos, love pimentos.

Now, vegan pimento cheese mainly consist of cashews, tahini, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. However, I always add my extra with throwing in some extra-firm tofu.  You may find the basic vegan pimento recipe anywhere on the Internet, under "Cashew Pimento Cheese" or "Cashew Pimento Cheese Sauce."  Lately, folks are making it with the addition of veganaise and Daiya cheese or some other processed vegan cheese, which are fine as well.  You can also find these recipes online.  However, I am more inclined to stick with the recipe my mom used since I was a child.  Without further ado, here's the recipe...

VEGAN PIMENTO CHEESE

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cashews, rinsed (with 1/4 cup divided out)

1/2 cup pimento peppers (with 1/8 cup divided out)

1/2 cup extra-firm tofu

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon tahini

1 heaping teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoon onion powder

1 cup water

Processed cashews, pimento, and tofu.

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions:

In a food processor, pulse 1/4 cup of cashews until crumbly.  Add 1/8 cup of pimentos, and pulse once.  Lastly, add extra-firm tofu and pulse twice.  This should resemble pimento cheese without the color.

Next, in a blender, combine all of the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.  Pour into a small pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring regularly, until thick (this should be no more than 3-5 minutes) and it will thicken quickly.  Once to desired thickness, let cool and combine with the food processor ingredients.  You may refrigerate before making sandwiches or if you like it at room temperature, make sandwiches. 

Vegan pimento cheese sandwich for lunch!

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It really hits the spot every now and then.  I don't make it often, but when I do make it, I love it!  Let me know how you like it.  Your feedback is always welcomed. 

Stevia is a plant believ-a-ba (believeable)!

STEVIA...

This plant is growing in popularity because of its low-caloric properties.  More folks are flocking to supermarkets to purchase the extract or the dried (sugar-like) stevia.  Folks use it as just another artificial sweetener, but truly there is hardly nothing artificial about it.  In fact, if the processed varieties of stevia make you nervous, simply buy a plant and let the leaves make you a believer.

As a child, my mom was the sugar-Nazi!  She would often say, "No sugar for YOU!"  Heck, we could hardly have all the honey we wanted, but if we were getting anything sweet, it was usually going to be honey or a stevia leaf.  She would simply drop a dried stevia leaf into our hot tea.  It was great!

Now, I must admit that a fresh leaf must be chewed in order for the sweetness to release.  It is said that the  leaf (raw or dried) is 10-15 times sweeter than sugar in its natural state and more like 200-300 times sweeter than sugar in its processed state.  Now, simply just dropping a fresh raw leaf in hot tea will not release the stevia sweetness, you'll have to blend it up with your steeping tea and strain it.  In general, folks pick the leaves from the stevia plant, dry them in the sun, and crush them up for future use.  You can also make an extract.  The following site gives the history of stevia and how to make an extract.  Buying it from stores remain an option, but it's good to know all of the options.  Stevia information site: http://www.stevia.com/Stevia_Article/Frequently_asked_questions_FAQ/2269

Letting the blended stevia and mint, along with
a handful of fresh mint steep in the sun.

On Sunday, I decided that I needed some flavored water.  As important as what we eat is what we drink.  Sometimes, we want a flavor to drink. I had a bunch of mint and peppermint growing in my container garden and I thought that mint flavor water sounded like a great idea!  I'll make flavor water and sweeten it with leaves from a stalk of my stevia plant.  So, after trimming my plants, I bought them inside and blended about a cup of mint with leaves of the stevia stalk together. I stuffed more mint into a 32 ounce jar and filled it up with water.  I then put it back in the sun so that the heat and rays of the sun could release more of the flavors. I actually didn't drain the blended peppermint or stevia from the jar until the next morning.  The taste was just what I was after, a watery mint flavor that had a subtle hint of sweet.  It was truly mint flavor water. I've been drinking it ever since, one 8 oz. glass at a time.

Enjoying a glass of mint flavor water today.

I feel as if I am getting a host of nutritional benefits, not only from the mint, but also from the stevia because stevia reduces blood sugar levels.  It has flavonoid properties, such as Kaempferols, that reduces the risk of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, it taste good and is good for you.  Google the nutritional and health benefits of the natural stevia leaf, or plant, for yourself!

There's a host of information in books and online that relate how you can cook and bake with stevia.  Though I confine my stevia to drinks, that's what I'm used to doing... and unfortunately many of us are creatures of habit.  Maybe one day, I'll bake with the dried leaves.  That will have to be an experiment for sure.

Your feedback is always welcomed.  If you like stevia as much as I do, just let me know.  In the meantime, at least enjoy a dried leaf of stevia in your tea!

Vegan "egg" salad that will make you sing ballads!

VEGAN EGG SALAD...

Well, I must admit, I never really liked the Whole Foods' version of vegan egg salad made from tofu.  Though I have nothing against tofu, I felt that they could do more with it to make it more palatable. In truth, it's not disgusting, but if I'm going to eat vegan egg salad it has to taste more like egg salad!  Eating vegan egg salad at Whole Foods really made me long for something more; so I looked!

A few weeks ago, I started looking for a vegan hard-boiled egg recipe and came across the below version of vegan egg salad for my sandwiches.  Though I did not use this recipe, I think her sandwich looks appetizing and tasty!  I thought I'd share just in case you wanted to try it.  One day, I may try it myself!  Egg Salad recipe: http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2013/04/06/first-best-ever-vegan-egg-mayonnaise-egg-salad-sandwich/

I finally found my hard-boil egg vegan recipe made from coconut milk, which I posted last Thursday (see below vegan egg salad recipe for link).  In short, to make the egg salad, simply make that an'geled' eggs recipe and then combine it with the ingredients I've listed below.  You'll have leftover 'yoke,' which you can use when making egg salad again!  It makes me sing ballads!

Before I go on, I should say a thing about pickle relish.  I cannot find it without the unnecessary food coloring in it.  So, you can make your own and not worry about that poison. I've included a recipe from TastyKitchen.com that makes four pints below.  I think the taste is pretty similar.  You can use honey or agave in the place of sugar, if you like.  It's all about being consciously comfortable with what you are eating.  I don't use relish enough to run out fast, but if you do, just make more.  Recipe: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/canning/dill-pickle-relish-2/

I am thoroughly enjoying this summer sandwich in all its vegan glory.  I have come to love egg salad with sprouts.  However, I didn't have any sprouts on hand, so I went for the romaine lettuce instead.

Diced ingredients layered for egg salad.

VEGAN EGG SALAD (My version)

Pre-Instructions:  Make eggs according to the An'geled' Eggs recipe:  http://experientialvegan.blogspot.com/2013/06/vegan-angeled-eggs-that-will-make-you.html

Simply do not pipe the vegan yoke into the 'egg whites.' Instead, dice up the egg whites and reserve about three tablespoons of the vegan yoke for the vegan egg salad (store the rest for more vegan egg salad or an'geled' eggs), adding the following ingredients ...  


Ingredients:
3 tablespoons an'geled' eggs yoke
1 small celery stalk, diced
2 tablespoons grapeseed veganaise
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/8 cup tomatoes, diced
1/8 cup onions, diced
1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon Monk's pepper, optional
1/8 teaspoon paprika
Relish, about a tablespoon, if desired

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in one bowl.  Add extra relish  if desired (aside from what is already in the an'geled' eggs).  Also add more salt if you like, but I find it's salty enough!

Serve on your favorite homemade bread (I toast my bread first) with lettuce or sprouts.

Vegan egg salad on homemade agave-spelt bread
ready for consumption!

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Yes, this was totally delish!  I hope you like it as much as I do!  Feedback is always welcomed, especially if you have any suggestions on how to make it even more spectacular!  

Vegan An'geled' eggs that will make you beg!

VEGAN EGGS...

Yep, the eggs pictured in this blog are vegan, and, believe it or not, they taste very much like eggs. So, yes, now you can have your vegan and eat hard-boiled eggs too!  It's truly amazing!!!  I bet you can't wait to try this recipe for yourself, especially if eggs are something that you miss about being vegan.  Now, no more sacrificing the taste for health!  These are not full of harmful ingredients.

Okay, in all truthfulness, this is my first success with making vegan eggs. As my mother always said, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again."  Last Friday, I found two separate recipes, one using almond milk and the other using soymilk, both equally disgusting to me.  The egg whites made me gag. I could not imagine that the bean or tofu yolks would be much better.  I did try the bean yolks and though they weren't too disgusting, the recipe had so much salt in it, I ended up throwing it all away.  

Over the weekend, I discussed my failures with my sister, who insisted that I use plain coconut milk,  because it's nearly flavorless.  I quickly returned home to search for a coconut milk egg white recipe.  Though the egg white recipe was the same for all of them, I must say that the coconut milk made the difference. Also, I decided to try the mash potato yolks, which was awesome as well.  

Coconut milk egg whites poured into
mold and place in the refrigerator.

Once set, these resemble eggs.

In other blogs, I related the nutritional benefits of agar powder, a seaweed derivative, and the benefits of coconut; so in this blog I decided to relate the nutritional benefits of potatoes.  I used red potatoes for this recipe because they are so soft and easy to work with.  Red potatoes are a high energy food, packed with calories and carbohydrates, however they are a mild glycemic food.  This is probably why the military uses potatoes so much.  Especially with their skins attached, they have an array of vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K) and minerals (calcium, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc).  Red potatoes are free of fat, cholesterol, and extremely low in sodium and low in natural sugar. One medium red potato also contains about 4 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.  Google the nutritional benefits of red potatoes for yourself!

So, I embarked again making my substitutions and additions to the recipe I found (see original recipe below).  I believe it's a winner.  I hope you love it too!  For me, there's nothing evil about these eggs.  These eggs are all good! Without further ado, the recipe is next!

VEGAN AN'GELED' EGGS (Because there's nothing deviled about these eggs!)

Original recipe: http://livingwhilelivingwithout.blogspot.com/2013/05/vegan-deviled-eggs-egg-dairy-soy.html

Whites: 

• 1 cup unsweetened plain So Delicious Coconut Milk
• 1 tsp agar powder
• 1/8 tsp black salt

Yolks:

• 1 medium red potato, skinned, cooked, and mashed
• 1/3 cup unsweetened plain coconut milk
• 1 Tbs prepared mustard
• 1 tsp vegan mayo, such as grapeseed veganaise
• 1/8 tsp tumeric powder
• 3/4 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black salt
• 1 Tbs dill relish
• Paprika to garnish

Instructions:

In a small pot, bring ingredients for egg whites to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently. During this process, you will create a bunch of bubbles while whisking, but don't pay any attention to that as you can use a large knife against the pot to pour the egg white mixture into the molds, thus reducing the bubbles in the mold. Once the mixture it at a boil, remove from heat and pour egg molds. Refrigerate until set, between 20 and 30 minutes.

Next, peel and dice one medium red potato and boil for about 20 minutes or until tender enough to mash.  Remove any excess water and mix in the coconut milk and tumeric and cook for an additional 2 minutes, so that the tumeric can release its color.  Then add the rest of the yolk ingredients and be sure to remove any clumps so that the resulting mixture has a smooth consistency.  Once done, set aside.

Scooped out the middle with a small spoon to fill with
yoke mixture.

Once eggs whites are set, use a small spoon to carefully scrape out half sphere holes near the middle of each.  Using a cake piper or a plastic bag, pipe the yolk mixture onto eggs and garnish with paprika.  Serve or refrigerate up to 3 days.

The end product was truly pleasing to my
taste buds.  Try it for yourself!

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I am so happy to have had success with this recipe!!! I will be using it again.  There are so many things I will make now that I have this recipe as a base.  My creative mind is a'buzzin'!

If you make this recipe, I would love to hear from you, especially if you love it as much as I do! I'd also appreciate any of your additions to the egg yolk mixture as we all put our own touch on our dishes.  Enjoy!!!

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Vegan parmesan using brazil nuts!

VEGAN PARM...

Well, there are so many versions of vegan parmesan to try out, but for years, I've always thought that brazil nuts reminded me parmesan.  In truth, I hated brazil nuts and parmesan cheese for years until my taste buds matured in recent years.  That's when I found lots of ways to use dairy parmesan in pesto, in salad dressings, and, of course, as a topping.

Now, for those of you who don't know, brazil nuts are full of nutrition. Brazil nuts contain vitamins (Vitamin B-Complex, Vitamin E), minerals (copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc), and antioxidants. Though these nuts have a high caloric value, they are a great source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), the same as those found in most Mediterranean diets.  Therefore, brazil nuts help lower the bad cholesterol to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by improving the healthy blood lipid profile.  This nut is also known as a non-gluten food, as is almonds and pine nuts.  Google the nutritional benefits of brazil nuts for yourself!

Though I thought that brazil nuts mimicked the taste of parmesan, it took years before I realized that raw vegans often use this as a parmesan substitute.  Though I tweak every recipe I find, I recently found a recipe online that required baking the nuts.  I do not recommend roasting nuts over 110 degrees due to the breakdown of the oils.  I'd rather have the raw nut instead of the roasted one.  I know that I may be in the minority here.  Anyhoo, the original recipe I tweaked came from Dreena Burton's blog: http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/2-vegan-parmesan-substitutes-brazil-nut-parmezan-and-cheesy-sprinkle/

Up-close look at vegan parm right after combining ingredients.

BRAZIL NUT PARM (My version)

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups raw brazil nuts
• ½ tsp (little scant) sea salt
• 1 ½ tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp fresh organic lemon zest

Instructions:

Pulse the brazil nuts in a food processor or blender until crumbly. Do NOT over pulse or over blend, or you will end up with paste due to the oil in the brazil nut. Pour into dish and toss in the salt, nutritional yeast, and lemon zest. Use your fingers to work these ingredients through the crumbled nuts.  Once done, transfer to a container to refrigerate. 

Basil tomato pasta topped with vegan parm.  Yum!

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If you love this vegan parmesan topping, let me know. 

Lemon bars are lemon stars!

LEMON BARS ...

I am a lemon bar fanatic.  As a vegetarian, I would make them on the regular using eggs.  However, vegan lemon bars cannot contain any animal by-products.  Consequently, now when I want some lemon bars, I simply tweak a recipe from one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, Veganomicon.  There are a few vegan recipe books I highly recommend, and as I use recipes from them (whether I tweak them or not), I'll let you know what they are.  I will not post recipes that I have not tweaked because I believe that to be unethical without being given expressed permission by the author.  In the cases that I do not tweak the recipes, I'll simply refer you to the book.

These lemon bars are made by substituting the egg ingredients with agar.  As a mentioned before in my previous blogs on gummy bars and vegan jello, agar is a nutritious seaweed and vegans use it to gel various foods, especially desserts.  Agar combined with fresh organic lemons are both essential parts of this dessert. You want to make sure you only use organic lemons for this recipe because you zest the lemons and you want to avoid any harmful pesticides that may be on lemons not grown organically.  

Lemons are so good for you!  Let's talk a bit about their nutritional composition.  One lemon provides vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin C) and minerals (calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc), but it is widely known as a source for Vitamin C.  One lemon provides 139% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C.  This is important to fight sickness, such as the flu, and boost the immune system.  Lemons also have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which also make it a great food for healing.  They also have a variety of other uses. For example, to relieve constipation and flush the liver, enjoy at the start of each morning a warm (almost hot) cup of water with 1/2 of a lemon squeezed into it.  Who doesn't know that lemon water (sans the sugar) aids in weight loss?  If you didn't, now you know.  Google the other wonderful nutritional and health benefits of lemons!

Lemons just aren't a tough sell!.  They have a wonderful scent, which is used in a variety of cleaning products, but they are also one of my go-to foods when cooking.  Lemon add a tart and tangy flavor to many recipes.  Who doesn't love lemonade in the summer?  It's refreshing!  Many desserts are made with lemons as well.  As I said before, I love lemon bars because lemon bars are lemon stars to me!

Once set, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into slices.

LEMON BARS (about 24 small squares)

Crust:

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose winter spelt flour
• 1/3 cup cane sugar
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine (8 tablespoons)

Filling:

• 1 1/3 cups water
• 3 tsp agar powder
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (1 large organic lemon)
• 1 1/4 cups cane sugar
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 3 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup So Delicious Coconut milk, unsweetened
• confectioners’ sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. 
2. Pulse the spelt and sugar in a food processor, then add the margarine in spoonfuls and pulse to blend the mixture spreadable.  With a spatula, spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan, evening the layer and forming slightly raised sides to hold the filling. Bake the unfilled crust for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, and let cool.
3. While crust is baking, prepare the filling.  In a sauce pan, let agar powder dissolve in the water for about 30 minutes.  Zest the lemons and squeeze the lemon juice.  Mix the arrowroot into the lemon juice to dissolve.
4. Once the agar has been dissolved for 5-10 minutes, turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.  Boil for about 3-5 minutes, or until the agar is completely dissolved.  
5. Add turmeric into the agar first and combine and then add sugar and combine, and boil until they have dissolved, about 3 minutes.  
6. Turn down the heat to medium and add the arrowroot mixture, then add the lemon zest and coconut milk.  Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes, but do not rapidly boil (low bubbling allowed).
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust.  Let cool for 20-30 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours (I usually make it at night and let it refrigerate overnight), until the filling has set, slightly jiggly.  Use a fine-mesh strainer to sprinkle the bars with confectioners’ sugar.  Slice in squares and serve.

To serve, sprinkle a bit more powdered sugar and
watch them disappear!

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If you like lemon bars, tell me all about it!  I'd love to hear from you!

Fasting with grapes (or any fruit)!

FASTING...

There are various ways to fast.  Most healthy people would admit that fasting at least one day a week greatly improves your overall health.  The reason being that when you fast, it gives the body's digestive system a chance to rest.  For me, a true fast is not eating anything for 24 hours.  However, for religious reasons, I may be inclined to fast about three days, but I generally will not go any longer than that!  I do not fast every week, but I am striving for that, and so I am exploring various ways to make fasting easier to do.  To that end, for the last 24 hours I fasted with fruit.

Some people fast to cleanse their bodies of cooked and processed foods.  On these cleansing fast, they may eat only one thing. like one particular fruit.  A fruit fast is a great way to clean out the system because that's what raw fruits do, they cleanse the system while vegetables build the system.  So, when I want to fast without doing a true fast, I generally stick to only one fruit.  I'd usually do oranges, grapefruit, or grapes (all organic if possible).  I'd drink plenty of water for 24 hours.  It usually takes about two hours for fruits to digest and so I give my stomach an extra hour to rest before eating again.  I generally stop eating after 7 p.m.

Many people believe that fasting from morning to morning is the best way to fast.  I usually don't fast that way because I tend to get REALLY hungry at night if I do.  Instead, I'll fast from noon to noon, which is better psychologically for me.  I am just not as hungry.  You can choose what's best for you as well.  As always, I urge you to google various ways of fasting to see if you want to incorporate this into your lifestyle.

So, today I'm ending my fast (I started yesterday at 2 p.m.) of eating grapes, just grapes.  I've had  plenty of water too.  I wanted to post to the blog, but I did not want to cook to tempt myself, so I decided to write about my fast. I figured I could give you a bit of nutritional information on grapes and urge you to google the nutritional information on the fruit of your choice should you ever choose to fast with fruit.

Grapes contain numerous health promoting phytonutrients, such as polyphenolic antioxidants, vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B-complex, Vitamin-C, Vitamin K), and minerals (copper, iron, manganese, potassium).  Grapes get their color from the polyphenolic pigments in them, which contain various antioxidants concentrated in the skin.  Red and purple varieties are rich in anthocyanins, while white and green varieties contain more of tannins, especially, catechin, which is a flavonoid antioxidant.  Both antioxidants, anthocyanins and catechin, are anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial, and have anti-cancer properties.   Red grapes are especially known to contain resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant which protects against colon and prostate cancers, heart disease, nerve disease, Alzheimer's, and a host of viral or fungal infections.  Google the amazing health benefits of grapes.  Though seedless grapes are abundant, grapes with seeds in them are going to better for you.  However, if seedless grapes are all you can get, eat them!

One thing's for sure, once a fast is over, you are going to be so happy to eat; however I find I make healthier choices once my fast is done.  Therefore, one of the biggest reasons I fast is because I find it makes me more temperate and able to resist the unhealthy choices I may have been making before the fast.  Something in my brain goes, "If you didn't need it for 24-hours, you don't need it now!"  That's why I want to continue fasting at least once a week on simply one raw fruit or vegetable at a time. It will act as a focused and meditative meal to allow my body to easily digest and cleanse out the bad.

Today's red grapes ready to eat!

If you already fast once a week, biweekly, or once a month, let me know.  Any tips that help you make it through the day are also welcomed.  The easier you make fasting, the more enjoyable it will be and the more you'll be able to stick with it.