I gobble garbanzo....salad!

GARBANZO BEANS...

Well, I love garbanzo (chickpeas) beans!  These beans are a huge part of Mediterranean cuisine.    Did I mention I love Mediterranean food?  Falafels, pitas, hummus, grape leaves, Moroccan salad, tabouli, tahini sauce, babaganoush, and lots more are loves of mine.  I love the Mediterranean salad that's the topic of this blog.  It is fresh, light, and filling, but it was originally made with yogurt.  So, I decided to veganize it.

Now, let me tell you a bit about garbanzo beans.  They are high in protein, fiber, iron, folate, and manganese.  The taste of garbanzo beans are great.  Vegans often use them in patties, cheeses, dressings, etc.  I usually stock up on the dried chickpeas more than I do any other bean, even though I do not discriminate with my beans. I'm generally an equal opportunity bean lover, but I use garbanzo more than any other bean.

So, how do I make these babies?  I make them in my pressure cooker in a snap (about 10 minutes) after picking through them and soaking them overnight. For those of you who have pressure cookers, I've included a YouTube video regarding how it's done. I actually have a pressure cooker similar to the one used in the video.  Tip: If you don't have time (20 minutes) to wait for the pressure to drop, try moving it to the sink directly off of the burner and running cold water over the pot until the pressure button goes down.

Pressure cooker video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN08K52uoDM

So, without further ado, let me give you the recipe to what I'm having tonight.  I've included the inspiration (nonvegan) recipe for all of you who want to try it the vegetarian way.  It is important to say that I've made my "fake feta" in advanced and from leftover tofu.  It takes about 24-48 hours to make fake feta due to the tofu having to soak up the flavoring.  I've included a picture of my fake feta below.

Close up of the fake feta (tofu).

MEDITERRANEAN GARBANZO SALAD
Original recipe: http://dashingdish.com/recipe/mediterranean-chickpea-salad/

Salad:

• 2 cups garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• 1/8 cup parsley (flat leaf), chopped
• 1/2 cup bell pepper (red or green), chopped
• 1/2 cup roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/8 cup kalamata olives, sliced
• 2 Tbs   vegan feta cheese crumbles (recipe coming tomorrow!)
• 1/8 cup red onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup English cucumber, diced

Dressing

• 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbs red wine vinegar (or apple cider)
• 1/4 tsp garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbs plain Coconut Greek-style yogurt or soy cream cheese
• 1 pinch salt and Monk's pepper (or to taste)
• 1 pinch of cane sugar/drizzle of honey

Instructions:

Cook garbanzo beans, let cool to room temperature, and set aside. Place in a medium bowl. Wash and dice vegetables to small bite size pieces (This is best done with an onion dicer). Add to the bowl with the garbanzo beans. Crumble vegan feta and add to bowl along with the sliced kalamata olives. 

In a bottle with a lid, add the ingredients for the dressing, and shake and/or stir to mix. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat with dressing. Chill in fridge for about an hour to chill or enjoy immediately! 

Fresh garbanzo salad for dinner!  I'm in Mediterranean bliss!

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Enjoy!  Let me know if you like it! 

I begged his pardon and got me a garden!

THIS YEAR'S GARDEN...

I didn't think I'd get a garden this year.  Last year's garden was pretty much nonexistent due to lifestyle challenges.  I don't know how to till the soil and I do not have a tiller.  I think I'd need a strong man for that!  So, what's a girl to do?  Buy some containers!  

Though my husband promised to do a nice sized traditional garden in my backyard in March, by May, I insisted on a container garden.  We planted a few staples, such as squash, zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers, and tomatoes along with herbs such as basil, mint, and peppermint.  My oregano plant that I had for about three years now refuses to let me kill it, and so that is also going strong.  I also have a monster rosemary bush in the backyard.  So, I am pretty much presently content.  I would have loved to have an array of hot peppers, snap peas, eggplant, corn, and carrots.  Because I'm not a veteran gardener, I am now taking baby steps.

Well, I'll be updating you all on the progress of my garden, but if you don't have at least a container garden yet, get one. It will save you tons of money on produce in the summertime.  Use organic soil and remember to fertilize, which is an important step (I as a novice gardener did not fertilize).  I used to think only sun and water did the trick, but fertilizer feeds the plants.  Now, I feel as if I have at least developed into a better gardener than I was.  For me, it was trial and error and connecting with very knowledgeable friends and family. 

I decided to do today's post on gardens because if you have ever felt like I used to feel, I wanted to encourage you to "let go" of the fear and jump into gardening, even if your crops fail the first three years.  You'll be sure to learn a thing or two along the way.  Right now, I am happy with the progress of my garden.  Though there's no sign of "fruit" yet, my garden still looks very healthy  almost three weeks after planting.  See for yourself, I've included pictures!  

Container garden planted May 5, 2013 has blossomed.
Trying out a container tomato garden too. Perhaps the abundant rainy days has helped them grow! 

You folks who live in apartments, I've seen some beautiful apartment container gardens.  Even if you live in a home with limited backyard space, there may be free or rental community sites where you can plant a garden.  My parents utilized a community plot when we used to live in the city years ago.

If you are new to gardening, please google tips and tricks to gardening or container gardening.  Any time you put in to developing your gardening skills will pay off abundantly, I know it did for me!

What are you planting in your garden this year!  Please share!

Muesli makes breakfast, lunch, or dinner healthy!

MUESLI...

Muesli is often called a breakfast cereal because of its fruity ingredients.  However, for years, my family has been eating it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner during the summer.  It's healthy, but sweet and delicious!!!  Sometimes we would mix it up a bit.  Salads and grains for breakfast, muesli for lunch, and a smoothie for dinner.  It works!  On Saturday night, my dad requested this dish; and so I obliged him.  I was at my sister's house and so I went out to get the ingredients and decided not to waste a possible blog post; so I took pictures.  

Now, muesli is a one-pot wonder, which means you can mix it up in the same pot you store it in.  Not only that, but it is also a complete meal.  However, I mixed it up in a large stainless steel bowl before I transferred it to a beautiful large glass pot with a glass cover.  I'm also a lover of beautiful ceramic/glass storage bowls, and I have a few of these just for my muesli.

Muesli reminds me of my childhood in Connecticut and the group of family friends we had who all ate a vegan diet.  Matter of fact, a friend of the family, Jurea Dawson, has created her own cookbooks (see below) with great information, tips, and vegan recipes.  I have given these cookbooks as graduation gifts to various former students who expressed a desire to go vegan/vegetarian.  If you are interested in checking them out or purchasing them, they can be found on Amazon.com:

1. Real Food Recipes:

• http://www.amazon.com/Real-Food-Recipes-Jurea-Dawson/dp/157258498X

2. More Real Food Recipes

• http://www.amazon.com/More-Real-Recipes-Jurea-Dawson/dp/1572584505

Anyway, Jurea's cookbook gives a muesli recipe and some suggestions on how to change it up to make it your own.  I've only made a slight variation on Jurea's recipe, which is to substitute fresh or frozen pineapple for the canned pineapple.  At times, chopped dates find their way into my bowl.  I even sprinkle chia seeds on a serving of muesli for added nutrition.  In truth, any cook will tell you, you can mix it up ANY WAY you like if the ingredients do not appeal to you.  Though I'm fond of apples, you may want to throw in crunchy Bosc pears in their place.  I love the coconut (and I cannot imagine the dish without it), but you may decide not to add it for whatever reason (I could not begin to comprehend why).  It's YOUR taste buds; so you may experiment with a recipe any way you choose.  However, if you want to keep it vegan, leave out the animal products and by-products -- meat, dairy, and eggs.

MY MUESLI

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups of rolled whole oats
• 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup of raisins
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 16 ozs of pineapple, crushed (I use fresh pinappled crushed in food processor)
• 2 large or 3 small organic red delicious apples (or any kind you want)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 46 ozs of unsweetened pineapple juice (juiced, frozen concentrate, bottled, or canned)

Instructions: 

1. In a large pot with lid (glass/ceramic), layer first four ingredients.  
2. Then peel one medium ripe pineapple, core, and crush in food processor  (This should be about 12-16 ozs) and layer chopped walnuts on top.  
3. Dice apples into cubes (a potato/onion dicer works great for this) and add on top of crushed pineapple.  
4. If you really want to keep it fresh, you may juice the core of the crushed pineapple and juice other ripe pineapples for the juice, and add water if not 46 ozs, but not too much water.  However, I usually use frozen pineapple juice from concentrate or pineapple in a bottle...it's faster than juicing.  Canned pineapple juice would be my last option because it leave a hint of a metal taste.  
5. Mix vanilla in pineapple juice and pour over the rest of the ingredients and combine all ingredients. 
6. Cover with lid and let sit 12-24 hours (or overnight) in the refrigerator.  The raw oats will absorb the most of the liquid during this period... I usually make it 24 hours in advance because it just tastes better once everything is all absorbed.  Enjoy! 

Dry mixture of the muesli

Adding pineapple juice.

Muesli ready to go in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

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Let me know what you think about my muesli. I know there are tons of dry varieties in the grocery stores, let me know if you've tried those and how those compare to this simple recipe.  Also, let me know how you make your own muesli.

Gummy Bears...another vegan candy experiment!

GUMMY BEARS...

I love gummy bears!  I first had them when I went to college because we hardly ate candy in my mother's house.  I remember I would buy a pack to make it through English class as an undergraduate.  I also remember the day I actually read the ingredients and was horrified to find it had gelatin in it.  Gelatin is usually made by boiling the bones, cartilage, and skins of animals or fish.  This definitely is not a vegetarian or vegan product.

Forever, I knew that we couldn't have jello because I was around five or six when my parents found out about gelatin and my mom stopped making her lemon pie because its main ingredient was gelatin.  I was disappointed because I really loved that pie.  Now, it's very clear that many professing vegetarians and vegans, even some of you now reading this blog, are surprised that gelatin is in the animal family because it is in tons of products.  Yogurts, cakes, pies, salads, and many other products contain gelatin.  Kosher gelatin is made from fish while all others are made from cows or pigs.

So, what's the alternative?  Agar and pectin are popular vegan/vegetarian substitutes, however, they sometime need more experimentation before you get an old gelatin recipe just right.  There are agar flakes and agar powder.  I usually use the powder because I find it to be cheaper than the flakes.  I buy it for .99¢ from the local Asian market.  Vegans use agar to solidify bean or nut cheeses, candies, jello, vegan eggs, etc.  Pectin is often used for jams and other things that agar can be used to make.  However, it can also be used to make these candies because I see pectin in the ingredients of vegan jelly beans and gummy bears at Whole Foods.  However, I haven't found a recipe with pectin yet.

Now a word of caution..  If you ask anyone who works with agar or pectin, you'll find that it takes a bit of working with before things turn out "just right."  You can't under-do it or over-do it with agar or you risk things being too soft or hard.  Therefore, if you find a recipe that calls for these agar, be especially careful to stick with the prescribed amount and type of agar for the recipe. If you don't, things may not turn out so well.

Well, with that said, let's get to the gummy bears.  There are a few recipes online, but I decided to try the second recipe below using only frozen fruit juice concentrate to make my gummy bears. Keep reading...

GUMMY BEARS
Original online recipes:

1. http://www.thenakedkitchen.com/all-fruit-gummy-bears/
2. http://ladymake.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-make-VEGAN-Gummi-Worms
3. http://www.ehow.com/how_6947506_make-gummy-bear-steps.html

Gummy Bears in the candy mold.

For this experiment, I used:

4 tablespoons Agar Agar powder (not flakes)

2 cups fruit juice (your favorite flavor!)

1 sauce pan

1 candy mold 

1/4 cup corn starch (or close)

1 pinch of salt (really just a few flicks!)

Closer peak at them in the tray.

As you can tell, I cut the recipe in half because this was only an experiment.  UPDATE from my initial post... Though my first batch was not completely gummy, while waiting for them to solidify, I kept the mixture on the stove stirring from time to time.  The mixture reduced and the gummy texture appeared.  I'll continue to work on this recipe.  Turns out that you MUST keep them in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.  The cornstarch did help.  I didn't use it on the following batches and they were more of a bear to get out than the first batch.  I will look for something different to help slide these candies out of the mold next time.  I did not add any extra sweetener other than the juice and they didn't seem sweet to me, but they were a bit understated.  I brushed some ascorbic acid on a few.  They do taste sour.  

Finally got a bear out of the tray.  I'm happy, but it has to easier to
get them out of the tray!

All-in-all, I am truly happy with my effort today.

This cantaloupe smoothie is mint-tally delicious!!!

CANTALOUPE SMOOTHIE...

Believe it or not, growing up I liked all melons, but the cantaloupe was my least favorite. I'd rather have a honeydew melon or a watermelon any day of the week, but I only had cantaloupe when there was nothing else to eat.  Well, not.any.more!!!  Now-a-days, it has even surpassed my love of watermelon.  I hear the "Whys" out there and I'll provide the answer.  The answer is simple.  I.LOVE.this.recipe!!!

I first made this smoothie in the late spring of 2011.  I've been hooked ever since.  I can't get through a summer without it.  Now, summer does not taste like summer without it.  I'm sure some of you know what I mean.  There's a fruit usually that is the epitome of summer for some of you.  This is MY summer fruit.  Don't get me wrong, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes  etc. are all part of my summer food (and smoothie) repertoire  but my go-to smoothie is this minty cantaloupe drink.  In fact, I've purchase a mint plant (because my green thumb has been a bit brown with my mint) every summer just so I don't have to buy the $1.99 mint leaves from Whole Foods.  

Mint is basically simply refreshing.  I love mint tea, I love mint in candy, and I love mint in salads.  It is full of vitamins (A and C), minerals (copper, iron magnesium, potassium, and calcium).  It is good for both cardiovascular and intestinal health.  Google its tremendous health properties for yourself!

Also, a bit about cantaloupe.  Not only is it nutritious, it's low in calories.  It is abundant in antioxidant flavonoids (beta-carotene, lutein, zea-xanthin and cryptoxanthin), vitamins (A, B-complex, C, K), and minerals (manganese).  It also helps keep the body from macular degeneration which is brought on as we age because it has a dietary carotenoid, zea-xanthin. Google it for yourself!  Cantaloupe does a body good!

Now, let's get this recipe!

CANTALOUPE SMOOTHIE

Serving size: 16-20 ozs.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ripened cantaloupe, frozen (more if desired)
• 1 cup almond vanilla milk (Silk or homemade)
• 1 tablespoon raw honey (or raw light agave nectar)
• 7 big fresh mint leaves (or 14 small leaves or more) 

Instructions:

1. Slice the cantaloupe away from the rind and into small cubes, resembling small ice cubes.  Measure 1 cup and place in individual freezer storage bag/containers (for use as needed).  This usually gives you about 2 1/2 cups of cantaloupe cubes depending on the size of the cantaloupe.
2. Freeze (I usually do this once my cantaloupe is ripe (I love to have some handy at all times).  
3. Once frozen, thaw one of the cups of frozen cantaloupe for about 5 to 10 minutes.  Place into blender. (This step is not needed if you have a blender that cuts through ice.)
4. Add milk, honey, and mint leaves.
5. Blend until smooth and frothy.  

My cantaloupe smoothie in all of its refreshing deliciousness!!!

Note: All of the above ingredients can be adjusted to taste.  

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ENJOY my taste of summer!!!! This smoothie is absolutely refreshing especially on a hot day.

I also love watermelon smoothies, but I have not bought my first watermelon yet.  I'll post that recipe when I make the first one of the summer.  Yep, these smoothies are by far the best part of hot weather!

If you have a summer smoothie recipe you like, feel free to share.  If you enjoy this smoothie as much as I do, I'd love to hear from you.

Vegan Fried Rice ... The "eggs" will make you look twice!

FRIED RICE...

If I'm doing Chinese food, I really love the fried rice.  It's vegetarian, not vegan, because it is made with scrambled eggs. It is usually not all that healthy because it has white rice, which has a high glycemic index.  Well, recently I saw a fried rice recipe on Facebook and I decided to veganize it.  I decided I'll make it with some of my leftover brown rice.  My vegan version is not only made with brown rice, but also substitutes the scrambled eggs with scrambled tofu.

Now, many people are pretty confused when it comes to tofu.  It's a white chunk of tastelessness to them.  They don't realize that you have to season it just like you would anything else.  Not only that, tofu can have various textures.  I hope to demonstrate the various textures in future recipes I post.  You can press it to be more condensed.  You can freeze it for a spongy texture.  You can also use it as is, straight out of the container tub for a softer texture.  It is this texture we want in our scrambled tofu "eggs."

Many people make their tofu scramble various ways.  I found out a few years ago that Black salt adds a nice eggy taste to my tofu-salad sandwiches and so I came up with a way to make my tofu scramble very simply.  In truth, I think it tastes like the chicken version, but that's MY taste buds.  I even go so far to make it look like the real thing.

For those of you who care, here's what I do.  I buy EXTRA FIRM tofu.  I'm careful to press the water out between two flat plates, but you can use any method that suits you.  Once I get most of the water pressed out of it, I use a sharp knife to cut along the tofu "skin," which is pretty condensed anyways.  I do that for each side.  Usually, the middle is still a bit wet; so I just use the outside layer of the tofu.  Once done, I take a fork and scramble it in a bowl... Okay, let me just give you the recipe!  So, without further ado, let me give you the simple recipe for my scrambled tofu (Now, that rhymes)!

SCRAMBLED TOFU

Ingredients:

• 1 block of extra firm tofu (14-ounce package, though I just use the sides, but you can use it all)
• 1/2-1 teaspoons Black salt (dependent upon taste and amount)
• 1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast (or 1 teaspoon if using  the whole block)
• heaping 1/8 teaspoon tumeric  (This colors the tofu and a little goes a long way)
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• freshly ground Monk's pepper, to taste 

Instructions:

1. Press tofu to remove the excess water.
2. Place in a bowl and combine all of the ingredients, except the pepper, while scrambling with a fork. 
3. Heat up some canola oil in the nonstick skillet and cook until it reaches the desired egg-like consistency. Be sure to taste to if if more black salt is needed.

My scrambled tofu looks and tastes like "eggs."

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VEGAN FRIED RICE

Ingredients: 

• 3 cups cooked brown rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)
• 3 tbs sesame oil 
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup scrambled tofu
• 2 tablespoons to 1/8 cup amino acid (or more depending upon taste)
• Add fresh broccoli florets ...or snow peas and other stir-fry veggies (optional)

Instructions:

1. On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low. 
2. Add the scrambled tofu.
3. Now add the rice and amino acid and blend all together well. 
4. Stir fry until thoroughly heated!

Vegan Fried Rice with Tofu Scramble

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Enjoy!  If you liked the veganized version of this recipe, let me know. I thought it was delicious!  This was a veganized success.

Avocado dressing is truly a blessing...

AVOCADO DRESSING ...

Okay... As a vegetarian, I must admit that I am not adverse to all dairy.  Plain organic Greek yogurt is the exception for me. In my vegetarian state, I would utilize yogurt, keifer, and eggs.   Greek yogurt was usually utilized in my avocado dressing to substitute the mayo (or sour cream) in this recipe. However, in my transitioning state back to my vegan roots, I have decided to use coconut cream as a substitute in some recipes in place of the Greek yogurt.  Consequently, all vegans can enjoy the traditional taste with a creamy-smooth texture of avocado dressing sans the dairy-based Greek yogurt.  Hooray for vegans everywhere!!! (If you can't tell, I really love this dressing!).

Before recently, I often bought cans of organic coconut milk because it's very hard to find coconut milk (full fat) in other forms. Ordinarily, I do not like to use canned foods, but here again I made an exception.  I had to have my full-fat 100% coconut milk!  I am happy to inform you that I have found a site that sells BPA-free coconut milk and now I purchase this brand.  This is not organic coconut milk, but the site explains that it doesn't have to be because the coconut is a hard-shell crop.  I've provided the link below so that you can read it for yourself if you choose too.  If organic is important to you, you may indeed find it hard to locate a BPA-free version of full-fat 100% coconut milk.

Coconut milk (BPA free):
http://importfood.com/naturalcoconutmilk.html

So, then the question becomes, "Why do you need the full-fat 100% coconut milk instead of the other kind that you can buy in glass bottles with added natural ingredients?"  There's a simple answer to this question.  If  there's no fat, it will be hard to make cream (Admittedly, there are some reduced fat versions, but I don't like it when my coconut milk is tampered with.  I want the whole food version).  I get the cream by putting the can (now the BPA-free box) in the refrigerator overnight. This allows the fat or cream to separate from the liquid.  Once this is done, you have coconut cream on top and the liquid on the bottom.

This next step is important.  Once the separation occurs, it's important to drain out the milk completely (and really, I've never found that the bottom layer ever really looks like it has no liquid on it; so I discard a thin layer at the bottom of the cream).  Poke two small holes, one on each side, of the can or box to let the liquid drain.  Never turn the can or box upside down or on its side.  It's important that no liquid makes contact with the cream.  Open the can or box on top and pull or scoop out the cream, being very careful not to let any of the cream you're going to use touch the liquid. Scrap off (I cut it off like I would slice a thick slice of cheese) the bottom layer that has the milk liquid on it.  Normal cream yield from a 16 oz can is about 1 cup, while the normal yield from an 8 oz box is about 1/4 cup.

Freshly "harvested" coconut cream

Okay, if you're frugal, you can keep the milk that you drained and the thin layer that you cut off (or left at the bottom of the cream) for other dishes. You don't have to trash it.  "Waste not, want not."  However, if the cream has no liquid touching it, TO ME (meaning my taste buds) it tastes VERY SIMILAR to pure heavy dairy cream once it's whipped (In truth, I've only ever tasted heavy dairy cream in its whipped state).  Nonetheless, it should have only a hint of a coconut flavor.  However, if you even have a drop of the separated coconut liquid touch that cream, you will have a stronger coconut taste.  Through trial and error, I know what I'm talking about, people.  Now, if you simply like the taste of coconut, then this may not be problem, but your dishes may all have a stronger coconut flavor than you would really want.

I hope I have not scared you away from doing this because I think it's worth it.  You can use the coconut cream in many dishes.  Today, we're using it in the avocado recipe below.  To me, if the ingredients are well blended, you should not be able to taste a difference in the dairy version vs. the coconut version.

AVOCADO DRESSING
Ingredients:

• 1 large avocado
• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons water (cold)
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (or less, but no more than this)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in blender (I use the small nutri-bullet) or food processor.  
2. Process until smooth and creamy (well combined). 
3. Use immediately or jar and place in the refrigerator.  

Jarred avocado dressing with the 100% BPA-free coconut milk product.

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This recipe is AWESOME on tacos!!! I also use it as a dip.  It's great on sandwiches as well. I use this pretty often.  It is a staple.

If you enjoyed this recipe or have something to add about making coconut cream, feel free to post.  If you have any questions concerning this blog, I'll try to answer them as best I can.  Enjoy!