Last day of 2010

Can you believe today is the last day of 2010!?! Wow where did the year go? I've been so busy this past month between the holidays, my trip to Cincinnati and Chicago and the launch of my catering business "the green vegetarian" where has the month gone?
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for taking the time in your busy schedules to read my blog. My New Year's resolution is to bring you more "findings" from recipes to books to new and exciting vegan foods. Perhaps your New Years resolution can be to try at least one meatless day per week.....come on, I dare you! Give it a try, you might just like it!
Happy New Year :)!

TVP

Last week I was in beautiful sunny Marco Island, Florida, the weather was in the mid 80's, sunny, just lovely...back to Ohio where its cold and gloomy...(actually today was pretty nice...sunny and almost 60!)..
What brings to my mind on those cold days is chili. I use to love my meat laden chili, but those days are gone, but I do miss chili like my mom use to make. So, I decided using TVP, Textured Vegetable Protein. What, you may ask, exactly is TVP? Textured Vegetable Protein is a made from defatted soy flour that has been cooked under pressure then dried. It is very high in protein and contains NO FAT!  What's great about TVP is it takes on whatever flavors you put with it. So why not replace my ex-love, ground beef with TVP? I did and now I have a new love with the initials...TVP! Give it a try...
TVP CHILI
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped 
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 - 4 oz cans tomato paste
1 - 35 oz can tomato (do not drain!)
2 - 16oz cans kidney beans, drained (or make your own using dried kidney beans)
2 cups TVP
4 cups water
In a large pot, saute onion, green pepper, and garlic until soft, add in chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.  Add in 1 can tomato paste with 2 cans of water. (this is a very important step!) Simmer uncovered until tomato paste has thickened about 15 minutes.
After the 15 minutes, add the tomatoes and kind of "chop" up with your spoon, the other can of tomato paste,  kidney beans, TVP and the rest of the water.Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low 45 minutes.
ENJOY! 
Kidney Beans made in a pressure cooker are real easy.
Just rinse 1 Cup dried kidney beans, add to pressure cooker with 2 cups water. Let soak about 15 minutes or longer...(not necessary but I think worth it). Cover and bring to pressure, lower heat to low and let cook 45 minutes, slowly let pressure out and take off lid, add 1/4 teaspoon salt and let simmer uncovered until all the liquid is absorbed about 15 minutes. 

Quinoa Carrot-Apple Salad

Over the weekend I participated in a heart talk called "Tools for a Healthier Lifestyle" with my friends Adene and Laura from Aultman Heart Center at Aultman Hospital. I did a cooking demonstration using heart friendly vegan foods.  I made rice pilaf, chocolate rice cereal treats, tofu banana bread, pumpkin cup cakes and quinoa carrot-apple salad. 
I enjoyed sharing my vegan knowledge to a crowd of non-vegans! I hope they try at least one of my recipes!
Here's the quinoa carrot-apple salad...a crowd favorite. I hope it will be yours too!
Quinoa Carrot-Apple Salad
Serves 4
1 cup WASHED quinoa (make sure you thoroughly rinse the quinoa before you cook it!)
1 1/2 cups water
pinch salt1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 red apple, diced
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Bring water, quiona and salt to boil. Simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile, combine cider vinegar and garlic in small bowl. Let stand 15 minutes.
Stir together carrots, apple, green onions, cranberries and quinoa in a large bowl.
Whisk agave nectar and oil into cider vinegar mixture. Add to carrot mixture, toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
ENJOY!

Wondrous Spaghetti Squash

I'm freezing today! (Its really only 60 but it seems so cold...gray and rainy....)Kind of hard to believe only 3 days ago it was 90 degrees! I'm afraid summer is over and all those glorious vegetables will soon be gone.....now its time for wonderful squash ...butternut, acorn, pumpkin and one of my all time favorites..spaghetti squash. Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? Its amazing....its great for all you non-carb believers out there....Spaghetti squash is so easy to prepare...you can top it with marinara sauce, pesto, mix it with greens....the possibilities are endless! 
Its really easy to prepare.....

1. cut open and discard the seeds the best you can
2. place in a baking dish, flesh side down
3. add about 1/4 inch of water
4. bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 50-60 minutes until soft

5. carefully turn over and start "shredding" with a fork....its amazing...it looks just like angel hair pasta!
6. place in bowl, toss with whatever strikes your fancy!

spaghetti squash with vegan meatballs and sauce....can you say....yummy!

7. ENJOY!    

Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil

Beautiful sunset on Lake Erie, Erie, Pennsylvania

Labor Day....the end of summer. I know, we still could have some lovely warm days ahead, but let's face it....summer is over :(......I spent a lovely couple of days with my cousins from Erie, Pennsylvania. My cousin Tony had a fish fry...(okay, don't go ballistic on me) in what use to be my Aunt and Uncles cottage in Ripley, New York...lots of great memories there! I brought fresh homemade salsa and fresh guacamole...there where also lots of fresh lovely salads...so plenty for a vegan to eat.

Fresh Garden Tomatoes

I met a lot of wonderful people there...(welcome to my blog for all you first timers!) and it was great catching up with my cousins, second cousins...and my lovely Aunt Jane......91 years old!
After having a lovely breakfast overlooking Lake Erie with my cousin Patty and her boyfriend Gary this morning (they actually made me vegan pancakes....THANK YOU!) we made our way
 back to Ohio....on the drive home I thought about the lovely tomatoes a friend of ours gave us before we left....(my garden was not good this year sadly...better luck next year!) What to make...for some reason I had a real taste for tomato soup and a open faced grilled "cheeze" sandwich....Not exactly picnic Labor day fixins! So if you where lucky enough to have a great garden and have lots of tomatoes...Make this soup! Freeze some so in the middle of winter you can savour those lovely days of summer!

Basil

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP WITH BASIL
2 1/2 pounds of fresh tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 large onion, sliced

1-2 tablespoons safflower oil (or canola oil)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 quart vegetable stock (its easy to make your own, just put a bunch of veges in a pot add water to cover, bring to boil, simmer for about an hour) 
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Wash, core and cut tomatoes in half. Spread tomatoes, garlic and onions onto a baking sheet. 

Roasted tomatoes, onions and garlic

Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes.
Remove roasted from oven and transfer to a large soup pot. Add 3/4 of the vegetable stock, bay leaves and vegan butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add chopped bay leaves. Carefully place in blender place top on (take out the center part of your top cover off) cover with a towel and blend until smooth or however you like it! Season with salt and pepper......

ENJOY!  

Creamy Amazing Cole Slaw

Just in time for the end of the summer ....what better dinner than a vege burger, fresh corn on the cob, grilled, and cole slaw. I use to love to order cole slaw instead of a salad at restaurants, but unfortunately no more...(no vegan mayo of course!). I made this yesterday and even my non- vegan husband loved it! Give it a try!
Creamy Amazing Cole Slaw
Serves 4 to 6
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon agave nectar
pinch sea salt
1 small head green cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 sweet onion sliced thin
1 small green pepper finely chopped
In a bowl whisk the mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, agave nectar, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrot, onion, and green pepper. Mix together. Add the mayonnaise mixture and toss until well combined.  
ENJOY!

Peaches ........YUM!

One of my very favorite fruits are peaches. In the summer I just can't eat enough of them. I decided to try a peach cobbler. I found several recipes and came up with my own vegan version....give it a try.....its easy and oh my, so good!
You may have noticed in my recipe I use turbinado sugar, why? Turbinado sugar is raw sugar that has been steam-cleaned.  Turbinado sugar is vegan unlike refined white sugar which is usually treated with bone char, an animal product.
VERY EASY PEACH COBBLER
Yield: 5 servings
1/4 cup vegan "butter" (I use Earth Balance)
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
pinch salt
1 cup turbinado sugar, divided
1/2 cup soy, coconut or rice milk
2 cups fresh peaches sliced
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
ground cinnamon and nutmeg

Melt "butter" in a small baking dish.
Combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt, add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (DO NO STIR).
Bring remaining 1/2 cup sugar, peach slices and lemon or lime juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (DO NOT STIR). Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Bake at 375 degree for 40 minutes or until golden brown. 
Serve warm with non-dairy ice cream (I happen to love Tofutti vanilla almond) if you want.....

ENJOY!
 

Happy Birthday!

I can't believe it! Its been one year since I started my blog, my new way of eating.....my new beginnings.
It really hasn't been hard being a vegan, its a shame more restaurants just don't get it. All of us would be so much more healthier if we had fresh choices. I was once there...cheeseburgers, fries, steak....and just maybe a hot fudge Sunday to top it all off.....no more.....I feel so much better now, I sleep well at night, I have tons more energy and I'm fit! I use to think eating this way was a sacrifice....what? Now I realize I can actually taste food, real food, not food that's been processed, laden with salt and who knows what else.People are still amazed when I tell them I've had cancer and open heart surgery.. I urge you....just try one of my recipes that I've posted over the year, you might be surprised....your taste buds will thank you! AND REMEMBER......ENJOY! (and yes....that is a vegan cupcake!)

Macrobiotic Oatmeal

I've been trying macrobiotic recipes lately...Its really a wonderful way of eating....and inexpensive! Macrobiotics eat a lot of grains, beans and fresh vegetables. So, if your on a budget, look into macrobiotic, you'll fell better and your wallet will too! 
I found this recipe in "Modern-Day Macrobiotics" by Simon G. Brown He was taught by Michio Kushi, the American father of macrobiotics. I really like this book, it was very easy to read, very concise and it gives you different menu's to try...there's a revitalizing menu for both winter and summer, a 3 day detox cleansing menu, a 4 month healing menu...this will get you started on eating the macrobiotic way. 
Give this oatmeal a try...it really is good....and I promise, you won't go hungry all morning!

 Steel cut oats with nori
1 cup steal cut oats
1/4 cup raisins, rinsed
2 sheets tasted nori, cut into 1-inch strips
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Wash the oats and soak overnight in 4 cups cold water. In the morning, bring the oats and water to a boil in a covered pan. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Add raisins and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn heat off and serve with the strips of nori, sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Okay, I know the thought of seaweed in your breakfast sounds gross, but nori is very nutritious, its full of iron, calcium, iodine potassium, and magnesium. And if that wasn't enough...its also rich in  vitamins A,B,C, D,E and K. Oh and I did I mention protein? So don't turn your nose up at seaweed, its very good for you!
ENJOY!

Vegan Doughnuts....what!?!

Okay, even though I try to eat really healthy now....at one time I was a big junk food eater...(I still have my down falls every once in awhile....) One of my favorite Saturday/Sunday lounging in bed treats was doughnuts..Oh well.....that's what I thought until now! I found this recipe in the "vegan yum yum" cookbook by Lauren Ulm And she's right! These are yum, yum! In fact this book has countless yummy recipes! 

The only equipment you need is a mini doughnut pan which I ordered and it came in less than 3 days....so get your pan and try these amazing doughnuts!                                                                                                                               

                                                                               
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch cinnamon
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used almost 1 teaspoon)
egg replacer for 1 egg
4 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine
1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon with a whisk to mix thoroughly.
3. Combine the soy milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, egg replacer and margarine in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and mix until the margarine is melted. This mixture should not get hot!
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. It should form a very soft dough or thick batter.
5. Using a tablespoon measure scoop out the dough into the ungreased, nonstick mini-doughnut pan. Smooth out the top of the doughnuts with your fingers, clearing off the post in the middle. Don't overfill!
6. Bake for 12 minutes until the doughnuts are almost browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Invert the hot pan over a cutting board or cooling rack and release the doughnuts. Allow to cool completely before decorating (unless your making powdered sugar doughnuts). If you let them cool covered loosely with plastic wrap., this will keep the donuts soft and fluffy.
Icing:
Chocolate-dipped Doughnuts: Melt 1 bar of your favorite dark chocolate in the microwave or over double boiler. Dip tops of doughnuts in chocolate, place on wire rack to cool.
Glazed Doughnuts - whisk 1/2 cup lump-free powdered sugar with tablespoon soy milk. Dip the "bottom" half of the doughnut (the nice side) into the glaze, set on wire rack that has been placed on parchment or wax paper. 
ENJOY!

 

Black Bean and Rice Salad

You don't have to be a vegan to enjoy this salad. Its full of delicious goodness!

Black Bean and Rice Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing
2 cups cooked rice
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup red bell pepper
1 cup whole corn kernels (frozen or fresh)
2 scallions, sliced
2 cups chopped lettuce 
Creamy Lime Dressing (recipe follows)
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss in Creamy Lime Dressing.....
ENJOY!
Creamy Lime Dressing
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice 
1/2 cup vegan sour cream                                               
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon Agave Nectar
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
In a blender, blend all the ingredients except olive oil, salt and pepper until smooth. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.

Tofu Kale Lasagne

Okay before you say...yuck....you have to give this a try....its delicious! When you think lasagna you think cheezy yummy goodness...not for a vegan! Until now that is! I adapted this recipe from "The Chicago Diner Cookbook"

Come on be bold...give it a try!
Tofu Kale Lasagna
1 pound lasagna noodles
2 pounds chopped kale
1 pound soft tofu, drained

1 pound firm tofu, drained                             
1/2 cup soymilk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
4-5 cups marinara sauce (use your favorite or just use a organic jar spaghetti sauce)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the lasagna noodles according to directions on package, drain, set aside. Place all the ingredients expect the noodles, kale and marinara sauce in a blender and process until smooth. Combine the kale with the blended tofu. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan with 1/2 cup of marinara sauce, then a layer as following: marinara sauce, noodles, half the tofu-kale filling. Continue layering, ending with a layer of noodles and marinara sauce.  Top with vegan mozzarella if you want. Bake 30-40 minutes. 
ENJOY!

Vacations....

Wow! I can't believe I didn't post anything in June! Where has the time gone? I can tell you I've been reading, researching  and eating heart healthy vegan meals. In the past 3 weeks I've been to Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Kelley's Island...wew! I think I'm done traveling for awhile!

FABULOUS CHICAGO SKYLINE

                                                                    KELLEY'S ISLAND, OHIO

While I was in all those wonderful places, I was able to find great vegetarian/vegan food.

While in Chicago I went to the famed "Chicago Diner".... I was in food heaven! They had the most amazing selections I've ever seen! I could of eaten there the 3 days I was there for breakfast, lunch and dinner.....and had a different selection at every meal! I was fortunate to eat breakfast there, they actually call it brunch because they don't open until 11:00 am, I was starving but it was well worth the wait. I had the breakfast bowl which constisted of diner potatoes topped with tofu, seitan sausage, biscuit and gravy....can you say fabulous! 

I was so excited when I found out they had a cookbook! I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but when I do, you'll know! You can find the Chicago Diner  @ www.veggiediner.com. Check out the menu, I swear you'll jump the first plane to Chicago just to eat at the Chicago Diner!

Seitan, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich.....

Remember my lovely garden I started about a month ago? It was all kinds of different lettuce...I am now being rewarded with fresh lettuce every day. The thing about lettuce, the more you pick,  the more it grows! Its great! And its all organic!

I always use to love bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches....then I thought, how could I replicate bacon? Yes, you can buy vegan bacon, but as I've been researching more and more about macrobiotics, I realized that vegan bacon isn't the way to go. Macrobiotics don't believe in any prepackaged foods, natural only. So, I thought about my "Seitan" I had in my freezer...why not try a "seitan, lettuce and tomato sandwich"! That's it....I'll give it a try. I took my square of seitan and cut it into "bacon" strips. I then sauteed it in a skillet with a little canola oil.

I toasted whole grain bread, used some of my yummy fresh lettuce, my "seiten bacon", tomato (I'll have to wait until July for tomatoes from my garden), and Vegan mayonnaise.  A delicious protein rich, low calorie, low fat "bacon", lettuce and tomato sandwich! 
Give it a try....ENJOY! 

Seiten - what is it?

When I decided to become a vegan and later look into macrobiotics I kept reading recipes for "SEITEN", what is it? I saw it in the health food store and bought it...made a recipe using it and it was horrible...so naturally any recipes I found with seiten in it I stayed away from it. Then I started seeing recipes to make your own..Seitan,so I decided to try it. 
Seiten is actually wheat meat. Seitan is made from wheat gluten, made by kneading the bran and starch out of the flour. Eaten raw, its pretty bland (I wouldn't recommend it). But, cooked and mixed with various seasonings, its really quite tasty. Seiten is a great source of protein, and an added benefit, its low in calories and fat. 
I found this recipe for making seiten in "The Real Food Daily" cookbook
Chicken -Style Seitan
Makes 4 1/2 pounds
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 1/2 cups gluten flour
1 cup garbanzo flour
2/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 3/4 cups canned cannellini beans 
1/3 cup tamari
3 cups water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly oil the parchment paper. Heat the 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat,. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, or until tender. Set aside to cool.
Stir the gluten flour, garbanzo flour, nutritional yeast, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Puree the beans, the tamari, the remaining 1/2 cup oil, and the sauteed onion mixture in a blender until smooth, adding some of the water to create a smooth and creamy consistency.  Pour into a bowl, whisk the bean mixture and the  remaining water to blend. 
Quickly stir the bean mixture into the dry ingredients until a very wet dough forms. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Cover with aluminum foil.
Place the pan of seitan dough in a larger roasting pan, add enough water to come halfway up the sides of the seitan pan. Bake for 2 hours, or until the seitan is firm on top, adding more water to the roasting pan if necessary. Cool the setan to room temperature and cut into 4 equal squares (about 1 pound each).

The seitan will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated. This freezes quite well, just wrap the squares separately in plastic wrap, and place in a resealable plastic bag for up to 2 weeks.
Now you can make many wonderful dishes that are really good for you!
ENJOY!

Yoga

I try to exercise at least 6 hours a week. Now...believe me, I'm not a fan of exercising....But....its so important for you and your heart! I've found a new love...YOGA! I've been reading all my new macrobiotic books and they all say do Yoga. Fortunately I'm a member at the YMCA and they have yoga, so I thought I'd give it a try. Love it! Yoga isn't for wimps, let me tell you! You can work at your own pace, believe me, I'm no human pretzel, in fact I'm not very flexible all. I've been practicing Yoga now for about 5 weeks, I've noticed an incredible difference in my body. I may still weigh the same but my skinny jeans fit! (yahoo!)
Yoga must be getting more popular. I picked up this months Consumer Reports "SHOPSMART" magazine and low and behold, they have a article in this months issue on Yoga! As they explain:
There's basically 4 types of Yoga:
Hatha: good for beginners, you learn all the basic poses, not as hard as some of the other types. (I guess this is what I've been doing)
Vinyasa: this is good for people who've been doing yoga for a few months. These classes move more briskly and include basic moves and some more advanced moves (like a back bend). I guess I sort of do a little of this too (not very well though).
Bikram: is good for someone who wants to tone and sweat. Its usually practiced in a 100 degree room!
Iyengar: The old form of yoga, good for everyone. Its great if you have bad knees, or a bad back. This type of yoga involves props such as straps, (helps you keep your legs straight), blocks, (you don't have to stretch as far) and bolsters.
What equipment do you need? A yoga mat, you can get one anywhere, Target, K-Mart, sports shop...usually cost around $20.
Yoga isn't for woman only...in my yoga classes there's several men.
If you want to try Yoga at home, try a couple of different DVDs. Consumers Report suggests several, I've never tried this one but it sounds like a good place to start: "Rodney Yee's Yoga for Begginers".Give Yoga a try, you might just love it!

Grilled Vegan Pizza

I love pizza...its probably one of the hardest things I've given up as a vegan....cheese that is...I still try pizza at my local pizza shop without cheese of course. But what's a pizza without cheese? Fortunately there's several different "vegan" cheeses out there that are really tasty, usually made from soy or rice. So the other day I decided to make my own pizza. I'm always watching Food Network, I was watching "What Would Brian Botanio Make" (yes the figure skater), and he made this really good looking pizza on a grill. I thought "hmmm, I'm going to try that but make it with my kind of ingredients!" He showed you how to use your grill as a brick oven. Its really quite easy, just lay your grill grate with

bricks, I used about 10 (you can get bricks from any 
hardware store). Lay them out like this........









then place a pizza stone on top of the bricks.Cover, turn grill on high and heat to 500 degrees. Allow the grill to heat for at least 30 minutes so the bricks and stone get nice and hot.

Before you start the grill, prepare your ingredients.For a vegetarian pizza start with lots of fresh veges, I used, mushrooms, asparagus, red onions, red and green peppers, zucchini and yellow squash. I placed them on baking sheets, drizzled with safflower oil and sprinkled with Italian seasonings, place in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes. You can make this well ahead of time and set aside.
Oh, I forgot....the crust! This was so easy! 
Here's the ingredients
1 1/4 cup of warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 3/4 cups of unbleached white flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons, divided
1/4 cup cornmeal
In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the 1 1/4 cups of warm water, sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast begins to bloom. The water should get foamy and bubbly when ready, if it doesn't, you have bad yeast. Add the 3 3/4 cups of flour, salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix in the mixer fitted with a dough hook on medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft and stretchy, about 5-7 minutes. (If you don't have a stand mixer, you can do this in your food processor). 
Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover it with a a damp towel. Put in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch the dough down and remove it from the bowl. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and roll into balls. Put on a floured cutting board covered with a towel and let rest about 1 1/2 hours. 
Now the fun begins! 
On flour surface roll half of dough into 12" round. Cover the backside of a sheet pan with about 2 teaspoons of cornmeal. Now place your dough round onto the sheet pan (this is your pizza paddle). Brush about 2 tablespoons olive oil on dough.  Top with sauce (use any marinara recipe you might have),
roasted vegetables, soy cheese, and yes I used soy pepperoni! 
Carefully slide the pizza onto hot pizza stone. (this was the tricky part) Cover and let cook for about 10 minutes until nice and brown and bubbly. 

Carefully remove from grill, slice and 
ENJOY!  

Macrobiotic

I've been reading and rediscovering my vegetarianism/veganism ways. Along the way I've discovered macrobiotics. I touched upon it awhile back. Macrobiotics isn't only what you eat, its a way of life. I've discovered many wonderful books. I'm reading two different books on macrobiotics at the moment (don't ever start 2 books at the same time...its difficult!) One of the books is from a wonderful author, "Cristina Pirello", she has a series of books, the one I'm reading is "Cooking the Whole Foods Way".
 Christina is an amazing woman, she found out at the age of 26 that she was diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia, that doctors told her she was terminally ill, they told her she had 6 to 9 months. Wow! I couldn't imagine. I had cancer, Hodgkin's, one of the most curable of cancers. Of course I went through 3 months of chemo followed by 4 weeks of radiation, which damaged my arteries, so I experienced open heart surgery later. I didn't consider any other forms of treatment.  Christian did. She discovered macrobiotics. She fortunately met someone who introduced her to the macrobiotic lifestyle. Eating fresh foods, discovering what certain foods do for your body. After fourteen months, she was declared totally free of leukemia cells. She was cancer free. That was 24 years ago! The father of macrobiotics George Ohsawa also was very sick, he discovered eating certain foods, became healthy. Thus the birth of macrobiotics Aren't you just a little curious to read about macrobiotics now? 
I know, you'll probably thinking, I don't have cancer, heart disease, I'm fairly healthy.....I don't really need macrobiotics....but you do. Wouldn't you like a simpler way to eat? A fresh approach to food?  Since I've become vegan, I rarely have a sleepless night. I feel energetic, I feel a spark I never had before. 
Macrobiotics eat and live naturally, choosing foods that are seasonal.  Philosophy also plays a major role in macrobiotics. Living in harmony with nature and people around you.
Another fun book I'm reading is by Jessica Porter "the Hip Chick's guide to Macrobiotics"She has a humorous way of looking at macrobiotics. Humorous yes, but very informational.
All of the books I've mentioned have wonderful recipes of which I will share with you as I discover them.
I guess I've been working up to this, I still consider myself vegan, of which most macrobiotics are. Macrobiotics do eat fish from time to time...as do I...so I guess really I've been a macrobiotic all along.....
 

Chicken Parmigiana....sort of.....

A quick easy meal I make for my family is chicken parmigiana. Back in the day I use to love it....so, the other day I had to make a quick meal for the family and made them chicken parm...I thought, I'll just have marinara sauce and pasta...but wait a minute...what if I took one of my Gardein Chick'n "fillets" and dip it in a little water, then dip it in Italian bread crumbs...saute it in a little safflower oil...chick'n parm...right? Right! I made it...it was delicious, simple and took less than 10 minutes to make! I also served this with a side of sauteed kale. I've included another marinara sauce recipe from this wonderful vegan book I just got...."The Sublime Restaurant Coockbook" by Nanci Alexander
 I found this book when I was looking for vegan restaurants, I would love to try her restaurants, unfortunately its in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, not exactly Canton, Ohio. Some of the famous vegetarians such as Paul McCartney, Bob Barker, Pamela Anderson, Alic Baldwin, Florence Henderson and Alicia Silverstone all have been there....wouldn't that be too cool if I happen to be in Ft. Lauderdale (its possible) and next to me was sitting Paul McCartney (okay, I can dream)......anyway....this book has some amazing recipes in it.
So, if your like me and can't make it to The Sublime in Lauderdale any time soon, get this book and try one of the scrumptious recipes.

Basic Tomato Sauce
1 1/2 cups safflower oil (she uses extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 cup chopped garlic
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoon dried parsley
1- 4 ounce can tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 can (64 ounces) plum tomatoes, undrained
Salt (sea salt)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped fresh basil
This makes 1 gallon, so either cut the recipe in half or make it all and freeze it.
Place 1/2 cup of oil and all of the onions in a large pot. Cook and stir over Medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the dried basil, oregano and parsley and cook and stir for 2 minutes until the herbs are lightly toasted. Stir in the tomato paste and cook and stir for 2-3 minutes, until it turns a rusty color.
Stir in the wine and cook for 10 minutes or until the liquid is almost gone. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 30 -35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh basil leaves and the remaining cup of oil (okay, I just added the basil leaves, I don't think my heart would like the extra oil, if you do add 1 cup of oil, go ahead and switch to extra-virgin olive oil because your not cooking it). Crush the tomatoes with a potato masher until they are chunky. 
ENJOY!

Happy Earth Day and Happy Birthday....to me!

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It was my birthday the other day (April 19). Imagine that...I was born during earth week..(well actually I was already 12 when earth day became a special day)....

How to celebrate....I volunteered at the hospital, went out to dinner with my family and made myself a vegan chocolate cake! 

To my amazement, it wasn't bad at all, it was actually pretty good!

I did my own version of the cake...here's the recipe:

                                                                               
"Triple-Chocolate Cake"                                            
3/4 cup garbanzo- bean flour

1 cup brown rice flour

2 cups evaporated cane juice   ( looks like sugar)

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup arrowroot

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup canola oil

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup hot water

2 cups vegan chocolate chips

vanilla and chocolate frosting (see below)

Preheat oven to 325. Line the bottoms of 3 9x3 inch round cake pans the circles of parchment paper and coat lightly with spray oil.

In medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, evaporated cane juice, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt.  Add 1 cup oil and the applesauce, vanilla, and hot water to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth. Gently fold in the chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the pans. Bake for 24 minutes, rotating the pans 180 degrees after 12 minutes. The cake will be firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the cakes stand in the pans for 20 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edges and gently invert onto  a wire rack to cool. Cool cake completely before icing!

Place one layer on a cake plate (or whatever your using), frost  with vanilla frosting, top with second layer, frost with vanilla frosting (be generous!). Place the final layer on top and frost whole cake with chocolate. 

Now you can do the reverse of what I did, layer with chocolate frosting, than frost with vanilla or just either chocolate or vanilla for the whole cake.

Vanilla Frosting

1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk

3/4 cup dry soy milk powder

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups coconut oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a food processor, combine the soy milk, soy powder, coconut flour, agave nectar and vanilla. Blend the ingredients for 2 minutes. With the machine running, slowly add the oil and lemon juice, alternating between the two until both are fully Incorporated. Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate for 6 hours or for up to 1 month.

Chocolate Frosting

1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk

1/2 cup dry soy milk powder

 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a food processor, combine the soy milk, soy powder, cocoa powder, coconut flour, agave nectar and vanilla. Blend the ingredients for 2 minutes. With the machine running, slowly add the oil and lemon juice, alternating between the two until both are fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate for 6 hours or up to 1 month.

ENJOY! AND HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Happy Green Earth Week!

This is earth week! I'm so excited...its a time when we should really think about not only our earth and what we can do for it but our health too....So I challenge you this week...have at least one meal that has no meat in it...come on...you can do it! And just maybe that one meal, might turn into one day and maybe one week.
Have fun...try some of my recipes....I just planted my herb garden...can't wait to get some yummy kale, arugula, basil, dill, thyme, all different kinds of lettuce.....

ENJOY! And Happy Wonderful Earth Week...and Spring!

A Happy Heart......

I haven't talked much about exercising on this blog. Exercising is the number ONE thing you can do for your heart. I volunteer at my local hospital for the Cardiac Rehabilitation department. I talk to the patients just after they've either had open heart surgery or a stent  put into their arteries.  According to most cardiologist, the number one prevention besides a healthy diet is doing at least 30 minutes of exercising per day.
I use to be one of those people who would say..."I'm too busy"....okay how about taking time for yourself...Get some exercise tapes, grab your ipod go for a walk. I joined the YMCA, check out your area. The Y is a great bargin, a one time membership fee, then very minimal monthly payments. They have tons of fun exercise classes you can take. If the Y is too expensive go buy a $10 exercise DVD, one that might interest you or walk....its free!
I take tap (yes as in dancing) with my daughter...it so fun....I also love Yoga....talk about hard...but you feel so wonderful after your done. Zumba is another class I love..sort of a funky aerobics/latin dancing class...
Sometimes, I just go for a walk with my doggies...it makes them happy and my heart happy too!
YOU CAN DO IT! JUST GO FOR IT! AND REMEMBER.....ENJOY!

Barbecue Gardein Chick'n

We had the most gorgeous day the other day...April 7th...funny, 1 year ago from that date was the day that changed my eating life forever. One year ago I was preparing for open heart surgery. Here it is..one year later, I'm so much happier, healthier,  leaner and most important of all I feel GREAT! Life has a funny way to wake you up...I really believe that your body gives you signs...we just don't listen.

Okay...no more preaching for the day...on with the recipes....

Like I said, a couple of days ago, we had the most gorgeous day...especially for Canton, Ohio...high 70's, sunny magnificent and to think its April! (we're suppose to get snow tomorrow......) I decided to make my husband and stepson barbecue chicken...I got to thinking, why not try barbecuing Gardein chick'n?  What? you may ask is Gardein chick'n? Its fake chicken made from soy protein, vital wheat gluten, quinoa, millet and kamut just to name a few of the ingredients. Any dish you would make with chicken, you can make with Gardein...check out their website..www.gardien.com, you can find out where you can purchase it in your area.

So, I made this really tasty, simple dinner, all's I did was grill the chick'n, slabbed on some barbecue sauce, 3 minutes on each side and it was done! I served corn, baked beans, and a baked sweet potato with a side of salad.....very tasty and great for my heart!

Give Gardein a try....be creative.....

ENJOY!

Macrobiotic Waffle.......YUM!

So you thought this was a "real" waffle....I mean a high-fat, calorie loaded waffle? Know way...this is a yummy, delicious macrobiotic, vegan waffle! It even has yummy syrup.....give this one a try.....you'll never go back!

Mochi Waffle with Lemon-Walnut-Rice Syrup (thank you Alicia Silverstone "The Kind Diet")

Makes 4-5 waffles

1 cup walnuts

1 package plain mochi 

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

juice of 1/2 lemon

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until just starting to turn golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes (be careful....any kind of nut burns easily), stirring often. Transfer to a bowl to cool, chop coarsely. Set aside.

Preheat a waffle iron. Cut a package of mochi into 3 orange pieces, width wise. Slice each piece into long fingerlike pieces, about 1/4" wide. Using 6 to 8 strips for each waffle, place the mochi strips on the hot, ungreased waffle iron and close the top. Cook until puffed and slightly crispy but not too hard and dry, about 3 minutes, or until your waffle iron signals that it's done. Remove the waffle and place on a plate. Do not stack the waffles because they will stick together. Serve and eat waffles as soon as possible.

While the waffles cook, combine the rice syrup with 3 tablespoons of water, lemon juice and toasted walnuts in a saucepan. Stir together over medium heat until warmed. Pour over the waffles.

If you don't have brown rice syrup, just go ahead and use maple syrup...but definitely add the walnuts...it gives it that extra yum factor!

You may be wondering what mochi is....I never heard of it before myself. You can purchase mochi in the refrigerated section of your health food market. Mochi is made of sweet brown rice steamed and then pounded into a glutenous "cake". Brown rice isn't really sweet, it's just a richer and higher in fat and protein than regular brown rice. Only eat mochi once or twice a week if your on a true macrobiotic diet but definately give it a try......ENJOY!

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I've actually gone "off" coffee...As a treat when I go out I do get a decafe coffee (I always bring my own soy milk). I still drink decafe tea, but what is a coffee drinker to do?

Why drink "Teecino"...hot "coffee" breverage made from organic carob, barley, chicory, dates, orange peel, almons, figs and natural citrus flavor.....okay, before you go YUCK! Give it a try, I actually prefer it now to real coffee.

You brew it just like you would regular coffee.

Here's the great flavors to you can get....

Mediterranean Herbal Coffee

Vanilla Nut-Medium Roast

Original-Light Roast

Java-Medium Roast

Mocha-Medium Roast

Check out amazon.com

or www.teeccino.com.