Juice of Zeus

This is one of the few beverages that I would dare dubbing a

drink of the Gods. It originates from the middle east and became

most popular during the middle ages, as it does not spoil like animal

milks under warmer temperatures. It is mind numbingly easy to

prepare and is so simply delish, I could not wait any longer to share.

Juice of Zeus Almond Milk

1 cup of raw almonds

(soaked overnight and skinned)

1 liter water

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

1 tsp-1 tbsp confectioners sugar

Blend almonds with about a pint or two of the water, as the almonds

become more finely ground add more until you reach around a liter.

This is not exact and I usually just eyeball it with my blender.

I usually just let the blender run for about 5 minutes to get it as

smooth as possible, but again this is not exact as everyone's blenders

are different and it make take a longer or shorter period of time.

After blending I may strain it through a reusable coffee filter, cheese

cloth or fine strainer... or I may serve it just as is. Although, if

unstrained there will be some almond meal at the bottom of the glass.

Strained, obviously, will not offer the same amount of protein and

vitamins but it still quite nice.

The vanilla and sugar in this recipe are used to reduce the slightly

metallic taste that sometimes occurs, but are not necessary and

might not occur if using filtered or distilled water.

I am currently working on recipes that use the remaining almond meal

that results from this recipe, so look forward to that.

This drink is heavenly chilled, over ice, on cereal and especially good

with chocolate chip cookies. I love drinking this on those horrible hot

summer day to cool off, kick back, and feel ultimately superior.

BLT what is that anyway? I've got the solution...

Let me just give a few words about the fried strips of our friends

Babe, Wilber, and Henwen that some of us like to fry up in a pan

of fat and slap between two slices of wonder bread.

Swine bacon is a cured type of flesh meat and smoked before

it is sold. When the preservatives are added to these delightful

little hunks of pig it is done so with nitrates as both anti-bacterial

agents and for colour to preserve the bloody candy cane look.

Yup you're looking at flesh and fat. These nitrates when heated

become Nitrosamines and carcinogenic.

You can also find these same preservatives in hot dogs, deli meats,

sausages, and so on. The nitrate-based preservatives are not just

carcinogenic but have been linked to pancreatic cancer and lung

problems like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

COPD includes issues like chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

The highly reactive Nitrosamines are knockin around damaging

the tissue. And these are just the preservatives, not to even

mention the high levels of saturated fat and sodium that is found in bacon.

Get your attention?

Maybe I should squeal a new tune, a tastier tune?

How about the Tofu-Lettuce-Tomato-Tune?

After going vegan I noted that one of the first ingredients on

Morning Star Breakfast Strips was 'egg-whites'. Well, crap.

Tempeh it is than I thought. Except they don't sell much in that

line where I am. We've got the mainstream options of Boca (Kraft Foods),

Morning Star (Kellogg), and Yeves (dunno who they're owned by yet).

So it was down to making my own. The store was out of tempeh,

so I grabbed a block of tofu and threw it in the freezer. I thawed it

out and used the following marinade...

Also, grilled oil-free to stave off the fat I also used a wee bit of

Nayonaise and a lot of lettuce and tomato on my homemade

wheat bread. Hope you enjoy it as much as the piggies.

Veggie Bacon Marinade

1/4 cup of Shoyu/Soy Sauce

1/4 cup of water

3 Tablespoons of sweetener- dark brown sugar or maple syrup is best

2 teaspoons of liquid smoke

press your tofu or steam your tempeh before marinading at least

five hours. I did it overnight and it was way better. I liked the tofu

because of how thin you can slice it down. It made great crumbly

bits for salads and a side of back tofu for the breakfast plate.

Princess Papaya Dressing

Enter her royal highness holding

a dish of vibrant greens and organic garnishes.

When asked for seconds,

this paradise perfect dish leaves

one somewhere between 'yes'es and tears of joy...

Princess Papaya Seed Dressing

Ingredients

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of oil

2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice, freshly squeezed

2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

1 tablespoon of papaya seeds

a couple of scoops (1/4 cup) of fresh papaya

1 tablespoon of sweetener

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in blender and puree until

smooth and frothy. Season to taste and serve over

a bed of delicious greens.

Here I used butter leaf, romaine, arugula, red leaf, cucumbers, tomatoes, toasted walnuts

(but macadamia nuts would be even better), and whole wheat/homemade croutons.

Spuds on Top

It all started when I wanted

to do some kind of veggie

casserole for dinner, but I

didn't have enough flour to

make a pot pie. I hate casseroles

with bread crumbs on top.

I don't like how they taste and

how they get both crunch/stale

and soggy at the same time.

Bread crumb casseroles just

gross me out, OK?

Well, I had this idea of doing a

potato au gratin style top and ran

with it... Really, this could not

have been easier and my Mom loved it.

That is saying something!

Spuds on Top

ingredients

3-cups of mixed vegetables, roughly chopped

(onions, bell pepper, squash, green beans, carrot, celery, etc.)

1 clove of garlic, minced

3 tablespoons of oil or non-dairy butter

3 tablespoons of flour

2 cups of vegetable broth

4 russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced thinly

1 1/2 cups of large chunked tvp, presoaked in vegetable broth

misc herbs; I used sage, celery salt, and black pepper

Parboil the potatoes for about 5-minutes, but do not cook until tender, and remove from heat.

Heat a little bit of water, broth or oil in a large pan or wok. Cook garlic, then onions until

fragrant. Add rest of veggies and cook until bright but still keep crunchy and remove from heat.

Melt/heat the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, while stirring,

until browned. Slowly add in the 2-cups of vegetable broth and cook until it begins to thicken into a nice gravy-sauce.

Mix the chopped, tvp, and sauce all together and dump it in a casserole dish.

Layer by overlapping the sliced potatoes over your veg mix in the dish. You can dot with

non-dairy butter or drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

Toss into your oven- gently, but with passion and cook covered for 10-minutes and uncovered

for 30-minutes more or until potatoes start to brown @ 375 degrees F.

Enjoy~