All Hail Kale Salad: Swipe!

Swiper, no swiping!

Those of you that have young siblings as I do or children of your own
might catch that reference. If not, I just swiped or knocked off a dish
from everyone's favorite Veggie Grill.

To be honest, I've never even had the darn thing. Yes, everyone raves
about it, blah blah blah-- but I have a hard time bringing myself to
pay $8-10 for a bowl of kale. I don't care how good it is. If I'm going
to go out to eat and drop dollars in the double digits, it better be
something I can't make at home or have never experienced before.

Its Ok if you can't cook and like to eat out because its the only decent
way to get good food, but you have to at least tell me you're trying to duplicate these things.

What is this All Hale Kale stuff? Apparently it is Kale and Quinoa
marinated in a papaya vinegarette, topped with purple cabbage,
walnuts, carrots, and a roasted corn salsa and chic'n/tempeh (opt).

I basically had everything but the papaya, so I subbed out some OJ for
that baby. Voila. Pretty delish. I didn't do the grilled plant protein,
since we were already eating quinoa and quinoa is high in protein.
Although, we did have some assorted baked sweet potato fries on the
side: orange, purple, and white sweet potato!

FYI: although many people do, there is really no need to remove the
stems from kale. Just cut off the very end and roll the whole leaf with
a rolling pin to tenderize. Crush the stem so it is soft and chewable.
Why waste a perfectly good piece of kale?



All Hail Kale Salad for 4

8 stalks of kale, tenderized and shredded finely
2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup raw walnuts, chopped

1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbsp olive oil or a nut oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp agave
juice from one lemon
1/2 tsp grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh corn
1 tomato, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 small clove garlic, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
juice from one lime
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro (opt)

Once the cooked quinoa has cooled, toss it with the kale and add the
dressing. Go ahead and mix the salsa, let it sit to 'age' the flavors.

Once you're ready to chow down arrange the salad on the plate
starting with the marinated kale, salsa, cabbage, carrot then walnuts--
or whatever you like, it's all ending up in the same place anyway!

This is where you go "WHAT? That's it?!" and I smile and laugh manically.

I guess it's the Forth of July... Don't go out and roast dead animals
or burn a forest down with stupid fireworks... please and thankyou.
No, we are not celebrating today. Why? I dunno, should it be a priority?

Galaxy Vegan Cream Cheese

It is spring (actually it has been for a month, but I'm behind).
The flowers are blooming, our lawn is literally a jungle out of
control, and all sorts of new veg products are hitting the shelves
faster than you can say 'march hare'.

One of the newest vegan cheeses on the street is Galaxy Nutritional
Foods cream cheese, which I got the pleasure of trying out for
all of you!

Not only is there an 'original plain' flavour, but there is also a
'chive and garlic' flavour much to Monkey-man's delight.



I can't lie, I love my bagels. But I wanted to do something a little
nicer than bagels to try out something new.

So with the 'original' we made some crepes and stuffed them with
the cream cheese, diced apples, spice and drizzled it all with
agave.



The flavor is milder than it's dairy counterpart without that
gross sour aftertaste. The texture is cross between any other vegan
(or nonvegan) cream cheese out there and sour cream. It is soft and
perfect for spreading. It doesn't turn your toast to crumbs while
you're trying to spread a layer of goodness.

We got a little spicy with the Chive and Garlic and made some
jalapenos poppers for Monkey-man's Bday.



Because it was already seasoned with just enough garlic and chives,
all we had to do was fill some halved and seeded peppers, sprinkle
with paprika and bake. Oh, yeah-- And eat to our heart's content!

We still had a little bit of each left over so we had a little European
meal the other night for dinner. Monkey-man made some classic borsht...



And I made some dumplings to go in it.



To fill the dumplings I cooked 1 cup TVP in enough vegetable
broth to make it soft, then added some salt and pepper, sage,
soy sauce and a little bit of molasses. A little plop of
vegan cream cheese and some wonton wrappers later... Deliciousness!



I really dug Galaxy's new product, I liked how smooth and versatile
it was. And the chive and garlic addition? Very nice, tasty and
savory, but not overwhelming or artificial tasting. And I just saw
it stocked in my little health food store! What a coincidence!

Good on ya Galaxy!

P.S. We just back from Paso Robles, CA and I have some great wine
stories to share with you all!

Plethora of Panini: Delhi or Deli?

Although I find middle eastern and Indian food pretty delicious, I
do have to admit one qualm I have with it. Most of what I have tried
is-- overcooked-- for lack of a better word. I'm sure this is because I
haven't gotten to experience traveling in that region and haven't had
the advantage of befriending an outstanding traditional Indian chef.
Even with books, recipes, and restaurants most of what I've tried/seen
has been really heavily cooked dishes of (mainly) grains and legumes.
Not bad, but I always like to have something very raw and fresh with
my meals.

I know there are a lot of salads or cucumber dishes, but too often they
are submerged in dairy.

Another thing that I've found when using Indian recipes is needing to
really know the spices. That is usually the main draw of this region's
dishes-- the spices! So exotic and exciting, but if over done it gets
a heavy dusty taste. That is really the only way I can describe it.

If you don't agree with any of this, please feel free to call me on it.
I'm just describing my own experiences. When making an Indian
spiced Panini, I wanted the flavors you know and love with an added
freshness. This is into way traditional, just a delicious experiment.

When making Paninis I always try to consider what the sauce is going
to be. Sometimes it is a spread, a cheese (vegan please), or dressing.
It should be something that is still tasty when hot or melted, as you
will be grilling it. All that the sauce does is keeps the entire
sandwich from being super dry and crunchy. You want a hot, flavorful,
moist interior, with a crisp, crunchy crust.

You can do more than one. I used veganaise and mustard with the
balsamic vinegar panini for example. Sometimes the vegetables add
enough moisture on their own, but not always.

For this panini I did two. I had a hummus spread on one side and
vegan yogurt on the other. I added a little salt to the yogurt as
the Whole Soy brand, my brand of choice, is a little sweet sometimes.

For the vegetables I separated them and seasoned them differently, to
add variation and to avoid the over spiced taste that I spoke of earlier.

To the onions, garlic, peppers, and chilis I added some red chili
powder, cayenne, and black and white pepper. I sauteed them until the
onion was soft and tender. I just used water instead of oil whenever
they started to look dry. I added no more than 1/4-1 tsp of each spice.

It depends on how much you are making and how strong you want it.
I made enough for two sandwiches: 1/2 onion, 1/2 pepper, 3 cloves
garlic, 1 hot pepper with 1 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and
1/2 tsp of everything else.

Remove your veggies from the pan and get ready to cook the eggplant.
In a tablespoon of oil, quickly roast a tsp or so of cumin seeds. Add 1
tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp coriander, and 1/4 tsp ginger (opt). Cook briefly
and add about half an eggplant cut into 1/4 inch slices. These were
salted and rinsed beforehand to extract the bitterness. Cook each side
in the spices until the edges of the eggplant appear dark and soft.

Assemble the bread with all the ingredients so far... add some fresh
sliced tomatoes and some cilantro and grill! It may seem spicey, but
the coolness of the soygurt and fresh tomatoes balance it all out for
a perfect panini!

Plethora of Panini: Vinegar on the High Street

Last night the paninis took an Italian twist. Usually adding
balsamic vinegar as the main flavor punch has me a bit worried
because it tends to make paninis very soggy. But I found a way to
keep the splashing to a minimum.



First saute the your desired veggies-- I did some peppers, onions,
garlic cloves in some Italian seasonings and light olive oil.
Then separately grilled slices of eggplant that I had salted and
rinsed to remove the bitterness. This is where you add the vinegar.
Dry grilling the eggplant burns up the moisture. Eaten straight
after would be dry and probably a little flavorless.

I put them in the pan with the other veggies and added some salt
and a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, which was quickly
absorbed by the thirsty eggplant.



On the bread I spread some veganaise, spicy mustard, a dash of
garlic salt and fresh shredded basil. I would have loved some pesto
though... Then I added some sliced field roast, fresh tomatoes, and
fresh spinach.

I layered it all together and added another little spoonful of
vinegar on to the field roast, which is absorbent as well.
Then we grilled it with a little bit of olive oil and opened
a bottle of Bordeaux. I know it's french, but who is telling?



Writing this I just realized I forgot to add the black olives...
Oh well, don't tell Monkey-man!

Plethora of Panini: Fajita Panini

I'd like to say that the majority of our meals are planned, but that
would simply not be true. It is part of what I want to focus more of
my energy on this year-- planning ahead. But then life happens.

I was planning on doing a Middle Eastern Panini last night, but
Monkey-man ended up doing a quick fix of a Mexican seasoned panini
instead. Our plans were changed because on the way to the grocer,
we passed a small dog that had been hit and left.

At first I though he was dead because his legs were in the air as
if he was going through rigor mortis, but when we swung around I saw
him shaking. By the time I had him in the car and we had decided to
take him to our vet to see how bad it was he had relaxed and was much
more awake. Not sure if they clipped him or actually ran him over
because there were tire marks across his abdomen.

But now he's upstairs in our bathroom, healing his broken pelvis.
Pretty sweet guy. So if anyone wants a dog! Ha ha, just let me know.
He is not micro-chipped and not fixed (for long...)

Needless to say our dinner was little late, but this is what Monkey-man
magically mixed up for us.



Fajita Panini!

Saute a bell pepper, onion, a bit of jalapenos and a few cloves of
sliced garlic with chili powder, salt, pepper, a little bit of lemon
juice and cumin. Add water as it drys out and then add some olive oil
and half a pack of sliced tofu. Flip to grill both sides.

While that is being cooked, heat up your grill.
On your chosen bread add vegan pepper jack (galaxy rice cheese),
avocados and fresh tomatoes. Add some hot sauce, salsa or bean spread
to make it a little more exciting-- Grill and enjoy!

Pumpkin Patch Part Four: Pumpkin Chili

I'm pretty bummed that last week I made an awesome pumpkin curry
for a potluck and totally forgot to take a picture for you all.

That's why there was a gap of a couple days. However, last night
we made a version of Monkey-man's favorite meal ever-- or one of
them anyway! Chili with roasted potatoes and the best-est cheese
sauce!

Usually I like summer squash or zucchini in my chili, but instead
I used pumpkin. And we got these amazing vitelotte potatoes at our
local grocer. The skins were almost black, but the inside was a
rich, beautiful violet. At first I thought they were going to
taste like the purple sweet potatoes that I used to get in Hawaii,
but these were wonderful. They had the same texture as your run
of the mill potatoes, but had a deeper, earthier, rustic flavour.
Apparently they are native to Peru and Bolivia. Usually I think
of Europe and Ireland when I think of potatoes, but supposedly
Peru is the birthplace of more than 90% of potato varieties we
eat and love today.

I'm sorry, this wasn't meant to be a post about potatoes!
This is a post about pumpkin in Chili! So here you go!

Pumpkin Chili

2-3 cups fresh pumpkin, chopped largely
1 can or 4 large diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup of corn
2 cups of beans, cooked (any kind you like)
1 small pepper
1/2 cup TSP or TVP (opt)
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 vegetable bouillon cube
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic for about five minutes in a large
pot over medium heat in a few tablespoons of water or oil.

Add the pumpkin and a little bit more water an cover, cook for a
few minutes then add the tomato and seasonings. Cover and cook,
adding water if needed and cook until the pumpkin is starting to
get a little bit tender, but is not completely cooked-- about 10
minutes max.

Add the pepper, corn tvp and beans and cook/heat through. You may
need to add a little extra water or veg broth for the tvp. By the
time the tvp is plumped the pumpkin should be cooked through, but
not mushy.

Serve over roasted potatoes and topped with your favorite cheese or
cheese sauce. Monkey-man added daiya moz just for good measure.
If this isn't hot enough for you, throw in a diced hot pepper like
a habenero or some hot sauce if you're kinda lazy and don't want
to deal with chopping hot peppers...

Taste of Aloha Part Three: Island Burger

Not too often we'll splurge on some faux meet and this time we
decided to go for some garden burgers, but I can't be satisfied
with just a plain garden burger.

So I took a tropical twist it this time.
Layered with some grilled bell peppers, fresh sweet pineapple and
topped with a delicious thousand island dressing it could not be
more satisfying. The pineapple and sauce play perfectly together!

Vegan Thousand-Island Dressing

1/4 cup vegenaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1 small diced pickle
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp soysauce
1/2 tsp tobasco
1-2 tsp agave
salt and pepper

add all to a tight fitting jar and shake and pour!

Pleasing with Paninis

I really think that if you're cooking to tempt omnis, sandwiches and
paninis are definitely one of the best things you can make. Honestly
everybody likes sandwiches and you can pack in so much flavor with
veggie patties, spreads and marinades that you snag people with the
familiar.



I marinaded a pack of extra firm tofu in this marinade, but
added a 1/3-1/2 cup of red wine.

For bread, I made a single batch of whole wheat focaccia.
While that was baking I briefly sauteed 2 sliced yellow squash,
1 zucchini, and 1 green bell pepper. I caramalized a sliced onion
in the remaining marinade that was left over from the tofu. (I used
most of the remaining marinade to actually cook the tofu in).

Once the focaccia was cooked I cut it into 3x6 pieces. I used
guacamole and veganaise on one half and hummus on the other.
Usually when I make paninis I add a splash of balsamic vinegar
or a good slather of pesto. But these spreads were flavourful
enough to enhance the flavour of the veggies.

When assembling put the smaller stuff on the spread so it sticks
and doesn't fall out when you're grilling the sandwiches. I also
added some raw tomatoes and some moz daiya when stacking on the
squash, onions, peppers and tofu. When grilling the paninis you
need to either be using a press or lay something heavy on top of
them. I use another pan with a heavy mixing bowl set inside of it.
Monkey man says to pull a Martha Stewart and use bricks covered
with foil.

Grill each side on med-hi heat for 3-5 minutes with a bit of
olive oil or earthbalance.

I served mine with some oven-baked garlicy frenchy fries.
I ended up with about 8 paninis and some left over veggies.

Pizza Pizzaz Part Eight: BBQT Pizza

Finally, summer has begun for me. I can breathe freely for a few
months without the impending doom of 30-page papers, a thesis, or
massive exams hanging over me. Instead I have crying kittens, a messy
house and a big deadline for my cookbook.

First I have to set my place up to incorporate a more creative flow.
So I'm spending my day cleaning and rearranging my little place.

Beside that I want to start off my summer showing you another awesome
pizza. Summer is the time of bbqs and outdoor parties. But not all
of it has to include dead flesh or a grill. You can get the amazing
flavor and familiar sensations all with a little imagination.

Experimenting with different sauces got me to whipping up this pizza.
I wanted to do one with my delicious barbecue sauce (which will be in
the book) and also bring in the use of some baked/grilled tofu.





With a smaller, thickly rolled crust you have your favorite
barbecue sauce topped with sweet bell peppers, walnuts, roasted garlic,
baked beggin' tofu, olives, and some chedder daiya. I should have
added some sliced tomatoes.... I used to use this recipe for
'bacon', but now I use a marinade of more maple syrup, less water,
braggs instead of soy sauce, a little bit of salt, smoked paprika,
and a wee bit of garlic powder. Marinate at least a couple hours
before using.









This pizza is a little sweet, very savory, and its got a little kick
from some hot spice in the sauce. Its good to balance the sauce by a
thick crust and lots of toppings or else all you're going to be tasting
is bqq bqq bqq.

So now its officially summer for me I will be posting and updating
much more. You'll be seeing more of my book and getting lots of juicy
photos. If you're interested my tester site will be completed soon and
is invite only. I will be needing testers for book recipes, so I hope
to generate some help and interest. Happy eating!

Pizza Pizzaz Part Five: Rastafarian Pizza

You don't need dreadlocks or any smoke around da house to enjoy
something rasta, you need to just be jammin this pizza!


I wanted to mix it way up. This is an amazing dish to contrast a deep
natural sweetness with a light brush of spice. Yeah, I know I've already
used beans on another pizza in this series, but I had to go back for
one more version.

This time I used a black bean mix instead of the pintos. And here is
the break down of some basic Jamaican Black Beans...


3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, minced
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1 can black beans
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
1 tsp red chili flakes
salt and pepper

First cook the onions and garlic over medium heat with a few
tablespoons of water until they appear slightly translucent.
Add the black beans and seasonings and continue to cook for
about 10 minutes, but be sure to keep adding water or more
orange juice if it appears that the beans are drying out.

Preheat the oven at 450F and roll out your prepared crust.

On the crust, spread out the black beans evenly. It is important
to make sure they pretty moist because they will lose a lot of
that moisture during the bake in the oven.

I topped with fresh sliced tomatoes, sliced green and yellow
bell peppers, black olives, and bananas. I originally though pineapple
because I wanted to add something sweet. But pineapple is tricky on
pizzas and can be very over powering. So bananas it was. They were
perfect. Soft, sweet, and yellow! Perfect for my colour scheme!




Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the crust starts to turn
gold. I loved assembling it because it looks like a mandala!
Enjoy with some Marley, or be super naughty and pair it
up with some Sublime...

Pizza Pizzaz Part One: El Diablo

Today is 'day-one' of my pizza week series!
This is exciting! I've been reading a lot of ideas and suggestions
for special toppings and have will have a hard time cutting it down
to seven. But I'm gonna start off with something really simple.

Granted this may be comprised of mostly left-overs, but let me tell
you that left-overs can make a damn good pizza. That is where I start
this series. I think we all need to open our minds a little and
start experimenting with pizza more. Is anyone else tired of the
plain 'cheese' pizza with basil and tomatoes? Ok, it is pretty good
I grant you, but I want something different. And I rarely make the
same thing twice. I want something out there, something that will
take me by surprise. Something with pizazz, pizza pizazz.

So last night we had tacos and I had made a neo-traditional spicy tvp
taco filling. It then got thrown in with some tomatoes, jalapenos,
fresh spinach, purple onions, all topped with the chedder daiya cheese.



The spice gets pumped from ground chili from our mexican market.
Not the typical chili powder that you get from vons, etc. Plus a
splash of cayenne. If you like, use habeneros instead of jalapenos
or sprinkle the whole thing with some tabasco/hot sauce.



The daiya cooled it down a little, but only so much.
The thin crust compliments the whole dish, without weighing it
down with breadiness. We had to keep it a little mild in the
long run though, 'cause I don't think Monkey-man can take the
heat-- I like my food to make me sweat!

Unidentified Filled Object: Vegan Ravioli

The idea of making your own pasta does appear to be very daunting.
I'm hear to tell you not to fear, fresh delicious, egg-free pasta
very near. You don't need a pasta roller or a ravioli cutter to
make awesome ravioli. Although, if you have them on hand it would
cut your prep time in half at least.

I find it strange that the majority of pasta you buy is egg-free,
but 98% of pasta recipes you find call for at least two eggs.

I'm now at the stage of experimenting with different flours and
colours with spinach and tomato, but this you will find is a
great place to start with either unbleached all-purpose dough
or semolina flour.

Basic Basic Vegan Pasta Dough

1 cup flour
1/4-1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Slowly incorporate the water into the flour by adding only a 1/4
of a cup at first. Only add a few drops at a time after that
as you go or else you dough will get sticky fast. What you want
is a nice dense brick. It may seem too dry, but just keep working
it before adding more water.

I keep a bowl of water on hand though to seal any cracks that
may occur later.

After mixing everything together, knead for about 5 minutes.
Let rest for 10 minutes and knead and rest again. Its easy to get
frustrated if making the dough by hand, but all that you need to
do is be sure to let your dough rest often. Allowing your dough
to rest will allow the gluten to relax and activate, yielding
a smooth texture.

On a very lightly floured surface begin to roll out your dough.
Whenever it seems like its getting too tough, just let it rest
a moment and try again. I don't know exactly what thickness to
say you should roll it out too, but I would say that of a
regular piece of denim if you were to hold it between your
fingers.

Plop your prepared filling onto the dough and wet the dough
with your fingers around the area so it will seal when the top
layer is pressed down. The filling should be spaced about
and inch apart on half the the rolled-out dough. With a
sharp knife cut off half of the dough and place it over the side
with the filling. Press down and cut out the squares.

For some reason I had a bizarre compulsion to make them round,
so I used a glass to trace the size and ended up sealing
them one at a time.

By the time you're pressing the edges individually, it may start
to dry out. So, you may have to gently wipe it with damp fingers
to continue sealing them or shaping if you are making plain pasta.
Drop the ravioli into boiling water and cook until al dente,
anywhere from 3-7 minutes. They will start to look soft and
slightly more translucent.





Here is my little tester...


Then the whole shabang....


Topped with a cheesy sauce next to a nice salad...


Pumpkin and sage...


Red pepper and tofu ricotta!


You can also save these and freeze before the boiling stage
for later. And you can fill them with practically anything-
I'm already thinking of a four vegan cheese ravioli!

Soja Rancheros~ Vegan Huevos Rancheros

As a child the only type of egg I would eat was hard boiled.
And looking back I think that was only because of the pretty
dyed ones at Easter. So I'd eat egg-salad (if it didn't have
celery in it) or deviled eggs... but probably because I loved
mayo as a kid. But I hate hate hated any other kind of egg.
I 'fondly' remember my Dad trying to get me to eat scrambled
eggs one night and me staunchly refusing.

My Dad was not easy going on picky eaters, so guess what I
had for breakfast... Reheated scrambled eggs. Except this time
my Dad put butter on them. Yes butter. I guess he was trying
to tell me it would taste like pasta with butter. WHAT?

I ate them while sobbing. I remember this happening a couple
times. I also remember my Mom throwing it out after my Dad
went to work. But it didn't last for too long, my Dad got the
message that eggs were not on my menu and just gave me extra
taders instead.

As a teen I suppose I developed a taste for scrambled eggs,
but only really well done- practically burnt. None of that
runny stuff. But I only felt ok eating the eggs from our
chickens. My parents have a bunch of pet chickens that
run all over the property and once in a while we'd get some
eggs. All in my pre-vegan ovo-lacto days...

In that same phase, right when I met Monkey-Man, I suddenly
discovered Huevos Rancheros. It is a mexican dish of fried
egg, tortillas, and salsa. Alot of people say cheese on it
isn't traditional, but every where I had it, it was served
with cheese. Some say to cook the salsa before you put it
on, but honestly. What is better than fresh Salsa?
Also, I've had it with refried beans, which I'd like to try
in layers, but I wanted to get the basics down first.

Recently we got a bunch of Follow My Heart Cheese on sale
at Sprouts (seriously like $3, we stocked up!). So with
the spicey nacho cheese, I knew it was coming.

Now I won't give you the recipe now because I want to
work on adding a gooey yoke to this tofu egg, but an easy
replication is just frying some slabs of tofu in earthbalance
and salt and pepper.


I'm working on it, but I'll be darned if it doesn't taste just
like an egg. This was made by blending and adding some seasonings,
but you'll still have to wait.


Whoa! Monkey-man went a little over the top with the cheese.
All this is piled on his hand made corn tortillas, just Masa,
water and salt.

You do a quick flip with the cheese on top so it melts all over
your 'egg' and tortilla. But don't leave it for more than a few
seconds or it will burn really fast.


Then just top with fresh or cooked salsa and enjoy~

Juicer what?! Basically I'm getting at something raw

A short while ago I had the happy fortune to stumble upon
a juicer for $7 at a little tiny thrift store by my house.
Mwa ha ha, said I. Indeed.

A bit dusty, but I cleaned 'er up and she works like a charm.
(I love that expression)

I first just tried it out by making a little carrot juice
and was trying to think of how to use the remaining pulp.
So I whipped up these awesome raw-ish wraps that look
amazing as anything you'd see at a high caliber restaurant
and taste even better.

Ok they're not raw really at all, but the veg is pretty much
all raw inside and you feel so good after eating. Only raw
foods can make you feel that vibrant. Like coffee without the
crash or jitters. I also made an herbed tvp/soya crumble
by soaking it in vegetable broth and adding garlic salt
and Italian seasoning. In there as well were some black
beans, avocado, tomatoes, bell peppers, a wee bit of garlic
aioli and the carrot pulp left over from the juicer.

For the collards that they're wrapped in, I removed a slice
of the thick stem and soaked them in some warm water.
You don't even need to steam them or even cook them.
I just wanted it to absorb some of the warm water to
soften slightly-- easier to roll and bit. NARM!



To give the juice a kick and balance out the carrot a little,
I added an apple and a couple chunks of ginger! I don't know
why but this is so amazing to drink at breakfast.





To seal up the wraps I cut some strips off the edge of the
collard leaf and used it to tie a little package. So cute!
Plus, these are a great to use in packed lunches because
you can throw it all together and not have to worry about your
bread or tortilla getting soggy!

Curry in a Hurry

It never ceases to amaze me that although I really don't have

tremendous amounts of stuff going on in my life-- at least

compared to what I was doing during my undergrad--

Everyday I still feel like everything is done in a hurry.

I cannot say if it is our culture, our society or just me, but

I always feel like I have so much to do, never get anything done

and am always HUNGRY!! Hee hee. Well, maybe not always,

but when I get home I want food right then in my face!

And the joy of being on one's own? I get to make whatever I want.

... Sort of. Although I dream of eating gooey brownie ala mode

every night and pie every morning for breakfast, I don't because

I don't wanna look as round as a pie. So instead I look to my other

favorite foods for respite.

All time, absolute favorite, king of them all?? Curry... *wipes drool*

You can get curry powder pre-mixed ready to go or you can throw

in the spices separately. Amusingly enough curry is not a traditional

indian dish, as many of us believe. Its actually a westernized take

on an indian blend of spices in a sauce used on whatever. Funky, eh?

Although each curry powder you buy is gonna be different most do

have a blend of coriander, turmeric, cumin and fenugreek. Red or orange

curry powders have different kinds of chillies and peppers.

Here I just used an average blend of yellow curry powder and

added some extra surprises.

Yellow Curry in a Hurry

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

1 large bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, cut into rounds

3 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 package of tofu, cubed (can be fried beforehand)

2 tablespoons of curry powder

2 tablespoons of hot chili sauce

1 cinnamon stick

1 can of coconut milk

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook until translucent and tender.

Add the garlic and ginger and keep stirring until fragrant,

about a minute or so. Next add the spices and chili.

Next drop in the slower cooking vegetables-- mainly the

potatoes. Add a little water, while these are all cooking to

prevent sticking. You can use vegetable broth if you like too,

I like adding a bouillon cube to add a little extra flavour.

Throw in the cinnamon stick and continue to cook on low-med

heat until all the vegetables start to cook. Stir in the coconut

milk and tofu and cook until heated through. Season with

salt to taste.

Serve over basmati or jasmine rice topped with fresh cilantro!

Quick Tofu Fix

So I'm still working on the packing/yardsale/sell everything

madness and its definitely cutting into my cooking time way

too much. I'm pretty much left with only enough energy to

throw a bunch of stuff in a pan and hope whatever I come out

with ends up halfway edible/only partially burnt.

Hey, at least its hot food at this point. Better than living off

of pb&j or dried fruit as I tend to do sometimes.

So I try to fall back on super easy and super filling faves of

mine.

I have a pile of fresh avocados that someone brought my mom

so I made a nice wrap of spanish tofu and sliced 'cados.

All I do is cook some onions and garlic and then toss in some

sliced fresh tomatoes. Add some pressed extra firm tofu and

spice it up with about a tablespoon of chili powder, a dash of

cumin, some salt and pepper and a diced chipolte in adobo sauce.

Careful with the chipolte because a little goes a long long way.

I like my food super super spicy so beware. Plus I usually

just cook by sight and taste, so the measurements can be

tweaked to your preference.