The Real Meal

Sweet and Savory Plantains

2012-02-14T16:17:00.000-06:00

In Mexico, we ate a lot of plantains. Mostly they were fried and unripe, and while Logan and I weren't madly in love with them, we liked them well enough. And then last week we saw them at the store all super-cheap and we were all, "we've gotta buy these, yo". And then they sat on top of the fridge, getting progressively more ripe, meaning they turned from nice yellow to developing these deathly-looking black spots that caused me to fear them a little.

But waste them we did not. We peeled and chopped them in a similar fashion to bananas (though even when they're very ripe, they're still a lot more firm than bananas), and sampled them raw, expecting to revolt at the taste. But apparently it's only unripe plantains that taste like a raw potato from hell, because these were pretty nice. Not as soft or sweet as a banana, but pleasant. Definitely edible.

So we fried 'em up with onion, garlic, cumin, salt and hot chili powder, and... that's pretty much the entire recipe, actually. They were love. Sweet and savory is one of my all-time favorite flavor combos, and they tasted excellent alongside salsa and guacamole. I'd say it's unanimous in our household of two that these sweet plantains were superior in flavor to the fried unripe ones of Mexico. Yup, I said it.

Sweet and Savory Plantains
Makes 2 large side servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin)
2 ripe plantains (yellow-black), chopped into 1/4-inch circles
1/4 teaspoon hot chili powder, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Squeeze of fresh lime juice

Directions:

1. In a wide non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil to medium-low. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes or so, until they start to soften. Add the cumin seeds and saute another minute (if using cumin powder, just add it along with the other seasonings). Add the plantains and saute for 5-10 minutes, until the plantains are golden on both sides. They'll stick together and soften a little, but it's all good. Add the chili powder, salt and lime juice and stir to combine. Serve alongside other Mexican food like corn tortillas, guacamole and salsa.

This sweet and savory plantain dish would pair awesomely with a Latin-inspired breakfast spread, which is what I'm gonna try next when I buy more plantains. Notice I said when, not if. Because I'm totally sold on plantains. Before they were just a freaky banana to me, but now I definitely respect them for what they are. And that's about as lovey-dovey as you can expect me to get on Valentine's Day. Hope it's a gooder for you guys!

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad with Yogurt Mint Dressing

2012-02-09T18:46:00.000-06:00

Sometimes great meals are born out of the times you spend an hour staring into the abyss of your fridge, waiting for a meal to spontaneously appear before you. And sometimes not. But this was one such time where I put together a bunch of random things and it actually turned out really good, even blogworthy. Hooray!

Photoworthy? Maybe not so much.

I've been making recipes from a certain cookbook so I can share a review with you all next week, and one of the recipes was for a sunflower seed yogurt. I also had a little bit of fresh mint hanging out in the fridge, and thus the idea for a yogurt-mint dressing was born. Tossed with some black beans, brown rice, shredded leafies and the very mandatory 'kraut and hot sauce, this meal totally made me forget that I just moved and I'm kinda poor and my pantry and fridge have yet to be stocked.

The sauerkraut and hot sauce are totally essential to make this salad awesome, so for your own sake, don't skimp. If you don't have sauerkraut, something else to replace the saltiness would work well, such as sliced olives. I'll allow the raisins to be optional, but as Logan discovered, they really elevate the salad. And a note about the yogurt - you'll want to add some sugar to the dressing if you've got the unsweetened variety. That is all.

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad:
Serves 2-3, depending on appetite

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup shredded romaine
1 cup shredded green cabbage (purple would work too)
1 large tomato, chopped small
Sauerkraut, for serving
Hot sauce, for serving
Raisins, for serving (optional)

For the Yogurt-Mint Dressing:

2 tablespoons sweetened coconut milk yogurt (or other yogurt)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons water, for consistency
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the brown rice, black beans, romaine, cabbage and tomato.
2. Make the dressing: combine all dressing ingredients except mint and blend in a mini-blender. Alternately, you can whisk it in a small bowl with a fork. Stir in the mint.
3. Pour the dressing over the rice/bean mixture and stir to combine. Dish into bowls and garnish with however much sauerkraut, hot sauce and raisins you desire. Enjoy!

Sriracha in action

I discovered that this salad tastes best at room temperature, though it's pretty good cold too. It's definitely not the kind of salad you'd want to eat warm, though.

Guys! We're almost done recording our album and I'm super pumped up about it. I've done the vocals for half the songs, including this really angry song I thought would defeat my voice. It's so intense. But I prevailed! Whiskey helped me near the end of the battle...just a little really perks up the voice for the final stretch. If all goes well, we'll have a nice shiny CD by July, and maybe even an iTunes release sooner than that. It's so painfully far away for someone who has no concept of patience!

Healthy at 100 by John Robbins: Book Review

2012-02-05T10:28:00.001-06:00

Let me preface this review by saying that I'm a big fan of John Robbins. I've previously written about another one of his books, The Food Revolution, and will one day share my thoughts on an early work of his, Diet for a New America, since it's the book that really sealed the vegan deal for me. Aside from providing well-researched, comprehensive information in his books, his voice is also one of compassion, like you're reading the words of a close friend. Having already been acquainted with his writing style by reading the aforementioned books by John, I had high expectations for Healthy at 100, and happily, I wasn't disappointed.

Check out my first pair of vegan runners, scored in Portland!

I first picked up this book for my day-long travels from California to my home in Saskatchewan. Leaving at 7am and not scheduled to get home until 10pm (with only a one hour time change!), I needed a good book to read, lest I become super bored and antsy. Along with some coconut water I found at the airport and my last piece of raw biscotti from school, I was good to go (I also ate hordes of fairly decent airport food in addition to energy bars).

So, the book. The coolest thing about Healthy at 100 is that it goes beyond diet and exercise, the obvious factors in living a long and healthy life, and discusses how having a loving network of friends and family, a good relationship with your spouse, a positive outlook on life and a sense of purpose are found to be of equal significance for longevity. All of these factors have been researched and documented by science, with the real goldmine of information coming from studies on the longest-living cultures in the world: the Okinawans, Abkhasians, Vilcabambans and the Hunzans.

Each one of these fascinating cultures gets a full chapter in this book, detailing everything from their diet, activity levels, attitudes toward aging and elders, and the way they live. Parallels are drawn between these groups of people that are thought to contribute to their longevity, including:

The elders eat a plant-based diet with few animal products, and no processed or packaged foods. They seldom consume things like sugar, getting their sweet fix from fresh and dried fruit. The produce they eat is fresh, usually picked right before eating, and is locally grown.
Elders have ridiculously awesome fitness levels, even in their 90s and 100s. Their daily lives includes plenty of walking, running and manual labor.
Old folks are revered and honored. It's considered a blessing to house an elder, and people tend to inflate their age, claiming they're 130 or 150 since it brings them greater status. Being old = being awesome.
Elders continue to be useful members of society well into old age - there's no concept of retirement.
A happiness and love of life can be found in these groups of people - they sing, celebrate, and appreciate each day. When tragedy occurs, people band together and support each other. There's a strong sense of community.
Violence and crime is extremely rare.
Women are treated as equals.
An emphasis is placed on sharing and giving. Accumulating and hoarding wealth is thought to be in bad taste and is looked down upon - if you have extra wealth, it's to be shared with others who are less fortunate. It's an attitude of "everyone wins", instead of "every man for himself".

All of these factors are explored and elaborated upon in the book, drawing fascinating (and sad) comparisons between these long-living people and our own Western society, with our vast amounts of depression, stress, and our utter lack of respect for aging. Here, aging is seen as something to fight at all costs, and youth is revered. Old people are often discarded from their families like trash and left on the streets or lonely in nursing homes, a concept that the long-living cultures can hardly grasp. We suffer from degenerative diseases and have become so accustomed to them as to think that they're normal. We celebrate those who are rich and famous, and look down on the poor. We lock our doors.

This book doesn't claim that if you follow all of the steps contained within, you're guaranteed to become a centenarian. John is very careful to point out that there's no benefit in glamorizing a group of people or trying to be just like them. However, by learning from the example of other long-lived cultures, we have a good shot at aging with dignity, health and sharp minds no matter how old we live to be.

My long journey home was highly enjoyable since I had this book to keep me company. Aside from being a thoroughly engaging read, it also reminded me to stop and appreciate the little things, and treasure all of the love I have in my life. This book doesn't shy away from sad facts and harsh realities, but the overall message is one of hope and optimism, and just made me feel good to read. So thank you, John, for offering the world another great book to help us become happier and healthier people.

I moved!

2012-02-02T14:10:00.000-06:00

Hey folks!

Sorry I've been absent this past week - aside from being deep in the throes of recording an album and watching the extended version of Lord of the Rings, Logan and I also moved. Hoorah!

A little more than three years ago, I moved into a house with three boys - one was an old friend from kindergarten years, and the other two were random people from Weyburn I had only met on several occasions. I figured my life would be more interesting to live with random people, and it was...especially after Logan and I started dating a mere week after becoming roommates.

And we've been living together ever since. However, we've never been living alone - it's always been with roommates. Until now, that is! Happy times. Yesterday, to celebrate the claiming of our new little abode, we had some of this...

And some of this...

And played a little of this...

Good times. We've been eating really simple the past few days since our fridge and pantry are a little bare, but we've definitely been eating well. Take today for example - we enjoyed a lunch that was almost entirely composed of fresh ingredients with the addition of a few kitchen essentials, like olive oil and miso (okay, maybe miso isn't so ordinary, but it should be).

We enjoyed Tabouleh sans tomato, made with plenty of parsley, mint and cucumber. We added some diced avocado (not traditional but delicious), fresh lemon, olive oil and salt, and that was that. Tabouleh is so simple and so fresh! To round out the meal, we enjoyed some kale coleslaw, which is my most beloved recipe for kale ever, as well as some carrot sticks and homemade 'kraut (thanks, Jeremy!).

I am exceptionally eager to get back into the swing of things, especially now that I have my own kitchen. Muah ha ha! Many delicious meals will be born here.

I want you to know, though, that we don't ordinarily keep the bananas suspended above the stove. That would just be bad news for the bananas.

And at last, a living room where my beautiful keyboard can hang out in all of its glory, reminding me to practice (bench not pictured...it was camera-shy).

And all of my glorious cookbooks, colorful and enticing, get to chill on the bookshelf and proudly display their awesomeness.

Also on the bookshelf but obscured by all of the gaming systems is my Nana collection. Best comic ever. Sorry Ranma 1/2, I love you too, and second place is still very admirable. And see that little desk in the corner? That's where I get to hang out! And since I'm so close to the kitchen, never again will I forget about that pot of beans I was bringing to a boil. Phew.

So as you can probably tell, I'm ridiculously excited, and I can't wait to share delicious concoctions from my little kitchen. Hope you've all been well, and that your January was pleasant! :)

The Little Things

2012-01-25T12:46:00.000-06:00

So I'm holding this orange, in the company of my favorite plant, contemplating the simple things in life. It seems we all love to elaborate, and complicate, in an effort to achieve some pinnacle, a higher place. If only then, I would be happy. If I lived there or achieved this, or knew those people or cooked that meal. Then I would be happy. And the complexity compounds and spirals outwards, further and further from that simple, singular idea. What was it again?

And I segment the orange into quarters, and then into quarters again. I bite the flesh from the peel. Sweet, tart, juicy. And it occurs to me - how could you truly enjoy the greatest feast in the world if you can't enjoy the simple pleasure of biting into an orange? Or a strawberry, or a fresh garden carrot? No matter of spices, seasonings or oils could trick your heart to love a meal, if there's a lack of appreciation for its components.

The simplest meal can be the most soul-satisfying, or it can pass by in a haze, almost unnoticed. As I finish eating the orange, I'm thinking that it's up to me to decide to appreciate it, or not. It's not up to the orange. And there's the idea. "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

Sunshine Burger

2012-01-19T14:49:00.002-06:00

There are these store-bought veggie burgers called "Sunshine Burgers", and they're super wholesome. Brown rice, raw sunflower seeds and carrots form the base of these patties, and then they're adorned with various seasonings and herbs. A couple of their patties contain beans, too. So I was thinking, "self, this is such an uncomplicated ingredient list - so uncomplicated, in fact, that I should be able to make these myself".

So make them myself I did. Inspired by OSG's veggie burger that I made a couple weeks ago, I was looking for a burger with a great texture and flavor, and also something that would be fast and easy to make so I could focus on all that music-making stuff I've got going on. I was looking for something filling, but that wouldn't make my stomach go all "blarg!". Like that.

And now, I'm so freakin' in love with these burgers it's not even funny. At lunch I was ranting to Logan about how awesome it'll be to make these next month when we're poor and living in our new place, since they're so cheap to assemble. They hold their shape well despite not having a trace of gluten or breadcrumb in them, and they have a moist but not mushy texture. I've eaten them with bread and tucked inside large romaine leaves, and both ways are yummy.

(Oh yeah, I forgot to mention we're moving. I know, moving in the same month as recording, I'm a genius.)

Sunshine Burger
Makes 6 patties

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup grated carrot

Directions:

1. In a food processor, grind the sunflower seeds with the basil, thyme, salt and onion powder until the seeds are fairly well-ground - some chunks are good. Add the rice and carrots to the food processor and lightly process until it forms a sticky dough. The dough should still have some texture to it.

2. With damp hands, form the dough into 6 patties. You can cook them using either the oven or a frying pan - for a frying pan, heat a little oil over medium-low heat and cook each side for about 10 minutes, until golden. In the oven, bake them for 15 minutes per side at 350 F.

Enjoy on buns or leaves with all your favorite condiments. Potatoes make a classic accompaniment, but a lovely green salad would happily pair with this burger as well.

Seriously, these are some of the best veggie burgers I've ever made, and I've made plenty in my day. No one will try one and be like "is this a meat burger?", but that's no tragedy. Veggie burgers should be loved and respected for what they are (veggies). A crazy thought, I know.

Speaking of crazy, check this out:

I just have to share this with you at least once a year. That there's the mighty country of Canada - now look for the city that says -29. That's me! We've got windchill warnings going on and off, which basically means that though it's -29, it actually feels more like -40. It's so cold that your eyebrows freeze within a minute. But honestly, you can't live in a place like Regina and not feel super badass, since most of the world population will never experience an intense cold like this. Ever. The more northerly regions like Alaska, Northwest Territories and Nunavut generally have us beat when it comes to being badass, but there's also very few people who live that far north. So yeah. Feelin' pretty hardcore. And also really grateful for my heater.

Hope you're all having a great week and I'll catch up with you on the weekend!

Album recording and a vegan potluck

2012-01-16T14:43:00.000-06:00

This weekend, as I mentioned previously, was a busy one filled with crazy album recording antics and a vegan potluck thrown in the mix. It blew by in a whirlwind, and today I'm left feeling a little melancholic with the quiet that comes after the storm. But in 4 days, the whole process repeats itself again and again, probably well into February.

This weekend, I also decided to start an album notebook. The goal is to fill it by the end of our sessions, every person in the studio contributing their two cents.

Dave, I'm sorry I still have your pen. But it's an awesome pen.

The notebook will be filled with stuff like this, pages of musings, commentary and thoughts. Angry pages when the recording isn't going well, and triumphant, exclamation mark-laden pages for when they are. Mike (drummer) even did a little flipbook animation thing, which we'll have to capture on video because it's the best thing ever.

And here's a page that captures the feeling I woke up with after the weekend was over with:

I love the wordage "fizzy energy", which was 100% inspired by Tara.

In conjunction with this notebook project, I'm also going to somewhat distance myself from media and distractions this month, so I can focus on the task at hand. As the singer/lyricist, this album is very personal and close to my heart, and requires a fair deal of purging, getting all of those feelings out of me and onto the the recorded tracks. Art is really cleansing that way. It forces you to deal with your shit. So if I'm a little more absent this month, you know why.

And there's something to be said for the awesomeness of a good nap. Especially in my Herbivore hoodie.

I want to end this post with a picture of the vegan potluck crew:

All of the Vulcans in the back row look positively crazed (myself included). I didn't even know this many vegans in my city existed until recently! And now we've usurped our city's Vegetarian Society, and we have big plans for the future. Hoorah!

Hope you're all having tons of fun wherever you may be, and I'll catch up with you soon!

My Raw Not-Tuna Pate

2012-01-13T13:52:00.000-06:00

Having a sturdy and reliable not-tuna pate or spread seems to be of utmost importance to raw foodies. It's a versatile pate (pronounced pah-tay, but I don't know how to put an accent above the "e"), since it can be spread on flatbread, enjoyed with veggies, or scooped atop a salad, but it's also got that nostalgic, comforty goodness going for it, which is why I think it's so appealing. It's also one of those raw food dishes that tastes just as good - if not better - than the original.

Ready for wrap assembly, DIY-style

Actually, I think it's leaps and bounds above the original - it's more textured, doesn't have that dryness that tuna has, and it doesn't use a cup of mayo or a generous dose of white vinegar at any point in time. Instead, sunflower seeds and almonds stand in for the tuna and mayo, contributing healthy fats and a pleasantly mellow flavor. These make a perfect template for all kinds of goodies and seasonings like lemon juice (completely superior to white vinegar in every way), kelp powder (adds a slight "fishy" flavor), and fresh herbs.

To balance out the heft of the nuts and seeds in this recipe, I added 1 cup of peeled and chopped zucchini, which hides in the background while adding moisture and bulk to the recipe, and a cup of shredded carrot, which give the pate a beautiful color and a gentle sweetness. Other than a few simple changes, this is a recipe I learned while I was at Living Light Culinary School, and I love it just as much now as I did then.

Raw Not-Tuna Pate
Makes 1 generous cup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup peeled and chopped zucchini (please peel it, unless you want a green-tinged pate)
1 cup grated carrot
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup minced red onion
3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon kelp powder (or crumble in a nori sheet)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
2-4 tablespoons water, or as needed

Directions:

1. In a food processor, process the almonds and sunflower seeds until broken into pieces, about 30 seconds. Add all of the other ingredients to the food processor except the water, and process until the mixture is combined and a little soft but still has texture, adding water as necessary. The texture of your pate, though, is completely to personal taste.

Eat in "wraps" with romaine leaves and veggies, on toast or sandwiches (raw or otherwise), rolled up in a nori sheet with julienned cucumber for yummy sushi bites, or use it as a hearty dip for veggies.

During the next four weeks of recording, I'll be relying on simple and affordable dishes like this, stuff that's easy to transport and eat on the go. Setup is tonight, and I'm a little nervous about the whole project but mostly just excited. Really, really excited. In addition to keeping my voice in tip-top shape, I've got some ideas to make this recording session really rewarding and meaningful, which you'll hear more about in the next blog post.

Take care, and happy eats!

Banana Bread Bakeoff

2012-01-10T14:27:00.000-06:00

(as a note, we ended up making mini-muffins instead of bread, but then I wouldn't get to have a triple alliteration in my title.)

I come from a competitive family. In this respect, I'm no black sheep - there are certain people out there who will remember me flipping over a monopoly board or crying over cards in my youth. So all it took was a simple conversation about our favorite banana bread recipe to spark up the competitive spirit my mother and I have. Who's banana bread would be superior? It was on.

My mom's recipe of choice was the one she's been making for years, from a tattered copy of The Complete Book of Baking by Pillsbury, but done vegan-style. A while ago I posted the recipe, making a few minor tweaks for a slightly more wholesome result. My mom's version was the full-out decadent recipe, though - she was going for gold. It involved using all-purpose flour, and 1/2 cup of margarine and sour cream.

And a close-up of the crumb...

My recipe of choice was from 1000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson. And I can't share the recipe with you because that would be copyright infringement, but you should just buy the book because it's a gooder. Or you could memorize the recipe while you're in the bookstore. Not that I've done that before...

Robin's version of banana bread is more on the wholesome side: very low fat (3 tablespoons of oil plus some applesauce), lower in sugar, and half of the flour is whole wheat. Up against my mom's hold-nothing-back recipe, mine seemed like the lame goodie two-shoes one, but so be it. Goodie two-shoes can be awesome, dammit.

Close-up #2...

To taste-test without bias, Logan and I did blind samples. The feel of the two banana muffins were different, so we weren't even allowed to touch them. After Logan and I sampled the two muffins, carefully pondering each bite, we had chosen our winners.

Logan's pick was #1, my mom's. It was a little sweeter and had a softer crumb.

My pick was #2, my own muffin. By the time I had tasted each one, I was pretty confident I knew which recipe was which, and I was right - but I genuinely preferred my own - it had a more textured crumb since it used oil instead of margarine.

My mom was steadfast in her devotion to her own recipe, and I stood by mine as well. Logan, the tiebreaker, ended up saying that my muffin was the superior one the next day when they were no longer warm and fresh. So the verdict?

Tie. Through and through.

Except here's the thing: if you could have a beautiful banana bread with less sugar and far less fat that tastes as good as a decadent kind, why not just have the healthier version? Or maybe I just think that because I'm a goodie two-shoes.

I swear I just heard my mom laugh...

Our 3-Year Anniversary

2012-01-08T12:40:00.000-06:00

Hey there,

Just wanted to drop in quickly today because I have an awesome story to share. So yesterday, Logan and I celebrated 3 years of dating, except that we're kind of lame when it comes to special occasions and didn't really plan anything special. To give you some perspective on the degree of our lameness, we didn't even get each other Christmas presents this year. Yep.

So we did typical Saturday things - we ran some errands, I was testing a raw cake recipe, Logan was visiting with a friend doing marathon video gaming for charity. And we decided that we'd celebrate by going to 13th Ave. Coffee House for supper, since it's the superior veg-friendly restaurant choice in our small city. However, to our great surprise, they were closed! *cue tense music*

We quickly discussed our options that didn't involve driving across the city - Bushwakkers and the Freehouse, too busy. La Bodega, the portions are too small. So I suggested the modest Ethiopian restaurant called Selam, and much to my glee, Logan agreed! See, Logan's not terribly fond of Ethiopian food...or so he thought (by the end of the night he was proclaiming his love for it).

So we got there, and were served massive amounts of the most ridiculously delicious food ever - I dare you to eat injera and anything made with berbere and not love it.

A delicious spicy stew made from dried and ground chickpeas, served with injera.

The vegetarian sample platter full of awesomeness. Logan's hand in the top left corner gives you a sense of the massive size of this plate. I'm proud to say we finished it all.

So we finished eating and were drinking our beer - slowly, since we were both packed to the brim with food. It was about this point when we realized we were the lone customers in the restaurant, and the live musician dude started talking to us.

"You guys Ukrainian?"

"Uh, not in the traditional sense."

It was explained to us that our anniversary also coincided with Ukrainian Christmas, which many Ethiopians celebrate as well due to the whole Orthodox thing. Hence the live music and pretty Christmas tree in the window. But where were all the customers?

Since we were the only ones there, we ended up getting some special treatment. The musician dude sang us songs and reminisced about his past as a stylish youth, wearing tight denim pants and Elvis shoes, when the ladies would whistle at him. The lights were dimmed and they lit some candles for our table. We were brought tall glasses of delicious red wine (free!), and grapes and apples to snack on (also free!).

It seemed they were conspiring to get us drunk and/or get us to explode from fullness, but the hospitality was nice (Logan already looks half-gone in that picture). The kind folks who ran the restaurant ended up giving us a memorable and romantic anniversary, one we wouldn't have given ourselves. Because we're lame, remember? But the folks at Selam are far from lame. And they have the best food ever.

And then we went home, watched The Colbert Report, and called it a night. Happy 3 years, indeed. :)

OSG's Perfect Veggie Burger

2012-01-07T11:37:00.000-06:00

I absolutely love making other people's recipes - it's what got me into cooking in the first place. These days, though, I have so much fun making stuff up that I have to remind myself to just follow a recipe once and a while. I think it's the second-best way to learn how to cook (with the best way being taking hands-on classes), and I love being edumacated. So cookbooks, watch out, I'm coming for you.

But this recipe isn't from a cookbook - it's from a blogger we all know and love, Angela of Oh She Glows. And she's currently working on a cookbook, so one day I'll get to cook from her book instead of blog. But for now, I'll just have to settle for her very vast and detailed online recipe archives. Oh, the hardship.

Raw, unadulterated kale makes a surprisingly awesome sandwich or burger addition.

I love trying new recipes for veggie burgers about as much as I love trying new recipes for mac and cheese, and I'd been eyeing up Angela's version because it claimed to be non-mushy, yet free of tofu/tempeh/seitan. She also said it held together well! Those are some high expectations for a veggie burger, so I wanted to see how it measured up.

So Angela's veggie burger definitely met the aforementioned criteria - no mush and a great shape. I actually preferred this veggie burger on its own instead of in a bun - it felt a little dry to me with all that bread encapsulating it. But sitting atop some spinach or kale with a squeeze of ketchup, mustard and Vegennaise, it had a great flavor.

If I were to mess with the recipe (because I can't leave things alone!), I would simplify the ingredient list somewhat - like omitting the almonds in favor of more sunflower seeds, and using just oats and flax to glue the ingredients together instead of the additional breadcrumbs, though adding the breadcrumbs helps give the veggie burger a good shape and staying power because of the gluten. I would also pulse the whole thing in the food processor, since I like my veggie burgers a little less textured, but not quite completely uniform.

Everyone seems to have a different idea on what the ultimate veggie burger is like, in terms of texture, flavor and mouthfeel. I'd love to know your two cents - do you like "meaty" veggie burgers, or veggie burgers with lots of crunch and vegetables? Uniform or textured? Eaten alone or on a bun with all the fixins?

(7 days until recording...I'm so excited I can barely sit still!)

Pomegranate Orange Juice

2012-01-05T10:48:00.000-06:00

Back in 2010, I bought my very first and only juicer. And until I discover a tree with money growing on it, it will remain my only juicer.

Alas! Ever since then, I've turned into something of a juice snob, rejecting the canned, cartoned, bottled or frozen stuff in favor of fresh. First and foremost, it's the taste. I don't know what they make apple juice out of, but I'm pretty confident it's not real apples. Or at least it's not the kind of apples I use, because my fresh apple juice tastes completely different. It tastes good! Ahh, but I'm not trying to play my hate on apple juice, I just never liked it. Until I bought a juicer.

O Christmas Tree, it's not Christmas anymore...

And then there's the pomegranate juice you can buy for nearly as much as my juicer cost, but I'm always tempted by it because pomegranates are such a pain in the ass to peel. Mortgage my house, or buy pomegranate juice? I kid, I kid. I don't have a house.

It turns out, though, that pomegranates are much easier to seed (is that the correct term?) if they're destined for juice. It means no precision is necessary and you can just dig right in - some will get mangled beyond recognition, but it's all good. And it only takes 10 minutes of effort, including clean-up.

This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups of juice, which I split between two people since it's very sweet. This is optional, but I prefer to add a little cold, fresh water to the juice to cut the sweetness a bit - it just depends on your taste buds. I don't do super-sweet.

Pomegranate Orange Juice
Makes 1 1/2 cups (serves 2)

Ingredients:

2 navel oranges, peeled
1 pomegranate, seeded (I just scooped the seeds out with a spoon into a bowl)
1/2 cup cold, fresh water (optional)

Directions:

1. Juice the orange and pomegranate in the way of your juicer. If you want to dilute the sweetness, try pouring the water through your juicer, since it'll help clean it out a little. Pour into two glasses, add more water if desired, and enjoy!

Yup, that's a Heineken mug. Classy.

90% of the time I'm a green juice kind of gal, but every now and then I love a good fruit juice. Usually grapefruit...I could drink that stuff forever. This is a super refreshing drink that perked me up like a strong cup of tea would - yay sugar! And now I'm all ready to conquer the day. In a week, my band will be setting up to start recording, so there's lots of work to be done! But it's happy work. :)

Vegan at Gran Melia, Cancun

2012-01-03T10:30:00.000-06:00

Heyo!

In a previous post about Cancun, I mentioned that I would talk about the eats and such at our resort in Cancun called Gran Melia. It's a five-star hotel, and we got a deal on an all-inclusive package since virtually my entire family flew here together (23 people!).

Not knowing what to expect, Logan and I arrived armed and ready.

The Ades drink and green tea were purchased at the market downstairs, but everything else we brought. In fact, this stash was already slightly depleted when I took this picture, since we originally had more chocolate and lara bars.

I'm super glad we packed snacks, especially the chocolate. Understandably, vegan dessert options at Gran Melia were nonexistent, but I don't like to be shafted from dessert, and so we happily devoured rice milk chocolate like it was going out of style. The lara bars were handy for day trips, and the nuts were great for a little extra protein and satiation.

And when it came to breakfast, the granola and nut butter were indispensable.

Breakfast

We enjoyed most of our meals at the buffet called Quetzal, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a wide selection of food that varies day to day.

The banana was enjoyed with the nut butter we brought with us, and Logan drizzled pear syrup on the sweet fried plantains. We ate a lot of raw vegetables in the morning, since we were so grateful to be eating something that resembled real food after being on the plane. There was a fairly good selection of fruit (mostly fresh melons at this time of year), but also jarred fruit in syrup like mangoes, peaches, pears and mandarin oranges.

We were very joyous to discover that some days they had soy milk sitting on the breakfast buffet table - it tasted like the So Nice brand. On this particular morning, we put the granola we brought to good use. They provided cereal and granola, but we wanted to eat our own because we're picky like that.

More fruit, and a banana that was later smothered with nut butter. The mash in the bottom left corner was called "banana with dried fruits", and it was warm and sweet and very good. On the top right corner is a scoop of refried beans. Refried beans have been everywhere, but since they're often made with lard I've been careful. Generally, I follow my nose when it comes to determining if a food has meat or a meat product in it, since I find them very potent. I've noticed that the beans vary from batch to batch, sometimes smelling animal-ish, and sometimes smelling just like the ones I make at home. On the whole, though, we avoided them.

Those hash brown potatoes were damn good, and I devoured them every time I saw them at breakfast. I also enjoyed some sauteed mushrooms in soy sauce and a potato-onion-parsley hash, along with fresh fruit, some granola in the background and a glass of fresh grapefruit juice. They have a good selection of fresh juices each morning (all fruit, not vegetable), like watermelon, papaya and orange.

Lunch and Supper

Unlike breakfast where all of our meals were enjoyed at Quetzal, we went to a few more locations for lunch and dinner, due to being out and about, family meal reservations or simple curiosity.

What I can say about the Gran Melia resort is that if you're vegan, the buffet is the way to go for meals. Most of the restaurants have nary a vegan option, except an appetizer or salad. We went to a place called Kunah, and the two pages of mains were literally just a different animal for each dish. But Logan and I smiled and nodded and enjoyed some chips with an avocado-beet cerviche, and later retreated to our room to munch out on some chocolate.

We visited another buffet-style restaurant called La Perla, situated outside near some swimming pools, though they were very much a burger and fries kind of joint in the daytime. But Logan and I love fries.

They also served nachos, but sadly had no guacamole. I was all pouty, because I've come to expect chips to be piled high with salsa and guacamole. Though as a side-note, when we visited Xel-Ha (an outdoor aquarium), they had a huge vat of guacamole and Logan and I happily called it lunch.

Luckily, there was a fresh salsa and tons of pickles and ~~lolives~~ olives. Our room service platter of nachos, however, was most excellent:

That's a full-sized dinner plate piled high with guacamole - there must have been three avocados in that heap. The salsa was a little watery, but tasted great mixed up with the guacamole. And since Logan and I couldn't conquer all the guacamole in one sitting, we saved some for breakfast, which was delicious smothered atop potatoes. Just be sure to specify that you want guacamole with no cheese...

And then, the wedding meal. Logan and I weren't really sure what to expect, since you never really know what a catered meal will be like as the weirdo vegan, but I was told beforehand I could expect a potato, some veggies, and a grilled portobello. Logan was told he'd be served grilled veggies on rice. Not the most exciting food in the world, but hey, at least we were being fed.

We started off with a salad...

It was pretty beautiful and actually trumped the salad everyone else got, which was basically just romaine, cheese chunks and a caesar dressing. The vinaigrette was simple and tasty, and I was just so happy to be eating a bunch of crunchy vegetables.

As for the main? Well I didn't photograph them, which maybe says something. Mine was quite good, though I had to share my potato with Logan since he just got a plate of grilled veggies...no rice. What man (or woman) could possibly be filled up on a meager plate of grilled veggies, I ask? At least they tasted good.

When they started bringing out tiramisu for dessert, I was wondering if Logan and I would get a plate of fruit or something - I wouldn't have complained, and I still had lots of room in my belly. Alas, we got no dessert. Nada. So we later snuck back to our room for more rice milk chocolate, and all was well.

At the Quetzal buffet, however, we always managed to pile our plates high.

There was almost always rice and potatoes, and plenty of raw and cooked vegetable salads to choose from. On certain days, we even got to enjoy chickpeas (delish) and black beans. Logan and I loaded up on olives at every meal, and pecans made a frequent appearance. But yeah - no shortage of vegetables for us.

As you might expect from buffet-style food, everything was rather oily. I didn't really mind since I was so happy to be well-fed, but it was nice to return home and eat a non-greasy rice bowl topped with crunchy raw veggies.

So the verdict? If you're a vegan at Gran Melia, Cancun, you'll almost undoubtedly do well. There's meat everywhere, but there are plenty of vegetable options (at Quetzal, at least) most days. There was only one or two days where Logan and I noticed a lack of selection, when they decided to put cheese on the potatoes and seafood in some of the salads. But we didn't go hungry! And the snack bars we brought were mainly for day trips - we didn't need them at the hotel. The granola was great to have for breakfast, though if you're into stuff like Corn Pops, they've got little mini boxes of assorted cereals.

And the best part? Logan and I never got sick!

But I'm happy to be back in my own kitchen. My hair is lamenting the loss of its poofy curls and my skin doesn't particularly enjoy Saskatchewan's cold, dry air, but it's actually been a really warm winter so far. As of this moment it's 0 degrees (about 32 F), which is amazingly warm for this time of year, where highs of -20 (-4 F) are common, and the windchill can get into the -40's (-40 F). And it's supposed to be warm like this all week, which is worthy of celebration. And cervezas! :)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T13:29:00.000-06:00

Instead of participating in jolly drunken parties for the new year, Logan and I were on a plane when the clock struck midnight. We had just finished watching some television show about awkward older virgins, and enjoyed some treats from Cancun:

Chocolate, eaten alongside some chocolate-covered coffee beans. I nearly squealed when I found the coffee beans - no weird ingredients, just pure and simple chocolate and sugar. Logan and I nearly blissed out when we ate the precious dark gems, and I credit them with giving me enough energy to stay awake until midnight.

It was a little bit of a shock to arrive home to the cold, dry air of home, where it looks something like this:

When just mere hours ago we were soaking up the sun and hanging out with palm trees. Where flowers were in my hair instead of dead underneath snow-covered ground.

When the cervezas were abundant, and shots of ~~disgusting~~ tequila seemed to show up at a moment's notice.

(For the record, I'm sure it was very good tequila. But even very good tequila tastes like alcoholic dish soap to me.)

Mmm, cervezas.

The one thing that's exciting about being back home is the food. I can't wait to play in the kitchen again and eat my own cooking - does that make me sound like a food snob? So be it. There's a big, veggie-filled rice bowl with my name on it right now.

Hope the new year treats you well, and that you enjoyed happy festivities with minimal repercussions the morning after. :)

Best of Foodz 2011, and Lookin' Forward

2011-12-31T10:36:00.000-06:00

Howdy!

I've still got some Mexican action to post about, but since it's the 31st of January I thought it might be appropriate to take a look back at 2011, and talk about plans going forward in 2012.

Next month my band will be heading into the studio to record our first full-length album, which not only means a lot of last-minute tweaking and lyrical revisions, but also some super-healthy eats to keep my voice at its best throughout the three weeks (or more) we're recording. I'll be putting some of that raw food knowledge gleaned from Living Light to good use during that time, fo sho!

As if the album and teaching piano weren't enough to keep me busy, I've also got a few other projects up my sleeve, which will be revealed in good time. And by that I mean sometime next year. And of course, I'm very excited to play in the kitchen and create more noms for my beloved blog.

I don't usually do my goal-setting at this time of year. It's easiest for me to adjust and reassess on the cardinal quarter points - namely, the solstices and equinoxes. In that sense, I don't make "new years resolutions", per se, but I still have a hefty bounty of goals and ambitions, which can probably boil down to this:

-Sing more.
-Exercise more.
-Cook more amazing food.
-Travel more.
-Work more.
-Write more.
-Read more.
-Do a small tour with the band.
-Live in the moment more.
-See my friends more.

That's the nutshell. And now I want to look back at 2011 and find the Best of the Foodz - I'll show you the six most popular posts of this year and relive the glory days.

1. Borscht

Being of Polish and Ukrainian descent, I've made a lot of borscht in my adult life, with probably more fails than successes. But this is the simplest and also the tastiest borscht I've made, and the best part is that it only makes four servings. There is a time and a place for mass quantities of soup, but my patience grows thin with too many repeats.

2. Bean, Rice and Kale Burrito Recipe

It doesn't get much better than burritos. We eat variations on this theme quite often, though I don't post about them much because it's like posting about sandwiches - everyone knows how to make a sandwich, right? But every now and then, there's a burrito that comes along and politely requests to be shared with others, and I just have to oblige.

3. Stuffed Bell Peppers with Bulgur and Cashew Cheese

This recipe was my introduction to bulgur, a type of wheat. It has a "meaty" bite and, along with the green lentils, made for a great plant-based filling that relies on whole foods instead of packaged and processed stuff. And I also learned from this recipe that cashew cheese gets beautifully golden under the broiler - who knew!

4. Pretzel-Fried Tofu with Mango-Onion Gravy

This meal was made for Food Network Friday, done by Tami of Vegan Appetite. Basically, someone picks a very non-vegan recipe from the Food Network, and we get to work veganizing it. It's a super fun event, and I was very happy with the result.

5. Ukrainian Cabbage Roll Recipe

Cabbage rolls is a family tradition over the holidays, and my favorite way to enjoy them is the simplest - with rice and a tomato sauce. This here is the recipe my Granny has used for years, taken from an old Ukrainian cookbook made by some Saskatchewan ladies a long while ago.

6. Vegan Mac and Cheese

I was really surprised and thrilled with how well this mac and cheese came out. Sometimes it's truly the best thing to say "the hell with it" and go with your muse. Normally I'd probably think it peculiar to use a bunch of mustard and garlic and virtually no nooch for a mac and cheese recipe, but it ended up working out swell.

So that's that, folks! Happy new year to you all - I'll be doing the countdown in a plane with my family, so I'm off to enjoy the last bit of Mexico before returning to snow and sub-zero temperatures. Have a good one!

Adventures in Cancun

2011-12-29T11:51:00.000-06:00

Greetings!

In the last post, I may or may not have been bragging through pictures about my warm and tropical Christmas. It was a little peculiar to miss the typical snowy holidays of Saskatchewan, but it's hard to complain about hot weather and close proximity to a gorgeous ocean.

It wasn't simply a whim that brought Logan and I to Cancun for Christmas. In fact, 23/25 of my family members trekked out here for one specific purpose:

My uncle's wedding!

With a full week at a 5-star resort, I've been immersed in a little bit of luxury, which is all very new to me. When Logan and I explored Portland this summer we stayed in a hostel, which was excellent but not really the pinnacle of classiness. So we're enjoying our spacious room with a balcony and a jacuzzi (among other things) and we're doing things like swimming and beachin' it. It's been fun except for that time when Logan almost died in the ocean, but that's a story for another day.

There have been plenty of cervezas going around, too...

Here Logan's sipping one on a boat. Good times. Beer is truly everywhere on this trip, and since it's all "free" (it's an all-inclusive), we've enjoyed it in abundance. We also discovered/created a delicious beverage that Logan has deemed his favorite mixed drink, but I'll share that with you later.

We've gone on adventures to places like Xel-ha, where we snorkeled with fishies. Logan was enamoured with parrot fish (they're super colorful), and we encountered a barracuda (kinda scary). I don't have any pictures of that trip, except for this one:

Logan's imitating the happy bathroom sign, in case you were wondering what the hell.

I had to sing some songs for the wedding, and was super thrilled to discover that humid air is glorious for the voice. I could hit the high, belty notes almost effortlessly, a stark contrast from the dry air of home.

My hair (and Logan's) has also been loving this vacation...

You can't really tell at all from this shot, but I've been rockin' a poofy head of curls all week long. I have naturally curly hair to begin with, but the humid air really coaxes out the curls. It's awesome, I love it. It's my hair's true destiny to be super curly, and when I go back to Saskatchewan and it falls flat again, I'll be all emo and long for the days of Mexico's curls.

And of course, the food.

This trip and destination was chosen by my uncle and new auntie, so I had pretty much no control over anything. Logan and I just showed up and hoped that we'd find enough vegan food to get us through the week. Since the hotel has two buffets and four restaurants, I wasn't too worried.

In the next post I'll elaborate on the food much further, but let me just say this: we haven't gone hungry. Our choices have been a little limited and I'm glad we brought sunbutter, lara bars, peanuts and other snacks, but at virtually every meal we've had a full plate.

Here's an example of one breakfast, which is typically the hardest meal to find vegan food at. But with some filling fried plantains and hash brown potatoes, along with a banana that was coated generously in sunbutter, we haven't been going hungry. Other meals have had soy milk(!) and I've been taking advantage of all the fresh juices and fruits.

But the full-on food talk will come next time. Hope you've all been having a groovy holiday season full of family, rest and relaxation if that's your cuppa tea. :)

Happy Holidays from Afar!

2011-12-25T22:13:00.000-06:00

Kale Coleslaw

2011-12-23T14:36:00.000-06:00

The other day I blogged about a red lentil and quinoa dish which was accompanied by an emerald-green kale salad. Knowing me, I probably said something lofty like "this is my favorite kale salad ever", but it's true. It's simple, raw, and the dressing is salty, savory, and destined to top sturdy kale leaves.

I admit there's also a sentimental attachment to this recipe - it's the one I made for my food demo at school. We picked recipes at random, and I was ever so pleased that I ended up with a kale recipe. Seemed fitting, especially since I scored a button in Portland that says "Kale!" with a thumbs up.

Raw kale scares people, I get that. It's this super-tough leaf that looks as though you'll need to chew fifty times just to break the thing down. And then there's people who say that kale is boring (hi, Mike!), or who think it'll be this intensely bitter leaf like dandelion greens or something.

As most of us kale enthusiasts know, though, the leaves can be softened and moistened by a simple massage with a little oil and salt. I also maintain that kale is best shredded finely, which yields the most tender bite possible. This transforms the raw leaves into something palatable with only a whisper of bitterness - if kale were a fairy tale, it would totally be Cinderella, with the whole magical transformation thing.

As for kale being boring, you could say that about virtually any food. Carrot sticks are kinda boring by themselves (though I still love 'em), but they're quite wonderful dunked in a good dip, or roasted in the oven with a little salt and maple syrup. Salad greens are boring without a dressing, sauteed chard begs for some garlic and fresh lemon juice, and broccoli turns into an epic comfort food with the addition of a cheesy sauce. Kale just politely requests that you prepare it in an exciting manner.

Kale Coleslaw
Minor tweaks made to a Living Light recipe
Makes 4 fairly substantial side servings

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale, destemmed and cut into thin ribbons (about 2 cups packed)
2 cups shredded cabbage (any kind)
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely julienned

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons light miso paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon agave (or sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

Directions:

1. Place the shredded kale in a large bowl and massage it with your hands for 30 seconds or so. It'll turn a darker shade of green and begin to break down a little. Add the cabbage, tomato and red onion and toss to combine.

2. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients by whisking with a fork. Pour the dressing over the kale mixture and toss it well to coat all of the veggies. I like to get my (clean) hands in there and rub the dressing into the leaves a little.

Enjoy this salad immediately, or at least try not to let it sit any longer than a day - though it has never lasted that long between Logan and I. So. Damn. Tasty.

This kale coleslaw goes great with pretty much anything, like the quinoa/red lentil dish mentioned earlier, or as an accompaniment to a meal of burgers and fries. I've also been known to eat it as a meal unto itself, particularly when I was recipe testing for my school project.

Definitely not boring.

So without further ado, I'll catch up with you guys at Christmas with a little surprise. :)

Performance Foodstuffs

2011-12-22T14:24:00.000-06:00

Ahoy!

I think I finally fixed the chaos of my website. It's certainly not where it was, but I think the damage control has been fairly successful. Thanks for bearing with me through all of that.

In other news, my band has been playing a whole bunch of shows in the city, which has been great fun, especially when we played with these guys on Tuesday night...

Mad Young Darlings from Winnipeg. I may or may not have a crush on Natasha, and the whole group is completely awesome. Too bad they were touring through on a Tuesday night - I wish more people got to see them play.

That's us. Except my hair doesn't look like that anymore. Next time I'll get some updated pictures!

When it comes to performance days, I'm pretty picky about eating really good food - I even wrote a post about it back in March. Sometimes I'm a little more relaxed than what was mentioned in that post, but eating well on performance day is still crucial for me no matter what. It's definitely important to ixnay the sweets.

So I ate a beautiful salad with some borscht. I've blogged the borscht recipe before, and it's still my favorite. I like that it's super flavorful and makes enough for 4 servings, not 1245.

As for the salad, I made a pretty plate with a base of mixed baby greens, and then piled on grated carrots, beets, olives, tomatoes, avocado slices and cucumber half-moons, topped with a yummy carrot-ginger dressing. I did modify Vegangela's version quite a bit since I can't leave recipes alone - I reduced the oil to 1 tablespoon and added back 2 tablespoons of water, and used lime juice and agave instead of rice wine vinegar and mirin. I didn't add the extra salt because I was content with the saltiness

This is one of Logan's favorite dressings, and as he sat down for lunch, with a big, colorful salad on his plate and a bright fuschia bowl of borscht to the side, he declared, "This looks so good - it's exactly what I wanted". It's a very happy day when I hear those words about a soup and salad.

And now, to tie up some more loose ends before Christmas - I will get to sharing that wonderful kale salad recipe soon.

Toodles!

Starting From Scratch

2011-12-21T11:15:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

In all the chaos of having to move my site, I've lost all of my subscribers. Every single one of 'em. Which makes me feel like I'm talking into the void of space right now - is there anyone out there there there? No, I guess space wouldn't echo.

A couple posts ago, I requested you guys update your feed readers with the new address, and you did! And all was well and happy until I found out that if you subscribed with just the domain (www.the-real-meal.com), it still takes you to my old feed where nothing has been updated and new posts are but a mere fantasy.

However, if you update your feed reader with this address: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheRealMeal, then it should work fine. I don't know why, but that's them apples.

So that's where I'm at. Square one. Scratch. With a sadface.

So if any of you are still there, yay! I look forward to a regular, error-free blog life from now until forever.

Allysia

I've Moved!

2011-12-21T10:49:00.001-06:00

Update Dec. 21: For the time being, it looks like feeds.feedburner.com/TheRealMeal is the only link that will work for updating your feed reader (using just the domain doesn't work). And I'm so not a techie, but I'm trying to figure it all out - all I know is that I've lost all of my subscribers in the process. Which makes it difficult to communicate to you! Arrg. Crossing my fingers...again.

Hey guys,

I did a post rambling about how I'm moving, so you can visit it if you want more details. As it stands, this feed address will no longer work, so please update your feed reader with the new address, which is www.the-real-meal.com, or the direct feed which is feeds.feedburner.com/TheRealMeal.

Thanks so much for your patience and understanding! I'm super eager for technology to run smoothly from this point forward (crossing my fingers).

Allysia

Gingery Red Lentil and Quinoa Kitchari

2011-12-19T20:04:00.001-06:00

I wasn't too sure what to call this dish at first. I knew it had red lentils, quinoa and some veggies with warming spices - but it wasn't really a stew, certainly not a soup, and it seemed like something of a cop-out to call it "red lentil and quinoa dish". So I Wiki'ed it, and apparently it's in the same vein as something called "Kitchari" (and goes by a zillion other names), which is "a South Asian preparation made from rice and lentils".

Here I used quinoa instead of rice, and despite the addition of the Indian spice blend garam masala, I assure you this kitchari is far from authentic. It is, however, warming and filling, and makes a great main dish at about 350 calories and 20 grams of protein per serving, and is perfect accompanied by some dark leafy greens (but then, isn't everything?).

Garam Masala is no longer elusive if you want to buy it pre-made - any well-stocked grocery store should have it. If you can't find it anywhere, you can use a recipe like this one here. It's definitely a spice worth having around, with a more complex flavor than curry, and a light brown color instead of a flashy yellow-orange one. It's typically spicy, but if you mix it yourself, you can control the heat level.

The ginger flavor in this pronounced and pleasant, and I can't imagine it offending anybody. However, I am a card-carrying member of the I Love Ginger club, so feel free to add a little less if it pleases your palate to do so. I've tried it with half a tablespoon as well as with the full tablespoon amount, and both ways taste great.

Gingery Red Lentil and Quinoa Kitchari
Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 medium carrots, sliced into thin semi-circles (about 1 cup)
1/2 to 1 tablespoon peeled and grated ginger, to taste (about a 2-inch piece)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cup frozen green peas
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt, to taste
Cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, bring the vegetable broth to a boil, adding the quinoa and lentils after washing, and then add the carrots and ginger as you prepare them. Stir in the garam masala, cinnamon and coriander, and simmer gently on low heat for 20 minutes.

2. After 20 minutes, give the mixture a good stir and continue to simmer until it's thick and most of the liquid is gone (this shouldn't take very long - 5 minutes, perhaps). Stir in the frozen peas, lemon juice and salt to taste, and remove from the heat. Garnish each serving with several cilantro leaves, either whole or minced, if desired.

This recipe is pretty much as quick and easy as it gets - throw some stuff in a pot for 20 minutes and it's basically ready. I've made this three times in the last week, working on minor tweaks to the recipe, but each time it tasted like delicious comfort food. This kitchari also has the added benefit of making your kitchen smell heavenly.

One of my favorite things about red lentils is how they dissolve into whatever you're making, be it a stew, soup, sauce, or kitchari. I imagine this to be a big bonus for folks who are picky about legumes, since you can't actually detect them here, unless of course you're already familiar with the ways of red lentils. And I've been using them in everything lately since I have a gigantic bag of 'em from The India Food Centre, which, if you're in the Regina area, is my favorite local shop to buy legumes - good selection, fair prices, and I've never gotten a stale bean from them.

Tomorrow I'll share the raw kale salad recipe, which is happily pictured alongside the kitchari. It's a recipe that I learned at school with a few minor tweaks, and I love it dearly.

Cha-cha-changes

2011-12-16T10:33:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

As I mentioned in the previous post, there's been a lot of chaos going on with this site. It's a long story, but suffice to say that I had to switch web hosts, and transferring my old and beloved domain (Happy Vegan!) has proved to be very difficult and a massive headache.

So I had the option of using my original Blogspot domain from way back in the day (super-vegan.blogspot.com - can you tell I'm creative with names?), but that seemed kind of lame. So instead, I'm just going with something completely new. Maybe just for a year, or maybe for always - I don't really know at this point.

I'm calling it "The Real Meal". The last two years of blogging, I've been experimenting and searching for a focus, and I know deep down that I want it to be based on whole and healthy foods. Partly because I'm passionate about eating well (most of the time), and partly because I want this blog to be a testament of how easy and freakin' delicious it can be to eat healthy foods.

I also like The Real Meal because sometimes us vegans are thought to eat fake food - you know, that lentil patty is "fake" because there's no meat, and tempeh is just a second-rate imposter. But what could possibly be more real than meals made right from nature's pantry?

Things are still in transition, but I've fixed a good deal of the links, and will continue to fix more today. Everything should still work fine for those of you who subscribe to this blog, and the link (blog.happy-vegan.com) is still functional and will re-route you here. So basically, you can change your links if you want, but they won't be broken if you don't.

...Except for the links that point to a specific post - those will be broken. I'm going to try to get that sorted out this weekend, and email a few of you with the details.

So my current address is www.the-real-meal.com, complete with dashes because I'm trying to haggle with the current owner of the dash-free version (cross your fingers!). I'm simultaneously excited and exasperated about this change, because my brain is falling out of my head and I liked being Happy Vegan. At least I still get to be a happy vegan, though.

Speaking of changes, Logan's having his own batch of 'em right now. Did I ever mention he's an artist? He's got a digital gallery you should check out, because it's pretty groovy, and his strange sense of humor totally shines through. Anyway, he's working hard to make a go of freelancing work in the new year, so please send him your good vibes. And jobs. :)

Thanks for your understanding and all that - and seriously, thanks for visiting this blog. It means a ton to me that anyone actually reads this thing. And here's to an awesome new future full of adventures, fun times, cats and great food. *Cue glass clink*

And now, to change the subject completely, here are a few links:

The 56 Best/Worst Similes - this is super amusing. Each time I visit this page I laugh.

This is a t-shirt that I'm totally buying.

And I really want to veganize this Rugelach...they just look so damn good.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-13T22:50:00.001-06:00

So first up, I want to apologize about my site being dead for the last several days - I've been in the process of switching servers and whatnot, so there's been some downtime. Not realizing my site had gone down, I posted about a creamed spinach casserole that I made, so if you missed it, check it out!

But for realz, my site is really roughly patched together right now - if you want to search anything, use the labels on the left for the time being. There are lots of links that probably don't work, but at least this blog still kinda sorta exists. Hopefully things will be in good working order soon enough - I feel so lost and aimless without a blog! And I miss you all!

(And for those of you who RSS it, I'm crossing my fingers that this still makes it into your reader thingie.)

My family has a Christmas tree decorating tradition, which consists of eating lots of homemade treats, playing some lame Christmas tunes, and doin' it up in style. In the above shot, there's some fudge hanging out at the Triforce's apex, with scuffles on the left and Cuban lunches on the right. Honestly, don't ask about the names of those two - that's what my mom has always called them. Neither are easy to veganize - scuffle dough calls for a pound of butter and an assload of eggs, but my mom somehow made it work. They're great, like little cinnamon rolls. And the Cuban lunches (seriously...I'm pretty sure Cubans eat more wholesome lunches than this) have ingredients like chocolate, butterscotch and peanut butter chips, so we had a lot of improv to do. They turned out decently enough, with a nice crunch from the embedded ripple chips(!).

Getting all hyped up on sugary treats is a very important part of decorating the Christmas tree. Same with burning out 15 minutes later and sustaining your energy with green tea. (Didn't I mention how I was going to be eating healthier a couple posts back? It'll happen at some point.)

The cats hung out while the fun occurred, of course. Here's Luna, mid-wink, looking pretty intent as usual. Back in the days of MoFo, I introduced you to the kitties.

I don't think Luna was as enthusiastic about tree decorating as us hoomans.

And Little Dumb (aka Little Cake, aka Yoda) had her lap-seeking radar working in full-force.

Then there was that adorable moment with the garland. Logan and I locked eyes and realized we'd have to brush past each other, even though there was hardly room for one person. I blushed, he blushed. Someone mysterious captured the moment on camera. And then we went our separate ways around the tree, my heart beating a mile a minute. Just kidding, I'm not 14. And Logan's only smiling because he's giving me a garland mustache.

And then after much eating, garland mustaches and deliberating on the decoration choices, we had a finished tree. Which is fake, by the way. I don't condone the breeding, chopping and mass marketing of innocent trees.

It's a cold and white world outside. Only -4C, which is pretty good by Saskatchewan's December standards. Could be worse - could be -30C. And I know there are tons of prairie dwellers who love the snow and deem it essential for Christmas, and while I don't disagree, I would be just as happy living somewhere a wee bit warmer. Maybe I'm just getting wimpy in my old age.

Do you guys decorate trees and participate in all that Christmas huzzah? Any traditions that make or break the season for you?

Creamed Spinach Casserole for a Feast

2011-12-09T14:08:00.003-06:00

Update Dec. 21: To stay up to date with new posts, please subscribe to this new feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheRealMeal. For the time being, this is the only feed link that works (entering in just the domain name won't work).

Lately I've gotten into food memoirs. I love reading, and when food is weaved into the threads of the tale, all the better. Recently I shared my experience reading Julie and Julia, and there have been others that have gone unmentioned, such as "Home Cooking" by Laurie Colwin, a former Gourmet magazine columnist.

She had, er, eccentric taste in food, and though we should all be wary of our sodium consumption, it's a shame she had to do without it completely. Her ideas on cooking for a vegetarian (or, God forbid, a vegan) were interesting, as she decidedly lumped all dietary restrictions into one (no salt, no meat, no dairy, no gluten, low-carb, etc) until the resulting meal was basically just veggies in a sauce. I had a good laugh about that.

That aside, the book was an engaging and easy read, and I had as much fun reading about her happy stories as I did about the ones about gross food, of which there are a few ("Repulsive Dinners: A Memoir").

There was one recipe that stood out to me in particular, a creamed spinach casserole that seemed way too rich and decadent, but I grew obsessed with the idea and penciled it down in my little food notebook. And then my friend Claire requested that I post more casserole recipes, so I decided to make this pronto. Although I'm fairly confident that this is not the type of casserole you were thinking of, Claire - I promise I'll get to those in due time.

So, a couple things about this recipe - despite the fact that I cut back on the richness of the original dish, it's still what I would call a "special occasion" food. It also makes a ton, which is perfect for any large gathering or dinner party, which is when Laurie would serve this dish.

Since this spinach casserole is so rich, I deem it mandatory to eat atop mashed potatoes. I didn't even add any (vegan) butter or milk to the potatoes, mashing them with some of the starchy cooking water instead, since the gooey creaminess of the spinach dish more than compensates for this.

For a really pretty presentation, place a wide circular cookie cutter onto a small plate and press in some mashed potatoes. Remove the cookie cutter and repeat with the spinach, adding a layer on top of the potatoes. Serve with a slab of marinated and grilled tofu, or a piece of loaf like we did today.

Creamed Spinach Casserole

Adapted from Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

Serves 8-10 as a side

Ingredients:

3 10-oz packages frozen and chopped spinach
4 tablespoons vegan margarine
4 green onions, white and light green parts only, chopped small
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons flour (any kind; I used brown rice flour)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
6-oz vegan pepperjack cheese (3/4 bag of the Daiya brand)
Breadcrumbs, for topping
Mashed potatoes, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Thaw the frozen spinach in a pot with a little water. Squeeze out the liquid from the spinach and place the spinach in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the margarine over medium-low and saute the onions and garlic until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook for another minute, stirring well. Slowly add the vegetable broth, stirring well. Bring the mixture to a soft simmer and add the jalapeno and pepperjack. Stir until everything is all melted and combined, and then add the drained spinach, stirring until the spinach is well-mixed.

3. Pour the spinach mixture into a casserole dish and top with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve beside or atop mashed potatoes and enjoy!

This casserole is very creamy and flavorful, with just the right amount of heat from the jalapeno and pepperjack. Its richness makes a nice contrast to the pleasantly bland potatoes, and is something I can imagine feeding to people who love comfort food; people who might not think that vegan food can taste decadent. As much as I love a good salad, it's sometimes nice to make food that people like my dad will eat and enjoy without any complaints.