Drum like a Vegan

Finnish Sourdough Rye Bread

2010-04-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

French Meadows Sourdough rye bread is my all time favorite, but it can get pricey so its a special treat. It's also yeast free and wheat free! The only ingredients are rye, sea salt, the sourdough starter and spring water. To me, the less ingredients the better.

So I've been looking and looking for a recipe on the internet and all of the ones I've found have a HUGE list of ingredients and contain wheat. Thankfully one of my favorite friends happened to have the secret link that I could just not find.

And here it is :)

http://tofufortwo.net/2009/06/08/finnish-rye-bread-2/

They are European so if you are in the united states you will have to convert the measurements, but thankfully they have a little chart on the side bar already for you so you just have to calculate.

I just finished my first batch and let me tell you, this is not your sweet, soft, fluffy white french bread. No, this is dark, dense and sour. I am SO pleased with the way this turned out. It is my most favorite bread.

♥

Butternut Squash and Roasted Pepita Spring Rolls with Thai Peanut Sauce

2010-03-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

Sound weird? They're totally weird. Now is where you decide if I mean a good weird or a bad weird.... and then you decide if you want to go to all the effort of making something that's possibly weird in a bad way. But what if it's a good way??

Decisions decisions.

Ingredients:

Spring Rolls

Rice papers

1 Small/medium butternut squash

1 handful fresh spearmint leaves

about 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (Pepita's)

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

salt, pepper and garlic powder

Thai Peanut Sauce

1 tbsp coconut oil (or whatever oil you have)

1 tbsp peanut butter

about 1/2 inch piece of ginger finely chopped

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

Cayenne to taste

Soy sauce 1/4 cup (or less)

Coconut milk 1/4 cup

Directions:

Cut the butternut squash into small squares (about 1/4 inch pieces)

Put them in a baking pan with oil, salt pepper and garlic powder.

Bake @375 until soft

While your squash is baking you can make your sauce.

Heat pan and then add oil. Saute the garlic and ginger first, then add the peanut butter and cayenne. You will need to stir it in so it melts. Then add the coconut milk and soy sauce. If it becomes to salty, add more coconut milk. Play with the ingredients until you have the taste you want. That's the beauty of cooking... its flexible :)

Let your taste buds and intuition guide you.

When squash is done baking you're ready to make your spring rolls.... just soak your rice papers until soft and then layer quinoa, squash, mint leaves and pepitas. Roll em up and now is the moment you've been waiting for. Good weird or bad weird?
♥

Living Breakfast: Banana Buckwheat Porridge and Nutmylk

2010-03-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

This morning I made nut mylk for the first time because I finally got a nut mylk bag. I drank most of it before I took a picture, I couldn't help myself. Let me tell you.... home and handmade nut mylk is a thousand times better than what you buy at the store. PLUS its alive and doesn't have preservatives! How wonderful! Oh my. I made a combination of walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and a couple brazil nuts all soaked over night in purified water (not tap!). All you have to do is rinse the nuts from the water they were in and ad new water to blend, double the amount of nuts... (ie. 1 cup nuts, 2 cups pure water) and strain into a glass with a nut mylk bag... most health food stores have them if you don't already have one. I sweetened mine with a little raw local honey (I'd rather use honey then agave, but you of course can use agave ;) ) and some vanilla extract. Here is a really helpful video on how to make nut mylk if you don't know how.

Now for the banana buckwheat porridge. You need to have some buckwheat sprouted and ready (its really easy to sprout buckwheat, click here to learn how). If you don't have any around no worries, just leave them out... you don't really notice them much anyways I just add them because they're so great for you!

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 banana

1/2 green apple (or red whatever)

1 kiwi

1/2 cup sprouted buckwheat groats

1 or 2 handfuls of raisins or dried cranberries

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 handful of chopped nuts or seeds

cinnamon to taste

1 or 2 tablespoons freshly ground flax (optional)

**I store whole golden flaxseeds in a jar in the freezer and grind them in a coffee grinder when I'm ready to use them, it keeps them from going rancid, and is the most affordable and benificial way to eat flaxseeds. :)

Directions:

Mash the banana well in a bowl with however much cinnamon you prefer. Chop the kiwi and apple finely. Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Simple.

You can pour a little nut mylk on top and it will be even creamier.

♥

Raw Zucchini Hummus

2010-01-26T11:28:00.000-08:00

o I tried raw hummus, finally, for the first time the other day and it was SOOOO good! I was looking for recipes and I thought this one looked interesting... I didn't want to use nuts as a base, so I thought I'd try it. It was awesome, and I was surprised because I was a bit sceptical. Of course I changed it as usual, I have a hard time following recipes, I added one clove of garlic, and used only 1/2 cup tahini rather than a full cup. I also used 1/4 cup ground sesame seeds, and 1/4 cup ground sunflower seeds, instead of 1/2 cup just sesame.

I turned out great though, I will definitely be making this more ;)

Mexican beans that will rock your socks off.

2009-11-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Ahhh. My papa's here. Now, he is not vegan, but he is sure is an amazing cook. He cooked us a yummy vegan Mexican feast a couple days ago of Southwestern Cilantro lime beans, Mexican rice and grilled fajitasss!

The fajitas were similar to the Chili Lime fajitas I made a while back, and these beans are the PERFECT compliment. I'm telling you, best beans I've ever had.

♥

SOUTHWESTERN CILANTRO LIME PINTOS
All Natural Diabetes Cookbookby Jackie Newgent
Ingredients
• 2 tsp peanut or canola oil
• 1 large garlic dove, minced
• 1 small jalapeno pepper with some seeds, minced
• 1 (15-oz) can organic pinto beans, drained
• 1/4 cup natural vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the beans and broth and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the liquid is nearly evaporated.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Serve hot as a side or cool as a salad.

Today's Ramblings :

It's November, it's getting cold... good thing I knit all those beanies in the summer.
River woke up this morning saying Ohhhh Shit.... I started cracking up because it was completely out of nowhere and he's never said it before... bad idea, he's been saying it all day. I'm sure that's gonna go over real well at the library.

Peace.

Autumnal Veggie Bake with Pasta

2009-10-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a windy day. A very windy day. I live on top of a hill and I was literally wondering if my house would stay put. So being such a blustery day I decided we needed some comfort food. I made this up to suffice... needless to say... it was fabulous (and easy) so I must post.

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash (cut and cubed)

2 heads of broccoli (cut into smallish pieces)

1 bunch of spinach

1 red onion

2 or 3 large cloves of garlic (crushed)

1 carrot

1 can of coconut milk

1/4 cup sunflower oil (or whatever)

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

(more to taste if needed)

~Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well~

Pour into a glass baking pan and sprinkle a little nutritional yeast on top.

Bake at 375 for about 30-40 min.

Serve with pasta or rice.

♥

I ♥ live apple pie!

2009-10-16T13:28:00.001-07:00

So I apologize for not posting in two months. Honestly I haven't made anything exciting... mostly just been making stuff I've already posted, and life has been very hectic lately. It seems now things are starting to die down a bit.

The apples on our apple tree are as big as our heads this year so I'm sure I will be making this pretty much every day until they're gone. This recipe is one of the best I've made. It's also very simple, which is very important to me. Here goes:

Ingredients:

Crust:

See Rawberry cheesecake

Or you can use any raw pie crust recipe. (They are VERY easy.)

Filling:

2 or 3 green apples

1 cup of raisins

5 dates

1 orange

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup coconut

1 tbsp raw agave

What to do~

Make your crust and pat it into the pie dish as evenly as possible. If there's any left over you can save it and sprinkle it on top of your pie once it's done. Put the pie crust in the freezer to set while you make your filling.

In a food processor or blender, mix the orange, agave, dates and 1 tsp cinnamon and set aside in a bowl.

Put apples and Cinnamon in the food processor and pulse until they are chopped in small pieces but not a smoothie. If you don't have a food processor you can just slice really thin pieces.

Mix apples, coconut and raisins well into the sauce. Pour filling into the pie crust and top with whatever you want. I used leftover crust to sprinkle on top with some coconut. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Happy pie eating to you!

♥

Almond Pesto and Sweet mushroom Pasta (it's alive ok?)

2009-08-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

For lunch today we had zucchini pasta and spinach, topped with raw almond pesto and raw sweet marinated mushrooms.

Almond Pesto

1 1/2 cups fresh basil

1/2 cup soaked almonds

1/4 to 1/2 cup Olive Oil (depending on how thick you want it)

1 large clove of garlic

sea salt to taste

* combine all ingredients in the food processor

Sweet Marinated Mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms of your choice

Marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1 tbsp raw agave

* Mix marinade well before adding the mushrooms.

*Add Mushrooms and let rest for 30/45 min

**If you have a dehydrator, you can put them in to warm them. I was dehydrating bread so I put the mushrooms in for this time and served them warm.

Serve on zucchini pasta or raw crackers and enjoy. :)

♥

Sun Dried Tomato Pizza!

2009-08-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Ok I'm now officially buddies with my dehydrator. I made sun dried tomato's yesterday.... YUM!

This pizza was just supposed to be a little snack but it is SO good (I'm eating it right now) that I just have to share. I was really skeptical of raw pizza, because I LOVE pizza. How could it possibly be as good as the real thing? Well in my humble opinion.... it most definitely is. :)

I used the Sesame Sunflower Bread I made the other day as the crust, layered the Basil Sun Cheeze I made yesterday, chopped red onions, avocado, and my sun dried tomatoes with a little sea salt on top. I feel bad I'm eating this without Trent... I'm gonna have to make him one when he gets home.

The sun dried tomatoes are really easy if you have a dehydrator.... or I suppose you could use the sun too... lol. I put them in while I was making bread to be sure not to waste to much energy, even though dehydrators are total energy suckers.. bummer.

Anyways I just marinated them in a little olive oil and some italin seasoning with a little extra basil and oregeno. They turned out awsome. I

♥

♥ Basil Sun Cheeze ♥

2009-08-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

This is a simple and light "cheese" I came up with when I found a bowl of soaked sunflowers in my refrigerator this morning that I forgot about yesterday. It reminds me of a much lighter and creamier version of pesto. We made warmed ricotta and apple sandwiches that were amazing with this. We used the sesame sunflower bread, sun cheeze, apples, marinated tomatoes (just olive oil and Italian seasoning), avocado, a little dash of sea salt, a few sprigs of basil, red onion and spinach. Then we just heated it in the dehydrator until it was warm. Beautiful. I would have posted a picture of it but didn't think about it until we were halfway done with them. Lol.

Basil Sun Cheeze:

1 1/2 cups soaked sunflower seeds

1 large garlic clove

2 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp Bragg's liquid amino's

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup fresh basil

1/4 cup lemon juice

Blend everything together in a food processor or blender. You can dance with the ingredients a little to get the taste right for you. That's what I always do. Hope you enjoy.

Peace Loves

♥

La La La, More raw bread ♥

2009-08-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

I checked out Ani Phyo's book at the library. I freaking love the library. Anyways, She only has one bread recipe in there. Which I like, because I think its good to keep the dehydrated stuff down to a minimum. But it is definitely nice to be able to eat a sandwich every once in awhile.

So I made this sesame sunflower bread. It was pretty good... the texture is something I'm gonna have to get used to. I would probably add a little more salt, or some other spice to give it more flavor next time. But all in all it's nice. I'm not gonna give you the recipe because you have to go get her book, or borrow it from the library :), but I'll give you the ingredients... ground flax, flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, onion, garlic and sea salt. Super simple.

Good night!

♥

Sweet sweet sprouted buckwheat love

2009-08-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to be-friend my dehydrator. It's taken me awhile to come to terms with the lengthy waiting periods. I sprouted some buckwheat but didn't know what to do with it so I thought I'd go ahead and try some bread. I found a basic recipe that looked simple enough and tried it out. It turned out pretty good... in fact, I'm not so intimidated by the dehydrator anymore!

Sprouted buckwheat is great because it is gluten and surprisingly wheat free! It is a rich source of rutin, lecithin, bioflavonoids, flavonols, co-enzyme Q10 (!!!), B vitamins, magnesium, manganese, selenium and iron. It is a very complete source of protein and contains all 8 amino acids. It is known to lower high blood pressure, it's cleansing to the colon and alkalizing to the body.

This recipe is also kid tested and very approved :)

Recipe
2 cups sprouted buckwheat
1/2 cup dates
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp raw agave

* Put all ingredients in a food processor. Once its blended thoroughly lay out on dehydrator sheet and form into a loaf shape. Mine was about an inch thick. Dehydrate for 4-5 hours, flip and dehydrate another 3-4 hours. I took mine out when it was still moist. Yumm.
♥

Runa No Fish.

2009-08-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've taken it upon myself to re-name raw "mock tuna" Runa.

I have to admit I was a little hesitant about eating the carrot pulp left over from juicing... I have no idea know why. I guess I consider it compost. But noooo.... it can be FOOD too! What a novel idea.

I found this recipe at goneraw.com but altered it a bit. I added a couple tbsp of olive oil, used Bragg's liquid amino's instead of nama shoyu (cause that's all I had), added celery, a clove of garlic and used cashews instead of walnuts. So I guess I completely changed it... lol. I was a big tuna fan back in my days of unconsciously consuming other celestial beings... and I have to say I found this to be pretty damn good.

♥

Live Super Green Marinara for your Rasta...mmmm

2009-08-06T06:41:00.001-07:00

Can you tell I'm mastering rasta, living soup and raw cookies?? lol. Well this is basic marinara with a green twist :) I would have eaten it as soup but I already prepared my rasta zoodles. It's in a jar because I'm taking to yoga tonight... Trent and I take turns in yoga and playing with River, and were always starving after class. I made the zoodles and added in coodles too, (carrot noodles) haha. Mmmm I cant wait.

Throw these things in a blender or food processor

2 cups chopped tomato's

A big handful of basil

2 handfuls of spinach

1/4 white onion

2 medium or 1 large clove of garlic

1 RIPE jalapeno (ripe jalapenos are red)

about 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (soaked)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 or 2 tbsp bragg's liquid aminos

squirt of lemon juice

dash of sea salt

Oh and just for a smile...

Goodnight!

♥

Apricot cashew yummmm cookies

2009-07-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

More raw cookies! I know you can only have so many variations of raw cookies..... but they were really good so I had to post them :)

I didn't measure this but I'll give you estimates.

About

a cup of Cashews

1/2 cup of golden raisins,

4 or 5 dried apricots

a tsp of vanilla

a dash or two of cinnamon.

Grind up really well in a food processor.

Roll em into balls, squish em down and pat em in coconut.

♥

Raw Apple Porridge ♥

2009-07-09T10:04:00.001-07:00

This is simple, raw, filling, yummy and makes a good oatmeal alternative. My husband and one year old LOVE it. Its the new favorite breakfast :) In the picture its green because I added spinach. Its a great way to get extra greens, or sneak them into your baby's belly, and it doesn't really alter the taste at all.

This recipe is for one person, just double for 2, triple for 3 ect...

Apple Porridge

1 Apple

1 Tbsp freshly ground golden flax seed

1 tsp cinnamon

1 or 2 tbsp shredded coconut

handful of raisins or a few dates or figs (whatever you have)

Handful of raw brazil nuts (soaked)

**You can really use any nuts, this is just what I use usually

Additional Options:

1 tbsp hemp or flax oil

Fresh or frozen Blueberries

1/2 a carrot

Handful of spinach and or kale

** you can always add other fruit, like 1/2 banana or mango or strawberries.

1 or 2 tbsp cacao powder

** I usually use all of the above for one big power breakfast :)

What to do?

Just chop the apples in chunks and blend in a blender or food processor, then add the raisin/dates or figs, then the nuts, then the rest!

Blend until its really smooth and porridgy looking. I top this with blueberries and a little more coconut.

Have a happy day!

Holly

Ratatouille!!!

2009-07-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

4th of July vacation with the Rhoads fam in mammoth!! I love coming up here, its so beautiful, and always so much fun. Mama Darcy and I made vegan ratatouille tonight. I had never even heard of ratatouille until that movie came out. Haha. I like that movie. Darcy found this recipe on chooseveg.com so we whipped it up. Pretty easy, but the prep time was definitely longer than 5-8 minutes. It took a while to dice up all those veggies, and we doubled the recipe too. It was so good, I will totally make it again.

Oh ya, and Darcy had mentioned that she made the veggie noods with peanut sauce... and had to through it out because it was so spicy! MAJOR typo people. I just changed it. Not 3 tsp... 1 tsp cayenne. Anyways, I changed it to taste because it seriously was SO good, but 3 tsp of cayenne ruins it. So there's my little update from beautiful lake Crowley.
♥

Raw Breakfast Flax Cookies

2009-06-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

Good morning cookies are the best kind of cookies! These are so yummy.

Now I just tossed the ingredients in the food processor without measuring... but raw cookies are so easy, you dont really need exact ingredients. I used brazil nuts, cashews, about 1/2 cup freshly ground golden flax, a little agave, a dash of cinnamon, dates and shredded coconut. Just grind everything fine in the food processor, I didnt have enough dates at first so I just added more until they stuck together. Roll them into little balls and munch with some tea and fresh berries.

♥

Rawberry Cheesecake

2009-06-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

It was Rivers 1st birthday yesterday!! We had a beautiful little gathering at the park. He LOVES strawberries and blueberries... so I added blueberries to the strawberry cheesecake recipe I found. He gobbled it up... and so did everyone else! Here's him blowing out his candle with his daddy! (kind of...lol).

**You need a good food processor and a lightly oiled (with coconut oil) spring pan for this one...

For the crust:

1 cup raw Brazil nuts

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup raw almonds

4 or 5 dates

a little squeeze of raw agave

a dash of cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

What to do:

Put the nuts in the food processor first and chop, then add the dates and everything else. Grind until its fine and smooth, and holds together. Start with four dates and if it's too crumbly add another.

Pat evenly into the bottom of the spring pan.

For the filling:

3 cups raw cashew pieces (soaked)

1/2 cup raw agave

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups strawberries

2 cups blueberries

3/4 cups coconut oil melted

What to do:

First grind your nuts. Then add the agave, water, lime juice and vanilla. Mix well, and then feed in the strawberries and blueberries slowly while the food processor is running. Last, slowly pour in the coconut oil.

Pour batter into the cake pan over the crust. It will seem liquidy, but it will set when you put it in the refrigerator. Let set for a few hours, and then decorate to your liking.

Enjoy!!

♥

Banana Oat Muffins (wheat free)

2009-06-25T13:45:00.001-07:00

So I'm dealing with this wheat free thing, which is great because I feel great... but it's hard because lots of things have wheat. My son River loves muffins.... and his 1st birthday is coming up on Sunday so I'm trying to come up with a healthier birthday cake recipe. These were great, I think I'll just top them off with some coconut frosting or something on his birthday. The recipe I found called for wheat flour, but since I'm allergic to wheat I wanted to use oat flour instead. Plus I try to avoid giving River wheat also... even though it is convenient.

I didn't have oat flour, but I had oats! I ground them up in my coffee grinder and it worked great.

Here's the recipe

Pre-heat the oven to 350*

Ingredients:

5 ripe bananas

2 cups oats flour

1cup raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup water

Mix dry the ingredients except for the sugar.

In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients with the sugar, then mix all together.

Oil your muffin tray and fill each one 3/4 full. Bake for about a half hour.

Enjoy!

♥

Yummy Raw Carrot Ginger Soup

2009-06-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Ok I have found my raw food niche!!! Its soup! I liked the one I made yesterday so much I decided to make a new one today. I've got to say... this raw thing might not be so hard after all...

Ingredients

(serves one)

2 carrots, chopped

Handful of spinach

handful of cilantro

1/4 cucumber chopped

1/2 avocado

2 small tomatos or 1 medium tomato

2 cloves of garlic

1 smallish chunk of fresh ginger

(enough to taste but no be overpowering...)

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup spring water (add more if needed)

2 tsp yellow curry powder

1 tsp sea salt

dash of cayenne

dash of pepper

squeeze of agave

squeeze of lemon

** If you want it to be warm, heat the water before mixing it in.

Blend and serve

♥

Delicious Living Coconut Curry Soup

2009-06-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd do a quick post of my lunch today. I was browsing recipes this morning and just happened to have everything I needed for this in my kitchen! Quite a rare occasion so I took advantage of it. You can find the recipe for this soup here. I added cayenne and garnished it with sunflower seeds. It was very filling, and very yumm.

♥

Simple Raw Italian Pasta

2009-06-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Whats up with me and pasta? I don't really know. I think its just a very versatile dish and I like to get creative with it. You can do anyting with pasta! I'm doing raw until dinner now so I'm experimenting with some new, but simple, raw recipes. I have zucchini and tomato and basil in the garden... so I said to myself... self? How does pasta sound. I told myself pasta was a great idea. And it was :)

I don't have a spiral slicer to make the pasta out of the zucchini, so I just used a potato peeler. It worked fine although it would have been easier if the zucchini wasn't shaped so funny. I sliced up some avocado and mixed it in the pasta with some alfalfa sprouts, which I would leave out next time, they made the texture funny. For the sauce I used my

little mini chopper and just tossed my tomatoes, basil, and a mushroom just for fun...in with a little salt, pepper and cayenne. Delicious.

♥

Veggie Noods with SPICY Peanut Sauce

2009-06-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't mean to toot my own horn here.... but Oh my god this is amazing. TOOT TOOT!... haha

Happy fathers day to Trent :)

Peanut Sauce:

2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter

1/4 cup peanut oil

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 tsp yellow curry

2 cloves garlic chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Cayenne to taste (I used about 1 tsp)

What to do

Heat the oil in the sauce pan and then add the garlic and let cook for about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the spices and let cook for another minute or so, so the flavor releases. Slowly stir in your coconut milk, and then peanut butter. Stir continuously until you get a rich creamy texture.

Now this is REALLY easy for how great it is. I have to say its probably the best pasta I've had in a very very long time.

1st cook your noodles and set them aside. (I used gluten free rice noods because I just found out I'm allergic to wheat)

2nd saute your veggies. I used broccoli, tomato, purple cabbage, mushrooms, onions, and I added cubed extra firm tofu as well. Definitely use tomato, this makes the flavor of the veggies really good. Saute the tomato in a little oil until they soften and the juices release. Then add the rest of the veggies and let them soak up the tomato juice.

3rd make your sauce! Start it while the veggies are cooking. The sauce goes really fast, and its best right off the stove.

MMMM enjoy :)

♥

No Poo Update 3 weeks in...

2009-06-11T09:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, Im so glad I did this. My hair got kinda greasy for a couple days while it was transitioning, but it wasnt anything major. I use baking soda about once a week so far, and diluted apple cider vinegar to condition when I feel I need it. I just scrub it with hot water just like I would with shampoo. Overall, it feels thicker, healthier, and looks better than it did before. Im really stoked and I love that I dont have to buy shampoo anymore, or have so many freaking bottles in my shower. Yay for no poo!

Apricot Blueberry muffin bars :)

2009-06-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

I bought my 11 month old wonder River a gluten free vegan apple muffin today at the Jimbo's bakery and he giggled while he ate it the whole way home. I thought I better learn how to make some healthy muffins for him to nibble on. We happen to have a magic apricot tree that has an abundance of fruit so I decided on apricot blueberry muffins. River just calls the apricot tree "MMMM!" He also called the bars that so I figured I did a good job :)

I found this recipe on all-creatures
and as usual altered it to suit my needs. I didn't have any raisins, which is probably what they used to sweeten it because these did turn out a little tangy due to the apricots. I would add a little raw sugar or agave next time, but River loved them anyways. I also added spices because we like a little more flavor, but the basic recipe is great, simple and healthy.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Spelt flour
1/2 rolled oats (ground)
1 tsp baking soda
3 bananas
1/2 cup fresh chopped apricots
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg
Apple juice as needed (for consistency)
1/2 cup raw sugar or agave (Optional)

What to do
Preheat your oven to 350*

I used a coffee grinder to grind the oats into flour but you could probably use a high speed blender or food processor too. Mix the spelt flour, oat flour and baking soda in a bowl.

Puree the bananas, and mix in the vanilla and spices, and mix it into the dry mix. Add a little apple juice to moisten the batter more, it shouldn't be too runny, but a little firm. I juiced my own apple juice for this, I don't like to buy pasteurized juices, however I guess your cooking it anyways right? All you have to do after that is mix in the apricots and blueberrys.

Lightly oil whatever your going to cook this in and pour the batter in so it fills it 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. This wont rise much, and the bananas make it very moist.

**I didn't use any sweetener in this and it did turn out really good, but a little tangy. I will probably add some agave next time I make these. I just drizzled some on top this time once it was done.

Bake for 30-40 minutes

I used a cake pan because I didnt have a cupcake pan, and just sliced them into little bars. They are easy for River to hold and he loves them.

Also I harvested some beautiful lettuce and spinach out of our garden today! I love being able to go outside and pick my lunch. Mother earth is the best cook. :)

♥

The lovely Emma Grace's Cacaophony Crunchies

2009-06-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Also known as raw cookies. We added ground coffee to give them a little kick.
My lovely friend Emma Grace came for a cookie making day in honor of the thunder storms! We love thunder. We love cookies. Great day.
Chopped almonds, ground brazil nuts, ground flax, ground cacao, raw agave, dates, currants and coffee... all
rolled in a little raw sugar and coconut to finish them off. Didnt even use a food processor! Thank God for coffee grinders. The brazil nuts actually turned into a sort of butter! Good to know eh? We just mixed and mashed by hand and mmm These are amazing. A power meal rolled into one little ball.
♥

Garden Love

2009-06-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Our garden is coming along beautifully. I just looked at the pictures we took from when we first planted everything and its crazy how different it is in just a month and a half. Just like my baby. I can remember when he was so small, now hes almost 1! Wow. Growth is amazing. The universe is always pushing foward, transforming and refining us. I love it. So our veggies are coming along great. My friend Sam came over and let me know that my butternut squash were yellow zuccini. Haha. Here are some of them I picked.

They were mislabeled at the garden store! I would have left them to keep growing all summer. Thank god for the more seasoned gardeners in my life. This is a picture from April, when we first planted everything...

Oh glorious life

♥

Coconut Curried Cauliflower on Sweet Brown rice and Quinoa

2009-06-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'm actually eating this while I'm typing. Its SO good. I've never really cooked with coconut milk before, but last night I made this with tofu and it was awesome. You can add tofu to it, I just didn't have any today. You can also add more or less seasoning... I like my food very loud. lol
Ingredients
1/2 Cauliflower
1 Carrot
2 pieces of Kale thinly sliced
1/2 block extra firm tofu (optional)
1/2 onion, diced
Whatever other veggies you want
1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup shredded coconut (or a little less)

1/4 cup seasame seeds (or a little less)
2 tbsp fresh ginger shredded
1 tbsp fresh turmeric shredded
fresh garlic (I used 3 cloves)
1 tbsp Cayenne
dash of cumin
2 tbsp curry
2 tsp cardamon
2 tbsp Bragg's liquid amino's
salt and pepper to taste

What to do
In a pan saute the garlic, onions, ginger, turmeric, coconut milk, and spices. Then add all the veggies. Cook on high heat.

I mixed quinoa and sweet brown rice together, they cook with the same amount of water, and served it with the curried veggies.
Delicious!
♥

Raw Pasta with creamy Alfredo Sauce

2009-05-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

I know, all my pasta dishes are creamy alfredo. Haha. I do eat marinara sauce... I just figure everyone already knows how to make marinara vegan style, lol.

Raw pasta is a great simple raw food dish. I have zucchini growing in my yard and I came across this recipe on The Sunny Raw Kitchen. I modified it a bit, I added Italian seasoning and basil to the sauce. I also don't have a spiral slicer...yet...so I sliced the zucchini as thin as possible and then rubbed a little sea salt and olive oil into the noodles. Salt helps break down fibers so raw vegetables get a "slightly cooked" feel to them. I added diced tomatoes, marinated artichokes and alfalfa sprouts, kinda random but it was good.

Sweet dreams

♥

Spicy Hot Tomato Soup!

2009-05-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

I bought a bunch of beautiful heirloom tomatoes today on sale at Jimbos for pretty much nothing. I love that. Trent's been really wanting a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup so I thought I'd be a good wifey and surprise him. Up until now I have adamantly avoided such things as pretend meats and cheeses, because they are just so ridiculous. But I thought it could just be a special treat. Lo and behold, and this is just my personal opinion, vegan cheese eaten by itself is disgusting. I sliced a piece off and was actually expecting it to taste like cheese... I was very surprised when it didn't at all, lol. Trent said the people making it had probably been vegan for so long they forgot what cheese tastes like. I think he might be right. Anyways... once we grilled them in garlic bread and doused them with ketchup it was fine... you couldn't really tell it was fake. Oh my. The soup, however, turned out fabulous. Go figure.

Ingredients:

2 Large tomatoes diced into big chunks
1 onion chopped

2 carrots chopped

3 or 4 cloves garlic

2 tsp cayenne pepper

as much basil as you want

2 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

In a pan saute garlic, cayenne, some basil, onion and carrots for about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and let simmer in its own juice for a couple minutes, then add 2 cups of spring water (we are water snobs ever since we got a 60 gallon barrel of Palomar mountain spring water installed at our house.)

Anyways, let simmer for about 20 minutes then put in a bowl and blend with a hand blender. Or just put it in a blender.

Serve :)

♥

Sustainable Energy Breakfast Bowl

2009-05-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

So I'm having issues with my raw food excursion. Mostly just because I have found the trend of "going raw" to be overly complicated and expensive. I have to plan like a month ahead just to make sure I dehydrate my "bread" on time to have my sandwich for lunch. I'm a mama. I dont have time or energy to spend 3 days making a burrito. But then I realised nature didn't make it that complicated so why should I? I dont need to eat pretend "meatloaf" or "bread". It's great for people who dont have an 11 month old crawling around, tugging at their legs, and pulling pots and pans out from the cabinents for them to trip on, but right now it's just not my cup of tea. Mabye when he gets older I can befriend my dehydrator, but really I'm just a simple kinda girl. SO I'm on the search for SIMPLE, dehydrator free, raw food recipes.... but as usual I never follow recipes anyways... I just get inspired by them then make my own version. Here is what I made for breakfast this morning. I love granola and fruit in the morning, so I made this raw version, it was really yummy... and Granola free :)

Breakfast Bowl:

1 Banana, chopped

1 Apple, chopped

Handful dried figs, chopped

1/4-1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup dried coconut

handful raisins

1 handful raw cacao beans, chopped

3 tbsp freshly ground golden flaxseeds

2 tbsp hemp oil

1 tbsp black strap molasses (I've been neglecting my iron intake lately.. optional)

Raw agave (optional)

teaspoon Cinnamon (optional)

Mix all ingredients and enjoy sustained energy!

From the earth, with love

♥

I've decided to stop pooing

2009-05-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

"No poo". Apparently that's the trendy name for not shampooing, haha, as I found out after doing some research. Sounds gross doesnt it? I had that reaction at first. But really think about it. How long has shampoo been around? How long have humans been around? You do the math. Obviously we can live without it. But why would we want to?

My hair is always either too dry or too oily, and I can never keep it healthy and long at the same time. So I've learned that when you shampoo your hair, you strip it of the oils, so that it has to make more oils, and so if you don't wash it one day, its excessively oily and you feel like crap all day until you can wash it again. If you stop washing it altogether, your body has a chance to re balance the oil production and your hair wont be oily. Not only that, but shampoos have tons of chemicals. I cant really afford the $50 bottles of organic this and that, especially when its not necessary. I also don't like to be dependent on things, especially commercial things, and I like the fact the it would lessen my impact on the earth too, because I wouldn't be constantly throwing away plastic shampoo bottles. You can use baking soda to rinse excess oil while your hair is transitioning and apple cider vinegar to condition. The whole idea sounds really rather liberating to me, so I've decided to try it out. Supposedly it will make my hair healthier and shinier...I'll keep you updated.

Geraniums are edible

2009-05-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

I've been learning about edible flowers alot lately, it seems to be kind of a theme this month. River loves flowers, he especially loves to eat flowers. So he keeps wandering over to a specific geranium plant we have and gobbling it before I can ever stop him. So of course I had to look up geraniums to find out if they are poisonous, and they're edible! Yay! So I made a Spring salad with geranium petals, home grown red leaf lettuce, strawberries, walnuts, cucumber, shredded carrot, raisins, heirloom tomato, kale and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. YUM. I love geraniums.

Environmental To Do list

2009-05-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Just a friendly reminder to....

1. Stop buying plastic (Only 13% of recycled plastic actually gets recycled... its not biodegradable so just stop buying it, you don't need it)
2. Stop buying ridiculous amounts of crap you don't need
3. Buy used as much as possible
4. Buy food grown locally or grow your own
5. Take shorter showers
6. Catch Rainwater and use it to water plants
7. Find alternative transportation as much as possible
8. Buy Organic! ** Tons of pesticides are dumped into the earth when something is not grown organically. This includes cotton... so buy organic clothes too or used clothes from thrift stores. Some pesticides have chemicals that take centuries to break down, chemicals that get into our water and circulate throughout the earth.
9. Stop eating meat! Not only is it bad for the earth and the helpless animals that are living pretty much the equivalent to the Holocaust everyday, its killing you too. You don't need meat for protein. In fact, you don't really even need that much protein. Surprised? Do some research.
10. Dont buy stuff made in China!! They dont have factory regulations that protect our environment, and many many terrible chemicals are used in production!
11. Love love love. May all beings be happy and free :)

Double Layer Carrot Cake with Gluten Free Coconut Frosting

2009-05-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

One of the two Love's of my life's birthday was yesterday! 25 years old, I bet you can guess which one (the other one is 11 months). His favorite cake is carrot cake, so I hunted for healthy vegan recipes and finally came across this one that I was partially satisfied with so I altered it a bit... I used Spelt flour instead of wheat, and Agave instead of maple syrup or honey, and applesauce instead of oil. I also added pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. It turned out really great. It wasn't as fluffy as cakes usually are, it was more dense and moist. I think this could double as a breakfast bar recipe.... it wouldn't work as cupcakes because the cake didn't rise. But it was delicious none the less, and everybody loved it. The frosting is sugar free, butter free, oil free, gluten free and vegan! I put frosting and bananas in the middle layer which made it even better.

This cake is a definite winner.

Here's the recipe...

Cake Ingredients
2 c. spelt flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
2 c. grated carrots
1 c. vanilla rice milk
1 1/2 c. applesauce
1 c. Agave or raw sugar (Sugar works better)
1/2 c. crushed walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

What to do

( I'm copying the directions I used from this website)

First, mix all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Next, grate the carrots. I use a food processor instead of grating them by hand. Once this is done, preheat the oven to 350F.
Add the carrots and the rest of the ingredients except for the walnuts to the flour mixture. Mix until "just mixed." Last, mix in the walnuts and raisins.
Split the batter into 2 greased 13x9x2 pans. Bake for 40-50 min at 350F until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cool on a counter for 30 min and then frost both layers with the Coconut Icing. You can put fruit in the middle layer to make it even better.

The icing is simply coconut oil, coconut milk, agave and a little arrowroot. The technique is in the link above. I will definitely use that recipe again.

Hope you enjoy!

♥

Chickpea Patties and Seasoned frys

2009-05-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

I found an abundance of dried chickpeas in my cabinet that I completely forgot about and didn't know what to do with. A friend suggested making chickpea patties! Why didn't I think about that? I looked online for some recipes, but most of them had flour in them. I don't eat wheat so I kind of just played with the ingredients until it started to stick together. In the first batch I added some cooked quinoa and that helped a lot, but in my second batch I just used the chickpeas alone and that also worked fine.
Both times they were great. You just have to make sure to soak the chickpeas the night before.

Chickpea Pattie Ingredients:

2 cups soaked chickpeas

1/2 cup dried chickpeas.

1/2 cup quinoa (optional)

1 green onion

1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped fine

2 cloves of garlic chopped or crushed

1/2 carrot grated

2 stalks celery chopped fine

2 handfuls of cilantro chopped

Seasoning to taste... cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper

What to do:

Grind the chickpeas in a blender alone until they are like a batter, but not too smooth. In a bowl, mix the ground chick peas, and all other ingredients.

Set aside, and grind the dried chickpeas in a coffee grinder to make a flour. Heat some oil in a pan on high. Mold some of the chickpea batter into a ball and then flatten it with your palm. Lay each side of the pattie in the chickpea flour, sprinkle with a little salt, then fry in the pan until golden brown.

Seasoned Fry Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

1 potato

1/4 cup oil (canola or olive)

rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, basil, salt and pepper

What to do:

Cut the potato's into thin "french fry like" strips.

In a bowl, mix the fry's and oil with your hands so the oil is covering the fry's, and add the seasonings to your taste. Bake at 350 or 375 until just before golden.

** Serve with salad, or like a burger with avocado, dijon, tomato and a bun. We did it both ways and both were awesome.

♥

Spicy Summer Quinoa Salad

2009-05-18T07:31:00.001-07:00

We have a potluck once a month for our vegan families playgroup. I love going and trying everyones creations! When I first went vegan, people were always like, what are you gonna eat at a BBQ? I forgot about potlucks, but they are way better. MMM. So I decided to make a yummy quinoa salad. I originally named it spicy springtime quinoa salad.... but then I realised it's pretty much summer. Thats what happens when you have a baby.

Its not all cooked, just the quinoa, and the mushrooms, garlic and tempeh are sauteed. Make sure to chop everything small, it's good when you get a little bit of everything in one bite!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa (uncooked)

1 apple chopped

1/2 cucumber chopped

2 pieces of kale chopped very fine

Tomato chopped

1/2 Red onion chopped

1 green onion chopped

1 avocado chopped

handful cilantro chopped

1/2 cup sunflower seeds or pine nuts

1/2 pack of tempeh chopped in small pieces (I used organic garden vegi)

2 cloves garlic crushed or chopped fine

1/2 cup mushrooms chopped

2 tablespoons braggs liquid aminos

2 tablespoon agave

1/2 cup Olive oil

2 teaspoon of cayenne or more

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

Cook the quinoa and put in the fridge to cool.

Once it's cool, mix in the apple, cucumber, kale, avocado, red onion, green onion, tomato and cilantro.

In a cup, mix the rest of the olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. You can also add more cayenne if you like it spicier.

In a pan, saute the tempeh, garlic, mushrooms, braggs, agave, cayenne and cumin with 1/4 cup olive oil. Let this cool down a little before you mix it in, so it doesn't make everything hot.

Toast the sunflower seeds or pine nuts in a dry pan and let cool

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and serve.

♥

Raw Cream of Carrot Soup

2009-05-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

So Im in the process of dabbling in the raw. Im trying to make a new recipe everyday so I can build up my raw foody abilities before I take the plunge and go 100%. Ideally I want to raise my baby River on raw foods, because I know its optimal for him. My instincts and love for him are pretty much forcing me to alter my lifestyle drastically. So from now on you will see many more raw food recipes on my site. I also stopped eating wheat. I feel alot better already, its been about a week.

The thing Im learning about raw foods is that you have to plan way ahead of time... which Im not always good at, but I can learn.

I got the recipe for this soup from the Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousins. I strongly recommend it if you are interested in going raw. If your not interested in going raw, I still strongly recommend it, because once you read it you will be interested in going raw. Ha.

Ingredients:

3 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery

2 cups of almonds, soaked for 8 hours (but I only used one cup)

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups orange juice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

I was surprised at how filling this soup was and it was really good, except mine turned out a bit chunky because I dont have the greatest blender. If you have a vitamix it should be better. You can heat the water in the recipe just below boiling point before you mux it in to warm the soup. It is really fast and easy, just make sure you have your almonds soaked for long enough. I garnished this with fresh cilantro flowers and I suggest adding celtic sea salt and pepper. Mabye a little cayenne.

♥

Mixed Vegi Pasta with Garlic Mushroom Cream sauce

2009-04-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

I've been totally lagging on my blogging lately. Lagging on my blogging. Um, so This is what I made for dinner tonight, its really good! I'm reallyfull and want to go to sleep but I know if I don't put the recipe up now I'll never do it.

So here it is

For the pasta:

1 pound Spiral pasta noodle (I use rice noodles not wheat), or whatever

Tons of steamed mixed vegis; I used butternut squash, broccoli, collard greens, red onion and zucchini.

For the Sauce:

1 cup olive oil

5 cloves of garlic chopped or crushed

(if their small, if their big try maybe 3)

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 1/2 cups almond milk

Mushrooms...sliced about 2 cups

salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

Saute the garlic in the oil for a couple minutes on medium heat. Then add everything else, cover and let simmer. I used a hand blender to blend the mushrooms so the sauce was creamy, but if you don't have one, just leave it chunky. its good both ways.

I sliced some avocado to garnish this.

Enjoy and Goodnight!!

♥

Easter Feaster

2009-04-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend. I don't prefer the consumerist aspect of easter, opr any other holiday for that matter. But the simplicity of a celebration of the return to the fertility of the earth. I wish people could keep things simple, and not buy plastic eggs, and plastic shreds of "grass" to stuff in plastic Easter baskets.

The history of easter is pretty interesting. The name Easter is derived from the Anglo-saxon pagan goddess Eostre, whos name came from the ancient word for spring eastre. If you ever wondered how the easter bunny and easter eggs became symbolic its because "Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of extreme antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox." (As wikipedia puts it). Rabbits and hares are also sacred to the Goddess Eostre.

"Ostara, Eástre seems therefore to have been the divinity of the radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing, whose meaning could be easily adapted by the resurrection-day of the christian's God. Bonfires were lighted at Easter and according to popular belief of long standing, the moment the sun rises on Easter Sunday morning, he gives three joyful leaps, he dances for joy [...]. Water drawn on the Easter morning is, like that at Christmas, holy and healing [...]; here also heathen notions seems to have grafted themselves on great christian festivals. Maidens clothed in white, who at Easter, at the season of returning spring, show themselves in clefts of the rock and on mountains, are suggestive of the ancient goddesses."

-Jacob Grimm 1882

So theres your history lesson for the day.

We celebrate the return of spring, of the fertility of the earth, and the blessings and abundance to come to us.

Here are my little Easter concoctions....

Spicy White Bean Hummus with Sweet potato chips... and or pita bread (we had both...)

Ingredients:

2 cans of great northern white beans

3 cloves of garlic (I put 5 that was WAY to much)

2 tablespoons of tahini

1 teaspoon of cayenne (or more)

1 lemon juiced

salt and pepper and whatever else you want to add

(olives, cumin, tumeric, curry whatever)

Blend and serve. So easy.

All you need for the sweet potato chips are sweet potatos sliced thinnly, oil, salt pepper and an oven set to 400. Watch them and take them out when they look ready (about 20 minutes or so, depending on how thin they are).

So yummy.

Curried Coco-mango Butternut squash Bake

(It tastes better than it looks)

This kinda changes everytime I make it..
Basically.... heres what you need, you can play with measurements.

1 butternut squash

1/2 cauliflower

4 tablespoons(ish) curry powder

1 tablespoon Cumin

A handfull of mushrooms, sliced

1 red onion chopped

3 cloves of crushed garlic

3 green onions chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

One Mango chopped

shredded coconut (Use your best judgement)

However much cayenne you like. I put about a tablespoon

1 cup of Bread Crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Ok, I'm gonna be completely honest. This was supposed to be two separate dishes. It was supposed to be Butternut Squash bake AND Coco mango cauliflower salad... but I felt that the butternut squash pan wasn't full enough so I just threw in the already finished cauliflower salad, haha. Oh culinary creativity. Anyways it turned out awesome and exotic. To me and Trent at least. You can add other vegis like zucchini and sweet potato and celery if your feeling adventurous.
So here's what you do.

Steam the butternut squash until its soft. Put it in a mixing bowl and add all the ingredients in no particular order at all. I hate it when a recipe says... first ad this, then that, then this.. when its completely unnecessary.

Just mix it all together, and put it in the oven to bake at about 350 for 20 minutes.

We finished it off with a glass of freshly home brewed kombucha. Yumm.

Cabbage Boats with quinoa, hummus and beet salad

2009-03-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Killer little raw cabbage boats

filled with red quinoa, hummus and marinated beet carrot salad.
I made this up as I went, and they turned out much better than I imagined.

First make your quinoa, sprout or cook, and set it aside.

Second make your hummus. Or buy it... but hummus is so easy to make I dont really see why people pay so much for it. I would put my recipe but honestly Im so exhausted I just dont care. You can find tons of hummus recipes. They're everywhere.

Anyways, heres the important part...

Beet Salad filling

1 beet

2 carrots

1/4 red onion

1/2 avocado

1/2 tomato

Use a cheese grater to slice the beets and carrots. Slice the onions as thin as you can. Dice the avocado and tomato into small pieces. Mix all together and marinade in...

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegrette

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon agave

1 tablespoon braggs liquid aminos

a little pepper

I layered the qunioa, hummus and beet salad in the cabbage leaves. They turn out really filling, because of the hummus and quinoa. That also gives you a complete protein. Bonus. Enjoy.

♥

Stuffed Chili's with Garlicky Tahini Sauce

2009-03-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

I came up with this because I randomly bought 4 chilis at the store today...

They were SO good.
So so good.

Ingredients for the Chili's

4 Relleno Chili's

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 red onion

1 celery stick

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Handful of chopped mushrooms

Braggs liquid amino's

(For the tahini sauce see my recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and Tahini... Just add more garlic and a little less lemon.)

** Cook the rice. Chop red onion, celery, and mushrooms. Wash the chili peppers and slice the sides of them off so you can stuff them. Take the sides that you cut off, and chop them up too. Mix it all in with the rice, along with 2 tablespoons olive oil and the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, some pepper and a little braggs. Stuff your chili's. Heat the oven to 400* @ bake.

Before you put them in, drizzle the rest of the olive oil on top. They take about 15 minutes.

Make your Tahini sauce while the peppers are baking. I added more garlic for this recipe... but I have to be honest, I put too much salt. So, if you add garlic, use a little less salt.

Once the sauce is done, spoon it on the chili's and enjoy!

♥

Live Key Lime Pie

2009-03-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

This is ridiculously raw, good and easy.

Crust:

Soaked sunflower seeds (about 1 cup)

Soaked pecans (about 2 cup)

Raisins (wing it)

I used a 9 inch glass pie pan. You can use whatever you want. You can kinda tell how much to make according to the size pan your using.

Soak the sunflower seeds for a few hours. Put the seeds and raisins in a food processor and get them as finely chopped as you can. The mixture will be thick and kinda ball up a bit.

Pat it into the bottom and sides of the pan, and put it in the freezer to harden for a couple hours.

Filling:

2 avocados

(More or less depending on how big they are)

2 limes juiced

about 1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup agave

(taste and add more if you want)

1 ripe banana

Blend this until creamy and smooth.

Spoon it into the pie pan and use a spatula to get it smooth.

Let it set in the freezer before serving so it can get firm and hold up when you go to cut it. Make sure not to try and take this anywhere.... it gets mushy if you dont serve right away. I did this today, and called it key lime pudding...

I sprinkled mine with coconut and decorated it macadamia nuts, raisins and flowers out of the garden. You however, can be creative! Its your live pie man!

Tofu Portabello Lettuce Wraps, Red Quinoa and Raw Cauli/Broccoflower salad

2009-03-10T19:11:00.001-07:00

These were amazing. I wanted lettuce wraps, which, when I wasn't vegan I ate chicken ones. So I thought, tofu lettuce wraps would be way better anyways. The raw cauliflower salad happened because I am experimenting with going raw, and I'm trying to learn/come up with little things here and there.

Lettuce Wraps Mix:

Extra firm tofu

Portobello Mushroom

Yellow Onion

Crushed garlic

Curry

Sesame seeds

Olive oil

Bragg's liquid amino's

Agave

You might have noticed there's no measurements here...

I'm not really a precise kinda girl, I pretty much wing it every time. Even the post that I did put measurements... I didn't really use exact measurements. You cant really go wrong, unless you really have no idea how to cook.

Dice up the tofu, mushroom and onion into really small little squares, and put in a bowl. Marinate with olive oil (not to much cause there's gonna be some in the pan too... a little goes a long way) crushed garlic, agave, and Bragg's to your liking. Dash a little curry like ya aint in a hurry.

The theme tonight is agave and Bragg's. Actually, I use agave and Bragg's mixed in almost everything I make. When I was living in New Zealand my flatmate made portobello mushroom steaks marinated in honey and soy sauce. They were amazing, so agave and Bragg's is my vegan/ lower sodium alternative.

Don't know why, but it just works. Go with it.

Anyways,

let the wrap filling sit for a little while and marinade while you prepare the quinoa and raw salad. Then when your ready, just throw it in the pan, add your sesame seeds, and cook till its hot and serve.

Raw Cauli/Brocco Salad:

Cauliflower

Broccoflower

Red Bell Pepper

Green Bell Pepper

Balsamic vinegar

Bragg's

Agave

Olive oil

Pepper

Just chop everything into small pieces, and put it in a big bowl so you can mix in the "dressing" with your hands. Drizzle on some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Bragg's liquid amino's and agave (told you). Mix it all together, and your done! That's the rad thing about raw food. you don't have to cook it.

Red Quinoa:

Quinoa

Red food coloring

No just kidding... no food coloring required. Just get red quinoa at the store in the bulk section (whole foods, jimbos...)

You can either cook this, ratio 1:2 (1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water), or you can soak it for about 24 hours for sprouted raw quinoa.

Either way (raw is better)... quinoa's the shit.

Love Holly

♥

Hows does your garden grow?

2009-03-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

Hows does my garden grow???

I don't know.

I know nothing about gardens, I can barely tell the difference between weeds and flowers!

Despite this small obstacle I've recently decided to take on the task of starting my very own organic freaking farm. The last couple days have consisted of sifting through dirt, rocks, weeds, worms, sprinkler systems, fighting off lurking mint root/vine things and evil snails, and way more seed packets than I can stand and read, let alone stand TO read with an 8 month old on my hip pulling at my hair.

This being said, I am determined to become an expert gardener/herbalist... this year. I understand if the gods wont permit it through certain simple universal laws, but I'm still gonna try.

Did I mention my herbs? Packets of echinacea, goji berries, maca, feverfew, cayenne, dandelion, chamomile, marshmallow, basil.... tobacco seeds even... are among the cacophony of seed packets I have in my seed drawer. Yes, cacophony. Its a good word and I think it suits my current situation well.

I'm the kind of person who walks into a closed sliding glass door... more than once, until I realise to check to make sure its open next time. I learn through trial and error. Following directions just doesn't come naturally to me. Here's how I picked my summer veggies...

What do I like to eat during the summer? Salad! Lets get LOTS of lettuce! It's march, it's heating up, it must be time to sow my lettuce seeds. Hooray. Wrong. When I pulled out my lettuce seeds and actually read the packet, it says, very clearly on the front "cool season crop. sow in early spring or late fall."

So this is just one of the issues I'm currently dealing with. But at least I'm keeping myself, and others mostly, amused in the process.

Peace

♥

Broccoflower Kale Sautee with Apple Raisin Quinoa

2009-03-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

An interesting combination, I'm aware, but you need to know I am the queen of interesting combinations.

Ingreedys for two:

1/2 broccoflower

1 carrot

1/2 red onion

A few leaves of kale chopped very fine

As many mushrooms as you want

Extra firm tofu cubed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sesame seeds

Crushed/chopped garlic

Fresh ginger

Bragg's liquid amino's

First let the garlic and ginger heat in the pan with the olive oil to release flavor, along with the Bragg's. Add the tofu, onions, mushrooms, broccoflower and carrots and sprinkle it all with the sesame seeds... however much you want. Don't add the kale until your just about to take off the other veggies. I don't like to overcook kale, I think it has good flavor and texture if its just slightly heated with the other veggies.

Quinoa:

Add the raisins while the quinoa is cooking, and diced apples when its done so they are still crunchy.

I found this to be a well balanced, satisfying and simple meal. Really grounding, which is just what I need right now.

Goodnight!

Kombucha rocks my world.

2009-02-25T19:08:00.000-08:00

A friend of ours gave us a scoby yesterday to start brewing our own kombucha. Its a good thing too, because spending $8 a day on kombucha between the two of us gets expensive. Thats $56 dollars a week, which is $224 a month. Thats a bit ridiculus if you ask me. But hey, healthy vegan yoga freakies have their vices too you know. I used to spend twice that on cigerettes and booze (which is my way of justifying...)

Anyways, Im brewing the tea for it right this very moment and Im very excited about that. Heres a picture of our mushy.

I'll will update next week with the results of the first batch.

♥

Grilled Veggi Avo Pizza

2009-02-23T19:40:00.001-08:00

Trent's dad came into town so we fired up the BBQ and got some pizza going in honor of his delightful presence.

We use wood in our bbq, with an electric fire starter. It gives it that great wood fired taste, and you dont get nasty chemicals in your food from coal or lighter fluid.

Trader Joe's has ready to go whole wheat pizza dough... although I've recently boycotted them because of the ridiculous amount of packaging they use. I really don't see a need to wrap each individual vegetable in plastic. You can also make you own dough if you have a breadmaker or alot of free time to knead.

It works best if you grill one side of the dough first, so that it gets cooked all the way through. We've had issues with uncooked barbecued pizza. Once one side is done, you bring it in and top the cooked side, and then put it back out on the bbq. We had pesto, chopped olives, marinated artichoke hearts, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, red onion, mushroom, diced tomato, arugula, rosemary, and added sliced avocado after it was done. I like to drizzle a little olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette on top.

Obviously you don't need a recipe for pizza. This is just inspiration. Adding avocado makes it PERFECT. It gives it the creamy part that you loose with having no cheese.

Now were gonna cuddle up with our stuffed bellies and watch a movie.
Goodnight!

Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Tahini Sauce

2009-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Excuse my language but this is the best damn cauliflower I've ever eaten.

I was taste testing in the deli at whole foods today and I totally stole the idea from them. I found this recipe, but altered it a bit...Its really easy and fast, and goes well as a side or as an entree.

Ingredients:

1 Cauliflower

4 tbsp Olive oil

2 cloves of garlic (chopped or crushed)

2 tbsp Tahini

1 tbsp lemon juice (lime works too)

1/4 tbsp salt

Heat the oven to about 425*

Chop the cauliflower and mix it in a bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil, so its covered well.

Place it on a baking sheet. I sprinkled some rosemary on it before I put it in the oven.

*I used to cook cauliflower like this anyways, without the tahini sauce. Its really nice this way also, with salt and pepper and some herb seasoning. The sauce just makes it better.

Sauce:

Saute the chopped garlic in a sauce pan with 2 tbsp oil for about 2 minutes, until you start to smell it.

Stir in the tahini, lemon juice salt and about 1/4 cup water.

Simmer on low heat for a minute or two.

Once the cauliflower is done you can pour this over it and mix it up so it spreads evenly. Add a little pepper and your done!

The salad I served this with had red lead lettuce, kale, quinoa, soaked sunflower seeds, chopped apple, raisins, tomato and bell pepper, with a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, agave, dijon and pepper.

YUMMMMM!

Vegan Baby Love

2009-02-20T09:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had our vegan baby playgroup at the park in del mar. It was awsome. I've never in all my life seen healthier happier looking babies.

It totally prooved my theory (alot of peoples theory actually) of how breastfed, co-sleeping, sling riding, attachment parented babys THRIVE!!!! Not to mention the fact that they are vegans too.

♥ Love it ♥

Chili Lime Fajitas

2009-02-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

The bell peppers were on sale at Jimbos today so I thought I'd try and make some fajitas for Trent tonight. It was a great after yoga surprise. They turned out really good.

Ingredients:

Firmest Tofu

Corn Tortillas

Avocado

Tomato

Green and Red Bell peppers

Yellow and red onion

Sliced Mushrooms

2 limes (one of them juiced)

Brown rice

Chopper garlic

Olive oil

Chili pepper powder

Cayenne pepper powder

I had the brown rice made earlier today so I didnt have to worry about it tonight. Slice the bell peppers, onions and mushrooms and toss them in a bowl. Drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle some chili powder and sqeeze some lime over it, stir and let it marinate for a bit.

Cut the tofu in to thin strips and pat dry with a paper towel. Then sprinkle with Salt, pepper, chili powder and lime.

While the tofu and vegis marinate, slice up some avocado, tomato and lime to put on the plate. I sprinkled chili powder and salt on the avo. Also get the rice ready, and heat the tortillas and cover them so they stay warm.

Chop 3 cloves of garlic put it in a large pan with olive oil on high heat. Let the oil start to sizzle a bit and then lay the tofu strips in the pan. Let them brown on each side, then take them out and throw the vegis in fast!

Squeeze lime juice over the vegis. They should sizzle really loud... this woke up my son who was sleeping in the other room. You can also add a little cayenne, depending on how hot you like it.

Then take it out when you feel its done and serve!

EDIT** I made this again for breakfast the other day... yes breakfast, when your a vegan you can eat whatever you want for breakfast... Black beans mixed with nutritional yeast MAKE this meal.

Love Holly

Quinoa Kale Sautee

2009-02-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

This is a super earthy meal. One of those meals where you dont feel too full, but just right after you eat it. I love those kinda meals.

For this one you need olive oil, agave, chopped garlic, fresh chopped ginger, braggs liquid aminos, kale, onion, mushroom, tofu and quinoa.

Chop the kale in very thin pieces, because were not gonna cook the crap out of it, and the kale will be pretty strong if you leave the pieces too big.

Trust me I've made this mistake.

Sautee the garlic and ginger in braggs and olive oil. Wait a couple minutes and then add the onion and mushrooms, and drizzle a little agave over them. stir them around on med/high heat untill they start to brown.

In a seperate pan, get the tofu going in a little oil, braggs and garlic. I like to sprinkle a little cardamon on my tofu too.

Add the kale in with the mushrooms and onions just to warm.

I had the quinoa left over in the fridge so I just threw it in to heat up with the rest of it.

♥

Rainy Day Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2009-02-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

My husband and I remember when we were little and our mamas used to let us help them bake cookies when it rained (they were actually friends back then, although we never baked all together). Now, anytime its raining I get the urge to bake, and he wants to lick the bowl!

My 7 month old is not quite ready to bake, or even eat cookies for that matter, but I'll just call this practice.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
2 - 4 tablespoons almond or soy milk (use 4 if you dont use a banana)
1 1/3 cups unrefined sugar
1/2 banana (as an egg replacer..optional)
1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup raisins
cinnamon

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a seperate bowl, mix the oil and sugar and sitr until creamy.

In another small bowl, mash the 1/2 banana with 2 tablespoons of almond or soy milk. **Today, I didnt have banana so I just added 2 more tablespoons of almond milk. It worked great. If the mix is too crumbley just add more almond milk untill it holds together.

Mix this in with the oil and sugar mixture, and add the vanilla. Mix together well, then slowly stir in the flour/baking soda/salt. Last, add the oatmeal and raisins!

I stuck a raw cacao bean on top of each of these ones and sprinkled cinnimon on top.... In other batches I've added in vegan chocolate chips and coconut too, which makes them even more awsome. If you take out the oatmeal and raisins, its just a good basic recipe that you can add whatever you want to.

Bake at 350* for about 10 - 20 minutes depending on how big they are. Just watch them and youll see when they're done.

♥ Enjoy ♥

Crash Hot Potatos and Yams

2009-02-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

I saw these on Carrot and Potato Time and they looked amazing so I had to make them. Here is another really great step by step recipe as well... the pioneer woman.

Normally small potatos are used, but all I had in the kitchen were 2 russet potatos and a yam. I just cut them into quarters and followed the recipe. The yams turned out a little less crispy than the potatos, but they were still really good.

Ingredients:

All you need for these babies are Oil, Salt (for the boiling water) and whatever herbs you want to flavor them with.

Boil the potatos in salted water until they're fork tender.

Heat the oven to 450* and oil the tray well so the potatos dont stick when your ready to take them off.

Drain the potatos when they're ready, and line them up on the tray. Use a potato masher or fork to mash them down flat.

Drissle them with oil, salt, pepper and whatever herbs you want. I used a little curry, and little paprika, a little nutritional yeast and some rosemary.

Let them bake for about 20 minutes, or untill their golden brown.

My beau barbequed some tofu steaks and asparagus marinated in a mixture of olive oil, braggs, agave, salt, pepper, and a little dijion mustard. I have to admit, I'm glad I tried this because it turned out amazing. I also have to admit I need new plates.

Goodnight!

Fettuccine Al-psuedo

2009-02-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

I cant believe its not alfredo!

That was the other title I was thinking about giving this one, but I think al-pseudo is funnier. Im so clever.
I lightly steamed broccoli, asparagus and red onion and put it on top of the pasta before I put the sauce on. We were gonna grill these on the bbq for better flavor, but we didnt really have the energy to get all that going last night.

For the noodles, I used spinach and artichoke flour fettucine... cause they sound healthier. I dont know if they actually are though. And they're green.

Al-psuedo Sauce:

1cup almond milk
1/4 cup Redstar nutritional yeast
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon earth balance
1 tablspoon flour (to thicken... You can add more or less depending on how thick you like it, I made the first batch with 2 tablespoons, and it was really good, but way to filling for me, so I only put a teaspoon in this one.)
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the chopped garlic in the olive oil in the saucepan for a couple minutes first to help release the flavor. Then add in the almond milk, flour, salt and pepper and nutritional yeast and simmer on low heat. Add the earth balance at the end, and let it melt in before you take the heat off. I also added portabello mushrooms and let them soak up the flavor of the sauce.

This is pretty fast and easy, and defineatly hits the spot if your craving something creamy/cheesy.

Enjoy!

Good Morning Granola Bowl

2009-02-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

This is SO easy, and SO good. Its light, and doesnt have alot of sugar and oil like most recipes do. My mom sent me a similar recipe, I looked at it, but I kinda just winged this one cause I never really have the patience to actually follow recipes exactly...and it turned out great.

3 cups rolled oats
1 orange
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup sunflower seed
1/2 cup flaxseeds
1/4 cup oil (I used Canola)
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
4 tablespoons agave

Heat oven to 350.
Mix all the ingredients together really well so all the oats are covered. Juice the orange and mix it in also, you can add zest if you want.
Put the soon to be granola in a pan spread out so its no more the 2 inches thick.
Put in the oven and stir every couple minutes. It will start to smell really good if its getting too cooked, and then really bad if its burning. I left mine in for about 20 minutes, but if you like it a little cruchier you can leave it in longer.
I only have a toaster oven so I made it in about 3 batches.
When it was done my husband added it to a bowl of apples, banana, grapefruit, oranges and kiwi, and topped it with raw cacao beans, raisins, and a little more coconut.
Simple. Delightful. Love breakfast.

Wood Fired Vegi Kababs

2009-02-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

So my dad came to visit a couple weeks back. He LOVES to barbeque. He does not eat rabbit food and stuff. He will eat the rabbit. When he came he got us totally set up bbq-wise. So we went all out...
I love my dad.

For the kababs
Wash and chop:

- Sweet Potato
-Cauliflower ( I got purple cause its pretty)

-Red Onion

-Yellow bell pepper

-Zuccini

-Fennel

-Tomato

-Pineapple

and/or whatever else you feel like...

Marinade:

1 c Olive Oil

3 cloves Garlic

Fresh Ginger(use to your taste)

A pinch of Cardimom

Braggs liquid aminos

Let the veggies soak it the marinade, I only did it for about a half hour, but the longer the better I'm sure.

For the side dishes I just made white jasmine rice, and a...

SALAD: with strawberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, oranges, cucumber,tomato and avocado. I didnt use dressing, it already had alot of flavor. I think if you really wanted dressing balsamic vinegerette would be nice.

For the BBQ:

Get BBQ wood.

We dont use lighter fluid, we have an electric starter.

Its ok if you dont use wood, but the wood gives it awsome flavor.

Get to it!

Sunshine Bisque

2009-02-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

I made this for our 2 year aniversery last night. Its really good with a simple salad, and very filling.

Ingredients:

(you can kinda play with your own measurements... depending on your taste)

Butternut squash
Carrots
Tomatos
Onions
Celery
Chopped Garlic
Fresh Basil
Vegi Boullion
Tablespoon Olive oil
Pepper
Enough water just to cover the top of the vegis in the pot.

Sautee Garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil.
Boil veggies with boullion, Add sauteed garlic, Add the tomatoes last.
Blend . Garnish with chopped green onions and sunflower seeds.

Peace.

Raw Mango Coconut Pudding

2009-02-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

I made this craving something rich and creamy...
I was actually gonna put it in the dehydrator and make bars..... smoke started coming out of the dehydrator, so I thought I'd better send it back to Raw Guru and get a new one.. it was so good like this I didnt care anyways.

Ingriedients:

1 mango
1/4 pineapple
1/2 lime juiced
handful of dates
1 banana
1 coconut (meat and milk)
mint and dried cranberries to garnish...

Just throw it all it the blender, and chill in the fridge for about an hour. Its SO good.

My childs naps led to blogging.

2009-02-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

I have to keep my noise making to a minimum.

So im

blogging.

I have a 7 month old.
He sleeps.

He also drums like a vegan.

Earthlove Earrings (last updated 3/14/08)

2009-02-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

Here are my handmade earrings bearing the beautiful gem stones of our mother. For protection, inspiration, peace, abundance, love and wisdom.

Below you will find available pieces, prices, and a description of each stone used.

From the earth with love.

♥

Currently Available:

To purchase any of these please email me.

Jasper, Amber, Moonstone, Turquoise, Jade
$20

♥

Emerald, Turquoise, Jade, Amber

$20

♥

Amethyst, Moonstone, Jade, Turquoise
$20

♥

Turquoise and Jade

$25

♥

Stone Meanings:

Jade:

A stone promoting good luck, prosperity, deep wisdom, serenity, brings balance of female and male energies.

Turquoise:

A stone of strength, protection from harm, psychic sensitivity and connection to the spirit world.

Emerald:

A stone of love and hope. Most powerful on the full moon.

Emerald is the stone of the goddess Venus.

Moonstone:

Moonstone is a stone associated with fertility and gardening and helps achieve balance of heart and mind.

This stone brings good fortune, assists in foretelling the future, enhances intuition, promotes inspiration, and brings love.

It is most powerful used in a full moon. Moonstone is revitalised by placing it in the light of a moon reaching fullness.

Amber:

Amber is not actually a stone... it is fossilized sap from prehistoric trees.

It brings courage, good luck and success. It can be healing for physical ailments as well.

Amethyst:

Amethyst is said to bring luck, ensure constancy, protect against magic and homesickness. It is considered to be a strong antidote against drunkenness.

It can quicken spiritual growth and inspires healing powers, divine love and intuition.