Baba ganoush

 Baba ganoush 

Made some baba ganoush for snacks today, too. Yums. 

(Recipe adapted from Robertson, Robin. Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes. Vegan Heritage Press, 2008, p. 98.)

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants 

1 large clove garlic 

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1/4 cup tahini 

3/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt

1 teaspoon cumin 

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

A couple handfuls of fresh cilantro 

Method:

Roast eggplants in the oven until they look all wrinkled and slighted deflated. (I puncture the skin of the eggplants with a knife a few times, rub olive oil all over the outside of the eggplants, and then roast at 400F for about 45 mins.) Scoop flesh out of eggplant once cooled a bit and place into food processor. Put the rest of the ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth. YUM! 

Coconut Mango Pudding

 Coconut Mango Pudding 

Made this Coconut Mango Pudding for dessert last night. Super yum. 

It's the perfect summer dessert.

It's amazing how just eating mostly WFPB immediately gets the full rainbow of colors on your plate.

(Recipe can be found -- Campbell, LeAnne. The China Study Cookbook. BenBella Books, Inc, 2018, p.291.)

Gỏi cuốn

 Summer Rolls (aka Gỏi cuốn)

Made some mostly raw summer rolls for lunch today. Filled them with shredded daikon, shredded carrot, fresh basil, fresh mint, julienned red bell pepper, and spinach. Rolled them in rice paper wrappers and some white sesame seeds. It was messy, but delicious. I think I'll try wrapping them in collards, chard, lettuce, or cabbage, too, for a totally raw option.

I finally found a dipping sauce that I like! Woo!

Spicy Raw Almond Butter Dipping Sauce 

(Recipe adapted from von Euw, Emily. The Rawsome Vegan Cookbook. Page Street Publishing Co, 2015, p.40.)

6 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon red miso paste (*it's what I had on hand instead of other miso)

3 tablespoons raw almond butter

Cayenne pepper (to taste)

New Post for a New Path.

Ethiopian Cabbage, Carrots, and Potatoes (Atakilt Wat) and Basmati Rice

Recipe modified from Vegan Richa's Original Recipe here: 

https://www.veganricha.com/atakilt-wat-ethiopian-cabbage-potato/

It's time to heal from all the chaos of the last few years. In an effort to do something for myself and motivate myself to eat better, I signed up for and just completed the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate at the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. Woo! 

Well, it worked. Better than I anticipated. 

The importance of no added oil was mostly unknown to me before taking this course! I took it to motivate myself to eat better ... which, for me, means to eat vegan. I also didn't anticipate being so motivated to cut out processed foods. So, a mostly Whole Foods Plant-Based (WFPB) diet it is! I'm not one to do most things rigidly and I usually have most success when I make gradual change. These things I know about myself. Progress over perfection. 

So, no added oil cooking was a bit of a mystery to me. I've never cooked this way. Every salad dressing I made had oil in it. First step was to find some yummy things to make! I'll record some of my endeavors here. 

First up ... I made this recipe from Vegan Richa using no added oil. Ingredient list and method of preparation via the link above. I revised it to make it no oil by steaming the carrots and potatoes. I also sautéed the onion, ginger, garlic, and hot pepper in a non stick pan in some water. I added the spices and then added the shredded cabbage. It actually worked! 

I thought it would be best served with some vegan raita. So, maybe some plain vegan yogurt made into raita on top would be super yummy. 

 

I also made my standard basmati rice recipe sans oil as well. It worked! 

Oil-Free BASMATI RICE  

1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water

Heat dry pan and add dry rice. Toast the rice for a few seconds. 

Add water, stir, bring to a boil. 
As soon as the water is boiling, lower heat to low, cover the saucepan, and do not disturb for exactly 15 minutes. Turn heat off and boom! Rice. 

**Sometimes I add a cinnamon stick and a few whole cloves to enhance the flavor.