Vegan Middle-Eastern Style Yogurt Sauce

I veganized this recipe with thick, fermented cashew cream

Cashew Yogurt Sauce

1/2 cup fermented cashew cream

2 tbs tahini paste

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp finely minced garlic

Mix well. Store in lidded container in the fridge.

Baked Falafel Recipe

 I used this recipe and changed it, thusly:

Baked Falafel

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a large baking sheet

3 cups sprouted chickpeas (if you don't have 4 days to sprout dried beans, soak for 12 hours or overnight)
1 cup dried mint leaf
1 onion, rough chopped
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup leftover tomato/cuke salad (optional. Tomato, cucumber, oregano and olive oil)
1 tbs cumin
1/2 tsp red chili pepper

Everything in the food processor, chop until a ball forms. Add more water if need be.
Form golf-ball sized balls, flatten slightly and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, turn and cook another 15-20 minutes.
Makes about 12 patties.

Super Easy, Super Cheesy Dairy Free Multi-Purpose Un-Cheese Sauce

I'm making steamed brocolli for dinner tonight so I made a vegan cheese sauce. I know I posted this recipe before but I've been making it and tweaking it each time and I think this is about the best it's ever turned out so I'm posting this new, updated version of multi-purpose cheese flavored sauce for making vegan macaroni and cheese, for pouring over vegetables, great on baked potato, nachos, quesadilla, in casseroles... I even put it on vegan pizza the other day, fantastic!

Super Easy, Super Cheesy Sauce

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika (optional. Makes it more orange colored)

2 cloves garlic

1 tbs tahini

1 tbs ACV

2 cups water

Everything in the blender except 1/2 cup water.

Blend until liquefied.

Pour mixture into a saucepan

Put last 1/2 cup of water in the blender carafe, swirl it around and pour that in the saucepan, too. (nothing goes to waste around here)

This is the hardest part.

Put the saucepan of liquified ingredients on low-med heat and stir constantly until it reaches the desired thickness, about 10 minutes.

This mixture will continue to thicken even after you are done cooking. Behold the power of Oatmeal!  Store in the fridge in a covered container and add more water as needed to thin.

Vegan Waffle Party 2010 & Buckwheat Toxicity Addressed

Oh, yeah! Klamath Falls, Oregon, Vegan Waffle Party 2010 will be held at my house, Saturday, May 29 (subject to change). Contact me if you want further details. As it stands, it may just be a party of 3 but that's ok. We will put out a small spread, get plenty of photos and raise awareness of vegan breakfast/brunch by hollering about the whole thing on the internet for the next month. Go vegan!

My challenge is to make some raw vegan waffles. I might just bake waffles but I will spend the next couple weeks experimenting, researching and attempting to make, nutless, raw vegan waffles. I have buckwheat groats, golden flax seed and a cold iron in mind. Raw vegan toppings is another story. I'm accepting suggestions for raw vegan waffle toppings. I'd like to keep food combining rules in mind but I really want a waffle with cashew sour cream and fruit on it.

__________


I'd like to say a few words about the toxicity of buckwheat sprouts. The other day I posted a photo of a bed of  various sprouts smothered in marinara sauce. I called it Sprout-ghetti. Some one asked me if I wasn't concerned with the photo sensitivity related to buckwheat sprouts. It's a valid topic and also a raw food myth/fact combo. I'd like to address it here once and for all.

This article by Gilles Arbourg is probably the most comprehensive on the subject. Here is my really, really short summary:
Buckwheat shoots and greens contain a "self-defense mechanism" in the form of a toxin called fagopyrin. A few years back some people went on a raw food cleansing diet consisting of mainly raw juices. Buckwheat greens and sprout juice comprised 20% of their diet for 6 months or more. Due to the huge amount of fagopyrin in buckwheat shoots and greens some of those people developed photo-sensitivity and sensitivity to touch, heat, cold. When they stopped taking the buckwheat greens juice, the symptoms eased and went away.

Let me condense that even further: If a person were to consume buckwheat greens as 20% of their diet for over six months, they might develop sensitivity that goes away after they stop consuming such a high quantity of buckwheat greens.

So my answer is no. Buckwheat greens poisoning is a rare occurrence in people who try to practically live solely on buckwheat sprouts and greens. I eat a varied diet containing a rainbow, nay, an encyclopedic mix of cooked and raw whole fruits, vegetables, legumes, tubers, lots of leafy greens, nuts, seeds, grains and sea vegetables and I don't fear toxicity of sprouts in the amounts I eat. I eat A LOT of seeds, nuts, legumes and I always sprout or germinate them before I eat them, raw or cooked.

"Unlike the shoots of the buckwheat plant, buckwheat groats, or seeds, are not generally problematic because they contain only trace quantities of fagopyrin"

Sprouts in general contain small amounts of toxins to as a natural pest deterrent to discourage predators from munching them before they are able to grow, flower, produce seeds and ensure the next generation. That is why we should always eat a widely varied diet on a regular basis.

Ok, this random, all over the place, daydreaming and mythbusting post is over. I hope you got something out of it. I sure did.

dosis sola facet venenum (the dose makes the poison)

Sprout-ghetti

How many kinds of sprouts? Buckwheat, red wheat, adzuki, lentil, sunflower, sesame, fenugreek and fennel sprouts with red lettuce, steamed broccoli and roasted eggplant/sun dried tomato marinara sauce over the buckwheat and red wheat. I put lime juice and chopped onion on the red lettuce.

Warm marinara on top of the sprouted buckwheat/red wheat was very satisfying. I call it sprout-ghetti. I'm silly like that.

Sun Dried Tomato and Roasted Eggplant Sauce Recipe

Make a basic marinara  but add 1 tbs of cornstarch. Cook like normal.

Roast an eggplant.
Soak about 5 sun dried tomatoes.*


Once the marinara has reduced by about 1/3 add peeled, roasted and chopped eggplant and finely chopped soaked sun dried tomatoes.

Heat thoroughly and serve hot.

Goes well over pasta, on bruschetta, over steamed veg, baked potato... The possibilities for this deliciously roasty flavored sauce are endless!


*I dry mine in the dehydrator. Slice roma tomatoes in half or fourth, place on rack and dry at 105F until they are dried fruit texture, usually this takes 24 hrs or more.

Bacon/Avocado Burger Vegan Dinner Sandwich

I had some mystery patties in my freezer (I want to say Garden Burgers but here are some recipes for patties), Lightlife Smart Bacon, avocado, lettuce, fermented cashew cream, tomato, onion and plain bagels. I took it to the logical conclusion.

I can't eat something that had a face but I don't mind eating things in the SHAPE of a face :)

Greasy goodness. I cooked them in a tsp of olive oil...
Look at that bacon foam! How authentic :P



This is the man's finished sandwich on bagel, with bacon, onion, tomato, pickle, mystery vegan patty, red lettuce, mayo and ketchup

And mine looking at itself.

"What?? No TOMATO???"

We are really liking the Smart Bacon. The rest are still in the freezer waiting. I'd like to thank Lightlife for making them and for sending me the coupons so I could try them. Thanks!

Reducing and Reusing FTW!

I've been pretty lucky and won some of the giveaways I entered. One in particular from sleepbamboo.com for $300 worth of pillows and cases. Woot!
I was also accepted as a Gladrags Guerrilla which means I will be promoting the use of reusable products and ending dependence disposable paper even more.

Remember: reusable products in place of paper and plastic are better for your body, better for your budget, better for the environment.

Before you reach for another bottled water watch this 
Have fun!

And the Winner is

52 entries were received and the random number generator picked number 9. Congratulations to Barbara of Rawfully Tempting! I have sent you an email and I hope to get the book out to you asap.

Thanks to everyone who entered I hope I will be having more giveaways here in the future.

Today is the Last Day to Enter My Giveaway!

I will accept entries until midnight March, 17 and the winner will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, March 18.

There are many ways to enter and you can enter as many times as you like.

Important: Leave entry comments on this announcement post. Comments on this blog post will not count as entries. Sorry for any confusion.

It's easy, all you have to to to enter is go here and pick the vegan cookbook you'd like to win. After you do that leave a comment on this post with your selection. It's that easy!

For extra entries you may

• 
  

  Follow @snubbr on Twitter.com and leave comment here saying you have (or already do). Leave your twitter "@___" name in a comment on this post.

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  Post a status update on Facebook.com and leave a comment on this post with the link to the Facebook update.

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  Tweet about this entry. Use this text if you like: Vegan Giveaway! @zucchinibreath and @snubbr are having a #vegan Cookbook #giveaway http://bit.ly/9L43Xj  and leave a comment with your @twitter name on this post.

• 
  

  Blog about this entry and leave a comment and link to this here post. Come back and leave a comment and link to your post.

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  Follow this blog and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

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  Add me as a friend on Wellsphere and leave a comment on this post saying you have (or already do). 

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  Follow me on Facebook.com and leave a comment on this post saying you did (or already do).

• 
  

  Subscribe to my RSS Feed and leave a comment on this post indicating that you did. The link is on the right over there >>>

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  Ask a question on Snubbr and comment on this post with a link to the question.

• 
  

  You can get more entries by posting about this giveaway on Twitter and Facebook or asking on Snubbr NO MORE THAN ONCE AN HOUR, OK? We don't want to be spamtastic about it... Be sure to come back and leave a comment on this post with a link when you do.

  
  Good Luck!
  

Green Oatmeal

It's green! The sprouts are alive and it's warm and delicious.












1 cup rolled oats
2 tbs flax seeds, ground
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs raisins

Mix dry ingredients together well and add 1 cup 120F water. Use more or less water to your taste.

Let it rest for 5 minutes or so. Add more warm water if needed.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup sprout salad on top and stir gently.

Eat. Enjoy your green day.

Simple Instructions for Making Soy Milk From Soybeans

Making your own vegan milk is cheap, easy and a great way to gain more control over what you eat.
I buy organic regionally grown soybeans for about $1.39lb.

1. Soak 1 cup dried soy beans for 48 hours.

2. Steam soybeans until tender. Do not overcook. Gently cooking the beans removes bitterness from the final product.

3. Blend soybeans with 4 or more cups of water until very smooth. 

4. Strain through produce/sprout/nut milk bag. 

5. Flavor milk to taste with salt and sugar, vanilla, chocolate etc. (optional)

6. Store in fridge in covered container up to a week or when it starts to smell funny. Personally, when it starts to "blink" before it begins to really smell bad, I use it in baking.

Makes about 4 cups milk and 1-2 cups moist pulp. Adding more water makes thinner milk, perfect for vegan cooking and baking; less water makes a creamier product, better for use as dairy-free coffee creamer, with cookies, over cold or hot cereal, as a base for non-dairy ice creams and making soy yogurts and vegan cheese.

Save the pulp (okara) for other recipes. I fermented mine.

Blender giveaway!

Raw on $10 a day is having a giveaway for a very groovy blender!

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

I managed to make them semi decent. The photo doesn't look to good but they were tasty as heck. The boy didn't like the peanut butter filling.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

2 tbs peanut butter

2 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp sugar

2 3oz bars of vegan chocolate.  I used Endangered Species, one cacao nibs and one coffee beans. The bat and the tiger, I can't remember which was which.

Mix peanut butter,  yeast and sugar. Spread them on a plate about a 1/2 inch thick and put in the freezer to let it get a little hard. You will cut it in pieces later to put in the center of the cup.

Melt the chocolate. I used an old enamel pot and submerge it halfway in warm water. The chocolate melts slowly but it doesn't scorch that way.

Pour chocolate into glass custard cups, enough to cover the bottom
Take your hardened peanut butter mixture and cut off a piece the size you want. I went with about a 50c piece.

Place it on the chocolate in the cup.
Pour the rest of the chocolate on top
Pop it in the fridge for an hour or more so it sets up.

When you are ready to eat them, fill a pan with 1" of warm water and put the cup in the water. Leave it for a minute or two and the peanut butter cup should pop right out with the help of a bread knife.

Smart Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich Vegan Sunday Brunch

1 toasted everything bagel
2 slices Lightlife Smart Bacon
1 large leaf red lettuce
Sliced tomato
Hummus

Spread hummus on both halves of the toasted bagel
Assemble the rest of the ingredients in the sandwich
Eat.

This was very good. Erik liked it a lot. It would have been FANTASTIC with some Vegenaise but I was going for a low fat thing so we used hummus.

It crisps up real nice in a lightly greased frying pan. Sizzles like bacon but theres no greasy film all over everything when you are done heating it up. I like that.

Conclusion: Crispy, sizzle-y, salty and chew-y mover over pork fat, this is definitely a winner.
2 g protein, No cholesterol, 1 g of fat and 6% of your daily sodium recommendation in every slice. I prefer fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouted grains and legumes on a daily basis but this was a fun treat.

Erik says "It's not bacon but it's good. I'd buy it if it were on sale." It's$4.49 for a 5oz package.
Judith says "The taste of bacon without the vaporized pig all over the house FTW."

I can't wait to try it in some other recipes.

My first seedling popped up today

Ruby Swiss Chard

Planted on March 8, showed his lil head March 14.
I'm going plant the chard in pots and grow them inside until it's hot out. Last year I bought a bunch of them already started and planted them in big pots. This is the first time I've started them from seeds.

I just brought home so much fake meat...

Lightlife, makers of Gimme Lean sausage, I wrote about here (Erik thought it had too much sage), were kind enough to send me some coupons for their products. I was on my way to the store anyway so I picked up 3 kinds, Smart Ground, Smart Dogs and Smart Bacon. I feel smarter already!

They sent me the coupons and some recipe pamphlets and a flyer with all the nutrition facts for every product they make, I think. Most of their stuff is vegan It all contains soy and most contain wheat gluten, some contain eggs. The chicken flavored products (ironically? not really. Just sadly) contain eggs and the honey barbecue flavor has honey in it, so read your labels as usual. Carry on.

So much fake meat. It's going to be here for a long, long time :) I better freeze it.

Baked Chapati Recipe and Tonight's Vegan Dinner:

Chapati or flat bread or tortillas are basically the same thing.  Usually they are prepared on a hot griddle or skillet but they can be baked in the oven.

Whole Wheat Chapati
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs oil
3/4-1 cup hot water
1/4 cup fermented sprouted wheat berries (optional)

Wisk together dry ingredients.
Add oil and as much water as you need.
Mix all together until a smooth dough.

Turn out and knead on floured board until smooth and elastic.

Divide in to 8-10 balls and let stand for 1/2 hour or more. The longer the dough stands the fluffier the chapati will be. Letting the dough stand makes it easier to roll, too. Overnight in the fridge makes them bend to your will like... Well, like a well rested dough.

When you are ready to cook them preheat oven to 350F
Roll dough balls on floured board with hands or rolling pin to about 8" circles.
Bake 10 minutes or less on each side until cooked but not crisp.

Baked sprouted wheat chapati with adzuki salad and roasted pepper/garlic hummus.

This one has fermented cashew sour cream on it, too.

Adzuki Bean Salad

                                                                                                       Adzuki Bean Salad

Sprouted adzuki beans

Adzuki bean are small, red and very full of flavor. This recipe starts with 1 cup of dried adzuki beans. Soak for 48 hours and sprout for 48 hrs. When most of the beans have visible tails, steam them until tender then cool.  After cooking you should have about 3 cups of beans.

                                                                 Adzuki beans steaming

If you don't have 4 days to soak and sprout, at least let the beans soak for 12 hours which will begin the germination process. Germinated legumes are easier to digest, have more available nutrition and are less likely to trigger allergies.

Ok, here is the recipe.

Adzuki (azuki) Bean Salad

Dressing

1 tbs soy sauce

2 tbs rice vinegar

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tsp wasabi powder (optional or sub with horseradish)

1 tsp yellow mustard powder

3 cloves minced garlic

Stir all ingredients together in a large bowl then add

3 cups cooked adzuki beans

1 cup frozen green beans

1 cup frozen corn

Stir well.

Chill and serve.

How to Cook Sprouted Rice or Legumes by Steam Method

I've been boiling beans as long as I can remember. It's a hassle. I almost always almost burn them and have to scrape the unburnt portion off the top then spend the next four hours soaking and scrubbing a pot. Like I said, hassle. I decided to try steaming them just to see what would happen and it was a miracle! I figured if it worked for rice, why not beans?

Sprouted adzuki or azuki beans steaming.




Note: This is done ideally with sprouted beans or rice. I haven't tried it with dry beans or rice. If you don't have 4 days to sprout your beans or rice, at least soak them for 12 hrs. Soaking for 12 hours will start the germination process. Germinating legumes and rice before cooking makes them easier to digest (less gas), more nutritious and less likely to trigger allergies.

Garbanzo beans or chickpeas steaming


You will need a large saucepan or pot and a heat proof mesh sieve or strainer. A colander with very small  holes would work, you just don't want your beans to fall through.
Fill pot with water and place soaked and sprouted beans in the sieve. Put the sieve over the hot water with the bottom of the sieve just above the water level.
Put the stove on high heat and the lid on the pan and let the water boil for 45 minutes or until the beans or rice are soft. The lid doesn't have to be tight.
Add more water as needed.

Sprouted brown rice steaming

And there you have it, steam cooked beans or rice, ready to bend to your will in your favorite soup, salad, salsa, chili or casserole.

Roasted Garlic and Bell Pepper Hummus

hummus, houmous, humous, hommos, however you spell it, it's one of the tastiest dips ever made. Hail the glorious chickpea!

Roasted Pepper Hummus
3 cups cooked, sprouted chickpeas.
2 tbs tahini paste
1 roasted bell pepper ( I used an orange one, red or yellow would do)
4 roasted garlic cloves
Water as needed
Salt to taste
Place all in processor with S-blade and process until mixture starts to get smooth.
Add water  to mixture while processing, 2 tbs at a time until you reach the consistency you like.
I used 12 tbs of water, about a cup and a half or so.

Makes about 3 1/2  cups hummus.
Store in a lidded container in the fridge.

How to Make Tahini

1 cup raw and unhulled sesame seeds

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs water

Place sesame seeds in food processor with S-blade and process until fully powdered. They should be about the consistency of corn meal.

With processor running add olive oil and water.

Process until smooth, scraping sides as necessary.  It should be the consistency of peanut butter.

Transfer to a glass jar with a tight lid. 

Store in refrigerator.

Dinner Last Night

Steamed, sprouted short grain brown rice, steamed cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, celeriac and carrots. Smothered in un-cheese sauce.

I made this sauce from the PPK. It's pretty phenomenal on vegetables.
I altered the recipe a little I used fermented cashew milk instead of water and 1 tbs olive oil instead of margarine and I didn't put any spice in it.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a free vegan cookbook. There are numerous ways to enter and you can enter every day or even every hour if you are so inclined.
How bad do you REALLY want Veganomicon?

How to Sprout Brown Rice

• Clean 1-2 cups brown rice. 
• Put the rice in a large jar or bowl and cover with water. 
• Soak for 48 hours, rinsing every 6-12 hours. 
• After soaking 48hrs, transfer rice to a sprouting jar with mesh lid for draining. 
• Set at 45 degree angle so it can drain and rinse every 6-12 hours for 48 hrs. Keep it moist but not soaking.
• When you see little tails begin to sprout from the grains, they are ready to cook and eat.

Cook sprouted rice as you would normally cook rice. Steam or boil until tender and serve hot or cold.

Another Exciting Giveaway!

Kirsten Suzanne is having a giveaway on her 
Green Mommy Blog


One lucky winner will get a $50 shopping spree at iHerb to pick out $50 of merchandise of your choosing

Vegan Cookbook Giveaway

Snubbr is graciously sponsoring a vegan cookbook giveaway through my blog.

It's easy, all you have to to to enter is go here and pick the vegan cookbook you'd like to win. After you do that leave a comment on this post with your selection. It's that easy!

For extra entries you may

• Follow @snubbr on Twitter.com and leave comment here saying you have (or already do). Leave your twitter "@___" name in a comment on this post.

• Follow @zucchinibreath on Twitter.com and leave comment here saying you have (or already do). Leave your twitter "@___" name in the comment on this post.
• Post a status update on Facebook.com and leave me a comment on this post with the link to the Facebook update.
  
• Tweet about this entry. Use this text if you like: Vegan Giveaway! @zucchinibreath and @snubbr are having a #vegan Cookbook #giveaway http://bit.ly/9L43Xj  and leave a comment with your @twitter name on this post.
  
• Blog about this entry and leave a comment and link to this here post. Come back and leave a comment and link to your post.
  
• Follow this blog and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.
• Add me as a friend on Wellsphere and leave a comment on this post saying you have (or already do).
  
• Follow me on Facebook.com and leave a comment on this post saying you did (or already do).
• Subscribe to my RSS Feed and leave a comment on this post indicating that you did. The link is on the right over there >>>
• Ask a question on Snubbr and comment on this post with a link to the question.
  
• You can get more entries by posting about this giveaway on Twitter and Facebook or asking on Snubbr NO MORE THAN ONCE AN HOUR, OK? We don't want to be spamtastic about it... Be sure to come back and leave a comment on this post with a link when you do.

So, there are at least 8 ways to enter this great vegan cookbook giveaway. I'll put up more if I think of some, feel free to suggest any you don't see in that list.

• You may enter as many or as few times as you like.
• Entries will be accepted until Midnight Wednesday, March 17th. 
• It's going to be random number generator chosen so enter often for better chances. 
• The winner will be announced on March 18th. I will make a post announcing the winner and make my best attempt to contact the winner.
• If the winner does not respond to me within 48 hours of the announcement, another winner will be chosen, so be accessible, my winners!

Personally, I would pick Veganomicon.













Good Luck to all of you! My first giveaway, it's so exciting :D

I grew this beautiful flower from the top of a turnip.

 I ate the turnip and put the top in water and a bunch of pretty flowers grew from it. I'm going to try to collect the seeds, any one have any advice about that?

They smell pretty, too.

Here is the turnip top, rooted. It's been in a glass full of water for a few weeks.

 Every thing pretty has an ugly side, right?
Click the date to see what the top looked like Feb 12, 2010.

Shortly after that photo was taken the plant bolted and then these flowers started blooming all over it.

I like to show photos like this when posed with the question, "what about all the plants you kill?"

• Eating a plant doesn't necessarily kill it.
• Plants do not have a central nervous system and don't feel pain.
• Eating animals isn't necessary, eating plants is necessary for human nutrition.

Avocado "Fries" & Sprouted Amaranth Cracker Recipes

I love to make raw snacks. Healthy raw oils like those from seeds, nuts, avocados and olives are very important in a vegan diet, especially if you are endeavoring to eat more raw foods.

These are sprouted amaranth seeds. They are tiny and very hard to deal with and hard to photograph.

These are about 2 days old sprouts.


















Sprouted amaranth crackers
1/2 cup sprouted amaranth 1/2 cup flax seed
pinch of salt
1 tsp cumin
water as needed (not much)
In food processor until a thick smooth paste
Turn out and evenly spread on dehydrator sheet, score for the size crackers you want.
Dehydrate at 115F until stable on top (about 1 hour) then turn out on rack and continue to dry until they are as crisp as you want them.

I also made some avocado fries today.

Avocado "Fries"
Slice one avocado into strips
sprinkle with nutritional yeast on both sides.
Sprinkle w whatever other spices you want, a pinch of salt, cumin, black pepper, lemon, garlic, etc.
place on dehydrator rack and dry at 115F for approx 1 hour until you are able to handle them w/out them falling apart.

Red lettuce with avocado fries, sprouted amaranth crackers, turnip pickles and fermented cashew cream.

Has anyone else seen a change?

I notice the photo uploading function on Blogger has changed. Is is just me or did it change for everyone? It was directly after I enabled Amazon Associates and I'm wondering if the two are related?
Anybody?

Maybe I need Blogger for Dummies.















I'm still working on my Open Sky shop.
I have these groovy Produce Bags check them out. I've been using pillow cases and can't wait to get mine!

Garden Dreaming

I planted a whole bunch of seeds in little pots today. Zukes, green and golden, cucumbers, three kinds of tomato, eggplant, pumpkin, jalapeno peppers, swiss chard, bush beans and a windowsill herb garden with calendula, chives, oregano, basil, sage and dill.
Have you started any seeds yet this year? Use my new Disqus comments form and let me know, would ya?

Herb Gardening on Amazon

How green is your bag Giveaway!

Easy Eco To Go is having a giveaway.

I'm Very Excited to Announce:

The Big Raw Vegan Blog and Opensky.com have partnered!


http://thebigrawveganblog.theopenskyproject.com/ (bookmark that, ya hear?)


I will be scouring the globe to provide you easy access to the world's best reusable products for your home.
I have a passion for reducing household waste and I am committed to helping you reduce waste in your life as well.
I realize zero output is impossible in our plastic society but I truly believe that making small changes in our lives, like reusable cloth instead of disposable paper napkins, can make a big difference if we all work together.
I am dedicated to making little changes more easy and more accessible to you. Check my blog frequently for updates on new products.

I am also passionate about whole food and raw food. I will carry the best kitchen equipment so you can take control of your life. Efficiently prepare your own healthy, unprocessed foods for maximum taste, speed in preparation and nutrition.

Right now it's just a sneak peak. It's live but not many products. I will keep you updated.

Please come look at my shop HERE

Sprouted Bean Experiment Concluded!

The other day I started some beans sprouting and this is what happened:


4 days ago I soaked a cup of white beans for 24 hrs. Then I put them in a jar with a draining lid and set them up to sprout. Three days and many rinsings later they were starting to show little tails!



















I rinsed them one last time and then cooked them in broth until they were soft and all the liquid was gone. I had to keep adding water. It was just like cooking regular beans, no different.

My conclusion about sprouted beans? I will continue to do it. They were delicious. I appreciate that when germinated they are much easier to digest. They take just as long to cook and I didn't really taste any difference. I think from now on I will soak for one day and germinate for one day, shortening it from a four to a two day process. We have beans about twice a week, with a two day soak I won't have to have multiple jars germinating just to keep us in beans. My kitchen isn't that big and I don't feel like branching out right now. Master bathroom with the skylight, I'm talking to you.

Last night's dinner was delicious. I made whole wheat tortillas, I made a wonderful salsa from tomato, onion, corn, garlic and lime juice.
















I cooked up some brown and wild rice, steamed about 2 cups of spinach leaves in broth with minced onion and made cashew sour cream.

Burrito night.














Roll your own :)



Today for lunch I sauteed some collard greens and minced onion in a 1/2 cup juice from the salsa. When the collard is thoroughly wilted and the onions are translucent I added a tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder and stirred it in until all dissolved. I added another 1/4 cup of water and let it simmer until the liquid was almost gone.

I served it over wild and brown rice with a scoop of "refried" sprouted beans.














When I say "refried" I mean re-heated with a little bit of water.


Today's smoothie was different.
2 Banana
1 big handful dried mint
1/4 cup Dried Kelp
3 tbs flax seed
Plenty of water














MMM-mm-Minty! It smelled just like summer time. I brought a bunch from the old house and planted it here. I sure hope it grows big. I'd like to plant more around the house but I need this bush to grow so I can make more bushes.

Dinner Last Night

Steamed artichoke, roasted roots and green salad with orange tomatoes.
The featured roots are turnip, parsnip, potato, celeriac, carrot and garlic.

Another Giveaway

Free stuff Every Where today!

Raw Juice Girl is hosting this one for a $40 gift cert to Sunlight Blvd Natural products.

Book Review: Becoming Raw

The book is called Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets

It is co-authored by:

• Brenda Davis a Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist and author of Becoming Vegan and has been a featured speaker at nutrition, dietetic, medical and health conferences throughout the world.
• Vesanto Melina a Registered Dietitian, specializing in vegan and raw nutrition and healthful eating.
  
• Rynn Berry a lecturer and author and the historical advisor to the North American Vegetarian Society.

You can find it and purchase it on Amazon.com












 When Rick Diamond contacted me and asked me if I wanted a review copy of Becoming Raw I jumped at the chance. So what if I've never reviewed a book before? How hard can it be? I can read. I have and can form new opinions about stuff. I have the internet to give me guidelines, don't I? I have a blog with at least 7 regular readers, right? What can't I do?


Two books for the price of one! The first 249 pages of this 375 page book cover the history of the raw food movement in the United States, the benefits of raw food and very easy to understand and absorb information about nutrition, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals, acid-base balance and enzymes. There are sections about the many theories and myths associated with nutrition and factually deals with concerns about the safety of such raw foods as buckwheat greens, sprouted legumes and alfalfa, mushrooms and sea vegetables. I would be lying if I didn't say I learned a LOT from this book and want to read it again! They don't rely on anecdotal information. I like that a lot about a book.


The second part of this book is a stand alone cookbook. With staples like smoothies and nut butters; energizing breakfasts like raw granola; snacks foods including crackers, nut pates, raw cheese and dips: delicious lunch ideas like soups, salads and amazing looking dressings; hearty entrees like raw pizza, pasta and Thai spring rolls; scrumptious raw desserts like coconut macaroons and raw vegan tutti frutti ice cream, there are enough easy to follow recipes for any aspiring raw chef to get started with. Blender, dehydrator and food processor are required for some recipes but not all.

I love this book! Not only is the cover just beautiful and the whole book is printed on paper with post consumer recycled content, processed without chlorine, which saved
140 trees
5952 lbs of solid waste
51040 gall of wastewater
11,283 lbs of greenhouse gases
98 million BTW of total energy,

but it's exhaustive, comprehensive and the layout is easy to read and understand.
I have learned so much reading this and I definitely suggest it to any one considering a raw vegan lifestyle.
They give you the facts about raw and cooked food, good or bad, then allow you to come to your own conclusion about whether you want to adopt a raw food diet and to what degree and then give you some simple recipes to get you started.

I'd have to give it 5 hearts ♥♥♥♥♥ I love it that much! Thanks, Rick for turning me on to this book :)

A Raw Cookbook Giveaway

Earth Mother
Is having a giveaway. Get over there and sign up, why don't ya? You like free stuff, right? Esp Free Raw Vegan Cookbook Stuff!

Cantaloupe Seed Milk Smoothie

This super easy, ONE ingredient smoothie recipe is one of my all time favorites.
Next time you get a cantaloupe, save the seeds, strings and any little pieces of the meat you have left over.















Store the seeds, etc in an airtight container in the fridge. Sometime in the next few days put the seeds, strings and flesh of the cantaloupe into a blender add a cup or two of water (depending on how thick you want it) and blend until smooth and frothy.















Strain, decant and enjoy.















Groovy Cantaloupe Nutrition Facts

Serving size 1/2 cup, diced (78g)
Amounts Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 25
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 10mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 6g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 50%
Vitamin C 50%
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%

Groovy Cantaloupe Warning

I used to not like cantaloupe because I got a stomach ache every time I ate it. Now I know that cantaloupe must be eaten alone. Because it digests so quickly that any other food in the stomach with cantaloupe will cause fermentation of the stomach contents which means, gas, pain, bloating etc. Now when I get a big, ripe aromatic and juicy cantaloupe I mono-feast on the meat one day, save the seed and mono-feast on a creamy seed milk smoothie a couple days later.

I drink this smoothie on an empty stomach and don't eat anything for 4 hours after I finish it. If I combine this with any other foods I get some harsh intestinal difficulties. You might not, I'm just saying. The rule of thumb for me with melon is "Eat it alone or leave it alone".

Stay Groovy.

How to Store Leeks

This question has been bothering me for a while now. "How do I store leeks so they last longer than a couple of days before they start to get all dried up and while we're at it, so it's not an awkward 2 foot long vegetable taking up valuable real estate in my fridge?"

Today it dawned on me. Why not just store them the way I store all my other leafy greens?


I cut the root end off, cut the leek in half and chopped the halves in half long-ways.














Spread them out on a clean dish towel.

















Roll them up in the towel and stick them in a produce bag.














Actually, that is an old bread bag.














Produce is expensive and I HATE wasting food. This method keeps the leaves from touching each other, it keeps them an even moisture all over and it prevents contact with air and will keep your leeks fresh for a week or more and over time save a bundle of cold, hard cash on your grocery bill.

I wrapped these up with out washing and will wash them as I bring them out to use. Some people wash them first when using this method. If you do, make sure you dry them well, because overly wet spots will cause faster spoilage.

Today's Green Smoothie, Glass Dharma, Buckwheat Sprouts

Banana
Apple
Flaxseed
Red lettuce
Buckwheat sprouts
Renew Me!
Water
Blend it up in the Vitamix


I was worried about storing the glass straws. I want to use them every day but I don't want them in the way where they might get broken, right?

This is where I've decided to keep the Glass Dharma Straws














Simply standing up in a glass in the cupboard.

Leave me a comment and tell me how you store your straws. Oh, and did you get a little brush with yours? I love that little brush. It hangs right by the sink for easy access.

















It's snowing!













This is today's smoothie photo. The photo above is yesterday's smoothie.


Buckwheat Sprouts, 4 days.















Buckwheat sprouts nutritional info:
Vitamins A, B, C and E
Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Phosphorus, Potassium
All Amino Acids
Protein: 15%

The sprout people can tell you better than I can how to sprout buckwheat groats.

I hope you have a wonderful, happy day! Stay warm and stay vegan!