Book Review: Alan Roettinger's Speed Vegan. Quick, Easy Recipes With a Gourmet Twist

In this post I review
Alan Roettinger's Speed Vegan. Quick, Easy Recipes With a Gourmet Twist

Speed Vegan by Alan Roettinger
Quick Easy Recipes With a Gourmet Twist


Alan Roettinger has been a private chef for prestige clients from entertainers to presidents. He has absorbed techniques and flavors from many cuisines through his extensive world travel. His first book, Omega-3 cuisine, showcased his ability to bring taste and health together. In this book he shows that anyone can cook fresh, delicious and visually pleasing vegan gourmet food, prepared from healthy, minimally processed ingredients, even if they have very little time.


In his introduction, Alan explains that the while the main function of his book would be to showcase quick, easy recipes for people who are pressed for time, writing the book was a bit of a challenge for him. His personal philosophy is to plan well and start early! He tries to show you how to prepare food "the right way" while insisting there is no "right way" other than using the best ingredients, techniques and flavors and refusing to cut corners or try to save money on inferior ingredients, habits which devalue your final product.
Alan started out to write a vegan cookbook even though he wasn't a vegan. He states that he still considers himself an omnivore but has taken on a strict vegan diet. Alan, how is that going for you? We'd love an update!

Alan encourages us not to be intimidated by cooking. "If ...people could do it with stone knives and clay pots, surelyyou will be able to do it with todays refined tools". Inspiring!

The minimalist Essential Kitchen Equipment chapter is broken down into three sections: Must Haves, Hard Time Working Without and Makes Work More Fun. It's a bare-bones list; I actually have everything on the lists except a microplaner. I think most people who do any cooking at all will have almost every thing on these lists, too. If not, there isn't anything exotic or hard to find and there is a list of online resources in the back of the book.

Stocking the Vegan Pantry is where the going might get a little tough. There are staple ingredients listed which are, while not exactly exotic, may have to be ordered if you live in a small town like we do. Anyone who lives in a city where there are specialty grocery stores or markets shouldn't have any problem. The list is broken down into levels of stability, from items with very long shelf life, like dried mushrooms right down to things that need to be kept frozen.The descriptions are fun to read and thorough, I've learned a lot from this book, and, of course, there is a list of online resources in the back of the book.

Jump Starts is my favorite chapter because time-conscious meal planning, unless you BUY pre-made ingredients, takes a little behind the scenes preparation. In spare time (like at 3am when you can't sleep because you're worried about what you will take to the omnivore picnic) you make basic ingredents to have on hand so later you can put them together with fresh vegetables, pasta or grains to make fantastic meals. Some stand out recipes are Garlic Oil, Roasted Garlic Puree, Hot Red Pepper Sauce, Sun-Dried Tomato Paste and Balsamic Vinagrette.

Snacks. This section contains dips, spreads, chutney and other things you might put on crackers, bread or papadums. It also has a recipe for Tempeh Sticks that are deep fried in coconut oil and served with a coconut-peanut sauce that I'm sure even the most hardcore tempeh disliker would enjoy.

Soups. I love soup. Autumn is upon us and a warm soup is great when weather is in transition. This section contains classics you love (or will love) like Leek and Parsnip, Navy Bean and Swiss Chard and exciting combinations like Tuscan Kale and Coconut soup with Tofu.

The hefty Salad chapter is the biggest in the book, weighing in at 34 pages! There are leafy salads, slaws, fruit salads, pasta, bean and grain salads, salads from many nations, mushroom, warm and cold salads, wild greens and sprouts salads. Main dish, side or dessert, no aspect of salad is left untouched. A great meal planning companion just for the endless salad ideas. A quote "Fennel is an appetite enhancer, a digestive aid, and a palalte clenser, but most importantly, it's freaking delicious." I couldn't have said it better myself, Alan!

Next is Pasta and Grains. Using a wide variety of pastas and grains paired with vegetables you might not eat every day, this section is bound to widen the repertoire of dishes you bring to potlucks! Seriously, though, simple recipes with easy to follow instructions are the order of the day for this chapter with dishes like Orecchiette With Herb Sauce (Orecchiette is a kind of home-made pasta typical of Puglia, Apulia, a region of Southern Italy. See, you're learning stuff already!) and a simple Linguine With Sundried Tomato Sauce
to a very hearty Brown Rice and Carrots with Natto Miso. Flavorful ingredients and bold textures combine seamlessly. If you make it through this section and the salad section (that's more recipes than I care to count) we'll get started on:

Vegetables and Legumes . Asparagus with Canneli Beans, Mashed Aloo Gobi, two kinds of Mashed Potatoes. This chapter could take you from main dish to side dish easily enough on it's own. Black Beans, Mushrooms and  Bok Choy, where have you been all my life! There are some great dishes here that could be incorporated into vegan holiday meals. I don't know about you but I always bring my own food and most of these would travel quite well and be good warm or room temp.

The Sweets section is impressive. Fancy desserts you could serve at an small dinner party and really see everyone's reaction. Little pieces of art like Nutty Chocolate Balls, Spiced Pears in Wine and two vegan sorbet recipes, Spiced Pear Sorbet and Coconut-Banana Sorbet. I really like the Aztec Hot Chocolate Spicy! I want some now.

There are a lot of health-mined original recipes in this book and better than that, there are ideas in this book. Speed Vegan will kick-start your boring vegan rut and make you learn more about some foods you might not have tried otherwise.

"You take from a recipe, but you GIVE to a dish" ~Alan Roettinger

How to Cook Garbanzo Beans in Pressure Cooker In 30 Minutes Flat :: Quick Easy Vegan Recipe

Writing this how-to I assumed you've used a pressure cooker before. If you have not, learn how. Pressure cookers have improved safety vastly in the past few years, save lots of time and energy and are very versatile. I learned a LOT from Miss Vickie's website and you can too!

You will need:
Pressure cooker with rack.
Med stainless or glass bowl with high sides.
Timer.

Ingredients:
1/2 c garbanzo beans (chickpeas) soaked for 8 hours or more.
6 cups water.

Do this:
Put 4 cups water in bottom of pressure cooker with rack inside.
Rinse soaked beans and place in bowl with 2 cups water.
Place bowl with beans and water in cooker on top of rack.
Put the top on and seal your cooker.
Set timer for 30 minutes.
Bring your cooker up to pressure at high heat then turn heat down only enough so it stays at pressure.
When timer goes off release pressure under running cold water, being careful not to block steam vent.
Open the cooker, carefully remove the extremely hot bowl containing the cooked beans. Drain and serve beans as desired.

Deep Dish Caramelized Onion Pizza Pie

I made a regular yeast pizza crust, rolled it out to about 12" across and put it in a lightly greased 9x2" deep, glass pie pan. I crimped the edges like a pie. Poke holes in the crust with a fork so the bottom will rise evenly.
Bake the crust at 425F for 5 minutes.
I filled the crust with a mixture of caramelized onions, mushrooms and Yves Lettuce Wrap crumbles. It's not just for wraps, says the label!

I baked the whole thing for another 15 minutes at 425F. Even though the outer crust is hard, the pie looks and smells really good.

Delicious. Very sweet with a tender crust.

"The 4 Ingredient Vegan" By Maribeth Abrams with Anne Dinshah

The 4 Ingredient Vegan By Maribeth Abrams with Anne Dinshah  

Are you on the go, in a hurry but need hearty vegan meals for your family? A new vegan who needs some simple recipes to impress your family and friends? A beginner cook who needs some clever dishes to make you look like a better cook than you are? An obsessive/compulsuve who can only eat meals with 4 ingredients?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions then The 4 Ingredient Vegan is the must-have book for you.

The 4 Ingredient Vegan was written by Maribeth Abrams with Anne Dinshah.
From the back of the book:
"Mary Beth Abrams, MS, is a certifeid nutritional consultant, vegan culinary educator and the author of the cookbook Tofu 1-2-3."
"Anne Dinshah is a lifetime vegan and the author of Healthy Hearty Helpings, a vegan cookbook for busy people who like to eat."

My hat is off to you ladies. As an adult and especially as a vegan, being able to prepare my own meals has been key to my dietary sucess. The 4 Ingredient Vegan will instill some basic cooking skills that you can build on. Sure, you can count on restaurants and having other people cook for you for a while but sooner or later you will be stuck, on your own with nothing but a supermarket and a (perhaps not-well stocked) kitchen. Having some basic cooking skills will save your vegan ass, believe me!

The difference between The 4 Ingredient Vegan and some other cookbooks with more complicated recipes is like the difference between the Ramones and Fleetwood Mac. The 4 Ingredient Vegan's recipes are a whole lot of short songs with a satisfying result, Some other cookbook's recipes are more like trying to see how many notes one could jam into each bar of a 12 minute song whilst having a secret affair with one's lead vocalist.

The 4 Ingredient Vegan is a great cookbook for a beginner or an expert cook. Filled with clever ingredients like purple sweet potatoes and vegan marshmallow creme and crammed with clever things to do with ordinary ingredients that you will have around if you've been a cook-at-home vegan for any amount of time and that you should be able to find easily at your local supermarket, Asian grocery or Natural Foods store.
The preface, "Why Vegan" goes over some very compelling reasons why one would become a vegan:
"Adopting a vegan diet can be a giant step toward improving your health and well-being. It can also be divinely satisfying in terms of the wonderful tastes and textures that plant foods provide. Meat is rarely prepared without ingredients from the plant kingdom to improve its flavor, such as garlic, onions, herbs, and a wide array of vegetable-based sauces. These same delicious flavorings can be used with plant foods to create endlessly exciting yet familiar flavors."


Chapter 1 "Getting Started" has a great section on stocking your kitchen. Each item listed is defined and they give you a clue as to where you might buy some. You might need to get to a supermarket and buy some vegan sour cream, vegan mayonnaise. Or you might click on those links and learn to make your own. It doesn't take as long as you might think. I don't believe vegan marshmallow creme exists. Someone prove me wrong and send me a jar so I can make this Vegan Fudge recipe they include!

Chapter 2 covers Morning Meals, with breakfast and brunch tempters like Cashew French Toast and the Morning Muffin Sandwich.
Chapter 3 is all about Beverages, with a variety of smoothie and cold drink recipes,
Chapter 4 is Soups including a red cabbage soup made with ginger ale!
Chapter 5 is Salads. This section includes some yummy sandwich spreads. I want to try the Tempeh Chicken salad and the Chickpea-of-the-Sea sandwich fillers.
Chapter 6, Dips, Spreads, Savory sauces includes, pasta sauces, spreads for bread and pates for dipping.
Chapter 7, is all Main dishes which look like quick and easy comfort food plus some new dishes to challenge your pallette. I can't wait to try the Roasted Eggplant and Pesto Roulade!
Chapter 8 covers Side Dishes, many of which could double as main dishes. Purple Sweet Potato Pie is going to get made in my kitchen, I swear it to the skies! I might have to use yams, though.
Chapter 9, Desserts, treats, and sweet toppings covers all things decadence and dessert; Baked Pears, Chocolate covered Strawberries, Tahini Chews (which I think I might make tonight)
At the end of it all there is an Index for easy peasy reference.

I've already made the Cashew French Toast and it was FANTASTIC! It's not only a well put together vegan french toast recipe but it gives you some great tips on making perfect french toast.

As much as I love this book I want to complain about one recipe. Pickled Beets.
I quote 

"Plan ahead for this recipe, since you have to consume the entire contents of a jar of pickles before you can make it."

The book then goes on to instruct us to process the beets and put them in the jar of pickle juice. 

Ok. I have done this. I did it when I was a kid, with carrots. I still do it with the leftover pickle juice from pickles I make from scratch. My complaint is that this could have been a very good recipe with still only 4 ingredients and no directives to consume entire jars of pickles.
Four ingredient pickle recipe I just made up this second

water (doesn't count as ingredient)
vinegar
sugar (optional)
salt (doesn't count)
Spice of some sort, I don't know. Dill?
Cooked or raw veg, cut in pickle sizes go in a jar with the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, spice.
Eat a whole jar of pickles, indeed. (frowny face)

I would definitely recommend The 4 Ingredient Vegan to anyone, vegan or not, who wants to eat good food but doesn't want to spend all day with recipes that have a million ingredients and two million steps. If you don't mind canned and "store-bought" ingredients you can really pad your "Go-To" recipe file with quick, easy and impressive-looking breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert ideas from The 4 Ingredient Vegan.

This book was graciously donated to me by Book Publishing Company for review purposes. I receive no monetary compensation. The opinion given here is my own and is not coerced or paid for in any way.

Recipe testing for The Blissful Chef continues!

Here are some pics of the latest batch of recipes tested for The Blissful Chef.

Dinner last night was a huge baby greens salad w chopped tomato and vegan cashew sour cream, spaghetti with Creamy Basil Dressing, and on the side steamed broccoli and mushrooms with Macro Mac n Cheese sauce.

The cheese veg and the pesto pasta all got mixed together.

 Mock Salmon Pate on a cracker

Creamy Basil Dressing on a toasted plain bagel.                            

Vegan Rice Pudding With Raisins

This is  my own recipe, not one that I am testing for the Blissful Chef, so I can share it with you.

I've love rice pudding so I veganized the old recipe.
Rice pudding is very versatile and can be served as a warm, filling breakfast, a side at brunch and you can serve it warm or chilled as a dessert.

Coconut rice pudding


3 c cooked br rice
1 c coconut milk
2 c water
2 tbs raisins
pinch salt (optional)

1 shot maple syrup

All ingredients except maple syrup in large saucepan.
Simmer, stirring almost constantly until very thick. Reduce heat to low, put on a lid and let it cook for about ten minutes.
Add maple syrup, stir and serve.
Adjust the sweetness to your tastes.

Makes three 1+ cup servings.

I like it just as it is but you may want to add more syrup, your favorite vegan margarine and/or milk, fruit, etc.

Rice pudding is a traditional dish that the whole family can love and a delicious way to use up leftover rice.  I used last night's dinner rice, a mixture of short grain brown rice and wild rice.
I used fresh coconut milk which is the water and soft meat of a young Thai coconut blended together.

Steamed Collard Greens

2 cups collard greens, diced
2 tbs chopped onion
4 tbs finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
2 cups water
2-3 grinds of pepper

Cook all together in saucepan until well reduced.
Drain and use the liquid as broth.

Vegan Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

Southern Style Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits













Pre-heat oven to 450F

2 cups flour
4 tsp aluminum free baking powder 
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

4 tbs olive oil

1 cup chilled vegan buttermilk (1 cup chilled vegan milk of your choice, add 2 tbs vinegar or lemon juice, stir well, allow to thicken in fridge about 10 minutes)

In a chilled bowl mix dry ingredients well.
Cut in oil until it's a crumbly texture. Use a cold fork, you fingers will make it too warm and you won't get the crumb-like texture you want.
Add chilled buttermilk and stir until a thick dough forms.
Turn out on a heavily floured board and sprinkle flour on top then fold dough over onto itself. Continue to sprinkle and fold until you have a workable dough that you can roll out and cut. Don't over work.
Roll out to about an 3/4" thick
Cut with a 2" biscuit cutter and arrange on dry baking sheet with the circles barely touching each other.
Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top.

This recipe made 14 biscuits.

Really easy, really good, 100% veganized for your convenience.

Next time I will use 3 tbs oil and 1/4 tsp salt, but these are DEE-LICIOUS! I'm going to serve them with vegan gravy and steamed collard greens.

Kasha and Bowties

1 c raw kasha (whole buckwheat groats)
1 c uncooked bowtie pasta (farfalle)
1 tbs olive oil (for frying)
1 med onion, chopped
about 8 med brown mushrooms, chopped
1.5 c vegetable broth, boiling in lidded saucepan

Boil and drain bowties. Set aside.
Heat oil in skillet add chopped onion and mushrooms and saute until soft and translucent.
Ad kasha and stir constantly until it begins to turn brown and smell toasty.
Pour sauteed kasha mixture in to boiling broth.
Lid saucepan and lower heat to simmer.
Simmer until liquid is absorbed.
Add bowties.
Stir and serve.

The Culmination of An Entire Day of Preparing Falafel Dinner

Ah, the Chick Pea. Also known as Garbanzos, these tasty legumes are full of fiber and oh-so-versatile. They are the main ingredient in hummus and I love me some delicious chickpea curry (chana masala) but many people don't know that they are the major component in falafel.

Yesterday was Falafel Appreciation Day so we had falafel for dinner last night.

Soak and sprout 1 cup of dried garbanzo beans. This takes four days. If you don't have the time you can just soak them over night. When you are done you should have about 3 cups of soaked/sprouted beans.

Do yourself a favor and do not use canned beans. Or any canned food for that matter. They line the cans with BPA and that leaches into the canned food causing all kinds of problems that we won't get into here. It's cheaper to buy dried beans and very simple to soak and sprout them. Do it. You will feel more self sufficient, create less waste and you will thank yourself later. Soaked and sprouted beans are more nutritious and easier to digest. You will have less bean related gas if you soak and sprout beans before cooking.

Use those beans to make Falafel!

These are baked falafel. Crisp on the outside, warm and soft inside.

Because they are baked, they are very low fat. You can also fry these in oil for a crispier (greasier, heavier) product. A sort of "happy medium" can be reached by baking them in advance and gently heating them in a lightly greased skillet before serving.


Sprouted wheat flat bread, falafel, tomato, onion, vegan yogurt sauce and red lettuce came together and made my mouth very happy.

The money shot:

What did you do for Falafel Appreciation Day?

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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• 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

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.