Curried Carrot-Coconut Salad

Every Sunday and Wednesday nights mark the biweekly grocery shopping excursions embarked upon to replenish the Ferry House refrigerator with its usual bounty of fresh produce. However, because a house full of 21 hungry veg*n college students shares this bounty, it disappears into happy tummies. Fast. So fast that by the time the upcoming grocery shopping trip rolls around, one will most likely find a quite empty Ferry refrigerator. Case in point:

This temporary dearth of veggies proves most disheartening to the Ferry House members responsible for cooking dinner on Sunday and Wednesday night, seeing as grocery shopping happens after or during dinnertime. This Sunday, my spunky fellow Ferry-er Tamsin and I faced the refrigerator displayed above while charged with creating a satisfying meal for our 20 other house members. Containing nothing other than tomatoes, carrots, green bell peppers, garlic, lemons, and the previous night’s leftovers, the refrigerator essentially defined our dinner menu: a salsa of roasted tomatoes, peppers, and garlic; leftover adzuki-amaranth patties refurbished into a “pilaf” with lemon juice; and a shredded carrot salad.

Amazingly, Tamsin and I managed to create three rather phenomenally flavored dishes, but the carrot salad in particular stood out as the highlight of dinner. Tangy, succulent, and refreshing with the coconut’s tropical hint, the curry’s mellow spiciness, and the maple syrup’s deep sweetness, this salad earned multiple compliments from my dear Ferries. Though not available to Tamsin and I in the house’s brief food shortage, raisins and scallions would make lovely additions to this salad.

Curried Carrot-Coconut Salad—Raw, Soy Free, Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat

Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs carrots (about 8 large carrots), shredded
2/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1-1 1/2 tsp curry powder
Black pepper and salt to taste

Combine the shredded carrots and coconut in a large bowl. Mix well until combined.

Whisk together the maple syrup, oil, vinegar, and curry powder. Pour over the carrot mixture and toss until well-coated. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays and Wellness Weekend.

Comment Provoking Questions: What are some of your favorite improvised dishes?

Until next time, Ali.

Review of Numi’s New Savory Teas

A couple weeks ago, I entered and very unexpectedly won the Numi Organics Savory Tea giveaway hosted by Sonnet at the top-notch blog For the Love of Food. Confident that I would immediately adore Numi’s savory tisanes based upon my ardent enthusiasm for tea, veggies, and Numi’s products, I eagerly awaited my sampler pack of Numi’s new line of savory teas. Upon arrival, I thoughtfully tasted each tea individually on separate days, steeping them for 10 minutes as instructed before taking the first sip and then allowing the tea to continue to infuse as I happily lapped the savory pick-me-up. Each flavor of Numi’s savory tea combines organic dehydrated vegetable bits, herbs, spices, and naturally decaffeinated green or black tea to create a broth-like, immensely comforting beverage perfectly accustomed for afternoon contemplation. I’ve recorded my thoughts on each of the savory tea flavors below.

Spinach Chive
Ingredients: Spinach leaves, chives, dried lime, dill, onion, decaf green tea, coriander, turmeric, garlic.

Undoubtedly my favorite of all the savory teas, the Spinach Chive tasted like the essence of a comforting herbed spinach soup. The savory dill and onion predominated in a prevalent yet not overpowering manner to imbue the tea with a light, springtime flavor. Rather unfortunately, I chose to enjoy this tea first out of the six flavors in my sampler pack, causing the remaining five teas to pale in comparison.

Beet Cabbage
Ingredients: Beet, cabbage, dried apple, decaf black tea, mustard seed, parsley, orange peel, coriander, clove, honeybush.

Boasting a much more succulent flavor than Numi’s other five savory teas, the Beet Cabbage derived its pleasant earthy-sweetness from the complementary combination of beets and apples. While the clove predominates in both flavor and aroma, I could still slightly discern the cabbage’s cruciferous undertones, which verily impressed me.

Carrot Curry
Ingredients: Carrot, curry, cilantro, onion, ginger, turmeric, decaf green tea.

Though I usually find overwhelmingly spicy the flavor of curry powder, the Carrot Curry tea nicely balances the curry’s intensity with the carrots’ slight sweetness and the cilantro’s mild citrus undertones. Though a quite nice tea, the Carrot Curry did not harbor as complex a flavor as some of the other five savory teas, and thus tasted a bit one-note.

Tomato Mint
Ingredients: Tomato, onion, mint, lemon peel, parsley, cinnamon, black pepper, decaf black tea, allspice.

Probably my second favorite of the five savory tea flavors, the Tomato Mint offered the unmistakable summery aroma of tomatoes and somehow managed to capture the fruit’s juicy succulence, as well. The individual flavors of every ingredient in the tea come through to create a symphony of brightness: the onion lends its savory bite, the hint of mint recedes nicely into the background for a refreshing aftertaste, the citrus offers a barely discernible yet much needed tang, and the cinnamon enhances the tomato’s natural sweetness.

Broccoli Cilantro
Ingredients: Broccoli, celery leaves, allspice, onion, cilantro, decaf green tea, garlic, black pepper, sage, turmeric.

While I held high hopes for this tea based on its tantalizing aroma, the Broccoli Cilantro unfortunately lacked a depth of flavor present in some of the other five teas. The allspice overwhelms the tea, forcing the earthy cruciferous and bright citrus notes of the cilantro to recede well into the background.

Fennel Spice
Ingredients: Fennel, celery root, orange peel, onion, dill, decaf green tea, honeybush, black pepper.

Similar to the Broccoli Cilantro, the Fennel Spice left me a bit disappointed. With my deep adoration of any and all things fennel, I wholeheartedly wish that the unmistakable anise flavor would have made its presence more obvious in the tea. Instead, the dill overpowered the fennel, causing the tea to taste more like a less oniony version of the Spinach Chive rather than a distinct tea in its own right.

All in all, Numi’s new line of savory teas verily impressed me, and I fully intend to order more of both the Spinach Chive and Tomato Mint flavors. I’d highly recommend these savory teas to any tea-lover for a delicious twist on their normal tea routine.

Note: Numi did not contact or pay me to write this review. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own, uninfluenced by Numi.

Until next time, Ali.

How to Cook for a 20-Person Veg Co-op and a Recipe for Slow-Cooked White Beans with Snap Peas & Caramelized Onions

As occurs every two weeks, this Monday I once again donned the Ferry House chef hat to provide a fabulous vegan meal for my 20 fellow co-op members. Planning the menu for my biweekly scheduled night of cooking proves consistently provocative of critical thought, as it requires serious contemplation of a recipe that normally serves 4-6 people to decipher whether or not it would suit itself well to a five-fold multiplication of ingredient amounts. Casseroles, bean & mixed veggie salads, grain pilafs, stews, curries, and veggie burger patties all lend themselves quite nicely to large-scale preparation, whereas recipes that require individual portion preparation—such as stuffed veggies, cabbage rolls, and sandwiches—as well as those which call for a large amount of ingredients that cook down to a small size—such as roasted veggies and sauteed greens—necessitate more preparation and/or resources than we Ferry cooks would prefer.

A Ferry chef must also consider ingredient availability when planning a House dinner. For example, the House grocery shoppers do not purchase fruit (other than our weekly bushel of farmers market apples), including avocados; certain bulk items such as canned coconut milk, specific dried bean varieties, tahini, or gluten-free flour may have run out before the delivery of the upcoming bulk order; and less familiar vegetables such as fennel, certain types of squash and root veggies, and herbs do not make it into the regular grocery rotation. Clearly, not every entry in my cookbooks or 43-page-long Word document of recipes to try—especially those featuring more specialized ingredients—proves well-suited to serving 20 rather budget-minded college students, so I find myself every other Sunday analytically sifting through my arsenal of recipes to unearth a perfect one for Ferry dinner.

This week, I decided that a version of the Kale and Slivered Brussels Sprout Soba Noodles from Sprouted Kitchen, as well as a cannelinni bean stew inspired by both Peter Berley’s White Beans with Sugar Snap Peas & Mint and his Savory Adzuki Beans, served as this Monday’s “perfect recipes.” Case in point: a 5-lb. bag of dried cannellini beans sat largely unused alongside a heap of brown rice noodles in the pantry while the refrigerator positively exploded with leafy greens and brussels. These recipes practically begged themselves to be made.

Plates laid out for dinner.

My changes to the original soba noodle recipe:

• Used olive oil instead of sesame oil. Ferry did stock toasted sesame oil in the pantry for a brief period of time, but house members ultimately decided that we preferred olive oil instead.
• Substituted apple cider vinegar for the rice vinegar. No rice vinegar in Ferry! Just your run-of-the-mill apple cider variety.
• Replaced the soy sauce with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, the soy-based seasoning of choice in Ferry.
• Used cayenne pepper instead of red pepper flakes since the Ferry spice cabinet had just run out of the latter.
• Substituted brown rice noodles for the soba noodles. The latter noodle variety cost significantly more than the former, plus many soba noodle brands contain gluten, which we try to avoid including in House dinners for those who must avoid it (i.e. me).

Man, did that industrial-sized pot of cooking water for the noodles take just about an eternity to boil, but the fresh-tasting and pleasingly toothsome dish that it helped to yield surely merited the wait.

A whole mess of brown rice noodles, kale, and brussels sprouts.

As for the white bean dish, I somewhat combined two of the bean recipes in The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen to produce a delightful hybrid dish. Deriving the Asian-style ingredient list from the Savory Adzuki Beans and the snap pea-white bean mix from the White Beans with Sugar Snap Peas and Mint, I created a light, springtime bean stew rife with crisp-tender snap peas and caramelized onions that provided a lovely sweet contrast to the savory cannelinnis. The recipe requires little hands-on preparation, involving no more than throwing beans, minimally prepped veggies, and seasonings into a slow-cooker, and quickly sauteeing the onions and snap peas, yet yields quite yummy results.

Big ol’ pot o’ beans.

Slow-Cooked White Beans with Snap Peas & Caramelized Onions—Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat.

Makes about 6 cups.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked white beans (cannellini, Great Northern, etc.), soaked overnight and drained
1 medium onion, peeled and halved
4 cloves
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 4-inch piece of ginger, cut into big chunks
2 tbsp maple syrup or agave
1-inch piece kombu seaweed or 1 bay leaf
2 tbsp tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1-2 tbsp coconut or olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
8 oz sugar snap peas, cut in half on the bias

Stick two cloves into the rounded side of each onion half. Place the cloved onions, soaked white beans, garlic cloves, ginger, maple syrup or agave, kombu or bay leaf, and enough water to cover the whole mixture in a slow-cooker. Set the slow-cooker to its highest setting and cook the beans until meltingly tender, about 2-5 hours. When tender, drain the beans and remove the onion halves, garlic cloves, and ginger chunks. Stir in the tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg’s.

In a medium saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar snap peas and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the saute from the heat and stir into the beans. Serve.

Until next time, Ali.

Raw Granola Adventures and a Recipe for Sprouted Hemp & Green Superfood Granola

After unintentionally undergoing a three-month-long hiatus from my weekly granola-crafting ventures, I’m thrilled to say that—aided by my new best friend Mr. Ferry House Dehydrator—I’ve returned with a vengeance to the ever-rewarding realm of granola-making. Desperate to whip up some crunchy raw breakfast goodies in my ancient Excalibur, I turned to one of the best sources I know of for guidance in the ways of raw granola: Fragrant Vanilla Cake. Though deciding between Amy’s array of tantalizing cereal recipes proved quite difficult (how could I not have had trouble when presented with titles like Raw Carrot Cake Granola, Raw Strawberries and Cream Granola, and Raw Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Granola?), my enthusiasm for the always pleasing combination of bittersweet chocolate and tart berries drew me toward the Raw Chocolate Berry Love Granola.

Unfortunately, my impatient hankering to slip a batch of granola into the dehydrator prevented me from taking the time to sprout some buckwheat, and I thereby had to change up Amy’s original recipe a bit. My tweaks to the recipe include:

• Substituted gluten-free rolled oats for the sprouted buckwheat.
• Used sprouted almonds and sunflower seeds in placed of the soaked nuts for which the recipe calls.
• Used maple syrup as the sweetener and reduced the amount from 1/3 to 1/4 cup.
• Omitted the cacao nibs (I didn’t have any on hand).

Incomparably flaky, unbelievably clustery, and beautifully aromatic, the results of my first endeavor with dehydrated granola rendered me wholly unwilling to return to oven-baked granola anytime soon.

Indeed, my immediate conversion to dehydrated granola inspired me to sprout a batch of buckwheat and experiment with my own recipe. Perhaps you recall the mention of my current favorite packaged granola—the Hemp and Greens Superfood Cereal from Living Intentions—during my recent journey to Austin. Since the Vassar area boasts no Whole Foods locations (the closest market is in Connecticut, for goodness’ sake), out of my yearning to once again enjoy this particular granola I decided to create my own homemade version of it. A gander at the Living Intentions ingredient list aided me in formulating my interpretation of the cereal: the buckwheat sprouts, coconut, banana, and vanilla extract remained, while I substituted date sugar for the coconut sugar; chopped dried figs for the sultanas; hemp, chia, and flax seeds for the sunflower sprouts, rice bran, and sesame seeds; and Amazing Grass Green Superfoods powder for the green protein superfoods blend. While 2 1/2 cups of the packaged version of the Hemp and Greens Superfood Cereal costs a pretty $8.59 ($1.70 per 1/2 cup), 4 cups of my homemade iteration costs approximately a mere $5.59 ($0.70 per 1/2 cup—a whole dollar less!). Saving money, invoking a sense of accomplishment, and enjoying delicious granola? What a win-win-win situation.

Sprouted Hemp & Greens Granola—Raw, Soy Free, Oil Free, Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat.

Makes about 4 cups.

Ingredients:

1 cup buckwheat, soaked and sprouted
1 large ripe banana
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup dried fruit of choice, chopped (I used figs)
1/4 cup date or coconut sugar
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp hemp seeds
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 heaping tbsp green superfoods powder (I used Amazing Grass)
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, mash the banana. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Spread the mixture evenly over two dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 115° for 8-12 hours, or until nice and crunchy.

Recipe submitted to Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Raw Food Thursdays, Foodtastic Fridays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Wellness Weekend.

Rest assured that you, dear reader, will see plenty more dehydrated granola adventures in the blog’s future.

Until next time, Ali.

Granola of the Week #7: Vanilla Bean-Sprouted Sunflower Seed Cereal & Why Honey Isn’t Vegan

I regret to say that I’ve recently fallen off my weekly granola-crafting track, preferring the succulently sauteed breakfast greens featured in the Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen accompanied by soy yogurt and fruit instead of my previously habitual green smoothie topped with granola. Last week, however, the insatiable urge to make granola once again gripped my being, compelling me to bake up a pan of grainy-nutty goodness that I hold so near to my heart. However, rather than producing yet another variation on my never-fail template recipe for fresh fruit-sweetened granola, I opted to experiment with a breakfast cereal more akin to crunchy squares rather than clustery bites. As my inspiration, I utilized the sprouted granola recipe that Juli Novotney highlights on her clean-eating blog, PUREmamas, to yield a pan of intensely fragrant, hearty, golden-brown cereal ideal for stirring into soy yogurt (can you tell how crazy I am about soy yogurt lately?).

Below, I’ve listed the changes I made to Juli’s original recipe:

• Substituted cardamom for cinnamon, because cardamom holds the title of Ali’s favorite sweet spice, far above the more conventionally used cinnamon.
• Substituted flaxseed meal for coconut sugar. I fully understand that these two ingredients fulfill completely different functions, but allow me to explain my choice of substitution: I prefer minimally sweet granolas, for who wants to wake up to a sugar shock (just humor me and pretend that people don’t eat Froot Loops or Cocoa Puffs for breakfast)? Instead, I like for my granolas to contain a generous amount of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and various superfoods. Flaxseed meal fulfills all three of my aforementioned breakfast cereal preferences while not contributing added sweetness, and harbors the same powdery texture as does coconut sugar. Thus, flaxseed meal=coconut sugar for all intents and purposes in this particular granola experiment.
• Substituted maple syrup for honey, because honey ain’t vegan, folks! Not only do bees require their own honey to provide their means of sustenance, many commercial apiaries function essentially as bee factory farms, “stacking honeybee colonies in interlocking boxes and treating them much like the dairy industry treats cows: as biological honey machines to be milked for profit,” according to the March+April 2013 issue of VegNews magazine. The article also offers this unfortunate information about large-scale honey production, which most likely serves as a contributor to the recent epidemic of colony collapse disorder:

“…bees make honey so their colony will have enough food to survive the winter. Many beekeepers sell all of that honey and replace it with nutritionally deficient sugar water or corn sytrup. Additionally, queen bees can live for five years but are routinely killed and replaced after only one or two to increase the hive’s honey production. Some industrial beekeepers destroy entire colonies after the fall honey harvest because it’s cheaper for them to simply start new hives in spring than to maintain them over winter.”

Though some vegans seem to regard honey as permissable, I personally find it equally as unacceptable to consume as dairy and animal flesh. Why shouldn’t our compassion extend to insects? Why draw the line of humane living at animals of the mammalian, avian, marine, etc. domains? Frankly, I don’t feel comfortable consuming honey for the same reason I don’t feel comfortable consuming other animal flesh and secretions: it’s not mine to take.

• Used 2 tbsp coconut oil + 1/2 small apple in place of the 4 tbsp coconut oil. I also prefer to limit the amount of oil in my granolas, simply because oil does not offer as many nutrients as the vast majority of my other staple granola ingredients, including the ever-popular and oh-so-healthy apple, which provides adequate moisture to replace oil when pureed.
• Omitted the salt, because research conveyed by the lovely Dr. Fuhrman purports that vegans and vegetarians actually must pay closer attention to their sodium intake than meat-eaters, since the arterial plaque build-up that ensues from eating animal-based saturated fat actually protects the fragile blood vessles from rupturing (but also causes coronary heart disease, so…).

What an unexpectedly interesting discussion of a range of vegan issues, and all from a simple breakfast cereal recipe! What can’t granola accomplish?

Until next time, Ali.

Farmers Market Vegan’s 2nd Cooking Show Episode

This February, I along with the rest of the Multimedia team at Vassar’s campus newspaper the Miscellany News launched a vegan cooking show hosted by your’s truly. The first episode featured a tutorial on how to make vegan sushi, and the second, just released today, showcases a novel recipe for vegan deviled eggs, inspired by the lovely ladies at Lagusta’s Luscious vegan & fair trade chocolate company in New Paltz, NY. Check out the video and snag the recipe here.

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #66: My Last WIAW

Yes, I understand that another “What I Ate Wednesday” constituted my last post, as well. Yes, I understand that recipes, ethical/philosophical musings, and restaurant reviews serve as vastly more intriguing topics than my weekly eats do (perhaps some of you may argue to the contrary, but that’s simply my humble opinion). However, in the midst of authoring an important piece for a vegan-related, non-blogging outlet as well as beginning my second essay in my three-part series exposing Michael Pollan’s ulterior motives, I’ve devoted much of my intellectual/writing-related energies toward venues other than my beloved blog. Fear not though, dear readers, for I hope to soon channel these energies back to the world of the vegan blogosphere. Once that happens, I intend to no longer participate in this weekly meal recap as I have for 66 past Wednesdays, for I’d prefer for my blog to cultivate a more professional atmosphere fostering intellectual discussion among innovative recipes. Hopefully, the elimination of What I Ate Wednesdays from my blog will allow me to provide more intriguing content on a more regular basis. So now, for the last time, please enjoy another round of my stupendously intriguing meals.

Breakfast: A breakfast salad of baby spinach, amaranth, brown rice, goji berries, wild blueberries, and chia seeds tossed in a dressing of plain unsweetened soy yogurt, homemade sprouted almond butter, and Amazing Grass Green Superfoods Powder, sprinkled with the contents of one capsule of Rainbow Light’s Advanced Enzyme Systems digestive enzymes.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—soy yogurt, sprouted almond butter, chia seeds. Whole Grain—brown rice, amaranth. Fruit—goji berries, blueberries. Leafy Green—baby spinach. Superfoods—goji berries, chia seeds, Amazing Grass powder.

Morning Tea: Rooibos Red Tea from Alvita.

Lunch: An open-faced sandwich of a lentil-brown rice-roasted sweet potato & broccoli burger on top of a brown rice cake slathered with tahini, sauerkraut, and dulse seaweed flakes, accompanied by a bowl of mushroom, leek, and spinach soup sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

Meal Checklist: Protein—beluga lentils, tahini. Whole Grain—brown rice. Vegetables/Fruit—sweet potato, broccoli, cabbage, leeks, spinach, mushrooms. Leafy Greens—spinach, broccoli, cabbage in sauerkraut.

Afternoon Beverage: Kukicha Twig Tea from Eden Organics.

A bottle of GT’s Kombucha in Cosmic Cranberry flavor.

Dinner: A breakfast-dinner of savory Sweet Potato Belgian Waffles (made with my new, very own waffle iron!) topped with Coconut-Braised Kale and served alongside strips of Tempeh Bacon, courtesy of Kathy Patalsky—my biweekly dinner contribution to the Ferry household.

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpea flour, fava flour, tempeh. Whole Grain—sorghym flour. Vegetables—kale, garlic, onions, sweet potato. Leafy Greens—kale.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicinals’ Organic Eater’s Digest tea.

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

Spirulina-Mango Waffles with Goji Berries

In my most recent What I Ate Wednesday post, I revealed my embarrassing failure of a first experience with a waffle iron, one that ended in all but a couple of crumbs sticking hopelessly to the cast-iron grates. Never one to throw in the proverbial towel after a single bout of culinary experimentation, however, I remained quite enamored with the notion of enjoying blissfully fluffy, perfectly checkerboarded waffles crafted from scratch. Since I plan on returning to a waffle-iron-less Ferry Haus tomorrow due to the end of Vassar’s spring break, this morning began a mere 24-hour countdown during which to transform my waffle-based dreams into reality with the help of the rather ancient waffle iron lurking in the kitchen cabinets of my parents’ subletted NYC apartment. Waffling, away!

After adequately stocking my parents’ pantry and refrigerator with homemade almond milk, gluten-free flour, various superfoods, and coconut oil, I rendered myself well-equipped to craft successful waffles, much moreso than when I had relied upon the various questionable flour substitutions already in my parents’ kitchen (Important note to readers: a mixture of cornmeal, kasha ground in the food processor, almond pulp, and nutritional yeast does not equal flour). I decided to establish round two of my waffle-crafting adventures upon this recipe from Ashlae at Oh, Ladycakes, whose dependably tasty recipes I trust wholeheartedly; under her guidance, how could my waffles fail? Inspired by Ashlae’s note regarding the substitution of the sweet potato puree in her recipe with any other fruit/veggie puree, I turned to a bag of frozen mango to utilize as the base of a fruity, rather tropical variation of Ashlae’s original waffles.

As you can clearly tell from my posting of this recipe, my second bout of waffle-making endeavors proved quite triumphant, yielding the fluffy, chewy, immensely satisfying breakfast treats about which I’ve dreamed since first spotting that old beaten-up waffle iron in the cabinet of my parents’ apartment. Adding to my morning meal delight, I drizzled the waffles with a caramel-like sauce of 1 tbsp tahini, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 2 tsp maca powder, and 2 tbsp water. You can certainly opt to do the same (and I would highly recommend it), or you can simply top your waffles with fresh fruit, maple syrup, and/or jam.

Though I didn’t intend to include spirulina in the waffles when I began making them, the jar of plant-based milk that I had on hand contained an experimental homemade blend of sprouted sunflower seeds, dates, and spirulina. The inclusion of the algae did not hugely alter the tangy, bright flavor of the waffles, and added a couple micrograms more of complete protein, essential fatty acids, and vitamin B12 to the batter. However, you could certainly omit the spirulina if the waffles’ belated St. Patty’s Day greenness doesn’t jive with you.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to search for an inexpensive waffle iron to call my own—after these homemade waffles, I’m hooked.

Spirulina-Mango Waffles with Goji Berries—Can be Nut Free, Soy Free, Low Fat, Low Sodium

Makes about 12 small waffles.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill, but you could certanly make your own)
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cardamom
3/4 cup mango puree
Scant 1 1/2 cups plant-based milk (I used almond)
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2-1 tsp spirulina (optional)
1/4 cup goji berries

Preheat your waffle iron.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, and cardamom until well combined. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the mango puree, milk, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Stir together until well combined. Stir in the goji berries.

When the waffle iron has heated, spray it with oil. Cook waffles according to the instructions specific to your waffle iron.

Serve immediately or freeze the waffles for up to one month. Reheat frozen waffles in a toaster.

Recipe submitted to Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Allergy-Free Wednesday, Foodtastic Friday, Healthy Vegan Friday, and Wellness Weekend.

Until next time, Ali.

Smoky-Sweet Roasted Chickpeas with Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts over an Amaranth-Millet Pilaf

My mother recently adopted a plant-based diet. After watching Forks Over Knives, she determinedly declared, “I have to drastically alter my eating habits.” For the past three months, she’s cooked exclusively vegan meals for herself and my father. She pours almond milk on her morning granola with relish. She extols the virtues of kale. She prepares only whole grains. She’s replaced the sugar in my father’s coffee with stevia. Most astoundingly of all, she ardently insists upon the sheer ease she found her dietary transition to entail. And I quote: “I just don’t understand why everyone doesn’t eat like this. It’s simple, cheap, and delicious, and I feel better than I ever have before.” She’s fifty-seven years old.

My father has followed suit. Though his innate southern-boy mentality still conditions him to savor the battered and fried leg of a chicken, his diet consists solely of plants while eating at home. During my recent visit to my parents’ apartment in New York City for the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival, he brought up, completely independent of my prompting, the ridiculousness of drinking another species’ milk and the fact that most adults suffer from lactose intolerance. He now consciously avoids dairy, attesting to experiencing severe stomachaches whenever he accidentally consumes it. He constantly raves about the impressively gourmet vegan meals my family has enjoyed together at both of the Candle Cafes, Hangawi, Caravan of Dreams, and Blossom. And I quote: “I never expected to like vegan food as much as I do. I can’t believe how tasty and filling it is!” He recently asked me to compare the caloric and nutritional value of a serving of tempeh to an equal portion of brisket, declaring, “I’ll take the tempeh” upon hearing the results.

For the past two-and-a-half years of leading a vegan lifestyle, I wholeheartedly doubted that my parents’ eating habits would ever converge on a similar path. Clearly, old habits can die hard. And thank goodness they can, for I now feel exceedingly more confident than I did when they consumed toxic animal foods and sugars about enjoying many happy, healthy years with my parents. I thank them, their bodies thank them, and, most importantly, the animals thank them.

The recipe featured today stems from the culinary genius of my mother, who has not only converted her usual gastronomic repertoire to function as completely plant-based, but has also expanded it to include staple vegan innovations such as nut-based cheesy sprinkles for pasta dishes, cashew creams, and crunchy roasted chickpeas. This recipe incorporates a smoky version of the latter creation with nutrient-rich, gluten-free grains as well as quick-sauteed brassicas. This Monday, I debuted the dish for my beloved fellow Ferry Haus members and received rave reviews for its hearty, satisfying nature. Thanks, Mom. 

Smoky-Sweet Roasted Chickpeas with Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts—Nut Free, Low Sodium, Low Fat

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients for the chickpeas:

1 cup dried chickpeas, or 2 15-oz cans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted or olive oil
1 tbsp liquid smoke
1 tbsp maple syrup or agave nectar
2 tsp smoked paprika

Ingredients for the pilaf:

1/2 cup uncooked amaranth
1/2 cup uncooked millet
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 tbsp liquid smoke
1 tsp smoked paprika

Ingredients for the broccoli-brussels saute:

2 tbsp coconut or olive oil
2 medium heads of broccoli, broken into small florets and stems chopped
1/2 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and shredded
2 tbsp tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

For the chickpeas:

If using dried chickpeas, place the chickpeas in a bowl, cover with water, and let soak overnight. In the morning, drain the chickpeas, place them in a slow-cooker, cover with more water, and cook on high for 2-4 hours until tender. Alternatively, place the chickpeas along with enough water to cover in a large pot, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours. In either case, keep an eye on your chickpeas as they cook, skimming off any foam that collects on the top of the water. When tender, drain the chickpeas.

If using canned chickpeas, skip all of the aforementioned nonsense and proceed to the following directions!

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Place the cooked chickpeas in a large bowl and toss to coat with the oil, liquid smoke, syrup or nectar, and paprika. Spread the chickpeas in a single layer on two baking sheets, place in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once at the halfway mark. Remove the chickpeas when golden brown and crunchy.

For the pilaf:

In a medium saucepan, combine the amaranth, millet, broth or water, liquid smoke, and paprika. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 25-35 minutes until the grains have absorbed the water. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.

For the saute:

In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the broccoli and brussels sprouts and saute for 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender and slightly charred. Add the tamari or liquid aminos and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat.

To serve, combine the sauteed broccoli and sprouts with the roasted chickpeas and serve over the pilaf. Devour with enthusiastic vigor. My mother recommends topping the dish with toasted walnuts.

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas. Whole Grain—amaranth, millet. Vegetable—broccoli, brussels sprouts. Leafy Green—broccoli, brussels sprouts.

Recipe submitted to Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Foodtastic Friday, Healthy Vegan Friday, and Wellness Weekend.

All photo credit goes to fellow Fairy Abby Nathanson.

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #63

Breakfast: A green smoothie of 1/2 a cameo apple, 1/2 of a frozen banana, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp hemp seeds, 1 tsp maca, 1/2 tsp spirulina, 1 tbsp goji berries, a large handful of kale, and 1/2 cup Gingerberry kombucha, topped with the last half-cupful of my most recent granola creation featuring GF rolled oats, raw buckwheat groats, unsweetened shredded coconut, flaxseed meal, pecans, and walnuts coated in a puree of apples, dried apricots, almond extract, cardamom, cinnamon, and coconut oil.

Though I ran out of almond milk for this particular smoothie, later this morning I blended up an experimental milk comprised of the nutty odds-and-ends in my pantry to create a hybrid almond-cashew-pistachio-flax milk. Tinted slightly green from the pistachios, this milk serves as a deliciously creamy precursor to the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day festivities, and boasts those heart-healthy omega-3′s about which we health-conscious folk rave thanks to the flax seeds. I may just start regularly incorporating different nuts into my homemade milk routine to compliment the standard almonds.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—chia seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseed meal, pecans, walnuts. Whole Grain—GF rolled oats, buckwheat. Fruit—apple, banana, goji berries, dried apricots. Leafy Green—kale. Superfood—hemp seeds, chia seeds, spirulina, goji berries, maca, flaxseed meal, kombucha.

Morning Tea: Pukka Herbs’ Three Fennel tea with sweet fennel seed, wild fennel seed, and fennel leaf.

I picked up three sample packets of this lovely tea at last weekend’s NYC Vegetarian Food Festival and have adored its powerful anise flavor and aroma for the past couple of days. A huge sucker for anything fennel, I fell in love with this tea upon first glance and deeply regret having already exhausted my meager supply of it. Perhaps a tea shipment is in order…

Lunch: A salad of mixed greens, shredded carrots, slivered almonds, diced dried apricots, sage-braised giant white beans, brown rice, and dulse seaweed flakes, all tossed in Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with Bao Fermented Food’s Green Raw Slaw of kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, radish greens, apples, pears, garlic, and ginger.

Unexpected leftovers discovered in the refrigerator comprise a wonderfully positive aspect of living in Ferry Haus along with 20 other talented veg*n cooks. The sage-braised white beans gracing this salad stem from one such occasion of wonderful lunchtime surprise.

As for the Green Raw Slaw, I picked up a jar from Bao’s booth at the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival and cannot adequately express my happiness with my frugal ($4 off of the original price at the festival!) and mouthwatering purchase. Kale and fermented food all rolled into one immensely flavorful salad topper? Be still my beating heart.

Meal Checklist: Protein—white beans, almonds. Whole Grain—brown rice. Vegetables/Fruit—carrots, apricots, apples, pears, garlic, ginger, dulse flakes. Leafy Greens—mixed greens, kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, radish greens.

Afternoon Beverage: Choice Organic White Peony tea.

A bottle of GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha in Gingerade flavor.

Dinner: A simple saute of broccoli, brussels sprouts, and Bragg’s Liquid Aminos; an amaranth-millet pilaf seasoned with liquid smoke and paprika; and a pile of crunchy roasted chickpeas seasoned with liquid smoke, agave nectar, and paprika.

Stay tuned for the recipe for this deeply satisfying dish, inspired by my mother (who recently adopted a vegan diet after watching Forks Over Knives), in an upcoming blog post.

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas. Whole Grain—amaranth, millet. Vegetables—brussels sprouts, broccoli. Leafy Greens—brussels sprouts, broccoli.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicinals’ Organic Eater’s Digest tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: Do you like to combine different nut/seed varieties when making plant-based milks? How do you feel about fennel/anise-flavored items? Does your local grocer carry Bao’s tasty raw, fermented products? Have you tried roasting chickpeas before?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.