Yes, I Do Find That Offensive: Guest Post on Queer Vegan Food

Hop on over to Queer Vegan Food to read the guest post I’ve summarized below, entitled “Yes, I Do Find That Offensive.”

A problem to which I’m certain many of you can relate, I often find myself feeling belitted, discriminated against, and even attacked by non-vegans who insinuate, unintentionally or not, that veganism comprises merely an arbitrary personal choice rather than an integral aspect of one’s identity. For example, how many non-vegans with whom you dine even think to ask if their consumption of animal flesh and secretions in front of you would make you uncomfortable? I don’t believe that most people aim to offend vegans with their comments about how much they revel in the ooey-gooeyness of cheese or what have you, but I remain confident that mainstream society simply does not understand the powerful passion animal liberation/environmental justice/personal health inspires in individuals who adopt a vegan lifestyle, or that veganism constitutes a legitimate social movement of the utmost importance, verily akin to gay or civil rights. However, once people begin to understand veganism as a deeply ingrained set of values and beliefs, I believe that they’ll start to ask for more information concerning the activist ideals of a vegan lifestyle, and thereby discover the toll that eating animals has taken and will continue to take on billions of sentient beings, on our planet, and on our personal health.

The above paragraph summarizes my recent guest post on Queer Vegan Food—a brilliant blog and invaluable resource for anyone and everyone concerned with the intersection of veganism and LGBT issues, written by fellow Vassar alum and all-around fabulous individual, Sarah E. Brown. I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to contribute to Sarah’s thoughtful corner of the vegan blogosphere, and urge you all to pay her blog a visit to read both my guest post and her own musings.

Sarah and I at the Marti Kheel Ecofeminist Conference at Wesleyan University.

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #54

Breakfast: A green smoothie of 1 frozen banana, about 1/3-1/2 cup each of frozen strawberries and raspberries, 1/2 scoop of Amazing Grass Green Superfoods powder, 1/2 tsp maca, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 tbsp hemp seeds, about 1 1/2 cups curly green kale, and 1/2 cup water, accompanied by two brown rice cakes spread with almond butter and tahini.

Brown rice cakes slathered in some variety of nut butter constitute the whole grain/protein aspect of my breakfast when I’ve gobbled up the last of the week’s batch of granola and haven’t had the chance to bake up another couple pan-fuls of crunchy clustery goodness. However, no granola will come out of my dorm kitchen this week because tomorrow, I leave for good ol’ Madison, WI to spend my month-long college winter break in my hometown with my family and high school friends! I wholeheartedly intend not to leave the kitchen for the entire duration of my break (except to practice lots and lots of yoga at Inner Fire) in an attempt to make some sort of dent in my 32-page Word document entitled “Recipes to Try”—anyone who wishes to see me during this time must visit me while standing beside my oven. In keeping with my much-anticipated return to frequent culinary experimentation, I eagerly anticipate a leisurely, blissful grocery shopping spree at one of my absolute favorite destinations in Madison—the Willy Street Co-op—as my first act upon arriving in the city. I can hardly wait!

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—chia seeds, hemp seeds, almond butter, tahini. Whole Grain—brown rice cakes. Fruit—banana, strawberries, raspberries. Leafy Green—curly green kale. “Super Food”—Amazing Grass powder, maca, chia seeds, hemp seeds.

Local Ingredients: None.

Morning Tea: Choice Organic White Peony tea.

Lunch: A salad of mixed greens, cucumbers, celery, green peas, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, chickpeas, yellow carrots, a mix of amaranth and millet, and a sprinkling of dulse flakes, all tossed with a variation on my recipe for Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with sauerkraut.

Lately, I’ve become a fan of cooking various types of grains together in the same batch—why not cut two carrots with one knife and harness the beneficial nutritional profiles of multiple grains at the same time? Obviously, to do so all of the grains included must share the same duration of simmering—for example, both millet and amaranth require about 25 minutes of cooking and thus work well as batch partners, as I’ve done here. Some of my other favorite combinations include millet and quinoa, as well as brown rice and wild rice.

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas. Whole Grain—amaranth, millet. Vegetables—cucumbers, celery, green peas, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots. Leafy Greens—mixed greens, dulse seaweed, sauerkraut, broccoli.

Local Ingredients: Carrots from Rusty’s Farm Fresh Eatery, sauerkraut from Perry’s Pickles.

Afternoon Beverage: A bottle of GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha in Original flavor.

Dinner: A Deece dinner of butternut squash soup accompanied by a salad of mixed greens, brown rice, black beans, cauliflower, celery, green beans, and carrots dressed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Though the Deece consistently offers a variety of healthy vegan options, let’s face it—the quality of college dining hall cuisine rarely reaches past slighty better than mediocre, especially compared to the homecooked meals to which I’m quite accustomed to enjoying while in Madison. Luckily though, this constitutes my last Deece meal until mid-January when I return to Vassar for the spring semester. Until then, hello to truly enjoyable, satisfying, Ali-esque food!

Meal Checklist: Protein—black beans. Whole Grain—brown rice. Vegetables—butternut squash, cauliflower, celery, green beans, carrots. Leafy Greens—mixed salad greens.

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

I recently spotted this tea at Stimpson’s House of Nutrition and opted to try it instead of my usual after-dinner tea of Ginger Aid. A comforting and intriguingly spiced blend of peppermint, fennel, ginger, rose hip, papaya leaf, alfalfa leaf, and Saigon cinnamon, Eater’s Digest harnesses the powerful digestive properties of each of the aforementioned ingredients. I think this tea may soon become my nighttime beverage of choice!

Comment Provoking Questions: With which foods besides granola do you like to accompany your smoothies? Which grains do you like to combine in one batch? Do you drink anything special after dinner to aid digestion?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #53

Breakfast: A green smoothie of one frozen banana, a handful each of frozen blueberries and strawberries, 1/2 scoop of Amazing Grass Green Superfoods powder, 1/2 tbsp carob powder, 1 tbsp chia seeds, two large handfuls each of purple kale and baby spinach, and 3/4 cup homemade almond milk, blended and topped with a cupful of my most recent granola of the week—Spiced Carrot Granola.

If you happened to catch a glimpse of the Tweet I posted earlier this week, I attested to this particular smoothie tasting “rather magical,” largely due to the toasty sweetness of the carob powder coupled with the frosty texture of the frozen fruit.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—chia seeds, almond milk, walnuts, almonds, flaxseed meal. Whole Grain—GF rolled oats, raw buckwheat groats. Fruit—banana, blueberries, strawberries, apples, prunes (last two in granola). Leafy Green—purple kale, baby spinach. “Super Food”—Amazing Grass powder, carob powder, chia seeds, flaxseed meal. Added Veggie Bonus!—carrots.

Local Ingredients: Apples from Wicklow Orchards, carrots from Rusty’s Farm Fresh Eatery.

Morning Tea: Rooibos Red Tea from Alvita.

Free of caffeine, red rooibos tea offers numerous health benefits, including anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties, acne relief, lessening of abdominal pains, and a bounty of valuable minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium, copper, fluoride, manganese, and zinc. Wowza, what a powerful bag of tea!

Lunch: A salad of mixed greens, home-sprouted alfalfa and bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, quinoa, butter beans, and dulse flakes, all tossed in Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with kimchi-style pickled carrots.

I’ve recently started incorporating raw cauliflower into most all of my lunchtime meals, as well as many of my dinners. While I used to harbor an aversion to consuming cruciferous vegetables in their raw form (my stomach didn’t agree with them), I now eat them with little restraint and have experienced odd cravings lately for the crunchy white florets. Perhaps these cravings simply serve as my body’s method of increasing my intake of vitamin C in this cold-and-flu-season (after all, one cup of cauliflower contains upwards of 85% of your recommended daily dose of the antioxidant!). If so, I’m darn proud of my highly intelligent physical self.

Meal Checklist: Protein—butter beans. Whole Grain—quinoa. Vegetables—alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, carrots. Leafy Greens—herb salad mixed greens, dulse seaweed, broccoli.

Local Ingredients: Kimchi-style pickled carrots from Awesome Specialties.

Afternoon Beverage: A bottle of GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha in Trilogy flavor.

Dinner: A heaping helping of my absolute favorite regular dish on the rotating Deece menu—crispy polenta triangles with sauteed broccoli rabe, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions—accompanied by a small handful of mixed salad greens, a spoonful of chickpeas, and stew-like, succulent blend of sweet potatoes, corn, and raisins.

Whenever I see this polenta dish featured in the Deece for dinner, I literally squeal and jump for joy right in the middle of the dining hall. Surprisingly enough, Vassar dining services have perfected the process of ensuring polenta’s perfect balance of crispy-on-the-outside and creamy-on-the-inside, moreso than I’ve experienced in the vast majority of my prior encounters with polenta. While the bitterness of broccoli rabe may deter some more picky eaters, I personally revel in the cruciferous’ unique, pungent flavor, especially when offset by earthy mushrooms and acidic tomatoes as the Deece has done in this particular dish. Well done, Vassar!

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas. Whole Grain—polenta. Vegetables—broccoli rabe, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, sweet potatoes, corn. Leafy Greens—broccoli rabe, mixed salad greens.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicines’ Organic Ginger tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: What ingredients comprised the last smoothie that you considered “magical”? Are there any raw fruits or veggies that you’ve been craving lately? If so, to what do you attribute this craving? What is your favorite method of preparing polenta? How do you feel about broccoli rabe?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #52

Breakfast: A pudding of one winesap apple, 1/2 an avocado, 1/2 tsp maca, 1/2 scoop of Amazing Grass Green Superfood powder, 1 tbsp hemp seeds, 1 tbsp chia seeds, two heaping handfuls of spinach, and 1/2 cup homemade almond milk, all topped with a cupful of my zaniest granola concoction yet: Sweet Corn-Thyme Granola.

I created this particular smoothie-pudding based on my tutorial on How to Make the Perfect Green Smoothie—check it out if you, too, wish to become a smoothie-making genius!

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—hemp seeds, chia seeds, almond milk, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed meal. Whole Grain—GF rolled oats, raw buckwheat groats. Fruit—apple, avocado, dates. Leafy Green—spinach. “Super Food”—Amazing Grass powder, maca, hemp seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed meal. Added Veggie Bonus!—sweet corn.

Local Ingredients: Apples from Wicklow Orchards.

Morning Tea: Numi’s Coconut Pu-Erh.

Lunch: A salad of herb salad mixed greens, green peas, mushrooms, carrots, quinoa, adzuki beans, avocado, and dulse seaweed flakes, all tossed in Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with caraway-infused sauerkraut.

As I mentioned in passing during my last WIAW, I’ve recently experimented with the original recipe for my infamous Liquid Gold Dressing. In my most recent batch, I swapped out the lemon juice for lime juice, the balsamic vinegar for red wine vinegar, replaced half of the tamari with apple cider vinegar and the rest with coconut aminos, and added 1/2 tsp turmeric along with the cumin. I urge you to revisit the recipes that you frequently use in your daily life and perhaps consider making a couple minor alterations for a subtle flavor difference in otherwise quite familiar dishes—spice of life, don’t you know?

Meal Checklist: Protein—adzuki beans. Whole Grain—quinoa. Vegetables—green peas, mushrooms, carrots, avocado. Leafy Greens—herb salad mixed greens, dulse seaweed, cabbage in sauerkraut.

Local Ingredients: None.

Afternoon Beverage: A bottle of GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha in Cosmic Cranberry flavor.

Dinner: A Deece plate of sauteed zucchini with onions; a salad of balsamic marinated mushrooms, tomatoes, green beans, and asparagus; steamed brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower; brown rice; and a large dollop of hummus.

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas and tahini in hummus. Whole Grain—brown rice. Vegetables—zucchini, onions, mushrooms, green beans, tomatoes, asparagus, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower. Leafy Greens—brussels sprouts, broccoli.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicines’ Organic Ginger tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: A request—please don’t shun this blog because you now consider me insane for creating such an unorthodox flavor of granola! Do you often implement subtle changes to your favorite recipes?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #51

We interrupt the recounting of my vegan Thanksgiving adventure in New York City, the planning for and first day of which I’ve already posted, for our weekly dose of What I Ate Wednesday.

Breakfast: An unexpectedly tasty green smoothie of 1 medium winesap apple, 1/2 of a frozen banana, 1/2 tsp wheatgrass powder, 1 tsp lucuma powder, 1 tbsp hemp seeds, 1 tbsp almond butter, the juice of 1/2 of a lemon, 1 generous handful each of baby spinach and purple kale, and 3/4 cup homemade almond milk, topped with the last of my Apple-Persimmon Granola with Ginger and Cinnamon.

WOWZA, this smoothie really knocked my socks off! I always enjoy it when I don’t hold high expectations for a smoothie and it ends up verily impressing me. I attribute this smoothie’s yumminess to the lemon juice—a smoothie ingredient with which I’ve experimented lately with great results—and the almond butter, because what doesn’t taste better with a little nut butter added?

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—hemp seeds, almond butter, almond milk, sunflower seeds, walnuts, flaxseed meal. Whole Grain—GF rolled oats, raw buckwheat groats. Fruit—apples, banana, persimmons, dates, lemon. Leafy Green—baby spinach, purple kale. “Super Food”—wheatgrass, lucuma, hemp seeds, flaxseed meal.

Local Ingredients: Apples from Wicklow Orchards.

Morning Tea: Eden Organic Genmaicha green tea.

Lunch: A salad of baby spinach, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, dulse flakes, and quinoa, all tossed in Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with caraway-infused sauerkraut.

For the past few batches of my Liquid Gold Dressing, in addition to the standard cumin, I’ve added about 1/2 tsp turmeric to harness its powerful antiinflammatory properties as well as its wide array of other health benefits. Plus, it tinges my whole salad a pleasantly bright yellow-orange color!

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas, pumpkin seeds. Whole Grain—quinoa. Vegetables—cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers. Leafy Greens—baby spinach, romaine lettuce, dulse seaweed, cabbage in sauerkraut.

Local Ingredients: None.

Afternoon Beverage: A bottle of GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha in Original flavor.

Dinner: A Deece plate of steamed broccoli, kidney beans, brown rice, steamed brussels sprouts, a zucchini-tomato saute, and a spicy salad of sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, and celery.

Meal Checklist: Protein—kidney beans. Whole Grain—brown rice. Vegetables—broccoli, brussels sprouts, zucchini, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, celery. Leafy Greens—brussels sprouts, broccoli.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicines’ Organic Ginger tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: Do you ever add lemon juice to your smoothies? What is your favorite thing on which to put almond butter? What do you think are turmeric’s most valuable health properties?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #50!

Wowza, I can hardly believe that I’ve participated in Peas and Crayons’ What I Ate Wednesday party for 50 whole weeks now! The 2011 Vegan MoFo adventure inspired my first WIAW post, which featured a green berry smoothie topped with my recipe for Power Pumpkin Granola, a salad accompanied by Choosing Raw’s Foolproof Tofu Burgers, a PB & J Larabar, and the Midsummer Corn Chowder in Veganomicon. Funny—my eating habits have not strayed from healthy, wholesome, and vegan, nor have I ever felt the urge to shift them away from such a diet. I hope that means that I must be doing something right!

Breakfast: A smoothie of 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1 tsp wheatgrass powder, 1 tsp maca powder, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 4 small leaves of lacinato kale, a large handful of baby romaine lettuce, and 1/2 cup homemade almond milk, topped with two Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls featured on Tasty Yummies.

My tweaks to the original Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll recipe: subbed arrowroot for tapioca flour, subbed date syrup for maple syrup, filled the rolls with finely diced apples coated in cinnamon and date syrup rather than with a raisin puree, iced the rolls with almond butter frosting instead of coconut butter frosting.

The result? Insanely moist, dense yet fluffy rolls stuffed with oozing apple filling drizzled in a caramel-like sauce. My Vassar buds rested in a constant state of “Mmmm….” as they scarfed down the rolls, leaving two (surprisingly) for me to enjoy at breakfast the morning after I found the time to bake.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—chia seeds, almond milk, almond flour. Whole Grain—sorghum flour. Fruit—banana, strawberries, raspberries, apples. Leafy Green—lacinato kale, baby romaine lettuce. “Super Food”—chia seeds, wheatgrass, maca.

Local Ingredients: Apples from Wicklow Orchards.

Morning Tea: Numi’s Coconut Pu-Erh.

Harboring that familiar, pleasing, almost smoky flavor redolent in pu-erh teas, Numi’s Coconut Pu-Erh imbues pu-erh’s usual earthiness with decadently sweet notes of coconut and vanilla for a creamy-flavored hot beverage.

Lunch: A salad of mixed salad greens, roasted kabocha squash, alfalfa sprouts, mixed bean sprouts, adzuki beans, a blend of wild rice and short-grain brown rice, dulse seaweed, and a couple cherry tomatoes, all tossed in Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with Miso-Horseradish Kimchi from Wildbrine.

I first sampled the Wildbrine products after my first visit to Mother Earth’s Storehouse, a health food store near Vassar, during which I purchased a jar of Madras Curry Cauliflower Sauerkraut Salad. This time, however, impossible it may seem, the folks at Wildbrine have outdone themselves with their Miso-Horseradish Kimchi—an intensely umami and gorgeously complex blend of napa cabbage, daikon radish, carrots, horseradish, tamari, miso, and orange zest. If your nearest natural foods store does not yet carry Wildbrine’s impressive product line, I’d strongly urge you to kindly ask the managers to consider stocking it. You won’t be sorry.

Meal Checklist: Protein—adzuki beans. Whole Grain—wild and brown rice. Vegetables—kabocha squash, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, horseradish. Leafy Greens—mixed greens, dulse seaweed, napa cabbage in sauerkraut.

Local Ingredients: None.

Afternoon Beverage: A bottle of GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha in Passionberry Bliss flavor.

Dinner: A Deece plate of roasted brussels sprouts, sauteed broccoli rabe with caramelized onions, chickpeas, brown rice, and a corn-edamame succotash.

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas, edamame. Whole Grain—brown rice. Vegetables—brussels sprouts, broccoli rabe, onions, corn. Leafy Greens—brussels sprouts, broccoli rabe.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicines’ Organic Ginger tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: Have you participated in WIAW for a considerable amount of time? If so, how many posts have you contributed? What is your favorite brand of sauerkraut/kimchi? Have you sampled Wildbrine’s products?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

What I Ate Wednesday #49

Breakfast: A green smoothie of 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup frozen pomegranate seeds, 1/2 tsp spirulina, 1/2 tsp maca, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 6 small leaves of red russian kale, and 3/4 cup homemade almond milk, all topped with a cupful of my newest granola concoction of Berry Lemongrass Granola with Coconut and Cashews.

I urge you: run, don’t walk, to the kitchen to recreate this unbelievably fruity granola with complex undertones of citrus and sweet hints of coconut paired with the hearty chewiness of cashews. Oops, I just started salivating.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—chia seeds, almond milk, cashews, flaxseed meal. Whole Grain—GF rolled oats, buckwheat. Fruit—banana, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, strawberries, raspberries, dates. Leafy Green—red russian kale. “Super Food”—chia seeds, spirulina, maca, flaxseed meal. Added Veggie Bonus!—lemongrass.

Local Ingredients: Red russian kale from the Phillies Bridge Farm Project.

Morning Tea: Choice Organic White Peony tea.

Lunch: A salad of mixed lettuces (including baby bok choy!), carrots, pea shoots, parsley, navy beans, brown rice, dulse seaweed flakes, and 1/2 an avocado, all tossed in Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with caraway-infused sauerkraut.

May I just take the time to offer my deep appreciation of farmers market vendors who craft gorgeous amalgamations of mixed tender greens to sell as salad mix? I seldom feel inspired to purchase and entire head of lettuce, and mixes offer ease as well as variety. Thank you, veggie farmers!

Meal Checklist: Protein—navy beans. Whole Grain—brown. Vegetables—carrots, pea shoots, parsley, avocado. Leafy Greens—mixed greens, dulse seaweed, cabbage in sauerkraut.

Local Ingredients: Carrots, mixed lettuces, pea shoots, and parsley from the Phillies Bridge Farm Project.

Afternoon Beverages: Eden Organic Genmaicha tea.

Dinner: Steamed green peas, a medley of roasted root veggies (including carrots, beets, turnips, and celery), and a tangy three-bean salad of chickpeas, black beans, green beans, roasted red peppers, and red onions, all served over a bed of baby spinach.

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas, black beans. Whole Grain—none (curse the Deece’s frequent lack of whole grains!). Vegetables—peas, carrots, beets, turnips, celery, green beans, roasted red peppers, onions. Leafy Greens—baby spinach.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicines’ Organic Ginger tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: Have you implemented lemongrass in sweet culinary applications? Is there a stand at your farmers market that offers particularly incredible salad mix? Do you consider celery a root vegetable?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

Vegan MoFo #24: What I Ate Wednesday #48

Before launching into my usual What I Ate Wednesday spiel, I’d like to offer a huge thank you to all the organizers of Vegan MoFo. Today marks the last day of the blogging extravaganza and I could not be more thrilled to have participated in it for the second year in a row. Funnily enough, I achieved a total of 24 posts last year and will do so again this year, which certainly makes me proud seeing as I barely can find enough time to breathe in the midst of Vassar’s classes and extracurriculars…in the best way possible. I can’t wait until next October!

Breakfast: A surprisingly light, airy, and rather fluffy green smoothie of a large Jonagold apple, 1/2 of an avocado, the juice of half a lemon, a large knob of fresh ginger, 1/2 tsp spirulina, 1 tbsp chia seeds, a large handful of baby spinach, and 1/4 cup homemade almond milk, all topped with an apple-cinnamony variation on my fresh fruit-sweetened granola featuring sunflower seeds and walnuts.

Somehow, combining an apple and an avocado with minimal liquid produces a mixture with the texture of whipped chocolate mousse. Verily intrigued, I intend to experiment with this notion and perhaps develop a dessert recipe in the future.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein—chia seeds, almond milk, sunflower seeds, walnuts, flaxseed meal. Whole Grain—GF rolled oats, buckwheat. Fruit—Jonagold apples, avocado, dates in granola, lemon juice. Leafy Green—spinach. “Super Food”—chia seeds, spirulina, flaxseed meal. Added Veggie Bonus!—ginger.

Local Ingredients: Jonagold apples from Wicklow Orchards.

Morning Tea: Choice Organic White Peony tea.

Lunch: A salad of mixed greens, carrots, grape tomatoes, steamed beets, great northern beans, millet, alfalfa sprouts, mixed bean sprouts, and dulse flakes, all tossed with Liquid Gold Dressing and topped with caraway-infused sauerkraut.

I haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy millet yet here at Vassar (I wouldn’t expect THAT much of the Deece), but throwing the nutty polenta-like grain into a salad offered a pleasant reminder of home.

Meal Checklist: Protein—great northern beans. Whole Grain—millet. Vegetables—grape tomatoes, carrots, beets, alfalfa sprouts, mixed bean sprouts. Leafy Greens—mixed greens, dulse seaweed, cabbage in sauerkraut.

Local Ingredients: Carrots from the Phillies Bridge Farm Project.

Afternoon Beverages: Eden Organic Genmaicha tea.

Dinner: A takeaway dinner from the Deece of peppery roasted butternut squash; meltingly tender braised red cabbage; chickpeas; raw broccoli florets; a dollop of baba ganoush; a spicy, crunchy salad of sweet potatoes, roasted red peppers, green bell peppers, and celery; and a (unpictured) scoop of millet.

Meal Checklist: Protein—chickpeas, tahini in baba ganoush. Whole Grain—millet. Vegetables—butternut squash, red cabbage, broccoli, eggplant in baba ganoush, sweet potatoes, roasted red peppers, green bell peppers, celery. Leafy Greens—broccoli, cabbage.

After-Dinner Beverage: Traditional Medicines’ Organic Ginger tea.

Comment Provoking Questions: Have you had the same experience combining an apple and an avocado in the blender? How do you feel about millet? What are your favorite recipes featuring millet?

Happy WIAW and Vegan MoFo!

Until next time, Ali.

Vegan MoFo #22: Recipe Experimentation–Thai Green Curry with Brown Rice Balls

Ahh, can you smell it? The aroma of spending quality time with food, truly appreciating its nourishment, and giving a big ol’ kick in the pants to the industries and governmental agencies that remain terrified of consumers gaining insight into the origins of their food (that’s actually the name of a perfume line I’ve secretly been working on)? Regrettably, the hecticness of college life has not proved conducive to the leisurely, wonderfully relaxing act of carefully crafting comforting vegan meals, nor has the laughable college student budget supported the impulse purchases of intriguing new ingredients.

The absence of the two aforementioned deeds, both necessary components of recipe experimentation, have contributed immensely to the exponential growth of my “Recipes to Try” Word document, as I haven’t crossed off a single recipe in quite some time now. However, with monumental excitement and gratitude, I finally cooked a satisfying, wholesome dinner with my like-minded dormmate, and could thus partake in a bout of recipe experimentation once more, this time with Sabrina’s Thai Green Curry with Spicy Sweet Brown Rice Balls.

Recipe: Thai Green Curry with Spicy Sweet Brown Rice Balls—Adapted from The Tomato Tart.

Tweaks to Original Recipe:

• Used one medium eggplant, a butternut squash, a large sweet potato, and five sunchokes instead of the veggies called for.
• Omitted the bamboo shoots.
• Substituted lemongrass for galangal.
• Added three large leaves of curly green kale and a can of garbanzo beans.
• Did not simmer the flaxseed meal and water–simply combined them in a bowl, as per usual.

Lessons Learned:

• We thinly sliced the lemongrass and simmered it in the coconut milk along with the other spices, as the recipe instructs. However, the half-moons of the stalks proved quite tough and rather off-putting to chew in the finished dish. The next time I implement lemongrass in a recipe, I intend to halve the stalk, rather than slice it into small pieces, to infuse the dish with that mysterious citrus flavor before removing the two halves from the completed recipe, such as with a bay leaf.
• Heating the flaxseed meal and water is quite unnecessary. I’ve never before prepared flaxseed meal for use as a binder in this way and feel that it adds an ineffective extra step.

Despite these two minor setbacks, the curry turned out absolutely scrumptious, as proven by the “Mmm’s!” and “Wow’s!” of my three dormmates. The vegetables positively melted into the beautifully spiced coconut milk base while the brown rice balls formed a lovely crunchy crust to enclose their chewy interior. This recipe also served as my first experience using curry paste in a recipe, and I remain verily impressed with the results, since I’ve never before successfully recreated the distinct flavor of Thai food—curry paste seems key!

Local Ingredients: Sunchokes and kale from the Poughkeepsie Farm Project.

Comment Provoking Questions: Do you find the time to experiment with intriguing recipes? How do you feel about curry paste? What are your favorite recipes utilizing the ingredient?

Happy Vegan MoFo!

Until next time, Ali.

Vegan MoFo #21: Odds and Ends

A bit of an amalgamation of vegan-related topics, this post.

I’d first like to point you toward my latest article in the Vassar campus newspaper, the Miscellany News, in which I offer a guide to the numerous apple varieties in the Hudson Valley as well as a recipe for 5-ingredient apple pie (recently featured as the most popular submission over at Healthy Vegan Fridays, hosted by the lovely Gabby, Carrie, and Shelby!).

Second, this morning I experimented with implementing frozen cranberries in my smoothie for the first time, most likely inspired by the autumnal weather and the nearing prospect of Thanksgiving. Adding an earthy chiogga beet to the blender masked the cranberry’s tart sweetness, but my next smoothie will highlight the little red gems’ flavor, mark my words. If any of you have yummy cranberry smoothie recipes, I’d love to hear them!

Finally, I intend to engage in a healthy dose of vegan cooking madness this weekend—a pasttime I’ve sorely missed since commencing the whirlwind of college. Saturday will begin, as per usual, with a batch of fresh fruit-sweetened granola featuring Jonagold apples. Later that day, my lovely friend James and I will meet to cook a fabulous Thai dinner of The Tomato Tart’s Green Curry with Spicy Sweet Brown Rice Balls.

Photo credit to Sabrina at The Tomato Tart.

Sunday’s recipes include homemade vegan Junior Mints a la Cara of Fork and Beans to send to my recently-turned-nineteen buddy at Macalaster College, whose favorite candy has long since involved the (not usually vegan) chocolate-coated mini peppermints. I’m confident she’ll enjoy the compassionate version even more.

Photo credit to Cara at Fork and Beans.

To celebrate yet another birthday, this time for my dear across-the-hall dormmate, I look forward to recreating Amie Sue’s (get ready…) Infused Chai Pumpkin Spice Fudge Bars with Maple Pumpkin Butter Frosting. Yeah. I know.

Photo credit to Amie Sue at Nouveau Raw.

I hope you all can fill your weekends with a plethora of vegan goodies, as well! To conclude, I’ll leave you with a couple photos of a rather spooky, quite intriguing hollowed tree I discovered today after class.

 

Happy Vegan MoFo!

Until next time, Ali.