Eat it ’til you like it!

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Today I came across an article about food psychology that might be of interest to those of you who are transitioning into a more veggie-filled lifestyle but find some of the staple ingredients kinda gross (e.g. tofu, mushrooms, dark greens, nutritional yeast). A lot of vegan recipes incorporate strong flavours and strange new things that seem to be an acquired taste for many people. The full article can be found here but the take home message, at least for me, was that we learn to like the foods that we eat.

This hit home because for many years I despised both mushrooms and olives until about 2006 when I decided to learn to like them. Mushrooms gave me the wiggins due to their extraterrestrial texture and olives were just too strong a flavour. My reasoning was that since I no longer ate animal products, there was no reason that I shouldn’t eat everything else the world had to offer. It took a little while but I basically ate olives and mushrooms in different dishes until I liked them. I now absolutely adore olives and cook with mushrooms on a regular basis. Although sometimes in certain dishes I can only have so many mushrooms before it’s too “mushroom-y” for me. Has anyone else experienced or done something similar???

Cabbage Patch

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Ever have one of those days where you find yourself with a fridge full of cabbage heads purchased not all that long ago, on a day when cabbage was on sale and you were feeling much more ambitious and creative? And since that day, they’ve just been sitting there staring at you all accusatory every time you open the fridge door, making “don’t let me go to waste” faces at you? Nah, me neither.

On a completely unrelated note, tonight I veganized this recipe from the NY Times. Paired with a salad of brown tomatoes, live boston lettuce and homemade balsamic vinegarette, this was a delicious choice for dinner. My partner added a touch of ketchup to it and it almost has a mac ‘n’ cheese type feel to it.

Cabbage and Red Pepper Bake

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Cabbage and Red Pepper Bake
Serves 4-6
Prep time 25 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Total time 1 hours, 10 minutes
Dietary Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type Main Dish
Website Veganized Recipe from the New York Times
Veganized cabbage and red pepper gratin recipe from the New York Times.

Ingredients

  • 1 Head (~6 cups) Cabbage (shredded)
  • 1 Medium Onion (finely diced)
  • 2 Red Peppers (small dice)
  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Fresh Dill (or 1 tbsp dried)
  • 1 teaspoon Paprika (smoked or sweet)
  • 1/3 Package Tofu (soft, medium or silken)
  • 2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
  • 1-1 1/2 heaped tablespoon Tahini
  • 1/2 cup Almond , Rice or Soy Milk
  • 1/2 cup Vegan Cheese (e.g. Daiya - half jack, half garlic jalapeno flavour)

Directions

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and oil a baking dish.
Step 2
Heat olive oil in a large, nonstick pan over medium heat. When heated, add the onion and cook until beginning to soften.
Step 3
Add the red pepper and cook until the pepper is soft and the onion is beginning to colour.
Step 4
Add the cabbage and spices. Cook until the cabbage begins to wilt. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for another 5 - 10 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Remove from the heat.
Step 5
Puree the tofu, tahini and nutritional yeast in a food processor until smooth.
Step 6
Stir the tofu, milk, and cheese into the cabbage until it is evenly distributed.
Step 7
Add the mixture to the greased pan and bake for 35 - 40 minutes until browned on top.
Step 8
Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Festival Season

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It’s that time of year again! No, I’m not referring to Spring (especially since it still feels very much like Winter outside), I’m talking about music festival season!  The festival of my choice this year is Lollapalooza and I could not be more excited to return to Chicago for a week in August.  Here are some of my desired festival items for this year.  What are some of your festival necessities?

Festival2013

Fun with Butter

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So tonight I was wrestling with the age-old question – how can I make steamed veggies exciting again. I toyed with the idea of sauces but the idea of turning on the stove and dirtying another pan just seemed so … unappealing for a Monday night task. So I decided to experiment with making compound butter. Compound butter is basically just a fancy way of saying butter with flavourful stuff in it. It’s fairly easy to make (depending on what you’re putting in of course) and very impressive once finished. That’s my kind of foodstuff.

Spicy Garlic Compound Butter

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Spicy Garlic Compound Butter
Dietary Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Misc Pre-preparable

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter (I used 1 pre-packaged Earth Balance stick)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 Heads Roasted Garlic
  • 1/4 tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes (or more, depending on your taste)
  • 1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley (chopped)
  • ~1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest (to your taste)

Directions

Step 1
Roast 1 to 2 heads of garlic, depending on size and how garlic-y you want your butter to be. I pre-roast my garlic ahead of time so it's always ready when needed. I roast multiple heads at once and let cool. I then squish the cloves into ice molds and let freeze. Then I pop the cubes (or in this case, skulls and bones) into a freezer bag for later use.
Step 2
Butter Ingredients
Partially melt the butter in a bowl and add in the chopped parsley, roasted garlic and spices.
Step 3
Butter Mixed
Stir to combine and let cool if the butter is a bit runny.
Step 4
Butter Rolled
Put the butter mixture onto plastic wrap (or wax paper or parchment) and fold the plastic wrap over the butter. Shape it however you like and then twist to seal the ends.
Step 5
Stick in the fridge until cool and firm.
Step 6
Serve with some steamed veggies (or just about anything else) for a little kick!

Just a quickie.

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Tonight has been a lazy night – full of books, wine and internet hilarity. Amongst the nonsense, I happened across a helpful article/infographic about food cravings and wanted to share it with everyone out there who is striving to make healthier choices. As an added bonus, it comes in the form of a pretty picture. Enjoy the link to What Your Food Cravings Really Mean and let us know what you think!

 

Hellooooo out there!

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Hello everyone, long time no write. March was a busy month for Laura and I but we’re back! Consider it our March break. :) This afternoon I had a wicked craving for the lemon chicken (faux of course) at the Vegetarian Gourmet Restaurant hidden in Markham. Unfortunately, since my partner is allergic to both gluten and corn, the delicious seitan dish would have to wait. Why didn’t I just sneak out before he got home you ask? Well dear readers, although tempting, I figured it would be a better choice to make a lighter and healthier version. And it offered another chance to use my super fun new citrus juicer. It’s much more efficient than using a fork and it makes for awesome cocktails.

Lemon Tofu and Veggies

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Lemon Tofu and Veggies
Dietary Gluten Free, Vegan
Meal type Main Dish

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cups Vegetable Broth
  • 1/2 cup Agave Nectar (or sugar)
  • 1/4 cup Lemon Juice (fresh)
  • 1/3 cup Arrowroot Powder (or cornstarch)
  • Lemon Zest (to taste)
  • 3/4 cups Ponzu
  • 1/8 cup Braggs
  • 1 Block Extra Firm Tofu (cut into cubes)
  • 1-2 Red Pepper (cut into small chunks or strips)
  • 1 Large Onion (cut into small chunks)
  • Handful (each) Button Mushrooms and Okra (cut into 1/2 or 1/4, depending on size)
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ginger (fresh)
  • Pepper (as needed)

Directions

Step 1
Drain the tofu and press as much of the water out as possible. I find it helps to slice it and then press the slices with a paper towel or tea towel.
Step 2
Marinate the tofu in the ponzu and Braggs and set aside.
Step 3
In a small-ish bowl, mix the vegetable broth, agave, lemon juice, lemon zest, ginger and arrowroot until combined. Set aside.
Step 4
In a large pan, heat oil on a high heat. Once heated, add the onions, peppers, okra and saute. After about 2-3 minutes add the mushrooms and reduce the heat to medium. You could really add any veggies here, this is just what was in the kitchen at the time :)
Step 5
Once the vegetables look cooked through (or almost), add the tofu and the lemon sauce and stir until it coats the veggies and tofu. Turn off the heat and let the sauce thicken a bit while it cools slightly. Add broth to thin the sauce if needed.
Step 6
Add a splash of ponzu on top and Enjoy!

Weekend Breakfast

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This weekend I experimented with making vegan pancakes.  It was surprisingly easier than I thought and these blueberry pancakes turned out better than I had expected.  They’re a quick and delicious breakfast option when you wake up on the weekend craving something sweet.

Blueberry Pancakes

Print recipe
Blueberry Pancakes
Dietary Vegan
Meal type Breakfast

Ingredients

  • 1.5 Tablespoon Earth Balance (Melted)
  • 1/2 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
  • 1 Egg Replacer I used Bob's Red Mill (Mix 1 teaspoon BRM egg replacer with 3 teaspoons water)
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 Cup Flour
  • 3 Teaspoons Raw sugar (Optional - but it make's the pancakes really sweet and delicious!)
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/4-1/2 Cup Fresh Blueberries

Directions

Step 1
Mix egg replacer with water in bowl and set aside for 5 minutes
Step 2
In a medium size bowl mix together Earth Balance, baking soda, baking powder, almond milk, vanilla extract, and raw sugar. Mix well.
Step 3
Add egg replacer to bowl and mix well.
Step 4
Add flour and blueberries and mix all ingredients together.
Step 5
Heat large frying pan over medium-high heat. Do not add pancake mixture until pan is hot
Step 6
Place 1/4 cup measurements of the mixture in the pan, heat for about 3 minutes on each side. Flip when mixture has solidified and before it burns.
Step 7
Place on plate, add Earth Balance to the top on each pancake and drizzle with maple syrup.