Red, White & Blue FAT FREE Vegan Muffins You Must Try!

It's time for a recipe post, no?  For at least 12 years, every Tuesday, Great Harvest Bakery in Boulder, Colorado bakes the most insane bread you've ever indulged in.  I'm not saying it's healthy, but damn! is it worth the splurge.  When we were DIRT poor (grad school anyone?) and living in Boulder I would make sure I set aside $8 (gasp*#!@) every couple weeks just so I could walk over and grab a loaf.  Yes, it was worth the penny jar.  

R,W & B Bread is the perfect white bread with cherries and blueberries.  That's it.  

Total perfection.  Complete bliss in every starchy, carby bite.  

Heaven. 

I've known visitors to pack a loaf or three in their suitcase to take home.  

The jones was so bad this morning that I decided it was worth an attempt at vegan, no oil, customizing a favorite non-vegan blueberry muffin recipe.  Eureka!  It worked and the kids nearly finished off the batch straight out of the oven.

You're welcome.

Red, White and Blue Fat Free Vegan Muffins 

(fresh blueberries, dried sweetened tart cherries* or currants)

18 muffins - grease muffin tin first.  350* 20-25 min.

Prep:

Soak 1/3c. dried Sweetened Tart Cherries, chopped roughly, in 1/2C. of warm water (save the water!!) while you measure & mix the following:

Dry:  Mix well 

• 2 1/2C White Flour OR 1 1/2C White + 1/2C Millet & 1/2C Tapioca Flours (OR try another GF blend?)
• 3/4 C Cane Sugar (less if you wish, but try the recipe first and adjust on your second batch:-)
• 4t Baking Powder (1T + 1t.)
• 1/2t Salt
• zest of one Orange or Lemon (optional)

Wet: Mix well

• 1/3C mashed Banana with a splash of water added - fork mash it until very smooth {oil substitute}
• Vegan Buttermilk - that is, 3/4C sweetened Non-dairy Milk w/ 1t. of Lemon Juice or Vinegar blended in
• 1/4C blended Chia Seeds (blend in coffee grinder 20 seconds until powdered) whisked into your reserved Cherry water (set aside cherries)  {This is your extra nutritious egg substitute}
• 1C fresh, rinsed Blueberries

Mix the dry and wet ingredients except for the berries/cherries. If the dough is really dry** add splashes of water until it’s gooey & shiny, but sticks well to a spoon.  It should not be runny,  nor too dry. Gently fold in blueberries and chopped cherries.  Drop by spoonful into greased tin filling each cup about 2/3s full.  You should easily get 18 muffins.  Bake and stick knife in center to test for doneness.

CHOW!  

Caveat - these are definitely better the second day when the flavors have blended.  I dare you to find a hiding spot where the fam won't find them.  They freeze very well.  Great in sack lunches when packed in a container to avoid the smoosh.

* I find dried, sweetened tart cherries at my natural grocery store in the bulk section (Natural Grocers Vitamin Cottage)

**(millet/tapioca flours and chia seeds will do this as they really soak up liquid)

Now, get on with your happy self.  EAT MORE PLANTS, PEEPS!

Be Green, Eat Green, Wear Green.  

Best Bean Soup Ever

So, I have this crazy 2nd cousin named Zeke whom is famous in the family for many things among them that he's raced the legendary Gumball 3000 road rally through Europe and crewed a boat in The America's Cup during the early '80s.  Zeke's a character, you might say and beloved by all.  

He also happens to have created the world's best black bean soup recipe, at least in my book.
Have at it!  Warning - it makes a huge pot, so if you don't plan to eat if for a week or feed a crowd, cut in half:-)  It takes less than 1/2 hour to make - bonus!

Zeke's 20 Minute Black Bean Soup

5 - 15 oz cans Black Beans, drained (can substitute red or kidney beans for some)

5 C. Chicken or Veg. broth

2T. Olive Oil

2 Onions, minced

3-5 cloves Garlic, minced

1T. Cumin

3-5 - 16oz cans Hominy (white or yellow)

1/4 C. Worcestershire

1 1/2 t. Tabasco

1 1/2 t. Salt

OPTIONAL toppings/sides:

Cilantro and or/ Avocado, Sour Cream 

Tortillas, Tortilla Chips or Cornbread

• Puree 1/2 of your beans and 1 can of Hominy in a blender.  
• Sauté onion and garlic in the oil until clear.  Add everything but the serving items.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer a minimum of 10 minutes but no more than 30.  Quicky soup!
• Serve with toppings of choice

Delicious Fat Free (Vegan) Greek Chickpea & Olive Soup

I haven't made this in years but boy was it worth the wait!  In fact, so worthwhile I had to share.  The flavors are complex and tangy and besides, when do you ever have olives... in a soup?  Try it!  
It's so easy to make and with minimal ingredients which is necessary for our busy lives, no?   

The original, non-vegan, recipe was from April 2004 Food & Wine magazine which I used to LOVE, but since it is nothing close to vegetarian (organ meats anyone? No THANKS.)  I have let the subscription lapse:-(  

TANGY GREEK CHICKPEA & OLIVE SOUP
1 Chopped large Onion
Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
4C. Vegan Chicken Stock or Bouillon
2 - 15oz cans of Chickpeas or 1 can Chickpea and 1 can Large Butterbeans (as shown here)
4T. Lemon Juice
2t. Dijon Mustard
3/4C. Chopped Parsley

Serve with Green & Kalamata (or whichever you prefer) Olives on top!

Directions:  Saute the onion in the juice of one of the cans of beans - {ha! a fat-free sautéing trick I bet you didn't know?} for about 7 minutes until soft.    Stir in the Red Pepper, stock and canned beans  (drain the second can first).  Simmer for 20 minutes and then add the last three ingredients and serve with the olives.  Fantastic!  

(NOTES:  I like the can of butterbeans because they are sweeter and very starchy - good comfort food.  I have used both the mix of green & black olives, and just kalamata olives as shown here and it's spectacular both ways.  This is a great summer soup too because it's good even when just barely warm)

Organic Food Really IS Better 4 U

HA!  Finally the organic farmers of the world - backyard variety on up - are vindicated!  It is now proven that organic food is considerably higher in antioxidants & flavanones and MUCH lower in pesticide residues.

BUY ORGANIC.

(I don't know why the eggplants - they're just cool I guess:-)

Veggie Burgers in France? Bon Apetit!

Even the French have caught on to the culinary delights of the not-so-humble veggie burger!  What is going ON in the world??
It's nothin' but a good sign that the land of fromage and charcuterie has gotten hip to the vegan trend. 

If you want to read vegan news from France look no further than the blog My Vegan Parisian Adventure.  Love it!  (photos courtesy of the blog]

I'm getting hungry for a juicy, flavor rich veggie burger lunch and I might  just dream of Paris while eating it....

Cultured... Vegetables?

It's true.  Vegetables can achieve a sophisticated level of cultural savvy too; who knew?  And it just so happens they are very good for une bonne digestion, no?  Read on...

As the dog days progress every summer I get pangs of 'Grandma's ranch in Napa Vally nostalgia' and pine for her pantry busting out in home-canned peaches, cherries, home made grape juice and strawberry jam.  I romantically dabble with the idea of canning and freezing like a good little housewife of old.  

And then reality hits.

But pine no more!  I found a quick and dirty substitute - ferment (or culture, or pickle if you prefer the term) your own vegetables.  In keeping with the probiotics rage among us you've probably heard fermented foods like sauerkraut and kim chi are a good way to boost your intake of the cute little cooties that keep your belly happy, happy, happy.

 

Click here for the easy peasy directions you need to ferment away in your own kitchen.

 

I

Mine came out DELICIOUS, albeit a wee bit too salty.  I chose the vegan version without whey, just salt, and here's what I fermented -

2 garlic cloves
20 peppercorns
Chunks of:  Red Peppers, Celery and Carrots
Covered the top with leaves of Purple Cabbage
1 1/2T of sea salt - which I will reduce to 1 T in the future (too salty)

Verdict - the peppers, cabbage and celery were amazing but I found the sweet/salty combo of the carrots off putting.  Next time I will increase the fermentation time to 7 days ( I only did 5 because its very warm in our house - Houston, you know) and still try a few carrots.

Cheers to a happy digestion!

Green Goddess-y Zucchini Hummus

Most novice gardeners make the mistake of planting too much zucchini and are so SICK of zucchini everything by August they never want to plant the stuff again.  Has this ever happened to you?  Guilty!  If you need to use up some zucchini, or even not - here's a fabulous recipe I swiped from the only truly evolved, health-aware grocer here in southern Houston - Erma's - whom placed it out for sampling one day a while back.  Even my 10-yr-old son, whom won't touch hummus with a 10 foot pole, declared it delicious!  Go figure. 

 One note - in my trademark haste I neglected to "drain excess water" and ended up with a "dressing", or cold soup.  I poured some over salad the 2nd time I ate it and decided it's my new staple dressing:-)  Who needs bottled stuff w/ MSG and god-knows what other additives?  The addition of 1/2 an avocado would transform it into a spectacular raw Green Goddess-y concoction, don't you think?  Gonna try it....

Zucchini Hummus

2 chopped zucchinis
1/3 c. tahini
4Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 minced clove garlic (I used 2 - yum!)
Handful fresh parsley
1 tsp. sea salt
(optional as mentioned above - 1/2 peeled avocado)

Blend only zucchini in a high speed blender.  For hummus - drain off excess water before adding the remaining ingredients and blending again.  For dressing - omit the draining phase and blend everything at once.

Nutrition Info:  2TBS. = 1 serving
calories - 44.1
fat - 3.8gr
carbs - 1.9g
protein - 1.3g
(recipe courtesy of Carolward99 - a SparkPeople user)

Enjoy in health!

The (UN)Sugar Coated Truth

The Hungry for Change website posted an article recently cautioning against sugar consumption for mental health reasons and it's very sobering.  A lot of us are sugar addicts aren't we?  Ugh.  Apparently it's no coincidence white sugar and cocaine are doppelgangers, eh?  Double ugh. 

New Year's Resolution ahead of schedule - Avoid Dessert.  Eat more fruit!

 Check the link for a larger version of this graphic, thank you.

Stoke, Stroke, Stroke Me - NOT!

 Silly reference to Billy Squier's song aside, here is a sobering bit of news:

Red and Processed Meats Increase the Risk of Stroke

"Red and processed meats increase the risk of stroke, according to a new meta-analysis published by the American Heart Association. Stroke risk increased 11 percent for each serving of red meat consumed as part of a person's daily diet, and 13 percent for each daily serving of processed meat. The study population included 329,495 people in Europe, Japan, and the United States. The likely explanations include meat's saturated fat, cholesterol, and heme iron, and the sodium and nitrites used to preserve and flavor processed meats."

Kaluza J, Wolk A, Larsson SC. Red meat consumption and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Stroke. Published online July 31, 2012.  From PCRM.org.

 So... anyone for Meatless Mondays?  And Tuesday, Wednesday.....

yummy rainbow of colors