Fat Free, Dairy Free Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Do you tinker with recipes as much as I do?  There's always something that needs adjusting, no?
This very moist, cake-y pumpkin bread recipe was no different.  The original had buckets of sugar and not enough spices, so I fixed it and here you go:-)

FAT FREE DAIRY FREE VEGAN PUMPKIN BREAD

350* Oven   -     60-75minutes    -    Makes 2 loaves

Lightly oil your bread pans and set aside.

Mix together:

2 C. canned pumpkin (from 15 oz can)

1 C. unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana 

2 C. brown or cane sugar (you can use less if you wish to cut down further)

1 C. Water

Ener-G Egg Replacer for 4 eggs (or 4 flax seed meal 'eggs', i.e. 1/3C flax meal w/ 1/2C water)

Mix together:

3 1/3 C. flour

1 t baking powder

2 t baking soda

1 t nutmeg 

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t ginger

1/2 t cloves

1 t salt

Blend wet and dry well with a spatula and divide into the two oiled pans.   Sprinkle sugar or cinnamon/sugar mix on top. Bake in center of oven for about 75 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Let cool.  The taste is much better the second day.

Fat free means no nasty oil all over your hands and coating your precious blood vessels!  Next time I make this I think I will reduce the sugar by a full 1/2 C. and I'm sure no one will even notice.  Enjoy!

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)

Food! Fat Free Salad Dressing - I found a Goodie!

Another food post!  What's going on here?  I guess it's that the more I read and listen to podcasts (favorite right now: http://www.richroll.com/podcast ) the more I can't separate what I'm eating* from what I believe in from an environmental impact + fashion perspective.  And, I've learned I need to cut out fat due to cardiac concerns that run in my family (thank you, Dr. Esselstyn!).  

So - what can I use as salad dressing?   I don't like sweet ones and the only two I ever loved are Blue Cheese and Ranch (which, after living in Texas where pizza is dipped in it!!!!!!  I was so grossed out I couldn't eat that anymore.  It doesn't wash off plates very easily either - can you imagine what it's doing in your body? ugh.ack.yuck.).   

Fat Free Dressing?  Does it exist?  How can one live without olive oil???  Here's what I just invented, and it's pretty tasty on top of being nutritionally dense!

"Salty" Lemon Dressing

2T. Lemon Juice

1-2T. Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Shake or 3 of Maine Coast Sea Seasonings Dulse Flakes (yummy seaweed)

Shake or 3 of Toasted Black Sesame 

    Whip it together w/ a fork and pour over your salad.  Done. 

Here's why I like it - lemon juice aids in the absorption of iron and calcium from greens; Bragg's and Dulse add a sea salty taste without being refined salt; Bragg's is of course an amazing source of Amino Acids (meat, schmeat!);  sesame seeds (the wonder food!) add beauty, crunch, a gazillion minerals, fiber and an earthy sort of meaty flavor; Dulse Flakes are also mineral dense.   

There you have it!  Enjoy:-)

*BACK STORY:  I was raised vegetarian but went meaty in my teens believing the hocus pocus about "needing animal protein" but then, after reading Skinny Bitch 6 years ago I switched to a 95% vegan diet because I didn't have any legitimate excuses for eating animals anymore.  I struggle to this day completely avoiding cheese and ice cream, but I get better every month:-)  And better, the less dairy eat the better my skin and overall health/well-being.  

Brie, oh how I love thee, but thee lovest not me:-(

BEEEautiful Vegan Leather Shoes on Kickstarter!

There is a gorgeous new Vegan "Leather" shoe collection trying to gain traction on Kickstarter this month and you can help them out!  No One's Skin by Ivana Basilotta uses a grain & seed based "leather" that she developed with the shoe gurus in Italy.  Aren't they spectacular?

I can't wait to see the suede!

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:-)

Stay Healthy - Immunity Boosting Soup - RePost

Sniffles got you down? I'm fighting the good fight against the evil cooties brought home by the kids so I thought I'd share this again:-)

This soup is like a savory smoothie. It's fast, vegan and mostly raw. If you cook cruciferous veggies (like kale) and allium veggies (like onions), the nutrients are destroyed. But if you puree them together first, they chemically bind together making a superfood, as well as keeping all nutrients in tact even when heat is applied. It's delicious and cures a cold in no time!

What You Need

2 cups kale
1 cup vegetable stock (homemade is best)
1/8 of a cup of any variety of onion (I like green onions)
1 clove of garlic
1/2 of an avocado
1 tablespoon of white miso paste
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It

Blend all ingredients except the avocado and miso together in a food processor or blender for about five minutes until smooth and bright green. Add miso and avocado and heat through on the stove top. Or you can allow your Vitamix to heat the soup as it blends to retain live cultures in miso. Serve immediately. Variation: Add dandelion greens instead of kale when cleansing in the spring. Add half of a small cucumber and serve cold as a gazpacho in the summer.

*Recipe courtesy of Jessica at Glow Nutrition

I swiped this from my favorite naughty girls at Healthy Bitch Daily.   Now if I can get my sick-all-winter 10yr-old son to consume this.....

Who's Ecologically Illiterate?

Oh my friends!  This article in The Guardian hits right square on the head of the nail for us here at Jag & Nevie.  It is a personal pet peeve (pun intended) that animal rights are often the only Eco concern the fashion industry has and only because PETA makes such a fuss. While we uphold vegan values of course, it is the health of the entire globe that drives our machine, so I'm happy to see someone highlight the issue so succinctly.  It's short article, please take a gander.
KEY SNIPPETS -

"It's simply amazing how far we are from being a seriously ecologically literate culture." (Rebecca Burgess, author, textile artist and founder of The Fibershed Project in San Geronimo, California)

"In order to get mainstream society to react faster and stronger we have to show victims (people and animals) of planet abuse." (Sarina Saturn, assistant professor at the School of Psychological Science at Oregon State University)

River pollution from fabric dyeing

Love those bunnies and mink and beaver and cows and pigs, but love the trees and water and mountains and PEOPLE too.

Denim causes major eco problems

PASS IT ON!

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!

Announcing. . . U Pick U Design

How do you follow up the delicious, smoldering Edward?  How indeed.  Decidedly not possible; but you can wear him at any rate. . . 
We have created a new category in our Custom Order line - the U Pick U Design group.  We show the shirt and you chose whether you want it cut as a Tube Top or a Halter Top.  To your specific measurements, of course.

To begin with... here are a few of the shirts:

Pain & Suffering in Various Countries - back

The Best of Show and Tell - Vintage Chocolat - AGAIN:-}

Guess what lovely little surprise burst from my mailbox yesterday?

Yep!  Thank you, Eric from Vintage Chocolat, for the absolutely delicious vegan truffles! 

They're gone.  Already.  

My 10-yr-old dark chocolate lover voted 2-thumbs-up for the coconut because they have a wee bit of crunch.  I prefer the Vegan Bailey's (coconut milk-based fabulousness - who knew?) variety because, well, they're liquor laden and who doesn't love that, I challenge? We both loved that they aren't sickeningly sweet and we didn't feel a huge post-desert crash - big bonus.

Try some, you'll thank me later.

VEGAN Native American Foods Recipes!

(I'm re-posting this from an EtsyVeg post I did a few days ago...)
Do you love green chilis?  Do you know the Three Sisters of American Indian traditional foods?  If not... watch below, cook and EAT!

Corn, Squash & Beans - the 3 Sisters

The marvelous medical pioneers of health, The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has a section devoted to encouraging Indians to adopt a plant-based diet to combat their formidable diabetes numbers.  Using PCRM's Power Plate principles Chef Lois Ellen Frank, of Kiowa descent, does a marvelous demonstration on how to make No Fry bread with Three Sisters Saute and Green Chili Sauce to die for.   It's so quick and easy you can even make it on a "school night".  My kids LOVE this stuff.  Try it!

The recipes are at the bottom of the accompanying article.

Spread the love and re-blog, FB and Tweet this fabulous good stuff:-)

For all y'all gardeners - here's how you grow it from  the Sustainable North Florida website:

Chocoholic. Yep.

My 2pm dark chocolate craving really is a matter of National Security; if I don't get my little bite of the good stuff I'll bite off someone's head instead.  "Well Your Honor... I missed my chocolate dose and..."

 If you dare - search "vegan chocolate truffles" on Etsy....

Darkies with KAHLUA! Heaven on earth.

PB, Coconut, BAILEYS!  Choc+liquor oh my!

Furry Tail

Woody Harrelson has long been a voice for all things Vegan, and he's just come out with a clever new video in support of The Humane Society's anti-fur campaign.  Watch it!  It's not gruesome, really. Persuasive, yes, gory, no.
I'm still struggling to part with my gorgeous vintage 50s & 60s coats with fur collars:-/  It seems to me that wearing them is a way of honoring and extending the "life" of the lovely furry creatures that gave their lives before their time.  I still believe it is ecologically better to "use up" what we have than throw it away or just put it back into the thrift store cycle on this point.  Yes, I could donate the collars to wildlife rehab centers as I've posted about before, but I'm not there yet.
Anyone want to enlighten me further?  I'm open to discussion here:-)

time to part?

Holiday Fray - "Holi-Fray"

Take a deep breath.  Or three.  Think pretty thoughts.

from Healthy Bitch - Vegan Icing

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.

GivingThanks Day Recipes - Take 1

We don't have an entirely vegetarian Thanksgiving at our house, but we do come close. The carnivores revolt and we have ham or roast beef typically since Turkey isn't popular.  Not exactly traditional, but really it's about GivingTHANKS more than food, so who cares?!

I'll be making this!  Winter vegetables are the best.  I never met a squash I didn't like.  VegNews Publisher Joseph Connelly provides this one on their website:

Joe’s Roasted Winter Vegetables

Serves 6

What You Need:

2 large carrots
2 sweet potatoes
2 yams
2 parsnips
1 medium red onion, quartered
1 acorn squash
1/2 large butternut squash
12 Brussels sprouts
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh rosemary, to taste
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse all vegetables and cut into 1/3-inch pieces** (the Brussels sprouts can be left whole). In large mixing bowl, add vegetables, garlic, oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
2. Place vegetables in large, flat roasting pan and bake 45 to 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes, until tender. Serve immediately.    

** I think I'm going to leave my veggies whole like the Shutterstock photo above - beautiful!

1. 
   

No Trickery - It's a TREAT! Punkin' Pie Smoothie

Every fall I get all excited about Pumpkin Pie.  Next to cheesecake, it's my all-time favorite dessert, which I justify consuming by the boatload because it's so chock full of vitamin A which isn't all that easy to get:-}   Not unlike how wine is really just liquid antioxidants and resveratrol, no?

While I can't remember where I got the original recipe (probably Kris Carr ?!), and I can't even remember (thx for nothin', Moms'heimerz) the exact ingredients, here's how I made it and - - - LOOK! - the most delicious punkin' idea in ages - a smoothie.  I'm in HEAVEN.

So here's what you need to whip up this amazing, vitamin rich, Omegas loaded, vegan slurpee:

Punkin' Smoothie

• 1c. pureed pumpkin
• 1c. almond, coconut or soy milk
• 2 T. raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 T. chia seeds
• squirt of agave nectar or dash stevia
•  pumpkin pie spices to taste
• extra dash of ground cloves 
• nob of fresh, peeled ginger (as much as you can stand)

Blend until smooth in a Vitamix or blender.  Add ice cubes if you want it frosty.  The seeds thicken it up, so you may want to add more milk or water to thin it down - or use a spoon:-)

à votre santé!

 footnote - this is how much I love my old 50s linens.  I use them until the holes are too many and the colors so faded you can't even see the designs anymore.  Also shown is an art deco Candlewick water glass I inherited from my  great grandmother, Ruthie.  I am the luckiest girl in the world because she had a generous collection that I've been able to expand over the years.  It's such simple, elegant depression glass from the Imperial Glass Company made during the mid-'30s through the '50s.