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! Homemade Organic Sneaky Strawberry Applesauce

I just can't bear to buy those evil little PLASTIC containers of pre-made applesauce for my kids' lunches anymore.  The guilt was overwhelming once and for all:-(  Just buying a 6-pack every two weeks ads up to soooooo many little plastic bits that will never bio degrade, and recycling them just seems lazy when I can make my own 'sauce.  My family loves it with some sort of berries mixed in.

You will need a large sauce pan and blender.  I love my Vitamix because it completely purees out any chunkiness which my texture-sensitive children absolutely can't tolerate.

Sneaky STRAWBERRY APPLESAUCE:

• Clean and cut into 2" chunks an entire bag of Organic Apples - variety of your choice.  I used Granny Smith this time (which require more sugar as these are tart) but any variety works.  One bag will yield 6-10 servings depending on how big the serving size; approximately one serving/apple.
• Clean and remove tops of 6-8 strawberries or a handful of other mixed berries.
• Place everything into a big sauce pan.
• Simmer about 10 minutes with 1Cup of water.  If you prefer to eat raw, you can skip this step or shorten the time.  I prefer the carmelized flavor that comes about as a result of cooking with a bit of sugar.  
• Let cool as long as you have the patience to wait. 
• Scrape into your blender.  If it doesn't hold the whole batch, make sure you reserve some of the liquid for the second blending.  
• Blend until as smooth as you prefer.
• Sweeteners - here's where you can be as creative as you wish!  A bit of sugar is important as it acts as a preservative giving you a good 7-10 days in the 'fridge to finish off your batch - if it lasts that long;-)  I recommend sweetening to taste AFTER you blend the sauce, as you may not need any added sugar.  If your apples are tart you will need about 1/4c. of organic sugar or an equivalent liquid measure of agave, rice syrup, maple syrup, etc.  Here's the SNEAKY part - try some dates for extra nutrition (fiber, magnesium, B6) but blend them well so the brown bits disappear!  So - start by adding a couple tablespoons of your sweetener, blend and taste.  Repeat until it has the flavor you desire!

Pour into reusable containers* and dole out for lunches as needed.  If your sauce is not cool before you put the lids on - let them sit out for a bit otherwise the cooling lids contract so much in the fridge they may be too difficult for small hands to open.  

Cooling:

Kids Konserve containers from Reusit.com

*I happen to LOVE the stainless reusables from Kids Konserve which we ordered from a fantastic website called Reusit.com.  Unfortunately the lids are still plastic, but at least they are very hearty and you will get many, many years out of them before recycling.  They do leak a bit with some things so I bag them in baggies for extra protection (yes, plastic again:-( )  Reusit has a huge selection of every container you could ever need, including water bottles and bags.  

If anyone knows of a truly leak-proof container, please, please let me know!! Thanks. 

Cooked and cooling.  I feel like they are done with the skins start to fall off and the berries are fading, as shown, about 10 min. on low heat.

If you use red apples and/or more berries you will get a much prettier pink color than this.

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!

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.

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!

Dark Cocoa Hot Cocoa

Have you made yourself a cup of DARK hot cocoa yet?  If not, you simply MUST!  Remember the magical powers of Vianne's spicy hot cocoa in Chocolat?  Well... here's a delicious vegan version I made up:

RECIPE

2T. Dark Cocoa Powder*
Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper
Sprinkle Cinnamon
1T. Agave Nectar
1/2t. Stevia (optional - only if you wish it to be sweeter)
 8oz. Almond milk

Pour powder and spices in a small pan and wisk to break up the chunks.  Pour in milk and sweeteners and wisk on Med-High heat until ready to drink!
*If you're a devout chocoholic try 3T or more:-)

Enjoy.  Maybe even with a dollop of whipped coconut cream? 

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!

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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.

Indian Word for Vegetarian

Thrice in the last few weeks the jab "Vegetarian is an old Indian word for Lousy Hunter" has popped up.  Twice on bumper stickers (this IS Texas, dontcha know) and once on Facebook. 
I feel compelled to respond:

Maybe, but I sure would rather chop the head off of a lettuce than a cow.

What is Man Without the Beasts?

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

Guide to Humane Clothing Choices

Here at Jag & Nevie we have been Vegan-izing our business over the last year.  First, I went Vegan in a dietary fashion and then I've been working on weening 'self of a leather and cashmere habit.  I'm not there completely because I have an issue with non-leather shoes always falling apart too quickly, and we all know how important shoes are to one's well-being:-)  Plus, I LOVE crazy fashion shoes, not boring, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, dullsville, comfort shoes.  There I said it.

Being an environmentalist to the core I still believe recycling (up-cycling, salvaging, what-have-you) is better for the planet in the long run than simply NOT making any more cashmere sweaters, but I'm open to persuasion on this subject.  At this point I don't plan to make more upcycled cashmere sweaters....

With that in mind - here's a great article on what goes into making angora, cashmere, alpaca etc.  All of those being animal products, of course.  Read it and be educated, lovelies!

an Angora bunny - not a sweater

ALSO - a comprehensive list, courtesy of PETA (by way Healthy Bitch Daily) of of vegan clothing & shoe companies here.  I'm going to give it my best shot and try some of the shoes:-)