Beverage Bonanza!

First off, I want to apologize for being away so long. I've been avoiding it for reasons I will explain... at a later date...

Now that I'm back, however, I figured I'd begin with a few of the fastest recipes ever: drinks! This will be a short post, as I don't know how long I can ignore the batch of homemade sauerkraut calling me from my stove top, but never fear! I shall return- and with more recipes, of course!


Let start with my current favorite for these HOT summer days, yes? I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in early October, so I really needed something that would keep me hydrated & full of electrolytes, but that didn't taste like syrup (I'm looking at you Gatorade/Powerade. SYRUP.) Something fresh, & with tons of, well, for lack of a larger vocabulary, "FANTASTA-AWESOMENESS." Yes. All caps, that's what I was wishing for. I've always been a fan of the watermelon-mint combination, so I started there. I use an electrolyte drink mix, that was apparently used to fuel the Daedelus Project*. In case you're not into orange, they do have a lemon-lime flavor. I use either, really. Just depends on my mood.
I still can't decide how exactly I feel about this guy. It's impressive that he was able to do it, but who decides to fly in a flimsy little plane to see if he can beat a human-powered flight record? Call me no fun... but I have no interest in normal planes, which are statistically safer.

Watermelon- Mint Icey

1 cup filtered water
1 cup frozen watermelon chunks
small handful of fresh mint
1tsp Vivix
2 tbsp Performance, Orange flavor
1/2 tsp stevia (optional)

All ingredients into the pot! Ok, blender. Blend it, drink it, love it. The end.

*"Daedalus Project (1988)
Shaklee Performance was designed under the guidance of Dr. Ethan Nadel of Yale University to fuel a record-setting pedal-powered flight of a man-made airplane - the Daedalus Project, a 72 mile human powered flight between the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini. Kanellos Kanopoulos had only one fuel during his record-breaking flight: Performance, the maximum endurance sports drink developed by Shaklee. " -From Shaklee's sports nutrition PR page


Recipe #2: Literally a meal. I have it at least once a week for breakfast, my mother has been known to have it for lunch. Heck, I've probably had it for both... in one day... Seriously, though- who doesn't love multi-tasking? It's breakfast AND your caffeine. I just solved your morning crunch time. You are welcome.



Coffee Milkshake


8 oz cold coffee (use the leftover from yesterday, leave in fridge overnight)
8 oz soy, coconut, or almond milk (sometimes I get crazy & use rice milk! ooo!)
cup o' ice
2-3 scoops 180, Cafe Latte flavor
optional for creaminess: 1/4 avocado OR 1/3 frozen banana

Again, put all ingredients into a blender, blend, drink like a mad-person on your way to work, vet appt, soccer game, birthday party, you name it. Arrive jazzed as all get out because you feel uh-may-zing.

Recipe #3: Another one of those meal in a milkshake recipes. There may be a lot of these. They've been a long time coming- Remember all of those months I was away? yeah. I was nursing my way back to health & happiness with these babies. Now I've gotten around to sharing. The one below is my mister's favorite. He will wake me up at 6am to ask me to make one for him. If I don't, he will ask me to make it after our mid-afternoon run. He might have a mild addiction to them. I can't say I'm too worried. Better than the 20 gazillion alternatives that are infinitely worse! :)


Cinnamon- Vanilla Milkshake

1 cup non-dairy milk (he likes coconut-almond milk best)
1 cup ice
2-3 scoops Vanilla 180 mix
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract, optional (just on fancy days)

Third time, can you guess? Blend it! Blend it all! If you're my mister, it will be gone in less than 15 seconds. Le sigh.


In other news... I realize I haven't given any of you any links to the blogs I frequent! This is about to change.

I am leaving you this evening with a fantastic summer dessert idea, which I will be making this week. I am about to pee my pants in anticipation. The creator of this recipe, Mirriam Sorrel, just published her first cookbook, Mouthwatering Vegan. I can. not. WAIT. for my copy! She's brilliant. Raw Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Can't help it, here's another one of her recipes. Pretty sure I'll end up making them the same night, for a ladies movie night, perhaps? Yes, I think this needs to happen. Even if "Ladies Night" ends up meaning me & mr. mister in our pjs in front of a Netflix marathon on The Magic School Bus. (Don't lie. You'd be jealous.... Now that I have that in my head it might be an intentional eventuality...)Ahem. The pizza for said night. yes, here: "Extra Cheesy Peppered Nutty Pizza Fest"

The New Best Gumbo

While exceedingly sleepy, I am absolutely drawn to share this newest of my gumbo recipes with you all. Remember, this is only because I love you. ALL of you. Let me apologize in advance, there is every likelihood that I will do any/all of the following in this post: ramble, dillydally, and be all around nonsensical. It's how I am when I'm this sleepy.) And don't blame me. Blame the roofers who, for some INSANE reason, decided to ignore ALL of the weathermen going "There is a 100% chance of rain all night & all of tomorrow!" Apparently they decided to believe the weathermen after it'd be raining for a full 8 hours, at which point it occurred to them that the roof of my building needed to be covered, so I wouldn't have a swimming pool for a home. Even for a barista, 3AM is too early. Ahem. What was I saying? Oh. right. Gumbo.

Delicious *cough*& secretly nutritious*cough* Gumbo

1/4c flour
1/4c evoo & vegan butter mix (I use about 1T Earth Balance & the rest EVOO)
1 Large Onion, roughly diced
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
7 (or so)stalks celery (enough to be equal to the amount of onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot
2 large or 3 med tomatoes, chopped (or 2 cans stewed tomatoes)
1 pkg soy chorizo (non-GMO, again. Trader Joe's has a great version!)
6 cups water
2 vegetarian bouillon cubes (I use Edward & Son's brand "Not Chik'n"
1 tsp Thyme
oregano
dash crushed red pepper
Salt & pepper
2 Cups Basmati Rice, cooked
1 Cup Brown Rice
1 pkg frozen whole okra
1 package organic non-gmo sweet corn

In a large soup pot, heat "butter" and oil until melted & hot, add flour. Cook, stirring often until roux becomes a little darker in color, but before it is burnt! If you burn it... just don't. You'll be sad, the gumbo will be sad & all of the people who eat it will be sad. This is not a "oh it'll be fine. I like a little charcoal flavor" moment. I'm surrounded by people who seem to love the taste of burned food, and no, they don't like this. Moving on...

Once your roux is appropriately and happily browned, add in the onion, peppers, carrots and celery. Cook about 5 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients except for the rices, okra and corn. Let it simmer for oh, until the house smells so good you're willing to forgo taste-buds for the remainder of the week in order for some sweet delicious instant gratification... in my house it went about 25 minutes. Add in the okra and corn, cook for 5 more minutes and then serve over your rice mix. Don't anticipate leftovers.

Note: If you want to get extra fancy, try some (soy-free! GF!)vegan shrimp from Sophie's Kitchen. One of my favorite vegan alternatives. A quick google search brings up a fellow blogger's review of them, as a matter of fact! I put these things on everything and eat them plain BEFORE I get them on whatever they are planned for... What? I'm impatient, Ok? No one's perfect. I do what I can, but the foods! It just has a power over me that nothing else does! :) It's healthy? I eats it. It's cruelty free? I eats it. It's delicious? I eats it. All of the above? No need for questions. You know where this is going. (and if you don't, you need more sleep than I!)

Speaking of which, I have no idea of the time, and it is finally silent out. Honestly, I'm amazed I made it through without passing out on my keyboard. Sweet dreams, vegan shrimp dreams to all and to all a delicious night... <3

Fish Family Favorite

Growing up in New England, I like to pretend that my love of seafood and the ability to cook it just happened naturally. I was incredibly lucky to hear the waves outside my window as I drifted to sleep when I was young, and equally as lucky to have truly fresh seafood on a regular basis. My Mr. was not so lucky. Sure, he's had really fresh seafood! Just not as frequently and consistently as I. He's named of a few times that he and his father went fishing on the East coast. On those occasions, which I can count on one hand, they managed to catch some poor innocent fish and proceeded to savagely cook and eat the scaly dears. I say it this way because, let's be honest, I'm a tiny bit jealous. OK! I'm very jealous. I've been on fishing trips, but I'm just not clever enough to catch anything. I do better with cooking things than catching them. If I lived before the time of grocery stores, I'd surely be a vegan.... or dead. I think I'm glad I don't have to go out and literally hunt for my daily meals. Anyhow! Whilst musing over our fish- related pasts, Mr. went about his computer-ing and I created a new recipe without meaning to. After tasting the result, he promptly dropped his fork, scooped me up and shook me around like a life-size ragdoll, all the while yelling "THIS IS WHY I MARRIED YOU AND I DIDNT EVEN KNOW YOU COULD DO THIS!!! WHAT IS THIS?! WWHITEFISH?! HOW DID YOU MAKE IT TASTE SO GOOD?! I LOVE IT! I NEED YOU TO MAKE THIS FOREVER!" I think I reacted rather well for the circumstance. If you know us personally, you've probably fallen off your chair by now. I want to know what our poor neighbors think about us. No, actually I don't. We're probably horrible to live near. We're both loud anyway, but if we get excited about anything the volume inevitably skyrockets. I'm sorry neighbors. We don't mean to. ~Lemon Ginger Braised Whitefish~ 1'peice of fresh ginger, minced 2 large cloves garlic, minced 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil 3-4 Tablespoons Lemon juice pinch o' salt 2 large fillets whitefish (literally whitefish, or flounder, or tilapia) parsley for garnish. Heat the ginger, garlic, Olive oil, lemon juice and salt in a skillet. Once liquid starts boiling, add fillets to the pan and cook about 4 minutes, then flip. Cook another 3 minutes and VOILA! I've been making this at least once a week. It's a super light, healthy dish, and yet served with rice and heaping pile of greens? Super satisfying. It's just a happy dish in pretty much every way. Til next time :)

Curious Cupcakes

And by "cupcakes" I mean muffins. I think? I mean, they're sort of halfway between the two? its like carrot cake for breakfast... except healthy... and also, they don't look like cupcakes at all, since they come in a little round bite-size package. :D I adapted this recipe from two recipes I found (one from Bodyrock.tv, and the other from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch). I brought the results of my first attempt at these in to a friend about, oh, 3? 4? months ago? She kept at me to give her the recipe until she gave up hope in my feeble goldfish brain. She'll probably think she's hallucinating when she finally sees the recipe, written out, just for her. (It's O.K. friend! It's all real!) Now then. I need to get to the gym so I can continue to eat all the confused cupcakes that my bottomless pit of a stomach can handle! Curious & most Confused Cupcakes: 1 cup oats, ground into oat flour 2 cups almond meal 3 tsp baking powder 4 TBSP honey (or agave) 4 TBSP coconut oil 1 cup carrots, cooked & mashed chopped nuts (almonds & walnuts are my favorite) Mix all ingredients until uniform. Roll into balls, about an inch in diameter. Bake for about 25 min at 350 degrees. cool. Eat. Yummmmmmm. Note: Instead of carrots, I like to use the pulp from my juicer. I actually freeze the pulp & defrost it when I'm making a batch of these little guys. I don't bother cooking it. I just toss it on in (1-1& 1/2 cups). Bonus: The nutrients aren't cooked out or ruined by the heat from the water this way either! These are awesome for pre- & post-workout snacks by the way! (I will upload a picture the next time I make these. So... hopefully tomorrow.)

End of an Era

Growing up, I ate more meat than the average tiger. No, really. (Remember my previous post explaining how I was able to gum a pork chop to death before I had teeth?) My mother did her best to keep my insatiable appetite at bay, and for the most part she did (kudos!). I honestly to this day have no idea how I did not gain weight like a football player. I certainly ate like one.

I would always enjoy the fatty peices best. You know what I mean. Salty- crisp skin off of fried chicken. Bacon. Grilled pork chop fat. I lived for the fattiest, saltiest, meatiest (is that even a word? oh well, it is now) meats that I could get my skinny little hands on.

I remember returning home from high school and, deciding I needed a snack, consumed an entire one pound package of keilbasa. I should probably add that this was not after an intense workout, or even a stressful day. Oh, and this happened more than once.... by which I mean ALL OF THE TIME.


My mother has always been a bit anemic, so I just figured I was, too, and needed the protien and the iron. I never thought it was a problem, and happily continued to eat massive quantities of delicious, salty, fatty, amazing meat.

... which brings me to the point of this post. As of this year, I am going to find alternative sources of protien, iron, etc. I plan to become (gulp/ deep breathe) vegetarian.

*insert freak out here*

While this was never even in close to being a possibility at any point in my past, it is now reality. I've been doing entirely too much reading (and listening, and documentary watching, and so on) to ethically/morally continue to eat in the same manner as I previously have. For health reasons, I've realized my consumption of meat needs to decrease if I want to have fully functioning organs when I'm 40.

Don't worry, not all is lost. I will still post all my new recipes as well as old recipes that I have re-worked. There are a number of recipes which I still need to post as they are, meaty deliciousness and all. I mean let's face it: just because I'm not eating meat doesn't mean you won't be. Let me at least help you make that meat tasty. :)

In all honesty, I feel like I'm breaking up with someone. The best someone ever, who was faithful and loving for 20 years and suddenly left me for E.Coli, and, it turns out, is a liar, a fake and super fraudulent, and violent to boot. Sad face.

Don't get me wrong here.

I still love you, Meat. I think part of me always will. I just think it won't work out between us. It's not you... it's me... I think? I don't even know anymore. I'm just confused. I don't even know who you've become. It's just not the same as it was before, when I was young, and you together, the world seemed to be without limits. Now I feel like the world gets a little darker each time I learn something new about you.....

Anywho. Back to you. I'll make sure to let you know what sort of recipe I'm having you try. All I can promise is that I have tried and loved whatever I'll be posting.

much love,

~ new age hippie treehugger gone wild

The Weekend Trip...

This weekend I got to play with my food. Unfortunately, in my excitement to eat the results, I forgot to take pictures of the beautiful goat cheese, tomato and garlic ravioli I made from scratch. This means I'll just have to make some more!

I also had a day trip to the not-so-local Findlay Market, where farmers sell their fresh produce at absurdly low prices and immigrants living their own American dream sell their amazing goods- be it perfectly crafted sausages or delectable gyros that can satisfy anyone's "oh crap i'm in a food store and forgot to eat breakfast" hunger. Andrew & I bought 3 of these gyros, thinking we'd have the third as a back-up if once of us was still hungry. Neither of us finished our first gyros.

At the meat counter (Kroeger & Son's Meats) I settled on 6 different sausages to sample. This included creative varieties, (such as the "Reubenwurst" which is made with corned beef and saurkraut and bound with 1000 island dressing and "Chicken Shiitake Mushroom") as well as a few traditional recipes (i.e. Bratwurst & Mettwurst). These little beauties are currently snuggly nestled in my refrigerator basket, just waiting for the day when I can enjoy them with mashed potatoes (recipe to come) or pasta.

We also enjoyed a few hours in the largest international market I have ever had the pleasure of setting my feet in! Jungle Jim's is a treat for me, as again, it is not nearby. This particular trip was in celebration of reaching a few goals I've been workign toward for the past 2 months. I was able to purchase almost everything I could dream of.... which I might add, is similar to the amount of food that it takes to feed a fully grown panda for a month.

I found myself nearly skipping down the aisles of honey, prancing around the arena of fresh produce, and oogling at the displays of every cut of every farm animal imaginable. Truly, I have found a little peice of foodie Heaven on Earth. I managed to keep myself under a reasonable level of control, given the deafening rejoicing in my head. I settled with fresh smoked salmon, imported prosciutto, and the most amazing salami I have ever tasted. I found lemongrass and nectarines, and stocked up on antipasti treats like whole Roman artichokes, caperberries, teriyaki marinated mushrooms, and a whole host of olives.

In the Asian section of the store, a young man was givign a demo on japanese noodles with vegetarian oyster sauce & sesame oil. I had a sample and decided I had to make it at home, adding vegetables to up the nutritional content. As I type, I am contentedly slurping up my experiment.

Japanese Stirfry with Noodles...

Water, for boiling
4 oz uncooked "Fusheng Dried Noodle" (a small handful)
2 Carrots, sliced thin
1/4 onion, diced
1/2 baby bok choy, stalks & leaves separated & sliced
4 green onions, chopped

3 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp oyster sauce

Bring water to a rolling boil, drop in pasta and cook until your preferred texture. I like mine al dente, but these are one of the few noodles that I will eat when very soft. Drain & set aside.

Heat 1 to 2 Tbsp oil in a fry pan & add all vegetables except for the bok choy leaves. Cook until tender, but still crisp- about 3 minutes. Add bok choy leaves and cook until wilted.

Put a serving of noodles in a bowl & add 1 Tbsp oyster sauce & 1 Tbsp sesame oil. Top with about 1/2 of the vegetables and mix until everything is evenly coated with the sauce. :)

Summer faves!

Seeing as the heat wave seems to finally be rearing it's ugly head, I thought I'd cheer myself up with some refreshing NO HEAT NEEDED food.

I will say that the Cucumber Dill Salad and Tabouleh recipes are adapted from dishes my boyfriend's mother makes for her family. I'll note the differences in case you'd like to try it her way for comparison purposes. :)



Cucumber Dill Salad

2 large cucumbers, sliced thinly
1/2 Cup sour cream
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese*
1/4 cup mayonnaise
small handful Fresh Dill, chopped
2 T minced dried onion**
1 T garlic powder
s & p, to taste

This recipe is really complicated. Are you ready?

Mix all ingredients (except cucumbers) in a bowl until homogeneous. Add cucumber and mix. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors blend. Enjoy.

PHEW! I thought I wouldn't get through that one! ;)

* I use mascarpone because it has a more mild and more buttery flavor than mayo. It is also healthier for you- 1/2 the calories, almost no sodium, a solid amount of protein and more nutrients.

**If you don't have minced dried onion in your pantry, don't sweat...

Actually, do sweat- Sweat 1/2 an onion (diced small) in a bit of butter until translucent and beginning to brown. For once I really do prefer the dried stuff, but this does just as well in a pinch :)

Tabouleh

large couscous*
strong chicken broth*
1 large cucumber
2 medium tomatoes
1 bunch scallions
1 bunch parsley
1/4 cup Lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup wheat germ
s & p to taste

Romaine lettuce, if desired

Cook the couscous according to the packaging instructions. Substitute the water with the strong chicken broth. Set cooked couscous aside to cool.

Dice the cucumber and tomatoes, making sure to keep the sizes the same throughout. Slice the scallions (we're using the entire scallion here- green & white parts. I know some people swear by one or the other, but I love the whole thing!)

Chop the parsley, discard the stems. In a large bowl, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, wheat germ and S & P. (Note: I tend to fudge a little on the lemon juice. I like my salad a bit more on the sour side, so sometimes the amount can creep up to 1/2 cup depending on my tastes for a given day.) Add in the veggies and herbs. Toss to coat. Add in the cooled couscous. Toss to coat, and VIOLA!

I love this salad as is, or served piled high on romaine leaves. Delicious either way!

*I like the couscous in my tabouleh, because it adds flavor and texture. Plus it makes the dish capable of stand- alone deliciousness, and needs no "main entree" to go with it. It makes the dish more filling, so the "rabbit fare" will go further. The recipe given to me did not have couscous, so try it both ways and see what your preference is.

Chicken Salad

1 store bought rotisserie chicken (regular flavor or a garlic/ onion is best. My warning: Do NOT use lemon-pepper seasoned for this recipe!)
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
3 T sesame dressing
1/4 cup craisins
1/4 cup sliced almonds
5 scallions, sliced

Remove all the meat from the chicken and chop it into bite size pieces. Put the chicken, along with the remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix. Delicious.

I switch this up sometimes, using raisins or grapes instead of craisins, walnuts instead of almonds, and onions and celery (cut very small) instead of scallions.

Pics of these to come...

Also!!! After an unfortunate lunchtime craving today, I've determined my next mission: to create a FAST solution to a lemon bar need. There has got to be a better option than tasteless microwaved processed lemon cake with a texture somewhere between an old sponge and damp cardboard... I resorted to chugging a can of cola to get rid of the taste, leading to yet another taste catastrophe. STOP THE MADNESS! >:-P