Category Archives: Vegetarian/Vegan

Aug 10 18 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Homemade Vegan Pizza; Inspiration

 

Vegan.Pizza_1.08.10.10.jpg

Vegan Pizza

I get the urge to create vegan dishes at the most inappropriate times. Today is an excellent example, In Maryland the temperature was 95 F, with the humidity it felt as though it were around 101 F. Guess who got the bright idea to make a homemade Vegan pizza.?  Yeah that would be me, crazy I know!

However around 12:00 pm, there I was in the kitchen getting ready to preparing a Vegan Pizza. I enjoy coming up with my own recipes, so last evening you could find me thinking aout the numerous vegetables and spices I could add to my veggie pizza (more on my pizza inspiration later.)

Fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, onion, mushrooms, rosemary, nutritional yeast, dark leafy greens, curry,  and mushrooms were all items I considered using. With the exception of the mushrooms, the remaining ingredients all found their way into the homemade pizza, along with a few more food items.

Salton Breadman Pro

Breadmakers make it easy

To make things a little easier on myself I pulled out my Breadman Pro and created a flavorful pizza dough. I love a crust that has a bit of flavor, but not so much that it overpowers the toppings on the pizza. What did I add to the crust? A small amount of rosemary (fresh from the garden), a tiny bit of curry (mainly for color), salt, olive oil, yeast, smidge of roasted garlic, and a few other spices I cannot think of at the moment. I know, I should have written this stuff down, but I didn’t.

What I enjoy about bread machines is I simply add my ingredients into the breadmaker and walk away until the cycle is complete. I’ve had this particular breadmaker for over four years. Although it doesn’t take the place of traditionally made pizzas & breads (at least not for myself) it speeds the process up tremendously and if you don’t care about traditionally made breads or pizza dough but love that down home taste, a bread machine might be a good choice.

Vegan.Pizza_2.08.10.10.jpg

Vegan Pizza: Hmm. It looks like dairy cheese, but it isn’t.

I’m not a big fan of store bought “vegan cheese.” Checking out the ingredients on a few of the Vegan cheese I’ve seen, has turned me off, since the ingredients weren’t healthy. I know I can eat good food that is delicious and is nutritious for me too. Why skimp on nutrition just to have a delicious meal? Sorry, I don’t think so. I’m still working on tweaking my cheesy version. Cheese isn’t something I miss when I made the switch to vegetarianism in 1992. I rarely make this “cheesy sauce.”. However, I’m happy with the results. It’s flavorful and a much healthier option then some of the products I’ve seen advertised.

One of the most enjoyable parts of making your own pizza is kneading the dough. At least, that is one of my favorite parts. My seven-year old daughter enjoys it too. I eagerly showed her the fine art of kneading pizza dough. She loved it. Once the pizza crusts were ready, she helped me add the numerous vegetable toppings. The only thing I didn’t make was the sauce, I selected a really nice pasta sauce, and added tomatoes freshly picked from our garden. I added a few additional spices. The sauce was amazing.

Pizza Inspiration

Perhaps  I should blame this on Suituapui? ;)  He’s the amazing man behind the fabulous foodie blog, Still crazy after all these years. Suituapui is an amazing storyteller, so prepare to be entertained while you read his foodie posts. No, Suituapui isn’t vegan, but I’ve received many ideas simply by reading and checking out the photos he shares with his readers.

In yesterday’s post, Suituapui, posted about a pizza restaurant his daughter and a few of her friends had visited, and gazing at the pizza photos he included had me craving for a good homemade Veggie Pizza. The only problem was it was late in the evening when I read his post, and I wasn’t about to make pizza, and so I mentally added that to my “To Do” list for today. On second thought, why would I blame him? My daughter and I had a blast making the Vegan pizza, and we enjoyed eating a few slices too. The best part is, there are leftovers. Suituapui, thanks for the inspiration!

If you enjoy food, and a good story definitely check out Suituapui’s virtual home. I’m always fascinated by different cultures and enjoy reading the foods they eat and getting a glimpse at traditions too. Suituapui gives me a taste of both at his virtual home. Even though his site is fairly popular he goes out of his way to make his visitors feel welcome, so stop on by when you have the chance and don’t forget to subscribe to his RSS feed.

Aug 01 14 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Sunday bonding time; Cooking with my daughter

 

Black-Bean-Burger-vegetable-Fried-Rice.08.01.10.jpg

 

Black Bean burger w/vegetable fried rice

As a child, Sunday’s was a day reserved to elaborate meals. For breakfast we could expect to see foods like sausage, bacon, eggs, grits, biscuits, and gravy. My mom usually supplied some type of fresh fruit, and vegetables too. She made everything from scratch, and so our breakfast meals, just like lunches, and dinners were an elaborate affair.

Naturally, my mother prepared Sunday breakfast early, so there’d was plenty of time for all of us to get ready for church. Sunday dinner was usually already in the oven; The aroma of baked turkey, ham, or chicken could be smelled throughout the house along with some type of vegetable dish (usually greens or carrots.) Although our family always ate meals together, Sundays were special since it was our parents day to relax. My brother and I looked forward to Sunday, since it meant we had extra time with our parents.

A lot has changed since my childhood days…

Savory Lentil soup

Savory Lentil Soup

I became Vegetarian in 1992, and switched to a Vegan lifestyle shortly afterwards. I’m what you’d consider a whole food Vegan, which means I eat as close to the natural food source as possible. You won’t find too many processed food items in our household. They simply don’t have the flavor and wholesome goodness of the abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit that are available.

 

Oven roasted vegetables

Oven roasted vegetables

Sundays are still a special day in our home. My seven year old daughter loves to cook, and I let her help me prepare a few of our meals. Even though I’m not making the traditional meals from childhood Sundays are still special for myself and my daughter, since I  let her share in the cooking experience. She also gets to choose some of her favorite foods. Makes sense, since she’s helping prepare them, right? It’s a great time for us to chat about food, nutrition, and whatever else crosses her mind.

The majority of my meals aren’t elaborate (even though I do love cooking) but they are still nutritious, simple, and delicious, and I prepare our meals and have them on the table withing twenty minutes. I love color, so you’ll see me picking a lot of bright and colorful vegetables and fruits in the meals I prepare.

We’re fortunate to have a garden bursting with produce, and so we’re always have a steady supply of fresh vegetables and fruits. Currently we’re getting a lot of eggplants, green onions, tomatoes, collards, kale, cucumbers, squash, blackberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, and figs. It won’t be too long before it’s time to pick the corn, sunflower seeds, grapes, and a few other vegetables that I cannot think of at the moment.

Today my daughter and I are taking it easy. Our meals were prepared yesterday, and so after arriving home from church we needed only to heat our meal. How’s that for convenience?  What was on our vegan menu? Black Bean burgers, vegetable fried rice, savory lentil soup, oven roasted vegetables, with green smoothies and freshly prepared fruit pudding were the choices available. Naturally, we didn’t eat all of that, but the option was there.

Question: How was your day? However, you spent your Sunday, I’m hoping you and your family is have a sparkling day!

 

 

 

 

Jul 19 7 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Very Berry Smoothie; A sipping drink for summer

From salads, soups, jellies and jams. The main star of a dish, or served as side order. Whatever role it plays in my kitchen, I enjoy fruit. I cannot get enough of them. They come in a perfect package, that in most cases is ready to eat.

When it comes to desserts, fruits are my dessert of choice, I normally eat them plain. They are the perfect food to have on hand when you don’t feel like cooking.

Ever had one of those days when you really don’t feel like cooking, or you’re so busy you don’t have the time to cook? Yesterday was one of those days. Although I did have the time to prepare a meal, I simply didn’t feel like making anything. Thankfully we had plenty of leftovers available. Just in case, I had chopped up vegetables and fruits standby in case we had an attack of the munchies.

Now that I think about it, I did make something yesterday, the Very Berry Smoothie!

Very Berry Smoothie

    • 3 cups of unsweetened apple juice, water, or ice cubes
    • 1 cup strawberries
    • 1 cup blueberries
    • 1/2 cup blackberries
    • 2 plums
    • 1 peach
    • 3 cups of dark leafy greens (I used a mix of collards and kale)
    • 1 tablespoon of spirulina

drop Spirulina into the liquid without touching it, or the spirulina will gum up the spoon

Directions

Combine ingredients in blender, blend, serve and enjoy!

*I prefer my smoothies to be very thick, however it if it’s too thick for you, just add more liquid.

Experiment

Of course, you can select your own fruit too, say you want a sweeter smoothie you could add a few cups of pineapple or mango to the blend. Do you like a slight tart taste? Toss in some a few kiwis. The beauty of smoothies is that you can add or take away the fruits that you don’t like and make your own personalized smoothie. Have fun, and experiment with your foods.

spirulina_powder.07.19.10.jpg

Spirulina powder
A few facts about Spirulina…

I was introduced to spirulina in the early 90′s. I was living in downtown Baltimore at the time, to be more specific I lived in Mount Vernon. The place had a Bohemian type vibe to it that I really enjoyed. I was introduced to a lot of things while living there, became interested in Aromatherapy, got aromatherapy certifications and really started experimenting with my own skin care products. I met some fabulous crunchy folk during my time there, and some of them gave me gushing reviews about Spirulina.

Spirulina is a blue green algae that thrives in fresh bodies of water, like lakes and ponds. Numerous research has been done about spirulina; it’s purported to contain a numerous health benefits for the body. If you can, try adding spirulina to your cabinet. Include it in your smoothies or sprinkle it over your food. It’s a great way to enhance the nutritional benefits of the foods you consume.

It’s loaded with nutrients that are good for our body. Spirulina is 60% protein, which is higher than any other food. It’s also the highest source of B12. Did you know it contains ten times more beta carotene than carrots? It also contains iron, vitamin E and a whole host of nutrients that I won’t discuss here. You can learn more by reading up on the health benefits of spirulina. That’s pretty impressive right, I call Spirulina a super algae. Since its health benefits blow me away, I make sure I keep it in stock.

This very berry smoothie made a fair amount; we didn’t drink it all. About half of the smoothie was used to make fruit popsicles. It’s a healthier choice than the majority of the empty calorie popsicles you see at the store. The smoothie is an excellent sipping drink for the hot days of summer.

 

Technorati Tags:
Moondancer, , , , ,

 

Jul 16 2 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Overnight soaking; Black beans

black-beans.07.16.10.jpgIf someone were to ask me what my favorite bean was, I imagine I would say Black beans.

I love a variety of beans. I keep a large variety of dried black beans in our hosue. Some of which have been dried from our own garden. I’m very proud of that. Black beans are the ones I use most. I love the bold black color, and the way it contrasts with the colorful vegetables I add to my recipes.

Of course, it’s an added bonus that black beans are so good for you too. Why do you think I like them? ;) Black beans are a great source of fiber, they are rich with antioxidants, and many other nutrients that I won’t mention here. But what about the gas? Depending on the dish I’ll add ginger, garlic, or fennel to combat this issue. They along with a few other whole foods are an effective way to prevent gassiness.

Earlier today, I mentioned I was craving lentils. I satisfied that craving by making a delightfully vegan savory lentil soup. Well, I’ve been craving black beans too. Earlier this evening, I set aside four cups of dried black beans to soak. Tomorrow I’ll cook them all in a large stock pot, set aside a cup, or two for some type of dish (I’m leaning towards grilled black bean burgers at the moment) and freeze the rest. I don’t use canned beans anymore, they simply don’t have the same flavor as dried beans. The frugal part of me, likes that they are cheaper to buy, and it’s fresher since the dried beans have recently been cooked.

The only drawback of cooking dried beans, is they take time to cook. That is, if you don’t have a pressure cooker. Crockpots come in handy in this instance since you can put your beans in the pot, leave the house to go about your day, and come back to cooked beans. I normally put prepare my dried beans in a stock pot. Eventually I’ll get around to purchasing one of those newfangled pressure cookers. I have an older pressure cooker. Updating to a smaller pressure cooker is ideal, since it will cut down on my dried bean cooking time.

When I know, I’m going to be busy; I prepare meals in advance. In doing so, I always have healthy options available so there’s really no reason for me to pick unhealthy foods. Since I’ve been following this type routine for years, unhealthy food really isn’t a temptation. However, in the early 90′s, I did have to force myself to get into this habit. If I didn’t, I would find myself reaching for the quick fix foods. You know what I’m talking about, processed foods that really aren’t that good for you.

Part of me, really doesn’t want to make grilled black bean burgers tomorrow. However, I told my seven-year old daughter that I was thinking of making them, and now she’s sold on the idea. Being the veggie burger lover that she is (especially the grilled variety) I won’t be surprised if I’m outside grilling, even if it is hot. Well, I’ll dress for the weather and wear a big hat.

Question: What’s your favorite bean? What’s one of your favorite ways to prepare it?

Technorati Tags:
Moondancer, , ,

Jun 30 5 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Peach & Banana fruit pudding; Simple, delicious, & nutritious

peachesnbananas.06.30.10.jpgDesserts don’t have to be elaborate to taste good. I like the simple things in life so it’s no surprise that it applies to my food too.

Take my vegan food photos, I usually don’t go out of my way to arrange the food before I snap the shot. It’s more of a here this is what I made kind of thing, no bells or whistles, lol. However I do know that some really do enjoy seeing those type of things, so you might see me do a little bit now and again.

Anyway back to simplistic desserts (that are anything but that in the way they taste.) My daughter was asking for something to eat last night, and so I let her choose her dessert. She eagerly reached for two peaches and a banana and said, “Mommy, can you make me some of that yummy fruit pudding?” So here’s it is…

Peach and Banana Fruit pudding

  • 2 peaches
  • 1 Banana

Directions

  • Place ingredients in food processor
  • Blend until smooth

That’s it, serve and enjoy!

I only made enough for my daughter; I did spoon the remaining batter out of the food processor before I washed it. Yum, it was delicious. It’s a perfect, not to mention a healthy treat, anytime, and it’s good for you too. How’s that for simple, nutritous, but delicious?

Homemade fruit bars/popsicles

Here’s an idea, if you want something different you can make homemade fruit bars too. Why make them when you can purchase them from the store? I’ve been making homemade popsicles and fruit bars for years. Let me tell you something, they taste a lot better than the store bought variety.

Benefits of making homemade fruit bars

  1. Cheaper than store bought fruit bars
  2. They’re preservative free
  3. Only thing in them is raw fruit
  4. Freshly made, so you’re getting the maximum nutrition
  5. You know exactly what’s going into the fruit bars

Where can I purchase popsicle molds?

You can purchase them at many discount stores. I’ve even seen them at grocery stores. You can always find popsicle molds online too. The ones I have are similar to these popsicle molds. If you cannot find them, or don’t want to purchase the molds. You could use paper cups. You could scoop out the frozen dessert with a spoon or add Popsicle sticks (available at most craft stores.)

The beauty of making your homemade popsicles/fruit pops, is that you have a large variety of fruits to choose from. Yes you can sneak vegetables in the homemade fruit pops also! You can come up with the ones you like the best.

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , Moondancer, , , , , , , Fruit pudding

Jun 24 2 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Vegan: Creamy Dhal with lightly sauteed collard greens and tomatoes

Dhalwcollardsntomatoes_2.png

Creamy Dhal with lightly sauteed collard greens and tomatoes

Earlier this week, I wrote about the Chana Masala I created. It was fun to make, and my daughter and I enjoyed eating it too. I love Indian food. You’ll usually see me preparing at lest one Indian dish weekly.

Yesterday, I decided to create another Indian dish, this time I choose Dhal. My daughter and I both love Dhal, we don’t eat it as much as we might like. There are so many other delicious and healthy vegan recipes out there; I definitely don’t limit what I prepare. I like variety.

Initially, I didn’t know what I wanted to accompany the creamy Dhal. There are so many choices; potatoes, zucchini noodles, rice, carrot salad, etc. but I finally decided on collard greens. Collard greens, along with many other dark leafy greens, are plentiful in our garden. Additionally dark greens are delicious and nutritious too. Don’t overcook your greens. Trust me, they taste great! I headed to our garden and picked four large collard greens. I stepped over to our row of onions and pulled up one yellow onion.

Once I was back in the house, I grabbed my favorite stainless steel skillet, added some olive oil to it and started to lightly saute four cloves of garlic, three basil leaves, and some freshly ground cumin seeds. I must say, the aroma that filled the house was heavenly. :) After a few minutes I added one freshly chopped yellow onion. Once the onions turned clear I stirred in the collard greens and tomatoes. I lightly cooked them for about three minutes.

My sauteed collard greens with tomatoes served as the bed, and I topped it with the creamy Dhal. I like creating dishes that are on the table within minutes. If I didn’t count the cooking time of the Dhal (lentils), this meal was made in less than fifteen minutes. It was short on prep time, but definitely not lacking flavor-wise. I made enough for leftovers! No surprise there, since I usually do.

In yesterdays post, I mentioned that I’d be attempting to post one recipe weekly. In addition to that, you might see posts of the food I eat. In many cases, I won’t post a recipe at the time, but eventually it might get here at Celebrate Life!

After all not only am I posting the recipe via MarsEdit. I’m also storing the picture in MacGourmet Deluxe. As I mentioned in an earlier post, MacGourmet Deluxe is a recipe and wine management software program devoted solely to the Mac platform.

A few days ago, my daughter asked me what was my favorite cuisine? I was stumped, there are so many different types of cuisine I enjoy. I couldn’t narrow it down to just one, but three of my favorites are; Caribbean, Indian, and African.

Question? What’s your favorite cuisine?

Technorati Tags:
, , ,

Jun 22 3 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Enjoying our Chana Masala

ChanaMasala_1_06.21.10 .png

Chana Masala

About fifteen years ago, I was introduced to really amazing Indian food. Of course, I had tasted it before but it was the watered down Americanized version that frequently plague restaurants.

Although the Indian cuisine I tasted was fine, I wasn’t thrilled. Fast forward a few months later when I started dating a man who just happened to be from India. At that time, they had lived in the USA for about 15 years. A few months after we started dating, he introduced me to his mother.

I recall being slightly nervous, wondering what she would think of me. I knew his mom wanted him to date an Indian girl, and I definitely wasn’t that. His mother wore saris which I’ve always loved and she made the most amazing traditional Indian dishes too. The first few moments were slightly awkward, but as we started chatting We discovered that we shared a few passions; Cooking and gardening. It wasn’t long before we became friends.

I learned a lot from her, asked numerous questions and soaked in all that knowledge. She opened my eyes to a new world of spices, tastes, flavors, new techniques, and a multitude of recipes. Which was perfect for a foodie like myself, right? The boyfriend and I eventually, parted ways, on friendly terms, and the mother and I? We still keep in contact with each other.

For the past few days, I’ve been craving Chana masala. I haven’t made this dish since my daughter was about two years old and so yesterday I gathered up the ingredients, pulled out my stainless steel skillet and switched into creative cooking mode.

Although I love colorful and flavorful sauces that accompany quite a few of the dishes, I create. I also love the dry dishes too, and the Chana Masaa definitely delivers here. For those who aren’t aware, Chana Masala is a fairly dry dish, it’s overloaded with chickpeas (garbonzo beans), it has an abundance of fragrant spices, combined with the slightly sour citrus taste that I love.

As I prepared the Chana masala the aroma from the spices filled the house and my daughter came bounding into the kitchen wondering when the meal would be ready. I smiled and said,”It won’t be long now!”, not satisfied she perched herself on a bar stool and watched while I finished preparing the meal.

The Chana masala was amazing. I savored mine, while my daughter gobbled hers quickly. We had a great time hanging out together & bonding while we ate that Chana Masala. What made it even better was knowing I had made enough for leftovers…

ChanaMasala_2_.06.21.10.png

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , Chana Masala

Jun 17 9 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Upcoming experiment: Baked veggie chips

Produce.06.17.10.jpgIn an earlier post, I mentioned how I went 100% raw for a little over a year. During that time, I purchased a food dehydrator and started experimenting with raw treats. Being the savory diva my snack of choice was the raw veggie chips I made.

At the time, I was working out of the home so I brought a lot of my creations into work. Being the only one that was vegan or vegetarian, it was always a thrill when my snacks/treats went over well by those that didn’t just eat vegetables.

Dehydrated snacks were a treat, they weren’t something I ate daily but they were healthy treats. It’s thrilling to know that no matter what I eat, it’s good for me. I don’t eat excessively. Combine that with daily exercise and I feel pretty much unstoppable. You would think that’s enough, right? Well it isn’t, how we treat ourselves and others is extremely important. How can we expect to be healthy emotionally, if we constantly feed off or spread negativity? So yes, at times we need an internal workout too. :)

Anyway, back to the veggie chips…
The majority of my veggie chips have dark leafy greens. I’ve written briefly about the importance of eating dark leafy greens before. Being the green lover that I am, you’ll see me writing about greens a lot. They are important, include them in your meals. They can enhance your health. :)

Although I’ve been meaning to make a baked version of the veggie chips I used to make, unfortunately, I’ve never gotten around to doing that. I can blame the lack of following through with that for many reasons. The number one reason is simple. I prefer a lot of my foods raw, so well the yummy vegetables are in our tummies before they even make it into the ingredients pile. However, I do have some free-time over the next few days, and so I’m thinking I’ll make some baked veggie chips. I’ll be sure to post pictures, and I’ll try to remember to measure everything and post it on this site.

When it comes to documenting my creations I do it all in MacGourmet Deluxe. I’m a Mac user. It’s a Mac based software application. I’ve been using this application for a few years, and enjoy it immensely. Since acquiring it, I’ve used it to hold many of the recipes I’ve created. I enjoy creating simple, nutritious, and delicious meals. I’m even happier when others enjoy what I prepare too and realize that eating healthy doesn’t have to be a ‘bad thing’ it can be quite delicious — and it’s good for you!

Publishing a book focused on whole food vegan recipes is one of my long-term goals, and the recipes that will be featured are all stored in this application.

Technorati Tags:
, ,

Jun 05 0 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Raw Recipe: Almond butter

Almonds.06.05.10.jpgWow, what a busy week. Gardening, volunteering, cleaning, and of course hanging out with my lovely daughter are a few things I’ve done this week. My daughter is officially out of school for the summer, and I’m enjoying having her around.

Plenty of simple, nutritious, and delicious vegan meals have been prepared although finding the time to post them hasn’t been happening. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to post some of them this weekend.

A few days ago I made one of my favorite dishes Dhal with brown rice. It had the three qualities I enjoy; simple, nutritious, and delicious. Yesterday I made roasted root vegetables. They had those three qualities too. My daughter devoured both dishes.

Yesterday, I decided to make a nut butter. I have an overabundance of raw Almonds so that was what I made. Nuts are a healthy fat, and many are good for you. I decided to include some of almonds benefits below.

Almond Benefits

    1. Heart Healthy

Numerous studies have been done on the health benefits of nuts the British Journal of Nutrition published a study linking consumption of nuts with a lower risk of heart disease.

    1. High in antioxidants.
    2. Whole almonds provide the most heart healthy benefits

The Journal of Nutrition published a study showing that 20 flavonoids can be found in the skin of the almond.

    1. Almonds may help you lose weight

International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders conducted a study with 65 obese adults. Those on the almond rich, low calorie diet lost more weight than those on the low calorie, high carbohydrate diet…

Those eating almonds experienced a 62% greater reduction in their weight/BMI (body mass index), 50% greater reduction in waist circumference, and 56% greater reduction in body fat compared to those on the low calorie high carbohydrate diet

As you can see, nuts can be extremely healthy. I don’t tend to gorge myself when I do eat them (even though some of them are quite delicious.) Yesterday as I was preparing the roasted root vegetables I decided to make some raw almond butter but I decided to add a few seasonings; I’m including the recipe below.

Raw Almond Butter

    1. 2 cups of Raw Almonds
    2. Olive or coconut oil

-use as needed

Seasonings (optional)

  • teaspoon of natural sweetener; honey, agave nectar, yacon syrup, etc.,)
  • dash of sea salt

Directions

    1. Grind nuts in a grinder
      I use a coffe grinder, when I’ve used larger amounts of nuts I’ve used a blender (I used my Vita-Mix)

*If you use your Vita-Mix, make sure you don’t blend too long, since it will heat the nuts.

    1. Transfer ground mixture to food processor

*You can keep keep in the grinder, it just takes a but longer.

  1. Gradually add oil (one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.)
  • Refrigerate, and enjoy!

Makes about 10 ounces.

*You’re almond butter will need to be refrigerated since no preservatives have been added. Although it can last a month this way, my butters never lasted more than a few weeks. Enjoy

My daughter and I enjoy nut butters, and we enjoy eating it on a variety of foods such as dips and sandwiches. Yesterday I made I added garlic instead of the seasonings I mentioned above. It was strong, but we still enjoyed it; next time I think I’ll roast the garlic, which will add some sweetness to the butter. Of course, my nut butter will no longer be raw but it still will be delicious.

 

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , Nut Butter

 

May 30 5 comments
Vegetarian/Vegan

Grilling: Black Bean Burgers

Black-Bean-Burgers.05.29.10.jpg

Grilled Bean Burgers: First batch of bean burgers

Grilling is something I enjoy doing when the weather is nice. I’m an outdoor girl, so soaking up the sun while I grill a variety of dishes on the outdoor grill is tops on my list.

In my pre-veggie days, I wasn’t too fond of grilling meat. I did enjoy grilling the sides that accompanied the main meat dishes; asparagus, greens, beans, French fries, root vegetables, etc., Well… you get the idea.

Yesterday, was an incredibly warm day the flavorful veggie sandwiches played the starring role in our afternoon meal but I decided to toss some bean burgers on the grill too. Huge bonus points that some non veggie friends sampled and raved about the bean burgers.

I’ll get around to posting a recipe for these bean burgers. I admit since closing my foodie blog a little over a year ago I’ve gotten out of the habit of measuring whatever I prepare. I’m not one to follow a recipe, so toss in whatever feels ‘right’ at the time.

For the most part, I tend to stay away from the fake meats. Instead I use whole food ingredients that don’t mimic their meat counterparts but taste good anyway! Initially when I attempted to make grilled bean burgers, they would fall apart. Wendy from The Vision Quest of Life mentioned encountering this issue to. In response to her comment I said…

My bean burgers used to fall apart too, it took some tweaking before I had a burger that stayed together on the grill. I tend to chill my bean burger mix at least an hour, but usually overnight, before adding them to the grill. Adding a binding ingredient such as ground flax seeds can help also.

Since following these rules I haven’t had an issue with my vegetarian/vegan burgers crumbling. Why flax seeds? Flax seeds acts a binding agent, so it can be used in place of eggs to bind your ingredients together. Therefore giving you a firm burger that won’t crumble as easily. I’m all out of flax seeds, so didn’t use them in yesterdays grilled bean burgers but they held up their shape throughout the grilling.

Celebrate Life is a new blog. It’s less than a week old. Since that’s the case, I really don’t have a lot of readers; however, I’d urge those that have wondered to my virtual home to check out Wendy’s virtual home too. I’m enjoying reading through her posts. Check out her post on a Summer BBQ Feast. I think it’s great for those looking for veggie friendly BBQ ideas. While you’re there, you might want to read her Why not Dairy post too.

What’s in the Grilled bean burger?

  • Black beans
  • Carrots
  • Green onions
  • Collards
  • Garlic
  • Corn meal
  • Squash
  • Cumin
  • Curry
  • Sea Salt

With the exception of the carrots and some of the green onions, I tossed everything into my food processor and pulsed. The grated carrots and green onions were grated and folded into the mixture.

I would love to say that the grilled bean burgers are still around but they’re gone. No, my daughter and I didn’t eat them all ourselves. I had friends over, remember! Non veggie friends that gobbled them up. There was only one lowly burger left this morning and that burger was chopped up and added to the homemade home fries I prepared this morning.

Technorati Tags:
, , ,