Raw Vegan Chia Seed Pudding

I found this website Crazy Raw Vegan and there was a recipe that I just had to try.
http://crazyrawvegan.com/2011/03/03/chia-seed-pudding-pots/



I long for pudding and tapioca without the eggs, cream or especially sugar.  I found this great solution.

The mixture of dates and raw cashews, vanilla and coconut is a dessert on its own.  Adding the chia seeds really gives it a tapioca feeling.  I topped it off with some berries and almonds.


I really enjoyed it but it was the first time I ever tried Chia and I got this really warm sensation after about 5 minutes.  I'm not sure if it's early menopause or a reaction to the seeds.  I'm going to wait a day before I have another portion.

Figs

I had a bad reaction to some figs.  I was eating them whole and I got a terrible
burn on my inner lip and tongue-ouch!  I'm not sure if it's because I was not careful about washing them well or if I had a reaction to the fruit itself? We shall never know but I don't think I will eat them whole again.

Any thoughts?

Crooked Squash Chips

Here are the last of them after they were baked.

Crooked Squash Chips

Oregano, salt, pepper.

Death by Sugar

Check out this powerful video about the effects of sugar on our blood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH47sGmJZaQ&feature=player_embedded

On the morning of the hike, I ate a very sweet breakfast muffin and I was in bad shape for two days.  I get moody, irritable and my body hurts.  I'm so much happier when I have not had sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup. It's easier to skip as a Vegan, I don't have the crazy sugar cravings like before but if I slip up it takes a few days to come back.

If They Only Knew They Had Such Sweet Bodies

Curried Cauliflower and Tofu with Coconut

This was yummy..I went to an Asian market and bought 1/4 sized coconut milk cans.  I liked this dish because it didn't feel totally weighed down with coconut milk.  The color was much more yellow, I think there was a lot of light that took out the color of the picture.  

Eggless Egg Salad-Modified from Jazzy Vegetarian

Tonight I made a recipe that I saw on TV over the weekend on Jazzy Vegitarian.  I changed it up a bit with different vegetables but it was given the thumbs up from Mom and Grandma.  Here's what it looked like before I put the Aioli and seasonings into the mix.

It included:  Tofu crumbled up, red onion, green onion, celery, English cucumber, tomato, salt, pepper, garlic, mustard and aioli to bring it all together.  

I realized it would be nice with different variations like Wasabi Flavor or Curry Flavor.  

This is what it looked like once it was mixed up.  It was great with crackers.

Drink your water!

I have trouble getting in enough water.  

It's easier to get down with English cucumber, Mint, and Meyer Lemons.

Arch Rock Hike in Pt. Reyes-Picnic

This is my favorite hike in Pt. Reyes, CA  that I was able to walk with a great friend.

On the way to Arch Rock we came upon a mini waterfall

Lunch consisted of:
Raspberries
Guacamole/Chips
Barley Salad with Garbanzo beans and tomatoes and vegan dressing
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie
Sorry, the picture is taken after we were done.

Here was our view for lunch.  That's a 100ft cliff off that edge.

Jazzy Vegetarian-Television Show

I didn't realize there was a vegetarian cooking show.  I watched the "Deli Delights" episode and I would like to cook everything she prepared. It's all vegan... Take a look.  Jazzy Vegetarian

Vegan Potsticker Dessert

I didn't take a picture because they look exactly like regular potstickers that are pictured below.

A dab of Almond Butter and little tiny pieces of banana chopped up on top.

Fold em up and cook them (in very little oil)!  The banana really sweetens the almond butter and it's a decadent vegan treat. 

I might try mango, peach, berries etc. next time.

Stir Fry turned into Potstickers!

It seems like a long time since I last posted a vegan dish.  I make vegan dishes all week but they are beginning to look like pictures you have already seen.  I made a basic stir fry over brown rice that included.

Olive Oil
Garlic
Shallots
Ginger
Sesame Oil
Chili Oil
Chinese Broccoli (purchased at Ranch 99-that's a fun store)
Mushrooms
Tofu

I made too much of it and after two meals of this I get a little tired.  I decided I wanted to learn how to make pot stickers.
I took a portion of the stir-fry and put it in the Cuisinart and pulsed it until it was roughly cut.  I added some fresh spring onion.  I bought some Gyoza wrappers and attempted to fold them as directed.

Voila! (I can't find the accent aigu on my computer)

Haupia-Coconut Dessert

I went to a Luau this weekend.  They made Haupia for dessert.   It was one of the only things I could eat!
I have to re-create this for a vegan pot-luck.

5 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups coconut milk

Bring to boil until thick about 5 minutes
Pour into a baking dish and refrigerate until cold.

Beans and Rice with Grilled peppers and Green Onion

My friend just got back from Cuba and told me all about the beans and rice she was served.  I have been dreaming about black beans and rice.  I wish I knew how to fry plantains and or you would see this on the plate too.

I found a recipe for black beans and coconut milk with tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, and lime that was terrific.

I used the George Foreman to grill up the other goodies.

Guess what, I blended those beans in the Cuisinart for a nice bean soup that I will have tonight.

Oakland Hills in the early morning.

I don't need coffee in the morning now that I'm a vegan!   A long walk is a nice way to start the week.

Just a little movie snack-Pepitas!

Pumpkin seeds are great-I bought these raw and I wanted a little salt.  I put them in a pot with a little olive oil and salt and cooked them up.

Organic Carrots, Ginger and Orange Zest

You must excuse the next few posts.  I got a new Cuisinart so everything is going to be pureed.

I ate this like a soup but  it was really better as a dip with a a baked chip.

It's a cold summer-so I made soup.

All is well in this Vegan household.  This is a first.  Two brother cats that hate one another cuddled up for a nap.  It was a 55 degree day in the Bay Area so I made soup.

Potato, Onion and Garlic Soup with Vegetable Broth and a soy sour cream to bring it all together.  Tons of cracked pepper at the end.

Wasabi Potato Salad

I attempted to re-create a recipe of my favorite potato salad from Delica http://www.delicasf.com/salads.html to make it a vegan potato salad

Ingredients Included are:
Baby Potato
Edamame
Napa Cabbage
Green onion
Aioli Zesty Garlic by Wildwood (Egg and Dairy Free)
Wasabi

I don't get too concerned about how much of each, I just throw in what looks good.
You can make it really spicy by adding lots of Wasabi but I just like to give it just a little kick.

It's pretty good...try it out.

Banana Soy Vegan Restaurant

I'm planning to go here this week.  I will write a short review when I'm done.

http://bananasoy.com/

Thoughts about being Vegan-30+ days

So far, so good.

Some highlights...
1)  I have a very good internal system working (so to speak)...that's a fantastic improvement.
2)  I feel more relaxed
3)  I don't need coffee because I have enough energy in the morning to do the things I need to do.  I think all the cheese and saturated fats were weighing me down.
4)  It's fun running around town finding all the vegan hot spots and hot products.

On the downside...
1)  I really have to stay on top of what is in my refrigerator.  I find if I forget to go to the store to have everything I need, I fall off the wagon.  I even ordered a small pizza (somehow it never arrived?)  Maybe that was some higher power making sure I don't really fall too far off the wagon.

2)  My finger nails are not looking as good as they once did.  I started to take Calcium but now I read that may not be good.  So, I'm eating more greens.

This weeks culinary delights:

Carrots pureed with ginger and orange

Wasabi potato salad with Edamame & Napa Cabbage

I'm not sure what else just yet but I will let you know.

Organic Girl Good Clean Greens

Super Greens! www.iloveorganicgirl.com These were terrific as you can see from the empty container.  I started to take a handful of greens and add them to my smoothies this week.  Mixed organic berries, greens and Basil make my smoothie taste chocolaty-seriously.  I think I came up with a new invention..mixed berries and basil = chocolate.

Try it yourself:

Rachel's Chocolate Concoction

1 Bananna
1/2 cup mixed berries
Handfull of Super Greens
6-8 basil leaves
flax seeds
Almond Milk

Oh Yeah Baby...That's what I'm talking about!

Apple Cranberry Fiber Mini Cakes-Trader Joe's

I found these this week at Trader Joe's.  They're Vegan and I like them more than the other option because they are smaller and just enough to eat as a snack.  I froze them and pull one out as I need it.  Still, a little butter would be nice.  Actually, I'm craving butter less and less.  However, I ate some buttered pop-corn at the movie theater and I felt so sick. In the past I could gobble that down with ease.

Brown Rice-Super Nice!

I love to throw garlic, shallots, ginger and miso into my brown rice.  It's so nice.  A little Bragg's helps it out too.

Alternate Stir-Fry for Grandma

Grandma may not like the first stir-fry because I used maybe too much chili oil to give it a kick.  Another choice for her is the organic red kale and tofu with garlic and shallots.  These were cooked with vegetarian broth.

Stir Fry for Grandma tonight!

I must learn how to take a proper picture!   Here you have an Asian inspired stir-fry with tofu, mushrooms, and snap peas.  Tons of garlic always included.

Jicama and Orange Salad with Corn

Happy Monday!

This was much better than my first attempt where I used pineapple.  I really chopped the jicama and the flavors blended so much better.  The mint, lime, chili, and onion really give it a great kick.  I had some extra corn so I threw that into the mix.  Corn is also wonderful with lime and chili just on its own.

Natures Express-Bean Chili

I have no idea why I got Chili on a 90 degree day but it was still terrific.  Those folks really aim to please.

The Girl and the Fig

I visited Sonoma, CA this weekend with two sweet friends.  We had a fab dinner at The Girl and the Fig "Country Food with a French Passion".  http://www.thegirlandthefig.com

This was not a vegan restaurant because everything on the menu had cheese or meat.  I asked the waitress if they could put a vegan dish together for me and low and behold the chef whipped this up.

I felt like a rockstar ordering off the menu but I can do that since I'm a rocking the vegan lifestyle.

I think the waitress said this is farro and chickpea puree, and some vegetables?  As you can see I almost dug in without taking the picture.

Here is the dessert a sorbet of raspberry, cucumber and mint..em, em good!

Just a salad bar to go from Whole Paycheck

This is great on the go.  It's a little too drenched in Vegan Cesar dressing.  I love raw beets as you can see.  Again, pictured at almost the end of the meal.

Coconut Juice with Pulp-Totally Vegan

This is the alternative to Gatorade.  I understand Coconut Juice  has more electrolytes than the Red Dye #9 high fructose corn syrup alternative.  I love the pulp it's so chewy!

I'm sure it's bad that it comes from an aluminum can but if I have one a month it can't be too bad.

Water is still my favorite.

Smooth Move

Smoothies!  The last sip of an organic mixed berry, banana, and almond milk smoothie-just in time for a picture

I must check out these vegan products-so should you....

My friend Ame is a culinary guru! Vegan and gluten-free snacks...
Congratulations on this adventure of providing this product to the world.  It is so courageous and creative.
http://thelongevityrecipe.com/home.html


I have an update about Snackers.  I purchased each of Ame's creations.  If I had to choose a favorite it would be the Awesome Onion Crackers.  It's a fitting name because they are Awesome.  They taste like a nice onion cheese without the cheese.  Move over Wheat Thin's there is a new sheriff in town! You don't have to put anything on them, they are perfect on their own.  

Life is just a bowl of cherries...

Life is just a bowl of cherries;

Don't make it serious;

Life's too mysterious.

You work, you save, you worry so,

But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.

So keep repeating it's the berries;

The strongest oak must fall.

The sweet things in life

To you were just loaned,

So how can you lose what you've never owned?

Life is just a bowl of cherries,

So live and laugh at it all.

"Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries" was the title of a song by Lew Brown and Ray Henderson, sung by Ethel Merman in Scandals (1931).

Best Vegan Tortilla Ever

Please let me know if you can top this one.  Mi Abuelita Bonita Flour Tortillas.  Spinach and Onion.  I normally pick up their whole wheat tortilla and this was terrific.  I must not buy it again because it went down a little too fast.  Toasted with a little avocado smeared on it is the way to go.

Vegan Candy Bar-Oh Yes Baby!

That's how I like it.  After a four hour meeting and an hour commute home it's really great to find a candy bar to hold me over before dinner.  I walked into a health food store and a gal was passing out small samples.  I had to have one.  I opted for the coconut/almond combo.

They don't have that super sugar rush with the high fructose corn syrup that I love from a Snicker Bar but it really still does satisfy.

Check out Eli's Earth Bars..totally vegan

Quick Bite on the road-Sonoma Springrolls

Instead of stopping in for a Chinese lunch special or grabbing a veggie burrito I opted for this option that I think is vegan?  The label only mentions gluten-free.  I checked the ingredients but maybe it has a little honey in the dipping sauce?  Oh well..

When I took them out of the wrapping there was a strange smell like pond water.  I aired them out and then they tasted really good and they kept me full through a 4 hour meeting.  They have tofu in the middle with carrots and lettuce and some flower petals.

Couscous with Mushrooms and Artichoke Hearts

This dish looks just like my other couscous dish shown below.  It tasted very different because I didn't use wine to make it and the Italian herbs really gave this one a nice flavor.  I didn't open a bottle of artichoke hearts I painstakingly prepared 4 artichokes at Mark Bittman suggests and then dug out the hearts.  I only had about two servings of this before I got bored.  This dish is very good but how much couscous can a girl eat in a week?

Breakfast-Tofu Scramble

This picture makes me dizzy because I think it's upside down.  I don't know how to edit pictures or make them look pretty.  You get the picture.

Tofu Scramble has turmeric, garlic, and shallots.  I added basil at the end so I'm mixing cultures a little.  It was still very yummy.  I'm not missing eggs just yet.

Whole Wheat Couscous with Broccoli and Walnuts

I had a lot of fun making this dish.  It's Sunday, I'm listening to KCSM, Latin Jazz.  There was a giveaway for the 5th caller and I was the 5th caller.  So, this dish brought me good luck because I don't normally win anything.  I'm just generally blessed...But today, I really won.  I'm going to see a Brazilian Singer at Yoshi's.

Here is my lucky dish.  I added a little wine at the end because I thought it needed more liquid.  Now, it only tastes like wine but I think once it cools it will be really nice.

Please excuse my hand in the picture.

Vegan Check-In /Recipes this week

It's gorgeous in the Bay today.  These Peonies are blooming and I just can't get over them.

So, I have been doing this vegan thing.  I don't feel any different.  I do love what I'm doing because it helps me focus on good, wholesome, fresh, tasty things rather than the difficult parts of life.

I have had some tummy aches.  I can feel the fiber moving through my colon.  I have been advised to chew my food a little better.  This has helped.  Slow down, chew you food real good if you're going to try this. It's hard when I'm always on the run.  Multiple BM's per day are great...Enough said.

This week I'm making a couple more dishes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  I have so many vegetable leftovers from other dishes that I need to use up what I have before I buy a bunch more groceries.

This week:
Jicama Salad With Orange

I have never made couscous so I will start with Whole Wheat Couscous with Broccoli and Walnuts

I might make Couscous with Artichoke Hearts and Mushrooms but I may be tired of the couscous by the time I get to that dish.

Have a great week.

Jicama Salad with Pineapple and Mint

This is another recipe from Mark Bittman's, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  I think I cubed the jicama and pineapple rather than chop it like Bittman suggests.  I think chopping the cubes up smaller would really combine the flavors of the jicama and pineapple a little better.  With that being said, this is boomin' good.  I'm bringing it to an all meat eaters BBQ.  Think they will like it?

It's hot today-here is my ice cream alternative

An "It's-It" mint ice cream bar is my favorite on a hot day.  I have been worried about breaking down and buying one.  This product is almost just as good.

Vegan Cookie-Alternative Baking Company, Inc.

I finally found a vegan cookie at my local grocery store.  Now I don't have to drive two towns over to get a fantastic cookie.  The only downside is that this sweet little treat is 500 calories for one cookie.  Dang! I could consume only 1/2 of the cookie but who does that?

My Staple Vegan Meal

This goes down real nice...
1/2 Whole Wheat Tortilla
Cucumber
Tomato
Basil
Avocado
Red Pepper Hummus