Tag Archives: vegan

Garlic Broth

20 Sunday Sep 2009

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This recipe came from the cook book I found in our second cabin in Manzanita. It’s called ‘Sweet Basil, Garlic, Tomatoes and Chive’s’ (Shaw 1992), I ordered it the second we got home because I made this soup twice while in Manzanita and once since we’ve been home. This one is sure to be a staple in our house when it gets cold and the benefits of garlic are a mile long, I’ll share some of those benefits at the bottom of the recipe.

-Garlic Broth-

(I double this recipe when making it for two)

2 c. water (I use vegetable stock or broth)
6 cloves of garlic
2 fresh sage leaves, minced
2 t. good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

*optional* I use fresh tomatoes pureed (equaling about a cup or more), and then add to the mixture.

1. Bring the water (or broth) to a boil along with the garlic, and simmer until the garlic is soft, about another 20 minutes. Add the sage and keep simmering about another 20 minutes.
2. Turn off heat, spoon out the garlic and smash on cutting board with the back of a knife, if you have a mortar and pestle that would work great. Mash the garlic with the olive oil, grinding it into a paste.
3. Stir the garlic paste back into the broth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

*Variations* For a richer soup grind 2 T. of grated Parmesan cheese into the mashed garlic along with the olive oil in step 2. And/or grind a raw egg yolk into the garlic along with the olive oil. And/or at step 3 add 2 ounces angel hair pasta (I used quinoa pasta in mine) with the garlic paste, and cook until done. ENJOY!

*GARLIC, has a long history of use as an infection fighter. In fact it has been referred to as the ‘Russian Penicillin’ to denote it’s antibacterial properties. It’s antimicrobial activity is due to allicin. Allicin has been shown to be affective not only against common infections, such as colds, flu, stomach viruses and Candida yeast, but also against powerful pathogenic microbes, including tuberculosis and botulism. The beneficial effects of garlic are clearly quite extensive. Its use as a food should be encouraged, despite its odor, especially by those with elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, Candida infections, asthma, infections (particularly respiratory infections), and gastrointestinal complaints. For best flavor and health benefits, buy fresh garlic.

Sunday, Sunday- 10 Grain Hot Cereal

09 Thursday Jul 2009

Posted by in breakfast, Drinks, vegan

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I don’t know about you but I’m a very routine person, to my own default at times. I’m aware of it enough to know when it is time to shake things up. But Sunday’s is one of those days that our routine makes us feel complete. Food plays a big part of this, at our house we go through food phases that turn into routines for awhile. Recently we used to do fajitas night every Thursday and even my clients would ask ‘ you guys having fajitas tonight, it’s Thursday?’ So for the past couple month’s our Sunday breakfast is a steaming sweet bowl of 10 grain hot cereal, fresh squeezed orange/grapefruit/carrot juice, and of course a luscious chai latte. I think the reason our weekend breakfasts are so vital is because we don’t see each other during the week for that meal, so we really look forward to that time together. When we were dating we would pack up a breakfast picnic and go to the park, but now that we have our own house we enjoy our comfy couch or the deck in our back yard. I hope this recipe feels with you warmth and and love. Enjoy.

*Whole grains in your diet may reduce your risk of certain chronic diseases. Certain cancers especially gastrointestinal cancer. Heart disease: antioxidant’s contained in whole grains may work with fiber and other compounds to reduce your overall risk.
-Hot Cereal-
I buy Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Hot Cereal
1. We follow the directions on the back, but we split it in half. They suggest using water but we use soy milk or soy delicious coconut milk.
2. When it is done cooking we scoop into two bowls and top with sliced almonds, walnuts and a drizzle of agave syrup.* Agave syrup if you don’t know about it is like honey but it is a low glycemic  sweetener. That means it won’t raise your blood sugar it is natural and is 25% sweeter than sugar. It can also be used in place of sugar when baking, for every 1 cup of sugar in a recipe you only need 1/3 cup of agave. AWESOME, give it a try.
-Orange/Grapefruit/Carrot Juice-
This makes a fair amount of juice for two but I bet you could get 4 small servings.
8 oranges, peeled
4 grapefruit, peeled
6 carrots
1. We have a juicer so we juice all of these together and divide between glasses. If you have a good blender you could try it that way. You would probably want to strain it first and then divide between glasses.

Monday Again! I think I missed last Monday?! :)- The Green Drink

30 Tuesday Jun 2009

Posted by in Drinks

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Well I’ve been trying to think of a good excuse for missing a week of blogging and I don’t have one. So instead of talking about last week let’s just look at the week to come. For the last year I’ve been starting each morning with what I like to call ‘ the green drink ‘. Now let’s get something straight I know this may sound like a lot of work but the way I feel every morning after drinking this mixture is well worth it. I feel like no matter what I had the day before I’m starting my day off right. Juicing is a great way to get extra fruits and vegetables in our bodies without having to wreck our jaws gnawing on loads of veggies! Before I had a juicer I would put everything (minus the wheat grass) in the blender with a splash of water and blend away. Next I would strain it through a strainer into a bowl. Drink to a new day.

-The Green Drink-

3 to 4 stalks of celery
1/2 cucumber
1 apple cored
1 inch ginger peeled
1 lemon peeled
1 lime peeled
half a bunch parsley
handful of spinach or swiss chard
wheat grass ( if you have a juicer)

Juice all together, if using blender refer to blog above.

* Juicing is thought to to provide even better mineral absorption compared to intact fruit or vegetable because juicing liberates the minerals into a highly bio available medium and separates the minerals some of the fiber constituents, which can interfere with absorption. The green leafy vegetables are the best source of many of the minerals, especially calcium, and this source is made more available by juicing.

Hummus

20 Saturday Jun 2009

Posted by in dips, Snack

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I took a little break to make a batch of tortilla soup, it’s raining so I want to to advantage of soup weather while I can! My husband is off playing poker so it’s just you and me. This hummus recipe came from my mother in law and we make it all the time, I’m actually snacking on it right now. I have served this with some colorful veggies for Friday cocktail night with friends or I make it for Billy to snack on with carrots and jicama after work before I get home, if not he’ll eat everything in the cabinets. NOT GOOD ! Or I’ll pack it up for our weekly lunches. It’s creamy, a little spicy and super easy. ENJOY.

-Hummus-

1 can (15oz) chickpeas
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 c. tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 c. chopped yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped lightly
2 T. – 1/2 c. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. – 1 tsp. salt and or garlic salt (according to taste)

1. Drain chickpeas, reserving 1/4 – 1/2 c. of the liquid.
2. Combine chickpeas, zest and lemon juice, tahini, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper in a food processor. Turn on and start to puree.
3. Stream in the reserved chickpea liquid and olive oil. Make sure to scrape down side and puree all together.
4. Refrigeratefor at least and hour before serving. ( the longer the better)

Trying Again!- Quinoa Salad

20 Saturday Jun 2009

Posted by in appetizer, dressing, Snack, vegan

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It’s a rainy Saturday afternoon and I am just getting time to re-update from Monday Housewife Day. I didn’t sleep at all that night thinking about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to get back to this until now. Life was happening this week I’m moving locations of my job and finishing my enrollment and loan process for school, all of which I am very excited about. So thanks for being patient with me, I love that I have taken this step to share my food and local endeavors. So let’s get on with it. Monday Housewife Day used to frustrate me, I would get so worried that I was spending all this time in the kitchen and neglecting the rest of the house. I had to let it go and tell myself how lucky I was to be able get this time to devout to our health and well being, along with piece of mind that this part of our life is simple the rest of the week. Well enjoy these recipes and tomorrow’s blog will be all about Farmers Market. See you then.

–Quinoa Salad- Makes 6 1/2 c. servings

1 1/2 c. quinoa
2 1/4 c. water
2 T. liguid aminos or light soy sauce
zest and juice of one lemon
handful of scallions (green and white parts)

1. Place all of this in a medium sauce pan and turn oven on high. When this mixture begins to boil turn heat down to low and cover with a lid, cook for 10 to 15 minutes until liquid absorbs. When done take lid off and let cool.

In the mean time prepare all the other ingredients.

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 to 1 c. edamame, cook according to directions, drain and cool
1 and 1/2 cucumbers, diced
1 package brocco sprouts or any other sprouts

2. When the quinoa is cooled get ready to layer. In six containers start with 1/2 c. of quinoa in each container. Next add the sprouts and then layer the rest of the vegetables. Put on lids and and place in the fridge.

* If you haven’t tried quinoa give it a try it has a fun texture like couscous. It’s a super grain that the Inca’s have been eating for centuries, and it’s a complete protein and gluten free!

-Dressing- I divide this into 6 little containers ( just so the salad doesn’t get nasty by the end of the week)

2/3 c. lemon and or lime juice
2 T. liquid aminos or light soy sauce
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. chili oil
pepper

Tortilla Soup…YUMMY!

16 Tuesday Jun 2009

Posted by in soup

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Okay kids here’s a good one for you, this soup is a staple in our house during the cold month’s. Lucky for me and my family it was soup weather this weekend! ENJOY.

Soup:
3 lrg carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
-Start by sauting these ingredients in a medium size soup pot with some olive oil over medium heat.
1 package baby bella mushrooms, sliced or chopped
2 c. rainbow swiss chard or spinach
16 oz to 32 oz canned tomato’s ( I can my own and they really make the soup awesome)
32 oz/4 c/1 quart vegetable broth
2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped ( can be found in any supermarket), ( put the left overs in a zip lock bag and store in the freezer)
2 tsp. adobo sauce
salt and pepper ( My store had this smoked salt and I use it in place of regular salt, delish!)
-When the other ingredients have started to soften make sure to stir and season with salt and pepper. Then add the mushrooms, let them saute a minute or two before you season or the salt will draw all the moisture out, and we want them to brown a bit first. Next add tomato’s, chipotles, adobo sauce, and vegetable broth. Let it come to a boil and turn to medium low and simmer 10 min. When those ten minutes are up turn heat to low or simmer and add the chard or spinach.
* optional indredients
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 c. fresh corn, or canned
-So when the chard/spinach has wilted at this point you could add the optional ingredients. This is the first time I’ve pureed this soup and it was great. So if your going to puree it do that first, and then add beans and or corn.
-We like to top our soup with local beehive sharp cheese and tofutti sour cream (vegan). We also use hot sauce and diced avocado, oh yes and my homemade tortilla strips.
Tortilla Strips:
1 package corn tortillas ( you might only use half the package)
olive oil
spices: ( your choice) 1/8 tsp. – 1/4 tsp. salt, pepper, cumin, garlic salt or garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper.
– Take two tortillas at a time, cut in half stack the two half moon shaped pieces on to of each other and then cut into strips. Do this to at least six tortillas, then toss in a bowl with olive oil and spices of choice. Line a baking sheet with foil, heat the oven to 375 . Place strips onto baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 min.