Vegan Adventures in Ecuador and More...

            Sorry to keep you all waiting for a new post for nearly TWO MONTHS! I spent the last two weeks of August in Ecuador. My sister is studying abroad there for 5 months, so my cousin and I went to visit her. We were only supposed to stay for one week, but thanks to Hurricane Irene, we got to stay an extra week! Ecuador was beautiful and amazing, and there is way to much to talk about here, but I'll give you a quick summary of our trip highlights: lots of hiking (including to the 4,800m refuge of one of the highest active volcanoes in the world), mountain biking down that same volcano, horseback riding, visiting two volcanic crater lakes (and riding a mule up one), shopping at indigenous markets, tubing, ziplining through the cloud forest, visiting butterfly/hummingbird/orchid gardens, touring the colonial and modern areas of the capitol city Quito, dancing to reggaeton and salsa in the clubs, and visiting a traditional shaman! 

               I was honestly worried about eating vegan in Ecuador, but with some flexibility and a basic knowledge of Spanish I was able to get by. Ecuadorians are not familiar with the term "vegan," and to them "vegetarian" just means no red meat. I was able to find several veg-friendly restaurants in the capitol city, but aside from those places I was able to make do by ordering rice, beans, and vegetables. Ecuador has the most amazing variety of tropical fruits. I couldn't even identify half of them and had no idea how to pick out the ripe ones. Ecuadorians serve fresh fruit juice with every meal. When they can't make them fresh, they use frozen fruit pulp. I tried guanabana, maracuya (passion fruit), mango, banana, naranjilla (small bitter orange), mora (blackberry), durazno (peach), tomate de arbol (tree tomato), uvilla (ground cherry), pitahaya (dragon fruit), taxo, and more. Ecuadorian eating patterns took a bit of getting used to, because they eat "desayuno" (breakfast) and a very large "almuerzo" (lunch), but they do not really eat dinner. Most families just eat leftovers from lunch or a small snack during the evening. This way of eating actually makes more sense, because large American dinners take too much time to digest before bed. 
           We flew back from Ecuador on Labor Day, so I didn't even get a chance to breath because I had classes the next day. I missed my first week of grad school due to our delay in Ecuador, so I have been playing catch-up the past few weeks in school. I am going to Hunter College full time now for the graduate program in nutrition, and it is a lot of work! I have 4 classes each week, but we were told in orientation to expect at least 36 hours per week of outside school work. That's a full time job! I am still working at Starbucks part-time as well. It's tough, especially as a nutrition student, to sacrifice healthy eating and exercise to get school work done. Unfortunately, I have been eating less raw foods since cooked foods are often more convenient and involve less planning. I find myself having to eat out more often as well, since I have less time to cook. However, I have found easy ways to make sure that I always pack a healthy meal to bring to school and work:

• Salads - add some beans, sprouts, nuts, seeds, or tofu to make a complete meal; buy pre-washed and chopped lettuce mix to save time
• Fresh fruit - as easy as it gets!
• Trail mix - make your own to save money
• Good old PB&J! - sprinkle on some flax, chia, or hemp seeds for a healthy boost and sneak in some bananas or raisins
• Hummus and veggies
• Make 1-2 large dishes for the week and separate into individual containers

Oh and be sure to carry it all in a cute reusable lunch box like mine! 

Some recent recipes worth noting:

• The Best Spinach Quiche Ever - this tofu-based version seriously rivals the best quiche made with cheese, eggs, and cream!
• Baklava - I found some organic, vegan phyllo dough in Whole Foods, and this recipe certainly put it to good use! It was surprisingly easy to make and tasted just like the authentic restaurant-style dessert. 
• Stuffed Bitter Melon (Karela) - the only recipe I've tried that can somewhat tame the bitterness of the super-nutritious "karela." This vegetable is used in Asia to treat diabetes and detoxify the liver. It is definitely an acquired taste, but its health benefits are so great that it is worth trying. 

A First Taste of Spring

      I'm currently on "Spring Break" from school this week. That translates to studying for 3 exams, working on a group project, and taking advantage of my "free time" to make the doctor appointments that I've been putting off all year. I tested a few new recipes over the past two weeks, including:

• VegWeb's Barbecue Tempeh - a little too tomatoey and sweet for my taste; Danny pinpointed the missing flavor, and with a few drops of liquid smoke we had the barbecue taste we were looking for
• Mexicali Tofu Bowl - my version of Chipotle's Burrito Bowl using the "Mexicali Tofu Scramble" from Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook as my base: rice sprinkled with fresh lime, black bean mash, salsa marinated tofu scramble, sauteed peppers and onions, and black olives served with corn tortillas; amazing as is, but next time I would add some guacamole, corn, and fresh cilantro

•  Homemade pizza - This isn't a new recipe, and I think I've mentioned it before. It's becoming a weekly thing now because it's such a quick and easy recipe: Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough layered with tomato sauce, grilled veggies (Trader Joe's frozen eggplant and zucchini blend), sundried tomatoes, and olives. Bon appetit!

• VegWeb's Cinnamon Buns - I have finally overcome my fear of yeast! This recipe was definitely time-consuming, but most of it was downtime (letting the yeast rise). The instructions were so easy to follow, and the buns came out perfectly! I brought them to my friend's Arbonne party, and she had an amazing array of all vegan desserts prepared: homemade pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, and gluten-free banana waffles topped with ice cream! 

• Spicy Wehani and Cashews - I usually never follow the suggested recipes on food packaging, but I bought a bulk box of my favorite aromatic nutty brown "Lundberg Wehani Rice," and wanted to try something new with it. I tested this recipe in my new cast-iron dutch oven, which reminded me of the amazing little cast-iron pot that my roommate's family swore by to cook their Puerto Rican rice dishes. The rice came out really fragrant and moist in the dutch-oven, and best of all - no sticking to the bottom of the pot!  If you can handle the bold flavors of cumin and cloves, try this recipe! 

To make all of these tasty dishes, I need some fresh, inexpensive veggies! Hence, my backyard garden! My dad and I started some organic seeds indoors a over a week ago, and they are doing well. We planted indoors: kale, tatsoi (an Asian green), red swiss chard, green lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, bell peppers, basil, butternut squash, delicata squash, cilantro, San Marzano tomatoes, and another unidentified tomato variety from my dad's family in Sicily. My dad went a little seed-happy and threw handfuls of seed into each cell, so we have lots of thinning to do! Outdoors we planted peas, sugar snap peas, red radish, mizuna (another Asian green), Indian Mustard, and garlic (from Sophia Garden, planted last fall). I've been on a gardening kick lately, thanks to two great events I attended this past weekend. On Friday, I attended the Small Farm Summit at SUNY Old Westbury. This conference attracted hundreds of Long Islanders interested in supporting sustainable local agriculture. The keynote address was given by Joel Salatin, the famous organic farmer and author featured in Michael Pollan's books and documentaries like Food Inc. and Fresh. At the event, I attended a lecture on starting an organic garden and another that featured new and experienced farmers on Long Island. There was also an expo at the event center featuring non-profit organizations and sustainable businesses on Long Island. The next day, Danny and I attended the Cornell University Cooperative Extension's Spring Gardening School in Riverhead. We attended two informative lectures by Master Gardeners: one on Asian herb & vegetable gardening and the other on growing vegetables. The Asian lecture was given by this cute and funny little Thai woman who made it sound really easy to grow things like ginger and lemongrass indoors. She went through so many other exotic herbs and vegetables that can grow outdoors in my region or in the home. The vegetable gardening lecture was given by a British man who runs an organic farm on eastern Long Island that grows just for food pantries! It's a beautiful day today, so I'm going to go study outside and watch my plants grow! Oh, and don't forget Earth Day (tomorrow, April 22nd!)

Six Weeks to Go!

Six weeks to go! That is, six more weeks until this semester is over, I find out the admissions decision from Hunter College, and I begin my 10 day vacation in London! I've been super busy lately with school and work, so I haven't had much time to read up on food/nutrition or cook. I've been making big one-pot meals that will last me a few days, so that I have more time to study. Last week I tried cooking soba noodles for the first time in VegWeb's recipe for "Sesame Noodles with Tofu & Veggies." I made a few changes using the ingredients I had on hnad, replacing the bok choy with nori seaweed, swapping peanut butter with tahini. using dried shitakes, and replacing the fresh cilantro with cilantro chutney from an Indian market. The overall taste was strange, probably because I made too many weird substitutions. It was too vinegary and I didn't like the raw tofu. I did love the chewy texture of the soba noodles and the creamy quality from the nut butter sauce. On Tuesday, I went to an acupuncturist (for the first time!...I'll let you know how it goes) that was near Live Island Cafe. I got a raw sampler platter for dinner that came with soup and dessert. Like my first experience, the meal was tasty, but raw food definitely takes some getting used to. I also thought I'd pass along a vegan recipe that Danny baked up in his kitchen at work this week. He made VegWeb's recipe for "The BEST REAL Peanut Butter Cookies," and they got rave reviews from his coworkers.

One other thing on my never-ending to-do list is to grow an organic vegetable garden with my dad this summer. We really need to start this weekend, because I was hoping to start transplants indoors and get some cold-weather seeds in the ground (I had really aimed to get this done last month)! My dad grew up on a farm in Sicily, and as much as he probably hated farm chores as a child, he has kept a garden ever since he moved to New York. This is the first year that we want to try for an all-organic garden. We hope to grow: tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, carrot, string beans, zucchini/cucuzzi, butternut squash, delicata squash, beets, sugar snap peas, lettuce, augula, radish, kale, swiss chard, tatsoi, garlic, basil, rosemary, parsley, sage, chives, and mint. My dad also has fig, persimmon, and chestnut trees (although only the fig is mature enough to bear fruit). It seems like a ridiculous amount of stuff to grow, but this year is just a trial! Last summer I interned on an organic CSA farm, so I guess I'm trying to recreate the experience on a smaller scale in my own backyard. I joined another organic CSA on Long Island this summer called Golden Earthworm (which is a much larger operation than Sophia Garden, where I interned).  If you're not familiar with the term, CSA means "community-supported agriculture," and it is a really economical and sustainable way to eat organic. Members buy seasonal shares (subscriptions), and in return they each get a big box of fruits, veggies, herbs, flowers, or whatever Mother Nature chooses to grow each week. Every CSA is unique in size, crop variety, harvest season, membership cost, etc. Some require that you volunteer a small number of hours each week on the farm. Sophia Garden required members to pick up their shares at the farm, whereas Golden Earthworm will drop off my box at a location near my house. For more information and to search for CSA's, farmers' markets, or co-ops near you, go to http://www.localharvest.org/csa/.

Dry Frying Tofu

If you've read my earlier post ,"Tempeh vs. Tofu," you know that I'm not the biggest tofu fan. I decided to give it another shot with Lauren Ulm's dry-frying method from Vegan Yum Yum. What usually turns me off to tofu is the moisture and mushy texture. I've heard that pressing or freezing tofu can improve the texture, so those methods are next on my tofu to-do list. I tried to the "Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Wok Steamed Collards and Quinoa" recipe from Vegan Yum Yum. The ingredient list and lengthy recipe seem intimidating, but it was super easy and took me less than an hour. Dry-frying essentially involves cooking the tofu without oil and pressing out the
water while cooking, then adding a sauce to the hot pan and allowing it to cook down to a glaze. The tofu came out so flavorful and chewy. For the greens, I used Trader Joe's massive bag of pre-washed and cut Southern greens (collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, and spinach). In the future I would add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic and a bit of oil to the greens for added flavor. The quinoa and greens were a little bland, so definitely double the sweet chili lime sauce and drizzle the rest on before serving. I drizzled some Soy Vay Hoison Garlic Marinade on my leftovers today and that  gave the dish the extra flavor boost it needed.

While I was already making a mess of my kitchen yesterday, I baked up a loaf of Irish soda bread. I followed the recipe exactly, and sifted a touch of flour onto the finished loaf for a more traditional look. Let's just say that the loaf won't be making it to St. Patrick's Day. My parents, Danny, and I devoured the entire thing last night, with some warm Earth Balance spread. The loaf had a light sweetness to it, and it was a little moister than most Irish soda bread I've had in the past.


I will leave you with this funny "Defensive Omnivore Bingo" post I found on vegan.com. I've gotten so many responses like these when I tell people I'm vegan!

Chew on This: Vegan Brunch!

I'm back in action! I've recovered from last week's wisdom tooth extraction for the most part, and I ate my first solid food meal on Saturday morning. For about seven days I stuck to a liquid and soft food diet, which forced me to get quite creative towards the end of the week:

• I made mashed sweet potatoes by roasting 4-6 sweet potatoes until tender in a 450 degree oven, then removing the skins and blending them with 1 tbs. mellow white miso, 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar, and 2 tsp. cinnamon. This mash makes up the top layer to NYC Candle Cafe's Paradise Casserole, but it is delicious on its own! I also sauteed ripened plantains in coconut oil and mashed those for another sweet, yet healthy sidedish.
• I turned this black bean hummus recipe into a black bean mash by cutting the amount of lemon juice and cumin in half to make it less pungeant and more appropriate as a sidedish.
• I adapted this recipe for So Healthy Chocolate Mousse by using 3 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 tbs. agave nectar, omitting the orange zest, and including 2 soaked medjool dates and 1 tsp. raw coconut oil combined with about half of a dark chocolate bar, melted. I used Green & Black's Espresso dark chocolate, which gave the mousse a nice depth of flavor.

To celebrate my transition to solid foods on Saturday, I cooked up a vegan brunch with Danny. We attempted our first tofu scramble by following the recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance, adding spinach at the end. It was not nearly as delicious as the tofu scramble I tasted at 3 Brothers Pizza, but it was worth repeating. Next time I would add extra onion and reduce the amount of cumin and nutritional yeast (I have an aversion to cumin and cilantro, but I'm trying to develop a taste for both). I also baked skillet corn bread from Veganomicon in my cast-iron skillet. I added sweet corn kernels and used spelt flour in place of all-purpose flour. The corn bread had a subtle sweetness and held together nicely. (It's seriously adddictive...I ate most of the loaf myself in 2 days!) I served the cornbread with Earth Balance and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. Lastly, I prepared some sweet-and-sour aduki beans, which I had made once before by following this  recipe for black eyed peas. I considered including tempeh bacon and hash-brown potatoes in my brunch, but I didn't have the ingredients on hand and I try to avoid using too much soy in one meal.

                                        

A year or two ago, I would have spent most of my recovery glued to the Food Network. However, I recently discovered that vegan cooking is developing a strong representation in online videos. Since subscribing to Spork Online, I have found several other similar projects:

• Vegucating Robin - chef Gavan Murphy, aka "Healthy Irishman," teaches Robin Quivers about vegan cooking in short online episodes
• I'm Vegan - a series of short documentary profiles that feature vegans from all walks of life
• The Post Punk Kitchen - Isa Chandra Moskowitz taped this cooking show in her small Brooklyn aparment prior to the release of her now-famous cookbooks
• Heavy Metal Vegan Cooking - the male version of the Post-Punk Kitchen
• Everyday Dish - I found these free vegan cooking videos on YouTube, but the website offers a subscription service similar to Spork Online.
• Vegucated - "a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks and learn what it’s all about"; due to premiere in spring 2011...look for screenings near you!
• You can find a ton of other vegan cooking shows by doing a Google or YouTube search!

Tempeh vs. Tofu

I'm not your typical vegan. I don't really care for tofu or soy products. I get most of my protein from legumes, nuts, seeds, etc. But, I have recently fell in love with tempeh, which is literally a block of fermented soybeans that like tofu, originated in Asia. In my opinion, tofu is too soft and tasteless, but tempeh has a nice texture and flavor. Since tempeh is less processed than tofu, it is a whole soybean product that has more fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. I first tasted tempeh in the "tempeh and white bean 'sausage' patties" recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance. I now substitute black beans for white beans in the recipe and it has become one of my favorite things to make (drizzled with tahini of course!) I've even tried the Vegan With a Vengeance recipe for "tempeh bacon," which is totally addicting! While I usually try to make things from scratch, I have recently become obssessed with Turtle Island Foods' marinated tempeh strips. These are made by the same people that produce Tofurky, and you can find these at Whole Foods or most health food stores. I stocked up on them during a recent sale, and I have been putting them in everything from salads to sandwiches to curries. For lunch yesterday, I tried the coconut curry flavored strips served with a ridiculously easy carrot kinpira salad. As with all soy products, make sure that your tempeh is made with only organic soybeans (most soybeans grown in the U.S. are genetically modified!) Don't completely shun tofu in favor of tempeh though: organic tofu is still a minimally processed healthy food that is even more versatile than tempeh. I will have to give tofu another chance--I hear that pressing it improves the texture. I have a block of tofu in the fridge right now, so I think I know what my next project is...