Homemade Vegan Yogurt!

Danny mentioned a few months ago that he wanted to start eating yogurt for its probiotic benefits. At nearly $2 a container, soy yogurt was not really in his daily budget. So for his birthday I bought him the Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker (I know, not your typical gift for a 24 year old guy). It's basically a covered tray that incubates the yogurt at about 100 degrees F for 8-12 hours. The basic process is as follows: bring 40 oz. of milk to a boil, remove from heat and cool to lukewarm, whisk in 6 oz. of plain yogurt with live active cultures, pour into glass containers and incubate in yogurt maker for 8 hours. After 8 hours the yogurt had a sight curdled appearance with liquid that had accumulated on the top of each jar and the yogurt tasted very sour. We refrigerated the yogurt overnight, hoping that it would firm up a bit more and taste better once it cooled. By the next morning the yogurt had not changed, but I was determined to salvage it. I found this article on "Greek-Style Soy Yogurt" on Fat Free Vegan and gave it a try. I fitted a strainer over a bowl and placed 2 large paper coffee filters in the strainer. The I poured my homemade yogurt into the filters and set it in the fridge for about 2 hours. The result: thick and creamy Greek-style soy yogurt that tasted just like the dairy version I used to love. I prepared it in my favorite way with honey, cinnamon, raisins, dates, walnuts, and hemp seeds. The only downside is that the original 42 oz. of yogurt is reduced to about 20 oz. because the liquid "soy whey" is lost after straining. This liquid is probably very nutritious, so I will have to think of a way to use it in my cooking or baking without lending a strong sour flavor. The homemade yogurt was definitely cheaper than store bought yogurt:

32 oz. container of organic vanilla soy milk from Costco: about $1 

6 oz. Whole Soy Plain organic yogurt: $1.69

TOTAL: $2.69 (still much cheaper than the 16 oz. tubs of Greek yogurt I used to buy at around $5 each)!

I can't wait to experiment with different flavors and milks (coconut yogurt...yum!)

Other recipes I tested this week that you MUST try:

• Chocolate Mousse Tart: Another amazing recipe from Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw Made Easy for 1 or 2 People; completely raw, vegan, and gluten-free; a crust made of walnuts, pecans, coconut flakes, dates, and sea salt; a filling made with avocado, dates, cocoa powder, carob powder, and vanilla...sounds like heaven right? 

 fresh sugar snap peas from 

my garden complete the meal!

 

• Quinoa and Sprouted Bean Salad: On my recent trip to Costco I also picked up a huge bag of organic quinoa and TruRoots Organic Sprouted Bean Trio and made this recipe from the TruRoots Facebook group page (I have already made my own adjustments below):

                Simply Sensational TruRoots Sprouted Bean Trio Salad

                Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 1 1/2 cups sprouted beans, cooked according to package directions
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, cooked 
• ½ cup diced avocado
• ¼ cup diced red onion
• 1 clove garlic minced 
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce
• ¼ teaspoon or less of chipotle chile powder, depending on heat
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro

• Swiss Chard with Raisins and Pine Nuts: One of Jennifer Cornbleet's recipes...who knew swiss chard could taste so good raw? The swiss chard is marinated in lemon juice, which softens it, giving it a cooked quality. I also added some chopped almonds for extra crunch. 
• Sprouted Wehani Rice: I sprouted Lundberg Wehani Rice in my Easy Sprout Sprouter, but cooked it over low heat for about 10 minutes because it was still a bit crunchy (sprouting definitely cuts down on the 1 hour cooking time!) I tossed in some maple syrup, olive, oil, cranberries, pepitas, and scallions. 
• Sauteed Beet Greens: Don't throw out the leafy tops of your beets! They are super nutritious and taste like spinach or swiss chard when cooked. You can toss them raw into salads, but my beet greens were mature and thus a little bitter. I tweaked this recipe by subbing maple syrup for the sugar and adding a drop of liquid smoke in place of the bacon (I cooked the greens in a tsp. of coconut oil rather than bacon grease). 

This is my first summer as a CSA member and I'm loving it! I get 2 huge bags of organic local vegetables each week for just about $20 a week. You could never walk out of Whole Foods with that much for $20 (and most of it wouldn't be local!) I've been eating so many more vegetables than I usually do, and the variety each week allows me to try new recipes. Last week I got a surprise from my CSA...a pint of strawberries! Apparently the weather has caused a "bad season" for the strawberry crop on Long Island, but these were seriously the best strawberries I've ever had! Aside from joining a CSA, I recently found these articles on ways to save money eating organic and vegan:

• Be a Bargainista
• How to Plan Your Meals & Save Money
• High Quality, Healthy Vegan Diet for $3.33 a Day

Curing fresh olives from my aunt's farm in Sicily

...a treat from my dad's recent trip to Italy

Good News (And A Long Awaited Update!)

So the good news is....I got into the graduate program in nutrition at Hunter College! I will be starting this fall at the brand new public health campus in East Harlem (a 2 hour trek from my house, but the facilities will be greatly improved). I am currently taking a nutrition 101 level course at Hunter in Manhattan this summer. It's the last prerequisite course I need for the masters program, but most of the information is review for me, so I have an A+ at the moment.

The bad news is...well there really is none, aside from the fact that I haven't updated in 2 months! I was busy studying for finals in May, and I just got back from an 11-day trip to London with my boyfriend a few weeks ago. The trip was great: we saw more sights than humanely possible in 11 days, took thousands of photos (which I have yet to upload to Picasa), and tried some amazing vegan food. We initially had trouble locating places to eat in the "most vegan-friendly city in the world," but once we learned our way around we found some really great vegan and raw cuisine restaurants.

The incredible raw food we tried in London as well as the abundance of fresh veggies I've been getting from my CSA and garden this spring have inspired me to add more raw/living foods to my diet as well. I recently read Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet and became interested in her healthy and positive way of eating and living. Kris Carr is only in her 30's but has survived cancer by trading her standard American diet for a high-raw vegan lifestyle, complete with green juices, yoga, and meditation. Her book is written for everyone, not just for cancer patients, and it discusses a lifestyle, not a "diet." Here are some of the things I've been reading and trying since discovering the Crazy Sexy Diet:

• Juicing - I got hooked on juices at the new Organic Corner health market and juice bar; I bought my own Breville juicer for a great price on Craigslist; I also read The Wheatgrass Book by the "the mother of living foods," Ann Wigmore. 
• Sprouting - I bought an Easy Sprout Sprouter and have been watching instructional videos on Sprout People to learn how to sprout different grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. I have tried lentils, sunflower seeds, and walnuts with great success using my new sprouter. 
• Raw/Living Foods - I was always turned off to raw foods because of the expensive equipment needed to prep the food (VitaMix blenders, powerful food processors, dehydrators, spiralizers, etc.). I recently ordered Jennifer Cornbleet's cookbook Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People, and the only equipment required is a basic food processor and blender. I have been able to make some really great recipes so far using only my mom's ancient La Machine and my Tribest blender. Since no cooking is involved, I have been able to prepare meals faster as well. 

Aged cashew cheese with flax crackers 

from Saf restaurant in London

Raw nachos with guacamole, salsa, and hummus 

and a root veggie and goji berry salad with lemon and maca dressing 

from Inspiral Lounge in London

My raw marinated cremini mushrooms 

stuffed with a sunflower seed and sundried tomato herb pate

I will elaborate on all of these things in future posts, because there are so many health benefits of juicing, sprouting, and raw foods. I am still including cooked foods in my diet though, because they have their nutritional benefits as well! 

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/.

Cook Now, Study Later

  It feels like forever since I wrote my last post. This past week dragged on way too long. I had exams in two different classes yesterday, so I spent most of the weekend studying after working the 5am opening shifts at Starbucks. I don't know if I've mentioned before, but I'm working towards a Masters in Nutrition and Registered Dietitian certification. I applied to Hunter College in Manhattan, so I'm still waiting to hear if I've been accepted to the program. For the past year, I've been taking the pre-requisite science courses at my local community college. I was also busy playing homemaker this week, since my mom was visiting my grandpa in Florida for his 93rd birthday. I always cook my own meals, but this week I had to feed my dad as well. He was born and raised in Sicily, so he really only has a taste for dishes with familiar Mediterranean ingredients. In addition to Italian food, I can usually serve him Greek or Middle Eastern style dishes, but Asian is out of the question. I made the "French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme" and "Chestnut Lentil Pate" recipes from Veganomicon one night. The soup was nice, but next time I would add tiny pasta and give it a spicy kick with cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. I used a bag of organic roasted chestnuts that I bought at a Korean market in the pate and substituted green lentils. I served the pate with melba crackers. It had a subtle sweetness from the chestnuts, but the nutmeg was a little overpowering for me. I also made a side of "tempeh bacon" from Vegan With a Vengeance, which is one of my favorite recipes. Another night I adapted a recipe for a chickpea, artichoke, and almond salad from Vegan Yum Yum by adding crushed tomatoes and serving it over whole wheat pasta. I had made this variation once before, and it was definitely better the first time. I think I overcooked the pasta a bit, because I usually prefer mine to be chewy "al dente" style.

On Friday night I picked an unassuming recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance, because it sounded healthy and I had most of the ingredients on hand. I made "beet, barley, and black soybean soup with pumpernickel croutons" (which is author Isa Chandra Moskowitz's interpretation of the classic Russian borscht). The soup had a beautiful magenta color, and interesting sweet, sour, and earthy flavor. I didn't have pumpernickel bread, but substituted some dense, chewy German dark rye bread for the croutons. These, as well as some fresh dill, rounded out the dish. My picky father actually ate two large bowls of this soup!
                


















Tonight, Danny and I made a vegan version of "Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos" from AllRecipes.com, which we served with arugula salad and Trader Joe's sweet potato chips. We substituted black beans for the kidney beans and added some sweet plantain. They were good, but to make them really addictive I would add a lot more plantain, some brown rice, and corn. After dinner we baked up "Chocolate Chai Cupcakes" from VegWeb. They had a nice moist consistency, but the chai flavor was not strong enough (I even used three tea bags). I don't bake often, so I've never made frosting before. We attempted a recipe for "fluffy" frosting, but it turns out that coconut oil is not a good substitute for shortening. The frosting tasted good, but didn't really thicken, so we were unable to pipe it. If anyone has suggestions for making good frosting, let me know!

It seems as though I've tested a ton of recipes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's books this past week. Some were hit or miss, but overall her recipes are solid. I just remembered that I also tried the "chickpea cutlets" with "mustard sauce" from Veganomicon last weekend. I was actually really grossed out the first time I tasted the cutlets. I'm not a fan of vital wheat gluten, so the gumminess that it gave the cutlets turned me off. The mustard sauce was also overpowering, because I used a strong Dijon mustard and the capers were too vinegary. The next day I baked the leftover cutlets in the toaster oven, and they seemed to cook through more in the middle. I spread some tahini on them and then the mustard sauce and voila! the taste and texture had improved tenfold. Next time I make them I might try baking them instead of pan frying them and serving them with a different sauce. I had a gallon of this mustard sauce leftover, but found a great use for it! My new favorite salad is romaine lettuce, orange wedges, kalamata olives, chopped Medjool dates, and hemp seed with the mustard sauce as a dressing. If you don't want to whip up the mustard sauce, I've had this salad before with a simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

A Very Belated Vegan MoFo Survey

What is Vegan MoFo you ask? It was originally created on the Post Punk Kitchen in honor of National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write as much as you can about food (especially vegan food) in the month of November. Being that I didn't start this blog until after November 2010, I didn't get to participate last year. But I recently found this neat Vegan MoFo 2010 survey on a vegan blog, and I love taking surveys, so here are my responses:

What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?
cheese 


What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?
I was a ridiculously picky eater, so I probably wouldn't have eaten nearly 75% of the things I eat now


What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?
Tofu! It's too mushy and moist for me 


What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?
Lots of water and 2-3 cups of tea 


What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?
I don't really have a famous dish, but I won an "honorable mention" for my Paradise Casserole at a Turkey-Free Thanksgiving Event 


Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?
I have a lot of rules involving foods with certain preservatives/additives (I absolutely won't touch anything with high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils) 


What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?
Peanut butter - I've been known to finish off an entire jar in less than a week 


What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?
Hummus - it's hard to find organic hummus, and I don't like the preservatives added to most packaged versions 


What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?
Organic food is worth every penny in terms of health and nutrition in my opinion; also spices - I used to buy 99 cent spices on occasion and they can definitely ruin a dish 


Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?
I eat about once every 3 hours, so I definitely snack. I usually eat healthy things like fruit and nuts, and I rarely eat junk food or desserts. 


What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?
tomato sauce, cashew tofu ricotta, grilled eggplant, grilled portobello, broccoli rabe 


What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?
vegetable - kale, sweet potato, Sungold tomatoes

fruit - apple, mango, persimmon 


What is the best salad dressing?
I'm not a huge salad fan, and I have yet to come across a favorite dressing. I usually just mix some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, and oregano 


What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?
nut butter, hemp seeds, raspberry jam, and raisins 


What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?
curried split pea soup with a side of basmati rice 


What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?
carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting 


What is your favorite kind of cookie?
gingerbread cookies or peanut butter cookies 


What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?
tempeh and black bean "sausage" patties with tahini drizzle, roasted herbed carrots, kale chips 


What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?
each person in my family has such different tastes - my mom will try most things I make (but won't eat anything with cilantro), my Dad will only eat anything with Mediterranean ingredients (he wouldn't dare touch anything Asian), and my sister is your typical meat and potatoes girl (and won't eat anything with whole tomatoes in it) 


How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?
I cook a full meal 3-4 times a week and make enough so that I will have leftovers for a few days; each time I cook I spend close to 2 hours in the kitchen 

Spring is Just Around the Corner!

So maybe the groundhog was right this year....spring seems to making its way onto Long Island earlier than usual. Or maybe it just seems earlier after the brutal winter we had this year. Either way, I'm loving the milder temperature and sunshine we've been having. I know this blog is about food, but veganism and fitness go hand in hand. So I'll chat a bit about my favorite outdoor fitness activities. I was a competitive distance runner back in high school and college, but a chronic foot problem has kept me from running in the past two years. I keep looking for activities that give me the same satisfaction as running, namely the "runner's high." When I lived in South Korea, hiking was the most popular sport because of the mountainous terrain covering most of the country. Danny and I bought some gear and went hiking a few times and loved it. I will have to give it another shot this summer on New York's Appalachia Trail. This past winter we went ice skating, and it turns out I'm a natural on skates. Danny suggested we buy some rollerblades for the warmer weather, so we both bought a pair of K2 skates a few weeks ago. I tried them out this past week, and the "soft boot" technology makes them so comfortable. I'm super clumsy, so I bought the protective knee, elbow, and wrist padding set too. I enjoy biking as well, but I feel too constricted on a bike and my butt tends to hurt after sitting on a seat for too long. I prefer rollerblading, because it allows more freedom of movement, so it's closer in feeling to running. Aside from running, my favorite all-weather fitness activities are yoga and pilates. I have only taken classes two or three times, but I prefer to do yoga and pilates in my own home using an MTV dvd set. My absolute favorite is Power Yoga, which is the only activity that gives me the same lean and toned look as running. Since following the dvd 2-3 times a week, I have felt stronger, more flexible, and I rarely experience back or neck pain anymore. I used to use the Pilates for Dummies dvd in college to help tone my muscles and prevent injuries while I was a runner.

The weather was so nice yesterday that Danny and I had a picnic dinner in Huntington's Hecksher Park. We stopped at Live Island Cafe for the first time to pick up a gourmet sampler of raw vegan food. The owner, Chef Okima, has just opened the cafe, so it is currently take-out only and the menu changes from day to day. She walked us through everything included in our sampler trays: caprese salad, marinated stuffed mushrooms, falafel, sundried tomato pizza with cashew cheese and kale, zucchini pasta, nut and seed crackers, sauerkraut, and tabouli salad. Everything was incredibly flavorful and fresh. We also had chocolate chip cookies for dessert, which tasted just like raw cookie dough (but were made instead with nuts, coconut, cocoa powder, and probably dates)! Raw food involves too much preparation and expensive appliances, so I don't think I could do it. But I would like to take one of Chef Okima's raw cooking classes to see what it's all about!