Blackstrap

Oh sugar, how we love you so...

And maybe a little too much. The USDA estimates that every year, each American eats roughly 156 pounds of added sugar. That's quite a bit... It's no surprise there is such an obesity and diabetic epidemic in this country. What can we expect?
The sugar often comes in the form of junk food, sodas, and candies- not surprising. It also hides in places one wouldn't expect it, like crackers, yogurts, peanut butter, and more.

But sugar doesn't have to be unhealthy. We like it so much because in ancient times, sugar was such a rare treasure to come by. Our desire for it now is a leftover trait from our ancestors who would be driven by their taste buds to work extra hard just to enjoy a sugary natural treat, like honey or sweet fruits. But unlike refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup; fruit and honey are good for us. Being vegan, I choose not to eat honey or any bee products, but there are still plenty of better sweeteners that can be enjoyed.

Dates are the most natural. And then there is agave syrup, rice syrup, barley malt, molasses, stevia, and, my personal favorite, maple syrup (which may or may not be vegan, it's important to contact the company to ensure no animal ingredients are used!). And which of them all is the healthiest?

I have an aunt who is rather adamant about blackstrap molasses. She will eat a spoonful of it, and loves adding it to her breakfasts.
Blackstrap molasses are just one type of molasses, and are by far the healthiest. Out of all the liquid sweeteners, this is probably the least sweet. 'Acquired taste' would be a proper term for it, as it is a bitter, bitter syrup.

The molasses is a byproduct of the cane sugar industry. When sugar is boiled for a third time and the sucrose crystallizes, the nutrients removed from the now-refined sugar concentrate into a thick, dark syrup.

It's rich in manganese, copper, iron, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, and selenium. In fact, it provides more iron than red meat per calorie, and with no fat or cruelty. For just one tablespoon, it provides roughly 20% RDA of iron. Along with 17% calcium for only 50 calories.

It delivers a robust flavor reminiscent of baking cookies during the holidays (or at least for me it does!)

I struggle to eat it straight, for it is not that same delicious, sweet goo that maple syrup is. Yet taste buds grow to accept and love it, as I am doing it. I love adding it to fruit purees for breakfast and to raw pie crusts to give them that extra kick. It may not be raw, and is it in no way a cup of kale, but it's a great way to sneak in extra minerals in places you would least expect it!

How do you enjoy eating your molasses?

Creamy Pasta with Chard

"So... what do you eat?" is a pretty common question that not only vegans, but also vegetarians, hear.
It's pretty sad that our society has become so meat-happy that, for some, the thought of losing this precious calorie source is unthinkable.
I find no lack of diversity in my diet. But I can understand that, when growing up on hotdogs, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese, the thought of no animal products can be difficult to grasp.
I have given up many childhood meals to pursue a vegan lifestyle. 100% willingly, and 100% happily.
Although I do sometimes long for those comfort meals I would eat all the time when I was younger, the thought of eating one disgusts me.
There are, of course, a few things that I can still have. Pasta being one of them.

I remember when I was younger, my dad would make pasta once a week, every week for my sister, brother, and me. I loved it... I would saturate my pasta with olive oil, salt, and parmesian cheese.
Not quite how it is anymore, but the memories are still there.

I still love pasta with olive oil (now with garlic and broccoli instead of the cheese, though), but I love creamy pasta dishes, too. A bit more decadent, but definitely worth having ever so often!
Prior to becoming vegan and finding interest in food preparation, macaroni and cheese and the occasional fettuccine alfredo were the only creamy pasta dishes I enjoyed. Now I've learned to branch out.
Here's a tasty pasta dish that leaves me unsure where exactly to categorize it. Although it has a slight cheesy flavor, it is in no way a vegan mac and cheese attempt. It's just what it is- a pasta dish!

Ingredients:
1lb Pasta (I prefer corkscrews, but used rotini... any will work of course :P )

1 Tbsp vegan butter
1/3 C water (Use leftover pasta water if possible)
1/3 C pasta sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1/3 C nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1/2 C soy milk (unsweetened, plain), or to preference
Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 (or a whole one if you want) bunch chard

1.) Get the pasta cookin' :D
2.) While the pasta is boiling, mix the mustard with the mayonnaise and add pasta sauce, nutritional yeast, cumin, and garlic powder.
Get the chard washed and chopped up.
Once the pasta is finished, take the needed water before draining and add to the sauce.
3.) Return the pasta pot to the stove, and on low heat, melt the vegan butter. Return the pasta, and mix in the sauce. Add the soy milk to your preference.
4.) Add in the chard. Stirring ever few moments, let the pot sit to allow the chard to wilt.

This pasta reheats very nicely, simply add a little bit more soy milk and heat on low heat over the stove :)

Enjoy!

Raw Asian Salad

Chinese food has long been one of my favorite cuisine, although I would always get the same thing (chicken and broccoli- yuck!)from a somewhat-dirty place. I finally began to really appreciate Asian food after going vegetarian and discovering a veg Asian restaurant not too far from me. And, especially after going vegan, I found it so nice to be able to actually look through a menu and have options rather than just getting the house salad or plain pasta.
I was happy to find that making raw vegetables Asian-style was easy and tasty. I decided to take raw Asian food a step further when I found some cabbage and mushrooms in the fridge that just needed to be used.
The outcome wasn't bad at all! My meat-loving dad even rated it a 7 out of 10 as a meal and a whopping 8 1/2 as a salad! (My mom gave it 8 out of 10 for a meal and 9 out of 10 for a salad)



Asian Salad serves 3

Ingredients:
1 ½ C shredded cabbage
3 carrots, grated
2 stalks celery, diced
1 C snow peas, chopped
1 C button mushrooms, chopped
1 shallot, diced
2 scallions, chopped

Marinade:
2 ½ Tbsp Olive Oil
1 ½ Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Nama Shoyu
½ Tbso rice vinegar
1 Tbsp Water
½ Tbsp Lemon juice
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp white pepper

Prepare all of the vegetables and mushrooms, and toss in a large enough dish.
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, and pour over the vegetable mixture. Mix well.
You can eat it now, but it tastes better if you let it marinate for an hour or so.
Serve over a bed of spinach.

Very Vegan Birthday Party! (And my Lemon Cake Recipe!)

It's hard to believe, but I'm reaching the end of my sixteenth time around the sun.
To celebrate, my parents actually allowed me to do all the cooking for my birhday party.

I had picked out recipes, made shopping lists, even made an itinerary for preparing the food. I was happy and excited to do this. Of course, nothing really went as planned, as a going-on-17 year old preparing a feast for 15 people, with dessert, can be a little overwhelming. But the results came out wonderful nonetheless, and almost all (except for a couple picky eaters) were impressed! Even my little cousins were eating mugwort soba noodles!
The meal was Asian themed, with some Mexican appetizers courtesy of my sister :)

Here are some of the wonderful recipes I made that are definitely worth noting:

Spring Rolls
General Tao's Tofu
"Beef" (Seitan) Teriyaki
Lo Mein
Raw Wild Rice Salad

I will admit I did not do everything on my own. My aunt prepared a delicious seitan dish and a rice salad, and also helped me make the spring rolls.

And of course, dessert!
Along with my thin mint cookies, I made a raw carrot cake, an igloo cake, cupcakes, a lemon cake, and featured a vegan ice cream cake, too!



Almost everyone seemed to agree that my lemon cake with raspberry topping was the best, so I figured I'd share it with whomever happens upon this blog (which probably isn't too many at this point)

My Lemon Cake:
2 C while whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp lemon zest
1/3 C applesauce
2/3 C grape seed oil, or any mild flavor oil
1 C plant milk (I used almond)
1/2 Tbsp lemon extract
1 T fresh lemon juice

1) Preheat oven to 375.
2) Mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt. Add the remaining ingredients and mix.
3) Pour into greased cake tins or cupcake pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes up clean.

Raspberry sauce:
1 C frozen raspberries
1/2 C vegan brown sugar

Heat the ingredients in a saucepan on medium-low heat just for a few minutes, until the brown sugar has dissolved.
Spread on top of the cake, or on the bottom to let it soak.

The ice cream cake was much easier than I thought. I did try to make my own ice cream, but it was too much work using my little ice cream making ball, so I gave in and bought coconut ice cream from the health food store.
Let the ice cream sit on the counter so it is soft enough so that you can easily spread it in a springform pan. Once you get it to a thick enough layer, sprinkle on cookie crumbs, graham cracker crums, fruit, or what have you, and freeze it while you allow the rest to melt completely. Once the first layer is hard, and the top layer ice cream is melted, pour on the top layer so it's smooth and pretty. Sprinkle on some more of the filling to decorate it, and freeze it, and voila!
Just let it thaw a bit when you're ready to serve it, and take off the top part of the pan.

It was a fun day, to say the least, and I'm certain almost everyone enjoyed it!