Rice and Beans...

No meat, no dairy, no eggs, no honey, no artificial colorings preservatives, additives, little, if any, refined foods... yet I feel no dearth in variety of what I eat. Fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, the occasional whole grain or legume... all making endless combinations of delicious ethical and healthy cooked or raw dishes. But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised when I get asked, "So... what do you eat?" from another.
If that person is serious and interested in learning more about veganism and raw foods, I will answer intelligently. But more often than not, it isn't meant that way, so I answer with a comical, "Rice and beans".

Rice and beans has been something that never really appealed to me... until recently. I've been craving a rice and bean dish all day... So I made one. The weather is getting cooler, so why not make a warming dish to welcome autumn?
Of course, I added a nice amount of veggies to mine. The idea of eating nothing but grain and legume seems boring to me...



Rice and Beans [And Veggies]
1 C brown basmati rice
1 can kidney beans
swirl olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 head broccoli, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 zucchini, chopped
1/2 yellow squash, chopped
2 1/2 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp vegetable broth
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 Tbsp white miso
Cumin, Pepper, and salt to taste

Cook the rice according to directions on the package.

While the rice is cooking, prepare veggies. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and allow to cook for a minute. Add the onion followed by the remaining vegetables.

Sautee for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
Reduce heat to low, and add the tamari, broth, vinegar, and miso. Mix well, and add in the rice and beans, stirring to combine.
Add the spices to your preference and enjoy!

Turtle Mud

Nearly every Tuesday, after my sister goes to work, my mom and I go food shopping at (what is perhaps the greatest corporate business there is) Whole Foods. I love it- aisle upon aisle of all sorts of healthy, organic, vegan foods. Not to mention the food bar...
It's pretty amazing how a supermarket manages to give me more options than the typical restaurant can. I just love being able to decide whether I want Thai noodles with sesame tofu, or the vegan Penang with a potato Somosa, or maybe just a sald or roes oats with fruit. And they even have vegan desserts!? Bliss! (It's so nice to have one day a week when I get a break from making my own meals)

Even my brother enjoyed the food they have there. He is nothing like me when it comes to eating habits... I'm the organic lovin', raw-enthusiast, locavore, vegan... He's the chicken nugget guy. 'Nough said.
But he liked the food at Whole Foods- albeit, all he got was chicken, mashed potatoes, and a turtle cake.

Now, I've never had anything Turtle before. But the very idea of mixing chocolate cake, pecans, caramel, and whipped cream enthralled me. I had to make a vegan version of this. I really wanted to try it...

So I did. That following weekend. And it came out wonderful!


Turtle Mud:
Constituents:
1 Chocolate cake recipe (Below)
Sugar sauce (Below)
2 C roasted pecans
1 Tub of Suzanne's Rice Mellow- or any type of vegan marshmallow fluff or whipped cream you want (but, damn, this stuff is good!)
The Cake:
1 ½ C sugar
½ C vegan butter
1 ½ C flour
¾ C cocoa
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ C applesauce
½ T vanilla extract
¼ C agave
1 ¼ C almond milk
1 T vinegar

1.) Preheat oven to 375.
2.) Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, and stir to thoroughly combine.
4.) Pour into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan, and bake for 30 minutes


While that's in the oven, make the sauce:
In a blender or food processor combine the following:
¾ C pitted dates
½ C maple syrup
3/4 C water
½ T cinnamon
¼ C plant milk (I used soy)


When the cake is done cooling, cut it into 1 inch cubes, or whatever size you want. It's alright if it crumbles, after all, mushed cake always tastes incredible!

In a dish large enough, start adding some cake, spoons of rice mellow, spoons of the syrup, and pecans, to get a good mix of everything. And voila! Turtle Mud!

If you're making this for just immediate family, you may want to half the recipe. Unless, of course, you want to be stuck with leftovers ;)

Nature sure knows how to trick...

After spending a long weekend in Disney World, with warm, sunny, 80 degree weather each day, I was rather reluctant to return to the chilly New Jersey air. Arriving back at our school at 10 pm, still wearing shorts and a sombrero from Epcot
s Mexico, I was surprised to find the weather was rather tolerable.
Only a few days later, it picked up to the 70's- which was quite delightful, to say the least.
A few more days spent in the 60's, wildflowers begin to sprout, I begin to anticipate Spring even more than I had been, and then... I wake up to see snow on the ground... What an awful trick Mother Nature has played.
And now we're getting a Winter Storm Warning?? In Spring!?
I thought I would be done with sweatshirts, warming foods, snow boots...that soon, the farmer's market would return, and I could focus on eating more raw. That I would be able to get back into the garden, but no... It's still only March after all.



So I spent today making chili, to prepare for the dreaded Spring-snowstorm.
This recipe is one my uncle taught me how to make. I love it, and it has become one of my favorite meals. It does take a while to make, but it is definitely worth it.
One thing I love about it (and soups and stews too), is that you can change it so easily. Everything is to preferance- whether you want cayenne in it or not, how big you want your chopped peppers to be, the type of beans or grain you want in it, hwo spicy it will be...
It's hard to go wrong with chili, since you can change it up however you want! :)


Yummy Vegetarian Chili:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 Cloves garlic, minced
2 Large Onions, chopped
4 Bell peppers, any color, de-seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional)
2 Carrots, chopped
1/2 C shredded carrots
4 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin (more or less to taste)
1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 C pearled barley
1/2 C rice
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 bunch fresh Cilantro
4-5 C water
3 cans of kidney, pinto, or black beans, or a combination
1 14 oz can Plum Tomatoes
1 can non-GMO (organic) Corn
1 14 oz can diced Tomatoes
Salt & Pepper to taste
Dash cayenne (optional)

1.) In a large pot, heat the oil on medium-low. Add the garlic and onions, and let simmer for a minute or so. Add the peppers, chopped and grated carrots, barley, rice, crushed tomatoes, cumin, parsley, cilantro, bay leaves, and 4 cups of water.
Cover and let simmer for 2 hours, stirring every so often.
(2) Add in the extra water if it gets too thick.
3.) Rinse the beans, and add them, the plum tomatoes, diced tomatoes, corn, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if adding) to the pot. Stir them in, and cover the pot and let it cook for another 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionaly.
4.) Let cool before storing in the fridge, and taste test it to make sure you don't need to add any more spices. And you're done! :)



This recipe will make A LOT, so it should last for a little while... ^.^

Rice Pudding (A Breakfast or Dessert Item- you decide!)

I love breakfast. It is no doubt my favorite meal of the day...
Maybe because the mornings are my alone time while the rest of my family sleeps (I'm an early bird...the only teenager I know who happily gets up before 7 am on a weekend), or maybe because it starts the day off right. And there isn't anything like a good, hearty breakfast to put you in a good mood before a weary 7 hours of school...

That, or the fact that you can get away with eating dessert-like items for breakfast!

I have a sweet tooth. Most taureans do.
I love having a bowl of quinoa or oatmeal [very] liberally drizzled with maple syrup, or a plate of sweet, juicy, fresh fruit. Or maybe cakes, muffins, scones, or cinnabuns.

And I don't see anything wrong with that...
To be honest, I thought this was normal though. I mean, what with all those nasty, processed cereals being sold today. (Though, you can't really compare a home-made, not-Quaker bowl of oats to Lucky Charms) But I guess my parents didn't agree. They thought it was odd that I offered to make rice pudding for breakfast before we went skiing...

But it's all the same. Whether you eat it in the morning or at night, rice pudding is still a yummy bowl of...rice. And hey, at least it's brown rice! Plus, if we didn't eat High-on-the-Glycemin-Index breakfasts to make our blood sugars crash, how else would we get rid of all that energy a vegan diet gives? (hee hee)



Brown Basmati Rice Pudding
2 C brown basmati rice
4 1/2 C water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 C raisins
2 C unsweetened, plain plant milk (more or less to preferance, I like a litle bit more)
1/2 C maple syrup
1/4 C agave nectar
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1/4 C slivered almonds
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1) Whirl the rice in a blender/food processor/coffee grinder to chop it up a little bit. It's okay if some turns to rice flour, but make sure most of it is about half the size it was.
2) Toss it in a pot with the water, cinnamon stick, and salt and bring it to a boil. Once it's rolling, reduce heat, add the raisins, and let it simmer until all the water is absorbed. (It took mine roughly 25 minutes, but my grains always seem to cook faster than the recommended time- whether they've been chopped up or not)
3) When the water has been absorbed, and the rice is soft and cooked fully,remove the cinnamon stick and add the milk, maple syrup, agave, butter, almonds, vanilla, and spices. Mix it thoroughly and let it cook on low just a couple minutes longer...
4) Done! I prefer mine cold, but it's tasty either way :)



And enjoy it for both breakfast and dessert ;D