(Tofu) Scramble with Friends

Breakfast used to be my favorite meal.  When I lived in DC there were plenty of places to get a good omelet complete with peppers, onions, cheese, tomatoes, avocado and yes, bacon.  I loved omelets, scrambles and bacon, egg & cheese sandwiches.  But then I turned vegetarian and I stopped eating meat, and then eggs. And now breakfast kind of sucks.

During the workweek, I usually eat a piece of fruit and a Luna bar or some equivalent of a nutrition bar for my first meal. And during the weekends, I make lunch my first meal.  On the rare occasion, I find myself at a restaurant during breakfast, I look over the menu extensively, trying to find something I can eat. Fruit, toast and hash browns seem to be the backups, and those are just boring-- especially if you're going out to eat. (That's the time you indulge a little, right?). I normally hate going out to eat for breakfast, unless they have tofu substitutes for eggs. Then I'm on board.

    In the past two months, I have lucked out and had two delicious tofu scrambles at restaurants.  One of them was at Magnolia Bistro in Burlington, which is now my new favorite breakfast place. It had everything you'd ever want in a scramble and it was just perfect! It also came with some hearty breakfast potatoes and toast, which was nice after a night of celebrating the holidays! After that breakfast, I vowed to make my own tofu scramble.  I figured it can't be that hard, right?  Right!  It was super easy and now I am hooked!!

Here's what you need:

-- 1 package of firm tofu

-- chopped peppers

-- diced onions

-- corn

-- black beans

-- olive oil

-- spices

-- cheddar cheese

 I took one package of firm tofu and crumbled it into a pretty deep frying pan, and added a little bit of olive oil.  I cooked that on medium for awhile and continually added spices. Now, I didn't have garlic or cumin like most of the other recipes call for. But I did have this freakin' amazing spice mix from my favorite company Penzey's called Arizona Dreaming that had those two ingredients in it, and a lot of other tasty ones (including ancho chili pepper, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, spices, cumin, citric acid, Mexican oregano, cilantro, lemon peel, chipotle pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, cocoa, natural smoke flavoring). I added a LOT of spice!

Meantime, I was cooking the peppers, onions, black beans and corn mixture. Once the tofu seemed cooked and was slightly browned, I added the veggie blend, more spices, and a little bit of cheddar cheese.  I served the scramble with a little more cheese on top, and then a side of toast from Great Harvest Bread.

The tofu scramble turned out to be super good!  It was enough for three very filling meals (which you could probably stretch to four if you had an extra side of fruit or hash browns), although my boyfriend was hungry and finished it all!  It was so simple, satisfying and tasty!  And aside from the cheese, I think it's a pretty healthy dish with lots of protein  There is no doubt I will make this again, but maybe switch it up with different veggies and spices. 

Nearly Perfect Panini

I work really early in the morning.  That means my "lunch" time is at 10:30 AM.  Usually I eat the same two things every day for lunch: carrots and hummus, or a vegan BLT.  But I decided to switch things up and make use of our lovely panini maker.  And I learned that there are three important things in any panini: 1) cheese to make everything stick, 2) a sauce or condiment to give it some flavor, and 3) the bread.

Bread is super important. You don't want something too flimsy, but you don't want something that isn't going to work in the panini maker either.  I went with the Burlington-made Klinger's Bread Company Four-Seed Sour Dough that I bought from a local co-op down the street.  Good choice by me.  Next, I spread on some of Giada's sun-dried tomato pesto that I had seen at Target and had always wanted to try.  I thought it might taste good on a panini.  I threw in medium sharp cheddar on both sides of the bread, then stuffed it with sprouts, spinach and avocado.  I didn't use anything on the bread and luckily the pesto soaked through and gave it that crusty, grilled look and feel.

My panini was just delightful!  And it was complemented with a handful of sweet potato chips.  I like to have something crunchy on the side.

I've made paninis before with too many ingredients and they don't press.  So the key is to limit it to only a few things-- like the classic and amazing caprese paninis with tomato, basil, mozzarella.  For the rest of my life, caprese sandwiches will always remind me of touring Europe with all of our belongings on our back and very little money for food.  Many meals consisted of a three-euro sandwich that we would eat in a park or botanical garden.  It was just perfect.

New Job, New Place, Same Me

Okay, so I've been slacking on this blog.  It was once something I loved to do once or twice a week, and it became something I put on the back-burner.  Everything else-- decorating a new apartment, taking naps to make up for a lack of sleep during the night, and even watching ABC Family's "Jane By Design" back-to-back on Hulu-- took precedence.  Truthfully, I'm still going to do all of those things but I'm also going to incorporate blogging in there too.  After all, I'm now living in a region where a healthy, organic, vegetarian, whole-foods, sustainable, local foods lifestyle is popular.

In April, I moved to the Champlain Valley for a new job.  The area includes Vermont and northern New York.  Being in NY and VT means apples, cheese and maple syrup-- which I have yet to incorporate into my cooking.  It also means I'm closer to home, Montreal, the Adirondacks, Boston, and NYC.  And I plan on taking advantage of all the things this area has to offer, just like I did in the Midwest.  (See my travel blog, which I also really need to update: Cross Country with Courtney ).

The Perfect Cover-Up

I am a klutz.  I bang into walls, I trip often, and I tend to cut my legs in the shower on a regular basis. So adhesive bandages are a necessity in my household.  The other day I was at my favorite store in the world, Target, and I saw these fantastic designer Band-Aids!  

The term "Band-Aid" has become a generic trademark for any adhesive bandage (like a Xerox machine rather than a copy machine).  They were invented in 1920 by Johnson & Johnson to cover up wounds.  A little research online finds that the original Band-Aids were handmade, sold for two cents for a package and weren't popular until after World War II.

Band-Aids were always flesh-colored until 1953, which was a surprise to me because that seems light-years ahead of J&J's time.  I assume that most people want to subtly hide their cuts, and not draw attention to them-- hence the skin-colored bandages.  I do not fall into this category.  I like pretty Band-Aids.  So when I found these, I just had to snatch them up!

For the record, I haven't had a cut since I bought them.  Oh, the irony.

Poisoned By Food

We need food to survive.  It gives us nourishment, energy, and overall keeps the body working.  Eating is a social activity as well.  Traditions are born around food.  Memories are made out to dinner.  Good conversations are had over the dinner table.  But what happens when the food you're eating wreaks havoc on your body?  What happens when the very thing you enjoyed is now poisoning you?

The other day I went out to dinner to celebrate some big news.  It was at a restaurant that I frequently visit and have always had a positive experience.  I ate a garlic shrimp pizza-- which I had ordered before-- and I drank a glass of white wine.  (Since I work in the wee hours of the morning, I generally do not drink on weeknights.  If I am out to dinner, though, my general rule of thumb is no more than two drinks and no drinking past 9 p.m.  But like I said, I rarely drink on weeknights.)  Well, four hours later I woke up to excruciating abdominal pain and just moments later projectile vomiting.  Had I consumed too much food and this was the body's way of warning me not to overeat?  Or was something much worse happening?  I quickly realized it was the latter, after spending the next 17-20 hours fighting to keep anything in my system, and that I got hit with a severe case of food poisoning.  My body was working overtime to flush out the toxins, while rejecting anything else from coming in.  It's interesting to think that it knows that these certain bad things shouldn't be in your body, and it tries to get rid of them.  But it's horrifying to wonder what it is that's polluting your system.

Because I couldn't even keep water in my body, I became seriously dehydrated.  I couldn't stand up without feeling faint, and I had no energy to move.  So we went to the hospital.  It took three full IV bags, morphine and some other drug to help with nausea, and six hours before I was finally able to feel slightly better than before.  I went home and finally slept for the first time in nearly 24 hours.  It's hard to sleep when your body is fighting to remove things from it.

I am still recovering a day later, but I'm not back to normal completely.  My throat hurts from vomiting so much and my body is incredibly sore.  And while I'm advised not to eat anything but bread and crackers, I have no desire to eat-- not just physically, but mentally.  It is disturbing that what I ate at that restaurant caused such a bad reaction.  And it bothers me to my core that we could eat something, trust what we're eating is safe, and then end up in the hospital with an IV.  I can undoubtedly say that I will never eat at the restaurant again, and that's fine.  Right now, I'm hesitant to eat anywhere.  I'm sure that will change eventually, but I'm feeling very skeptical about food, how it's handled and what it gets exposed to.

According to government statistics, nearly 50 million people in the U.S. get sick from food each year.   The CDC reports more than 125,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 people die.  I don't wish the pain I had yesterday on anyone.  Yet 1 in 6 Americans deal with this every single year.

I think the scary thing is that we need food.  It's not like we can just not eat.  So we trust what we eat and what we put into our bodies, and we hope that we're making smart, healthy decisions.  But then something happens and you wonder just how safe the process is.  And you wonder if there's any way you can truly avoid any of it.

BBQ Black Bean Pizza

The other day I stumbled across some recipes on Eating Well, and the one that intrigued me the most was the Smoky Corn and Black Bean Pizza.  First, it seemed so easy to make.  Second, it uses barbecue!!  I freaking love barbecue.  And as I've mentioned before, it's hard to incorporate BBQ into vegetarian food.  (See: Feelin' Saucy),  So whenever I see an easy recipe using my favorite ingredient, I have to try it.

I altered it a little by skipping the cornmeal and adding peppers and onions.  Also, I don't have a grill, so this was made simply in an oven.  (Who grills pizza??).

Mix together a diced tomato, a cup of black beans, a cup of corn kernels, diced peppers and onions in a bowl.  Take pre-made organic whole-wheat pizza dough and spread 1/3 cup of barbecue sauce on it (as if it were marinara sauce).  I prefer Dinosaur BBQ straight from Syracuse, NY, but since I didn't have much left, I went searching for a similar version in the store aisles.  I luckily found an All Natural Three Little Pigs BBQ Sauce in Kansas City Spicy (it wasn't spicy), that does not contain corn syrup, worchestershire, or "natural flavors."   Put a layer of BBQ on the dough, then cover it with the corn and black bean mixture and throw it in the oven.  After about 15 minutes, take out the pizza and cover it with a light layer of thinly shredded mozzarella cheese. The recipe calls for smoked mozzarella, but I couldn't find that.  Keep the pizza in the oven until the cheese melts.

The pizza was delicious! It's enough to feed two hungry people.  Why would anyone want to use marinara when you can use BBQ?  It's such a better alternative.

Get Curried Away

When I lived in Los Angeles, my roommate and I would order Thai every Sunday at this cash-only, brightly-colored place in Silver Lake.  She usually got panang curry, and I had the pad see ew (without the egg.).  Then we would watch Desperate Housewives or The Bachelorette/Bachelor.  My roommate almost always had leftovers from Leela Thai; I did not.  Thai food is like sushi-- no matter how much is in front of me, and no matter how full I am, I will clear my plate.  At least I can get sushi here, though.  The closest Thai restaurant is two and a half hours away.

So what do you do when you want something but don't have access to it?  Figure out a way to make it for yourself.   Last night I decided to make a sort of panang curry.  I say a "sort of" panang curry because I wasn't following an actual recipe and was kind of winging it.  Shocker, right?

On a small saucepan, I combined 3/4 jar of coconut milk, a couple splashes of soy sauce, a heavy hand of Sriracha, and a lot of Penzey's Bangkok Blend: sweet peppers, garlic, ginger, black pepper, galangal, hot peppers, lemongrass, basil and cilantro.  If you don't have any of those spices or a blend like I used, you could just buy a Thai red curry paste, which is essentially the same thing.  I simmered that on the stove for awhile, while constantly stirring.  (I tried to boil it and then simmer it thinking it might be like the peanut sauce and would harden up more, but that only caused a big mess on the stove).

On a separate wok, I had mixed Asian vegetables sauteing with a little bit of olive oil.  And I also made brown rice in my rice cooker.  My mother was so excited about giving me a rice cooker, so I feel like I need to make good use of it.  I don't often make rice, but when I do, I get out the cooker.  At first I thought it was kind of useless-- why bother using that when you can just do it on the stove?  Then I realized that it's ideal for someone who doesn't really know what they're doing and can't monitor everything at once.  Last night I put in the rice, took a shower, made the other food, and then the rice was done.  Kind of effortless, if you ask me.

It turned out better than I was expecting, but I might try less coconut milk and the red curry paste instead.  The flavor was a bit more subtle than a Thai restaurant's panang curry, but that's understandable.  I think the coconut milk really mellows it out.  However, if I made this again the exact same way, I would still eat it.  It was satisfying, healthy and relatively simple to make.  It's definitely food you can feel good about eating.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

A Mongolian grill recently opened in town and it's become the latest hotspot.  It's a welcome break from meat and potatoes.  It's also the closest we can get to Thai food.  I've only been to HuHot once, and while it was good, I don't foresee myself really going back there too often.  Much like sandwich places that never change the gloves after touching roast beef and salami (Subway), this place throws everything on the same grill.  They clean it off between customers, but it still bothers me a little.   Another reason I may not return anytime soon, is that I can master stir fry myself.  It's not that hard or expensive.

I wasn't sure, though, if I could master their spicy peanut sauce.  But I sure wanted to try.  So tonight, I looked up an easy Thai spicy peanut sauce recipe to try out for myself, before cooking it for anyone else.  Usually, I have a good sense if I make something that it will come out at least decent.  I wasn't so sure with this.

Tonight was the perfect night, since  I had run out of stuff to make sandwiches-- my default on nights when I'm alone.  But I always have frozen vegetables and lots of pasta, just in case.  I could work with that.  I steamed frozen broccoli and sugar snap peas, and boiled some organic whole wheat angel hair pasta.  In the meantime, I combined a few ingredients that I happened to have on hand to make the peanut sauce:

-- 1/4 cup of peanut butter (or 4 tablespoons)
-- 1/4 cup of water
-- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
-- 2 tablespoons of lime juice
-- sriracha (to taste)

Sriracha is a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, salt and sugar. It's named after a province in Thailand, where it was first made.   If you like hot, spicy foods, this is a must!  And luckily, you can find this at any grocery store.  I may have gone a little overboard on it with my peanut sauce, but I like the kick!

The original recipe calls for two tablespoons of rice vinegar, which I didn't have.  But two tablespoons shouldn't really make a difference either way, so I didn't bother with it.  I figured sriracha already had vinegar in it, so that technically counts.  (I love my logic.)

Combine all those ingredients in a small sauce pan on the stove over low heat.  It will first become very watery, but don't worry.  It will eventually harden after a few minutes.  I continually added sriracha to the sauce as I cooked it, to make it spicier.

After about ten minutes, three songs on my iPod, and several text messages to my mother-- who was also cooking-- it was done.  After draining the pasta, I returned the noodles back to the large pot and tossed them with vegetables and peanut sauce.

Let's just say, I can now open up a restaurant and put HuHot to shame. I actually think it was better than any restaurant that serves peanut sauce-- even authentic Asian ones.  It was fantastic!!  Now, I know I say that about all the things I cook, but that's because I only post my successful recipes!  (With the exception of my hummus.  Still a failure.)  If it wasn't good, why would I want to share it?  Trust me on this one, though.

I have been cooking now and experimenting with recipes for two years (I didn't cook in Los Angeles or Washington, D.C.), and I surprise myself every time.   I'm not only surprised my food is edible, but that other people actually like it.  I never really considered myself to be a good cook, but the more I do it, the better I get.  And the happier I feel that I'm successful at it.

Broccoli and Edamame Soup

When I say it's cold in the Northern Plains, I mean it's cold-- like the National Weather Service issues Extreme Cold Warnings and the wind chill is -45 degrees.   When the weatherman tells you an exposed piece of skin could get frost bite within minutes, the last thing you want to do is go outside at all.  The first thing you want to do is get warm and stay warm.  For me, that means cranking up the heat, putting on my thickest sweats, and filling my body with something hot.

The other night I experimented with creamy broccoli and edamame soup.  It would have been vegan, except I sprinkled cheddar cheese on top of it to make it look pretty. (Or to make it taste really good).  I found a recipe on Vegetarian Times, and decided to alter it just a bit.  As with everything I make, I never really measure my ingredients.  Fortunately, it worked out in my favor.

Here's the recipe in loose measurements:
-- 2 teaspoons of olive oil
-- 1 large onion, diced
-- 4 to 6 cups of vegetable broth (much like my tortilla soup earlier this week, I used only 4 cups)
-- an entire bag of frozen shelled edamame
-- about a pound of broccoli (frozen or fresh)
-- one can of cannellini beans
-- garlic
-- black pepper
-- shredded cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top (optional)

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and add diced onion and some garlic.  Let that saute for about ten minutes.  Add in the vegetable broth and throw in steamed broccoli and edamame.  (If you want to, save some of the small broccoli florets and add them to the soup at the end).  Do not throw the white beans in just yet.  Bring the mixture to boil and then reduce heat to medium, stirring constantly.  Let that cook for about twenty minutes.

Then, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor.  I have a tiny one and this is a lot of soup, so I had to do it in batches.  Add in the cannellini beans and blend until creamy and smooth.  Return all the soup to a pot and let it simmer on low heat.  When you're ready to serve, sprinkle a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese on top, while it's still warm.

The soup ended up being thick and hearty.  I was impressed that I could make a creamy broccoli soup without butter or milk.  I think the beans added that creaminess instead.  This meal contains a lot of protein with the cannellini beans and soybeans.  Since it's pretty much just green vegetables pureed into soup form, it's super healthy!

Death by (Hot) Chocolate

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have a sweet tooth.  I could eat an entire bag of Lindt truffles in one sitting. (No, those are not vegan).  But I don't.  And I think the reason why is because I don't deprive myself of what I want.  And that's probably why I've moved away from vegan to more of a lacto-vegetarian, who eats cheese.  It was too hard to cut it out completely.  So I incorporated it back into my diet in small doses.  Well, that's kind of how chocolate is.  If you eat a little bit every now and then, you won't binge eat because you feel deprived.  I like Caramellos and Hershey's Cookies and Cream bars every now and then, and sometimes I give into them.  But my face always breaks out, and my stomach always hurts, and I'm left with a bit of regret.  So to get some sweetness without all that, I'll go for organic dark chocolate, splurge on a Crev all-natural truffle bar, or grab a chocolate raspberry Luna Bar (which I think tastes exactly like Godiva chocolate raspberry ice cream).  And when it's really cold out, I like hot cocoa.

Instead of spending close to $4 on a Starbucks hot chocolate with soy milk-- and without drinking nearly as many calories-- I like to make my own non-dairy version.  I buy organic chocolate soy milk, nuke it for two minutes, and then add in a teaspoon of Penzey's Hot Chocolate mix, which is sugar, natural cocoa, cinnamon, and real vanilla beans.  If you don't have a mix, you can simply heat up the soy milk.  It doesn't taste as chocolatey, but it still has a nice flavor to it.   Other brands to try: Green & Black's, Dagoba, or Lake Champlain.  Stay away from Swiss Miss, Nestle and the Cold Stone Creamery ones.  They have nonfat dry milk, corn syrup, gelatin (if marshmallows are included), "natural flavors" (which we could mean anything, as we learned earlier), and a bunch of chemicals I can't even pronounce.

If you want to make your own organic, dairy-free mix, here are the ingredients:
-- 1 cup of organic dry powdered rice or soy milk
-- 1/4 cup of quality organic cocoa powder
-- 1/2 cup of vanilla sugar: made with 2 cups of organic, unbleached raw cane sugar and one minced vanilla bean, blended together in a food processor

Mix all ingredients together by hand.  Add 1/4 cup of the mix to one cup of boiling water.

La Sopa es Buena

I don't speak Spanish.  I wish I did, though.  If I ever move back to California or to Texas, I vow to learn the language.  While backpacking through Europe I did, however, learn some of the important phrases: where is the train station, where is the bathroom, and another beer, please.  Otra cerveza, por favor?  I also learned how to make sangria and paella in Barcelona.  Of course, that was a special cooking class with an instructor and a team atmosphere.  And "cooking" was a loose term.

I've always had an interest in ethnic cuisines: Indian, Japanese, Cuban, Greek, Ethiopian, Thai, Brazilian, Caribbean, and Mexican, to name a few.  And I mean real Mexican, not Taco Bell.   When I lived in Los Angeles, I had real Mexican and other South American variations.  My fellow USC classmates and I reported in South Los Angeles (formerly South Central), and our curious minds led us to many places, including local eating establishments-- some sketchy, some greasy, some authentic, some not.  I remember two of my little, skinny friends ordering a dish of shrimp wrapped in cheese and bacon and then deep fried and covered with more cheese.  I'm not really sure what type of cuisine that dish was supposed to be.  Their stomachs hurt the rest of the day, though.

When I first moved to North Dakota, I gave up on Mexican and other ethnic foods because those things just don't exist here.  (We didn't get a sushi restaurant until recently, and now I go once a week!).  Then again, neither do a lot of things that I was used to eating, and that didn't stop me from finding a way to make them myself.   So I figured I could do the same thing with specialty foods (see: Havana Feast).

For the record, I do not count chips and salsa as Mexican cooking.  I do count the amazing vegan tortilla soup I made last night, though.  It was around three degrees last night-- the perfect weather for something hot.  I knew I wanted to make soup, but it wasn't until I got to the store when I figured out what kind.  I've always wanted to try tortilla soup, but it always seems to have chicken in it at any restaurant.  For the record, most soups-- even the ones that sound vegetarian-- probably are made with either chicken broth or beef broth.  (I am still upset that French onion soup has beef broth!!)

This soup requires a few key ingredients and a big pot to throw them all in.  Boil four cups of vegetable broth (the original recipe called for six cups, but the stock came in a smaller quantity, and I didn't feel like buying a second container of it), one and a half cups of water.  Add in corn, black beans, diced onions, green peppers and red peppers.  Now spice it up with some garlic, chili powder, and a pinch of dried epazote (pronounced eh-pah-zoe-TAY)-- which I learned was a Mexican herb used to counteract the gassiness from eating beans.  Yes, I just wrote that.  It's also poisonous in large quantities.  Anyway, reduce the heat and let the veggies and broth cook for about fifteen minutes and then add in a half jar of your favorite salsa.  I chose a spicy, organic one.  Simmer for at least ten minutes.  Much like my favorite new stew recipe, the longer it cooks, the better.

This soup was flavorful and substantial, and was enough for three very filling meals.  I had a bowl for lunch today and I think it tasted even better the second time.  I will definitely add this to my list of go-to meals.  I know it's not "authentic," but if I was going to make authentic ethnic cuisine I would have to be in my uncle's basement with my mom and cousins rolling pierogies.

**FYI: I did take photos of the soup, but they didn't turn out so well.  To be quite honest, it's hard to make a mishmash of vegetables in brown broth look appealing.  I had also wanted to put one organic blue tortilla chip in it for garnish, but I didn't want to open an entire bag and let them go to waste.

Shrimp Toast

We have a summer home on a lake in the Adirondack Mountains.  As I kid I always dreaded going up there because it meant that I couldn't hang out with my friends.  (Unfortunately there weren't many tweens around that area).  A couple of times I brought some friends with me up to the lake, and we'd get into the typical adolescent mischief:  stealing wine coolers from my aunt, pretending to lose our paddle boat so the cute older boys could pick us up on a jet ski (who just "loses" a paddle boat in the middle of the lake?), and even jumping off the 65 foot trestle into the water-- everybody did that.  As I got older, I realized the value in going to our camp.  It was a place to unwind and relax.  There wasn't much to do but sit outside and soak up some rays, and catch up on summer reading-- and that's exactly the beauty of it.  Not to mention, you could drink a beer in the middle of the afternoon and not be judged.

There are certain things that I will always associate with the Lake:  R.L. Stine's Fear Street series, which were particularly scary then because we were in the woods; kayaking for what felt like hours to see beautiful waterfalls; walking on the railroad tracks to explore a strange, manmade lake with dyed blue water (it never fully developed); Sandy, the friendly mutt who visited every house on the lake daily; and of course certain foods that my mom never made anywhere else-- like shrimp toast.

I like shrimp.  I like bread.  I like salsa.  And I like cheese.  But for some reason,  I was always a bit wary about my mom's shrimp toast.  Maybe because the spicy shrimp bruschetta is a combination of seafood, Mexican and Italian dishes, and it just seemed wrong.  Regardless, one day I actually started liking them.  I still think the combo is a bit strange, but they taste really good so I don't care about that anymore.  They're also easy to make with only four ingredients.

Take a freshly baked baguette and cut it into slices about an inch thick.  Put them in the oven for a little while to soften, but not toast.  The key to this is to make sure the bread isn't too soggy before you add on the shrimp mixture, which is a bit watery. (Disclaimer:  I'm not entirely sure what temperature to use for baking anything, so I always put everything on 375 degrees and it seems to work out fine.)  Meanwhile, on the stove, throw a can of your favorite salsa and some chopped, raw shrimp in a skillet on low. My family uses Newman's Own Hot Salsa, but I like to use any organic, generic one from the grocery store.  The shrimp will turn pink when they're done and they juices will all mix together.  Divide the mixture evenly onto the baguettes and throw them back into the oven.  When they look like they're almost done (it won't take too long), add some shredded mozzarella on top and pop the tray of shrimp toast back into the oven for a minute or two, until the cheese melts.

We've tried this with mild and medium salsas, and found that the hotter, the better.   Again, it's kind of a weird appetizer, but somehow it works.  The more I think about it, it would probably be a good dish to serve at a Super Bowl party, and a welcome change from the typical chips and salsa.

Another favorite summertime treat up at the lake?  S'mores.  But you don't need my advice on those.  If you can't figure out how to roast a marshmallow and put it between two pieces of graham crackers and chocolate, I can't help you.  (Note: marshmallows contain gelatin, which is an animal byproduct.  There are a few different brands of marshmallows that are vegan friendly like Dandie's Classic Vanilla Air-Puffed Vegan marshmallows.  I've never tried them, but I've read a lot of reviews saying they taste like the real thing, and are good for s'mores and Rice Krispie treats.)

Things That Make You Go Huh?

The other day my coworkers forced me to go to Burger King and try their new french fries.  (Okay, they didn't necessarily force me, but they were very adamant about going, even though I haven't had that kind of fast food in years.) I was reluctant because I figured their fries were like McDonald's french fries.  In 2001, McDonald's confirmed their fries were made with beef extract.  Their website said the french fries were from potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and "natural flavor."  But what they didn't mention was that the "natural flavor" came from beef.  Needless to say it pissed a lot of vegetarians off, and they filed a class action lawsuit.  Eventually, a $10 million settlement was agreed upon, and $6 million of that went to various vegetarian groups.  Long story short, Burger King fries claim they do not have meat and their ingredients include natural flavors from plant sources.  They also do not cook them in the same oil as anything else that is fried.  So according to the website, and some other bloggers who may or may not be right, BK fries are essentially vegan.  McDonald's ones are definitely not.

That got me thinking... what other things aren't vegan that you probably don't even realize?
Here's a list:

1. McDonald's french fries: beef extract
2. Marshmallows: gelatin
3. Panera, Dunkin Donuts bagels: L-Cysteine, an animal byproduct
4. Honey: Bees make honey
5. White sugar: PETA says white sugar is processed with bone char.
6. Some beers and wines: Filtered with animal products (Anheuser-Busch beers are suitable for vegans, as are a number of others.)
7. Some salad dressings: Lecithin is derived from animal tissues or egg yolk
8. Most breads: Made with whey or eggs
9. Gummy bears: gelatin.  The ones made with pectin are vegetarian friendly.
10. Gel capped medicines: Yup, you guessed it, gelatin
11. French onion soup: Unless stated, it's made with beef broth.  I found this out the hard way.
12. Refried beans: lard = Animal fat
13. Parmesan cheese: Obviously it's cheese so it's not vegan, but get this: it's required by law to have rennet in it, and that's basically enzymes scraped from a cow's stomach. Rennet is found in other cheeses as well, and in Twix and Snickers.
14. Tortillas: Mexican restaurants have animal fat in their tortillas; Chipotle, Taco Bell, and Baja Fresh do not.
15. Twinkies: Among other non-animal products that I'm sure are awful for you, Twinkies contain beef fat.
16. Energy drinks: Taurine is found in the intestines of animals

In a Stew

This is my new favorite winter recipe.  I found it in my Whole Living magazine last month and I tweaked it a little bit.  Their recipe called for mushrooms, which I don't particularly care for, and a few other ingredients that I just didn't feel like using.  So I made it my own way and it turned out to be amazing.  I've actually made it twice and I think it's becoming my go-to for an easy, delicious, uber healthy, warm meal.


Vegan Stew:
1 big can of organic whole tomatoes
1 regular can of cannellini beans
1/2 bag of mixed frozen peas, beans, carrots
Italian spices
olive oil

First put a half bag of the frozen veggie mix in a large pot and add some olive oil.  Let those thaw out and cook a little while.  Next, use a food processor to puree the whole tomatoes.  Discard the leftover juice in the can.  Throw the pureed tomato into the pot, add the cannellini beans, and throw in a lot of spices.  I like Penzey's Tuscan Sunset, which is basil, oregano, garlic, bell pepper, black pepper and fennel.  Bring the pot to boil and then reduce the heat to low.  Leave it on the stove for about 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables seem soft, and stir occasionally.  You could leave this simmering for an hour if you wanted to.  I think that's the beauty of stew.

Easy Peasy Pitas

I normally don't like to eat other people's food.  I don't know how clean they are in their kitchens (I wash my hands at least a dozen times while cooking) and I don't know what they put in there (eggs and mayonnaise, probably).  So I politely refuse and use my excuse of "weird eating habits," and no one pushes it further.  A few months ago, though, one of my coworkers made a dish that she said was vegan and something I would like.  She also said she made it knowing that I could eat it.  You can't really refuse that offer, so I decided to give into my phobia and try it.

It was a mixture of black beans, chickpeas, chopped onions, green peppers and corn tossed in olive oil and lemon juice, that she put inside a whole wheat pita.  Right up my alley!  I wrote down the few ingredients on a post-in note and then put it somewhere that I wouldn't find for another few months.  (Typical). Well, a few weeks ago I decided I wanted a healthy lunch that I could eat all week, so I got all the ingredients and mixed them together in a large bowl.  The problem was, I can't find pitas here anywhere. The only store that had them had pocketless pitas-- which I didn't learn until I got home.  I tried to make it work, but that was kind of a disaster.   No, that was a huge disaster. Word of advice: don't try to turn pocketless pitas into pockets or you will have a big mess on your hands.

It turned out I had enough to feed an army and nothing to put it in, so I ate it plain with a spoon.  The thing with this meal is that it's better for a house full of people.  There is just so much of it that after awhile it gets boring eating the same thing over and over again.  And it seemed like no matter how much I ate, the amount never seemed to get smaller.  It's the meal that never ends!  On the upside, it's tasty, super easy to make, really cheap (minus the pitas, all the ingredients probably cost about $5), and it has lots of protein with the chickpeas and black beans.  It's one of those foods that you feel good about eating, because you know none of the ingredients are processed or full of chemicals.

If you don't want to make this a meal, it can serve just as easily as an appetizer.  Instead of pita bread, use pita chips to scoop it up!

Fiesta Spaghetti Squash

I've always wanted to cook with squash but I really had no idea where to even begin: how do you know what size and shape to buy?  How do you cut it?  How do you cook it?  Sure there are recipes and instruction guides online, but they always seem so intimidating with their four dozen ingredients and a process that takes way too long.  But it's autumn and squash is in season, and I thought this year I would figure it out.

We went to the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin, one acorn squash, one butternut squash, and one spaghetti squash.  They were super cheap at the patch, compared to the grocery store.  The first night, I decided to make a "pasta" dish with spaghetti squash by using garlic, olive oil and parmesan.  There are a few different ways to cook a spaghetti squash.  Since quash is really thick and hard to cut when it's uncooked, I went with the option that would allow me to cut it the easiest.  I threw it in the oven for an hour, let it cool for a few minutes after, and then I was able to pierce the skin very easily with a knife.  Next I scooped out the seeds like a pumpkin, which is kind of a pain, and then used a fork to "shred" the strands of the squash.

The squash in general has a very subtle flavor, which makes it good for a pasta substitute.  It has enough taste that you can toss it with a few ingredients and it's pretty good and relatively easy.  I had no idea how to judge the amount of spaghetti-like strands that come from a spaghetti squash, so I had a lot leftover-- a whole half of the squash, to be exact.  I probably shouldn't have saved it in the refrigerator, but I did anyway, figuring I would make something else with it the next day.

Well, the next day, I had a taste for Mexican... but I had a half of a spaghetti squash leftover to use, and I really didn't want it to go to waste.  So I got online, searched for "Mexican and spaghetti squash" and came up with a surprisingly great recipe.  I added a splash of water to the spaghetti squash and re-heated it in the microwave.  Meanwhile, on the stovetop, I combined black beans, corn, diced onions, tomatoes and peppers, and whatever spices I thought would give it a little flair.  Once everything was cooked and heated, I mixed the veggie and bean mixture with spaghetti squash and sprinkled a little bit of Monterrey Jack cheese on top.  This brightly colorful dish came out better than I had expected!  And aside from the cheese, it's pretty healthy and full of all good stuff.   I will definitely make this again because it was so easy and tasty, and had a lot of different flavors that actually worked together.  Who would have thought?

You're So Vanilla

I have been looking for a good body lotion that smells yummy for awhile now.  I tried Bath & Body works, but all of those scents were overwhelming.  I looked at the lotion aisle in Target, and the smells were just too boring.  I wanted something subtle, delicious and hydrating.  And I found it!

My latest obsession for dry skin: Boots Extracts Vanilla Body Butter.  It's made with organic and community-traded shea butter, cocoa butter and vanilla extracts.  It is so thick and it feels like you're putting vanilla frosting on your body!  But it rubs in very easily, unlike Bath & Both Works Lay It On Thick-- which is great but it takes some muscles to spread it on your skin.  And of course, the Boots Body Butter smells great!  I love the smell of vanilla, but sometimes it's hit or miss.  I like it when my candles smell like cookies, but I want my skin to smell more natural.  That's exactly how this smells thanks to high quality ingredients.

I have the worst dry skin ever.  My hands and lips crack and break the second the leaves change color.  I've experimented with a lot of things, and here are my winter favorites that you can find at any drugstore:

Chapped lips:  Nivea A Kiss of Intense Moisture Medicated lip care, .20 oz, $4
Cracked hands: Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Healing Ointment, 1.75 oz, $6
Dry skin: Boots Extracts Body Butter in Vanilla, Avocado, Olive Oil or Mango, 6.7 oz, $10
Winter hair: Organix Moroccan Argan Oil, 13 oz, $8
Face:  Boots Organic Face Super Balm, .52 oz, $9

Fried Fair Food

Why else do people go to the fair beside the food?  Yeah, there are games and rides and vendors, but there's also a plethora of fried, greasy food that will make your taste buds dance and your tummy turn.

At a lot of the fairs and special outdoor events in North Dakota, there are some staples:
--taco in a bag:  a bag of chips or Doritos is cut open at the top, and filled with typical taco fixings
--Indian taco: fried dough with taco stuff on top of it
--kettle corn: the best mix of sweet and salty popcorn
--corn on the cob: the Lions Club's specialty
--beer cheese soup bowls
--cheese curds
--fried Oreos
--fresh-cut French fries
--roasted almonds

You'll also find the typical meats on sticks, cheeseburgers, fresh-squeezed lemonade stands, and gyros.  Health-wise, the above foods contain a lot of calories and fat.  One 7 oz. serving of fair French fries will cost you 560 calories and 24 grams of fat, and a fried onion mum is more than 1,300 calories.  WebMD says one giant turkey leg is more than a thousand calories and a whopping 54 grams of fat.  And don't forget dessert: funnel cakes are delicious, but they're also an extra 760 calories.

So what do you do?  Well, you can avoid the fair altogether, but where's the fun in that?  You can eat only the healthy stuff, but that might make you crave the other food even more.  My advice is to go for something relatively healthy, like corn on the cob without butter and then cut yourself a little break.  I'm not saying to be entirely gluttonous for the day, I'm just saying that one fried Oreo is only 98 calories.  If that's what's going to help you curve the fried food craving, go for it.  I'm not an expert by any means, so this is all just opinion.  But I have been to a lot of fairs in the Northern Plains and I always cut myself a little slack-- especially when it comes to the kettle corn.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

The other day I was in my hair stylist's waiting room thumbing through InStyle magazine, when I came across a small article about this machine that turns bananas into the consistency of frozen yogurt.  I don't particularly care for bananas to begin with-- unless they're throw into a strawberry-banana smoothie-- even then, they're kind of a boring, filling fruit that I rarely eat.  But for some reason, I was intrigued and I wanted this machine.  So after I got my bangs trimmed, I went home and Googled: Yonanas.  Immediately, the website plays an annoying infomercial about the joys of Yonanas and a girl saying that it's all natural, has a texture like ice cream, and you can add flavors to it.  Sounding too good to be true, I decided to do some more research on it.  I'm not going to publicly insult the creator's livelihood, but after doing a little snooping online, I realized that this product wasn't right for me.

But I was still interested to see if maybe I could make my own version of Yonanas at home with a food processor.  So I bought bananas, organic vanilla pudding (hoping that might help somehow) and organic vanilla extract.  I threw all of it in a food processor on low until it was blended.  I will say, that blended bananas in any form (whether it's in a blender, Yonanas, or in a food processor) does not look like ice cream, does not have the same consistency, and is not white.  It's a weird yellowish-brown color.  So right there, Yonanas was wrong.

I put them in small containers and threw them in the freezer, hoping they would take on a more solid consistency.  Now, like I said, I don't really care for bananas, so for me, it just tastes like cold, mashed-up bananas (which is exactly what it is).  But for people who do like this starchy fruit, they seem to like my own version of banana ice cream.  Personally, I'd rather just buy a tub of Tofutti chocolate crunch soy ice cream, and skip the bananas altogether.

A Childhood Favorite Revisited

I hadn't had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in years until this week.  Most people agree that it was a childhood favorite, and then later a staple in college and immediate post-college for anyone on their own for the first time and doesn't know how to cook, or those who couldn't afford much else than a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and some jam.  And unless you're a single man in your twenties (perhaps thirties), you probably haven't had a PBJ since then.

When you think about it, if you use the right ingredients, it's actually a pretty nutritious and substantial meal.  I like to use Justin's Organic Peanut Butter in the individual-use packets, so I can control how much goes on the bread.  I used to buy jars of organic peanut butter, but then realized how delicious it was and how easy it was to eat the whole thing with a spoon.  So I stopped.  This is a much better solution.  I like Justin's Organic Honey Peanut Butter, Original Peanut Butter and Almond Butter.  Each packet is about 180-200 calories, which seems like a lot, but like I said, it's portion control.  Peanut butter is loaded with calories, and it's really easy to spread on more than you need.

I like to use organic raspberry jam for my PBJ, but you can use whatever you want.  Organic is the way to go, even though it still has a lot of of sugar from the fruit.  But at least with an organic, all-natural brand, you know what you're getting.  The second ingredient in all of the Smucker's jellies is high fructose corn syrup.  In some of them, like their Seedless Black Raspberry, the third ingredient is corn syrup.  Yes, high fructose corn syrup followed by corn syrup.  They are artificial sugars that are cheap to use and found in so many packaged items.  I stay away from HFCS because after a lot of research, I believe that it is not good for you.  You can believe what you want to believe and I will not try to tell you otherwise.  But from what I have read, because it's an artificial product, it's harder for your body to process it.  Studies have shown that natural sugars can be broken down in about a day, but it can take a couple days to properly digest HFCS.  Also, a study done at Princeton found that rats fed a diet with high fructose corn syrup quickly became overweight and obese, compared to rats that were fed a diet with natural sugars.  I'm just saying.

Anyway, moving on from that, I use organic peanut butter, organic jelly and then typically my favorite bread, Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Bread-- which is kind of expensive, but the most natural supermarket bread I can find.  If I don't feel like spending $6 on a loaf, I'll get Earth Grains 100% Natural 7-Grain Bread, or their thin buns.  Their breads don't have any artificial preservatives, colors, flavors or high fructose corn syrup.  And the bread is grown using environmentally-friendly farming practices.

The bread is a good source of fiber, the organic jam provides a boost of energy and whatever nutritional from the fruit, and the peanut butter is surprisingly the best of all.  Yes, it is heavy with calories, and the majority of the calories come from fats-- which is why people are advised to avoid eating large amounts of peanut butter.  But in moderation, it can lower risk for heart disease, and lower bad cholesterol.  It also has a lot of dietary fiber, protein and potassium.  All of that combined will help you feel full longer and get you through the day.  And of course, it reminds you of childhood, or at the very least, sitting in your sophomore year apartment watching Lifetime movies with your roommates.  Maybe that's just me.