amys-blog

Breakfast potatoes and mindfulness

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:23:58 +0100

Jonny has always loved breakfast best and I used to cringe when he would devour huge Denver omelets loaded with meat and cheese, along with a pile of greasy home fries. He was headed to the Flyers playoff game this morning (Go Flyers, they just won! Woo hoo!), and I knew he would appreciate a yummy breakfast before he left. I made him some Veggs with tofu and the above potatoes. I did add some of his beloved Field Roast Italian sausage and cheddar Daiya to the Veggs, but I kept the potatoes entirely oil-free and healthy to counteract the "sinful" Veggs. I really spice them up and cook them at a high temperature in a non-stick pan so they get crispy.

Big Sexy Potatoes
4-5 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into squares with peel left on
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1-2 T. Bragg's liquid aminos
Liquid smoke, 5-8 shakes
1/2 tsp Smoked paprika or regular
1/2 tsp Cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Put potatoes into pot with lid and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until a fork goes in but they are still firm. Drain.

2. In a large non-stick pan, add 1/4 cup of vegetable broth and bring to simmer. Saute onions and garlic for a few minutes until soft.

3. Add drained potatoes and all seasonings. Stir to coat. Bring temperature of pan up to medium-high so that you hear it sizzle. Let sit for a minute or two, so the potatoes start to brown and then stir. Add more broth if needed. It took me about 20 minutes to get the potatoes to my preferred crispiness.

4. Taste and adjust seasonings.

5. Serve with ketchup and your choice of hot sauce.

Jonny loved his breakfast and I just got the game report on his food, and he did great! He usually gets a big, soft pretzel, but one of the vendors just started carrying hummus and crudite and he got that instead.

I went to a mindfulness meditation workshop with my mom and mother-in-law yesterday, which was wonderful. One of the things I definitely want to incorporate is more mindful eating. I told Jonny all about it and we started practicing it last night at dinner. Putting the fork down in between bites, really chewing and tasting the food, it makes such a difference and I find I am eating less. Are you a "mindful eater?" Please share your thoughts on this.

First Vegan Passover

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:52:51 +0100

Jonny's not in the photo, because he took it.

So, we had pretty much a vegan Seder, and it was a big success! We did have several omnis in attendence, so everything was vegan except for the matzo ball soup, which my mother made, salmon, which my brother-in-law made, and a couple of the desserts. Sadly, my two attempts at vegan matzo balls were a disaster. The first try, I used a boxed mix and substituted "The Vegg," and the second time, I tried Isa Moskowitz's recipe using silken tofu and much to my dismay, both versions completely disintegrated in the pot while cooking.... I am determined to find a workable recipe for next year. There is a Jewish saying for Passover, "next year in Jerusalem." My mission is "next year, vegan matzo balls!"

Here was our menu:

Matzo ball soup (non-vegan)
Nava Atlas's Cauliflower with quinoa, cranberry and nuts
Nava Atlas's Spinach, leek and potato matzo gratin
Roasted veggies (asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peppers)
Red lentils with carrots, celery and onions
Baked Salmon

Everything turned out delicious, but I must report that the Spinach, Leek and Potato Gratin was AMAZING!!!! Everyone loved it and I will definitely be making it again after Passover with whole wheat lasagne noodles instead of the matzo (although the matzo is really good in it!) The cashew cream layer, which is made with avocado and mixed with the spinach and leeks, would make an excellent spinach artichoke-type dip, if you like that kind of thing.

I also wanted to share that I made fried matzo this morning using The Vegg and it was incredible. I served it to four kids and five adults and they gobbled it all up. The kids had no idea it was anything different and the adults all agreed that if they didn't know, they would never suspect it wasn't made with eggs.

Best wishes for a happy Passover and Easter, everyone!

Vegan In State College Review

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:42:11 +0100

Jonny and Charlie outside of Aardvark Cafe, State College, PA

They have a separate vegan menu, prepared at a vegan workstation!

Jonny and Aardvark owner Brandon

We spent the weekend at Penn State visiting our big boy, Ethan, and weren't sure how the food situation would work out for us. Well, we needn't have worried! Things sure have changed in good old Happy Valley since The Big Sexy was a student there many moons ago.

On the way to our hotel, we drove by a wonderful health food store called Nature's Pantry. We bought some almond milk and cereal in case the hotel breakfast didn't cut it and Jonny was excited to discover every flavor of vegan jerky Primal Strips, which would satisfy any college-memory-induced cravings and only have 80 calories each.

I had our dinner places covered, one of which, Spats, Jonny had visited last time he was there without me and loved. It's a cajun restaurant and they made an excellent vegan jambalaya for us. I didn't have high expectations for Mad Mex, as I usually stay away from chains, but it was a pleasant surprise with a TON of options, including vegan cheese and sour cream for those who indulge. We had excellent grilled portobello and tofu fajitas and the most humongous spicy spinach burrito I have ever seen. The only slip was that the waiter, who had patiently reviewed each vegan possibility for us in the menu, "forgot" and brought us a salad dressing with cheese in it. We ate some of it before we realized that it tasted "too good..."

Right before the weekend, I found the Aardvark Kafe through Yelp.com. If you don't already do this, anytime you are traveling somewhere, go on Yelp and put in "vegan" and the city and you'll find some great places. Aardvark doesn't have a website yet, but here's their Facebook page. We loved this place!!! It's relatively new and the owner, Brandon (pictured above with Jonny,) takes his vegan food very seriously and is a wonderful cook. We loved everything we ate, and we got a lot of things to try. We had an amazing calzone, stuffed shells, sweet potato fries, salad and plantain hummus. Everything was prepared to order and we enjoyed chatting with Brandon while he was cooking. Keep this in mind if you are in a rush, as it does take some time for your food to be ready. Next time, we will probably put our order in ahead of time and arrive a few minutes before to say hi to Brandon. We were thrilled to learn that he is contemplating a vegan brunch on Saturdays.

Who knew that Happy Valley could be Happy Vegan Valley?

A Happy Cruise Story

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:14:26 +0100

Amy, Sous Chef Johnson, Charlie, Maitre 'D Gerhard Waldukat and Jonny

With all the horrible news coming out of the tragic ship accident in Italy, I realized I am overdue in reporting on our own cruise experience a few weeks ago. Frankly, I was quite apprehensive beforehand. It doesn't get much more mass-market than the gigantic, 4,100 passenger Norwegian Epic, and researcher that I am, I was a little concerned about our food options after reading some unflattering posts from vegan cruisers. I warned Jonny and Charlie that we needed to focus on things other than the food, as we would likely have a limited repertoire for the week on board. I knew our best hope would be to connect with the Maitre D' of the main dining room at the beginning of the cruise and see what he could do.

We were pleasantly surprised to meet the delightful Gerhard "Gary" Waldukat, who patiently listened to our requests and even brought out the Sous Chef who prepares the special meals to review what we enjoy. The way it works on the Epic is that the special meals are all prepared in the main kitchen, so if you are eating in one of the specialty restaurants, they have to go get it for you, which can sometimes take a little while. We were traveling with another family, so the first couple of nights, they were finished eating by the time our food came. We learned to let the restaurant know as soon as we arrived to order the food for us and after that, it went a lot smoother. Chef Johnson did a wonderful job of giving us a variety of food, including desserts! We had multi-course meals, including salads with beans and flavorful dishes incorporating quinoa, brown rice, tofu, coconut milk... we were pretty impressed!

We even worked things out in the buffet, which was sometimes a more convenient lunch option. Unfortunately, besides the salad bar, most of the vegetable items were cooked in butter or otherwise unsuitable. But there was a pizza station, and the cook there was very accommodating when we asked him to make us a cheese-free pizza loaded up with veggies. Jonny met a vegan woman who was walking by and overhead him ordering pizza. She did a double-take and incredulously asked, "you can get that???" Evidently, she was having a much different experience food-wise than us.

The moral of the story is YOU MUST ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED! If you ask nicely, they will usually be happy to help. Actually, we felt extremely well-taken care of. Gary was constantly checking in on us... we felt like VIPs. It's funny, I had asked him if there were other vegans on the ship when we first met, and he said he wasn't aware of any. Out of 4,100 passengers, I'm sure there were, besides the pizza lady. What a shame for them all to be suffering in silence. It's a cruise, people! You're supposed to eat!!!

My next travel challenge is at the end of February, when Jonny and I are going to South Africa to take care of some business for our charity, Love to Langa. The last time we were there, he had a grand old time eating as many exotic animals as he could... including ostrich, springbok and warthog!

"Cheezy" Mashed Cauliflower

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:29:46 +0100

Happy New Year everyone! I'm going to write a post about how we dealt with the food on our cruise in the next few days, but I wanted to share a quick one tonight.

Charlie's awesome 4th grade teacher came over for dinner and although she told us she was not a big cauliflower fan when she heard it was being served, she ended up taking a second helping. This was a hit with everyone, as you can see by the above photo of what was left after dinner. I'm happy to say, this is a no-oil, no-anything-bad recipe, except for a little bit of salt. I made a different version a few weeks ago without the smoked paprika and I really liked this additional element. The last time, I did include some cannellini beans, which gave it a rich flavor. If you want to add them, I would do it at step 4. Let me know if you have some good variations of your own!

As always, I must apologize for the approximate measurements... one of these days, I will actually measure things out as I make a recipe... like many of you, I'm a "little of this, a little of that" kind of gal...

"Cheezy" Mashed Cauliflower
2 heads of cauliflower, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup of vegetable broth
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
Garlic powder, salt and pepper

1. Place the cauliflower in a large pot and add a couple inches of water
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer/steam for 10-15 minutes, until soft
3. Drain water and return to pot
4. Add garlic, broth, nutritional yeast and paprika
5. Use an immersion blender and mash until smooth, or remove to blender
6. Add additional garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

I love mashing cauliflower because it has a satisfying, "carby" feel to it. You can eat a lot and not feel guilty, unlike mashed potatoes!

Morning Elixir

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:49:11 +0100

Jonny still alternates between a fruit/veg smoothie and cereal with almond milk for breakfast, but I've been blazing my own path the past couple of weeks. It changed when we were at my sister Stephanie's house in Tarrytown, NY for Thanksgiving. She is a holistic health coach who recently started working with a local caterer/shop to offer juice cleanses. She made me some delicious juice while I was there and it inspired me to pull the juicer I bought when I dabbled with "raw" a couple years ago from the nether regions of my cabinet and dust it off. I know juice, rather than the whole fruit, is controversial, but it seems to be working for me. I love the light feeling in the morning and surprisingly, it t keeps me full until lunchtime. And not to steal The Big Sexy's over-sharing shtick, my bathroom visits have been quite impressive.

The mixture I've been making is below. The great thing is, you can alter quantities and combinations and they all taste pretty good. This is a variation of Kimberly Snyder's Glowing Green Smoothie from her very interesting book, The Beauty Detox Solution that Vegan Wagoneer "V-secker" gave me. It was cool to see a lot of similarities to Engine 2, although she takes it a step further and touts food combining. I'd be curious to know if any readers have had experience/success with that?

Makes a generous serving:

3 large carrots
1 meyer lemon
2 stalks celery
1/2 cucumber
2 leaves of romaine
1/2 head fresh spinach
1/2 asian pear
1 cup parsley
1-2 inches fresh ginger

Amy and Jonny's Excellent NYC Vegan Adventure

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:45:25 +0100

Jonny and I had a weekend to ourselves, so we decided to mosey up to NYC. Jonny has been feeling frustrated with his recent weight plateau, but we took a pass and had a good time. Only 1 lb up each this am, so I guess it wasn't too bad. Here's the run-down of our vegan food extravaganza.

Friday night, we lucked out with a 6 pm reservation at Dirt Candy. It's so teeny-tiny that they need to use the dining tables as a prep area. I know this because we got there an hour before our reservation. They tell you if you are more than 10 minutes late, you risk losing your table, so I didn't want to take any chances. We entertained ourselves in the cute shops nearby; Jonny even got himself a hat. It was interesting to see the space transform into a cozy, mood-lit veggie haven. The question we kept asking ourselves was, "how will it compare to Vedge?" We really liked it a lot, but it was no Vedge. The food was creative and tasty, but it isn't the kind of place we would go two nights in a row, which we have already done with Vedge!

After a wonderful morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday, we met a dear friend for lunch at Candle 79, which many consider NYC's premier vegan restaurant. It did not disappoint. When we saw whole wheat spaghetti and wheatballs on the menu, we knew what Jonny was going to have. I asked him if he would share and he said NO! So Laura and I split an order and also the seitan burrito and a kale salad. Everything was delicious.

That night, we were slated for Pure Food and Wine, but we ended up getting tickets for Billy Elliot, so we needed to eat earlier and in the theater district. I decided to give one of my old haunts a try. Zen Palate was one of the few restaurants where I had a choice of what to eat as a vegetarian when I lived in NYC in the early 90s. It looked different from my memory, but the food was really good. We have discovered that vegans are a friendly bunch and we had a great time talking to the couple who sat next to us. If you like music blogs, check out Brian's cool blog.

We loved everywhere we ate, but Sunday was super special, because we had plans with Vegan Pastry Chef Fran Costigan. We met Fran a few months ago through Char Nolan from Whole Foods Market and she has been a wonderful Jonny O supporter. Fran suggested an amazing little place called Sacred Chow in the West Village. I don't know which was better, the food or the company, and that is a compliment all around! We feasted on sunflower pate, fresh pressed vegetable juices, tofu frittata, sweet potato hash and french toast, chatting away. It was a blast and we reflected on the way home, savoring the delectable goodies Fran created and gave to us when we said goodbye, how blessed we have been to have met so many interesting, engaging and vibrant people along this journey.

Summer's Last Gasp - PESTO!

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:24:53 +0100

Rocky running through Philadelphia's Italian Market

Charlie spent the night at my mom's this past Saturday night, so Jonny and I took advantage and drove into Philly for brunch Sunday morning. We went to a great place called Mi Lah Vegetarian, which is actually vegan. I've noticed a few other places using the more commonplace "vegetarian" classification. I wonder if they are afraid of scaring people off? We shared the blueberry pancakes and seitan burrito and a side of brussels sprouts (Jonny's favorite.)

After we ate, we didn't feel like going home yet, so we decided to venture down to the Italian Market. We hadn't been there in a while and it's always a treat. It's a section of 9th Street in South Philadelphia where the row houses have storefronts with awning-shaded sidewalks brimming with amazingly cheap (although unfortunately not any organic that I could find) produce. There are also a few shops that sell Italian specialty items. We had a great time at one place buying really cool shapes of whole wheat pasta and balsamic in white and apple flavors. One of the most gratifying parts for me was when we drove past the legendary Philly cheesesteak outposts and Jonny said the wafting meat/onion smell did not tempt him AT ALL!

I found the most gorgeous basil, I wish I took a photo of it before I put it in the cuisinart (above). It was just begging to be made into pesto. I knew it was probably my last chance to get it in such quality and quantity. My pesto recipe is very simple:

1. More basil than you think you need
2. Garlic
3. Raw pinenuts
4. Nutritional yeast
5. Salt and pepper

Sorry for no exact measurements, but it's hard to go wrong and I usually adjust the quantities after blending it. If you put a gun to my head, I would probably say:

4 cups basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup pinenuts
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
a few grinds of black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt

We had it for dinner last night with some of the beautiful whole wheat pasta, salad and a great soup mix I got too. I was surprised it was so flavorful, since the ingredients were pinto beans, dried porcini mushrooms, dried carrots (and not a lot of them) and a few spices. All I added was water!

Jonny's at the Flyers game, here's what we ate

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:49:13 +0100

I was inspired by Fran Costigan, who mentioned soba noodles the other day on her Facebook... I threw this together for me and Charlie and we both really liked it.

1 lb of firm tofu, drained
2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
3 cups of fresh baby greens for cooking (or use baby spinach)
1 box of soba noodles
3 Tbs peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's with flaxseeds)
1 cube of Dorot garlic or one clove minced
Vegetable broth
Bragg's liquid aminos
Ginger powder
Hot pepper flakes

Cook the soba noodles and set aside.

Cube the tofu and saute in a couple tablespoons of vegetable broth until it starts to brown. Add more broth if needed. Set aside.

In a non-stick pan, saute the frozen vegetables for a few minutes in broth, then add the greens. Move the veggies so half of the pan is clear and add about 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Into the broth drop in the garlic cube or minced garlic, a couple squirts of Braggs, a couple shakes of ginger and the peanut butter. Tilt the pan so that the broth and additions stay together and use a spatula or other utensil to combine all the elements until they become saucy. Add more broth if needed. Return the tofu and soba noodles to the pan and toss gently on low heat. Add hot pepper flakes if desired. Thanks, Fran!

Kale Chip Competition

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:39:42 +0100

As many of you know, Jonny is pretty much addicted to the kale chips I've been making for the past few months. Our dehydrator gets a workout an average of twice a week since he gets cranky if we run out. He loves them so dearly, I doubted that another recipe would captivate him as much.... until I saw Brendan Brazier's Sour Cream and Onion Kale Chips on One Green Planet:

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/recipe-sour-cream-and-onion-kale-chips/

Sorry, links are not loading on our site again, but it is worth the effort to copy and paste the link into your browser... they are THAT GOOD. I am serious. Man oh man, are they good.

The only problem is, now Jonny wants me to make BOTH versions. Such is life chez Sexy.