Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Minnesota Food Fun...

 Last week & and I went to Minneapolis to hang out with our fake family. 

Michelle is my personal Martha Stewartish nemesis. I compete with her on a food level. She stinking beats me every time. I should give up and just go to her place, but no, she keeps inviting herself to Iowa. :  ). Michelle is also the one who cracks the fiction writing whip and insists that I feed her Fabio scenes. (Yes. I know, you have two coming. Art takes time!) 

She also likes to try out creative foodistry. She went all Vegan while we were there and had the ingredients for lots of tasty recipes that we then returned home with. We also tried a couple of restaurants. The first was a raw food restaurant*. I think this was a first for them. We've gotten a taste of raw and really, really admire the tricks of the trade. 

 Ecopolitan is a delicious raw food experience.

The wait was a little challenging... but if you go to a raw restaurant and plan on a speedy delivery I'm thinking that's an unrealistic expectation.

We each got half-sized meals. The three girls got hummus pizza...yum. yum. The mature, but-not-quite-overripe  girls got raw tostadas...yum. yum. yum.

And we ordered a cashew cheeze cheeze log or some such thing for an appetizer. We each shelled out 12 or so for a light lunch. Not bad. Especially considering the taste and the quality of the ingredients. 

Bottom line. If you haven't tried a raw restaurant you really should give it a go. At least once. And if you happen to be in the Twin Cities, Ecopolitan is a good one.

* Raw food. Simple explanation. Heat processing is not part of raw food preparation. No stove. No oven, no flames, no fry daddies.  Instead, the whole food items (like nuts, grains, beans, veggies and fruits) are put together in creative ways. Breads are really large, crackers that are dehydrated.  A dessert may have a crust made out of nuts and dates versus pastry. The food may be warm, just warm (and will never have been heated over 119 degrees (I believe that's the maximum) or served chilled. The reason? Heat kills the enzymes in food and the enzymes are the life and nutrition within the food. Just like boiling a veggie to mush kills the texture and flavor, heating kills the enzymes in fruit or veggies. 

A lot of items, like grains, beans and nuts are soaked to soften them and make them easier to eat. 

Serials and Scenario's Donna Klein's Supermarket Vegan ~ Reviewed

Supermarket Vegan:225 Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Recipes for Real People in the Real World [Paperback]
Donna Klein
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Perigee Trade; Original edition (January 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399535616


Description:


An all-new collection of delicious, simple vegan dishes using easy- to-find, readily available ingredients-going vegan has never been easier.


The author of The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen shows readers how to use readily-available ingredients to create healthy, delicious, simple, low-cost, and elegant family vegan meals, including:


More than 225 meat-free, egg-free, dairy-free recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, side dishes, beverages and desserts


No expensive and suspect meat, egg, or dairy "substitutes"

My Thoughts:

What you see is what you get in this cookbook. There isn’t a breakdown of why to go vegan or what vegan looks like. Instead the book gets right to the recipes. And the ingredients in the recipes should be in most grocery stores.

I think this Is going to be a great resource for someone who knows the whys of going vegan but doesn’t know where to start.

If you are looking for recipes to use your miso or make your own seitan you won’t find them here. But if you want to eat Vegan and love salads and veggies and don’t have a pantry full of unfamiliar ingredients you'll find some great recipes here. Also, if you have been a processed food Vegan who leans towards Oreos, Fritos, Soda but want to get more into veggies and make your own meals this would be a good transitioning cookbook. There is reliance on processed foods, but not as much as I expected. Most recipes use fresh produce as well. Of note, there are very few dessert recipes. Don't expect to find vegan cupcakes, cookies and oodles of treats. But the book doesn't promise that either.

I did find several recipes that sounded good. I did not make them as I borrowed the cookbook from my library and time was limited. However, I found several recipes I want to make so I'll be purchasing or borrowing this one again. Recipes like Maple Coleslaw, Hot and Sour Slaw, Tahini Brown Rice with Artichokes and Chickpeas, Salad Bar Vegetable Lo Mein, One Pot Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Cellophane Noodles with Scallions and Chow Sauce, Japanese-Style Soba Noodle and Red Cabbage Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Tuscan-Style Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes are a few of the ones that grabbed the attention of my tastebuds.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Law Lessons #1

I had every intention of posting yesterday. But, intentions are not necessarily reality in my world.

Excuse #1...busy.

Excuse # 2... uhh, I'm going to wax eloquent on #1.

Reasons I didn't post yesterday. Work. Came home. Cleared a section of my room for a piece of furniture. The section was full of craft stuff that had found home in the "craft closet". However, since #3 wanted to move back home, and the new "craft closet" was her bedroom we decided that #3 was more important. After the displaced items were put in a corner, my desk was moved into my bedroom. A couch was carried downstairs, a TV carried up, and items were moved in an attempt at organization. This was abandoned due to time issues, most of it on my bed. (At 10:15 p.m. I was regretting that choice. ) Dinner was thrown together. & made a delicious potato lentil curry sauce. I'd give you the recipe but it got a little crazy, spices were flying/veggies hurtling across the kitchen. We killed the cumin and curry. Toad-Man dropped by to pick up some stuff for his service group's rummage sale. He stayed for dinner. Nice surprise. Then & and I headed out for our first Citizen's Police Academy class.

Yes. Citizen's Police Academy.

Can I tell you how excited I am? No? Too bad, I'm going to. Our city does a once a year 12 week class that covers our department breakdown and details. We met at a training facility with three firing ranges and several class/training rooms. It's pretty state of the art and we will be doing some serious hands on as we get into the classes. Last night was the overview and tour. Amazing! Apparently the gun cleaning room is so awesome that one of the FBI agents who used it said he'd never been in one that nice, even at Quantico. Did you know lead dust from bullets is wicked bad? And when you fire you get engulfed in smoke, containing lead. Who knew? Apparently a metro area firing range owner died not too long ago from lead poisoning because he didn't have a good filtration system. The training facility has a filtration system that is top notch. I didn't even have a clue that lead was still even in bullets. And our tour guide says it takes 7 years for the lead to be fully purged from your system once you come into contact with it.

The chief of police did most of the talking last night. If ever I wrote a police chief character for a book or movie I'd use ours, the man was perfectly cast. He wore his 30+ years on the force on his broad, slightly slumped shoulders. The importance of his job and the weight of caring have cast a patina of weariness around his eyes, but his silver cookie duster mustache softened the serious set of his countenance. A rumbly growl tinged his voice and his colorful word choices which were a mix of insider lingo and civilianese.

I learned that our police department is a lean, efficient force that does an amazing job. The coverage of police officers for a city our size is mind-boggling tiny. The biggest concern the officers and chief had was the difficulty in finding good men or women. Integrity is their primary concern and out of the last batch of 212 applicants they found 11 who made it through the process. Not great statistics.

I cannot wait for the gun handling and CSI classes. This is going to be SO interesting. I will, of course, share some of what I learn. : ).

Was. But not is...picture the contents spread around a room in various assorted places. That's reality. But...the closet is now being used by the one person I'd hoped would eventually come back home.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ And I Won't Even Get a Visit From the Tooth Fairy...

A little whine with my cheese...here's the deal. I'm going to write what I know. And tonight it's going to be a crybaby saga. Feel free to click out now. It won't get any better. I do promise NOT to post pictures of my future dental moments though.

Commencing whining...

My face hurts. No, this is not an opening for someone to say..."that's funny cuz it's killing me." Though I might laugh because I think that's a great line.

My face has hurt the past few weeks. I thought it was my tooth. A crown was bestowed upon me a few months ago. The tooth next to the crown needed a touch up and that area has been a little sensitive. Lately, there's been some extra crabbiness in those parts. I thought there might be a problem with one of those little guys so went to the dentist. NOT my favorite place to go, I must say. However, I do like mine. He thought my bite was causing irritation and he ground down a bit of tooth.

Then I went on a trip, and while there, especially on the ride home my whole face was not happy...so I thought I had an inner ear thing going on or sinus issues. So I put tea tree oil in my ear and took a few shots of oregano oil. Crazyily enough, after the burn wore off and I could see through my watering eyes, my ear was feeling clear and good. But, my face still hurt. Then, I bit down at dinner and bam! I knew something wasn't right. Heat and cold, no problem. A tongue or soft food barely touching the surface of the furthest back molar was agonizing. I kept myself loaded up on pain relievers went to work (last day of the month....and a busy lab day...oy) and called my dentist. They could've put me in first thing in the morning...but as I said, last day of the month, lots of x-rays and bone scans. So they made room for me at the end of the day.

I told him I knew the exact tooth and what it was doing. End of discussion. It's called something with the word percussion. It means the nerve is dying, is dead, or is working on an abscess. Two choices. A root canal and a crown or pulling the darn thing.

He gave me an antibiotic. (I am wanting to freak out...oh, no, my good bacteria.) I made an appointment to get it pulled. UGH. I'm going to be drinking lots of kefir, kombucha and not looking forward to the appointment. On the flip side, I do want to eat, sleep and smile without face pain.

Ummm. I would be such a baby if I had to deal with chronic pain or some major health issue. Another reason to remain proactive with health. I think I want this to be the last procedure I ever need to have done.

Serials and Scenario's Brendan Brazier's Thrive Foods~ Reviewed

Thrive Foods
Brendan Brazier

From the Author
In the Thrive Foods, I introduce something called the Nutrient-to-Resource Ratio, which considers the amount of each natural resource that goes into food production in exchange for the amount of nutrients that food offers. Based on these findings, I then make suggestions as to what foods are most beneficial to personal health as well as environmental preservation. The goal is simple: get as high a level of health-boosting micronutrients from food, while expending the smallest amount of each natural resource to do so. (Essentially, it's a mathematical way of saying plant-based whole foods make a lot of sense). There are also 200 recipes, including a few from my favorite North American restaurants, as well as a few of my favorite chefs.

About the Author
Brendan Brazier is a former professional Ironman triathlete and the creator of VEGA, an award-winning whole food product line. Recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities on plant-based nutrition, Brazier is a guest lecturer at Cornell University.

My Thoughts:

I haven’t checked out Brendan Brazier’s previous two books, but, since my public library had Thrive Foods, I did indeed check this one out.

Brazier’s why to go plant-based is very compellingly presented. He has done some serious homework. The first 100 or so pages of Thrive Foods is focused on the realities of nutrition and why the Standard American Diet is not a recipe for health. Brazier then tackles what animal products contribute to (or actually take from) the environment. He offers solutions. I.E. go plant-based, and he offers the how to do that. Finally, in an attempt to “boil down” foods to the most nutrient rich/best overall choice he’s come up with a formula. Now. I’ll be honest. Though I was intrigued with this formula and the end result, my inner math-phobe rebelled a bit and I went into my high school math class induced happy place. But, since I've matured and survived radiation math I pulled myself back out and decided I needed to learn what he was patiently teaching. It's fascinating and horrifying. His top Thrive food choices added a positive spin after the bad news, so I ended up feeling hopeful that one person, one choice at a time, does make a difference. I was also thrilled to see that many of his go-to power foods are ones we already incorporate into our lives. He introduced me to several more.

Finally, Brazier offers loads of recipes, some his own that are tried and true. Others from chefs and restaurants he respects. Most of them sounded delicious. Brazier makes his own sports drinks and bars. And his athletic abilities prove that his diet is indeed part of making him the machine that he is. Since my time with the book was short-lived I didn't actually make any. However, these are the recipes I want to try. His Lemon-Lime Sports Drink, Kombucha Mojito, Candied Grapefruit Salad, Cream of Asparagus Soup, Energy Bars and Gels, Roasted Garlic Quinoa, Rustic Sweet Onion Flat Bread, Bok Choy Couscous with Sacha Inchi, Live Falafels, Live Seasoned Cashew Cheese, Live Cashew Sour Cream, Pecan and Dill Pate...okay. I want to try a lot of the recipes, and I'll be buying the book.

Alas, now the library version of Thrive Foods has to go back to the library.

I recommend this book to those who really want to go the next step from whatever diet they eat into whole food veganism. Athletes or manly men who wonder if they can find enough protein in plant food to survive and thrive should also check into Brazier’s books. Newbie or transitioning from standard Vegan to whole food Vegan would benefit from this book as well. It's also going to be a great resource on what foods are the richest Thrive foods and how to prepare them. Folks who just wonder if a Vegan lifestyle is realistic, contains what the body needs, or palatable might want to score a copy. Finally, if you are eager to green up your life and reduce your carbon footprint, you should find his calculations fascinating.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Sing-Song

Photo credit: paulabflat from morguefile.com

A bird does not sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song.

Chinese proverb

Scraps and Snippets ~ Pinch Those Buns...

See yesterday's post if you're curious about the bun background story. Do you buy buns? Uhhh, they are stinking expensive. But if you make your own with organic ingredients and good grains, they aren't expensive at all. I will now be making all my buns. These are really easy and tasty. I'll tell you a little secret...& experimented with some delicious desserty type spread and we tried it out on these. Uh. I'll share that with you soon. Think Texas Roadhouse rolls. Not kidding.

But back to the buns. Buns.

Yep.

Buntastic!

6 Good sized, 8 medium and 10 or so slider buns.

3 teaspoons yeast

1 cup warm water (110-115 f)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 TBSP olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour + additional to knead into dough as needed. (I used mix of unbleached white and whole wheat pastry flour)

Sesame seeds or spices.

Put yeast in bowl and cover with 1/4 of the cup of water. Stir and add sugar. Let sit for several minutes til it foams. Add oil, salt, remaining water, flour. Stir until mixed well. It will form a soft ball. Add another 1/4 cup of flour or so, knead that in (in the bowl works just fine). Repeat that step two or three more times until the dough doesn't stick to you and it forms a nice ball. Knead it a minute or so. Let sit in a warm spot for 1/2 hour or 45 minutes, it will double in size. Preheat oven to 425. When ready form the dough into 6, 8 or 10 similar sized balls. Flatten each ball slightly and place on a greased cookie pan or stone. If you want to sprinkle spices or sesame seeds, damped top of bun with water then sprinkle, press down slightly with your finger...mine didn't all stay on and I didn't sprinkle or press. Let sit another 10 minutes or so. Place in the oven and bake 22 minutes for the 6 larger buns, 18-19 minutes for 8 normal sized buns and 15 minutes for 10 slider buns. When cool, slice in half and serve with favorite sandwich fillings.