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…but not for long. Just for a while.
I’ve been missing in action these past few weeks. I’ve been sort of busy with life in general and a couple of ongoing projects. One project is this:
I think my family is some kind of nomadic tribe. It doesn’t seem like we stick around for very long. I describe buying a house like dating…it seems great the first little while but then you’re wondering what else is out there. I won’t say where we’re looking but it was our first choice when we moved out to the “country”, which is how most people describe where we live. I don’t find this to be a fitting description since we’re walking distance to most amenities including a grocery store, a Wal Mart, etc. I guess it’s country living with city perks. Anyways, our house is up for sale so we’ve been busy keeping it tidy and clean (basically making it look like no one lives here) and hoping a buyer comes along. We have a conditional offer on a new home in a neighbouring town. The condition is that this current house must sell for the house to be completed and become ours. Cross your fingers.
What else is going on? I still need to post a couple of recipe reviews that I completed for The Blissful Chef. Unfortunately with my busy schedule and some curve balls thrown my way I’m unable to complete testing all the recipes I was assigned.
Oh, and I’m getting ready to go here:
When opportunity knocks, I answer. Hubby needs to be in Rome for work so I’m tagging along. While Hubby works I’ll be visiting family in the south of Italy that I haven’t seen in 27 years! I’ll be visiting with the family for a few days and then meeting Hubby in Rome to tour the city for three full days.
So I’m busy. I’ll be back with pics of my trip and food posts. Stay tuned.
Category(s): My life, Recipe Testing
Tag(s): Italy, moving, the blissful chef, vacation
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I’ve been enjoying a mystery novel series by Joanne Fluke. The main character of the novels is Hannah Swensen and she owns a cookie shop. Hannah lives in a small town and when she’s not baking and running her cookie shop she’s solving crime. These books are easy and fun reads and they include recipes. I’ve marked a few that sound yummy and easy enough to bake as vegan recipes. The first recipe that I tried was Blue Blueberry Muffins.
(I apologize for the fuzzy picture.) What makes this muffin recipe special is the use of blueberry pie filling so you taste blueberries throughout the muffin. Yum!
Here’s the modified version of the recipe:
Blue Blueberry Muffins
(Makes 12 muffins)
1 1/2 sticks of Earth Balance, melted
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons water + 2 teaspoons PaneRiso Egg Replacers (or a similar product)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries — (no need to thaw if they’re frozen)
1/2 cup blueberry pie filling
2 cups unsifted flour + 1 tablespoon unsifted flour
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (don’t use rice — too thin)
* Preheat oven to 375°F, rack in the middle position
* Line the muffin pan with cupcake papers. Melt the Earth Balance. Mix in the sugar. Then add the PaneRiso, baking powder and salt, and mix thoroughly.
* Put one tablespoon of the flour in a plastic bag with your cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. Shake it gently to coat the blueberries and leave them in the bag for now.
* Add half the remaining two cups flour to your bowl and mix it in with half the milk. Then add the rest of the flour and milk and mix thoroughly.
* Add 1/2 cup blueberry pie filling to your bowl and mix it in. When your dough is thoroughly mixed, fold in the flour-coated fresh or frozen blueberries.
* Fill the muffin tins three-quarters full and bake at 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
* When your muffins are baked, set the muffin pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.
(Divide the blueberry pie filling into 1/2-cup portions and pop them in the freezer.)
Category(s): Books, Food
Tag(s): blueberry, Joanne Fluke, muffins, murder mystery
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Upon serving this chowder Hubby exclaimed that it was the best soup I’ve ever made. That’s a ringing endorsement since I make some pretty good soups. The chowder was more soup than chowder but what it lacked in chunckiness it made up for in taste. Delicious!
The recipe called for celery, red pepper, red lentils and corn. The addition of cumin, oregano, some salt, white miso and red vinegar, which added a nice twist, rounded this recipe out.
One of the recipes that I’ll be testing this week calls for daikon, which I’ve never used before and I had to buy in another city. I’ll keep you posted.
Category(s): Food, Recipe Testing
Tag(s): chowder, curry, red lentils, soup
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What a gorgeous day! The weather totally co-operated and so did the kids. The day started off with some outdoor time. The kids rode their bikes while Hubby mowed the lawn. That was followed by a visit from the in-laws and then some errands. The afternoon was spent outside on bikes, playing with friends, blowing bubbles and just having fun in the sunshine.
Later in the day I got some help in the kitchen from Hubby. We prepared The Blissful Chef’s blackened tempeh Caesar wrap. It’s been a while since I’ve been wow’d by a recipe and I was definetly wow’d by this one! We decided to BBQ rathan than bake the tempeh and it was so good and hearty. The marinade was delicious and really worked with the tempeh.
Here’s the tempeh off the BBQ (there were more peppers on a separate dish). Hubby prepared onions, mushrooms and peppers to top the tempeh in our wraps.
And here’s my wrap loaded with tempeh (about four slices) and veggies with a green salad on the side.
And here’s the oil-free Caesar dressing, which was made with almonds, pumpkin seeds, dulse and a few other ingredients. I liked the taste of the dressing but it didn’t remind me of Caesar dressing. I skipped the dressing on my second wrap and it probably tasted even better. I think the dressing wasn’t a good match with the earthiness of the tempeh and marinade.
Overall this was a filling and delicious meal. I love meals that come together so easily and get a two thumbs up from Hubby.
Category(s): Food, Recipe Testing
Tag(s): blissful chef, Recipe Testing, tempeh
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More recipe reviews on behalf of The Blissful Chef. This week I tried my hand at the lemon-roasted beets, Brussels and yam (I substituted a sweet potato). This is one of those dishes that is simple but delicious. It could easily serve six as a side dish or maybe four if topped with pumpkin seeds as a complete meal. I loved the mix of olive oil and fresh juice.
I served the roasted veggies alongside an eggplant dish that my mom made and fortunately there were plenty of leftovers.
And then I ate it alongside a salad.
The next recipe I tested was pan-fried tofu with carrot-ginger sauce. I love the ginger-carrot combo. Brilliant. Here’s the tofu being pan-fried (next time I’ll cut them into smaller pieces).
And here’s the tofu alongside the last of the roasted veggies.
I love testing new recipes. I have a few more to get through. Things have been hectic around here. News to come…
Category(s): Food, Recipe Testing
Tag(s): beets, blissful chef, Brussels sprouts, carrot, ginger, sweet potatoes, tofu
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This week I made The Blissful Chef’s Simple Lemon-Scented Basmati Rice. Hubby and I love basmati rice. Just opening the package is a delight for the senses. This recipe was easy and fast to make. Adding lemon and parsley to already delicious basmati rice was a great touch. I topped my rice the first night with green peas and had tamari roasted chickpeas on the side.
I’m flying solo this week while Hubby is away on business so I had leftovers for a couple of days but sadly no picture because he took the camera.
Category(s): Food, Recipe Testing
Tag(s): basmati, blissful chef, chickpeas, lemon, Recipe Testing, rice, tamari
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Introducing the first ever newsletter for Ingredients for Life. If you would like to receive the newsletter in your Inbox please send me an e-mail (stefaniam@ingredientsforlife.ca).
Category(s): Newsletter
Tag(s): Newsletter, probiotics
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I recently volunteered to do some recipe testing for The Blissful Chef’s cookbook. The Blissful Chef is all about “sustainable, plant-based, vegan, delicious, macrobiotic and healing cuisine”. So you can see why I was keen to help out. She sounds awesome.
Here’s a recap of the first recipe I tested: hearty lentil soup.
Lentil soup always reminds me of my childhood since I’m the only one out of my siblings who would eat it (and ask for more) when my mom made it. I like this basic lentil soup recipe because of its simplicity — lentils, water, carrots, celery and some basic seasonings. I added the juice of 1/4 lemon for some zip and then topped the soup off with a lemon slice.
I did enjoy this soup but wished there was more “oomph” and less broth. I would have preferred it to be more hearty. However, the simplicity makes it perfect for a cool fall or spring day lunch.
More recipe testing to come so stay tuned.
Category(s): Food, Recipe Testing
Tag(s): lentils, Recipe Testing, soup, the blissful chef
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I’ll be presenting Healthy Habits for Life at the Pure Indulgence Spa (Smiths Falls) on May 19th from 6 – 8 pm. Two spots available if you’re interested ($20/person).
Category(s): Events
Tag(s): Healthy Habits for Life, workshop
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A while ago I blogged about Alicia Silverstone’s appearance on Oprah. I made a comment about the amount of processed food, mainly in the form of fake meat, that she was talking about in the grocery store segment. I was disappointed that there was no explanation that fake meat products are great transitional foods for those flirting with a vegetarian diet or that they’re great in a time crunch. I got the impression (and so did many others) from the segment that Alicia was encouraging people to give up meat and eat processed food instead.
I recently purchased The Kind Diet, which is written by Alicia. The Kind Diet is a cookbook and textbook on living a healthy life with limited or no amount of animal protein (dairy, eggs and meat). First off, the segment on the Oprah show and the information in her book are different. In the book she explains when to use processed food and ultimately she encourages people to limit their use. I love many things about this book, including:
- it’s very well laid out
- it’s well written but doesn’t come off sounding preachy (Alicia has a great sense of humour and fun writing style)
- it contains options for everybody
Regarding the options, the book is broken down into three levels: flirting, vegan and superhero. The level you decide to experiment with depends on your comfort level with eliminating animal protein from your diet.
I’m currently juggling a few projects and haven’t made a recipe from this book but I do have some in mind. The recipes look like they’re easy to follow and would come together easily. I’ll keep you posted. The book is not just a cookbook but contains thoughtful and encouraging ideas of how to improve or maintain optimal health. In the meantime, if you’re looking to treat yourself to a new book I would recommend Alicia’s just for the thoughtful presentation of what living meat-, dairy- and egg- free means to you and the planet.
Category(s): Books, Food, Recipe Testing
Tag(s): Alicia Silverstone, cookbooks, Kind Diet, review
