Author Archives: Kinenchen

Jan 25 2012
2 Comments
Cooking, Recipes, Snacks

Tabouleh… gesundheit…?

Tabouleh is an awesome snack, exotic salad or side dish that’s relatively simple to prepare and sure to impress. You can use traditional bulgur if you want but I can’t make any recommendations on how to prepare it.I make mine with quinoa because of the whole gluten thing and this is my interpretation of the traditional dish. Parsley is the star in this dish: it’s a great home remedy for bad breath (truly, it works… don’t tell my boyfriend) so if you’re inviting that good looking soul with the gnarly breath over for dinner, consider this bad boy for your appetizer. You’ll need the following:

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup  water

1/2 lemon

1 generous bunch of parsley

1 tomato, diced

2 tbsp chopped mint (optional, but makes it very authentic)

pinch of sea salt

pinch of pepper (optional)

1 tsp olive oil

Combine the quinoa, olive oil and the water in a microwave safe dish and microwave at 2 minute intervals until the water is absorbed. Here’s my quinoa in the microwave… don’t judge me. I’m a little lazy.

Meanwhile, chop up the parsley (make sure it’s well rinsed so there’s no grit in your tabouleh), mint if you’re adding it, tomato and onion.

Put the tomato and greens in a bowl.

Add the onion to the quinoa after the liquid is absorbed and microwave another 2 minutes, until it starts to get soft. The onion will add some sweetness to balance the tart lemon and herbal parsley. Combine the tomato and parsley with the hot quinoa, sprinkle salt, and squeeze the lemon over the top. The heat will cause the parsley to wilt slightly and take on the flavors of the dish.

Mix again and refrigerate until you’re ready. I think it’s better cold, but warm pleases too.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Jan 24 2012
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Desserts, Snacks

Adventures in fruit: Intergalactic planetary!

This is something many of you may be familiar with – starfruit.

It’s about the flavor of an apple with a rubbery outer skin and the texture of pear… maybe? Anyways, this striking fruit is better known for it’s shape than it’s flavor and makes awesome vegan gluten-free, soy-free decorations for cakes and pies.

If you see it, I hope you’ll give it a try.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Jan 22 2012
6 Comments
Desserts, Snacks, Thoughts

Adventures in fruit, a portrait of durian today.

Durian is from Southeast Asia and is formidable in all of it’s aspects. It’s big (about the size of a soccer ball), has a thorny outer skin (ouch!) and distinctive odor.

Some people find the smell off-putting. I’m not one of those. I suspect it’s partly genetic. I find they smell like almonds though I’ve heard them described as smelling like turpentine, gym socks, and rotting onions. I suppose any one of those odors would keep me from eating fruit.

In terms of nutrition it’s certainly a treat. It’s rich in unsaturated fats, fiber, iron, vitamin C, potassium and the tryptophan – the amino acid required for the synthesis of serotonin. Tryptophan is necessary for the synthesis of serotonin – an important neurotransmitter. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. That means your body can’t make it (like how it can make fat or carbon dioxide from sugar) and you have to include it in your diet.

The edible part of the fruit looks and tastes like creamy vanilla almond custard. I like to scoop out the flesh, separate the seeds and discard them, and put the good stuff into a container. I put it in the freezer and treat it like a pint of ice cream: having 2 or 3 bites whenever I get a bill or see bad news on TV.

Durian isn’t for the faint of heart. It can be expensive, difficult to find and to some, offensively smelly. However, if you’re one of the lucky souls who finds this fruit delectable, you might grow up to be a convert, like me.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Jan 17 2012
2 Comments
Cooking, Desserts

Macaroons… funny name, serious snack.

I love macaroons and have found that raw cookies resembling macaroons are a staple in vegan cuisine. Still, I’ve been craving the real thing. Shredded coconut is high in fiber and saturated fat. You might think, “this chick is terrified of fat… what’s she doing with coconut?” The saturated fat in coconut is largely composed of fatty acids like lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid, myristic acid and palmitic acids. Maybe now you’re thinking, “speak English, woman!”

Fun fact: your brain is the fattiest organ in your body – almost 2/3 of it is fat. Your brain is kind of like a huge incredibly intricate ball of electrical wiring, except instead of using rubber and plastic to insulate the wiring, it uses fat. Fatty acids like those found in coconut and other tree nuts, avocado, olives, and certain grains like flax make excellent building blocks for your brain. The fiber in these foods also makes it easier for your body to absorb these important nutrients.

Okay, now my brain hurts from thinking too hard and I must replenish it with macaroons. You’re going to need the following ingredients.

1.5 teaspoons EnerG egg replacer or starch
4 tablespoons almond or soy milk
2 tbsp syrup (agave nectar, maple, whatever kind you like)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 tbsp almond or cashew nut butter (peanut butter works in a pinch but has it’s own distinct flavor, cashew and almond are more neutral)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (omit the 2 tbsp of sugar if you get sweetened shredded coconut)
1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional, if you want chocolate macaroons!)
Preheat oven to 325F/160C degrees. Line a metal baking sheet with parchment and grease it lightly with olive oil or cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl, stirring and perhaps microwaving to get them to blend well. When everything is uniformly mixed, combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well. It should form a semi-dry dough.
Place rounded teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet you prepared earlier. I ended up mooshing them into appropriate shapes with my hands and then making an indentation in the middle with the bottom of the spoon.
Bake for 15 minutes. For an additional 5 minutes, watch the macaroons closely and take them out of the oven if the edges start to get too brown. Pick up the edges of the parchment carefully and place the parchment on a clean dry towel on a cool surface to cool. Makes 8 or so cookies. I drizzled mine with some cocoa that I melted with coconut sugar and cocoa butter.
This is Christie, signing off. OMNOM!
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Jan 16 2012
3 Comments
Cooking, Thoughts

Potato… wonder-food fantastic!

Potatoes get a bit of a bad rap. With the Atkins fad, people think potato and they think carbs. There’s really nothing wrong with potatoes except how we prepare them. Oily hash browns, French fried, baked and smothered with butter, bacon, sour cream and cheese… that’s probably not good for you. Potatoes by themselves are rich in vitamin C, niacin, B6, and folate and are a good source of iron, fiber and balanced protein. There are also so many different varieties: buttery Yukon Gold, creamy Caribe, all Blue, whatever. They’re kind of amazing. These are banana fingerlings.

Tonight, I’m making some roasted garlic rosemary potatoes. I sliced about 8 cloves of garlic, a handful of fingerling potatoes, a sprinkling of rosemary and a generous splash of white wine (I’m a fat-phobe, olive oil works great too… maybe I need to de-Atkins my thinking) I roasted them at 325F/160C for 30-40 minutes, wrapped in foil, until they browned around the edges and are tender. Insert into face, enjoy.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Jan 14 2012
1 Comment
Cooking, Snacks

Tostones… vegan junk food, not a party game.

Plantains are like bananas in appearance but they’re not as sweet. Usually they’re cooked (fried, boiled, grilled, baked, whatever) green when their texture and flavor resembles that of a potato. When overripe they’re either eaten raw or fried in thin chips. Plantains are basically the Inspector Gadget of the banana world.

Here’s me peeling one… they’re a little stubborn. I’m going to make them into tostones, a regional specialty, sometimes called patacones.

Most recipes for tostones call for twice fried plantains, but I prefer to boil for the first round instead of frying. This results in a tostone that remains soft after it cools. Traditional recipes can get hard and unpalatable when cool. Anyways, I chopped my plantains into inch long sections (2-3cm) at a slight angle. I dropped them into water, brought it to a boil, reduced the heat to a low boil and allowed to simmer for another 25 minutes.

After boiling, they should be soft and yellow. I poured the water over a strainer to collect the plantain pieces.

One by one I placed each piece onto a clean plate that I moistened with warm water…

… and SMASHED it with a clean damp glass jar. Do this carefully to maintain the aesthetic or just smoosh them for the fun of it.

Then I fried it on each side for about a minute in grapeseed oil, until golden brown. You can use whatever kind of oil you like as long as it’s suitable for frying. I know Melissa likes safflower oil. I place them onto a clean dry paper towel to drain off some of the oil. They’re great with hot sauce, mojo (a garlic and parsley sauce) or just salt. They’re also rich in vitamins A and C as well as magnesium and potassium.

Let me know how you like them!

This is Christie, signing off!

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Jan 13 2012
2 Comments
Thoughts

Cardiovascular health and veganism.

I took a hiatus to visit a family member who had a stroke earlier this week. I try not to be pushy about trying vegan food though admittedly it’s difficult at times. I’m pretty sure delicious looking/tasting food speaks for itself and is much more alluring than lectures about ripping guts out of conscious animals, feces contaminated spinach and lard in its various forms. I think everyone knows where I stand since we all had dinner together the evening I arrived.

I sat back and listened to everyone else talk. There was a lot of talk about nutrition, cholesterol levels and preventative medicine. People talked about skim milk versus 2%, avoiding mayonnaise and stress, and second opinions. I was thinking about the warning for risk of stroke on my old synthetic estrogen/progestin pills as soon as they brought up milk. People are very resistant to the idea of being vegan in general – it’s a demanding position if you’re not thrilled about new experiences. It’s also a tacit criticism of something people have been doing for years and either don’t think about or tell themselves is justified somehow. A lot of people looked at their dinners and at me and then told me “I don’t normally eat like this”, “should I be eating this?” and “I could eat better” as they heaped animal parts and animal reproductive secretions onto their plates.

I have an opinion in the matter of how diet can influence susceptibility to stroke, heart attack, and cancer. My opinion is informed by the best evidence available to me, not conjecture or speculation or some special I saw on a news channel one time. I hope you would choose to educate yourself on your opinions regardless of what they are and to ask lots of questions instead of making things up. If you have to tell people “this isn’t typical”, say “I can improve” or ask “should I be doing this?”, whether you’re talking about your exercise routine or your diet, just keep in mind that you’re not the only one who is affected by your choices. If you’ve got an iota of doubt (“should I be doing this?”) you should be reading more. Don’t adopt my opinion, make your own, and make sure you can back it up. I know I can.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Jan 10 2012
6 Comments
Main Dishes, Recipes, Snacks

Salad rolls… kinda like a sandwich without the bread, meat and cheese.

Now that Melissa is talking about how much she loves to cook, I’m going to post about more things I make when I don’t want to cook. This is a little snack that’s low calorie, high fiber, and full of nutrients. Here’s what you need to start: a sheet of nori (like for sushi rolls), mixed salad greens, and your favorite dressing.  Additional fillings can include sprouts, avocado, shredded carrots, tomato, hummus, baba ghanouj or some other spread. Get creative! If you’re using a soft spread like hummus, sprouts or shredded carrots will keep things from getting too messy. Put the nori on your sushi roller (you can get one for $5 on eBay or at your local specialty market. I covered mine with cling wrap for easier clean up.), add a generous fistful of greens, and put your toppings onto that along with a few tablespoons of hummus or whatever spread you like.

Afterward roll it gently. This part gets easier with practice. Moisten the far edge of the nori with a wedge of lemon or slice of tomato to seal the roll.

I like to slice it for presentation and dip into my favorite salad dressing. Lately it’s been a tough call between “herb tahini” and “spicy tomato basil”. There are so many possible combinations: mango and pesto hummus, garlic hummus and avocado, whatever!

Some day soon, I’ll share my recipe for home-made hummus. So many flavors: black olive, roasted red pepper, cucumber&dill, roasted artichoke heart, pesto, chipotle, extra garlic, sun-dried tomato, whatever. Let me know what combination you dream up! I want to nom them!!!

 

This is Christie, signing off.

 

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Jan 07 2012
8 Comments
Thoughts

Isoflavones vs. Steroids. Vegetables vs. Animals.

“Doesn’t soy contain estrogen?” People ask me this question a lot, especially when I mention that I don’t eat dairy. I call this “the milk talk”.
I’ll apologize in advance – I’m a biochemist so that will color my explanation… or maybe make it so colorless that you fall asleep. Anyways, what people are talking about when they say soy has estrogen in it is that soy contains compounds called isoflavones and flavones. All plants have them. These compounds are ‘estrogen-like’. This is what isoflavones and flavones look like in a simple chemist’s line drawing (think: stick figures for molecules, they don’t actually look like that). You don’t need to know what any of this means, just note the similarities and differences between all 4 drawings in this post.

Isoflavones and flavones aren’t one specific compound: they’re a group of compounds with similar structures, not unlike the group called steroid hormones. Estrogen and testosterone are both steroids.
 
I hope you’ll notice that estrogen and testosterone are much more similar to one another than to the flavone or it’s isomer (OMG you just learned some organic chemistry!). You might also know that estrogen and testosterone have very different effects on the human body: one makes you grow muscles and chest hair and the other makes you grow breasts and smooth skin. If you surmise that flavones and isoflavones have different effects too, then you’re correct: there is interest from the scientific community in flavones and isoflavones as treatments for cancer (and heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis). Research suggests that various compounds in the group of known isoflavones and flavones are effective for treating and preventing the very cancers that estrogen and testosterone are known to promote.
Additional fun fact: withdrawal from estrogen causes PMS. Withdrawal from testosterone causes ‘roid rage. Withdrawal from isoflavones and flavones has no documented symptom.
So you might be asking yourself, “Why is she going on about estrogen?” or maybe even. “well, dairy milk doesn’t have any hormones in it. I buy organic.” Really? Are you sure about that?
Where do you think dairy comes from? Cows.
All cows: male, female, young, old? Female cows.
How do you get a lady cow to make milk: motivational posters? Nope, you impregnate them.Then their levels of estrogen skyrocket, but not just estrogen. Progesterone and eventually prolactin will also show up in a pregnant cow’s secretions: from urine to (you guessed it) milk.
But there isn’t very much hormone in dairy milk, right? The concentration doesn’t matter, you don’t need a lot.
Why? Steroids (and all hormones) operate in something scientists call “signal cascade”. I would describe it as chemical chain letters: each cell that gets the signal (1 hormone molecule), sends copies to all of it’s closest friends and a few not-so-close friends.
If you’re really thinking, you might ask yourself, “Doesn’t pasteurization destroy it?” Well, pasteurization occurs a no more than 72C/160F (Wikipedia). Dessicated estrol begins to break down at 245C/473F (according to my Merck manual). Just throwing that out there.
This is what I’m really getting at: if you’re worried about the estrogen-LIKE compounds in soy, why haven’t you considered the actual estrogen (and progesterone) secreted by the [recently] pregnant cow whose milk you’re drinking? Anyways, I prefer almond milk – fewer calories.
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Jan 06 2012
5 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Lasagna… hold the meat and cheese, please.

I usually use eggplant in place of lasagna noodles because of the whole… alergic to pasta thing but I encourage you to use it if you’re so inclined. The great thing about eggplant is that it’s also low in calories relative to traditional semolina pasta and has a lot of fiber and nutrients that pasta lacks. I’m biased. I dig plants.

For this recipe I took a large sized eggplant (2 medium would do) and sliced it thin. I wouldn’t recommend soaking the eggplant for this recipe since it can get kinda soupy if you do.I leave the skin on but you can remove it if you want. Pre-cooking the eggplant will result in a softer texture, you can do this by pan frying it or baking it until golden brown. This is my recipe for vegan ‘ricotta’. It’s a little more flavorful than regular ricotta cheese but I doubt anyone will complain.  In your blender or food processor, combine the following:

1 16oz. box firm silken tofu (I like Mori-nu for this recipe)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional but recommended)

1tsp garlic powder

1 2 tsp starch (I used arrowroot)

1 pinch nutmeg

garlic salt to taste

Blend all of this until it’s uniform and creamy. After this mixing step, I added 2 generous handfuls of spinach – this is optional but a girl needs her iron.

I blended it lightly and then spread it on a layer of eggplant that I had positioned on a lightly oiled baking dish.

I put another layer of eggplant on top, (you can make more layers if you want but it’ll take longer to cook) followed by a generous helping of your favorite pasta sauce. I buy whatever is vegan, gluten-free and on sale. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes. Remove the foil, toss on some crushed walnuts, if desired and bake another 20 minutes.

I served it garnished with some sliced olives and fresh basil.

This is Christie, signing off… I will probably eat that whole dish of lasagna tonight.

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