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 14 2012
2 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Tofu and Vegetables in Garlic Sauce

Today is my Dad’s birthday. My Mom planned a feast… a feast of nothing vegan. Ribs. Pork chops. Upo cooked with ground meat. Baked catfish. Pancit with chicken (and using chicken broth). Tofu and Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce. Even that last item wasn’t vegan. So, I asked if I could cook the tofu myself, using an easy vegan recipe that I found online as my guide. (Psssstt… check out this blog from Jes, who wrote the recipe. It’s amazing.)

Ingredients:
1 pound extra firm tofu
2 bunches Chinese broccoli (try with other veggies or a mix of veggies–carrots, regular broccoli,  baby corn, bok choy…)
1/3 cup safflower or olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil (optional)

Sauce Ingredients:
2 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 or 5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp corn starch

Fist, make the sauce. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil and then add the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sugar. Stir the mixture together. When it’s heated through and combined, remove from heat and set aside.

 

Prepare your tofu. Cut it as you wish: I cut mine into cubes. Prepare your vegetables. I cut the broccoli stems into 1″ or so pieces but left the leaves whole. If you’re using Chinese broccoli, separate the stems and leaves into two groups since it will take longer for the stems to cook.

They look like little marshmallows!

Heat the oil in a wok and add the tofu. When the tofu has been browned, add the broccoli stems. Once the stems are cooked–easily stabbed by a fork but still crisp–make another hole and add the leaves and florets.

 

Once the leaves/florets are wilted, reduce the heat a bit, and add the sauce. Mix everything together. Make a hole in the pan and then add the corn starch to thicken the sauce. Once the sauce is of desired consistency, remove from heat. Serve the dish with rice or grain of your choice (I opted for a brown rice/quinoa mix).

This recipe is so cheap and easy, as well as a great way to enjoy Chinese food without wondering if that vegetable dish you ordered is really vegan. I’m also happy to report that the dish ended up being a hit with our guests today. –Melissa

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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 09 2012
3 Comments
Cooking, Thoughts

NEWSFLASH: I Love to Cook!

I have learned a lot about myself since changing my lifestyle. One of them is this: I love to cook. Food is so much a part of our lives, yet it amazes me how many of us take cooking for granted. Ingredients and what you put into your body are important. Just as important is how those foods are cooked or prepared.

Thanks in large part to Christie, I knew that going vegan would mean getting into the habit of cooking. Here is an exercise for anyone who is a carnivore or even a vegetarian: pick your top three favorite restaurants and look through the menu for items that are truly vegan. Now cross out any that are salads. You likely are left with zero options (excluding those that you can substitute or from which you can remove ingredients, such as cheese). Restaurants are no longer as fun to go to, and I have found myself eating a LOT of potatoes–none mashed nor baked.

Cooking more often has opened my eyes to many new things and has made me more creative. Adding balsamic or red wine vinegar can bring out flavors in simple dishes. Garlic does wonders. There is more than one way to cook broccoli or cauliflower or beans. Recipes don’t need to be followed to the letter.

I am at a place now where I lament not having time to cook, or not having certain ingredients around the house to play with. The act of cooking a vegan meal is just as satisfying as eating the meal itself. I have dabbled with the idea of learning new skills such as painting or music or sewing. Now, I am looking into taking a cooking class, specifically a chopping or knife class, which is a skill I know I will put to good and practical use. I even want to start baking, which is major for me. The best part? I see how my cooking skills are improving. Few things in life are better than the empirical knowledge that you are getting better at something.

I used to be a lazy cook. Making an omelette was as adventurous as I would get. I am so happy that I have embraced cooking. Anyone who is committed to being vegan or vegetarian should make time to cook. We all gotta eat, right? You won’t be sorry and it will help you stay true to your lifestyle.

Looking forward to sharing more recipes and cooking adventures with you! –Melissa

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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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Jan 05 2012
3 Comments
Snacks

Cheese… vegan style.

You: Don’t you miss cheese?

Me: What, do you think I’m a communist!? Of course I miss cheese. But you want to know why I haven’t gone back to my one wedge of manchego per week habit? Cheese tastes different to me now. It’s bitter. Milk too. When I get coffee and they give me dairy instead of soy, not only do I get pimples the next day but it tastes bitter (I return it, it’s not worth the farts and zits). I suspect I was so used to whatever it was that makes dairy taste weird to me now that I just didn’t notice. It reminds me of when I switched tap water for distilled – now Florida tap water tastes chemical. Weird. Anyways, there are some great cheese substitutes out there. My favorite for cheese and crackers is from Dr. Cow.

This company makes a range of tree nut cheeses. Feel free to make jokes, I do. Macadamia and cashew nuts seasoned with delicious exotic things like dulse (a kind of seaweed), hemp (a relative of hops, like in your beer) and Himalayan sea salt. It’s got a good texture for slicing and putting on crackers and is actually a raw food! I wouldn’t consider it a replacement for any particular type of cheese, it’s really a food all it’s own. You might find it’s a little pricey, usually $8 or so for a 2.6 ounce chunk. It’s about the same as you would pay for a similar chunk of seriously fancy aged Spanish cheese like manchego, just without the lactose and cholesterol. I can rationalize it… easy.

I wouldn’t think twice about serving this to strangers at a cocktail party. I love this cheese that much.

This is Christie, signing off… to finish that little cheese wedge.

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Jan 03 2012
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Main Dishes, Recipes

Tofustek!

When I first thought about starting a vegan-centric blog, I was going to focus on veganizing Filipino dishes. Filipino food isn’t necessarily heavy on meat: my mom can give you a lecture on how she rarely ate meat as a girl growing up in the Philippines. I should ask her to write it down and post it here. Oh, I digress. One of the Filipino dishes that I knew I would really miss is bistek or beef steak. It’s basically meat and onions so how can you possibly veganize it and make it similar to the real thing?

Duh. Tofu is the solution to my bistek problem. However, I still have issues with tofu texture and taste. There is just no getting away from that tofu taste. Anyway, I had leftover tofu in the fridge and decided to try making it into Tofustek! (exclamation point is required). I am 99% happy with the result. It still needs something, but here is the basic recipe with which we can tinker.

1 block extra firm tofu
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice or calamansi juice if you’ve got it
1 medium onion, sweet vidalia recommended but any onion will do
ground black pepper
olive oil or safflower oil (my new favorite cooking oil, will post about it soon!)

Double up on the soy sauce and lemon juice if you like your dishes to be more soupy, and use more or less onion if you wish.

1. Slice the tofu into mini-steaks or into chunks — whatever you like! Put the tofu in a shallow bowl or dish so that you only have one layer of it, if possible.

2. In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce and lemon. Taste a drop of it to make sure it’s a flavor you like. If it’s too sour, add a bit more soy sauce. If you can’t taste the lemon or calamansi, add a bit more. Once it’s mixed, sprinkle in some black pepper.

3. Pour the sauce over the tofu, taking care to coat each piece. Let it sit for awhile to marinade. Five minutes or so should be plenty of time.

4. While the tofu is marinading, slice your onion into rings and set aside.

5. Heat up your pan and add oil. Brown the tofu. IMPORTANT: Do NOT add any of the sauce! Some will obviously find its way into the pan, but try to make it as dry as possible.

6. After the tofu is browned, remove it from the pan and place it in a bowl or container, preferably the container in which you plan to serve or store the dish.

7. Add a bit more oil to the pan and then throw in your onions. Brown until they are wilted, or earlier if you like your onions a bit more crisp. Then, add the sauce and remove from heat. Careful: it’s gonna sizzle.

9. Top the tofu with the onions and sauce.

Serve Tofustek! with white rice or your favorite grain. Goes well with steamed or broiled Chinese eggplant, or with salted fresh tomatoes. Tofustek! is not quite as delicious as bistek, but it’s a great vegan alternative and super easy to make.

Enjoy! And may you have a Happy New Year! – Melissa

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