Eggplant Chickpea Curry

What's great about this curry is that its roasted so you don't have to stand over the stove while its cooking.

vegetable oil

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp tumeric

{or, simply use a couple of teaspoons of curry powder.}

1 medium eggplant, cubed

1 medium onion, cut into lengthwise wedges

1 15-oz can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans

a couple of large handfuls of baby spinach

preheat oven to 425

mix together the spices and oil. add eggplant, chickpeas, and onions. add salt. toss all together. spread the veggies in a roasting pan, roast in the oven for 30 minutes. stir once or twice. cook until eggplant is tender. stir in the spinach and roast until wilted, about 2 minutes. optional, serve over rice.

RAW sushi!

A suprisingly economical adventure. And fast! With the main investments being nori and soysauce, after a few tries I was able to whittle down the prep time to less than 15 minutes!

Equipment:

it helps to have a sushi roller (looks like a tiny placemat made out of bamboo sticks) you can get one for $3 at whole foods.

Ingredients:

3 parsnips (grated) for the "rice"

nori sheets

i used:

cucumber

avocado

spouts

scallions(green onions)

feel free to use your own favorites!

1. grate the parsnips on a cheese grater. the parsnips are a little starchy and a little sweet just like rice.

2. lay out a sheet of nori on your sushi roller. sprinkle a layer of grated parsnips on about half of the nori sheet, leaving a little extra space around the sides.

3. lay strips of cucumbers, avocados, green onions, across the sheet on the parsnip side.

4. starting on the side with the fillings, start to roll up your sushi..... "TUCK, SMUSH, and ROLL" these three words will become clear when you do it. As you get to the end of the roll, slightly wet the nori with some warm water (like rolling a cigarette, or licking an envelope) this will make it stick.

5. cut your roll up with a sharp knife into approximately 6 pieces.

6. enjoy with ginger, soy sauce, and tear duct purging levels of wasabi!

Less Meat = More Food

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/327/5967/810

Could Less Meat Mean More Food?

Erik Stokstad

Here's a simple idea you may have heard for improving food security: Eat less meat. The logic goes like this. People in the developed world eat a huge amount of animal protein. And consumption of meat, eggs, and milk is already growing globally as people in poorer nations get richer and shift their diets. That's a problem because animals are eating a growing share of the world's grain harvests—and already directly or indirectly utilize up to 80% of the world's agricultural land. Yet they supply just 15% of all calories. So, the argument goes, if we just ate less meat, we could free up a lot of plants to feed billions of hungry people and gain a lot of good farmland. Some food-security researchers, however, are skeptical. Although cutting back on meat has many potential benefits, they say the complexities of global markets and human food traditions could also produce some counterintuitive—and possibly counterproductive—results.

Nutrition Concerns for Vegetarians-To-Be

Excerpts taken from Peter Singer's updated edition of Animal Liberation.

ON PROTEIN:

"The protein intake of the average American exceeds the generous level recommended by the National Academy of Sciences by 45 percent. Other estimates say that most Americans consume between two and four times as much meat as the body can use. Excess protein cannot be stored." p 181

Some is converted into carbohydrates for storage, the main by-product of this process is ammonia which is filtered out of the body through the kidneys (urine) and sweat.

"...most of the plant foods we eat--not just nuts, peas, and beans, but even wheat, rice, and potatoes--contain enough protein in themselves to provide our bodies with the protein we need." p 182

ON B12 for VEGANS:

"Only vegans, who take no animal products at all, need to be especially careful about their diet. There appears to be one, and only one, necessary nutrient that is not normally available from plant sources, and this is vitamin B12, which is present in eggs and milk, but not in a readily assimilable form in plant foods. It can, however, be obtained from seaweeds such as kelp, from a soy sauce made by the traditional Japanese fermentation method, or from tempeh, a fermented soybean product eaten in parts of Asia, and often now available in health food stores in the West. It is also possible that it is produced by microorganisms in our own intestines. Studies of vegans who have not taken any apparent source of B12 for many years have shown their blood levels of this vitamin still to be within the normal range. Nevertheless to make sure of avoiding a deficiency, it is simple and inexpensive to take vitamin tablets containing B12." p 182

Watermelon Granita - Perfect Summer Dessert!

3/4 cup water

1 1/4 cup sugar

medium watermelon

1 tbs lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp crushed cardamom pods (can also use ground cardomom)

combine water and 3/4 cup sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until dissolved. in a blender (or with my favorite: immersion blender... less clean up and time) puree the watermelon with the sugar syrup, cardamom, and lemon juice until smooth. pour the mixture into a 9x13 pan and freeze for 30 min. fluff the granita with a fork every 30 min until fluffy and frozen.

Bright, Fresh, Rainbow Minestrone

1 med yellow onion 

3 carrots

3 celery stalks

4 or 5 small potatoes

1/4 head of cabbage

2 cups green beans

1 can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 can canellini or white beans, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinse

10-15 cups of water

1 tbs fresh thyme

1 tbs dried oregano

1/3 cup chopped italian (flat leaf) parsley

15 leaves of fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

1. in a large pot, heat some olive oil, and saute the onions, oregano and thyme, and veggies until slightly tender. 

2. add all canned items

3. add water

4. add fresh herbs (parsley and basil)

5. add salt and pepper

BEST EVER COOKIE RECIPE

MAPLE PECAN COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups pecans, ground in food processor or incredibly finely chopped (i do it by hand due to lack of food processor)
2 cups quick oats, ground (i use organic rolled oats)
1 cup unbleached white spelt flour, sifted (i use oat flour)
1 cup whole spelt flour, sifted (i use oat flour)1 cup maple syrup (grade b syrup has more maple-licious flavor)
1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil (any kind of veggie or nut oil can work. i've used canola, but walnut and safflower have been particularly successful)
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
30 pecan halves

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground pecans, oats, and sifted white and spelt flours.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, vanilla, and sea salt.

4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry and stir well to combine.

5. Scoop a spoonful of dough onto lined baking sheet

 and gently press down using your palm. 

Repeat with the remaining dough. 

Press a pecan half into the top of each cookie.

6. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 30 cookies.