Souvlaki and Common Cents

I suppose I would concede that it takes more than a little ego to even write a blog.  As if people are going to read what I write about food.  Just some regular woman leaning in to the healthiest lifestyle and food choices that she can make and then just writing about it, and sharing photos and ideas...

And yet?

Every so often I amaze even myself with a recipe.  A string of thoughts, combined with substitutions that are actually better than the original...  these are the things that remind me why I blog.

This souvlaki is absolutely up there with one of the best things I have ever made (vegan or not!).

As per usual, it's Friday and I am wiped .  The calm of the holiday break has broken, and real life crowds in.

Bill is up for dinner "out" because he doesn't want me to have to do "too much work".  I, however, am not wanting the budget-buster Friday dinner AND have sworn off wine and booze for a while as I train for my first triathlon.  I decide that a restaurant is just too tempting and laden with obstacles, and start thinking about what I can pull together at home.

So - what's a body to do?  On my drive home, I am ruminating.  What would we eat even if we were going to go out?  Italian, Indian and Thai all showed up on the menu this week.

I'm tired.  I want an easy and cheap dinner which will fuel us, yet enough to be comfortable for a date night.

There is a gorgeous Greek restaurant we love that makes great souvlaki, Greek salads and delectable fries (what is that seasoned salt, anyway??).  But I don't need fries, I don't want grilled animals, and I don't want feta.

IF you get used to listening to your body, you can usually isolate what it is you're craving.  And for me it was that garlicky tzaziki and the salty seasoning of Greece - lemon, garlic, salt and oregano.  If I could get these things on the plate (all vegan, I might add) I could recreate that Greek Diner dinner, without the thousands of calories, nutritional voids and empty carbs and fats.

I have cukes, garlic, lemon, Earth Balance mayo, coconut yogurt at home!

I could get veg "chicken strips" except that Bill doesn't like them.  He prefers the unprocessed foods.  We differ on this point, as sometimes I JUST WANT TO FEEL LIKE THE OLD "NORMAL' and veggie ground beef, beef tips, turkey and chicken help me do that.  But it is date night - which by definition should satisfy both of us.  I decide on a chunky mashed chickpea instead.  Turns out this is the real genius behind this dish, because it drastically ups the fibre and protein, and drastically reduces the cost.  ( We are a great team!)

Given "beets" is also my new year's resolution, I wanted to see what snack-y beet chips might be lurking in the natural food section.  Lots of lovely choices were there, and I settled on TERRA : Exotic Mediterranean Flavour Root Vegetable Chips ($5.29) to stand in the place of the fries.  They are spectacular, and added beautiful colour and crunch to the plate.

For a final dash of inspiration, I also picked up a small box of baklava ($2.29)(butter, I know...) but "progress, not perfection" is my new mantra.

I whizzed through the kitchen and in about 10 minutes we were eating the most delicious souvlaki I have ever had.  And the healthiest.

I threw the whole wheat greek pitas ($2.19) on the (George Foreman) grill to lightly warm them and crisp up the outside.  That thing heats up so quickly and makes the bread soft and easy to fold.

I put some beautiful purple and green baby romaine leaves down, in place of the nutritionally void iceburg lettuce.

In my Vita-mix blender I scooped a quarter cup or so vegan mayo, a quarter cup or so vegan coconut yogurt, two baby cucumbers and a clove of garlic, with some sea salt.  10 seconds later I had a light, delicious and fresh vegan tzaziki.

The mashed chickpeas, plus some fresh oregano, lemon zest, lemon juice, a dash of salt and some olive oil rounded out the rest, and provided the filling.

A final presentation item lurks in the tiny ice-cream scoop I use for cookies.  It created even, perfect little balls so the plate looked like skewered souvlaki.  We eat with our eyes first, after all!

This dish was so delicious, that writing about it doesn't do it justice.  And the reason is all the stuff I usually write about in this blog:

1.  Have good ingredients on hand - a well stocked pantry and fridge allows for more freestyling, especially when time is tight.

2.  Try a non-animal version of your favourite dishes - most flavours and sauces are plant-based already.

3.  Use fresh ingredients - zing and crisp are great additions (onomatopoeia is the word you're looking for!!)

4.  Combine textures and colours - they elevate your cooking.

5.  Have the right tools in your kitchen - they are well worth the investment.

6.  Keep an eye on the hidden cost of having others cook for you.  Eating out would have run us around $42 bucks, between souvlaki dinners, baklava and whatever other temptations may have lurked on a menu.

Eating in was $9.77, and was enough for both dinner last night, and lunch today, with an average cost?

$2.44

Common cents.

Enhancing the "Pre-Made"

Sometimes you just have to reach for something pre-made.  Believe me- I get it.

The other night I was running around trying to accomplish the final items on my holiday "to-do" list.  Hungry and running out of time, I grabbed a few items at the grocery store and was considering dropping into my favourite Thai restaurant for some coconut curry soup.  Instead, on my way past the pre-made fresh dinners, I noticed a coconut curry soup (pre-made) and all the ingredients were vegan.

Earlier that day, I thawed out a frozen solid curry in a plastic Ziploc bag which I had made earlier in the month.  You hear it over and over again ... "cook once, eat twice".  "Cook some extra and freeze a batch for later".  Over and over - and yet, I don't usually listen.

First of all, I am not a big fan of frozen food.

I like to cook things fresh.

But!  I need to just get over it because the payoff can be a lot of extra time.

It was so very convenient to unzip the bag into a saucepan, add some fresh cilantro and parsley to the curry and - VOILA!  DINNER!!  But the key was adding some fresh herbs, some lime zest and some fresh chopped peanuts and almonds for texture.  As long as the basics of the curry were there, the rest was just doctored up!

The same went for the soup.  In less than five minutes and for under 6 bucks, I added some cilantro and lime juice, as well as some leftover tofu from the fridge (also adding some protein).  Dinner out at the Thai restaurant would have run us at least $25.

Here are things you can try to doctor up something pre-made when you are short on time.

"Something Crunchy or Crispy" - Nuts, tortilla chips, pumpkin seeds, even kale chips.  Something crispy with texture can really elevate a dish and increase your enjoyment.

"Something Zippy" - Citrus juices have the ability to elevate dishes.  Lemon and lime juices can add an acidity and balance, making the entire dinner taste better.  Lemon juice also helps add an alkalinity to your blood (even though it is acidic) which can help regulate your digestion and keep you healthy.  Orange juices add a nice acidic sweetness, and works particularly well with things that are green (spinach risotto, broccoli stir-frys, green beans, etc...)  You can also add a splash of vinegars to add some zip.  Again with green items (bok choy, kale, endive) my ultimate favourite is Umeboshi Vinegar.  It is GORGEOUS with greens.  Just a spash, and your taste buds will wonder why you've never treated them to this before.

"Something Colourful".  It is a cliche to say that we eat with our eyes first, but it is true.  Add some red peppers or chilis, some chopped green onion or chives, some cranberries or dried cherries, or even some mandarin orange segments, grated carrots or beets.  Think of your colours when you are making your dinner.

You will soon find that adding some of these little enhancements make you enjoy more of what you eat, add some new flavours and flavenoids to your meals, and add a little extra spring in your step.

Adding in the Weird

Most people do not like change.  But if you want to add some healthy new items to your daily repertoire, sometimes you just need to venture into the "weird" ingredients.  After a time they will not seem so foreign, but the first time or two may take some guts.

1.  Chia.  Chia is a great seed which absorbs over 10 times its weight and becomes very gelatinous and gooey when soaked in water.  It has the capacity to make you feel full for hours, is loaded with great nutrients and is relatively inexpensive and unobtrusive.  I keep a container on the counter and add them to smoothies.  I have heard that you can make a cool kind of "chia rice pudding" with them, some vanilla and some coconut milk, so I might try that for dessert tonight.

2.  Umeboshi Plum.  Whole plums or paste, these are a MUST TRY if you ever over-indulge in the toxins of the alcoholic kind.  They are literally hangover magic.  One good tablespoon the morning after is extraordinary for rebalancing your blood and your stomach.  You can get them at whole foods or natural health food stores.  I liked to nibble on a plum or two, but that was before I found the paste.  I have never just proactively added umeboshi plums to my diets without needing to - that might be something to try this year.

3.  Quinoa.  Now that quinoa is being written about more often, it might not qualify as weird, but for most of my friends it is still a relative unknown.  When venturing into the experimental, it is a great start to just do something familiar but using the new ingredient.  IE:  if you normally like a dish served over rice, try it over quinoa.  Do exactly the same steps and seasoning.  Quinoa cooks up beautifully in a rice cooker, has lots of whole grain and protein and really looks cool when cooked.

4.  Flax Seed.  If you have heard about all the benefits of flax, including great fats, omega 3s, fibre, etc you might be tempted to just add it in over cereal, in oatmeal or perhaps over a chili or stew.  But it's important to break down flax's cell walls - otherwise it will just go through your body's amusement park unabsorbed.  Think of it as going to Canada's Wonderland with a blindfold on.  Grind it up in a blender or better still, a coffee grinder.  I have two coffee grinders, one just for spices, but if you must use just one, buzz up some rice and give it a good wipe before grinding your flax.

5.  Daiya cheese.  While mozzarella might be your traditional choice for pizza, Daiya mozzarella with its creamy cheesy taste and dairy and casein free rap sheet win out for me.  I love to doctor mine up with lemon zest and lemon juice before sprinkling it on pizza (a trick I learned from Harrison) because it makes it taste more like feta.  And here's the other thing about adding in the weird.  The first time I tried Daiya I "liked" it, but didn't love it.  I loved its benefits, but just needed some time to adjust to it.  Now, a pizza lunch for everyone at the house is always Daiya and always good.  "Weird" has become "normal".

Perhaps another way of looking at the weird stuff is to just consider it pre-normalized.  I think of where I'd be if I had never tried riding a bike, or swimming, or skating.  Just standing on two feet stagnant, I suppose.

Worse still, what if I had never tried fuschia-coloured hibiscus flowers soaked in syrup?  Or whole grain dijon mustard?  OR BLACK TRUFFLE?    Talk about deprived.

So today, try something just a little outside your comfort zone.  It might turn out to be a matter of routine by the time New Years' Day rolls around 360 days from now.

  

Green Breakfast

New Year's morning finds me reaching for more than my usual share of green.  Breakfast today was a quick steam of broccoli  florets, diced avocado, lemon juice and fleur de sel.  I find the silky creaminess of avocado just feels calming - like a skin repair from the inside, out.

We had a fabulous week off, literally vegging out on the sofa with Netflix.  I highly recommend two - "Vegucated" which is a cute documentary about three New Yorkers used to meat and cheese who go on a vegan adventure for six weeks and (spoiler alert) are quite likely to stay there.

The best was "Hungry for Change" - not preachy, but immensely satisfying.   A few principles have REALLY stuck, and they bear repeating.

1.  Your body wants to be nourished.  With nutrition.  And if we keep filling our bodies with crap, it will never be so.

2.  Health happens over a lifetime.  No crashes, fasts or quick fixes can do that.

3.  Plants are great for people to eat.

4.  Chemicals, carcasses and antibiotics are not good for people to eat.

5.  Your body will reward you IF you give it what it needs.


Fortunately after watching documentaries like these, I do realize that for us the hardest part is over.  My personal library is filled with great reads, excellent menu plans and recipes, and my fridge and pantry are stocked with great foods.  We've been a little light on the greens, as I'm sure everyone has this week, but a trip to the store fixed that pretty easily.

New Year's is a great excuse to go through EVERYTHING in your house to start fresh for the year.  I went through my entire spice cabinet, oils and vinegars, my entire fridge, freezer and pantry and drawers and did a great once-over.  I made a remoulade sauce of the final bits of some dijon, capers, horseradish and three ketchup packets, made peanut butter and peanut satay sauce (Bill shelled them while watching World Junior Hockey- Go Canada!!), and made a pickle relish for hamburgers with the remains of my homemade dills from last season.

Kitchen 'gadgets' are another must-eliminate if you don't use them.  Moments before writing this I stirred some soft brown sugar in a beautiful mason jar.  It was rock solid on Sunday.  I softened it by putting a balled up moistened paper towel in the jar and then sealing it.  It worked like magic.  No need for one of those ceramic discs for 8 bucks.  Just some simplicity and time.

And I suppose that's where every New Years' usually starts.  We promise to be better to ourselves and less toxic.  So for this first blog of 2013 - something I want to do much more of - simplicity will be the recipe for the new year.

I ALWAYS keep my New Year's resolutions.  I can remember them for years going back, so I do choose them carefully.

This year's was a toss up between

1.  "Living more French" including travel, language study and culinary reading
2.  Removing one toxic habit of mine every month for a year OR
3.  Add more beets.

While the first two are pretty compelling, I think this year I'm going to go with beets.

Vegan Buffalo Mozzarella!!! Vegan Brie!!!!

Got up at 6 this morning to finish the cheeses.  The brie set beautifully and is now aging after being rubbed down with salty hands.

The Buffalo Mozzarella is delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would have added many more details to the recipe though.  The photo is below and the recipe is in there.  First of all, cheesecloth should be listed as a necessary ingredient since this was harder to do with tea towels.

Second, when lowering the mozzarella into the ice water, it is important to lower the scoop FACE UP and patiently give the mixture time to cool a bit before trying to release it from the scoop.

Next, I made two different sizes - one bocconcini sized and one ice cream scoop sized.  The little ones were easier.  But another must-have was the ice cream scoops with the little circular sweeper thing so that the mixture would release.

Julia never would have omitted these details.  I realize that "magazine style" just doesn't lend itself to as many details, although they would have been really helpful.

Having said that, this is my first time - the product is DELICIOUS!!!! - and the hardest part was the waiting and timing.  (And OMG a lot of dishes!).

Don't attempt these recipes without being near home base for an extended period of time because they are not fast.  But they are very good and I am glad I have ventured here.

I can now add "artisan cheese production" to my resume.

Nine Lines for Cheese, Nine Pages for Bread

Check this video out:  Excellent and cute.  http://makeitpossible.com/take_action/

Veg News posted their Big Cheese Issue this month.  The pages were packed with beautiful "cheese" recipes (all vegan) that I couldn't WAIT to try.  The Veg news recipes for both Brie and Buffalo Mozzarella seemed simple enough.  About nine or ten lines per paragraph, and only three of those per recipe.

It took me about nine days to ensure I had everything in the house I needed, even though there were only about nine ingredients.

Agar Agar is a plant based seaweed coagulant that subs in for the animal bone based gelatin in most cheeses.  Found it on my most recent trip to TO at the gorgeous St. Lawrence Market.

Located plain soy yogurt at the Whole Foods in Oakville on the way home.

Tapioca flour was the last non-pantry item I needed to find... at Bulk Barn around the corner.

I guess the "let sit for 8 - 24 hours" lines just snuck in there.... and this recipe is taking what feels like FOREVER.  But the pride I'm feeling from working through this is indeed a lot of fun.  Patient fun.

In sharp contrast, Julia Child's recipe for bread - yes, flour yeast salt water - BREAD!! - is NINE PAGES.

NINE PAGES of techniques!  And worth every single word.  That woman was masterful in her details.  It is a work of military precision reading and working through those pages!

So,  going 9 lines at a time with about a day and a half in between steps I should have the cheese done in a few months, tops ;)

Bread will be done in a few hours.

I bet, however, that homemade Vegan brie and homemade bread is going to be worth it.

Or at least a NINE out of ten.  Stay tuned.

Monday means Red Beans and Rice for dinner

One of my absolute favourite go-to recipes for a quick, delicious and cheap meal is the classic New Orleans dish, Red Beans and Rice.

Hearty, robust, nutrient dense - great in large batches or small.  Great as leftovers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_beans_and_rice

Flex your creativity and throw in what you like, but the must-haves are:

1.  Peppers (green is traditional) Onions, Celery.  Carmelize them in some oil to develop their flavour.

2.  Thyme, Garlic, Cayenne and "cajun spice" - blends are everywhere and I never run out.  Sprinkle in to taste.

3.  Red Beans - canned are convenient, slow cooked are dirty cheap.

I don't have a conflict about not including andouille or pork in mine any more.  Plenty of great vegetarian sausages out there (fennel seeds will give it a sausag-y flavour) make this a non-issue.

4.  Final veg trick is to add a few dashes of liquid smoke to the batch.  That smoky goodness subs out for the other food that usually adds smoke and fat to the dish.

Top with some chopped green onions, chopped celery leaves, a glob of earth balance and plenty of hot sauce and DIVE IN.

Traditional on Mondays, this might just eliminate years and years worth of asking "what's for dinner?" at the beginning of the week.