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Spiced Popcorn

August 17, 2012 by Erin

True story: I have an addiction to smuggling things into movie theaters.

It started as a small problem- My mom would bring us to CVS before seeing a movie and we would smuggle candy into the theater. Note, I said my Mom. My Dad tried it once and all the sneaking around nearly caused him to have a heartattack in the theater. We weren’t allowed to eat our smuggled items until all the lights went out and the movie started to cover the noise. I’m pretty sure even at 10 I was looking at him like he was nuts.

But, the smuggling back then was ok because we usually bought popcorn when we got there. It evens out, right?

Then, when I reached my teen years, I would smuggle in one of those ginormous bags that gets you free refills. I would go into the theater and about 10 minutes into the movie, I would pull out the popcorn bag and go to the snack bar and tell them I spilled it in the theater and needed a refill.

Brilliant, I know.

But my smuggling really hit it’s peak a few years ago when me and a date smuggled in full sandwiches, chips and drinks into an after-work showing of Social Network. You know a dudes legit when he goes along with sandwich smuggling.

I wish I could say I was a reformed smuggler but since going vegan, I now have to smuggle my popcorn in, too. I mean, I love me some movie theater popcorn but that liquid butter they drown the popcorn in is either 1. a dairy product or 2. chemicals that mimick a dairy product and that isn’t much better! Rumor has it the popcorn is first popped in coconut oil so if you ask for no butter, you are in the clear. But, whenever I ask anyone at the theaters (who never seems to be older than 17), they all seem a bit stoned and give me vague answers like ‘coconut oil? uh…sure’. Riiight…I think I’ll stick to my smuggling habits

Melinda’s Popcorn aka Spiced Popcorn

*all the measurements in the recipe are approximates. Adjust according to your taste*

  • coconut oil
  • 1/3-1/2 c. corn kernels
  • olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • pinch of cayenne pepper

Pop kernels using your preferred popping method (air popping, brown bag in the microwave, or on the stove top.  I usually prefer in the microwave but my microwave burst into flames last week so I will be showing you the stove top method.)

Pour a few TBSP of coconut oil on the bottom of a big pan with a cover (I used a big soup pot), add a few kernels, cover and set over medium high heat. Once one or two of the kernels have popped, add the rest of your corn kernels and cover. Shake and move the pot around continuously to prevent the popcorn from burning. Continue until the kernels stop popping

Pour the popcorn in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil on the popcorn and about 1/2 tsp each of the salt, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder and a bit of the cayenne pepper. Toss. Drizzle a little more olive oil and toss. Drizzle more olive oil and the rest of the spices. Toss and taste. Add a little more of whatever else you think you need (which almost always is more salt for me).

This is hands down my favorite popcorn I’ve made from scratch. The spices give it such a good flavor that you don’t even miss the liquid butter…or the 800 knapkins you need to wipe the butter grease off your fingers. Much thanks to Melinda for introducing this to me at the drive-in.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Should I leave you with a Friday song to rock out too?? Oh ok, here you go. My new favorite song:

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Raspberry Nectarine Summer Soup

August 14, 2012 by Erin

Last week was brutal. Every time I walked into the kitchen, I just started melting. It was just too hot and humid to function.

Despite this, I attempted to make cookies for my friends on Friday. Worst. Idea. Ever. The first batch spread out to thin pancakes in the oven. I attempted to chill them and add a bit of flour and then they just sat like rocks in the oven. They also turned an odd brown color. Rock shape + brown color resulted in my friends affectionately nicknaming them Cat Poop cookies. Thanks, guys! =)

After this lovely attempt at turning my oven on again, I reluctantly accepted  the fact that it’s not fall yet. ARGH!

So I am reluctantly continuing with my no-bake, no-oven routine. I hate it, but I’m continuing. Here is a recipe for cold soup. It’s my compromise with the weather- I want it to be fall and cook soups and wear boots and scarves. But the weather is all, no way! I’m going to be humid and ruin your life and make you want to waste away in front of the AC. Fine, I’ll make cold soup. Be that way.

unblended


Raspberry-Nectarine Gazpacho
from New England Soup Kitchen Cookbook, found on Free Recipes
makes about 6 servings 

2 cups red raspberries
3 nectarines, peeled and diced
1/2 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced small
1/2 long English cucumber, diced small
1 ripe tomatoes, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
3 cups V-8 Splash juice (I used the Berry Blend flavor cause it had raspberry juice in it)
3 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
Juice of 1 fresh limes
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon green Tabasco sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a very large and deep bowl, combine the raspberries, nectarines, scallions, yellow pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, V-8 Splash, tomato juice, bread crumbs, lime juice, cilantro, Tabasco sauce, salt, and pepper and stir well.

Pour 3 cups of the soup into a blender. Puree until the texture is mostly smooth, but a few chunks remain. Return to the bowl and stir to incorporate.(I made sure that all the cilantro and bread crumbs got put into the blender because I didn’t want whole herbs or soggy bread in my soup but that was just personal preference) Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Before I made this, I pretty strongly believed that soup should not be cold. I’m desperate for something other than salads, though. So, I braved the cold soup and I’m really glad I did! It’s different, especially since I’ve never had any sort of gazpacho. But this blog was created to encourage me to try new things so I can share them with you! So, I guess it succeeded!

Now…is it too soon to start a count down to fall? *cough 40 days cough* How about to start a birthday list if my birthday is early October??

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Chipotle Lime Salad Bowl

August 3, 2012 by Erin

Happy Friday, Everyone!

I wish I could say I was looking forward to this weekend but I am working Saturday and Sunday so I’m not going to get too much of a break! I will be getting to try a new vegan restaurant with my book club, though, which I’m super excited for. Our book this month was Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It is a really well-written fantasy novel. But not like campy fantasy with dragons.  Not that I don’t love a campy fantasy  novel every now and than! This just isn’t one of them. Anyway, now that I have given hands down one of the most vague reviews ever, go check it out.

Know what else you should check out? This music video:

I’ve been meaning to post this video forever because I cannot get enough of this song but it just hasn’t happened. So here! Check them out!

And last but not least, you should not only check out this salad, you should definitely make it! The ingredients and steps sound complicated but you can take short-cuts. For instance, instead of dried beans you could used canned  and in place of corn on the cob, you could used canned or frozen. Or, you can make all the components (rice, black beans, and corn-on-the-cob) a head of time so that when you are ready to make the salad, everything comes together quickly.

Chipotle Lime Salad Bowl
adapted from Tasty Kitchen; measurements based off RFFMBT pyramid
serves 4

1 c. uncooked brown basmati rice
1 c. dried black beans (if you use canned, you want 2 cups)
4 c. romaine lettuce (3-4 hearts of romaine)
4 ears of corn (or 2 cups of frozen)
2 c. cherry tomatoes
2 avocadoes
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder

If you are using dried black beans, cover the beans with hot water, put a cover on the pot and bring to boil. Let boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour. Do not remove the cover.

Once you have let the beans ‘fast soak’, drain and refill with water and let the beans simmer for about 1  hour and 45 minutes. Drain remaining liquid and set beans aside.

While the beans are cooking, start the basmati rice.  Follow the packages instructions.

While the rice and beans are cooking, start the corn on the cob. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Place the corn on the cob in the water and boil for about 8 minutes. Let cool.

Once your corn is cool, remove the corn from the cob. Place your corn and 2 cups of beans in a hot skillet with your cumin and chili powder. Cook until warm and well mixed.

To assemble your salad, combine lettuce, rice, beans and corn mixture, tomatoes and avocado and drizzle with dressing.

If you are bringing this for lunch or on the go, chop up 1 cup of lettuce, 1/2 c. tomatoes and 1/4 avocado in one container. Place 1/2 cup of rice and 1 cup of the bean/corn mixture into a smaller, separate container so you can warm it before eating.

Dressing
from CDKitchen.com

  • 1/2 c olive oil
  • 1/4 c fresh lime juice
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 TBSP minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 1/4 c roughlychopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all the ingredients together. Can be used right away but tastes best when allowed to sit over night.

Like I said, it’s a bit of a process. I made the rice, beans, corn and dressing on Sunday afternoon. Then, the night before work, I place all my veggies together and all my warm ingredients together. It comes together pretty quickly! It’s a super yummy and filling salad so definitely give it a try!

I also made this by ditching the dressing, mixing the rice and beans with chipotle salsa (found in the mexican food section of your grocery store, next to the chipotle in adobo sauce) instead of the cumin and chili powder, and using the juice of half a lime for my dressing and it was delicious! Since you already have a healthy fat on the salad (avocado), it gets rid of all the olive oil in the dressing but keeps the chipotle lime flavor. Either way, this salad is delicious!

ok, everyone, I hope you have a great weekend!

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Roasted Blueberry Coconut Parfait with Quinoa

August 2, 2012 by Erin

Do you know what I am doing now? I’m curled up under my comforter, snuggled up to my favorite pillow and teddy bear and typing this side ways with one hand. I’m too comfy to get up!! I don’t want to go to work today! “I have the measles and the mumps; a gash, a rash and purple bumps; my mouth is wet, my throat is dry. I’m going blind in my right eye. My tonsils are as big as rocks, I’ve counted sixteen chicken pox” Anyone know where that’s from??

Do you know what I did yesterday during my lunch break? I was on Etsy looking up halloween decorations. Yeap, halloween decorations. As in the holiday that is almost three months away! I blame DSW for sending me their fall boots email too early. I’ve told myself I can’t start buying halloween stuff until the first day of fall…ok, maybe Sept 1. We’ll see how my will power is…

Do you know what I did Sunday? I went grocery shopping and bought things to make this week. More specifically, I bought ingredients to make 3 different breakfasts and one meal. hmm… last time I checked, there was really only time for one breakfast in the day, not three! What am I going to do with stuff to make 3 breakfasts all week??

The answer to that- breakfast for lunch! So yeah…sorry for the two back-to-back breakfast posts…

Roasted Blueberry Coconut Quinoa Parfait
veganized from How Sweet Eats
makes 4 parfaits

  • 1 1/2 pints fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 cups light canned coconut milk (1 can has about 1.5 cups so I just used that)
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened flaked coconut
  • 2 pinches of salt
  • 24 oz vanilla vegan yogurt (aka, 4 individual containers)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place blueberries on a nonstick baking sheet with a pinch of salt. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, or until berries start to burst. (At this time, if you don’t have granola or didn’t make it prior to, mix up the coconut granola recipe below and bake it at the same time, on the upper rack.) Remove both and set side.

While blueberries and granola are baking, add quinoa and coconut milk to a saucepan along with another pinch of salt and the coconut flakes. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover, cooking for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

When ready, assemble parfaits with layers of yogurt, roasted blueberries, coconut quinoa and granola. YUM! Or, if you are bringing this to work or on the go, assemble the parfait but leave out the granola. Leave enough room at the top so  you can add the layer of granola when you are about to eat it, that way it doesn’t get soggy.

Easy Coconut Granola

  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut
  • 3 TBSP maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil, measured in solid form
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, cinnamon and salt. Melt coconut oil and add it to the oats, along with maple syrup and vanilla, and stir thoroughly to moisten. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes. Remove and let sit for about 10 minutes to get crumbly.

How Sweet Eats is one of my favorite blogs, hands down. It definitely isn’t vegan, though. So when she makes something that I can easily adapt, I get super excited! This breakfast was delicious!

Now…I should probably get out of bed. There’s that little thing called work that pays for this food hobby of mine. I should probably make an appearance there…

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Carrot Cake Smoothie

July 31, 2012 by Erin

Guys! I went to the beach this weekend! This is big news. I can go all summer without going to the beach. It usually isn’t for me. The sand gets everywhere, the sun burns my pale skin, Discovery Channel did a whole special on Great Whites at the Cape and now I’m paranoid I’m going to get my legged nawed off… clearly, I have some issues.

But I went down on Friday to see my friend, Julie, who rented a place on the beach for the week. It was right on the beach and the weather wasn’t too hot and sunny and it was so peaceful to get up in the morning and sip iced chai tea on the beach. I could have stayed there for a whole week!

Isn’t Emily so cute in the corner with her little curls? I just want to cuddle her forever.

Anyway, besides sinking my toes in the sand, I’ve been making smoothies like they are going out of style. This is my new favorite.

Carrot Cake Smoothie
from Rabbitfoodformybunnyteeth.com

Serves 1

1 cup chopped carrots
1 frozen banana
6oz cup vegan yogurt (I tried Vanilla Coconut milk yogurt and Pina Colada coconut milk yogurt. Both were delicious)
1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used non-sweetened vanilla almond milk)
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. This can be made the night before but the chia seeds will make it thicken up. Just throw it in the blender in the morning with a little more milk and you’re all set. It will be a lot faster than cutting everything and measuring it out in the morning.

I’m still loving Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth and her food pyramid. Her smoothies are delicious and super filling, perfect for a summer breakfast!

I’m spending the rest of my days off doing laundry. I want to go back to the beach house!

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S’mores Truffles

July 26, 2012 by Erin

This week, a truly amazing thing happened that left me all warm and fuzzy.

DSW and Toms sent me their fall shoe preview emails.

That’s right…fall shoes. Which means only one thing, summer is almost over. I’m getting giddy just thinking about it! Fall is right around the corner and I will be pulling out my tights, boots and scarves (and apparently my new plaid Toms…So cute!) in no time!

Just not yet.

Because today, it’s going to be in the 80s and I am still recovering from my Warped Tour sunburn which has moved from the “oh-my-god-this-hurts-so-bad-I-can’t-sleep” phase to the “oh-my-god-this-itches-so-bad-I-can’t-sleep” phase. The latter is also known as “aren’t-I-so-sexy-with-my-peeling-skin” phase. Needless to say, my upcoming beach weekend will be spent with a tshirt on At. All. Times. I imagine the only thing worse than a sunburn is a sunburn on top of a sunburn. *shudder*.

Anyway, since I can’t fire up the oven, pull out my soup pot and go apple picking just yet, I’m chowing down on these no-bake S’mores Truffles.

the “dough”

S’mores Truffles 
from The Wonder Forest, created by Catherine from Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth
Makes 10 kisses

2 graham crackers + 1 for outer “crust”
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
1 cup Medjool dates – pitted
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp vegan mini chocolate chips (or carob chips for a vegan option)
Optional: additional 1/4 cup of chocolate for dunking.

Place 1 graham cracker in a food processor or blender and process until finely ground. Empty the graham cracker contents into a bowl and set aside, as it will be used to roll the truffles in later. Combine cashews and 2 graham crackers  in a food processor and grind until they become very finely ground, but not a butter. Remove pits from dates. Once pits have been removed, add the dates and vanilla into the food processor. Process until the contents are evenly chopped/combined and form a sticky dough (my food processor apparently isn’t cool enough to form a dough. Instead, everything got really finely ground, which worked fine. See picture for reference). Remove dough from the food processor and fold in chocolate chips by hand or mixing spoon. Using a 1tbsp measuring spoon, scoop the dough into balls and roll evenly in your hands.

At this point, you can either: 1. Roll the ball through the bowl of ground graham cracker, coating it evenly (this will add flavor and prevent the kisses from sticking together). Or, 2. melt the additional chocolate chips in a double boiler with a tiny bit of vegetable shortening. Dip the truffles in the melted chocolate (I only dipped half of each truffle in chocolate) and then roll in the ground graham crackers.  

store in the refrigerator for 1 week, or freezer for up to 1 month.

I’ve made these both ways, with the graham cracker crust and dunked in chocolate. If you are planning on taking these on an outing such as the beach or camping, stick with the graham cracker crust. If you are munching on these for lunch throughout the week and can keep them refrigerated, make the chocolate dunked ones. Both are delicious, though!

These are definitely getting packed for this weekends beach adventure! Along with SPF 500, long sleeve t-shirts and jeans. I will not get sunburned again!!

PS. Do you like my red paper napkin prop?? Goal for next week- work on picture composition and props!

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Vegan BLTA Sandwich!

July 24, 2012 by Erin

As someone who had been a vegetarian for 15 years before switching to veganism, I seriously do not get this whole bacon trend.

Bacon on cupcakes.

Bacon covered in chocolate.

Bacon in everything!

I don’t get it. Cupcakes had a good solid bacon-less run. I don’t feel like they were lacking.

With that said, I was having a recipe funk this weekend and was going through all my old recipe print outs (I collect recipes and cook books like some people collect cats…it’s scary…) when I came across this recipe. It had fake bacon AND fake mayo yet, it called to me. Maybe it was the avocado. Or maybe it was the thought of buying a fresh tomato at the farmers market and actually using it! Or maybe those three magical letters- BBQ- won be over.

Whatever the reason, I found myself reluctantly joining the bacon bandwagon this weekend and making a BLTA.

oh ok…the pseudo-bacon bandwagon. Whatever!

Anyway, it was good. Real good!

I suspect that was the BBQ Aioli that my sandwich was practically swimming in, though, not so much the faux bacon.

Chipotle BBQ BLTA
from Healthy Bitch Daily
one serving

  • 2 pieces of bread (HBD recommends sour dough. I used When Pigs Can Fly Tuscan Wheat)
  • 2-3 slices of tempeh bacon
  • 1 romaine leaf or a tiny handful of baby spinach (ok, so technically I made a BSTA sandwich…whatever!)
  • 2-3 slices of fresh tomato
  • 1/4 avocado, sliced or mashed
  • spoonful of Chipotle BBQ Aioli (see below)

Combine everything into a delicious sandwich, smoosh down so it’s bitable and consume. Keep lots of napkins handy cause it can get messy!

Chipotle BBQ Aioli

  • 1 cup of Vegenaise
  • 2-4 oz extra virgin olive oil (I used 2)
  • 2-3 drops of lemon juice (to help separation)
  • 1-2 TBSP chipotle pepper adobo sauce (juice from the peppers, not the peppers themselves)
  • 1 TBSP garlic, minced or pureed
  • 1-2 TBSP vegan BBQ sauce (I used Bone Suckin’ sauce…I may have also used 3-4 TBSPs…)

Place Vegenaise in a bowl and whisk in olive oil until blended; add a few drops of lemon juice if it starts to separate. Add all other ingredients, blend, and allow the mixture to stand for approximately 3o minutes.

I served this with a side of Kale chips and a ton of napkins. Because it was really good in that messy sort of way where you are left licking Chipotle BBQ Aioli off your fingers. Yum!

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S’mores Cups aka How Food Snobs Do Drive-Ins

July 20, 2012 by Erin

Last weekend, Melinda, Amelia and I went to see Brave/Spiderman at the Drive-In. I knew I was in good company when the first thing Amelia and I said when we finally had plans nailed down was “I can’t wait to make treats!”. I love hanging with fellow foodies.

So, of course, store bought treats would not do for us. Oh no! We had to all make our own, of course! And everything came out delicious!

We had a nice spread of buffalo hummus courtesy of Amelia (who hasn’t sent me the recipe yet so I can’t share it with you…*hint hint Amelia) with pita chips and veggies, dark chocolate covered pretzels and peanuts, popcorn popped on the stove with a little olive oil and spices courtesy of Melinda (super good! Melinda did send me that recipe and I have made it so you may end up getting that one…) and, of course, italian blood orange soda because regular soda wasn’t pretentious enough for us! lol!

Besides an incident where there was a little fight over the pita chips (“Melinda! If you don’t turn around and buckle up, I’m pulling this car over!!), our food went over splendly. Included in my contributions were these s’mores cups. I’ve been on a obsessive s’mores kick lately so it’s always good when you can find a way to bring them on-the-go!


S’Mores Cups
 makes approximately 18

  • one sleeve of graham crackers (about 10 crackers)
  • 2 TBSP of Earth Balance, melted
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 1 bag of vegan chocolate chips
  • 1 TBSP vegetable shortening
  • 27 vegan marshmallows ( I used Dandies, which I found at Whole Foods), cut in half

Optional: one heating spoonful of smooth, natural peanut butter (or more to taste)

Line a mini cupcake pan with mini cupcake liners.

Place the graham crackers in the food processor and process until they are fine crumbs. Pour into a bowl. Add the melted butter and sugar in with the graham cracker crumbs and mix until well combined. Pour about a spoonful of the graham cracker crumbs into the mini cupcake liners. Pack the crumbs down with your spoon. Your cupcake liner should be approximately half full.  Place three marshmallow pieces in your cupcake liners on top of the graham cracker crust.

 

Using a double boiler, melt your vegan chocolate chips and vegetable shortening (and pb, if you are using it). Spoon melted chocolate over the marshmallows. Place in fridge to chill. Best served cold.

My favorite way to eat a s’more is with a thin layer of peanut butter. It’s so good! So I melted some PB in half of my chocolate. I did nine s’mores cup with regular chocolate, melting about 2/3 of the bag of chocolate chips with just vegetable shortening, and then melted the remaining 1/3 of the bag with a big scoop of peanut butter and a little bit of shortening for the remaining 9. I honestly can’t decide which version I love more.

 

Have a great weekend, everyone! The sun totally won in our war at Warped Tour and I walked away red as a lobster. So I will definitely be nursing my sore skin this weekend. I hope you do something way more fun that that!!

 

 

 

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Homemade Iced Chai Tea

July 19, 2012 by Erin

This week has been an excellent week.

To begin with, I’m working three whole days. No week can be that awful when the number of days you are working is less then your days off.

Second, I will be braving Warped Tour for the second time in my life to see my all-time favorite band, Taking Back Sunday. After hours of meticulous show sorting and hounding my two concert buddies, Melinda and Whitney, by best guess is this will be my 21st Taking Back Sunday Show. Yeah…I’m sort of into them…

Third, my car decided that meh, it wasn’t going to start Monday after I went to the bank. It was hot and I was approximately a 5 minute walk from my house but I had to call AAA and get my car jumped. One would think this would put a damper on my week, especially since I had to shell out money for a new battery. And it was. BUT, silver lining and all, the guy who came to rescue my car was a very attractive 20 something year old who was also going to the same Warped Tour as me. What are the odds?

Fourth, I finally made it to trivia on Weds night and my team totally took home first…again. Yeah, we’re sort of awesome. I think that may have to be our team name next time…

And last but not least, I have FINALLY found a good replacement for Iced Coffee. I have severely cut down on my coffee consumption over the last few months. I went from 1-2 cups a day to 1-2 cups a month. Not too shabby! But lately, with the heat numbing my brain, I’ve been missing iced coffee. So I decided to tackle Iced Chai. YUM!

Homemade Chai Concentrate
from Healthful Pursuit
yields: one batch of concentrate, or approximately 2.75 cups

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups water
  • 4 black tea bags – I used 365 brand Black Tea Bags, nothing fancy
  • 1 vanilla bean, split in half*
  • 1/2 cup palm sugar
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1/2 inch section of fresh ginger [or 2 pieces of dehydrated ginger]
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 2 cardamom pods* [or 1/4 tsp powdered cardamom]
  • 1/4 tsp aniseed
  • 8 x 6 section of cheesecloth, folded over [doubled]
  • twine
  • 2/3c-3/4c non-dairy milk of choice

Directions

Option 1: Liquid concentrate – to be enjoyed within 7 days

  1. Lay cheesecloth flat and begin placing ingredients on top. Begin with tea bags, then vanilla bean, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and aniseed. If you’re using cardamom powder, sandwich in between 2 teabags to prevent it from dispersing into the mix. Bundle everything into cheesecloth and pinch together. Tie with twine and tie 2 cinnamon sticks with the twine.
  2. Place water and palm sugar in a medium sized saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and put the cheesecloth bag in. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Allow to cool before pouring it in an air tight container [mason jars works well] and placing in the fridge to cool.

To enjoy as an iced latte: combine 1 part concentrate with 3 parts non-dairy milk. Serve on ice. (I prefer mine with 1/3 c. concentrate, 3/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk. 1/4 c. concentrate with 3/4 c. of milk isn’t strong enough for me. Start with the 1/4 to 3/4 ratio and work up)

*the vanilla bean and the cardamom pods are expensive! I’m not going to lie. It’s what kept me from trying this recipe for so long. I would recommend though, if you live in New England, checking out Ocean State Job Lot or one of the bulk grocery stores, like BJs. I know that both carried these spices for cheap.

I’ve had this iced chai every day for breakfast (before I photographed it…which is why the picture of the chai concentrate in the first pic is really showing the last dredges of concentrate left…) and it’s so good! I need to go stock up on vanilla beans from BJs or Costco’s or this addiction is going to be worse then when I thought I could afford Starbucks everyday!

Ok, everyone. Have a lovely Thursday. I will be spending the day sweating my little behind off at Warped Tour. Keep your fingers crossed for me that a cold front swoops in and keeps my from melting in the sun and heat!

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Cashew Ginger Rice Bowl

July 16, 2012 by Erin

I know that there has been a lot of groaning about the weather on this blog lately due to the fact that I seriously dislike the summer. It’s all hot and sticky and I’ll all sweaty and cranky. It’s not my favorite season.

But, I will grudgingly admit, summer has its perks. Ok, maybe just one- fresh produce! I am loving going to the farmers markets on the weekend and getting fresh fruits and vegetables. Even the grocery stores have more selection. I went into Whole Foods this weekend and the produce area was packed. It was like a Produce Utopia! I had to fight to stick to my very specific grocery list  and not buy one of everything, which was really really hard!

With that said, I’ve been eating a ton of salads. It’s so easy just to cut up a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies and dump them in a bowl. This means I’ve been seriously slacking in the hot meals area lately. The closest I come to my stove is to make a big pot of grains to get me through the week and then I avoid it like the plague.

But last week, my new favorite blog, Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth, posted this recipe and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I don’t know why- It’s just a stir-fry. But I think its close enough to my “cut-produce-up-and-dump-in-bowl” theory that I was convinced I needed to make it.

And I’m SO glad I did. It is insanely delicious.

Cashew Ginger Rice Bowl
from Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth

 Serves 1

1/2 cup cooked brown rice ( I used brown Basmati Rice)
1/2 cup unshelled edamame
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced (approximately 1/2 of the pepper)
1/2 cup onion, diced (approximately 1/2 of the onion)
1/2 cup carrots, shredded (approximately 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup spinach
1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth (I use Pacific)
2 Tbsp chopped cashews
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

Cook brown rice according to package instructions.

In a medium pan, combine the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and ginger together over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, carrots, and the spinach. Cook the vegetables until they absorb most of the cooking liquid and become tender. Add in the unshelled edamame and stir until cooked. Add the cooked brown rice and gently mix into the vegetables. Top with chopped cashews. Serve hot.

I can’t tell you why I love this recipe so much. Maybe it’s simply because I was craving something hot. More likely though, this recipe just has the right mix of veggies. All the health articles I read say you should eat lots of different colored produce so your getting all sorts of nutrients and this recipe definitely has color!

And if you haven’t checked out RFFMBT, yet, definitely do so. Catherine has a great story to share, yummy recipes and a revamped food pyramid that I love. She also has a section that shows what you should be eating for each meal and what 1 portion equals. For instance, one portion of quinoa is not a bowl full- it’s actually only 1/2 cup. Definitely good to know!

And make sure to keep checking in this week. I was very productive this weekend and managed to actually make more then one thing! Yeah for regular posts on WV again =)

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