Day 4: Fresh Juice Fast

Hubby and I are on our fourth day of fresh juice fasting.  Overall it has gone very well.  The first two days were the most difficult.  I had a bit of a headache Monday, that lasted throughout Tuesday morning, which was sucky.  I think it may have had to due with exercising while fasting - Hubbs is a maniac when it comes to that.  So we've decided to lay off the exercising while doing the fast, or at least keep it to a minimum.  I've been spending a lot of time with that juicer and blender, which is good.  It's been months since I've really juiced so much.  I used to juice back home in Brooklyn all the time.  When I finish with this fast, I'd definitely like to continue with the juicing - I've forgotten how great it is. 

I've taken some pictures of the juices, but not a ton, because the first few days I didn't have a lot of energy.  I also was so sure going into it that I would save the pulp for something and reuse it.  All of that pulp going into the compost bin makes me crazy.  And we're talking about a lot of pulp!  We've been making on average 1-1 1/2 gallons of fresh juice per day!  But the reality of using it all when there are gallons of it is a bit crazy and unrealistic.  I did, however, save most of the green pulp (from kale and spinach) and dehydrate it.  When I'm done, I'm going to grind it in the food processor and use it to add to smoothies or other dishes for some additional fiber and nutrition.  It's gonna look crazy on the shelf with all of my spices! 

Another thing I've noticed today is that my hunger is mostly gone, which is a relief, believe me!  The past three days have revolved around me thinking about food, hungering for it and just basically desiring it every second of each day.  When I didn't think about it for 5 minutes, I was ecstatic!  But I feel like I can go so much longer without even thinking about it right now.  And not having to worry about cooking every day and having a complete meal ready for when the Hubby comes home from work is such a great treat.  But I know it will likely begin again next week, just differently.  The main reason for me doing this is to rethink the way I think about food.  I definitely have my problems with it that I need to fix and would just love to eat so much healthier and feel better about myself.  I'm hoping that by doing this fast I will be able to focus more on eating good for me stuff and not junk.  I realize this is not something that is going to change overnight and that I will occasionally slip up, but I'm at a point where I really want to change.  My husband and I want to open our business within the next year and hopefully a year after that, start our family.  And I definitely want to be the healthiest I can while expecting.  A lot of pressure riding on me, but I feel very positive about it right now.  And now enjoy some pictures and recipes of some of the juices I've been making over the last coupld days!

Before juicing: Grapefruit Green (the greens wouldn't fit
in the bowl - they were in the sink)

Finished Grapefruit Green Juice

Green Grapefruit:

Yields: 2 Quarts

6 grapefruit, peeled
6 small apples, quartered
2" ginger
1 English or 2 regular cucumbers
6 stalks celery (wash very well - I found a slug in my organic celery!)
8 oz. spinach
1/2 - 1 bunch kale

Koko's V-8 Juice, but so much better!

 Koko's V-8:

Yields 2 1/2 Pints

6 stalks celery
2 jalapenos
2 lb. tomatoes, quartered
3/4 lb. carrots
1 red pepper, seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 English or 2 regular cucumbers
8 oz. spinach
(can also add 1/2 bunch cilantro - makes it taste like you're drinking salsa!)

Fresh pineapples for juicing!

Heartbeet Juice before juicing - there are oranges, lemons and
ginger under there and spinach in the sink

Heartbeet:

Yields: 1 1/2 Quarts

3 lb. carrots
1 1/2 lb. beets
6 small apples
4 oranges, peeled
2 lemons, peeled
2" ginger
8 oz. spinach

The finished juices: V-8, Heartbeet, Pineapple (and that's 2 small pineapples!)

Enjoy!

Koko

Yucca, Brazilian Braised Kale, Chickpea Artichoke Salad

While deciding what to make for dinner, I decided to make a couple recipes out of the billions of cookbooks I have.  I found the chickpea artichoke salad from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook, which I love.    The other recipe I got out of one of my many cookbooks was the braised kale, which came out of Viva Vegan.  I have made several of the recipes out of that cookbook, some successful and some not.  It's a beautiful collection of recipes, but I also have my Dominican Hubby here to give me ideas first-hand into traditional Spanish food.  The good thing about getting recipes/ideas from him is that his recipes are all meat-based.  (Hubbs is not vegan or vegetarian at all.)  This does force me to be a little more creative, yes, however, it makes me understand the food a little more and the flavors I am trying to mimic and create.  I am always asking him about new ideas he has for food his mom used to make for him back home, and he has been giving me great feedback lately.  So I have a lot more ideas for tasty Spanish food coming up.  Until then, I have Viva Vegan and a lot more time to experiment and test!  

Yucca, Brazilian Braised Kale, Chickpea Artichoke Salad:

 



So much delicious food!



2 medium yucca, waxy outer layer peeled, sliced in half lengthwise and cit into 2-3" lengths

Simple Salad:

romaine lettuce

scallions, chopped

carrots, peeled and julienned

croutons

lime vinaigrette or preferred dressing

Brazilian Braised Kale:

1/2 bunch large kale, chiffonnaded  (leaves rolled into cigar shape and thinly sliced)

2 tablespoons refined coconut oil (you can use whatever kind of oil you want)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, small diced, about 3/4 cup

1/4 cup filtered water

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

3/4 teaspoon vegetable boullion powder

pinch black pepper

Chickpea Artichoke Salad:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups cooked chickpeas

4 cloves garlic, minced

7 artichoke hearts, squeezed of excess moisture and cut in half

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or additional, as desired

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1.  Prepare the yucca first.  Place yucca in a medium pot over medium-high heat and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until yucca can be easily pierced with a fork.  Drain and return to pot, cover with lid and keep warm.

2.  While the yucca is cooking, prepare the Chickpea Artichoke Salad: in a large pan add the olive oil over medium heat and allow to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, add the chickpeas and cook for about 10 minutes, or until very browned and crispy, stirring periodically.  Add 1 teaspoon more of the oil and add the minced garlic.  Cook for a couple minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining ingredients:  the artichokes, toasted almonds, lemon juice, sea salt and parsley.  Stir to coat the chickpeas and season to taste. 

3.  Prepare the braised kale.  In a medium pot over medium-high heat, add the coconut oil and allow it to melt.  Once it melts, add the chopped onions and cook for several minutes, or until fragrant and lightly golden in color.  Add the minced garlic and cook for several minutes, or until fragrant.  Working in batches, add the chiffonaded kale to the pot, stirring constantly until it wilts and you can add more to the pot.  Continue until all of the kale fits in the pot and it has all wilted.

4.  Add the water to the kale and stir to coat.  Add the seasonings: the liquid smoke, boullion and black pepper, stirring to coat.  Season to taste. 

5.  Prepare the simple salad as desired.

6.  To serve, place a serving of each of the items on the plate: the cooked yucca, braised kale, chickpea artichoke salad and the simple salad.  Eat!  Yum!  (Keep in mind that once the kale is refrigerated, it will harden because of the coconut oil.  So, don't try to eat it cold out of the refrigerator like I sometimes do  - make sure to heat the kale thoroughly before eating, so that the coconut oil melts sufficiently.)

Enjoy!

-Koko

Fruit and Greens Smoothie

For the last several months I have been trying to make a fresh juice/smoothie every night for the Hubbs and I.  Most nights I am able to do just that.   It is usually a variation of the recipe below.  I am certainly much better at making tasty smoothies right now than I am at making tasty juices.  I don't know what it is about the juice making process, but I always find myself adding more things than I know I should, or other things simply because they are in the fridge, and I tell myself "yes, I think that should go in there too".  I just can't control myself.  I keep putting in more and more greens until there are collards, kale, dandelion greens, chard, spinach and perhaps some other greens, along with the usual cucumber, celery, lime, ginger and a couple apples.  It always tastes like gross bitter grass.  And I know it's because I put too much stuff in it, but I really can't control myself!  Hubbs and I of course drink it because it is so good for us, but we almost have to plug our noses to do so.  I even told myself I was going to make a juice with orange, lemon, ginger and carrot.  That's it.  And of course in went pear, collards and a few other things and the juice was terrible!  Once I learn a little more self control and can come up with something tasty, I'll post it.  Until then, enjoy this definitely, absolutely delicious and healthy smoothie.  Hubbs and I both guzzle it whenever I make it.  (Well, because of my weirdness, I actually chew the smoothie, which is unnecessary, but I always have since I was a kid!)  Make it and enjoy!

Fruit and Greens Smoothie:



Doesn't all this organic stuff look gorgeous!?



1/2 cup carrot juice

1/2 cup apple juice

2 large handfuls spinach

1/2 bunch dandelion leaves

2 kale leaves

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 large handful frozen blueberries

6 frozen strawberries

1 large or 2 small bananas

1.  Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until the smoothie reaches your desired consistency.  I blend it for a couple minutes so that the kale blends well.  Or, if you have a vitamix (jealous!!), it will only take like 30 seconds! 

That's it!

Enjoy!

Koko

Gluten Free Arepa and Dominican-Style Hot Chocolate

My husband doesn't cook a lot, but when he is really in the mood to do so, look out!  I love it when he comes up with ideas from his home in the Dominican Republic and recreates them using the ingredients I would prefer we use.  The recipe he made for the arepa ended up making a huge 9x13" pan, and for only two people, we were eating it for over a week, but we didn't complain at all!  It was crazy delicious!  Now, arepa is a dish that is traditionally prepared over an open fire and eaten for breakfast, so it is not super sweet, which makes me happy.  I am not into the overly sweet dishes.  Now, admittedly, watching my husband in the kitchen is a little painful sometimes, seeing how he uses my expensive knives and pots, or chooses to use a tool that is not super efficient, but I keep my mouth closed and end up smiling in the end when I see how happy he is and how amazing and delicious the food turns out. 

Unfortunately, I do not have a recipe for this at the moment, because my hubby  never ever measures anything and thinks I am hilarious for measuring everything.  Next time, I will stand over his shoulder and estimate everything he puts in there.  It is the exact same way I learned to make Dominican beans from his cousin Wady, who barely speaks a word of English, and my Spanish is certainly nothing to get excited about.  Wady taught me how to make the beans speaking Spanish, which I could understand maybe every other word, and also didn't measure anything, so I stood over under his shoulder, seeing as he is 6'5" tall, and estimated the amounts of everything he was adding.  And damned if it didn't turn out so so close when I made it by myself the next time.  So, to make a short story long, next time Hubbs makes this, I'll write it down and post it.  I will write up a list of the ingredients I can remember that he put in there, but I will come back with a tasty recipe soon.  The recipe for the Dominican-Style hot chocolate is below.



Dominican-Style Hot Chocolate and Arepa


Dominican-Style Hot Chocolate:

8 ounces non-dairy milk or water (definitely better with the milk!)
pinch cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons organic sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

1.  Place the non-dairy milk or water in a small pot and bring to a simmer.
2.  Place the cinnamon, sugar and cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine, making sure there are no lumps.
3.  Add the cocoa mixture to the simmering milk/water and whisk very well to combine.
4.  Allow the hot cocoa to cool for a couple minutes before enjoying.




The Amazing gf Arepa


Ingredients for Arepa (that I can remember):

corn meal
organic sugar
whole cinnamon sticks
fresh nutmeg, grated
whole cloves
pinch sea salt
Michigan cherries (sent to us by my mum!)
coconut milk
almond milk/ soy milk (I can't remember which one)

Until I can figure out the recipe from him!

Enjoy,

Koko

Best Dinner Ever! Appetizers!

My Hubby and I went on an amazing vacation to Michigan to visit my family and came back to NY 1 1/2 weeks ago.  It's sad though, because it almost feels like it was a dream and that I never left ny at all.  I did actually get a little color and a disturbing flip flop tan, but that has unfortunately already disappeared.  As soon as Hubbs and I landed in MI and were greeted by my mom, dad and younger brother Danny, we knew immediately that ny was no longer the place we were meant to be.  We've been feeling for a while that we are tired of ny and ready to be around family, and it only cemented it in our minds that we need to be there.  My older sister has a 2 1/2 month old baby boy and my older brother and his wife are expecting their first baby (a girl!) on Thanksgiving.  I have never seen my sister pregnant (and this was her 3rd and final child!) and was blessed to see my sister-in-law with the bump (she's almost 6 months along).  The unfortunate thing is that I will not see my brother and his little one until she is 9-10 months old or so. Sad.  So those were a couple of the motivating factors, but certainly not all.  I miss my family.  My oldest brother's daughter is going to be 13 in November - I can literally remember the day she was born and we have always been very close. 

We are also getting close to starting our business - a vegan cafe, and have decided to open it in Traverse City, Michigan.  We have finished our menu, have tested and perfected it all, and are now working on the baked goods.  It is the most exciting and stressful thing ever, but we cannot wait to get started.  Lots of work on the business plan and lots and lots of cooking in this oppressive humidity and heat!  I have decided not to renew my teaching contract at the Natural Gourmet Institute in Manhattan when it finishes in March, and as soon as our lease is up at the end of July next year, we will be moving to Michigan!  I am so excited and cannot wait!

Until then, however, I'm gonna keep working on all the business aspects, keep cooking and baking and see my friends as much as possible.  And in this terrible heat, I do not want to be in the kitchen unless I'm testing recipes.  So dinners have been simple: a lot of sandwiches and salads lately.  This time, however, I wanted to have an appetizer dinner and just eat a little bit of this and that and it was a blast, Hubbs definitely thought it was fun, and I'm glad the only time I spent in the kitchen was slicing the cheese for him, slicing the bread and putting everything in ramekins.  Best dinner!

Appetizer Dinner:



So simple and tasty!

What I Used:

Baguette, sliced on the diagonal
Homemade dill pickles (sent to me from Michigan, made by my mum)
Assorted Olives
Earth Balance, Yellow Mustard
Sliced Cheese (dairy) for the Hubby
Sliced Daiya for me
Artichoke Salad (which for some reason was not in the picture)

Use whatever you'd like and have a super easy dinner!

Enjoy!

Koko

Apple Pie Crumb Cake Muffins

I decided to make these tasty muffins over the weekend along with a bunch of other tasty things and they turned out really well.  Hubbs loved them and ate two of them as soon as they came out of the oven, even though I insisted that they were much tastier when cool. ;)  This recipe comes from the Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook, with a couple modifications.  Very tasty - I've been making it for a couple years now.    And there is definitely something fun about the name Apple Pie Muffins.  Yum.  Try it, you'll agree.



So much crispy struesely topping!



Yields: 12 small muffins

Muffin Base:
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons organic sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cloves
3/4 cup almond milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup peeled, chopped apples
1/2 cup peeled, grated apples

Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
pinch sea salt
3-4 tablespoons canola oil

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Either spray a cupcake/muffin pan with spray oil or line the pan with cupcake liners and set aside until ready to use.
2.  Prepare the topping first.  In a small bowl, add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, allspice and sea salt.  Stir to combine with a fork.  Add the oil - start with the smaller amount.  Stir well to combine until the topping sticks together, but is not too wet.  Set aside while preparing the batter.
3.  In a medium bowl, add the unbleached flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.  Whisk together until well combined.  Add the wet ingredients: the almond milk, canola oil and vanilla extract.  Whisk together until a thick batter forms.  Add the chopped and grated apple and stir to combine. 
4.  Using a portion scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, portion out the batter amongst the 12 count muffin pan.  Top each muffin with about a tablespoon of the crumb topping, being sure to cover the entire surface of the muffin.




The Muffins Topped with the Delicious Crispy Topping!

5.  Place the muffin tray in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the muffins are baked through and the center bounces back lightly when touched. 
6.  Allow muffins to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack top cool the rest of the way.  If you did not use papers, this step is even more important, because if the muffins stay in the pans too long, they will become soggy.  Serve with a delicious strong cup of coffee, or better yet, an espresso!

Enjoy!

-Koko



So ridiculously tasty!



Mini Onion Cheese Tarts with Heirloom Tomatoes

This is definitely something that was time consuming but oh so worth it!  

A couple months back my mom sent me several pounds of baby onions from my Grandfather's garden back in Michigan.  Have I ever mentioned that my mom has this amazing organic garden in Michigan and is constantly overnighting me things when they are in abundance?  Well, this year my grandpa had tons and tons of these baby onions, and supposedly once you pick them, you are supposed to let them sit in the garage or some other cool place on top of newspapers until the skins completely dry out.  Once this happens, you can store them in the large mesh onion or other fruit bags and they will keep for a long period.  I still have about half a pound, although they are now in my refrigerator.  I did keep them in a bowl on the counter for a good couple months (trying to remind myself to use them!) and true to my mom's word, nothing happened to them.  They remained super fresh.

I got the idea for this recipe from my friend Brittany who made mini butter tarts (with real dairy butter) and was kind enough to share her recipe with me, which I easily converted to vegan.  So, with lots of patience and excitement (initially!)  I decided to make these bad boys and was happily rewarded when Hubbs decided to eat over 12 of them in one sitting (no joke!).  Glad he liked them, but kind of wish I had someone a little girly or foodie over so they could ooh and ahh over them like I did.  I had a great time making these, but likely will not again unless my little niece or mum help me.

Mini Onion Cheese Tarts with Heirloom Tomatoes:



The gorgeous end result!



Yields: 24 mini tarts, with a small amount of dough leftover

Butter Crust:

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup chilled earth balance

3 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

Seasoned Onions:

10-12 mini onions, ends removed, and first tough layer removed

2 tablespoons earth balance

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

pinch sea salt and black pepper

Remaining Toppings:

Baby heirloom tomatoes, sliced

Fresh basil, Chiffonaded

Daiya, as needed

1.  Prepare the dough.  Place the flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Whisk well together.  Add the earth balance and gently incorporate with hands, being careful not to over-mix and make the dough too tough.  Add the ice water, starting with the 3 tablespoons, mixing, and adding more as needed.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it chill out in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator after about half an hour.  It should be relatively firm, but still pliable.  If it is too firm, allow it to sit out for about 5-10 minutes before proceeding.  Dive the dough into 2 pieces (it's easier to work with).  Cover the half you are not currently working on back in the plastic wrap.

3.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

The dough rolled out

4.  Sprinkle your work surface with flour and sprinkle the top of the dough as well.  flatten lightly with your hand.  Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough evenly and use a cookie cutter or other round object, also dusted in flour to cut out the pieces needed for the tarts.



The circles for the tarts cut out.

5.  Lightly oil a mini muffin pan with spray olive oil or whatever you have on hand.  Press the cut out pieces of dough into the pan, being sure to press into the edges.  




The dough all pressed into the pan!



5.  Partially bake the dough base in the oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until the dough is cooked and golden.

6.  Meanwhile, in a saute pan add the earth balance over medium heat and allow it to both melt and become hot.  Once it is hot, add the dried thyme and let it sizzle for a minute or so.  Add the onion slices, separating into rings as you place them in the pan.  Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper, stirring frequently, just until the onions begin to soften - you still want them to have texture.  Season to taste.

7.  Remove the baked crusts from the oven and add several of the onion slices, followed by two slices of the heirloom tomatoes, a couple pieces of daiya and bake, just until the daiya melts. 

8.  Once the tarts cool slightly, top with the basil pieces.  Be sure not to do this when the tarts are still hot or the basil will shrivel and turn brown right away.

Here are those yummy onions!

Enjoy!

-Koko

Toasted Pinenut Quinoa Salad

This is a super simple, super easy salad recipe I made up on the fly when I wanted something really quickly and fresh for lunch.  Quinoa is one of my definite go-to grains to cook when I don't want any fuss.  So,  I opened the fridge, saw what was available and decided on this.  I had a small container of toasted pinenuts left over from a class from a couple weeks back and decided to use it up.  (I know there's the scary thing with pinenut mouth going on right now, but these were definitely organic and definitely real pinenuts - they should be at $30 per pound!).  You could (and probably should) add some chopped parsley or cilantro for color, but I didn't have any. 

Toasted Pinenut Quinoa Salad:

Serves: 4 large servings or 6-8 small servings

2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 pinches cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

1 roma tomato, chopped, about 1/2 cup

1/2 cup small diced red onion

1/3 cup toasted pinenuts

1.  In a medium bowl, add the olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and minced garlic.  Toss ingredients to coat with a rubber spatula. 

2.  Add the cooked quinoa, chopped tomato, onion and toasted pinenuts.  Toss ingredients to coat again.  Season to taste with additional salt, lemon juice or olive oil, as needed. 

3.  Serve cool or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Hubby's Invention: Noodle Vegetable Soup

This is something the Hubby made for me several days ago when I was working late.  Until we get a couple more people in the department I am working in, I have been and will continue working crazy shifts that span all hours of the day.  Some days I do not finish work until 8 or 9 pm and will not have eaten all day, so my loevely Hubbs will make a nice dinner for me.  What a sweetie!  This time was a variation of a soup that he makes pretty often.  I love that he put slices of the corn on the cob in the soup - that was really fun to eat (and messy!)

Noodle Vegetable Soup

Serves 4

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, sliced in half down the middle and chopped

4 sprigs cilantro, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 corn on the cob, sliced into 4 circles

1 potato, peeled and chunked

filtered water to cover

unchicken boullion

3/4 cup thin pasta, broken into pieces

black pepper to taste

1.  In a medium pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and allow to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion, celery, cilantro and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant. 

2.  Add the corn on the cob and potato and stir.  Add enough filtered water to cover all of the ingredients, plus 2-3".  Add the unchicken boullion and bring contents to a boil.  Once the contents are boiling, lower heat, and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes and corn are tender. 

3.  Add the pasta and stir into the simmering soup.  Cook for about 8 or so more minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through.  Serve.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Spicy Lime Tofu with Roasted Mushroom Risotto, Green Peas & Salad

Hello everyone out there.  Hope everyone is doing well.  I have been insanely busy with my new job - it's taking up the vast majority of my time, and what little time I have left is taken by the Hubby either by cooking dinner for him (well, us really), working on our cafe plans together or trying to have enough time to go on a date.  This unfortunately leaves me little time left to blog about all of the tasty things I am still making on basically a daily basis.  I definitely still want to share the delicious things I am doing, and I hope you are still wanting to see them, however, there is no way with the way things are currently going, that I will be able to write as thorough of posts as I have in the past.  I am thinking of doing something similar to the blog What The Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway, in that I would share menus and pictures, and when time, recipes and stories.  I think that is what is going to work the best for now, but it could always evolve from there and maybe eventually go back to a recipe for each post.  We'll see.  Until then, thanks for checking out my blog and enjoy through pictures the tasty things I am making for the Hubbs and I, or what I am preparing professionally or privately.



Dinner Tonight: Roasted Mushroom Risotto, Spicy Lime Tofu,
Mixed Green Salad and Green Peas.  Tasty and simple,
though the risotto was definitely time consuming!



Pasta with Marinara,Garlic Bread, Green Salad, Marinated Beet Salad

This meal came together very quickly, which makes me quite happy!  Lately I have been craving white sauce to go over my pasta, but Hubby is very traditional in that sense - he loves his "red sauce" aka marinara sauce.  It's a good thing too, because whenever I made marinara, I always make a huge batch and freeze the leftovers, putting them in labeled deli containers in my freezer.  Now that I barely have two seconds to squeeze together, this is the best thing I could have done!  It works very well, because all I have to do is place it in a bowl of hot water for a couple minutes to loosen the contents from the container, then place the contents into a medium pot over low heat, put the lid on and stir it occasionally while the pasta and the rest of the ingredients cook.  What could be easier?!  In this case, I had luckily also had some already cooked beets in the fridge, so this meal came together even faster- basically in the time it took for the water to boil and the pasta to cook.  Because in the meantime, I washed the romaine, put the salad together and toasted the garlic bread.  Gotta love simple and quick!

Pasta with Marinara Sauce, Garlic Bread, Green Salad, Marinated Beet Salad:

Serves 2-3

Beet Salad

Pasta with Marinara Sauce:

Marinara Sauce

8 oz. spaghetti, broken in half

Vegan Parmesean Cheese

Garlic Bread

1/2 baguette, sliced thickly

6 tablespoons earth balance

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

2 pinched black pepper

Green Salad:

Romaine Lettuce

Sliced Roma Tomatoes

Shredded Carrots

1.  Prepare the marinara sauce and the beet salad as indicated in the links.

2.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

3.  Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted, oiled water until al dente.  Drain.

4.  Prepare the garlic bread: place the earth balance, garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper in a small pot and melt over medium heat, stirring until completely smooth.  Using a pastry brush, generously brush the garlic butter over the slices of baguette.  Place on a baking tray and place in the preheated oven.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the bread is golden and crispy. 

5.  Prepare the green salad:  toss together the chopped romaine lettuce, roma tomato slices and shredded carrots.

To serve, place a serving of pasta on the plate.  Top with marinara sauce and vegan parmesean.  Place a serving of the beet salad and green salad on the plate as well.  Place the toasted garlic bread on the plate.  Serve!

Enjoy!

-Koko

Any Suggestions for Using Bell Peppers?

Hello everyone.  As I'm sure you are all aware now, I have started a new job.  The crazy and long hours are keeping me tremendously busy, so much so that I have to be back to work in about six hours from now, and I still have yet to go to sleep!  However, there is an issue I have come across at work and would love some input.  I am working within a natural foods co-op where there is a produce department that goes through tons of produce everyday and will throw away hundreds of pounds of produce per day unless my department can do something with it.  Now, nothing has been done before I came in, and most of the produce went into the dumpster, not even to the homeless shelter.  So, after closing last night and throwing away 8 baguettes, 6 loaves of organic crusty bread, bagels, cookies, croissants, and so many more things it will make you ill, I have decided I absolutely must do something about it.

So I am doing the obvious thing of making croutons and bread crumbs out of the bread and making marinara sauce out of the tomatoes or using the barely bruised ones for sandwiches and salads.  The peppers, however is another thing entirely.  Right now there is about 60+ pounds of peppers in the walk-in: red, green, yellow and orange bell peppers.  I made a roasted red pepper and kalamata olive salad this afternoon, which used up 24 of the peppers, but there are still so many left.  Tomorrow I am making baked eggplant Parmesan to use up many slightly imperfect eggplants, which will be served with the marinara I made from the fresh tomatoes. 

Short of making stuffed peppers and Greek salad, I'm not sure what else to make with the tons and tons of peppers that are in the cooler.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, because seeing those dumpsters filled with all of those fruits and vegetables is sickening and anything I can do to use them, and make a buck for my department in the process is great. 

Ideas are greatly appreciated. 

Thanks and take care.  Until I'm a little less hectically busy,

-Koko

Vegetable Chow Mein & My New Job

So I recently started a new job.  Very recently in fact.  On Wednesday to be precise.  I haven't wanted to say anything because everything was so overwhelming and stressful.  I'm still not going to say very much because it is still very stressful and overwhelming, but I'm going to start my 3rd day today.  Let me start first by saying that I lost my job at the beginning of the year as a private chef.  I had worked for the family for 6 months as their private chef and  had a good time doing it.  I loved the people in the family- they are all very nice.  It was just very far away - 1 1/2 hours each direction from Brooklyn to Queens.  I had to take the train from my house, transfer to another train at Times Square, take that train to the end of the line in Queens and then take a bus to get to their house.  I was only working there 4 hours a day, four days a week, which was great, but the commuting was atrocious, especially if the train was operating on a weekend schedule.  I had to wake up at 5 am to get there by about 7:00 am and by the time I got home, it was like putting in a full 8 hour day, but getting paid for 4.  It was nice to have a lot of free time when I did get home, but also very tiring.  We decided to temporarily stop the cheffing because the family was having too many outside commitments that would keep them out of the house for too long, and they consequently wouldn't be home enough to eat the food I prepared.  It was all very sudden and I panicked about not having a constant source of income and living in nyc.  It's damned expensive here!  So I started looking immediately. 

On the 5th I found an ad on Craigslist (where I've found most of my jobs since moving to ny), responded, and heard back within a couple days.  It took 1 1/2 weeks to actually fit our schedules together (I was of course starting on my dreaded jury duty at the time!), I heard back from them several days later and was offered the position!  Yay!  It's at a co-op in Brooklyn, is a 15 minute walk away (no $104 metro card per month!) and pays competitively.  I am of course managing the food departments.  There has never really been a supervisor there before, so there is a TON of stuff that has to be fixed and discussed as well as policies and procedures created and implemented.  It is also a salary position that requires long hours (Hubbs doesn't like that!).  So believe me, I have my work cut out for me. 

Also, during the next couple weeks, I have to familiarize myself with the department, which means I have to work all of the shifts, from opening at 6 am, to closing at midnight.  Once this is done, my schedule will stabilize and I can get back to some semblance of normality.  Tonight is closing.  And let me tell you, I have not worked so late in over 6 years, so we'll see how the walk back home through Brooklyn is at midnight (grimace).  It's a lot lot lot of work, but I'm sure it will all work out.

Anyway, my reason for saying all of this is that I likely will not be putting up complicated or involved recipes lately because this new job is exhausting.  So, I'll be putting up some simple recipes or other recipes, I've partially typed up and neglected lately.  So, this is a simple recipe I had the Hubby start (meaning bringing the water for the pasta to a boil) when I worked the mid shift yesterday (finishing at 8 pm).  So it came together very quickly, which was much appreciated by both of us!

Vegetable Chow Mein:

 

Tasty and Simple!



Serves 4

1/2 bunch chow mein noodles, cooked in salted water until al dente

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 bunch broccoli, separated into florets

1 celery stalk, julienned

1 carrot, julienned

1 medium onion, julienned

3 tablespoons tamari

1 1/2 tablespoons mirin

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 pinches cayenne pepper

sesame seeds, for garnish

1.  In a large wok over high heat, add the olive oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the broccoli and saute, stirring frequently for 2 minutes.  Add the celery, carrot and onion and saute for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently. 

2.  Lower the heat to medium.  Add the cooked chow mein noodles and toss to coat with the veggies.  Add the tamari, mirin, toasted sesame oil, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  Toss very well to coat.  Season to taste with more tamari if desired.

3.  To serve, place a portion of the chow mein on a plate, top with the sesame seeds and more tamari if desired.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Pasta with Capers & Artichokes & Spanikopita

Several months ago when I was still working at Lifethyme Natural Market in the Village, I did one last shopping spree.  While working there I received a 25% discount on all products in the store, which was great.  When items were on sale, with that additional discount, it was even better!  When I was leaving, there was a sale on organic filo dough, which is usually quite expensive.  With my discount, each package ended up being like $1.50 each, so I stocked up, buying four of them.  It seemed like a truly great idea at the time, but all of these months later, there are still 3 in my freezer.  One day when I was organizing my freezer, I decided that I really needed to use filo dough, and also finding a package of frozen spinach, I decided what better thing to make than Spanikopita?  (I was really tempted to make Baklava, but with just the Hubby and I, it would be a huge sin, because we would be forced to eat it ourselves - it's too good and expensive for him to take to work!)  It turned out pretty decently, but I would definitely like to tweak it. 

Only problem is, I of course misplaced the recipe scribblings.  Unfortunately, I am always doing that and it is forever driving me, but especially the Hubby absolutely crazy!  I am always running around the house, going "where is my ....".  And he is forever telling me the same thing my dad told me as a kid - "put it in the same place everyday and you'll know exactly where it is!".  If only it were that simple.  I am always moving things around.  Funny thing is, I am always writing down the recipes in these little spiral bound notebooks.  However, the problem is that Hubby is always bringing in new notebooks, and I am just grabbing whichever notebook I find first.  I know, I know, I should just take one notebook, clearly label the cover and just use that, but it is too simple of a solution.  Anyway, so until I find it, I unfortunately cannot post the recipe, because I don't remember the precise teaspoons of spices I added. So, until then, enjoy the simple pasta recipe I made!

Pasta with Capers & Artichokes & Spanikopita:

Serves 2-3

Pasta:

8 oz. spiral pasta, cooked

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped

1/2 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and squeezed of excess moisture

1/4 cup parsley

2 tablespoons earth balance, or as needed

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Cook the pasta in boiling salted, oiled water until al dente.  Drain and set aside.

2.  In a large wok, add the olive oil over medium heat and allow it to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until it is fragrant.  Add the capers and artichokes, stirring to coat in the garlic oil.

3.  Add the earth balance and allow it to melt.  Once it has melted, add the pasta and toss to coat.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.  Toss around until all of the ingredients are hot.  Sprinkle in the chopped parsley and toss to coat. 

4.  Serve with the Spanikopita or a green salad for a light lunch or dinner.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Rice and Garbanzo Bean Stuffed Peppers

I love stuffed peppers.  I really do.  I'm sure I would love other stuffed foods like tomatoes, zucchini, etc.  I know I like stuffed mushrooms and cabbage too.  Stuffed foods are really fun and homey and so simple to make.  I have always thought that my mom used to make them, which is why I love them so much and make so many different varieties.  I was making a variation of them for the family I cook for about a week ago, and I was running late and wanted to expedite the process.  So I called my my mum and asked her advice.  I was very surprised when she informed me that she never made us stuffed peppers or stuffed anything as kids, yet I distinctly remember eating them at home.  Of course, at the time they were filled with white rice and ground beef.  I asked her several times if she was sure she wasn't mistaken, but she was adamant.  I'm just wondering where or whom the hell I ate these peppers with that I distinctly remember eating as a child. 

It's so strange how you have memories of things that happened when you were a kid that actually didn't happen as you remember them.  Such a strange thing.  There is one particular incidence I have in mind that happened when I was about five.  I have an older sister who is over 10 years older than me and shared a room with me for several years when I was very young.  Have I ever mentioned that I am one of 6 kids?  I know it sounds crazy in this day and age, but I loved and still love every moment of it.  Well, one day my sister was cleaning our room, tossing all of my/ "our" toys into the toy boxes in the closet.  I was in the closet, going after a Cabbage Patch doll (did those things really ever exist?!) she had just thrown in the box, and I had the misfortune to stand up as she was tossing in a Barbie doll horse with sharp hooves.  Of course the hoof gashed the side of my head and cut it open.  I didn't cry until I saw that my hand came away covered in blood.  My mom took me to the hospital and I remember being a very good girl, and being rewarded by the doctors with a small stuffed smiley face and then later with some bubble gum by the foot from my mom.  When I brought up the incidence many many years later, my mom told me I was actually the worst in the hospital - screaming at the top of my lungs, crying, making a huge fuss, and just generally being a hideous pain.  Funny right?  Because I truly remember it happening that I was a good girl.  Long way of saying it's funny how you remember things differently than they actually happened, right?  I'll have to figure out where it is that I first ate those stuffed peppers.  It's driving me crazy that I don't know how it is I fell in love with them!


Stuffed Peppers:

The Cooked Pepper Filling



Serves 4

Stuffed Peppers:

4 medium peppers, assorted colors tops removed, insides scraped out and tops reserved

1/2 cup green pepper, small diced (from reserved tops of peppers)

1/4 cup orange pepper, small diced (reserved from top of peppers)

1 medium onion, small diced, about 1 cup

2 stalks celery, small diced, about 3/4 cup

2 small carrots, small diced, about 3/4 cup

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cooked white or brown rice

1 cup cooked chickpeas

2 tablespoons sofrito

2 teaspoons vegetable bouillion powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder

Daiya, for top of pepper, optional

1.  Place a wok on the stove over medium-high heat.  Add the oil and allow it to become hot.  Once it is hot, add the green, orange and jalapeno peppers, onion and celery.  Saute for several minutes, or until veggies are crisp-tender.  Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.

2.  Add the sofrito, boullion, cumin, black pepper and chipotle pepper powder.  Stir to coat the veggies.  Add the cooked rice and cooked garbanzo beans.  Stir all ingredients to coat.  Season to taste. 

3.  Place the empty peppers into a pan that has been lightly oiled.  Portion out the filling into the peppers, really packing it tightly into the pepper.  Only three of my peppers could fit into a square 8" baking pan, and my 9x13" pan was busy with a casserole, so I baked my peppers in batches.

4.  To help the peppers cook faster and more thoroughly, place about 2/3 cup of water in the bottom of the baking pan.  Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the peppers can be easily pierced with a fork. 



The Raw Stuffed Pepper, Bottom of Pan Covered in Water



5.  If you would like, once the peppers are soft, remove the foil, top with daiya and return to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts.  These, you really should let cool for at least 10 minutes, because the peppers themselves will retain a lot of heat.  Once these cooled, I put them into leftover plastic 1 lb. deli containers - they fit perfectly, and were an easy, secure way for the Hubby to transport them to work for lunch the next day.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Hubby's Spaghetti, Moro, Sweet Potatoes & Sauteed Veggies

 This is one of the rare instances where the Hubby actually not only participated in the meal, but actually cooked quite a bit.  Well, admittedly, the moro was from dinner the night before, and I made the sweet potatoes and sauteed veggies, but he made the whole spaghetti dish, all the way from dry pasta to the finished cooked dish.  Not sure why, but the Hubby has been in a fiendish carb mood lately, so I just went along with it, even though when I saw the plate he prepared for me (see below!), I had a mini freak out, but not wanting to say anything, I went with it and it all was delicious.  So, Hubby said he was in the mood for pasta, but not American pasta (meaning where pasta is served with the sauce on top, rather than mixed in), rather Dominican-style pasta (where the sauce is mixed in with the noodles). 

So, he cooked the pasta, set it aside and started on the sauce.  I told him that he should tell me what he was putting in it as he was making it, and he started off doing it, but then I looked in his pot and saw things he didn't tell me he put in there, so I'm not totally sure all of what he put in it.  I know he sauteed some onions and garlic in a couple tablespoons earth balance, then added some tomato taste, boullion cubes, black pepper, unsweetened soymilk (he wanted to use dairy milk, ugh!), and topped it off with some fresh basil, but I'm not sure on the proportions or what else he put in there.  I do know, however, that it was delicious and a nice change of pace to have the sauce mixed right in with the pasta.  Good job Hubby!  Now if he would only do it more often!

Hubby's Spaghetti, Moro, Sweet Potatoes & Sauteed Veggies

Hubby's Spaghetti, Sweet Potatoes, Moro, Sauteed Veggies

Serves 3


Sauteed Veggies:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced, about 2 cups
1 small onion sliced, about 1 cup
1/2 green pepper, julienned, about 1/2 cup
1/2 orange pepper, julienned, about 1/2 cup
2 medium carrots,sliced on the diagonal, about 1 1/2 cups
3 scallions, diced
1 celery stalk, sliced on the diagonal
1 c. leftover cooked sesame kale
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Sweet Potatoes:
1 large sweet potato
1 1/2 tablespoons Earth Balance
Pinch Sea Salt
1 tablespoon turbiando sugar

1.  You can prepare some other kind of pasta or rice dish instead of what the Hubby made.  Have that ready.
2.  Start by peeling and medium dicing the sweet potato.  Place in a small pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until potato can be easily pierced with a fork. 
3.  While the potato is cooking, prepare the sauteed veggies.  Place a large wok on the stove over high heat.  Add the oil and allow it to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions, peppers and carrots.  Saute, stirring frequently, until carrot is slightly softened.  Add remaining veggies: zucchini, scallions and celery.  Continue sauteing until tender crisp.  Stir in the leftover cooked kale.  If you do not have any leftover cooked kale, simply add the raw chopped kale when you add the celery, scallions and zucchini and cook until softened.  Season veggies with sea salt and black pepper.  Turn off heat and transfer to a serving dish.
4.  Finish the sweet potatoes.  Drain the potatoes and add the earth balance to the hot pot, allowing it to melt.  Add the sweet potatoes back to the pot, as well as the turbinado sugar and sea salt.  Season to taste.
5.  To serve, place spaghetti and/or moro on plate, followed by sweet potatoes and sauteed veggies.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Deer Run Bed & Breakfast Part II

Hey guys and gals!

Here is a continuation of the post I began in November.  This is Part II of the trip I took to the Florida Keys to teach a lovely woman named Jen the basics of vegan baking.  Jen and her partner own this gorgeous B&B called Deer Run Bed and Breakfast, which I had the great opportunity to visit back in September.  Here is Part II of my lovely experiences.  You can check out Part I here.

(9/26) Day 4:

Today started off the same. Up at 7:30 am, coffee and pre-breakfast. Today was a Banana Walnut Muffin garnished with star fruit and strawberries.



I love how she does these cute little place settings!


It was still rainy so we had breakfast inside, which was good because it was crazy humid out! Breakfast was amazing! Jen really outdid herself. It consisted of the beautiful pineapple (one of my favorite fruits), homemade cornbread made with her homemade soymilk (that's for another time - it was lots of fun!), spicy roasted potatoes, and the best thing, mini Quiche in ramekins. That was crazy good! I believe it was Italian-style, and had layers of seasoned tofu, layers of garbanzo beans, daiya cheese, salsa, onions, spices, etc. It was very very tasty and again so filling. I feel like I have never eaten this well! I was incredibly ridiculously full today, but it was so worth it!




Isn't this absolutely gorgeous?!

 I got the basic recipe for the quiche from Jen - I basically just scribbled as she dictated how she made the recipe. I really hope I can read it later - it's pretty illegible. She was also telling me a story about how she submitted the recipe to either Veg News or Vegetarian Times (I can't remember which one), they tested it and said it wasn't up to their standards. I was completely shocked. I'm not kidding-it was seriously that good! We both were convinced it was some kind of conspiracy because I cannot imagine anyone tasting it and not thinking it was amazing. Whatever!

After digesting a little more than usual, we were onto baking. Today we baked like maniacs again and made peanut butter and jelly scones, apple walnut scones, savory sundried tomato and herb scones (which we brushed with refined coconut oil (meaning it didn't taste or smell like coconut) and baked and were so buttery and delicious!) and brownies. By that time we were really feeling the sugar, which is crazy because at most we ate a couple bites of each item - never a whole scone, cupcake, etc. I suggested miso soup for lunch, because I remember when I was in the chef training program at NGI and we were doing the baking program and were so od-ing on sugar that we were almost comatose, the instructor prepared a giant pot of miso soup, and after eating giant bowls, we all felt much much better! It was amazing. Even though we hadn't been eating a huge amount, we were both feeling so tired and lethargic - I believe it was because we were ingesting the sugar as we were baking it, and it was going into our system that way.

SO, we ate the miso soup and had these little half-sandwiches filled with the hummus Jen made earlier in the week, tapenade, artichokes and roasted peppers. They were super tasty, and a nice savory end to the baking session that day.



This was so damn tasty, with shiitake mushrooms & all!



The lighting inside definitely doesn't do these justice- they
were crazy delicious!

 
Once we finished baking, we chilled out a little bit and decided to go out for dinner. It was still a bit rainy, but it was a good night. There really are not a lot of vegetarian, especially vegan options for eating out in her area, so we had to kind of go to special areas to see where we could eat. Then there was usually one or two things on the menu we could eat. It was a little different than what I am used to in NY, that's for sure. I have become really spoiled living here. If I'm hungry and don't want to cook, I can just call the local Asian veggie restaurant in the hood and they will deliver right to my door, with all kinds of tasty meat analogues. Or I could take the bus 15 minutes to Park Slope and have sooooo many veggie options there-there are tons of veg restaurants there!

But, back to Florida - it was such a gorgeous place and really inspired you to want to cook health supportively at home. Jen told me that there is a vegetarian restaurant in Key West that we will visit in a couple days, which I am very excited about. The place we went to today was called Parrotdise (funny name I know!). It was rainy like I said, so the view wasn't great, but it was really neat, because Jen was telling me that during the busy season, people can dock their boats right up to the dock and can get their meals delivered right to them. How fun? Check out their website, and the menu - you can see that it is very fish oriented, which seems obvious, great for others, but not for us, so we got the Vegetarian Black Bean Burger. I got the jalapeno burger option because I love spicy food, but it was quite spicy if I do say so myself. I'm not sure what was used as the egg replacer, all I know is that it was incredibly messy and fell apart as soon as I picked it up, which Jen warned me about. We ended up eating most of it with forks. It was pretty funny actually.




Looks delicious, doesn't it?  I'm still remembering the spiciness!


It was then that we talked and talked and I feel like really bonded and got to know each other a lot more. I learned about her housing experiences in New Jersey, she learned about my goals and aspirations for my cafe, and we told ridiculous housing horror stories. She learned about the woman that lives two floors up from me in Brooklyn that religiously throws her garbage out her kitchen window. No clue why, but Jen nicknamed her the Spaghetti Woman. It's gross, believe me!

Dinner was great - a nice end to a nice day! Afterwards we went out to have drinks at an open-air bar that boasted live music. I had a rum and coke and listened to the "Key West Cowboy" sing country songs (definitely not my favorite!), but I had a great time! It was also a definite plus that there was an incredibly incredibly drunken man there when we got there at about 8:30 pm who was just behaving completely ridiculously and made us laugh. What a great night! Jen, uber-generous, bought 3 cd's for my mom, from this "Key West Cowboy" guy, just because I mentioned that she would really enjoy this guy because she loved the songs he was singing. What a sweet heart!



Another pic of their beautiful beach - I find myself constantly
snapping pics here.  Everything is just so beautiful!



(9/27) Day 5:

This morning I had a creepy little friend greet me as soon as I walked out of my room.  I really had to force myself not to scream, which is ridiculous I know.  I have this crazy fear of things that are like a one-millionth of my size, but that run/crawl very fast.  Check him out - you probably wouldn't freak out. 

Little Mr. Creepy Crawly was on the side of the rain barrel!

Today's prequel to breakfast was a blueberry scone. The flavor was great, but as I told Jen, I am a bit of a purist when it comes to scones - I don't like them with nuts in them, which this one had. But the blueberries were super juicy and the scone wasn't too heavy or sweet.



So many delicious, juicy organic blueberries!

 Breakfast was French Toast topped with strawberries and served with pineapple slices and a container of papaya (from her organic garden of course) and bananas, which was drizzled with a sweet cashew crème sauce. The French toast was super tasty as was all of the fruit. The only thing is that I have a bit of an issue when it comes to papaya. I truly feel like it smells like dirty smelly feet. Sorry, but can't help it. And that is how it was first described to me by someone, so I can't get that image out of my head. I really only like it at this point in smoothies, so I just ate around it. Sorry Jen!



Her presentation is amazing!


Today we made vegan baked donuts. Lot and lots of donuts! We made vanilla donuts, chocolate donuts and pumpkin donuts! We made different garnishes, including chocolate glaze, coconut glaze, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar and a plain glaze. All delicious and tasty!

Glazed & Shredded Coconut Baked Donut



Chocolate Baked Donut with Chocolate Icing & Vegan Sprinkles




Cinnamon Sugar Glazed Baked Donut



Chocolate Baked Donuts with Misc. Toppings

Jen decided that we needed to take a break and actually take some time to enjoy the Florida Keys while I was there.  So, we decided to go to Key West, followed by the Vegetarian Cafe there, called appropriately, The Cafe.  It was quite delicious for the most part and we had such a good time exploring Key West and just generally behaving touristy.  The one thing I will say, however, is that it was so uncomfortably hot.  I literally had sweat dripping off my back after the first 5 minutes walking around.  Whenever we would go inside of some shop, I would sigh in bliss at the amazing coolness.  Another awesome thing we did was go to this hot sauce store.  Seriously, everything in the entire store was either bottles of hot sauce, or products that were super spicy in some way.  We literally spent like an hour looking for the place, and finally ended up finding it right before it closed, which was really lucky.  I met the owner and talked to him about being a chef in NY, and about food, etc.  I wished we would have had more time to talk to him - he was really nice.  I bought literally 7 bottles of hot sauce - it was crazy.  (As of today, the day that I am posting this, I have not even finished one full bottle of hot sauce yet, although I do have 2 containers open in my fridge.)




This city is gorgeous!  Too bad about the constant flooding :(




It was so freaking hottt!!




I love taking pictures of interesting things, telling myself I
will remember what they are later - yet I never do.




Wild chickens running through the streets!




Gotta love Hello Kitty graffiti!




Momma & her babies getting dangerously close to the street!



I love this sign!



Buffalo-Style Tofu.  Had real potential, but they didn't use
extra-firm tofu, & didn't press it, so it was awfully squishy.




Stuffed Spinach Dumplings.  Cute and tasty- loved the sauce!




Seitan Pasta Veggie Bowl.  This was pretty tasty, just in need of
some tamari - & a little more flavor for the seitan!
This literally fed me for 3 meals!




Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Bean Sauce.  Would have liked
the sauce to be saucier!



(9/28) Day 6:

Breakfast was gorgeous as usual today, but way too many carbs! That was partly my fault because I didn’t sample everything from the day before, and Jen wanted me to try everything we prepared. Pre-breakfast was a lemon poppy muffin, which I love and ate happily.



Love love love lemon poppy!


There was also a beautifully presented yogurt parfait that used the granola we had made a couple days before. I am not a huge yogurt person – never have been, but it was so tasty with the granola and fresh fruit.  And of course my pumpkin baked donut we made yesterday was there, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat it because there was still breakfast to think about – so I brought it back to my room with me for later.



Yogurt & Granola Parfait with my
Pumpkin Baked Donut




Close up of the tasty parfait


Breakfast, thankfully, was a simple affair – pancakes with shredded coconut, organic maple syrup and organic fruit. Yummy. Can never say no to some good maple syrup!



Beautifully Presented as usual.


I was reading the morning paper and made a funny discovery: I read my husband’s name in the paper – only the thing is, my husband wasn’t 79, 20 years ago, working at McDonald’s in the Florida Keys. What a funny thing! His name is pretty common, I’m guessing. So funny! Had to take a pic to show him-he thought it was hilarious!



Still can't get over how funny it is!


Jen, marvelously, gave me the rest of the day to chill out and enjoy the amazing B&B. I took full advantage of it and couldn’t believe my stay was coming to an end – way too sad. It went by far too fast! As I was changing clothes to go into the mineral salt pool and spa, Jen brought me an adorable drink. I don’t know a lot about drinks, but I am sure it was a non-alcoholic Pina Colada. All I know for sure that it was crazy delicious and amazing served while I was indulging in the pool.



So Thick and Yummy!


And all I can say about the pool and spa, was it was such a great thing to be in water that did not smell and feel deathly like Chlorine. Yuck! It was also great hanging in the pool and watching the Key deer walking by, watching me, and just hanging out. What a time!



What a beautiful tropical paradise!


For lunch, we ventured outside of the Deer Run B&B sanctuary, and went to the health food store in Marathon, called Food for Thought. The place was pristine – absolutely gorgeous, had a ton of books to choose from, a surprisingly large selection of products, and the nicest workers you will ever meet. I met a woman who was gluten free, and a new vegan and we talked for a while. I also met the owner, a tiny little thing who was very well versed in raw and she took me on a verbal tour of their kitchen. I admittedly, am not huge on raw, but ordered lunch and it was actually seriously quite good. And the thing I also liked about it was that not everything was raw, which made for a nicer texture and flavor. So I had this Mexican-style wrap with a nut “meat” filling and all of the other goodies you would expect in a taco. It was delicious. The only thing I really miss down here is a nice Hass Avocado. I really really have found that I do not like Florida avocados in the least. They are too watery and have a funky flavor, and I found myself picking them out.



The Chips were clearly not raw, and the wrap was sprouted
grain, but the filling was totally raw.



A close-up of the tasty filling.


Jen got a meat loaf type dish with raw coleslaw. She let me try a bite and it was quite good. It was a delicious and surprisingly filling lunch.



I love the presentation!


Then came dessert – a mostly raw cacao coconut pie with a date nut crust. It was very tasty, very rich and not overly sweet. I also like that the pie was frozen, because being the Keys, it was incredibly hot outside, so it really hit the spot.



Delicious!


The rest of the day we just hung out and had a good time. Then came dinner! It was Harry’s turn to make dinner. And of course it was to be made on the grill- typical guy, but I was not complaining! Grilled Asparagus and Roasted/Grilled Potatoes in a mushroom gravy with crusty bread to soak up all the delicious sauce! It was so homey-tasting, filling and delicious, and such a nice gesture on the last night!



Delicious Salad - Jen is the Queen of salads!



Wish I could have that dinner again now - it was so tasty!


And I of course had to get a picture of their amazing kitty Aggie. Such a sweetheart – I completely fell in love with her and had such a great time! Had to get her picture. I was planning on taking it home to the Hubby to further convince him that we needed a kitty – fat chance unfortunately!




Aren't I the most adorable thing in the world??




Hanging out on my favorite chair with my favorite blankie.
Look deep into my beautiful eyes!



(9/29) Day 7:

So sad to say it’s the last day. But I feel very fortunate in meeting Jen & Harry and feel like I have made friends for life. It has been such an amazing experience and I would absolutely love to come back and bring my Hubby. I know he would love them as much as I do. So, before breakfast, I went around and took my final pictures of the gorgeous B&B – Jen and Harry’s home.



Looking down from the balcony.




Goodbye little Key Deer!  I will miss you!



Sunrise.  Sigh.

Wish we could have hung out more here!

The backyard garden.



More of the gorgeous-ness behind the house.



One last look at the beautiful water.


I had a very filling breakfast of a rice scramble instead of tofu (Jen was out) – which was a great surprise. Nicely spicy. Roasted potatoes and fresh fruit went along with it, as well as homemade biscuits made with Jen’s homemade soymilk, in cute shapes, which I promptly slathered in Earth Balance. Yum!



A touch on the blurry side, but we were in a hurry!


Then Harry took me out to their organic garden to pick an unripe papaya to take home as a gift.



Picking the papaya.  I was convinced it was going to drop on my head!




Got it!


Jen also gave me a Cuban Oregano plant and several key limes, which I cannot wait to use and explore! They are crazy delicious and so cute! Then some more beautiful pics, and one with Jen. (Harry was feeling a bit camera-shy. :) Then on our way. I met their neighbor, a man in his 90’s living on his own, that they bring baked goods every day, and check up on. His name is Pop, fittingly. He was so amazing, I wish I had snapped a picture of him! He shook my hand firmly, looked me in the eye and we talked about me going back to NY (I believe he said he was originally from Philly) and seeing my Husband. He told me to go back and make Hubbs happy – what a cutie! He was married for many many years before his wife passed away. Then he told me to go ahead and go back to the “bullies” back home, which I thought was funny and cute.

Then off to the airport. On the way of course, we saw a turtle trying to make his way across the road. So, we stopped and attempted to help him, with me snapping a couple pics along the way. He was adorable!



Hey Mr. Cutie!


On the plane and back home to NY! Bye Jen and Harry and thanks again so much for sharing your home and life with me! I will never forget you guys!



Bye Jen!


Enjoy!

-Koko