Hot Quinoa Breakfast Cereal

Here it is again, my favorite grain, quinoa (keen-wa). With eight grams of protein per one cup serving, this is a great way to start the day!

You will need:

1 C uncooked quinoa
1/4 C crystalized ginger, chopped
1/4 C dried currants
nutmeg, to taste
cinnamon, to taste
non dairy milk, to taste (I used rice milk, but soy creamer works well and adds an extra richness)
agave nectar, to taste (optional)
fresh berries (optional)

Method:

Combine quinoa with two cups water and bring to boil. Add ginger and currants, stir to combine, cover with lid and turn off heat. Quinoa is done when all liquid is absorbed and the germ has separated from the grain. Fluff quinoa and transfer to individual serving bowls. Add non-dairy milk to taste and finish with cinnamon, nutmeg and agave nectar. I had some beautiful red raspberries hanging out in the fridge, so I added those as a garnish.

Vegan Pets

Can our companion animals be vegan? Yes. There are many reasons to feed your dog or cat a vegan diet. Most obviously, if you're buying Kibble and Bits for your pup you are supporting the meat industry, but your pets' health is another factor you should consider. Pet food is made of animal byproducts that is considered unsuitable for human consumption. Until just last year SpokAnimal was sending the remains of euthanized animals to a local rendering plant. Horrifyingly enough, byproducts from the rendering process are used not only in livestock feed, but also in pet foods. In 2007 there was also the incident of pet food that was found to be tainted with melamine.

We all choose a vegan lifestyle for various reasons. Whether it's for health or animal welfare reasons, feeding your pets a vegan diet seems like an obvious decision. However, there are some things you need to consider before starting your pets on a vegan diet. Proper nutrition is very important and cats especially need a good source of taurine in their diet. I'm not an expert in this area, but there are some helpful resources online. The Mad Cowboy website has a great list of resources, including shopping and more information on pet food.

I feed my dog, Skippy, Natural Balance Vegetarian Formula from Petco and we haven't had any problems.

My Favorite Tofu

I have always loved tofu. As a kid, my favorite way to eat it was just like this: fresh from the container (pressed just slightly) with some fresh grated ginger and soy sauce. Actually, when I was little it was teriyaki sauce. I was addicted to Kikoman's teriyaki - I even put it on french fries. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it (if not, it should have been implied), but I was a strange kid. When I was in sixth grade I decided I wanted to be a vegetarian. I took this little dish to school for lunch one day. (I should also mention that I used to prefer to mash up or scramble my tofu when I ate it this way.) One of my class mates looked at my lunch suspiciously and then accused me of eating cat food. And that was the last time I brought a vegetarian lunch to school. Of course I still eat my tofu this way, but now I slice it, isn't it pretty? It's very light and refreshing. My son loves his tofu this way too. He's takes after his mom.

Slightly Embarrassing Anecdote About Spinach, And A Salad

I love spinach and always have, even as kid. Embarrassingly enough though, until fairly recently (sometime in my adulthood, < 23) I had the subconscious and illogical idea that spinach is a seaweed. I didn't talk about spinach as a seaweed, or consciously make the connection. It was just a subconscious association I had. I can't explain why - blame Popeye. I know it's something from early childhood (but really, what falsely held beliefs and complexes don't date back that far?). Anyway, thinking of spinach as a seaweed made it more exotic and seemingly tastier. I think that maybe my parents weren't too keen on correcting my misunderstanding because I was actually eating the nutritious leafy green and they didn't want to undo a healthy food obsession. Well, today I know the truth and that is that spinach is a wonderful vegetable rich in iron and calcium and it makes a great salad. Pictured above is one such delicious salad. I made this as a late night snack recently and was quite satisfied. Upon a bed of baby spinach, I sprinkled some fried onions (found on the Asian/ethnic isle of the grocery store - not the French's variety) and on top of that drizzled Annie's Naturals Papaya Poppy Seed Dressing. The salty-savory flavor of the fried onions played well with the sweetness of the dressing and earthiness of the spinach. This is a new favorite salad.

A Compassionate Commitment

My little sister decided to go vegetarian recently after watching "Earthlings". Of course, I have completely supported her decision and am so proud of her! We celebrated her 15th birthday yesterday. I made vegan cupcakes, but she made this: tofu inari. She found the recipe online and adapted it a little to use what was available in the house. The tofu is deep fried and then little bowls were scooped out of the tofu chunks and filled with the rice mixture and then it all goes in to the oven. Isn't it pretty? It was really tasty, too!

It can be so challenging to go veg*n as a teenager; you're dependent on someone else to provide your food and often can't be too "picky" about it. And then, there is the issue of school lunches. The schools are required to give each student a serving of meat on their tray if they eat a school lunch - even if that student requests not to have it and ends up just throwing it away or giving it to someone else.

However, if you have the desire, determination and compassion, you can go veg*n at any age. There are a ton of resources on the web (I won't list them here, as a quick search of the key words will generate numerous information), and several books on the issue. I heard about a book called Generation V on a Vegan Freak Radio podcast a little while ago. I haven't read it, but it is all about going vegan as a teenager. And it was written by a teenager.

I'm just so proud of my sister's compassionate commitment - and her cooking skills!

Curried Split-Pea Soup

I love soup. I also love curry.

So, one of my co-workers subscribes to about five different magazines. She brings them to work and leaves them in the lunch room with a few of those trashy celebrity magazines that someone else likes to read. What's my point? Well, since the mega-corporation that I work for decided that a subscription to the newspaper is an extravagant expense for our office, I end up reading a lot of home and garden magazines on my lunch breaks. In the Jan/Feb issue of Country Home, I came across this recipe for Curried Split-pea Soup. I was so excited to find a recipe in a main stream magazine that was already vegan! We tried it a week ago at my mom's house and it was a big hit. I changed things up a little because I don't follow directions well. I have a problem with authority. But that's OK. Baking is a science; measurements and method are important. Cooking, on the other hand, is an art. So be creative!

Here is a comparative list of ingredients called for in the recipe and my substitutions. (Follow the cooking instructions found in the recipe.)

Recipe/Substitution

2 14oz cans vegetable broth/32oz vegetable broth (Imagine aseptic package)
1 14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk/SAME
2 1/3 C dry split peas/SAME
1 bay leaf/2 T dried sweet basil
2 medium sweet potatoes/SAME
1 LB shiitake mushrooms/1 LB cremini mushrooms
1 medium red sweet pepper/SAME
3 green onions/SAME
1 T soy sauce/omitted
2 t curry powder (add more to taste)/SAME
1/4 t crushed red pepper/1 bulb fresh roasted garlic
1/4 C fresh basil/1/4 C fresh cilantro

food-related goals for 2009

1. to grow my own soy beans

2. to procure a soy milk maker

3. to make wine - my step-dad is in on this one!

4. to experiment more with gluten free baking (from scratch!)

5. to eat/buy more local and organic produce

6. to get myself some good kitchen knives

7. to make my own tofu!! (and soy milk, of course)

i'm a little nervous about the wine and tofu making. i'll keep you posted as i work toward my goals. (also, i promise not use a wine necklace when drinking my homemade wine. promise.)