Falafel Pizzas?

Geez Louise....I've neglected this blog. It's definitely not from lack of cooking. Since my last post I've really gotten into baking. On a weekly basis I've been making muffins, breads, cobblers, brownies, and other tasty goodies. However, I'll save those for another time and instead share some falafel pizzas I made tonight. I know, I know.....falafel and pizza in the same sentence? Well, many many years ago I roadied with a band called Trepan Nation from Chicago. We rolled into Richmond, VA the day before our show and ended up sleeping in a van in a parking lot somewhere. Anyway, that evening we found a 24 hr pizza joint that strangely enough had falafels as a topping. We bought a big pie with falafels, eggplant, onions, and no cheese. It was the densest motherfucker of a pizza I've ever eaten, and I use the term "pizza" very loosely because it definitely did not taste like a pizza. But damn was it tasty. Now I've always been curious as to whether it actually made for good eating or if I was just starving at the time? Well I had a bunch of falafels left over from the previous day, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I got a couple Whole Wheat Pizza Crusts (Whole Foods Brand) and brushed them with some olive oil. Next I added some marinara sauce. Then I topped the pizzas with various combinations of broccoli, spinach, onions, roasted red peppers, plum tomatoes, and falafel. Finally, I topped both pies off with shredded Follow My Heart Soy Cheese, Monteray Jack style. I cooked them at 400 degrees for 7 mins then broiled them till the cheese melted and browned a bit.

The verdit....Bella gives a thumbs up! Falafels do indeed make for a good pizza topping.

Digging the Hemp Milk....

Having a daughter with allergies to both dairy and soy and of the age where she'll be weaning soon, I've been searching hi and low for a calcium fortified beverage for her. We currently purchase rice milk, but I'm not crazy about it's lack of fats, protein, and the milk's overall thin consistentcy. As Dr. Fuhrman says in his book Disease-Proof Your Child,

I do not recommend rice milks for infants and toddlers. The rice-based milks are too sweet and too low in protein and fat.

So doing some research on the net I came across hemp milk. I've noticed it in the past at the health food store and my wife even bought a carton of chocolate hemp milk at one point, but I never really looked at it's nutritional profile in earnest.

I found the Living Harvest website, www.livingharvest.com, one of the two companies producing hemp milk and was pretty impressed with it's benefits:

An 8 oz. glass of the original or vanilla flavored hemp milk has:

800 mg Omega-3 with SDA
2600 mg of Omega-6 with GLA
All 10 Essential Amino Acids
4 g Digestible Protein
Vitamins A, B12, D, E, Riboflavin & Folic Acid
Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron & Zinc
40% Daily Value of Calcium

Surprisingly, the chocolate flavor has even more calcium (46% of rda), b12 (25% of rda), and boosts 900 mg of Omega-3 and 2800 mg of Omega-6 (perfectly balanced I might add). On the flipside, it does have a high sugar content.

Additionally, hemp milk is gluten-free, soy-free, and has no known allergens. Perfect for my daughter.

And if you're wondering, hemp seeds naturally contain an insignificant amount of THC (yes the stuff that gets you high when you're smoking a doob) and further processing guarantees 0% of THC is found in Living Harvest products.

Of course, most importantly, how does it taste.

I initially purchased both the plain and vanilla flavor. I honestly can't really taste the difference between the two, but they've got a nutty flavor and pretty much remind me of the earlier varieties of soy milk. Slightly chalky, but not really noticable if it's shaken well and not drunk straight. Turthfully it didn't bother me, but what about Bella? She likes it in her breakfast cereal, though not straight.

What about the chocolate? The chocolate I thoroughly enjoy. Better than soy or almond milks. It's rich, chocolately, and not chalky like the plain and vanilla flavor. Strangely, my daughter wasn't digging it and my son won't drink it either. Though, I bet Max would drink it if he didn't know it was hemp milk. For some reason has has a bias against drinking milks from a small rectangular box, as oppossed to the half gallon cartons that Silk comes in.

At $4 for 32 oz. it is a bit pricey, esp since you can get a double box (2 half gallons) of plain Silk soy milk for a little over $5, and almond milk has been 2 for $5 at Publix lately. But, I do like the Omega-3 profile of of the Hemp Milk and the fact that you get nearly half your calcium for the day in one glass.

I'll probably continue buying a few cartons a week, along with soy milk, and occassionally calcium-fortified orange juice. Variety is the spice of life.

Simple Dinner....

After a long day spent at the zoo, I didn't really feel like making anything too fancy last night (not that I ever make anything fancy). I had a bunch of turnips, a bag of parsnips in the fridge and a package of Flax Seed Tempeh (I've become an omega-3 fiend) that I've been wanting to fry up, so I decided to do roasted roots and fried tempeh meal.

The roasted root veggies was easy. Here's what I did:

Ingredients

3 large parsnips
a dozen or so turnips
2 Tbs. of olive oil
1 Tbs. of tarragon
salt and pepper to taste.

1. I pre-heated the oven to 425 degrees
2. peeled, washed and rinsed the turnips and parsnips and cut them into about 1/2" cubes.
3. I tossed the cubes in a bowl with the olive oil and tarragon.
4. Then I popped them in the oven and baked them for 45 mins.
5. I mixed around every 15 mins just to get even browning.
6. After their done, add all the salt and pepper you like. I tend to add saly and pepper after the fact, since everyone in my household has different threshholds for sodium and not all like pepper.

For the tempeh, I prepared it differently than usual. I decided to steam it for 10 mins., first. Apparently, doing so, opens the pores in the tempeh to allow flavors to soak in. This makes sense. I've always been more of a tempeh person than a tofu person, but I have noticed that no matter how long you marinate tempeh the flavors tend to never penetrate the surface, like tofu. I marinated it briefly (about 15 mins) in a cup of water with a tbs. of garlic, a tbs. of coriander, and a tbs. of bragg's liquid aminos. I threw it on the cast-iron skillet and fried it in a little canola oil for about 10-15 mins on each side. The cast-iron skillet will let you know when one side is done, because it lifts easily.

The verdict:

I'm a late comer to parsnips. My uncle introduced me to it last year. The way he prepared it tasted like a slightly spicy carrot. I've been using them off and on since then. Though, I can't decide if I really like them or not. They've got a strange flavor where they can't seem to decide whether they want to be sweet or bitter. The sweetness tends to win out, but halfway through a parsnip dish I always find myself forcing it down after a usually delightful start. This time was no exception. I enjoyed the roasted roots initially, but lost interest about half way through. I've come to the conclusion, that I'll stick to sweet potatoes and white potatoes if I'm craving a root and only pick up parsnips and turnips when the price is good. That said, if you like these root vegetables you'll probably like this dish since roasting veggies always makes them taste better.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tempeh. The flavor was subtle, but tasty. I'll definitely use the same method again.

Hooray, I found another use for our cast-iron skillet (it's still worthless to cook potatoes in).

"Under weakness, you put eczema" - David Brent (the Office)

A post from my partner-in-crime Michelle (A.K.A. the Bean Queen)

Our two year old, Bella, has been a huge inspiration for our family to eat healthy. Her diet is restricted due to food allergies that result in severe eczema. Since she began eating solids at age one, we have had to pay close attention to her nutritional needs. Our four year old, Max, can eat what-ever veggie fare he desires with little to no allergic reactions. The irony of his seemingly endless options for substance, is that Bella actually has the far more expanded palate. Max manages to subsists primarily on wheat products, tomatoes (think pasta sauce), and cheese. We are lucky to sneak anything green past his scrutinizing vision, beans and tofu are YUCK, and we count our blessings when we're able to blackmail him into eating a salad, before his pizza. I like to think of his palate as a work in progress. Bella, however, eats just about anything we put in front of her - primarily all whole food. What we screwed up with Max, we got right with Bella!

Tonight, for Bella and myself, I made a light red kidney bean dish with quinoa. It is a very simple dish with lots of flavor. I think it would be great with corn chips, too.

Light Red Kidney Bean Delight…

1 bag dry light red kidney beans
5-7 cloves of garlic (if you like your garlic, one or two less if not), minced
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped
2 large tomatoes, diced
1-2 cups veggie stock (depending on how much liquid your in the mood for)
Garlic powder (hey, we like our garlic), salt, and pepper to taste

Prepare dry beans to directions on bag.
Sauté garlic on med-low heat with olive oil first, about five minutes. Be careful to not burn them. Add onions, sauté for another 2 minutes. Add veggie stock, carrots and beans, simmer for about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste.

I actually never use pepper ’cuz I’m not a fan. I always end up tasting this dish over and over again until I get the flavor just right - I like my stuff to have a strong rich flavor. I added cooked quinoa at the end because it is a complete protein source. I add the tomatoes for flavor first and foremost, but also because they help the body to absorb iron. Serve this with a side of kale or broccoli, and whoa, a nutrient packed delicious dinner.

Food tip for parents of babies… instead of buying packaged baby food that is specific for the finger eating stages, season some beans instead.

Bella say’s, “I LOVE MY BEE-BEE’S!"

What the Fuck Do You Do With Mung Beans?

Seriously.....I'm starring at a bag my Mom gave me. I'm really not sure how to use these. Some intense recipe searching to ensue.

Living off lentils....

Last Sunday I made a big pot of lentils, which I've been eating off of all week. The following lentil recipe is a hand me down from my Grandma. My Grandma rules. When I first became vegan she converted so many of her recipes to conform to my diet. I probably would have fell off the train when I was in my late teens, had it not been for her culinary skills. I still have about 100 note cards of her recipes, some of which I haven't used in years, but I'd like to revisit. Tempeh Reuben, vegan biscuits and gravy, tempeh cacciatore, mmmmm....... Frankly, most of them are probably a little too rich for my current diet (I'm for the most part following Fuhrman's Eat-to-Live program), but there's always room to splurge sometimes.

Grandma Harmon's Cooked Lentils

Ingredients:
1 - 1 lb. bag of lentils
1 - chopped carrot
1 - diced celery stalk
1 - 16 0z. can tomato sauce
1-1 1/2 c vegan spaghetti sauce
garlic powder, salt, pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Rinse lentils, then cover with water. Boil for 2 mins.
2. Take off heat, cover, and let sand for 1 hr. (Now everything I've read about lentils say that they don't need to be soaked, however I defer to my grandmother's cooking prowess.)
3. Add carrots, celery, tomato and pasta sauce. Add as much garlic powder, salt, and pepper as you like.
4. Cook lentils on medium heat until they are tender. About 10 - 15 min.

This makes a pretty large pot and I ultimately use them throughout the week. They can be used in a variety of ways. Of course they're good on their own served with a grain (rice or quinoa). I also like them a couple different ways served with pasta. The way my Grandma serves them is mixed in with macaroni noodles and add some Parmesan cheese (or soy Parmesan for me). I like to add some hot pepper flakes as well to this combination.

Another way to integrate it into pasta, is to simply add it to some additional vegan spaghetti sauce and serve it with pasta. This is one of the few ways I can actually get my son to eat legumes. He never notices them.

I've also seen some recipes for lentil hummus, which could be intriguing. So many possibilities for my, by far, favorite legume.

Well at least it's good for something....

A $125 cast-iron skillet and the only thing I've been able to cook in it is tofu....but it is damn good tofu.