Creamy Rosemary Potato and Kale Soup

Have you ever heard of a different way of preparing an old favorite and wondered "why in the hell didn't anyone tell me this before?"

My favorite partner in nerdery at work just BLEW.my.mind.

She suggested I roast my potatoes and other root vegetables in the oven before throwing them in to a recipe like soup or mashers.

Huh.  Never thunk of that.

We've been growing fresh herbs on our back patio in a container garden, so fresh rosemary, oregano, and basil is just  begging to garnish a dish.  So, I picked a crapton of rosemary (hence the name) and got started.

Creamy Rosemary Potato and Kale Soup

6 medium Red Potatoes
1/4 cup Rosemary
1/4 cup minced Garlic
3T fresh ground Black Pepper
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 massive bundle of Organic Kale
1 container unsweetened Almond Milk
1 1/2 cup Water
1/8 cup Cornstarch
Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

The first matter of business is to infuse the olive oil with herby goodness.  I put all of the garlic, rosemary, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl then poured the olive oil on top.  After stirring violently with a fork, I let it sit to the side while I chopped up potatoes!

I cubed the potatoes into happy little morsels then tossed in the wonderfully herby oil.  I evenly spread them out on a cookie sheet and baked for 25 minutes at 400F.  It filled our home with such amazing aromas.  It was hard to not gobble these little taters up...

Now, I have to admit.  I have never, ever attempted to cook with cornstarch before.  I was raised to make cream sauce with butter and flour, like a proper young West Michigan lady should.  So this was treading new waters for me.  *EEEEK!*

I dutifully mixed 1/8 cup cornstarch in 1/4 cup cold almond milk while the remainder of the milk warmed on the stove with the water.  When the mixture came to a boil, I stirred in my cornstarch concoction and continued to stir slowly until it returned to a boil.

When my soup base reached a creamy, happy texture, I added my chopped kale and roasted potatoes and let simmer for 15 minutes.

After all that simmerin' I decided to toss in another 1/8 cup garlic and way more sea salt.  It could have done without, but I'm a garlic freak.  Here is the end result:

Hearty and delicious!

I wish I could say it was love at first bite, however, my palate still hasn't adapted to veganhood :-).  After a couple of bites though, I was totally into the texture and flavor.  I am going to go ahead and call this evening's dish a win!

Tabbouleh Time!

Vegetarian dishes from the Middle East are so flavorful and refreshing.  I love tasting a dish that is so healthy,  you can feel the goodness with every bite.  Tabbouleh is one of my favorites because of the unique marriage of flavors that occurs.  Each bite is an adventure in flavor!

Allergen Buster:  If you're feeding anyone with a gluten intolerance, substitute the bulgur with quinoa.  I promise it will turn out just as amazing!

Come to think of it, I could have used a healthy protein punch that only quinoa can offer... perhaps I should conjure up some kind of quinoa salad later... hrmmmmmm... I don't know why that thought made me burst into maniacal laughter.  Let's just roll with it...For now I bring you the magic of TABBOULEH!!!!!

Recipe inspired by the directions on the back of Bob's Red Mill Bulgur.

1 1/2 cups Bulgur
1 1/2 cups Water
1/4 cup Mint
1/4 cup Dill
2 cups Parsley
2 Green Onions
1/2 medium Red Onion
2 medium Tomatoes, seeded
1/2 Lemon
1T fresh ground Black Pepper
1T Sea Salt
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar

Boil 1.5 cups water, pour on 1.5 cups bulgur.  Let sit for 1 hour.

Pulse all of the veg/herbs in food processor until properly chopped up (or, if you're not as lazy as I am, use a good old fashioned knife).  Squeeze the lemon juice all over the mixture, add salt/pepper, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.  Stir, cover, refrigerate.  Let it hang out until the bulgur is done chillin'.  This will give all of the wonderful flavors time to intermingle.  Mix in the bulgur, refrigerate for another 15 minutes.

Lazy Food Friday: Cream of Buckwheat

Behold, the power of BUCKWHEAT!!!!

Growing up in our household meant eating a lot of collard greens, corn bread, and proper down-south buttery gut-attack GRITS!  I came across this box of Cream of Buckwheat at our area Sprouts market and thought it sounded like an interesting thing to try.  It's definitely more nutrient dense than your average hominy grits and is really fun to say.  BUCKwheat.  *squee*

Preparation is easy:  Boil 1.25 cup water.  Throw in .25 cup BUCKwheat.  Reduce to low heat, allow to simmer (stirring often) for 10 minutes.  Put in a pat of Earth Balance, salt, pepper, CHOWDOWN!!!!

Perfect for a lazy food Friday!  It's simple to prepare, tasty, and even friendly to our gluten intolerant friends out there.  I give this two eager thumbs up!

The Epic Morning Power Smoothie!

Hi, I'm Chia and I'm a smoothieholic.

Hi Chia...

Driving in to work this morning, the world's coolest partner in carpooling admitted that she requires at least 2 hours after waking until she even *felt* hungry.  This makes me insanely jealous, because I feel like I was born hungry.

It took me a long time before I found the perfect foundation to a well-nourished day:  The Power Smoothie!  There are several variations to this recipe that I indulge in, but this is by far my favorite.

Here's what y'all need:

- 1 medium (2-3" diameter) organic beet

- 2 large (7-8" long) organic carrots

- Metric crapton (about 2 proper handfuls) organic baby spinach

- 1 frozen banana

- 1 serving of your favorite protein shake.  My personal favorite is Garden of Life's Raw Protein Powder.  When choosing a powder, make sure it's both safe (click here for some help from Food Babe) and does not contain any hidden non-vegan ickery (click here for help from Vegangstaz on making sure nothing that came from a beaver's butt is in your food).

- 1 oz of your favorite raw nut - best if soaked in water overnight (it just blends better).  I love adding raw almonds into my smoothies!

The first thing I did this morning was pull out my mighty Breville Compact Juice Extractor and fed it beets and carrots.  Check out the gorgeous sunrise I concocted on this incredibly gloomy day:

I added this wonderful juice to the banana/spinach/protein powder/nut concoction that was chillin' in my Ninja blender:

After the Ninja had properly kung-fu'ed the daylights out of my drinkable salad, I had one perfectly pulsed breakfast treat!  I poured it into one of my re-purposed kombucha bottles for portability (reduce, reuse mofoz!)...

I coupled my cocktail with a Go Raw Live Pumpkin Bar.  This was a lovely pairing that kept me going until lunch!  Yay raw energy!

Will Work for Zen

0730: Wake up, sit peacefully for 15 minutes breathing. This will inevitably wake the cat, dog, and husband. They will all want love at the same time. Forfeit meditation in exchange for kisses.

0745: Go Raw Spirulina Energy bar with a big glass of water. Take vitamins. Try to recreate meditation time on the toilet. This will induce cat's super door opening powers. Husband will complain of full bladder. Curse lack of forethought when going with the 2/1 condo instead of a 2/2. Resign oneself to try meditation during walk with Shih Tzu.

0800: Walk dog. Zen music on, crisp breeze, and delicate sunshine dance around us peacefully. Breathing adjusts to the pace and a calm begins to... Escalate to blind rage as loud mouthed neighbor with antichrist chihuahua comes around the corner. Heart palpitates as every fiber of thy being tenses. Just don't make eye contact. Don't. Look. Neighbor excitedly runs over. Evil chihuahua bark permanently ingrained in head. Neighbor makes about as much sense as Boomhauer on King of the Hill attempting to emulate Fran Drescher from The Nanny. Spend next 20 minutes asking God to never do that to me ever again.

0830: Attempt to regain feeling in frozen extremities. Save walk in handy MotoACTV. Watch eats all workout history and crashes. Pick up iPhone and write whiny blog post for 15 minutes. Realize legs fell asleep and now cannot resume upright position.

Bulgur Holidays Continued!

I would like to premise this post with the fact that this is indeed, the UGLIEST dish I have ever made.

But it's pretty darn tasty and nutrient packed.

I had a lot of dolma filling left over from yesterday's adventure, so I decided to put it to use with some of the portobello mushrooms and tofu I had chillin' in the good ol' icebox.  Here is how I "repurposed" some creativity:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Dolma Filling 

4oz Portobello Mushrooms

2oz Cubed Extra-Firm Tofu

Drazzle of Olive Oil

1T Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1T Sriracha

Assembly Instructions:

Set stovetop to medium heat and throw a sauce pan on that hot little burner.  Drazzle the bottom of sauce pan with Olive Oil.  Dump all aforementioned crap in pan.  Cover.  Walk away until sizzling and hot (5-8 mins).

Quick, easy leftover utilization!  Turned out super tasty and filling!

Merry Motivation!

Last week I made the conscious decision to commit to making three simple things part of my daily life:  Veganism, Activity, and Learning.  I am a firm believer that those who succeed, PLAN!  So, although I'm not jumping headfirst into these daily endeavors, I have been more attentive to what I need to be successful.  For example:  We are slowly working all non-vegan foods out of the house and replacing them with plant based goodness.  Basically, I'm working under the premise of "once this crap is out of my fridge, I'm not buying any more."  I'm hoping the gradual transition to veganism will only make me stronger in this pursuit.  I'm already finding myself reaching for the veg more than the cheese, so emotionally I think I'm doing the right thing to prepare myself.

To put it in the words of one very wise BFF: "You are a horrible vegan."  Yes, I am.  I've hopped on and off the vegan wagon so many times my grass sucking hippie friends (hi LL *waves*) probably don't believe I'll last a week on an entirely plant based diet.  But I want to be a grass sucking hippie so bad.  I hate how lethargic and awful I feel after eating even the smallest portion of chicken, cheese, whatever... but for some reason I keep going back to the teat of the mammals.

The routine of intentionally phasing foods out of the house has been therapeutic.  It has helped me become more creative in the kitchen as well as conscious of how much better I feel after vegan meals vs. non-veg meals.  This method has basically helped me reinforce my belief that this is the right choice for me and only strengthens my convictions.

Tomorrow I start running with more regularity.  I already picked out my outfit, conjured up a new play list, and found my lucky socks.  My calendar on my phone has been updated with the next 13 weeks of scheduled runs/workouts.  I also blocked off time for myself on my work calendar to ensure I can do self-care throughout the day, even if in 15 minute blocks.  A 15 minute a day tabata workout is way better than sitting there letting my posterior widen.

The pursuit of "learning" has thus far been the easiest.  I have picked up a book every day in addition to spending time doing actual research online on random topics.  This morning I downloaded an app that will help me be a little more organized in my bird watching (bird nerds unite!).

So, the whole point of this post was to contemplate ways to promote momentum towards these three simple life changes becoming a daily fact.  I am incredibly driven by waving shiney objects and/or proverbial "carrots" in front of my face.  With that in mind, I bought myself a "commitment present"that I have been lusting over since checking it out at the library:  Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero.  She is also one of the masterminds behind the coveted Veganomicon cook book.  I love this book so much and have already learned so much about making delicious vegan wares.  I cannot wait to conjure up my own batch of kim chi as soon as I locate the spices Ms. Romero prescribes.  All in all, best commitment present ever.

On January 31, 2013 I will ask myself these questions:

1. Have you been a dutiful vegan this entire month?
2. Have you logged at least 60 miles walking and 60 miles running this month?
3. Did you post at least 20 blog entries this month?

...then I will sit down and write an old school paper (circa 1996 Mr. Roberts Research Writing style) about something I learned that month.  If I successfully can answer to the affirmative on all three questions and feel like I did my best to enhance my mind, I will treat myself to this very special running top:

This awesome mp3-friendly long tank is offered by Gracie's Gear.  She is an incredible, inspirational coach and entrepreneur and I would be tickled to finally don something she designed out on the trails here in Austin, TX.

Monthly I will conjure up a new set of questions/criteria for gifting something new to myself.  If successful, I will allow myself one of the following:

1. Aqua Jogger Belt and Floatation Sandals
2. LifeFactory Water Bottle
3. A new bike seat that is a little more ergo, like this. 
4. Punching Bag (I haven't really researched brands, but I want one!)
5. Membership with one of the local farm CSA's
6. New pair of blue tooth headphones - I haven't had the best of luck in this arena.  I have tried 3 different models and all failed within a month of purchase.  The first pair, died in 3 days.  
7. A new bathing suit - something cute with whimsy like this -->
8. A culinary-driven camping trip. When The Husband and I first started dating, he took me camping for my birthday.  Some of the best meals I made for him came out of that campfire :-).
9. A weight set for home.  I've always had a certain stigma about weight training in public.  I should start picking sh*t up in the privacy of my own home.
10. A trip somewhere completely unnecessary.
11. Enlist in a formal running training group like Tough Cookies.

Ok, I have my carrot in sight.  Time to get real ;-).  Much Love!

Crash Test Dolmas: A Very Bulgur Holiday

The Husband and I have been staring at this jar of grape leaves in our pantry for about a year now.  I have a tendency to run into weird crap at markets then pick it up with glee because "Husband LOVES dolmas.  I NEED THESE!"

One year later, and yes, its pristine virginal "press here for safety" seal has not been popped nor has a single dolma been created in this domicile:

Truth is, I really do not like the sound of any recipe I've found out there.  Seriously, google it.  You'll find the most random hodgepodge of ingredients from 20 variations of rice to lentils.... and every grain/legume in between.  It's like there is no concurrence on what a "normal dolma" entails.  Another thing that kind of freaks me out about this whole culinary pursuit is the fact that I've had really good dolmas and really bad dolmas, however, nothing in between.  The threat of a 50/50 failure rate sounded rather daunting, but it's time to hike up the big girl spatula... Challenge, ACCEPTED!

When I flip through my gluttonous remembrances of dolmas past, I seem to recall the following attributes to be quite favorable to my palate:

1. Nutty undertones
2. Firm, yet not dry filling 
3. Delicate notes of mint, dill, garlic, and something kind of oniony

On the other hand, here are my key "undesirable" qualities of bad dolmas:

1. Mushy almost kindergarten glue paste consistency
2. Tomato-ey
3. "Surprise" hard chunks both in the leaf as well as in the filling

So, here goes attempt #1 at dolmapacalypse!

Ingredients:

1 cup bulgur

1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/4 cup chopped Raw Walnuts 

2 Scallions

3T Garlic (less if you have a partner with functioning sinus cavities)

1/4 cup chopped fresh Mint and Dill

1/4 cup Parsley 

Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
Sea Salt (to taste)

1/2 Lemon (freshly squeeeeeeezed!)

1T Red Wine Vinegar

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Grape Leaves

They were all just hanging out seductively on the counter.  I figured a group photo was warranted.

Assembly Instructions:

• I used my Zojirushi rice cooker to prepare my Texas-grown brown rice.  You can do it however you want, you'll just want to yield 1 cup of firm-ish al dente rice.
• Prepare the bulgar and walnuts.  Boil 2c water, pour on 1c bulgar and 1/4 cup chopped raw walnuts, cover, let sit on the counter for about 30 minutes.
• Chop all of the fresh herbs and veggies (Scallions, Mint, Dill, Parsley).  Chuck 'em into the rice cooker (or pan).  Throw in garlic, salt, pepper, lemon, vinegar, oil, the kitchen sink... then fluff in the bulgur/nut mixture with a fork.  Pour in 3/4 cup water then put on medium heat for 25 minutes or however long it takes for the water to boil off/absorb into deliciousness.
• Let the fillin'z cool down in the cooker/pan for about 20 minutes.  It should look a little something like this:

• Once cool enough to handle with your hands, start rolling up the dolma filling into grape leaves.  I used my sushi mat to roll dolmas, however, I heard it is just as easy with waxed paper.
• Throw your babies in the 'fridge with a drazzle of olive oil and let them think about what they've just done.
• NOSH!

This was way more time intensive than I ever would have imagined.  However, I created the perfect texture for my liking and a flavor that was mildly satisfying.  I would like to test different herb mixtures whenever our container garden decides it wants to cooperate!

Much love this holiday season!

Breakfast Tacos by Husband!!

On the rare occasions I allow The Husband into the kitchen, he tends to bring the culinary sexy back in epic portions.  There is nothing hotter than the pulsing biceps of my gastronomical genius manhandling  a garlic press.  Today he exercised his talents in the art of breakfast taco-ery!

I do have to admit, these are so ungodly spicy I am crying tears of joy.

Ingredients
2 medium (2-3" diameter) potatoes (we like red or white due to the delicate nature of the skin)
1 can organic black beans
1tsp ghost pepper infused sea salt (if you cherish your stomach lining, you might want to downgrade to something more conventional.  In that event, you might want to add some cayenne and chili powder to add a little flava.)
Fresh ground peppercorns (The Husband is totally digging his new mortar and pestle)
Olive oil
1 Jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
Tortillas!
Saaaaaaalllllllsa!
(The Husband is not a fan of cooked onions, but I am.  If it were me in the kitchen, I would have chucked in 1/2 of a chopped up medium onion)

Assembly Instructions
Thoroughly wash then puncture potatoes with fork.  Toss in microwave (or oven) and cook until tender.  If you're microwaving with an 1100 watt oven, this generally takes 2:45.  Don't forget to flip potatoes every minute or so.

Coat the bottom of a skillet with a bit of olive oil.  We really don't measure things in this house, so don't ask how much oil it takes to coat a pan.  Warm the oil with medium heat, but make sure it doesn't smoke.  Olive oil hates people that ask it to get too hot.

Chuck yer taters and peppers into the pan.  Manhandle the hell out of the garlic (insert steamy scene where Husband wields his mighty garlic press).  Toss in your peppercorns and salt.  Let those bitches brown.

Strain and rinse your black beans thoroughly with cold water.  Go ahead and toss them in with the taters so they have the opportunity to collaborate with their peers.   Protein, meet starch...  Nice to meet you!

Warm your tortilla either in an oiled skillet or in the microwave with a damp paper towel.  Dump a metric crap-ton of hot tater+beans onto your 'tillas then garnish with salsa.

That's about it, happy noshing mis amigos!

Portobello Miso Soup

For my first blog-able vegan adventure, I decided to tackle a simple, yet delicious dish.  Miso soup!

I found myself perusing Pinterest earlier and came upon this little gem on the interwebs:  Mushroom Onion Miso Soup by Vegan Yack Attack.  Oddly enough, I found that I already had all of the ingredients (when does that ever happen?) and judging by the tell tale growl of my adorable little belly... I was ready to annihilate an entire batch in one sitting.

Here is my variation of this nom-tastic recipe:

Ingredients
Mellow White Miso Master Organic

(don't let the creepy dude fool you, this stuff is delicious and good for you!)

Handful of fresh portobello mushrooms, washed and cubed
Red Onions, sliced
Olive Oil
Minced Garlic (optional, to taste)
Shredded nori

Putting it all together...
I sauteed the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in olive oil.  Whilst cooking, I boiled hot water in our kettle  to mix in with a little over 1T of fresh miso.  When veg was done, added to miso broth then garnished with nori.  I had some left over fried tofu from a prior vegan adventure, so I threw them in the vegan jacuzzi before chewing them into oblivion.

Best 10 minutes spent in the kitchen ever!

Happy noshing!

Step One: Admitting the Problem

After much deliberation, I finally came to the realization that I need to make some pretty significant changes in my life if I have any hope of achieving half of my bucket list before exiting this existence.  Pretty extreme way to look at it, I know, but I cannot really think of any better motivator than perishing.  Maybe sex.  Or maybe perishing whilst having sex.  Either or, I decided to pick 3 simple things I can change about my lifestyle to put me back on track:

1. Commit to a completely plant-based diet and practice more compassionate consumerism (if that makes sense).  There is no way in hell I'm getting rid of my orange leather handbag, so I can't really call myself a vegan.  But, I can commit to making conscious decisions about where my money is spent from this point further.  When I am actively vegan, I cook more, spend way less money, and am more aware of my health and healing.  
2. Run/Walk/Ride 60mins+ on a daily basis.  I'm not committing to kicking my own ass everyday, just to remain active and aware that daily movement is the only thing that guarantees I'll maintain a better mood and better health.
3. Learn something new every day.  I never realized how important this is to me until I found out a group of cats is called a "glaring."  That tickles me to no end.  Other fun facts about cats available here.

Historically, my biggest issue with making proper lifestyle choices is the fact that I am rather apathetic towards my own personal needs.  General indifference has plagued every aspect of my life.  It wasn't until this year that I finally recognized that I do deserve better.  I deserve to be heard and validated.  I also deserve to be happy.  I deserve time for myself and my family.  There is nothing selfish or morally wrong to ask for these basic needs to be met.  I just need to muster up enough enthusiasm to truly fend for myself and thrive.

With this in mind, I decided that it is imperative to conjure up a list of personal affirmations to support my resolution to commit to "3 simple things."  Kill apathy + Reaffirm thyself = Action.  Hopefully... I never was that great at math.  I figured I would start this blog as a starting point, perhaps a repository to store my rhetoric bullshit progress and daily affirmations.  Let's see if this sticks.