dinner before breakfast

(sorry for my bad photos, i misplaced my camera!)

I'm making maple tempeh with sprouted sunflower and olive bread from avalon, for sammy's. but in the meantime, I thought i would start soaking some garbanzo beans for something later and i found this recipe that cracked me up:



I’ll admit right up front, I’m not sure I’m going to do this one again. Sure, these garbanzos are better than canned. But 12-hours-of-lead-time better? I’m not sure about that.

Maybe I’ll try some in soup. Hmm … time to go look up some recipes …

Oops, sorry, drifted off for a second there. So anyway,
(this is the best part)
if you don’t mind starting on dinner before you’ve had breakfast, (ha! so true!) here’s how to do it.

If you grew up seeing chick peas on the salad bar, yes, we’re talking about the same thing. Well, probably. There are actually several related varieties of beans: Garbanzos (Spanish), Ceci (Italy), Chiche (France), Chana / Bengal Gram (India). See Clove Garden for pictures and descriptions of the difference. The ones I’m using here are the Kabul type.

If you’ve soaked beans before, you don’t have to actually measure things. But since this was my first time, I decided to follow the guidelines. So, one cup of beans.



to read the rest, go here: coollikeyourgrandmother.com

pickled things

more things in vinegar:


8-10 small pickling cucumbers (about 3pounds/1.5kg)
2 cups (500 mL) white vinegar
2 cups (500 mL) water
2 tablespoons (25 mL) pickling salt
4 heads fresh dill or 4 teaspoons dill seeds (20 mL)
4 small cloves garlic


Read More http://www.epicurious.com

infused oils

i recently made mint infused oil for the mojitos, but this one is for my pizza.
if you are interested, here is the recipe for chili pepper oil. They suggest using canola oil, but i used olive oil anyway. :)

I've been putting all my oils and liquids in these little bottles I've accumulated, and then labeling them in a tiny strip of paper in the center. I don't have that shown here, but all my spices follow the same suit. Here's the simple syrup I just made as well. easy to make, and perfect for my iced coffee!

beans and rice

I've been trying to cook more at home, saving money and enjoying winter nights in. It's time for soups and crusty breads, samosa pot pie, and beans and rice! We'll the list goes on, but lately I've really been loving beans and rice. I made the first one with adzuki beans, and then black beans with kale, and last night my roommate made spinach b&r. I found this article online about the balanced-proteins of the two combined, although it's a bit confusing:

"First of all, you should know that all “beans” are not the same in terms of their protein quality. For example, azuki beans are low in the methionine+cystine combination but black beans are not. Likewise, different grains and nuts have very different amino acid profiles. So the conventional wisdom that eating rice and beans together always provides better protein quality than eating beans alone is an over-simplification."

read the whole article here: nutrition

I've found a few recipes from Vegan Yum Yum that sound amazing!!
This one will be my next endeavor:



Tahini Lemon Rice and Beans
Makes one large serving, will double well
1/2 Bunch Kale, de-veined and chopped
3 Oz Seitan, sliced in strips
1/2 Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 Cup Brown Rice
Shredded Carrot to taste (1/2 to 1 carrot)
Tahini Lemon Sauce
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 Tbs Rice Vinegar
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbs Water
1 Tbs Olive Oil
Start your rice. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients and set aside. Heat a small amount of oil in a saute pan and add kale. When kale starts wilt, add beans and seitan and heat through. Add all the sauce, stir, turn off heat and cover until rice is finished cooking. (You could also wait to make this mixture until the rice is finished cooking.)
When rice is finished, simply add it to the pan and toss to coat. Serve with shredded carrot on top.




* nutrition article by MONICA REINAGEL
* Tahini b&r recipe and photo from VEGAN YUM YUM. click here for more recipes.

cooking with you.

vegan yum yum

I love this website! They have so many delicious recipes and the photos are beautiful! This vegetable tempura looks like a perfect, on-the-porch springtime meal. I'll start putting some of my own photos up once I get in the kitchen again. it's too bad cupcakes weren't better for you.

something that would go nicely as a refreshing finish to this meal, would be a springtime mint mojito! 

1.25 oz Captain Morgan® Original spiced rum
12 mint leaves
1 tbsp sugar
0.5 oz lime juice
2 oz soda

Place mint leaves in bottom of glass. Add crushed ice, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, sugar, and lime juice, and muddle. Add soda water and garnish with mint leaves.