Get it Ripe

Did you know that you are supposed to eat 4 servings of leafy greens a week, or that omega-3s reduce inflammation or that you can sprout lentils?  Neither did (okay maybe I knew about the leafy greens) until I picked up the cookbook Get it Ripe by jae steele.

Cookbook

Get it Ripe was one of the first few vegan cookbooks I grabbed when I was told I needed to stop eating eggs and milk.  It was recommended to me by my Naturopath as a great book to figure out how to make substitutions in my baking.  And while this book is excellent for that (seriously good desserts, you won’t notice there is no butter!) and I got a lot of great recipes, what I really love about this book is it taught me how to eat.  The first 100 pages of the book are dedicated to teaching the reader about vegan whole foods diets, shopping locally and the skills you need to be an excellent vegan cook.  I don’t think I have ever learned as much from what I thought was a cookbook as I did reading Get it Ripe, I am also happy to support steele who is a Torontonian.  She is also a registered holistic nutritionist, and recently started studying to become a midwife.  In this book, steele’s tone is approachable and never judgmental and really made me feel like I could tackle changing the way I ate.  Her book includes a lot of gluten-free, soy-free, nightshade-free and raw/living recipes that make this a cookbook for anyone.  And I do feel like everyone should own it.

I have many favourite recipes in this book including the Simple Dal, Millet Stuffed Bell Peppers and Mocha Fudge Pudding Cake.  One year I made all my staff the Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cake as christmas gifts and not one believed me when I told them it was vegan.   That is my favourite trick to play.  Tonight I made one that rotates through our list of favourites quite often – Sesame Kale Soba.  It is a super quick 15 minute meal and includes some ingredients you might not have tried, or might be intimidated to try.

Sautéed Kale and Shitake Mushrooms

The main ingredient in this dish is Soba Noodles.  You have probably seen them in your grocery store.  They look like brown spaghetti and are often found in the asian ingredients section.  Soba (which is Japanese for buckwheat) noodles are made from buckwheat flour and are often served hot with a broth or cold with a dipping sauce.  These noodles have a nutty flavour that distinguishes them from your regular pasta and can be gluten free which makes it a nice alternative, just make sure to check the packaging to be sure.

The other two ingredients (that can be kind of optional if they really scare you, or you can’t find them) are dulse and  arame.  Dulse is a red alga and can be dried and made into a powder (which is what is called for in this recipe) and adds a spicy salty flavour.  Arame is a sea vegetable and is a species of kelp and a great way to incorporate more seaweed into your diet.  Typically it comes in a dried state and you would need to rehydrate it for a about 5 minutes for this recipe.  Finally I added shitake mushrooms, which are not included in this recipe, but I love the earthy flavour so I often add them in.  You can make this dish hot or cold, which makes for a great picnic salad.

Sesame Kale Soba

Sesame Kale Soba

Ingredients

• 1 bunch green or black kale
• 1 1/2 cups of shitake mushrooms roughly chopped
• 1 8oz package of soba noodles
• 3 tbsp tamari (or if you can’t find this you can substitute with 2 tbsp soya sauce and 1 tbsp water to lighten the salt content)
• 3 tbsp of sesame oil
• 1 clove of garlic grated or pressed
• 1/2 tsp dulse (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup arame, rehydrated (optional)
• 3 tbsp unhulled sesame seeds

Directions

Place a large pot of water on high heat to boil.  Wash kale, remove stems and shop.  Remove stems from mushrooms (these are chewy and not something you want to eat) and roughly chop.

Add the noodles to the water and cook for approx 6-7 minutes, checking for an “al-dente” doneness.  Sauté the mushrooms in a pan for about 5 minutes, add kale and cook together until kale is wilted and starting to crisp.  Toss veggies with drained noodles and separate into bowls.

Combine the tamari, oil, garlic, dulse and pepper in a small bowl.  Mix well and pour over noodles.  Toss gently and top with sesame seeds and arame.

**adapted from Get it Ripe by jae steele

Super Bowl, Super Nachos

I feel like I should be honest. I don’t really like football, but I watch the Super Bowl every year. No not just for the halftime show, though I am excited about Katy Perry. I watch the game every year because that is what my dad and I used to do when I was growing up. But I also watch it as an excuse to make Super Bowl food. You know what I am talking about, chicken wings, nachos, ribs, chilli you name it. I love an occasion and even more I love occasion food. Anytime I get to make food fitting an occasion I am in!

So when I asked what we wanted to eat this year, chilli and nachos were requested. I thought I would just merge the two. But not just any chilli. No no no, this is the Super Bowl, I have to make it super.

Tonight’s Chilli Recipe

So I turned to one of my fav cookbooks right now, the Jamie Oliver Comfort Food cookbook and his Winter Nights Chilli Recipe.  I did, however, adapt it slightly since I was putting it on Nachos.  I omitted the Butternut Squash, and substituted the dried porcini (cause I could not find it!) with some fresh King Oyster mushrooms.

Caramelizing Onions

It is a long process to make this chilli, more than 6 hours.  So after rushing to the grocery store in the morning (I was enjoying my bed way too much) I started at about 12:45 to make dinner for tonight at 7:00.  That being said, once you have put it in the oven, you don’t have to do anything for 6 hours.

Putting it in the Oven!

So I “set it and forget it”, and went to work on a presentation I am working on for a conference I am presenting at next week.  After 6 hours the beef just falls apart so it makes it super easy to shred.  All the juices from the beef and the bacon make it a very rich and decadent chilli.  Well done Jamie!

Post Oven Chilli

You can access the recipe here on Jamie Oliver’s website.

But then once the chilli was done, I had to turn it into Nachos!  The trick to nachos that are not soggy is to layer and double broil. Layer half the chips, cheese and salsa.  Put in the over under the broiler at 500 until they start to brown.  Layer on the second layer with remaining chips, cheese and salsa.  Under the broiler again.  Then top with chilli, chopped cilantro, avocado and and fresh chillies (optional).  And Voila.  Super Bowl super chilli!  Go Seahawks!

Voila!

Oh and here’s this week’s Menu Board, in case you thought I forgot.

Menu Board for week of Feb 1st

Oh She Glows with love…

Oh She Glows by Angela Liddon is one of the most used cookbooks in my kitchen. Due to my intolerances to eggs and milk I often cook vegan so as not to be seduced by, well….cheese.  Liddon’s book provides me with many practical recipes to avoid dairy including the cashew cheese featured in today’s recipe.  I will not hide my love of Angela Liddon (also an Ontarian!).  Her website (www.ohsheglows.com) and instagram have long been in my Saturday morning grocery prep reading circulation long before she came out with her cookbook. She is currently working on her second cookbook and I applied to be a recipe tester.  Fingers crossed everyone!

Moxie also loves Oh She Glows

Thought I have tried many recipes I had not yet tried the Broccoli and Cashew Cheese-Quinoa Burrito.  I know, I know how can Cashews be or taste anything like cheese?  I have tried many recipes and this one is up there as one of the best.  The way to make something that is not cheese, taste like cheese is the addition of Nutritional Yeast.  Never heard of it?  Neither had I until I was told dairy was off limits, now it is a staple in my kitchen.  It’s a yeast that grows in molasses and then is washed and dried with heat to deactivate it.  As you can guess from it’s name it is dense with nutrients including B-vitamins, folic acid, zinc, and protein. It’s low in fat, and has no added sugars or preservatives. You often buy it in flakes or powders.  I put it on popcorn.  Give it a try, you might surprise yourself.

This recipe compliments the broccoli and quinoa nicely (think of broccoli covered in that orange “cheese” cause from when you were a kid).  However next time I would make more as I personally would have liked the burrito to be on the saucier side.  I also added some of my Mexican red sauce, to give it some extra spice.

Ingredients prep

Cashew Cheese Sauce (from The Oh She Glows Cookbook, by Angela Liddon)

Ingredients
3/4 cup raw cashews
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup unsweetened, unflavoured almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp white whine vinegar
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
– Place the cashews in a bowl and add enough water to cover.  Soak the cashews for at least 3 to 4 hours (I soaked mine overnight) preferably longer if you have time.  Drain and rinse cashews.
– In a food processor or blender combine all the ingredients and process until smooth.  It will be thick.
– The cheese sauce is later added to the cooked veg and quinoa for the burrito.

Today I am eating the leftover filling without the wrap and it is still as delicious!

Burrito Yumminess