Vegan mac n cheese

This past weekend I tried this vegan mac & cheese recipe and was really pleased with the results. It's not going to fool anyone into thinking it's real cheese, but it's about the closest I've ever experienced. I did make a few substitutions/additions:

-subbed minced dried garlic for the garlic powder
-subbed chopped vidalia onion (added to macaroni before baking) for the onion powder
-subbed dijon mustard (all I had)
-added some cubed white bread to the top, with some slivers of earth balance
-subbed Braggs liquid aminos for the soy sauce

Enjoy!

Find a CSA

Joining a CSA is a great way to get local, (sometimes) organic produce and support small farms. It's also a nice way to rotate more fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet! Keeping an open mind and a willingness to try new things will make the experience much more enjoyable :)

From the Local Harvest website:

Many farms offer produce subscriptions, where buyers receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats, or any sort of different farm products.

A CSA, (for Community Supported Agriculture) is a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a farm and to receive a weekly basket of produce. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people become "members" (or "shareholders," or "subscribers") of the CSA. Most CSA farmers prefer that members pay for the season up-front, but some farmers will accept weekly or monthly payments. Some CSAs also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season.

A CSA season typically runs from late spring through early fall. The number of CSAs in the United States was estimated at 50 in 1990, and has since grown to over 2200.

Breakfast

This is totally my secret weapon. I'm not really a breakfast person, so this is just enough to keep me from getting hungry too early. It also feels AWESOME to eat something so healthy everyday. By 8am, I've already got tons of vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids distributing themselves properly to give me energy and focus!

Oh, it's important for something like this to use organic ingredients. Since you're eating raw, it makes a huge difference in both taste and safety.

OK, start with whichever fruits and veggies suit your fancy. Today it was a cucumber, navel orange, quarter of a pink grapefruit, some going-mushy strawberries, and the stalks leftover from a bunch of spinach. Wash/peel/etc everything as appropriate. You don't have to remove ends or leaves or anything like that - it all goes in, baby.

This is the juicer I use. It's fabulous for under $100. Centrifugal, so you want to consume whatever it is that you juice within 15 mins (so Kristin tells me).

So I juice everything, and to that I add:

Udo's oil is a FAB.U.LOUS way to get essential fatty acids. A tablespoon of this in a glass of juice is virtually tasteless. My picture is blurry, but the oil is still amazing. Also, this helps to not feel hungry for several hours. Juice alone is hungry-city by 9am.

Just do it, trust me.

And since I know you are wondering how much of a PITA cleaning a juicer might be...
Get one that comes apart so you can clean it easily! I rinse mine right afterward in hot water, maybe a squirt of Dr Bronner's, and I'm good to go.

Food post - natch

Figures my first real post would be food-related.


This is tonight's dinner - tempeh and portobello red curry. Really, you can substitute anything you want as far as protein and vegetables - the curry is the point. And a delicious point it is.

In the picture above you can see that my tempeh is crumbled up - don't ask me why. Matt likes it that way, and that's how he left it in the fridge. I prefer to leave it in slices but it tastes the same either way.

Dessert is a total experiment, one which served its function nicely. Super easy and no-bake, too. Enjoy!

Red Curry with Tempeh and Portobello

2T vegetable oil
1-2T red curry paste
2 cans coconut milk (I use lite)
1 block tempeh
2 portobello mushrooms
1/2c frozen peas
1/4c brown sugar
1T soy sauce

Separate cream from coconut milk, set each aside. Add oil to hot skillet. When heated, add curry paste, and fry for a few seconds until fragrant. Add some of the cream, mix and let boil. Continue adding cream in small amounts and stirring until combined and boiling. When all cream has been added, add tempeh, mushrooms, and peas to skillet. Stir to coat. Stir in half of remaining coconut milk (thin part). Store the rest for later use. Add sugar and soy sauce, stir and heat through. Serve with basmati rice.


Emergency No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

1c peanut butter
1c graham cracker crumbs
1/2c sugar
1/4c melted butter (I use Earth Balance)
1c chocolate chips

Combine peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Spread into a pie plate. Melt chocolate chips in microwave; spread over top. Refrigerate 1hr or until firm.