Category Archives: Uncategorized

Oct17

Zucchini Bread

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Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Bread

Today is the 17th of October, the month is more than half over – I’m calling it “almost Halloween.”  This zucchini bread just might raise the dead – it’s so damned delicious!

Not long ago, I was buried in a load of zucchini from my CSA and I can only stir fry so much of it before I turn my thoughts to fall breads.  I’m not one to “hide” vegetables in food to make sure my family gets their veggies, but sometimes it’s just a yummy combination and I can’t resist.  In this version I can even see green zucchini pieces when I slice it.

Great for gifting!

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Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
  • 3/4 cup Unbleached White Flour
  • 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Nuts - toasted (optional) - I use walnuts
  • 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed mixed with 4 1/2 Tbsp Water
  • 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp Applesauce
  • 1 1/8 cup Zucchini - grated
  • 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and nuts (optional).
  2. In a medium bowl mix together the canola oil, sugar, and flax and water. Stir together well.
  3. Add the applesauce, zucchini, and vanilla to the wet mixture - stir well.
  4. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients to the dry being mindful not to over-mix the batter.
  5. Pour batter into a standard loaf pan.
  6. Bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 1 hour - or until tester comes out clean.
  7. Cool on wire rack.
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Oct4

Gardein Beefless Tacos

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Gardein Beefless Tacos
Gardein Beefless Tacos

When I first discovered Gardein a couple of years ago I bought some chicken-y looking nugget things and worked with them.  I’d seen the beefless tips, but since I never knew what to do with real beef tips, I didn’t know what in the world I would do with these beefless tips.  A friend of mine told me they were really good, but she was also a beef cooker and knew what to do with such cuts of meat.  I didn’t.

I still loved the chicken-y stuff they made, so I wrote them a letter thanking them for being great.  They sent me some coupons (score!) and a recipe card.  I know what you’re thinking, at least I know what I was thinking.  For some odd against-all-reason reason, recipe cards from companies always seem to be crap.  Why is that?!  Aren’t they wanting to promote their product?  Shouldn’t they be hiring top chefs to create something to make their product taste like an amazing party in your mouth?  Yes, they should and in this case they did!  Actually there is a famous chef who partially owns or is somehow involved with Gardein – his name is Tal Ronnen.  He’s the chef who made meals for Oprah when she did a 21-day vegan cleanse in 2008.  He has a cookbook with great recipes, but they’re not really very healthy and they’re all pretty involved to make.  But check it out: The Conscious Chef

When I find myself having guests over who are carnivores (I’m not talking vegetarian-friendly or flexitarian, I mean CARNIVORE!) this is the recipe I whip out.  It looks like beef, but it’s NOT!  And it has a great texture!

Mark Schlereth’s Green Chile

This is one of those recipes that I usually make with as many local ingredients as possible, maybe to make up for the processed nature of “beefless tips.”  Today I used local sweet corn from my CSA share and my husband grilled it for me, I usually use frozen corn though.  I use local green chile and salsas.  And greens from my garden or from the CSA.

Fresh Grilled Corn

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Jun11

Homemade Ketchup (Catsup)

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Homemade Ketchup (Catsup)
Homemade Ketchup (Catsup)

I can now include myself in a very small group of people who can say that “I’ve made my own ketchup.”  I don’t know anyone else who has.  Maybe there’s a MeetUp for that?

It started with a handful of simple ingredients that I already had on hand – mind you, I have an extensive spice cabinet – and about an hour of my time.  Originally I thought it would just be a bunch of stuff in the blender or food processor, but it turns out I needed to cook it on the stove to reduce for a while.

The end result is NOT the plain red ketchup you’ll find at fast food restaurants or even in grocery stores, though there are a growing number of “gourmet” ketchups on the shelves these days.  This is a darker red and has a lot of flavor; spices make all the difference.  I would say that plain ketchup is just a salty lubricant to help get my french fries down, but this homemade ketchup is a complimentary flavor to add to my dining experience.  So far, my only taste testing has taken place with french fries…we plan to buy a grill next week so I’ll have to try it on some sort of burger soon.

Here’s the recipe (This is a recipe that was inspired by a ketchup recipe in “Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it” by Karen Solomon:

Reducing the tomato/onion puree

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Feb5

What Was Your Motivation?

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What Was Your Motivation?
What Was Your Motivation?

I find it interesting to look back on my life and see the experiences that helped me change and evolve, especially the things that were a catalyst for changing for the better.

For a very long time I have been vegetarian and conscious about ingesting chemicals through the food I ate and the products I put on my skin, but it wasn’t until I became pregnant in 2009 that I found myself truly dedicated to my beliefs.  It took a tiny person inside of me to make me serious about changing once and for all.  All because my future baby’s health was more important to me than my own health and I had until then allowed myself to believe that the health concerns surrounding bad food and lifestyle habits wouldn’t effect me.

I had been eating eating inorganic food from the “Dirty Dozen” list, drinking heavily, smoking cigarettes (only when I drank, but I drank nearly every day), and not exercising…to name a few of my undesirable health habits.  I was single and childless and, I believe, still living with the naivete of a 20-year-old who thinks they’re indestructible.
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Jan31

Parallel 17

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Parallel 17
Parallel 17
1600 East 17th Avenue
Denver, Colorado
303-399-0988

Parallel 17.com

This weekend I had my Mom and stepdad in town visiting, it was time for lunch and we needed to find a place to accommodate a carnivore.  Simon, my Mom, and I consist of a combination of vegans and vegetarians; my stepdad is a meat eater.  We all decided on Parallel 17 because they have AWESOME vegan Phö and most everything else isn’t vegan, leaving him the majority of the menu to choose from.  Are we considerate or what?!

Parallel 17 is a great little place on the corner of 17th and Franklin St.  The interior is light and friendly during the day, but at night it turns into an ultra-cool hotspot. Read the rest of this entry →