Soft Polenta with Cannellini Beans, Sautéed Collard Greens, and Currants

This is the meal D and I had for Christmas Day dinner. Coincidentally, it was so good and there was enough left over that we had it again tonight! I said to D, after scooping the last bit in my bowl onto my spoon, “I don’t know how anyone could not like collard greens.” Sure, where I’m from in the South, collard greens are a sloppy, almost brown in color, inedible side dish served in some generic chain restaurant (like Cracker Barrel), and most people I know wouldn’t touch ‘em with a ten foot pole. But, I betcha if they’d all try it like this, their opinions would change. I know mine did. The currants in the dish add a lovely, nice, sporadic touch of sweetness.

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Winter Vegetable and Wild Rice Soup

H and I have a holiday tradition wherein we have a bowl of soup for dinner late at night upon Christmas Eve. This year we are finally in the Pacific Northwest where we’ve wanted to live for a very long time. I included many fresh, local and organic ingredients into both this soup and the chutney we had alongside. There is frost on the grass in the backyard and the Olympic Mountains are out in force across the Sound to the West. This is such a beautiful Winter’s day; it’s time to get a steaming mug of coffee and go wake H.

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Christmas Eve Chutney

Citrus and Roasted Heirloom Tomato Chutney

1 lb Heirloom Tomatoes
1 c red onion
1 grapefruit [+ zest]
1/2 c fresh cranberries
5 cloves garlic
2 preserved lemons
olive oil
turbinado sugar
Thyme
Basil
Freshly-grated nutmeg
salt
cracked black pepper

Directions

Halve tomatoes and toss lightly in olive oil and 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar. Roast at 400 degrees for @ 45 minutes or until tomatoes have carmelized. While tomatoes are in the oven, saute onion and garlic in a wee bit of olive oil until onions are translucent. Add grapefruit segments, cranberries, preserved lemons cut into 12ths, 6 fresh thyme sprigs and nutmeg. Adjust liquid volume with water to maintain a loose chutney and simmer until cranberries pop. Add roasted tomatoes and their juice. Allow to cool and remove thyme sprigs. Add salt and pepper to taste and then fold in fresh basil and thyme just before serving.

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The Truth about the Standard American Diet [SAD]

H and I want this blog to be a celebration of Vegan living and that includes providing resources that can help to educate people as to why adopting a Vegan lifestyle is more desirable not only for ethical and environmental reasons, but also for a more healthful life. With this in mind, the following lecture is a must see.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

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Mediterranean-style Pizza

Mediterranean-style Pizza [hummus, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, zucchini, bell pepper, fennel, green olives, pine nuts, capers and olive oil]

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Breakfast Slaw

D made a totally yummy breakfast slaw today, pictured above. She’s been on a raw kick lately, reading books and blogs on the subject. We’re going to try incorporating more raw foods into our diet.

Ingredients
1/2 c carrot, shredded
1/2 c beet, shredded
1/2 c shredded red cabbage
1/2 c thinly sliced celery stalks, including the yummy leaves
1 shredded apple
1 orange, segmented
1/4 c walnuts, chopped
1 Tbsp Chia seeds
Juice of one lemon
Agave to taste
Rolled oats

Directions:

Mix carrot, beets, apple, celery, orange segments, walnuts, chia seeds and red cabbage. Add lemon juice and agave and mix well. Sprinkle rolled oats atop when serving to maintain texture. Note: for the picture, she did not mix the beets with the other ingredients and plated them first, with the rest of the mixture on top, so that the beet color wouldn’t take over the presentation.

ETA: Variations we’ve had since this post included the addition of shredded Brussels sprouts, sliced bananas, and dried hibiscus flowers. Add in whatever you wish!

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Pass the Sorghum, Caveman — Willyard 2009 (1217): 2 — ScienceNOW

Pass the Sorghum, Caveman — Willyard 2009 (1217): 2 — ScienceNOW

Posted using ShareThis

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The Tofu Scramble Morph

For me, tofu has been an acquired taste and texture. Sure, it takes on the flavor of whatever its marinade is, but texture-wise, it still gave me the willies. I always would just eat it (quickly) because it was good for me.

Because of this you can see how easily I feared the popular tofu scramble. I’d had it once in San Francisco, and while good, the scramble didn’t leave me with that “Oooooh!” feeling the next time “tofu scramble” was mentioned. In fact, I still had a somewhat instant repulsion. D wanted to make it one night for dinner, and my reply was “You know, it’s really easy to mess up a tofu scramble.” Silly me. She’s a great cook, and I had faith in her, just none in my belief that I’d like another tofu scramble.

D read somewhere that if frozen and then allowed to thaw prior to preparation and being cooked, tofu gains this wonderful, delightful texture. And, wow, was that advice correct! I no longer have the inner monologue of “Just eat it and get it over with quickly!” I actually look forward to dishes containing tofu.

So, she made the scramble, along with homemade hash browns and sautéed kale, and MMMM! Delish! See for yourself.

The love didn’t stop there. The next night, we had left over scramble, but D had the brilliant idea to morph it into a Mexican-style pizza. Abso-freakin’-lutely, amazingly yummy.

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Vegan Cartoon

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