Category: Food

Oh She Glowed Alright

Published on by thejanetgreen4 Comments

I’m so excited. It finally came. I ordered “The Oh She Glows Cookbook” by Angela Liddon from Amazon. I have been trying to increase by plant based recipe repertoire without turning to cardboard boring pre-packaged science experiments. I follow Angela on Facebook and Instagram. I have tried recipes off the blog and finally decided to express my appreciation by purchasing the book. I was not disappointed, as a matter of fact, I am enthusiastic about the tasty plant based recipes.

I have quite a collection of cookbooks. Some might say that I have too damn many already. I even confess to using the internet more than all but my favorite cookbooks. Google is my best friend for many reasons. After watching “What the Health”, I found myself actually needing to find some vegan recipes that would not just feed me but would also bring me joy and satisfy my cells.

This weekend, I grabbed a stack of the small post-its, and thumbed through the book, picking out recipes to try as soon as possible. I am not the strongest menu planner. Or more accurately, I plan a lot, I just don’t always stick to the plan. Since it’s only me at the moment, I tried to pick out three or four main course type recipes, a couple side salads or dressings and a couple breakfast items. If I’m not careful, I will make a list of twenty meals for the week, which only results in wasted food. Not only am I trying to increase my plant based food consumption, I am trying to reduce my food waste. I hope that by mid-Summer I will be able to gather and share fresh veggies from the garden.

Back to the recipe reviews.

  • The first recipe I tried from this book was actually a salad dressing. Lemon Tahini Dressing (LTD) to be correct. Suffice it to say, that my youngest son, Nate was in town for Spring break and he loved it. He is always my most honest critic, usually advises me if it’s a “keeper” or “edible but do not repeat”. Such sensitivity, I know. I made a Kale salad with cranberries and spicy pecans and dressed it with the LTD. First attempt, success. This is a good sign. He did mention that I forgot to add any cheese to the salad, but that just made me laugh.
  • The second recipe I tried was the Chick pea sandwich. I really like chick peas, and the picture in the book was so great that I had to try it. I was working Sunday, so I liked the idea of chopping and no cooking. I am a gadget lover. I used the food processor to chop the chick peas, the celery and mix it all up. It was quick and is definitely a keeper.
On the left, the open faced sandwich, on the right the constructed sandwich, with fresh dill pickle, cucumber slices and humus
  • The third recipe I tired was the Mushroom Tart. I had never considered using Phyllo instead of pizza dough as the base. Brilliant, I tell you! I had the Phyllo in the fridge from a previous experiment. I’m glad I hadn’t thrown them away. The thing with Phyllo is that once opened it can dry out. This was a perfect use for the remaining sheets. I have a healthy love of mushrooms, so I was happy to give this one a try. I substituted sweet onions for red, added some oven roasted tomatoes from my stash and some Aleppo pepper flake from last summer. I also mixed cashews and walnuts, instead of just walnuts.
  • The fourth recipe I tried is the roasted beet salad (served with the chick pea salad in butter leaf lettuce).

20170417_171633

In short, I can’t wait to try more recipes from this book and Angela in general. You don’t have to be a committed vegan to enjoy your veggies. Long gone are the days of frozen or canned mush. I recommend the book and the contained recipes. You can follow Angela on her blog Oh She Glows ,on her Facebook Page or on Instagram.

Please consider purchasing her book.

#EatClean #EatLikeYouGiveAShit #VeggiesAreNotTheEnemy #OhSheGlows
#YourBodyIsATemple #TakeAChance #MakeAChange

Seedlings and Sun Tea

Published on by thejanetgreen2 Comments

I can see a possible pattern growing if I’m not careful. I might start with “True Confessions” for the week: I admit to being behind on almost everything this week.

I had a crazy busy week at work, and then was blessed with not one but four different social events. I don’t want to make excuses, but I say all that to say, I did not get my intended blogs out in a timely manner.

Sending out a special shout out to Raphael Thomas and Christine Dunbar, from Zoot Suit and Dirty Me Divine. I attended both events and I must say I was absolutely gobsmacked by how awesome and creative both of these lovely people are. I had the additional pleasure of a mini reunion with Raphael’s parents, Sherman and Denise, who I have not seen in 25+/- years. Much love and continued blessings. After Dirty Me Divine, I had the pleasure of indulging in “Dinner with the Girls” with Lisa Steadman, Deborah Kagan, Angela Price , Melissa Cassera, and Kristina Italic, each one a “Phenomenal Woman” to quote Maya Angelou’s poem.

Awesome Thank you post card sent by the Fonda after the play
I was so excited to drive downtown and see the skyline filled with Zoot Suit
Christine Dunbar ROCKED it and touched my heart and soul
The play is at the Fonda, until 2nd weekend of April – 2017

Back on the 11th of March I attempted to start a bunch of seeds. I started with flowers as the pollinators this year as I fell behind last time. I have thing for sunflowers, but they take quite a while to get to full bloom. Last year, I missed the window completely. I also started some Zinnias, Cleome, Sweet Peas, Artemesia, some tropical seeds that I failed to label, and lastly Cantelope. Cantelope failed miserably last year also, so I decided to get an early start.

I will post the photos of the latest and greatest. You will notice that some have been transplanted, others are just starting to sprout. It’s important to note the date of planting and the expected germination date. There are many factors that will impact the seed success rate, not all of which are under our control, but include temperature, humidity, dampness, soil etc.

Beginning of Scarlet Limas
After all this time, the Cantalope finally sprouted
Zinnias have been transplanted although not going crazy yet.
Fennel has been happy so far
One of my favs, if you look close there is one tiny sprout, supposedly Artemesia aka Worm Wood
Tagless flowers
More tagless flowers
I believe this is the Cleome
Baby Borage
Giant Sunflowers
Dark Red/Black Sunflowers

I put beans and peppers onto wet paper towels rather than the soil pellets or directly in the ground. I’m excited to see some of the beans I put on paper towel toward the end of March just starting to send out sprouts.

I do recommend tips and tricks for some seeds. For example, hot peppers they suggest that they are soaked for 24 hours to soften the shell. I have had no luck at all starting moringa.

The tomatoes have been transplanted and seem relatively happy at the moment. I am trying something new by burying a plastic bottle upside-down, with the bottom cut off, and small holes at the other end. I am experimenting with this for both water conservation and root strength. So far, I have been able to skip a day between watering, which helps with my schedule. I do not intend to expand my drip system to the container plants.

I’ve just put some red Okra in seed pellets and next I need to get some Roselle aka Hibiscus started.

Since I’m already late for this week, maybe I’ll just make this a twofer, and include the recipe here.

I made sun tea with some of my dried Roselle and fresh mint.  Pretty simple really. I took a large glass Ball jar, but roughly ½ cup dried roselle aka hibiscus, and a good solid handful of peppermint mixed with spearmint. Fill with water, and seal. Set in the sun. In this case I let it set for 24 hours. Strain off, and put in the fridge. Pour over ice, and my special add is a few drops of Cinnamon or Peppermint Essential Oil (or both). Please use quality Essential Oils. (If you would like more information, send me an email)

My latest and greatest on the Winter survivors includes lots of flowers on the Gungoo Pea aka Gandules plants and lots of little baby Satsuma plum babies. Both of which did not bear anything last year.

Baby Plums
Gandules Flowers
Tree Collards going to flower

What do you gain from your garden? What are your fears about gardening? I’m very interested in feedback.

#UrbanGardenLove #FindingMyBliss #DreamBuilding #EatWhatYouGrow

#ArtInLosAngeles #PhenomenalWomen #PowerOfCommunity

What the Health? Yes, Virginia, there are vegan athletes and meals that are great!

Published on by thejanetgreen4 Comments

Please try to be patient with me. This is my first review of a movie.

I had an aha moment this weekend. I don’t have to eat meat.

I have a bit of a thing for Documentaries. Depending on my mood, the topics might vary from health to history, plants to politics, or science to technology. A few weeks back, I saw a post on Facebook for a new movie coming out. It’s called “What the Health”. This is the latest film by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, makers of “Cowspiracy”. Viewers watch as they have discussions with doctors and others about the impact of the meat based diet on people, the animals, and the planet.

Watching this documentary I was reminded that there is more to living a plant based life than just what meat does to you and your body. The movie covers impact on the animals, and the communities near the large processing plants. One of the aha moments for me came during discussions about contributions made by various parties to popular organizations.

I have been moving towards plant based diets for some time. If and when I consume animal products, I try to source humanely raised animal products. Yet, again I feel the need to take a step back. I am not trying to tell anyone what they must do, but if you are reading this, I hope you would at least consider the concepts as presented. Perhaps you will consider consuming less meat, or at least become more aware.

I was impressed greatly by the film.

All of this brings me to the recipe for the day; Szechuan Eggplant and Tofu over Quinoa pilaf, with raw veggies on the side.

It was Sunday afternoon, I had worked a half day, and I was trying to get comfortable and watch the movie. I could not cook fish or meat while watching the movie. I decided to take a shot at a great tasting vegan meal.

I try to use as many organic products as possible, but even there, I’m not perfect, so here goes.

I get an idea or a feeling when I’m about to cook. So I knew I wanted brown rice mixed with red quinoa. That turned into ½ Organic brown basmati, ¼ red quinoa and ¼ mixed mung bean pilaf. What can I say? I live to mix it up. Pretty straight forward. I used a rice cooker. In this case it was about 2 cups of dry with 5 or so cups of water, salt, pepper, a drizzle of sesame oil and a shake of hot pepper flakes.

I love Szechuan eggplant, yet, I wanted to keep it as healthy as possible. I did some googling and mix matching of recipes. (from Spice Ame Cooks  and connoisseurusveg) The first suggested cubing and baking the eggplant first. I loved this idea, as eggplant has a tendancy to absorb oil, water, or basically everything. Preheat 425 F/220C. Dice to smallish cubes, drizzle with some good olive oil, salt, pepper and pop into the oven for about 17 – 20 minutes, until brown on the edges, soft in the middle. I must say, this was brilliant. Should out to

Next, I mixed up the sauce and put it down to set. I loosely used the sauce recipe from Spice Ame Cooks  but I threw in a bit of hot and sweet jam and sweet chili sauce as I didn’t get the hot/sweet/tart thing going correctly the first try. In short, I skipped the fish sauce, used Tamari for Soy, Rice Vinegar, bean sauce, sesame oil, stevia, and the above mentioned sweet jam and sweet chili.

I chose a sprouted organic spicy tofu, which I then pan fried on my comal in cubes, browned on each side, per connoisseurusveg

Once the eggplant was done cooking, I threw some garlic in my skillet with the sauce, added the eggplant and crispy tofu and cooked it down a bit.

Now for the assembly. Scoop of quinoa mix. Scoop of eggplant. I used one of my trusty magic mandolins to julienne carrots. I sliced a quarter avo and added a few sliced grape tomatoes.

Heavenly. Just heavenly and not too terribly labor intensive either.

By the time it was ready, I was only about 30 minutes into the movie. I was able to enjoy my dinner and the movie.

If you want to learn more about the movie, check out What the Health

I also highly recommend a newly favored blog and podcast by Rich Roll, and I can’t wait until Julia’s new book on This Cheese is Nuts!  comes out.

Don’t believe the myth about needing to eat meat. Don’t be afraid of the veggies, they’re not going to hurt you, and will make feel great!

#EatToLive

#WTHfilm

#WhatTheHealthFile

#MakeNewChoices

WTHEggPlant

Why can’t I mix Jerk and Curry?

Published on by thejanetgreenLeave a comment

If you know me, you know that I slay recipes without apology. I tend to consider them more as suggestions than than a legal document or contract. For this reason, I always call myself a “cook” rather than a “chef”. This applies to baking as well as savories, it’s an experiment after all. The fun is in the making it my own. For more complex recipes, I will try to follow a standard recipe the first time, sometimes I can get through the whole thing without tweaking, but it’s rare.

I have no fear whatsoever when it comes to attempting ethnic recipes, or serving a variety dishes from different nationalities on one plate.

Two standard favorites in my house include jerk and curry. Very often this manifests as jerk chicken or curry chicken, but might also be shrimp or eggplant.

It’s been a long week. I’ve had a lot going on.I needed to come up with something that “honored” my low-carb day. I’m intent on improving my health, and dropping some weight.  Hmm, I knew I had a boneless chicken breast, baby greens lots of spices, less patience, and more hunger. What to do?

Last night, I had put the breast in a glass container and marinated with a basic lemon and oil salad dressing. The marinade was not strictly required, but I tend to marinate if I’m not going to cook right away (to prevent/delay spoilage).  I have a great cast iron comal. I use it for everything from grilling to naan and crepes.

After adding a drizzle or two of olive oil, I set the heat to medium. While the comal was heating, I moved to the spice cupboard for inspiration. I couldn’t decide between my Jamaican dry jerk seasonings and the Jamaican curry, so I grabbed them both. (Yes, there is a difference in curries from different countries). I also grabbed the Frank’s Hot Sauce. I happen to have at least seven different types of hot sauce that I select with my mood.

I sliced the chicken across into six or eight “tenders”. The comal was good and hot by now, so I sprinkled the chicken with the jerk seasonings first, then curry and popped them onto the comal. The idea was to sear the outside but keep the inside tender. I covered it with a lid and turned on the fan to ensure the very sensitive smoke detectors didn’t start screaming.

Meanwhile, I grabbed some baby spinach and baby kale from the fridge, made a sufficient but not excessive pile. Time to check the chicken. Looking good, add more jerk and curry and flip it using either a fork, tongs or spatula. Add a bit more jerk to side a for good measure. If the skillet is too dry, or cooking too fast, lower the heat or add a bit more oil, or drizzle some water. Cover.

For the “dressing”, grab a small glass bowl (you will find I try to avoid plastics as much as possible), using a standard spoon, drop a dollop (+/- 1 Tablesppon aka 15 gr) of plain Greek yogurt, and a little less of Mayo, add curry, salt, pepper, Frank’s Hot Sauce, a quick shake of rice vinegar and either a few drops of stevia or a drizzle of honey (your choice). I had to add more curry as I really wanted the curry to shine through. Stir.  Taste. Adjust. I just had to have a bit more citrus, so I added a couple drops of Orange Oil. If too thick add a little water, but only a teaspoon (5 ml) or less at time. Wing it. Add or delete spices as you and your family prefer.

The chicken should be finished by now. Check it. Dice and place on top of the bed of greens. Dollop with dressing. If you like, you can add carrots, tomatoes or avocado, it all depends on you and how you  are eating for the day and what strikes your fancy.

Whenever possible I used fresh veggies from my garden.

Enjoy.

CurryJerkChickenSalad

#YeaIDidThat #EasyDinnerTweaks #FearNotItsAKeeper #GrowthTakesExperimentation #BreakingRules

For conversions I consulted: International Cooking Measurements

I also received a request for basic ingredients list, I am including links to suggestions that I enjoy. I included online links for those that might not have a Jamaican grocer locally.

  • Protein (I chose boneless chicken breast, but shrimp and tofu would also work)
  • Jamaican Jerk Seasoning – You can make your own, or choose ready made.
  • Jamaican Curry – You can make your own, or choose ready made.
  • Plain Greek Yogurt – I prefer Organic
  • Mayo – I prefer Organic, but you can also make your own if so inclined
  • Frank’s Hot Sauce
  • Rice Vinegar or other light sweet vinegar
  • Orange Oil – Not required, but I enjoy. email me  if you would like more info jlgjoseph@gmail.com