Recipe! Corn Risotto

Farm fresh corn is plentiful here in the summer.  We have a farm just up the street that grows the best sweet corn I've ever had.  I freeze it and put it into different recipes but mostly enjoy it straight from the cob.  Tonight I made one of our favorite recipes, Corn Risotto.

Our local paper featured a recipe for corn risotto a couple of years ago when we were enjoying our first summer back in Traverse City.  I modified it slightly to take down the oil content and make it vegan (only needing to cut out the parmesan cheese and replace chicken stock with vegetable broth).  The original recipe calls for sauteing green onions first before adding the rice but I have a few in my house who scoff at onions.  I tell them of their greatness but they don't believe me yet.  They will soon!  So tonight, in order to please everyone, I omitted the green onion (gasp!) but toasted the rice first in olive oil in hopes of adding more flavor.  It worked!  The result was deliciousness without complaining!  I can't complain about that.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

Corn Risotto

Ingredients:

1 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
6 cups vegetable broth
3 large ears of corn, kernels removed

Method:

In a large saucepan warm the vegetable broth.  In a large non-stick skillet on medium heat add the oil.  Once warmed, add the rice stirring to coat.  Toast the rice until fragrant and slightly toasted, approximately 7 minutes.  Add the warmed broth half a cup at a time, stirring the rice with each addition.  Stir until most of the broth as been incorporated into the rice.  Keep adding the broth in half cup increments, continuing to stir with each addition.  This will take approximately 30 minutes.  It can be tedious but the end result will be worth it!  Once all of the broth has been added add the corn.  Stir to warm and incorporate.  Serve!

Since the original recipe suggested to serve with parmesan I decided that a great substitute was Dreena Burton's Brazil Nut Parmesan.  This recipe comes from her most recent cookbook Let Them Eat Vegan!  Now, most of my relatives and close friends already have a copy of the book so no excuses (!!!) for not trying this one!  It's a very simple recipe and really dresses up pasta, salads, soups, risotto, nearly everywhere you can put parmesan.  Simply delicious.

fourth of july recap and beach day :: day 5

 

 We had a great Fourth of July.  My Mom and niece came over along with some friends.  They have 3 children who are all about the same age as my kids.  Their youngest is a girl and Nickel and her get along well.  It's very cute when we take them along when the Mom and I go to coffee and they have their own conversation.  Usually they are having their own individual conversations, which makes it even cuter.

We cooked on the grill, like thousands of others around the country.  It was HOT so it was nice not having to turn on the oven.  I made some veggie burgers, roasted veggies (I still have turnips!), and this quinoa salad.

It has zucchini, black beans, dry toasted almonds, green onion, and dressed with citrus tahini dressing (yep, from Dreena Burton).  I would have liked to have put something red in there, but didn't have anything!  It was delicious and light but also filling.  We also had homemade ice cream.  I made strawberry and chocolate chocolate chip.  My friend made vanilla with her old-fashioned ice cream maker.

We did fireworks and we had the best ones yet! We spent less than $25 and most of them stayed on the road because of the dry weather  But the fountains we got this year were spectacular!  Sorry, no pictures of the day other than the quinoa.  I was enjoying myself too much to take pictures.


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Today we spent the day at the beach with my Mom and niece.  Our favorite beach, North Bar Lake in Empire, MI.

It's wonderful, just a long way to walk to our favorite beach spot.  After parking in the lot we walk along a dirt trail leading to the lake.  We then walk a short bit parallel with the lake along the tree line. 

About midway in the picture above is where we finally make our way down to the water and continue to walk heading around the lake some more (left, as in the picture above).

We continue walking along the lakes edge.  Keep in mind we are lugging along all of our beach paraphernalia (towels, toys, bags of food and drinks, a cooler, umbrella, camping chair, etc.).  We've found that walking in the water and letting the cooler float as we pull it along works the best.  But still...

...it's a long way around when you're carrying all of that stuff!

 

But it's worth it.  This spot is perfect for us.  The smaller lake is warmer for the kids to swim and also has a short canal that leads to Lake Michigan.

And the Empire Bluffs never disappoint.

 

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Now, onto my challenge.  I'm doing well.  I'm keeping with my diet but have been having cravings, starting last night.  I seemed especially hungry yesterday, not being fully satisfied after my humungous salad and really wanting something (that I shouldn't have) to eat after the kids went to bed.  Popcorn was calling my name, or cereal with almond milk (no gluten-free, sugar-free cereal on hand) and the last bit of granola wasn't quite enough.  Tonight I'm feeling kind of the same way.  I didn't eat a whole lot at the beach and now I'm feeling hungry, even after I ate a nice-sized portion of leftover Fourth of July dinner (see above).  

My sister's advice would be to drink a big glass of water, because I could be needing the hydration (true, since I spent so much time outside today).  But I think I may pop some corn tonight (air popper...no oil) too.  We'll see how I feel after drinking that glass of water.

Does anyone have cravings?  How do you deal with them?  Do you indulge?  I'm curious to gain some additional tips.

Happy weekend!

the cleanse challenge :: day 1

I decided I would give this challenge a name.  I thought The Cleanse Challenge was appropriate in that I'm focusing on cleansing my body of certain things:  sugar, oil, gluten.  I'm then focusing on adding whole foods like vegetables, beans, legumes, fruit, and grains (those free of gluten).  I'm also adding regular exercise including yoga to these two weeks.


I did my half hour of exercise thanks to Janae at Bring-Joy.  She is a whole foods vegan mommy to 4 kids and has some short fitness videos on her blog.  They're fun, easy, and get your heart pumping.


Breakfast was easy.  I have a green smoothie virtually every morning.  This morning was no different.

My breakfast green smoothie:

          ::  red chard
          ::  mango
          ::  1/2 orange
          ::  nectarine
          ::  banana
          ::  hemp nuts
          ::  water

 

Lunch was similar to my normal lunches.  Let me introduce you to my big salad.

I make my salads different almost every day.  I use what greens I have, what leftovers may be in the fridge, and then decide what fruit (fresh or dried), nuts, and dressing best fit in.  Below I describe what I usually (there are no rules!) put in my salads and then specifically say what is in the salad I ate today, the one pictured above.

My big lunch salad:

          ::  greens (red chard, red leaf lettuce, spinach)
          ::  fresh vegetables (red, orange and yellow peppers, tomatoes)
          ::  fruit (grapes)
          ::  dry toasted nuts (almonds)
          ::  beans (chickpeas)
          ::  oil-free dressing (citrus tahini dressing)


Dinner was easy today as well.  I need to start cleaning out my freezer because I just bought an ice cream maker attachment for my mixer.  I'm so excited!  I have a lot of ice cream recipes I can't wait to try...after these two weeks are done of course.  I found some Beans and Greens soup in the freezer and decided that would be great for dinner.  I don't have a picture, but it is a yummy soup.

I knew the evening would be the toughest part of the day for me.  That's usually when I pop my corn, have a piece of dessert, or a glass of wine.  I scoured the internet tonight, looking for something that would satisfy me.  I came across a recipe for a Neapolitan smoothie.  It was okay, but it was nice having a bit of cocoa in there to satisfy my desire for chocolate.

Now I'm just finishing up my last bit of cinnamon tea from this morning and then I'm heading off to bed. 

challenge

I enjoy challenging myself.  And I feel like it's time again.  I've happily been vegan since last October but think I can be a healthier vegan.  I eat mostly whole foods but sometimes I know I could do better.  So my next challenge for myself is to eat a whole foods, mostly raw, gluten free diet for the next two weeks.

Some might call this a cleanse, some might call it a fast, or maybe a diet, but it will be my diet for the next two weeks, beginning tomorrow July 2.  I will not be consuming sugar, oil, or wine (aack!!) either.  Potatoes and pasta will be taking a break from my diet these two weeks too.  Also, I'm challenging myself to exercise for 30 minutes 5 times per week and also complete my yoga challenges for the next two weeks (and beyond).  I'm a member of Dr. Melissa West's membership site and she posts weekly challenges, among other perks.  She is a loving, generous, smart, and talented woman.  If you like yoga or are interested in giving it a try, please look over her site. 

One last item on my list is bedtime.  I've been going to bed later and later and am embarrassed to admit I've been going to bed between 11pm and 12am (sometimes later) most nights.  That must change.  I challenge myself to be in bed by 10pm every night.  Maybe I can even make it earlier.

I'm excited to begin a challenge like this.  Why?  Because I know I'll feel good.  Sure I may miss my glass of wine during the Bachelorette tomorrow night.  I know I'll miss having coconut oil and salt on my popcorn the next couple of weeks.  I may even miss my usual baked goods, but I know I can make substitutes for those.  And a cup of herbal tea will be a fine substitute for the wine.  

It's all about challenging myself, pushing my limits, seeing what I'm capable of. 

Wish me luck!

salads and baking

It's been a busy first couple weeks of summer vacation.  I have watched my niece for most of those two weeks which has been fun.  But having to adjust to preparing 5 lunches instead of two meant that my lunch salads had to go by the wayside.  They usually aren't that time consuming to prepare, but when you have 4 hungry kiddos who are ready for seconds before I have had the chance to begin preparing my lunch, re-heated leftovers from the night before turns out to be much faster than spinning some greens, chopping veggies, and adding whatever else looks good from the night before.  Today I had the extra time (plus some pre-spun greens from last nights dinner...did you happen to see my Vegan Chopped entry?).  While I was slicing the grapes and getting the salad assembled (and getting seconds for my boys' lunches) I toasted a few almonds.  I also had a little bit of an oil-free dressing that I've been loving, that I used.  And voila!  Lunch is ready!

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When cooking or baking I tend to go all out.  When it's baking day, I'm known for baking 3 different things right after another.  Maybe a batch of muffins, some cookies, and then some granola.  It's easier for me.  I have all of the ingredients out on my counter, my measuring cups and spoons are there, I just wash out my mixing bowl and spoon in between.  Why mess up the kitchen three times when I can really mess it up just once? 

 

 

Today I only had 2 things on my list to bake:  granola and brownies.  

 The cashews were soaking, the wet and dry ingredients for the granola were ready to be combined.  While the granola was baking, I assembled the brownies.  The oven temps were different, but I just bumped it up a bit and it was ready when the brownies were ready to go in.  Easy peasy.

The best part is being able to take the day off tomorrow.

Chopped - Vegan!

Isa Moskowitz cookbook author (Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegonomicon, Appetite for Reduction, Vegan Pie in the Sky, etc,) and of Post Punk Kitchen fame announced on Facebook last week a vegan version of the popular Food Network show, Chopped.  You know the show...four contestants compete preparing first an appetizer, then an entree, and finally a dessert.  Secret ingredients are revealed before each round and one person is eliminated after each round, leaving a victor at the end of the dessert round.  It's a fun show to watch, however the gross meat that they have is really gross.  Sadly, I'd had enough of the gross meat and had to stop watching.

But Chopped vegan-style?  Right up my alley!  It's odd that it is right up my alley actually.  I follow recipes to a T.  I'm not creative in my life at all and that goes for my cooking in the kitchen too.  But I love the idea behind the show.  The food is judged by how well you incorporate the ingredients, presentation, and taste.

So the challenge for us was to create an entree using the following secret ingredients:

The secret ingredients are blackberries, black eyed peas, fresh mint, and bittersweet chocolate.  I had a bit of trouble locating bittersweet chocolate without milk fat.  I finally found this Ghiradelli that didn't have any milk fat in it.

Before sharing my recipe I must begin my saying that I used Dreena Burton's Moroccan-Infused Vegetable Phyllo Rolls as a source of inspiration.  Her Balsamic Maple sauce was an inspiration as well for my sauce that I made.  Many contestants on Chopped use recipes familiar to them while on the show and I felt inspired by Dreena's recipe and thought the ingredients would go well together in this way.

Now, without further hesitation....let me introduce to you my very first recipe I have ever created...

Drum roll please...

Black Eyed Pea Phyllo Rolls with a Blackberry Balsamic Sauce with Chocolate and Mint.  I served it with a garden salad.

Here is the recipe:

For the rolls:
1 can of black eyed peas
1 medium-sized zucchini, chopped
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 peppers, seeded and chopped (I used one red, one yellow)
4 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 sheets of phyllo dough
3 TBS olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp tarragon
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp sage
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
1/2 cup frozen blackberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBS maple syrup
4 fresh mint leaves
1 square Ghiradelli chocolate
1/4 tsp salt

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a large sauce pan over medium high heat combine 1 TBS olive oil, onion, and potato.  Cook until onion is caramelized and  potato begins to brown, about 8 minutes.  Add zucchini, thyme, tarragon, oregano, marjoram, sage, salt and pepper (to taste) and cook until soft, about another 5 minutes.  Add peppers and cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute or until soft.

 

 

 

Prepare the phyllo by unwrapping from the packaging and placing a damp towel over the top of the phyllo to prevent it from drying out.  Carefully take one sheet of dough (remember to replace the wet towel on top of the other sheets so they don't dry out) and spread a small amount of the oil (use a pastry brush) over the entire surface of the sheet.  Place another sheet directly on top of the first sheet and spread this with oil too.  Place a third sheet on top of the second but do not spread with oil.  Spread half of the black eyed pea and vegetable mixture, lengthwise on the phyllo dough and carefully roll up.  Yours may burst out, as mine did...no worries.

 

Carefully transfer the roll to a baking dish.  You may need to curve yours around to fit the dish, like I did for mine.  Repeat the process using the second half of the bean and vegetable mixture.  Brush the tops of both rolls with a little bit of oil.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden.

 

While the rolls are baking you can prepare the sauce.  Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small sauce pot over medium low heat.  Stir frequently to prevent the chocolate from scorching.  I used a small whisk and broke up my blackberries and crushed the mint a bit to get it incorporated.  Once the berries are thawed and the chocolate is melted, pass the mixture through a sieve to remove the berry seeds and the mint leaves.  Serve on top or as a dipping sauce with your rolls.

  

what's for dinner?

Dinner tonight was a work in progress for most of the afternoon.  I love to take my time in the kitchen, to get things ready while my youngest naps so I can play when he's up.  Then when I bring dinner to the table, it feels easier than it actually was.

Tonight I made curried chickpeas, a recipe from the workshop I'm attending.

Simple roasted asparagus from Dreena's latest cookbook.

Roasted zucchini, along with some quinoa and my favorite new sauce from Dreena...Citrus Tahini Sauce.  sigh... It is great on grains, roasted veggies, or straight out of the jar.  Delicious.

Now, time to pop some corn.

my day in food pictures

Tonight, my day in food pictures:

Chocolate mint melties from Eat, Drink, and be Vegan

Maple Banana Loaf (with chocolate chips) from The Everyday Vegan

Proper Healthy Granola Bars (uncut) from Let Them Eat Vegan!

Now, I must pack.

pre-vacation baking and cooking

When we travel I like to bring a lot of our own foods.  I make things that travel well, are kid-friendly, and of course delicious.  I like to choose foods that are versatile, good for breakfast, snack, and dessert.  I also bring fruit (we go through a LOT of fruit), fill up our water bottles, tea for me, and almond milk.  I sometimes have to stop by the grocery store once while we're out of town to replenish something, but not always.

Today I did some baking.  I had hoped to get a couple more things baked up for the trip but alas, the pace of a three year old is not the same as a 40 year old.  But that's the fun of it.  When he hears that the baking is about to begin, he asks for "the big stool", makes sure his water is close by (because he gets thirsty with all the snacking) and settles in.  He's a good helper, as all of my boys are.

First we made Dreena's cocoa cookie dough balls.  Talk about versatile!  If these were not rolled in natural sugar you could include these as an extra-special treat for an extra-special-occasion breakfast.  I haven't been putting chocolate chips in mine, mostly because I keep forgetting.  I must apologize for my horrible pictures.  I think (hope) my camera is on its last leg.  Anyway, if you have Let Them Eat Vegan! then you must make these.  They are sugar free (unless you roll yours in natural sugar as I did), oil free, and full of chocolatey goodness.  If you don't have this cookbook, then you may remember when I did a book review and included the recipe in that post.  Make them please and let me know what you think.

Second on my list was granola.  Normally I prefer Dreena's hemp-anola but I was running low on hemp seeds.  Heather had a recipe for granola listed in her first round of recipes for 30 Day Vegan and thought I would try that one.  Personally I still prefer Dreena's, it has some healthier ingredients and has a nicer crunch to it but Heather's is tasty too.  I substituted millet for the whole wheat flour in Heather's recipe.

Yesterday I made cocoa goji granola.  Do you see those lovely goji berries in there?  This is a nice change from your average granola.  It has a delicious chocolatey flavor with a hint of orange from the zest.  I've been snacking on it straight out of the container, but I think it will be fantastic with almond milk.  I used pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds.

I love these muffins.  They are also from Let Them Eat Vegan!  The banana and coconut flavors are delicious together and will be great for breakfast or snack.  They will travel well too.

Tomorrow my plan is to make granola bars, a batch or two of cookies, and at least one dressing.  I can't be without the curried almond dressing for long! 

30 Day Vegan's post today included another group of recipes for the coming week.  I look forward to trying some of those in the next couple of days.

My Fifths Disease symptoms continue to fade.  I was able to put my wedding rings on for a few hours today.  By the boys bathtime they were quite difficult to get off but I was happy to have them on for a short time anyway.

Now it is time for bed.

is anybody in there?

Yes, I'm here.  Sorry for the absence.  Ive been a little under the weather.  Fifths Disease has been going around my boy's school.  Adults usually aren't susceptible, but guess who contracted it?  Yep...me.  In children the symptoms resemble a mild cold followed by a tell-tale rash on their cheeks.  Sometimes the rash can spread to other parts of their body but not always.  In adult women the symptoms are very different.  Extreme joint pain and swelling are the main symptoms.  A rash can also occur, but not the signature rash on the cheeks.  Also extremely itchy soles of your feet and palms of your hands.  sigh, it's been a load of fun!  The good news is that I'm feeling remarkably better.

I was a bit concerned over the weekend when I was reading comments online from others who have suffered through Fifths as an adult, saying that their symptoms lasted as long as a year.  I could not imagine being limited as I was for a year.  I am so thankful to be feeling so much better.  So better I'm actually cooking again, since I had taken a long break when I was ill.



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I discovered a new blog a few months ago that really spoke to me.  Beauty That Moves is a beautiful journal-type blog.  Heather and her husband homeschool their 14 year old daughter, she teaches yoga, is currently studying holistic nutrition and offers a wonderful workshop that I signed up for this spring.  30 Day Vegan began just yesterday and is not only about eating a vegan diet for 30 days but also about nurturing your whole self.  There are daily postings Monday through Friday, whole food vegan recipes, access to Heather to answer any questions that may arise, and a supportive community of people who are all in this for different reasons.  For me I was looking to add to my vegan support system and learning a thing or two more about whole foods vegan cooking. 

Day two's post talked about setting up a whole foods kitchen.  Heather says, "The kitchen is a workspace, a food studio!" and suggested we share with others how we can prepare our kitchen to work best for us, to offer encouragement for one another.  I have some work to do in my pantry, some organizing needs to be tended to and once I do that I'll share how I keep a whole foods vegan pantry.

Welcome to my kitchen:

My main workspace, I try to keep as clear as possible.  My first copy of Let Them Eat Vegan! never, ever leaves my counter.

This space works more like an office/desk instead of a cooking workspace.  The paper and some mail is usually on the counter's edge.  Do you see the wine in the background?  It's leftover from my book club which met at my house last week.  I need another party, or some visitors!

This is the bar area where the kids like to eat their breakfast and lunch.  It makes passing out meals, seconds, and clean up much easier.  The door in the background is my pantry.  Do you like my beautiful placemats?  My lovely sister, Kari, made them. 

 

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I'm still cooking my way through Let Them Eat Vegan!  Today I made the cocoa granola with goji berries.  I'll post pictures tomorrow.  It is yummy and gets a thumbs up from everyone (including my most picky boy).  Dreena had a great post about the health benefits of goji berries that prompted me to get a few at the store and play around with them.  They are a little expensive and tad different from your average dried fruit.  But they have a nice flavor and they are versatile and went great in the granola.  You remember Dreena has her new website at www.plantpoweredkitchen.com right?  It's a beautiful site and she has several new recipes on their now.  Take a peek sometime.

The evening has gotten away from me and I must head to bed.   Looking forward to feeling better tomorrow, more cooking and baking, and another post from my workshop.

Sweet dreams.

hello hello

I've been gone for a while.  Not for any big reason, it's just been a bit busy.  We're always busy.  There are piano lessons, cello lessons, play dates, tea dates, grocery shopping, a husband who travels, outside playing, and now we've added soccer to the mix.

Last week specifically was extra busy.  I am in a book club and we had our first meeting one night last week.  We met on a night that my husband has his fire meeting.  Our regular babysitter was out of town too, and we don't normally make the sitters put the boys to bed, but book club started at 7pm so the new sitter had to put them to bed.  I guess it wasn't as smooth as it could have been.  The following night Chris and I attended our school's annual fundraising event.  Again, we had to be gone before putting the kids to bed.  After some discussion on how they should "listen to the babysitter", I guess things went much smoother.  whew!

Saturday night I was happy to stay in.  As fun as it is to go out, it's equally as nice to stay in after a couple of late nights out.



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You remember my favorite vegan cookbook author right?  How could you forget the fabulous Dreena Burton?  Well, her new cookbook Let Them Eat Vegan! is being re-released tomorrow.  There were some mislabelings on some of the recipes, but the ingredients were all correct.  Luckily we don't have any allergies in my immediate family so it didn't affect us at all...and I cooked my little heart out.

The aftermath

Three's Company Pie (chocolate, peanut butter, banana)

BF (Blueberry Free) Blueberry Muffins

Coconut Banana  Muffins

Beans 'n' Greens Soup

Corn Chowder Quinoa Casserole

Almond Roasted Cauliflower with "No-fu Love Loaf"

Cream Cheese Brownies with Salted Dark Chocolate Topping

Cocoa Cookie Dough Balls

Dreena's cookbook officially goes on sale tomorrow but her buying incentives start today.  Where can you find the incentives?  You can find them here at her new site. 

Think about doing something good for yourself, and getting a little something from Dreena too.