Saturday 8 October 2011

Green Lentil & Dill Salad

1 cup raw romaine lettuce or kale, chopped 3/4 cup cooked green lentils
1 large tomato, sliced
1 large beet, sliced
1 small cucumber, sliced
1 small grilled eggplant
Handful of fresh dill, chopped


Makes 2 appetizer-sized servings, or 1 main-course serving.

Enjoy :)

Grilled Eggplant

Although it's usually cold by this time in October here in Toronto, this week is unusually warm. I took advantage of the warm weather this Saturday and did some grilling.

The following is a simple recipe that can be enjoyed as a stand-alone side dish or as part of a salad, etc. Enjoy! :)

Grilled Eggplant

3-4 small eggplants (preferably some sort of small, round variety)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon (1.5 tablespoons lemon juice)

~

Mix the oil, salt, and lemon juice in a small cup or tiny bowl. Set aside.

Using a knife, cut off the tips of the eggplant off and "stab" the eggplant all over, until the eggplant is thoroughly punctured throughout.

Roll the eggplants through the oily mixture and pour an extra teaspoon or 2 onto each one, or until the eggplant is thoroughly covered in the mixture (making sure to get some oil into the holes you punctured with the knife).

Last but not least...

Grill away! (Remember to flip the eggplants over at least once or twice while grilling, so that all sides of the eggplant get grilled.)


The eggplants should now be very soft and easy to take apart into small pieces.

Enjoy as a stand-alone appetizer or use in a salad, etc.

Sunday 2 October 2011

Shredded Brussel Sprouts with Apples and Pecans

Like Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is a chef and author who's really become a household name in the vegan community. Sometimes called the "Vegan Martha Stewart", she regularly promotes veganism online and in public presentations.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not too terribly interested in talking about people that everyone already knows about - but I also believe in giving credit where credit is due. The following recipe is from one of her cookbooks, called "Color Me Vegan". The book is an interesting collection of antioxidant-rich meals.

That is, antioxidants are basically molecules found in plants that help the plant protect itself from damage from the sun's powerful rays. When humans eat plants (fruits, vegetables, etc), our bodies absorb the antioxidants, and the molecules are transferred to our bodies, where they help our bodies fight off disease. A diet high in antioxidants (i.e., high in fruits in vegetables) has therefore found to protect us against a variety of diseases, from Alzheimer's to heart disease and beyond.

Antioxidants also give fruits and vegetables their bright colours - for example, the bright orange colour of carrots comes from the high levels of beta-carotene found in them (which is great for your eyes). "Color Me Vegan" groups recipes according to their colour - orange, green, purple, red, yellow, blue, brown, etc. Each colour corresponds to certain antioxidants - orange is for beta-carotene, blue/purple is for anthocyanian & saponins, yellow is for lutein, and so on. Each antioxidant has distinct properties that benefit your health in various ways.

The following is a "green" recipe. Brussels sprouts are a source of indole-3-carbonil (which has been shown to ward off cancer in the body) along with vitamin C, vitamin K, B-vitamins, and potassium. Although I'm not usually a fan of Brussels sprouts, the following is a tasty and easy-to-make way to enjoy this healthy vegetable more often.

Enjoy!

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Pecans

1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5lbs slightly undercooked Brussels sprouts, shredded
2 small~medium green apples, cubed & unpeeled
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 lb pecan pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Juice from one lemon (optional)

~

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shredded Brussels sprouts and 1/2 teaspoon salt and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until the sprouts have brightened and are soft.

Add the apple cubes and maple syrup, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the apples are heated  through but not too soft.

At the end of the cooking time, add the pecans and salt (to taste), and lemon juice and toss.


As always, you'll have to forgive me for my less-than-great photography skills ;)

Bon apétit!

My apologies...

Before I get back into posting recipes on a regular basis here, I just wanted to say that I'm terribly, terribly sorry for not having posted for so long.

Since that's obviously not going to suffice, I should explain what's been going: y'see, when I started this blog, I got into a sort of "pattern" (or habit, if you prefer) of posting regularly. Continuing to post regularly was therefore quite easy, since it merely required me to keep on doing what I was already doing. In August, some stressful changes happened at work that resulted in me working longer hours in worse conditions, and I stopped posting - and going back to (teh horror!) school has done nothing to lessen that sense of disorientation.

Put another way: if you're a pilot stearing a plane and you're already in the air, it's easy to keep going because you've already got momentum. But if you have to stop and land somewhere half-way, getting back up in the air can be annoying, because you're not really in the swing of things. That's basically what happened to me with this blog.

Anyway, expect to see 2 (sometimes 3) recipes posted here weekly from now on.

In the meantime, stay vegan (or go vegan, if you aren't already), and keep on fighting the good fight - non-violently, of course :)

Happy eating! And remember:


Peace :)