Karma in the Kitchen

Learning The Domestic Arts

2008-11-17T08:09:00.001-08:00

Things I'd like to learn how to do, or do more of:

- Make and can jams
- Make pickles; cucumbers, beets, saurkraut
- Knit/crochet
- Make soy milk
- Make soy yogurt
- Make granola; cereal
- Make candles
- Make soap
- Make natural cleaning products
- Bake bread; sourdough
- Make own makeup
- Sprout seeds
- Write on stationary
- Make pasta
- Pottery
- Homemade wine

My Dream House

2008-11-17T07:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I got to talking with my friends about the "ultimate" life. My dream has always been to escape to a quiet, rural house (it is white), on a large piece of fertile land, where it is always warm, the growing season is long and there are squash of all sorts growing in my back yard. I spend my days working in the garden, taking care of neighbor's children, perhaps teaching yoga from the home, and offering rooms and meals for passing travellers. The neighbors (whose house is a mile up the road) come over for dinner - they bring overly sweet homemade wine, grown from grapes grown organically in their backyard, and we serve thick vegetable soup, prepared with vegetables picked from the garden hours before, with fresh and warm kamut bread. For dessert, roasted apple crumble bakes in the wood stove and this is served with iced vanilla bean soy cream. The fireplace keeps us warm, and conversation lingers till the thin hours of the night, until the children have crashed in the living room, blankets half-covering their dirt-smudged legs - they can sleep here tonight. In the morning we'll wake with the sun - there is no need for alarm clocks here. In tall, second-hand crystal parfait glasses, we'll enjoy the seasonal fruit, layered with fresh yogurt, and just-toasted granola. The rest of the day I am busy - but not busy - with tending to the house, children, pets, guests, those who knock on the door. I cook, I create, I read, I write, I LOVE....

This has always been my dream, or at least I have included it as the epitome of the ideal "retirement" for every one the various life "plans" I have created. As my friends and sat there, discussing this over coffee that hand now gone cold, my dream became more and more plausible. it became tangible. It became possible for NOW (or at least sooner than retirement!). I want to live my dream NOW - because now is all I can be sure of. This dream is too beautiful to place so far in the distance; there are simply too many obstacles in between that could foil the 'plan'. Logistically, I know I'm not going to wake up tomorrow and see my vision in full bloom - but I CAN start planting the seeds. If I don't sow now, I may never reap. However, I would rather die with mere seedlings, than to not have planted at all. The perfect season to plant the seeds of your dreams is NOW, and the growing season is the rest of your life.

Tally ho!

Thanksgiving!

2008-10-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

Happy thanksgiving! This year we celebrated our 2nd thanksgiving together in Vancouver with a bounty of food, a bottle of wine and sharing eachother's lovely company.

My day began quite early; at 7 am, to the cellphone rendition of 'Santa Baby', I peeled myself out of bed and ventured to Oakridge mall to run a prenatal yoga class at Lululemon. For thanksgiving Sunday morning, there was a nice turn out! It was really nice to center and prepare (physically AND mentally) for the long and full day ahead. After a few grapes at Kim's mart, I hit the road home. There, Kathy waited, and by noon, we were already eagerly prepping the many dishes we would devour that evening.

Our dishes included recreations of classic sides that would be enjoyed back home, 'veg-a-fide' of course, as well as some new, modern creations.

The feast consisted of: Sweet and sour 'neat-balls', kabocha squash stuffed with curried lentils, whipped turnips and carrots, cheese-roasted mashed potatoes, balsamic brussel sprouts and beets, mushroom gravy, butter buns, roasted chestnuts and vegan pumpkin pie, complete with kathy's soy and amarula whip cream!

To keep with 'tradition', we served a roasted tofurkey, stuffed with a delicious medley of wild rice, as our main course. Wade - after a long day at the shop, of course - came home just in time to carve the first slices. Kathy had the creative idea of using this distorted carrot as the wish bone! We froze it, and a few days later, while watching an Oprah episode regarding factory farming, made our wishes. She won. My wish was that the 'little piggies would be set free'. I was sad that I had let down the wee piglets. Next time I'll 'try harder'!

The Wishbone:

Finally, it was time to sit down to enjoy the fruits of our labour. For our Vancouver-family, it is a rare gem to sit down for dinner at the table. So between bites of tofurkey and sips of white wine, we talked about what we were grateful for - everything from mom and dad's donation to the dinner, to the cats getting along while we ate, to all the water and energy needed to create the dinner, to not having hairy bums! (haha.... long story - re: kenny vs. spenny)

We ate to our hearts' contents, but not surprisingly, there was much left over. Today, four days later, we are still working on the leftovers... It's fantastic. All in all, it was a really beautiful Thanksgiving. When we have the opportunity to create a meal together, to have meaningful conversation with those with whom, in the midst of the busy city life, we barely have time to make small talk, and to enjoy the feeling of a full belly and empty mind, we realize that life is simply SO beautiful.

May we find moments to appreciate this well into the winter season and new year!

Cheers and Namaste <3>

Bye Ric! - a story about cake

2008-04-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

Bye Ric! This recipe is for you!

If you're wondering what I'm taking about, Ric is one of my managers. Unfortunately, he will be leaving us and moving to another location after tomorrow's shift. It's always a bummer when someone you enjoy working with moves on, but on the other hand, it's also pretty delicious!

... what?

Well, if you read my blog religiously, which I'm sure you all do - haha! (*cough*, wow, tough crowd tonight! :P) - you would realize that I ALWAYS bake a vegan desert for 'going away' events. My schedule is pretty full as it is, and sometimes I only have time for the things I HAVE to do, not always being able to do the things I'd LIKE to do - like baking! What does this all mean? Well, I just put the 'like to's on my 'have to do' list: Ric is leaving, so I have to bake a cake!
In conclusion, I'm pretty great at justifying how I spend my time :)

well, enough of this rambling (how'd that happen?!) let's bake!

Brenna's Cha-cha-chai Cake with Almond Latte Icing

Ingredients:

Cake:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 1/2 cups organic sugar
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup firm tofu
- 3 egg replacers
- 3/4 cup each grated carrot and apple
- 1/4 cup orange juice, fresh
- 1/2 cup grated coconut

Icing:
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1/4 cup (scant) coffee
- 1 tsp almond butter

Directions:
1) Combine dry ingredients, including sugar, in a mixing bowl.
2) In a seperate, smaller bowl, whisk together tofu, oil, and eggs - it looks like mayonnaise!
3) With a wooden spoon, add 'mayo' to dry ingredients. Mix to combine. Add grated apples, carrots, coconut, and juice. Stir with wooden spoon JUST until combined.
4) Pour mixture into greased bunt pan and bake at 350oF for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature.
5) Meanwhile, while the cake bakes, combine icing ingredients, making sure to add coffee slowly until the desired consistencey is reached (you want it JUST pourable, not watery). When the cake is cool, flip out of bunt pan, and spoon icing onto cake so it spills sexily down the sides of the cake. (yummmmmmmmmmm)
6) Refrigerate before serving!

We'll miss you lots ric - especially the way you ALWAYS have something to say! Whether it's a dirty joke, discussions of alien conspiracies, or the politics of eating meat, it's always a great chat.

Love B!

White Pea Potluck Salad

2008-04-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Oh, how I love saturdays, don't you? It may be grey, chilly, and wet outside, but - at least for the lucky few of us who have weekends off - it still feels warm and sunny inside :) Another reason to smile is the upcoming potluck I'll be going to tonight. If there's one big difference between Winnipeg and Vancouver, it's definately all the potlucks happening every weeekend! I love it.

So, since I have class all day today, I've already prepared my dish - simple, easy, and cold, so it doesn't need to be reheated when I get there. It's a white bean salad made with soy beans, chick peas, and some other nummy ingredients. I've made this salad many times back home and my mom LOVES it. In essence, it's much like a hummus, only not mashed. So, fellow pot-luck-lovers, here's the recipe!

White Bean Salad

Ingredients:
* 2 cups soy beans, dried
* 1 (14 oz) can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
* 1 small cucumber, halved, sliced
* 2 shallots, thinly sliced
* 1 tsp garlic, minced
* 3 tbsp lemon juice
* 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
* 2 tsp olive oil
* 1 tbsp each oregano, thyme, basil
* Salt and pepper, to taste
* 1 cup mesclun mixture, chopped

1) Place soy beans in a soup pot. Add water to cover 1 inch above beans. Cook on low-medium heat for approximately 20 minutes, or until beans are cooked but still have a bit of a crunch to em
2) Place cooked beans in salad bowl and let cool to room temperature. Add chick peas, prepared vegetables, and garlic. Toss gently. Combine wet ingredients with spices, then add to salad. Toss to coat. Taste. Control yourself - don't get munchy-happy yet - and add salt and pepper as desired.
3) Add chopped greens and mix gently.
4) Place in a pretty salad bowl, cover tightly with saran wrap, and get your butt to that potluck - you're late!

Get-Better Buttercup Soup

2008-03-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

*cough* *cough*

I woke up a few days ago with the most irritated throat, a heavy head and a sense of vertigo as I rolled out of bed. Arrrrrgh, what happened?! It was the end of the weekend. I finally got some sleep - and some yoga - in, and this is my body's repsonse. Hmph... well then... time to battle some bad ass cold I guess!

What better to celebrate being sick than with a delicious soup? I was inspired by a soup at a potluck I went to last night (it was an awesome butternut squash, apricot, ginger, and coconut milk soup a la Misha :) ) . It's just simmering on the stove right now - YUM, it smells delicious - so here's the recipe!

Get-Better Buttercup Soup

Ingredients:
- 1 small buttercup squash, peeled, seeded
- 1/3 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 1 small piece ginger, diced
- 1 clove garlic, diced
- 4-6 cups water
- 1/2 cup - 1 cup nuts (I used walnuts and peanuts. You may want to chop the large pieces a little)
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 1/4 cup raisins (optional)

1) Cook squash in microwave to soften (2-3 minutes). Peel and seed. Note: The skin is delicous, so cut it up and snack on it while you wait for your soup. Trust me! If you're feeling ambitious, clean, salt and roast the seeds and use to garnish the final soup.
2) Chop vegetables, and cut squah into chunks. Place in soup pot with water. Cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Turn element off, cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
3) Carefully pour soup into blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot.
4) Stir in butter, nuts and raisins.
5) Pour yourself a bowl, grab a cup of tea, and curl up to re runs of the OC for the rest of the night. Enjoy your healin' mealin'!

Love B

Yoga Potluck!

2008-03-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

(I'm dedicating this entry to all my beautiful yoga-teachers-in training, who now know about my nerdy blog addiction!)

This past weekend we had a gathering of the yogis for a lunch/potluck to celebrate our third practicum - and hey, who needs an excuse for a potluck anyway?! It was awesome. We had the chance to step off of our mats, and really get to know eachother. Also, I can't fail to mention, there was QUITE of variety of delicous tastes !

Mom-made apple pie, sweet potato sushi, endive boats with goat cheese, poached pear, and candied pecans, mimosas!, lemon and basil green beans with toasted almonds, yummy fresh oranges, blueberry bread, organic raisin bread, and lots more - sorry if I've missed anyone's delicious dish!

My dish was a mediterranean roasted vegetable salad. For those of you who enjoyed it - here's the recipe!

Mediterranean Roasted Veggie Salad

* 2 yellow peppers

* 2 red peppers

* 1 zucchini
* 1 eggplant, or 2 smaller asian eggplants

* 2 cups mushrooms

* 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, quartered

* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

* 1/4 cup olive oil

* Salt and pepper, to taste

** Feel free to use other inspiring vegetables - chunks of red onion, whole cloves of garlic, etc!

1) Cut and prepare vegetables: Peppers into thick julienne, squashes into dollar slices (a little larger than bite size, you may have to cut eggplants in half), and mushrooms into quarters.

2) Toss vegetables (except artichokes) with olive oil, place on baking sheet, and roast in oven at 400oF for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are "half-cooked"

3) Allow vegetables to cool to room temperature. Toss in large bowl with artichoke hearts (including marinade!), balsamic vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings. Maybe throw in some oregano and basil, herb it up!

This recipe is SO EASY - the secret (er.. not so secret) ingredient is the marinated artichokes. They have SO much flavor, and the dressing is in the jar!

Looking forward to the next yogi gathering!

Sat nam, B

Good-Bye-Fruit-Pie!

2008-03-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

made it! Yesterday I made an awesome all-fruit pie, which was devoured in minutes at last night's movie night, marking day 7 of the fruit feast. Here's the recipe:

B's Fruit Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup flaked dried coconut

3/4 cup sliced strawberries
4-5 ripe bananas
1 lemon

Water

1) Place dates and 1/2 cup of coconut into blender or food processor. Pulse to combine, adding a squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of water if needed to create a sticky paste.

2) Press this mixture into wax-paper lined baking pan/pie plate. Layer with sliced strawberries.

3) Rinse blender. Place bananas, and the juice of half a lemon in the blender and mix until well blended. Add a little bit of water as needed. Should look like baby food :)

4) Pour this mixture over strawberries. Sprinkle with remaining coconut, and garnish with a fanned strawberry.

5) Freeze at least 2 hours, and take out 15 minutes before eating.

YUM - O!

Thanks for joining me on my fruity adventures this past week! It was tough at times, but I am SO happy I finished. I've never experienced food like this before - really feeling hunger and fullness, and not to mention all the awesome fruit I didn't really appreciate before now!

I believe this world could be a much happier place if everyone found a little fruit in themselves!

Still smiling,

Day 5 - "I would kill for a carrot..."

2008-03-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

I seem to have been in a pattern of blogging about each day the day AFTER. So, to set things straight, we are on day 6 now. By we, I mean me, since #1 I have a habit of talking about I as if there were multiples of me, and #2, my friend Justin has decided to eke out of the cleanse early (Thursday), so really, it is just me now. I'm really happy he came along for the ride with me, even though we're not finishing together, I know that I probably wouldn't have been motivated to start if it wasn't for having someone to experience it with me. Thanks Justin :) We'll eat fruit together tomorrow!

Anyway, today was rough. Actually this whole week has been rough, and I'd like to talk about that. It's not entirely the fault of the fast, although that has definately been a contribution. What I've noticed, though, is that I've been extra emotional lately. I've really had to focus so much attention to my body, and I feel a little apart from this world. Mentally, I'm a little spacey, sometimes I'm quite irritable, and I find I have to rest so much more than I usually do. So, with all that, it means I'm not doing much outside of work and yoga. The most frusturating part this week was a few nights ago. I had to work late, then work early again the next morning. Normally I'd be okay, but I was wiped by 4 pm on friday, and had to cancel my plans to go to this kirtan friday night. (The reason for this was that I would get home late, and have to wake up again for class really early again this morning!)

The fast has made me wake up, in a way, to understanding how my body works, and what it needs - food, rest, and connection with other people. That last one is really important. Lately, I need more hugs, more girl talks, and, right now, I definately need a phone call with my mom! (She's usually called by now.. I guess I'm gonna have to call her) The body is so powerful, and can be SO stubborn and determined, sometimes even more so than the mind. I'm working on finding a balance between my ego and my body's truth, finding a connection between my will to be and my will to do, and finally, finding an ability to be kind - both to myself and those around me - through it all.

Peace, my fruity friends,
Love Brenna

Day 4 - I broke the blender

2008-03-07T18:14:00.002-08:00

Today, (actually about 10 minutes ago) I made a delicious watermelon, banana, grape and lemon smoothie. After a few sips, I decided I might enjoy it a little bit thicker. So i tossed it back in the blender, added a few more pieces of ice and reblended. Loud icy noises, as usual, then all of a sudden a chunk of plastic from the blender flew out and my smootie was going everywhere!

Sigh...

I was able to salvage about a cup of smoothie, and the blender was from the 50's anyways... nevertheless, I am still quite dissapointed....and now I must go out and buy a new blender (it was my sister's! - sorry Kathy!)

Anyway, the feast is going well. I'm completely exhausted from working late last night, then all day this morning, so I'm laying low tonight. I find that I am constantly conscious of my body, more so with eating fruit than with my regular diet. My body is consistantly talking to me : I'm hungry, I'm full, I'm sick. My energy differs minute to minute: after eating, I'm happy and expounding with awesome energy. 10 minutes later I'm happy, kind of spacey, and feeling light. Then half an hour later, I'm a bit dizzy, a little anxious. And finally, I'm back to being hungry again! It's a different experience being aware of what my body's telling me all of the time, and difficult at the same time. The biggest challenge has been at work, where's no time to be constantly checking in with myself. I'm fortunate to have awesome people there who are supportive, like Ric who lets me eat oranges!

Speaking of oranges...

Knock knock
who's there?
Bananas Knock knock
who's there?
Bananas Knock knock
who's there?
Bananas Knock knock
who's there?
Orange
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say bananas!?

Day 3

2008-03-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

Good Morninggggggg...

Day 3 went well... Another 8 hour day spent working in the kitchen, but it was a lot easier than the first day. The thing I notice most is that I'm hungry ALL THE TIME - like an hour and a half after I eat. So having fruit on hand is a must. In good news, I shared told one of my managers what I was doing, and he let me know I could have a few oranges if I wanted (since we buy so much and they go bad before we're rid of them all). Yum.. I may take him up on that offer this afternoon.

My favorite meal of the day yesterday was a strawberry, melon, and banana smoothie that I had for a late dinner. Yum yum. I'm working a split shift today, and it looks like I'll have about 2 hours in between. I'm going to go down to Sejuiced and see if I can grab a fruit only smoothie for dinner - that would totally make my day.

Peace all, Brenna

Fruit Feasting - Day 2 - A Little Bananas...

2008-03-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Hey all! So yesterday after my first blog, I went out and did a little shopping. Ibought grapes, tomatoes, oranges, lemons, limes, apples, cucumbers, zucchini, bananas, canteloupe, grapefruit, avacadoes and dried persimmons - and all for 15 dollars! Who knew fruitarianism could be so cheap??

My first word of advice when buying fruit is check out the discount box. Extra ripe bananas are less than half the price, and can be frozen or dehydrated to keep them longer. All of those oranges (there's about 10) cost me 69 cents ... and they're perfectly fine! (I'll let you know if I start hallucinating)!

So Day 1 went alright. I had the afternoon off which I spent at home eating, doing yoga, and reading. Afterwards, I went to work (yep...to the kitchen that smells of delicious NON fruit aromas). It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was fortunate that it was Monday, meaning the fruit garnishes from the weekend were all for le garbage...aka, brenna's consumption, so there was no need to be munching on the extra fries. The only thing that stands out so much about yesterday was the light headedness, which happened about 30 minutes after eating. Then later on, I felt anxious, like my arms had a lot of energy running through them... Hmmm, Iwonder what that's all about?

Anyway, still going strong on day two. I just got back from yoga and had a big bowl of avacado, cucumber, tomato, and orange pepper salad with a little lemon and lime juice. Pretty much the least fruity of all fruits I would say - already need a break from the sweet stuff. I haven't talked to Justin about how things are going for him, but wishing him the best :) - will make a point of calling tomorrow -

Later taters,

Love Brenna

Fruit Feasting - Day 1

2008-03-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

For the past while I have been considering doing a detox to start off this Spring. Last night,I found myself in a conversation with a friend, Justin, about fasting and detoxing. Between bites of carrot cake and trail mix, we were inspired to start one together - today!

We opted to go for the less-extreme form of "fasting" (it's more of a "feasting"..) and eat strictly fruits and fruit juices for one week. Of course, I just bought a box of tofu the other day which I will now have to encourage my roommates to eat so it won't go bad over the week! (Although I did make it a point to have some before I went to bed last night. Haha. )

This morning, I decided to find out a bit more about fruit fasting and fruitarianism, and found lots of interesting information! Avacados, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, nuts and SQUASH (yes!) are all fruits. So this shouldn't be too hard after all...I eat so much squash already! However, I feel this week I'd like to aim for more fresh fruits - and by that I mean raw. So raw squash? I don't know...we'll see what I can come up with for that! I also read that strict fruitarians eat mono-ly..as in, only one fruit at a time and 90 minutes between types. For detoxing purposes, and since we're only doing this for a week, I feel it's okay to be mixing fruits. ... I justified this with a DELICIOUS mango and apple salad this morning. Unfortunately, I am now out of all fruits in my house! So it looks like this rainy afternoon will be spent under an umbrella in the market outside perusing different fruits to make it through the week.

I think it will be a good week - we'll have to see. I'm really excited to have someone else in on this with me...that will help keep me motivated to get through the week. I don't expect to feel deprived, as we can obviosuly eat as much as we want to, which will probably be the best part!

Anyway, I'm actually getting peckish again, so I'm going to make like a banana and SPLIT!

Haha, namaste, Brenna

Happy Vegan-tines day!

2008-02-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day is near, and that means one thing... Love and romance? No, silly! Cupcakes! I baked a batch of miniature white cupcakes for the big day to bring into work. Side note: I work at a restaurant, where we will be serving many lovely, happy couples who came out to have a romantic dinner together while we slave away and cook hundreds of dinners in the hot kitchen! Haha, just kidding, I'm not that bitter about Valentine's day... And not that you ever need an excuse to eat cupcakes, but for v-day, these sweet treats are a MUST!

I found this recipe at Shmooed Food, and changed a few things around. Feel free to try your own thing.

Fluffy White Cupcakes

1 TB lemon juice

1 1/4 cups plain soymilk

2 1/8 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 1/8 cups sugar

½ cup oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 350º. Prepare muffin tin (miniature or regular is fine). Spray with non-stick spray or line with muffin papers.

2) Mix the lemon juice and soy milk together in a bowl. Stir well and set aside (the mixture will curdle). In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another mixing bowl whisk together the soymilk mixture, canola oil, and vanilla.

3) Add the wet to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth using a hand-held mixer, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl.Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.

4) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from the pan and place on a wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

4 tbsp (or more) liquid (eg. soy milk, water, juice)

Red food coloring (optional)

1) Place icing sugar in bowl. Slowly beat in liquid. I used marichino cherry juice and some soy milk. Made the perfect pink color! Feel free to use whatever delicious liquid you have on hand, be creative.

Valentine's Day can be an especially hard day of the year for many people - singles and vegans alike (God bless you vegan singles out there!) - with chocolates and lovers everywhere. So induldge in these tasty treats without guilt, and show a lil' love to the most beautiful person in the room (that's you baby ;)! )

Sexy Squash Casserole

2008-01-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

Yum! I love squash - if you know me, you know this is aboslutely true! I eat squash no less than 4 times a week, and have a deep adoration for all kinds of squash. Haha, anyway, before you start to invision me as some sort of creep in pumpkin patch, just try this casserole and I think you'll begin to understand my obsession...

Sexy Squash

- 1 small spaghetti squash

- 1 cup cornmeal

- 2 cups water

- 1 cup sliced mushrooms

- 1/2 cup diced onion

- 1 tsp minced garlic

- 1 can tomatoes, any way you like em

- 1 fresh tomato

- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 1 tsp each basil, oregano

- salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1) Prepare squash. How? let me count the ways:

a) microwave to soften. cut down center lengthwise. Remove seeds (save for toasting as a snack). Then bake in oven at 350 for 40 minutes, or until soft. Using a fork, scrape the squash out of its skin and place into a seperate bowl. Discard skin.

b) After softening and prepping, you can simply place in a microwavable safe bowl with a tiny bit of water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes or until soft. Follow directions above.

c) Wrap in tinfoil and throw prepared squash into firepit. Only for the hardcores.

2) Polenta

i. Add water and cornmeal to a pot. Cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a greased pan so that it is approximately 1/2 a cm in height. Place in freezer to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare sauce.

3) Prepare sauce.
i. Heat pan or sauce pan to medium. Add a tiny bit of oil, then add onions and mushrooms. Cook until slightly golden, then add garlic. Cook 30 seconds until fragrant.
ii. Add tomatoes, reduce heat, and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Assembly:

In a casserole dish of your choice:

1) 1/2 of squash, salt and pepper

2) 1/3 of sauce

3) layer of polenta (all of it. If there is extra, cut into fries, fry up, and enjoy with marinara sauce. YUM)
3) 1/3 of sauce

4) Rest of squash, salt and pepper

5) Rest of sauce

6) Thin slices of that fresh tomato

7) sprinkle with seasonings, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar

Finally! Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until bubbly, fragrant, and impossible to wait any longer!

If you need an excuse for chocolate..this is it!

2007-12-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

Forget the old saying about death by chocolate - it's healthy! Bring on the macaroons! A yoga teacher at the studio I attend reccommended this awesome cook book. It's called Health by Chocolate and it was written by Victoria Laine. I flipped through the book and scanned for something delicious. After some studious skimming - and some serious salivation over the pictures -I decided to mentally snatch one of the recipes and try it at home. I am definately going to purchase this book - that is, unless Santa got the memo and it's under my tree this year!

I have already forgotten the name of the recipe, but it is some sort of chocolate bon bon. Once you try the recipe, it will NOT matter what it's name is.. I promise you! While I will not give you an exact recipe, I can give you the basic blueprint of this minature treat. The main ingredients are: dates, dark chocolate, and walnuts:

1) Pit the dates. 2) Place walnut inside. Seal. 3) Dip in melted dark chocolate.

Easy, huh? Other fillings I tried were almonds, small spoonfuls of all-natural peanut butter, and white chocolate wafers. You will adore these bites! They're fun to make, don't require too many ingredients, and the only thing stopping you is your creativity! Try rolling in unsweetened coconut (the dates are sweet enough on their own), crushed nuts, or drizzling melted white chocolate on the finished truffles.

I'm bringing these to a pot-luck when I go home for christmas. My original plan was to toss together a casserole of some sort at Duty-Free. Salted peanuts and banana bread anyone?

Stained-Glass Cookies

2007-12-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

Wow - it's already December 12th (Happy Birthday Tory!).... And with our flight home approaching in 10 days, I should get on top of my Christmas treats! I begin with my stained glass sugar cookies...

I found the recipe at Veg Family.

Ingredients:
Cookie Dough:
3/4 cup vegan margarine
1 cup sugar or granulated sweetener
2 egg replacer eggs, prepared
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Simply sift together the dry ingredients, mix together the wet ingredients, and combine the two, mixing until smooth. Covering and chilling the dough for approximately 30 minutes and allowing to come to room temperature makes the dough easier to work with and roll out.

When the dough is ready, roll out onto a floured counter to about 3mm thickness. Using your favorite cookie cutters, cut out fun shapes and use smaller cookie cutters to make windows. The "frames" can be placed onto a baking sheet lined with parchament paper. Sprinkle bits of smashed candies (Jolly Ranchers are perfect, and vegan) into the holes and bake at 350 o C for approximately 12 minutes.

Instead of combining the "window scraps", and re rolling them (which would result in a tougher cookie - ew), I baked a seperate batch of miniature cookies. I call them my baker's bites (every cookie recipe has them, I know), and there is no photo of them. Like the cake, they too were practically inhaled!

As a side note, you're all probably concerned about this recent baking binge, constant 'sampling' and whether or not I've gained 100 pounds since I began this blog. The answer is no, and neither will you! That's the whole idea behind karma in the kitchen... If you bake with love, use wholesome ingredients that support environmental sustainability, eat with joy, and share your treats with people you care about, you'll stay fit and beautiful! This is my strongest belief. Respect your food, and your food will respect your body. It's all yoga.. my dream, and my hope for you, is that we can take yoga off of our mats and into our lives. Let's bring it into the kitchen this Christmas!

Finished Cake..

2007-12-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

The cake is now filled, layered, iced, and...eaten! I meant to take a picture and post a recipe BEFORE we devoured it, but alas, the cake vanished too quickly! I suppose that's a good sign...perhaps I can just tell you about it:

Filling:
1/2 cup all nautural peanut butter, softened
1/2 cup very ripe bananas, mashed

Icing:
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp earth balance buttery spread, melted
2 tbsp - 1/4 cup soy milk

1) Mix filling ingredients until smooth. Spread over bottom layer of cake and top with second layer of cake.
2) Sift together icing sugar and cocoa. Mix in melted margarine. 1 tbsp at a time, add soy milk and mix until icing has a pourable consistency.
3) Pour over cake, let drip down the sides, and smooth sides with a warm spatula.
4) If desired, top with soy whipped cream and hot espresso!

Happy Birthday Wade!

2007-11-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

With only two days until Wade's Birthday, we had lots to do.
The balloons were up, as well as the traditional Happy Birthday sign, but where was the cake?
And could I make a vegan version of the classic birthday cake we've been eating every birthday for the past 19 years of my life?
I decided to give it a try...

I've searched high and low for vegan angel food cakes - or something like it - and have come across many others, like me, who are desperate for an egg-free recipe. It's obviously close to impossible, as an average recipe for angel food cakes contains 12-16 egg whites, foamed until triple in size - a property difficult to create with egg replacers and the like. Anyway, with only 2 days until the big day, I didn't have time to experiment, so I used a basic vanilla cake recipe from http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/food/veganbdcakes.html (which has great tips and recipes for vegan baking). We'll see how close this gets...

Vegan Vanilla Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soft soy margarine
2-3/4 cups all-purpose white flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons egg replacer
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup water
1-3/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Spray two round 8-inch x 1-2/3-inch pans with Pam, or lightly oil and flour. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Add egg replacer and 1/4-cup water and set aside. Mix soy milk and 1/2-cup water, and set aside.
In large bowl of electric mixer, beat soy margarine until it is creamy, about a minute. Gradually add sugar until well creamed. Beat in vanilla. Add mixed dry ingredients and mixed soy milk/water alternately to creamed margarine, sugar, and vanilla, beating after each addition. Begin and end with flour mixture. (Add flour in four steps, liquids in three.) Add mixed egg replacer along with the third addition of liquid. Turn evenly into pans.
Bake at 375-degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done (wooden pick inserted into cake comes out clean). Remove from oven and let cool on cake rack for ten minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on rack until cold. Frost as desired. Recipe makes eight servings.

I used two silicone baking pans, and will make a frosting and filling to finish. Yay! Layer cake!
To be continued after the cakes cool....

Sprouts - Day 4 and 5

2007-11-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

Here they are, sprouting away on day 4...

Hehe, look at their little hairs! They're just dying to get out of their cheese-cloth-home and into my salad!

Day 5: *Sniff!* they grow up so fast...

So be young, and keep sprouting - from your heart and into the world.

Until dinner time, sisters! MUAH ;)

Shakti Saute

2007-11-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

In the Hindu religion, the word Shakti represents power, energy, and force. More specifically, it signifies the part of God that is woman. In western cluture, and to myself, Shakti means straight up girl power! Inspired by shakti, and a grumbling stomach, I decided to toss up a stir-fry for lunch and dedicate it to every woman on the planet. It has tons of leafy greens, and is full of iron, vitamins, proteins and omega 3 fatty acids! It's such a colorful and tasty dish - perfect for a potluck or dinner party. No boys allowed!

Ingredients:

* Olive oil

* 2 cups vegetables (I used brocolli and cauliflower florets, sliced sweet potatoes and carrots, and julienne peppers

* 1 bunch leafy greens (spinnach or kale is nice - I used rainbow chard)

* 1/4 c. cashews

* 2 tbsp sesame seeds

* 1/4 cup each chopped dates and raisins

* 1 orange, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes

* 1 clove garlic, minced

* 2 tbsp hoisin sauce (or 2 tbsp equal parts sweetener and soy sauce)

* 1 cup black eyed peas, soaked overnight, rinsed

Directions:

1) Heat olive oil in wok or large skillet. Add vegetables (hardest ones take longest to cook, add these first).

2) Add leafy greens and cook until wilted. Know your leaves! Greens such as spinach will take much less time to cook than kale or chard.

3) Add orange cubes, nuts, seeds, dried fruits and garlic. Cook until fragrant.

4) Add hoisin sauce and peas. Cook until heated through. Garnish with chopped cashews.
5) Dig in girl!

PS: Just joking about 'no boys allowed'. Everyone will enjoy this dish, so eat up, be full and merry, and if you don't find your inner goddess on the first place, maybe a second helping is all you need!

To my sexy, strong, shakti sisters around the world <3

you go girl

Sprouts - Day 2 and 3

2007-11-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a few days, After soaking overnight, I drained them through the cheese cloth and placed in a bowl at an angle as to allow continuous drainage. Just like so:

And from there, my once-spaghetti-sauce-jar became an eficient factory of living, baby sprouts! After work, I came home, gave 'em a rinse, and changed their dirty cheesecloth screen. This project is the closest thing to taking care of a baby I have come so far.

In exciting news, they grew their first tails this morning! I took a picture, but it's a little hard to see them through the incubator, so you'll have to use your imagination.

(aren't they sweet?! I'm sending you all Christmas cards of them this year!)

They're quite simple - the simplest children you'll ever raise - just rinse them 3-4 times a day with lukewarm water, and change their cheesecloth when it takes on a yellow tinge! Sprout on!

Sprouts: Day 1

2007-11-13T20:05:00.001-08:00

Hey!

What a productive day off! I decided to begin my sprouting endeavour this evening. After baking the Vegan Shortbread, I ventured off to buy some cheesecloth (found it for only $2.50 at a kitchen supply store). As this is my first time attempting to sprout seeds, I'm anxious to see how it will go! Hopefully, by the end of this project, my tiny seeds will have filled my jar with a voluptuous, beautiful, and delicious sprout medley! To start, I only needed a few, easy-to-find supplies...

Supplies:

* 3 tbsp sprout seeds (from organic food store)

* Cheesecloth

* Elastic band or hair tie

* Lukewarm water

* Clean glass or plastic jar

Directions:

1) Place seeds and luke warm water in glass jar, cover with cheesecloth and secure with elastic band. Allow to soak 4 hours or over night.

2) Drain and place in bowl at an angle to allow constant drainage.

3) Continue to rinse seeds 3-4 times daily with luke warm water, draining each time.

4) On 4th day, place seeds in sunlight until they turn green. Sprouts are ready to eat!

Now, I am no "green thumb" here, so I'm hoping for the best. The process seems relatively easy, and the sprouts should pretty much make themselves - key word: should. I am, nonetheless optimistic and I'll keep updated on how my little salad babies are doing!

As I once read, "Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower". In our case, it is the sprout! Lots of love and happy sprouting!

Vegan Shortbread

2007-11-13T15:23:00.001-08:00

Hey!

Welcome to Karma in the Kicthen, avec moi, Brenna. Or B. Whatever. I decided to start my Christmas baking today - once my birthday passes, it's officially time to start getting ready! I began by making Vegan Shortbread cookies from a recipe I found at http://lakitchen.blogspot.com/2005/12/vegan-shortbread.html.

Ingredients:

¾ cups margarine
¾ cups powdered sugar1
½ cups flour
1/8 cup cocoa (only add to the half of the dough you want to be chocolate)
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to: 325°. In a bowl beat together powdered sugar with margarine. Add flour divide in half, add cocoa to one half and split the vanilla between the two bowls.
Roll dough between two pieces of parchment or wax paper into quarter inch thickness and cut into rounds. Bake for ten minutes and let sit for another ten before eating.

When I made the recipe, I opted out the chocolate (gasp, I know, risky business) and instead divided my dough in 2 and colored one portion red, using food coloring (although in retrospect I could have easily used some marichino cherry juice) in one, and green in the other. I chilled the dough for 20 minutes, rolled it out into 1/4" thickness, and cut out christmas shapes with mini-cookie cutters, only baking for approx. 10 minutes per tray.

The results were great; perfect bite-size cookies that melt on your toungue- and they are adorable! With the last batch of dough (from rolling, and re rolling it got quite crumbly), I rolled them into balls and pressed a piece of marichino cherry to finish. Yum.

I love Christmas.