Good Food!

Vegetarian Sushi - easy to make!

I always wanted to make sushi – for years – but I never tried because I just assumed it would be hard.  Then I saw a Sushi making video  by foodie heros – Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero – from Post Punk Kitchen and I realized it was a trick – it was easy and it looked like fun too.  Long story short – I made the sushi from Isa and Terry’s book Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook and now sushi is a regular household meal here at our house.  I get cravings for it and make it on a regular basis without thinking too hard about it.

Nori Sheet on a Sushi Roller

You do need a sushi roller to make these – so before you get all gung-ho make sure you have a roller – it’s going to be worth it – I promise!

Sushi rollers are cheap and they are sold at most Food Coops, at Whole Foods, at International Markets and if worse comes to worse you could get one online.

The first simple step is to make some rice.  I mix 1 cup of sushi rice ( I use Lundberg Akitakomachi ) with 1 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil, lower heat to low, cover and cook for 2o minutes…then using Isa and Terry’s directions I add 2 tablespoons rice vinegar and 1 t. sugar and mix.  Then you need to let the rice cool to keep from overheating your fingers when you spread the rice on the seaweed sheet.

From this point on – I find I like just adding some simple whole foods I enjoy – rather than following a recipe for the spicy tempeh mix or other variations found in the Veganomicon.  You might really like those though so check it – if you want something more exotic.

Sushi fillings

I always use avocado and cucumber in my rolls and usually some strips of Seitan.  Sometimes I add strips of carrot or other raw vegees.  If you cut all the inside ingredients in thin strips – the rest of the sushi making experience should be surprisingly easy and also very fun and satisfying.

Spreading the rice on

Lay your bamboo mat down – if there’s rounded side – place that side down.  Lay your Nori sheet on the bamboo mat.  Usually the seaweed sheets have little perforations for cutting the sushi so place the sheet with the perforation running in the logical direction – vertically.  (See top image)  I make 2 or 3 rolls from 1 cup of rice.  It depends on if you want fewer (2) fat rolls or more  (3) small rolls.  Divide the rice roughly by the number of rolls you want and then plop the rice on the lower regions of the Nori.  Press it on evenly over the bottom 2/3rds of the sheet.

Next – lay out your offerings on the bed of rice, then grab the end of the mat and start rolling it up and over the seaweed the way you see me doing it in the video below:  When you have the sushi almost all the way rolled up – wet your fingers and seal that baby with some water.  Do it a couple of times to make sure it sticks.  Finish rolling and you’re very close to done!

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The last step is to cut the roll.  Follow the perforations on your wrap or whateever.  Just cut them and get down to the ultimate task of eating them!

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Dipping sauce - soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and hot chile oil - and Wasabi

Oh- there is one other thing – the sauces.  My partner does this part – he mixes a little sesame oil and a little chile oil with some soy sauce for dipping and he mixes the Wasabi powder with some warm water to make a paste.  Before dipping the Sushi in your dipping sauce add some Wasabi paste.  I’m a lightweight. My partner is crazy for the stuff.  It will clear your sinuses and then some so watch out.  Start slow…. and add more until you reach maximum dosage.  Some organic Sushi Ginger strips on the side make it all the better.   Enjoy!

Most people think of salt as simply salt but the table salt you buy at the store is heavily refined.  Refined table salt is of chemical, inorganic origin and has gunk in it -  the base is chemical sodium chloride and added to it are anti-caking chemicals, inorganic potassium iodide, and sugar (dextrose).

“Modern salt reminds one of the state of such other highly processed substances as refined white sugar and the white breads, pastas and pastries.  Unfortunately relatively few people are informed about the denaturing of real salt.”

Paul Pitchford – Healings with Whole Foods

So what’s real salt?  Whole natural sea salt, also called solar salt, is just evaporated sea water….brine of the sea that has been dried by the sun.  Nothing’s been added and nothing’s been taken out.

Often it is lightly colored due to the geology of the area where the salt is farmed.  Hence, Celtic Salt is slightly grey from the clay in the area where it is collected on the coast of France.  Himalayan Pink Salt is harvested from ancient beds with sea salt deposits in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.  The slight pink color is due to the presence of iron.

Paul Pitchford, a respected teacher of Chinese medicine, believes people often crave salt and take in excessive amounts of it because they want the trace minerals found in real salt.  Refined, processed table salt doesn’t contain those minerals so the craving goes unsatisfied leading the person to take more and more salt.

I switched to Celtic Salt several years ago and I find myself using far less salt and enjoying food more than I did with regular table salt.  Every geographical area creates a salt that tastes a bit different than the others so it’s good to buy small amounts in bulk if you can and find out which sea salt you like.  Even Celtic Grey Salts vary from one brand to another.

There are intriguing salts I have yet to try:  Portuguese “Salt Cream” Sea Salt and Hawaiian Black Lava Red Alea Clay Sea Salts…I’m sure there are many others.

I just bought some Pink Himalayan Salt at Trader Joes for just $1.99 and it is very nice!  I also recently bought some black salt or Kala Namak at the local international grocers.  If you’re  like me, once you start tasting these salts and adding them to your diet, this once boring condiment will become very interesting.   Even simple foods come alive by adding a dash of real sea salt containing naturally occurring minerals.  Salt craving also diminishes significantly with use of real salt. Most Westerners are said to take in far too much salt – six times more than the current guidelines for daily salt consumption, which can lead to a series of health ailments.

Naturally mineralized salts are a great way to add zest to all kinds of food and to cut down on salt intake.

We decided to make an Indian Feast for our Christmas dinner this year.  This could very well turn out to be a tradition…  It was both delicious and enticing and warming like Christmas dinner should be – but it was also, dare I say, healthy.  It’s funny how “healthy” in our culture has come to suggest something mediocre to unappealing in the taste department – something you virtuously eat because it’s good for you.  Indian food, prepared using whole foods, flies in the face of that myth because it’s a treat to the palate and it’s kind to your body.

Indian spices sauteeing are poetry.  It’s easy to cook intuitively with these spices.  I don’t like Coriander so I don’t add as much.  I like Cumin Seeds so I add more.  We’re light on Cinnamon Bark around here.  So I roughly follow a recipe but I also make it up as I go along…yet it always comes out just right!  I used organic, unrefined peanut oil instead of ghee.

The spread for our feast include Sag Paneer (with homemade paneer), Dal Tarka, Khumbi (Mushrooms with Coriander and Cumin), Raita, and Mango Chutney.

You can catch a buzz while drinking one of the healthiest drinks on earth.  Raw Green Juice is amazing!  You’ll feel something happening on your first sip and from there….it gets even better.  First of all – it staves off hunger with very few calories and a super dose of health enhancing nutrition.

Mega-doses of Chlorophyll that are abundant in raw green vegetables increase the flow of oxygen to every part of your body – you can actually feel it happening when you drink this juice!

Loads of enzymes flood your system, detoxifying and balancing your body… I’m not just saying this out of a book – drink Green Juice – it’s a direct experience of health and radiance.

Alas, you really need a good juicer.  I think the best is the Green Star but there are others that do a good job.  It’s a great investment in your health and well being.

My recipe, which I inherited from my friend and raw food counselor Christian Bates, follows:

One bunch celery
1 head Chard
1 head Kale
Parsley
Lemon (peel first)

My partner who doesn’t like celery or parsley loves this juice so even if those vegees aren’t your favorite – give it a try.  I sip mine like a glass of wine but it’s a thousand times better than even the best bottle of wine.  Your liver will heal instead of cry and your brain will wake up, be extra aware and most likely, if you pick up the juice habit, you will feel better and better in a way that’s hard to believe.

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Recipe: Raw Chocolate Bliss

Summary: This is the best tasting chocolate I know of and it’s good for you too!

Ingredients

• Crust
• 1 ½ c. almond meal
• 1 ½ c. organic dried cranberries
• cranberry juice or almond milk
• Filling
• 1 c. cacao nibs
• ½ c. coconut oil
• ½ c. cashews
• 1 vanilla bean
• ½ c. agave nectar or maple syrup

Instructions

Crust

1. Blend crust ingredients in a food processor well.
2. Add cranberry juice or almond milk until mixture just begins to stick together.
3. Press into pie plate forming crust.

Filling

1. Grind up nibs and cashews in a clean coffee grinder.
2. Blend ground up nibs, cashews, coconut oil, and vanilla bean (or vanilla) in a high-powered blender. Use a spatula to work mixture into blade. As the mixture warms up it will blend better.
3. Add agave and blend briefly until mixed.
4. Pour into crust, smooth with spatula. Refrigerate

Quick Notes

(modified from a recipe called Chocolate Fantasy Pie by Bliss)

Cooking time (duration): 1/2 hour

Diet type: Vegan

Diet (other): High protein, Gluten free, Raw

Number of servings (yield): 12

Meal type: dessert

My rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★

Microformatting by hRecipe.

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If you’ve eaten fresh cacao beans or nibs then you know most chocolate bars you get at the store have been stepped on to a degree that almost completely disguises what chocolate really is.

Amazingly the taste of this new chocolate bar from TJoes is close to uncut cacao. It has enough sugar (don’t worry) but not very much sugar at all. It’s lightly sweet but mostly rich in deeply satisfying chocolate magic!

It’s also only $1.49 for two 50 gram bars.

This recipe is largely inspired by Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  I reduced the sugar, swapped out the white flour for spelt, swapped out the soy milk for almond milk and cut the topping recipe in half in order to up the "good for you" factor.  I have to say I was amazed at how delicious these cupcakes were.  They beat any dairy / egg cupcakes I’ve ever had by a long shot and were rich, sweet and satisfying.

Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup almond milk (or oat milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners – or spray with canola oil.
2.Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a largebowl,and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy.In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder,and salt.  Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are okay).
3. Pour into liners, filling three quartersof the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely

Topping

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons rice milk
1 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
Scant pinch of salt
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Whisk rice milk, arrowroot, and salt in a small bowl or measuring cup. In a large stainless-steel saucepan over medium heat, stir together coconut milk and brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, till mixture starts to boil. Turn heat down to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. Whisk rice milk mixture once more and slowlypour into the coconut milk mixture, stirring constantly to incorporate.
2.Stir mixture continuously till it darkens again, gets very thick and smooth, and arrowroot is cooked, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and beat in vanilla, chopped pecans, and coconut. Stir till everything is coated and completely combined.  Cool to room temperature before frosting cupcakes.

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from Still Life with a Recipe by Mollie Katzen with some modifications by me to reduce the sugar content

1/2 cup (1 stick) soft butter or margarine
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2/3 cup (packed) light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour – 1/2 white 1/2 wheat or spelt
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1] Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2] In a large bowl, beat together the butter or margarine, peanut butter, sugar, and egg. Continue to beat well (high speed with an electric mixer is the best way) for 5 minutes.
3] Stir in vanilla.
4] Sift in the dry ingredients, then add the chocolate chips. Stir by hand until well blended.
5] Drop by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie with a fork.
6] Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a rack for ultimate crispness.

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Coconut oil quickly goes bad in clear plastic or glass containers because of exposure to light.  Even if you refrigerate the oil when you get home – how long has it been sitting in the direct light at the store?  Coconut oil develops a slightly rancid flavor from light exposure which gets worse as time goes on.  Omega Nutrition, smart folks that they are, package their coconut oil / butter in a dark, opague container.  I’ve never tasted even slight rancidity from Omega’s excellent tasting oil.  Note: it should be refrigeratered after opening.

Note:  9/2008  Now that I’ve moved away from WA I don’t seem to be able to find Omega Nutrition coconut oil.  At the Whole Foods in Albuquerque, NM they have Jarrow Formulas Coconut Oil which is every bit as good and comes in a light-proof container.  The trick is – it’s hidden in the vitamin and health products section – in the food section the coconut oil is all in clear glass jars.  See I told you it was better for you!

I’ve been sprouting raw hulled sunflower seeds lately.  There’s very little work involved and the result is a tasty snack or salad topping.  I tried a fancy sprouter a year or so ago and the tray system for this gagdet was a pain in the neck to use. The water was hard to add and change and worst of all the sprouts often got moldy.  Now I use the old mason jar with a porous lid method with great success – easy and clean. I have "Sprout_Ease" lids which come in a pack with 3 sizes for under $5.  A long time ago I used cheese cloth and rubber bands which worked fine but the lids are easier to use and clean so I think they are worth the little investment.

Sprouting Raw Sunflower Seeds

Put 1/2 c. raw hulled sunflower seeds in a wide mouth mason jar, fill half way with water, screw on lid.

After 8 hours, dump water through lid, rinse several times and drain by dumping water through lid one final time and shaking.

Each morning and night rinse and drain the seeds.

Within a day or so you’ll see "tails" on the seeds.  They are fine to eat now and / or later when leaves start to form in a few more days.