Archive for food
You are browsing the archives of food.
Fish
Check out the Audubon’s National Seafood Wallet Cards. Free to download.
Consult the card when you go to restaurants or markets with fish on your mind. Your seafood choices can help make our oceans healthy again.
Environmental Defense Fund shows how to make smart choices when eating seafood. They have info also as a pocket guide or accessible on your cellphone.
For those taking fish oil supplements as a source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, they also list which major U.S. producers of fish oil supplements purify their products to reduce or remove contaminants like mercury and dioxins.
General Dining Etiquette
Do not talk with your mouth full. I’ve had meals with people who constantly talk while they eat. After that first time, I try to position myself at the dining table away from them. It’s not that the person is bad, it’s their dining habits that I won’t deal with. I’d rather eat the food on my plate – not what came flying out of someone else’s mouth while they were talking with their mouth full.
Did you know that the point of etiquette rules is to make you feel comfortable, not uncomfortable? The idea is that if there are standards that people abide by, then you can have confidence that you are behaving “appropriately.” It takes the guesswork out of public behavior. I was blessed to have parents who taught me dining etiquette, but many people are not so fortunate.
However, there simply isn’t time in the day to set aside a separate amount for eating and for talking. By combining the two activities, an incredible amount of time can be saved. Also, none of your companions will ever need to ask what you had for lunch again. They will know, because they can see. Please speak with your mouth full is a tongue-in-cheek article of the benefits of mid-masticational interaction.
Cereal & Parfait
My favorite cereal is Nature’s Path brand cereal Pumpkin FlaxPlus Granola. It’s vegetarian, has no trans fats, is whole grain and low in sodium (20mg per serving). Plus it has the UDSA Organic symbol on the box. Nature’s Path also has a great looking Granola Strawberry Parfait recipe that I hope to try this weekend. It calls for ricotta, yogurt and strawberry jam but I think I’ll swap that out for vegan versions of ricotta and yogurt, and real strawberries.
Vegetarian Thanksgiving
Misc links for a vegetarian Thanksgiving.
Vegan Holiday Dinner Recipes
Bryanna’s Vegan Holiday Menu
Gentle Thanksgiving
Vegetarian Thanksgiving (Vegan Friendly!)
Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu
Vegetarian Entrees for the Holidays
191 Vegan & Thanksgiving recipes
A Vegetarian Thanksgiving with Tofu and Seitan
Tasty Tofu Roast
Ingredients:
6 lbs. firm tofu
Stuffing:
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups cubed whole wheat bread
2 cups cubed corn bread
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)
Basting Liquid:
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
Directions:
One hour before cooking, mash the tofu and drain it well.
To make the stuffing, sauté the onion and celery in the sesame oil; mix the seasonings into the cubed bread; combine everything, adding enough vegetable broth to moisten; add nuts if desired.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Press the tofu with your hands to form a hollow center, fill with the stuffing mixture, and press down; flip the tofu onto an oiled baking sheet.
Baste the tofu with 3/4 of the sesame oil and soy sauce mixture, cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour; remove foil, baste again with the remaining basting mixture, return to the hot oven, and bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until golden.
Transfer to a serving platter and serve with gravy.
For this and other Thanksgiving recipes, visit www.GentleThanksgiving.org
Mac & Cheese
Mac & Cheese
I liked macaroni and cheese when I was a kid. It usually came out of a box. I’ve tasted many kinds – from the name brand blue box (usually the most expensive) to the old no name brand box that was white with red stripes (dirt cheap). It comes as no surprise that my kid likes mac and cheese too. While we are trying to eat healthier, we’ve tasted many brands new to us. One of our favorite brands is Annie’s. It has been difficult to eat healthy and stay within budget. On a recent trip to Big Logs, we found D.W. Whole Wheat Pasta & Alfredo! Who knew Big Lots had healthy items? That was our lunch today. We’ve found it filling and yummy. My kid likes Annies because it has different cheeses (other than orange cheese). Annie’s also has organic mac and cheese. And to beaf up your mac & cheese, pun intended, Annie’s has some great looking recipes.
Pumpkin-Ginger Soup
Pumpkin-Ginger Soup
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
1 small cooking pumpkin
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or to taste)
salt to taste
Directions:
Soak cashews in water to cover for several hours. This step is optional, but helps them blend better. Cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds, and bake cut side down at 350 degrees F until very tender (45 minutes to one hour). Scrape pumpkin from the peel and puree in a blender, with any juices, in batches. Put pureed pumpkin into your soup pot. Blend cashews in blender until smooth and add to the pumpkin puree. Rinse the blender with a little water and add to the pot. Add a little more water if its too thick. Add ginger and salt to taste and heat gently for a few minutes to blend the flavors. For an even easier variation, use frozen, cooked squash.
recipe credit http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=10540.0;wap2
This recipe looks simple, inexpensive and tasty to try this weekend. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Portobello Ragú
Ingredients:
1 lb. RP’s Fresh Tri-color Fusilli
4 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 lb. portobello mushrooms cleaned and cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 t fresh rosemary chopped fine
1 28oz can good quality crushed tomatoes
1/4 T black pepper
salt to taste
fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Preparation
Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the garlic. Cook garlic for about 30 seconds, do not brown. Add portobello mushrooms and onion and sauté till slightly softened. Add all of the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 min. partially covered. Boil fresh pasta until tender. Drain the pasta and top with portobello ragú.
Pumpkin Roll
A co-worker let me use her recipe on my website, Homeschooling on a Shoestring. I’ve reprinted it here for the holiday season. I like it, however it is quick thick tasting, you definitely need a glass of milk and I’m sure it’s not health-friendly at all. If you know a good Vegan version, let me know.
Pumpkin Roll
Cake:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup solid pack pumpkin
Mix and set aside.
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Blend in with top mixture.
Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix until creamy.
Spread on cookie sheet, sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 325ºF for about 15 minutes or until done. Dust towel with powdered sugar. Turn cake over on towel and roll up. Allow to cool completely. Mix filling. Unroll towel and spread filling over cake. Roll up, wrap and freeze.
Vegan Twinkies
Having a snacking moment but cannot find anything good in the fridge. These Vegan Twinkies look like a good thing to make.
