Veganism and the end of the world

So, after watching the much acclaimed Forks Over Knives, my husband and I made a pack to go vegan for a month. We started a couple weeks ago and we love it! I honestly thought it would be ridiculously difficult, (my first thought was, "what can I eat???"). In fact, that is the single most asked question, "Sooooo.... what do you eat?"

Its kind of bizarre that our society's diet is comprised so completely of meat products. In fact, when I first started this I thought I would be living on rice and salad for a month. It seemed everything I thought to make had eggs or cheese or meat in it. But the truth is, save a big slab of meat, you can cook pretty much any dish you love vegan. I've made sushi, some awesome curries, potato salad and sandwhiches, indian dahl, pasta dishes to die for, vegan enchiladas (recipe to come), thai spring rolls and some awesome stir-fries. It has been an adventure finding new dishes to "veganize".

The hardest part for me was to give up eggs. I get beautiful farm fresh eggs delivered every Friday and eat them usually every other day for breakfast. But, I've made do with some bomb oatmeal (yes, oatmeal can be bomb) and other tasties like fried polenta and tofu scrambles for breakfast that don't leave me wishing for eggs at all.

Not only are we interested in going vegan but we've cut out highly processed food.  I make my own whole wheat bread so we still have that, but have cut out most other processed foods, like sugar. We're using maple syrup for any sweetener we want. Also, we cut out coffee.... aaaahhhhh! No, don't stop reading, we aren't crazy! We still treat ourselves to soymilk lattes here and there, but are not making it every day. We've replaced it with green tea. The caffeine swap was more difficult than the food swap.

We've noticed that since we're eating a mainly whole foods diet that we are not as hungry as we were before (booyah!). We've also noticed we have more energy and our moods are better regulated. Now, that may not be from our food choices, but I believe it has a major part in it.

So, I strongly suggest you throw some vegan dishes into your regular diet. Considering we just got our order of free-ranged chickens from a local farm here, I don't think we'll stay completely vegan, but you never know. I am really really digging this diet and how I feel and look!

Leeky Ramp Soup

We collected wild leeks this weekend and made a delectable ramp soup. The sun was shining but the wind had a chill to the air--this soup and a baked potato with some plain yogurt and sliced leeks made a great dinner.


Easy Ramp Soup

2 large bunches wild leeks (this should produce about 1 1/2 cups chopped bulbs and 2 cups chopped leafy greens)
4 cups homemade stock
2 slices organic free ranged smoked bacon (optional)
1 onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop the leafy tops off of the ramps and set aside. Chop and sauté the bacon with the chopped onion and chopped leek bulbs (the white fleshy parts). When the plants are translucent and the bacon crisped, add the stock. Allow to cook for some time, about 20 minutes, then chop and add the leafy green tops. Cook until tender. Salt and pepper to taste. That's it!

whole wheat power pancakes

I made these for my daughter this morning and she loved them! I like mine topped with plain yogurt, my husband likes
maple syrup and Ellie takes both.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup thick cut oats
1 1/2-2 cups water
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp nutmeg
1 mashed banana
1 egg
2 Tbs. flaxseeds

The batter is pretty thick, so you don't need a lot. Makes about 8 nice sized pancakes.

Citrus Coconut Layer Cake

I went on a run the other day. I ran 7.5 miles in the rain and almost collapsed from exhaustion. However, not before I devoured a piece of this completely decedent cake that my husband and I baked. There is nothing healthy about this cake, I didn't use whole wheat flour or cut out the processed sugar as I usually do. However, the taste and texture of this little piece of heaven was well worth it.

That said, there are some things I would change: I would not make the butter-cream icing again. It was much too rich for my tastes.


Citrus Coconut Layer Cake

The Layers:
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
6 eggs
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 Tbs orange rind
1 tsp. lemon rind
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 c shredded coconut

The Citrus Curd: 
2 Tbs. tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
cold water
2 eggs
rind of one lemon
fresh orange juice
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
6 Tbs. butter (softened)

For the Frosting:
1/2 c unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup confectioner's sugar
rind of 1 lemon
6-8 Tbs of fresh orange juice
1/2-1 c shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three cake pans. Sift flour and salt together and set aside.

Place 6 eggs in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Beat with an electric mixer until frothy, then add 3/4 cup granulated sugar and beat until mixture doubles in volume (about 10 minutes).

Remove from sauce pan, fold in orange rind, lemon rind, lemon juice and coconut. Fold in the sifted flour until mixture is smooth. Divide among the three cake pans and bake until it pulls away from the sides, about 20 minutes. Let stand and then transfer to a cooling rack.

In a medium mixing bowl, blend the tapioca flour and a little cold water to dissolve. Whisk in 2 eggs and set aside.

Combine lemon rind, orange juice, water, sugar and butter. Bring mixture to a boil and whisk in the egg/tapioca flour mixture. Whisk until thick, five minutes. Remove from heat and cover.

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Stir in the lemon rind and orange juice until you obtain a thick, spreadable icing.

Arrange the layers, spreading the citrus curd in between each layer. Cover the cake with the frosting and lightly press the shredded coconut onto the tops and sides.

Yummy Naan bread

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4 Tbs melted butter or oil
1 1/2 kefir, yogurt or buttermilk
2 Tbs water

Mix by hand or in mixer for 10 minutes. Allow to rise until doubled more than 1 1/2 hrs. Punch down and divide into 16 pieces, roll out into pancake shapes, brush with melted butter and bake at 475 for 6-8 minutes.

Whole wheat French Bread

It worked! Got a French bread loaf that was healthy and full of whole wheat, but light and crusty like French bread. Here it is:

1 c whole wheat flour
1 c white whole wheat flour
1 c Unbleached flour
4 tsp vital wheat gluten
1 3/4 c warm water
1 Tbs yeast
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs oil


Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix in half of flour, salt and oil until well blended. Gradually add remaining flour. Knead by hand or in mixer for ten minutes. Allow to rise in an oiled dish covered, until doubled. Punch down and allow to rise again. Punch down and form two small loaves or one large loaf. Leave to rise on parchment paper sprinkled well with cornmeal. Preheat oven and baking stone to 500 degrees. Place a pan underneath stone. Once risen and preheated, carefully slide bread to stone, throw a cup of water in the pan and close the oven door. Turn heat down to 425 and bake for 30 or until golden brown on top and hollow when tapped on bottom.

Healthier Banana Muffins

I had a bunch of bananas past their prime and so i set out to make a healthy alternative to banana bread. I took King Arthur Flour's Heavenly Healthy Banana Bread and cut out the -gasp!- stick of butter, then added some other tasty treats and baked muffins instead of bread. I was pretty happy how these muffins turned out and Ellie ate four of them in a few hours, so I think I scored! Here's the recipe:

Ellie's Banana Muffins

2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs veg oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberries)
1/4 cup wheat germ

Baked in muffin pan at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until baked through and browned at the top.