I snagged this recipe from Ani Phyo . I do not remember how I stumbled upon her, but I am guessing it was about raw food or from another cooking blog. Suffice it to say she is wonderful. She is down to earth and someone I would easily invite to my home and feel comfortable around.
I also subscribe to her on Youtube. She is just so cute to watch and see how she does things. She does have a few recipes on her website, but the majority of them are in her cookbooks. I will eventually be buying her books, but for now I just keep googling raw food for websites and blogs.
Watch her in action at a festival.
I tried to upload the video of her, but I could not get it to do so, so please check her out and make these scrumptious little devils.
1&1/2-2 cups rolled oats
1 cup pitted dates, chopped
1 cup of raisins
1 t cinnamon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Place oats in glass bowl with cinnamon. Stir together until mixed. Chop dates into a semi-fine mush. May I suggest that you oil your knife. We use coconut oil. Add dates to oatmeal mixture. Toss in the raisins. Oil your hands with coconut oil or with warm water. I used coconut oil and it lasted a good amount of time. Keep on mashing together by hand. It will take about 5 minutes, but oh the biceps you will have.
Once the mixture is to a dough-like consistency (you will know) then start forming them into golf ball sized rounds then flatten them into cookie shapes. Bada-Boom, bada bing you are ready to eat these puppies.
My son, who is the pickiest eater I know, tried a small sample then asked for a bigger cookie. Who's your momma now son? Yeah, I thought so!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Vegging In Orlando
Who would have thought? We (meaning my daughter and myself) usually dread going to eat anywhere. Why you may ask. Don't bother, for I am going to tell you. First and foremost, we are vegetarians, which in the world of food, makes us weirdos to begin with. Being green is another thing to add to the weirdo-ness of our make-up.
We are in Orlando Florida for an sci-fi, anime, comic convention. We have been lucky enough to be close to said convention...about 2 miles. We packed food, knowing how difficult it would be to find a place that could feed us the way we need to be fed.
As we rolled into Orlando amid a very rainy day, we took a wrong turn. But in doing so we stumbled upon a Lebanese restaurant. We knew this from the name of the restaurant, Cedar's. We found our hotel just a few moments later. We then hopped on to the laptop and searched for vegetarian restaurants. We found a few, but the reviews were very mixed. So, we opened all the places that fell into the vegetarian category. And #4 on the list was...yep, you guessed it, Cedar's.
Then it hit us, my son, who is not a vegetarian, could also eat there, knowing that this was not a strictly vegetarian restaurant. So I closed the laptop and off we went. Much to my surprise, this place rocked the house. What you have to remember, is that I am married into a family of Syrians. So I know first hand how real Middle Eastern food should taste. And let me tell you, this place nailed it perfectly.
Not only was the food excellent, but so was the atmosphere, and the help. They were friendly and a joy to be around. The place was decently packed, but not so much so that you were in line around the building. I would recommend this place to anyone who visits Orlando. Those who are even vegan could also eat here, for the dishes Savanah and I ordered, were vegan. BOO-YAH!
I am going to give you the address and phone number if any of you ever want to come for a stay and have no clue where to eat. And do not fear, this place also serves meat, so you can go with mixed company and feel fine.
Cedar's Restaurant
407-351-6000
7732 West Lake Road
Orlando Fl. 32819
We are in Orlando Florida for an sci-fi, anime, comic convention. We have been lucky enough to be close to said convention...about 2 miles. We packed food, knowing how difficult it would be to find a place that could feed us the way we need to be fed.
As we rolled into Orlando amid a very rainy day, we took a wrong turn. But in doing so we stumbled upon a Lebanese restaurant. We knew this from the name of the restaurant, Cedar's. We found our hotel just a few moments later. We then hopped on to the laptop and searched for vegetarian restaurants. We found a few, but the reviews were very mixed. So, we opened all the places that fell into the vegetarian category. And #4 on the list was...yep, you guessed it, Cedar's.
Then it hit us, my son, who is not a vegetarian, could also eat there, knowing that this was not a strictly vegetarian restaurant. So I closed the laptop and off we went. Much to my surprise, this place rocked the house. What you have to remember, is that I am married into a family of Syrians. So I know first hand how real Middle Eastern food should taste. And let me tell you, this place nailed it perfectly.
Not only was the food excellent, but so was the atmosphere, and the help. They were friendly and a joy to be around. The place was decently packed, but not so much so that you were in line around the building. I would recommend this place to anyone who visits Orlando. Those who are even vegan could also eat here, for the dishes Savanah and I ordered, were vegan. BOO-YAH!
I am going to give you the address and phone number if any of you ever want to come for a stay and have no clue where to eat. And do not fear, this place also serves meat, so you can go with mixed company and feel fine.
Cedar's Restaurant
407-351-6000
7732 West Lake Road
Orlando Fl. 32819
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Best Ever Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
I have no clue where I found this recipe. I always try to give credit where credit is due. So I scoured my cookbooks, blogs and found nada. So whoever I snatched this form...there is place for you in the cosmos.
This recipe took all of about 10 minutes to put together, save for the freezing part. And they were perfect in my opinion. My daughter thinks they needed more sweetener, but I disagree. But then again she has a sweet tooth.
This is so close to raw it is scary. And putting raw into my diet is definitely becoming something I am enjoying. So give these a try. You will not be sorry.
1/4 cup soy milk (we used what was in the frig)
2T cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2T sugar (we used raw sugar)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup uncooked oats
2t olive oil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add soy milk, cocoa powder and sugar in a small nonstick saucepan over low heat and stir often until sugar dissolves and all ingredients mix nicely.
DO NOT BOIL (soy milk will curdle and that is ICKY my friends), but make sure it gets very hot. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and stir into mix until melted.
Stir in oatmeal and oil.
Drop with a greased tablespoon into 16 balls onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper, or spray with non-stick spray. Freeze (covered, if desired) for a minimum of 4 hours. They are better the next day after you make them (This is true)
And yes my friends you eat them frozen. Forget Hagen-Daz, this rules the freezer.
Preparation time: Fast. There is no baking. Hello summer cookies, this is Florida we are talking about.
This recipe took all of about 10 minutes to put together, save for the freezing part. And they were perfect in my opinion. My daughter thinks they needed more sweetener, but I disagree. But then again she has a sweet tooth.
This is so close to raw it is scary. And putting raw into my diet is definitely becoming something I am enjoying. So give these a try. You will not be sorry.
1/4 cup soy milk (we used what was in the frig)
2T cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2T sugar (we used raw sugar)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup uncooked oats
2t olive oil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add soy milk, cocoa powder and sugar in a small nonstick saucepan over low heat and stir often until sugar dissolves and all ingredients mix nicely.
DO NOT BOIL (soy milk will curdle and that is ICKY my friends), but make sure it gets very hot. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and stir into mix until melted.
Stir in oatmeal and oil.
Drop with a greased tablespoon into 16 balls onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper, or spray with non-stick spray. Freeze (covered, if desired) for a minimum of 4 hours. They are better the next day after you make them (This is true)
And yes my friends you eat them frozen. Forget Hagen-Daz, this rules the freezer.
Preparation time: Fast. There is no baking. Hello summer cookies, this is Florida we are talking about.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Black Bean Vinaigrette
I cannot believe I have not posted this salad yet. I had one of my husbands buddies come over for dinner tonight and I had not made this salad in eons. So before going to work this morning, I soaked the beans then came home, and was able to cook them in about 30 minutes. Darn I love soaking beans and moreso in baking soda.
Anyhow, I knew it called for two ingredients I did not have at home so I made sure I picked them up before leaving to come home from work. And those were cilantro and tomato juice or vegetable juice. today I used tomato juice. Plus thee extra can be used in Bloody Mary's.
This is best served warm or at room temperature. I have had it cooled and it is not the same. Not bad, just not the same. Make this and know there is something else to do with beans.
1&1/4 cups dry black beans, soaked over night or all day long
4-5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 t salt
1 T red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic minced (we used our press)
1/4 t cumin
1 t hot sauce
1 T chopped cilantro
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable juice
1/2 green, yellow and red bell pepper diced
1 red onion, diced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
sprigs of cilantro for garnish
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drain soaked beans and rinse well. Put in a large saucepan with water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat, cover and simmer until soft, about 1-1&1/2 hours. Drain beans, remove bay leaf and return beans to saucepan.
In a small bowl, combine salt, vinegar, garlic, cumin, hot sauce, cilantro and olive oil. Pour over beans. Toss well. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro sprigs and toss gently. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with cilantro.
This is one of those salads that will do well in any season. Make it and enjoy it like we do.
Anyhow, I knew it called for two ingredients I did not have at home so I made sure I picked them up before leaving to come home from work. And those were cilantro and tomato juice or vegetable juice. today I used tomato juice. Plus thee extra can be used in Bloody Mary's.
This is best served warm or at room temperature. I have had it cooled and it is not the same. Not bad, just not the same. Make this and know there is something else to do with beans.
1&1/4 cups dry black beans, soaked over night or all day long
4-5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 t salt
1 T red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic minced (we used our press)
1/4 t cumin
1 t hot sauce
1 T chopped cilantro
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable juice
1/2 green, yellow and red bell pepper diced
1 red onion, diced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
sprigs of cilantro for garnish
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drain soaked beans and rinse well. Put in a large saucepan with water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat, cover and simmer until soft, about 1-1&1/2 hours. Drain beans, remove bay leaf and return beans to saucepan.
In a small bowl, combine salt, vinegar, garlic, cumin, hot sauce, cilantro and olive oil. Pour over beans. Toss well. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro sprigs and toss gently. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with cilantro.
This is one of those salads that will do well in any season. Make it and enjoy it like we do.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Garlicky Caeser Dressing
I love not having to buy bottled dressings. Now, if I cold only get my husband to stop buying them. That is not to say I have not fallen off the wagon and used bottled dressing when it is in the house, but my preference is to stay clear of those processed things in a bottle. I went to the produce market today and felt inspired to cook, prepare something...anything. I also keep seeing this picture of a cold pasta salad in the grocery stores I work in. And due to the fact it is a chain of stores the picture is the same in every single store. That is not a complaint.
It is a basic elbow noodle salad, and for color there are black olives, red onion, grape tomatoes and possibly some green peppers. But suffice it to say it is your basic colorful pasta salad. Now I have not had the time to devote to cold pasta salads as I would like to, but I am getting rolling now. For both my husband and I do not have access to any way to warm our noon meals if we are working. So, salads it is. But even for us vegetarians, that can get old after a while. So I thought I would take a whack at this cold pasta salad thing tonight.
The salad ingredients were simple enough, but now it was to the dressing part. I had to get it just right or the salad would die if they, meaning the salad and dressing, did not get along. Along comes the Cooking Lady and I saved the day. I found a scrumptious dressing to pair wonderfully with any salad, greens included. So try this salad out for size and see what you think.
This dressing came from the book I snagged at the withdrawn section of a library down in Fort Lauderdale for $.50...who knew!! Vegetarian Times Complete Cook Book.
Approximately 2 cups cooked elbow pasta
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 red onion, sliced to your liking
1 stalk celery, cut to your liking
Black olives would be perfect for this dish, but we had none
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4-5 cloves garlic (I put them through the press)
1 t virgin olive oil
1 t red wine vinegar
2 t balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 t water
1/2 t dry mustard
1-2 drops hot sauce (I added a bit more)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With a fork, mash garlic in thee olive oil. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Let the dressing sit overnight in your frig if you want a stronger garlic flavor. Trust me this is strong enough without having to sit overnight, but it is your call. This was a grand way to use cold pasta that we had no idea what to do with. Thank you cold pasta recipes. **Make sure your pasta has completely cooled before adding the dressing.**
It is a basic elbow noodle salad, and for color there are black olives, red onion, grape tomatoes and possibly some green peppers. But suffice it to say it is your basic colorful pasta salad. Now I have not had the time to devote to cold pasta salads as I would like to, but I am getting rolling now. For both my husband and I do not have access to any way to warm our noon meals if we are working. So, salads it is. But even for us vegetarians, that can get old after a while. So I thought I would take a whack at this cold pasta salad thing tonight.
The salad ingredients were simple enough, but now it was to the dressing part. I had to get it just right or the salad would die if they, meaning the salad and dressing, did not get along. Along comes the Cooking Lady and I saved the day. I found a scrumptious dressing to pair wonderfully with any salad, greens included. So try this salad out for size and see what you think.
This dressing came from the book I snagged at the withdrawn section of a library down in Fort Lauderdale for $.50...who knew!! Vegetarian Times Complete Cook Book.
Approximately 2 cups cooked elbow pasta
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 red onion, sliced to your liking
1 stalk celery, cut to your liking
Black olives would be perfect for this dish, but we had none
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4-5 cloves garlic (I put them through the press)
1 t virgin olive oil
1 t red wine vinegar
2 t balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 t water
1/2 t dry mustard
1-2 drops hot sauce (I added a bit more)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With a fork, mash garlic in thee olive oil. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Let the dressing sit overnight in your frig if you want a stronger garlic flavor. Trust me this is strong enough without having to sit overnight, but it is your call. This was a grand way to use cold pasta that we had no idea what to do with. Thank you cold pasta recipes. **Make sure your pasta has completely cooled before adding the dressing.**
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Potato Latkes
I know these are well renowned in the Jewish community, but can I say how much I love these things? I mean, just potatoes alone, you can do like a million things with them. And then add onions. Wow oh wow. I got this from one of my vegetarian books that I snagged at the low price of what...$.50.
But I was hankering for some new recipes. And since my life has been helter skelter during the holidays, it is a joy to get back to trying to new foods and posting again. My first love is food and feel bad when I cannot share things with my readers. So try this. It is simple and oh so easy to make.
1&1/2 pounds of potatoes, grated
2 small onions, minced (we used one large)
3T cornstarch
1T finely chopped fresh parsley (we were out)
Dash freshly ground pepper
2T soy sauce or tamari
Nonstick cooking spray (we used a thin layer of oil)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mix all thee ingredients in a bowl. Coat a skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Form 3-inch patties and cook over medium heat until crisp on both sides.
These were great, bu I would lower the heat a bit and cook them a bit longer, or just puree the onions. Either way I am good to go. Did I mention I love potatoes?
But I was hankering for some new recipes. And since my life has been helter skelter during the holidays, it is a joy to get back to trying to new foods and posting again. My first love is food and feel bad when I cannot share things with my readers. So try this. It is simple and oh so easy to make.
1&1/2 pounds of potatoes, grated
2 small onions, minced (we used one large)
3T cornstarch
1T finely chopped fresh parsley (we were out)
Dash freshly ground pepper
2T soy sauce or tamari
Nonstick cooking spray (we used a thin layer of oil)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mix all thee ingredients in a bowl. Coat a skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Form 3-inch patties and cook over medium heat until crisp on both sides.
These were great, bu I would lower the heat a bit and cook them a bit longer, or just puree the onions. Either way I am good to go. Did I mention I love potatoes?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Carrot-Raisin Muffins
I love muffins. Always have...always will. So when I got Vegan With A Vengeance for Christmas, I knew I would be searching for some new muffin recipes. Now keep in mind that I got a jumbo muffin tin at my AVON holiday party as a Chinese gift exchange. Who better to get such a gift. We have used it a few times already.
Before I got so healthy, I loved muffins just the same, except they were laden with sugar, on thee inside and out. But I am now exploring some great recipes with so much less sugar added. And my first reaction still is to say, 'Hey, these are not sweet enough.' But then I realize what I just said and move on. These are definitely a keeper, except I will need to alter the time they are baked. We need to extend our time, for the time given is not long enough for my oven. Try these, eat these and make these again.
1/2 cup raisins
1&1/2 cups flour (we used half spelt and half soft white. Remember we grind our own wheat)
2t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground or freshly grated nutmeg (I was able to use freshly grated. Thank you microplaner)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2t salt
1 cup rice or say milk (we used almond)
1/4 cup canola oil (we used olive)
1t vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or lightly grease. ( we use coconut oil) Soak the raisins in a bowl of hot water and begin preparing your batter. In a large mixing bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the milk, oil, and vanilla; mix with wooden spoon until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots. Remove the raisins from the water and fold in. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, (we need at least 25 for our oven) until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack.
They are healthy and taste good, a concept most folks who are not vegetarians or are poor esters cannot understand. Make them and sit down with a cup of java or tea, they deserve that much at least.
Before I got so healthy, I loved muffins just the same, except they were laden with sugar, on thee inside and out. But I am now exploring some great recipes with so much less sugar added. And my first reaction still is to say, 'Hey, these are not sweet enough.' But then I realize what I just said and move on. These are definitely a keeper, except I will need to alter the time they are baked. We need to extend our time, for the time given is not long enough for my oven. Try these, eat these and make these again.
1/2 cup raisins
1&1/2 cups flour (we used half spelt and half soft white. Remember we grind our own wheat)
2t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground or freshly grated nutmeg (I was able to use freshly grated. Thank you microplaner)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2t salt
1 cup rice or say milk (we used almond)
1/4 cup canola oil (we used olive)
1t vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or lightly grease. ( we use coconut oil) Soak the raisins in a bowl of hot water and begin preparing your batter. In a large mixing bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the milk, oil, and vanilla; mix with wooden spoon until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots. Remove the raisins from the water and fold in. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, (we need at least 25 for our oven) until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack.
They are healthy and taste good, a concept most folks who are not vegetarians or are poor esters cannot understand. Make them and sit down with a cup of java or tea, they deserve that much at least.
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