Green Cabbage Steaks with Black Olive Tapenade
Lately I seem to be having a love affair with cabbage. I’ve already made these green cabbage steaks three times; twice before I ate them so fast I completely neglected taking pictures of them, never mind sharing any with anyone else. I don’t think Melissa actually believes that I made them at all because there’s never anything left when she comes ’round and no one else knows anything about them either. It’s like a covert operation. This time around I only had enough cabbage to make two steaks but I remembered to take pictures as evidence. I really am doing the work! Unfortunately, once again I ate both of those…
Prune Hamantaschen
A day late and a dollar short as they say. My intention was to make prune hamantaschen in time for Purim but I didn’t have prunes in the house. That wasn’t the only reason why they weren’t ready. I had wanted them to have a closer consistency to the real thing and the dehydrator wasn’t cooperating. I like my new dehydrator. Marie and her family got it for me for Christmas. The problem is I got so used to having Marie’s professional one in the house that I get frustrated; my home dehydrator takes a lot more time. I hadn’t allotted for that difference and depending on which dehydrator you…
Savory Nori Seaweed Crackers
I hadn’t made these seaweed crackers in a long time and I’ll be damned if I can figure out why not. They were one of the foods that I was introduced to early on in my raw experiences and I remember liking them immediately. Now everyone here likes them too. No sooner were they out of the dehydrator and everyone got a first taste, they quickly ascended to ‘favorite’ status. And even though I made two trays of them, I’m already getting orders to make more. A success story if there ever was one. Melissa doesn’t like seaweed. Period. So she wouldn’t even try one to be polite. Her nephew…
Rye Bread
Oh boy! I don’t think there’s anything more difficult in raw preparation than coming up with a raw-vegan bread. So when I asked Marie if we could eat rye raw (say that 10 times fast). I was thrilled when she said yes. And our rye bread pursuit began. Rye bread is very aromatic. The scent comes from caraway seeds and not the rye bread itself. So be generous when adding it if you want it to taste like the rye bread you’re used to. If it was up to Marie it would be called Caraway Bread instead, she wanted me to use twice as much. Warning to those that are…
Mom’s Vanilla Apricot Macaroons
My mother was really quite the cook but, hands down, baking was her favorite thing to do. It was also my dad’s favorite thing for her to do because he had quite the sweet tooth and she catered to it completely. Needless to say, my sister and I were not complaining much about it either. Our house was like a horn of plenty, always filled with multiple tins of home-baked goods and likely some more lining up in the oven. My mother literally lived for school bake sales. It was the one time she tooted her own horn because her concoctions were always the first to get sold. Inevitably she…
Rose Hips and Blood Orange Super Cookies
In the mood for a cookie but don’t want to cheat on your diet? Well don’t pass up this incredibly healthy and delicious high fiber, antioxidant goodie. I drink rose hips and hibiscus tea all winter, usually mixing my own recipe with dried orange peels. And when I feel even an inkling of a cold, I drink this elixir every 2 hours as hot as I can stand it. For me it works every time. While winter begs for high vitamin C, please be cautious as it can interact with medications. Too much vitamin C can affect the kidneys, hormones and blood thinners. The benefits in fighting inflammation and boosting…
“Braised” Brussel Sprouts with Cranberry Vinegar
I know, I know, a lot of you are not fans of brussel sprouts. Well around here they are a popular side dish that are scoffed up in moments. Like with everything we make around here, most of our dishes come from cravings. While out shopping I saw the balsamic brussel sprouts sitting in the deli counter and I was hungry. I figured a little cheat wouldn’t hurt, but as I stood in line to order, I noticed how wilted they looked. The lone cranberry sitting on top was dark and barely recognizable. The food looked sad to me, even the color started to look a bit unappetizing and I…
Apple Pear Cardamom Tart
What is it about winter nights by the fire that always gets me yearning for something comforting and warm like apple pie with cinnamon? And maybe a dollop of whipped cream? When I mentioned this at home one evening, everyone got really excited – as they generally do whenever I bring up the prospect of making something sweet. I only wish I’d get such an enthusiastic response to making a new salad! Instead of plain old apple pie, however, I remembered something I created years ago for an especially large Thanksgiving celebration: an Apple Pear Cardamom Tart. That tart lasted all of 5 minutes…I kid you not. Of course, that…
Coconut and Kelp Noodle Ramen
I’ve had a yen to make something like a raw ramen for a while now but I really wasn’t in the mood for any more zucchini noodles. Recently, a guest who was staying here for awhile left behind a package of kelp noodles and that was all the encouragement I needed. While this doesn’t quite mimic regular ramen, we all have to admit that when we think of ramen, we’re thinking of that packaged brick of noodles with the spice packet included. The thing many of us survived on in college. So I’m glad to say that this meal could not even be placed in the same category. But it…
Red Deviled Tomatoes
Deviled eggs were a perrenial favorite once upon a ‘not vegan’. I remember seeing them every time I went to any kind of event, whether it was a fancy grown-up function or a some parent/teacher get together at my kid’s school. But, in an effort to remove animal products from our picture, the deviled egg went to the wayside too. So, how do we get that deviled taste without the egg? How did we possibly come to deviled tomatoes? The answer to the whole conundrum came to me in a shape. The Roma tomato is kind of egg-shaped isn’t it? I actually do have to ask you this question since…
