Everyday Dish DVD Review

I have been enjoying the DVD "Everyday Dish" which features Julie Hasson, Dreena Burton and Bryanna Clark Grogan, along with some of their delicious recipes. The DVD format is great for me because my computer is within sight in the kitchen so I was able to watch and prepare along with the pros! I could see it being done, then watch it while using the printable recipes. I would do the prep work and set out the ingredients, then cue up the DVD, and mise en place I really had fun! I've watched some sections several times and I will eventually try everything in the DVD, but I'm at a point now to show some of the great results I got.

I made Julie's 'Nora's Cake' and 'Chocolate Espresso Frosting' for my mom's birthday. This cake is very easy to make and super-delicious. It's light and very chocolatey. I was so taken with Amey's cake design, that I made my own snowflake stencil to shake powdered sugar over. Mom said she'd only seen this done with doilies, which would be amazing. One tip -- don't use candles (or at least don't blow them out) as my Mom gave us all a surprise accidental dusting of sugar as we finished singing to her. I had to flaten out the frosting for the stencil design, but you should know this frosting is very light and fluffy.
Here's Julie's 'Deli Style Noodle Soup' which is a snap to prepare, and makes the house smell delicious... as if you've been slaving for hours. After prep, it only takes 25 minutes to assemble soup that may remind you of your childhood - warm & comforting. Watching the DVD imparts tons of information you can't glean from a flat cookbook, like: product identification, professional techniques & tips, substitutions, variations, visual step-by-step, quick recipes, and even fun cooking terms. Plus, you get to watch seasoned vegan chefs sharing their trade right in your home.

Dreena's 'Sundried Tomato Humus' is a welcome twist on an old favorite. We enjoyed having this on hand this week for quick snacking, and thought the flavor only improved the next day. Make it the night before your next gathering for some easy & impressive entertaining. Pairs well with a bottle of red wine!





Dreena's 'Chocolate Mint Melties' "Scratch every other cookie off the list. This is the one." were Art's words after eating this cookie. My mouth was too busy chewing, so I just nodded my head in agreement and giggled at Liv's chocolate-smeared face, as we gobbled them all up. I had to reassure Art that I had another endangered species Dark Chocolate with Deep Forest bar. We can & will make more.



Bryanna's 'Vegan Chicken Cutlets' prepared one way she suggests. She shares how she breads the cutlets (w/o egg, of course!) to make them veinerschnitzel style, which is what I did here. I may not have tackled this recipe without the video demonstration, which really clarifies so much. I figured out how to make the patties more uniform, as well as sped up this process considerably -- I formed the patties by placing the cutlet between parchment paper and pressing, unfold the paper and a perfect cutlet is formed and easily removed from the parchment paper. This recipe will replace most of the boxed faux meats that we currently purchase. They're easy to make, quick to prepare, totally delicious, and extremely versatile as you'll see in the next photo...
Here are Bryanna's 'Vegan Chicken Cutlets' made Art's style, which has been dinner the past two nights. (we have gone through 16 cutlets this week!) He slices the cutlets, then grills them in a pan with some light oil, and repeatedly adds bar-b-que sauce and serves on a bun with fresh greens and tomato slices. This sandwich totally rocks. I see no reason to fiddle around with other seitan recipes. The search is over. I'm set. But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised because I've heard Bryanna is the faux meat queen. These cutlets are really that good.

Bryanna's 'Lemon-Lime Bars' are a perfect summertime treat. They're light and similar to cheesecake, with a superb tangy tropical flavor. Make them the night before company arrives. Toast some shaved coconut, top with lime zest, and perhaps a mint sprig. Or, you can sneak bites straight out of the pan at midnight like we've done the past few nights.

If you've ever dreamed of watching a vegan cooking show, then this DVD was made for you; there are more clips to see on the Everyday Dish link.

Oatmeal-Banana-Chocolate Chip Cookies

I veganized, twisted and flipped a recipe from this cookbook that I found for one dollar at a garage sale. I owned this book as a kid and loved it. It brings back memories!

Heat oven to 375* & Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Stir together in bowl:
1 C. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger

Add:
1 C. brown sugar (packed)
1 C. rolled oats


Mix in thoroughly:
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp vanilla soy milk
1/4 C. mashed banana

Stir in:
1/4 C. chocolate chips

Bake for about 12 minutes, then cool on the sheet a minute before transferring to a rack. These taste better the next day, if they last that long! I got 16 cookies.

Planting Trees

I'm really going to miss these six little trees. I found them about a year ago - volunteers sprouting around the yard. I knew they had to be pulled, but wanted them to live, so I transplanted them to terra cotta pots, and babied them all year long. They've grown so much, but the pots had become root bound. Mom said they'd take them on their property. My mom is a tree freak, I guess that's where I get it. Here they are ready to go.



Each of the six trees we planted represented each of us: Mom, Bill, Liv, Abi, Art, & I. Here I am holding my tree, which was planted East of Arts, and North of the girls.

Trees are green machines that act as natural filters of our air. Through the process of photosynthesis they absorb carbon dioxide (principle contributor to global warming) from the atmosphere and store it in their trunk, branches, leaves, roots, soil and foliage, while releasing oxygen back out - like magic.

Here's Mom holding her tree. She was pretty excited about it all! lol!

But, "First", she said, "we'll need energy, so I'll make lunch -- and I even have something that you'll like, Vicki!"

I admit to being very skeptical about that.





We went in the kitchen, and she pulls this box from the garage freezer all secretive. "Shhh, don't tell Bill, he doesn't know they aren't meat hamburgers. He likes a more manly meal, you know."

I didn't ask her to explain, I just sliced avocado, tomato, and pickles while she leafed the lettuce and toasted the whole wheat bread.
She was right, I really liked that lunch a lot. You know, I think she's getting it!


A "non-manly" meal didn't seem to hold Bill back from digging 6 holes in the ground! He never mentioned the switch-a-roo. Maybe he can't tell the difference? Maybe he knows, but won't let on because he prefers Boca? Who knows who has the other one fooled, but it's a funny game they play!

See Jolie back there running around?




Both girls helped plant their trees, and theirs are directly South of mine.

The brown paper bag was planted along with each tree. We were all quite proud of ourselves for being so green, and I can't wait to go back and see how our trees are fairing.






The Nez Perce reservation in Lapwai, Idaho, have begun a very cool program. The native people are creating jobs and restoring their lands by planting trees as carbon offsets.

Love Trees is another cool carbon offsetting tree program. Give a tree. Plant a tree. Hug a tree.

He who plants a tree
Plants a hope.
~Lucy Larcom, "Plant a Tree"

Soup, Salad, & Bread

This 'Banana Carob Almond Coconut Loaf' from ExtraVeganZa (pg. 125) was delicious! I used equal amounts of whole wheat pasty flour and spelt flour, and the recipe is actually for muffins, but I decided to just dump the mix in a loaf pan and it baked through nicely. The recipe also calls for chopped almonds inside the batter, but I knew the girls wouldn't go for it that way, so I put sliced almonds on top, which is easy to remove. Art and I ate several slices, and this is a yummy recipe with several flavors that compliment each other perfectly.


Here is a bread bowl of 'Potato-Asparagus Soup' from Vegan with a Vengeance (p. 99) I had an abundance of potatoes and asparagus to use up, and like magic, I found this recipe. Isa admits to not spicing up this recipe much because asparagus is her favorite vegetable and she wanted its flavor to shine through. It shined a little too much for us, and we added several shakes of chili powder and sea salt, which kicked it up a notch. I'm a huge fan of this cookbook, but this recipe turned out just OK. Look at the fresh lacy dill from my herb barrel!

For Memorial Day we went to a barbecue at Fred & Wendy's house. She asked me to bring a salad, and my standby is 'Quinoa Spring Salad' from Vive le Vegan! (pg. 71) Art took this photo right before leaving, and the wind blew off, and took away the fresh cilantro garnish! I LOVE this salad, and this is a double recipe. Fred thoughtfully grilled some portobello mushrooms for us on the grill knowing we are veggie. Thanks for a fun party!



There was left-over salad from the party, so Art and I ate cups of salad the next day. Nasturtiums are growing like weeds in my herb barrel, so I dressed them up Hawaiian style!









More cups of salad! This time, I made a 'Simple Slaw' which had shredded cabbage, carrots, and green onion. It's tossed with Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette, which is a light dressing. I also added some sunflower seeds to mine after the photo - I like crunchy food!

Stay cool this summer! Looks like another hot one - we are already breaking records here in Idaho (yesterday was 20 degrees higher than the record!), and our power bill went up 20% because of the lack of moisture over the winter. Is it 2008 yet?

Summer Fun! (No cookin' today)

We actually did more than just eat while in California! Really, we did.

I wanted to share part of that, so here are some shots from two of our favorite places in So Cal. The first is Centennial Farm @ OC Fairgrounds, I've blogged about the farm before. The second is the beach @ 19th Street in Newport.

The Beach @ 19th Street (Newport, CA)

Restaurant Review: Native Foods (Costa Mesa)

I took the sisters to Native Foods because we were hungry and in the area already to visit Centennial Farm (I'll share more about that later...) Art and I have eaten here once or twice before, but this was the first time for the girls.

It's always a challenge dining with "the monkeys" because Abi is at that phase where her main goal is to clear the table, climb on top, and squeal in victory. (This is just a phase, right?) Anyway, I forged ahead because I wanted to share this experience with them, and fortunately,we didn't cause too much of a scene!







They enjoyed seeing the framed photo of the turkey on our table. And the free stickers...

I love the fact that the entire menu is non-dairy, and their goal is to be 100% organic. Today, we wanted to experiment with the kid's menu and side items. Too bad they were out of 'Fruity Hooty' $3.75 Sliced fruit (mango, banana, apple) with oranged flavored creamy dipping sauce.


Here's our 'Edamame' $3.75 Organic steamed soy beans dusted with sea salt.
'Native Seasoned Fries' $3.50 Fried in vegetable oil and seasoned with a Native blend of fun spices. The lady behind the counter offered to leave the spices out for the girls, which I really appreciated.
'Trees and Roots' $4.00 is off the "Green Kids Rule!" section of the menu, and is steamed broccoli and raw carrots with Ranch.



I recommend the edamame, if you need to keep little hands busy so that you can sneak off to refill your 'Native Iced Tea' $2.35 -- Which is a lemony hibiscus tea lightly sweetened with apple juice. I order the refreshing tea every time, and you can find the recipe in Chef Tanya's cookbook.


Native Foods has four locations to choose from: Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Westwood, & Costa Mesa. We were at the Costa Mesa location @ 2937 Bristol St. 714.751.2151 And, they are open 11-10 7 days a week.






Native Foods exudes messages of conscious living. Outside, on a Prius, I saw this sticker. Inside, I took one of several pamphlets available. It's titled "Think you can be a meat-eating environmentalist? Think again! If you care about the planet, go vegetarian."
On the back of the flyer is a concise list of "Did You Know?" facts, and since I'm fairly quick on the keyboard, I thought I'd just type them here to share. Most of my readers already know, but hopefully this message will be found by somebody with the courage to try something new! Here are some reasons why you should...

Pollution: The meat industry causes more water pollution in the United States than all other industries combined because animals raised for food produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population does - 86,000 pounds per second. A typical pig factory farm generates a quantity of raw waste equal to that of a city of 50,000 people, but without the sewage system. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the runoff from factory farms pollutes our rivers and lakes more than all other industrial sources combined.

Land: Of all agricultural land in the United States, nearly 80 percent is used to raise animals for food. More than 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farmed animals. Twenty times more land is required to feed a meat-eater than to feed a pure vegetarian.

Water: Raising animals for food consumes nearly half the water used in the U.S. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. Also, the EPA reports that chicken, hog, and cattle excrement have polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states.

Global Warming: Meat production causes global warming. The massive amount of animal feces produced in factory farms is the largest source of airborne methane in the U.S. According to the EPA, methane traps heat in the atmosphere more than 20 times more effectively than carbon dioxide does.

Energy: Raising animals for food requires more than one-third of all the raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S. Satisfying our appetite for flesh requires fuel to produce fertilizer for the crops that are fed to animals, oil to run the trucks that take them to slaughter, electricity to freeze their carcasses, and much more.

Animals: You can't be concerned about the environment without caring about our fellow inhabitants, the animals. They're made of flesh and blood, have complex social and psychological lives, and feel pain, just as humans do. More than 27 billion animals are killed by the U.S. meat industry each year, and they're killed in ways that would horrify any compassionate person.

"If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you can do."
---- Sir Paul McCartney

For a free vegetarian starter kit (and the sources for these facts), visit GoVeg.com or call 1-888-VEG-FOOD

Did You Know?

Think you can be a meat-eating environmentalist? Think again! If you care about the planet, go veg.

Did You Know?

Pollution: The meat industry causes more water pollution in the United States than all other industries combined because animals raised for food produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population does - 86,000 pounds per second. A typical pig factory farm generates a quantity of raw waste equal to that of a city of 50,000 people, but without the sewage system. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the runoff from factory farms pollutes our rivers and lakes more than all other industrial sources combined.

Land: Of all agricultural land in the United States, nearly 80 percent is used to raise animals for food. More than 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farmed animals. Twenty times more land is required to feed a meat-eater than to feed a pure vegetarian.

Water: Raising animals for food consumes nearly half the water used in the U.S. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. Also, the EPA reports that chicken, hog, and cattle excrement have polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states.

Global Warming: Meat production causes global warming. The massive amount of animal feces produced in factory farms is the largest source of airborne methane in the U.S. According to the EPA, methane traps heat in the atmosphere more than 20 times more effectively than carbon dioxide does.

Energy: Raising animals for food requires more than one-third of all the raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S. Satisfying our appetite for flesh requires fuel to produce fertilizer for the crops that are fed to animals, oil to run the trucks that take them to slaughter, electricity to freeze their carcasses, and much more.

Animals: You can't be concerned about the environment without caring about our fellow inhabitants, the animals. They're made of flesh and blood, have complex social and psychological lives, and feel pain, just as humans do. More than 27 billion animals are killed by the U.S. meat industry each year, and they're killed in ways that would horrify any compassionate person.

"If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you can do."
---- Sir Paul McCartney

For a free vegetarian starter kit (and the sources for these facts), visit GoVeg.com or call 1-888-VEG-FOOD

Restaurant Review: M Cafe de Chaya (LA, CA)

This restaurant came highly recommended by several people, and it lived up to our expectations, and then some. Little did we know that we had dined at the location of this restaurant, several years ago when it was called "Marisa's Burrito Adventure." It's been totally remodled, of course, and now, it reminds me of a French Cafe.






My entree came out first: 'Seitan Katsu Bowl' $10.50

It consists of a crispy seitan cutlet, tangy katsu sauce & shredded cabbage salad (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower & carrots). All that is on top of organic, heirloom-variety Kokuho Rose Brown Rice from Koda Farms. "Katsu" (Japanese style fried chicken) is new to me, and it is delicious!



Then, Art's arrived: 'Carolina-Style Barbequed Sandwich' $11.00

Which has thinly sliced grilled seitan basted with their own zesty barbeque sauce and piled high on a house-baked, whole-wheat bun with grilled onions, and pickles. On the side is kale with a spicy peanut sauce.






Here it is all lined up along with a side of 'Scarlet Quinoa Salad'. We enjoyed our meal out on the patio, although there was a lady loudly talking on her cell phone next to us (negatively about vegetarianism to boot --). But all of that said, there was nothing stopping this from being a first class vegan dining experience worth all the hubub. They prepare each and every item daily using only the finest seasonal and organic ingredients without any refined sugars, egg, dairy, red meat or poultry. Yes, we will definately be back to this Macrobiotic Cafe & Deli.
M Cafe de Chaya
7119 Melrose Avenue
LA, CA 90046
323.525.0588
open daily 9 to 9

Restaurant Review: Real Food Daily (Santa Monica, CA)

We ate at Real Food Daily! This was a treat, and it'd be difficult to top this dining experience with the fresh, organic, gourmet vegan food -- combined with an attentive waitstaff in an upbeat, contemporary environment. This is the high water mark for vegan eateries. There are two locations to choose from, and we ate at the one in Santa Monica.

Santa Monica
514 Santa Monica Blvd.
(310) 451-7544)

West Hollywood
414 N. La Cienega Blvd.
(310) 289-9910




I started off with a cup of the soup of the day, which was 'Asparagus Cilantro' $3.50 The soup was perfectly seasoned and creamy. I wouldn't have minded a piece of bread or cracker, but in the end, I was perfectly content.








Art ordered 'The Club' which is a double-decker sandwich with lightly breaded seitan served on toasted sourdough bread with tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato and vegenaise $10.95 Art ordered his with a side of kale. This is the most popular sandwich at the restaurant, for good reason. Art gave me a bite, and it was a the most delicious sandwich ever. This is what I'm getting next time...




'Mexicali Chop Salad' Shredded romaine, pinto beans, corn, cucumber, celery, roasted red pepper, red onion, tomato and avocado tossed in a lime-cilantro dressing topped with baked tortilla strips $10.95 --- For an extra $2.50 I added blackened tempeh to mine. This salad was fresh, crunchy, flavorful, packed with goodies, and a very satisfying main course.




'Berry Chocolate Cake' $5.75 was recommended by our waiter as "The best dessert in the house" and I believe him. This cake was perfectly moist and the frosting melted in our mouths. Pure perfection. Art generously let me have the raspberry, which I included in the last bite. When you go to Real Food Daily, save room for dessert.

Check out these vegan cooking tips from Ann Gentry, a vegan food visionary & leader.