Bueller??? and Recipe For Life

Guess what I am going to say next as you continue reading. Here it is: I can't believe how fast this school semester has gone by. After finals, there is one more semester left, and I am done with grad school…for now.

A wise fictional character and my hero, Ferris Bueller, once said: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I admit, I had a crush on Ferris.

Until recently, I have not been able to look around once in a while or ever, and I definitely missed out. For example, I used my struggle with social anxiety as the reason from getting to know people in school. I thought that it takes too much effort on my end to try, so why should I?

Now that I have been trying, I am going to tell you that it is worth it. There are awesome, and not so awesome - let's be honest - peeps out there. How will you know which ones are AWESOME if you don't try giving ALL a chance?

Recipe For Life

Ingredients
1/2 cup of bravery
1/2 cup of chance
Dash of humor
1 cup of trial and error, minced
2 cups of raw sweetness, to deal with challenges

Directions
Stop and look around to appreciate what you have. Use the ingredients to help you along the way. Happy living!

I Am Not That Cool! and Everything Indian Green Lentil Stew

I have misled myself all this time in thinking that I was somewhat cool. To my surprise, I have been proven otherwise, very recently. I refuse to name names...

Given my history of liking everything that parents do not typically like, including loud and angry music, dressing against the stream with a hint or two of rebellion, and let's not forget about being GOTH for quite some time, I have come to a conclusion that my idea of coolness differs from others immensely. 

I no longer know what's up, and yet I am ok with it, so there!

Stay Cool!  

Everything Indian Green Lentil Stew served over rice. 

Everything Indian Green Lentil Stew

Ingredients 
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil or vegan butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound (16-ounces) small green whole lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 (28-oz can) crushed tomatoes
7 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon crushed fenugreek
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 large bay leaves
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 large cinammon stick
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon raw cane sugar

Not sure how Blue's picture got here. She's got the cool factor for CERTAIN. 

Directions
In a large soup pot, heat oil or vegan butter over a medium heat. Add all the spices, and toast for about 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Mix in lentils, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook until the lentils are creamy, for about 45 minutes.

Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves and the cinnamon stick. Taste for salt, and serve over rice of choice.

Cheers! 

Pantry Chick Pea Salad and Research Methods - you read it right!

Pantry Chick Pea Salad on a toasted bagel, served with a roasted red bell pepper. 

I had my favorite class today called… Darn, what was it? Research Methods...and I can't help but feel - !@#$%^&* - after each class I attend. I try to be positive and even practice Wonder Woman pose in the bathroom before I step into hell, but I simply cannot make myself interested in it.

Where am I going with all of this? Somewhere good actually. Sometimes the things we hate or fear the most, may be the solutions we seek. For example, I know that I hate Research Methods because I like the written word without numbers (italicized and bolded - I mean business!). At the same time, I think that working through difficulties, such as Research Methods for me at this moment, allows for reflection in regards to how one reacts to obstacles that are inevitable and natural in life.

I am still learning how to calm myself down when upset. How DO YOU handle loathing something?

Post Scriptum - I have gotten my midterm back today from the Research Methods class, and I was not crying about the grade I received. Although I wrote it the night before, I did well. I guess practicing Wonder Woman poses in the bathroom worked!  

Got bagels? Got Vegan Kitty Patrol (VKP) for life. 

Pantry Chick Pea Salad 

Ingredients 
1 (15.5-oz can) chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon organic ketchup
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 to 2 tablespoons unflavored plant milk of choice or vegan mayonnaise
Lemon pepper to taste (I used lots!)
Sea salt to taste
1 tablespoon dried parsley (Add at the end)

Directions
Combine chick peas, ketchup, dijon mustard, onion powder, granulated garlic, plant milk, lemon pepper, and sea salt in a food processor, or a high-speed blender. Place in a bowl, add dried parsley and mix well. Taste for salt and serve. That's it!

Cheers!

Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce and Frustration

Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce. I used whole wheat pasta because I am cool like that. 

It is hard to believe it is November already, and that I have not posted anything this month. Midterms kept me busy for quite some time. They also unleashed much despair and chaos onto my life. Well, that was then. Now I face another struggle, which quite honestly is a thorn in my side lately.

What is it? I can't get into much detail for confidentiality reasons, but let's just say that helping people who are not ready to be helped is a challenge. I know it is not about me, and yet me is part of the equation. As much as I try to remove me in efforts to think objectively, it sneaks in. It also takes things personally. I can't help it, I am human. There is a word I thought I would never use in regards to myself.

I am writing this to vent a ton and to also to draw some conclusions. The conclusions I have been able to gather in a neat pink bow thus far are: meet the person where they are, and ride it out with them, even if you sit in a room together, in silence. The wave will break eventually - PLEASE break.

Cheers!

Notice my feline friend Lilah in the background. I think she brings it all together, don't you? 

Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients 
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced (I like garlic!)
1 (28-oz can) crushed tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper (I used lots of it)
Sea salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon or less)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon raw cane sugar (I used about 3/4 of a teaspoon)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup green peas, defrosted (optional)
1/4 cup raw blanched almonds, slivered and soaked overnight (This is your almond cream for the tomato sauce)

* Cooked pasta of choice. 

Directions 
To make the cream, soak the almonds in 1 to 2 cups of water, in the refrigerator, overnight.

In a large pan, sauté the onion in oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and continue sautéing for another minute or so. You can add a splash of water instead of additional oil to prevent it from burning.

Add crushed tomatoes, pepper, sugar, oregano, basil, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to low, and continue cooking for about 15 minutes.

During this time, prepare the pasta of choice and make the cream.

To make the almond cream, drain the almonds, add a splash or two of water and process it in a high powered blender. The cream should yield about 3 tablespoons total. I used all of it in my sauce.

This is what the almond cream should look like. 

Once your tomato sauce is ready, use an immersion blender to make it smooth or if you like it chunky, don't bother. Add the peas, cream and mix well. Taste for seasonings, adjust accordingly.

Ready for pasta!

Serve over pasta of choice.

Apple Butter and The Big Apple

Slow-Cooked Apple Butter (recipe by Robin Robertson) 

Last Saturday, I visited The Big Apple for the first time after my move to Massachusetts, almost two years ago. Prior to visiting, I had some doubts whether I would feel like a New Yorker once again when walking through the crowded streets or taking the subway to Brooklyn to meet with a good friend.

To my surprise, I felt as I have never left, the NYC streets echoed the same energy as when I lived there. Even though the T here in Boston differs from the NYC subway system, I was able to whip up my many Metrocards from two years ago and find the one that has not expired. I did not feel stressed out about taking the subway, and I also enjoyed the diversity that New York offers. People do not care where you are from, and I have missed that feeling immensely.

Onto the recipe. I still had some apples left from my apple picking adventure a few weeks back, and I have decided to make Robin Robertson's Slow-Cooked Apple Butter from her amazing cookbook: Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker. The recipe is simple and delicious. I would also encourage you to try other recipes from this cookbook, all recipes are FANTASTIC. Cheers!

Apples! 

Slow-Cooked Apple Butter (Makes about 4 cups)
[Posted with the author's permission]

Ingredients
2 and 1/2 to 3 pounds cooking apples, washed, cored and thickly sliced
1 and 1/4 cups natural sugar, or more to taste
1/3 cup apple juice
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low until the apples are very soft, about 8 hours.

Remove the lid, turn the heat to High, and stir the mixture. Continue to cook, uncovered, until the mixture thickens, 2-4 hours. When the apple butter has reached the thickness you prefer, turn off the slow cooker, remove the lid, and allow to cool off completely. When cool, transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Alternatively, you can process the apples through a food mill to remove the bits of peel.

The apple butter will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Eat! 

Apple Pancakes and Apple Picking

Last Sunday I went apple picking. I enjoyed it immensely. Walking through the orchard while observing people with big bags of apples, and watching a little bunny hiding underneath a tree waiting to take a turn to eat one of the apples left behind on the ground, I realized, moments likes these are necessary to appreciate the simpler things in life. 

My friend took this amazing photo while apple picking.

Apple picking is a perfect example of this sentiment. What is simple and trivial for one, is a soothing moment for another. Walking among big crowds of people in a trendy neighborhood makes me anxious, while walking through an orchard, watching a bunny is all that I need to make anxiety disappear, at least for that moment.

What else works for distressing? For me, it is making and mainly eating apple pancakes on a Sunday. My mom makes these pancakes frequently, hence the inspiration. Cheers to apple picking, bunnies, and apple pancakes!

Apple Pancakes served with vegan butter and maple syrup. 

Apple Pancakes (Makes about 12 small pancakes)

Ingredients
1 cup all-puropse flour
1 cup unsweetened plant milk of choice (I used soy milk)
Up to 1 cup water
1 large apple, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon raw cane sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dash of salt
Dash of cinnamon or more to taste

Vegetable oil or cooking spray for frying

Eat! 

Directions 
Preheat a large non-stick skillet over a medium heat with about 1-2 teaspoons of vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl combine 1/2 cup water, vanilla extract and plant milk. Mix well and add it to the dry ingredients, using a whisk.

The batter should be a consistency of a thick dressing. If the batter is too thick add more water gradually until the desired consistency is reached. Add the sliced apples to the pancake batter and mix well.

Fry 4-5 pancakes (use 1/4 cup measurement for each pancake) at a time until golden brown, for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with maple syrup or anything you like.

Smoky Yellow Split Pea Soup and Midterms

Smoky Yellow Split Pea Soup

It is Midterms Season for me, and this time I am planning on making things right with the world. Mainly, I hope to write my papers at least two days ahead before they are due rather than leaving the work for the night of.

In the past (recent past), the rebel in me wanted nothing to do with thinking about papers until I REALLY had to think about them. Now, I deem that doing this to myself is not conducive to my well being. So no more of that! I just said it and wrote it, therefore, it must come true.

Midterms aside, I made this soup on a whim, using whatever I had on hand. I thought it tasted great. The soup is really filling, and is easy to make. It is also affordable. When/if you get bored with eating soup all week, try it over pasta, baked potato or mashed potatoes. You can also use it as a binder in your favorite vegan patty recipes. Cheers!

Great with bread! 

Smoky Yellow Split Pea Soup

Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound yellow split peas
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 small carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
1 tablespoon marjoram
1-2 tablespoons fresh thyme
8 cups vegetable broth
Splash of hot sauce to taste

Directions
In a large soup pot, sauté the onion and carrots in olive oil, over a medium heat, for about 6 minutes. Stir often. Add salt, pepper, paprika, liquid smoke, marjoram, and fresh thyme. Mix and continue cooking for another minute or so.

Add yellow split peas, and vegetable broth, cover, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 1 hour until the split peas are soft and creamy. Turn off the heat, and taste for salt. Serve with a splash or two of hot sauce, piece of favorite bread or over a baked potato.

Eat!