Muffin Recipe, Granola Bars, and more!

At last, I've posted the Oatbran Applesauce 'n Raisin Muffins. Go get the recipe.

And, on the trend of wholesome snacks, I'm just finishing up this Proper Healthy Granola Bar recipe - it's very satisfying, and chewy and just sweet enough!

Finally, I want to share a cookbook project that Nava Atlas has completed. Nava has generously taken the effort to compile recipes from a variety of vegan cooks and chefs to create A Bountiful Vegan Thanksgiving. This is an e-book, that is only $8.95, and profits will be donated to humanitarian charities. Please link through to read more and purchase your copy in time for the holidays! And, thank you Nava for selflessly devoting your time to help others with this project.

Trick or Stealers

Click through for a story about some rotten trick or treating behavior... and, to catch a glimpse of my smokin' hot Halloween costume!

And, I promise, I'll get that muffin recipe posted in the next few days. I wanted to retest something with it, and ran out of muffin liners. It took me so long to pick some up and get the recipe retested - seriously!

Raw Talk

I've been wanting to do a post about some raw food topics for some time now. I really enjoy eating raw foods, and experimenting and developing raw recipes. I talk about more about my raw diet feelings in my new True/Slant post, and offer up a raw Chocolate Cherry Brownie recipe. Go get it!

In my article, I mention that I order raw ingredients from a local company. That company is Real Raw Food. I've been wanting to share their link with your for a while, because they supply wonderful raw raw nuts, dried fruits, and more. I buy raw cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts, goji berries, vanilla beans, coconut sugar - and more - from Real Raw Food. I have noticed a marked difference in the taste of their raw, organic nuts and raw nuts from a grocery store. Recently, I ran out of brazil nuts and picked some up at my local health food store. When I tasted them, I noticed a slightly rancid flavor coming through. Never with these raw nuts. They taste fresh and clean. The coconut sugar is my new favorite unrefined sugar. It has a caramel color and flavor, and is simply a beautiful sugar. I buy in bulk, and it is no more expensive than unrefined sugars at my health food store (in fact, it's often cheaper). Their goji berries and vanilla beans are also very reasonably priced, and both are softer and fresher than others I've tried. They also carry these pitted herbed olives which are freaking amazing! They are like a Moroccan dry olive - but far better. Very intense and pungent, and just a few chopped go a long, long way in a dish... if you like olives, you'll love these! Finally, their trail mix is a current obsession of mine. The walnuts in the mix taste particularly delicious, and with bitty pieces of mango, dried banana, and other fruits and nuts, it is not only healthy but entirely delicious. I don't know if orders will be economical if you live in the US, but if you are Canadian you should definitely check out Real Raw Food and stock up on some goodies.

And, the final bit of raw business I have is about a cookbook. I received a review copy of Raw for Desserts by Jennifer Cornbleet. Since raw desserts are particularly enticing to me, I was well chuffed to receive this cookbook! I don't have a full review to share with you, as I have only tried one recipe (and it was lovely). But, I can tell you that this is a tidy, appealing book that offers recipes that are not overly complex. At times, raw recipes can appear intimidating and laborious with required soaking, dehydrating, etc. Jennifer has a collection of sweet treats in this book that allow home cooks to dabble in raw cookery without feeling overwhelmed. Most recipes use just a handful of ingredients, many of which are quite common. Only a small number of recipes use less commonly known and used ingredients such as young coconut. These are raw recipes that can be prepared fairly quickly and without too much advanced preparation (apart from some soaking of dates and nuts in certain recipes). So, if you'd like to try out some healthful, simple, raw sweets, look into Jennifer's Raw for Dessert.

ta for now! :)

Extreme(ly Stupid) Cuisine

After seeing a video link about 'Extreme Cuisine' on my msn home page the other day, I couldn't resist writing about it in my new T/S article... have a read (and watch the video - if you dare) .

As If I Didn't Already Love Ellen...

a friend on facebook points me to this link (scroll down)...

I KNOW! Exciting! Before I explain, I must share how much I adore Ellen. I watch her show while making lunches during the day, and record it for days that I'm running around with the kids. When I was pregnant last year and feeling sick and miserable... and then big and uncomfortable... she brought me laughter and also just an uplifted feeling with the spirit she has and gives to others. I enjoy her chemistry with her staff (especially Tony), her generous nature with her audience and fans, and her clever interaction with her guests. I used to love her Ellen sitcom many years ago as well!

I have contacted Ellen's show quite a few times - in fact, they may have started 'flagging' my e-mails! First off, I sent a mailing of ed&bv soon after it was published. Then, I noticed she was featuring more guests about plant-based/vegan diets, and every time one of those spots aired I fired off an e-mail of gratitude... and also gushed that I would love to be on her show to cook some treats for her and her guests. And, I mailed another copy of ed&bv (along with Vive if my mama memory serves me correctly)!

Now that she is vegan, she is continuing to show more segments about vegan cooking/foods, etc. This past week she had a cooking segment with Wolfgang Puck making veggie pizzas. One of my fb friends, Alison, mentioned this segment in a comment. I noted that I "liked" it on fb... and then Alison replied to me how cool it was to see ed&bv on Ellen's web page. ???!!! I had no idea! Though there's no additional info on ed&bv when you link through to see the list of books in more details, I am stoked to see that ed&bv has somehow reached Ellen.

Let's just say my birthday came a little early this year. :)

Cashew Cheese Filled Pasta

In my last T/S piece, I published a recipe for Truffled Cashew Cheese. Here I've used it to fill pasta shells in a casserole. I simply tucked a spoonful of cheese into each of the cooked pasta shells (can you see it peeking through that shell in the centre of the photo?). The shells are placed in a lightly oiled casserole dish, with some pasta sauce layered around the shells. I also distributed about a tablespoon of capers into the casserole for an added punch of flavor. (You could also add olives, fresh herbs, chopped roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, sauteed mushrooms, or other veggies.) Cover the dish with foil, and bake at about 375 for about 15-20 minutes (or longer if you have chilled the casserole before baking).

Though this "cheese" is raw, I use it in many non-raw ways, including as a spread for sandwiches, as a spread for cooked potatoes and sweet potatoes, as a spread and 'binder' for wraps (holds veggies, beans, and other ingredients very well and makes filling and wrapping effortless), and in pasta dishes like this one and also as a cheese to layer in lasagnas. Of course, you can be purist with it and keep it raw, using it as a dip for veggies, to wrap in lettuce leaves, or thinned out with more water to toss with raw vegetable 'noodles'. However you use it, it's easy to make and super delicious!

Recently, I've been making the version with half cashews/half brazil nuts (as mentioned in the recipe). Also, I often double the batch, then freeze half the cheese in one or more containers. It thaws beautifully! Also, when you soak the nuts, if you have extra after making this dip, drain and rinse them and pop in the freezer in airtight containers. You can make more cheese at a later date, and will have some or all of the nuts already ready in the freezer.

Before I sign off, a brief note to you all about the frequency of my posts. It's been crazy busy keeping up with three kidlets... I cannot even fully explain how hectic most days are! So, while I'm not posting as often as I have in the past, I still want to communicate with you as much as possible. So, I trust that I'm still hanging on to my readers here and that you'll have patience with my busy-momma schedule! I'll post here and on true/slant as much as I can. So, hang in with me, okay? :)

Turkey Shmurkey

Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend, and my new T/S piece has my thoughts on turkey dinners... and some links to recipes so you can make a truly tasty, memorable, healthy and compassionate Thanksgiving. (The article includes one of my new recipes - Truffled Cashew Cheese).

And, my apologies for getting this Thanksgiving post out so late in the weekend. I wanted to get it finished for Friday, but boy, it's been a witch of a week!

Happy Thanksgiving... eat up, vegan style!