My last post was all about embracing the unknown. I must have subconsciously been summoning this message again today because this morning when I went to start this post, for some strange reason, I opened youtube instead. I had remembered a video my friend sent me on detachment. While watching that video, a slew of recommended videos had popped up, including one on “The 7 Laws of Spiritual Success” by Deepak Chopra. I had originally read the book back in NC, and ended up giving it to a friend who was having a tough time. Well, I never got another one, and again, for some strange reason, this morning, I felt compelled to reacquaint myself with the book’s messages. So, to youtube I went, searching for the audio/video version that I had seen when my friend sent me that link over a month ago.

I found it–a video split into 6 parts, and as I began the first part, one of the messages struck me. Paraphrasing, it said, we “must be grounded in the wisdom of uncertainty. Uncertainty is the fertile ground for creativity and imagination. When you experience uncertainty, you face a full range of possibilities. You are on the right path. Happiness is the forward progression in your life towards the unfolding of your own vision.” There was that message again! And apparently, it’s not just me who thinks that out of uncertainty comes creativity and awesomeness. There it was. Loud and clear!  Unambiguous, undeniably digestible, straight-up, no chaser. Kind of like these cookies.

Everything right with the world, these cookies have hearty oatmeal, decadent chocolate, no raisins (sorry folks, I can’t get down with raisins), and are of course, golden brown vegan baby!

Happy Saturday folks! And I’ll see you again next week with a new post…and perhaps more musings on uncertainty .

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup Earth Balance–softened
2. 1/3 cup sugar
3. 3/4 cup brown sugar–packed
4. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5. 1/4 cup non-dairy creamer–vanilla, hazelnut, or Irish cream!
6. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
7. 2 cups flour
8. 1 teaspoon baking powder
9. 1 teaspoon baking soda
10. 1/2 teaspoon salt
11. 1 cup old fashioned oats
12. 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together Earth Balance, sugar, and brown sugar. When light and fluffy, mix in vanilla extract. Set aside.

*Whisk together creamer and oil (this is your “egg”). Add creamer mixture to creamed Earth Balance mixture. Mix completely. Set aside.

*Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats, and chocolate chips in large bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Drop onto baking sheet. Bake 7-11 minutes (depending on size of cookie). Enjoy!

In my last post, I talked about my rationale for doing a juice cleanse. I explained… I had some tough decisions to make. I needed clarity and so like any Buddha-wanna-be-veg-centric-foodie, I started with my diet. Well, I am happy to report that I received the clarity I was looking for–well, sort of. The first realization I came to was that although it seemed like I had a bunch of decisions to make, there were only two that were truly imminent. The others would need to be made, for sure, but they didn’t need to be made last month. So, alas, I calmed myself down, dealt with the most immediate issues, and put the others on the back burner.

That my friends, seems like a really easy thing to do–deal with what’s most immediate, and save the rest for later. But for someone like me, for someone who puts on her to do list, “write new ‘to do’ list,” it was anything but easy. I don’t like unknowns in my life. I wake up each morning and make a plan. I adjust the plan when I get to work. And when I get home, I tweak my after-work plan. But, at this moment, with these particular decisions to make, I truly feel that any “plan” I come up with now will end of being for naught. I think it’s time to embrace the unknown, if just for a little while, and who knows, I may just like its flavor.

So in the spirit of unknowns, I leave you all with a quote, “A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown . ~Denis Waitley“ and some Brussels sprouts of course!

When I first started blogging, brown butter was all the craze. Now, I don’t see it around too much. It could be because I haven’t had the chance to follow blogs like I used to. Or it could be because brown butter is not in fashion anymore. But brown butter (or should I say, Brown Earth Balance), I still love you. You are my little black dress, you never go out of style in my eyes, which is why I made you the key ingredient of this incredibly simple, yet elegant and super yummy side dish!

Happy Tuesday folks… and remember, embrace the unknown!

Shaved Brussels Sprouts in Brown “Butter” Pistachio Sauce

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1. 1 pound Brussels sprouts–shaved
2. 2 tablespoons Earth Balance
3. 2 tablespoons olive oil
4. 1/3 cup raw pistachios–roughly chopped, lightly toasted
5. salt
6. pepper

Method:

*Prep Brussels sprouts and pistachios. Set aside.

*Add olive oil to medium sized saute pan and heat over medium heat. Add Brussels sprouts, and a dash of salt and pepper. Saute ~5 minutes, just until Brussels begin to soften. Set aside.

*Preheat the same medium saute pan over medium heat. Add Earth Balance to pan. It will immediately start sizzling and foaming. Stir occasionally. After ~2 minutes, the Earth Balance will start to turn brown. Add pistachios, dash salt and pepper. Cook ~1 minute. Add Brussels sprouts. Stir to coat Brussels sprouts completely in brown butter. Adjust seasoning to taste. Enjoy!

This recipe was born as I tried to think of accompaniments for my brunch cooking class last month. I thought to myself, who doesn’t love pancakes? And so, I worked to create a fluffy vegan version that would make mouths water. Did I succeed? Ah, heck to the yeah! These pancakes have a lovely texture and are so aromatic (by the orange and vanilla) that you’ll almost be inclined to skip the syrup!

But before I share the recipe with you, I have an announcement to make! I’ve published my first e-book!!!!!!! It’s called Savory Sweet Veg and can be purchased from the following retailers: Nook, Amazon Kindle, Reader Store, Scribd, Kobo, Copia, eSentral and the iBookstore. It contains over 45 super simple veg-centric recipes.

Pick up a copy today! And tell your friends!  Happy Tuesday folks!

Orange Vanilla Pancakes

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2. 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
3. 1 egg replacer (prepared according to package)
4. 1 cup almond milk
5. 2 tablespoons Earth Balance–melted
6. 1 cup flour
7. 2 teaspoons baking powder
8. 1/2 teaspoon salt
9. 2 tablespoons brown sugar
10. zest from one orange
11. toppings of choice: sliced berries, sliced bananas, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, maple syrup, agave, etc.

Method:

*Prepare egg replacer according to package directions. Mix egg replacer with extracts, milk, and melted Earth Balance. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and orange zest. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until fully incorporated. Let sit at least 5 minutes before cooking.

*Heat griddle or frying pan to medium heat. Lightly grease with Earth Balance. Ladle batter onto griddle. Once bubbles begin to form (after ~ 2 minutes), flip. Cook second side until golden brown. Repeat until all batter is used up. Enjoy!

Last week, I embarked on my first juice cleanse. Before I delve into why, let me throw out a few caveats for the hardcore purists out there. I’m calling it a juice cleanse because I drank mostly juice. I did however, have a smoothie, homemade vegetable broth, and the occasional saltine cracker when I felt a little dizzy.

Feeling sluggish, completely sick of cold weather, unmotivated, unusually negative, and just bleh, I brainstormed how to reinvigorate my spirit. Eventually, I decided to do a juice cleanse. I felt that simplifying what I put into my body would allow me to readjust, refocus, and get back in touch with my joy. In short, it did just this and more!

I cleansed for 5 days and structured it so that I would drink from the rainbow each day.  The Sunday before the cleanse started I bought a ton of fruits and veggies. I juiced half of them on Sunday night and half on Tuesday night for the rest of the week.

Here’s how I did it:

• Water with lemon–throughout the day
• GREEN: spinach, cucumber, celery, mint, cilantro, lime, green apple, coconut water
• RED: beet, strawberry, red apple, ginger, coconut water
• Mint or chamomile tea
• SMOOTHIE: blueberries, banana, mango, pineapple, green juice (from above), ground flax seeds, ground raw oats
• ORANGE: carrot, orange, splash of red apple, turmeric
• BROTH: homemade vegetable broth (it wasn’t pink, I’m just trying to figure out how to work my favorite color into the mix! )
• YELLOW: grapefruit, lemon, splash of lime, coconut water, raw agave

All in all, I achieved exactly what I hoped to achieve! I felt better, kinder, more compassionate, sharper,  and more insightful. I also learned a ton about my relationship with food. Things like: I like to munch, it soothes me, and I eat when I’m anxious. Particularly at work, I felt myself constantly wanting to chew–as I read email, as I worked through writers’ block, after attending a stressful meeting. I never thought of myself as a mindless eater. After all, I am pretty cognizant of what I eat. But I learned that mindless eating also encompasses when you eat. I graze–all day. What are the implications of eating all day? And psychologically how does this affect my ability (inability?) to deal with situations as they arise?

I also realized that I often mistake hunger for thirst or simple cravings (desires). There were times that I “felt hungry” but I’d have some water with lemon and within minutes would be totally fine. When my co-workers came in with chocolate croissants, my mouth literally began to water (yup, like Pavlov’s dogs!). I wanted to taste the pastries. I wasn’t hungry at all. But I wanted the flaky, chocolate goodness in my mouth. That goodness was associated with pleasure–the taste turns into a smile, smiling feels good (not to mention the physiological effects of sugar). My mouthwatering also occurred when someone in the office brought in French fries (the ultimate kryptonite on a juice cleanse) and when I joined my friend for dinner at a soul food restaurant (again, BIG mistake ).

To my surprise, many people were pretty judgmental about my cleanse. “Don’t you get hungry?” “I like meat!” “I would never do that, I like to eat too much!” “I’d be hungry!” This definitely wasn’t everyone’s response, but I was surprised at how often it came up. The funny thing is, you get hungry even when you are eating “real” food. My juices were packed with nutrients and were pretty filling. It’s kind of interesting that people seemed to equate being “full” with being overfull, or with eating certain types of foods.

I’ve heard folks say that cleansing is easy. Well, people, I’m here to tell you that it was not easy for me. I experienced dizziness (especially on the subway) and had headaches. But most of all, there were the cravings. Feeling deprivation really jump started my introspection though and by the end of the week, it had dissipated completely–so much so, that on the day I was to break my fast, I indulged in juice for two more meals before engaging in solid food.

Will I do a juice cleanse again? Ah, absolutely, perhaps once per season! By the third day of the cleanse, I felt really good, and since it’s been over, I’ve felt great! I recognized the willpower I have (I left a package of Oreos in my cabinet just to prove to myself that I could go 5 days without eating them!) and I felt great. A couple friends even said that I was glowing . I’m not going to lie, it was tough, particularly tough at times, but it was completely worth it! Have you done a cleanse? Would you?

So, today is the last day of my juice cleanse. Ay vey! I can’t believe it’s been five days! I’ll tell you all about it on Sunday. In the meantime, let me tell you about these croquettes.

These croquettes came about one day when I wanted some protein, but didn’t want my “go-to” rice and beans. I thought about a croquette, but didn’t want something fried. And then I remembered my baked lima beans croquettes with a mint-miso reduction. I adapted that recipe to feature the black eyed peas I had in my cabinet and voila!, a new Como Water favorite was born! Never one to shy away from condiments, I made two dipping sauces. The red sauce is a cranberry sriracha blend (mixed cranberry sauce, a wee bit of orange juice, and sriracha to taste) and the second is a “creamy” avocado sauce (mixed fresh avocado, a wee bit of lemon juice, vegan sour cream, salt and pepper to taste). I featured these croquettes as an accompaniment to some veg-centric soul food dishes we prepared in a cooking class. They. Were. A. Hit! Read the recipe below, and you’ll see why!

Happy Friday folks!

Baked Black Eyed Peas Croquettes

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups dry black eyed peas–soaked overnight and prepared to taste
2. 1/4 cup flour
3. 1/4 cup cornmeal
4. 2 tablespoon cornstarch
5. 1/2 teaspoon each: dried basil, dried parsley
6. 1 -1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
7. salt
8. pepper

Method:

* Prepare black eyed peas ahead of time. Cook until tender. Set aside. Mix flour, cornmeal, and cornstarch with a dash of salt and pepper. Set aside. Lightly grease baking pan. Set aside.

*Smash black eyed peas. Mix smashed beans with dried herbs and 1 cup panko bread crumbs. Adjust seasoning to taste. Mixture should be sticky but formable. If too sticky, add more bread crumbs.

*Form mixture into patties/croquettes. Dredge lightly in flour/cornmeal mixture. Add to prepared baking dish. Bake ~15-20 minutes. Flip. Bake ~10 -15 additional minutes. Serve with dipping sauce of choice! (I made an avocado “sour cream” sauce, as well as a spicy cranberry relish!).  Enjoy!

I literally have over twenty blog drafts in my queue. Dishes that I’ve made over the past few months. Pictures have been taken. Recipes have been typed in. But alas, they lie in my queue, waiting, hoping, wishing for me to make them live for all of you. I’ve heard their pleas. I’m on it!

Despite waking up between 4:30 and 5 just about every morning, I’m still finding it a bit difficult to fit in posting my blog posts. It’s partly because I also want to take the time to comment on my foodie buddies’ blogs. It’s also partly because I’m waiting for my food writing muse to take over my finger tips as I type witty, interesting narratives for you. I really do want to say more than, “ah, this was really delicious. Make it!” But sometimes, many times as of late, those are the only thoughts I can conjure up. It’s pretty. It looks good. It has good ingredients. Make it. Oh, and have a great day!

Well, today, despite a not so pleasant dream (which is really unpleasant because I usually do not remember my dreams), I not only carved out some time to post, I’m posting and I can hear my voice again. It feels nice. Real nice. I hope I can keep it up. And speaking of keeping it up…

(O.K., that admittedly wasn’t the best transition!). I made these rice krispies treats waaaaaaaaay back in December! I added a wee bit of spices to make them fragrant, and did a double decker layer thingamajig to make them interesting. And of course, the pomegranate seeds make them perrrrttty. Super simple. Perfect for kids or adults. Pretty and pretty fun to eat. Everything you want a dessert to be! Have a great day folks and hopefully, me and my voice will be back before the end of the week .

Ginger-Cinnamon Spiced Rice Krispies Treats

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup Earth Balance–divided
2. 1 package vegan marshmallows–divided
3. 2 1/2 cups rice cereal
4. 2 1/2 cups cocoa rice cereal
5. 1 teaspoon ginger powder
6. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
7. 2/3 cup chocolate chips
8. seeds from pomegranate (for garnish)

Method:

*Butter 8 x 8 glass dish. Set aside.

*Melt 1/4 cup Earth Balance in large saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in ginger powder. Add 1/2 bag of marshmallows and stir until marshmallows are completely melted. Turn off heat. Stir in rice cereal. Mix completely. Press into the bottom of glass dish. Spread evenly. Set aside.

*Melt 1/3 cup of chocolate. Spread onto rice cereal mixture. Set aside.

*Melt 1/4 cup Earth Balance in large saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in cinnamon. Add 1/2 bag of marshmallows and stir until marshmallows are completely melted. Turn off heat. Stir in cocoa rice cereal. Mix completely. Add to the baking dish on top of previous layers. Press evenly. Set aside until completely set.

*Score cereal treats into 16 squares. Melt remaining chocolate. Drizzle each square with chocolate. Let chocolate set completely. Garnish with pomegranate seeds. Enjoy!

Oh, those are not pretty little thin strands of angel hair pasta my friends. Those are pretty little thin strands of spaghetti squash! I kid you not, there is not an ounce of pasta in this dish, but it couldn’t be heartier, or more filling. It all started with a bag of frozen broccoli and a wee bit of wine I needed to finish up before I could throw away the bottle. The end result was nothing short of lip smackin’ nirvana. Now, I love pasta like the next, but I wanted a dish a bit lighter and the spaghetti squash was the perfect accompaniment!

Spaghetti Squash with White Wine Roasted Broccoli Sauce

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash

1 tablespoon Earth Balance

1 tablespoon flour

3/4 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)

1 1/2 cup soy or almond milk

3/4 cup cheese (vegan or regular mozzarella)

2 cups frozen broccoli

olive oil

salt

pepper

cayenne pepper

nutmeg

Method:

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash spaghetti squash and place in glass baking dish. Bake 1 hour, flipping over after 30 minutes. Once tender, set aside.

*Add frozen broccoli, ~2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper to baking dish. Roast in preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until soft, stirring 1-2 times.

*To make sauce, melt Earth Balance in medium saucepan over medium low heat. Once melted, add flour, and stir to make a paste. This is a roux and will thicken the sauce. Let it cook 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the roux begins to bubble slightly. Whisk in wine and almond milk, bring to boil, and stir to thicken. Reduce heat to medium and cook until reduced by half. Reduce heat to low and whisk in cheese and cook ~5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Add pinch salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Stir.

*Add sauce to blender, along with roasted broccoli. Blend until smooth. When squash is cool enough to handle, cut lengthwise. Remove and discard seeds. Pull flesh apart with fork. Toss squash strands with sauce. Garnish with fresh herbs. Enjoy!

This is going to be a bit of a silent post. As you know, I recently went to Ethiopia. The very next week (ay vey), I helped cater my niece’s birthday party in Maine. Here are some pictures to show the lovely craziness I called February! Enjoy!

Here’s a quick recipe to share with you all while I work on my post featuring some of the food I ate in Ethiopia. I’m still really jet lagged, and this cold winter air is totally not helping. In thinking of a way to brighten my day, I thought of sweet potatoes! In all of their golden loveliness, the orange color makes me smile and their natural sweetness makes me crave less cookies Stuffed with kale and mushrooms, you get a fun way to eat your veggies and an elegant side dish! Win and win! I’ll be back later in the week with Ethiopia photos, but for now au revoir!

Kale and Mushroom Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients: 

1. 4 sweet potatoes
2. 16 oz. mushrooms–sliced
3. 1/2 lb kale
4. olive oil
5. salt
6. pepper
7. cayenne pepper
8. nutmeg
9. 2-3 tablespoons vegetable broth
10. Earth Balance
11. smoked olive oil (optional)

 Method:

*Bake sweet potatoes in microwave until tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

*Drizzle ~2 tbs. of olive oil into sauté pan and heat over medium. Saute mushrooms until tender. Set aside.

*Wash and dry kale. Remove leaves from stems and discard stems (use in soup!). Roughly chop leaves. Heat ~2 tablespoons olive oil in medium sauce pan over medium. Add leaves, salt, pepper, dash nutmeg, and cayenne. Saute ~5-10 minutes. Add vegetable broth. Saute until broth is almost completely evaporated. Mix mushrooms and kale.

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice potatoes lengthwise and scoop out sweet potato flesh, leaving ¼ inch rim around the potato to create a “boat”. Stuff each sweet potato with kale/mushroom mixture. Mix sweet potato flesh with Earth Balance, salt, and pepper. Top each sweet potato half with a bit of the sweet potato flesh. Bake uncovered for ~15 minutes. Before serving, drizzle with smoked olive oil and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Enjoy!

At the airport, heading to Ethiopia!!!!!!! Before I left, I wanted to leave you all with a recipe. A Valentine’s treat! Vegan truffles! I could go on and on, but I’ve got a flight to catch. These are good. Damn good. And damn decadent! Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook where I’ll be documenting my trip through the meals I eat!

Chocolate Truffles

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1. 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
2. 10 oz vegan chocolate, finely chopped or use chips (I use a combination of 4 oz. bittersweet and 6 oz. semi-sweet)
3. 1/4-1/2 tsp extract of choice (orange, vanilla, rum, coconut, peppermint, etc.)
4. pinch salt
5. 1/4 cup cocoa powder
6. semi-sweet chocolate chips (for drizzle), optional
7. your favorite treats to decorate (coconut, nuts, crushed cookie crumbs, candied citrus peel, flower petals, spices, salt, you name it!)

Method:

*Add chocolate to a medium heat-safe bowl and set aside.

*Add the coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat the coconut milk until it is just simmering. Pour the hot coconut milk over the chocolate and allow it to sit for 1-2 minutes. Then whisk the chocolate and coconut milk together. Now, you have a vegan ganache!

*Stir in pinch salt and extract of choice. Cover with foil (press it directly to top of the ganache), and refrigerate for about 90 minutes. In the meantime, add the cocoa powder to bowl or plate. Gather and arrange your toppings of choice.

*When ganache is firm enough to scoop, it’s time to form your truffles. Dust your hands lightly with cocoa powder. Use a small ice cream scoop/melon baller to form small balls from the ganache, and roll them between your hands to get them round.  Finish them by rolling them in a thin coating of cocoa powder. Repeat until all ganache has been used.

*You can eat the truffles as is … OR you can drizzle each truffle with a bit of melted chocolate and sprinkle them with your topping of choice. Or you can dunk the entire truffle in chocolate and sprinkle. Both are good. I like the drizzle technique! Enjoy your truffles (stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks)!