domestic affair

Pretty "down there"

2012-01-18T22:10:00.011-05:00

Before you head blindly into reading this post, please bear in mind that it involves subject matter for the more mature reader (compared to most of my other posts). If you're squeamish or easily offended, you might want to sit this one out.

You wanna know who knows more about pubic hair management than anyone else in your life? It's the person who does your pap.
I did a month-long placement at a sexual health clinic in December and I'll tell you, I saw trends in lady-part styling. Of course in the interest of professionalism, I was completely non-judgmental about the whole thing (... no really, I was - to each her own), but I couldn't help but notice. Approaches included:
* moderate overall trimming
* overall buzz-cut
* completely bare
* hair on the mound, not on the lips
* hair only on the outer lips
* the porn-popularized runway strip
* a postage stamp amount of hair above the clit hood, and
* the let-it-be natural approach (which was surprisingly less common than one might guess)...

And I want to say that if the hair management thrills you, I'm cheering you on.
But with that being said - now here's the lesson - please, PLEASE (!) don't hurt yourself.
If you are open to advice, I offer the following:
* If you're going to remove hair, please do it for fun or sensation, but not because of outside pressure. Forget about porn imagery and go for real-life sexy! There's nothing hotter than a woman who's happy and self-assured.
* If you're using a razor, the sharper it is, the less likely you are to cut yourself. Use a good shaving cream (I like Kiss my Face, especially now that it's paraben-free), or hair conditioner if that's all you've got.
* If you're sensitive, be sure to have a good soak in the tub before you shave - this will soften the hair, warm up your skin and open up your pores to make the area more receptive to hair removal.
* If you're thinking of using any other hair-removing agents, consider the advice I give for all body care products: aside from some natural soap, if it's a product you wouldn't put in your mouth, don't put it on your skin!
* Speaking of soap, keep it simple. Nothing specialized, nothing fragranced, and no vigorous scrubbing - anything but mild soap and a good rinse with water will challenge the natural bacteria that keeps everything balanced, and create a less desirable environment between your legs, not a more desirable one.
* Now this is the most important: If you have any suspicious (read: unusual for you) bumps, sores or itchiness, put down the razor, and get thee to a sexual health clinic (or knowledgeable family doc) -- STAT! If it happens that you have herpes, for example (and yes, even if you've never had an outbreak before), and by shaving you nick off the top of a herpes lesion (sore), you can spread the virus virtually any and everywhere your razor touches next. I feel strongly about warning you because it is unfortunately not an uncommon thing and the insanity (read: undeserved pain experienced by the shaver) must be stopped!
* And finally, resist shaving day after day - the constant irritation of running a razor over your skin won't allow for non-stop smoothness anyhow. If you get ingrown hairs, give the area a break, and exfoliate very, very gently with a warm damp exfoliating glove or face cloth.

Okay, now go out there (or invite someone into your bed), with pride for your lady parts! (And if you want more info of this intimate nature, please let me know in the comments and I'd be happy to oblige with further posts.)

(Disclaimer: I came across the pic above on some random blog and it cracked me up! There was no photo credit, so I can't offer one.)

Foodie Fridays makes a comeback with the best granola bars

2012-01-13T05:47:00.002-05:00

Lesley's Nutty-Seedy Granola Bars

These are a staple at our house, introduced to me by my housemate Lesley, and tweaked of course, as is my tendency.

1 1/2 cups sweetener(s) of choice*
3/4 cup nut butter (p.b., usually)
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated coconut oil or margarine
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flaxseeds (golden preferred, but only for aesthetic reasons)
1/2-3/4 cup raisins or chcolate chips (optional - I never use 'em)

* I used 1/2 cup each raw honey, brown rice syrup and maple syrup. If you don't care about your sugar intake you can use up to 1 cup granulated sugar (like brown sugar), and 1/2 cup of something liquid.

Preheat your oven to 325oC. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of unbleached parchment paper.
Cream the sweetener(s), nut butter, oil and salt together in a large bowl. This will be like a nut butter frosting and you will want to eat the whole bowl, but resist.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a silicone spatula until everything is well-combined. Plop the dough onto the lined parchment and smooth it out in an even layer (it will fit the tray perfectly) - I start this process with the silicone spatula, and finish it off with an offset spatula (a tool which I recommend having in your kitchen if you don't already). Bake for 20-30 minutes, just until the edges begin to brown, and no longer - even if the top doesn't look dry!
Allow to cool for about 30 minutes (they don't have to be completely room temp, but mostly) before cutting. Makes 48 squares (6 x 8) - or however many you want. Stores in a cookie tin for a week or 2.

Lucky Sunday, week 1 in review

2012-01-08T09:40:00.001-05:00

You may remember Ryan from past posts - my ex, my current best friend, my dog co-parent. He called me from Australia the other day, where he's travelling for 2.5 months, via skype. He cautioned me that I wouldn't like it if he set it to "video call" but I didn't believe him. When he turned it on, there was a sandy white beach, waves, and folks in their bathers in the background. He told me there were surfers, too, though I didn't catch them in view. The strike of jealousy was immediate. I got off the phone, bundled up, and took Ella for our third walk or the day in the snow.

Still, if 2012 is about feeling lucky, perhaps I should take stock, weekly, of the moments big and small that have made my heart sing. Here they are:

Luckiest feeling moments of the week: Spending an evening laughing with my latest crush. My mum taking Ella out for an hour when I just didn't have the energy to do so. Getting a new/free "sinus irrigation system" just as I was coming down with a cold. Accidentally parking on the street overnight without a permit, and finding in the morning that I didn't get a ticket. Finding out my midwifery tutor for our online course this semester is a midwife I super like. Making it to work on time via subway when I surely woulda been late if I'd opted for the streetcar. Finding a new episode of Grey's Anatomy online when I thought I'd have to wait till next week. Making the perfect last minute Saturday night plan with a new friend.

Moments when I was challenged to feel lucky this week: Coming home Wednesday morning to find that Ella had peed on our white living room carpet in 3 places (something she hasn't done since the first week we got her, two years ago). Getting three different kinds of sick and my period a week early in the span of 8 hours. Spilling water or tea in various parts of the house on four different occasions. Ella attempting to poop in the hair salon as I was getting a bang trim, then succumbing to diarrhea a short while later in front of a cute boy outside a hipster bar on Ossington (poor her for her condition - what a week!, poor me for having to make sense of a poopy mess on concrete). Sewing my index finger (hard and fast - ouch!) while intensely focused on quilting.

Constants I felt especially lucky for this week: The warmth of my winter coat. The treat of emotionally and intellectually connecting with people. The fact that I have a sewing machine and can quilt from the comfort of my own home, at any time. The cuteness of my Ella.

Now, will you share what made your first week of the year lucky for you?

New Year's Special, part 2: Here we go, 2012!

2012-01-01T20:53:00.004-05:00

Did you ring in the New Year just as you wanted last night?
I hope so. I hit two parties and had fun at both. Didn't drink ('cept for a bit of bubbly at midnight) and got to bed at a reasonable hour. Very nice, and sane.

Just like thousands, if not millions of people all over the world, I can dig the idea of starting the new year resolving to make things a bit better. No major punishment if I don't get to them all, but a treat if I do.

The major theme is that I want to be able to bring to mind as often as I can just how lucky I am. To this end, I got myself a little boxing week sale treat to remind me when I look in the mirror. It's this.

But how about more tangible goals? Here they are:

Good human goals:
* Bring glass storage jars to the food co-op every time I run out of bulk foods (instead of taking plastic bags home and then refilling the jars). I watched No Impact Man today, which was my inspiration for this.
* Buy something for the food bank box every time I'm in a grocery store that has a collection box. If you're in Toronto and want to know where your local drop-off points are, check here.
* Eat from my pantry - having a good sense of what I already have and can use before going food shopping.
* Budget enough time so I can stop being late for meeting people.
* Work to default to compassion/patience/understanding/flexibility for all.
* Get curious before judging.

Health goals:
* Stay off refined sugar and alcohol for as long as I can stand it. Do this at the start of each new season, too.
* Take an iron supplement (or nettle tea with lemon) everyday for the 2 weeks before my period's due.
* Don't watch teevee that inherently doesn't jive with my values.
* Resist bringing the laptop into bed at night.
* Wipe off eye makeup before bed, no matter how tired I am.
* See my toes above my head in dhanurasana (bow pose). (I'm already better than the drawing here is, by the way.)
* Laugh lots.

Fun goals:
* Finish this current king-size blue quilt.
* Become better friends with a serger (get comfortable with loading it, troubleshooting, make some things).
* Make a sundress.
* Take a road trip to Ottawa to visit Crystal's new babe, and Heather while she's pregnant.
* Get outta town on a plane at some point when school's out.

Do you think it sounds doable? I sure hope so.
Now, would you be willing to share some of your resolutions with me?

New Year's Special, part 1: Thanks for 2011

2011-12-31T16:24:00.010-05:00

Anyone close to me knows I'm a big sharer (for better or worse) when it comes to personal info, so why not post my reflections on 2011 for anyone willing to read?

I also have a sense that putting my New Year's Resolutions out there might keep me honest, so I'm going to do that too, though I hear it's bad luck to share them in advance, so I'll do it tomorrow.

Do you like lists? Me too, so here goes:
Biggest growing experiences of 2011: Midwifery placement in the Ottawa Valley at the start of the Year - including 29 births and the catching of 17 babies!; taking Ella (my & Ryan's dog) on full time (if only for a few months); a month-long placement at Hassle Free Sexual Health Clinic.

Favourite recipes made in 2011: Lemony Lentil Soup (recipe to be posted one of these days); Slow Baked Beans (from RfaH); Raw Pad Thai (from RfaH); Roasted Apple Cider Vinegar Beets (another recipe to be posted one of these days)

Favourite public food event of 2011: The nutrition panel at the TVA's Food Fair. What a fun time that was! Thanks Lisa!

Favourite movies seen in 2011: Temple Grandin, Beginners, HappyThankYouMorePlease, the latest Harry Potter movie.

Favourite books read/acquired in 2011: The Virgin Cure, Inside of a Dog, Prodigal Summer, Committed.

Favourite music discovered in 2011: The Ruby Suns, Yeasayer.

Favourite podcast discovered in 2011: The Moth.

Some of the more annoying struggles of 2011: Getting Single Ladies out of my head; a difficult break-up.

Home improvement projects of 2011: Painted bathroom (fushia), front door (teal), stairs (grey-blue); living room rug of an appropriate size.

Favourite gifts I gave in 2011: Men's tie, infinity scarf - I sewed them both myself.

Favourite gifts I received in 2011: trip to France, new laptop, slow cooker, kind notes from lovely people.

Things that took up way more of my time than you might guess in 2011: Dating (more than a dozen people - truly!); facebook (thank goodness for that Fall hiatus); playing solitaire on my iPhone; watching Heartland; worrying.

Things I wish I'd put more time into in 2011: Quilting, sewing, organizing, meditating, reading, car interior cleaning (it's true - my Jeep is kinda gross).

Things I'm glad I did more of in 2011 than in 2010: Mediation, flossing, Bikram yoga, biking, Ella-walking.

Give a gift, get a GIFT FROM ME!

2011-12-07T11:42:00.008-05:00

December. The great gift-buying month for so many of us.
What to get for the special someone in your life who:
* is finally taking an interest in whole foods,
* is new to veganism or vegetarianism,
* is on a locavore kick,
* has discovered a wheat sensitivity,
* wants to cut down their sugar intake,
* wants to get more in touch with the seasons,
* would like to support you in your vegetarian holiday feasting, or
* loves cookbooks and can't get enough...?

What about a copy of Get It Ripe or Ripe from Around Here?

From now until December 31, I will be thanking you for picking up a copy of one of my books and spreading the ripe word by sending you an e-zine of some of my new work, much of it never before released. Included will be: new recipes (soups! veggies! sauces! cookies! cakes! dog crackers!), gluten-free versions of previously published recipes, gift ideas, party ideas, crafts, and other winter writing. Trust me, there'll be some fun stuff in there!

PLUS: If you buy more than 1 book (either one of each, or more than one of the same) you will be entered in a draw for a Get It Ripe apron. The perfect get-up for all your holiday kitchen raging.

The details:
* Send me an email at getitripeATgmailDOTcom with "gift me please!" in the subject line.
* Attach some version (a photo, a scan, whatev) of a receipt that shows you bought a copy of Get It Ripe or Ripe from Around Here between December 1 and December 21 2011. You can buy it from anywhere as long as it's new (not second hand).
* All submitters will receive their gift by or before December 21 (provided they email before that time). But, if I think there's something sketchy about your submission, I reserve the right to not gift you (not that I anticipate this happening, at all).
* Draw for the apron will also take place on December 21 at 10am.

Finally, to make this even easier on you, my books are 30% off through Arsenal Pulp Press for a limited time. Click for deets.

You can also find the books at
Buy Olympia
Herbivore Clothing
Karmavore
Chapters/Indigo
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com
or better yet, your local indie bookstore.

Thursday Love List: Watch it

2011-09-01T17:08:00.003-04:00

Busy with back-to-school prep (not so fun), and admittedly also budding romance (super fun) so this'll be quick, but I couldn't resist sharing these two videos with you. You're sure to love one of them, or both, even if they're not food-related.

One Moment Meditation

One World Birth (introducing their new website)

PS. Come see me at the Toronto Veg Food Fair next Friday! Click here for deets.

Wednesday Q&A: Freezing Up

2011-07-27T16:54:00.005-04:00

I bought a flat of local, low-spray strawberries at my farmers' market a few weeks ago. They were a buck cheaper per quart this way, and I sure do recommend that you ask vendors about this kind of thing (though make sure you have the transport to get your goods home when the farmer offers you a deal). It was such great timing as I'd just run out of the blackberries I'd saved up last summer.

When I'd mentioned my strawberry score, someone on my facebook fan page asked how exactly I went about freezing my fruit, so I thought I'd share.

Now they say that in order to preserve fruit properly in the freezer you must add sugar (maybe it's a sugar syrup, if I remember right) to maintain the cellular integrity of the produce, but I for one have no interest in putting sugar anywhere it's not absolutely needed, plus the intended frozen fruit use in my kitchen is mostly for blending up in smoothies and homemade ice creem, so I say integrity, shmintegrity. What's important to me is that:
1.) All the fruit doesn't stick together in the freezer bags, making it impossible to use unless the whole bag is defrosted at once, and
2.) I know when I froze the stuff, so I don't find myself planning to make cherry cardamom ice creem for dinner guess only to discover my cherries taste like freezer because they're a batch from 2008.

You will need:
* fruit - any amount
* a large colander
* a paring knife (for strawberries, peaches); a pitter* (for cherries)
* a bowl or counter-top compost bucket to receive stems, pits, what-have-you
* one or more baking sheets (that will fit in your freezer)
* parchment paper to fit your baking sheets (really only if your baking sheets have a perma-grime)
* freezer bags
* a permanent marker

I'm presuming your fruit is local, and hopefully it's also low-spray or even organic (I talk about this in both Get It Ripe and Ripe from around Here if you want more info). Nonetheless, give it a good rinse, using your hands to gently toss them around in the colander. Once you turn off the water, transfer the fruit to a tea towel-lined bowl, or leave them in the colander with a plate underneath it so you don't get run-off from your work area onto the floor.

Prep the fruit as needed, and place each berry, cherry or slice of peach individually on your baking sheets.

Slide tray(s) into the freezer and allow fruit to firm up for at least an hour, if not overnight. Then, pop 'em off the tray, load them them into pre-labeled freezer bags (if you try writing on the bags when they're loaded and cold, it'll be more of a hassle and the pen might refuse to work), and return them to their cold spot.

Get excited about enjoying a little bit of summer once the weather's cooled down like crazy.

***

In the past week I've bagged up no-spray blueberries from the Guleph Farmers' Market, and low-spray cherries*, too. I know there'll be a point when my housemates have to break it to me that I'm taking over the lion's share of the freezer, but for now I'm having fun preserving the bounty.

* Let me tell you, a well-made cherry and olive pitter is not a kitchen tool to scoff at. It may very well save you loads of time (compared to the option of toughing it out with a paring knife and a cutting board) once you get the swing of it. Here's an example of a couple that seem to meet my standards:
This is the one I have.
This one is made by OXO.

The Tuesday Review: Books for Pregnancy

2011-04-12T07:56:00.007-04:00

Do I ever love books! I absolutely do! I am an avid collector, sometimes to the point of ridiculous, but I could have worse hobbies, don't you think?

What with my nutritional resourcefulness and my current studies in midwifery, I've been getting some questions of late about vegan and holistic pregnancy books and such. So, until I write my own book on the subject, here's what I can recommend with enthusiasm:

* Follow the cleanse guidelines at the back of Get It Ripe pre-conception, and even as comfort allows during pregnancy, if you're so inclined. Just cut down on the junk.

* If you are at all on the fence about who you might choose to be your primary care provider in pregnancy, get a hold of this book by two Ontario midwifery consumers Miranda Hawkins and Sarah Knox, The Midwifery Option (2003). I know why midwives are your best option, but in case you don't yet, or someone else is questioning their competency, refer to this guide. (I'm not sure it's in print anymore, but I've seen it at a few used bookstores around - it's worth the hunt.)

* The Natural Pregnancy Book by Aviva Jill Romm (2003). Love this woman. Love her!!! She is a long-time midwife and herbalist, and now a medical doctor to boot! Her guidance is thoughtful and caring, and includes a section on diet diaries that, while not vegan, I think is pretty smart. Also lots on herbs, as I'm sure you can imagine.

* Your Vegetarian Pregnancy by Holly Roberts (2003). This is a new one to my library, and I don't mind telling you the blurb on the front of the book by Dr. Christiane Northrup certainly persuaded me to open this one up. Flipping through it just the other morning, I found this book to be very thorough and readable, and covers topics well beyond vegetarianism/nutrition and helps to avoid the meat-eating centric view of other pregnancy guides. The author is an OB-GYN herself, and backs up her words with lots of references.

* Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin. First published in 1977, and with the 4th edition released in 2003, this book is a classic, full of lovely, joyous, and yes, very hippy birth stories. Ina May is really known as the mother of modern midwifery, and the most famous midwife in the world (I had the chance to meet her in Toronto the other week and somewhat geekily offered her a copy of Ripe from around Here). If you want her current take on the state of birth, read Birth Matters.

* To connect with your inner birthing goddess, read Birthing from Within by Pam England (1998). Lots of ideas to get your preggo-creativity on and develop your consciousness about the spiritual-emotional side of your experience. Just be sure to ignore her nutritional guidance (which is well off the mark).

* The Birth Partner, 3rd edition by Penny Simkin (2008). This book is not for you, but for your main squeeze in labour. Get them to read it, and they will be uber-prepared to support you when the time comes. Good to go through as much of it as they can before your due date, and easy to flip to specific guidance in the moment as needed.

* The jury is out for me as to whether the best book for breastfeeding support is La Leche League International's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, now in it's 8th edition, or Dr. Jack Newman's Guide to Breastfeeding. Either way, they were both co-authored by my lovely friend Lisa's mom, Teresa Pitman, and really worth having on hand.

* Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Romm (2003). See rave above for this incredible woman. I love this book, and have been using it for myself for about 10 years now. All about safe and effective use of herbs for children. I'm surprised it's not better know as a classic parenting guide.

Three more books I have yet to read but would like to:
* Having a Baby, Naturally by Peggy O'Mara (2003).
* Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives: A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth by Deepak Chopra, David Simon and Vicki Abrams (2005)
* Healthy Child, Whole Child by Stuart H. Ditchek and Russell H. Greenfeld (2009)

Okay! With all that being said, happy reading, happy nourishing, and happy baby-growing!

PS. I have created an amazon.ca book list here. Not that I wouldn`t prefer that you went and bought them all from Parentbooks.

Read it, feel good.

2011-04-10T11:51:00.003-04:00

Are there books you've read that have had a nice or even profound impact on your happiness or outlook on life? I'd love to have an exchange of titles.

Here are some books that I've picked up, and have either enjoyed bits and pieces of, or devoured from start to finish.
* The Yoga of Healing by Swami Sivananda Radha
* Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - This woman is so smart and funny!
* Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - Yes, I know, so popular it may be hipper to dislike it, but I'm not really oriented to being a hater.
* Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert - Yes! Helped me find some peace about relationships.
* Long Quiet Highway by Natalie Goldberg - I've read this one a couple times. It's very dear to me.
* Anger by Thich Nhat Hanh
* Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh
* The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - I started this one recently and didn't stick with it, but am interested to revisit it.
* The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha
* Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth - I haven't read this one yet but have heard good things

So please share. Or maybe there are books that you thought'd be awesome and didn't really do it for you. Tell us about those, too.

Musings for a Monday night

2011-02-14T20:22:00.004-05:00

I have too many busy thoughts to keep updating my status on facebook every hour.
Five and six years ago when I would feel this way, I'd write a blog post, so why not now?

Maybe you will engage with me and comment on the following:
* I am living this strange life where I am learning and doing and learning and doing, and sometimes it seems that I am triping over myself.

* To that end, I go on facebook and see what all my nutrition/health/food people are doing and my thoughts range from inspiration to jealousy. The thing is, as I am trying to undertake the most challenging undergrad program I know of, I simply don't have the same time and energy that I did in my non-student life.

* My old therapist told me that a person can only really do two things well at a time and feel good about it. I think this is true. I can be a midwifery student, write a cookbook, promote myself as a cookbook author, develop a relationship, study Non-Violent Communication, heal myself physically/mentally/emotionally, develop and maintain a regular and frequent yoga and/or meditation practice, sew a new quilt, finish an older quilt, become an expert at herbal healing in pregnancy, find a way to have an income... but I can't manage them all at once to a satisfying degree. I am doing one of these things actively, given that I'm well into the academic semester, and the other... well, it's more of a tie between a few focuses (foci?) and it's really no surprise that I'm not getting a great sense of satisfaction. I need to get on this.

* Here are the questions tho: 1) How do I pick that 2nd place to focus? 2) Can I let some of the other interests and to-dos go until the school semester ends in May? 3) Can you be income-less and still wish for a personal assistant?

Now here's a non sequitur:
* Are you watching Portlandia? Are you thinking, if you haven't yet, that maybe you ought to? If you are from Portland or living there right now I especially want to hear what you think of it.

Please, do decide to engage with me. It'll save me from watching bad tv in order to keep my city girl brain active while I'm living this small town life.

If you're having a baby...

2011-01-20T16:07:00.011-05:00

... I can't imagine, really, why you wouldn't look into midwifery care.
I was in on a midwifery visit today with a client during her 6-week postpartum/discharge appointment, and she was talking about how much she appreciated the care, and how surprised she was that most of her friends knew nothing about it, and assumed it was an expensive baby-having route to take. I'm all about information-offering here on Domestic Affair, so let's talk about midwifery, and midwifery in Ontario in particular, shall we?

Please note that as a midwifery student I'm in a bit of a funny position around all this, so please don't hang off every detail here as the absolute truth, know that I'm offering information and my opinions - opinions I have because, well, I'm human, and those of us drawn to this profession are generally pretty fired up about it.

Let's get some of the basics down:
* Most babies through time and all around the globe have been aided into the world with the help of midwives. Most of them have also been born out of hospital.

* It is also true that most people through time and all around the globe have not had indoor plumbing, but I personally am grateful for hot and cold running water and flush toilets every single day. What I mean to say is, while the way it's always been done is not always the best way, seeing the larger picture can help to give us some perspective. To be even clearer: I am concerned by the path obstetrics is taking with all its interventions, but I do not have a hate-on for obstetricians, nor do I look down on hospital birth - let's just get that one straight from the get go. I simply and strongly support the popularization of midwifery care.

Midwives in Ontario are registered health care professionals. They offer primary care to women throughout their pregnancies, births and during the first 6 weeks postpartum. Their services are covered by the provicial government whether you have OHIP or not (you just need an address). In the past century, obstetricians have become the more popular primary birth attendants in the Western world for a number of reasons (many of them political), though with the resurgence of midwifery across Canada since the early 1990s, midwives are now attending about 8% of all births in the province (and that number is growing!).

Let's compare and contrast a bit, here:
* Midwives are experts in normal pregnancy and birth. They are well trained to identify risks and change plans, consult or transfer care as needed.
* Obstetricians are highly trained to deal with pregnancy- and birth-related risks.
* Midwives work within a framework of Informed Choice - they tell you about your options at every stage and help you choose what's best for you.
* Obstetricians work within a framework of pressumed consent, meaning, when you walk in the door of their office (or hospital) it is assumed that you will be their patient, and assumed that you will go with what they believe is best - with or without sharing information with you.
* Midwives can catch babies at your home or in a hospital where they have privileges.
* Obstetricians can catch or deliver your baby in a hospital where they have privileges.
* Midwives are on-call and work in small teams of 2-4 to ensure that you have practitioners you know at your birth. They will come visit you at home on days 1, 3 and 5 postpartum (and call you on the days in between) to provide support.
* You may never see your obstetrician after they get your baby out.

If you:
* are a well woman
* have a healthy, normal, low-risk pregnancy
* appreciate having longer visits with a health care provider (30-60 minutes vs. 5-10 minutes)
* want to be an active participant in the choices you make around your health care in the childbearing year
* want the option to birth at home
* want postpartum support (checking vitals, breastfeeding help, etc) at home in the first week of your baby's life
... then I's say midwifery care is the way you'd want to go.

If you:
* have a high risk pregnancy
* are determined to have a birth with interventions (epidural, elective C-section)
* don't want to have to make decisions regarding your health care
* are tight on cash and living somewhere (like, not Ontario) where midwifery services are not covered but doctor's services are
... then obstetrical care is likely the best route for you.

This little rant is really just a starting point, but I hope that we get to a place in time in North America where midwifery care is the default antenatal and postpartum care again (the way it is in much of Europe, for example). Please pass this post, and/or any of the following resources on to anyone you know who might be interested or misinformed.

Further learning:
* College of Midwives of Ontario website
* Association of Ontario Midwives website
* Canadian Association of Midwives website
* The Business of Being Born (documentary)
* Mothers of Change website
* Reconceiving Midwifery
* The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth
* Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
* Spiritual Midwifery
* Push!: The Struggle for Midwifery in Ontario
* Birth By Design: Pregnancy, Maternity Care and Midwifery in North America and Europe
* Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge: Cross-Cultural Perspectives

Chocolate Contest

2011-01-14T16:36:00.003-05:00

I think I might be the laziest blogger I know, tho I don't know fer sure because I never have any time to read anyone else's blog these days either.
But I can tell you, no one said the life of a student midwife was easy. Ever. Nope, no one ever said that.

Here's my effort at bringing a pulse back here though. A chocolate recipe contest. Just for kicks. And for yums.

It's a month away from Valentine's Day today - the most chocolately of the holidays, as I'm sure you'd agree. Over the next month (well actually, by February 8), email me your original chocolate recipes, and on the Friday before V-Day (February 11), I'll post my faves here on the blog, make my favourite favourite for my sweetheart (who recently warned me that although he doesn't mind me calling him that, it's also what his grandma calls him), and see if I can't get them out further into the world for you (posted on more foodie websites or beyond?).

You know how I roll - the only hard and fast rule is that it's gotta be vegan (and chocolately), but the less refined sugar, the less gluten, and the more raw, the better.

Oh, and I guess you'll need me to remind you of my email address: getitripeATgmail.com

Get thee some fair trade cocoa and get thee to a kitchen - pronto!

Everything from bed

2010-10-11T23:30:00.005-04:00

(Canadian) Thanksgiving with a local harvest feast was a complete bust for not one, but two reasons this year. (Yes, I'm calling on you for sympathy, and I'm letting you know from the get-go.)

First, I ask you - who schedules a very dense Pharmacology Midterm two-days after a national holiday? Someone who doesn't get celebrations, or someone who believes in the value of hard work. To be fair, I think in the case of my prof it's the latter. But to make matters worse, Sunday morning I awoke to find that the tickle in my throat that I'd be carrying around for a few days (and only displayed a mild interest in eliminating) had literally swollen up into something new. A two-hour walk-in clinic experience revealed what I'd suspected (yes, as a midwifery student I now have a different eye for this sort of thing, and use words like "lesion" instead of "spot"). Tonsillitis! (I thought I'd spare you the image of a mouth with infected tonsils.) An illness not-so-popular with the older-than-primary-school set, but there you have it (or rather there I have it).

Now with all that complaining and sympathy-searching, I'll take this opportunity to remind you of the value of immune system care. This might include any or all of the follow when you feel something coming on, or you're around any sickies:
* Wash those hands! First thing to do when you come in the door.
* Avoid touching your face (mucous membranes especially) if you haven't just done the aforementioned thing.
* Put sugar in the occassional treat, not daily consumption category.
* Get to know probiotics. They are your friends (all 8-15 billion of them in each capsule).
* Vitamin C is super, and can be taken more often than you think. Check with your holistic health provider about this.
* Echinacea is not old news. It's especially effective with the addition of goldenseal and even cayenne.
* Embrace the gingery fire. Sliced fresh in tea (with whole cloves and a splash of apple juice is my fave), or even a tablespoon or two of the powder in your warm bath.
* Add some turmeric to your tea. It's great for your liver and does other good things. Drink it, gargle it.
* Remember that bacteria multiply quickly, so it's best to hit them with supplements often (regularly) instead of hitting them really hard once or twice a day.
* Don't be afraid to go light on the food when you need to heal. Stick to the fruit and veg, and a little bit of whole grains.
* Gargling with sea salt water never hurt for gum and throat health. 1 tsp per cup of boiling water. Gargle warm and spit.
* If someone makes you soup, appreciate the way the love they put into it nourishes you.
* Rest as much as you can. Politely asking for help (like with doing the dishes) is okay! If you have to know all about various drugs and how they work in the body and what to prescribe (and not) when... or someother work-type commitment that may not be a Pharm Midterm, use your bed as your desk. Spread out your papers and cue cards, and you're already in your resting place (no, I didn't mean for it to come out like final resting place) when the nap fairies start calling to you.

Be well!

Three recipes, quick n' dirty

2010-10-08T08:09:00.002-04:00

Okay, I have some simple recipe ideas to share, but without much time everything's pretty approximate, and I have no photos to offer. Will you forgive me?

Findhorn Salad
This could also be called "Carrot Cake" Salad! When you need something sweet but still quite nourishing.

5 (or so) medium carrots, grated (I do it fast in a food processor with the grater attachment)
3/4 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened, of course)
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
a grate or a pinch of nutmeg (if desired)

Toss everything together in a medium-large bowl. If you allow it to sit overnight, the raisins will get pleasantly plumper.

Makes 2 or more servings. GF, SF, NF, R

Maple Miso Adzuki Beans
I rarely know what to do with adzuki beans. They're not the prettiest blended into a hummus. This, however, is a quick and tasty way to add some protein to a plate of colourful veggies (prepared however you fancy).

a splash of olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 cups cooked adzuki beans (or one can from Eden Foods, drained and rinsed)
a splash of maple syrup
a splash of tamari soy sauce
1 rounded tsp unpasteurized miso paste (I use a mellow one) mixed into a splash of water

Heat the oil in a small-medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Mix in the beans, syrup and tamari, and cook until the beans are heated through. Turn off the heat and stir in the miso mixture. Serve hot.

Makes 2 servings. GF, NF

Afterschool Tea
At the end of a full day of classes, I bike or take the streetcar home - a 30-60 minute endevour. When I get in the door I want to relax. I may even have a headache, but I'm not yet ready to pass out for the evening. This tea is delighful.

1 tsp. crushed peppermint leaves
1/2 tsp. lavender flowers
1 1/2 cups just boiled water

Place the herbs in a tea strainer (whatever kind of device you have) in your favourite mug, and pour in the hot hot water. Allow to steep for at least 7 minutes (I just wait till it's cool enough to drink, and I never take the herbs out). Take a moment to sit and breathe and enjoy.

Makes one serving.

For the love of chard!

2010-08-20T07:33:00.002-04:00

Chard and White Bean Saute

I will admit, I fly the kale-loving flag far more often than the Swiss chard-loving one. As beautiful as it is in a bunch, I've been challenged over the years to find ways to prepare and enjoy it (its natural bitter saltiness always seems to shine too much for me). And as it's no longer so good looking once it's been sitting untouched - avoided, really - in the bottom of my fridge, I usually don't even bother to put it in my bag at the farmers' market to begin with. As a nutritionist though, I cannot scoff at the fact that this leafy green is an impressive source of vitamins K, A & C, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin E, and dietary fiber. Giving it another go last week, it turns out that some flavourful garlic and fennel, and some creemy white beans was just what was needed to give my chard story a happy ending!

5-6 large leaves Swiss chard, leaves separated from stalks - both chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped or sliced
1/2- 1 cup diced fennel bulb
1 1/2 cups cooked cannelini beans
1 tbsp unpasteurized mellow miso paste dissolved in 1/4 cup filtered water
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
generous fresh grinding of black pepper
a squeeze fresh lemon juice (optional)
2-3 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted

Steam the chard stalks for 2 minutes until al dente.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or saucepan (for which you have a lid), add the garlic and fennel and saute over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, until the fennel begins to get tender. Throw in the beans, chard leaves and miso mixture and stir. Cover and allow to cook through for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the heat, stir in the salt, pepper and lemon juice (if desired). Garnish with the pine nuts.

Makes 2 meal-sized servings, or 3-4 sides. GF, NF

Local bell peppers - Ole!

2010-08-06T07:40:00.002-04:00

Okay, so this recipe is actually from Ripe from around Here, but in case you needed another reason to go get yourself a copy (maybe you want to sample some of the goods so to speak), or you have a copy but you haven't completely oriented yourself in there, here you go.

Raw Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

Lovely on a summer evening (or for a packed lunch), especially when fresh organic sweet corn is in season.

2 cups chopped green cabbage (from about 1/3 head)
1 cup fresh corn (from 1 cob) or fresh peas
1 small or ½ medium tomato, diced
¼ cup minced cilantro
2 green onions, sliced
1 medium clove garlic, crushed and pressed
1 tbsp flaxseed or olive oil
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp minced fresh oregano (Mexican oregano preferred) or ¼ tsp dried
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cumin
1/8 to ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 medium-large or 3 smaller bell peppers, any colour

Place the shredded cabbage in your food processor, and give it a whirl until it reaches a size/texture where it looks like rice (stop before it begins to get liquidy).
Scrape into a large bowl with a silicone spatula, and add the corn (or peas), tomato, cilantro, green onions, garlic, oil, chili, oregano, salt, cumin and cayenne. Slice the peppers length-wise. Remove the core and veins (I just use my fingers). Distribute the "rice" and veg mixture among them. Serve.

Makes 4-6 servings (depending on the size of your peppers and how hungry you are).

Watch me in my kitchen (for the first time in 2 years)!

2010-08-04T23:06:00.004-04:00

Marta and Brock came to visit me in my kitchen on Monday. Watch what we got up to with a beet, a bit of citrus fruit and a spiralizer:

You're going to love this one.

2010-07-16T08:31:00.004-04:00

Easy-to-Devour Kale Hemp Salad

I visited my friend Caroline for lunch a few months ago and she made me a salad similar to this one, and once I started making the recipe (the one that follows) at home, I couldn't stop. It only takes a minute and is a great way to rawify your meal. Everyone I've made it for loves it. Patrick, said it was like candy in salad form, so hard to stop nibbling on. When we're talking about liver-nourishing greens I'd say that's not such a bad thing!

1 large bunch kale, washed, thinly chopped, and dried (use a salad spinner if you've got one)
3 tbsp cider vinegar (If you have a medium bunch of kale do 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Toss to distribute. (You know how some recipes say "gently toss"? Do the opposite of that. The more you kind of beat it up with your silicone spatula or your hands, the better.) Then add:

1/3 cup nutritional yeast (medium bunch? do 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup hemp seeds (medium bunch? do 1/4 cup)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp hempseed oil (flax or olive oil will do)
1 cup fresh sprouts (any kind, but my faves are sunflower or green lentil)

Toss again until all ingredients are well-distributed. Allow it to rest for a few minutes, then enjoy! Makes 2-3 larger servings.

Oh, the shame.... and, moving on.

2010-06-28T20:35:00.012-04:00

I can't think of anything I want to do right now, on this warm Monday evening at 8:30 when I'm not yet hungry for dinner because I ate lunch at 5pm, except write a blog post. I know that if I try to redeem myself and explain why I've been away from here for so long it'll slow me down, so let's just do that thing that good old friends (or friends that you instantly fit so well with that it seems from the start like you've been friends forever) do, and simply pick up where we left off.

I think trying to create some sense of chronology since I machine sewed my first item of my adulthood and received those first boxes of Ripe from Around Here would be nice, but don't hold me to it. If we're facebook friends (which we could be, just be sure to introduce yourself in your request), you may already have a decent sense of what's been up for me in the past month, and if you're a facebook avoider... well, I commend you for all the time you have to do other, hopefully less computery things in your life.

Since the end of May there have been book events (the Toronto launch at FoodShare, two events in Ottawa and three in Montreal, then another with the TVA here in T.O.), a visit to the National Gallery (in Ottawa), a strip spelling bee (yes, fer realz - but I was simply an audience member, not a contestant), my car was broken into mid-afternoon on a busy street (in Montreal), I got some publicity (for links see "Ripe media coverage" in the sidebar), Ryan and I saw an Arcade Fire show at The Music Hall, we started a roof-top garden with bucket planters (the same ones you can build yourself using the tutorial in Ripe from Around Here), there have been movies watched on warm summer evenings with friends (have you seen Crazy Heart (decent)? Date Night (funny!)? Precious (heavy!)? A Single Man (beautiful!)?), there's been a whole lot of Ella-loving, too much leg-shaving (I'm bad at it and resent all the cuts I inflict on myself), a few Bikram yoga classes (fewer than I'd like), some decent meals out (have you been to Lady Marmalade?), the scariness of the G20's presence here in Toronto (let's not even go there except to say lots of people want change and that there are lots of people and things in this world who/that need better care), a house party chez nous in celebration of Lesley's 31st birthday and Dominika finishing her Master's, the very surprising appearance of 2 starlings in our bathroom in one day, and a lot of smoothies and salads.

But one of the major busynesses has everything to do with the reason I ate lunch at 5pm today. Quilting. I took a 3-week class at The Workroom with Johanna Masko and am thrilled with the knowledge and skill I now have from making a string quilt.

At this point (as in today, and not as in more-than-a-week-ago when Karyn took this photo of the quilt top), it's just the binding (edge) that needs to be done and I'm hoping I can finish it by Wednesday so I can say "This is the quilt I made in June 2010."

The biggest thing of this whole new-found relationship with sewing is that I've become a bit fanatical about fabric. Fabrics are so fun and beautiful, and hold so much potential. (I think I feel more intensely about fabric than I ever have about yarn.) There've been times at night in the past few weeks when I wake up (maybe because Ella is restless in my poor-air-flow 3rd floor bedroom with all her hair that's not shedding as much as it might for the season) and have trouble falling back to sleep because of thoughts of fabric. I have gotten to the point where I'm thinking thoughts like "Do I want this soy latte, or should I just get a fat quarter of fabric?". The Workroom has a gorgeous selection, and I'm also excited about Sew Mama Sew (Portland-based online shop) and Fat Quarter Shop (Texas-based online shop). Your local Ikea may also have a decent and inexpensive fabric section (the one in Etobicoke does, but Ottawa - for example - does not).

I'm branching out past quilting a bit and onto my first dress pattern. If you are at all into sewing I might also recommend these free Amy Butler patterns, and if you're not, don't worry I'm moving on from this topic.

Who knows how this week will unfold, and just how productive I might be with all of the figurative pies I have my fingers in, but it feels like the end of a chapter of my summer (read: non-school time). Next Tuesday I head to Summerfest for 5 days to do a cooking demo and some workshops, and less than a week after my return I'm off to Sarasota Florida for my great-uncle and -aunt's 90th birthdays party (forgive the creative grammar, you know what I mean). For the month of August I will be in Montreal, house-sitting for a friend who's on tour with his band. When it's summer and you didn't plan a vacation (per se), and you have to do work but you don't have to do it anywhere in particular, and someone offers you their gorgeous house with 2 private balconies in a city you're familiar with and enjoy particularly in the summer, how can you say anything other than "Yes, yes, YES!"?

Finally (in more ways than one)

2010-05-14T20:07:00.010-04:00

Maybe you noticed that I did one of those falling off the face of planet blog recently. It's not like it's the first time, but we can always hope it might be the last. Chalk it up to an intense semester of sciences, an improvement in the weather, and a touch of fleeting romance (yes, just a touch, and it did indeed flee). Whatever. I'm back now, let's not dwell on the past.

Today was a big day, and not only because I learned how to use a sewing machine in a fabulous intro class at The Workroom and made an envelope pillow case from start to finish - my first real sewing project.
(Okay, I did make a pair of drawstring flannel PJ pants once with the help of my friend's mom, but she did most of the heavy lifting, so to speak. And I digress....)

The bigger and more FINALLY-type news is that I got a call this morning wanting to make sure that I'd be home today to receive a delivery of 2 skids holding 13 boxes ... and I bet you know what that meant!

The books, hot off the presses, arrived in pretty great timing -- just as I was about to head off to the aforementioned class.

The delivery person was very kind and received my boundless enthusiasm very well. I bounced out of the house exclaiming "Yay! I wrote a book!!"
"Really?" he said as he unloaded the skids. "My son too he write book. Science fiction. He eighteen years old."

We opened a box right there on the back of the truck and he humoured me by looking through a copy.

Then he took my picture.

As we carried the boxes into the house I hollered at a middle-aged man across the street who was looking at the truck pulled up on the curb: "I wrote a book!"
"Really." he said, and crossed the street to take a look. "I write books too. I've written five novels." I grinned and he congratulated me and continued up the street.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the arrival of this book compared to last time, but I think it feels just the same: relieving, exhilarating and a little weird that someone thinks my work is worth enough to print it up all fancy and send it all over the place.

Lastly, and before you ask, don't you worry your pretty little head about you getting yours - copies of Ripe from around Here will be making their way into your local indie bookstores within the next few weeks.
Better yet, if you're in Toronto, come to the book launch at FoodShare on Wednesday May 26 - see the sidebar for details.

Syrup in the Spring

2010-04-02T08:25:00.001-04:00

Maple Layer Cake

It’s no secret that maple syrup is a major staple in my kitchen – I live in Ontario after all! While it’s often asked to take a back seat in other recipes, here it gets to be centre stage. The cake itself is free of refined sugar – if you’re avoiding the stuff, just try a different frosting. The cakes themselves are firm enough that you don’t have to worry about them crumbling as you frost them (which makes this a great cake for beginning bakers).

2 2/3 cups light spelt flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
1 ¼ cups maple syrup
1 cup applesauce
2/3 cup softened non-hydrogenated coconut oil or sunflower oil
3 tbsp ground flaxseeds (from 2 tbsp whole) + ½ cup filtered water, mixed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 - 1 cup pecans or walnuts (optional garnish, a mix of whole and chopped)

Preheat you r oven to 350oF. Prepare two 8 or 9-inch cake pans with a light coating of oil Line with a circle of parchment paper if desired for greatest ease of removal at the end.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the maple syrup, applesauce, oil, flax mixture, and vanilla extract, and stir just until all of the flour is absorbed. Quickly stir in the vinegar just until it's evenly distributed.
Portion batter evenly into the cake pans and bake for about 25-35 minutes, until the tops are domed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Maple Buttahcreem Icing
2/3 cup non-hydrogenated coconut oil or marg
2 ¾ cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Beat the oil (or marg) in a medium bowl with an electric handmixer or your strong arm and your favourite utensil for such things. Add the sugar about ½ cup at a time. Add the syrup and vanilla, and beat some more until a smooth texture is achieved. Spread on the completely cooled cake. Garnish with the nuts.

Makes about 12 servings.

Coming up on 30

2010-03-28T15:26:00.004-04:00

Did you ever celebrate half-birthdays as a kid? I think I tried to milk it a few times as a kid, in order to get a half a card, a small present, a half cake, or even maybe a special dinner. At the risk of sounding juvenile, I noticed that it's exactly 6 months today till I turn 30 (hey, it's the kind of thing you notice when you're desperate for a break from studying urinalysis for an exam on Monday morning). I've heard a few of my friends who've already hit/passed this significant age made a set of Before-I-Turn-30 goals, and who am I to pass up the chance to make a list?

I thought I'd record it here to so that someone might hold me to these plans. Lesley told me to pick things that are only me-dependent, and don't have to count on anyone else for completion.
If you want to tell me what your 30 (or another land-mark age) goals are/were, or make any suggestions, lemme know!

Okay, without further delay, here's THE BEFORE-30 LIST:

1. Do a Bikram Yoga 30-day Challenge - DONE! (end of January)

2. Complete year one of the Midwifery Education Program (by end of April)

3. Have 2 published books out in the world (by end of May)

4. Do a big organization/purge of all my stuff in my mother's basement (this summer, when we can open the windows and let out the dust!)

5. Execute the full expression of Dandayamana Janushirasana (Bikram's standing head-to-knee pose)

This is clearly not me... if it was, the I'd already have reached my goal!

6. Learn to do a cartwheel (I thought I'd do this by my 20th birthday, but it seems to have slipped by.)

7. Get another one of the tattoos that've been dancing about in my head for some time

8. Knit another blanket (yes, a baby blanket will count if time is short!)

Eight things.
Six months for just 8 (well, 7 only now) things that I really couldn't have done 10 years ago! (Who wants to be 20 when you can be 29-and-a-half, anyway?)

If you're in Toronto and want to spend some time in my kitchen...

2010-03-04T10:29:00.004-05:00

I posted this on facebook, but for those of you in Toronto who avoid that crazy social network, I'm posting this here:

Morning Glory: vegan brunch cooking class

Brunch is a fabulous way to celebrate something special or simply the fact that it's the weekend. But what is brunch without eggs and wheat?, you may ask. It's delicious and health-supporting, is what it is!

Our menu for the class will go something like this:
* Creemsicle Orange Juice
* Spiced Squash Muffins (wheat-free)
* Banana French Toast (wheat-free)
* Whole Grain Waffles (gluten-free)
* Maple Tempeh Strips (gluten-free)
* Ginger Tofu Scram (gluten-free)

... and will feature organic and local ingredients.

WHEN: Sunday, March 14 2010, 11am-2pm
WHERE: my place, near Roncesvalles Av.

SPACE IS LIMITED TO 4 PEOPLE, so if you're compelled to join us, don't delay in signing up!

To register:
Send an e-mail to getitripeATgmail.com with “Ripe Kitchen cooking classes” in the subject line. A deposit will be required to hold your space, and you will be billed the full amount one week before the first class. I’d be happy to answer any registration questions you have.

Fees:
The class is $65 ($85 includes a copy of *Get It Ripe* - which is needed for all classes).

If the cost is prohibitive, please get in touch and we’ll see if we can arrange something.

I look forward to cooking with you in my kitchen!

Wednesday Q&A, week 1

2010-02-17T16:40:00.002-05:00

Yay! Thanks for all your questions last week. I decided to answer 2 more thoroughly than answer a half dozen of them in a sentence or two, so I've banked the rest and will do my best to get to more of them another week. If you have more questions to add to the mix for following weeks, ask away!

Each month during my period I get pretty severe cramps in my lower abdomen and I'm always looking for holistic ways to alleviate them. I've tried just about everything, but do you have any foods/supplements/etc you would recommend?
- Valerie

First off, I just want to make sure that you've been to a medical doctor or naturopathic doctor and ruled out anything major (something that would need to be identified by blood work, ultrasound, etc.).
Now based on the fact that I don't know your personal health history, I'm just going to take a stab at some possibly-helpful things to try. To start, pain and inflammation in the body often go hand in hand, so an option would be to reduce (or better yet, eliminate) inflammatory foods in the diet: any animal products (if you normally eat them), white sugar (and glucose-fructose, corn syrup, etc), junky oils (like fried foods, conventional shortening, GM canola oil, corn oil, soy oil, etc), wheat and table salt. Enjoy tasty and anti-inflammatory foods like ginger (which is said to help with menstrual cramps and digestion), garlic, onions, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander and fennel. Magnesium relaxes smooth muscle, and is present in foods such as almonds, broccoli, dark chocolate and sesame seeds (a longer list is on page 49 of Get It Ripe), and you might check out a supplement like this one, which is pretty popular and sugar-free.
Never underestimate the power of a hot water bottle - if you're using just-boiled water (which'll keep it warm all night if you have it under the covers with you) just be sure to wrap it in a cozy or towel (my housemate got this crazy blistery burn one time from holding the rubber against her skin). The world may ask you to plug on as if it's just another day/week at this time of the month, but you tell whoever even looks like they're considering giving you heck that I said to take it easy, don't go full force. Have an afternoon nap if you need it, take a few extra "bathroom breaks" during a day at work and use the time to just have a little breather (not necessarily in the bathroom!).
You might look into uterine massage.
In the long term, consider some deliberate cleansing and detoxification (chapter 21 of Get It Ripe). Finally you might look at addressing/resolving any issues you have around reproduction, relationships, sexuality or even finances - as cramps is a second chakra issue (for more on this read Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss.

I am not vegan, but love vegan recipes. (I eat meat at the most 3 times a week.) I went to a nutritionist for a while and she said vegan desserts were not a good idea for me because eggs are what make those treats more nutritious (that is to say that I feel more full after eating)... What can I do?
- Sophie

Sophie, what comes to mind right away for me is the question "Do people eat desserts to feel full?" I'm not sure they do. It's really best to hit the point of feeling 80% full by the time you finish your main meal, that should include whole grains and/or legumes, and of course be vegetable-packed (at least 1/2 the plate).
I wonder if you might try enjoying desserts, vegan or not, more mindfully. Mindful eating involves doing your best to stay present for every bite of food - enjoying it visually, taking in the smells before you even put it in your mouth, then as you take a bite and chew, paying attention to the tastes and textures - and tuning into your body's signals, putting down your fork or spoon between bites, perhaps gaining the awareness that your done/full before you might have thought, instead of going on auto-pilot and finishing what's on your plate before you even realize, or reaching for a second helping before you've even swallowed the last mouthful of your first serving.
You won't be searching for desserts to fill up a bit space so long as they follow a meal with protein. However, you might also integrate a protein powder (pumpkin seed powder might be less noticeable than hemp) into baked goods - subbing out 2 tbsp - 1/4 cup flour and putting in the same amount of protein. Raw foods desserts would also be a good consideration, for both their nutritional value, their digestive enzymes and the fact that they're often so rich that it's hard for most people to go overboard. Hope that helps. Bonne chance, Sophie!

Chi-chi Vegan Eats

2010-02-16T07:58:00.001-05:00

The Book: The Millenium Cookbook: Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine by Eric Tucker and John Westerdahl, dessert recipes by Sascha Weiss (Ten Speed Press, 1998)
Review by A-K Thordin

Preamble/Overall Feeling: The Millenium Restaurant in San Francisco is in many ways the pinnacle of fancy vegan dining, and while I haven’t had the opportunity myself, I’ve heard only amazing things about eating there. This, their first cookbook, includes many recipes used at the restaurant, and is a go-to resource for those meals where you really REALLY want to impress your sweetheart or dinner guests. It has a simple look with well-demarcated sections and recipes under appetizers, salads, soups, pasta and pizza, sides, entrees, brunch and lunch, sauces/salsas, desserts as well as informative cooking basics and resources sections. The Millenium Cookbook is punctuated with smaller black and white “mood” shots as well as full-page color photos of some of the entrees, which is plenty to get you thinking about how to incorporate Asian Romaine Spring Rolls with Sesame-Lime Dressing, Tempeh Sauerbrauten Style with Braised Red Cabbage and Apples and Spätzle, Mad Good Chocolate Cake or Fig and Almond Tart with Red Wine and Pear Cream into your life as soon as humanly possible! And when I’m not ready to cook a gourmet feast, I find the Millenium Cookbook most useful either for coming up with unique flavor pairings or as a resource to pick and choose a couple smaller recipes from a larger meal.

Best Bits: I’ve had this cookbook almost since becoming vegan, and it is usually my first choice when I need inspiration for fancy meal ideas. In addition to its recipes for beautiful and full-menu meals, The Millenium Cookbook is also co-authored by a nutritionist to include lower-fat dishes as well as basic nutrition information — great for those who like to know what their food is providing them beyond flavor and satiation. While I haven’t had much chance to do a thorough cook-through of the book, my dabbling into the Ethiopian-inspired Lentil Stew with Millet-Almond Pilaf and Millet Crepes, Tempeh Pizzas with Puttanesca Sauce, Coconut Mashed Yams, Brazilian Black Bean Soup with Coffee and Orange, and the famous Chocolate Almond Midnight have all been delicious, gorgeous and crowd-pleasing. I’ve also made use of their Basics section to make Dark Vegetable Stock, Baked Marinated Tempeh, and Millenium Braised Garlic to name a few. The Millenium Cookbook is a great resource for seasoned cooks who want to make beautiful and gourmet dishes for special occasions, whether they want to cook a full-scale decadent meal or pick and choose subrecipes as sides or an incorporation into another dish.

Less-Wonderful Bits: As is often the case with gourmet food, ingredient lists can be long and certain items expensive, and the recipes can be quite time consuming. While many of the recipes are worth the effort, I’ve found them also to be overly complicated when they don’t need to be, or sometimes deceptively simple—until you realize you need to make two or three other recipes first in order to start the recipe you were planning to make. The scale of many recipes can feel pretty intimidating and are largely not for quick meals, but it’s more approachable when you remember that you don’t have to make every component of, for example, the Seitan, Wild Mushroom, and Corn-Stuffed Peppers with Poblano Chile Sauce and Quinoa Pilaf, which includes six subrecipes for various marinades and sauces. For those with allergies, sensitivities, or aversions to wheat/gluten and soy, they feature pretty prominently in several recipes, though there are many vegetable- and bean-based dishes if you take the time to read through the cookbook (there are no allergy indexes or other recipe markers). And apart from the sorbet section, the dessert recipe features lots of all-purpose flour, though experienced bakers can certainly adapt with a few substitutions, and the remaining ingredients make use of fruits and some alternative sweeteners like Sucanat and maple syrup.

Whole foods focus?: Generally, yes.
Vegan-friendly?: Absolutely!
Eco-conscious?: In that it features vegan recipes.
Web presence?: Sorta.

Wednesday Q&A

2010-02-10T09:13:00.004-05:00

Hi all! I dunno about where you are, but here in Toronto it's a winter wonderland! Snow on the ground is certainly worth mentioning in a season where we've had very little.

So, I'm thinking about adding another theme to the blog. We've got The Tuesday Review, The Thursday Love List and Foodie Fridays, and now I'm adding Wednesday Q&A. I often get questions about this that and the other, and answering them all takes a lot time! It's a particular challenge when I get asked the same question over and over (the biggie is about what kind of training I have and if I can recommend a holistic nutrition school). The idea with Wednesday Q&A is that I will take this space to answer any questions you may have - it could be a culinary question, a holistic health question, a question about Get It Ripe....

Does that interest you? Post your questions in the comments this week and I'll pick 1-3 of them to answer next week, and so on. Great!

Like a Warm Hug

2010-02-09T07:45:00.005-05:00

I will admit, part of me in the midst of preparing this post was like "As if Isa needs anymore publicity!?" (she's even been the celebrity attendee on a vegan cruise, for eff sakes!), but a quick reality check reminds me that she is so very good at what she does, so why not celebrate it?

The Book: Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For – from Asparagus Omelets to Pumpkin Pancakes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (Da Capo Press, 2009)

Review by Marika Collins

Preamble/Overall Feeling: Vegan Brunch is brought to us by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, the friendly and funny founder of the famed Post Punk Kitchen website and forums, and co-author of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, and Veganomicon. This sunny book is written in a warm, humourous, unassuming tone – it's an excellent cooking resource for anyone, vegan or not, with a fun, positive, and welcoming feel. Visually, the book is like a warm hug, from its cheerful yellow cover to the bright colour blocking and colour photos within. It's well-organized, easy to follow, and its medium size makes it comfortable to hold in the hand.

Best Bits: Friendly and inviting, the book opens with a deliciously enticing ode to brunch – setting the tone for the entire book which is unabashedly brunch and breakfast oriented. A brief explanation of key ingredients used in the recipes comes next, followed by a fun section about how to set up and host a proper brunch. The recipes are sensibly divided into sections according to savoury, sweet, toppings, bread basket, and drinks – making it easy to pick and choose from amongst the categories and ensuring your brunch will cover all the bases. A multitude of variations and helpful suggestions are included throughout, including a hilarious open letter to the would be crepe-maker.
All the traditional brunch favourites are represented and then some. If you fancy the classics, they're all there, from Old-Fasioned Chelsea Waffles and Classic Broccoli Quiche, to Diner Home Fries and Biscuits with Smoked Almond Gravy. If you fancy something different, Isa infuses traditional fare with big personality, presenting us with the likes of Curry Srambled Tofu with Cabbage and Caraway, Chili Cashew Dosas with Spiced Apple Cider Chutney, Ethiopian Crepes and Chocolate Beer Waffles.
This is a test: Banana Flapjacks, Brazilian French Toast, East Coast Coffee Cake, Caramelized Figs, Cherry Vanilla Bean Sauce, Brown Sugar Peach Coulis, Baked Cinnamon Apples. If you can read through that list and not be instantly transported to a happy place, then maybe this book is not for you. That same list puts me squarely in the zone. This book, in fact, was given to me by someone who truly understands my deep appreciation of brunch – and if you love brunch fare as much as I do, I'm fairly confident you're going to enjoy this book. Beyond the celebration of brunch however, this book is about comfort food – and for that reason I think it's accessible to all.

Less-Wonderful Bits: White flour and sugar figure strongly but, to be fair, the book never pretends to be health conscious. Ed's add-on: The food photos (and there are many throughout) are a little hit and miss.

Whole foods focus?: No, not really.
Vegan-friendly?: Yes, totally, 100%.
Eco-conscious?: In that the book promotes veganism.
Web presence?: Yes.

Seedy and sweet (and gluten-free!)

2010-02-05T20:54:00.004-05:00

Would you believe I got the idea for these cookies while I was in the bath the other night?

Sesame Ginger Cookies

These gluten-free whole-food treats are nice and warming, what with the ginger and sesame, making them very February-appropriate. For those of you who have a love for my Maple Flax Cookies, these are their more gut-friendly cousin.

1 3/4 cups brown rice flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds (unhulled preferred)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup raw sesame oil or sunflower oil (+ more for the baking sheet if needed)
1/4 cup tahini (sesame butter)
1 tbsp. finely grated ginger root

Preheat the oven to 350oF. Prepare a baking sheet with a sheet of unbleached parchment paper, or a light coating of oil. Whisk together the flour, seeds, and salt in a large bowl. Add the syrup, oil, tahini and ginger, and mix with a silicone spatula just until all the flour's been absorbed.
Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and placing them on the baking sheet.
Press down on each ball gently with your palm (or fingers), flattening each ball to about 1/2 cm thick.
Slide in the oven and bake for 12 minutes, until they are no longer shiny. Allow to cool on a rack, or eat 'em warm with a tall glass of non-dairy milk.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Love List #6

2010-02-04T09:29:00.002-05:00

Today's Love List is short but satisfying in the entertainment department, and brought to you with the help of the fine folks at YouTube.

Pomplamoose: I don't get to see my good friend Jamie as he's been living the life of a jazz musician down in New York these past few years, but he happened to be in town last weekend and at a party I was at, so we had the opportunity for a good chat. He was telling me how he just couldn't get enough of Beyonce's song Single Ladies, and I said I hadn't heard of it (yes, I live under a bit of a rock when it comes to pop-culture) but that I'd look it up. I didn't like it. And I told Jamie so, so he referred me to this version by a cute California couple calling themselves Pomplamoose. Once I watched this "video song" of theirs, I was drawn to check out some of their other videos and now I can say, 48 hours later, that I think I've seen them all. Here, watch this:

Lordisa, how I wish I made cooking videos as good as this!

Now, do yourself a favour and take 10 minutes to watch this video. It's another opportunity for you to feel so good and have a laugh.

I watched it with my housemate, Lesley, whose comments included "This is the funniest thing I've ever seen!" and "... Is he wearing Uggs?"

Have a nice weekend, y'all!

Nature’s Nutritional All-in-One

2010-02-02T07:14:00.002-05:00

The Product: Manitoba Harvest hemp products
Review by Chantal Clément

Preamble/Overall Feeling: It’s for an obvious reason that I came back to Washington from Christmas in Ontario last year with a case of Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Protein Powder, 3 jars of their hemp butter, and 4 bags of their hemp seeds. Out of all the hemp products currently out there, Manitoba Harvest is definitely the hemp market leader! A nutritional and culinary blessing to all those on vegan, raw, or just healthy diets, hemp products are a must in every pantry. Now if only we could lower the price of hemp products in the US by legalizing hemp!

Best Bits: A ten year old company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Manitoba Harvest is one of (if not the) yummiest source of hemp ever! Unlike other hemp products, the taste of Manitoba Harvest Hemp is richer, nuttier and simply has a more ‘natural’ and less processed taste. I love when you can read an ingredient label and it just has one ingredient listed: hemp in whatever format you choose. No additives or preservatives. Considering I use their powder in my breakfast smoothie every single morning, I think I’ve become something of the American poster child for the company. Hemp seeds are a great addition to your favourite baked good recipe, on top of yogurt, cereal, salads, and more! Also, nothing beats a nice slice of toast with hemp butter and jam!

Less-Wonderful Bits: A lot of people say that hemp products are still something of a luxury since they aren’t that cheap, especially if you’re in the States, though the nutritional value is definitely worth it to me. Another thing for first-time hemp users: hemp protein powder has a much thicker consistency than other protein powders so smoothies or juices may not turn out as silky or smooth as you might be use to.

Whole foods focus?: Definitely! Hemp is packed with essential fatty acids (that’s your omega 6s, 3s and 9s, linolenic and stearidonic acids), antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre, chlorophyll, and it's a complete protein!
Vegan-friendly?: Yes... and beyond! (a lot of their products are raw and gluten-free)
Eco-conscious?: Extremely! Not only committed to organic agriculture, Manitoba Harvest products use recyclable or reusable packaging. Their promotional materials all use recycled paper and vegetable-based inks. And their office is a fully-fledged green facility!
Web presence?: Yep! And do check out their extensive recipe section.

Thursday Love List #5: For the ladies

2010-01-21T17:27:00.000-05:00

I'm all menstrual right now, so this week's Love List is going to be primarily for those with lady parts.

Organic cotton Lunapanties: I've been wearing the same 3 pairs for every period I've had over the past 10 years or so. They're nice fitting undies (they come in different cuts for those of us who are choosy), with a layer of fleece padding in the crotch. They're great on their own on very light days (say, at the end of your flow), or important added "protection" when paired up with an organic tampon, sea sponge (non-vegan alert on that one) or Diva Cup/Keeper that may runneth over. They're more eco and breathable than a disposable pantyliner, and somehow less of a hassle than reusable pads (especially when you're biking and you don't want pad snaps digging into your delicate parts).
Mine, being the original (older) Lunapanties don't have the "special bands" (mentioned in the video if you follow the above link) that'd hold an extra liner in place, but they're good all the same.

Monthly Info: Love this website. Love it! Every time I mention it on fbook or twitter, I get a bunch of thank-you replies for letting folks know about it. It's so so helpful for keeping track of your cycles - having a record of your menstrual history, and helping to predict when your next ovulation and blood-time should be. It'll even send you e-mail notifications a few days before you can expect a change (ovulation, menstruation). And it's free!(though if you want to make a donation - and so you should once you start using and appreciating it too - they're open to it).

The Path of Practice: Want a stronger sense of ritual and spirituality/meaning in your life? Read this book by Bri Maya Tiwari.

Bust magazine: I have been reading this magazine for a good long while. I think I've only missed one issue since my first one, with Margaret Cho on the cover. It's got a poppy easy-to-consume quality, while still offering interesting articles from an inherently feminist view-point, so you don't have to worry about being offended in that way every single conventional women's mag seems to offend thinking people. (And I'll admit, I loved them just a little bit more when they wrote a positive review of Get It Ripe in their December 2008 issue.)

Home-blended Lady Tea: Here's the herb tea I make myself and drink about a litre daily the week before and the week during my period.
2 parts red raspberry leaves (tones the uterus)
2 parts nettle leaves (good source of minerals, which you need to replenish when you're bleeding; can help with heavy periods)
1 part dandelion root (supports the liver, which regulates hormone production)
1 part red clover (effective hormone balancer)
1 part liquorice root (tastes sweet; nourishes the adrenal glands to help with PMS stress)
1 part dried ginger root (optional - warming; helps relieve muscle cramps)

Combine all herbs in a large bowl.
Bring some filtered water to a boil.
Measure out 1 teaspoon of herb blend for each cup of water or a heaping tablespoon for 4 cups of water. Pour water over the herbs, cover and allow to steep for 10-30 minutes (the longer the better) – you can do this in a teapot or a glass jar.
Strain out the herbs and rebottle – you can store it in a thermos to keep it warm throughout the day.
Transfer remaining herbs into to a glass jar with a good-fitting lid and use over the next few months. (Check with your naturopath or midwife about consuming this when you're pregnant or breastfeeding.)

Ain't being a woman grand? (I'm not even being sarcastic!)

Veggin' out.

2010-01-19T18:48:00.001-05:00

As a kid I was a very picky eater and a creature of habit, especially when it came to packed lunches. I think my mum packed me peanut butter and jam on whole wheat bread with the crusts cut off for most of my elementary school days. A book like this in our house might have set us in a better direction!
Let's hear what fellow holistic nutritionist Laurie, with her specialty in pediatrics, has to say.

The Book: Vegan Lunch Box: 130 Amazing, Animal-Free Lunches Kids and Grown-Ups Will Love! by Jennifer McCann (Da Capo Press/Lifelong Books, 2008)
Review by Laurie K. Meher, RHN

Preamble/Overall Feeling: This cookbook focuses on vegan lunch options for kids and adults alike. The author, Jennifer McCann, kept a blog where she photographed her son’s lunches for a year; this cookbook is a compilation of these meals and many more. The book is separated into two parts; Part One has a variety of menus and Part Two Lists the recipes. In the first part the menus include Quick and Easy Meals, meals that are fast to prepare, Rise and Shine, for meals that you can take the time to create, Ready and Waiting, meals that you can make the night before as well as menus with an international focus and for special occasions. I appreciated her respect for the struggle that parents have to make meals when it seems like there is little time in the day, so the Quick and Easy options are helpful. I also like that she has some meals to make the night before or that made a large amount that you could freeze. This is a useful way for a busy family to get meals together. The recipes in the second section have easy-to-find ingredients and are fairly simple to put together. Some of my favourites are the recipes for Lentil-Rice balls, Split Pea Alecha (Ethipian Stew) and Samosas.

Best Bits: This book focuses on variety, colour and flavour, which I like. It is important for parents to realize that we do not have to feed our child the same thing every day, especially if our families have a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. The menus are well-rounded offering good sources of vegetable protein. Jennifer offers some creative and tasty ways to make up legumes and some items can be used in several different ways, which makes meals easier to throw together. She also makes lunches and menus that replicate what the other kids are eating: calzones, muffins, cookies, even croissants! I also love the international options because it helps get kids excited about meals that offer flavour and nutrition.

Less-Wonderful Bits: I wasn’t too happy with the amount of soy products that used in here. While I appreciate the convenience of soy products, I don’t feel that vegan deli slices, hot dogs, cream cheese or soy yogurt are any healthier than the animal versions. I understand that it is hard to find substitutes that are easy and quick for lunches, and I was looking for something that would give me other ideas, beyond those soy products. I was also surprised by the fact that many menus included candy or processed desserts. I would like to see parents getting away from including these sugar treats in their kids lunches altogether.

Whole foods focus?: Sure, for the most part.
Vegan-Friendly?: Yes, completely.
Eco-Conscious?: Definitely (Promotes non-animal eating and reusable containers!)
Web Presence?: Yes.

"Mares eat oats, and does eat oats...."

2010-01-08T07:35:00.000-05:00

"...and little lambs eat ivy." Didn't your mum ever sing you that song when you were little? Mine did.

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

I baked these up when I was feeling the need for a break from spelt flour. When talking about oats I’m always sure to remind eaters that they nourish our nervous system. They generally make comfort food to me. The spice in these isn’t a wussy undertone, it’s pretty prominent, so if that makes you nervous, feel free to scale it back to 1-2 teaspoons in all. The raisins can be replaced with other dried fruit (chopped dates, cranberries, etc) or chopped nuts (I bet walnut or pecan would be nice!).

1 ½ cup oat flour
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup oatbran
1/3 cup ground flaxseeds (from about 2 1/2 tbsp whole flaxseeds)
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cinnamon and/or nutmeg and/or cloves
½ tsp. sea salt
¾ cup raisins
½ cup applesauce
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup sour milk (1 tbsp cider vinegar + non-dairy milk)
½ cup sunflower oil

Preheat the oven to 375oF. Prepare 12 muffin cups with liners or a light coating of oil and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, oats, bran, ground flax, baking powder and soda, spices and salt in a large bowl. Add the raisins and stir to coat in the flour. Pour in the applesauce, maple syrup, sour milk and oil. Gently mix together just until all the flour has been absorbed. Portion evenly into the prepared muffin cups. Slide them into the oven and bake for 25-28 minutes, until the tops are domed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Stores in an airtight container for 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes 12 muffins.

Love List #4

2010-01-07T08:57:00.007-05:00

Let's have another Love List, shall we? Collecting things for this weekly post is feeling like such a treat.

All Creatures Great and Small: I watch this with my parents on nights when I go visit them for dinner. My mum's read most, if not all of the books by James Herriot, the British veterinarian (who began working as a vet in 1939) and writer, who chronicled the tales of his work in rural England. There is something just so comforting about old British shows (this series originally aired between 1978 and 1990), that aren't Masterpiece Theatre (I'm just not a mystery person), especially if they include birthing cows and rebellious pigs, and drinking pints down at the pub while flirting with lovely young lassies. I found the first season on VHS at a garage sale this past summer for $5, and have managed to find the next few seasons for download.

Bikram: What a revelation, this crazy hot yoga! My whole life I've been an adamantly non-active person. I have memories of being a pissed off toddler, being encouraged to walk up the hill from the beach to our house and stay out of the stroller. I didn't start riding a bike till I was 19. And sure I've enjoyed yoga classes over the years, but not with any real degree of regularity. Until this summer. It was encouragement from a couple of Bikram-excited friends (Lisa, Paul), and the fact that the local studio is owned by an elementary school friend of mine. I went 5 or 6 times in that first introductory week in July, and have mostly managed to go 1-3 times a week since. And I'm now - surprising to myself even - 6 days in to a 30-day challenge! I thought I would feel the need to rebel against Bikram's rigid structure, and I doubt that (other than labour) I will ever go through anything as physically challenging, but I love it. I've dropped about 10 lbs, and even gotten a little ripped. I feel more present in my body. This makes me a true believer that there's an exercise for everyone, we all just have to find the one we enjoy doing.

A dollhouse for Frida Kahlo: The other week I was searching for a Kahlo image for an assignment in my Birth and Its Meanings class when I came across this incredible miniature thing by Elsa Mora. I don't have much context to offer you, but I just love how creative people are!

PS. In case you didn't catch this on facebook yesterday, I was on the cover of the Entertainment & Living section of The Toronto Star yesterday. You can see the article on veganism and vegetables online here.

Thursday Love List: 2009 in Review

2009-12-31T07:31:00.001-05:00

We're all friends here, so I won't lie to you. Parts of this year were rough. I ended a two-and-a-half year relationship with a wonderful person (don't fret, we're still very good friends). I moved twice. I wrote a cookbook manuscript with very poor time-management skills. I returned to university and have had to contend with student life, which I mostly do not love. I spent way (waaaay) more money than I made.

But things were also great: I moved into a beautiful Victorian house in a great part of town that I may live in for years and years to come - possibly the rest of my Toronto life. I got into midwifery school (again) and am so excited to be returning to the world of holistic pre- and post-natal care. I developed a good friendship with Lisa, though I hope we get organized/are able to diversify and spend a little more time together outside the kitchen in 2010. I had wonderful recipe testers for the upcoming cookbook, especially Kathryn. I got some of the kindest fan mail (always a wonderful surprise). I took a summer trip to Scotland and got to visit with old family friends and make some new friends. I became more physically fit and flexible than I've ever been. I created a budget for myself for the first time and mostly stuck to it. I helped Ryan find a dog from one of the city shelters and she is so smart and beautiful and full of love. My 1997 Ford Mercury Villager Mini Van is still alive (though it looks a little worse for wear after the small accident it got into the other day). Most of my plants lived, in spite of the house-moving, and many of them thrived.
All in all, I consider myself so lucky to be coming out of 2009 in the place I am in.

Now here's a summary of things I thought were especially super, including some recommendations, from the past year:

Favourite learning experience: Non-violent Communication intensive at Findhorn Community

Best health move: Taking up Bikram Yoga
Runner up: Trading regular talk therapy for regular massage therapy.

Favourite new health tool: crystals, like rose quartz, amethyst and citrine. (I know, kooky-sounding, right? But I'm into them - in my pocket, in the bath, in bed, while studying.)

Favourite new recipes: Buckwheat gRAWnola (to come in Ripe from Around Here)
Runners up: Sweet Potato Date Muffins, Slow-Baked Beans, Blueberry Lavender Ice Creem.

Favourite comfort food: baked sweet potato (just stab it a few times with a fork and stick it in the toaster oven).

Best meal out: It's still the Raw Combo Platter at Live. (It's always tasty, and I feel great after eating it.)

Favourite drink: Negroni
Runners up: home-mulled apple cider with a splash of rum, Campari and soda with lime, or Ciao organic Sangiovese wine (You'd think I'd be drinking a lot, but I swear I haven't! Just over the holidays, and with the watching of too much Mad Men....)

Favourite garment acquisition: the red polka-dotted dress from Girl Friday (I did not buy a lot of clothes this year.)

Favourite teevee show discovery: All Creatures Great and Small (So wonderfully wholesome and British)
Honourable mentions: Nurse Jackie (go Edie Falco!), United States of Tara (another something different from Diablo Cody), and Mad Men (so much smoking and drinking though!)

Favourite movie: Julie and Julia (And, I don't really feel like discussing the movie's many non-vegan moments, if you don't mind me saying so. I loved it for the personalities, the New York and French cultures depicted, the relationships, and parts about cookbook-writing.)
Honourable mention: Where the Wild Things Are

Favourite non-fiction: Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent (I devoured it! if you're into memoirs and birth....)

Favourite novel: The Birth House by Ami McKay
Honourable mention: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Best Get It Ripe publicity experience: being interviewed by Karen Gordon on CBC Radio One on a Saturday morning last January.

Most memorable This Is My Life And It's Pretty Great moments: walking along the beach of the Moray Firth (in Scotland) with Gavin; lying in savasana looking out the skylight at the summer night sky at the end of a sweaty evening yoga class; driving to births; the view from my third floor window of the CN Tower all lit up each night.

I hope that 2009 was blessed for you all too, and I wish you a Happy New Year!

Love List #2

2009-11-19T08:10:00.005-05:00

I'll admit I was surprised that more of you didn't respond last week about this new feature on the blog (I guess because I'm so excited by it), but maybe it'll take a while to catch on?

The Birth House: I had to read this novel earlier this semester (well, I requested it from a list of four midwifery-related books), and I really enjoyed it. Author Ami McKay very skillfully transported me into another time and place (rural Nova Scotia, beginning in 1917), and I so enjoyed being there that I want to go back and read it again soon. I love thoughtful and compassionate female main characters who are completely competent at standing on their own two feet, as is Dora Rare. The book, to me, was slightly reminiscent of Ann-Marie MacDonald's Fall On Your Knees, though not so long and painfully heartbreaking.

Charter for Compassion: You know when you discover examples of people doing good things and it makes you think the world is a good place to be after all? Yeah, I love that feeling too.

Childbirth Education Doll: I've been going and looking at this on Etsy all week. I love it. I waaaaaannt it. My mum thinks the doll has too much pubic hair (and told me so over lunch the other day, which was a bit much, even for me), but I disagree. Don't tell me just to buy the pattern because for one, I already have my hands full knitting a placenta for my Birth and Its Meanings class, and more importantly, I don't crochet.

Gilmore Girls: I know I am not the only one who finds this show cozy and comforting. Sure some of the banter annoys me, and I now that I've watched them all a few times, I'm happy to fast forward through scenes with the more annoying characters like Michael or Kirk or Great-Grandmother Lorelai, but when I need an escape, this show calls to me, especially in the fall.

Jerusalem Artichokes (aka Sunchokes): I made the oven fries from page 195 of Get It Ripe the other day and was reminded of the pure vegetable bliss of this root. After 40 minutes in the toaster oven they got all roasty and even caramelized enough that they were a bit sticky in my teeth. Yum!

Sweet and simple

2009-11-17T09:33:00.003-05:00

Sure, it's November and time to start bundling up, but raw foods are a beneficial part of our whole-food diets throughout the year! Our bodies always appreciate all those good enzymes raw foods give us, and if there are raw foods treats around, we might be less likely to gorge on glutinous and sugary baked treats that give our digestive systems more grief.

Let's welcome Anne-Kristin to our pack of Tuesday Reviewers. (If you haven't taken a peek at her blog yet, you should. It's great!)
And by the way, we do sure appreciate your comments on Tuesday Reviews. It helps let us know that it's indeed something you want to read.

The Book: Ani’s Raw Food Desserts by Ani Phyo (DaCapo Press, 2009)
Review by A-K Thordin

Overall feeling: Ani Phyo has made a name for herself both in and out of the raw food world by offering simple, uncomplicated recipes that often require little more than a knife or food processor. Being a fan of her first book, Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, I was excited to see her approach translated to my own personal raw food weakness: dessert! Her latest book is a slim, portable volume that nevertheless holds 85 recipes for “Easy, Delectable Sweets and Treats” as well as tips on green living, health and beauty. With everything from raw takes on traditional favorites like Tiramisu to more “adventurous” fare like the Hemp Goji Acai Bowl, almost entirely without the need for a dehydrator or high-speed blender, this is the busy or new-to-raw person’s raw dessert book. Included in the introductory sections are ingredient descriptions and benefits, and a basic kitchen equipment overview with recommendations. There are lots of photographs (and for those of you who have her first book, they’re almost entirely of ingredients or dishes rather than the author) in an easy-to-read, though rather feminine, design approach. Divided into categories like frozen treats, cakes, chocolate, crisps, puddings, cookies, sauces, and wine/champagne desserts, you’re sure to find a lot of tempting choices in this book.

Best bits: Like the cover promises, the recipes are simple and easy to make; some taking little more than a few minutes. Each recipe has icons under the title which refer to the equipment required or recommended for particular recipes, so you don’t have to read through the whole recipe in order to find out if you can make it in your own kitchen. The book does a great job of making readers feel good about the food we’re about to indulge in by discussing nutrients, minerals, and other benefits in the ingredients, most of them with an enticing introduction on the yummy factor as well. And while most of the recipes do require little more than a knife and/or food processor, there are still a few recipes that make use of dehydrators or high-speed blenders for those who have them. The recipes are flexible and can be tweaked easily to suit personal tastes as you work, an added bonus of their simplicity being that you can usually know almost immediately what the final product will taste like before you start shaping cookies or plating a carob avocado pudding. Some of my personal favorites include the Peach and Pistachio Cobbler, Carob Walnut Cookies, Breakfast Toast (turned into raw PB & J - photo above), and Lemon Fig Cookies, though I’m also excited to try the Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake, Pineapple Icebox Dessert, and the Mayan Crunch Truffle Balls.

Less-wonderful bits: One thing you will notice right from the start, if you have a copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, is that both books have the same size and page design layout, right down to color and arch of the recipe titles, and differ primarily by the background patterns and cover design. The photographs, while useful, are overall rather mediocre considering the author’s stature and the extreme potential for drool-factor with these recipes – most of them end up a bit flat, with less-than-ideal lighting, and even messy displays of the food. As with many raw food books, nuts and superfoods or exotic ingredients like goji berries or yacon syrup may be cost-prohibitive or difficult to find locally for many, although Ani suggests using dehydrated vegetable pulp in place of nuts for those with nut allergies (and perhaps those with less-full wallets). The emphasis on anti-aging/anti-wrinkles may not be useful for many readers, and occasionally succumbs to the often-seen raw food preoccupation with youth, and beauty. Lastly, although simplicity is usually a great selling point, a few of the recipes are so simple that they almost don’t qualify as recipes: the Fleur de Sel Kissed Watermelon, for example, is simply watermelon with sea salt. Still, these kinds of recipes may be nice inspiration for times when you’re out of other ingredients or short on cash.

Whole foods focus?: Definitely.
Vegan-friendly?: Absolutely!
Eco-conscious?: Yep!
Web presence?: Indeed.

Warming up to better digestion

2009-11-16T08:55:00.011-05:00

When I first started talking to people about their nutritional health, I was amazed at how many people had digestive issues: bloating, gas, cramps, constipation (going less that once a day)....
It became less and less of a surprise to me as I started to make the links: we get very little, if any, digestive health education (things like "Don't talk with your mouth full" and "Don't shovel in your food" are taught under the guise of good table manners). Most of us eat far too much sugar (which encourages the "bad" bacteria in our guts to reign, killing off the "good guys", read, probiotics). And many of us have addictive relationships with food, associating it with comfort, and trying to nourish our emotional and/or spiritual selves more often than our physical parts.

The problem is, the more we tax our digestive systems:
* the harder it is to absorb the beneficial nutrients from the food we eat.
* the harder it is to balance our weight.
* the more compromised our immune systems become. (They say that 70% of your immune system is in your gut.)
* the worse we smell (bad breath, strong body odour, stinkier farts)
* the worse we feel.

Today, I just have 3 simple tips to get you going on the path to improved digestion. They're especially pertinent now that we're in the colder part of the year.

1. Resist eating anything that's cold. This applies to iced drinks, ice creem, yogurt, cold milk on cold cereal, and cold leftovers straight from the fridge.
Cold things cool down your digestive system, forcing your body to warm them up before they can be broken down, which means that undigested food sits heavily in your digestive tract longer than it ought to.

2. Enjoy "digestive spices" such as turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, ginger, cloves, liquorice and black pepper. Make teas (like Turmeric Ginger Tea on page 111 of Get It Ripe, Easy Tea on page 110, or either of the Rooibos Chais on page 244). If you are going to eat something cold (yogurt, cereal with milk, ice creem), certainly sprinkle on one or more of these spices to help balance things out. When heating up oil for any dish (soups, stews, stir-fries, etc), add a pinch of turmeric (sure everything will look a little yellower, but the taste will be pretty negligible).

3. Relax with a hot water bottle on your abdomen after meals or whenever you feel gassy and crampy. What a cheap and easy way to improve your health! (I've knit the "cozy" pictured here at least 3 times now.) If post-meal discomfort is chronic for you, prepare the hot water bottle before meals, and enjoy it afterward, hanging out on the couch (best if you sit upright, or in a semi-reclined position to allow gravity to help out too), breathing deeply, manifesting self-loving thoughts (am I getting a little too "Dr. Feel Good" for you here? Just wait for what I'm about to say!).

The better you feel physically, the more positively you'll feel emotionally. The more positively you'll feel emotionally, the lighter you'll feel spiritually - it's such a super cycle, isn't it?

Dense and delicious

2009-11-13T07:37:00.001-05:00

Sweet Potato Date Muffins

When you plan to make a muffin your meal, these are the ones for you. They are dense and delicious, and might just become one of your favourite muffins - ever. You might be looking at the ratio of dry to wet ingredients, or the temperature setting for the oven and think “This can’t work!”, but you’ll just have to trust me – it does! Pile the thick batter high in those muffin cups and you'll get crunchy tops and moist interiors - yum!

300g sweet potato, peeled and cubed (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups whole spelt flour
1 cup oatbran
1 cup rolled oats
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup applesauce (homemade or unsweetened store-bought)
¾ cup maple syrup
2/3 cup sunflower oil or softened non-hydrogenated coconut oil

Preheat oven to 410oF. Prepare 12 muffin cups with liners or a light coating of oil and set aside.
Put 1 inch of water in the bottom of a saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Place over high heat, cover, and once the water comes to a boil add the cubed sweet potato, and steam until tender but not mushy, about 6-8 minutes.
Whisk together the flour, bran, oats, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add the dates and stir to coat in the flour. Pour in the applesauce, maple syrup and oil. Mix together just until all the flour has been absorbed. Gently fold in the sweet potatoes. Portion evenly into the prepared muffin cups (yes, just 12). Slide them into the oven and bake for 28 minutes, until the tops are browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Stores in an airtight container for 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes 12 large muffins.

Thursday Love List

2009-11-12T11:16:00.002-05:00

You know I like to have themes going for blog posts, don't you?
Foodie Fridays, The Tuesday Review... and for a while this year I chronicled my Farmers' Market Finds on Mondays. Now I'm thinking I'll add the Thursday Love List into the mix.

Not Far From the Tree: Last Thursday evening, Lisa and I met up at Wychwood Barns for the End-of Season celebration (at which a copy of Get It Ripe was given away as one of the many super door prizes) for this Toronto based fruit-picking organization started by Laura Reinsborough (who I first met years ago through my ex-girlfriend when they were both at school in Sackville NB). This season (their second full year in action), Laura, her small handful of employees and hundreds of volunteer gleaners (Lisa included, with "supreme gleaner" status) harvested 8135 pounds of sweet cherries, sour cherries, serviceberries, mulberries, apricots, plums, crabapples, pears, sumac, elderberries, apples, black walnuts, and ginkgo nuts from private residential trees. All this local goodness gets distributed between the tree owners, the volunteers, and people in need who access services (like food banks) in 3 wards across the city. Win-win-WIN! Don't you wish you were involved in such a super organization? I sure do!

Generous pregnant women in Toronto who have met with me over past few months prenatally, allowed be to attend their births, and met postnatally too, sharing their very intimate experiences of pregnancy. Some of these women tell me they do it because it's a way to give back to the profession of midwifery, that they've so appreciated. It sure is helping me learn, and helps me get through the drier parts of the program with greater enthusiasm.

The Good Wife: As a dedicated student, I've tried to minimize presence of teevee in my life this semester (and it's not that challenging when 30 Rock doesn't seem as hilarious this season, and that new show Glee doesn't grab me at all), but I'll admit I'm hooked on this one. Maybe it's Julianna Margulies who I always knew was awesome (even though I never got into ER), or the fact that I haven't seen Josh Charles (of Dead Poets Society and Threesome fame) in years. Have you seen it?

Twitter Lists: I ignored them at first, and creating them for everyone I follow was a ridiculous time-suck for me last weekend, but I'm sure glad I did it because it's a super way to keep on top of tweets that interest me.

1 Minute Chocolate Sauce One part fair-trade cocoa powder (sifted) + one part agave nectar, mix until smooth = YUM! (Add a splash of liquid coconut oil if you desire.) Drizzle over whatever pleases you, like (coconut milk-based) Mint Ice Creem. So simple.

Compassion Without Compromise

2009-11-10T09:17:00.006-05:00

There's a backlog of books here at my house waiting for the attention of a review. I'm pleased every time one goes up, and I can shift the book from my mental "review" list to a less-attention-needing place on my overstuffed cookbook shelf.
I suppose it's a little unusual that I, a vegan cookbook author, give space to other vegan cookbook authors on my blog, but I'm fully aware that one or two cookbooks is not enough variety for most people, and it's neat (...yup, I just said "neat") to examine what else is out there. In my culinary life, different cookbooks are go-tos at different moments, and I expect it's the same for you all.
By the way, let's all welcome Ms. Mapcap Cupcake herself, Marika Collins, as a first-time Tuesday reviewer!

The Book: The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (Fair Winds Press, 2007)

Review by Marika Collins

Preamble/Overall Feeling: The Joy of Vegan Baking is brought to us by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, the thoughtful and sensitive founder of the Compassionate Cooks website. This expansive baking tome is written in a positive, enthusiastic and nurturing tone. An excellent resource for anyone who loves to bake whether vegan or not, it's approachability makes it particularly great for new vegans. Visually, the book is quite pleasant with nice glossy pages, a well-organized, sensible format, easy to read type and appetizing colour photos.

Best Bits: Colleen's friendly narrative makes the book very approachable and enjoyable to read. She makes no assumptions about the baker's level of knowledge or experience, and the recipes are well thought out and easy to follow. The book opens with conscientious and poignant essays on why the author chose to become vegan and why veganism is an important, powerful and positive choice. The book is filled with useful educational information, such as how to effectively replace eggs and dairy – advice that you can take outside the book to veganize other recipes. There are numerous informative appendices on how to read recipes and measure ingredients, a glossary of baking terms, lists of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, resources for sourcing ingredients and suggested reading. The book is also peppered with useful trouble-shooting guides and tip sheets, plus a useful chart of baking pan equivalents.
The expansive table of contents make this an all-inclusive dessert book with many traditional favourites represented. Everything from cookies and cakes to puddings and pies is on offer - as well as candy, frostings, toppings, syrups and spreads. Make a selection of these indulgent, sweet treats for your non-vegan friends and family and I challenge them to note the difference. I've sampled several recipes with excellent results, including the Hearty Spiced Cocoa Muffins, Pumpkin Bread, Baked Pumpkin Pudding, Apple Pie and Pastry Cream. All turned out beautifully and as expected.

Less-Wonderful Bits: The all-purpose flour and white sugar might give those with a more nutritional or whole-foods approach pause. Ener-G Egg Replacer also makes a frequent appearance throughout the book, which may cause a problem for those who either don't like the product or don't have access to it. I would encourage health-conscious bakers to experiment with alternative flours and sweeteners. I would have no fear subbing spelt flour and Sucanat in place of all-purpose flour and white sugar in these recipes – I tried it with the Hearty Spiced Cocoa Muffins with delicious results.

Whole foods focus?: Only somewhat (but that's not what the book's about).
Vegan-friendly?: 100%.
Eco-conscious?: Yes – the book promotes veganism and encourages buying fair-trade and organic ingredients.
Web presence?: Yes.

Slow cooking

2009-11-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

This is a great cool-weather recipe, when it's nice to have the oven going for a good portion of the day. The recipe testers for Ripe from Around Here just loved it.

Grandmother Palmer’s Baked Beans

Mother to two of the most fantastic kids I’ve ever cared for, Alisa Palmer put me in touch with her dad, Marven, who was willing to share this recipe of his mother’s with me. (He’d made it once when visiting, and years later I still remembered the heavenly smell as the beans cooked for hours.) Of course I had to find a replacement for the pork they use, but otherwise it’s pretty true to the original.
This is slow food, New Brunswick (turned vegan whole-foods) style. Serve with whole grain toast and a fresh salad.

1 lb (2 1/3 cups) navy beans (or yellow-eye or soldier beans), soaked in plenty of cold water overnight (for 6-10 hours)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ cup or 1 small can tomato paste (optional)
¼ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses
¼ cup pumpkin seed butter
2 tbsp. organic brown sugar or maple syrup
1 ½ - 2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp freshly grated ginger root or ½ tsp ginger powder
1 whole chipotle pepper (or ½ tsp powder) (optional, but highly recommended)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350oF.
Drain the soaking water off the beans and rinse. Put them in a 5-quart pot over medium heat, add 6 cups fresh water. Bring to a boil, skim off as much of the foam as you can, then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, until the beans begin to plump up (lose their wrinkled look). Add the onion, tomato paste, molasses, pumpkin seed butter, sweeteners, salt, mustard, ginger, chipotle and black peppers. Stir, then pour in an additional 1 ½ cups filtered water. Cover and slide in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300oF, and bake for about 4 hours longer (the original recipe says to be sure to check them “mid-afternoon” – it’s likely that Grandmother Palmer always served dinner, at 6pm), until the beans are soft and there’s just the right amount of sauce (which is, of course, up to you, but know that you can add water ½ cup at a time, as needed).

Serve warm.

That Sunday Feeling

2009-11-01T22:33:00.007-05:00

With the clocks changing today, I'm pretty sure my body thinks it's close to midnight. I'm torn between getting to bed at a decent hour, and putting a bit of time into writing.

I have an exam tomorrow afternoon. I have always had a lot of difficulty writing exams, and as it's been a few year since I was last in school (and closer to 5 1/2 since I was last in university) I am sorely out of practice. I also think I am too old to pull an all-nighter (in fact I think I was always to old for that).

Did you ever have that Sunday Feeling when you were a kid? It rolls around to those last few hours of the weekend and you know you haven't your homework for the following day and your not sure what to do - stay up late and get it done? Get up early on Monday morning? (yeah, right, like that's gonna happen!), or pretend to ignore the whole thing and watch Brothers and Sisters, or whatever happens to be on Sunday night teevee?

I am feeling a little like that right now. The guilt of not-enough-studying seems crazy though because I recall working as hard as I could without going around the bend this weekend. I skipped out on any sort of Halloween celebration (which was especially weird-feeling in my neighbourhood considering it has the most kids per capita in all of Toronto - if sounded like a parade going by our living room window for a good while). I missed tabling at Canzine for the first time in about a decade. I had to pass on an invitation to a family dinner out at a restaurant tonight. The funny thing is, I took some anatomy quizzes online today and didn't exactly fly through them, which confirms my suspicion that my brain has developed a Teflon coating.

And after all this whining it's become clear.
Here's what I like: hands-on learning and opportunity for practice. Here's what I don't like: textbooks and exams. Yes, those are my educational wishes, for me, and "different" learners everywhere.

Here's what else I'd like: for you to tell me what fun things you did for Halloween so I can do some momentary vicarious living.

Get saucy!

2009-10-30T09:30:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday, Monday and Tuesday was a busy time for me - shopping (including convincing my food co-op to stay open 40 minutes late just for me on a Sunday night, and a 9pm trip to Whole Foods with Lisa on Monday night!), prepping (with kind help from Lisa and my housemate Lesley), cooking, prop-finding, plating, and shooting the food photographs for Ripe from Around Here. John Cullen, the photographer, was super to work with, and the picture of easy-going. Marika styled the shots with a level of patience and attention to detail that I simply couldn't have mustered. If you're on facebook, you can see them here.

Now, there's no doubt about it that it's fall here in the northern hemisphere, and fall means apple season. Why not fire up the oven and get saucy?

Roasted Applesauce

While applesauce is a staple for vegan baking, it’s also a simple and delicious addition to many breakfasts: with yogurt and/or granola, on pancakes or waffles, or warm in a bowl on its own. Roasting the apple amps up the flavour – and gives your house an incredible smell in the making!
If you use just the peeled apples and water, the sauce will be simple and neutral enough to do anything with. Adding the lemon juice will brighten the flavour, make the sauce a little smoother, and likely help it keep longer in the fridge (ascorbic acid from the lemons being a preservative and all). Keeping the peels on makes the sauce more nutritious, but they won’t dissolve completely – it will be a tad bittier, though likely to blend in just fine if used in baking.

2 lb. apples (preferably 2 or more varieties, like pink lady, granny smith, spy)
juice of one lemon (¼ cup) (optional, see note above)
up to 1 tbsp cinnamon (optional)
½ cup warm filtered water

Preheat the oven to 350oF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Peel the apples if they’re conventionally grown, or if they’re organic you can choose to leave the skins on or not (see note above). Core them, and chop them into even-sized pieces (1/4-inch slices or 1-inch bits).
Toss them with the lemon juice and cinnamon (if using) in a large bowl.
*The photo above shows the various options: skin on (bottom), skin off (top 2), with lemon juice (top right), without (top left), with cinnamon (bottom again)*
Scatter them across the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.

Slide them in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes in all, rotating them and giving them a bit of a stir with a silicone spatula about halfway through.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so before scraping all the apples in your blender or food processor, and giving it a whirl just until no apple chunks remain. Alternately you could use a food mill if you have one. Store in a sealed container or glass jar in the fridge for about a week (maybe 2 weeks if you used lemon juice), or can them for up to a year of shelf stability.

Makes 2 2/3 cups.

The morning after a houseparty

2009-10-24T10:15:00.006-04:00

I feel at this moment like someone who indulged a little too much last night and is having a hard time getting her brain going after only 4 hours of sleep. I totally am this someone. My two housemates and I threw a housewarming bash last night that went past 3am, and then we decided it'd be best to clean up then and wake up to a sparkly kitchen and living room in the morning.

Here's what was great:
Lesley and I made caramel corn. An adaptation of the recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking, but without the corn syrup (bleh, that stuff ain't good - this article doesn't say much, but it's clear that that sugary liquid isn't health-supporting in anyway), and with more nuts. And people went nuts for it. Including me, right from the time it came out of the oven, say maybe 8:30pm, until almost 3am.

Dominika set up a killer music playlist using Groove Shark, which I know nothing about myself, but she highly recommends it.

I made some delicious mulled apple cider, which people had the option to spike with rum or not. I only spiked one of my many mugfuls with hooch as I'm on call for a birth right now. (It is weird watching people around you get slightly plastered when you're totally unintoxicated.)

Here's what I know about myself and night-time parties though: I have been middle-aged ever since I stopped being a teenager. If I go to bed past midnight I am most likely a bit of a basket case the next day.

I did my best to get to a yoga class this morning, but the gods seemed to be working against me. I got up, agonized over whether to go to the class on so little sleep, finally decided to and got my stuff together in 10 minutes, only to find that I didn't have the keys to drive the car to the class that is 20-30 minutes away, plus a stop I'd need to make to pick up my yoga shorts and mat at my mum's place. Ryan had borrowed my car yesterday and forgot to return the keys to me (my only one - he's lost the other 3). He kindly biked up to my place with the keys as quick as he could but I just didn't have the time needed to wait for him to spare. So getting to the class didn't happen.
I drove to the beach instead, and stood on the sand looking at the grey and cold-looking water, the waves powerfully rolling up onto shore, and then remembered my day of school work ahead of me. I reflected, as I watched the sun shining through the clouds, on how much I've been complaining about everything that's on my plate right now, and how much that goes against my belief that we should be constantly seeking out joy and letting go of the things that pull us away from joy.
And then I had what might generally be understood as an "ah-ha moment". I realized that it's not that I'm unwilling to work hard, it's that I'm unwilling to sacrifice my feelings of mental stability, and my interest in being with and helping others. I'm not sure how this search for balance will work out, but I think it's a new and better start.

Maybe you can relate this feeling of resistance shifting to willingness in your life? I'm interested to hear about it.

Mange tout

2009-10-23T07:27:00.001-04:00

First off, thanks for all your encouraging comments after Wednesday's post. I will indeed write more regularly, and with more enthusiasm now that I know you're into it. So now, on to food:

In French, snow peas are called pois mange-tout, which roughly means "peas eat all". I think it's cute, and fitting for this dish which is tasty enough that you'll likely want seconds.

Sesame Baked Tofu with Cashews and Snow Peas

This dish is great served on a bed of fresh or steamed bok choy and brown rice. If you like, broccoli florets (which are more seasonal right now anyway) can replace the snow peas, and almonds can stand in for cashews.

1 1-lb. cake non-GM firm tofu, cut into 1-inch square cubes
2 tbsp. tamari soy sauce
2 tbsp. olive, grapeseed or raw (not toasted) sesame oil
1/3 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cups trimmed snow peas, blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds and drained

The Dressing:
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. flaxseed oil or olive oil
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger root
1 tsp. brown rice syrup (or other liquid sweetener like agave nectar or maple syrup)
1/2 tsp. ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp. dulse powder (optional)
1/2 tsp. tamari soy sauce

2-3 thinly sliced scallions (as garnish)
2 tbsp. unhulled sesame seeds (as garnish)

Preheat oven to 350oF.
Place the tofu in a baking pan large enough to have just a single layer.
Pour in the oil and tamari, and toss to coat tofu evenly.
Slide pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, turning once or twice, until the edges of the tofu cubes are slightly browned and crispy.
Toast the cashews in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until they become golden and fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Turn the tofu with a silicone spatula (to prevent breaking the cubes) so that all the surfaces can get browned and crispy. Do this twice more before baking is completed. Set tofu aside and let cool.
Combine all the dressing ingredients and toss gently with the tofu, snow peas and cashews.
Garnish with the sliced scallions and sesame seeds, and serve at once. The snow peas will retain the brightest green colour if the dish is served soon after the dressing goes on.

Makes about 4 servings.

My internet life before facebook

2009-10-21T22:02:00.004-04:00

If you went back in the Domestic Affair archives to, say, 2005 or 2006, you'd find that I used to write quite a bit about the daily going-ons in my life.

I so don't do that anymore.

I manage to get up a recipe on a Foodie Friday here or there. I might post a Tuesday Review from time to time, but it's not the hugest surprise if I forget about the blog altogether for a month or more. I'm a girl who's excited by the idea of consistency, but I'm just about the opposite of a German train.

It's recently occurred to me that the time I used to spend on the internet blogging has all been directed to witty (or attempting to be witty) facebook and twitter status updates. But I think it was the regular blogging that made me a better writer.
This week, despite all the school work and book work on my plate (that I've gotten pretty good at whining about regularly), I've been drawn back to the blog. Who knows why exactly, or how long it'll last, but I'll go with it for now. (It's funny to think that 4 years ago there were times when it was hard to limit myself to one blog post a day.)

Anyhow, you know who else is exciting me with their blogging of late?:
* Alicia Silverstone (yes, the one and only blond vegan bombshell)
* Melissa (who has been torturing my jealous streak with tales of her travels in Italy)
* the always lovely and prolific Lisa
* Marika (my food stylist soon-to-be)
* local foods chef Deborah Madison

Now, here's what's going on, off the top of my head:
* I've got 50 days until my last school assignment for the semester is due, and next semester (thank heavens! as my mum would say) I have only 2 classes instead of 4.

* I am knowing that I've got to embrace a life of studies (and remember that the life of a midwife will eventually follow) for now if I'm gonna bust out of this feeling like I'm being forced to care about Vancouver Style referencing, and randomized control trials and the integumentary system (which, for you non-anatomy types, is skin and other layers of yer bod).

* I'm dancing with the idea of offering cooking classes out of my home in the new year.

* I'm more excited at the moment about coming up with ideas for book #3 than I am interested in okaying the edits for book #2 (I must apologize to Susan, my editor).

* I am constantly fantasizing about running away to Vermont to drive through the beautiful fall colours there.

So, what do you think - should I go back to writing more often?
If I did would you read it?

A Green Guide for Baby Care

2009-10-20T08:00:00.004-04:00

With the tiniest bit of breathing room in my life, I'm bringing back The Tuesday Review! Please welcome a new reviewer to Domestic Affair: Laurie, who is a colleague who lives in my neighbourhood and specializes in pediatric nutrition. She's also a mom.

The Book: Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care by Alan Greene, MD (Jossey-Bass, 2007)
Review by Laurie K. Meher

Preamble/Overall Feeling: This is an easy-to-read book that covers environmental issues and their impact on children's health. Dr. Greene covers every ‘room’ in your child’s life; the womb, the labour and delivery room, the nursery, the kitchen, etc. You can pick this book up at anytime and read just a chapter. It is very positive and encouraging for eco-holistic parents. He discusses everything from home-birthing to organic pet care!

Best Bits: This book is surprisingly in-depth for the amount of topics he discusses. Throughout the book there are "Green Parent Alerts & Reports" that quickly answers questions pertaining to the what is discussed in the chapter - for example "VOC Paint Facts" or "Are Wild-Caught Fish always healthier? (answer: sometimes)". He also has "Going Green" and "Buying Green" boxes that give you extra ideas on how to have a Green baby shower or buying baby-safe bottles. The food advice is more in-depth in the pregnancy section than in the baby section, but the advice regarding organics, farmers' markets and water bottles is relevant for both expectant moms and babies. He is positive towards vegetarian and vegan parents, doesn’t recommend juice and encourages whole foods – which is good in my eyes!

Less-Wonderful Bits: While informative, this book can be a little overwhelming. Dr. Greene does say right up front that you can take what you want and ignore the information that you don’t want. However it’s difficult for a new parent to not feel a little anxious about the potential dangers of conventional crib mattresses. Parents need to read this book and remember to be sensible. It may be healthier to get an organic wool mattress; however getting a used one handed down is good for the environment as well. It would be an expensive endeavor to follow all of his advice.

Whole foods focus?: Sure. (It isn’t a cookbook, but he does encourage whole food cereals, etc.)
Vegan-Friendly?: Yes.
Eco-Conscious?: Definitely.
Web Presence?: Yes (it provides sensible advice for expectant & new parents).

Sweet birthday treats

2009-10-16T14:08:00.024-04:00

I had a birthday since I last blogged. Turned 29 with just a little bit of fanfare - because with manuscript-finishing and midwifery schooling and house renovations there wasn't too much time. Lisa, angel that she is, truly made me feel like a princess on the day-of with an entire raw tiramisu!

I dunno what was in it, but Lisa mentioned almonds, Irish moss and cold-pressed espresso... I also tasted coconut, cacao and dates. Oh my, it was decadent enough to make about 24 slices!(The recipe's from Sweet Gratitude, a book I am now desperate to possess. (Maybe for Christmas?)

The first slice of something always seems to come out a bit of a mess.

And, more on birthday fronts, this past Monday I had the pleasure of attending a birthday breakfast for one of my favourite little people who was turning five. I wasn't sure if I was at the top of the guest list because I probably spent more time with her than anyone else aside from her moms and sister in her first year on earth, or if it was because she knows I bake. Just in case it was the latter, I sure didn't want to disappoint.

Lora's Chocolate Birthday Breakfast Muffins

When a 5 year-old invites you to her pyjama birthday breakfast, how can you not arrive with a treat that features her favourite flavour?

2 cups whole spelt flour
½ cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
¾ cup chocolate chips
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 cup buttahmilk (1 tbsp cider vinegar + non-dairy milk)
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 375oF. Prepare 12 muffin cups with liners or a light coating of oil and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the chocolate chips and banana. Pour in the buttahmilk, maple syrup, oil and vanilla. Mix together just until all the flour has been absorbed. Portion evenly into the prepared muffin cups (they'll fill pretty much to the top). Slide them into the oven and bake for 24 minutes, until the tops are domed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Stores in an airtight container for 2 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes 12 muffins.

She put spray whipped cream on it - who was I to protest?

Easy ways anyone can Go (more) Local

2009-08-28T11:17:00.003-04:00

Instead of a recipe today, I've started a list of tips. Do you have anything to add to it?

Prepare your foods at home more often.

Forget about bottled water, filter the water that comes out of your tap, from your most local fresh water source.

Make your own non-dairy milk. Even if the almonds or rice are sourced from afar, the water (the bulk of the "milk") didn't travel from California.

Buy dried beans instead of canned. Consider getting a pressure cooker to prepare them fast.

Preserve the local summer bounty by canning, dehydrating and freezing.

Just make a point of knowing where everything in your kitchen came from. You might keep a running tally, and set goals for yourself to keep the highest count on local.

Host local potlucks, or 100 percent local celebrations (like summer picnics and barbeques, Thanksgiving).

Quit your coffee and/or chocolate addiction. When fresh herbs are ready to harvest, make some healing tea blends.

Ask your local grocers to stock more local foods.

Encourage you favourite local restaurants to follow the lead of Candle 79 in Manhattan and other restaurants that highlight local produce, and local farms, on their menu.

Make a habit of shopping at your farmer’s market every week.

If you buy bread, find delicious artisanal loaves from local small-scale bakers instead of buying the factory made stuff or frozen specialty breads that come from afar.

Seek out local vineyards, especially organic ones. Wines, ciders, beers, hard liquors…

Eat foods from afar when they’re in season in the closest possible place.

Use foods from afar as treats instead of daily staples.

So how about you? What are you doing to make food more local for you?

Summer "amuse bouche"

2009-08-21T09:59:00.009-04:00

Maybe you thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth, but really, I just went across the pond - to Scotland for 3 weeks! So that, along with my frantic writing of the next cookbook manuscript, has me guilty of some very serious blog-neglect. Till today.

Tomato Basil Amuse Bouche

These raw appetizers are a delicious way to "amuse the mouths" of your guests before dinner is served on a hot summer evening. Use about 1 tomato per person, and if you have less than 8 people to serve, you may end up with leftover cashew creem (which wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it?).

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 4-8 hours
½ cup filtered water
¼ tsp sea salt
5-8 cocktail tomatoes (larger than cherry tomatoes, rounder than plum tomatoes)
1 medium clove garlic
about ½ cup fresh basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Drain and rinse the cashews and put them in a blender or food processor (fitted with the smaller work bowl if you have one), along with the fresh water and salt. Give it a whirl until the cashews are as smooth as they’re ever gonna be. You’ll need to stop the motor, scrape down the sides of the work bowl with a silicone spatula, and whirl again at least twice. Set aside

Cut the tomatoes width-wise into almost-1/2-inch slices, discarding the ends. Place the slices in one layer on your serving plate. Press the clove of garlic over the plate of tomatoes so that just a little bit of crushed garlic hits each slice of tomato. Dollop about a heaping teaspoon of cashew creem onto each tomato slice. Press 1-3 basil leaves (depending on their size) onto the ‘creem’. Season with salt and fresh pepper to taste.

Makes up to 8 servings. (Prepared, they don't keep all that well so try to make just enough for all your eaters.)

Spring-Summer Stir-fry

2009-07-03T07:55:00.001-04:00

Shiitake and Dandelion Greens Saute

This quick, simple dish from my friend Mahalia, is flavourful, and deeply nourishing. Dandelion greens seem to appear at different times in different places across the continent, but they should be easy to find right now.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-large onion (or 2 small onions), chopped or sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
up to 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (optional)
1/2 lb or so of fresh Shiitake mushrooms, sliced (can use dried – just soak in boiled water first)
1 large bunch dandelion greens, washed and chopped (or substitute 3-4 cups chopped kale or collard greens)
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce or 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste

Heat olive oil in a saute pan. Saute onions, garlic and ginger in oil, adding water as needed, until onions are very soft. Add salt, shiitakes, with more water if needed, and let simmer at medium heat, covered, for about 8 minutes. Add dandelion greens/kale/collards and more water if needed, cover, and continue to cook until greens begin to soften and wilt (about 2 minutes for dandelion, 5 with kale or collards).

Makes 2-3 servings.

Gimme a Quiche

2009-06-26T15:51:00.002-04:00

Asparagus and Spring Onion Quiche

It's always been a goal of mine to make a vegan quiche, but I'd never gotten around to it before this week. Yes, it's tofu based, and many of us are reducing our intake of the stuff, but I say a bit of soy in moderation now and then, for most of us, is nothing to fret about. Serve this with a fresh green salad, or steamed greens (brocco, kale, collards, rapini) with nooch, tamari and flax oil.

1- 9" pie crust
1 lb. asparagus (preferably not super-thick stemmed), trimmed
2 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
6 spring onions, trimmed so the white and only 3" of the green remains
2 medium cloves garlic
1 lb. (454g) firm tofu (if you have a scale, check to see that it's really a lb; sometimes the packages that say 454g are actually more, in which case you wouldn't use the whole thing)
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
3/4-1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. thyme (or 2 tsp fresh)
1/4 tsp. turmeric

Preheat the oven to 375oF. I'm going to let you fend for yourself in the crust department (and if it needs pre-baking, go ahead and do that. As you can see from the photo, I didn't even have the time Monday night, when I made this, to make a crust thus proving it to be optional). If you're opting to go crust-free, making this more of a frittata, oil a 9" pie plate and set aside (you're going to think at some point that the pie plate's not big enough, but it will be!).

Take your trimmed asparagus, and pick out the 12 nicest ones, and cut off the top 3.5-4 inches of them. With the rest of the spears, cut off the top inch - set all of these aside. Chop the remaining bottom bits into 1/2 inch (1cm) rounds. Slice the onions in 1/4 inch (1/2cm) rounds. Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a medium skillet, add the asparagus and onion rounds, and saute over medium heat until the asparagus begins to get tender, about 5-8 minutes. Fill a medium saucepan fitted with a steamer basket with an inch of water and place, covered, over high heat. Steam the asparagus tips and 3.5-inch pieces till al dente, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and toss with 1 tsp oil.

Place the tofu, milk, nutritional yeast, salt, thyme and turmeric in the work bowl of the food processor fitted with the S blade. Give it a good whirl to create a smooth texture. You will need to stop the thing, scrape down the sides with a spatula and whirl again to get the uniform consistency we're looking for.
Transfer half of the tofu mixture into a medium bowl and mix it with the asparagus and onion rounds. Take the veg-free tofu and dollop a small bit of it in the pie crust (or pie plate) and smooth it out to create a thin base. Portion in all the veg-tofu and smooth it out on top. Finally, spread on the last of the veg-free tofu mixture and make the surface real smooth. Decorate this with the reserved steamed asparagus spears and heads as you wish.

Bake for 40 minutes, until the top appears firm but not super dry and cracking.
Makes 6 servings.

Farmers' Market finds - week 7

2009-06-23T13:17:00.005-04:00

from Plan B Organic Farm
asparagus - $4.50 per bunch/lb. x 2
zucchini - $1.75/lb.
salad greens - $3.50/bag x3
garlic scapes - $2.50/bunch

The Cutting Veg
kale - $3/bunch
young Swiss chard - $3/bag
spring onions - $3/bunch of 6

Baba Link
Swiss mint - $1.50/bunch
Sweet Cicely plant (smells licoricey) - $2.50

Favourite spring flavour combination

2009-06-19T12:37:00.005-04:00

...Of course you know the one I'm talking about.

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

There’s a fantastic time late in the spring where the rhubarb’s been out for a few weeks, and the first strawberries appear. How can you not immediately celebrate this perfect pairing with some muffins?
Do pay attention to the size of the pieces of rhubarb you cut – if they’re too big their sourness will be quite a contrast in the muffin; if they’re too small they won’t be noticeable.

2 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup diced rhubarb (about 1 large or 2 thin stalks, sliced down the middle and cut in 1/2-inch pieces)
2/3-3/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup sour milk (1 tbsp cider vinegar + non-dairy milk)
1/4 cup sunflower or grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
optional topping: 1 tbsp organic sugar + 1/4 tsp cinnamon (not pictured above)

Preheat oven to 375oF. Prepare 12 muffin cups with liners or a light coating of oil and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the rhubarb Pour in the maple syrup, applesauce, sour milk, oil and vanilla. Mix together just until all the flour has been absorbed. Gently fold in the berries. Portion evenly into the prepared muffin cups. Slide them into the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the tops are domed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Stores in an airtight container for 2 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes 12 muffins.

***

If you're interested to know, the first time I made these the taste was good, but they were too moist, really, and didn't rise properly. I'd put in less dry ingredients and more wet ingredients and set the oven at a lower temperature (than what's listed in the recipe above). I'm sure you can see the difference:

In search of recipe testers: An adventure

2009-06-18T09:12:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning I decided it was time to get a team of recipe testers in place for my second cookbook. I'm in the thick of the recipe creation process right now, moving through it as fast as I can considering how little time I have, really. The manuscript is due at the start of September, right around the time I start school.

I had done this for Get It Ripe, but knowing there would likely be more people interested this time around, I thought I could do it better this time. Instead of taking anyone I could get, I set up more structured criteria: Tell me why you're interested, and your culinary experience, if any; promise not to go all substitutiony on me.

Using all the social media vehicles I had access to, I put up a post on my blog, sent a link to the post to my fbook groups and tweeted it. Letting people know about my search on the walls of various fbook groups lead to facebook threatening to shut down my account (so I'm still treading cautiously here). More than 15 people RT'ed the message on twitter (nice!).

Some e-mails were saying "Pick me!", "I really want to help out!" and "I'd be honored if you chose me" with this I-hope-I-get-the-job tone. Many promised to follow the recipes to the letter, as I'd mention in the call for testers. At first I thought it was cute that people were so eager and worried about being not-good-enough, but 50 e-mails or so in, it got to the point in reading e-mails that if people weren't gushing about Get It Ripe, I'd unconsciously question how much they really liked it because enough people were saying such super kind things about the book and my approach (I was getting spoiled!). The instructions in the call for testers was perfectly clear about needing an e-mail to my gmail account, so I knew not to take people who responded through facebook or twitter or in the comments on my blog, taking it as a sign that perhaps they weren't going to be super at following directions.

I sent out the first package of 38 recipes for my long list of testers at 10:30 last night.
As I was shutting down my computer an hour later I was saying to myself "Really, NO MORE TESTERS!", but then I awoke this morning to find this fantastic e-mail from David...

I am a 72 year old newbie vegan, having decided to take the plunge on April 1st. I bought Rip Esselstyn's Engine 2 Diet which sent me to check out a local health food store, Planet Organic. A very enthusiastic young woman there said I really should buy a book called Get It Ripe, but unfortunately they were sold out. I had just been given a gift card for Chapters so I rushed out there and got your book and didn't put it down for three hours after I got home! You did a wonderful job!
As for my culinary experience, it is quite basic but improving. My mother began teaching basic cooking (as well as sewing and cleaning) to me and my two brothers at age eight. My late wife was an excellent cook and so I did very little cooking during our 37 year marriage. When I retired, she said "I want to retire, too! I will retire from cooking!" OK said I, and I was just beginning to relax in the kitchen and be creative and adventurous when she was diagnosed with cancer and died 15 months later. That was four years ago and I am only now getting interested in cooking again. I started the year with a baking stone and Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads. Now I am beginning to delve into your book.
I really wanna test recipes for you!!

...and there was no way I could turn him down.

So I now, even after turning dozens away, have 82 recipe testers!
And while I love the company, this really is not sustainable for me - I have to manage all that feedback!
I suspect that for round 2 of testing I will need to narrow it down to about 30 people, but for now we'll all just have some fun with it.

Sharpen your knives, bust out your saucepans, preheat your oven!

2009-06-17T09:13:00.007-04:00

You knew this was coming, right - that I'd be looking for recipe testers for the upcoming Ripe from Around Here? Are you game? How 'bout I describe and you think it over before getting in touch.

1. This is a trade of sorts. I send you a recipe package - which means you get a more thorough sneak-peek than what's been appearing on the blog - and you give me info based on your experience with the recipes that can be very useful for me.

2. You don't have to be an amazing chef to partake (it's good, really, to have a mix of experience levels amongst testers). You do have to have a commitment to following the recipe as it appears. I'm talkin' to. the. letter.
The reason for this, obviously, is that if you don't test the recipe as it is, we're not really getting a good understanding if it works as it is. When I had testers for Get It Ripe, some wrote back saying that the substituted so-and-so and this-and-that but that it was still good. Nice to hear, but not super helpful. Also had someone write that a cookie recipe of mine that I've make too many times to count and has been enjoyed by hundreds of people was too salty. I can only assume she was super-sensitive, or used the wrong measuring spoon.
This also means that at least some of you will need access to ingredients beyond your average grocery store. Ingredients like lemon balm and tempeh will more likely be found at your local farmers' market or health food store.

3. You don't have to test all the recipes in MS Word package, but you do need to test at least two (and send me feedback) by the set deadline in order to be included in the next mail-out.

4. You can drop out at anytime if need be (this'll be running till September, I expect).

Does this all sound good to you? Drop me a line at getitripeATgmail.com with "I wanna test recipes!" in the subject line. Tell me a bit about why you're interested and your culinary background, if any, and how you heard about this (directly through the blog, through an fbook group, through twitter...). We'll take it from there. (A comment here on the blog is nice, but I'm gonna need that direct note to my e-mail account.)

Your involvement not only gets you access to these recipes almost a year early, but my praise and adoration. If you're super committed it also gets your name published in the book!

Inspired by Spring Produce, part 4

2009-06-12T09:10:00.000-04:00

So parts 2 (the Rhubarb Galettes) and 3 (the Pesto Potato Salad and Springtime Tabouleh) got different post titles, but I'm sure it's not too hard to follow along.

White Bean and Lovage Soup
This soup is very lovagey (if you go for all the recommended ingredients), but it's nice for something different. If you don't have or want some of the ingredients, you'll be pleased with the more commonly found options and still get a satisfying soup. I'm sorry there's no picture - I took some, but they seem to have disappeared.

1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 new/green garlics, chopped or 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 cups white beans (cannellini, navy or Great Northern)
4 cups vegetable stock or filtered water
1 bunch lovage (to make 2 cups lightly packed leaves and 3/4 cup chopped stems) OR 2 cups flat parsley leaves and 2 stalks celery, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary (or 2 tsp fresh)
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Allow the onions to caramelize a bit in the olive oil over medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring every so often to prevent sticking. Add the green garlic, saute over medium heat for 5 minutes more, then add the beans, stock (or water) and lovage stems only (or celery). Cover, and cook for 5 minutes before grabbing your handblender and pureeing to desired texture (or whirling in batches in a food processor or blender). Stir in the lovage (or parsley) leaves, rosemary, salt and pepper, cover and cook for a final 5 minutes before serving.
Makes about 6 servings.

A rant about farmers' markets, and two new recipes

2009-06-09T16:47:00.000-04:00

Lisa and I have developed a Monday evening ritual over the past month: she comes over to my place directly from her day job, we go to the farmers' market around the corner from my house, buy whatever produce we can find, and go back to my kitchen to make something of it. The objective is to create recipes inspired by local produce at exactly the time of year that the ingredients are available from nearby sources, making it truly authentic.

The first week was exciting - simply the return of the market for its second year was a thrill, and picking up baby greens, a greenhouse cuke, green garlic, wild leeks and fiddleheads (the last three in particular) offered a bit of a culinary challenge. But the following weeks have left something to be desired. Salad mix still, yes, but cukes have made no appearance since, asparagus was in stock only one week, and the fiddleheads and wild leeks are now done for the year. There are many tables with non-vegan items (meats, cheeses, honey) and "value added items" - breads, other baked goods, prepared raw foods, $20 flower arrangements... but that's not what I'm after. The market runs from 3-7pm each Monday, and we get there by 5 - this week one stall listed rhubarb and red Russian kale on their white board, but it was all gone by the time we arrived. We left with only a few items...

10 spring red onions ($2.50) and baby beet greens ($2) as well as 2 bags salad greens ($5) which are not pictured.

... and by the time we were back chez moi I was a bit cranky, I'll admit. I would like to think that someone can pop by their local market on a weekday evening, maybe on the way home from work, and be able to pick up the majority of ingredients they need to make dinner that night for their family. Wouldn't that be nice?
Maybe it's that our local market, certainly smaller than the more established Thursday Dufferin Grove or Tuesday Riverdale Markets, but all of these markets need to more reliably offer a variety of items in order to get cred from a wider audience. At least that's my feeling.

Okay, so enough complaining - I sent Lisa back to the market after our initial trip to pick up some potatoes (2.5 lbs for $2.50) and my crankiness dissipated once she arrived back. We did manage to scrounge up the ingredients for two salads, both which could be enjoyed at room temperature for a packed lunch.

Pesto Potato Salad

I have always been turned off of potato salad (or egg salad or tuna salad) with mayo. Bleh. (No offense if you're into it.) This, however is great. You could also throw in 1/2-1 cup green peas or chopped green beans, though you might want to up the amount of pesto and/or salt. Serve with a fresh green salad or steamed greens.

1 kg potatoes - scrub well, peel off only the funky bits, and chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup non-dairy pesto (any kind - basil, cilantro, garlic scape, parsley, wild leek, whatev)
5 spring red onions (or 6 green onions), thinly sliced
1 tsp. sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Bring a 3-quart saucepan of salted water to a boil, plunk in the potatoes, and cook uncovered until the taters are soft but not yet falling apart, about 10-12 minutes. Drain into a colander, rinse well with cold cold water, and place in a large bowl to cool. Add the pesto, onions, salt and pepper, and mix gently (maybe with a silicon spatula). Serve at room temperature.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Springtime Tabouleh

Bulgur wheat is replaced by gluten-free millet (or you could use quinoa). Asparagus and radishes are an early-in-the-season variation on the classic tomatoes and cukes. Fresh lemon balm is a unique replacement for some of the parsley, though if you can't find it, forget about it and double the amount of parsley called for. This filling salad tastes best on the first day, but will be fine on day 2 or 3. Serve with a fresh green salad or steamed greens.

1 cup millet
2 cups filtered water
2 cups (350g) chopped asparagus
1 cup finely chopped lemon balm
1 cup finely chopped mint
1 cup finely chopped parsley
5 spring red onions (or 6 green onions), thinly sliced
6 small radishes
juice of 1/2-1 lemon (about 2 tbsp to 1/4 cup)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2-1 tsp. sea salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper

Place the millet and the water in a 2 litre saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 20 minutes, just until all the water has been absorbed. Set aside and allow to cool.

Steam the asparagus for 2 minutes, until al dente, then transfer to a colander, run cold water over them to stop the cooking process, and set aside to cool completely.

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl (use a utensil or use you clean hands), until everything is well distributed. Serve at room temperature.

Makes about 8 servings.

Gallopping Galettes

2009-05-30T13:30:00.003-04:00

Ginger Rhubarb Galettes

I am an apprehensive pie baker. I think this comes from a childhood full of pies with fantastic crusts baked by my mum. (Of course she used white wheat flour, butter and maybe even an egg.) I can wrap my head around a galette (a rustic-looking free-form pie), though. Rhubarb is, of course, impossible to resist this time of year. And this is also a great time to use some of those local apples that are no longer nice to eat raw.

Fruit filling
4 cups chopped rhubarb (make pieces roughly 1/2-inch cubed)
2 cups peeled and sliced apples
3/4 cups organic sugar (any sort of granulated sweetness - just not conventional white sugar - will do. Could be organic brown sugar or Sucanat, try to get it fair trade.)
2 tbsp non-GM cornstarch
2 tsp. finely grated ginger root

Gallette dough
2 2/3 cups spelt flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 cup cold coconut oil
2 tbsp. maple syrup or other natural sweetener of choice (agave nectar, barley malt, brown rice syrup, raw honey)
up to 1/3 cup cold water

Toss all the filling ingredients in a 3-quart saucepan, stirring with a silicon spatula so that the sugar and cornstarch are evenly distributed. Cook, covered, over medium to medium-low heat (check to see that there's no sticking at the bottom and reduce heat as necessary) for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the rhubarb begins to soften and the juices thicken up noticeably.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

You can make the dough in a food processor (or a bowl). Pulse (whisk) the flour and salt together in the bowl of the food processor (a large bowl). Add the cold coconut oil and pulse (or cut with a pastry cutter or 2 knives) until there are just some pea-sized pieces of oil visible. Add the syrup and water and pulse some more (stir with a spoon or spatula) just until the dough forms a ball - you don't want it too sticky, but it shouldn't be crumbly anymore. Form the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400oF. Prepare a 3-4 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper (or don't line them, I'm sure, with all the oil in the crust that'd be fine, too). Once the disc of dough has cooled, peel off the plastic wrap and slice it into 8 even pieces. Taking the pieces one at a time, roll them quickly (you don't want them heating up too much or your crust will be less flaky!) into balls. Place a ball on one half of the piece of plastic wrap, fold over the other half (or rip off another piece to place on top) and roll out evenly with a pin to about 7 inches across (making sure it's an even thickness - it doesn't have to be a perfect circle though). Peel off the top plastic, flop it down gently on a baking sheet and peel off the rest of the plastic. Portion 1/2 cup filling in the middle of the dough and fold up the edges as best you can to keep the filling from oozing out. Repeat until all the dough and filling has been used (you should get 8 tarts).

Slide the trays into the oven and bake on the top (or a higher) rack(s) in the oven for about 30 minutes, just until the the top crust begins to brown and the underside of the crust in golden. Enjoy warm or at room temperature, maybe with some cashew creem (from Get It Ripe) or organic non-dairy ice cream.

Makes 8 individual galettes.

Inspired by Spring Produce, part 1

2009-05-29T10:50:00.001-04:00

Working with seasonal foods I'm realizing I've really got to be on the ball as far as figuring out recipes and getting them up on the blog goes! I meant to post these sooner, really, so now you get four recipes all in one go. You can expect a lovage soup recipe real soon, as well as that PMS tutorial as promised, ladies.

Citrusy Roasted Asparagus

Love these! Just can't get enough asparagus this time of year, really!
Prep tips:
* Pencil-thin asparagus will just snap at the bottom, naturally breaking at the woodier part that you won't want to eat. With thicker shoots, cut off the bottom centimeter (or so), then peel off just the bottom inch of the remaining shoot.
* Be sure to zest your lemon before you cut it open and juice it! (You could also try this with lime or orange.)

1 lb asparagus, trimmed (see note above)
1 tsp + 2 tbsp olive oil (divided like that)
2 tbsp lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
1 tsp. lemon zest (organic preferred)
1/4 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425oF.
Place the asparagus in a roasting pan (one where they'll all find nicely in one layer). Add the tsp olive oil, toss and slide them in the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes (depending on their thickness), until the skin begins to blister and they are tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
While the roasting is happening, pour the lemon juice into the smallest of saucepans and warm over medium heat to reduce to half the amount (so you'd have a tbsp remaining). Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining oil, zest and salt. Pour this over the roasted asparagus (once they've come out of the over) and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Makes 3 servings.

Garlic Roasted Fiddleheads
If you haven't discovered fiddlehead ferns before, now's the time! They're a cute spring delicacy somewhat similar to asparagus (though not by looks!). And in this recipe these little suckers turn out a little like olives in their succulentness, but that may just be me.
Turns out you have GOT to wash and blanch/boil fiddleheads before eating them to release some natural toxin that is sometimes present. I'm glad Lisa, my cooking companion, warned me about this - turns out she hadn't done it when preparing some a few days earlier and got a pretty bad stomach ache!

3 cups fiddleheads, trimmed
3 new garlics, chopped or 12 medium cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat the oven to 450oF.
Put a pot of water on to boil, and once boiling, toss in the fiddleheads and blanch them for 4 minutes. Drain, run under cold water, and transfer to a roasting pan (one where they'll all find nicely in one layer). Add the garlic, olive oil and salt and toss.
Slide them in the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes, until the fiddleheads begin to brown. Serve hot, topped with Creemy Ramp Dressing (below).
Makes 3 servings.

Creemy Ramp Dressing
I've really been enjoying this one! If it's too thick for your liking, feel free to water it down a tad.
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped wild leeks (bulbs and leaves)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup light miso paste
1 tsp. prepared mustard

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor (or handblender jar/cup) and blend till very smooth (about 1 minute). Serve over veggies, cooked grains or salad.
Makes 2 cups. Best used immediately, but will store in the fridge in an airtight jar for up to 5 days.

Wild Leeks with Wild Rice

Dominika felt there needed to be some carrot shavings in here, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Both she and Ryan weren't sure about the texture of the amaranth in there - I like it, but if you're apprehensive, go for the millet or additional brown rice.

1-2 tbsp olive oil
12 wild leeks (to make 1 cup sliced bulbs and 1 cup packed sliced leaves and stems)
1 new garlic (about 2 ft), chopped, or 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp sage
2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup brown rice, rinsed
1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed
1/2 cup amaranth or millet (or additional brown rice)
3 1/2 cups hot vegetable stock or just-boiled water
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Toss in the wild leek bulbs (not the leaves yet!) and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, reducing heat if needed to prevent browning. Mix in the herbs and salt, followed by the grains. Stir.

Pour in the hot veg stock or water, turn up the heat to bring it all to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook about 40 minutes, until the wild rice is al dente. Remove from the heat, stir in the chopped wild leek leaves and stems, and black pepper and serve hot, perhaps with something like marinaded and grilled tempeh, as we did.
Makes about 6 servings.

* * *
Lisa and I have another cookdate tonight, so don't forget to come back next week!

Farmers' Market finds - weeks 2 & 3

2009-05-26T10:20:00.006-04:00

Last week was a bit uneventful at the Sorauren Farmers' Market, but a successful kitchen week (as I pretty much had everything from week 1 to work with still... yes, I'm slow to start). This week my market saw the arrival of asparagus (brought by Plan B, but not from their farm) - yay! You can expect the appearance of rather-locally focused recipes to come - and maybe not just on Fridays!

Week 2
from Plan B Organic Farm
2 bags spring greens ... $6
1 bunch lovage ... $2
1 bunch fresh lemon balm ... $2

total = $10
And sadly, I can't find the photographs I took that day!

Week 3

Dominika got into cooing lovingly to the produce as I was photographing them together.

from Plan B Organic Farm
5 new garlic ... $2
3 bunches asparagus (1 lb. each) ... $12
2 bags spring greens ... $5
2 white potatoes ... $1

from Dale (a local forager)
1 lb. fiddleheads ... $7
wild leeks ... $4

total = $31

The close up - clockwise from top: asparagus, wild leeks (aka ramps), new garlic, fiddleheads.

Spring salad: be still my 'beeting' heart

2009-05-15T13:31:00.004-04:00

I am really enjoying these locally-grown salad greens. So fresh and crisp with delicate flavours. Last weekend, in anticipation of picking them up at my farmers' market on Monday (see post below) I started playing around with some new ways to make salads exciting. Enjoy the sweet flavours of the roasted beets and the dressing - they go quite nicely together. The salad picture also includes caramelized onions and raw sunflower seeds. Yum!

Heart Beets
1 large beet
1 1/2 tbsp. olive or non-hydrogenated coconut oil
1 tbsp. liquid sweetness (maple syrup, agave nectar or raw honey - it's up to you)
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Preheat your oven (or toaster oven) to 375oF. Scrub the beet and chop off any funky bits - I only peel the scabbier parts of the beet skin. Slice the beet in 1/2 cm (or 1/4 inch) slices. Using a heart-shaped metal cookie cutter (I'm not sure it'd work with a plastic one), punch out as many "heart beets" as you can, always placing the cutter near the edge of the slice of beet in hopes of punching 2 hearts per slice. You can chop up the remaining oddly-shaped leftover pieces and roast them too (or pass them through your juicer if you plan on using it in the next few days).

Mix the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl.
Place the beets on a baking tray, and drizzle with the glaze. Slide them in the oven and bake for 40 minutes in all, until mostly soft (though a little al dente's alright). Serve warm or cold, as a side, or on a salad as pictured.
Makes at least 8 hearts (with my cutter) and a bunch of bits.

Maple Apple Cider Vinaigrette
1/2 cup flaxseed and/or olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp apple cider
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or 2 tsp finely grated ginger root
1/2 tsp sea salt

I'm thinking the best way to make this is to put all the ingredients in a blender, and give it a whirl. You can also simple combine them all in a 300mL (or so) glass jar, screw on a tight-fitting lid, and give it a good shake, but I've been finding that when I pull the dressing out of the fridge on subsequent days, the oil has unpleasantly solidified and needs to sit out on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes or more to liquefy again.

Will keep in the fridge for at least 2 weeks.

Farmers' Market finds - week 1

2009-05-11T20:38:00.001-04:00

Today was the first Farmers' Market of the season at my local park. I'm going to try and keep track of what I pick up each week, but I thought it'd be helpful for us all to keep track of what's available locally when (at least in this bioregion). Hopefully I'll create some decent recipes that'll be featured on Foodie Fridays over the next few months.

from Plan B Organic Farm
4 new garlic ... $2
2 bags spring greens ... $7
cuke (from HOPE) ... $2
apples ... $2

from Dale (a local forager)
1.25 lbs. fiddleheads ... $9
1/2 lb. wild leeks ... $3.50

total = $25

Any suggestions would be welcome, I'm planning on making for something for lunch tomorrow.

I love my mum.

2009-05-08T11:11:00.004-04:00

Mother's Day is this Sunday - yeah, it kinda snuck up on me too, but it's a national holiday so there's some incentive to celebrate it... Not that I don't want to celebrate my mum everyday, fantastic woman that she is. She's also a lavender fan - more in her toiletries than anything else, but I thought I'd dedicate this new recipe I've been playing around with to her anyway.

Lavender Tea Cake

We're having a tea party on Sunday afternoon and I expect this will make a fine contribution. You can feel free to try baking the batter in a lined muffin tray too for about 20-25 minutes, or in a regular loaf pan for 50 minutes or so. If you'd like to go all out and glaze it, make the Buttahmilk Glaze from Get It Ripe with a splash of blueberry juice for colour.

2 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 tbsp. dried lavender flowers
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 cup non-dairy milk
2/3 cup maple syrup or 1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup softened non-hydrogentated coconut oil or sunflower oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350oF.
Prepare one 8.5 by 4.5-inch loaf pans or 3 mini-loaf pans with a light coating of oil. Line with parchment paper if desired for greatest ease of removal at the end.
Whisk together the flour, lavender, baking powder and soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the milk, maple syrup, oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract, and stir just until all of the flour is absorbed. Quickly stir in the vinegar just until it's evenly distributed.
Portion batter evenly into the loaf pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the tops are domed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Makes 3 mini-loaves.
Stores in an airtight container for 2 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.

A strip of parchment paper makes lifting the cake out of its pan the simplest thing ever!

This one goes out to all the ladies

2009-05-01T09:19:00.006-04:00

Any minute now, I know I'm going to get my period. I can feel it. I've had bouts of almost insatiable hunger, my uterus has had a bit of a churny feeling, and the other day I snapped at Ryan for something that in hindsight wasn't really a big deal. (He did make me dinner while I was off sulking though, which was nice gift for being a bit of a bitch.)

I bring this up at this start of this particular cycle because I recently got the results of some blood work back from my doctor. I thought with the amount of whole foods, and deep green veggies in particular that I eat, that I should have healthy levels of all the vitamins and minerals my body needs, but this time my iron stores were low - still in the conventionally accepted range of normal, but too close to low for my liking. This got me thinking that I should make a particular dietary push in the iron-consuming department for the next while, but especially around the time that I bleed, when I'm obviously loosing more of the stuff.

We need iron to enhance oxygen distribution throughout our bodies, keep our immune systems healthy and to help our bodies produce energy. Signs of iron deficiency include fatigue and weakness, decreased ability to concentrate, increased susceptibility to infections, hair loss, dizziness, headaches, brittle nails, apathy and depression. (I got this info of the World's Healthiest Foods Website.)

Here are the plant-based iron-rich food sources worth focusing on: Swiss chard, lentils, kidney beans, spinach, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, shiitake mushrooms, mustard greens, turnip greens, green beans, blackstrap molasses, as well as herbs and spices like nettle, thyme, cumin, basil, cinnamon, black pepper, oregano and turmeric. (And remember, you can generally expect higher nutrient levels in these things when they're organically grown!)

If you have Get It Ripe you might make yourself some Hot Iron or Ginger Turmeric Tea to drink, and the Chili Non-Carne (maybe over spinach or chard). If you're needing something sweet you might nibble on the Gingerbread, the Double-Whammy Ginger Cookies or the Tahini Thumbprint Cookies.

If your a bit lazy in the kitchen, and even steaming some greens isn't a daily habit, you might look into an iron supplement like Floravit (it's the gluten- and yeast-free version of Floradix).

A regular practice of deep breathing won't up your iron levels, but it will help get more oxygen in your body, help you to feel calm and energized, so I'd advocate for that too.

Now that I've brought up "Lady Health", if you want me to talk about PMS sometime, just let me know and I'd be happy to do so.

PS. For those of you who haven't heard yet, I was accepted to return to the Midwifery Education Program at Ryerson University this fall. Wheeee!

Getch'a Greens On!

2009-04-29T12:51:00.001-04:00

I just sent this piece off to the Toronto Vegetarian Association for their next newsletter, but I thought I'd give you a sneak peak.

I have been noticing these food blogs where vegan bloggers are chronicling their daily meals of legumes (mostly soy products), grains, and maybe a token veg on the plate, as if for garnish. One blogger I came across was posting everything online that she was eating for a month, and consumed as many as seven soy products a day, from yogurt to power bars to tofu cutlets. And I’ve noticed that there is rarely a shortage of sugary desserts on these blogs as well. As a strong whole-foods advocate I couldn’t help but wonder: as vegetarians and vegans, shouldn’t there be more of a love for vegetables, not "faux fare", uniting us?

You weren’t told by your parents throughout your childhood to eat your vegetables just so they could affirm who’s boss...

...Vegetables are super sources of much-needed minerals, vitamins and fibre. They also contain particular phytonutrients that scientists are only now getting to know and really understand how they all work together to keep us healthy in a way that a multi vitamin supplement never will. Plus, when our bodies are too acidic, our cells swell and are less capable of releasing toxins - and who wants that? Veggies make your body’s pH more alkaline, which helps us avoid disease.

But how much daily veg is enough? Some say about 5 cups a day (3 cups raw, 2 cups cooked as the weather warms up, 3 cups cooked and 2 cups raw in the colder months) to keep cancer away. (That's more than you thought, isn't it?) Another way to go about it is simply to be sure that at least half your plate is covered with veg at every meal. I make this happen by pouring hot soup over a handful of organic baby spinach or some steamed broccoli or kale, or dolloping chilli over some chopped romaine lettuce and topping it with fresh cilantro and creamy avocado. (Okay, okay, avocado is technically a fruit, with a nutritional profile more akin to a nut, but it’s still very good for you!) Sometimes I'll have a meal that's all veggies, with maybe some toasted seeds and tamari on top. It can be a very satisfying assortment of colours and textures.

And while a rainbow of vegetables will be both visually stimulating and nutritionally beneficial, deep greens – like collards, kale, bok choy, spinach, chard and parsley – have very little starch, get their colour from blood-purifying chlorophyll and antioxidant carotenoids, and contain other important micronutrients like calcium and folic acid. When you up your vegetable intake your body will thrive, and I’m sure it won’t be long before others notice a healthy glow. So getch’a greens on!

Research on local ain't drivin' me loco yet!

2009-04-24T11:13:00.001-04:00

I don't have a recipe to post for you this week (sorry!) because my time has been divided between frantically researching for/writing Ripe from Around Here (aka RfAH, aka "cookbook #2"), caring for the 4 year-old and 1 year-old of some friends, and hunting for a house.

First, thanks so much to you for all your well thought out comments on the Vegan vs. Local discussion. I asked that we keep it clean (read: kind), and you did. You were clear and encouraging too, which was much appreciated. I have decided keep the recipes 100% vegan, but as local as possible while still keeping my commitment to whole foods, so you can expect a lot of maple syrup (and some coconut oil)! I'll be putting in a section acknowledging that this may not be the most local cookbook out there, but it's the best-we-can-do vegan resource. I will add that should readers have more of a commitment to going as local as possible than they do to ethical vegetarianism, raw local honey or local organic butter may be used, because even the most adamant of vegans know that not all conscientious foodies have exactly the same values, and we're not going to get the world to go vegan overnight. I will also mention, for vegans, other ways they may still be harming bees, and endangered bats (if they choose agave nectar). How does that sound to you?

I've be researching this week for RfAH, as I said, and learned that the 100 Mile Challenge show from the Food Network, based on the very popular book by James MacKinnon (who's a super guy, by the way) and Alisa Smith, is actually putting episodes up online after they've aired, so even if you're like me, and don't have cable, you won't be missing out. Go to the page linked above, scroll down the middle column, and click on the words "Watch Episodes Online". Finally, a reality teevee show that doesn't nauseate me! (Just be sure to click on "full screen" once it gets going.)

Enjoy your weekend, pals. And do make a point of finding out when your local seasonal farmers' market begins this year (mine starts May 11. That's soon!).

By now, surely you've heard of V-con

2009-04-21T08:10:00.001-04:00

The Book: Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero (DaCapo Press, 2007)

Review by Roxanna Bennett

Overall feeling: This hefty hardback tome is the mother of all-purpose cookbooks. Best-selling vegan chefs Moscowitz and Romano have already carved out a reputation for themselves with their cable access vegan cooking show Post Punk Kitchen and their previous publications Vegan With A Vengeance (just Isa) and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World (both of them). Veganomicon seems a departure from their earlier work; it's a very serious attempt to create the be-all-end-all definitive vegan cookbook. The tenet of the book is "recipes you wish you grew up with" and this informs the tone and recipes throughout the book. Meant to be accessible, comforting and non-threatening, Veganomicon is written with real urban at-home cooks in mind. The recipes are laid out with step by step instructions in a very clear manner and with a special attention paid to timing the various components of a meal. Each recipe is clearly labeled with icons indicating if the recipe is soy-free, gluten-free, low fat, under 45 minutes, supermarket friendly or all of the above. There are several chapters dedicated to kitchen equipment, stocking the pantry and basic preparation techniques which really adds to the notion that the authors are attempting here to create a veritable vegan bible. A menu suggestion plan at the end of the book takes all the work out of combining dishes in a tasty way. Moskowitz and Romero hold your hand throughout the entire process, gently encouraging the nervous cook and offering alternative ingredients or methods where applicable. I felt very much like I was being babysat by my cool older cousins as I read this book and prepared some of the recipes.

Best bits: The authors personalities burst out of the pages, there are friendly and funny intros for almost every recipe. All the basics are covered here, from snacks, breakfast, salad, soups, 'sammiches' like Snobby Joes and Tofu Po'Boy, onto more complicated meals like Eggplant Potato Moussake with Pine Nut Cream. The guesswork of creating the elusive complete protein is covered in the chapter Mix and Match where the recipes are laid out in categories of vegetable, grain and protein, the idea being to cook one of each however tickles your fancy and combine them all for a totally satisfying meal that hits all the nutrition bases. I'm a big fan of the one pot meal, so I was thrilled to find a chapter dedicated to just that with tantalizing recipes for Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits (drool), Pumpkin Saag (slurp) and Sweet Squash in Mole Sauce (I could drink a bucket of mole sauce just on its own). There aren't any recipes that rely on fake meats or cheeses and there's a jam packed chapter for creating sauces and fillings to complement other recipes in the book.
You would have thought that the authors had exhausted their dessert repertoire with Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World but they pleasantly surprise with a chapter for muffins and scones, another for cookies and bars, a miscellaneous dessert chapter with a kick-ass recipe for vegan ice cream.

Less-wonderful bits: The two-colour design of the book is a bit disappointing and the colour choices a bit off-putting. If this is meant to be an ultimate cookbook it would have been great if the bucks had been shelled out to create a four colour palette and allow for better photography. There is a section in the centre of the book for glossy photographs which cannot be doing the food any justice, the photos are unappealing and slightly garish. The low resolution photos that are tacked onto the end of some chapters or floated in the background behind the text detract from rather than enhance the design of the book.

Whole foods focus?: Somewhat.
Vegan-friendly?: 100 percent!
Eco-conscious?: In that it's vegan.
Web presence?: Yessiree

When it comes to conscious food choices, is it vegan vs. local?

2009-04-19T11:51:00.000-04:00

I'll admit, I have been lazy about getting into a research and writing routine for this second cookbook, even though I'm well aware that there is a very real deadline looming, if still a few months away. This weekend though, I decided to face reality, dig in, and set a schedule for myself. And now that I'm following said schedule, I see that there is a very big issue on the table: Are the Vegan and Local Food movements in opposition to one another?

In an effort to create whole foods recipes that animal product-free and feature locally-grown ingredients, many of us in North America and Europe come up against some difficult questions:
* Maple syrup is vegan and local, but I can't very well use it every single time I want some sweetness in a recipe. So, do I go for locally-produced raw honey from small-scale hives, or agave nectar from Mexico (which I've just recently learned is often processed with an enzyme derived from black mold).
* There's a similar question around fats: when making fruit crumble and biscuits, do we use non-hydrogenated coconut oil or organic butter from a small-scale local farm? This book certainly won't include butter, but for committed locavores that's the only vegetarian solid fat option. Local sunflower oil isn't always appropriate, and as a nutritionist I'm not a fan of canola. (And I don't know of any olives growing in Canada that would produce olive oil.)
* The same questions apply to coconut milk vs. organic cream, and dairy milk vs. rice or almond milk.

Here are some articles I found in some Google searching:
* from Intuitive Kitchen
* Soy vs. Meat on Grist
* Food-related Environmental Tips on Global Stewards
* "Will You Go Vegetarian?" from Wired
* "Is Honey Vegan?"
* "The Great Vegan Honey Debate" from Slate
* honey question answered on VegFamily.com

So I'm asking you now to weigh in on this:
* First: Do you identify as vegan or a locavore? Or both? Maybe you're neither (you just like good recipes or are an all-around whole foodist).
* Then: What would you do if you were writing recipes for a locally-focused vegan cookbook?
* If you're a strict vegan, would you boycott and trash-talk the book if it included honey and maybe beeswax or just avoid the personal use of honey?

I welcome your thoughts, though I ask that you please be kind. Many of us feel very strongly about our food choices, I know, but I'm wanting to open up a discussion here, not gather together a firing squad.

Put the oven on hot

2009-04-17T08:01:00.004-04:00

Roasted Spiced Cauliflower

I often like to add my own organic dishes to amazingly flavourful but not as healthy Indian take-out. Allowing some fresh organic baby spinach or steamed broccoli to soak up some of the flavour of the baingan bharta (a roasted eggplant dish) from my fave Indian restaurant balances things out a bit. But here's a simple and flavourful dish requiring little effort that you can make at home. The cauliflower and turmeric are great for your liver, and the other spices are good for digestion. You may choose to omit the turmeric if you've got a lot of other yellow turmericked dishes on your plate (say this one) and you want some visual diversity.

1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into smallish florets
1/4 - 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated coconut oil, melted OR grapeseed oil OR olive oil
6 medium cloves garlic, pressed or grated
1 tbsp. garam masala
2 tsp. mustard seeds (yellow or black)
1 tsp. turmeric (optional)
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Preheat the oven to 425oF. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.
Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Spread this evenly on the baking sheet so everything rests nicely in one layer. Slide it in the oven.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring it all once with a spatula half way through the roasting time. Serve hot.

Makes about 4 servings.

An old favourite (a new recipe)

2009-04-03T08:55:00.004-04:00

Can you think of a better way than baking to spend a rainy April day? Neither can I!

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

When Ryan said he had a craving for oatmeal raisin cookies the other morning, who was I not to oblige by coming up with a recipe? (You'll notice the cookies photographed have both sunflower seeds and walnuts - in hindsight I though they were a mistake, but if you think you'd prefer then to the walnuts listed below, by all means, go ahead and use 'em!)

2 1/2 cups spelt flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 cups organic raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 scant cup* softened non-hydrogenated coconut oil or sunflower oil
1 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

* The oil should measure a cup minus 2 tablespoons (or so).

Preheat oven to 350oF.
Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder and soda and salt in a large bowl. Toss in the raisins, nuts, and cinnamon.
Mix the coconut oil, sweetener and vanilla thoroughly in another bowl (If you had an electric mixer and the energy to clean it off afterward, I’d suggest you use it). Add the wet ingredients to the first bowl and mix just until all the flour has been absorbed.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto an unoiled cookie sheet and bake for 13 minutes, until golden.
Eat ‘em warm, or allow to cool completely on a rack before storing in an air-tight container.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Simple Steps for Spring

2009-03-25T07:06:00.001-04:00

Even as a health practitioner I get can get overwhelmed at times – not always feel certain just where I should focus my efforts in moving towards greater health and wellbeing. I often let the principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which highlight various elements in particular seasons, be my guide. According to TCM, spring is the season to care for your liver, eat sour foods, and address your anger.

Your liver, humbly situated under your rib cage on the right side, does an impressive 400-plus things for you each day, including the filtration of toxins (like alcohol, drugs, and germs). There’s lots you can do to show it some love and help it to function effectively.

I love that fresh produce gets growing come spring and we can start to enjoy local asparagus, baby greens, dandelion greens, radishes and spinach to get some important minerals and fibre into our bods. Steam or grill the asparagus, put the dandelion greens in a salad or through your juicer, dip radishes is your favourite hummus, and pour hot soup over organic baby spinach or blend it up in a berry smoothie. Just be sure that at least half your plate is covered in vegetables at every meal! While not necessarily in season, the liver is especially fond of the phytonutrients of veg in the Brassica family, like bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards and kale.

The mention of sour brings citrus to mind of course, so start spiking your water with fresh lemon juice. This is especially beneficial and refreshing to do first thing in the morning (I’m talking pre-coffee, if that’s part of your established wake-up routine). Limes are just fine too.

If you’re often feeling angry, now may be the time to take a look at it. Five minutes of conscious breathing – first thing in the morning, last thing at night, or whenever you need it – makes a real difference when you make it a daily habit. If something really gets on your nerves, instead of delving into those pissy feelings, make a deliberate effort to come back to the nicest feeling you have access to. It could be something or someone in your life you feel good about, or simply the smell of spring in the air.

Further reading:
Staying Healthy with the Seasons by Elson Haas, MD
Food and Healing by Annemarie Colbin

(This article appears as the cover story in the Toronto Vegetarian Association's newsletter, Lifelines, but I thought you might like to read it, too.)

Winter's last gasp

2009-03-20T08:23:00.005-04:00

We may be having warmer moments, and sunshinyier moments, but there's not much to eat growing out of the ground yet. It's a good time to use up the last of the storage crop of cabbages and potatoes.

Polish Neighbourhood Soup

I live in the west end of Toronto, just off a street with many Polish storefronts - bakeries, delis, restaurants, and even a Polish video store and a religious store displaying Catholic paraphernalia in Polish in the window. Pierogies and sausages abound, but not for me. Ryan, who has frequented nearby restaurants for soup in the past, gave me a bit of guidance on this one. It's simple and satisfying.
And yes, I do avoid "faux" products most of the time (because of their soy, wheat, oil and sodium content), but there are moments when I just don't feel like resisting a Tofurkey Beer Brat. It's good to be "good" most of the time, but I`m not going to loose sleep over 2 of these a month. They're tasty (in a completely-unhealthy-but-at-least-cruelty-free way).

2 medium-large onions, chopped
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 kg. potatoes (I like Yukon Gold), peeled, rinsed, and chopped
about 6 cups chopped green cabbage
4 cups (or more) vegetable stock or filtered water
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. caraway seeds
2 tsp. sea salt
1-2 pkgs. Tofurkey Beer Brats (half to one per person/serving)

Saute the onions in the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they become soft (about 8-10 minutes). Add the potatoes, cabbage, and stock (or water), turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer, add the vinegar, caraway and salt, stir, cover, and cook until the potatoes are soft. (If you're going to enjoy some 'brats', now would be the time to heat 'em up in a skillet, no oil required, just a splash of water to avoid sticking, until they're browned on a few sides.) Now bust out your handblender, or potato masher, and break things up a bit. It' nice to keep the soup chunky, but not too chunky (find the balance that you like).
Chop those 'brats' up into bite-sized pieces and distribute evenly in the soup bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowl and enjoy hot, with a nice fresh salad or some steamed broccoli.

Makes about 8 servings.

Frequently Asked Questions

2009-03-17T22:48:00.003-04:00

I love hearing from people. You know how much I love getting blog comments (not that I'm a big responder, but I appreciate reading them all the same). I also love when people drop me a line by e-mail (that's getitripeATgmail.com) to say they've been reading or cooking with the book and what their experience has been. I have been finding though that many people have the same questions, and along with feeling like a broken record, I'm not to jazzed about all the typing. So in comes an FAQ post to the rescue!

This book is really just for vegans (and omnivores won’t like it), right?
Actually, I wrote this book for everyone. While converting people to veganism just isn’t my thing (I think we should all get informed and make the decisions we feel are best for us), I do believe as a nutritionist that we all need more creative ways to be eating and enjoying vegetables. A whole foods plant-based diet is cleaner-burning in our systems and eliminates many of the most common food allergens (like dairy). And I’m not the only one suggesting that everyone eat vegan meals more often, it’s a popular idea these days (just read Food Matters by Mark Bittman or the UN document Livestock’s Long Shadow) for slimming down, addressing other health issues, and for the health of the planet.
Recipes that tend to impress the pants off meat-eaters the most include The Good Shepherd’s Pie, Coconut Cauliflower Chana, Sesame Kale Soba, Millet-Stuffed Bell Peppers, many of the soups and salads, and pretty much any of the muffins (Banana Chocolate Chip), cookies (Double Trouble Chocolate or Date Coconut) and desserts (the Chai Cake)!

Where can I get your book?
As a former employee of an indie bookstore, I do encourage you to spend your dollars at their establishments. (Did you know that a greater percentage of the book price goes to the author if you get it at a smaller place instead of one of the corporate chains?) I understand that the pull of the discounts and the sometimes free delivery from big name online sellers can be quite enticing. When it comes down to it, if you can get your hands on the book in one way or another, I’m happy!

Where can I get your book in Montreal?
I get asked this particular question often enough that it’s worth answering here. Co-op La Maison Verte in NDG sells my book, and I love them so much that I hope you go and support them! It can also be found at Bon Appetite in Westmount and any Chapters or Indigo store location.

Do all vegans avoid wheat?
Of course not, silly! Veganism is simply defined as the elimination of all animal products (like meat, dairy, eggs) from one’s diet (and often from one’s lifestyle too). Get It Ripe excludes wheat because it’s a grain that many people have developed an intolerance or allergy to, including me. (And what would be the fun in creating recipes I couldn’t enjoy myself?) For many people, spelt, while it’s an ancient grain that’s related to wheat (and still contains gluten), is easier to tolerate, and it can replace wheat with a relative amount of ease in most recipes.

I can’t eat gluten. Will Get It Ripe have recipes I can enjoy?
Almost 75 percent of the recipes in the book are or can be gluten-free, including a few sweet treats. And rest assured, I’m working on more gluten-free baked goods for the next book!

I can’t eat sugar. Does that mean all the sweet recipes and baked goods are off limits to me?
Most of the recipes in the book are free of granulated sugar, and when it is called for it’s organic and fairly traded sugar, which contains more minerals and gives the growers and producers a fairer wage. All the muffins and most of the other recipes in Get It Ripe are sweetened with fruit, maple syrup, agave nectar, stevia and/or molasses.

Why so much maple syrup? (And what if I can’t afford it?)
Maple syrup is a staple in my kitchen because it tastes delicious, is vegan (unlike honey), is produced locally (one of the many perks of being Canadian!), and contains more minerals (such as manganese and zinc) than refined sugar, making it less of a hit on our blood sugar levels and a more health-supporting sweetener.
If you feel that you can’t afford maple syrup... well, I have a few thoughts. I don’t think that it takes a million dollars to eat well, but I would ask you to look at where the money you have is going in your life. We as North Americans tend to spend a significantly smaller percentage of our income on food, as compared to folks in Europe. Are you “not affording” wholesome foods, but going out and buying $7-12 drinks at the bar, or $200+ shoes/jeans when the mood strikes you? Obviously, I’m very food oriented, but I have to ask “Don’t you deserve high quality (fresh, clean/organic, whole) foods to nourish your body?” and “Don’t the people producing this good food deserve to make a living wage?” Often times maple syrup can be replaced with agave nectar (but be sure it’s organic agave nectar, as I’ve been hearing that some agave “syrup” is being cut with corn syrup... ugh!), though I’m not sure that’s any cheaper. There was a time in university where I’d pour water over a packed cup of brown sugar to substitute for maple syrup, but that was before I had the nutritional understanding I have now, and saw that while you may save money with lower quality sweeteners now, you’ll spend way more on probiotic supplements to heal your digestive tract from sugar damage later on.

If you’re talking about “ripe” does that mean the book’s recipes are all raw?
Nope, the recipes aren’t all raw – about 23 of them are. You’ll get to enjoy many of the drinks and salads in the book, some sauces and a few desserts.
Get It Ripe is a spin on “get it right” – encouraging you to take nutritionally-beneficial steps that help you move towards greater health and happiness. “Ripe” brings to mind (at least to my mind) fresh, juicy, seasonal produce, which is hopefully the focus of any meal.

I leant my copy of Get It Ripe to a friend – can you send me the recipe for _____?
I am so wrapped up in writing my next book that I really can’t take the time to send individual recipes out over e-mail. Check Domestic Affair to see if the recipe is here somewhere. If not, I’m sure you’ll find something just as great in the blog recipe archives.

Here is a list of my personal health problems and/or concerns and questions about certain foods. Can you tell me what I should do?
How to best support our health can be a mystery to many of us, especially with all the conflicting information on teevee, in magazines, on the web, and from our health practitioners, family and friends. I understand that questions come up (heck, they do for me, too!). I love sharing information, and consulting with people about their health and nutritional concerns, but I can’t spend hours each week responding to individual questions, nor can I give you answers about what you “should” do when I don’t have adequate information about you, your family history, your lifestyle, etc.
If you are interested in nutritional consultation with me (you don’t have to live near me!), which includes a thorough assessment to help me offer suggestions that’ll suit you best, go here (best viewed through Firefox, or e-mail me for an updated PDF pamphlet).

Are you going to write a book on vegan or vegetarian pregnancy, or a whole foods nutrition/cookbook for kids?
All these topics are of interest to me, but I prefer writing about what I know firsthand, so until I’ve had a wee one (or two) of my own, I’m going to hold off on writing books on those topics. In the mean time, I recommend The Natural Pregnancy Book by midwife and herbalist Aviva Romm and the books what Should I Feed My Baby? by Suzannah Olivier and Raising Vegetarian Children by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina for pediatric nutrition. (If they’re not veg-focused, they at least have a good holistic/whole foods bent.) Vegetarian cookbooks for kids that I like include Honest Pretzels and Salad People by Mollie Katzen and Better than Peanut Butter & Jelly by Marty Mattare and Wendy Muldawer.

I’m thinking of going to school for nutrition. Can you tell me about your school, and if you think I should go?
I attended Canadian School of Natural Nutrition here in Toronto to become a registered holistic nutritionist. They have sites across Canada (and by distance ed), just check their website. The course topics include Anatomy and Physiology, Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, Preventative Nutrition, the Body-Mind-Spirit connection, Pediatric Nutrition, Sports Nutrition, Allergies, and Alternative Diets. I had a few wonderful teachers who I still keep in touch with today. For many students it is a catalyst for further study (some people go on to naturopathy or homeopathy) or something they want to add to an already existing career (like personal training, massage therapy, culinary arts, or work with children or the elderly).
One of the big challenges for the right now is waiting out the learning curve while people begin to understand the value of preventative self-care and more holistic (body-mind-spirit connecting) healing practices. I do believe that everyone should see a holistic practitioner (naturopathic doctor, holistic nutritionist and/or doctor of traditional Chinese medicine) at least once or twice a year, just as you’d see your family doctor, but until that becomes generally accepted practice, I joke that holistic health practitioners are like the new “starving artists” (and we don’t even have access to things like artists’ grants!).

Are you still selling your cookzines?
For years I loved producing zines, but it’s not a big focus of mine anymore – I’m trying to focus on books!
Sometimes I’ll bring any stock I still have (like Ripe #4, Sprouts and Roots) to an event, but it’s unlikely that I’ll be making more copies of the old cookzines (Vegan Freegan, Ripe #s 1-3, Root, Cookie Zine...).

When’s your next book coming out?
My second book, Ripe from Around Here, is expected to be released by Arsenal Pulp Press in March 2010. As the title suggests, it has a local foods theme, but will be set up in a similar way to Get It Ripe: resource chapters (helping you to understand where various foods are coming from and how to reduce your carbon footprint and build healthy communities) followed by recipes.

A different way to start your day

2009-03-13T08:34:00.006-04:00

Goodness, this is the third time this week I've meant to get a blog post out, and I'm sure glad it's finally happened. What with workshops and lectures, seeing clients, figuring things out with real estate agents, enjoying a Dragon Bowl dinner in the dark while watching Doubt at the local revue cinema with one of my favourite people, and editing a colleague's cookbook... I've been busier than I've been in a while. Still, that doesn't mean I'm resorting to take-out or power bars....

Chia Seed Porridge

I've heard this kind of concoction called pudding before, but in my mind pudding is smooth, and this isn't (though the texture is fun). Chia seeds are an impressive source of omega-3 (couldn't we all use a little less inflammation in our lives? Let's hear it for those essential fats!) and while I held off on trying chia seeds for a while as they are exponentially more expensive than flaxseeds, their price is going down (and I'm coming around – it's all about variety in the kitchen!).
Now chocolate... excuse me, cacao for breakfast? you may be wondering. Well, why not?, I say. Those chocolate cravings can kick in early in the day for some of us, and this stuff is not only a good source of anti-oxidants, but it's not all looped up in immune-compromising sugar, like other chocolate products.
This recipe, as long as you use homemade raw almond milk, is of course considered a living food (yaaaaay, enzymes!).

6 tbsp whole chia seeds
1 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
9 pitted dates, soaked in 3 tbsp warm water for 5-10 minutes
3 tbsp. raw cacao nibs, ground (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup fresh berries, to top (optional - as you can see from the pic above, all I had on hand were frozen berries)

Distribute the chia seeds evenly in 3 (250mL) custard cups or put them in a medium bowl.
Place the dates and soaking water, milk, cacao nibs and/or cinnamon, vanilla and salt in a blender or food processor (I used my easy-peasy handblender). Pour this mixture over the chia seeds and stir well, breaking up any possible chia seed clusters.
Allow it to soak for at least 10-15 minutes until thickened, or cover and let it do its thing in the fridge overnight.
Stir again before serving, and top with berries if desired.
Enjoy!

Some perspective, and a good laugh

2009-03-03T08:50:00.005-05:00

Have you seen this? I'm not entirely sure who this guy is, but I absolutely love it!:

I watched this with my mum the other night and she was loosing it, meaning I hadn't seen her laugh that hard in forever. The phone bit was especially funny because my childhood (her current) phone number has three zeros in it, we were the last people we knew to get an answering machine in the 90s, and she still has a cream-coloured rotary phone in the basement!

And as I begin this week with the goal that I will reduce my time on facebook by at least 50% (meaning I'm only going to check it once or twice a day. Those of you not on the fbook train are like "Geez, this lady's hooked!"), it's good for me to remember that there was a time before all this technology we rely so heavily on, and that we had fun at that time too!

I also want to offer you at this time the HUGEST thank you for your recent comments that were so generous and really heart-warming, if I can use that term (does "heart-warming" just sound like the way you'd describe a documentary about someone who against all odds managed something magical?). I said "Please massage my bruised ego a bit" and you said "No problem!", and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Needing kindness, giving kindness

2009-02-27T08:25:00.005-05:00

I had a recipe lined up for today, but in light of something that happened yesterday, Foodie Friday will actually be postponed for Feelin' Good Friday.

I'd like to preface all this a little further by making sure that you know that the reason I like to offer people information related to nutrition and wellness is because I'd love, and I expect you would too, if the world was generally a healthier happier place, right? And you also know, of course, that if you want to improve the state of things in the world you've really gotta look after yourself first/all the while, yes? And to that end, I've taken what I've learned on my own path, and in consulting with clients, and written a book (which is not enough to live on, for the record, at least at this point) that will hopefully help others, maybe you, make more body-, earth- and animal-friendly choices. I also made a few food prep videos to go up on YouTube to help people see just how easy this whole foods cooking thing can be (which, by the way, was quite costly with $400 camera rental, etc).
Okay, so with all that in mind, I'll proceed.

I went over to my YouTube account yesterday to check things out, and to my horror discovered that someone, about 3 weeks ago, had posted a really abrasive comment after my Blueberry Green Drink video saying something nasty about my physical appearance and that I shouldn't be speaking about health publicly if I wasn't in whatever his version of "top shape" is. I was pretty blown away, and of course deleted the comment as fast as I could. Then, surprisingly, in that same morning someone else posted under my Flax Maple Cookies "get it ripe - lame". WTF?!!!?!!?

If I wasn't racing out the door this morning I would take more time to talk about the issue of anonymity on the internet and how people seem to feel free to post such hateful things when they think that no one knows who they are. (Of course I'm not the only target, one of millions likely or more - just look at the homophobic comments under Sean Penn's Oscar Acceptance Speech vid.) I guess we have to look at how people are raised too often in environments where kind and skillful behaviour just really isn't modeled and encouraged.

Anyhow lovely readers, if I might humbly ask this of you, perhaps today you could click your way over here, especially if you haven't seen my cooking videos before, and say a little something nice (as you're inspired to do so) that'd cleanse my YouTube pages of all that negativity. I think you may need a YouTube account yourself to comment, so if you don't have/want one, maybe you might pass the word onto someone you know who does. I would hugely HUGELY appreciate your kindness!
(A bunch of people already left notes on my facebook wall about this which, I'll tell ya, totally helped to shift all this to a place where I knew not to take it personally.)

Enjoy your weekend, eat some good nourishing food, breathe through your nose, smile and laugh when you're inspired to do so (and even sometimes when you're not) and remember to come back for the soup recipe next week!

xoxoxo jae

Vegan TexMex - yeehaw!

2009-02-24T07:29:00.009-05:00

The Book: Hot Damn and Hell Yeah: Recipes for Hungry Banditos by Ryan Splint/The Dirty South by Vanessa Johnson (Microcosm Publishing, 2007)
Review by Roxanna Bennett

Overall feeling: I stumbled upon this unique cookbook from independent publisher Microcosm while searching the interweb for vegan Mexican recipes. Part of my never ending quest to sneak vegan food into my omnivore boyfriend's mouth while he's not looking involves reworking most of his favourite foods into vegan versions. I was immediately attracted to the bright red cover with the hand drawn skeleton in a sombrero leering out from beneath the title. What I didn't realize when I bought the book is that it is actually two books in one, halfway through Hot Damn and Hell Yeah you flip it backward and upside down and voila, you have The Dirty South, a totally separate cookbook. I like the zine/handmade feel of both books although I am more partial to the skeleton illustrations and the type treatment throughout Hot Damn and Hell Yeah.
These books are pretty much the opposite of whole food nutritious cookbooks. As Splint says in his introduction "What it's about is food without obscure ingredients, that's Bourbon Whiskey BBQ Sauce, Country Fried Tofu, Biscuits and Gravy are just some of the southern styled recipes that don't exactly scream holistic health. Both books are intent on creating veganized versions of traditional southern recipes that are heavy on spices, hang the health factor. As it says on the cover of The Dirty South, 'Eat More Grease'".

Best bits: I love Tex-Mex so I'm all fired up to try the many burrito and enchilada recipes. The Sweet Potato Pie recipe is ridiculously decadent and recipes for homey food like Hush Puppies and Johnny Cakes make me hanker for a sunny day in the south with a bottle of tequila on hand. Staples like Beans and Rice as well as several different chili recipes make it easy to entertain large crowds with relatively little effort. There are recipes in both books for Mushroom Gravy and for several different kinds of BBQ sauce; it's easy to imagine even the most hardcore meat-eater tucking into a tofu sloppy joe smothered in gravy.

Less-wonderful bits: You'd probably have a heart attack in short order if you lived on this kind of diet, especially when most recipes call for a slathering of gravy. Some of the recipes in The Dirty South don't even have measurements, you're meant to make it up as you go along which I don't like, what's the point of having a cookbook to guide you if it only asks you to improvise? That seems like cheating to me. There are a number of recipes in both books that seemed tacked on and have nothing to do with the Southern theme; there is a Vietnamese recipe in Hot Damn and Hell Yeah while in The Dirty South there are a number of Ethiopian recipes. I'm sure the food is delicious, but it feels like the authors are trying to fill up pages with out of place recipes.

Whole foods focus?: No way, Jose.
Vegan-friendly?: Absolutely.
Eco-conscious?: Not so much.
Web presence?: yup

Because we need a rainbow

2009-02-20T08:25:00.005-05:00

... Especially at this time of year when the days are grey more often than not.

Dragon Bowl

Lots of colours on our plates are visually stimulating, but the variety also suggests that your getting a broader range of micronutrients to fuel your bod. In this case, we also get a beautiful blend of flavours. Many of these ingredients (except for the greens) can still be found locally this time of year. I like the contract of the warm cooked grains and tempeh with all the raw veggies and sprouts. The ingredients listed below are in rough per-person measurements.

1/2 to 1 cup cooked grain (brown rice, millet, quinoa)
1-2 good handfuls chopped romaine lettuce or baby spinach
1 handful finely shredded red cabbage
1 handful spiralized red beet
1/2 medium carrot, grated
a few pieces marinated and grilled tempeh*
1 small handful sunflower or mung bean sprouts
1 tbsp brown and/or black sesame seeds
1/3 recipe Dragon Sauce (see below), or to taste

In a decent eating-sized bowl, layer the ingredients in the order they're listed. (No hard and fast rules, it's up to you.) Enjoy!

Dragon Sauce
The sweetness of this recipe compliments the tempeh and veggies quite nicely.
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tbsp grapeseed or olive oil
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. tamari soy sauce
2 tbsp. filtered water
1 large or 2 medium cloves garlic

Blend all ingredients with a handblender, or in a blender or food processor. Makes enough for 3 Dragon Bowls. Store any leftovers in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.

* To prepare the tempeh I just slice it however I want, splash on some tamari and a pressed clove of garlic and fry it up in some coconut oil until browned on both sides.

Pack yer bags, and be sure to bring yer VAGG!

2009-02-17T14:50:00.002-05:00

The Book: Vegan a Go-Go! by Sarah Kramer (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2008)

Preamble/Overall feeling: How It All Vegan! was my first vegan cookbook. I got it when I was still only vegetarian, and thought that veganism mostly just sounded cool. It is Arsenal Pulp Press's bestselling book to date. Being that APP is my publisher too, I can only dream that Get It Ripe will someday come in second place. After co-authoring a second book, and then flying solo for La Dolce Vegan, Sarah Kramer now gives us VAGG.
Last Fall, I actually had the pleasure of traveling with Sarah (we were both speaking at the Boston Veg Fest and shared a hotel room), so when she says in this book - a "best-of" compilation with 36 mini-pages of intro and travel tips - to bring a plastic neti pot, and that there's no shame in wheeling around a huge suitcase, I can confirm that it's what she does herself. (I, on the other hand, am of the mentality that packing light is cool, but am not naturally a light-packer by any means which results in broken zippers on over-stuffed bags and any extras acquired on the trip having to be carried in additional bags - what a headache! Not to mention it rules out any of the initially aimed for potential of looking smooth. Just for kicks go read Sarah's account of our trip here.)

Best bits: This is, hands down, Sarah's best book. Can I say that? Her famously peppy personality shines through, with photographs of her throughout the book (this girl is not camera shy in the least!). It is just the cutest size, and the design (including the symbols "New Recipe", "Quick and Easy", "Travels Well", "Will Impress" and "Needs Special Ingredients") is great. I believe it's also Arsenal Pulp's only full-colour book (lucky duck!). The travel tips are sensible, and very refreshing for those of us who are non-animal-product-eating and/or don't have oodles of cash to lay down for convenience (and tonnes of restaurants) when we're out of town.

Less-wonderful bits: We are not going for haute cuisine here, folks, just so you know. The ingredients are mostly limited to what you can find at a grocery store, so while the recipes get top marks for simplicity, they can only be so nutritious thanks to the limited views of food imposed on us by the purchasers at said stores. As the quality of the ingredients in the recipes aren't specified, it could really be hit or miss on the how-good-they-are-for-you front. Make a recipe with white flour, GMO hydrogenated margarine, and table salt or make it with whole spelt flour, organic non-hydrogenated marg or olive oil, and sea salt, and nutritionally it's a different story, y'know?

Whole foods focus?: Somewhat.
Vegan-friendly?: 100 percent!
Eco-conscious?: In that it promotes and animal product-free lifestyle.
Web presence?: yup.

Freezer tarts and chocolate hearts

2009-02-12T12:09:00.006-05:00

Sending some sweet love for this weekend, especially to those of you who're gluten-free! I know it's not Friday, but posting today gives you time to pick up any needed groceries before Saturday.
(Before we go any further though, I'd just like to thank you all for your recent comments - I do love hearing from you!)

Live Lime Pie

You'll forgive me for the rustic look of this tart, I could have made a prettier second batch for photographing this weekend, but I don't think you'd want to have to wait till next week for a recipe like this one! These raw treats are only slightly adapted from a recipe by my friend and colleague Julie Daniluk from her debut book Meals that Heal Inflammation. Be sure to zest your lime before you slice it open for juicing!

1 cup raw walnuts and/or cashews
1 cup shredded coconut (plus a little extra for garnish)
1/2 cup packed pitted dates (they need to be soft like fresh honey dates or medjool dates)
1/4 sea salt
3 avocados (not overripe)
1/2 cup raw agave nectar and/or raw honey
3 tbsp. lime juice (from 1 or 2 limes)
1 tsp. finely grated organic lime zest (from 1 lime)

Put the nuts and coconut in a food processor and pulse to a coarse meal. Add the dates and salt and whirl again until you get a uniform mixture that begins to stick together. Transfer this mixture into a 9 or 10-inch pie plate, or portion evenly into a dozen muffin cups. Press the mixture to make a compact crust using your fingers or the back of a spoon (or both). Slide it into the freezer for 15 minutes to set.
Rinse out the bowl of the food processor so it's ready to use again. Put the avocado flesh, agave nectar or honey, lime juice and zest in the food processor and whirl until smooth. Remove the crust(s) from the freezer and pour this creemy filling into it, ,smoothing it out as desired, and sprinkling with some shredded coconut if you like. Return to the freezer to set for at least 15 minutes. You may defrost them for 10 minutes before serving if you like. To remove the tarts from the muffin tray, simply run a paring knife around the edge and they should release with ease.

Makes 1 pie (about 8-12 servings) or 12 little tarts and about 1/2 cup leftover lime mousse. Store any leftovers in the freezer.

***

Gluten Freedom Love Bites

The trick to gluten-free baking really is a blend of various flours. The banana and coconut oil add lovely tropical fruity notes to these little love cookies.

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/3 cup amaranth flour
1/3 cup corn or tapioca flour
1/2 tsp grey or pink sea salt
1/2 ripe banana
1/3 cup fair-trade cocoa powder
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated coconut oil (recommended) and/or sunflower oil
1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/2 raw cacao nibs (optional - you could also use finely chopped nuts)

Preheat the oven to 350oF. Line 2 baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.
Whisk together the flours, cocoa powder and salt in a large bowl. Mash the banana in a medium bowl and then cream it with the oil and syrup using a silicone spatula until a uniform mixture is achieved (it's okay if you can still see like beads of coconut oil). Scrape this mixture into the bowl of flours, add the cacao nibs and stir just until all the flour has been absorbed.
Portion the dough by the heaping-tablespoonful out onto the prepared baking sheets. I choose to form some of them into hearts with my fingers, but is you can find your collection of heart-shaped cookie cutters, by all means, use them (though you may still want to manipulate each one to give it a personal touch).
Slide in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until tops look relatively dry (be sure not to overbake them!). Allow to cool completely on a rack before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 smaller cookies.

***

PS. Remember the culinary Valentine paraphernalia I mentioned 2 years ago? I predict they're going to be dusted off Saturday morning. You know, now that Ryan and I live together and all, I don't think he needs to pretend he doesn't believe in romantic gestures anymore. I'll let you know how it goes!

A sweet use for amaranth

2009-02-06T07:04:00.004-05:00

Pear Ginger Amaranth Crumble

I’m more of a crumble person than a pie person myself, as long as the crumble top is the right balance of flour and rolled grains. Always looking to include nutritious amaranth in a recipe, I find the grains add a nice texture. And the pear and ginger – need it be said that they complement each other so nicely?

Fruit bottom
5 largish pears, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tbsp. amaranth
1 tbsp. whole grain flour (like oat flour)
1 tsp - 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger root (mild - spicey, you decide)

Crumble top
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated coconut oil or non-dairy margarine (like Earth Balance)
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole grain flour (like oat flour)
1/2 cup Sucanat or organic sugar
1 tbsp. amaranth
½ tsp. freshly grated ginger or 1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. sea salt (use only 1/4 tsp. if you used margarine)

Preheat the oven to 350oF.
Gently toss the pears with the amaranth, flour and ginger root in a 2 - 2.5 litre baking dish using a silicone spatula. Whisk the oats, flour, sugar, amaranth, ginger and salt in a medium bowl, then cut in the oil or marg. It should be kind of clumpy.
Spread crumble over prepared fruit and bake for about 40 minutes, until fruit is soft (poke a knife in to see). If the top is paler than you’d like, turn the oven to broil and brown, but only for about 3 minutes – and be careful to keep a good eye on it because it can quickly burn.
Serve warm, maybe with a drizzle of coconut milk.

Makes about 6 servings.

You can believe it, because it's true.

2009-02-03T09:13:00.002-05:00

The Book: You Won't Believe It's Vegan!: 200 Recipes for Simple and Delicious Animal-Free Cuisine by Lacey Sher and Gail Doherty (DaCapo Press, 2008)

Overall feeling: Last summer there was a syndicated review circulating the Associated Press of my book and two others, one of which was this one. The reviewer said: "Well, with recipes such as raw cashew aioli and tofu hot wings, you probably will believe it. But that doesn't mean you won't like it. Sher and Doherty offer some inventive and appealing takes on vegan cooking." The quote really cracks me up, because I know how conventional eaters are about "alternative" diets, and I know what the authors meant, which is what many of us are trying to prove: that vegan eating can be delicious and nutritious. (With coverage like this, is it really still an issue? Sigh....)

Best bits: You can tell that the authors are professionally trained chefs (training I envy quite frankly - they attended the Natural Gourmet School in NYC) by the amount of creativity in the recipes and the culinary techniques they use (I can think of a few people in my life who'd get nervous if you asked them to dredge something - only because they wouldn't be sure what it meant). And to that end, I have great confidence that any recipe I made from the book would turn out as promised. There's a well-rounded selection of everyday recipes (tofu scramble, veg stock, black bean soup, peanut sauce, mushroom gravy, "eggless salad", Earth Burger, tofu cheesecake, chocolate and vanilla cakes) and those that are more culinarily adventurous (like Coconut Seitan, Samosas, White Bean Crepes with Balsamic Grilled Tempeh and Basil "Butter", homemade Rosemary Spelt Gnocchi!).
I love that they have a whole 20 pages of Live Foods complete with raw cheeses, pizza, nachos, maki rolls, raw granola, and raw lemon pie. They also have a little section for feeding kids at the back, which it great, and I hope vegan parents who have the book use it as their suggestions are all nutritionally sound (though I would go for other nut butters over peanut butter).

Less-wonderful bits: The personality of the authors doesn't really shine through for me, but I don't think it's a big deal as many of us don't need to feel the urge to become BFFs with the authors of their culinary go-to books. I'm assuming neither of them are big bakers, as I don't think I've ever seen a vegan cookbook with just one muffin recipe (no matter really, there are lots of other vegan cookbooks to fill in the blanks). There are some recipes that call for "Florida Crystals" - and it took a bit of searching to discover it's just a brand name for evaporated cane juice (so, I wonder, why not just say "evaporated cane juice"?). If I were to get really picky I'd comment on the samey-ness of the food photography (two pics on one page, both with red cabbage garnish; same white square plate used in 5 of the 9 recipes), but really, don't get me wrong, they're still nice photos.

Whole foods focus?: Sure.
Vegan-friendly?: 100 percent!
Eco-conscious?: In that it's vegan.
Web presence?: I couldn't find one.

It's okay to be corny, I like corny.

2009-01-25T19:41:00.002-05:00

I know, I know - a recipe well before Friday. Sometimes it just can't wait, even if it means messing with convention.

Double Corn Muffins

We seem to always have a tonne of cornmeal in our pantry, which is fine by me because I really enjoy the texture it adds to baked goods and it's a nice warming grain to use at this time of year. These muffins are sweet, but the sweetness is subtle enough that they can go either way - serve them with a soup or stew, or a nice smear of jam at breakfast or tea time. (For the record, I'm working out the recipe so there's enough batter for an even dozen muffins, but you get the 2 bonus ones for now!)

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 cup organic/non-GM cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1 1/3 cups "sour" milk (1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice + non-dairy milk)
1/3 cup olive oil or sunflower oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup applesauce or "flax eggs"
2/3 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen - if you don't want kernels, substitute with raisins or dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350oF. Prepare 14 muffin cups with liners or a light coating of oil (alternately you could do a tray of 12 muffin cups and a mini loaf pan) and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon (if using) in a large bowl. Add the milk, oil, maple syrup and applesauce. Gently mix together just until all the flour has been absorbed. The batter will seem pretty thin, but the cornmeal will absorb a decent amount of liquid as it bakes. Pour into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about a 1/4 inch from the top.
Slide them into the oven and bake for 25 minutes (35-40 minutes for the mini loaf), until the tops are domed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Store in an airtight container for 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes 14 muffins.

* * *

In other news, I'm getting back into a blanket project that I started last year and will be thrilled if I can get it done before I'm 35 (that means I'm giving myself another 6.5 years if I need it). It's the Circle Blanket pattern from The Knit Cafe, only I've adapted it in a few key ways. (If you are a knitter and want my version of the pattern, I'd be happy to post it.)

I thought it would be a good way to get rid of all this old lopi I've had since I first learned to knit eight years ago (and before I learned that there are nicer textures of wool out there), but I've now depleted my stash of all the yarn in colours I'd like to include in this blanket, so I'm left to kicking myself for having not taken advantage of the boxing day yarn sales, and maybe deciding to hold out for Romni's sale in July.

It's both a good and a treacherous project for a goal-oriented knitter like me (it's true, I don't knit for the calming pleasure of the activity, I knit to get it done) because it's not so long between the time I cast on and the time I can stay "I'm done another circle!", however it is not a particularly speedy project, so I won't get do holler the most satisfying "I'm done!" for quite some time. Maybe yearly updates would be most appropriate for this project.

Ryan blurrily captured the moment I realized I'd need to make another 4 times the amount of circles I have now.

Sweetie pie (and cakes and cookies and tarts and... and....)

2009-01-20T07:58:00.006-05:00

The Book: My Sweet Vegan: passionate about dessert by Hannah Kaminsky (Fleming Ink, 2007)

Overall feeling: If I lived with or near Hannah, I expect I'd be rather fat and have a raging case of candida. But would my sweet tooth be happy and satisfied? Oh yes, it would. I'm not going to talk about how Hannah put this book together - creating the recipes and taking all of the 80 gorgeous photographs - at the young age of 18 because quite frankly I expect she is sick of everyone cooing over how young she is, and it sure doesn't do much for my self-esteem, having not had my first cookbook published until the age of 27. I had the opportunity to meet Hannah last November at the Boston Veg Fest where we were both doing cooking demos. Despite her active nerves (as this was her first live demo), she had this matter-of-fact confidence with her ingredients (cakes, frostings) that I really dug.

Best bits: If you are looking to make straight-up vegan sweets, to be inspired by mouth-watering images (really, it's some of the best photography I've seen in a vegan cookbook), and to impress the pants off conventional eaters - making them say "I can't believe it's vegan!", then this is no doubt the book for you. And if you are like me - a bit more whole-foods oriented and enjoy a good challenge to "healthify" a recipe - then dig right in and get testing. Hannah's writing is clear, confident and inviting; her recipes a perfect blend of veganized classics and creative new ideas. I am hard-pressed to find recipes that I wouldn't want to sample, though the ones at the top of my to-try list include: Caramel Macchiato "Cheese" Cake, Chai "Cheese" Cake, Mocha Devastation Cake, Peach Melba Layer Cake, Root Beer Cupcakes, Silken Chocolate Mousse Cake, Cashew Creme Pear Tart, Pink Lemonade Tartlets, Pumpkin Pecan Pie, Green Tea Tiramisu and Pumpkin Toffee Trifle. (And then after enjoying thoroughly, I'd take some probiotics to finish.)

Less-wonderful bits: Of course you know, as a holistic nutritionist, that I am wary about all the refined foods going on in this book. I think we could all do to reduce our consumption of all-purpose flour and white sugar, if not eliminate it completely. I am more about the whole grain flours, maple and agave syrups, coconut and sunflower oils before canola and vegetable oils, and coconut milk over soy creamer. I am also surprised when vegan books don't push for fairly traded products like sugar and chocolate/cocoa, because if we're all so big on animal rights, shouldn't we be advocating for human rights in food production industries, too? Anyhow, I won't go any further on that point, because it's really my agenda, and in all fairness, Hannah never claimed it was hers.

Whole foods focus?: Nope.
Vegan-friendly?: 100 percent!
Eco-conscious?: No (except that it is vegan).
Web presence?: yup.

Five minutes in the tropics

2009-01-16T20:03:00.005-05:00

Freshly Juiced Pina Colada
It went down to -21oC this Wednesday here in Toronto (that's -6oF for you all in the States), then at 10pm last night there was a major power outage in my part of town and we woke up to a bitterly cold house this morning (I've since opted for evacuation to my parent's place). While we should all be aware of the virtues of local foods, and make sure our produce that winters over well came from neighbouring farmers, sometimes a brief visit to the tropics, if only in your mouth, can do wonders to lift the chilly January spirits. Leave the pineapple core in tact for juicing, as they say that part has anti-tumor properties!

1 medium pineapple, peeled (you know what I mean, yes?) and cut length-wise in quarters
3 frozen bananas (I guess this makes it less conventional, and more of a smoothie)
1/3 cup coconut milk
a splash rum (maybe 1/4 cup?), to taste (optional)

Pass the pineapple through the slower setting on your juicer.
Pour the juice into a blender or food processor along with the bananas, coconut milk and rum, if using. Give it a good whirl for about a minute, until very smooth. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Makes 3 servings.

Ryan enjoying some liquid sunshine.

Workshop to get you going in the right direction

2009-01-10T20:56:00.008-05:00

For those of you in and near Toronto, I'm offering a workshop: Realistic Resolutions: developing a New Year's wellness plan you can actually stick to at my place next Sunday.

Want more info about the workshop (and can't access the facebook link)?

Date & Time: Sunday January 18, 2-5pm
Place: my place, Roncesvalles Village, Toronto
Description: Oftentimes the best projects are DIY projects. And taking charge of your own health and well-being can be excitingly rewarding!

With the nutrition and health information provided in this workshop, as well as some recognition of the law of attraction, you can design your own path to wellness.
I'll also be busting out my bag of tricks to help you get on your way with the greatest amount of ease, and offer tips to make your plan stick day after day, week after week, month after month.

The plan you will begin to develop during the workshop will be individualized for your needs, tastes and lifestyle. It can be valuable to sign up with a friend to help keep each other motivated, though it's certainly not necessary.

This workshop is limited to 9 participants and will be held at my place. To register, you need to e-mail getitripeATgmail.com, with "Resolution Workshop, please!" in the subject line. (The fbook RSVP doesn't count as registration.)

Cost: It's $45 for most ($30 for my nutritional clients or $35 for previous workshop attendees)... and you can pay for it right here!

You'll have to type in the amount, which is $45 (unless you're a client, or have attended a previous workshop of mine).

As in a delicious dinner, not the cartoon rat.

2009-01-09T08:09:00.004-05:00

... as much as I did enjoy the movie.

Roasted Ratatouille

(I find that tomato dishes don't like to be photographed at night - even with fancy new cameras.) I've slightly adapted this recipe from the one in Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers, and I just can't get enough of it - even for breakfast!

1 medium or 2 smaller zucchini
2 medium-large onions
1 large eggplant
2 medium-large tomatoes (or 1 14 oz can whole tomatoes, drained* and halved)
2 bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, green)
6 large (or 8 medium) cloves garlic
...to make 12-14 cups in all
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. dried basil or 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves,chopped
1 sprig of thyme or a pinch of dried thyme
1 tsp. sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450oF.
Cut all vegetables into 1-inch chunks (chop the garlic roughly). Place in a large bowl and toss with the oil, basil (only if using dried), thyme, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet or two and slide in the oven for 15 minutes.
Pull the vegetables out to stir and then return to the oven for another 25-30 minutes (stirring once more), until fork-tender and juicy.

When vegetables are done, toss with the basil (if using fresh).
Serve hot, with steamed quinoa, millet, brown rice or polenta, and steamed greens or a fresh green salad.

Makes at least 6 to 8 servings.

* You might choose to pour some of the tomato juice into the dish before roasting, but all of it would be too soupy. Save it to flavour another dish.

Noggin'

2008-12-19T23:29:00.013-05:00

Noel Nog
For me, this beverage doesn't have to be too thick or too sweet - a spiced milk with a slightly yellow hue suits me just fine. And personally, I like it best warmed. The coconut milk is an option for those wanting a richer milk (but then you should really use the greater amount of syrup), the booze an option for those who dig it.

4 cups almond milk (unsweetened pref. - soymilk will also do if you like and tolerate it)
1/2 cup coconut milk (optional)
2-3 tbsp. maple syrup (to taste)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/3 cup (or so) brandy or rum (optional)

Pour the almond and coconut milks in a small saucepan and heat on medium-low. Whisk the syrup and spices together in a small bowl, until no clumps remain. Add the spice mixture to the saucepan and simmer for about 4 minutes, never allowing it to come to a boil as the milk may separate. If you want smooth velvety drink, pass the liquid through a fine mesh strainer (otherwise just leave it - some spice "grit" will settle at the bottom of each glass, but you can call it 'rustic nog'). Mix in your alcohol of choice if you fancy. Serve warm (nontraditional) or transfer to a jar and chill in the fridge for one hour before serving cold.
Makes 4 servings.

Simple Feasting Recipes

2008-12-19T21:31:00.005-05:00

If I offer you two simple recipes that would make flavourful and nourishing additions to your holiday table, featuring locally-sourced produce, would you forgive me for the lack of photographs?

Simple n' Smooth Squash Soup
I love the subtlety of the flavours in this soup - not too much spice so that the squash can shine though. And there's just enough coconut milk in there to make it creemy, but not too rich.
1 medium-large butternut squash, roasted
1 tbsp. non-hydrogenated coconut oil or olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large or 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger root
1-2 tsp. ground cardamom
1-2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-2 tsp. ground turmeric
1-2 tsp. sea salt
3/4 - 1 cup coconut milk (or 1 can 'lite' coconut milk)
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups filtered water

Scoop the soft, roasted squash flesh out of its skin and set aside (discarding the skin).
Heat the oil over medium in a large soup pot. Toss in the onions and stir, cooking for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften. Throw in the garlic, ginger and other spices (weighting each one as your taste buds dictate - and if you want this to be a curried soup, throw in a tsp each of ground cumin and coriander, too). Stir to evenly distribute the spices and make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom of the pot (if it is though, a splash of water and/or a slight adjustment of the heat should do the trick). A few more minutes in (everything should be lovely and fragrant), add the roasted squash, salt, coconut milk and about half the water. Bust out your hand blender and move it around in that soup pot till everything is nice and smooth (if you don't have an immersion blender, you should - but until then, you can carefully portion the soup out into a blender or food processor and give it a whirl in there, then return to the pot to reheat). Mix in the rest of the water (to reach desired consistency and serve - maybe over fresh baby spinach or steamed kale, and maybe topped with lightly toasted and salted pumpkin seeds.
Makes about 8 servings.

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
They make these at my work (though I'm not positive the ratio's the same), and it's hard to resist ordering them every day I'm there! Even people who've always thought they didn't like Brussels sprouts (which are fantastic for your liver, by the way) should give these a try. Note: Brussels sprouts are in the "clean thirteen" meaning even if they're not organic, they're not so heavily sprayed.
25 or so Brussels sprouts (all about ping pong ball-sized)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. filtered water
1/2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350oF.
Trim the ends and any funky bits off the Brussels sprouts and place in a baking dish that fits 'em all in one cozy layer. Drizzle evenly with the balsamic, oil and water, cover (with a lid or tin foil) and bake for 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven, sprinkle on the salt, stir to coat in the brown juices, and return to the oven uncovered for another 20 minutes or so (checking and stirring after ten minutes, adding another splash of water if they're drying out), until they are tender right the way through. Season with pepper, and serve hot.
Makes about 3-4 servings. (I ate 'em out of a little dish just as you see here for dinner tonight.)

Exciting news (turns into shameless self-promotion)!

2008-12-16T09:51:00.004-05:00

What a thrill to wake-up this morning and find an e-mail notifying me that Get It Ripe has won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Vegetarian Book in Canada, 2008!
(This also puts it in the running for the Best Vegetarian Book in the World, but we won't hear about that till next May.)

If you don't have a copy of the book yet, you really have no excuse now not to get your hands on one. Do you realize how many opportunities you have to buy it online? My preference would be that you take your business to these guys (over the big online booksellers):
* Arsenal Pulp
* Herbivore
* Powell's Books
* Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe
(And if you already have the book, it'd be great if you posted a review on these sites.)

Want an autographed copy to arrive before Christmas/Hanukkah? No problem! I'll be honest, it's not the cheapest option (postage! postage!), but I'm happy to do it - just e-mail me (getitripeATgmail.com) for deets.

Okay, the shameless self-promotion will take a different turn now - I wanted to let you know I've been on the radio twice in the past wee while, and you can here the interviews online:
* Vegan Radio
* CKUT Montreal

In both cases, there's something you have the option to skip over at the beginning. On Vegan Radio I'm the second interview in, and on CKUT there's a longish song at the beginning that has no relation to the interview. Enjoy!

Wholesome Holiday Feasts

2008-12-08T20:14:00.002-05:00

I gave a lecture on this topic at The Big Carrot here in Toronto last week, but as most if not all of you who read my blog were not there, you get your own special web version.

You might have read this in Get It Ripe, but I first became vegan in late fall of 2000 when I was living on a small farm in Nova Scotia. And when I came home for Christmas that year, my family wasn't quite sure what they could feed me. Christmas dinner itself that year was hosted by my step-grandparents in Mississauga (west suburbs of Toronto, for those of you not too familiar with Ontario geography) and my step-grandmother, Sheila, was thrilled to be able to offer my dairy-egg-and-meat-free-self a portobello soup she had prepared as everyone's first course. I hungrily polished off three bowls while everyone else was digging in to plates of turkey and gravy, and after dinner I asked Sheila for the recipe. She began to describe: "You start with some chicken stock...." I was horrified, kicking myself for not being more thorough in my initial ingredient investigation.

...And my dietary needs have only gotten finickier since then, so I know about the challenges of eating in social situations, which is why I thought you might need a guide, too.

To start, let's talk about food choices and how to plan an awesome holiday feast.

Any well-balanced meal requires:
* Greens: Raw or lightly steamed, dark green veggies (kale, collards, broccoli, spinach, chard, etc) give you vital nutrients and freshness in an otherwise often heavy meal.
* Colour: The more naturally varied the rainbow is, the more micronutrients you're getting out of your meal.
* Something raw: Living foods put some important nutrients and enzymes into the mix to aid digestion and assimilation. Your whole meal doesn't have to be raw, but something raw - a salad, some sprouts on top of roasted veggies or soup, some raw veggies with dip - would be good.
* Protein: Vegetarians and vegans often load up on starch-heavy foods when in the company of meat eaters. Getting some legumes or other more concentrated sources of protein (nuts, seeds, more proteinous grains like quinoa and millet) will help satisfy and ground you, and keep you from gorging on too many desserts!

Specific considerations for vegetarian and vegans:
* Choose hearty flavours: roasted vegetables (Maple Roasted Roots!), mushrooms, sweet potatoes, etc.
* Make your own gravy: Get It Ripe's got great recipes for cashew and miso gravies, and at least one of my zines has one for rosemary mushroom gravy. (If you're dining elsewhere, it easy to make in advance and ask your host for a little saucepan to heat it up when you arrive.)
* Protein (yup, again): may be as simple as a cooked green lentils with onions and spices or herbs that compliment the meal, some pesto'ed white beans, chipotle black-eyed peas, or marinated and grilled tempeh.
* For pie crusts: use non-hydrogenated coconut oil in lieu of butter or lard.

And of course you know Get It Ripe's all wheat-free, and got lots of gluten-free, sugar-free, soy-free and nightshade-free recipes that are sure to impress you and your guests should you need 'em (but of course you already know that!).

Advance food prep will keep things from feeling hairy in the kitchen on your days of festivities. Choose your menu NOW (Get It Ripe Chirstmas menu ideas are on page 255; The Healthy Hedonist Holidays or Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates are other great resource) and identify:
* what will freeze for weeks (like soups, pie dough and cookie dough)
* what will keep a few days in advance (dips, gravies, confections)
* what really can only be made on the day of (baking of pies, roasting veggies)

Are you someone who gets nervous about baking? Have you watched this? It might help.

...But I would be remiss if social dynamics didn't come up in a conversation about celebrating with food, when so many of you have some sort of "alternative" diet, so let's move on to that.

Advanced warning is important no matter which shoes your standing in for your feast. If you're a guest, be sure to present your food issue(s) to your host in a positive light. Something like "Oh, if you've got some veggies roasted in a separate pan from your turkey/ham/beef, that'll be great for me," is going to be far less daunting than "I can't have this or this or this or this....". And if you compliment the host of the feast on the nutritious things they have done, they may do more next year. I was watching an episode of Gilmore Girls (yeah, yeah, laugh it up) the other day where Sookie said: "I never go anywhere without a casserole," which is certainly another way to go. Bring something that is simple to set up in someone else's kitchen ("Mind if I slide this dish of stuffed peppers/squash au gratin/shepherd's pie/lasagna in your oven to warm up?") and will satisfy you even if nothing else on your host's table does... but do bring enough to share so you don't start panicking once everyone else discovers how delicious what you made is. If you're hosting, try to plan for what your guests would like. The fewer allergenic foods you have at the table (dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts), the more inclusive you’ll be for guests that may have sensitivities!

Digestion can be compromised at a big meal, and while you may not have control over the foods available, you can choose which ones at the table you might eat (no one's forcing you to have a third roll or cover half your plate with mashed potatoes when there are greens available), the speed at which you eat them (breathe between bites!) and in which order (if food combining is your thing).

No matter what's available on the spread before you, or how obnoxious your relatives may be, focus on the lovely energy of social eating and thinking positively about food. Do not comment negatively on the food or what's available. You want to be sure to stay positive (whatever you eat will be better digested that way anyway) and not make anyone else uncomfortable (emotions can run high when it comes to food).
Also to that end, avoid discussions about WHY you're veg/vegan/what ev. Nip it in the bud with a statement like "It seems to be the diet/eating style that feels best in my body/works for best me" – if you personalize it, people won't get offended. If you're going to convert them at said feast, do it with your stunning food, not a heated debate.

And remember, unless you find yourself feasting most of the time, eating a few less nutritious meals won’t kill you. So enjoy!