One hell of a journey

The title is true.

This has been one hell of a journey with in the past few years.  Life has changed and so have I.

I strayed away from veganism, going into a chefs mentality and working so much and just losing sight of what I truly loved doing...and that is being a vegan.

Recently I have been going through some medical issues and have decided that I need to go back to my vegan way of life.  I missed the glow of the skin and I also missed the prideful feelings I had to knowing what I was doing was good for me and good for others.

I felt my best being vegan, it helped me spiritually, to find my own nitch.

It helped me maintain a healthy weight and a healthy diet.

I decided that I want to continue again with my blog and start sharing my recipes that I cook for me and my family.  Everyone is super supportive of my decision and I hope that by me doing this, that my family will also benefit from this.  To learn about compassion for animals and beings, to learn to cook a certain way.

I went back to this lifestyle about 2 weeks ago.  I do feel so much better already, and I do try and work out too (When I am not being a slug). The bloating has gone away, and my collar bones are showing (which I noticed last time too)

Before when I did this, I documented mainly recipes.  I plan to keep up with that.

That is all for now.

V

Day 140!

Hello everyone!

Today I am going to be sharing with you probably one of my favorite recipes I have made which is a Vegan Eggplant Meatball, absolutely amazing.  Second recipe I am going to be sharing with you is a pretty basic recipe but its Vegan Basil Pesto, I figured I would show this recipe it would be nice for summertime.

Vegan Eggplant Meatballs:
1 Eggplant, Peeled and Diced

For the eggplant, salt the eggplant about 1 1/2 hour before hand and put in a strainer and let the juices drain out of it.  I took a fruit squeezer after to and squeezed out the juices.  I had a medium sized eggplant and got about a cup of liquid.   You don't want the liquid because it will make the meatballs not stick together and fall apart.

1/2 Onion, Small Diced
5 Cloves Garlic, Minced
3/4 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs (Read Label, make sure they are vegan)
2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
4 Tablespoons Almond Milk
2 Tablespoons Grey Poupon
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Vegetable Oil for Pan Frying
Salt and Pepper To Taste


In a food processor add the panko, oregano, parsley,salt, pepper and red peppers.  Making this mixture really fine.  Set aside.

After the eggplant has drained, get a pan on the stove and coat the bottom with oil about medium-high heat.  Add the onions and garlic cook for about 3 minutes, turn the heat down to medium.  Add the eggplant and cook until soft about 10-15 minutes.  Place this in the food processor and blend.  Add to the dry mix.

Once all together add the almond milk and the grey poupon.   Mix well together and form into meatballs.  Get the pan frying oil on the stove to medium ish heat, and fry the meatballs on all sides until a dark brown.

I placed inside my tomato sauce and left for about 10-15 minutes before serving.  I have a few sauce recipes on my blog or you can use your own.  Serve with pasta!

These are unbelievable!  Enjoy!

Vegan Basil Pesto:

1 Cup Pine Nuts

3 Cups Whole Basil Leaves

1 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

3 Cloves Garlic

Salt to Taste

Add the pine nuts, basil and garlic to the food processor.  Mix real quick, while the mixture is running slowly stream in the vegetable oil and salt.  That's it!  No more store bought!  This can be served on virtually anything you want it to.  I would say brush it on some vegetables you are grilling or on top a veggie burger would be awesome!

Enjoy!

So recently I went on a cruise on the cruise line royal Caribbean and went to the western Caribbean.  My biggest fear was not being able to find food, but I had absolutely no problem what so ever.  We went to this buffet they had every day which was a fusion with Asian. 

There was salad, rice, vegetable sushi one day even tofu curry.  Same thing for breakfast and lunch there was oatmeal, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables whatever you wanted.  I just wanted to let everyone know, so vegans have nothing to worry about!  The few times we went out to eat everyone was really accommodating and helpful to!

That is all for today!

Namaste,

V

Day 126!

Hello everyone!

The weather has been so nice out lately, most the recipes I have been creating lately have been more on the lighter side.   This recipe is not though, haha. I have also been going through stages of items I love to cook, currently its Mexican.  Today I will be sharing with you a Vegan Black Bean Burrito Recipe with Homemade Guacamole and Lime Cilantro Rice.  I will show you how to make all of that, and a Vegan Hummus Recipe!

Vegan Black Bean and Rice Burrito:

2 Cups Cilantro Lime Rice with Corn
1 Can Black Beans (I used canned because it was easier, but fresh would be better)
3 Cups Homemade Guacamole
1/2 Head of Romaine Shredded
1 Tomato Diced
1 Red Onion Diced
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Jalapeno, De-seeded and Minced
1 Package of Vegan Burrito Wraps (It just happens the brand I found at the grocery store was vegan, I bought at Stop N Shop)
Oil to Coat Pan

Get a pot on the stove on medium, add oil.  Add the garlic, red onion and jalapenos and cook for two minutes.  Add the black beans, make sure to drain the can of the liquids and just cook down.

The romaine and tomato I left raw and just added to the burrito

Heat the burrito wrappers up in the oven for 2-3 minutes at 400. Just to make it soft.


Cilantro Lime Rice:
2 Cups Rice
4 Cups of Water
3 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Cilantro
Juice of 3 Limes
2 Ears of Fresh Corn, Taken off the cob and pre-cooked
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
Oil to Coat Pan
Salt to taste

Get a pot on the stove heat on high add the oil and garlic cook for a minute to take out bitterness, add the rice and toast for a minute.  Add the water and salt the water, cook the water down until you see the rice, turn to low and cover and let cook 5-10 minutes, depending on the type of rice you have.  (I buy mine at a Brazilian specialty store, so its really hard to mess it up, some rices from the supermarkets are hard to work with.)

Once the rice is cooked add the cilantro, corn and fresh lime juice.  Just mix.  You want to serve this hot with the burrito.

Homemade Guacamole:
3 Avocados, halved and insides taken out.
1 Red Onion, Minced
Juice of 3 Limes
2 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Cilantro
Salt to taste

Place avocados in a bowl and mash up, add the rest of the ingredients, so easy!  Ha!

Assemble how every you want.

Vegan Burrito!

Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 Roasted Red Pepper, Ready to go

3 Cloves, Fresh Minced Garlic

1 Can Chickpeas, Skinned (Makes for a creamier hummus)

1 Cup Sesame Seed Tahini

Salt to taste

In a food processor add the tahini and mix for 2 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix for about 1-2 minutes.  That is it, I wanted to put this recipe here to show how easy it is to make a homemade hummus instead of buying store bought.

So yummy!

I'm leaving for a cruise in a few days, I hope to review on the vegan meals they serve!

Namaste,

V

Day 116!

Hello Everyone!

Before I start with the recipes I wanted to take a second and talk about my physical health since I became a vegan.  I began at the beginning of January and now its almost the end of April.  I was a size 12 and as of last week I was a size 8, that maybe if I wanted to I could have tried on a 6.  I have lost 25 pounds and I feel so great.  This is one of the best decisions I have ever made and could not be happier.  I am doing something great for me and great for the animals.

So anyways today I am going to be sharing with you three recipes.  First one is a Pickled Shiitake Mushroom,     Second is a Asian Pear and Cucumber Slaw.  Last one is a Fiddlehead Fern Salad.  Pretty easy recipes, I just haven't been cooking really heavy meals lately, because its been so hot out lately.  These recipes would all be great for Spring/ Summer Time

Pickled Shiitake Mushrooms:
2 Cups Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
1/2 Cup Sherry Wine
1 Cup Soy Sauce
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Cup Champagne Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Dill

Add everything but the dill to a pot on the stove and let cook 20-25 minutes on a low simmer, leave the mushrooms whole, if you want you can chop before hand but I did it afterwards.  Let the mushrooms cool before you store.  Add the dill right in at the end of the cooking time, making sure to stir in.

This would be great at a summer time BBQ.  Enjoy!

This next recipes requires no cooking at all, which is really nice for summer time.

Vegan Asian Pear and Cucumber Slaw:

1 English Cucumber

1/4 Head of Cabbage

1 Carrot, Peeled

3 Asian Pears

1 Cup White Wine Vinegar with Tarragon (If if you can't find infused already just add 1 Tablespoon Fresh Tarragon)

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoon Celery Salt

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 Teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

On a mandolin slice the cucumber, cabbage, carrots and pears into a nice thick julienne cut.  If you do not have a mandolin on hand, just do nice matchstick size cuts.

In a mixing bowl add the vinegar, olive oil and coat the vegetable mixture in it.  Add the celery salt, sugar and black pepper.  Check for seasoning may need a bit more.  Let sit in the fridge for at least 5 hours or preferably over night, you want all the flavors to infuse and come together.

Very light and refreshing!

Okay last recipe is a Fiddlehead fern recipe.  Okay I am sure most of you are all like "WTF is that"  "Why is it so odd looking."  Fiddleheads are the fronds of a fern picked early, picked from a Ostrich Fern.  Fiddleheads are actually considered a traditional dish of New England, mainly Maine and of Quebec.  

You need to make sure also you clean them thoroughly before cooking.

With Fiddleheads though you need to remove the yellow/brownish part of it and make sure they are cooked thoroughly they say when boiling to change the water twice boil for 15 minutes at least and steam for 10-12 minutes.  

Also, Fiddleheads are only in season for a few weeks, and are not available fresh year round.  I believe you can find them frozen and pickled, but today we use fresh Fiddlheads.  

The taste of a Fiddlehead is a cross between spinach and asparagus.  I swear it smells like broccoli rabe, but I may have just had a sensory overload right before.  It is low is sodium and a good source of fiber and it contains Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids, full of Antioxidants, rich in potasium.  

Anyways!  

Vegan Fiddlehead Fern Salad:

1 Cup Cooked Fiddlehead Fern, Cooled

1/2 Cup English Cucumber, Diced

1/2 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, Quartered

1/4 Cup Toasted Pine Nuts

1 Cup Mixed Greens, Washed

3 Tablespoons Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

To make the dressing:

6 Lemons Juiced

1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup (Real stuff, not imitation)

1 Tablespoon Grey Poupon Mustard

1 Teaspoon Poppy Seeds

Salt and Pepper To Taste

In a mixing bowl, place the mustard and lemon juice inside.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil.  Once that is done whisk in the maple syrup, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Done.  Easy Peasy.

Place ingredients into a serving bowl, arranging how you want, and that's it.   Enjoy!

That is all for today, I do have some more pickled recipes for you all next time.

Also,  follow me on facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Vegan-Diaries/363950980369481

Thanks everyone!

Namaste,

V

Day 105!

Hello everyone!

Today I am going to be sharing with you all a extremely healthy soup recipe.  Kale, brussel sprouts and red bliss potato soup.  It is actually extremely easy to make, the only thing is that this soup takes a very long time as you want the ingredients to sit and all marry together.

Vegan Kale, Brussel Sprout, and Potato Soup:
1 Bunch Kale, Rinsed and Chopped
4 Red Bliss Potatoes, Quartered
8 Brussel Sprouts, Quartered
1 Celery Stalk, De-Ribbed and Small Diced
4 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 Yellow Onion, Small Diced
1 Leek, Rinsed and Small Diced
1 Jalapeno, De-Seeded and Minced
8 Cups Vegetable Stock (I made my own, but you can use store bought if you don't have time.)
1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 Teaspoon Oregano
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Oil to Coat Pan

In a large pot place the oil inside and put on medium-high heat.  Allow to heat up.  Add garlic, onion, leek and celery.  Cook down until tender.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot besides the kale, let these cook until they are 3/4 way done.

Add the kale, now here is the tricky part, place the soup on the lowest setting you have and let simmer for about 1-2 hours, at least.

What I did was I made it the day before, let it cool down and placed in the fridge and then brought back up to heat the next day and the flavors were perfect, but most people don't have time for that so at least give it a couple hours to cook.  Done!

Enjoy!

I will have more recipes next time, big ones in the works!  Enjoy!

Namaste,

V

Day 98!

Hello!

Today I am going to be sharing with you three recipes.  One is a Vegan Risotto with red peppers, spinach and peas.  The second recipe I am going to be sharing with you is roasted brussel sprouts with onions, cumin and curry.  The last recipe is a teriyaki sauce I made, sadly I forgot to take a picture of just the sauce, but I have it on a vegetable mixture, so you can put it on anything you want, tofu would be great.

Vegan Risotto:
1/2 box of Arborio Rice
1 Cup of Peas, Shucked and Blanched
1 Red Pepper, Diced
1 Onion, Diced
3 Handfuls of Spinach
3 Garlic Cloves, Diced
4 Cups Vegetable Stock
1 Cup White Wine
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil

In a large pot (you will want to use a pot where you have a lot of room on the bottom so everything cooks evenly) coat bottom of the pan with oil and medium heat.  Add the onions, red peppers and garlic.  Saute until tender.  Add the rice, coat in everything and toast for about 1-2 minutes.  

De glaze the pan with white wine, and let it cook for about 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol and that extreme wine taste, you don't want that.  

Now add the vegetable stock, you will want to continuously stir the risotto mixture, because if it sticks to the bottom it will break and become gross. so medium - medium low heat if you want, and whatever you are comfortable with.  

Cook down until all the stock is absorbed, you may need to add some water if its still to hard.  Once that is cooked, throw in the peas and the spinach. 

 Stir the spinach into the mixture until it has wilted properly.  Add Salt and Pepper to taste, and throw in the butter so it gets a nice creamy texture.  Voila!  That is it, beyond easy risotto.  It is so filling to!  If you wanted to, you could add some vegan parm cheese into the mixture when you add the butter.

Risotto!

Vegan Roasted Brussel Sprouts:

10 Brussel Sprouts

1 Sweet Onion

1 Tablespoon Curry Powder (Hot)

1 Tablespoon Cumin

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450.

To prepare the brussel sprouts, cut the brown end of of them and then peel the outer dark green leaves off and save them (I will show you what to do with them on the next blog) and then cut the brussel sprouts in half lengthwise.  Slice the Onion into half moons if you want.

In a roasting pan add all the ingredients together, check the seasoning, you may prefer more cumin or more salt whatever you like.

Roast for about 25 minutes.  Brussel sprouts are actually supposed to be served Al Dente and not mush.  So just check up on them every 7 minutes or so, stirring it so the top leaves don't brown to much.  

That's it.  I know this recipe is quick and simple, but some people are intimidated by brussel sprouts and I don't want anyone to be, it is extremely good for and delicious when cooked the proper way.

I love when the outside leaves get a bit crispy to.

Vegan Teriyaki Sauce:

2 Cups Soy Sauce

2 Teaspoons Ginger, Minced

2 Teaspoons Garlic Minced

1 1/2 Cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

Pinch of Salt

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch Mixed with 2 Tablespoons Water (This is our slurry to thicken)

1 Scallion, Sliced not the dark green part, just the white

Add all the ingredients to a pot and bring up to heat except the cornstarch mixture.  Making sure its above a simmer.

Whisk the slurry into the mixture, making sure you get it all in.  Let it thicken so it become almost like a glaze.       

That is it.  I make teriyaki vegetables which was just a combination of more scallions, red peppers, orange peppers, yellow peppers, red onions and zucchini, but this would be nice for summer like if you grilled some tofu and added some teriyaki or anything like that.  I am still kicking myself for not getting a picture of just the sauce, but you can see in the picture how well it coats the vegetables.  Its super easy to do quickly to, so if your stuck for dinner, this would be something great to do.

Enjoy!

That is all for today, next time I will show you what do with those Brussel Sprouts leaves we saved.

Namaste,

V

Day 95!

Hello everyone!

I can't believe it is spring already, its such a beautiful day outside!  Today I am going to be sharing with you one recipe today, just because it is kind of long.  The dish is called Coxinha, it is a typical Brazilian food.  It is deep fried (I know, but it is so good!) They are so addicting and so easy to make.  It is actually not typically vegan at all, but I have transformed it into a version vegans will love.  You can fill the coxinha literally with anything you want.  I try to keep it with more of a Brazilian flair when I make it, but do whatever your hearts desires, recipes are based on my own preference, so change it to yours!

I wanted to take a moment and talk about reiki again.  I have been practicing reiki a lot lately, well I usually did self reiki at least once a day on myself, but now I am doing it on others.  I do feel like the energy flows through me more since veganism came into my life, and that it has made a significant difference in my life.

Anyhow

Vegan Brazilian Coxina:
4 Cups of Water
1/2 Pound of Yucca
3 Cups of Flour (Run through a food processor, needs to be super fine)
Oil to fry the Coxinha in
2 Cups Soy Milk
Salt and Pepper

Filling:
2 Cups Corn taken off the cob
2 Cups Heart of Palm (Palmitos) cut into small bites
Earth Balance Butter

First, you are going to want to cook the yucca, since this will take a good amount of time.  In a pressure cooker add the yucca and cover with water adding two inches to it.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from pressure cooker and let cool, mash it up.

Make your filling.  I put a saute pan on the stove, melted the earth balance butter, and then added the corn and heart of palm and sauteed until cooked and tender.  I put aside to let it cool.

Get the water on the stove and bring to a boil, I would season this water.  I just used salt and pepper.  Whisk the flour into the water vigorously for about 2-3 minutes, forming into a dough.  Mix in the mashed yucca.

Let cool down for 5 minutes, you will burn your hand if you try right away.

Form a ball of dough and place in the palm of your hand and press a large indentation into the middle making a hollow hole put your filling into the hole.  Fold the dough around the filling and making the top into a point.  Heat the oil up on your stove on medium.  Once done dip the coxinha into the soy milk, roll in flour again.

Place into a cupcake pan while assembling, fry until golden brown

Coxinha!

 Enjoy!

Namaste,
V