How much 30 bucks can get you in organic vegetables?

I'm finally back, it's been a crazy summer and my new semester started even crazier! But I'm back, and I just made an inspirational deal to keep me posting on here (which I'll tell you about later) but long story short, you can expect some more veggie goodness flowing from this site every week now...

But like I said this summer was kind of unexpected I did a lot of traveling and ended up in places where I couldn't do a lot of cooking... which really bugged me, so by the time school started I was so upset with all the junk (and less healthy) food I had been eating. So I did the best thing possible I went for a sunny, friday morning trip down to the local Farmer's Market and loaded up on enough good veggies and fruit to get my diet back on track!



Look at the colors, Duke!



And don't you know? There's nothing like good wholesome food to get you back on your feet and feeling super again!





For the first week I think I blended smoothies every day!





It may not look super appealing in its final form, but on a hot day your body, your tongue, and your stomach will thank you later!



All this for 29 bucks! and it lasted me two weeks easily. Can not beat the Farmer's Market! So next time you think you've been eating out too much, or haven't had time to eat the way you want to go back to the basics! Eat fresh, eat local!

Stay Hungry guys!

Not the healthiest, but a much loved classic...

Who says that vegetarians don't ever feel 'meaty?'

All the Meat you can GROW?

The New Yorker, a week and a half ago (sorry I'm a little bit behind on my reading), had a very interesting article on "TEST TUBE BURGERS" While the title is meant to be head-turning the actual topic at hand is something called "In-vitro meat." The term is something I'm sure you've never heard of but it is something people have been talking about for years, the idea is nothing new to science fiction novels and films but is it actually possible? And would you eat it?

In-vitro meat would be meat that is grown outside of the body. The idea is that scientists could take a couple of cells from an animal and then place them into a nutrient bath and as the cells grow together to form muscle they can be attached to a bio-degradable scaffold. Then this 'muscle' tissue could be stretched and molded into any type of meat one would want. Originally this seemed like an obscure joke but as technology is advancing the possibility of something like this actually working is getting nearer all the time. "Teams are forming at universities around the world. Some are interested primarily in animal welfare, others in regenerative medicine; still others see lab meat as a potential solution to an environmental crisis. They share a goal, however: to grow muscle with out the use of animals, and to produce enough of it to be sold in grocery stores."

One of the most interesting things I found in the article was how, PETA was supporting this whole idea! They initially offered 1 million dollars to the first group that could produce an in-vitro meat product that was indistinguishable from real chicken flesh in both taste and texture. To me this sounds pretty far from PETA's usual stance on animal testing (even cosmetically!) PETA's Co-founder and President Ingrid Newkirk is quoted in the article saying, "If people are unwilling to stop eating animals by the billions, then what a joy to be able to give them animal flesh that comes without the horror of the slaughterhouse, the transport truck, and the mutilations, pain and suffering of factory farming." Which is something she does make a good point on, if this process seems wrong because it's unnatural, the current food system we maintain is anything but natural. How much farther is growing meat from eating animals that never see the light of day, are pumped with anti-biotics and fed unnatural diets, or even genetically modifying crops?

The current food system is unsustainable, its become dangerous for our environment, the animals and ourselves. According to the article, "...eighty per cent of all farmland is devoted to the production of meat. By 2030, the world will likely consume seventy per cent more meat than it did in 2000." The world currently consumes two hundred and eighty-five million tons of meat each year which equates to about ninety pounds per person! (And I ain't taking my share if you know what I mean haha.) "The global population is expected to rise from seven billion to more than nine billion by the year 2050." There's just no healthy way to continue down this path! "In countries like China and India, moving from a heavily plant-based diet to one dominated by meat has become an essential symbol of a middle-class life." And I haven't even mentioned the problems on our own health this meat-intake has taken, "Seventy per cent of all antibiotics and related drugs consumed in the United States are fed to hogs, poultry and beef. In most cases to promote growth, and not for any therapeutic reason." And in eating animals humans have exposed themselves and created a whole slew of diseases including SARS, the bird flu, and AIDS. "The World Health Organization has attributed a third of the world's deaths to the twin epidemics of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both greatly influenced by the excessive consumption of animal fats." Still think you need meat with every meal? Then maybe in-vitro meat is the answer for your future meals. The article goes on to say that eating engineered meat could even be good for you (in a phrase that I absolutely love) "instead of committing slow suicide by over dosing on saturated fats" the in-vitro meat could be infused with heat disease-preventing omega-3 fatty acids! And with in-vitro meat the idea according to one scientist is, "to take the meat provided from one animal and create the volume previously created by millions of animals."

Change your mind yet? Well regardless the technology is not there yet, so you don't have to decide before the next time you go to the market, but it is right around the corner. And I must say the whole idea is very interesting. AND if your sole reason for becoming a vegetarian was the deaths of animals this could be the loop whole you're looking for! But as for me I think I'll stick with my veggies and tofu!

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All quotes are from the article "Test-Tube Burgers" by Michael Specter, The New Yorker (May 23) pgs 32-38 and the article dives much deeper into the economics and science of the whole ordeal so if you're interested I highly recommend you track down the article and read it for yourself, it's very thought provoking!

Vegetarian Pasta That Will Blow Your Mind!

...because of how simple yet amazing it is!

This is the perfect recipe for so many occasions, because it looks impressive, doesn't take too long, its super simple, and it really doesn't take that many ingredients!

First up Your ingredients her bellow:



Here's what I used but you can kinda mix and mach and sub what you want, have some fun with it!
-1 Box of rotini pasta noodles
-2 Bellpeppers (I only really like yellow)
-1 Large Onion (or two smaller ones)
~5-6 White Mushrooms
-1/2 Bag of Mixed Vegetables (from the freezer section of your local market)
-1 Jar (or can) of your favorite pre-made pasta sauce
-Some Olive Oil
OPTIONALS
-Broccoli (I planned on adding it but mine went bad too quickly!)
-tablespoon or so of Balsamic Vinegar
-Some Garlic (to taste)

WARNING As pictured here this makes A LOT OF PASTA. That's pretty much how I do it, I like to bust this one out when I have company over and then I have plenty left to eat leftovers for the next few days! Feel free to half everything you see here and just end up with enough for a couple people.


OKAY LETS GET STARTED:

First off you're gonna need two pans and two free burners on your stove for this one...



Smaller pan is gonna be for the sauce to cook in and the larger one is for cookin' your noodles!

First off fill the larger pan with just under 3/4s full and put it on high until it boils.
Once it Boils put the whole box of noodles in (keep in mind this makes A LOT) and add some olive oil and salt to ensure the noodles cook all the way through and keep on stirring once in a while so the noodles don't get stuck together or to the pan (they do seem enjoy each other's company a little too much)



Now in the smaller pan... Throw a couple of dabs of Olive oil in there and chop your onion(s) and add to the pan.



Let this cook for a little while at medium heat till the onions are almost looking transparent and smelling delicious.

WHILE the onions are cooking, is the perfect time to chop your mushrooms and bell peppers....





When the onions look good add the chopped Mushrooms and bell peppers...



Here's where I like to add some sea salt and crushed pepper to your liking (you can also add the chopped garlic right now) :D



And when the mushrooms are looking darker and mushier (cooked basically) and the onions are now fully transparent it's time to add the MIXED VEGETABLES!



Throw them on top and let the frozen veggies become not-so-frozen veggies!



And while this is going on you can switch back to the larger pan (that hopefully you've been stirring!) and the noodles should look all cooked and yummy now, looking hopefully somewhat like this... (takes only about 12-15 minutes of cooking to get to this point depending on how hot you're cooking them at)



Turn off the burner for the larger pan and then strain the noodles under a cold-tap and then throw the noodles back into the pan for a few to cool down, while we go back and finish up the sauce!



Okay stir in your now sweaty veggies and it show start to be smelling REALLY good now!



You can season the (soon to be) sauce to your hearts content now! I like to add a lot of pepper, some thyme, oregano and a tiny bit of basil.

Now you can add the pasta sauce and just step back and let all the ingredients cook together making some serious magic happen. Stir occasionally and season again to taste. should only take 4-10 minutes.



And I think just adding a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar really seals the whole deal...





Then when everything looks yummy and delicious and you cant wait anymore...



...add the entire smaller sauce pan to the bigger pan of noodles that's just chillin. Gently stir (this is where I always make a big mess!)



AND SERVE IMMEDIATELY!!



You won't even know what hit you! I MADE THIS? Just try not to look as shocked as you company, the best chefs are never surprised with their own creations amazing-ness (or so it seems)

Happy Eating!

EAT LESS MEAT.

Kinda randomly stumbled across this TED Talk today and thought it was kinda awesome and worth sharing. Mark Bittman is a very intelligent food writer for the New York Times, and in his lecture he covers quite a bit of good material from the history of food, to fallacy of organic (as we know it today,) a quick run down of the history of food in America, "industrialized" food and other great stuff! Give it a watch, and pass it on!

What's the best finals snack?

Many college students all over the world have one burning question on the tip of their tongues... what is the snack that quells the never-ending finals munchies, that tastes good, is good for me, won't knock me out, and give me plenty of brain-powering energy for all of my monstrous finals!? Okay, so maybe that's more than one question, but I do have one answer for you... Trail Mix. Or as we used to call it back in the 'scouts, GORP. I've heard a couple things G.O.R.P. could stand for but I think basically for arguments sake we'll just say it stands for, "Good Old-fashioned Raisins and Peanuts." Oddly enough we always called it GORP regardless on if it always had both of the tittle ingredients in it...? (INFACT in my memory adding m&ms in was more crucial than either or both title ingredients haha) Odd, but hey if it floats your boat, call it trail mix... I don't see you on a trail right now either? (and don't give me that "I'm on the trail to my future" B.S. ;D ...Oh my goodness I've gotten so off-track, where was I? Oh yes, GORP.


Now you can be a loser and go buy some pre-made/pre-mixed Gorp from the store, or you could be awesome and make your own, deciding exactly what you want in it! Do you want that "A" on your final or are you cool just settling for a "B-"? Hey it's your future, I'm just trying to help you out here!

Now the cool thing about Gorp is you can decide exactly what YOU want in it, I'm gonna show you my usual, and give you a basis to go off of, and then you can experiment with your next couple tests/hikes and see what works best for you. Cause over time I've come to like just a really simple, basic blend of Gorp. But feel free to experiment to your hearts desire and create the best Gorp you can!



My ingredients are PEANUTS, CASHEWS, CRAISINS and CHOCOLATE CHIPS. (We'll at least it's got one of the recipe's name-sakes in it!) Peanuts are the best brain nut you can find (and cheapest), Cashews are just bomb, my personal favorite nut by far. Craisins beat out Raisins anyday of the year in my book, but if you're more of a traditionalist don't let me tell you any different, nothing wrong with raisins ('cept when your dirty dishes pile up so high that by the time you wash all of them your hands now contain 10 of the biggest raisins ON EARTH! lol) And chocolate chips, originally I ALWAYS had M&Ms in there but in search of a Vegan alternative, I found real "semisweet" whole chocolate chips and never looked back, you can find them in the baking isle of any market. AND TRUST ME, don't wuss out on getting the better chocolate (I.E. less junk in them!) A good chocolate needs just real chocolate and maybe some real vanilla in it. No milk or hi-fructose corn syrup thank you *cough cough* Nestle *cough* Hershey *cough* Uh wow, must have had something in my throat there! Where was I?

Alternative/Optional Ingredients?
M&Ms
Raisins
(any other kind of nut)
Ginger
Pineapple or other dried fruits
Shelled Sunflower seeds
Pretzels
[you get the jist]

Now seeing how you're kinda mixing it to your own liking, I'm not going to try and tell you how much to put in of what... I tend to keep a pretty equal blend... 'cept more cashews cause they're my favorite, less craisins AND a lot less chocolate (which I guess doesn't make it equal at all...) I'd just say try not to put TOO much chocolate, cause that's the only thing in there that isn't the best for you. Unless you think there's no such thing as "too much chocolate" in which case, just disregard what I said, hey it's your body!

Now if your hardcore you can use a bowl to ensure everything gets mixed perfectly, but I'm lazy and don't feel like cleaning whole bowl, and they all go into the bag anyways so you can just kind of mix in the bag. (I'm reusing an old plastic tortilla bag in the pictures.) Here's a picture before you mix...




...and after! you just just gotta add all the ingredients and seal and shake to your heart's content!




And WA LA! PURE BRAIN POWER IN THE PALM OF YOUR HANDS!



...now get back to studying you slacker.

What does a vegetarian eat?

I just spent all my money at the market....

Life is good!

A taste of things to come!

Okay kids, just wanted to drop a post and say that I am not dead! And soon (hopefully very soon) this blog will be up and running with new and awesome food ideas for your tummys! And with changes too! I'm gonna refocus the blog on simple meals for the (college) student with an (obvious) vegetarian focus! So hold tight as I survive this last week of finals, and I promise we'll be cooking again in no time! :D

6 - A day off deserves a great meal!

LONG TIME NO SEE!! First off, I must apologize life's been pretty krazy lately but fortunately I think I'm getting the hang of it all again (let's see if I can say that when school starts up again real soon...) but here I am alive and well and today I got an awesome meal planned for you!

This meal takes a little more planning ahead than the previous few I've posted here but, it's one of my favorites and I think you definitely will not be disappointed with the results!!

Broiled Tempeh + (vegan) Mashed Potatoes AND Steamed Broccoli!!


That's like 3 for the price of one!! Like I said this is one that takes a little planning ahead so it's perfect for a special occasion you know that's coming up ahead of time (a birthday or anniversary) or that day off from work you've been looking forward to all week (like I said the meal takes planning, that DOESN'T mean its hard!) or in this case I made it for my girlfriend who was flying back home to the bay after a vacation with her family. And as such this meals completely vegan on its own but I can show you where you'll be able to substitute a couple of items depending on what you have! okay let's get started...

So first off, "what the heck is tempeh?" Tempeh (pronounced "tem-pey")is a natural (originally from Indonesia) fermentation process of soy beans that forms them into a nice cake for a awesome hearty meat-substitute-y goodness... (How's that for a definition eh? I should be writing dictionaries...) You can find it at your local health food market like Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Sprouts or similar places, usually right next to the tofu section (them bean products gotta stick together right?)

There's a few different brands and things but usually they look something like this...



(this was the first time I used the Trader Joe's brand and it was quite nummy, I have no complaints)

So this first part is all the things you need to prepare the previous night or if you can't do it a night ahead of time you're gonna want to do it in the morning when you get up so the tempeh gets a lot of time to soak up the yummy marinade you're gonna make...

first thing is you gotta cut your tempeh 'loaf' into whatever shape you want the end product to look like I like to do triangles like below but do whatever works for you, also on a side note this recipe (the broiled tempeh) would be an excellent and creative burger alternative, different from your usual veggie burgers for sure, you'd just have to cut it into a square patty size :)



The thing about tempeh is that it has a naturally bitter taste to it before you prepare it so to combat this you're going to need to boil it in a little bit of water for about 10 minutes on each side of it. So if your tempeh had ankles you'd put it in a frying pan with the water up to it's ankles like so...



Then put the stove on high and the water to a boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes then flip the tempeh pieces and give it another 10 minutes



When you've given both sides a go in the 'jacuzzi of love' the water level will be down (and possibly gross looking/tasting) and your little tempeh guys will be beefed up and fat with love like so...


Now while you're letting the tempeh boil for a little while is the best time to prepare your MARINADE OF AWESOMENESS. There's a lot of different ways to make a marinade and even pre-packaged ones you can buy at the store but if you ask me (which, I mean... who's blog are you reading right now?) this is the perfect time to flex those creative muscles of your own and get a little experimenting in under your belt!


As you can see pretty much anything you want to throw in your marinade can be awesome from sauces, whole onions, garlic, ketchup, spices pretty much whatever you think is going to add to the flavor of your meat substitute soy-patty!

I will say that a personal favorite of mine is the A1 Steak sauce (especially since this is a broiled meat-like recipe) I'd save the excess amounts of soy or teriyaki sauces till you want to do an asian stir-fry or something, and I'd say don't forget the spices! Salt, peppers, paprika all that stuffs gonna soften your 'meat' nicely and make it that much more delicious when dinner rolls around! When you're done don't forget to stir well and you'll have an nice black lagoon (minus the creature) like so...


Theres a couple of different ways you can get let your foods sit in a marinade I know some people who put them in a bowl or container and then add enough water to the marinade so that it sits completely engulfed over night, but the thing that's always worked for me is to get a giant plate with a rim and then lay out your food and put marinade over the top of it and if you can't spare the counter space all day (or you have cats!) you can just put some Seran wrap over the top and just put it in the fridge all night or day. You're gonna want to flip them a couple times on each side throughout the process if possible so that both sides get to be just as awesome tasting! You're gonna want to marinade for at least a couple hours and more like 8 hours or over night for best taste!


OKAY now on the everyone's favorite part... POTATOES!
My girlfriend and I are huge fans of mashed potatoes, probably one of the greatest things on earth and making them from scratch isn't too difficult either! (Just don't eat them too often otherwise you won't be able to keep up your sexy veg form :D) Just repeat after me "SPECIAL OCCASIONS." Now on to the good stuff...

This part may be a little vague on exactly amounts and ratios because A) it's kind of a preference/eye-balling it thing and B) because my girlfriend and I love it so much we make A LOT of mashed potatoes haha... (and even then it doesn't sit for too long haha)


So how many potatoes you choose to prepare is your call, how much mashed potatoes do you want?
Peel x-amounts of large brown potatoes (is there a name for them?) You can get a giant bag of them for (lol...) dirt cheap at probably any market, at any time of the year...

Once you've got a large pile of peeled potatoes that meets your fancy you can cube them (usually into like 4ths) and drop them into boiling water and let them COOK!



Let them boil there for a good 20-30 minutes until they easily break in half with a poke of the fork!


Then while they're still really hot you're going to want to drain the water and then put the potatoes immediately in a large bowl and if you've got a food processer or mixer this is is where you're gonna want to blend the potatoes or if you're kool like me (and poor like me) you're gonna have to mash, mix and blend the potatoes by hand! (put on a sweet song and just have fun with it!)



add some soy milk (or rice milk) and non-dairy butter to smooth it out (cause dairy products are lame, and highly overrated) My favorite butter alternative is Earth Balance and you can find it at the above mentioned heath food stores... http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/ but I must warn you, one you try it you may never go back it's so damn good!

Go back and stir/mash it for another 5 minutes or so and then go back and add more butter and milk and repeat untill you have a texture you like and salt+pepper to taste and you're all set!


Then to balance out your meal you need some GREENS! And what better than my favorite some steamed BROCCOLI!!

Talk about easy, you just have to get some fresh broccoli from your local market or even better your local Farmer's Market! Put it in a pan with water up to it's ankles and a little bit of either olive oil or earth balance and blast it on high with a top over it


Now whats gonna happen is that little amount of water in there will boil and turn into steam (magic!) and with your cover on it it will steam the veggies and after 10 minutes or so you'll know when they're done cause they're BRIGHT green! This means they're awesomely ready but if you like your veggies a little soggy-er you can leave them in a little longer! (it's all about what you like... you're the chef! duh.)


NOW BACK TO THE DRAMATIC CONCLUSION OF THE TEMPEH AWESOMENESS.

No joke this next part is so simple you're gonna wish you've known this recipe for years... You just preheat your oven to the 'BROIL' setting on the dial and let it heat up then put the nicely marinated tempeh pieces on a baking sheet (preferably something with a lip)and then save that marinade and just drip it on top of the pieces which are laid out on the pan... then pop it in the oven for only like 10-15 minutes this will cook the tempeh super fast and give it that burger-like broiled texture! Then pull it out again, flip the pieces to get the other sides and drizzle some more marinade on top... and give it another 10 and you're all set! It may not look that pretty (that's the broccoli's job) but oh boy does it taste GOOD.


INGREDIENTS:
-Tempeh packages, (1 package is good for about two people)
-Various Sauces/spices (your choice!)
-Large Brown Potatoes
-Soy or Rice Milk
-Non-dairy butter or Earth Balance
-BROCCOLI
-and Salt+Pepper to taste!

(how freaking easy is that?!!)




And the last step? ENJOY! :D

Okay hope you have as much fun cooking or reading this as I had writing it, I hope to be more active in the future (the goal is at least one recipe a week!)

So until then eat up and See you guys soon!