Pepper – Kale Skillet

Experimenting with food and the items one has in their kitchen has always been a fun thing for me.  In fact I find cooking not only relaxing but creative.  It however does not have to be labor intensive nor take hours to make a healthy meal or a good looking dish.

This one skillet dish came about one night while I was looking inside my refrigerator and I honestly just decided to see how it all tasted together.  My husband now asks for this dish at least once a week.

Bright fall colors make this warm skillet recipe pop. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Ingredients

1 onion, slivered

bell peppers in a variety of colors, seeded and cut into strips

grapeseed oil

pre-cooked brown rice

kale – broken up into bite sized pieces

nut mixture (mine was almonds, cashews, cranberries, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds)

salt to taste

Directions

Here is where I might begin to make some folks crazy.  Not only do I do most of my cooking without measuring ingredients but I make as much or as little as I want as I go.  My skillet makes enough for four people very nicely.

I began by sauteing the slivered onion and the bell peppers in the grapeseed oil.  I cooked them for about 20 minutes or so until they were all tender.

Then I added in my chopped kale, my pre-cooked brown rice and I let it all cook together until the kale was wilted and the rice had soaked up the oil.  The last thing I threw into the skillet was the nut mixture and then I let it all cook together until the nut mixture was warm, I’d say no longer than five minutes.  Remember to keep stirring or turning over the mixture as its cooking.

There you have it.  All told it took me no longer than 30 minutes to make this dish.  We added salt to our own dishes as warranted.  I don’t tend to cook with a lot of spices while I’m cooking unless the spices will add something to change the taste of the dish.  I also tend to eat less salt this way so that is another reason I don’t pre-salt my foods when cooking.

 A word about the pre-cooked brown rice I used.  I am making my own vegetable soup and I always make enough so that I can use the broth from the soup to make my rice.  I try to keep two cups of cooked brown rice in the refrigerator at all times.  I use this rice in all types of recipes (which I will share more of in the future).  Because the rice is cooked with vegetable broth it brings a really nice flavor to any recipe I make, especially recipes made with vegetables.

If you try this recipe let me know what you think and as always if you have a recipe you think I would enjoy I hope to hear from you.

Florence Lince

http://about.me/leanmeanandvegan

Organize My Veganism

I am an organizer. I like things in their place and for things to have a place. This includes my kitchen cabinets.

We buy all of our beans and grains in the bulk section. I have sealed containers in all my cabinets with easy to read labels. This method also make it easier to make my grocery list because I can see at a glance which foods I need to buy more of. These containers are filled with the food staples we use most often. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

This way of living is incredibly beneficial to living life as a vegan. Foods being bought should be FIFO (first in, first out) and therefore everything we are consuming is fresh.

Living as we have outside of the US for the last three years we have also learned to buy in smaller quantities. This means we are only buying foods that we will eat for the next two or three day’s, tops. Living this way requires us to not only buy fresh foods constantly but it also allows us the freedom to experiment with trying new foods, and new recipes, because we don’t have food going to waste in our refrigerator. I also have my freezer packed with frozen fruit, homemade vegetable soups and my own spaghetti / pizza sauce. Basically we have everything on hand to make whatever we want whenever we want.

What I especially like about living a vegan lifestyle is that once you identify your favorite recipes pretty much everything you will make has the same ingredients, just in different quantities. Our refrigerator is now filled with miso, kale, homemade hummus, fresh vegetables and cooked rice (ready to be used as needed).

Because I have this blog and I plan to share easy to make recipes every Sunday this also helps me to keep certain ingredients on hand at all times so that I can make something new at a moments notice.

Made five bean vegetable soup the other day. Easy enough when all the beans are labeled and I can see how much I have left. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

I read tons of other foodie blogs and after reading the ingredients I determine if those are the ingredients I choose to cook with or what would I substitute in its place. Sharing recipes is great because there is no hard and fast rule about how something should be made. Cooking, to me, is where everyone’s personality really comes to light.

I think that is the other great thing about cooking and eating healthy. When you make something that others rave about and they clamor for more it empowers you to want to try to make something new and perhaps even to reach out of your comfort zone and try something splashy and special. I know for me turning all my recipes into vegan delights is quickly becoming a passion.

I have always loved to cook. I love to bake more. Getting my kitchen organized so that I can create amazing vegan dishes to dazzle my husband, and family and friends is, I’ll say it…, fun.

If you have a kitchen organization tip I hope you will share it here. Happy Cooking!

Florence Lince

about.me/leanmeanandvegan

Raw Cashew Cream Cheese

One of the things my husband and I both love is cheese.  We thought that living a vegan lifestyle meant we had to give up cheese.  How wrong we were.

I have eaten the store processed and fake cheese stuff before and I must say it leaves a lot to be desired.  I knew Mike and I would have a hard time in giving up cheese if we had to eat that packaged stuff for long.  Along came our good friend Celeste from Honk If You’re Vegan who gave us not only our first vegan cooking lessons but our first taste of what heaven tastes like for vegan cheese lovers.

You will need a VitaMix for this recipe since you need to cream the cashews.

The secret to this cream cheese – let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. To die for. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Ingredients

1 tbls. miso (white)

1 c. raw cashews – soaked overnight

1/2 c. coconut – soaked at least one hour

1/2 tsp rice syrup

3 tbls lemon juice

pinch of salt

Directions

Soak the 1 cup of raw cashews overnight in a sealed container.  Soak the coconut at least one hour.  When ready to assemble everything place them in the vitamix in the order seen here.  Pulse on first low and then high until all ingredients are mixed together.  It shouldn’t take any longer than 1 minute.  Place the cheese mixture in a bowl, cover it and place in the refrigerator overnight.

This is the the key aspect of this recipe.  The first thing everyone will want to do is taste the mixture.  However if you let it sit overnight the combination of flavors will have a chance to settle and the sweetness will come right through.  It is hard to eat just a little bit of this.  When we made it we doubled the recipe and I’m glad we did.  We used it on everything from apple slices to a relish tray dip and even spread it on bagels.

This should last up to a week in your refrigerator but it won’t last that long once everyone gets a taste.  We can’t wait to be invited to a party somewhere so that we can make this cheese.  This is a great introduction food to those skeptical about eating vegan.  This recipe would make a convert out of almost anyone.

If you try it let me know what you think, and as always if you have any interesting recipes you think I might enjoy I hope to hear from you.

Florence Lince

http://about.me/leanmeanandvegan

Independent We Stand

As I have already disclosed I am now living life as a political vegan which means I only want to spend my money in local and independently run businesses or farms in my neighborhood, and across America when I travel to someplace new.

To that end and in my quest to find all these local and small businesses I began searching the internet for local businesses to shop in. During my search I found an organization called Independent We Stand. I contacted them and just this past week I interviewed Bill Brunelle, their Director. Contrary to its name this is not a political action group but an advocacy group for independent and small business owners across the United States.

Started by the public relations firm that works for STIHL (one of America’s oldest and most trusted names in outdoor power equipment) Independent We Stand was created to help give small and independent businesses a platform for advertising their existence.

Here is how it works. Using their search engine, or app, you enter your zip code and a search term, such as pizza or book. Using current technology their search engines scourer the internet for local businesses in your area all while weeding out the big box or large chain stores. What you are left with is a list of small, local and independent shops.

Finding those locally owned businesses however is the trick since as Bill informed me 60% of small businesses across the US still do not have a website. Of the 8000 small and indie hardware stores that STIHL works with only 4000 of them even have email. Do those numbers surprise you?

In my quest to find the local business owners in my tri-city area of Thurston County, Washington (Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater) I have come to find out that many business owners do not have a website, do not respond to requests for interviews, do nothing to engage their customers except to post on Facebook, in essence, local and small business owners are so busy trying to make a living and keeping their businesses running that they do not have the time to also work the social media channels. Where this leaves them is off the search engine charts since only the larger corporations tend to rise to the top of any Google search. Independent We Stand is trying to level the playing field.

Photo used by permission.

I am personally making it my mission to visit and chat with as many small business owners as possible and to put their contact information on my blog. I will also be forwarding their information on to Independent We Stand to have them at least added to the database so in case anyone is actually searching for a local business while traveling across the country they can be found.

I now issue everyone reading a challenge. Check out the sight for Independent We Stand; search their database for local businesses in your area, if you cannot find a listing for your favorite pizza parlor, book store, grocery store, hairdresser, and more, fill out the page for Recommend a Business.  IWS will take it from there. They will contact the business owner, verify the business is local and independent and get them added to the search engine.

The larger the database for Independent We Stand, the more we can make small businesses grow and the more we take a stand for being local, shopping local and growing local businesses.

If you take me up on my challenge let me know. We can make a difference in the local economy by shopping in indie stores, by advocating for local businesses and by spending our money to support our local economy.

Florence Lince

http://about.me/leanmeanandvegan

 

Brown Rice Waldorf Salad – Vegan Style

I have been making this brown rice salad for years, however I normally used vanilla yogurt as one of the ingredients.   I am enjoying my old recipes but with a new twist, I am turning them Vegan.  Any recipe can be converted into a healthy vegan recipe, it just takes a little ingenuity,  creativity and voila there you have it.

Every recipe on my site I have personally made and all the photos I will be using were taken by me.  If I find a great vegan recipe online (and there are tons of great looking and sounding recipes) I will be recreating them here in my kitchen and then taking photos of the finished product to share with everyone.

Brown Rice Waldorf Salad

Ingredients

I doubled this recipe because I love it and I eat it for breakfast every day. A simple modification from yogurt to whipped tofu and its ready to eat. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

1/4 – 1/3 c. raw sugar (depending on your sweetness level)

1 c. cooked brown rice

3 apples cut into small pieces

1/2 to 1 c. nut mixture (mine had cranberries, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds)

1 c. silken tofu mixed with 1 Tbls lemon juice and a pinch of salt (this is the yogurt substitute)

I am all about easy to make recipes.  The easier a recipe is to make the more often someone will take the time to make it so I strive for simplicity.

Take the tofu and blend in a small chopper or blender with the lemon juice and salt until smooth.  Because I doubled this recipe and I like a lot of yogurt on it I took a whole package of tofu and whipped it with 2 Tbls. of lemon juice and added it all to the salad.  Like I said, easy recipes are my best friend.

Take all the ingredients and mix in a bowl.  Place in a covered container and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

A word about the nut mixture.  I am allergic to peanuts and walnuts so you will never see them used in any of my recipes.  Walnuts would be a great choice for this salad however if you can eat them.  I just wanted to mention up front and early on in my blog why you won’t be seeing peanuts or walnuts used in my kitchen.

I love this salad for breakfast.  It should last up to a week in the refrigerator but I’ve never had it last that long.  I normally double or even triple this recipe when I make it and its easy enough to do.  If you try it let me know what you think.

Florence Lince

http://about.me/leanmeanandvegan

 

Encore, Encore

*This is part two of my visit with Dean and Carla Jones from Encore, Chocolates and Teas. Part one was posted on my Reflections blog and can be found here.

When a visitor enters Encore, Chocolates and Teas the number of tea jars is of course the first thing that strikes you. It is when you begin to tour the store that the chocolate isle beckons.

Everyone loves chocolate. At least everyone I know. Mike likes white chocolate and I love milk chocolate. Because of my new vegan lifestyle however I was wondering what I was going to do about my sweet tooth, which strikes periodically.

Thankfully the shop sells not only boutique chocolates but the incredibly hard to find raw chocolate much sought after by Vegans. To be a real raw chocolate the chocolate is never heated over 108 degrees, it is gluten free and has no refined sugar, chemicals, and milk or dairy products added to it. By keeping the heating level low the chocolate maintains its antioxidant qualities.

Raw chocolate heaven. The bars are $6.95 each but well worth the price. The infusion of flavors is interesting as well. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

They even sell raw chocolate for making hot chocolate. Using almond milk is the way to go. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

According to the website rawchocolate.com

‘Raw chocolate contains enzymes that preserve anandamide, a chemical produced in the brain when we are in a good mood. Cacao makes anandamide last longer. Natural chocolate also contains phenylethylamines (PEAS), chemicals that make us feel like we’re in love.

High levels of sulfur and magnesium in raw chocolate, essential to the body’s proper functioning, naturally increase focus and promote alertness. Magnesium is the most powerful stress-relieving mineral. Neurotransmitter modulating agents found in raw organic cacao, such as serotonin, are chemicals that act as natural antidepressants.’

Raw chocolate now goes to the top of my Christmas wish list.

A-tisket, a-tasket, a truffle basket. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Encore, Chocolates and Teas currently receives artisan chocolates from between 20-25 companies. Many of the chocolate makers will only sell directly to small boutique shops such as Encore, Chocolates and Teas.

Not all chocolate is healthy or good for you. There are however plenty of good options available. You just have to look for them. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

The shop has one the largest selections of 100% cacao bars I have ever seen. In fact dark chocolates are the stores best sellers and most of the chocolates in the store are based on personal recommendations and customer likes. They also sell caramels, hot chocolate nibs and toffee as well as truffles.

The maker of these chocolates puts the plantation owner where he gets the cacao on the wrapper. He also does a profit sharing with the owners on the chocolate he sells. Way to go. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

He has eight chocolate bars in his product line at the moment. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

The store offers gift certificates for purchase and they can be for any dollar amount. Dean and Carla are very active in the downtown business owner’s community and they will participate in the next Art Walk which is scheduled for October 3^rd and 4^th. I will have an upcoming post on the Olympia Art Walk.

Talk about specialty chocolates; the blue wrapper says the chocolate is made with blue cheese and the Do Not Eat bar is made with hot, hot, hot peppers. I hear they both are quite good. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Encore Chocolates and Teas is located at 509 Washington Street SE in Olympia. They are open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you live in the Olympia / Lacey / Tumwater area like their Facebook page to receive updates on events and happenings at their location including free tastings of some of their chocolate line.

For me it is the combination of toffee crunch and chocolate that makes me smile. These were no exception – can you say yum! © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Yes these are from the Island of Grenada. The bars go to 100% chocolate. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Mike and I have been to many chocolate factories on our travels and even to a cacao plantation in Panama. While Encore, Chocolates and Teas may not make their own chocolates the types and quality of chocolates for sale are exceptional and worth a stop.

My husband loves caramels. Here he has a nice assortment to choose from. Except how do you pick? © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Do you have a favorite local chocolate shop in your neighborhood? Someplace where you get special holiday and gift giving treats? Share a link and a location here with others. You never know when you might be on a road trip somewhere and the need for good chocolate overwhelms you.

Florence Lince

http://about.me/leanmeanandvegan

 

Banana Bread – Vegan Style

I love to bake.  If you know me and know how I was raised you know I learned to bake at the age of three.  A great aunt, who was the baker in a local school in Buffalo, NY where I was born, would plunk me in a chair and then teach me to bake cookies. I can still see her baking and still smell those warm peanut butter cookies.

I learned to cook through osmosis just being in the kitchen with grandmothers, my mom and lots of aunts and cousins.  They cooked while talking and they never measured a dang thing.  Years later I had a cousin tell me it was frustrating to watch me cook because I too didn’t measure anything, I just threw everything into a pot or a pan and it always tasted great.  I shared with her a secret.  Cooking isn’t all that hard.  Get a bunch of ingredients together and wait for them to blend.  Sort of like a great friendship or a good marriage.

One of the things I am absolutely known for is my banana bread.  Going Vegan everyone was horrified that I might actually stop making this most asked for dessert at parties.  Here is the good news.  Almost any recipe can be made Vegan.  You might have to experiment a wee bit to get the ingredients right but in the end if it tastes like banana bread and smells like banana bread it must be banana bread.

Best Vegan Banana Bread

My old tried and true Banana Bread recipe modified to be Vegan. Everyone asks me to bring my banana bread to parties. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

The Main Ingredients

½ c. raw honey

3 bananas mashed

½ c. unsweetened applesauce

2 ‘flax eggs’♯

2 c. wheat or gluten free flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

You want easy? Put every ingredient in a mixing bowl and mix. Pour into a greased bread pan. I used coconut oil to grease my bread pan. It spreads on great and the bread came out of the pan well enough. You will have to use a knife or another straight edge to get the bread away from the sides of the pan but it should come out of the pan easily after that. I would suggest removing it from the pan while still warm.

Cook in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Insert a knife in the center to check for dryness. It will most likely need to be baked another 15 minutes to give it a golden brown color.

The Alternate Ingredients

I used the unsweetened coconut flakes in my recipe this time around. You do not want to use all three of these alternatives or I would suggest making them all ¼ c. Adding too many wet ingredients only makes the bread soggy. Toss one of these ingredients into the batter when you toss in everything else.

½ c. unsweetened coconut flakes

½ c. chopped dates

½ c. vegan chocolate chips

♯For those of you reading and unfamiliar with the term ‘flax egg’ it is simply flaxseed meal mixed with water. One tbls of flaxseed meal gets mixed with 3 tbls of water. Mix these in a bowl and then refrigerate 15 minutes up to one hour before you add them to the mix. So if you know you are planning to make banana bread make the flax eggs well in advance.

There are a lot of Vegan Banana Bread recipes out there. I even tried one just recently but the couple who made up the recipe didn’t proof read the ingredients or the directions and they had both baking powder listed but only baking soda in the ingredients. They also had too many wet ingredients and the bread was a soggy mess with no lift. From now on I’ll take all the vegan recipes I can and I’ll modify them before I put them on my site to make sure they actually work. Not everyone was lucky enough to have a great aunt who taught them to make cookies and not everyone learned that cooking comes from a place of friendship and team building. I owe my Italian family a great deal of thanks because learning my way around a kitchen and learning how to fix recipes is one of the greatest gifts they ever gave me.

Florence Lince

http://about.me/leanmeanandvegan

 

It’s An Ice Storm

I have now been truly living and eating as a full-fledged vegan for two months. This means I no longer eat eggs, dairy, meat or fish, and I feel great.  I am even experiencing some weight loss which makes me very happy.

I have however begun to notice a strange occurrence that has slowly been building. I am craving ice. I love to crunch it and suck on cubes of it and in restaurants I ask for the tallest glass of ice water they have, hold the water please just give me ice chips.

Finding this a wee bit strange I did some online research and low and behold found that this is quite common in people who are experiencing anemia.

I have been anemic since I was a child but add to this my new lifestyle of not eating as many iron-bound foods and I think I figured out why the ice man cometh.

In talking to other vegan’s one of the first questions I asked them was what vitamins do they take routinely and I was told B-12 and D. It was important for me to learn about their need for vitamin D since we are once again living in the Pacific Northwest where cloudy skies obstruct the bodies absorption of adequate amounts of Vitamin D during the fall, winter and spring months.

Many years ago after I had been living here for some time I had gone to the doctors because I was tired all the time. I did a simple blood test and thought nothing more of it because we were taking off and going on vacation to sunny California. While walking through Disneyland my cell phone rang and it showed me it was doctor’s office. I answered it and it wasn’t just the office but the doctor herself. She asked me where I was and could I get to a pharmacy. My curiosity at this point was peaked and I asked her the most astute question I could think of, “is everything okay?” The answer of course was no and the blood results showed that I had absolutely NO vitamin D in my system whatsoever. If you know anything about the bodies need for Vitamin D you know why she was the one making the phone call and not one of her office staff. The prescription she sent into the nearest pharmacy I could find was the highest amount of Vitamin D she could prescribe and I was to take one pill every week for 12 weeks.

I guess you could say I know the importance of taking my vitamins.

I am now taking Iron, Vitamin D and B-12. If the digestive organs in my body had not been altered chances are good that I wouldn’t need to take so many vitamins. However the anemia is a family thing and the taking of Iron has always been in my best interests.

© Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

I am all about eating lots of dark green veggies and fruits loaded with antioxidants and other healthy things for me. I guess at times mother nature needs a helping hand and so I will be good and take my vitamins and hope the ice cravings cease, or at least slow down.  I’d hate to have to buy a snow blower.

Florence Lince

http://about.me/leanmeanandvegan