The Voyagers

The Voyagers from Penny Lane on Vimeo.

Veganism Debunked -

For all the nay-sayers this graphic, originally posted by Ethical Ocean, sums up the vegan lifestyle quite well...

Grapes: no recipe required

Grapes are in season. They are healthy, beautiful and delicious...

This list is provided by the Responsive Health blog:

Prevent heart disease. A study from the Journal of Nutrition showed that eating fresh grapes could prevent the accumulation of harmful oxidized cholesterol and atherosclerotic lesions. This means less coronary heart disease from plaque build up on the walls of your arteries. The polyphenol called “resveratrol” in the grape skin breaks down bad cholesterol. It can also be found in grape juice, grape jelly, and wine.

Fight illness. Grapes are high in another polyphenol called “tannin.” Canadian scientists discovered that tannin eliminated disease-forming viruses in test tubes; tannins move into the intestinal tract and protect from viruses and tumors alike.

Fight  cancer. Grapes have a high level of caffeic acid. Caffeic acid helps fight cancer. Read more about this in Johanna Brandt’s book, The Grape Cure.

Prevent brain damage from strokes. Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia show that grapes prevent brain damage in the event of a stroke.

Boost brain activity. Grapes have a significant amount of potassium and increase brain activity.

Boost metabolism. Grapes have a light laxative effect that boosts metabolism. A handful of grapes can do wonders for dieting.

Increase calorie burning. As grapes clean out your cholesterol and intestines and strengthen your heart, they increase your blood flow and help with calorie burning. They compliment workouts very well.

Enhance endurance. Grapes flush the system out and make it more active for longer; don’t worry about exhausting yourself as quickly with your workout when you have grapes on your side!

Helps stave off tuberculosis. Patients in the first stage of tuberculosis are told to include a higher amount of grapes in their diet.

Grapes are mostly water. Grapes are anywhere from 65-85% water, which means low calories and high hydration.

Living Large

Living Large Obesity in America, a visual diagram from NPR. The series explores the way obesity has changed the way we ALL live in this country - 

living-large-obesity-in-america

Lemon scented roasted cauliflower and chickpeas with quinoa - and Serge... of course

Sultry singer with sleepy eyes, Serge Gainsbourg. The musician. The song goes well with the dish - de'lish!

Lemon scented roasted cauliflower and chickpeas with quinoa:

This is a favorite in my house. I love lemon, it gives so much flavor to this simple dish. Use organic ingredients, if possible.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Line a baking sheet with aluminum (it's just easier to clean up)

Half a head of cauliflower chopped

1 can of chickpeas rinsed well

5 whole cloves of garlic peeled

Toss these 3 ingredients with olive oil, Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Half a lemon squeezed on top then quartered and added to the pan. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing a couple times until the cauliflower and chickpeas are brown in spots. Remove from the oven and snip 5 sprigs of chives over the veggies and squeeze the other half of the lemon over the pan to taste.

The quinoa recipe is adapted from a recipe by Ellie Krieger for Food Network Magazine ('cuz it's so good)

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup raisins (I prefer golden raisins for this)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the quinoa in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until toasted, about 2 minutes. Add 1 3/4 cups water (or use vegetable broth) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the olive oil and garlic and raisins to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. 

Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Add the pine nuts, garlic, reserved oil, parsley, raisins and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss.

To serve:

A couple spoons of quinoa topped with the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas. Enjoy!

Carving the mountains of Madrid

Found this short on http://tomboystyle.blogspot.com/ and just had to share it... 

tRUTH

Work day

THUNDER LOVIN' JO - IF YOU LIKE IT SPREAD THE WORD, WORD?

tURF fEINZ by yak films

These R.I.P. clips celebrate life when there is sorrow - 

 

Portobello sliders just might make Dolly proud

Dolly Parton - Gypsy, Joe, and Me

So my vegan cookout conundrum was solved when I spotted these little slider buns at the market. Grabbed some mini-bellos, vidalia onions, watercress, and tomatoes. The result was so good.

First marinate the portobellos:
couple glugs of olive oil
balsamic vinegar
handful of basil ribbons
2 cloves of chopped garlic
sea salt and fresh pepper

refrigerate for at least one hour

Grill the bellos for about 15-20 minutes depending on the heat. I also added some spring onions and asparagus to the grill.

Make a pesto aioli:

1/2 bunch of basil

2 cloves of garlic

handful of roasted pine nuts

1/2 cup of Veganaise

mix in the mini prep or blender...

Spread some sauce on the bun, top with a mini-bello, onion, watercress, and tomato. Whoo weeee!

Tofu Rancheros y La Cumbia del Mole

Lila Downs "La Cumbia del Mole", this tune will get you swaying to the beats while you cook - It's not a Mole recipe, never-the-less the song is so good.  

I'm on a mission to veganize as many of my friend/co-worker Maria's Mexican recipes as possible. One of my favorite Mexican dishes is Huevos Rancheros (without the egg of course). It's all about the sauce so here it goes:

2 or 3 chopped tomatoes
1 clove of garlic minced
Dried passilla pepper chopped up (it will soften when cooked)
Mexican oregano - rub it between your hands to break it up and release the oils
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup no-chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 package firm tofu sliced into 1/2 inch slabs
Turmeric
Salt

Tortillas
Avocado - sliced
Cilantro

Throw the first 6 ingredients into a blender and whirl. Pour the contents into a pan and simmer. While the sauce is simmering sprinkle the tofu on both sides with a little salt and turmeric then grill.

Warm the tortillas (I love Trader Joes Homestyle Corn Tortillas)

To assemble lay a tortilla onto a plate, top with tofu, salsa, and garnish with avocado and or cliantro. Serve with beans on the side. Amazing!!

Bowl vinaigrette

My friend Anne used to make a version of this that I loved and always tried to recreate but failed completely. Mine never tasted like the one she would serve. It's like someone elses PBJ that tastes better than anything in the world. So I kept trying while making small changes and tweaks until I created this version.
This is a quick vinaigrette that I make pretty much every day. I like it because it is just enough for the salad I'm making. It can be added to and changed depending on what flavors you want to work with.

2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence
pinch of garlic granules (or a clove of fresh pressed garlic if you want a more intense garlic flavor)
pinch of sea salt
couple grinds of pepper

optional: dijon mustard

Put all of the ingredients into the salad bowl and whisk them together. At this point you can add snipped chives, or another fresh herb. If I am using tomatoes in my salad I will chop them up and let them sit in the vinaigrette while I prepare all of the other salad ingredients. Layer the lettuce and other salad bits on top of the tomatoes and vinaigrette. Toss the salad just before serving.

Loveless copulation, it's Friday!

grocery store visits

What I bought:

I can't wait to cook with it. Grilled tamarind glazed tofu?! Check back to see, or send me a vegan recipe idea.

car wash and some toes

the style rookie strikes

I may be a little... no, a lot late on joining the huge fan base this fierce lil' lady has, but she is a gem that's for sure!

The collage's in this post are wicked, as are the nails!

http://www.thestylerookie.com/

Edible Weekend

Breakfast

My version of the breakfast sandwich:

Sourdough english muffin - toasted

A slice of extra firm tofu - sprinkled with turmeric and a little salt, then grilled

A slice of vegan Canadian bacon - grilled with the tofu

Avocado

Dijon mustard

A smidge of Earth Balance vegan buttery spread

Assemble and attempt to eat slowly...

Dinner:

Kabocha Squash is the perfect squash for me, cuz I hate peeling squash and the peel of the Kabocha is edible!

Sometimes roasted, sometimes baked, sometimes added to soup, oh my? Oh yea!

2 cups of water

2 cups of bite size Kabocha chunks

Simmer for about 5 minutes until the squash is soft (but watch it closely it will turn to mush quickly)

Turn off the heat and add some Mellow Miso to taste

Serve simple.

Or you can:

Add some udon (I like the kind in the refrigerated section, it only takes 3 minutes to cook)

Add some kale during the last 2 minutes of cooking

Top with scallions

Top with cilantro

Green Potage

I made this soup today for The Little One with a cold. For me it is reminiscent of a soup that would have come from a potage garden. 
The base was leek, celery, and carrots that I sauteed in safflower oil. Then I added zucchini, spinach, and a handful of fresh basil, sea salt and pepper. The broth was the vegan "chicken" Better than Bouillon brand. I like to use this one to balance the intense flavors of all of the veg. After it had simmered for a bit I used the hand blender to purée. Garnished with chive flowers and served with simple grilled  sourdough bread brushed with olive oil and rubbed with a clove of garlic. Yum! 

Potage (from Old French pottage; "potted dish") is a category of thick soups, stews, or porridges, in some of which meat and vegetables are boiled together with water until they form into a thick mush.

Potage has its origins in the medieval cuisine of Northern France and increased in popularity from High Middle Ages onward. A course in a medieval feast often began with one or two potages, which would be followed by roasted meats.

European cottage gardens often contained a variety of crops grown together. These were called potage gardens by the French, as the harvest from that garden was used to make potage.^[1]

Wikipedia contributors, "Potage," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Potage&oldid=329976198 (accessed June 6, 2011).

HArold, pa'leese!

One of my favorite films. I saw it again at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery screening last night. The perfect venue for such dark wit. 

Pirates

Jacarandas

Waves

Daddy and Sirrocco the champion