turmeric latte recipe

Note: This post was previously published here as a part of my freelance work.

This recipe was born out of my deep love for chai lattes. While I enjoyed them greatly, I cringed a bit each time I saw one made for me. Out of a box, a pre-made concoction poured; each packed with sugars and preservatives that no one should be consuming. So I decided to try my hand at a natural version. At about the same time, I’d been looking to incorporate more turmeric into my diet. Turmeric has a scrolling list of benefits, but my primary reason was to help with inflammation in the joints. And so, this amazing, amazing drink was born. You can make it warm and drink it right away, or store it in the fridge for an iced version. When I do iced, I like to throw a tablespoon of chia seeds in there while it cools. So many health benefits in one simple drink!

Ingredients

1 Tbs Turmeric Powder

1 Cinnamon Stick

5 Cloves

2 Cups Milk (Your Choice - Almond, Soy, Dairy, Hemp, etc)

1 Tbs Coconut Oil

Directions

1. Simmer turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, and milk on the stovetop for 15 minutes. Add more milk if it reduces down too far.

2. During the final minute, add in the coconut oil and stir. 

3. Remove the cinnamon stick, and transfer mixture to a blender. I use my Nutribullet, but any blender will do. Buzz mixture for a quick minute to build foam.

vegan creamed corn and stuffed cabbage

Note: This post was previously published here as a part of my freelance work, and was written by my darling boyfriend, Adam. 

Stuffed cabbage is the epitome of Eastern European comfort food. From Kensington to Krakow, every Polish grandma has this dish in her repertoire. Traditionally, cabbage leaves are wrapped around ground beef or pork and baked in tomato sauce (and heaps of butter) to create this beautifully simplistic staple.  If you’ve never enjoyed the traditional, rustic-style stuffed cabbage, try this recipe.

Indeed, it’s hard to improve upon such a time-honored classic, so we simply adapted it to what’s available in your recent CSA pick-ups.  In place of tomato sauce, we used last pick-up’s Winter Sun Farms frozen corn to make a creamy corn sauce. Normally we’re averse to frozen food, but this corn—as apposed to the factory-farmed institutional variety—was harvested locally in August at it’s apex of ripeness and flavor.  It’s delicious.  We pureed it with coconut milk and man, it’s a knock out.  The richness and subtle sweetness of the coconut milk sings a beautiful harmony with the corn’s summery-sweet melody.

We also uncovered some Winter Sun Farms frozen edamame (from many CSA’s past) in our freezer and decided it would work well to round out the dish.  Any type of hearty bean will work just as well.  This vegetarian stuffed cabbage, like its more traditional cousin, is deeply flavorful, filling, and, most importantly, comforting.

“Creamed” Corn:

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

2 cups (1 bag) Winter Sun Farm frozen corn

2 cups coconut milk

2 Tbl white wine vinegar

1 Tbl thyme

1 tsp red pepper flake

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large sauce pan, sweat onions in olive oil over medium heat until they become translucent.

Add in frozen corn, vinegar, thyme and pepper flake and cook for about five minutes or until the corn is thawed and tender.

Pour in the coconut milk and bring it to a simmer.  Let the corn cook for about 10 minutes.

Puree using an immersion blender, adding more coconut milk if necessary to achieve a creamy consistency.

Season to taste with salt in pepper and reserve for later.

Stuffed Cabbage

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Yield: 6 stuffed cabbages

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice, cooked previously 

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup shelled edamame beans

1 head of cabbage

Directions

Blanch edamame in boiling water for 1 min and shock in a bowl of ice water. Sauté the onions on medium heat in olive and cook until tender, then mix in the blanched edamame. Mix onions and beans with rice and reserve as the stuffing for the cabbage

Remove the outer most leaves of the cabbage and discard.  Gently tear a few leaves off and trim any large stems or veins away.

Blanch cabbage leaves in boiling water until they become soft, pliable and translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl of ice water to shock them.

After blanching about 10 or so leaves, place them on a clean towel to dry.

Lay a cabbage leaf flat on a cutting board and spoon about 1/4 cup of rice and edamame onto the center of the leaf.  Fold the leaf’s right and left sides vertically over the filling, then roll the leaf horizontally like a burrito.  Repeat until all filling is used.  

Place the stuffed cabbages into a 11’x7’ baking pan and top generously with the “creamed” corn.

Bake in a 350F degree oven for about 45 minutes or until browned.

vegan savory squash bread

Note: This post was previously published here as a part of my freelance work.

This week’s recipe is the lesser-known cousin of pumpkin bread: squash bread. Using the basic principles listed below, you can prepare it sweet or savory, but with the holidays, I thought we’d try the latter. Throw in some cranberries, onions, rosemary, and quinoa, and it becomes a great addition for holiday feasts. So that everyone in your circle and have a chance at enjoying it, I thought I'd make it vegan. If you’d rather skip the vegan route, you can forgo the flax and almond milk mixture, and swap in two eggs. Your host, whether vegan or not, will be thrilled when you show up on their door step with this seasonal number.

Ingredients:

¼ cup tricolor quinoa

¼ cup filtered water

2 Tbsp ground flax seeds

¼ cup plain, unsweetened almond milk

¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, diced

2 sprigs rosemary

1 tsp sea salt, divided

1½ cups whole-wheat flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

1 cup mashed butternut squash

¾ cup water

2 tsp unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup raw cranberries

Directions:

1. Place the quinoa a small pot with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer for 15 minutes or until all water is evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9” pie dish with baking sheet or grease with coconut oil.

3. Whisk flax and soy milk in a medium bowl and set aside.

4. Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Add one sprig of rosemary, picking leaves off the stem, and removing the stem. Reduce heat and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda into a medium bowl. 

6. Add squahs, water, vinegar, and salt to the flax-soy milk mixture and whisk until smooth. Add remaining ¼ cup olive oil, whisk again and add flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula to stir mixture gently until almost combined, then fold in 1/4 cup cooked quinoa, onions, and cranberries.

7. Pour batter into pie dish, decorate with a sprig of rosemary and a sprinkle with remaining quinoa. 

8. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

9, Remove from oven and let cool or eat warm.  

banana almond crunch "ice cream"

I completed a Whole30 about a month ago. Doing so taught me a lot about skipping dairy and going vegan. I quickly came to realize that I wasn't going to be able to live with out a sweet treat once in awhile, and I had to figure out ways to satisfy the craving in a vegan, no added sugar kind of way. Following a restricted diet, it's important to concentrate on what you can eat and finding ways for those foods to satisfy your needs. I happen to consider ice cream on a hot summer day a need, and so this vegan banana ice cream was born. Not only is it dairy-free, but it also has the added benefit of some nutrient blasting maca powder as well.

Ingredients (serves 1):

2 Bananas

1/2 Cup Almonds

1 Tbsp. Maca Powder

1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Slice banana and lay pieces out on a piece of wax paper

2. Roll the piece of wax paper up, making sure a layer of wax paper is in between slices. Stick in the freezer for at least 1 hour to freeze bananas.

3. Chop almonds in a food processor and set aside in a small dish. Add bananas to the food processor and blend until an ice cream texture is reached.

4. Add maca powder, almonds, and vanilla. Blend a bit more until all is evenly mixed in.

5. Garnish with sea salt and eat right away, or store in freezer.

superfood cereal: hot quinoa, blueberries, maca, and ginger

About a year ago, I used to eat hot quinoa with maca powder for breakfast on the regular. Over the summer I somehow forgot about it, but I'm happy to say that it has recently reappeared on my menu. It all happened because I got these blueberries in my CSA box. I decided to prepare them as filling for homemade poptarts for Kristina's birthday. I am not a baker, though. My wholewheat pie crust failed, and I was left with this jar of awesomely sweet, ginger blueberries. I needed a new purpose for them, and I thought they would go great with breakfast. And so, the hot quinoa cereal popped into my mind, and made its reappearance on the scene... 

Combined with the ginger blueberry mixture, this is probably one of the best things you can eat for breakfast. Quinoa is protein loaded while blueberries give you a kick of antioxidants, ginger balances your digestive track, and maca powder loads you up with vital minerals. Essentially, this cereal will give you energy, keep the toxins out, and make everything run smoothly. It's also warm and comforting, perfect for those winter months. 

Now, what better way to start off the day?

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 Cup Quinoa

2 Cups Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Blueberry Ginger Ingredients (makes 1, 8oz jar):

1.5 Cup Frozen or Fresh Blueberries 

1/2 Cup Cane Sugar

2 Tbsp Agave Nectar

1 Tsp Vanilla

1/2 Inch Ginger, peeled and finely grated

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Directions:

1. At least 2 hours before you want to make your cereal, stir blueberry mixture ingredients together in a jar, and let it sit in the refrigerator to take on flavor.

2. Place quinoa and almond milk into a sauce pan. Over a medium/low flame, simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the quinoa is cooked, but is slightly soupy. Stir it every now and then during the simmering process.

3. Pour quinoa into bowls and then spoon desired amount of blueberry mixture over top.

4. Mix up and eat.

vegan spicy thai seitan salad

I finally recreated a dish that I used to love before turning vegetarian! When I decided to go veg I did it party to avoid processed foods which also meant no imitation meat. Some of my old favorite dishes could be pulled off with tofu, but for spicy Thai beef salad, it just didn't quite cut it. 

I then discovered seitan about a year ago, and heard that it was possible to make at home using whole wheat flour and vital wheat gluten. Anything that I can cook up in my own kitchen by stirring a few whole ingredients together and adding heat is unprocessed enough for me. 

This was my first time cooking with the stuff, and I'll admit, I didn't make the seitan myself this time around. I will surely try, but for now, I just wanted to see how it acted. I was very, very pleased with the results and even made my coworker try the salad out because I needed to share it with someone. It tastes much like the original spicy Thai Salad - bright with a kick of spice - and makes a great lunch option. An added bonus for all you vegetarians out there, it's also chock full of healthy protein.

Ingredients:

18 oz. seitan

3 scallions, sliced fine

1/3 cucumber, shredded

3 baby carrots, shredded

15 sprigs cilantro, minced

1 tbsp white vinegar

1 tbsp chili sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl

2. Place in the refrigerator over night, and serve on large leaves of lettuce.

*Tip: wrap it up like a burrito for a fun way to eat