African Stew

It is really strange to be in a place where the sun is always shining, the rain is never raining, and the temperature never seems to go below 60 degrees.

Ugh. I feel so guilty on days when I don’t want to go out and be physical. So I switch it over to being productive in the kitchen.

For Christmas, my wonderful Meh gave me a big gift set, full of wonderful vegan books. One of them was the 30 Day Vegan Challenge. This is now one of my favorite vegan recipe books! It has high quality photos of all of the foods that she has listed. There aren’t a lot of crazy ingredients that you might find in other vegan books like The Kind Diet.

First challenge: African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew.

Ingredients:

·                         3 tablespoons water for sautéing

·                         3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

·                         2 medium yellow onions, chopped

·                         3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

·                         One 15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

·                         2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch squares

·                         One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes, diced

·                         1/2-3/4 cup natural peanut butter (crunchy works best)

·                         1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

·                         1 teaspoon ground cumin

·                         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·                         1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·                         3 teaspoons light brown sugar

·                         4 cups vegetable stock

·                         1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

·                         Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Heat the water in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the peanut butter, and distribute it evenly throughout. You may want to thin out the peanut butter first by mixing it with some water in a small bowl before adding it to the pot. It will make it easier to incorporate it into the stew. Add the sweet potatoes, kidney beans, and tomatoes, and stir to coat. Add the vegetable stock, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt, if necessary. Serve in individual bowls, and top with chopped nuts and cilantro, if desired. Serves 6 to 10.

We ended up eating about half of the recipe in one sitting. Ideally it would be nice to eat it in front of the fire, cozyed up next to your loved ones. However, the eerily summer day in January will have to do.

celebrity of the day: Arnold Schwarzenegger and his bentley.

Vegan Fish n' Chips

A spot of tea anyone?  In the longing of going back to London, the husband decided that for day 3 he would take a crack at making some vegan fish n’ chips. Vegan fish n’ chips? This sounds a little not right. However, I would gladly be the food tester for this experiment. Before we did so, we needed to work up an appetite by not eating and looking at some fun sites around Beverly Hills. We popped over to the "The Witch's House," this little gem of whimsical oddities was built in 1921 for a movie studio in Culver City. It was used in a lot of silent films, and then moved to the residential neighborhood of Beverly Hills in 1926, where it is now a private home. For all the Clueless fans, you recognized this instantly. 

For the “fish” portion of this, he just took the recipe from How it all Vegan, on how to make mock fish. A tasty set of seitan strips really with some kelp flavoring.

Then when the pieces are all set, dip each morsel into a beer flavored batter. The husband found a vegan brand from England…made from like a 700 year old well. I am not a beer drinker, but it was tasty.

To make the beer batter, simply mix the equal amounts of flour and vegan beer along with the spices:

1 cup flour
1 cup beer, stout is good
a good sprinkling of paprika
a pinch of salt and pepper

 After dipping the fish in the batter, it is time for frying. Pour about two bottles of canola oil into a deep pan and heat it up on a nice hot stove burner. Be careful! Oil can catch on fire easily….its good to have some baking soda near by!

Fry until each side is golden and crispy.

Pair all of this with some steak cut fries and peas and you have yourself a good old fashioned English meal. 

Vegan Pizza Night

Let’s see…if I need to go 20 miles to get home from work, is it normal that it should take me an hour and a half to do so? No, I am not walking there either. And a half an hour of this is for me to go one mile. Thank God for YouTube…

Anyhoo, since my days seem to be so long, the husband has taken it upon himself to prepare dinner for us for when I get home. They have all been so scrumptious that I felt I needed to document them.

Night one:

Heavenly pasta..see previous post.

Night two:

Vegan Pizza.

This bad boy was all the deliciousness of a normal pizza, minus the seasoning of guilt. I thought that I would miss the cheese on this, but there were no tears shed over the absence of a belated friend, only smiles from half of the pie being mine.

The crust was a pre-made crust from Trader Joe’s. You know the kind. The ones that are in the little bags in the refrigerated section.

Now the fun part:

Spread that gluten out on some rosemary and garlic infused olive oil

Coat the top of her with some basil hinted pizza sauce, homemade is always preferred.

Dice up some black olives, broccoli, green peppers, onions, and really anything your little heart desires, and stick ‘er in the oven! Read the back of the TJ plastic bag for the recommended time, and sit back, relax and take in the awesomeness with a nice rerun of Running Wilde. Yeah, I know it's super easy and anyone could have figured it out, but hey, it was AWESOME. Now time for Will Arnett.

How to be more Parisienne

Lately I have been on this whole, “I must be more French” kick. I am not just talking the French Women Don’t Get Fat book, granted I read it and it completely makes sense. I am talking the whole "je ne sais quoi" aspect about every Parisienne that I passed by on the streets of Paris.

They weren't fake. I didn’t see strands of bleached-out hair, overly tanned or even worse, Oompa Loompa orange skin. No silicone lumps lingering under silk blouses. The females oversea just carried themselves so well. Simple. Elegant. Timeless. And for me; perfection.

So that has been my new obsession. To just keep it simple. For example, I have been yearning to dye my hair. Boredom creeps into every girl, and all they want is that new pick me up, something different. Resisting that urge is not fun. Knowing that I am saving the $150 at the salon helps.

Ok, so there seems to be about ten golden rules to follow to be more Parisienne.

1)      Lose the smile. Unless they were sitting on the banks of the Seine at about 5pm, manger du fromage et boire du vin, you're not going to see those pearly whites flash at you when you walk by. It helps to keep that air of mystery.



2)      K.I.S.S….the acronym I heard almost every day in construction management class..wow that sounded a little butch…These ladies have it down to a science. Clean complexion, the up-done, but “un”done bun, the layers of classic, yet highly sought after designer clothes and the timeless staple: the purse. Investing in skincare products that make you feel like Grace Kelly everyday are always a treat! Caudalie, L'Occitane and of course Aveda are always winners.



http://fancypantsy.wordpress.com

3)      Be a skinny bitch. You’re not going to find a BMI of more than 17 when you are there, and if you do, instant red flag that those people just flew in from the good ol’ U. S. of  A. That is where I come in.

4)      A bit of a contradiction to no. 3, but indulge. There are pastry shops, fromage markets, meats, sugars, and carbs galore! You don’t want to just drink your master cleanse diet mix and take some laxatives. You have to eat in moderation and ENJOY it when you do!

5)      If you can’t beat em, join em. I am totally opposed to this one, but unfortunately EVERY person here smokes. Once you pop out of the womb, you are spanked and then handed a pack of Gitanes. The true trick of how they stay skinny.

6)      Enjoy every second. No matter what time of day it was, there were couples, friends, singles, all out enjoying the weather, the food, the architecture, everything that is beautiful about being in Paris.

7)      While you are out enjoying the beauty, try not to do it alone. There was definitely a feeling of, “there is somebody for everybody”. Ladies, get a man, or woman, whatever you prefer - and enjoy it!

http://www.panoramastock.com

8)      PDA. Lots of PDA. I thought I would be a little grossed out by this one. I am not a PDA person, hand holding is pushing it. However, there was something so sweet, innocent and endearing about couples just looking and acting like the world stops when they look at their partner. It was just a constant since of being in love and embracing that feeling.

9)      Un café s'il vous plait. This one got me in a little bit of trouble while there, but coffee is lurking around every corner. I am not talking Starbucks, granted I fall victim here and did go into some, I am talking the hand pressed, tapped and pulled shots of liquid gold. These little bolts of France in a cup are amazing. Europe actually has laws about dairy and being human, as humane as you can when it comes to this, about raising their cows for humane consumption. So every café au lait had a taste of earth and grass. It may sound strange, but if you are actually going to be drinking milk from another species, you might as well have it be as natural as you can!

10)  Read. You won’t survive if you’re not educated beyond a Bachelors degree.

New Year, New Pasta

So this is the new year, a time for a new change, a new look, a new perspective. Eh, don't we seem to say that every year? "this year I am going to lose ten more pounds and floss daily and I will be perfect and happy!" then come January 3rd, you're not flossing after your fourth serving of Trader Joes' Mint Joe-Joe's...and that's ok. I think it's alway better to just be honest and embrass our imperfections. Cause I mean really, everyone has them..except for maybe Marion Cotillard, but that's a different story.

Telegraph Photoshoot,2009

Speaking of perfection, the husband has been cooking some of the most amazing vegan dinners for me when I get home from work. They are there and ready to go! The first night I could smell the deliciousness from the street! Le ciel absolute!

 The first night was a mushroom and walnut pate. I was too eager to eat so there were no photos taken unfortunately. The following evening was a pasta della California from the Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook (a must have cookbook for any vegan or non-vegan looking for unique recipes) This is such a unique and exquisite dish, perfect for those out of town guests! Welcome to California!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb linguine

3 cups broccoli, tops cut into small florettes, stalks sliced thinly

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 garlic cloves, minced (yes 8!)

1/4 teaspoon grated lime zest

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup white wine (Trader Joes is wonderful for this!)

1 cup vegetable broth

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 dashes fresh black pepper

4 cups loosely packed arugula leaves

2 avocados, peeled and sliced into 1 inch chunks

Now for the fun part:

Bring a large pot of water to boil, it's good to prep the other ingredients while this is coming to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as per package directions

Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.

Add the olive oil garlic, lime zest and red pepper flakes and gently heat, stirring often for about 2 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the wine and turn up a bit to reduce the wine, about 2 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth, lime juice, salt and fresh black pepper and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, lower the heat.

When your pasta is just about done, add the brocoli and cook for another minute or two, then drain.

Add the broccoli and pasta to the pan and toss it around, making sure to get everything coated in garlic, for about 3 more minutes. 

Throw in those plump avocados and turn the heat off.

Toss the pasta to spread the avocado around, but be gentle! Dont mash them! Just until it is warmed through, about a minute.

We squeezed some extra lime juice on top and had the rest of the white wine with it. A must try for everyone!