Photoblog 2: Delightful Dishes

Just recently VegLiving had its first (what I like to call) photoblog, with a collection of pictures of some scrumptious dishes I’d made that month, located here. I liked the way that it turned out and I really hope it inspired others to be creative in their cooking and maybe document and blog their culinary masterpieces, too.

So, I’ve made a new little category of posts here at VegLiving for these photoblogs. This post is the second one which includes some dishes I’ve been documenting over the past couple weeks. Enjoy, and let me know if you’d like any recipes, information or have any comments.

As always, all photos are © Brian Greco 2009 using a lovely Samsung SL820 12.1 MP Camera. Do not copy or re-upload without credit. I will hunt you down  .

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Dish 1: A tasty little vegetarian afterschool snack with a salad, some edamame and a Trader Joe's Veggie Hummus Wrap.

Dish 2: Simple perfection. What more could want for a snack? Whole sprouted wheat bread with extra virgin olive oil.

Dish 3: Now this one's interesting. I was looking up raw food desserts (inspired by Ani Phyo) and I concocted these somehow. A mixture of many many many ingredients, including a lot of butters, nuts, dried fruit and cocoa. Very tasty, actually.

Dish 4: Some Indian food tofu mix leftover thingy I made (lucky I take these photos, I'd forget), with a simple salad and bread. yummy.

Dish 5: One of my favorites. This scrumptious salad features the usuals with fresh vegetables. A nice couscous mixture bean corn thing I made out of nowhere to accompany. See, I don't really use recipes... made this one up on the spot.

How’s my food photography skills? 😉

Dish 6: Made this before swim practice for some energy. Can never go wrong with some fresh bread, olive oil and grapes. Very Roman-inspired.

Dish 7: This one looks weird, but tasted pretty good. Was bored and wanted something quick, so I tried polenta (the non-refrigerated kind) with some beans and things. Polenta is an Italian corn paste-like substance that is very versatile in cooking. Tasty.

Dish 8: This one is one of my favorites I've done. Ah, simple perfection! I love salads, if you haven't noticed. Eat one every day. Salad post coming soon... but anyway, made this this afternoon and it is truly the perfect, healthy, vegetarian snack. Mmm.

So, that’s that. Yummy, I hope. As you can see I really like salads.

Anyway, sorry that I can’t link within the captions — it kinda bothers me. But I will be updating these soon with links to other posts about some of the foods and recipe inspirations mentioned in this photoblog.

I truly hope everyone is enjoying the blog and if you haven’t already, subscribe for email updates (with new content delivered to you) and spread the word!

Be well,

Brian

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Email me or tweet me with any questions or corrections.

Grr, sorry to anyone who sent to my VegLiving email which I have decided can’t be fixed. Please resend to my personal address.

Photoblog: Tasty “vegicurean” dishes to inspire

The best part about looking through cookbooks is surely seeing the beautiful photos of the professionally-made and flawless dishes. So, as a fun photoblog, today’s post will include some of the photos that I’ve been taking of various concoctions made in Brian’s very unofficial kitchen. Keeping that in mind, I hope to inspire other possibly uninspired vegetarians (regular people — not being pressured by the professional culinary world) to take pride in what they eat and be creative in their cooking.

These aren’t recipe suggestions — I know you all can get tons of those all over the web and in books; rather, they are just here to hopefully encourage and give ideas to the bored veg*n. (actually, all these dishes are vegan). Sorry if the page takes long to load; the files are fairly large.

All photos are © Brian Greco 2009 using a lovely Samsung SL820 12.1 MP Camera. Do not copy or re-upload without credit. I will hunt you down :P.

warning: you may become hungry while viewing these.

Dish 1: A little, spur-of-the moment flatbread with home-grown tomatoes and basil on whole wheat bread

Dish 2: Gemelli pasta with olive oil and home-grown tomatoes and basil

Dish 3: A bean salad with vegetables and leftover rice/grain mix with whole wheat toast

Dish 4: A classic, scrumptious salad with beans, carrots and home-grown cucumbers and tomatoes (you can tell we have a garden)

Dish 5: A darling Brianmade salad (I eat them. Every. Day.) with a side of boiled edamame and bread

Dish 6: Another lovely salad with, ooh and this one has bean sprouts. Ate this today for lunch. With my. favorite. grain blend. ever. from Trader Joe's, called the Harvest Grain Blend

Dish 7: What more could one want? Simple salad with beans, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, greens and oil & vinegar. Olive oil specifically is an awesome dressing with healthy fats and assistance in the absorption of the veggies' vitamins and minderals. Make sure to watch out for evil dressings.

Cheers and enjoy. …Insert “hopefully this list will encourage…” schpiele (sp?) here. But really, I do hope this gives you: (a) some cool ideas (b) an appetite for healthy food, and (c) an idea of what the heck I eat every day.

Be well,

Brian

P.S. – Don’t copy any of my pictures, kthxbai.

Recipe spotlight: Amaranth Date Nut Bread

Looking for an appetizing new dish? Today’s post features a tasty and easy-to-make quickbread recipe that incorporates the grain amaranth, a Peruvian super grain (like the beloved quinoa). Amaranth was featured as well at an article at ChetDay.com that noted its great nutrition and flexibility in vegetarian recipes. Check it out here in addition to many other vegetarian-related articles at the site. It is a grain that can be used as cereal, in soup, by itself, and in many other recipes, just like you would with rice, pasta, wheat, etc.

The amaranth and the recipe highlighted in this post was from a product by a company named Arrowhead Mills, one of my favorite sources for natural, well-established whole grains and other great products. The company was a pioneer in the organic food industry, starting to produce high-quality, healthy food over 40 years ago. Check out their history here and their products here.

Anyway, my sister found the recipe on the wrapper for the amaranth and, being an enthusiastic baker, decided to make this Amaranth Date Nut bread along with another recipe. (Check out the spelt muffins recipe here and the picture of the muffins she made as well — very tasty!).

Please note, this recipe is of course vegetarian but would not be vegan if using eggs, butter or honey. This shouldn’t discourage any vegans out there to try creative vegan replacements for these products to help.

Here it is. Recipes at VegLiving are available in two formats: online for simple viewing, and in easily-downloadable Adobe PDF format. Don’t worry, getting the file and printing is easy.

Click here to download the file for this recipe.

Here is the online version for viewing on this blog.

Amaranth Date Nut Bread
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped dates
½ cup amaranth
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs or egg substitute
½ cup honey
¼ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Preparation:

1. Soak dates and amaranth in boiling wanter 15 minutes.
2. Beat eggs well, add honey and butter, and beat again.
3. Stir in all remaining ingredients, mixing well.
4. Pour into an oiled loaf pan, and bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Enjoy! Posted at http://vegliving.info – September 12th, 2009. -Brian

Here is a picture of the bread baked by my sister:

I encourage everyone to give this recipe a try and be sure to drop back soon and let us know what you thought! Any reviews, suggestions, corrections, etc. are very much appreciated. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and get e-mail updates for new recipes and posts if you enjoyed the blog. Feel free to comment, e-mail me or contact me at Twitter @VegLiving. Enjoy!

Be well,

Brian

Thank you to these sources:

Amaranth Date Nut Bread. Arrowhead Mills, 12 Sep. 2009 .

Amaranth, a healthy grain for vegetarian recipes – ChetDay.com –link–

Recipe spotlight: Creamy Chickpea-Tahini Casserole

Note: this post’s recipe updated, August 5, 2009.

Today’s spotlight is on a peculiar-sounding but excellent recipe featuring chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tahini and tomatoes that makes for a tasty, satisfying meal which is sure to please. Finding this recipe awhile back on RecipeZaar, I was pleased on how it came out and even made it a couple times again.

One thing that’s great about this recipe is that it is vegan but still has a texture that many vegan people only rarely can find. The tahini, a paste from ground sesame seeds, used in hummus, adds that creamy consistency while still keeping to animal-free ingredients.

I don’t want to turn into a robotic recipe reblogger, but the turnout with the spelt recipe was good and I truly believe that this is an excellent dish to make for both veg and non-veg people.

 

Here is the recipe. Thank you again to ‘Christine in Chicago’, who posted it here. See the link for the source.

As before, I’ll post an easily-printed PDF file for download as well as an online version.

Note: I haven’t included a picture because the shots on the site were of a variation with ingredients not included here. If anyone makes it and would like to submit a picture, it would be greatly appreciated!

Click here to download the printable PDF. Do note, though, that the larger download link below the title for some reason does not link to the correct page. Instead, use the smaller link next to the “email to friends” text. Let me know if there’s an error still.

Update August 5, 2009: After reviewing the recipe, I noticed that this neither seemed correct nor the recipe I had found. So, the recipe has been changed. Apologies for inconvenience to anyone who made it previous to this date. Let me know if you have questions about the previous version or about the change.

And, here is the online version.

Creamy Chickpea and Tahini Casserole from RecipeZaar.com submitted by Christine
Serves Six

Preparation: 10 minutes; 55 minutes cooking

“The ultimate in vegan comfort food. It’s not a very specific recipe and is open to much
interpretation. It’s a very modified version of what [was found] on the web.”

Ingredients:

2 (15-22 1/2 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3-4 cups cooked brown rice
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or equiv. fresh garlic)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or equiv. fresh)
1 teaspoon dried basil (or equiv. fresh)
1-2 teaspoon dried parsley (or equiv. fresh)
3 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Mix tahini and water until well mixed (it should get kind of “fluffy”). Set aside.
3. Spray 9×13 pan with olive oil.
4. Dump all ingredients into pan.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
6. Add tahini mixture, stir until well combined.
7. Bake at 375°F for approximately 40 minutes, until top begins to brown.
8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and bake 5 minutes more.
9. Serve hot and enjoy!

Enjoy! Posted at http://vegliving.info – August 5, 2009. -Brian Greco

 

And here’s a picture I took of the recipe made. Interesting-looking but very delicious!

Try it out and drop a comment with what you think. I haven’t made this in a while, and therefore do not remember any tricks or tips to add; however, this recipe is excellent and is certain to be a hit. 

If you find any tricks or tips, let me know or comment them for others to see. And, if anyone asks you “Where’d you get this recipe? Can I have it?” you know where to refer them ;)!

Be well,

Brian

 

Here’s the link to source again, if you missed it:

Creamy Chickpea and Tahini Casserole by Christine in Chicago on RecipeZaar –link–

Recipe spotlight: No-added-sugar Spelt Muffins

Alright, I know what you’re thinking. “Ew! Spelt? No sugar? They’ve gotta be nasty!” 

Putting that aside… these baked delights aren’t just for health nuts and they aren’t disgusting; give them a try and you may be surprised! My sister made these today, finding the recipe in a muffin-recipe library book. I know Vegliving has had many spotlights lately, and readers won’t be inundated with random vegetarian recipes as in many blogs; but I want to share this excellent option for the health-conscious consumer interested in trying their hand at baking. 

These muffins are tasty and easily made and they are vegetarian; however, they do contain one egg and would therefore not be vegan. That shouldn’t stop the vegans from finding an increasingly-popular egg replacement or being creative with applesauce, etc. in place of the egg.

Also, note that the original name was “Sugar-Free Spelt Muffins”. I edited that because these muffins do contain sugar, it is just not the added or refined sugar like in many baking recipes. There is sugar in the applesauce and apple juice, as well as if dates or dried fruits are added.

 

Here’s the recipe. It is typed from the book and can be seen below, or easily downloaded for print with the following link. Please be green and use recycled paper, double-sided printing or the back of some other paper if possible.

Update July 29: the “Download” link in green below the file doesn’t seem to work; try the link next to “email to friends” that is lower on the page. Let me know if you get a dead link.

Click here to download the PDF file for this recipe.

No-Added-Sugar Spelt Muffins: makes twelve muffins. Thank you, The Ultimate Muffin Book.

 

Here’s the online version of this recipe.

No-Added-Sugar Spelt Muffins
Makes 12 Muffins         

Note: See asterisked items’ notes below.

Ingredients:

Non-stick spray for muffin tins
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 cups oat bran
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dried currants*
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F**. To prepare muffin tins, spray indentations and rims with nonstick spray, or line with paper muffin cups. If using silicon muffin tins, spray as directed, then place tins on baking sheet.

2. Whisk spelt flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in medium bowl until uniform. Add currants, toss well and set aside.

3. In large bowl, whisk applesauce, apple juice and oil until smooth; whisk in egg and vanilla until pale, smooth and uniform, about two minutes. Stir in spelt mixture with wooden spoon until incorporated. Let batter rest for five minutes.

4. Fill prepared tins three-quarters full. Use additional greased tins or small, oven-safe, greased ramekins for any leftover batter, or reserve for other baking. Bake for 25 minutes***, or until muffins are lightly browned with rounded tops. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

5. Set pan on wire rack to cool for ten minutes. Gently rock each muffin back and forth to release and remove from tin. Cool muffins for five minutes more on rack before serving. If storing or freezing, cool completely before sealing in airtight container or freezer-safe plastic bags. Muffins will stay fresh up to twenty-four hours at room temp. or up to one month in freezer.

Varieties:

Almond spelt muffins: add 3/4 cup sliced toasted almonds with the currants. Add one teaspoon almond extract with vanilla.

Apricot pistachio spelt muffins: substitute 2/3 cup chopped dried apricots for currants. Add 1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios with dried apricots.

Coconut spelt muffins: add 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut with currants.

Cranberry pecan spelt muffins: substitute 2/3 cup dried cranberries for currants. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans with cranberries.

Date nut spelt muffins: substitute 2/3 cup chopped, pitted dried dates for currants. Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts with dates.

Notes of significance after testing recipe:

*. We didn’t add currants and the muffins were also good. Probably would have more taste with them, but they aren’t dire.

**. We used the oven at 380°F and it worked fine. Previous recipes from this book had too-high a temperature. Either way.

***. We mistakingly took them out after about 18 minutes. 25 seems long as well. Maybe something like 22 minutes would be optimal.

Enjoy! Posted at https://vegliving.wordpress.com – July 26th, 2009. -Brian

 

Here is a picture I took of the muffins made by my sister:

 

Try them out and comment what you think! Any suggestions, corrections, thoughts, etc. are welcome and appreciated! Spread the word and share with your friends.

Be well,

Brian

 

Thank you to the source of this recipe:

Weinstein, Bruce, and Mark Scarbrough. The Ultimate Muffin Book. New York, NY: 2004.