Manipulating the elements
In the early spring I decided I wanted to start a garden. I had no idea what I was doing (I still don’t) and I wasn’t even into gardening all that much. The most I had ever done was planting some flowers from a plastic box that my mother had bought from the garden center.
Thinking back on it, I couldn’t even remember how far to dig the hole or how much soil to put on top. Was I suppose to pack it down after? Did this even apply to vegetables? How far apart should they be? How much water would they need and when?
So many questions. But I went for it anyways and pulled out all the weeds and basically anything and everything that looked even remotely like a plant or root from a patch of soil in my backyard. After this was accomplished, I tilled the soil (a fancy word for digging it up about 1-2 feet and mixing it all up), then I laid down a fine layer of compost and mixed that gently in. After that was all done, I raked it to look pretty (I’m not sure this was even necessary) and then I bought my plants. On the list:
4 cauliflower
1 zucchini
5 tomatoes (for my parents)
4 swiss chard
4 romaine
4 endive
Oregano
Lime Basil
Cilantro
Parsley
2 Stevia plants
4 Nasturtiums (edible flowers)
It is now the end of summer and my zucchinis are growing like crazy (too big for me to handle, with far too m any coming). The swiss chard turned whitish and one of them died immediately. The other one is struggling. Two cauliflower remain, one that looks huge but hasn’t budded at all and one that started budded but looks sickly. I’ve got cherry tomatoes popping up all over the place but the bigger ones aren’t coming very well. The romaine and endive grew very tall with hardly any leaves (just enough for a two person salad). The stevia is doing wonderful but took awhile. The basil is big and beautiful and smells divine. The oregano is so -so and the parsley took forever to grow large. The nasturtiums have popped a couple flowers here and there then died within a day but over the last week they started to blossom. Just enough for a salad.
Here are some pictures of my garden.
Tomatoe and Cauliflower
It’s way bigger than it looks (about 10 inches long, 5 inches wide)
I grew a FROG! :)
And now for my Nasturtium Salad:
One small head of boston lettuce (cut roughly)
Half a bunch of baby spinach (chopped roughly)
5-6 Nasturtiums or as many as you have!
Cumin/lime vinaigrette (from Vive le Vegan)
Dressing:
1/4 cup lime juice
1 small clove garlic
2-3 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp honey altervative (like agava or molasses)
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cumin (scant)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp sunflower oil or hemp seed oil (or more olive oil)
With a hand blender, combine all the ingredients except the oils and puree. Continue to blend and slowly drizzle in the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.
I swear I’m not affiliated with Dreena Burton but I just bought her book ‘vive le vegan’ and I definitely recommend it. Her recipes are short, simple and leave out a lot of processed/refined crap.
Cumin infused Kale
My iron levels are currently on the low side so I knew I had to run to the store and stock up on Kale. Most people don’t get a sufficient amount of dark leafy greens and I’m definitely trying to both convince others to eat them as well as myself.
I’m talking about our bitter and often tough friends Kale, spinach, collard greens and chard. I have experimented with many recipes and it seems that these veggies always need to be at least slightly cooked (for both texture and for the body to digest properly). I’ve also found they do well with seasoning, otherwise you generally have a limp, tasteless mass of chewy leaves. After flipping through my recipe books I found one from “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” that tastes fairly sophisticated.
Mixed Greens with Cumin and Paprika (Or my version Cumin infused Kale)
Ingredients:
12 cups mixed greens – kale, broccoli rabe, chard or beet, escarole, mustard green
Salt
4 large garlic cloves
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp paprika ( I did without due to the deadly nightshade allergy)
2 tsp cumin
For Garnish: oil-cured black olives ( I used regular green ones), wedges of lemon and tomato (again you can defintely do without the tomatoe if allergic)
Directions:
1) discard any inedible parts of the green, such as kale stems and tough ribs. Set the leaves in a steamer – the tougher ones on the bottom, the most tender on top – and cook until tender. Or boil each type seperately in salted water, then drain. Chop into pieces about one inch square.
2) Pound the garlic with 1/2 tsp salt in a mortar until smooth, then work in the parsley and cilantro pounding them briefly to release their flavours.
3) Warm the oil with the paprika and cumin in a wide skillet over medium heat until they release their fragrance. Don’t let them burn! Stir in the garlic, then add the greens and cook until any extra moisture has evaporated. Taste for salt. Pile into a dish and garnish with olives, lemon and tomato. Don’t forget to squeeze those lemons onto the kale before eating!
Tasty Treats?
I never liked marshmallows but I certainly do miss rice krispie squares. Just like the commercials, I remember mixing up many batches of those tasty squares with my mother and my older brother. I have such fond memories of sitting and staring through the microwave door watching the butter/marshmallow mixture melt down in yummy gooey goodness. But those days are over and all I can think about is my disgust towards gelatin and how incredibly painful the effects of preservatives and sugar are on my body. Perhaps that is why I have so many health problems now. *sigh*.
So you can imagine my surprise and absolute joy when I was leaving Bulk Barn with my bag of cornmeal and found these by the cash….
These rice krispie squares are vegan and gluten free! I couldn’t wait to come home and devour these even though I knew it could mean a potential headache (there is some cane sugar in the ingredient list).
After devouring a couple without hardly any attention paid, I slowed down and really absorbed the flavour.
If you are looking for rice krispie squares, these are definitely not spot on, however, they come close. They are very, very sweet (and this is coming from someone with a major sweet tooth), and they have this delightful nutty flavour that kicks in halfway through. They are also nice and crisp so you won’t miss that aspect of the old fashioned squares. My only complaint would have to be the price ($5.49 CAN per box which contains 8 squares) and the lack of “buttery-ness”. For that perfect rice krispie square I suggest making your own vegan marshmallows and from there, making your own squares, however this certainly is a quick and sweet treat!
The Challenge
Hello,
My name is Kathy and I am a vegan who has been dealing with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) for a solid 15 years. For as long as I can remember (long before going vegan) I have always been prone to being cold, weak and tired with constant migraines. My vitamin and mineral levels are checked frequently and seem to be perfect. This has led me from a doctor’s office to a Naturopath’s and after some testing they told me I have a long list of food allergens that are causing these symptoms. The list includes:
Dairy (which I don’t eat anymore)
Chicken (obviously out of my menu)
Cloves
The deadly nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, pepper, paprika, chili powder and Chile’s, tobacco)
Melons
Gluten
Sugar (cane)
Salt
Rye
Wheat
On top of these I do not eat any meat, dairy or eggs. This is mainly for the animals but I also care for my health and the environment.
I have never felt that being vegan was something impossible and have never been frustrated when I have had to go out of my way to create a vegan version of my favorite foods. I’ve always seen it as a creative and fun challenge and I hope you will too. I’m just a University student who likes to cook and bake on her spare time and have only recently started to make up my own recipes from scratch. My main goal is to help other vegans and especially vegans with allergies. One day I hope to have a vegan cooking show on the air because I think it’s about time we had one that was just as popular as any other show. I understand that everyone has different allergies and not all recipes will apply to you or be suitable for you but I will try my best. I am positive that if there is an allergen in any recipe it can be replaced with something else to suit your needs. Perhaps we can work on this together and figure it out.
Most importantly enjoy these recipes.
