Vegan Braised Kale and Cannellini Beans~Olive Dressing

Last weekend I had a sleepover with my best friend Sophia for some quality time, tea, and cooking.
Sophia is not a vegan, but she's been exploring vegan cooking for her health and for the environment. I must say, I am incredibly proud of her! She's been making some knockout dishes when just months before she was apprehensive of the world of beans and quinoa. AND at my brunch potluck party, she made amazing blueberry pancakes that blew everyone away.

Here is a pic of her whipping up those awesome pancakes at brunch. That's my girl!

For dinner, she veganized a braised kale and cannellini beans recipe she found on a blog.
This is the recipe: http://kitchenetteblog.com/2012/01/braised-kale-and-cannellini-beans/

..And here is her version..
Vegan Braised Kale and Cannellini Beans:

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
3-4 cups vegetable stock
2 small bunches red russian kale
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
zest of half a lemon

Instructions:

In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onion and garlic, then add beans
and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften and break up a bit, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the red pepper flakes, cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for another minute.

Add about 3 cups of the stock, stir to combine. Then add the kale, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until the kale is tender and the liquid has thickened. You may need to add more stock as it cooks.

When the kale is ready, turn off the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon zest.

Enjoy!


We had our meal with quinoa, and an arugula salad on the side with an olive dressing that she improvised. It was yummy!

Sophia's Olive Dressing:

Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, mashed
3 tablespoons? (very little) diced onions
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup black olives
1/3 cup kalamata olives

Instructions:


Mash together the garlic and the salt

Then add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and lemon juice.

In a food processor, blend the olives, the onions, and the liquid mixture.

Add pepper to taste.

Serve over salad.

Et Voila!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Sophia also made some healthified strawberry pancakes the next morning; a recipe I plan to post soon.

Till next time!
xo,
Ellie

The Cinnamon Snail Food Truck

Oh Cinnamon Snail! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!...

...I finally got a hold of that dang truck last Thursday! And let me tell you-the chase was worth it.

 Based in New Jersey, this amazing vegan food truck business is named for their signature cinnamon rolls-which I have yet to try. What I did order was their Maple Mustard Tempeh Sandwich- served on grilled spelt bread, with roasted garlic aioli, kale, tomato and onion...

...which I brought back to the teacher's office at work, and devoured in less than five minutes.

They also sell donuts in all sorts of flavors such as Raspberry Cheesecake and Creme Brulee. I decided to go with their Maple Pecan donut.

I shared some of it with my total omnivore co-worker Jennifer and we were blown away. Jennifer actually used the word "bomb" to describe it.

I overheard the (super-nice) worker at Cinnamon Snail tell someone that their Apple Cider donuts are really good, so I'll have to try them next time-as well as their Cinnamon Snail, and other delectable-sounding sandwiches! What goodies of theirs have you tried?

Btw, they were accepting donations for Farm Sanctuary in a jar-which was overflowing. Love it!!

Oh Cinnamon Snail, you have a new devotee in me!...

Follow that truck on Twitter or Facebook:
Twitter:@VeganLunchTruck
Facebook:www.facebook.com/TheCinnamonSnail

Till next time!

I'll be posting again soon about more food adventures and recipes. =)

xo, Ellie

Earth Day!

Ah, Mother Earth. Isn't she amazing? But let's face it, folks. Collectively, we ain't been treatin' our mama with enough respect! Earth Day is this Sunday, and this is a great time to reflect on honoring her and on what we can do to help ease her suffering.

You may be wondering what you could do for Earth Day to play your part. Recycle more? Start composting? Buy a cloth bag and stop using plastic while shopping? All great ideas, but if I were to propose just one thing to do, it would be this:
Eat a vegan dinner on Earth Day.
That is, if you're not already a vegan, of course!

Why?
Because eating a vegan diet is actually one of the best ways.. oh heck, I'll say it-it's the best way to be "green"! Unfortunately, this is not common knowledge- but if you do some research, you will find an overwhelming wealth of info on how animal agriculture adversely effects the environment.

Here are just a few pieces of info I found when I searched the Net:


-   U.S. livestock consume more than six and a half times as much grain as the entire U.S. human population consumes directly. According to the Council for Agriculture Science and Technology, if all this grain was consumed directly by humans, it would nourish five times as many people as it does after it is converted into meat, milk and eggs.

-  Animal agriculture accounts for more than 80% of annual world deforestation.


-  Nearly half of the total amount of water used annually in the U.S. goes to grow feed and provide drinking water for cattle and livestock.

-  A report in the New Scientist estimated that driving a hybrid car rather than an average vehicle would conserve a little over one ton of carbon dioxide per year. A vegan diet, however, consumes one and a half tons less than the average American diet.

For more info, you could check out this site (where I found some of these facts from):
http://www.veganpeace.com/veganism/environment.htm




So have your vegan dinner this Sunday, folks! Cause really, every meatless meal helps. Have a fancy dinner at Candle 79 or the new Cafe Blossom on Carmine Street, or go casual and have a yummy Vietnamese din at Lan Cafe.

If you're eating in and are a meatlover, try Field Roast Sausages. Have them with your sides of choice, like sauteed kale and sweet potatoes.

Or have some bean tacos with pico de gallo and guacamole, and leave out the cheese and sour cream. Yumm!

Now, what if you're already a vegan? Well, besides recycling more, composting, and using a cloth bag while shopping, you could go to this event- the Darwin Animal Doctors' Bake Sale Fundraiser at Mooshoes, 12:30-5:30 on Orchard Street:

How cute is their flyer, btw?? Darwin Animal Doctors is an organization that is the first free full-time, full service vet clinic in the Galapagos Islands. The wildlife in the Galapagos is some of the most unique in the world. They aim to help protect the biodiversity and the environment of the Galapagos by limiting the number of domestic animals and their impacts on wildlife through humane sterilization.

At their event, they will be selling sweet, vegan baked treats, and there will be a raffle offering goodies from Mooshoes, LUSH cosmetics, and Vaute Couture.

If you can't make the event, you could also make a donation to Lotus Elephant Sanctuary. An organization in development, their goal is to raise money to buy a minimum of 6,000 acres of land to provide a haven for elephants. The eyes of many international firms are on Laos right now because of its proximity to China and its geographical position, and corporate projects will soon ensue, causing damage to the land through reckless development.  Lotus Elephant Sanctuary can help preserve land in Laos, as well as provide a refuge for abused elephants.

For more info on the sanctuary, you can look here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/LotusElephantSanctuary/info

And look here to make a donation:

http://www.lotussanctuary.org/help.htm

Happy Earth Day everyone! Let's take this day to appreciate our beautiful home, and to be mindful of our part in it.

xo,

Ellie

Weekend Recap:Parties and Lula's and Foodswings, oh my!

Weekend recap!
And what a beautiful weekend it was.
I wanted to keep ya'll posted on my recent vegan-ings..
So here it is!

On Friday I went to my friend Rachel's 60's themed 30th birthday party, held at Yippee Museum Cafe. Rachel is an amazing activist for animals and is so wonderfully supportive to all her friends. She is an awesome lady-and she looked so beautiful that night!!

The party was great. Chill vibe, great music and dancing, and good people. Donations were accepted for Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary- a place Rachel frequently volunteers with. There were live performances throughout the night and everyone was awesome!! I also had the pleasure of singing for Rachel's party among the string of her oh-so-talented friends.

And this is me offstage..still singing.

On Saturday, I brought my journal and French textbook for a solo brunch at Cafe Royal in Greenpoint, blocks from home...

It's a cute, cozy spot that is super vegan-friendly. Among their treats are breakfast burritos for under five dollars, a great eggplant panini, the awesome artisanal Dun-Well doughnuts, Brooklyn Kombucha on tap, and a hearty vegan tofu skillet...

                                          ...which was what I had in their lovely back patio.

                                                                      Mmmmm.
The plate is made up of a tofu scramble, local sunflower toast with vegan butter, and a seasonal greens salad. And yes, that's hot sauce on the side.


After brunch, I sat in McGorlick park and daydreamed/studied French, basking in the lovely day.

                                                                     Hello, beautiful!

Later in the day, after rehearsal with the band, I tagged along with our bassist Colyn for an album release party in the East Village. I love Brooklyn but the East Village, where I lived for years, will always be my first home in my heart. Colyn feels the same (she now lives in Inwood).
At some point in the night, we wandered the neighborhood, stopping in some of our fave spots to pick up odds and ends and treats. Including...Lula's Sweet Apothecary.

Lula's is a great vegan ice cream spot that has a wonderful 50's ice cream shoppe vibe. They are super nice and offer you as many tastings as you want. They serve decadent sundaes and they use compostable cups! They are always coming out with new flavors, and rotate their "menu". My fave flavors of theirs is their soft serve cake batter and their mint chocolate chip. Colyn went with a classic chocolate scoop on a cone. It was Colyn's first time at Lula's and she loved it!

I also ran into my friends Dania and Kristy. I LOVE running into friends at vegan spots!

Looking good, ladies!

             

             

We also stopped in Good Beer, a super-cool beer spot with a great selection that offers tastings and snacks, including Field Roast Sausages!! If you haven't tried Field Roasts yet, do. Just. Trust me. Colyn bought some beers for her friends back at the party and a sausage on a yummy roll with mustard for herself.

                                                 She was kind enough to offer me a bite.


On Sunday, after Michelle and I attended my amazing friend Leif's bar pre-opening party (his place is called Donna in Williamsburg, and it's beautiful!!) , our tipsy selves went to the perfect place for  post-drink eats: Foodswings.

                                                                            Yup. Tipsy.


Foodswings is a great place to go to get down and dirty with fast food. It has great milkshakes and drumsticks. Michelle and I ordered their Sweet Southern Fried BBQ drumsticks and Metal Fries (w cheese, buffalo sauce and bleu cheese dressing).

And that concludes my weekend recap! Will post again soon about Earth Day, which is coming up in a few days!

xo,
Ellie

Avocado Pasta

Avocados are my absolute favorite food.
My Facebook screen name ain't "AvocadoMama" for nothin'!

I love avocados so much, I eat them straight with a spoon.

I love them so much, an ex used to bring them to me as presents.

I love them so much, in college I made a pasta sauce out of mashed avocados.
People thought it was strange, but I thought it worked-and I LOVED it.

So friends, here is a grown-up version of what I made oh-so-many a late night in college:
My Avocado Pasta:

Ingredients:
Whole wheat/Spelt/Brown Rice pasta
1 avocado
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (you don't want to skip this ingredient!)
1/2 teaspoon(?) coarsely chopped basil (i threw the basil in before measuring-oops! sorry.)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

This is the pasta I went with..

A note about wheat: Whole wheat pasta tastes good, but with all the wheat products that are out there, overconsumption has become an issue and many people have developed sensitivities to it. Next time, pay attention to how your body responds when you eat wheat. Most people say they have some sort of reaction, myself included.
 I enjoy whole wheat pasta once in a while, but I try to cut down on wheat consumption by using alternative grain products. Brown rice pasta is probably my fave. This time though, I used spelt pasta, which is also good. Spelt is actually a relative of wheat, but does not have the same effect as wheat does. It is not gluten-free.

1.While preparing pasta, mash avocado with a spoon in a bowl.
Note: This will require a little armwork. I prefer mashing to using a food processor because I personally like the texture that comes out this way better. The consistency I go for is a slightly smoother version of guacamole..
2.Mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, salt and pepper.
3. Mix in the pasta.
4. Enjoy!

                                       This dish is super easy and perfect for spring or summer..

                                      
Hope you try it and enjoy! Will post again soon about activities of late.
Till next time!
xo,
Ellie
                                  

Vegan Breakfast~Bananas and Tahini

So...what the heck do vegans eat for breakfast? To some, the answer to this question may be obvious. But to many people I've encountered, the answer is not obvious at all! I've had some people ask me: "So you don't eat cereal/pancakes/bread?" And to that I've answered, "Actually, yes I do!"
If you're in the dark about vegan breakfast, let me fill you in!

Vegan breakfast includes and is not limited to: pancakes, french toast, granola/cereal w non-dairy milk, tofu scramble, muffins, soy/almond milk yogurt, oatmeal, grain porridge, shakes and smoothies (including green smoothies).... the list goes on!
You could also have Tofutti cream cheese, Earth Balance butter, a fruit spread or a nut butter on toast, an english muffin, or a bagel. If you wanna go even healthier, you could mash up a banana or avocado.

Three super easy ways to have a satisfying breakfast involve a flavor combo I really enjoy: bananas and tahini. May sound strange, but I think it really works!



1:A simple way to have this combo is by putting tahini and sliced bananas on an english muffin or toast, and sprinkling some cinnamon on top.

2:Another variation of this combo is a Banana Tahini Almond Smoothie:
Take....
2 frozen bananas
2 heaping spoonfuls of tahini
A handful of almonds (non-toasted)
A generous sprinkling of cinnamon
Water
..and blend. sorry, i'll get better about measurements!

3.Lastly, there is a Banana Tortilla Wrap.
I like to use Ezekiel tortillas for this recipe, made from sprouted whole grains:

-Lightly toast the tortilla in a toaster oven or on a frying pan (if you over-toast the Ezekiel tortilla, it will get stiff and it'll be hard to fold).
-Spread a generous amount of tahini on the tortilla.
-Throw in banana slices from 1 banana.
-With a spoon, put a light drizzle of brown rice syrup on top (a little sweetness here will go a long way!).
-Sprinkle cinnamon (as you can tell, I looove cinnamon with breakfast!).
-Wrap it up!
-Enjoy with a knife and fork.

                                                                   Yummmmmmmmmm.


Hope ya'll enjoy! And with that, I leave you with pics from a brunch potluck party I hosted last month for my awesomely fun friends. The food, by the way, was delicious!!:

Have a great weekend, everyone! Till next time.
xo,
Ellie

First Post:Easter Weekend~Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

Hello all! Here's my first post in an attempt to launch this creative outlet that shall be my blog about veganism and the vegan lifestyle, food (to answer the question:what do vegans eat?) and wellness.

 I'll probably be posting more about eating out in NYC than about cooking, since that seems to be more of what I do lately-but who knows? Maybe that will change. Actually, I hope that will change! As far as the vegan lifestyle, specifically I will be writing about my vegan life here in NY, as an example of what it's like.



Okay, so here goes!

This fine Easter weekend, I kicked things off by meeting with Edgar at Pure Food and Wine for drinks, appetizers, and a chat. Edgar is a friend of mine who shares a love of French language and culture with me, as well as artistic endeavors. He is a writer who is opening up a French cafe soon in the East Village. He's aware that the East Village is basically a vegan mecca, and being that I'm the only vegan friend he has, he picked my brain for ways to add vegan choices to his menu. So. excited! Vegan French food?! Yes, please!

Sooo..what did we have at Pure Food and Wine, you ask? Or wait, maybe you're asking: "What is 'Pure Food and Wine' "? Well, it happens to be my personal fave restaurant in NY-and yes, it's a raw place! I had their Green Mango shake, made with mango, cucumber, coconut water (hello hydration!), lime and cilantro. Soooo good! We shared some oyster mushroom scallop appetizer that was also just great. Edgar was really impressed. Love this place. Wish I took pics! Drats.



On Saturday some of my girlfriends and I went to Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary to celebrate one of the girls' birthdays. Okay, so let's get into specifics here-what exactly is a "farm animal sanctuary"?  Well, it's a place run by a non-profit org that rescues and takes care of abused farm animals; ensuring that they lead happier, healthier lives. WFAS is a wonderful haven for animals, founded by Jenny Brown and Doug Abel. It was apparent to me the first time I visited the sanctuary that Jenny is so dedicated, passionate, and cares so much about these animals. Watching her interact with them was an inspiration.


 It seemed serendipitous to me that we ended up visiting this place right on Easter weekend. What a wonderful way to celebrate life!

After cuddling the animals, we headed into the cute town of Woodstock and ate at The Garden Cafe. Love this place! It's a wonderful vegan restaurant with a beautiful backyard, cozy interior and delicious food! We had their special, which was a "Garden Bowl" of red rice, greens, and tempeh with a tahini, scallion dressing on top.

Today ( Easter Sunday), I met with my good friend Michelle for brunch at one of my favorite spots: Sacred Chow. We had their Better than Biscuits & Gravy, composed of a tofu scramble, gravy, and steamed collard greens piled on top of a biscuit, served with salad. Yum! It was hard to tell where the tofu scramble ended and the biscuit began, and in a good way. We had that and mimosas. =)

After brunch, we stopped in Hamlet's Vintage and I bought a 1960's era dress to wear to a friend's upcoming 60's themed 30th birthday party. More details on that later!  We then took a stroll through Washington Square Park and the West Village to take in the beautiful spring day.



So that's it for today, folks! Hope you had a great Easter/Passover! My friend Carrie posted a status update on facebook that was something to meditate on for this occasion. She said, "Easter reminds us that every day is an opportunity to begin again.." How lovely.

 Have a great week, everyone! Be well.  =)
xo,
Ellie