Manna Organics sent Vegan Digest a generous sampling of their Manna Bread products. What is Manna bread? It is a VEGAN cake-like, sprouted bread, free of salt, no oils, no sweeteners, no leavening agents. Also known as bible bread, this was the first time we had tried breads of this variety. Check out the review on the site under Vegan Food Reviews.
I love blueberries, especially those fresh from the farms of Michigan. The sweet berries explode in your mouth and are perfect for eating fresh, baking, smoothies, and more. But what to do in the winter? Frozen blueberries are expensive and usually not so sweet. Imagine my surprise at the Dollar Tree last week where they had 10 ounces of frozen blueberries for you guessed it, a dollar. Normally I am skeptical of what I find at the dollar store, especially any food’s origin. But these berries said product of USA. I bought one bag and took it home. The next morning I added a handful to my hot oat bran cereal. Yum! They were so amazingly sweet. The next day I went back and bought ten more bags. They have become my breakfast staple and such a treat. They will definitely hold me over until summer berry picking season.
If you haven’t tried using a silicone baking mat, you’re really missing out. I’m still a big fan of parchment paper, which is use religiously when making homemade pizza on a pizza stone. But I love my baking mat for pretty much everything else. Baking tofu? Use it. Making bread? Use it. Falafel patties? Use it. It’s a great way of baking things that usally stick, but you don’t have to line the pan with fat.
Did you know about our Vegan Recipe of the Day? Each morning Vegan Digest selects a Vegan Recipe of the Day. Be sure to today’s latest release! Vegan Digest’s Vegan Recipe of the Day.
I’ve been on a edamame kick lately, because the local grocey store had the frozen shelled variety on sale. I went a little crazy whe I saw the Buy One Get One Free tag — I bought out all 12 bags they had in stock! While trying to decide what make, I remembered a roasted edamame recipe I had seen on the Food Network’s Good Eats show with Alton Brown. So easy with just basic ingredients (beans, corn, tomatoes, and seasoning) and it came out delicious. Here’s a link. Enjoy!
Roasted Edamame Salad
If you are still buying your beans canned, you really should try to make them from scratch using dry beans. It is so easy and so much cheaper than buying canned. Baked beans are another perfect example. Below is one of my favorite baked bean recipes. So easy, and I guarantee the non-vegans will love it, too.
Easy Vegan Baked Beans
- 1 pound dry navy beans
- 2 onions
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1/4 c. molasses
- 1/3 c. ketchup
- 1/4 c. mustard
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Soak the beans overnight in water. In the morning, drain and rinse before putting the beans in the crockpot. Add all other ingredients and cook on low 8-10 hours or until beans reach desired tenderness.
Susan from the Fat Free Vegan blog is having a challenge called Vegetable Love 2009. Fat Free Vegan is one of my favorite Vegan Food blogs and always a fun read. Here is her description of the challenge:
“I’m talking about Vegetable Love, my annual challenge to my fellow bloggers to create some hot, sexy, vegetable-filled Valentine’s recipes, the kind of dishes that will put some zing into an intimate dinner for two.”
Since I am never one to turn down a challenge, here is my entry…
The sweetness of the roasted red peppers combined with the fragrant parsley and garlic, make this dish prefect to share with your valentine. Enjoy!
Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta
1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
2 large red bell peppers
2 large garlic cloves
3/4 c. fresh flat leaf parsley
2 Tbsp. pimentos
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. water
black pepper to taste
1/4 c. reserved pasta cooking water
Roast the red peppers and garlic. (Gas stove top or oven method are fine.) While the peppers and garlic are cooling after being roasted, prepare the pasta according to package directions. Combine pepper, garlic, and remaining ingredients into food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Combine pasta and pesto in large bowl and toss. Add as much reserved cooking water as needed to make pasta moist. Toss again and serve immediately.
I came across this rice cooker at my local thrift store last week. Only $5 and it was in like new condition, including the cooking pot, steaming rack, special spoon, measuring cup, and instruction manual. The cooking pot was almost 3 times the size of my current one, so for $5 I figured it was worth a try. And now after using it to cook vegan brown rice, seasoned white rice, lentils, beans, and even quick oatmeal, I love it! It’s amazing how much faster this one heats up. Steam starts coming from the vent within minutes of turning it on. My old one would take 10-15 minutes at least to heat up and start boiling. I’m going to donate the smaller one back to the thrift shop.
A new Vegan Digest exclusive recipe was added today for a Citrus Couscous salad. The ingredients are whole wheat couscous which you make with orange juice instead of water. Add chickpeas and grapefruit pieces to create the salad. It’s refreshing, delicious, and a great way to utilize the in season cirtus available now. Enjoy!
A trip to the grocery store is never an quick visit for me. There are so many decisions. Even in the produce aisle alone. My first choice is to buy local, organic produce. I find organic produce (especially fruit) tastes way better than non-organic and it is best for the planet, of course. But buying local organic, produce is not always possible for many reasons. First, it may not even be available. Second, it may be too expensive for my budget. So as I study the produce options at the local grocery store, I have to make decisions.
Case in point, my visit to the local Publix this past week. Non-organic peaches from Chili were on sale. I literally began drooling. I hadn’t had a peach in so long! (Since eliminating most processed food and sugar from my vegan diet, I live for good fruit.) I bought six peaches.
Later, I felt a bit guilty for buying the peaches. Seems so silly. I tell myself that everything is a give and take. I’ve made huge strides in cutting down on my pesticide intake by simply becoming vegan. We are faced with choices everyday and do the best we can. Thoughts?
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