Majadra: 2, KeavyBee: 0

Well, kids.  Majadra won again.  That evil little dish!  I attempted to make my arch nemesis again, Middle Eastern rice and lentils, called Majadra, and totally evil!!  I didn’t exactly use the recipe I had last time, except for some measurements; otherwise it was all improvised.  It turned out blaaaaaaand.

On a more positive note, it was slightly tastier than last time, since I had more onions and eyeballed the rice so there wouldn’t be too much.  I also used brown rice to make it healthier, and vegetable stock instead of water.  And it was still blah.

One main reason I think this didn’t work out so great was that my onions didn’t caramelize!!  I do not know what happened, since I cooked them very slowly on a very low heat for a very long time.  How else do you caramelize onions?  Maybe the pan I was using was too thick?  Or a poor conductor of heat?  Anyways, whatever the problem was, they turned out too crispy and not at all delicious.

Leftovers were slightly better, with a little onion salt, but still not at all like the Majadra I’ve had at restaurants.  I’ve contemplated contacting the nearest Middle Eastern restaurant and threatening them until they divulge their secrets….

If I ever attempt this little devil again, I will use an extra onion, and maybe a little more salt and cumin.  I don’t use salt very much, for health reasons mainly, so maybe that was it?  I like the idea of brown rice, even though it’s not conventional.  And I will figure out how to caramelize those darn onions!!

Any suggestions??  Until next time!

KB <3

The Wonders of Kombucha Tea...

Hey everyone!  Just wanted to write a quick post about a new healthy discovery!

My roommate and I went out yesterday to run errands and she had a cold and wanted to stop for some Kombucha tea.  Not knowing what it was, I decided to try it too.  And now I’m hooked!

The kind that we got was G.T.’s Synergy organic and raw 95% Kombucha tea.  I didn’t know the benefits of drinking Kombucha tea until I read the bottle, which stated:

            “Kombucha supports:

                        digestion

                        metabolism

                        immune system

                        appetite control

                        weight control

                        liver function

                        body alkalinity

                        anti-aging

                        cell integrity

                        healthy skin & hair”

That’s quite a list!  Now, I can’t tell you about the long-term benefits of drinking Kombucha tea, since I’ve only had one bottle, but what I did have definitely produced positive results.

After a few sips, the phlegm in the back of my throat (I know, TMI.  But it’s true!) from the humidity was gone, after half a bottle, my sinuses cleared up some (I didn’t even know they were problematic until they cleared up), and after the whole bottle, I woke up the next morning extra energized even though I had only gotten a few hours of sleep (I drank most of it right before bed).

It does have probiotics and enzymes in it, so strands of cultures are kind of floating around in it, which freaked me out at first.  They looked like weird little slimy things, but the bottle says they are “natural, normal & only occur in raw Kombucha.”  I thought I would feel them slithering down my throat but I didn’t notice or feel them at all!

What makes G.T.’s even better is that G.T. Dave, its creator, “began bottling Kombucha in 1995 after his mother’s success from drinking it during her battle with breast cancer.  He is committed to bringing you the freshest, purest, & more potent Kombucha available” (so my bottle tells me!).  How great is that!

If you want to try Kombucha tea, I highly suggest G.T.’s in Cosmic Cranberry!

***P.S.  I am not in any way affiliated with G.T.’s.  I just love their tea!

Happy drinking! J

Making My Dad's Chili

This past week, as part of my challenge to myself to cook more often, I decided to tackle my dad’s (ah-maze-ing) vegetarian chili!  He is a meat-eater, but took pity on me as a vegetarian and modified his super recipe to fit us herbivores.  So I tried it out, and I am proud to say it was a success!  (At least, I would consider it to be, because the leftovers are all gone and that was one big pot!)

I planned to make it on Thursday night, but became concerned when it got suuuper warm outside!  It was gorgeous weather, but not something you would want to eat hot, spicy chili in!  Luckily, as the sun went down, it became cooler, but still warm enough to have the windows open.

Then it was time to cook!  I tied back my hair for aerodynamic purposes and put on the Food Network for a culinary vibe.  (The Best Thing I Ever Ate was on for encouragement!)  Consulting the instructions I had written down, I gathered everything up and began chopping onions, peppers and garlic, and sautéed them very slowly.  I was extra proud of myself for eyeballing the onion to pepper ratio and found it was perfectly 50/50 (the way I like it!). 

(Note: my dad doesn’t use recipes, so his “instructions” were very informal and left some things to my own little imagination…)

I ran into a bit of confusion though, when my instructions read 1-2 cans of tomato sauce, and I had four.  Turns out my dad, who went shopping with me while I was visiting at home, had originally put two huge cans in my cart, but then went back for four little ones later.  I ended up using two because I don’t have a humongous pot (chili for daaayyyysss!!!).  Anyway, after putting all the beans and tomato-y things and seasonings in, I let it simmer for an hour and then decided it needed half an hour more as well as more cumin and chili powder.

The end result was pretty good considering it was my first batch of chili, and I only called my dad once!  It definitely was not as good as my dad’s, but there’s a whole lot of experience to catch up with there.  I’m going to make it for my family the next time I’m home from school so they can tell me what it needs!

Things I have learned about chili making:

1.       Use a BIG POT!  You will want more!

2.      Don’t try to bring it to a simmer on a super low heat right away….it’s okay to turn it up a bit or else you will be waiting forever and starving your roommates!  (Then turn it waayyy down, of course!)

3.      Don’t be afraid of the hot sauce but do be afraid of the ancho chili seasoning…

4.      Cooking puts you in a great mood!  Do it more often!

What’s that?  You are waiting for a recipe?  Sorry kids, this one’s a secret as it’s not mine.  When I develop my own recipe, it’s all yours!  (coming soon!...)

After a great night of yummy veggie chili, warm weather, and The Bourne Identity on TV, I looked forward to my next dish in which I will go head to head with an old enemy:

MAJADRA (dun dun dunnnnn…)

Yes, I am re-attempting to miserably failed, dreaded Majadra.  However, the recipe that I found online last time was super boring, so I am going to use it for measurement’s sake and mix it up myself to make it more exciting!  It will be a cooking experiment sans recipe!  (And judging by my prior history, these usually turn out fantastic or awful….gulp)

Now to REALLY Get Things Started......

During last week, we had a snow day!  Immediately I began to fantasize about all the time I would have to cook real, delicious vegetarian dishes and blog about the undoubtedly enlightening experience!  My day however went slightly otherwise and not at all according to plan:

Prepackaged oatmeal (as usual), followed by takeout after doing laundry, red velvet cupcakes from a box to thank the dude who had to help us get the car in the garage due to the snowpocalypse, equally boxed muffins and hot chocolate, packaged chickpeas curry….YIKES!! 

What happened to making a point of cooking???  There is an interesting quote from the short story “Rawalpindi 1919” by Shauna Singh Baldwin where the Indian narrator muses that the English “use sharp forks and long knives […] to keep themselves distant from their food.”  I found it intriguing how a person from the Indian culture might see using utensils such as forks and knives to be distancing, especially since, being an American of European ancestry, utensils are all I know to use.

However, this quote struck me in that I thought of how many other ways a person could feel distant from what they eat.  For example, I feel very distant from it now due to the fact that I am not really making it!  What I have prepared lately may as well be labeled “heat and eat” as far as directions are concerned.

These thoughts were equally encouraged by the film Eat, Pray, Love, which I watched during the snowpocalypse.  The visual and auditory up-close imagery of meals being prepared made me want to experience that sensory experience for myself.  I believe that if I incorporate positive energy into what I am making, the dish will become not only nourishing, but rewarding too, and even therapeutic.

So.  On the whole, my first attempts at a new cooking lifestyle have been en epic fail.  But I am not discouraged!!  This defeat only makes me even more encouraged to succeed.

New plan: setting clear goals to encourage success.  I will start small so as not to become overwhelmed; two completely homemade dishes a week.  (Well, close to completely homemade….I mean, I won’t be pressing almonds for their milk or growing blueberries…but you get the idea).

For this coming week, I plan to pick two meals (from the various vegetarian cookbooks I have yet to break in with sauce splatters and sticky pages) and modify my grocery lists to include more of the good, natural stuff and less of the bad, fake stuff.

Note to self: completing this feat may require finishing homework assignments EXTRA early, to compensate for possible recipe failure……it has happened before!

Vegan S'Mores Cupcakes

What better way to kick off this blog with a cupcake recipe?  I made these for a Christmas party for my omnivorous friends and they were soooooo good, nobody knew they were vegan!  Of course, I waited until they were all gone to tell them… ;)

This recipe comes from the wonderful book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  It’s one of my very favorite dessert recipes now!

Ingredients:

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup canola oil

2 tablespoons molasses

¼ soy yogurt

1 ¼ cups soymilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup graham cracker crumbs (you can use vegan graham crackers that have been ground in a food processor if you cannot find vegan crumbs)

1.       Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2.      Mix the brown sugar, oil, molasses, yogurt, soy milk, and vanilla in a large bowl.

3.      Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a separate bowl and mix.  Add the graham cracker crumbs and mix it up.

4.      Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three batches, mixing well after each addition.

5.      Fill cupcake liners full.  Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.  Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before decorating.

Top them with vegan buttercream frosting and chocolate ganache (recipes follow) and sprinkle on extra graham cracker crumbs.

Vegan buttercream frosting:

½ cup nonhydrogenated shortening (I used Earth Balance)

½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine (again, Earth Balance is great!)

3 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted if clumpy

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ plain soy milk or soy creamer

1.       Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.  Add the vanilla and soy milk, beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.

***Note: Use half this recipe for one batch of cupcakes!

Quick Chocolate Ganache:

3 tablespoons soy creamer or soy milk

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1.       Heat soy creamer in a small saucepan over medium heat till just about to simmer.  Remove from heat; add chocolate chips and stir till chocolate is completely melted and creamer is incorporated.  Set aside and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  With a spatula, scoop into a prepared pastry bag or plastic bag with the tip chopped off, or drizzle haphazardly with a fork.  The ganache will set when fully cooled.

(I used the “drizzle haphazardly with a fork" method; very messy but very fun!!)

Enjoy!

Welcome!

Hey everyone!  I decided to start this blog to document my experience as a relatively new vegetarian/college student/inexperienced cook.  I love to cook, but I have found that my creations either turn out spectacularly or fail miserably!  Still, I’m not a bad cook, and I’m pretty sure I have more experience than most other college students.  But I really want to get to the point where I can cook well enough to not need recipes, or to be able to make my own recipes.  I want that inherent knowledge!

Cooking experience successes: mac and cheese (NOT out of box!), “fried rice” (which is usually whatever vegetables and seasonings I feel like putting in minus the eggs), teriyaki noodles and veggies, corn and vegetable chowder, and other vegetarian basics like spaghetti squash and baked sweet potatoes.

Let’s expand on that!

Cooking experience failings: the aforementioned corn and vegetable chowder when attempting to double the recipe without using the recipe, majadra (Middle Eastern rice and lentils) without the sufficient number of onions, and falafel that dissolved in the frying oil because the recipe called for dried chickpeas and I only had canned…whoops.

Luckily, I have a basic knowledge of cooking essentials from my dad, who is a major foodie and has worked as a chef in the past.  My mom is a great natural cook too.  Having parents like mine means two things:

1.       A pretty much guaranteed fantastic meal (okay, Dad, I’m omitting your experiment with shepherd’s pie back in my meat eating days…..but other than that…)

2.      Increased pressure to meet up to the family standards!

So with writing this blog, I hope to expand my cooking knowledge, dabble in the wonders of veganism, feed my roommates yummy, healthy food, survive college, impress my family, and have fun along the way!  (and because I am a random being, you can expect plenty of posts relating to my many other interests!)

Let’s get started!

Your new veggie friend,

Keavy Bee