No meat? No problem!

I tried a meat-less meal today. I know, I know. Me? Carnivore extraordinaire? Yep. And guess what. IT WAS AWESOME!!! No, really. It was. I found some wonderful produce at the farmer's market today, including delicious spring maui onions, and the best sweet potatoes I've ever had. Here's what I did:

Farmer's Market Lentil Curry

1 cup red lentils
2 small or 1 large sweet potato/yam, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 spring maui onion (or any spring onion OR mature sweet onion), sliced
2-4 Tbsp curry powder
1 can coconut milk
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1 quart vegetable broth
2 Tbsp honey
Juice of half a lemon, plus more for garnish, if desired
1 jalapeno, partially dried, diced (optional)
Salt to taste
Jasmine rice (optional, for serving)

This recipe may seem to have a lot of ingredients, but it's so simple. All you do is put everything (except the rice) into a pot and bring it to a boil, then simmer about 30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Serve it over jasmine rice with a squirt of lemon juice. I had a jalapeno that had been sitting a while and partially dried (and turned red), so I put that in. I think a fresh one would give a different flavor, but I liked the dried one. It's up to you, really. Just gives it a nice kick!

And Voila!



This one actually deserves a "wow." It was THAT surprisingly good. :)

Gardening Fun - Week 3

Oh my goodness, look what's growing...



Purple Beans!


And soybeans...




And FINALLY my pumpkins...





It seems like it took forever, but they're finally sprouting.


And in the front yard, my corn...





...and carrots...





This is the clump o' seeds that Talon planted, lol...


And my indoor babies are still doing well.

Red onions...



Jalapenos...



and broccoli...I don't know how I'm going to keep the broccoli in the container for three more weeks!



But there it is :) I can't believe I'm making things grow! Stay tuned for next week's updates...

Hummus - Chip Dip of the Gods

Sorry for the lack of pictures on this one.It was late, and I was tired and hungry. The bottom line is: I made hummus! And it was surprisingly easy. Here's how I did it:

1 can garbanzo beans
1/4-1/2 cup tahini (depending on taste - I like a lot)
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon salt (you can use less - I love salt)
Juice from half a lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Drain the beans, reserving the liquid, and chop the garlic. In a food processor, process all ingredients until smooth and delicious! You can add some of the reserved liquid if it is too thick. Well, that's pretty much it :)

Mommy Makes Milk! - Part Three

Yep,yep, I'm at it again. This time, I've made coconut milk, and it is so easy! You just use dried coconut, so you don't have to mess with the fresh one (not so fun). All you need is:

1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
4 cups hot water

Empty the coconut into a bowl

and pour 2 cups of hot water over it.

Let it sit about an hour. Reach in and squeeze the coconut shreds a few times to help get out as much "milk" as possible, then put the whole mess into a blender and blend on highest speed for about a minute. Strain through your trusty muslin bag, squeezing to get out all the water. You will be left with coconut shreds.

Now,take that coconut and put it back into the bowl, adding 2 more cups of hot water. You can get even more milk this way. Let it sit a few minutes, squeeze it out, and blend again. Strain it, and add it to the first batch. That's it!

After it gets cold in the fridge some coconut oil will separate out and solidify on the top. You can either spoon it off or just shake it up and drink/use it. It's up to you!

As American As...

That's right...Apple Pie! Raw apple pie, that is. No, seriously. Alright, so this one was only KIND OF a success for me. It definitely needs some tinkering. In reality, I ran out of maple syrup, so the end result was lacking a little in the sweetness department, and I'll admit, the coconut in the ice cream, not a great idea. Maybe it's just not to my taste. But aside from those two little snares, this dessert went pretty well. And I have more pictures for this one so you can see the step-by-step process :)

Raw Apple Pie with Maple-Pecan Ice Cream

Ingredients:
For the Pie -
5 granny smith apples
1/2 cup raisins
6 dates, divided
4 tsp. cinnamon, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup pecans, divided
1/4 cup cracked wheat
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup raw honey

For the Ice Cream -
2 cups cashews
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 vanilla bean
2 cups water
1 mature coconut

Equipment:
Food Processor
8"X8" baking pan
8" pie tin

Prep:
Soak cashews in 2 cups water for a few hours. Also soak raisins in 1/2 cup water,and soak cracked wheat in 1/2 cup water.

Drill holes in eyes of coconut and drain out water.

Then, crack coconut open and remove flesh, cutting off brown skin that may adhere to it.


Process coconut flesh in food processor until finely ground, then add reserved coconut water and process until blended and as smooth as possible.

To make ice cream:
Drain cashews and save soaking water. Process cashews in food processor until finely ground and mixture begins to stick together. Add water, maple syrup, and scraped vanilla bean and process until smooth. Add coconut mixture and process to blend. Pour into pan and add chopped pecans. Freeze until firm.



To make pie:
Process 1 cup of pecans and 2 dates until finely ground...

Press into bottom of pie tin.

Process 1 apple, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 3 dates, raisins, along with their soaking water, vanilla, maple syrup, and honey.

Peel. core, and slice remaining apples...

and mix with blended apple mixture...

Pour into pie crust. Process remaining 1/4 cup pecans with 1 date and 1 tsp. cinnamon until finely ground. Mix with soaked cracked wheat and sprinkle over apples. Drizzle with a bit more maple syrup, if desired.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably longer.

And there you have it!

Delicious raw apple pie with maple-pecan ice cream. Definitely one to write home about :)

Mommy Makes Milk! - Part Two

As promised, today's experiment was hemp milk. Hemp milk is supposedly one of the most nutritious for you, so of course, I had to try it. I've had commercial hemp milk before, and I wasn't that impressed. It was really thick and very - hemp-like. I know, duh, right? But it was a little strange to me. Now I must say, the homemade stuff - much better! It wasn't as thick, but still had a nice creamy consistency, and tasted lighter and slightly sweet, even without sweetener. I had a bit of a mishap when, as I was almost done straining it, my muslin bag burst open and I had to start over. The lesson - squeeze gently and have patience. The hemp seeds sort of mash up against the muslin and it takes longer to strain than, say, almond milk with its crumbly pulp that allows liquid to flow right through it.

Another nice thing about hemp milk is there's no need to soak the seeds, so not a lot of prep time :) Here's how I did it:

Hemp Milk

1/2 cup hemp seeds
3 cups water

Equipment:
Blender
Muslin bag for straining
4-cup measuring cup or bowl

Place hemp seeds and water into blender and blend on highest setting for 1-2 minutes, until seeds are finely ground and mixture is well-blended and milky. Put muslin bag into measuring cup or bowl and pour in mixture. Strain by gently squeezing and milking the bag until no liquid remains. You will be left with a mash of hemp seed residue on the inside of the bag, like this:



Yum. Ok, so I just rinsed this away, since I don't know if there's anything I can do with it.

And the result:


Yay! Homemade hemp milk in no time at all! Hemp seeds are not cheap - about $21 a pound - but it cost me only about $2.50 to make 3 cups of hemp milk, so not bad really. Cheaper than buying it, and so much tastier!

Gardening Fun - Week 2

I'm growing things! No, it's not a tumor. It's a garden! Look 8^o

Peppers...(there IS a little shoot there, I promise)



Onions...



And Broccoli!!!



I am pleased :)