Thank you!!

Good salad today:

romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, walnuts, beets, pear (nothing like a perfect pear!)

dressing: garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil

Making something I've made before - YEARS ago. Cowboy Loaf. Mashed potatoes and Lima beans with other added ingrediants. Looking forward to it!

Great meal tonight:

Brussel sprouts (chopped up) and baked with onion, annie's organic maple BBQ sauce, garlic, and annie's organic horseradish mustard

mixed with

a chopped up Morningstar Farm Hickory Smoked Riblet (frozen/microwaved)

Watermelon for dessert :)

I just had a stellar lunch!

I started out with some of the Quinoa and Black Beans that I usually have stocked in the freezer and topped it with a very generous amount of fresh tomato salsa. Normally, that is where it stops and I love it like that. Right now where I am the avocados are just amazing, so I thought it would be good with this. Adding half of a ripe avocado cubed up was just the perfect idea! I ate it so quick, I forgot to take a picture of it, you'll have to imagine based on the recipe pic...

27g slow burn carbs, 15g healthy mono fats, 10g complete protein, 300 total kcal

:eating:

About two weeks ago I had a very bad "episode" ...I'll call it.
I actually ended up in the ER. Anyway, I'm better now but this episode caused me to re-think my choices. Later that day, once safely home, I made a monumental change. I went through my cupboards and tossed anything that could remotely be considered crap. I also cut out almost all animal products. I'm still eating some salmon, but I am now eating very clean. The changes in how I feel, even after such a short time, have been amazing. Extraordinary even. I'm happy to be subscribing here and I look forward to reading all about your experiences.

I figured this might be the place to ask; has anyone heard of or done seasoning of a stainless steel pan?

I am going to replace my non-stick skillets with stainless and ran across this video:



I had never heard of it, it seems almost too good to be true. Thoughts? Opinions?

Kelt, would you mind posting your recipe for the fresh tomato salsa?

I am chagrined to admit that the stuff I used today was purchased. The store where I buy my bulk staples makes it on site.

However, that is a ways off so when I don't have that, I make this:

Tomato Salsa

2 tomatoes chopped
1/4 C minced red onion
1/2-1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2-4 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Kosher salt to taste

All amounts can vary to suit taste

I just realized that the vid I posted above ends with her testing eggs in it.

I know some vegetarians eat eggs. In any case, I wanted to put this disclaimer in and hope I haven't offended anyone with that inclusion.

:praying:

This thread is vegetarian and vegan inclusive so all is good, Kelt!

And, of course, on an additional note, no one has to be vegetarian or vegan to post. As long as a post is veg friendly, it's all good :)

Just got a smokin' deal on artichokes (5 lg $1) and was wondering what to do with them. I am usually a steam/drawn butter sort, but wanted to try something new. I went to my go to source and came up with this idea:

Grilled Garlic Artichokes

http://images.media-allrecipes.com/u...11/1001192.jpg

I don't have access to a charcoal grill, I wish, and so will do them in the broiler.

Tonights dinner is already planned, so I will do the prep tonight and finish them up tomorrow. I really like trying new things.

:eating:

Tonight I made baked yellow squash "chips" cooked with rosemary, salt, garlic and olive oil spray. They were outstanding.

I also had sauteed (frozen to pan) collard greens with evoo and garlic. Amazing!

As my "main dish" I had one of the Morningstar Farm riblets (frozen/microwaved and already has its own bbq sauce on it).

Watermelon for dessert.

All the flavors worked really well together, especially the sweetness of the squash chips and the bitter dark flavor of the greens.

I also like to try new things, and its especially exciting when they work out. I wait for BB to take a few bites and then say tentatively, "Is it edible?"

I found a resource today I thought I would share. I have posted in here that I have been eating some Vietnamese food lately but was having trouble identifying some of the herb flavors.

Today I learned that fresh spearmint, purple basil and peanut butter are great together!

The page I found is "Vietnamese Herb Primer" within an asian (omnivore) cooking site, I hope it will help with some of the others. Naturally, it did not answer todays question; broad leaf about 4"x2" medium green, tastes like lemons. Oh well, the hunt continues. If anyone knows this one, I'd love to find out.

I like learning flavors from other cuisines and especially for vegetarian dishes. When looking for new meatless recipes I have found that rather than using a 'meat substitute', I like to find dishes that never had it to begin with. I find a lot of Asian, Indian, African, and Middle Eastern dishes fit the bill quite nicely. I don't feel like I am approximating something else, but having it the way originally intended.

Also loves a good "burger" too though.

:eating:

never seasoned stainless steel. always think some free radicals will pop up. maybe not. here's a youtube I found... maybe it will help.



If that makes it really stick free, I may look into it. :)


[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1376ITxF1Oc"]How To Cook On & Season A Stainless Steel Pan To Create A Non Stick Surface - YouTube[/nomedia]

I was less than impressed with my own test. YMMV

My honey suggested the herb could be a kaffir lime leaf.

Close, but no cigar. I had hope at first, looking it up it looks right at first but it is a double leaf. If you took off the bottom part it looks like that.

Thanks for the idea though! It sounds close in the description. I will ask my friend if there was a lower part to the leaf.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...strix_leaf.jpg

Quinoa for breakfast
 

I eat lots of quinoa. It is a protein, and it's loaded with magnesium. I eat this instead of taking fever few for migraine management. Anything that helps....

The lady in the video made home made rice milk to cook her quinoa in, I used vegtable stock. This is an informative video (I thought)

Made this and loved it. Tripled the garlic though. :shocking:

rice
 

Veggie Lovers,

Today's dinner: Organic, mostly...

jasmine rice boiled in coconut milk and H20 - an experiment, a bit sticky but tasty

adzuki beans cooked in sauteed garlic, onions, peanut oil, crushed peanuts, a bit of sea salt,
and crushed tomatoes, spinach, still cooking...looking forward to
see how it works, another experiment.

Greco

portabello mushroom cap pizzas:


clean out a giant mushroom cap (stem and gills)
brush gently with olive oil
fill cap with sauce (spaghetti/pasta/marinara- whatever you like)
top with cheese
or whatever toppings


place on a cookie sheet, or pan lines with aluminum foil (easy clean up) under the broiler for about maybe 10 minutes, until cheese has a nice crust and is bubbly

Dinner
 

Farmer's Market pick-ups:

for dinner a salad of heirloom tomato slice to medium wedges, a blond cucumber(that's what they called it looks like a very light green cucumber), and green scallions a bit of sea salt, ground pepper, and extra virgin olive oil...delicious folks, delicious light and all organic.

and my green smoothie, well had that this morning after my beach run...great day...meeting some warm, and friendly folks...really I should get out more...smiling.

Greco

lunch/dinner
 

Green smoothie this morning.

Now for lunch/dinner: Organic

angel hair pasta

sauteed in coconut oil shiitake mushrooms, the last of the heirloom tomatoes, olives, sweet chilies, spinach...time to cook!

veggie lovers enjoy your Sunday, Greco

Check out my new vegan company!
 

Sassies of BFP!

I am taking the terrifying leap of starting my own company. It's called The Crispy Sage, and it launches later this summer.

I've got the blog up and running, and I'm all over social media. I will be offering vegan meal plans, vegan cooking coaching, and a ton of other services.

It would be such an honor to have all of you check it!

Here are some details! YAY!

The Crispy Sage:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest


So skeery.......

Terrfic Laerkin! Much success to you...to know a vegan food/lifestyle website by one of our own is inspiring.

All the Best, Greco

and then...
 

So, this was very tasty...I experiment a lot and want to share some additional info on this dish

I added first garlic crushed, scallions, the mushrooms, carrots coarsely chopped, cilantro finely chopped,
spinach then added 1/4 teaspoon of raw organic honey...

boiled the water for the angel hair, threw those in for 3-4 min then drained, cool H2O, back in warm pot with a bit of olive oil...

saute was ready, and I added some of the angel hair pasta to these ingredients mixed and about 1min later it was ready.

It all took about 30mis without rushing, except of course I was hungry. It was delicious and visually appealing, a must for me.

Now with Laerkin's new website my experimentation with have some new ways of doing this vegan cooking. Looking forward to checking out her new website.

The rest of the angel hair pasta I'll take for lunch tomorrow with a salad.

Greco

Partially because my cooking is so awesome (other than the okra curry coins I made this morning?), right???

Congrats, boo! :D

leftovers
 

Green smoothie for breakfast, and lunch no salad today for lunch...

Yesterday's angel hair pasta...I added first garlic crushed, scallions a lot, then heirlooms tomatoes coarsely chopped a lot of them, cilantro,
spinach then added 1/4 teaspoon of raw organic honey...and today I added blueberries to this saute...

boiled the water for the angel hair, threw those in for 3-4 min then drained, cool H2O, back in warm pot with a bit of olive oil...

saute was ready, and I added some of the angel hair pasta to these ingredients mixed and about 1min later it was ready.

It looked beautiful...and I enjoyed the blueberries in the saute...not mushy, but kind of crunchy and tasty.

Tomorrow? Who knows...we'll see what I still have in the fridge.

regards veggie lovers, Greco



Greco

Dinner...differently
 

Hi Veggie Lovers,

Ok, today I had an idea...why not put my heirloom tomatoes, and broccoli into my smoothie for dinner...

Alright, so I took frozen organic broccoli, cut several tomatoes and steamed them...the heat brings out the most nutrition out of the tomatoes, and the broccoli...as soon as the broccoli was no longer frozen, and the tomatoes a bit soft I put them into the blender...

16oz of filtered H2O, 2 bananas, chia seeds, spinach, yes my blueberries, then the tomatoes, and broccoli...2 tablespoons of my green powder as well, blend, blend, blend...taste...delicious, a bit crunchy...and its pure love of the Sun, and Mother Earth for my body, mind, and spirit...Christ, I sound like a commercial...smiling, really satisfying, easy, cool in this Summer heat...not to mention nutritious.

And I have enough for tomorrow's breakfast...enjoy your evening, Greco

Berry Berry Good Morning Smoothie

2/3 c strained plain yogurt/greek yogurt
1/2 c (about) almond milk
2/3 c blueberries/mixed fruit (frozen/fresh)
1/4 c strawberries (fresh)
1 banana (frozen/fresh)
1 cup + organic baby spinach
1 tsp raw honey
1 tsp vegan protein powder (plain) *optional!

Add to blender & whirl til it's smooth. Add almond milk to thin. Serve w/ sprig of mint, it's a beautiful thing..

Interesting, I've been making breakfast smoothies for a long time this one you posted I like. I make fruits and veggie ones, I'm not a vegetarian by any means I just do it to stay healthy.

carrot apple juice
 

I am looking for a good veggie burger recipe. I want something hearty like a "Garden Burger" something easy with nuts and gains. I am tired of the black bean combos. But I know if I can't put it together easy I won't do it. Is that confusing or what? :)

Way to go! It gets easier and easier with time!