I’m from the generation that was raised on soap operas. In fact, I first learned to watch soaps at my mother’s knee (no, seriously: the TV was perched on her dresser at the foot of the bed; she sat on the bed, and I, on the floor. . . at her knee). When I was a child, she watched Edge of Night; then Secret Storm. As a teen, I remember my mom’s daily soap trilogy of Days of Our Lives, Another World, and General Hospital blaring as she did the ironing, folded laundry, or ate her lunch in front of the TV.
Up until it went off the air a couple of years ago, I loved watching my favorite soap as well. Since its demise, I’ve barely watched any television at all (though some might suggest that’s a good thing). My weekday evenings would go something like this: walk the dogs, prep dinner, catch up with the HH, clear up the kitchen together. Retreat upstairs to the TV room where I’d snuggle in to my favorite armchair, feet tucked under me and a steaming cup of herbal tea in my hand. Flick on the PVR and start the day’s episode. Gaze with anticipation at the screen; adjust the volume as the credits roll. Sit back and savor every one of the 42 minutes of the show.
Unless, of course, it was a day when this happened:
Voice Over Announcer: The role of Mary Montgomery will now be played by [some unknown actress's name].
Didn’t you hate when they did that? Poof!–Just like that–one of your favorite characters could become. . . somebody else!
Sometimes, the show didn’t even bother to find a successor who resembled the original actor (as when Peter Bergman replaced Terry Lester as Jack) or–the apex of “please suspend your disbelief”–when they replaced Anne Heche, who had assumed the role of identical twins Marly and Vicky, with two separate actresses who were not only different somatotypes, but also about six inches apart in height.
On the other hand, there are plenty of occasions when a stand-in might just surpass the original. Do you know the story of how Shirley Maclaine got her start on Broadway? Toiling as an unknown understudy to Carol Haney in The Pyjama Game, Maclaine leapt to fame when she replaced Haney at the last minute after the star broke her ankle. The rest, as they say, is history. (And have any of you heard of Carol Haney since then? I didn’t think so). Similarly, I’d say that the unnamed actor’s moves in Flashdance (that eye-popping finale in front of the dance academy judges at the end of the film) certainly outshone anything Beals herself could have done. And who didn’t think that the body double for Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman was infinitely more appealing in those thigh-high boots than the somewhat equine Ms. Roberts herself?
Well, this past weekend was a bit of a whirlwind for the HH and me, one that involved its own stand-in of sorts. After a final celebratory brunch at Fresh in honor of my birthday (don’t you just love a birthday that lasts almost a month?), I threw a little dinner for my office mate, who married his long-time sweetheart a couple of months back. Interestingly, while the number of couples opting for cohabitation continues to increase yearly, Mr. Mate is the second person over 40 that I know who tied the knot recently. (Is there some tax loophole for “legally married in middle age” that the HH and I should know about?).
Our dinner party menu was a truly eclectic affair, with food geared both toward the omnis among us (ie, everyone except me) and a few choice morsels from my vegan repertoire, selected specifically to wow the guests (I didn’t want to overwhelm those folks with a full-on ACD menu; we do want them to come back, after all). So I served these sushi rolls as appetizers, which everyone gobbled up with glee.
Now, I’ve mentioned before that the HH and I used to enjoy a weekly lunch date, which began after I switched my diet from the SAD to the NAG (luckily, those acronyms apply to my eating habits rather than describing me in general). Every Tuesday, we’d meet for sushi: the HH savored his chunks o’ raw seafood, while I relished my beloved veggie maki. For several years, all was well with the Ricki-HH world. (“And our world, too, Mum! Except we weren’t crazy about you leaving us for two whole hours once a week. What’s up with that?“).
Once I reverted to the strict ACD in March, 2009, sushi was off the table–literally. I wasn’t permitted even a minute amount of sugar (used to season sushi rice), and of course the (white, refined) sushi rice was also forbidden. Wahhhh! Instead, I frequently turned to one of my favorite substitutes, raw nori rolls, which I could make at home whenever I craved sushi. Unfortunately, this dietary change also means that my lunch dates with the HH have been put on hold indefinitely since then. (“But Mum, now you have more time with us! How’s that for a bonus??”).
When I came upon Gena’s recipe for raw sushi “rice,” I knew I’d have to give it a try in lieu of my usual rolls. And a bonus for me (besides all that extra time with The Girls) is that it’s made from parsnips–this month’s SOS ingredient! Knowing I could depend on Gena for a recipe that was both reliable and delicious, I went ahead and rolled up a huge batch.
Incredibly easy to make, this sushi rice evokes a distinct Asian palate with a novel combination of ingredients. When raw, parsnips are mildly flavored and don’t overpower the other seasonings; they provide the perfect foil for any vegetables you choose to surround with ”rice,” all wrapped in a glossy, chewy, umami nori sheet. The beauty of this recipe is that you can pair the “rice” with any filling you fancy. The HH and I first enjoyed some simple rolls with just “rice,” avocado and tomato on the first night we tried them. For my guests, I added cucumber, carrot and green onion to the mix. I also drizzled a little sriracha over the top of the veggies before rolling–a great way to provide the “oomph” of wasabi paste when you don’t have the actual wasabi at home (though I’m definitely going to try these again using pickled ginger and wasabi for a more traditional “sushi” experience). I’d even try the “rice” on its own or with other toppings as part of a dinner bowl rather than rolled in sushi–I think it could stand up well on its own.
My office mate and his new bride adored these little bites, as do the HH and I. They had no idea what was in them, except that it wasn’t rice; and they certainly didn’t realize that our appetizers were both ACD friendly and vegan. In fact, I’m already planning for the plant-based replacement I’ll use in our main course, next time.
Raw Sushi with Parsnip “Rice” (adapted from Choosing Raw)
[Fantastically versatile, high fiber and low(er) fat. . . savory spread, here on a raw veggie cracker.]
It was while lunching with a friend in New York last weekend that I first had the inspiration for collard rolls with sweet potato spread.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly while we were lunching, but more like a day or two later. And oh, all right, maybe it wasn’t specifically collard rolls with sweet potato that I ate back then, but more like nori rolls with pumpkinseed pâté. Oh, and sure, maybe I wasn’t hit with inspiration, exactly, but perhaps something more like. . . a touch of indigestion? But you know, it’s taken me thirteen years to wend my way back to New York since my previous visit, and I feel I should now milk that trip for all it’s worth. Besides, I’ve always wanted to say something like, “It was while lunching with a friend in New York last weekend that I first had the inspiration. . . . “ Makes me sound rather the jet-setter, don’t you think? Or maybe like a younger (of course that would be much younger) version of like Ina Garten.
(I know. But just indulge me).
Although I tend to eat raw foods fairly regularly, a dinner of entirely raw nourishment requires a bit of forethought since the HH generally won’t partake (or, if he does, it’s just a side dish for him). However, I was on a raw roll both in New York and immediately afterward. It began with that lovely lunch before I left the city, followed by a raw dinner that same evening back in Canada. Then, this past Saturday, the HH and I went out for a birthday dinner. My choice of venue? Rawlicious.
The best part of eating at a raw food restaurant, for me, isn’t the food–though food is paramount, of course. No, the best part is that someone else prepares it, expending all the time and effort that entails. Since I’ve created a few elaboraterawmeals at home myself, I am aware of how much preparation precedes a multi-textured, multi-seasoned and veggie-rich dishl such as the ones the HH and I enjoyed.
First up, we shared a platter of “nachos,” served with a trio of “sour cream,” guacamole and salsa. Heaven! Then the HH feasted on a raw bolognese “pasta” (made from spiralized zucchini), while I chowed down on a raw “tortilla”–a collard wrap filled with a hunk of nut “meat” along with a variety of colorful shredded veggies and sauce. I fully admit to being a poor, poor food blogger (though so far, anyway, a fairly good Vegan MoFoer) since I was so excited about the prospect of finally eating at the place that I forgot my camera at home!
[My version of raw collard wraps. . . I guess Valerie and I had the same idea! ]
Since I can’t offer you photos of my professionally-prepared collard wrap, I thought I’d share pics of my own creation. My wrap is an amalgam of the nori roll I had in New York crossed with the raw collard wrap from Rawlicious. With one important diversion: I added a spectacular spread made from sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes are such a regular fixture in the DDD household that even The Girls receive their portion almost every day; I regularly grind up raw sweet potato along with cauliflower, greens, or apples to add to their dinner. And while I am happy to consume the sweet spuds in their uncooked state as well, this spread adds a bit of cooked yam to the otherwise raw roll.
I’ve tried the spread in both a sweet and a savory incarnation, and both are spectacular. Blending the sweet potato purée with either nut or seed butter results in a smoother, lighter spread, and one with less than half the calories and only 1/3 the fat of plain nut butter. After noshing on this spread on crackers, scones, a chickpea pizza and straight from the jar for the past 4 days, I’ve concluded that I might just like this better than straight almond butter (gasp!).
You can play around with the varieties of nut or seed butter you use as well as with proportions of sweet potato vs. butter. I’ve found the 2:1 ratio works best for me, but do what pleases you most.
This is also my first submission to this month’s SOS Kitchen Challenge hosted by Kim and me–our ingredient this month is (you guessed it) sweet potatoes.
Sweet or Savory Sweet Potato Spread (suitable for ACD Stage 1 and beyond)
I used the savory version as the base in raw collard wraps, and the sweet on an amazing breakfast “pizza” (recipe coming up soon). Use the savory spread as the base for sandwiches, on polenta rounds, tossed with pasta, or wherever you want to add some creamy texture. The sweet spread is perfect on muffins or scones, toast, or even pancakes.
The Savory:
1 cup (240 ml) packed sweet potato purée
1/2 cup (120 ml) natural unsalted sunflower seed butter (or another nut or seed butter of your choice)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
1 to 1-1/2 tsp (5-7.5 ml) garam masala, to your taste (or substitute 1/4 tsp/.5 ml ground ginger, 1/2 tsp/2.5 ml cinnamon and a pinch of cloves)
1 Tbsp (15 ml) fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
The Sweet:
1 cup (240 ml) packed sweet potato purée
1/2 cup smooth natural unsalted almond butter (or another nut or seed butter of your choice)
1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon
10-20 drops plain or vanilla stevia liquid, to your taste
1/8 tsp (.5 ml) fine sea salt
For both versions: Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and well combined. Transfer to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator. Makes about 1.5 cups (360 ml). Will keep, covered in the refrigerator, up to 5 days. I haven’t tried freezing it, but am guessing it would hold up well if defrosted overnight in the refrigerator.
Anyone who has read my blog through all four seasonsfor at least a monthregularly once knows that I really (really) hate the cold weather. And while autumn also heralds delicious root vegetables, warming spices, Thanksgiving and Halloween, to me it’s just the precursor to winter. Bah! To help mitigate the chill this October, Kim of Affairs of Living and I present you with another Sweet or Savory Kitchen Challenge–this time, with a special twist. So read on, learn about our latest key ingredient, and join in on the fun!
Now, you’ve most likely heard or read about at least one of the “superfood” seeds currently being touted all over the internet: flax, chia, hemp. And while all three are wonderfully nutritious and offer all manner of health benefits, they sometimes overshadow the more common specimens that are equally healthy in their own right. This month, we’re focusing on one of those better-known seeds:
SESAME!
Sesame seeds are inexpensive, delicious, packed with nutritional benefits–and available year-round. In other words, a perfect ingredient for our first SOS Challenge of autumn!
According to one of my favorite websites, World’s Healthiest Foods, sesame seeds (sesamum indicum) “may be the oldest condiment known to man dating back to as early as 1600 BC.” One Assyrian myth, in fact, claims that the gods drank sesame wine right before they created the earth. They are also considered to be the first seed that was cultivated specifically for their unique taste and are the most cultivated seed at present. And who is not familiar with the common expression, “open sesame”? The term refers to the manner in which the seed pods burst open when the seeds are mature, and was introduced in the classic legend by Ali Baba in the Thousand and One Nights.
These tiny, oval gems (available in a varietyof shades from beige to brown to red to black) are also a highly nutritious food, one that is a staple in most vegan households because of their high calcium content. Tahini (sesame paste) or nondairy milk made with sesame can add a valuable boost to your calcium intake. In fact, sesame seeds offer up a good variety of other minerals, too: they’re considered a “very good” source of manganese and copper, plus a “good” source of magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc and dietary fiber. In addition, they contain two types of lignans (sesamin and sesamolin), antioxidant-like substances known to help stave off all kinds of chronic illnesses, from high blood pressure to liver damage; and they can help lower cholesterol levels.
And they’re not just for hamburger buns any more! Sesame seeds lend themselves to all kinds of cooking. Like many seeds and nuts, they can be lightly toasted to bring out their optimum flavor. If ground to a paste, they produce tahini, a key ingredient in all kinds of Middle Eastern foods from hummus to falafel. I also love using it in place of nut butters in much of my cooking, from sauces to desserts. They’re also the key ingredient in one of my favorite seasonings, Japanese gomashio, which I sprinkled here.
It’s worth noting that our digestive tracts are unable to break down the outer hull on the seeds, so whole seeds will serve only as a source of insoluble (unabsorbed) fiber and will pass through your system intact. To benefit from the sesame oil inside the seeds, they need to be cracked or ground.
Whole seeds can be stored at room temperature for several weeks; or freeze for longer storage periods. Once the hull is cracked, however, the seeds must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. An exception is sesame oil, which is incredibly stable and resists rancidity even over long periods of time and changes in temperature.
And now to make this month even more fun. . .
For the first time, October’s SOS event will feature a guest sponsor–and prizes!Our sponsor (sorry, BlogHer stipulates that I can’t write about them on my main page) is generously donating ELEVEN prizes! That’s right: the first ten entries will each receive a bag of organic sesame seeds, and one lucky (random) winner will win a $50 shopping spree to buy their own choice of healthy products. To enter the giveaway, you’ll need to register before linking up below (see details here), or you can simply share a recipe as you always have before without registering. The challenge will run until October 31st. (Please follow the usual SOS guidelines for recipe ingredients.) As always, at the end of the month we’ll post a roundup of all the recipes and showcase a few favorites.
Yep, autumn just keeps getting better and better. . .
Want to know more? Details about how to use the seeds and how you can win one of the prizes are posted here.
Can I tell you a secret? But you have to swear you won’t tell anyone.
This particular secret involves a clandestine, middle-of-the-night meeting in an abandoned field; secret code names; the removal of clothing; and a vow never to tell another soul.
Oh, and three cans of neon yellow paint.
(And I bet you thought you knew where I was going with this one, didn’t you?)
Allow me to explain. As a middle child in our family, I exhibited the typical middle-child traits: I was quiet, a peacemaker, and always tried to please everyone. Middle kids don’t ruffle feathers. They don’t make waves. They’re the “good girls” (well, except for the boys, that is, who I’m guessing are “good boys.”). In other words, they don’t break the rules.
But being the perennial ”good girl” can sometimes become tiresome. Sometimes, you want to break loose and do something wildly out of character. Maybe skip school and have a little adventure like Ferris Beuller. Maybe just pick up and move to Australia*. Or maybe even say “what the heck“** and take that leap like Joel in Risky Business.
That’s why, though I’d never done anything even remotely similar before, I was inspired to call the HH up for a date after we’d met at a party the previous weekend (seems to have turned out okay in the end).
That’s why, one evening in university after I’d just called my friend Babe to wish her a happy birthday and sat studying in my dorm room, I turned to my study buddy Elaine and asked, “Hey, do you want to drive to London tonight to visit Babe?” We arrived just before 10:00 PM, Babe squealed with surprise and delight when she saw us, we shared hugs and a bottle of wine, and we found ourselves back at the dorm around 2:00 AM (just in time to finish studying before our test the next morning).
That’s why, when I first learned that Ellen DeGeneres had eschewed refined sugar (after being vegan for a couple of years), I thought, “Wow! The treats in my cookbook would be perfect for her!” and mounted a twitter and blog campaign to serve healthy, vegan, sugar-free desserts to Ellen and her studio audience on her show (so far, it’s turned not too badly , but I’m still waiting for that invitation–feel free to send her a message and ask her to have me on the show!).
And that’s why, when one of my best friends in high school thought it would be a good idea for our group of “goody-goody” girl friends to leave our mark (literally) on our high school, I said, “okay, what the heck.”
Which is how the six of us ended up meeting one night under cover of darkness, changed into sweatpants and sweatshirts, and sneaked into our abandoned-for-the-summer schoolyard. We pried open the cans of neon yellow paint and drew the largest characters we could muster, as high as our arms would stretch , emblazoning the words, ”GRADS 76″ on the brick wall before we ran off into the night, whispering and giggling.
We made our way back to the schoolyard innumerable times throughout the summer to admire our handiwork. Of course, no one ever suspected that we were the culprits–after all, we were such “good girls.” (Oops. I guess the cat’s out of the bag, now. But you have to promise not to tell anyone else. ).
Although the SOS Challenge doesn’t require you to submit both sweet and savory recipes (so please don’t feel obliged to do so), as my final submission to this month’s rhubarb challenge, I wanted to provide our star veggie with an outlet for something a little out of character. Shrug off the pies and crumbles and muffins, Little Rhubarb, and head over to the savory side of things! A quick search on the internet revealed a few Indian-inspired dishes, but I wanted to highlight the characteristic most prominent in our featured stalks: the sourness. I decided to create a vegan variation on a typical Chinese sweet-and-sour dish, using rhubarb to confer the “sour.”
The result was a little unusual, but pleasing nonetheless. The tart rhubarb is tempered somewhat by the sweetness of the stevia, and the chilis provide a subtle heat that seems to bring out the individual flavors. Chickpeas contribute the protein here, but tofu would seem an obvious choice next time I give this dish a try. Served over cooked millet, it was a satisfying supper for both of us.
So go ahead, try something a little different. It will be our little secret.
* I actually almost did move to Australia, once. I had arranged a teaching exchange with another teacher in the Land Down Under. All the papers were in place, the jobs approved, and the only thing left to do was purchase the steamer trunk. Sadly, once the other instructor learned the cost of renting an apartment in Toronto, she backed out of the deal.
** No, Joel didn’t actually say, “what the heck.” His particular four-letter term was a little more colorful than that. But this is a G-rated blog, folks
2 Tbsp (30 ml) fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish
In a small saucepan, combine the water and Bragg’s. Remove about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the liquid to a small bowl, and add the potato starch to the bowl. Stir to mix well. Set aside.
To the pot, add the rhubarb, red pepper, garlic, ginger, lemon zest and chili flakes, and bring to boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and allow to simmer until the rhubarb begins to break up. Add the chipeas and stevia to taste. Stir the liquid in the bowl again and slowly add it to the chickpea mixture, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Stir for another 30 seconds. To serve, ladle over cooked grain of your choice; sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Makes 4-6 servings. May be frozen.
This recipe is my submission to this month’s My Legume Love Affair, a fabulous event started by Susan at the Well Seasoned Cook and this month hosted by Diana at Spain in Iowa.
The Question Question: Before I sign off today, I wanted thank everyone who responded to my query in my earlier post. Your responses were fairly split on the issue of whether or not to include questions at the end of blog posts: the final verdict seems to be, “if they develop naturally from the content of the post, they’re okay.” Of course, I’d never pose a question that had nothing to do with the post (except, um, for that first question). On the other hand, many of you suggested that you’d simply not comment at all if the question didn’t appeal to you.
Well, comments are one of my favorite aspects of blogging (both reading them and leaving them on other blogs), and I do enjoy the interaction they encourage. I’m also all for the recent types of comment sections that allow individual commenters to respond to each other (and I will have to install those–not on the blog right now). So I’ve decided to incorporate questions only occasionally, and see what happens. And even if you’re not keen on the questions, please do continue to comment on the blog post itself!
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