Clean Food, Recipe 15- Skillet Cornbread

Ahh, cornbread.  Who doesn't love cornbread?  It is one of my favorite foods to make this time of year and it goes especially well with soups and stews.  I have an abundance of peppers and fresh corn right now, so I decided to make this as the side dish for the Apple Squash Soup the other night.  It's very simple to throw together and bakes up in a cast iron skillet in about 20 minutes, so you don't have to wait long to enjoy it.  You follow the basic pattern for baking- first combine the dry ingredients (corn flour, cornmeal, unbleached all-purpose flour*, powdered egg replacer, baking powder, baking soda, and salt).  Then, you combine all the wet ingredients and veggies (rice milk, maple syrup, extra-virgin olive oil, jalepeno, red bell pepper, and fresh corn).  Mix the wet into the dry and the batter is done.  This gets poured into an oiled and preheated cast iron skillet and baked for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.  If you want to jazz it up a bit you can add in some cheddar flavor Daiya shreds too.  The batter comes out VERY thick- almost too thick.  I knew this was an indication that the final product might be a little off.  Unfortunately, it was.  The flavor in this recipe was good, and I love the pop of the fresh corn, but it was SUPER dry and crumbly in texture- not what you want in cornbread.  The texture really ruined it for me- it was just so dry that it really needed to be slathered in earth balance just to get it down- it was rough.  I think this recipe just needs some tweaking to add back some moisture- it just cannot be eaten as written.  For now, I think I'll stick with Alicia Silverstone's recipe for cornbread in The Kind Diet- that is DELICIOUS!

My rating- 4.5

*I used brown rice flour instead since I am currently avoiding gluten.

Clean Food, Recipe 14- Apple Squash Soup

My favorite time of year has arrived.  I love Fall.  I REALLY love the food in the Fall- squash, apples, pears, pumpkins, potatoes, etc...All so comforting and yummy.  This soup makes good use of seasonal produce (something I have an abundance of right now thanks to my CSA!).  It is also REALLY easy to throw together- another bonus on a busy school night.  To start, all you do is saute some onion in grapeseed oil until soft.  Then you add in some cubed butternut squash, cubed apples, a quart of vegetable stock, some rice milk, coconut milk, and ground nutmeg.  This just simmers in the pot for about 20 minutes, or until all the squash is softened.  Puree with an immersion blender, season with salt and pepper, and you are good to go.  I love the simplicity of this dish- it is crazy easy.  I also like the clean, simple flavor of the soup.  It isn't crowded with heavy spices- just a touch of nutmeg does the trick.  (Some of these kinds of soups can have curry, cayenne, cinnamon etc...I find that really takes over and clouds the pure flavor of the squash.)  The one thing I don't like about it- it's pureed.  I'm not a huge fan of pureed soups (it's a texture thing), but I did like this soup better than some other pureed squash soups I've tried.  If you have very little time to fuss with cooking and you have an abundance of Fall produce, this is the soup for you!

My rating- 7

Forgot my rating!

Totally forgot to write my rating for the Quick Brown Rice Breakfast recipe- I give it a 9!  Totally worth trying out and chances are you have everything you need to make this in your pantry right now- so go make it tomorrow morning!  Enjoy!

Honorable Mention, Recipe 8- Quick Brown Rice Breakfast

This was my breakfast yesterday and I am so happy to share it with you all.  This is from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook and it is vegan as well as gluten-free- a double whammy!  The fact that it only takes 5 minutes or so to whip up just makes it even better.  Think of this as a quick rice pudding- only it's WAY healthier and only subtly sweet.  For a single serving you start with 1 cup cooked brown rice (I just made mine the day before- this is also a great use for leftovers), and add to that 1 cup unsweetened soy milk, 1/8 cup sliced raw almonds, 1/2 tbsp. ground flaxseed, 1 tsp. pure maple syrup, and a pinch of ground nutmeg.  She doesn't say to heat it up, but I did since it was a chilly morning and I wanted something warm.  This could easily be eaten either way though and you can even make it all the night before and just grab and go in the morning.  Super fast, super convenient, super healthy, and super yummy!  You can't go wrong with that!  That's what earns this dish it's honorable mention- it had everything that I look for in a recipe, and as a bonus it's a great alternative for those who gluten intolerant.  Who says you can't have a warm bowl of goodness in the morning?  With this recipe you can!

Update

Just wanted to post a quick update about where I've been and what my thoughts are on a vegan lifestyle.  First, the last few months have been SUPER busy for me.  I have been away on vacation twice and my daughter just started full day kindergarten this September, so getting used to a new schedule has been pretty hectic, to say the least.  I have also been battling some health issues (nothing too serious, but enough to see the doctor about and enough to know that my body is out of balance), SO because of that I am trying to methodically go through my diet and pin down any food sources that may exacerbate my symptoms.  Because of eliminating other foods I have been eating more meat lately.  (I started this blog fully convinced I'd be vegan forever, but it just isn't feasible at the moment for me- I consider myself at this moment a flexitarian and I do eat vegetarian as much as I can.  I also only eat organic meat from a local farm when I do eat meat.)  This month I am eliminating gluten from my diet.  Next month will be dairy products (which won't be hard for me- the only dairy I ever consume is Greek yogurt, kefir, butter, and the occasional cheese), in December I plan on eliminating all meat again.  I'm hoping that going through my diet methodically like this will help me find some answers and maybe even some solutions.  Anyway, I will still be making delicious vegan meals, and I'll be here to write about them as usual.  I'll be focusing on my Clean Food book by Terry Walters and the Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.  I do have other vegan/vegetarian cookbooks- so there will be honorable mentions here and there as well.  I have to admit that I did feel a HUGE sense of guilt when I began eating meat again, however, I know now that each body is different and I have to trust and listen to my OWN body.  That being said, I've learned MUCH from all the documentaries etc...that I've seen and my perspective is forever changed- I do feel that I approach food in a whole new way now- if I don't know it's origin I don't want to eat it and I prefer things from my local CSA (whether meat, dairy, or produce) and my own garden.  I'll take a piece from Alicia's book and say that I may not be living the Kind Diet to a tee, but I'm definitely living KINDER and I plan on continuing to improve.  Be kind to yourselves and the earth everyone- enjoy life and find what works for you and the planet to the best of your abilities- no guilt, just enjoyment of life and respect for what we've been given.

Clean Food, Recipe 13- Lemon Berry Cream Pie

It has been quite awhile since my last post!  I actually made this pie about a month ago when we had some friends over for dinner, but soon after I went on vacation and then got wrapped up in the start of the school year, so I hope to be back to cooking and blogging now.  I'm excited to try out some yummy fall recipes in the near future!  For now though I will tell you about this pie.  I was super excited to try this pie because it has one of my all-time favorite combinations- lemons and blueberries.  To start you make the super simple crust.  Simply combine lemon snaps, canola oil, and maple syrup in a food processor and press it into a pie plate.  This gets baked for 12 minutes.  While the pie shell cools you make the lemon cream filling.  In a pot you whisk together apple juice, lemon juice, agar powder, and arrowroot powder.  This mixture gets cooked over medium heat until thickened and translucent.  When it's done you set it aside to cool.  The rest of the filling gets whipped up in a food processor (combine silken tofu, maple syrup, lemon extract, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and a bit of sea salt).  Once that is combined you add in the cooled apple juice mixture and whip that in until combined.  The best part is that the rest is NO COOK- simply pour the filling in the pie shell, cover the top with blueberries and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.  It's a pretty simple and straight-forward recipe.  I had really high hopes for this recipe because in the preface to this recipe Terry Walters says how much she tested this recipe and how she was obsessed with coming up with the perfect pie.  Unfortunately, I don't agree with Terry on this recipe!  For starters the crust was chewy and oily (not what I want in a crust!).  As for the filling- it was overwhelming with lemon extract!  It tasted almost medicinal.  The recipe uses a whopping 2 tablespoons!  That is WAY too much, in my opinion!  The filling would have been quite delicious if the lemon extract wasn't quite so overpowering, so that was a shame.  If I decide to make this again next year I will definitely be making some changes- using less oil in the crust and significantly reducing the amount of lemon extract in the filling.  Maybe I will be able to get the recipe to perfection myself, Terry's version just didn't do it for me this time.

My rating- 7

Clean Food, Recipe 12- Fresh Fruit Tart with Almond Crust

Yet another delicious, but clean dessert from Terry Walters.  I made this dessert last weekend for a family gathering.  It was super easy to put together, yet elegant enough to bring to a dinner party.  To start you make the wonderful crust.  This is done by starting with some almonds in a food processor and processing them until coarsely chopped.  Next goes in some oats, oat bran, and sea salt.  This gets pulsed together until a coarse meal forms and then you add in some maple syrup, canola oil, and almond extract until a dough forms.  This yummy mixture gets patted down in a 9-inch tart pan and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Once the shell cools you fill it with the most wonderful summer fruits- kiwi, peaches, and fresh seasonal berries.  The assembly was my favorite part- you can go nuts with the design and make it really pretty and elegant.  I used blueberries and strawberries along with the peaches and kiwi.  To finish off the tart you make an interesting glaze concoction on the stove top.  It consists of apple juice, fruit nectar (I used apricot nectar), maple syrup, agar powder (this is found in health food stores and acts like gelatin), arrowroot, and vanilla extract.  Once this mixture is thickened and cooled slightly you brush it over the fruit and then the tart chills for at least an hour before serving.  This whole thing came together in about an hour (not including the chilling time at the end).  It was so easy and actually fun to make- I felt so artistic making such an elegant and beautiful dessert.  I wasn't convinced I would like it though, I've never used agar before and I wasn't sure the tart crust would be up to my standards.  Boy was I ever wrong!  The tart crust was AMAZING- crunchy, nutty, and flavorful and it was a perfect compliment to the fresh fruit.  It gelled perfectly and looked gorgeous.  I absolutely adore this tart- it was love at first bite and with absolutely NO guilt!  Most tart shells are filled with butter and confectioners' sugar, which almost negates the goodness of the fruit, but not so here.  Nothing but wholesome goodness and this is a favorite now in my household- thanks Terry for such a fantastic clean take on an old classic!  LOVE IT!

My rating- 10!

PS- I had to make this gluten free since my brothers' girlfriends' Mom cannot eat gluten.  To do that I just simply used oats that are certified gluten free and I omitted the oat bran- it turned out perfectly!