Le Stir-fry

I'm in France still, I have t - (6 days, several hours) with my lovely host mother, Caroline and my lovely Southern Californian housemate, Lexi. 

So being Saturday I went to the marché as usual. I am really going to miss that in particular. You can buy fresh organic vegetables, fruit, bread, fish, and well, meatandcheese, every. single. day. 

Next quarter I'm going to wake up on Tuesday and after some yawning think to myself "Oh I'll go the marché and grab some strawberries and carrots today" 

........

 

Anyways, I DID buy strawberries today and wow they were amazing, and not too expensive. I am really confused by what is in season here in Provence, because it's completely different than in California. There's tons of avocados, pears, and apples here now. I think apples are in season in Northern California as well, but not pears. And avocados are generally from SoCal I believe.

Take a gander at the strawberries that couldn't stay uneaten:

And no, my camera was NOT in vivid mode. They really were that plump and shiny, and organic.

Lately I've been wanting fiber and vegetables like never before. Not just for regularity *grins =D

But actually because every time I eat white bread, which I wouldn't do in CA, I feel like I can't breathe! So I stopped doing so...and decided today would be a good day to finish up the broccoli I have.

Le Stir-fry

It is pretty self-explanatory, oh but I added a little soy sauce for flavor (not depicted).

 

 

We also have lentils left over from the dinner the night before, so I decided I would add them in.

Why are all my pictures leaning to the right?

I also have an embarrassing story. First of all, did I tell the shrimp story? Well I was in Marseille and ordered a seafood salad. There was salmon, avocado, olives, lettuce.....all good. And then there were big huge shrimp. They were staring up at me, one might have blinked. I really didn't want to eat them. When I peeled away their outer skin, I think I found the alimentary canal, and other misc. organs. So now I am questioning everything I thought I loved about seafood!

Here is the story from today. Yesterday (Friday) I bought 3 little oysters. I like(d) oysters, as my mom and I used to eat two or three on the spot at our farmer's market in Walnut Creek, every Sunday. So I tried one and thought it was good, and then I bought 3 to take home. Today, I got one open, which was très difficile, and didn't find anything edible inside. Why does this keep happening!? 

At this point I think I'm limited to raw and smoked salmon, small shrimp (the ones where only the tail and a little skin needs to be removed, not the feet, hands, eyes, skin, alimentary canal, and I don't know, their soul), and sushi fish. More on this as it develops.

Food-pushing

Please, don't do it.

You don't need to be vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, lactose-free, raw, macrobiotic, pescatarian, pesca-vegan (heh c'est moi), or I don't know, doing that Paleo diet, to despise food-pushers.

Mothers trying to get their kids to eat, or nurses feeding patients are different. There obviously are exceptions. But if you're just yourself, reading this blog because you already have your health in mind, and you don't feel like eating something, why does someone else try to make you eat it?

Apart from being asked questions about veganism, or pesca-veganism or sugar-freeism, I have never before dealt with having food pushed on me.

For example, someone made some bread, and I tasted some, thought it was good, but continued upstairs to my room to go on the computer. Food-pusher walks upstairs two minutes later, asking me, no, demanding to me, if she can bring me a plate of the bread. (Since I'm upstairs, I guess I just can't get it myself). I said "No, thank you, if I want some I'll just go downstairs and get it".

And don't get me started on mango. I love mango, but there's something about having food pushed on you that makes me think that there's got to be a reason this food-pusher doesn't want this dream food. So my primal instincts kick in and I assume there's something wrong with the pushed food. So I don't want it either.

I think it's because the other person is:
afraid they'll eat it
or that it won't be eaten.

There are myriad reasons for those three all-encompassing reasons. (I just thought of another one: they actually want YOU to eat it) Luckily, my food-pusher pushes food on others in addition to me, so I think I'm dealing with a case No. 1.

That's all

Tea Lattés

Before I move this post forward in any way, I just have to say that I am sinking my fork into the most moist, delectable, and steamy sweet potato ever. A grand reward for searching everywhere for them, in multiple marchés in Aix-en-Provence, before I finally found them.

Since eighth grade, my mom and sister and I went to Starbucks all the time. I didn't even think about it at that age, I would get iced black teas which are relatively harmless compared to the frappucchinos or mochas. It was sweetened with their sugar syrup, and I was aware of that, but I didn't mind. Then I became pescatarian (a fish-eater but no meat), and things didn't change. If my mother wasn't at Starbucks, I wasn't. It wasn't addiction, the habit was rooted socially. I switched to soy milk but continued using. (The syrup, that is)

At UC Davis I would only go once or twice a week. Once in the early morning after a 6 AM exercise class, but more often depending on how much relief I needed from my dorm mates. And of course, inescapably, I would go when I visited home. I was vegan by this time.

Then something wonderful happened! Late Fall of 2010, I decided to strip my diet of refined sugar. Including evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, and Starbucks syrups. This posed a problem, because I love tea lattés. I tried to make them at home but they never tasted right. I used black tea, soy milk, almond milk, stevia powder, maple syrup, honey, and even liquid stevia. These various attempts tasted good, but not great.

Today I figured it out. My host mother here in France bought Rooibos, unflavored unfortunately, but that doesn't matter. I also had on hand my liquid stevia from NuNaturals, and some vanilla oatmilk, sans sucre ajouté (without sugar added).

In France, when something says "Bio" it means that it's organic. 

Heat a very small amount of milk in a sauce pan. I like to boil the water, then move the tea kettle and place the sauce pan with milk on the still-hot burner. You don't need to turn the stove on again for the milk, it gets plenty hot from the excess heat from the burner!

Meanwhile, the Rooibos is steeping. 5 minutes with boiling water (100 degrees C, or 212 degrees F)

Leave room in the mug for the milk, unless you want clean-up.

Start with 3 or 4 drops of the liquid stevia. This stuff is potent. I usually use 5 or 6, because I am hopelessly addicted to sweetness.

Stirstirstir

There it is, cooling down in front of my giant postcards of "Les Couleurs de la Rouille" and "Les Murs en Provence". 

Tea lattés bring general happiness

In case you're wondering, I do still go to Starbucks on occasion. I always ask for unsweetened, even though I know a little evaporated cane juice is in the soymilk they use. At least I have my own liquid stevia to replace their sugar syrup. And there's always the humorous aspect:

Sur Le Sujet de Thé

Where do I even begin? 

This is a picture from Téance, a tea store in Berkeley, CA that not only orders their tea directly from tea farms, but also does tastings. I first visited with a group of friends from my dorm (in college) who also love tea. I then took a few friends of the family, and later my boyfriend, Eric. I try to buy some tea every time I go, but some of their tea is very expensive. The Japanese Gyokuro green tea is an amazingly moist and nutty tea. It is rich, but also fresh. And it fetches a high price. I think it was 60 dollars for 2 ounces. I bought Lu Shan Clouds and Mist instead, another refreshing green tea that I love. And I got my Gyokuro from Adagio, an online tea company. 

It didn't disappoint.

The last time Eric and I were at Téance, they had snacks for sale, as was indicated by a little chalk board. It read the flavors of mochi that were available for purchase: 

walnut, matcha, cocoa, adzuki, coconut, vanilla, ginger

Of course we spent probably about 20 minutes deciding, and finally we decided on the adzuki bean flavor, so we asked the manager (he tends the tea bar), and he said, "No, that's all one flavor".

ONE FLAVOR.

Eric and I just looked at each other, utterly amazed. Then we didn't hesitate to order it. 

Had we known 20 minutes ago!?

It was so delicious! 

We savored it with our mini forks, while we sipped Lichee Red Premium. (A Rooibos)

I will find out how to bake with adzuki beans, not to mention make mochi. Then I will tell you! But please don't hold your breath, I am still in Europe.

Téance's "Eight Treasure Herbs"

Téance's Chrysanthemum Herbal tea (can we confirm this?)

Yes, they're Goji Berries! At Téance.

La cuisine d'une étudiante Americaine

I haven't mentioned this at all, but I am studying in Southern France for three and a half months. Aix-en-Provence to be exact.

This explains my lack of posts, because I am without my dehydrator, blender, and food processor.

=(

Before you start salivating over the fact that I'm in one of the food capitols of the world, I would like to say that it actually hasn't been easy finding foods that are "easy on the digestive system" here. I suppose that it's the same in the United States, but there I already know where to go for all the foods I need, and more importantly, where not to go.

To find the specialties, such as Bouillabaisse, Ratatouille, and many others, you would have to sit down somewhere and dish out at least 12 euros. I have eaten some pretty good seafood salads though, despite the fact that the crevettes (shrimps), were still completely in tact. I know because they basically told me that they were.

I thought that I was a pescatarian for health and environmental reasons, but since my experience with my shrimps peering up at me from my plate, I can now officially say that I am also bound to pescatarianism by ethical reasons.

Anyways, the French also love white bread, cheese, meat, and pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants).

After a week or so of trying to eat from the small lunch shops in the streets of Aix, my digestive system was upset with me from the white bread and cheese. Already I have made a tofu scramble, and, by courtesy of my roommate, I've started eating smoked salmon lettuce wraps:

Big piece of lettuce, smoked salmon, capers, whole mustard, diced cucumbers

And it was so good. I thought I'd be hungry afterwords, but lettuce fills up your stomach, stretching it and stimulating those hunger-suppressing hormones. Also the protein from the saumon fumé made it very satisfying. I thought about adding avocado also, but I didn't want the taste to be too lipidy (fatty). There are already plenty of Omega-3s from the salmon, and I already ate avocado with breakfast so I didn't need any more Vitamin E, another dietary component that is fat-soluble.

Guacamole

I didn't realize how much Mexican food I ate in California until I came to France, where there is hardly any. Some students report that there IS a Mexican food place, but they recommend that we not go there.

Despite the fact that we're all going to try to make quesadillas, black beans, and guacamole on my birthday, I couldn't wait and on Sunday I ventured out into the freezing winds (really, it's called the Mistral and it's a powerful wind that flies in straight from the Alps), and I bought a red pepper, a tomato, an avocado, a lime, and some guacamole seasoning because they have that at the open air market (don't read into it though, or else I wouldn't be here, typing my craving out to you).
  

 

And then the guacamole seasoning, which I think was just Cajun seasoning, or something.

 

Et après:

YUMM!

(Strangely enough, they did have all sorts of tortilla chips in the grocery store)

Buckwheat Granola

Suddenly too warm to eat hot cereal?

Upset with all the sugary high-fructose corn syrup cereals in the markets?

Now there is never any need to set foot in the treacherous cereal aisles of boxed addiction and obesity! Heh, okay many cereals ARE healthy, but you see what I mean.
 Candy cereals for breakfast? It almost brings me to tears.

Children who don't know any better gravitate to them because of the good advertising and the bright colors, and some parents, luckily not many I know, LET THEM!

When I was growing up we were allowed Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies (the cereal, not the treats), and Cheerios. Not even Smart Start. I'm pretty healthy, but I adore Smart Start, I think from deprivation. I indulge from time to time, but not often at all, because it contains some of the aforementioned ingredients.

I think it's good to keep kids healthy, but not be too authoritarian in cereals that are reasonable if eaten in moderation.

Anyways, here I have a recipe for raw cinnamon (raisin) buckwheat granola. Credit is due to Epicurvegan - Buckwheat Granola, that is where I found this recipe.

You will need

flax seed mix

dehydrator

several cups buckwheat
(depends on how concentrated you want the spices)
1 c. raisins
1 c. any nuts you like
0.5 c. ground flaxseed
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
0.5 c. Agave nectar
2 Tbsp. water

buckwheat-flax mix

pinch sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract


1. Rinse the buckwheat well, then soak, covering it with plenty of water, for 6-8 hours. I did mine overnight.

2. Mix together the water, flax seed, agave, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small bowl.

on the dehydrator

3. After draining the buckwheat, combine with flax seed mixture, nuts, and raisins. A fork was good for this.

4. Lay the entire mixture out on the dehydrator trays, and allow to dehydrate for 6-8 hours.

5. When it is sufficiently crunchy, it is done! Place in airtight containers, and I put mine in the fridge because I was worried about perishability from the moisture in the raisins.

in the air tight container

6. Let it soak in your milk of choice (I use almond milk), for a few minutes before eating, or just eat
the granola without milk as a snack.

Raw Vegan Frozen Fruit Pie

It's like I'm deliberately waiting until the warm season ENDS to post this cool recipe!

Delicious Raw Fruit Pie

When I was a first-year at UC Davis, I took a vegan cooking class through the Experimental College, and one of the sessions focused primarily on raw preparation of food. This raw gem was on the menu, so at the end of the day I bicycled the whole whopper back to my little dorm room across town and stuffed it in the freezer (of our mini-fridge). =)

My roommate at the time, Melinda, who is still my roomie until the end of August, then we will have to find satisfaction being merely good friends, tried the pie and LOVED it, so since then she has been begging and pleading to make it again.

Melinda on the left, me on the right

Come spring quarter, I finally dug up the recipe, and voila!

A weirdness about this recipe is that the ingredients list is vague about quantities. It's not all that important, because you can always soak more nuts than you need, and start with food processing a smaller amount, adding more accordingly. Just make sure to maintain the proper ratios.

Ingredients

Pie Crust

1-2 cups almonds (unblanched, NOT roasted, etc.)
1-2 cups raw sunflower seeds
0.5 cup coconut oil (secret: Use Artisana Coconut Butter, it will do wonders)
0.5 cup Agave Nectar

2 Tbsp Vanilla
dash of sea salt

Pie Filling

0.5 cup cashews
5 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1 banana
4 Tbsp Water
juice from half a lemon
1 tsp vanilla
4-6 Tbsp Coconut oil - remember Artisana - that's an order!
1-2 cups of any berry you wish, fresh or frozen

Preparation

1. Soak almonds, sunflower seeds, and cashews in warm water for several hours (4-6 hours). Soak them in separate bowls.

2. Before you food process all the ingredients for the crust together, you will need to slightly warm the coconut butter, as it is solid at room temperature.

 Keep in mind that the recipe is supposed to be raw, so no cranking up the heat on the stove or nuking in the microwave for 60 seconds. If you must use the microwave, heat it for a few seconds at a time, and keep the stove on low and watch it closely so you don't breach the 118 degree (F) limit for raw foods! Why not just place the amount you need in the sun for a few minutes? It's hot anyway! Problem solved.

 

3. Once you have food processed all the ingredients for the crust, press into a pie pan, and place in the freezer.

4. Now food process the filling ingredients, and pour onto frozen crust.

fantastic color!

5. Carefully place the whole shabang into the freezer, and wait for it to solidify.

6. Once it has solidified, bust out a few pieces, wait 10 minutes or so for them to thaw, et mangez!

I learned something interesting at a Rotary meeting presentation about global warming and its effects on death rates from heat.
Take it with a grain of salt, because it became evident that the speaker was more than a little biased (to put it lightly), but this was based on data. He claimed that there are more deaths in the winter due to heart attacks than in the summer because in the cold blood becomes thicker and and clots can more easily form. In the warmer months blood is thinner and clots do not form as easily.

You may bring up the points that humans maintain homeostasis, blood keeps the same viscosity, etc., but this speaker explained that our extremities do become a lot colder in winter, which can cause a chemical reaction, thickening the blood. I'm no cardiologist, so I can only relay information, but I do know that this is a controversial topic, and a relatively new topic at that!

Just something to chew on!

Enjoy the pie, and the warmth!

Vegan, Raw, Sugar-Free Chocolate Pudding

For my 18th birthday in 2009, Marika gave me this raw vegan chocolate mousse from Whole Foods. It was absolutely delicious. I don't remember the exact ingredients, but back then I was more focused on foods being merely vegan anyway, although I do remember Marika speaking of avocados and banana.

Since Winter Quarter 2010, I haven't been able to get raw vegan sugar-free pudding out of my head. It has got to be one of the easiest indulgences to make, as there is no baking (raw), so we don't have to fret over leavening or the sugar replacement responding unfavorably to heat.

I found the recipe on a website called "Naturally Knocked Up", which does not mean knocked up by food, but if given no other choice...I'd pick raw, vegan, whole foods every time! It's actually a website dedicated to increasing fertility through food. The woman who runs it is a Master Herbalist student, and encourages whole nutrition in its most natural state to influence the body's natural function.

Enough blather...

Raw Vegan Pudding

1 very ripe banana
1 avocado
1/8 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 tsp maple syrup or agave nectar
non-dairy milk for thinning (if needed)

Blend all ingredients until as smooth as you like using a food processor or blender. If the pudding is too think, add the milk 1 tbsp at a time until the consistency suits your fancy.

The website also noted some other options:
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
1.5 tsp vanilla
mint leaves
fruit

Add whatever you like. This can easily become a nutrient pudding, with protein if you add a nut butter and potassium from the banana and avocado. If you add spice, like cinnamon, you've got some antibacterial action. Berries would supply you with antioxidants as well.

Not to mention the maple syrup or agave nectar...but I see that as more mental well-being, because it's not easy watching everyone I know inhale sugary foods all day long...college students treat their bodies like hazardous dumps! They'll come around.

"Cheese"cake

One of my largest internal struggles, which I hardly ever think about until I am given the opportunity, is my insatiable adoration of cheesecake. You might remember that I don't eat dairy; I have been deprived for so very long.

But wait!

The era of cheesecake abstinence is over with the recipe I am about to divulge to you....

The recipe is from Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet, which has recipes and lifestyle tips for vegans and what she calls "superheroes", or macrobiotics. The cheesecake is from the vegan section of the book - not the superhero section - as the superhero desserts involve more whole grains, fruits, grain sweeteners, nuts, and usually some Japanese culinary methods as well.

Cheesecake

It kind of looks like styrofoam, but I can assure you it's not.

Ingredients
3/4 c Earth Balance Butter
2 c graham cracker crumbs*
1 (12-ounce) package silken tofu
1 c nondairy cream cheese*
1 tbsp safflower oil
1/4 c pure maple syrup
1/4 cup soy milk
2 tsp arrowroot
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon or orange extract
fresh or frozen-thawed mixed berries (for topping)

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F., and oil an 8" or 9" spring form pan (I used an 8" cake pan).
2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan, turn off the heat and add the graham cracker crumbs. Then press the butter-crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 5 minutes.
3. Combine tofu, cream cheese, oil, syrup, soy milk, arrowroot, vanilla extract, citrus extract (if using) in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour this into the pan over the graham cracker crust.

4. Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let it cool, add the berries, and chill until serving (the cheesecake, that is).

*For the graham cracker crumbs, I used MI-DEL Honey Grahams (pictured above), because they are only sweetened with honey and molasses, AND because it says that they are 100% whole wheat. Packaged foods are not 100% whole wheat unless it literally says "100% Whole Wheat".
Eric found that a good way to crush them was to use a rolling pin on a plastic bag with the air squeezed out...if you have trouble, I'll send him over!


*The cream cheese is "Follow Your Heart Cream Cheese". This brand is good because they use no partially hydrogenated oils, unlike Tofutti.

Everyone who tried this thought it was pretty good...and those were people who eat sugar and dairy regularly, so that's saying something. In the future I would add more cream cheese and less tofu, just to try to achieve a more cheesecake-like consistency. Chilling did help this though!
I also think a little salt might make it tastier. It was sweet but very light.
Don't let it bake for too much longer than the suggested 45 minutes - 1 hour, because the crust may start to burn a little. I would suggest extending the time by 5 minutes maximum after the hour has passed.

Our Culinary Blunders can't stop our Plans for Spring Quarter!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, and I confess that some culinary experimentation has occurred, and I have not reported ANY of it. But now that finals are over, and the pouring rain is keeping me inside, I can begin!

Before I completely forget, Eric and I did produce a “vegan”, sugar-free carrot cake. I just cannot divulge any recipe yet due to my lack of satisfaction with it. One thing I will tell you is that when choosing sweeteners that are less refined (closer to their natural forms), be sure to consider their taste and potential effect on the recipe. We substituted honey (hence the “vegan” in quotes), and also added half a cup of molasses. BEWARE! The molasses made the entire cake dark-colored and heavy. It still tasted pretty good, but next time I think brown rice syrup or another heat-stable, discreet-tasting sweetener such as stevia ought to be tested.

And then the cream cheese topping was another learning experience. Staying away from dairy, we used a vegan cream cheese, and made sure that it was NOT produced with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (see ingredients on the popular "Tofutti" vegan cream cheese package). We also used a soy milk heavy cream. Let's just say that it is only dairy that truly whips into a fluffy creamy consistency! Ours became a dairy-free dipping cream for the carrot cake (yea, still liquid!).

We had fun though, and Spring Quarter is going to bring some really amazing goodies, by request of my room mate Melinda. (I love when people want to cook with me).

I'm still hoping to find/create a recipe for chocolate pudding. I've heard of chocolate mousse being made with avocado, banana, cocoa powder, and a few other ingredients; I have this huge pile of healthy recipes (mostly raw and vegan) that Marika gave me, so I need to sift through them again!

Before I go, I was walking my dog Roxie (pictured below, and yes, that is indeed an underbite),

when I came across this lemon that had fallen from someone's lemon tree.

  

Voici le citron mysterieuse.

 

I brought my own fruit leather because I don't trust your snacks.

One of the things I was eager to make when I got my dehydrator was fruit leather...or fruit rolls....or just dried fruit, but that last one is slightly different.

The greatest thing about making fruit leather is that there are no specific formulas or ingredient ratios that you need to worry about. You can just grab the fruit that you had every intention of eating but just never did, so now it might be soft and wrinkly (ehh blaah).

Make sure the fruit you use doesn't have any pits. I read in my dehydrator manual that seeds ought to be removed as well, but I put kiwis in mine and the seeds were no problem at all.
Unnoticeable.
Imperceptible.
Unassuming.

So just leave 'em in there.

I like to use bananas, kiwis, vanilla, a little cinnamon, and I like to simmer dates and prunes (added for regularity!) in apple juice. If you have frozen fruits, like cherries, I bet those would be amazing.

pitted dates and prunes simmering in apple juice

Simmer the dates and prunes

In a small saucepan, throw in some pitted dates and prunes, then pour apple juice to just barely cover them. Simmer them over medium-low heat, keeping it covered. Check on it every few minutes. Soon you'll see that the dates and prunes have absorbed most of the apple juice. When this is the case, add it to a blender.

Blend

After removing the skins from both the bananas and kiwis (not necessary to remove seeds from kiwis, remember?), blend in a blender with the date-prune-apple juice concoction. To this you can add a little honey, vanilla, cinnamon, or any other spices you think would fly well. 

Just a warning

For some reason, the blended mixture of fruits does not smell good. I think it smells like hard-boiled egg yolk, in a bad way. So please ignore that smell. It doesn't taste all that good either. So please ignore that taste. Don't let this discourage you! Power forward.

Pour

Now pour the contents of the blender to a dehydrator tray - yes, a tray is needed - and even it out with a spoon or some kind of kitchen tool.

Pour slowly because you may need 2 or more trays. And you might want to keep the kitchen clean.

You can also add a garnish, such as chopped nuts or coconut. Just sprinkle on top of the smoothed mixture on the tray. Beware, shredded coconut may have added sugar, so look for a variety that doesn't.

   

Dehydrate
Plug the dehydrator in and turn it on, and now you've finished, the rest is up to the dehydrator!

The time dehydrating takes depends on the dehydrator, but they can reliably be done or close to done after about 8-10 hours.

They store best in an airtight container, try to eat within a week or two! (That will not be difficult)

Le produit fini:

You'll never have to bake old fruit into breads ever again! Who needs all that flour and sugar anyways?

Enjoy, and please tell me if you have any other fruit leather ideas!