The meal in this picture is the standby – go to – get centered and back on track meal in our house, that we try to eat at least once a week if not more. It’s basically a standard plate from a Macrobiotic diet. If you don’t know about Macrobiotics, don’t worry… You wont turn into the six million dollar man, or the terminator, or R2D2 if you eat this. It’s not a fancy as it sounds. It’s actually the exact opposite. Thanks to our very good friends James, Allison and Lydia Taylor, we were turned on to and subsequently adopted a Macrobiotic approach to life when I became pregnant with my son in 2008.  Over the last 4-5 years I have learned A LOT about the fundamentals and principals of Macrobiotics – both the food and the lifestyle, and it has served our family incredibly well.  But you don’t need to know any of that to eat this easy simple HEALTHY meal. So don’t worry about it too much. Just eat!! If you love it and it speaks to you every time you eat it, then you can look for more information on your own or email me and I’ll help you with what I know.  Here is all you need to know right now:  Macro=BIG   Biotics=LIFE.  This meal is about eating food that is full of “Big Life.”  Why? Because there is nothing in it except whole foods that are steamed or simmered. Clean clean clean.  Give your body a rest from the barrage of oils, salts, seasonings, sauces, etc. that you find even in healthy, organic, vegan food.  This is the highest octane food your body can eat and it will LOVE you for it.  Trust me – we prove it to ourselves every time we eat this meal…

Here are the basic elements of a simple, balanced plate of macrobiotic food:

• Organic BROWN Rice (Brown short or long grain is the most basic and common.  But Sweet brown or Brown Basmati are also good)
• Organic dried Beans that have been soaked and slow cooked (IE: NOT canned or microwaved!!) I used lentils here because I didn’t have time to soak anything and they cook pretty fast – around 30 minutes, but you want to try to soak dried beans overnight  if you can plan it out.  Try Adzuki Bean, Mung Beans, Chickpeas, Black Soybeans… There are so many great beans!  Just try some out – who cares!  It’s one time.
• A Variety of Steamed Veggies – I have super basic veggies on this plate (for fear of scaring you away)  Broccoli, Carrots, Purple Cabbage, Kale, Onions (always throw an onion in – they are SO GOOD FOR YOU!!!).  But here are some other great choices that will expand your palate and up the health (make you feel good!!) Diakon Radish, Lotus root, Parsnips, Bok Choy, ANY AND ALL leafy greens, Winter Squash, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Turnips.  Basically – if they don’t sell it in Safeway, Vons or Costco, try it.  It’s most likely something your body desperately needs. And try to stay away from night shades for this meal: spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, or anything in the nightshade family.  Why?  Eh – It’s complicated.  If you REALLY want to know Google it.  You’ll get tons of info!!!
• Organic Fermented Veggies like sauerkraut, or Kim-Chi. ( I buy these.  I know you can make them pretty easily, but they take many days to ferment.  I have only ventured into this world once and it was an inedible disaster.  One day I will try again, but for now I buy it.)
• Additional Organic Protein optional like Sprouted Tofu or Temphe cut into bite size chunks or pieces.
• Bonus Items if you think you can’t handle it THAT plain can be lemon, Nato Miso, Tekka (miso condiment), Apple Cider Vinegar or Umoboshi Plum Vinegar, Olive Oil lightly drizzled.  I usually stick to Lemon and Tekka on everything, but I love the other items I listed too.  My 3 year old will eat a plate full of leafy greens if they have lemon juice squeezed on it, so you can too!!

There are many many many incredible foods that fall into a macrobiotic diet, but this is not that site (although I think sometimes it should be) I posted this meal for two reasons only:

1. It’s the quickest, easiest meal I make all week.
2. It’s the cheapest, cleanest, most balanced and nutritious combo of foods I know of and it always makes us FEEL good.

Don’t worry about how you cut or prepare any of it.  It’s very hard to screw up steamed veggies.  I usually start with the things that take longest to cook and throw the rest in one by one as I clean and cut them.  (ie: carrots, then the onions, then brocolli, then cabbage, lastly the greens, tofu doesn’t need to be cooked so I just heat it real quick after I turn off the stove)  As long as you don’t overcook everything they are perfect.  Same with the rice and beans.  Just double the water to the dried amount, bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes (45 for rice.)  Always wash your grains and beans before you cook them.  If you have time to soak the rice too, go for it – it makes it extremely easy for your body to pull out nutrients and digest it efficiently, making it great fuel for your body.

Another nice thing to try is switching up the grain.  Instead of brown rice, which after a while gets too repetitive, try quinoa, millet, or barley.  And a great trick I learned early on is that you don’t have to refrigerate grains for a least 24 hours after they have been cooked.  So I cook them whenever it’s convenient and leave them covered in the pot on the stove until I am ready to serve it.  They are usually very good at room temperature and I love that I don’t have to clean another dish or put it BACK in the pot to reheat it.  It’s a time saver.  I do the same with beans as well.

Side note for emphasis: NEVER use a microwave to cook your food and ALWAYS buy organic.  Please.

Try it!!  You will be amazed at how easy it is and how happy you feel afterward.
Happy Clean Eating!
D-

Husband Rating 4 star: “You’ll love how good I feel after you eat this dinner.”
Kid Rating 4 smiley faces a magical combination of food that makes him clean his plate every time.

I will add a picture here later

My amazing friend Ellen has just requested this recipe, but I know Erin and Madey have also asked for it – and since you are my girls, I am posting it before all the other stuff I have drafts of….. These cookies are crazy good. I have done them both vegan and non vegan… Here’s how:

8oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (this is one time I make a sugar exception, but London doesn’t like these so it’s fine)
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance
3 Tbsp. Tahini (Organic only if possible!!! Seeds are very heavily sprayed)
2/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour (I have also used Spelt and Quinoa mixed)
1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Cup Applesauce (*or 2 eggs – more on this later)
3/4 Cup Coconut Palm Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Cup Toasted Sesame Seeds

Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan over low heat stirring frequently. Remove from heat RIGHT after it is all evenly melted (if you wait it starts to harden/thicken) and add in the Tahini. Set aside.
Combine flour(s) baking powder and salt in a small bowl – set aside.
in a large mixing bowl or Mixer beat together applesauce, sugar, vanilla, then add chocolate mixture. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.
Cover and chill in Fridge until the dough hardens up… anywhere between 1/2 hour to an hour.
Preheat oven to 350°. Toast Sesame seeds in a flat iron skillet or frying pan until slightly brown and they start to pop out of the pan.  Let the seeds cool off a bit.  Roll dough into small balls (I use a small ice cream scooper when I am NOT using eggs, but with eggs you can make them bigger balls) Roll the ball in the sesame seeds to coat. Place them on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for around 10-15 minutes. If using applesauce you may need to bake them for up to 20 minutes.  You will know they are done when they bounce back slightly when touched OR when they just don’t depress when touched and don’t look wet anywhere.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.

*Note about the eggs – the first time I made this I used eggs because I had them in the house from a friends Chickens down the street (I don’t usually purchase eggs. Terribly cruel industry – I can’t support it) SO they remained balls and came out almost like a brownie ball. I also made them much bigger – about 2 inches in diameter. They were admittedly amazing. However when I made them without eggs and used applesauce instead, they came out like flat, thin, chocolate brownie cookie crisps and they were also amazing. So I think both are great, but I prefer not buying, eating, or using eggs, so I opt for the vegan version. The applesauce version also took longer to cook which surprised me. Just go with the flow and let the cookies tell YOU what to do. Don’t be afraid. Even if you screw it up, it’s still gonna taste good and then you can change it next time. Baking is not THAT much of a science (like I was raised to believe.) Experiment and enjoy eating the fruits of your brave labor!

Let me know how they work for YOU!

D-

Husband Rating 4 star: “Open your mouth Sesame – cuz these are delicious.”
Kid Rating 2 smiley faces “Mommy – I don’t like those seeds on there.”

Because I cook every single day – from scratch – things change a lot.  When I can tell people “oh, the recipe is already on my website” I feel so happy.  But THEN, I realize what they just ate is probably NOT actually on my website because I am constantly reading, researching, experimenting, changing my ingredients, and altering my mental “That’s OK” list.  So in an effort to update everything at once here are some of my new favorite healthy replacements and unhealthy findings.

GOOD NEWS!!!!

COCONUT PALM SUGAR – it’s pricey, but you really shouldn’t be cooking things with so much sugar that you need CHEAP shity sugar anyway.  So when you DO need sugar this is a GREAT replacement and it’s low glycemic and not too heavily processed.  It’s very new to the market so there isn’t any real information as to long term health downsides, but so far, it’s working great for us and the only things we know about it are positive.  I use it as an exact replacement for sugar.  Period.  It has a rich full flavor so it also doubles perfectly as a blend of Brown and White sugar.  It burns a little faster than white sugar, so be careful if you are cooking it on the stove (I use it for caramel corn – amazing!) It’s also dark (a sign of minimal processing -  a very good thing!) so it messes with colors of pretty baked goods, but not the flavor.  I frequently grind it up in a coffee grinder or with a stone mortar and pestle to get a more powdery texture when I need it.  Can’t say enough about it – I just wish it was a bit more popular so that the price would come down.  Even in bulk – it’s steep.  Still not as healthy as Maple Syrup (B Grade – ORGANIC ONLY!!) but Maple is so expensive per ounce that this is actually more cost effective.

COCONUT OIL – No surprise here that this is a GREAT oil to cook with, but recently I read a book called “The Anti-Inflammation Diet” which clearly and simply broke down the bad news about oils.  Coconut Oil has no bad news.  It’s just good for you.  I’ve been replacing all my baking oils (especially Canola) and frying oils with this.  It is one of few oils that won’t deteriorate at a high heat point.  I suck at explaining technical stuff  but THIS is a good place to read about the oils you are using. And if you are interested in an Anti-Inflammation diet (it will eliminate all allergies, food reactions, skin issues, etc…) I highly recommend this simple little book.  It’s short ans sweet and gets right to the point.

YOUR COFFEE GRINDER!!! I recently discovered that you can use a coffee grinder to make flour.  It’s easy and cheaper than buying specialty flours like Quinoa, Oat,  Balrey flour, etc…  I rarely use white flour in anything anymore.  I like to mix at least two flours in any given recipe.  Whatever I have in the house is what I use.  It almost never changes the recipe and ALWAYS ups the nutritional value of what you are eating.  My son now eats Quinoa almost everyday because I grind it up and put it in pancakes, cookies, breads, etc… I also recently discovered that our Omgea Juicer has a grinder attachment!!  What??  Life just got a little bit better for the Kamm’s.  I LOVE making my own flours.  I even hooked my Mom on it who now is also grinding flours for her loaf breads that she makes weekly.  TRY IT!!!  Don’t be scared to buy whole grains from the bulk bin and mix it up when you are cooking.  IT’S JUST FOOD!!!  If you don’t like it you can try again next time.  And I also recommend that you don’t grind much more than you need for what you are cooking because the second you grind nuts, seeds and grains they immediately start losing their nutrients.  Get the most out the food you cook whenever possible.  We eat TOO MUCH dead food.  It’s killing us and depresses me terribly – so do it for me. Get Grinding… (by the way – you already know this but coffee is one of THE singular most unhealthy things you can drink and put in your body.  WHY it’s our nations drink of choice to “get us going” is maddening.  It is slowly contributing to the demise of your health, in every way.  So trade the beans for grains and watch how your whole body thanks you!)

APPLESAUCE – Really?  Applesauce?  So I stopped eating eggs a long time ago, but I never tried any other egg replacer except “Ener-G Egg Replacer” which works okay – it got me through.  But then my friend Madelyn (who feeds her family very much like I do) told me to try applesauce to replace eggs in baking.  My god – it works like a charm in everything!!  So much so that I can not understand why eggs are even IN recipes.  We are so accustomed to what we learned in childhood that we don’t even bother to think there could possibly be an alternative (at least I was).  Of course it can’t make a quiche or a souffle, but it makes one hell of a waffle and muffin!!  I now have applesauce in the fridge like I used to have eggs.  I ALWAYS have an open jar of (organic, no sugar added, plain old nothing but apples in it) Applesauce in my fridge and I use it constantly when I cook.  I also now know there are tons of great vegan replacements for almost every egg application.  Thanks to Madelyn, who might read more than I do about food.  Be brave – go to the library and get a book on vegan cooking or Google it and try something new – break out of your “shell!” (yes I did say it.)

BAD NEWS. :^(

STOP USING CANOLA OIL!!! – It’s thinning your blood and making you sick!  It’s made from a poisonous plant and is highly processed to be “edible” but it’s toxic!  It’s on the market because of our lovely culture that accepts currency in exchange for a FDA stamp of approval.  It’s no secret just kept very quiet – read all about it here: www.diabetesincontrol.com/ and there’s more here: www.breathing.com and I’m sure if you want more info after those two sites you can Google away, or go to the library.  The Anita-Inflammation Diet book I mentioned and linked to above did a great job of breaking it down as well.  I was using Canola Oil all the time – I will never use it again.  There are SO many good oils out there – why use a bad one??

AGAVE – This is one of those news worthy findings that I still prefer not to believe.  I love Agave.  I was using it in everything for a while.  BUT it turns out it’s one of those really not so good for you foods that is being marketed as “Natural” “Low Glycemic” and worst of all “Raw.”  After doing a ton of research I found that not only is Agave NEVER raw, it is also highly refined and processed in very high heat.  What does this mean to you?  It basically has the same effect on your stomach, liver, kidneys, etc… that sugar has.  Because it is so highly refined and processed at such a high heat, anything that your stomach would normally have to filter out, before sending it to your stomach lining to dispurt to your digestive track, isn’t there.  SO it passes through the lining at a very fast rate which in turns taxes your liver and kidney from overload and causes your whole body to get thrown out of whack which throws off your hormones and causes a slew of bad things to happen.  Very much like sugar if not exactly like sugar. I retell things fuzy so here’s more info: www.foodrenegade.com  Boo Hoo – I miss Agave and because I had so much of it in my pantry before I stopped using it – I still have a ton, and I refuse to offer it to someone who I know likes it because I can’t be a party to that system.  I use it every once in a while still when I know it’s the perfect flavor for something.  But I use it sparingly and knowing that it’s bad, and I NEVER give it to my kid anymore.  I have basically replaced it with Coconut Palm Sugar, Maple Syrup and Brown Rice Syrup.  But I miss it – it was cheap and easy to find organic and tasted pretty good.  Oh well – live and learn.

I hope some this info makes you re-think  your options and maybe gives you more!!!  I’ll try to stay on top of my changes.  I know most of you reply and respond via Facebook, but feel free to post any info you have about this stuff or anything else in the comments.  I am always open to new info when it comes to my family and friend’s and the world’s health and food!!

D-

ps – I have about 10 new recipes in the pipeline – I just don’t have time to get them up!  Too much music going on here in Bend!  No time to write.  Millet Skillet Stack, Yum Bowl, Vegan Calzones, Pumpkin Butter Cookies, Caramel-Corn… so many yummy dishes! Coming soon!

These are NOT the ones I made, but if you use regular sugar I'm sure they will look just like this!!

I made these for our impromptu New Years Party this year because they are so quick and simple to make, and although they are sugarless and vegan, they were still pretty good. I actually didn’t think I would bother making them again because although they were good – they weren’t my favorites. BUT My Mother in law is in town and she isn’t eating sugar or eggs, and it’s her birthday, so I thought I’d try these again and while I’m at it, why not post it??
They came out better this time. Maybe because I wasn’t focused on anything else AND I wasn’t drinking while cooking them.  (It was New Years Eve last time , don’t forget.) I replaced sugar with Coconut Palm Sugar and it changes the color from yellow to caramel color. So you have to tell your brain you are eating lemon or it won’t recognize it. Weird how that works. These are another great treat for my boy who LOVES them and rarely gets to eat stuff like this.
I hope you like them too! They are almost completely guilt free. Hooray.

You can see the original recipe here: Veg-Web Time Warp Lemon Squares (odd name, right??)

Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons Earth Balance Butter
1/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar (I grind this with my Morter and Pestal to be a little finer)

Filling:
4 1/2 teaspoon Ener-G Egg Replacer
6 tablespoons water
3/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar (I grind this too, with my Morter and Pestal to be a little finer)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon real vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 lemons, zested and juiced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For crust, in a bowl, combine crust ingredients and press into 8 X 6″ pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

2. For filling, while crust is baking, beat the Ener-G Egg Replacer  and water in a mixer (if possible) until foamy. Add the remainder of the filling ingredients and mix together on a lower (mixing) speed. Pour over the crust, and bake 20 minutes more, or until set. Cool.

Enjoy them!!
D-

Husband Rating 5 star: “ These are good.  I will eat them.”
Kid Rating 5 smiley faces “Yay!  I love those Lemon Squares! I’m so happy it’s Nonnie’s birthday.”

Kei Ogawa is a good friend of mine from California. She eats like we do (only better) and we used to compare notes all the time before we moved to Oregon. I recently saw this info on her husband Donny’s facebook status and asked her to give me the recipe for my blog. So here it is… Thanks Kei!!!!

Hi mamas. Here is the recipe for you! It is super easy to make.

Tempeh Burger (one person)

Tempeh – 1
Bun -1
Veggie Mayo
Lettuce
Avocado
Sprouts
Mustard

(Sauce)
Warter-1/2cup
Veggie concentrate powder -1tsp
Tomato puree or ketchup -2tbsp
Beet sugar -1/2tbsp
Vinegar -2tsp
Tamari-1/2tbsp
Garlic(grounded)-1/2tsp

Panfry tempeh (I cut a TJ tempeh in a half thickness so that it absorbs the sauce easy) with olive oil until the both sides get brown. Heat up all sauce ingredients and once it’s boiled, add tempeh and turn the stove to low. Keep boiling until it gets less watery. I have made it without garlic and it still tastes good! Sorry that this is not a good recipe for Pitta people like Don though!

I personally have not tried it yet – but judging by the recipe and what I know about Temphe and how much I cook Temphe, it looks good.  I will be making it for my Temphe-Crazed husband, Zeke just as soon as he gets back from his trip to China (where they eat battered and deep fried cuckoo bird!!  WTF?????) So for now our husband rating is being taken right off Donny’s post as testimonial of this delicious meat alternative!!

Enjoy! (Should be easy to do when there are no beaks, eyes, flesh, etc… ugh.)
Deena

Husband Rating 5 star: “ My wife just made the most kick a$$ tempeh burgers! Seriously and you’re not vegetarian why again? You think you’re going to miss out, but you’re really missing out right now.”

Thanks for the contribution, Kei and Donny!  Give that baby a kiss for me.

If you aren’t convinced that you need to buy organic., maybe this little dude can help you.  I wish I was as cool as he is.

And I am happy to say that my 3 year old is already on the way to being as savy about his food as this little man.  WATCH IT!!!
…and please buy organic food whenever possible.  We’re all killing ourselves otherwise.  Stop acting like it’s not important and not real.  YOU ARE EATING poison and it’s destroying the world.
D-

SUPER easy side dish that’s fun, satisfying, and healthy…

This is another one of my “What the F am I going to make for dinner tonight” babies.  It’s as simple as it looks…

Preheat oven to somewhere around 375-425° depending on how much time you have, how crispy you like things, how thick you cut your potatoes, how fat your potatoes are, etc…  As always – don’t be scared.  It’s just food. You can always get it perfect the next time.  Cut however many Sweet Potatoes will fit on your cookie sheet into discs as shown above.  Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper (if you have and use this) place as many chips as you can flat on the sheet.  Baste the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt or Herbamare (I frequently use this instead of sea salt. You can buy it at Whole Foods and other Health Food Stores.)  Bake for about 15 minutes then carefully flip over and baste the other side with olive oil, sprinkle with more salt (if you want) and put back in the oven to bake for another 15 minutes or until they are soft enough or crispy enough for you – however you think you will enjoy them best!

I served these with a big salad. We were stuffed. There was no mess to clean up either. Bonus!!
Let me know if you make them and what YOU did different or how you served them.

Husband Rating 5 star: “ I can eat these all day long.”
Kid Rating 5 smiley faces “I want to eat all of them.  I don’t want to share ANY.”  (But he did)

Enjoy!
D-

I used to buy these cookies every single time I went to Whole Foods.  They charge a very unreasonable amount of $1.25 per cookie and they are individually wrapped in saran (which I am NOT a fan of – that stuff is omitting god knows what kind of pvc chemicals right onto our food!!  Here’s a link to some basic info on that, if you’re interested) AND they are not organic!!!  What!!  Why am I paying for these??  But I was lazy and didn’t want to add something else to my list of things to do in the day so I kept buying them.  Until… one day Zeke asked the nice people at WF’s if he could buy some unbaked dough so we could make them fresh (because they always seemed too hard) and that’s when we found out that they are baked, frozen, shipped and then thawed and put on the shelf.  No wonder they are hard as a rock!  Why are we still buying these???

We aren’t… anymore.  Because I straight up stole the recipe and figured out my own better, healthier version, amounts, and bake time.  They are THE easiest dessert I make now and I can give them to London guilt free and even sometimes for Breakfast in a pinch because they are pretty healthy.  So here’s how I do it:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix the following ingredients together in a mixer or bowl:

3/4 Cup – Maple Syrup
1 1/2 Cup – Almond Meal
1 Cup – Oat Flour
1/2 cup – Rolled Oats
1/4 Cup – Safflower Oil (or Sunflower, or Walnut,… – just stay away from Canola as it is highly processed and hard on your blood)
1/2 Cup – Finely Chopped Walnuts (you can/should use a food processor for this, if you have one.)
1/4 Cup – Quinoa Flour (Grind whole Quinoa in a [coffee] grinder for this if you can’t find Quinoa Flour or don’t want to spend the money.  Or you can also use Barley flour, but Quinoa is so much healthier and tastes identical in this recipe.)
1/2 Tsp – Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp – Nutmeg (ground)
1/4 Tsp – Sea Salt
One or more Jam, Jelly, Fruit Spread of your choice (I only use Jams that contain NOTHING but fruit. Trader Joe’s carries several great organic fruit jams, as well as Whole Foods. You just have to read the ingredients before you buy!! BUT, we love the Fiordifrutta brand and order many of the varieties by the case. They only use apple juice to sweeten so it is lower fructose.)

Using a regular size ice cream scooper, scoop out a ball of dough, round it out with your hand, flatten it half way on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (if you don’t have paper, just do without it. No big deal) take a small spoon, like a demitasse spoon, or your thumb (thus the name) and create an indent in the middle that you will later fill with jam.
Bake unfilled cookies for 5 minutes, remove from oven and fill with Fruit Spreads, continue baking for another 12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for about 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cooled.
Make approximately a dozen cookies.

This is the above recipe DOUBLED.

This is my nutty son eating his second cookie right off the rack.

What a face! Crumbs and all.

Husband Rating (a very dramatic) 10 star: “ Thumb-prints? Print out this recipe because these are the best cookies ever!”
Kid Rating 5 smiley faces “Mommy – I only like the strawberry but I want one of the lemon because it’s reeeeeally good.”

Thanks to Whole Foods for listing the ingredients and giving me a huge head start on this one!
Enjoy!
D-

Back in 2008 when my husband and I quit eating things like meat, sugar, soy sauce, and chemicals we lost one of our favorite and unhealthy dishes… Chinese Teriyaki Chicken.  Boo Hoo.  My husband has been complaining about that one dish ever since saying he misses it more than anything else (only because we still occasionally eat pizza)

Tonight I got somewhat of a wild hair up the old proverbial butt and decided to make a vegan, healthy-ish, version of it for him.  To my surprise it was super easy and delicious.  I have no idea why I waited almost 4 years to make it this way??  But then – many things about food and pre-programming don’t make sense.  I just assumed I couldn’t do it so that was that.  Well… them days are gone.  here’s how it went down.

Here is a great article about the differences between Soy Sauce, Tamari, and Shoyu.  But in a nut shell, Soy Sauce is like the Velveeta of cheese, where as Tamari and Shoyu are like artisan $40/lb cheese.  Well, something like that.

1 package of Temphe
marinade in teriyaki sauce as follows:
1 cup Shoyu or Tamari (please don’t use soy sauce!! Gross!  Disgusting!  Bad for YOU!!!  Yuk.)
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup of coconut Sugar (my new favorite thing to put in everything)
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon Garlic powder

Cut up Temphe into bite size chunks. Mix all marinade ingredients together adding more of whatever you like to taste (and smell) let sit in bowl marinading while you prep everything else for your meal (whatever that is) stirring occasionally to keep everything well coated. about 10 minutes before you are ready to plate and serve dinner, throw all the Temphe and marinade into either an iron skillet or saute pan. It’s going to get sticky and make a mess, so iron skillet is my first healthy choice. (We never non stick – that’s another post. They are super dangerous. Throw yours out!!) Using tongs, try to make sure all the Temphe is spread evenly throughout the pan and nothing is piled up. Cook over Medium-high heat for about 4 minutes then stir around to brown and caramelize more sides. You won’t be able to get all the sides cooked evenly – it’s just too much work and you won’t have the time, so relax and do the best you can. Cook until they look sticky, caramelized and brown. Then serve and wait for the praising to be sung! 

Lordy Lordy – these are delicious bites of what taste like VERY naughty food, yet they are reasonably good for you. No large amount of Teriyaki sauce is going to be GOOD for you, but in moderation this alternative IS a much healthier version and works well with the Temphe making it EXTREMELY healthier for you thanks to the lack of animal proteins and the added fermentation from the Temphe. (Happy stomachs = happy brains = happy you.)

Enjoy!

D-

Husband Rating 5 star: “I could eat this dish every night of the week for the rest of my life and never get sick of it… and I will!”
Kid Rating 5 smiley faces “Yum! I love temphe!” (for the record: he doesn’t “love” temphe)

My beautiful Mom is the wizard of all wizards in the kitchen!!  She has been whipping up amazing meals from scratch just about every night of the week since I was a kid.  I don’t ever remember a time when my mom had any trouble in the kitchen… with anything.  She’s a Culinary Savant.  She’s confident, fearless, and intuitive, and you can taste it in everything she makes.  She also taught me everything I know… that is until I went vegan and was forced to leave her in the meat & dairy farm dust with all that animal protein floating around everywhere.  Achoo.  Sorry Mom.

But LATELY Mom (AKA Diane) has taken to cooking with considerably less meat and animal products throughout the week.  Which is funny and strange because for the first time in my natural born life my mom is calling ME for quick answers and tips on how to prep and combine things instead of the usual other way around.  I know this won’t last long because she is now sending me her vegan recipes that worked out well so that I can try them.  Lucky you – here is one of her latest from the Diane Fonteboa No-Meat Test Kitchen straight out of the San Fernando Valley, California… totally vegan, totally satisfying, totally original and delicious!
Roasted Eggplant with Brown Rice and White Beans
1 large eggplant-peeled & cut into squares
2 cups cooked /chilled brown rice
1-Sm. roasted red pepper, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 can Cannelini Beans-washed & drained
Red onion, diced- you decide how much I used about 2 tbs
2 tbsp dice Italian parsley
Place eggplant on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper.
Cook at 400 for about 20 min. or until golden brown.
While that is roasting, in a large bowl add all other ingredients and mix together with your favorite vinaigrette.  Toss the eggplant in just before serving.  It is so good when crispy.
Serve with my fabulous wheat bread…..oh wait I haven’t given you that recipe yet!!!
Enjoy!!!
I would only like to add that my mom grows her own (mostly organic!) veggies including Eggplant so hers will be better by default. Unless you are harvesting your private crops too, and I hope you are.  Organic organic organic!!  Makes everything a little bit better.

Mom and my Niece Scarlett... NOT cooking.

Thanks Mom – and I’ll be needing that bread recipe next.  I had it last time we were in California and I know it’s a five star rating all over the place with both boys and me.  Do I see a regular guest blogger in the future??  I hope so!!
D-