SweetLeaf & Israeli Couscous

My biggest vice in life comes in a bottle. Not a beer bottle, nor a wine bottle - a Snapple bottle.  I love Snapple iced tea.  I love most bottled ice tea. I've been addicted to bottled iced tea for a minimum of 20 years.  I'd walk to school past the corner bagel store and pick up a Raspberry Snapple on the way, and then again on the way home.  By the time high school was over I was up to 4 or more bottles a day.  As a "grown up" I got a membership to one of those big bulk stores, you know the kind that sells cases of Snapple Iced tea for dirt cheap.  Oh god did I buy tons of the junk!  Until recently bottled iced tea's still remained the greatest source of empty calories in my diet.  I am finally happy to report that I've just about kicked my bottled iced tea addiction! Don't get me wrong, I'm still addicted to iced tea.  Only now I make my iced tea at home and I sweeten it with SweetLeaf stevia. 

When I sat down and really reviewed my diet I had no choice but to come to terms with the fact that the bottled iced teas had to go.  But what to replace them with?  I drink water but sometimes you need something more then just water.  Anything with chemical sweeteners was completely out of the question!  I'd rather be overweight then load myself up with aspartame.  I like the taste of Agave nectar, but some research indicates that Agave nectar isn't much better for you then high fructose corn syrup; therefore making Agave nectar seem like too much of a lateral move to be worthwhile.

That brings me to Stevia.  Stevia is an all natural plant derived sugar substitute with zero calories and zero carbohydrates. Stevia doesn't adversely affect blood glucose levels and may be used freely by diabetics. There are several commercial brands of stevia on the market now, but be careful - not all stevia products are equal. 

SweetLeaf is the only pure stevia product that you can purchase in packets, shaker or tablets.  The other two major Stevia brands are loaded with fillers like cellulose powder and undisclosed natural flavors.  They also contain processed ingredients such as Erythritol and isomaltulose. Erythritol has been associated with digestive upset, diarrhea, and bloating.  Isomaltulose (sometimes know as Palatinose) is a disaccharide that is commercially manufactured enzymatically from sucrose via bacterial fermentation. (In other words, they're a Frankenstein like concoction pushed through the FDA by the two major soda manufacturers Pepsi and Coca Cola as a knee jerk reaction to the growing concern over findings linking chemical sweeteners and various cancers.)   Some of the reported side effects of Isomaltulose are similar to those associated with a Candida (yeast) overgrowth such as mouth soars, a thickening of the tongue, upset stomach, diarrhea and in some extreme cases full blown yeast infections.  SweetLeaf on the other hand has two ingredients, inulin soluble fiber and stevia leaf extract.  The side effects are typical as with any natural herbal supplement.  If you have allergies to various herbs then maybe Stevia isn't the sweetener for you.  But in it's purest form (such as SweetLeaf) Stevia can be a invaluable tool when trying to lighten up your caloric intake. Plus it tastes great in fruited teas and lemonades!

Orange Iced Tea is my favorite with Strawberry Lemonade a close second. The girls are head over heals in love with Iced Green Tea with Mint.  Mint leaves added to any Lemonade or Tea is super refreshing. The best thing about using Stevia as your sweetener (as if being an all natural zero calorie sweetener could be topped) is that a little goes a long way. Three teaspoons sweeten two whole quarts!

You can find more information about stevia, Sweetleaf and other stevia products (including recipes) by visiting the follow links:

http://www.sweetleaf.com/,  http://www.stevia.com/ and http://www.stevia.net/.

Before I end this post I wanted to share with you a salad that I've become obsessed with this summer. It's an Israeli couscous salad that combines slivered almonds, dried cranberries, parsley and a raspberry vinaigrette.  It can be served chilled or as I prefer at room temperature. 

Israeli Couscous Salad

2 1/2 Cups Vegetable Broth

2 Cups Israeli Couscous

2tsp turmeric

1tsp salt

1 cup Slivered Almonds

1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries

1 Small bunch of Italian Parsley finely chopped

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/2 cup olive oil

*1/2 cup raspberry infused white balsamic vinegar

1tsp garlic powder

1tsp dried oregano

2tbs pure maple syrup (agave nectar is also good)

sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

optional:  2tbs prepared dijon mustard

* If you can't get your hands on raspberry infused white balsamic vinegar you can use either of the following substitutions:

 1/3 cup raspberry juice and 1/2 white vinegar

3tbs seedless raspberry preserves mixed with 1/2 c apple cider vinegar

******

Prepare Raspberry Vinaigrette and set aside

Bring vegetable broth, turmeric and salt to boil

Stir in Israeli Couscous and let simmer for 8-10 min (or until all water is absorbed)

In a separate large bowl mix together slivered almonds, chopped parsley and dried cranberries

Add  prepared couscous to bowl with almonds,parsley and cranberries

pour in raspberry vinaigrette and mix well

chill stirring occasionally until salad has cooled to desired temperature

Enjoy!

Independence Day

Leaving NYC and moving 75 miles north doesn't always seem like it was a good idea.  The lack of vegan restaurants, the snow and simply being an hour and half away from NYC can really get on my nerves.  Then the 4th of July comes around.  When the 4th comes  I remember why we moved to the Hudson Valley.  Our little town here closes the main streets to vehicles allowing children to have the run of the place all afternoon and most of the night.  I usually skip the afternoon festivities of parades, animal contests, races and street vendors.

But I always show my face for the fireworks. This years fireworks display did not disappoint, in fact I think those in charge of the pyrotechnics might have stepped up their game some. There was definitely a few new kabooms added last night - much to my delight!

After a few hours in the a.m. preping orders to ship I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking for Mike and the kids. I made a very Patriotic potato salad for lunch.  I combined purple (hoping they'd pass for blue) potatoes, red plum tomatoes and sliced sweet white onions.

 I parboiled the potatoes whole leaving their skins on.  (Leaving the potatoes whole with skins on helps them retain their vibrant purple color, if you peel them first they will turn an ugly grayish color during the parboiling process.)  I peeled  and quartered the potatoes. I sliced the onion and quartered the plum tomatoes. I added some fresh chopped Italian parsley and tossed everything in an olive oil vinaigrette dressing.

I'm still not sold on Purple Potatoes.  Visually they definitely add something, but they are rather costly and I'm not certain I like the texture of them.  I find them to be kind of grainy, actually mealy might be a better description.  Without a doubt I prefer red skinned or good old fashioned white potatoes.

I also made Philly Cheese Stake wraps with a homemade cashew "cheddar" cheese sauce.  I sauteed Tofurky Philly style steak deli slices (http://www.tofurky.com/)  with sliced onions and peppers until everything was browned and crispy. Before I wrapped up the sauteed stuff I smothered everything in "cheddar" sauce.  I firmly believe that creamed cashew's can replace just about any dairy product.  We finished the 4th with a very patriotic dessert. An apple pie?????

HELL NO! An extra super chocolatey chocolate cake. As far as I'm concerned chocolate beats apples any day of the year, even the 4th of July.

Irish Eye's Were Smiling

A quick St. Patrick's Day round up. I made Corned Beef Seitan with boiled potatoes, white onions, cabbage and a couple of loaves Irish Soda Bread.  I've been making various forms of seitan for years now so making a Corned Beef version wasn't too difficult.  But I had never attempted to make Irish Soda Bread before.  I have no idea what I was waiting for.  None of the vegan Irish Soda Bread recipes I found  seemed like what I was looking for.  So I went ahead and veganized a traditional recipe. The results were - perfect!

Vegan Irish Soda Bread Recipe:

pre heat oven to 350 F.

Mix Dry Ingredients in a large bowl:

4 cups unbleached white flour (plus more as needed)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

8 oz of raisins (presoak in warm water to soften, drain before using)

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix Wet Ingredients in different bowl:

3 tablespoons melted nondairy butter (I use earth balance)

1 cup plain non dairy yogurt

1/2 cup plain seltzer water

1/2 cup plain soy milk mixed with 2 tablespoons Apple cider Vinegar

Combine wet and dry ingredients and knead together

add more unbleached white flour as needed until you have a thick, non sticky dough

Split dough into 2 equal round ball like loaves

place each loaf into a greased, floured pan.

Cut a "X" in the top of each loaf

Bake 55-60 minutes or until loaf is golden brown and tooth pick comes out clean

Serve hot or cold either way it's all good. 

Now on to some shameless self promotion!

Lady Luck is one of our newest candle and solid fragrance balms.  Lady Luck carries a very beautiful and fresh Four Leaf Clover scent.  Right now a large Lady Luck candle and  solid fragrance balm are available, a 2oz candle and a scented sachet will be available soon.

Vegan MoFo day7 ~ Vegan food & Etsy. Etsy Sellers specializing in made-to-order vegan delights!

If you're anything like us than you do not live in a very vegan friendly area.  I drool over twitter reading tweet after tweet from happy vegans enjoying the vegan cuisine from their local vegan friendly eateries.  Here we have a mediocre at best health food store, and all vegan friendly restaurants are a minimum of 30 miles away. 

Then I discovered that there are a plethora of Etsy shops dedicated to vegan offerings.  With a click of my mouse I could have fresh homemade vegan fare delivered to my P.O. Box.  We could fill our bellies while filling the pockets of small independent Etsy shop owners, well maybe not fill the pockets - but you know what I mean.  In the interest of full disclosure I must admit that we recently threw our hats into the Etsy Vegan food delivery ring as well.  A few months ago we opened  Medusa Fine Vegan Fare or http://www.medusafoods.etsy.com/.  Medusa Fine Vegan Fare's soul purpose is to provide high quality vegan entrees to those without access to such, or those busy vegans and vegetarians looking for a quick healthy meal.

On Medusa's menu you will find seitan based dishes like Thai Peanut, Southern Fried Cutlets, Vegan Tandoori Chicken, Maple Teriyaki and Buffalo Bites with Vegan Blue Cheese Dip to name a few.

Our shop isn't the only vegan food based Etsy shop.  We found a few others like Sweet Fritsy where you can find these wonderful looking donuts and  many other awesome looking vegan goodness.   http://www.sweetfritsy.etsy.com/

And I can't forget The Cupcake Mint  where you can order this bad boy or one of his equally mouth watering siblings. http://www.thecupcakemint.etsy.com/

When shopping on Etsy search vegan, vegan plants and edibles, or vegan food to find these and other vegan offerings available from some of the many different vegan friendly Etsy shops.

Veganized Italian Rainbow Cookies - Hell yeah!

 Rainbow cookies were a big family favorite, especially around Christmas time.  They quickly became the first thing missed after going vegan 2 1/2 years ago.  We recently veganized our recipe and the results were... excellent.  Non vegans will never know the difference.  In fact we all agree, the vegan Rainbow cookies were superior!  Unfortunately traditional Rainbow cookies can be very dry - our vegan version was super moist and delicious.

New Totes in the shop today!

We've been extreamly busy making tons of new products.  Here's a sneak peek.  New totes - in color!

This is just a small sample.  There's more in the shop.

http://www.mrstattooedgeek.etsy.com/

October is here - hooray!

Cleo was loving the cool October air this morning.