My World and Welcome to It......

ב"ה

Today was one of those days. I basically devoted most of the day to cooking for שבת (Shabbat -- the Sabbath). I started this morning by readying the beans for soup and cholent. I took out 6 kinds of beans -- garbanzos, adzuki (little red beans), soy, kidney, pinto and black (I needed to go to the local health food store to pick these up -- I had run out) -- and barley (unhulled, not pearl). I put 1/8 cup of each (2 tablespoons or a coffee measure) in a pot for soup and the cholent pot (I put 2/8 or 1/4 cup of barley in the cholent pot and also 1/8 cup almonds). I quick soaked the soup beans (that's boil up the beans, turn off the flame, cover and let sit for an hour). I left the cholent beans for tomorrow (I'll soak them from early morning for 6 hours and then set up the cholent pot -- aka my slow cooker -- by draining the beans, putting them and the veggies I left for them -- I'll explain that later -- 1/8 cup each of wild rice and black lentils and spices and a pitcher full of filtered water on "high" on the slow-cooker until it boils, then put it on "keep warm" (the lowest setting) -- and then Friday morning, I'll make kugel for the cholent -- I take 1/8 cup of mixed chopped nuts -- I chop them up once a week and usually use cashews, almonds, walnuts and pecans -- 1/8 cup whole spelt flour and 1/8 cup whole rye flour, some filtered water (enough for the consistency you like -- I like very stiff kugel, so I often add more flour after the water) -- form into balls (or spoon in if it's very loose and that's how you like it) and put into the cholent and turn it to high until it boils and then turn it down to "keep warm".)

Anyway, back to the soup. Once the beans were "quick soaked", I drained the beans, added 1/8 cup each of wild rice and black lentils, filled with filtered water, and added a package of frozen winter pureed winter squash. I also added 1 teaspoon each of turmeric, coriander, paprika and garam masala, and about 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin and chili powder.

In the meantime, I cut up (julienne) 4 medium to large onions and sauteed them in a large frying pan with olive oil. When they got soft, I added frozen shiitake mushrooms. I also added some dried crimini mushrooms (after breaking them up between paper towels with a hammer) -- the liquid from the other veggies helps rehydrate them. I cut up two small, skinny eggplants and one nice size zucchini and added them next. I also added some frozen chopped kale (I get fresh organic kale and chop it in the food processor, then I put it in small snack bags and into the freezer -- it stays very well and this makes it easy to add to all sorts of things) and I hand chopped one branch (lots of leaves) of broccoli rabe.

When all the veggies were done, I took about 1/4 of what was there and put it into a container to put in the refrigerator for tomorrow to use in the cholent, took another 1/4 of the veggies and put in the soup (still cooking). Into the rest of the veggies, I put one package of tempeh, cut into small pieces.

I also wanted to put some beans into the tempeh/veggie dish. I took 1/4 cup of adzuki beans and "quick soaked" them. Then I drained them, added 1/4 cup wild rice and the same spices I added to the soup. Tomorrow, I'll add the same spices to the cholent. When the beans and wild rice were done (about 30-40 minutes simmering on a low flame in a covered pot), I added them to the tempeh/veggie dish and stirred the whole thing together and simmered until all the ingredients melded together.

After the soup finished cooking, I made some compote in the same pot as the soup and earlier I had made some cookies.

So now, for Shabbat, I have soup and a main course, cholent for Shabbat afternoon, and compote and cookies for dessert.

Check out my other blogs:

Israel and it's Place in the World
Jewish Singles
Strong Jewish Women

Check out some of my squidoo lenses (articles):

Strong Biblical Women
Strong Biblical Women 2
Why Be Vegetarian
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 1
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 2
Why be Vegetarian?
Rosh Hashana
Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old
Hanuka
About the Jewish Calendar
Witches and Morality
Math Hints 1 -- Adding Fractions
Presidents1: George Washington

C is for Cookie, That's Good Enough for Me

ב"ה

I was in the mood to create some cookies tonight. So I got out my spelt flour (took 1/4 cup) and my almond flour (also 1/4 cup), added some crunchy peanut butter (also 1/4 cup), and some cacao nibs (ok, I know this is getting monotonous, 1/4 cup) and mixed it around a bit. I added stevia (to taste) and then added 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk and stirred it until all the ingredients were well mixed together.

After blending all the ingredients together, I put the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I made 15 cookies with the above recipe. I baked them at 245 degrees for about an hour, then checked them and baked longer in 15 minute increments until they were to the desired "doneness".

I figured out, based on the above ingredients, that each cookie has about 100 calories.

A Note about Stevia: Stevia, which is an all natural tea leaf that is sweeter than sugar but has no calories and actually is an adaptogen (which means it helps other nutrients and herbs work better), is safe for diabetics and doesn't have the same issues that artificial sweeteners (like aspartame, saccharin and sucralose) have. It comes in different forms -- liquid and powder being the most common -- and some versions have added erythritol (which is also calorie free and safe for diabetics and naturally occurring, but, like other "sugar alcohols" -- like sorbitol, mannitol and maltitol -- can cause digestive issues). The reason I don't usually give quantities with stevia is that it depends on which stevia you use. For the most part, liquids sweeten at the rate of 60 drops is equivalent to on cup of sugar, whereas stevia powders with no additives it takes about 1/4 teaspoon to sweeten like a cup of sugar. Stevias with erythritol (like some currently available in grocery stores) often take more -- one I used for a while takes a bit over 2 teaspoons.

Check out my other blogs:

Israel and it's Place in the World
Jewish Singles
Strong Jewish Women

Check out some of my squidoo lenses (articles):

Strong Biblical Women
Strong Biblical Women 2
Why Be Vegetarian
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 1
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 2
Why be Vegetarian?
Rosh Hashana
Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old
Hanuka
About the Jewish Calendar
Witches and Morality
Math Hints 1 -- Adding Fractions
Presidents1: George Washington

Who Wants to be a Vegan?

ב"ה

So my Mom and I went yet again for me to try out for "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". This is my 7th time trying out, the 5th time going to take the test while also going to be in the audience. It seems as though whenever we go to be in the audience I, ב"ה, pass the test. But I hadn't been there in the audience for three years -- this having to do with Jeopardy! -- I took the Jeopardy! test on line, was called into an interview, was called to be on the show (twice -- the first time they asked me to be on was חול המועד פסח Hol HaMoed Pesah -- the intermediate days of Passover when I couldn't make it, so they called me back on ערב יום כיפור Erev Yom Kippur -- the day before Yom Kippur -- to come to California to be on Jeopardy!, taping in November, airing in early 2009).

From Jeopardy!, I was told I couldn't be on another game show for 6 months; "Millionaire", on the other hand, required me to wait a year before taking the test again. And, since they tests aren't given all year long, I couldn't go back to take the test again until this year.

Ok, so let's call that one long diversion. Whenever my Mom and I go to NY (or anywhere else) we like to sample the food. But, for the most part, I haven't had the opportunity to eat at a good vegan restaurant because of the geography of most of the vegan restaurants on the Jewish Database on Shamash.org. But today, after not finding a good enough geography for us, I looked again, using a map that showed where on the map the restaurants were and found a vegan restaurant very near Penn Station called Loving Hut.

I have to tell you, though I think they do most of their business by take-out (besides being near Penn Station, they are also quite near the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), where, BTW, I went Part Time for three years before going back to college Full Time) because there aren't many tables (and the tables only seat two) but the food is delicious and the service is first class. I had a delicious lentil soup and a tofu and vegetables dish that they redid to accommodate my diet. I also had some lemon water to drink and a banana smoothie. My Mom had a bowl of tofu and udon noodle soup with sea vegetable (I love sea vegetables, so I used the chopsticks to pick the sea vegetable out of the soup) and a vegan burger with a side salad. Both were delicious. (My mom took the house dressing, a ginger and carrot dressing, on the side because she wasn't sure she'd like it -- then she asked for seconds).  Also, when the check came, there was no sticker shock. The prices were very reasonable.

I heartily recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys good, healthy vegan food.

Check out my other blogs:

Israel and it's Place in the World
Jewish Singles
Strong Jewish Women

Check out some of my squidoo lenses (articles):

Strong Biblical Women
Strong Biblical Women 2
Why Be Vegetarian
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 1
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 2
Why be Vegetarian?
Rosh Hashana
Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old
Hanuka
About the Jewish Calendar
Witches and Morality
Math Hints 1 -- Adding Fractions
Presidents1: George Washington