Maybe you don't have time to go "waltzing romantically through the farmer’s market" all day long (as Chef Dennis Leary quips), but at least you can plan a quick trip to grab a few of your spring harvest faves. I get pretty giddy when the sunny weather rolls in and the Union Square Farmer's Market (aka Greenmarket) rolls out the red (or green) carpet for amazing spring produce from dedicated local farmers. Here are my top five favorite spring produce items (recipes too)...

Kathy's Five Fave Produce Picks for Spring

5. Radishes
I love radishes year-round, but there's something irresistible about those enormous piles of crunchy, zesty, juicy fresh radishes that pop up at Farmer's Markets in spring. Grab a bunch and savor the flavor. Some even say that radishes help ease acid-reflux and indigestion.
Recipe: Radishes and "Butter"
Radishes and Hummus and Pea Shoot Sandwich

4. Asparagus
Another year-round veggie that peaks in spring. Crisp asparagus tips are one of my faves. I love them served simply with lots of lemon juice, EVOO, thick sea salt and pepper.
Superfood: Asparagus
Recipe: Sunny Asparagus Tapenade

3. Ramps and Mushrooms
Foodies go simply mad for ramps. And I never knew why until I tried them for the first time last spring. I was in love. I saute them with mushrooms for a truffle-esque dish. So savory and delicious - ramps add a unique flavor to just about any cooked dish: tofu scramble, stir-fry, veggie saute, roasted veggies, spring quiche, ramps in pesto pasta and many more. Oh and did I mention that ramps grow along side mushrooms for a very limited time per year - wild ramp hunting is better than a Easter egg hunt in spring.
My Ramps Photo Essay
Ramps Tasting
Mushrooms

2. Peas
Ah peas, a fabulous source of sweet delicate protein and when tossed with a light pat of vegan butter and pepper - they are a perfect treat to sprinkle over top salads, pasta or simply eat them on their own with a big spoon. I adore spring peas. Try fresh peas instead of frozen this spring, and you'll be forever changed.
Recipe: "Buttered" Peas
Napa Salad with Peas and Tempeh

1. Fiddlehead Ferns
Drum roll please. My absolute favorite exotic and cravable veggie in springtime is the fiddlehead fern. I first tried them at Craft restaurant in NYC. And then spotted them at Whole Foods so I could make them at home. Spiral shaped like the shell of a snail, they are moist and tender to bite - when properly cooked. Fiddlehead ferns may frighten veggie-phobes, but give them a try and I promise you'll be delightfully surprised. I love fiddleheads in pasta. Lemon, EVOO, pepper, simple flavor accents bring out the natural flavor of fiddleheads.
Recipe: Fiddleheads and Chickpea Spicy Pasta.

You may also like my NYC Greenmarket Photo Tour to put you in a produce mood!

UPDATE! Last night, I was tipped off by a helpful blog reader about some sad news: Trader Joe's has discontinued one of my favorite products, frozen papaya chunks. Weepy and confused, I called the TJ's at Union Square to confirm this news. Yup, my beloved frozen papaya chunks that blend up some of my favorite frosty summer smoothies - have been given the big D: discontinued. Sad. Bring Back the Frozen Papaya!

I sent TJ's an email today, urging them to bring back this healthy and happy frozen product. If you crave easy, affordable and delicious papaya smoothies just as much as me - I urge you to contact them as well and pass on this post to other smoothie-fanatics out there. You can contact Trader Joe's here.

My original frozen papaya product review post follows..

One of my favorite smoothies ever is the Papaya Paradise form Liquiteria in NYC. Papaya smoothies are awesome. But I could never find frozen papaya chunks at a grocery store until now! Click ahead to find out what store has their own brand of frozen papaya. And read my review....

Yipee to Trader Joe's!

Frozen Papaya Chunks at Trader Joe's. I spotted these Frozen Papaya chunks at my NYC TJ's.

And tomorrow I'll be featuring a delicious smoothie that will leave you dreaming of papaya bliss.

Now for my Papaya Product Review...
Trader Joe's brand Frozen Papaya Chunks

Shelf Appeal: Nice sturdy plastic bag. Holds two servings of Papaya. Pretty pink papaya on front.

Label Check: 55 calories per serving, two servings per bag. Wow! That's quite a nice diet smoothie! Plus papaya is rich in the enzyme papain and other nutrients like potassium and Vitamins C and A. Plus the only ingredients in the bag are 100% pure papaya. Yum.

Taste Test: I like to thaw out frozen fruit and taste test it. Sometimes the thawed fruit is tasteless and mushy. The good brands will have thawed frozen fruit that is bright with zingy flavor and texture. This papaya was fabulous! It had a sweet tropical flavor and the texture remained firm, not mushy. I was very impressed with the flavor. Plus when I tried it in a smoothie it held up very well and the flavor of pure papaya tickled my taste buds.

Price Check: $1.99 for one pack. Great deal to me. The pack looked flat and small but I can easily get three smoothies out of that pack.

Last Word: Finally my Frozen Papaya prayers have been answered! Welcome to the summer of frozen papaya smoothies. Thanks Trader Joe's.

What a beautiful holiday weekend it is going to be. I have had quite the busy week: my husband and I moved into our new apartment in NYC, and we are still unpacking clothes and shoes into little piles and stacks on the floor and into our one telephone booth-sized closet. I'm scratching my head at my new kitchen - the counter is already squished tight with my blender and Super Angel Juicer. Yet amidst the chaos, all I can think about is my blog and making sure you all have a few inspiring vegan spring holiday menu ideas. My menu ideas and my move-in weekend...

Move-In Weekend. Right now, I'm sitting on the floor on a not so cushy makeshift pillow/chair as I type on my Mac - which is perched on a white container store bin. But I'm excited to be swimming in sunlight from one of our many blue-sky-filled windows.

The pro's of this place can easily outweigh the classic NYC apartment con's. I love the sunlight, brick-speckled views and turquoise stone features on the building across the street, the new neighbor birds that sing to me all day and night from our fire-escape, the skylight in our bathroom, the sweet tiny kitchen alcove for a kitchen table (quite a luxury for me), the exposed brick in our bedroom and breathtaking view we have from our bedroom window. Plus, each window has a little white perch for my kitty cat to sit on. She has finally come out of hiding and rolling in a sunbeam right now. These little treasures make me forget about the shoe-box-sized bathroom sink and lack-of-dishwasher.

The Reward: A Good Spring Day.. After all the huffing and puffing up the stairs, lugging bags of stuff. Bruises and backaches. A good day feels almost magical: Stepping outside, my husband's hand in mine, strolling crowded cobblestone streets in springtime, a cool breeze, a million white tree buds in bloom leaving wavy shadows on the twisty streets of downtown, that's my idea of a good day.

And even though I won't be able to fully unpack my kitchen supplies for another few days - I do plan on making a few goodies for a casual Easter evening supper. And I know many of you are having festive vegan (or vegan-friendly) spring holiday dinners, champagne brunches or light garden-side lunches this weekend, so here are a few spring-filled recipe ideas to inspire you...

Vegan Recipes for a Spring-Filled Easter Weekend

Brunch:
Sunny Mushroom Tempeh Bagel, open-faced
Plum and Pluot (or seasonal spring fruit) Parfait
Vegan Tofu Veggie Quiche with herbed crust
Simple Easy Almond-Buttered Toast, a la Jean Georges
Saffron Scented Tofu Scramble with some easy herbed potato hash browns on the side
Paradise Found Fruit Salad

Garden-side Lunch:
Purple Power Antioxidant Fruit Salad
Bulls eye Spiral Wraps with Roasted Red Peppers
Spring Green Fruit Salad
Easy Lemon Two-Bean Salad
Fennel Arugula Citrus Salad
Easy Mango Cream Crusty, open-faced
Avocado Beet Pea Shoot Salad
Vegan Cole Slaw
Crunchy Cool Jicama Salad
Picnic Perfect Chicken-less Salad Sandwich
Spring Supper:
Spicy Sweet Fiddlehead Fern and Chickpea Pasta
Lemon Peppered California Pasta Salad
Zen Green Tofu Salad
Any Salad from my recent Spring Salad Series

Snacks:
Sunny Asparagus Tapenade
Radishes with "Butter"
Sunshine Bruschetta

Sips:
Premium Red Fruity Sangria
Fruity Fizz White Sangria
Half-Frozen Mint Lemon Water

Dessert:
Easter Pastel Swirl Lamb or Layer Cake
Ginger Poppy seed Thyme Tea Cookies
Fresh Fruit Tart with creamy vanilla custard
Zesty Lemon No-Bake Bars

More NYC Vegan Pizza Photos:

Canja Pizza from Viva Herbal:







Mrs. Peel Pizza from Two Boots:

...and lastly, here are a few spots that I have yet to try, but get a lot of buzz..Buzzed Pizza (Kathy's Yet to Try Spots for Vegan Pizza)

Co.
Neighborhood: Chelsea
230 Ninth Ave
New York, NY 10001
(212) 243-1105
www.co-pane.com

Keste Pizza and Vino
Neighborhood: West Village
271 Bleecker St
(between Morton St & Jones St)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-1500
www.kestepizzeria.com

Di Fara Pizza
Neighborhood: Midwood
1424 Ave J
Brooklyn, NY 11230
(718) 258-1367
www.difara.com

Vinnie's
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - North Side
148 Bedford Ave
(between 8th St & 9th St)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 782-7078

Go to Page 1, 2, 3 (here)

Kathy's Top Ten Fave Vegan Pizza Spots: NYC
*ranked list, #1 is the best
Find out the #1 winner below...

10. Piola
Why: I fell in love with Piola while in Washington DC. And this worldwide pizza chain delivers a great pie to both traditional and vegan guests. Vegans, simply order the marinara pizza, add some toppings and enjoy! I also love their bruschetta and salads.
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
48 East 12th Street
(between Broadway & University Pl)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-7781
www.piola.it

9. Lil' Frankies
Why: I discovered Lil Frankies on a late Saturday night. We were pizza-hunting at 1am and heard good things about this spot. Sure enough, late night pizza seekers will be pleased by this super-chill restaurant/bar. Nothing mind-blowing, but a good late night (no cheese for vegans) pie.
Neighborhood: East Village
19 1st Ave
(between 2nd St & Extra Pl)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 420-4900
www.lilfrankies.com

8. John's on Bleeker
Why: Honestly, I wasn't terribly pleased with the service at John's - I got the "no cheese on your pizza?" look from the waiter. However, this place is legendary and is a neighborhood crowd-pleaser for locals and tourists alike. Note, they don't deliver, so you must be ready to sit down or take your pie to-go. I ordered a cheese-free veggie pizza - I was loving the crust and sauce and veggies - so I feel compelled enough to give it a spot on my list. Vegan tourists, feel free to give it a shot if John's is on your foodie-NYC list.
278 Bleeker St
(between 6th and 7th ave)
http://www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/

7. Slice
Why: I love Slice. A lot. They have a ton on vegan and even gluten-free options. They offer Daiya cheese, which is a huge vegan trend lately. I'm not a Slice regular simply because I had one late night pie that was pretty stingy on the toppings and the pizza was kinda toppled around during the delivery process. Plus they are kinda expensive once you add the vegan cheese, special crust, extra toppings etc. Don't get me wrong, I love, and often recommend Slice to vegan pizza lovers - but it will take a great experience next time I go to make me a true regular.
Neighborhood: West Village
535 Hudson St
(between Charles St & 10th St)
Manhattan, NY 10014
(212) 929-2920
*also and UES location
http://www.sliceperfect.com/

6. Otto
Why: Because I adore Mario Batali. Because I love coming here with my stroller-touting sister and her young kids on a weekend afternoon: kid-friendly, yet still chic. Because the experience is gourmet and casual all at once. Because they deliver if need be. Because sometimes I want a simple top-notch cheeseless pie that's light and enjoyable. And because the chewy crisp crust is lovely. Otto is a fun restaurant - and yes the pizza is doable and delicious for the cheese-free crowd.
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
1 5th Ave
(between 8th St & Washington Mews)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 995-9559
www.ottopizzeria.com

5. L'asso
Why: Because sometimes your just not in the mood to wait for a table at Lombardi's - and most of the locals are eating pizza at L'asso anyways - it's one block down Mott street from Lombardi's. They have awesome salads, sangria and the waitstaff is friendly/laid-back. This dimly-lit corner restaurant has a nice chill atmosphere. Super casual. But don't do L'asso for delivery - the thin crust pizza gets a bit soft. Fresh out of the pizza oven it is hot, crisp and pizza perfect. And if you missed it, L'asso did a Throwdown with Bobby Flay...I forget who won, though it was probably Bobby. He always wins!
Neighborhood: Nolita
192 Mott St
(between Kenmare St & Spring St)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 219-2353
www.lassonyc.com

4. Lombardi's
Why: Because everyone, tourist or not, vegan or not, should try Lombardi's at least once. Vegans, get your pizza cheese-free with a plentiful round of various veggie toppings: roasted peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, olives...they have very high quality ingredients. Also order a fresh crisp Italian salad - no cheese, oil/vinegar as dressing. Try the sangria, it is refreshing (and powerful!)
Neighborhood: Nolita
32 Spring St
(between Mott St & Mulberry St)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 941-7994
www.firstpizza.com

3. Two Boots
Why: I love Two Boots! I'm used to simply ordering a cheese-free pie from Two Boots with tons of fresh veggies. Love their spicy herbed sauce and cornmeal-heavy thin crisp crust. And the best news is that they just came out with a vegan whole wheat crust pie: the Mrs Peel! Roasted veggies, breadcrumbs, it's quite tasty. They've mastered delivery - and with so many locations (even some outside NYC) it's a must-try. Note: Two Boots would probably tie for second place with Pala on my list, but because the quality can sometimes vary by hour/day and location, I've stuck it at spot #3. Plus their garden salad needs a makeover.
*multiple locations all over NYC*
http://www.twoboots.com/

Pala Pizza with Daiya Cheese:
2. Pala Pizza
Why: Pala is a funny place. The first time my husband and i attempted ordering from them, we were given a big "you can't change toppings" lecture from the guy on the phone and thus we never ordered from them again - for about a year - even though they were just a few blocks away from us. Then right before we moved, we were sitting on boxes for a week ordering mostly pizza - and decided to give the *banned* Pala another shot. And oh-my-goodness was I pleased with my Daiya cheese, mushroom, fresh basil, garlic pie. The best vegan (with cheese!) pizza I had eaten in a while. I ordered a spelt crust and it bubbled up into chewy, bubbly bliss. Best Daiya cheese pizza I had ever had. They even have vegan desserts and delicious vegan salads. Cool breezy spot to dine-in if you don't mind the noisy traffic and buses of Houston street.
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
198 Allen St.
(between Stanton St & Houston St)
New York, NY 10002
(212) 614-7252
www.palapizza.com

Drumroll please, my number one pick...

Viva Herbal Pizza:




1. Viva Herbal Pizzeria
Why: No Daiya cheese needed for vegan pizza bliss. No "no cheese please" requests will be spoken. No funny looks from the counter guy (just a super friendly and seemingly one-man-show). No boring topping on a sauced pie as the only vegan option. Viva Herbal is vegan pizza on a whole other level compared to the rest of this list. Crust options include spelt, whole wheat, cornmeal and traditional. Topping options include exotic choices like tofu marinated in miso, seitan, hemp seeds, hemp oil, tempeh, shiitake shrooms, maitake shrooms, soy sausage, vegan pesto and more!

But this isn't simply hippie-pizza folks - it's amazing pizza! Flavor-party in your mouth. My favorite pizza ever is the vegan Canja Pizza on a spelt crust: diced onions, tomato and garlic marinated in hemp oil, roasted hempseeds, hempnuts, hemp basil pesto, calamata olives, tempeh, roasted garlic. It's amazing and incredibly unique. I also love the Zen pizza and my husband adores the super spicy Mexicali pizza.

If you are in NYC, Viva Herbal pizza (for a slice or a whole pie) is a must try. And it's even right across the street from another NYC fave of mine: Liquiteria. And bonus: the desserts at Viva are amazing! Not exactly health-food, but the Peanut Butter Pie will give you a "is this really vegan?" moment.

Neighborhood: East Village
179 2nd Ave
(between 11th St & 12th St)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 420-8801

Can't forget this vegan Peanut Butter Pie Dessert at Viva Herbal...

Now check out even MORE PHOTOS of yummy of vegan pizza from Viva Herbal and Two Boots. And my list of buzzed pizza spots I have yet to try...

Go to: Page 1, 2 (here), 3

For as long as I can remember, Easter in my house, meant one thing: Easter Lamb Cake. But what is this, you ask?...

Traditional Lamb Cake. Gooey whipped egg white frosting, smothered over a fluffy, dense pastel swirled cake (with 4-5 eggs in the batter, colored by store-bought artificial food coloring) all covered in sweetened coconut flakes and date "eyes and nose" to complete the lamb look. Then a nice pile of fake green grass and homemade dyed Easter eggs around the cake platter edge. I dreamed about this cake for months before Easter. Better than a chocolate egg.

But then I grew up. Changed my lifestyle. Went vegan. Only one thing to do: Veganize my Lamb Cake...

...Easier said than done, but with a little trial-and-error I've come to a yummy conclusion. I've posted my frosting recipe here - and part two: the batter and set-up. Onto the new and improved vegan recipe...

Frosting 2010:

Easter Cake 2010. I knew my biggest challenge would be that gosh darn perfect egg white frosting. Here are a few of the other "vegan substitutions" I had to consider:

egg white frosting -> Shiny Cream Cheese Whipped Vanilla Frosting, using agar agar, vegan cream cheese, vegan shortening, rice whip and soy milk. (See Frosting Post for Complete Recipe)

dates -> vegan, yay.

artificial food coloring -> natural homemade food colorings from fruit/veggies

sweetened coconut -> unsweetened fine coconut shreds, organic

white flour, bleached -> I chose a Bob's Red Mill unbleached organic white flour

white sugar -> chose a vegan, evaporated cane juice crystals, sugar

eggs in cake -> combo of applesauce and soy yogurt and baking powder

butter in cake -> chose virgin coconut oil (or canola oil)

The one thing I couldn't veganize...

I knew I would never be able to get my cake to rise the way that 4-5 egg lamb cake used to! So I decided to nix the one-side filled cake mold, and I simply filled both halves of the lamb cake mold with batter. I then secured the cake with toothpicks. You can use toothpicks or leftover frosting. Worked well.

Also, yes I know I arranged the date "eyes and nose" in more of a "looks like a dog" way. But if you angle the date nose vertically - you'll get a more "Lamb" look. I'll admit it - I was rushing a bit. But the taste saved the day..

Color. Yes, the colors fade a bit during cooking - but I was very happy with the results...
Color of cake after baking:
Onto the recipe...

Spring Swirl Vanilla Cake
vegan

3 cups white flour
*I used Bob's Red Mill unbleached, organic
1 cup vegan granulated sugar
2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ cup water
1 cup soy milk
2 tablespoon canola oil or softened virgin coconut oil
3 tablespoon vanilla soy yogurt
½ cup applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract OR real vanilla bean seeds (1 bean)
food coloring:
green: kale, juiced
pink: red currents, blended into batter
*food coloring recipes here

Other:
1- 1 ½ cups of White Fluffy Frosting (Recipe here)
1 cup shredded coconut
3 dates
"green grass" garnish

Directions:

1. Tend to the frosting. See details in frosting recipe post.

2. Preheat oven to 375. Grab lamb cake molds. Note: You can also make a regular two-layer cake or use another cake mold with this recipe. Grease and flour the cake tins very well. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, baking powder. Mix well.

4. Fold in water, soy milk, yogurt, applesauce, oil and vanilla extract or seeds. Pour 1 cup of the batter into a separate small bowl, and another cup into another small bowl. Add 1-3 teaspoon of veg/fruit food colorings to the small bowls (one pink, one green) Stir until well colored.

5. Grab your molds and pour the white batter (big bowl) into the cake pans - about ½-3/4 full. note: the tin comes with a vent hole on one side - I covered it with a secure piece of tin foil.

Lamb Cake Tin:
6. Next swirl in a few tablespoon of each color into the cake pan until you get a nice swirled cake color.

7. Place pans in oven, and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

8. Remove cake and allow to cool fully until you remove cake from pans. Loosen with knife.

9. While cakes cool, grab your chilled/firmed frosting, fold in whipped rice cream (as in frosting directions) until you get a white fluffy mixture. You can even use more rice whip than recipe calls for, for a fluffier, softer frosting.

10. Set up lamb cake molds. You can use toothpicks OR frosting to secure two sides of mold.

11. Frost your cake.

12. Add coconut "fur".

13. Add date eyes and nose, secure with toothpicks.

14. Add grass garnish.

15. Serve or store in fridge (wrapped in plastic or wax paper) until ready to serve.

16. Serve at room temperature-slightly chilled temp.

17. Will keep in fridge for a few days.

Taste Test!

Just for you guys, a stroll down memory lane...

Moi, Being a 15 year-old Goofball on Cake Frosting Day:
Me and my Lamb Cake. Circa 1996. My sister snapped this goofy pic of me smiling silly - frosting face and all. Like I said, I loved that gooey luscious egg white frosting. And as you can see, most of the frosting got on my face and in my mouth rather than on the lamb. ha ha. good times. I was a freshman in high school, yet still a cake-loving kid. Enough self-embarrassment!

For Part One of my Easter Lamb Cake Post, I want to share with you my Fluffy White Cream Cheese Agar Whipped Vanilla Frosting. I just call it my Perfect White Fluffy Frosting.

I had the challenge of "veganizing" my mom's famous egg white vanilla frosting recipe. After several frosting-experimentation days, I finally came to an end result that I love. While this doesn't replicate egg white frosting - for the purpose of my Easter Lamb Cake, it's sweet perfection. All the components are there: white, shiny, fluffy, sweet, creamy, spreadable. It's great for any layer cake, cupcakes or frosted sweet loaf too. Get my recipe...

My Easter Lamb Cake batter recipe will be posted later today - but to get you started (and excited), here's the frosting...

Lot's of experimentation went into this frosting. I was thrilled to be able to add in some Agar Agar. And to get the creamy whipped texture I craved, I folded-in some store-bought Rice Whip.

Rice Whip, vegan (fold-in):

Chilled Frosting, Before Folding in Rice Whip:

Frosting my Lamb Cake:

Creamy, Fluffy, Sweet, Decadent, Vegan:

Products, Products to Experiment:

Agar Whipped White Cream Cheese Frosting
vegan

1 tablespoon agar agar
¾ cup soy milk
6 tablespoon vegan shortening + 1 teaspoon salt
OR 6 tablespoon vegan buttery spread (omit salt)
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
8 ounces vegan cream cheese
2 tablespoon arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
Fold-in: 2 cups rice whip (in spray can)

Directions:

1. Frosting: Sift together powdered sugar and arrowroot or cornstarch. (salt if needed) Set aside.

2. In a soup pot, heat soy milk over med-high heat. Dissolve agar agar into soy milk.

3. Add shortening or buttery spread. Stir until melted. Reduce heat to low and stir/melt-in cream cheese.

4. Next, stir in half of your powdered sugar portion. When dissolved (a few lumps OK), remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

5. Then transfer to blender (or use immersion blender). Blend in remaining powdered sugar.

6. Quickly transfer to a large mixing bowl and place in fridge to chill.

Chilled, pre-rice whip frosting:
7. Prepare cake as directed. While cakes cool, grab your chilled/firmed frosting, fold in whipped rice cream until you get a white fluffy mixture. note: You can even use more rice whip than recipe calls for, for a fluffier, softer frosting.

Fold-in the Rice Whip:
8. Frost chilled cake.

Note: You can also make this frosting a day ahead of time, although I advise folding in the rice whip right before you do the spreading of frosting on the cake.

Stay tuned for the cake recipe....

Have you had your "Me Time" today? Probably not, considering your busy busy day, right? Well I am ordering you to take a few minutes for *you* tonight, or perhaps tomorrow. Plan for it. Get excited about it. Close the door, close your eyes and indulge yourself in... you.
Here are ten ways I love to get my "me time"...

I'm so envious of my kitty. She seems to live her life in *me time*. Humans seem to live their lives in *other people time*. Especially busy working moms who live in *my kids* and *my job* time and probably try to squeeze in some *my husband* time. And maybe at the end of the day, squeeze in just a few seconds of *me time*....until someone calls your name or buzzes your cell.

So no matter what your lifestyle, it's good to find a balance of *me* and *not me* time. Unless you are a cat, and then you can pretty much enjoy your *me life*.

10 Ways for ME Time

1. Book Time.
Whether it's curling up with a sassy fiction novel, a talked about nonfiction like JSF's Eating Animals or even a few flips of a vintage childhood Garfield book, I adore curling up with a book. Now should I curl up with an iPad is the question... Hmm.

2. Breathing Time.
Conscious breathing is a task many of us skip. But if you take a few moments to meditate on each breath you take - you'll probably feel a sense of calm that you've been missing all day. And here's a tip: once in a while when you work out, nix the iPod and simply focus on listening to your deep heavy breath as you exercise.

3. Smoothie Time.
Blend up a smoothie, curl up in a chair and just sip. Slurp. Taste. And here are 20 smoothie tips to blend like a pro.

4. Skin Brush Time.
Detox your skin by skin brushing. Yes it takes an extra 2-5 minutes before your bath or shower, but it is a nice quiet time to take some extra care to nurture your skin and entire body.

5. Hot Yoga Time.
If you have a few hours to spare - lucky you. Why not attend a Hot Yoga class. Do some research and discover if Hot Yoga is for you. I love it!

6. Long Lunchbreak (Detour) Time.
OK, so many of us don't have the luxury of popping uptown to a free lunchtime theater session, like I did a few times in NYC. But there are lots of ways to *get away* on your long lunch break. Not an everyday activity, but a special once in a while activity that you'll learn to crave. Me time in the afternoon...

7. Kitchen Made Bubble Bath Time.
Here are my fave kitchen-made bubble bath recipes. Having a long bubble bath at the end of the day is a *me time* ritual we can all embrace. Unless you live in a tiny NYC apartment and don't have a tub. Bubble shower? Steam shower! Steam room? Take a spa day in your bathroom, your body and stress levels will thank you.

8. Spring Cleaning Time.
OK, OK, so there are a lot of you who don't have time for inefficient *me time* right? Well here ya go! Get some cleaning done, while also getting some zen-ful time to organize your life. Once your cleaning is done, you may find that *me time* comes a bit easier. Here are 5 reasons why spring cleaning may be worth your energy and time.

9. Focus on Color Time.
This is fun. Take a tiny *me break* and focus on color! Choose the color that you crave in your life: creativity or focus....learn more.

10. Wellness Travel Time
For the ultimate *me time* try planning a wellness vacation. And even if you can't truly get away, it's still fun to peruse a few wellness destinations. There's always daydreaming... Ten Wellness Travel Destinations.

Those are my ideas and fave ways to take a break, but how do you like to get your *me time*?

I was excited when I found out that Le Pain Quotidien's new spring menu included a vegan Curried Tofu and Pineapple Tartine, aka open faced sandwich. A spicy cranberry chutney on the side, organic flax and pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top. I'll admit I was not convinced that the combo of pineapple and curried tofu would be a winner. Check out my taste test...
Le Pain Lunch to-go:
I love wandering into Le Pain for a quick bite. Maybe a vegan blueberry muffin. Perhaps a soy latte. Soy chai. A steamy vegan mushroom or other veggie soup of the day. Or maybe some of that delicious vegan Harvest Porridge (farro, nuts, cranberries and almond milk) I love so much. I adore Le Pain for it's wide variety of vegan and non vegan options. It's a crowd-pleaser for me and my family. Onto my taste test review and more of my photos...

Taste Test: Le Pain's Vegan Curried Tofu and Pineapple Tartine
with flax and pumpkin seeds, on spelt bread

Looks divine. Lots of chives, radish, cucumber and baby lettuce speckled throughout.

It comes with some sort of spiced cranberry/raisin chutney. I'm not really into Indian food (chutney's and curries) as much as some of my friends, but this was delightful and light. Perfect protein-packed lunch.

Taste Test:

The chutney is amazing. Love that stuff. Cinnamon, spices and cranberries. A little bite of heat too.

The curried tofu was very light and creamy. I liked the subtle curry flavor. I probably would've added a bit more salt to the tofu, but I guess if you are dining at Le Pain - they always have those big pepper and salt grinders at each table to add your own. So for my taste buds, I'd add a big grind of pepper and a little grind of salt - but the flavor and texture for a chilled tofu curry is impressive.

The pineapple was super fresh, firm and chunky. I was so glad they weren't little mushy clumps or anything that seemed canned. No way. They tasted fresh-chopped to me. I'm guessing they are..?

The spelt bread was brilliantly fabulous as always.

I would've liked more organic flax and pumpkin seeds on my tartine! It was such a small sprinkle I could barely find the flax seeds. More seeds please! Since the seeds made the 'menu description' I'd like to see a lot more of them on the tartine. Love the seed-ingredient addition to this seasonal menu item.

And the to-go package is good if you are on the go - however, I always advise eating at Le Pain because it's such a nice modern, calm space. ..Except during weekend brunch-hours. The noise level can get pretty intense! Especially at their NYC locations. I like the energy though...

Last Word: I really like it! I don't really crave tofu for lunch all that often, but I would buy this for lunch again and again. That says a lot! Something about this is just so light and balanced. The acid from the pineapple, the sweetness from the chutney and pineaple, the spice from the chutney and radishes, the softness of the mellow curry and the light crunch of the spelt bread crust and cool cucumbers. Plus those fabbo organic flax and pumpkin seeds - more seeds please.

Yum.

chutney:
Yellow Pineapple, Yellow Tofu:
to-go box:
Stay connected with Le Pain:
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Le-Pain-Quotidien-USA/245974547029
Website: http://www.lepainquotidien.com/
Twitter: @lePainQuotidien

..or just read my blog - I comment on their #vegan products quite often!

Yay, we've made it all the way to the end of my Salad Tour Series. I've had so much fun crafting yummy bowls of colorful goodies for you these past few weeks. And to close this series with a big crunch, I've crafted my Big Kahuna Hawaiian Salad with Pineapple Tahini Dressing. Big Island, here we come!...

Hula skirt? Check.
Ukulele? Check.
Candy-colored sunset? Check.
Crashing waves and pure white sand? Check.
Tropical breeze? Check.
Mai Tai? Check.
Perfect Hawaiian Salad? Let's get to it...

It's a Luau in a Bowl:


Pineapple Tahini Dressing:


Macadamia Nuts are a Tropical Delicacy! Tip: try macadamia nut oil for a real treat...Big Kahuna Hawaiian Salad
vegan, serves 2

2 cups frisee, finely chopped
2 cups baby lettuce mix or baby spinach (any fave leafy green will work)
1 cup chopped pineapple
1 cup chopped papaya
¾ cup roasted/salted macadamia nuts
handful of plantain chips
fresh black pepper
optional: coconut flakes, roasted corn, spicy tempeh cubes

*use fresh pineapple and papaya. Chop and store the leftovers for a tropical fruit salad the next morning.

Pineapple Tahini Dressing

1 ½ tablespoon tahini sauce
2 teaspoon Grade B maple syrup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon pineapple juice
pepper

Directions:

1. Whisk together the dressing. Set aside.

2. Prep your fruit by chopping up your papaya and pineapple. Store the leftovers.

3. Finely chop your frisee. Place in bowl. Add baby lettuce.

4. Toss lettuce gently with 1-2 tablespoon of dressing.

5. Portion salad into two bowls.

6. Add pineapple and papaya on top of lettuce.

7. Add macadamia nuts.

8. Place plantain chips around edges of bowls.

9. Drizzle additional dressing on top and add fresh black pepper to taste.

Serve! Aloha! Don Ho music optional...

Dive into yummy salad:

In a few days, I'll be posting my recipe for my Easter Spring Swirl Lamb Cake. I "veganized" the recipe from my childhood by nixing the animal products. But instead of using store bought artificial food colorings like we did growing up, I wanted to use the magic of nature to create beautiful pastel all-natural food colors to swirl into my cake batter. Here are a few of my homemade food colors that you can use in just about any baked good recipe: cakes, cookies, pancakes, muffins. Natural Homemade Food Coloring Ideas...

I was at Whole Foods, excited to gather ingredients for my veganized Swirled Easter Lamb Cake. I grabbed a box of the only liquid food coloring that I could find at Whole Foods. I wanted pink and green dyed cake - and fast! The brand I found had lovely natural ingredients and I had heard good things about these dyes, but I knew I was being lazy (I could easily make pink and green myself).

Then I looked at the price tag. Over $16 for cake dye? I guess these were long-lasting "investment" bottles. Hmm, not into that kind of commitment today. I put them back. But that was OK, because I knew I could get beautiful pastel pink and green batter by using my own natural food coloring recipes...

For my cake I needed green and pink.

Green: kale juice extracted from my juicer. I only needed about 2 teaspoon of kale juice to get a very rich pastel green color.
Pink: I actually took a handful of red currents and blended them in a blender with the white batter. The batter turned pastel pink and gave the batter a sweet tart hint of flavor I loved.I used my juicer to extract dark rich "food colors":
My Pink Red Current Coloring:
*More about my juicer here*
*Juicing 101 and Buying Guide Post Here*
My end result cake (before swirling colors together):
And there are plenty of options for fruit/veg/spice powder food colors...

Juicing "Green":
Process: I used my juicer. This is the easiest way of extracting a thin juice color. You can also boil your ingredients in very shallow water and use the strained colored water from that. Or you can smash soft fruits/veggies and strain the juice away from the pulp.

*You can also blend berries directly into your batter - like i did with my red current "pink" batter. Just be sure to account for them in the recipe and make alterations if needed.

Just a few teaspoons of green kale juice is enough to pastel-green dye your bowl of batter:
Fruits n Veggies n Spices to Use for Natural Food Colorings:

Green:
Juiced: kale, parsley, spinach, romaine, cucumber, bell pepper, watercress....
Boiled green veggies, using the water/juice will give you a much lighter green color

Pink/Red/Magenta:
Juiced berries
Juiced cranberries
Juiced beets
Juiced red pepper
Juiced tomato, choose dark red tomatoes
rhubarb juiced or boiled
pomegranate juice
chile powder or paprika powder

Purple/Blue:
juiced blueberries
juiced or boiled red cabbage
juiced radicchio
juiced eggplant skin
frozen, fresh or juiced blackberries
acai juice
juiced(or smashed and strained) black/purple grapes

Yellow/Orange:
Juiced yellow beets
juiced yellow bell pepper
boiled yellow beets (lighter color)
juiced pineapple
juiced carrots
tumeric powder
warm-water soaked/bloomed saffron

Brown:
coffee powder
cocoa powder

What to look for in fruit/veggies:

Choose produce that is dark and concentrated in color. For example, choose dark kale as opposed to light kale. Choose dark-skinned grapes as opposed to light-skinned/translucent grapes. The bright beautiful colors will come from the rich pigments in the produce skin and flesh.

You also want to choose fruits and veggies that are known for staining. Think of all the clothes and hand stains you've had from produce: grape juice, tomato sauce, beet juice stained hands. Those "staining" fruits and veggies are perfect for this purpose!

Vinegar? Some natural food coloring recipes call for adding vinegar to your recipe. I personally just use the juice as is, but you can experiment with what works best for you and your specific recipe.

But Won't this Change the Flavor of my Recipe? Good question, but surprisingly, these small hints of food "dye" do not change the flavor of a large batch of batter all that much. My "kale" stained batter did have a slight savory-grassy hint to it, but it was nothing to change the true flavor of my cake. And my "pink" batter did have a slight sweet-tart flavor, but I think this was because I blended in whole red currents instead of juicing them to extract the color.

My answer is no, if your extracts are concentrated enough, you will only need a tiny bit - and the flavor impact will be minimal. And a little beet or kale juice in a colorful cake never hurt anyone anyways!

Good Luck and Happy Colors!

FYI on Easter Eggs. I know a lot of you are vegetarian or flexitarian's and may still be into Easter Egg dying - well FYI, you can probably choose these all natural colors in place of the fake stuff.

Color your cakes with veggies!:

Here are a few more pics. Sorry for the poor photo quality on these pics - I was using my cell phone camera in my very busy messy kitchen. ;)...

"Have you tried Gardein?" She said with big eyes.
"No." I said.
"Oh my gosh, you have to try them!" She grabbed my arm as if this were a life or death situation.
I pulled back, "I'm not a big fan of the fake meat products." I said. Even though I knew very well that I had 2 boxes of Trader Joe's vegan soy nuggets (obvious "chicken nugget" impersonators) at home in my freezer. I ate them, but unenthusiastically at best. Veg-meat just wasn't my thing.

But a lot has changed in the past few years, as veg-meat products are better than ever. And with every food I add to my diet, the questioning begins: Are vegan fake meat products defeating or defending the point of a vegan or vegetarian diet? Let's discuss. (This is a long post, but a worthy conversation to begin)..

A while back, a non-vegan friend asked me, "What's the point of fake meat? I tried it and it doesn't taste like meat. It's awful in fact." I'd sit there with a blank look on my face. I kinda agreed. The "fake meat products" from say, five-ten years ago, kinda sucked.

Vegan Fake Meat 2010. But now, in the past year even, vegan "meat" protein products have evolved into high-quality-ingredient taste-bud bliss. There's the Field Roast Grain Meat Co. sausages. It's a safe bet that I have a pile of the Spicy Chipotle flavor in my fridge on any given day. And now Gardein has an entire shopping-cart-overflowing line of fake meat products that are 100% vegan and filled with more than just soy protein, water and flavoring. Gardein uses soy, wheat and pea proteins as well as 'ancient grains' that include quinoa and kamut. All non-GMO, aka 'identity-preserved' soy protein.

I'm kinda in love with Gardein products right now. And I'm not alone. Everyone from Oprah, Ellen and even TMZ's Harvey Levin are tweeting and chatting about them. Even I was skeptical, but my view of fake meat changed when I bit into my first Gardein vegan Classic Buffalo Wing. The Gardein chick'n products look like real chicken, and maybe, taste like it. But you know what they say about "tastes like chicken". Lots of things do! So really, does chicken really taste like chicken?

Frozen Gardein Products:
Chick'n vs. Chicken Taste. In Jonathan Saffron Foer's "Eating Animals" book, he reminds us that most of what we know as the "chicken taste" isn't actually the taste of chicken flesh. Most meat products are injected with so much water, flavored "broths" and other "salty flavors" as JSF says, that what we call a 'chicken' taste may actually be due to the flavors that are injected into the meat.

(JSF quotes one Consumer Reports study finding that "chicken and turkey may be ballooned with 10 to 30 percent of their weight as broth, flavoring or water." -page 131)

And that flavor may be more than you bargained for. Why? Well the chicken is infused with (and I'm guessing flavor influenced by) what JSF calls, "fecal soup".

Infused Chicken. Let's get real for just a few paragraphs. On pages 130-31 of "Eating Animals" JSF references how the slaughtered chickens get dunked into a common tank of cold chill water (instead of air chilling). The liquid is basically filled with "filth and bacteria" and nicknamed "fecal soup". The contaminated liquid is absorbed into the chicken and thus, fecal soup flavoring ensues. 11% of the liquid is allowed in each chicken by USDA, United States Department of Agriculture, laws. Hmm, natural flavoring I guess.

Not fun stuff to think about if you're not vegetarian, right? Did I gross you out yet? I hope not. Keep reading. No more nasty images, I promise. Well OK, there's a few in the next paragraph, but after that I'm done.

Tastes Like Chick'n. I still faintly remember the taste of chicken from my childhood. It wasn't a bad taste. It was good in fact. But it was the little surprises that came with my meat that sent my mind spinning. The strange blue veins I'd find in my chicken breast, the odd fat clumps in my chicken nuggets, the overly fatty chewy chunk of my steak and the blueish black flesh marbling in my chicken soup chicken. Dark meat. White meat. Veins. Translucent valves, skins and wriggly things in and on my meat. By the age of twelve I was pretty much suspect to wondering: what am I eating? And why did I just pull a vein out of my sandwich?

Sorry, more gross imagery I know. But that's the truth. My important point is this: I didn't stop eating meat because of the taste. I stopped because of the questions. I had a lot of questions, and gosh darn it my pre-teen mind just couldn't eat pepperoni pizza with wondering what part of what animal that pepperoni came from. And really, eggs, what are they anyways mom and dad? So, ham and eggs is really what...huh? Yuck. Whiny adolescent voice, "My food, answers, please!"

OK, No more vein imagery. I promise.

Let's look at both sides of this "fake meat" issue. Is it defending or defeating the point of veganism and an animal-cruelty free lifestyle?

Defending the Point. So on some level, I think vegan fake meat products (even those called chik'n and beefless) are defending the point of veganism. True, they taste somewhat similar to the meat products they are impersonating. And most of the look spot on: vegan sausage and chick'n patties are pretty much the Madame Tussauds of the real-thing meat products. So the new "fake meat" is living up to it's name. Although with vegan meats: the saturated fat, hormones, preservatives, antibiotics (and cruelty) are missing from each bite. Bravo. Vegan diet success: amazing taste, better nutrition (and planet-friendly) facts.

Case #1: My Guy. My non-vegan husband adores Gardein products: the spicy Classic Buffalo Wings, Chick'n Filets, the Beefless Tips and Grain Crispy Tenders are his faves. He could probably live off of these for the rest of his life, in place of meat, if he had to. But for him, like most "sometimes vegans" it's really a matter of vegan food vs. temptation and convenience and real life.

(UPDATED: I actually had a whole paragraph in here about how my husband loves fake meat products since he sometimes eats meat. HA! It's now 2019 and my husband hasn't eaten meat in about seven years. He still eats fish, but that's it. Vegan otherwise. Some call that Veganfish... Anyways, maybe Gardein was in fact a good bridge "meat" towards him making that full transition. Pretty cool to see how far some people can come in just a few years.) Another case for being PRO-fake meat products I think.)

Gardein Buffalo Wings, in package:

Cooked Buffalo Wings:
Boys will Eat like Boys? A guy Chef friend of mine recently Facebook statused "I just finished eating a super manly pizza!" Later he said it was filled with pepperoni and sausage. I had to roll my eyes. Why is meat considered manly? Are "fake meat" products manly enough for you men out there? Or will boys simply always eat like boys? Is a steak, aka dead flesh of a cow, really all that manly anyways? Isn't eating heart-healthy, body-healthy and soul-healthy vegan food from whole grains, veggies and fruit the most sexy, manly thing ever?? I think so, but that's just me.

One downside to Gardein products in particular, is that they are quite expensive! I have gotten quite used to buying my $2 tempeh bars, $2 tofu blocks, $1 cans of beans, $2 bags of grains and such. Those proteins can fill an entire dinner for mere dollars. One pack of Gardein fake meat can cost anywhere from $4-$6 (my Whole Foods sells most Gardein products for $4.69).

That's cutting into my fruit and veggie dollars quite substantially. And I can easily get that same concentrated protein by eating whole foods: fruits, veggies, legumes and whole grains. So really, is the fake meat stuff just defeating the point of veganism??...

Defeating the Point. I'm vegan. I don't eat meat. Every person I tell this to looks at me in an intrigued manner and I hope they question it, think about it and look at their own dinner in a different light - especially once they hear my story and about the foods I eat.

"Ooh, what is that you have there for lunch Kathy?" a co-worker once said.
"Um, a quinoa salad over arugula and mache leaves - with tempeh cubes and roasted red pepper dressing. Raw cashews too. Coconut water to drink. Oh and some sprouted grain bread with Vegenaise." I replied. They looked at me dumbfounded. And the questions came hailing down on me like spring rain showers in April:

"What's quinoa?"
"What's Vegenaise?"
"What's sprouted grain bread?"
"Did you make that yourself"
"What's coconut water?"
"What's tempeh?"
"What's arugula? Why is that better than lettuce?"
"Is that healthy?"
"What's the recipe?"
"Why raw cashews instead of roasted and salted?"

And so the conversation starts. I like that.

Now lets say I answer the "What's for lunch" question by saying, "Oh I have some Beefless Tips in my salad or a Crispy Tenders sandwich." Then do I say, "It's fake meat."

Fake meat? Why would a vegan want fake meat? Doesn't that defend the taste and usability factors of real meat and the entire factory farming industry? Doesn't that make the meat-eaters out there laugh at us and chuckle at their steak house dinners and say, "Haha have you heard of those poor vegans eating fake beef tips?! Why don't they just eat beef like the rest of us!? Crazy vegans"

OK, so I'm totally stereotyping the average meat-eater. But I just want to consider the mixed message that "fake meat" is sending to the world. Why does Gardein have to call them "Beefless Tips" and not "Purple-Blackish Soy Grain Pea Nuggets" or something. I'll tell you why: sales and marketing.

Most mainstream home-chefs wouldn't know what to do with a soy-grain-pea patty or quinoa nugget. But they sure know what to do with Crispy Tenders and Beefless Tips. So is Gardein simply marketing to the non-vegans out there? The vegan newbies as I like to call them? Maybe. But in my house, when I scream out to my husband, "Do you want some (Gardein) "Beefless Tips" tonight?" I get a strange shudder in my chest, it's the word beef that confuses my ears. I can't be alone.

Gardein: Guy Approved. Husband Approved. Kid Approved? Maybe..

Case #2: My Nephew. My 4 year-old nephew, a newbie of vegan foods, loves tofu. But only if it's not mushy. The firm stuff. His mom recently gave up dairy and is trying to explore more vegan meals. Hallelujah. My nephew doesn't know much about the foods he is eating yet, but definitely knows what he likes and dislikes. Chicken nuggets: loves. So what about fake chicken nuggets? He'll eat both vegan chick'n and real chicken nuggets - but either way he'll call them "chicken nuggets". Glad he is eating vegan - but is the message going through? Are we sending mixed messages to kids, if you don't explain the difference between real meat and fake 'meat'? Or will all this simply wait until later on in life?

Fake meat, aka Gardein, aka Field Grain Meat Co. - I'm so in love, and kinda conflicted.

Pros
It's delicious.
It's easy.
It appeals to my non-vegan family and friends.
It's healthy.
It's delicious.
It's versatile.
Yum, Gardein spicy Buffalo Wings.
Its cruelty free, even if it has a confusing title.

Cons
It's expensive for vegan food.
I hate saying that I'm eating "chick'n and beefless" - even if it's vegan.
It confuses the public conversation about "meat".
It sends mixed messages about what vegans really want to eat (meat or cruelty free vegan food?)
It sends mixed messages about protein. Because, FYI, you can absolutely easily get enough protein from whole foods: grains, legumes, fruit and veggies.
It cuts into my fruit/veg/grain whole foods quota of my day's calories and shopping bill.
It is processed whole vegan foods as opposed to whole vegan foods.
It can become addicting. Encourages chefs to be lazy about exploring whole food-based vegan recipes, made from scratch.

What do you think? And how does this carry over to other fake food products like vegan cheese and vegan milk?

Are vegans just a bunch of sad copycats eating imitation, wannabe foods?

Of course not. I obviously don't think that at all. I love my vegan lifestyle. I eat the healthiest, life-affirming, feel-good foods on the planet.

But wait is soymilk simply fake milk? I don't think so. Isn't soymilk just "milk" from made from soybeans?

What about vegan cheese? Is it "fake" cheese? Is it defeating or defending the point of vegan food, for the same reasons as fake meat products?..

Defeating: takes away the point of eating non-animal product whole foods.
Defending: Proves that you don't need animal products to eat the many types of foods we love and use in recipes we have eaten everyday for hundreds of years. Recipes like pizza, hamburgers, milkshakes, fries, creamy soups, salads, beverages and more. All can now be "veganized" to some extent. Right? Defends a vegan lifestyle, right?

I'd love to hear what you think (vegans, newbies and non-vegans). Where do you stand on the "fake meat" "wannabe vegan foods" issue.

My final words: Right now, I really do love my vegan sausages, vegan cheese and vegan Buffalo Wings products. I crave them! If I'm out - you can find me at Whole Foods re-stocking my fridge. But I still think twice about the big picture of "fake meat".

I grew up in California with a fig tree, plum tree, apple tree, cherry tree, olive tree and apricot tree in my backyard. Nothing tasted better than the fruit off those trees. Picked by hand. I'd eye a tiny green plum and watch it for weeks and weeks until it was ripe black purple. Juicy and plump. Our special plum tree was a goldmine of plums. My favorite kind of gold: fruit. Although I'm an NYC-er these days, I still miss my fruit-filled backyard and those tall swanky trees that I loved so much. My favorite spot to sit and think: a perfect little perch in my fig tree out back.

To bring me back to those innocent childhood days in the sun, I crafted my California Backyard Salad with Zesty Fig Dressing. California flavors galore: sunflower seeds, almonds, avocado, figs, plums and lemon. Dive into sunshine and get a taste of my childhood...

California in a bowl:
Avocados galore:

Sunny sunflowers seeds and almonds:
Zesty Fig Dressing:
California Backyard Salad
serves 2

6 cups baby lettuce blend
1 ripe purple plum
1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoon almonds
3 tablespoon sunflower seeds
optional "cali" add-in's: artichoke hearts, diced tomato, sliced apples, walnuts.

Zesty Fig Dressing

1 part maple or agave syrup
1 part lemon juice and a few thin slices
1 part apple cider vinegar
1 part whole grain mustard
2 parts EVOO
black pepper
6 figs, sliced

Directions:

1. Whisk dressing together.

2. Place salad greens in serving bowls. Drizzle with a bit of dressing - be sure to get those figs to fall into your salad. (You can also toss greens with dressing separately.)

Dressing:
3. Prep veg/fruit: slice plum, dice avocado.

4. Sprinkle sunflower seeds and almonds over greens.

5. Add avocado cubes and plum slices.

6. Drizzle with more dressing.

serve!

Who doesn't love these first few pure days of spring? They are simply the best! Our cold and weary bodies see sunlight beaming from a clear blue sky and we are filled with glee. And spring means blooms. Blossoms. Fleurs. Flowers. Petals. And fruit. One of my favorite rituals of spring is when the cherry blossoms bloom in Washington DC. Perfect bright pink petals that bloom from spring green buds - they come and go in a matter of weeks - sometimes days. Fleeting beauty.

My Spring Cherry Blossom Salad celebrates those blooms. I've added a sprinkle of spring green pistachio nuts against a background of dark pink beets, sweet dried bing cherries and bright red roasted bell peppers. Top it off with a creamy spicy Dijon Dressing and a few triangles of sprouted grain toast on the side for a fleur-fect spring salad. Recipe...

Cherry Blossoms:

Red and Pink Cherries and Beets and Peppers, oh my:

Creamy Dijon Dressing:

Spring Cherry Blossom Salad with Creamy Dijon Dressing
serves 2

6 cups fresh arugula greens
1 cup roasted mini beets
*I bought Trader Joe's roasted beets, easy!
½ cup raw shelled pistachios
¼ cup roasted red bell peppers, sliced
½ cup dried bing cherries
2 slices sprouted grain bread, toasted and triangled
optional: sliced sweet onion rings
garnish: drizzle of chile-infused EVOO

Dijon Dressing

2 parts Dijon mustard
1 part Vegenaise
½ part EVOO
2 parts apple cider vinegar
1 part lemon juice (opt'l for extra zestiness)
1 part maple syrup
black pepper

1 part = 1 tablespoon for this 2 person recipe

Directions:

1. Whisk together the dressing. Set aside.

2. Prep the veggies: slice beets, peppers. Gather ingredients.

3. Lay a nice handful of arugula on plate. Drizzle some dressing over top (you can also toss arugula with dressing in a separate bowl.)

4. Add the beets in a circle around the plate.

5. Sprinkle pistachios and bing cherries over top. (you can slice the cherries if you'd like - or even marinate them in a bit of fresh orange juice for a few minutes to hydrate them)

6. Delicately plop a handful of red pepper slices on top.

7. Toast your bread and slice into triangles - add 4 triangles to plate.

8. More dressing over top. Black pepper and chile oil.

9. Serve!

Continuing my Salad Tour Series, I put a fusion-style Asian spin on this salad recipe: my Asian Noodle Salad with Sticky Ginger Tofu Cubes. This recipe is swift to prepare and quite a filling bowl of yumminess.

Bowl-ing for Nutrients. This salad is packed with protein from the tofu and edamame. Plus it's loaded with antioxidants from the spinach greens and fresh cilantro. And don't forget the nice handful of sliced shiitake mushrooms and Maifun rice noodles - they are lots of fun! I've even thrown in a creamy-sweet wasabi dressing recipe. Add more wasabi and fresh ginger to everything for an extra spicy kick to the flavors. I am in love with this light, cool noodle salad recipe. Try it!...

Why is it Sticky Tofu?The Sticky Ginger Tofu Cubes are a lot of fun. I add in agave syrup (just a bit), and a nice drizzle of the leftover mandarin orange juice from the can (which contains sweet fruit juice and sugar). Then I add in some grated ginger during the tofu saute. The sugar from the agave and mandarin juice caramalizes the ginger and the edges of the tofu and makes a sticky sweet crust for the tofu cubes.

Sticky Ginger Tofu:

Maifun Noodles:
Asian Noodle Salad with Sticky Ginger Tofu Cubes

Cold Maifun Noodle Salad
½ box (4 oz.) Maifun Rice Noodles
*I used Annie Chun's brand
1 packet miso soup mix
¼ cup liquid aminos "soy sauce"
OR 2 tablespoon traditional soy sauce
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 ½ cups edamame beans, frozen (heat in microwave or stove top)
¾ cup fresh bean sprouts
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup raw or roasted cashews
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chili oil
black pepper
optional: 1 lime juiced and tossed with noodles

Sticky Ginger Tofu
12 ounces extra firm tofu, cubed
1 teaspoon EVOO
¼ cup liquid aminos
OR 2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon agave syrup
¼ cup mandarin oranges canned juice
1 teaspoon chili oil

Other
4 cups spinach
wasabi rice crackers
wasabi-Vegenaise dressing
1 can mandarin oranges, drained (save the juice for tofu)

Wasabi Dressing
2 parts Vegenaise
1 part agave syrup
1 part soy sauce
1 part mandarin juice
½ part wasabi powder (more wasabi, more heat)
grated ginger - a touch
pepper
grated carrot, opt'l

Directions:

1. First prepare the noodle. Add your miso soup packet and liquid aminos/soy sauce to 3-4 cups of boiling water. Add noodles. Cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms and cover. Cook an additional 1 minute.

3. Drain noodles and shrooms. Rinse under ice cold water or dunk strainer in ice bath. Pat and air toss noodles ad dry as you can get.

4. Transfer noodles and shrooms to large bowl. Add chili oil and a fresh splash of soy sauce or liquid aminos.

5. To noodle bowl, add: edamame, cilantro, bean sprouts, cilantro, cashews, ginger and pepper. Toss very well. Set aside.

6. Next is the tofu. Open your can of mandarins and drain ¼ of the juice into a cup.

7. Grab a saute pan. Add 1 teaspoon EVOO to pan. Add the tofu cubes - toss in oil a bit.

8. Turn stove on med-high and add soy sauce/aminos, agave syrup and mandarin juice. Tofu will be sitting in a nice ½ inch of liquid. Let tofu cook for 2-4 minutes - it will begin to sizzle and absorb some of the liquid.

9. Continue cooking tofu - toss tofu in sticky sauce. Add your grated ginger and pepper. Toss and cook until edges are crisp and sticky. Add in the chili oil towards the end of cooking.

10. Remove pan from heat - let cool for a few minutes while u assemble salad.

11. Whip together the dressing. You can also use a bottled variety if you desire.

12. Toss 4 cups of spinach in a spoonful of dressing. Set in serving bowl. Layer noodle salad on top of that. Add your drained mandarins to the edges of the dish and accent with wasabi rice crackers. Add the cubed tofu on top and fresh black pepper. You can drizzle more dressing over top if you'd like.

13. Serve! Tastes delicious chilled the next day too.

-> what are liquid aminos?
-> tofu tips
-> what is Vegenaise?
-> what are Maifun Noodles?

This past Sunday, I dined on a late lunch at Cafe Blossom East, upper east side NYC. I have been a huge fan of Blossom Restaurant downtown for a few years now, so when I suddenly found myself at 1st/79th with a growling tummy and a famished look in my eyes, I did the standard "looking at the outdoor menu" thing for 2 seconds, then yanked my husband inside to dine on heavenly vegan eats. I left with a glimmer in my eye and hop in my step. But was it a green juice or chocolate ganache glow? Hmm. Check out my feast review and photos from Cafe Blossom..

New Apartment Browsing makes for quite a busy weekend in NYC. Pounding the pavement for hours, days and what seems like years...

Subways uptown, downtown, walking from Mott street to Sullivan street, past a bazillion Starbucks, past fashionistas in SoHo, my tired flip-flop wearing feet slipping on the cobblestone of Mercer street, through Greenwich Village, Astor, stop for a soy chai, onto Union Square, metro uptown, the 6, whoops wrong side of the platform, crossover, upper east side and back again. Not to mention hiking six flights up and down and up and down stairs to check out a one bedroom apartment that most sane people would call an "oversized shoebox".

To say browsing for an apartment in NYC is a workout, is an understatement. But luckily, NYC is home to dozens of my favorite vegan hot spots. No matter what part of town I am in, I can find an oasis, a delicious healthy bite or sip and some calm from the urban storm...

NYC: Many Oasis's. East Village? I breeze into Liquiteria for a Papaya Paradise with spirulina smoothie. Gramercy/Union Square? One Lucky Duck juice and a mallomar. West Village? GoBo juice bar. UWS? Josie's juice bar it is. LES? Cruise up to Caravan of Dreams, sigh sadly at Teany, or pop down to Babycakes. SoHo? My favorite Le Pain Quotidien on Grand street or maybe some seasonal sorbet at MarieBelle. UES? Candle Cafe or GoBo. And now I can head to my new fave: Cafe Blossom. And I have many more hot spots, but this is a post about Cafe Blossom.. More of my restaurant picks in my FAQs here.

Tired. Weary. Food. Now? Please. Yes! You know the feeling: you are famished, exhausted and just about spent. Taxi to bed please!

My husband and I had been walking NYC city streets for five straight hours. My feet were numb. My legs were on autopilot. My brow was narrowed into an angry glossed-over stare. A tired pout on my lips. The honks, shouts, laughter and cries of NYC seemed to blur together into a restless hum. My senses were dulled beyond belief. I took careful caution when crossing the street because, lets face it, I really couldn't dart out of the way of an oncoming cab, hurried bus or delivery biker right now. I smelled a corner pretzel vendor and thought: yum, smells like heaven. Oh no, I must be famished!

We considered simply getting back on the metro or hailing a cab back to a nice cozy bed or couch asap, but then my mind flickered. We were somehow on the UES. A place we rarely journey to, to be honest. (Except for a special bite at Candle 79 or H and H bagel run). 80th and 1st, the street signs said. Well Cafe Blossom is just a street away! I googled on my Blackberry.

I could see the urban oasis in the fuzzy distance. Like a golden shimmering mirage in a heated desert. Walk sign: go. I hurried my legs to the doorstep. I scanned the menu stuck on the outside of the door - my focus fuzzy, the text blurred, taste buds dazed. Mushroom flutes with cashew cream??? My taste buds woke up the rest of my body parts "Get up, gt up! We are eating now!" Open door: insert self. Waiter? Table for two please...

The Cafe was surprisingly empty. A few scattered tables of quiet diners. I guess 4:30 on a Sunday isn't prime dining time for UES folks. We took a table by the window. Behind the bar. A late afternoon sunbeam reflected off the clear glasses and shiny wooden tables. The calm atmosphere was perfect for my buzzing mind.

Water. Still. My husband chugged it. The awesomely sweet waitress brought us menus. Her quiet gentle voice greeted us with a smile - I felt like I was at a spa it was so serene. Menu: open. Too many delicious things! Seitan skewers? Mushroom Flutes? Lentil Rings? And those are just the appetizers. Here is what we settled on for our lunch:

Two Juices: Field of Greens and Forest.
Appetizers: Mushroom Flutes with Cashew Cream Dipping Sauce.
My Entree: Grilled Tofu Salad with added avocado
Hub's Entree: Southern Seitan Sandwich with fries
Dessert: Chocolate Ganache to split.

Food Review:

Juices were delicious. Both green. Hub's forest juice had a nice kick from the ginger. My green juice was dark and hydrating. I chugged it.

The Mushroom Flutes were steamy hot and o-m-g amazing. Savory mushroom filling wrapped in crispy vegan filo dough flute. Warm. Crisp. Cashew cream dipping sauce. I kept remarking how they somehow tasted like a buttery grilled cheese sandwich from my childhood. I asked my husband if it would be weird to chug the last of the cashew cream sauce. He said no. But I restrained myself and instead dipped the garnish lettuce greens into the sauce and sucked them dry. Amazingly perfect appetizer.

OMG Mushroom Flutes Appetizer with Cashew Cream:

Grilled Tofu Salad (pic at top) with added avocado was just what my tummy was craving. My tofu was perfectly grilled. Firm, nice charred grill flavor. Greens were fresh and hydrating. Carrot dressing was light and flavorful. Avocado was perfectly fresh.

My husband's southern seitan sandwich was awesome. I took a few bites of seitan. Spicy, crispy, yummier and healthier than any 'meat sandwich' you will ever eat. My husband, who FYI for newbies, is not vegetarian, love, love, loved it. Fries were tasty too. Lightly spiced. He asked for dijon mustard on the side. The waitress found some for him.

Southern Seitan Sandwich:
Dessert was pretty amazing. I actually wanted to order the lemon cheesecake or the blueberry apple fruit cobbler - but my husband loves chocolate desserts so I gave in. Glad I did. Moist, rich (yet light and fluffy) and dark chocolate truffles on the side. This dessert was the perfect cap to a perfect meal.

Chocolate Ganache Dessert for two:
The end result: I was revived. My mind was working properly again. I actually glowed a bit. I said it was the green juice. My husband insisted it was the chocolate ganache.

Moi, with my Green Juice Smile:

Cafe Blossom East is worth a trip to the UES - even if you are a downtown girl like me.

Cafe Blossom East - go go go.

1522 1st Avenue
between 79th and 80th.

Hours: Monday thru Friday from 11am to 9:45pm, Saturdays from 11am to 10:00pm and Sundays from 11am to 9:15pm.
Telephone: 212-988-2221

ps: it almost looks like right now the Blossom website has an error because it says Cafe Blossom is only the location on Columbus Circle. Hmm.. I hope they fix that. I was at the 79th and 1st location though. Its open and amazing! The menu (or pretty close to it), can be found here: http://www.blossomnyc.com/site/?page_id=1010

More info: www.blossomnyc.com

Close your eyes, breathe in the salty fresh sea air and grasp a one way ticket to the Mediterranean, via your salad bowl.

My vegan feast includes a Mediterranean Couscous with dried figs, citrus, spinach and parsley. As well as a Medi-Chopped Salad with crisp cucumbers, red onion, sliced kalamata olives and sweet tomatoes. The perfect salad topper for this feast: my sweet and zesty Creamy Tahini Dressing. Toast some pita, scoop some hummus and pour some sangria, this perfect-for-a-warm-spring-evening feast is easier than you think. Get my recipes...

The Inspired Flavors:

Citrus Fig Spinach Couscous:
Pita and Lemon:
Creamy Raw Tahini Dressing:

Medi Chopped Salad:
European Cucumber:
Side of Hummus:
Let the Feasting Begin!
Pack a Pita and Eat!
Greek? Italian? Middle Eastern? So where exactly are we travelling in the Mediterranean region for this feast? Well, nowhere specific to be honest. This is another fusion recipe. I won't call in traditional, but I will call it inspired.

I adore the authentic 'pita, hummus and falafel joints' in NYC. Places like Taim, Mamoun's and Ashkara have just about perfected these foods: falafel, hummus, tabouli salad, tahini sauce and pita. But my feast is a bit lighter, a bit more veg-inspired and doesn't include any fried components. So no falafel today. (Even though I love falafel.) But it's not necessary here. The fresh flavors in these recipes will leave you feeling zestful about life! And that's what Mediterranean-inspired means to me. Escape and indulge. Recipes...

Citrus Spinach Couscous

1 box Lemon Spinach Couscous, Casbah brand
OR 1 cup couscous and your own blend of spices
*prepared with 1 cup of water + ⅓ cup lemon or orange juice
Fold-in's:
1 cup spinach, chopped
handful parsley, chopped
Handful of calimyrna figs, sliced
1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
1 tablespoon EVOO
½ red onion, chopped
pepper (salt to taste)

Chopped Medi Salad

½ red onion
¾ cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 medium tomato or ½ cup grape tomatoes, diced
2 cups European Cucumbers, triangle diced
1 cup parsley, chopped stems and leaves
1 lemon, squeezed
1 teaspoon lemon zest
optional: 1 tablespoon EVOO
pepper

Creamy Citrus Tahini Dressing

2 tablespoon RAW tahini
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (see note if using non-raw tahini, or if you don't like an overly zesty vinegar taste)
2 tablespoon orange juice
¼ teaspoon paprika
1-2 teaspoon agave syrup
black pepper to taste
optional: cayenne for heat

NOTE: I use so much vinegar to cut through the pasty texture of RAW tahini. If this dressing is too vinegar-y for you, simply substitute 1 ½ tablespoon of vinegar with orange juice. If you are using NON-RAW tahini, you will simply need less acid liquid overall so only use 1 tsp-Tbsp of acv OR acv sub: OJ.

Directions:

1. Whisk together the tahini dressing. Set aside. Note: add more or less apple cider vinegar to modify consistency.

Raw Tahini:
2. Couscous: prepare couscous from box or plain from scratch. When couscous is fluffed and warm, fold in the figs, zest, parsley, spinach, red onion and EVOO.
Couscous:
3. Chopped Salad: Prep your veggies. Toss with lemon juice and zest. Toss with optional EVOO as well. Set aside.
Cucumber:
Medi Chopped Salad:
4. Plate your salad by layering a small amount of couscous on a plate. Spoon the chopped salad on top. Drizzle dressing.
Drizzle the dressing on top:
5. Serve with hummus and pita. Garnish with lemon sliced and chopped parsley. Plenty of black pepper.

Earlier today, I tweeted a quickie photo of my delicious vegan Sunny Day Snack I made as an early afternoon light lunch: radish, pea shoots, hummus, balsamic drizzle. Light, flavorful, healthy and satisfying. I gobbled this baby up! I received a lot of requests for the specific recipe, so here ya go.

I hope this inspires you to make an easy sunny day snack at home, instead of running for fast food or store-bought eats. You can definitaly fold this open-faced sandwich up and bring it to work in a reusable lunch tote, with a side of sun tea perhaps. Perfection. My recipe...

Fresh, hearty, fluffy spelt bread from Le Pain Quotidien, is my must-have for a homemade tartine or sandwich. They will slice it in-store for you. Love this stuff!...

Sunny Day Snack
Veggie and Hummus Tartine, aka open-faced sandwich

4 slices spelt bread, lightly toasted
4 tablespoon sun-dried tomato/basil hummus
fresh raw pea shoots
*purchased at Trader Joe's
4 fresh radishes, sliced thin
fresh black pepper grinder
drizzle: truffle balsamic vinegar 'cream'
*I am in love with this new product from Isola Imports brand. 100% vegan, don't let the 'cream' word fool you. You can use a thick/sweet balsamic vinegar as a substitution.
Optional: a few dots of spicy harissa, also from Le Pain Quotidien

Directions:

1. Toast bread.

2. Spread hummus.

3. Layer radishes.

4. Sprinkle a layer of pea shoots.

5. Slice into triangle wedges.

6. Plate.

7. Grind a plentiful amount of black pepper on top. And a drizzle of balsamic.

Serve. Yum.

Sunshine optional, but recommended!

Happy Sunny Day.

Last year on St. Patrick's Day I posted my Favorite Green Things List. A bit cheesy, I must admit. So this year, I was really debating whether or not to post another "Green Foods on St Patrick's Day" post. Well I finally caved this afternoon when I realized that green foods are indeed some of my faves. So why not celebrate and Eat Green Foods on St Patrick's Day. And no, green beer doesn't count. Although I do find the green-hat-and-plastic-shamrock-necklace-wearing groups of students trolling through downtown NYC in search of green alcohol very very entertaining.Get my five fave green vegan recipes...

Green foods are some of the healthiest around - they are also quite tasty! Green veggies and leafy greens have a wonderful grassy, salty, sweet, savory flavor to them. I remember in college I used to crave greens and would find myself eating baby spinach leaves right out of the bag around lunchtime. Kinda like chips! I guess I had already retrained my palate to crave healthy foods by then.

Here are my five fave green recipes. This was very hard to narrow down..

Top Five Green Recipes

5. Spring Green Fruit Salad

4. Mean Green Edamame Burger

3. Salsa Verde and Guacamole

2. Broccoli Jack Soup with Map-otle Tempeh Croutons

1. Lasagna Verde with Spicy Toasted Walnut Pesto

Bonus Bevie: Green Juice 101

My Salad Tour Series continues as we travel to Paris, the city of lights, romance and...mushrooms? Yes, mushrooms! Before Paris, I shunned shrooms. But it was in a sparkly-lit dining room, a view of the tour de eiffel out the window, when I dined on a few exquisite plates of EVOO sauteed shrooms, and I was hooked. Thus why Paris, reminds me of mushrooms.

To celebrate my love of Paris, mushrooms and warm wilted greens, I share with you my Wilted Spinach Salad with Balsamic Mushrooms: Tender organic spinach leaves, wilted to silky perfection, toasted sweet corn, crunchy cashews and a heaping pile of hot balsamic-infused shiitake mushrooms. This recipe may not be notably traditional of Paris, but it represents my Paris. Êtes vous affamé?

First, let's set the scene. Paris:
Next, the inspired salad:
This salad is pure, inspired and succulent. Made from ingredients that are classic, elegant and simple, just like Paris...

Sauteed Balsamic Shiitake Mushrooms:

Also lovely served on toasts for Mushroom Bruschetta!..

Fresh Organic Whole Spinach:


Sweet Corn, toasted Cashews, Wilted Organic Spinach:

Wilted Spinach Salad with Balsamic Mushrooms
vegan, serves 1-2

¾ cup frozen corn
*use fresh corn when in season
¼ cup cashews
2 teaspoon EVOO
optional: 2 tablespoon plump raisins, toss in with corn

1 large bunch fresh organic spinach, leaves and soft stems
*time saver: use pre-washed organic bagged baby spinach
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

5 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon EVOO
½ teaspoon course sea salt
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, thick and sweet
*OR use Isola brand Cream of Balsamic, truffle flavor *vegan

note: I highly recommend the Truffle Balsamic Cream product on the mushrooms. It is fantastic and adds pure reduced balsamic flavor. And yes, it's vegan, don't let the word 'cream' fool you. If you do not have the balsamic cream, simply use a thick and sweet balsamic vinegar.

plenty of fresh black pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and dry spinach well. Remove tough stems. Rough chop remaining leaves and soft stems.

2. In a saute pan, drizzle 2 teaspoon EVOO. Turn heat to med-high. Add corn. Saute until corn starts to brown. Add in cashews, saute for another minute - do not burn cashews.

3. Pour cashews/corn in a small bowl, set aside.

4. In same saute pan, add 1 tablespoon ACV, and an optional drizzle of EVOO. Add spinach.

5. Turn heat to medium and cover spinach with a loose lid or piece of tin foil to 'steam' and wilt the leaves. Do not over wilt. when the leaves are tender, add the corn and cashew mixture. Fold lightly. Transfer this mixture to serving bowl. Grind black pepper over top.

6. In same saute pan, add 1 tablespoon EVOO and mushrooms. Saute until tender. Add in chopped parsley and continue to saute. Towards end of saute, add in the balsamic vinegar or truffle cream of balsamic. Toss well. Add sea salt. Transfer shiitakes to your serving bowl - gently layer on top of spinach.

7. Serve! No direct view of the Eiffel Tower? Too bad, but this will have to do...

ps. If you are using Isola truffle cream of balsamic, you can squeeze a bit on top of the mushrooms for an extra hint of flavor. Buy this product at Whole Foods, a specialty gourmet store or online.

I was shocked to read an article on Planet Green (posted on Facebook via CleanPlatesNYC) called, 7 Foods So Unsafe Even Farmers Won't Eat Them. There were a few frequent offenders like farmed salmon, corn-fed beef and hormone-produced milk (all not a problem for my vegan diet). But when I read the quip about canned tomatoes, I reached for my stacks of San Marzano canned tomatoes and began to whimper. Canned tomatoes a "no no" ? Really? Here's why, and what you can do about it...

Here is the "canned tomatoes" excerpt from the Planet Green article:

"1. Canned Tomatoes

The Expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A.
The Reason: Tin cans are lined with a resin that contains the synthetic estrogen bisphenol-A, which has been linked to a slew of health problems including heart disease, diabetes, reproductive problems, and obesity. But that's not the biggest problem. The acid in tomatoes breaks down that bisphenol-A, leaching it into the food, and not just in insignificant amounts. According to the article, Saal comments that "you can get 50 mcg of BCA per liter out of a tomato can, and that's a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young." That's why he's not touching the stuff.
The Solution: If you lo0ve the taste of "canned" tomatoes but prefer to skip the bisphenol-A, select glass bottles instead."

read the complete article (all 7 foods) here, Planet Green.

Can-Free Solutions? I was quite shocked that I had never heard of this tomato can theory before. Thanks to CleanPlatesNYC for spreading this article around. (btw, Clean Plates NYC is an awesome NYC restaurant guide). So I replied to the post by CleanPlatesNYC on facebook:

"Wow the canned tomatoes one was very interesting. Kinda kills my san marzano tomato obsession!" -me

they replied back, "Pomi makes a few different tomato products in boxes and they can be found and bought online. Not sure about retail stores. Bionature makes strained tomatoes and tomato paste in glass jars and I am pretty sure is available at Whole Foods and small health food stores" - CleanPlatesNYC

So I looked into this...

Amazon sells a variety of Pomi products: Pomi products on Amazon

A commenter alerted me that Trader Joe's offers tomatoes in a Tetra Pak. Awesome! That's great news since I love Trader Joe's products and prices.

And I found these San Marzano tomatoes in a lovely glass jar:

I will also check Whole Foods Market to see if they carry any boxed or glass jarred tomatoes.

I certainly don't want to scare you, I'm sure most of us (including me) won't completely ban canned tomatoes from our diets (right now). But it is an interesting factoid that you may want to look into further.

Will I Buy Canned Tomatoes?

I will still buy canned tomatoes in moderation - until I can research a second opinion on this. Anyone want to weigh in??

PS on Packaging...

Another plus in using boxed or glass tomatoes is the fact that you won't be buying plastic. With all the concern over BPA - BPA free glass is my choice over plastic nowadays.

You are a Smarty Tomato for being inquisitive about the foods you eat!

Continuing my Salad Tour Series, we travel to one of my favorite places on earth: Napa Valley, for my Napa Valley Salad with Citrus Maple Dijon Dressing and Lemon Pepper Tempeh Croutons. My recipe is inspired by what Napa cuisine means to me: bright flavors, complex textures and elegant plating.

Napa is such a tranquil, yet energizing place. It is a perfect place to feel well and inspired. This salad recipe will transport you to a hillside picnic in Napa. Breathe in the rain-fresh air as a song-bird-filled breeze hits your sun-drenched face. Ahhh, Napa...

Napa Valley Mud. When you think of Napa, you probably think of wine. Well I think of mud. Sort've. Mud baths to be exact. You see, growing up, my family traveled to Calistoga, just north of the city of Napa, to visit the mud - and the mineral springs pools. OK, we mostly visited the mineral pools, but the mud part is more fun to discuss. A mud bath will change the way you look at...mud. And life. Anyways, so, when I think of Napa, I think of produce, wine, Farmer's Markets and, yes, mud.

Farmer's Markets. I had seen beautiful Farmer's Markets in Northern California, but the Napa markets have a unique elegant style. Since we were on vacation, we basically strolled through the markets quickly, but I do remember a flurry of culinary aromas and colors hitting my senses all at once...

There colors: bright green bell peppers, shiny purple eggplant, rouge-colored berries, fluffy brim-filled bins of fresh baby greens, spiky green artichokes and cheerful green peas. The rain-fresh air allowed for the market aromas to sharpen and tone on the tip of my nose: fresh pungent garlic piled in a heap of white, gray and purple. Spicy spring onions. Sweet golden apples - leaves still attached. Grassy-smelling plump red tomatoes. Lemons, radishes and dark purple kale. There was even fresh baked bread peeking out from crisp white paper bags, resting in a straw basket.

It's not surprising that Napa draws some of the world's greatest chefs and foodies. Let's eat...

Lemon Pepper Tempeh Croutons:



Napa Valley Salad with Maple Citrus Dijon Dressing and Lemon Pepper Tempeh Croutons
vegan, serves 2-3

4-6 cups fresh organic arugula
1 small red onion, sliced thin
1 small bosc pear, sliced thin and long
2 small endives, red or white (about 14 small leaves total)
½ cup oven toasted California walnuts
½ cup steamed peas
2 small vine tomatoes, halved
fresh black pepper
garnish sliced round of citrus, rind removed.
*I used a lemon
optional: sliced figs

Maple Citrus Dijon Dressing

½ white grapefruit, juiced
OR ½ orange and ½ lemon, juiced
1-2 tablespoon EVOO
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 ½ tablespoon whole grain dijon mustard
dash black pepper

*all citrus is fresh-squeezed

Lemon Pepper Tempeh Croutons
vegan, makes about 24 cubes (Halve recipe if you don't want leftover cubes)

8 oz. tempeh, cubed
1 ½ teaspoon maple syrup + 2 teaspoon water
4 teaspoon EVOO
1 lemon, juiced
1 lemon, zested
fine pepper
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
fresh pepper
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients, set aside.
2. Prepare your tempeh: Add oil to pan, over high heat. Add tempeh. Add maple syrup, water and lemon juice. Coat tempeh in pan liquid. Saute for 2 minutes. Add a heavy hand of fine black pepper to all sides of tempeh. Grate lemon zest on top of tempeh. Toss tempeh in pan for another minute. Reduce heat, add vinegar slowly to deglaze the pan. Remove from heat, toss tempeh in a pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Set tempeh aside.

Lemon Pepper Tempeh:
3. Gather ingredients. Prep veggies: slice onion, pear, tomatoes, steam peas. Toast walnuts in oven on high broil for 1-2 minutes. Caution: nuts toast up fast! Don't burn.

Prepped Ingredients:
4. Begin assembling salad. Spread endives on plate or in a shallow bowl:
5. Add arugula:

6. Add a drizzle of whisked dressing to arugula and sprinkle around plate:

7. Add sliced onions and sliced pears:
8. Add peas and walnuts:
9. Add tomato and a garnish slice of citrus:
10. Add tempeh:
Fork:

Serve!

Wine, optional. I added some sweet potato biscuits and chilled lemon suntea to this Napa-style lunch salad.

Happy Pi(e) Day! I can't think of a better way to celebrate Pi Day, than with my top seven vegan pie recipes and recommendations for Pie!

You Say Pi, I Say Pie! I was never much of a mathie (aka math nerd) in school, I was usually brushing up on my AP English essay, or doodling on my grid paper during math class, but....I do love the mathies out there.

Mathies have a passion for numbers and calculators the way I do for writing, art and science. I have such respect for a super-math-savvy brain. Many of my favorite people can recite "Pi" much farther than I can: 3.14, something something something....

Back in high school, while my mathie sister was inside studying college-level Trigonometry and Advanced Calculus, I was usually outside taking photos of raindrops, in my backyard collecting plums and apples for a fruit salad - or pie, or I was perched in my favorite fig tree writing a short story about 'a little girl who lives on in magical apple orchard'. Go figure...

So here's to all the mathies, Pi fans and Pie fans out there, my top seven vegan pie recipes and a few recommendations!

Slice of Thick Fruit Pie = Bliss. I love fruit pie. I haven't posted a lot of traditional fruit pie recipes, so perhaps this late spring or summer I will be inspired to do a fruit pie series: Blueberry, cherry, strawberry, peach, apple and my favorite: blackberry. Can't wait for spring and summer. But for now..

Top Seven Vegan Pie Recipes

7. Fruit Tart Vanilla Custard Pie
This pie requires a good amount of visual creativity, but designing your top layer of fruit is half the fun, right? This pie is beautiful, silky sweet and perfect for a party or get together. Get creative with fresh fruit for this lovely fruit tart custard pie.

6. Chocolate Pudding Hand Pies
Fun for kids and adults. Reminiscent of those not-so-healthy hand pies you used to eat as a kid! This hand pie is filled with silken tofu based chocolate pudding. The hand pie crust is super easy and healthier than a traditional butter-based white-flour crust.

5. Cherry Apricot Pie Bars
Spelt crust and summer fruit = perfect pie! Tart and sweet. Here's a perfectly pleasurable pie for just about anyone to love. Spelt pie crust is nutty and satisfying. And the spelt texture accents the delicate fruit perfectly. Slice into pie bars, or pie slices. Store in the fridge, eat chilled or warm.

4. Pumpkin Pie Shake
No, this isn't traditional pie. But this recipe is for creamy, cool 'pie in a glass'. And it's still pretty cravable in a pumpkin-paradise way.

3. Double Dark Chocolate Mousse Pie
This was a huge hit among vegans and non-vegans at my Thanksgiving party this past fall. Decadent. Chocolate-lovers pie.

2. Lemon Custard Pie
I adore this silken-tofu based, no-bake, lemon custard pie. It won me "Best Disguise of Tofu" at an NYC Tofu Takedown recipe contest!

1. Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie
Ahh, simply the best. Try this vegan cheesecake/pie recipe once, and You'll make it again and again. Love it.

NYC Pie Lovers Rejoice: Gone Pie Vegan Pies are Amazing!
I was fortunate enough to do a review of Gone Pie Sweet Potato Pie as well as Blueberry Cheesecake. Soooooo good. If you are in the NYC area, you have to give Gone Pie a try. Plus Barbara is such a sweet and talented lady who truly shows enthusiasm for her delicious creations. You can follow her on twitter at @GonePie.

NYC Based Pie Finds. I also love the raw vegan pie at Pure Food and Wine and Caravan of Dreams. And the dessert pies and tarts at Josie's, Blossom and Candle 79 in NYC are always a treat. And for a truly sinful and indulgent pie experience: try the vegan Peanut Butter Pie at Viva Herbal Pizzeria in the East Village. Wowsers.

What's your favorite pie???

And Happy Pi Day!

I found this giant shiitake mushroom swimming in a sea of average sized shrooms in the bulk mushrooms bin at Whole Foods. I had just seen the movie Alice in Wonderland, so when I spotted this mysterious, over sized, fluffy fungi, I expected a giant smoke-puffing blue caterpillar to crawl out from beneath the cap and say, "Whooo are youuu?" I confirmed the shroom was indeed vacant and stuffed it into my cart, taking extra care of its wide squishy self.

How Big? This hefty shiitake is as large as a portabella and stretches over 4 inches wide. It towers over a quarter coin. It's the biggest shiitake I've ever held in my hands. Almost too beautiful to eat! Almost.

Eat Your Mushrooms. Hopefully, you read my Vitamin D post a few weeks back and learned that mushrooms are the only fruit or veggie that contain natural vitamin D, an important vitamin that many of us are deficient in. Reminder: eat your mushrooms for health. And to help you out, here is my list of Twenty Ways to Cook with Mushrooms. Plus 3 bonus recipes. And more super sized mushroom photos...

Twenty Ways to Cook with Mushrooms

1. Mushrooms in soup. Slice thinly and add to soups and stews. Recipe here.
2. Mushroom Bruschetta. I do this often, and love it. Recipe below!
3. Mushroom fajitas on taco night.
4. Raw white button or crimini shrooms in a chopped salad or pizza salad: recipe here.
5. Roasted in Oven. Recipe Below!
6. Sprinkled on pizza.
7. On top of a veggie burger. Saute with caramelized onions for a perfect veggie burger topper.
8. Simple side dish. A la carte shrooms. So gourmet.
9. Wine marinated and sauteed. Recipe Below!
10. Mushroom Lasagna.
11. Mushroom Biscuits.
12. Mushroom tapenade.
13. Mushroom flavored rice pilaf. Or just 'rice dish' if you hate the word 'pilaf' as much as me.
14. Mushroom-tofu scramble.
15. Spicy shrooms - sauteed with harissa, chilies or sliced jalapenos and served over pasta or veggies.
16. Basic garlic-mushroom pasta with fresh basil. Or tossed in any pasta recipe.
17. Open faced mushroom tempeh bagel or sandwich.
18. Asian style shrooms sauteed in soba noodles.
19. Mushroom ice cream. Just kidding. Just checking to make sure you are paying attention. 🙂
20. Raw mushroom salad wrap. Chopped mushrooms add depth to your all-veggie wraps.

Here are the 3 bonus recipes I mentioned above:

Mushroom Bruschetta Recipe:
1 pack mushrooms
¼ cup sliced onions
¼ cup flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoon EVOO
2 tablespoon vinegar
salt and pepper
sliced baguette pieces of bread - crostini style

Directions: Saute mushrooms and onions in oiled pan. After about 2 minutes, add in the vinegar and parsley. Saute for a few more minutes - until edges of shrooms start to crisp.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of shrooms onto each slice of baguette bread. Serve. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Roasted Mushrooms

To Make: Simply toss your mushrooms in a few tablespoons of EVOO and a few tablespoons of vinegar - a dash of course sea salt and a lot of black pepper. Broil on high for 25 minutes. You can also roast with other veggies like tomatoes, onions, potatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, asparagus or eggplant.

Wine Marinated Mushrooms

In small bowl, add ¼ cup of wine, 2 tablespoon EVOO, pinch salt and pepper and mushrooms and allow to marinade for 20 minutes before sauteing. The cooked wine will bring out a very savory deep flavor in the shrooms. You can also add the wine right to the pan during a normal shroom saute, but in very small increments. Proceed with caution when sauteing with alcohol. Start off on a low heat. I like to use red wine with mushrooms, but white works as well. Do not use cooking wine. Day old drinking wine is best - use your leftovers instead of tossing day old wine.

Learn more about mushrooms and vitamin D.

And yes, I enjoyed Alice in Wonderland very much. In 3D it was awesome. Fun flick and the Mad Hatter was fabulous. *movie poster by Disney.

My Perfectly Simple Pizza Salad isn't just a side dish recipe - it's a necessary component to pizza night. I crave this salad with my pizza pie! And it's super simple to prepare, so it grants your "easy dinner" wishes: Phone in order, prep your salad, grab some bevies - done!

The Best Friday Night. There's nothing better than a Friday night at home snuggling with your family, watching a good movie and ordering a pizza from your favorite neighborhood pizza guru. If you're vegan and lucky, you've found a pizza joint that humbly makes you a delicious cheese-free pie loaded with fresh veggies, maybe even some Daiya vegan cheese melted on top.

Pizza Salad. Every perfect pizza deserves a perfect pizza salad: crunchy chopped veggies over fluffy fresh greens, all marinating in a zesty-sweet vinaigrette dressing with a heavy handed dose of fresh black pepper on top. Stick your delivered pizza in a warm oven, because this salad is going to attract your forks' attention for a while. Get my recipe and find out my fave pizza toppings..

Perfectly Simple Pizza Salad:

Red Wine Vinegarette Dressing:

My fave pizza toppings: kalamata olives, spinach, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, fresh basil, roasted garlic, capers, red onions, hemp seeds (if available), thin lemon slices, broccoli and tons of mushrooms - preferably the exotic kind. No I don't get all these toppings on the same pizza! I like to change it up once in a while.

And I'm not really into the 'veg meat' pizza toppings. My whole life I've been ordering veggie pizzas with no cheese, and I've really grown attached to them. Give me some chewy crisp crust, a perfectly herbed and zesty san marzano tomato pizza sauce, pile on the veggie toppings and I am in pizza heaven. Whole wheat or spelt crust is also a nice touch. And yes, I will go for the Daiya vegan cheese once in a while.

Don't Pay for a "House Salad" - Make it at Home. Why pay $5-$10+ for a House Salad when you can easily make an amazing, fresh, made-with-love pizza salad in your own kitchen, and in just a few minutes. Your "house salad" will soon become a pizza night favorite. And shaving a few bucks off your delivery bill will feel good.

Salad Ingredients. Hydrating, zesty, crunchy, salty-sweet ingredients are a must! The crunch-factor is essential. My fave ingredients are buttery white button mushrooms sliced thin and long, salty sliced black olives, super fresh ripe tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, sweet rings of thin onions and a few chunks of bitter-sweet white grapefruit thrown in:

I love adding tons of fresh black pepper to my pizza salads:
Enough pizza talk, let me get to this mouth-watering crunchy salad recipe...

Perfectly Simple Pizza Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
vegan, serves two

1 vine-ripened tomato, diced
1 red or sweet onion, sliced into thin rings
4 large white mushrooms, peeled and sliced thin and long
1 white grapefruit (or other large citrus), peeled and diced
¼ cup olives, sliced
4-5 cups of mixed greens
*arugula, spinach, romaine, baby greens, etc.
*pass on using iceberg lettuce
2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
tons of fresh ground black pepper
¼ cup vegan croutons (store-bought or homemade)
optional: 3 peppercinis, sliced
extra: EVOO/red Wine Vinegar for marinating veggies

Red Wine Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon EVOO or chile-infused EVOO
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 tablespoon aged red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon agave syrup
fresh black pepper
squeeze of leftover citrus juice
note: you can also use balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, if you'd like.

Directions:

1. Prepare your dressing by whisking together ingredients, set aside.

whisk the dressing:
2. Prep your veggie ingredients: chop the cucumber, dice the tomato, slice the mushrooms, dice the citrus, slice the onions and slice your olives. Place all these veggies in a large mixing bowl.

Prep the Veggies:
3. Add a drizzle of red wine vinegar and a drizzle of EVOO to your chopped veggies bowl. Grind in a plentiful amount of fresh black pepper. Toss gently. Set aside.

4. Gather your salad bowls and your greens. Divide the greens between the bowls. Leave room for the veggies though! Drizzle a small amount of dressing over the greens.

5. Spoon a plentiful amount of your veggies mix on top of the greens. Pour the leftover veggie mix into a small bowl for easy veg refills.

6. Add another drizzle of dressing over top and cover the veggies in fresh black pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to each salad as well.

7. Dot salads with croutons and serve!

On March 26th at 9pm, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution reality show premieres on ABC. Jamie travels to Huntington, West Virginia, aka the unhealthiest town in America as deemed by the US government, and embarks on a journey to save the health of the entire town, around 50,000 residents.

Health problems plague this town: half of the town is obese, and the diabetes and heart disease rates are soaring. The school children couldn't even name a tomato, they called it a potato. Thus not surprisingly, the show has ignited controversy...

You say Potato, I say Tomato. In the trailer for the show, there is a clip of a classroom of elementary school students who don't know that tomatoes are tomatoes. They call them potatoes. There is another clip of Jamie reacting in shock when greasy pizza is being served as 'breakfast' in a school cafeteria. Then there is another clip of a wilted-faced obese woman sobbing in frustration to Jamie over an enormous pile of greasy, processed, high fat/sugar foods like pizza and snack cakes. Can Jamie, save her, her town and spark a food revolution in America?

"We don't want to sit around and eat lettuce all day." - radio show host in WV, as he remarks critically to Jamie's arrival.

The radio host went on to say, "I don't think Jamie's got anything that can change this town. He can try all he wants though."

Jamie responds later by saying: "I thought there were only miserable bastards like that in England."

Obviously Jamie's arrival was met with some criticism from the town. And quite frankly, I usually have doubts too when I hear someone (especially on a reality show) say they are going to "save" someone else. In my experience, you can only save yourself. We are all responsible for the decisions we make.

On the other hand, I am incredibly hopeful that Jamie will work nutrition miracles (and inspire a nation) simply because of his record of success. He has lead the war on childhood obesity in the UK and helped to make drastic improvements in a school lunch program there. You can read his manifesto here. He was also recently awarded the TED prize. And TED has a grand reputation for honoring genius-minded individuals. So is Jamie a nutrition savior of sorts for Americans?

Reality or Not? It is obviously admirable to want to 'save a town' from their fatally unhealthy ways. But the real question I keep asking myself is: is Jamie's blueprint plan for saving Huntington realistic for the rest of America? It's easy to put down the box of Ho Ho's when you have a 5 person camera crew two feet from your face. And it's easy to be motivated if you have a public weigh-in that will air across the nation. And it's easy to say 'yes!' to health when your have a motivating and talented Chef like Jamie Oliver leading you by hand. But will the healthy changes last? Will the town truly be changed forever? Will fruit and veggie sales go up and processed junk food sales go down at area supermarkets?

Can Jamie really have a Food Revolution on his hands?

These are the questions I ask myself. I also question the self-awareness an overweight person has when they continue to eat unhealthfully. Do obese individuals have a choice to be healthy. Maybe they are like drug addicts and are addicted to their unhealthy lifestyle and junk food. In that case, wouldn't they need a therapist and not a Chef?

The Reality Show Effect. We've all seen reality show participants get healthy, lose weight and kick addictions on national TV, only to resume their unhealthy ways a few weeks later. But yes, there are other cases, such as on The Biggest Loser, where contestants have maintained their healthy lifestyle. But is it social pressure to not fail? The, "we'll be back to film your results in two months" mentality of fear to succeed? Or is it a true and whole-hearted lifestyle change? I do not have the answers, but I am hoping that a few of these questions will be answered when I watch the show later this month.

Nutrition Nightmares? Jamie's Food Revolution show sounds a bit like Gordon Ramsey's famous reality show "Kitchen Nightmares". Only instead of dealing with hit-rock-bottom, failing restaurants, Jamie will be dealing with failing hit-rock-bottom people and their health. You can't simply scream at them about their customer service skills, show them how to properly saute some mushrooms, summon their finance records and point out specific errors, buy them new dining room furniture, repaint the walls and say voila! to increased clientele. Changing people from the inside out, in regards to their lifestyle, requires an emotional and intellectual connection to them that requires heart, persistence, creativity, skills and energy. Has Jamie got it? We'll see.

What do you think? We can learn so much from each other. Reality television shows can not only entertain us - but they can teach, awaken and educate us - even if "reality" really isn't reality.

I'm very interested to see what Jamie will uncover in this town and how successful he will be in the short and long term. I'll be watching. Will you watch?

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution premieres Friday, March 26 at 9pm on ABC. Produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions and Fresh One Productions

Read more about Jamie's Food Revolution on JamieOliver.com

For recipe number one of my Salad Tour Recipe Series, we travel to California for a Cali-Mex-inspired Mexican Fiesta Salad with Zesty Lime-Agave Dressing. Vegan ingredients like avocados and citrus mingle with sweet corn and black beans. Tons of fragrant cilantro blended in. Jalapeno and chipotle spices, optional...

I've combined my favorite Cali-Mex-inspired flavors to create this vegan spin on a fiesta salad. Get my recipe and lots of step-by-step photos...

Did I Mention, I Love Mexican Food? My long lost Italian ancestors would probably dump a bucket of pasta sauce on my head for saying this, but if I had to eat one variety of food for the rest of my life, I'd choose Mexican food. The avocados, citrus, lime, cilantro, corn, black beans, tomato rice, spicy chilies, pico de gallo, salsa verde with tomatillos, plantains, nopales, tamales and mushroom fajitas all leave me smiling in glee and craving a big fiesta feast. Growing up in Northern California, I had my fair share of delicious, authentic Mexican food. And even today, I am inspired by my childhood memories of those flashy or fantastic hole-in-the-wall Cali-Mex joints.

Cilantro Tip. One of my favorite tips regarding Mexican cooking is to first off, always use fresh cilantro. The second part of this tip: use the entire plant (stems and leaves). Even though you may be used to using only the leaves and soft stems of other herbs like parsley and dill, use the stems of cilantro. Finely chop everything: leaves and stems. Cilantro stems are crisp and juicy and add a celery-like crunch to you Mex recipes. My favorite burrito stand in California would literally fill ⅓ of their veggie burrito with a plentiful scoop of fresh chopped cilantro (stems and leaves). So good.

Fresh Cilantro:

Let's get right to it!...

Mexican Fiesta Salad
vegan, serves 2 as and entree, 3+ as a side salad

1 onion, diced
1 vine-ripened tomato, diced
4 corn tortillas, toasted in oven
¼ cup sliced olives
1 avocado, diced
1 orange, diced
½ cup of chopped cilantro
4 cups baby spinach
1 cup fresh or canned corn, unsalted
1 cup black beans
fresh black pepper grinder
garnish: fresh cilantro
Optional:1 teaspoon chipotle spice, 1 jalapeno, diced and de-seeded

Zesty Lime-Agave Dressing

1 juicy lime (or 2 less-juicy limes)
1 tablespoon agave syrup, dark grade
1 tablespoon EVOO
3 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
black pepper

Directions:

1. Gather your ingredients and a large serving bowl.

2. Whisk together your Lime-Agave Dressing, set aside.

3. Dice you onion and dice your tomato, put both in a small bowl. Finely chop the cilantro and fold into the tomato and onion mixture. Grind fresh black pepper on top. Set aside. Note: If you would like a spicier salad, mix in 1 diced jalapeno and 1 teaspoon chipotle spice to this mixture.

4. Peel your orange and dice. Place in another small bowl. Dice your avocado and put into same bowl as oranges. Toss a bit so orange juice coats avocado. This prevents browning. Black pepper on top, set aside.

5. Open your can of black beans and corn. (You can also use fresh corn) Place one cup of beans in a small bowl. Heat in microwave (or stovetop in pan) until warm. About 90 seconds in microwave. Take 1 cup of corn and mix it with the warm-hot black beans. Set bowl aside.

6. Turn on oven - warm for toasting. Opt'l: brush each tortilla with EVOO and sea salt.

7. Toast your corn tortillas in the oven or a toaster - until crisp. Set aside.

8. Slice the olives, set aside.

Prep is Done, Salad Layering Begins:
9. Now we can start to craft the layered salad! First, place the baby spinach in your large serving bowl. Mix the greens with ¾ of your dressing. Set aside the remaining dressing for later.

10. Over top the spinach. add the tomato/onion/cilantro mixture.

11. Next add the orange/avocado mixture to the edges of the salad bowl - create a border along the sides of avocado and citrus.

12. Tear your tortillas into triangles and squish along the border of the bowl to create a wall of crisp tortillas.

13. Add the beans/corn mixture to the center of the dish in a large pile.

14. Add the olive slices.

15. Lastly, add the remaining drizzle of dressing over top.

16. Serve!

More Recipe ideas: this salad would make a delicious burrito filling! Add lime-agave marinated tofu for some extra protein. More photos are below...

Does your salad deserve a plastic fork, or a silver fork? Lets bring your salad up to silver fork status, with my Veg Salads 101.

Bad vs. Good vs. Great, Salads! When you hear the word "salad" what do you think of? Something bad, with a tiny iceberg lettuce pile, a few boring tomatoes, cucumbers and onions plopped on top, thick ranch dressing dripping over each lifeless ingredient? Change those thoughts! A salad can be a delicious, creative, healthy, substantial, filling, smile-inducing meal. Fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and plenty of flavor make salads one of the healthiest (and most delicious) meal options out there. Check out my Vegan, Vegetarian, Veg Salads 101...

Make a Great Salad! Ban the Bad. There is nothing worse and more cringe-inducing than biting into a poorly made salad: wilted or 'barely green' greens, too much heavy dressing, lifeless tomatoes, poorly sliced chunky cucumbers, browning avocados. Eating a bad salad makes you feel as though you are punishing yourself. Be good to yourself! Feed your senses and taste buds by biting into an extraordinarily made salad: crisp fresh greens, perfectly zesty-flavorful dressing in even distribution, perfectly chopped ingredients, juicy red tomatoes, slivered almonds, diced sweet onions, fresh black pepper and much more.

A Salad a Day Keeps the Doctor Away. I live a "salad a day" lifestyle. Everyday I indulge in a beautiful, big, multi-ingredient salad. My salad craving around dinnertime is right up there with my fresh fruit craving around breakfast. And I've gathered a few salad tips and tricks when it comes to ingredients, techniques and flavors. But before you start your "salad a day" lifestyle, you'll want to brush up on your salad making skills. My tips...

Vegan Salad Ingredients come in a few different categories: beans, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, grains, raw veggies, cooked veggies, fruit, herbs and crackers/crisps/croutons. Another component would be accent protein ingredients like tempeh/seitan/tofu. Towards the end of this post I have a list of my top 31 favorite salad ingredients in these categories. But there is an art to constructing a flavorful and successful salad while using a lot of diverse salad ingredients. My tips will help, but practice makes perfect.

Salad Dressing Ingredients: fruit juice, vinegars, veggie purees, oils, nut butters/purees, sweeteners, salt, pepper, spices, condiments like mustard, chilies, herbs and more can be components to a homemade dressing.

Ten Salad Tips:

Tip #1: Use High Quality Ingredients. Always. No matter what, the quality of your ingredients will make your salad. And one bad mushy tomato can ruin the whole thing! Base your salads around the produce that 'looks the best' the day you shop for ingredients. If the tomatoes look amazing one day, base a salad around them. If the spinach looks better than the arugula, even though you wanted arugula today - go with the spinach. Choose fresh produce that is preferably organic, local and/or seasonal. I know it can be very hard to find all three of those factors - but if you can nail at least one, you're on your way to a great salad. And if you can use Farmer's Market or CSA fresh produce, you are a lucky salad chef.

Tip #2: Skip the Bottle if you can. If you have the time and ingredients on hand - always make your dressing from scratch. It will taste fresher and more flavorful, usually with less salt and even preservatives. You control the sodium content, which is important when considering shelf-stable products vs. homemade.

Tip #3: To Spin or Not to Spin? I do not use a salad spinner. But I know folks who swear by them. For fresh greens like romaine and spinach, they can be a life-saver. But remember, you don't need all the fancy gadgets to prepare a delicious salad. Simply rinse your greens in a strainer under ice cold water, shake out water as much as possible and pat dry with a dish or paper towel. Sometimes I will shake my greens in the air and get a refreshing 'green-drying-shower'. Although, innocent bystanders like kitties and husbands don't like getting spritzed as much as I do.

Tip #4: Knife Skills Can Define a Salad. A high quality, sharp knife is one trick to achieving a great salad. And no, you don't need twenty different knives for your kitchen. I have about two high quality knives that I use on a regular basis - and that's plenty for me. When chopping, slicing and dicing, you'll want to try and make each variety of ingredient the same size. You don't want to dice a tomato and have half the chunks the size of a pea and the other half the size of a golf ball. Same sizes are appealing to the eye - and presentation is half the battle.

Tip #5: Plate vs Bowl? I am a bowl girl myself. But my husband is a plate guy. My advice is this: if you have a fear of bottom-of the-bowl-soggy-salads, go with a plate. But if you don't mind a little bit of dressing to accumulate at the bottom of your bowl, go for it. I find a medium-large sized bowl will work much better for a big salad - the kind I usually eat with dinner. The tiny side plate piled with one cup of salad is not enough to live a "salad a day" lifestyle. Seek out your perfect salad plate or bowl - and you'll be a happier salad eater. Consider weigh, material, size and shape. I find that different people don't always agree on how they like their food plated. Ask your guests: plate or bowl?

Tip #6: Complicate Your Salad's Flavor Profile. You don't want a boring salad. So remember to pay attention to layering flavors and textures. Flavors include: salty, sweet, savory, nutty, zesty, sour, bitter, tangy, spicy, peppery and maybe even umami-ish. Textures and accents include: crunchy like carrots, cool like iced cucumbers, warm like sauteed mushrooms, hearty like whole beans, hydrating like citrus, dry like croutons, chewy like raisins and silky like spinach. Choose a few of these accents and flavors for your salad. Simplicity can be good, but complexity can be great!

Tip #7: Garnish. Don't forget to garnish you salad. Garnish can add a hint of flavor like fresh black pepper, dashed paprika, minced parsley or grated ginger. Garnish can also add that perfect splash of color to the top of your salad. Seeds, finely chopped veggies or herbs, spices and tapenades are my favorite garnishes.

Tip #8: Creative Leafy Greens. Don't use bagged romaine and iceberg as your main sources of greens. The darker the green color, the more nutrients are embedded in the greens. For a full list of leafy greens like mache, arugula and more, visit my colorful fruits and veggies list here.

Tip #9: How to Build a Non-Mushy Salad - My Salad Layering Technique. This technique works best for me:

1. First I grab my serving bowl (or plate) and mix my homemade dressing.
2. I then chop all my heavy (non-leafy) salad ingredients and put them in a side mixing bowl. I usually choose 2-5 different ingredients for this bowl. (Ingredients like avocados, citrus, mushrooms, onions, carrots, apple, pears, etc) To that bowl I add a splash of acid (vinegar or citrus juice) and a drizzle of EVOO or another healthy oil like macadamia nut oil. The citrus/acid juice prevents any browning of ingredients like apples or avocados. I add some pepper over-top as well. Then I toss those ingredients well and let them sit and marinate.
3. Next I tend to my leafy greens. I very lightly toss a big handful (about 2-4 cups) of greens with a bit of the dressing. Then I place them on my serving plate or bowl. (I usually use a bowl).
4. Over top the greens, I sometimes add another light drizzle of my homemade salad dressing. It depends how 'wet' I want or need my greens. Delicate greens usually require less dressing than thick greens. And sometimes, I simply skip the dressing altogether because I am craving super dry greens.
5. Then I spoon over top my greens, as much of my fruit/veggie chopped mixture as my salad bowl can handle. If there is leftover, I will place it in a side dish bowl and refill my serving bowl during the meal as needed.
6. I then add any warm ingredients like a few tablespoon of sauteed mushrooms or tofu or tempeh cubes. Or whole beans or rice - or any seeds/nuts/crisps over top that.
7. Fresh ground black pepper, garnish, and another optional drizzle of dressing right before diving in with my fork. Yum.

Tip #10: Have Fun! Don't forget to have fun with your salad and try new things. Don't get in a salad rut! I hope the recipes that I will present to you in this salad series will inspire you to create and experiment with creative ingredients and unusual flavor combos. Now check out my Top 31 Salad Ingredients below...

Salad Ingredients: My Fave 31. This was hard to narrow down!

Beans
1. garbanzo beans
2. edamame

Grains
3. brown rice
4. quinoa

Nuts
5. cashews
6. almonds
7. walnuts
8. macadamia nuts

Seeds
9. sunflower seeds
10. poppy seeds

Fruit and Veggies
11. avocado
12. mushrooms
13. tomatoes
14. bell pepper
15. onion
16. pears
17. apples
18. oranges
19. corn
20. white grapefruit
21. broccoli
22. asparagus
23. lemon juice
24. strawberries
25. mango
26. carrots

Leafy greens
27. arugula
28. mache
29. spinach

Herbs
30. parsley, flat

Cracker/croutons/crisps
31. savory sesame rice crisps

View the Salad Tour Recipes Series Schedule here.

It's less than two weeks til spring my overcoat-wearing, flip-flop ogling, hot cocoa-overloaded, scarf-resenting, Farmer's Market dreaming friends. The sunshine feels a tad warmer nowadays and a few spring-savvy birds have begun tuning their vocals. And when I think of springtime, I think of salads! Brilliant, beautiful, colorful, textured salads - each rich in complex sweet, salty, nutty, savory and crunch-happy flavors. So tomorrow I am launching my Salad Tour Series for Springtime! With each salad recipe, we'll travel to a new destination for inspiration!

Salad Creativity. But crafting a salad is more than simply pulling out a bottle of shelf-stable dressing and a bag of pre-washed greens. There is an art to crafting a truly cravable (and healthy) salad. I always look forward to preparing a giant salad with my dinnertime meal. For this series, I've pulled together a few awesome recipes and tips that I want to share with you. Salads are art. My salad bowl is my blank canvas and my ingredients my materials. I'm so excited for this Salad Tour Recipe Series! Get the schedule...

This series will lead you right into springtime. Start your warm-weather eating off on the right fork! (..your salad fork that is!)

Salad Recipe Tour Series for Springtime

3/9/10 - Vegan, Vegetarian, VEG Salads 101
Before we dive into salad crafting, there are a few 101 tips and insights I'd like to lend you. Ingredients, plating, dressings and flavors will be discussed here. This 101 is not to be missed! And since these are 100% plant-based salads, we will be looking at all the vegan ingredient options out there to choose from. No feta, chopped chicken or bacon bits here!

3/10/10 - Destination: California/Mexico - Mexican Fiesta Salad
This lively and colorful fiesta salad will leave you stomping out a festive beat as a mariachi band plays tunes in your head. Zesty, spicy and authentic Cali-Mexican flavors create a must-try salad from south of the border.

3/12/10 - Destination: Little Italy, NYC - The Perfectly Simple Pizza Salad
Here it is, my perfect pizza salad. It is inspired by my favorite pizza places in NYC's Little Italy area: Lombardi's and L'asso are two of my faves. I've pumped up the greens and added in my own flavors. This vegan pizza salad is the perfect pairing for your pizza night.

3/15/10 - Destination: Napa Valley, CA - Citrus Tempeh Napa Salad
Tromping through the vineyards in Napa can leave you quite parched for a glass of vino and quite hungry for some fresh, seasonal, local produce. Well there's nothing better than my Napa Valley inspired arugula salad. This dressing is one of my faves, and the fresh flavors will leave you crunching for more.

3/16/10 - Destination: Paris - Warm Spinach and Shroom Salad
This recipe is inspired by one of the best side dishes I have ever eaten (served to me in Paris): a warm plate of sauteed mushrooms, evoo and a pinch of chopped parsley. Paris and mushrooms remind me of elegance. Thus this salad is élégant and delicious.

3/17/10 - St Patty's Day

3/19/10 - Destination: Mediterranean - Mediterranean Salad
I adore the fresh and salty flavors of the Mediterranean. And one of my favorite salads is Tabouli. I put my own extra-lemony fresh twist on the classic recipe and add in a few vegan extras to round out the meal. Super delicious on a warm spring night.

3/21/10 - First Day of Spring ~ Go frolic in some flower-fields!

3/23/10 - Destination: Chinatown, San Francisco - Asian Salad with Ginger Sticky Tofu
This salad is inspired by some of the most flavorful and delicious salads I have eaten at various Asian restaurants across the USA. The recipe is classic fusion food. A few authentic flavors like umeboshi, soy and ginger mixed in with a few classic fusion ingredients like mandarin oranges and raw cashews. Super perfect salad to compliment a side of soba noodles. Sticky Tofu - yum!

3/24/10 - Destination: Washington DC - Spring in the City Cherry Blossom Salad
Bright pink beets, red roasted peppers, dried cherries, spring green pistachios and a sweet n spicy vegan ranch dressing make this salad a must eat meal, during the first week of spring.

3/25/10 - Destination: My Backyard, California - California Backyard Salad
This salad has it all, but not too much. Classic California ingredients mesh and mix to create a really big and beautiful salad that goes perfectly with a side of sunshine. I recommend a lemon iced sun tea as a bevie.

3/27/10 - Destination: Hawaii - Big Kahuna Tropical Salad
Aloha indeed. Macadamia nuts and fresh chunks of tropical fruits are just the start of this savory-sweet salad to bring any hula girl or surfer boy to the dinner table. Oh, and did I mention yummy pineapple-tahini dressing? Oh yea..

Tune in for all this salad deliciousness! Nothing is healthier than a big beautiful salad. These salads are what I crave most. CRUNCH!

Salads! The possibilities are endless..


Apple Cider Vinegar Agave EVOO dressing:

Tonight is the Oscar's and thoughts of black limos, gold statues, teary-eyed too-long speeches and slender starlets in swanky dresses swirl in my head. But the Oscar's wouldn't be complete without the red carpet. And red makes me think of all the delicious red foods I love to eat because they are both tasty and healthy: strawberries, tomatoes, cranberries, red bell peppers, raspberries, pomegranate, cherries, apples and more. Red foods are after all the first color step towards eating the rainbow. Why are red foods healthy? Buzzword: phytochemicals. So I've designed a complete menu from breakfast to dinner - with recipes starring red foods. My red carpet ready menu...

I must say, strawberries are one of my favorite red foods (fresh during strawberry season, or frozen in smoothies year round!)
Let the red-foods menu begin....

Red Carpet Ready Menu

Breakfast:
Choices of:
Fresh strawberries, simple and sweet
Kiwi Cherry Almond Oatmeal
Totally Tropical 'Strawberry' Smoothie
Fresh Strawberry Papaya Coconut Smoothie
Red Goji Berry Chai Tea

Lunch:
Choice of...
Super Rouge Red Salad
Side of California Tomato Mexican Rice
Red Roasted Pepper Bulls eye Wraps
TMT Pita: Tomato, Mache, Tempeh Facon
Fresh Crushed pomegranate Juice

Red Pepper in Bulls Eye Spiral Wraps:
Starters:
Choice of...
Savory Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Red Radishes and Vegan "Butter" Crackers
Sweet Potato Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers
Easy Roasted Red Pepper Salsa

Dinner:
Choice of..
Tempeh Pesto Stuffed Tomatoes
Lasagna Rosso Classico
Spicy Vegan Sausage Tomato Pappardelle
"Cheesy" Red San Marzano Tomato Pasta Bread Bowl

Cocktails/Bevies:
Fruity Premium Red Sangria
Guava Kombucha
Sparkling water with frozen strawberries
Coconut Water with frozen raspberries and lemon

Dessert:
Choice of...
Red Velvet Cake (NYC only)
Pomegranate Raspberry Pudding Parfait
Strawberry Upside-Down Cake
Chai Berry Short Cup Dessert Smoothie

Happy Red Carpet Cooking and Eating!

A few links for you to peruse while you dine...

WebMD's Why to Eat Red Foods Article.
Track LIVE Oscar Tweets here all night long - on one screen.

PS: Go Food Inc. and The Cove!! Both nominees for best documentary feature.

More super yummy strawberry pics below...

Shameless excitement from moi about one of my blog photos that you can spot inside VegNews Magazine's April 2010 issue.

The photo they used is from my blog post about Chipotle's vegan Garden Blend burrito. The nice Veg News Magazine Art Director contacted me a while back to use my pic in a section called "DC Dominates". Check out my name in lights, er, text in my fave mag...

OK, OK, so it's just a modest box photo, (no cover shot - yet) and it's not even a recipe photo, but it's a start! And I'm super pleased to be in my fave vegan magazine. VegNews is definitely the leader in vegan print media. So yay.

Below are pics of my first tear sheet from VegNews, and if they want any recipes to print, I'm ready and available.

My original photo from my Chipotle blog post:
There's my lil vegan burrito shot, next to other lovely DC things like senators and the White House:
Yay Healthy-Happy-Life.com 🙂
April 2010 issue, page 22 (because I know you want to check it out):
VegNews was kind enough to mail me a copy of the mag and tear sheet:

Thanks VegNews, glad to share my photo with your super cool readers.

Subscribe to VegNews for only $20 a year here -> http://www.vegnews.com/web/pages/page.do?pageId=4

..you can even get it in a digital tree-free format. Super cool.

ps, if you want to see more of my photography, visit my new photography portfolio website.

Sorry Claire Robinson, "5 Ingredient Fix" host, you're great, but I've grown disenchanted and blasé about the five ingredients or less, recipe trend. Five ingredients may make recipes more accessible to a wider viewing audience, but isn't part of the point of cooking to experiment with new ingredients and flavors. Flour, sugar, eggs, oil and milk can only get you so far, mainstream chefs.

I'm baffled by online recipe comments saying "I don't have any of these ingredients!" (I actually rarely get this comment because my readers are so worldly, curious and experimental, but go to FoodNetwork.com and the hilarity begins.)

Google "Blueberry Muffins" and you will get hundreds of recipes, each one different and worth exploring - if you are looking for a classic 'pantry-items-only' recipe, stick with your moms hand-me-down cookbook, dusty page number 462, simply index 'blueberry' or 'muffins'.

It's the creative (and delicious) blog recipes that get all the buzz. A recipe should be as original and memorable as the person who crafted it - and I'm a bit more complex than five ingredients or less. OK, OK, most of the time. But the truth is, five ingredients and more doesn't have to be as complex as it seems. And my "Too Many, But Just Enough Ingredients" Veggie Stew is proof of that. Get my recipe and the Food Network Online comment that inspired this post...

Inspired by "Soy Flour". I was reading my Food Network Newsletter and noticed a recipe by Melissa d'Arabian for "Magic Fruit-and-Veggie Cupcakes". I loved the name, so I had to click and see the recipe. Fun recipe, not vegan, but a nice twist on the average cupcake. It called for a few less-than-common ingredients like soy flour, wheat germ and ground flax seeds. I then began reading the comments on Melissa's recipe and I was quite perplexed by the angry and narrow minded comments I read. One in particular stood out and frustrated me:

"SOY FLOUR? Got as far as "soy flour" in the recipe and stopped reading. I wish to heck that some of the recipes called for the ingredients that we usually have in our cupboards and fridge. I am not about to run to the store and buy an ingredient that I may use once in 6 months!" -Gwen, AZ (comment on FoodNetwork website)

I read this comment and cringed. Huh? Is it really that hard to run out to the grocery store and buy a new ingredient to experiment with? Soy flour isn't exactly sumac, or some other ingredient you may never use more than once.

Trying new ingredients is a part time hobby of mine! Some girls buy new accessories every season, I buy new ingredients every shopping trip. I simply see that little "New Product!!" tag on the shelves at Whole Foods Market, and the product is in my cart in under 1.1 microseconds (if it's vegan). If I see a quirky new fruit or veggie, I won't ask "what would I do with this?!" I ask, "what can I do with this?!" Maybe it's the foodie in me, but to me curiosity and experimentation in the kitchen is like competition and heavy breathing at a track meet.

Five or Less Can Be Good. I get it, a simple marinara pizza with crust, crushed San Marzano tomatoes, basil, garlic and oregano can be a thing a five ingredient beauty. So can a five ingredient smoothie: strawberries, banana, soy milk, agave and coconut water ice cubes. But five ingredients shouldn't be the new standard. Recipes like stew, Mexican Mole Sauce, soups, muffins, cakes, sandwiches, pasta and more can all be brilliant (and still easy) with more than five ingredients...

Glad to get that off my chest. Now onto my super delicious veggie stew recipe. It had a lot more than five ingredients, 24 actually, but don't get scared by this massive looking list! I still call this stew an easy dinner, because I throw it in a pot and it cooks itself! Go figure...

Arugula Chiffonade on top:
Spelt Toast on the Side:
Kathy's Veggie Stew
aka "my too many, but just enough ingredients" veggie stew
vegan, makes 6 servings

4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
¼ cup whole wheat flour
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 small tomato and/or 1 roasted red pepper, chopped
½ cup corn and/or peas
1 cup carrots, diced
3 tablespoon Brewers Yeast/Nutritional Yeast
1 vegan bouillon cube
*Rapunzel brand
1 vegan spicy 'sausage'
*Field Roast Grain Meat Co. Spicy Chipoltle flavor
1 cup mini pasta shells
1 cup mushrooms
1 teaspoon saffron
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 cup white or brown rice
4-5 cups purple kale, chopped (about ¾ of 1 bunch)
2-3 tablespoon EVOO
2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoon harissa or spicy sun dried tomato spread
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoon soy creamer
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
optional: diced sweet potato, 3 slices veggie cheese, a few dashes of cayenne
garnish: chiffonaded arugula.

Directions:

1. Place soup pot on stove, over high heat. Add 2 tablespoon EVOO, a dash of veggie broth, onions and flour. Whisk quickly to form a roux.

2. Once you have a thick creamy flour roux, you can add in more ingredients: all the remaining ingredients except the pasta and half of your purple kale. This includes: pepper, sea salt, soy creamer, chopped garlic, dried rosemary (crumble into a powder), harissa, vinegar, remaining EVOO, 2 cups of the purple kale, white rice, saffron, mushrooms, vegan sausage, vegan bouillon cube, water, corn/peas, carrots, nutritional yeast, tomato/pepper and remaining veggie broth. Optional sweet potatoes and veg cheese can go in as well.

3. Bring soup to a bowl, stir well, cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 20 minutes. This will allow the flavors to merge and the rice to cook.

4. After the 20 minutes are up, add in the pasta and remaining kale. Cover again and cook on medium heat for ten minutes. You may want to add in another cup of water- only if too much steam has reduced the soup too much.

5. Do a quick taste test and adjust salt/pepper as needed. Pour steaming hot soup into bowls and garnish with fresh chiffonaded arugula or chopped parsley on top. Side of spelt toast.

Enjoy! Save leftovers for the best next-day-lunch ever. Reheat Tip: add water/veg broth to re-hydrate stew.

...see that wasn't too hard, right?