Yes! The 67th Golden Globes menu includes vegan and vegetarian options. Bravo!

It's Not a Party, Without a Menu. Yes, I love the Oscar's, but the Golden Globe Awards are the real party of the year because...they serve food, beverages and are presented 'dinner party' style. Who wants to sit through an awards show without food??? Not me. Or the celebs. Thus every year you will find me snuggly at home, watching the Golden Globes dinner party style. I am always curious to see what the celebrities will be feasting on at the gala. And this year I was thrilled to see this quote on the NBC GG Menu Preview:

"Although vegetarian and vegan options will be available, the standard main course is a surf and turf spectacular featuring sauteed sea bass with truffle endive fritto and braised beef short ribs with artichoke sweet pepper ragout." -NBC Golden Globes Menu Preview

Nice! Click ahead for more, and photos of GG menu items...

Girl from Cali. One of my favorite nights of the year is the Golden Globe Awards. As a girl form Cali, fond of Hollywood and movies, I loved sprawling out on the floor with my palms to my chin, watching the GG's with wide eyes. The stars, sparkle, glam and pizazz always struck my heart. The room filled with creative minds and artistic personalities: I loved it. And still do. It's kinda like my version of the Superbowl.

Vegan Options, but What are They?? I love the mention of Vegan and Vegetarian options at the globes, but I wish they would be a bit more specific and show some photos of the veg options too! Since they are trying to be more "green" this year, and they even had a "green" themed Golden Globes party. More veggie food in the press next year GG chefs! You know going green in your diet is trendy...and a good choice for yourself, animals and the planet.

But anyways...Here are a few of the menu preview photos , from NBC:

Photos from NBC.

And FYI, get some vegan appetizers and party-friendly eats here: Entertaining Appetizers

Fran Costigan is a vegan baking diva, for sure. Fran has baked, frosted, sliced, whipped and swirled up more than a handful of vegan treats in her day. "I Teach, but don't Preach," says Fran. Every at-home dessert-baking-diva (vegan or not) needs to know Fran.

I first learned about Fran while researching her vegan baking classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. Fran is famous for her magical demos and classes with titles like: "Extra Luscious Vegan Cupcakery" and "Chocolate Euphoria". And Fran does it all: pastries, cream puddings, frostings, glazes, pies, tarts, cupcakes, cookies, cobblers - everything! Ahead, learn more about Fran and check out two sample recipes from her new book: More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts Naturally. It's yummy...

Chatter About Fran:
"Fran's desserts are over the top, and good for you too!" - Joy Pierson, nutritionist and Bart Potenza, Co-Owners, Candle 79, NYC
"Fran's recipes are delicious and innovative. She is truly the queen of vegan desserts." -Jennie Matthau, Director, Natural Gourmet Institute
"Experience, creativity, zest for her craft and good old fashioned charm ooze from this awesome vegan baking diva." ~Moi, Kathy.

My Review of Fran's Book: More Great Good Dairy Free Desserts Naturally. I love Fran's new dessert recipe book. Not only is it filled with a diverse collection of decadent vegan desserts, but it is a golden resource filled with vegan baking tips, tricks and lessons.

I love how Fran includes a few basic concepts like: "Cooking with Tofu" and "Cooking with Starch". Plus, the "essential ingredients" resource is a priceless tool for any new or experienced vegan cook. I ask you this, do you really know what Agar (or Agar Agar) is, and how to use it in vegan treats? With this book you will!

Fran chats about basic and advanced concepts of vegan baking. Topics like "how to choose, wash and store blueberries" and "how to roll out Foolproof Flaky Pie Dough" are covered. And with so many recipes, there is something for everyone. So if you can't make it to NYC to participate in one of Fran's amazing vegan cooking classes - simply grab her new book and dive into her wealth of vegan dessert knowledge. Fran will help you master the art of vegan treats, all while having fun and embracing your own creativity in the kitchen.

More About Fran (Bio from her website)...

"Fran Costigan is a nationally recognized culinary instructor, author, consultant, recipe developer and innovative pastry chef who marries healthy eating with sumptuous tastes. A graduate of the New York Restaurant School and the Natural Gourmet Institute, Fran was a pastry chef in both traditional and vegan kitchens. Today Fran teaches her distinctive courses (including her Vegan Baking Boot Camp) in NYC at the Institute of Culinary Education and at the Natural Gourmet Institute, and she presents demonstration classes and lectures at venues throughout the US and Canada."

Two Sample Recipes.

Recipe #1: Chocolate Ganache by Fran
Ever wondered how to make classic chocolate ganache vegan??? Fran teaches vegans how to make a very simple Chocolate Ganache:

Chocolate Ganache
yield: 2 ⅔ to 3 cups
Recipe by Fran Costigan:

1 pound nondairy semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped
1 ½ cups soy creamer

Directions:
1. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.

2. Pour the creamer into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until the chocolate melts and is smooth.

3. Pour the ganache into a shallow dish and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or until firm enough to spread. The ganache will keep for one week in the refrigerator. Warm to spreading consistency in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, stirring until it can be spread.

Recipe #2: Big Orange Bundt Cake
Big, orange and fabulous is this lovely fluffy vegan cake...

Excerpt from Book: This colossal cake elicits oohs and ahs when set out for serving, but the proof is in the tasting and this cake goes to the head of its class. A Bundt pan is a deep pan with a hollow center core, similar to an angel food cake pan, but with fluted sides. The hollow center is necessary to ensure that the large amount of batter bakes through.

Big Orange Bundt Cake
Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Recipe by Fran Costigan:

1 1 ⁄ 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1 ⁄ 2 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup light natural cane sugar
1⁄4 cup dark whole cane sugar
2⁄ 3 cup canola oil
1 cup orange juice
1 cup soymilk or rice milk
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
3 tablespoons finely grated orange zest

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Oil a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan thoroughly.

2. Place a wire mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Add the pastry flour, white flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, sugar, and dark whole cane sugar to the strainer. Tap the strainer against the palm of your hand to sift the ingredients into the bowl. Stir with a wire whisk to distribute the ingredients.

3. Combine the oil, orange juice, soymilk, vinegar, vanilla and orange extracts, and zest in a separate bowl, and whisk until well combined. Pour into the dry mixture and stir with a whisk until the batter is smooth.

4. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt pan. The pan will be two-thirds full. (If you have more batter than that, perhaps a cup or so, bake it in one or two 1-cup baking ramekins or custard cups.) Smooth the top of the batter with a small spatula. Rotate the Bundt pan to level the batter, and tap it lightly on the counter to eliminate air bubbles.

5. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the cake is golden and springs back near firm at the center when touched lightly. A tester inserted in a few spots near the center of the cake should come out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.

6. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Place another wire rack on top of the cake and turn the pan upside down. Shake the pan gently to release the cake. Cool the cake completely before serving.

*permission to reprint from bookpubco.com

I've been feeling inspired by beautiful bunches of bright green organic broccoli lately. And since it's winter and everyone is better off with something warm in their tummies, I decided to craft a hearty, chunky and incredibly satisfying vegan soup. This recipe is a keeper: Broccoli Jack Soup, with Spicy Maple-Chipotle (Map-oltle) Tempeh Croutons on top. It's perfect for lunch or dinner. Protein, veggies and the perfect amount of vegan cheese. Dive in, it's delicious...

I would've posted this earlier today, but I had to keep scraping the bottom of my bowl of soup! It's that yummy...

Secret Ingredient. My secret ingredient for this recipe is a delicious Bavarian Beer Mustard that I found at a wine store. It is made in Woodstock, Virginia. It is amazing on sandwiches and snacks, but it also adds a spicy kick of flavor to this broccoli soup. Mustard and Monterey Jack cheese are a great combo. Even better than a cheddar mustard combo in my opinion. If you can't find this exact mustard, I suggest something grainy, thin in consistency and medium spiced. A basic Dijon mustard will suffice. But do not try subbing a basic yellow mustard (you know the fluorescent yellow kind) that won't work.

The Whole Broccoli and nothing but the broccoli. The fab thing about broccoli soup is that you can buy those big bunches with the thick hearty stems and use the entire broccoli (stems too). Sometimes the stems are a bit woody to eat on their own, but blended into soup they are perfection. Nothing wasted.

Get my recipe... (make it tonight!)

Broccoli Jack Soup with Map-otle Tempeh Croutons
vegan, makes 6 servings

Soup:
3 bunches (about 4 cups chopped) organic broccoli, stems and florets
1 cup broccoli florets, reserved
2 ½ cups soy milk, plain
2 ½ cups veggie broth OR water + 2 vegan bouillon cubes
¼ cup soy creamer, plain
¾ cup sweet onion, chopped
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fine black pepper
3 tablespoon whole wheat flour
3 tablespoon maple syrup, grade B preferred
3 tablespoon Bavarian Beer Mustard, or similar type
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
4-5 ounces Monterey Jack Vegan Cheese
*Follow Your Heart brand
optional: 2-3 tablespoon olive oil

Map-oltle Croutons:
8 ounces tempeh, cubed
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon ground roasted chipotle pepper powder, organic
*Frontier organic brand
*add more chipotle powder for an even deeper spiciness.
plentiful dashes of fine black pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and chop your broccoli. Remember to reserve 1 cup of florets for use later on in the recipe. Chop the stems into thin chunks for faster cooking.

3. Chop your onion and slice your cheese.

4. In a soup pot add your water and vegan bouillon cubes (or veggie broth), soy milk, soy creamer - and whisk in your flour. Also add in the maple syrup, cider vinegar, mustard, garlic powder and pepper. Turn on the heat to medium high to bring liquid to a boil. Also add in a splash of olive oil, if you'd like.

5. Add in, while stirring, your onion and chopped broccoli. Continue stirring for about 3-5 minutes, or until all your broccoli is tender.

6. Turn heat off and prepare to lightly puree your soup. You can either puree using an immersion blender. Or puree in batches in your high speed blender. Whatever option you choose, make sure to use extreme caution when blending heated ingredients. Allow the soup too cool a bit if you are using a high speed blender. Blend until lightly chunky. FYI, you should have about 6 cups of soup at this point.

7. Transfer your pureed soup back into your soup pot. Turn heat back on. Bring to a mild boil and then add in your 5 ounces of cheese. Allow to blend and melt.

8. Then add in your reserved broccoli florets and allow to cook for 2 minutes.

9. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve.

10. TEMPEH CROUTONS: Add the maple syrup, oil and apple cider vinegar to a saute pan, on high heat. Add your tempeh cubes. Dash your chipotle pepper powder over you cubes and saute until they brown on all sides. As your pan gets dry, add in a few splashes of water and allow the steam to cook and hydrate the croutons a bit. Saute until they are tender, yet a bit crisp on the edges. Set aside and use as topping for soup.

Serve soup in shallow bowls with a few tempeh cubes plopped on top. Yummy!

It's the latest foodie 'diet' trend: counting characters, not calories. 140 characters or less..

Are you trying to break into the online foodie scene, but don't know where to start? Check out Twitter, where the foodie community is alive and delicious.

Everyone from Bobby Flay and Giada to Jean Georges and Gael Greene are joining in the mouth-watering fun. Whole Foods, Jamba Juice and restaurants like Candle 79 are also on the Twitter scene. Sights (twitpics), sounds, smells, recipes (or twecipes), menus and tips are tweeted. Here is a nice list of my fave foodies, brands, hosts and chefs on Twitter. I've even *starred* my favorite vegan tweeters. Tweet, Tweet, Chomp, Chomp...

Foodies and Chefs on Twitter
Index Resource: TwitGrids.com Food Category
**=vegan-friendly tweeters

Well-Known Critics/Hosts/Chefs/Owners
Alex Guarnaschelli - @guarnaschelli
Bobby Flay - @bflay
**Chef Mayra - @VeggieChefMayra
Curtis Stone - @Curtis_Stone
Emeril Lagasse - @Emeril
Frank Bruni - @FrankBruni
Gael Greene - @GaelGreene
Gail Simmons - @gailsimmons
Giada - @GDeLaurentiis
Ingrid Hoffman - @simplyingrid
Jamie Oliver - @Jamie_Oliver
Mark Bittman - @nytimesbitten
Nate Appleman - @nappleman
Paula Deen - @Paula_Deen
Rachael Ray - @RachaelRayShow
Rick Bayless - @Rick_Bayless
Rocco Dispirito - @roccodispirito
**Sarma Melngailis - @sarma
Ted Allen - @ChopTedAllen
Tony Bourdain - @NoReservations
Tyler Florence - @TylerFlorence
Wolfgang Puck - @WolfgangBuzz
Martha Stewart - @MarthaStewart

Assorted Foodies
**Healthy Happy Life - @lunchboxbunch
**Chloe Jo Berman - @GirlieGirlArmy
Gary Vaynerchuk - @garyvee
Food Network - @FoodNetwork
Everyday Food - @everydayfood
LA Times Food - @LATimesfood
**Veg News Magazine - @VegNews
Travel Food Wine - @journeyPod
Tastespotting - @tastespotting
**Raw Food Nation - @RawFoodNation
Los Angeles Food - @lafood
Grub Street - @grubstreetny
**Raw Food Info - @ThinkRawFood
Food Gawker - @foodgawker
Kelly Choi - @KELLYCHOI
Chow.com - @CHOW
**Kristen's Raw - @KristensRaw
Lee Brian Schrager - @Lee_Schrager
**Vegan Recipes - @VeganRecipes
**Joshua Katcher - @DiscerningBrute

Restaurants and Brands
**Babycakes NYC - @BabyCakesNYC
**Pure Food and Wine - @PureFoodandWine
**Jamba Juice - @JambaJuice
**ONE - @onecoconut
Whole Foods - @WholeFoods
Peets - @Peets_Tweets
**Liquiteria - @liquiteria
Starbucks - @Starbucks
**Candle 79 - @candle79
**Real Food Daily - @RealFoodDaily
Chipotle - @ChipotleMedia
**Le Pain Quotidiem - @lepainquotidien

Are you tweeting?? I hope so! Love the foodie, vegan, recipe and restaurant tweets...keep u the delicious tweets everyone!

If you have a fave foodie tweeter, let me know in the comments. Thanks!

Follow me on Twitter: @Lunchboxbunch

View more fun Twitter categories at TwitGrids.com

Return to Page One of Post.
Complete Juicing for Health Series Info.

Lets Juice Something:

Make sure your juicer is in an easy access spot on your kitchen counter:

First, prep your food by washing and slicing it:

Next, set up your containers to catch the pulp and juice:

Turn the machine on:

Insert food in chute:

Use wooden wand to press food down through juicer, gently:

From fruit to juice and pulp:



*Note: this was about 3 pieces of medium sized fruit. This is actually the sinus juice recipe, but you'll have to wait a few days for the recipe.

Happy Juicing!
...Just call him one-eyed-charlie (see the smile?)...

Return to Page One of Post
Complete Juicing for Health Series Info.

Ready to Peruse Juicers on Amazon? My Juicer Picks:

Most people wouldn't dream of firing up their stove top on a weekday morning. But how about some sauteed orange-saffron mushrooms and maple tempeh on a bagel? No way. Well why not, I ask? Your response: "Too much clean up. No time or energy to "cook" in the morning. I'll get something to-go when I grab my coffee."

Craving: Satisfied. I know you are hungry for more than a luna bar, slice of dry toast, grab-n-go muffin, one banana or that liquid Starbucks diet you've been surviving on. Satisfy your real food craving with my Sunny Mushroom Tempeh Morning Bagel. It's easily yours, let me convince you...

Gourmet AM. To-go. I'm not asking you to whip up a four course meal at 6am, but I would like you to consider a few things:

1) Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day.
2) By the time you get around to eating or drinking your first meal of the day, doesn't it feel like "lunch" anyways? Why not "brunch it" with something substantial?
3) This gourmet breakfast sandwich took me only ten minutes to make. You can squeeze in ten minutes right?
4) I know you can't stand the thought of doing dishes or cleanup in the kitchen before work, you don't have to! Simply stick your saute pan in some hot soapy water, and by the time you get home the pan will be easy to wipe clean.

For your get-up-n-go day, you need some get-up-n-go energy. This bagel sandwich will do it. Side of fruit, fruit juice and/or coffee/chai, suggested as well. The vegan recipe below...

Sunny Mushroom Tempeh Morning Bagel
makes 2 sandwiches

Mushroom Saute:
1 tablespoon vegan buttery spread
½ orange, juiced
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup mixed mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 pinch saffron
small handful of chopped parsley
optional: 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
s&p to taste

Maple Tempeh:
1 block tempeh, 8 oz.
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ cup maple syrup
½ orange, juiced
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
optional: vegan cheese, melted
s&p to taste

Bagel:
2 bagels, sliced
handful of organic arugula
optional: jam or Vegenaise spread
2 slices maple tempeh
a few spoonfuls of the mushroom saute

Directions:

1. Slice your mushrooms, juice your orange and slice your tempeh. Your rectangle block of tempeh should be sliced in half, then down the center to create 4 think cubes.

2. Over med-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of vegan buttery spread. Add your mushrooms, onions and optional celery to that.

3. Next add in your orange juice from ½ orange, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar and a nice pinch of saffron. Saute until saffron blooms and mushrooms become tender. Add a small handful of parsley and remove from heat. Transfer to a separate container and set aside.

4. In the same pan, add a teaspoon of olive oil and 2-3 tablespoon maple syrup. Add tempeh. Saute a bit and add in the rest of your orange juice and apple cider vinegar.

5. Saute for about 2 min on each side. If adding cheese, add it over top the tempeh and melt gently. Add salt/pepper to taste.

6. Slice and toast your bagel. You can add a smear of berry jam or Vegenaise spread to each side of your bagel (optional).

7. To the bagel, add two slices of tempeh, a big spoonful of your saffron mushroom mixture and a handful of raw arugula. A pinch of pepper on top. Slice bagel and pack to-go, or eat at home. A side of fresh OJ or other fresh citrus or tropical juice (pineapple, grapefruit, papaya, tangerine) goes perfectly with this bagel.

"People don't realize that the Amazon is the last frontier on earth. It is still 80% unexplored. There are rivers that go for 1,000 km that are totally uninhabited."

"At the current rate half the Amazon will be cattle farms by the year 2030." -Borut Strel's voiceover, Martin's son, Big River Man.

Last night I watched the documentary "Big River Man" on the Planet Green channel. Love that new channel. It was one of those films that I randomly watched, having no idea what it was about. But through the 2 hour flick, I couldn't pry myself from the couch. I was immersed in this fascinating, strange, frightening, shocking, awe-inspiring and truthful world of the Big River Man, Martin Strel. I was inspired and even a bit confused by Martin's passionate (and mad) feats to communicate to the world his commitment for keeping the world's waterways clean. Why you need to watch this award-winning film...

Martin Strel and Big River Man.

The movie pitch on Planet Green is this:

"A film like no other, Big River Man is the true story of Martin Strel, the World record-holding endurance swimmer, and his insane attempt to be the first person to swim the world's most dangerous river, the mighty Amazon.

Always looking for challenges of the impossible, Strel completed his epic Amazon river swim in April, 2007, making it all the way from Atalaya, Peru, to the Atlantic Ocean at Belém, Brazil. He was struggling the river for 66 days, for more than 10 hours a day and swam a total of 3274 miles. He became a worldwide hero, and the focus of this great film with an important green message." - Planet Green.

Martin's Green Message. The most significant part of this movie is in regards to Martin's selfless and many times insane commitment to his swimming feats. His motivation is nature, and his deep connection to it. He hopes that his headline-catching swims will help send a message to the world about keeping our waters pure and safe from the pollution of man. Martin is deeply inspired by animals and nature. Almost to an unhealthy extent. Martin was severely beaten as a child and attributes his abusive childhood to his outstanding will to tolerate pain and endurance when he swims. In the film, it seemed Martin was most alive, well and calm when he was immersed in the Amazon river - just like one of the many species that call the Amazon home.

Electric Guitars are Evil? And more saddening facts and quotes from the film...

"One single mahogany tree in the Amazon can be worth up to $20,000 in Europe or America."

"These mahogany trees are made into expensive boats and furniture, but mostly musical instruments, especially electric guitars."

"As of 2006 20% of the Amazon forest has been cut down, at the current rate of cutting, half the forest will be gone in 20 years."

Message About Beef and Deforestation. There is a wonderful scene in this movie that talks about the beef industry and how it is destroying the Amazon at a rapid rate. Quotes from the film:

"An area of jungle the size of a small country disappears each year, most of this is due to cattle ranching. Each year the sky turns black with smoke for months as pristine forest is burned to make way new cow fields."

"Countless species of animals and plants become extinct each burn season, this is all simply because of the world's demand to eat beef."

"Even though the UN released a report saying that cattle production has more harmful an environmental impact than all the cars on the planet, the fast food companies are spending millions to promote even more consumption and bigger burgers."

"At the current rate half the Amazon will be cattle farms by the year 2030, and by the end of century, not only Amazon, but all of he world's rain forests will need to be cut down to accommodate the needs of a world with 14 billion people."

I highly suggest you check out this film. It is entertaining, inspiring, heart-wrenching and informative.

More facts about deforestation for the cattle industry:

"An estimated 200 million pounds of beef are imported from Central America every year and this requires land for cattle grazing which, in turn, requires rain forest clear-cutting. Every minute of every day, we lose the equivalent of a football field of rain forest to make room for doomed cattle. That's 55 square feet of forest per hamburger."-Planet Green, Green Glossary.
More on this problem from Planet Green.

Check Planet Green's TV listings to find out when Big River Man is playing.

I have a love affair with Red Sangria. And so a while back, I decided to craft my perfect Sangria recipe. It turns out, I am a 'Premium Sangria' kind of girl. Yes, Sangria recipes are pretty basic: fruity wine, good brandy, chopped fruit, a squeeze of something fresh and a spritz of something fizzy. Oh, and the most important ingredient is love. My recipe and journey to crafting it...

Do you remember your first sip of sangria? My love affair with sangria happened one night in Adams Morgan, Washington DC...

I met a few girlfriends at a tiny two-story Spanish tapas joint. The tables were crammed with smiling, warm-faced, laughing diners. Festive music hummed in the background. Golden candlelight bounced off the tall wine glasses which were filled to the brim with a purple beverage and bits of fruit, aka sangria. I sat down to see two giant porcelain pitchers of sangria on the table. Big wooden spoon handles sticking out the top.

I munched on something. Maybe veggie paella, marinated mushrooms or my favorite Pan con Tomate (Pan a la Catalana or just Catalana bread). I don't really remember the food, but I do remember the sangria. Sweet, fruity, tart and aromatic. Big chunks of wine marinated apples and oranges were scooped out with the wooden spoon and plopped in my glass. I remember looking across the crowded table, taking my last loud slurp through my sangria straw and nodding to my friend. I was silent in awe of this new beverage, but she looked at me and said with bright eyes, "Good huh?! Seconds?" Yes, please.

NYC Sangria. When I moved to NYC, one of my first big obsessions was finding some really good sangria like I had tasted back in DC. There were a few hits, a few misses and a few that I would really call 'watered down fruit punch and a shot of really bad brandy'. But it seemed most spots in NYC were a bit unpredictable in their recipe. We'd always ask, "Is it good tonight?" And mind you, while I paid under $20 for a pitcher of sangria in DC, the NYC price was usually $27 or more. Dos Caminos, an NYC Mexican chain restaurant, had sub par sangria for $32 a pitcher. Though we ordered it a lot, many times we left feeling incredibly jilted. Thus, I turned to what I usually do when I can't find a food or drink item at a reasonable price per quality: I started crafting my own recipe.

Best NYC Sangria? In case you are curious, my favorite sangria in NYC, is the white sangria at Macondo on Houston St in between SoHo and LES. I never used to like white sangria until I tried it there. They have a killer red sangria too. And a whole slew of other delicious fresh-fruity drinks. Yum.

Sangria. Premium Sangria. The one thing I realized through all my sangria 'travels' was that most sangria is made from some sort of crappy fruit juice mix. Yes, sometimes the nicer establishments will serve their sangria with lots of fresh fruit and a few add-in fresh juices, but besides that, it usually tasted 'fruit punch-y'. OK, maybe all you want is a light, drinkable Kool-Aid style sangria. But being that my favorite thing about sangria was the fresh fruit essences, I decided to step up all the ingredients in my recipe.

I choose to go premium in my recipe. From the brandy to the apples to the fruit juice and even the wine. Yes, even the wine. (I know this goes against all sangria-making sense, aka choose a cheap wine) but trust me, it's worth a try. My husband would look at me dumb-founded as I would take one sip of a $25 bottle of really tasty wine, and dump it into my sangria pitcher.

"This would make a delicious premium sangria!" I'd shout. He shook his head and laughed at my madness. You don't need a 'good' bottle of wine, but it helps. I've tried my base recipe with a $9 bottle of wine and a $40 bottle of wine, and everything in between. You may think that adding a good bottle of wine to sangria is wasting the wine. But not if you are a true sangria connoisseur. Premium ingredients, premium wine. That's premium sangria.

What Wine do I Use? Rule of thumb: if you wouldn't drink the wine by itself, don't use it in your sangria. (Otherwise it won't be 'premium sangria'). Spanish wines are traditional and usually work great. A red rioja in the $15 range works. I like to go for a 12% alcohol wine (nothing over 13%) with some really fruity flavors. I actually love California Cabernet Sauvignon in my sangria. And as always, I look to buy biodynamic and organic wines. Always. If you haven't tried a biodynamic wine, definitely seek one out. The flavors are usually off-beat and intense in a good-quirky way. If you are worried that your wine may not be vegan, I'd consult barnivore's list: http://www.barnivore.com/wine

Onto the recipe!

NOTE: When I make sangria I don't measure much (I did for this post). This recipe is a good base for what to add in. It's all about combining high quality fruit flavors with good wine and brandy. A lot of love goes into crafting sangria. If you are not in the mood for concord grape juice, you can easily substitute it with pomegranate, cranberry or apple juice. Up to you. And if you have a juicer, fresh juice is always best for premium sangria. This recipe is a great starting point to be creative from. Cheers! or Salud!

Kathy's Premium Red Sangria

1 bottle of red wine (something fruity that you would drink on its own.)
2 large tangerines (or juicy/sweet oranges), juiced
½ orange, sliced into thin rounds
½ orange, peeled and diced into chunks
½ lime, juiced
1 medium organic apple, fuji or honeycrisp, diced thin
½ cup frozen organic blueberries
1 cup black or red organic grapes, sliced in half
1-2 shots of brandy, high quality
1 cup concord grape juice, organic
Choose one:
1 cup of champagne
OR
1 cup of sparkling apple or San Pelligrino orange soda
*For a lighter alcoholic beverage choose sparkling juice
optional: 2 teaspoon agave syrup (or vegan sugar)
not optional: lots of love!

Directions:

1. Prep all your fruit. Slice the apple into tiny diced bits, halve the grapes, slice thin rounds of one ½ orange and chop the other ½ orange into chunks. Place the apple, grape and orange bits into a large pitcher.

2. Juice your tangerines and lime. Add this juice to the pitcher.

3. Add your brandy to the pitcher. Next, do a swift swirling of the fruit and brandy. This will help the break up the fruit flesh and release those yummy fruit essences.

4. Add the wine and remaining fruit juice to the pitcher. Add in the frozen blueberries - this will help chill your sangria without watering it down. Stir well.

5. Add the sparkling beverage selection, or you can top off each poured glass with a bit of something sparkling, whatever you prefer.

6. Allow your sangria to chill in the fridge for at least a half hour. The sangria fruit flavors will expand and increase as the fruit marinates with the wine. The longer you can let it marinate a few hours before serving, the better. To serve: You can pour it over ice if you'd like, or simply serve cold. Straws are a must. How else can you pick up that yummy fruit to eat. Straws are like sangria chopsticks.

Flashback. College days, toting a Vitamin Water "Revive" in my backpack, watching the jocks chug an "Energy" in one sitting and hoping my purple-colored beverage would last me through my three hour Anatomy and Physiology lecture. Vitamin Water: I used to be a fan.

All about Vitamin Water's new Connect flavor, and find out how their bottle text gets a "social networking" spin from Facebook...

Connect. Vitamin Water's latest marketing ploy is it's new Facebook-inspired flavor: Connect. It's "made by fans, for fans." This black-cherry lime flavored water boasts "8 key nutrients" and added caffeine. Added caffeine? Haven't we passed that Red Bull, I need energy now, triple shot at Starbucks trend? I hope so. And as one Facebook commenter, Skipp, noted "I feel like the caffeine kind of goes against what vitamin water is all about...."

I agree Skipp. Vitamin Water's Facebook page describes their product as "healthy hydration for every occasion." So, VW is a health-minded (not just marketing-fluffy) beverage? Skipp has the question spot on: what is Vitamin Water all about? Vitamins? Health? A healthy alternative to artificial beverages? I thought so, but now I'm not so sure. And I'm thinking that someone in marketing better figure it our really fast before I start viewing Vitamin Water as just another florescent-colored sugar-water beverage. Or is it too late?...

Connect. The Announcement on VW's Facebook page:

“Unlike the never-ending debate over whether it’s rock-paper-scissors or paper-rock-scissors, based on your votes and your designs, the latest flavor of vitaminwater has FINALLY been decided… introducing the black cherry-lime flavored vitaminwater named… connect! check out this new package- flavor & ingredients, name & label design- all inspired by you- our fans. it’s got 8 key nutrients plus caffeine. thanks for all your help- especially to the grand prize winner Sarah from Illinois and the four other finalist http://budurl.com/q27w. vitaminwater connect will be available in stores nationwide in march this year- so until then, stay hydrated- and keep your eyes here for news, updates and special offers for connect, including a possible sneak tasting opportunity. and btw… it’s rochambeau!”

Connect. The bottle. After some serious enlarging and squinting at the first online photos of the new bottle I finally deciphered what it says. Here is what the bottle reads:

"We caught you. no denying it. your fingerprints are all over this bottle. after connecting on Facebook, you voted on the flavor & designed the label - it was great having you do all the work! and since you've been so busy pretending not to notice friend requests for about 3 days, posting pics of events that you're still at, and clicking through photos of 'friends' you barely know (ever get nervous they can tell?), better crack open this bottle. it's got 8 key nutrients from vitamin a to zinc plus caffeine to give you some extra energy...because based on last night's pics, it looks like you've got some serious untagging to do."

So the big question is: Does Vitamin Water's new Connect beverage "connect" with you? Or are you denying it's friend request, or better yet, unfriending it all together? (Sorry, I had to.)

*images and bottle text from Vitamin Water's Facebook Page.
*Connect hits stores in March.

Have these pups been through security? I love this story. Love, compassion, humor and a whole lot of creative thinking skills combine to meet one goal: find these pups a loving new home. Virgin America calls it Operation Chihuahua! More on Operation Chihuahua and plenty of in-flight doggie pics...

Too Cute to be Homeless! It may seem shocking that these cute little pups were stuck in animal shelters out west, but it's true. I call it the Paris Hilton syndrome, you can call it what you'd like. There is a lopsided balance of supply and demand for tiny doggies going on in the United States. West coast shelters have too many tiny doggies because the demand for them has gone down. Alternately, the east coast, is experiencing a shortage of tiny pups.

Virgin America to the Rescue! So in an effort to help aid a basic economics problem of supply and demand, Virgin America volunteered to fly a gaggle of chihuahuas to NYC. Because tiny dogs are the perfect fit for new york mini-sized apartments. Try squeezing a golden retriever into a 500 sq. ft apartment! And thus Virgin America is juicing all the good PR out of this story - as they should! Their Facebook page has a big gallery of photos and celebrities like Ellen D are praising VA for their efforts. Ellen tweets: "Shout out to Virgin America for what you’re doing for the dogs in California shelters. I love you!"

I give them a gold star for making a few lucky animals and new owners very happy. Check out these adorable doggy-air pics...

From the virgin America Facebook page:

www.virginamerica.com

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/VirginAmerica

Diet Fast! Fast food 'diets' pop up like daisies in springtime nowadays, but Taco Bell has taken their diet to a whole new arena: the drive-thru! No need to get out of your cozy car folks, if you can roll down your window, you can order up some yummy diet food. Or so we are told.

Fast food chain, Taco Bell has pulled out all the stops for their new marketing campaign. Reminiscent of Subway's "Jared" marketing campaign, Taco Bell brings us the Taco Bell Diet, aka the Drive-Thru Diet. Sounds like a joke, right? Well numerous television commercials, a full Taco Bell DriveThruDiet.com website, a Fresco menu and even a "it worked for me!" spokeswoman (Christine) tells us that Taco Bell execs are 100% serious about their "thinking outside the bun" idea. I knew I had to give this 'diet' a closer look. See what I found: the good, the bad and the ugly...

Taco Bell Diet

Quickie Facts: Taco Bell has created a "Fresco Menu" to accompany their new diet campaign. The fresco menu items range in calories from 150 to 340 calories. The menu has 7 items with under 9 grams of fat. The basis of the menu is that to make any Taco Bell item "Fresco" Taco Bell employees will replace any cheese and sauce components with Taco Bell's new Fiesta Salsa. The Fiesta Salsa is a combination of tomatoes, onions, cilantro and some sort of salsa dressing. Taco Bell says about their new salsa:

"Our Fiesta Salsa is a delicious blend of tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and chili seasonings that we prepare fresh daily. In Mexico, this combination is known as "pico de gallo," which translates literally as "rooster's beak." Some attribute the Spanish name to the beak-like shape and red color of the chilis traditionally used to make it. Another possibility is that the chilis make your tongue feel like it has been pecked by a rooster. Whatever the reason, we prefer our name!"

So even though Taco Bell wants you to think the Fiesta Salsa is 100% fresh veggies and just like a traditional Pico salsa, it also contains a 'fiesta salsa dressing' that contains partially hydrogenated corn oil. Not exactly a Pico de Gallo ingredient. Here are the full ingredients in the Fiesta Salsa (the mainstay component of the Drive-Thru Diet menu philosophy).

Fiesta Salsa - Tomatoes, White Or Yellow Onions, Cilantro. Fiesta Salsa Dressing: Diced Green Chili (Green Chilies, Citric Acid), Vinegar, Water, Jalapeño Chili, Partially Hydrogenated Corn Oil, Salt, Garlic Powder, Xanthan Gum, and Less Than 0.1% Sodium Benzoate Added As A Preservative.

The bottom line: The Fresco menu does not have any "magical" healthy weight-loss items, it is simply the traditional Taco Bell menu, sans the cheese and sauce and plus the Fiesta Salsa.

Numbers Can Lie. It's a drive-by for sure. On your road to diet fast, who can pay attention to real facts anyways. Just stick a few pleasing numbers up on the nutrition board and smile contently as you drive on by. You deserve better. The worst thing a 'diet menu' can do is only focus only on calories and fat. The Fresco menu boasts a gloss-over view of fat and calories. If you want to see all the facts, you have to click on a pop-up window with a long list of nutrition facts. Numbers can lie, or they can tell the truth. Confused? Don't be.

Point A) If you only focus on calories and fat in your diet and discard factors like: ingredient quality, freshness, fiber, vitamins, minerals and whether or not it is organic, you are failing your body. Health is not born out of numbers. Health is born out of high quality nutrient dense foods paired with a healthy lifestyle. Exercise, stress reduction, healthy relationships, spiritual and occupational wellness are other factors to consider. See the 6 Dimensions of Wellness here.

Point B) If you want to lose weight, you will indeed have to consume less calories than you metabolize or burn off. But if your 'low-calorie' diet is devoid of nutrients, you may be damaging your body - even if you are losing weight. I would personally choose higher calorie, higher quality food over low-calorie fast food any day of the week. Why risk your health for weight loss? Isn't the point of losing weight to get healthy? If you want to lose weight and get healthy, you should put healthy foods with plenty of nutrients into your body (and keep the bad stuff out, like empty-calorie foods, chemicals, preservatives and food additives.) And unfortunately, Taco Bell items contain a lot of these food additives.

Another Way to Look at the "Numbers Lie" Scenario... You know those famously rich folks who are well known for making millions of dollars each year? Well a few of those high income folks, years down the road, turn out to have money trouble! You stop and think, "How in the world did Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon or MC Hammer have money trouble, when they were making so much money?" The simple answer: You can't use one or two numbers to analyze and predict an outcome. You can't look at "income" and predict someones lifelong wealth. Just as you can't look at calories and fat and predict the health impacts a food will have on someones body. Income and calories are both important numbers, but they are not sole factors to take into consideration.

Onto my menu analysis. I perused the Taco Bell "Diet" site as well as the traditional menu. Note: I analysed both Fresco menu items as well as traditional menu items. Note to Vegans: If you are seeking a 'vegan' option at Taco Bell, you are not in luck. The only vegan menu items seem to be the Cinnamon Crisps and the Guacamole AND the Fresco style bean burrito. The traditional style bean burrito contains cheese. Some salsas and sauces may also be vegan, but really, I think you should just pass on any Taco Bell fare. Vegans, run from this border. But for those of you who are seriously contemplating squeezing Taco Bell into their diet plan, here are a few facts I found that are good, bad or just plain ugly...

THE GOOD.

*Portion Control. Unlike McDonald's famous "Super Sized" menu, Taco Bell does keep its portions pretty controlled. They don't encourage you to buy 5 tacos at a time either. The Fresco menu items maintain nice controlled portion sizes ranging from 150 to 340 calories.
*What's 'Whole' Food? According to the Taco Bell ingredients list, the only menu items that are 100% whole foods are tomatoes, onions, cilantro and lettuce. No chemicals, food additives or preservatives are used on these items. The ingredients in tomatoes are simply tomatoes.
*Good Guac. Haas Avocados are the first ingredient in guacamole. And the guac appears to be animal product free.
*Taco Bell is MSG and Lard free. "None of the Taco Bell® menu items contain the following potential allergens: Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP), Sulfites or Sulfiting agents, Shellfish, Nuts or nut extracts (especially peanuts), Undeclared fish or seafood, Yellow #5, Lard."
*Hmm...This 'good' part is getting pretty tricky. I guess it's good that Taco Bell has a nice disclaimer about their Drive Thru Diet. The disclaimer does mention something about 'exercise'. Hmm. It reads "DRIVE-THRU-DIET® IS NOT A WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM. FOR A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE, PAY ATTENTION TO TOTAL CALORIE AND FAT INTAKE AND REGULAR EXERCISE. TACO BELL'S FRESCO MENU CAN HELP WITH CALORIE REDUCTIONS OF 20 TO 100 PER ITEM COMPARED TO CORRESPONDING PRODUCTS ON OUR REGULAR MENU. NOT A LOW CALORIE FOOD. FOR COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT TACOBELL.COM"

THE BAD.

*Caramel color added to Green Chili Sauce.
*Corn Syrup is 5th ingredient in Green Tomatillo Sauce (17 ingredients total).
*Where's the Cheese? Nacho Cheese sauce 5th ingredient is cheddar cheese (shouldn't it be first?).
*Flour tortilla contains Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil and sugar.
*TB Hearts Milk. Every single pre-made item contains milk (except cinnamon twists). Does not include salsas or guac.
*Bad Beans. Though Taco Bell brags that its refried beans are actually not fried, they are not fat free, and contain Partially Hydrogenated Soy Bean Oil as the second ingredient.
*Reduced Fat Sour Cream contains gelatin, which is made from from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones, aka crushed animal bones.
*High fructose corn syrup, HFCS, is in their salsa and pizza sauce.
*Not so Festive Fiesta Salsa. Partially hydrogenated corn oil in Fiesta Salsa. (Aka they 'healthy menu' mainstay ingredient)
*Lava Sauce 4th and 5th ingredients are egg yolks and corn syrup.
*Reduced fat sour cream #1 ingredient is still: cream. Cream is high in saturated fat.
*The sodium content in many of the menu items is pretty outrageous, as is the case with most fast food menus.
*Oily Dressing. The first ingredient in the dressings is "Soybean Oil".

And now a few facts that I consider to be just plain ugly:

THE UGLY.

*The Frutista Freeze, (talk about a deceiving name) does no actually contain fruit! Strawberry flavor ingredients-Treated Water, Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Yucca Extract, Salt, FD&C Red #40, Sodium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness), Potassium Sorbate (Preserves Freshness). And I know Red#40 is common nowadays, but it still scares me.
*There's Bugs in my Taco Shell? Red Strips and Red Taco Shell contain Carmine as a red food coloring agent. If you don't know, carmine is a red food coloring additive made from the crushed shells of insects. Ground up bugs.
*Ugly Marketing. Taco Bell is running a Twitter contest for a whopping $550 in Taco Bell food (sarcasm indeed). All you have to do is tweet your rave review of Taco Bell's new Drive Thru Diet menu. You'll win a Taco Bell Diet for a year, aka worth $550. Wow. "Motivate your followers with your most creative praise and you could win free Fresco for a year! ($550 value)" That's one way to get people to tweet exaggerations (or lies) about how great and healthy this new menu is. Oh, you can even make a Frescolution pledge online and send motivating ecards to your friends. Again, wow. And, how creative of you. E-cards, really?

Another Fun Fact: Oddly, when you look at the Fiesta Salsa in the Nutrition Calculator, it has only 5 calories and 0 grams of fat. This seems odd when the salsa has an oil-containing dressing. Even a small amount of oil should be listed. I found this quote from a restaurant employee about this mysterious 'Fiesta Salsa Dressing"

Commenter 1, Mandy: "I'm looking for the fiesta salsa recipe from taco bell. I know it's tom., green onion, cilantro, but what else? Mine is missing something!"
Commenter 2, Anon: "Mandy, I work at taco bell right now, and I know that the fiesta salsa has all of the ingredients you listed, and then some sort of dressing mixed in with it. I think it's some sort of spicy/sweet mixture (since I remember reading the ingredients once and it has jalapenos in it), but I can't remember it off the time of my head."

...so it's clearly not all veggies. I posted the full Fiesta Salsa ingredient list early on in this post. Comment Source: Recipe Clones webpage.

Diet Fast? I think you should take a snail's pace on this one.

For more info on Taco Bell's diet:

http://www.drivethrudiet.com/frescolution
http://www.drivethrudiet.com/
http://www.tacobell.com/
http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/ingredient-statement/#fiesta-salsa

image source: tacobell.com

This recipe for Pad Thai with Spicy Peanut Sauce is anything but traditional, and that's a good thing! Yes, I've kept my Pad Thai flavor profile pretty traditional with essences of soy, lime, peanut, scallion, sesame and cilantro. But I've 'veganized it' by removing the animal products like fish sauce, egg and shrimp/meat add-ins. I've added in healthy ingredients like soba noodles and plenty of fresh veggies. Glimmers of green broccoli, slivers of shiitake mushrooms and plenty of crunchy mung bean sprouts are speckled throughout this satisfying twist on a traditional recipe.

It's like takeout, only better. A lot better. And surprisingly easy. Make-ahead and leftover friendly. Go-to dinner approved. You'll be slurping down noodles faster than you can say "Do you have cash for a tip?" Put down that takeout menu my friends...

Blog Takeout. Inspiration Flashback. Long before the world of blogging even existed, I was just a kid swirling my #2 pencil around on a piece of paper, sketching out my dreams. One of my favorite fantasies was to own my own restaurant. I'd spend hours sprawled out on my bedroom floor designing logos, mocking up architecture for the building and finalizing a name and menu.

Of my creations, there was "Sunbox Cafe" "Thick and Crusty Sandwiches" and my favorite, "Greenbox Fast Food" my spin on a "Jack in the Box" style drive-thru serving veggie burgers, strawberry soyshakes and nothing but hand cut sweet potato fries. Recycled containers and discounts for reusable containers and to-go bags, in full swing. In my vision, the drive-thru window was always accompanied by a large sloping grassy hill where families could step outside their cars and have a mini drive-thru picnic. A blue sky up top and cool green grass between your toes. Song birds in the air and an ocean breeze on your face. Cartwheeling kids giggling on the scene. My kind of place. These were my wild and crazy dreams as a kid.

Nowadays I don't own my own restaurant. (Maybe someday, investors wanted! lol) But I do write this blog. And my blog recipes are a sort of takeout food via virtual reality. You can order up the special blog recipe of the day and have it served to you in your very own kitchen, with plenty of assembly required, however. Order up!

Customers, Taste-Testers and Special Requests. Before I post a new recipe, it is always my family who is on the front lines of taste-testing. Holidays are the best because I get a wide variety of feedback. My favorite is always the opinion of the three-year-old. "Yuck!" or "Yummy! More, more!" are my favorite direct quotes of review. Honesty never fails the little ones. But once in a while I get a special request, and this past week it was from my mom. She loved (and was dying to taste test) my New Year's Eve soba noodle recipe. Lucky mum and dad, I had plans to visit them this week, so I brought them a nice "takeout" style sampling of soba noodles. But I was eager to try a new recipe, so I tried this Pad Thai twist on soba noodles, with a decadent Spicy Peanut sauce on the side. The taste test was met with great approval, thus I will now pass the recipe on to you...

Soba Noodle Pad Thai:

Spicy Peanut Sauce:

Pad Thai Soba Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce
vegan

1 package Soba Noodles, 8.8 ounces
*I used Eden brand Wild Yam Soba Noodles

Boiling Broth:
5 cups water
¼ cup soy sauce
1 packet of vegan "Japanese Soup" mix
*I used San-J brand vegan White Miso with tofu soup
2 tablespoon Ume Plum Vinegar
1 teaspoon hot chili oil
1 teaspoon orange zest
a big squeeze of orange juice
3 tablespoon maple syrup (grade b is my fave)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, with sea salt and seaweed
dash of wasabi powder
dashes of pepper

Last Minute Boil Add-in's:
1 ½ cups fresh broccoli florets
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 ½ cups bean sprouts

Cold Toss-In Ingredients:
1 ½ cups bean sprouts
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
½ cup orange bits, peeled and diced
¼ cup peanuts or raw cashews
¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup cilantro or parsley, chopped fine
½ cup scallions, chopped thin
½ teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
black pepper to taste
opt'l: another splash of ume plum vinegar

Spicy Peanut Sauce:
⅔ cups of leftover noodle broth
squeeze of lime juice
2 tablespoon peanut butter
2 tablespoon tahini
3 tablespoon maple syrup, grade B pref'd
dash of pepper
½-2 teaspoon hot chili oil (modify amount for desired heat level)

Directions:

1. Prepare boiling broth by adding 5 cups of water to soup pot. High heat. Add in all boiling broth ingredients. Bring broth to a boil.

2. Add in the dry soba noodles. Break dry noodles in half if you want shorter noodles. Make sure the noodles are completely submerged into broth.

Low Quality 'In Kitchen' Photos:

*boiling, add-ins, scallions and draining the broth in bowl.

3. Boil noodles for 6-8 minutes total. While boiling, prepare a big bowl of ice water bath. You should also prep the veggie add-in ingredients while the noodles are boiling (chop the scallions, shiitakes, cilantro, broccoli, etc.)

4. After about 5 minutes of boiling, add in your final 'boil add-in' ingredients: broccoli florets, shiitake mushrooms and mung bean sprouts. Allow them to mix with the broth and noodles to cook for 1-3 minutes. Stir frequently, do not let noodles stick to bottom of pan to burn. Total cooking time is still about 6-8 minutes, you are simply adding in veggies for the last 1-3 min of cooking time.

5. Once the broccoli is tender (do not overcook) turn off heat and drain the noodles, however do not toss the boiling broth down the drain - save it in a separate bowl. This leftover broth will be used as a base ingredient in the spicy peanut sauce.

6. Immediately submerge the noodles/veggies (still in a strainer) into the ice bath. Rinse them with ice cold water. Toss a bit in strainer to remove excess rinsing water. Set aside. Air dry noodle mixture a bit. Dry on a large bamboo mat if you have one. Wet Noodles Note: Slippery, damp 'wet' noodles are fine too, but in my experience the taste results are better with 'dry' noodles. The dry noodles will absorb more peanut sauce flavors as well as flavors from your cold toss-in ingredients.

7. Next, add cold noodles to a large mixing bowl and toss with the cold toss-in ingredients.

8. Place noodles in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes before serving. (You can also toss noodles with peanut sauce before chilling, see next step.)

9. While your noodles are chilling, you can prepare your spicy peanut sauce. Add the ingredients to the same pan you cooked your noodles in. Bring to a light boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Stir continuously. The sauce will begin to cook down and create a dense thick caramel colored sauce. You can do a taste test for salt, spice, sweet and savory levels. Don't be afraid to modify the recipe a bit and put your own spin on the peanut sauce. Add in ginger, chilies, ume, cilantro, garlic, pepper, soy milk, or simply prepare as I have posted. Pour your peanut sauce in a separate container and stick in the fridge to cool. NOTE: You can also toss your noodles in the warm peanut sauce and chill (this is my favorite way to prepare my noodles), however if you are serving your dish to multiple guests, they may want to add their own peanut sauce or they may not want any sauce at all. This takes care of "sauce on the siders" (as Bourdain would call them).

10. After properly chilled, serve your pad thai. This recipe is delicious cold OR warm. Leftovers are divine. Garnish dish with fresh chopped cilantro, sesame seeds and my fave - wasabi rice crackers. Fortune cookies, optional.

Learn more about Soba Noodles and see my first soba recipe here.

Happy winter to you all. But "winter" is different for everyone. Right now, if you're draped in a tiny tangerine-colored tank top with just a pair of flip-flops on your feet, I envy you. Your winter eating complaints are probably very minimal, just grab a frosty fruit smoothie, throw a coconut water in your bag and head out the door.

But for most people, winter is a combination of extreme freezing temperatures, frozen red noses, cold air, dry heat from the indoor environment, tired sore muscles, numb ears, grumbling tummies and spontaneous hot chocolate, latte, or chai cravings. Chai overload, I know it well. Your body is overwhelmed with signals during the winter months, "I'm thirsty. I'm cold. I'm hungry. I'm tired." And figuring out what those signals are telling you to eat, can be quite a challenge. A person can only eat so much soup and sip so many hot bevies...

Here are a few solutions. You may be surprised what your body is missing out on this winter. No more complaints...

Confusing Winter Cravings. Eating in the winter months is different than in summertime. And sometimes your cravings can make you feel like you are nuts. A smoothie in 20 degree temperatures sounds nuttier than pickles and soy ice cream! Exhibit A) After a long freezing walk in the cold dry air, I devoured an entire papaya and then had a craving for a fruit smoothie. Not your usual soup-to-keep-me-warm craving. The fruit hydrated my body and provided potassium, vitamins, minerals and fiber. My body knew what it wanted. But sometimes between your body, brain and hands to mouth - the "what to eat" signals can get confused and the complaining begins...

Often when we eat incorrectly in winter, we end up with classic winter eating complaints.

A few complaints:

I'm cold!
I'm still hungry!
I'm thirsty!
I feel sluggish and tired!
I'm eating too much!

Problems Solved!

Winter Eating Complaints Solved:

1. Complaint: "I'm Cold!"
Solution: Often times we will reach for a hot cocoa, tea or coffee beverage to warm us up. And while these choices certainly do help. For very poor, continuing low body heat, try these tips: have some soup or very hot stew. Hot mashed potatoes or a warm knish is also a great choice. These hot complex carbohydrates will stick with you longer-warming you longer. Also, try spicy foods to warm up your whole body. Really spicy foods can actually make you sweat. Also, no matter what, make sure your body is hydrated. A dehydrated body does not hold its body temperature up well and will be more prone to temperature fluctuations. Stay hydrated to stay warm. And also, too many caffeinated beverages can dehydrate you, making you colder.

2. Complaint: "I'm Still Hungry!"
Solution: Eat denser foods. Complex carbs, fat and protein. These foods will keep your body feeling well nourished. Simple carbs like fruit beverages, sugar and even white flour will not provide long lasting satisfaction. Foods like potatoes, nuts, high quality grains, beans, protein and lightly cooked veggies will all help your hungry feeling. Light salads, toast, fruit and light cereals or grains sometimes just don't satisfy your hunger or energy requirements for the winter season.

3. Complaint: "I'm thirsty!"
Solution: Thirst is a common problem in the winter. Huffing and puffing through cold air can dehydrate the body quickly, and we are less likely to chug a bottle of room temperature water when we are cold. So remember to eat plenty of hydrating foods like soups, stews, moist grains, moist noodles, moist proteins, moist veggies and fruits, and of course hot beverages as well. If you can handle it, you can even drink smoothies in the winter--just make sure you are snugly inside by a warm fire or heater.

4. Complaint: "I feel sluggish!"
Solution: I find that when we are sitting around inside all day eating carbs, our bodies can start to feel tired, relaxed and overall sluggish. Our metabolism may feel like it has slowed down and our digestive systems may seem to lag. If this happens to you, cut down on the carb intake and try adding some higher protein foods to your diet. Also try adding more raw fresh-pressed juices. The alive and active enzymes can perk up your digestive and immune systems. Other great perk-you-up foods are spicy peppers, cayenne, lemon juice, apple cider or balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic, curry, pepper and even citrus. And of course, remember to get some exercise to perk up your body. Exercise will help digestion and energy levels.

5. Complaint: "I'm eating too much!"
Solution: Make sure that your are eating enough of the right types of foods. Are you getting enough protein? Are you getting enough fiber? Are you getting enough digestion time-rest time, post eating? Are you getting enough leafy greens? Are you getting adequate live/raw foods containing active enzymes? Are you eating enough whole unprocessed foods? Are you eating enough perk-you-up foods like chilies, garlic, lemon, etc. Are you eating enough of these foods: Nuts, beans, nut butters, legumes, sweet potatoes, heavy grains like quinoa, brown rice and barley, tofu and tempeh, winter fruits, and fortified milks (almond, soy, rice, hemp).

What a fun year 2009 has been for Healthy. Happy. Life. I have had the joy of posting over 650 blog posts and numerous healthy, happy recipes and wellness tips. I have been thrilled to read your comments and feedback. You guys are awesome! So for my end-of-the-year review I'd like to showcase my Top 25 Vegan Recipes of 2009, based on blog traffic. So if you missed any vegan recipes this year, it's catch up time. I've also listed my Top 15 Non-Recipe Blog Posts of 2009. The envelope please...

Number One (Non-Recipe) Post. The number one (most traffic) non-recipe blog post of 2009 was: Wii Active vs. Wii Fit vs. Life. I wasn't surprised so many people were googling about whether or not to purchase a video game system to help them 'get fit' this past year. I am personally not a huge fan of video games as a main source of fitness, but you can read my full blog post for all the info on this timely technology/wellness topic.

Number One Recipe. You loved it and I love it. The number one rated recipe of 2009 was my Spicy Verde Lasagna. It's oh so good. And oh so vegan. Note: this was also my number one overall ranked blog post of 2009.

Top Fifteen Non-Recipe Blog Posts of 2009

1. Wii Active vs. Wii Fit vs. Life
2. Chipotle's Vegan Garden Blend Grill, Welcomed in DC!
3. Blender Review: Vita-Mix, Blendtec vs. Oster Fusion.
4. Mango Nutrition Facts: Super Fruit, Tropical Delight!
5. New from Vitamin Water: Sync and Ten Calorie Flavors
6. Vegan Thanksgiving 101: Tips, Advice and the Basics.
7. Eco-Atkins Diet: Healthier Weight loss than Atkins.
8. Don't Eat Baby Carrots?! Chlorine and White Blushing.
9. Twilight's Taylor Lautner Adds 26 Pounds of Muscle, for Sequel
10. Foods for your Mood Part Three: Purifying Foods!
11. Vegan Red Velvet Cake: Red Mango Bakery. My Review.
12. Coconut Water 101: For those of you who haven't heard.....
13. Watermelon 101: The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.
14. How to Roast a Pepper 101
15. Blackstrap Molasses: Black Goo that's Good-for-You!

Top 25 Vegan Recipes of 2009

1. Spicy Lasagna Verde with Green Basil Pesto. Vegan.
2. Coconut Water Ice Cubes: Best Healthy Smoothie Tip!
3. Sweet Potato Tofu Hash. Vegan Comfort Food.
4. Rainbow Wraps: Veggies!
5. Recipe: Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup, Two Ways!
6. Tempeh Bacon Recipe. Vegan 'Facon' for All.
7. Vegan Thanksgiving Series: Main Dish Proteins. 15 Ideas.
8. Fruity Fizz White Sangria. Healthy Happy Hour.
9. Recipe: Vegan Cole Slaw
10. Sweet Fresh Corn Cake. Scoop or Loaf. Both Vegan.
11. Vegan Thanksgiving Series: Appetizer Recipes. Top Ten!
12. Zesty Lemon Custard Bars. Vegan. No-Bake. Zing-y!
13. "Back to School" Series: Ten Lunchbox Showstoppers!
14. Picnic Perfect Chickenless Salad Sandwich. Vegan.
15. Recipe: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Layer Cake.
16. Pineapple Enzyme Banana Smoothie. Happier Sinuses.
17. The Definitive Vegan Stuffing Post: Recipe Trio.
18. Pumpkin Spice Apple Pecan Muffins. No Oil Added.
19. Vegan Rice Pudding. Dessert and Breakfast Approved.
20. Vegan Ranch Dressing Dip.
21. Recipe: Sweet 'n Sassy Sweet Potato Pita Pockets!
22. Oatmeal Bake Tiki Squares. Kid-Approved Breakfast.
23. Kitchen Sink Granola Bars.
24. Top Ten Summer Sandwich Recipes! No-Cook Meals.
25. Kathy's Famous Sweet Potato Mash!

*NOTE: Since these lists have a built in bias towards posts I did earlier on in 2009, I highly suggest you peruse the recipes index to catch up on all my latest fave recipe posts. Like Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie and Butternut Squash Fall Pasta...and many more.*

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009 has been a delicious year for foodies, and even vegan foodies like me, but I say bring on 2010. And oh, if I can squeeze in a few *special requests* for the coming year, it would be much appreciated. Here is my end-of-the-year rant about what I want to see more (and less of) in 2010. Dear 2010, let the vegan foodie ranting begin...

A Forethought: Why the Rant?

Eating 100% Vegan is Hard! Anyone who tells you being vegan is easy - is lying. Or they don't get out much. Or they own their own vegan restaurant. Or they have time-traveled back from the future where vegan eating will indeed be a lot easier than it is today. It's hard. That's why a lot of people can't commit to a 100% vegan lifestyle - and that's OK, even eating veg a few times a week is a big step up from the mainstream.

"Vegan" is a lifestyle that takes patience, loyalty and passion. It's a physical, mental and emotional challenge. It messes with your social circles, relationships and trips you up in your daily routine. It tests your analytical skills as well as your leadership qualities. It's a label you love at times and loathe at others. Its a "what-I-eat" label that you wish wasn't such a social label. But really, labels and stereotypes are tools for the incurious and ignorant. Eating vegan isn't a diet and it isn't a label, it's a lifestyle. You live it or you don't. And the challenge is obvious since vegan eats sometimes require an against-the-current swim to get to.

So, at the end of each year I think every special diet person out there (vegan, food allergies, kosher, gluten-intolerant, diabetic and more) deserves a little time to rant. Here's mine.

Here it is, my rant of what I'd like to see more and less of in 2010.

My 2010 Vegan Foodie Rant: Dear 2010,...

Here we go 2010, lets make this a foodie year to remember...

First off, more coconut water please. Everywhere. In vending machines, at corner stores, sporting events, concerts, on restaurant menus and at the movies. A hydrated movie patron is a happy movie patron. Four stars for those little tropical fresh young coconuts. Speaking of movies, can we get some vegan snacks at the concession stand please? Soy crisps, air-popped popcorn with real sea salt (maybe a drizzle of macadamia oil) and perhaps a soy-friendly espresso bar in those megaplex theaters, so I don't have to keep sneaking in my Starbucks Soy Latte.

Onto foodie entertainment, I want to see more actual cooking shows on The Food Network and less "sugar glass, BBQ-cookoff, cake-making" competitions. More Chefs cooking on Food Network please. (Gosh, that sounds like the age-old rant of MTV needs to play more music videos.) Food Network needs to play more cooking shows. Dicing, chopping, slicing, braising, roasting - I want to see and hear all those glorious kitchen sights and sounds. Oh and while I'm talking Food Network, how about a few more vegan-friendly shows. Maybe something like Emeril Green on the Planet Green channel. Love that show. Maybe even an all-vegan cooking show. It's about time, the world is ready for a vegetarian FN cooking star. Maybe something that focuses on ECO-friendly green eating and not just (butter and meat, butter and meat, butter and meat and sugar too. Butter and meat and sugar and cheese. Forgot the cheese.)

Its a new decade, why not make 2010 the year of the epiphany: vegan food is delicious (and easy to cook). Oh, and it's cheaper too. A block of tempeh vs. a block of meat - you do the math. Yummy, healthy, wallet-friendly and earth friendly. It doesn't get more 2010 than that. Tempeh, organic fruits and veggies, hemp milk, maple syrup, quinoa pasta, acai smoothies, yum, yum, and more yum.

More of the entertainment world: I predict celebrity chefs and shows will continue to triumph: Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, Chopped, Chef Academy, FN cooking shows, and even travel/foodie shows like No Reservations continue to see good ratings. And I love the new crop of foodie shows like What Would Brian Boitano Eat, Avec Eric, Melissa's Ten Dollar Dinners, The Best Thing I Ate and more. I adore cooking shows, Chefs and anything on my TV chatting up foodie fare. Now I am just hoping to see more vegan challenges on Top Chef and even a few organic/vegan featured episodes on those FN food shows. Fingers crossed!

In terms of how we eat in 2010, I think Americans are cooking more vegetarian meals at home (due to health/economic/green values). Mainstream America is finally learning more about 'what veg*ns eat'. The big question used to be "What do vegetarians eat?" Now it seems to be "Where do vegetarians eat?" It's super easy to eat veg at home thanks to supermarkets like Whole Foods. Now if only the restaurants would catch up!

A foodie trend this past year has been gourmet, foodie-worthy food trucks. Love those. Mud Truck in NYC is iconic. So is Dessert Truck - wish they had vegan options. Also, vegan-friendly fast food is hot right now. Aka, Chipotle's ground-breaking Garden Blend experiment. Now if only they can get a veggie-only grill. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

For the Kids! I've been thrilled by the number of companies that have taken a special interest in children's health, lunches and healthy food products this year. Whole Foods Market ran its School Lunch Revolution program which brought in over $710,000 in donations. Veggie lunches in schools are on the rise - lets hope this continues through 2010. More vegan school lunches. It's my personal 'More Tempeh in Schools!' plight. I will not quiet myself until every first grader knows what tempeh is and can have an option of baked tempeh fingers vs chicken fingers. Tempeh sticks beat chicken any day of the week. Plus, I've been noticing more wellness-based kid and baby food brands popping up. Such as Tyler Florence's Sprout baby food brand.

What's a Vay-gen? Awareness. More awareness for special diets is needed. I don't mind if someone asks me what I can or cannot eat as a vegan. But if that 'someone' is the Chef at a restaurant, then I'm worried. Chefs, prep-cooks, sous chefs and anyone working in food service needs to know what vegan, gluten free, low sodium, kosher, organic, low-fat, nut-free and vegetarian really mean. Google is for gosh sakes. I don't want to resort to handing out little definition cue cards every time I eat out at a mainstream establishment.

More special requests: More soy milk options - everywhere! I am always shocked when I go to a brunch spot or breakfast sit down and there is no soy milk available in the restaurant kitchen for my tea or coffee. What is this 1980? No, it's 2010, well almost. Soy milk should be available everywhere dairy milk is served. Period.

Out with Vegetarian Menus! Another special request is that more restaurants replace their 'vegetarian menu' with a 'vegan menu' or vegan menu options. I don't know any vegetarian who wouldn't mind eating a vegan meal for one sitting. "Vegetarian options" are almost always loaded with cheese, milk, cream and butter. Why not just call it what it is: the cheese tasting menu. Just give me a good vegan option, just one per menu even, and I will be a happy diner - well it's a start anyways. If I hear one more restaurant manager say to me "Oh, we have plenty of vegetarian options," then proceeds to hand me a menu list with nothing but cheese-smothered food, I will scream. No more cheese please. Cheese, butter and cream are loaded with saturated fat and if you are a vegetarian who lives on a lot of 'dairy products' I highly suggest you take a close look at those nutrition labels and consider going vegan.

...on that note, I might start doing what Kristen from KristensRaw.com does: writing my special request on the restaurant receipt, like "If you served more vegan options, I'd eat here more often." or "If you served more organic foods I'd eat here more often." Nice idea Kristen.

And lastly, I hope we can all chill out in 2010 and remember the simple things in foodie life: a crisp organic apple, eaten whole. A bowl of raw cashews. A perfect pat of almond butter spread on some sprouted grain toast. Steel cut oats boiled into a creamy homemade oatmeal breakfast. A sweet caramel-essence tropical papaya for breakfast. Crisp clean pure drinking water. Chilled pure coconut water. A chunk of dark chocolate. A handful of blueberries. A bunch of black grapes. Fresh squeezed OJ. Fluffy brown rice. Warm simmering soup. Steamed sweet green broccoli. Tea with lemon. A frosty banana smoothie. A big green salad filled with garden fresh ingredients. Simplicity is bliss, foodies agree.

Happy 2010 everyone.

What would you rant about??? Feel free to rant me in the comments, I'd love to hear what you dream of in your foodie 2010 dreamworld.

Maple Grade B Syrup is the new Grade A, mark my words foodies!

I love maple syrup. It is my #1 sweetener of choice. All natural, made from maple tree sap and animal product free. I mash it into sweet potatoes, drizzle it into soy yogurt, marinate savory-sweet tempeh with it, spoon it into smoothies, and whip it into baked goods. Ah, luscious maple syrup has an earthy caramel smell with woody notes of vanilla, one sniff and I am transported to a cozy log cabin in the woods overlooking a winter white snowbank. Inside, I sit fireside and sip tea, snugly in my soft slippers; in the kitchen fluffy pancakes sizzle on a hot grill and a tall pitcher of maple syrup on the table awaits my grasp.

The Grade B Myth. My love affair with the maple leaf got quite complex as I realized that my true love Grade A syrup may not be my true love at all! Is it the scruffy, dark toned, musty Grade B syrup that my palate truly desires? And what about nutrient facts and a taste test? Drizzle on the A, B, C's of maple syrup grades...

Trader Joe's Grade B syrup. Made in Quebec Canada. For weeks now something had caught my eye in the maple syrup section of Trader Joe's. It was my beloved sweetener, only the label read Maple Grade B syrup. Desiring only the highest in quality of syrups, I always grabbed the Grade A maple syrup. But last week I was feeling adventurous. So I reached out my arm, grabbed the Grade B syrup and crammed it in my crowded cart. My husband looked at me like I was nuts. "Grade B? Why would you buy that? Get the good stuff." He grabbed a Grade A in its shiny glass bottle. I shook my head and sped off down the aisle without him. I was an adventurous foodie, and this Grade B stuff needed a try. I'm such a syrup rebel.

Maple Grade B Syrup. Wow, when I tasted my freshly popped Grade B syrup I was in for a surprise. And I was pleased to learn that Grade B is higher in nutrients than grade A.

Grade A vs. Grade B. Grade A syrup is produced early on in the season and is characterized by its light amber color. Lighter color, less minerals. Grade A is said to be the most preferred grade by consumers because of its light maple flavor and reminiscence of synthetic maple syrups, aka corn syrup based impostors. Grade B is produced later in the season and has a darker, grittier color, thicker viscosity, more robust maple flavor and more minerals. Grade B has a heavy maple flavor that lingers on your taste buds.

Tasting Notes: The Grade A tastes like simple sweetness, almost an agave sweet taste, then it develops on your tongue to give you a nice delicate maple flavor after taste. The Grade B hits you hard with a warm gritty maple flavor, then lingers for a while leaving a muted musty maple tone on your palate.

The Foodies Choice: Grade B? It is said that those with more sophisticated palates will prefer the Maple Grade B Syrup. Well, that's what my husband confirmed for me when I gave him a blind "A vs. B" taste test and he chose 'B' as the better tasting syrup. Several online blogs echo this verdict. Grade B flavor is more complex and robust. Chefs seeking a hearty maple flavor will likely choose the Grade B option. It is also true that you get more maple "bang for your buck" with Grade B. A strong flavor means you may have to use less syrup in your recipe to achieve your desired flavor. Pieces of Vermont website says, "For a long time Vermont Fancy was the preferred table syrup grade, but in recent years we've seen a shift. People are now opting for the robust flavor of Grade B as their "all-purpose" cooking and table syrup."

What is Maple Syrup? Back-up a bit maple newbies. Maybe you need the basics: what is maple syrup? Pure maple syrup is made from Maple Tree sap. The sap is boiled into a syrup. Here is a good explanation from MassMaple.org:

"Pure maple syrup is a 100% natural food, processed by heat concentration of pure maple sap. This sap is a sterile, clear liquid, which provides the trees with water and nutrients prior to the buds and leaves opening in the spring. In the boiling, concentrating, and filtering processes, all the nutrients remain in the syrup. There are some quantitative differences in maple syrup's nutritive composition due to metabolic and environmental differences among maple trees."

Grade B vs Grade A: Nutrition Facts.

*Grade B has 8% RDA of calcium per ¼ cup serving, while Grade A only has 4% RDA of calcium per serving.

*All grades of maple syrup contain the minerals: zinc, manganese, potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium. Grade B contains higher quantities of these nutrients, the darker the color the more minerals are present.

*The vitamins that are present in trace amounts in maple syrup are B1, B2, B5, B6, biotin and folic acid.

more nutrient facts: http://www.massmaple.org/nutrition.html

Maple Syrup Fun Facts:

Fact: It takes on average 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. This amount can vary greatly depending on the sap sweetness level.

Q: What is the optimum temperature for maple sap flow?
A: The Human Connection: One of the most fascinating facts I learned about maple syrup production is in regards to the necessary climate temperature for optimal sap flow. The answer reminds me a lot of my hot/cold water therapy to stimulate blood circulation. Here is the answer from MassMaple.org:

"The tree's sap flow mechanisms depend on temperatures which alternate back and forth past the freezing point (32 degrees F.). The best sap flows come when nighttime temperatures are in the low 20's and daytime temperatures are in the 40's. The longer it stays below freezing at night, the longer the sap will run during the warm day to follow. If the weather gets too cold and stays cold, sap flow will stop. If the weather gets too warm and stays warm, sap flow will stop......For good sap production, maple producers must have the alternating warm/cold temperatures. This is why its so impossible to predict the outcome of the maple crop from year to year."

Fascinating! A living maple tree has better sap flow with varying hot/cold temperatures. Just like the hot/cold water therapy effect on our blood circulation.

What About Grade C? The mysterious and rare Grade C maple syrup is the obvious 'next tasting step' for any maple syrup connoisseur. According to current standards, the Grade C is only available to commercial clients who purchase large 40 gallon barrels of it.

Grade D? There are a few blurbs online suggesting that a Grade D maple syrup does exist. However, I have yet to find a credible source for this. Plus, there are quips that state that the old 'grade D' is now 'Grade C' and the old 'Grade C' is now 'Grade B'. Confusing yes, but oh so delicious! Just give me some high quality maple syrup and I am a happy foodie.

Master Cleanse. One of the reasons that Grade B maple syrup has gained more consumer demand is because it is one of the key components of The Master Cleanse by Stanley Burroughs, also called the Lemonade Diet. Other components of his diet include cayenne, lemons, sea salt and tea. You can even buy a complete Master Cleanse kit on Amazon (I have never tried this detox diet, and do not endorse it, but the Grade B factor does intrigue me.):

And PS, Thank you maple trees for your glorious maple syrup sweetness!

Looking for a healthy and delicious recipe for your New Year's Eve feast? Ring in the New Year with soba noodles! Soba noodles are healthy, easy to make in advance and even quite traditional. Did you know that soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) are the cornerstone ingredient in a traditional Japanese New Year's Eve dish? The dish is called Toshikoshi Soba, which roughly means "year-end soba" or "year-passing soba". But watch out, it is considered bad luck if you do not finish your soba noodles by midnight. So quickly slurp up those 11:59pm noodles and countdown to a healthy, happy new year! Here are some Soba Facts and my recipe for Wasabi Citrus Soba Noodles with Beech Mushrooms. Happy New Year indeed!...

Soba 101. Frankly, I am still a soba noodle newbie. I've prepared soba a handful of times, but I have been pleased with my cravable results. I have yet to refine a peanut sauce-slathered soba dish, which is my favorite at Japanese restaurants. Any secrets out there? I'd love a few tips. But I must say, I love my recipe below that I can share with you all. It is light, tangy, spicy and citrus-infused.

Interestingly, preparing Japanese soba noodles is a lot more complex than preparing Italian semolina pasta (something I have done hundreds of times). Soba noodles can be served either hot or cold. Hot noodles are usually found in a soup or broth, while cold noodles are tossed in a variety of flavors and ingredient accents from peanut sauce to wasabi powder. On New Year's Eve, hot noodles are preferred. But I'm sure cold soba noodles, in all their tasty, slick, slurpable glory, would suffice. Cold soba is my prefernce.

A few Soba Noodle Facts:

*Soba noodles are one of the various types of Japanese noodles (udon, ramen, soba and shirataki). Soba noodles are made of buckwheat flour, or a mix of buckwheat and other various flours or wild yam.

*Toshikoshi Soba, "year-end soba" is a traditional New Year's Eve dish in Japan. It is bad luck to not finish your soba before midnight. Soba is usually eaten cold, however on New Year's Eve the soba noodles are likely prepared and eaten warm with a side dashi sauce or dipping broth.

*Buckwheat isn't a grain. It is a relative of the rhubarb family.

*Soba noodles can be gluten free, since buckwheat is gluten free. Choose 100% buckwheat soba.

*Soba noodles (made of buckwheat) are a nutritional goldmine: "Nutritionally, buckwheat provides vitamins B1 and B2, the minerals potassium, magnesium, phosphate and iron (buckwheat contains more iron than cereal grains), and it has nearly twice the amount of the amino acid lysine found in rice. Buckwheat bran (farinetta) contains rutin, a flavonoid known to reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure and maintain the strength and flexibility of capillaries. A recently discovered compound in buckwheat called fagopyritol seems to have potential to help manage type II diabetes." - Dr. Weil on buckwheat.

*Soba noodles are traditionally prepared from scratch and sliced by hand. The measurements for each soba noodle are crucial - as each noodle must be the exact same size.

*Soba noodles are a common food find when dining out in Japan. You will see them served casually at street carts and fast food vendors, as well as in the most modern and upscale of fine dining restaurants. Like all things, the taste, nutrition and quality of soba will vary based on the ingredients, preparation, freshness and serving variation used.

*Cold soba noodles may be flavored with green tea, wasabi, peanut, miso, various seaweeds, sesame and more. Soba noodles have a mild flavor that easily compliments various ingredient accents.

*Cold Soba Noodles are commonly found in the appetizers section of American Japanese restaurant menus, however a big bowl of cold soba can actually be a quite substantial vegetarian meal all on its own.

*Various health claims often come when soba is discussed: "The following is the summary of the major health benefits of buckwheat: Decreases cholesterol, Lowers blood pressure, Reduces fat accumulation, Promotes healthy bowel movements, Fits a well-balanced and low-calorie diet. Buckwheat also contains choline. Choline, a compound in the vitamin B complex that plays an important role in metabolism, lowers blood pressure, and decreases cholesterol." -Dr.Oshimi, healthhokkaido.com


Beech Mushrooms. I adore using beech mushrooms in cold soba noodle recipes. Beech shrooms are like extra large enoki mushrooms. They are tender, slippery and delicate to bite. They absorb flavors very well and can be eaten hot or cold. If you can't find beech mushrooms, try enoki mushrooms. If you can't find enoki mushrooms, try a traditional shiitake mushroom. Shiitake shrooms are less delicate, so they will require more cooking time than beech or enoki. If you can't find fresh shrooms, try canned straw mushrooms.

Preparing Soba Noodles. Coming from an Italian family, I have a great passion for all things Italian. And pasta is one of those things. But as I was about to learn, not all noodles are created equal. For pasta marinara, I simply boil some dry noodles in salted water, drain the noodles, then toss them in some warm marinara pasta sauce. Serve, garnish, voila! But preparing buckwheat noodles is quite a different process...

How to Make Cold Soba. Here's what worked for me:

1. I bought some Eden brand Wild Yam Soba at Whole Foods Market (along with various other products in the 'Asian' section of Whole Foods: umeboshi, pickled ginger, wasabi powder, mandarin oranges, canned water chestnuts, Japanese soup mix, and a good soy sauce.) I also picked up some beech mushrooms, fresh ginger, cilantro, parsley, tangerines and fresh scallions from the produce department.

2. Read the instructions on the package! No matter what variety of noodle you buy, read the instructions first. They will likely give you a bit of insight on your noodle and how to prepare it in a traditional manner. But this process worked for me.

3. As I researched, I learned that soba noodles are best when boiled in a highly seasoned broth, as they will absorb a lot of the liquid during the cooking process. My broth was a mixture of dried seaweed (from my soup mix), soy sauce, citrus, mushroom powder and sesame seeds. (See recipe below.) Boil noodles for 6 to 8 minutes.

4. While the noodles are boiling, prepare an ice bath of water in a large bowl.

5. After 6-8 minutes, drain noodles in the sink, BUT don't dump the remaining broth, collect it in a bowl for further use in your meal. You can serve the broth as a side soup or use it to prepare rice, tofu or various saute dishes. I used my broth to saute the beech mushrooms that graced the top of my soba noodle dish.

6. Dunk the drained noodles into your ice bath. Then rinse the noodles under cold water to further chill and wash the cooked noodles. Note: This may feel extremely odd to chill freshly cooked noodles, but trust me, cold soba is delicious!

7. Lastly, I tossed my drained and cold-water-rinsed noodles in a bit of experimental sauce. I used various flavors of wasabi, sesame oil, sesame seeds, citrus, soy sauce, scallion, cilantro and peanut. (see recipe) I then placed the noodles in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving.

8. While the noodles were chilling, I sauteed my beech mushrooms in a bit of leftover broth. I then placed them in a separate bowl and let them chill in the fridge for a few minutes. Toss cold and enjoy.

As promised, here is the complete recipe for my Wasabi Citrus Soba Noodles. My full meal on "Asian Night" consisted of: Wasabi Citrus Soba Noodles with Beech Mushrooms, pickled ginger, umeboshi plums, wasabi paste, tofu-veggie rice paper wraps, mandarin-ginger tossed arugula greens and lychee bellinis to sip on the side. Fortune cookies too (because Whole Foods had some for sale, and I love those little paper fortunes.)

Here is my soba noodle recipe in full:

Wasabi Citrus Soba Noodles, with Beech Mushrooms
vegan

1 package Soba Noodles, 8.8 ounces
*I used Eden brand Wild Yam Soba Noodles
Boiling Broth:
2 tangerines, juiced and zested
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoon agave syrup
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
3 umeboshi plums, de-pitted and added whole
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 packet of vegan "Japanese Soup" mix
*I used San-J brand vegan Wakame soup with shiitake mushrooms
Cold Toss-In Ingredients:
2 tablespoon sesame oil
¼ cup salted peanuts
¼ cup sea salted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
¼ cup cilantro or parsley, chopped fine
¼ cup scallions, chopped thin
2 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
1 cup broth-sauteed beech or enoki mushrooms
black pepper to taste
optional: more citrus (tangerines, oranges, mandarins or minolas), peeled and diced

Directions:

1. Prepare boiling broth by adding 3 ½ cups of water to soup pot. Add in all broth ingredients: tangerine juice and zest, fresh grated ginger, agave syrup, black pepper, wasabi powder, umeboshi plums, soy sauce and soup mix. Bring broth to a boil.

2. Add in the dry soba noodles. Make sure the noodles are completely covered with water. If you need to add more liquid, add more water as needed.

3. Boil noodles for 6-8 minutes. While boiling, prepare a big bowl of ice water bath. You can also prep the toss-in ingredients while the noodles are boiling (chop the scallions, etc.)

4. After 6-8 minutes drain noodles, however do not toss the boiling broth down the drain - save it in a separate bowl. This leftover broth can be used as a flavoring ingredient in other dishes or even sipped as a soup on its own.

5. Immediately submerge the noodles (still in a strainer) into the ice bath. Rinse the noodles very well with ice cold water. Toss to remove excess water. Set aside. Dry well with air. Dry them on a bamboo mat if you have one.

6. You can now prepare the beech or enoki mushrooms by lightly sauteing them in the leftover broth and a bit of oil. I used a teaspoon of olive oil, but use whatever you'd like. Allow cooked mushrooms to chill in fridge. Drizzle a few drops of sesame oil on top if you'd like. Sesame oil is best when added cold to salads and noodles. It is not ideal for heat.

7. Next, add cold noodles to a large mixing bowl and toss with the flavoring ingredients: sesame oil, sesame seeds, wasabi powder, peanuts, chopped cilantro or parsley, pepper, scallions, garlic, mushrooms and optional citrus. Only use half your portion of mushrooms for the toss-in. The other half will be used as a garnish.

8. Place noodles and shrooms in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes before serving. These noodles also taste divine the next day. Cold soba is delicious and healthy. Serve on New Year's Eve for an extra special traditional Japanese treat!

...but finish those noodles before midnight! (I don't think that will be too hard.)

Last night I slept with my hand in a big bowl of iced soy milk. Not the most enjoyable of Christmas night slumbers, let me assure you. But it was necessary. Why? Was I trying out some new-fangled beauty regimen? Was I softening my cuticles? Dry skin remedy? Anti-aging hoopla? Nope. Twas the night of Christmas, and all though my home, I was screaming in pain, felt like flames down to the bone...

A Spicy Christmas Tale. Here's my Christmas tale of why you can never be too careful when cooking with hot, spicy peppers and chilies. Plus my surprising dairy-free remedy for pain relief...

Christmas Fiesta. This year, we were trying out a new tradition: a Christmas Dinner Fiesta!

The menu: fresh guacamole, pico de gallo, salsa verde, white corn tortilla chips with a thin layer of melted FYH vegan cheese on top, organic corn tortillas, sauteed sweet plantains, vegan sour cream, Mexican rice, black beans, agave-lime tempeh cubes and a giant bowl of crisp greens with diced citrus, doused in a bit of lime, agave and pomegranate dressing. Extra black pepper. Plus an extra special side dish: mushroom stuffed roasted poblano peppers. Stuffed with red wine, chipotle pepper, shallot and roasted tomatillo sauteed exotic mushrooms.

Spicy as can be. I whipped this meal together and we were chowing down in no time. Delicious, and quite a fun was to spend Christmas. So how in the world did I end my night a la soy milk?...

Caution: Peppers. Usually when I'm cooking with any type of spicy pepper: jalapenos, poblanos, habaneros or serranos, I take extreme caution to avoid touching the spicy seeds and inner vein of the pepper. I am most cautionary when cooking with habanero (Scotch Bonnet) peppers. However, last night I wasn't terribly cautious with my poblonos and small jalapeno. I yanked out the seeds and ripped out the stems with my bare hands. I was hurried and just wasn't thinking. No gloves, no caution - just hands all over those seeds and stem. Yikes.

I was fine, until I turned on the gas burner, and clenched my hand around a wooden spoon, stirring and sauteing the spicy mushrooms as a thick steamy spicy heat wafted over my chile-rubbed hands. Spicy steam: another dangerous kitchen occurrence. You know, the steam that clears your sinuses in a matter of minutes. Suddenly, two of my fingers were on fire! Not literally, but they were burning in chile-burn pain. Ouch.

I'm hungry. So I ate. But the pain only got worse as dinner went on. I washed my hands in warm soapy water, but that only irritated the pain (and further dried my parched winter skin hands). The winter air and pre-holiday house cleaning had made my hands extra dry that day. Pain. Burning. I kept telling my husband that it felt like someone was "grinding a blunt rusted knife into my finger." I've experienced chile burns before, but this was hands down the worst ever.

Remedies? My husband's immediate answer to everything is to 'google it'. So he sprang for his laptop like a reindeer on a rooftop. I had already stuck my hand in a big bag of ice to ease the pain, but I knew that it was only numbing the problem and not helping it. Thus the top googled remedies by my hubby were:

1. Lime or lemon juice (lots of it) for a a few minutes.
2. Milk or dairy (a good soak in it).
3. Washing your hands in warm soapy water.
4. Rubbing alcohol, applied liberally. Then rinsed off.
5. Rubbing the flesh of a lemon or lime on the skin.
6. Salt. (Yeah right, that sounds painful!)

So there I was wrist-deep in seething burn pain and my husband was in the kitchen squeezing the limes and prepping the ice packs.

Remedies Tried:

1. Lime Juice. We juiced a big fat juicy lime and soaked my hand in the juice for a good minute. I have to say there was a strange immediate reduction in pain. But it didn't last. Errrr! (Big negative buzzer sound for this attempt.)

2. Rubbing Alcohol. Next we tried wiping my hand in rubbing alcohol. Errrr! Same effect as the lime juice. Nothing.

3. Got Milk? Well since we don't drink dairy milk in my house, we just didn't have any! So I stuck to eating my dinner while my hand was covered in ice packs - the plastic kind. I pondered soy milk, but didn't give it a try (yet).

Somehow I got through dinner and even through clean up and into my snugglies. Into bed and lights out. But suddenly the pain got worse. It felt like someone had taken sandpaper to my skin and started rubbing through the flesh and right onto the bone, then they dunked my hand in a barrel of flames and started slicing into my finger with a dirty knife. Trust me, this chile burn hurt. Emergency room? Ugh, not on Christmas! Although the pain was so bad that it did cross my mind. But what would they do? If they dunked my hand in whole milk ice cream I'd cry. Or laugh, if the pain went away... Anyways! I decided to try some aspirin and another ice pack. This helped. Lights out.

Lights on! Ouchie! I was screaming and whining like a little girl getting her first flu shot. I was in pain and didn't know what to do! Dairy. I knew that the scientific remedy for any spicy food (hot mouth or hot hand) was dairy. But no, I wasn't sending my husband out to the 24 hour CVS drug store for a gallon of cow milk - for my hand.

I screamed, "Get me a bowl of soy milk!!!"

He brought a nice bowl of chilled soy milk. My hand, feeling like it was about to burn off into a charred bit, was dunked into the soy.....

"Ahhhhhhhh." Wow. Immediate relief. Something about the combination of liquid and milk, even if it was the bean kind, really really helped. I felt like I had just come in from a blizzard and was submerged into a hot bath. It was heaven. The pain was almost completely gone.

...but my crazy night doesn't end there folks.

Incredibly tired, I passed out, hand in milk. I woke up a few minutes later and decided I shouldn't go to sleep with a bowl of milk by my side, so I handed the bowl to my husband to take into the kitchen.

Splash! Slosh! Darn, somehow the milk decided to leap from its bowl and all over the floor. Winter white soy milk mess. Thankfully I got to stay snug in bed while my gracious husband cleaned it up. Tired, oh so tired. Snore. Zzzzzz.

...Awake again! Pain is back! Need more milk.

This time we did a bowl of soy milk and a few ice cubes. I fell asleep, hand in bowl. I woke up around 3am with soggy wrinkled fingers. I groggily placed the bowl on the floor. Luckily, the pain had almost disappeared by then. My hand air-dried with a nice coating of soy milk as I fell back asleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. I woke up around 10am the next morning with zero pain. Amen.

The Moral of the Story. When cooking with peppers and chilies (no matter what their heat level) use extreme caution, especially if your skin is already dry from environmental or lifestyle conditions. Chapped winter hands and pepper seeds do not mix well.

The Remedy: If you get a bad pepper burn, try soy milk! It worked for me. (No dairy needed. Once again.)

Dear HHL Readers,

I hope you have a healthy, happy, joyful and peaceful holiday. Merry Christmas to you and your family! Thanks so much for reading Healthy. Happy. Life.

~Kathy

"Christmas. It's not the giving. It's not the getting. It's the loving." - Garfield the Cat.

The final week of holiday shopping can get pretty hectic and intense. Buy this, wrap that, save on these and don't forget to drop those cards in the mailbox (the ones that have been perched on your counter top all week.)

Last minute shopping should only be attempted by the calm and skilled. Last minute shoppers are embarking upon an obstacle course that puts Family Double Dare to shame: pushy sales people, long lines, free gift-wrapping (if you're lucky) and 'longer holiday hours' are enough to send even the coolest of heads diving straight into a barrel of soy nog. An ill-prepared shopper is likely to fall into an unforgiving and sometimes embarrassing last-minute gift-giving trap. Here is my top five list of the worst last-minute gifts. Do not buy...

Top 5 Worst Last-Minute Gifts: Do not Buy!

1. Anything from Starbucks
I know, I know. We all love a hefty Starbucks gift card now and then, but nothing says "I'm thinking of you, but only when I'm in line ordering my daily Venti Latte" more than a holiday gift from Starbucks. Mugs, exotic coffee, sweet treats, coffee presses and (I really hope not) instant Via coffee gift sets. I know the Starbucks festive red and silver trinkets are tempting to a last-minute shopper on the run, but mark my words: get your latte and head to a real store.

2. A Drug Store Gift Card, via email
When I saw this headline in an email, I almost burst out laughing (or crying):
"Forgot someone? It's not too late! Virtual CVS Gift Cards by Email!"
If you must do something via email at the last minute, simply send a nice long note of 'hello'. A personal note beats an emailed drug store gift card any day. (I would prefer to pay for my own antacids, pain relievers and toothpaste, thank you.)

3. Airport Gifts: I Heart (insert city here)
You're going to visit Aunt Gina in San Francisco, and you have a layover in Los Angeles. Giftless and desperate, you turn to your only hope: the in-house-airport shops. Don't do it, even when the "I Love LA" gift store beckons you with its glossy magazines and loaded candy racks at the door. No, it's not OK to buy Aunt Gina and the gang "I heart LA" tees and Rodeo Drive themed gifts.

Those airport gift shops are incredibly tempting, but resist, resist! No one really wants an $80 designer pen in a nice gift wrapped box or a 'duty free' Chanel perfume gift set, anyways. OK, so maybe some do, but its the principle of it folks! And think about this: the "so where did you buy this?!" question just may pop up, and do you really want to answer: "Terminal five...the airport".

4. $Lots of Money$ on Winter Apparel
Pretty pink scarves all lovely and plush. Warm woolen gloves hanging in a row. A big puffy hat lined with snowflake-blue fleece. A giant silver sequined sweater, perfect for a snugly snow day. This is a common path that last minute shoppers take: buy the beautiful window-placed winter apparel. It's new, seasonal, festive, fun and perfect to wear Christmas day! You know your present will get tons of immediate use, right? Right. So why is this such a bad last minute gift?

On Sale, Tomorrow. Its a pretty safe bet that although you purchased $100 of sweaters, gloves, scarves and hats on December 24th, come December 26th those luxurious gifts will be slashed in price and placed on the sale rack. $60 JCrew scarf: slashed down to $19.99. $100 Bloomingdale's sweater: slashed down to $39.99. Just a few examples you are likely to see. There is nothing worse than seeing your precious last minute gifts slung up on the sale rack just a few days after your glorious gift-giving moment. If all they want is winter apparel, go for the gift card, and head to the stores December 26th.

5. Re-Gifted Anything.
It's tempting, but this is another big no no. You need a last minute gift, like in the next few hours, what to do?! You recall a beautiful tag-still-on black scarf that you received in the office Secret Santa gift exchange. Hmmm. That would be too easy. Why not? Cousin Sally will never know right? Right. But you will know.

I must admit, one year I received an absolutely beautiful red glass crystal-shimmering bird feeder in the office Secret Santa. It was stunning. Unfortunately, I didn't have anywhere to hang this bird feeder, since I was an urban apartment dwelling girl. So, I re-gifted the bird feeder to my bird-adoring sister who indeed had a place to hang it. I honestly can't remember if I ever told her it was a re-gift, ha! She knows now. But I'll never forget how slimy I felt after giving her that gosh darn bird feeder. True, it was beautiful and something I might have even bought for her had I seen it, but to this day I feel weird and a bit guilty about not going out to a store and finding something on my own. If you enjoy the gift giving process, it should be about taking the time to truly embrace the experience of picking out a gift. Re-gifted anything, something your assistant bought or a 'cash only' gift really doesn't embrace the one characteristic all gifts should have: thoughtfulness. (And FYI, I'm not opposed to giving away 'unwanted' or can't-be-used-by-you gifts. Just try not to make it a habit, or a crutch. And besides, isn't half the fun of gifting, the shopping?)

Other Gift Traps to Avoid:
*The IOU gift. I say you have a 50/50 shot of ever fulfilling a gift IOU, aka promise-to-gift.
*The "Employee Discount" Gift. Even though you get 30% off, remember you're not fooling anyone, we all know you did. The employee-discount gift does work for some folks, but not others. You know who you are...
*"I Like This!" Gift. Just because you like it, doesn't mean they will. Remember that advice.

I am so overjoyed to have finished my 12 Days of Vegan Treats series. Now if I could only say the same for my gift shopping. Such fun. Though I enjoyed each and every post, my favorite series recipes are the Spelt Sugar Cookies, the to-die-for Holiday French Toast, the Walnutcracker Cookies and my cravable Fried Golden Fuyus.

Vocals Tuned? So now that my twelve holiday recipes are posted, we can joyfully nibble through these last holiday days and perhaps even sing the "vegan treats" song too. I'm convinced, just one round of these lyrics belted out to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas song: it's just what your Monday needs! And I'll even show you photos of my very first snow angel of the winter season. Vocals tuned?
Fa la la...

The 12 Days of Vegan Treats Song
by: Kathy, healthy-happy-life.com
*to be sung to the tune of the "12 Days of Christmas" song*

On the first day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, a North Pole Peppermint Chai just for me.

On the second day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the third day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the fourth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the fifth day of Vegan Treats my true love gave to me, Five Golden Fuyus!
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the sixth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Six Soy Nogs Swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus.
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the seventh day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs Swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus.
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the eighth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Eight Snowman Crispies,
Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus.
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the ninth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Nine Snowflakes Dancing,
Eight Snowman Crispies,
Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus.
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the tenth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Ten Muffins rising,
Nine Snowflakes dancing,
Eight Snowman Crispies,
Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus.
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the eleventh day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Eleven Cornballs Popping,
Ten Muffins rising,
Nine Snowflakes dancing,
Eight Snowman Crispies,
Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus.
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

On the twelfth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Twelve Walnutcracker Cookies,
Eleven Cornballs Popping,
Ten Muffins rising,
Nine Snowflakes dancing,
Eight Snowman Crispies,
Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus.
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

BRAVO!

You can see the complete 12 Days of Vegan Treats recipe links here.

Snow Angels. Yes! And this weekend I was blessed with snow, so here are my very first snow angels photos of the season, as promised:

Snow Angel, a la natural:

Snow Angel, photoshopped for optimum viewing:

Snow Angel, in process:

I'm taking a quick AM detour from my 12 Days of Vegan Treats posts, to bring you some seriously healthy oatmeal. These steel cut oats are sure to keep you warm this winter. Fuyus, citrus, spices and maple syrup. This is comfort by the spoonful. No need to take off those slippers or robe because this is in-house breakfast dining at its best. Plus it's dirt cheap because you make it from scratch. Ready in 30 minutes. Get some...

Orange Sunrise. This oatmeal is so amazingly delicious that I just had to do a quick post about it. The flavors? Cinnamon, fuyu persimmons, raisins, walnuts, orange zest, maple syrup and creamy cool soy milk. No oil or buttery spread added (or needed). You've got to give this healthy oatmeal recipe a try...

Fuyu Spice Healthy Oatmeal
vegan, serves 4

4 cups water
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup steel cut oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 dashes cayenne
2 ripe fuyu persimmons
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 cup soy milk
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup Thompson seedless raisins (or golden raisins)
1 teaspoon orange zest
optional: 2 mandarins, diced
optional: 2 tablespoon flax seeds or meal
optional: substitute 1 cup water with 1 cup apple cider
Topping: more orange zest, cinnamon and maple syrup.

Directions:

1. Bring water and salt to a boil.

2. Add oats.

3. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Stir in spices and maple syrup.

4. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

5. After 20 minutes, stir in chopped fuyus, raisins, walnuts, orange zest and optional ingredients.

6. Let simmer uncovered for five-ten more minutes or until the oatmeal thickens to your desired consistency.

7. Remove from heat and lightly fold in 1 cup of soy milk.

8. Serve hot. Top with maple syrup, cinnamon and orange zest.

Healthy oatmeal made easy. And delicious.

On the eleventh day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, eleven Cornballs Popping,

Ten Muffins rising,
Nine Snowflakes Dancing,
Eight Snowman Crispies,
Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus,
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

Popcorn Balls Made by Hand. Literally. I must confess, I know nothing about candy making, sugar temperatures and 'candying' anything. So creating a sticky solution to mold and mend these balls of popcorn was all an experiment for me. But to my surprise, it worked! These Sticky Sweet Popcorn Balls are fun to make and fun to eat. 100% vegan and filled with good holiday add-ins like dried currents, cinnamon and maple syrup. Kids will love getting 'sticky' to make these. And shhhh, but there is a heaping sprinkle of flax seed meal in there too. Get popping...

Warning: Sticky Fingers Ahead. I have one warning for this recipe: you will get sticky. These balls are not molded by some handy-dandy popcorn ball maker, nope. They are made by your own two hands (and a sturdy plastic baggy). I mean, what do you use to make a snowball outside? I made-to-order snowball making device? Nope. Your hands! So get sticky and have some holiday fun.

No Candy Thermometer Needed. I am of the candy-thermometer-less crowd. Candy making and 'sugar heating' is to my knowledge, an exact science. I know this. Thus, not having really any experience in this area of cooking, I don't really know why this recipe worked. But it did, so yippee for my 'sugar experiment'. After placing the formed balls in the fridge overnight they were perfectly sturdy. I was shocked, and pleased. So if you want to go all scientific on me with a candy thermometer and heat the sugar to just the right temp, go ahead, but thank goodness for me, no thermometer required.

Sticky Sweet Popcorn Balls
vegan, makes 8-10 medium balls
*double this recipe if you want to make bigger balls for a lot of folks

7 cups air popped popcorn, lightly salted (fat-free)
2 tablespoon vegan buttery spread
⅓ cup maple syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 dash cayenne
2 tablespoon sugar, evaporated cane juice crystals
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon soy creamer
¼ cup blueberry flax seed meal
handful of dried holiday fruit: cranberries, pomegranates, currents
*I used Trader Joe's Super Pomegranate and Cranberry blend
optional: seeds, nuts, spice add-ins

Directions:

1. Make your air-popped popcorn. You can pop the corn in oil if you wish, but air-popped will work just fine. About 7 cups is good. Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Set aside to cool. If you are doing microwaved popcorn, you will need about 1 ½ bags.

2. In a soup pan over medium heat add all your syrup ingredients: water, buttery spread, maple syrup, spices, salt, vinegar and sugar. Melt ingredients. (Leave your soy creamer out during this part.)

3. Bring your syrup to a boil. Stir constantly and boil for 90 seconds or so.

4. Remove pan from heat, stir your 1 tablespoon of cold soy creamer. Transfer your syrup to a small glass bowl and place in fridge for 20 minutes to cool and thicken.

5. In 20 minutes, your syrup should have cooled down and become like a nice sticky consistency that is a bit thicker than honey. You can now pour about ¼ cup of your syrup over you cooled popcorn. Toss well!

6. Next, fold in your dried fruit, flax seed meal, and any additional fold-ins and the flax seed meal. You can dash in a few extra spices if you'd like too. Continue drizzling syrup over your corn until you have used about ½ cup of syrup. Continue tossing well. You want the corn the get moist, but not soggy.

7. Next, grab your ball-makers, aka your little helpers, and a nice plastic sandwich baggie for each ball-maker.

8. Scoop about ¾ cup of popcorn mixture into each plastic baggie, shake it all into one corner of the baggie. Squeeze down like a pastry bag. Then simply use your hands on the outside of the bag to firmly mold the popcorn into a ball. Squeeze hard. It's OK to crunch some of the corn. You may need to squeeze and hold for a few seconds to get the stickiness activated. (That was my technique anyways).

9. Carefully remove the ball from the bag and place on a wax-paper lined plate. Continue this process until all your corn is used.

10. You can drizzle a bit of the extra syrup over top your corn balls. Then cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for 2 hours to harden and chill. Overnight is best.

11. Serve cool and store in plastic baggies in the fridge. Too much exposure to air will turn the popcorn stale.

On the ninth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, nine Snowflakes Dancing,

Eight Snowman Crispies,
Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus,
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

Spelt Sugar Cookies. With Cashew Cream Frosting. The taste is sweet. The memories are sweeter. Get the recipe...


Taste: Sweet. Memories: Sweeter. Sugar cookies are a nostalgic treat for most people. It was a family affair for me. My sister and I spun around our house in delight on sugar cookie day each winter season. I remember rolling out a big pile of creamy white dough - sometimes freshly made and sometimes from an easy open tube (a la Pillsbury). We sprinkled flour around the kitchen, on the floor, the counters, on the tips of our fingers and even a pinch for my sisters nose to match the dusty specks caught up in her hazelnut hair. The more flour, the easier it was to roll out those tricky mounds of crumbly dough. The more we rolled, the soggier the dough would get, but we somehow managed.

We'd then start stamping out stars, hearts, candy canes, santas, Christmas trees, gingerbread men, wreaths and more. Decorating the cookies was always the sunniest part of the activity. We gathered our colored sprinkles, tubs of frosting, crunchy silver balls, white sugar bits and bowls of colored sugar. Like santas elves we'd attack the cookies. We couldn't wait to get our hands on those fresh from the oven cookies, still warm, the frosting always melted over the edges. We'd giggle and gawk at eachothers disfigured candy canes, morphed reindeer or quite unperfect green-sprinkled trees. Then we'd munch on the cookies until we plopped over in a heaping sugar crash. Not exactly the healthiest of memories, but there's joy, heart and goodness in there if you look deep enough.

Sugar Cookies 2010. It's not easy to make 'sugar' cookies perfectly healthy. Inherent in the name, is the presence of a good amount of sugar. I've tried low-sugar recipes in the past, and while they turn out fine, there's just something nostalgic about a classic sweet sugar cookie (with a few necessary vegan changes and updates here and there of coarse). Changes: spelt flour instead of white. Vegan sugars and butter are used. Vegan decorations and frosting. Animal product free cookies. These cookies are sweetly satisfying for that once-a-year sugar high craving.

Spelt Flour. I'm a big fan of spelt flour. I love it in pizza crusts and biscuits. It is also known for being more tolerable by gluten-sensitive folks. I love its nutty flavor and hearty texture. Similar to whole wheat flour, it has 4 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein per ¼ cup. I love whole wheat flour, but just like my proteins and veggies, I like to diversify my grains. I used to feel like I'd go into soy protein, baby carrot, bagged spinach and whole wheat grain overload - then I started choosing a wider range of proteins (pea, hemp, grain, etc.) veggies (kale, arugula, sprouts, so many more) and a wider range of grains (wheat, spelt, corn, oat, quinoa, etc.) You get the idea: diversity is good.

Spelt Sugar Cookies w/ Cashew Cream Frosting
vegan, makes 9 extra large snowflakes

dry:
3 ½ cups spelt flour
*I used Bob's Red Mill
1 cup cashew meal, from raw cashews
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
wet:
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 tablespoon soy milk
1 cup vegan sugar
4 tablespoon vegan buttery spread

Frosting
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup raw cashews
2 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoon vegan buttery spread
6 oz. cream cheese (soy-based)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt

Topping: Cashew Cream Frosting (recipe above), colored sugar (from natural plant sources), sprinkled white sugar, powdered sugar.

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix all your dry cookie ingredients. Set aside.

2. Chop 1 cup of raw cashews in a food processor. I use a mini food-chopper.

3. Add your wet ingredients to the mini chop with the cashews. Blend on medium until smooth and wet.

4. Add your wet mix to the dry mix. Stir and fold by hand until well blended. You should have a nice sticky ball. I then part my dough into two balls. Add as much flour as you need to be able to properly handle the dough into a nice ball. Wrap both dough balls in wax paper or place in a lightly greased bowl. Place in fridge and allow to firm up for at least 1-2 hours (or until chilled enough to be rolled out - the freezer can speed up this chilling process).

5. Make your frosting by combining all the ingredients in a food processor. Store in the fridge until ready to be used. At least 1-2 hours of 'cooling and firming' is ideal.

6. Back to the cookies: Roll out your dough on a surface with a ratio of 2 parts flour, 1 part powdered sugar. Since this dough is so delicate, and I was making such large cookies, I actually hand pressed out the dough (using my snowflake cookie cutter) for about 2 cookies at time. Use whatever process works best for you. Note: I actually used a pancake mold from Crate and Barrel, snowflake shape. Loved it. Makes pretty pancakes too.

7. Lay your cookies on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes. *Smaller cookies will take less time. Bake until edges brown. Cookies will harden after cooling.

8. Now the fun begins! Pull out your frosting, sprinkles, sugar, crushed candy canes, choco chips, whatever you'd like to fuel your yearly sugar-cookie-sugar-high with. Decorate and plate. These cookies should be stored in the fridge or freezer.

Sugar cookie highs are best suited to weekends and snow days when you can fully enjoy your sweet treat.

Special Delivery Snowflakes. These oversized snowflakes would make a beautiful gift for friends and family. Wrap in cellophane and tie with a pretty ribbon. You know you've seen Whole Foods selling frosted holiday sugar cookies for $5 a pop, so break out the tools and craft your own sugar cookies with some homemade love you certainly can't buy in a store.

On the eighth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, eight Snowman Crispies,

Seven Flutes of Cinnamon,
Six Soy Nogs swirling,
Five Gol-den Fuyus,
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

Build-Your-Own Snowmen (indoors). Vegan Marshmallow Crispies are a fun holiday treat, especially when they are shaped like winter white snowmen. And guess what, there's actually no cookie cutter stencil required for my recipe. Build those snowmen!...

$25 for a Snowman? Initially, I wanted to grab a nice snowman cookie cutter and stamp these boys out as easy as 1-2-3, 4-5-6-7-8. But as I made my rounds to a few common 'kitchen stores' I found that they were either
a) sold out of beloved snowmen or
b) only had snowmen that came in a set priced at $20-$25.
Both stores I went to offered me the dreaded 'set'. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against cookie cutters. I already have a few holiday cutters I love: a beautiful copper gingerbread man, a lovely silver snowflake and a cute copper lobster. What? You don't have a holiday lobster? *shrugs shoulders* Anyways, so I decided that many of you also may not have snowmen cookie cutters, and instead of spending $20+ on a set, lets get crafty and do-it-ourselves. Martha would be proud.

Building Snowmen at Home. My tools? Flat toothpicks, a small bottle cap from bottle of water, a plastic spice jar (round), and a skinny shot glass. These tools made up my head, middle and body of my snowmen. Plus the toothpicks were perfect for stacking the parts and prying free the stamped shapes. They got stuck a few times, but a simple toothpick will pop them out.

Fancy Snowmen. If you'd like, you can grab some frosting, sprinkles, dried fruit nuts (eyes, nose, hat) and other 'decorations' and apply all the bells and whistles a snowman needs. But me, I decided to let my men go au natural. Also, you may want to make larger snowmen than I did, using larger tools. I wanted to have 8 fit in a photo, so I tried to make mine mini men. But larger snowmen will be easier to assemble (especially for kids) and easier to decorate.

Snowman Crispies
vegan, makes 15 mini men or 10 medium men

1 bag of Vegan Marshmallows
*I used Dandies brand, 10 oz. bag
5 cups brown rice crispies
*I used Erewhon brand cereal
2-4 tablespoon vegan buttery spread
*Earth balance brand
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, melt the buttery spread, marshmallows and pinch of salt over medium heat. When the marshmallows are liquid, yet still a bit clumpy, turn off the heat. Note: I have reduced the rice amount in my normal 'crispies' recipe by ½ cup. You want to make sure your marshmallow ratio to crispies is high enough, so that you have a firm-chewy-sticky crispy. Too much rice and the crispies will fall apart during the assembly process.

2. Pour in your rice crispies and start folding and stirring until the crispies are completely coated.

3. Line a bordered baking sheet or long casserole dish with wax paper (or use spray oil) and start pouring the crispy mixture into the container.

4. Smooth out the crispies until you get a nice flat surface. ½"-1" is good. Thinner crispies will make more snowmen, but they won't be able to stand up on their own. Thicker snowmen will. Well, some of them. A few of mine had the wobbles.

5. Cover crispy sheet with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to harden. Overnight or at least 2-3 hours.

6. This will give you time to choose your tools. You can either use a traditional snowman cookie cutter, or get 'crafty' and choose three different sized circle cutters. Good options include: round cookie cutters, cups, bottle caps (deep not shallow), spice jars, empty medicine bottles (well-rinsed!), condiment bottles, mini funnels, pastry tube tips and such. Look around the kitchen, and see what you can find. If you can find shapes with a hollow top and bottom, you will have a much easier time popping the shapes out of the mold. You will also need a nice pile of flat or pointed toothpicks.

7. Remove your crispies from the fridge and start popping out shapes. The colder the crispies, the easier your shape-making will be.

8. Start assembling the snowmen. I needed two toothpicks per snowman. Decorate as desired.

9. Stick the completed snowmen back in the fridge for and hour to fully harden. Serve and enjoy Caution: Be sure to remove the toothpicks carefully before eating. Be sure to tell people you have placed toothpicks in the crispies (if you serve them toothpicks-in).

Have fun building (and eating) your snowmen.

You certainly can't bite the head off a snow-made snowman!

Storing Your Snowmen: These snowmen melt! Store them in the fridge until ready to be eaten.

First set the snowy scene:

Then add in the men:

On the sixth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, six Soy Nogs Swirling,

Five Gol-den Fuyus,
Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

Spiced (Real) Vanilla Soy Nog. Here's my hot, frothy, vanilla-spiced spin on the holiday classic, egg nog. Real vanilla bean flavor is a must...

Real Vanilla Bean. It seems everyone has their own egg nog recipe around the holidays. Well my egg nog recipe isn't fancy schmancy at all, except for one very important ingredient: real vanilla bean seeds. A whole vanilla bean can cost you $3-$6, but for this special holiday beverage, it is well worth it.

History of Egg Nog. As I researched the origins of egg nog the basics come out to this: egg nog was originally a highly alcoholic beverage that is meant to be bold, rich and filled with robust spices. Nutmeg and cinnamon are the classic egg nog spices. You can check out the Wikipedia history of eggnog here. But I want to get to this recipe.

Spiced and Spicy. One of the interesting notations about the history of egg nog is that it was once meant to be a very spicy beverage. Nowadays, you don't think of eggnog as a spicy drink, but rather simply accented with warm mellow spices. I wanted to add in a bit of true 'heat' to my beverage, thus I add in some cayenne and even a tinge of fresh ginger. Yum. And that 'frothy egg' part? Well, I've included a nice blended ripe banana as a 'thickener' of sorts. The banana helps with a tinge of yellow color as well. And on top I add a mound of maple-foam and a dash of cayenne and cinnamon. Yes, the flavors I used in my recipe have 'tropical' undertones, but the creamy-savory-sweet-spiciness brings this warm (or cold) beverage back to a 'nog'.

Spiced Vanilla Soy Nog
vegan, makes about 6 mugs (with foam)

4 cups Soy Milk, plain
*I used Soy Dream for this recipe
¼-3/4 cup soy creamer
*more creamer, richer beverage
½ ripe banana, mashed
1 whole real vanilla bean, seeds and bean pod
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon spice blend (nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cinnamon)
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon maple syrup
¼ teaspoon sea salt
dash fine black pepper
⅛ teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)
Adults-only add-in (optional): ½ shot of brandy per mug (about 3 shots total.)
Garnish: dash of cinnamon/cayenne/maple foam

Maple Foam
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon soy cream
1 teaspoon maple syrup

Directions:

Note: Before starting, note that you can do a 'quickie version' of this recipe by leaving out the banana, coconut oil and grated fresh ginger. If you really must leave out the real vanilla bean, substitute ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and use vanilla flavored soy milk. However, I highly advise using a fresh bean. Now onto the recipe in full...

1. Combine the soy milk and mashed ripe banana. Add to a blender. Blend until the banana has become smooth and thickens the milk. Pour contents of blender into a soup pot on stove. Note: If you want an extra-smooth soy nog, strain the banana-milk through a liquid strainer in order to remove any banana grains/strings/chunks.

2. Add to the soup pot: soy creamer, spices, salt/pepper, sweeteners, optional coconut oil, optional brandy, salt and grate in the fresh ginger. The only ingredient not yet added is the vanilla bean.

3. Turn the stove on medium and allow the liquid to warm and simmer while you prepare the bean.

4. Slice open your vanilla bean with a small sharp knife. Simply split down the center of the pod. Scrape the seeds from the inside of the bean and place them directly into your soy nog on the stove. Do not throw away the leftover bean pod! Toss it into the liquid, for extra flavor. Remove the pod before serving, you can store any leftover soy nog with the bean pod added to the container.

5. Bring your nog to a slight boil, then reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for a few minutes. Stirring constantly so the spices don't stick to the pot or burn. If you have a whisk or immersion blender, a brisk beating can help blend the flavors. Do a taste test and check for richness, sweetness and spiciness. Adjust ingredients as needed (to taste).

6. Once the nog is simmering hot, turn your burner on low heat and prepare your maple foam. Combine your maple foam ingredients and microwave in a tall glass on high for 40 seconds. Either steam foam the liquid (using whatever tool you may own), or use a wand foamer like an Aerolatte. This is my preference. If you do not have any 'foaming' tools, simple stir briskly. Make sure your liquid is heated enough if you are not foaming it. The ideal milk foaming temp is about 60 degrees.

7. Before serving, bring the nog liquid to another quick boil, then ladle into small mugs. Top with a bit of maple foam, spices and serve hot. (Can also be served cold, see variations below).

Variations: This soy nog beverage tastes delicious added to chai and espresso lattes. You can also chill it and drink cold. Store the extra soy nog in a glass container (with the vanilla bean pod) and use as desired. You can also blend up a cool creamy soy nog shake for a decadent holiday dessert. You can also substitute the soy milk for hemp, rice or whole grain milk if you do not want to use soy.

Cheers

More Soy Nog Photos:

On the fifth day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Five Gol-den Fuyus!,

Four Coconut Snowballs,
Three French Toasts,
Two Cups of Cocoa,
and a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me.)

My recipe for Fried Golden Fuyus is my holiday dessert spin on the beloved classic "fried green tomatoes". Fuyu persimmons get the 'southern style' treatment! Get this recipe...
You say Green Tomatoes, I say Golden Fuyus. As I was pondering my fifth day of vegan treats I knew I had to do golden 'something'. And I pretty much had my persimmon-loving heart on doing five golden fuyus. But what can you do with a fuyu? They are so simply delicious on their own. I considered a basic maple-roasting recipe to be served a la mode with some vanilla hemp ice cream. But then I was staring at the tiny fuyus and it suddenly hit me! Fuyus remind me of tomatoes, beefy green tomatoes! And one of my favorite southern side dishes is 'fried green tomatoes' - so the wheels of creativity began to spin. (Fun fact: The movie Fried Green Tomatoes is a personal fave. I posted a few movie quotes, post recipe.)

I Love Condiments. I really wanted a side 'dip' for these fuyus. And mustard or ketchup just didn't seem right. I crafted a simple vanilla-cinnamon dipping pudding. You don't need the dip, but it's a nice touch. And fyi, I used the leftover Brazil nut/coconut shreds from my Four Coconut Snowballs to flavor my vanilla pudding dip.

Fried Golden Fuyus
vegan, makes about 10 slices

4 small ripe fuyu persimmons
1 ½ cups organic Panko bread crumbs
*I used Edward and Sons brand
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup soy milk
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh citrus juice
for frying: ¼ cup olive or canola oil. Plus 1 teaspoon buttery spread (optional).
optional dry flavors:
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon coconut
optional wet flavors:
sub soy nog for the soy milk
add ¼ cup citrus juice
1 teaspoon citrus zest

Directions:

1. Trim of the top stem and bottom flat skin off each fuyu. Slice your fuyus into about ¼" - ½" thick slices. My fuyus got about 3 round slices each. Continue with all of your fuyus.

2. In a flat bottom dish, combine the soy milk and maple syrup. You can add a few wet flavor add-ins here if you'd like.

3. Spread your panko bread crumbs in a flat dish. Mix and place your flour and dry spices in another flat dish. Note: I actually used one large casserole dish for both the dry ingredients. Just keep the flour and crumbs on opposite sides of the dish.

4. Turn your frying pan on med-high. Put about ½ your oil (coat the pan well) and add a touch of buttery spread into the pan. Wait until it starts to sizzle, then quickly dip your fuyus and place them on the hot pan.

5. Dipping process: milk, flour, milk, bread crumbs, pan. That's the process. Dip a round in your milk-squish it down so it absorbs some liquid. Then transfer it to the flour, coat both sides. Drop back into milk. Drop into bread crumbs. Coat both sides with a thick layer of bread crumbs. Transfer to pan. Proceed to fill your pan with breaded fuyus.

6. Once all your fuyus hit the pan, cover gently with foil, grab your 1 teaspoon of fresh citrus juice and pour it onto the pan, under the foil. This will create a big poof of steam for a few seconds. This helps to heat your fuyus through while keeping them nice and moist.

7. Lift the foil and flip the first fuyu about 3 minutes after placing it on the pan. Continue flipping all the fuyus. They should be a light caramel/deep brown crisp color, but not soggy or burnt. (A few burnt edges is good). Allow them to cook for another 2-3 minutes on the remaining side. If you need to add more oil half way through the cooking/flipping process, go ahead.

8. When the fuyus are finished frying, remove them and place them on a paper towel to cool. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt over top all the slices. Serve hot! They should stay warm in the center for about 20 minutes. Right off the pan they will be too hot to eat..don't burn your mouth.

Plate with fresh citrus zest and/or dipping pudding (recipe below).

Cinna-Coco-Vanilla 'Dipping' Pudding
vegan, makes about 2 ½ cups

1 packet Dr. Oetker Vanilla pudding
2 cups plain soy milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon citrus zest
1 tablespoon soy creamer (or more soy milk)
¼ cup coconut flakes, fine grain
garnish: maple syrup, citrus zest
optional: sub coconut with coconut/brazil nut shreds.
*I used leftover shreds from my Coconut Snowball Cookies!

Directions:

1. You can either cook the pudding stovetop or microwave it. The microwave method is super easy: simply stir the pudding packet into milk and microwave for 2-3 minutes. Stir well again and stir in seasonings. The stovetop version is the same, only using a pan over heat.

2. After you stir in the seasonings (coconut, citrus zest and soy creamer), place the pudding in the fridge to chill OR serve right away.

3. When you plate the dipping 'pudding' into small bowls, add a drizzle of maple syrup and sprinkle of leftover zest on top.

Vanilla Pudding Dipping Sauce:

Fave Fried Green Tomatoes Movie Quotes/Scenes from IMDB:

Ed Couch: What the hell's this?
Evelyn Couch: That's a low cholesterol meal. Happy Valentine's.
Ed Couch: God! Are you trying to kill me?
Evelyn Couch: If I was gonna kill you, I'd use my hands.
----------------------------
[Evelyn is cut off in a parking lot]
Evelyn Couch: Hey! I was waiting for that spot!
Girl #1: Face it, lady, we're younger and faster!
[Evelyn rear-ends the other car six times]
Girl #1: What are you *doing*?
Girl #2: Are you *crazy*?
Evelyn Couch: Face it, girls, I'm older and I have more insurance.
----------------------------
Sipsey: It's all right, honey. Let her go. Let her go. You know, Miss Ruth was a lady. And a lady always knows when to leave.
----------------------------
Idgie Threadgoode: See, now is a time for courage. I guess you already know that there are angels masquerading as people walking around this planet and your mom was the bravest one of those.
----------------------------
Ninny Threadgoode: Hey Evelyn, somebody stole my house.
----------------------------
Ninny Threadgoode: [voiceover] After Ruth died and the railroad stopped runnin', the cafe shut down and everybody just scattered to the winds. It was never more'n just a little knockabout place, but now that I look back on it, when that cafe closed, the heart of the town just stopped beatin'. It's funny how a little place like this brought so many people together.
----------------------------
Ninny Threadgoode: I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends.

More Fuyu Fotos ~ Yum!:

Metromix New York announces the winner of their 2009 Chef of the Year Award. Esteemed chefs who have previously won this award include: Joey Campanaro and Ryan Skeen. So what's the dirt on this year's winner?

Find out...

And the winner is.......

Victory for Vegetarian Eats! This year's Metromix winner is none other than the amazing Amanda Cohen, of Dirt Candy vegetarian restaurant in the East Village NYC. Amanda was chosen not as the year's best "veggie Chef," but at the best Chef of 2009. Period.

Veggie Girl Power. I knew I was onto something when I chose Amanda as one of my Veggie Girl Power honorees. And obviously, I'm not the only Dirt Candy customer who was impressed by Amanda's creativity, food and hosting skills. DC leaves quite an impression on everyone who walks through its non-assuming doorway. You can read my full VGP interview with Amanda here: Amanda Cohen Veggie Girl Power interview.

Blue Ribbon Winner. Amanda has had quite an amazing year. Even with restaurants closing all over NYC this year, Amanda's tiny little restaurant keeps packing them in. Reservations are definitely required for this hot spot, sometimes weeks in advance. And with Amanda's many awards including this Metromix honor as well as a Rising Star Chef Award earlier this year, you can pretty much bet your grocery money that Dirt Candy will continue to make 1st place worthy fare to a filled-to-the-brim dining room. Pass the blue ribbon, we have a winner.

Eat it, then Read it. If you haven't checked out Amanda's Dirt Candy blog yet, boy are you missing out! The blog, which Amanda writes herself, is funny, educational, honest, interesting, mouth-watering, silly, brilliant, controversial, humble, dreamy, tweetable and oh so gosh-darn pleasurable to read. I'm always checking in with what's 'going on' in Amanda's "Dirt Candy" world. A few of my fave blog posts include:
*How to Not Open a Restaurant-series
*Why is my tofu $17?
*Reviews Reviewed: New York Times
*Red Pepper Velvet Cake
*Missing Blogger Alert (the photo)
*Kimchi Doughnuts are Here.
*Friday Night is for Party.
*The New Vegetarian Hero

Read my HHL related posts about Amanda:
*Amanda Cohen wins Rising Star Chef Award.
*Veggie Girl Power Interview: Chef Amanda Cohen.

Here is the official press release on Amanda's big award:

Since opening barely a year ago, Chef Amanda Cohen has received a pretty impressive amount of popular and critical praise for her vegetable-focused casual fine dining restaurant, Dirt Candy. Her latest kudo comes as Metromix names her “Chef of the Year 2009”. Amanda Cohen is the first woman, as well as the first vegetarian chef, to receive the honor.

According to Metromix, "nobody does what Amanda Cohen does. Which is elevated, Michelin-recognized cooking that upends vegetarian clichés, ditches the sanctimonious jibber-jabber, and fries the bejeezus out of every known veggie—reminding us that in the end, it all comes down to one simple thing: flavor."

In addition to being recognized as “Chef of the Year 2009", Amanda Cohen was the first New York vegetarian chef to receive the Rising Star award. Dirt Candy was listed among the country’s top 10 “modern vegetarian” restaurants in Bon Appetit, and given a “Golden Egg” by Gourmet Magazine’s for "Funniest In-House Restaurant Blog.” Dirt Candy continues to be included in a number of “best-of” roundups.

Just as there are a lot of steak houses that specialize in doing wonders with steak, and seafood restaurants that specialize in serving great fish dishes, Chef Amanda works her magic to put fruits and vegetables in the spotlight.

Cohen explains that she believes “in strong, simple flavors and then layering them into a more complex experience.” Cohen’s commitment to satisfying with flavors is matched by her passion for ingredients. “Vegetables are amazing. Made out of little more than water, sunlight, and dirt they wind up growing into a candy store full of color and flavor. And that’s what I want Dirt Candy to be: nature’s candy store.”

www.dirtcandynyc.com

Dirt Candy, 430 E. 9th St (Between Ave A & 1st ), (212) 228-7732

On the second day of Vegan Treats, my true love gave to me, Two Cups of Cocoa.

And a North Pole Peppermint Chai (just for me!)...

Cocoa Recipe (for two), but don't forget to follow the serving instructions...

Two Cups of Frothy Hot Preferably-Packet-Free Cocoa: a must for the holiday season. However, there are specific serving instructions that must be obeyed:

Serving Instructions: Serve near twinkling lights, a warm fire, a snowy window scape view, while listening to holiday music, near presents or while wrapping presents, after a snowball fight, while writing holiday cards, while making your list and checking it twice, while finishing up pesky desk work so you can head out to holiday shop, after ice skating, sledding or skiing, before taking a long winter's nap or under the mistletoe. Sip and snuggle. Snuggling is required when sharing two mugs of cocoa for two....

Two Cups of Cocoa
vegan, recipe for one mug each

In Each Mug Add:
⅔ cup soy milk
*I like Soy Dream brand for beverage recipes.
⅓ cup water
very small pinch of salt
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of organic cocoa powder (unsweetened)
sweetener to taste (options below)
½ teaspoon cinnamon spice blend powder
*my blend has cinnamon, nutmeg, Madagascar cloves
optional: 1 dash spicy cayenne for heat

Frothy Foam:
1 cup soy milk
2 tablespoon soy creamer
optional: vanilla sugar powder
*note: higher cream ratio, creamier froth.

Sweetener Options:
2-4 teaspoon vegan fine sugar
3-4 teaspoon agave syrup
2 teaspoon sugar/2 teaspoon agave
(you can also use a stevia-based sweetener if that is your preference)

Optional: 1 shot of espresso or ¼ cup of black coffee for a "mocha-cocoa"

Directions:

1. Add the water and soy milk to each mug. Will be 1 cup of liquid total. Pinch the very very small amount of salt in each glass. Microwave on high for about 75 seconds (or until liquid starts to bubble with heat.)

2. When the liquid is steaming hot, add in the cocoa powder-a little at a time while stirring briskly, to avoid clumps.

3. Stir in the sweetener and spices. Add in a shot of espresso if you are making a mocha.

4. In a separate glass mug add the frothy foam ingredients. Heat to about 60 degrees in the microwave. About 40 seconds for my micro. Using an aerolatte wand milk frother, froth the milk until it is nice and foamy. You can also use a steam-foamer or other kitchen gadget you may own. If you do not have a foamer, simply heat the milk and stir it very briskly for about 30 seconds.

5. Add the foam to the top of the cocoa mugs. Fill to the brim with white foam. Add in vegan marshmallows or rice whip on top, as you desire.

Serving Instructions: See above list of required locations, destinations, modifications, allocations, instructions and venue's for proper cocoa drinking for two.

...you can also serve this cocoa with the delicious cookie recipe that will be unveiled on the Fourth Day of Vegan Treats or even the yummy recipe awaiting you on tomorrow's Third Day of Vegan Treats...stay tuned!

On the first day of vegan treats, my true love gave to me, a North Pole Peppermint Chai just for me.

Polar Express. This recipe is sweetly simple. You can whip it up faster than you can say "last minute shopping". The delightful minty flavor puts a festive holiday spin on a traditional chai latte. This warm mug of peppermint bliss is inspired by the frosty frozen nights Santa spends at the North Pole. I wouldn't be surprised if this was Santa's 'big night' pre-drink. Get the recipe...

12 Days of Vegan Treats here!!

2010 Holiday Recipe Inspirations here!!

Extra Easy. Extra Tea. Two things to note about this recipe: 1) it is super easy, yet the results are quite lovely. It's amazing what a few crumbles of candy cane can do for a hot beverage. 2) Yes, I added not one, but two tea bags to this recipe! I like my chai strong and bursting with tea antioxidants. So I add chai concentrate, a black tea bag and a green tea bag. Plus, that nice burst of black tea caffeine is great in the AM.

North Pole Peppermint Chai
vegan, serves one
makes one big mug or two little mugs

1 cup vanilla soy milk
1 cup vegan chai liquid concentrate
1 tablespoon soy creamer
1 candy cane, smashed to bits
1 dash cayenne
2 dashes cinnamon
1 black tea bag
1 chai tea bag
Optional: frothing wand for milk (opt'l)

Directions:

1. Pour your chai concentrate and ½ cup of soy milk into your serving mug. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, or until steamy HOT!

2. After microwaving, add the 2 tea bags to the liquid, let steep for 2-5 minutes. When bags have steeped, removes, squeeze excess liquid from bags back into mug.

3. Stir into your liquid 1 teaspoon of peppermint candy cane bits. Stir in your cinnamon and cayenne dashes too.

4. If you have a milk frother, froth the remaining soy milk and soy creamer into a foamy white pillow of liquid. Perfect frothing is done at about 60 degrees. If you don't have a frother you can heat this liquid to HOT and add to you beverage. You can add in a bi more soy creamer or replace a bit of the soy milk with soy creamer - for a creamier latte.

5. On top of your beverage (hopefully you have a nice mound of foam), sprinkle about a teaspoon of candy cane bits. Add another dash of cinnamon if you'd like.

Drink and enjoy this sweet minty refreshing tea latte!

Optional: add a swirl of rice cream or a few vegan marshmallows for an extra-decadent treat.

Simply cravable vegan comfort food, that's how I describe my "Cheesy" Chili Bread Bowl recipe. This is a go-to dinner or lunch recipe that you will love to have in your back pocket on a cold gloomy day. This recipe uses several grocery store items that you can easily store in your pantry. So it's "voila!" ready. The exotic flavor of San Marzano tomatoes gives this recipe that homemade taste. Packed with protein, antioxidants and flavor, this ready-in-thirty-minutes recipe is waiting for you. Get it...

RECIPE UPDATE Suggestions: My husband and I ate this last night for dinner and loved it. There are a few things you can do to make it dinnertime-ready in a flash, yet also 'jazz it up' a bit to make it a very special (cravable) dish.
*Oven-Love. I transferred my 'microwaved' entree to a large white corning ware bowl with glass lid. I stuck it in the oven at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes. This marinated all the flavors together and kept the dish piping hot while we ate out pre-chili salads. After the 20 minutes is up, I left it in a 170 degree oven, lid-on until it was ready to eat.
*Bubbly Cheese. I added about 4 strips of Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack cheese to the top of the dish. I broiled the cheese in my oven for about 5 minutes to get it nice and brown and a bit bubbly. Then I put the lid back on and allowed it to sit in the oven on warm until ready to eat.
*Creamy. I used a drizzle of soy creamer (about 1 Tbsp) over top the dish before placing it in the oven. It added a subtle yet decadent flavor to the recipe.
*Bean there, Done that. My husband despises beans. So sadly, I left out the beans for this dish and added in another 4 oz. of tempeh cubes. I have tried this with and without beans, and it is delicious either way. But me, I love those healthy fiber-rich beans!
*Shrooms. A great add-in I did last night was rosemary-roasted mushrooms. I roasted the shrooms in 1 teaspoon of crushed dried rosemary, garlic powder, apple cider vinegar and EVOO. I then added the shrooms to the dish right before serving. Yum!
*Snausages! Lastly, I added in a Field Roast spicy chipotle sausage (as I mention in my add-in's below). It was amazing. The sausage gave the entire dish a spicy flavor and it nicely soaked up the juices to become quite tender and succulent to eat. I simply tossed it into my pasta right before placing in the oven. The heat from the dish really cooked the sausage nicely!

San Marzano Tomatoes. For months I had been ignoring a can of San Marzano tomatoes that I had bought 'on sale' at Whole Foods one day. I had never opened a can of SM tomatoes before and really had no idea what they tasted like right out of the can (though I've had them on D.O.C pizza). I only knew that they make "the best pizza sauce" ever. So one day I finally did a taste test of my San Marz tomatoes and "whamo!" My taste buds were hit with perfectly flavored, acidic, bright and sweet tomatoes - a tender firm texture too. These tomatoes are so inspirational. I eventually used them in this recipe, and chili Italian-o bliss was created. Vegan style.

Get this go-to recipe...

Cheesy Chili Bread Bowl
vegan, makes a really big pot of chili pasta
*will serve 3-5 or 2 (with leftovers)

1 box of Dairy Free Mac 'n Chreese, cheddar flavor
*by Road's End Organics/Edward and Son's brand, I prefer the gluten-free brown rice penne or the whole wheat elbow macaroni pasta.
¾ c. water
¾ c. veggie broth
1 cup soy milk, plain
2 tablespoon EVOO, extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon black pepper, fine
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

tempeh
6 oz. tempeh cubes
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
a few dashes of fine black pepper
dash of salt

1 can (15oz.) cannellini beans
½ can (14-16 oz.) of San Marzano Tomatoes with liquid, whole
*I used Cento organic brand, packed with basil

¼ cup chopped parsley
1 cup baby spinach
Vegan Parmesan Cheese (2 Tbsp+)
2 large chunks of fresh french bread or a fluffy fresh bagel, any variety bread

Directions:

1. Chop your tempeh into cubes and set it in a marinade of the apple cider vinegar, garlic, maple syrup, dash of salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Pour the mac pasta (from the Road's End box) into a large microwave-safe bowl. Add the packet of "chreese" mix to the bowl. Also add in the liquid: soy milk, veggie broth and water. Add in the EVOO as well. Stir a bit. Cover loosely with a lid.

3. Microwave pasta mixture for 5 min on high. Make sure it doesn't bubble over in the microwave.

4. When the 5 min cooking time is up, stir the pasta well. It should be softened, but not fully cooked. Add in your marinated tempeh mixture (all the liquid 'marinade' as well).

5. Leave the pasta bowl (with tempeh) uncovered and microwave for an additional 4-5 minutes.

6. Remove cooked pasta/tempeh bowl from microwave. Gently fold in your baby spinach and parsley. Cover, set aside.

7. Empty you cans of beans and tomatoes into a separate microwave safe dish. Heat them together in the microwave for about 2 minutes (just enough to warm them). Fold the heated beans and tomatoes into the pasta bowl. (You used a BIG bowl right?)

8. Place the entire bowl back in the microwave for about 1 minute. This will make everything steamy hot, but not overcooked.

9. Remove the bowl from the micro. Transfer your pasta chili into a serving bowl (or leave in prep bowl if need be. Sprinkle a generous layer of vegan Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta chili. About 2 tablespoon worth.

10. Grab your fluffy french bread or fresh bagel and rip it into big chunks about the size of a golf ball. Dab the bread into the top of the pasta bowl. The bread will nicely soak up some of the excess liquid, creating a perfect thick pasta leftover. Cover pasta chili and let sit for at least 2 minutes before serving.

11. Garnish with fresh parsley, red pepper flakes and more parm cheese.

Yum and yum. Leftovers are encouraged.

Optional Add-ins:
*Fold in a few rounds of Field Roast vegan sausage, in the Spicy Chipotle flavor.
*Artichoke hearts.
*Kalamata Olives.
*Another version of beans:kidney, navy, garbanzo.
*Diced jalapeno.
*Chopped onion.

I was thrilled to hear from Food Network's Melissa d'Arabian today when she let me know about her "vegan variation" of her Citrus Trio Butter Dipping Cookies recipe for the Food Network's "12 Days of Cookies".

Important Note: There was an error in the originally posted recipe (both versions), however Melissa informed me that it has been corrected. Link here.

Rate it! I hope you will check out Melissa's yummy recipe and rate it five stars. Lets encourage Food Network to post more vegan variations for their recipes. Bravo to Melissa for creating a delicious holiday cookie recipe that can be made traditionally or modified to be vegan. As experienced vegan bakers know, it takes a good amount of effort and knowledge to "veganize" a recipe. Rate Melissa's recipe here.

Melissa's Cookies:

And don't forget to check out Melissa's brand new season of Ten Dollar Dinners, New season begins January 3 at 12:30pm/11:30c.

I'm hoping for the first snow of the season this weekend. Even a flurry would suffice. A simple sweet moment of a few light flakes drifting and dancing down from a silver sky, landing softly on my eyelashes to melt into mist. I don't care how old I get, that first flurry of snowflakes will always make my eyes grow wide. I love hearing people shout to each other on the street "It's snowing!" or "Is that snow?" as they tilt their heads to the sky for a moment of pause.

Best First Snow. I tweeted my most cherished "first snow of the season" memory today under the #bestfirstsnow hashtag. My tweet was this: "#bestfirstsnow ..walking in Times Square NYC, b4 an 8pm Broadway show, a sea of people & twinkling lights, as snowflakes fell.." What's your best first snow memory? Tweet it to me!

"First Snow" Kinda Weekend. I hope you have a wonderful weekend with snow or sunshine wishes. Growing up in California, my family never had snow in our yard, but I'd watch the news with wide eyes as folks back east plowed through piles of white fluff. I'd usually see snow for just a few days a year when we'd go skiing in Lake Tahoe. So I know no matter where you are this holiday, thoughts of snow are somewhere in the back of your mind. Here are a few weekend holiday activity ideas to put you in a "snowy spirit"...

Ice Skating. Even if you don't live in a snowy climate, you may be lucky enough to have a rink in your town. Take advantage of it! Ice Skating is a great workout and calorie burner. On average, a 130 lb person moderately ice skating for an hour will burn about 400 calories. Plus the aerobic activity raises your heart-rate and works a wide variety of major muscle groups. Plus, it's a lot of fun.

Skiing and Snowboarding. So there isn't a lot of people who have a ski slope in their town, but if you do take advantage of it! I've always dreamed of living in a place where I could get a seasonal ski pass and head up for a few runs every weekend during the ski season. Maybe someday. Skiing and snowboarding are excellent aerobic activities. And hot cocoa tastes soo much better after a day on the slopes.

Holiday Shopping. If you love to shop, now is the time to frolic down the street, shopping bags in hand. A long day of hitting the stores, can actually be a great form of exercise. Don't be afraid to stroll down long blocks and malls of stores perusing the lovely holiday window displays and decorations. Sometimes the best "shopping day" is when you don't even buy anything!

Holiday Treats. This weekend I'll be announcing my "12 Days of Vegan Treats" holiday recipe series. So keep an eye out for that. One of the greatest joys of the season is gathering with friends or family, putting down the cell phones, computers and video games and making some festive treats - perhaps baking a batch of gingerbread or sugar cookies to decorate.

Turn Up the Festive Tunes! Turn up the holiday music and start your own private holiday dance party. Even a few minutes of spinning around your living room while listening to Madonna sing "Santa Baby" or Judy Garland sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" will be a great endorphin-boosting bit of activity. Most cable companies even have a free "Xmas music" channel, so check your listings.

Holiday Productions. I love the holiday concerts, plays and productions that pop up this time of year. But you don't have to see the New York Ballet do "The Nutcracker" or the Holiday Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall to have a good time. There are plenty of shows and concerts in every town that will give you a nice dose of holiday cheer. Even checking out the local high school music concert of holiday carols is fun. And if you can't get out to see a show, you can always 'get the DVD' and snuggle up for a cozy 'holiday show' night at home. But nothing is better than a live show...

Holiday Cards. I'm horrible at sending out holiday cards, but sometimes I actually set myself down for a good hour and get those cards labeled and sent out. Will I do it this year? Hope so! If you're looking for a cute holiday card this year, check out my Ice Skating Grape card on sale for $2.95 each. They are big glossy cards that look great on your holiday mantle. Buy them here:

Happy Holidays Grape Skating Card 2009 by Lunchbox Bunch
See other Holiday Cards

One of my fave new 'cool finds' online is TwitGrids.com. It's a virtual potluck of Twitter tweets (and more). It keeps me 'in the foodie know' by allowing me to peruse all my fave tweeting foodies, chefs, brands, bloggers and restaurants via its much-more-organized-than-Twitter interface. My craving for insider foodie info: satisfied. My craving to peruse foodie-friendly tweets with minimal effort: satisfied. Check this out...

This morning I heard from @GDeLaurentiis about how she spent her Thanksgiving, checked out a twitpic from @Sarma featuring a rainbow of her yummy juices on sale at One Lucky Duck's new Chelsea Market NYC outpost, heard from @BFlay, that 'the men's team lost' at his Thanksgiving Trivial Pursuit showdown, learned about the latest in vegan shoes from @GreenbyDesign, heard about a new Winter Ale Sangria offering at @Cafeterianyc and I even checked out a recipe for Easy Baked Tofu from @WholeRecipes, aka Whole Foods Market. And all this mouthwatering foodie/green girl goodness fit on my one webpage-of-a-plate. Delicious.

What's my secret? TwitGrids. Here is what it looks like:

Not Hungry, for food? OK, so sometimes I'm not thinking about food. Sometimes. And in that case, I still have a whole plethora of different tweet topics to peruse. Twitgrids has categories like lifestyle, health news, celebs, sports, style, TV, funny, politics, news, travel, entertainment, green, fitness and more. There are over 1,800 accounts featured on TG's-and they are always adding boxes to their grid categories. I definitely peruse TG's for more than just foodie stuff. But if it's foodie tweets you crave, you're in luck, a Vegas-sized buffet of yummy tweets awaits...

Foodie Categories at TwitGrids. There is a main category called simply "food" and under that comes foodies, chefs, recipes, restaurants and brands.

I was super excited to see my @Lunchboxbunch account featured in the "foodies" and "recipes" sections of TwitGrids. Plus there are tons of my other fave twitter accounts listed there too.

There is also a "green" category under "lifestyle" which I love. There you'll find tweets from my faves: @DiscerningBrute, @RoryFreedman, @PlanetGreen, @Ecorazzi, @GirlieGirlArmy, @Moby, @sroakes and more.
Under "chefs" you'll find tweets from @veggiechefmayra, @jamie_oliver, @bflay, @rick_bayless, @classicerin, @sarma and more.

Under "recipes" you'll find tweets from @wholerecipes, @veganrecipes, @winerecipes and more.

Under the "foodies" category you'll find tweets from @tastespotting, @foodnetwork, @everydayfood, @lunchboxbunch (moi) and more.

Under "restaurants" you'll find tweets from @purefoodandwine, @babycakesnyc, @chipotlemedia, @lepainquotidien, @thecoffeebean and more.

And finally, under "brands" you'll find tweets from @Starbucks, @WholeFoods, @onecoconut, @honesttea, @peets_tweets and more.

TwitGrids Features Include:

*Easy Login: Login on TwitGrids with your Twitter account. On the TG site you can follow, unfollow, update your status, check your latest stats, @reply and retweet (and even add your own comments to your RT, something twitter's new RT button doesn't allow.)

*EasyScroll: If you have a mouse that allows it, you can easily scroll through tweets with the roll of your mouse wheel. I love this feature. It's fun in a cyber-nerdy kind of way. The tweets scroll from latest to oldest tweet.

*Sort Categories: TG lets you sort how you view your grid categories. You can view profiles in order of most followed, latest tweet or alphabetically. I use this feature all the time to find specific people alphabetically or to see the very latest tweets in the category I am looking at.

*Trends Page: The trends page allows you to scroll through all the latest twitter tweets of today's trends. Constant updates for inquiring minds who want to listen in on the twitter conversation.
*MyGrid: MyGrid is a way to customize your very own page of favorite tweeters. Once you're logged in, simply click the little +My button on a gridbox, and that account will be added to your "MyGrid". The main bummer is that TG's doesn't let you add your personal faves like friends and family yet. For now you can add anyone currently found on TwitGrids - which is a lot of options, over 1800 and growing. MyGrid is great because it allows you to see only the tweets you want to see from various categories all on one screen. It's similar to Twitter's new lists feature. If you are a visual person like me you may like it better than lists.

The Grid is In. Like I said, I love Twitter, but who has time to scroll through lines and lines of text of your fave foodies, chefs, brands and restaurants? Not me. Lines are out, grids are in. TwitGrids uses a minimalist innovative grid style display. No more endless scrolling required.

The Down Side: The only down side to TwitGrids is that they may not have everyone who you'd like to see in their database - yet. They continually add more accounts and you can even tweet them suggestions to add. If your fave foodie blogger, chef or recipe tweeter isn't listed, simply tweet @twitgrids and maybe they will add your suggestion.

My "Cool Finds" review of TwitGrids, for those of you who missed it last week...:
Hello my name is Kathy and I'm addicted to twitter. Yup, I love twitter.com, but sometimes it feels like a sea of tweets with no true organization or ease of use. Ten minutes on twitter can quickly become an hour. So when I found TwitGrids.com my face got very smiley. It's like a sort of newspaper - with little grid boxes of tweets. All categorized. For an organization freak like me- it's dreamy. Plus it has plenty of "foodie-friendly" categories: lifestyle, green, food, foodies, chefs, recipes, brands and restaurants sections. You can even customize your own "My Grid". Hello my name is Kathy and I'm addicted to TwitGrids. To have your twitter (and eat it too?) - try this website.

More info at www.twitgrids.com

Twitter Account: @TwitGrids