Foodie Finds

August 25, 2013August 25, 2013 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

In my search for healthier, lower fat/cholesterol, non-animal based and still tasty food, I continue to come across new items which have proven quite good. For those of you who also want to eat healthier, I figured I’d share some of my recent finds.

Vegenaise – giving up mayonnaise is pretty difficult. I don’t eat or need it all the time, but it sure does make something even as simple as a fresh tomato sandwich sing. So I was very happy to find that the Vegenaise, from Follow Your Heart, I bought was, as the label states, “better than mayonnaise.” I say this as a Hellman’s fan, although for years I’ve been buying the “light” version. Well, Vegenaise actually tastes better than Hellman’s, in my opinion, and without the suffering of egg-laying chickens and without the animal-based fat, (a major source of cholesterol.) This product is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and non-gmo. But while it avoids the animal products and is cholesterol-free, it’s not completely fat-free. One tablespoon of Vegenaise equals about the same fat as Hellman’s light, so be aware if you’re looking to cut fat as well as for a vegan product. And, of course, coming from a smaller manufacturer, it is pricier than something from a conglomerate producer. Follow Your Heart also has a wonderful line of salad dressings, cheeses that are not animal-derived and more.

Better than Bouillon is an organic vegetarian/vegan base to use in soups and stews. It was called for in a recent recipe I made, and worked great. I just whisked the base up with the stated amount of water and voila! Perfect. Made by a company called Superior Touch, who also makes a variety of other soup bases, many organic, gravy bases, also many organic, and a variety of crockpot season mixes.

Bob’s Red Mill makes a variety of grain products, many organic, but all non-GMO. I’ve bought flour and rolled oats from him before, but recently tried granola – very good – and this package of Organic High Fiber Cereal, a hot cereal made with a blend of stone ground oatmeal, nutrient rich flaxseed, wheat germ, high fiber oat bran, and wheat bran. There are plenty of vitamins, minerals, fiber and … 1000 mg. of Omega-3! I would much prefer to get my Omega 3 from a non-animal based source, and now I’m seeing how I could switch over. Check out Bob’s Red Mill website – he has a really vast array of natural grain products, from oats to cereal to flour to baking mixes, including gluten-free.

And last but not least … a snack …. from Food Should Taste Good. I agree! My local supermarket is now carrying a full line of these non-GMO, mostly vegan, some organic, etc. snacks – crackers, kettle-cooked chips, and tortilla chips. I bought the lime tortilla chips and they are truly tasty – not too heavy on the lime. FSTG has a great line of products in really good flavors.

So there you have it – some delicious, wholesome, non-animal derived foods to try out. Enjoy!

Remembering Sweet Claude …

August 19, 2013September 12, 2013 / still a dreamer / 8 Comments

In Memory of Claude

July 1998 – August 17, 2013
Rescued from Hillside, NJ RR bridge – August 1998

He had only 3 places to go. Over the fence and a 100′ drop to the railroad tracks below, into the traffic crossing the railroad bridge, or into my hands. He chose to climb the fence. Thanks to the help of a kind passerby, the tiny feral kitten ended up in my hands. In fact, he ended up squalling loudly while I held him against my left shoulder with one hand and drove the rest of the way to work. It was a day when I normally didn’t come in to work, on a route I never went but for the backed-up traffic that day. I even passed him by, thinking he was a crumpled piece of paper – that’s how tiny he was – before my brain went “KITTEN!” and I backed up for a closer look.

In our Medical Dept., he was assessed at 5 weeks old, too young to get shots and at risk of becoming very ill in the city shelter. So I decided to take care of him until he was old enough to be adopted. He stayed with me in my office during the day and I took him home at night. I’d set him up a huge dog crate with blankets, food, water, litter – everything he needed. He was so tiny I was afraid he’d get lost or trapped somewhere in the house. And he screamed. I shut the door to the room, let him out, and Claude made a beeline for my pit bull terrier Chloe’s chin and curled up underneath. From that moment on they became inseparable … he found the mom he’d always needed.

My thoughts of putting him up for adoption in the shelter were abandoned in the face of their devotion to each other, and that’s how Claude’s life began – loved by his dog and human moms.

Claude was a healthy and very happy, easygoing guy. He survived Chloe, who passed away at 15-1/2, as well as his two cat buddies Mewsette and Gypsy Rose who left us in the last year and a half. He was without a doubt the nudgiest animal I’ve ever known, but also beyond affectionate, cuddly, funny and extremely trusting. He stretched out anywhere on his back, totally vulnerable, knowing he was always safe and loved. And did I mention vocal? We won’t even go there.

Life was sweet for Claude until a little over a week ago when he experienced a mild, seizure-like event. Unfortunately, these progressed rapidly and in number and severity that it became clear there was only one thing to do. I told him where we were going Saturday morning and what would be happening. I bathed us in white light and asked who would meet Claude on the other side. In a heartbeat I saw Chloe … her bunny ears up, eyes bright, and she was dancing from side to side, so eager to see her “baby” once again.

Claude left peacefully in a second to join his mom and left me to reflect on how lucky I, as well as he, was that day when I was sent to work the “back way” and over a railroad bridge where someone needed desperately to be found.

Home will never be the same without you, Claudie.

What’s for Dinner?

August 12, 2013August 20, 2013 / still a dreamer / 6 Comments

A friend of mine mentioned the other day that every time she saw vegan food, it always seemed weird and like most people wouldn’t want to eat it. I think there are some older, outdated ideas like that but it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, many health-conscious people are already eating almost vegan and haven’t even thought about it. Like pasta? salads? Chili over rice?

Anyway, one of the things I came to realize was that if I’m going this way, I am going to have to cook more. So I chose one of the recipes in Main Street Vegan, (possibly one of the best books about food I’ve ever read), and here’s how it went. It’s called a Lentil-Spud Burger, but I’d say “burger” quite loosely.

First, gather the ingredients … hard to find some of these organic, but I got what I could. The recipe called for whole wheat panko crumbs which I couldn’t find, so I used a mixture of plain panko crumbs and whole wheat bread crumbs.

I chose redskin potatoes because they have more flavor, and as always, steam rather than boil them.

I sautéed 2 cloves of garlic in just a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Meanwhile, I whisked up a little vegetable broth using an organic vegetarian base that I was happy to discover on my supermarket shelf so I wouldn’t have to waste a can or box of broth for such a small amount.

I mashed the steamed potatoes, and was, of course, happy that there was a bunch left over for some other purpose, then mixed in the lentils, bread crumbs, broth, garlic and herbs. This was a very nice selection with there being twice as much chives as oregano, parsley and basil. I mashed all the ingredients together with a fork and made 4 patties. It held together quite nicely. The mixture did need a bit of salt, but not too much.

I cooked one of the patties in a little oil along with some grilled asparagus and served with fresh-from-the-farm Jersey tomatoes and voilà!

It was quite delicious and not like something my friend described at all. (And I still have more I can cook up!)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

August 11, 2013 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

This year? Not all that well, I’m afraid. I don’t, in fact, actually have a garden … I have a variety of flowering plants in pots and containers that enliven my nice, deep, wrap-around porches . But this year, it hardly felt that it was worth the time potting them. Even the Impatiens – which rarely fail to shine – did poorly.

This is the one plant, above, that did the best. I bought this solid pink Impatiens plus a new variegated one, magenta and white with a darker leaf, that did even worse. Although this one looks pretty good, it was potted at least 3 months ago, and normally an Impatiens in this spot would have been covered with flowers. I did read an article that spoke to there being some kind of bug or blight or whatever with Impatiens this year. A small comfort. Those below, with both types in the container and in a favorite spot for Impatiens, also show a scarcity of blooms.

I believe it was our crazy weather. We had 9 or 10 days of scorching sunshine, temps in the mid to upper 90’s. Before or after that we had nearly 10 days straight of rain with not a drop of sun. I’m not posting photos of all the plants that barely survived. A Lobelia I got in May … I missed one day of watering and half of it died. I bought Lantana for the first time and had them in spots for sun-lovers, they were scorched before I even knew to move them. Violas, Alyssum and some others just barely grew at all. Quite disappointing.

And the Hydrangeas in the yard? This particular plant which last year had blossoms in a rich blue, (see photos here), this year saw flowers in pale to medium lavender with only half the amount of petals per flower. Weather sure can make a difference! (How do farmers sleep at night?)

Thankfully, the weather has stayed in the 80’s with nice cool evenings for awhile and seems to be continuing. Ever the optimist, I bought two small-ish mums at Home Depot and replaced the pair of sad Lantanas. It’s a new season coming soon, so perhaps it’s a good idea to slowly replace some of the plants in the sunny spots and see what happens.

I would not describe myself as a person with a green thumb, but even I couldn’t have managed such poor results on my own!

Here’s to Fall and some gardening success.

The Magic of the World Underwater

August 6, 2013 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Have 4 minutes 50 seconds? Then watch this absolutely beautiful video of the underwater world of Fiji and Tonga.

One of the true joys of the internet is that our friends and family send us links to videos such as these where we can be magically transported to a world we would otherwise never see. The photography is beyond spectacular, the accompanying music perfection. If you click on the “cc” button, you will be shown the species and location of the fish and other creatures you see.

What impressed me so is the clear intelligence in the eyes of the fish as they watch the diver filming them. This is a real treat.