********I love biscuits even though I don't make or eat them often, they are truly a special treat. This recipe is a good base for sweet or savory biscuits. I made the filling of this biscuit with a sugar free raspberry and champagne grape sauce I came up with. I will do a post on the sauce later so you can see how I made it. This recipe is good! Try with vegan butter or whole wheat pastry flour. I will also do some more experimenting with this recipe. Like adding herbs, flax seeds or using a non dairy cream instead of butter!



Ingredients

Anytime you’re in New York City, you can always find delicious specialty cafes, eateries and bakeries lining the busy streets. From the delicious artisanal ice cream truck that’s parked along the curb, like that of Van Leeuwen, to the popular vegan bakery Babycakes, I either stumble upon these tasty finds luckily or I hear about them from magazines or by word of mouth. During a recent trip to New York, I made sure that I didn’t leave without stopping by Babycakes NYC. I found out about this bakery when their cookbook of the same name, by founder Erin McKenna, with its cover photo of enticing chocolate cupcakes caught my eye in the bookstore. I’m fascinated by vegan baking, because ...
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Greetings! I hope everyone is having a great summer thus far. I’ve been on the go so much (note to self: practice what you preach), that I haven’t had nearly enough time to get out to the farmers’ markets and pick-your-own farms to enjoy the bounty of summer. Although, several weeks ago, I did have the opportunity to share two delicious and easy recipes at Common Good City Farm during a cooking workshop that I taught. Both recipes are nutritious and make for great summer side dishes.
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A long holiday weekend either means several days packed with travel and exciting activities, or an opportunity to stay around the house and catch up on much needed rest. This 4th of July weekend, I chose the later. Intentionally staying at home (which takes a lot of intention for me) and chilling out in front of the TV and with a good book also gave me the chance to work on some recipes I had swirling around in my mind.
First up, blueberry scones made with whole-grain pastry flour.
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Currently the hubby and I are trying to cut down on our carbs (well, he is, I on the other hand have had my fair share of bread, donuts, and cookies in the past few days), so as of lately, most of my dinners simply include lots of veggies and a protein, which is either chicken, ground turkey, or fish. The other day I put together this dish that consists of: baked chicken, thinly sliced tomatoes, potatoes(cut into small squares), asparagus, white corn, and sweet green peas. I just sauteed the potatoes until they were tender and then added in the remaining veggies. I cooked them in a bit of olive oil, water, and butter until the asparagus turned a bright green and lightly seasoned them with salt, yellow curry powder, and a dash of garlic powder.

In our seemingly never-ending quest to lose weight and eat more healthfully, Black women have a new motivating resource and guide in Tracye McQuirter and her recently released book, By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat.
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A nutritionist and 20-year vegan with a master’s of public health nutrition from New York University, Tracye is co-founder of BlackVegetarians.org and the Black Vegetarian Society of New York. She shares the message in her new book that a plant-based diet without meat, dairy or eggs, is the best for Black women’s health.
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If you’re already thinking, “Forget it! I’ve got to have my meat, ice cream, butter, or cheese!” read on. Tracye has a message that everyone can benefit from. She busts the nutritional myths about protein and dairy, and will definitely have you thinking twice about your food choices.
(Read the full post and interview)

I’m sure the parents of the 3rd and 4th graders from two D.C. area public charter schools would be amazed by their children’s enjoyment of asparagus and cherry tomatoes, sautéed spinach, and fresh mint tea. Being that I only started enjoying asparagus last year, I was definitely impressed, but that just goes to show the power of fresh picked vegetables straight from the garden. Last week and the week before, I had the pleasure of giving a cooking demo to students in the Washington Youth Garden’s Garden Science program.
(Read the full post and mint tea recipe)

This recipe is a must try!

I'm always looking for creative and tasty ways to add great grains like quinoa in my diet. For this recipe you will need a blender. I use a stick blender which works great with less clean up. I love my stick blender. Use organic strawberries not only because strawberries are treated with very large amounts of pesticides, including fungicides. Organic strawberries taste better and have much more flavor. I bought a pint for $2.99 and I use about half for this recipe. One thing I forgot to measure how much this recipe yields, so if you make it let me know!

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa

Tempting co-workers with afternoon sweets, especially when few people can say no to chocolaty goodness, is not the most helpful thing to do for a group of health conscious folks, however, many still appreciate an afternoon pick-me up so I didn’t feel too bad about bringing in brownies twice last week. Thanks to my co-workers’ willingness to be my brownie taste-testers, I have a delicious chocolate rum brownie recipe to share that’s received multiple approvals. Have you made brownies from scratch lately? They’re incredibly easy to make, so if you haven’t, put the box aside and give it a try. You don’t even need an electric mixer.
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After seven months of weekend-long intensives, weekly classes, teaching practicums, readings, personal practice and study; the nine ladies of the Shakti Mind Body Studio 2009 – 2010 yoga teacher training class have been initiated into the transformative practice of yoga as teachers and life-long students. As a member of this class, I’m grateful for the experience of the program and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My interest in food and nutrition goes hand in hand with my study of healing movement through yoga and dance, as they all have the power to heal and foster well-being – body, mind and spirit.
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I love, love, love , and love artichokes. One of my now fav veggies in the world. Artichokes were foreign to me up until a few years ago and now I just can't get enough.

Nutrients
Rich in magnesium, chromium, manganese, potassium, phosphorous, iron, calcium, fiber, Vitamin A, B, C, and folate.
They offer about 4 grams of protein, fat free, and very low in calories.
Click here to read the fill article

This recipe was inspired by a co-worker who suggested I substitute Almond Butter for Peanut Butter. For the past two years I've developed an utter disdain for peanut butter for reasons unknown. I also hate the smell and just the thought of it makes me want to vomit.

I searched around for some recipes and I found a pretty good on on goodLife (eats). I tweaked the recipe to reflect my addition for cranberries. I took out the crushed almonds that she suggest and everything I used was organic. Huge improvement for my heart attack Apple Crisp. (A healthy version of that will come eventually.)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp crushed sea salt
• 16 Tbs (2 sticks) salted organic butter, softened but still cool
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1 c raw turbino sugar
• 1 c almond butter

I got some fennel from the market Saturday. I'm not a big licorice fan but the taste is pretty light and it pairs well with apples and taste good roasted. Lets eat fennel!!

Ideas on Different Ways to Enjoy It.

1) Roasted- For a side dish, thickly slice fennel and add sliced onions, carrots, sea salt and thyme. Coat with little olive oil and roast at 400 degrees until tender.

2) Shaved or sliced paper thin- Slice fennel and apples thinly on mandolin. Toss with a vinaigrette made with rice wine vinegar and olive oil and a pinch of crushed Jamaican allspice .

Well, I didn’t get a spot on the 3rd season of the Food Network’s Grill It With Bobby Flay, but no worries because I still have my recipe for chermoula marinated grilled fish with a savory, yet fruity couscous to share with you. I made some tweaks to my Moroccan chermoula sauce and used it this time to marinade halibut instead of mahi mahi, and I like the dish even better now.

Since I made the first version of this fragrant and earthy sauce used widely in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian cooking, I attended a cooking demo with Moroccan native, Chef Samir Labriny of Moroccan Cuisine Academy. At the demo I learned even more about Moroccan cooking, including more about chermoula sauce.
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I just want to say I waited a long time to get this book from the library. I really wanted to check it out first, to see if it was purchase worthy. I've been to the NYC bakery several times I've had their agave sweetened gluten free vanilla, chocolate and carrot cupcake. I have never been lucky to go there when they have the red velvet gluten free cupcakes in stock. I also have tried a couple of loaves too. Over all I like their stuff, but it's a little to pricey for my taste. Pretty much four bucks for a gluten free cupcake. The cupcakes do make nice gifts, if you ask you can get it in their cute little signature box.

Hopefully, where ever you are the weather has been as beautiful and uplifting as the gorgeous spring weather we’ve been experiencing here in the D.C. area. The breakthrough of sunny skies, gentle winds and comfortable warmth has been a refreshing detour from the harsh winter we experienced this year. Now with all the snow melted and days warm enough to leave the jacket at home and breakout the sandals, it’s time to ease up on soups and stews, and move on to lighter and refreshing dishes.

(Read full post and recipe)

I recently found out about an opportunity to be on Grill It with Bobby Flay on the Food Network. The network is currently looking for guests to appear on the show for its 3rd season and asking for recipes and 3-minute video clips of contenders doing their thing on the grill. While getting on TV or having a cooking show had never been a particular aim or objective of mine since I began my journey into food blogging, when this opportunity arose, I thought, why not?
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Familiar foods, recipes and approaches to cooking are a real comfort to most of us. They remind us of home, childhood, and good times with loved-ones. They’re guaranteed to satisfy our taste buds and “hit the spot.” However, I’ve realized through my passion for adventure and exploration, that flavors and cuisines from other countries can add a new enjoyment to our meals and even provide a window into understanding other people of the world and their cultures. The recent disaster in Haiti has me thinking about their foodways and dishes, which you don’t usually hear much about.
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Check out the Haitian Relief fundraising event by food bloggers this Sunday, Februrary 21st in Atlanta, New York, Chicago and L.A. - Stir It! 28

• ****1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, Shelled and deveined

Staring in my cabinet at two cans of pumpkin puree that were left over from my holiday baking, I asked myself, “what can I do with this besides wait until next holiday season to bake with it, or cheat on my New Year’s resolution to cut back on sweets with an attempt at pumpkin cheesecake?” The answer: a warming and slightly spicy pumpkin soup. Leaning on my love of coconut, cilantro and fragrant curry powder, I looked to those ingredients to add full-bodied flavor to this vegetarian and vegan friendly soup.

(Read more for the full post and recipe)

Over the holidays I hosted a get-together for a few high school friends when I went home for Christmas. My menu consisted of chicken saté with peanut sauce, water crackers topped with thin slices of smoked salmon and parsley cream cheese, spiced roasted nuts, herb-seasoned olives, an assortment of holiday cookies, St. Germain cocktails (my favorite drink right about now) and this orange-pecan wild and long-grain rice.
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Seasons greetings! I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season, and I wish you many blessings and flavorful eating in 2010. See you online in the new year! (View greeting)

**********I am trying real hard again to stay away from sugar and gluten. Kelly has some great resouces on her site about different low GI sweeteners. I haven't tried any of her recipes yet but so far I really like ingredients.

Happy Thanksgiving!
What’s a Thanksgiving without sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Pies and tarts are actually quite similar so you can feel good about using this tart recipe as a substitute on your table if you want to add a slight change to your Thanksgiving dessert routine.
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My Mom’s side of the family makes the best cornbread dressing, hands down – at least according to my taste buds. And yes, we say dressing not stuffing, we’re from the South. It’s so interesting how different regions and families have different food traditions for the same dish. I recently discovered that some folks have only seen dressing served mashed/fluffed or in a mound rather than in squares the way my family and nearly everyone in my parents’ hometown serves it.
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Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Okay, not yet, but I definitely hope you have a great one that’s full of joy and delicious food. To help you get prepared and inspired, I’m sharing three recipes this week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) that you might want to include on your dinner table on Thursday. First up is a tasty and easy cocktail to get the spirit flowing among your family and friends.
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