My decision to a vegetarian lifestyle is not necessarily environmental reasoning, but because I think the Creator is telling me to do so. No lie. For as long as I can remember, whenever I eat red meat, I feel like my heart is pumping oil and is ready to check out early. I feel very uncomfortable and milk is not my friend. Several trips to the Docs says I'm not lactose intolerant but for some reason my body rejects milk. Being from a Haitian family where you eat pure fat/cholesterol and drink sugar, I knew very little about nutrition and making healthy choices. So in college, I opened up my palette and starting eating and drinking things that I would never imagine. I started getting into tofu, soy milk, falafel, and sushi. My cousin would tease me and ask what kind of phase I was going through. However it wasn't a phase, I just felt healthy and alive by eating vegetarian dishes. Now, I am not yet a vegetarian. I still consume chicken and fish occasionally. It's very hard not coming across meat and keeping a strict veggie diet.

No, I did not try this dish. I don't eat cheese remember? *sigh* But it sure made my house smell fantastic with its cheesy and creamy goodness. I am detoxing, but as I have stated many times before, cooking calms my nerves more so than eating at times. I also am trying to not let food go to waste in my fridge and use everything up before I run off to whole foods and purchase more.

I have had a block of Velveeta cheese left over in my fridge from awhile back before I went vegan. I always wondered if it was still any good and, surprisingly enough, it was. That's kind of scary that it can remain fresh for up to eight weeks but I am glad it did. I needed something to go over that left over cauliflower I had chilling in the fridge. It was my original intention to put the cashew cheeze over the cauliflower but I put it on the tomatoes instead. I think I made a good choice. I am also, trying to use all whole foods in my dinners as opposed to using too much tofu and seitan. I want to really get our mouths watering for whole foods. We really love olives and artichokes and as long as we have those ingredients in the house we can always make salads.

Ok... So I've been focusing on eating vegetarian and keeping a vegetarian friendly kitchen. I decided to try almond butter and picked up a jar. As I sit here for my usual snack of apple pieces and almond butter, I can't help but to think if there are other creative ways to enjoy it. I have to admit that almond butter is an acquired taste for me and I eat it because I loved peanut butter until I found out the bodies difficulty in digesting it. Does anybody have any suggestions about different ways to enjoy almond butter are is it simply a destined substitute for peanut butter?

I made this dish and it was really good to me. I pray that all my sistas enjoy it like I did. :o)

Ingred.
*1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
*4 garlic cloves, minced
*2 - 16 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed or 4 cups cooked black beans (from about 1 2/3 cups raw)
*Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon or to taste
*1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

-Heat the oil in a large sauce pan. Add the garlic and saute over low heat until golden 1 to 2 mins.
-Add the beans 1/2 cup water and the lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a gentle simmer.
-Remove about 3/4 cup of the beans, mash them and return to the sauce pan. Simmer very gently for another 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Hi all! I fixed this for dinner last night and it was so delicious! This takes only minutes to make and is perfect for summer meals! I first had this in Maryland while visiting family quite some time ago, where my aunt served it with cous-cous(she says they ate this a lot in Nigeria when they lived there). I did not have any cous cous so I just used basmati rice which you can boil in some vegetable/chicken broth for extra flavor!

For the sauce all you have to do is blend your red curry paste, salt, olive oil, coconut milk, a bit of ground ginger, a dash of cinnamon, and about a tbsp. of pineapple juice. add more salt if needed. Let simmer and take off the heat.

I recently fixed these chipotle tofu wraps and they were so good that I am planning on having them again this Friday. It's really simple to prepare. First you will want to get as much moisture out of your extra firm tofu, cut it into medium cubes, and then let it marinate overnight in some worcestershire sauce or any other marinating sauce and spices that would compliment your chipotle flavor like chili powder. Make sure your cubes are not too tiny or too large. I also cut up some smoked chipotle peppers in there too.

Then I sauteed the tofu( not the peppers..it would be WAY too hot, i just used them for flavor) in a non stick skillet with a bit of olive oil to brown it and to get rid of more of the moisture. Once I felt that they were good and brown I placed them in the oven on low heat to let them firm up a bit more.

...tell them that you find protein in not only your beans, nuts, tofu, but also your herbs! Spirulina, or blue-green algae, is a single-celled algae considered to be a superfood. High in protein, 65% vs 28% for beef, high in B vitamins and trace minerals.

Spirulina is rich in an unusual blue pogment called "phycocyanin", knwon to enhance mental functioning by drawing together and arranging amino acids in the brain for neutrotransmitter formation. It has also shown the capacity to inhibit the growth of cancer colonies in the body.

Spirulina contains the healthy unsaturated fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which supports prostaglandin, a hormonelike substance known to promote health and immunity.

Just wanted to share this with you because I always knew Spirulina was great for you, but now I know the details of it! Add Spirulina to your juicing recipes, especially the green ones!

L'Chaim! (To Life!)

Love,
Yahfa

SOURCES:
- The Complete Book of Raw Food, Lori Baird
- Living Cuisine, Renee Loux Underkoffler

Can someone help me....I have something going on with me and I can not seem to shake it. I choose not to use the word addiction, as there are worse things I could be "addicted" to. But I must have, find the need to have, can consume so much in one day addiction to SUGAR!!! I need the sweet....and I am trying really hard to replace my chocolate cravings with fruit, my need for a cupcake with a fresh squeezed glass of juice...but to no avail....."It ain't working".
So ladies I appeal to you, to those of you who know what I speak of, please give me an alternative. I have a recipe for vegan chocolate cake that I make, just so I can get my sugar fix!! Maybe there is something going on within my body, that is tryingt to tell me something, maybe the need is greater than sugar...if anyone knows what it is....please tell me.

So Sisters, any help/advice/suggestions/recipes you can give would be greatly appreciated!!

Be Blessed!

Moksie alesie (mixed rice) little history this dish is originally a slave dish. Slaves where given left-overs from the main kitchen. By mixing all of these left-overs delicious dishes were created, we (Surinamese) to this day still enjoy our ancestors their recipes. Now don’t be fooled the meals are just as tasty as they are inexpensive and always healthy!

Ingredients (please adapt to left overs in your own fridge! I have made this dish vegan, vegetarian, with all kinds of meat left-overs for my uncles as long as you make sure that a phalanx of fluid is covering the rice feel free to experiment with beans I have used red kidney beans (not a favourite) and butterbeans (extremely yummie!) Lots of people add dried shrimps but we don’t eat shellfish but if you like and have some in the fridge just add some!

• 100 gr of left over fish/red meat or chicken cut in small pieces or pulled apart to shred
• 1 small smoked fish (deboned and skinned)
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 scottisch bonet pepper
  

Along with my creative endeavor to re-do our apartment into a Moroccan/Indian abode(a very slow process indeed LOL), I would also like to change the entrees in our home to reflect that. We love Indian food, and I would like to get into Ethiopian cooking. I have a recipe for Injera that I want to try and a few other things. Q:Do any of you cook any “non-American” style dinners in your homes? I imagine having a lovely brass Ethiopian/Indian style tea set to serve coffees and teas in and brass/copper bowls with intricate designs to serve cous-cous and all sorts of other things in. I want to start traditions in the home you know? Something like serving honey tea after our meals, or something like that. Q:Do you have any traditions that you use in your home?

This soup blend is perfect for the fall and winter times. You can prepare this soup with or without the flour, cheese, and sour cream to make it lighter or into a vegan dish! Either way, the taste is fantastic!

Ingredients:
4 Ears of Fresh Corn, cleaned
1 1/2 C. Tomatoes, diced
1 fresh Red Chile Pepper, seeded and chopped
½ C. Yellow Onion, chopped
¼ C. Green Onion, chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, pressed and chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 C. vegetable broth
1/8 tsp.Black Pepper
1/8 tsp. Flour(optional)
¼ tsp.Paprika
Cayenne Pepper, small pinch
½ C. Sour Cream(optional)
2 C. Fresh Cilantro, cleaned & chopped
2 C. Black Beans
2 C. Mozarella & mild cheddar cheese shredded(optional)
3 C. Fresh Spinach, chopped

4 oz/100 g spinach

2tbsp olive oil

1 leek chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 1/3 cups chopped mushrooms

10 ½ oz/300 g firm bean curd,
chopped

1 tsp. Chili powder

1 tsp. Curry powder

1 tbsp. Chopped fresh cilantro

1 ½ cups fresh whole wheat bread
crumbs

Wheat rolls

Salad greens

2 large potatoes

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp. Chili powder

2 tbsp. Olive oil

1. To make the burgers, cook the
   spinach in a little boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly
   and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a
   skillet and saute the leek and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add the
   remaining ingredients, except the bread crumbs, and cook for 5-7
   minutes until the vegetables are softened. Toss in the spinach and
   cook for 1 minute.

This is a very tasty, well-known Middle Eastern dish of small garbanzo bean balls, spiced and deep-fried.

2 ¾ cups canned o fresh-cooked garbanzo beans,drained

1 red onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed,

3-4 slices whole wheat bead

2 small fresh red chiles

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp. Ground coriander

½ tsp. Turmeric

1 tbsp. Chopped cilantro,plus extra to garnish

1 egg, beaten

¾ cup whole wheat bread crumbs

vegetable oil, for deep-frying

salt and pepper

tomato and cucumber salad

lemon wedges

1. Put the garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, whole wheat bread, chiles, spices, and cilantro in a food processor and process for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Remove from the food processor and shape into walnut-sized balls.

I should first state that most traditional foods take a lot of preparation time. This recipe is for “darasa,” my favorite dish.

Ingredients: green bananas

coconut milk

green and/red peppers

onions

salt

pepper

olive oil.

Peel and grate 6 or 7 bananas in a large bowl. Add one can of coconut milk, dice half green pepper, half red pepper
and half onion then stir into the bananas, include a sprinkle of salt
and pepper, with a few drops of olive oil. Traditionally a special
leaf is used as wrapping for the mixture, but aluminum foil is an
adequate substitute. Use the foil to wrap three pot spoons of the
mixture, like a burrito folded at both ends to ensure the mixture
doesn’t leak. Turn on a pot of water and set the darasa to boil for
30 minutes to 1 hour. You will know it’s done when the soft mixture
has hardened.

The darasa can stand alone as a meal or be eaten as a
side dish.

Olive Oil

4 Slices of whole wheat flat bread

2 C. Fresh Spinach Leaves

1 Roma Tomato - sliced

1/2 C. Yellow Onion

1/2 C. Fresh Mushrooms

1/2 C. Sliced Orange Bellpepper

1 tsp. chopped Garlic

1 C. Mozarella

Lightly drizzle olive oil into skillet. Mix all veggies together and season with sea salt and any other seasonings to your taste. I like to use an infusion of Garlic, Cilantro, Rosemary, Oregeno, and sweet basil. You can also pour a bit of your favorite vinegarette dressing in there! Mix together.

Heat your oil to a moderate temperature on the stove.

Sprinkle a little of the mozarella onto the flat side of the bread, then place veggie mix on top of the cheese, making sure to spread out the tomatoes fairly. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the veggies. Place it into the skillet and press the other remaining slice of flat bread on top, as if you are making a grilled cheese sandwich.

Lightly brown each side of the bread until golden. The easiest way to flip your panini is to use a wide spatula.