Remember when...

I have a big post coming with tons of pictures and recipes, but I don't have time to upload them all tonight :(

But instead, I spent time today foraging through my computer, and I found some food pics that I have never uploaded before onto my blog. In fact, these were pictures before my blogging days! (shocking!) Enjoy!

(This was the failed matzoh ball soup...you can see why I didn't post it...)

Soon will be recent pictures :D Hope you liked the oldies.

Sweet potato lentil stew

I spent today relaxing and preparing for the new week ahead, filled with play practices and opening night on Friday. I enjoyed playing with my cat, Bourbon, who is enjoying this march sunshine in Michigan! Lets just hope it stays....

I wanted to make a pot of soup to have throughout my hectic week. I know winter is over, but who says you cant enjoy a big bowl of comforting soup? I pulled out The Kind Diet and searched through it to find a yummy recipe without having to buy ten thousand ingredients. I decided to try the Sweet potato lentil stew, knowing that all I would have to buy is ginger and a few sweet potatoes. Heres the recipe!

Makes 4 to 6 servings

1/4 cup safflower oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 small tomatoes, diced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Fine sea salt

2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾” cubes (I left the skins on, and it was still fabulous:)
7 cups vegetable broth

1 cup brown lentils

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, deep pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for two minutes or until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the tomatoes and ginger and cook for three minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and a small pinch of salt. Cook and stir for two minutes, then taste for seasonings; try to use only enough salt to heighten the flavors.
Add the sweet potatoes, broth, and lentils. Stir well, and bring to a boil over high heat.

When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils and sweet potatoes are soft.

I served this over some brown rice, and used cilantro as a garnish. I definetly reccomend this recipe to anyone, meat eaters, picky eaters, and even sweet potato haters. (HA! I win MOM!) I'm looking forward to having it throughout the week to enjoy in the small window of time I'll have between breathing and play practice. Thanks for reading!

My favorite cookbooks

For Christmas of 2009, I had shown some interest in The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. I got the book, and got all excited. I didn't actually try any of the recipes until the last couple of months, but the ones I've tried so far I am loving. Extremely healthy, and there are plenty of recipes that you could even serve to please meat eating friends. Seriousley.
The thing about this book is that it really promotes a healthy lifestyle, in fact, 1/2 of the book is about living with a vegan lifestyle. The other half is the recipes, so that's what I'll share with you. Heres a few out of The Kind Diet that I loove.

Chocolate Peanut butter cups

1/2 cup earth balance butter

1/2 cup unsweetened & unsalted crunchy peanut butter

3/4 cup grahm cracker crumbs (She reccomends health valley oat bran grahm crackers-they are yummy)

1/2 cup maple or any other sugar (I used turbanido, but you have to be careful to get it all dissolved or else it will be crunchy)

1 cup nondairy or grain sweetened chocolate chips

1/4 cup soy, rice, or almond milk

1/4 cup chopped nuts to put on top

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
Melt the EB butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the grahm cracker crumbs, peanut butter, and sugar and mix well. Remove this mixture from the heat, and add evenly among the muffin tins. (2 tbsp for full size muffins, about halfway for mini muffin tins)
Combine the chocolate and milk on a double boiler until melted. Spoon the chocolate, again, evenly over the peanut butter mixture in the tins. Top with the chopped nuts and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving. Makes 12 full size muffins, a lot more mini ones.


I really love all the veggie dishes in here too, and if your really interested, go to Thekindlife.com to see more recipes and such.

Every vegan has probably heard of Vegan with a Vengeance, and I actually got this book well before I became vegan. (As a gift.) I didn't really make any recipes out of it, but now that I have been, lets just say I have a few favorites.

Curried Split pea soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium size white onion, cut into 1/4 inch dices

3 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp minced ginger

2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp salt
8 cups water
1 lb dried split peas (about 2 cups)
1 carrot
Cilantro for garnish


Sautee the onions and oil over medium heat in a stockpot for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, spices, and salt, then sautee for 2-3 minutes.
Then add the water and stir well. Add the split peas, cover, and bring to a boil at high heat.
Bring the heat down to medium-low, and simmer for one hour until the peas are tender. Grate in the carrot and serve. This is so yummy!

I really need to cook my way through one (or both) of these cookbooks-and actually do the recipe word for word. I find myself constantly looking through these books and coming up with dishes that somewhat resemble it, but I think now is the time to try every recipe in these. No rush, but it would be a great summer project.