Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Matt & Nat: Live Beautifully

As I said in the very beginning, one of the goals of this blog is to help people realize that being vegan is fashionable.  From shoes to purses, I LOVE accessories more than most girls.  Some may call it addiction, I call it passion. 

Growing up, I was always told that Dooney & Bourke and Louis Vuitton were it.  My mother and grandmother not only raved of these brands, but they wore them daily.  If you want to read more about my transition and why I decided that leather products were not for me, please click here.  Believe me, I heard it all from my mom and sister.  How I was going to look like a hippy and have to wear hemp messenger bags and sneakers.  Boy were they wrong.

One of the companies I love is Matt & Nat.  I even love their tag line: Live Beautifully.  It makes me smile just to read it because it is so simple, but so true.  Even more touching is the story of how this cruelty-free company came to be. Inder Bedi came up with the idea of a vegan friendly accessory line thanks to a college course which required him to develop a business plan and seek "funding" from banks.  He received no faux funding, but a concept was born.


Today, Matt & Nat is one of the leading cruelty-free companies in the world.  Bedi continues to be guided by creating beautiful things with a positive impact.  How simple, how pure.

Besides being downright fierce and vegan friendly, Matt & Nat goes a step further and includes the guiding principles of conservation in every purse they produce.  Believe it or not, the lining of every Matt & Nat bag is made from 100% recycled bottles.  Amazing!  For every purse, about 21 water bottles are used to make the lining.  Stylish and smart. 


Oh, but Matt & Nat doesn't stop there!  Be still my heart, it gets better?  Indeed it does.  Just this year, Matt & Nat got rid of metal tags/labels and switched to cork.  Cork extraction is one of the most environmentally friendly harvesting processes in the world.  Matt & Nat are one of the first companies to move to cork labeling.

I love this company, and you will too.  They have a bag or belt for everyone (you too guys) whether you are boho-chic or high fashion.  And now they even have a line of products to fit your Apple electronics.  Matt & Nat, you sure know how to make a girls heart flutter.


Not only are these products HOT, they are reasonably priced and there is free ground shipping orders of $50 or more.  Go get your shop on!

I will be rocking my Porto clutch this weekend! 

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Monsanto Growing Through Intimidation


Monsanto’s control of the seed market is so high that 93% of soybeans, some 82% of corn, 93% of cotton and 95% of sugar beets grown in the U.S. contain Monsanto’s patented genes.

I first learned about the agricultural abuses of Monsanto after watching the movie Food Inc.  As a vegan, I knew about the abuses of the meat and dairy industries and the importance of buying organic veggies.  But I didn't know much about the evil that lurked in the soy industries.

According to the Monsanto website, they seek to produce more, conserve more and changes lives.  Sounds great, right?  Monsanto claims that their main goal is to double the world's food supply, which is a noble goal, but at what cost?

As a consumer, it is important to understand the science behind Monsanto engineering.  And let's just put it out there, their product is just that- science.  Monsanto is a pioneer in GMO's- genetically modified organisms.  GMO's use recombinant DNA technology to mass produce.   This technology allows Monsanto to be able to produce  at a much faster rate then the typical farmer.

So why is this bad?  GMO's can iintroduce new allergens into foods and contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance. On top of this, seed farmers reclaim and clean seeds at the end of each harvest and re-plant them in the Spring.  Thanks to Monsanto, this is really no longer possible.  Monsanto developed genetically modified seeds that resist Monsanto's own herbicide, Roundup, offering farmers a convenient way to spray fields with weed killer without affecting crops. Monsanto then patented the seeds. 

Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready seeds are then required to sign an agreement promising not to save the seed produced after each harvest for re-planting. This means that farmers must buy new seed every year. Those increased sales, coupled with ballooning sales of its Roundup weed killer (now the most popular weed killer not only in agriculture, but also in homes across America), have been a gold mine for Monsanto.

Roundup, independent of its market implications, has its own demons for the American people.  In a recent study, the inactive ingredients in Roundup were found not to be quite so inactive. In fact, the inert ingredients were found to cause human cell damage and even death at residual levels.  Watch out if you are pregnant too, Monsanto's chemicals were found to have damaging effects on embryonic and placental cells.  Think about that as you prepare your lawn this Spring or when you eat your tofu tonight.


Anyway, back to the main point of this rant.  With their patents in hand, Monsanto's Roundup has been the leading weed killer since the 1970's.  Their are almost no other options for agricultural farmers.

Monsanto states on their website that one of their goals is to change lives.  They certainly have changed the lives of America's local farmers by hauling them off to court to drive up their already dominate 93% market share.  

Back to the seeds.  For generations seed farmers re-planted seeds from year to year.  Now, thanks to Monsanto's patent, they cannot do this. Seed farmers historically have little return on investment for their crops and the high cost of Monsanto seeds have left their profit margins pretty desolate.  On top of that, the cost of the seeds inflate every year even though the output does not.  And Monsanto doesn't stop their.  They disenfranchise farmers even further by no longer allowing them to claim ownership of the seeds of the crops they are growing.

So what are the options for farmers?  They can buy normal seeds which are not resistant to Roundup (these are virtually non-existent for soy) or they can buy the Monsanto seeds.  How's that for options?

And even if they don't go with Monsanto seeds, they can still get sued.  Due to wind and other environmental conditions genetically modified seeds can cross pollinate with conventional seed farms.  Monsanto has sued several organic farmers after finding genetically modified tainted crops from cross pollination.

So Monsanto is taking them to court and then heading to the bank.  They get the organic seed farmers on cross pollination and the farmers using Monsanto seeds for re-planting seeds from harvest to harvest.  And the sad part is that in the majority of cases where Monsanto sues, or threatens to sue, farmers settle before going to trial because the costs and stress of litigating against a global corporation are just too great. 
Where is the FDA?

You would think that the FDA would have our back as consumer, but you would be wrong. Monsanto was required to submit a scientific report on rBGH to the FDA so they could determine the growth hormone's safety. Margaret Miller put the report together, and in 1989 shortly before she submitted the report, Miller left Monsanto to work for the FDA. Guess what her first job was? Strangely enough, to determine whether or not to approve the report she wrote for Monsanto.

And through Miller, Monsanto approved its own report. Very interesting.  But it doesn't end there.

Prior to being the Supreme Court Judge who put G.W. in office, Clarence Thomas was Monsanto's lawyer. The former Secretary of Defense (Donald Rumsfeld) was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Searle pharmaceuticals. Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Tommy Thompson, received $50,000 in donations from Monsanto during his winning campaign for Wisconsin's governor. And in 2009, President Obama appointed Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto executive, as the Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the FDA.  Are you feeling sick to your stomach yet?

I know I am.  But there are still somethings you can do.  First, you can contact your representatives and let them know that you are not okay with Monsanto's practices.  Second, educate yourself.  Read books, read labels and know what you are eating.  Buy organic because clearly we can't trust the FDA to look out for our best interests.

Last year the Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Agriculture held a series of 5 workshops investigating anti-competitive practices in the food and agricultural sectors.  Clearly, Monsanto is one of, if not the, worst abusers in agriculture.  So it's time to speak up and tell the Department of Justice to break up Monsanto.  Join Food Democracy Inc and sign a petition to tell Obama and the DOJ that enough is enough.  You can sign the petition here:  http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/break_up_monsanto/?akid=303.151696.DJmXl3&rd=1&t=1

Veggie Kabobs and Lemony Spinach Cous Cous

This is one of my favorite summer dishes because these are even better when cooked on the grill.  But alas it is winter, so I adapted these for the stove for a light meal.  The key here is the marinate, it makes all the difference in the final product.  Use any veggies you like and I often add tofu.  The longer you can marinate these (especially if you use tofu) the better, but at least an hour.

Veggie Kabobs
Ingredients:
12 button mushrooms, washed well
12 cherry tomatoes
1 large green pepper
1 large red pepper
1 medium white onion
1 zucchini
1 1/2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
3 tablespoons of tamari (soy sauce works too)
1 tablespoon of agave syrup
Juice from one lime
Some black pepper
Wooden or metal skewers (metal if you are doing the grill)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Cut all of your veggies into 1 inch pieces (cut the zucchini into 1/8 thick pieces).  Don't cut the mushrooms or tomatoes :)

Put all of the veggies into a container and add all of the other ingredients.  Cover and toss well so that all the veggies get coated well.  Place them in the refrigerator to marinate.  Toss them several times while they are marinating.


Take the marinated veggies and thread them onto the skewers.  Place all of the skewers onto a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes.  Use the remaining marinate to baste them and then turn the skewers and bake for another 8 minutes.  Finish them off by broiling them for about 5 minutes to give them that grill like char.


Lemony Spinach Cous Cous
Ingredients:
1 cup of dry cous cous
3/4 cup of fresh spinach
4 fresh basil leaves
1/2 of a lemon
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of canola oil

Start by cutting your spinach into thin pieces.  I do this by rolling up the leaves and then cutting them, it makes it go much faster.

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and then add the cous cous and spinach and stir well.  Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, roll up the basil leaves and cut them the same way you did the spinach.  Cut the chives into thin pieces too.  Add them to the cous cous and spinach and add the canola oil.  Use a fork to fluff the cous cous and mix everything well.  Then add the juice from the lemon (be careful not to let the seeds fall in) and salt and pepper. Voila!

No Pigs in a Blanket and Homemade French Fries

This is great for a weekend lunch.  It is super fast and always a pleaser.


No Pigs in a Blanket


Ingredients:
1 package of Tofu Pups
1 package of Vegan Crescent Rolls (most are vegan, but check the ingredients)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate it into squares.  The rolls are cut to be triangles, so use two of the triangles to make one square.  Take your tofu pup and roll the crescent roll around it.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until they start to brown.


Homemade French Fries


Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
4 medium yukon potatoes
3 cups of vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 brown bags (from the super market) for draining the oil

I don't peal the potatoes because the skin makes the fries so yummy, so I make sure to wash my potatoes  really well.  Cut your potatoes in half and then in half again.  I then cut them into smaller pieces until I have pieces that are about 1/4 of inch thick.

Put your oil in a deeper pot and turn the heat up to medium.  You will want to give your oil a good 5-8 minutes to heat up, but you won't know it's ready until you put a fry in and see the oil start to bubble.

You have to do these in batches and each batch needs to be fried twice.  The sweet potatoes will take a little longer to cook then the yukons, so I usually do them first.

Drop in your first batch of fries and let cook about 3-5 minutes, until they start to brown.  Pull them out using a slated spoon or wire skimmer and immediately place them on one of the brown bags to drain the oil.  Continue this process until all of the fries have been fried once.


Then start frying them a second time.  They will not need to be in the oil as long this time, but you want to let them brown nicely.  As they are ready use the second brown bag to drain them.  While they are draining, season with a little sea salt and pepper.  If you like to add a little kick to them, use a little all spice to season as well.

Baked Ziti

This a quick and easy recipe for a week night.  It's good because it is fast and you will have leftovers for lunches.

Baked Ziti


Ingredients:
1 package of brown rice ziti
7 oz of LightLife Smart Ground (1/2 package)
1 jar of tomato sauce (I used Classico Tomato and Basil)
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of thyme
1 cup of thinly sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup of finely diced onion
1/4 cup of dry white wine (I used Savignon Blanc)
1/2 of vegan Parmesan
1 cup of Daiya mozzarella
Salt and pepper to taste
EVOO as needed

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Bring 8 cups of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt and a splash of EVOO.  Add your ziti and boil until al dente.  The brown rice pasta takes a little longer to cook then regular pasta.

In a sauce pot, add a little EVOO and your onions to medium heat and saute until they start to become translucent (about 3 minutes).  Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute for another 4 minutes.  As the EVOO cooks off, add the white wine gradually and saute for another 2 minutes.


Next at the LightLife Smart Ground and reduce the heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the Smart Ground starts to brown.  Now add the sauce and the vegan Parmesan and the oregano, thyme, salt and pepper and mix well.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Let the sauce simmer for about 10-15 minutes.


Drain your pasta and add it to your sauce mixture with half of the Daiya cheese.  Make sure to mix this really well.  Take a baking dish (any shape is fine- I used round), and lightly grease.  Add the the pasta mixture and then take the remaining Daiya and spread evenly over the top of the dish.


Cover your dish and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  Then uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the top starts to brown.  After removing your dish from the oven, let is stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is basically meat pie (either lamb or ground beef).  So it's impossible to make vegan, right?  Wrong!  I have to admit I was nervous about this.  I basically took an old recipe for a traditional shepherd's pie and tried to make it vegan.  It could have been totally hit or miss.  Thank g-d it was a hit!

I would say that this is a good dish to make for non-vegan friends because you couldn't even really tell it was vegan and it is really filling and wholesome.


Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:
7 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
Handful of chives, chopped fine
1/4 cup of of fake bacon bits
1 head of garlic plus 1 tablespoon of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, fine diced
1/2 cup of button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 cup of frozen corn
1/4 cup of daiya cheese
1 package of LightLife Smart Ground (usually near the tofu in the grocery store)
2-3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 cup of Earth Balance plus 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons of chickpea flour
1 cup of veggie stock
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of thyme
1 tablespoon of rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Start by cutting the top off of the head of garlic.  Wrap it in tin foil and add a bit of EVOO.  Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until completely soft.

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Add the chives, fake bacon bits and 1/4 cup of Earth Balance and mash.  Remove the garlic from the oven and squeeze it into the potatoes (it should come out really easily).  Add a little salt and pepper to taste and continue to mash.  You can add some soy milk here if you want, but I didn't.  If you need to add a little more Earth Balance to make them more creamy.

While the potatoes are boiling, peel and dice your carrots and steam them.  Dice your onions and add them to pan with a little EVOO.  Saute them for about 3 minutes and then add the mushrooms and 1 tablespoons of chopped garlic.  Next add the Smart Ground, be sure to break it up really fine, and steamed carrots.

Saute for about another 5-10 minutes until the Smart Ground begins to brown.  Then add the chick pea flower and stir well until it has completely disappeared into the mixture.  Add the corn, veggie broth, 1 tablespoon Earth Balance, soy sauce, oregano, thyme, rosemary and tomato paste.  Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
I used a round casserole dish, but you can use square too.  Take about 1/3 of your mashed potatoes and use them to coat the bottom of the casserole dish.


Then add your meat and veggie mixture to the casserole dish.  Make sure to distribute evenly so that everything cooks well.
Then add the 1/4 cup of daiya cheese on top of the meat and veggie mixture.  Scoop the remaining 2/3 of the mashed potatoes into the casserole dish and distribute evenly, making a thick top layer.

Cook this for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.  I cooked it covered for the first ten minutes and then uncovered for 30 minutes.  You know it is ready when the potatoes start to brown.

Remove it from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes.  This is absolutely crucial so that everything melds together and you are able to cut it without it falling apart too much.

Enjoy!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Vegan Vegetable Lasgna

Let me preface this post with saying that this could have been an epic disaster.  Why you ask?  Well, seeing as I had never made real lasagna, let alone vegan lasagna, I had no real idea what I was doing.  That coupled with the fact that the ricotta is a pretty essential ingredient in lasagna, let's just say I was skeptical.

Much to my surprise, not only did this recipe rock and I have had tons of left overs, but I actually learned how to make tofu ricotta.  Yeah, you heard me right- TOFU RICOTTA.  I had heard of the elusive tofu ricotta and event eaten some at Peace O'Pie, but I didn't really know how I was going to make it.  BUT, now that I have, this may be a new staple for me.

Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients
4 tablespoons Earth Balance
6 tablespoons chick pear flour
1/4 cup of soy milk (unflavored)
1/4 cup vegan grated cheese- usually in the same aisle as tofu
2 cups of tofu ricotta
1 medium onion, chopped
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1 ½ cup raw carrots, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 package of lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)
8 ounces daiya Mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Start by cutting up all your veggies.  Sauté the onions and peppers in some olive oil. Next add in the carrots and zucchinii. Sauté until the veggies become soft, and then remove from the heat.

While the veggies are cooking, prepare your tofu ricotta (see recipe below) and lasagna noodles (be careful not to break them!).

Take the Earth Balance, and melt it in a large saucepan. Then stir in the flour to make a paste, and add the soy milk. Continue to stir until this mixture begins to thicken. Add the vegan Parmesan cheese and tofu ricotta. I used a whisk to help keep this smooth.  Remove from heat, and set aside.


In a baking dish, put a little sauce on the bottom of the pan, and cover it with a layer of noodles. Spread the veggie mixture, more sauce and a layer of the daiya mozzarella cheese. Repeat and in the next layer spread some of the tofu ricotta mixture as well.  When you get to the top layer of the lasagna, spread the last layer of
the tofu ricotta mixture and load up with the rest of the daiya mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle grated vegan Parmesan over it. Finally, cover the lasagna with aluminum foil, and bake for about 30 minutes. Uncover it for the last 10 minutes so the cheese browns a little.



Tofu Ricotta

Ingredients
14 ounces of extra firm tofu, drained well
1/4 cup of EVOO
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of parsley
1 tablespoon of basil
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Some fresh ground pepper
A dash of salt

Make sure that you drain the tofu really well before you start.  I do this by wrapping it in paper towels and then placing a pot on it.  Let it sit for about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients and mash/combine well.  You can do this by hand, but I used a potato masher.  You don't want to pulverize it, as you want it to be crumbly.


Refrigerate for 20 minutes before using.  Um, this was so yummy.  I have like a million other ideas for how I can use it!

Veggie Quesadillas and Gaucamole

I know what you are thinking, how can you make a decent vegan quesadilla?  Well, I am here to tell you that you totally can.  And guess what? They can still be gooey and cheesy and delicious.

Before daiya, vegan cheese was a joke.  It tasted like cardboard and didn't melt.  Not so delicious.  But today we are so lucky to have daiya which melts and tastes as good as real cheese.  I know what you are thinking, you are a vegan, how do you know what real cheese tastes like?  Granted, I don't really remember, but my non-vegan boyfriend eats cheese and he gave these quesadillas two thumbs up.  Geez, don't be so skeptical!

So try these out and make your own variations!  I included a bonus guacamole recipe at the bottom too.  It is super easy and yummy.


Veggie Quesadillas

Ingredients
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Veggies of your choice (I used mushrooms, red peppers, green peppers and onions)
Daiya Cheese (I did a blend of Cheddar and Mozzarella)*

*If you are lucky enough to live in the Boston area, you can buy fresh daiya at Peace O'Pie.  Peace O'Pie is a great vegan pizza place in Allston.  You can read my review here.  They also sell great vegan cookies, treats and daiya!  Daiya is $5 per 1/2 pound there!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Using a grill pan (or frying pan), saute your veggies with a little salt and pepper.  I also added a little lime juice and red pepper for some extra flavor.  When they are done, remove them from the heat.


Cut a piece of tin foil about the size of one of your tortillas.  lay the tortilla on the foil and fold in half to make a crease on the tortilla.  Add a layer of daiya and then a layer of veggies and then one more layer of daiya.  Fold the other half over and seal up the foil.


Put the quesadillas on the oven rack and back at 400 degree for 20 minutes, 10 minutes on each side.  Unwrap and cut into fourths.  You are ready to serve them!  I serve mine with guacamole and salsa.


Yummy Guacamole

Ingredients
3 avocados
1 red onion
1 vine ripe tomato
1/4 cup of corn (I just defrost some frozen corn)
2 jalapenos
1 lime
1 lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

This a quick and easy recipe that is so yummy.  Make it about 1 hour before you want to serve/eat it so that the flavors have a chance to marinate together.

Dice the red onion and and jalapenos.  I cut the top off of the jalapenos and then cut them in half to remove the seeds before doing a fine dice.  You also want to dice the tomato and defrost the corn.

Cut your avocados in half and remove the pits.  I then make several cuts (thin lines) int he avocado lengthwise and then width wise and then use a spoon to scoop the pieces out.  

Combine the diced ingredients and the avocado chunks and mash together.  In a separate small bowl combine the juice of the lemon and the lime.  mix them well and add them to the other ingredients.  Then use the back of a fork to mash the avocados and combine all of the ingredients.  I add the lemon/lime juice mixture throughout this process. 

Once everything is mixed well, add salt and pepper to taste.  I then put this in a a dish and keep in the refrigerator until I am ready to serve it.