Raw Chips

This post is dedicated to James who loaned me a dehydrator in January in hopes that it would help me test out a 30 day raw diet. Obviously that has yet to happen. In fact, I took the dehydrator home and left it at my door... until tonight.

I thought I would start slow and make something easy that I was pretty sure I would love. I have made kale chips many times in the oven. These are similar, but take a helluva lot longer. However, you get a better chip from it, so if you can spare the time, it is worth it. Since kale chips are pretty well known, I thought I would attempt to use a different green and see how it does in the conversion to chips. Tonight, I chose collard greens. They are super good for you and I love them. They are seriously one of my favourite vegetables... actually most leafy greens are on my fave list. I don't know if that is a vegan thing, but I know for me, before being vegan no dark leafy greens were on my fave foods list. I didn't hate them, more indifferent of them. Now, I find that I crave them.. I think my taste buds changed after cutting animal products.. Definitely for the better.

Back to collard chips... I did a little searching on the internet to see what recipes were out there. There are many recipes for a wide range of veggie chips. There are so many ways to make them... so if you like these, just Google raw chips and tons of stuff comes up. Normally when I do these in the oven I keep it simple with some olive oil and salt, but thought I would maybe change it up a little bit. For the kale I am making a herb cheeze chip and for the collards, salt and balsamic vinegar.

Herb Cheeze Raw Kale Chips

• 1 bunch of kale (any kind, I used curly)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 - 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme (optional)
• 1 pinch each of salt and pepper

Salt and Balsamic Vinegar Raw Collard Chips

• 1 bunch collards, sliced into bite size pieces
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used white)
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp ground sunflower seeds

For each of these the steps are the same. First rip or slice the greens into large bite size pieces. They will shrink a bit when you dehydrate them, so don't slice too small. Next throw them into a large bowl and combine the other ingredients. toss and stir until everything is coated. lay out flat in your dehydrator and try not to let them over lap so they dry evenly.

This is the kale pre-mixed

Now to dehydrate, I think the temperature is somewhere around 120 F.. Mine doesn't have a temperature setting, so I just turned mine on and crossed my fingers. I left mine in for about 5 hours total. If you turn the temperature up, they probably would only need 3-4 hours. I have seen some recipes that need up to 10 hours to dry. First time making these, I would allow lots of time in case they need more than you think.

Kale ready to be dehydrated

Collard green chips, pre-dehydrated. I needed about 3 trays for each bunch.

So I tried both of these chips, and I tried to save some to bring for work snacks. First, they were awesome. I liked both, but I kind of like the collards flavour better, but the kale makes a better chip. Just holds together a little better than thing collard greens. If you are going to try and save these, don't use zip lock bags. I did and they kind of softened up on me. Paper bag or Tupperware would probably be better.

Like slow cooking, turn on the dehydrator and then in a few hours you have chips ready to eat.
Takes a while, but I think I prefer to the baking method.

These were so good, I ate so many, I didn't need dinner. Such a good snack. Healthy and tastes good. Can't really get better than that.

Barley and Sausage One Pot Meal

Today didn't go exactly as I planned. I was hoping to make an amazing pumpkin soup. It all started going wrong when I couldn't find a small pumpkin. So, I abandoned plan A and instead did what I should have done and took stock of my fridge to see what I could make instead for dinner tonight.

I had some leftover barley and some sausage (veggie, of course) and figured I would try something a little different.

I think barley is an underused grain. It is a great alternative to rice (or any grain for that matter), and it's cheap and easy to make. It's good for the heart, lowers cholesterol and is high in fiber. You can add it to soups, casseroles or even make risotto with it. If you are feeling a little sick and tired of the same grains everyday, give it a try.

Barley... nutritious and delicious!

Ok, back to dinner... I wasn't sure what to call this thing. It isn't a casserole, it's not a stew and it's not a stir-fry. So I am titling this one a barley one pot dinner. I love one pot meals because it's less to clean up which is important what you don't have a dishwasher.

Unfortunately, I forgot to put my memory card in when I start shooting this dish... so I only have a pic of the finished product. Sorry!  :)

Barley and Sausage One Pot Meal

Serves 3-4, takes about 20 minutes if you have already cooked barley

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• 3 links of vegan sausage (Italian, Hungarian, whatever you have on hand)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 handful of sun dried tomatoes, chopped (8-10)
• half a bunch of kale, chopped
• 1/2 cup of cooked barley
• 1 can of cannelloni beans

First, chop up your ingredients while heating the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Next add the sausage, garlic and the butter and cook again for a few more minutes. Add the kale and the sun dried tomatoes and cook until the kale shrinks to about half the size, about 5 more minutes.

Last, add the barley and the beans and cook until heated through. I also added a bit of salt and pepper. If you want to kick up the heat on this one, add some red pepper flakes before serving.

Some easy substitutions are to change the beans, greens or grain. Try spinach or collards instead of kale. For the barley you can mix it up with quinoa or rice and the beans, you could try kidney beans or navy beans.

Hopefully tomorrow, it is soup time!

Stir-fry, take 101?

Anyone that knows me or has read my blog knows that me and stir-fries do not always get along. People assume that vegans live off stir-fry. When I go to hotels, it is almost a guarantee that I will get stir-fry for at least half of my meals (the others, of course, are pasta with roasted vegetables).

Every time I attempt to make a stir-fry, I do just as everyone says, throw a bunch of ingredients together and voila! A magical meal that always tastes great. Well, my stir-fries always turn out to be mediocre at best. However, it does not stop me from continuing to try.

So, this is my latest attempt at making this magical meal. A definite improvement and the only thing I think I would change is to add a bit more sweetness or a bit less sour.

Mango-Kale Stirfry

• Oil (I used sesame)
• 1 block of tofu, cut into triangles
• half a bunch of kale, chopped
• bok choy, chopped (I used about half of a large head. Is it called a head of bok choy?)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (seeds removed if you aren't into spicy)
• 1 handful of chopped mushrooms
• 1 mango, diced
• 2 tsp ginger, minced
• 1/4 cup of vegetable broth
• 1-2 Tbsp Soy sauce
• Juice of 1 lime (Maybe half this if you aren't into sour)
• 1 Tbsp Mirin

So, the first thing you need to do is press your tofu. What I do is I wrap my tofu in a paper towel or a cloth and set it on a plate, then you need to weigh it down with something heavy. I usually use my kettle, filled with water. It works well. Press it for at least 20 minutes, to an hour.

Next, cut your tofu. I like to cut tofu into triangles (above). First, cut the tofu in half length-wise and then slice it width-wise into 8-12 slices. Flip the slices so they are laying flat and then cut diagonally. Simple and prettier than doing chunks or cubes.

First, prep your veggies so they are ready to go. Get the biggest wok you have an heat your oil on medium. Once hot, add the tofu and fry it for about 5 minutes or until it is golden brown. Flip it and continue to fry for another 3-4 minutes.

Now, start adding your veggies. I started with the jalapeno, kale, mushrooms and the onion. Then I added the ginger, mango and the bok choy after about 5 minutes. Once everything has started to wilt and look cooked, add the broth, mirin, and soy sauce. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring it occasionally.

Have a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. If you want it sweeter, add mirin. Spicier, add some hot sauce or red chili flakes, salt? Add more soy sauce. Serve on top of rice.

Well, I have to say that my skills in stir-fry making have improved; if only slightly. I thought this had too much lime and not enough spice and sweetness. Considering I love lime, take that into consideration, when adding the lime juice. One day, I will find the perfect stir-fry. I give this recipe an 8 out of 10.

Anyone reading out there, help me! What makes a perfect stir-fry and why am I just not getting?? I would love to hear any suggestions, or maybe your own recipe. Alright, this will be my last post for a few days. I am about to begin a road trip and the first few days will be tricky to blog. Stay tuned though as I will be posting and blogging in about a week.

Anyone know any decent vegan-friendly restaurants in Montreal, Atlanta or Savannah? Send me a message!

Garlicky Greens Pasta

This is my first recipe attempt from Colour me Vegan, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's latest cookbook. Now, this not only was a pretty safe start, but it was so good that I decided I needed post. I can't believe I never thought of making this before. Colleen also has a garlicky greens soup that is fantastic, so i knew this would be good.

I, of course, did not follow the recipe exactly, so I am going to post how I made this one.

Garlicky Greens Pasta a la Caity

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups of whole wheat pasta
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted
• salt and pepper

Check Collen's book for her original recipe.



First get a big pot that you would use for your pasta, fill with water and bring to a boil. Add the kale and boil for about 5 minutes or until well cooked. Remove the kale with a slotted spoon and add it to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Do not drain the water.

Next add the pasta (Wait a minute or two if the water isn't boiling) to the water from the kale and cook according to the package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and cook for a couple minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Next, add the red pepper flakes and cook another minute or so. Squeeze all the water out of the greens and then add it to pan with the remaining ingredients and saute for 2-3 minutes.

When the past is done, strain it and add it to the greens and toss. Cook for a few more minutes so the flavours are incorporated.

 Serves two.

I am planning to try a few recipes out of Colour me Vegan this week and will let you know how it goes. I have a feeling it is going to be a yummy week! Colleen's book is available online at Amazon, or through her website: http://www.compassionatecooks.com/

Compassionate Cooks is a resource that I go a lot. I find if I have a non-vegan slip, or feel that I might, the Compassionate Cooks podcast gets me back on track every time. There is also a lot of resources and FAQs available that are handy when people ask those common how do you get your...? type questions. Highly recommend.