Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Carl slept in this morning and I, of course, woke before sunrise. Not wanting to wake him from precious slumber, I exiled myself to the playroom (aka "our kitchen") and explored vegan candy-making.

I found this recipe for chocolate pumpkin truffles here: http://blog.easyaspierecipes.com/2009/10/at-lastpumpkin-truffles.html. Oh, I added a bit more cinnamon because I love it. To veganize, I substituted agave nectar for honey. (The bees can thank me later.)

Btw: The pumpkin taste is a bit overwhelming if you're the kind of person who likes, but does not love, pumpkin. Next time (and there will be a next time) I plan to add 1/2 cup of finely ground dates to the batter.

What you need for the truffles:

8 oz. unsweetened baker's chocolate

1 can pumpkin

2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup water

What to do:

Place the chocolate into a mixing bowl.

Use a spatula to scrape the pumpkin into a small pot, and cook over medium heat.

Add the spices, agave nectar, water and stir.

Cover with a lid for a few minutes, until everything starts to bubble (not a rolling boil).

When the pumpkin mixture bubbles, pour it over the chocolate.

Cover the mixing bowl with a kitchen towel or linen napkin.

After two minutes, whisk as fast as you can, until the chocolate melts and blends with the pumpkin.

Cover and refrigerate for about four hours.

While you wait:

Chop a few handfuls of nuts (any kind you like) in a food processor (I used a mini-processor because I hate the clunk-factor of a regular one).

Pour the nuts into a small bowl.

Mix 1 tbsp. cinnamon with 1 tbsp. chili powder with 1 tbsp. cocoa powder in another bowl.

Layer wax paper or parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.

When the truffle batter has chilled:

Use a spoon to scoop the batter.

Roll the batter in the palm of your hands to form a small ball.

Roll the ball in the spice or nut mixture (I alternated).

Place the ball on the cookie sheet.

Chill and store the truffles in the refrigerator.

Black Eyed Peas Love Collards

Before I moved to Louisiana, I associated the words "black eyed peas" with hip hop music. (You know, "Where is the Love?") And while I knew my arugula from my escarole, I had never met a collard or a turnip green. Please don't judge me.

I am now Southern by marriage, and my mother-in-law has taught me how to cook all of these foods. Now, I don't know if she would approve of my "interpretation" of black eyed peas and collards, but I think she'd be glad to know that her son cleaned his plate.

(Btw: I adapted the black eyed peas recipe from Deborah Madison's brilliant Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (306); the collards come from Alicia Silverstone's new book The Kind Diet (176). I tripled the amount of garlic, celery, and peas in Deborah's recipe; I also left out the butter and chili flakes. I changed Alicia's recipe by substituting raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds for pine nuts; I also left the stems intact (sorry, but I refuse to sacrifice nutrition for aesthetics).

What You Need for the Black Eyed Peas:

1 bag dried black eyed peas

3 ribs of celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 bay leaves

1.5 tsp. dried thyme

3 tbsp. olive oil

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

What To Do

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot

Add the chopped vegetables, garlic, and jalapeno

Cook for five minutes

Add thyme and a pinch or two of salt and pepper

Add the peas

Cover the peas with water (the water should reach the top of the peas, but not much further than that)

Add bay leaves

Cover the pot and turn heat to low

Let simmer for a few hours, until the peas are soft

(Check the pot every 30 minutes to an hour, and add more water if necessary)

What You Need for the Collards:

One bunch of collards, washed and chopped (discard the long, bottom stems, but do not separate the leaves from the remaining stem)

3 tbsp. raisins

3 tbsp. raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

What To Do:

Heat the oil in a wok or skillet on medium heat

Add the collards and cook a few minutes (just until the leaves soften and turn bright green).

Add raisins and pumpkin seeds; cook for another minute

Toss with balsamic vinegar.

Serve the peas on a bed of collards.

If you're super crazy hungry and want more food, add baked yams, whole grain bread, and a green salad.

Slow-Cooker Coconut Chickpea Stew

A few months ago, Carl and I stayed at the home of his friend, who lives on a small farm in Jackson, Miss. For dinner, he (or his wife) made a most amazing stew that featured peppers from their garden, chickpeas, tomatoes, and coconut milk.

When we returned to Louisiana, I tried to figure the recipe out for myself. This stew, which I served to a friend on Friday night, represents my second attempt. Carl suggested that I add more coconut milk the next time, but I might add a teaspoon or two of coconut oil instead.

Either way, this meal takes no time to put together, and the slow-cooker does all the hard work for you. Serve over brown or wild rice, and add a spinach salad to the table. Your guests will love you.

What You Need:

2 15 oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes (or one 28 oz. can)

1 19 oz. can coconut milk

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely minced

1 onion, chopped (I used Vidalia)

6 chipotle chili peppers, dried

a few cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup of hot water

What To Do:

Place the chipotles in a bowl and cover with hot water; let sit for about 30 minutes

Snip the chipotles with a pair of kitchen shears, save the water

Combine the chickpeas, tomatoes, coconut milk, jalapenos, garlic and chipotles in a slow cooker.

Add the reserved water.

Add more water, just enough to cover everything

Cook on high for 7 hours, or until the liquids have thickened.

Serve over rice.

Quinoa Tabouli

Although I didn't feel like cooking today, our empty refrigerator left me with no choice. There are only so many organic brown rice cakes that a girl can eat.

But the idea of standing over a hot stove made me dizzy. So I came up with a recipe that would allow me to rest ... as much as possible.

What you need:

1 cup quinoa
2.5 lemons, juiced
3 tbs olive oil
1 bunch parsley
2 cucumbers, peeled and seeded
2 cloves garlic
2 red peppers
1 red onion
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
a pinch of unprocessed sea salt

What to do:

Boil two cups of water; add quinoa once the water boils. Cover the pot. Lower the heat as soon as the water returns to a boil. Set a timer for 20 minutes. Don't stir the quinoa; it cooks by itself and is a dear friend to lazy people everywhere.

While the quinoa is cooking on its own terms, whisk the lemon juice and olive oil, then refrigerate.

Mince the parsley with garlic in a food processor. Scoop the parsley and garlic into a bowl, then mince the onion. A fine mince is the secret to fantabulous tabouli.

As soon as that's done, chop the peppers and cucumbers.

By this time the quinoa should have finished cooking. Transfer it to a ceramic or glass bowl and let everything reach room temperature. Cover the bowl with a linen napkin and set it in the refrigerator for an hour or so.

After an hour (or so), toss the quinoa with all other ingredients. I use a spatula or my hands. Serve in bowls.

BTW: I like to add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a small pinch of sea salt to each bowl.

When Sick Happens

When I was driving home on Wednesday, I noticed a pain in my throat. I attributed my discomfort to the fact that I had just spent an hour talking to a room full of first-year students about how they could make their writing succinct. Since I believe that the best teachers are also stand-up comics, I put on quite a show to make everyone feel "included" and "engaged."

On Thursday morning, I discovered that half the people I work with were out sick, all with the same symptoms I was experiencing (coughs that reeked of disease, sore throats, chills, aches, and general delirium).

Then I told my friend Heather, "I think I have bronchitis."

I repeated this statement to my doctor later that afternoon, who confirmed my self-diagnosis and a high fever.

Veganism and a regular practice of contemplative meditation have given me an intuitive understanding of my body; I often know what illnesses I have before they are diagnosed; I have learned to trust my instincts about my body over the findings of a trained medical professional. I have never been proven wrong.

But I always go to the doctor because "responsible" is the word that best describes me. Also, I can't prescribe drugs.

When sick happens, vegan diets seem more counter-cultural than ever, since we've nixed the standby of chicken soup.

Here's a peek at what I am eating.

• Organic Brown Rice Cakes
  
• Organic Non-Hydrogenated Peanut Butter, preferably sugar free, and any nut butter will do
  
• Miso Soup
• Ryvita Wheat Crackers
• Split Pea Soup made with peas, cauliflower, spinach, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic (the batch pre-dated The Plague)
• Clementines
• Bananas
• Unsweetened Applesauce with 1 teaspoon milled flaxseed and cinnamon
  
• Ginger Tea (made with 1 tablespoon peeled gingeroot, 1 teaspoon agave nectar and a few lemon slices per cup)
• Zand Echinacea Zinc herbalozenge, sweetened with brown rice syrup only
• Plenty of filtered water

Spicy Spinach Avocado Sesame Pasta

Morgan Spurlock is the equivalent of a superhero in our home, so we were thrilled to discover Alex Jamieson's book The Great American Detox Diet. (When Morgan filmed the documentary Super Size Me, he and Alex were engaged. Now they're married with a pair of super cute kidoodles.) How time flies when you're not stuck in a McDonald's drive through lane.

What I love about Alex's book are her charts that provide nutritional information for non-dairy sources of calcium (p. 140) and plant sources of protein (p. 143). Through the charts, I discovered that one ounce of unhulled sesame seeds provides 381 milligrams of calcium. Alex writes that a cup of cow's milk provides about 290-300 milligrams (p. 139). Who knew?

This blog is about our successes as much as it is about our failures. And my attempt last night at Avocado Sesame Pasta (p. 226) was an epic fail. (I blame my poor depth perception and questionable math methods.) I gave the recipe a bit of a makeover tonight and ... (drumroll, please) the first bite tasted like seaweed salad, but in a comforting, non-sketchy restaurant way. Mushrooms and spinach add an earthiness that some might associate with grass-fed beef. (But not us!)

What you need:

1 lime

1 red bell pepper

1 avocado

12 oz. organic baby spinach

12 oz. sliced mushrooms (any kind you want)

6 0z. rice noodles

2 tbs Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

2 tbs sesame oil

1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds

crushed red pepper (as much as you can handle)

What to do:

Cook the rice noodles according to package directions, which were written for slackers like me. You just pour hot water over the noodles, and let them sit covered in a bowl for 10 minutes.

While the noodles cook, chop the avocado and pepper and set aside.

Then cook the spinach, mushrooms, and sesame seeds in a wok. I used our old school cast-iron Le Creuset, which is a gift from God (bless her heart).

Juice your lime. Then toss the avocado and peppers in lime juice and the remaining sesame oil/liquid aminos.

Once that's done, make a bed of noodles on your favorite plate. Add some avocados and pepper, then the spinach and mushrooms. Top with a freak ton of crushed red pepper. EAT.

BTW: I found that layering with this recipe works better than tossing because the rice noodles can become a stubborn sticky mess if you do not cook them properly. Layering is mistake-proof.

One more thing: While eating, I thought that a salad of shredded red cabbage, carrots, and raisins would make a fine addition.

Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

My mother-in-law (the lovely Bonnie Cook Gregg of Florence, SC) sent us home to Louisiana with a ginormous bag of sweet potatoes, which were grown and cured by one of her good friends. After roasting and baking half a dozen, I have spent the past week coming up with ways to eat the remaining bounty. Sweet Potato Peanut Soup represents Idea Number One.

What You Need:

1 tbs olive oil

5 cups water

2 Rapunzel no-salt vegan bouillon cubes

2 cans of organic diced tomatoes (a low-sodium brand is good)

1 large sweet potato

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 cup non-hydrogenated organic peanut butter

1 tbs curry powder

big pinch cayenne pepper, or one jalapeno pepper that has been seeded and finely minced ... or both!

What To Do:

Add olive oil to stock pot and turn burner on medium

Mince garlic and chop onion, put them in the pot

Microwave the sweet potato for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your microwave

Let the potato cool and cube into small pieces (size doesn't matter), and leave the skin on; it gives the soup "character" and provides essential nutrients

Add the potato with tomatoes (undrained) to pot, let simmer

Meanwhile, mix the bouillon with boiling water and add to pot

Add peanut butter and stir to dissolve, then add curry powder and cayenne

Let the ingredients get to know one another for awhile, then puree a bit with a potato masher or in a blender (depending on how smooth you like your soup).

Serve with a nice green salad and don't skimp on the veggies. Make a quick dressing with equal parts lemon juice and olive oil. Delish.

BTW: If you want more food, roasted veggies or wholegrain bread are a good addition to the table. I served this soup with a pumpkin souffle and added a spinach salad, for good measure.