tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199268469134709552024-03-08T07:00:08.437-06:00soy free veg*nThe Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3219926846913470955.post-23404882212862371912011-03-17T11:14:00.000-05:002011-03-17T17:12:05.909-05:00I have not been vegan in about a year and a half. At that time, I made a conscious decision to add things back into my diet. When I got pregnant, I rediscovered the joy of ice cream. I realized at some point during my pregnancy whilst enjoying many previously taboo foods that for me, a recovering anorectic, being vegan was just some extension of restrictive, punitive eating. At the heart of being vegan of course is always a compassion and love for all sentient beings, but I cannot lie, that ugliness, that body image impaired, wounded little inner me lorded over the <i>process</i>. <div><br /></div><div>I often mused, one little person, how can I even make a dent in the problem? Yet, I spoke to so many people, inspired minor change amongst friends, students and acquaintances. I can still do that, without being self punitive in respect to my diet. </div><div><br /></div><div>I suppose as I have finally begun reading the China Study, a book I've had on my list for ages, it re-inspired my belief in a mostly plant based diet. I really believe in the healing properties of local, organic produce. I feel a sense of vitality when I'm eating lets say...85ish (or more) percent plant based. </div><div><br /></div><div>I think the new focus of this blog will be food and compassion and especially finding balance now that I am a mother to a precious gift of a girl.</div>The Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3219926846913470955.post-25173960069903013152007-09-04T13:48:00.000-05:002007-09-04T13:53:57.365-05:00masala what?I don't know yet...but as I said previously, I was at Penzey's this weekend. I saw the masala and decided I should do something with it. <br /><br />So far, I fried up some mushrooms in red wine. Then I added about 1 tablespoon of masala. I tossed a little bit of onion powder in there too. I remembered I had a pack of seitan and am now marinating the seitan. Mmmmm...it was yummy but had no substance so I added a half of a small can of tomato sauce to it and now it's like a redwine-masala gravy. I'm not sure what to do with it from here. Potatoes would be amazing in there but I didn't want all that starch today. It's really hot here. <br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/masala.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a>The Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3219926846913470955.post-37141551470461884812007-09-04T13:31:00.000-05:002007-09-04T13:38:15.909-05:00soup that is orangeOh how I love colorful food.<br /><br />1 yellow squash<br />2 carrots<br />1 huge sweet potato<br />3 T coconut milk<br />2 T "butter"<br />dash of Franks<br />3/4 t cinnamon<br />1/4 - 1/2 t tumeric<br />2 T sugar<br />1 t vanilla<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/squashsoup.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br /><br />It was very easy. I boiled a veggie bullion cube in some water. I peeled a squash, a sweet potato and two carrots. I threw them in the water until they were tender. I blended the whole thing. Meanwhile I heated up a little butter with sugar and vanilla. Put it all back into the pan, added a douse of Frank's hot sauce (okay like 3 or 4 generous shakes), around 3 tablespoons of coconut milk (for substance, but it was just fine without) and tumeric. We had gone to Penzey's earlier and I got this amazing cinnamon I wanted to use and it made the soup amazing. Just um...3/4 of a teaspoon did the trick. This soup was even better the next day.<br /><br />Garnished with the pretty California Paprika and parsley.The Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3219926846913470955.post-20046495608862712007-08-29T16:57:00.000-05:002007-08-29T17:11:57.766-05:00veg potstickersNow I totally know why they are called potstickers! Ha!<br /><br />I modded the recipe from: http://www.recipezaar.com/32783<br /><br />I used plain ole mushrooms of the button variety. Some cabbage I shredded myself. Carrots. I loved the sesame oil flavor and didn't want to overpower things with cilantro. I clearly did NOT use onions...why??? oh because they are evil and banned from my kitchen (unless you are Jen). I also used fresh garlic, but didn't have fresh ginger so it was the powdery stuff for me.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/pots2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br /><br />It was really fun making these. My kitchen got trashed, but oh! I loved every minute of it. When I finally got it right (with the leftovers the next day) it was soooo worth the wait.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/pots1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br /><br />I served them with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and some spicy red sauce and a drizzle of soy. YUM YUM YUM!! I forgot to get a photo of the end result, so here is some polenta for your viewing pleasure.<br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/polenta.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a>The Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3219926846913470955.post-43639721925630508802007-08-04T17:57:00.000-05:002007-08-04T18:25:07.911-05:00no soy lasagnaI saw somewhere that someone had used zucchini for noodles in their lasagna. Brilliant!<br /><br />For me, it's all about the sauce.<br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/lasagna1.jpg" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A friend had given me some fresh basil and oregano from her garden. When I was in Italy I could not get over how deliciously simple the tomato-based recipes were. I used extra basil - the other spices, just a dash.<br /><br />- 2 cloves garlic<br />- olive oil<br />- fresh basil<br />- fresh oregano<br />- dash of cayenne<br />- salt, pepper<br />- water<br />- onion powder<br /><br />I fried up the garlic and added the tomato sauce and spices. I let it simmer while I started cutting up the veggies.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/lasagna2.jpg" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Next I chopped:<br />- 1 zucchini lengthwise<br />- mushrooms<br />- black olives<br />- some red & orange peppers I had left over<br />- parsley<br />- spinach<br /><br />I placed the zucchini "noodles" in the pan. Added the mushrooms, black olives, red peppers, and sauce. Layered the rest of the zucchini "noodles" with a dash more black olives, spinach, sauce and topped it with a spritz of parsley to make it pretty.<br /><br />Cooked at 400 for 20 minutes with foil and 10 without. <br /><br />Voila! I found this to be quite yummier than expected, though it's not the prettiest dish ever.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/lasagna4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a>The Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3219926846913470955.post-3898761041957470012007-08-04T06:44:00.000-05:002007-08-04T06:53:18.904-05:00oh blueberriesRecently, I went to Michigan with some friends. It was an incredible trip. We took a late night/early morning wine induced romp through the rain and darkness deep into the country. We stopped to eat some blueberries direct.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/blue1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br /><br />The last morning before the return trip, we each picked a bunch. I could not believe how delicious. There were rows of sweet and rows of sweet/sour. Oh so delicious. <br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/blue2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br /><br />So now I need to figure out what I want to do with them. I froze them because there were just so many.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/blue3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br /><br />I always want to move wherever I travel. Michigan is so beautiful. Quiet country woods, gorgeous beaches and lovely people. We're due to go back for apple picking.The Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3219926846913470955.post-53562575920549293582007-08-03T17:24:00.001-05:002007-08-04T06:55:02.796-05:00the best ever vegan pizzaI stole this idea from a local restaurant called <a href="http://stlouis.citysearch.com/profile/36354482/saint_louis_mo/or_juice_smoothie_organic.html">OR Juice and Smoothie.</a><br /><br /><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/veganpizza.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">What's in it:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">- your favorite wrap</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">- <a href="http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/04/shiny-happy-hummus.html">carrot hummus</a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">- a handful each of:<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--- lettuce</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--- calamata olives</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--- cucumber</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--- sun dried tomatoes</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">What I did:</span><br />First I made the <a href="http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/04/shiny-happy-hummus.html">carrot hummus</a>. I tweaked it to have more citrus and spice. I love what the extra shot of fresh squeezed lemon does for this recipe.<br /><br /><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/carrot_hummus.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I took a whole wheat wrap and toasted it in the oven until it was crispy enough to sustain the ingredients. Then I spread the hummus on it.<br /><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/step1_pizza.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><br />Then I generously sprinkled the toppings. It was delicious--the best one I've made yet. Here's one final close up before this pizza met her delicious demise.<br /><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/veganpizzadetail.jpg" />The Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3219926846913470955.post-19569777153063521692007-08-02T16:36:00.001-05:002007-08-03T18:52:49.881-05:00chickpea soup<span>I wanted to use my garbanzo beans, so I created this little soup:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/garbtomsoup1.jpg" /><br /><br />Here's what I used:</span><br />1 serano pepper<br />2 cloves garlic<br />Bragg's amino's<br />1 medium zucchinni<br />a handful of frozen cauliflower<br />a can of chickpeas<br />a small can of tomato sauce<br />onion powder<br />tumeric<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What I did:</span><br />Tossed the chopped garlic, pepper and zucchini into my skillet. I cooked them with some Bragg's.<br /><br />In another pan I made my veggie stock from cubes. I added the chickpeas to cook. Shredded the last bit of zucchini and added it, along with a handful of cauliflower.<br /><br />When my garlic was browned a tad, I sprinkled tumeric and onion powder over the mixure. Then I added the contents of the skillet to the soup.<br /><br />I let this simmer until the chickpeas were soft. Added the tomato sauce.<br /><br />I had plans to serve it over polenta, but it turned out more like soup than stew. The flavor was good, but next time I'll add another pepper. I really like the sweet of the zucchini with the spices of the soup.<br /><br /><img src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z54/burkalicious_us/vegan%20treats/garbtomsoup2.jpg" />The Yoga Ninjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496251220389957260noreply@blogger.com0