Chocolate Covered Blood Orange Slices (DIY)
Necessity is the mother of invention.
EHChocolatier of Somerville, Massachusetts made a decadent treat called Blood Orange & Chocolate but ran out just before Valentine’s Day after being named one of the best chocolatiers in the country. Desperate for more of these treats, the only way was to make them myself.
I could have bought blood oranges, sliced and dehydrated the pieces but instead I placed an order with Simple & Crisp – a Seattle, Washington-based company that specializes in dried fruit crisps with a cracker-like texture – for a few boxes of their Blood Orange Dried Fruit Crisps. Read more 
The Homemade Vegan Pantry
Join the homemade revolution.
One of the most fantastic aspects of adopting a plant-based diet is being part of a rapidly growing community that introduces new products nearly every day along with cookbooks on how to make delicious plant-based food. Years ago, just a few vegan cookbooks lined a shelf at the local bookstore but today the shelves are filled with vegan cookbooks – a testament to the growing popularity of this wholesome, nutritious diet. Read more
Plant-Strong
We’ve been so hoodwinked and bamboozled by the meat, milk, and egg industries that the majority of people, including well-meaning but misinformed doctors and nutritionists, haven’t a clue that the best and most healthful sources of protein come from whole plants.
Plant-Strong is the new title of a book that was originally called My Beef with Meat (2013), a New York Times Bestseller. The original title was clever and catchy (the brainchild of a marketing executive in the publishing house) but the words never quite reflected the author’s style (positive) or his approach to living a plant-strong life, which is inclusive. Read more
The Sweet Potato, Tofu, and Mushroom Bowl
Because you know I’m all about that bowl
‘Bout that bowl, no plate
I’m all about that bowl
‘Bout that bowl, no plate
I’m all about that bowl
“Bout that bowl, no plate
I’m all about that bowl
‘Bout that bowl…bowl…bowl…bowl
Golden Berries and Golden Berry Relish
Golden Berries are making an appearance in grocery stores nationwide. Native to high altitude tropical climates – and particularly Peru and Columbia – Golden Berries are small round berries that look like yellow cherry tomatoes but with a sweet and mild tart flavor.
Also known as Peruvian Ground Cherries, Cape Gooseberries, Uchuva, and Physalis (its scientific name), Golden Berries have traditionally been used to make jams, preserves, and as an exotic garnish on tarts. More recently, the berries are being enjoyed as is, chopped in a salad, or diced in a relish (see recipe below). Read more
Asian Salad with Ginger Soy Vinaigrette
The Farmer’s Table restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida serves a Mandarin Chopped Salad with Ginger Soy Vinaigrette that is remarkable for its flavor, texture, and color. Filled with chopped cabbage, red bell peppers, carrots, broccoli florets, mandarin oranges, and candied cashews tossed in a Ginger Soy Vinaigrette, the Mandarin Chopped Salad is a showstopper and one of those dishes that made me wish the salad bowl was bottomless. In other words, I had to figure out how to make a version of this salad in my own kitchen. Read more
PlantPure Nation
PlantPure Nation is a 96-minute documentary film recently released (2015) that tells the story of how scientists, doctors, researchers, and other supporters are working to spread the word of the health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet.
Twelve years ago, T. Colin Campbell, an American biochemist and Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, published The China Study, a book that examines the relationship between the consumption of animal products (including dairy) and chronic diseases – heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer. Read more
The Ultimate T-Shirt
Triple Threads – a company that makes a boutique line of globally conscious apparel designed to inspire and represent three ethical reasons – earth, animals, and health – for a compassionate lifestyle – makes t-shirts that are soft and very flattering with a body hugging consciousness. Read more
Thug Kitchen Party Grub
Gotta bake bread to break it.
There are four aspects essential to a good cookbook (meaning a cookbook that spends more time on the countertop than on a book shelf).
- First, the cookbook must contain colorful pictures of the finished product. Pictures inspire cooks to take the leap and make the dish and although my finished dish may not look as polished as the one in the cookbook, there is usually a close resemblance (note: all of the pictures below of the finished dishes were made by me).
- Second, the recipes have to call for mostly fresh and easily recognizable ingredients. No strange ingredients that require a special trip to search the aisles of specialty markets are allowed.
- Third, the recipes can’t be too complicated because who wants to spend hours making dishes that everyone devours in 15 minutes?
- And, finally the food has to taste really good as in “delicious, can I have seconds; this recipe is a repeat.” Read more
The Rice Bowl (without the rice)
Rice bowls are the “it bowls” of the moment with the popularity of this one-bowl meal growing exponentially day by day because of its versatility. The basic concept of a rice bowl is to cover a mound of rice with vegetables, beans, and/or tofu with the possibilities virtually endless because there are so many types of ingredients to choose from, even if rice seems to be the foundation. But what if you skip the rice and stick to vegetables and tofu? Well then, you’ll have a rice bowl without the rice: a delicious, crunchy, colorful bowl of vegetables with seasoned tofu. Read more
Paddock Post 