Vegan Recipes for the Bake Sale for Chile!

Just a reminder that the (Vegan) Bake Sale for Chile takes place tonight! 6:30pm to 10pm, at the Radha Yoga & Eatery on 728 Main Street. Here are my two contenders for the event. It is not my first time baking vegan (previous work experience allowed me the expense of learning to substitute certain ingredients for healthier or more ethical options!).

What is vegan? Vegan is a lifestyle that, for health, religious, or ethical reasons, does not utilize or consume any animal-based, or animal-derived products. That is, no meat or use of products like eggs, dairy milk, honey, nor gelatin. The vegan lifestyle also shuns products like leather, silk, or wool, or even other textiles and products that may be be animal derived.

When I was younger, I used to order home-delivered produce through an organization called Urban Organics. It was a company based in Vancouver who would "surprise" you with a weekly delivery of fresh local produce - sadly, I cannot find them on the web. I believe they were bought out by SPUD?

Along with the weekly delivery came a newsletter with recipes and other tidbits of information, and (once) a book by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer titled, "How It All Vegan!". It is a *really* great vegan resource, and as I worked on different projects and looked for healthy recipes, I turned to it time and time again! My favourite recipe is one that includes rice, beans, and zucchini (SO perfect for a winter night!) It is a wonderful stepping stone if you are looking to transition to veganism, as there tips for vegan substitutions for milk and eggs, and a whole section on other consumables such as beauty and pet products.

While I am not vegan, and not even vegetarian, I can appreciate vegans who make the lifestyle choices to avoid consuming any animal products. And vegans who join together to contribute to a charitable cause like relieving Chilean earthquake victims? Even better!

Here are my two contributions to the night: mini babingka cakes, and brownies.

If you've been following my twitter, you'd have seen that I'm erring on the side of using rice milk exclusively, with only skim milk for a "backup". The beauty of having rice / almond / soy / potato milk in the pantry is that it (aside from tasting yummy!) has a long shelf life. The only dairy milk substitute that I *cannot* stomache is hemp milk. Yes, I know we live in BC and I know it is probably one of the healthiest, "whole" food alternatives, but had too much of it at one time and can not drink it anymore. *shudder*

I used a combination of rice milk, coconut milk, and tofu in this babingka recipe to substitute out the butter, egg, and milk that is sometimes used in this Filipino dessert. I also utilized rice flour to make this product gluten-free; while this affects the texture of the finished product (short texture feeling), it pairs nicely with the coconut. I am pretty pleased with the results as the cakes were moist and had a nice coconut flavour.

Ingredients (makes about 24 mini cakes
1 c white rice flour
1/2 c organic cane juice solids
2 t baking powder
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c tofu (I've used original dessert tofu, although a coconut dessert tofu and a mango-peach flavoured dessert tofu were wonderful substitutions as well!)
1/4 c rice milk

Method
Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a medium bowl, sift together the white rice flour, cane juice solids, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, mash tofu, or blend until no large chunks remain. Mix or blend in the coconut and rice milks.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and mix in the wet ingredients until just mixed. Pour into paper-lined mini muffin tin and bake 12-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean.

You may cool and serve as is, or you may sprinkle with additional cane juice solids and broil or brulee with a blow torch until the cane sugar caramelizes.

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The brownies came out a little drier than I had hoped. Next time I'd bake it in a smaller pan for shorter amount of time, and also add some extra chocolate chips for flavour.

Ingredients
2 c all purpose flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 ripe banana
2/3 c organic cane sugar
1 c rice milk
2/3 c vegetable oil
1 t vanilla

Method
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, mash banana together with the cane sugar. Beat in vanilla, rice milk, and vegetable oil.

Spread into a greased (I greased with vegetable oil) 9x3" pan (I would use an 8x8" or 9x9" pan next time!). Bake at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Cool and cut with a serrated knife.

This was a well-organized event with many volunteers in a great venue. Radha Yoga and Eatery serves vegan (many raw options) fare four nights a week. All baked goods were vegan and were paid for in donations. About $1500 was raised, and will be matched by a corporate sponsor!

Qoola Yogurt + Fruit (West End, Vancouver, BC)

*Finally* tried Qoola when I went biking last weekend. It was nice to work up an appetite / burn off some calories before indulging in a (healthy) sweet treat.



Everyone has heard about Qoola. (Minus a certain little sister, up until a couple weeks ago.) The store has a real clean, fresh vibe to it - bright walls, nice layout, and recyclable / compostable cutlery and containers. It is a philosophy that I can get behind!

I opted for a medium green tea frozen yogurt with blackberry and sea foam toppings, and my bill came to a little over $7. I note this only because on the same day, M purchased a whole meal next door for the same price (I'll post about it later). They were both great-tasting items, but when I worked out that it cost me almost a dollar each for a sprinkle of crushed honeycomb candy and about five blackberries, I felt a little ripped off.



It did taste good - tangy, light and slightly sweet. It was creamy and you could taste each ingredient - matcha, blackberry and the crushed candy. I guess I'm just a suburb bumpkin at heart though. It'll take a real craving for me to shell out the bucks for toppings!

Qoola Yogurt + Fruit

1116 Denman Street [map]

Vancouver, BC

Phone: (604) 801-6338

Recipe: Healthy KFC = KRT?

We had a craving for KFC without all the grease and salt. After looking online for a couple copycat recipes and tweaking them to our own liking, we came up with the following - KRT! Kentucky Roasted Turkey! We used turkey wings (for maximum skinage & flavour, and lower fat content than chicken) and roasted them as opposed to deep frying them to cut down more fat!

I *did* marinate in sour cream, only because I wanted to tenderize the wings, and I did lightly bread them. I know - counter productive to the "healthy" issue, but we didn't want to eat half and chuck half either!



Ingredients
6 turkey wings (about 1.4kg / 3.5lbs)
1/2 c sour cream
1 c flour, more if needed

Seasoning mix:
1 T paprika
2 t garlic powder
2 t salt
2 t thyme powder
2 t oregano flakes
2 t ground sage
1 t celery seed
1 t ginger
1 t allspice
1 t chili powder
1 t black pepper
1 t white pepper
1 t basil flakes
1 t marjoram

Method
Mix together all the seasoning ingredients. The night before, mix together the sour cream and 4 t of the seasoning in a large non-reactive container. Marinate poultry in sour cream mixture overnight, or at least eight hours.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Mix together flour and remaining seasoning mix. Remove poultry from sour cream mixture, remove any excess sour cream mixture, and dredge in flour. Shake off any excess flour. Place coated turkey wings onto foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes on one side. Flip pieces over and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes, until cooked, depending on the size of your wings.



We found that the recipe needed a *touch* more salt. M liked the turkey wings and I found the seasoning mix pretty close (minus any MSG) but I thought the turkey wings were a little too sinewy and chewy. Ahh, the things I give up for health. :)

We enjoyed the wings on brown rice and a side of Greek salad (with fresh home-grown oregano!) to extend the "healthy" kick.

10 Reasons Why I Gain Weight.

Kris at Cheap Healthy Good just posted a list of why she gained / gains weight. I've been following her blog for a while - she has a posting schedule of recipes interspersed with foodie-licious articles and links.

While the recipes usually make me stop by her blog for a gander, her list / posting above is probably one of the first times I've commented on her site.

You see, I am an average sized girl. But I've always been made fun of for my weight. As an Asian, I was always taller and bigger (boned?) than my counterparts. Yes, by North American specs, I'm probably average sized, but I've always felt bigger than most as my relatives would poke at my flesh and make me feel ashamed of my body. It doesn't do good either, when, as a developing adolescent, my mother would tell me that she was "never as big as" me when she was younger.

As an adult, I've come to terms with my body, but at the same time I am still guilty of neglecting my health and weight. It is said that the average weight gain for North Americans is 1-3 pounds a year. I can say that much is true; I've gradually gained weight as an adult.

Why? Here we go:

I gain weight because:

1) I live with a man who *needs* to have meat with every meal, or at least, every day. And none of that "white meat" either. He means business, meaning bbq ribs. Steak. Brisket. Bacon. Sausages. The only substitution for any "meat" is with cheese.

2) Cheese? Did you say Cheese? As a child, I *hated* cheese. It felt heavy, was plastic-y, and turned crispy black when my mother or brother made "grilled" cheese sandwiches. As an adult though, I've grown to love cheese. Real cheese. Give me gouda. Gruyere. Brie. Cheddar with ale. Cranberry camembert. Cream cheese with mixed herbs. Goat cheese with poppy seed or nuts. When I was living in Victoria, my roomate introduced me to pate. We would literally survive for days on nothing but cheese, crackers, and pate. Oh, and the odd grape thrown in for good measure. I kind of miss those days.

3) I feel that I deserve it. I've commuted a lot in my adult life. At the end of the drive, what's fast and easy and portable is an ice cream cone. Or a container of fries. And Bob as my witness, after that hellish traffic jam, I deserve it!

4) I believe that I can lose it later. I took up running three years ago. I loved what it did to my body, but more what it did to my eating habits. I could eat whatever I wanted, and I would just burn it off!! What's bad is when I take a break after the marathons or 10k races and kept on eating the same. I can honestly say that for the past three years, I spent the first half of summer feeling and looking great, then the remainder feeling bloated and sad because my body morphed back into its former self.

5) Eating is a social thing. Birthday party = dinner. Mothers / Fathers day = dim sum and / or dinner. Hockey game? We'd watch it over greasy pub food. UFC Fight Nights = fattening potluck food. Happy hour? Sure. Oh, and when me and my friends decide to celebrate something by going dancing? We end up drinking. A lot. And girly cocktails are empty calories. Might explain the most recent weight gain.

6) I love cooking. I love cooking for other people, I love cooking for myself. That, combined with the fact that I was raised and trained not to waste food, causes me to overeat a lot of the times.

7) I have a fear of going hungry. I think in every stage of my life - high school, college, office life - I had this fear of my stomache growling and that being rude. Subsequently, I'd "over pack" my lunches and snacks. Where it allowed, I'd even keep extra food in my locker / backpack / cublicle / drawer to snack on so that I wouldn't go hungry. That access has probably provided me with extra calories that I could do without.

8) I try to eat like the boys. I was a real tomboy growing up. I hated being ridiculed for being inferior - so I'd try to eat like a boy. I've gotten a little better as I've grown up, but I notice that I do try to match portions with M, who is 6' and ~200lbs. I am 5'5" and about 75% of his weight, and he has more muscle mass than me. I`ve also tried going beer for beer (or drink for drink) with the boys, which had bad results. Again - empty calories.

9) I've worked in the food industry for my entire adult life. This means free food, free samples, trade shows with free food and free samples, and a some of taste panelling. Not good.

10) My mothers' love of deep-frying as a form of food preparation has somewhat been genetically passed on to me. Not only was this bad when I was younger (sometimes we'd eat nothing BUT fried food for dinner...eww.), but now that I'm older, I fall into the same trap as I like the texture and convenience of fried food.

Where does this leave me? At least now I can identify why I gain weight. Now to correct some of my bad habits.

- drink less
- portion control
- be conscious of what I eat
- stop the lose / gain cycle
- keep healthy snacks in the car and at work
- freeze leftovers!
and
- stop when I'm full.

Let's see where this gets me.