Super Vitality Truffles

“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

So, whenever Todd and I fly we usually bring a lot of yummy, travel-friendly vegan food. I am sure you do too. Vegans in the house raise your hands to the heavens and can I get a soulful "Uhhhh Huhhhh!" You know what I mean. Good Buddha, there just ain't no tasty food to be found! Unless you want to be buying a severely under or over ripe $6 banana, you better be packing food yourself. It's a shame. I know there are some exceptions though. I even heard LAX has it's very own vegan restaurant! 

We aren't flying through LAX...poo... 

Thus, I made us some super healthy & nutritious Vitality Truffles! Normally our goto travel snacks are my Birdseed Cookies and banana chips. But this time, I wanted something a bit more healthful. These little guys have no added sugars or sweeteners, no added oils, and use only whole food ingredients. They have the texture of a coarse fudge and they're fun to customize too. I made mine an "Apple Spice Cinnamon" by adding in half a tea bags contents. 

This is a great recipe for substituting in what you like and what you have on hand. If you don't like a particular nut, seed, or fruit...just use what you do enjoy! Be adventurous!

Will you take a gander below? Look at all those amazing, nutritious little beasties who are going to somehow seriously pump you up to be squeezed into a middle seat with two nine foot Texans on either side of you, a surly teenager incessantly kicking your seat from behind, and a booger-flinging-eye-staring-contest-bratface turned around, bug eyed in front of you. I know it's going to happen. I'm prepared. "Om, om, om...*munch munch*"

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Super Vitality Truffles

by Katie @ Produce on Parade July-11-2014

Bites of super vitality! These little guys have no added sugars or sweeteners, no added oils, and use only whole food ingredients. They have the texture of a coarse fudge.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup whole walnuts
• 1/2 cup whole pecans
• 6 whole Brazil nuts
• 1/3 heaping cup ground flax seed
• 1/3 cup cup sesame seeds
• ¼ cup dried goji berries
• ¼ cup dried blueberries
• ¼ cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
• ¼ cup cocoa nibs
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• Half the contents of an Apple Cinnamon Spice teabag (optional or ½ Tbsp. of favorite tea leaves)
• 6 (about ½ cup) pitted dates
• 6 (about ½ cup) dried figs
• ¼ tsp. xanthan gum
• Dash of kosher salt

Instructions

In a food processor, add the pecans through and including the tea. Process until granular and the sides begin to stick and turn heavy. Now, add the remaining ingredients and process for about five minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. The dough should be very well combined and sticky. It should hold together when pressed.Form into bite size balls. Some oil from the nuts might be expelled onto your hands, and if you put tea in the dough, it will be colored! Store in the fridge or freezer. I put mine in the freezer because I like them super firm.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: Total time: 15 mins Yield: 30 Balls

Just my little animal foodie friends,  hanging out and jammin'.

German Word of The Day

Vitality --> Lebensfreude (Lee-beens-Freud-eh)

Good Deed of The Day

Did you guys see this article on a vegan cheese project that aims to replicate cheese from cow's milk by using caseins? So weird! Kudos for finding a way to replicate cheese without harming cows (kind of similar to those test tube burgers I suppose) but casein really isn't that great for us. Read up on The China Study, if you haven't already. As an animal advocate this makes me happy, but as a consumer I think I might pass. What about you? What do you think of this innovation?

Sweet Potato & Orange Herbed Soup with Spicy Sausage

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”

— Isaac Asimov

On this edition of "Get Rid of All The Food Before Our Trip!", sweet potato and orange are the stars with supporting roles from fresh cilantro and parsley, as well as spicy chipotle sausage. It's a good one, and just look how pretty this soup is! 

I had a few potatoes I knew were aging a bit and a several oranges leftover from giant bag of clementines that we'd bought from Costco a couple weeks ago. When I delved into my trusty Flavor Bible, I found that they pair beautifully together! I was pretty psyched. Two plants with one stone, if you know what I mean. Though, I've never been much a fan of citrus, specifically orange, in my soup...this was darn delicious.  

It's funny, when the herbs are blended in, the soup becomes a bit frothy which I found to be delightfully amusing for unknown reasons. It did dissipate after a short while though. 

I decided to make a sweet potato soup after learning that boiling the sweet taters is actually by far the best method of cooking for retaining their nutritional prowess. Now usually I try to stay away from boiling vegetables because I had always thought the opposite was true. Apparently with sweet potatoes, boiling is actually best. Roasting, in fact, wrecked havoc on them in regards to retaining their nutrition. Boo that!

If you want to learn more about the best way to cook sweet potatoes (trust me you do!), check out this totally interesting video from the scientific, nutritional genius that is Dr. Michael Greger at Nutritionfacts.org. Do I get excessively excited by things like this? The answer is an emphatic yes. 

A creamy, sweet potato soup enlivened with fresh-squeezed orange juice that's complemented by green cilantro and parsley, and studded with browned Mexican chipotle sausage. 

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Sweet Potato & Orange Herbed Soup with Spicy Sausage

by Katie @ Produce on Parade July-9-2014

A creamy, sweet potato soup enlivened with fresh-squeezed orange juice that's complemented by green cilantro and parsley, and studded with browned Mexican chipotle sausage.

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes, sliced
• dash of kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 3 small oranges, juiced
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• dash of ground black pepper
• 2 Mexican Chipotle Field Roast Sausages, chopped
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Add the sliced sweet potato to a large pot. Pour in just enough water to cover the slices, add a dash of salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, cover and boil for about 25 minutes.Meanwhile, in a large rimmed frying pan heat the olive oil over medium. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 10 minutes, until the onions have browned.Juice the oranges and add the juice to a blender along with the broth, allspice, and pepper. Transfer the onions to the blender when they are done browning. Add the chopped sausage to the frying pan and brown for about 5 minutes. Once the sweet potatoes are done boiling, remove with a slotted spoon and place in the blender. Blend all the ingredients in the blender on high for several minutes until smooth and creamy, excluding the sausages and herbs.Now, add the herbs and blend until well incorporated. Heat in a high speed blender, or in a large soup pot until just heated through. You don't want to cook the fresh herbs. Serve hot and topped with 1-2 Tbsp. of the browned, chopped sausage and additional fresh herbs.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: 6

German Word of The Day

Orange juice --> Orangensaft (o-rongen-zahft) "Saft" means juice! 

Good Deed of The Day

This is a big one. Wool isn't really that cruel, right? "Investigations of sheep shearing found that workers in Australia, the world's top wool exporter, and the U.S. killed, beat, stomped on, kicked, mutilated, and threw sheep around as they sheared them."

Wrong. Big time wrong. These sheep aren't pets, don't be fooled into thinking that just because they aren't slaughtered (which they usually are later) means they are treated as nicely as you'd treat your animal companion. They are nothing more than a commodity in the eyes of the wool business and if you think anything other than that...it's time to open your eyes and bring an end to blatant ignorance and apathy. Help ask J.Crew and Ralph Lauren to use cruelty-free materials in place of wool! 

Teriyaki Mint Soba Noodles

“My body will not be a tomb for other creatures.”

— Leonardo da Vinci

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Soon, Todd and I will be departing to the states for a wedding. This translates to a mishmash of catch-all dishes forged together with the idea of using up any food items that could potentially fall victim to neglect and rot while we're gone. I'm also on a self-inflicted store embargo, per pre-departure protocol. The days spent before a trip are always woeful, due to my particular affection for the grocery store...and food in general.

Instead of just roasting random, forgotten, lurking vegetables to make Buddha bowls, I decided to make a proper dish. There were two specific food items in our fridge that had been...somewhat forsaken. Tofu and broccoli. It's funny, I always have these two guys on hand (I like to sort of stash them away), because I use them so often that I know I'll need them for a recipe eventually. 

Alas, from time to time this can equate to limpy wimpy carrots, yellowing broccoli, and seriously questionable, rather funky-smelling tofu. Luckily, I got to them before that. Well, not the tofu. The tofu was kind of past it's prime, but I used it anyway. And the carrots had seen better days.

Hey, I'm not sick so there's that! Waste not want not, is what my Grandma always says. But honestly, don't be like me. Use legit, happy carrots, broccoli, and tofu. 

I also have an epic bounty of herbs right now. Our Alaskan summer thus far has been alternating blisteringly hot weather, with a hearty dousing of rain. My plants are loooving it. Oh yea, and take a gander at that strawberry. I've been pining to eat that little bastard for a month! Note to self: Buy more than one strawberry plant next spring. I might get four strawberries, if I'm lucky.

This is an especially fitting dish to introduce to picky vegetable haters, tofu skeptics, and boring, bland food conformers. An Asian teriyaki sauce coats sauteed broccoli and carrots, baked tofu, and soba noodles. Garden-fresh mint lends green, vibrant, earthy notes. This is an easy noodle dish that will impress and satisfy...and maybe even rescue some insipid veggies (or tofu) from your fridge!

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Teriyaki Mint Soba Noodles

by Katie @ Produce on Parade July-8-2014

Asian teriyaki sauce coats sauteed broccoli and carrots, baked tofu, and soba noodles. Garden-fresh mint lends green, vibrant, earthy notes. This is an easy dish that will impress and satisfy.

Ingredients

• 2 small broccoli heads, chopped florets only
• 7 medium carrots, julienned
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 20 oz. extra firm tofu, diced
• 1/4 cup liquid amino acids or soy sauce
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. finger ginger, minced
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch
• dash crushed red pepper
• 6-9 oz soba noodles, dry
• handful fresh mint, chopped
• sprinkling sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Chop the broccoli and carrots.Heat the sesame oil in a large rimmed saucepan over medium-low. Add the broccoli and carrots. Saute about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, pat the tofu dry and dice. Scatter evenly on a baking sheet and roast at 400 F for 30 minutes. Whisk together the remaining ingredients except for the mint and sesame seeds. Pour over the vegetables and continue to saute for about 5 minutes. Then cover, reduce to low and cook for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Remove from heat. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. Add the soba noodles and boil for 4 minutes. Then strain and stir into the vegetables. When the tofu is done, stir into the vegetables along with the fresh mint. Serve hot, topped with additional fresh mint and sesame seeds.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 6

German Word of The Day

Mint --> Minze (mins-eh)

Good Deed of The Day

From The Simpsons

Did you read this New York Times article about the depression and anxiety of zoo animals? "Scientists often say that we don't know what animals feel because they can't speak to us...But the thing is, they are reporting their inner states. We're just not listening."

 I've always hated zoos. Please don't support zoos.