Chow Vegan

Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen

January 31, 2013 By chow 7 Comments

I don’t have cancer. I’ve never had it and I hope I never get it (or anyone else for that matter). So why am I reviewing Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer? Because you are what you eat. The authors, Annette Ramke and Kendall Scott, both battled cancer and survived to tell their story – eating a plant-based, whole foods diet may help to fight and prevent cancer.

The first part of the book covers their personal stories dealing with cancer and offers support, guidance and resources. Including tips and advice about healthy lifestyle changes and dealing with treatments all written in a conversational tone, it’s like getting advice from a close friend.

The second part has recipes for fighting cancer with specific benefits listed out, from helping with immune boosting to fatigue fighting to mood balancing. Most are vegan recipes with a few vegetarian ones that can easily be made vegan. Using food as medicine doesn’t mean you’re stuck with bland, boring food.

I started off with Baby Bok Choy with Shiitakes, Pumpkin Seeds and Gojis (page 227). I’ve been eating gojis also known as wolfberries since I was a kid. It’s funny that nowadays it’s like a new thing that people are crazy about when it’s been around Chinese cuisine for ages. I like the flavors, but I did cut back to half of the tamari called for in the recipe.

Jello is the quintessential food when you’re sick, in or out of a hospital. It’s also the fun, jiggly finger food of children everywhere. As soon as I saw the recipe for Juicy Jello (page 307), I had to make it. Even if I had to pay Whole Foods $8.99 for a small package of agar-agar. I tried to get the agar-agar cheaper from the Asian supermarket but I couldn’t find any that didn’t have sugar in it. The glistening cubes with fruit is exactly as I remembered but better.

Next is Curried-Tofu Breakfast Burrito (page 211), I’ve always wanted to make my own frozen breakfast burritos but just never got around to it. Reviewing this cookbook got me off of my bum. The flavor of the curry is good and even better after a night in the fridge or freezer. It’s a great basic recipe to start, I’ve since made it again adding potatoes, peas, cauliflower and mushrooms.

Tempeh Hash Over Collards (page 209), another breakfast recipe, another winner. Easily made in the oven, it warms you up and gets you going in the morning.

Edamame Hummus (page 288) didn’t come out as smooth as it could have. I only have an itty-bitty mini food processor that sometimes doesn’t feel up to the challenge of blending various ingredients. So the hummus is a little more chunky that I would have liked but the taste is all there.

The Key-Lime Custard Pie (page 299) is very similar to other vegan cheesecake recipes I tried but without the baking. Bonus points for not having to mess with the oven to get a slice of this delicious sweet-and-sour treat.

Oatmeal-Carrot Cookie Smoothie (page 195), it’s hard to believe but it really does taste a lot like an oatmeal cookie. Yum. Eating healthy and beating off cancer has never been more tasty or easy.

Oatmeal-Carrot Cookie Smoothie
Makes 18 ounces

1 large carrot, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons rolled oats
1 cup Almond Mylk or store-bought
1 large banana
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
3 large ice cubes
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoon dried coconut, shredded and unsweetened

For less powerful blenders, grate the carrot. Add all ingredients except coconut to a blender and blend for one minute or until mostly smooth. Pour into individual glasses and sprinkle shredded coconut on top.

Kendall’s Tasty Tip: If you like your smoothie a little thicker, try adding more ice or use a frozen banana.

From the book Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen by Annette Ramke and Kendall Scott. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Disclosure: I received the book free of charge from the publisher to review. The opinions and experience with the book expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

This post also contains Amazon links, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on any of the links and make a purchase of anything.

Rooster Creek Tavern Arroyo Grande CA

January 10, 2013 By chow 11 Comments

Visiting one’s hometown is always a slightly weird experience – you get the “remember-back-when” mixed in with the “oh-that’s-new.” A new to me restaurant is the Rooster Creek Tavern, located in the downtown village of Arroyo Grande, CA (a town halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast). There’s an actual creek behind the storefronts with a swinging bridge and real live roosters and chickens freely roaming around the creek and parking lot area.

I’ve notice the restaurant months before but when asked, there wasn’t anything vegan on the menu. I remember thinking that’s too bad.

Too lazy to drive all the way to San Luis Obispo during this last trip, I looked for some place a little closer that could accommodate the diets and tastes of the whole family and gave the Rooster Creek another look-see. This time it looked much more promising, they must have updated the menu since that first inquiry.

I can only confirm the Veggie Paella is vegan – smoked tofu, bell pepper and onion in saffron veg broth with saffron rice. I didn’t ask about any other items. It’s just nice to not always be stuck with a veggie burger when eating out.

The paella is cooked to your spicy level, I went with medium. It came out piping hot, just perfect for the extra chilly weather. It was so warming, I had to take off my jacket.

The flavor is good, but I didn’t really taste the smokiness of the tofu and kinda wish there was a few more pieces. I normally request no bell peppers as they’re not my favorite by a long shot. But I’m actually getting better about having them in my food. I’ll eat them nowadays if they happen to be in a dish. And if they’re any color but green. But I won’t guarantee I’ll eat all of them on my plate (there was a lot as you can see). Now, that’s real progress.

King Oyster Mushroom “Pappardelle Noodles”

December 19, 2012 By chow 18 Comments

Can you spot the pasta in this picture?

Is it right there in the bowl? Nope, that’s not it. It’s really King Oyster mushrooms (also known as trumpet mushrooms), thinly sliced to resemble the flat ribbons of pappradelle noodles, there’s no actual pasta in the entire dish.

At John Bentley’s, a very nice, upscale restaurant in Redwood City, CA serving seasonal New American cuisine, there’s only one entree on the menu that could easily be made vegan. It was this dish, Trumpet Mushroom “Pappardelle”.

So simple and good. I loved it so much, I had to recreate it at home. I have no idea if this is how the restaurant makes it. This is my homemade version.

For long “noodles”, I used the largest King Oysters I could find. It’ll seem like a lot of mushrooms, but it cooks down quite a bit. For the sauce, I adapted the recipe for Tomato Marina from Ani’s Raw Food Essentials.

Unlike real pasta, the mushroom “noodles” is very light. Serve it with soup, salad, or garlic bread.

King Oyster Mushroom “Pappardelle Noodles”
Serves 2 as part of a meal

4 Large King Oyster mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
6 Kalamatas olives, sliced
Fresh basil for garnish
Couple tablespoons of tomato sauce

Make the tomato sauce and set aside. Wash and slice the mushrooms thinly into the shape of a long, flat noodle. Heat a sauté pan to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook until just tender. Transfer to a bowl, add a couple tablespoons of the tomato sauce. Gently toss to coat. Add the olives and toss again. To serve, garnish with the basil.

Tomato Sauce
Makes about 1/2 cup
1 cup tomatoes (use cherry or roma)
1 small Medjool date
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

Pit and finely chop the Medjool date. Cut the larger tomatoes in half or quarters. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until chunky smooth.

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