Showing posts with label Organic. Show all posts

a fresh quinoa meal


Thought I'd show you one of my latest all vegan, all natural meals. Some of you have probably cooked with Tofyrky before as it is widely spread here in the US and also UK at least, but it's rather new to me and I must say this veggie sausage has an amazing flavor and offers great diversity. Like any good sausage.

I used the Tofyrky Kielbasa which has borrowed its name from the flavorful Polish meat sausage, and it's packed with garlic, onion, paprika and spices. Tofyrky has a base of organic tofu but tastes far more interesting than any plain old tofu and is a good vegan staple to keep at home at all times.
To go with it, I boiled up some quinoa. Salt, white pepper, chopped garlic and a squirt of olive oil for flavor.
While I browned the onions, tofyrky, grape tomatoes and chives in olive oil, Alex made his heavenly dijon cucumbers. It's basically a mixture made of olive oil, balsamico, dijon mustard, oregano, white pepper, salt and lemon juice (or white wine vinegar) that is poured over carefully peeled and thinly cut cucumber. We're having that approximately five times a week. Absolutely delicious in all its simplicity. We always try to keep it as a side dish to any given meal but somehow we always end up devouring it before dinner's served. It's just. So. Good.
Serve it up. I separated the quinoa in the image but tossed it all together right after shooting. The hearty flavors of the peppery tofyrko and stewed tomatoes combined with the fluffy grainy quinoa makes for a wonderful flavor sensation. So fresh so real so .... good for you. In particular if you use all organic ingredients like I've done. Some crispy fresh spinach right there at the bottom.
Finish off the meal with either a home made or all natural fruit sorbet and organic dark chocolate. I found a good sorbet from Talenti with only five ingredients: Raspberries, water, sugar, dextrose, lemon and carob gum. 

If you want to create your own sorbet which is a piece of cake but takes some time to freeze, you can use exactly those ingredients except perhaps dextrose, and the carob gum which is a natural vegetable gum harvested from a carob tree, and used for thickening stuff. Very easy to do your own and could be made with any fruit or berry of course. I made one with mango once in the Caribbean, remember? 

2 comments

A simple organic vegan meal

Maybe you'd like to see what cooking I've been up to lately. Vegan cooking is a fairly new territory for me as you know, so it's been an interesting transition and challenge to see what dishes I can come up with that can somewhat compare with the good ole flavor of meat and poultry. I've started pretty easy, no advance concoctions so far, but I have slowly learnt to know a few, for me at least, new products that I would have never thought of using before I stopped buying and eating meat. 
Soybean is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and has been widely used by vegans and vegetarians in many different ways for decades. Problem with the soybean is that much of it around the world (in particular the soybean from the US) is genetically modified so one got to be careful about which product and brand that is used. This particular brand (BioLand) has their production in Costa Rica and I haven't found anything that says it neither is or isn't GMO, but they claim to be organic so I went for it this time till I find out more.

If you haven't cooked with textured soy protein before, I can tell you it's a pretty close comparison in texture and even taste, to meat, and can be used in an array of ways, its features are much similar to minced meat. I've started with panfrying onion in olive oil and tossed in the soy protein after a while. I am obsessed with the Grenadian nutmeg so along sea-salt and black pepper, I added a generous portion of that. Nutmeg is great as it has a lovely nutty and almost meaty flavor and suits these vegan dishes well in my opinion. I added water and let is simmer for some time, maybe ten minutes.
The other day I had mixed up some olive and truffle oil, fresh garlic and basil. This oil mixture went also down into the pan, alongside freshly cut local Panamanian spinach. I could have thrown in some lentils too but we've over-consumed them lately so I cut it out this time. Served the meal with (non-gmo) basmati rice.

Have you all seen this amazing but scary documentary by Robert Kenner by the way? 

If not I'd suggest you to take a look when you have time to get to know a bit more about the food and products that surrounds us in the society. It isn't any news that most of the food, candy and drink products you find on the shelves in the super markets, and all what is found in fast food chains are full of destructive ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, trans fats and genetically modified organisms which has proven to be the cause of various sorts of cancer, diabetes and obesity  - but thankfully it is easier today than ever to actually take control over what we put into our bodies. Maybe this video will help you realize a little something.

4 comments

Gypsy Juice

Speaking of organic - my friend Sommer's lovely package has finally arrived. I'm saying finally as the notorious West Indian postal service managed to loose the first parcel in the Caribbean a long time ago, and to avoid further mishaps, this second package has been waiting for me in the US for an additional few months. How good does it feel to finally receive something you have waited so anxiously for!

I met Sommer in Antigua a year or two ago, she was also traveling on a boat with her partner at that time, they're now in the Mediterranean. I so wish I had taken the opportunity to snap a shot of her as she's one of those people that lights up a room with her positively energizing presence alone. Golden hair framing her beautiful freckles, incessantly dressed in a contagious smile you're convinced she's wearing even while asleep.

Not only is she a beautiful human being but so is also her divine line of handmade organic beauty products and skin care. Just have a look at this ingredient chart and see what amazing natural goodness that has been put into her lovely bottles (click on each ingredient to learn more). Or like Sommer herself puts it:

"A lifestyle rich in organic love, freedom, health and happiness 
has inspired me to create a skincare range that is the yummiest, 
most nutritious, delicious and organic, raw meal for your skin."

Besides the wonderful feel and fragrance of her vitalizing, cold pressed and unrefined skincare products, I love that every part of her label radiates quality, authenticity and organic craftsmanship. From the hand stamped muslin cotton bags in which your products are delivered, chemical and solvent free inks, to her website and lifestyle which is powered by 100% wind energy. 

If you're looking for something totally organic and energizing to feed your skin with, without ingredients that you can't pronounce - go check out the website of Gypsy Juice here. There you can order your own handmade products, individually blended uniquely for you. Also don't forget to like Sommer's Facebook page here.

3 comments