Showing posts with label Vegan cooking. Show all posts

2 salads

Put fruits in your salad boys and girls! Strawberry and mango is a favorite. The sweetness of them both cuts well with the peppery arugula and a tangy black pepper/lemon/cilantro dressing.
Tacos used to be a favorite back in the old times, this variety is easy and good for you: Heat olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and a tiny amount of cayenne pepper in a pan. Throw in some properly cut raw organic walnuts. Mix around, let it all get warm and well incorporated, and serve over a salad of choice. I do like a basic lettuce-tomato-cucumber-onion bowl with this (you could pan fry thin slices of onion in the pan before you add the spices and walnuts too if you fancy.) Eat as a salad or wrap it all up in a nice little bread.

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Blueberry dreams

An açaí bowl every now and then hasn't hurt anyone. Açaí is the famous Brazilian super berry that you've probably heard of. It is one of the most antioxidant-rich fruits in the world. With a sweet flavor and an intense violet color it contains an insane amount of vitamins and all the important omega fatty acids. Since açaí is very perishable, it's hard to get them fresh unless you find yourself in swamps and floodplains in the Northern parts of South America, which is where the açaí palmtrees like to grow. I often buy Sambazon's açaí juices which makes things easy, pouring a cup into my morning smoothie, though I've lately gotten around to also buying the frozen açaí pulp.

For a bowl like this, I mix a packet of frozen açaí pulp with bananas, plant milk and whatever fruit, greens and herbs I might have laying around and mix it up to a consistency thicker than smoothie. This one is topped off with some nice organic hazelnuts and kiwi.
Don't you just love eating health.... ? Doesn't hurt it's so damn beautiful either.

Whatever açaí you end up buying, look for a fair-traded one which guarantees fair pay and working conditions for local harvesters. As global demand for the fruit has expanded rapidly in recent years, so has also liberal application of pesticides and fertilizer which makes me think you might also rather choose organic than conventional.

If you can't get a hold on açaí or don't want to spend the extra money, why don't you use frozen organic blueberries? Similar taste and colour and the blueberry too is extremely high in anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins. I love my blueberries. They always remind me of my beloved grandmother and our blueberry pickings in Swedish and Finnish forests when I was little.

Speaking of blueberries. When we arrived in the states almost two years ago, I was surprised to learn that your blueberries grow on large bushes and that they were grown commercially on blueberry farms. The blueberries we have back home in Scandinavia (you might call them billberries here) grow wild, they're much smaller, sweeter, have a complete purple/blue interior and not whitish like here in the US and they grow on small plants close to the ground. We pick them with a berry picker like this one. My grandmother used to make wonderful sweet blueberry juice, warm blueberry soup and lovely cakes out of our harvest. I still remember the warm, comforting smell that filled the kitchen as the boiling began.

Can not wait till we get to go back home and spend some time with my family in the Scandinavian forests. So many wonderful wild berries and food to find over there. Cloudberries, woodland strawberries, gooseberries, lingonberries to name a few.

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daily progress

THIS is how happy one become when opening the oven to find such a perfectly cooked - golden, fluffy, sweet scenting, crispy apple cake made with fresh apples from the local farm. Cooking, and more so, baking, vegan foods is a whole different league altogether and it makes me extremely happy and proud each time my experiments lead me to a recipe that is so good that even non-vegan people love what they taste and come back for more. I honestly thought it was going to be hard working against all the stuff most people are used to - butter, eggs and milk - but really, it's just the first threshold that you've got to get past. Now that I know how to substitute each one of them so well, that is when things start to get interesting for real.
And when the bread you let rise for 14 hours comes out of the oven like this... worth all the wait in the world.
Oven roasted mushrooms with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Perfectly fine to eat as snacks as they are (I always end up eating half off the tray as they come out), or chop them up into stews or soups. J'adore.

You people are so quiet here in the blog these days (more active on Facebook it seems), hence slower updates from over here. Hope you all have had a great summer and that you too are working on some fulfilling things this fall and winter!

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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? 

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bok choy


.. is an underrated leaf vegetable. A visit to the Chinese market and I always get reminded of its existence. In olive oil I brown onion, garlic and other vegetables (preferably alfalfa, squash and/or aubergine) before I toss the chopped bok choy in and stir it continuously to not let it boil in its own water. Pouring a 20% vinegar, 30% soya sauce and 50% water mixture with grated ginger, black pepper & some thickener in the pan and let it all simmer for a few minutes. Best served with basmati rice, or why not pasta and some good wholewheat bread. 

Bok choy is packed with vitamin A, C and K as well as folate and it is uniquely beneficial for its calcium availability. It's lower in oxalate, a substance that binds up calcium and prevents it from being absorbed, than most other leafy greens. 54% of the calcium in bok choy can be absorbed by the human body – compared to 5% in spinach, and 32% in milk. We can much more readily absorb calcium from bok choy than from dairy products. Besides being an excellent partner in stir-fry, it's also good steamed (served with sesame oil and roasted garlic), raw or in your morning smoothie. One cup cooked leafs provides more than 100% of the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin A, and close to two-thirds the RDA of vitamin C. What's not to love?

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More food

I know some of you are rolling your eyes now. Can she stop posting pictures of food already?! When are they heading out for some crazy adventures instead, please?! Well I'm sorry but I am in a flow right now that has me spending time only on things I want and need to do and not so much what pleases others so you'll have to bear with me till the blog becomes a priority again. No worries though faithful readers, it will, as soon as we have figured some things out and when I can share more of our plans on here and more. But for now, let's talk food.

So I've been cooking quite a bit with Seitan lately. The fantastic wheat protein that is brilliant as a meat substitute, if you can and want to incorporate gluten in your diet that is. Wheat gluten is a good alternative to the many soybean-based meat substitutes such as tofu and tempeh, and is more appreciated by people who have hard to let go of meaty flavors as it can look, feel and taste pretty damn close to the real deal if prepared correctly. If you are new to Seitan I'd like to say that it always tastes best when it's been marinated for an hour or more before cooking. The wheat protein doesn't have a lot of flavor in itself, so to soak it in oil, maybe some soy and definitely salt and spices is how you give it some life. At least that is my experience. The price is ok, somewhere around $4-7 USD for a package that serves 3-4, but if you want to save even more, you could always try your hands on making it yourself from scratch. Seitan normally consists of: Water, vital wheat gluten, garbanzo bean or whole wheat flour, soy flour and/or soy sauce, garlic and spices.

Wheat gluten is often used instead of meat in Asian, vegetarian, Buddhist, and macrobiotic cuisines, so it is naturally what this vegan restaurant in downtown Boston uses for their lovely "veggie-chicken" and "veggie-beef" meals. You still won't find Seitan in every grocery store even though I think we aren't too far from that happening, but well-sorted markets such as Wholefoods and other modern markets do stock a variety of it. I've enjoyed the GMO-free Seitan from WestSoy, though I've heard from a few that Upton's is even better. This one is good, and the ground seitan is an excellent minced meat replacement for bolognese and tacos.

It's truly amazing the amount of new people that become vegetarians/vegans everyday around the world, and this product and it's more advanced siblings that will show up in the future, will continue helping in dropping the high speed in which factory farming is destructively producing meat today. The more of us that can cut down on eating meat - the better for our nature, world, our bodies, the animals and our karma obviously. If you don't want to quit eating meat completely, you might want to limit your meat consumption to only a few days a week instead of seven. 

On the image at the top I've marinated Seitan strips in soy, oil and spices and then fried it up with scallions, red pepper and more spices. At the end I added some already oven baked potato wedges. Muy rico!
This one above was a chicken style meal that I made with butter squash, portobello mushrooms and cherry tomatoes chopped up in tiny pieces. Added both red chili and curry for warming flavor. I simmered the stew a pretty long while in olive oil and a bit of water. 
Of course while I'm at it and since cooking and food experimenting takes so much of my time at the moment, I've also tried out some new vegan baked goods like these chocolate balls with chocolate frosting. They might look real good but don't let the image fool you, they tasted absolutely horrendous. Not because they're vegan, but because I made them late in the night after a long day of hustlin' already so for some reason I added one too many cups of flour into the batter. I guess I should have been warned when the mixture was hard as it was when I scooped the little shits into the muffin tin, but that totally didn't get my attention before they were baked and done. Consistence was that of a rock. Better luck next time.

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Vegan brownie

My first vegan cake since I converted a month and half ago. It isn't however the first ever vegan dessert I've made, as some traditional cookies and treats are vegan by nature, for example the ever so lovely snickers cake that I make every once in a while which I think I must share with you very soon. The brownie, on the other hand, is almost unimaginable to be good vegan version, as it is the fluffiness of the eggs and the moist and rich flavor of the butter that makes a brownie, so I am not going to try to fool myself, I sincerely doubt a vegan brownie will ever taste as good as the regular brownie does. But that doesn't hinder me from trying, right? 

To be the first ever brownie without eggs and butter that has been made by my hands, this one was pretty good. I tossed in some ripe banana too to add some more flavor, and the coconut milk and the sunflower oil made for a pretty nice fudgy texture and a crispy cover after all. I think when we reach the US, there will be even more choices when it comes to finding egg and butter substitutes so I'll continue my experiments then. This is what I used for the cake above in case you're curious to try it out:

Mix:

1/2 cup coconut milk (1 dl)
1/3 cup sunflower, coconut or canola oil  (0,75 dl)
1 ripe medium size banana - this is optional, you could exchange it for chopped walnuts, or why not both
1 teaspoon vanilla extract/powder/sugar 
3/4 cup sugar (1,5 dl)

In another bowl:

1 cup all-purpose flour (2,5 dl)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (0,75 dl)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 C. 

Mash the banana with a fork in a small bowl. Whisk in the coconut milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until well incorporated. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in chocolate and banana mixture. Stir until smooth but do not overmix. Pour into a baking pan and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

I have wanted to try making a vegan carrot cheesecake for a while now but since that will require me to process cashew-nuts very finely and I only have a smaller 12 volts hand blender on board, such advance things will have to wait till we get on land. On land... it is still a tad surreal that we are actually going to spend several months living on land starting very shortly. Only the fact that I will have a large kitchen and unlimited electricity to my assistance when cooking and baking is a thought almost too great to handle. 

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A brand new day

Slowly starting to get back on track being a functioning human being again. Kickstarting this day with a good dose of vitamins as in: Mango, guava, banana, kiwi, pitaya, passionfruit, and a heartful of chia seeds for that extra crunch and added nutrition. 

Hair is better now, thanks so much for all tips you've shared. I have said it before and I have reason to repeat: you are the best blog readers I could ever wish for. Beside many other good, warm thoughts I had on the sea the other day when storm subsided, I did miss you and the blog, like I always do when away from it/you for too long. This blog has given me so much that I have hard to put into words. Many friendships have developed because of it and only to be able to share and connect with so many likeminded people from all over the world, is such a beautiful beautiful thing that I am so very thankful for. Thank you so much for reading, commenting, and for having patience with me and the fact that I don't always have the possibility to respond every email and comment that goes through. You should know that I read every single one of them and I always value the time you've taken to share a piece of yourselves with me/us. Even if I would want to be more in touch, connectivity is not the same when living and traveling on a boat, and wifi is more of a luxury than something we can take for granted unfortunately. 

We're going to explore this island by scooter today, it has some lovely beaches on the other side of the hill apparently. One of the main reasons to why we are so extraordinarily happy for us going towards the US, is that the decision literally came up from nowhere and it reminded us about how energizing and beautiful it is with spontaneity. Our life might seem extremely wonderful as it is, to most of you, but having lived three years on a boat, made sailing, traveling and exploring new places to your every-day reality, plus having had the same kind of mindset since the very beginning - which is to sail out into the Pacific and continue around the equator back home to the Med - it does become a bit the same old, same old, in between all the good, how terrible now that might seem. Such are we human beings, we need diversity. So when all of a sudden we came up with this brilliant idea of making a break on the planned route and actually gain something even greater in a way, an added bonus so to say, it gave us an aha experience and boost of energy that we haven't felt in a long time. 

That we have had to stop here in San Andrés for example, an island we never thought of actually seeing, is one such spontaneous event that we are going to embrace best we can the few days we are "forced" to be here and await better winds. They say they make a mean crab and coconut meal here that we are going to try, and this beach looks very tempting for a tired ol' traveler to get some rest on, wouldn't you say...
image from here.

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When you close one door, another one opens


Engine problems solved, oil and filter changed, three bags of laundry done (why do I always leave such a long time in between each round?), heavy stuff removed from forward storage down below, weather prognoses and charts has been carefully studied, water tanks has been filled and food has been purchased. 

The amazing thing with having become more and more conscious about what I'm eating and the fact that I've quit meat and dairy from my diet - is that I have come closer to these beautiful, colorful guys. It feels like they've previously only worked as some anonymous accompaniments to my meals. They have never got to be the main character and thus I never really took the time to get to know them and their individual behaviors and qualities. This past month that I've been off meat and dairy, I have taken good time to experiment and curiously figure out each of their strengths. And here it comes: I have never felt better. You know I was reluctant to pronounce that cliché, but really, my energy level and my well being has gotten a great big boost in these past few weeks. Not only do I feel fresh, strong, energized and full of life (I know how silly it all sounds but it is a fact) but I also feel great pride in having taken a very important stand.

Many people who still eat meat and dairy imagines it is a mission impossible to become a vegetarian and not to mention vegan, as the options and varieties of food seem so limited. They couldn't be more wrong. Considering the amount of angry emails and comments that I have received, with people calling me all from hypocrite to declaring they will stop reading the blog if I quit eating meat, I know there is a controversy in the society about what food are right and wrong. Like it was someone else's choice what I or you should eat. 

The general opinion by the most aggressive commenters have been, if you go vegan, you must automatically become a perfect politically correct human being in all other aspects too. Cause no, no, you cannot be a conscious person doing something good for yourself that rhymes well with your personal ethics AND occasionally enjoy drinking champagne in five star establishments at the same time. Just like being vegan or vegetarian were some secret, hard to get to clubs where only angry, militant, pale, tree-hugging hippie people who wish to save the world are invited. Seriously, not much makes me annoyed these days, but people with no or little connection to reality do make me feel tired.

Here's also a funny part of an email I got recently: 

"Are you concerned that this (my new diet) will alienate a large number of your followers? I do not wish to discourage a vegetarian diet for anyone (whatever their reason might be), but since you are in a sales role of sorts, it seems to me that you would want to encourage more customers. Between the lack of videos and now the vegetarian only meals, I'm not sure we will visit the site as often."

Oh darling, I think you have gotten it all wrong. This blog as well as this journey we're out on, is a celebration of life and purely individualistic and healthy enjoyable living that suits us two as individuals - not to please someone else nor follow destructive, old fashioned ideologies. You can have your meat and eat it if you wish, but if I can share and in some way inspire other people to take control over their own lives and make better choices for themselves, then I feel I have done something good. Besides the good I do for myself already.

On the other hand, I absolutely love when readers get in touch with me to teach me something substantial, the ones of you who have guided me and educated me to become even more conscious about facts that I haven't noticed or thought about yet. That is the sort of healthy, mutual interaction I believe in and I am glad and proud to have collected a big bunch of very smart and intellectual readers who do think for themselves, and who are willing to share their stories, experiences and thoughts with me. Live and let live as one such intelligent reader once said.

Here are a few famous people who all are (or were in Steve's case) vegans, just to show that it is indeed a great variety of people in the world that have converted to a healthier, more conscious lifestyle and who embrace this rapidly growing global movement. A movement which I believe is the future:
Bill Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres, Mike Tyson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steve Jobs, Natalie Portman and MMA fighter Mac Danzig.

Then we have the one of our readers who claimed I will have nothing to eat when I cross the Pacific, just like meat was the only thing that could be preserved for a lengthier time. So let's have a look at some of the lovely meat and dairy free meals I've made these past few weeks:
A big favorite: Chickpea, onion and chili stew with creamy coconut sauce, served with mashed potatoes that was made with sunflower oil, oatmilk and plenty of nutmeg
Fresh delicious mango for snacks.
My amazingly flavorful curry that you can find the recipe to here.
Organic granola with hazelnut milk, some crunchy green apple and freshly chopped dates on top.
Another lovely breakfast in the making.
Avocado, banana, kiwi, passionfruit and chia seed smoothie.
Oops, not a perfect vegan here, so sue me! I previously told you that I still occasionally eat fish and seafood, approximately twice a week or so and will most likely be eating much of it also when we cross the Pacific ocean next year. This is a pasta vongole with clams in white wine sauce, lots of garlic, lemon, parsley and tomatoes. Ridiculously delicious.
And the soybean stew that can be found here. Impressively similar to a tomato free meat bolognese.
Cold soybean and lentil ratatouille on healthy, organic wholeweat bread.
Grilled Chilean salmon fillet with white rice and a clear garlic and basil sauce. Behind is a great lentil/potato/carrot pure that I will share the recipe with you one of these days.
Warm lentil and couscous salad with fresh herbs and veggies.
There sure is no limit to what one can concoct that is good for yourself and the world, and which also is extremely flavorful. Deep within, we all know that the meat and dairy industries are extremely cruel and terrible, the question each one of us have to deal with is, how long can I ignore it and pretend the cruelty isn't happening. I blame both ignorance and lack of education for the first 31 years of my life  - but since I now know, there is no turning back to old behaviors. Ignorance sure is bliss and life might seem more complicated the more we know, but it's really only about your own individual mindsets. Everything in life is possible, and I am here to show you that you can both live a very healthy, conscious life, while at the same time being able to enjoy and embrace all the (cruelty free) beauty, pleasure and enjoyment that comes with it. 

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Warming soul food


Probably the best tasting vegan dish made on this boat so far. I'm still a rookie but it just keeps getting better! This dish was also very much approved by my hardest critic, who declared he'll never need to go back eating meat again if my vegan cookings continue this way. Oh the triumph!

If you want to do it yourself, this is what I used:

2-3 finely cut garlic cloves
1 yellow onion
1 handful of freshly chopped parsley, basil and coriander
a bit of fresh or dry chili
some freshly grated ginger
salt, pepper, ground cumin and turmeric to taste. You could use ground curry seasoning if you'd like instead.
olive oil

Pan fry all above in the oil, first the onions. Add salt, pepper, herbs and other spices. 

1 good sized tomato, finely cut
1 sweet green pepper/paprika

Toss this in when onion and herb mix seems soft and golden

1 cup (2 dl) freshly prepared chickpeas

Throw these into the mix when veggies are softish and mash the chickpeas up roughly with a fork, let them blend in well within the mixture. Add some more turmeric perhaps? Should have a nice yellow tone by now.

1 cup (2 dl) coconut milk (organic if you have the luxury to find it)

This should be poured in when your chickpea/herb/veggie stew has blended well and you've tasted it off. You'll probably need to add some more spices and turmeric once the milk is in. This meal should be very flavorful so don't hold back on them spices!

Serve with a Non GMO organic basmati rice, I used this one.

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That's the way to start a day


Smoothie made of tiny local baby bananas, passionfruit, kiwi, chia seeds and a splash of oat milk. Just the right amount of vitamins, antioxidants, protein, calcium and omega 3 needed to gain energy for an active day. 

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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.

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