Whole Wheat and Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

While I was in Nashville, way back in the day, my mom made me delicious cornmeal blueberry pancakes. They were the inspiration for this dish 🙂 which is a great breakfast to get you up and at em’ in the morning.

Whole Wheat Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

Serves 3-4

• 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 cup Cornmeal
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 2 tbsp. Canola Oil
• 1 1/4 cup Soy Milk
• 1/3 cup Water
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 tbsp. Maple Syrup
• 1 cup Blueberries

Mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Combine all other ingredients separately (except for the blueberries). Add wet to dry and mix until combined. Fold in the blueberries (very carefully). Cook pancakes :). Top with more maple syrup. So good.

ECO-BENEFITS

1. Whole wheat flour means less energy than normal white flour (you don’t need to enrich it and bleach it, etc.)
2. Get your blueberries organic, local, and seasonal. No pesticides, less transportation, and no extra energy put into growing them at that time of year.
3. Vegan means never having to say you’re sorry. (Sorry. I’ve never even seen Love Story but I’ve seen Now and Then enough to know the line :)–>and I figure if you’ve read my blog at all I’ve probably beaten the vegan thing to death by now haha).

Applesauce Oat Muffins

Nom nom nom for sure. I really wanted to have something to take while I was in the bus on the way down to our campsite in Baja so I came up with these little suckers. They’re vegan (again I know) but they’re really moist and delicious. I recommend not using instant oats (which was my problem) because they cook a little too much. But they were great anyways so tis’ up to you.

Makes 12 Muffins

• 3/4 cup Soy Milk
• 1/2 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 3 tbsp. Canola Oil
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 3/4 cup Oats
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
• Pinch of Salt
• optional: Dried Fruit of some sort (I’m not really into it but I know some people are)

Oven to 350. Whisk together soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Wait a minute (to let it curdle). Add the applesauce, canola oil, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. (If using dried fruit fold in now). Scoop the mix into muffin cups. Bake for ~30 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean.

ECO-BENEFITS

1. Whole wheat flour instead of white flour has less processing involved.
2. Vegan (although I know I said I’d do something different for awhile… I can’t help it! I’d already made them!)
3. Organic, local applesauce is easy to find! At the very least, most supermarkets now carry organic applesauce.

Vegan Peach Cobbler Ice Cream

My favorite desserts of all-time are cheesecake, red velvet cake, and homemade ice cream. There’s really nothing like the deliciousness you get with ice cream of the homemade variety. If you’ve never tried it, you absolutely have to! I’ve been the life-changer for many a person in this regard. Since it is summer and peaches are in season (and they are so juicy and delicious at this time of year), I decided to give a nod to their deliciousness while giving you a yummy treat that will help cool you off in the heat. You can make just the vanilla base of this ice cream, or you can mix in your own flavors to the base such as Oreo cookies (for cookies n’ cream) or cookie dough. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can use this handy method to make some homemade ice cream too! It’s a little more difficult but just as effective to get that yummy creamy cold goodness.

• 1/2 cup Cream of Coconut Milk (if you don’t shake the coconut milk before you open the can it’ll separate and the top part is the cream)
• 1 cup Soy Milk
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 6 ounces Silken Tofu
• 1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• 1 cup Brandy
• 4 Peaches
• 3 tbsp. Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Vegan Margarine
• 1/4 cup Oats
• 3 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp. Vegan Margarine

Mix the cream of coconut milk, soy milk, sugar, tofu, and some cinnamon and nutmeg together until very smooth. Refrigerate. Meanwhile, pour the brandy into a pan and bring to a boil. Add the peaches, sugar, brown sugar, more cinnamon and nutmeg, and vegan margarine and saute’ for awhile and then cover to let steam. In another pan, melt the second amount of vegan margarine with the brown sugar (watch it really closely!!!). When it starts to melt, add the oats and stir until covered. Place the peaches and the oats into the original ice cream mix and put it back into the fridge until cold. Then follow your ice cream machine’s directions for a yummy treat!

ECO-BENEFITS

1. Vegan
2. Seasonal, local, organic peaches!!
3. Although homemade ice cream is best straight out of the ice-cream machine, you can keep it forever before it goes bad!

Po’ Boy

I don’t know how many of you are in California, but this summer is bumming me out! Ever since I’ve been back from the South, it’s been gloomy and cold!  In some ways, however, it’s been a blessing as I now have a ton of time to cook with no distractions (like the beach)… which is nice because then I’ll be able to have some recipes pop up while I’m in Baja for two weeks (because I won’t be doing any blogging while I’m down there).

Ever since New Orleans I’ve been reminiscing about all of the delicious food and thinking about ways to make it a little bit greener. While I was there, my mom and I went out for po’ boys, however, as I said before, the BP oil spill in the gulf has made a lot of the seafood disappear from New Orleans. Our search for po’ boys took us to a couple of different shops before we finally found a place that still had the catfish and oyster po’ boys on their menu. They were deliciously crispy and oozing with goodness. Because of the oil spill disaster, and the overfishing problem that already exists, I decided to redo this Southern favorite with a tofu vegan version. It was super delicious and I really hope that you enjoy it as much as I did! In this recipe I used a great spice blend that I actually bought in New Orleans. Since I’m doubting you have it in your spice rack, a good alternative would be a mixture of cayenne pepper, garlic powder, allspice, and dried thyme.

New Orleans Style Tofu Po’ Boy

Makes 2

• 1/2 pack Extra Firm Tofu, sliced in triangles and down the middle, drained, and pressed (place a heavy book on top of the tofu until excess liquid comes out)
• 1/2 cup Soy Milk
• 1 tbsp. Cornstarch
• 1 tsp. Lime Juice
• 1/2 cup Cornmeal
• 3 tbsp. Joe’s Stuff (or mix of spices shown above)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Coleslaw, recipe below
• Bread of choice

While the tofu is being pressed, mix the soy milk, cornstarch, and lime juice in one bowl and the cornmeal, Joe’s Stuff, and salt and pepper in another bowl. Once the tofu is pressed, heat oil in a pan and dredge the tofu slices in the wet mix first then the dry mix. Heat for about 3 minutes a side, or until golden brown. Top the bread with the tofu and coleslaw and enjoy a vegan take on a New Orleans classic.

Vegan Coleslaw

• 1/2 cup Cabbage, shredded
• 1/3 Carrot, shredded
• 2 tbsp. Vegenaise
• 1 tbsp. Joe’s Stuff (or mix of spices shown above)
• 1 tsp. Dried Mustard
• 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice

Mix ingredients together. (If you like a sweeter coleslaw, I recommend adding agave nectar to sweeten it up).

Here’s a picture of Joe’s Stuff (since I’m obviously obsessed) 🙂

ECO-BENEFITS

1. A completely vegan take on a normally heavy-on-the meat/animal byproducts recipe.
2. Making your own coleslaw means picking your own ingredients–>organic, local products anyone?
3. You save a lot of food miles if you make New Orleans classics at home instead of going there to try them. (Though I’m not one to talk).
4. This isn’t an eco-benefit, however, this Po’ Boy recipe is about as healthy as Po’ Boy recipes come. Most times, going green means getting healthy!

Hot-house Vegetables

So let me be the first person to tell you that a) I’m not perfect and b) I made a mistake.

Many of the recipes I have shared with you guys so far have included tomatoes. My recent research has led me to realize that tomatoes are often grown in hot-houses because they are a summer fruit craved all year round (and people stopped putting up with green tomatoes “ripened” by chemicals that had no taste). Greenhouses and hothouses are different things. Greenhouses are a great way to grow your fruits and veggies using glass to trap heat in. A hothouse is a heated greenhouse. Therefore, tomatoes and other hothouse-grown produce are energy intensive. Temperature, ventilation, humidity, light, water and carbon dioxide are all kept at prime levels. This leads to delicious produce that can be eaten year-round and may even be locally grown, however, some environmental hazards come from the production of this produce.

So… the question comes down to whether you’re willing to put up with canned tomatoes (which are canned at peak season but include packaging and have lost some nutrients)… or should you buy tomatoes that have been flown from all around (since produce is always in season somewhere)… the third choice is to continue buying the locally grown tomatoes because at least they’re fresh produce (meaning they keep their nutrients) and you’ll be supporting your local economy.

Here’s what I’ve come up with: we can only do what we can. There will always be some environmental costs to our eating (and I love food too much to stop eating). That’s the price we have to pay due to overpopulation and the industrialization of our food industry. Therefore, what we can do is to continue to ask questions about where our food is coming from. Just because our meals can’t be completely “green” doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t continue to try to eat in a more eco-friendly fashion… it just means that we can’t be upset if we have to buy an out of season tomato every now and then. Every little bit counts.

I’m sure that this won’t be the only time I have to apologize for making a mistake. I am not, however, going to stop using tomatoes in recipes. They are very good for you and summer is coming soon! Further, now that I realize the implications of the tomato, I will do what I can to extra “greenify” the recipes they are in.

Here are a few recipes that I love that don’t include the tomato. I hope they can hold you over until the brilliant summer months that I call tomato season.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup of oats
• 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1/2 cup organic canned pumpkin
• cinnamon
• pumpkin pie spice
• agave nectar
• golden raisins
• coconut butter (not necessary)

So I have been feeling under the weather and have not been really stoked on eating anything. Therefore, I made one of those comfort-foods that you can eat regardless of how you feel sort of things. I microwaved the oats, pumpkin, and vanilla soy milk together for about 2 and 1/2 minutes. Then I added the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, agave, and raisins. I topped it with coconut butter (which like L says is like crack) but it was more for aesthetic beauty than for flavor. It was a great home feeling pick me up! (It is kind of a hybrid between two recipes from Whole Wheat or Bust!).

Comfort food for when you're sickly. Mmm. Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.

Two things about this breakfast:

1. I used canned pumpkin because pumpkins are obviously not in season. If you find canned pumpkin at this time of year stock up!  When I was looking for it a while ago it took me 3 different shopping trips to find it! Or, stock up when it’s in season in fall.
2. I realize I’ve talked about the perils of the packaged food. I am, however, human, and as I’ve stated, you can’t be 100% green all of the time. I used organic pumpkin, and the rest of the ingredients were things that I had lying around. Just do your best.

Veggie Omelet

• 2 eggs
• Any cheese you have lying around
• Any veggies you want… I used:

1. Asparagus
2. Red bell pepper
3. Cauliflower
4. Sugar snap pea
5. Parsley

So I used some of the leftover veggies from last nights stir-fry to make this delicious lunch omelet. I cooked them up with a little bit of olive oil and when they were done I placed the eggs into the leftover oil in the pan. I cooked the egg until it stopped being liquid on the sides before I added the cheese and veggies. Then I cooked until all of the egg was no longer liquid.

1. Yay for leftover meals!
2. I know what I’ve said about animal products. But again, I’m not perfect and since I don’t eat meat eggs and cheese make for good protein.

Leftover veggies made into a delicious omelet.

Lessons Learned

• Don’t trust anyone’s word as 100% correct. I do my fair share of research and do the best I can to help you “green” up your diet, but I make mistakes.
• Always ask questions. Most produce departments (or other departments depending on what you’re making) have a person who can answer.
• Do research! I know I’ve learned a lot and I’m having a great time doing it!
• An easy recipe to follow is to buy locally. There may be times (like with the tomato) that this may include some energy intensive process, however, more often than not this is going to be the easiest way to “green” up your produce. In times that it is not, at least you’re getting fresh produce that is normally in peak season (when all produce tastes better and includes all of its nutrients).
• Even though canned and frozen produce increase transportation and packaging, they’re still better than not eating produce. Plus, much packaging is recyclable which can help offset the eco-costs of producing this packaging.

If anyone is out there and curious about anything in particular, let me know! I’d love to hear from you! And you’re all always welcome to question my statements. Like I said, I’m not always right. I do my research but I make mistakes like anyone else.

This site will help you find local food in your area.

And… as an addition to yesterday’s post, check out this site to get your carbon foodprint (it’s a very limited version but still fun).