The Vegan Cook’s Bible
March 29, 2010
The soup recipe is from The Vegan Cook’s Bible by Pat Crocker, it’s an excellent resource for expericnced cooks and those new to Vegan cooking. I choose this recipe because our Bryson Farm delivery this week included most of the veggies used to make this deep, rich soup, including mushrooms, carrots, sweet potatoes and onions; enjoy!
Roasted Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup
Serves 6
10 oz mushrooms cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup cubed sweet potato or squash
4 cloves garlic
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1/4 cup red wine or grape juice
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
6 cups vegetable stock
1 can (19 oz) black beans rinsed and drained
1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet and spread mushrooms, sweet potato and garlic in one layer. Drizzle 2 tbsp of the oil, tamari and rice vinegar over the vegetables. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until slightly softened. Add carrots and cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
3. Stir in roasted mushrooms, sweet potatoes, garlic and any pan juices. Add red wine and cook, stirring often, for 3-5 minutes, until wine is evaporated. Stir in wild rice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook stirring for 30 seconds to mix well. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes, or until rice is tender. Add black beans and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.
Veggie Soup, Meat-Free Monday
March 8, 2010
Hmm what to make for supper? Monday’s are always busy and I need to cook something fast and not too filling as I have to teach yoga in the evening. So Soup usually fits the bill
I’ve been receiving a weekly basket of organic veggie from Bryson Farms for 5 weeks now and am always amazed and the quality and variety. This week we received beets, carrots, celery, parsnips, Swiss chard, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, onions, radish sprouts, pea sprouts, spring mix, a beautiful red pepper, and I think I’ve forgotten a few things. Scanning at the list of ingredients, it looks like I have all the makings for a delicious root vegetable soup.
I usually use a cook book for inspiration and then add and subtract ingredients depending on what I have on hand. Vive le Vegan is loaded with easy to make and delicious vegan recipes, for my soup tonight I used her Harvest Soup as my template
Monday Night Root Veggie, Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 small parsnips, sliced
1 tsp salt, pepper to taste
1 small turnip, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups cauliflower cut into small pieces
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp mustard powder
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water (approximate)
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
1/4 cup millet, rinsed
5 Swiss chard leaves, stems removed. Leaves and stalks sliced thinly
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute onion, garlic, celery, parsnips, salt and pepper for 5 minutes or so. Add turnip, cauliflower and sweet potatoes, oregano, thyme and mustard powder. Stir around to coat the veggies with the herbs and saute for 5 more minutes with the pot covered (medium heat). Add the stock, water, bay leaves, lentils and millet, cook on medium-low, slightly covered, for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, add Swiss chard, cover the pot and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and adjust seasonings.
Note: the millet and red lentils gives the soup a nice thick taste and texture, and add extra protein. Make sure to rinse before you add them to the soup.
Powerful Women
March 8, 2010
March 8, 2010 – Today is International Women’s Day!
Take the time to tell all the wonderful women in your life how much you appreciate them.
I’d like to acknowledge 2 of the powerful women who coach for Movement to Health, Jennifer Foster and Sherry Carson.
Jennifer coaches our Beginner Runner class in Kanata, and is an accomplished portrait artist. Jennifer was commissioned to paint the official Olympic portrait of Clara Hughes. To see original portrait visit the 2010 Exhibition of Contemporary Portraits Canadian Olympic Athletes dialogue on Art, March 2-26, 2010, at John B. Aird Gallery, 900 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M7A1C2, Canada; from March2-26, 2010. www.portraitsociety.ca
Jennifer Foster’s drawings and paintings stress an appreciation of the everyday world. They seek to capture and convey positive things found in everyday life: the peace and grandeur of the landscape, and the warmth, dignity, and inner strength of people. Portraits are a particular passion for her because of the opportunity they offer to capture seemingly conflicting elements. She believes that a portrait needs to be accurate and yet expressive, representational but also perceptive and open to what lies below the surface. A portrait, for Jennifer, is much more than a likeness. It should have a psychological component that explores the spirit of the individual and conveys something of his or her character. Click here for Jennifer’s website
Sherry coaches our Speed class and co-coaches the Trail running class in Kanata. Sherry competed in the World Master Games in Kamploops this past weekend, in the half-marathon event. Sherry placed second in her age category and fourth overall with a time of 1:28:19.2! Amazing! Here is the website for the Games.
Congratulations Ladies – what an inspiration you both are. Keep it up!
Feels like Spring!
March 2, 2010
What an amazing run today. Here is a link to a great 9km loop from the Movement to Health studio, Kirkwood at Richmond Rd in Westboro ( make sure to refresh the webpage link when it pops up).
The sun was shining, the birds were singing and I think I even got a tan.
Here is the smoothie I had when I got back
Springtime Smoothie (measurements are approximate)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh pea sprouts (from Bryson Farms)
1 big scoop Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer
Blend until smooth and enjoy!
Half the Sky – Movie
March 2, 2010
This Thursday, March 4, there is a one-time, Canada-wide, presentation of the movie Half the Sky, based on the book by the same name. Here is a bit about the book and movie
“Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This New York Times bestseller follows the stories of extraordinary women around the world as they struggle to overcome oppression. Kristof and WuDunn focus on three major problems facing women – sex trafficking, maternal mortality and violence against women. They argue that empowering women is the key to alleviating poverty and uplifting communities in developing countries.”
Here is a link to the movie on the Care Canada website .
It starts at 7:15 with a presentation from Sonja Smits. I imagine you should be at the theater early as I think it will be busy.
It is being presented at the Empire 7 theater which is very easy to find; it’s on the corner of Albert and Metcalfe (from Westboro go down Slater turn on Metcalfe and you will drive right into the underground parking), click here for a map
Click here to order the tickets online
It looks like a number of women from the Powerful Woman Boot Camp class are already attending and so are some of the women from our Thursday Run class. I think it would be fantastic to get a group of us together to experience this movie!
Who wants to go?
