Everyday Dish

It's Official

2010-07-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

I've moved. I finally finished my website, and will now be blogging there. The website is juliehasson.com.

So please come on over and say hi. I just posted the cover for my new book, and there is lots more to come. There's nothing like a fresh new look to get one blogging regularly again.

XO Julie

Happy 4th

2010-07-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

I want to wish everyone a fab 4th of July! I can't believe that summer is already here (although I wouldn't know it by the rain outside my window).

I've been thinking about some of my favorite 4th of July recipes, which I thought I'd share. The peanut sesame noodles are always a huge hit, as well as homemade sausages (to grill), edamame guacamole, easy bean salad, breast of tofu sandwiches, artichoke dip, quick and easy corn dogs, bbq pizza, susan's ribz, homemade blackberry soda and lemonade, just to name a few. That doesn't even include the ice cream and desserts, that are just as important at a BBQ or picnic as the mains and sides.

In other news, I finally decided to have our awesome web guy help me out with redoing my website, since I was struggling with it too much. It should hopefully be up and running in the next 2 weeks or so. I'll be sure to let you know!

Until then, I hope that everyone has an awesome holiday weekend!

XO Julie

I haven't Forgotten You!

2010-06-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't forgotten you! I am working on setting up the new site. It's taking me a little while because, we'll, I am a Wordpress virgin. I'm hoping to have everything up and running in the next couple of weeks at juliehasson.com.

I'll let you know when it's ready to go... Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

XO Julie

What's Up?

2010-04-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all of the awesome comments on the cookbook. I can't wait to finally have it finished and see it on bookshelves.

I haven't totally disappeared, although it has been a few weeks since I last blogged. Well, here's the latest from the Hasson camp: I've been working on recipes for an upcoming magazine article (I'll share details when I can), still editing chapters for Vegan Diner, developed and launched a new bowl at the cart, had my daughter home for Spring break and celebrated her 19th birthday, decided to try my hand at serging, after watching the amazing Miss Kittee with hers (although it's still siting on my dining room table waiting to be used), signed up for a sewing class to make my own t-shirts, have been teaching my son how to drive so he can take his driver's test, and lastly, trying to do a blog/website redesign. Whew!

It's all lots of fun though, and I'm really enjoying the process of doing the site design. Especially since I know nothing about HTML or CSS. But, I've learned a few things along the way, and am thinking about building it at Squarespace, and moving everything (including this blog) over to juliehasson.com. I was going to use Wordpress, and still might, but Squarespace is looking pretty cool. Anyone have any thoughts or tips for me here? I'll let everyone know before I move the blog.

I hope everyone is having a great spring!

Julie

A Couple Of Pictures

2010-03-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back editing the cookbook, and thought that I would share a few photos with you. These are just snapshots that I took while I was working on the recipes. The pictures are as follows: grilled cheese sandwich with homemade cheese, blueberry lemon cake, onion rings, almond raspberry cake and pina colada pie.

I can't wait until the book is released. I've been working on it since the beginning of last year, and it will be so much fun to finally be able to share (spring 2011). The book (aptly named Vegan Diner) will have over 100 recipes, filled to the rim with diner favorites and comfort food fare. I am so excited to see how it all comes together and magically appears on bookstore shelves.

A New Cheese On The Block

2010-02-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of testing out a new product line recently, which I'm very excited about. The line is called We Can't Say It's Cheese, and is made by a small family-owned company in Montana called WayFare foods.

I was sent 4 different spreads to try, Cheddar-Style Spread, Cheddar-Style Dip, Mexi Cheddar-Style Dip and Hickory Smoked Cheddar-Style Spread. I immediately tasted them all, too excited to wait for the rest of my tester crew to gather round. They were all very good, but my hands-down favorite was the Hickory Smoked. So good! I immediately could see serving it with crackers and a bottle of wine. Not something that you can say about vegan cheese very often, if ever.

Once I gathered together the rest of my tasting crew, I watched them dig in, while I waited to watch their reactions. I knew right away that the cheeses were going over well. My son kept going back for more, saying "this stuff is good". His favorites were the Cheddar Spread and the Mexi Cheddar-Style Dip. My husband finally got a chance to taste, once my son was done topping off his crackers. He really enjoyed all of them, but especially the Hickory Smoked and Cheddar-Style Spread.

These cheeses are of the spreadable variety, not firm and hard, like something you might grate on a pizza. They are made from whole grain oatmeal, sesame, pimentos, nutritional yeast, seasonings, sea salt, calcium carbonate, evaporated cane juice and a vegetable oil blend. It's refreshing to see a short ingredient list, and even know how to pronounce the ingredients.

From what I understand, the company is cranking on their production and distribution, and we should start to see it appear in stores on the west coast soon. I believe that it's also available in other areas of the country as well now too.

I will definitely be buying more, as soon as I can find it in Portland. I see some nice relaxing evenings ahead, unwinding from a long day at the cart with some Hickory Smoked and Cheddar-Style Spreads. Maybe a bottle of wine too...

Is It Almost February Already?

2010-01-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe it's already the end of January! Where has the time gone?

I think that I'm ready to come up for air, and get back blogging again. You know it's bad when your mom calls to remind you that you haven't put a new post up in several months. Got it mom... Nothing like a little Jewish guilt. Anywho, the new routine of opening and working our food cart, along with finishing the cookbook and the zillion other projects I was juggling, had me put the blogging on the back burner. I just had to let the blogging go temporarily. I had a bit of creative burnout.

Thankfully, it was short lived. I'm back and excited to be blogging again. There's so much to share. Maybe my posts will be a little fresher now too.

The picture above is one of many from the new cookbook. We'll, from the testing phase at least. It's a strawberry chocolate pie. One of my tester's favorites. I have lots of other photos too, which I will start to post.

If you find yourself in the Portland area, please stop by our food cart (Native Bowl) in North East Portland and say hi.

XO Julie

Some New Videos...

2009-11-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, I can finally share the news on my top secret project. Morningstar Farms asked me to do a series of videos for them, featuring some of their recipes. The videos are aimed at getting people excited about veg meals. The recipes aren't all vegan, though they are pretty easy to veganize with a few substitutions (which I did in the recipes using soy cheese and sour cream). I'm really excited about the videos and will post them here as soon as I figure out how. Until then, they are on the homepage of the Morningstar Farms website here and on their Facebook page. And let me just say that the quesadillas are killer with Daiya cheese in them. Yum!

I'm also putting the finishing touches on my manuscript, which I turn in after Thanksgiving. I am really happy with the way that it's all coming together. I just wish that the book was coming out sooner.

I will try and blog again before Thanksgiving, but if I don't (we're expecting a lot of houseguests next week), happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

XO Julie

Quickie

2009-11-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

I'm still here! I've been typing and testing away, trying to finish the last part of the diner book. The recipes are finished, and the editing is just beginning. Each day I say "I'm going to do nothing but edit all day," but sure enough, there are so many details to stay on top of for the food cart, that the editing has become a slow process. Not to worry though, I am persevering, and having a great time too.

So, testers for Vegan Diner, there are quite a few new recipes to test, and LOTS more coming shortly.

We also squeezed in some filming last week, so there will be some new additions to Everyday Dish coming soon. I've also been working on another top secret project, which I'll hopefully be able to mention soon. I tell you, as crazy busy as things have been lately, it sure does keep life interesting!

Also, I put up a new post on the "Dish" page of Everyday Dish (yes, my second blog...). It has some yummy Thanksgiving recipe ideas, so if you're in need of some ideas, check it soon.

Back soon!

XO Julie

P.S. I have also been trying to tweet, semi-regularly. You can follow me on Twitter at (http://twitter.com/everydaydish)

A New Post, Finally!

2009-10-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I am not posting as often. I'm going to try, really!

I've been wanting to share some pictures of our new food cart, all set up and open. I even brought a camera with us every day last week, but that didn't seem to help. We just never stopped to snap pics. Fortunately my friend Joanna came on our opening day, and snapped away (Thanks for letting me borrow your pic Joanna!).

We are having a great time with the cart. It's fun to have a venue where we can once again cook food for other people. I can also try out recipes that I'm developing as well, such as the seitan pastrami that is part of our awesome new reuben sandwich. Guess what? The recipe will be in the new cookbook. I also have some lofty dessert plans, and hope to start baking vegan chocolate Twinkies and a killer carrot spice cake soon. All in good time. At the moment, I've made sure to have a full cookie jar at the cart, so there's always something sweet.

If anyone in Portland is looking for our cart hours, you can follow us on twitter (nativebowl), where I've been trying to post our hours. Truthfully, we are still feeling the hours out and seeing what will work best. Right now we're open Wednesday through Friday 11:30 to 2:30ish. On Saturday and Sunday, we're staying open later, depending on the hungry crowds.

I promise to be back soon. I still need to share the pics of my trip to the headquarters of Better Homes & Gardens this summer.

Moving Along

2009-09-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

We physically moved the food cart to it's new home yesterday. It was so exciting to see it all tucked in amongst the other carts. There's still a few things that we have to take care of before we can open for business. We're aiming to officially open our doors next Monday, the 5th of October.

Now comes the millions of other details, like making sure that we have every tool and piece of equipment that we'll need to operate, compiling a list of all the ingredients we'll need to order, getting the right packaging, signage for the cart... There are so many details that my head is spinning. I must remember to do yoga in the mornings, to keep the stress in check.

So that's the scoop for the moment. I will let you know once we're up and running. Thanks again for all of the well-wishes and support!

XO Julie

P.S. Although I had brought the camera with us to photograph the event, I discovered the battery was dead as I went to snap photos. Thank you to the awesome woman who took these photos, and then so kindly emailed them to me!

Finally!

2009-09-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

We finally have a spot! We were just about to take one downtown, when the phone rang with a better offer. Talk about timing! It's official now. We will be moving in to the Mississippi Marketplace with the other awesome food vendors. We are hoping to be open by October 1st, if not before. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for all the support!

Food Cart

2009-09-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. We have our initial approval, but are still searching high and low for a spot to open. This part is proving to be much tougher than we imagined. How hard could it be to find a perfect spot with lots of traffic, an electrical hookup, running water... Oy! We're learning a lot through this process, for sure.

I will post as soon as we know where our location will be. Please think good thoughts for us. We need all of the help we can get!

The News

2009-09-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

I think it's time to spill the beans about our newest project. It's not that I haven't wanted to share everything that's going on, it's just that sometimes I get a bit buggy-boo talking about things before they happen. The truth is that we're knee-deep in the permitting stage for a food concession trailer. Before we can proceed further, our plans are in the hands of the health department awaiting initial approval. This waiting is driving me bonkers.

The food cart scene in Portland has been absolutely exploding lately, and for good reason. There are so many inventive chefs and entrepreneurs, with creative food that runs the gamut from ice cream to stuffed hand pies, side dishes, stuffed waffles, vegan burritos to ethnic food, Belgian frites, vegan BBQ... You name it, it's happening in a tiny trailer on some street corner in Portland. So as a creative chef and food lover, I've often fantasized about opening a cart, wondering what type of food I would serve.

Then a few weeks back, I awoke one morning to find my husband with his laptop in hand, asking me how I felt about opening a food cart of our own. He had found a trailer for sale on Craigslist, that was all set-up and ready to go. Always up for a new adventure, I figured this sounded like a cool way to do some creative food, without the major headaches of opening an actual restaurant.

Needless to say, two days later we became the proud owners of a shiny black food trailer. The owner had set it up for himself, but had decided to move back home and was selling everything. "It's ready to go" he said. Well, maybe not quite ready to go. Jay has spent the last two weeks having the electrical fixed, replacing equipment that wasn't working and fixing things that weren't quite right. Now, hopefully, it's ready to go. For the time being we sit, waiting to get the initial approval from the health department. Then we can think about locations.

So now you all are up to speed on where we're at. We're holding our breath with our fingers crossed, hoping that we can make this newest venture a reality. Until then, I've got lots of cookbook editing to do. And a daughter to move to college. And a son going back to school... Life is good!

A Great New Find

2009-08-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those weeks? I've been having one this week, and it's been a wild ride. It started off with my husband and I starting a new business venture, which I can't talk about yet, but will spill the beans soon. It's really exciting, but an endless maze of red tape to maneuver through. Then in the midst of working on that and the editing of the new book, I got sick and was totally laid up. Very bad timing, I would say. Then late last night I got a phone call that my dad had been bitten by a rattlesnake (twice) and was in the hospital. WTF? Fortunately my dad should be okay, and is receiving anti-venom and responding well (ETA My dad is doing well and is back home now). We're now calling him the snake charmer. But man oh man, what a week! Please forgive me if the posts are a little slow around here for the time being.

Now, about the review. I had the privilege of trying out a fun new gadget recently, and was excited to share the results. Just so you know, I never receive payments for these reviews and have no connection with the company. But it's an uber-cool kitchen tool, especially if you cook with tofu.

As someone who is gadget crazy, I'm always searching for the next cool product. The problem is, not all new things pass the muster. First off, it has to serve a purpose, not just be another large tool to cram into my over-stuffed drawers and cabinets. Next up, the tool has to work well, be well-constructed and well designed. It also must call out to me, or else there's no way that I will remember to pull it out of said over-crowded drawers to use it. Period. So, as you can see, I'm a pretty tough and jaded critic.

Now, every once in a while, a new tool comes into my kitchen and brings a smile to my face. I must be walking around smiling a lot, because two uber cool tools/toys/gadgets have me excited lately. One will have to wait for another post, because I want to talk about the TofuXpress tofu press first.

I found that firm tofu works really well with the press (Trader Joe's organic firm tofu to be exact). I pressed it for an hour, and couldn't believe how much water was gently but firmly pressed from the block. Pretty cool. I then decided that I would let it go another couple of hours to see how it did. Even more water was expressed, leaving a fabulously firm tofu which could have been grated like cheese. No kidding. The texture was incredible. I then took my pressed tofu, and placed it in the fab "Breast of Tofu" marinade from Bryanna Clark Grogan. It made for one fabulous dinner! I also had a brainstorm that since I was going to be heading out for a camping trip, I would press more tofu, slice it and bring it along on the trip (stored in freezer bag with more of Bryanna's delicious marinade). It worked exceptionally well, and how cool to have pressed and marinated tofu waiting for you to use.

I don't believe that the TofuXpress is available in stores yet, but you can find it on their website at www.tofuxpress.com It's currently being offered at a special introductory rate for the moment. I highly recommend that you check it out, especially if you cook tofu regularly or would like to.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the last little bit of summer.
Back soon!

XO Julie

Cherry Bombs

2009-08-17T10:32:00.001-07:00

I had planned to get this post up sooner, but have been having some trouble with photos on Blogger. Anyone else experiencing this? Photos now come up as code on the posts. Weird.

Anywho, I wanted to share my easy recipe for cherry bombs, aka cherry vodka. This has been a tradition around our house for years. Some years we even make an extra large batch and share it with friends around the holidays. You can make it with most summer fruit, but bing cherries are exceptionally awesome.

It couldn't be simpler to make, as you just dump everything together in a large (clean) crock. I used 3 pounds of firm bing cherries, 1 bottle of vodka (you don't have to use a super premium here, as a middle of the road one will work fine) and sugar (I used 1 cup, but you can do this to taste). Mix together in a sterile crock and set aside in a cool place (not the refrigerator) for about a month or more. This will keep for a very long time, or until you eat all of the cherries (and drink the liqueur). I store the liqueur and cherries together in the crock on my counter. Oh, and I keep the pits in my cherries. After a while they give the liqueur a lovely almond undertone which is fantastic.

Try the cherry bombs (infused cherries) over ice cream (with the pits removed of course) or blot them if any extra moisture and dip in melted chocolate.

Now go run and grab yourself some cherries and make a batch. I'm telling you that these are the bomb baby!

The Amazing Bean

2009-08-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry for leaving my blog so quiet last week. I was away (without a computer) in Des Moines, Iowa, where I was invited to participate in a soybean tour. The Soyfoods Council arranged the farm to table tour, which had us visiting soybean farms, cooking at the culinary institute, watching demos, learning (a ton) about the latest studies from Dr. Mark Messina (one of the foremost researchers on soy) and had many delicious meals... I also made some great friends and laughed my butt off the entire time. It was a fantastic week.

There were about 13 of us on the trip, from cookbook authors to magazine editors to chefs and writers. All of us foodies, but some were new to the world of soy. Being the token vegan on the trip, I was probably one of the few that regularly ate and cooked with soy. But we all walked away learning all sorts of new and cool techniques and with lots of inspiration. I have all kinds of ideas for using miso and edamame, and am inspired to start making my own tofu on a regular basis.

I also learned a lot from Dr. Mark Messina about the latest in soy research, seperating all of the facts from fiction. There are some poorly written articles popping up in magazines and lots of crazy untruths. I mean, come on... drinking soymilk does not cause men to grow moobs! I will try and get my hands on some of the latest studies to share, because I think it's really important info.

I'll post the rest of the trip in another post. Pictures of us cooking at the culinary instute, more delicious vegan meals and even a side field trip to the headquarters of Better Homes and Gardens (and their test kitchens). Did I say that I had a fantastic time?

Anyways, here are some of the pics from the week.

Me, in the soy fields.

The farmer in his soy field.

Edamame guacamole which was absolutely amazing!

One of our fabulous meals, prepared by Chef Ephraim at the Tournament Club of Iowa. This dinner was unbelievable! Notice the homemade tofu at the bottom of the plate and the mashed potatoes formed into a pear, dusted with panko and ground soynuts (I think) and fried/baked. Such a delicious dinner! He used soy in so many new and unexpected ways.

Two vegan desserts. The one on the left is a mochi cake made with rice flour and a carrot cake on the right. These were absolutely delicious!

Dr. Mark Messina. My camera wasn't working well, so the pic isn't great. His presentation was excellent.

The Vegan Scoop

2009-07-21T20:12:00.001-07:00

Ice cream is one of my favorite things in the world. Period. So when I first got my hands on Wheeler Del Torro's new book on Ice Cream, I couldn't wait to crack it open.

The book is called The Vegan Scoop, and if you haven't seen it yet you've got to go check it out. Wheeler (the vegan "ice cream man" of Boston) has a flair for flavors, which run the gamut from traditional to exotic to just plain unexpected. Imagine flavors like Cherries Jubilee, Bubblegum, Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, Nectarine, Honeydew, Black Sesame, Thai Chile Chocolate, Caribbean Coffee, Seaweed and Coconut Lemongrass to name just a few. We're talking 150 vegan flavors from cover to cover. Oh, and there's also recipes for toppings, ice cream sides and desserts (Twinkies, Madeleines or cookies anyone?).

I had the pleasure of meeting Wheeler a few months back, when he very graciously filmed a couple of ice cream segments for Everyday Dish. I can tell you first hand that his ice cream is delicious. The texture is smooth and creamy and the flavors divine. Although I have only tried a couple of recipes in the book, I've got many pages marked with Post It Notes to whip up sometime soon.

I did notice that the book calls for a lot of exotic extracts that you probably won't be able to find at your local grocery store. After a quick online search though, I found that with a little searching most of the flavored extracts can be found. If you're interested, check out the lengthy and extensive list at Nature's Flavors (including vegan coriander, Lychee and white chocolate flavors).

When I was asked to participate in the blog tour for The Vegan Scoop, I didn't hesitate. This is a book that I was excited to add to my vast cookbook collection, and knew that it would get lots of use. As a special bonus for the book blog tour, Wheeler created 50 new recipes to share with bloggers. Guess what recipe I get to share? Pralines and Cream! How delicious does that sound?! Now, before I give you the recipe, don't forget to check out Wheeler's Vanilla/Curry and Peanut Butter ice cream videos (and recipes) on Everyday Dish. The book can be found on Amazon or at your local bookstore.

Pralines and Cream Ice Cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup soy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Butter sides of a heavy saucepan. Add sugars, soy milk, and salt to saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Raise heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Reduce heat and continue cooking to soft ball stage, about 234° on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat.

Add butter and vanilla, but do not stir. Cool for 5 minutes; stir in nuts. Beat with wooden spoon until candy is no longer glossy and is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Quickly spoon candy onto buttered baking sheets or waxed paper. Let cool.

1 cup (235 ml) soy milk, divided
2 tablespoons (16 g) arrowroot
2 cups (470 ml) soy creamer
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
3/4 cup crushed pralines

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup (60 ml) soymilk with arrowroot and set aside.

Mix soy creamer, remaining 3/4 cup (175 ml) soymilk, and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat. Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add arrowroot cream. This will cause the liquid to thicken noticeably.

Add vanilla extract.

Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2 to 3 hours. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instruction. In the last 5 minutes of freezing, stir in pralines.

Yield: 1 quart (approximately 600 g)

Joni & Celine

2009-07-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie to share a fun photo from yesterday. The adorable and talented Joni (of Just The Food) & Celine (from Have Cake Will Travel) spent the day with us yesterday, filming some upcoming segments for Everyday Dish. They were so much fun and their recipes are awesome! They have a cookbook coming out soon, and it's going to be fantastic.

Thank you both for a great day and lots of laughs!

Camping

2009-07-13T10:15:00.001-07:00

Camping is something that has always been in my blood. I think I was only about 6 months old when my parents took me camping for the first time, as they loaded down our Volkswagon with one of those old impossibly heavy canvas tents, and a kayak that my dad had built from a kit. Later on our camping trips grew from weekend excursions to month-long journeys all the way up the California coastline to the Pacific Northwest. Yes, you can definitely say that camping is in my blood.

My hubby and I have carried on the camping tradition with our children, beginning when our daughter was only a couple of months old. Our trips have always centered around the food we bring. Food takes on new meaning when you are outdoors 24/7. Our whole trip revolves around preparing the food, cooking the food, eating the food, cleaning up from the food mess, then deciding what we are giong to eat next!

As we continued to camp, our equipment arsenal began to grow exponentially too. First the giant tent, so that we could fit all of the kid's toys and necessary stuff in there, then more cooking equipment and a larger cooler and big, bulky air mattresses. It all felt so necessary at the time, but we were completely loaded down. It's truly a wonder that my husband was so patient with all of the stuff that I insisted on bringing. He was a camping minimalist at heart; just a single bowl that doubled as a cooking pot, a pocket-size single burner for cooking and a fork and a knife. Ha! He never knew what hit him!

Now that our kids have gotten older, we are slowly finding ourselves scaling back on our camping essentials. Our tent has gotten smaller (and miraculously morphed into a small tent trailor), the cooking equipment has gotten sparser and forget those pesky air mattresses that continually sprung a leak. I think that the work load has even lightened up a bit too.

So if you're wondering where I'm going with this, last week we were able to sneak away for a 6 day adventure near Bend, Oregon, meeting up with some old friends that we hadn't seen in several years. Getting together two families with 5 teenage kids was no easy task. But somehow we pulled it all together, and as we sat there laughing and playing Apples To Apples by the roaring fire, I found myself reflecting on the evolution of our camping trips. We've come a long way baby.

ETA: I put up our camping food list on Everyday Dish (on the "Dish" page).

The kids proving to me just how short I really am.

Bruno, enjoying the sun and contemplating when he gets to go home.

Bottle Love

2009-07-02T11:17:00.001-07:00

A while back, after doing a lot of reading on the subject, I decided to give up on refillable plastic plastic water bottles. Knowing not just that the plastics, and more specifically the BPA's, are terrible for our bodies, but that there is some thought that they might contribute to breast cancer. Yuck! And forget the fact that these plastics are showing up in our blood. As convenient as those refillable plastic bottles are, I just had to say no.

My next move was to the stainless bottles. These are very durable, and perfect to throw in a gym bag or the kid's backpacks for school. They sounded like the perfect solution, but I still wasn't totally convinced. They are fairly pricey (if you go for the good ones with the non-toxic finish), and my son was always complaining that his beverages had a metallic taste to them. I couldn't fault him there, as I noticed it too.

I really was at a loss as to what to do, other than carrying around a water glass from home, which was completely impractical. Then it hit me. What about those great iced tea bottles that you find everywhere from the grocery store to take-out cafes. With their resealable lids, they would make the perfect container for water, juice or home-brewed iced tea on the go. Plus, they look stylish. There's also the added benefit that you're recycling at the same time too. And you can actually fit ice cubes into the bottle, for a truly refreshing iced summer drink.

Now I wouldn't recommend these for children or if you're planning on doing some rugged outdoor activities. But for running errands around town or slipping into a bag at the farmer's market or going out for a stroll, these bottles are ideal. I've even started to notice the nice designs that some of these bottles have. I love that they can be thrown in the dishwasher to be cleaned, without worrying that the plastic is breaking down.

So, the next time that you find yourself with one of these bottles, consider keeping it as a water bottle. You may just find yourself hooked on the idea. Who knows. Maybe we can start a new trend of re-purposing glass bottles.

Pan Obsessed

2009-06-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else, but as I peruse kitchen stores and cooking catalogs, I find myself drawn to the specialty baking pans. You know the ones. They're shaped like hearts and giant cupcakes and mini Bundt cakes and flowers and twinkies and all kinds of other fun and unique shapes. Shapes that almost make me giddy.

Back in the "old days", I would often justify a pan purchase as necessary for recipes that I was working on, either for cookbooks or magazine articles or a TV spot. This was definitely a win win for me, as I "needed" the pans for work. This was fine, for a while, until I could no longer fit them all in my tiny kitchen.

I realize that by saying collection, it probably sounds like I have hundreds of pans, which I definitely don't. But I do have lots of them, all stacked together in plastic storage tubs. As I took a few out last night to photograph, it got me wondering if others find themselves drawn to these pans too. Anyone else find the specialty cake pans irresistible?

Fortunately I haven't bought a new pan in quite some time. I think that I'm set for now. Unless of course I happen to spy something new, that would make the "perfect" dessert...

Grilled Cheese & Lemonade

2009-06-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

My daughter graduated high school last week, so I've been far away from my computer. It was so nice to be able to catch up with our family (and friends), since we don't get to see everyone nearly enough. The graduation ceremony was beautiful, and I can't believe that my baby girl is going off to college!

Now that I'm back to work, I wanted to let you know that we just put up a video and recipe for strawberry lemonade on Everyday Dish. So easy and refreshing for hot summer days.

We also put up a recipe up on the Membership side of Everyday Dish for Vegan Pepperjack Cheese. This stuff is so frickin' good, and makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches! You have seriously got to try it! It's both sliceable and spreadable, with a smoky peppery bite. I am completely addicted...

Pepperjack grilled cheese with tomato

Good News!

2009-06-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Great news for those considering a subscription to Everyday Dish TV. We have a special running right now. The price is $35.00 for a one year subscription. Now that's a lot of marshmallows (and key lime cheesecake and awesome vegan cheeses and smoky sausage links and chorizos and...). Just think about it. The monthly cost is less than your favorite Iced Soy Mocha ($2.92), and much healthier too. EDTV is guaranteed to be habit forming, without the jittery side effects of caffeine.

In other news, for those of you with children (or without), who are looking for a fun gift idea, I have an article in the new issue of Family Fun Magazine. The article is on do-it-yourself truffles (vegan, of course), perfect for teacher thank-you gifts.

XO Julie

Farmer's Market Demo

2009-05-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung, and summer's just around the corner!

It was a gorgeous day in Portland on Tuesday, and a perfect one to be outside. I was invited to be the guest chef at the Farmers Market at OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University), a weekly event designed to not only provide fresh food and produce to the community, but the whole OHSU family (the hospital, medical school, cafes and dining establishments) as well. OHSU is undergoing a sustainable transformation, to provide locally prepared food and products that can be delivered as naturally as possible with an emphasis on recyclable containers. No easy feat for such a large organization, but I applaud their efforts as they put their best echo foot forward.

I was provided with a table for the demo (sans electricity), and had to have samples for over 200 people. I immediately thought of the "Peanut Sesame Noodles" from Everyday Dish TV, as it can be made without appliances, and doesn't require cooking. I brought everything that I needed to assemble the recipe, chilled and pre-measured, threw everything in a bowl and mixed the dressing right there on the spot. Everyone loved it and I ran out of samples much sooner than expected. Not so surprising as the samples were free! I met a lot of really interesting people, which is one of the things that I love most about demos. I got the definite feeling that this dish will be showing up at many barbeques and potlucks this summer.

Sometimes I forget about past recipes that I've created. That is until I have to search for one, given a scenario such as this. After making the peanut noodles again I can definitely say that it was just as good as the first time I made it, maybe even better. Being a cookbook author I am constantly challenged to come up with new ideas, and I have to admit it's in my nature to nurture this development process. But it's always comforting to revisit forgotten favorites, and bask in the pleasure that they provide, in a satisfyingly prepared meal.

My daughter was so upset that there were no leftovers I had to make it again for dinner that night. A chef's job is never done. Just when you get the dishes done its time for the next meal.

A Few Ideas For Memorial Day Feasting

2009-05-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help but throw out a couple of recipe ideas for Memorial day. First off, marshmallows! What better way to end a meal?

Okay, if homemade vegan marshmallows aren't your thing, how about Key Lime Cheesecake? This baby should do the trick, and is delish with the bright flavor of fresh lime.

Little Smoky links are another one of my favorites, and perfect for Memorial Day BBQs. These can be made large or small, and are absolutely perfect grilled up on a bun!

All of these recipes are up on the membership side of Everyday Dish. You really must give them a try. I'm not just saying that. They really are yummy!

A final suggestion, Peanut Sesame Noodles. These are so darn good! They would make a great side dish, or a main if you're not planning on grilling tomorrow (or need something to take with you to a BBQ). You can find the recipe here on Everyday Dish

Memorial Day weekend always feels like the beginning of summer. The weather is usually fabulous, and makes you think of all the fun things to come. When I was growing up, Memorial Day weekend was when the community would gather together for a crazy, weekend-long festival of sorts called Topanga Days. As a kid it was always loads of fun, especially the year that Robin Williams (who lived in the area at the time), was the master of ceremonies. That was certainly a parade to remember!

My husband and I also got married on Memorial Day weekend. We thought that it would be a fun weekend to celebrate every year. This year is our 20th anniversary. My how the time has flown!

I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Julie

Vegan Brunch

2009-05-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, Isa's new book (Vegan Brunch) is out and it's fantastic! I had a chance this weekend to try out some of the different recipes, and everything was fabulous! No more wondering what to serve for brunch when you have a houseful coming over to eat.

From quiches, omelets, scrambles and frittatas to Ethiopian Crepes, Brazilian French Toast, Smoky Shitakes, Jalapeno Garlic Grits, Blueberry Ginger Spelt Muffins, Smoked Almond Gravy and a plethora of coffee cakes. This book IS brunch. The last and final word, as far as I'm concerned. You can check out the book here, with some sample recipes too. With Father's Day just around the corner, shouldn't we all be thinking about cooking up an awesome brunch, vegan-style?!

Raw Tamale Filling

2009-05-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

We have another raw recipe up on Everyday Dish. The filling was designed to be rolled up in the raw corn tortillas, but it would be delish in tacos and many other dishes too! I like that it isn't nut based. Although I love nuts, it's nice to see some raw recipes that don't rely on them. Anyways, go check it out here!

Below is a pic of chef Elaina Love, with her gorgeous raw tamale. There are more raw videos and recipes to come (including the cream and red sauce that you see as part of her tamale garnish).

Have a great weekend!

Julie

Cookbook Review

2009-05-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Being vegan in college doesn't have to be difficult, thanks to Peta's new college cookbook which hit bookstores this week. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy a couple of weeks ago, although before I even had a chance to look at it my college-bound daughter swept in and disappeared with the book. Let me just say that this is not a usual occurrence with my daughter and cookbooks.

A couple of days later I found her hunkered down on the sofa with the book (she was home sick with the flu), reading the book cover to cover. She was really excited (amazing, considering how sick she was...cough*cough*). "These recipes look so easy to make, and you can cook them all in your dorm room", she said. From vegan mac & cheeze, bean dips, ramen noodles, PB Bombs, Final's Week Fudge, Sloppy Joels and blueberry pancakes baked in mugs to Pizza Fun-Do, 'shroom dip, strawberry shake, No-Egg-Nog, Peach Cobbler and Fake Blondies. No stove needed. Of course you do need access to a microwave oven (and possibly a food processor or blender), although many of the recipes can be made with just a bowl and a spoon too.

My daughter has already said that she's taking the book to school with her. Apparently she also has her eye on my food processor and blender as well. I figure that this is a great thing though. Not only will she be cooking for herself, but I know that she won't go hungry. Now if I could only get her to start cooking before college, that would be cool.

Go check out Peta's Vegan College Cookbook, 275 Easy, Cheap, And Delicious Recipes To Keep You Vegan At School, by Sourcebooks, Inc. There's also a little companion video from the authors on You Tube.

Love Springtime!

2009-05-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

I just had to share a pic from the farmer's market this weekend. I love the abundance of fresh produce and flowers. So much eye-candy!

Talking about produce, my friend Nancie McDermott (cookbook author extraordinaire!) just started a blog and has a great post about growing lemongrass in a jar on your windowsill. I'm going to pick up some lemongrass later today and give it a shot.

Also, before I sign off, I wanted to mention that we just put up a video for Veggie Bao Buns on Everyday Dish (Member's Login). We'll be adding a delicious new video & recipe every week!

I'll be back tomorrow with a new cookbook review.

Have a great day!

Raw Corn Tortillas

2009-05-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for the amazing and enthusiastic response to the call for recipe testers. I wish that I could use everyone who replied. Although I only need a handful at the moment, I will most likely need more to come, so I'll be keeping everyone's name on file. Thank you again!

We just put a new video on Everyday Dish for raw corn tortillas (with chef Elaina Love). They are really good, so go check it out! We've had a lot of requests for raw recipes, so we turned to a couple of experts to share some of their favorites. There are more raw recipes to come.

Also, I want to thank everyone who has subscribed to the membership side of Everyday Dish. By subscribing you are helping us to keep Everyday Dish and the cooking show alive and thriving. We love you guys and want to say a giant thank you for your support!

Have an awesome weekend!

XO Julie

A Call For Testers

2009-05-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

I'm in need of a few good recipe testers for the new book. Right now I've got a handful of recipes that are almost ready to be tested, probably in the next week or so. This is just the first round, so if the timing doesn't work for you right now, not to worry. There will be other opportunities for testing to follow.

What I'm looking for in the testers: people who have the time to commit to cooking and testing recipes in the next couple of weeks, are experienced with cooking and baking (preferably with vegan recipes) and don't mind following the recipes to a T. Prior recipe testing experience is great, but not required. If you're interested in testing, just leave a comment here, and an email or a way for me to reach you.

Now, just in case you're wondering what the photos are of, the top one is a chocolate chip swirl bread and the bottom is a mocha java cake. Yup, both recipes are in the new book.

Thanks!!

It's Finally Up!

2009-05-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

The membership area is finally up on Everyday Dish. Whew! I feel like a proud mama. Jay and I have been working feverishly on it since last winter, and are so excited to finally have it up and ready to share.

When you go to sign up, click on the "Member's Login" tab at the top of the page. Make sure to login first as a user on the site. Otherwise it might not let you register. The pictures above are from the new recipes (little smoky links and key lime cheesecake). Besides the pics above, and the marshmallows and chocolate cream pie, there's also chorizo sausages, chedda & nacho cheeses (that are soy-free and will knock your socks off!), curried coconut sausages, jambalaya... The list goes on and on.

I'd better get back to working on the cookbook.

Have a great weekend!

XO Julie

Fun News, Marshmallows And Chocolate Cream Pie

2009-04-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

A while back I mentioned that I was working on a couple of new projects. You already know about the book, so here's the scoop on the other one. For the past few months we have been working feverishly on launching a Membership side to Everyday Dish TV. We're putting the finishing touches on and it should be polished and ready for its big debut within the week.

Becoming a Member will include exclusive access to over 45 new cooking videos and recipes! We cover helpful tips like stocking your vegan pantry to recipes for vegan marshmallows, chorizo sausage links, my rockin' nacho and chedda cheeses and everything in between. New videos will be added monthly for fresh ideas and innovative recipes. The first 20 subscribers to the Membership side will also receive one of our Everyday Dish DVD's free for joining. So definitely stay tuned because you won't want to miss out. You'll love what you're going to see. The recipes on the membership side are some of my very best.

The picture above is a chocolate cream pie with marshmallow meringue topping. Yes, it's true! The recipe is perfected, filmed and ready to share with our members. I'll let you know once we've officially launched.

I have to admit, I'm so thrilled to be able to share the marshmallow and meringue recipes finally! I think I worked on those recipes for almost 8 months, with hundreds of trials and trails of marshmallows along the way. Whew, that was a lot of work. But I knew that it was a code that I had to crack ; )

Barley Tea

2009-04-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

With record breaking temperatures and beautiful blue skies, I have found myself craving iced tea. Now, being a tea fanatic, my mind starts to race to all of the different possibilities. Should I make matcha or jasmine or vanilla rooibos or Earl Gray? And then I remembered my big bag of barley tea. I knew exactly what I needed to brew up.

The first time that I had barley tea was in a Korean restaurant in L.A. It was served iced, and was the perfect thirst quencher. It had a nice light flavor with a hint of roasted smokiness. I was forever hooked after that first sip.

One of the great things about barley tea, besides the great taste, is that it's super inexpensive. You can get a huge bag of the tea (mine came with 52 large tea bags), for about four dollars. Each tea bag will make one quart. Oh, and they're made to steep in cool water too. So all you have to do is toss it in a pitcher of cool water and refrigerate for 30 minutes. No muss, no fuss. I have to believe that there's got to be some health benefits to the tea too. After all, the only ingredient is roasted barley.

I'm sure there are many brands, but this is the one that I bought at our local Asian market. If you're looking for something refreshing and caffeine-free, you might want to give barley tea a try.

Nanaimo Bars And Sarah Kramer

2009-04-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Aren't these Nanaimo bars gorgeous?! They are are every bit as delicious as they look. The recipe is from Sarah Kramer (from her new book Vegan A Go Go), and I'm so excited that she shared it with Everyday Dish. Go check out the video (and recipe) now! You are going to love these bars!

I first had Nanaimo bars in 10th grade when I was living in Vancouver, B.C. My mom was participating in a Fulbright Exchange, and my brother and I were thrilled to go along for the ride. That incredible year in Vancouver was where I first fell in love with Nanaimo bars, the Pacific North West and tea (more about that in another post). I was sad when the year was over, although we went home with lots of memories, photos and a plethora of recipes that I had collected, including several for Nanaimo Bars. Yes, I know that I was only 16, but I was food and recipe obsessed from a very young age; ) Unfortunately none of the recipes were vegan so I am thrilled that Sarah has done the work for us.

Now, go check out that video!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-04-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

One of the recipes that I wanted to create for the new book is a stellar chocolate chip cookie. I know that there are hundreds, if not thousands of recipes already out there, but I needed one with my touch. A chocolate chip signature, if you may. I've always had an immense love for chocolate chip cookies, which goes back long before my first cookbook (125 Best Chocolate Chip Recipes).

Looking back, there was a time in high school that I think was the "pivotal" chocolate chip moment for me. My best friend Jennifer and I would fly to San Francisco regularly to visit her father. One day, Jennifer gave me a peek at her step mother's pantry. What I saw was something to behold. It was all of the makings for chocolate chip cookies. And not just one batch. This pantry was set up so that at any given moment she could bake hundreds of cookies. It was at that exact moment that I knew what my future would be.

I can assure you that my pantry does hold the makings for dozens of batches of these sweet little babies, at any given moment. I buy my semisweet chocolate chips (vegan, of course), in bulk 25 pound boxes. This is no joke, and has actually become something that my kids show off regularly to their friends ("want to see my mom's giant bucket o' chocolate chips?"). That bucket is something to behold.

As you can see, my love for the cookies goes way back. Once, in college, I even did a presentation in class on how to make the "perfect" chocolate chip cookies. I collected recipes for them wherever I went, looking for unusual techniques or interesting additions. I was even known to rate bakeries and restaurants, purely on their chocolate chip cookies.

So my love for the cookies continue, which is why I felt that I had to come up with my own delectable chocolate chip cookie for the book. I mixed and baked dozens and dozens of different variations, until I felt that I had the "one". The cookie gods must have been with me in the kitchen that week, because it worked. I came up with a perfect puffy, soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie. It's also much lower in fat than regular chocolate chip cookies too.

I wish I could share the cookies with you, warm from my oven. Instead the pic will just have to do for the moment. But, in the meantime, I'd love to hear what you think are the best traits of a chocolate chip cookie. Are they flat and crisp? Fat and chewy? Crisp and chewy? Whole grain? Nuts? Lots of chips or just a few?

A Perfect Pan

2009-03-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

I have not forgotten about blogging. Promise! I just get so busy in the kitchen working on recipes, that the days just seem to fly by.

One thing that I've been using a lot in the kitchen lately is my new favorite pan. It's a Lodge cast iron biscuit pan, which I have figured out is great for so many things, above and beyond biscuits (though it works really well for those too). I've been using it for cornbread, muffins, mini hamburger buns, scones and even brownie batter. But you know what my favorite discovery has been this week? English muffins! I know! I've been working on a perfect English muffin recipe for the new book (with LOTS of nooks and crannies), and found that this fab cast iron baby makes awesome English muffins. Even better than those metal English muffin rings, which are supposed to work really well for making them. I much prefer this pan to the rings, that's for sure. I'm thinking that this pan would even make the most adorable 3-inch veggie burgers. I love to find cool new uses for kitchen equipment.

Anyways, here are some pics of the English muffins, which I made with white wheat flour. They are so yummy! I wish I could share the recipe already.

I hope everyone is having a great spring!

XO Julie

A Few More Details & Ice Cream!!

2009-03-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a little more info about the new book. I'm always a little superstitious until all of the contracts are signed and everything is officially in place. So here goes... Although the title might change down the line, the working title right now is Vegan Diner. It's going to be filled with lots of comfort food favorites, from burgers, hashes, fries and pies to blue plate specials and lots of other comfort food dishes thrown in. I'm having a blast writing this book!

Oh, and before I forget, we just posted a new video on Everyday Dish. It's Wheeler and his awesome ice cream recipe (which starts out as vanilla and turns into something deliciously unexpected). Can you guess the flavor? Go check it out!

Vegan Donuts!

2009-03-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

After several tries, I finally got it! The yeasted donuts came out perfect, and exactly how I envisioned them. A soft, tender and slightly sweet interior that melts in your mouth. I made 3 different kinds, cinnamon sugar, vanilla glazed and maple. Unbelievable! I knew that I couldn't let you guys down, and that if I worked hard enough on the formula, I could get a vegan donut that's better than the original. It's killing me to keep the recipe under wraps for the book.

I can share some pics with you though, with the cinnamon sugar babies on top and some of the glazed below.

There's also some yummy new recipes & videos up on Everyday Dish. Check out the Rosemary Garlic Crackers, Coconut Whipped Cream and homemade bath salts.

Chocolate & Donuts

2009-03-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

I've been cooking and baking up a storm, working on all sorts of recipes for both the new book and Everyday Dish. The recipe above is for Chocolate Creamboats, and the gorgeous photo was taken by my very talented friend Kim. Couldn't you just reach into the picture? This recipe is going to be in the new book.

Yesterday I found myself working on donut recipes for the book, which is turning out to be a lot trickier than I expected. This may be why I don't often see yeasted vegan donuts. I'm determined to come up with a light and tender version though, and won't give up until I do. Did I mention that my whole house smells like a donut shop?

Exciting News

2009-02-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I'm writing a new cookbook, and it's vegan!! I'm so excited and it's now official. It's scheduled for release in Fall of 2010, so I will be busily writing and developing recipes for the good part of this year. I couldn't be happier!

In another couple of months I may be ready for a few testers, but I'll post about that at a later date.

In other news, we filmed a couple of segments for Everyday Dish last weekend with Wheeler Del Torro of the famous Wheeler's Frozen Desserts in Boston. Wait until you taste his ice cream. It's amazing stuff!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T09:50:00.001-08:00

Happy almost Valentine's Day! In honor of Valentine's, I wanted to share one of my favorite dessert recipes with you. It's the Chocolate Mocha Cakes on Everyday Dish, which makes the ultimate in VDay desserts. If you don't have a heart-shaped pan, don't worry about it. You can make them in other shapes too. Don't forget the ganache, which really takes these cakes to another level. Oh, and to really gild-the-lilly, serve the cakes with a raspberry or cabernet sorbet. Whoa!

On another note, I have to say how nice it is to have found so many kindred labeling spirits. There is something so fun and centering about it. Maybe it's because I am a dissorganized person by nature, so when I do organise things it feels great. But whatever the case, Viva La P Touch! Also, a couple of people have asked me about the glass crocks. They were from Ikea, although I believe that they have been discontinued. I've had them for about 6 years, and went back recently to get more. Don't you hate when stores do that? But, I also have some other glass crocks that work really well. They're the biscotti crocks (at least that's what I call them) from Anchor Hocking. You can find them in a number of different stores, but the best prices that I've found are at Target or restaurant supply stores. They have that nice wide mouth, which is great for measuring right out of the jar.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Julie

Getting Organized

2009-02-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

With all of the projects that I'm currently working on I thought that it was time to get myself organized, starting with the kitchen. Now I'm not an organized person by nature, so this is something that I really have to work at. But for the first time ever, it's actually become fun. This is no doubt due to my new label maker, an impulse buy from Costco.com last month (at a rock bottom price of $9.00 shipped). That was probably the best $9.00 I've spent in a long time, and I'm sure that my husband will agree. I single-handedly labeled dozens of jars and crocks of different flours, sugars, spices and grains. I was in labeling heaven!

It feels so good to work in the kitchen now, with everything in it's place and easy to find. This makes it so much easier to move from project to project, which is exactly what I needed. I know that I still have some other cabinets left to tackle, but if the kitchen is any indication of what is to come, I look forward to the challenge.

Next up: replacing most of my plastic storage containers with glass.

Something New

2009-02-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes moments can be so serendipitous. Like last month for example. I was getting my hair done, and at some point in the conversation I was asked if I run. I kind of laughed as I said no, but that it was something that I had been contemplating doing. Actually I had been contemplating it since I turned 40, almost 2 years ago. The problem is that I can be pretty unmotivated when it comes to exercise. I am a pro at putting it off. This doesn't mean that I'm a couch potato. I love doing yoga in the mornings and hiking in the hills or going for walks. But when it comes to getting my heart rate up with serious exercise, I just haven't been able to find the motivation.

Well the hairstylist started telling me about a book she was reading called Chi Running. She said that it is a revolutionary approach to effortless, injury-free running, based on principals from Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates. A brand-new way to run. From that moment on I was captivated. I couldn't get the book out of my head, and immediately bought myself a copy. For the first time in years, I suddenly felt excited and motivated to run. I did a little more research and discovered that that there is a whole Chi Running website, with loads of additional information, including a DVD (and information on Chi Walking, which I will blog about at a later date, for those of you not so motivated to run).

The DVD is awesome, and takes the information from a great concept, to something very visual. I'm a visual learner, so reading something in a book doesn't always help me totally grasp it the way a DVD does. It's an awesome DVD, and has aided me immensely as I try to re-learn running in a brand new way. It seems that my excitement has rubbed off onto my husband too, because the two of us started Chi Running this past weekend, and I wake up every morning excited to go out again. How cool is that?!

So although I tend to primarily talk about food, I love sharing info on cool products that help promote a healthy lifestyle. I also thought that if Chi Running was something that I was excited about, and actually wake up excited to do everyday, then it's definitely share-worthy information. I plan to continue this new-style of running everyday, and will share my progress here on the blog. Man, if I can do this anyone can.

Really, go check out Chi Running. And, if anyone is interested in getting in shape along with me, please do! I've only begun running this past week. Just imagine, I might actually be in shape by my 42nd birthday at the end of April. Wow, how cool would that be?

Happy Pie Day!

2009-01-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

Today is national pie day, so of course I have to wish everyone a Happy Pie Day! It's really fitting to take place this week, since our new president is such a huge fan of pie.

I also want to share an article on pie (and my pie book), that appeared in yesterday's food section of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (you can check it out here). Of course I also have a favorite pie recipe to share with you too. And, just in case you want a visual for this recipe, you can check out the video here (which I filmed for the morning show "Better").

Julie’s Easy Blueberry Pie
Preheat oven to 400°F
10-inch glass or ceramic pie plate, 10-inch cast iron or ovenproof skillet
Serves 6

Filling
4 cups frozen blueberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 5 tbsp water
1/4 cup cornstarch

Topping
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine (such as Earth Balance), melted

1. Filling: In a saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together corn and 5 tablespoons water until smooth. Stir cornstarch mixture into hot berries and simmer until thick and mixture is clear, carefully stirring.
3. Remove saucepan from heat and scoop mixture into prepared dish.
4. Topping: In a small bowl, mix together flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add melted margarine, stirring until incorporated. Using your fingertips, work margarine into flour mixture, squeezing until nice and crumbly.
5. Sprinkle topping over blueberry filling and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until topping is nicely browned.

Copyright © 2008 Julie Hasson
www.everydaydish.tv

Happy Pie Day!!

Storing Grains

2009-01-20T07:23:00.000-08:00

After the last post on grains, I received some great questions about how I store my grains and flours. Since I buy large amounts of wheat and a few other grains, there's no way that I would be able to refrigerate them. At least not without a walk in cooler. What I do is buy big Cambro buckets at the restaurant supply store (they're open to the public), which will usually hold 25 pounds. They are super handy, and the same buckets/storage containers that restaurants use. I started using them back when we opened our first bakery. They work really well, and are airtight with snug lids. They stack too! I also add a couple of bay leaves to each bucket, to keep bugs at bay.

Of course large glass jars are fantastic too. Depending on the size of the jar/crock, you can often fit a 5 pound bag of grains or flour in them. This is my fave for smaller amounts of grain and flour, and what I keep out on my counter. Large canning jars work well too (like the pic above).

I should add that I do refrigerate brown rice, because this does have the tendency to go rancid pretty quickly. But other than rice, the rest is stored safely in buckets. That reminds me, a cold garage this time of year is a great place to store your grains (which are sealed in buckets or jars, of course). Oh, and in the heat of the summer, I make sure to move the grains to a cool spot inside the house (pantry or closet), because the garage can become very hot that time of year.

Amazing Grains

2009-01-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

I know that I've talked about it before, but I just have to share the love again. I am in complete and utter love with grinding my own flour. Not only is it economical and nutricious, but it's the freshest, best tasting flour I've ever used! I literally use all whole grain flours in my baking now, and the baked goods come out really light and delicious. The white wheat flour has a sweet and slightly nutty flavor.

One of my favorite flours to grind is white wheat pastry flour. It's truly unbelievable, and a flour that's not sold commercially. I start with soft white wheat berries (from Bob's Red Mill), which I buy in a 25 pound bag. Then about once a week, I grind the berries into a beautiful, silky white wheat pastry flour. I do the same with hard white wheat, which I grind into a really nice bread flour. It makes a fantastic whole grain sandwich loaf, which is my new, go-to bread of choice. Next up is home-ground spelt flour.

Of course there are many other flours that I grind regularly. Garbanzo beans, black beans, pinto beans, red lentils and yellow split peas all make great flours. With the bean flours, you can make instant refried beans and silky soups (including split pea). They're also great for thickening sauces, soups and gravies too. Oh and let's not forget rice. Rice flour makes a nice crisp coating for tofu, but it's also wonderful in gluten-free baking too.

The grain mill that I use for grinding flour is The Wonder Mill. It's easy to use, super easy to clean, can grind 100 pounds of grain in an hour and has a strong, powerful motor. I keep it in my cupboard and pull it out as needed. It's not heavy, so it only takes a couple of minutes to set out on my counter.

I can't help myself. I'm becoming a whole grain junkie!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Sorry for the little blogging holiday. It started with getting sick, but then after a series of snowstorms I just really enjoyed hanging out and playing with my family. It was fun not being able to drive, hunkering down in front of a fire, pulling out dusty board games and just really enjoying the relaxed pace.

You can rest assured though that I'm back. Fortunately during the snow storms I also had lots of quality time in the kitchen, which means fun new recipes coming up on Everyday Dish, not to mention a new addition to our site. I also spent some time working on upcoming magazine articles, and another top secret project (which I will spill the beans about soon). So, it seems that maybe I didn't relax quite as much as I thought I did. Funny how that happens.

Oh, and before I forget, there's a new recipe up on Everyday Dish for Rustic White Beans. It's one of my favorite recipes, and a deliciously healthy start to the new year. Try it, and let me know what you think. Don't worry if you don't have a pressure cooker, you can cook the beans in a pot on the stove, it will just take a bit longer to cook.

I hope everyone had an awesome holiday season!

Happy cooking!

Go Dairy Free

2008-12-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

If you haven't yet heard about this book, you've got to check it out. I was blown away with all of the fantastic information, recipes and resources that are listed between it's covers. The author is Alisa Fleming (from godairyfree.org), and she has definitely succeeded at publishing an amazing compilation of great recipes, from homemade non-dairy cheeses and milks to breakfasts, brunch, smoothies, drinks, dips, puddings, soups, side dishes, salads, sauces, breads and decadent desserts. I think all of the 225 recipes are vegan, with the exception of two (which give vegan substitutions).

In addition to all of the recipes (many contributed by vegan cookbook authors and bloggers such as Bryanna Clark Grogan, Hannah Kaminsky, The Urban Housewife, myself and many others), Alisa also shares detailed information on grocery shopping, calcium-rich foods, health, everyday living (from skincare to supplements) and allergy and vegan-friendly resources.

So if you're looking for a great book to give for the holidays, look no further. You can check it out on Amazon here.

A Fun Homemade Gift

2008-12-15T10:14:00.001-08:00

I have always loved making homemade gifts, whether it be bottles of hot chili oil or biscotti or truffles. So I am always on the lookout for fun gift ideas, especially when they can be made out of ingredients from my pantry. Well, I've got a great new one for you. We had a special guest come and film a couple of segments for Everyday Dish. Janice Cox has written some fantastic books on homemade beauty treatments. Although her recipes aren't all plant-based, loads of them are such as her fizzy homemade bath bombs. You've got to give these babies a try! The fun part is that you can customize the scents, colors and shapes to suit your tastes (or those that will be receiving your handmade wares). Janice even said that her daughter shapes them into cupcakes, which you can garnish with sparkly sugar. The possibilities are endless! You can check out the video and recipe here.

(Brian's Puerto Rican Soup with annato oil drizzle)

We also have a new segment up for a Puerto Rican Soup by chef Brian Igarta. It's really good, and just the perfect thing to warm our cold bones this time of year. Oh, and that reminds me, check out this pic of my dog Bruno in the snow yesterday. It looks like this might be a cold winter, so hot fizzy baths and warm soups are just the thing to turn to.

This was Bruno waiting at our back door to be let in. He absolutely loves the snow!

Some Fun News

2008-12-03T12:01:00.001-08:00

First up, I have an article in the December issue of Cooking Light Magazine. The piece is on cooking with mulling spices, as well as making your own spice blend. I actually wrote the article a few years ago (about 4, to be exact), so I was surprised to see it as I was flipping through the magazine last week. I glanced at the recipes and thought "boy, those look familiar". Well, no wonder! The recipes are all vegan, with the exception of the rice pudding, where soy or almond milk could easily be substituted.

For the really exciting news, check out the January issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. They included Everyday Dish as one of their Veg 25, hot list of fresh voices, ingenious products and handy resources that make vegetarian life more fulfilling every day. Yay! We're really excited to be included in VT list.

A Big Tall Glass

2008-11-30T12:14:00.000-08:00

Homemade soymilk. Oh yeah. I'm pretty excited to be making soymilk at home that's malty and delicious. Although I've always loved the idea of making it fresh at home and eliminating all that extra packaging waste (not to mention saving money), the flavor still eluded me. That is until I came up with this latest and greatest version. It's great for drinking or dunking or baking. It's just plain good stuff.

The recipe and video are up on Everyday Dish. I developed the recipe for my new filterless Soyquick machine, which I absolutely love. You can use a higher ratio of soybeans in it, which makes a creamier and richer soymilk. If you don't have a soymilk machine, you might want to add this one to your holiday list. It's awesome and makes fresh soymilk for pennies.

I plan to get working on tofu next. Oh, how I love fresh silky tofu!

I hope all of the Americans had an awesome Thanksgiving!

Julie

Vegan Thanksgiving Roast

2008-11-23T15:53:00.001-08:00

If you're looking for a vegan turkey roast recipe, there's a great new video, with chef Brian McCarthy, up on Everyday Dish. Go check it out!

In other news, I've finally perfected my soymilk recipe. It's so good! And yes, you will want to drink it straight from the glass. Rather than just share the recipe with you, we thought it would be fun to film it too. We're hoping to have the video up tomorrow (I know, 3 videos in a week!). I'll give you a heads-up once it's posted.

Happy Sunday!

Julie

Pie Oh My

2008-11-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

I promised a couple dessert recipes, and I'm ready to deliver. These are a few of my favorites from my new book, The Complete Book Of Pies, and the same ones that will be gracing my table on Thanksgiving day. Don't forget a scoop of vegan ice cream, to top off your homemade pies.

Brown Sugar Apple Pie with Almond Crumb Topping
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
9-inch (23 cm) glass pie plate, greased
Rimmed baking sheet
Serves 8

4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Prepared frozen pie shell (don’t thaw), or homemade -look for organic vegan shells like Wholly Wholesome
1 recipe Almond Crumb Topping

1. Filling: In a large bowl, gently combine apples, brown sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon, making sure apples are well coated. Transfer filling to frozen pie shell, gently pressing apples into pastry with your hand. Place pie plate on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, reduce temperature to 350°F (180°C) and sprinkle crumb topping over apples. Return pie to oven and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes or until the crumb topping is nicely browned. If pie starts to get too brown before it's finished baking, cover loosely with a piece of tented foil. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before serving.

Almond Crumb Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance, melted
1 tsp pure almond extract
1/3 cup sliced almonds

1. In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Add butter and almond extract, stirring until incorporated. Using your fingertips, finish working butter into flour mixture, squeezing until a nice crumbly mixture forms.
2. Stir in almonds. Sprinkle topping over prepared pie or crisp according to recipe.

Bumbleberry Crumb Pie
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
9-inch (23 cm) glass pie plate, greased
Rimmed baking sheet
Serves 8

4-1/2 cups unsweetened frozen mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, partially thawed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Prepared frozen pie shell (don’t thaw), or homemade -look for organic vegan shells like Wholly Wholesome
1 recipe Brown Sugar Streusel or Almond Crumb Topping

1. In a large bowl, gently combine berries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice, making sure that cornstarch is not lumpy. Transfer filling to prepared pastry. Place pie plate on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, reduce temperature to 350°F (180°C) and sprinkle streusel over pie, avoiding juicy edge. Return pie to oven and continue baking for 15 to 25 minutes more or until top is puffed and nicely browned and juices are bubbling and thickened around edge. If pie starts to get too brown before it’s finished baking, cover loosely with a piece of tented foil. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before serving.

Tips: If you like your pie a little sweeter, you can increase the sugar in the recipe by up to 1/4 cup (50 mL).
Variation: Substitute 1 tbsp (15 mL) raspberry-flavored liqueur for the lemon juice.

Brown Sugar Streusel
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened

1. In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Add butter and, using an electric mixer, a fork or a pastry blender, mix into flour until little bits of butter remain. Using your fingertips, finish working butter into flour mixture, squeezing until a nice crumbly mixture forms.
2. Sprinkle mixture over pie or crisp according to recipe

Tip: This recipe can be doubled.
Variations: Add 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon for a spiced version.

Recipes adapted from THE COMPLETE BOOK OF PIES, by Julie Hasson, 2008, Robert Rose, Inc.

Thinking About Thanksgiving

2008-11-17T22:02:00.001-08:00

As crazy as I am about cranberries, I'm even crazier for Thanksgiving! The cranberries, yams, gravy, stuffing, roasted vegetables, pies... It's just all good!

We almost always host the holiday at our house. A tradition that we started back when my husband and I were first married (*cough* 19 years ago). Needless to say, we've developed some traditional dishes over the years, and the whole family anxiously awaits their arrival every Thanksgiving. Of course we don't have a turkey, but no one ever seems to complain. They know that it's just how we roll with the holiday at our house.

There are a few recipes that I use for Thanksgiving, and the rest I just cook off the cuff. I thought I would share a few of my favorites, for those of you cooking next week.

Let's start with soup. There's a fabulous new recipe up on Everyday Dish for Pumpkin Soup. The recipe is from Barb Faulke and uses hazelnut butter. It would be a fabulous addition to any Thanksgiving feast. Next is cranberry sauce. My 2 favorites are my Cranberry Merlot Sauce and Spiced Cranberry Pineapple Sauce. For gravy, my favorite is Bryanna's Rich Brown Gravy from the Everyday Dish DVD. We've nicknamed it crack gravy around our house, because it's so addicting (and delicious!). I triple this recipe for the holiday. If you're looking for a seitan roast, we should have a new segment up by Friday with just such a recipe (from Chef Brian McCarthy). Um, lets see what else. Oh, mashed potatoes. My new favorite recipe is to take small red potatoes and boil them until tender. Drain, and smash with a potato masher. Add Earth Balance, salt, white and black pepper to taste and plain soymilk (preferably unsweetened). Minced garlic and fresh parsley are good too. Sometimes I'll sprinkle in a little nutritional yeast for added flavor. So good! Make sure to have lots of yummy gravy on the side.

Next up, yams. Most years I make a sweet spiced yam and apple casserole. I bake a bunch of yams until tender. Let cool, peel and cut into thick slices. Layer the yams in a baking dish, along with sauteed apples (which have been thinly sliced and sauteed in apple cider with a touch of brown sugar until tender). Sprinkle with ground cinnamon, ground allspice and a little freshly grated nutmeg if desired. I then top the apples and yams with a syrup (apple cider, brown sugar or maple syrup and a little cinnamon, simmered until slightly syrupy, maybe 10 minutes or so). Sometimes I add a splash of bourbon and a few crumbled ginger snaps on top too. Cover casserole with foil and bake, basting yams with syrup from bottom of dish, for about an hour or until it's all bubbly and delicious. This is like dessert!

Spiced apple and yam casserole, unbaked

For stuffing, I make it the way my mom always did (before I took over the holiday). Take a package of herb-seasoned dry stuffing (make sure it's vegan) or cubed rustic bread, and combine with veggie broth, dried sage, dried cranberries, chopped apple and lots of sauteed celery and onions. Add salt and pepper to taste. Some years I make this with cornbread instead of the rustic bread and it's great too. Just make sure to let the cornbread sit out uncovered to dry it out.

Whew, that's a lot of food. If you're looking for some fresh veggies, a nice crisp salad is always nice, especially tossed with dried cranberries and hazelnuts or chopped persimmon or pomegranite seeds...) and a simple homemade vinaigrette. Man, I'm full just thinking about all this food.

I think the only part of the meal that I haven't addressed is dessert. I will post some dessert ideas in the next couple of days, along with some recipes.

So what are some of your favorite dishes for the holiday?

Cranberry Craze

2008-11-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I absolutely adore cranberries. I love the tart flavor and crimson color that they bring to whatever dish they're added to. Lots of cranberry love happening here!

So, in the spirit of Fall and all things cranberries, I set out to develop a new cranberry sauce recipe. I usually always make the one on Everyday Dish (click on the link to get the recipe), but change is good too. This new sauce has crushed pineapple in it, which lends a great texture and lightens up the cranberry flavor just a bit. I also added ground cinnamon, which goes really well with the pineapple and cranberry flavors. So, without further adieu, I present you with my newest cranberry sauce...

Julie's Spiced Cranberry Pineapple Sauce
1 1/4 cups sugar (add another tablespoon of sugar if you like it a touch sweeter and a little less tart)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2 8-oz cans crushed pineapple (in juice), undrained
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, orange juice and water, stirring well. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring as needed to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, pineapple (and juice) and cinnamon, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat slightly, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes, or until cranberries have popped and sauce has thickened up.

This makes a lot of cranberry sauce, but will keep well in the refrigerator, and can probably even be frozen. Try it on a seitan sandwich or stirred into plain soy yogurt or heck, it's even delicious mixed with shredded carrots and eaten as a salad.

So, what's your favorite way to eat cranberries?

Pumpkin Biscotti

2008-11-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

Katie, from the famous Sweetpea Bakery, was in our kitchen recently to film her awesome and delicious Pumpkin Biscotti recipe. Although this is a great pic of Katie, those are definitely not biscotti she's holding up. Can you believe I forgot to take a picture of the biscotti? Oh well, at least you get a teaser of what she'll be making next on Everyday Dish (any guesses?). Now, as soon as you're done reading this post, you should head over to Everyday Dish and check out Katie's video and awesome recipe for pumpkin biscotti.

Making Sauce

2008-11-05T21:04:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I were wandering around the farmer's market, and happened upon an amazing deal. $20 for a huge case of organic tomatoes, which I think weighed close to 30 pounds. We were so excited to fill our freezer.

We decided to start with tomato puree. Fortunately we had a nifty tomato press/gadget tucked away in the cabinet, because this helped make quick work of removing the skin and seeds. We then froze all of the beautiful puree, and wondered what to do with the huge amount of seeds and skin that were left. Jay had the brilliant idea to run it through the Vitamix, and it worked like a dream! The Vita Mix produced a lovely sauce out of the skins and seeds, which didn't have a trace of bitterness, only a lovely sweet flavor. We dumped the puree into a giant pot, added some seasonings (garlic, oregano, basil, garlic and a touch of agave), and cooked it down for about 4 hours. What was left was some of the best tomato sauce I've ever had. To think that the sauce was made out of throwaway stuff was unbelievable! We then froze all of the tomato sauce in freezer bags and called it a day.

Here's some pics from our adventure:

Some of the seeds and skins, waiting to be pureed.

This is what happens if you don't have your lid on tight. The tomato puree went everywhere!

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

2008-11-03T10:47:00.001-08:00

This is a great recipe from Sarah Kramer, and the recipe and video are now up on everyday dish. Go check it out! I didn't get a good shot of the cookies, because there was a we-little mishap taking them out of the oven (which is why Sarah is making a sad face). But both Sarah and the cookies rock, and I want to send Sarah a million thanks for taking time out of her crazy travel schedule to come film with us! We had a blast in the kitchen and Sarah is super fun to work with.

Tropical Ice Cream

2008-10-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

If you love creamy tropical flavors, check out the newest recipe/video on Everyday Dish. The ice cream is super simple to make, using only 3 ingredients. It's a definite crowd pleaser, and just in time for the cooler Fall weather ; ) Actually, it's great anytime, because ice cream is a year-round treat, right!? Now, go get those ice cream makers churning!!

Great Quick Dinner

2008-10-21T15:59:00.001-07:00

I have a ton of cookbooks (probably close to 500 or so, I Know!), and although I love reading them, I tend to cook off the cuff most nights (a pinch of this, a pinch of that...). But recently I made a pact with myself to try some new recipes from these awesome books.

What you see above, was a recipe that I tried the other night. The book is Tofu Cookery, 25th Anniversary Edition by Louise Hagler. I adapted the recipe for Chinese Sweet-And-Sour-Balls, adding garlic, fresh ginger and sriracha sauce. I also omitted the sauce, because I wanted to dip the tofu balls in hoisin sauce. Next time I'll try the sweet and sour sauce. These were delicious! My family gobbled them up, and asked me to make them more often. Yum!

I'm not going to post the recipe, because I'm not sure about copyrights with the book. But if you have this book, or have thought about getting it, this is an awesome recipe. Although they were round like small meatballs, they had a very different texture.They were delicate, with a great flavor and unusual at the same time. The sauce that we dipped them in was a mix of hoisin and sriracha sauces.

Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of the finished dish, as everyone dug into them so quickly they dissapeared. The picture above is what they looked like before being baked. Cute, aren't they?

On a different note, I put up a review of some awesome new ice cream on Everyday Dish. Go check it out!

I'm Back

2008-10-17T07:03:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the little absence there. My computer was in the shop getting fixed again, but it's fixed and I'm back!

Last weekend, we took a little field trip to the Willamette Valley to visit Freddy Guy's hazelnut farm. It was harvest time, which was great fun to see. Now I can attest to just how fresh their hazelnuts are. We will have Barb (from Freddy Guy's Hazelnuts) on Everyday Dish, cooking up some delicious hazelnut recipes, including their famous chocolate hazelnut spread (can you say vegan Nutella?!). Oh wait, the hazelnut butter segment is up now, so don't miss it!

Here's a few pics from the day...

Busy Baking

2008-10-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

I really had the best of intentions with Veganmofo. But, it seems, work just keeps pulling me away from my computer. Not to worry though, I will still be posting, just probably not a daily mofo.

Now, guess who's going to be on Everyday Dish? The one and only Sarah Kramer. Sarah was passing through Portland on tour for her new book, Vegan A Go Go, and took a little detour in our kitchen. We filmed two great segments, which I can't wait to share. Can I just say that Sarah is awesome?!

Oh, and before I forget, we have a new segment up on Everyday Dish. It's Hannah Kaminsky and her amazing butterscotch blondies. Go check it out and make those blondies. They are fantastic!

Agedashi Tofu

2008-10-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Agedashi Tofu is an utterly delicious dish. It's a favorite in our house, and a fun dish to serve to people that think they don't like tofu. Believe it or not, it's easy to prepare, even on busy weeknights. The trick is to drain and lightly press your tofu, to remove any extra moisture. The tofu is coated with potato starch and then fried. The sauce quickly cooks while you're frying the tofu. It can easily fit into a 30 minute time frame, especially if you have someone helping you (my kids love to help when I'm making this dish). A simple cucumber salad (sliced cukes, rice wine vinegar and a splash of soy sauce or tamari) and some steamed brown rice round out the meal. Actually a rice cooker really helps out here too, because it cooks the rice without any work on your part. I do love my appliances!

Rather than type out the recipe, you can print it right off Everyday Dish, and watch the video too. I highly recommend that you try it out. It's so, so good!

I'll be back on Monday with another veganmofo post.

Have a great weekend!

XO Julie

Dinner

2008-10-02T14:43:00.001-07:00

On crazy, busy nights, it's always such a huge relief when I don't have to spend a lot of time making dinner. As much as I love to cook (and I really love to cook), some night's you just want to get dinner on the table in 15 minutes (although it rarely happens that fast in my house). But, I am happy to say, this dinner is one of those exceptions.

I like to cook up a big batch of garbanzo beans in the pressure cooker once a week, so I always have them on hand and don't have to rely on canned beans. Then, they're ready to go in the fridge (or freezer), for quick dinners or lunches on the run. So, late yesterday afternoon when I started wondering what I was going to make for dinner, hummus came to mind. I pulled some pitas from the freezer, cut up some fresh veggies, pickled onions and some olives and voila...dinner was made. Man, not only was it quick to throw together, but delicious and hearty too. And talk about economical... The best part, my kids loved it. So much so that they packed themselves the leftovers for their school lunches.

Now, the big question is, what am I going to make for dinner tonight?

Breakfast

2008-10-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that it's Veganmofo (vegan month of food) time again? I'm going into it with the best of intentions. I mean really, how hard can it be to post everyday, right? Well, I'm always up for a good challenge, and I sure enjoyed reading all of those fabulous Veganmofo posts last year. So I will give it my all, and try and post as often as I can.

Now, onto the food...

Lately, I've been trying to incorporate as many whole grains into my cooking (and diet) as I can. I've found that a really easy place to start is breakfast. Nothing beats starting the day with a bowl of homemade granola, and it couldn't be simpler to make. You can find my recipe here, along with a video. Feel free to customize the recipe to your liking, with more nuts and fruit, or hemp seeds, or other spice combinations. You really can't go wrong. And, if you're not a cereal and milk person, it's great sprinkled on top of yogurt or fresh fruit. If you want to make a gluten-free version, make sure to buy gluten free oats and omit the wheat germ. Easy peasy.

On another note, if you live in the Portland, Oregon area and are interested in taking the Cancer Project classes, let me know. I have a series of classes starting next Wednesday, and there's room for a few people if you're interested. The Cancer Project is an incredible organization, and you can read more about them here. I am a Cancer Project instructor, and teach the classes in the Portland area. Send me an email if you're interested at blog@everydaydish.tv. And, just in case you're wondering, the food in the Cancer Project classes is all plant-based and vegan. Not to mention delicious too!

Grand Opening!!

2008-09-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

I interrupt this post to bring you an important announcement. The Everyday Dish site has been beautifully redesigned with all kinds of wonderful features, and is making it's debut launch today. Yay!! We are so excited about it, and hope that you enjoy it as much as we do. Go check it out!

In other news, there's also a rice pudding video up on the new site, which is really good. You've got to go make yourself a pot ASAP! I use hemp milk for the video, but any non-dairy milk will work too. I have to say though, that I really like the creamy taste of Living Harvest hemp milk or soymilk in this recipe.

Oh, I forgot to add that we also have a new blog on the Everyday Dish site. The blog is called "Dish", and it's where I get to highlight cool vegan products, from food to cookware to makeup and shoes. If you've got the lowdown on something awesome that I've just got to highlight, let me know. I'm always on the lookout for new fun products.

Now go check out the site!

Homemade Kosher-Style Dill Pickles

2008-09-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

As you can probably tell by now, I love making food from scratch. It's usually fairly easy to prepare, can be customized to your palate and tastes, and is better than anything you could buy at a store. I like to think of homemade food as the ultimate in Artisan craft.

So what's my latest project you ask? Pickles. My love of pickles goes way back to childhood, to the awesome bowls of sour dills that would grace the table at our local deli. I loved the crunch of these freshly pickled cukes, the salty yet lightly sour taste. These pickles bared no resemblance to the softer, vinegar-flavored pickles found in grocery stores. These were the real deal, true deli-style salt-brined Kosher dill pickles. It took me a long time to find a recipe that fit this bill. I am happy to say though that it was not in vain.

In the early 1990's a modern, hip-style deli opened in Santa Monica, California. The concept of the Broadway Deli was Jewish deli meets hip eatery. They had lots of inspired dishes on their menu, artisan breads and great desserts. In 1994, they came out with a cookbook, and right there in it's pages was the recipe that I had been searching for: true, salt-brined Kosher dills.

I don't think that the cookbook is any longer in print, so I'm going to post the recipe here. Feel free to add green tomatoes, lots of extra garlic and even dried or fresh chili peppers. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do. They're really quick and easy to make, and can be stored in your fridge for quite a while. Plus, you should be able to find pickling cukes at your local farmer's market right now. If you have lots of green tomatoes on your tomato vines, which won't have a chance to ripen before the cooler Fall weather rolls in, this is a perfect thing to do with them.

Broadway Deli's Quick Dill Pickles
(makes 10 to 12 pickles)

These pickles taste just like the one's grandma used to make, only they're faster and easier to prepare. To transform bumpy little cucumbers into crisp, garlicky dill pickles, place all of the ingredients in a jar, cover, and shake. In four days you'll have the best dill pickles you've ever tasted.

4 quarts boiling water, for cleansing jar
3 tablespoons pickling spices
6 cloves garlic
10 to 12 firm, small pickling cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup Kosher salt (preferably Morton's brand, which is saltier than others)
1 bunch fresh dill

1. Pour boiling water into a 1-gallon canning jar and pour out. Drop pickling spices and 3 of the garlic cloves into the bottom of the jar. Arrange cucumbers in the jar to fill just up to the neck. Top with salt, remaining 3 garlic cloves, and dill. Add cold water to cover. Cover securely with the lid. Shake well and let stand for 3 to 4 days in a cool, dark place before serving.
2. Refrigerate after 4 days to stop the pickling process. The pickles will keep for several weeks, covered, in the refrigerator.

Variation: Replace cucumbers with green tomatoes.

Recipe adapted from Judy Zeidler's International Deli Cookbook; Great Recipes From The Broadway Deli, by Judy Zeidler, Chronicle Books, 1994

P.S. If you're wondering why there is a plate in my pickle jar (in the photo), it's because I doubled the recipe and topped the cukes with a plate. This helps to keep the pickles submerged in the brine.

Gluten Free Cookie Bars

2008-09-16T10:40:00.001-07:00

I've been wanting to try gluten-free baking for a while now, but I just wasn't sure where to start. Thanks to a good friend recently, I was able to dive right in.

This friend was trying out a gluten-free diet (per doctor's orders), and was having the worst craving for chocolate chip cookies. I could feel her pain, and knew I had to help her out. I ran home, did a little internet research, and found a recipe for cookie bars. Fortunately I had a bag of gluten free all-purpose baking flour from Bob's Red Mill already in my pantry, so I was ready to go. I adapted the original recipe based on what I had on hand, but I've gotta say that this is one of my favorite cookie bars ever! Gluten free or not! So, a giant thank you to Karina Allrich for sharing your gluten free cookie recipe. You can bet that I'll be doing a lot more gluten free baking in the future.

I decided that this recipe was so good, we had to get it filmed and up on Everyday Dish (with my adaptions, of course) ASAP. The video can be seen here, and the recipe here. For Karina's original recipe, you can find it here at her website. Her site is not vegetarian, although there are quite a few vegan recipes.

As for me, I am thinking about making a gluten-free pumpkin cake next. Hmmm, or maybe an apple spice cake. Now that I have the gluten free flour on hand, anything is possible.

2008-09-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let you know that there's a new recipe & video up on Everyday Dish, for Blue Willow pasta. The recipe is from the chef at Jam On Hawthorne (in Portland, Oregon), and is really good! It includes a yummy recipe for a tofu marinade, that would work well for a variety of tofu dishes. This reminds me that I should marinate some tofu for quick weeknight meals.

Also, there was a really good question about the cracker recipe and I thought I would answer it here. The question was about baking crackers on a Silpat. I tried baking the crackers on both parchment and Silpat mats. I prefered the Silpat mat. The crackers came out crispier (and thus better) on the Silpat. This is not always the case for every recipe, but the mat won out here.

I'm hooked on the homemade crackers! I plan to do lots more experimenting with other flavor combos. I love the idea of using different flours, seeds and spices. Homemade snacks are the best! Thanks for all the awesome comments on the recipe.

Crackers

2008-09-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite obsession. Homemade crackers. It really started just the other day. My kids were asking me to buy them snacky food that they could take in their school lunches. I just couldn't do it. One, because I get tired of all the junky ingredients in a lot of those snacks. The other reason is that I have a ton of whole grain flours that are screaming to be used (and hey, I could save money at the same time). So rather than head out to the store, I headed to the kitchen and started making crackers.

The crackers are so incredibly easy to make, almost easier than making cookies. They also contain healthy ingredients, most of which we all have sitting in our pantries. And the best part? My kids absolutely loved them! They polished them off and asked for more. Being the sneaky mom that I am, I said I would show them how to make them. That way, when the craving hits, they might actually try and bake themselves up a batch. Well, you never know.

Feel free to play around with the flours or seasonings. I did find that my kids preferred the crackers when I used half all-purpose flour and half white whole wheat. I also discovered that they not only baked better on a Silpat (silicone pan liner), but they practically flew off the baking sheet. If you have one of those nifty pastry wheeler/cutter, it works really well for gently cutting the crackers into squares. Otherwise you can just roll the dough out thinly in the pan, bake, and then break into pieces when cool.

Here's the recipe for those of you who would like to try your hand at homemade crackers. I promise you it's painless and fun! It's also a perfect project to do with young kids or on a rainy day. Once you go homemade you'll never go back.

Julie's Rosemary Garlic Crackers
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp granulated garlic
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper, optional (but good!)
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt crystals, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a bowl, mix together the flours, nutritional yeast flakes, baking powder, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the water and oil, stirring until dough comes together. If dough is too dry to mix, add another tablespoon of water or as needed. Divide dough in half.
3. Roll the dough out very thin. If you have a small little rolling pin, simply roll the dough right out in your pan. Transfer the dough to a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Score the dough into squares so that it's cut, but not separated into pieces. If desired, sprinkle a little coarse salt over the tops of the crackers and lightly press into dough with the rolling pin. Repeat with second piece of dough.
4. Bake crackers in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden and crackers look crisp. Let crackers cool in pan before removing. They will crisp up as they cool. If crackers are still a little soft, place bake in oven and bake for another five or so minutes until crisp.

Copyright © 2008 Julie Hasson

Here's some pics of the cracker-making process.

Dough

Rolled dough in pan

Scored/cut cracker dough, ready for baking
(with the pastry wheel/cutter)

Baked and cooled crackers. You can kind of sea the little salt crystals on the tops.

Blackberry Soda

2008-08-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like the fresh flavor of homemade soda! We usually have a pretty big stash of frozen berries, and the berry syrup to make this soda is easy-peasy - just the ticket on a hot summer day. You could also use the syrup for pancakes, waffles or homemade snow cones. The recipe and video are up on Everyday Dish. Feel free to substitute another berry for the blackberries, depending on what you have.

If you're into bubbly water or homemade soda, check out this toy. I love it, love that you can reuse the bottles so they don't wind up in landfills, and that it works out to 18 cents a liter. Not bad, and so much fun!

Anyways, check out the recipe for a fun and delicious treat.

Instant Clearjel

2008-08-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's here! My new favorite thickener for cooking. I love this stuff, because unlike cornstarch, arrowroot or tapioca starch, you don't have to cook it. It's instant! When it comes to thickening puddings, sauces, making vegan cheeze, ice cream, homemade vegan mayo, freezer jam, soy yogurt and a million other things, this stuff is the bomb baby. Really. I've also heard that you can add 1 tsp. ICJ per cup of flour to cookie batters, resulting in softer, chewier and thicker, bakery-style cookies.

We've added it to the marketplace on the Everyday Dish site. The link is here. We'll hopefully be adding a few more, hard-to-find (yet-o-so-cool) ingredients soon. I've also been working on recipes using the Instant Clearjel, which we'll be filming shortly. That way you'll have an aresnal of recipes, and wonder how you ever lived without this stuff.

Apples

2008-08-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

What to do when the neighbor's trees are overflowing with apples? Make applesauce! I am a fruit picking fiend, and go completely crazy when someone offers me fresh fruit off their trees.

After the blackberry upset last week (the owner of the property next door to us cut down all of our shared blackberry vines, just as thousands of gorgeous, wild organic blackberries were ready for picking). I begged and pleated, as he sat atop a rented backhoe, explaining that it was already done (why he waited until they were ripe for the picking, I'll never know). So the blackberry jam and scones and cakes and pies that I had been planning, were definitely not going to happen. I needed a new plan. A new fruit. Something else that was ripe and ready for picking.

The answer was actually much closer than I imagined. The man siting on top of the backhoe, feeling a little sorry for my berry loss, suggested that I come and pick apples from his yard which were ready for picking. I was so taken with the ripe, juicy blackberries that I hadn't even noticed all of his apple trees, hanging low with fruit. Perfect, tiny little apples.

I quickly grabbed my husband and some buckets and we went apple picking. I'm not sure how many pounds we picked, but let's just say that there were many. I couldn't stop picking. And so, that was how we spent our evening. Picking, peeling, chopping and cooking. And, let me just say, that it was some of the best applesauce I've ever had.

Although I don't have an exact recipe to share, it was easy-peasy to make. We filled the pressure cooker two thirds of the way full with chopped, peeled apples. I added a bit of apple cider and some ground cinnamon and allspice to the mix. I cooked it under high pressure for 5 minutes (yes, only 5 minutes!), and let the pressure release naturally. These happened to be very, very tart apples, so I also added a little brown sugar to taste, a little more spice and that was it! If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can cook it in a regular pot, although it will take quite a bit longer. You can also make it in a slow cooker, and let it go overnight until the apples are nice and soft.

Here's a few pics from our applesauce adventure:

I'd better pick more apples soon, because I think apple pies are on the menu next.

Blackberry Cobbler

2008-08-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

We have a new episode of our Everyday Dish cooking show up, and this time it's blackberry cobbler. The recipe is super-simple to make and is perfect for fresh summer berries. Check out the video here.

The recipe for the cobbler is from my new pie book (The Complete Book Of Pies), which should be hitting book stores in the next few weeks. I love this recipe, which is a different style of cobbler. Instead of topping the fruit with biscuit dough, you fill your baking dish with a sweet batter, and top it with lots of fresh berries. When it bakes, the fruit falls to the bottom and the cake bakes up on top. What you get is a fabulous combo of pie and cake, all together in one dessert. It's really delicious, and can be thrown together in minutes (unless, of course, you have to pick the berries first).

Now, a little bit about my new book. This pie book was the longest and largest project I have done to date. Start to finish it was close to 3 years. That's a long time, and lots of things change in a three year period. When I started the book, I was vegetarian, not vegan, although I was certainly going in that direction. I just wasn't sure how I could be vegan while I was working on recipe projects that called for dairy and eggs. This was something that I struggled with for quite some time. What I eventually did was to finish the recipes which called for dairy and eggs first, and then develop all of the other recipes to be vegan (or vegan-friendly as they are titled in the book). This way I could be vegan and develop vegan recipes. It worked out to be a beautiful decision, and I have never looked back.

So, although the book is not vegan, it has 97 vegan-friendly recipes. The recipes are not only delicious, but pretty easy to make as well. I worked really hard to help demystify the art of pie making, and make it fun, easy and approachable. To say that I made hundreds of pies during the three years would be an understatement. I think the number may be closer to a thousand. I baked pies night and day for almost three years.

Now, here's the part that I'm hoping people will understand. My publisher decided that he wanted a few meat pie recipes in the book. I know! I really can't go into it too much, but regardless of my personal feelings on the matter (and I have many) there are 10 non-veg recipes in the book. The recipes came from another cookbook author, and were not written (or tested) by me. I really hope that everyone will understand that this was not my decision or choice, and not hold it against the book. I worked so hard on this book, and am really proud of it. I think that I accomplished what I set out to do, which is simplifying the process of pie making in a modern and fun way.

Life is definitely a journey, and it's exciting for me to be able to continue to work on the projects that are so close to my heart, like our Everyday Dish cooking show, The Cancer Project and now writing vegan cookbooks.

So, what are you waiting for? Get over to Everyday Dish and make that cobbler!!

Soymilk, Part 2

2008-08-11T18:24:00.001-07:00

I've been playing around with soymilk recipes again, and had to share this one. It was really good! A combo of soaked soybeans, jasmine rice and rolled oats. A delicious and creamy milk!

One of the reasons that I've been experimenting is because I've been playing around with a fun new machine. It's the brand-new Soy Quick 930P, which has been redesigned without a filter cup. I love it! It's really easy to clean and makes fantastic non-dairy milks. This machine also makes exceptional rice and grain milks too. In fact, we love it so much, that we now carry it on the market page at Everyday Dish.

I'll keep experimenting, and if anyone is interested in a recipe I would be happy to share. It's so fun to be able to make healthy milks at home, for a fraction of the cost of store bought. Plus you can customize them any way you please, which is always a benefit in my book. I also love that there's no packaging to throw away. I simply re-fill my glass jars with the homemade milk and I'm ready to go.

I'd love to hear what everyone is cooking up in their kitchens this summer.

Julie

Dave's Killer Bread

2008-08-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

If you haven't tried the utterly delicious and uber-famous Dave's Killer Bread from Portland, Oregon, then this is your chance. Dave has again shared one of his amazing recipes with us for Everyday Dish, and this time it's for a 100% whole wheat bread that's out-of-this-world delicious! We're talking soft, tender, nutty, slightly sweet bread that is just as awesome on a sandwich as it is toasted and slathered with a little Earth Balance. Please, please give this recipe a try! This is whole grain bread at it's finest.

On a different note, I have been having some computer problems this past week, so I haven't been able to blog as much as I had hoped to. It's actually giving me more time in the kitchen (imagine that?!) to finish up the marshmallow recipes, which I am happy to say are just about complete. Whew! A couple more recipes to test, a quick how-to-video to film and we are ready to go! Here's hoping for a speedy computer recovery!

Julie

Pie And Ice Cream

2008-07-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have been working feverishly to perfect the marshmallow recipe, and it's just about done. Only a touch more tweaking left to do. I'm so excited! Once the recipes are perfect, I'm going to put them together as a small marshmallow e-book (along with a how-to video clip). Think of it as a modern-day 'zine. Then everyone can make them at home! Don't worry, this marshmallow pie is one of the recipes.

I brought a couple of the pies to a gathering last weekend, and both pies were devoured in under a minute. I kid you not! I wish that I had gotten it on film, because it was truly something to see.

I haven't forgotten about the whipped topping, but did put it on hold while I finish the marshmallow recipes. Who would have thought that the whipped topping could be such a tough nut to crack.

Now, on to some homemade ice cream...

This recipe came about because I needed a quick and easy ice cream recipe for one of my segments on "Better". It's not only creamy and utterly delicious, but extremely easy to make (provided you have a blender and ice cream maker). I am going to try and tape this recipe, along with another new recipe for vegan soft serve, in the next week or so for Everyday Dish.

So Delicious!

2008-07-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

A few of you guessed right. My mystery review is on the new coconut yogurt line from Turtle Mountain, and it's good. The folks at Turtle Mountain are masters at creating delicious flavor combinations, as seen in their ice cream and soy yogurt lines. The So Delicious coconut yogurts are no exception.

Not only did I make sure to taste all of the different flavors (I know, it's a tough job!), but I also tried baking with them, to see how they held up in a recipe. The results were excellent! I used the plain coconut yogurt in butterscotch blondies (from My Sweet Vegan), as well as a couple of other cookie and cake recipes. The yogurt baked up great, providing the baked goods with a moist crumb and great flavor.

Although I am a big fan of the Soy Delicious soy yogurts, it's nice to have options and be able to mix things up, and these coconut yogurts are just the thing. They're perfect to eat straight out of the carton, layered into breakfast parfaits with granola and fresh berries, mixed with fresh fruit and frozen into popsicles, or used as a creamy topping for summer desserts. There are oodles of delicious things you can make with the coconut yogurts, limited only by your imagination. The Passionate Mango was one of my favorites, with the lovely tart taste of passion fruit.

So, if you are in the mood to try something tasty and new or are looking for some soy-free alternatives, you should give these coconut yogurts a try. The fat count is a bit higher on them (about 6 to 7 grams) than most soy yogurts, but that is to be expected from coconut milk. On the other hand, the calorie count is low, they are dairy and lactose free, rich in medium chain fatty acids, are an excellent source of vitamin B12, contain pre- and probiotics (for good intestinal health), are cholesterol free, free of trans fat and certified vegan. Sounds good to me.

As a side note, Turtle Mountain has also come out with a couple of new flavors for their soy yogurt line, and they are fantastic too! I am addicted to the Key Lime, which I am dying to try in a cheesecake or pie. The Lemon Drop flavor is also really good, and is excellent eaten straight with fresh summer berries.

Whoopie Pies, oh my!

2008-07-17T14:23:00.001-07:00

I recently had the incredible pleasure of meeting Hannah Kaminsky, author of the book My Sweet Vegan. Hannah is an awesome baker, and if you haven't checked out her book or blog, you should. She is a 19 year old baking whiz, and wrote the book during her senior year of high school.

While Hannah was in town, she filmed a couple of segments for Everyday Dish (thank you Hannah!). She made two awesome recipes, the first being her scrumptious chocolate whoopie pies. Now all you have to do is get into the kitchen and make them! They are so, so good. You really must try them.

Here is a picture of Hannah, with her delectable whoopie pies.

I'll be back soon, to tell you about another fantastic new product that's hitting the market. I'll give you one hint... it's made from coconut.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

2008-07-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

I've got the strawberry freezer jam recipe for you. I'm thinking that it will work with any fresh summer fruit. I had planned to pick raspberries today and give it a try, but the berries just aren't quite ready for picking yet. I will probably try it with raspberries, boysenberries and peaches once they're ripe, and let you know how it works.

If enough people are interested in the Instant Clear Jel, let me know and we can start carrying it on our website. It's pretty amazing stuff, and I've used it super-successfully for everything from nacho cashew cheeze to lemon curd to gelato. This is seriously some of the best jam ever, and it tastes like fresh picked strawberries. So good!

Now for the quick Jam recipe:

Julie's Strawberry Freezer Jam

5 cups smashed fresh strawberries
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I used organic sugar which I whizzed in a processor to make super-fine)
5 tablespoons plus 1 tsp Instant Clear Jel

1. Place smashed strawberries in a large bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl, mix together sugar and clear jel, whisking until well mixed. Add the sugar mixture to the strawberries, whisking until very well mixed and sugar looks dissolved. If you don't stir it well, the starch will thicken in clumps. This should only take a minute or so.

3. Let strawberry mixture sit for 10 minutes to thicken completely. Scoop into clean jars, seal with a lid and place in freezer.

Arugula Salad

2008-07-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to tell you about a new recipe up on everyday dish. It's a delicious arugula salad with a preserved lemon vinaigrette. Absolutely divine, and is from Chef Derek Hanson at Nutshell restaurant in Portland Oregon.

Preserved lemons are very easy to make (just do a Google search), but it is basically sliced lemons layered in a jar with Kosher salt, and left to sit (refrigerated) for about a month. I regularly have a jar going in my fridge, because they add a fabulous spark of flavor to recipes. You can buy preserved lemons too. You really should give it a try!

Strawberries And More

2008-06-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is my season! I absolutely love fresh picked berries. With buckets in hand, I wait patiently to hear which farms are ready for U-Pick. Blueberries, strawberries, tay berries, raspberries, blackberries... I love them all!

Last week I got an invitation to get in on some strawberry picking. In the three years that I've been in the Pacific Northwest, I've yet to actually pick my own strawberries. I know. It's just that the strawberries here have a very, very short season. On top of that, they are so petite, juicy and fragile, that they don't export well. In other words, you either pick them quickly or buy them at the farmer's market for the couple of weeks that they're available, otherwise you're out of luck. Needless to say I was definitely up for strawberry picking!

So I dragged the entire family to pick and kick off the summer berry season. We managed to get about 23 pounds, some for jam and the rest to be bagged and frozen (for winter smoothies).

Before I go on though about the jam, I've got to tell you about another new ingredient that I've been playing around with. It's Instant Clear Jel. ICJ is basically an instant cornstarch. It dissolves instantly, so there's no need to cook your sauce. Case in point my new strawberry jam.

Jam making usually involves a lot of stove top cooking as well as tons of sugar. No cooking necessary for this jam. Commercial pectin needs lots of sugar to jell the pureed fruit, so you wind up using a ton of sugar, most often needing more sugar than actual fruit. Now with the instant starch, you can add as much or as little sugar as you like.

Apparently the Instant Clear Jel doesn't work well for traditional canning or processing, but is awesome for freezer jam. I have to say that this was some of the best strawberry jam I've had, although maybe the fresh-picked strawberries had something to do with it. I will share the recipe, but need to type it up first. Sometimes scribbling on a napkin isn't the best way to keep recipe notes.

I would definitely recommend looking into the Instant Clear Jel. You will see me calling for it in lots of upcoming recipes, and there's really no substitute for it. I do have a little to spare and can try and hook you up with some, although I don't have a large enough quantity to list it on our website (you can email me at blog@everydaydish.tv). Otherwise, you can check out King Arthur Flour or some other places on the internet. Apparently it's been available to the baking industry for something like 60 years, and was even voted the best pie thickener by Cook's Illustrated. It's certainly an uber-cool ingredient for vegan desserts.

Strawberry jam, straight from the freezer

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler!

2008-06-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is a scrumptious dessert! Melisser (aka The Urban Housewife) was up in Portland recently, and shared her delicious recipe for strawberry rhubarb cobbler. So if you have some fresh strawberries and rhubarb in your fridge (or yard), and you're wondering what to make, this is it. Definitely give it a try while strawberries and rhubarb are still in season.

You can check out the video of Melisser making her fantabulous dessert on everydaydish. Thanks so much Melisser for sharing your awesome cobbler recipe!

My Sweet Vegan

2008-06-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

If you happen to be in Portland, Oregon this weekend, you should know about a very cool event happening at Herbivore.

What: Meet Hannah Kaminsky, author of My Sweet Vegan, and enjoy a dessert sampling
When: Sunday, June 29th at noon
Where: Herbivore Clothing Store in the Vegan Mini Mall, 1211 SE Stark Street, Portland, OR 97214

Hannah is the 19-year-old author and photographer of the decadent dessert book My Sweet Vegan. Each recipe includes a full-color photo to tease bakers-to-be into the kitchen.

Written and photographed during her senior year of high school, Kaminsky's book debut is an impressive and sophisticated addition to any cook's book collection, regardless of their inclination to veganism or not. Those with dairy allergies, a chocolate addiction or a desire to eat less cholesterol will be thrilled to check it out.

Recipes include: Triple Threat Chocolate Cheese Cake, Orange Dreamsicle Snack Cake, Brilliant Berry Parfaits, Pumpkin Toffee Trifle and Award-Winning Mocha Devastation Cake.

Hannah is currently working on her second vegan dessert cookbook. If you don't know about Hannah's super-cool blog, check it out at http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/

Whipped Topping Update

2008-06-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well here's the update. I have been working feverishly to develop an incredible whipped topping recipe to share. I had the highest of hopes that I would at least have something by today, but the recipe's just not excellent yet. I have a very high standard for my recipes and I wouldn't want to share one that wasn't absolutely delicious.

I will keep plugging away, so that I can share something delicious soon. Until then, if anyone is chomping at the bit to try testing out some recipes themselves, I will steer you in the right direction. The product that Bryanna and I have been playing with is called Versawhip 600K. It's made out of soy and is supposed to be a vegan product (although there are other Versawhips that are not even vegetarian). It's pretty pricey, but we found that L'Epecerie in New York has the best price on it. I just want to give you a heads-up that the product is very tricky to use and not so cut and dry. Although it will whip liquid into a topping, many of my test batches have been less than desirable, and certainly not what I would want to serve to guests. I can't even tell you how many test batches I have thrown away.

Now, for the rest of us who want a luscious whipped topping and don't mind waiting a bit, I will hopefully have a recipe in the near future to share. We all need a fluffy whipped topping for our summer berries, so I will keep plugging away.

Thanks for all of your marshmallow love!

Julie

Food For Thought

2008-06-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

In the process of trying to perfect the whipped creme topping, I seemed to have stumbled upon the elusive marshmallow. It still needs a bit of work, but oh man, it's close!

The picture above is a moon pie with homemade graham crackers and a dark chocolate cloak. The picture below is a mound of marshmallow on top of a homemade graham cracker, lightly toasted with a mini kitchen torch.

I'd better get back to the kitchen. No sleep for the weary, here. And don't worry, these recipes will definitely be part of the e-book.
Julie

Pizza On The Barbie

2008-06-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for something to make for dinner that's delicious and doesn't require the oven, check out the new BBQ'd pizza segment on Everyday Dish. This is a no-fail pizza dough, very simple to make (in a mixer or food processor or even by hand). You can also make the dough several days ahead, just make sure to let it rise for 1 hour, before placing in a large covered bucket/bowl or gallon zip-top bag and refrigerating. I wish I had a picture for you, but I didn't think of it until after we had gobbled up the entire pizza. Yeah, grilled pizza is that good!

I know that I can't end this post without mentioning the vegan whipped cream too. So here goes. The recipe still needs some additional work before I can share it. It's really important to me that my recipes are bullet proof and easy to make, which can take some doing. This is a tricky recipe. I also started thinking that since we're spending so much time on it, why not come up with other yummy sweet recipes too. Bryanna and I thought that it would be fun to put together a small e-book of summer desserts. Well actually two books. We're both going to do one so that everyone has LOTS of delicious desserts for summer. My goal is to do this as soon as possible, because the season is just about here, along with lots of glorious summer fruit. I will keep everyone posted. Promise!

Vegan Whipped Cream

2008-06-13T09:11:00.001-07:00

If you had asked me last year if homemade vegan whipped topping was possible, I would have said no. If you had asked me several months ago, I would have the same answer. If you ask me today, I would say absolutely! Yes, homemade vegan whipped topping is absolutely possible.

I'll begin by saying that there is no tofu involved here. None. As much as I love my tofu, whipped cream it's not. This is a fluffy, ethereal topping, the perfect accompaniment to crepes, waffles or chocolate cake (yes, I've topped them all).

Another thing that's so fantastic about this vegan topping, is that you can also whip it into a marshmallow cream (thanks Bryanna, for the tip) and possibly meringue as well. Yes, Bryanna's in on the secret too. I also plan to test out chocolate and citrus versions too. I mean, really, can you ever have too many toppings?

Last week, feeling like kids in a candy shop, my husband and I quickly grabbed our mini kitchen torch, toasting the top like a campfire marshmallow or meringue-topped pie. Unbelievable! We looked at each other with sheer excitement, as we started grabbing ingredients and kitchen tools. What followed next was s'more waffles, a true breakfast of champions. Our kitchen has become a whipped topping wonderland.

Notice the little flecks of vanilla paste in the cream.

Now that I've piqued your interest, you'll have to come back for the rest of the story. I have some more experimenting to do before I can share the details. Just know that I will share, so even though you may not live close enough to come over for s'more waffles, lemon meringue tarts or chocolate fluff cake, I will send you in the right direction. I mean, come on, whipped topping and marshmallow fluff, this is the stuff of vegan dreams!

Chocolate fluff cake

As a side note, I've actually come across several new ingredients recently (or at least new to me), which take vegan desserts to a whole new level. I can't wait to share! So check back, because they're coming soon (and hopefully to a kitchen near you!).

Julie

One Amazing Dish

2008-06-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying, this is not your 70's-style tofu. This is tofu prepared in an elegant and upscale way. This is fine dining tofu.

Imagine Marsala-marinated tofu, coated with herbed panko crumbs and pan-seared until it's got a gorgeous crispy golden crust. Close your eyes and imagine this ethereal tofu perched on a mound of rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, and topped with an earthy mushroom Marsala sauce. Now this is tofu.

I first tasted this tofu dish at The Farm Cafe in Portland Oregon. I was having dinner with my good buddy Joanna, and she highly recommended the tofu. After careful scanning of the menu, chock-full of local, fresh, organic produce, this was definitely the dish that caught my eye. Herbed Crusted Tofu With A Mushroom Marsala Sauce. OMG! It had my name written all over it! The dish was divine. So much so that I started holding it up as my standard of what a good tofu dish should be. No problem preparing this at home, right? Wrong, actually. This was a tougher nut to crack than I imagined.

So, fast forward to last month, when the owner of The Farm Cafe accepted my offer to come prepare her amazing herbed-crusted tofu on Everyday Dish. Now everyone can learn their secret to a fabulously prepared tofu dish. And, we all have a delicious new tofu recipe to serve at our next dinner party, or try out on our tofu-phobic husbands/children/friends.

The recipe and video are up now on Everyday Dish. Thank you Fearn and Russel and The Farm Cafe, for sharing your delicious recipe with us. Now, what are you waiting for? You've got to try this dish!

White Wheat

2008-06-03T10:41:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, I love my kitchen toys, and the grain mill is no exception. I've blogged about the mill before, but I thought it was a good time to revisit it again. First of all, there is nothing liked home milled flour. Absolutely nothing. Especially if you are a baking nut like myself, and a beautiful silky flour gets you going. When you grind your own wheat, the resulting flour is beautiful, soft, sweet and flavorful. It really is something to behold.

Now don't get me wrong. I do still buy some flour, such as white pastry or unbleached all-purpose (or vital wheat gluten), but I'm finding that white whole wheat flour works beautifully in so many recipes. White wheat often goes undetected in many of my baked goods, which is a great thing with a houseful of teenagers. My kids certainly wouldn't choose "healthy" tasting cookies, not in a million years, but I want them to get all of the wonderful benefits of whole grains. This is where white wheat has been my savior. No one detects a "healthy" taste, whether it be pancakes, chocolate cakes, cookies or breads. This is a very good thing.

So when I received an email last week, asking if I might be interested in purchasing some white wheat from Montana, my interest was piqued. It seems that a former student of mine became alarmed with the rising cost of wheat, and the lack of white wheat available. If you haven't heard yet, the cost of wheat has nearly doubled, and apparently white wheat is now hard to find. So she contacted a farm and was able to lock in a fantastic price, so long as she purchased an entire semi-truck load. We're talking thousands of pounds of wheat. The unbelievable thing is that she found homes for all of the wheat right away. Amazing. She's thinking about doing it again, and asked if I would help put the word out to see if there's enough interest for her to place another order. If you're interested, email me at the blog and I can put you in touch with her (blog@everydaydish.tv). You would need to be able to get to the Portland area to pick it up, and they are 50 pound bags. She isn't making a penny on this. She justs wants to help people out.

So, needless to say, not only is grinding your own flour fun, but it's an adventure too. Now, I just need to find a good use for my red lentil flour. Any ideas?

Oh, and before I sign off, we have a new recipe and video up on everyday dish. Peanut sesame noodles, which are perfect warm weather fare. I promise you will love them, and if you have any peanut allergies in your household, just substitute another nut, seed or soy butter for the peanut.

Happy cooking!

Ice Cream

2008-05-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

Ice cream anyone?

I recently had the opportunity to try a new line of premium ice creams from Purely Decadent that are hitting the market, and boy are they good! The ice creams are non-dairy, rich, creamy and delicious, yet aren't total diet busters. The base of the ice cream is coconut milk, which gives you a wonderfully silky texture and clean taste. In fact, my daughter and I both thought that there was almost a marshmallow flavor to it. Yum!! The ice creams come in five flavors, although I only tried the vanilla, chocolate and coconut. I think there's also cookie dough and mint chip. They are perfect flavors for eating with a spoon, ice cream sundaes, topping summer pies or making refreshing root beer or soda floats. Hello! You've got to give these ice creams a try.

I think they're available in a couple of stores at the moment, Whole Foods being one of them. I can't wait until there are more flavors to choose from. These non-beany, creamy ice creams were a quick hit in my house. Now I just need to replenish my stock. Time to go shopping...

The Winner Is...

2008-05-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

Vegyogini! Thank you to everyone for putting your name down and playing along (and your awesome comments!). I'll do another drawing again soon. So Vegyogini, please email me in the next 2 days with your name and address, so I can send you a copy of the DVD. You can email me through my profile on this blog.

Now, about the picture. This incredible bread is a Sin Dawg from Dave Dahl, of Dave's Killer Bread. It's super awesomely delicious, and virtuous too! It's a lovely, soft whole grain dough wrapped up with an ooey-gooey cinnamon sugar filling. A-mazing!! Fortunately even if you don't live in Portland and frequent the Saturday Farmer's Market, you can still get your hands on one. Well actually three. Not only did Dave share the recipe with us, but he also filmed a segment of Everyday Dish, and will walk you through the entire bread baking process. Now there's no excuse for you not to bake up a batch at home. The recipe and video are up on Everyday Dish. The direct link to the video is here.

I'll be back in a couple of days with a review of a creamy new ice cream hitting the market. Until then, go bake yourself a batch of Sin Dawgs!

In A Nutshell...

2008-05-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know, there's a new recipe & video up on Everyday Dish. The dish is Sauteed Chard With A Cherry Ginger Gastrique. It is really delicious, and comes from executive chef Derek Hanson at Nutshell restaurant in Portland, Oregon (which is a fantastic vegan restaurant). The dish is on their restaurant menu, though they serve it atop a creamy polenta at the restaurant. It's a very simple recipe and I encourage you to give it a try. This is a perfect way to use all of the yummy chard from the farmer's market.

We've been bookin' on the Everyday Dish segments and have some great ones (with some great chefs) coming up. I'll let you know here on the blog, as we post them each week.

On another note, check out the latest podcast of Stumptown Vegans with Jess (of Let's Get Sconed) and Webly (from Fueled By Popcorn). For the latest podcast, Jess and Webly invited me over to shoot the breeze and talk about vegan food and cooking.

Also, I thought that it would be fun to do another DVD giveaway, so if you want to be included in the drawing, please add your name to the comments. I will randomly select a winner by putting all of the names in a mixing bowl, and will announce the winner here on the blog. Once I announce the winner, I will need you to email me within 2 days, or unfortunately I will have to randomly select another winner. I’m not sure when I will announce the winner, so check back.

I think that's all for now. Happy cooking!!

Julie

Hot Artichoke Dip

2008-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

I promised that I would tell everyone when the Hot Artichoke Dip video and recipe are up on Everyday Dish, and they are! This dip is really delicious! Chef Brian Igarta has some awesome recipes. Go check it out and make yourself a batch.

I also wanted to share some pics from my birthday last week. This is the birthday cake my daughter and husband made for me. They tried to bake it in a giant cupcake pan, but there were a few complications and only the top of the cake survived. It was an absolutely delicious vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and a little dusting of cinnamon. Truly, the combo of the cinnamon and vanilla made it one of the best tasting cakes I've ever had. It was also the perfect amount of cake for the four of us.

The best part of all was that my birthday dinner was homemade by my daughter and husband. We had a Mexican fiesta with awesome jalapeno poppers, tacos and all the fixins'. There was even a lovely agave tequila for that special authentic touch (that my daughter didn't have anything to do with). Dinner was perfect!

These are a couple of my fun new birthday toys. A special little rack for making grilled or roasted jalapeno poppers. This is super-cool and can go right on your BBQ or even in your toaster oven, and holds the stuffed peppers upright. No need to deep fry these babies. A Williams-Sonoma special.

My other new toy is a mini burger press, which my husband thought would make cute little sausage patties. I have to agree with him on this. I think it will make some cool vegan sliders too!

Chocolate Panini

2008-04-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

A few people have asked me about my cooking segments on the morning show "Better", so I thought that I would explain further. I do the cooking segments once or twice a month, and get to cook a variety of easy and delicious recipes. As of last month I am now officially the "Entertaining Editor", which means that I get a nifty title on the screen when I do the segments.

This chocolate panini is what I made yesterday, although the segment aired this morning. The video can be seen here. Let me know if for some reason the link doesn't work.

So for those of you that want to make these chocolaty babies at home, it couldn't be simpler. I like to spread some organic nut butter (almond or peanut butter) on a nice rustic bread. Then I pile on chocolate, whether semisweet or dark, broken bars or chocolate chips. For the segment I used Maranatha nut butters , organic chocolate (vegan, of course) and Sunspire chocolate chips. Oh yeah, and a little Earth Balance too. Oh, and banana if you like.

If you don't like nut butter or you are allergic, no problem. Just omit it and you will have a super-duper melty chocolate panini!

Lightly spread the outside of the sandwich with a touch of Earth Balance and cook on a panini grill or in a heavy skillet. Cook the panini until the chocolate is melted and the bread is nicely toasted. Serve the panini warm, preferably with a glass of hazelnut milk.

Filled with chocolate and nut butter

Ready to grill

Now I just have to decide what I'm going to make for next month's segment. Hmmm, any suggestions?

Oh, and before I forget, we have a couple of new segments on everyday dish. Whole grain blueberry orange pancakes and chocolate chip orange biscotti. Both recipes are yum!

Kitchen Toys

2008-04-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

(Butterscotch brownies from the book "My Sweet Vegan", baking away)

I guess by now, everyone knows how much I love my kitchen toys. I don't think it's quite at the point of needing an intervention, but I do love a fun kitchen toy or appliance. Just to set the record straight, I do have some pretty tough criteria. First of all, it needs to function really well and take the place of another tool/appliance, because let's face it, I have a pretty small kitchen. Real estate is at a premium here, and, I have a "deal" with my husband that as one tool arrives, another must go. Sometimes this works better in theory, but I really try to stick to the plan. And in case you're wondering where the previous "tenants" go, that is usually straight to my brother or mother's kitchen (my brother is a chef too). In my family, kitchen toys become a game of musical toys.

(The oven with freshly baked vegan hot artichoke dip. The oven did an amazing job baking it)

As well as enjoying playing with the new toys, I think it's important to offer feedback on these products, sharing how they hold up to a lot of wear and tear in a busy kitchen. Believe me, not everything makes that cut. I will try to give everyone feedback on products that I am really enjoying and think are worthwhile or could be a good addition to someone's kitchen.

Another reason for some of my counter top appliances is that I do a lot of cooking segments on television (I am the "entertaining editor" for a morning show called Better), and there isn't a kitchen set-up -just a table and an extension cord. I need to be able to bring these appliances with me, so that I can actually cook on set. In other words, my "toys" are also part of my lively hood. Anyways, on to a few new favorites.

The first is the Cuisinart Brick Oven. This is a counter top oven which really performs. I first heard rave reviews about it from Bryanna Clark Grogan. She was having an awful time baking bread and pizzas in her new oven, unable to get it hot enough to blister the crust. This began to pique my interest, because how cool would it be to use a counter top oven that not only baked extremely well, but actually saved the energy of turning on a large gas or electric oven/range.
As an added bonus, the oven is really well designed and beautiful too. In addition to standard and convection baking and broiling, it also toasts. Plus, the oven has built in brick/stones on the sides of the oven, as well as a removable one for baking directly on.

I have been having so much fun with this oven. It bakes extremely well and I was blown away with the results, whether cakes, cookies, bread or roasting or broiling. It's fairly large, which is nice because I can easily fit pie plates and brownie pans in it. I have it tucked into a corner of my kitchen. I give this oven 2 big thumbs up. If you have a sketchy oven or are just looking for a great counter top oven, check out the Cuisinart Brick Oven.

The next toy that I want to share is The Garlic Twist. This gadget was also recommended to me, and it did not disappoint. I use a ton of garlic in my cooking, so anytime I can mince it quickly it's appreciated. I know I could use a knife, but this gadget is awesome. I can do about 4 peeled cloves at a time with a quick couple twists of the wrist. Another benefit is that you can smash the garlic and store it temporarily in the container. This is an added benefit, because in order to get all of the healthy benefits from cooked garlic, it needs to sit for 10 minutes after mincing/pressing/smashing before being cooked. No problem with the Garlic Twist. It also smash/minces the garlic, which I think releases more flavor and oil than by simply chopping it.

(The Garlic Twist. I didn't take this pic, but rather borrowed it from their website. Our dark gloomy weather today wasn't too conducive to photography)

Another great item I've discovered recently is the new Zyliss Smart Touch salad spinner. It makes quick work of washing lettuce, greens and herbs, spinning them dry with ease. Obviously I wash a lot of greens, so this is a great time saver. My old spinner was tiny and you pulled a cord to spin the veggies dry. Well I had used it so much that the cord had cut a nifty rut into the side of the spinner. It seemed like an appropriate time to retire it and try something new and more efficient. Instead of a cord for this new spinner, there's a flat paddle on the top that you place your hand on, effortlessly pressing up and down. It's almost meditative. Suddenly my kids are volunteering to make salads. This can't be a bad thing, right? We all need to eat more greens, so why not make the task easier, and do it with a bit of flair? I am loving this stylin' new spinner.

(I didn't take this photo either. It's courtesy of the Zyliss website. Darn gloomy weather)

I don't sell any of these items, but have truly enjoyed using them. I'm sure that they can be found online with a quick Google search, or your local kitchen store. It's fun for me to share and pass my thoughts on to other kitchen enthusiasts.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

I'm Back

2008-04-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finished most of the living room (except for one wall to go). Actually, I should say Jay has finished it, because I can't really take much credit for it. He's the talent with the home remodeling.

So here's some pics of the new space. I didn't get a "before" shot, because he started so quickly I missed the shot. But you will notice that there's a mid-way shot. I'm so happy the messy part is done and we are left with a truly "grown-up" living room. I feel like such an adult now.

"Before Cabinets"

"After Cabinets"

Backing up a week and a half or so, we celebrated our daughter's 17th birthday. Her one request was a chocolate birthday cake. Unfortunately, as I was taking it out of the pan, it broke into pieces. I had to think quick on my feet, because I only had 30 minutes or so to finish off her birthday dessert. Trifle came to mind. I whipped out a large glass dish (shaped like a giant martini glass), figuring that would be a nice presentation. I had already made a batch of chocolate mousse and had some beautiful fresh strawberries. In a couple of minutes I layered cake cubes, mousse and strawberries, and had a "birthday-worthy" dessert. It was a huge hit.

(My daughter and her boyfriend. Pour thing didn't feel good that night. It sure sucks to be sick on your birthday)

Then, this past weekend, we had a guest chef come in to film 3 segments for Everyday Dish. He is the Maui Vegetarian, aka Chef Brian Igarta. He has some awesome recipes, which I am so excited to share . His first segment for Tropical Haupia is up on the Everyday Dish website. Haupia is a traditional Hawaiian pudding, made with coconut milk. He made both a coconut and a mango version, which are so incredibly delicious! Brian's haupia has my brain working in overdrive now, as I'm thinking of all kinds of new haupia flavor combinations.

Brian also made a fabulous hot artichoke dip (vegan, of course), that is out-of-this-world, along with a delicious Puerto Rican Soup (flavored with anatto seed). Needless to say The Maui Vegetarian knows how to cook some great vegan food, which I'm glad I got a chance to taste.

Edited to add: The Haupia recipe and video are up at everyday dish. Go check it out and let me know what you think.

Happy cooking!

Back Soon

2008-04-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't put up a new post this week. We've been working on painting/fixing up our living room, which seems to be taking forever. I will post again soon. Promise.