Category Archives: Vegan

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When my younger sister and I lived down the street from each other in San Luis Obispo, her and her roommates had figured out a successful way to share all of the food in the house. A feat, that I am not sure I ever managed until living with my husband.

The best part was they all loved big fabulous salads. I would come over for a mid-week brunch of sorts. My favorite days would involve a post-yoga mimosa (it is about balance, right?!) and then containers of chopped or shredded veggies, cooked beans, toasted nuts or seeds, cheese (of course!) and a dressing would come out on to the countertops. Moments later we were each happily munching on salads.

Here are a few of my favorite strategies for my own salad bars at home in the winter months:

  1. Of course, keep with the season. This time of year, florets such as cauliflower and broccoli are perfect to break and crumble into bite size pieces.
  2. Shred up roots: carrots, beets (in lots of colors!), parsnips, salad turnips, radishes, and sweet potatoes (our favorite!)
  3. Thinly slice fennel or onions for extra flavor.
  4. Pomegranate seeds store nicely as well
  5. For apples, it is best to slice these just prior to serving. If you want to keep apples from browning spritz them with a bit of lemon-water.
  6. Avocados are easy enough to find this time of year. Slice them to order just as you would apples.
  7. Grapefruits and oranges of many colors are easy to peel and cut just before tossing the salad, but they can also be cut in advance easily.
  8. Nuts: sliced almonds, crumbled walnuts, cashews, pecans, macadamia or even hazelnuts
  9. Seeds: toasted pumpkin & sunflower, chia, cooked quinoa, sesames, or ground flax
  10. Beans: Soak & Sprout or Cook- chickpea/garbanzo, lentils, black, red, white, kidney beans and more
  11. Pair the salad with shreds of dark leafy greens such as kale, collards, or chard OR you can also find easy pre-washed baby greens. Lately, we have been eating a lot of baby kale.

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Here is my quick & easy Vinaigrette that will serve 2-3 people.

1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon vinegar (balsamic, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar, etc.)
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a big salad bowl, whisk together the honey, dijon and vinegar. Once evenly combined, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking wildly. The idea is to emulsify the oil in with the base to create an almost creamy consistency.

Season with salt and pepper. Add your own salad ingredients as desired.

Every once in a while I feel a bit more dressing is needed. At that point, I will just splash the salad with the vinegar and then drizzle on a nice glug of olive oil. A bit more salt and pepper may be needed too.

What are your favorite ways to get salad on the dinner table quickly?

Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well,

Chef Lilly

Grilled ArtichokesLast night, I decided to challenge myself to something, anything for 50 days that I could write about. But, everything I thought of seemed impossible to my postpartum, infant in my arms, toddler at my side self. If I did anything for any number of days, it had to already somehow exist in my life.

Then I thought, the one thing I consistently do everyday is eat. Not just cook. (Unique, I know.) Although, I am hoping this challenge will ensure at least a little bit everyday is homemade, since that is pretty much what I preach. I will leave further ramblings about why I am doing this for the coming days.

Without further delay, here is what we ate today:

I am a huge fan of that first sip of coffee in the day. Somehow I can’t remember today’s, but I do remember subsequent tastes. My three year old daughter, asked for milk with granola. She got it. Meanwhile, I prepared myself an Egg in Hole. Juliette then assisted me in eating my breakfast, so I proclaimed we would share another. She agreed.

For lunch, we sat down to leftovers which included a lovely Baba Ganoush that I started over the weekend when we had the smoker out for a big piece of pork that we had slowly smoked and pulled with a homemade barbeque sauce- basically lots of smoked vegetables pureed with molasses, mustard and a few other additions. The pork was made to be shared with friends who had a daughter a month after our son Zedekiah was born. I am amazed at how their two-week old sweetheart, makes our tiny dude look so big.

Anyways, back to that Baba Ganoush, after we took the pork off I threw on a couple of big eggplants, smoked them for about an hour and then let them sit in the smoker as it cooled. The day after we dined with friends, we peeled and pureed the eggplant with a generous amount of tahini and it became deliciousness to be spread on a fabulous loaf of sour dough we bought when we drove through Lyons this weekend. The spread was joined with crackers and cheese. Juliette also dined on a huge pile of cherry tomatoes.

We finished up leftovers of a chunky salad as well that we had for dinner the night before. It included every other vegetable coming out of my garden including basil, tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce and avocado in a balsamic dressing with bulgur. It had this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink grain salad feel to it.

Nitrates are commonly staffed with order cheap cialis bought this the drugs you have taken. However, it should be noted that current regulations permit a variation of approximately 20% either way in the bioavailability of the active ingredient. buy cialis steal here What is india viagra pills even worse is the man is throwing away a perfectly healthy relationship as of stubbornness. The United States, for sildenafil pill instance, has a food and drug administration that oversees prescriptions, among other things. Mid-afternoon we headed out to join the library in our new town. Much to our surprise they were having a party there celebrating the end of the summer reading program. The party fun included a clown painting faces. Juliette and I left a bit more decorated and headed to our  local pub to get our favorite happy hour snack of Grilled Artichokes. The recipe link is how I make them at home, but the photo above is from our dining experience. We of course had to have a beverage which included Pineapple & Soda Water for Juliette and I had a St. Germaine Spritzer, which was soda water, splash of St. Germaine and Pino Grigio.

When we got home, I had planned to grill dinner, but a thunder storm made that seem a silly idea. I looked around and spotted three ready to eat avocados. With their inspiration I whipped up some enchiladas using as many random containers of leftovers I could find in the fridge. To make the sauce, I charred an anaheim pepper and tomatoes on the open flame. Then added a splash of apple cider vinegar, slightly cooked onions and toasted sunflower seeds all in the blender. I then had Juliette come over to taste it. She was skeptical, but after I asked ‘does it need more salt?’, she figured her mother clearly needed assistance. We decided it needed raisins, more salt and pepper. The sauce was seriously delicious after several tiny additions, blending sessions and samples on tiny spoons. She was so proud of her sauce. I envision developing this recipe further to share on Lilly’s Table.

The filling was a crazy combination of leftovers including split mung beans (I have an addiction to these), a chopped up beet that I smoked alongside the eggplant (just to see what would happen- BTW: delicious), onions, zucchini and a medley of other leftover cooked vegetables that had previously been part of another dinner. Remember those avocados that inspired the meal… they were each brown all the way through and still sort of hard? WTH! These Vegan Enchiladas tasted great, but were even better with a dollop of Greek Yogurt. Avocados would have been better but, I will try not to get hung up on that frustration.

Especially since the evening ended with a Salted Caramel Ice Cream Bar coated in delightful dark chocolate. I can’t remember the company because I bought them on sale and then asked my husband to hide the evidence from the toddler.

Whew- I had more to write on this first day then I even realized.

Good night and sweet food dreams to you!

Chef Lilly

Whacking a knife towards your hand merely protected by half of an avocado may not be the best advice to give, but since this is my preferred method of slicing and peeling an avocado, I just had to share!

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Before the big samurai moment above, I slice into the center of the avocado, until I reach the pit and then I roll around the avocado. A quick twist will loosen the halves from each other. Next, I place the avocado in my left hand, knife in the right (lefties I am sure you have already taken note and plan to reverse). I only use a large knife for this operation. A small knife is a big useless no-no. Unless you also have success hammering a nail with the back of a screw driver. Next, safety first: unlike me and my expert risky decision to hold the avocado in a bare hand, placing a towel between your hand and the avocado is an excellent idea. Now, line your knife against the pit and whack gently. If you see in the photo above there are a few pre-cuts. Just like hammering a nail, tap lightly until you realize just how much of a whack is needed to get into the pit. IMG_9839

Once the pit feels securely attached to the knife. Twist gently and the pit should pop out of the avocado. A few fingers should push your pit off successfully. While holding the pit in your left hand (again with towel protection) thinly slice into the flesh of the avocado just until you reach the skin.  IMG_9845

You can do it on the diagonal as well.

Oh… fancy.

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IMG_9853Tada! Two sliced avocado halves…IMG_9855

Now lay down the knife. Whew. All hands still intact? Pull out a big spoon. Gently scoop into the shell of the avocado wiggling against the skin to remove all of the flesh.

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Peeled and sliced avocado! IMG_9866

Next… Butter a couple slices of bread. Lay in a cast-iron skillet (or whatever you have available) butter side down over medium heat. Place the avocado on one slice of bread and lay slices of your favorite melting cheese on the other. Thinly slice greens such as spinach or arugula and toss around the bread in the skillet. As soon as they are wilted, pile them into the sandwich. Smash it together. Check for a golden sear on each side. Melty cheese? You are now good to munch down on this creamy sandwich.  IMG_9869

Jamaican Black Bean Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

After about 10 years of avoiding meat, I found myself craving it, wanting it, needing it. There were major lifestyle changes happening at the same time as I was starting my first Personal Chef business and developing a new, almost daily dedication to the hot & steamy Bikram Yoga. Not long after, I met my future husband who was a semi-but-mostly-vegetarian just to add to the irony of my new fond love of meat. After we traveled to Argentina and indulged in a whole lot of grass-fed beef and pastured pork & chicken we came back fully dedicated to the omnivore life, but neither of us were quite happy with the environmental impact of our meat consumption in this country. Over the years we have reduced the amount of meat we eat, just as many more people throughout the world are becoming more conscious and mindful of their meat consumption whether or not they are full-time vegans or vegetarians.

If you have considered these possibilities, let me be the first to welcome you to the delightful Flexitarian lifestyle. Oh yes, we all need a fancy dietary name, right?

Meatless Mondays
Take the pledge and declare your vegetarianism for just one easy day per week.

Mark Bittman’’s Strategy
The author of Food Matters follows a philosophy of being vegan every day until 6pm. After that, anything goes for him. This is perfect for anyone who eats out frequently or prefers to cook roasts and more hearty meals for dinner.

By my hands alone
There is an interesting movement that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook subscribes to. They only eat the meat they kill themselves. Honestly, I am not quite ready for such action myself, but I do follow the philosophy of only eating meat that has been produced locally, from a source I trust. The cost of these beautiful pasture raised meats means that many of my meals are actually vegetarian. I just cannot afford to eat that much grass-fed beef or pasture raised pork & chicken.

Our way…
As I stated above, my husband and I eat a relatively vegetarian diet and occasionally, as a few extra dollars are available, we indulge in grass-fed beef, pastured pork or chicken. We raise our own chickens for their eggs and get plenty of meatless protein otherwise, but we love the treat of eating locally raised meat.

If we buy a chicken, we buy it whole (as it is cheapest per pound) and we are sure to make the bones into a hearty broth after it is roasted, poached, or cooked however we like. Ideally, during my pregnant/nursing/raising toddler lifestyle I would prefer to have a chicken, beef or pork at least once per week, but that is not always possible and that is okay, too. We eat a ton of beans, whole-grains, nuts and seeds, our own chicken eggs, yogurt and cheese. We also treat ourselves to restaurants with local meat options, too. Otherwise, we choose to eat vegetarian when we are out.

What are your meatless strategies? Are you ready to get on board with reducing your meat consumption? Please comment below and share the strategies that work best for you!

Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well,

Chef Lilly

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For dedicated meat eaters a common concern about reducing meat consumption is the lack of protein. In truth, when eating a well balanced diet with plenty of vegetables you will receive an adequate amount of protein. But, for those of us who are used to adding chopped chicken to salads for an extra boost or consider a sandwich pointless without the meat, you will most likely need some tips for resupplying your non-meat proteins.

Nuts & Seeds
Grab a handful for a quick snack and protein boost. Sprinkle on salads or cooked vegetables. During the low-fat craze, nuts got a bad reputation, but in truth they are little nutrition power houses containing not only protein, but fiber, folate, Vitamins E & B-2, essential fatty acids and more. Soaking nuts is a method that is becoming more popular as a way to sprout them and increase their nutritional content. While we all have our favorite nuts or seeds, keep your diet interesting and diverse by mixing up your options.

Nut & Seed Butters
Spread nut or seed butters on crackers, bread or veggie sticks such as celery and carrots for a snack. Mix into soups for more flavor, texture and protein. Whisk into sauces for stir fries, such as Thai Peanut Sauces. Try new flavors such as almond, cashew or my latest favorite, sunflower butter. Subscribers to Lilly’s Table can try the Thai Almond Broccoli, too.

Beans
Canned beans are easy to mix into spreads, dips, soups and main dishes. If you are interested in soaking and cooking your own from scratch, here is a nice bean guide to help you along. Cooking your own is a great way to save a few bucks, control the sodium content and leftovers freeze beautifully for a quick meal on another day.

Grains
Often you will see beans & rice paired together in various international cuisine. The combination of beans and brown rice actually provides a complete protein. Pile the vegetables high and you have a delightful vegetarian dish that can evolve with the season’’s produce. If you want just a single fast cooking grain, quinoa offers the highest amount of protein, it is easy to prepare quickly and tastes great tossed in salads or topped with vegetables.

Tofu & Tempeh
Soy has had its fair share of controversy over the years, but it still remains a good protein option. Seek out non-gmo Tofu and Tempeh. Your favorite marinades work well to flavor them. Edamame or non-processed soy beans are also an excellent choice.

Dairy & Eggs
Find the best quality, sustainable options for your egg and dairy sources. We raise our own chickens and are a bit obsessed with the golden-orange yolks they produce. If you can find grass-fed dairy, wonderful, but if not we prefer organic dairy in our homes for the taste and the overall environmental benefits. Of course, this is only for the ovo-lacto vegetarians. As you can see vegans still have plenty of good protein options.

Avoid Soy Products
As a vegetarian for almost 10 years, I indulged in the occasional Tofu Dog, but for the most part I limited the soy products in my diet because they were a bit pricy and they just seemed wrong in some way. Keep in mind soy products are a processed food with often long lists of crazy ingredients. Stick to GMO-free tofu or tempeh and liven them up with your favorite flavors.

What are your favorite vegetarian proteins? Can you help us expand this list or share why you prefer one over the other?

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Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well,

Chef Lilly