Lazy Vegan Miso Soup

There’s nothing quite like sitting down at a nice Thai or Japanese restaurant and sipping on a warm bowl of miso soup. It’s equally nice to enjoy this dish from the comforts of your own home, especially on a rainy or sick day when you want nothing more than to be curled up in sweatpants with a movie or a good book. Unfortunately, miso can often be misleadingly made with a soup base called dashi, which is a mixture of water, dried seaweed and fish flakes.

The good news is that this simple and delicious comfort food can be recreated as a vegan soup with very little effort. Typically,  pair the soup with a nice, fresh Asian salad or vegan lettuce wraps.

When you’re feeling the blues or needing a little pick-me-up, just go to your fridge and use whatever vegetables and protein products you have on hand to fuel your miso.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. Silken tofu, or whatever tofu you have on hand. Silken makes the miso more closely resemble the restaurant-style dish
• 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
• ¾ c. green onions, chopped
• 6 medium-large white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 TB miso paste. South River organic sweet white miso paste is one that can last for decades in your refrigerator.
• 2 large vegan bouillon cubes or 2 TB Better Than Bouillon paste. Follow instructions on container.
• 1 dash sea salt
• 4 – 6 c. water

First, slice your vegetables. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you like. Celery works well, as does seaweed, or any variety of mushroom.

Drain your tofu and cut into tiny cubes.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once your water is boiling, dissolve the miso paste in the water. Stir.

Add your vegetable broth or vegan bouillon. Stir.

Add carrots and/or other vegetables (not your green onions or mushrooms) and let all the ingredients reach a full boil again. This will soften your vegetables. Once your miso is to this point, bring to a simmer.

Just a couple of minutes before serving, add the green onions. sea salt, and mushrooms.

Then add the tofu.

Let ingredients cook for 2 -3 minutes to allow the flavors to mix together, and serve!

Makes 4 – 6 bowls.

FDA Admits Chicken Meat Contains Arsenic

After years of denying that the arsenic added to chicken feed does not transmit to chicken meat, the FDA has now admitted that chicken meat sold in the United States does contain arsenic, a known cancer-causing chemical! In high doses, arsenic is fatal. Just to reiterate, the arsenic chemical is intentionally added to chicken feed.

Please protect yourself and your family by being aware of this issue.

Find out more and read the full article.

How to Cook Tofu Like a Pro

When uncooked, tofu resembles a pure white, squishy blob. For those who have never had or cooked tofu, it can be quite intimidating to prepare. If you choose not to follow a recipe, you may very well end up with a clump of flavorless, gooey tofu. How do restaurants create well-crafted, crispy tofu strips that abound with flavor?

To begin, let’s look at what tofu is and its purpose in food dishes.

Tofu is made from curdling soy milk with a coagulent. The resulting substance has a soft cheese-like texture with a very bland flavor. The bland flavor helps tofu absorb the flavors or other foods or spices, making it a very versatile food. There are three common types of tofu: firm, soft and silken. Firm tofu is a dense variety that is often used in stir fries, or it is grilled because it maintains its shape better than other types of tofu. Soft and silken varieties work better in blended recipes such as smoothies or vegetarian lasagna.

Tofu makes an excellent substitute for meat products. It is high in protein, B vitamins and calcium. It can be prepared in several different ways – a popular method is to marinate the tofu before frying or baking. Frying or sautéing the tofu in a stir fry will result in a firm piece of tofu that does not crumble or taste like a bland squishy block.

Dry Frying and Marinating Tofu

To create a firm, flavorful slice of tofu, start by cutting it into one-inch thick strips and gently press each slice between two cloth napkins. Press down firmly enough to release some water from the tofu, but do not squish it or let it crumble.

Next, you will want to take even more water out of the tofu by dry frying it on a stove pan without oil. Keep the temperature on low and watch carefully to prevent the tofu from burning. Flip the pieces frequently and press down on them with a spatula to release the moisture. When both sides are a light golden color remove them from the heat.

Now that your tofu is dry, it will be more receptive to picking up the flavors from a marinade. Marinate your tofu for at least 30 minutes in your own spice blend or try this zesty herb marinade.

Once the tofu has marinated, you may use it in a stir fry with vegetables, olive oil and desired spices.

Blending Tofu

If you have a recipe that calls for blending tofu, purchase the silken or soft tofu varieties. Do not marinate or dry fry tofu for blending purposes. Tofu works well to add a creamy texture to blended recipes. You may choose to blend with a blender or a food processor.

Here are a few recipes that call for blended tofu:

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Banana Pie

Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie

Morning Glory Muffins

Baking Tofu

To avoid frying, tofu may also be baked. To bake tofu, dry it out manually with a cloth and place the strips in a marinade for a few hours. After they have been marinated, spread the slices out on a lightly-oiled baking sheet and bake for an hour. Flip the tofu slices after thirty minutes. When you remove the tofu from the oven, it should appear golden brown.

Baked tofu may be added to salads, stir fries or eaten plain.

Try Some Food for Pain

Pain relief can be tough. With so many things on the market these days that can be hazardous to your health, or just plain addictive, getting the relief you need without damaging yourself in other ways can be a tough gig. Well, why not look to Mother Nature?

Fish Oil

Fish oil has been shown to relieve joint pain, back aches, and arthritis. As your body digests the oil, it is naturally broken down into anti-inflammatory chemicals.

Arnica

Arnica, an herb derived from a European flower; has natural anti-inflammatory properties that have been shown to reduce bruising, muscles aches and swelling.

Cherry Pits

That’s right, the pits are perfect pain-soothers, tackling backaches, headaches, shoulder and neck pain, joint pain, even arthritis. Toss the comfy pit pack in the freezer or microwave and chase pain away naturally.

Turmeric

Turmeric, an ingredient in curry, has naturally occurring curcumin, which has been shown to ease rheumatoid arthritis. Eat it for mild overall relief, or get prescription caplets containing turmeric.

Chili Pepper

Chili Pepper has been shown to target and relieve arthritis, muscle stiffness and headaches thanks to capsaicin, its active component that desensitizes pain-producing nerve receptors. You can eat the spicy stuff for general (though mild) pain relief, or choose a topical capsaicin cream for more impact. Most often used for muscle and nerve pain people have also experienced noticeable relief from migraines and cluster headaches..

Corn Kernels

Similar to Comfypacs, Corn Bag Critters are sacks filled with microwave ready and freezable whole corn kernels. After just a minute in the microwave, the sack can hold heat for hours!

Menthol

More than the on-impact pain-relieving cooling and warming sensation from the Menthol, anti-inflammatory herbs like St. Johns Wort, Arnica and Balsam Poplar go to work to quell the swell deep down in the muscle.

BBQ This Summer Green and Clean

Incorporate Local and Organic Food in Your Life

Eating healthy is so important, so finding local, organic and sustainable food is so vital when considering ones overall health. In a shaky economy, we must not only look out for our bankbooks but also for our health. Eating fresh and local organic food is a great way of supporting your local farmers, but more importantly supporting your body’s overall health and function. Local and organic food proves to provide a healthier and more responsible life for your body and soul.

The quickest and easiest way to dial into these delicious resources is by checking out LocalHarvest.org. This website provides a milieu of choices as to what kind of food/shops/farms/markets you are looking for in your community. It also lets you search by state, city or zip code to best get the results you are looking for.

On Local Harvest, there are a number of types of food stores that you can search for. To name a few,

CSA: Community Supported Agriculture, this type of business has individuals buy into shares on the farm to invest in the growth of local and seasonal, usually organic vegetables that you pick up to enjoy bi weekly.

Farms: Local farmers that sell directly to consumers and that do not go through stores, or a third party. The less hands that touch your food the fresher and the safer.

Local Restaurants: You may ask, what is the difference between a local and non local restaurant? Well its simple. Do they ship in food or do they buy from local farmers and support local agriculture? Are they a chain that is available all over the country or are they a local shop specific to your community? Local restaurants again bring your dollars back to the community and can many times buy from local and organic growers.

Grocery/Food Co-op: This is a fun and important part of every sustainable food community. Becoming a part of a co-op means that you are now a part of the solution for sustainable eating and living, not to mention are filling your fridge with local organic food. As a member, you are part owner of the store and have a say as to how things are handled.

Don’t ever forget: food is important! Where it comes from, how you get it, how it is grown are all things you should be concerned about. Using localharvest.org will not only connect you with your new community, but will also lead you down a road of long term health and sustainability.

Cookin’ on the Road—Diamond Lil—a Sustainable and Convenient Restaurant

Take a beaten down, old 1957 Greyhound bus, hundreds of pounds of food and restaurateur Kai Schoenhals and what do you get? Diamond Lil—the refurbished and shaped up moving restaurant. Diamond Lil is a tasty moving eatery that will travel around the region to its guests granting them savory pleasure and convenient locations.

The operation was inspired by the Napa Wine Train, a two engine 3 kitchen fitted train that serves a 25 mile stretch in Napa Valley. They provide convenience, a seasonal menu and a nationally known executive chef, Kelly Macdonald on board.

San Francisco residents Schoenhals and partner Daniel Isberg run a sustainable operation on the road. Although this moving food venture may seem pricey and anything but sustainable, Diamond Lil cuts her own costs and carbon footprint by using left over cooking oil used in her gasoline tank—allowing her to cook her way across the country. The bus, named after a great aunt of Schoenhals is refit entirely with recycled materials, a recyclable herself and not to mention is the house for a warm and delicious menu.

Local Californians that are lucky enough to dine on Diamond Lil can look forward to not only a wonderful menu but a responsible outfit that has considered its customers and the environment.

Farming In Suburbia

This is a very interesting piece that caught my attention because it beautifully demonstrates that you do not need acres of land to grow your own food. My vegetable garden is on a 4′ x 6′ plot of land and is producing plenty of fresh tomatoes, peppers and herbs.

Growing and or purchasing local food is better for your health (the sooner you consume food out of the ground the more nutrients you will get) and your wallet (food prices are going up as fuel prices escalate).   Hope this video gives you inspiration on how you can be a part of this widespread movement! Send me your thoughts on Twitter or on our Facebook page!