Austin Bakes For Japan

On Saturday April 2nd, the Austin food community is gathering together to support Japan with sweetness!  Come on out to one of the various locations around town and make a donation to the relief efforts in Japan by consuming a super tasty treat.  We'll have you saying "Oishii!"

As someone who spent part of her youth in Japan (3-4  and 10-14 years old), I have a special place in my heart for Japan.  I cannot remember happier memories.  The respect they have toward each other is beyond words.  My own father resides in Tokyo so I know this will go to help all his neighbors.

I plan on having some gluten-free/vegan goodness at the South Congress location - Hotel San Jose

To learn more about  Austin Bakes for Japan, the locations, and view some the awesome treats that will be available check out: http://austinbakes.wordpress.com/

I'll update here tonight once everything is baked and ready to go for tomorrow!

Chef Veggie's Food Blog Commitment

I recently went to Austin's SXSW food blogger conference called TECHmunch  and learned more about the latest and greatest ways to be a wonderful food blogger. Lots of high profile foodies on the scene explaining the wonders of Twitter, getting your site sponsored by major brands, and creating kick-ass multimedia content (that was an actual title of a segment.)

I realized that while I do have some of the skill sets and definitely the ability to create tasty dishes, my desire to post a recipe/article/review everyday and have blogging be my life is not where I am at.

However, I think when one wants to have a space that people want to visit and interact with, there should be a consistent level of activity.  If I want to make genuine connections with others they need to know what to expect.  One of the goals I have is to be better connected with my local food community. Austin has one of the greatest number of food bloggers in the US and also happens to be a very friendly bunch.  The group (Austin Food Blogger Alliance) plans on having lots of events to further education and also to help the community at large.  There is already a bake sale being planned to help the relief efforts in Japan.  As a former resident of Japan, this warms my heart.

So here before the world and the day before St. Paddy's Day (I am married to an Irishman afterall), I plan to post at least twice a month.

If you are looking for some healthy fare for tomorrow, here's a previous post about my St. Patrick's Day Salad!   Spring is here and there's lots of GREEN out there.

Christmas Coconut Granola

coconutmacgingergranola, originally uploaded by veggiebytes.

I love a good granola filled with yummy ingredients.  To me that means lots of coconut. Some of the best granola I've had was made in Hawaii with tropical fruits and macadamia nuts. If you are looking for something to bake for family and friends as a last minute gift, granola is grand choice. It is very versatile and can be made to suit almost any taste. The granola pictured was full of coconut ribbons, candied ginger and whole macadamia nuts. It will whisk you away to the tropics on a cold winter's day!

Here's a basic granola recipe:

Grains: 3 cups rolled oats

Nuts/Seeds: 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, 1 cup nuts (almonds, mac nuts, walnuts)

Dressing: 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup of brown rice syrup/maple syrup/honey

Fruit: 11/2 cups dried fruit 
(chopped pineapple, cranberries, blueberries, golden raisins, papaya, candied ginger)

Salt: Sprinkle coarse sea salt (up to 1/2 teaspoon) over the mixture before baking

Optional: flax seeds, chia seeds, coconut flakes, chocolate chips

Mix grains, nuts, and dressing in a bowl. Put mixture on baking sheet bake at 300°F for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally), cool, stir in dried fruit.  Add optional items.

Some Helpful Tips:
I like to use a mixture of coconut butter and coconut oil. It is a natural and vegan source of fat. I don't like canola oil and try not use soy-based margarine.  Also, I add the flax seeds after the granola has cooked and cooled. Cooked flax seeds basically have no Omega 3 value as heat destroys the fatty acid structure. You could process the flax seeds in a spice grinder to get more benefit from them.
This granola would be gluten-free if you buy oats labeled as gluten-free (they are processed in gluten-free facilities). You can find natural dried fruits and candied ginger without sulfites at natural food stores.
My favorite candied ginger brands are: The Ginger People and Reed's.

I like to eat my granola with unsweetened almond or hemp milk.

Have fun making granola and I recommend making double or triple as it will be a hit.  Your kids will ask why they didn't get a granola gift too.
Warm Wishes & Happy Holidays!

Cooking at Retreats

In early November,  I had the pleasure of cooking for a great group of moms at a knitting retreat in the Texas Hill Country.

All the ladies were able to sit, knit, explore the grounds, share friendly conversation and enjoy the beautiful and rustic atmosphere.  They didn't have to worry about little ones or making meals.

My friend posted some beautiful pictures about the event.  Check it out on waldorfmama's blog.
To learn more about Moriah and getting together with family and friends there, click here.

Here's what was on the menu:

Breakfast:  Handmade Cinnamon Rolls, Smoothies and Chickpea Omelettes

Lunch:  Butternut Squash Lasagna
(I even had Stuffed Butternut Squash for our gluten-free gals)
Fall Salad with Spiralized Beets, Walnuts and Blue Cheese
Vegan Cream of Broccoli & Parsnip Soup

Dinner:  Hyderbadi Biryani, Mung Dal with Cauliflower, South Indian Brussell Sprouts, and Sprouted Mung Bean Salad with Coconut

Breakfast:  Vegan Blueberry Muffins and Spinach Tofu Scramble

Some pictures are better than others.  Everyone was so ready to eat that I had barely time to compose the shots...and I was using my iPhone.

I had a wonderful time!  If you ever think of staying at Moriah with friends or family and want some great veggie meals, give me a call!  I'm already familiar with the kitchen!

Vegan Macrobiotic Cleanse

After a week of high-fat, fried food and dairy products from some festivals we celebrated, it was time to do a nice fall cleanse.  Actually, a lot of people eat this way everyday (maybe even yourself!)
Since I'm not good at no-food or juice fasts and find them to be quite harsh, I was looking for something that involved eating real food, not taking any pills, and did not leave me hungry.

Here's what I followed for 7 days:
Ultra Slimdown  
My goal was not to lose lots of weight because I'm at a healthy amount for my height.
I wanted to see what cravings arose and to see what food may be causing me trouble when I introduced them back.  I did lose 5 llbs over the course of the week and I did crave tortilla chips and some spicy foods.

If you didn't have time to read the article, here's the basics:
Eat brown rice, lots of steamed or sauteed veggies (using a miniscule amount or no oil), some beans and legumes, have a rice protein smoothie with real fruit and flax seeds (no added sugar) for breakfast, vegetable broth or another shake for snacks. Eat all organic items.  Take an Epsom salt bath with baking soda and lavender essential oil every night.  Cut out all processed foods, meat, dairy, wheat and other gluten containing grains, corn, nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers), alcohol, caffeine, sugar (natural and artificial).  What's left you say?  Lots of honest, good food!
Anyway, it was pretty easy and you could continue to do it as long as you wanted.

Here's some of the meals I ate:

Asparagus, Green Salad, Quinoa

Broccoli, Sweet Potato, Quinoa

Golden Beets, Zucchini,
Whole Grain Rice Blend

Kale, Chickpeas, Brown Rice

Brown Rice Maki Spirals

Mung Dahl with Cauliflower &
Long Beans and Quinoa

Cabbage Subji
Wild Rice Blend

Okra Chickpeas
Brown Rice

Breakfast Shake

Organic Homemade Vegetable Broth
Full of Alkaline Mineral Goodness

Organic Ingredients for
Veggie Broth

With all the disclaimers about contacting your doctor, etc....maybe you should before doing this, even though I can't see why anyone would not be able to eat this healthily. 
If you would like to follow this cleanse, but have no time to prepare everything or make the broth, contact me.  I'll bring everything over, including items for the breakfast shake and bath, prep the veggies for you for the week,  make the beans & broth & grains, and leave some happy & healthy vibes for a great week.  The whole deal for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 7 days is only $300 (includes the groceries)! 
Contact me today to start feeling awesome! info@chefveggie.com or 512-914-1543

A Bridal Shower

I hosted a bridal shower for my sister a couple weekends ago.  I thought that I would share some of the decor, games, and of course, food.

Everything was very elegant, neat and classic.  Her wedding colors will be white, green and champagne. I tried to keep the same scheme for the bridal shower.  White place settings with little touches of green with beautiful flowers like hydrangeas and white roses created the perfect table.

Each guest had a favor with her name on it as her place card.  Inside is a super practical purse hanger.

She will never have to put her purse on the floor again!

The food!  Here are some of the items:

Vegetarian Lumpia

White Cheddar Scallion Biscuits (the green and white theme)

Farfalle with Pesto (Tie the Knot Bowties!)

Since most women love chocolate we had a chocolate fondue fountain dripping with vegan dark chocolate!  Somehow I only got a picture of the dippers -strawberries and pineapple.

Two of the cheezy bridal shower games we played were food related.

Banana Bride
I split the ladies into 3 teams.  Each team was given a banana.  The bride was sent to another room to hang out with the flower girl.  Then I told them they had to dress the banana like a bride with only the items found in their purses!

The bride picked the one with the sunglasses and $$$

A-Z Grocery List
Here's one to test their memory.  They had to remember a long grocery list created in alphabetical order when each guest added another item.  The bride goes to the store and gets an apple, banana, cookies, dog treats, eggs, etc. I still haven't figured out if it's easier or harder to remember an obscure item - k was kitchen shears.

My sister was so happy and scored some really awesome Crate and Barrel goodies for her home and kitchen.  I'm hoping to see her in the kitchen more often!

Anyway, if anyone would like help with food for a bridal shower for their veggie friends, please let me know.
www.chefveggie.com

San Francisco Veggie Tourist Part 2 - Oishii desu ne!

Yes, I know it's been a couple months since I've been there!  But my mom and sister are visiting my brother in SF right now. I thought I would share a bit more of my trip while I sit dreaming of oishii tabemono.

One part of San Francisco that I love is Japantown.  Being slightly otaku, who can blame me? I did live in Japan from 1978-1980 and then again from 1986-1990, so I have had real exposure and love for Japanese culture. Anyway, here are some Japanese gems that I enjoyed.

The Kinokuniya bookstore in Japantown is a treasure-trove! You can look through thousands of books, anime, manga, magazines and some are even in English.
I found a couple Japanese vegetarian cookbooks near the macrobiotic ones.  I have been wanting to make Japanese rice bran pickles so I got a tsukemono book.  There is also a great Japanese chef named Izumi and she has a wonderful blog on vege dining. (You can use Google's translate service to read it)  I picked up her book on how to make several lunches for the week by creatively using the same basic ingredients.

Also if you love cute bento, there are a myriad of how-to books with beautiful pictures. And yes, bentos do not have to be filled with Sanrio characters.  I got this one: Kawaii Bento Boxes
I also found a Japanese vegetarian magazine called Veggy Steady Go.  Engrish is so funny!
I'm hoping my mom will be able to pick up the latest issue for me. And yes, after living in Japan and taking 4 semesters of Japanese in college, I can read and understand quite a bit.  Katakana is my friend.

いただきます - Bon Appetit

There are a couple restaurants in Japantown but we decided to get some snacks at Nijiiya Market.  In the prepared food section, they have a variety of Japanese takeout boxes, including organic brown rice, pickles, tofu dishes and a pleasant surprise: yasai korokke!  Oh who doesn't like deep fried veggie cutlets with tonkatsu sauce!  They were so good and since airplane food is horrible or non-existent, we returned to Nijiiya before we headed to the airport so we could have something tasty in-flight.

While not in Japantown, we did have the pleasure of having a meal at Cha-Ya.  It's a delightful Japanese restaurant on Valencia St which just happens to be completely vegetarian.  Have you ever had tofu stuffed in a portabella mushroom tempura-style served with broccolini and a kiwi-edamame sauce?  Such creative and tasty food at decent prices.  Oh Austin how I wish you had more veggie Japanese goodness!

San Francisco じゃあまたね   :)