A Rainbow for Dinner

I'm not sure there's any more beautiful culinary site that delicious and fresh vegetables, raw and chopped, just begging to be dressed, sauteed, steamed, roasted, or just eaten the way nature provided them. Unfortunately, such a scene is as rare as it is beautiful for many students.

Nearly everyone at Harvard is on a meal plan and even with the ever-present salad bar, most of the prepared dishes use frozen, pre-cut vegetables; many students leave without ever having (or knowing how) to prepare meals to enjoy themselves... at least we have a series of cooking class before graduation for those about to embark into the real world of self-sustained eating.

So any chance I get, I love to host dinner parties with my on-campus classmates. Cooking together, eating together creates such an incredible bond and fun experience. This weekend, craving Thai food, instead of going out to one of the city's many restaurants we decided to try it on our own at home.

Green curry, panage curry, and pineapple fried rice--I could not have asked for a more delicious meal! I'm particularly addicted to Thai Pinapple Fried Rice and so this gave me the opportunity to try my hand at the recipe at home--brown rice, no fish sauce, everything fresh.

It was wonderful. If you're an addict like me, or just looking for a new way to use that rice cooker, try this recipe. The best part? Extra pineapple chunks for dessert!

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Ingredients

1 ½ cups salted/roasted cashews

1 cup frozen green peas, defrosted

½ red onion diced, sautéed

1 green chili minced

4 garlic cloves minced

¼ vegetable oil

3 shallots diced

2 cups chopped pineapple (about 1/4^th a pineapple)

1 carrot shredded (optional)

1. Cook: 1 cups brown rice w/ a bit of curry powder

2. Mix Sauce: ¼ cup soy sauce + Tbsp curry powder + 1 tsp sriachi

3. Cook Vegetables, then add cooked rice and then sauce once vegetables are softened to desire. Stir-fry for five minutes until desired consistency is achieved.

Easy as One, Two, Three :)

Peace & Love<3

Italian Mamas: Pesto, Bruschetta, & Creamed Corn (just cuz)

Much of my cooking inspiration comes from my mother. I remember in high school I would shrink away from having to help in the kitchen at home; I once tried attempted orange juice by throwing whole oranges in a blender (Toni managed to stop me in time). So when I finally began to appreciate the fine art and bliss of home cooking, it was my mother's recipes I thought of first.

"How do you make your lentils?" "So I shouldn't be adding salt to boil water for tea?" Shameful, I know. It was probably her Italian roots and mine too that finally brought about a love for the kitchen. A number of my dishes are a work in progress to veganify Italian classics. One of the her classic recipes as such was her bruschetta.

So following up on my second project, and really beginning what will be a long dedication to reviving the childhood favorites (bonding over community, family, and food), I have a few short and easy recipes based on my mother's cooking and her Italian roots.

These dishes were all served up just after Christmas during a dinner party with my best friends (Sarah, Diane, Bianca) from across the country. Nothing beats a long night of sharing with friends over the dinner table, a nice glass of wine, and.... a fort!! (Toni kindly built us girls an epic blanket fort!)

Happy Campers

Toasted Bruschetta

Ingredients

* 1 Fresh Italian Loaf (whole wheat if available)
* 4-6 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
* 5 Roma Tomatoes, diced
* 2 Garlic Cloves, minced and crushed
* 2 Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
* 2 t, Dried Oregano
* 1 t, Dried Parsley Flakes
* 1 T, Good Quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
* 2 t, Freshly Ground Pepper
* 1 t, Freshly Ground Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (or salt of choice)

Direction

1. In a medium bowl, add together all the ingredients except the loaf and vegetable oil. Mix well and set aside.
1. Slice loaf into 1 in slices. Heat a cast iron (or heavy bottomed) pan over medium heat. Place olive oil in a dish and brush lightly on each side of each slice as your lie them on the pan. Toast for approximately 1 minute on each side, or until crispy and golden.
3. Lay out your toasted bread and top each with a large spoonful for the tomato mixture. Each immediately & Enjoy!

Easy Vegan Pesto Pasta

Ingredients

* 1 T, Tofutti Vegan Cream Cheese
* 1 Bundle Fresh Basil Leaves (approximately 8-15 leaves, depending on moisture content)
* 1/2 C, Pine Nuts
* 1/3 C, Good Quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
* 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
* 1 T, Freshly Ground Pepper
* 1/2 T, Freshly Ground Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (or finely grained salt of your choice)

Directions

1. Add together all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Pesto should be almost smooth, just a bit chunky. If too moist, add a few extra basil leaves and a handful of pine nuts. If too dry, add an extra tablespoon of olive oil. Easy as that. Eat with crackers and wine, or add to pasta. Enjoy!


And just for good measure, if you're mouth was watering over the pictures, I wanted to present to you...

"Bianca's" Asian-Flare Creamed Corn

Aka. PETA's creamed corn recipe.

Its awesome, and easy, try it.


So if any of you have a family recipe, even if its not that good, just something unique to your childhood, maybe made by an aunt, a cultural recipe made on holidays.... I'd love to hear about it! Just a general recipe outline (even if it includes meat, dairy, eggs, etc; all the better to work with) would be awesome... and OF COURSE, the story behind it, the most important part.

I want to hear from you, let's share :)

Peace&Love

From My Table to Yours: Let's Share Together :D

A long hiatus needs no explanation; or at least, mine doesn't because there is no one particularly good reason for my being MIA... well, there was that fiasco of almost not getting home from Europe (read: canceled flights to London, fighting to get on a train to London, almost not being let into Heathrow, delayed flights, Heathrow closed = a mess), moving to LA, moving to Boston, no internet... but now I'm back. Lots of cooking, recipes, ideas, inspiration to make-up for the lost internet time.

I've taken on two new projects (see more below) and had a great time engaging with... cookbooks! I was never a huge recipe person, preferring to wing it, but that's not always so easy with vegan baking. For Christmas my parents got me my first ever vegan cookbooks and look at the yumm results (get these books! I'll go into more specifics later):

Wedding Cookies
by Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Same night, New Years Eve-Eve Potluck Party: hence my frazzled look and burnt nose from making homemade taquitos all day (homemade refried beans, homemade tortillas, homemade potato fillings, etc.) inspired by Vegan Latina

Spelt Biscuits & McEgg Patties
by Babycakes, NYC & Vegan Comfort Food

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
by Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Peppermint Walnut Blondies (revisiting some old favs; for Erin's birthday)
by OhSheGlows

Dinner Biscuits with Black Bean Burgers and Cajun Sweet Potato Fries
by The Joy of Vegan Baking & Chef Chloe
(I found the secret to perfectly crisp fries: after baking, quickly broil without burning!)

All of these books and amazingly talented chefs have greatly inspired me and it's been a ton of fun. In essence, what I've solidified in the past few weeks is where my passion of policy, community activism, and food intersect. A few of my distant relatives contacted me through my grandma with an interest in going vegan but without the tools to-do so. They both live out in Denver, have no at-home computer, and little more than a vague understanding of cooking and eating vegan.

Vegan-eating, and healthy-eating, is something that can and is accessible for all; it doesn't have to mean deprivation but is about feeling good. So a series of recipes, including the one below, will focus on quick vegan eats. Things that are familiar, easy to prepare, and usually good to store. Of course, these are also great for the busy student or parent... considering these are some go-to recipes when time is of the essence or comfort food is a must.

Finally, and I'll have to go more in depth into this in my following posts, I have one more project I'm working on that I'm really excited about. It utilizes the involvement of friends, families, and strangers and brings back an vital missing piece in the American food system: community.

Food has become about convenience. Eating on the go, eating in your car, quick, packaged, no-prep needed. And in all of it we've lost something. The family dinner has slowly faded from the social norm. So with this next project I hope to bring the focus of food away from just the individual, but back into sharing with our society, our communities, our friends, bonding over bread with strangers (all of which speak to larger issues of food justice, access, affordability, education).

My question I pose to you now, to help me with this project: What's a dish that reminds you of your childhood? Something unique to your youth, maybe made by an Aunt or something your Mum prepared specially for the holidays? Something that you think is different from other recipes of its kind? I'd really love to hear at length about this if you're willing to share, the memories, anything. You can comment or email me too (missnatalie27@gmail.com; I don't bite... promise!) :) I really appreciate it !

Fool 'Em Margarita Pizza

Ingredients
* 1 can Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough (I know, I know)
* 1 package Grated Rice Mozarella Vegan Cheese (rec: Galaxy Nutritional Foods)
* 3 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt (or salt of choice)
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 4-5 basil leaves, finely sliced

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Open Pillsbury crust and spread it out on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
2. Lightly spray olive oil over the uncooked crust or drizzle lightly.
3. Place in oven and prebake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
4. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese over the crust, leaving about 1 inch on each side.
5. Place back in oven and cook for 5-10 more minutes, making sure cheese has melted but the crust does not burn.
6. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together chopped tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
6. Once you have removed the pizza from the oven, sprinkle tomato mixture on top. Top with basil. Serve immediately or store for a few days in the fridge. Enjoy!

Peace&Love