Rosemary Garlic Artisan Bread Braid, filled with Mediterranean Eggplant Dip

This is a real show stopper! If you want to impress your guests with your artisan bread making skills, this will surely do the trick. This woven-loaf features rustic rosemary-garlic bread, filled with a creamy Mediterranean eggplant dip. The bread is crusty on the outside and chewy and moist in the middle.

Cut hearty, thick slices to take for lunch, or enjoy with a crisp salad for a light summer supper!

Ingredients

2 packages quick rise yeast ( Roughly 4 1/2 tsp)

1 tbsp. organic cane sugar

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp ground flax seed

2 1/2 cups unbleached organic flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup garlic cloves, chopped in half (Chop smaller if you dislike large amounts of garlic)

2 tbsp chopped rosemary

3 tbsp olive oil

3 fresh basil leaves (optional)

Special equipment- Stand mixer. If you don't have a stand mixer you can knead by hand.

Directions

1) Place water, sugar, and yeast in the stand mixer bowl. Stir gently and let rest for a few minutes.

2) In another bowl, mix together salt, 3 cups of the flour (reserve 1/2 cup), flax seed, rosemary and garlic.

Run away to Italy with the flavors of rosemary and garlic!





3) Mix the flour mixture with the yeast mixture until combined. Switch to the dough hook attachment.

4) Mix for 7 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth. (If kneading by hand this could take longer). Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour gradually until it is all incorporated.

5) Place into a large bowl, greased with olive oil. Cover with a damp towel.

6) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

7) Microwave dough for 25 seconds, then let it rest for 5 minutes.

8) Microwave for 25 seconds, then let rest for 10 to 15 minutes (or until dough has doubled).



Make sure you oil the bowl or you won't be able to get the dough out!



9) Roll dough onto a floured surface in a rectangle shape.





Use lots of flour on your rolling pin and rolling surface.



10) Cut slices 1/4 of the way in towards the centre all around the dough. These will form the woven sections later on.



Try to cut the slices symmetrically, so you can weave them easier later.

11) Fill the centre with Mediterranean eggplant dip and top with a few fresh basil leaves.



Spread the dip just to the edges of the cuts in the dough.

12) Begin weaving the dough. Start at one end, and fold the pieces downwards and towards the centre of the loaf, alternating sides. Once you reach half way stop and start at the other end. Continue weaving until all pieces are woven and the filling is covered completely.

Make sure you cover all the filling!

13) Gently transfer the loaf to a greased baking sheet cover in tin foil. Lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a little sea salt.

14) Bake for 30 minutes, or until the bread is golden and crusty on the outside and the dough is cooked completely through.



Mediterranean Eggplant Dip

This is a creamy, garlicky dip very similar to a baba ganoush. I used Japanese eggplants as they are tender and sweet. This makes a delicious spread for sandwiches, dip for veggies, or a savory filling for an artisan bread.

Creamy and garlicky, and completely healthy!

Ingredients

1 Japanese eggplant

1 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic
1 block firm tofu
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp tahini
1/3 cup fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2) Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and lop off the head. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. This will remove any bitterness from the flesh.

3) Rise eggplant with water and place on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and bake til tender, about 25 minutes.

Eggplant, roasted til tender and sweet. A good salt soak has removed any bitterness.

4) Cut eggplant into chunks and place in food processor with garlic, tofu, lemon juice, miso paste, and tahini.

If the mixture is too thick, add water to make it smooth.

5) Blend till creamy. If the mixture is too thick, feel free to add a few tablespoons of water.



6) Once the mixture is creamy and smooth, add the basil leaves and pulse until roughly chopped.

7) Add salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Dairy Industry Pulls Offensive Ads Claiming Women Should Drink Milk To Cure PMS

After a whirlwind of outrage from women, vegans and vegetarians, men, physicians and politicians alike, the dairy industry pulls it's controversial "Got Milk" campaign. One ad features a man, scared of his wife's PMS-fueled anger, offering her milk to curb her symptoms.

You can read more about the campaign here, at the dairy industry's own website.

So what do you think? Are the ads offensive or do people just need to calm down?





Chewy Chocolate Vegan Brownies

These are so yummy and chewy, you won't even notice that they are vegan :)

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Enriched Unbleached White Flour Organic
• 8 tbsp Purified Water
• 6 tbsp Egg Replacer
• 1/3 cup Cocoa Dark 100% Cocao
• 1 tsp Magic Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 cup Brown Rice Syrup
• 4 tbsp Margarine
• 1 cup Carob Chips

Directions

1) Mix water and egg replacer together til smooth.
2) Sift all dry ingredients into mixing bowl and stir to combine.
3) Melt Earth Balance vegan margerine. Add to mixture with rice syrup. Mix well.
4) Stir in carob chips.
5) Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 9 inch baking pan
6) Bake at 375 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Korean Style Chili Cucumbers

I love the Korean style banchan cucumbers that I've purchased at my local Asian supermarket. However I don't like that they are made with dried shrimp. So I have veganized the recipe, and it's still just as yummy!

These are perfect as a light appetizer, and are very healthy for you.

I use mini cucumbers as they are far easier to eat.



Ingredients

- 8 mini cucumbers
- 1/2 cup of Korean Chili Paste (check at your local Asian supermarket)
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup chives, cut to 1 1/2 inch long

Directions

1. Cut cucumbers in half. Starting at the cut end, slice in criss-cross fashion 2/3 of the length down the cucumber. Careful not to cut through the end, or the filling won't stay in!
2. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl to form the chili paste mixture.
3. Stuff the cucumbers with the filling.
4. Place cucumbers in a glass star (A bowl will do fine)
5. Drizzle any remaining chili paste mixture over the cucumbers.

You can serve these immediately, but they are better if you let them marinate overnight.

Vegan Mini Lasagnas with Sun dried Tomato "Ricotta"

These mini lasagnas are so cute! They are the perfect size for a light supper or a workweek lunch.

Serve piping hot, and take the leftovers to work!

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 20 to 25 minutes

Speedy option: use pre-made sauce and shave 20 minutes off this recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 package vegan gyoza wrappers
• 1 package Yves Veggie Ground Round
• 1 package Daiya
• 1 package of medium tofu
• 1 small jar of sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
• 1 head garlic, minced or finely chopped (Reserve one head of garlic for the Sun dried Tomato "Ricotta")
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 large tin of tomatoes, crushed
• 1 or 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp raw sugar or agave
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Method

Make the tomato sauce:

If you are pressed for time, feel free to use a nice pre-made jar of sauce instead of making your own.

1. Heat a large pot on high heat. Add olive oil to pan, and add garlic. Cook garlic just until fragrant.
2. Add celery and onions to pan and stir to combine. Lower to medium high heat, cooking til translucent.
3. Add veggie ground round, basil and oregano. Stir to combine.
4. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, and sugar.
5. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
6. Add 1/2 cup water, and lower heat to medium low.
7. Let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The sauce will reduce slightly as the water evaporates, so resist the urge to add salt and pepper until the end. This will allow you to season your sauce properly. Also, do not add any thickening agent to the sauce. The extra water will be needed to help the gyoza wrappers plump and cook.

Make the Sun dried Tomato 'Ricotta'

1. In a food processor, blend the tofu, sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice and reserved garlic clove.
2. Blend until smooth. Feel free to add water if it is too thick. The mixture should resemble a cake batter.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Some of the water from this will absorb into the gyoza wrappers, and making the pasta layer nice and tender and leaving the 'ricotta' layer thick and savory. Almost as good as the real thing!


Assemble the Mini Lasagnas

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees.
2. Line a greased muffin tin with one layer of gyoza wrappers.

Make sure the wrappers go up the sides of the pan. This will make it easier to pop them out later!

1. Add a spoonful of tomato sauce to cover the first layer.
2. Add another layer of gyoza wrappers.
3. Add a spoonful of the Sun dried Tomato 'Ricotta'.

Make sure to cover the entire gyoza wrapper with filling!

1. Add another layer of gyoza wrappers.
2. Add another spoonful of tomato sauce.
3. Sprinkle Daiya cheese on top.

Top these cute little lasagnas with Daiya, and pop em in the oven!

1. Bake in over for 20 to 25 minutes.

Yummy, warm little lasagna muffins!

1. Use a knife to free the muffins from the tin.
2. Serve and enjoy!

Chef's Notes:

• For vegan gyoza wrappers, look at your local Asian supermarket (T and T, Hanareum etc.) I found mine in the freezer section with the dumplings.
• Careful not to use wonton wrappers, which contain egg
• Be sure to read the ingredients on the container to make sure there isn't any egg or animal derivatives added
• Allow the muffins to rest a few minutes before liberating them from their tins, or you are liable to end up with a goopy mess!
• These also make a great breakfast on the go, eaten cold

A Year Exploring the Ethics of Eating, and A New Vegan Challenge

Into Veganism and Back

According to Facebook, on this day in 2010 I stated that I was sick from browsing the PETA blogs and was contemplating vegetarianism. Since then I've gone vegetarian, vegan, and settled into my current status as a flexitarian. It's been an extremely rewarding experience, the end result of which has been:



- I'm concerned about our food supply, which is in crisis



- I have boycotted bottled water



- I wonder why 'organic' is now a high-priced lifestyle that only the rich can afford, whereas it was 'the norm' before the Green Revolution


- I don't know why pregnant women get all excited about eating smoked salmon and brie cheese, but find it completely acceptable to expose their unborn child to hundreds of chemicals via their toiletries, makeup, cleaning products, food, perfume, vehicles, Febreeze spray bottles, Air Wick air fresheners etc etc etc



- I have grave concerns for our planet's farmers, which are under attack by Monsanto and the commercial interests of large corporations



- I fear that my grandchildren will grow up in a world where the beaches are too toxic and cluttered with plastic garbage to play in



- I have planted an organic garden on my patio



- I've rejected my business school brainwashing. Externalized costs are borne by the poor, and it's disgusting. The market needs to be realigned so corporations are rewarded for doing good deeds, not punished with plummeting stock prices.



- I think people should receive tax credits if they dedicate a portion of their lawn to growing food, instead of grass



- I try to store and transport my food in glass jars instead of toxic, oil-based plastic


I'm Not A Judgemental Hippy-Hipster Jerk!
Now, all this makes me sound like a very judgemental person.  After spending 212 days as a vegan, I know first hand how easy it is to become self-righteous food jerk.

In my experience however, it's very hard to be perfect all the time. As a good vegetarian friend of mine put it, "After a while it seems like the only morally acceptable thing to do is sit in a room with the lights off, drinking tap water and gnawing an organic carrot".

This is not my idea of a good time, and chances are it's a lifestyle that won't appeal to people en mass.

But just because you aren't a hardcore vegan, riding your bike past the capitalist jerks sipping their Starbucks in their Porch SUVs , doesn't mean you can't do something meaningful.

In fact, I believe that the only way we will ever bring about a noticeable impact in the world is by getting everyone to make one or two small lifestyle changes. Do not underestimate the impact of critical mass!

Victories
I have made a few small victories in my community, and I am truly inspired by it. These victories include:

- Convincing my mother to drop her chemical laden 'beauty' regime and start using my organic, home made beauty products

- Inspiring my facebook friends to try some yummy vegan recipes

- Getting my parents to do a detox

- Making my partner healthier by cooking nutritious vegetarian dishes for him

- Convincing my partner to drop milk from his son's diet in favor or nut or rice milk


From my experience, people respond more to the carrot instead of the rod. If you make people feel bad about what they eat, how they live, what they drive etc. they won't be open to anything you have to say. Inspiring change is far more effective than demanding change.


A Seasonal Vegan?
So, what has the point of this whole journey been? I am seeking a happy medium. A balance, if you will.

Since ending my Vegan Challenge on May 9, 2011, I have been occasionally eating meat or seafood when I am out with company or as a guest at someones home. I have bought free range eggs and dairy. I have cooked with meat a few times for my partner, but still find it very difficult to have to touch or smell raw animal flesh. If I am cooking for myself, I won't actively go out and purchase meat. I just can't stomach the sight of it.

Lately I have been feeling badly about dropping the challenge. It's been nice to not have to be the hard-to-please vegan guest when I go out to dinner, and I have really missed cheese. But my current feeling is that the costs of eating dairy and meat exceed the benefits.

So that being said, I am going to embark upon another vegan challenge. From today onwards, I won't be buying any more animal-based food.

However, being the pragmatist that I am I will use up the remaining dairy and prawns (leftover from a dinner party) in my fridge.

After all, food is precious. Even if it's not vegan :)