I bring them with me to my desk, reviewing recipes to make or adapt to my liking, I bring them to bed and Mark puts them back onto the bookshelf when I, inevitably, fall asleep while reading. I believe that a well written cookbook can make a reader feel like they are in the kitchen of the writer. Writing a cookbook or blog is inviting people into an extension of their home. I feel I have dined with people I have never met before by making their recipes. I have been following Sprouted Kitchen for quite some time now. Sara’s recipes and Hugh’s photography constantly motivate me to practice just that little bit more, behind the camera and in my kitchen. Their book, The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl and Spoon: Simple and Inspired Whole Foods Recipes to Savor and Share, is one I grab frequently since Mark and I eat a lot of bowls.

The mixture of grains, fresh vegetables, and protein, topped with a great tasting sauce fuels my body and soul. I enjoy its simplicity in making and its variations of toppings. Bowls are a big part of my weekly meal plan and with this book to guide me, the possibilities have grown tremendously.

Some may think the term “hippie” is offensive but, like Sara, I use it with the utmost endearment.

12 recipes down, 18 more to go! See you tomorrow for Day 13: Kitchen Tour. Missed Day 11? Check it out here.

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

FYI: This post does contain an affiliate link from Amazon. If you purchase the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook through the link, I receive a teeny commission from Amazon. It does not increase the cost to you at all. 

SC Hippie Bowl w/ Citrus Miso Sauce

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

This recipe doubles well so you can have leftovers for a work lunch or dinner the next day. If you don't want to use tofu, steamed edamame beans work well.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: vegan

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 8 ounces extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
• 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seed oil
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• Fat pinch of red chili flakes
• ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1 cup short grain rice
• 2 carrots, peeled, trimmed, and shaved into thin ribbons
• 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage, massaged in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ ripe avocado, cut into sliced
• Black or white sesame seeds (optional)
• Red chili flakes, if you like it spicy (optional)
• 
  
• Citrus Miso Dressing:
• ¼ cup raw cashew butter
• ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
• 3 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• Red chili flakes, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rinse and drain the rice. Add it to 2½ cups of boiling water, bring back to boil, turn down heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender. Drain any excess water and fluff the rice.
3. While the rice is cooking, toss the cubed tofu in the lemon juice, sesame seed oil, syrup, salt, and chili flakes. Bake for 20 minutes until crispy, flipping halfway through.
4. Meanwhile, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside until you are ready to dress your bowls.
5. While the tofu and rice are cooking, prep your vegetables.
6. When the rice is tender, add it to the bowls, then the veg and cooked tofu, and dress with Citrus Miso Sauce. Add sesame seeds and chili flakes if you desire.

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I should have called this salad, “Clinging onto Summer for Dear Life Salad,” but that is a bit too long yet it is accurate. I find myself going outside in the brutal summer heat just to get some sunshine before the days turn grey. This summer has been hot and more blissful than other summers before it and I am sad to see it go.

Fall brings out delicious things and cooler weather, I can’t say I am craving the famous PSL quite yet. Nothing beats berry season, especially when paired with other seasonal produce. 

I haven’t been eating enough corn or peaches this summer so I wanted to get my fill with this salad and lots of blueberry vinaigrette. The vibrant colours, fresh taste, and antioxidant-packed dressing will have me missing the summer season. Cheers to summer, you have been good to me. 

10 recipes down, 20 more to go! See you tomorrow for Day 11: Nutrient Focused Recipe. Missed Day 9? Check it out here.

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

Peach Millet Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

This salad is burst with summer flavour! Ripe peaches, fresh corn, and blueberries on greens with lots of flavourful blueberry vinaigrette. The millet is optional but pairs well with this salad and makes it a little bit more of a meal than just a plain salad. You can use any grain you like! 1 cup of uncooked millet makes about 3½ cup of cooked millet. Use the leftovers in big vegan bowls, salad, or morning grain bowls. The dressing will keep for about a week in the fridge.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: Salad, Dressing

Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

• For The Blueberry Vinaigrette:
• ½ cup fresh blueberries, rinsed
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons cracked mustard
• ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 
  
• For the Salad:
• 1 cup cooked millet (or grain of choice)
• 4 cups of greens, I used baby spinach
• 1 cup fresh corn, raw or lightly cooked
• 2 ripe peaches, cut into slices
• ¼ cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. To cook the millet:Rinse 1 cup uncooked millet in a fine mesh strainer. Add millet to 2½ cups of water (or stock) in a medium pot. Bring to boil over high heat, turn down heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, fluff, and let cool. It will make more than 1 cup of cooked grains so you will have leftovers.
2. For the Dressing:
3. Add all the ingredients for the dressing except the olive oil. While the blender is running, steam the oil slowly into the top. Blend until very smooth. Set aside until you are ready to dress the salad.
4. For the salad: Add greens to a large serving bowl or two smaller bowls. Add all the ingredients to the dish or divided amongst the dishes, dress to your liking, and serve.

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I dislike getting ready for a trip; the anxiety of forgetting something really important, making sure the fridge doesn’t have anything that will go bad while your away, snuggling my cat Barb extra tight before I go as she tries to wiggle out of my affectionate embrace, only for me to chase her around the apartment telling her to “love me!” Mark is patient as I frantically go over my checklist in the shower, at the front door, in the car and then again as we pull along side the airport drop off. He makes sure I have my essentials: passport, underpants, laptop, phone and their chargers. Yes, I really need my phone that badly. I triple check that my hotel has Wi-Fi, something I really cannot live without, for blogging and Netflix purposes (currently addicted to Human Life from BBC) and I am out the door.

This is the part I like best about the trip, getting to the airport. It seems weird but I really like being at the airport. Going through security is not great but I love finding my gate, treating myself to a fancy coffee and a food magazine, computer on my lap, headphones in my ears and a figurative “Don’t Talk To Me” stamped on my forehead. This is my “out of the apartment” paradise.

Traveling solo can be liberating and this is my second trip in my life where I have taken off by myself. I like having own agenda, doing what I want to do without anyone else’s opinion in my way. As much as I enjoy travelling with friends or Mark, there is something cathartic about travelling alone. There is no compromise on restaurants or events and I will be hogging my king size bed all to myself, I plan to sleep like a giant X in the center of the bed, taking all the pillows and blankets for myself. I also have the added luxury of not having a 14-pound cat stepping across my face to wake me up to feed her, only to go back to bed after I have fed her to snuggle up a sleeping Mark.

I booked my trip to Vida Vegan Con in March and I have been counting down the days ever since. I am looking forward to meeting my favourite cookbook authors, fellow bloggers and veg-friendly vendors, in particular the taco trucks. I plan to eat my fill and then some. I truly never thought I would ever go to Texas but I am over the moon happy that I decided to go. I will probably never see so many vegans in one room ever again and in Texas no less! So if you are headed to Vida Vegan Con this weekend and you see my face, please introduce yourself. I will be happy to meet you.

Texas has had some devastating weather recently and my sincerest sympathies go out to those families who have lost loved ones and their homes.

Cold Soba Bowl with Lemon Miso Sauce

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: vegan, 30 minute meal, gluten free

Ingredients

• Lemon-Miso Sauce:
• ¼ cup raw cashew butter
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon each extra virgin olive oil + toasted sesame seed oil
• 1 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or agave
• 5-6 tablespoons water
• Pinch of red chili flakes
• Bowl:
• Buckwheat soba noodles (or your favourite gluten free noodles)
• ½ tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
• ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup frozen edamame
• ½ cucumber, sliced thinly on a bias
• 1 red pepper, cut into matchsticks
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 1 green onion, cut into thin slices (the green part only)
• Spicy vegan kimchi, optional
• Optional Garnish:
• Sesame seeds, black or white
• ½ nori sheet, cut very thin
• Chili flakes if desired

Instructions

1. For the Lemon-Miso Sauce:
2. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth. The mixture will thicken as it cools so add more water a little bit at a time until desired consistency. I added a grand total of 6 tablespoons of water. I found it easiest to leave the sauce in the blend and its spout makes it easy to pour onto your bowl.
3. For the Bowl:
4. In a medium pot, add water and salt and boil on high heat. Add the noodles and cook as the package directs. Cook until al dente, drain and rinse over a coriander. Shake the coriander so most of the water is drained. Place cold noodles in a large bowl and dress with the sesame seed oil and lemon juice.
5. While the noodles are cooking, prep the vegetables.
6. Add more water to the now empty pot and place on high heat until boiling. Cook the edamame until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. They cool down quite quickly.
7. Divide the noodles and vegetables between two bowls. Top with sauce and garnish with nori and sesame seeds. Serve!

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I was at The Big Carrot, a fancy grocery store, and they have a juice and smoothie bar connected to the main entrance. I had my eye on coffee but the sun was out and I was feeling refreshed so I went into the juice bar. On their huge menu, I was searching out smoothies but a juice caught my eye, a kombucha and beet juice mixture. Say what? Like kale chips, I have a small addiction to kombucha and I generally treat myself to it when I do well on a test or assignment. This is an expensive reward system since most small bottles are priced at $4 each. Kombochu almost has a beer-like quality to it but it has very little alcohol. For those who don’t know, kombucha is a naturally carbonated fermented tea and before you go running for the hills over this hippy-dippy sounding drink, it is actually delicious and good for you. Fermented foods and drinks have loads of good bacteria in them to keep your insides happy by promoting detoxification. Now we are going to get really hippy… what if I mixed it with a green juice? The beet + kombucha juice was amazing and I almost chugged it while grocery shopping but it didn’t have too many greens in it. I bought a few bottles of Tonica*, some green vegetables and went home to make my own version of this drink. Like the beet juice I had at The Big Carrot, I drank this one without making a sourpuss face and wanted more. I never thought I would like green juice at all but now smoothies have a little more competition.

Don’t have a juicer? Me neither. If I buy one more kitchen appliance, I will be labelled as a bad cohabitator by Mark and forced to sleep on the balcony. I used my Vitamix and a cheesecloth over a fine mesh strainer to make my juice. Just blend and gently squeeze through the cheesecloth. A nut milk bag would also work as long as you don’t mind your bag having green stains on it. Don’t squeeze the bag or cheesecloth too hard or the pulp will come shooting out and get into your juice. I fill 2/3 of my glass with green juice and top with chilled kombucha the rest of the way. Serve with a thin slice of lemon and enjoy! Could this drink be any healthier?? If you are feeling really hippy awesome, add a tablespoon of chia seeds to the drink to make a “bubble green juice tea”. The chia seeds will swell up and acts like the tapioca in bubble tea but with a nutritional punch. 

What have you done to turn something you didn’t like into something you love? I never use to like kale until I made kale chips and now kale is a staple in my household. Leave your comments and suggestions below. Happy juicing!

* I do not have any affiliation with Tonica, I just like their kombucha. 

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Last week I attended a seminar lead by Davida from The Healthy Maven about “How to Build an Ebook” with the plan of self-publishing my own in the near future (birthday goal!). At first, I wasn’t 100 percent sure if I could afford to miss a shift at work and I was kind of nervous about putting myself out there since I am a rather shy person around new people. When new people I meet at social events ask me what I do, I coyly respond, “well umm I have a food site, you know for vegans and umm sometimes I bake a cake…” Now this isn’t what I do to pay my bills but my server job pays for my passion so I lead with that. I bucked up and with a moment of bravery registered for the seminar. I got my confirmation email and volia, I was going. It was as simple as that.

I walked into this beautiful, sunny, rustic seminar room and sat with equally nervous bloggers from Toronto around a gorgeous wooden table. Davida introduced herself and welcomed any questions about the seminar, her site and marketing. It was an elating experience. She sold herself and her brand without skipping a beat or a moment of awkwardness. She told us, “the moment you decide that your site is your business, it is your business. Put on your business mask and hustle.” She explained to me later on that if I considered it a little hobby I did on the side then so would other people. I could literally feel the shift in my mentality. This is what I want to do so I am going to give it my all and there cannot be any compromise about it.

I absolutely loved the seminar and I can’t wait for another one hosted by Davida. In those three hours, she became a resource of “how-to’s” and a source of inspiration. She kept telling me “you can do this, you have come this far!!” When I first started, I literally knew nothing about blogging, site maintenance, SEO, plugins etc. but with each post it gets a little bit easier.

Some things that has not been getting easier is selling myself and really believing that I could do this. We are all our worst critics but it is time to put my game face on, even when I think I can’t do it. Negative mentality is no way to immerse yourself in your passion.

A big thanks to Davida with all of her wisdom and advice, which she admits came from her own mistakes. The seminar gave me the kick in the butt I obviously needed.

So what does this all have to do with Bahn Mi? I picked up a sandwich after the seminar. Wish I could tie it in but sometimes these things just happen. 

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