And it was hard to believe, but they had over a dozen VEGAN doughnuts. mmmmh. My dairy-sensitive, sugar-loving tummy was in heaven.
Check out the Voodoo Doughnuts web site

Here’s how to make it:

Chop and combine the following veggies, all measurements are approximate.

• 1 cup red cabbage slices
• 1 cup green cabbage slices
• 1-2 carrots
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 2 tbs black sesame sees (optional)

Then mix in the following flavors, again all is approximate.

• 2+ tbs olive oil
• 1-2 tbs rice vinegar
• scant 1 tsp honey or agave
• salt and pepper to taste

Let the mixture mingle for about 1/2 hour before serving. This will keep for a few days in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water or vegetable broth (vegetable broth will add more flavor)
• 1 tsp very thinly sliced red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (red, green, yellow)
• 1/4 cup chopped tomato
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach (or chopped regular spinach)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin (Be forewarned, this salad is generous on cumin. If you’re not a fan, you can scale it back.)
• juice of 1 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa and remove any debris or discolored grains.
2. Add quinoa plus liquid (either water or broth) to pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for approx 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
3. Meanwhile, combine olive oil, lime juice, cumin, peppers, onion and tomato and set aside. (This is all the ingredients except the spinach.)
4. After quinoa is cooked, move to colander and set aside to cool.
5. Combine warm quinoa, bowl of spices and veggies and spinach. Mix well.

Note: Let the quinoa cool based on your preference for crisp spinach or wilted spinach or somewhere in between. I like my spinach ever so slightly wilted, and I let the quinoa cool for about 7-8 minutes before combining with the spinach, so the heat from the quinoa can soften it up just a little.

Here are some tips on freezing corn.

• The first step is to get some good ears. Get to know your vendor. Choose ears that have been kept cold. Avoid ones with “dry” cut ends. With fresh corn, the silk will still be moist. It should be brown, but not black. The husk should feel tight.

• DO NOT PEEL THE HUSK BACK! This is a big no no because it ruins the ear for anyone else. If you feel the need to peel it back — buy it. The husk keeps the kernels moist and fresh.

• Ask WHEN it was picked. (You want to hear “last night” or “early this morning.”) Keep it cold. Bring a cooler and take it directly to your fridge.

• Before I get to husking, I get organized. I like to husk outside, so I pile up all my ears next to a clean pan for husked ears. I use a wheel barrow to throw all the husk and silk in.

• When I peel back the husk, I think the most efficient way to do it is to split the silk at the top and grab at least 1/3 of it firmly, then peel it off. Repeat this until you have it all off. If you just pull on the green parts, it will take forever. Grabbing from the silk ensures you will get most of that off at the same time.

(Make sure you keep an eye on your dogs while all this is happening.)

• While I husk, I put my biggest stock pots on the stove to boil. This time, I broke the ears in half before dropping them into the water. This allowed me to get 3x as many ears in the pot.

• Blanch the ears for NO MORE THAN 3 minutes.

• Take them out and drop them into cold water to stop the cooking. I use one half of my sink. (Make sure it’s sparkly clean.)

• Beside the sink, I have another set-up: a cutting board with a towel on top. The towel does a pretty good job of keeping the “corn juice” from bouncing all over the place.

• Make sure you hone your knife. In the 40 ears I cut, I stopped to clean and hone my knife three times.

• Try not to eat too much of your cut corn. It is y u m m y !

• As I cut, I transfer corn into a large bowl. I don’t bag it until the very end because I feel it is more efficient (unless you have a little helper that is willing to bag while you cut.)

• Bag in small freezer bags (just enough for one dinner), freeze and enjoy!

Herb Vinaigrette:

Combine these ingredients and mix thoroughly. The vinaigrette will keep for a week in the refrigerator. In addition to serving with grilled halibut, you can also use the vinaigrette on salads, steamed vegetables, or as a dipping oil for fresh bread.

• 2/3 cup olive oil (use the best quality you have, I used 1/3 cup lemon infused, 1/3 cup extra virgin)
• juice of 1/2 large lemon
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette
• 1 large or 2 small cloves garlic crushed
• 1 tsp brown mustard
• 1-2 tbs fresh herbs (I used about 1 tbs fresh chives minced, and 1 tbs fresh basil minced. You can use any fresh herb that sounds good to you.)
• dash of salt
• splash of honey

Grilled Halibut:

1. Buy one or more steaks 1″ or thicker
2. Clean your grill grate, then rub with oil (I used olive oil)
3. Rinse and pat dry the halibut steaks
4. Rub each side of the steak with olive oil and fresh lemon juice
5. Grill the steaks on mediumish heat, about 5 minutes on each side (if the steaks are thicker than 1″ add a little time)
6. Serve topped lightly with the vinaigrette

Pressure cooker filled with white beans and water, with sage leaves and garlic on top. The sage is tri-colored sage from my herb garden.

Ingredients (all measurements are approximate):

• White beans (1 1/2 or 2 cups)
• Fresh Sage (12-15 leaves)
• Garlic (5 cloves)
• Parsley (1/4 cup)
• Olive Oil (3 tbs)
• Green Onions (2)
• Lemon (1 tsp)
• Honey (1/2 tsp)
• Vinegar (1 tsp)
• Brown Mustard (1 tsp)
• Salt & Pepper

Part One:

1. Rinse beans and remove any ugly beans or hard debris.
2. Add to pressure cooker and cover with water about 3 inches above the level of the beans.
3. Peel and coarsely chop 5 garlic cloves, add to pot.
4. Add sage leaves.
5. Add 1 tbs olive oil.
6. Seal pressure cooker and cook for 60 minutes.
7. When cooked, empty the excess water and discard the sage. (Leave the garlic.)

Part Two:

1. Add lemon juice, 2 tbs olive oil, lemon, honey, vinegar and mustard to large bowl.
2. Add a dash of pepper, and some salt (approx 1 tsp).
3. Finely chop green onions and parsley and add to bowl.
4. Mix well.
5. Add the beans and stir to coat.

The beans are especially tasty when served still warm, but can be enjoyed at any temperature. Rich and buttery (without butter!), great side for any season.

One of our favorite recipes during the cooler months is my roasted new potatoes recipe. It’s simple, healthy and can be prepared quickly and best of all, everybody loves it. I serve this as a side dish to grilled cherry-chipotle chicken breasts and fresh from the garden steamed asparagus.

Roasted New Potatoes

1lb small red potatoes (may substitute any fingerling)
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 400°. Wash potatoes and remove any bad spots. Slice each potato in half so that all pieces are approximately the same size to promote even cooking. In a 9X13 glass dish, evenly distribute the potatoes. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes sparringly, just enough to coat. Toss. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with rosemary sprigs. Cover dish with aluminum foil and place into oven for 50 minutes. Remove foil, toss potatoes and continue to bake for an additional 12-15 minutes until potatoes are slightly golden brown. Enjoy.

According to the Tasty Bite web site, these are the Tasty Bites that are vegan:

• Yellow Curry
• Kerala Vegetables
• Tom Yum Soup
• Satay Vegetables
• Rendang Vegetables
• Bombay Potatoes
• Thai Lime Pilaf
• Punjab Eggplant
• Bengal Lentils
• Multigrain Pilaf
• Spinach Dal

I ordered $50 worth to get free shipping and got the stash you see above. So far, my favorite is Rendang Vegetables: “Lemongrass, coconut & vegetable stew infused with Thai spices”, shown below served with fresh steamed broccoli and tomato slices on top of jasmine rice.

Berries are one of my absolute favorite foods. Raspberries and blueberries are the best. Blackberries, mulberries, cherries, and strawberries are close behind. Bonus: berries are loaded with anti-oxidants.

This cereal is Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls topped with raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and my favorite non-dairy milk Original Rice Dream. Even though it’s winter, Whole Foods has a variety of berries available in their produce section. I bought that plastic tub in the background full of berries for $6.99. Definitely a treat at that price.

Kicharee is made from the green mung bean, revered in India as the mildest and most digestible vegetable protein food. Designed to restore and heal the body, a three-to-five day kicharee diet (eaten for 3 meals a day) is considered an effective way to detoxify and purify the body in a safe and balanced way.

Ingredients you’ll need:

• mung beans (as seen in the jar on the top left of the photo)
• brown rice
• ghee (clarified butter) or sesame oil
• cumin seed
• coriander seed
• cumin powder
• coriander powder
• turmeric powder

First, prepare the mung beans:

1. Rinse the beans
2. Cook one part beans to 6 parts water
3. Add a pinch of salt
4. As the beans cook, you can skim off the froth on the top of the water
5. Cook beans until soft, about 2 hours (add more water if needed)

Next, prepare the rice:

1. Make the rice per directions with a pinch of salt (or 1 cup rice to 2 1/4 cups water, simmering for about 45 minutes)

Finally, here’s how to make kicharee:

1. Measure equal portions of each spice: whole coriander seed, whole cumin seed, powdered coriander seed, powdered cumin, powdered turmeric
2. Heat the whole coriander and whole cumin in sesame oil or ghee, stirring frequently
3. After a couple of minutes, stir in the powdered spices
4. Stir in some mung beans, adding water to make a soupy consistency
5. Cook for 5-10 minutes
6. Serve kicharee (the mung bean and spices you’ve just created) over rice
7. Optional: Steam organic green veggies and add to the meal

I prepare about 2 cups dry beans and 2 cups dry rice to last for a couple days. I save these in the fridge and then prepare the beans with sesame oil and spices individually for each meal so it’s hot and fresh each time. I serve the kicharee a little soupy on top of the rice, and then pile lightly steamed organic green veggies on top of it all. (My favorite veggies to use are steamed dinosaur kale, also called lacinato kale, or broccoli.)

Notes:
* When you follow this kicharee diet, you’ll probably feel hungry, even if eating it 3 or 4 times per day. That’s good! You’re giving your body a chance to devote energy to taking care of itself and not digest food.
* To mitigate your potential taste disappointment: the taste of kicharee is quite modest, not your typical Indian style meal full of spicyness and flavor.

Let me know what you think and how you feel after trying this cleanse ~ I wish all of you a wonderful year!