how-to

How To Store Fresh Herbs for Plant Based Recipes

May 27, 2014 by Veronica Grace 1 Comment

Fresh herbs are WONDERFUL to use in every day recipes, but not all of us have them on hand and even when we do they sometimes (or often) go to waste or are only partially used.

I love using fresh herbs in my recipes and if you don’t already have a backyard garden or a windowsill garden of herbs, here are some ways you can ensure you always have fresh herbs and use all that you buy without letting any go to waste.

Choosing and Storing Fresh Herbs

Leafy Herbs: Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, Mint, Basil, Tarragon, Chives

Choose herbs that are bright, crisp and fragrant. Avoid any that have wilted or slimy parts.

Store herbs either placed in a damp paper towel in a sealed bag in the fridge, or snip the ends, remove any dead pieces and place in a few inches of fresh water (be sure to not let the leaves sit in the water or they will rot). Change the water daily and store away from sunlight. Rinse and pat dry just before use for best results.

Hardy Herbs: Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Marjoram, Sage, Savory

Store herbs dry and loose in a paper bag in the fridge, in a few inches of water away from sunlight, tie them and hang them upside down to dry, or dry them in a dehydrator.

Neat Trick: Chop your fresh herbs finely and place into ice cube trays, fill with water or vegetable broth and freeze. Pop them out of the tray once fully frozen and seal in a large freezer bag. Drop them into soups, stews, chopped onions or mushrooms, or pasta sauces as needed. It’s a great way to always have fresh herbs on hand without wasting any!

*Also check out these herb-savers you can put in the fridge and keep your herbs fresh and leafy for up to 2 weeks and other herbaceous gadgets 🙂

Cuisinepro Herb Keeper ~$20

OXO Soft Works Salad and Herb Spinner ~$25 – My favourite salad spinner. Just push and spin! Quite fun 🙂

Zyliss FastCut Herb Mincer ~$17

RSVP Herb Scissors ~$10

What are your favourite fresh herbs to use?

How To Cook Dried Beans in an EZ Bean Cooker or Pressure Cooker

July 18, 2013 by Veronica Grace 4 Comments

Here I show you how easy it is to use an EZ Bean Cooker or digital pressure cooker to cook dried beans from scratch.

Please like, share and subscribe to my channel for more demos and healthy recipes! I hope you enjoyed my EZ Bean Cooker Tutorial, right now I’m running a contest for a FREE EZ Bean Cooker. Go here for details: http://www.plantbasedu.com/ez-bean-cooker-giveaway

How To Cook Dried Chickpeas On The Stove Or In A Pressure Cooker

September 24, 2012 by Veronica Grace 40 Comments

How To Cook Dried Chickpeas From Scratch

Tuscan Roasted Tomato and Chickpea Soup from my Comfort Soups ebook

In my recipe books I cook all of my own beans from scratch because it’s less expensive and overall tastes much better. It’s also a good way to control the amount of sodium in your diet and you can cook your beans with or without added salt. For those of you interested in cooking your own chickpeas/garbanzo beans, it’s probably because you’ve gotten hooked on how amazingly delicious (and cheap) it is to make your own.

I recommend making a big batch if you are going to go to the trouble of cooking chickpeas/garbanzos yourself. You can save any leftovers in containers or bags and freeze them for later, or you can just make a double batch of your recipe to use them all up and have meals for the week. The best tip I have for flavorful chickpeas is to use a bay leaf and some seaweed like kombu. When you’re not using salt, (or much at all) beans can taste very bland and these seasonings will greatly enhance the flavor of your chickpeas over the canned versions.

(If you’re looking for directions for cooking non-soaked chickpeas, scroll to the bottom)

Stove Top Directions For Cooking Chickpeas:

Step #1: Pick through your dried chickpeas/garbanzos and remove any bits of rock, broken shells, gross looking chickpeas, random other beans etc.

Step #2: Rinse your chickpeas and place into a large bowl or container. Add 3 cups of water for every 1 cup of beans that you are making. Let the beans soak overnight, or first thing in the morning so you can make them for dinner. I find that chickpeas are fine if they are soaked 5-8 hours, but when I soak them overnight they get overcooked really easily and are disappointing. Try not to soak your beans more than 8 hours if leaving them overnight. If you you do, it’d be better to cook them over the stove as there is less risk of overcooking when you use a pressure cooker.

Step #3: Drain and rinse the chickpeas again in a colander.

Step #4: For cooking the beans on the stovetop add 3 cups of water for each 1 cup of dried chickpeas and bay leaves and/or a kombu seaweed strip for flavour. Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium-medium low heat for 1-2.5 hours until they give to pressure. (it depends on size, small beans cook faster) Make sure they are not crunchy inside and are cooked through. Since each bean has a different size, the cooking times will vary. You can add salt or additional seasonings if desired part way through cooking, but this is optional.

*Non-Soaking Method For Cooking Dried Chickpeas In Pressure Cooker:

If you have an EZ Bean Cooker or digital pressure cooker you DON’T HAVE TO presoak your chickpeas. You can just rinse them and put them in a pressure cooker and 3 cups of water to every 1 cup of dried chickpeas. Season if desired. Choose the garbanzo (80 min) setting on your EZ Bean Cooker or program for 80 minutes on a digital pressure cooker. Once the timer goes off release the pressure from the valve and let the pressure continue to drop. Drain and use chickpeas as desired.

Regular Pressure Cooker Directions For Cooking Pre-Soaked Chickpeas:

Step #1: Pick through your dried chickpeas/garbanzos and remove any bits of rock, broken shells, gross looking chickpeas, random other beans etc.

Step #3: Drain and rinse the chickpeas again in a colander. When using a pressure cooker use enough water to just cover the beans beans and add bay leaves/kombu/a little salt or baking soda if desired and cook for the recommended time on a pressure cooker timing chart. For chickpeas it’s around 5-7 minutes at high pressure in a stove top pressure cooker. (Less if you soaked them 8+ hours) Ultimate Pressure Cooking Chart is a good starting point of reference, but I find their times to be a little high for my gas stove pressure cooker. Always start with a lower time the first time. Once you figure out your perfect time, it’s best to write it down so you remember for next time. (Like the amount of hours you soaked the chickpeas and the number of minutes cooked at high pressure.)

When pressure cooking, keep it on high heat until it reaches full pressure (a steady stream of steam coming out), then reduce it to medium-medium high heat (depending how hot your stove is) and cook for the time indicated in your manual or the pressure cooking chart. I like to play it safe as cook a at least a minute or two less than the charts stipulate. Turn off the heat as soon as the timer goes off. Once the pressure has been reduced and it’s safe to open the lid you can check the beans and see if they are cooked enough.

Note: I do not use oil when cooking my beans with a pressure cooker myself. Most companies recommend that you do so that you don’t get bean foam clogging up the pressure release valve and make a mess. I prefer to cook everything without oil.

To alleviate this foam problem, I use what’s called the “Quick Release Method” by turning off the heat once the timer goes off and then move the pressure cooker into the sink and run cold water on top of the lid until it cools down and the pressurized release opens. This way I do not get any bean foam coming out or making a mess. (This works only for stovetop pressure cookers.)

For the electric pressure cookers it can be a little trickier. You can unplug it and place it in the sink and run cold water on it, or you can put a towel over the top and turn the valve and let out the pressure that way, but there will be bean juice and foam coming out of it and it will soak your towel.

For most things I let the pressure come down naturally, but especially when cooking black beans you need to do the quick release method or else they will be mushy and overcooked. They are very finicky and can only be pressure-cooked 1-2 minutes maximum.

Quick Soak Method For Beans:

If you forget to soak your chickpeas or beans the night before or in the morning and you want to make a recipe that day you can do the “Quick Soak Method”.

Place your dried beans into a pot and fill with water 3 inches above the beans. Bring to a full boil and then turn off the heat and remove from the stove. Cover and let the beans soak in this hot water for 1 hour. Drain and then cook as above, and your beans should be similar to beans soaked for 8 hours. Please make sure you cook them afterwards, this is just a quick soak method and not a quick cooking method.

Additional Tips For Cooking Chickpeas:

Once your beans are cooked, you can drain them and use them in a recipe, or you can save them in their cooking water and freeze in smaller portions.

Bean cooking liquid is great served over rice or potatoes (if it’s a little seasoned) so don’t just throw it away.

For the best taste in your chickpeas I always recommend using 2 bay leaves, kombu seaweed (if you can find it) and seasoning with a little salt or kelp. If you don’t season the beans at all they will be very bland and probably taste dry and pasty! So I don’t recommend this. Fresh thyme is another delicious suggestion.

Kombu is available at Asian markets and health food stores beside the Nori seaweed. But you probably won’t find this at a regular grocery store though.

Have you ever cooked your own chickpeas before? What’s your favorite chickpea recipe?

How To Cook The Perfect Brown Rice

September 20, 2012 by Veronica Grace 10 Comments

How To Cook The Perfect Brown Rice

Brown rice takes much longer to cook than white rice and sometimes it can be confusing why your brown rice didn’t turn out if you have never cooked it before. Brown rice is a whole grain and still contains the outer layer of bran. White rice has just been de-hulled and reveals the white endosperm inside. Any rice that contains the outer layer of bran will look brown and can be called brown “rice”.

So let me show you how to cook brown rice in 2 easy ways, on the stovetop or in a rice cooker.

Stove Top Directions For Cooking Brown Rice:

Measure out rice using a measuring cup. Usually it’s 1/3 cup for a small single serving and 1 cup for several servings. You can always make a big batch in advance and reheat it later or use to make rice salad.
Place rice in a mesh strainer or a bowl and rinse with cool water to remove any debris and excess starch. Drain.
Add rinsed rice to a pot and add 1 ½ times the amount of rice you have in fresh water. For 1 cup of rice, add 1 ½ cups of water.
Put the pot on the stove uncovered and turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
Once your water is boiling, turn the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. If your lid has a hole or steam valve cover it with a little cloth. Let the rice cook at a simmer for about 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let the rice sit and steam for another 10 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and serve.

My favorite rice cooker is the Zojirushi 5 1/2 cup (dry amount) rice cooker. It’s designed in Japan and is like the Mercedez of rice cookers. You can program it to cook rice at any hour of the day, but I personally enjoy being able to set it the night before to cook steel cut oats for whole grain oatmeal in the morning. It also has settings for brown rice, white rice, mixed rice, sweet rice, porridge, cake and steaming vegetables. So if you’re looking for an awesome all in 1 grain cooker I recommend this one. If you’re just a single or looker for a cheaper one there’s also the Zojirushi 3 cup (dry amount) rice cooker.

Rice Cooker Directions For Cooking Brown Rice:

Measure out rice using the measuring cup that comes with rice cooker. Usually it’s 1/3 cup for a small serving and 1 cup for several servings. You can always make a big batch in advance and reheat it later or use to make rice salad.
Place rice in a mesh strainer or in rice cooker pan and rinse with cool water to remove any debris and excess starch. Drain.
Add rinsed rice back to rice cooker pan and add water to the corresponding water level for brown rice. If your rice cooker pan does not have a brown rice and white rice water line, use 1 ½ times the amount of rice for water. For example: 1 cup of dried brown rice will need 1½ cups of water.
Turn rice cooker on and select brown rice setting. If your rice cooker does not have a brown rice setting, select white rice or just press on/start.
Once cooking is complete and the rice cooker turns to the keep warm setting, let the rice sit and steam for 5-10 minutes before opening. (This helps your grains stay separated and not stick together when you scoop it out.)
Fluff with a fork and serve.

I suggest setting your rice cooker to cook 1 to 2 hours before your main dish is ready to ensure that it is ready on time. For basic rice cookers it’s about 1 hour of cook time, for the Zojirushi it’s about 2 hours because it adds a soaking cycle (and produces better brown rice.)

How To Cook Dried Pasta

September 19, 2012 by Veronica Grace 1 Comment

How To Cook Dried Pasta

Although most pasta comes with cooking instructions on the package, sometimes people over cook their pasta and some helpful pointers are in order.

It’s best to cook pasta in clean filtered water as opposed to warm or hot water for the best taste. Although hot water boils faster, it comes from your hot water heater and can taste different from cold water. Use a large glass or stainless steel pot for cooking your pasta.

Step 1: Fill up a large 4-5 quart pot with cool filtered water and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling you can add a little salt if desired. (This is personal preference, omit if you are following a low sodium diet.) Note: it is a myth that salted water boils faster, it in fact takes longer to boil. So add salt only once your water is at a rolling boil.

Step 2: Add your dried pasta and stir to make sure that it doesn’t stick.

Step 3: Start timing your pasta when the water comes back to a boil.

Step 4: Stir as necessary to prevent from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Step 5: When pasta is cooked to desired tenderness turn off heat and pour into a colander to drain. Do not rinse.

Step 6: Toss or top with sauce and serve.

Tip: Pasta will clump together if left for more than a few minutes, so use immediately or gently run a little water over it and turn it to break up the pasta clumps.

For cooking pasta that you want to bake in a casserole I suggest cooking it for only 5 minutes. Then toss with the rest of your ingredients and bake at 350F /177 C for about 20-30 minutes until heated through and the pasta is at desired tenderness.

How Much Does Dried Pasta Yield When Cooked?

1 cup of small dry pasta shapes weighs about 4 oz./113.4 g and will make 2 1/2 cups cooked.

4 oz./113.4 g pasta noodles or a 1-inch bunch will make 2 cups of cooked pasta.

How To Make Perfect Vegan Smoothies And Green Smoothies Every Time

August 5, 2012 by Veronica Grace 5 Comments

How To Make Great Vegan Smoothies Every Time

Tools Necessary For Making The Best Smoothies

There are a few tools that will help you make the best tasting smoothies. The most important is obviously a good blender. I recommend using a high power blender if you are serious about making delicious smoothies regularly and if it fits your budget.

My preferred blender of choice is a VitaMix because of the superior motor, warranty and large size (64 oz.) container. I use it almost daily, some days multiple times! It’s excellent for breaking down fruits and greens into tiny particles, which results in a very smooth and creamy end product. It’s also excellent for making blended soups, (raw or cooked), homemade salad dressings, sauces, and baby food. It is the first major kitchen gadget I suggest everyone invest in, as it is by far the most used in my kitchen.

If a high-powered blender seems a little out of reach for your budget at the moment, consider doing what many others do. Forgo that weekly (or even daily) gourmet coffee or shake and save that money towards getting a blender in 6-12 months. If you save just $10 a week you will be have enough to purchase any high-powered blender you desire in less than a year. I know many of you spend much more than that each week on beverages while you’re on the go our out dining!

Check out my YouTube channel where I demonstrate how to make smoothies with my VitaMix at home.

Another high-powered blender you may consider would be a Blend-Tec, which is a little different than the Vitamix in that it has preprogrammed settings, no tamper (which I use to make Banana Icecream from frozen bananas) and a smaller container.

For now though as long as you have a blender that works you can start making these smoothies recipes. Just know that the more items you put into the blender and the harder they are to blend the longer it will take to make and you could possibly burn out the motor. So take care when adding greens and frozen fruit to a regular blender. Either chop (or rip) the ingredients into smaller pieces or let the frozen fruit thaw on the counter for 5 minutes before adding to the blender. Adding more liquid than I specify in the recipe will help too. The amount of liquid I use is what works in my VitaMix so you may need more for a regular blender to get things moving.

How To Make A Tasty Smoothie Every Time

The key to making a delicious whole food and sugar free smoothie is to use fully ripe and quality ingredients. Also you don’t have to throw a lot of things into it like some witch’s brew. I prefer to use only 2-4 ingredients to make a fruit smoothie and I generally start with a base of ripe (very spotted) bananas or ataulfo/champagne (yellow skinned) mangoes and then I add other things like ripe papaya, pineapple, berries, peaches, plums, spinach, etc. Whatever is ripe and sweet tasting can go into a great tasting smoothie.

The biggest crime at smoothie bars is probably using underripe yellow bananas or even worse yellow bananas with green still on them. Bananas contain a lot of starch and the enzymes in the bananas have to process the raw starch and convert it into natural sugars for it to taste sweet instead of sticky and pasty. To compensate they put in sugar, when it’s really not necessary.

Please see my post on How To Tell If A Banana Is Ripe for more details.

The best tip for having quality ripe produce every day for smoothies or recipes is to make sure you are buying it at least a week in advance. I always have bananas and mangoes or papayas (when in season) ripening on the counter. It generally takes 4-8 days to ripen (I’m in Canada and it’s not hot or humid right now) on the counter in cooler climates. In tropical and subtropical places fruit can ripen in 3-4 days and then be stored in the refrigerator when it’s ripe. Frozen berries or bags of pineapple or mango are great additions to a base of ripe bananas or even fresh papaya.

How To Create Your Own Green Smoothies

Creating your own green smoothie recipe is much the same as creating your own fruit smoothie with a sweet fruit as the base, and then you just add in a handful or two of your desired greens.

Please note that a green smoothie does not mean adding tough green vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, green beans, etc. A green smoothie is essentially a fruit smoothie with LEAFY greens added.

Generally speaking if you are new to green smoothies or apprehensive about trying them you should start off with a mild tasting green like baby spinach, or leaf lettuce. These can be added in quantities of a cup or two (depending on your tastes) and you should not notice much flavor from them at all. Then once you are used to that you can venture into trying new greens.

When using a leafy green that has a tough stalk like kale or Swiss chard, remove the leaf from the stem and only use the leaves. Discard the stem, or steam or add to a stir-fry later. They are harder to blend and don’t add a pleasant flavor to your green smoothie.

Generally you shouldn’t add sprouts to green smoothies, as they are quite bitter. You can add small quantities of mild sprouts like sunflower or pea shoots though if you like. But please do not add raw sprouted beans or sprouted grains to your smoothies.

You may know of some wild edibles (generally weeds that are edible) in your area, but make sure to always practice caution and be certain what plant you are eating if you pick it in the wild. For more information on wild edibles please check out Sergei Boutenko’s website.

Rotating your greens that you use in your smoothies each month is important. Try not to use the same green every week or every month. Some people can have an adverse reaction to using just baby spinach or kale in every single smoothie. Rotating your greens is something that Victoria Boutenko highly recommends. You can check out her books Green For Life and Green Smoothie Revolution.

The following greens should be added in small quantities at first so you get used to them:

Kale
Swiss Chard
Spring mix/mesclun mix
Celery
Collard greens
Dandelion greens
Mâche/corn salad
Beet greens
Turnip greens
Lambs quarters
Stinging nettle
Endive
Cactus, napal leaves
Mustard greens
Arugala/rocket
Escarole
Frisee
Radicchio
Radish tops
Wheat grass
Aloe vera
Parsley
Mint
Basil
Dill
Cilantro
Stevia
Fennel

How To Make Your Green Smoothies More Appetizing

If you want to serve green smoothies to your loved ones, or friends it might be a good idea to mask the color of the smoothie if they have never had one before. As soon as people see something green, they tend to think, “Hmm that probably doesn’t taste very good even though it’s good for me” and they may turn their nose up at it and decline.

First make sure you taste test the smoothie and use ripe fruit like banana or mango to ensure that it is naturally sweet enough. Secondly you may want to add some berries to the smoothie to hide the green color and turn it more of a blue or purple color. People seem to be more open to drinking smoothies that are red, purple or yellow and not green! And last of all you can add a pretty little garnish to your smoothie like a fresh berry, a pineapple wedge, an orange slice, or a small leafy green so that it looks pretty and presentable.

How To Select And Ripen Mangoes For Recipes and Smoothies

August 5, 2012 by Veronica Grace 2 Comments

What a ripe ataulfo mango looks like

Mangoes can be hard to understand for those new to tropical fruits. They often don’t know how to select them, when they are ripe, or know how to cut them. Generally I buy the yellow skinned ataulfo/champagne style mangoes because they don’t have a stringy flesh and are very sweet and creamy when ripe. Most people buy the Tommy green/red type mangoes. When ripe these can be good too but they are much stringier and have a larger woody core in them.

Mangoes will take 5-10 days to ripen depending on when they were picked and what kind of climate you live in. You can tell a mango is ripe when it is starting to wrinkle on the skin and get soft. (Just like an avocado gets soft to the touch when ripe.) It should not have any hard spots on it and should be slightly soft and juicy inside and not taught and rock hard. The inside colour will change from light yellow to dark yellow or orange depending on the variety. Unripe mangoes don’t make for tasty recipes, and when it doubt leave it another day or two. Even I sometimes get impatient and open a mango too early and am disappointed that it’s not at it’s peak ripeness yet.

Another tip I have to getting good mangoes is to NOT buy them at the regular grocery or mainstream grocery stores. I find that their supplies are often poor, they are picked super early and don’t always ripen properly. This is a terrible place to buy mangoes. Bananas can generally be bought anywhere and will ripen, but not mangoes or papayas. Buy your mangoes from fruit markets, farmers markets, China Town/Asian fruit markets, Indian markets, Whole Foods, health food stores or Costco. (Costco’s ataulfo mangoes are usually fine, but the red/green mangoes when bought out of season often don’t ripen so I avoid those until the spring/summer.)

If you live in tropical places or states like California, Hawaii or Florida you may be able to get mangoes at the regular grocery stores that are fine, but this is usually because they were shipped shorter distances and thus did not need to be picked so hard and unripe or gassed. If you live in the northern states, Canada or northern European countries, you’ll want to avoid the regular grocery stores for tropical fruit purchases because of their bulk suppliers and slow turn around times. Going to Asian markets, Indian markets or other whole sale places will be a better bet for fresher produce.

Backyard Vegetable Gardening And Top 10 Vegetables and Herbs To Plant In Your Garden

June 14, 2012 by Veronica Grace 21 Comments

So this past weekend I spent about 3 days setting up my new backyard garden. It was a late start as we just moved into a new place, so I bought a bunch of seedlings from the garden centre. Aren’t they cute?

First I had to weed the garden and remove last years mulch. It was a total mess! There were a few plants remaining from last year, some purple potatoes, chives, and some dill so I left them. There are two trees in the garden, but I don’t really know what they are! There’s no blossoms on them, so if they are fruit trees they are not producing this year.

It took me about 8 hours to get all the seedlings broken apart and into place. I am really not a skilled gardener. All I did was estimate the space they needed and installed them in little hills so they wouldn’t get too wet in the rainy climate we live in. I figure if it’s supposed to grow it will grow. Most things grow like crazy here because of the rain in spite of the lack of constant sun and heat.

Peas, carrots, beets, turnips, celery, kohlrabi, leeks, nobel giant spinach, arugala, chives, Brussels sprouts

Xander was happy to spend the entire day outside with me. He supervised of course and then became exhausted and took a nap… lol

I installed a ground cover because I was NOT about spend hours every week weeding. (That is the worst part about gardening) and I already have a weak lower back from 2 car accidents, so it’s really not good for it. It was a pain to insert it around plants and plant through it, but it will also probably deter the cat from thinking the garden is a giant litter box, so this another benefit! Now he just thinks it’s a runway and traipses through it…

4 varieties of tomatoes, eggplant, English cucumbers, acorn squash, zucchini, 4 varieties of basil (including a beautiful African blue basil), purple potatoes, dill, thyme, rosemary, oregano, onions

So now all my plants are in. I’ve got a little bamboo trellis I attempted to build for the acorn squash and English cucumbers. I don’t know that it’s really worth it to build a lot of garden trellises, it may be cheaper, but it took me hours and hours to figure out how and then to do it and it may or may not work/last. We will see how it goes!

Swiss chard, Rainbow chard, white potatoes, red leaf lettuce, green kale, basil, red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, Thai basil, bay laurel shrub, and in the black herb container: cilantro, parsley, purple sage, tarragon, more basil, oregano, thyme

As I didn’t want to crowd the garden I put most of my herbs and lettuces in container pots I had from last year’s patio garden and a few things like cherry tomatoes, white potatoes and a mini bell pepper plant. This also deters the cat from getting on my raw edibles like lettuces and herbs! He seems to have thought the thyme in the garden was offensive enough to sprinkle on a few times… so yeah.

As you can see I still have a little more work to do, tidying up and mowing the lawn, as well as I will plant a few more containers of leaf lettuce soon. I don’t have any romaine or butter lettuce planted yet.

We aren’t getting a CSA box this summer, so I thought I would invest in having some of our own home grown vegetables and greens. There’s also a bunch of strawberry plants and blueberry and raspberry bushes by the big tree, so hopefully we will have some of those goodies too! I figure since everything was already grown as a seedling it probably means it will grow in this climate and I am so happy our backyard gets much much more sun than our little patio did previously. (I only had a 1 foot wide strip to work with before) Also what I like is not having the fridge crammed full of herbs and greens that go bad. It’s much nicer to keep it out in the garden until it’s ready to use and then you can just pick it!

I think it’s a lot of work to plant everything perfectly and coordinate everything so eat plant has the perfect amount of sun, space and fertilizer, so really I am just winging it and we’ll see what happens. I’ll add some nutrients if it needs and hopefully things will have enough sun and space. All the sun hungry plants are in the middle where we get the most sun. (Well we don’t get a lot of sun in the Vancouver area, but for some reason it’s usually nicer after 2 pm when the clouds part.)

I hope this inspires you to grow a little something, even if you haven’t done it before. I have gardened a few times, but really it was just planting seeds, watering and harvesting, nothing else!

If you have a chance to build your own garden, a really neat idea is a “Square Foot Garden” where you plant a certain number of plants in each square foot of space in a 4×4 square foot area. This leaves you enough room to be able to access all side for any weeding or harvesting. If I didn’t already have a garden built in my backyard I’d definitely use this method as it’s much much easier than creating rows or raised beds.

fromt albertahomegardening.com

For large plants like cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts etc you would plant only 1 in the centre of the square. For smaller plants like carrots you would plant up to 16 depending on what it was and how big it grows. You can find out more from http://www.squarefootgardening.org/

So what would I recommend growing in your garden if you can?

Top 10 Vegetables And Herbs To Plant In Your Garden

1. Lettuces and greens like Romaine, butter lettuce, red or green leaf lettuce, arugala, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, collard greens etc. Greens can cost $1.50-$3.50 a bunch depending where you buy them from and if they are organic, plus they take up a lot of room in the fridge. If you go through a lot of greens, it’s a good idea to plant some in the summer to at least supplement your needs and reduce your food budget and prevent spoilage by picking just what you need from the garden.

2. Thyme and Basil. Often these herbs cost $2.99 at the store (for organic) and can go to waste in the fridge as you only use a little bit for a recipe here and there. I much prefer having fresh herbs over dried ones as the flavour is much better in homemade things like soups and sauces. I plant a LOT of thyme and basil because these are my two most used herbs. Another favourite is dill (which is great in raw blended salads, salad dressings, or potato salad). These herbs can planted be in container or separate herb gardens.

3. Cilantro (Coriander) and Parsley. These herbs might or might not be cheap at your local grocery store, but I find that they don’t last very long in the fridge and tends to get slimy and are a pain to clean as there’s always some old and bad leaves in there. It’s nice to have a steady supply of cilantro and parsley which I love to use as garnishes (they make food photos even prettier) and on top of soups, salsas and ethnic cuisines like Thai, Vietnamese and Indian food.

4. Tomatoes. Tomatoes are not something I enjoy eating raw on their own, but they are invaluable to raw and vegan cuisine. They are essential for delicious marinara sauces, stews, blended raw salads, raw salad dressings, salad toppings and sandwiches. Home grown tomatoes are much tastier, sweeter and fresher than store bought. Especially if you let them ripen on the vine.

5. Peas or Green Beans. Peas and beans are great to grow as often the store bought ones are not very fresh and can be a little bit bitter or too hard. Fresh garden peas and beans are hard to match. They’re even delicious eating raw straight from the garden. I don’t usually cook mine as I eat through them quite quickly as healthy snacks and salad toppings but they’re something the whole family can enjoy! Kids especially love to munch on fresh picked garden goodies and it develops a good sense of healthy eating for them.

6. Beets and Turnips. Beets and turnips are great to grow in your garden because both the roots and the leaves are edible! Most people don’t eat the tops, but more and more veggie lovers are realizing the nutritional value of eating beet and turnip greens. There’s even more nutrition in them than the root, so don’t throw them away! They’re best eaten lightly steamed or sautéed as they can be a little strong tasting and tough to eat. The thick stems taste much better when lightly cooked as well. I love beets and turnips as they are both a starch and a green and make good use of garden space!

7. Onions, Green Onions and Leeks. Onions are something I go through like crazy, they are a staple to any homemade dish really whether it is raw or cooked as it adds a delicious flavour and aroma to the dish. If you plant onions and pick them early they will be green onions (also called scallions or spring onions) and these are great to use in raw salads, raw dressings, raw blended salads, salsas and garnishes. If you let them go to seed they will grow again next year so you’ll always have a steady supply of onions.

8. Cucumbers. Cucumbers are often fairly expensive at the store and a highly used item in raw and vegan salads, sandwiches and you can grow many varieties to be eaten fresh or to make pickles with. I even like to slice them on a mandolin and make little cucumber roll ups/sushi rolls with them. They are so beautiful and appealing as appetizers this way. Cucumbers grow on a vine and need a trellis or something to climb up onto so their fruits will not be laying on the grown and exposed to ground insects.

9. Zucchini. Zucchini is very easy to grow, provided you give it enough space. It’s a long and sprawling plant and one or two plants is all you need to get a ton of zucchini. Start picking them when they reach about a foot in size, and don’t let them grow too long or they become hard and woody inside. Young zucchinis are easy to use in salads, stir fries, Ratatouille and even make raw vegan spaghetti or fettuccine strands with.

10. Red potatoes or “new potatoes”. If you’re getting a late start you can always get potato seedlings at your garden centre, or plant some “seed” potatoes in early February or March for a spring harvest. These types of potatoes are called new potatoes because they are picked and sold immediately in the spring. They have paper thin skins and are best in salads or lightly steamed with seasonings. Fall potatoes have been grown longer and “cured” so their skins toughen up and they are able to be stored in a cool dark place through the winter. Potatoes can be grown fairly easily if you have a sunny place. They best way to grow is actually in a potato bag, as you will get many more potatoes as they can grow down as you roll up the bag and keep filling it with dirt and cover some of the leaves as they grow up. It gets a much higher yield this way than just planting in the garden. Check out potato bags here.

Other vegetables I’m growing this year are acorn squash, celery, kohlrabi, red bell pepper, eggplant, Brussels sprouts and carrots along with many other herbs like oregano, sage, tarragon, rosemary, sweet leaf and Thai basil.

What do you grow in your garden? What’s your favourite home grown vegetable?

How To Bake A Russet Potato Without Oil For Baked Jacket Potatoes

March 27, 2012 by Veronica Grace 16 Comments

Oil Free Vegan Baked Potato Hummus Salsa

Oil Free Vegan Baked Potato with Red Pepper Hummus and Salsa

Just a reminder that my Comfort Soups To Keep You Warm recipe eBook is out! I’m already getting lots of great feedback on how delicious the soup recipes are!

Today I’m going to show you how to bake healthy baked potatoes in the oven without all the oil and fat!

I think baked jacket potatoes are something that most people love or have fond memories of eating. It’s a comfort food for them and I know Dr. John McDougall is certainly very fond of them as well! Potatoes can be healthy, or unhealthy depending what you put on them though. If you’re on the McDougall Program you might be interested in baking russet potatoes regularly and without oil of course.

Or maybe you just really like having something warm and filling for dinner, either way baked russet potatoes are a good way to go for a low fat, satisfying meal or side.

The baked potato above is topped with roasted red pepper hummus (that’s oil free and low fat) and salsa and is served with a side of my Low Fat Vegan Tangy Collard Greens With Coconut Milk and Mushrooms . (It’s also delicious to pour some of the coconut cooking liquid on top of your baked potato.)

So the main reason people like to oil and salt their potato skins before baking them is because it makes the skin all crispy and taste, well salty! The other reason is that it cooks it a bit faster but it raises the temperature it cooks at. Baking in oil at such high temperatures can create carcinogens and adding excess oil to a potato skin is not the best for health.

It’s also not beneficial to your health if you load your baked potato or potato skins with bacon, cheese, butter and/or sour cream. These things are far too rich and the negative effects of these toppings outweigh all the health benefits of eating a baked potato for vitamins and fibre. If you’re watching your weight, cholesterol or salt intake, please don’t add those things to your baked potato. There are many healthier alternatives.

While leaving their rich potato toppings out won’t make it taste exactly the same, it will be healthier for you and you can dress up your potato skins with some healthy low fat vegan alternatives like:

Fat free salsa (homemade or jarred)
Tobasco sauce
Hummus (original or roasted red pepper, low fat of course. Look for oil free or make your own.)
Baked beans (homemade or canned)
Salt and Pepper
Fresh chives or green onions (scallions)
Nutritional yeast
Fat free vegan queso or “cheezy” sauce
Steamed veggies like broccoli or kale

What Potato Do I Use For Baked Potatoes?

Use the dark brown rough skinned russet potatoes you find at the grocery store. They make the best baked potatoes and are also good for mashed potatoes. Don’t use the smooth waxy skinned yellow or red potatoes for baked jacket potatoes, these are better suited for potato salad, mini roasted potatoes, steamed or boiled potatoes and used in stews and soups.

Make sure that you select russet potatoes that are about the same size so they cook at the same time. If you bake medium and large ones together the large ones will not be done when the medium ones are ready.

Should I Cover My Russet Potato In Tinfoil For Baking?

No. I have no idea why people think they should do this, much less why some grocery stores sell russet potatoes in tinfoil. Maybe if you want to barbecue them, but when you put tinfoil on it you are STEAMING the potato from the inside out and not BAKING it. So it is not going to turn out like a baked potato and be all dry and fluffy inside. It will be more watery and dense like potatoes steamed in water. Don’t do this. Bake them uncovered for best results.

How To Bake a Russet Potato Without Oil

from Comfort Foods From Around The World

Step #1: Preheat your oven to 400 F/ 205 C (375 F on a convection oven)

Step #2: Wash your russet potatoes well and cut out any “eyes” or bad spots in the potatoes.

Step #3: Use a fork and poke a lot of holes all over your potatoes. This stops them from cooking unevenly and possible exploding in the oven.

Oil Free Baked Oven Roasted Potatoes

Step #4: When your oven has come up to temperature, place them directly on the rack in the middle of the oven. Leave enough space between them that they are not touching.

Step #5: Bake your potatoes for 50-70 minutes (depending on size) and check on them between 50 and 60 minutes. Using a pot holder or oven mitt, you want to gently squeeze the potatoes and see if they give. If they seem soft all the way through to the middle they are done. If you are not sure you can cut one in half and check. If they need more time, continue to bake, or you can microwave for a few minutes more to finish them off if you’re in a hurry. (Once you know the exact cooking time for your oven and this size of potato, write it down or remember it so you don’t have to check on it and guess next time. Usually they will be done within 60-70 min).

Step #6: To fluff your potato you’re going to make a slit across the top of it, and using pot holders or oven mitts gently squeeze the bottom of the potato together (like how a crab would close it’s claws) and this will push the insides up and open it for filling. (This is something I learned when I worked in a restaurant and had to plate food.)

Step #7: Fill your potato with your (hopefully healthy and vegan) seasonings and serve.

When I bake giant potatoes like this it become a whole meal when served with a side of greens. So this makes it a really easy AND cheap vegan meal!

Time Saving Tip:

You can bake multiple potatoes and keep them for future meals in the fridge and just reheat them for a quick lunch or side dish the next night.

I know a lot of Americans like to “nuke” their raw potatoes, but I really don’t like this. They can get all hard on the bottom and be a different texture. I prefer to bake mine and only reheat if necessary and not to use the microwave to cook anything that was raw.

Oil Free Vegan Baked Potato With Baked Beans

Here’s another oil free baked potato served with homemade baked beans. The baked beans recipe will be in my upcoming “Comfort Dinner Recipes From Around The World” eBook.

What do you like putting on your oil free baked potatoes?

How To Tell If A Fruit Is Ripe Enough To Eat – Banana, Peach, Nectarine, Pear, Kiwi, Apple, Orange and Tomato

March 21, 2012 by Veronica Grace 2 Comments

Sometimes you want to know if the fruit you are eating is actually ripe. Especially if you’re eating it raw or in a salad, you want to make sure that it’s at the peak ripeness (flavour and sweetness) and that it will taste good and not be sour, starchy, bitter or pasty and inedible.

Here I show you how to tell if your most common fruits in North America are ripe and when you want to eat them.

I couldn’t tell from my perspective what the banana would look like when I peeled it. What I meant was that the speckled spots do not mean that the banana is bruised or gone bad inside. The banana has a small discolouration from being knocked before it ripened.

Let me know what you think! Did you learn anything new?