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Crispy Eggplant, 3 Ways (Gluten-free!)

9/21/2014

3 Comments

 
Many of my fondest childhood memories involve getting my hands dirty with food, or trying things with food that perhaps no adult should even try. There’s also the truth that, as a child, I wanted everything to be edible. My mom repeatedly found me sitting on the sidewalk, trying to eat ants. Around the age of 5, I secretly ate the lipgloss and toothpaste found in my super fancy travel kit that my aunt gifted me. I can still taste how delicious I found it, to this day!

I also attempted food wonders, like trying to collect honeysuckle juice - to sell, of course - often tiring before the jar even carried teaspoonfuls. When I was in 3rd or 4th grade, I snuck outside with a russet potato and a sharp knife, having heard through the grapevine that one could make a stamp with a potato. Of course, I slipped, and to this day I have a prominent scar that I proudly wear on the knuckle between my thumb and forefinger.

Around that same time, I convinced my mom to let me take cooking classes at the 4H club, where I first learned how to use silken tofu as a smoothie base. Most kids my age were eating ice cream, yet none of them had their mother pick up tofu for the week’s food experiment. I look back at that now, and wonder if that was hard for my mom, since she was a single mom of two at the time, working her butt off to put food on the table.

Fast forward, and in high school I was still to be found messing around in the kitchen. This truth escaped me until a recent conversation with my step-dad, who shared that in high school I said I wanted to own a restaurant “when I grew up.” (I clearly had no idea what that meant when I said that!) Yet it only makes sense, because for years I held onto recipes that I would randomly find, making them for my family as often as possible.

Even after creating this Crispy Eggplant, I was sweetly reminded that my family had a favorite  that they often begged me to prepare. I found the recipe for Oven Fried Chicken in my old Brownie Scout Handbook, and my mom swore that she could never make it quite as good as I did. I must have prepared that chicken 10 times before moving out for college. Of course, at that time I had no concept of vegetarianism or gluten-free eating, so I had to giggle a little at the irony of this eggplant recipe “magically” coming to me, and surprisingly working out great! 

I sincerely hope that you enjoy it. It is not only super easy and simple, but can also be prepared in ways for everyone to enjoy. This recipe even convinced me that I could indeed enjoy eggplant, something I never before believed. And now I not only do that, but I have a go-to crispy crunchy “fried” something to replace my old love of Oven Fried Chicken.

So, I’m curious… what was your favorite way to play with food in your youth? Share it with me in the comments below.

To Health, with a Crunch!

Hannah Joy L.


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...as "meatballs!"
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...as "nuggets!"
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...as buffalo "wings!"
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Crispy Eggplant, 3 Ways!
The trick to this recipe is all in how it's served. While the eggplant itself is obviously the key component, that won't matter if you don't like what you serve it with. In other words, go with the option above that makes your mouth water, and roll with it! 

1 Medium Eggplant, peeled and cut*
1 Cup Almond Meal*
1/2 Cup GF Flour of your Choice (I tried Trader Joe's brand, and Chickpea flour... both worked great!)
3 Tbsp Flax Seed Meal
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 Cup Water
~1/4 Cup Olive Oil, to drizzle 
2 Tspn Salt
S & P to season

1-2 Hours Before Preparing: Place eggplant in a colander. Toss with Salt, and set in a larger bowl or sink, to drain. When ready to use, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and squeeze excess water out gently with a tea towel or paper towels. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400. 
1. Whisk flax seed meal into water and set aside. 
2. Combine almond meal, nutritional yeast and gf flour in another bowl. 
3. Lightly grease a baking sheet (or 2) to fit all of the eggplant.
4. Using the two-hand battering method (one hand dips in wet, the other tosses in dry), batter eggplant a few pieces at a time, first in the flax "egg," and then in the flour mixture. 
5. Place battered eggplant on baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes* or until crispy and golden. Note: Every 10 minutes, flip eggplant and very lightly drizzle additional oil over it. This will give it that golden crisp. 
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper!

*For meatballs, cut into cubes (below, left). For nuggets or wings, cut into quarters lengthwise, then slice into 1/4" pieces (below, right). 

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Finalize Eggplant to your liking!

As meatballs: Serve over your favorite noodles, warm, with stewed tomatoes, parsley, and basil.
As nuggets: Dip in ketchup or vegan ranch dressing. The kids will love it!
As buffalo wings: Toss lightly in your favorite hot sauce and dip in vegan ranch. 

Enjoy!
3 Comments

Blue Basil Smoothie, for a Change!

6/26/2014

2 Comments

 
Hello friends!

I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person that needs to switch things up, often. I like change and welcome it with open arms, even sometimes going so far as to seek it when life feels too calm. That’s a little embarrassing to admit, even.

A lot has been going on in my life lately that has done just the opposite of that change I  usually seek. Rather, it has been thrown at me from every which direction, every time being right when I thought I was getting my tush settled into a comfy seat. It’s particularly in those moments that I awaken to acceptance, and start to look a little closer at the importance of sitting still. Seeking out change can be fun, but it isn’t always the most healthy approach.

So today I thought I would start small. I took a killer yoga class at Y2 Yoga, where I will soon be an Energy Exchange member (free yoga!!!!)), and I made a smoothie that I have never made before. I had never taken this class before (Tanner’s insanity, errr “Double Shot”). It was great for my brain, even when I had to walk out after the first sequence. This smoothie was equally delicious and refreshing, and will help keep me still while I sort out some details about my life. I was more than able to enjoy this one to the end. Whip it up the next chance you get!

2 Cups Kale (I used Red Russian)
1 Cup Blueberries
½ Cup Water
4-5 Basil Leaves
2 tsp Chia Seeds
1 tsp Spirulina

Blend and enjoy! And remember to sign up for the occasion emails I send! I’m going to send a “Year in Review” soon that I don’t think you’ll want to miss.

Besos,
Hannah

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2 Comments

A Penchant for [Sweet Basil] Popcorn

1/28/2014

5 Comments

 
I’ll never forget the days after my father passed away, shortly after I turned 5 and just before my brother turned 7. Despite the heartache of having lost a parent, those days came to encompass some of my most fond memories of bonding, of family, of food, and of simplicity. I spent many afternoons with my grandmother. Long before my days of veganism (and seemingly before the word ever hit a shelf in Charlotte), Nana and I would cuddle up with a plate of blue cheese and melba toast, and proceed to watch Murder She Wrote.

Nana would fall asleep. I’d eat all the cheese.

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Meanwhile, my mother worked her butt off. Yet she never let her family ideals slip through the cracks, making certain we always sat at the table to eat together, no matter how hard of a day at work she had or how much homework awaited us. Despite the turmoil in our lives and most prominently our hearts, mom had a beautiful way of making it all seem so simple.

This simplicity is something I’m striving more and more to achieve every day. While I’ve always had a knack for appreciating simplicity, I’ve never been great at creating it. I like to over-think, over-complicate, and thereby de-simplify my life every chance I get. So one might be able to imagine why I so appreciate the little things my mom did when I was growing up that kept our life simple.
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A great example is how we often ended our evenings. We would eat dinner early, part ways to do homework, and often reconvene in the living room for some good old syndicated television and, my favorite part, a bowl of mom’s popcorn. I don’t know how she reached the point of insisting on making it from scratch, but I do know that she made it look so easy. It was always perfect.

So to this day, I’m a homemade popcorn gal. Of course, I keep it “simple,” but in my favorite way - with a twist. In my recent years, I’ve never been able to settle on just buttered [read: Earth Balanced] and salted popcorn. No, I tend toward honey-cayenne (I’m still using up my honey from my pre-vegan days) and a lot of experimenting. Think: coconut oil and black pepper, olive oil and oregano. And most recently, Sweet Basil.
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I went to the Holiday Gala for The Humane League Charlotte Chapter last weekend, and donated three huge bowls of this stuff. I thought it was kind of a weird concoction at first, but the feedback I received was unrelentingly positive. So of course I had to share it here with you.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy this!

To your Winter evenings spent on the couch,

Hannah
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Sweet Basil Popcorn

4 cups organic plain popcorn
(I cook mine on the stove using coconut oil!
Cook according to packaged kernel directions.)
1 tablespoon vegan Earth Balance
1 tablespoon organic brown rice syrup
¼ cup basil, finely chopped
dash of salt

1. Melt Earth Balance over medium heat on stove.
2. Add brown rice syrup and basil to hot pan. Swirl to combine.
3. Remove pan from heat as soon as syrup begins to bubble.
4. Pour mixture over popcorn and stir/toss together immediately.
5. Sprinkle with salt.
Enjoy!
5 Comments

You're What This World Needs.

1/7/2014

0 Comments

 
Happy New Year, friends! It’s 2014! I would say that I cannot even BELIEVE it, but in an effort make this year absolutely amazing, I protest saying things out of habit that [let’s be honest] we say every year. 
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Instead, I propose genuine newness! I propose taking your hat off when you walk out the door, doing a fun new workout that scares you (because we all know you were already working out when the clock struck midnight, right?), and switching things up more than just a bit! In doing so, I feel confident that you’ll discover that you are indeed just what the world needed to begin with. Who doesn’t want to feel that way?
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My first effort towards a really new year was to put down the skillet and prepare a raw dish. I can’t take full credit for this idea, because every raw restaurant in the country has their own, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I just felt like it would be so delicious, and it was! As much as I truly believe our “Lunasagna” at work cannot be beat, I was just in the mood to switch up the compilation and take a pretty picture in my own kitchen.
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It was so simple that I’m not even going to post the recipe but in a few words.

All you need is:
A Mandolin (My favorite new kitchen toy!)
Zucchini, sliced thin with the mandolin
Tomatoes, sliced thin with the mandolin
Fresh Basil Leaves
White Mushrooms, sliced extra thin with the mandolin
1 Recipe Cashew Cheese, omitting the miso and substituting Oregano for the Bohemian Seasoning
Good EVOO
Balsamic Vinegar
Your favorite Vegan Parm
Chili Flakes!

Layer in whatever way makes your heart sing, finishing with your favorite of the last 4 ingredients.

To a New New Year,
Hannah
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