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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

Lemon-Lavender Pudding Parfait

9/3/2014

2 Comments

 
It’s not every day that I cook dinner for myself (or “cook” anything, for that matter), but one thing I will never go without is breakfast. Since the simplest things can be satisfying, I almost always prepare breakfast for myself, even if it just means I chop up some fruit.

As of late, though, the summer days have demanded more energy of me, and I’ve been eating sometimes 2 or 3 “breakfasts” before noon. Realizing this has drawn me towards more sustaining sources of energy, and this pudding is a perfect example. I start with a base of cashew cream for some protein, and use omega-rich chia seeds (also known as an excellent source of energy!) to thicken the texture.

Then it dawned on me, since I was making it so often, that perhaps I could use my favorite tea to infuse it with a new flavor. It turned out even more delicious than I suspected! I chose Lavender tea because it is known for its calming properties, perfect for the morning, but really you could use Earl Grey, Oolong, or even Chamomile.

Top the pudding with your favorite fruits and superfoods, or serve it with extra sweetener (like agave) for a dessert option. (Believe me when I say that this is a pudding of all trades. I even made a pumpkin version last Fall!)

Tell me, what is your favorite source of morning energy? List it in the comments below!

With Love and Lavender,

Hannah Joy

Lemon-Lavender Pudding
3 cups Raw Cashews, soaked*
2 cups Filtered Water
1/2 cup Chia Seeds
7 dates, pits removed
2 tbsp dried Lavender (food grade)
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
Fruit for Topping*


1. Soak lavender in water in a sealed container overnight. Strain.
2. Blend Lavender tea, cashews, dates and lemon juice until extra smooth. (I use a Vitamix, but if you do not have one you can use a food processor. Just eliminate half the liquid for processing, and whisk it in afterwards in a separate bowl.) Taste to see if it meets your sweetness standards. If not, add additional dates and reblend.

3. Pour mixture into a small mixing bowl, and fold in chia seeds until they are evenly distributed. 
4. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until thick and ready to serve. 

* It is important that you use 3 cups of cashews that have already been soaked, verses soaking 3 cups of dried cashews. For your shopping list, you'll only need about 2-2.5 cups of dried cashews. For information on why and how to soak your cashews, click here. 

*I serve my pudding topped with shredded coconut, more chia seeds, lemon zest and blueberries!

Enjoy!
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2 Comments

Meditate to Morocco on Chickpea Boats

7/18/2014

1 Comment

 
Two months ago, my partner (whom I have never mentioned on here before!!) and I decided to give our long-thought-lost relationship a total second go. Following the slogans “one day at a time” and “easy does it” have been tremendous and peacefully guiding. And for once, I am so proud and happy to say that I am experiencing renewal of self more than I ever imagined a love relationship could bring.
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We started seeing a therapist, which we agreed from the get-go would be our only hope for recovering from early hurts, childhood wounds, and poor self imagery that previously led to our demise. In the first session, our guy asked us to “kneel at the altar of our hearts” as an initial mental exercise in starting things off right. Our homework at the end of the session was to spend daily time independently seeking out our “deepest heart’s desire.” Part of our relationship recovery will include sharing this with one another.
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Since then, my daily time has taken the shape of meditation. It didn’t take long for me to learn that meditation is my version of prayer. Utilizing tools I learned from Get Some Headspace, I am now guiding myself through daily “walks” with me. It has only been a week since I’ve begun this practice, but I can already share that I feel more tapped into my heart’s desire than ever before. I am learning things about who I am, what I need to do to live fully, and how to be the absolute most authentic Hannah Joy Lehman one could ever ask for.
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An extremely exciting piece of Tapping Into Me has been that my heart is truly seeking its truest creative expression. I have many a meditation to do to discover exactly what those words mean, but for now it means that I have had a HELLOFATIME fucking around in the kitchen. Pardon my french, but I ain’t holdin’ back no more, folks.
This recipe came from just such fucking around, spawned by Eat This Poem, my all-time favorite blogger. Hilariously, her post was inspired by a mutual favorite foodie blog, Smitten Kitchen who ALSO was inspired by a blogger-chef, this random french guy I’ve never heard of who is apparently famous and cooks really great shit. (I am proud to say I'm the only vegan blogger among them, by the way.) 
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All of that’s to say, I am beginning to learn that inspiration depends upon the admiration of other great works. Also, reworking a recipe can take it from meh (as was the case with this recipe, yesterday) to OHMYEFFINGGAWD my mouth just had a ‘gasm. I’m not kidding guys. Please, don’t tweak this recipe until you’ve copied it to a T the first time, because the minor changes I made (such as blasphemously removing the raw garlic and ginger) were much much much worth the extra work.

Until next week, when my heart brings you even more crazy deliciousness,


Hannah Joy                                     ... PS I’M GOING TO MY FIRST FOOD BLOGGER CONFERENCE IN AUGUST!!!


Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Salad Serves 2-3
This salad consists of a finely tweaked spice blend that I created after researching the traditional Moroccan spice blend called Ras El Hanout, which is found in many Moroccan dishes. The key to its use is slightly toasting the spices prior to mixing them with anything, so as to bring the flavors out to full capacity. 

1 can Chickpeas
1/2 cup Carrots, shredded
1/2 cup unsweetened Raisins
1/2 cup Scallions, chopped
1/8-1/4 cup Water
1 tsp Coconut Oil

1 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp each: Paprika, ground Fennel
1/8 tsp each: Cardamom, White Pepper, ground Cloves, Nutmeg, ground Ginger, Cinnamon, Salt

Black Pepper to taste


1. Heat a dry skillet to medium. Place all spices (excluding salt & black pepper) in the center of pan. Use a wooden or rubber spatula to move spices around until all are toasted, about 5-7 minutes. The room will become very aromatic when they are ready.
2. Use a potato masher or food processor to roughly chop half of the chickpeas. Do not overprocess! Move chickpeas to a mixing bowl.
3. Add toasted spices, coconut oil, 1/8 cup water, and remaining chickpeas to the food processor. Blend until well combined into a moist paste. Add to mixing bowl. Add more water if the mixture is too crumbly.
4. Add carrots, raisins, scallions, salt, and black pepper to bowl and fold all ingredients together with a spatula.


Serve in Red Cabbage Leaves with avocado (my favorite way!!) or on bread with tomato slices. Enjoy!
1 Comment

Summery Sweet Kale Coleslaw

6/17/2014

2 Comments

 
I was sitting here debating the course of the rest of my life when it dawned on me that things could be so much simpler. Instead of trying to be a magician who can predict the future (and do a terrible job, at that), I could just do something right now, like share a recipe that’s been in my queue for over a week now!

I feel so lucky because amid a lot of mayhem, life just keeps getting better. I've been a bit on edge lately because I have to move tomorrow, I'm house-sitting this week (bad timing on my part), my cat needs a temporary home, and I don 't know where I'm going to be living next besides my mom's spare room. Nonetheless, I found out today that an article I wrote for NPR's Charlotte food blog, WFAEats, is live! Read it here. What great news!
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I also recently quit my job as GM at Luna’s Living Kitchen to do something that feels totally insane - bartend at a diner. Yep, you heard me correctly. I left a community of like-minded hippies who are mostly vegan, and all love raw, organic anything, to serve a group of folks who mostly can’t fathom why anyone would EVER consider being a vegetarian. This isn’t a criticism, by the way. It’s just...totally and completely opposite where I’ve been. Nonetheless, inspiration has ensued. I will share more about my decision in a future post. 

At Pinky’s Westside Grill, we serve a burger (beef or the veggie Nature Boy) “Ding Dong Style,” which means it is topped with Honey-Cilantro Coleslaw, Peanut Butter, and Sriracha hot sauce. Unfortunately the slaw contains mayo, so I have not taken the risk of extremely upsetting my stomach, even if I could have gotten it on a veggie-dog. Ya'll know I don't do dairy. Yet that hasn't kept me from drooling at the genius flavor combination that I serve every day.


So, I made my own version at home and have been eating it for days. It is so good! I put it over romaine leaf “tacos,” with hot sauce, peanut butter and some blackened baked tofu to create my healthier version of Pinky's favorited offering. I've also sauteed it with brown rice, and of course have eaten it just plain as well. Since my version is half cabbage and half kale, the options really are endless.

I hope you enjoy it!
Hannah


Summery Sweet Kale Coleslaw
1 Small head Green Cabbage, shredded or finely chopped

1 Small Green Apple (or 1/2 of a Large one), peeled and shredded
1/2 Bunch Lacinoto, aka "dinosaur" Kale, shredded or finely chopped

1/2 Cup Cilantro, packed, then diced
1/4 Cup Red Onion, diced
1/4 Cup Brown Rice Vinegar
3 tbsp Honey or your favorite liquid sweetener
1 Lime, Juiced
Optional: 1 diced Jalapeno, per cousin Brendan's suggestion!
To taste: Salt & Pepper


Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Massage with clean hands until the sweetener is evenly distributed and the kale and cabbage are tender. Refrigerate until ready to enjoy!
2 Comments

Cookies & Scotch for Poppop

4/27/2014

1 Comment

 
It dawned on me last night just how much I am like my Poppop. I never fully realized it until, in the hours after his passing, I sat there with my family just wishing it were me and him. I could always sit with Poppop in silence, not a trait that comes easily to anyone else in my loud family. I always admired how, amidst the mayhem of story-telling and opinions flying like pigs, Poppop could just sit there and listen. And when he did have something to share, it was immensely important.

Poppop was a genius, the kind that let his instincts dictate his work, as opposed to having an exclusively intellectual drive. What I mean by that is that he knew what needed to be done, and he did it. It was the only way he knew how to raise 10 kids. He worked his ass off.

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The truth is that I, like my Poppop, was working hard to get through it all. I never knew what a drive I had until this last day of a long work stretch, when I wanted to just push through it and pretend everything was okay. I’m so glad I reprioritized my life once I really understood the plight of his condition.

I sat by his side at 1am on Saturday, sharing his sentiment: a desire for silence. I held his hand and cried by his side, hoping that in some weird way he could hear what I was saying to him in my head. The room spun and I needed him to myself. Finally, after about 45 minutes of not knowing how to ask for such time, my mom suggested to my 8 aunts and uncles that I be left alone with my granddad.

I told him I wished we could have gone running together, and that I would miss him terribly. After my father passed away, when I was 5, I would spend hours at a time by his side in his home office, just writing on notepads and wishing that someday I could be a businessman like him. I shared his passion for words and languages, beautiful penmanship and art, and a palate for ethnic food like no one I’ve ever known. I, too, am gentle until I’m crotchity, feel certain that I always know best, and have a hard time giving compliments. I get these things from my Poppop. I will always cherish these beloved traits that both endear and deter those around me.
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After hours of eating and drinking wine with the family, last night, I retreated to the back bedroom and proceeded to allow myself to cry. I’ve always been a sympathy cryer, but this was a moment I needed alone. Finally, my mom came and held me. She, too, understood the weight of his loss, her father. We both knew it was time for us to leave.

I said all of my goodbyes, being careful to lag behind my mother so that I could complete one final task. If there’s something my grandfather taught me, his Hannah Banana, it’s to enjoy a good scotch. I quickly reached into his liquor cabinet, and stole his last set of Brandy mini-bottles, and the drop of Dewars that remained.

Today I made these cookies to commemorate my dear Poppop. And enjoyed a sip of VSOP in his honor.

To Poppop, with love.

Hannah Banana

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Soft-baked Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup + 2 tbsp White Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Oats
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, melted
3/4 Cup Coconut Palm Sugar
1 very ripe Banana
1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Vegan Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Combine flour, oats, and baking soda in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mash banana with oil and sugar. Add salt and vanilla extract.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir until just combined. Add chocolate chips and stir.
5. Drop by heaping teaspoon onto a baking stone. Bake each batch for 8 minutes. Allow to cool for 1 minute before removing from pan.

Enjoy, with a loud "mmmmmm" just like Poppop did. Follow with a sip of scotch on the rocks.
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