The Twyla Zone Blog

June: “Don’t Do Dairy Month” June 5, 2011

 As Americans learn the dangers of milk and dairy products, milk consumption decreases. It has been doing so each year since 1994. That's when the Anti-Dairy Coalition began the NOTMILK movement. Fewer people are drinking milk, and the government regulators, consisting of USDA insiders with ties to the dairy industry and congressmen who receive PAC donations from the dairy industry, continue to promote an unsafe product to children while pouring billions of dollars into subsidies that ultimately defeat our system.

Is drinking milk really natural?  No other animal drinks milk past infancy.  And cow’s milk is designed for baby cows – not humans.

Can, can we do the Can Can? May 5, 2011

These are a few of my favorite things.  So here’s a great salad, or is it a dip or should I eat it with a spoon?

A fun Cinco de Mayo dish.

Slice up one or two avocados.

Open a can of your favorite vegan organic chili.  Open a can of your favorite chili beans.  Open a jar of Trader Joe’s corn and chili salsa.  Open a can of sliced olives.

Put all ingredients into a bowl.  This is so delicious.  And so easy to make.  You can add tomatoes, cilantro, chives, whatever you have in your garden.

Grab a bag of chips, scoop it up and enjoy!

Chocolate Shake! April 20, 2011

Remember chocolate isn’t bad for you – it’s when you add all the sugar, milk, emulsifiers, etc. that it becomes a problem.

Here’s my recipe for a delicious chocolate shake that you can drink for breakfast.

Into my Vita Mix I place:

one frozen banana (cut up into chunks), six pitted dates, seven dark sweet frozen cherries (I bought a package of frozen cherries at Sprouts), one package Trader Joes Organic Micro Greens (you can find these in the refrigerated section above the cut up beets, packaged chopped onions area), 1 tablespoon non-sweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons flax seeds, a handful of ice and then add enough coconut milk (not the canned coconut milk but the milk alternative beverage that comes in the same type carton as rice, almond, hemp, oat, etc. milk [I use the So Delicious brand]) to cover the top of all the other ingredients. You could use unsweetened chocolate almond milk, hemp milk, etc.

Turn on the Vita Mix until you have a smooth consistency.  Decorate with a little banana slice.

Basically, what the cocoa powder does is hide the green color.  Some people just aren’t ready for all that green first thing in the morning.

Enjoy!

Kickin’ It “Cocoa Cupcakes” November 23, 2010

In honor of Coco Chanel.  I love that name Coco.  I think that Courtney Cox named her daughter Coco because Co are the first two letters of her first name and Co are the first two letters of her last name.  So, you may refer to these Cocoa Cupcakes as “Cocu.”  When I was mixing up the ingredients, I thought of Gloria on Modern Family so enjoy these while watching Lily, Manny, Mitchell, Phil, etc.  However, my favorite Modern Family character, Cameron, would probably enjoy these cupcakes the most.  So let’s now refer to these cupcakes as CaCoCu.(CAmeron, COcoa, CUpcakes).

Ok. .. I know you want the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup organic flour

3/4 cup organic sugar

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

pinch of  freshly ground cloves (I actually used a coffee grinder)

pinch of chipotle chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut milk (not from the can  – but the coconut milk that comes in a carton, they call it a coconut milk beverage.  It’s made by So Delicious, NOT Soy Delicious, So Delicious).  I am sure any non-dairy milk would suffice.

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup non-dairy semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (How do you make the degree sign from your keyboard?)

Sift the first nine ingredients together (flour to salt)

In a separate bowl, combine the milk and canola oil.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients.  I suggest stirring NOT mixing with a mixer.  Add the chocolate chips.

I always use an ice-cream scoop to spoon the mixture into the cupcake liners.  Despite that precision, my cupcakes still come out different sizes.  Bake for about 15 minutes.

I topped mine with sifted powdered sugar.  I thought about adding cinnamon but I loved the way they looked with just the sugar.  And since I had darling black and white cupcake liners – I didn’t want to spoil the aesthetics.

Oh my gosh, I just thought of something else, this recipe was inspired by a recipe from the wonderful baker, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  So update the name of these to CoCoCaCu COlleen, COcoa, CAmeron, CUpcakes).

Yes, I took photos, but since I am the only person in the world who does not know how to get a picture from my camera to the computer, I will have to wait for one of my darling, and ever so patient daughters, to show their mother how to do it.

Enjoy these cupcakes.  They were fun to make and I  love the spicy kick. Speaking of kicks – we are going to see the Rockettes Christmas Show on December 15th at Arco!

Pancakes . . .not quite IHOP October 26, 2010

Maybe I should have named my daughter Candid instead of Candiss.  Yes, she is very candid in her remarks.  Her candid remark about the pancakes I made her this morning, “They taste about as good as a wheat free, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, pancake can taste – good thing we have a lot of syrup and butter.”

I thought they were ok.  I LOVE pancakes and these were just ok.  This wasn’t my first attempt at making WFGFDFEF pancakes and it won’t be my last.  I’ll tell you what I did and what I plan to do next time and, of course, I will let you know Candiss’s, Candid’s response! 🙂

Eggs bind ingredients together.  I don’t use eggs.  So, in my Vita-Mix, I placed 2 tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill flaxseed meal and 6 tablespoons of water.  I mixed it up and let it set for a few minutes to thicken.  Because I had it in the freezer, I used Bob’s Red Mill “Sweet Sorghum” flour.  I put some in a bowl, added a teaspoon of vanilla, the “egg” mixture and enough vanilla almond milk for the desired consistency.

I cooked the pancakes using Earth Balance Margarine.  I placed the pancakes onto an oven proof plate and placed them in a warm oven until Candiss got of the shower.  As usual, I had her towels in the dryer so that they would be nice and warm for her to dry off with.  Back to the pancakes.  In addition to her towels, I was also warming organic maple syrup (although I was not warming the maple syrup in the dryer).

She liked the pancakes but didn’t love them.  I thought they were ok.  Did they resemble the scrumptious golden fluffy pancakes I used to eat at a restaurant in Carmichael that is no longer there?  No.  Were they as delicious as the pancakes I used to make from Bisquick? No.  I know that gluten free Bisquick is now available; I haven’t tried it but the second ingredient is sugar.

There are other gluten free pancake mixes available but they can be pricey and sometimes worth it so you don’t have to buy 4-5 different flours to get that good pancake texture and taste.

One thing about the pancakes I made this morning – they were easy – very few ingredients.  I love Bob’s Red Mill.  I’ve used his products for over 24 years. Here’s a version of the pancake recipe from his site.  I’ve adapted it to make it dairy and egg free.   I will make this version the next time the pancake craving hits provided  I have more time and have gone shopping!

Ingredients
1/3 cup Tapioca Flour
2/3 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/3 cup White Bean Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 Tb vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/ 2 tsp Vanilla
2 Tb Canola Oil
3/4 cup Warm Water
2 “eggs”  use Egg Replacer or use the flaxseed mixture:  1 Tb  Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tb water = 1 egg
Directions
Make two “eggs”

Mix ingredients in order given, folding in the egg mixture last. Pour 2″-3″ circles of batter onto a heated griddle that has been sprayed with a nonstick vegetable spray.  I will probably use Earth Balance.

Meat, wheat, dairy, & gluten free Lasagna – It can be done! October 26, 2010

Sunday was a cold, rainy, stay in bed all day type of day.

Candiss said, “Mom, can you make me some lasagna?”

“Of course, my little meat free, wheat free, gluten free, dairy free daughter – lasagna will be fun to make!” I happily replied.

When I make lasagna, it’s never the same twice.  So, please use your own creativity and taste preferences to modify this recipe however you wish.  And, as you know, I am big proponent of using whatever you have on hand; in the pantry, the refrigerator, the garden, etc.  So improvise and enjoy!  And I think this lasagna tasted better the next day.

Here’s my current version of TWYsagna!

1  10 oz. package of Tinkyada Pasta Joy Brown Rice Lasagne (they spell it with an “e”, I’ve always spelled lasagna with an “a”) Noodles

Vegetables:  I used 2 packages of Trader Joe’s Organic Baby Spinach, 5 organic zucchinis (sliced)  Candiss said she would have preferred them diced, 1 organic tomato that came in my CSA box, 1 package sliced mushrooms, 1 bag Trader Joe’s diced onions, fresh basil (I bought one of those darling herb plants available at Bel-Air and used about 10 leaves).  You can buy whole mushrooms and onions and slice them.  Again, this is what I had on hand on Sunday.

3 T garlic  (you can mince from fresh – I used the garlic from a jar)

Organic Virgin Olive Oil  (Does this mean she did not sleep with Popeye?)

1-2 jars organic “red” sauce  (I used Newman’s Organic Marinara).  However, you may have a favorite “red” sauce – there are so many to choose from;  Muir Glen, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, etc.) You can use 2 different kinds! If you are dairy free – please carefully read the labels, sometimes there are cheese products in the various red sauces.

1 pkg. (10 oz) Wild Wood Super Firm Tofu

8 oz.  Bolani Pesto  (I used the Basil flavor.  They also make a Cilantro and an Eggplant version that I will try next)  Any type of Pesto will do.

Now – let’s get this party started.  Here’s what I did:

Boil enough water in a big enough pot to cook the noodles.  The package reads 15-16 minutes (2 minutes less for oven cooking)  Do follow that instruction!!   Think “glue”ten.  “Glue” holds traditional pastas together; it’s almost impossible to overcook them;  NOT so with rice pastas – they will fall apart.

While the noodles were cooking, I sauteed the vegetables.

First I sauteed the onions, then added the garlic, then added the zucchini, then the spinach, tomato and basil.  I didn’t have enough room for the mushrooms – so I transferred the skillet mixture  into a bowl, then I sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil and a little red wine.  I had a bottle of red wine called Monogamy.  Aren’t wine labels so much fun?  I would love to be a wine-namer.  Then I added the mushrooms to the bowl and let the flavors marry in a blissful state of monogamy.

I then mixed the tofu and the pesto and about 1/4 cup of water in my Vita Mix (LOVE THAT APPLIANCE!).  I wanted the mix to have that ricotta cheese type look and texture.  When people have a preconceived notion of what something “should” look like – it tastes much better.  Hence, the pesto and tofu mixture looked like ricotta cheese with basil.

Somewhere along the line, I drained the noodles and rinsed them with cold water.

And now we layer:

Into my favorite lasagna pan I poured some marinara sauce. My favorite lasagna pan is a purplish color.  Next, a layer of noodles, then the vegetable mixture, then the tofu mixture, then more noodles, red sauce, veggies, tofu mixture, etc. etc. etc.  My final top layer was noodles covered with red sauce.  Some people don’t like to see all those green veggies on top.

I then covered the lasagna with foil and baked it for 44 minutes at 350 degrees.  As all recipes state, “Your oven may vary” The house smelled delicious.  The taste was incredible. Candiss and I enjoyed it for dinner and she had it for dessert!  🙂  Candiss requested the TWYsagna in her lunch for Monday and Tuesday and there is none left!  It’s that good.

Her review of the pancakes I made this morning will be in my next blog.  Hint:  lots of syrup and “butter” helped the pancakes go down, the pancakes go down, the pancakes go down,  just a lot of syrup and “butter” helped the pancakes go down – in the most delightful way!

Santa Monica was so much fun! June 21, 2010

Why don’t I live by the beach?  I love Aptos, Santa Monica, Maui, Mendocino, etc.

The girls and I had so much fun trying the raw and vegan restaurants of Santa Monica.  We actually ate at Juliano’s Raw Restaurant.  OMG – I remember buying his RAW Un-cook book years ago!  And he was actually there.  Not wanting to seem uncool, I didn’t say anything to him, but instead walked right through the closed screen door, that I thought was open, and, therefore, looked more uncool than if I had just said hi.

I loved Better Life Cuisine Restaurant.  The place was so clean and calm and the water was delicious.  Into their water cooler; they placed oranges, mint, strawberries, lemons and limes. It was so refreshing and flavorful.

We stayed at Loews (n0, not the box hardware store).  Loews is a beautiful hotel right across from the beach and everyone was so friendly and accommodating.  They happily prepared hot chocolate milk using soy milk, for the girls and oatmeal without milk, etc.

Danielle took great photos of the food and as soon as I figure out how to load the pictures from the camera to the computer – I will post the photo and the ingredients here along with a little review.

Santa Monica is a perfect place for raw foodists and/or vegans.  I walked to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and I couldn’t believe the variety of greens that they offered.  However. . .and maybe this is the answer to my question at the beginning of this blog. . .it is expensive but oh I think every dollar would be worth it, provided I never had to drive anywhere!

The best soup ever! March 16, 2010

Let’s see if I remember what I did to create the most delicious soup I have ever tasted. . I can’t  even believe I made it.

You all know what a huge fan I am of “Make it with you’ve got.”  In other words, there is probably an abundance of food in your refrigerator, pantry, and or freezer to make something.  Well, I had about 6 onions that I have been accumulating from my CSA (Community Sustainable Agriculture) food box.  What to do?  What to do?

Most importantly, I needed to peel and cut the onions into fourths BEFORE applying my mascara to avoid impersonating Tammy Faye Baker or a raccoon.  I then ran them through the food processor and put them in the crock pot.  I then added a few carrots, some Italian parsley (again from the food box), some water and went about my day.  Oh, and I cut up an apple (again, from the food box) and added that . . I don’t know why, it just sounded good.

Coming home from work was an olfactory sensation – no it didn’t smell like an old factory, I mean that the smell was wonderful.  I could smell the simmering des oignons (channeling Julia Child now) from the garage.  Keeping with the Julia tradition, I quickly added some red wine, and then a little more red wine and then added some pre-made rice from Trader Joe’s.

Complement this sensational soup with a big chunk of sourdough bread floating in the soup and you will be happy and healthy.

Some people have eaten onions to help with coughs, colds, and bronchial issues.

To your health and happiness,

Twyla

Scalloped potatoes (Easy!) February 16, 2010

I asked my darling Valentine (Candiss) what she would like for Valentine’s Day Dinner.  We were watching Julie/Julia. eating raspberries and organic dark chocolate and she said, “Is there anyway to make vegan scalloped potatoes?

“Of course!” I replied and quickly perused the kitchen to see what I could find.

Potatoes? yes!   Unsweetened non-dairy beverage?  yes!  Earth Balance is always on hand.  Now what about the cheese?  I found two packages of Road’s End Organics Cheddar Style “Chreese” sauce mix (dairy and soy free) and decided to try and create one of Candiss’s favorite meals.

Candiss loved them.  Aunt Kelly’s scalloped potatoes are (were?) her absolute favorite and she said that this version tasted just as good.

I googled scalloped potatoes and couldn’t believe the standard ingredients:  butter, bacon, Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, butter, heavy cream, more butter, cheddar cheese, provolone and butter, paramesan or romano cheese and top that off with, what else?  Butter!

Here’s my recipe:  They will taste so good knowing you won’t suffer cardiac arrest after 4-5 bites.

7-9 not too thinly sliced potatoes (I used Trader Joe’s Gold Potatoes)

2 packages Road’s End Organics Cheddar Style “Chreese’ Sauce Mix

3-4 T Earth Balance

salt and pepper to taste

extra non-dairy beverage if needed (I used unsweetened almond milk)

Directions:

Make two packages of “Chreese” sauce according to package directions.  I didn’t use a blender or food processor but next time I will.  I added more almond milk to the mixture because I didn’t want the texture so thick.

In an 8×8 inch glass casserole dish:

line the bottom with potatoes

Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and EB (Earth Balance)

Drizzle some of the prepared “Chreese” sauce on the potatoes

Repeat, repeat, then maybe repeat again until you are out of potatoes

I then added a little more unsweetened almond milk to the potatoes because the potatoes get thirsty while in the oven and tend to drink up the liquid.

Cook at 350 degrees for approximately 44 minutes.

These are good – really good.  The girls and I devoured all the potatoes while watching Ally McBeal.  We’ve been re-watching the entire series.  How perfect was it for Valentine’s Day that the episode was Ally and Larry Paul’s first kiss. Robert Downey, Jr. was so great in that role.  From his first onscreen appearance, everyone then asked, Billy Who?

Ok, back to the potatoes.  I think these could be a big seller.  How about Twyla’s cupcakes and scalloped potatoes?

Thank you for reading.

Help me find a home for these three February 4, 2010

Raspberry Kiss, Toasted Coconut, Lime and the Coconut

Go ahead and eat all three!

NO artificial colors

NO artificial flavors

NO hydrogenated oils (trans-fats)

NO MSG

NO High (or low) fructose corn syrup

NO milk, NO eggs, NO butter, NO dairy derivatives