I just finished a three-week stint as a cook/housekeeper at Sunnybank Inn Retreat Center and Hostel in Hot Springs, North Carolina. It’s a small, historic Victorian house that was originally built in 1840 and has passed through a few different families’ hands since. In the early 20th century, Jane Gentry, who is famous for providing scores of Appalachian ballads to collector Cecil Sharpe, owned the inn. The current owner and the man who now famously runs the establishment, Elmer Hall, bought Sunnybank from the Gentry family in 1978 and has been there ever since. The hostel is mostly for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers; my parents stayed here when they hiked in 1989, and they loved it so much that they have been coming back at least once a year, every year, for the past twenty-nine years. Elmer’s all-vegetarian cooking is what made them (and many others!) become vegetarian, and several of his habits (like religiously ringing a dinner bell) have seeped into our family dynamic. We have even modeled some of our furniture after the inn’s, including an old wood stove that heats our house in the winter. It’s a special place; my mom usually spends her birthday weekend here, and it is in prime location for autumn hikes, about 45 minutes away from Max Patch Bald. There are great porches for relaxing and reading, and my parents have also liked to give out “trail magic” (Rice Krispies, sodas, etc.) to AT hikers as they pass through the area. I’ve been grandfathered into the Sunnybank family, and I felt at home the three weeks I worked at the inn. It was wonderful to work in a place where I had to ask where the recycling was, not if there was recycling; where the compost was, not if there was compost. But it was more than home; it was a space for learning. Here are some of the lessons I took away:
1. For some people, a vegan diet can be too restricting. Not in the sense that there aren’t enough options for vegans (when I became vegan, my eyes were opened to more combinations than I ever thought possible!), but in the sense that it can be a conduit for perpetuating eating disorders. The first weekend at Elmer’s, I was not vegan. I had the best homemade tiramisu known to mankind. It had, like, eight layers. I ate a cheesy, buttery spanakopita. I snuck some feta into my salad. At this point in my life, after only being vegan for a little more than a year, not allowing myself flexibility would do more harm than good to my long-term vegan goals. I would resent the fact that I couldn’t taste Elmer’s famous cooking, for instance. Those few days of eating rich food that I did not prepare myself also forced me to kick the habit of calorie counting, at least for a little while. The other 99.9% of my life, when I am vegan, I have more of an ability to count, judge, and restrict. As I delve further and further into veganism, I have less of a desire to go back at all. For instance, I used to eat local eggs, and I still would, but I really just don’t crave them anymore! Someday, I probably will be full-time vegan, no strings attached. But right now, I’m flexible. And if you are too, that’s OK. 2. Put away the phone. We don’t allow phone use in the commons room, kitchen, or dining room. What a difference it makes. We were in tune to each other rather than the outside world. We didn’t have to listen to people shouting into their phones, we didn’t have to listen to a blaring TV, we didn’t have to wish that people would make eye contact with us rather than take Snapchat selfies. Most mornings, I left my phone upstairs and was away from it all day. So I had conversations with hikers about the trail, their aspirations after finishing, their passions. I connected particularly with a British couple (trail names Moo and Nugget), one of whom is vegan, who have been WOOFing and travelling together for three years. I had some of the most humorous and heartwarming conversations with my co-worker, Matt, as we washed mountains of dishes each night. Connect by disconnecting. 3. Be aware of what’s happening in the outside world by taking small steps each day. Elmer doesn’t use the internet to learn about current events. He reads the newspaper and listens to NPR in the morning as he cooks breakfast. If you’re addicted to your phone and reading online news is part of your problem, taking these two steps will help you get off your device while remaining competent about the world. And once you gain that competence, you can become a better voter and a more active citizen. 4. Come back frequently to the places and people you love. My first day was spent preparing for a huge birthday party for Sean, a former staff member who turned forty. He hiked the AT and worked at the inn about ten years ago, but still visits every few weeks (he lives in nearby Asheville). The same weekend, Rip, a pianist we met when we visited last fall, was also staying at the inn. He’s been coming back for twenty years or so. There’s a strong cohort of people who frequently visit, and it’s become a haven for people with similar values. 5. Slow down. I tend to think that people are always waiting on me. Waiting on me to work, waiting on me to engage with them, waiting on me to stop taking time for myself. So I’m always rushing. I even frantically rush to yoga because I’m so worried about disrupting class and bothering the instructors! But I slowed down at Sunnybank. I passed crosswords back and forth with Matt one day for over three hours. And it felt so good. It may not be the most immediately productive way of passing time, but slowing down allows us to appreciate life and rest for the busier moments. Just giving myself permission not to care about making other people wait sometimes (honestly, other people need to slow down too!) lifted a huge weight off my chest. So read that extra chapter. Take a little longer of a walk. The world can wait.
2 Comments
Veggie burgers are among the easiest vegan recipes and, if made with real vegetables and not overly-processed soy products, are usually excellent sources of complete proteins and nutrients. If you work out in the afternoon, they are great ways to get your carbs in while still sneaking in some vegetables that are in a more easily digestible form (salads just aren’t the best pre-workout snack!). Make sure to check the nutrition labels of burgers you buy at the grocery store. Some burgers, like MorningStar’s Garden Veggie Burgers, contain egg and calcium caseinate, textured vegetable protein (TVP), autolyzed yeast extract (a hidden source of gluten and MSG), and ambiguous “natural flavors.” Highly processed soy, indicated by ingredients like TVP, soy protein isolate, and soy protein concentrate, not only lack the nutritional benefits of unprocessed soy, but also carry the risk of being produced with hexane. The exact effects of hexane consumption are unknown, but the chemical is unregulated and may cause headaches, fatigue, blurred vision, etc. I wouldn’t worry too much about hexane, but I would rather reap the nutritional benefits of unprocessed soy! Cheap burgers especially aren’t made with whole, nutritious ingredients. I wouldn’t even call Boca burgers veggie burgers with this list of ingredients: Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Wheat Gluten, contains less than 2% of Methylcellulose, Salt, Caramel Color, Dried Onions, Yeast Extract, Sesame Oil, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Natural and Artificial Flavor (Non-Meat), Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate They’re about as veggie as a pepperoni pizza with a thin layer of tomato sauce. These burgers tend to attract people with their low calorie count (70 per patty), but remember that they have such a low calorie count because they are devoid of nutritious vegetables you need to fuel your body! You’re going to experience better taste and health with brands like Amy’s and Dr. Praeger’s. You can find either or both of these brands at most well-rounded grocery stores. Veggie burgers at restaurants are tricky to evaluate. Many fast food restaurants serve name brand burgers. While Denny’s serves Amy’s brand veggie burgers, Burger King serves MorningStar (non-vegan). Most chain restaurants’ burgers’ nutrition facts are posted online. However, smaller restaurants are often not required or expected to provide nutritional information. Don’t be afraid to ask your server what is in the burgers. If they can’t tell you, this probably isn’t the best sign! If you are vegan, make sure that the burger and the bun do not contain egg (a common binding agent and often brushed on buns for that glossy finish). And then you can just make your own patties. Doing so is your best bet of being able to chow down on a nutritious, safe, and delicious burger. There is a lot more room for play when making your own burgers. You can make beet burgers, black bean burgers, thai peanut burgers, kale burgers, mushroom burgers, lentil burgers, walnut burgers...and as the title of this post suggests, falafel burgers! I adapted this recipe from the cookbook Isa Does It. These burgers taste just like falafels. But they’re not deep-fried and err on the lighter end of falafeldom. Of course, they have different toppings than your usual burger to fit in with the Mediterranean theme; hummus takes the place of ketchup and cucumber takes the place of pickle. While Isa gives some great recipes for both a miso tahini dressing and a tahini hummus, we’ll keep it simple and let you decide how much work you want to put in (if you buy your hummus, I highly suggest Hope’s Thai Coconut Curry Hummus!). And while the recipe originally calls for them to be served on pita buns, I like them on toasted naan. Really, you can use whatever you have on hand. As you can see, I also had a little fun with the shapes of the burgers! If you want perfectly round burgers, pancakes, biscuits, cookies, you name it, then a cookie cutter is your friend. Shuffling through our big baskets of cookie cutters, I found a large heart shape and thought, why not? Thus, heart-shaped veggie burgers. And now for the recipe:
Ingredients:
Directions:
Senior year of high school, I had one of five things for breakfast each morning: Greek yogurt with banana and muesli (when I was not yet vegan), overnight oats, avocado toast, toast with peanut butter and banana, or French toast. I loved making toast in the morning and starting off my day with something warm. Actually cooking something for breakfast allowed me to set the morning intention of being creative and active for the rest of the day. When I became vegan in March of 2017, I still made French toast using local eggs. But now that I’m at college, I have not had French toast in months! Fortunately, there are vegan ways of making French toast. Admittedly, they don’t quite capture the egginess of real French toast, but they nevertheless allow us to produce a warm, comforting morning meal.
So, the French toast! What a wholesome way to start my Monday morning. I developed this recipe myself, and it is super fun to make! Drink the leftover REBBL straight out of the bottle, or use it in another recipe (try this Cauliflower Matcha Mint Smoothie Bowl or this Matcha Mango Soaked Muesli). If you don’t have a banana, peaches and berries also go really well with matcha! I usually turn to French toast when I have stale bread on my hands. My mom dumped 3 ½ loaves of homemade sourdough on me last weekend, and while I love that stuff, I can’t possibly go through it all before it starts to harden. But when it’s used in French toast, you really can’t tell the difference. I also topped this toast with a healthy caramelized banana, which is a LOT easier to make than it sounds. Seriously. Vegan REBBL Matcha Latte French Toast (serves 1)
Ingredients: For the “egg” wash
Cooking food for other people is my #1 way of showing them love and appreciation. It's something in which I can take pride and something that inevitably makes friends and family happy, barring a failed recipe here and there. Yes, a little blood, a lot of sweat, and a ton of tears are involved (the last courtesy of onions), but that is exactly what makes the gift so special. The motto in my family, "Don't give a gift you can't use yourself," also holds true; being in the kitchen provides me the opportunity to be creative, and I always get a taste of what I'm cooking. Food is also a practical gift. When I was little, my mom told me to avoid gifting food because food doesn't last. In an age where we are all weighed down with clutter, though, I have realized that food is an awesome gift for a minimalist to both give and receive. And if the food is consumed alongside the person receiving it, allowing for good conversation and communion? Even better. I cooked a three-course picnic dinner for my Robertson family today: chips & homemade pineapple salsa, chipotle-mushroom tacos, and peanut-raisin-chocolate chip oat cookies. It took three hours to make, but I enjoyed every moment. True, the food didn't last; it rarely does when you have twenty college kids swarm around it at once. But the laughter, the dancing, the conviviality--all the positivity that sourced from a simple meal--will have a lasting impact on our relationships with each other. To my fellow Robbies, thank you for an amazing past eight months (and I can't wait to get to know the five of you who just joined us!). Thank you for simply existing and inspiring me with your dedication to youth education, refugee resettlement, environmental sustainability, and beyond. Thank you for being in my dorm room at the drop of a hat as I struggled with homesickness and an eating disorder. Thank you for the kind words you so generously shower on me, and thank you for allowing me--and believing me--when I do the same for you. Before college, I had been excluded from several social groups, and the fact that you recognize my existence and say "hi" to me and smile when you walk in the room...it means more than you know. I am not lying when I say that you are the best, most reliable and sincere group of friends I have ever been blessed to know. I love each and every one of you. And of course, this post would be incomplete if I didn't thank my friend Thomas for taking all these amazing photos. He spent two hours in a hot kitchen with me staging the photos, adjusting the lighting, and attempting to explain highly technical terms to my inexperienced mind. It was because of him I finally bought a book on food photography and am going to learn a skill I have wanted to learn for years. It will take me a long, long time and many, many cooking sessions to get to be anywhere near as good as him! Check out more of his photography here. A little bit about the food itself, because I really appreciate it too :) The chipotle-mushroom tacos and cookies were modeled after recipes from my vegan bible, the Isa Does It cookbook. I wrote about this cookbook several months ago, and I am still working my way through cooking every single recipe in the book. The salsa came from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook, another great resource. The pineapple combined with mint gave it a unique, fresh flavor.
I would gladly cook for any of you reading this; much appreciation and love for all! Eating healthy food is so much more appetizing when it just looks good. If presentation played no role in taste, then restaurants would not take the time to carefully crumple the cloth napkins in your bread baskets, to serve your pasta in perfect mounds, to expertly drizzle raspberry sauce over your cheesecake. So it makes sense that by likewise taking a little extra time to prepare and present our food, we will enhance our enjoyment of it. And it doesn't take your great-grandparents' expensive silverware to do the trick; if you have the inclination and a little bit of money, go get yourself a coconut bowl ($12.95 for a standard bowl). If you're reading this before Earth Day, 2018, you can literally get one for free (keep reading!). They are great for oatmeal, for smoothies, for noodles, for rice, for basically anything that is not an extreme temperature or too liquidy (aka no soup). Coconutbowls.com is doing a fantastic giveaway in honor of Earth Day. Not only have they donated 100 coconut bowls each to 5 restaurants, but they are giving $20 vouchers to each person who posts a picture on Instagram of themselves holding a coconut bowl or reusable container in front of a local café. This initiative is meant to combat the use of single-use plastic containers. Learn more here. Now that the weather is heating up and local fruits are about to come into season (got my eyes on Scooterbug's Strawberries!), I just want to constantly eat smoothie bowls. You'll probably be seeing more creations soon :)
About three weeks ago, I realized that my aversion to coffee and habit of cooking on my own has left me with an abundance of food points…I had $280 worth to spend on one meal a day, each day, for the next twenty-eight days. And because I always go for a $5 special or cook that one meal myself, the food at our student store became free reign. I took the opportunity to try out a few products I had never eaten before, including Maya Kaimal’s Madras Curry Indian Simmer Sauce. The ingredients are wholesome and simple: Onion, coconut cream, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chili, urad dal lentils, and curry leaves combine to create a creamy and perfectly spicy sauce in which to simmer vegetables. The producer also recommends pouring it over noodles, adding it to tacos and quesadillas, and using it as a pizza sauce (I'm definitely trying that last one out ASAP!). I used it for simmering vegetables. I started by sautéing onions and a can of jackfruit from Trader Joe's in coconut oil for a few minutes before adding corn, peas, sweet potato, bell pepper, and carrots. After the veggies began to ever so slightly soften, I added the curry sauce, covered the pan, and let it cook for another twenty minutes (until the sweet potatoes were tender). I paired it with some black rice, and dinner was ready to go! As convenient as those yellow Tasty Bite microwaveable packages are, this sauce is ten times better than any variation of instant curry. No complaints whatsoever. I would definitely include jackfruit in your dish, as it gave the meal texture and a slight sweetness to balance out the spice.
You can find the sauce in a store near you using this locator. Get cooking! Some of my favorite food bloggers (Rachel Mansfield and Lee Tilghman to name a few) have recently been posting pictures of toast with all the usual condiments (nut butter, fruit, seeds, etc.). The kicker? They frequently spread on a layer of vegan yogurt and top it all with granola. It’s a gamechanger! Because I have issues digesting peanut butter, I have been primarily eating sunflower seed butter for the past year. Since I eat soooooooo much during training season, though, I have been getting a little tired of it. And a $5 off cashew butter deal at the Fresh Market became that much more enticing. A lot of people don’t know about all the different types of nut and seed butters out there. You have peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, walnut butter, coconut butter, sunflower seed butter, pistachio butter, soy butter, pecan butter, hazelnut butter, pumpkin seed butter, and more…not to mention all the variations (simply adding cocoa powder or cinnamon can transform the spread). This recipe uses a combination of cashew butter and Lavva yogurt. The yogurt adds a distinct creaminess and tang to the toast, a flavor that I haven’t tasted since eating Old Chinese Yogurt in Shanghai last summer. You can use any kind of vegan yogurt (another favorite of mine is SoDelicious’ coconut-based yogurt). If you’re vegetarian, of course, you can use regular dairy-based yogurt. Enjoy! Cashew Butter Banana Yogurt Toast (makes one healthy serving) Ingredients:
A few weeks ago, we thought our lavender plant had died. Its beautiful purple flowers had dried up, and we realized that we may or may not have properly pruned it. A little research, though, reassured us that it was simply dormant for the winter. And the best part? Even though its flowers have dried, we can still use them for cooking and freshening up rooms (I'm thinking about putting a sprig in each of my nasty running shoes). But let's get back to the cooking. I had never seen lavender used as a culinary ingredient until visiting the Purple Bowl in Chapel Hill in February. The Purple Bowl is my new favorite smoothie bowl shop, as well as my new favorite eatery on Franklin Street. Their Appalachian Trail Bowl, an acai bowl blend with bananas, strawberries, and hemp milk, is topped with sliced bananas, raspberries, hemp hearts, cacao nibs, flax seeds, granola, cinnamon, and LAVENDER. Best. Smoothie bowl. Ever. The lavender was so rich in flavor and transformed the dish. So, naturally, the next time I visited home, I filled a bag to the brim with dried lavender and have been experimenting ever since. Lavender is a great addition to vegetables, but a lesser known fact is that it is a great addition to avocado toast. More specifically, avocado toast with mango and balsamic vinegar. And it tastes even better than it looks. I whipped this up in about ten minutes. I have also replaced the mango with green apple and strawberries with great success, but mango remains my favorite choice of fruit. Use the recipe below to try your hand at it!
Mango Avocado Toast with Lavender Ingredients
Happy Thanksgiving, y’all! This time of year, vegans and vegetarians are always being asked what we eat for Thanksgiving. As if an absence of turkey is synonymous with the end of the world. I’m all for tradition and culture and support Americans' rights to fully enjoy the turkey that is so integral to their holiday meals. But there are options for those looking to move away from mass-produced turkey; locally produced turkey is often healthier, safer, better for the environment, and more ethically sound. Many vegans and vegetarians opt for Tofurky. Or you can just leave turkey behind altogether; we used to always make the cheesiest, creamiest Mac n’ Cheese for our Thanksgiving dinners. Being a little more health-conscious, creative, and, well, vegan this year, we opted for an entirely new menu. The first three recipes are taken from my vegan bible, Isa Does It. We began with a Butternut Squash Bisque based with coconut milk and vegetable broth, with just a little spice to add some kick. After being thoroughly warmed, we moved on to a Kale Salad with Apples and Lentils. We used some of the last of the kale from our garden for this dish. Next, the entree: Pumpkin Gnocchi with Seared Brussel Sprouts and Tarragon Cream. This was a spin on the original recipe, which used sweet potato instead of pumpkin, and it turned out really well. We made our own pumpkin puree (more on that later), and the dish was super hearty and filling. It even made brussel sprouts taste good. Finally, we ended with an apple crisp that we made healthier by cutting the sugar down to ⅓ of its original amount and using stevia and brown sugar in place of white sugar. Homemade Pumpkin Puree Not only was making our own pumpkin puree a good bonding opportunity for my mom and me, but it also meant our pumpkin dishes had a slightly more savory flavor. The difference was not extremely obvious, but it was still well-worth the experience. Plus, making your own puree from local farmers’ pumpkins is a fantastic way to support the community in a sustainable manner. We used three medium sugar pumpkins, which produced the equivalent of several cans of puree. Read on for more instructions on how to puree: 1. Choose the right pumpkin. Jack-o’-Lantern pumpkins are too stringy, but sugar pumpkins and pie pumpkins are good choices. 2. Slice the pumpkin into wedges. 3. Scoop the seeds and guts of the pumpkin out of the wedges, and set the seeds aside for roasting later (a very easy process, and pumpkin seeds are so healthy and delicious!). It is easiest to do this under running water. 4. Place the wedges on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, until tender. 5. After allowing them to cool, peel the skin off of the meat of the pumpkin. It will come off without a fight. 6. Blend the pumpkin meat in a food processor or blender until creamy. Voila! Pumpkin puree. You can store the puree in the freezer for up to a year if you don’t plan on using it all in the next few days. Enjoy! If you are looking for a yummy, healthy recipe for your pumpkin puree, head over to Lee Tilghman's blog, "Lee From America," for a pumpkin fat ball recipe. These delicious treats are great snacks that tap into healthy fats to keep you full. That stash in the freezer is calling my name right about now...
Recently, I have been trying to eat more of a whole foods diet. That is, one not loaded with processed food of questionable origins and long trails to follow from farm to plate. Eating a diet based on whole foods is often more nutritious and more sustainable than eating processed foods (ex. bread, granola bars, chips, cookies, etc.) off of grocery store shelves. Of course, it is far easier to incorporate whole foods into your diet if you have access to fresh (and preferably local) produce. It should be noted that I don’t fully subscribe to, or wish to advise you to subscribe to, any particular diet; dietary needs are unique to every individual, and this fact cannot be emphasized enough. That being said, many diets, like the raw foods diet, whole foods diet, and ketogenic diet, offer good practices that can be cherry picked and modified to suit our needs.
In an effort to eat more locally and healthily, I recently tried my hand at sweet potato toast...and it was perhaps even more satisfying than regular toast! Filling, fun to make, and pretty to look at, sweet potato toast is a new favorite. Using locally grown sweet potatoes, nut butter, a banana, and a variety of toppings, I arrived at a unique and delicious breakfast; follow the recipe below to try it out for yourself! Ingredients:
|
Archives
October 2018
Categories
All
|