Cursed III

The new cursed album comes out march 11. I heard it today and it blew my mind. Be sure you pick it up when it comes out. Check out the lyrics here It is their best album in my opinion and that is saying a lot. It has the energy, sincerity and intelligence that you expect from a cursed album but with more variation. Killer hardcore that's heavier than my balls, without a single shitty breakdown. Check it out if you like tragedy, his hero is gone, bones brigade, look back and laugh etc...

Almond Milk

I have been meaning to post this for a while. I love almond milk it tastes better than soy milk and is in fact better for you. Fresh almond milk is not like the almond milk you buy in the store it is a lot better tasting. Here is how I make it.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup of Raw almonds (you can use roasted but the milk wont be as good) soaked in the fridge over night
• 3 cups of bottled water
• 3 Tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp or more to taste of good unrefined sugar, agave nectar, maple syrup whatever sweetener you like
• 1 Tsp of unrefined Sea Salt
• A dash of cinnamon or any other flavorings you want to add but you really don't need anything else.

Directions

• Soak the almonds over night in enough water to cover them. I like to cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid so the almonds don't pick up any fridge flavor.
• Drain the water and rinse the almonds a few times
• measure a little over a cup of almonds to every 3 cups of water in to your blender
• Add the remaining ingredients
• Blend for about 2 minutes until everything looks smooth and well blended.
• Now strain through cheese cloth or a sprout bag in to a large container be sure to squeeze the extra milk out of the pulp after straining
• you can save the pulp and use it for baking cookies or whatever you want
• After you have strained the milk you may need to strain it again if you got any almond chunks in the milk otherwise that's all there is to it.

You can use it for baking or in smoothies, coffee whatever you would use regular milk for. You will agree that this is way better than soy. I haven't used soy milk again since discovering almond milk. There is a lot of hype about how healthy soy is for you, however soy has been shown to depress the thyroid. "Thyroid enlargement in rats and humans, especially children and women, fed with soyabeans has been known for half a century," according to Theodore Kay at Kyoto University in Japan. His 1988 study attempted to determine the amount of iodine required to prevent goitre in populations consuming soy foods. He found that small amounts of iodine could indeed prevent noticeable thyroid enlargement, but even large amounts did not prevent pathological changes to the thyroid gland. He also determined that the most potent goitrogens in soy cannot be removed by cooking. Also soy milk at the super market is heavily processed, it would be healthier to just drink a low fat organic milk than soy milk, unless you are making it yourself.

Tempeh with Broccoli and Soba Noodles

Tonight I was in the mood for something quick, so I made some of this Tempeh with Broccoli and Soba Noodles. This is a really easy to make and you only need a few ingredients so it works when your poor. I don't think these ingredients cost more than a box of mac and cheese, but I could be wrong. I also wanted to contribute something new to the Presto Pasta Night on Ruth's great blog Once Upon a Feast. So here are the ingredients:

Tempeh with Broccoli and Soba Noodles (Makes 2 Servings)

1/2 block or more of your favorite Tempeh cut in to cubes or triangles

1 cup of broccoli florets

2 Cloves of Garlic minced

1/4 diced onion or more to taste

1 inch piece of ginger minced

1 jalapeno or thai chili minced (Optional)

Some parsley to taste

1/2 cup or more to taste of a Good peanut stir fry sauce I used San-J Thai Peanut Sauce

2 Servings or Soba Noodles (Mine are green because they have mugwort in them)

2 Tbps of Roasted Peanut Oil

Cooking Directions:

• Start your pasta water
• Heat a frying pan and add the oil
• When hot add the Tempeh and brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side
• When its done remove the Tempeh and set aside
• leave remaining oil in pan and add the diced onion. Saute until translucent
• now add the broccoli, turn down the heat to saute the broccoli and onion
• after a few minutes add the garlic and ginger and tempeh and saute until the pasta is done
• Now strain and add the pasta and peanut sauce to the frying pan
• toss all ingredients until well mixed

That's it, now enjoy it with a salad. I have a lot of other recipes to share with you, as soon as I get around to it.

Youngs Double Chocolate

Picked up a 4 pack of Young's Double Chocolate Stout at the local whole foods. This stuff is great and highly recommend if you've never had it and you like stouts. This is luxuriously smooth with nice hints of dark chocolate. Almost as good as the Meantime Brewery coffee beer I had last night which was amazing and made with fair trade coffee. Young's is a Classic Stout with the nitrogen ball in a 440 ml can. You can also find it on tap, which I suggest you do. The first thing you will notice about this beer is the strong dark chocolate that hits your nose...very nice. nice strong head that lasts the whole beer with little lacing. Dark as my heart, I don't think light would penetrate this brew even if you held it up to the sun. Incredibly smooth, you can easily drink 3 or 4 of these in a sitting if your not careful. Overall this is a fantastic beer, all the traits of a great stout with the addition of dark chocolate! Highly Recommended. Now head down to the store and pick you're self up a 4 pack, throw on a Wes Anderson flick or some music and enjoy.

Baked Tri-Color Pasta Neapolitan Style.

This is going to be a short post because it is late. I just wanted to get this up so I can make the presto pasta night at once upon a feast.My beautiful girlfriend is in town so I wanted to make something special. I ended up making this baked pasta dish, I used all organic ingredients for this. It came out rather delicious. So, here is the recipe.

Baked Tri-Color Pasta Neapolitan Style.

1 bag of your favorite pasta

1 16 oz can of whole tomatoes

1/2 cup strained tomatoes

2Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 an Onion (Chopped)

3 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)

Artichoke Hearts (packed in water)

1/2 a zucchini

some red chilies

1 cup Fresh Mozzarella

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Basil, parsley and Thyme

Garnish

Cherry tomatoes

Chopped basil

Here are some short directions, I will fill this in soon. Cook pasta, and make the sauce using all ingredients except zucchini,artichoke hearts, cheese and herbs. Combine sauce with pasta in a big pot. Combine well then add the veggies and cheese. Combine those ingredients well. Now oil your baking pan, then add the pasta mixture to the baking dish/pan. Put it in the oven uncovered at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes. I hope you liked it!

Veggie Tofu Scramble, Yum

Today I am going to share another old favorite. This is one of the first things I taught myself to make after going vegan. I am not vegan anymore (she's not vegan anymore, now she's my, XveganX). Haha, sorry I had to throw that in. I still love it though, a lot more than real scrambled eggs, and its a lot better for you. This recipe is pretty basic and you can make it in a pinch because it only has like, 3 ingredients that you must have. I recommend you throw in as many fresh veggies as you can, that will make it even better. I like to stick with veggies that go well together though. Like in this version I use, Garlic, Onion, Tomatoes and Basil. Its an Italian themed scramble and it will knock your socks off. So here is the recipe:

Italian Tofu Scramble

• 1/2 10 oz Block of good extra firm tofu. (you could also use the whole block)
  
• 1/2 Tsp turmeric (For Color)
  
• 1/2 Medium Onion (chopped)
  
• 2 or 3 cloves of Garlic (Chopped)
  
• A handful of fresh basil and parsley to taste.
  
• One roma tomato (Chopped)
  
• 1 or 2 Tsp Braggs Liquid aminos
  
• A Pinch of red chili flakes
  
• Fresh Ground Pepper
  
• 1 or 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1 Tsp Sesame Oil

The key to this dish is the texture, so here is how you get a good texture, it took me a while to figure this out. Don't smash the tofu with a fork, that will make it too mushy. Take the tofu in your hand, and squeeze it so that it squishes out through your fingers. You can work with small chunks if that makes it easier, have fun with it. Then you toss it in to your heated and oiled skillet over medium heat, also add the chili flakes. Now stir fry the tofu until it starts to get a little golden brown on the sides. I recommend you use a non stick pan for this, tofu can stick very easily. Now turn the heat down to low, or medium low. Add the onions and garlic and stir fry for a few minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Then add your pepper, turmeric and braggs, and mix well. Cook another minute or two then add the herbs and tomato and serve. I like to eat it with a piece of toast, some avocado and black beans, as you can see.

Alright well I hope I helped someone out who was struggling with this dish, or maybe I just gave you some ideas. Either way thanks for checking out the blogg and reading my recipe, let me know if you liked it. Sorry guys I've got an orthodontic appointment at 8:30 in the morning... Don't worry about your ears man!

fusilli pasta With "Meat" Sauce

It looks like this is turning out to be the week of TVP. I have this massive bag of it so I am using it up. This pasta dish was a spur of the moment thing tonight. I was craving pasta and I had some energy left over from the double espresso I had at lunch. Also I have been wanting to cook something to submit for the presto pasta night over at Once Upon a Feast. At first this was going to just be a standard pasta dish with tomato sauce but I saw the TVP sitting, looking lonely in the fridge. So I decided to devour it, like a bald eagle devours a bearded Muslim extremist (That was a joke, so don't get offended). This recipe calls for a food processor, so if you're married, go look in the closet where you have the rest of the crap you never opened from your wedding. If you're not married, go borrow one from your parents house. Sorry for the bad photos. The digital camera I had been using, ran out of battery's, and I haven't recharged them yet. So I have been using my phone. Here is what you came for, the killer recipe.

"Meat" for the "Meat" Sauce

• 1 Cup of Prepared unflavored TVP (See "Carne Asada Tacos" recipe for directions.)
  
• 1 Clove Garlic Roughly Chopped
  
• 1 Tsp dried Italian seasoning
  
• Some fennel if you have it (I didn't)
  
• 1 Tsp Dryed Chili Flakes
  
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1 or 2 Tsp Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce.
  
  

  Cooking Directions

  
  
  
  
  1. Heat Olive Oil over medium heat
     
  2. Add red peppers and other seasonings
     
  3. Toss in TVP and stir fry until golden and slightly crisp looking, don't over cook.
     
  4. Turn down to low heat and wait for pan to cool slightly then add garlic. Saute for a minute or two
     
  5. add the Braggs and toss, then remove from heat. (add just enough braggs to give it a meaty taste, you don't want to much or it will be overbearing.)
     
  
  

  Pasta Sauce

  
  

  Keep in mind you can use any basic pasta sauce for this recipe. I am going to list exactly what I used.

  
  
  
  
  • 3/4 jar of "Bionaturae Strained Tomatoes"
    
  • 3 Cloves of Garlic minced
    
  • 1 Tsp Red Chili Flakes (optional)
    
  • Basil to taste (I used about a cup chopped fresh basil)
    
  • Parsley to taste
    
  • Ground Pepper to taste
    
  • 1/2 a medium onion chopped
    
  • 1 Tbps Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I love this stuff and eat it with everything, even my breakfast cereal)
    
  • Parmesan cheese (option if vegan)
  
  

  Put your pasta on now (I used 1/2 Pound Organic Whole Wheat fusilli pasta)
  

  Cooking Directions

  
  
  
  
  1. Saute' Garlic, Onion and pepper flakes in a medium sauce pan until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
     
  2. pour in Strained Tomatoes.
     
  3. Turn the heat to medium until it starts to simmer, grind in some pepper.
     
  4. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
     
  5. Now is the time for the food processor. add the meat mixture and the sauce to the processor. Process this mixture by pulsing the food precessor a couple times untill it is the consistancy you like. then return it to the pan. Your pasta should be done now.
     
  6. Add the pasta to the sauce and also add the Basil, parsley and Parmesan cheese.
     
  7. Over medium heat toss this mixture until it evenly coats the pasta and the herbs are distributed.
     
  8. Heat an additional minute and serve.
  
  

  This stuff was fantastic. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, abracadabra holmes!