Cayenne Pepper---good for what ails ya!

So I spent most of the month of February hacking up one lung or the other and generally feeling quite ill and unhappy. I guess this horrid bug was going around and I got caught in the crosshairs. March arrived and I have great expectations but the other day I realized I was getting a sore throat. "Oh No!" I gasped to myself, this is how my plague started in February! I made an appointment to see the Doc, but that is 48 hours away, so I began to search for homeopathic remedies that sounded good. And boy, did I find one!

Now, I only recommend this for people who tolerate hot foods well, or in general don't consider themselves wussies in the spice pantry. You take about a half a coffee mug full of lemonade, but make sure this is the stuff that has ACTUAL sugar or at least Agave in it. None of that artificially sweetened stuff. Put your mug of lemonade in the microwave for one minute and then stir in a heaping tablespoon of honey. When that is dissolved, and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and stir. Drink it down as quickly as you can and your sore throat will be gone in moments.

Don't freak out! The sugar in the lemonade actually takes away most of the spice heat, that is why it's important to use real sweetener. Repeat whenever it recurs.***


*** I am not a health professional, just someone who found great results with this method for myself.

Sweetpea Baking Company 1205 SE Stark St., Portland, OR

OMG! Week Two of "The Most Fabulous Sunday Brunch EVER!" Lisa Higgins and her gang of "sweetpeas" continue to dazzle Portland with their creations. This morning hubby and I were standing at the door at 8:55am waiting to be let in, along with about 6 other eager folks. By 9:15am the place was completely full, despite the extra tables and chairs that were brought in.

This was by far the most delicious vegan breakfast I've ever had, and I can COOK some mean breakfast, let me tell you. The spread consisted of seitan, biscuits and gravy, French toast, pancakes, roasted herb potatoes, tofu scramble and spinach with REAL maple syrup and earth balance margarine. $12 gets you all you can eat as well as orange juice and Stumptown Roasters coffee.

There really wasn't anything on the plate that I didn't like tremendously. The tofu scramble was most surprising to me personally, because I've always looked upon the dish with a certain bit of skepticism as I was a scrambled egg fan when I ate them. The texture and seasoning were frighteningly good and I was completely convinced that it was even better than the eggs from my past. Even the people that weren't partaking in the buffet were loving the toasted bagels with several varieties of "cream" cheese. My husband's favorite is the bacon scallion which of course, is completely without actual piggie.

If you haven't tried the baked goods, it's worth the trip for this alone.

Well, we'll do more babbling than wandering for awhile....

My goal is to blog about my travels and experiences, but for awhile it seems, my experiences will be confined to the Pacific Northwest where I live. We took an AMAZING cruise to Alaska in 2006 and I hope to go again in 2009, maybe not to Alaska, but definitely on a cruise. Today I'm going to share with you a couple of recipes that keep my friends and family sharing kudos for my cooking and thus, these are two of my favorite things to cook. The first, a hearty and delicious lentil soup, is inspired by the recipe on the back of Bob's Red Mill red lentils (http://www.bobsredmill.com/). However, I take it to a whole new level...observe:

Woohoo! Lentil Soup

1 Onion chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots diced
2 stalks celery chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced extremely fine
2 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 of a large package of Ore-Ida O'Brien Potatoes (frozen)
1.5 cups of frozen roasted corn
approx 1 lb of red lentils
1 tsp hot paprika
salt and pepper to taste
liberal dashes of Tapatio Hot Sauce
Water

In a LARGE stockpot (6-8 quarts or larger if you have it) heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and about 1 tbsp of salt; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, basil and cilantro; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in O'Brien Potatoes and roasted corn, let cook for 2 more minutes, then add in lentils and enough water to make pot 60-70% full. Add paprika and more salt along with black pepper and Tapatio. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes until lentils have broken down. You'll want to let it simmer and reduce to about 80% of the volume you started with. Taste and add salt as necessary. Get creative with your spices!!

My shortcuts: If you live near a Trader Joe's (http://www.traderjoes.com/) and if you don't, I frankly recommend that you move to be near one......I buy their mirepoix which is a container with chopped celery, onion and carrots in their fresh produce section. Trader Joe's is very reasonably priced, and I figure for $2+ it saves me at least the tears involved with chopping onions. Also in their freezer section is the greatest invention EVER! Cubes of frozen minced garlic, cilantro and basil. They come in little tiny "ice cube" trays of about 20 cubes each and each cube is equivalent to 1 tsp. Fantastic and very fresh tasting too! TJ's also sells frozen fire-roasted corn that I use in this recipe and many others, absolutely delicious!

And now, for dessert!!!

We'll call it: The BEST and MOST decadent.......

If you have a better name, I'd love to hear it!

First off, you can use either a springform pan or a LARGE deep casserole (think disposable aluminum roaster pan) for holding all the yumminess.

Sugar Cookie Base:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups Earth Balance margarine
• 2 cups organic sugar
• 2 tblsp ground flax seed meal mixed with 6 tblsp water for egg substitute
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup organic sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the Earth Balance margarine and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the "flax eggs", then the vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just blended.

When complete, spread dough in a lightly greased large, deep baking pan, covering the bottom and the sides as if to form a deep dish pie. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar over base and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

1/2 lb Earth Balance margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2-3 tsps cornstarch
1 cup pecans toasted
1 lb semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup almond or hazelnut milk
1 Tblsp Almond Extract

Directions:


CARAMEL: In a small saucepan melt 1/4 lb Earth Balance margarine. Stir in brown sugar, stir constantly until sugar is smooth and melted, add 2 tsp cornstarch to aid in thickening. Slowly stir in 1/4 cup almond milk until smooth and shiny. Pour caramel over cooled crust. Sprinkle pecans in an even layer over caramel. Refrigerate for approx 45 minutes or until caramel thickens.

TRUFFLE LAYER: Bring a medium pot of water to boil, turn down to a simmer. In a stainless steel or glass mixing bowl. Place remaining 1/4 lb Earth Balance margarine and the chocolate chips. Place bowl over simmering water and stir chocolate until melted, add almond extract. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup almond milk until smooth. Pour chocolate mixture over caramel crust. Pour in a spiral motion working inwards so as not to disturb the pecans too much. Tap bottom of pan on counter to settle chocolate. Place in fridge to set (approx 2hrs). This is a VERY rich dessert so it can be cut into many small pieces!!

VERY IMPORTANT! Make sure you get a piece before everyone gobbles it up! = )

Serves: 16+

I hope you love it!

Let me know what you think!

Maggie

Welcome to The Wandering Vegan!

Why "The Wandering Vegan?" Well, it has to do with two of my passions: travel and food. I've only become a vegan recently, after heading slowly in that direction for several years. Travel I've loved since the first time I boarded at airplane at age 9. Stay tuned for recipes, photos, musings and more. I hope you enjoy the bits that I share.

Maggie Sweet