Tahini Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (vegan)

(One of the most important aspects of this blog is engaging my community in the discussion of sustainability, pragmatism, and healthy lifestyle on a budget. In order to hear different voices and perspectives I have asked some peers to contribute their thoughts and experiences. Every few weeks I will feature a guest post discussing issues, sharing experiences, and raising questions on the subject. Message me if you're interested in contributing to the discussion.  - Tatyana)

I keep a vegan kitchen, in a practice that is less about not eating animals and more about eating as many plants as possible. When I first began cooking vegan five years ago, I would plan and shop for specific recipes -- a particular curry, stew, or casserole. While I think adhering to recipes was a great way to learn the methodology and staples of vegan cuisine, my cooking has since evolved. I now plan less and just keep fresh, seasonal vegetables around, to be cooked simply and combined with grains and proteins and, most importantly, smothered in sauces. 

Here is a secret of vegan cooking -- everyone finds a pile of unadorned quinoa depressing. Without a sauce to punch up the flavor and add the fat that vegan foods often naturally lack, vegan cooking can be as bad as its detractors claim. I keep a pantry full of ingredients to make a variety of sauces on a whim, and I've shared below my all-time favorite.

Tahini is the base for a number of wonderful vegan sauces. There are two secrets to tahini-based sauces: first, make sure you add something acidic to cut tahini's naturally heavy sesame flavor. I use vinegar below, but lemon juice or mild hot sauce would work as well. Second, tahinis vary widely in texture and thickness. Find a brand that is, for lack of better descriptor, runny. My favorite brand is Ziyad.

If you are looking to incorporate more plant-based meals in the new year, this easy recipe is a great complement to any vegetable. It can be made thick to spread on sandwiches, or thin to drizzle over, well, quinoa. It's creamy and tangy and makes things taste vaguely like pizza.

Tahini Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup tahini
• 1 roasted red pepper (jarred is great)
• 2 Tb white balsamic vinegar -- white balsamic is a particularly wonderful addition to the vegan sauce repertoire, but if you don't have it, any light vinegar will do -- just not regular balsamic.
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup water (depending on how thick your tahini is)
• 2 Tb nutritional yeast (optional)

Combine all ingredients, starting with 1/4 cup water, in the blender of a food processor and blend until smooth. Add more water as desired for texture. Drizzle over your favorite dish! 

      Tahini red pepper sauce drizzled over quinoa-white bean-spinach patties. 

Healthy Apple/Pear Crisp + Snappy, Easy Brunch

So far 2015 has been looking a lot like 2014. Rushed schedules, hectic grocery shopping trips, and lack of sleep. I made a few solid New Year's resolutions and will honestly say I have done a terrible job of sticking to any of them. Here they are in order of priority:

1. Prepare monthly meal plan around seasonal, whole foods and organic meats.

2. Consume meat in a more responsible fashion. Organic/farm raised/grass fed as often as          possible and use remains for stocks and soups.

3. Drink 5 glasses of water every single day.

4. Exercise at least 3 times a week. 

5. Stop spending money on cheap makeup I don't need/don't use at CVS/Rite-Aid/Walgreens just because I have a coupon.

6. Stop scanning my fob when heading up the the 1st floor of my building from the garage because it's not necessary. Just stop it. 

There you have it. 6 pretty inane, not so difficult, some would say easy resolutions. The problem is that when you're on break everything on the other side (post NYE) looks so easy. Like some kind of magic spell will be cast and you will automatically change your schedule and just start living an entirely different life. One in which you grocery shop responsibly, turn every roasted chicken carcass into a stock, prepare meal plans, exercise often, and grab water instead of coffee at 4pm because it's the healthier, better choice. (Also, you're dehydrated and have had a sinus thing for 3 months straight, you idiot. Coffee isn't hydrating. DRINK MORE WATER. DO IT. DO IT. DO IT.)

The reality of the situation is that I spent the holidays binge eating every single thing that came into my sight. After such gluttony the prospect of meal planning and going back to a healthy diet is a hard sell. We spent the holidays in food paradise (South Carolina and New York), eating copious amounts of bacon, shrimp, king crab, casseroles, and pies. The only salad I ate over vacation was a congealed one: fruit encased in a jello, thickly covered in cream cheese and cool whip. It's safe to say that after this break my blood type is now HBG (Hot Butter Grits). The prospect of switching completely to barley and quinoa bowls is less than appealing. I don't care how many instagram filters you put a quinoa-veggie bowl through, it's not THAT amazing. Have you a had a sweet potato casserole smothered in marshmallow?! Ok, case closed.

Exhibit A: sweet potato casserole > quinoa/barley/grain/gluten free artisanally glazed bowl.

After much deliberation, I've decided to take a slow and steady approach to resuscitate the healthy -eating -but -budget friendly lifestyle:

Start cutting out sugar, dairy, processed ingredients from our day to day meals in a pragmatic way. Eat more responsibly, as much as possible, on a budget. Eliminate waste as much as possible- use vegetables before they wilt, use roasted chicken carcass for stock, etc. This involves creating meal plans, buying ingredients ahead of time, planning around these factors. I'll share more on my strategy in a future post.

Save wilting vegetables by chopping them up and combining with eggs for a quick frittata. Sprinkle with parsley or basil to freshen up the dish!

So to begin, I want to share this healthy apple/pear crisp recipe that developed while in a rush to prepare brunch for a few friends on our first day back after the break. I put together a few dishes that were simple, healthy, and ended up costing far less money than a restaurant meal would have. We baked store bought biscuits, because they were $1.99 and purchasing all the ingredients and making them from scratch would be upwards of $10. I also made a simple frittata out of leftover veggies, eggs, and slices of melty mozzarella. It was delicious with a side of bacon, cheaper at the deli counter ($3-$4 for 1/2lb.) of your grocery store than the packaged variety. 

Finally, I baked a quick and easy crisp out of several apples and pears that were going mushy. Most standard crisp recipes call for massive amounts of butter, sugar, and eggs   (I love you Ina but half a pound of butter?!) -all the ingredients I am trying to avoid. On the other hand, most healthy recipes I've found make the ingredients list too complicated for someone who is trying to cook quickly, cheaply, and efficiently. (Spelt flour, organic rolled grains, unrefined cane sugar, one recipe even called for mango extract! None of these ingredients are accessible to someone cooking on a budget.) So instead, I kept things very simple and healthy, by just enhancing the natural flavors of the fruit. This crisp takes 30 min in the oven and won't require anything that you don't already have in your pantry. It's dairy, egg, and sugar free, and has lasted us almost a week! Try it with breakfast over some plain yogurt or with some whipped cream as a dessert. Enjoy! 

Apple/Pear Crisp

Ingredients

Filling

• 4 cups peeled, chopped apples + pears (I used 4 apples + 3 pears)
• 1 cup raisins or any dried fruit you may have on hand *
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (any fruit juice will work)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 bourbon/whiskey (or more...)*
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

* these ingredients are optional but since I almost always have them in my kitchen I like to throw them in for an extra punch of flavor. 

Topping

Usually for crisps I use a mixture of granola, chopped almonds, and oats which I press into the top of the fruit. Alternatively, I use leftover cereal mixed with granola. It's a great way to use up those bottom of the bag bits! If you don't have granola/cereal available below are ingredients for an easy topping.

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup honey or applesauce to keep it dairy free

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 
2. Peel and chop your apples +pears.
3. Combine apples, pears and any raisins/dates/dried fruit you like.
4. Coat fruit with bourbon, vanilla, lemon, and orange juice. 
5. Mix your dry ingredients (flour+spices) and toss with the fruit/juice mixture. 
6. Press granola/cereal/oat topping into the fruit mixture. Drizzle with honey or maple syrup. 
7. Bake crisp for 30 min. on the center rack. It will come out golden and bubbly when finished. Serve over yogurt or with a side of whipped cream! 

Crisp with bottom of the bag bits granola/cereal topping. 

Crisp with granola/oat topping and side of whipped cream. 

Happy Holidays!! A recap.

I hope everyone is having a relaxing and nourishing holiday season. It's felt so good to take some time off to regroup and catch up with family and friends the last week. The New Year is just around the corner and I wanted to share some snippets of what's been going on around here over the break. We celebrated Hanukkah in DC, Christmas in South Carolina, and are heading tomorrow to New York to welcome in 2015. I hope your New Year celebration is loads of fun! 

In my house the holiday season began with the annual night before Hanukkah cryfest. This year I decided to be traditional and forego the food processor for grating all the potatoes, onions, and carrots by hand. My fingers are still recovering but it was totally worth it! My favorite recipe for latkes is Deb Perlman's from Smitten Kitchen. You can find it here along with a catalogue of some of the most creative latke recipes on the web. 

Post by With a Grain of Salt.

We spent Christmas in South Carolina staying in a farmhouse on land which has been in Ian's family for nine generations. Built in the late 19th century the house is brimming with antiques, my favorite being the full 1960s kitchen which looks out onto a small lake and floods with sunlight each morning.

The rest of the house is decorated in hunting regalia from the early 20th century and loads of signs giving very solid advice.  During the day we went on walks and drove around acres of tangled trees, bogs, waterways, and farm land. I know it's above and beyond cheesy and has been said a million times before but it felt amazing to breathe in the fresh air, soak in the sunlight and have some quiet after the noise and darkness of our basement apartment in DC.

So much cotton.

Tangled trees and lush bogs which made me feel like I was walking through a Faulkner novel.

Christmas dinner was a lavish feast of king crab, steamed oysters, and the most delicious sweet potato pie. So far this holiday season I've tried ten new dishes- cannot wait to try my hand at some of them in the coming months!

In the afternoon, Jack sunned himself while we built the biggest fires with natural kindling, drank coffee, and played ping pong.

Happy Holidays and New Year, friends! I am excited to share more recipes and keep building this community in the year to come.