Sunny Saturday Sushi Supper

 

If you've never made sushi, you should. It's a little time consuming, but ridiculously easy to make.

Toppings in these include season sushi rice (a la How It All Vegan), fried firm tofu (thin strips browned on all sides in a lightly oiled cast iron pan), lightly steamed asparagus, yellow pepper, greens (baby kale, spinach, chard), cucumber and avocado.

In lieu of pickled ginger (can't find any without aspartame and artificial colouring in it) I just shredded fresh ginger to put on top. Tastes just as good. That's what's in the brown ramekin.

My dad and his partner gave us these beautiful sushi dishes as a gift.

Breakfast of Champions

I've been weightlifting more and so, while I'm not usually someone who bothers keeping track of food values, I've been trying to make sure I get adequate nutrients, particularly on days when I will be working out.

Today I am going on a long bike ride with my dad, and playing my pipes, and gardening, and doing some yoga. So I wanted a hearty breakfast to start myself off.

For anyone who's still wondering where veg*ans get their protein, my breakfast today had approximately 22.5 grams of protein. (I had to estimate some things like the tofu whip but this is a good ballpark). For reference for the meat-eaters out there, a steak has between 20-30 grams of protein (depending on the steak).

Cornmeal Porridge: 5 grams (just whole grain yellow cornmeal cooked in water)

Hemp Hearts: 9 grams

Tofu Whip: 2 grams (silken tofu + cashews + maple syrup + soy milk)

Pecans: 2 grams

Strawberries: 0.5 grams

To drink, Chocolate almond milk: 4 grams

22.5 grams

The recommended daily protein allowance for women in my age group is 46 grams. If I do a grams per pound of body weight calculation, I get a guideline of 47 grams daily and up to 99 grams daily if I am being ridiculously athletic. I've seen weightlifting sites which recommend 1 gram per pound of body weight. I'd definitely have to start pounding back protein shakes in order to get that much protein in a day. Somehow, that's not something I see myself needing or doing. But I can definitely make sure to eat a hearty breakfast full of delicious protein and carbs to support my fitness level!

Peanut Butter Macaroon Cookies

The other day I made the mistake of going to the bulk store hungry and walked out with a bag of coconut chocolate macaroons (basically chocolate blobs with shredded coconut embedded in them). While I used to love these confections, I have discovered that my sweet tooth isn't sweet enough for them anymore. Jon suggested chopping them up and putting them into less-sweet cookies, which turned out to be an amazing idea! I am not sure whether the macaroons I bought are vegan (although they were dark chocolate). If you want to make these vegan and can't find vegan macaroons, I suspect it would work well to melt some chocolate chips in the microwave on low power, mix in finely shredded coconut, and then spread the mixture on parchment paper or a silicone mat to set. When cooled you would cut into chunks. It would add a step, but I think these would not be the same without the macaroon pieces. What is unique about these cookies is the surprising delightful crunch of the coconut when you hit a chocolate chunk.

This recipe is adapted from my grandma's recipe for peanut blossoms.

Wet ingredients:
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (softened in microwave if it is hard)
• 1/3 cup just peanuts peanut butter (no sugar, no salt)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed + 1/4 cup water (or other egg replacer of choice for 1 egg)
• two pinches of sea salt

Dry ingredients:
• 1 3/4 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup chopped macaroon pieces

Blend wet ingredients together until they have a uniform consistency. Mix flour and baking soda in a separate bowl and then mix in macaroon chunks. Add dry ingredients to wet, and fold together until just mixed. Roll the dough into 1 inch diameter balls. Flatten balls slightly and put 1/2 inch apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes. Cool before removing from tray. Makes about 18 cookies.