Chocolate filled Strawberries - Vegan Style

I was inspired this morning by the heart shaped strawberry I found in my carton.
A heart-healthy, soul-happy, spirit inspiring reminder that Love truly is all that exists.

Click on Collage for a larger view of my creations!

Strawberries and Chocolate… What could be better? How about Organic Vegan Chocolate and Organic Strawberries? What if we added a little floral essence to our Organic Vegan Chocolate? Did someone gasp in ecstasy? Oh, never mind that was me.

~~~

So are you ready to do something different with your chocolate and strawberries? How about chocolate stuffed strawberries? Or pure Dutch Cacao dusted Strawberries? Or Chocolate with true botanical essences of Lavender, Ylang ylang and Jasmine made into what I like to call: Chocolate drop bliss (hint: before they cooled completely I dusted them with Cacao powder. Find these showcased in the collage above!

Regardless of what you want to do with your Chocolate and/or Cacao and strawberries - here are my yummy ideas!

Begin by halving your washed strawberries and then hollow out a sufficient amount of strawberry pulp from each berry half.

(Once you have gently cleaned your berries, pat them dry and allow them to sit for a moment as you put your organic vegan chocolate chips or bar pieces into a double boiler on medium low heat or directly into a small soup pan on low heat in order to melt down.)

Once your chocolate has melted completely you may place a spoonful in both halves of the strawberry.You may then either place both halves together or leave them separate. Be creative with your strawberries. Halve and hollow a few, halve and drop chocolate without hollowing them, dip them, drizzle them with chocolate, do whatever your creative little heart desires.

I decided to add Jasmine, Lavender and Ylang Ylang essential oils to my melted dark vegan organic chocolate. (place 1 drop of each essential oil into 1/2 Cup of Chocolate and mix well) Once I ran out of strawberries I decided to drop this melted decadence onto foil for small floral infused chocolate bliss drops. (You could even make your own chocolate bars as well by spreading the melted chocolate onto foil, waxed paper or marble slate or tile and allow to cool. Remove and you have your rectangular or squared delight. Add nuts , dried herbs or fruit or leave plain - you are only limited by the creativity of your mind).

If you are not a truly adventurous chocoholic or have little time - halve your strawberries and simply dust them with pure rich Dutch Cacao powder. The dutch style may be a bit more expensive than other brands but the difference is in the taste. This is perfect for Vegans and those watching their figures a little more closely as well. Diabetics enjoy the flavor of powdered Cacao along with the natural sweetness of a fresh berry.

Check out some of the pictures I have taken of my experimental fun. I hope you enjoy and decide to create create create for someone or many someones you love.

As usual HAVE FUN!

Mixing Art with Vegan Food - Vegan Nacho's

©Copyright 2005 VegHeadEd, Inc. All rights reserved - All images, artwork and content on this site are protected.

Now you may be wondering what this is. It is not a test and there are no wrong answers. My wonderfully fabulous drawing is of course up to free artistic interpretation. It may be complex and it may be quite simple to your Brain. I personally believe it is... what? Did I hear someone say it? I think I did, "FUN!" Oh yes so much FUN!

How can a meat free person have so much fun all on their own? Simple answer, easily digestible nutrients. Did you know veggies could help us have so much Fun?

HAPPY FEBRUARY!
It is the first day of a new month and a Friday - WAHOO! It is also likely someone's birthday today as is every day. Let's pretend this is where the saying"let them eat cake" originated from. Every day is someone's Birthday so go eat some cake and celebrate! Or just celebrate with carrots, celery and vegan Lemon Dill dipping sauce: (1 Tsp Dill, 2 TBSP Vegan Mayo, 1/2 Tsp lemon juice and 2 Tsp unsweetened soy milk, mix and dip).

Regardless of Cake or veggies and dip just CELEBRATE everything and have FUN!
Be sure to BET on CRAZY FUN and enjoy your Football SUNDAY. We will see you back here on Monday with more FUN! Until then. . . Create FUN times in the kitchen and treat your body to a tasty meal!

Go Giants! Go Patriots! Go VegHead's!

Phew! Okay, now I will settle down now and give you another recipe.

Vegan Nacho's are great for Healthy SUPERBOWL SUNDAY eats!

Vegan Nacho’s

RECIPE

Ingredient List – serves one moderately hungry individual

Organic blue or yellow corn tortilla chips (2 cups)

¼ cup Organic black olives, sliced (optional)

½ -1 Cup Vegan cheese shredded

½ Cup Black Beans (seasoned or plain)

½ Cup Vegan “Meatless Ground”, TVP or other meatless sub. (optional)

1 TBSP of Vegan Sour Cream

½ Tomato (diced) or 2 TBSP Salsa or both

1 TBSP Cilantro (chopped)

1 Green onion (cut into ¼ inch slices)

½ Avocado (cut into chunks)

Spice it up: Mix all together in a small container

1 Tsp. Chili powder

½ Tsp garlic powder or fresh* (if fresh, mix with beans)

¼ Tsp Cayenne Pepper * (optional, this is hot pepper)

½ Tsp salt

Begin by lining a cookie sheet with Foil for easy clean-up. (Tip: save and reuse your foil liners, recycle –reuse) Preheat oven to broil or 425 degrees.

Evenly spread your tortilla chips on lined/unlined cookie sheet. Add your meatless ground. If you are not using meatless ground, instead Add the beans. Sprinkle ½ of your mixed spices evenly across your beans, and/or meatless ground. Follow with salsa and/or tomatoes. Top with cheese. Add your olives, avocado and cilantro. Sprinkle the remaining spices on top. Cover initially with foil and place beneath broiler on middle rack for 2-5 minutes. Until heated through. Uncover and allow cheese to brown (about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Remove from oven. Gently transfer foil along with nacho’s onto a plate. Place a dallop of Vegan Sour Cream and top with any additional condiments you prefer. Then sit down and enjoy each and every bite!

{Tip: For meatless ground, wheat-free subs. Cook lentils until tender. Drain and allow to dry a little then place lentils into a food processor or blender and pulse a few times until legume is a bit ground up. Use this mix in place of meatless ground as it is gluten free and easily digestible. Lentils also have a “meatier” taste and are satisfying. Add garlic and salt while cooking for flavor.}

Savory Diversity Pie & Vegan Cookies (w/ Chocolate Chip & Dark Chocolate shavings)

Vegan / Vegetarian Recipes

© All images, artwork and content under copyright 2005. Michele A. Miller All rights reserved.

Alright, so here it is our newest creation! Ready? Yum! The creative name… uh, err… hmmm…

Should we call it: Savory “Taste of the rainbow” pie? No…how about “colorful layers” pie?, uh… no, definitely not. What about... Savory Diversity Pie? YES! That is what we will call it! You see this pie is filled with the concept of diversity. Diverse in ingredients, flavor, and pairings – Oh yes and our resident Meat-Eater mentioned this delicious combination of flavor and color would pair quite well with a leg of lamb.

Gulp... Thank you for the suggestion. Meat-Eaters love veggie food but sometimes want to add it to... well meat. However, now you know and the choice is yours.

This VegHead will consider the pairing suggestion by inviting a live 1, 2, 3 or 4 legged lamb to roam freely in safety while we prepare our savory pie.

Following a tasty meal with Vegan Chocolate chip and Vegan Chocolate chip/Dark Chocolate shaving cookies is a stellar idea (recipe follows).

So are you ready for the recipe, yet? Okay, Enjoy:

Savory Diversity Pie:

Ingredient list for (1) pie: serving 4-8 people (4) hungry selfish people or (8) bashful guests.

4 small Purple potatoes

1 medium to large Yam (garnet or jewel, your choice – the sweeter the better)

¾ diced Red onion

1 ½ Cups Chopped Asparagus (**substitute: Spinach, fresh/flash frozen green beans, or broccoli)

1 Large Portobello Mushroom, sliced

2 Cups Shredded Vegan Cheese or *Organic Raw Rennetless Cow/Goat milk Cheese *= non-vegan

1 Deep dish Vegan Pie crust (Use your own favorite recipe or pick up a pre-made one)

Olive oil or Vegan Margarine – just have it handy. . . (substitute regular butter if you must)

Spices:

1Tsp. Cardamom, ground (add to onions)

1 Tsp. Rosemary dried or fresh (add to Asparagus**)

1 Tsp. Sage (add to Portobello Mushroom along with Garlic)

2 Tsp. Crushed Garlic (2-4 cloves)

½ Tsp. Tarragon (add to Yam)

Salt / Pepper to taste

Begin by baking the potatoes and Yam on a cookie sheet lined with foil* (only helpful in clean up not necessary for prep) . Set oven to 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes until baked soft, set aside to cool. (As you're waiting for them to cook, prepare the other veggies to be sautéed.) Put your empty Pie crust into oven for 10 minutes to crisp the shell.

While waiting for the root veggies to cool and pie shell to crisp, begin to sauté each vegetable layer of your pie separately. Although it doesn’t matter which you start sautéing first make sure you have your ingredients ready. However do not multi-task in one pan and mix your vegetables together as they are separately spiced layers for flavor.

As you are sautéing each vegetable ingredient separately, follow this same step and repeat it with each layer: Add 1 TBSP of either olive oil or Vegan Margarine to a medium sauté pan on medium heat. Once heated begin to sauté each vegetable with its respective spice and follow the same method for each. Allow the pan to be heated thoroughly for each ingredient. Add your margarine/oil and spice for each layer individually. Once these ingredients have heated well add your vegetable and quickly sauté. After no more than 2 minutes remove sautéed vegetable and set it aside in a separate bowl. Repeat for each layer:
Add Rosemary to your Asparagus, sauté and set aside. Add an additional pat of Margarine or 1 TBSP Olive Oil and then follow with garlic and Sage mix and add Portobello Mushroom slices, sauté and remove from pan and set aside. Add another pat of Margarine or 1 TBSP of Olive Oil and Cardamom, heat and add diced red onion, sauté and set aside in bowl.

As your potatoes and Yams have cooled off to the side remove the skin from your yam and mash with a manual potato masher or a large fork. No need for the yam to be creamy, chunky is great! Set aside. Now take your Purple potatoes and slice ½ inch pieces and quarter each piece. Set aside.

With all of your ingredients present in separate bowls place your crisped pie shell in front of you and add ½ Cup of Shredded “cheese” (remember: substituting real cheese does not make this pie vegan) to line the bottom of the pie crust. Evenly spread your yam on top of the shredded

“cheese”. Lightly sprinkle salt and Tarragon on this layer. Then add an additional ½ C of “Cheese” shreds. Follow with your diced onions. Then add your sliced Portobello mushroom sauté. Finally top with sliced and quartered purple potato pieces and follow with Asparagus/green vegetable substitute. Top with remaining “Cheese” shreds and crack fresh black pepper a top and lightly salt.

Place layered pie on foil lined cookie sheet in the oven. (if crust is threatening to over brown, cover edges with foil or crust covers. Allow to bake on center rack of a 375-400 degree ove

n for 20 minutes or until “cheese” has browned on top. Remove once heated through and allow to set for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy! YUM!

Vegan Chocolate Chip cookies

Although these delightful temptations have been baked with the intention for Chocolate lovers, the recipe for cookies is basically the same. Add any nut butter, oatmeal, raisin, white chocolate and cranberries with shredded orange zest – whatever you wish, but having Fun is the Key ingredient to any recipe you follow!

Vegan Chocolate Chip / Dark Chocolate Shaving cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and then bake for 8-10 minutes

Ingredient list:

Mix these dry ingredients together in a separate bowl:

2 cups Flour

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 tsp. Baking powder

½ tsp. Salt

1-2 cups chocolate chips or 1 cup Chocolate chips and ½ Cup Dark Chocolate shavings or chunk

s (vegan chips or chunks, otherwise not vegan as chocolate typically is made with milk, check your label)

Blend these moist ingredients together until creamy (a blender is a brilliant!):

¾ - 1 cup Softened Vegan Margarine (softened butter or veg. oil may be substituted)

¾ Cup Organic Unrefined Sugar, brown sugar, evaporated cane juice (turbinado sugar adds additional crunch) *note that white granulated sugar is usually from a bone char process and is therefore not vegan. (use Agave for a low glycemic index sweetener; Honey or a combo or both is also great.)

½ Banana (as egg replacer or may use another form of egg replacement *adding eggs make cookies neither vegetarian nor vegan.)

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 TBSP Flavored Soy milk of choice, regular unsweetened soy milk may be substituted.

Combine dry ingredients to moist creamy ingredients with a wooden spoon or fork, mix well. Take a small scoop with a regular Teaspoon and create semi flat balls and place on a lined or unlined cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degree oven and enjoy!

There are pictures of cookies with Dark Chocolate shavings and cookies without. Personal preference because they both ROCK!

HAVE FUN!!!!!

In the Veg-inning. . .

There was a Veggie Brain.

Veg Head EdTM
© Copyright 2005 all rights reserved
All added contents of this blog are protected under copyright.

Once upon a time there was a thought. The thought came from a brain, the brain was very full. This brain had much to think about. Mainly the brain thought about how much fun it is to eat vegetables. Organic veggies, garden grown veggies community farm veggies and so much more. The brain knew that it was supposed to think about meat, but it just couldn't. So the brain went on a quest. The brain searched all over to try to understand why it was different.

The first part of any quest is research. A very important part of brain development is culture and diversity. The Brain thought for a moment and read on. The Brain became excited over the idea of culture but wondered how it could include culture into its veggie lifestyle. The Brain searched on until it discovered the culture it had been lacking. The Brain therefore added soy yogurt, soy cheese and other non-dairy cultured ingredients to its diet. This was wonderful and tasty and made the Brain very happy. Although culture was nice, it was not the complete answer to Brain's quest. It did help the Brain understand that there are more things to eat than simply veggies and meat is truly not necessary for Brain's development, growth and vibrant living.

With veggies and culture at Brain's side the feeling that there must be more to the Veggie Brain diet than this, still remained. So the Brain went back to research again and in this pursuit for more, Brain discovered fruit. Now fruit was really nice and very sweet and satisfying. The Brain loved apples and bananas and grapes with seeds, strawberries were especially delightful. At that time Brain decided fruit definitely needed to be involved regularly in the Brain diet. Brain was blissful with the new discovery! Brain wanted to share the excitement of the Veggie Brain Quest with someone. . . but who?

Once the Brain realized there was no one to share these magnificent discoveries with, Brain became lonely. All it could think about was how it wanted to share its existence with fun friends. To enjoy tasty veggies, enjoy diverse culture and the sweetness of natures candy. But who would listen to a Veggie Brain?

The Brain, being quite clever and inventive decided to create friends to share its world with. The first friend Brain made was Veg Head Ed. VH Ed has much to tell you about his own world that represents the Veggie Brain. This Veggie Brain is not totally concerned with warning you about the harmful conditions of animal farms and factories, the horrible health concerns associated with pre-packaged foods, the woes of eating meats and/or other animal products. Nope!

In fact this leads me to our #1 FAQ (frequently asked question), which is: Why?

The answer is simple:

Fun! We are all about Veggie fun time! Live a little.

Go crazy with your veggie self.

Don't worry about what you aren't eating and think about the silliness of life. Does it matter if you are a veggie brain or a meaty brain? Not here, we welcome every single brain.

We have fun. We eat well. We are healthy. We are hungry and inventive. We are tired of people feeling sorry for us and seeing us as weird. We don't have time to debate over the trivialities of which way of living may be right or wrong. It doesn't matter to us which Brain you represent as long as you have an open one that likes to have fun!

We are vegetarians, vegans and yes there is a meat-eater - (International as well if you count our English Springer Spaniel) but that is diversity and tolerance at its core! Right? Well we think so. Either way you won't find political concerns although you may find a few environmental nudges along with great recipes, stories, cartoons and t-shirts too. Above all else you will find silliness and optimism over healthy living.



There are resources and some of them may be extreme, but you choose what you want and leave the rest for someone else. We will still smile and share our carrot with you anyway!

We are Ed-ucating the World We Eat In. . . and having a great time doing it!

Vegetarian Community Meals

Start a Vegetarian Community Meal group in your neighborhood, apartment building, town or city. There are plenty of great tasting recipes out there and you can certainly prepare meals together in one kitchen or agree on a meal size and convene in one location to portion out meals and share them. Creating community with many people and trying new recipes. On the concept of a cookie exchange during the holidays. Simply take your recipe and double, triple or quadruple the ingredients for as many families as participate. The more involved the more meals you will have.

Another spin on this healthy eating community concept may be for those who do not like to cook, do not have time or are simply unable to do so. Find a really great inventive friend who loves to cook and try out new recipes. Together choose a menu for the week, depending on how many meals this dear soul is willing to prepare, and begin to divide the ingredient list up amongst everyone receiving food. Sometimes this can be a little time consuming for everyone and meeting in one place by a certain time can be a little stressful. There are several options but here are two to consider: 1). take turns doing the shopping. Have everyone involved take turns on the shopping for the ingredients. When the receipt totals are in divide them by the number of families or households participating to reimburse the shopper of the week. 2). If you find a willing Cook who doesn't mind the shopping too, have them total the receipts and divide them into portions for reimbursement.

Regardless of who does the shopping make sure everyone is on the same page of the ingredient list. If there are food sensitivities make them known ahead of time. If there are food dislikes be clear. Everyone can bring their recipe favorites to be slated in for inclusion on the menu. Make sure every one brings a recipe and each person lists any food preferences to a recipe ahead of time, letting the cook know too! If you are all planning strictly organic, be clear on what may be appropriate to substitute if organic is not available. If there are vegan preferences, then make sure those options are also available. Do not make it too difficult for your volunteering chef - they have lives and feelings not just empty stomachs. :)


As an incentive to your cook be sure to purchase enough ingredients for them to have their portioned food paid for. It is after all their willingness and talents that have created great tasting meals for your convenience.

If you are really interested in community you can agree on either weekly or monthly group meals. Perhaps everyone eats a meal together when they come to pick up their meals. As they box up their menu meals have a separate pot-luck of food to eat and share a meal, good wine or beer or filtered water, and fun with friends. Or just have dessert and play a game together or watch a movie if you'd like too! Whatever builds community together is the concept that will work!

Above all else... Enjoy healthy living, one bite at a time!