Cumin Vinaigrette

Yo! I’ve been telling everyone about my new favorite salad dressing recipe. I call it Cumin Vinaigrette. Technically, vinaigrette dressings are made with wine vinegar but we all know I don’t follow the rules so I’m keeping that name. Why cumin, you might ask? Other than the fact that I just love the taste, there are other benefits. Cumin seeds are the most amazing and healing creations on this earth. We’re mostly familiar with the amber colored seeds that are ground into a powder and used in to make spice blends like chili powder or Mexican seasoning for tacos and fajitas. We all know how I feel about black cumin seed oil when it comes to healing and Natural Birth Control Options. Unfortunately, it doesn’t taste as good as it’s amber sista when it comes to salad dressing, though.

What else do I love about cumin? It promotes weight loss, enhances digestion, prevents cancer, reduces cholesterol, increases bone density because of the amount of bio-available calcium it contains, reduces blood sugar, and is a good bio-available source of iron and magnesium. It’s iron content is helpful to those who are living with anemia. It’s also helpful for those who are experiencing hemorrhoids, insomnia, respiratory disorders, and rhinovirus (AKA the common cold retrovirus). Mothers who are breastfeeding will probably notice an increase in their milk supply if they consume this herb regularly. In fact, people with boils will want to add this herb to their diet as it helps to fight the infection.

I discovered cumin when I was living a vegan lifestyle and wanted some more flavor in my black bean dishes. Even though I no longer eat a fully plant based diet, I still maintain most of the practices I adopted and eating cumin is #1 on the list. So how do you make this delicacy? It’s simple. Now just like I don’t follow the rules, I rarely measure so I had to make a batch just to write this blog and actually keep track of what I put in it. You’ll want to start with my base recipe and adjust it according to your taste.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin seed (or more if you’d like)
• 1-2 pinches of fresh cilantro leaves
• A dash of pink salt
• A few dashes of black pepper
• A few dashes of garlic powder, optional – garlic is not recommended for electric food lifestyles
• A dash of cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot)
• Juice from 1/4 of a lime, optional

Directions 

1. Pour the oil, vinegar, and lime juice into a glass bowl and mix with a whisk to create an emulsion.
2. Mix in the remaining ingredients.
3. Adjust the recipe according to your taste, yet remember it will taste different once it sits overnight and the spices are released to unite with the oil, vinegar, and lime.
4. Place the dressing in a container and sit it in the refrigerator overnight in a glass container (I have to admit, I rarely do this. I make it fresh and eat it fresh).
5. Enjoy with any salad of your choice – leafy greens OR black beans and quinoa OR pasta salad just to name a few options.

Cape Verdean Styled Brown Rice *Vegan & Gluten Free*

Cape Verde is a chain of islands of the coast of Senegal & my fathers home land. The robust and delicious flavors of this country have influenced my over all style of cooking. Bay leaves & other aromatic flavors are the key to achieving our rices infamous flavor and our cooking method the key to perfect texture. A mix of Portuguese and west African flavors dancing in a merry song of deliciousness!

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups of long grain brown rice (that has been soaked for atleast a hr)
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 medium chopped tomato
• 1 chopped green bell pepper
• 3small or 2 large  bay leaves
• adobo (goya) to taste
• sea-salt to taste
• 1 tbsp badia Jamaican style curry powder   or tumeric powder(optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon mrs dash original
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Take a pot place it over a medium high heat. Put olive oil in the pan for about two mins or until the pan heats up then add garlic let it cook for 30-45 sec or until begins to brown (not burn.) Now add onions and let them cook until they BEGIN to caramelize. Then add a couple generous shakes of adobo, mrs dash, and curry powder, but a small sprinkle of seasalt. Then add green bell peppers stir then add the tomatoes and bay leaves.  Finally add the long grain brown rice, that has been soaking for atleast a hr but the longer the better, and pour water over the rice until it covers slightly over the top of the rice. Bring the water to a boil. After five minutes of boiling turn down the heat to medium and stir. Let the rice boil for about 10-15 mins or until water is almost completely boiled out but is still a bit wet and uncooked. Add a bit more adobo and sea salt. Turn the flame to low and let it steam out until the rice is almost fully cooked. Turn off the flame and let it finish steaming through.

Flavor Filled Black Bean Burgers & Raw Vinaigrette Chutney *YUM*

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups of boiled black beans
• 1-2 cups of quick oats oatmeal
• 1/2 medium chopped onions
• 1 tbsp of mustard
• 2 tbsp of katchup
• 3/4 tbsp of chilli powder
• 1/2 tbsp of mrs dash
• a dash of salt
• a dash of cumin
• a dash of soy sauce (optional)

Mix all the ingredients through out. take one half of the mixture and blend in food processor or blender
remix everything back together. create desired portions and shallow fry in coconut oil on medium heat!

Vinaigrette Chutney

• 1/2 medium cucumber chopped
• 1/2 medium tomato chopped
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 1/2 inch of ginger minced
• 1/2 tbsp ACV
• 1/2 Tbsp Mustard
• 1/2 Tbsp honey or agave
• 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup kale (optional)
• Add any desired dried herbs

Mix through thoroughly & serve!

So You Want to Be a Vegan? Pt 2 Does it Taste Good?

  

New to the series? Read Pt. 1 Can I Afford It?

Lets just put it this way it’s all in how you prepare the food. With the right seasonings recipe and preparation you can make anything taste amazing. I must honestly say that becoming vegan has made me the most creative culinary-wise than I have ever been in my life. In all fairness I have always loved cooking, but the challenge of removing the flavors caused by animal products moved me to explore new mediums of flavor. Who said veggies had to be boring?

Tip 1: Herbs & Spices are Your New Best Friends 

Herbs & Spices have always been amazing ways to create flavor in any dish. Something as simple as adding fresh thyme to a dish can instantly spark its flavor profile. Make sure to use your aromatic veggies like, onions, scallions, and bell peppers and don’t forget that tomatoes can add depth and richness to any meal. Dairy substitutes like coconut milk are great for adding richness to many dishes as well. I’m sorry, but with all the spices in the world boiled broccoli drowning in butter is no longer seems like a tasty option.

Tip 2: Get Ethnic 

Learn about different cultures particularly those that celebrate vegetables and vegetarian dishes like Indian, Southern Asian, West-Indian, Mediterranean, & Mexican cuisine. All of these cultures have one thing in common and that’s flavor flavor FLAVOR! They are not afraid of fresh ingredients, bold spices, and flavor combining I.E. (sweet & spicy, hot & sour, savory & sweet.) Making for interesting recipes that have often times had centuries to be perfected. Some of my favorite vegan staples come from these cultures and by researching their flavor profiles & recipes, you can end up with some pretty amazing twists on vegetables that you never thought of.

Tip 3: Don’t be Afraid to Try New Things 

Go to different restaurants try new foods you’ve never thought to try and bring that home with you. I can’t tell you how many vegetables I’ve been surprised to find that I actually enjoy in spite of my previous judgments. Opening up your palate will make you a happier vegan because it negates the limited feeling you get when first transitioning from the American-standard diet to a plant based one. By focusing on what we can eat we create a more positive mindset that will enable you to stay in it for the long haul.

Tip 4: Find a Vegan Friend 

You can research until your blue in the face but there is nothing like a live person to give you advice on what tastes great and how to make it. Often times by observing someone else we can learn what we need to get the job done. Finding someone local is convenient as it enables you to see live what stores they are shopping at, what items they are choosing, and my personal favorite where to get the deals! But just in-case you can’t find anyone in person the net is a great place to find like minds. Join a facebook group, find discussion boards, or if all else fails email me

Tip 5: Don’t Force it!

If being adventurous isn’t you start by playing with recipes that are familiar to you. One of my favorite foods ever since I was young was rice & beans and to this day that is true. It’s now just wild or brown rice with a whole bunch more veggies and slightly different spices. All that to say being vegan doesn’t limit you as much as you think it does. You can still have all your favs like cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream, & pizza you just have to eat them differently now.

I hope all of these tips helped and like I’ve said before don’t be afraid to search the blog for great recipes or reach out with your specific questions.  I know you can do it! All you gotta do is try!

New to the series? Don’t forget to read

Pt. 1 Can I Afford It?

Coming Soon…

Pt. 3 Where Do I Buy Vegan food?

Pt. 4 Can I Eat out?

Pt. 5 How do I travel while vegan?

So You Want to Be a Vegan? Pt. 1 Can I Afford It?

 

 

So you want to be a vegan and you don’t know where to start. So let’s safely assume that most people reading this right now are either considering or are on the road to transitioning to a plant based diet. As a “Plant Based Eater” for over two years I have acquired a lot of wisdom along the way. I don’t claim to be the vegan police or guru but I do have experience making that rough transition and have inspired others along the way!

Can I afford it?

One of the biggest challenges that most people face when transitioning to a healthier lifestyle is affordability. Most people believe that eating vegan food is extremely costly and almost impossible to do on a budget, but as the song goes, “theres levels to this.”  If cost is your main concern I say, “don’t let this stop you!”  It may mean you have to compromise a bit, and become really creative, but I promise you the changes in your health and how you are impacting the environment will still be drastic.

 

Tip 1: Buy Organic Only When Necessary 

A lot of people assume that organic foods are the healthiest and although I do for the most part agree it’s not always affordable especially when first learning you’re eating style and what works best for your body. Don’t be fooled by fancy packaging with lots of buzz words like, Vegan, Non GMO, Gluten Free, Low sodium, and other various marketing ploys. I’m not saying don’t be aware of things like GMO’s or how much sodium is contained in your food but a simple lesson in ingredient reading will get you farther than labels ever could. A lot of the time they just do this to attract buyers and there have been incidents where companies have made false claims about their products with these labels. So stay informed and do your research and find out which crops are most important to eat organic I.E. potatoes, apples, cucumbers ect. and try for the most part to incorporate that into your budget.

 

Tip 2: Budget! BUDGET! BUDGET!!!! 

Even if your personal finances aren’t in the best shape prioritization should be key. Cable bills should not come before food; in other words make sure you have assessed how important your health is in all of this. Make sure your commitment to a plant based eating style is more than just for trend.

Now that you’ve done that make sure that you are allocating a decent amount of money per month towards your grocery bill. For a single person as little as $200 a month can get you started on a very basic plant based diet. To see an example of how your shopping list should look CLICK HERE to view my Vegan on a Hood Budget Video  Creating and sticking to your budget will allow you to plan out your meals and save lots of unnecessary spending. Go into the grocery store with a pre-made list, stick to it to the best of your abilities and keep old receipts to get a grasp on how much each item costs.

Tip 3: Stop Eating Out So much! 

You must learn to cook to survive a basic vegan diet on a very small budget, but learning a few simple recipes that are tasty and amazing can get you off to the start you need. I have some basic recipes posted up on this site and there will be a lot more to come! Google and Youtube search, “vegan recipes” and you will be surprised at how many great recipes come up. Youtube channels like, The Sweetest Vegan  and Brown Vegan  are amazing places to start.

Tip 4: Buy Online & in Bulk  

Now you probably shouldn’t do this with fresh items like fresh Kale, or most of your produce shopping; but when trying to find pricey items like organic whole grains, organic nuts & seeds, and organic spice powder, looking online maybe a better option. Buying bulk dried foods saves you money and gives you the ability to try options they may not offer at your local supermarket; which is a lot if you don’t live in a vegan friendly city or town. Buying online, from reputable sources, can help you save and expand your vegan pallet.

Amazon is one of my favorite marketplaces to check for dried options and you can always research different online markets that maybe cheaper or more reputable.

 

 

So if you follow these simple tips you will be well on your way toward creating a better plant based diet for your household!

If you have any questions and like this article please share it and leave feedback in the comments below!

 

Coming Soon!

Pt 2 Does it Taste Good?

Pt. 3 Where do I Buy Vegan Food?

Pt. 4 Can I Eat Out?

Pt. 5 How do I Travel While Vegan?