Levi's Mock Tuna Garbanzo Bean Salad

2014 is going to be a year of change, I can feel it in the air!!! These last few months have exhausted my bones and left me unmotivated.  My best friend and brother, Levi, took his own life November 12th, and needless to say, it has left my sister and I devastated.  He was my favorite taste tester, and a longtime vegetarian.  I used to leave him cupcakes and cookies on his doorstep, and one time when he was mad at me for being a brat, I left him an entire key lime pie on his doorstep and he forgave me. He hated chocolate, but his favorite cake was German Chocolate.  In fact, when I was a kid, the only cakes that stick out in my mind are the German Chocolate ones we would make for Levi's birthday.  I remember sitting on the counter in my mother's kitchen mixing boxed cake batter, and using the hand mixer...the most exciting kitchen tool ever!!! I always got to the lick the beaters and grease the cake pans.  The cakes my mother and grandmother got me were always very decorated with pink ballerina slippers, or neon pink hearts and silver balls for sprinkles, which I loved...but there was something about just slabbing some hot, thick, coconut and pecan concoction between and on top of bouncy chocolatey cakes then letting it kind of drip and be beautiful in it's natural state, that I loved.  Or maybe, it was just because anything Levi loved, I loved too. 

 (Photo: Levi's birthday party at our grandparent's 2013, I made him a Peanut Butter German Chocolate cake, and it was way too sweet, and he ate way too much.)

Levi introduced me to good music.  My life was saved by punk rock.  My whole world was created by the influence of my brother. He introduced me to my best friend and band mate, Omega, the singer/guitarist of So Unloved.  They started dating when I was ten years old, she was 16, Levi was 17, and all I ever wanted was to be near them and learn from them.  Omega helped me with my math homework, and took me to my first punk rock show at Wacky's to see Blanks 77, The Flatliners, and The Strap-Onz when I was 12.  When they broke up, she encouraged me to learn to play guitar, then asked me to play in her band.  If I hadn't had Levi, I wouldn't have Omega.  I wouldn't have So Unloved. I wouldn't have any of the amazing friends, and bands in my life that I do.  

(Photo: Omega and I Xmas 2013, she made me this amazing apron!!)

When I think of the things Levi loved, I think of FOOD.  I think of him always complaining about being too hungry or too full.  Him eating all day, and having an insane metabolism.  He went to Culinary school for a semester, and quit after watching the slaughterhouse videos for a butcher class.  He worked at Hogwild Records 9 years and started his own screenprinting company, Scapegoat Screenprinting.  He gave up alcohol and quit eating meat in the same day.  My brother had a very strong will power.  He did everything he put his mind to, and didn't half ass anything.  But, he would submerge himself in things, then abandon them at the drop of a hat.  He knew ALOT about EVERYTHING, and I looked up to him so much. 

He moved up here to Austin in September 2013 which was a big part in me moving up here with John at the beginning of November.  I left my job at Green, and decided to dedicate myself to writing recipes for a book amongst the inspiration of the amazing veg fare of Austin.  The last time I saw him, we watched Monsters University on my laptop, and got ice cream at Sweet Ritual, the ALL vegan ice cream shoppe off Duvall!!!  It was his first (and last) time there, so he went all out and got a giant waffle cone with 2 scoops of Salted Caramel ice cream.  I was giggling at his over indulgence while I ordered a scoop of pumpkin.  I loved his enthusiasm over the little things in life.  Tiny imperfections drove him crazy, and he always went out of his way to make sure you were happy and comfortable.  I loved went he went thru a phase of making smoothies with his Magic Bullet.  He would lure me to his house to drink these ice cold berry smoothies and we'd laugh and listen to records while sitting on his futon, which at night became his bed.  He had given his bedroom up to use as a workshop for screenprinting.  (Photo: Levi eating a meal I made for his birthday 2012)

He always ordered Twizzlers and an Icee or soda at the movies. I'd bitch at him for it being too much sugar, then I'd ask for a bite and a sip. He binged on coffee, and always ordered large Vanilla Soy Lattes.  If he finished it, he would be jittery, but he ordered it anyways.  He loved Swedish Fish and Werther's Original Caramels.  A couple of times I bought him dehydrated space ice cream for his birthday, after we fell in love with it at the museum visiting our 2nd cousin, Sandy, in Houston.  He loved to order fried pickles and an Italian Soda at Alamo Drafthouse, and could eat chips and salsa for days.  He always ordered dessert at the Bijou theater then apologized to me for eating someone else's cakes.  He always gave me honest feedback on what I'd cook and bake for him, and even though he hated Daiya cheeze, he would eat it without complaining.  Pretty recently he got into almond cheeze, and I was excited about that.  We drank lots of Emergen-C together and no once can understand his excitement at the assortment of flavors at the Whole Foods on Lamar.  His favorite was the Citrus Immunity one, and when he died and we cleared out his apartment, there was half a box of those in his pantry.  They are my favorite now too.  

(Photo: Levi at Vinnie's Pizza on Bedford in Williamsburg, NY March 2013)

One of Levi's food habits that drove me crazy, was an occurrence at Thai restaurants.  He would order something off the menu, like Pad Thai or Green Curry, then ask them to add lemongrass and pineapple to it.  I always told him that was offensive and they would curse us by putting meat in our food, but he didn't care...he just wanted all the things he liked in one bowl.  

(Photo: My sister, Erica, Levi, and I in true Texas spring fashion. 2009)

One time, when I was teaching cooking classes at Whole Foods with Mike, Levi made me a mock tuna salad, and I begged him to let me share his recipe.  I went to his house and made him measure it all out while making it for me fresh. He refused to let me write in a formal way, and I promised to type it out how he said.  So, I hope you find this recipe format charming in it's simplicity.  It was a big hit at the class, and I hope y'all enjoy it as well. 

Thanks to Levi for teaching me so much and protecting me my whole life. I miss you. 

LEVI'S MOCK TUNA SALAD

1 can Garbanzo Beans, mashed

3 stalks of celery, diced kinda

2 TBSP. Veganaise

1/2 tsp. Mustard

1 tsp. Braggs's Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce

2 TBSP. Sweet Relish

2 TBSP. Dill Relish

2 Green Onions, chopped

Sprinkles of Seaweed (from Nori sheets, or Seaweed Snacks)

Mash beans. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Eat fresh.  Store in your refrigerator.  

(Photo: Levi, Cheeba, and I 2013)

Pumpkin Bread

I love everything pumpkin.  Obviously, the fall season rules for me, and after carving a pumpkin, and drinking a pumpkin spice latte, and showering with pumpkin soap, this pumpkin bread satisfies my craving.  Last night, I baked this loaf, and cut a slice to take to my friend Jeremy while he was hosting trivia at a bar in downtown Austin.  We were just starting to get a cold front, and this bread was eaten in perfect timing....warm, and with a beer. Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Bread (makes one loaf)

1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cardamom

1/2 cup vegan granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup pumpkin purée

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 TBSP. non dairy mylk (I used sweetened Flax Mylk this time!! Omega 3's!!)

Pre heat oven to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together canola oil, vanilla, pumpkin purée, and mylk.  Pour your mixed wet ingredients into the bowl of your mixed dry ingredients, and use a spatula to fold and combine, mixing this batter well enough that there are no clumps of flour.  Once thoroughly combined, you could fold in any extra ingredients you'd like, such as walnuts, pecans, cranberries, or chocolate chips to give this perfect fall bread some extra zazz.  Spray your bread pan with coconut oil spray or grease it with extra canola oil, and pour pumpkin bread batter in this pan.  Use your spatula to evenly distribute the batter among the pan, and smoothing out the top.  Pop this guy in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden all around the edges, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool before cutting and serving.  Eat a slice with a little Earth Balance Coconut Spread on top, and you'll be living the dream.

The Dilemma Over Vegan Sugar

I have been vegan for nine years.  One of the first things I learned about from reading Joanne Stepaniak's "Vegan Sourcebook," was the process of refining granulated sugar thru cattle bones to achieve that clean, bright, white color Americans know and love.  As cattle bones are a by product of the slaughterhouse, and would be otherwise garbage to the profiteers from murder, they have banked in on selling the bones to sugar plants for an additional buck.  It is an age old process to use bones in the filtration of sugar, but is absolutely unnecessary.  Often referred to as "natural carbon," most sugar you know and see, is filtered in this way, and as there is sugar in what feels like almost EVERYTHING with a label on it, how does one know if this sugar is "carbon free," aka VEGAN!!?? 

 

Well, I thought I had made an amazing breakthrough after the restaurant I worked for, Green Vegetarian Cuisine, was being certified Kosher.  While going thru all the detailed process of having our pilot lights lit by a Rabbi and having all of our pots and pans blessed, I confronted the Rabbi with this question..."Is it Kosher to use a sugar that has been filtered thru cattle bones?  Even if you mix it with a dairy product?"   Traditionally, Orthodox Jewish folk consider it a sin to consume dairy and meat at the same time, on the same plate...so if there is a cake made with sugar that has been filtered thru cattle bones, and has dairy milk in it as well, where does that stand in their minds?  The answer I received was a big fat "NO."  He explained to me that this would never be considered Kosher, and that if a sugar is certified Kosher ( a big K, or U with a circle around it) there is no way it has been filtered thru cattle bones.  Now, I should have known better than to believe him, but people who practice eating Kosher have extremely high standards, and are very strict, in fact MUCH more than strict vegans, in my opinion. 

To be fair, the filtration process, is simply that....a process, and does not mean there is actual bones in the sugar.  It is, by definition, not vegan, because it is a by product of an industry exploiting and murdering innocent animals.  I strive to live a life as cruelty free as possible, and therefor I do not wish to consume these sugars.  The problem is, after speaking with the Rabbi, I stopped calling companies to check their standards, and instead began considering any sugar with a Kosher symbol on the package, as vegan.  Imperial Sugar, being my go-to option for recipes, is based in Sugarland, TX, and was a small company for many years, before being bought out by a private investor in 2012.  I endorsed this sugar for a long time, before wandering on to the PETA website which has an updated list of what is and what's not vegan, and finding Imperial on the carbon filtration list.  I was shocked, and called Imperial, only to have them say, that indeed all of their sugars are filtered thru natural carbon, and is considered "unsuitable for vegans."  Bumming out, I began to call a bunch of other sugar companies that are certified Kosher, and got the same response most times.  

So, I have come to a pretty solid conclusion, and I hope this can help anyone else who is confused and annoyed with this situation.  

Always assume the sugar is filtered thru cattle bones...UNLESS it is...

Organic Sugar-

Organic sugars are packaged to have their natural color, and therefor do not need to be filtered to have a pearly white hue. 

Pure Cane Sugar-

Pure cane sugars, are meant to be completely pure and natural, and although some may have a white color, these are only considered pure if filtered naturally, not thru carbon.

Turbinado Sugar-

These sugars are offended referred to as "Sugar in the Raw," and are larger crystals with a darker hue. They are pure cane sugars that get their name from being spun in a cylinder in the creation process.

Sucanat-

The name refers to "SUgar CANe NATural," and is completely unrefined, with nothing being added, and nothing taking out in the creation process.

Also, Whole Foods makes a great granulated sugar that is labeled VEGAN on the front of the package really big.  

Florida Crystals is a sugar plant in south Florida that does not use bone filtration, and can be bought at most grocery stores, with a label stating "Carbon Free."  That plant is actually owned by Domino, which is the largest sugar producer in the country, and although you cannot be sure where Domino sugars are made when buying it at the grocery store, there is a way to purchase it in bulk directly from that one Florida Crystals plant, making it an option for vegan bakeries such as Vegan Treats in Bethleham, PA and most currently, for Green in San Antonio as well.  

I want to apologize if I have ever misdirected you towards Imperial Sugar, and explain that things change all the time, and is very difficult to keep track of what companies are doing what.  I had reached a state of comfort in my veganism, where I was no longer being diligent about certain brands or items, and thru this dilemma, regained my fury.  It is just such a confusing and annoying situation when you want to use Ketchup and have to choose a high fructose corn syrup, because it's vegan, but most likely GMO, over a sugar, because it's been filtered with bones.  I want to encourage you to make choices that you feel most comfortable with, and strive to learn and be aware of what you are supporting with your dollars.  Being vegan is a never ending learning experience, and is completely different for everyone.  As long as we are all trying as hard as we can to live cruelty free and not be apathetic, we will make a difference in our impact on this planet, and help our friends, the animals, along the way.  

12 Photos of My Favorite Recent Sweets...

All baked with love at Green.

Made with Beautiful Mess App...

Piña Colada Rice Pudding

Refrigerate and serve this cold, as dessert, with fresh diced pineapple on top.

Or eat it fresh and hot like oatmeal for breakfast.

Piña Colada Rice Pudding

1 cup long grain Rice

3 cups Soymylk

2 cups Coconut Mylk

1/8 tsp. Salt

2 Cinnamon Sticks

1/3 cup Agave Nectar

1 TBSP Vanilla extract

1 cup sweetened Coconut shreds

1/2 cup diced Pinapple

In a sauce pan, combine rice, 3 cups of soymylk, cinnamon sticks, vanilla, and salt and bring to boil.  Once a boil is achieved, lower heat to a simmer, and cover pan with a lid.  Stir every 5 minutes until most of the mylk is absorbed, and rice is tender.  Remove rice from pan, turn the heat back up to medium, and use the same sauce pan to toast coconut shreds.  Once the coconut is golden, pour in coconut mylk and agave.  Let this mixture come to a boil while stirring occasionally.  Pour your cooked rice into this pan of hot coconut mylk mixture and stir continuously, allowing the mixture to thicken.  Cook rice pudding like this for 3 minutes, then remove from heat and pour pudding into a heat safe bowl.  Refrigerate and let pudding cool, then serve with a generous amount of fresh, diced pineapple on top.

Homemade Horchata

A traditional, cinnamony, rice based drink from Mexico...be sure to use organic long grain or jasmine rice.  Parboiled brown rice won't work. I promise.  

Homemade Horchata

2 cups long grain Rice

1/3 cup Agave Nectar

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

3 Cinnamon Sticks

1 tsp. ground Cinnamon

4 cups Water

Soak rice, vanilla, and cinnamon sticks in two cups hot water for 4 hours, or overnight.

Remove cinnamon sticks, and pour soaked rice contents into a blender, with your additional 2 cups water.  

Add agave nectar and ground cinnamon, and blend on high until a smooth texture is achieved.  This may take up to 2 minutes.  

Use a fine mesh strainer placed over a pitcher and pour contents of the blender slowly thru the strainer.   It should collect all the fine pieces of rice and let the horchata pour thru. Throw away rice granules collected by the strainer.  Repeat this process 2 more times to remove as much of the rice granules as you can.  

Horchata should be just a little gritty and frothy.  Serve over ice.  Will last up to 3 days if refrigerated.

Spicy Avocado Kale Salad

Serve this as a side with your enchiladas, in a taco salad or burrito, or wrapped in a collard green with raw veggies to make a raw taco!!  Put extra serrano to make it super spicy, and add cilantro if you're a jerk and you like that stuff.

Spicy Avocado Kale Salad

1 large bunch Kale

2 large, ripe Avocados

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

1 tsp. granulated Garlic

1/4 tsp. Onion powder

1/4 cup Unsweetened Soymylk

1/2 TBSP. Apple Cider Vinegar

1/8 tsp. Salt

1/8 tsp. Black Pepper

1/2  Serrano pepper (1 whole Serrano if you're loco)

1/4 cup diced Purple Onion

Rinse kale, and use hands to tear into small, bite size pieces.  Place kale in a bowl and set aside. Place all other ingredients in a food processor, and blend on high. Once smooth, pour a generous amount of avocado dressing over kale and toss until thoroughly coated.  Add diced purple onion and serve right away.  For extra zazz, add pepitas or sunflower seeds.  

Cashew Nacho Cheese Dip

This is a creamy and delicious dip that tastes a bit like nacho cheese, but is thick And great for dipping veggie sticks or tortilla chips.  Soak and refrigerate your cashews overnight in an air tight container to achieve a creamier consistency.

Serve right away or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Cashew Nacho Cheese Dip

1 cup soaked raw Cashews

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast

2 TBSP. Lemon Juice

2/3 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup Water

1 tsp. Chili Powder

1 tsp. granulated Garlic

1/8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1/8 tsp. Tumeric

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/2 Serrano Pepper

Soak cashews overnight.  Drain and rinse them, and pour them into a food processor.  Add all other ingredients, and process on high until mixture is thick and creamy.  Stop to scrape the sides to make sure it is thoroughly combined.  This may take a few minutes. Serve as a dipping sauce, enchilada sauce, cheese on a sandwich, etc. 

NYC: Mr. Kiwi

This past weekend, I ventured to New York City with one of my best friends, Mia.  I was there to play the NY Death Fest with Phobia, and decided to stay a bit longer so we could see the city...and EAT.  NYC is known for being one of the most vegan friendly cities in the world, and although I've been there multiple times, I was estatic to show Mia what the city was all about.  We had a few stand out restaurants we were for sure going to visit, but mostly we just walked around and hit up vegan restaurants along the way.  NYC has so many vegan friendly eateries, there's even a book published every year detailing all of them..."The Vegan Guide to New York".  

The first day we enjoyed the luxury of all the 24 hour health food stores conveniently located at what feels like EVERY CORNER in the city!!  My bass player, Calum, and his best friend, Zeta, both live right off the JMZ Subway near Mr. Kiwi.  It's like a miniature Whole Foods with tons of prepared food including mock meats, brown rice sushi, brownies, fruit cups, and $4 you call it JUICES.  Fresh squeezed in front of you, with whatever fruit or juices you'd like, this is the best deal in all the world.  The fact that you can order them 24 hours a day, is just UNREAL.  We enjoyed vegan turkey strips, brown rice and quinoa sushi, fresh cut watermelon, ice cold coconut water, organic cherries in a cup, pad thai, and seaweed snacks from Mr. Kiwi during the duration of our stay.  It's magical having a store like that so conveniently located and open all day and night. MAGIC.

NYC: Champs Bakery for Brunch, Babycakes, Moo Shoes, Wild Ginger

For breakfast the next day, we took Mia to Champs in Willamsburg, Brooklyn.  I had bragged and bragged about this place to her for months, and when we finally arrived, we had to wait half an hour for a table, but it was totally worth it.  The menu is extensive and includes breakfast all day, which made me feel like I was at a Denny's...except I COULD ORDER ANYTHING I WANTED!  Iced coffees with Bee Free Honey (made from apples!!), and the Vegan Slam, with sausage, tempeh bacon, tofu scramble, home fries, and toast, I was full and happy.  I skipped desserts this first time, but their display case was full of amazing cakes, cupcakes, mini pumpkin pies, and gluten free cookie sandwiches.  YUM.

For lunch, Mia and I walked around the Lower East side, and visited my favorite bakery, Babycakes!!!  At first, we stopped in just for iced coffees, then walked across the block to Moo Shoes, and all vegan shoe store.  Most of their shoes are high quality and high priced, but we were both able to find some Deals.  I got baby pink flats with bright red hearts on the toe, and Mia got some dirty pink slip ons. I left some copies of our Summertime Gladness Zine there, next to their copies VegNews.  We went back to Babycakes and ordered a Pumpkin Eclair and Mocha Brownie Cupcake.  Since we didn't have an appetite for them yet, we carried them with us while we shopped all around the city....until we were at the H&M near Union Square (farmers market!!), and even though our desserts were melted and sticky, we shoved bites in our mouths and were super impressed with the messy pastries.  The mocha brownie frosting was to die for.  

We dropped off more zines at Bluestockings Feminist Bookstore, and had lunch at Wild Ginger, vegan thai, near Little Italy.  Wild Ginger has multiple locations, and serve awesome lunch specials.  We shared Mango Chikin with plum sauce, and Black Pepper Seitan, both served with steamed pumpkin, spring rolls, and miso soup.  I never eat the fried tofu or spring rolls at regular Thai restaurants back home, so I indulged in knowing there was no animal products being fried at Wild Ginger.  Reasonably priced with an authentic, calm, ambience, Wild Ginger is a staple in the vegan Thai food scene!!

We met up with Calum, and he took us to my favorite bar in all of NYC... Duffs!! It's the most metal bar evvvver, and have $1 PBRs 6-9 pm.  The memorabilia amongst the walls is illuminated with red lights and makes you crazy to look at.  I, of course, always say hi to the Wendy O Williams poster framed by the front door.  She is one of my idols, was a macrobiotic chef, and she fronted The Plasmatics.  I love the W.O.W. album she released that Gene Simmons produced!!! Check it out if you've never heard it...she was way ahead of her time.  She killed herself years ago, but she lives on in my heart!!!!!!!!!! Rock n Roll Forever!!!

Lucky for us, Calum made us one of his famous vegan lasagnas for dinner and Zeta prepared an amazing side salad with fresh vinaigrette.  Mia and I took an extensive look at all the crazy fruits and vegetables at the local grocer, Food Bazaar, and decided to contribute a fruit salad to dinner.  We bought star fruit, guavas, organic kiwi, dinosaur plums, and fresh DRAGONFRUIT!  These are all pretty rare for us to find/buy in San Antonio, so we indulged.  The dragon fruit was not as sweet as I thought it would be...It was almost like a thicker banana texture with what looked like little chia seeds polka dotted in it.  The lasagna was amazing, and Calum told me he mixed Daiya and Trader Joes cheeses for it.  I have to say that it was so nice to sit down and have a home cooked meal with our friends!!! Super happy fun times!!! 

Fresh LemonGrass

Cheap Cheap Cheap Flax and Chia Seeds!!!

NYC: NY Death Fest

I played at Saint Vitus in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on Saturday.  They serve mini vegan hotdogs there, and I've had them before, but not this time.  The show was crazy packed, and we spent a lot of the time in the basement drinking tall boys of PBR with the rest of my band.  

Earlier in the day though, Calum and Zeta took us on a water taxi from an area by the venue, to the Brooklyn beach. Obviously, the water is NOT clean, but we really enjoy any opportunity be on a boat, and the view of Manhattan from the beach is BEAUTIFUL.  We walked to the Wythe Hotel near the Brooklyn Brewery, and had a drink at their amazing (but expensive) happy hour.  It was on the 6th floor and had a huge outdoorpatio, which reminded Mia and I of our favorite happy hour in San Antonio, at the Tower of Americas.  We paid $18 for two whiskey and ginger ales, but Calum got 3 IPAs for free because the bartender liked his Varukers tshirt.  I was jealous, but we stayed for that one drink, then ventured on.

  Calum found one of those amazing corner stores and bought a huge cinnamon bun.  I didn't try it because my belly was full, but Mia said it had a cream cheeze frosting on it and was kind of dry.  We stress over making cinnamon rolls, so we are always a little turned off by them these days.  They are soooo time consuming to make!!  For dinner that night, Mia and I had vegan slices at Vinnie's on Bedford and then got a bunch of stuff from Mr. Kiwi again, and munched hard.  The show was great, and Macabre played a killer set.