Vegan Roasted Garlic Cashew Aioli

This is a great recipe to use as a mayonnaise substitute.  It's rich, creamy and has a wonderful tangy flavor that is a perfect addition to your favorite sandwich or as a dip for veggies with less water added, and it makes a tasty salad dressing with more water added.

We always have roasted garlic on hand for various recipes such as this one and it's easy to roast a lot at one time especially if you can buy bags of peeled garlic.  We buy peeled garlic cloves in a bag at Costco and roast a baking sheet full of them at once.  Here's how we do it: line a baking pan with parchment paper, spread garlic out in a single layer, seal the parchment paper over the top and along edges, roast in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for about 15 minutes or until garlic starts to turn brown and becomes soft. Roasted garlic keeps in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Using a high speed blender such as a Vitamix will make this even creamier but a regular blender or food processor will work well too, though you'll probably need to blend for longer.

Makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS
1 heaped cup raw cashews
12 roasted garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/3 cup soft silken tofu
1/4-1/2 cup water, more/less as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

DIRECTIONS
Blend cashews with roasted garlic, vinegar, juice, mustard and tofu until mixture begins to form a paste. Blend in water to achieve desired consistency. Blend in salt to taste. This will thicken somewhat as it spends time in the refrigerator.


For a fabulous variation add 1-2 teaspoons of chipotle powder or 1/2 teaspoon of canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, or to taste. Chipotle peppers are HOT so go easy on this unless you really like it spicy!

Our Experiences with Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Here's a discovery we made to help relieve Mike's lower back pain without medications or surgery:

If you or someone you know has serious lower back pain you may benefit from my experiences over the last 8 months. More and more studies are showing that long term inflammation may be the background cause of most of our major diseases and problems, my current experience has made me a believer.

This spring/summer I spent 5 months in the field holding a heavy camera in very difficult positions for long periods trying to photo tiny insects. My lower back took the toll and I developed chronic lower back pain. I tried everything I could find on the web from wearing a brace, to bed rest, to hot and/or cold packs, to focused exercises but nothing helped; my pain refused to heal and actually got worse. What's going on, I'm very healthy, BMI of 22, I eat a very strong and balanced vegan diet, exercise daily, and am generally fit and in good shape. I was stumped and decided to see a doctor.

Over the next 2 months I went to 4 different doctors, had X-rays, MRI's, was prescribed all sort of meds (some had such horrid side effects that I refused to take them), but never got any answers that made sense or helped the problem to heal. My pain remained chronic and got worse, I could hardly do anything but sit or lay down. Picking up just 5 pounds would cause sharp pain. The ONLY thing that helped was large doses anti-inflammatory drugs, mainly Ibuprofen, which can cause serious liver damage and I totally reject as a long term answer.

Next I decided to go see an orthopedic surgeon; he took one look at my X-ray and said I had DISH syndrome. He said it was a common syndrome that occurs in 15 to 25% of all species of mammal as they age (it's even found on skeletons of dinosaurs ). From a lifetime of use the ligaments that attach the muscles to the lower spine can become calcified and often become INFLAMED which causes the chronic pain. The surgeon said he also had the syndrome and had to take Ibuprofen several times a day to continue his practice and recommended I do the same.

Common sense told me there had to be a better way. Having studied nutrition for the last 2 years I knew most all conditions, syndromes, and diseases could be either prevented, reversed and eliminated, or at least diminished and controlled if you eat the correct balance of properly prepared whole plant foods. I'd eliminated my type 2 diabetes, stage 2 heart disease, arthritis, high blood PSI, and other problems by becoming a strict vegan 2 years ago so I knew the power of whole foods.

The DISH syndrome occurs naturally and can't be reversed, but the inflammation that causes the associated pain might be able to be eliminated by eating highly anti-inflammatory foods? Maybe I wasn't eating the proper balance of anti-inflammatory versus inflammatory foods?

It was worth a try so Kim and I did the research, developed a long list of best anti-inflammatory foods, and started working them into my diet. After about 6 days the chronic pain I'd had for the previous 8 months was all but gone, down about 95%! I can do most all the things I'd been unable to do and feel great! It was a remarkable turnaround.

The most important anti-inflammatory foods that I started including in my daily diet were large red onions, loads of roasted garlic and garlic powder, fresh ginger, cooked spinach, kale, and collards, cooked carrots, and baked sweet potato.

We buy bags of peeled garlic cloves at Costco, then roast them by pouring into a pan lined with enough parchment paper to hold the garlic in a single layer and still be able to seal the parchment paper over the top by folding the edges together. Roast in a 350 degree F oven until golden and soft, about 30-45 minutes, then store in a sealed container (we use mason jars) in the refrigerator, keeps for 2 weeks.  Add to savory dishes and dressings.

Here's a table of anti-inflammatory foods, the higher the number, the more anti-inflammatory the food.

Chili pepper, jalapeno, raw	1/4 cup	825
Garlic Powder	1/2 Tsp	468
Ginger root, raw	1 Tbsp	387
Onions, raw	1/2 cup	292
Ginger, ground	1/2 Tsp	248
Spinach, cooked	1/2 cup	224
Garlic, raw	1 Tbsp	215
Kale, raw	1 cup	213
Sweet potato, baked	1/2 cup	189
Mustard greens, cooked	1/2 cup	172
Pumpkin, canned	1/2 cup	168
Collards, cooked	1/2 cup	159
Beet greens, cooked	1/2 cup	136
Carrots, cooked	1/2 cup	130
Kale, cooked	1/2 cup	112
Carrots, raw	1/2 cup	98
Squash, butternut, baked	1/2 cup	91
Carrots, canned	1/2 cup	79
Spinach raw	1 cup	74
Lettuce, romaine	1 cup	69
Broccoli, cooked	1/2 cup	60
Avocado, fresh	1/2 cup	57
Pecans, raw	1/4 cup	46
Brussels sprouts, cooked	1/2 cup	40
Asparagus, cooked	1/2 cup	38
Asparagus, canned	1/2 cup	34
Edamame, frozen	1/2 cup	32
Broccoli, raw	1/2 cup	26
Flaxseed, ground	1/4 cup	26
Cabbage, green, cooked	1/2 cup	23
Asparagus, raw	1 cup	21
Cashews, raw	1/4 cup	20
Parsley, fresh	1 Tbsp	20
Kiwi, fresh	1/2 cup	17
Lemon juice, fresh	1/2 cup	17
Pistachios, dry-roasted	1/4 cup	16
Strawberries, fresh	1/2 cup	14
Cabbage, red, raw	1/2 cup	12
Chia seeds	1 ounce	10
Peanut butter, smooth	2 Tbsp	10

Creamy Cilantro Cashew Dressing

We've been experimenting with a creamy cilantro dressing recipe ever since we tasted the wonderful green dressing they serve at our local vegan restaurant, the fabulous Shine Cafe.  It's been a fun and tasty challenge and though we've never really duplicated the dressing they serve, we've come up with a recipe that's pretty tasty.

This has cashews in it (plus you can add avocado if you want) so it's really satisfying and we use it on salads, over veggies (almost like gravy) and when it's thicker we dip raw veggies and toasted whole wheat pita triangles into it. We love it and we hope you'll like it too.

Creamy Cilantro Cashew Dressing

Ingredients:

1 bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
2 handfuls raw cashews (2 oz. total)
2 fresh peeled garlic cloves, or 4 cloves roasted garlic
1 package (12 ounces) shelf stable soft silken tofu (we like non-GMO Mori-Nu)
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice (lime's better for this but you can substitute lemon)
1 to 1-1/2 tsp. salt (optional, to taste)
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/4-1/2 cup water

Directions:
Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Adjust the amount of water you add to get the consistency you want (more water for salad dressing, less water for a dip).

Makes about a quart depending on how much water you add.

Variations (try adding one or more of these):

1 peeled deseeded avocado
1 small jalapeño pepper deseeded, inside ribs removed
1/4-1/2 tsp. chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (rinsed)
1/2-1 tsp. dried chipotle pepper powder before blending.
If you're into really spicy, by all means add more chipotle pepper.

Vegan Gypsies is now Strolling Vegans!

Our blog has a new name! The existing content is the same but we'll be adding more cooking tips, vegan recipes and living in a small space ideas.  We're not really gypsies anymore since we don't travel much but we definitely walk every day, so we're more accurately described as "Strolling Vegans", hence the new name. Please bookmark the new address so you can keep up with our new additions!

Baba Ghanoush

This awesome smoky, garlicky, lemony tasting dip is addictive and it's a good way to eat eggplant, especially for those that may not appreciate the taste of eggplant prepared other ways.  There's no oil used in this so it's infinitely better for you than many of the recipes I've found on the internet.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sesame tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut eggplant in half longways and place it on the parchment covered baking sheet cut sides down. Roast for 30 minutes, or until soft.  Remove from oven and scrape the flesh out into a bowl in order to allow it to cool a bit.  Discard the skin.

Place the eggplant, lemon juice, tahini and garlic into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld (or eat it right away if you're hungry like I usually am).

Serve with cut up veggies and warm whole wheat pita bread cut into triangles for dipping.

New butterfly species Oxynetra stangelandi

About a year ago Mike Stangeland was processing photos of skippers from Central America when he came across photos of a different looking skipper butterfly from Costa Rica.

Mike sent out emails to the authors of Butterlies of America with images of the butterflies in question pointing out the differences between them. This started discussion and excitement over what might possibly be a new discovery.

Nick Grishin (one of the authors of the Butterflies of America website) just published a paper in the Journal of the Lepidopterists Society (67:1-14) describing a new species of butterfly based on Mike's discovery.

The butterfly is named Oxynetra stangelandi and it's one of the large, showy skippers commonly called Firetips. What an immense honor to have your name added to the scientific record in this way. Way to go Mike you deserve it!— with Mike Stangeland

Preserving Kiwi Fruit

Nutritionally Kiwi is truly super fruit. It's high in powerful antioxidants important in both the first and second lines of cellar defense. They prevent damage to DNA and are also valuable for DNA repair and restoration.

Kiwi is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Vitamin C and Vitamin K.  It is one of the few plants that have an Amino Acid Score of over 100 which indicates it has a complete array of high-quality essential amino acids.

After finding out all this great information about Kiwi fruit we decided to make it a regular part of our diet.

If you haven't yet, go visit the Nutrition Facts website to view hundreds of short videos and read articles by Dr. Michael Greger MD about the latest nutrition research.  Here's a sample of what they have to offer about Kiwi fruit.

We came across a good supply of Kiwi fruit from a local grower who was willing to sell us misshapen and slightly overripe fruit for a great discount.  Kiwi fruit grows on the Central California coast between late November and early April so we want to put aside enough to last through the year.  Since Kiwi is a high acid fruit it can be canned using a boiling water bath so you don't need a pressure canner to preserve it.  We decided not to add any kind of sweetener, preferring to add it later if we want so our recipe here is just pure Kiwi fruit.

Start by splitting the fruit in half from pole to pole:

Make a quick slice to disconnect the white portion of the flesh from the top and bottom poles:

Finish splitting the fruit and have the pile of split Kiwi ready to scoop into a bowl:

Use a spoon to scoop the flesh out into a bowl, discarding the fuzzy skin:

Once the fruit is in the bowl, add some to a blender and blend briefly to chop it up, or mash it in a bowl with a potato masher if you prefer:

Add the chopped fruit to clean, warm 1/2 pint jars leaving 1/4-inch space between the fruit and the top rim of the jar:

Wipe each rim with a clean dry cloth, add a new clean canning lid and secure with a metal band, hand tightened:

We used our pressure canner for the boiling water bath method, removing the rubber overpressure plug and pressure regulator.  You can also use a large, sturdy pot with a lid and a rack to put in the bottom to keep the jars from contacting the bottom of the pot.  Add enough water to fill the cooker halfway, then heat the water to 140 degrees F.  Add the jars to the bath using a jar lifter, then add more boiling water if needed to ensure you have at least 1-inch of water covering the jars.  We had a lot of half pint jars which we stacked 2 jars high:

Put the lid on, turn the heat to high and when the water comes to a vigorous boil, start the timer and turn the heat down about halfway.  We boiled these for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, remove the lid carefully so you don't get burned by the steam and let the contents settle down for 5 minutes.  Take the jar lifter and put the hot jars on a dry towel in a place with no drafts to allow them to cool for 12 hours or more.  You'll hear a satisfying 'ping!' sound when each jar seals.  The Kiwi should last up to a year.  We write the date and contents on the jar lid.

Broccoli, Leek and Acorn Squash Bisque

We've been getting into Broccoli Bisque recipes lately and decided to use some different ingredients we had on hand for this one.  There's a short discussion about the sulfurophane in broccoli which is an anti-oxidant and which is useable either in raw broccoli or in broccoli that has been ground up raw and allowed to sit for 45 minutes before cooking.  The discussion is in our last blog post Broccoli-White Sweet Potato Bisque

This we used leeks and acorn squash with a bit of cayenne pepper and roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish.

4 cups fresh broccoli florets, chopped in a food processor or blender 45 minutes before cooking
4 leeks light green and white parts washed well and chopped
1-1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups cooked, mashed acorn squash
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2-1/2 cups plain soy or rice milk
2 dashes white pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Salt, to taste
2 Tbsp. tamari roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), optional
1 tsp. chia seeds, optional

Add the broccoli, leeks, vegetable broth and dill weed to a soup pot.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the broccoli and leeks are cooked.  Use a hand held blender to make a smooth consistency, then add acorn squash and heat through.  Add mustard, soy milk cayenne pepper and pepper and salt to taste, stir and allow to heat for a minute or so.  Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with pepitas and/or chia seed (if desired) and serve.

Broccoli-White Sweet Potato Bisque

We've been reading a lot about anti-oxidants and learned that cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale are true super foods that we need to incorporate into our diet every day. Some vegetables are better eaten raw due to the enzymes that can be destroyed by cooking.  In the case of broccoli and kale, you can chop them in a food processor or blender and let them sit for about 45 minutes to allow the anti-oxidant sulforofane to develop, then they can be cooked.

Here's a recipe that uses pre chopped sulforofane rich broccoli and white fleshed sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes for an extra nutrient boost.

4 cups broccoli florets, chopped in a food processor or blender
2 cups skinned, shredded white sweet potatoes
1 red onion chopped
1-1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
3 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2-1/2 cups plain soy or rice milk
1 dash white pepper
Salt, to taste

Add the broccoli, sweet potato, onion, vegetable broth and dill weed to a soup pot.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the broccoli, potatoes and onions are cooked.  Use a hand held blender to make a smooth consistency, then add mustard, soy milk and pepper and salt to taste, stir and allow to heat for a minute or so.  Ladle into bowls and serve.