Sick!

I, unfortunately, came down with a nasty cold this week.  It started with a bad sore throat on Easter,   followed by a fever and then all of the congestion of a typical cold.  And, despite being a bit uncomfortable at times, I am so happy!  Why, you may ask?  

Because of herbs and the powerful healers that they are.  And because of the knowledge that I now have of herbs which gives me confidence and power in the face of illness.

A hot cup  of sage tea with lemon and honey....delish and so powerful!

A dear friend is such an amazing herbalist, and I have been extremely blessed to have her share some of her knowledge with me.  In her herbal classes last year and through conversations with her throughout the year, I have learned so much about what is growing right outside my door and how to use these amazing gifts of Mother Nature.  I have also seen herbs heal my children and myself....safe, effective, perfectly balanced herbs.  

Which, of course, is the opposite of pharmaceuticals.  They are not safe, not always effective, and certainly not balanced.  

They may fix the immediate problem, but they often cause a whole host of other problems.

The AMAZING, powerful local raw honey.....I wouldn't "bee" without it!

Now, I am not against using medicine from a doctor if it is truly needed.  But, I have learned that most times, we can use herbs to treat what ails us.  And that brings me to my current cold.

 When I came down with the sore throat on Sunday evening, I immediately started gargling with sea salt in very warm water.  This is one of the simplest things to do for a sore throat and is usually quite effective.  As simple as this is, it is not something that I grew up doing or even knowing about.  In the past, I would have perhaps had a cup of tea and then seen a doctor if the problem continued to worsen.  Which would have undoubtedly led me to the use of antibiotics, whether I needed them or not.  But, thanks to April (and a nasty reaction to an antibiotic in the past), I now also know that sage is very effective at treating a sore throat.  So, throughout the day on Monday, I drank about a 1/2 cup of hot sage tea with raw honey mixed in every 1/2 hour or so.  I have learned that with herbs you need to continue to dose yourself throughout the day, versus traditional medicines that might only require one dose.  The benefit, of course, is that I only used sage, raw honey, and salt water to solve my sore throat.  All of these items were in my cupboard, they are all safe, and yummy too!   

By Monday night, I didn't have any sore throat.  Not at all.  Amazing!!!

April's recipe for sage tea.  I'm so thankful for her notes!

 Now all of this knowledge of herbs is fairly new to me, but people have been using herbs to heal themselves and their families for centuries, and in most parts of the world, they are still used as the primary means of fighting illness.  Here is another example of how we have gone too far in our advances of the 21st century.  Yes, it is wonderful to have medicine when we need it.  But, we have lost what our ancestors knew to be true...that it is the Earth and it's gifts that heal us best, not something out of a laboratory.  In the same way that vitamins out of a bottle are not going to make up for unhealthy eating habits, medicine out of a bottle cannot even come close to healing in the way that the real healing plants can do.  Medicine in it's natural, whole form is just as important as food in it's whole, natural form.

Making tea....

 I truly believe that eating healthy foods keeps our immune systems strong and keeps us well most of the time.  But we are all exposed to germs, and we all get colds and other minor illnesses from time to time.  I am so grateful that I now know what to do for these situations.  And, if I don't know which herb to use, I definitely know who to call.  

"April, I have an herb question....." is how many of our conversations begin. :)

  Thanks, April, for helping me down this path and for always answering my questions.  

We are all grateful! :)

I Love Tofu!

I think that when people think of vegetarians, they think of tofu....and they think, "Yuck!"  

Well, I understand.  Badly prepared tofu can be really gross.  I should know.  About 10 years ago, I bought tofu at the grocery store for the first time. I had no idea what to do with it, so I opened the package and threw  it on the grill.  

Anything is good on a grill, right?  Wrong!

Well, let's just say that it was never eaten.  The texture was gross, there was no taste...totally inedible!  

Fast forward about 5 years.  After reading up on how to prepare tofu, I thought we should try again.  And......jackpot!  

We LOVE tofu!  Truly love it!  And, it is one of the only dinner foods that my whole family will eat.  In fact, I've gone from preparing one package of tofu to three packages of it for our dinner....and I never have leftovers.  

I don't think that eating soy products is good for everyday, but once or even twice a week seems fine to me.  Look, if the alternative is this, then I think we're doing fine with tofu!

So, the key to good tofu is how you prepare it.  And, the first step is to get all of the water out of the tofu.  I would love to purchase a tofu press in the future, but for now, jars of beans work just fine!

So, wrap your blocks of tofu in clean towels, put the wrapped tofu between two plates, and put something heavy on top....jars of beans, cookbooks, heavy pots, etc.  Just be careful to balance it well or you get the leaning tower of beans which sometimes falls over! 

(What was that CRASH in the kitchen???)

Let the tofu sit for at least a half hour and then flip it over and let the other side have a go!

Your pressed tofu should be much drier than when it began (and your towels should be a whole lot wetter) and it should be a bit flatter.  Now, slice it all up.  I prefer to make little cubes of tofu, but some people like to cook it in larger pieces.  

It'll all taste great in the end!

 Now, after the tofu is all cut up nice, you have the option of marinating it.  Plain tofu tastes just like....well, plain tofu.  That is to say it really has no taste.  I used to love to marinate my tofu in whatever sauce I had on hand.  However, my favorite thing to do these days, is just to cook it up in the oven right away.  I put a small bit of olive oil on it and sprinkle on some salt and pepper.  That's it.

After baking it in the oven for about a half hour to 45 minutes (really, just bake until golden brown, perhaps flipping once), it is so good!  I have many little people begging for a piece about now.

  It is so yummy dipped in ketchup or honey.  Or just plain.  Sometimes I will put these super delish cubes in tortillas with lettuce and tomatoes and dressing.  Or I will serve them alongside rice.  My new favorite way is in a yummy, Asian-inspired pasta dish.  But I will bring that recipe to you next time.  For now, experiment with tofu.  After you figure it out, it is an easy, delicious way to bring good protein to a vegan/vegetarian diet.

 Enjoy!

-Vegan Mama

Easy, Yummy Bread!

I have been baking my own bread for awhile now.  And, honestly, it is not hard.  It really and truly isn't.  

I started with a bread machine, but now I just do it by hand.  

My favorite book, by far, about bread baking is Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  

Definitely recommend this to anyone who would like to bake bread but is afraid to try it.

But when I'm in a rush and need a quick bread to bring to a potluck or when the kids are just begging for bread for breakfast, I always go to the recipe for oatmeal bread that I originally saw here.  

It is so easy that I know the recipe by heart.   Love that!  So, here it is:

Gather your ingredients:  Active yeast, Salt, Oats, Honey, White Flour, Wheat Flour.  That's it!  Take a look at the typical bread that stores sell, and you'll be sure to find additional ingredients, most that you can't pronounce and that you certaintly don't want to put in your body.  

(As a side note, when I do buy bread, I buy this brand.  Good stuff!).

Put a large spoonful of active dry yeast into a small bowl and add a big glop of honey (really, no need to measure this precisely....I promise it will turn out yummy!).

Add some very warm water (not too hot) to the yeast/honey mixture.  The actual temperature of water should be 105 degrees - 115 degrees F. to proof your yeast (or see if it is still active).  However, I make so much bread that I never test the temperature with a thermometer, and I've never had a problem.  The water should be pretty hot to the touch but not so hot that you can't put your finger into it.  If you are new to using yeast, I would recommend using a thermometer the first few times until you get a feel for what you are doing.

Mix it all up gently.

Put your bowl in a warm spot to let the yeast activate.  In a few minutes, you should see the mixture start to puff up and bubble...amazing and always fun to watch!

While all of this wonderful kitchen science is going on, you can get your dry ingredients measured out.

In a large bowl, measure 1 cup of oats, 1 cup of white flour, and 1 cup of wheat flour.  Add 1 1/2 tsp. of salt and mix it all up.

Have a sip of smoothie!  Yum!

After your yeasty mixture has poofed up a bit (maybe 10 minutes or so), add it to your dry ingredients and mix it up.  Add enough warm water to make a dough.  The dough should be on the wet side, as far as bread dough goes.  

Now, smear some Earth Balance in a loaf pan so that your bread won't stick or use a non-stick spray.  And spoon your dough into the loaf pan.
I then like to sprinkle the loaf with additional oats, just because it looks pretty!

 And pop your loaf in a warm oven (put it on for a few minutes and then turn it off).  Let your bread rise for 30 minutes.  Then set your oven at 350 degrees F. and let the bread bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.  That's one hour from rising to finished bread.  So simple and quick!

After 30 minutes, put the loaf pan on a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes.
Then pop the bread out of the pan and let cool completely.

Look at how beautiful!  And, trust me, the taste will not disappoint!

That's it!  I can make this bread in under 2 hours from the beginning to the yummy end.  

And, if you have a bunch of bread lovers, as I do, you can easily double this recipe and make two loaves at a time.  If you have leftovers (doubtful), then you can freeze the completely cooled bread, and it will be just as yummy and fresh when you defrost it.

You can slice and serve this anyway you like.  But, if my children had to recommend a favorite way, it would be slathered in Earth Balance and yummy raw honey.  So good!

So, what are you waiting for?  Get baking!