Bourne Again Brennan*

Happy Earth Day, Everyone!

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:35:51 -0600

I have some very exciting news to share! I am currently in the process of creating my own line of...

Well, friends, this is it. My life is calling and I’ve decided to listen. I will be taking a...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:55:08 -0700

Well, friends, this is it. My life is calling and I’ve decided to listen. I will be taking a...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:15:13 -0700

okayjesse: We come in peace

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:05:08 -0700

okayjesse:

We come in peace

"Right is right, even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong about it."

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:44:20 -0700

“Right is right, even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong about...

thereluctantrawfoodist: Just look great!

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 14:45:05 -0700

thereluctantrawfoodist:

Just look great!

note-a-bear: taylarspoetica: avocadooooooooooooo Actual,...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:27:55 -0700

note-a-bear:

taylarspoetica:

avocadooooooooooooo

Actual, literally, completely not facetiously, the best thing that has ever been created by nature.

My on-the-fly recipe for insanely delicious green juice!1 head celery1 cucumber3 whole carrots1...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:14:32 -0700

My on-the-fly recipe for insanely delicious green juice!1 head celery1 cucumber3 whole carrots1...

the-absolute-best-posts: Wicked Clothes is proud to present our...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:06:55 -0700

the-absolute-best-posts:

Wicked Clothes is proud to present our latest charity item!

$5.00 from the sale of each shirt will be donated to charity:water.

Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. 90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are children under five years old. Every $20 raised is enough to provide clean water for one person for twenty years.

Printed on black, tri-blend American Apparel shirts for an ultra-soft feel.

Use coupon code ‘1000NOTES’ to get 10% off your entire order!

Buy one here or spread the word!

"Just let go. Let go of how you thought your life should be, and embrace the life that is trying to..."

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 22:25:33 -0700

““Just let go. Let go of how you thought your life should be, and embrace the life that...

Photo

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 21:44:48 -0700

My Vegan Problems: Why I'm Not Doing Thanksgiving

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 21:40:18 -0700

My Vegan Problems: Why I'm Not Doing Thanksgiving: myveganproblems: Today starts my 8 day paid...

Veganized: 15 Vegan Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:20:32 -0700

Veganized: 15 Vegan Thanksgiving Side Dishes: travegan: by Alicia Silverstone There’s something...

toutcru: msylvester: Raw Lasagna - with Zucchini as the...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:20:23 -0700

toutcru:

msylvester:

Raw Lasagna - with Zucchini as the Noodles

This recipe is adapted from @MatthewKenney and @Sarma is their cookbook from the amazing NYC Restaurant Pure Food and Wine. I love how they encourage us to play with the recipes and make them our own. In the spirit of full disclosure, if you want to read the original recipe, please get the book “Raw Food - Real World” - it’s fabulous and beautiful to look at.

As you can see in the images, the ingredients are simple and easy to get anywhere. My adaptation begins with the fact that I only had 30 minutes to prepare the meal and it’s just beginning to be Spring and I don’t have access to everything one would want, so I improvised.

The Sauces

The main success of this dish is the multi-layered nuanced flavors - which all come from the sauces, which are meant to mimic the marinara, cheese and pesto in a cooked lasagna.

Pesto

I don’t care for raw garlic and my wife doesn’t like nuts in pesto - so this is really a Basil Spread made by blending the Basil with enough Extra Virgin Olive Oil to make it spreadable. I add in a pinch of Sea Salt to punch it up.

Marinara

I use Sun Dried Tomatoes that are organic and not soaked in oil. Yes, I can make my own, and do, but these are fast, good and I didn’t have to wait two days. Take them and put into the Cuisinart, add a handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes, some olive oil and 10 sprigs of oregano from the garden. Pulse til smooth.

Alfredo Sauce or Ricotta-like sauce.

Raw Cashews are amazing. Once soaked you can do so many things with them (see my Cashew Milk recipe for instance). Put one cup of Cashews into the Cuisinart, add in 2 heaping teaspoons of nutritional yeast (this has the uncanny ability to give a cheese like overtone to the sauce) - the juice of one Meyers Lemon, a squirt of Olive Oil and 1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg. Pulse til extra smooth - taste and adjust seasonings to taste. Might want to salt it if the lemon didn’t add enough acid.

Prepping the Vegetables

This is time for the mandoline, as you really need to get everything sliced as paper thin as you can. I have great knife skills, but I can’t get them as thin as they require. They have to be pasta-thin. I use this cool glove to make sure I don’t cut myself.

Look at the image to see that I have mushrooms, zucchini and tomatoes to work with. In the original recipe there are no mushrooms, and the tomatoes are Green Zebras - which we won’t see here in Santa Barbara for a few months.

Assembling the Dish

I have done this several times now and am most happy with the small square dishes you see in the image above. I have tried round, small, large, casserole (not good), and like these the best. However, I think maybe something in a clear glass would be interesting too. Best thing: no rules, make it fun.

I start with a layer of zucchini, then a spoon of marinara, then mushrooms, then alfredo sauce, then tomatoes and pesto, repeat until the dish is full. See the final image to see how I wrapped the top - as this becomes the bottom when you unmold it - and unlike lasagna we all grew up with, you don’t have to cover the top later with sauce and cheese to protect the noodles from burning.

Plating

The most fun is actually presenting the dish for your diners. I drizzled a little bit of Balsamic Glaze (NOT RAW) on the bottom, if you are super-pure, omit it and put something else, like a drizzle of the pesto thinned out for instance.

Then I carefully turn the chilled dish over and pop it onto the plate, I sprinkled a little bit of Herbs de Provence that we get from Shepards Farms in Carpinteria at the Farmers Market on the top. Voila - time to eat.

I served this with a side salad of hydro farmed butter lettuce, julienned daikon radish and french cut Persian cucumbers and dressed it with a Meyers Lemon and Olive Oil vinaigrette. A perfect, light accompaniment.

As usual, if you actually make this dish, and I highly recommend, as it’s really easy, then write me or send a picture.

Til we eat again.

smilestones: Chocolate Cream Pie – Gluten-free +...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:20:16 -0700

smilestones:

Chocolate Cream Pie – Gluten-free + Vegan

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup Oats
½ cup Coconut (unsweetened flakes)
2 tablespoons Coconut Oil (plus extra to grease the pie plate)
2 tablespoons Maple Syrup

Chocolate filling:

1 lb Silken Tofu (drained)
8 ounces Unsweetened Chocolate (chopped)
¼ cup Maple Syrup (you can add more a tablespoon at a time if you like it sweeter)

I served with Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350

To the bowl of a food processor add the oats and coconut and process until the texture of graham cracker crumbs

Add the coconut oil and maple, process until evenly mixed

Grease up a 9 inch pie plate with coconut oil (with a brush or paper towel)

Add the crust to a pie plate

Press the crust using your fingers, the back of a spoon, or the bottom of a measuring up until evenly coated on the bottom and up the sides and well pressed

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown

Set aside to cool

While the crust is cooling, rinse the food processor bowl and then add the tofu

Process until smooth

While the tofu is processing, melt the chocolate in a microwave safe medium bowl

Add the melted chocolate quickly to the tofu while the processor is off, then turn it back on and let run until completely incorporated (you need to work quickly to prevent the chocolate from hardening)

Add the maple and process until incorporated

Pour the chocolate and tofu mixture into the crust and spread it evenly

Cover and refrigerate (about 1-2 hours or overnight)

Slice and serve!!!!!!

Vegan Thanksgiving Preparedness: How To Talk About Your Diet Without Sounding Preachy

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:19:55 -0700

travegan: by Deborah Dunham Thanksgiving is coming up, and if you are part of a family with vegans...

Veganized: Your Vegan Thanksgiving: Apple and Cranberry Crisp

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:19:26 -0700

Veganized: Your Vegan Thanksgiving: Apple and Cranberry Crisp : travegan: For a warming dessert...

Photo

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:19:20 -0700

Photo

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:17:29 -0700

Photo

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:17:21 -0700