Sacred Lotus Photography

the 100 mile diet & eat well guide: local eating for global change

lately i have been watching "the 100 mile challenge" on planet green and i LOVE it. the whole idea started back in 2005 when alisa smith and j.b. mackinnon began a one-year experiment in local eating. for one year they only ate food from 100 miles around their home. after the year was over they wrote a book about their experience and planet green turned it into a show by getting the residents in the small town of mission, b.c to take part in a 100 day challenge.

watching the show has really made me want to try the 100 mile diet. i am lucky to live in the beautiful willamette valley in oregon and i know from experience that there are a lot of local items to choose from out here. i think the start of a new year is a great time for a challenge! so, starting in january i will be reading the "100 mile diet" book and embarking on my own "100 mile" 30 day diet. i will be blogging and photographing my experience each day, sharing with you what i'm eating and where it comes from.

i hope that some of you might watch the show or read the book and want to join along. below is a great resource tool that i will be using on my adventure! i can't wait!!

The eat well guide® is a free online directory for anyone in search of fresh, locally grown and sustainably produced food in the united states and canada.

eat well’s thousands of listings include family farms, restaurants, farmer's markets, grocery stores, community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, u-pick orchards and more.  users can search by location, keyword, category or product to find good food, download customized guides, or plan a trip with the innovative mapping tool, eat well everywhere.

fresh blueberry pie w/ crumb topping

fresh blueberry pie w/ crumb topping
yields: one pie

ingredients: 

• basic flaky pie crust for 9in. pie (i used a graham cracker crust)
• 6 c. blueberries, picked over
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 1 c. sugar plus additional for sprinkling the pie
• 2 tb fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tea freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tea salt
• 1 tb unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 2 tb half-and-half or milk

crumb topping:

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. butter

preparation:

preheat oven to 425°F. prepare pie crust. in a large bowl toss together well the blueberries, the cornstarch, 1 cup of the sugar, the lemon juice, the nutmeg, and the salt, mound the filling in the shell, and dot it with the butter. mix ingredients for crumb topping in a small bowl and sprinkle over pie.

bake the pie in the bottom third of the oven for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375°F., and bake the pie for 30 to 35 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. transfer the pie to a rack and let it cool.

then enjoy!!

homemade strawberry cake

Strawberry Cake
(adapted from confections of a foodie bride blog)
yields: 2 8-inch layers

3/4 cup strawberry puree, room temperature (recipe below)
1/4 cup rice milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 Tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8 inch pans: spray inside of pans with oil and coat lightly with flour.

In small bowl, combine puree, rice milk, egg whites, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. Set aside. In large bowl add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. use electric mixer to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.

Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth tops.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary). Let cakes rest in pan for about 20 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).

Strawberry Puree
24oz fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed

Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.

To make the cake filling. Take the left over puree put it in small sauce pan add 1 tb sugar and 2 tsp cornstarch and heat over medium until the puree thickens. Then let set in the fridge until the cake is cool.

Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting

• 1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
• 1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, i use earth balance
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.

berry season is almost here!

my family and i are so lucky to live in oregon's beautiful willamete valley. where you can find some of the best wine & caneberries in the country. every year i get so excited to visit the fields and get my hands dirty picking buckets full of ripe delicious blackberries, raspberries, marionberries and blueberries.

the season starts next month.... i can't wait!!!

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this year i plan on making my own organic strawberry & blackberry jams. i found a great recipe over here.

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i also wanna make this yummy looking organic berry pie recipe. there will be a lot of baking going on next month. it's gonna be awesome, stay tuned for photos that are gonna make you wanna lick your screen. don't say i didn't warn you!

simple vegetarian meals: southwest pizza bagels

i have been using a meal planing system for a little over two weeks now and have found some new recipes that my family and i love. i didn't think i would enjoy meal planning. it all seemed like to much work. then i found a program suite for my mac! it's called "macgourmet deluxe" and it comes with everything you need to store recipes, import recipes from the web, build shopping lists, and plan weekly meals that can be synced with iCal. it has made meal planning fun and very easy to do!

southwest pizza bagels
(makes 4 servings)

 4 whole grain bagels, split
 1 4-oz. can chopped mild green chiles, drained
 1/2 cup nonfat cream cheese
 1/2 cup pizza sauce
 1/4 cup medium salsa
 1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella or monterey jack cheese

1. Preheat broiler. Place bagels, split side up, on a broiler pan covered with foil. In small bowl, mash together chiles and cream cheese; spread over bagels.

2. In another small bowl, combine pizza sauce and salsa; spoon over bagels. Top each with mozzarella cheese. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Serve immediately.

*STOP* HR 875/S 425 - Save Local Organic Food & Family Farms

By: Lydia Scott  

HR 875 -  FULL TEXT

This bill is sitting in committee and I am not sure when it is going to hit the floor. One thing I do know is that very few of the Representatives have read it. As usual they will vote on this based on what someone else is saying.

Urge your members to read the legislation and ask for opposition to this devastating legislation. Devastating for everyday folks but great for factory farming ops like Monsanto, ADM, Sodexo and Tyson to name a few.

I have no doubt that this legislation was heavily influenced by lobbyists from huge food producers. This legislation is so broad based that technically someone with a little backyard garden could get fined and have their property seized. It will effect anyone who produces food even if they do not sell but only consume it. It will literally put all independent farmers and food producers out of business due to the huge amounts of money it will take to conform to factory farming methods. If people choose to farm without industry standards such as chemical pesticides and fertilizers they will be subject to a variety of harassment from this completely new agency that has never before existed. That's right, a whole new government agency is being created just to police food, for our own protection of course. 

DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, READ THIS LEGISLATION FOR YOURSELF. The more people who read this legislation the more insight we are going to get and be able to share. Post your observations and insights below. Urge your members to read this legislation and to oppose the passage of this legislation.

Pay special attention to:

• Section 3 which is the definitions portion of the bill-read in it's entirety.
• section 103, 206 and 207- read in it's entirety.

almond crescent cookies

crescent cookies
makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies

1.c finely ground almonds
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 c. flower
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2. c. butter (softened)
1 egg yolk

*extra powered sugar for rolling

combine almonds, almond extract, flour, sugar. work in butter and yolk with your hands. chill dough in refrigerator for one hour.

next preheat oven to 350 degrees

form dough into crescent shapes, bake for 16 min. cool on wire rack then roll in powered sugar.

so easy, so good!

yummy vegan snickerdoodles

homemade cookies are a favorite around my house, especially in winter time when it's all chilly outside. it's nice to warm up with some hot cocoa and a fresh, out of the oven, cookie. a few weeks ago i was surfing the web looking for cookie recipes to make with just a few ingredients i had in my cupboards and came across this easy recipe for vegan snickerdoodles. they are so delicious that i have made them quite a few times since. i am going to let all my non-vegan readers in on a little secret... they are even better than their non-vegan counterpart! really, i mean it they are that good. no one will ever know they are vegan, unless you say something. then i am sure you will hear "wow, i can't believe it!"

vegan snickerdoodles
makes about 18 cookies

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. earth balance butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 prepared ener-g egg-replacer egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp baking soda

cinnamon sugar, for rolling

{recipe via veganyumyum}

cream sugar, earth balance, and vanilla extract together. prepare the ener-g egg by following the package instructions, and add it to the earth balance and sugar mixture. whisk it all up until it’s light and fluffy.

whisk the dry ingredients together. add 2/3 of the dry ingredients to the whisked mixture and mix until combined. add in the remaining flour and mix by hand.

cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

preheat oven to 375º F.

when the dough is chilled, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. take about 2 tbs of dough and roll into balls. roll each ball in cinnamon sugar. now using a fork press down each ball into a cookie shape. (baking tip: i put my cookies in the freezer for 5 min before putting them in the oven, it makes for a thicker cookie)

bake at 375º F for 10 minutes for chewy cookies, 12 minutes for crunchy. remove from oven and let sit for a minute then transfer to a wire rack for cooling.

 

then enjoy! hope you all have a wonderful valentines weekend!

♡, nicolle

i ♡ cupcakes & this shirt

 
 {cupcake shirt @ bakelove bakewear.com}

do you know what's in your food?!?

i have been a vegetarian for about a year now and over the past year i have learned a lot about where our food comes from, how it's processed, organic vs. non-organic, the genetic modification of food, the suffering of innocent animals, and the chemicals that are added to products even when there is proof that those chemicals can cause cancer and other diseases.

i would like to share with you a great site that has some insightful information on food safety, what to look out for and how you can avoid putting toxic chemicals into your body. the effects of GM food on our bodies has not been fully tested and GM products should not be on our store shelves without labeling. take a minute to download true food network's "shoppers guide to avoiding GM foods". it's a great tool to use the next time you go grocery shopping!

also don't forget to check out "the future of food" a documentary about the history of GM foods. it's really a must see film!