Hot Pepper Jelly Fun Time!

Y'all know how I love hot stuff, right? But you probably didn't know that I'm also a hoarder of jams and jellies. Well, I am. I love all things jellied that come in cute ass jars. I've been known to store a jar of jam for 2 years before cracking it open just because I like to look at it on my shelf. But when Jenkin's Jellies sent me full size jars of all four flavors of their organic pepper jellies, I knew I'd be cracking these open immediately. My pit bull Maynard couldn't contain his excitement either:

Each jar comes with a tiny little spoon with a sticker that says "Stir me." So like Alice in the rabbit hole, I followed the instructions. Here's a close-up of Jenkins Jellies' signature flavor — Hell Fire Pepper Jelly:

They also included Passion Fire (peppers + passionfruit), Guava Brava (peppers + guava), and Fiery Figs (peppers + figs). Each jelly has its own distinct flavor. Hell Fire is definitely the hottest, but it's not overpoweringly spicy. Spice-a-phobes could probably even handle the heat, but then again, I'm not the best judge of heat levels considering that I bathe everything in mounds and mounds of sriracha. The Guava Brava was the sweetest, and the Passion Fire has a nice sweetness to it as well. The Fiery Fig had the most savory flavor and seemed like the best of the four to use in a salty-sweet dish.

So what to do with all this pepper jelly? Well, I had to get a little creative. First, I tried the Hell Fire Pepper Jelly straight up spread onto a slice of my Wartime Wheat Bread (which I blogged about here). Delicious on its own!

I also tried the Hell Fire spread over toast with Tofutti cream cheese, but I forgot to snap a picture. Vegan cream cheese and pepper jelly may be one of the best combos ever.

Last week, I made the Jalapeno Garlic Grits from Vegan Brunch for breakfast. And just as I was plopping my serving in a bowl, I thought, "I bet this would be even better with a scoop of Guava Brava." And it was. The perfect combo of savory, sweet, and spicy:

The samples came with a card promoting a soon-to-be released Jenkins Jellies cookbook called Sweet Heat: Cooking with Hell Fire Pepper Jelly. On that card, there was a list of ideas for how to use pepper jelly, which included this tip: "Spice up your peanut butter sandwich." At first, that sounded weird. But the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like spicy Thai food peanut sauce. And I like Thai food, so what the hell? I tried a PB&PJ (that's peanut butter and pepper jelly) sandwich, but I failed to photograph it. I did, however, snap a pic of my similar breakfast this morning — Passion Fire Pepper Jelly and Almond Butter on a Whole Wheat Bagel:

That list of ideas also mentioned the possibility of using pepper jelly as a glaze for meats. When I see the word "meat" with my vegan goggles, it magically transforms to "tofu." Pepper jelly glazed tofu sounded magnificent! So I googled and found this recipe for Red Pepper Jelly Glazed Tofu:

I used Fiery Fig for this, but the glaze also includes orange juice, curry powder, soy sauce, and a little cornstarch to thicken. Perfect with a side of steamed kale and deep-fried squash.

Conclusion: Jenkins Jellies are pretty much the best thing ever! They're made by actress Hillary Danner (Gwyneth Paltrow's cousin) and her friends Maria Newman and Chef Jared Levy. There are no artificial ingredients or preservatives. They're gluten-free and organic and just fabulous all around. They're only available in select stores, but you can order jars online here.

Hits and Misses

I suck at failure. I've been an overachiever for pretty much all of my life. Well, actually I guess it started in fourth grade, the first year I ever made straight A's. From then on out, I aced my way through high school (valedictorian) and college (graduated with the highest GPA in the journalism department!).

When I do fail at something, I get pretty upset. I'm like Jessy Spano in that episode of Saved By the Bell when she gets a B and freaks out and says, "What's that funny looking letter by my name?!" Yep, that's me. That's how I felt tonight when I totally failed at Potato Pancakes:

I was trying to veganize a few wartime dishes for my new Vegan Through the Ages cookbook project, but I added too much liquid to the potatoes. And then I had to add way too much flour to make them hold together. The result tasted like flour with some potatoes in it. So I'll work on that. I don't like taking no for an answer. Don't worry. I'm not gonna be all Jessy Spano and pop a bunch of caffeine pills to stay up perfecting potato pancakes ("I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so ... scared! ... god, I love that episode). I'll get back to these at a later date.

I did, however, have one success tonight — Cauliflower Cheese with Tempeh Bacon:

This is actually a British recipe, and it dates way back before the 1940s, but I got the idea from a cool blog called the 1940s Experiment, on which blogger Carolyn Ekins lived on 1940s rations for a year in an attempt to lose some weight. She posted a recipe for cauliflower cheese with bacon on her site, and then I poked around the internet some more and found several other versions. My vegan version is loosely based on all of those, taking inspiration from several. (Interestingly, it appears Carolyn has gone vegan since she began the 1940s Experiment. While many of her recipes from the blog's early days contain meat, now she's posting about lentil sausages and vegan cheesecake! Score!).

The photo really doesn't do this dish justice, but just trust me when I tell you it's tasty. Basically, my version is steamed cauliflower topped with homemade tempeh bacon, sauteed leeks and garlic, and a nutritional yeast-based cheese sauce. I also added breadcrumbs, but I may leave those out in the final version. The crumbs seemed to absorb the cheese sauce and make it not as creamy as I wanted. Nonetheless, I was pleased with how this dish turned out. It's hard to go wrong with tempeh bacon, cauliflower, and nooch sauce, right?

Anybody got any advice on perfecting tater pancakes?

Eat & Run

I'm sensing a theme here. My last post was about trying Vega powder in my pre-run smoothies. Now I promise not to get all runner nerd on you, but I must tell y'all about my new favorite book — Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek.

Scott Jurek is a big celebrity in the vegan world. He's a world-renowed ultramarathon champion, and he's won race after race on a totally plant-based diet. In case you're wondering what qualifies as an ultramarathon, it's any race longer than the marathon length of 26.2 miles. Often for Scott, that means races of 100 to 150 miles in 100-degree desert heat. It sounds pretty crazy, but ultramarathoners are pretty much insane ... in the best way possible, of course. I've only completed a 5K length race, but I aspire to at least complete a marathon one day.

I'm fairly new to running. I used to go to the gym everyday and do classes in boxing, yoga, spinning, pilates, and rowing. And that was great. But then I started slowly teaching myself to run. And then that's all I ever wanted to do. Once I achieved the "runner's high" (which I never believed was real until I felt it myself), there was no turning back. I quit my gym, and now I run three days a week mixed with a couple mornings of yoga, toning, or aerobics videos.

Well, Scott Jurek's new book, which came out last month and is already on the New York Times bestseller list, is inspiring me even more. You see, Scott's book actually puts you there with him as he struggles through the grueling Hardrock 100 race on a swollen, bruised ankle (and wins!). You're by his side as he's puking on the side of the road during the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley. He's a badass, and he's a vegan, which makes him an ultra-badass. I never would have thought a book about running would be a can't-put-it-down tome, but that's exactly what this is. Now that I've read it, I kinda wanna read it all over again. Even if you're not into running, Scott's devotion to living a healthy life and pushing himself to the limit is totally inspiring.

Not only does Jurek's book detail his upbringing, his early interest in running, his big wins and little losses, and his transition to a vegan diet. He also provides readers with his favorite recipes nestled into the end of each chapter. All are super healthy, whole foods-based recipes, like Lentil-Mushroom Burgers, Chocolate-Adzuki Bars, and 8-Grain Strawberry Pancakes. He also includes recipes for pre- and post-workout drinks, like a Coco Rizo Cooler (made with homemade rice milk, coconut milk, and chia seeds) and the Green Power Pre-Workout Drink (a green smoothie with banana and mango ... made it last week ... delish!).

For the sake of this review, I decided to try his Tamari-Lime Tempeh with Brown Rice:

And Indonesian Cabbage Slaw with Red Almond Curry Sauce:

So good! Both dishes use the homemade almond curry sauce (almond butter, red curry paste, ginger, and some other stuff). It's drizzled over the tempeh, which is cooked plain and then seasoned with tamari and lime juice. Simple and delicious.

The slaw is cabbage, bok choy, bell pepper, carrot, and sunflower seeds mixed with more of the curry sauce. It's crunchy and cool and very, very tasty. Not to sound all Scott Jurek fangirl or whatever, but I'm in complete awe of how awesome he is and how far he pushes himself. And whatever he tells me to eat, I'll probably eat it. Of course, it helps that all of his recipes sound pretty mouthwatering.

I reviewed this book for the newspaper I write for — The Memphis Flyer — as well. So if you'd like to learn more about the non-food stuff, click here for that review. You have to scroll about halfway down the page past some other book reviews to see it (or you could read those reviews too!).

Smoothie Talker

I've always loved smoothies, but I've never really understood when to drink them. I prefer a solid food breakfast, so that doesn't work. And they always seemed a little too un-carby for my afternoon pre-workout snack. I was always famished by 4 p.m. and a smoothie didn't always power me through a workout.

And then two things happened: 1) I quit my gym and started running outside, and 2) the thermometer reached 100 degrees. Without a safe, cool gym to run in, I was only left with one option — become a morning runner so I could take advantage of the Memphis morning air when temps are still in the 80s. I never, ever thought it would happen. But it did. I now happily ignore the snooze option to wake up at 6 a.m. and hit the pavement. And there's only one thing I want at 6 a.m. — SMOOTHIES!! Those are, of course, followed by a proper solid food breakfast at 7:30-ish. So I really get two breakfasts now!

Shortly after I made the transition from post-work work-outer to pre-dawn fitness queen, I was generously offered some samples of the new Vega Energizing Smoothie powders. I'd never tried Vega before, but I've always heard mixed reviews. Some said it tasted okay, and others said it wasn't so good. But these new flavors boast "Improved Taste!" And I do believe they're right. This stuff is amazing!!

They sent me five flavors to sample, and I loved every single one:

Most often, I blended my Vega powder with a frozen banana and some plant milk (usually Blue Diamond Almond Coconut ... omg, I'm loving this stuff, btw). That was the combo I used for this Vega Choc-a-Lot Energizing Smoothie:

I mixed things up by blending frozen strawberries and almond coconut milk with this Vega Bodacious Berry Energizing Smoothie:

And I went back to banana, plus added some spirulina powder, in this Vega Oh Natural Energizing Smoothie (which, by the way, was my favorite flavor ... just plain vanilla ... I know that might sound lame, but it was almost buttery tasting. Yum!):

After all five packs were gone, I was kinda sad. So I scoped out the Vega tubs for sale at Whole Foods. Turns out the stuff is pretty pricey — around $30 for a 16-serving tub. But even though I'm cheap, I think this stuff might be worth it. In every serving, there's around 10 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, and omega-3s. Plus, every pack contains two servings of veggies. I may have found my new pre-breakfast drink!

Simple Is Better

Before I received my review copy of Cornelia Guest's Simple Pleasures, I had no idea who Ms. Guest was. But as I began reading the introduction of her new, gorgeous, full-color vegan entertaining book, I became intrigued with Guest's upbringing. The actress was the daughter of fashion icon CZ Guest and champion polo rider Winston Frederick Churchill Guest.

Now I'd never heard of them either, but according to Guest's intro, her parents were friends with Halston and Andy Warhol. Guest grew up around fashion and art celebs, and her childhood home — Templeton — is a grand old place. Growing up, she had ten Jack Russells and she took horseback riding lessons. I'm sure her upbringing was quite lovely. It's far from the middle class Arkansas background I knew, but Guest and I do have two things in common: We're vegan and we believe in keeping things simple.

Guest's book is all about simple vegan entertaining. She's like a very uncomplicated Martha Stewart minus all the insider trading mess. About the first fourth of her book is a guide to entertaining: stuff like the proper length of a cocktail hour and setting a lively table with mismatched plates and glasses and lots and lots of seasonal flowers.

The rest of the book is filled with dinner party recipe ideas arranged by season. Her meals aren't pretentious, gourmet silliness. They're easy-to-prepare meals that rely heavily on fresh, seasonal produce. Take, for example, green tomato salsa in the summer and spinach tofu lasagna in the winter. But the best part are the beautiful photographs! Food is always plated on some amazing vintage serving dish, and with each picture, Guest provides a caption with some background on the dish or decor.

For my review, I chose to make a couple of the summer dishes. First up were the Chickpea Patties with Salad:

Now, my falafel patties looked NOTHING like the perfectly rounded circles in Guest's book. But they were delicious nonetheless. The recipe suggests serving them over salad with a homemade Vegenaise-lemon dressing. But I need carbs, so I stuffed mine in falafel and had my salad on the side.

I also made Guest's Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad:

This is so easy, y'all! I grilled corn on the cob on my indoor grill, sliced it off the cob, and mixed with seasoning and creamy avocado. It's what summer should taste like every day. Lucky for y'all, the publisher is allowing me to reprint this recipe!

Grilled Corn & Avocado Salad
-----------------------------------------
Serves 6
Total time: 25 minutes

4 ears of corn, shucked
1 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1. Heat a grill to medium-high. Grill corn, rotating often, until lightly charred, about 15 minutes.
2. Let cool slightly. Carefully cut kernels from the cobs.
3. Gently toss corn kernels with avocado, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, and salt. Serve right away.

Low-Fat Banana Split!

Yes, that's right. I said "low-fat banana split." Did I get your attention? I mean, come on. Banana splits are AWESOME!! But low-fat they're typically not, what with all that ice cream and syrup and nuts and stuff.

But if there's one vegan who can make anything low-fat, it's Lindsay Nixon (a.k.a. the Happy Herbivore). I have her 2012 wall calendar, and I've been making the recipe o' the month every month this year. Imagine my delight when I saw that June's featured recipe was the Herbie Banana Split:

Let me break it down for ya. The ice cream is a homemade tofu-based version made of nothing but silken tofu, maple syrup, and plant milk. You throw it all in the ice cream maker, and voila! The chocolate syrup is from this recipe on the Happy Herbivore site. It's just cocoa powder, agave, water, and cornstarch. The fruit sauce is slightly watered-down blueberry jam. Oh, and the walnuts and banana are, well, just walnuts and a banana.

It's so good y'all, and an individual portion doesn't really have all that much sweetener so it's fairly low-cal and totally low-fat! Now, since the ice cream is made with tofu and very little sweetener, it does still taste a tad like tofu. But that's okay when you smother it in chocolate syrup, jam, and nuts. It's super creamy too!

Nothing says, "To hell with you, 100-degree Memphis summer!" like a low-fat banana split, right?

To Eight Years ...

My partner Paul and I celebrated our eight-year anniversary Friday night with a semi-fancy dinner at Ciao Bella, a vegan-friendly Italian joint. So tonight's post is all about that.

But first, I need to announce the winner of the Healthy Surprise giveaway. There were crap tons of comments, but random.org selected one lucky lady —Lesley of Lesley Eats! Lesley, who happens to live just a few hours down the road in Nashville, takes beautabulous photos of all sorts of vegetarian goodness. If you're not familiar with her blog, you should check it out. Congrats Lesley!

Now on to the dinner date. Paul's an omni, and he's a picky, picky eater. When we have dinner dates, we pretty much have to stick with Asian or Italian. Most Italian places around here have a few vegan options, but Ciao Bella totally deserves the title of "Most Vegan-Friendly Italian Joint." Chef Jonathan Steenerson is always happy to whip up something special for a vegan, even though there isn't much in the way of vegan offerings on the menu. He usually keeps vegan cheese on hand to make a grilled mozzarella appetizer, and he does vegan pasta right.

Chef Jonathan was out when Paul and I were there on Friday night, but whoever was cooking didn't disappoint. We started the meal with Bread and Garlic Olive Oil and Side Salads:

For my entree, I decided on pasta since I'm a carb queen. The server asked what veggies I'd like in my primavera, and I said "I like all vegetables. Just throw everything in!" And they did just that with this super veg-heavy Pasta with White Wine Sauce and Veggies:

I think I had more veggies than pasta! Score! There were artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, red bell peppers, spinach, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and probably more stuff that I've forgotten.

Of course, I washed it all down with a glass of merlot:

And Paul chose a New Belgium Somersault. Don't let the Yazoo glass fool ya:

We had a lovely meal and stuffed ourselves silly (so much so that I had to skip the vegan sorbetto that's usually offered for dessert). Our server was nice enough to snap a quick pic of the both of us with Paul's phone: