Beat Box: This ain't yo Fat Boys

I come from the Breakdance Era.  That's right - the STREETS.  Not really, but I was dancing on the streets.  Things were different in 1984.  Breakin', Breakin' 2 - Electric Boogaloo and linoleum mats on my driveway....

Back in the day, I wanted to windmill into your heart and then totally beat your ass with a tight Top-Rock while I was only in 3rd grade.   More than that, I wanted to beat box like a champ.  I still do this while at home, at work, for my son... I never stop.  Like Turbo, I just won't quit.  

I've been hovering the proverbial Breakin' broom over my household in an effort to continue the passion sound that is the Ozone of subculture. Even Shooter McGavin gets it.  Bobby McFerrin has nothing on this.

My favorite battle is Skiller vs. Alem in the Beatbox Championship of 2012.  See it here and realize that you really need a good sound system to hear the spectrum of sound frequency:

Skiller has a record deal, believe it or not.  I consider both to be massively talented.  Here is Alem doing some work at home with a metronome.  Incredible:

But then... They get together again!

One of my other favorites is Reeps One:

I cook, yes.  But I also clean it up with some fresh beats in my kitchen while I do so.  Curries go well with a fresh beat.  To top it off, here is a nice combo from several beat boxers at the last championship.  The All Stars Jam:

Carrot and Mushroom Curry soup

It's curry again.  Why not?

Don't front.  I have all of the spices to make curry from scratch, so it seems silly to simply make a sandwich for lunch when I know I can have a world of flavor in each spoon.  In the meantime, as cooking and a tasty drink go hand-in-hand, why not sip on an IPA while I get to work:

I thought that I would take a stab at making a carrot and mushroom soup.  Seemed like a legit idea. Both vegetables are from the ground and what not. Check.  Both have an intricate, earthy flavor. Check.  But will they compliment one another?  I wanted to find out.

I began with the curry:
2 Tblsp Peanut butter
2 Tblsp Sriracha Sauce
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3 cloves
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 small diced onion
1/3 cup of vegan butter
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp diced Ginger
4 cloves of Garlic, minced
1/2 can of Coconut milk

I added all the above ingredients to a sauce pan and cooked at medium heat (about 15min) until the onions were super-duper soft.  In the meantime, I boiled an entire bag of carrots in 3 cups of water for 30 minutes.  I placed the remaining water and carrots into a Ninja and chopped 1 pack of Button mushrooms to join the party.  I mixed until completely smooth and then placed it back into the pot with the curry.  I added 2-3 cups of water and cooked on medium heat for 20 minutes.

Now I'm bored.  Are you bored?

I had dreamt up and cooked a thai carrot soup recently, and it was amazing.  I think I can do better, here.  As I stirred the soup, I was talking to a very good friend of mine about how this recipe could be improved.  Perhaps some tofu and some peas?  We conferred for a bit and decided that peas were good but they simply provided thickness, not a whole lot of flavor.  But I'm going to go ahead and say that we were wrong.  I popped out to my local natural foods store and grabbed the additional ingredients.

To prepare the tofu and peas, I put 2Tblsp of oil into a pan with 3/4 Tblsp of store-bought curry powder and 1tsp of Sea Salt.  I dried and then cubed the tofu and cooked it in the pan on Med-High heat for 10 minutes, adding the peas only to thaw them.  Beware: do not stare at this dish while cooking for too long.  This amount of yellow will jack with your visual rods and cones, there is so much turmeric:

My friend asked me, "Are they English peas?"
I had no clue.  These were frozen peas and, quite frankly, I find them sweeter than their sodium-saturated brethren drowned in a can.  This is why peas were a great compliment to this dish.  But here is the deal, peeps.  Salt is tricky when making curry from scratch.  I have a MASSIVE bowl of food, here, and seemingly haven't used enough salt.  But I don't want to add salt at the moment.  The reason is that freshly made curry will marry over time.  The flavor of this dish is going to change.  I've tested the final combination and the result is what I refer to as a "Creeper."

It looks like brown gravy and beef tips, yeah?  It's very delicious(and vegan), but the flavor will hit your brain over a matter of ten seconds.  First, the taste is extremely light.  Then seconds later, a flood of various and complex spices enter such that you will savor it before the next bite.  You may even find that the "heat" hits surprisingly late; long after the swallow is down the hatch.  Warn your weaker friends.

I shall let this beauty nap for a bit, give birth to the unknown and report back...

Update: This deep flavored dish only needed a bit more garlic.  The saltiness came on with time.  Delicious, sweet, and earthy is the flavor of the Carrot Mushroom soup.  With tofu and peas... and a bunch of other stuff.

Chickpea Cashew Coconut Curry with Spinach

And... We're back!

It's been a while, since I posted last.  But my friends, curry never goes bad and I'm aging well.  Thus, I'm getting back into the mix!  Let's cook.

 I think I may just dab a bit of curry on my neck before work.  Kidding - I won't, but I love it enough to make such a threat. Cue sandalwood instead.  It blows my mind how many times I mention curry only to find that most people still do not know what the hell it is.  Curry is not a spice.  Curry is not a sap that one derives from a plant.  Curry is a mixture of spices/vegetables/herbs and it can be in various combinations and amounts.  Not only is the idea of curry so foreign to some that they shy away from it, but it seems that it simply does not jibe with their palettes.  That's very unfortunate for a mouth's existence because I find dishes utilizing curry to be some of the most enjoyable in life.  My tongue loves it and so does my belly.  This is what the dish I be cookin' looks like:

That bowl isn't all that clean on the sides because half of it is gone.  I'll not take credit for its creation, so here is the recipe I referenced:  Chickpea Cashew Coconut Curry

It is important to note, I did not follow the recipe word for word.  I didn't have all of the ingredients and I made 1.5 times the listed amount.  I also added spinach just because I freakin' love spinach.  So in order to make this a little easier, you can watch me make the delicious dish.  Proper cooking:

Grow Your Basil...

...for crying out loud.  Why for crying out loud?
Because it's as about as easy as it can get in the realm of gardening.  I'm not going to detail general gardening techniques, planting seasons and all of the other earthy junk that you can find from Google.

The most important thing is this:  Basil loves a lot of water and Basil loves direct sunlight.

Here is my method and I've done this more than once with great success.

1. Buy some good potting soil and fill an 8"x10"pot 2/3-3/4 full.
1-b.  Yes.  I'm saying screw those little plastic seeding cups.
2. Make a 3" diameter reservoir in the center of the soil approximately 2" deep.
3. Pour in organic basil seeds and cover with soil.  Pack the soil lightly.
4. Lightly water.
5. Leave outside in the sunlight if there is no threat of a frost.


Continue to lightly water the pot every day for the first two weeks being sure not to over-saturate the soil.  You should see the green within just a few days, and it's exciting!   When the sprouts begin to flourish, begin adding more water and give it plenty of sunlight.  If you water this plant every morning and leave it in the sun, it will go absolutely nuts!  And I can think of a nut that goes quite well with basil...  Vegan Pesto recipe for another day... It's GOOD.

To be more specific about a flourishing basil plant in direct sunlight, you can saturate the soil in the morning on a daily basis.  Pull off leaves as you need for cooking throughout the Summer.  The plant will continue to grow as long as it has enough of the two things that it loves the most.  Hell, sing to it as well, if you like.
You'll be singing anyway.

Who the hell doesn't love Basil?!!!

Where's the Beef?

Not here.
Have I used that title for a post already?  Probably.  How clumsy of me...

I don't know what the hell happened to the Beefless patties from Gardein.  I can't find them anywhere.
Apparently it's not being ordered at stores in my area anymore.  Instead, supermarkets are carrying the Beefless Sliders.  Seriously, local food-stuff provider?  I'm not paying 5 dollars for less Beefless and more white bread!  And why the hell are they putting Beefless on white bread anyway?!!!  Put it on a frackin' wheat bun, fools!

Oh well.  I'll have to move on, I suppose.  Thus, our meal this fine Friday evening will be my first to try the WildWood veggie burgers.  They look tasty.

I've had many veggie burgers, Gardein being the best by far.  But these look thick and juicy, just like a fake beef patty should.  I am also a big fan of WildWood products as I use their extra firm tofu in most of my tofu recipes.  So, I have high expectations for this burger.  Don't disappoint me dub-u dub-u!

Experience: forthcoming

Update: It was about what I expected.  It had the "graininess" that a lot of other veggie patties possess.    It wasn't juicy like I'd hoped it would be.  The overall flavor wasn't bad, but it didn't taste like beef, which is why Gardein wins in comparison, hands down(If you're looking for a patty that imitates beef in texture and flavor).  If anyone would like to offer other suggestions, I'm all ears.  I probably won't buy this patty again.

Taco Bell - Vegan?

I'm not going to tout Taco Bell as a health haven.  That's loco.

But, indeed, a vegan can eat at Taco Bell - and Lord knows, you'll likely end up there at some point with your friends or at that moment when you've got only 3 dollars and little time.

Other than Subway, Taco Bell is the one fast food place that I might visit just to make things easy and cheap.  Most every time, my order consists of only a couple of bean burritos -Fresco style.  But a vegan can order more.  A whole lot more if you like.  But it's no haven for vegan eating either.  It depends on how much labor and confusion you really want your soon-to-be, frustrated cashier to deal with.

Vegan Eating Out makes it a bit more simple with their list.  If your cashier doesn't mind taking the time, then you might venture beyond a couple of burritos.

I would say "good luck."
But I will admit, without shame, that Taco Bell has really increased their level of service over the last 3-4 years.  I'm not sure if this was due to the "beef authenticity" scare that was in the news, or if it was simply something they decided to do in order to change their customer service approach.  But I have yet to visit a Taco Bell in the last 3 years that wasn't willing to cater to my every detailed wish.  That is an odd thing for me to admit. It's fast food.  But they continue to make it exactly as I desire.  And if it isn't the way I ask, they happily remake it until it's correct.

Good work Taco Bell, you loco personas.

Oreos

Are Oreos vegan?

You bet they are - in America at least.  I've read that Oreos produced in Europe contain animal products.  But here in the states they do not.  Let's look at the ingredients:

Oreo Ingredients

Ingredients: SUGAR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL AND/OR PALM OIL AND/OR CANOLA OIL, AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORNSTARCH, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), VANILLIN - AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHOCOLATE. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.

I don't see any animal ingredients in there!  I don't see anything good for me either, but then I'm not pounding these cookies.  In fact, I rarely eat sweets,  But I'm glad this one is available to me.
However, it has been reported that some of the suppliers from which Kraft/Nabisco obtain their sugar use some animal-derived products in the processing of that sugar.  So I guess it depends on how vegan you are.  Then again - Look at the main ingredient!  It's a tough decision.

I don't believe they taste the same, but Newman's Own makes an oreo-like cookie with organic and animal free ingredients:

Original:
Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Powdered Sugar (Organic Sugar, Organic Corn Starch), Organic Sugar, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Canola Oil (Expeller Pressed), Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Unsweetened Chocolate, Salt, Natural Flavor, Sodium Bicarbonate (leavening), Soy Lecithin (an emulsifier).

First ingredient is wheat flour.  That's a cookie I can pound.