Native Foods Blog

Going Medieval... Vegan Style!

by Christopher Arnett

Native Foods Cafe

 

When most people think of food in the Middle Ages, they probably don’t think of veggies. Popular images abound of such animal fare as pheasants, pigs, venison, and the like. This type of diet was true, but for the nobility. The gorged themselves on a diet largely of meats, white flour, and sweets (and suffered the accompanying ailments such a diet bestowed). However, for the poor peasant, working hard on the land from sunrise to sunset, a different diet was experienced. Largely scorned by the nobility, the diet of peasants was a largely vegetarian one, consisting of grains, legumes, and vegetables. It was much more wholesome and definitely healthier than that of their patronizing overlords.

This is pretty much what a typical night at Native Foods Cafe is like... everyone wearing jeweled crowns.

 

In Medieval France, the peasant diet consisted mostly of bread, stews, vegetables and wine (cider in the north). They ate fruit, raw and dried. In Italy they ate coarse bread, raw onions, beans, raw turnips, garlic, and (of course) pasta. In Germany it was dark bread, oatmeal porridge, peas, turnips, cabbage, sauerkraut, and lentils. Doesn’t sound so bad, right?

This girl knows what's up!  And how to work the local farmer's market.... Beautiful!

The following are some Medieval recipes that are either originally vegan, or altered to become vegan:

 

Almond Milk

Almond milk was a staple of the medieval kitchen. It was used in a wide variety of dishes as a substitute for milk or cream, especially on "fish days", when the church placed restrictions on what foods could be eaten (the most prominent of which were the days during lent). Fortunately, it is quick and easy to make:

2 cups blanched almonds
3 cups hot water

Grind almonds until fine, almost like flour. Pour hot water into almonds, mixing well. Allow to soak for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour through a fine strainer into a bowl, discarding solids (they can be used again with more water, but the resulting almond milk will be thinner and won't work as well in recipes).

Pottage

Pottage was the daily staple for everyone in medieval times. Essentially it was a broth in which meat and/or vegetables were boiled, then chopped meat, herbs and pulses added. The most common vegetables used in making pottage were onions, leeks, celery, white cabbage, garden peas. Saffron strands were sometimes used in making pottage to add color and extra flavor but generally only the wealthy could afford saffron. The following is a recipe for Pottage of Turnips:

Pre-cooking the turnips for this simple vegetable soup reduces the natural bite of the turnips and keeps them from being too strong, leaving a pleasant, warming flavor.

4 - 5 turnips, cut into half-inch cubes
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. powder douce
pinch saffron

Put turnips into a pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, and allow to simmer until they start to soften - about 10 minutes. Drain and add remaining ingredients. Return to boil, reduce heat, and continue to cook until done. Serve hot. (makes about 4 cups).

This pottage looks alot like Chef Tanya's Winter Miso soup available at Native Foods Cafe.... how peculiar.

 

Mock Meatloaf  

This is a recipe from an ancient Roman cookbook around the year 400. Meatloaf has lasted down to the present day. Enjoy!

2 lbs. Lightlife Foods Gimme Lean Beef
(No eggs required. Gimme Lean is sticky!)
3 tsp. dried parsley (or 3 Tbsp. fresh)
1 tsp. dried oregano (or 1 Tbsp. fresh)
1 tsp. black pepper
Enough broth to moisten the mixture

Moisten herbs with broth and grind them in a mortar if they are fresh. If not, then just mix the ingredients together with your gloved hands until it takes on a uniform consistency.

Put mixture in a metal loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350°F, or until the top is browned. Serve with Roman Gravy.

Roman Gravy with Vegetable Broth

2 cups Vegetable broth
8 oz. mushrooms
1/2 tsp. dried parsley (or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh)
3 tsp. dried oregano (or 3 Tbsp. fresh)
1 tsp. black pepper

Put broth and spices in a pot on the stove. Boil until thickened. Slice mushrooms, and add to the broth. Cook until the mushrooms are tender. Ladle over slices of meatloaf.

And if you’re not in the mood to slave in the kitchen preparing your own vegan meatloaf, swing by your local Native Foods! We are proud to introduce Mom’s Original Meatloaf as part of our Winter Menu. A hearty mixture of lentils, barley, mushrooms, and shallots with a serving of coconut mashed yams dressed in a savory gravy, it’s sure to satisfy even the heartiest barbarian appetites!

Mom's Meatloaf a la Chef Tanya Petrovna at Native Foods Cafe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The B12 Breakdown: Part 2 (Getting Intimate with the Intrinsic)

by Holladay Allen    

Native Foods Cafe

A simple breakdown of vitamin B12 in the human body:  B12 is bound to the protein in food.  Once it reaches the stomach, the hydrochloric acid found in the stomach causes the B12 to release from the protein.  Now a free agent, and further along in the digestive process (usually the last leg of the small intestine), the B12 then joins forces with intrinsic factor, or IF, and can then be absorbed into the bloodstream. 

The body only needs a small amount of B12, and it can be stored in the body for years. The liver stores the highest concentration of B12 in the body and releases it as needed to the body.  So if you are not consuming adequate amounts of B12, chances are your liver has you covered for a few years.  B12 plays a key role in the functioning of the brain and nervous system.  And one more thing… what was it?  Come on, come on… I just had it in my brain…. oh, memory!  It also aids in red blood cell formation and DNA synthesis, or the formation of genetic material.  It is pretty darn important!  Vegans can take supplements, eat fortified cereals and non-dairy milk to add B12 to their diet.  It is also present in cultured soy, such as tempeh and miso, spirulina, and nutritional yeast but these sources are unreliable most studies have found.  Listen to your body.  A simple blood test can determine your B12 levels  if you have any concerns.  I really like the Rainbow Light Brand of vitamins as they are food-based and more readily absorbed into the system.

 

The B12 Breakdown: Part 1 (Science is Sexy)

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe Tribe Member

Hey hey!  Whatcha know about vitamin B12?  Vitamin B12 is a very unique compound.  Neither animals nor plants can create it.  It can only be synthesized naturally in bacteria, algae, and yeast.  Plants are unable to store vitamin B12, which means that most folks look to animal products for this vitamin.  Animals have B12 in their stomachs after ingesting in the form of microorganisms from another source.  So if we have an herbivorous animal chowing down on some grass, it is most likely eating some soil, which has bacteria from the remnants of another animal that fertilized the soil, get my drift?  Or bacteria naturally existing in the soil have synthesized the B12.  And obviously, if a carnivorous animal catches its prey, the vitamin B12 is in the blood, and other nutrient dense parts (such as the liver! *) of that animal. Animals get their vitamin B12 from eating foods contaminated with vitamin B12 and then the animal becomes a source of vitamin B12 (http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm).  Back to that herbivorous animal… if the soil is tainted or doused with chemicals i.e. pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, whatevericides, the bacteria carrying the B12 are destroyed.   This is where B12 comes from!  Stay tuned for how it breaks down in the human system….

 

*George Whipple actually pre-discovered the potent and positive affect of liver in B12 deficient beings when he devised a sick experiment of bleeding dogs until they developed severe anemia.  He then fed them different diets taking note of what foods worked in curing them quickly.  He found that when they were eating large amounts of liver their bodies healed much more rapidly.  Since ingesting liver seemed to be curing the anemia, Whipple imagined it could possibly cure pernicious anemia. Anemia is a decrease in the number of red blood cells.  Pernicious anemia is caused by lack of intrinsic factor, which is required to absorb B12 from food in the digestive process.  After Whipple, a couple of other scientists played their hand at tackling anemia with different liver cures.  They found that it while it was the potent dose of iron in the liver that had cured the dogs, it was a completely different compound in the liver that was reversing pernicious anemia in humans.  After may punishing treatments of drinking liver juice and eating large amounts of liver, scientists discovered this compound to be B12, which became available in a much more consumer-friendly form, a soluble vitamin.

The Stroganov Secret Family Recipe

Stroganoff is a wonderful winter recipe, because it is warm, hearty and soul satisfying.  Stroganoff is a Russian dish traditionally served with sauteed beef and sour cream with its name derived most likely from the Stroganov family.  Historical Side Note: The Stroganovs were heavily invested in the salt industry, but not to fear, YOU will control the sodium content of the following Stroganoff recipe!  

Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov by Konstantin Makovsky, 1881

Over the years, it has been served as a stew, over rice or pasta, some tomato sauce has been added... There indeed have been some variations.  I like the traditional Stroganoff with a Native spin of course.  Fresh mushrooms and seitan give a rich flavor and texture, while the white wine adds a nice finish.  Enjoy with friends, and share with foes... they will become your friends over this dish.

Stroganoff Seitansky

¼ cup olive oil

1 ½ lbs. seitan, cut into ½ inch cubes

6 ea shallots, peeled and sliced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbsp unbleached flour

3 cups soy millk, or other dairy free milk (the richer, the better)

½ cup white wine

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 lb. cooked pasta

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

 

1)    Heat olive oil in a saucepan and sauté seitan and shallots until shallots are transparent and lightly browned.

2)    Add mushrooms for 1 minute, then sprinkle in flour and sauté another minute.

3)    Mix in milk, wine, mustard, salt, and pepper, simmer until thickened.

4)    Portion pasta on plates and top with Stroganoff.  Garnish with fresh parsley.

 

 

Vegetables: Better than any Growth Hormone on the Market

 

This is a video shot for Intermountain Healthcare's LiVe campaign.  Great video... short, sweet, and sooooo true.  Check out the vegetables this kid is being served: gorgeous!  And I'm pretty sure that is a glass of fresh pressed almond milk.   

 

Gomasio: The Wonder Condiment

Replace your shaker of sea salt with a shaker of gomasio!  You won’t regret it.  Gomasio is truly a wonder condiment… or wonderment, if you will.  It is loaded with calcium because of the sesame seeds, a handful contains more calcium than a glass of milk.  And color matters… black sesame seeds have 60% more calcium than hulled sesame seeds.

Sesame seeds!  

Now for your body to properly absorb the calcium, it needs to be combined with magnesium, which is in the veggies!  The darker the green the better:  spinach, kale, chard, broccoli, you get the drift.  So squeeze a little lemon juice on your greens and sprinkle a little gomasio and BAM!  You’ve got yourself a calcium/ magnesium powerhouse that is going to make you feel real good.  Add some beans and brown rice or quinoa, and you’ve got a meal that is going to give you great, clean energy for hours.

 

Gomasio

1 cup toasted sesame seed (black, white, or mixed together)

2 tsp sea salt

Toast the sea salt in the same way you do the sesame seeds, in a dry skillet for a couple of minutes.  Grind the sesame seeds and toasted sea salt together in a suribachi or mortar and pestle (or in your Vitamix!).  Store in a tightly closed jar in the pantry.

  You can always get a side of organic steamed kale with lemon and gomasio at Native Foods Cafe.

For some variations: you can grind in some dried sea veggies, like toasted nori pieces, or add a dash of cayenne or chipotle for some heat.  Also, some maple sugar will give you a nice sweet and salty topping, which goes great on baked yams.  Granulated garlic pulsed in will offer a savory option.  Experiment and enjoy!

 

Top Six Things To Have In Your Kitchen Cupboards!

I had a great night last night in Anaheim Hills at the Fairmont School speaking at their Chalktalk series. Families, great staff, some Natives and some future Natives were in the crowd.

 

We discussed healthy eating tips and we realized it's not what your kitchen can do for you, it's what you can do in your kitchen. These six things I thought everyone with kids (and without) should have in their arsenal and always close at hand to keep eating well a simple task.

 

1. Oatmeal-Quick for a snack, a great breakfast with some berries and walnuts for you and the kids.

  Boogie Bars at Native Foods Cafe.

2. Legumes-These are lentils, garbanzos, black and red beans. Keeps your engine on. You can use to make ethnically diverse dishes. Think Mexican black beans, East Indian Lentils, Middle Eastern garbanzos, etc.

Oooohhh garbanzos... in the new Italian Wedding Salad on the Native Foods Cafe Winter Menu.

3. Dark Leafy Greens-Steam them, saute them, chop them in salads, add them to your cooked beans for a hearty soup.

It is easy to have a love affair with kale... just ask Gandhi or the Greek Gyro, on the menu at Native Foods Cafe.

4. Fresh Berries- an easy to eat fruit, kids can snack on them and they go good in the oatmeal.

Fresh blueberries top the decadent Native Cheesecake...

5. Avocados-The California wonderfood. Slice them, spread them, guac them.

Oh avocade... you are so creamy and dreamy.  I'd add you to just about anything...

6. Olive oil-Ready to make a fresh easy salad dressing or saute some onions and garlic for a flavor base for your grains, legumes, veggies and soups.

  Olive oil makes a great hair conditioner too!

 

Chalk one up for healthy kids and parents!

A Brief History of Citrus (with some cats thrown in)

by Christopher Arnett & Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe Tribe Members and Cat Lovers

Oranges probably originated in Southeast Asia and were cultivated in China by 2,500 B.C.E.  Lemons also originated in southern Asia and were in wide use there for centuries. They were introduced to Italy before the first century, during the height of the Roman Empire. Persian oranges (the bitter kind) were introduced into Italy in the 11^th century and thereafter grown in southern Europe.  The following image came up when googling Persian orange:

Ha!  Now that is a giant Persian orange!

As an interesting side note, historian Morris Bishop writes that during Europes’s Middle Ages the nobility did not consume vitamin C in the winter, since their physicians told them the eating of raw fruits was unhealthy (nutrition police!). As a result, they often had hallucinations due to lack of the essential vitamin.

During the Middle Ages, citrus fruits were regarded as great luxuries in northern Europe. In fact, the first recorded shipment of oranges to England was from Spain at the end of the 14^th century. Although, the nobility often ate their fruits preserved in honey or cooked in pastries.

Preserved lemons... While Chef Tanya Petrovna does not preserve them at Native Foods Cafe, she does blend fresh lemons in a stellar sauce on the Greek Gyro Bowl.

Sweet oranges (the kind we mostly eat today) were brought to Europe from India in the 15^th century by Portuguese traders. The fruit became so popular and recognized for its health benefits (like other citrus, it prevented scurvy) that Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and Arab sailors planted the trees along trade routes for consumption.

In 1493, Christopher Columbus brought orange, lemon, and citron seeds to Haiti and the Caribbean. Oranges and lemons were introduced to Florida in the 16^th century by the Spanish and to California in the 18^th century by Franciscan monks.  By the 19^th century, demand for citrus fruits had grown to global proportions. Today, the largest producers of popular citrus fruits are:

 

• United States: Grapefruit.
• India: Lemons and limes.
• Brazil: Oranges (the Sunshine State comes in second).

Remember that weird, super processed citrus drink back in the eighties.... Five Alive!

 
Chef Tanya's homemade version is awesome!  Not yet served at Native Foods Cafe... we need to work on that.

 Well Chef Tanya likes to make her own version with five fresh citrus fruits: orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, and lime.  Just squeeze em all into one cup and stir it up. It is National Fresh Squeezed Juice Week... so give homemade Five Alive a go!

And just to conclude with the Cats and Citrus craziness from before:

Yeah, I'm wearing a pomelo rind on my head.  I'll do just about anything for an Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger from Native Foods Cafe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eat Your Spinach Kids!

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

Spinach is just spectacular.  You can eat it raw, throw it in a stir-fry, sauté it, make spanakopita, quesadillas, hummus….. the possibilities are endless.  Spinach as been around for a long, long time.  The first recorded evidence of spinach is from China around 647 AD.  It eventually found its way into Italy, the Middle East, Germany, then England and France.  Queen Catherine of France loved spinach sooooo much that she insisted it be served at every meal!  In fact, dishes made with spinach are referred to as “Florentine” as an homage to Queen Catherine’s birthplace in Florence, Italy.

This beauty was built by spinach... Everything florentined!

Spinach is loaded with good stuff baby, like vitamin A, lutein, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, folate, betaine, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids... and of course iron!

Chef Tanya grew up eating fresh sauteed spinach from her parents' garden and never quite understood why other kids detested spinach... until she ate at a friend's house and realized they were eating it straight outta the can!

Popeye ate a lot of spinach because of this… so you should too!  I mean, after all, spinach helped Popeye steal the love of his life Olive Oyl away from her beau Ham Gravy… Take that Gravy!  The spinach theme in Popeye may have been created based on a BIG OOPS on the part of a German scientist in 1870, who accidentally misplaced a decimal point while calculating the iron content in spinach.  This error went unnoticed until the 1930s and led people to believe that spinach was 10 times more iron potent than it actually was.   Oh brother!  Well at least Popeye probably got a lot more people to eat spinach because of it.  Today happens to mark the 82^nd anniversary of the original comic strip.  So celebrate and eat some spinach in the names of Popeye, Olive Oyl & true love.

The new aphrodisiac.  

Swing by Native Foods Café for some Creamy Artichoke Spinach Dip:

Chef Tanya's new Creamy Artichoke Spinach Dip from the Native Foods Cafe Winter Menu.

Or try preparing Chef Tanya’s Spanakopita from the Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook:

Ingredients

2 bunches fresh spinach (cleaned well and destemmed)

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

8 oz firm tofu, drained

2 tsp lemon juice

1 ¼ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1 package filo dough (Don’t fear the filo!)

¼ cup olive oil

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

Steam spinach until just wilted; drain and chop.

Chop tofu into ¼ -inch squares or crumble by hand into pieces approx. that size.

In a skillet, sauté the onion in the olive oil until transparent and lightly browned, about 5 min.

Add chopped steamed spinach, oregano, tofu, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Reduce heat and cook another 2 minutes.  Mix well to disperse seasonings. 

Remove from heat and let slightly cool.

Ready a 13x9x2-inch pan and the ¼ cup olive oil.

Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the bottom of the baking pan with oil.

Remove filo dough sheets and unroll.

Take out half and place the other half in plastic wrap and put back in the box.

Brush each filo sheet lightly and quickly with oil, one sheet at a time, and line the bottom of the pan with 6 sheets. 

Spoon and spread half of spinach mixture on top of the filo. 

Repeat the filo layers, using 6 more sheets.

Spoon and spread on the rest of the spinach mixture.

Top with 6 more oiled filo sheets.

Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool enough to cut into squares, and serve.

Kali Orexi!

 

Native Foods Cafe Remembers the Great Molasses Disaster

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe Tribe Member

On this day, in 1919, the folks of Boston, Massachusetts had to endure perhaps one of the most distressing events of their lifetime: The Great Molasses Disaster.  No joke.  A giant tank of molasses (as in 50 feet tall, 90 feet in diameter, and holding around 2,300,000 gallons) ruptured sending a wave of molasses reaching 15 feet at certain points, and moving at 35 mph, through the North End neighborhood of Boston.  Can you imagine?  Ick.  I love molasses…. But trying to maneuver through a sea of sticky, thick molasses sounds like a nightmare.  One of those nightmares where you are stuck in quicksand, or something like it, and can barely move, and are trying to get out but your limbs are trapped in this thick, congealed stuff…. And you start to get that panicky, helpless feeling and then you wake up.  No me gusta amigos!  They are not quite sure of the cause, but it took A LOT of manpower to clean that stuff up…. and even into summer, the harbor was still tinted brown from the molasses.

Oh heavens!  Molasses wreaks havoc on Boston.

Molasses is a by-product of the sugar-making process and can be made from either sugarcane or sugar beets.  The former is the more widely used and popular, at least in the United States.  Of the sugarcane variety, there are three grades of molasses: mild, dark, and blackstrap.  And these are available sulphured or unsulphured.  Blackstrap molasses is a good source of minerals too: calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron specifically; one tablespoon provides up to 20% of the daily value of each of those nutrients.  As for the name, I am having a hard time finding what blackstrap means exactly, except that is the name of a district in Canada.

Blackstrap Molasses... like the moonshine of sweeteners.  Chef Tanya adds a lil' molasses to the cookie crust of the new Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake at Native Foods Cafe.

In college, I used to make this gingerbread all the time when I first became vegan.  My friend wrote the recipe down on a piece of yellow paper and by the end of my four-year stint there, the paper was covered in gooey brown fingerprints.  Because I always had the ingredients on hand, friends would come over and make it if the fridge was looking spare (which was a rare occurrence with me as I am always stockpiling food… preparing for disaster)… but everyone just loved this gingerbread.  It is super-moist and dark and just delicious. 

 

The Sweet Disaster Gingerbread Cake

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons whole-wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1-teaspoon baking soda

1/2-teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon + ½ teaspoon ground ginger
(or to taste, I like a lil’ extra)

1/2-teaspoon ground cloves

1/4-teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2-cup canola oil

1-cup pure maple syrup

1/2-cup molasses
(Chef Tanya says use blackstrap!)

1-cup almond or soymilk

1-tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

 

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Lightly oil a 9-inch cake pan or other similar sized-pan.

3. In a bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup, molasses, soymilk, vinegar and vanilla. Mix until ingredients are completely mixed. You can do this with a blender or your wrist!

4. Pour liquid ingredients into dry, mixing together just until all liquid ingredients are absorbed.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and place on middle rack of oven. Bake about 55 minutes, or until cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Enjoy warm right then, or later… with a glass of almond milk or tea.

What a perfect bite.