Monday, April 29, 2013

Meatless Monday: Veggie Sausage Gumbo

Ingredients

1 cup frozen okra
16 ounces veggie sausage links, cut into 1" pieces
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup celery, chopped
5 cups vegetable stock
Salt to taste (if desired)
Tabasco sauce to taste (if desired)
2 cups cooked rice

Directions

1. Fry the okra until lightly browned and set aside. Lightly fry the sausage pieces and set aside.
2. Combine flour and oil in a large pot, stirring constantly. Sauté over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add okra, onion, pepper, garlic, thyme, and ground red pepper. Cook for 1 minute on medium heat, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in veggie sausage, tomatoes, celery, vegetable stock, and cook 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Add salt and Tabasco sauce if desired. Serve over rice.

Source: yeahthatvegansh*t.com

Friday, April 26, 2013

Support Local. We Do: Spoon Farms

Our South End location is now offering a new product and it is delicious: Spoon Farms' Herbal Ginger Tea! It's a unique blend of fruit extracts, herbs, tea and ginger root and it is only the first product from this company with many more planned! Spoon Farms is the creation of Jason Witherspoon, together with his wife. They started the company here in Charlotte in 2010. Jason graduated from Auburn University in 2005 with a Bachelors in Industrial Design. Upon being laid off from an architectural firm in 2008, Jason began cutting hair at Farrer's Barber Shop and is still at it today. Jason was inspired to start Spoon Farms after suffering from digestive problems. He wanted to heal himself naturally and so began brewing batches of tea for himself. According to Jason the first batches were "horrible and disgusting," but they made him feel much better! He then began working on the taste and was fortunate enough to meet someone in the beverage industry who shared his knowledge with him. In the future, they plan to introduce new flavors of tea, including: Strawberry Ginger, Ginger Lemonade, Apple Ginger Lemonade and Ginger Ale, as well as, children's snacks and granola. Until then, we have the Herbal Ginger Tea to enjoy! It's great hot or cold and features fresh juiced lemons, apples and oranges, fresh mint leaves and fresh ginger root! Available at our South End location! Enjoy!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Meatless Monday: Raw Coconut Mango Pad Thai

Ingredients

3 cups peeled and deseeded mango
3 cups soft young coconut (or firm avocado)
3 cups seeded cucumber
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 red jalapeño peppers, finely julienned
6 mint leaves, cut into long fine strips
1/2 pound arugula, for garnish
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

1. Cut mango, coconut, and cucumber into long, thin julienne strips, resembling noodles.
2. Combine remaining ingredients and toss gently with noodles.
3. Arrange arugula on individual plates and pile each with a serving of Pad Thai. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Source: vegnews.com

Monday, April 15, 2013

Meatless Monday: 5 Spice Onion Soup

Ingredients

Onion Broth
1 medium onion, chopped
1 TBS + 6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 inch fresh peeled ginger, sliced
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, about 4 inches long
3 star anise
1/2 tsp dried fennel seeds
6 whole dried medium shiitake mushrooms
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS blackstrap molasses

Additional Soup Ingredients
2 onions, cut in half and sliced thin
6 cloves garlic, sliced
Salt and white pepper to taste

Directions

1. Chop 1 onion. Thinly slice two onions and garlic, which will later be added.
2. To prepare onion broth, heat 1 TBS vegetable broth in medium soup pot. Healthy Sauté chopped onion over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add 6 cups of vegetable broth and remaining onion broth ingredients and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer ingredients briskly together for 20 minutes, uncovered. This will bring out a lot of flavor from the ingredients.
3. In a separate medium sized stainless steel skillet, heat 1 TBS of the onion broth over medium heat. Healthy Sauté sliced onions over medium low heat in broth, stirring often for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.
4. After cooking broth for 20 minutes strain while it is still hot and return liquid to pan.
5. Slice mushrooms (and discard rest of strained ingredients) and return to broth.
6. Add sautéed onions and garlic and season with salt and white pepper to taste.

Source: whfoods.org

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Support Local. We Do: Tito's Specialty Foods

Healthy Home Market is very excited to now be offering Tito's Specialty Foods! Tito's is a local company based out of Hendersonville, NC which offers various Hummus flavors (Red Pepper, Garlic and Jalapeno), Pimento Cheese and Harmony, which is an amazing mixture of hummus and pimento cheese! Tito Micucci is the man behind the products, originally a native of New Hampshire. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Tito was a member of the United States Air Force and worked as a Customs and Border Protection Officer for thirteen years. Dissatisfaction with many factors in his former position led him to take the big leap and start his own business. And so far, so good! Tito's currently has a few employees and big plans for the future! Plans include partnering with other companies and communities to make sure that healthy food, including Tito's products, is getting to the mouths of hungry children. If you haven't tried the products for yourself yet, you're missing out! Fresh, preservative free and delicious!