Eskimo Nebula

Eskimo Nebula
We are all connected

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Happy New Year!

2016 was an interesting year to say the least. The end of it brought a lot of heartbreak to many with all sorts of losses.
Life is a struggle and we all have to deal with the highs and lows that come with it.
It's easy to complain about things, but often we just need a change of perspective in order to appreciate the daily things that we take for granted. I will always wish for more kindness and compassion for our world. Let us banish the ignorance and enlighten more people.


Come celebrate with me by having some pansit/ noodles. Noodles signify long life; so they are always made during special occasions.

I am still cooking while I am writing this entry, but you can see the noodles and black eye pea patties that I made so far.

A special bibingka ( Filipino rice cake) and my fresh rolls made with rice paper are still in process.

I wish that I could share it all with you in person =)✨

 



Wishing you all good health, love and happiness for the new year. May our world be kinder and may we see more compassion and love for generations to come⭐

Love,
Jessica <3

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Love and Kindness

Given what has happened in the last month and over the span of 5 years; I feel like the vital message of peace needs to be reiterated. Love and kindness do not cost us a thing, yet some choose to shun and hate instead. I will always be steadfast in my belief that love will always outshine hate.

Hate is born out of fear and ignorance.
The xenophobia that we have been witnessing in recent years is so painful to see. If you truly have love in your heart; it has to be unconditional. You should not have a pick and choose checklist of critwria for those worthy of your love and respect.

We are all in this world, on this planet and in this universe together. We can only survive if we cooperate with one another. That means that we need to have respect and recognize the universal greater good.

I will write more about this again, but until then I hope that you recognize the importance of love and kindness in your daily life.

Love,
Jessica <3






Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Jess a kitchen tip

Just a quick tip:
A simple tip, but can take some practice to master!

Do you use this trick for cutting cherry and grape tomatoes? Place them between two circular lids and pass your knife between them while applying even pressure. Be careful and mind your fingers while you move the knife through! When done properly; it can save you a lot of prep time in the kitchen =)

Peace and Happy Cooking!

Love,
Jessica <3


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Join Me for Merienda: Vegan and Gluten Free Raw Sunflower Seed CreamCheese/Ricotta/Dip/Spread/Sauce

Hello again,

I started playing around with sunflower seeds a while back, but only recently tried making more things from them because the cost of  most nuts is pretty high (and probably always will be because of how long they take to grow and how they have to be harvested etc. Vegan Cheese and cream sauces made from cashews are heavenly, but you know that it can be pricey to buy those 16oz bags, even from the discounted places. Sunflower seeds however are always usually in a good price range and readily available. I normally pay 1.99 or less for 1lb of raw sunflower seeds at my local markets. Contrast that to cashews at a cost of 7-9 dollars per pound and it quickly eats up your grocery budget. I'm not saying not to buy cashews because, c'mon cashews, as long as you're not allergic to them; they are awesome. I mean cashew nut butter, so good!!!!
Honestly, I feel fancy when I can indulge in some of that ;p

Anyway, sunflower seeds are cost effective and with a bit of finesse you can create something pretty darn delectable with them.  This is also great for any of those who are allergic to nuts or simply prefer to avoid them due to various health issues.

Garlic and Dill version atop a slice of multiseed toast

Jesscafé Vegan and Gluten Free  Raw Sunflower Seed Cream Cheese/Ricotta/Dip/Spread/Sauce 
(All of these slashes are making Guns N' Roses nervous ;p


Ingredients:


1 1/3C Soaked Raw Sunflower Seeds
1/3C or less of a neutral oil like Canola etc.
1-2tsp Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
1Tb Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
2-3TB Cold Filtered Water

So let's get into the method:

You absolutely need to soak the sunflower seeds and the longer they soak the smoother your end product will be. My preference is at least 3 days, I usually have a glass jar in the fridge with some soaking in them; so I'm ready to make some;if need be.

After 3 days the water looks like this


Soaked and rinsed
After soaking you'll notice that the water turns kind of dark and that's normal. You need to rinse them well and remove any excess water before using them in this recipe.

I use a nutribullet to process these, with the small cup and the whipping/grinding blade attachment.
You may need to adjust depending on your equipment, but most food processors should work well.
Make sure that you do not go over the 'Max Fill Line,' of the cup or you'll have a messy problem on your hands. 

You simply put all of the ingredients into the cup, screw on the lid and shake everything around for a few seconds and then let it come together for about 30 seconds. If it seems like the blades won't mix it well enough, you'll need to add a tad bit more of the cold filtered water, shake it around with the lid on and then let it go to blend into a smoother consistency. It should take less than 3 minutes total to get everything blended well.

Right after blending

It's pretty much done, once you've blended it, but you of course can build upon this base and add in other yummy components for sweet verisons like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, chocolate or for savory verisons like garlic, nutritional yeast, scallions, red onions, sesame, dill, rosemary, oregano, mint,  roasted red peppers and so forth.

Super duper garlic, dill, smoked paprika, turmeric, black pepper with a dusting of chipotle on top

I recommend leaving it in the fridge overnight before using; so that the flavors get a chance to bloom. The following day you'll also see that the texture of it will improve and have more body to it. 

As mentioned in my long title, you can use this for a myriad of things, I even have thinned it out to make a creamy sauce for pasta ( add in some extra garlic, black pepper and a dash of nutmeg for something reminiscent of alfredo sauce flavors). It's not going to be as smooth as a cashew cream would be, but the flavor of the sunflower is subtle, still present, but it's really tasty all the same.

I hope that you'll try this out and make some awesome recipes with it.
I know that I'll probably be bringing some to the next dinner party =)
Wanna come? ;p

I'm sure that you might even be able to make some air cured and aged vegan cheese with this mixture, with the right conditions. I unfortunatley cannot test it out at this time because I don't have a great space to set it out, where it wouldn't be disturbed, but I will be sure to post and update about it; if I ever get a chance to make some.

Wishing you all good health
and happy cooking as always <3

Love,
Jessica








Thursday, March 31, 2016

Join Me for Merienda: Oat Milk!!!!

A short post tonight,
I recently made oat milk for the first time.
I don't know why it took me this long to make some since it's so economical and easy to make. 

You just need 3 basic ingredients:
*Old Fashioned Oats (not instant oats)
Filtered water
Sea salt
*Use certified Gluten Free Oats to make sure
That it is celiac friendly!



I looked up a recipe on youtube and one suggested 2 Cups of Water for every 1Cup of Oats plus a pinch of sea salt ( I like to use himalyan pink sea salt).

Place everything in a blender and let it go until most of the oats are broken down and then pour everything through a fine mesh sieve ( any of the leftover particles can be eaten as is or used in recipes( and then bottle ( I reused some old kombucha bottles that I sanitized) and store in the fridge.

I played around with the water ratio before and after the fact. It seems like you can adjust the consistency to your liking. You could also add in vanilla or a natural sweetner of your choice to suit your taste.

I also added cacao to one batch and it's great =)

If you like oatmeal; then you'll probably like oat milk.

That's it!!!!
Give it a try =)

Wishing you peace and happy cooking🌟

<3 Love,
Jessica

Monday, February 29, 2016

Happy Leap Day and Jess a Tip!

Happy Leap Day!!!
I had a fairly productive day and I had hoped to share this tip with the create tv contest for PBS, but I ran out of time and I do not do much video editing these days; so I wouldn't feel good submitting something that was subpar.

It's a simple tip that encourages waste not, want not. I definitely try to be frugal and this is one of those ways that I achieve this goal.

Everytime that I use any type of citrus I make sure to zest them first. I then mix the zest into either sugar, sea salt and sometimes oil too.

I can then use these for future recipes and the flavors are a great addition to cakes, crackers, salads etc.

I will be sharing some recipes in the future featuring this ingredient.


Mixed with organic sugar

Mixed with Himalyan Pink Sea Salt

I hope that you all had a wondeful day and that you will have an even better tomorrow.

Wishing you all
Good Health and Happy Cooking

<3 Jessica