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Find out what I am writing about today on my blog, Gut Check, for the Erie Times-News. Click here.

Raw Vegan Hot Dogs

You need a dehydrator for this recipe.
Raw whole food hot dogs
Posted by snowdrop on Raw Freedom Community

Makes 6-8

1-1/2 c walnuts
¼ onion
¼ beet
½ carrot
2 clove garlic
2 T agave (to taste)
2 T soy sauce/tamari
2 t hickory smoke flavor
1 t marjoram
½ t celery seed
½ t salt
½ t smoked paprika
sprinkle cayenne pepper

Blend till smooth in food processor. Form dough into hot dog shapes on parchment and place on racks. Dehydrate 105 about 4 hrs. Flip onto grid dehydrate to the texture you like. (Another hr or so.) Roll lightly into shape. Serve warm.

Go meatless on Mondays

I grew up Catholic, so I am used to not eating meat on Fridays during Lent. Never a fish lover, I always cringed at the thought of fish sticks and tartar sauce--my mother's Friday dinner staple. Little did we Catholics know then that our simple act of abstaining from meat was having a fairly big impact on the environment.
   The production of meat at the agribusiness level takes it heavy toll on our environment. According to the Environmental Working Group, "if we Americans skipped meat and cheese just one day a week for a year, we’d cut carbon emissions as much as taking 7.6 million cars off the road would."
   That's pretty impressive. EWG is also launching it's Meatless Monday campaign, which I heartily endorse and have signed a pledge to fulfill. It's easy for me because I can count on one hand how many times a month we actually eat any type of meat.
   While I am not a card-carrying vegan, I am environmentally sensitive. And through the personal changes I have made to my own diet and my standard of living, I have to tell you, my health has improved exponentially. And when I say health, I mean the whole enchilada--body, mind and spirit.
If you want to take the pledge, click here.
   To sign up for my daily GoErie.com blog, click here.

Corn Penuche Fudge

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups cooked corn

Combine the milk, sugars, salt, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugars are dissolved. Insert a candy thermometer into the mixture. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches 234 degrees (soft-ball stage). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and corn kernels. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Once the candy is cool, stir in the vanilla and beat until the mixture lightens in color and is creamy. This is best accomplished with an electric mixer, but you can use a wooden spoon if necessary. Press into 8 by 8 inch baking dish, greased. Chill.

Ode to Cruciferous Vegetables

If it's all about texture, then who can hate cruciferous vegetables? I mean, who hate crunch? I hear a lot about how people loathe broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, bok choy. Poor brussel sprouts is a particular target for haters. If you don't have teeth, I get it. But most of us love something crunchy. Here are a few recipes to help self-proclaimed raw vegetable haters to come to the light side.

Chop Chop Cruciferous Slaw

Use all or some of the following:
cabbage
Red cabbage
broccoli
cauliflower
radishes
carrots
cucumbers
red and green bell peppers
celery
carrots
jicama
turnip

The trick is to chop the veggies up into very small, not quite minced, pieces, so that whomever is eating it can't distinguish the different vegetables--almost like a colesalaw. The add some or all of the following:

sunflower seeds
glazed nuts of any kind
raisins
grape tomatoes (sliced)
grapes (sliced)

Mix with your favorite coleslaw dressing. Or try Bobby Flay's recipe.

Broccoli Zucchini Hummus
(Thanks to

1 1/2 cups raw broccoli, chopped
1 1/2 cups raw zucchini, chopped
1/3 cup raw sesame tahini
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp organic mustard (totally optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
3 tbsp lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper

Place the veggies into your processor and process till finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients, and blend till smooth. This will mean stopping a few times to scrape If the mix is too thick add a thin stream of water or more lemon juice to thin it out.

An Ode to Cherries

This is the companion blog to my GoErie blog. It's cherry season and this little fruit packs an amazing nutritional punch. Here are some recipes to enjoy your fresh batch of this seasonal beauty.
Note: Use a melon baller to remove pits.

Cold Cherry Soup

1 pound cherries [any variety], stems and stones removed

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
1 Cup of milk/cream (I use alternative milk such as coconut milk or almond milk)
1 tsp. of vanilla

Puree the above ingredients. Chill before serving. Add sprig of mint leaf for garnish and some chopped cherries.

Cherry Smoothie

1 banana (or fruit of your choice)
1 cup cherries, frozen*
3/4 cup mixed berry juice
5 ice cubes
1/2 teaspoon stevia

Add the banana, cherries, berry juice, ice, and stevia into the blender in that order. Blend until smooth. Serves 1-2.
Frozen cherries can be made by de-pitting the cherries, placing them on parchment on a cookie sheet and putting them in a freezer until hard. Unused frozen cherries can be bagged and saved for the winter.

Basil Vinaigrette

Small garlic clove
1 cup packed basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 oz. fresh pamesan

Puree in blender until well mixed.

Cold Curried Sweet Tomato Soup

3 C of pureed tomatoes (or tomato juice)
2 T tomato paste
4 scallions, minced
1 t curry powder
2 T honey (to taste)
pinch of thyme
1 T lemon juice
1 t lemon rind
gound pepper and salt to taste
4-6 servings

Combine in blender and chill to combine flavors. Garnish with sour cream and parsley.

My Aha moment

It was 1989 and I got this idea stuck in my head that we should throw our parents an anniversary party. A big surprise bash. My mother loved parties and had more than hinted that with her 40th anniversary coming it, it would be the perfect opportunity to surprise them. The problem was that was 2 years away. But something told me to go for it.
   We put on the dog as she would have said. Created a complex strategy to surprise them and succeeded in throwing a wonderful party for her friends and family. Several  months later, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. We had no idea when we planned the party that she was ill. She died several weeks after her 39th wedding anniversary. She was 63. She never made it to her 40th.
    That was when it really hit home. I had trusted my instincts and my intuition. Since then, that has been my rule of thumb: Go with your gut. Even if it doesn't make sense. And many times, that means there is no time like the present. Interestingly enough, the theme of my parent's anniversary party was "The Best of Times of is Now."
   Check out the video.

Ever hear of "Furry Fandom"?

While I was busy honing my craft in Detroit last weekend, a large group of adults were convening in Pittsburgh to share their mutual love of dressing up like animals. Called Anthrocon, this convention of what are playfully called "furries" brings some 4500 people together who spend lots of money. Our 75 conferencees in Detroit pales in comparison. Clearly, more folks enjoy being sports mascots than do writing opinion columns for a living. "Anthro" is derived from the word anthropomorphic as in anthropomorphic animal. 
    Now I did not know that this convention was being hosted in Pittsburgh, until my niece who was visiting her beau in that fair city, told me. I knew furries existed because of an episode of CSI, but I thought it was a boutique fetish. It strikes me as ironic that at the time the furries were mulling around the Steel City, I was in the Motor City posing with Paws, the mascot for the Detroit Tigers (picture above).
   The appearance of Paws during one of our conference breaks spurred a conversation with another conference attendee, Stu Bykofsky of the Philadelphia Daily News, who said he had once donned the outfit of his home city's beloved Phanatic, the green potbellied furry thing that defies classification but is immensely popular. He explained how heavy, cumbersome and smelly the costume was. (Apparently, in the world of sports mascots, there are often several people who take turns assuming the role. It makes for a variety of aromas since the costumes are often very heavy and poorly ventilated.)
   Which leads to me to ponder how furries find comfort and pleasure in wearing them. Heck, I can't even wear a Halloween mask without having a panic attack. But that's me.
   So what is it that furries derive from packaging themselves in animal guises? Or perhaps the better question is: Is it anyone's place to criticize them or poke fun? From the looks of it, they hurt no one, in fact, they don't even speak when they are in character. They prefer exaggerated gesturing and miming as a means of communication.
   Wait a minute. That sounds exactly like a mascot. I guess Shakespeare was right. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet."