Category Archives: Whole Food Plant-Based Food Kitchen

Whole Food Plant-Based Food Kitchen tips

I got my Mojo Back! Made Veggies au Pistou ( a fancy French name for a basic Veggie Stew with Pasta and Pesto)

I am GREATLY relieved to be able to report that I have my cooking mojo back!  This week everything I cooked turned out well.  In fact better than well. . . it was all downright good!

lunch beforeMonday morning I went out a picked a great assortment of fresh veggies. Spinach, yellow squash and tomatoes shown here.  I also trimmed a big basket full of basil and a bunch of onions.

In the fridge there were navy beans from last week, a head of lettuce and a big cucumber that we had gotten at Farmer’s Market.  It was obviously a Greek salad day.

We are now officially in summer and menus are guided by what I pick on any given more.  This morning I had LOTS of basil that was either going to get harvested or bolt.  I harvested.

I stood and inhaled the incredible aroma and thought “Pesto!”. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on June 21, 2012
Posted in Cote Home Grown Fare, entrée, fresh veggies, garden, menu, Mirepoix, Pasta, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Plant-Based Diet Myth: It’s Expensive

moneyOne of the most baffling  things people say to me is “I would love to eat a plant based diet, but that is just too expensive!” I am always a little blown away but this assertion. I go to the grocery store and I watch food prices closely. . .

It was nice to find a discussion about this in The Starch Solution. Here, John McDougall states that a plant-based diet averages $4,000 savings per person per year. Or savings of  $333 per month.  You can read his discussion on pages 203-206 or search for “Food Costs” on your digital device.

For our household (just the two of us) that means saving about $650 per month. That, by the way is about what we currently spend each month.  In other words if we started eating animal based products we would double our monthly food costs.  Just in case I need another reason to stay on a plant-based diet that would work! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on June 20, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, Beans, diary-free food, excitotoxins, Food Additives, fresh veggies, menu, plant based diet | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Bad Week at Black Rock

What happened here?!Just so you know, Not everything I try is a success. I know that there are friends that think I am making it up.  After all I am a proficient cook with lots of experience and knowledge.

Now, it is true that I am a proficient cook with lots of experience and knowledge.  And yet, trust me, I have very bad cooking experiences!  Last week was a great example. . .  I was on a roll! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on June 19, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, diary-free food, gluten-free food, menu, Pasta, sugar-free food, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Big Six– The Necessary and The Absolutely NOT Necessary (but wonderful) Kitchen Gadgets

For me there are three absolutely can’t live with out kitchen appliances:
must have appliances

  • Heavy duty food processor – I wrote not long ago about choppers of all kind
  • Toaster oven – a multipurpose device for warming up food, toasting bread and quick heating instead of a microwave.  It is great in the summer for baking something small and not having to turn on the hot old oven!
  • Crockpot– Year round convenience. It is wonderful for soups, sauces and casseroles. Start a meal and walk way.  I use it instead of the oven or stove top in the summer.

And then there are the ones that are absolutely not necessary, but sure make life a whole lot easier appliances:
recommended items (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on June 11, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, kitchen basics, plant based diet | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy

My favorite part of gardening is watching the seeds sprout and poke up through the ground.  My second favorite part is harvesting the food. Third, is eating it.

It is immensely gratifying to actually see the results of all your hard work. Watering, weeding, keeping after pests and fungi is hard work. Never mind the transplanting and soil prep.  It’s definitely work!  But there are so few things in life where you can actually see, taste and experience such tangible and direct results.

Harvesting means menu planning.  Now, in the winter menus are usually about the finished product – casseroles, soups, stews and meatless meatloaves.  In the summer it is about making sure I have cooked rice and beans in the fridge, nuts in the pantry and a few things in the freezer.

by Genene Cote Posted on June 7, 2012
Posted in Cote Home Grown Fare, entrée, fresh veggies, garden, Italian, menu, Pasta, salad, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When A Plan Starts to Come Together!

Small plants coming up in garden in a pool

Planting a garden is a small act in creating a long term plan.  You plant seeds, water, watch and wait.  And then one day you see a little shoot of green poking up the dirt. This is my very favorite part or gardening!

The miracle of life and growth always makes me happy!  I walk around with a big grin on my face all day. There is nothing like a little miracle to remind me how wonderful life is and how grateful I am just to be alive. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on May 31, 2012
Posted in fresh veggies, garden, menu, plant based diet, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Choppers! I love them!

Not the noisy big ones, the other kind. . . So you can imagine my excitement today when I  made a great find today: a small food processor (chopper) for $5.00 at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  This may be the most exciting purchase I have made all month! I told you, I love choppers!

choppersHere’s the deal: choppers make life easier.  And as far as I can tell, there is no such thing as having too many choppers in my kitchen! The picture here shows my three favorites (just try and ignore the 60’s vintage orange counter top).

What you see on the right is my full size Cuisinart food processor – top of the line and a gift from my parents my years ago.  I have had to replace a couple of small parts but it is truly a workhorse and has served me well. I use if for soups, making nut butter and just about anytime I make a large casserole. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on May 30, 2012
Posted in kitchen basics, Whole Food Plant-Based Food Kitchen | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Cookbooks as Suggestions (or a few words about my recipes)

cookbook
First of all, lets be clear that I consider cooking more art than science. The important disclaimer as that we are talking cooking not baking. Baking is kinda fiddly and requires much more science. But that said, I think of recipes as crude hand drawn maps. They give you a rough idea about the general direction you are planning to go. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on May 24, 2012
Posted in kitchen basics, menu, Whole Food Plant-Based Food Kitchen, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

My Pantry

my pantry

Of course I have a stash of the must have foods.  As long as I have the things shown here plus a few basic veggies and herbs I can always figure out how to cook a meal.  Here’s my pantry

  • On shelves 1,2 and 4 are glass jars full of
    • beans – black, white, red, garbanzos, lentils and fava
    • rice – black and brown
    • grains – cornmeal, quinoa, buckwheat
    • nuts – almonds. cashews, pecans
    • seeds – sesame, chia, sunflower
  • On Shelf 3 are jarred items:
    • Oils
    • prepared mustard
    • salsa
    • raisins
    • honey
    • minced garlic
    • dried chopped onions (more…)
by Genene Cote Posted on May 23, 2012
Posted in kitchen basics, menu, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based Food Kitchen | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What to Eat — Sample weekly menu

Since we are constantly asked what we eat, I have decided to post our dinner menu plan for this coming week.  Over the next few days I will add the cooking tips and the recipes we use.

There are several things to note – we almost always have certain basics in our fridge.  These include cooked brown rice and prepared beans of some type; this week it is navy beans.  In our cupboards we keep a supply of things like olive oil, nuts, herbs, spices, canned and frozen veggies and salsa. As a practical matter we buy bulk and stock items like rice, beans, nuts, flours, oils, herbs and spices once a month on a “big shop” day.

Every weekend David and I spend part of a day procuring and preparing the food for the week. We have a lot of fun and use it as quality time together spent shopping, cooking, talking and singing to the tunes on Pandora.

Yesterday was the day. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on May 13, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, diary-free food, gluten-free food, menu, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment