The Artistry of Health: Veggie Brew

Welcome to "Veggie Brew", the recipe section of The Artistry of Health Blog. It features original recipes created by me. All the food in this section is designed to nourish the body and uses the freshest ingredients and the healthiest preparation techniques. Though I am partial to raw foods, I've decided to incorporate a 50/50 cooked/raw food diet into my life and "Veggie Brew" reflects that. From raw to cooked and somewhere in between, each recipe is executed with healing and love in mind. Think of "Like Water for Chocolate" but it's more like " Like Water for Health".

The first recipe came about as a result of a cold winter day when I was extremely. The hunger was oh so real! Though I love my fairly new rented duplex, I dislike the fact that there are few to no options in the neighborhood to consider food let alone healthy food. Wanting immediate satisfaction, I even toyed with the idea of getting a "salad" (or perhaps some other "veggie" option from the Crown Fried Chicken across the street. And there goes an example of compromising lifestyle choices. But behold, thanks for good and supportive friends! My homegirl Daryl talked me out of opting to hop across the street to the hood's favorite diner, and create a meal from home. What made me even consider Crown's was the winter cold. I wanted something warm and hearty as well to eat. So I pieced together what I had left of some various ingredients and voila, a cozy winter e-mergency meal. See the step-by-step recipe below:

Ingredients:

celtic sea salt

fresh rosemary

cherry tomatoes

1 block extra firm tofu

basmati brown rice

2 leek stalks

1 1/2 large sweet onion

green and yellow beens

baby carrots

scallions

1. Place brown basmati rice in pot of water. Heat at a low temperature. The rice will be done by the time the remainder of the meal is cooked.

2. Slice the sweet onions to 1/2 inch thickness. Place the sliced onions in deep skillet. Blanch the onions; cover onions in water, cover, and bring to a boil. Blanch long enough to soften the onions and bring to a firm wilt. Slice all vegetables and cut the extra firm tofu into 1in blocks.

3. Slice 2 Leek stalks about 1in thick. Drain onions and add extra virgin olive oil to skillet. Add onions and leeks to skillet and sautee on low heat. Sprinkle 2 pinches of celtic sea salt.

4. Add yellow and green french beens, carrots, and chopped scallions to skillet and mix. Add 3 pinches of celtic sea salt. Cook all ingredients for about 10 minutes. The key is to lightly cook the vegetables for a short period of time without losing too much nutrients. While the vegetables are brewing, place extra virgin olive oil in a large pan and add tofu. Sprinkle a dash of celtic sea salt. Lightly sautee the tofu until light golden brown on all sides.