Sunday, April 10, 2011

Almost vegan banana coconut eggrolls

This dessert is almost vegan because I used box store eggrolls. I know you can get the eggless variety but frankly I did not feel like driving 20 miles round trip to get them. The eggroll wrappers are the only thing non-vegan in this recipe.

eggroll wrappers

2 overly ripe bananas

1 cup coconut, toasted

2 Tbsp. agave syrup (amber)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

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The first step is to toast the coconut in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Use the unsweetened variety and be sure to watch it closely. If you leave this unattended it will quickly burn.

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After a couple minutes you will begin to see the coconut browning, continue to stir constantly.

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When it’s ready it should be a nice golden brown color. Place the toasted coconut into a bowl to cool slightly.

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Coarsely chop the ripe banana.

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Mix the chopped banana with the toasted coconut and 2 Tbsp. agave syrup.

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Place about 2 tsp. of the banana mixture in the center of an eggroll wrapper.

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Fold up each side.

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Get a bowl or small cup of cold water and using your fingertips, gently wet the sides of the eggroll wrapper.

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Fold the wrapper up from the bottom to cover the filling.

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Continue rolling until tightly wrapped.

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Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, begin cooking the eggrolls for 5 minutes on each side, turning only once during cooking.

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They should be golden brown in color and crispy on the outside.

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Serve with a drizzle of agave syrup or with ice cream. This recipe will make about 10 eggrolls.

Vegan chili

So, I know everyone has their own favorite chili recipe and there has always been a great debate about beans vs. no beans (all meat). Well, this is one of my versions of vegan chili, this version has loads of roasted green peppers and has a really fresh taste to it.

1 cup uncooked lentils

1 medium yellow onion, diced

8 cloves garlic, diced

3 carrots, chopped

2 poblano peppers, roasted and peeled

1 green bell pepper, roasted and peeled

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 15 oz. cans dark red kidney beans

2 15 oz. cans pinto beans

1 32 oz. can petite diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can corn

2 Tbsp. cumin

2 Tbsp. salt

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp. dried red chili

 

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First thing is to cook the dry lentils in cold water, one cup dry lentils will yield about 2 cups cooked lentils. You can buy the canned variety too but it’s more cost effective to cook them yourself. Bring them to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes, drain and set aside.

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Meanwhile, broil the poblano peppers and green bell pepper to roast. Turn about every 2-3 minutes until the skin bubbles and turns dark brown.

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See how the skin has bubbled and darkened. Now they are time to peel.

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Run them under cold water while peeling off the skin. It should peel away easily, and now you have naked peppers (ooh).

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Now you want to cut them in half, discard the stems and the seeds.

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Then coarsely chop the peppers.

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While those peppers are roasting you can chop the onion, garlic, and carrots. Sauté in he olive oil for several minutes until opaque.

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Add the canned beans, corn, tomatoes, spices, and finally the chopped peppers. Cook for about 1 hour.

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Serve topped with some vegan rice cheese and tortilla chips if desired.

Salty, chocolate balls (definitely NOT vegan)

Nothing says howdy like salty, chocolate balls and a lemon kamikaze.  IMG_2699

When you make cakes you always end up with lots of leftover cake bits from leveling the cakes. Why waste perfectly good leftover cake bits? What better use for them than salty chocolate covered balls? Just take the leftover cake and crumble it all up together in a big bowl. I used dark chocolate truffle and french vanilla – just mix them all up together. At this point it pretty much looks like dirt.

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I also had some leftover chocolate ganache from the cake filling so I just threw that into the bowl too. Now instead of dirt, it looks like brown goop.

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Now comes the fun, take a bout a tablespoon sized amount into your palm and roll it into a ball. For the coating, melt a bag of chocolate chips. In a microwave safe bowl, dump a whole bag of chocolate chips. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, and them microwave for another 30 seconds. At this point you will still see some whole chips but keep stirring until they all dissolve. If you heat it further at this point it may burn and become unusable.

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Dip each ball into the melted chocolate to coat. Place them on sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper to harden. If you want to hurry things up just pop them into the fridge. After coating, sprinkle on a few large crystals of sea salt. If this sounds gross, trust me and just do it, the salt is pretty much the best part.

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Mmmmmmm, and there you have it, a perfect salty chocolate ball. Gooey on the inside with a thin, crispy chocolate coating and perfect amount of salt.

A first birthday cake

This is what I was busy doing yesterday, baking and decorating a three tier birthday cake for Kaiden, a friends son who turned 1. Kaiden loves monkeys and his party theme was all about monkeys. Sadly, the cake itself was not vegan. The bottom layer was a dark chocolate truffle cake with chocolate ganache filling. The middle was french vanillas cake with white chocolate ganache filling. And a plain white cake for the top which Kaiden destroyed within a matter of seconds and then cried when he realized his hands were dirty.

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Vegan sushi quinoa salad

Who says vegans can’t enjoy the flavors of sushi? A common misconception is that sushi is raw fish. Sushi can actually be any number of fresh ingredients flavored with rice vinegar and doesn’t have to include fish at all. I was craving sushi and wanted to give this recipe that sushi flare and flavor in salad form and without even using any rice.


1 package Extra Firm Tofu, drained and patted dry


2 cups quinoa


2 Tbsp. olive oil


1 Tbsp. soy sauce


1 clove minced garlic


1 1/2 Tbsp. grated ginger


2 cups mung bean sprouts


2 cups broccoli


2 diced green onions


2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces (or about 1 cup of baby carrots sliced into thirds)


1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced


1/3 cup rice vinegar


1/3 cup soy sauce


1 jalapeno, seeded and diced


1 small bunch fresh basil leaves, torn


1/3 bunch cilantro leaves


Avacado


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Unfortunately, I was in a hurry and only got one good picture but doesn’t it look mouthwatering?


To make this salad, first cook the quinoa in 2 quarts of cold water. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil, cover, and cook on low heat for 12 minutes, then drain.


While the quinoa is cooking you can start cooking your tofu and prepping the other veggies. After draining the tofu and patting it dry, pat it dry again until you have sucked out all the life in it. I do this by using 2 thick white kitchen towels, place the tofu block on one towel, cover with the second towel and press repeatedly while turning the tofu. This helps extract as much water as possible and is the key to getting your tofu crisp. Slice the tofu into bite sized pieces and toss with 1 Tbsp. soy sauce and 1 Tbsp. of the grated ginger. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan and add the tofu. When cooking the tofu, do not disturb it! Let it cook for a full 5 minutes on one side without touching it. Then gently stir, cook another 5 minutes without touching, stir again, and then cook 5 minutes more. DO NOT TOUCH IT! If you touch it, you will have mushy tofu, mushy tofu = not good.


Now for the veggies, chop the broccoli and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. To speed this up you could also microwave it in a covered, microwave safe dish with a couple Tbsp. of water for 3 minutes. This just takes a bit of the crisp out of it and I think makes it better in the salad.


Wash and drain the bean sprouts, chop the green onions, carrots, cucumber, jalapeno. Then wash and tear your basil and cilantro leaves. Set all of these aside in a large bowl.


For the dressing combine 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1/3 cup soy sauce, and 1/2 Tbsp. grated ginger. Mix and pour over the prepped veggies.


After the quinoa has cooked, rinse thoroughly in cold water to cool it down, make sure to drain all of the water out. Do the same with the blanched broccoli. Then mix the quinoa and broccoli with the vegetables and dressing. The last step is to add your cooked and crispy (because you DID NOT touch it) tofu. Toss everything together really well with the dressing. Top with diced avocado – YUM squared.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Tabbouleh inspired Quinoa

Mmmmmmm, I love, love love, quinoa and tabbouleh so I decided to combine the two into one delicious meal. Yumaliciousness!


1 1/2 cups quinoa


1 bunch parsley


1 bunch mint


juice and zest of 1 lemon


1/2 of a red onion, diced


1 cucumber, peeled and diced


3-4 green onions, diced


2-3 small tomatoes, seeded and finely diced


1/3 cup olive oil


1 tsp salt


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The cast of characters. If you haven’t cooked with quinoa before, you can usually find it in the rice section of your supermarket. You can get it packaged in a bag like this one or look in the bulk bins. Buying it from the bulk bins will save you a ton of money which is what I usually do. This bag just happened to be on sale.


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Here is the quinoa up close before it is cooked. You can use this as a much healthier rice substitute too. It has a slightly nutty flavor and is full of healthy vitamins. Put 1 1/2 cups of quinoa into about 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 14 minutes then rinse with cold water. While you are waiting for your quinoa to cook, get the rest of your yummies together.


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Throw the parsley, mint, green onions, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and zest right into your food processor – stems and all. Why waste the stems? They taste just as delicious as the leafy part and you are chopping it up so small you won’t notice them anyway. You could also do this by hand, just be sure to chop it very finely.


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Look, all chopped up and not a stem in sight. The aroma is delightful and making me hungry already.


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No, the ingredients did not call for worms. I am showing this worm to stress the importance of washing all fruits, veggies, and herbs thoroughly. My packaged mint said it was clean and ready to go but this little fella was living in there. The best way to wash leafy things is to fill your sink with cold water, separate the leaves, submerge them, and wish them right around for a few minutes.


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There’s that tasty quinoa all cooked and ready to eat. When it’s done it will look like there are little “sprouts” coming out.


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Put all of your chopped veggies that you were prepping while the quinoa was cooking into a bowl. At least I hope you were prepping these and not playing with your worm. Mix it all together and it is ready to eat.


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This recipe is so good that I always have to eat a little as soon as I make it – I can’t wait. Sometimes I will even eat it for breakfast and lunch. Make up a big batch, throw it in the fridge and eat it all week for lunch.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Navy Bean Gratin

This would make a nice main course but I portioned the finished dish out into lunch containers to take with me to work this week. I couldn’t resist trying a small bowl when it first came out of the oven though, and you will not be disappointed at all.

1 lb bag dry navy beans

1 onion, quartered

1 bunch rosemary

1 bunch parsley, plus 3 Tbl chopped (divided)

1 leek

6 cloves garlic

2 Tbl olive oil

2 diced carrots

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup vegan rice cheese

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

salt, and pepper

Soak the beans overnight according to the package directions. Place the soaked beans into a dutch oven and fill to about 2” above beans with water. Throw in the whole quartered onion, skin and all, the whole bunch of rosemary and bunch of parsley (reserving the chopped parsley).  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes – beans should be tender. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid.

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In the same dutch oven sauté the leek, garlic, and carrots in the olive oil for 5 minutes.

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Add the drained beans to the pot along with 1 Tbl chopped parsley, 1/2 cup of the cheese, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

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In a small bowl mix the breadcrumbs, remaining cheese, and remaining parsley together and sprinkle on top of the beans. Transfer to the over and cook uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes.

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I didn’t get a done picture, but this is what it looked like before going into the oven. The cheese and breadcrumbs make a nice flavorful, crunchy crust on top.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Almost vegan banana coconut eggrolls

This dessert is almost vegan because I used box store eggrolls. I know you can get the eggless variety but frankly I did not feel like driving 20 miles round trip to get them. The eggroll wrappers are the only thing non-vegan in this recipe.

eggroll wrappers

2 overly ripe bananas

1 cup coconut, toasted

2 Tbsp. agave syrup (amber)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

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The first step is to toast the coconut in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Use the unsweetened variety and be sure to watch it closely. If you leave this unattended it will quickly burn.

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After a couple minutes you will begin to see the coconut browning, continue to stir constantly.

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When it’s ready it should be a nice golden brown color. Place the toasted coconut into a bowl to cool slightly.

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Coarsely chop the ripe banana.

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Mix the chopped banana with the toasted coconut and 2 Tbsp. agave syrup.

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Place about 2 tsp. of the banana mixture in the center of an eggroll wrapper.

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Fold up each side.

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Get a bowl or small cup of cold water and using your fingertips, gently wet the sides of the eggroll wrapper.

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Fold the wrapper up from the bottom to cover the filling.

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Continue rolling until tightly wrapped.

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Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, begin cooking the eggrolls for 5 minutes on each side, turning only once during cooking.

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They should be golden brown in color and crispy on the outside.

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Serve with a drizzle of agave syrup or with ice cream. This recipe will make about 10 eggrolls.

Vegan chili

So, I know everyone has their own favorite chili recipe and there has always been a great debate about beans vs. no beans (all meat). Well, this is one of my versions of vegan chili, this version has loads of roasted green peppers and has a really fresh taste to it.

1 cup uncooked lentils

1 medium yellow onion, diced

8 cloves garlic, diced

3 carrots, chopped

2 poblano peppers, roasted and peeled

1 green bell pepper, roasted and peeled

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 15 oz. cans dark red kidney beans

2 15 oz. cans pinto beans

1 32 oz. can petite diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can corn

2 Tbsp. cumin

2 Tbsp. salt

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp. dried red chili

 

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First thing is to cook the dry lentils in cold water, one cup dry lentils will yield about 2 cups cooked lentils. You can buy the canned variety too but it’s more cost effective to cook them yourself. Bring them to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes, drain and set aside.

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Meanwhile, broil the poblano peppers and green bell pepper to roast. Turn about every 2-3 minutes until the skin bubbles and turns dark brown.

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See how the skin has bubbled and darkened. Now they are time to peel.

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Run them under cold water while peeling off the skin. It should peel away easily, and now you have naked peppers (ooh).

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Now you want to cut them in half, discard the stems and the seeds.

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Then coarsely chop the peppers.

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While those peppers are roasting you can chop the onion, garlic, and carrots. Sauté in he olive oil for several minutes until opaque.

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Add the canned beans, corn, tomatoes, spices, and finally the chopped peppers. Cook for about 1 hour.

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Serve topped with some vegan rice cheese and tortilla chips if desired.

Salty, chocolate balls (definitely NOT vegan)

Nothing says howdy like salty, chocolate balls and a lemon kamikaze.  IMG_2699

When you make cakes you always end up with lots of leftover cake bits from leveling the cakes. Why waste perfectly good leftover cake bits? What better use for them than salty chocolate covered balls? Just take the leftover cake and crumble it all up together in a big bowl. I used dark chocolate truffle and french vanilla – just mix them all up together. At this point it pretty much looks like dirt.

IMG_2693

I also had some leftover chocolate ganache from the cake filling so I just threw that into the bowl too. Now instead of dirt, it looks like brown goop.

IMG_2694

Now comes the fun, take a bout a tablespoon sized amount into your palm and roll it into a ball. For the coating, melt a bag of chocolate chips. In a microwave safe bowl, dump a whole bag of chocolate chips. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, and them microwave for another 30 seconds. At this point you will still see some whole chips but keep stirring until they all dissolve. If you heat it further at this point it may burn and become unusable.

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Dip each ball into the melted chocolate to coat. Place them on sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper to harden. If you want to hurry things up just pop them into the fridge. After coating, sprinkle on a few large crystals of sea salt. If this sounds gross, trust me and just do it, the salt is pretty much the best part.

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Mmmmmmm, and there you have it, a perfect salty chocolate ball. Gooey on the inside with a thin, crispy chocolate coating and perfect amount of salt.

A first birthday cake

This is what I was busy doing yesterday, baking and decorating a three tier birthday cake for Kaiden, a friends son who turned 1. Kaiden loves monkeys and his party theme was all about monkeys. Sadly, the cake itself was not vegan. The bottom layer was a dark chocolate truffle cake with chocolate ganache filling. The middle was french vanillas cake with white chocolate ganache filling. And a plain white cake for the top which Kaiden destroyed within a matter of seconds and then cried when he realized his hands were dirty.

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Vegan sushi quinoa salad

Who says vegans can’t enjoy the flavors of sushi? A common misconception is that sushi is raw fish. Sushi can actually be any number of fresh ingredients flavored with rice vinegar and doesn’t have to include fish at all. I was craving sushi and wanted to give this recipe that sushi flare and flavor in salad form and without even using any rice.


1 package Extra Firm Tofu, drained and patted dry


2 cups quinoa


2 Tbsp. olive oil


1 Tbsp. soy sauce


1 clove minced garlic


1 1/2 Tbsp. grated ginger


2 cups mung bean sprouts


2 cups broccoli


2 diced green onions


2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces (or about 1 cup of baby carrots sliced into thirds)


1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced


1/3 cup rice vinegar


1/3 cup soy sauce


1 jalapeno, seeded and diced


1 small bunch fresh basil leaves, torn


1/3 bunch cilantro leaves


Avacado


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Unfortunately, I was in a hurry and only got one good picture but doesn’t it look mouthwatering?


To make this salad, first cook the quinoa in 2 quarts of cold water. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil, cover, and cook on low heat for 12 minutes, then drain.


While the quinoa is cooking you can start cooking your tofu and prepping the other veggies. After draining the tofu and patting it dry, pat it dry again until you have sucked out all the life in it. I do this by using 2 thick white kitchen towels, place the tofu block on one towel, cover with the second towel and press repeatedly while turning the tofu. This helps extract as much water as possible and is the key to getting your tofu crisp. Slice the tofu into bite sized pieces and toss with 1 Tbsp. soy sauce and 1 Tbsp. of the grated ginger. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan and add the tofu. When cooking the tofu, do not disturb it! Let it cook for a full 5 minutes on one side without touching it. Then gently stir, cook another 5 minutes without touching, stir again, and then cook 5 minutes more. DO NOT TOUCH IT! If you touch it, you will have mushy tofu, mushy tofu = not good.


Now for the veggies, chop the broccoli and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. To speed this up you could also microwave it in a covered, microwave safe dish with a couple Tbsp. of water for 3 minutes. This just takes a bit of the crisp out of it and I think makes it better in the salad.


Wash and drain the bean sprouts, chop the green onions, carrots, cucumber, jalapeno. Then wash and tear your basil and cilantro leaves. Set all of these aside in a large bowl.


For the dressing combine 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1/3 cup soy sauce, and 1/2 Tbsp. grated ginger. Mix and pour over the prepped veggies.


After the quinoa has cooked, rinse thoroughly in cold water to cool it down, make sure to drain all of the water out. Do the same with the blanched broccoli. Then mix the quinoa and broccoli with the vegetables and dressing. The last step is to add your cooked and crispy (because you DID NOT touch it) tofu. Toss everything together really well with the dressing. Top with diced avocado – YUM squared.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Tabbouleh inspired Quinoa

Mmmmmmm, I love, love love, quinoa and tabbouleh so I decided to combine the two into one delicious meal. Yumaliciousness!


1 1/2 cups quinoa


1 bunch parsley


1 bunch mint


juice and zest of 1 lemon


1/2 of a red onion, diced


1 cucumber, peeled and diced


3-4 green onions, diced


2-3 small tomatoes, seeded and finely diced


1/3 cup olive oil


1 tsp salt


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The cast of characters. If you haven’t cooked with quinoa before, you can usually find it in the rice section of your supermarket. You can get it packaged in a bag like this one or look in the bulk bins. Buying it from the bulk bins will save you a ton of money which is what I usually do. This bag just happened to be on sale.


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Here is the quinoa up close before it is cooked. You can use this as a much healthier rice substitute too. It has a slightly nutty flavor and is full of healthy vitamins. Put 1 1/2 cups of quinoa into about 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 14 minutes then rinse with cold water. While you are waiting for your quinoa to cook, get the rest of your yummies together.


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Throw the parsley, mint, green onions, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and zest right into your food processor – stems and all. Why waste the stems? They taste just as delicious as the leafy part and you are chopping it up so small you won’t notice them anyway. You could also do this by hand, just be sure to chop it very finely.


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Look, all chopped up and not a stem in sight. The aroma is delightful and making me hungry already.


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No, the ingredients did not call for worms. I am showing this worm to stress the importance of washing all fruits, veggies, and herbs thoroughly. My packaged mint said it was clean and ready to go but this little fella was living in there. The best way to wash leafy things is to fill your sink with cold water, separate the leaves, submerge them, and wish them right around for a few minutes.


IMG_2581


There’s that tasty quinoa all cooked and ready to eat. When it’s done it will look like there are little “sprouts” coming out.


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Put all of your chopped veggies that you were prepping while the quinoa was cooking into a bowl. At least I hope you were prepping these and not playing with your worm. Mix it all together and it is ready to eat.


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This recipe is so good that I always have to eat a little as soon as I make it – I can’t wait. Sometimes I will even eat it for breakfast and lunch. Make up a big batch, throw it in the fridge and eat it all week for lunch.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Navy Bean Gratin

This would make a nice main course but I portioned the finished dish out into lunch containers to take with me to work this week. I couldn’t resist trying a small bowl when it first came out of the oven though, and you will not be disappointed at all.

1 lb bag dry navy beans

1 onion, quartered

1 bunch rosemary

1 bunch parsley, plus 3 Tbl chopped (divided)

1 leek

6 cloves garlic

2 Tbl olive oil

2 diced carrots

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup vegan rice cheese

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

salt, and pepper

Soak the beans overnight according to the package directions. Place the soaked beans into a dutch oven and fill to about 2” above beans with water. Throw in the whole quartered onion, skin and all, the whole bunch of rosemary and bunch of parsley (reserving the chopped parsley).  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes – beans should be tender. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid.

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In the same dutch oven sauté the leek, garlic, and carrots in the olive oil for 5 minutes.

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Add the drained beans to the pot along with 1 Tbl chopped parsley, 1/2 cup of the cheese, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

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In a small bowl mix the breadcrumbs, remaining cheese, and remaining parsley together and sprinkle on top of the beans. Transfer to the over and cook uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes.

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I didn’t get a done picture, but this is what it looked like before going into the oven. The cheese and breadcrumbs make a nice flavorful, crunchy crust on top.