this is unrelated, but I came across this old cartoon and it made me laugh.
I can't remember who sent it to me....oh but it brings back memories...

Coconut Dhal, AKA cleaning out the pantry Sunday

Today I was so tempted to go out and buy ingredients for a fun meal. Then I opened the fridge and realized that I had more than enough food if I could just figure out how to use it all! Google to the rescue, I found this recipe for Coconut Dhal: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3794/coconut-dhal and decided it would probably be great served over my favourite base, sliced zucchini (and today, yellow squash!)  This turned out to be delicious and it was super easy to make. I think this will be a regular meal for me!

 I sauteed the onion first, then added the other ingredients:

Sliced up the squash with my V-Slicer:

And served with fresh ground pepper and a healthy dose of sriracha:

Coconut dhal with zucchini and yellow squash

Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups dry red lentils
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 small zucchini, julienned
- 1 small yellow squash, julienned
- salt, cayenne, dried chili flakes & pepper to taste

1. Saute onion in oil of your choice until soft, approximately 5 minutes
2. Add tomatoes, coconut milk, lentils, water, cayenne and chili flakes (I used about 1/2 teaspoon of each)
3. Cook for ~20 minutes until the water is mostly absorbed and lentils are soft. Stir frequently to prevent sticking
4. Pour lentils over sliced vegetables. Add pepper and sriracha to taste

Mexican Week

I saw this post from Cookie&Kate over the weekend and it looked so delicious I had to go for it. I ended up using the components in a bunch of ways over the week! I used quinoa instead of rice throughout. The flavors from everything were really fresh and they all went well together no matter what the combination. I did eat the bowl as Kate described for lunch one day but didn't take a picture.

Changes:
- quinoa instead of rice
- added ~1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke to the black beans and cooked them until they were partially mushed together
- didn't blend the avocado with the salsa, just chopped/crushed it into it. No time for that!

1. Tacos 
The first night I hadn't make the quinoa yet so I made tacos with the rest:

 Ingredients:
- 1 cup black beans from the recipe in the post above
- kale from the post above
- corn tortillas
- green salsa
- avocado, diced into the green salsa
- cherry tomatoes, halved

Put the tortillas in the oven at 350 for about 3 minutes. Put the rest of the ingredients on the tortillas in whatever order you want. Eat!

2. Bowl 
I got some purple peppers at the farmer's market and put them to use in this dish. They tasted awesome and looked like this:

This one is basically the recipe from Cookie&Kate, just with quinoa and sauteed purple peppers. It was good!

3. Enchilada 
I had half a cup of beans left and no more lime juice for the rest of the kale. So I wrapped the beans in 2 corn tortillas, crushed a few cherry tomatoes, and poured green salsa over the whole thing. Baked at 350 for 15 minutes. Not very glamorous but it was tasty.

Zucchini and Blossoms

I went to the farmer's market today and picked up some zucchini blossoms. I had never seen them before and was really fascinated! The man selling them admitted that he had never tried them but said they are edible. I looked up recipes and found lots that involved deep frying and cheese, so I decided just to saute them instead. It worked out well for a light dinner paired with an actual zucchini!

I've eaten a zucchini for dinner ever day this week, it's just so easy and works well as either a pasta-type base or a salad base. Every sauce I've thought of so far (from roasted tomato to peanut to garlic) has worked well.

Shredded Zucchini with Zucchini Blossoms: 

Ingredients:
- 1 zucchini, shredded (I used a mandoline)
- 3 zucchini blossoms, cut in half lengthwise
- 2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lime juice

Instructions:
1. Prepare all ingredients.
2. Heat oil in pan, add garlic. When it softens, add zucchini blossoms and cook for about 30 seconds
3. Pour garlic, oil and blossoms over shredded zucchini. Add lime juice and toss together.
4. Eat!

energy boost?

It's been a long time since my last blog - which means I haven't been eating anything spectacular or anything all that great.  =(

As a result... I've been low in energy and feeling like I might be getting sick. 
You really are what you eat.

So my solution to get back on track was to give myself a boost.

I have wanted to try this super green powder mix for a while now, so here goes....

I mixed the whole package (as instructed) with a glass of orange juice.  It turned out very GREEN, but don't worry, it tastes fine...
Last time I was at the health food store, I saw a variety of powders sold in large canisters (about 20-30 dollars for one I think).  I wasn't sure I wanted to purchase a whole jar, so I thought it was brilliant that I could just try one little package to see if I liked it before investing in the whole jar.

Result: I like it and will probably buy a jar to have once in a while (not everyday).  My philosophy: it never hurts to have things in moderation just to ensure you're getting a little of everything.  This way if you find out something horrible about the product I wouldn't have consumed truckloads of it to make me sick, but I've added a little of it into my lifestyle to give me a boost when I need it.

I try to do my research before I try things.  But if I've missed something and you have anything to share about powder mixes in general (good or bad), leave a comment - I'd love to learn more.

Here is my drink, hanging with Spike the aloe.

my DINNER.

Don't judge me for the simplistic dinner.  but I really did want to eat something simple.

So I made beans and brown rice with a vegetable bullion square.

It was so simple and turned out so yummy.

I just used a rice cooker and put all the ingredients in and let it do it's thing.

about half hour later... voila!  you could add this to any dish as a side and it would be delicious!

okay lady - your turn.

do you have the tempeh?

On the plate tonight: tempeh fajitas and quinoa salad

Tonight my man made me a nice vegan dinner.
He doesn't always eat vegan but he tries to support my food choices. 1+ bonus for him.





fajita filling
- one bell pepper chopped
- half and onion chopped
- curry, cumin, salt/pepper
saute the pepper and onion with a shake of cumin, curry, salt and pepper

- one package of marinated tempeh (seasoned already) just had to reheat.  Here is a picture of  what he bought.  You can always buy and marinate your own tempeh but one step at a time.









Quinoa Salad click here to see original recipe
I forgot how much I love quinoa salad.
Here is the original recipe and the very small changes he made.  My apologies for copying and pasting from the source.  Even though he suggested that I blog about his meal he didn't want to write it up himself.

1 cup quinoa 2 cups water 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 limes, juiced 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes chilli powder

1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 5 green onions, finely chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro salt and ground black pepper to taste

1.	Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2.	Whisk olive oil, lime juice, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes chilli powder together in a bowl.
3.	Combine quinoa, tomatoes, black beans, and green onions together in a bowl. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture; toss to coat. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator.

Hey Lady how did he do?

Healthy Junk Food

Burgers have always been one of my favorite foods and something that I've missed since adopting a (mostly) vegan diet. There's just something perfect about the blend of flavors and the way they're just so easy to eat. Fries are another one of my favorite foods. When I saw this post from Thug Kitchen, I basically rushed home and started cooking immediately (to discover that I didn't have any spinach, but kale worked out well). It was awesome that these were made mostly from pantry staples, they're nut-free and they were so easy!

Original recipe for Smokey Bean and Spinach Sliders: Thug Kitchen

My (very similar) version:
- 2 cups raw kale leaves
- 1 cup roughly chopped onion
- 3 cups cooked red beans
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
- 5 cloves of garlic, cut in half
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I toasted a hamburger bun until there was no moisture left and used that. Lost one in the process by burning it but it worked out in the end)

Preheat oven to 375. Put all ingredients except breadcrumbs in food processor or blender and pulse until everything in in tiny pieces and all mixed up. Dump into a bowl, add breadcrumbs and mix together. The mixture was easily able to be formed into patties and I made 6 full-size burgers with this mixture. I used foil on a baking sheet and sprayed with a coconut oil spray. They still stuck a little bit so definitely don't forget to grease the pan somehow. Bake for 15 minutes, flip and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. I served these as regular burgers as shown and also broke one up and mixed it into a tomato basil pasta sauce which was also delicious!

The sweet potato fries were really easy, just sweet potato sliced into fry-sized pieces, tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper. Baked at 450 for 20 minutes, flipping once. Inspiration from here: http://cookieandkate.com/2010/baked-sweet-potato-fries/

Pizza, Banana Bars and Black Bean Brownies!

My house smells so YUMMY from these BANANA BARS...

you can see the original recipe for Banana Bars at ohsheglows.com

Dry ingredients:

• 2/3 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats, regular flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 3 tbsp chia seeds (i didn't have any)
• 3 tbsp shakes of the mini dark chocolate chips bag
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt

Wet ingredients:

• 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 3 small-medium)
• 1/2 cup natural smooth peanut  SUNbutter
• 1/4 cup coconut nectar syrup (or brown rice syrup)  I didn't have any so I put an extra banana
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Over @350
First, mix wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls
Pour the wet into the dry.
Mix and put into a pan lined with parchment paper.
Use another piece of parchment paper to squish the bars flat
Bake for 25 minutes or until edges were brown.
Let cool
Once bars have cooled completely, use a pizza slicer to cut into bars


Throw it together PIZZA!

Whenever I need to get something cooked quick I make a pizza.
Here's what I had tonight.

- bought pizza crust

- mixed some tomato sauce and bbq sauce

- toppings: broccoli, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes

- finishing touches: sprinkled some nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes

NOT the best BLACK BEAN BROWNIES I've had...see original recipe from Minimalist Baker

They look like a lump of coal, but they are not burnt.
The insides are nice and gooey, but I don't think I put enough sugar -whoops.

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 large flax eggs (2.5 T flaxseed + 6 T water)
• 3 T coconut oil, melted (sub safflower oil)
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• heaping  slightly less than ½ cup raw sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder

I thought I was smart by cutting the sugar, but I don't think I should have - whoops

a TIP i learned from someone:

If the entire muffin tray doesn't get filled, put water in the empty muffin holes to help the rest of the pan bake evenly.

hey lady - what are you eating?

Copycat

Hi lady! I was jealous of your avocado pasta last night so I had some too (see link in yesterday's post). It was the same except I used soba noodles and it turned out well!

Then I sauteed some thinly sliced kale in coconut oil with cherry tomatoes. I cut the tomatoes in half first because I don't really like them either. Then I added them to a hot pan, added some salt and pepper and chili flakes and cooked for about 4 minutes. It was really good because the tomatoes got really sweet! Successful and easy meal.

unexpected tofu delight

I haven't had much time to cook and tonight was no exception.

This took me about half an hour to put together and I couldn't wait to eat it!

The flavors didn't all go together but I was so hungry I didn't care.

My favorite part was the tofu - I can't believe how good it turned out.

If you try this maybe use brown rice as your starch and save the avocado pasta for another night =)

TOFU-licious

- a chunk of shredded carrot
- garlic
- olive oil
- tofu
- sesame oil, hoi sin sauce, garlic chili paste and soy sauce (I'm not sure all this stuff is vegan - but I have learned to change the things I eat a little at a time. this way I don't get too overwhelmed and give up)

heat some oil garlic and shredded carrots
add tofu and let sizzle for a bit
add in a little sesame oil, a few squirts of hio sin sauce, soy sauce and garlic chili paste (i only used one teaspoon of the garlic chili sauce - I'm a whimp when it comes to spice)

let that sizzle for 5-10 minutes
mix things around once in a while to make sure things don't burn.

This was so good! it tasted like a fried turnip dish I love from home!  The shredded carrots really helped the sauce bind to the tofu. yummmmm

AVOCADO pasta click here to see Angela's original post

While you are boiling your pasta...put these ingredients into a blender (I used my magic bullet):
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- garlic powder (you're supposed to blend real garlic, but I was in a rush)
- juice from 1/3 a lime
- 1 avocado cut into chunks
- salt/pepper to taste
- a few shakes of dried basil (I didn't have any fresh basil from the garden yet)

blend this until smooth.
when pasta is boiled, turn off the stove, drain the water
put pasta back into it's pot
add the avocado mixture (Since the pasta is still hot, the avocado cream also warms up)
That's it! a creamy alfredo without the cream.
I thought I would miss alfredo sauce but I really do love this replacement.

The broccoli wasn't anything special, cooked in the tofu pan after I plated it (I don't like washing more pans than I need to).  I didn't add any oil, just a little water to help steam cook the broccoli.   I was tired by this time so I added nothing to my broccoli.  there was some flavor leftover in the pan from the tofu so it wasn't all that bland. 



I'm just not that excited about cooking this week, maybe friday night's dinner will be better...
Lady, what are you going to eat tomorrow?

Eggplant Unparmesan + spaghetti squash

Hi Lady, welcome back!
I missed you.


On the menu tonight:

Eggplant UNparmesan

with roasted spaghetti squash

I saw this recipe from Mark Bittman.  Click here to see the original recipe.  I love Eggplant Parmesan so I couldn't wait to try this vegan version.  

Roasted speghetti squash

- cut squash in half and remove seeds 

- rub a little olive oil on the squash

- sprinkle some salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees for 45 minutes

put 1/2 c water on the pan

when ready, use a fork and scrap the squash - voila!

Sorry, I took the picture AFTER i ate. whoops.

Eggplant UNparmesan

You will need:

- An eggplant

- olive oil

- salt/pepper

- an onion chopped

- three or four small gloves of garlic minced

- six small tomatoes - I used small campari tomatoes on the vine but I just picked anything that was available

- a bottle of plain unsalted tomato sauce

- breadcrumbs

Tomato Sauce

- heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan on medium heat

- add chopped onion

- sprinkle a little salt

(5 minutes later)

- add minced garlic

(2 minutes)

- add chopped tomatoes

let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally

- add tomato sauce

EggPlant

- cut eggplant into circles that are 1/2 inch thick

- rub some olive oil on top

- sprinkle some salt and pepper

Bake @400 for 10 minutes on each side

Eggplant is ready when it's lightly browned or crispy

When tomato sauce is ready:

- put some tomato sauce on a baking tray

- place eggplant on top

- another layer of sauce

- another layer of eggplant + sauce

- sprinkle breadcrumbs on top

- salt and pepper

place baking tray back in the oven until the breadcrumbs brown and sauce is thick

by this time your spaghetti squash should be ready.

Hey Lady, what did you eat tonight?

Super Soup and Roasted Beets

Back on Track Dinner

Hello, Lady!

My family has been in town for a couple of weeks. A trip to Texas requires indulging in the huge array of awesome foods (and huge portions) that make the state famous. And as the good host that I am, I joined my guests and indulged with them. It was totally worth it, of course - one thing we're good at down here is eating (future guests be warned!) But I'm also not feeling my best after these weeks and am ready to get back on track with lots of vegetables. I wandered around Whole Foods tonight until inspiration struck and this is what I came up with:

                                                       Super Soup and Roasted Beets    

Soup: 

- 1 large bunch broccoli cut into large chunks
- 1-2 cloves garlic, quartered
- 1 inch peeled ginger, quartered
- 3 tablespoons mellow yellow miso paste

Bring ~6 cups of water to a boil. Add ginger and garlic and boil for a couple of minutes. Add broccoli and cook approximately 5 minutes, until tender. Remove about a cup of cooking liquid and mix with miso paste in a separate bowl. Puree liquid and broccoli until smooth and pour in miso mixture.

Beets: 

- beets (I used a mix of red and yellow, 6 total which made 3-4 servings), diced into roughly equally-sized chunks. I have no patience for peeling vegetables so I avoid it whenever possible. These turned out fine without peeling, I just scrubbed them well with a brush.
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- splash of olive oil

Mix ingredients on a bakeable tray or dish and bake at 400 for about 45 minutes, until tender. Cover, or not. I sometimes do and sometimes forget and they survive.

I put a dollop of kalamata olive puree on top because I was craving olives but it was a bit of a flavor combination fail. I think I'll have them plain tomorrow and let the beets speak for themselves.

So, that's day one of being back on track! Any tips for foods that make you feel extra awesome?

Hey lady, what are you eating?? 

TACO NIGHT!

Shredded Carrots
When I juice, I always start with my carrots (peeled) and I put a clean freezer bag in the juicer's chute.  This way, I get to enjoy the carrot juice without wasting the carrot pulp.  I always keep the bag of shredded carrots in my freezer whenever I need it.  Here are some ways I like to use my carrots: 
- carrot cake
- homemade veggie burgers
- add to tomato sauce (good thickener and adds veggies to the sauce)

AND tonight I added the shredded carrots to my TACOS!

If you have any other good suggestions about where the pulp might be useful let me know by leaving a comment.

---------------------------------------------------

Tonight's menu: LEFTOVER TACOS

Turned out better than expected.

Picture shows taco filling, sliced cabbage and avocado on a soft taco shell.

Did you know...

that Vitamin C in cabbage helps reduce dark circles under your eyes?

In a pot on the stove add:

- chopped peppers
- frozen chickpeas (one fist small)
- frozen kidney beans (two fists large)
- frozen carrots (one fist large)
- 1-2 cup water (or add as you need it)

SPICES

1 small vegetable bouillon nugget*

cumin (add a bit more than the rest)

chili powder

red pepper flakes

oregano

onion powder 

pepper

*veggie bouillon had salt so I didn't add any extra salt

I didn't make exact measurements of the spices, but you can pretty much add any and as much spice as you want.  Just make sure you taste it as you go.  If it's too salty or spicy, just add another chunk of frozen carrots.

I let my filling simmer until all the liquid was gone.


HEY LADY, WHAT ARE YOU EATING? 

F is for Freezer...

Your FREEZER is your friend.
Some tips to help cut down on prep time:
1) Buy a bag of potatoes, wash and cut them all into wedges.
Put them on a baking tray and freeze for 15 minutes.
Throw them all into a freezer bag.
Now whenever you need potato wedges, pull them out of the FREEZER and season them however you want.  

2) A cost effective way to eat beans and lentils is to boil them yourself (instead of buying them in cans).  I usually boil a big batch at a time and freeze little snack packs for future use. 

Okay, now let's eat!

I don't claim to be a good photographer or a great cook.  I'm just a real lady trying to make cooking easy

(while eating vegan)

Tofu Strips & potato wedges

see exact recipe from ohsheglows.com

here's how I (literally) threw it together without measuring:

for the TOFU you will need to prep two bowls:

1) The WET bowl:

- fill half a bowl with soy milk

- add teaspoon of cornstarch (not sure the benefit of the cornstarch but I trust it's doing something)

2) The CRUNCHY bowl:

- fill half a bowl with panko bread crumbs

- add a few shakes of cinnamon, cumin, salt, chilli power, cayenne pepper, onion powder

(taste your mixture to see if you need more flavor)

- rinse and cut your tofu

- dip it in the WET and then the CRUNCHY

- squish your tofu gently to make sure all sides have enough bread crumbs

Potato Wedges

- throw some potato wedges in a bowl with some lentils*

- toss in some olive oil

- shake in some cinnamon, garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper

*the lentils cook faster than the wedges so bake the potatoes first and add the lentils later

Line pans with parchment paper, put TOFU and WEDGES on pans

oven at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes

flip the tofu only when the breadcrumbs are a bit more solid/baked.

Cookie Face-off

see Julie's recipe (with video) here

When she says bake for 12 minutes and no longer - FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS if you want soft and chewy cookies!!!

dry  vs. wet*

*I added a dash more liquid to the "wet" cookies.  Since I added coconut I guess the recipe needed a bit more liquid.  They're softer, expanded more and as you can see, they are darker in color.

The "dry" cookies are still soft and yummy, but they just didn't bake as well.

Some other modifications:

1) i cut the sugar in half (i don't like like my cookies super sweet)

2) i added shredded coconut and reduced the chocolate chips

Store these cookies in an airtight container and they should stay soft and chewy for a few days (but I doubt they'll last that long)

HEY LADY, WHAT ARE YOU EATING?

now if only i could find someone to do my dishes... 

Tried my wheatberries last night...

Wheatberries + Roasted Broccoli Tomatoes + Roasted Chickpeas

Wheatberries were yummy, definitely has a nice "nutty" flavor.

I love roasted Broccoli with lemon, not a fan of tomatoes - but I'm trying to eat the rainbow.

Wheatberries
1c wheatberries
2.5c water

bring it to a boil and let simmer until all the water is gone (about 20 minutes - but i think mine were pre-cooked to speed up cooking time)
I added a little sesame oil

Lemon Roasted Broccoli + Grape Tomatoes
chop a clove of garlic
mix broccoli, tomatoes and garlic in a big bowl
light coating of olive oil
a tablespoon of lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

lay out on baking sheet
sprinkle with nutritional yeast

Bake@450 for 25-30 minutes, mix them up half way.

Roasted Chickpeas
frozen chickpeas thrown in a pan
olive oil
salt & pepper

I put it in the oven as the broccoli and tomatoes roasted
if you want them soft - take it out earlier and try it
if you want it as a crispy snack - bake it longer


HEY LADY WHAT DID YOU EAT TODAY?