Vegan Taco Salad

This is another one I can’t take credit for. I know he won’t like me calling him out like this on ye ole’ blog (sowwy), but Brian thought this one up, and surprisingly (!) was okay with replacing real meat with meatless crumbles. The result was a really, really ridiculously good looking taco salad that tasted just as good. Not gonna lie – best part was the Fritos. WHO DOESN’T LIKE FRITOS?!?

What You Need:

1 package of meatless crumbles (I used Trader Joes’ version. )

1 package taco seasoning (or make your own!)

3/4 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups romaine lettuce

1 cup cherry tomatoes – halved

1 cup Fritos (or, again, Trader Joe’s version.)

1/2 avocado, cubed

What You Do:

First part is preparing the “meat” + bean concoction. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add one tbsp of olive oil to the pan. Let heat for a few minutes and add in the entire package of crumbles. Using a spatula, break the crumbles up, stirring and letting heat through. Add in the taco seasoning and sautee everything, mixing often – about five minutes. Add in the beans, continue stirring, and add more seasoning if necessary. At this point, add in another tbps of olive oil and continue sauteeing for one more minute.

In a separate bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, Fritos and avocado. Remove the beans and crumbles from the heat, and add them to the remaining ingredients. Stir well and dig in!

Other add-ins that would work in here:

• Chopped red onion
• Black olives
• Shredded cheddar cheese (vegan or non)
• Sour cream (vegan or non)

Any other ideas!?

Miso Soup with Soba Noodles and Tofu

But not just ANY miso soup. HOMEMADE. As in “I bought Miso paste and didn’t know what to do with it so I added some boiling water to it, and who knew? That’s all you need to create Miso Soup.” So, YEAH, miso soup! To the broth, I added buckwheat soba noodles, tofu, spinach, scallions and red pepper flakes. The result was restaurant quality if not better. No lie.

I can’t wait to make this again. Next time I’m thinking of adding shitaake mushrooms, perhaps even some kombucha squash? The base is great alone, but you can pretty much add any combination of vegetables into this and it’ll come out great.

Another thing to note is that the intensity of the miso soup can be adjusted to your taste/liking. Miso pastes are NOT all created equal, and the saltiness of them varies. I added about 3.5 tablespoons of miso paste into my boiling water, but definitely feel free to add more or less miso paste as you go.

Okay! Onto the recipe:

What You Need – Makes 3 servings

2-4 tablespoons of miso paste

4 cups water

3 ounces soba noodles

2 scallions, sliced thinly

handful of spinach

2 handfuls of firm/extra firm tofu – cubed

few shakes of red pepper flakes

What You Do:

Cook the soba noodles according to package instructions. Rinse with cold water, and set aside.

Next – bring the 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. Lower the heat and let the water simmer. Add one tablespoon of miso paste into the pot, and using a fork, mix the paste well in the water, making sure all the clumps are completely dissolved. Add in a second and third tablespoon of paste, dissolving between each addition to the water. Taste. Decide on whether or not you want to add in more miso paste. I ended up adding in a bit more and it was perfect.

Place the spinach, tofu and scallions into bowls (2 or 3), and pour the miso soup over everything. Add the red pepper flakes to taste, and you’re done! Sit back, relax, sip on your soup, and revel in this accomplishment.

Note: do not judge me on the quality of these photos. My regular camera battery died, so you’re looking at iPhone shots. Sowwy!

Macro Plate + Miso/Tahini Dressing

I have had, roughly estimating, around 150 million variations of tahini dressings. Whenever I go out to eat at a Veg restaurant, my standard order is some version of a macro plate (steamed veggies, brown rice, beans) and some version of a tahini dressing to smother it in. I think the reason I keep on ordering it when I’m out, is that I haven’t been able to master the tahini dressing on my own at home. The steamed veggies? Easy. Putting together the plate isn’t hard, I just never knew how to make the dressing. WELL. That is in the past, friends, because today I did it. I created my very own, original and totally authentic, tahini dressing.

First I put together my veggies, beans and grain: 1/4 of a steamed acorn squash,  3/4 cup of chickpeas, two huge handfuls of steamed kale and about a cup of cooked brown rice. I then drizzled the dressing (recipe below) all over it, and voila — a home made macro plate!

What You Need:

• 3/4 cup of tahini
• 1 tbsp white miso*
• 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp dill
• 1/2 cup water

What You Do:

Place everything into a food processor and blend until well combined (about 10 seconds.)  The above made about 3-4 servings, so I stored it in an old small glass jar and popped it in the fridge for later (see: tomorrow) use.

*This was my first time ever cooking with miso paste. It took me a while to find it — I kept looking in the Asian aisles at my local grocery stores. WRONG! It’s kept in the refrigerated section, and this time, I found it at Whole Foods. I’m sure you could find it at any asian grocery store too.

Mom’s 16 Bean Soup

I can’t take credit for this one. It’s 100% my ole’ Mom’s creation. She made it last week when I was home, and I ate it for (no joke) three meals in a row. It’s completely vegan, but you wouldn’t know it. It tastes like there are gobs of butter and oil in it. Really rich and hearty and (per usual) VERY easy to whip up.

What You Need:

One bag of Goya 16 Bean Mix (not entirely sure where to find this in NY/the States. I stocked up while I was home. I know Whole Foods sells something similar in the bulk section, but for reference, the bag looks like this.) Soak the beans overnight.

2 large carrots diced

3 stalks of celery diced

1 medium yellow onion diced

1 large sweet potato, peeled, cubed and soaked in bowl of water

8 cups veg (or chicken) bouillon plus 1 cup on reserve

Olive Oil

1 tbsp oregano

Two cloves garlic minced or grated

What You Do:

In a large pot, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and sautee the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until soft. Add oregano.

Add the beans (already soaked overnight), into the pot as well as the 8 cups of bouillon. Bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour. After the hour, add the sweet potato pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste, re-cover and continue simmering for an additional hour. At this point, make sure the sweet potatoes are cooked (easy to pierce with a fork), and you’re done!

Grilled Vegetable Panini

A few months ago, I got a package in the mail from my grandma. In it? A panini maker. What I would MAKE with this panini maker was a total mystery to me. Had I ever told her I even liked paninis? I couldn’t even remember the last time I HAD a panini. Well, a few months later (and a bunch of sandwiches later) I can confidently say I LOVE MY PANINI MAKER. 

This one was pretty simple – roasted vegetables, avocado, pesto, bread.

I used mushrooms, red pepper, asparagus, sliced them up and roasted them in the oven with salt, pepper and olive oil. Put the sandwich together with slices of avocado, spread of pesto, put it on the panini maker for about 5 minutes, and voila. The best part about the panini maker is that it flattens the sandwich keeping it neat (you know what I’m talking about — no veggies spilling out from the backend every time you take a bite). Thanks Grams! You (apparently) know me better than I know myself.

Homemade Dumplings

So – why bother making your own dumplings? I  mean, you can order them in, or even buy them frozen — so much easier than taking the time to make them, right? WRONG! Only recently did I realize that a little extra time in the kitchen is. so. worth. it. Enter my new snazzy steamer and with it: HOMEMADE DUMPLINGS!

I googled a few recipes, and found one that looked easy. A few tweaks here and there (remove the egg, add a few more spices) voila — delicious, fresh dumplings! I didn’t realize how great these were until a few weeks later when we picked up frozen dumplings at TJ’s and made them. Bleh. Mushy inside and tasted, well…pre frozen.

Preface: Don’t be scared by the long list of ingredients below. The truth is dumplings require just a few things: steamer and boiling water, wonton wrappers and filler. You can improvise with the below and add things (mushrooms, spinach) or remove things and they’re sure to still taste great. I would recommend the sauces listed below, though, and then get creative with the different veggies you add in.

Also — this recipe makes a lot of dumplings! But don’t worry…they’re so e tiny that you’ll probably eat all of them in one sitting…(or was that just me?)

What You Need:

• 1/2 pound firm tofu (drained and cut into small cubes, or even crumbled)
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
• 1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
• 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
• few dashes of red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Bowl of water, plus additional water for steamer
• 35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
• Non-stick vegetable spray, for the steamer

What You Do:

Combine all of the ingredients listed above (up to the black pepper) in a mixing bowl. Gently mix to cover everything well.

Fill a large pot with 1/2 an inch of water and bring to a boil. Place the steamer on top.

While the water is boiling, prepare your dumplings. Brush the edges of each wonton wrapper with water (I used my finger), then place about a tablespoon’s worth of the filling into the middle of the wrapper. Shape the dumpling as you’d like, pressing the edges together so that the dumpling is completely closed on all sides.

Once the water is boiling, spray the steamer with the non stick spray and place as many dumplings as will fit (without them overlapping each other). Cover, and let steam for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the steamer, place in a warm oven (200 degrees is fine), and steam the next round of dumplings.

That’s it! So easy.

Enjoy!

Easy Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

A few nights ago I was craving something fresh, light, with veggies and….simple. We ate a TON over the weekend and by Monday it felt like my arteries were going to explode SO I wanted to take it easy for Monday’s dinner. Also, I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that I’m moving in TEN days (!) and I’ve been trying to use everything in my pantry and fridge. Enter: a can of chickpeas and some quinoa. Perfect! I added in some of my new cilantro, a few spices, chopped cherry tomatoes and voila — an easy quinoa salad, perfect as a side dish or served under a veggie burger, with tofu cubes, etc.

What You Need:

1 cup quinoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups water

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained

1 carton of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 clove garlic, minced

juice of one lime

4 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

What You Do:

Add the water and quinoa to a small/medium sauce pan and place over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover the quinoa, and let cook for 15-20 minutes. Check on it once halfway through and give it a good mix to prevent anything from sticking to the bottom.

When the quinoa is done, fluff it with a fork. Add in the rest of the ingredients, finish off with salt and pepper to taste and voila, you’re done! This salad tastes even better the next day…perfect work lunch!

Enjoy!

Pizza, Pizza

Pizza is one of those things that people can’t imagine could possibly be any good with out tons and tons of cheese on it. Lies! Cheese-less pizza, when made right is incredibly delicious and guilt free. Pizza without the “ugh, I can’t believe I ate all that pizza” gross feeling aftermath? Yep. Read on.

I make pizza every so often, and I usually do it the same way…crust, pizza sauce, massive amount of fresh vegetables, the end. It’s great to make when you’re trying to clear out your fridge of veggies that are about to go bad, or, quite the opposite, you just came home from the grocery store with heaps upon heaps of fresh vegetables that you don’t know what to do with. Enter: PIZZA.

I always stick with the Trader Joe’s pre made whole wheat pizza crust. It’s 99 cents a package (!), and always gives me a perfect thin crust. You can improvise with whatever pizza sauce you like, veggies, herbs and spices….pizza is pretty hard to mess up, so invent and go crazy!

What You Need:

one ball Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza crust

1 jar of pizza sauce

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup broccoli, in bite sized pieces

1-2  cups bell peppers, sliced

1 cup red onion, cut into 2 inch pieces

1/4 a package of frozen spinach

1/4 cup chopped fresh sage (or basil, or any other herb you like!)

salt

pepper

olive oil

garlic powder

What You Do:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Remove the dough from the fridge, and let it sit on the counter letting it warm up a bit.

Get all of your veggies together. For the spinach, place it in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl, and de frost it for about one minute. Once thawed, drain it well, making sure to squeeze out all the water. Place all of the veggies in a ziplock bag, add in one tbsp of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Zip up the bag and shake, making sure to cover all of the veggies.

Next, roll your dough out. Split the dough into two equal halves. (I always do this – two smaller pizzas are usually easier to handle/fit into my oven than one massive one.) Using whole wheat flour (or white if that’s all you have), flour a countertop, and start rolling your dough. At first, it might seem a little difficult — the dough will not seem to want to spread. Keep at it and soon you’ll have the dough rolled out, albeit in funny sized, quasi ovals.

Time to dress these babies up. Pour pizza sauce onto the dough and using the back of a spoon, spread it evenly. Pour the dressed veggies from the ziplock on top, spreading those evenly as well. Top with the sage (or other herb of your choice) and then drizzle an additional bit of tomato sauce over everything.

Pop in the oven and let bake for 30-ish minutes.

After removing from the oven, let the pizza cool slightly before slicing.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato, Tempeh and Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Whoa whoa, what?!  I know, it’s a LOT to cram into a veggie burger, but guys….these came out so good! What’s not to LOVE about quinoa, sweet potato and tempeh?! It’s the perfect combination on its own, and packed into a patty with other add ins like mustard, ketchup, soy sauce and peanut oil it’s a recipe for a totally unique and tasty meat free burger. I know some of you are thinking “But Steph, why would I bother making a Veggie Burger when I can buy one from the frozen section?” Uh, exactly, people. The FROZEN section. Sure, these are sliiightly more labor intensive than ripping open a plastic casing and microwaving on HIGH for 3-5 minutes, but it’s 100% worth it. The microwaveable ones don’t hold a candle to these. Once you’ve tasted one, it’ll be hard to go back to the packaged ones. I promise! (And if you’re feeling adventurous/foreseeing laziness in your future, double the recipe and freeze half of them for later!)

NOW, I wish I could take credit for this genius concoction but alas, I can not. I found it on the Golden Yolk, who got the original recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook, “Cooking for Health”. Surprisingly, (and this never happens), I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, so I decided I had to make these.

Don’t be alarmed by the list of ingredients. Veggie burgers are the sorts of things that you can’t REALLY mess up as long as you follow the age old, never fail tip of: don’t add gross stuff into the mixture. Easy, right? The worst thing that can happen when making home made burgers is consistency. Sometimes they don’t stay together because you might be missing a binding agent (oats, breadcrumbs, etc), but flavor wise, just  taste as you go, trust your taste buds and don’t add anything too crazy into it! If you’re missing any of the following ingredients don’t fret and DON’T feel the need to go to the supermarket and pick up a new bottle of sesame seeds. Use what you have!

And now, without further ado….here we go:

What You Need:

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

2 cups thinly sliced peeled sweet potatoes

1 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup diced onions

1 cup minced bell peppers (I used 1/2 cup green, 1/2 a cup red)

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

8 oz tempeh, diced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

4 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp dark sesame oil

2 tsp dijon mustard

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup sesame seeds

What You Do:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the quinoa in a small/medium sauce pan over medium heat, add a cup of water, the sweet potato and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Once boiled, reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes. NOTE: It took me a long time to learn that quinoa, unlike rice, CAN be checked on a few times during cooking. Don’t be afraid to peek inside and mix around to ensure that the bottom doesn’t burn and stick to the bottom.

While the mixture is cooking, preheat a medium skillet over medium heat, and when hot, add the oil. Follow with the onions and let cook for a few minutes until clear, stirring as to not let the onions stick to the bottom. Add in the bell pepper and garlic, cover, and let cook for another 3-5 minutes. Finally, add in the tempeh, oregano, black pepper, cover and let cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.

By now, the quinoa should be done. With a spoon, mash the sweet potato into the quinoa until you have a well combined mash. Add the veggie + tempeh combo into the mash and then add the soy sauce, tomato paste, sesame oil, mustard and cilantro. Place the saucepan in the fridge to let the mixture cool. After about 10 minutes, remove the pot from the fridge, and with your hands, form the mash into 6 even sized patties.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve on a whole wheat bun, in a pita, over a salad or any other way your heart desires. We ate them on a toasted WW bun, topped with red onion, dijon mustard, and sliced avocado. I’ve been eating them for the past few days as lunch too! On a piece of whole wheat bread with hot sauce on top. An easy, filling work place lunch.

Enjoy!

Linguine with Basil, Mint and Pea Pesto

Not only do I love Whole Foods the store, but I l-o-v-e the website, and specifically the collection of recipes on it. There’s some pretty good stuff on there! Case in point: this here recipe. I started off making it as directed but made a few modifications along the way. For one thing, the original recipe called for a POUND of pasta. A POUND, I tell you! Seeing as I was only planning on feeding, um, TWO of us and not a small army, the whole pound was not needed so I halved the amount of noodles it called for. The original recipe also called for parsley which I didn’t have, and was too lazy/tired to venture outdoors to get,  so I replaced the parsley with more basil and added in mint. Finally, this recipe doesn’t call for garlic! BLASPHEMOUS. So I generously sprinkled the finished pasta with garlic powder but in hindsight fresh garlic probably would have made it taste even better (when does fresh garlic NOT make everything better?)

Overall: this was quick, light, fresh and tasty. It was super easy to put together too…the part that took the longest was cooking the noodles!

One final note: this pasta is best served chilled. While we enjoyed it last night warm, it tasted even better today as lunch, straight out of the fridge.

One (more) final note: The verdict around these parts was that this was one of those “tastes better than it looks” dishes. So, if you think the below pics look even somewhat good, then you should proooobably try making this. Just saying.

What You Need:

8 oz whole wheat linguine

1 cup fresh or frozen and thawed green peas

1 cup packed basil leaves

1/2 cup mint leaves

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon brined capers, drained

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Garlic powder, Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/2 cup chopped walnut pieces, toasted

What You Do:

Boil a large pot of lightly salted water. Add linguini and let cook as directed on the box. Before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup of salty cooking water, and set aside. Drain noodles and put them in a big bowl.

Get ready to toast your walnuts. Place them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 5-10 minutes. Careful, though! These things cook RELLY fast and if you leave them too long they will burn to a crisp. So keep your eye on them.

Put peas, basil, mint, lemon juice and capers in a food processor and lightly pulse (DONT puree! you want it “piecy”.) Add in the olive oil slowly, and continue pulsing. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper at the end.

Toss the linguini with the salt water that you set aside, add pesto and top with toasted walnuts.