The Kitchen Sink Bean Salad

This is a great thing to make when you're about to go out of town, or just want to clean out your fridge. This is just a basic bean salad recipe, that can be completely customized and modified to your taste and supplies.

The basics... I would say you definitely need some tomato, a can of some type of beans, and some onion. Other than that, everything is really interchangeable. The key is to cut all ingredients to about the same size, and adding the right amount of liquid. I kept all of the ingredients besides the beans raw, to stay with the spirit of traditional salad, but some ingredients might need to be baked or blanched.

For my salad... I used the following recipe:

1 cup/can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup raw corn, cut off of the cob

1 cup tomato, diced

1/2 cup raw zuccini, sliced thin on the mandoline and then roughly chopped

1/2 raw onion, slided thin on the mandoline and then roughly chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

half of a fingerhot pepper, diced

For the dressing... my full salad was about 4 cups. I found that about 3 Tbsp oil and 3 Tbsp acid worked well for this amout. For the oil, obviously you can add olive or canola. For the acid, you can use any type of vinegar or citrus. It just depends on the flavors you want.

Because I was using cilantro and hot pepper, I was going for a more mexican tasting dish. So I used 3 Tbps olive oil, 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon. (Should have used lime!) Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation is easy. Chop all veggies to desired size. In a separate bowl, whisk dressing ingredients. Pour over veggies and stir it up! This is best if the flavors marinade together for about a half an hour, but is fine to eat right away. Serve in a stemless wine glass for something fancy!

Score one for the vegetables.

Dad and I cooked dinner last night! It was great fun. We had whole wheat shells with canallini beans and spinach, and Brussels' sprouts. For the pasta, we used a recipe out of CIA's Gourmet Meals in Minutes. I have to say, I was not impressed. I'm not giving up on this cookbook just yet, but I wouldn't make this again.

So dad worked on the pasta, and I worked on the Brussels. While I was cleaning the sprouts, I asked dad, so what do you think about Brussels sprouts? To which he replied, 'well, besides being the worst vegetable known to man, not much'. (I figured this would be the response... I even bought zucchini as a back-up, just in case!) I oven-roasted the Brussels with a little olive oil, rice vinegar, salt, pepper and lemon juice. I also mixed up a sweet spicy mustard to top them with. (Sauce can make anything delicious!)

Dad ended up going back for thirds on the Brussels. :) He said, 'I think you need to work on the complexity of your sauce, but these are incredible.' Solid ciriticism. So, I've sold my mom on tofu, my grandma who hates kale on kale, and my dad who hates Brussels on Brussels. I'm feeling pretty good about the battle for tasty vegetables!

Laced with brilliant smiles and shining eyes

Yesterday, after doing a bunch of yard work, my dad decides he wants to get in the ocean. Turns out... even though the air is warm, the water is freezing. So I photographed interesting debris instead. I realized that looking at coral is similar to looking at clouds... it's interesting how many similarities nature has among it. Here are some findings.

(shark head)

(dinosaur)

(brain)

For a few more, visit Flickr.

Easy Polenta and Sundried Tomato Spirals with Roasted Asparagus Pesto

It turns out, left over polenta makes an amazing sandwich filler! I was craving something a little creamy, so I made some creamy pesto. It turned out pretty delicious, so I'm posting a simple recipe! This is for a single serving.

Ingredients:

12-15 stalks of asparagus

2 Tbsp walnuts

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp plain soy milk

1-2 Tbsp Tofutti cream cheese

Dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wash asparagus and snap woody ends. Place on cookie sheet and add about 1 tsp olive oil. Roll asparagus in oil and top with a dash of salt and pepper.

Place asparagus in the oven for about 5 minutes. Take out the pan and shake around to turn asparagus. Add walnuts and put back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes or until asparagus is soft.

In a food processor, add the asparagus, walnuts, garlic and soy milk. Blend together. Add 1 Tbsp of cream cheese and blend. If mixture is not creamy enough, add an additional Tbsp of cream cheese.

To finish off the spirals, spread the pesto on a tortilla or sandwich wrap. (I love to use Flatout brand flatbreads best. They are nice and fluffy, and with only 90 calories and 2.5g of fat, they're healthier than any tortillas I can find.) Top with diced polenta and diced, marinated, sun-dried tomatoes. Roll up like a sleeping bag, and slice with a serrated knife into 4 sections. 

Halloween Cookie Mania!

Raw Orange Cashew Macaroons

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Orange Sugar Sprinkles

Bats and Ghosts!

If I don't make another sugar cookie for a year... that will be soon enough for me. Bleh.

Maple Curried Sweet Potato Salad

I happened to see this dish on TV while at the doctor's office! It was perfect, because not only is it vegan, but it contains green onion and fresh cilantro (which I have left overs of!). I also wanted to get some sweet potatoes to make sweet potato chips with, so that worked out well, too. This recipe is very flavorful and not for those with a mild palatte! Original can be found here. This recipe is low-fat and high protein.

It is somewhat ingredient heavy, but very simple to throw together. The first part is the 'meat' of the salad, and the second part is the dressing. The original recipe says to peel the sweet potatoes, but I would suggest leaving the skin on. As always I've made slight modifications to the recipe.

Ingredients:

5 cups sweet potatoes, chopped (about 2 large ones)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Pinch of Salt and pepper

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 roasted red peppers, chopped (1 small jar)

½ cup green onions, diced

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. After dicing up the sweet potato, toss with salt and pepper, olive oil and cayenne. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and put in the oven for about 15 minutes (or until just soft).

Chop the red pepper and rinse the black beans (this drastically reduces the amount of sodium). Add to your sweet potato bowl. Chop the green onion and cilantro.

Next, prepare the dressing while waiting for the potatoes to cook.

Ingredients:

¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp coriander

2 tsp curry

½ tsp fresh ginger, grated

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together, adding the olive oil last.

When sweet potatoes are finished, add them to the bowl with the red peppers and black beans. Pour on the dressing and mix in. Stir in cilantro and green onions. Voila!

Makes 8 servings.

(Sorry for the mediocre photo... we were hungry!)

Approx Per Serving Nutritional Facts: 

Calories: 391, Calories from fat: 87, Fat: 9.6g, Sodium 58mg,

Carbs: 65.9g, Fiber: 12.6g, Sugar: 5.6g, Protein: 13.4g

Raw Mexican Tomato Soup with Cashew Cream

This recipe was created by Canada's #1 raw restaurant... Live Organic Food Bar. Jeff and I stumbled upon this gem, while visiting Toronto. The restaurant features a colorful and warm interior and atmosphere, as well as a host of incredible eats. Cooked and raw food options are available at Live... but everything is vegan. For a small fee, they sell their amazing cookbook in digital PDF. I asked for the books for my birthday, and I've just been aching to try some out! I can't believe this incredible restaurant gives out their refined and delicious recipes.

I started with something simple for my first raw recipe out of the book, and it was incredible. The flavors were amazing, and it was quite filling. This is basically made in a blender/food processor. That's it. I've modified it only slightly. The recipe follows!

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes

4 sundried tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cob corn

2 cloves garlic

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

3 heaping Tbsp green onion

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chili powder

1/2-1 fingerhot or other hot pepper

3/4 cup fresh cilantro

dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

Core and de-seed fresh tomatoes. Cut kernals off of corn cob. Add first 7 ingredients to a food processor or blender. Give them a whirl, until creamy. (You might need to stop and give them a mix) Add the rest of the ingredients and blend again until smooth! Top with Cashew Cream(recipe follows) and fresh cilantro.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raw cashews

1 lemon

water

dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

Soak raw cashews in water for an hour (or longer if possible!). Add these to the blender or food processor, along with the juice of one lemon. Add 1/4 cup water to start and blend. Continue adding water and blending until a creamy, but not watery mixture results. Spoon on top of soup, or for use a sandwich bag with a clipped corner for a fancier effect!

Goals

So, I just got my first pair of real running shoes! Of course, just in time for me to break my pinkie toe. Awesome, right? I ran it into the leg of a coffee table. It's nice and purple and puffy today. Thank goodness I have the advice of a nurse mother. :)

I want to do cardio at least a little bit each day. I walk with the dog, but it doesn't get my heart rate up one bit. I took Diego for a walk today, and then jogged back. He was not to thrilled, but he'll learn to like it... or accept it at least. Today was a day of moving stuff and running errands. We finally made it out to the beach. It's really looking nice since dad decided to renovate some things (will post some photos tomorrow). The weather here just turned cold, but it's a lovely and windy 70 degrees. 

I can tell dad is really happy to have me here. I'm looking forward to setting up a little jewelry studio in the garage! The closer halloween gets, the more drab it feels like it will be. Halloween has always been a big deal for me... even since I was a kid. Unfortunately, I'm a semi-nomad at the moment. Dad's going to California for halloween, so I'll prob go visit JB in Atlanta. I'm going to carve my pumpkin tomorrow, though! Can't wait to scarf down those seeds!

Tofu and Roasted Red Pepper Taquitos, with Vegan Pepperjack 'Cheese'

Last night I used my 'Tree of Life' hot n' spicy tofu that I spoke about in my previous post. This product is not too high in sodium, which is a big change from the typical, highly processed soy foods. The recipe I used was a variation on one from Robin Miller's show on Food Network, Quick Fix Meals. This recipe is easy and delicious... and cholesterol free!

Ingredients:

2 packages, Tree of Life, smoked tofu, chopped

1 jar, whole roasted red peppers, chopped

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

Spritz of Bragg's

12, 6" corn tortillas

1 batch of vegan pepper jack cheese (recipe follows)

Directions:

Make up the pepper jack cheese.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Heat olive oil in saute pan. Add tofu, and spritz with Bragg's. Saute for a few minutes and add roasted red peppers. Turn temperature to low, and cover while you prepare other ingredients.

Wrap a wet paper towel around tortillas and mocrowave for about 20 seconds.

In an oven safe dish, spray with cooking spray. Assemble taquitos as follows:

Take a tortilla and add about 2 Tbsp tofu and peppers, and 2 Tbsp cheese.

Wrap tortilla and place fold side down into the dish. Spray with cooking spray.

**Just as a tip, I found that working with these tortillas is quite a challange. You'll find out how much stuffing can fit as you go along. Spraying tortillas helps keep some from cracking, but it will still happen.**

 Place in the oven for about 15 minutes. Turn on the broiler, and crisp for about another 5 minutes.

That's it! I served them up with some extra chopped jalepenos and salsa, with a side of some Tuscan risotto.

Vegan Pepperjack 'Cheese'

This is not a cheese at all. In fact, this recipe did not turn out at all how I thought. It comes out as more like a flavorful paste. Nothing like cheese, though. However, I was using this in some Mexican taquitos, and it was perfect. It was creamy and spicy and delicious.

Nutritional facts of this recipe here.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup jarred jalapenos, diced

1/4 - 1/2 cup flour

1/4-1/2 cup soymilk

Directions:

Head oil in saute pan over medium high heat. Carefully add onion and jalapenos. When onions begin to be transparent, turn the heat to low. Add flour slowly, while stirring, until mixture becomes more solid, but not crumbly. (You might need to add more than 1/4 cup) Next, whisk in soymilk slowly to achieve desired consistency.

Proof of America's addicion to sugar and fat.

 

'Paid for by Americans against food taxes'. This... is... ridiculous. Stop drinking sodas, fat ass. And stop feeding them to your fat family.

Vegan grocery shopping

I found some awesome goodies today, while I was out grocery shopping! I made a video of the results... keep an eye out for recipes to follow!

Tampa travels...

So, today is officially my first post! After spending a few days visiting my brother in Atlanta, my little Diego and I are headed down on our 7 hour journey to Tampa, Florida. We'll be staying with my dad until further notice. We got a rental car for the drive, a Nissan Versa. It was a decent and cute little vehicle. (Much better than my previous Mercury Le Sable!!)

Along the way, we stopped for a bathroom break at an abandoned hotel. It was very eerie! We walked around and discovered the swimming pool, so I took some photos.