Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

For some odd reason, I was craving Thai Peanut Sauce today. I love the HH "Cheater" Pad Thai Sauce and decided to make a spicier hotter version of it tonight!! 

Spicy HH Thai Peanut Sauce

Prep Time: 15 min

Directions: 

Prepare 2x recipe of HH "Cheater" Pad Thai Sauce* and set aside. Boil a bag of Boil-in-a-bog Brown rice (about 1.5 cups), drain and divide into 2 serving bowls. Steam 2 scrubbed Russet potatoes in the microwave (scrub, rinse, place soaking potatoes in grocery bag, wrap, and microwave on high for 7-9 minutes).  Meanwhile saute 4 cups of Baby Spinach in a skillet with 1 tbsp of crushed/minced garlic and 2 tbsp Low-Sodium soy sauce and a splash of water. Transfer sauteed spinach to serving bowls containing boiled brown rice. Once potatoes are tender, remove from bag, transfer to serving bowls and cut open. Drizzle the peanut sauce over the 2 bowls, dividing it approximately equally and serve hot :) 

HH Cheater Pad Thai Sauce (1 recipe, whisk everything together until smooth):

1. 2 tbsp warm water
2. 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
3. 1 tbsp Smooth Peanut Butter
4. 1 tbsp Sweet Red Chili Asian sauce
5. 1/4 tsp granulated garlic powder
6. 1/4 tsp ground ginger
7. 1/4 tsp hot sauce (to taste)

For Smooth Peanut Butter: I used "Naturally More" Smooth Peanut Butter with flax seed.

For Sweet Red Chilli Sauce: I used "Huy Fong" Sambal Oelek Chili Paste (super spicy)

For Hot Sauce: I used "Huy Fong" Sriracha Chili Sauce (even spicier).

My Assessment: What a lovely easy dinner to have on a week night! Got my 2 cups of greens in (albeit wilted - the fiber is still all there!). The HH Sauce is one of my favorites. With the Sambal Oelek Chili paste, it was lip-smacking good (especially if you're into hot stuff!). If you're not into hot foods .. make this the standard way and the dinner will still be equally amazing!!! Yum!! 

 
Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 346 (Fat Calories 52)
Total Fat 5.8 g; Carbohydrates 63.9 g; Fiber 7.5 g; Sugars 7.3 g; Protein 16.04 g

Black Bean Burrito

This post was inspired by a post by Fat Free Vegan Kitchen yesterday. She was asked what she made for her family when she was short on time. And just like me, her response was, Black Bean Burritos. Her pictures are more colorful than mine ;) maybe that's why she's more famous. My recipe is extremely lazy compared to hers :)

Black Bean Burritos w Spanish Rice

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients (6 Burritos): 

1. 1 bag of Kroger Boil-in-Bag Parboiled Brown Rice
2. 1 x 15oz can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
3. 3 cups of Baby Spinach
4. 2 tbsp Dried Minced Onions
5. 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
6. 1 tbsp Taco Seasoning
7. 1/4 cup Mrs. Renfro's Hot Jalapeno Green Salsa.
8. Salt & Pepper, to taste
9. 6 Tortillas or your choice (today, I had white flour tortillas)

Directions: 

In a sauce-pot with ample water, boil brown rice until tender. Once done, transfer to a bowl. Add salsa to rice and toss well. Separately, line a skillet with water. On medium heat, add garlic and minced onions and allow to saute until garlic is fragrant. Add Spinach, allow it to wilt and then add black beans. Mix well, add taco seasoning, using more as needed to your taste. Saute for a few minutes until almost dry. Warm tortillas, wrapped in aluminum foil, in an oven preheated to 350F (10 min). Once tortillas are warm, transfer beans and rice to each and roll into a burrito. Add greens, fresh tomato, olives and more salsa, as needed. Enjoy!

My Assessment: Perfect for a great lazy evening meal! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)*: Calories 90 (Fat Calories 4)
Total Fat 0.5 g; Carbohydrates 17.6 g; Dietary Fiber 3.2 g; Sugars 1.2 g; Protein 4.7 g

* Nutrition facts are provided without the taco shells as calorie content can vary by size and brand.

Curried Kale Salad

Ummm Kale :) !!! When Tony is out, or when he's got dinner plans, I always plan for Kale. It's something he won't touch and if he's not eating dinner at home, I don't have to feel guilty about making something he won't/can't eat!! Tonight, I tried a Curried Kale Salad. 

Curried Kale Salad w Corn & TVP

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients (2 Servings):

1. 1 bunch Kale, leaves torn and stems removed (about 4 cups)
2. 1 cup frozen Sweet Corn
3. 1/2 cup Brown Basmati Rice
4. 1/2 cup TVP Chunks
5. 4 tbsp Canned Crushed Tomatoes
6. 1 tbsp Garlic
7. 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
8. 1 tsp Ground Coriander seeds
9. 1" pc of Cinnamon stick
10. 3 small Bay Leaves
11. 2-3 Cloves, whole
12. Salt and Pepper, to taste
13. 1/4 cup Mrs. Renfro's Hot Jalapeno Green Salsa.

Directions:

Curried Kale Salad w Corn & TVP

Boil brown rice in ample amounts of water, drain and set aside. Do the same for TVP. Feel free to use Seitan instead as well. In a deep stock pot, big enough to hold 4 cups of kale, add crushed tomatoes and all spices. Saute for a couple of minutes and add a splash of water, if necessary. Once the spices release their aroma, add TVP or Seitan chunks and mix well. Add another splash of water and saute for a couple of minutes. Then add corn, mix well and layer kale on top. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Allow kale to wilt (about 5-7 min, it will turn dark green). Add rice to this mix, toss everything really well together, add salsa and give another mighty toss. Taste test for salt/pepper or more salsa and serve warm. 

My Assessment: I seem to love all things kale. So I'll let you be the judge of this one. It was amazing and quite filling as well. I made this into 2 huge helpings, but it could easily be 3 or even 4, if you had a bowl of soup or something else with it. My second helping is sitting in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. Yum!

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 403 (Fat Calories 24)
Total Fat 2.7 g; Carbohydrates 76.0 g; Dietary Fiber 11.1 g; Sugars 9.2 g; Protein 22.7 g

Steamed Broccoli w HH Pad Thai Sauce

Some days are meant for light dinners. Today was one of those days. My most favorite vegetable these days is steamed broccoli. On days when I'm craving a light dinner, I always think of Steamed Broccoli over Quick Cooking Brown Rice. Quick and Easy and Painless. Typically, I use a commercial sauce like a Vegetarian Oyster or  Kung Pao sauce and drizzle that over the broccoli. Tonight I decided to do the same with Happy Herbivore's "Cheater" Pad Thai Sauce. 

I used "Naturally More" Smooth Peanut Butter with flax seed for this recipe. It contains no HFCS and ingredients include Roasted Peanuts, Soy Protein, Flax Seeds, Evaporated Cane Syrup, Salt and Molasses. A tbsp of this stuff contains 90 Calories with 65 of those being fat calories. Furthermore, this 1 tbsp contains only 1 g of sugars, >2g of dietary fiber and 4.5g of protein. It can't get any better than this stuff :)

HH "Cheater" Pad Thai Sauce over Broccoli & Rice

Prep Time: 15 min

Directions: 
Prepare 1 recipe of HH "Cheater" Pad Thai Sauce and set aside. Boil a bag of brown rice (about 1.5 cups) and drain. Transfer rice into 2 serving bowls. Steam 1 cup of Broccoli and layer over steamed rice. Drizzle the sauce over the 2 cups, dividing it approximately equally between the 2 cups and serve hot :) 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 433 (Fat Calories 47)

Total Fat 5.2 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 86 g; Dietary Fiber 6.8 g; Sugars 9.5 g; Protein 11.6 g

My Assessment: Its divine!!! You will not be able to tell the difference between commercial peanut sauces and this one. Also, I used natural peanut butter, so while it does have some fat calories from the peanuts, there is no added HFCS and the recipe is about as wholesome as it can get :)

Chinese Fried Rice

I seem to be on a rice kick these days. After making the Fiesta Toss-Up last night, I was still craving some rice this evening. Since Dr. McDougall, and others, promote consumption of healthy starches such as Brown Rice, I have no guilt whatsoever :) and consume rice several times a week. What I do try to do is add loads, and I literally mean loads, of veggies to my rice dishes so as to balance out the starches with fiber and nutrition. Today, I decided to make a plant-based version of Chinese Fried Rice. 

Chinese Egg (Tofu)-Fried Rice 

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients (6 BIG servings):

1. 1.5 cups Brown Basmati Rice (dry)
2. 1 recipe Happy Herbivore Basic Tofu Scramble
3. 2 pks (12 oz) Birds Eye - Steamfresh Mixed Vegetables - Corn, Peas, Carrots, Green Beans
4. 2 pks (12 oz) Birds Eye - Steamfresh Blends - Asparagus, Gold & White Corn, Baby Carrots
5. 2 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
6. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
7. 4 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
8. Salt to Taste

Directions:

In a deep pan, bring 6-7 cups of water to boil and add brown rice. Simmer until tender and then drain and set aside. Prepare HH Tofu Scramble and set aside. I used black salt in my recipe to get the extra egg-like flavor. In a large skillet, thaw out veggies and allow any excess water to dry out. Then add the rice wine vinegar, ginger-garlic paste and soy sauce. Give everything a good toss and cook for a few minutes to allow the ginger-garlic paste to cook for a few minutes. Taste test the veggies at this stage. They should be saltier than you like them typically, because you will be adding a large amount of steamed rice. When the veggies start releasing the lovely aroma of Chinese food (its a mix of ginger and rice wine vinegar), add the steamed rice, give another good toss, and then add the HH Tofu Scramble and mix everything together. Turn off the stove, cover and let sit for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend together. Serve warm, with freshly cracked black pepper for a garnish. 

Chinese Egg (Tofu)-Fried Rice

My Assessment: This was a great dish. Even my 17-year old step-son, who refuses to eat "my plants" enjoyed a big bowl-full. Tony loved it too (despite the fact that he abhors tofu ... he thinks I used Ener-G Egg Replacer in this recipe). 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 448 (Fat Calories 69)
Total Fat 7.7; Cholesterol 0g; Carbohydrates 72.1g; Dietary Fiber 9.0g; Sugars 12.2g; Protein 18.7g

Feisty Fiesta Toss!

So T wanted tacos and he wanted quinoa for dinner tonight. I wanted something Mexican but wasn't sure I wanted to really eat the tortillas. I knew I wanted lots of veggies and I wanted to incorporate some greens in my dinner AND I wanted rice. A tall order? Naaah ... its not THAT difficult to make tacos, veggies, rice, quinoa and greens ... heck .. I decided to mix them all together :) 

Fiesta Toss-Up

This recipe is inspired by Happy Herbivore's Vegan Taco Salad

Prep Time: 20-25 min

Ingredients (Serves 6):

1. 1 cup TVP crumbles (reconstituted) OR 1 cup Brown Lentils (Masoor Dal, steamed)
2. 1 cup Brown Rice 
3. 1 Pk Birds Eye - Steamfresh Mixed Vegetables - Corn, Peas, Carrots, Green Beans
4. 1 x 15oz can of Black Beans
5. 1 Medium Tomato, fresh, diced
6. 2 cups of Baby Spinach, fresh
7. 2 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
8. 2 tbsp Onion flakes
9. 2 tsp Minced Garlic
10. 2 tsp Ground Cumin
11. Salt & Pepper to taste
12. 2-4 tbsp Medium Salsa

Directions: 

Place TVP crumbles in a fine mesh hand-held strainer and run water over the it for a couple of minutes. This removes any TVP dust and also partially reconsititutes the TVP.  Place TVP in a skillet and add half a cup of water and all dry spices. Mix well and allow water to evaporate. Then add steamed brown rice and baby spinach and toss well. Allow the spinach to wilt. Meanwhile steam the pack of mixed vegetables in the microwave (about 5 minutes). Transfer contents of the skillet to a large bowl and add salsa, steamed vegetables, black beans and fresh diced tomatoes. Add a sprinkle of fresh cilantro leaves, if available. Toss everything together and serve warm, with freshly baked tortilla chips to scoop up the veggie loaded crumbles. For those who like tostadas, serve over corn tortillas after crisping them in the oven (flat cookie sheet, 10 min @350 F). Yum!

Fiesta Toss-Up Tostada

My Assessment: This was a great WARM way to enjoy lots of veggies and carbohydrates. If you're watching carbs (I'm not sure why anyone would!), enjoy just the toss-up without the tortillas. If you're in the mood for a burrito, wrap the toss-up into a large tortilla.  Of course, if you're in the mood for a salad, go right back to the original HH recipe !!! This was a hit even with my non-TVP eating husband!! He loved it and asked to take leftovers for lunch ... AGAIN!!! Score :)

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving, with TVP): Calories 240 (Fat Calories 9)
Total Fat 1.0g; Cholesterol 0g; Carbohydrates 44.0g; Dietary Fiber 8.9g; Sugars 7.0g; Protein 15.5g

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving, with Lentils): Calories 224 (Fat Calories 10)
Total Fat 1.1g; Cholesterol 0g; Carbohydrates 45.8g; Dietary Fiber 8.8g; Sugars 5.6 g; Protein 10.5g

Lentil & Vegetable Khichdi

I've blogged about Khichdi (Kh-itch-dee) before. It is typically a very mildly flavored, and rather thick and soupy preparation of lentils and rice. Today I started out making a lentil soup with vegetables. I added brown rice to it ... and inadvertently over-cooked it and it ended up as a Khichdi. So here it is ... it wasn't my prettiest dish .. but it tasted pretty awesome! And look at the whopping amounts of dietary fiber and protein and carbohydrates in each serving. This is a nutritionally dense meal if  you ever saw one. 

Lentil & Vegetable Kitchdi

Prep Time: 15 min

Ingredients (6 Servings):

1. 1 cup Masoor Dal (Red lentils, split and skinned)
2. 1 cup Brown Rice
3. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
4. 1 tbsp Goya Recaito Cilantro Cooking Base
5. 1 x 15oz can of Hunts Fire-Roasted Garlic Diced Tomatoes
6. 1 pk (12 oz) frozen baby Brussels Sprouts
7. 1 pk (12 oz) frozen Okra
8. 1/2 tsp Turmeric
9. 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
10. 2 tsp Tamicon (or lemon/lime juice, to taste)
11. Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Add all ingredients (except tamicon) to a pressure cooker and add 5-6 cups of water, or home-made vegetable broth. Pressure cook under high pressure for 10 min. Release steam immediately, mix tamicon (tamarind concentrate) and serve steaming hot. If using a regular pot of the stove-top, you may need to adjust the water as it cooks, and it may take longer than 10 minutes (cook until rice is tender, the lentils will be done much quicker). I cooked mine for 15 minutes which was a bit much. As you can see from my picture above, my okra was pretty much disintegrated and my Brussels Sprouts were pretty mushy too! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 303 (Fat Calories 28)

Total Fat 3.1 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 56.3 g; Dietary Fiber 15.8 g; Sugars 4.0 g; Protein 14.5 g

The Kitchen Sink Soup

Cold winter days call for a heartwarming soup and some home-made bread. I got wish #1 today. My husband coined the term The Kitchen Sink Soup - according to him ... "Its got everything in it, but the kitchen sink!" ... well yes, it is kind of true. I always use the same basic recipe and it works like a charm, every time, no matter what you put in it. 

The Kitchen Sink Soup

Prep Time: 20-30 min

Ingredients:*

1. 2 cups Protein (Red Kidney Beans, Black beans, Chick Peas, Various Lentils)
2. 2 cups Vegetables (Onion, Spinach, Green Beans, Corn, Peas, Carrots, Kale, Celery)
3. 1/2 cup Starch (Red Potatoes, White Potatoes, Brown Rice, Wild Rice, Barley, Quinoa, Noodles)
4. 1/2 cup Mushrooms (white, cremini, shiitake, portabella, oyster)
5. 4-6 cups Vegetable broth
6. 6-8 Dry Sun-dried Tomatoes (I buy the Whole foods 365 brand), sliced/diced.
7. 1 tbsp Minced garlic
8. 1 tbsp Miso (Barley or Soy).
9. Pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Line a stock pot with vegetable broth and add garlic. Once the garlic begins to release its aroma, add remaining ingredients (except Miso). Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer until whatever starch you've added are done. When I use beans and/or chickpeas, I typically use canned. When I use lentils, I tend to use red lentils which are quick-cooking. Once starches are done cooking, turn off heat and add miso. I used Barley miso today. I typically don't discriminate between various kinds of Miso and use them interchangeably in my recipes. Do a quick taste test and if needed added more broth (as needed) and miso for flavor, or salt (if you prefer). Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and serve steaming hot. 

The Kitchen Sink Soup

Today, I used Red kidney beans, Baby spinach, Red Onion, Green Beans, White mushrooms and a blend of Brown and Wild rice. Umm Umm Good!! 

Wish #2 (homemade bread) will be granted soon ... Santa brought me a B&D Bread Maker!!! Yeah!!!

* This is a 'no added salt' recipe i.e. no salt is added over and above what is already in the condiments. In this soup, all the salt is coming from Miso and the sun-dried tomatoes add a lot of flavor, thereby reducing the need for additional salt. 

Steamed Broccoli & Rice

Some days are meant for a light, quick-fix dinner. This one literally took me 10 minutes to make, from scratch. I wasn't in the mood to cook, so this was a perfect solution. 100% plant-based; 100% fat-free; 100% delish :) !! I like this dish because it gives me the flavors of Chinese food, right here at home. If you're not a big fan of oyster sauce, substitute with your favorite (ready-to-eat) sauce. 

Steamed Broccoli & Rice

Prep Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

1. A head of fresh Broccoli
2. 1 bag of  Kroger Boil-in-Bag Parboiled Brown Rice 
3. 2 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
4. 1 tbsp Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
5. Pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to boil and add the bag of brown rice. Allow to simmer for 7-8 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, rinse Broccoli and cut into bite-sized florets. Steam for 5 minutes using an electric or stove-top steamer bucket. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes. Drain rice and transfer into 2 bowls. Drizzle 1 tbsp Soy sauce over each bowl of rice, toss once; add steaming broccoli on top, and then drizzle each bowl with 1/2 tbsp of vegetarian oyster sauce. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy!! 

FFVK Brussels Sprouts & Shiitake Mushroom Soup

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen posted a recipe on her Facebook page earlier today. One look at the accompanying picture and I was taken. I've had some frozen Brussels Sprouts (New Veggie #9) in the freezer for a while and I was looking for an interesting way to use those. And I love mushrooms ... I've often said "I've never met a mushroom I didn't love" and this recipe also allowed me a chance to try one more item on my 'pending' list of veggies/plant products to try ... Great Northern Beans - my New Veggie #53. 

FFVK Brussels Sprouts & Mushroom Soup

Prep Time: 30 min 

Ingredients: (FFVK Recipe) The list below includes my modifications based on what I had on hand. 

1. 1 medium onion, diced
2. 1 bag of frozen small Brussels sprouts, thawed and cut in half
3. 0.5 oz Shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted, liquid saved.
4. 0.5 oz Porcini mushrooms, reconstituted, liquid saved.
5. 6-8 fresh Cremini mushrooms, sliced
6. 2 tsp Minced Garlic
7. 6-8 fresh leaves of Sage, minced
8. 1/2 cup Quick cooking Brown Rice
9. 1 can (15 oz) Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed.
10. 2 cups of Vegetable broth
11. 4 cups of Water
12. Salt and Pepper, to taste
13. 2-4 tsp lemon juice.

Directions:

Some of the modifications I made resulted in reducing the cooking time. I had a frozen bag of Brussels sprouts, and I thawed them in the microwave which helped cook them some. I also used quick cooking brown rice which helped my case. I didn't have any rubbed sage so I used fresh Sage leaves instead. I cooked onions and garlic in water until translucent and then added Brussels sprouts. Cooked everything together for a couple of minutes and then added the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice which I added after the soup was done and removed from the stove. Getting the soup together took me about 10 minutes, including dicing the onion and mushrooms and reconstituting the dried mushrooms. Then I just let the whole thing simmer for about 20 minutes until we were ready to eat. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper. 

My Assessment: This was a hearty heartwarming soup. I loved it. My newly herbie husband also liked it and even agreed to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow (always a good sign). Thank you, FFVK, for another great recipe. 

Punjabi Khichdi

Khichdi (Kh-itch-dee) is a very mildly flavored, soupy preparation of lentils and rice. Common in pretty much the entire Indian sub-continent, variations of the same basic theme are found across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka ... it is considered a comfort food. Traditional preparations are gentle on the stomach but offer a special blend of spices and herbs that are gentle enough on folks suffering from 'Delhi-Belly' ... or gastric troubles. Even within the same region and cuisine, there are often variations of it, depending upon the particular variety of lentils used and in some instances milder, easy to digest veggies, such as peas and carrots and cauliflower, may also be used. 

Ammaji's Kitchdi

Prep Time: 10-12 min

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup Split Mung Dal (Split Green lentils, with skins)
2. 1/2 cup Brown rice (traditional preparations use white rice)
3. 3.5 - 4 cups water
4. 1/8 tsp Asafoetida
5. 1-2 tsp Cumin seeds
6. 1 tsp fresh or dried Cilantro leaves
7. 2-4 Dried Curry leaves (optional)
8. 1 tsp minced ginger (optional)
9. 1 tsp Garam Masala (optional)
10. salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a pressure cooker and cook under high pressure for 10 minutes. Allow to sit for a few minutes, or release pressure immediately. If you don't have a pressure cooker, use a deep stock pot and cook until the dal is almost all turned to mush and the rice is super tender. The overall consistency should be that of a very wet oatmeal, or cream of wheat. Mix well, garnish with freshly cracked black pepper, and serve hot. Traditionally this dish is eaten with plain home-made yogurt, or spicy Indian pickles. Some people swear by the flavor of a dollop of butter on each plate ... I've never been a big fan and I don't use oils anymore so I didn't even bother with it today. 

Assessment: I already know I love this dish. But T loved it today :) Score!!!! 

10 min Red Beans & Rice

So I often make my version of comfort food ... Rajma (Red Beans & Rice) the Indian way and it takes a while. Some days are meant for a quick and easy - plug it, set it, leave it recipe. This is that 10 min version of Red Beans & Rice :) I love this version because its a ONE-POT meal .. and those are the best kind! 

Red Beans & Rice

Prep Time: 15 min from start to finish

Ingredients:

1. 2 cans of Red Kidney Beans or Pinto Beans (or one of each!)
2. 1 can of Diced Tomatoes
3. 1 medium Onion, minced in a food processor
4. 1 cup Brown Rice
5. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
6. 2 tsp Cumin
7. 2 tsp Garam Masala
8. Salt to taste

Directions:

Add everything to the pressure cooker with 1.5 cups of water and cook under high pressure for 10 min. The cook time is essentially for the brown rice because everything else is pre-cooked. If you're using a stove-top, allow it to reach full pressure, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 min. Release steam immediately. Mix with a wooden spatula, garnish with freshly cracked black pepper and serve.

You could also make this in a slow cooker (if you're using canned beans), else the beans will need to be pre-cooked. Or you could make this on the stove-top - adjust water to 2 cups (as some of it will evaporate in a pot), and cook until rice is tender. 

Basic Vegetarian Gumbo

.. the aromas of good ol' Creole cooking always make me smile. Andouille sausage was probably one of favorite meats before I went plant based. I don't miss the meat, but I do sometimes miss the flavors. A good hearty Gumbo is a good way to remember those flavors all over again. A lot of vegan/vegetarian gumbo recipes that are available online use vegan sausage and while I am sure that would taste good, those products are also extremely greasy and processed. Instead of sausage, I tried TVP chunks, with Cajun seasoning and .. my current best friend in a bottle - LIQUID SMOKE :) !!!  

Vegetarian Gumbo

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients: 

1. 4 or 5 cups vegetable broth
2. 1 medium to large Red Onion, diced
3. 3 stalks of Celery, diced
4. 1 tbsp minced Garlic
5. 2 cups of Spinach, stems removed
6. 1 cup white button mushrooms, quartered
7. 1 cup Baby Carrots
8. 1 12-oz bag of Frozen Diced Okra
9. 1/2 cup TVP Chunks
10. 2 tbsp Liquid Smoke
11. 2-3 tbsp Corn Starch, as needed. 
12. 1-2 tbsp Creole/Cajun Seasoning, to taste
13. 2 tsp of fresh Thyme leaves
14. Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions: 

In a deep stock pot on medium heat, bring 4 cups of vegetable broth to a rolling boil. You can use water instead, but vegetable broth tends to add a lot more flavor. As the broth boils, add ingredients one by one, making sure that the liquid continues to boil during this process. Add onions and garlic, then okra, then spinach, mushrooms and baby carrots. Lastly rinse the TVP chunks in running water and add those as well. Reduce heat to a simmer, and boil for another 10 minutes or so. I used spinach today instead of green bell peppers which are more traditional to Gumbo, so feel free to use those instead. After about 10 minutes of simmering the soup, mix cornstarch in tap water and add in small amounts until the consistency thickens (but don't let it congeal). Add liquid smoke and cajun seasoning, mix well, seasoning with thyme and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve over brown rice. 

My Assessment: From what I've read, you need to boil the gumbo for at least an hour to get rid of the sliminess of the okra. From what I know of okra, it tends to get slimier as you cook it more. I only boiled this soup for about 25 minutes, including the time after I added corn starch. I don't mind the slightly sticky flavor of it, but if you do, try boiling it longer. Overall, I really liked this recipe. No added fat, very low on salt and very high on a lot of flavor. I love Creole seasoning :) 

Asparagus & Sage Soup

I often feel like a big bowl of soup for dinner. I've been thinking of an Asparagus soup for a while. Also, I've had Sage in my herb garden all summer and I'm embarrassed to admit that I had no use for it ;) !! Except for adding large bunches of it to my vegetable scraps for my Home-made Vegetable Broth, even that was a desperate attempt to use the growing jungle!!! I guess I also never tried hard enough to find a plant-based recipe that required Sage. Today, I was determined. A quick Google search revealed this recipe at The Cooking Club. It required however, 2 tablespoons of butter, a half a cup of Parmesan cheese and chicken broth. I wasn't planning on using any of those items; so here's my plant-based version. 

Asparagus & Sage Soup

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb Asparagus, chopped coarsely
2. 1 medium Red Onion, chopped coarsely
3. 2 cups Vegetable broth
4. 3 cloves Garlic
5. 2-4 tbsp of fresh Sage leaves
6. 1/3 cup Brown Rice
7. 0.5oz Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
8. 1/3 cup Baby Spinach
9. 1/3-1/2 cup Non-Dairy Milk
10. Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Add everything to a pressure cooker, and steam for 10 min. Let steam dissipate naturally, open, mix with a large spatula and puree using a stick blender, or in a regular jar blender. Add Non-Dairy Milk and mix well. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper & Enjoy!! 

3 Rice, 3 Berry, 3 Herb Salad

Summer Days call for chilled salads, Summer Days are Berry Days, and Summer Days are Fresh Herb Days as well. We had a 3x Birthday party in the family today and I wanted to make sure I had a plant-based dish to take along. I wanted to try Chef AJ's Quinoa Salad with Currants and Pistachios - but our niece is allergic to nuts and I wasn't sure if she'd ever been tested for Quinoa. But now, my mind was hooked on to memory of that salad :) !!! I decided to make a variation of it. Here's what I came up with. 

3 Rice & 3 Berry Salad

Prep Time: Overall 30 min, or so in 2 stages.

Ingredients: 

1. 1/2 cup White Basmati Rice
2. 1/2 cup Brown Basmati Rice
3. 2-3 tbsp Long grain Wild Rice
4. 2-3 tbsp Raisins
5. 1 cup fresh Red Raspberries
6. 1 cup fresh Blackberries
7. 1 cup fresh Strawberries
8. 2 tbsp Agave Syrup, or Honey
9. 1/8 cup Soy milk
10. 2 tbsp fresh chopped Basil, 
11. 2 tbsp fresh chopped Mint 
12. 2 tbsp fresh chopped Oregano

Directions: 

Boil rice, all 3 kinds together, in ample amounts of water until tender. Add the raisins to the boiling water for the last 2 minutes (this helps plump them up!). Drain and spread thinly on a cookie sheet and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (chill completely). Meanwhile wash and drain berries and slice strawberries and set aside. Put Agave syrup (or honey) in a small microwave safe bowl with the non-dairy milk and heat for 10 seconds to dissolve it in the milk. Once rice is chilled, move to a mixing bowl, add agave/milk mixture and toss well. Add chopped herbs and berries and give a final toss. Do a quick taste check - the rice should be just slightly sweet - add more 'agave in milk' if needed.

Cover and chill until ready to serve. The longer it sits, the better the flavors combine - the berry flavors and juices penetrate the rice, the herbs release their essential oils and flavor the rice and the berries! This is a salad where the wonderful aromas invite you to dig in.

My Assessment:  Loved it. What's not to like! The family liked it too :)

10 min Mushroom Teriyaki

With a little bit of forethought, this recipe is a literally made in 10 minutes. Its quick and easy and nutritious to boot. About 12-24 hours prior to when you plan to eat it, rinse mushrooms in water, cut each one in half and put in a bowl with a fitted lid. Cover with about 1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce. When ready to eat, transfer everything to a skillet, rinse 1/8 cup TVP with tap water using a mesh strainer and add to the skillet as well. If you didn't remember to marinate the mushrooms overnight, let them sit in the Teriyaki sauce for about 10 minutes before adding the TVP and turning on the stove. Cook until everything comes to a nice simmer. Serve over brown rice!! Garnish with a little bit freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy!!!

** If you're not a fan of TVP, and are a meat-eater, feel free to add ground turkey or ground chicken instead of TVP, but that will of course increase your cook time. I added TVP to make the sauce thicker, but you can also make this recipe with just mushrooms and its still yum!! :)

My Assessment: In my opinion, teriyaki sauce is way too sweet to be food .. LOL! I've never really enjoyed it 100% and I think I felt the same with this recipe. I'd rather make this with a Pad Thai, or a Kung Pao sauce, than Teriyaki! But that's just me ...

Curried Crowder Peas

I picked up a pack of frozen Crowder Peas at the store last weekend. I'd never had them before but they looked a bit like black eyed peas in the picture. How bad could they be? I like almost every kind of bean I've ever tried ... so in the cart it went. So today, these funny looking beans, odd shaped, and not consistently so,  had the opportunity to be New Veggie #22. I had my curry with Cumin Brown rice and Bhuna (pan roasted) Button Mushrooms.

Curried Crowder Peas (Lobiya)

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

1. A 1lb bag of frozen crowder peas
2. 2 medium red onions, julienned
3. 3 medium tomatoes, also julienned
4. 2-3 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
5. 2-3 tsp Coriander powder
6. 2-3 tsp Cumin powder
7. 2-3 tsp Garam Masala
8. 2-3 Bay leaves
9. 1 cup Vegetable broth
10. salt, to taste

Ingredients for Sides:

1. 1 cup Brown Basmati Rice
2. 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
3. 1-2 whole green Cardomoms
4. 6 oz small button mushrooms
5. 1 tsp Cumin powder
6. salt to taste
7. 1/8 cup Vegetable broth

Directions: Load up all the ingredients for the curry in a pressure cooker*, bring to a boil, add more water or vegetable broth to ensure that there is adequate liquid in the cooker and close. Cook under pressure for 10 min. Let the steam dissipate by itself before opening. 

Separately, in a skillet, boil 1/8 cup vegetable broth, add halved or quartered mushrooms, cumin and salt to taste and mix well. Cook until the broth is completely evaporated and the mushrooms begin to brown up nicely. 

Rinse dry rice in plenty of water and boil in ample amounts of water, with cumin seeds and cardamom, until done. Drain & Serve. 

My Assessment: ... this was Comfort food at its best!!

* I've been asked before if a recipe can't be made without a pressure cooker, and the answer is .. of course it can. For this one, you can use a crock-pot (slow cooker) on high for 4-5 hours, or you can simply simmer it on the stove in a dutch oven for about 60-90 minutes for the same results (check peas to make sure they have reached a creamy melt-in-your-mouth consistency). Happy cooking!

Acorn Squash w Tofu & Brown Rice Stuffing

Acorn Squash was Vegetable #2 for New Year Resolution #2 just a few days ago. My previous recipe was quite traditional and very predictable: Maple roasted Acorn Squash. While I enjoyed that sweet and spicy preparation a lot, I wanted to try a savory version today.  I found a recipe at Tasty and Meatless that I liked the concept of (tofu and brown rice stuffed) but I didn't have all the ingredients and I'm not a huge fan of parsley (this recipe called for a 1/4 cup of it!). So I modified it to my taste with far less parsley and no-added fats.

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Spinach & Almond Side Salad. 

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients: 

1. 1 medium Acorn Squash (when buying make sure its hard to touch and the skin is free of blemishes)
2. 1/3 cup Brown Basmati rice (boiled)
3. 1 fresh small Zucchini, grated
4. 1 small red onion, diced
5. 1/3 cup vegetable broth
6. 1-2 tbsp McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning
7. 1 pack (12 oz) Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (firm)
8. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.  Rinse the squash really well and cut into 2 halves (vertically). Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and place upside down on parchment paper in an oven safe dish. Roast uncovered for 30 min until a testing needle pierces the skin without effort. In the meantime, boil brown rice in ample amounts of tap water, drain and set aside. In a deep pan on medium heat, add the vegetable broth and add diced onions. Add salt and half the steak seasoning. Mix well, bring to a boil. Cook down onions and then add zucchini. Mix well. Heat for a couple more minutes until almost dry. Turn off heat and transfer the onions and zucchini to a large mixing bowl. Add boiled brown rice and crumbled tofu and toss well. Taste test the mix and if necessary, add more steak seasoning. Once the squash is done, turn over and transfer to a fresh oven safe dish. Spoon the mix into the hollow squash and heap onto the top as well - pressing/pat it all down into a nice rounded top. Return the stuffed squash to the oven (350F) for about 10 minutes. I then turned on the broiler for another 5 minutes to give me the golden brown crispy top.

I served mine with a spinach and almond side salad. I really enjoyed the nutty flavor of the brown rice, the fresh zucchini and the caramelized acorn squash. Overall, if I may say so myself, this one got an A+.