Tacos, Jamaican roasted veggies and fruit salad

So yesterday I invited my parent's over for a south of the border feast :)
Unfortunately I had a late start to dinner preparation so I didn't get a chance to finish all that I wanted to make. Oh well.

Tacos:
2 sweet potatoes finely chopped
1 tbsp oil

1 can of black beans
1 portobello mushroom sliced and then roughly chopped
1/2 can of salsa
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp lemon juice


Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with oil and put into oven at 400 F for 30 minutes. Place the portobello
mushroom in a large bowl.  Dump the rest of the ingredients on top of the portobello, let sit for 10-15 minutes.  Place ingredients in a frying pan until mushrooms are cooked.  Mix the mushroom mixture with the finished potatoes for the taco filling.

Garnish with:
chopped romaine
chopped tomato
ketchup -- I'm weird I know lol I love ketchup with tacos
salsa
vegan sour cream, cheese
guacemole

-- I just used romaine, tomato and ketchup and a little bit of taco sauce.
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Jamaican veggies:

1 bunch of broccolini roughly chopped
1 sweet potato diced
1 potato diced
2 carrots chopped
1 tomato diced
1 yellow bell pepper sliced
1 onion
1 slice of pineapple
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of lime juice
1-2 tbsp of sugar (if at all)
2 tsp minced ginger
3 garlic cloves
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
sprinkle with pepper and red chili flakes

I made two varieties of this dish, since my mom isn't a fan of pineapples. I made a version for her using a tomato in place of the pineapple, she really enjoyed it!  So basically first place the potatoes, carrots and onion on a baking dish, put into the oven at 425 F for 30 minutes covered.  While veggies are cooking blend the pineapple with the orange and lime juice, sugar, ginger, garlic, nutmeg and salt.  Once blended add the pepper and flakes.  Take the veggie tray out and add broccolini, tomato, bell pepper to the mixture and pour the juice blend over the veggies.  Re-cover and put into the oven for another 30 minutes -- could even do with possibly 20 minutes.

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Fruit Salad:
Serves 3

1/4 cup blueberries
1 pear
1 banana
1/3 cup grapes
1/2 cup unsweetened yogurt
3-4 tbsp agave
1/4 cup of orange juice
2 tbsp lime juice
Soy whip cream

Mix all the ingredients minus the whip cream.  Serve up 3 portions of fruit salad, and top with whipped cream. My family loved this, a very healthy light desert that definitely goes within the south of the border theme :)

I also served vegan chocolate chip cookies  :)

PS i was going to add mangos to this dish.. however once opened they were completely bruised inside :(

Oh well.

Cookbook references:

Jamaican veggies adapted version of the one in
Hot Vegan by Robin Robertson

Tacos inspired by seitan and potato taco recipe in
Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero

Fruit salad inspired by
vegetarian.about.com recipe "Creamy Vegan Ambrosia Fruit Salad with Pineapple"

South Asian Noodle Extravaganza

makes about 4-5 servings

Cook enough noodles enough for 2
leftover quinoa and beans (1/4 to 1/2 cup each)

2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp hing (Indian Spice, garlic powder can be used in place of)
1/2 tsp amchur or mango powder (indian spice, optional)
2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1/2 tbsp red thai curry paste
1/4 cup of water
 1 small cauliflower chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 bunch broccolini chopped
2 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp peanut thai sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp cilantro

Heat the oil with the cumin and the hing.  Add the cauliflower and the rest of the vegetables.
Add the mango powder, coriander, salt, and nutritional yeast and water.  Cook for 5-10 minutes.

Mix the tahini, curry paste, peanut sauce, tomato paste,sriracha, and vinegar in a separate container.

Add the mixture to the vegetables and stir.  Add a can of beans, package of mushrooms or some leftover quinoa or rice -- if you have it. Let the sauce and ingredients heat up for 5 minutes.

Once vegetables are desired consistency and temperature, take off the stove and mix in the lemon juice and cilantro.

Serve :) 

Hearty greens & quinoa salad with walnut-sesame dressing

Lunch or dinner for 2 with some leftovers :)

Steamed Vegetables
1/2 radicchio sliced thinly
1 bunch broccolini roughly chopped 1-2 inch pieces

Black lentils + Quinoa
1/2 cup of lentils
1/2 cup of quinoa

Arugula and Yellow Beet Salad
3 cups of spinach
2 cups of baby arugula
1/2 yellow beet grated, or thinly sliced

Walnut-Sesame Dressing 

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup cashews

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp almonds

1 tbsp vinegar

1 cup of water

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp garlic powder and onion powder each

1 tbsp basil
1 tsp agave
1 micropinch of stevia

Garnishes
sriracha sauce
2 slices of tomato
3 yellow beet sticks

Wash the lentils and quinoa, and put in a pot, fill the pot with water until the water covers the lentils and quinoa by about an inch.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until water is evaporated, about 20 minutes.



After lentils have been set on the stove, steam the vegetables until the broccolini is bright green and the radicchio has wilted slightly.  While the vegetables are steaming, cut the salad ingredients and place in a bowl. Place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a high powered blender like a vitamix and blend until smooth. Garnish with sriracha.

Place 1-2 cups of salad on the plate.  Follow with a 1/4 cup of steamed vegetables, 1/4 cup of quinoa and lentils and 5 tbsp of dressing.  Garnish with tomato and beets.

 Mix well and enjoy :)

Tuscany Tempeh

Tuscany Tempeh
3 servings
3/4 onion chopped
1 package of tempeh cubed
1 head broccolini chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1/2 can of tomato sauce

2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp braggs
2 dashes garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp of chili powder
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/2 oregano
1 tbsp of lemon juice

Fry the tempeh and onion in the oil until tempeh becomes lightly browned.  Add the seasonings.
Stir until well coated.  Add the broccolini and zucchini when the vegetables become softer, add the half of a can of tomato sauce.  Let it cook until it gets warm.

Turn off burner and serve, can be served with rice, bread, pasta or tortillas or potatoes.

I had this for lunch today and ate it with ciabatta bread :)  it was amazing and very easy to make.

Day 1

It's finals.  And yesterday was my first visit to the new store in town, 'Natural Grocers'.

I am so used to only having a very small selection of products to choose from.

Give a vegan choices and it could be dangerous for that vegan's pocketbook.

I bought quite a bit to say the least.

I am living with a friend, and just thinking about the feast that I was going to have upon my arrival home from the grocery store made me feel way to gluttonous and disgusting.

So I was happy to give my friend and call to see if she wanted to indulge with me on all of the amazing products that I haven't been able to consume storebought since I was a non vegan.

They had things like vegan spring rolls, dumplings, cake, snacks, candy...... holy lord.

Give a vegan options during stressful finals.. oh you bet they will be spending a bit o' dough.


We had an amazing party of....

Falafels on gluten free rice tortillas
tahini and lemon dressing
lime juice just for extra moisture (falafels can be dry sometimes)
tomatoes
jalapeno and garlic havarti cheese by Daiya (amazing, this stuff melts and makes fabulous quesadillas)
fresh greens
sunflower seed sprouts

vegan dumplings with soy sauce

vegan spring rolls with that special red sauce

Broccolini -- this was previously unavailable in my town, but I must say it's an amazing vegetable!  Definitely a new favorite
I prepared it by sizzling 2 cloves of garlic in 2 tsp of oil in a pan.  Adding 2 cups of chopped broccolini 2 heads of brocollini and stirring.
I put in about 1tsp of kelp powder-- a salt substitute
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
1-2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
1 tsp of vegan butter (earthbalance)

It came out amazing!  very lovely.

We also snacked on baked nori squares - sesame flavored
jalapeno kettle chips -- oh so addictive and amazing

After dinner we indulged in Vegan icecream which happened to also be low glycemic!  Luna and Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss icecream flavored Chocolate Walnut and Brownie!! :):)  Oh it was delish.

We finished eating around 10pm :):)

What an amazing evening of food!!!

Thanks Natural Grocers :)