Pasta, Quesadillas, and Moo Shu Veggies with a twist

First of all, I have to mention that Chao cheese is now available in Logan, Utah, and it is by far the most amazing vegan cheese (apart from home made) I've ever had.

It's made from coconuts and other things, but wow!

I think I ate the whole block in 1-2 days... I know.

Quesadillas:
Gluten free spinach wraps
Chao cheese
Beyond meat chikn strips
homemade tomatilla salsa
hot sauce

Pretty self explanatory, but this is a super lazy meal for sure.  Grap a tortilla, put the cheese down, the strips and microwave for 1 minute, take it out and put a few spoons of salsa over top and fold the tortilla over, voila and eat with hot sauce if wanted :)

These also work good just with cheese, but too easy to eat like everything in one go, so probably best to put some good fillers in it :)

Pasta:

I made two versions of pasta over the past 2 days.

Red Pepper Pasta:
1 tbsp olive oil

2 gloves garlic

1 red pepper chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp agave
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 can of tomato sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
nutritional yeast

1/2 package of dried penne prepared


Saute garlic in oil, add red pepper and zucchini.  Add the seasonings through tomato sauce.  Let simmer until the sauce is fragrant and the flavors had integrated.

Add to the cooked pasta and sprinkle with red pepper flakes, pepper and nutritional flakes
I like things on the hot side-- so you can always adjust this to what you feel like.

Mexican-ish Pasta:
1/2 can of pinto beans
1/2 can of corn
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 tsp basil
1 tsp fresh parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp sherry
3-4 tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup of water
1/2 tsp salt
kalamata olives
nutritional yeast

1/2 package of dried penne prepared

Saute garlic, onion, beans, corn in the oil until the onions are transparent.
Add the rest of the ingredients until the sauce is fragrant and the tastes have absorbed.

Add to the pasta, and top with kalamata olives, and nutritional yeast.

if I had had cilantro and kale I probably would have added it as well :)

Moo Shu Gardein with Pineapples
1/2 package of Gardein 'Beef' chunks
1/2 head cabbage sliced
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sherry vinegar
2-3 tbsp liquid aminos
1-2 tsp black bean sauce (found in asian food section)
1 tsp hot sauce
1 slice of pineapple chopped (middle removed)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp minced ginger

Gluten free spinach wraps

Fry ginger and garlic in sesame oil.  Add the other sauces and liquids then add the gardein.  Saute for a few minutes then add the pineapple. Saute for 2-3 minutes than add the cabbage.  If liquids seem less, add tsp at a time of black bean sauce, and liquid aminos.  Heat until the cabbage becomes soft, and add sesame seeds.  Remove from heat.

Heat the wraps and then stuff the cabbage mixture into the wrap and use soy sauce as dip.

And I also made cookies:

Chocolate chip cookies:
 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup coconut oil, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used homemade...  just melt cocoa butter-- 1/3 cup and mix in lots of cocoa powder-- maybe something like 1/3-1/2 cup and some agave--2-3 tbsp and then let dry at room temp) 1/3 cup of silken tofu, 1-2 tbsp agave and 1 tsp vanilla extract. 350 for 8 minutes.

-- copied from my fb page.  



Okay off to bed, goodnight everyone! :)

Spicy Plantain Cocoa Curry

So, my tendency is to use a recipe for inspiration, but it when it comes to the actual ingredients and methods.. I have a tendency to make it up as I go.

I guess the normal thing to do would be to plan out a weekly meal plan and recipes, and buy the ingredients for that.

I do the opposite.  I search the fridge for ingredients and find recipes that moderately match, if nothing matches sometimes I will combine 2-3 recipes to make it fit.  Sometimes it works.. and sometimes there are some pretty bizarro land creations.

This specific recipe, I semi thought that it was doomed, until the final ingredient was added and it came to life!  That is what I often find, most recipes when 'bad', they are just missing 1 thing.  And it's that one thing that turns terrible to amazing.

In some cases that one thing may not necessarily be an ingredient but a very out of the box action to bring it back to life.  One particular thing that can't be fixed though, is burning.  Sorry, hahah can't reverse that one.

Apart from that even, after baking a cake -- there can be other uses for that cake.  I have even taken a cake and reblended it with sugar and other missing elements  to only put it back into the oven!!! And you wouldn't believe but it was saved!  This is a pretty extreme example but it's totally possible.  Lol maybe it stems from my utter desire to not waste any food.  Who knows.

Spicy Plantain Cocoa Curry

I think to make this recipe easier, one can just use coconut milk instead of the base that I made.  But since I had no coconut milk,  made do with a very interesting combination that came out okay!

Ingredients
2 plantains chopped
1 tbsp oil
2 cups of green beans chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 cups of water
1/8 asafedtida powder (1/2 tsp of garlic powder would also work)
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt

Sauce
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 shakes black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cocoa butter
1 tbsp tahini (optional)
1 cup dried coconut (or fresh coconut if you have)
1 cup warm water
1 tsp agave
1 tbsp dried tamarind (or tamarind paste if you don't have a powerful blender)
1tsp paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Soak the coconut in the water for 1/2 hour to an 1 hour.
-- If you have a vitamix or blendtec, you can get away with not soaking the coconut,
or if the coconut is fresh.  It just makes the consistency a little less grainy

In a pan, heat the oil add mustard powder, asafetida, and curry powder until sizzly.  Add the plantains, green beans, carrots and 2 cups of water, mix.  Add turmeric, nutritional yeast, and salt.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes (until vegetables are tender).

Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat oil for the sauce, add cumin powder, 1/4 tsp chilli flakes, and black pepper.  Roast for a few seconds.  In a small blender, add coconut and water, cocoa butter, tahini, roasted seasonings, water, agave and tamarind.  Blend until smooth.

Once plantains are tender, add the sauce.

Add paprika at the end for color!



If the taste is too much of cocoa, add more red chilli flakes until desired hotness is attained.  The spice of the dish is what makes it come alive!


Some great side accompaniments:  Roti's or tortillas and Indian pickle, yesterday I had it with roti's and lime pickle... it was amazing!!