Quiche!!

I have been wanting to get back to posting on this!! Things with school have been really busy with the start of a new semester -- living off of a lot of Pro bars, oatmeal, cereal (corn flakes, dried raisins plus flax seed milk), ready made burritos (Sweet Earth) and going out to eat... I know it's terrible.

And I actually did sick for about a week -- which kind of got me behind in classes and everything -- I blame my husband lol. He went on a trip to Singapore and came back with a terrible virus.  Which I fortunately got.  I know. Lovely.  I consumed about 3 bags of coughdrops in a week, lots and lots and lots of tea.  Natural Philosophy (a local health food store/yoga studio) was wonderful and specially mixed some healing tea for me :) :)

I also did my best to get back into preparing fresh healthy meals and juices -- I am rather time constrained with my schedule, but I am doing the best that I can :)

I have taken a few pictures of some meals that I have made within the past few weeks, which hopefully I will post sooner rather than later... :)

I made this quiche today.. and it was amazing!!

Simple and amazing!

Tofu Quiche:

2 fresh tomatoes chopped
2 cups of swiss chard chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 package of white mushrooms chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp all purpose herb mix
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
3-4 drops liquid smoke (optional)
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce (optional)
1 tsp vegan worcester sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper

1/3 - 3/4 cup nut, seed, grain or soy milk
14 oz firm tofu
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp veggie bouillon powder or 1/2 - full veggie bouillon cube -- to taste

2 ready made pie or pizza crusts (deep dish).

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Saute onions, garlic and mushrooms in oil, until onions are transparent.  Add seasonings from herb mix to black pepper and mix well.  Turn off heat and add tomatoes and swiss chard and mix.  Set aside and pour milk into blender with tofu, turmeric, salt and veggie bouillon.  Blend until smooth.

Combine blended mixture with veggies.

Pour into 2 small pie crusts or 1 large.

Serves 4

Jambalayan Fry

It's seriously unfortunate my camera is out of batteries, because it looks absolutely amazing.

Tip ** never steam or boil your vegetables long enough that they lose more than 70% of their original crunch.  They should only ever be cooked enough so that their colors brighten and as much of their crispness is in tact.

I made a mistake yesterday and I overcooked my broccoli for the holandaise dish.  I know, seriously a pity.  I think it's the main reason why after a few hours the broccoli gave off that typical funny broccoli smell.. so sad.  Don't overcook veggies :):)

Unfortunately the chilled version of my dish yesterday was a no go.  So best advice, serve it FRESH or, make the amendments that I made today, and you got yourself a whole new thing!

Jambalayan Fry
1 to 2 cups of leftover Ultimate Hollandaise Veggie Toss
1 tbsp of nutritional yeast
1-2 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of mixed herbs
1 tsp of sriracha sauce

Mix everything together in a nonstick pan.  Fry for just enough time to get it sizzling and even a little crispy.  This is an excellent dish, in fact if you made the same mistake as me.. and made the veggie toss recipe to be served a couple hours later.. best is to make these amendments to it, so it can be a new exciting and flavorful dish for hours to come!

Ultimate Hollandaise Veggie Toss

I went to a potluck yesterday, as I am the only vegan that I know at my work/school I had to choose something that could work even if it was the only thing that I could eat.  I thought about bringing dessert too, I just didn't have that much time to do it as well.

I had a bunch of veggies in the fridge, but I wanted a really nice sauce to go along.

I wanted the sauce to remind me of a hollandaise sauce.

Surprisingly I did a really good job at getting that 'eggy' flavor and consistency.  Not quite sure how I did it, but the interesting this was, this sauce could also be made with a little less liquid and really tastes reminds me of deviled eggs! It would be interesting in future recipes to play with this recipe a little more.. and combine it with some kind of a tofu recipe to actually make vegan deviled eggs!! It would certainly be a fun experiment.

Ultimate Hollandaise Veggie Toss:
Serves 8-10

1 small head of broccoli chopped
1 bunch of kale chopped
1 small head of cauliflower chopped
1/3 head of purple cabbage chopped
3 carrots chopped
1 bunch of asparagus chopped

1/3 cup of tahini
1/4 cup of oil
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1tbsp of 1/4 tsp of agave
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of tapioca starch
1/2 tsp of mustard or powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp of broth powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1-2 tbsp of smoked paprika
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp of all purpose herbs

Steam the asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli together in a pot until a bit softer but still with a crunch. Put steamed veggies in a big bowl to stir.  Then steam kale for a minute, add to the other vegetables.  Steam the cabbage for a very short time, 1-2 minutes, it shouldn't lose it's dark purple color. Let the cabbage cool a bit before blending it with the other vegetables so it doesn't bleed its color onto them.

Whip the rest of the ingredients together, if it's looking anything but creamy, keep whipping :)

If it's still too bitter, you can always add more agave, salt, and apple cider vinegar.
If it doesn't have enough flavor, you can always add more smoked paprika, salt, mixed herbs and
cayenne.

mix the sauce with the veggies, and serve hot!

Unfortunately a couple hours had past before it was served at the potluck and it didn't hold up as well. I may have been overly judgmental of it, because I was very disappointed, but someone did still come up to me and complimented me on the dish... so it's possible that it was fine but I was too critical of it.
I will find out today, if chilling before serving would have improved it.  Some dishes are really incredible once chilled, so I am crossing my fingers on this one! I will let you know as soon as I eat this for lunch if chilling it prior is the best method for this guy.

Also, the hosts were so gracious and made the two main dishes vegan--- I'm pretty sure for me, because I'm the only vegan I know in that circle.  Amazing, it's these small -- to me big-- acts that really touch the heart!

Best!!

Esther

A Vegan Easter

My mom hosted a potluck today, and I helped in figuring out what we should make as the main dish.

We decided on some Indian dishes:
Dal and tikka masala made with tempeh


(Dal) Zucchini lentil soup

Serves 8 (we doubled the recipe)

3/4 c lentils
4 cups of water
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 cups chopped zucchini

1 tbsp oil
1/8 asafetida powder (hing)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 cup of onion
1 cup tomatoes chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp garlic powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Fry onions in oil with hing, cumin seeds, tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, salt and garam masala.

Add all ingredients in a slow cooker except for lemon and cilantro.

Cook on high for 2 hours, and low for a few more if needed.

Add the cilantro and lemon after the slow cooker is turned off.


Tikka Masala with Tempeh
5 servings

8 oz tempeh cut into strips
2 tomatoes chopped or can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup coconut milk
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
2 broccoli heads
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp agave
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chile flakes

Fry onions, tempeh, garlic, ginger, cumin, salt and turmeric in a pan. Than add all of ingredients
into slow cooker, cook on low for 4 hours

-- Vegan sour cream can be added for extra thickness
or coconut cream

Green Salad
8 servings
1 green pepper chopped
1 cucumber chopped
2 tomatoes diced
4 radishes sliced
2 heads of romaine lettuce
Dressing of choice :)

We also made a lot of rice to go along :) as well as...

Banana Bread
(1 pan 12'' x 6")
3 large overripe bananas
1/2 cup ground flaxseed mixed with half of a cup water
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp molasses
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/4 c maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mash bananas in a large bowl, add flaxseed mixture after soaking for a few minutes,
add oil, sugar, molasses, seasonings (only half tbsp of cinnamon) and baking soda.

Once well mixed, add flour.

After flour is distributed into batter, pour into oiled pan.  pour maple syrup atop in a zigzag motion across, and add the rest of the cinnamon as well.  A spoon can be used to mix swirl it in further.
Bake for 45 minutes



My sister in law made an amazing vegan chocolate cake with coconut frosting, inspired by:
http://kitchentonirvana.com/2014/01/09/chocolate-cake-with-maple-coconut-buttercream/


HAPPY EASTER :):)