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

And it's Monday again

For breakfast I had:

Apricot Mesquite chia cereal
2 tbsp chia seeds
soaked in 1 cup water
4 sliced apricots
1 sliced mango
1/2 tbsp of mesquite

I also had a small bowl of millet cereal with flax milk-- at breakfast late and wasn't sure when I'd be getting lunch.

Fo lunch I made:

Refried Black Bean Quesadilla with pumpkin seed cheese smothered swiss chard
Makes 2

2 rice tortilla
1 tomato chopped
6 tbsp refried black beans
1 small bundle swiss chard

cheese--
1 cup pumpkin seeds
 2-3 tbsp water
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons agave
1 dash braggs

Mix the cheese ingredients in a blender until chunky -- consistency of ricotta.

Wash and chop the swiss chard, and pour cheese mixture on top, mix well.

Spread out 3tbsps refried beans onto the middle of the tortilla and put it in the oven
or broiler for 5-7 minutes until rice tortilla gets soft in the middle and crispy on the outside.

Remove tortilla from oven and spread tomatoes, in the middle and half of the swiss chard cheese mixture.


Dinner:

Veggie burgers
Sauerkraut
Daiya swiss cheese
ketchup
bread
bread and butter pickles

I got home late tonight.. so picked up some of my favorite veggie burgers, put on the cheese -- can throw them in the oven or microwave and then add the rest of the ingredients :)

Super easy.

The pizza creation

This recipe makes a bit of extra veggies that can be placed in a separate pan to bake at the same time as the pizza.  

Super Green Pizza with Red Pepper Cashew Cheese

Toppings

1 head of broccoli finely chopped

4 cups of greens (kale, spinach) ripped into bite size pieces

2 heirloom tomatoes diced

1/2 green pepper chopped

1/2 jar/can of tomato paste

1/4 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 garlic clove minced

1/4 cup parsley

1/2 cup to 1 cup daiya

Cheese Sauce

1 red pepper

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp oil

2 tbsp agave

1 cup cashews

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp amchur (dried mango) (2 tsp lemon juice can be used instead)

Dough

1 tsp salt

2 tsp yeast

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup wheat flour

1 3/4 cups garbanzo bean flour

1/4 cup ground flax meal

1 1/4 cup warm water

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp italian herbs

1 tsp oregano

To make the bread, first mix the yeast, with 1/4 cup warm water and sugar. Let it stand for 10 minutes.  Mix the rest of the dry ingredients together.  Add the yeast mixture to the dry mixture plus 1 1/4 cup of water.  Knead the dough with flour on your hands until elastic and smooth.  Place the dough ball into a container and cover with a cloth for 1 hour.  

Spread the dough out onto an oiled pizza pan.  Lather the tomato paste on top.  Evenly spread the tomato pieces and the green bell pepper on the pizza.  Sprinkle the garlic powder and the italian seasonings over the pizza.  

To make the cheese sauce, blend the ingredients together (from red pepper to salt). Sprinkle the amchur atop.  Pour the cheese sauce into a bowl with the greens, broccoli, minced garlic and parsley.   

Put this mixture evenly on top of the pizza --- there will be extra of this cheesy greens, so they can be put in another pan in the oven :) 

Savory Breakfast

Cheesy breakfast potato scramble

This is a hearty breakfast, great for celebrations.  If you like vegan sausage, this is a good one to add it to, but it’s not missing if its not added.  Guacamole or chopped  chives would be a fabulous adornment but not necessary.

1 bunch dandelion greens chopped

1 russet potato chopped small

Steam the potato pieces, and once done, put them in a bowl.  Put the greens in the steamer for just a few minutes enough time that they just barely wilt. 

Cheesy sauce:

½ cup nutritional yeast

1 cup water

1 ½ tsp Dijon

½ tsp of salt or kelp ‘salt’

dash of zesty spice (ground lemon)

dash of pepper

1 tbsp of tapioca starch (this gives it’s stringy cheese texture)

1 ½ tsp braggs

‘Scrambled Eggs’

1 lb tofu

½ tsp sage

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

¼ tsp basil

½ tsp turmeric

1 tomato chopped.

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 ½ tsp brags

Saute the garlic and onion in 2 tbsp of water until onion is rather clear.  Mix tofu and seasonings in another bowl and then add to the pan.  Cook until hot.  Add chopped tomato to end. 

These dishes can be served side by side or mixed, based on preference. 

Green Mania

Green Mania

2 baby bok choy

1 bunch of kale or other dark leafy greens

1 bunch of asparagus

1 yellow pepper

1/2 tsp lemon zest

juice of half of a lemon

juice of 1/4 of an orange

1 tsp fresh sage

1 tsp fresh oregano

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp oil

2 garlic cloves

1 inch ginger

1/2 -1 tsp salt

1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

At bare minimum, add the salt, balsamic and lemon zest... and for added flavor add the garlic and ginger.  

Fry the garlic in oil along with the stems of the leafy greens.  Add the ginger and asparagus.  When the asparagus becomes bright green add the yellow pepper and the rest of the seasonings and vinegar.  Add the leafy greens, when the leaves become just wilted, add the fresh herbs, lemon and orange juice-- if using.  

Serve :)

The simple dinner

I really didn't feel like putting much effort into cooking yesterday, so this was a minimalist effort kind of throw-together.

Steamed Asparagus and Radicchio
1 package of asparagus chopped in 2 inch pieces
1/2 medium radicchio roughly sliced

Yes, radicchio is bitter especially cooked with only water, but I think it's important to strengthen our tolerance for bitterness in our meals :)
Steam for 5-10 minutes, just before wilting point of radicchio.

Chopped Greens
3/4 bunch of red lettuce chopped/ripped into bite size pieces

as simple as that, the table needed something fresh looking :)

Seasoned Mixed Potato Rounds
7 small purple tomatoes roughly sliced
1 large sweet potato roughly cubed
1 large yam roughly cubed
2 tsp of oil
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sage

Preheat oven at 375 F. Mix all of the chopped potatoes in a bowl add the owl and seasonings and mix.  Place in a pan or a baking dish, and bake for 30 minutes.  Take potatoes out, stir well and put them back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Scrambled Chorizo in Tomato Sauce  
1/2 cup of chorizo
1 can tri- bean mix
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4-1/2 cup of water
1/4 tsp of basil
1/2 cup of sliced cabbage

Mix all ingredients together in a pot.  simmer until cabbage softens.


I invited our friend to dinner, who brought along chips and salsa, which made a perfect contribution to the meal :)

I took equal servings of salad, vegetables, potatoes and chorizo and it was the best all mixed together with a spoonful of salsa and a couple chips :)

Vegan Malai Palak

Typically my attempt at Indian food always turns into an Indian- American fusion.  So I apologize for the lack of authenticity in it's taste. Despite the taste not immediately bringing you to India, it is unique and flavorful in it's own right. It has a tinge of bitter green taste yet the sweetness and the spice from the flavor combinations satisfy the palette. Ultra healthy with lots of vegetables, it does take a bit of time to prepare but worth it ;)  

Vegan Malai Palak 

2 large zucchinis (alternatively eggplant or mushrooms could be used)

Juice of one lemon

1 medium red onion sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 inch stick ginger minced
3 adobo peppers
1 tsp each, garam masala, and turmeric powder

1/2 tsp of fenugreek powder
2 bunches baby bok choy and 1 bunch large bitter greens of your choice -- such as dandelion greens

1 can of kidney beans

dash of salt

1/2 cup of cashews

1 cup water
1/4 tsp of baobab powder
1/4 tsp of lucuma powder

*I used the baobab and the lucuma powder as sweet tangy ingredients, alternatively tamarind paste could be used or lemon and a little bit of agave.

*If using eggplant, marinate the eggplant with salt for 10-20 minutes, squeeze out the excess water, and then marinate it with the lemon and adobo peppers. 

Marinate the zucchini in the lemon juice and chopped adobo peppers for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime the rest of the vegetables can be prepared.
Saute the zucchini (or eggplant or mushrooms) for 5-7 minutes. In another pan, saute the onions, add the ginger and garlic and then the chillies and fry till cooked. Mix in all of the powdered spices.  Then add the greens. Cook till the greens wilt. Remove the mixture, and put it into a food processor. Return the processed greens to the pan, turn on the heat and add a cup of water. Add the zucchini. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring at intervals. 

Grind the cashews into a powder and then blend them with 2 tbsp of water or just enough water to make it thick and creamy.  

Add them to the vegetables and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

 Serve with rice or rice tortillas (we like to cut the rice tortillas in fourths and toast them, they make a great healthy chip, depending on how long they are heated they will be less crispy)