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"

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

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)

Mu Shu Inspired Cooked Salad

Mu Shu Salad
3 large servings

1 head of cauliflower thinly sliced and roughly chopped
1/4 head of purple cabbage sliced and roughly chopped
1 onion sliced
1 bunch of swiss chard
2 tbsp of sesame seeds

Sauce:
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of almond butter
2 tbsp of vinegar (balsamic, rice or wine)
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp of sriracha sauce
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp of molasses
1 tsp of ginger powder
1/2 tsp of onion powder
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
dash of salt

Garnish:
3 sprigs of cilantro (optional)
1-2 tbsp of peanuts (optional)

Put 1 tbsp of oil in the pan and fry the onions until soft.  Add the cauliflower and cabbage, cook until slightly soft, but still mostly crunchy.  Mix the sauce separately until well combined.  Add to the cooking vegetables, add the swiss chard and sesame seeds.  When the swiss chard wilts, then the dish is done.  Turn off the heat garnish with cilantro and peanuts and serve with tortillas, rice or plain.