Mock Chicken Salad

I hesitate to call this a Mock Chicken Salad since I really don't want to relate my food to meat; but, this is seriously a great mock up! It only takes minutes to make and is easily catered to your individual tastes.

Ingredients

1 20 oz can JackFruit (I use Trader Joe's packed in brine) Rinse thoroughly.

1 15.5 oz can Garbanzo Beans (Chick-Peas) Rinse thoroughly.

1 small Sweet Onion

1 stalk of Celery

Vegan Mayonaise or vegan sour cream to your desired consistency (I've used both and honestly do not have a preference).

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Optional:

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast

1/4 cup nuts (I have used both almonds and cashews)

4 drops of liquid smoke

1/4 cup raisins (I prefer golden)

juice of 1/4 fresh lemon

1/2 t smoked paprika 

Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Process to your desired consistency (it will be the consistency of chicken salad).

MIX in veganaise or sour cream

If desired, add sliced grapes

Serve on your choice of leafy greens

Garnish ideas:

diced apples (really yummy)

sliced almonds or nuts of choice

diced onion or green onion

grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

raspberries

This also makes yummy sandwiches and wraps! Enjoy!

Red Lentil Soup

Red Lentil Soup

This Red Lentil Soup is more like a hearty stew than just a soup. It can be spiced up, adorned or made more creamy. It can be a side dish or the main dish.

Ingredients

2 cups dry red lentils

1 sweet potato diced

1 large sweet onion chopped

5 fresh garlic cloves diced

2 celery stalks sliced thinly

1 cup of chopped carrots

2 cans Italian spiced tomatoes, one can blender pureed

2 cups (or more if desired) vegetable broth

4-6 cups water

1/2 - 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin 

smoked salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

smoked sweet paprika to taste

1. Rinse lentils and remove impurities

2. cook sweet potato in the microwave for 3 minutes.

3. Add all prepared ingredients into a pot. Add diced sweet potatoes.

4. Season to taste.

5. Cook until all ingredients are tender.

Serve with sliced avocado if desired. Add a dollop of vegan cream cheese or vegan cheese if desired. If a spicier stew is wanted, then add red dots or jalepenos. 

Pad Thai

First, I want to thank the internet for having this picture. This is a dish that I have never taken the time to photograph. The reason is simple, we are too busy eating it! Carbs are not a huge part of my diet, but these rice noodles mixed with tofu and peanuts for protein, broccoli and edamame for fiber and nutrients is a comfort food in my home. The beauty of this recipe is the flexibility to add or take away the vegetables as you please.

Ingredients:

Peanut Sauce:

*garlic clove

*3 tablespoons sesame oil

*5 - 10 tablespoons natural peanut butter

*2-3 teaspoons fresh grated or squeezable ginger

*4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

*3 tablespoons low sodium tamari sauce (soy sauce can be a substitute)

*brown sugar (or your favorite sweetener) to taste

*2 - 4 tablespoon tomato paste (can use ketchup as a substitute)

*tablespoon of rice vinegar

*3-6 tablespoons of water (add more if needed)

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Start low on the water and add until desired consistency is achieved.

Main Dish:

1 block of extra firm tofu., drained and chopped into cubes 

8 oz. (more if you need more) rice noodles or buckwheat soba noodles (both are gluten free)

1 carrot, julienned

4 green onions chopped/ plus the rest of the bunch for topping

1 -2 cups broccoli flowerets

1- 2 large zucchini spiraled or chopped

*mushrooms if desired

1- 2 cups edamame, if frozen run through water to defrost and mixed with the sauteé

1/2 cup red pepper julienned

Olive oil to sauteé the vegetables 

Topping

1 bunch of cilantro

1/2 cup of chopped peanuts

remainder of chopped green onions

sesame seeds

lime wedges

Heat a large pan with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add tofu and brown.

Prepare the noodles as listed on instructions.

Remove and set aside the todu. 

Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat. 

Sauteé vegetables and garlic until softened, but not mushy.

Drain the noodles and mix with the vegetables. Pour the peanut sauce over the noodles and vegetables. Top with fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts and green onions. If you have sesame seeds, sprinkle with the seeds and add lime wedges to the side

Pad Thai

First, I want to thank the internet for having this picture. This is a dish that I have never taken the time to photograph. The reason is simple, we are too busy eating it! Carbs are not a huge part of my diet, but these rice noodles mixed with tofu and peanuts for protein, broccoli and edamame for fiber and nutrients is a comfort food in my home. The beauty of this recipe is the flexibility to add or take away the vegetables as you please.

Ingredients:

Peanut Sauce:

*garlic clove

*3 tablespoons sesame oil

*5 tablespoons natural peanut butter

*2-3 teaspoons fresh grated or squeezable ginger

*4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

*3 tablespoons low sodium tamari sauce (soy sauce can be a substitute)

*brown sugar to taste

*2 tablespoon tomato paste (can use ketchup as a substitute)

*tablespoon of rice vinegar

*3-6 tablespoons of water 

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Start low on the water and add until desired consistency is achieved.

Main Dish:

1 block of extra firm tofu., drained and chopped into cubes 

8 oz. (more if you need more) rice noodles or buckwheat soba noodles (both are gluten free)

1 carrot, julienned

4 green onions chopped/ plus the rest of the bunch for topping

1 -2 cups broccoli flowerets

1- 2 large zucchini spiraled or chopped

*mushrooms if desired

1- 2 cups edamame, if frozen run through water to defrost and mixed with the sauteé

1/2 cup red pepper julienned

Olive oil to sauteé the vegetables 

Topping

1 bunch of cilantro

1/2 cup of chopped peanuts

remainder of chopped green onions

sesame seeds

lime wedges

Heat a large pan with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add tofu and brown.

Prepare the noodles as listed on instructions.

Remove and set aside the todu. 

Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat. 

Sauteé vegetables and garlic until softened, but not mushy.

Drain the noodles and mix with the vegetables. Pour the peanut sauce over the noodles and vegetables. Top with fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts and green onions. If you have sesame seeds, sprinkle with the seeds and add lime wedges to the side

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Easter Dinner! Roasted stuffed Acorn Squash with Pesto!

This year, 2016, Easter was low key with only two us in town. I am used to cooking for large groups that I had to think about what would be good for just the two of us. This was a definite winner!

*When I cooked this, I did not have my blog in mind- so bear with me as I don't have exact measurements.

Ingredients:

1 Acorn Squash (save the seeds and drizzle with olive oil and roast them for the pesto)

The Filling

Broccoli Slaw (3 cups pulsed in the food processor)
3 cloves Garlic
1/4 Sweet Onion
1/8 cup diced fresh herbs (I used basil and rosemary)
A hand toss full of  slivered Almonds
One pouch of Seeds of Change Quinoa & Brown Rice

Topping

One small container of mixed Mushrooms
Olive Oil
Smoked Sea Salt

Pesto

1 Cup Fresh BASIL
1 Cup Sundried Tomatoes (I used oil packed and rinse them)
1 Cup Pinenuts
1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
Roasted Acorn Squash Seeds

Salt and Pepper to taste
*I use bourbon smoked citrus pepper

Step One:
Cut Acorn Squash in half. Discard stringy pulp and keep seeds. Fill baking pan with 1 inch of water turn squash cut side down and bake until tender. Roast seeds at the same time.

Step Two:
Pulse the broccoli slaw, onion and garlic in food processor. Sautee´in olive oil. Toss in almonds to toast. Add fresh herbs

Step Three:
While Step One is cooking arrange washed and dried mushrooms on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with smoked sea salt  and roast/broil until crispy.

Step Four:
Microwave Quinoa & Brown Rice pouch for 90 seconds

Step Five:
Mix fresh basil, sundried tomatoes, pinenuts, roasted seeds, nutritional yeast and garlic cloves to taste in a high speed blender. Add water as needed.

Step Six:
Mix all of the filling  together. Empty the water out of the pan of squash and turn the squash cut side up. Spread a spoonful of pesto on the bottom. Fill with the filling mixture. Add a dollop of pesto on top and spread the roasted mushrooms around the pesto.

Step Seven:

Bon Appetit! Enjoy!

Mushrooms!

Admittedly, I have a love - hate relationship with mushrooms. I go through periods of not enjoying them- and other times, I really do. Personally, I prefer mine cooked. I was thumbing through The Oh She Glows Cookbook and found a recipe for mushroom gravy. Gravy is another one of those things I've never loved. However, with the basis of this recipe (I changed it a wee bit) this delicious Mushroom dish (I refuse to call it gravy) can be used in many ways! 

Some ideas:

Over Mash (this is how I tried this recipe. My mash had white and sweet potatoes, cauliflower and butternut squash)

Over Rice

Over Noodles

Mixed with Tofu or Tempeh

Add nuts, golden raisins

Stir in other vegetables

Ingredients

2 -3 cups of your favorite mushrooms (I used mini-bellas), sliced

1 good sized sweet onion (sliced or chopped- your preference)

minced fresh rosemary to taste (about a teaspoon)

2 - 3 Gluten Free flour ( I used Krusteaz GF flour mix)

1 - 2 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons tamari

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

Olive Oil to saute´the garlic, onions and mushrooms

dash of smoked salt

ground pepper to taste or white pepper

1. Heat the oil in a skillet. When hot (on medium heat) add onion and garlic. Season with smoked salt and pepper and cook until translucent.

2. Add mushrooms and slightly increase heat. Add rosemary. Cook while stirring until the mushrooms have cooked down and have lost their water.

3. Stir in flour to coat the vegetables.

4. Mix the tamari and broth and add while stirring to avoid clumping. Cook to desired thickness- add more broth if needed.

Enjoy! And a big shout out to Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows) for this great recipe!

*The picture may not look the most appealing, but it was a huge hit in our house!

Cashew Humus and Foodtini

As the Holidays approach, or if you are hosting a party you might be searching for a good GF Vegan Hors d'oeuvre. I recently hosted a baby shower and had these Foodtini humus appetizers. 

I offered two different humus varieties, one being a traditional chickpea variety and the other being a cashew variety. To easily identify the two, I put a black olive on the traditional humus and I made a mint/cilantro sauce for the cashew one.

Humus Ingredients:
2 cups cashews, soaked for an hour
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup tahini
1/8 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
smoked sea salt to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
* if you wish you can season with cumin, curry, fresh herbs or other seasonings of your choice

Directions:
1. Drain cashews
2. Add all ingredients to a blender. Add more water as needed
3. Mix until smooth and creamy

Mint Sauce Ingredients:
1. 1/2 cup soaked golden raisins
2. 1/2 cup mint (de-stemmed) can add more if you want a stronger mint taste
3. 1/2 cup cilantro (de-stemmed) can add more if you want a stronger cilantro taste
4. Lemon juice and salt to taste
5. 1/8 to 1/4 cup olive oil (can use coconut oil)

Directions:
1. Drain raisins (save the water)
2. Blend all ingredients adding the raisin water to make it a desired 
saucy consistency.

Just a dabble is needed for a burst of minty/cilantro taste.