Vegan Cook In Med School

Tapenade

2010-10-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, the truth is the only thing that makes this a tapenade are the olives. It lacks capers and anchovies... but I just didn't know what else to call it. I promise it's good- I have several people who will vouch. I served it with crackers and ate the leftovers in sandwiches... think this, some hummus, some lettuce, tomatoes, grilled bell pepper, good bread, etc.

Ingredients:

1/2 a medium onion chopped up
2 cloves of garlic pushed through the garlic press.
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped olives (I used 1/2 black and 1/2 green)
1-2 medium green tomatoes chopped up
Rosemary
Oregano
Crushed Red pepper
Olive oil

1. Heat up 1 tbsp olive oil, throw in the onion first, then a minute later the garlic. Keep the heat on medium.
2. Once the onions start to soften, put in the celery, rosemary, oregano and crushed red pepper.
3. 2-3 minutes later add the mushrooms and cook/stir until they soften up.
4. Last put in the olives and tomatoes.
5. Cook until the tomatoes have softened up.
6. Drizzle on a tsp of olive oil once everything has cooled down.

Fun article

2010-10-21T19:07:00.001-07:00

An article about a class on the science behind why things happen in the kitchen. Fun!

Check it out!

And here's a link to one of a video of one of the classes! Yay!

Video

Grapefruit!

2010-10-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

I hate grapefruit. I've tried to pretend for years that I don't mind it or that I kinda like it... but it's lead to nothing good. Anyway, I ended up with a bunch of them last week and tried to pawn them off on my sister when she came to visit. Turns out, she hates them too. So, we made pancakes and stared at the grapefruits with disgust until it struck me: here I have a hot vegan butter coated pan what's the worse that could happen if I throw some grapefruit and sugar on it. So I did.... and it was wonderful (minus the whole smoke alarm going off thing). All I did was peel and chop up a grapefruit and then toss the pieces on the hot butter coated pan with maybe a tablespoon of sugar sprinkled on top. I let them brown and turned them over so each side got some heat. It was lovely- the sugar and grapefruit juice hardened into this sweet caramel-y coat and really played well with the tang of the grapefruit. YUM!

QUINOA QUINOA QUINOA!!

2010-07-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

I LOVE QUINOA!

Not the cold stuff you find in salads! NO! I'm talking about warm goey happy quinoa!
So, I set out to make a salad with quinoa but left the quinoa on the stove too long and ended up with a something way to mushy to mix into a salad. Woops! So instead I sauteed up some stuff and mixed it into the quinoa along with a little bit of this and a little bit of that... it ended up being SUPER TASTY! This from the girl who hasn't made quinoa for nearly 5 years after one bad experience!

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
3 cups water
1 tsp grated ginger
1 clove garlic
2 cups chopped mushrooms of your choice
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 a white onion all chopped up
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp crushed red pepper
3-4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (If you're using the regular kind start w/2 and taste before you add any more)
Optional: 2-3tbsps crushed peanuts, 1/2 an avocado sliced with some lime juice squirted on top, a few tbsps chopped cilantro.

Directions:
1. Wash off the quinoa then soak it in water for 5 minutes and rinse.
2. While your quinoa is soaking, bring the 3c of water to a boil. Do NOT add salt. (You don't want to add salt to anything you're adding soy sauce too, it's just too much!)
3. Add the rinsed quinoa to the boiling water and bring the mixture back up to a boil. Then let it simmer with a lid for 20 minutes.
4. Next turn off the heat and let the quinoa sit peacefully for another 15 minutes or so.
5. While your quinoa is getting ready heat up the olive oil and brown the onion, once it starts to brown add in your garlic, crushed red pepper and ginger, next your mushrooms and finally the tomatoes.
6. Once the quinoa is ready mix the mushroom mixture and quinoa together.
7. Add soy sauce in 1 tbsp at a time, tasting as you go to make sure it doesn't taste too salty.

So, I like eating this either with avocado, crushed peanuts and cilantro sprinkled on top or with some soy yogurt.

And despite, my previous hatred of cold quinoa I've also had it cold mixed into a salad. It was better than I expected but I still prefer it warm.

Another Easy Salad Dressing

2010-03-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/3 of a slightly mushy large pear (Mine was a bosc pear but I'm sure a bartlett would work as well)
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 small clove garlic roasted (I put mine in the toaster oven for a few minutes but I'm sure throwing it in a small pan would get the job done too)
Salt & Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder

Directions:
Put everything in your food processor/magic bullet type apparatus and blend until you have a smooth mixture.

Itty Bitty Stuffed Peppers

2010-03-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 white onion chopped up
1 clove garlic minced
1-2 white mushrooms minced up
1 cup spinach chopped up
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup black beans cooked or from a can
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried taragon (If you don't have this don't worry... but, it's a REALLY nice addition to your stash of herb so keep it in mind next time you go to the grocery store!)
16 mini-bell peppers - with the tops cut off, seeds taken out and a lengthwise slit made in them.
Salt to taste

Directions:
** Pre-Heat Oven to 400 degrees **
1. Heat up the olive oil
2. Throw in the onions and garlic and cook until the onions get translucent.
3. Add in the mushrooms and red pepper and cook until the mushrooms start to soften
4. Next put in the spinach and cook it down until it's all wilty
5. Now throw in the beans and herbs.
6. Once the mixture has cooked off most of its liquid stir in your rice.
7. Fill up the bell peppers with the mixture and line them up on a cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, until the sides of the peppers are soft and wrinkled.

Asparagus!

2010-03-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

So, for years now I've been a little scared of asparagus. I had a few bad experiences with it and swore it off. Finally, I decided to take a chance and buy some earlier this week and I am really happy! I can't believe it took me so long! Eeek!

Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus with the bottom 2-3 inches chopped off. (I know I hate wasting veggies too but the bottom part is just too tough and not yummy. Trust me.)
1/4 cup of chopped spring onions
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup fresh squeezed OJ
Salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 tsps olive oil
1 cup grape tomatoes

Directions:
1. Steam up the asparagus until they turn a brighter green than they already are. Circa 15 minutes
2. While your asparagus is steaming throw some pepper, salt and the baslamic vinegar in a small sauce pan over low heat.
3. In a separate pan heat up 1 tsp of the olive oil. When it's nice and hot throw in the spring onions.
4. Once the onions start to brown add in your tomatoes and continue cooking until they're a smidge brown too.
5. Next put the steamed asparagus in with the onions and tomatoes and cook them for about 3 minutes on high heat.
6. While the tomatoes and asparagus are cooking add the OJ and last tsp of olive oil to the balsamic vinegar and stir.
7. Serve the asparagus with a few spoonfuls of the vinegar mixture over each serving.

Super Easy Vinaigrette

2010-02-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's taken me so long to put this up here. I've been averse to salad dressing for years because I decided that salad dressing was either filled with fat or a ton of weird ingredients/chemicals that didn't belong in my body... well here's the answer to that dilemma!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed OJ
3 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Stir everything together.
2. Enjoy!

That gives you enough for two people.

Fancy Shmancy Swiss Chard

2010-02-14T20:45:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1 to 1.5 bunches of swiss chard cleaned and roughly chopped up
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic chopped up super fine
1/2 a purple onion chopped up
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup grape tomatoes
Salt
Ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Boil up some salty water in a big pot
2. Once the water is boiling throw in your swiss chard and leave in for barely 2 minutes, just until they start to wilt.
3. Drain the water, rinse the chard in cold water and dry.
4. In a pan heat up the olive oil on medium high, throw in the garlic and onion and cook till the onions are soft and tender.
5. Add the walnuts and figs in next. Cook until the walnuts start to brown a little.
6. Add in the tomatoes and cook them until they start to brown.
7. Lower the heat and stir in your chard and black pepper.
8. Salt to taste

Wonton Wrappers!

2010-01-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

So I don't have a recipe to post... but felt I needed to share a recent discovery: WONTON WRAPPERS!

Wonton wrappers are little square bits of dough are wonderful and usually vegan! They're in the freezer section of your grocery store. Go look for them. Now!!

I recently got together with a friend and we made Sweet Potato Ravioli with them! Craziness! I know! Wonton wrappers = ravioli! Who knew? Anyway - if your interested google yourself up a recipe until I perfect mine. We made a red sauce as well as a "butter" sage sauce to go with the ravioli. They both worked well. YUM!

The next experiment will be making wontons! I'll keep you posted.

Here's an interesting list of ideas in the mean time:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/442133

Check it out!

Mexican Rice

2010-01-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

So, in case you're wondering for New Years Eve I made almost every recipe on this blog! The Mexican Beans, the tortilla bowls and the fancy squash! Pretty much the only new thing I did was this rice!
I did learn that you can cook brown rice in a rice cooker with just a little bit more water than you would use for white rice! Thanks roomie for sharing your rice cooker!

2 1/1 cups of cooked brown rice (It was 2 1/2 cups when it was dry I don't know how many cups it was once it was cooked.)
1 small can (8oz? 6oz? I'm not sure but it's a little can) of Goya Salsa Picante
1/4 cup of pureed cilantro
1 lime's worth of juice
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped purple onion
1 cup chopped bell peppers (pick any two colors you want I used red and green)
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes
Red pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat up the olive oil
2. Throw in the onions and celery and cook on high until they start to brown
3. Next the bell peppers
4. Once the peppers start to soften up and stir in the rice
5. Add in your spices, salsa picante, cilantro paste, salt and tomatoes
6. Stir everything up really well and keep the heat on medium until the tomatoes start to get wilty.
7. Add in your lime juice

I served this in the tortilla bowls with salad and even used some as a replacement for the filling in the fancy squash. Both went over well. I'm also sure it would be fine as a side dish. Also, if you want some protein in there I wouldn't hesitate to throw in a can of black beans! Or if you wanted it more spicy throw in some chopped jalapenos around when you put in the bell peppers. Yum!

Tofu Scramble

2009-12-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
1 block of firm tofu grated with a cheese graters (the largest hole works best)
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used the baby bella's... also if you don't like mushrooms these are totally optional)
1 chopped up bell pepper (Any color works fine)
1 small onion chopped up
1 clove of garlic chopped up
1 cup of whole grape tomatoes or some other kind of tomato chopped up
2 cups of baby spinach
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Take about a 1/4 cup of the tofu at a time, place it in a paper towel or two and squeeze out the water.
2. Heat up the oil, throw in the onions, garlic and crushed red pepper.
3. Once the garlic and onions are browned up put in the bell peppers and mushrooms let them cook for a few minutes
4. Next the tomatoes and then the spinach
5. Throw in the cumin, turmeric and salt
6. Stir and cook over medium heat till most of the liquid is gone.

I'm a big fan of this either on it's own with ketchup or in a toasted English muffin. Yum! Yay for breakfast foods that have protein in them!

Not Hummus

2009-10-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

I totally started out with really good intentions to make hummus today... and well it just didn't work out. I was just way too feisty! But, hey it worked out and now I have a new recipe.
Also, I'm pretty sure the black bean farmers of the world are soon going start paying me. About 80% of my last few posts have included black beans... and don't you worry, so does this one!

Ingredients:
1 can chick peas
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp dried crushed thyme
1 clove garlic minced up super tiny
1/2 a medium onion all chopped up
1 tsp olive oil
1 can black beans
Salt to taste
Juice from 1 big lemon
1 tbsp dried cilantro (I ran out of the fresh stuff.. I bet it would have been better if it was fresh)

Directions:
1. Bring the water to boil
2. Throw in the thyme and chick peas and cook on high until the chick peas are super mushy.
3. Blend/food process the chick pea mixture and put on the side.
4. Heat up the olive oil in a pot
5. Throw in the garlic and onions. Brown them up!
6. Put in the black beans and cook for about a minute on medium heat.
7. Next the crushed tomatoes, cumin, cilantro and crushed red pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes.
8. Mix in the chick pea mixture and cook for another minute or two over medium-high heat.
9. Turn down off the heat and add your salt and lemon juice.
10. Similar to the salsa serve at room temp with something to dip into it!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa!

2009-10-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic minced up really tiny
1/2 a medium white onion chopped up
1 tsp olive oil
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen/canned corn
1/2 of a 16oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
2 tsps ground red pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chopped oregano
Juice from one big lime

Directions:
1. Heat up the olive oil in a pot.
2. Throw in the garlic and onions and brown.
3. Next the beans, then the corn and finally the tomatoes.
4. Cook on medium-high for circa 5 minutes
5. Throw in the spices and salt.
6. Turn off the heat.
7. Stir in the lime juice, oregano and cilantro while the mixture is still warm.
8. Serve at room temp or chilled with happy things like tortilla chips.

Bean Spread

2009-08-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

I use this as a spread in sandwiches. It's a really good way to make veggie sandwiches more filling, not to mention it adds protein too! Yummmmm!

Ingredients:
1 cup canned kidney beans
1 cup canned chickpeas
1/4 chopped green onions or purple onion
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 large lemon's worth of juice
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like!)
4 small roma tomatoes or 2 medium tomatoes on the vine halved or quartered
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Heat up the olive oil
2. Toss in the onions and garlic
3. Once they've browned add the crushed red pepper and stir for a minute
4. Next throw in the tomatoes, cook until the skin starts to peel
5. Finally throw in the beans, oregano, cumin and rosemary and cook for about 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat.
6. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes
7. Pour into your food processor, along with the salt and lemon juice, and puree.

Fancy Butternut Squash

2009-08-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

This one sounds more complicated than it really is. Just throw the squash in the oven while you're putting together the veggies and you should be set with everything in under an hour.

Ingredients:
2 small butternut squash cut in half lengthwise with the seeds taken out (unpeeled!)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp apple pie spice
1 tsp crushed cayenne pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 jalapenos chopped up
1 can of black beans (16 oz)
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tsp fresh chopped basil
7 medium roma tomatoes
1 clove garlic grated
1 small white onion chopped up
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a cake pan or deep baking dish place the squash face down (so the skin is facing away from the bottom of the pan).
3. Fill the pan with about 1/2 an inch of water
4. Bake for 25 minutes then take out flip over the squash, drain the water and brush the mixture in the next step onto the squash and bake for another 20 minutes.
5. In a small bowl mix 1 tbsp olive oil, cayenne pepper, apple pie spice and 1/2 tsp salt and put on the side
6. Saute the garlic, onion, jalapeno in the remaining olive oil.
7. Throw in the tomatoes, and cook on medium-high heat until the skins start to come off.
8. Turn the heat down a smidge and throw in the black beans. Cook for a few minutes.
9. Add the basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and cilantro. Stir for a few seconds over low heat.
10. Salt to taste
11. Set the squash up in the dish you want to serve them in and pour the veggie mixture over each one.

Enjoy!

More Almonds.... This time with Coffee!

2009-08-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

Ok... I think I've outdone myself. Heather and I were a smidge devastated when Starbucks discontinued their coffee coated roasted almonds. I tried to recreate them and I swear I think mine are better. I'm eating them as I write this... Let's hope Heather actually gets to try some!

Ingredients
2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup coffee
1/4 cup ground coffee
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Toss together the sugar, coffee and ground coffee
3. Add in the almonds to your mixture
4. With a slotted spoon scoop out the almonds onto a non-stick cookie sheet and spread them out. Try and drain out most of the liquid before transferring the almonds to the sheet.
5. Bake for 10 min
6. Scrape up and reposition the almonds on the cookie sheet. At this point things may look a little goopy and scary, don't panic that's what it supposed to look like
7. Put the tray back in the oven reduce the temperature down to 250 and bake for another 15 minutes
8. Take the tray out and let the almonds cool for 20 minutes. If after 20 minutes they're still wet/soft put them back in at 250 for another 5-10minutes.

Roasted Almonds With a Twist

2009-08-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
Soy Sauce
Almonds

Directions:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Take a bunch of almonds and put them in a bowl.
3. Drizzle soy sauce (I used the low sodium kind) over the soy sauce and mix until they're well coated.
4. Pour out the almonds onto a baking sheet.
5. Bake for 7 minutes
6. Take out the almonds and loosen them up and mix them around with a spatula
7. Bake for 10 minutes
8. Let them cool for at least an hour before serving.

This started out because I was craving tamari roasted almonds and didn't have any tamari sauce. I think these are similiar enough and taste great! Enjoy!

Cherry Peach Crisp

2009-07-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Mmmm yay for cherry season and the farmers market. As usual I got over ambitious at the farmers market this weekend and bought too much fruit that combined with my parents coming up with their own contributions created a dire situation... The solution? FRUIT CRISPS! This is my favorite one from the week. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cherries
2 large peaches
1 cup brown sugar (Note: You could easily double the sugar in this recipe if you prefer things sweeter.)
2 tsps apple pie seasoning (This stuff if the best addition to your spice rack EVER! If you don't have any yet cinnamon is a good replacement.)
3 tbsp vegan butter
2 tbsp soymilk
6 tbsps flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour but I'm sure all purpose would do the trick)
1 1/2 cups quick oats

Directions:
1. Set the oven to pre-heat at 350 degrees
2. While your waiting pit the cherries.... Or if you're feeling super lazy don't and just leave a bowl for seeds on the table when you serve this... hehe
3. Dice the peaches up
4. Mix the cherries, peaches, 3 tbsp of flour, 1 tsp apple pie seasoning and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar up and put them in your pan. I used an 8 X 8 pan but I doubt the exact size matters too much
5. In a bowl mix up the butter, soymilk, remaining 3 tbsps of flour, remaining 1 tsp of apple pie seasoning, oats and last 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
6. Crumble the mixture of oats on top of your fruit.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top looks crisp enough.

This surprisingly not only tastes good right out of the oven but even better the next day out of the fridge. Yum!

Brussel Sprouts

2009-07-21T16:50:00.001-07:00

Stop making faces! They're really good. I promise!

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs brussel sprouts cleaned and quartered
1 can cannelini beans (aka white kidney beans)
1 red bell pepper all chopped up
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 spring onions or 1/2 a medium purple onion all diced up
1 clove garlic grated up
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Optional: crushed red pepper flakes

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F
2. While the ovens preheating chop those brussel sprouts and mix them up with the olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, crushed red pepper and onion. Spread this mixture out over a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
3. Use the ten minutes to chop up the bell pepper and rinse out the beans from the can. Mix the chopped bell pepper and cannelini beans up and pour them over the brussel sprouts once the 10 minutes are up.
4. Bake for another 10-20 minutes or until the brussel sprouts and bell peppers are brown around the edges.
5. Once they've cooled mix everything up in a big bowl.

I love these so much I usually just eat them as a meal with out much accompaniment however, I bet they'd be lovely with some Italian bread or as a side to any meal.

Sweet Potatos, Spinach & Beans

2009-07-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

2-3 medium sweet potato's - boiled, peeled, and chopped into bite sized cubes
1 cup canned black beans
1 cup canned kidney beans
1 pound fresh spinach chopped (or frozen)
1 medium tomato chopped up
1/2 a medium onion diced
1 clove garlic grated
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
crushed red pepper and salt to taste
pinch of turmeric
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp ground coriander seed
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Heat up your olive oil on high heat
2. Once it's hot throw in the garlic, onion, ginger and crushed red pepper
3. Once the onions brown turn the heat down to medium and throw in the beans and let them cook for about 2-3 minutes before putting in the spinach.
4. Once the spinach has started to wilt down throw in the sweet potato's and tomato.
5. Add your spices and salt

I like using this as a filling for sandwiches. Mmm. Try serving it with a mixture of ketchup and fresh ground black pepper. Yum! Plus, it freezes well so you can save whatever you don't use for a lazy day.

Cilantro-Lime Sauce

2009-05-16T18:28:00.001-07:00

I make this and freeze it every few months because it’s SUPER convenient. Then whenever I make rice I stir in a few spoonfuls, squeeze in lime juice, throw in a bit of salt and YUM I have lime-cilantro rice! So, easy!
Ingredients:
1 bunch of cilantro roughly chopped
2-3 spring onions
2-3 tbsp lime juice

Directions:
Put your ingredients in your food processors/magic bullet/whatever and blend into a thick sauce. Tada!

I usually use this with brown rice that I toss together with some veggies and stuff (peas, bell peppers, and garlic and onions sautéed in olive oil…) But, I’ve definitely used it with just plain old white rice with good results. Use your imagination. Oh, and the rice tends to go pretty well with stir fry... hence this was posted on the same days as the stir fry sauce recipes.

Sauces for Stir-Fry

2009-05-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

My latest cooking adventures have been limited more than usual by time because of school. So, I've been making a lot of REALLY quick stir fry dinners. The other day I forgot to buy stir-fry sauce so I tried making my own.... and I've been experimenting with different things ever since! I usually cook my veggies to desired mushiness/crispness and then throw the sauce in during the last few minutes

Here are a few of my favorites:

Peanut Sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp honey roasted peanut butter (or 3 tbsp peanut butter and 1 tbsp honey)
3 tbsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1 tbsp water
Garlic, Crushed red pepper and Ginger to taste (If you're using dried stuff you can mix it in with the sauce otherwise saute them in oil before throwing your veggies in.)

Directions:
1. Melt peanut butter in the microwave until it's mixable
2. Mix everything together

Brown Sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup apple cider
Garlic, Crushed red pepper and Ginger to taste (If you're using dried stuff you can mix it in with the sauce otherwise saute them in oil before throwing your veggies in.)

Directions:
1. Melt the honey in the microwave till it's mixable
2. Stir everything together.
Note: This makes a lot of sauce so pour it in slowly to assess how much you actually need.

Tortilla Bowls!

2009-03-29T15:41:00.001-07:00

I had these at a friends place the other day and had to make them! So easy and waaaay healthier than their fried counterparts. As I said earlier they go great with the black beans down below. You'll need at least two oven safe bowls of different sizes to do this.

Ingredients:
Tortillas
Olive oil

Directions:
1. Take a tortilla and rinse it under cold water for just a few seconds.
2. Brush olive oil on both sides of the tortilla
3. Squish the tortilla into the bigger of the two bowls so it's lining the sides and then put the smaller bowl on top. (Basically your trying to make the tortilla take the shape of a bowl)
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
5. Let cool then fill with yummy things and enjoy!

Black Beans

2009-03-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

I just switched from canned beans to dried ones and I like this recipe because I can let it cook in my crock pot while I'm at school/the gym/taking over the world... Plus, people tell me dried beans are healthier!

Ingredients:
2 cups dry black beans
5 cups cold water
1/2 a medium purple onion minced
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1 stick of celery minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
3 ripe tomatoes minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Heat up olive oil in a small pan
2. Brown up the garlic, onion and celery
3. Let the mixture COOL down.
4. Put the mixture, the black beans, the salt, oregano, cumin, chilli powder and cold water in your crock pot. If you don't have time to let the mixture completely cool down put in a few ice cubes to make sure the water is cold.
5. Let the beans soak over night.
6. Stir in the tomatoes and turn on your crock pot on high for 6 hours.
7. Once the beans are cooked add the cilantro and lime and let sit for 30-45 minutes to let the beans thicken up.

I like to serve these in baked tortilla bowls with salad and guacamole. (Check later this week for a recipe for the bowls!)

Tabouli

2009-03-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ok... So, my laptop caught on fire... hence, I haven't written in a while. Regardless of the laptop incident I've still been cooking. So, I picked up some bulgar wheat in the bulk section of my grocery store this week and decided to try and create Tabouli. This is what I came up with. I have to say I think it goes REALLY well with the hummus posted below.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of parsley chopped coursly
1 medium sized cucumber chopped
1 firm but red tomato chopped
2-3 tablespoons of roughly chopped mint leaves
1 cup bulgar wheat
1 lemon worth of juice
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 a purple onion diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups warm water
Salt to taste
Optional: red chili powder to taste

Directions:
1. Put the bulgar in a large container with a tight lid.
2. Heat the olive oil in a small pot.
2. Once the oil is hot add the garlic and onion and reduce the heat to medium.
3. Once the garlic and onion have browned turn off the heat.
4. Let the oil, garlic and onion mixture cool.
5. Add the water and turn the heat back on and bring it to a simmer. Pour the mixture over the bulgar and cover. Let the bulgar sit covered for 40 minutes.
6. After 40 minutes uncover and fluff the bulgar with a fork. Try some if it's still hard microwave the mixture for 2-3 minutes at a time until it's soft.
7. Once the bulgar is cooked add in all your other ingredients and stir

Optional: 1-2 tsp red chili powder mixed in at the end.

Hummus

2009-03-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

I've tweeked this recipe a lot over the past year or so and I think I'm finally done with it. It's always a hit when I have people over. It's not like the hummus you get at restaurants because I don't use tahini. I think it tastes pretty good plus with out the tahini it has a whole lot less fat! So, eat as much as you want!

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas (16oz)
1-2 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
1/2 tbsp olive oil (You can definitely use more! I'm just stingy with fat.)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4-5 fresh oregano leaves or about one shake of the dried kind
5-6 pieces of fresh thyme or about one shake of the dried kind
1-2 tbsp of lemon juice. About the amount it one lemon
1 tsp cumin
1/2 a large tomato (I usually use the kind on the vine or the plum variety)
1/2 tsp salt

Alternative: If you have a premixed bottle of dried Italian herbs you can substitute the oregano and thyme with 1-2 shakes of the Italian herb mix.

Directions:
1. In a pan heat up your olive oil
2. Once the oil is hot add in your garlic and let it brown
3. Throw your chickpeas into the pan and let them cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes
4. Let the chickpeas cool for a few minutes prior to transferring them into your food processor.
5. Once in the food processor add all your other ingredients in and blend. The consistency should be a little thicker and have more texture than the kind in restaurants. Be sure to taste for salt! Serve at room temperature.

I like to serve this with baked pita chips or use it as a spread in wraps and sandwiches. Yum! Oh, and if you wait a few days I'll put up a recipe for baked pita chips!

Cake w/Blueberry frosting and chocolate sauce

2009-03-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

So, I didn't end up making cupcakes after all. Instead I made this fun little half cake. You can use any white/yellow 8" cake you want. I used this recipe from vegweb: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=25720.0

Ingredients

Frosting:
1/2 cup margarine
2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 teaspoons blueberry sauce

Chocolate Sauce:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy milk
1 tbsp margarine

Optional:
2 tbsp walnut pieces

Directions
1. Once your cake is cool cut it in half and put one half to the side.
2. Make your chocolate sauce:
- Place all the ingredients in a mug
- Then put the mug in bowl that it fits in comfortably and fill the bowl with water. This sounds silly but the idea is to create a double boiler that you can put in your microwave. Look at the picture up above if you're confused.
- Next put the bowl with the mug in the microwave. You will probably need to microwave for about 5 minutes but it will depend on the strength of your microwave. Check on it every minute and stir until the sugar has dissolved and you have a nice smooth sauce like consistency.
- Pour the sauce over half of the cake. I like to let it dribble over the sides
because I think it looks nice.
3. Make the frosting:
- Combine all the ingredients and mix together with an egg beater until the mixture is clump free and fluffy. Taste it too make sure the sugar is well mixed in and its not gritty. If it's gritty you need to mix some more until it feels smooth in your mouth.
4. Put the 2nd half of the cake on top of the bottom chocolate covered half. If you want before you cover it you can toss some walnuts over the chocolate sauce.
5. Frost the top half with your blueberry frosting.
6. Enjoy!

Note: The frosting can be made ahead of time but the chocolate sauce should really be made after the cake is out of the oven and cooled because you're going to want to pour it on while the sauce is still warm. Also, you can definitely replace the blueberry sauce with 1/3 cup of cocoa powder if you want chocolate frosting instead.

Blueberry Sauce

2009-02-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

Be careful, this stuff is addicting! I use it as pancake syrup but honestly I think you could use it for anything. I plan on throwing some into a recipe I have for frosting so I can have some fun blueberry frosting to put on cupcakes later today.

Ingredients
1 pint blueberries frozen or fresh
1/3 cup water
4 tbsp sugar (brown or white)
Optional: Juice from 1/4 of a big lemon

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except lemon juice in a pan over high heat.
2. Bring to a boil stirring to make sure all the sugar dissolves. Leave on the heat for about a minute of two after the sugar dissolves.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 2 minutes. Add in lemon juice as your mixture is cooling.
4. Strain your mixture. Make sure you really crush all the blueberries to get out as much flavor as possible. You can store this in a jar in the fridge for at least 2-3 weeks.

By the way the picture above is only about half as much sauce as you get I was just too impatient to take a picture before I used some!

Toasted Almonds & Flax Seeds

2009-02-24T19:57:00.000-08:00

OK! So, I definitely procrastinated going to bed today with this recipe. It all started when a certain short runner reminded me that almonds are the best post-lunch munchies cure. That combined with someone else reminding me that I need Omega-3's in my diet resulted in this recipe... So simple, but so good.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 to 1 tsp salt depending on how salty you like things.
1 cup raw almonds (Honestly, I bet you could substitute ANY nut in here)
1/4 cup raw flax seeds
Optional: 1/2 cup raisin or craisins (If you're feeling particularly rebellious throw in some chocolate chips!)

Directions:
1. Combine salt & lime juice
2. Add in almonds and flax seeds
3. Pop them in your toaster for 5 minutes.
4. Let them cool down before tasting. If they're not crunchy enough toast on for a few more minutes. Also, if you want you can add in some craisins or raisins after your mixture has cooled.
5. Divide into 5 plastic baggies to create an entire work weeks worth of a crunchy snack! MMMM
6. Feel good about life because according to lecture number 3495834095 from the other day Omega-3 fatty acids can help ward of depression and anxiety! Not to mention heart disease! YAY!

Veggie "Crepes"

2009-02-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

This recipe may stem from my desire to eat pancakes as often as possible. I did some major tweaking to my whole grain pancake mix and the result was YUMMY. Here it is:

1/2 cup whole grain pancake mix (I used an oat based one)
1/2 cup other pancake mix (I use Aunt Jemima)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
2-3 tbsp of chopped cilantro
1 spring onion (optional)
2-3 tbsp chopped spinach (optional)
1-1 1/2 cups of water

Directions:
1. Place all your ingredients and 1 cup of the water in your blender. Your mixture should look a little thinner than pancake mix. You may need to add water to get it to the right consistency.
2. Heat up some olive oil in a pan and pour some batter on the pan. I find a size between 5-7 inches in diameter to work pretty well.
3. Cook like you would a pancake.
4. Serve with any assortment of grilled veggies you want. Actually, I served these last night with left over baked falafel and hummus! YUM!

"Baked falafel"

2009-02-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

OK, so this really isn't falafel at all. Basically, I've had this box of falafel mix sitting in my cabinet for way to long. I've been avoiding it because I have no idea how or desire to deep fry anything. Anyway, as I was putting together some veggies the other day I thought I should really add some protein to my meal.... the end result was this recipe. It's pretty tasty and can really be put thrown together with whatever vegetables you have handy.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup falafel mix (I used the Ziyad brand but I can't imagine it matters)
1 cup water
1 red or orange bell pepper chopped into bite size pieces
2-3 green summer squash chopped into bite size pieces
1 package firm tofu cut into bite size cubes
1 clove of garlic grated
1-2 spring onions finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 red chili powder (Totally change this depending to your taste!)
1 tbsp olive oil
Optional: cilantro or parsley, lime, carrots and really since most falafel mixes have a good amount of spices etc. in them you can pretty much do with or without the cumin, turmeric, chili powder, garlic or even onions... depending how savory you like your food. Also, you can probably substitute the bell peppers and squash with most veggies. I think broccoli would probably work well!

Directions:
1. Mix your falafel mix and water together and put on the side. The mixture should look the consistency of pancake batter and you may need to add water to get it to that consistency.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Heat up your olive oil in a pan and brown the garlic and onions.
4. Throw in your tofu and spices (and cilantro or parsley if you choose) Cook until the tofu starts getting a little crispier/tougher
5. Next your veggies go in. Cook them for about 5-10 minutes
6. Mix together your cooked veggie mixture with your falafel mix and pour it into a casserole dish.
7. Bake for about 30-40 minutes.

You'll end up with a pretty filling dish that can be served in so many ways! I've served it as a side and in a pita with romaine lettuce and fresh tomatoes. I bet it would go really well with some vegan sour cream. Yum! Also, if you're someone who likes to bake your veggies I've definitely bypassed the stove top stuff and thrown the mixture of veggies/spices/tofu/onion/garlic in the oven for 20 minutes before mixing them with the falafel mixture.