BBQ Burrito

Still catching up on life, still cooking...

Adapted from Weekly Vegan Menu

Saute up some onion and red bell pepper strips with:

• lime juice
• garlic
• rice vinegar
• soy sauce
• bbq sauce
• liquid smoke
• chili powder

stick all of this in a wrap, along with some seitan, avocado, and still in a panini press for a few minues to crips up the wrap.

Zesty Sweet Potato Burgers

I honestly think that these are some of the best burgers I have ever made. 

 

 

Bursting with flavour...

 

And full of veggies!

Adapted from Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes

Blend until smooth:

• 1 small sweet potato, peeled, cubed, and boiled until tender
• 1 cup crimini mushrooms (~5), sauteed
• 2 dates
• 1 lime, peeled
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• Chipotle powder
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Cumin

Mix with 1/4 cup millet, cooked, and a handful of pepitas. Shape into patties, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so, until firm. Serve on buns with ketchup and pickles.

Limey Wild Rice and Broccoli Salad

I hope you like lime...

Because I have a pile of lime-intense food for you today.

If you don't want to be BLASTED with lime, I would cut it down drastically... same goes for the lemon.  All kidding aside, though, this was one unique dish!

Adapted from The First Mess

Cook up some wild rice.

Chop and grill on a panini press onion and broccoli.

The dressing was... (all blended in my lovely Mr. V)

1 orange

1 lime

1 lemon

~6 oz tofu to thicken

a few drops stevia extract

a large handful of fresh basil leaves

The whole shebang got topped with sunflower seeds and chopped avocado.

Soba Noodle Salad

Adapted from Leafy Greens and Me

This was pretty easy: cooked soba noodles, tossed with shredded carrots and cabbage
The sauce was:
lime juice
mirin
soy sauce
sesame oil (a weeee bitty bit)
stevia extract
It was topped with tofu, drizzled with the sauce, and grilled on the panini press.

And no one will blame you if you top it all off with cashews.  Totally slipped my mind...

Peach and Corn Tacos

Taco shells are like hamburger buns...

EVERYTHING that goes in them tastes good!

Oh, gosh, I'm loving this fresh corn, though...

Adapted from The First Mess

Cabbage slaw:

~1/4 cup thinly shredded green cabbage

Juice of 1 lime

Tacos:

~1/2 cup chopped onion

~1/2 red bell pepper

kernels from 1 ear of corn

cumin

chili powder

chopped fresh basil

a handful of dried brown lentils, cooked

1 peach, finely diced (peeling is optional)

taco shells

For the cabbage slaw, just mix the two ingredients together.  Doesn't get harder than that!

For the filling, saute the onion and bell pepper for a few minutes, and then add the corn.  Keep sauteing until the corn is tender, about 3 more minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and heat through.  Spoon the filling into shells, and top with slaw.

Rice, Black Bean Sauce, Grilled Veggie and Seitan

I very quickly learned that this was not a summertime dish.

But, after sweating through an hour of having 3 burners on (I made ramen soup on the same night)...

I was more than happy with the results!

The sauce was just right, and how I DO love paninied veggies!

Adapted from Meet the Shannons and Tasty Kaiti's

First up, cook up some brown rice.

Next up, saute a hefty amount of chopped garlic in a sauce pan, then add 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, 1/2 cup water, 1 scant tbsp nooch, generous tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp worchestire sauce (Annie's is vegan), scant tsp onion powder, 1 bay leaf, 1/4 tsp powdered ginger, 2 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp dried or fresh (remember fresh is better!) oregano, liquid smoke, juice of 1 large lime... whew, I think that's it!  Oh, right, mix up a corn starch slurry and add that too.  Then let your mixture bubble away for abut half an hour, until nice and thick.  It will taste veeeeeeery good, I promise!

Finally, grill up some sliced bell pepper and onion on a panini press, and add seitan strips (the first recipe) when they are about 2/3 done. 

Finally, plate everything up!

This looks really complex, but it's not, really.  PROMISE.

Roasted Chickpea and Watercress Salad

Summer in a bowl...

Adapted from Robin Robertson

Chickpeas: mix cooked chickpeas with soy sauce, maple syrup, nooch, liquid smoke, onion powder, paprika, and salt/pepper.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Dressing: mix 1/2 cup mirin, 3 tbsp lime juice (2 small limes), liquid smoke, agave, and dijon mustard.
Mix watercress and iceburg lettuce, and top with chopped avocado, pineapple, dressing, and chickpeas.

Tofu Quinoa Tortilla

Totally a happy accident that I made this on Cinco de Mayo...
Who cares, really, if the food matches the holiday.  I just want it to taste good.  Don't you agree?

Adapted from HHL

So, first cook ~ 1/2 cup quinoa.  Mix that with wilted spinach, chopped parsley and cilantro, chipotle chili powder, nooch, lime juice, agave, and liquid smoke.
On a tortilla, lay a bit of the quinoa mixture.  Top with salsa, avocado, and tofu bacon.  Wrap and eat.. with a napkin...

Warm Quinoa, Red Kidney Bean, and Veggie Salad

You know, quinoa and avacados are amazing.
You know, I have lots of orange juice to use up - I bought some for recipes, and I don't drink just juice.  So I'm putting it in everything...
Mmm...

Adapted from Oh She Glows.

The salad was 1 cup dried quinoa cooked with 1 1/2 cups water, cooked red kidney beans, and red bell pepper, carrots, and onion cooked on the panini press.  The dressing was a bit of lime juice, lots of orange juice, 3/4 cup each cilantro and parsley, cumin, garlic powder, mirin, and cooking sherry.  All of this was mixed together and served lukewarm, topped with chopped avacado.

Another Stir Fry

Here's another quick stir  fry with the very typical long list of ingredients in the sauce.  It's really good, just life every other stir fry that has come along recently here.  M really likes it, because of the chicken and peanuts, which are among her favorite ingredients.  Mine too, but I like a lot of things.  I was very pleased with how this turned out.  Plus, I actually managed to not under or over cook the rice this time, so that was a really nice change. Yay!  Go me.

Coconut “Chicken” Curry

Adapted from Chinese and Thai 400

Serve 6

½ cup tamarind juice
1 tbsp vegetarian chicken bullion1 tbsp agave nectar

¾ cup reduced fat coconut milk

Chili sauce, to taste
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp corn starch
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed

2 cups broccoli florets

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup frozen peas (I used snow peas when I made this, but it would be better with peas)

1 vegetarian chicken, about 3 cups, chopped
12 oz fingerling potatoes, cut in half if large and boiled until tender
Rice and peanuts, to serve

Mix together the tamarind juice through corn starch in a bowl, and set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat with a bit of water. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes, and then add the garlic. Sauté for another minute and add the broccoli and bell pepper. Sauté for another 4 minutes, and then add the sauce. Add the peas and “chicken”, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add in the potatoes, and simmer for another 2 minutes, until heated through. Serve over rice, topped with peanuts.

Zippy Lime and Burger Crumble Soup

Wow, this soup has such a different flavour from anything that I have ever tasted.  The lime is what does that.  It's such a hearty, warming, tangy soup.  Which a person really does not expect when they go to take a bite of soup, but this one quickly rose up among my ranks of favourites.  The boca crumbles were really cool too.  A very nice change of pace.

Tangy “Beef” Soup

Serves 8- 10

Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, pressed

3 yukon gold potatoes, chopped

1 medium head cabbage, chopped

1 T ground cumin
1 tbsp Spike seasoning
2 tbsp oregano
4 cups water plus bullion (vegetarian chicken is what I used)
2 T tomato paste
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 tbsp corn starch mixed with 2 tbsp waer
3 cups cooked beans
12 oz vegetarian burger crumbles, defrosted
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or more)

2 T fresh squeezed lime juice

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat with a bit of water, and sauté the onion and garlic. Add the cabbage after 3 minutes, and sauté until tender, about 5 more minutes. Add through the diced tomatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer for 35 minutes. Add in the remaining ingredients, mix well, and serve with salt and pepper, and parmesan cheese.

Five Spice Multi-Coloured Chicken Stir Fry

So, today I ran a 5k, the first one that I have ran in a while.  I'm really excited about how well I did.  Yes, I am really avid about excersise, and love running.  I ended up doing the 5k in 27 minutes, 29 seconds, which coverts to an 8:52 mile!!  That's awesome for me... I kind of feel like a whimp, because I know that's really not all that good in the grand scheme of things, but it's a personal best, that's for sure.  That really made my day.  And M reached her goal, too, of 10 minute miles.  So we're both satisfied.  And I beat M.  Heehee.  I also got a free banana, which is always nice.  Plus the T-shirts are really cool.

Now that I got that out of my system, on to the important part.  Here's another stir fry with one of those awesome vegetarian chickens.  I keep forgetting to look on the package to see how much the thing actually weighs, so I'll have to remember to do that one of these days...  I normally don't cook with any bell pepper but red, but the yellow seems to go very nicely with the stir fry.  Kind of a story behind this one- M and I got home at 5.30, and normally if that happens then we have leftovers.  But I knew that was impossible, so we ended up whipping dinner out in an hour- this stif fry, plus our usual two monster salads.  Which was really impressive, if I do say so myself.

And, just another little random thing that made me happy.  I found two pennies on the ground...  Childish joys!

Five Spice Multi-Coloured Chicken Stir Fry

Inspired by Wok

Serves 4-6

1 generous tbsp five spice powder
1 generous tbsp Better Than Bullion Beef Flavouring
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp vegetarian stir fry sauce
2 tsp yellow curry paste
1 generous tbsp yellow bean paste
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp corn starch
1 onion, sliced thick
2 carrots, coined
2 portobello mushrooms, chopped
1 small bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
2-3 cups red cabbage, shredded
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
2 baby bok choy, chopped into ribbons
1 vegetarian chicken, defrosted chopped into bite sized pieces (about 3 cups-ish)
Cashews, for topping

Mix together the five spice powder through the corn starch.  Set aside.
Heat a wok over high heat with a bit of water.  Stir fry the onion and carrots for 2 minutes, and then add the asparagus and the mushrooms.  After two more minutes of stir frying add the cabbage and peppers.  After three more minutes or so add the remaining ingredients except cashews.  Saute until bok choy is wilted and the massive pile of veggies is heated through. 
Serve over rice, topped with cashews.

Sweet and Salty Five-Spice Tofu Stir Fry

There'e nothing to warm the soul like a giant pile of veggies covering a small nest of noodles, and that's exactly what so many of my stir frys turn out to be.  This is just another one of those, only this is my first stir fry with five spice tofu.  It's really good stuff- I love the texture.  Although, for some reason this dish tasted quite salty, and I think the tofu was the culprit.

It all stemmed from an extra bundle of asparagus that was lying around, and really needed to be used up.  I also got an insiration to add edammame, which is something that rarely happens, and the concoction turned out rather tasty.  Not to mention the ingredients were easy to prep. 

Honestly, now I know what sleep deprivation feels like.  I've got two major tests tomorrow, and that's so not cool.  I don't know how so many of my buddies are living off of only a couple hours' sleep every night, but they are.  I suppose it's because they don't cook!

Sweet and Salty Five-Spice Tofu Stir Fry


Serves 4 - 6

Adapted from 101 Vegetarian Cookbooks

Zest and juice of one lime

¼ cup hoisin sauce

2 tbsp miso paste

¼ cup soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
Chili sauce, to taste

Sea salt, to taste

2 cups cauliflower florets

2 carrots, coined

1 tablespoon ginger, grated
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 package oyster mushrooms, large pieces chopped
2 cusp red cabbage, shredded
1 cup edammame
2 packs 5 spice tofu, chopped

2-3 heads baby bok choy, cut into ribbons

2 handfuls fresh basil, slivered
Toasted cashews

Mix together the lime through the salt in a small bowl.
Heat a wok over high heat with a bit of water. Add the cauliflower and carrots. After 2 minutes add the ginger, asparagus, and garlic. After another 2 minutes or so toss in onions and mushrooms. When that is heated through add the cabbage. When the veggies are almost tender add the edammame, tofu, bok choy, and sauce, and cook until bok choy is wilted. Stir in the basil.
Serve over noodles of some sort… topped with cashews.

Simple Salsa

What can I say about this salsa?  It was a good thing to make on a night when I also had to make bread and salad dressing.  It's fairly quick, and fairly tasty.  I was not blown away, and will probably continue seaching for something more like the perfect salsa that I tasted at a restaurant, but this was by no means something that I did not enjoy.  I had it over baked potatoes.  Combined with feta cheese, this made for a very satisfying dish, with a bit of a unique flavour. 

I think the hardest thing about this dish is all the fine chopping involved, but if you don't mind a bit of elbow grease, than this is a nice thing to throw together when you are pressed for time.  One of these days, I would like to try it over grilled tofu, too.

A word on baked potatoes.  I eat the peel- all of it, no matter how the potato has been cooked.  I have often wondered if I am the anomoly, because most people that I know avoid the better part, if not all of, the peel.  Is this true, I wonder?  M eats about half her peel, and I kid her about it.  But none of my friends that I know of eat the peel.  Why?.. it's most certainly my favourite part.  It's fun to eat with your fingers, too...

Simple Roasted Red Pepper Salsa

Adapted from Vegan Dad

Makes about 3 cups

1 small onion, finely diced
Juice of one lime
1 roasted red pepper, cooled, seeded and skinned, and diced
3 tomatoes, seeded, and finely diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Pepper to taste

Um…. Basically just mix everything in a bowl.