Baby Bok Choy, Vegetable-Miso Soup and Orange-Avocado Salsa

My husband said, "This is restaurant quality.  If I had this at a restaurant, I'd be super excited."

Hmmm... maybe I should start a vegan restaurant?

Anyway, here's what inspired that very nice comment:

This gourmet and healthy dinner was easy to make and didn't take much time at all!  I love Whole Living magazine because they have amazing recipes each month and this meal was, once again, from Whole Living.

Click the following titles for the original recipes:

Baby Bok Choy

I didn't make the salmon, but I followed the recipe for everything else.  The orange-avocado salsa was amazing; I added just a dash of soy-sauce for an extra kick.  Yum.  Also, I threw in a handful of shelled edamame just for the fun of it. 


Vegetable-Miso Soup

The magazine classifies this as a breakfast soup, but I made it for dinner with the baby bok choy and the two made a perfect combination.

It's been a very busy two weeks with traveling and the holidays and everything, so tonight was a much needed celebration of relaxation and good food.  Happy New Years Eve Eve!

More Vegan Christmas Cookies

Shortbread

Czech Cream Cheese Cookies

Made with Tofutti Cream Cheese!

Plane food

I never know what kind of food or snacks are going to be available on flights, so I always try to bring my own.  The "vegetarian, non-dairy" meals on Air Pacific were actually not that bad, but before my long flight back to America from Australia I was craving some sweets.  We stopped at a grocery store before the airport and I found a great little natural food section.

These are the two delightful packets of sweets I picked up and they definitely saved me on the 24+ hours of travel I had after that:

Vegan Australia

On my last day in Australia, my brother's new sister-in-law took me and Mom and Dad sight-seeing in Brisbane. 

For lunch with O and her mom, she took us to Loving Hut.  These restaurants area all over the place in the states, yet I've never been to one.  How ironic that the first time I actually try a Loving Hut it's in a completely different continent!  I was so excited to finally try the place.

We ordered five dishes and shared everything.  It was all so vegan and delicious!  My favorite was definitely the lasagne.  Any time there's something on a vegan menu that's normally supposed to have cheese in it, I have to try it.  This "cheesy" lasagne did not fail.  It was so flavorful and creamy and amazing!  We also had the Crispy Chow Mein which the server recommended to my dad because as a guy he would like this the best.  Okaaaayyy... that was odd.  We couldn't figure out what she meant by that because we all enjoyed it.  In addition, we tried the Spaghetti Bolognese, Heavenly Salad, and Northern Pan bread.  All were equally amazing.  That's it.  That's all I can say about this food -- it was just amazing!

Lasagne

Heavenly Salad

Crispy Chow Mein

Spaghetti Bolognese

Northern Pan Bread

For dessert, we tried four of the raw-vegan cakes and I can't even believe they were vegan, or raw for that matter.  They tasted so creamy and wonderful, it was like eating cheesecake or something.  I only got pictures of two of the cakes, because we were all too busy devouring these things to take many pics!

I know there's a couple Loving Hut's in the SD area, and I need to go to them ASAP.  This place has a great variety of vegan food--it's like my dream come true!-- and everything is lovingly homemade so that it tastes extra special and yummy. 

Thank you, O, for taking us here!

Classic Sugared Pecan Balls

I mean, who doesn't love these class holiday cookies?  They're amazing!  I followed the recipe from Real Simple, but veganized it by just using Earth Balance buttery spread.

Click here for the recipe and make these ASAP.  So good.

Also, here it is:

Ingredients

• 2 cups pecans
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes; let cool. In a food processor, process the pecans until finely ground.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the ground pecans, flour, and salt; set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and ⅓ cup of the sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
4. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined (do not overmix).
5. Shape the dough into balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
6. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until just beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Place the remaining ⅓ cup of sugar on a plate. A few at a time, roll the cookies in the sugar to coat.

Hot and Sour Cabbage Soup

This was so amazing, it tasted better than any hot and sour soup I ever had in a Chinese restaurant.

The recipe is from Vegan Yum Yum.

Click below!

http://veganyumyum.com/2007/10/hot-and-sour-cabbage-soup/

White Bean and Mushroom Soup

From Whole Living magazine.

Recipe to follow soon. Sorry, not much time to post right now, but it was really good and a perfect fresh-tasting, winter soup.

Veggie Lover's Tortilla Soup

I know there are million recipes out there for Tortilla Soup, but this is my version.  The idea came to me today when I wanted to make vegan quesadillas, but wanted something else to go with them.  It turned out to be a great match and The Husband said that he felt like he was eating at an authentic Mexican restaurant!  Ahhhhhh.

So here goes -- no recipes followed this time; it's my own creation:

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 can diced tomatoes (I used Trader Joe's organic, no salted)
1/2 can vegetarian refried beans
1 cup black beans
1/2 jalepeno pepper, finely chopped
1/2 serrano pepper, finely chopped (I used the Tupperware chop n prep)
2 cups "chicken" broth (I used McKay's Chicken Seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste

Saute the garlic and onions in the olive oil.

After about 5 minutes, add the peppers.  Stir well and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and simmer mixture for 5 minutes.

Add the two kinds of beans, "chicken" broth, and spices.  Mix well.  Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes while you make the quesadillas!

To make the tortilla strips for the soup, cut a tortilla into 1/4 inch strips.  Spread strips on a baking sheet and put in the oven at 375 for 6 minutes or until they look brown and crispy.

So I already explained the reaction of W, and I think I'd have to agree.  Seriously, who needs to go out to eat when we can make this amazing restaurant-style food at home?! 

The quesadilla's are self-explanatory, but here is my version -- with tomatoes, avocado's and the chili peppers inside with Daiya vegan cheese.  Also, I used Trader Joe's whole wheat tortillas. 

Homemade Pho

We love Pho San Marcos so much that we pretty much go there at least once a week. 

They have the absolute best Pho noodle soup.  Ever.  And they have a vegetarian option for me, which is perfect.

This week, however, I decided to try making pho at home.  I got the idea when I saw this soup base for vegetarian pho at Sprouts.

I made the rice noodles and got all the ingredients ready for adding to the top of the soup:  Sriracha, Hoisin sauce, Garlic sauce, bean sprouts, basil, sage, and an anaheim long green pepper. 

Into the soup broth I added mushrooms, carrots, celery, broccoli and tofu. 

Ta da!  Pho at home. 

P.S.  As fun and delicious as this was, I think I'm going to stick to going to Pho San Marcos for my favorite Vietnemese noodle soup.

Artichokes and Brussel Sprouts

Yes, this week I am doing a raw food diet, and I went two whole days eating only fruits, veggies and nuts.  However, tonight I still stuck with the fruits and veggies-only theme, but decided to heat them up.  So technically this was not a raw-food meal, but it still consisted of only produce.

And it was amazing.

1 -- Boil the artichokes for about fifteen minutes.

2 -- Slice the brussel sprouts in half and blanch in boiling water for two minutes.

3 -- Slice half an onion and add to a bowl with the brussel sprouts and handful of red grapes.

4 -- Add to the veggies 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 pinch of dried thyme, 1 pinch of dried oregano.  Mix well.

5 -- Roast the vegetables on a baking sheet for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. 

Voila.  In less than half an hour we had an amazing dinner of simply veggies (and grapes).  My husband even got into this one enthusiastically.  He says that artichokes are like the lobsters of vegetables.  Okay!  Sounds good to me!

And don't worry, tomorrow I'm still eating salads and fresh fruit.

Fruits and Veggies For Life!

I have mixed feelings about the whole raw food movement.  Every time I try it I just end up getting massive headaches and feeling like the grumpiest person in the world.  I know, I know, this is what is SUPPOSED to happen.  I've read all the articles.  They all encourage me that I just have to get over this hump and then I'll feel energized and light and fresh and amazing!  Okay, so I kind of believe that, but I also believe in eating good food, and after two days of eating the entire produce aisle I'm ready to hit the cookbooks again. 

This week I decided to try out the raw food diet again.  I wasn't going to go all crazy and make all these fancy raw recipes like I did last time with marinated mushrooms and cabbage and such nonsense.  That was a little too much for me.  And also, I might actually incorporate some cooked vegetables, gasp!  The idea is to do two meals raw and one meal still veggies and fruit, but cooked or steamed.  In other words, I'm keeping it simple and am not going to kill myself if I want to cook a vegetable instead of chomping on it like a goat. 

Here we go:  grapefruit, apples, grapes and bananas for breakfast; cashews and almonds for snacks; gigantic salads for lunch and dinner.  The salads could be any variation of the following vegetables:

Baby lettuce-herb mix
Romaine lettuce
Baby spinach
Roma tomatoes
Mini heirloom tomatoes
Carrots
Celery
Bell peppers
Green cabbage
Kale
Cauliflower
Hot house cucumber
Avocado

As you can see, there are many options of salads to be made from this garden of goodness!  It's not like I even have to have the same salad for lunch and dinner.  Talk about mixing things up, I know.

For dressings, I concocted the following mixtures:

Lemon-Soy Dressing
1 freshly squeezed lemon
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil

Lemon-Avocado Dressing
1 freshly squeezed lemon
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Braggs liquid aminos
Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy

So far I'm feeling very satisfied and full after each meal, but I AM suffering from the headaches and grouchiness.  Alas, I shall carry on.

Apples at Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Vermont, 11-4-11

Squash...Butternut and Spaghetti

 

First of all,  I had an untouched butternut squash that never made it to Thanksgiving dinner.  Second of all, it's now Sunday, and we need to finish up the leftovers.  

I used this recipe from the Follow Your Heart cookbook to make the homemade butternut squash soup.  

Butternut Squash Soup

3 pounds butternut squash
4 tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
4 cups mushroom stock (see recipe below)
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cut squash into four to six large pieces. Remove the seeds and peel off the skin. Cut squash into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed 3- to 4-quart soup pot, melt the margarine. Add the onion and sauté for five minutes over low heat, stirring frequently until onion is barely translucent. Add the squash pieces and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Add mushroom stock and bring the soup to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, or until squash is very tender.

Puree soup in a food processor or blender. Return soup to pot and reheat slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve, garnished with parsley.

Makes four to six servings.

Mushroom Stock

8 cups water

2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion

2 pounds mushrooms, minced (use food processor)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons sea salt

In a large stock pot, combine water, onions, mushrooms, lemon juice, and salt.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 1 1/4 hours, partially covered.  Allow to cool.  Strain through a fine sieve.  Store, refrigerated, for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months. 

Finally, we finished up the last of Thanksgiving dinner:  mashed potatoes, spaghetti squash, and Grandma's relish and gluten-free patties.  I should mention at this point that this food is W's favorite food ever.  Not only has he been eating it every day since Thanksgiving last Thursday, but tonight he happily piled his plate high with the last of everything and scraped it all clean!  We didn't have any more gravy (much to his chagrin) so he drizzled the butternut squash soup over everything and then I didn't hear him speak for about ten minutes while he chowed down.  

Also, I am very proud of my butternut squash soup -- totally from scratch, stock and all!  Very delicious.  Thank you, Follow Your Heart!

Tom Yum Soup

I found this soup packet a couple months ago at the Asian market by my office.  If you just don't add the suggested seafood and fish sauce, it's totally vegan!  Talk about "yum" indeed!

All I did was add the packet of sauce to boiling water and threw in some cubes of tofu and several sliced cremini mushrooms.  In addition, I made a pot of Cal Rose rice because we should all know by now that I love me some rice with my soup.  And, yes, I got to enjoy this all to myself because The Husband insisted on eating his leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  Whatever, meat-eater. 

Vegan Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving this year, so I had the perfect excuse to make all these delicious holiday foods -- vegan style!

There were some non-vegan entrees for the non-vegans, but here is the veggie-goodness I made for Thanksgiving dinner:

Green bean casserole
Spaghetti Squash
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Whole Wheat, Whole Grain homemade bread

And the veggie-goodness Grandma made:
Cranberry relish
Gluten-free, vegan patties and gravy
Stuffing with carrots and celery

Plus some veggie-goodness that Aunt M made:
Salad with vegenaise dressing

Some items aren't pictured because we were all starving by the time all the food was ready and I barely had a second to take these photos!

Spaghetti Squash, a tradition in my family

Fluffy, mashed potatoes made with soy milk and Earth Balance

Chopped salad with vegenaise dressing

Whole Grain, Whole Wheat bread freshly made in the bread maker

Stuffing!

The best green bean casserole ever

Finally it was time to eat, and everything was amazing!  I (and I think everyone else) especially loved the green bean casserole, but I'm just saying...

FYI, here is the recipe for the green bean casserole from www.fatfreevegan.com.  I've made it three times since last Thanksgiving, and it never fails.  It's amazing; so creamy and mushroomy and delicious.

Ingredients:

Beans 2 quarts water 1 tablespoon table salt (Alanna says it's essential) 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces Sauce 10 ounces mushrooms (I used a combination of regular button mushrooms and shiitake) 3 cloves garlic, minced generous pinch cayenne pepper (had to add it for the New Orleanians) Salt to taste Freshly ground pepper to taste 2 tablespoons flour 3/4 cup vegetable broth (I used Imagine's No-Chicken) 1 tablespoon dry sherry (Alanna's brilliant addition) 3/4 cup soy creamer (or try full-fat unsweetened soymilk) Topping 1 1/2 slices whole grain bread 1 tablespoon Earth Balance margarine (the best tasting margarine in the world and no trans-fat) 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 3-ounce can of French fried onions

Instructions: Beans Bring the water to boil in a large pot. While its heating, cut up the beans. Add the salt and beans to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes. Drain beans in a colander, and then spray for a minute with cold water to stop the cooking. Let them drain in the colander, shaking every now and then to get off all the water. Sauce Trim and discard the mushroom stems and chop the mushrooms into pieces. Spray a non-stick pan with canola oil and heat it. Add the mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are very soft and exude their juices. Whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and add to the mushrooms along with the sherry. Simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens. Add the soy creamer and simmer until thick, about 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and stir in the beans. Topping Put the bread, margarine, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Pour into a bowl and add the onions. Stir to combine. To assemble: Put the green beans into an oiled casserole dish and top with the onion mixture. Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes. If you are not serving this right away, refrigerate the topping separately; bring to room temperature before sprinkling the topping on the casserole and baking for about 20 minutes or until hot throughout.

Servings: 8

Vegan Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

These are so good, I had to put the pictures up and write about them immediately...while I'm still eating them...fresh out of the oven and with Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice Coffee!  I'm also watching the Friends Thanksgiving episode where they all play football.  Can I BE any happier right now?

This is all sorts of pumpkin goodness.  I brought some to W while he was working in the garage and he had to take a break to come inside and enjoy more with me, they're so good! 

Here is the recipe from food.com:

Ingredients

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3. 1 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1 teaspoon baking powder
5. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6. 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
7. 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
8. 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
9. 1/2 teaspoon salt
10. 1 cup granulated sugar
11. 1/2 cup brown sugar
12. 1/2 cup vegan margarine, softened
13. 2 cups Libby's canned pumpkin
14. 1 tablespoon applesauce
15. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease baking sheets.
3. COMBINE flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove and salt in medium bowl.
4. Beat sugar and vegan margarine or butter in large mixer bowl until well blended.
5. Beat in pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla extract until smooth.
6. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
7. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
8. BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm.
9. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes;
10. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. (I started eating them after about 5 minutes, I just couldn't help myself!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Cheesy" Pasta Casserole

There was some leftover pasta salad from the American party yesterday and since LS (who made it) had to leave before the end of the party, I took it upon myself to take home the leftovers!  Thanks LS!  This morning, an idea came to me of something I could try with the leftover pasta salad, and I actually have Ace to thank for that.  He commented on one of my blog posts awhile ago about a pasta salad I made and said he's made a pasta casserole with leftover pasta salad.  I wanted to try this!

I googled "Cheesy Pasta Casserole" and clicked on the first link.  This is the recipe upon which I based my own vegan version:  Cheryl's Spinach Cheesy Pasta Casserole

It looked like a pretty good recipe, so I replaced the cheese with Daiya vegan cheese and the eggs with Ener G, egg replacer.  Otherwise, I pretty much followed the recipe and it turned out to be really, really good.  I broiled it for about four minutes at the end of the baking period to make it nice and crispy on top and, hello... yum. 

Some other things I added to make it my own:  1/4 cup chopped onions and 3 garlic cloves, crushed.  I'm coming to realize that I use onions and garlic in most recipes.  They add such delicious flavor!

I'd say if you want to try this recipe, make it your own.  Follow the basic guidelines, but add whatever you want!  The pasta salad had carrots and olives in it, as well as some other veggies, and it added perfectly to the whole casserole!  The Husband agreed wholeheartedly that this was an amazing dish, and he was even more excited he would have leftovers for lunch the whole week. 

Fourth of July Celebration in November

One of my good friends just became a citizen of this country, so I threw her an American themed party to celebrate her accomplishment.  She was sworn in on October 25, and shortly after, received her American passport.  This is super exciting and I am so happy for her!  Equally excited L and B were gracious enough to open their home for the party and it was a beautiful, sunny day in Southern California.  If we didn't know any better it could have been the 4th of July!

The meal wasn't all vegan since another friend, LS, and I were the only vegans, but between the salads the two of us made and some delicious fruit from G, there were plenty veg options.

I made a potato salad from The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook.  I've made this salad several times before and it's a delicious classic.  Follow along! ...

Potatoes:
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
4 baby pickles, chopped

Dressing:
1/2 cup Vegenaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy milk
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb seasonings
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper to taste

"Place the potatoes in a pot with water to cover.  Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over medium heat until just tender, about [15] minutes.  (Don't let them get too soft.)

"Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for the dressing in a bowl.  Set aside."  Mix in onions and carrots.

"When the potatoes are done, remove from heat and drain."  Let cool completely.

When the potatoes are cooled, pour the dressing with the carrots and onions over the potatoes and mix well.  Refrigerate over night to allow flavors to set.  If serving at a 4th of July party, stick in a couple flag toothpicks! 

Potato salad at a bbq is always a hit, and I must admit, this one didn't fail!

LS brought a Southwest corn and black bean salad which was AMAZING, and also a delicious pasta salad. 

Yum!  Lot's of vegan salads! 

In addition, G provided the fruit salad and fresh blackberries and grapes!  So perfect for this American feast!

Oh, and I just have to add this picture of the olives...

Welcome to the America, G!  Congratulations on your huge accomplisment!

Vegan Sushi

I love Japanese food.  Whenever I suggest going to sushi or Japanese food, everyone looks at me like I've lost my mind.  "What can you eat there?!"  They ask incredulously.  Well, there is actually a lot of options for me at Japanese restaurants.  For one, there's rice.  Need I say more?  For another, you can always ask the sushi chef to make any kind of veggie roll you want.  I usually get a cucumber roll and an avocado roll, or I'll mix it up and get cucumber AND avocado together in one roll!  Not only that, most Japanese places have several vegetarian rolls listed on their menu now!  There are so many choices!

The other night on a work trip with W, we found a sushi place in Scotts Valley called Rumble Fish.  I was eagerly anticipating my usual cucumber and avocado goodness, but when I looked at the menu they had something called "Vegan Roll."  I mean, I had to get it -- it said VEGAN in the name of the sushi roll!  Right? 

Basically it was the cucumber, avocado roll with shitake mushrooms added.  Yum.  It was exactly what I wanted after a day of traveling.  4 stars for Rumble Fish.

Polish Night

I was visiting Mom and Dad last week and they mentioned that they just had perogies for dinner a few nights earlier.  "Perogies!"  I exclaimed enviously.  I have been looking EVERYWHERE in North County SD for these Eastern European potato-pasta delights.  There German market we went to for our German-theme day didn't even have them.  My father explained that perogies aren't German, they're Polish.

Okay.

Well, wherever they're from, they're delicious and I've been wanting to eat them for months.

Apparently Mom and Dad's local grocery story caters to a Polish community in Boston, because the store had at least eight different perogi options in their freezer section.  It was like a beam of light shone down from heaven accompanied by a chorus of angels.  I didn't care that I had seven hours of airplane travel the next day -- I was taking some with me!

A couple days later we had Polish Day, and my craving for perogies was finally satisfied.

The perogies were pretty easy; I just followed the directions on the package.

For the sauerkraut, I followed the same recipe I used on German Day, but added some Tofurkey sausage and all topped witha  dollop of Tofutti Sour Cream.

All I can say is that it was everything I dreamd it would be and more.  The soft, potato-pilled perogies practically melted in my mouth with the sauerkraut and sour cream... mmm delicious.