Sesame Noodles with Kale

Kale seems to be all the rage right now, so I decided to try it out.  Kale is a form of cabbage and is apparently one of the healthiest vegetables in the world!  I'll go for that!  It's about time I mix things up in the veggie department anyway.  

I found this recipe on another blog called The Vegan Diet.  It looks like she got it from "Vegetarian Times."  No matter where it's from, here is my version of it, and it turned out to be amazing.  

I used:

9.5 ounce package of Japanese Udon noodles

3 hefty stalks of kale, washed thoroughly and chopped

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce

Sesame seeds to sprinkle on top

I did this:

Boiled the noodles and kale together in the same pot for five minutes.

Drained

Mixed noodles and kale with rest of ingredients in a big mixing bowl

Served with an Asian cucumber salad and avocados  

I heard this from the husband:

"This is the best Asian dish you've ever made!"

It seriously was really, really good.  It wasn't heavy like stir-fry can be, and it was very flavorful with just the perfect amount of spiciness.  As you can see, we did add a little extra spice with Sriracha.  The kale added a nice cabbagey touch to the noodles.  Since it was so easy to make, I almost couldn't believe how tasty it was!  

As for the Asian Cucumber Salad, it was super simple to make.  I found this on myrecipes.com and followed it exactly.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Preparation

• 1. Stir together first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Add cucumbers, tossing to coat. Cover and chill 1 hour. Add sesame seeds, and toss; serve immediately.

It's just all so yummy and delicious...

Cool as a Cucumber

I went to the library the other day to pick up my requested copy of the cookbook Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson.  I'm always excited about new cookbooks and wanted to make something from this one right away.  I told myself I'd open it to a random page and make whatever recipe was on that page.  (I was going to Sprouts next, so I could pick up any necessary ingredients.)

Lucky me, I opened it up to "Cool Cucumber Soup with Cilantro and Lime."  I know, I know.  I just said I wasn't going to make anymore soups for awhile, but this one is a COLD soup -- perfect for summer!  W had even suggested a gazpacho type soup the other day after our too-hot-for-summer Italian Wedding Soup, so I thought a cucumber soup would be a sufficient and tasty, cool soupy treat.

It was pretty easy to make.  I just blended all the ingredients in the blender and let it chill in the fridge for a couple hours before dinner time.  In the meantime I also made McDougal's Potato Salad (of which I wrote on June 6) and let that chill as well. 

Finally it was time to try to cold summer soup!  I love gazpacho, so I was excited for this, especially since I also love cucumbers. 

"Mmmm, it is delicious!"  (Me.)

"Wow, it's...very garlicky..."  (Husband.)

"It's kinda like gazpacho, I love it."  (Me.)

"Very cucumbery..."  (Husband.)

Okay, so W was being nice.  Unfortunately, he didn't quite go for my super-cool cucumber summer soup.  It was actually quite hilarious watching his facial expressions as tried to get his (very small) serving down.  I finally rescued him and said he didn't have to finish it if he didn't like it.  With a barely noticeable sigh of relief,  he kindly commented that it was "very gourmet."  I'll take that, thank you very much!  Also, more for me!  Yum.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the husband loves my vegan dishes and scarfs them down as if it were his last meal, so I can't really complain that he didn't like this one.  I'll let him slide this time.  Besides, the potato salad was still a big hit, and I barely salvaged a serving myself before he demolished it (and ate it for breakfast the next morning!)


Anyway, back to the cucumber soup:  I give it 4 out of 5, and W gives it a 2.  Why don't you try it and decide for yourself!  If you're like me, you won't be disappointed!  But don't let me bias your opinion or anything...


Ingredients
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
14 ounces coconut milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
8 thin cucumber slices for garnish
Whole fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

1.  Place the garlic and salt in a food processor and process to form a paste.  Add the chopped cucumbers and process until smooth.   Add the stock, coconut milk, lime juice, and minced cilantro ad process until smooth.   (I just did this all in a blender.)
2.  Transfer the soup to a container and refrigerate, covered, for a few hours to blend the flavors.
3.  To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the cucumber slices and whole cilantro leaves.

Serves 4

Fakin' Bacon

My husband sent me an email while I was at work yesterday.  I think we should make vegan BLT's.

Okay, I replied.  Where did that come from?  I didn't question him though.  If he was actually requesting something vegan, I was happy to oblige. 

Now as we know, the B in BLT stands for bacon, so I needed to find a vegan substitute for that.  Most fake bacon's actually have egg and milk in them, so you have to do a little bit more searching for an actual vegan bacon.  The only kind I have found are the Lightlife brand.  They don't look as cool as the Morning Star brand, but they taste pretty good, and of course they are egg and dairy free. 

W advised that, "crispiness is the key," so I fried them for about six minutes on a skillet.    

Next up, you have the L (lettuce) and T (tomato).  We used romaine and hot house.

Spread some bread with Vegenaise, and pile up the BLT.  I used whole wheat bagel thins, and W used just regular whole grain bread.  The result was a delicious, filling, healthy sandwich!  The husband nodded his approval with stuffed cheeks, and I suggested we need to eat sandwiches more often.  This was such an easy, yummy lunch, can we have more please?

 

Trader Joe's Meal #2: Italian Wedding Soup

As much as I love soups, and as delicious as this soup was, I think it's officially non-soup season.  It's been so chilly and "June Gloomy" here, I've just kept right on souping it up.  The other night, it was finally hot and felt like summer.  However, I had already been intent on making this soup, so I went for it.

It was really good!  I had always wanted to try Italian Wedding Soup, but since it's full of meatballs, I could never eat it!  I found a healthy-looking recipe and veganized by using the Meatless Meat balls from Trader Joes.  I modified the rest of the recipe too, so I'll just go ahead and tell you how I did it!  And remember, this is a mostly Trader Joe's recipe.  Just saying. 

Ingredients:

8 frozen Meatless Meatballs from Trader Joe's
4 cups vegan chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/8 cup chopped red onion
1 cup fresh spinach
salt, pepper, and lemon pepper to taste

7 oz acine de pepe, or tiny pasta



Combine all the ingredients except the pasta and let it simmer over medium heat for at least one hour.

Around the one hour time mark, start the pasta in a separate pot.  When the pasta is al dente, drain it and keep it in the separate pot.

To serve, ladle the soup into a deep bowl, and add a serving of pasta on top of the soup.  It will settle quickly and mix with the rest of the soup, which is the desired reaction.

W was the one to comment on it being past soup season, and I had to agree.  I was sweating while eating this hot soup!  However, this fact did not stop us from eating the entire pot of soup, so it must have been good.

Trader Joe's Meal #1: Pasta and Salad

No fancy recipe here... This is just a great, easy meal to put together.  It's one of our favorites, and most of the ingredients are from Trader Joe's!  I've always loved Trader Joe's, but haven't been going there much lately.  This week, I decided to do all my grocery shopping and TJ's and so this is Trader Joe's week.

The first meal W made for me when we first started dating was a version of this; pasta from Trader Joe's.  We had gone to the store together and picked out all the items.  He then prepared it all for me at his home.  However, at that time it was not vegan.  Now, I've replaced those non-vegan items and used artichokes instead!  It is just as tasty and good for you too!

This is what you need:  some Brown Rice pasta, the Traditional Marinara Sauce, frozen artichokes, and one garlic clove (not pictured here).   

First, I start making the sauce by sauteeing the crushed garlic in about 1 teaspoon of olive oil.  If you want, you can add some chopped onions.  This time I used red onions.  Very tasty.  Only sautee for about a minute, making sure not to burn the garlic.  Next, pour the jar of sauce into the same pot as the garlic and onions.  Stir in 3/4 cup of the frozen artichokes.  Let it simmer over low heat until the rest of the meal is ready!

Once the sauce is simmering, I start the pasta and salad, and side dish of sauteed chard.  Pretty straight forward there.  However, the exciting news in this case is that half of the salad and all of the Swiss chard came right out of our little patio garden!

I just went outside and snip-snipped my dinner!  Well, part of it at least.  The rest of the salad was composed of veggies from Trader Joes, including beets, which I know might sound odd, but it is really good!  Look at all this veggie-goodness:  romaine lettuce, garden lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers, baby spinach, artichoke hearts and beets!

Finally, I sauteed the Swiss chard until it was dark green and slightly soft in 1 tablespoon of oil, 2 tablespoons of water, garlic, and red onions.  Mmmm, it was so yummy...

At last it is time to eat this delicious feast:  Rice pasta! Artichoke marinara sauce! Fresh salad from the garden!  Swiss chard from the garden!  Everything just went together so well, and it was so healthy and refreshing.  It's finally warm enough in the evenings to eat on our patio, so to make the dinner even better that's what we did!  We enjoyed it all outside, with a nice view of the San Elijo Hills, and of course our garden.

Sojouner Cafe in Santa Barbara

Last Friday, I was happy to find a very vegan-friendly restaurant in Santa Barbara.  The friends I was with were very obliging in accommodating my eating preferences, and they even found this place for me!  Thanks S!

Ever since I had tempeh stir-fry at Stone awhile back, I have been craving it again.  In case you're wondering what tempeh is, I always tell people it's "very grainy and nutty, but very good and spicey!"  Sojourner Cafe had tempeh tacos, which I spotted on the menu right away and was pretty much convinced that's what I was going to get.  However, as with all vegetarian/vegan restaurants, I want to try everything!  I wavered between those tacos and the Mediterranean Torta ("a tower of eggplant, hummus, pesto, balsamic-marinated onion, roasted bell pepper, tabbouleh and sprouts, served with pita points and tahini dressing"), but finally stuck with my first instinct and went with the Tempeh Tacos.  This is how the menu describe them:


CHILI TEMPEH TACOS one taco   8 | two tacos  11
Our spicy tempeh blend in warm corn tortillas, with rice, black beans and guacamole and veggies, with a side of horseradish sour cream.


I asked if it was vegan without the sour cream, and yes it was, so I ordered it up asap. 

It was amazing and delicious.  I'm so glad I went with my first choice.  I really have to start using this tempeh stuff at home!  It has a more hearty texture and taste than soy or tofu products, and it's naturally spicy, so it was great in these tacos.  Everything was very fresh and light, and I felt perfectly satisfied after the meal -- not stuffed and overfed like you feel sometimes after eating Mexican food. 

For dessert I ordered a vegan carob-mint cookie.  I was expecting it to taste a lot more like carob, but was disappointed with the overwhelming mint flavor instead.  However, a cookie is a cookie, and it was still delicious.

I definitely recommend Sojourner Cafe to anyone looking for a light, healthy meal.  You will not be disappointed.  There is something for everyone here, and I wish I lived closer to Santa Barbara so I could go back and try all the other vegan dishes!

Amazing Food Cooked by G

I'm visiting my close friend of almost fifteen years this weekend and she has made the most amazing vegan food for me! G is the one that introduced me to Korean food way back when we were roommates in boarding school even before college!  In our tiny little dorm room, we had a rice cooker and hot pot so we could make raman and rice and eat it all with seaweed.  Mmm, seaweed...  We roomed together again in college and continued our tradition of rice, ramen and seaweed in the dorm.  It was a nice break from cafeteria food, and a fun thing to do together when we were in desperate need of a study break.

Many years later, we are still cooking food together, but this time in her and her husband's new home!  Actually, it was more like G cooking food, while I just followed instructions as her sous chef.

She made fried tofu with Thai basil, Korean vegetarian meat, peppers, and snow peas all sauteed in a mushroom sauce with garlic and basil.

G's amazing stir-fry

Korean Vegemeat

For the side dishes, G served steamed yellow string beans and Chinese broccoli; along with vegetable dumplings. 

Of course there was rice and seaweed as well.

It was all so good, I literally could not stop eating!  I felt myself getting very full, but I wanted to eat more and more!  I practically demolished the entire tofu/vegetable stir-fry dish it was so amazing and delicious.

Thank you G for the wonderful dinner!