Island Chik'n and Rice with Peas

I got the idea for this meal from a Publix Aprons recipe. The recipe calls for sweet Thai chili sauce, but I didn't have any. What I did have was a peach, honeydew, and some honey, which I thought might make a yummy glaze!

As much as I didn't want to, I used the Quorn Chik'n Cutlets for this recipe. It really is the best alternative to chicken, even if it does use egg whites. So for now at least I am going to live with it!

I sprayed the cutlets with olive oil using my Misto and place them on the grill to start cooking one side. I also started the yellow rice and put the peach and honeydew in the food processor, then transferred the puree to a skillet over medium heat to see if I could get more of a glaze consistency. It thickened a little, but it really looked like applesauce. I also added a little honey in there.

I took the skillet out to the grill and flipped the chik'n over and spooned a little of the fruit glaze on, spreading it over the pieces. Then I went back inside to check on the rice. After the yellow rice cooked for about 16 minutes I removed the lid and added some jerk seasoning, garlic salt, and Adobo, and then added some frozen peas, mixed well, and put the lid back on. At this point I also raised the temp back up to medium.

I went back to flip the chik'n, added more glaze, and then went back in to stir the rice, cover, and turn off the stove. The rice was done!

All that was left was the chik'n, which I flipped over and added a squeeze of lime. Another flip, another squeeze of lime and it was time for dinner.

The chik'n was good, but the rice was AWESOME!! I think next time I will grill the chik'n, but maybe add some savory seasonings and then coat with the glaze in the skillet. We topped the rice with a little cilantro and topped the chik'n with some green onions. Definitely want to give this one another shot sometime! It was good, but I think it has the potential to be a favorite!

Wheat Gnocchi with Kale

Toward the end of the week I don't really plan what to cook because I try to use up whatever is in the fridge. I also don't always feel like spending an hour on cooking, so this is a good, quick dinner that takes less than 10 minutes!

I used the gnocchi that comes packaged in the store, and it cooks in about 3 minutes. I also steamed some kale. While these two were cooking, I took a frying pan and put some vegan "butter" with some fresh garlic and turned it on medium high. After the gnocchi finished, I added it to the pan with the butter and let it cook for about 2 minutes before adding the kale to the mix. Right at the end I added some grated soy cheese and mixed it all together before putting it on the plate. So quick and easy!

Pan Fried Shirataki, Veggies, and Grilled Flatbread

This meal was a little bit of everything. I knew I wanted to make shirtaki, and my idea was to pan fry it. My thought was to make it like a potato pancake and cut it up into quarters, but I couldn't get it to stick together. So instead I tossed it around with some Bragg Liquid Aminos, and it was still really good!

I also needed some veggies, so at Matt's request I grilled some squash and zucchini and then also steamed some kale. Matt also wanted to try grilling the flatbread, so I put some foil on the grill, sprayed it with olive oil, and put two long pieces of dough on it. After grilling a few minutes, I flipped it over, added olive oil and garlic, soy cheese, and some red onion and continued to cook a few more minutes. Surprisingly, the grilled flatbread turned out much softer than when I made it in the oven.

Even though we just threw together a bunch of things for dinner Matt said it was one of his favorite meals! Somehow it all worked together!

Veggie Flatbread

After watching an episode of my favorite Food Network show "Down Home With The Neelys" I have been anxious to make a delicious veggie flatbread. The Neelys used dough from the store, but I decided to make it at home. The challenge - we only have whole wheat flour, we aren't eating eggs, and, oh yeah, I didn't have any yeast! So I made the dough out of nothing more than wheat flour and water and hoped for the best!

Fortunately, it worked out for the crispy flatbread that I was going for!

I took about a baseball sized piece of dough and let it sit for a couple hours. Then I rolled it out and cooked it in the oven at 375 until it was cooked a little. After that, I added olive oil, garlic, and oregano and then topped with fresh basil, soy cheese, and slices of squash, zucchini, and red onion. I cooked for about 10 minutes, and then toward the end I added some kale that had been tossed in olive oil and more garlic to the top and cooked for another minute or two. We sprinkled it with grated soy cheese and it was great!

Tempeh Banh Mi

I got the recipe for this Banh Mi from Guy Fieri's show on Food Network. Of course, he made his with pork or something, so I tried a vegan version using 3 grain tempeh. Sadly, BOTH of our propane tanks went out on our grill, so I had to finish cooking the tempeh in the oven. I think it would have been better on the grill and if I had made the slices a little thinner. Matt really wants me to try it next time with pan fried tofu that is then cooked with the marinade (it will thicken into a nice sauce). So I think I know one thing I'll be making next week! : )

Start with the marinade:
Sesame oil
siracha
brown sugar
hoisin sauce
soy sauce
fresh sliced ginger (no need to peel)
chopped garlic

Toss everything into a bag to marinate the tempeh (or tofu, portabello, etc.) for at least an hour

Grill until cooked. Save marinade and put in a pan and simmer to use as a sauce (put it on after the first side has finished grilling).

These are all your toppings. Build it according to your taste!

Julienne carrot and daikon

Make pickled cucumbers (Sesame oil, siracha, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce)
**I had a hard time not eating all the cucumbers! They were so tasty after marinating for a while!

Cilantro, mint

Lettuce

Veganaise, hoisin sauce, siracha, sesame oil

Hoagie rolls



Tempeh Banh Mi served with salad with Minty Fresh Salad Dressing

Pad Thai with Tofu

Okay, so I used a sauce packet from the Asian market for this recipe, but I am excited that I was able to have rice noodles again! And I tossed in some kale just to add some color to it! So crazy easy. It's like the Thai version of spaghetti. Always good for those nights when you didn't really plan ahead and need a quick, yummy dinner! : )

Lettuce Wraps (Cooked Version)

Ever since we made our first lettuce wraps, we were hooked! But so far we've only made them raw, and though I really love all the crisp, fresh veggies in a lemon/ginger/soy sauce, I really wanted to try making a cooked version!

I took a little coconut oil and heated it on medium high. I had already soaked some raw cashews, so I rinsed and dried them and chopped them up and tossed them in the wok. Then I added some chopped mushrooms and cooked for a minute or two. Then I added a small, finely diced carrot and cooked for another minute or two. Then I tossed in some bean sprouts and cooked for another minute. Then I put in about two teaspoons of hoisin sauce, 1/4 fresh squeezed lemon and about a teaspoon of soy sauce. Then I seasoned with salt and some Asian spice that I have (it's a blend of a bunch of spices). I also tossed in some minced garlic at some point. I wish I had added ginger (note for next time!).

I put everything on top of some living lettuce (which looks like Boston lettuce) and a little bed of alfalfa sprouts (Matt's suggestion). I topped each lettuce wrap with just a little flax seed. I think next time I would cut up some limes and let everyone squeeze some onto the wraps before eating them. But I was out of limes, so I couldn't try it. It was very different from the raw version, and I'm not sure which one I like better. I love them both!

India Grill

Since it was supposed to rain in Vancouver yesterday, we decided not to take our chances with the outdoor festival and instead went to Bellingham, WA for the day. We were hoping to go to a nice little vegan place I read about on Yelp, but sadly it looks like they have gone out of business. : (

But we found an Indian restaurant that was open, so we went there. We went with the buffet which had some palak channa (spinach and chick peas) and aloo matar (potato and peas). The other dish was lentils and beans, which I put on top of my rice. I'm not sure what it was called, but I just called it all delicious! I love Indian food!

Loving Hut Seattle

When my friend Kristen decided to go vegan, she started raving about this Orlando restaurant called Loving Hut. I finally got a chance to go with her when I went down there for a photography workshop about a year ago, and now I'm hooked! It's exciting to have a place where you can eat ANYTHING off the menu!

There are several Loving Hut locations throughout the country, all individually owned with their own unique menus but every one is full of vegan, non-GMO deliciousness! We found one on our trip to San Francisco last fall, but we had our heart set on a garlic restaurant (because nothing can compete with a garlic-themed menu!). But I checked to see if Seattle had a Loving Hut, and they did, so we went there for dinner yesterday! Matt had the Crispy Noodles and I had pan fried shirataki. Both were covered with steamed veggies, tofu, and other soy protein. They were brought out separately, and there wasn't much left from Matt's dish when I finally remembered to take a picture. But I did manage to get a picture of my dish, and I'm excited to get back home and make some pan fried shirataki! It's really good stuff!

More Pita!

I'm on a pita kick lately! It's just an easy (and fun) way to make a sandwich! Today's pita was so tasty that I'm making it again tomorrow to bring with us on our 12-13 hour workday! I just tossed a bunch of yummy things into a bowl and mixed it up: spinach (chopped up), bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes (diced), julienne sun dried tomatoes (double sprouts, why not double tomatoes?), soy nuts, flax seeds, tahini and lemon juice. Oh, and green onions. If I had any mushrooms left, I would have added some of those bad boys in there, too! I only used about a tablespoon of tahini and about a teaspoon of lemon juice. It was enough to fill two pita halves. We each ate one of the halves with some honeydew on the side. It was a perfect little lunch! I can't wait to eat it again tomorrow! This may be my new favorite sandwich!

Pita Cheesesteak (Hold the steak!)

Since we're traveling next week, I needed to start using up the food that we have. So I decided to saute some mushrooms and onions and put them in a pita. I added some soy cheese and it reminded me of a Philly cheesesteak (without the steak, of course). I used lemon juice to saute the veggies (trying to use olive oil less and less, when possible). I also made some oven roasted potatoes seasoned with Adobo, rosemary, and salt and pepper. It was pretty good, though I would have liked to skip the soy cheese just because of the fat content, and for what it adds I'm not sure it's worth the extra calories. But Matt loved it, so it's a win! : )

Vegetable Paella with Tofu

I found this recipe in the book "Everything Vegan." There are a ton of great recipes in it, and it may be my new favorite cookbook!

The book recommends cooking this in a wok, which is what I did. I used whole grain rice, and the recipe calls for short grain rice, so I had to cook mine a little longer. The rice was still a little undercooked, but this took such a long time to make that I got tired of waiting. It was still okay. Matt loved it. I'm not even sure if he noticed that the right wasn't perfect! So shhhhh! : )



Ingredients
2 tblsp olive oil
2 7oz packages spicy marinated tofu, diced (I used 1 16-oz pkg)
8oz cremini mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
2 large carrots, diced (1 cup)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 14oz can chopped tomatoes, drained
4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp)
1 cup short grain brown rice
2 1/4 cups water
1/8 tsp saffron, crumbled
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 green onions, thinly sliced

I recommend draining the tofu as much as possible before cooking. You can do this by putting it on a few paper towels for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Heat the olive oil on med-high heat. After it's hot, add the tofu and saute about 10 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and saute 4-5 minutes. Add carrots, corn, tomatoes, and garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Then add rice and water and stir. After it comes to a boil, reduce heat to med-low and cover, simmering for about 40 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Then add the peas to the top (don't stir). Cook for about 3-5 minutes longer. Add lemon juice, green onions, and salt and pepper.

We didn't have any saffron, so I seasoned it with some Adobo, garlic powder, and curry. We've been eating leftovers, because it makes A LOT. But fortunately, it was pretty tasty!

Caribbean Jerk Wrap with Carrot Raisin Slaw

I got the idea for the Caribbean Jerk Wrap from Native Sun. When we shop there we always get one, and they are sooooo good! Fortunately, they have to list all the ingredients on the label, so they pretty much tell you how to make them!

I made this one just a little different because I had a recipe for the Carrot Raisin Slaw from the book Eat To Live (great read). After making the slaw I realized that it was similar to the ingredients inside the wrap, so I just used that. I made a TON of slaw, so it made sense!

To make the wrap, I seasoned a piece of tempeh with jerk seasoning and baked in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. You can eat it raw, so I wasn't concerned with how long it cooked. I just left it there while I made the slaw. When I took it out, I decided to toss it in the food processor and added some more jerk seasoning, fresh juice from an orange, and some hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce was NOT in the recipe, but molasses and brown sugar was and I thought Hoisin was a better and easier option.

The Carrot Raisin slaw included shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, raisins, apple juice, mustard, lemon juice, and diced apples. The recipe also calls for a baked potato, but I didn't think it sounded good with the rest of the ingredients. Instead, I added some diced honey mango. We served it on the side and inside of the wrap.

So inside the wrap we had the jerk tempeh, the carrot raisin slaw, and some romaine lettuce. Matt said it was better than the one we got at the store. I'm not so sure. I'm pretty sure that Native Sun marinated the tempeh before baking, but I didn't plan ahead. I had some leftovers for lunch today. Definitely going to make this one again! And this was our first time making something with tempeh, which I am not a huge fan of! Yum!

Baja Taco Wraps

After two night of Thai-inspired dishes that were on the sweet side, I was excited to have something savory. Baja Tacos totally hit the spot! They were infused with garlic and cilantro flavor for the "cheese," and smoky flavor for the "meat." I will absolutely be making these again!

Some notes... next time I would leave out the cilantro from the "cheese" part. I love cilantro, but I tasted the mixture before adding it and I think it was better. Maybe I would just garnish the tacos with cilantro next time. Also, I added in some mushrooms just for some added nutrition. It seems like ALL of our raw recipes this week are nothing but nuts! I also used a southwestern pepper spice that I picked up the other day in the "meat" part. Really, you can't mess these up!

I apologize about the presentation. It was an afterthought, and by then I had already plopped most of the stuff on there. So it's not pretty, but I promise it is yummy! : )



This recipe comes from the "We Like It Raw" site. It's a recipe by Ani Phyo, and she's pretty amazing! If you visit her site you can find more of her videos and recipes.

Taco "Meat"
1 cup almonds
1 tblsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp sea salt

"Cheese" Spread
1 1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cashews
2 tblsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
1/4 cup water, as needed

Top with slices of avocado and tomato (or whatever you prefer).

Raw Pad Thai Salad and Spicy Thai Vegetable Wraps

It only took me one day of eating raw to realize that I needed a BIGGER food processor! So I went out today and bought one, and as I was out and about I also discovered a great little store in Avondale called Green Man Gourmet. They have a great selection of spices!

As I was getting ready to make dinner, I decided to skip ahead to two Thai-inspired recipes that I had planned for later this week. First, I started by making the Spicy Thai Vegetable Wraps that I found on Raw Guru. They weren't very spicy, so next time I may kick up the heat a notch or two. But, regardless, they were amazing! I've never been a fan of collards, but the raw collard leave was a perfect wrap. The soft mango slices inside the wrap mixed with the salty crunch of the raw cashews made things interesting. I was never sure what kind of bite I was going to get!

Next, Matt helped make the raw pad Thai salad that I found on About.com, which was very refreshing. I think next time I'd also like to add a little kick to this one. A little bit of the salad and one wrap and I was full! We have tons of stuff left over, so we'll be making more tomorrow night! Yummy!



Easy Raw Pad Thai Salad Recipe
2 zucchinis, sliced into strips with a vegetable peeler
2 large handfuls of bean sprouts, approx 2 cups
3/4 cup chopped nuts (use almonds, peanuts or cashews)
1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips
4 green onions, diced
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
juice from one lime
1 tablespoon raw, cold-pressed olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt

Preparation:
Toss all ingredients together in a bowl until well coated. Add a dash more salt if desired and enjoy!


Spicy Thai Vegetable Wraps
1/2 cup chopped raw Cashews (dehydrated, if preferred)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 tablespoon chipped red chile, seeds included
1 1/2 tablespoons nama shoyu
1 cup raw almond butter
1/2 head savoy cabbage, shredded
6 very large collard green leaves
1 large carrot, cut into matchstick-size pieces
1 large ripe mango, cut lengthwise into strips, about 1/4-inch thick
2 cups bean sprouts
1 handful cilantro leaves
1 handful torn basil leaves
1/2 handful mint leaves (torn or cut if leaves are large)

The site also includes a Tahini dipping sauce, but honestly I don't think the wraps need a dipping sauce. They are packed with sweet, salty, and spicy flavor already!

Falafel Salad

Since we had a ton of falafel left over from last night, I thought I would make a nice salad with Tahini dressing to go with some of the falafel for lunch today. It was delicious, but I can't even finish the whole salad. The falafel are so filling!

Raw Falafel and Tabouleh

We started off our raw challenge with something we are very familiar with - falafel and tabouleh! They're both great vegetarian items, but falafel is fried and tabouleh has cous cous in it, so this was our first time trying it RAW!

I wasn't sure what to expect. I saw comments that it's really better than the "cooked" versions, and it took a lot of prep work to make these. Plus the recipes yielded A LOT of food! With so many leftovers, it would have been bad if we didn't like it!

Fortunately, we loved it! Matt said the tabouleh was his favorite, and I really enjoyed the falafel. I would definitely say it had more flavor than regular falafel. You could really taste the ingredients since it wasn't fried. The tabouleh was really interesting because the recipe used cauliflower instead of cous cous. And though I looooove cous cous (and hate cauliflower!), I really didn't miss it in this recipe!

I found both recipes on the Raw Guru website. It's a fantastic resource, though for this recipe it didn't really share any directions. I took all of the ingredients for the falafel and put it in the food processor. Then I formed meatball sized balls and put them in the fridge. For the tabouleh, I put the cauliflower and cilantro in the food processors, but everything else I diced by hand. I would suggest cutting the recipe in half unless you are going to a potluck or family reunion. It's a ton of food!



Falafel
2 portobello mushroom caps - cubed
2 medium carrots - peeled and sliced
1/2 small onion - diced
1 garlic clove - sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup raw pistachios
3/4 cup raw almonds
3/4 cup sunflower seeds - soaked for at least 30 minutes
1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds


Tabouleh
1 large cauliflower head - florets only
3 cups cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely diced
3 cups chopped parsley or cilantro
3 cups tomato - seeded and diced
1/3 cup scallions - thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper


Tahini sauce (we dipped our falafel in this sauce)
1 cup raw Sesame Tahini
1 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt

Zeytinyagli Mantarli Kuskonmaz

Tonight we made a Turkish dish with a name that is much too long for what it is. It's basically sauteed asparagus and mushrooms! But it sure sounds fancy! : )

I got this recipe from Mediterranean Vegan. I know we'll be trying some other recipes from there in the future!

For this one, I added some onion because I had half of one that needed to be used. I also used both fresh squeezed lemon and lemon zest. And before I took the pan off the stove, I added in about 5 drops of soy sauce. It just looked like it could use some! Matt and I both really liked it. He said it was nice and light. It was very easy to throw together. I'm sure we'll make it again sometime!

3 tbsp olive oil
10-12 mushrooms, sliced
1 bundle of asparagus, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tsp lemon zest or lemon juice
2 cups cooked rice (optional)

In a large pan, heat the 3 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the chopped mushrooms, asparagus, salt, pepper, and lemon zest and sauté for 10 minutes. If you are using rice, add the cooked rice and mix for another 3 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Lettuce Wraps

Tonight as Matt and I were driving around, we talked about all the places that we passed and how we couldn't eat there. So Matt posed the question, "If you could have anything right now, what would it be?" I'm sure he expected me to say something bad, but I answered him honestly and said "lettuce wraps." In anticipation of next week's challenge of eating nothing but raw/living foods, I've been reading and thinking about possible meals for us. One that I was planning on was lettuce wraps. I've never made them before, but today I was considering what to put inside the wrap and I thought of a dressing to put on them and honestly have been craving them all day.

So we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some Boston lettuce and some other ingredients for our lettuce wraps. All the while, I was thinking "Please let these be as good as they are in my head, or he is going to hate me!" Well, fortunately it worked out because it is the BEST thing we've had since starting the fast! I may just eat them every day next week!!

I started off by making the "dressing" so that all the flavors had some time to blend together. I took some fresh ginger and garlic and diced them up, squeezed the juice of one lemon, and added just a little bit of olive oil and soy sauce to a dressing container. I also zested the lemon and put ALL of it into the dressing. I'm a bit obsessed with lemon zest (hey, that rhymes!!). I let it sit while I was prepping the rest of the stuff for the wraps (occasionally shaking it up).

For the filling, I grabbed a big bowl and tossed in my ingredients as I cut them up:

shredded carrots
diced zucchini
diced mushrooms
diced tomato
alfalfa sprouts
soy nuts
green onion

Then I washed our cute little Boston lettuce, dried it, and assembled it on the plate to get ready for the yummy filling. I gave the dressing another shake and added it to the bowl of filling, stirred it all around and added a bit of salt and pepper then filled all of the lettuce leaves. In the center I added some carrot sticks just because something needed to be there.

Oh... my... goodness! The lettuce wraps were amazing! The dressing really made it. Can you really go wrong with ginger, garlic, and lemon zest? I think not!

Wheat Spaghetti with Garden Sauce

After a couple of disappointing meals, we decided to go with a safe choice - spaghetti! I can't believe that I didn't eat spaghetti for a long time. Growing up, my Grandma made spaghetti EVERY Sunday. It was even included in her obituary, because she was semi-famous in her hometown for it.

Well, I don't quite make spaghetti the same way as Grandma, but I'm always inspired by her when I made spaghetti. The difference is that hers had a TON of meat in it, and I like to put tons of veggies in mine! Last night I added even more than usual, and we loved it!

First, Matt and I had some challenges with rolling the pasta. I turned around and had this soupy mess in a bowl and I just started laughing. He was stirring it, I guess hoping it would thicken. It was hilarious!

We finally sorted that out and now Matt knows what consistency pasta needs to be before it can be rolled! Then I started working on the sauce. I always start off with a little olive, and once the pan is hot I toss in some garlic and onion. I love the aroma that fills the air when those two start going! Ahhhhh! : )

I also added some zucchini, since I had a bit left over from our sushi night, and some fresh mushrooms. Then I added some fire roasted canned tomatoes and (gasp) a jar of Barilla spaghetti sauce. And every time I use a jar of sauce I remember my Grandma telling me "That isn't sauce!" But we didn't have tomato paste in the pantry, so I had no other choice. Besides, if you ask Matt the sauce was rockin'!

I know my cell phone pics are horrible, but it was awesome! My Grandma had it right - you just can't go wrong with a big bowl of spaghetti!