Recipe: Vegan Fried Rice

rice3Versatile and abundant rice! There are more than 40,000 varieties of cultivated #rice (the grass species Oryza sativa) said to exist. But the exact figure is uncertain. Over 90,000 samples of cultivated rice and wild species are stored at the International Rice Gene Bank and these are used by researchers all over the world. (Source: riceassociation.org.uk) I want to see this rice bank!

rice1

 

 

 

 

 

Fried rice becomes the main dish at our dinner table. Here’s a simple recipe that is a crowd pleaser for the veggie lover and meat eaters.

Ingredients:
2 cups basmati rice, yields about 4-5 cups cooked
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup diced purple cabbage
1 small white or yellow onion, diced
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce

Directions:
1. Use a rice cooker to prepare basmati rice. Usually, I prefer day old rice, but you can use same day rice of you forget to cook ahead.
2. Using a large wok, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium-high heat.
3. Saute onion, celery, carrot for 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic, cabbage, broccoli and 1 tablespoon of sesame seed oil. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until cabbage is soft.
5. Add basmati rice and the frozen peas.
6. Add 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil, soy sauce and white pepper, toss to coat.
7. Put lid on wok, turn down heat to low and allow rice and peas to warm through about 4-5 minutes.
8. Through the entire cooking time, keep tossing the mixture as it will burn and stick to bottom of the wok.
Serve immediately with green onion for garnish. We love it with veggie dumplings on the side.

Optional sauces to add spice at the table: hoisin, mae ploy, sriracha, sambal.

I’ll see you at the table!

There are over 1 billion people who eat rice every day in the world. That's a lot of rice to be grown and harvested!
There are over 1 billion people who eat rice every day in the world. That’s a lot of rice to be grown and harvested!

Lemon Spinach with Dijon Balsamic Dressing

spinach lemon saladI’ve never tried lemon spinach before. Packed with lots of citrus flavors, this leafy green made a wonderful tart salad. Wish I bought more at the Farmer’s Market so I could also try cooking with it.
Ingredients:
1. Bag of freshly picked and cleaned lemon spinach
2. Lemon cucumber, cubed
3. Caramelized walnuts
4. Tiny amount of thinly sliced red onion
5. Your favorite dijon balsamic dressing

Directions:
1. Toss together all ingredients and eat immediately.
2. For the meat lovers, add grilled cubed chicken, egg slices or blue cheese crumbles.

Recipe: Vegan Cauliflower and Potato Curry

Easy to make Vegan curry that’s great stand alone dish, or side dish.

Cauliflower and Potato Curry

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, medium cube
2 cups carrot, diced
1 white onion, small dice
2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1-15 oz can cooked potatoes, medium cube
2 cup frozen peas
1-15 oz can coconut milk
1 cup water

Directions:
1. Using soup pot, water sautee onion over medium heat for 4 minutes.
2. Add garlic and additional water as needed for water sauteeing.
3. Turn heat up to medium-high and add cauliflower, 1 cup water, coconut milk, curry and turmeric – bring to slow boil and then turn heat down to medium-low for 15 minutes.
4. Pulse 3 cups of mixture in a high powered blender (I use @Blendtec) until smooth and add back to the pot. [WARNING: Blending hot food has a high potential of exploding out of the blender, so blend carefully with the lid tightly secured]
5. Add carrots and potatoes, covered and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add frozen peas, mix through and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.

Serve with lightly toasted naan, basmati rice. Chopped cilantro and sriracha for garnish.

I’ll see you at the table.

Restaurant Review: Tosh’s Ramen – SLC

tosh ramenRestaurant Review: Tosh’s Ramen in SLC ⭐⭐⭐

Dishes:
Vegetarian Ramen with vegan yam noodles (3/5 ⭐)
Vegetables included baby bok choy, two different mushrooms, bean sprouts and green onions – the best was the marinated shiitake mushroom. Vegetable broth was pretty robust for vegetable broth. The yam noodles were the weird chewy kind and not enough. Definitely not enough food to be a complete meal on its own.

Vegetarian Gyoza (3/5 ⭐)
More of a pot sticker, the gyozas were filled with diced cabbage and onions. Pan fried too much for my liking and making it difficult to bite in half. The dipping sauce was a tart garlic soy sauce very strong flavor.

Vegan: 👍
Vegetarian: 👍
Meat lover: 👍
Gluten free: 👎
Family friendly: 👎
👎High chair missing clips to actually keep toddler in seat
👎Foul language rock music
Hubby: 👍 Enjoyed the spicy pork ramen
Return: Yes. I will have them custom make ramen #soup next time. No toddler either.

Refried Beans Enchilada Casserole

​Refried Beans Enchilada Casserole with pico de gallo salsa… Yummy dinner and leftovers.

Ingredients:

2-14oz cans of your favorite enchilada sauce

8 Large flour tortillas, cut in half

2-14oz cans of your favorite refried beans

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large white onion, diced

1 cup black olives, sliced

1-14oz can corn, drained

1-14oz can diced tomatoes, or 3 fresh roma tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons cumin

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

Your favorite pico or other chunky salsa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pour one can of enchilada sauce bottom of 9×13 glass baking dish.

3. On medium heat in pot, water saute onion, bell pepper, garlic for 5 minutes, then add refriedbeans, cumin, corn, tomatoes, chile powder and heat through- about 5 minutes

4. Place 4 tortilla halves with flat edge against sides of dish. Ladle 2 cups of bean mixture and spread over tortillas. 

5. Repeat 3 times.

Note: For vegetarian option, sprinkle 1 cup Mexican cheese blend on top of bean mixture at each layer.

6. Add last layer of tortillas, then pour other can of enchilada sauce over top. Sprinkle #olives. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

Serve with heaping scoop of pico de gallo salsa or other garnish. Pairs well with greensalad and vinaigrette salad dressing. Makes great left overs too! 

Optional garnishes:

  • Sourcream
  • Cilantro
  • Guacamole
  • Avocado slices

I’ll see you at the table!

Recipe: Stuffed Bell Pepper and Steamed Asparagus

17438080_494117124045466_2501886692655366144_nHealthy veggie based meal: stuffed bell pepper and steamed asparagus.
Ingredients:
4 yellow bell peppers, tops cut out and seeds rinsed out
1 package of saffron rice, prepared per package directions
1 roma tomato, small dice
1 zucchini, small dice
1 small yellow onion, small dice
3 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cook saffron rice per package directions
3. On medium heat, saute onion and zucchini in olive oil or water for 5 minutes, then add tomato and garlic and saute for 1 minute.
4. Add cooked rice, parsley to zucchini mixture and stir to combine. Using a tablespoon, scoop rice mixture into bell peppers.

Note: You can use other bell peppers, but I prefer the mild, sweeter flavor of yellow.
5. Place 4 stuffed bell peppers into 8×8 glass baking dish. Add water around the outside of peppers, 1/3 the way up the pepper.
Note: If you’re preparing ahead of time, store in refrigerator for up to 2 days, covered in plastic wrap. Add water when ready to bake.

6. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the skin of peppers begins to wrinkle. If your peppers are really thick, you may need 5-10 more minutes. Better to over bake than under bake.
7. Serve with steamed asparagus.

For a more robust meal, serve with crusty bread and large green salad.
I’ll see you at the table!

Asapargus

17332737_1265365500208322_2353166337565523968_nIt’s that lovely time of year when asparagus is in season! Delicate but bursting with flavor, add asparagus to your menu. My local grocer (Winco) has it on sale for $0.98/pound!
Some asparagus dish ideas:
🍴Cream of asparagus soup
🍴Roasted asparagus with balsamic dressing for dipping
🍴Two-inch size pieces added to rice
🍴Steamed and added to veggie tortilla wrap

However you use it, indulge in this spring time delicious vegetable!

Recipe: Power Kale Salad and Lentil Soup

Power Kale Salad and Lentil Soup for lunch!
kale salad and lentil soup
I’m pretty sure my body has a calcium deficiency right now because I keep waking up in the middle of the night with charlie horses in my calves. So I am adding the plant based calcium today with a big kale salad.
Salad Ingredients:
1 big leaf of Kale, ripped into little pieces
4 leaves of Romaine, ripped into bite-size pieces
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 cup #blueberries
2 tablespoons raw unsalted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons walnut pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Wash kale and lettuce thoroughly, towel dry lightly. Using large salad bowl, toss with OO and balsamic vinegar. Then add all the other ingredients. Mix and enjoy the textures and tastes of a nutrient rich salad!