Recipe: Spicy veggie marinara and quinoa pasta

spicy marinaraI have craved pasta for weeks, so I found some quinoa pasta at Sunflower Market. The pasta is really yummy… I’ll definitely this pasta again. Below is the spicy marinara sauce recipe I put together. Turned out great! This has some kick, so if you can’t handle the heat, omit the Rotel and red pepper flakes.

Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 20 oz can tomato sauce
1 can Rotel original
1 can diced tomatoes
2 zucchini cubed or round slices
1 head broccoli cut into pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 package of 4 veggie sausages, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
Water

DIRECTIONS:
On medium heat, use a 4 quart soup pot to water saute’ the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes, add the remaining ingredients plus 1/2 cup more water. Cover and stir occasionally for 20-30 minutes. This is a great make-ahead recipe that can easily be reheated for when you’re ready. Serve over warm pasta.

Restaurant Review: Ginger’s 2 – Utah

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Lovely lunch to Ginger’s Garden Cafe in Springville with my dear friend Ronda. I had heard this was a good spot, but I wasn’t ready for how amazingly yummy the food is! They also have many packaged items as well, so I’m excited to go back and check out more of their offerings.

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For lunch, Ronda enjoyed the Veggie Wrap. This is her favorite and she gets often. I was tempted to sneak a bite, but instead I’ll get this wrap another time.


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I loved the Falafel Sandwich. I have craved falafel and this sandwich hit the spot. The vegan ranch was perfect!

We shared the nachos… oh my goodness! Before going vegan, I considered nachos to be a food group. So, I’ve been really craving nachos for months. These vegan nachos were fantastic! I’m craving them again already…

 

 

Recipe: Almond Milk

almond milkYield 1 quart

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup raw almonds
5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or to taste)

DIRECTIONS:
Soak almonds uncovered over night in room temperature water. Rinse very well. 3-4 cups water with almonds in high-powered blender. Blend until thoroughly and finely blended. There will be tiny almond pieces at bottom. We leave in, but you can strain out pieces if desired. Store in air tight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week (if it lasts that long!!).

Recipe: Oatmeal Cherry Macadamia Cookies

oatmeal cookiesMy first crack at vegan cookies… and they turned out really yummy. Not just IMHO, but everyone in the family – even the picky 6-year-old nephew liked them. Woot!

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups quick oats
1 cup Nectar of the Gods (aka NOTG)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1 cup raw macadamia nuts, rough chop
3 ripe bananas (not totally brown peels, but lots of brown spots)
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raw coconut
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
Water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix together NOTG and bananas until fully mixed well. Add oats, 1 cup at a time, until mixed through. Add all other ingredients and mix until well combined and very sticky. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time to make sure that you have a good sticky consistency. You don’t want the cookies to fall apart in the oven… then you’ll just have really chunky granola. Bake 15-18 minutes (depending on your oven). Cool on cookie rack. Store in container… if they last that long!

Recipe: Mexican Couscous Salad

mexican couscousFamily picnic dinner in the canyon, so wanted to take something easy to eat and flavorful yet I needed it quickly. Thank God above for giving us couscous. This quick and easy to make semolina grain is versatile and delicious!

Serves 12-15

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups couscous, prepared to directions on the box. Let cool on the stove top.
4 cups carrot chopped
4 cups celery small dice
1 cup cilantro chopped
1 tablespoon Mexican seasoning
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1 can Rotel original
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoon no-salt seasoning
Juice of 2 limes

DIRECTIONS:
Cook couscous per package instructions. While couscous is cooling, chop and prepare the veggies. Add all the veggies to a large mixing bowl. For the sauce, blend the Rotel and Rice Vinegar in a high-powered blender. Add the cooled couscous to the large bowl and all the remaining ingredients. Add additional seasonings if desired. You really can’t go wrong. Mix thoroughly and put into a sealed container. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe: Vegan tofu veggie stirfry


tofu stir fryI’ve been in the mood for a stir fry with tofu, so I cleaned out the fridge from all the veggies I could get my hands on. Ultimately, the recipe turned out really good.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 white onion sliced
3 clove garlic, minced
4 baby bokchoy, cut into fourths lengthwise
2 c carrots sliced diagonally
1 head of broccoli cut into florets
1/2 orange bell pepper julienne sliced
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced
2 zucchini sliced
1 package extra firm tofu, cut into rectangular slices about 1/2 inch thick
Tofu seasoning: Mix together 1 tablespoon each cumin, chinese five spice, crushed red pepper, white pepper
Water for stir fry
1/2 cup cilantro, rough chop for garnish
1 lime, cut into fourths for garnish
For extra heat, use chili paste or Sriracha for garnish (a little goes a long way)

DIRECTIONS:
Start with cooking rice because you’ll want the rice ready to eat before the stir fry is cooked. We used 2 cups brown rice, which yielded about 6 cups cooked. We like to have extra rice on hand for left overs. Rice cookers are a wonderful invention!

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees. Line 1 cookie sheet with parchment paper so that the tofu doesn’t stick. One piece at a time, coat the tofu slices with the tofu seasoning and lay the slices on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip the tofu slices and bake for another 10 minutes. Should be firm, with a little crispness on the edges. If not crispy, don’t bake longer because can get too hard. Once ready to serve, diagonally cut the tofu rectangles.

While the tofu is baking, cook the stir fry. Heat large skillet on medium-high heat. Add about 1/4 cup of water and water sauté the onion, garlic for about 3 minutes, adding water as needed so that the veggies don’t stick. Add the other veggies and continue to water sauté until cooked al dente – about 5 minutes. Covering the pan helps keep the moisture in for the sautéing

To serve, bed of rice with veggies and tofu rectangles on top. Garnish with cilantro, lime and Sriracha. No oil, no salt, no sugar, no explaining vegan needs to a Thai waiter. How do you say “bon appétit” in Thai anyhow?

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Enjoy, my friends!

 

Recipe: Nutty Date Balls

nutty date ballsThese are fantastically rich dessert balls. Can only eat a couple! We love Dr. Fuhrman’s Date Nut Pop ‘ems, but wanted to try making our own. Recipe search and we landed on this goodie!

Yield: About 30 balls – about the size of a quarter.

INGREDIENTS:

9 oz dates, pitted
2.5 oz raw almonds
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp hemp seeds
1 Tbsp flax seed
1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla
optional:  1-2 Tbsp cocoa or carob powder

DIRECTIONS:
Blend nuts together in a high-powered blender, or chop fine. To the nuts, add dates, vanilla and cocoa powder until paste begins to emulsify. One by one roll up balls and place in freezer proof container. Freeze until hard and cold. Eat frozen, or softened to room temperature – we particularly like them cold. Enjoy!

Recipe: Chickpea Ginger Curry


chickpea2Love Indian food, so created this vegan curry.

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium white onion, diced
2 clove garlic, sliced
2 tablespoon sliced fresh ginger
2 15-ounce can chickpea (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup carrot, diced
2 bay leaves
5 dried chiles
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 15-0unce can light coconut milk
Water

DIRECTIONS:

In medium sauce pan on medium heat, water sauté onion, garlic and ginger for about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of chickpeas and blend in high-powered blender with coconut milk. Return to sauce pan. Add the remaining ingredients and stir occasionally for 20 minutes.

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Before serving, remove bay leaves and dried chiles. Be careful to remove all pieces of chile because will cause serious gastronomical pain!

Serve with wild rice. We used forbidden rice cooked in rice cooker. Sprinkle with cilantro for garnish. Enjoy!

 

Restaurant Review: Gurus Cafe – Utah


gurus4Meeting friends for dinner, we wanted to check out Guru’s Cafe since we haven’t been there since we started eating Vegan. We found some pretty good options like the “Spicy Curry Bowl” and the “Thai Peanut Pasta”. Our friends enjoyed the “Southwest Chipotle Wrap” and the “Spicy Szechwan Rice Bowl”.

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Overall, it was reasonably priced, the portions are good-sized and the service is really great at this restaurant. Great spot for a casual mid-week dinner. The seating out front is really nice if it’s good weather. Great to see you Iliah and Katie!

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Recipe: White bean basil salad

white lentilGreat bean salad to eat alone or on green salad.

Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 can northern white beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon no-salt seasoning
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup Julienne sliced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (if you want a little heat)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.