Kitchen Clean Out = Beans & Rice

Spring-cleaning has still got a hold of me! The past few days I have been throwing clutter away (which is really, really hard for me) and reorganizing the whole apartment. Part of my reorganization plan is cleaning out the kitchen cabinets/fridge and using up items that I know are getting a bit old.
On my last trip to Tampa, my Dad shared his pillow-sized sack of jasmine rice with us, so I needed to use my old supply. We also have way too many dried beans (if there is such a thing) and so I decided to make plain old black beans with rice, with a side of fried plantains and an avocado tomato salad. The beans were cooked in water, garlic, onion, olive oil, dried oregano and sofrito (that has been lurking in my fridge for way too long) for a few hours. The beans weren't nearly as good as my Dad's but they filled me up none the less. The rice wasn't all that. I don't think my (almost always) trusty steamer cooked the rice very well. It was a tad on the al dente side, which is not a good feature in rice. The avocado and tomato salad was simply an avocado, tomato, red onion, red wine vinegar, salt and olive oil. The plantains were perfectly sweet and fried in canola oil. Dessert and side dish all in one!
Since I have been so busy with stuff around the house, this meal not only got rid of a few items in my kitchen but also gave me a much needed energy boost.

YRR Goddess Pasta Salad

My buddy Ashley (the awesome potluck organizer) made my favorite savory dish at the potluck, the Goddess Pasta Salad out of Yellow Rose Recipes. I managed to make Jared a plate of food from the potluck so he got to try a bite or two of this salad and was in love. I decided to give the recipe a try to see if I could make it as tasty as Ashley. Alas, I failed. She must have put extra super duper love in her batch because mine just didn't taste as good. Maybe it was because it took me an hour to make or maybe it was all the measuring, but everything just didn't seem to come together. There was something about the dressing that was off. I'm thinking I put too much dill in mine and not enough salt. It's possible too that this is the kind of thing that tastes better day after day of being in the fridge. I guess I'll find out because it made a ton!
For the most part I followed the recipe but I did end up slicing an avocado on top since it needed be to be used (that and I love the stuff). I think if I make this again, I'll leave out the cucumber, used grape tomatoes instead of plum tomatoes, and maybe use fresh basil instead of dill. The corn didn't add a whole bunch to the salad for me, so I'm thinking I may add red bell pepper instead. The edamame rocked though!
All and all, I like the idea behind this recipe but it won't be on my regular rotation, unless Ashley volunteers to make it for me!


**UPDATE** It didn't get better the next day : (

busy days = easy food

I had mentioned before that I was thinking about going to nursing school, and this past month I decided to make it happen. It seems like the past two weeks or so I have been doing so much stuff to get back into school. Between going to advising sessions, soliciting for transcripts from my high school, associate’s and bachelor’s degree from 3 different Florida schools, filling out forms, getting shots (YIKES!) and trying to convince this college I should be coded as in-state (for tuition purposes), I have been beat. Plus my stomach has been bothering me, which is probably stress related since the thought of going back to school in a program that is completely different from what I have already done (I have a BA in Business Management) is a little scary. I have been out of school since 2002 and it seems weird to be essentially starting over. I'm excited but I have to take all these prerequisite classes like chemistry, anatomy & physiology and microbiology (all classes I haven't taken in about 8 years!) and take/pass a nursing entrance exam before I am even considered into the nursing program. So, it'll be a lot more work and a couple years before I am done, but it will be so rewarding.
Anyway, since I have been so busy, I have been eating a lot of faster food. Tonight, I had a veggie burger on a toasted bun with Vegenaise, onion, ketchup and mustard along with a side of tomatoes, avocado and carrot sticks. I will get back into cooking once I know everything is set to start school this summer, which should be any day!

Quadruple Bean & Double Corn Pie with Avocado

I'm not gonna lie. This meal was a lot of work. Although it was very tasty, between cooking chickpeas, black beans and dark red kidney beans, prepping the tomato/chili base and making a double corn cornbread, this is not something I will be making all the time. I started by boiling the three beans together in water, garlic and veggie bouillon cubes for about 2- 2 1/2 hours until just tender. I drained the beans and sautéed a sweet onion in a little olive oil along with chipotle and regular chili powders, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt, black pepper and cocoa powder. I added 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, which I further broke down with my immersion blender. I added the three beans into the tomato chili base and swirled in the forth bean component, a can of spicy refried pinto beans. In a separate bowl I made a cornbread topper that had pureed corn, applesauce, canola oil, sugar, all purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and chopped green onions. Once the chili beans were in a casserole dish, I topped it with the cornbread mixture and baked it at 450 for about 25 minutes. I think I might have dipped into it too soon because the chili beans hadn't thickened up as much as I would have liked and the very center of the cornbread wasn't completely done. While I did have a small plate of this with some sliced avocado, I did end up putting the casserole back in the oven for the cornbread to get completely baked. Not bad, but not worth cooking in a hot kitchen all day!

Black Bean Soup, Fruit Salad

As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't been feeling all that great. I'm congested, have a nasty cough and a bit of a sore throat. Since Saturday, I haven't been too excited about being in the kitchen but wanted to use up some of the produce I got last week. To soothe me, I decided to make a simple and quick Black Bean soup and Fruit Salad for dessert.
The Black Bean Soup had black beans (dried that were soaked over night and cooked), red onion, garlic, oregano, salt, black pepper, chipotle powder and veggie stock. I mashed up the beans with a potato masher and added the veggie stock until it got to a soupy consistency. I topped the soup with quartered cherry tomatoes and avocado that was left over from the sandwiches I made for our picnic this past weekend. Very comforting!

The Fruit Salad was super easy. I just diced up a golden delicious apple and mango and coated them with juice from half a lemon and then threw in the blackberries, blueberries and cut up strawberries. I think fruit based treats are my favorite way to end to any meal.

Signs of Spring

True signs of spring for us are tax season, picnics and allergies.
As I've mentioned before, Jared works as a stockbroker. Under normal circumstances, it can be a stressful job. Throw in tax season and Jared's job can be down right bad. This week ended especially awful for Jared, so I made him one of the first things he eyed in My Sweet Vegan: Peanut Butter Bombs!!! Okay, okay, I had one or two myself and they were good, but Jared really needed them, I swear! Little did he know, I had a great Saturday planned too. (Sorry for the blurry pic, we were hypnotised by these delicious and naughty treats.)

I decided to surprise Jared with a picnic. For Saturday's picnic, I made some lower fat potato salad on Friday night. That's right, lower fat potato salad. Yes, I did use Yukon gold potatoes and a little Vegenaise BUT to make a very creamy dressing for the potato salad I used soy milk and lemon juice. The lemon juice thickened the soymilk and gave it a tangy bite. I also added celery, grated onion, mustard, salt, black pepper and Herbes de Provence. Of course, Jared saw the potato salad and got into it when he got home from work Friday so I told him of our picnic plans.

Saturday morning came and I surprised Jared with breakfast in bed. I made him banana waffles with mixed fresh berries and maple syrup. I first let the blackberries, blueberries and strawberries macerate in maple syrup while I made the waffle batter.

I made the Banana Nut waffles from Veganomicon, minus the nuts. On top I added the mixed berries with maple syrup and little whipped Earth Balance. These were so good.

After breakfast and lounging around a bit, I made sandwiches for our picnic lunch. I got some ciabatta rolls from the farmers market and slathered homemade pesto that I made with that lovely basil in my last post. I used the pesto recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. I also added cucumber, avocado (just a little), red onion and tomato.

So, we packed up our food, blanket and dog Sweetpea and headed over to Grant Park. We couldn't have asked for a better day. It was in the upper 60's and very sunny.


There was also these beautiful flowers surrounding us, (which I think were actually weeds . . . but, hey, sometimes weeds have the prettiest flowers) that reminded me that allergy season is around the corner.

Sure signs of spring, maybe, but I am feeling like a cold is in the making so winter may very well still have it's grip on me. Hopefully, it is just allergies come early.

un-sushi appetizer

Jared and I are eating out less to save money. Vegan sushi isn't expensive, per se, but when you order a salad, drink and factor in a tip, eating sushi out can get expensive. I was craving some sushi yesterday but realized I didn't have any nori wrappers . . . So, I made a un-sushi dish that incorporated all of the things I love in sushi and had on hand. I made a sweet & spicy sesame sauce with soy sauce, agave nectar, sesame seed oil, sriracha, green onions and black & white sesame seeds to put on top of thinly sliced avocado. I also made some steamed rice that I covered in more black & white sesame seeds. This was so good and surprisingly filling.

a hearty breakfast for a day in the mountains

The mountains ARE my favorite place to be of all of this beautiful world's settings (this may change as I travel more, but for now, that's it). I've mentioned before that I spent most summers with my Grammie and Poppie in the house (which they built themselves!) in the mountains of Tennessee, so my love for the mountains started there. Jared and I live about 2 hours away from decent mountains in Georgia. Not having enough time to go back to my stomping grounds in Tennessee this weekend, we decided to take a quick afternoon trip up in Fort Mountain National Park for a little nostalgic nudge to my summers spent and a hike since it was gorgeous out.
No hike should begin without a very hearty breakfast, not something I am generally used to. Since I hadn't had tofu in a while, I decided to make my VERY FIRST TOFU SCRAMBLE!!! I guess I should mention also that my darling Jared bought me a copy of the Yellow Rose Recipes cookbook (which can be ordered at Cosmo's), which is where I got the spice blend idea for the scramble. Except for the spices, I didn't follow the recipe 100% but it turned out well. Our scramble had red peppers and onions cooked for a few minutes until soften and two veggie sausage patties chunked up. I set the peppers, onions and veggie sausage chucks off to the side. Next for the tofu, I sprayed my pan with Olive oil spray and let the tofu firm and crisp up. Once they were cooked I used a few shakes of the book's Tofu Scramble seasoning mix recipe, along with a couple splashes of soy sauce. I add the peppers, onions and veggie sausage chunks back in with the now seasoned tofu. I also used my new cookbook's technique for making homefries, which included parboiling the potatoes the night before and chopping, browning and seasoning the next morning. I added salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and dried rosemary in ours. Jared said they were his favorite! I also served sliced avocado and a small bowl of the last of the sliced strawberries.
Jared's plate filled up! He had his strawberries in a bowl off to the side.

My plate's more modest portions were able to fit my berries on the plate.

So, full bellies and all, we headed to the mountains.
This first picture was at a lookout going up the mountain towards the park. It just is so peaceful for me to be able to see and feel the mountains again.

Jared and I at a waterfall we came upon on the hiking trail. If it was warmer, I would have stuck my feet in!

Jared being my Mountain Man, although holding MY hiking stick (I found along the way the start of the hike. Isn't nature cool!) as his prop. He's goofy like that!

Lastly, this was me checking out this lovely lush green carpet-like moss on some cool rocks.
Notice, I got my hiking stick back!

picadillo with white rice, avocado tomato black bean and corn salad

Yes, more Spanish food. This time I made some Cuban inspired picadillo with white rice, which is an adaptation of picadillo my step mom makes. I started with sweating a sweet onion and green bell pepper in olive oil. I added tomato sauce, tomato paste, tofu crumbles and a touch of vegan Worcestershire sauce. Once that heated through, I added about a third of a cup of raisins and a couple tablespoons of pimento stuffed green olives . . . YES, I know, two things on my list of foods I dislike but part of my new year's resolutions is to eat more of the foods I think I don't care for. I'm not completely sold on raisins or green olives, but these are traditional ingredients in picadillo and I can't mess with tradition. I also splashed in a bit of red wine vinegar at the last minute.
I decided to make picadillo because my step mom emailed me about a avocado tomato salad she made that she added corn to. I decided, in honor of her picadillo, to also make a version of the salad she emailed me about. My salad started with lime juice, red wine vinegar, black pepper, sea salt and natural sugar, chopped avocado, diced tomatoes and diced sweet onion. I then drained and rinsed a can of black beans and a can of sweet corn and added them to the salad along with a glug or two of olive oil. Perfection!
I plated the dish with the picadillo on white rice and the salad separate, but I decided to mix the picadillo and white rice with the salad and it was even better! THANKS FOR THE IDEA DELIA!

grilled veggie fajitas with guacamole

Probably one of my favorite kitchen items is my large, very heavy grill pan. It was one of our wedding presents and I am so glad we have it. A couple of nights ago I made Jared these fajitas. I cut thin strips of green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, red onion and zucchini that I lightly coated in canola oil, sea salt and garlic. I grilled them on a VERY hot grill pan until they were all soft.

I also made guacamole that had Haas avocados, lime juice, red onion, garlic, Thai chili sauce, hot sauce, sea salt and black pepper.

Luckily I found some very vegan friendly flour tortillas and blistered them up on the grill pan. Stuffed with the veggies, guacamole and a touch of salsa, Jared was in gastric heaven.

last splash

Before the holidays start and my sister's baby shower is around the corner, I have decided to do an Elimination Diet for food allergies and intolerances. I have done this once before and it's not a diet really but a systematic way of tracing foods back to chronic body reactions. For years I have had digestive issues and I am once again at a point where it is making me crazy and need to know if food is to blame. Last time I did this, I discovered greens like collards, kale and most lettuces as well as broccoli and cauliflower do not agree with me. Last time I did this I was not a vegan so I am also curious to do this as a vegan. Some common food sources of allergies and intolerances are already out of my diet such as dairy and eggs, but soy, wheat, corn and nuts can be HUGE allergens, so this time I can focus on those.
To get rid of some of the food I cannot eat for the next few weeks, I made some of my favorite things. This plate of food was fingerling potatoes that were first boiled then roasted in olive oil and garlic pieces along with sliced tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and homemade guacamole. I also made a dressing inspired by the amazing dressing from Soul Vegetarian that has nutritional yeast, soy sauce, water, agave nectar, both fresh and powdered garlic and olive oil. I drizzled the dressing over the tomatoes and potatoes.

I also made cranberry jelly with fresh cranberries, natural sugar and lemon zest. This tasted so good on a toasted English muffin . . . actually it tasted good on everything!

Today I started the first part of the diet, which is a modified whole foods diet. I will still be posting about my food, since I still have a lot of options. For lunch today I had pinto beans that were soaked overnight and cooked in water and sea salt along with a sliced and roasted sweet potato that had olive oil, sea salt and maple syrup. It's kind of refreshing to taste things for what they are.

mexican lasagna, coconut chai rice pudding

When I went shopping this week I intended to make enchiladas but when I got home I realized I got everything to make them except the enchilada sauce. So we were just going to make bean burritos but then the flour tortillas I bought kept tearing so what would one do??? Make Mexican style lasagna instead! The filling for the lasagna had tofu crumbles made with fresh jalapeno, onion and the usual Mexican spice like cumin and chili powder. I also heated up vegetarian refried beans with tomato sauce. I layered the torn flour tortillas, crumbles, refried beans and salsa until it was about 4 layers deep. To compliment the lasagna I made two toppers. One was guacamole made with avocado, fresh lime juice, fresh jalapeno, garlic, red onion, agave, sea salt and black pepper. The other topper was a raw salsa made with fresh white corn off the cob, diced tomatoes, fresh jalapeno, fresh lime juice, red onion, sea salt and black pepper.
Unfortunately, this picture doesn't show off the layers, but boy was it tasty!

I have made and posted about my rice pudding before but this one was especially good so I had to post about it this time. This rice pudding was made with left over jasmine rice. I heated coconut milk up with natural sugar, ground cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and tiny bit of corn starch. The heated, strained and spiced coconut milk was added to the jasmine rice until well combined. In honor of my step mom, Delia, bowls of this chilled chai rice pudding were topped with whipped soy cream.

best breakfast ever

I could eat this plate of food everyday. Jared and I collaborated on this breakfast. Jared made the potatoes that had onions, garlic, sea salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in it. All I did was cut up the tomatoes and sliced up the avocado. I sprinkled some sea salt on the tomatoes and avocado. The combo of the potatoes, tomatoes and avocado are unbeatable.

Layered Bean Dip

Growing up, my mom made a killer 7 layer dip that had refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, onion and shredded cheese. This dip made an appearance at every football party, cocktail party or family function. It was ALWAYS a hit. Today I made a smaller version of this with homemade refried beans (pinto beans, chili powder, cumin, chipotle powder, sea salt, black pepper, agave and canola oil), diced onion, diced tomatoes and homemade guacamole (avocado, fresh lemon juice, agave, sea salt, garlic, sweet onion and jalapeno). Served with tortilla chips, this rocked our socks off!

double decker tostada

Tostadas were/are a staple at my Dad's house. This holds true in Jared's and my house to this day. These are a little different than what me and Dad make in that I buy tostada shells instead of using corn chips. Also Jared and I like double deckers. The bottom layer was a tostada shell with homemade refried beans (pinto beans, onions, garlic, chili powder, chipotle powder, cumin and sea salt blended with my immersion blender), another tostada shell and meatless crumbles that have salsa and taco seasoning. Then the double layers are covered with tomatoes, sweet and green onions, lettuce, homemade guacamole (avocado, jalapeno, sweet onion, lemon juice, sea salt, agave and tomatoes), salsa, sweet Thai chili sauce and Rex Sauce which is my Dad's secret tostada vinaigrette. Sounds like a lot but everything works so well together. Dad likes his with pickled beets which I always forget.