Spicy Sweet and Sour Tofu Steaks

I had this crazy craving for pineapple the other day and whipped up this sweet and sour dish to satisfy my craving. I guess cuz the weather is getting a bit warmer so I'm just craving summer fruits. This was nice and easy to make and yummy. And spicy!

Sweet and Sour Tofu Steaks

Ingredients

1 package extra firm tofu

1/2 pineapple, chopped

7-8 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, diced

2 garlic, minced

1 inch piece ginger, minced

3 Thai chili peppers, minced

1/4 cup veggie stock

1/2 tsp garlic powder

handful cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced

Directions:

Cut tofu into thick pieces, about 1-2 inches thick. Sprinkle with garlic powder and 1/2 lime juice. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Saute the onions, garlic, ginger and chili peppers in 1/4 cup water (or oil if you like) for 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except for the cilantro and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the cilantro and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Serve on top of tofu steaks.

You can serve this dish with a side of brown rice and some leafy greens but I opted for some roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli. I tossed both in a little lemon juice, 1 tsp grapeseed oil and some lemon pepper seasoning. YUMMMMM. I baked them at 375 for 45 minutes.  I like my broccoli a little crispy so if you don't like it like that, steam it or take if out after 30 minutes. :)

I talked about a running injury a little while ago that I got from running 10km's in my Nike Free Run 2's. Well one of my girlfriends is a physiotherapist and offered to do a little tradesies. I cook, she fixes me. YES! I def got the better end of this deal. She worked on me for over an hour I think but who knows cuz it hurt so bad. No idea of time. I def owe her at LEAST one other dinner.

She turned my tiny apartment into a work station for her. She brought her table, pillows and everything. So awesome. But man did it ever hurt!! It took my breath away. But its all for a greater good. I went out the next day and it felt pretty damn good. She said the shoes really did a number on my feet. Everything was jammed up and just plain ole messed. I think every ones feet are different but I DO NOT recommend Nikes for running. Asics all the way. But go to an store like the Running Room so that they can find the right shoe for you.

Peace

xoxo

K

Chickpea Stew

Last night Kevin was coming over for dinner and I had no groceries and no idea what I was going to make. The only thing I knew was that I wanted chickpeas in it. This awesome chickpea stew was created freestyle and I think it turned out pretty good. :)

Chickpea Stew

Ingredients

2 398ml cans chickpeas

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 inch piece ginger, minced

2 jalapenos, minced

3 carrots, diced

2 yams, diced

2 celery, diced

4 tomatoes, diced

1/2 bag spinach, chopped

1/4 bunch cilantro, minced

2 cups water

2 cups veggie stock

1 lemon, juiced

2 tsp cumin

2 bay leaves

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp chili flakes

Directions:

Saute the onions, garlic, and ginger in 1/4 cup water (or olive oil) until translucent. Add the carrots, yams, and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients except for the cilantro, spinach, lemon and agave nectar and cook on med-high temperature for 30 minutes or until carrots and yams are soft. Add the last few ingredients. Remove the bay leaves and serve with brown rice, or a side salad.

TIP: the longer it cooks, the better the flavour. I let mine cook for a total of 1 hour but it would probs be pretty amazing if done in the crockpot. Yum!

Big ole pot of stew

Red rice

I served it with red rice. I try to switch it up with my grains. Brown is my go to and I eat a lot of quinoa but red rice is really good and a nice change. Its a longer grain but a little 'stickier' than brown rice.

YUMMY!!!

Dinner for two. Aw

Of course the stew is loaded with goodness to nourish your body. Its got some greens in it as well as some root veggies and such but its not enough green veggies for me so I roasted up a head of broccoli. I usually just roast it with just lemon juice but I only had one lemon left and that was for the stew, so I just stole a few squeezes and then used a tsp of grape seed oil, cayenne, garlic powder and paprika. YUMMM. Paprika on roasted veggies is super good. SUPER. lol

There was ALOT more but I gobbled it up before I snapped a pic. Ooops. But we all know what broccoli looks like. Lol. But if you're looking for an easy way to get in your greens, this is it. Put some tin foil or parchment paper on your cookie sheet and roast away. I put them in for 20-30 minutes. I like em crispy so just take a look at 20 mins. Roasting is awesome because you can just set it and forget it. Less maintenance and you can just go about your biznass while they cook away. DO IT!

This meal will satisfy any meat eater. Its hearty, warm and filling. Its not that spicy either but do a taste test before you add the chili flakes. I like my food spicy so my tolerance is pretty high.

Peace

xoxo

K

Mexican Stuffed Mushrooms and Calabacitas!

I bought some daiya and salsa over the weekend and have been dying to use it. I've been craving some Mexican food but since I'm wheat/gluten free these days, I needed to come up with a dish that was made with rice. Yah, I know, there's gluten free tortilla's and there are corn tortilla (which I'm learning to love) but I want to do it sans tortilla. I came up with this little gem:

Mexican Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

2 portobello mushrooms

4 roma tomatoes, diced

2 jalapeno's, sliced

1 cup black beans

1 lime, juiced

2 cups dry brown rice, cooked

3 tsp tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp chili flakes

2 tsp garlic powder

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

Refried beans

Daiya

Directions:

1. Scrape and clean the mushrooms, be careful not the break them. Cut the stem out. Preheat oven to 375

2. Saute the onions and garlic in about a 1/4 cup of water for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, jalapeno's, and beans. Cook for 8 minutes.

3. Add the brown rice and the remaining ingredients (except the mushrooms). Turn down the element to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Add another 1/4 cup of water to prevent sticking. 

5. Spoon the refried beans and spread over the bottom of the mushroom. Don't use too much, about 1-2 tbsp. Fill as high as you can go with the rice mixture. Bake for 30 minutes, the last 10 put the daiya on until its melted. Just add enough daiya to coat the top.

Serve with this next yummy Mexican side dish. Ole!

Calabacitas
Ingredients
1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 large poblano pepper, chopped
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup black beans
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper

Directions:
Saute the onions and garlic in 1/4 cup of water for 3 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients except for the lime and salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes then add rest.

Because of the limited ingredients and flavourings in the Calabacitas I was expecting it to be lack luster but still wanted to give it a shot. It was def not lack luster or flavourless. It was delish. I think its usually not supposed to have lime but I find lime to be a key ingredient in Mexican dishes. It was YUM!

There was lots of leftovers. You could totally have enough to stuff 4 mushrooms. I just use the leftovers in my salads or wraps or just eat it on its own.

Yesterday I had tons of roasted veggies leftover from my roasted veggie salad with Kevin so I made a big ass one at work for lunch. Dayum it was good!

Oh man do I love roasted veggies. And it was a nice treat to have yams. They are so yummy. Its funny how tastes change month to month. For a few months I was ALL about green smoothies. I had like 2 a day. Now I'm ALL about salads. Today I had a big craving for a mango so I whipped this sucker up for lunch:

I just sliced up a mango, half a cucumber, some purple cabbage, a few leaves of kale, tossed in a few handfuls of spinach, juiced a lime, a handful of natural almonds and sprinkled a little salt and pepper. This made 2 big salads. AND it was super yummy!!

Happy Eating!

Peace

xoxo

K

Roasted veggie salad and 3 bean chili

Kevin and I watched Glee last night because Enrique was on. Love that man. He's so purdy. I never watch Glee anymore, its boring. I do love singing and dancing but its gotten so predictable. We stopped after season 2 I think but every once and a while, a guest star will pop on that I wanna see. Or they dedicate a show to you know, Britney. So I watch then. Lol.

I made a massive pot of chili in my crockpot. I never write chili recipes down because every time I make it different and its so easy to make chili. But here's a guestimate of what I put in there.

3 Bean Chili
Ingredients
4 cups mixed beans (navy, black, and pinto)
2 bottles of tomato sauce
1-2 cups water
3 tsp veggie stock (dry)
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapeno's, diced
4 tsp chili powder
2 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients into your crockpot (slow cooker) and cook on low for 10 hours. I do it while I'm working for the day. I also used dried beans so I soaked them overnight, rinsed, then soaked again during the day. I did this on a Saturday and used them on Monday for the chili.

I roasted some broccoli, carrots and yams in lemon, garlic powder, sea salt and Italian seasoning for 30 minutes. Threw them on top of a bed of spinach and drizzled some of my lemon-mustard dressing. I sprinkled hemp seeds on it all. If you don't recall, I don't roast my veggies in oil. I just use a lemon.

Lemon-Mustard Dressing

1 lemon, juiced

2-3 tbsp mustard (any kind)

Sriracha, to taste

Combine and drizzle on your salad, your veggies, whatevs!

This was a perfectly filling dinner with tons of fiber to keep things moving smoothly. Plus its gluten free, healthy and DELISH.

Peace

xoxo

K

Roasted broccoli salad

Today for lunch I decided to make an easy roasted broccoli salad. I woke up unprepared for my food day. Which is totally unusual because I'm typically always thinking about what my next meal or snack will be. I looked in my fridge and saw mixed greens and a head of broccoli. A salad will be made from this,

With so few ingredients you may think that this will be a boring salad. But fear not my friends, t'was a deeeeelish salad indeed! Lol 

Roasted Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

1 head broccoli

1 lemon

salt and pepper

2 cups mixed greens

1 cup purple cabbage

Dressing
1 lemon

2 tsp mustard

1 tsp sriracha

Directions

1. Chop and wash the broccoli. Coat with the whole lemon, juiced, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

2. Get a big salad bowl, throw in your mixed greens and cabbage (if you got other veggies, toss them in too!). Put the roasted broccoli on top. Makes it purdy. 

3. Mix the dressing ingredients and drizzle over top. ENJOY!!

The dressing is da bomb! Super flavourful because well lemon is awesome and mustard is the best condiment out there. All kinds. I like all mustard's. Yummerly.

To add some bulk to my lunch, I ate some leftover pasta sauce. I didn't have any squash left so I just put it on top of some lentil veggie balls I had in my freezer. Then I topped it with some hummus and sriracha. Seems like a totally odd combination, and it is, but I swear, its delish. I love combining my leftovers in a mish mash of awesomeness. Yah, that is actually a word. Ha I had no idea.

So there's a little bit of what vegans eat daily. I guess its probs a bit more veggies than most, but I sure love em!

I've been fighting this cold all week. It didn't materialize until yesterday but I quickly ran out to get some OoO (Oil of Oregano) and kicked it to the curb! It stopped in its track. You should get it! Its cray cray! Super intense and pretty gross. But its just an overpowering taste of oregano, so not THAT bad. If its effective I might as well do it right?

I also made this tea last night too. All my vegan peeps on instagram suggested ginger. I put about a quarter sized piece of minced ginger, 1 lemon and 1/2 tsp of agave nectar into 1 cup of hot water. I hate ginger and thought this would be awful but boy was I wrong! Super yummy! In fact I might drink it on a regular basis just to keep healthy.

Happy weekend everyone! Tonight I'm going to sweat out whats remaining of my cold and chill out on the couch. Yah!

Peace

xoxo

K

New use for muffin tins! Quinoa bean cakes.

I did a little experimentation in my kitchen last night trying to come up with something tasty and crafty. I use quinoa quite a bit. I love it. Super nutrient packed and full of protein. I was going to make little quinoa and chickpea patties but I didn't have any chickpeas. Fret not, I used fava beans instead. A white, broad bean. I don't like to pan fry food in oil, I usually cook with very little oil. I was planning on baking these suckers and then it came to me. USE MUFFIN TINS! Yes. Its just logical. lol

I came up with this little gem. One thing that I will do next time though is up the flax seed mixture so it stays binds better. I def didn't use enough. I'll give you my recipe that I made last night and then give you a recommendation on the amount to use. 

Quinoa Bean Cakes

Ingredients

2 cups dry quinoa, cooked according to package

1 can fava beans

1 inch piece ginger

3 garlic cloves

1/2 onion

2 carrots

1 lemon

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp chili flakes

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp corriander

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup almond milk

Flax seed mixture

3 tsp ground flax seed

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Process carrots, ginger, garlic, fava beans and onion in a food processor.  Make sure the beans get mashed. My food processor is small so I did the beans on their own. 

2. Mix together all the ingredients except for the flax seed mixture. Add any additional spices to your taste.

3. If using whole flax seeds, grind them in a blender before adding the water. Blend until gelatinous. Believe me, it'll happen. About 30 seconds to 1 minute.

4. Combine the flax mixture with the quinoa mixture and ball up and put in a lightly greased muffin tin. Press down.

5. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

Before baking

After baking

Roasted veggies

 The veggies are: Zucchini, red pepper, red onion, lemon, garlic, sea salt and basil.

Dinner for 2!

Looks so good right? I totally just had an eye-gasm. This is some good food porn for your hungry eyes.

Food porn

So although they did fall apart a little, I found out that if you let them rest for a bit they stick together better. But who are we kidding, I can't wait to eat. lol Next time I would do another 2 tsp's of flax seed and 1 cup of water. Same process.

What I didn't show were all the bottles of wine me and Jimmy consumed. Jeez, polished off 3! Oops. Made for a rough morning. lol Had a real tough go of it. I saw this video today and thought it was hilarious. 

I say quite a bit of those. I thought shit girls say was AWESOME. Laughed my butt off, but all the others were just ok. This is the only other one that made me laugh. The ending is perfect. HA. 

Hope everyone has a kick ass weekend. Mine is jammed packed as usual but I'm hoping to be able to get to the gluten free expo on Sunday at the Croatian Cultural Center. Entry is by donation to the food bank. Cool!

Peace

xoxo

K

Thai Coconut Lentil Soup

Double header today!

I have been dwindling down my collection of soups and chili's in my freezer so its time to replenish. No frills has a sale on 2lb bag of carrots for $1. Yah that's right, you read that correctly, $1!!! I bought 2 so far. I'll be back though. lol 

I decided a nice, warming, carrot soup would be good. So I tossed all the ingredients into the crockpot and set off to enjoy my Sunday. 

Thai Coconut Lentil Soup
Ingredients
2lbs carrots
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves
3 roma tomatoes
2 lemongrass stalks
1 can low fat coconut milk
1 tsp chili flakes
2 tsp Vegeta (dry veggie stock)
1 tsp powdered ginger
2 dried chili's
pepper
2 cups red split lentils
8 cups water

Directions

Put all ingredients into a slow cooker except for the coconut milk and cook for 8 hours. Once cooked, remove the lemongrass stalks and the chili peppers. Add the coconut milk at the end. Use a hand blender or regular blender to process until smooth. Taste and add more seasonings if needed.

Its what I do

YUM

This soup is nice and thick. Super tasty. The spice level isn't bad at all. Personally, I would have liked it to be spicier. But I was lazy. Lol Plus I know I'll be adding sriracha to it later.

I made a very similar one to this before, you can check it out here. Both are awesome. I should have put some green garnish on there for the photo's sake but I was hungry. I also roasted up a squash and a cauliflower for me to nosh on.

Acorn squash

Roasted cauliflower

I did not use oil. For the squash I just scraped it out and baked it upside down so that the steam would cook it nice and softly. Then I sprinkled sea salt, cinnamon and garlic powder on it.

The cauliflower is mixed with a lemon, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder and sea salt. YUMMY. Good snacks. 

Peace

xoxo

K

Veggie loaf and roasted veggies

I am sad that summer is gone BUT I love the fall foods. Squash, root veggies, yams, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, oh my! I also love the soups, stews and chilies but I make those all year round in my crockpot. Only roasting gets the back burner during our hot months, or days more like it.

I decided to roast up a whole bunch of stuff so that I could eat it over the next day or so for lunch and snacks. I like to dip my roasted veggies in mustard. Is that weird? I LOVE mustard. The grainy stuff is where its at, but when I'm out of that I am more than satisfied with the good ole trusted French's Mustard.

I roasted an acorn squash, yams, PURPLE yams, carrots, parsnips, kohlrabi, and broccoli. Then I made a veggie loaf. I like to juice on the weekends and I hate to waste any food so I save the pulp to make patties or veggie balls, add to soups and chilies or add it to filling that I stuff squash and mushrooms with.

I forgot to take a pic of the purple yams, but this is what they look like. They are usually found during this time at asian grocery stores. They are sooooo good! A little sweeter than regular yams but so tasty and pretty. Adds some new life to your plate. They pack all the same nutritional punch that regular yams do.   High in potassium, plus B6, vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants. GET SOME!!! Kohlrabi on the other hand was not my fave. I did not enjoy it at all. Maybe I need to cook it another way.....

For the squash: Just cut in half and place open part down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

Veggies: Chop then toss with olive oil, half a lemon, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and veggie seasoning. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Check on broccoli so it doesn't burn. But crispy is how it should be.

PS: if you haven't had roasted broccoli, you need to. It gets all crispy and delish.  YUM

Since not everyone has leftover veggie pulp from making juice, here is a recipe for a veggie loaf that I've made before. Then I'll tell you some new things I did with mine.

Veggie Loaf

1 cup lentils

3 cups vegetable stock or broth
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 cup breadcrumbs
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 tbsp ground flax mixed with 1/2 cup water
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. In a blender put flax seeds and water and blend for 2 minutes. Set aside.

2. Simmer together the lentils, broth and a pinch of salt for about 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender and have absorbed all the broth.

3. Saute the onion and celery in the olive oil over medium high heat for six minutes, or until tender, not caramelized. Add the garlic and carrot and cook for about another four minutes.

4 Add the walnuts to the onion/carrot/garlic mixture on the stove and stir well.

5 Add the oregano, salt and pepper as well and then take the mixture off the stove and transfer to a large bowl.

6 Add the breadcrumbs, flax/water and cooked lentils and toss well. Press mixture into a greased loaf pan and set aside while you make the topping.

7. Mix the ketchup, maple syrup and vinegar. Spread on top of loaf. Bake for 40 minutes and then out on a plate.

This loaf was extremely tasty. I loved it. And the leftovers were even better. Especially when you stuff them in between 2 slices of bread. YUM!

This time I used tons of veggie pulp. Then I took 4 cups of pinto beans, 2 inches of ginger, 3 garlic cloves and processed them in my food processor with a little veggie stock. Mixed that with the veggie pulp and 1 cup (1 cup dry) of TruRoots Organic's Sprouted Bean Trio , onion, cumin, chili powder, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 4 tsp tomato paste, and 2 cups quick oats. After it was done baking I sprinkled some nutritional yeast on top. It was pretty tasty. I will need to make a sauce to go on top or make sandwiches with it. I was too full after my veggies to eat any.

That is my favorite thing about Sundays. Cooking. I usually cook a lot on Sundays. I do my grocery shopping and cook up a storm. I like to have healthy foods easily accessible. People always ask me how I'm able to cook so much. Organization and planning. And possibly shear determination to eating healthy. This is part of it though. I make tons of food at one time so that I have healthy lunches and leftovers if I can' t make dinner.

Enjoy your fall cooking!!

Peace

xoxo

K