Mexican Lentil Soup with Black Beans

I have majah love for soups. I make them pretty often and in huge batches. My freezer is always stocked full of them and chili. Even though I'm not 100% gluten free, especially after wine fest, I do try to live as gluten free as possible. I was really in the mood for some Mexican style black bean dish and came up with this delish soup. It is so full of flavour that I cannot even being to describe how amazing it was. I'm usually not wow'ed by my cooking but this one really wow'ed me! Try it!

Mexican Lentil Soup with Black Beans

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils

1 can black beans

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, diced

2 garlic, minced

1 inch piece of ginger, minced

2 jalapeno, minced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

2 cups veggie stock (Vegeta)

5 cups water

Directions:

1. Cook the lentils in 3 cups of water for 10-15 minutes alone. Then add the black beans and the remaining water. Cook for 10 minutes.

2. Add all remaining ingredients except for the spices and cilantro. Cook for 20 minutes and medium heat.

3. Add spices and cilantro and simmer on low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes. The longer you cook, the better it tastes. The lentils get integrated with the soup and the spices take over.

I was pretty much drooling at this point.

My friend Jimmy was a little bit late but not much, and I was SO hungry. So I steamed a head of broccoli, tossed it in some fresh lemon juice and scarfed that down to prevent myself from eating the soup too early. lol Another bonus of this meal is that its a one pot meal! It can totally stand on its own because of the lentils and beans. AND there is no fat in there. Well just a tad, whatever minuscule amount is in the legumes. But I didn't fry anything in oil. Yah!

So there you have it folks!!! This soup was so good! It even satisfied a meat eater. And I mean a meat eater who is a butcher. LOL Now that's saying something! Right? I served it with some brown rice and buckwheat I had left over. And we covered it in sriracha. I couldn't remember if Jimmy likes spicy food so I kept it on the milder side. Well, what I consider mild. Lol that's been proven not to be so mild sometimes. Ooops.

Its International Women's Day today. I hope you are giving the women in your life some loving. Extra special attention I hope. Thanks for stopping by for a read. Maybe make this soup for a lovely lady in your life? She would love a home cooked meal. I can just tell. lol

Peace

xoxo

K

Japanese Noodle Soup

I decided to make a Japanese Noodle Soup last night with udon noodles BUT they were freezer burnt! Bah! And I didn't realize until it was too late. Sigh. Oh well, we improvised and used rice noodles. Worked just as well.

I made my own broth, which was light and tasty. It was also very easy to make. I accompanied our meal with homemade gomae again. You can get that recipe here. Kevin really liked the gomae. What's not to like? lol

Japanese Noodle Soup

Ingredients

6 cups water

5 shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 inch piece of ginger, chopped

Big piece of Kombu (a type of seaweed)

5 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp mirin

1 tsp agave nectar

2 carrots, sliced

2 handfuls snow peas

2 handfuls bean sprouts

1 sheet nori, shredded

1 pkg tofu puffs, each puff cut into 4

1/2 pkg enoki mushrooms

3 dried chili peppers

2 green onions, chopped

rice noodles

Directions:

1. Put the water, shitake mushrooms, ginger, kombu, soy sauce, mirin, agave nectar, carrots and chili peppers into a big pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Cook the rice noodles according to package. I didn't put a quantity because it depends on how much you want to eat. I did about 1/4 to 1/2 a package for 2 ppl and there was leftovers. I made enough soup and noodles for 3 actually.

3. After the 20 minutes add the snow peas, tofu puffs and enoki mushrooms. Taste the broth to see if you want to add more soy or sweetener. At this point it was good for me. Cook for 3 minutes.

4. Put the noodles in a bowl, add your soup then top with bean sprouts, green onions, and shredded nori and serve!!!

TIP: I used a full nori sheet, folded it a bunch of times breaking it until I had a size that I wanted then I cut it with scissors into strips. I didn't buy it the way you see in the picture below. Also, I would have used udon as they are traditional Japanese fare but mine were ruined! I'm not bitter at all. lol But rice noodles worked great.

Japanese Noodle Soup

Gomae

Yes, that is a heart shaped little plate thing. The bowls I wanted to use were being occupied and everything else was too big. Very romantical indeed. lol

VERY satisfying Japanese meal. But I'm not over it yet. I think I'm going to make Nikujaga soon. Not tonight because I'm not sure if my friend Jimmy will be into it. ALSO I've never made it vegan. Its a traditional Japanese dish of potatoes and beef with a sweet soy broth. I'm going to use TVP instead, so no idea how that will turn out but I'm super excited!!! Reminds me of my childhood. My Baba and Grandpa used to make it. I LOVE it. My Baba makes onishime for me quite often now that I'm vegan, its kinda similar but never made with meat.

I haven't had any beans in a while so I'm thinking I'll do a chickpea curry or maybe something Mexican. Hmmmm, I'll think about that while I work out.

The sun disappeared again. Sigh. It sure was lovely while it lasted. :)

Peace

xoxo

K

Onwards and Upwards!

Hey friends!!!

I'd also love to share with you some new ways to communicate with me. I've set up a Facebook page AND a twitter account! So come on over to FB and like the ish outta me then head over to twitter and follow. Do it! All the cool kids are! Lol

https://twitter.com/VegucatedinVan

AND

The Facebook name is Vegucated in Vancouver. Lets be friends!

You'll get the latest updates and some cool stuff I come across that I don't post on the blog.


ALSO, if you didn't already, vote for my little blog for the best food blog. There are lots of categories and you can choose up to 3. Nominate me! Then after I'm gonna hound you for actual votes. Thanks again!


Thanks my peeps!

Peace

xoxo

K

Homemade sushi and gomae

Just a quick request before I get started on the recipe but could you lovely friends PLEASE nominate me for a food blog award? I'd be sooooo grateful. Love you long time! xo Check out this site to do so.

I was feeling very Japanese-y last night and decided to make some sushi. Well I guess I always feel Japanese-y because I'm Japanese. Lol I'm a big fan of just regular ole sushi with sushi rice but being all healthy and ish I need to rock some brown rice sushi from time to time. I find brown rice to be a bit dry to I like to mix it with buckwheat to keep it moister and stickier.

Sushi is not very hard to make and its very versatile. Sometimes I'll roll up a cone with some left over fried rice, tofu, steamed leafy greens, curry, whatever I've got in the fridge. But I just wanted a veggie roll last night. But the fun part was that I made gomae for the first time!!! OMG so easy! and Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!! I seriously ate the entire thing. I used the full bunch of spinach. And ate it all. Oops. lol

I made a lot of extra brown rice/buckwheat. You by no means need to use all of this. Nor can you if you only make 2 rolls. Good part is you can use it the next day for more rolls or make a sushi bowl, or fried rice or whatever.

Brown rice and Buckwheat Sushi

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice

1 cup buckwheat

1/3 cucumber, sliced length wise

2 carrots, sliced length wise

Nori sheets

2 tbsp mirin

Sushi roller

Directions

Cook the brown rice and buckwheat separately and according to their packaging. Then combine together with the mirin. Put a piece of nori on the sushi roller, spread enough rice to cover half of the nori. Depending on how big you want your roll will decide on how much rice and/or fillings you want. I just put about 4-5 slices of each in it. Use the sushi roller to roll up the sushi. Tuck the fillings inside, but not your fingers! Use a little water to seal it if needed.

To cut, use a serrated knife. (PS I suck at this part. LOL)

TIP: cover your sushi roller in saran wrap so the rice doesn't get stuck in it.

Next up is that delicious pile of greens you see there called gomae. lol I know I've only made this once but I'm pretty sure mine is awesome! Like way better than what you get in the restaurants. I'm actually going to make this tonight cuz I'm still feeling very Japanese-y. But I think I'll make some udon noodles instead. Mmmmm

Gomae

Ingredients

1 bunch spinach

4 tsp sesame seeds (generous tsp's)

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp tamari (soy sauce, gluten free)

1/8 cup water

Directions:

If your sesame seeds are raw, then toast them in a dry pan. Toss a lot as you don't want them to burn. The roasting just brings out the flavour more. It'll take about 2-3 minutes but depends on your stove and pan. Puts the seeds in a food processor and process for about 30 seconds then add the remaining ingredients and pulse for another 30 seconds. Sauce, DONE.

Cut the stems off the spinach and rinse. Boil a big pot of water, once boiling drop all of the spinach into the water for about 20 seconds. LITERALLY!!! This is not a game folks. Don't walk away. Actually count it out then remove it right away and either plunge into cold water or run under cold water to stop the cooking process. This is called blanching. You heard it hear first! Lol

Once the spinach has been cooled, gently squeeze out the excess water. Try to squeeze it as much as you can without tearing it. Put 1/3 of spinach into a bowl and pour 1/3 of the sauce and mix. Then put another 1/3 of the spinach and another 1/3 of the sauce and so on. This will allow for all of the spinach to be coated evenly. I know we've all had gomae with not enough sauce.

The directions look long but its really not. I just wrote a story. Lol I just don't want anyone overcooking their spinach and having to eat a mushy gross gomae.

ALSO, I picked up some organic brown rice mochi last night and chopped it up and threw it under the broiler for 5 minutes. YUM. I love and miss mochi. Its made out of pulverized brown rice and water. It gets all puffed up and delish. I put a little garlic powder and soy sauce on mine then broil it. Then I dip it in Sriracha. Some ppl make waffles outta it but I don't have a waffle maker. Maybe I'll make a dessert one though. Yes, I must try that. A chocolate sauce and maple syrup. Mmmm

Baked Mochi

I was a Japanese eating machine last night!! Jeez. Well, I did earn it. I worked out like mad crazy. Ran for an hour outside. Almost got blown over by all the wind. Plus I worked out at the gym for over an hour, like an hour and half. What the? lol

Its SO gorgeous in Van today, Its time for a run!!! I love when it gets nice here. I can run outside again. Life is good.

PS you can buy wasabi at almost any grocery store in Vancouver. Personally I use the dry stuff and just mix it with a little water. Its also nice to throw into a salad dressing for an extra kick!

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Bandidas Taqueria

I have been dying to check out Bandidas Taqueria for quite some time. My friends over at The Vegan Project told me about this place when I first became vegan and I just FINALLY got over there on Saturday. Well am I ever glad I went. This place is AWESOME!!!! The vegan option is this great blend of organic tofu and butternut squash instead of eggs!!! Never have I seen that before. Not just a tofu scramble with no flavour.

I got 'The Breakfast' which is 'Free range eggs, pinto beans, roasted yams and potatoes, purple cabbage, and fresh salsa, served with cornbread with honey butter.' I made mine vegan and got the butternut squash and organic tofu, no honey butter and they threw in some of this apple salsa I think. It wasn't a tomato one, and it was fabulous!

The Breakfast

 How excited was I when I saw Daiya on top!!! Love it! Plus, omg I love beans. And beans like this for breaky is sooooooo yummy! I honestly loved everything about this breaky.

And of course, I smothered it with hot sauce. This was the mild dosage. I drowned it some more. I didn't ask, but I don't think they do sriracha. I guess cuz it is a Mexican restaurant. Lol I'll take any hot sauce though. Mmmmmm

My Aunt and Uncle were equally as satisfied with the place and we're DEF going back. I even took pics of their food. I don't always take pics of omnivore food. Not because I'm against it or anything, I'm just usually so fascinated with what's going on my own plate that I forget. But I should start, not everyone's a vegan. Lol

Birdy's

This is a new menu item and I was REALLY torn. I wanted it because it has hummus and KALE!!! But I don't like to get the same meal as someone else at the table cuz I wanna try and see as many items as I can. LOL This one had Free range eggs, kale, hummus, apple salsa, red cabbage, Mexican rice & two hand-made tortillas.`` I'm pretty sure I'll get this next time.....or the one below. I don't knooowwwww!

Benny

I`m not sure exactly which benny my aunt got. But the Benny`s here are not your average benny. They are topped with your choice of a salsa verde or a roasted red tomato salsa. Um, excuse meÉ Did you say your benny`s are topped with salsa. WTF. How did I NOT see that. I LOVE SALSA!! My Aunt LOVED it. She`s also a HUGE fan of butternut squash and pinto beans so she got those too. I love how they use yams as well as potatoes. I love how I`m saying love a lot in this post.......lol I think I might like it just a little.

Anyways, Omni`s, vegans and vegetarians fear not. We can still eat breakfast together. This place might be my new fave breakfast joint. Yup. It just might be. I`ll have to go one more time to make it official but its looking promising.

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Dharma Kitchen

Have you ever heard of Dharma Kitchen? Yah, neither have I. What a bad Vegan Vancouverite I am. But I guess in my defence it doesn't have a website. But this place is vegan Thai gold. My friend Lauren lives in Kits and has been wanting to try it for a while and since I'm vegan, well yah! She took me! Stoked cuz as you may or may not notice, I love eating. And I love trying new restaurants. Since I've gone vegan I'm trying to try as many vegan or vegan friendly restaurants as I can. Which is surprisingly a lot. I never really have a problem with it. The only problem is a lot of them aren't downtown and I don't drive. So that really hinders it for me.

Anyways, Dharma's Kitchen is in Kits and is this super cute, modern Thai style restaurant. What really impressed me wasn't the awesome food but the fact that they have tempeh on the menu. That is unusual. Typically the vegan protein is always just plain ole tofu. Which they have, and I love but its nice to have something else to choose from that isn't tofu. We got 3 items and shared. Family styles. My fave. It was very hard to choose as everything sounded so amazing.

Protein Salad

This had a tempeh steak on top that was to die for!!! I've never had tempeh like this before. Its usually softer and more beany but this was way more texturized, like a burger. Not like real meat but just that consistency. SO GOOD. The salad had romaine, grated beets (YUM), carrots, sprouts, sunflower seeds and this amazing dressing. I love salads and eat them pretty often, but this salad was awesome!

Red Curry Tofu

I'm a HUGE fan of curry. Any curry. Indian, Japanese or Thai. I could eat it every day. There are so many ways to make it. But a fave is Thai curry because of the coconut milk. It makes it so flavourful and creamy.  The tofu was firm and the sauce was tasty. I could def have had it a bit spicier, but that's what hot sauce is for. I hogged it all and got scolded. LOL As soon as he put the tiny little thing of hot sauce down, I was like we're gonna need more. I'm a hot sauce whore. lol

Green Goddess Brown Rice Bowl

This was a very cool dish. It had brown rice on the bottom, then a layer of mashed avocado, then nori (seaweed) strips then tofu, broccoli, spinach and ginger. It had a tahini sauce on it too. It was delish and green. I love green vegetables and usually dishes just have a couple, this was great because there was tons. Like how I cook! LOVE it!!! I also thought it was cool how they put the layer of mashed avocado and the nori sheets. I'm def gonna start that. Its like how Kevin and I stole the bed of spinach idea underneath our food from Foundation. Great idea.

SO all in all, I loved this place. They do not have a website and they do not advertise. They go on word of mouth so here I am spreading the good word. Check it out!!! Its seriously yummy. The menu is awesome. They also have a pretty good list of organic beers and wines. AND just an FYI the first Monday of every month they have a $7.50 dinner special. It would be a good date place too. Its got a great vibe and dim lighting. And doesn't have music blasting. Super cute. The owner was adorable, attentive and very sweet.

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: The Templeton

After a good night at the Canucks game on Thursday night, Dave and I were having a little bit of a rough go on Friday morning so we headed over to the Templeton for some eats to energize.  I like the Templeton. Its this little 50's style diner on Granville Street that has a menu that has some vegan options on it. Which is awesome for me cuz then I can eat something other than a fruit cup and my friends can get eggs.

The only problem with the Templeton is that its small. Lol I usually go on Saturday or Sunday morning and its packed! But they are pretty efficient and usually won't have to wait too long. Friday around noon was not all that busy. Thankfully. I needed my food ASAP. lol

I always get Huevos Rancheros. Every time. The only other item I've had there was the Vegan Chili at lunch and I tasted the lentil loaf with mushroom gravy. my friend Natasha got that many, many months ago. Maybe last year, but man was it good! I've never been able to recreate it. I've tried a many of times.

A little boozy. lol

I wore a Canucks T-Shirt and Dave wore a jersey and we both forgot to take our hoodies off. Lol. Ooops.

Huevos rancheros

I got veggie bacon for the first time. Nice addition but for me its not necessary. I like it and all but there's enough protein in a tofu scramble that I don't need the added protein from the bacon. After Mo.Le in Victoria, this is my fave huevos rancheros. PLUS they have hot sauce. 2 kinds. And one is sriracha. Nuff said.

I always dump the fresh salsa on top of the tofu scramble and then mix in the beans. Then douse it in hot sauce. LOL I should have taken a pic of the rosemary potatoes. Cuz they are effin delish at the Templeton. Dave got a Denver omelet. I forgot to take a pic. Oops. I was too busy with mine. lol

So if you need a good breaky and you're with some meat-eating friends, check out The Templeton on Granville St. Its also got a regular tofu scramble but I've never had that. They also have some vegan lunch/dinner options. DO IT.

Peace

xoxo

K