Orange You Tofu?

Orange glazed tofu with asian broccolini stirfry and rice noodle. The end.

Summer, I love thee.

Lately the weather has been extremely beautiful. Well, some would say it has been hot, I say 90 is my favorite temperature. A wave of nostalgia washes over me at the beginning of every summer. I just get these memories of grilling for the family, eating fruit salads, and having strawberry shortcake for dessert. Of course, all of this while sitting under an umbrella with my cat lazily sprawled out on the patio. I never cared about the juxtaposition of a relaxed, privileged dinner in the middle of urban streets of Kansas City. I love to try to recreate this feeling as much as possible. I have really lamented the disappearance of grilled foods. I grew up on grilled shrimp, KC strip steaks, pork tenderloins, and potatoes, charred to crispy deliciousness. Ever since I became a vegan and the desire to have that charred taste back in my mouth as the summer heat waves starts to creep upon us, I have tried to resurrect the tastes and feeling of my upbringing. So, I came up with a meal that is just the start. It combined a refreshing crunch with an herbaceous fruitiness along side a charred, almost-meaty flavor. It sufficed the craving that has been haunting me since the weather took a turn for the better.

What is this meal you may ask. Well, it was a pineapple jicama salad with a coconut lime dressing. Now, it may sound sweet, but it is really a perfect balance between sweet and savory. The jicama created a savory balance to the pineapple. The dressing in and of itself was a harmonious balance between the two tastes. Coconut milk is kind of sweet and coupled with the lime juice, a sweet flavor was created. The balancing flavors came from the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro and salt. The salad was walking the line of perfect. And don't forget, super healthy too. Raw vegan salad that could satisfy anyone.

The wrap was simple. Tamarind and sesame-marinated mushrooms were charred on an indoor cast iron skillet. It caramelized the the sugars in the tamarind and the added agave to create that smokey flavor that was accentuated by the tamari. The mushrooms acted as a meat analogue and satisfied its role as well. Just add some carrots, red bell peppers, and arugula all wrapped in a multi-grain tortilla and you have a delicious wrap.

This meal was able to satisfy the two things that I wanted: a refreshing salad and a charred flavor. This meal was full of flavor, vitamins and minerals, and was practically fat free. And you might be wondering, what's for dessert? Chia almond pudding with walnut cranberry goji berry topping. It too is raw vegan packed full of some of the most amazing nutrients: omega fatty acids, antioxidants, essential minerals, anti-inflammatories , amino acids, cartinoids, and many other micronutrients. It turns out to be a lot like tapioca pudding with many more health benefits.


I hope you enjoyed. I know I did. ;)

Eating Fud

The pictures say it all....

Organic Sunset: Apples, Carrots, Beets, and Greens

Jack Phish Nachos

Jack Phish Chalupa with side salad

Bread Pudding

*These dishes are from Fud, an all-vegan organic dive, in downtown KCMO.

Pizza Mia

A fairly simple recipe that finally satisfied that craving for pizza after weeks and weeks of complaining. It has a lot of parts, none of them complicated, but it is super simple to make after you combine them. It is a great balance of sweet, salty, savory, crunchy, chewy, doughy and saucy. I'm not going to say more, but make it for yourself. (Note: this makes two pizzas; I just like the recipe math easier.) 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Crust:

• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp (2 packets) rapid yeast
• 1 tsp sugar, agave, honey
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning

BBQ Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp liquid smoke
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder

BBQ Chicken

• 1 pkg seitan "chicken style"
• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup corn starch
• salt
• grill seasoning
• oil, frying

Garlic Bechamel Sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp flour 
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (soy)
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 chopped parsley

Crispy Onions

• 1 yellow onion, slice extremely thin
• 1/4 flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch 
• oil, frying

Garnish:

• diced scallions
• raisins 
• extra BBQ sauce

Method:

1. Make the pizza crust by mixing the water, sugar and yeast. Do not mix salt in yet, it will kill the yeast. After the mixture has become frothy, whisk in oil and salt. Add to the flour and italian seasoning. Mix until pulls away from sides. Throw onto a cutting board and knead with flour until elastic and smooth. Cover in oil and place in a bowl. Let raise while preparing other ingredients.
2. Make the BBQ sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Make the BBQ chicken by draining the seitan and patting it dry. Then toss in the flour, cornstarch, and spices mixture. Deep fry until crispy. Then toss in the BBQ sauce. Place on a baking sheet and bake on 425 for 8 minutes or until caramelized. 
4. While the BBQ chicken is baking, make the béchamel sauce. In a pot, melt the butter and saute the garlic. Then add the flour and cornstarch. Cook for a couple of minutes until browned. Then slowly add the liquids, whisking well, until thickened. Once thickened, turn off heat, and add the parsley.
5. Place the pizza dough on a greased pizza pan. Throw in a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes. Then place the béchamel sauce and BBQ chicken. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. While baking, fry the onions by tossing them in the flour and cornstarch mixture and placing them in oil.
7. After 15 minutes, top with the onions and cook for 5 more minutes.
8. Once out of the onion, throw on raisins and green onions. Add more BBQ sauce if desired.
9. Enjoy!

It is definitely a lot of steps and can take awhile, but it is totally worth it for a really flavorful, fairly, healthy vegan pizza.

ENJOY!

Nouveau Vegan Colombian Food...huh?

Pulpusa con tofu y ensalada citrica con chile verde crema

A picture says a thousand words. In this case, it doesn't even come close to the deliciousness. In all seriousness, the best thing I've made all year. It is an pulpusa (thick corn tortilla) topped with a green chile sour cream topped with fried lime tofu and a chipotle citrus slaw. I think I was most addicted to the crema. I will provide it below. The crema with the sweet corn pulpusa was so good. The citrusy, crunch salad created texture and a bit of flavor. The orange juice and chipotle played well together and added just the right of amount of picante flavor. I just thought I would update really quickly. I hope you ate as much as me! 

Chile Verde Crema

1/2 cup toffuti sour cream

1 small can green chiles

3 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1/8 cup tomatillo salsa

1 lime, juice

salt, to taste

Whisk together. Serve. THAT EASY. THAT TASTEY!

ENJOY!

My mom would be proud...

I made my weekly meal today. It is an original recipe, but for some reason, I feel like someone would have come up with this a long time ago. Nevertheless, I made whole wheat farfalle pasta with chipotle sausage in a pumpkin cream sauce. It was so simple to make. I sauteed vegan sausage with chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and garlic. I then added a can of pumpkin puree, light coconut milk, paprika, a touch of cinnamon, and a dash of ancho chile powder. Let that reduce, add the pasta with some salt and pepper to taste. Tah dah! It was delicious. Full of protein, healthy fats, and full of vitamins A, C, K, and beta carotene! Also, because I am crazy (and I actually like them) I added a side of oven roasted brussel sprouts. Tossed lightly in oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. It added a tangy counterpart to the creamy pasta. Also, you always need a vegetable! Plus, brussel sprouts have a bad rep; they have tons of vitamin C and B and even some protein! Like broccoli and other cruciferous veggies, it contains anti-cancer properties. So, please eat your brussel sprouts!

Of course I had to have dessert! I made a quick raw vegan dessert. It is strawberry creme pie!! First, I needed to make the crust. Simply, this is a half cup of walnuts and another half cup of pecans. I pulsed this with a teaspoon of orange zest. Once the nuts reached a course texture, I slowly added 1/3 cup of raisins. Processed that until a sticky crust was formed. I placed the crust in a muffin tin to make the cups and put in the freezer to let set up. In order to make the filling, I added one cup of cashews to the food processor. This must be a FINE powder. We are trying to make a cream and we don't want any pieces of nuts. Once the cashews reach a fine powder consistency, add a pint of chopped strawberries. This will create a thick paste. Then slowly add the juice of one orange with a dash of vanilla. Once rich and creamy, add two tablespoons of agave or honey. Finally, slowly drizzle in two to three tablespoons of melted coconut oil. This should result in a very smooth and creamy filling. Place two spoonfuls in the prepared nut cups. Place in freezer until set. Serve with some left over chopped strawberries!

This was so good! I wanted to eat three. And really, that is the best part. Although this is raw vegan and has little to no sugar and is packed full of fruit, it is high in fat. Albeit good fats, it still can be kind of damaging to that summertime waistline. So, the small portions are GREAT! This was a perfect end to a filling meal and added the acidic fruity finish to a heavy meal. This dessert has a ton of protein, thiamine, folate, manganese, omega-3 and -6 acids, vitamin C, and have anti-inflammatory properties.

Until next week, I hope you enjoyed this post!!!

Emaciated to Plump: A Long Wait

I apologize for starving everyone of any new recipe or update of any kind for a couple months. My life has been beyond busy and hectic. I have had no time to blog let alone cook a meal! But wait no more, as I have a great meal that will fill your desires!

The meal (left) is a recipe that I just thought of one day (when I was hungry, of course). It started with the wild rice salad to the right. It is a Wild Rice and Blueberry salad (recipe fallows). I love the idea of sweet and savory. While flipping through several raw vegan blogs, many sprouted wild rice dishes kept popping up everywhere. I wanted to take my spin on it....and this was the result. The mild sweetness juxtaposed with the saltiness from the rice, almonds, and the savory mild onion flavor from the spring onions balance perfectly on the tongue---no flavor taking over another. It was perfect. I wanted to play with textures as well and the almonds added the subtle crunch that my palate craved. It is one of the best salads that I have made.

After this salad recipe formulated in my head, I was trying to think of a way to incorporate it into a meal. Granted, it could be a meal in itself, but I wanted something more substantial to fuel my over-exercised body. It did not want tofu, seiten, tempeh, or really anything made out of beans. After searching through all of my mental culinary encyclopedias and recipe books, I thought that potato cakes would go well with it. They are blank canvases that can be flavored in anyway to match the meal. They have a bit of crunch with a soft interior. I thought it was perfect. Plus they're filling! However, my mental recipe alarm went off telling me that that would be too startchy and oily in order to be satisfied. Of course I knew the solution to this: add an acidic sauce. This cuts through the grease and starch and revitalizes the palate. Luckily I had some red bell peppers that were starting to turn bad and I wanted to charbroil them anyway. What was this taste bud-awakening sauce? A lemony roasted red bell pepper chipotle sauce! Not only did it add the needed acid, but it added some spice, which also revitalizes the grease-laden taste buds and give them a jolt of spiciness.

Overall, this was a great, original meal to start off my long hiatus of not cooking. But, now I must go to the gym in order to prevent those carbs from turning into fat. The recipe for the wild rice salad follows. Enjoy!!

Wild Rice and Blueberry Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wild rice, uncooked
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1/2 cup wild blueberries, thawed and drained
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup spring onions, sliced
• 1/2 tsp raw honey, raw agave, maple syrup, or brown rice syrup (any liquid sweetener)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Method

1. In a rice cooker (or follow package directions), place wild rice and water. Cook until rice cooker is done.
2. Chill the wild rice.
3. Then add the remaining ingredients until well combined.

ITS THAT SIMPLE!!!!

I hope you enjoy. Also, you can make this version raw by just sprouting the wild rice for about 2 days. I wasn't that patient.