recipe

Monday, Day 8

/ Brienna / 1 Comment

I made green curry!

Here are some photos…

I’m not much of a recipe person, so I didn’t really measure anything except where noted below.

Here’s a rough recipe:

  • Press tofu then fry with a small amount of oil (I used avocado oil)
  • Toss the tofu with the dry spices (this is the only thing I measured — 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp curry power) and some coconut aminos after frying and then set aside
  • Sauté the chili pepper, garlic, shallots, and ginger until soft
  • Add broccoli, potatoes, coconut milk (I used two cans, use less if you like it less saucy), salt and pepper, green curry paste (I used the whole jar) and a dash or two of coconut aminos
  • Simmer for 10 minutes
  • Add tofu and bell peppers and a squeeze or two of lime juice to taste
  • Simmer another 10 minutes or until veggies are tender
  • Adjust salt, lime, coconut aminos, and spiciness (you can add cayenne or sriracha if needed) to taste
  • Top with cashews and serve with rice!

how to make a salad that’s not boring

/ Brienna / Leave a comment

Here’s my handy guide to salad making.

IMG_2523Base – start with a nice, tasty green base

examples: spinach, baby kale, mix greens, spring mix, but PLEASE not iceberg!

Fruit – I love fruit in my salads

examples: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or apple slices are some of my favorites

Protein – for me, a salad is not complete with some protein

examples: marinated tofu, white beans, chickpeas, black beans

Seeds or nuts – my version of croutons 🙂

examples: sesame seeds, pistachios, candied walnuts, sunflower seeds

Spice it up! – If you like a little kick, add some!

examples: shallots, red onion, garlic

Other – other fun things to add

examples: quinoa, cauliflower rice, corn, grape tomatoes, radish

Avocado – goes with any salad if you ask me!

Dressing – there’s so many choices, my personal favorite is olive oil and pineapple white balsamic vinegar

Today’s salad (pictured above):

  • baby kale
  • sliced strawberries
  • white beans
  • shallots
  • sprouted sunflower seeds
  • green tahini dressing

asparagus, tomato and garlic pasta

/ Brienna / 1 Comment

My husband and I both love pasta, but I try to not make it too often. While delicious, it’s high in carbs and always seems better with cheese.  David loves a traditional marinara sauce, but I find that gets boring quickly.

Now, with this recipe, I have found that a vegan pasta dish can be just as delicious without the cheese or a thick marinara sauce.  And, it’s super easy to make, and only takes about as long as the time to boil the water and cook the pasta!

asparagus, tomato and garlic pasta

asparagus, tomato and garlic pasta

Ingredients

  • Linguine or noodle of your choice, enough for 2
  • 5-6 oz cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 3-6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • nutritional yeast

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees and set water to boil for the pasta
  2. Trim asparagus, add to a small glass casserole dish, along with tomatoes
  3. Toss with balsamic vinegar, sugar, and olive oil (enough to coat), place in oven
  4. Add the garlic to the dish in the oven when the water boils (assuming 8-9 minutes to cook pasta)
  5. When pasta is done, remove veggies from oven, add to drained pasta, toss, and sprinkle with nutritional yeast to taste.

If you like balsamic vinegar, you can probably increase the amount and/or decrease the sugar/oil. David is not a fan of vinegar, and he finds this recipe tolerable. If it were just for me, I would probably double or triple the vinegar and use little/no oil.

African Peanut Soup

/ Brienna / 3 Comments

I found a recipe for african peanut soup by accident many years ago, and apart from the fact that it’s veggies, tomato, and peanuts, I don’t know how much of the original recipe is still here. Of course, I think it’s delicious the way I make it, but feel free to experiment.

This is one of all my all time favorite soups, and it’s extremely adaptable. My husband told me tonight that it’s almost as good as Kraft Mac ‘n cheese. That’s huge, because he loves his Kraft Dinner (which I don’t buy because I buy almost exclusively vegan).

african peanut soup

African Peanut Soup
serves 6 – 8

Ingredients

  • carrots (1-3)
  • celery (3-4 stalks)
  • yellow onion (red or white will work too)
  • bell pepper
  • garlic (to taste, I like about 6-8 cloves)
  • petite diced tomatoes (28 oz can)
  • kale or other greens (2-3 loose cups)
  • peanut butter (1/2 c natural, chunky)
  • peanuts (handful)
  • salt
  • pepper
  • cayenne pepper or Parma! Chipotle (fresh minced serrano or jalapeño peppers would work too)
  • cilantro or parsley to garnish

Directions

  • Chop all the veggies and the garlic. I do a rough chop, but you can go smaller for a less chunky soup
  • Sauté the celery, carrots, onion, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil. Just until the onion is soft is enough, because it will all cook more as we make the soup
  • Add the canned tomatoes, including all the liquid
  • I add my salt and pepper now, and the cayenne/Parma!  Roughly 1/2 tsp of salt and about 1 tsp pepper, and spice as you like
  • Simmer for about 5 minutes
  • Add peanut butter and 1-2 cups water, stir thoroughly
  • Cover and simmer another 5-10 minutes
  • Add in the kale and simmer (covered) until kale is tender, about 5 minutes (you may need to add more water here, it can get really thick if you started with 1 cup of water.  You can always add more later too)
  • Add peanuts and add spice/salt to taste

You can use really any veggies that you like in this soup. I almost always use carrots and onions, but generally whatever I have on hand. Tonight was the first time I added leafy greens, and it really worked well. You can make less by using a smaller can of tomatoes of tomatoes and less of everything else. I don’t really measure, I just eye ball it. You want about 1:1 ratio of tomatoes to other veggies not including the leafy greens, as those will cook down dramatically.

Here’s what my cutting board looked like before I put everything in the pot (garlic not shown, sorry)! I only had one carrot, otherwise I would have used more carrot and probably less celery.

photo 1

And here’s what it looks like with everything added.  It looked OK in the pot, but once I served it, I realized it was too thick, and I added hot water to thin it out.african peanut soup

Other ideas:

  • chili powder in place of cayenne
  • coconut milk or soy creamer in place of water
  • vegetable stock in place of water
  • potatoes, sweet potatoes
  • blended
  • add soy sauce or tamari in place of some of the salt