Thai Inspired Noodle Salad

Hello Spring Break...I finally have time to try out some new recipes. I saw this recipe on the Cooking Channel and put my own twist on it today. It was "crazy good" and took a lot of will power not to eat a second serving!! This was my first time to use daikon radishes; I should have sliced them a little thinner. Between teaching all day and raising teenagers at home, I have a tendency to be in a hurry and "rough chop". You could use any type noodles and combination of veggies; I chose to use Soba (buckwheat) noodles because of their flavor and health benefits.  

Ingredients:
8 oz Soba Noodles (buckwheat pasta)

Dressing:

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (We use fresh peanut butter from Basic Foods)

1 1/2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce 

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon safflower, grapeseed, or sunflower oil

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. honey (original recipe uses 1 tablespoon, but I didn't want my dressing that sweet)

1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (I LOVE Sriracha and added an extra squirt.)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 cloves of minced fresh garlic (original recipe doesn't call for garlic)

juice of 1 lime

Salad:
1/2 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh cilantro

3 chopped fresh basil leaves

4 chopped baby bella mushrooms (or white mushrooms)

1/2 -1 daikon radish,  julienned (Use regular radish if you can't get daikon.)

4 green onions, sliced thin

1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced (I used purple cabbage for color but any cabbage will work.)

1 red bell pepper, diced

Directions:

1) Cook the pasta until al dente (4-5 minutes if using Soba noodles.) Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.

2) Dressing: Place the peanut butter in a bowl and microwave a few seconds to soften. Whisk in the other dressing ingredients. 

3) Salad: Place  pasta in a large bowl and add the herbs and vegetables. Toss with the dressing.

This is my kind of meal!!! I really enjoyed the medley of flavors in this salad. The next time I make it (and there will definitely be a next time), I'll probably add shelled edamame for protein. 

Split Pea Soup

I think I've mentioned this before, but my husband is highly allergic to beans. Even cross contamination  in restaurants can cause a reaction. However, we discovered this year (by accident) that he's not allergic to lentils...go figure!! I'm already sick of lentils since we eat them about twice a week, so tonight I made homemade split pea soup (They look similar to lentils, right?) and he didn't have an allergic reaction to them. 

Ingredients:

2 cups dried split peas
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 chopped white or yellow onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
salt and black pepper to taste
1 or 2 pinch(es) red pepper flakes
2 pinches smoked paprika
1 or two pinch(es) thyme
6 cups hot water (or vegetable broth)
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1) Rinse and sort split peas.

2) In a Dutch oven, saute onions in olive oil.

3) Add all other ingredients.

4) Bring peas to a boil, cover, and reduce heat.

5) Simmer for 30-45 minutes until peas get soft.

6) Use a potato masher to break soup mixture down so that it's not quite as chunky.

7) Taste and add more salt, pepper, red pepper if needed. 

Serve with garlic bread. 

Healthier A-Z Bread

I discovered a recipe for A-Z bread in a recipe exchange at work this year. The recipe from Taste of Home is delicious, but I've put a healthier twist on it for my family. Changes I've made to the recipe are highlighted below.

• 2 cups palm sugar
• 1/2 cup safflower oil & 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 3  organic, cage free eggs, lightly beaten (or egg substitute if you're vegan)
• 2 cups A to Z ingredients (choose from list on above link)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup organic, unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups organic, whole wheat flour 
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon (The original recipe calls for 2 tsp. which is a little strong to me.)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts

The choices of A-Z ingredients and recipe directions are listed in the link above. Combinations we like include

• 1 banana, 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, 1 cup additional apple sauce, or
• 1 cup organic grated apple (I don't remove the peel) with 1 cup pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling), or
• 1 banana, 1 cup grated zucchini (I grate it with peel on), and 1/2 cup additional apple sauce. 

What are your favorite combinations? 

Chickpea Popcorn

School is finally out so I have time now to watch a few daytime shows that I like. On Dr. Oz's show this morning, he spotlighted a 7 Day Crash Diet, and while I don't agree on any type of crash diet, I did see some recipes I plan to try.

I usually crave salty, crunchy snacks around 3:00 p.m. so instead of reaching for a bag of chips this afternoon, I decided to try the chickpea popcorn recipe I saw on his show (with my twist of course.) Eat these while they're warm! They're  very addictive. I had to stop myself from eating the entire batch.

Ingredients:
1 can organic chickpeas (15 oz.)
1 tsp. garlic powder
small pinch of sea salt (Cr. Oz's recipe doesn't include salt, but it needs a little.)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
olive oil
(nutritional yeast if you want a cheesy flavor)

Directions:

1) Rinse and drain beans.
2) Place chickpeas in a bowl and season with the above ingredients. (Measurements don't have to be exact. I just sprinkle it all on.)
3) Spread chickpeas out on a baking sheet.
4) Bake for 30 - 45 minutes until crispy.
5) Optional: sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

Post Work Out Kale Salad

I try to eat a little protein when I get home from the gym, but that's not always easy since we started eating a plant based diet. I guess I was feeling extra energetic after our workout today and made us this nutritious salad with kale, edamame, brussel sprout leaves, and beets. It's hard to believe that my family just started eating kale a couple years ago. I'm not sure why, but now it's one of our favorite greens, so the foundation of this salad is shredded kale. My husband doesn't like brussel sprouts, but I've found if I peel the sprouts into individual leaves, the flavor isn't as strong, and he'll eat them. I added edamame for protein in this salad as well as raw beets and red cabbage for their antioxidant powers. The medley of these raw and roasted veggies was super! My husband even asked me if I'd make up another large batch that he could take it to work for lunch. This recipe makes two very large servings, so if you have leftovers, I'm sure it would be even better the next day after marinating overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients: (organic if possible)

1 bunch kale

1 medium sized beet

6 large brussel sprouts

3 green onions

1/4 head purple cabbage

1/2 bag frozen shelled edamame

1/2 bag frozen shittake (you could also use fresh)

extra virgin olive oil

apple cider vinegar

1 clove minced garlic

coarse sea salt

black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 T or more fresh parsley

Directions: 

1) Make your dressing first:

Whisk about 3 Tablespoons (or more) extra virgin olive oil with 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 T. fresh parsley, a pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Set aside. 

2) Place edamame and shittake mushrooms on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss. Roast at 425-450 degrees. (If you don't like raw beets, you could roast the beets at the same time with the edamame and mushrooms.)

3) While those are roasting, peel the leaves off your brussel sprouts and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside.

4) Wash your kale well. Remove the ribs and shred into small pieces. I use kitchen scissors to cut my kale. 

5) Stack the kale onto two plates. 

6) Keep an eye on your edamame and mushrooms. I didn't time them, but when they were almost done, I threw in the brussel sporut leaves with them for a couple minutes. Check often, because the brussel sprouts leaves will burn quickly! Remove from oven when done and set aside. 

7) Peel and chop your raw beet and place on top of kale. 

8) Shred about 1/4 head red cabbage and place on top of salad. 

9) Slice your green onions and sprinkle over salad. I use kitchen scissors to cut my onions which is faster for me. 

10) Drizzle dressing over the raw veggies in your salad. 

11) Finally, stack the roasted edamame, sprouts, and mushrooms on top of your salad, and drizzle with a little more extra virgin olive oil if you like. 

It was a little more time consuming than salads I normally make, but well worth the extra time it took to prepare. The next time I make it, I may top it off with some sunflower or pumpkin seeds for added protein. 

Homemade Kim Chi

Source: drbenkim.com via cclong on Pinterest

I started buying Kim Chi at the grocery store when I found out last year how healthy it's supposed to be. After paying $4 for a small jar that includes ingredients I don't care to eat like fish sauce and sugar, I was excited when I found this homemade, healthier option from Dr. Ben Kim. The changes I make to his recipe are as follows:

• 1 Tablespoon of red pepper (cayenne) mixed with water to form a paste instead of the Korean red pepper
• I leave out the yellow onion and just use grated pear and apple mixed with water.

I made my first batch with Napa cabbage, and it turned out perfect. I made my second batch tonight with bok choy instead (only because they didn't have any Napa cabbage today at the store.) I read a suggestion on another blog to save a little of the fermented Kim Chi as a starter for your next batch, so I'm going to try that next time.

Vegan Creamy Cole Slaw

Coleslaw doesn't exactly come to mind for a December side dish, but I had a couple heads of organic cabbage I needed to use up today so here's my twist on  Bobby Flay's Creamy Cole Slaw. 

• 1 small head organic green cabbage, finely shredded
• 1/2 head organic purple cabbage, finely shredded 
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced vertically
• 2 large organic carrots, shredded
• 3/4 cup Vegenaise mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 packet Stevia or other sweetner
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons celery salt
• freshly ground pepper (I like to use grill seasoning in place of black pepper such as McCormick Montreal Seasoning)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

Combine the shredded cabbage, carrots, and green onions in a large bowl. Whisk together the Vegenaise, sour cream, Stevia, vinegar, mustard, celery salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add to the cabbage mixture. Mix well to combine and taste for seasoning; add more spice if desired. Between the salt in the Vegenaise and the celery salt, I didn't need to add any more salt for our taste.

I served this with braised tempeh for lunch today.  My husband isn't a big cole slaw fan, but he ended up eating two servings. I imagine it will taste even better tomorrow after it's had time to marinate.

Wild Rice and Mushrooms

I love the earthiness of mushrooms. Add them to wild rice, and you have the perfect side dish for fall. We're a family of five, so I prepare large portions. If you're cooking for 2-3, I'd cut this recipe in half.

Ingredients
2 cups organic wild rice (It's less expensive to buy rice in the bulk bins at Basic Foods or Whole Foods.)
4 cups organic vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry red wine such as Merlot
2 cups or more sliced assorted mushrooms (I used Shiitake tonight.)
1 cup shallots or onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
olive oil
pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes

Directions:
1) Cook 2 c rice in 4 c vegetable broth (plus a splash of red wine if you like) in a rice cooker or pot for 40 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
2) Thinly slice mushrooms and shallots.
3) About 15 minutes before your rice is done, drizzle a little olive oil in a skillet and cook scallions and sliced mushrooms over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper. Saute 8-10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add 1/2 cup red wine and saute until liquid is absorbed, about 2-3 minutes.

4) Stir the mushroom mixture into rice and add parsley.

I served this with veggie kabobs that I cooked on our indoor grill.

 

<sup>As I count my many blessings this year, I'm grateful for my loving husband, our terrific kids, the love and support of our mothers and siblings, our extended families, the unconditional love of our Corgi puppies (Reveille and Bevo), our decision and the opportunity to live a healthier lifestyle, and the right to worship God in a free country. May God grant you and yours health and prosperity! 

Psalm 100 (NIV)</sup>

 ¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;

   come before him with joyful songs.

³ Know that the LORD is God.

   It is he who made us, and we are his;

   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Decadent Stuffed Mushrooms

I love this time of year! Cooler weather always gets me in the mood for the holidays. Tonight, I made my mom's decadent stuffed mushrooms, except I replaced the shrimp, crab, and butter with olive oil and spinach.



Ingredients:
15 large whole white mushrooms, brush dirt off and remove stems
olive oil
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
mushroom stems, chopped fine
2 cloves minced garlic
3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
salt and black pepper to taste
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese (or vegan cheese)
1/3 c. Panko bread crumbs (Look at the ingredients and choose one without hydrogenated oils or make your own bread crumbs)
a dash of Tony Chachere's creole seasoning or red pepper
dry white wine (I use Chardonnay) & more olive oil

Directions:
Drizzle olive oil in skillet on low heat, add mushroom stems and saute for 5 min. Add onions and garlic and saute a couple more minutes. Add spinach, salt, and peppers. Cook until spinach is wilted. Remove skillet from heat and stir in bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Overstuff mushrooms with the mixture. Mix equal parts of white wine and olive oil (about a half cup of each). Drizzle on top of stuffed mushrooms and bake in oven 20 min. at 350º.

Veganized Mimi's Cafe Corn Chowder

We love soup! Now that the weather has finally cooled down in Texas from one of our hottest and driest summers on record, I'm ready to whip up some chowders and soups for my family. I've mentioned before that two of my teens are picky eaters; one chowder we all like is the corn chowder at Mimi's Cafe. I hate that it's made with butter, white flour, and half-and-half though, so I used this recipe at food.com for Corn Chowder and veganized it. Topped with Shiitake Faux Bacon and chopped green onions, this chowder is sure to be a hit at your house this fall.

Ingredients: We always use organic vegetables when available.

• drizzle of olive oil  
• 1/2 yellow or white onion (chopped fine)
• 1 cup diced celery
• 5  cups hot water
• 8 cups cubed potatoes (about 3 large baking potatoes) chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 16 oz. bag frozen corn 
• 1 14 oz. can cream corn
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar or sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
• 2-3 dashes cayenne pepper (You could use white or black pepper if you don't like the spice of cayenne.)
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or flour)
• 3 cups non dairy milk such as soy or almond (If you eat dairy, then you could use half-and-half or evaporated milk instead of non-dairy milk.)

Directions:
1) Melt oil in large saucepan. Once melted add celery and onion and saute for 5 minutes (just until soft).
2) Add water, potatoes, corn, syrup, salt and pepper, making sure water covers everything, adding more if not covered completely. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, usually about 30 minutes.
3) Whisk arrowroot powder (or flour) into 1 cup of the non-dairy milk and then stir into soup.
4) Add remaining non-dairy milk and simmer until soup is thickened to a creamy consistency (usually about 15 minutes).
5) Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if wanted. If the chowder is too thick, add some milk, if it is too thin, simmer for 5-10 minutes more.
Note: Chowder will thicken upon standing

Kimchee (Kimchi) and Quinoa

 Craving something easy, salty and spicy for lunch this afternoon, I reheated some leftover quinoa (from yesterday's stuffed eggplants) and topped it with a little Korean super food, Kimchee. It was little party in my mouth! Kimchee is another first food for me this year. Beware, if you don't like cabbage or spicy flavors, you probably won't like this pickled condiment (No one in my family likes this dish except me.) I've only tasted one brand, Banyan Foods Kim Chee, which is the one sold at our local grocery store, HEB. I'll definitely be whipping this one up for myself again soon.

Quinoa & Sundried Tomato Stuffed Eggplant

My husband's Japanese eggplants have been very productive this summer, so this is the second stuffed eggplant recipe I've prepared this year. It was so good! I really like using quinoa in this recipe since it's a complete protein. The recipe I got my inspiration from calls for goat cheese....even when I was a meat eater, I hated goat cheese. I prepared these without the cheese, but you could add a little Parmesan if you're not vegan.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 small eggplants
• 2 cups cooked quinoa (I cook it in boxed organic vegetable broth for flavor.)
• 2 green onions, chopped thin
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c chopped sundried (in oil) tomatoes
• small bunch of flat leaf parsley and basil, chopped
• olive oil
• salt to taste
• a pinch of red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Slice eggplant in half vertically. Place eggplant in colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow eggplant to sit in salt for about 20 minutes for a firmer texture. 

3) Meanwhile, chop the sundried tomatoes, onion, garlic, and herbs.

4) Rinse and dry eggplant.
5) Score eggplant 1/4" from the edge.
6) Scoop out eggplant with a teaspoon.
7) Chop eggplant into small cubes. Place in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
8) Add cook quinoa, tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs to eggplant. Salt to taste and add a pinch of red pepper.
9) If you eat cheese, you may want to add about 1/4 c Parmesan to this mixture.
10) Lightly coat the back of each eggplant (skin) with olive oil and place on baking sheet.
11) Generously stuff each eggplant and drizzle with a little more olive oil if you want.
12) Bake for 30-35 minutes. 

Gluten Free Stovetop Mac and "Cheese"

My husband and I have been big meat eaters for 40+ years, but stopped eating meat back in February 2011. Since that time, hubby has lost 45 lbs. Weird, but I haven't lost a pound and remain between 128-130 lbs. which I guess isn't too bad for my height. I admit that there are certain dishes we really do miss....homemade mac n' cheese is one of those dishes. In previous years, I made decadent mac n' cheese with butter, white flour, breadcrumbs, milk, and cheese. I've seen quite a few vegan mac n' cheese recipes in vegan cookbooks that I've ordered and on food blogs, but haven't been brave enough to try one until tonight. Oh my gosh...I had no idea what I was missing. I combined some of the ingredients from Vegan on the Cheap and The Happy Herbivore cookbooks (Both of which I highly recommend.) I made my mac n' cheese gluten free since I'm experimenting with cutting out gluten for two weeks to see how it makes me feel.

1) Boil salted water, and cook 12 oz. brown rice spiral or elbow pasta according to directions. Be careful not to over cook. Drain and rinse with cold water. Return to the pot.
2) In the meantime, whisk together the following ingredients:

• 2 c non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk.)
• 1/2 c nutritional yeast
• 2 T yellow or white miso paste (I bought ours in the refrigerated section of Basic Foods.)
• 2 T arrowroot powder (You can use gluten free corn starch instead.)
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric 
• 1 tsp. mustard powder
• dash of red pepper and black (or white) pepper

3)  Heat sauce over medium. Stir frequently to avoid scorching on the bottom of your saucepan.
4) Pour sauce over drained pasta and toss.

I served this to my family with pan fried cabbage and tempeh "bacon" (recipe coming later), and there weren't any leftovers tonight.

Southwestern Soup

I adapted this recipe from a wonderful new cookbook I just purchased through Amazon by Robin Robertson, Vegan on the Cheap.
 
Organic Ingredients:
4 large or 5 medium homegrown tomatoes (or 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes if you don't have fresh)
1 small can Rotel tomatoes
1 1/5 cups frozen corn
1 medium chopped white, yellow, or purple onion
1 small chopped green bell pepper
2 15 oz. cans (rinsed and drained) blackeye peas, pinto beans, black beans, or a combination of these
3 cups vegetable broth

Seasonings to taste (If you want more than this, knock yourself out!)
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and fresh ground black pepper 

DIRECTIONS:
1) Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot and saute onion and bell pepper a few minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute.
2) Add fresh, chopped tomatoes and 1 can Rotel tomatoes to the soup pot.  Cook on med. about 15 minutes. If you're not using fresh tomatoes, just add a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes instead and the Rotel tomatoes at the same time as the following ingredients:
3) Add frozen corn, beans or peas, seasonings, and vegetable broth.
4) Simmer 20-30 minutes until flavors have married. Salt and pepper to taste.

I served this soup over Fritos and sprinkled nutritional yeast on top. A healthier choice would be to serve it over millet, quinoa, brown rice, or organic blue corn tortilla chips. I'm embarrassed to admit that my husband and I ate the entire pot by ourselves in less than 24 hours.

Fried Green Tomato BLT with Remoulade Sauce

I feel like the vegetarian version of Bubba from Forest Gump with all the tomato recipes I'm trying out this summer. This recipe may not exactly be healthy, but it's decadent and delicious!!

 Today for lunch, I veganized Bobby Flay's recipe for Fried Green Tomato BLT's and made my own version of a Remoulade sauce.

Fried Green Tomato Ingredients:
4 green tomatoes (Pick tomatoes when they are as large as a ripened tomato but haven't started turning pink yet. Core and slice about a 1/2 inch thick.)
2 T flax meal (optional)
1 1/2 cup corn meal (Measurement doesn't have to be exact)
1 cup brown rice (We try to avoid white flour, but you could use all purpose flour instead of rice flour.)
1 cup filtered water
safflower oil for frying (Don't use olive oil to fry your tomatoes.)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Slice tomatoes. Dry on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2) Mix rice flour and water together in a bowl.
3) Mix flax and corn meals in a separate bowl or plate.

4) Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet (preferably cast iron)
5) Dredge tomato slices in rice/water mixture.
6) Dip both sides of tomato in corn/flax meal mixture and press to make sure the breading sticks.

7) Fry in batches of 4-5 slices about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

8) Assemble tomatoes, vegan bacon (I make my own from Shiitake mushrooms), dark leaf lettuce, and remoulade sauce on sprouted whole grain bread such as Genesis bread.

I'm not a big sandwich eater like my husband, so I eat my BLT (with extra sauce of course) on a bed of lettuce instead.

Vegan Remoulade Ingredients
Whisk the following ingredients together:
1 cup Veganaise
1 T Dijon mustard
1/4 cup or small handful of fresh chopped parsley
1 T horseradish
juice of half a lemon
1 chopped green onion (white and green parts)
1 clove garlic, minced (or powdered garlic)
couple dashes of Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. cajun seasoning such as Tony's or Slap Ya Mama
1 T chopped dill pickle
1 tsp ketchup
salt and black pepper (fresh ground is always best) to taste
**Most remoulade recipes also include capers, but we don't care for them so I leave them out.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

My husband got a little carried away planting four different varieties of tomatoes this year, and now we have an abundance of tomatoes in our organic garden!! We've given a lot of them away to neighbors and friends, but they're still coming "out of our ears!" We don't have a stand up freezer, and I don't know how to can yet, so I'm trying to come up with recipes to use up this bumper crop before they ruin. Yesterday, I made a platter of yummy vegan fried green tomatoes and a large batch of fresh salsa. Today, I made marinara sauce that I adapted from several different recipes I found on the Internet. I served this sauce over pumpkin raviolis.

Ingredients - organic of course
olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
5-6 chopped fresh tomatoes, with the juices
1/4-1/2 cup dry red wine (I used Natura Organic Carmenere that I found at our local HEB grocery store)
pinch of dried red pepper flakes
1/8 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
1/8 cup or small handful fresh chopped basil
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 envelope Tree of Life stevia (optional)

Directions:
Drizzle about 2 T olive oil in a large pot and heat over medium. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minute. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. Add all seasonings except basil and parsley (if you're using dried, you can go ahead and add them now) and lower heat. Simmer for at least an hour mashing the tomatoes with a potato masher so the sauce will be less chunky.

Stir in the chopped parsley and basil. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Sauce will keep up to a week in the refrigerator. Garnish with Parmesan if you eat cheese or nutritional yeast.

Southern Style Crowder Peas and Cornbread

It's that time of the year in the south where we love eating our peas, okra, and tomatoes out of the garden! In the past, I always added lots of bacon and sometimes ham hock to peas just like my grandmother taught me. No more bacon or ham for our family! Today, I cooked up a pot of animal free peas, vegan cornbread, and vegan fried green tomatoes. Yummy!

Ingredients (organic if possible)
32 oz. fresh crowder or purple hull peas (frozen work fine if you don't grow them and can't find them at a farmer's market)
2 med. tomatoes - chopped (preferably home grown)
1 small green bell pepper - chopped
1/3 of a white, yellow, or purple onion - chopped
5 okra pods, sliced thin (or about a half cup of frozen sliced okra)
salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and a few red pepper flakes to taste
32 fl. oz. organic vegetable broth
seasoning mixture such as Mrs. Dash

Directions:
In a large pot, add vegetable broth, peas, and enough water to cover peas about an inch above them. I add the vegetables directly to the pot instead of sauteing them first, but you can saute the okra, tomatoes, and onions first in a little olive oil if you prefer. (I think most people like to eat their okra, onions, and tomatoes separate from their peas, but I just throw a little directly into our peas.) Season with salt, garlic powder, black and red pepper, and seasoning blend. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med/low, and simmer 40-45 minutes or until peas are tender. This is excellent served over vegan cornbread with vegan fried green tomatoes (recipe coming soon.)

I tweaked this cornbread recipe found on the Post Punk Kitchen Blog. I used rice flour instead of white flour, almond milk instead of soy, safflower oil instead of canola, and added an extra tablespoon of maple syrup. It's certainly not my grandma's cornbread, but it was still good.

Cornbread Ingredients:
2 cups organic cornmeal
1 cup organic brown rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup safflower oil
3 T maple syrup
2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Coat a large iron skillet with an oil that safe in high temperatures such as safflower oil. Preheat your skillet in a 350 degree F. oven while your mixing the cornbread. In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together: almond milk,vinegar, syrup, oil and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: cornmeal, rice flour, baking powder and salt. Pour the wet ingredient into the dry and mix. Carefully, take preheated skillet out of the oven, and pour batter into it. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice and serve with peas spooned on top.

Stuffed Eggplant

We planted eggplant for the first time this year in our organic garden, so I've been trying out new recipes this summer. I found this recipe for grilled stuffed eggplant at Rodale.com and "veganized" it for lunch today.

INGREDIENTS:
4 small eggplants
1/8 c. nutritional yeast
1/4 c. Daiya mozzarella vegan cheese
1/4 c chopped white or yellow onion
1/4 c Panko bread crumbs (check the label and make sure there are no hydrogenated oils in it)
4 cloves minced garlic
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
a few red pepper flakes
1 chopped organic tomato - Or, three Roma tomatoes (I removed most of the seeds and juice before chopping)
Shiitake "bacon" (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Slice eggplant in half.
2) Salt eggplant and allow to drain in a colander for about 10-15 minutes.
3) In the meantime, place the other ingredients in a mixing bowl.
4) Wash and dry eggplant.
5) Cut a grid of 1/2" squares in each of the eggplant halves and use a spoon to remove the flesh. Be careful not to cut through the skin.
6) Add all of the eggplant flesh (except one eggplant half that you can save for something else) to the cheese/breadcrumb mixture.
7) Place eggplant in a baking dish and stuff with the mixture.
8) Drizzle with olive oil.
9) The Rodale version of the recipe calls for you to cook the stuffed eggplant in a foil baking pan outside on the grill, but I baked ours at 400 for 20 minutes in the oven.

Pineapple Salsa

Tomato salsa on organic tortilla chips is still my favorite snack, but this pineapple salsa (adapted from Cooking Light magazine) is a refreshing change.

Combine the following ingredients:

1 fresh pineapple chopped (I sliced and grilled the pineapple first, but you don't have to grill it for this salsa)
about 1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 handful chopped fresh cilantro
1 T fresh lime juice
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin

Serve on organic chips.