Farmers Market Quinoa Salad - Vegan MoFo 2013

This was a dish made of a lot of fresh herbs and veggies from the farmers market, along with some quinoa. The veggies included: cucumbers, kale, peas, as well as mint and basil. The quinoa also had some olive oil in it. I added sliced almonds and some nooch at the end.

Great stuff!

Tofu with Chimichurri Sauce - Vegan Mofo 2013

I am obsessed with watching food competition shows - or really, any food television show at all. It helps me become inspired, even when watching people cook non-vegan food. This dish did not come from any particular show or dish, but it was definitely a great experiment.
The veggies were the least impressive feat - just some simple steam-bag frozen veggies.

The starch used here isTrader Joe's Harvest Medley, which contains Israeli cous cous, red quinoa, split garbanzos, red and green orzo. REALLY simple to cook - boil water/broth, add some of this mix, bring to boil again, then simmer (covered) for 10 mins.
For the tofu: I drained a 16 oz block of (I think ) extra firm tofu, then sliced into rectangles of a size I felt was manageable, then baked them for about...30?...minutes at 350F. I then pan-fried them in coconut oil until they reached my desired crispiness.
The chimichurri-like sauce was the crown jewel of this dish. At first, I was just blending 4-5 Thai Bird's Eye peppers with 3-4 cloves of garlic with an idea to make some hot sauce. Then, I decided to add the rest of the fresh parsley I had on hand as well as the juice of a small lemon. The mixture was not balanced at all, so I added a dash of avocado oil, a little hunk of cucumber, and some coriander chutney (one of my all time favorite condiments to keep on hand). It evened out nicely sorry, MAGNIFICENTLY. Seriously, it was an awesome sauce that I want more more more of.

Delivered Dish of the Week - Vegan Mofo 2013

Over the summer my office started to get delivered lunches from One Dish At A Time, chef Tracy Yue's Delivered Dish of the Week service. She produces a menu about 4-6 weeks ahead of time of. Two choices each week to get in either quart or pint deli container sizes. Always vegan options, most also gluten-free and/or paleo, among other things. I have really enjoyed getting these, and plan on getting them throughout September and will feature what I get throughout Vegan Mofo.

This week: a Quinoa Kale Salad in Horseradish Vinaigrette and a Roast Beet & Cabbage Salad with Tahini Dressing.

The verdict: great! Scratch that, the beet dish was FANTASTIC, the other dish was still great!
I ordered one quart of each which for me resulted in enough food for two lunches. The photo truly does not do it justice.

Okra & Legumes with Berbere Spice Mix

I'm back! As all times when I have long absences from the old food blog, I hope to post more often. I signed up for a CSA recently so I look forward to summer when I will get tons of fresh veggies and lots of inspiration for cooking!

So about that food pictured above...Berbere is an Ethiopian spice mixture that is made of things like fenugreek, chili peppers, clove, paprika, coriander, cardamom, etc. Some folks make the blend themselves. I'm lucky enough to have African markets near where I live, so I just picked up a small container of the spice mix the other day.

I am a huge fan of
Ethiopian food, so I was excited to use the flavors in other dishes.

I decided to make some lentils (or split peas? I can't remember which these were) and cook them in a bunch of berbere. I started with onion, garlic, ginger, oil, salt, and added berbere and dry legumes. Added water and a small can of seasoned tomatoes, brought everything to a boil and then simmered until the legumes were at a tenderness I liked. I added some frozen okra and cooked until it was done.

While this was cooking, I made some quinoa: 2 parts veggie broth to one part quinoa. Bring everything to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 mins.

Okra, Tomato & Potato Curry [Vegan Mofo]

Vegan Mofo, Day 4!

So this is what I whipped up for dinner tonight, with delicious results!

A stew/curry of tomatoes, potatoes, okra, quinoa, curry powder, onions, garlic, spicy Rotel for more tomato-y goodness.

I didn't measure anything, really. This was an experiment to work on something in the future. I think that this is a great example of why I don't blog all my food. I feel bad if I don't write down a full recipe and measure everything, etc. By the time I even start thinking about that, I give up on considering blogging and just eat some food! So this is a great push to keep posting about food, recipe or not.

Chik'n Strips with Edamame Vegetable Blend and Quinoa

A simple meal, with Morningstar Chik'n Strips, a steamer bag of frozen veggies (Mukimame Vegetable Blend from Target) and quinoa.

Smoky Beans with Quinoa and Corn

A spin on one of my favorites, Smoky Beans and Rice, this time with quinoa and kidney beans rather than black beans and rice. Any bean will do, as would any grain. I added corn to this one for something extra.

I made a TON of quinoa and have been using it for everything: beans and quinoa, broccoli and quinoa, quinoa as hot cereal in the morning with soymilk and dried or fresh fruit.

I sauteed onion and garlic first and in another pan heated veggie broth. Then I added two cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed, to the onions and garlic. I added in frozen corn and just when it was getting un-frozen, I added a ton of quinoa to the ratio I preferred, and mixed everything. A few drops of liquid smoke, another big stir, and then added some veggie broth and allowed it to simmer until the broth was absorbed by the beans and quinoa. The liquid will absorb more after cooking, so keep that in mind.

Quinoa, Broccoli, Potato and Tofu with Curry Sauce

This was dinner for today.

I boiled some russet potatoes that I cut up into smaller pieces to cook faster, and while those cooked I made some quinoa and marinated tofu that I cut into cubes. I marinated in a sauce I made: soy sauce, dijon mustard, hoisin sauce, pickle juice, hot sauce. I then sauteed onions and garlic until soft, then set aside and started to pan-fry the tofu cubes.

At this point I started steaming the broccoli.

The quinoa was about done, as were the potatoes. I put potatoes aside, and then boiled water to dissolve a bouillon cube and curry paste in for the "sauce".

After the tofu was done to my liking, I set it aside, rinsed the pan out and then started to reheat the onions and garlic. Once it was getting hot, I added the potatoes, quinoa and broccoli, then stirred everything together. I added the curry sauce and heated until some of the liquid absorbed into the potatoes and quinoa.

I served in bowls with the tofu on top, a few shakes of sesame seeds to finish it off.

Black Bean Burger Experiment Number One

This is my first time maing a veggie burger from scratch. It was tasty, but didn't hold together very well.

My recipe, made up:

386g black beans, drained and rinsed (I used one 25oz can, drained and rinsed)
83g onion, small dice
1 clove (7g) garlic, minced
2 jalapenos
1/2c hydrated TVP
1/4c salsa
1/2c frozen corn
3/4c cooked quinoa

spices:
taco seasoning, cumin, salt, pepper


1. hydrate the TVP in veggie broth or other flavorful broth.
2. Mash the can of drained beans in a bowl with a masher or fork or hands.
3. sautee onion, add cumin (1/2t?)
4. once onions start to brown, add garlic and salsa and frozen corn
5. after a minute or so, add TVP, mix thoroughly, add some taco seasoning and a little liquid. I only added a tiny bit of taco seasoning, and this recipe probably doesn't need any at all.
6. once mixture is thoroughly seasoned, turn off heat and add to bowl of beans.
7. mash/mix everything together.
8. add 3/4c quinoa, mix until it seems like a lot of the liquid is absorbed.
9. with a 1/3c as a scoop, make patties. Using the 1/3 measurement cup, you should get about 8 patties.
10. Fry up the patties, freeze the leftovers. Serve either on a bun or with chips and salsa, garnished with cilantro.

So....yeah, we'll see how they turn out after they have been frozen for a while. Maybe then they will stay together better. Or, I can just go back to the drawing board on this one.

Still tasty....here's one without chips:

Curried Broccoli with Carrots, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa

I usually make this with cauliflower and will again in the future. Not that this dish is bad with broccoli, but I think cauliflower works much better.

What You Need:
(serves 2)
1c cooked quinoa
300g sweet potato, cubed
200g carrots, baby, sliced in half lengthwise
150g broccoli
80g onion, large dice
2t curry powder
2t ginger paste
2 cloves garlic, minced

For The Quinoa:
I made extra, because it's always useful for any number of dishes. The directions are simple: one cup quinoa, two cups water. I add some salt for flavor, you could also cook in broth of some sort for flavor. Bring to boil on stovetop, bring down to simmer, COVER! DO NOT TOUCH for 15-20 minutes!!!!!! Seriously. It'll be done.

The Rest of the Dish:
(Apologies, I made this a couple weeks ago and my notes are missing the cooking times.)

1. Lightly steam carrots, until just barely tender.

2. While the carrots are steaming, sautée onions (I just use a little spray oil so the fat content is extremely low in this dish) and cubed potatoes until the potatoes get tender and can almost slide a fork through.

3. Add carrots to the pan, mix thoroughly.

4. Add broccoli, ginger, garlic, curry powder. Add a little bit of liquid (water, .25-.5c) and stir everything together. Cover until the liquid is nearly gone. This helps to steam everything a little. Stir, Stir, Stir until everything is mixed together and evenly distributed.

5. Plate up. 1/2c of quinoa and about half of the veggie mixture per serving.

The calories for each serving (NOT including Quinoa) is HERE. The 1/2c quinoa info is HERE.