tofu lettuce wrap

ingredients:
1 carrot, diced
1/4 white onion. diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 block of firm tofu
1-2 tbsp thai chili sauce
1 tbsp hoison sauce
salt and pepper to taste
5-6 butter lettuce leafs for wrap
1-2 tsp olive oil

directions:
1)  in a pan, heat olive oil on medium heat
2)  saute onions, celery, and carrots
3)  when the onions are tranlucent, crumble in the tofu.  add salt and pepper and mix.  cook for about 5-7 minutes.
4)  add chili and hoison sauce and mix in.  cook for another 2-3 minutes.
5)  spoon in mixture into lettuce leafs and wrap.  enjoy!

artichoke wrap

**recipe will be posted soon! i'm off to bed!**
thanks for the picture deb!

edamame and mushroom brown rice with japanese steamed spinach

protein and veges... yuummmmm!  ever since i made the brown rice and kidney bean dish (see previous post), i've been all about cooking up brown rice and veges in my rice cooker.  it's so easy!!! i love it!!!

i just whipped this recipe up off the bat.   here's a brown rice dish that i put a japanese spin on.

ingredients
1 1/2 cups of uncooked brown rice
1/2-3/4 cup of cooked edamame beans
5 cremini mushrooms, sliced
vege bouillon, 1/2 cube
japanese rice seasoning

directions
1) cook rice according to directions.  add vege bouillon.
2) 10 minutes after rice has started cooking, stir in edamame beans and mushrooms.

ingredients for japanese steamed spinach
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of soy sauce
2 tbs of sugar in the raw
1-2 cups of spinach

directions
1) boil water, soy sauce and sugar.
2) add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted.
3) remove from heat

** plate brown rice mixture.   top with spinach and garnish with japanese ricve seasoning.  i added some of the spinach soy sauce mixture to the rice for a bit of flavor.**

kidney bean and brown rice salad

prepared my lunch for tomorrow.  one word for you... delicious!

ingredients:
1/2 cup of uncooked brown rice
1/2 cup of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups of vege broth
1 tbs of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 fresh lime, juiced
tbs plain vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper
2 green onions, finely sliced
a handful (or more) of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsb parsely, chopped

directions:
1) cook brown rice and kidney beans in vegetable stock.  let completely cool when finished
2)  in a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.
3)  when rice is completely cooled add tomatoes, onions, and parsley.  toss in dressing (to your tasting)and serve chilled (i personally like it warm!).

** this recipe was adapted from the eat clean cook book**

note-  i personally set aside half of the rice and bean mixture to make a different meal later this week as well as some of the dressing to use for a salad dish later this week

cabbage and brussel sprout vegetable soup

back to reality and back to work this week.  today, i cooked up a soup that i'm going to take to lunch this week.  the great thing is, i can freeze the rest of the soup in individual containers and take the left over for lunch anytime!  

ingredients:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 bunch of celery, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 head of garlic, minced
2 medium sized potatoes, cubed
1/2 of cabbage, shredded
8 oz of brussel sprouts, halved
1 -15oz can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
280z plumbed tomatoes, drained and chopped
10 cups of vegetable stock
1 tbs of salt
1 tbs of pepper

directions:
1.  In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium heat.
2.  add celery, onions and carrots.  saute until onions are translucent.
3. add garlic, potatoes and vegetable broth.  bring to boil then simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.
4.  add the rest of the vegetables and simmer until the brussel sprouts and cabbage are soft.

** i adapted this recipe from the eat clean cook book. tweaked it and made it my own.**

mini vegan frittatas

i was inspired to make these today from a dish i tried a couple of weeks ago in palm springs.  when i was having brunch with my friends, i ordered a cheese frittata. i tried to eat the dish but since i have not eaten eggs in forever, my stomach could not hold the food down.

frittatas are a spanish/italian dish that is made with egg and is similar to quiche and omelletes.  they are usually filled with cheeses, meats and vegatables.

today for brunch, i decided to whip up my take on a vegan frittata.  although i wanted to make a light and healthy meal, this dish ended up to be extremely rich and fulfilling.  i thought a great way to serve this was making individual portions so i baked them in muffin pans. 

ingredients:
1 potato, cut into small cubes
5-6 slices of vegan bacon, cut into ity bitty bacon bits
1/2 cup of chopped green, yellow and red bell peppers
1 bunch of spinach, chopped
1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/4 onion, chopped
2-3 tbs olive oil
your favorite all purpose seasoning
salt, pepper and red pepper to taste
2 tbs lemon juice
firm tofu, blended (you may need to add 2-3 tbs of soy milk to get a creamy texture)
1/4-1/2 cup of panko breading
vegan shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese **for topping**
non-stick spray
muffing pan
large pan

directions:
1) preheat oven to 350 and coat muffin pans with non-stick spray.
2) mix all the ingredients together except for the cheese, panko breading, tofu and the non-stick spray of course! and let ingredients sit and marinate for about 10mins.
3)  heat a large pan on medium heat.  saute mixture and cook for about 5-7 minutes.
4)  transfer cooked mixture into a large bowl.  add tofu mixture and mix until everything is covered.  then add panko breading.  the panko breading is just used to bind the mixture together.
5) spoon in mixture into muffin pans and top with shredded cheese.
6) bake for 25-30 minutes.
7) top with louisana hot sauce and enjoy!

bon apetit!

tomato basil vegetable quinoa

one of my favorite thai dishes that i order at a local restaurant is a thai basil vegetable dish.  rather than eating this with rice i decided to toss in some quinoa instead.  i'm a big fan of this nutirent filled grain!  here's my vegan take on one of my favorite thai dishes.

ingredients
1 tomato, sliced
1/4 cup of yellow onions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped basil
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup of broccoli
1 cup of shredded cabbage
1/2 cup of sliced carrots
1/2 cup snow peas
1/4- 1/2 cup cashews
1/2-1 cup of bean sprouts
1-2 tbs sweet chili sauce
1-2 tbs vegetarian stir fry sauce
peanut oil
serrano pepper chopped (optional)
2-3 tbs of water
1-2 cups of cooked quinoa

directions:
1)  on medium heat peanut oil in a large pan.
2) saute onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes.
3) add cashew and cook for 2 minutes.
4)  add mushrooms, peas, broccoli, carrots and cabbage.  add water and stir fry for 2 minutes.
5)  add tomatoes, basil, pepper, chili sauce and vegetarian stir fry and cook for 1-2 minutes.
6)  turn stove off and toss in cooked quinoa.
7) serve dish with a side of bean sprouts.  mix bean sprouts together while piping hot on your own plate.  enjoy!