Israeli Couscous.

I got this one day at the Central Market deli counter. Fell in love. Tried to recreate it myself the next day. Fell in love again. A little pat on my back, and here ya go. Cheaper and a healthier version...

The portions are pretty forgiving. The measurements here are a starting off point that I just adjust. I combine it all then let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours to give everything time to get along. The key ingredients to me? The olives, sundried tomatoes and toasted sunflower seeds. Don't skimp on those.

1 cup israeli couscous
14 oz. spinach, frozen or fresh
1 cup peas
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
1/2 green bell pepper, small dice
handful tomatoes, oven roasted
4 or 8 halves sundried tomatoes, small dice
1-12 kalamata olives, quartered lenth-wise
2 scallions, chopped
1 cup sunflower seeds, toasted

1/2 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
1/2 tablespoon thyme, chopped
1-2 tablespoons italian parsley, chopped

1/2-1 teaspoon harissa
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a swirl around the bowl evoo
black pepper

pretty similiar to the one from Central Market, huh?

5/15/2012

Wild Rice Salad with Dried Cherries.

When my husband was first "diagnosed" with borderline diabetes 9 years ago... I found myself at Wal-mart in the cookbook section looking for anything to help me feed my husband... and not push him over the edge into diabetesland. Not a peaceful place to be. I found the Betty Crocker's Diabetes Cookbook... bought it... and tried to live by it for the next few months.

 

It helped, and had a lot of yummy stuff in it. Yummy stuff that left us satisfied. So, that's good. And of course now that I've educated myself even more on the subject - we've found something that works even better for us. Something that has changed my husbands "diagnosis" completely... and made those sugar levels just like yours and mine. Miracle? Somewhat. But I know it's because of some healthy eating on his part.

 

Anyhow, this is one we always come back to. And I love it because it 's good. But it reminds me of a time when I was close to loosing all hope and deeply concerned about the health of my most favorite person in the whole wide world. It's good to be reminded of where you've come from and how far you've traveled.

 

1 1/2 cups long-grain and wild rice

1 apple, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped (or craisins)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts, toasted

 

Cook rice according to directions, and spread evenly in thin layer on a large cookie sheet to cool. Let stand 10 to 12 minutes.

 

Mix apple, bell pepper, celery and cherries/craisins in a large bowl. Mix soy sauce, water, sugar and vinegar in small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add rice and soy sauce mixture to apple mixture. Gently toss until coated. Add peanuts. Gently toss.

Veggie Pizza.

My most favorite eating out pizza these days is the vegetable pizza on honey whole wheat crust at Double Daves. Sure, the classy pizza joints have some really yummy ones too. But I go where the family goes. And the family loves some all-you-can-eat pizza on the buffet at Double Daves.

Here's my recreation of it... and I LOVE it. When I make it, I make 2. One for Shayne and I and another, less vegetabley one, for the kids. it's sooooo good cold the next day!

I use the crust from Get Healthy, Go Vegan cookbook here and then add the veggies and sometimes use the vegan mozzarella cheese sauce...

portobella mushrooms, sliced
green pepper, sliced
banana peppers, sliced
onion, sliced
olives, sliced
spinach, frozen - thawed and drained
favorite marinara

Preheat the oven to 500*F. Lay dough out, spread on cheese sauce (if using), lay out veggies, cover with sauce. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Pizza Dough

2 teaspoons agave nectar
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (preferable organic)
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

In a large bowl, dissolve the agave nectar and yeast in ¾ cup warm water (100*-110*). Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the flours and salt to the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Dough will feel slightly sticky.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat the top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a draft-free place until double in size, about 30-40 minutes.

Punch down the dough and roll into a 10- or 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and sprinkled with cornmeal. Crimp edges to form a rim. Lightly spray the surface of the dough with cooking spray.

Mozzarella Cheese Sauce-Vegan

1 cup water
2 small cloves of roasted garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons tahini (the larger amount makes it "cheesier")
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons rolled oats
1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon of liquid hickory smoke (if you want the smoky taste)

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Pour into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick.

OR

Cajun 15-Bean Soup

This is from FatFreeVeganKitchen... a site that I found and have been checking out for a while... and finally decided to make something from. And honestly, it's been almost 2 months since I made it and I can't remember how much we liked it... but I know we did.

20 ounces dried mixed beans (you can find these prepackaged in most grocery stores), rinsed
12 cups water
1 large onion — chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic — minced
juice of one lemon
15-ounce can stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
1 1/2 teaspoons salt — or to taste

1. I saved some time by putting the beans into the pressure cooker with 8 cups water, cooking at high pressure for 15 minutes, and then releasing the pressure and cooking until the beans were completely cooked. If you use a pressure cooker, I advise letting the pressure come down naturally rather than quick-releasing. And if you have a quick-release setting on your PC, do not use it! I had beans stuck in my valve when I tried that.

2.If you don’t want to pressure cook them, then place the washed beans in a pot with 12 cups of water, bring to a boil, and simmer, covered,for 60-75 minutes until beans are tender.

3.When the beans are almost finished cooking, brown the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic in a non-stick skillet.

4.Add onion mixture, stewed tomatoes, and lemon juice to beans along with the spices and simmer 30-45 minutes. (If you started the beans in the pressure cooker, add 2 cups water at this time if they seem dry or thick.) Add liquid smoke and salt at the end. Serve with bread or over rice, or just by itself, as I did.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 1 hour(s) 45 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8

Garden Bounty Tortilla Soup.

I got this recipe from Jami, who got it from her Peacocks on My Porch cookbook (read this if you're interested in what the name means... a clue: I loved it being the wife of a cyclist and somewhat of a cyclist myself). And I just veganized it. I love all the vegetables in here... but didn't quite understand why it was tortilla soup (maybe I copied it down wrong). Either way, next time I'm going to do the crisping and pureeing of the corn tortillas like I did in Brooke's soup next time (and probably take out the potatoes). I just love that flavor in the back of it. It's got a pretty sweet kick to it too, which Shayne loved.

8 cups vegetable broth
1 red onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2-4 potatoes, peeled and dice
1 can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
2 cloves minced garlic
1 ½ teaspoon canned chipotle in adobo (sliced)
1 teaspoon jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced
1 can corn, drained
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
garnish: avocado, limes & toritlla strips

In a large stockpot over high heat, combine broth, onion, carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, garlic, chipotle in adobo, jalapeno, oregano and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. 

Add the salt and white pepper, zucchini, squash, bell peppers and corn. Bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cilantro, lime and orange juice. Stir well and remove from heat. Garnish with fried tortilla strips, diced avocados, and lime wedges if desired.

If you don't like things very spicy, go easy on the jalapeno’s and chipotle peppers. If you find this out after making it - just add more broth.

Vegetarian Mixed-Bean Chili Express.

This stuff is goooood... and everyone tore it up! Never thought I'd say something with TVP is good. But it is!

6 garlic cloves, minced or crushed

1 tablespoon chili powder (preferably a dark variety, such as ancho)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 (28-ounce) low-sodium diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans, rinsed & drained (or 1 - 15ounce can)

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed & drained (or 1 - 15ounce can)

1 1/2 cups cooked small red beans, rinsed & drained (or 1 - 15ounce can)

3 cups hot water

1 1/2 cups dry textured vegetable protein
1 cup frozen whole-kernal corn
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon hot-pepper sauce
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons cornmeal or mas harina
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

Steam-fry the garlic in a large, heavy nonstick skillet for 2 minutes. Add the chili powder, oregano, cumin, and red pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes (with juice), beans, hot water, vegetable protein, corn, bell pepper, soy sauce, hot-pepper sauce, onion powder, cocoa powder, and agave.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes.

During the last 5 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the cornmeal or masa harina over the top and stir in thoroughly. Season with salt. Garnish with cilantro. Serve.

Make 6 Servings. 57 gram carbohydrates per serving


page 226



Snobby Joes.

I loved these. The kids not so much. Which I totally don't understand what-so-ever because it's full of stuff that they love. I'm not going to just not make them again - they were that good. I haven't had RR's Sloppy Veg-Head Joes in a long time... so I'll have to decide between the 2 which I like best. Both yummy and healthy. I had the leftovers for lunch in my wraps with peppers, sprouts, tomatoes and avocado. Yum.

1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water
1 medium-size yellow onion, cut into small dice
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chile powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
4-6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns, sliced in half horizontally

Pour the lentils and water into a small saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done, pre-heat a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Steam-fry the onion and pepper in water for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute for a minute more.

Stir in the cooked lentils, chile podwer, oregano, and salt. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup to taste and the mustard, and heat through.

Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can't wait. We like to serve these open faced, a scoop of Snobby Joe on each slice of bun.

Veganomicon
Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero
page 98-99