Spinach with Soba Noodles and Spicy Ponzu Sauce

My brother's girlfriend is from Japan, and shared this lovely, authentic Japanese sauce with us. It is so versatile. You could use it in a stir fry, on a salad, over noodles, over steamed vegetables, over some brown rice, etc. I chose to serve it with soba (buckwheat) noodles. I love them, and they only take about 8 minutes to cook. Of course I did what I always do, and threw a bunch of spinach at the bottom of the bowl. This is my trick to getting a ton of raw spinach into my diet. Whenever I make pastas, or noodles, or rice dishes, I start out my bowl with a huge handful of spinach and then start adding all the toppings. Soba noodles are great served warm or cold, so this makes great leftovers!

Spinach with Soba Noodles and Spicy Ponzu Sauce

What You Need:

1 Package of Soba (buckwheat) noodles

Spinach

Toasted Sesame seeds

2 green onions, with all of the white part, and part of the green

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp of Ponzu Sauce, Not all are vegan so check out the ingredients. I use the one made by Eden Foods that is vegan

1 tsp. Toasted sesame oil

2 Tbsp of sweetener of choice

2 tsp. chili powder

To Make:

Cook Soba noodles according o package directions. When they are finished cooking rinse under cold water.

While the noodles are cooking prepare the Ponzu sauce by combining the Ponzu sauce, sweetener, chili powder, sesame oil, and green onions. Whisk well.

To Assemble:

Place some raw spinach at the bottom of your bowl. Then top with some Soba noodles. Pour some of the spicy Ponzu Sauce over the top, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and a few extra green onions.

To store as leftovers, mix the remaining sauce with the soba noodles and place in the refrigerator. Enjoy the leftovers hot or cold.

Brown Rice Bowl with Hot and Sour Rhubarb sauce

With rhubarb in season right now, I knew I had to make something with it.

Many of you have probably never experienced rhubarb outside of rhubarb pie, but I wanted to go the opposite direction with something savory. I stumbled upon this recipe that I got from Tanya Petrovna at Native Foods Cafe. It was awesome! Almost like a sweet and sour type sauce. It was unexpectedly delicious! This was a great way to enjoy this super sour veggie!

Brown Rice Bowl with Hot and Sour Rhubarb Sauce

What you Need:

precooked Brown Rice

Tofu, cubed and sauteed in a pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper

Spinach

Cabbage, shredded

toasted cashews or pine nuts

cilantro

green onions thinly sliced

squeeze of lime

Hot and Sour Rhubarb Sauce:

1 lb. of rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped in 1/4 inch pieces

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

3 cloves of garlic

2 Tbsp of sweetener of choice

3 Tbsp soy sauce

Blend all ingredients in a blender until well blended and smooth. Then place in a pot, and simmer on low for about 2 minutes.

To Assemble:

On a plate place some brown rice, spinach cabbage, and tofu. Add some Hot and Sour Rhubarb sauce on top, and then garnish with cashews, cilantro, green onions, and a squeeze of lime.

Raw Mediterranean Kale Salad

Well, having my computer in the shop for a week was pure torture! I have some catching up to do on the blog, and I promise, I will be making up for the lack of posts while we were out of business...

This is my absolute favorite way to enjoy raw Kale. I have this all the time. You may not think you will love this, but I can assure you that you will! This is the type of food I eat most often, healthy, clean, and simple and pure ingredients. Make a double or triple batch for sure, then it will be ready for you at a moments notice! This is a great way to add some raw dark greens to your diet!

Mediterranean Kale Salad

From Raw Food Made Easy

What you need:

8 kale leaves, stems removed

3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 red bell pepper diced

2 Tbsp. raw pine nuts

small handful of sliced black olives

dash black pepper

To Make:

Remove the thick stems from the kale. Roll up the leaves like a cigar and cut crosswise into thin strips. Place sliced kale in a large bowl and add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Massage the kale with your hands to soften the leaves. This may take a few minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients and toss to combine.

Muhammara Dip

This roasted red pepper dip is seriously amazing!

We use it as a dip, for spreading on sandwiches or you can make a salad and put some on top.
Any way you have it , it's delicious!

If serving as a dip, use whole grain baguette, whole wheat pitas, and some celery stalks for dipping.



Muhammara Dip
Recipe courtesy of Tanya Petrovna of Native Foods

What You Need:
1 lb. red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and seeded
1 1/4 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 tsp. pomegranate molasses (Whole Foods carries it)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cups roasted walnut pieces, lightly ground


To Make:
Start by roasting your red bell peppers by placing them on a grill, under a broiler, or in the oven until the skins become black and blistery on all sides. Place them immediately in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let the peppers cool covered. Once cooled, you should be able to easily peel away the skins, and remove the seeds from inside. Set peppers aside.

Next, toast your walnuts, either in a pan or in the oven at 350 degress, Be very careful not to burn the walnuts! As soon as you can start to smell them, they are definitely done. Place the walnuts in a food processor or a blender, and grind them up slightly to smaller pieces.

Put the bell peppers, bread crumbs, garlic, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, cumin, sea salt, and crushed red chilies in a food processor and blend until smooth.

On low speed, gradually add the olive oil.
Pour mixture into the bowl with the ground walnuts and stir until well blended.
Serve with whole grain baguette, pitas, in a sandwich, or on a salad!

Enjoy!

Beefy Bourguignon

If you love mushrooms, you will love this!

This is a recipe that I got from my most recent cooking demo I took at Natvie Foods Cafe from Tanya Petrovna. We served this over a bed of spinach, but you could also put it over boiled new potatoes, or even over noodles if you wanted.

Beefy Bourguignon

What You Need:

1/3 cup olive oil

1 large carrot

1 yellow onion

1 pkg. frozen boiling onions, (or 1 pkg. pearl onions, peeled, found in fresh produce section usually in a bag)

1 pound of mixed mushrooms of choice (I used cremini and shitake)

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 pounds seitan, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I made my own, recipe below,but you can buy it at health food stores in place of making it, I know Whole Foods has it in the tofu section)

2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour

1 cup dry red wine (if you don't want to use wine, substitute 1 cup of water and one extra vegetable bouillon cube)

4 cups water

2 crumbled vegan vegetable bouillon cubes (rapunzel brand is good)

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 cup chopped flat Leaf parsley for garnish

To Make:

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil, and add the carrot, onion, boiling onions, mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper, and saute lightly browned.

Add the seitan pieces and saute about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.Add flour, and stir well to coat everything and lightly brown, (2-3 min).

Add wine (or extra water/bouillon mixture). Add the rest of the 3 cups of water. Crumble and add the bouillon, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf.

Let simmer partially covered for about 1 hour. Serve over a bed of baby spinach, or boiled new potatoes, and garnish with parsley.

Seitan Loaf

Adapted from Everyday Dish TV

What You Need:

1 gallon water

2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 Tbsp onion powder, or onion flakes

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Large cheesecloth

4 pieces string to tie seitan loaf

To Make:

In a large pot bring 1 gallon of water to a low boil. In a large bowl, mix the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, thyme, onion powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the vegetable broth, olive oil and soy sauce. Combine the wet to the dry ingredients, and mix briefly to incorporate. Do not need dough. Wrap the loaf in cheesecloth somewhat tightly, and using kitchen string, tie both ends, and tie two around the middle. Simmer on low, covered, for 1 hour. After adding some of this to the soup, you can thinly slice it and put in sandwiches.

Grilled Mediterranean Panini on Whole Grain Sourdough

This sandwich will change your life!

About a year ago, a very pregnant me attended a cooking demo from the Chef/owner/founder of Native Foods Cafe here in Southern California, Tanya Petrovna. I was with one of my best friends who went with me, and I can still remember the moment we sunk our teeth into this. We both downed the sandwich, and still to this day, we talk about how good it is, and it has become my very favorite sandwich! It is full of everything that I love...grilled zucchini, portabellos, marinated tofu ,roasted peppers, and a lemony basil mayo!

Could it get any more delicious? The rest of my pregnancy, I made this every single week, just to control the craving I had for it. I really could eat this every day of my life!

It's that good.

By the way, I am taking another cooking demo tomorrow from Chef Tanya, so I will have some new goods to share! Stayed tuned...

Grilled Mediterranean Panini on whole grain sourdough bread

makes 4 sandwiches

What You Need:

2 red bell peppers

2 large portabello mushrooms

2 medium zucchini

1 box extra firm tofu

olive oil (for brushing lightly on veggies)

sea salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 clove minced garlic

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup vegan mayo (vegannaise)

very large handful basil leaves

2 tsp lemon zest

Whole grain bread of choice (look for good quality artisan style bread)

To Make:

On a grill or under a broiler, place red bell peppers, and roast until the skin gets a little black and blistered. Turn the pepper and continue roasting until blistered all over. Immediately place the peppers in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the peppers hang out and cool there for about 15 minutes. Then you should be able to easily remove the skins off the peppers. Open the peppers and remove seeds from inside. Place peppers in a container in the fridge until ready to use.

Open Tofu and drain water. Place tofu on a dry clean towel, with a second towel on top. Then place a weighted object on top of tofu to help drain any excess water. (For instance, place a pot with a can in it on top of tofu). let sit for about 20 minutes. While the tofu is sitting, prepare the marinade. In a large rectangular baking dish, mix 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, garlic, and 2 tsp sea salt. Once tofu is done sitting, slice into 1/4 inch thick slices, and place the tofu strips in the marinade for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours.

While the tofu is marinating, prepare the basil and lemon mayo. I a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of vegan mayo (such as vegannaise, or Wild Foods), lemon zest, and chopped basil and mix well. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use. (this lemon and basil mayo is sooooo good! It totally adds to the deliciousness of the sandwich, don't skip it!)

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a heavy baking sheet with foil. Lightly oil the pan, and place the tofu strips evenly on pan. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and bake until the tofu is lightly golden.

While the tofu is baking, heat up an outdoor grill (or a grill pan). Slice your portabellos and zucchini into 1/4 inch thick slices. Brush lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the veggies on the grill and grill a few minutes on each side.

To Assemble the Sandwich:

Slightly toast 2 slices of whole grain bread. Spread the lemon and basil mayo on both slices. Then layer the tofu, bell peppers, zucchini, and portabellos. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches, slice, and dig in!

mmmmmmmmmmmmm...Yummy!

Serve it up right with some crispy oven baked fries dipped in some of Annies organic ketchup!

Oven Baked Fries

Preheat oven to 425. Line a heavy baking sheet with foil. To make"fries" cut the very ends off of the potatoes . then cut 1/2 inch thick strips lengthwise. Stack the strips and cut into skinny fries. Soak fries in a cold water bath for 10 minutes or so. Then pat dry. Place in a large bowl and toss with a little Extra virgin olive oil. Lay in an even layer on baking sheet, and bake until fries are lightly golden and crisp. remove from oven, place on a serving platter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Dip in ketchup!

Creamy Leek and Potato Soup with Tempeh "Bacon"

We have been getting tons of leeks and potatoes in our CSA produce box lately, and I figured what better way to use them than in a soup.

The result was velvety and rich, and turned out exceptionally good.

Total comfort food!
I topped it with a little tempeh"fakin' bacon" and served it with a wedge of whole grain artisan bread for dunking and a crisp spinach salad. I think this may be my new favorite soup!

Creamy Leek and Potato Soup with Tempeh "Bacon"

What You Need:
2 regular sized Leeks
2 bay leaves
25 black peppercorns
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp Mirin (cooking wine)
6 1/2 cups of water
4 squares Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon with sea salt and herbs
or any vegetable stock/broth with work fine.
5 small or 3 large russet potatoes (a little over a pound)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 package of Litelife tempeh "fakin bacon"
1 recipe cashew cream (recipe below)
Cheesecloth

Cashew Cream:
Soak 1/2 cup of cashews in water for about 4 hours. Rinse the nuts well, and then place in a blender with about 1 cup of water. Blend until very smooth and creamy.


To Make Soup:

Cut the top green section from the leeks. Save and set aside 2 large leaves.

Fold your cheesecloth several times (or use a small nut milk bag that is only used for cooking, not making nut milks) and place the folded leek leaves, bay leaves, dried thyme, and peppercorns. Close up the bag and tie off. Set aside.

Next, cut the white part of the leeks down the center and rinse thoroughly under cold water to clean well. Then slice the leeks crosswise into thin strips.

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp Earth balance butter and 1 Tbsp Olive Oil. Add the leeks with a pinch of salt and saute about 5 minutes until softened.

Add the water, vegetable bouillon cubes, potatoes, bundle of herbs, Mirin, and salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft and mushy.

While the soup is simmer, prepare your Tempeh Bacon bits by heating 1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter and 1 Tbsp Olive Oil in a saute pan. Cut the tempeh bacon strips into small pieces. Saute until lightly golden, then place on a plate and set aside for topping the soup.

When soup is finished cooking, remove the herbs. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Or, you can blend the soup in batches in your blender until smooth.

Add the cashew cream to the soup and stir to blend well, creating a creamy texture to the soup.
Taste and season with any additional salt if it is needed.

To Serve:
Ladle soup into bowls, and top with the tempeh bacon bits. Serve with crusty whole grain bread, and a simple spinach salad with your favorite dressing.

For the health benefits of Tempeh, see this post

Sesame Vinaigrette with Fresh Orange and Ginger

I created this dressing the other day out of pure desperation for a dressing I get at a Japanese restaurant that I love. Not exactly like the one they serve, but still so delicious and fresh tasting, and makes a perfect topper for salad, quinoa with veggies, and my favorite right now , carrots sliced on a bias (like chips) with this drizzled over the top. So good...

Sesame Vinaigrette with Fresh Orange and Ginger

What You Need:

About 4 inches of Fresh Ginger, grated over a microplane

3/4 cup of water

the fresh juice of one orange

4 Tbsp. Pure Grade B maple syrup

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp. Toasted sesame seed oil

1 carrot, grated over a microplane

2 tsp tamari

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

To Make:

In a blender, puree all ingredients until well combined.

Steamed Asparagus Veggie Rolls and Rice Cooking 101

This is a perfect dinner served with a side of miso soup!

It really is easy to make. You can get a bamboo mat at Whole foods, or even better (and probably cheaper!), at Asian Food Markets. Fill these with whatever vegetables you love! I never make the same recipe twice with these. Sometimes its avocados, zucchini, and cucumbers, sometimes bell peppers, carrots, and sprouts, so use what you have. Its a great way to get some seaweed into your life! For the rice, I kept it very clean and simple, by using sweet brown rice, which is a little stickier than regular short grain brown. But if you can't find sweet brown rice (they also carry this at Asian Food markets) just use regular short grain brown.

Steamed Asparagus Veggie Rolls with Wasabi and Shoyu

What You Need:

Nori (I used raw, but toasted is great too)

Precooked sweet brown rice, seasoned with a little shoyu See below for cooking rice

Steamed Asparagus

Carrots and red bell peppers cut into matchstick pieces

wasabi

Shoyu (Tamari or soy sauce)

Special Equipment: Bamboo mat

To Make:

Lay out your bamboo mat, and place a sheet of nori on it. Put enough rice over nori to cover most of the surface, leaving a small edge. Lay veggies on rice,and roll up using the mat to help you. Once rolled, cut into 6 pieces per roll. Serve with wasabi and shoyu

Rice Cooking 101

How to make the perfect Brown Rice

Do not be afraid of the lack of measurements here!

Making rice is so easy once you get the hang of it, and brown rice should be a staple in your diet!

Get a fine mesh strainer and put the amount of rice you want to make in it. Rinse the rice very well.

Put rinsed rice in a large saucepan, and add a pinch of sea salt, and a few drops of olive oil (I mean literally a few drops, like 1/2 a tsp at most)

Rinse a one inch piece of kombu seaweed and place that in the pot. This is optional, but adding a piece of kombu to your rice infuses your rice with rich nutrients, and does not effect the flavor!

Now fill up your pot with enough water so that when you touch the tip of your finger to the very top of the rice in the pot, the water level goes to your first knuckle (the one closest to the water)

Bring Rice to a boil, cover, and simmer (for brown rice) for about 45 minutes.