Friday, October 29, 2010

Broccoli Pesto "Risotto"



This was such an interesting invention!  When I started this dish I had it in my head that it was going to taste purely of basil.  As the dish evolved, it turned into this flavorful and nutty deliciousness that was incredibly satisfying!!  The quinoa, broccoli and cashews provide ample amounts of protein while the flavors of the pesto make this dish scrumptious!  ENJOY....

Broccoli Pesto "Risotto"
2 small bunches of broccoli
2 cloves garlic -cut into 4 pieces
1 shallot - cut into 4 pieces
1 cup Quinoa
3 Tablespoons olive oil
6 Tablespoons of my Perfect Vegan Pesto
Approximately 3 cups Vegetable Broth
Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Separate the broccoli florettes from the stalk.  Peel the stalk until it looks fresh (no brown spots) and slice into 1 1/2 inch sections and cut into strips.  In a medium sauce pan, bring water to a boil and broccoli stems for 3 minutes.  Add the florettes for 2 1/2 minutes.  Drain and set aside.  In a large skillet add 1 tablespoon olive oil.  When the oil is warm add the garlic cloves and shallot.  Sautee until golden brown.  Remove garlic and shallot and set aside.  In the same pan add the broccoli and sautee until the broccoli has a nice garlic-y flavor - about 2-3 minutes.  Set aside.  In the same skillet add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon garlic granules and 2 tablespoons pesto.  Using a garlic press, press the garlic and shallot into the same skillet.  Heat over medium heat until bubbly.  Add quinoa until the quinoa is coated with the pesto mix.  Add 1 cup vegetable broth.  Cover and allow to simmer on medium-low heat for 25 - 30 minutes.  In intervals of 5 minutes, check on the "risotto" - you will need to add more broth along the way - about 1/2 cup every 5 minutes.  When the quinoa has opened up (you will see the white "germ" come out), add four more tablespoons of the pesto, mix well.  Add the broccoli and gently toss until coated.  Sprinkle with nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.  Yummy Yummy!

Peeled and chopped broccoli stalk
Pesto, Olive Oil, Garlic and Shallots bubbling
Delicious!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Awesome Black Bean Burgers

part 2 of 2

When I say awesome, that could be an understatement!  This is such a satisfying dish - some of Eden's Organic Brown Mustard, tomatoes, red onion and lettuce on top with an accompaniment of my Spicy Roasted Rosemary Potatoes make this a perfect meal.  ENJOY!!!

Awesome Black Bean Burgers
2 cups of my Super Black Beans (or if you're in a rush 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed)
1/2 large onion (or 1 small onion) - diced
2 tablespoons Almond Meal
2 tablespoons Potato Starch
2 tablespoons Tapioca Starch

Mash black beans until near smooth (leaving some chunks makes for a great texture).  Sauté onion in a little olive oil until translucent (limp). Add to black beans and mix well.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix very well.  Separate mixture into 6 equal parts.  Form into patties about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.  Cook at medium heat on a well oiled pan until patties are firm - approximately 5-7 minutes on each side.  ENJOY!

Cooking in the pan
A burger topped with mustard, tomatoes, onion and lettuce with a side of Spicy Roasted  Rosemary Potatoes.

Super Black Beans




Ah yes black beans, my favorite.  Black beans are super high in protein and fiber.  They are also a wonderful source for iron, antioxidants and molybdenum.  Of course, not to mention absolutely delicious!  Here is a wonderful slightly spicy black bean recipe that can pretty much go with anything.  I love to mix this with salad or as a base for my black bean burgers (that will be the second part of the post). ENJOY!

Super Black Beans
2 1/2 cups black beans (soaked over night)
5 cups water
1 green bell pepper - diced
1 small onion - diced
3 cloves of garlic - minced
1 teaspoon Himalayan Salt

Place all ingredients into a large pot, or into a crock pot. Cook on low for a minimum of 5 hours or until beans are soft and the water is almost fully absorbed. 

Super black beans on a corn tortilla topped with a delicious salad  made from lettuce, onion, cabbage, tomato, orange bell pepper and a simple vegan dressing.

Corn & Tomato Salsa


Shucking corn isn't exactly my favorite thing to do on a Thursday night, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! Last night I wanted to make a salsa, but something a little more colorful and that I could add to the tacos I wanted for dinner.....I'm still on the Mexican theme, lol.  This was a wonderful topping on the tacos and delicious with some organic corn chips from Fresh & Easy.

So now some not so good news......I forgot to wear gloves.  I ended up with some horrendous capsaicin burns on my hands.  After I finished eating the pain became so intense that I couldn't sleep until after midnight.  I was soaking my hands in everything, I really mean everything - vinegar, antacids in water, milk, sugar water, peppermint oil, lavender oil, toothpaste, pepto-bismol (or however you spell that weird pink stuff), ice packs, soap and water, aloe vera, oatmeal and I'm sure more things, it was insane.  Today my hands are still burning so I'm carrying around ice packs and it's barely 50 degrees!!  Well eventually it has to stop right?

Now down to the good stuff......

Corn & Tomato Salsa
Corn kernels shucked from one ear of corn cooked for 6 minutes and drained
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
1 Tbsp diced serrano pepper (remove the veins and seeds)
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
the juice from 1/4 of a lime
2 dashes of Himalayan Salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve as an accompaniment to any dish.
freshly shucked corn
the salsa with the other taco fixings - lettuce and cabbage

The final product




Sunday, October 17, 2010

Vegan Fajitas


I'm still diggin' the Mexican theme this week, lol!  When I came home from the shop tonight, I looked in the fridge and there really wasn't much to work with, or so I thought (I proved myself wrong).  I took out some bell peppers and an onion, left over refried beans and started chopping.  Having no clue what I was doing, I decided that refried beans meant I was having Mexican (yay!).  Then I remembered FAJITAS!  Those are so delicious and it's basically bell peppers, onions, meat (we'll change that!) and tortillas - super easy to make!  These were very filling and incredibly satisfying!  ENJOY!!

Vegan Fajitas
1 - 1/4 inch thick slice red onion - diced into large pieces
1/2 orange bell pepper - diced into large pieces
1/2 green bell pepper - diced into large pieces
1/2 can of Amys Vegetarian Refried Beans
1-2 tablespoons Almond Milk
3 dashes Herb Stop's Southwest Spice 
2-4 corn tortillas
Chives - chopped (optional)
oil for sautéing - I used sunflower

Dice peppers and onion.  Heat a skillet to medium high with a little oil.  Once the pan is nice and hot add the veggies and Soutwest Seasoning and sauté until cooked to your desired firmness.  I waited until the onion was translucent - which meant the veggies were still a crunchy, but cooked.   While those are cooking, heat the beans with enough almond milk to thin them slightly until nice and hot.  If you like your tortillas warmed up (I do!), heat them up in a skillet for a few seconds.  Once everything is cooked, place a tortilla in a plate, spread beans on top, add veggies to the top and cut the chives on top.  Yummy!
Lovely colors!


Friday, October 15, 2010

Perfect Vegan Pesto

Oh pesto, how I love thee!  What can you not do with pesto, right? Pasta, dipping sauce, on top of veggies - the options are limitless ..... except.....it's not vegan :(.  When I became vegan my weakness was cheese.  I really loved cheese, I mean REALLY loved cheese.  In fact I'm half Swiss, so the fact that I don't eat cheese is kind of blasphemous.  I guess this will just be our little secret, eh?  Anyhow, here we are....vegan pesto and delicious!

Perfect Vegan Pesto
1 cup well packed fresh basil
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup cashew butter
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon Nutritional Yeast
2 dashes Himalayan salt
Add all the ingredients to your Vita-Mix - if you don't have one any food processor will probably work.  Turn on medium-low until fairly smooth. If you'll be keeping this for later, drizzle some olive oil over the top to preserve the color.  ENJOY!!!!
Beautiful and fresh ingredients

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Super Vegan Tacos

I think my favorite cuisine is Mexican - at least this week it is.  Of course being a grain-free vegan the options for Mexican food are really limited to chips, salsa and maybe guacamole. So one day I decided I was going to conquer this challenge.....and I did!  Here is my favorite dish, vegan soft tacos, that are so tremendously filling and super delicious.  I think I could eat this every night and never get tired of them!

Super Vegan Tacos
3 corn tortillas
1/2 can of Amy's Traditional Refried Beans (you can make your own if you prefer)
1-2 tablespoons of almond milk
3/4 of a romaine lettuce heart - diced
6-8 small tomatoes (cherry or grape) - diced
2 - 1/4 inch slices of red cabbage - diced
1 - 1/4 inch slice of red onion - diced
1 scallion  - diced
nutritional yeast

Dice all the vegetables and set aside.  Heat corn tortillas up in a skillet, set aside and keep warm.  Cook and add 1/2 can of refried beans to a skillet and add 1-2 tablespoons of almond milk until beans are smooth but not runny.  Top a tortilla with the beans, then begin to layer the vegetables - I find that lettuce, cabbage, onion, scallion then tomato is the easiest.  Top with some nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor. ENJOY!!
Colorful veggies

mmmmmmm.....yummy!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Spicy Roasted Rosemary Potatoes


When I got home from a very busy day at the shop tonight, I was tired and hungry.  I needed something quick, easy and delicious.  Unfortunately my husband is on duty until tomorrow morning, so this was going to have to be a one woman show!  Luckily I had the perfect idea!  Normally I use this dish for a side, but tonight I was going to go nuts and eat this as my meal!  

All I have to say about this dish is YUMMMMM!  My good friend, Sam Sam, had made a similar creation over dinner one evening and I fell in love immediately.  I have changed the recipe and added spices to create the perfect side dish or even a snack (or in my case tonight a meal).  You could definitely change this up a little by adding sweet potatoes.

Spicy Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

9 small potatoes - diced into 1/2 inch squares
2 - 1/4 inch thick slices of onion - diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
oil to coat pan

Coat the bottom of a jelly roll pan with a little oil.  Preheat oven to 450.  Dice potatoes and onion and place in a large bowl.  Add spices and olive oil.  Mix very well - using your hands works best.  Spread into the jelly roll pan in a single layer.  Cook for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked.  ENJOY!!

***To make this dish without the spicy factor, leave the southwest spice out and add a little more rosemary***
Beautiful potatoes!
 
Not only delicious, but beautiful as well!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Deliciously Filling Broccoli Medley


To get us started, I thought I would start off with one of my easy favorites. This is by far one of my favorite meals. Because broccoli has quite the protein content, this makes an entire meal that is nice and filling. If you were in need of a little extra, I have added a little corn tortilla and wrapped the broccoli mix up like a taco. This usually serves 1-2 two people, so some adjustments may need to be made if this is for the whole family. ENJOY!!!


Deliciously Filling Broccoli Medley
1 large broccoli head - cut into florets
1/4 inch slice of onion (red is more aesthetically appealing)- diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper - diced
1 medium tomato (completely optional) - diced
3 dashes Herb Stop's Southwest Spice
1 tablespoon Herb Stop's Pesto Mix seasoning
oil for sautéing (I used sunflower oil)

Place the broccoli in a pan with about 1/2-1 inch of water and boil the broccoli for about 7 minutes (until cooked but not soggy). Drain and set aside.
Sautee the onion in a little oil with Herb Stop's Southwest Spice until onion begins to turn translucent. Add in the peppers and Pesto Mix seasoning and sauté until desired firmness (I like my veggies crunchy, but cooked). If using tomatoes add these in at the very end. Once everything is nicely sautéed, add the broccoli and gently toss with the other veggies. Serve immediately. ENJOY!

Welcome

Hello out there!

I started this blog for all the people out there that are struggling for ideas with their vegan or grain/gluten-free diet. Hoping this will inspire anyone with a restrictive diet.

I first became grain-free many years ago for health reasons. I had suffered from migraines for the majority of my life. Finally one day I was done with the pain. I went home and put everything in bags and gave my regular diet foods away. I went shopping and found that there were not many choices for grain-free. I started with the basics - salad and organic meats. Of course over time that became boring and my diet started to evolved into discovering new foods (like quinoa), baking without traditional flours and becoming creative out of necessity.

Eventually, I lost over 75 lbs using animal protein (chicken, dairy, etc), but one day I fell ill. My digestive system seemed to have failed me. Turns out I had ulcers and gastritis - ouchy. Once those issues were healed a new problem arose. I had gallstones - major ouchy! Against the advisement of the "professionals", I decided that as an herbalist and avid natural health promoter I wanted to keep my gallbladder. Overnight I became a vegan. With the help of my herbal remedies, cabbage tea, a vegan diet and the love/care/patience of my husband, I am gallstone-free and I still have my happy little gallbladder.

Anyhow, I love food! Love, love, love food! So, I got creative and, well, here are my creations! I hope you enjoy and if you have any suggestions, I am always open to any!

Gallstones:



One month after beginning my natural treatment and becoming vegan: