UPDATE + Mexican Rice

WHOA. And I'm back. After a 7-month hiatus from food-blogging, it may be something I want to start doing again! (Time permitting).

Essentially, the short explanation for my disappearance from this blog is that 1) I live in Mexico City now; 2) I keep really busy with work and travelling (as can be seen at my other blog, Aventuras en D.F. ); 3) I have a tiny kitchen and the stove doesn't even have temperature labels; and 4) I have fallen off the vegan train. Oops! You see, living in Mexico, being vegan is much more difficult than it is in the states, for numerous reasons. However, the big reason for me was that pretty much all Mexican food includes cheese, sour cream, and/or milk. Aaand, vegan substitutions are non-existent around here. If I lived in Mexico, and never ate Mexican food, I would feel like I'm missing out on a big part of the culture here! So, I've added dairy back in to my diet. (Organic and family-farm raised, whenever possible, of course). To tell you my really dirty secret, I've even added shrimp back in to my diet. Forgive me, die-hard vegans.

SO...What does this mean for the blog? Really, nothing. If I have cheese in a recipe, it can just as easily be substituted with vegan cheese. Same thing goes for milk / almond milk, cream / coconut cream, sour cream / tofu sour cream, etc.. So, without further ado, let me give you a fully-vegan recipe that I made for lunch today: Mexican Rice. (How fitting).

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

2 cups veggie broth

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 tsp-tbsp (depending on how much you want) garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

~1/3 medium onion (you can use more if you wish, but I don't recommend using the whole thing)

1 cup peas (I used frozen)

Olive oil

Directions:

Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high flame, and generously coat the pan with olive oil. Toss in the rice, and mix with a spatula until all the rice is coated in oil. Sprinkle the cumin and garlic salt over the rice, and mix again. Allow the rice to toast until golden (being careful not to burn!). In the meantime, roughly chop your 1/3 onion, and mix that in as well. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes.

Now, mix the veggie broth and tomato paste into the pan as well. Crank the flame up to high heat and allow to boil out. For me, this couldn't have taken more than 15 minutes, just be sure to stir/fluff the rice every couple minutes. When the soupy-ness goes away, you'll be left with a reddish-orange rice. Reduce the heat back to medium-low and toss in the cup of green peas. Stir-fry for another 3-5 minutes, or until the peas are soft. (Or in my case, unfrozen). Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Enjoy!!

Roasted Asparagus

Sometimes, veggies can be comfort food. I know some people would initially disagree--comfort foods include chocolate things, ice cream, and hot and calorie-rich meals laden with not-the-healthiest-but-delicious ingredients. Right? Okay, right, those are some comfort foods. But, when veggies are prepared a certain way, they can have a comforting, yummy, just-like-mom-used-to-make appeal. Instant cure for homesickness. Or a really bad cold. (Seriously, self, of all the times to get miserably sick...) Cue roasted asparagus. As a kid, I really didn't like the taste of it, but now, I can't get enough of it! Maybe it's this recipe. Even if asparagus isn't your favorite, just try one spear prepared this way: it might change your mind about this veggie :) Because, there are so many wonderful things in asparagus--Vitamins A, C, E, K, chromium, folate, glutahione, lots of antioxidants, and fiber. Helps prevent cancer, has anti-aging properties (who doesn't want to look young longer?), and helps prevent cognitive decline. Read more about why asparagus is so good for you here. So, at least give it a try! Here's a recipe to make a delicious roasted asparagus lunch or snack:

Ingredients:

Asparagus spears, washed and dried, with the tough bottoms broken off

Olive oil

Juice from half a lemon

Garlic salt

Black pepper

Optional: shredded veg-mozzarella cheese (Daiya brand is awesome), or regular mozzarella, if you're a non-veg

Directions:

Preheat the oven to a little more than 400 fahrenheit. (Maybe 415-425ish? The ovens here are in Celsius, and I turned that up to a little past 200)

Lay asparagus spears side-by-side in a shallow dish (I used a pizza pan)

Lightly drizzle olive oil over the spears, just enough to cover them in a very very thin layer. Roll the spears back and forth with your hands to coat all sides.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon half over the spears, as evenly as possible.

Sprinkle garlic salt and black pepper over the spears. A little goes a long way--these aren't so good if they're too salty!

I highly recommend adding a small handful of mozzarella cheese (vegan or non, whatever your preference). Works really well if you are trying to get kids to eat their greens! Again, not much is needed to give a huge flavor boost, so a small handfull sprinkled sparingly will to the trick.

Place in the oven and allow to roast for 15 minutes. Remove, and allow to cool for a minute or two. Serve hot, and enjoy!

Couscous and Veggies (With gluten-free option!)

Finally! A new post! It's been a month, but I'm finally feeling settled here in Mexico, can navigate the grocery store somewhat well, and am becoming familiar with what is where in the kitchen. Today for lunch, I made something really yummy, and I have to share it with you. It's not a Mexican dish for sure, but I hope to get around to posting those soon, when I have a little more expertise in the area. Today was hot, healthy comfort food for lunch. And maybe dinner. Mmmmm, couscous with sauteed veggies. Super-easy to make, and the most time-consuming thing is chopping the veggies. The recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup dry couscous (I used tomato-basil flavored couscous, highly recommended!)
*For gluten-free substitutions, see notes

10 baby carrots

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 red bell pepper

1/2-3/4 cup sliced cremini mushrooms (or any type you prefer)

3 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Garlic salt

Directions:

Prepare couscous according to package directions in a medium bowl, and set aside.

Boil the baby carrots over high heat for 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, begin dicing the garlic very finely, and chopping the onion and red pepper into small bits. (I find I have an easier time chopping up the bell pepper if I use scissors to cut it). When the carrots have finished boiling, run some cold water over them, and then chop those into small bits also.

Coat a frying pan with some olive oil (don't be shy with it) and sautee all the veggies except the carrots--onion, garlic, red bell pepper, sliced mushrooms--for about 6 minutes. Then add in the carrots, and sautee for another 2-3 minutes.

Transfer the hot veggies to the bowl with the couscous, and mix together. Add in an extra tablespoon of olive oil, if the couscous seems a little hard or dry. (Or just to make the flavor a little richer!). Sprinkle garlic salt over it to taste, serve hot, and enjoy!! Heats up very nicely for leftovers, so this is a good dish for making a double batch and having quick, healthy, easy meals during the week.

Notes:

For a gluten-free option, a good sub to mimic the couscous texture would be quinoa. I haven't made it this way yet, but feel free to experiment, and please report back and let me know how it went! :) Another sub for the quinoa could definitely be rice. I've made a lot of rice and sauteed veggie dishes, and they all turn out very well--and a dash of soy sauce is good, but unfortunately most have gluten, so check labels.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Good afternoon! Hope everybody's having a lovely Sunday :) It's certainly beautiful here in central Iowa, a perfect day to get a little sunshine, exercise, eat some good food...Mhm, a great Sunday indeed! After making some scrambled tofu for breakfast, I had some leftover peppers that I wanted to eat today. I also had some baby bella mushrooms and tofutti sitting in the fridge--which gave me the idea to make some stuffed mushrooms! I haven't had those in ages and ages, and decided it was high time to make a vegan version. Tofutti is super yummy and swaps out perfectly for dairy cream cheese, though I noticed it does take a couple minutes longer to cook. The recipe:

Ingredients:

8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, stems removed

1/2 cup finely diced bell peppers, red/orange/yellow/green--any of these work

1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon finely diced onion

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2-3 tablespoons Tofutti brand "cream cheese" (I used French Onion flavored Tofutti)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Rinse and dry the mushrooms, and set aside.

In a cup or small mixing bowl, mix together the peppers, onion, parsley, and garlic powder.

Scoop that mix into the mushroom caps, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.

Spread a generous amount of tofutti over the tops of the mushrooms, covering them completely.

Place in the preheated oven and cook for 18-20 minutes, or until the tofutti starts to crack a little on the top. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving, and really enjoy!!

Quinoa and Hummus Salad

As the end of September rolls in, I find myself desperately trying to fit in those last few "summer-y" things before the cold sets in. For me, that means lots of hiking, bonfires, boat rides, and super-fresh foods. Foods like this Quinoa and Hummus Salad. It's kind of similar to a pasta salad, only subtract the pasta and add the quinoa :) Plus, the sauteed veggies give a great boost to the immunity system, which we can all use as the cold weather starts to set in! This is a salad that is good the first day, but GREAT the second and third days, when the flavors absorb a little better. (Think back, think waaaay back to your first school dance. 8pm, starts off awkward, no one's talking, boys on one side of the room, girls on the other. But, as time goes on, people get chatting, enjoying the music a little more, people start dancing--eventually everything works out and everybody has a great time.) Okay, maybe a bad comparison, I know, but that's what I envision happens when I store this salad in the fridge overnight. The quinoa, hummus, and veggies all get very friendly and cozy, and this salad is magically twice as delicious the next day! But enough with bad junior-high-dance comparisons and such, here is the recipe for your Quinoa and Hummus Salad:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup hummus (I used garlic hummus--yum!)

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 yellow or orange bell pepper

1 medium yellow onion

1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms

1 tbsp minced garlic

Spices, depending on your taste, but I used the following:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Fresh German Thyme
• Garlic Powder
• Parsley Flakes
• Spike Brand Gourmet Natural Seasoning

Spices are absolutely essential, they take it from a somewhat bland dish to something entirely amazing :) So, definitely add in as many of the above that you can, and feel free to experiment and add in some new flavors as well!

Directions:

Start to cook the quinoa over the stovetop according to box directions (usually it's one part quinoa to two parts water).

Dice your peppers and onion, and chop the mushrooms into smaller pieces. Sautee these all in a medium pan that has been lightly coated with cooking spray, over medium heat for about 8 minutes, stirring/flipping often so as not to burn. In the last minute or two, add in the minced garlic.

Remove sauteed veggies from the heat and set aside.

Transfer the quinoa to a serving bowl, and stir/mix in the hummus. Now mix in about 3/4 - 1 cup of your sauteed veggies, and lastly add the spices.

Mix everything together very well, and store in the fridge until cool, or preferably overnight.

Enjoy as a side, snack, or entree! (Also great fuel for pre/post-workout)

Notes:

You'll have leftover sauteed veggies, but not to worry! There's lots of ways to use them, one of my favorite being adding them into a Southwestern Style Scrambled Tofu. Or, if you're like me, you may just gobble them up just as they are :) They'll keep for at least 3 days in the fridge, possibly longer, but they've never lasted that long in my house!

This dish serves 2 as an entree, or 3-4 as a side or snack. The entire thing will have maximum 500 calories, so 250 for one serving as an entree, I'd call that a pretty healthy low-cal meal :) Happy munching!

Power Protein Bowl

Here is another relatively new favorite of mine: the Power Protein Bowl. Perfect as a meal on its own, also great for pre/post-workout.

A long time ago, I tried cooking with quinoa. I really tried. I did just like the box said, 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, cover and put it in the microwave and cook for....NO. For me, trying to cook quinoa in the microwave results in spending the next half-hour scraping baked quinoa off of the microwave plate. Quinoa and I didn't get along very well. That is, until a couple weeks ago, when I broke down and decided to try it again. You see, quinoa is such a good source of protein, a complete protein, that I just couldn't give up on it quite yet. And I'm so glad I didn't.

I learned something: quinoa boils over to hell in the microwave, but it cooks up quite nicely on the stovetop :) It only takes a little more patience (I know, not my strong suit either when I'm hungry, but worth the wait). So, that's my recommendation--go stovetop. The rest of this recipe is super simple and easy to cook. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dry quinoa (fluffs up to about 1 cup when cooked)

1 can of black beans (15oz can)

1 package extra firm cubed tofu (or just extra firm and cube it yourself)


Now what's tofu without a marinade? Well, it's cardboard. For the marinade:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Scant 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1.5 teaspoons black pepper

If you have some finely chopped herbs lying around, you can totally should add some in, a little cilantro went very nicely with mine.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Get the quinoa started first, as it takes the longest--just follow the directions on the box, but go stovetop!

Next, you'll want to grab an 8 x 8 pan and whip up the marinade for the tofu, just pour all the ingredients into the pan and mix them evenly with a fork or spoon, making sure the whole bottom of the pan is covered.

Drain your tofu and pat it dry with a paper towel, then pour the cubed tofu (or slice it up if it isn't already, in little half-inch chunks) over the marinade. Flip the tofu a couple times with a spatula, try to get a coating of the marinade on all the sides if you can. Set the pan in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, then take it out and flip the tofu, and cook for 5-7 more minutes.

Drain the black beans and rinse very well with hot water, drain again and pour into a sealable container. Add in your quinoa and tofu, stir to combine, and enjoy!

Notes:

Makes 4 servings at 200 calories each, this recipe REALLY packs in the protein and fiber. It's awesome fuel for the body--this is a godsend on those long and exhausting days we all run into now and then. Stores in the fridge for 3 days, but it never lasts that long at my house!


Question of the day: What's your favorite non-animal-based protein source?