Quick, Easy, Quinoa

Did you know that 1 cup of quinoa has more calcium than a quart of milk?! Yet another reason to ditch the cow juice! Quinoa is the best go-to when you don't know what the hell to eat but you have little time or to add as a side dish. Toddlers & kids seems to love it as well, (I can attest to this as mine can eat an unusually shocking amount in one sitting). I would like to grow it in my backyard b/c it's so damn beautiful, but I don't see that in my near future...It has a good amount of protein (5 g. for 1/2 c., for you pregnant/lactating/bodybuilders out there) and an surprisingly nice amount of iron!). I think it's best with collard greens and blackened tempeh (both recipes below).

Enjoy!

Quinoa

1 cup dry quinoa, red or white
2 cups water
shake of sea salt
splash of olive oil or earth balance butter

Boil water. Add (thoroughly rinsed) quinoa into boiling water, salt, and butter or olive oil and reduce heat to low/med. Keep lid on slightly and boil for about 10-15 min. Check after 10.

Check out this site for more quinoa recipes and if you're feeling a little less boring than me :http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=396.0

Ice Cream Sandwiches (Raw vegan style)

Look what I'm doing here, everything I said I wouldn't by continuously posting desserty recipes. Ladies got a problem and I do reckon it's called laziness. If you've ever seen, "Mermaids" I think I might be Cher's character from the film where all she makes are hors d'oeuvres all day long for her kids. In all seriousness, I do do meals but lately they haven't been anywhere near interesting enough to post.

I got this bad boy from the good people @ peta: http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/lookbookkookbook-ice-cream-sandwiches.aspx?c=pfs who in turn got them from these cool people who also happen to sell super cute vegan clothes: http://www.lookbookcookbook.com/ They're good and the critic loved them (I got a, "yumm, yeah those were good ice cream sandwitches Mommy!"...You're welcome.

Raw Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches

For the Maple Nut Ice Cream:
1 cup cashews, soaked for 1 hour and rinsed thoroughly
6 Tbsp. organic maple syrup
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil, at room temperature
1 cup purified water
1 tsp. cinnamon

Place all the ingredients into a blender and mix to a smooth liquid.
Pour the mixture into a small dish until it measures about 1-inch thick.
Place in the freezer for three hours or until completely frozen.

For the Chocolate Walnut Cookies:
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. raisins
1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/8 tsp. sea salt

Place all the ingredients into a blender and mix well. You'll know it's done when you can hold clumps of the mixture and it sticks together.
Smooth out the dough on a plate or in a large container until it is approximately 1/2-inch thick. (I use a rubber spatula to even it out.) Place in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.
Remove the dough from the freezer and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. When no more shapes can be cut, lightly knead the remaining dough with your fingers to thaw it a bit, then smooth it out and flatten again to approximately 1/2-inch thick. Freeze again and cut more shapes until dough is gone.
When the ice cream is frozen, use the same cookie cutter to cut shapes from it. Place one ice cream shape between two cookie shapes. Put them back in the freezer if they have melted slightly or serve immediately.

VEGAN CAESAR SALAD

I got this recipe from the ever-so-inspirational Mimi Kirk (and ya'll better be taking some advice from someone who looks at least 20 years younger than she is - and without resorting to plastic surgery!). It's everyone's new fav around here (I've made this salad weekly since finding this recipe) and sonny boy eats an entire bowl happily, every time I make it. Don't skip the cashew, aka parm cheese, it pulls it all together beautifully!


Caesar Salad (serves 2)

2 cloves garlic (pressed)
capers (about two garlic presses full, or approx. 1 heaping tsp.)
1/2 tsp. mustard
lemon (to taste, about1/2 very juicy lemon)
dash tamari
olive oil (slowly pour in and mix until emulsified
salt
pepper
romaine lettuce (be sure get all the water out after rinsing. best if chilled for a few hours)

cashew parmesan "cheese" to sprinkle on top
1/2 c. raw, unsalted cashews
pinch salt
approx 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
dash garlic powder

food processed all together (you'll have left overs:)



my little boy doesn't dig salads but he ate all of his up in less than 3min.! it's a winner!

Vegan Maple Walnut Brownies

Happy labor day!



These went over quite well this weekend. Three years ago this little boy of ours was born in the kitchen in the wee hours after labor day, and this year he helped out in the kitchen making these delicious brownies in celebration :) He's taken quite an interest in the baking process....Enjoy~

1 1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. water ( i used grain coffee I had left over, not sure if it made a difference as I haven't made yet without.)
1/3 c. oil (i used safflower)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder. Add maple syrup, vanilla, water, oil and walnuts and mix together gently. Spoon into lightly oiled 8x8" pan and bake 25-30 min.
(From "How It All Vegan" cookbook)

Blackened Tempeh

This is our new fav. So far it's been for adults only and I plan to give to the babe, minus the cayenne at a later date. It's super good w/ tahini, greens/or salad and brown rice. It takes minutes!

Blackened Tempeh

1 tsp.each of: paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, dried oregano, & dried thyme.
1/2 tsp. black pepper
dashes of sea salt
dash cayenne pepper

Brush tempeh patties with oil, (pre-steamed for 10 min. See tempeh bacon recipe below for how to steam tempeh for a better taste). Coat them with the spice mixture, and sear in a hot frying pan. Let the spices smoke for 5-10 seconds to blacken.




Tahini dressing

(I never measure anything when I make tahini. It's all to your liking, so experiment to see what you like best. I like the constancy to be a little bit more thick when I'm using it to pour on top tempeh. I find myself craving this stuff like I imagine one would crave crack. You'll have leftovers :)

a few Tbsp. tahini
dash of soy sauce
dash sea salt
dash cayenne pepper
dash cumin
squeeze lemon
water (add tsp. at a time to get the consistency you want. It takes a while to mix and it's tricky b/c it separates but you can do it, I believe in you;) i usually end up adding about 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp water).

Farah's Date Bars

This dessert recipe was given to me from one of my best friends mom, Farah. She was born and raised in Tehran, so she knows her dates better than most people! I'm so in love with dates and this is so rich, I can only have a little slice at a time (they're that divine!). Farah recommended I drink with tea, and I agree. So have a little tea party and enjoy~


Date bars

-1 package of date paste (they sell this at any persian market, it's just dates & oil (you can also make your own date paste by food processing pit-less dates (maybe about a cup) and just enough veggie/safflower or canola oil to form a thick, moldable paste).
-chopped walnuts (a small handful)
-coconut oil

Over low heat mix date paste with tsp of coconut oil at a time, just enough to be able to mix together. It should be the consistency of play-doh. Then add walnuts and stir. Take off heat and place on plate. Mold to desired shape and refrigerate.