Stir Fry Tempeh Salad

Tempeh is one of things "scary" vegetarian/vegan foods that people are afraid to try, including myself. I did a 30 day vegan challenge last year that led me to try tempeh. After all, when you are trying new things, why not try new things. I purchased one from Central Market, and health food store in Shoreline, and one from Trader Joes. Both had a beigy/grey color to the tempeh out of the pacakge, that looks pretty unsatisfying. It has a slight smell it as well, related to the fermented soy beans. I heated a frying pan and added a little oil and fried sliced pieces until browned on one side before flipping and browning the other side. The result is a flavorful looking piece of protein. Adding a little soy sauce adds a lot of flavor, but I decided to give this vegetarian mushroom flavored stir-fry sauce a try with it, and resulted in almost a teriyaki flavored protein. It was really good. I dare you to try tempeh, you'll be pleasantly surprised! Even my mom gave it a try and like it.

I used the tempeh in a salad along with some steamed vegetables. For dressing, I could have used any asian flavored type of dressing, but I tried it with ranch and it tasted fine. I found the Vegetarian mushroom flavored stir-fry sauce at a local asian superfood store.

STIR FRY TEMPEH SALAD

makes 2 servings

1 package of tempeh

1-2 TBSP EVOO, separated

1-2 TBSP Vegetarian Mushroom Flavored Stir-Fry Sauce

Mixed salad greens

steamed or stir-fried vegetables

1. Open tempeh package and slice into even number.
2. Heat a frying pan to medium high and EVOO.
3. Add sliced tempeh to heated pan and stir fry, allow it to brown on once side before turning, about 3-4 minutes each side. Add stir fry sauce and flip once more.
4. Cool the tempeh and put together salad portion: steam or stir-fry vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, onion, and snap peas. 
5. Once all ingredients are cooled, put salad mix on the bottom of container, along with the vegetables and then top with tempeh. Use any dressing you'd like.

Kimchi Ramen

Do you know what Koreans love to eat? Ramen. Spicy broth, wavy noodles, bits of vegetables and sometimes and egg. It's a bit chilly in Seattle today, so the soupy goodness goes well with the weather. The great part about ramen is that you can add almost anything you want to it. Normally I will an egg to the pot while its still bubbling, and give everything a quick stir. This will make the broth a little creamy in consistency. Today I decided to poach the egg instead, just for fun. I used the Food Networks instructions to poach the egg, found here.

The stone pot used here is used for soup and stews in Korean cooking. You can find one in a Korean market for about $5. Get the tray that is usually sold separately. This pot gets REALLY hot and I have burned through a couple pot holders on accident. 

This recipe can be made vegan by omitting the egg and using cubed tofu instead. If using the poached egg, start the egg water at the same time as the soup broth.

Check your kimchi to see if any fish products were used to make it (shrimp paste, fish sauce, etc). Vegan kimchi is often found on refrigerated store shelves, even in American ones.  If using kimchi (kimchee), the trick to well flavored kimchi food is making sure its fermented well. Normally, store bought kimchi is fermented yet still considered "fresh". If you let it age a little, the flavor deepens and the cabbage gets a little softer. In the fridge it can take a week or so, so if you are in a rush, take out some kimchi and leave it in an air tight container (don't use plastic, the smell will never come out) in the kitchen. It'll usually age in a day or so. 

Here, I halved the ramen noodles from a Neoguri package. Shin Ramen noodles also work really well. The noodles in these two packages are a little thicker than the kind you usually see in American stores (think Top Ramen). If you look at the nutritional information on the ramen packages, you'll notice that one package is for two servings, therefore I halved the noodles for this recipe. You can toss the flavoring package or give it someone who likes using it. The flavoring package normally contains some sort of meat flavoring product.

KIMCHI RAMEN

2 CUPS of water

1 tsp vegetable base

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/4 CUP aged kimchi, sliced

1 serving of ramen noodles

1 stalk of green onion, sliced

1 medium or large egg (optional)

1. Bring water to a boil. If using stone pot, bring the water up to medium heat first before going medium high. 
2. Once water is boiling, add the vegetable broth and garlic and bring to boil again. 
3. Add the noodles and kimchi to the broth. 
4. Once the noodles soften, add the green onions and egg.

Veggie Patty Burger Salad

Meal prepping will save you time, but some recipes take longer than others. This is a quick go to meal I create on Sunday evening and simply love. I try to not to make more than I can eat in three days, since most of the components are made of fresh ingredients. I consider this one of the unhealthier things I eat because the patty's are store-bought (sodium!) but you could make your own pattys and freeze them for use later. I do most of my grocery shopping on Saturday or Sunday so my veggies are fresh for the upcoming week. You can easily make this salad vegan by using vegan cheese and dressings.

Large salad boxes are cheaper at wholesale stores such as Sams Club, a store I frequent nearly weekly. I spend about $4.48 on a 16 oz (1 lb) box of organic baby kale mix, versus Fred Meyer where a 12 oz box might go for $4.99. Since they are already cleaned and prepared, they are great to have at home. 

For the salads pictured below, I purchased Morning Star's Spicy Buffalo Chik'n patty, and their Spicy Black Bean Burger patty. My fiance loves the Spicy Chik'n one's the most, he thinks they taste better than the real thing!

I purchased the black to-go looking containers off of Amazon and they are great for meal prepping. Make several meals and you can grab and go in the morning, or trade meals if you have someone else who likes to meal prep too. Ingredients below pertain to 3 salads. Separate ingredients between the salad containers.

VEGGIE PATTY BURGER SALAD

handfuls of salad mix (kale or spinach is best)

1/2 cup red cabbage, thinly shredded

1/4  cup onion, thiny sliced

1/4 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1-2 roma tomato, sliced

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 veggie patty of choice

2 TBSP of light ranch per salad

1. Add a layer of salad to the bottom of the container.
2. Add the rest of the vegetables in layers, sprinkling the top with the shredded cheese.
3. Cook the patty's to the package instructions (we pan fried them) and allow to cool before slicing.
4. Placed sliced patty's on top of vegetables and add some dressing to the top if eating the same day or in a separate small container if eating on a later date.

Italian Wedding Soup

I've been a LITTLE busy last couple years, working on becoming a RN. As a result, I've neglected this little blog that no one reads. I still eat a primarily vegetarian diet,  but I've toyed more with veganism in the process. I even went vegan for a whole month sometime in 2015! It was huge learning curve and I enjoyed the many things I've learned from that experience. I continue to get surprised today as I find more delicious vegan recipes and learn that there are a lot of people interested in the world of veganism.

Recently, I was reading Brunette Ambition by Lea Michele, who plays talented Rachel Berry on Glee and herself in her whirlwind life. Lea and I have a lot of eating similarities, we eat as vegetarians/vegans most of the time. She was kind of enough to include some tasty recipes in her book, one of them I tried right away. Her Italian Wedding Soup is vegan (without the parmesan cheese sprinkled on top at the end) and is full of flavor. You won't even notice its vegan because its so hearty. I may want to try this recipe later with some barley added in.

I made about 8 servings out of this recipe, two were eaten for dinner and the rest was frozen for lunches later in the week. Please be sure to fully cool the soup before bagging anything. Scoop portion into freezer safe ziplock bag and lay flat to freeze. They hardly take up any space this way. I'm big on meal prepping now: it saves time and resources, I get to eat good food, and it's much healthier than anything from the shelves at the supermarket. This soup is super easy to make, freezes well and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Yay for Lea!

The recipe below was slightly modified to work with what I had in my kitchen.

VEGAN ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

3 TBSP extra Virgin olive oil

4 carrots, chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 large onion, chopped

8 cups vegetable broth

1 to 2 pinches of salt

1 to 2 pinches of pepper

1 to pinches of red pepper flakes

Juice of 3 lemons

3 to 4 unpeeled russet potatoes, cubed

1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed and chopped

16 oz dried green lentils (or 2 cans of 15oz prepared lentils)

Water to cook lentils

parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Cover bottom of a pan with olive oil and heat to medium.
2. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, onion and a pinch of salt and pepper and saute until vegetables are soft and tender, about 5-10 minutes.
3. In a separate pot, bring vegetable broth to a boil, then reduce heat to low. 
• I used about 6 TSPS of Organic Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Broth
4. Add the sauteed vegetables to broth and cook on low for 30 minutes.
5. Add a bit more salt and pepper, pepper flakes, and lemon juice to taste.
6. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes.
7. If using dried lentils: The lentils will swell so be sure to account for that in the pot size.
• Wash and rinse the lentils. Add double triple amount of water to lentils in the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low and let it simmer and absorb the water until fully cooked, about 15-20 minutes.
8. Stir in the kale and cooked lentils and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
• I prefer buying dried lentils and cooking them, but you can substitute with 2 (15 oz) cans of prepared lentils.
9. (optional) Top soup with parmesan cheese.

Halloween Cupcakes (Vegan)

BOO!

I love halloween. You have no idea. I don't know if its the scary things, costumes, treats, or the parties. I guess I love it all. So lets combine my love of food with my love for Halloween:

I don't get to bake a whole lot, but I really wanted to try my hand at vegan cupcakes. After a lot of research, I settled on this cupcake and frosting recipe. The cupcake is light and fluffy, with a hint of coconut. The frosting is sweet, but not too sweet, and has a hint of lime. Combined, they taste like a pina colada / margarita in your mouth!

My family actually really loved this, and even though they do not have sweet tooths, they still ate them up :) They look a little scary, but they really are the cutest, sweetest things... muHAHAHAHA.

Halloween Cupcakes (Vegan)

40 min total, Serves 18

Cupcake

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups almond milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed until liquid*
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
  1. 1. 
        1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin pans or line with paper baking cups.
        2. Measure almond milk into a 2 cup measuring cup. Add apple cider vinegar to milk and give a quick stir. Let the milk mix stand until curdled, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk mixture with liquid coconut oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
        3. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 17-20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in their pan, setting the pan over a wire rack.

Frosting

1 1/2 Avocados, peeled and pitted

juice from a lime, freshly squeezed

3/4 package of 1 lb confectioners sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine avocado and lime juice in a bowl. Mash the two together and blend using hand blender or transfer ingredients to an upright blender. Once the ingredients look smoother, add the sugar in small batches and continue to blend. Once completely smooth, add vanilla and blend until color is even.

2. Spread frosting over cooled cupcakes with a spoon. Add additional decorations and allow to set at room temperature.

*Found the coconut oil at Fred Meyers in their organic/health foods section. Its a solid that comes in a jar, so it needs to be scooped out, warmed to a liquid, and then used. I bought the organic coconut oil, scooped it into a bowl, microwaved on medium for about 30 seconds and then stirred. I repeated this for maybe 2 minutes more, stopping at 30 seconds each time.

Here are the links I went by:

Cupcake

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegan-Cupcakes/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

Frosting

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Avocado-Icing/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

Aubergine and Bulgur Salad

Originally the recipe calls for couscous but my friend had a small tub off bulgur wheat that I couldn't let go to waste. Whipped it up for a friends bbq. One person told me "ew", another said "yum". I liked it so, XP

Aubergine and Bulgur Wheat Salad
20 minutes, Serves 6

olive oil
1 aubergine*, chopped into chunky
1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 zucchini, chopped
5 baby portobello mushrooms
10 cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 cups bulgur wheat or couscous

1. Heat a nonstick skillet to medium high. Once warm, lower to medium and add a tablespoon of olive oil, move pan to spread around.

2. Season aubergine with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and grill for a 5 minutes or until they start to brown. Add onion, zucchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes to the pan and continue to cook until all the vegetables are tender crisp.

3. In a seperate pan, heat cooked bulgur wheat or couscous with garlic and parsley. Continue to cook until garlic is fragrant and add the cooked vegetables. Mix well and serve immediately for a warm salad or cold as an easy lunch.

*Aubergine is just a fancy word for eggplant

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Quinoa Salad

Thank you Christina!

She introduced to me my first quinoa salad, and I can't stop looking for recipes and using it. Quinoa... pronounced "KEEN-WAH" can be found in stores in natural sections in either white or red. Usually its white, but Trader Joes has organic red, which is the one I buy. For something so tiny, its very filling and has much better nutrients than regular rice or even brown rice! It's easy to use, and cheap (at Trader Joes at least) and a little goes a long way. I like.

I cut the regular recipe in half (maybe even a quarter??) because I would have to end up eating this a whole week if I were to try to finish it on my own. Quinoa is great with fresh vegetables and adding avocado adds a nice soft creamy texture to the salad. Use any left over fresh vegetable in your fridge and it'll still taste great. It's perfect cold so its a home run for the summer table.

Quinoa Salad

20 min, serves 2

1/2 cup red quinoa

1 cup water

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cucumber, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 cup cooked corn kernels

5 sesame leaves, julienned

1 tomato, diced

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1. Rinse quinoa in cold water a few times (very important). Bring water to a boil and add quinoa. Lower heat and simmer for about 10-15 min until excess liquid is gone.

2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare all vegetables and place together in a bowl.

3. Once the quinoa is done cooking, remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Allow to cool. Add quinoa to the vegetables and season with lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days. Try using red bell peppers, avocados, tiny shrimp, cilantro, whatever you have!