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.

I'm Back!

Long story short, life happened. I'm in finishing up my RN program and posting to blogs really took a back seat. During the time I was missing, I continued to cook and think veggies. A huge focus toward fulfilling daily nutrient needs in addition to eating more vegetables became my daily routine. With the lack of time, I gravitated toward meal planning and it's really been a life saver. How can I learn and teach about health when I'm not taking care of myself? I can't thrive on protein bars and vending machine food.

In the process, I've really stepped up my veg-food game. Does this mean I'm torching veggies over hot coals and climbing mountains to locate a rare spice? 

No. Nobody has time for that. I've simply altered my cooking style to easy, pretty, tasty, healthy and usually just fun. I hope it reflects in the following posts from now on. 

Looking back on some of the recipes, I definitely have grown as a cook and as a (mostly) vegetarian. I'll be uploading posts more regularly and hope you get some benefit out of them.

A fun photo of a friend who volunteered with me at the 2016 Veg Fest in Seattle. We were the black bean dip girls.

Paelo-ish Jjajangmyun

I've been trying to cut back on the wheat and rice foods, but I'm having the most intense cravings for jjajangmyun, a Korean dish that is probably not the healthiest thing on the menu. Part of the joy of eating this dish is the sauce, and part of the joy is slurping the large noodles. I decided if I had to choose one part to make the dish as true as possible, it was the sauce. I omitted the potatoes that you usually find in the dish and replaced the noodles with zucchini "noodles". You can also try this with the shiritaki noodles (practically low carb) made from yam. I would check the ingredients list on the jar of jjajang paste you buy and try to find one that has the least amount and simple list of ingredients. Also, some pastes come with higher salt content than others, so keep that in mind.

Paleo-ish Jjajangmyun 
20 min, Serves 3

2 zucchini, juliened (or shiritaki noodles)
1 cup pork belly, cubed
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup onion, cubed
1 cup Korean radish or daikon, cubed
2 tablespoon of Korean blackbean paste (jjajang paste)
1 teaspoon sweet rice powder
2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup cucumber, juliened
black pepper

1. To make the zucchini noodles, juliene the zucchini as long as possible with a mandolin. Heat the frying pan to medium high and add a touch of olive oil. Stir fry the zucchini pieces until they start to get tender and remove from heat. The residual heat should cook the zucchini further, so you don't want to overcook them in the frying pan or they will get too limp. Remove any water that might have accumulated from the cooked zucchini.

2. In a clean frying pan, add pork belly and fry until cooked through. Remove the pork and leave any oil behind. Add the onion, and radish and cook until onion is translucent. Add the pork back into the frying pan and stir together.

3. Move the vegetables and pork in the pan to form a hole in the center. Add the jjajang paste and stir fry for a few minutes. Mix the sweet rice powder with the chicken broth and add to the vegetables and pork. Allow to simmer together with the lid closed until the ingredients are fully cooked. Taste the sauce, if its too salty, add more water or a touch of sugar if needed.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and add  sesame oil, more to taste. Stir the sauce into the zucchini noodles and sprinkle with the cucumber for garnish and flavor.

You can find the jjajangmyun recipe that inspired me to make this version from here: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/jjajangmyun

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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Phyllo Pizza

Whenever Friday comes around, I get a sudden craving for pizza. Or maybe its cheese in general... I don't understand it really. But here is a quick way to get a pizza going using Phyllo dough! Did you know: Pepperidge Farm makes theirs vegan friendly??

It's almost impossible to mess this pizza up. You should find the light crispy crust sandwhiched with gooey cheese irresistible.

Phyllo Pizza
25 min, Serves 2

5 sheets of phyllo dough, unfrozen
non-stick spray
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese
salt and pepper
(optional) italian seasoning
2 cups tomato, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
2 tablespoon green onion, sliced
1 cup basil, fresh OR 1 tablespoon basil, dried

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix cheeses, salt and pepper, and seasonings in a small bowl.
3. Unroll unfrozen phyllo dough and cut in half lengthwise. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray. Layer 2 pieces of phyllo on baking sheet and spray. Spread part of cheese mix on top and cover with one sheet of phyllo. Repeat spray-cheese-dough (1 piece) process until two pieces of phyllo are left. Put the last two on top together. Spread any remaining cheese on top.
4. Evenly spread tomato slices on top, followed by garlic, green onion. When oven is ready, bake for 20 min or until crust has turned golden brown and cheese has melted. Sprinkle basil over the top and enjoy!

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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!