Grilled Vegetable Salad

After a long day of painting and yard work, I came inside hungry and with no plans for dinner. Here is an amazing salad that I quickly made, using whatever I could find in the frig. Whats perfect about this meal is you can use any produce or even top with a whole grain ( like quinoa or wheat berries) or a lean protein (chick peas, chicken, hard boiled eggs etc).

Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce (chopped)
Grilled corn (cut off the cobb)
Grilled zucchini (diced)
Grilled carrots (diced)
Sauteed avocado- this turned out great! Just a little EVOO and sea salt cooked on med heat
Feta cheese
Annie's Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette

Japanese inspired "hot dogs" & wasabi fries

I am a huge fan of Japanese food, all I need are some cucumber (Maki) rolls, a seaweed salad and some edamame and I am good to go. When I recently read the new issue of VegNews they had a recipe called "Negimiso Veggie Dog & Wasabi Oven Fries" that made my mouth water.

It looks like a strange combination but trust me it was delicious and simple to make.

Veggie Dog
Serves 4
Miso Sauce

• 1/4 cup of hot water
• 2 TB white or yellow miso
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp arrowroot powder

Hot dogs

• 1 tsp vegetable oil (I used EVOO)
• 2 cups of thinly shredded green cabbage (I am not usually a fan but it made the dish)
• 2 long hoagie rolls (use a hearty bun than a hot dog bun)
• 4 large veggie dogs (I used FieldRoast- see comments below)
• 2 scallions (optional)

Directions

1. For the miso sauce, whisk together all ingredients until smooth over medium-low heat, and stir constantly for 3-5 mins until thick and smooth. Remove from heat and cover.
2. For the cabbage, heat oil in a pan and stir fry cabbage until crisp, about 2 mins. Transfer to a bowl and set aside
3. Cook hot dog according to package directions

Wasabi Oven Fries
Serves 4

• 4 cuts of russet potatoes, scrubbed, and sliced 1/2" thick
• 2 TB peanut oil or veg oil
• 1 TB wasabi powder
• 2 TB aonori seaweed flakes (you can also used dulse)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp rice vinegar (I used mirin)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss potato slices with oil and spread in a single layer on the pan. Roast for 20 minutes, then flip fries. Roast for another 4-8 mins until crisp.
2. In a small bowl combine seaweed, wasabi, sugar and salt.
3. Remove fries from the oven and sprinkle with the rice vinegar and toss. Then sprinkle the wasabi mixture above and toss again. Serve immediately.

** I tend to shy away from all "fake" meat and enjoy hearty whole foods instead. When I saw this tasty recipe I decided to go on the hunt for a real substitute and ended up trying Field Roast- frankfurters original (they have many varieties). I am so happy with my choice, they even smelled like hot dogs and were a perfect addition to the recipe above.

Here is a blurb from the company- At Field Roast we believe “real” is better than fake. That’s why our old world-style vegetarian frankfurters are made using the simple tenets of good cooking, real ingredients and uncomplicated techniques. Fresh garlic, fresh onions and our own traditional blend of spices make the difference.

.....I think I may be making this recipe again tomorrow :)

Kale Vegetable Soup

So remember that soup I told you about last week? Well it turned out AMAZING, and we have been eating it daily. Not only is it extremely filling but it also has such great flavors. All from a little recipe that I ripped out of WebMD while at the dentist office... haha!

Makes 6 (but seriously it could serve a lot more)
Ingredients

• 1 TB EVOO
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups of red potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 6 cups of kale (about 1 bunch), stemmed, and coarsely chopped
• 1 16oz can of low sodium cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5oz can petite diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
• 4-6 cups of low sodium chicken stock (I used 6)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 TB vinegar (sherry or wine) (optional)
• 1 TB chopped fresh rosemary (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5-7 minutes until lightly browned; add red pepper, carrots and garlic; saute 5 minutes
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add potatoes, kale, beans, tomatoes, chicken stock, salt and pepper; simmer until potatoes are tender about 10-15 minutes (when I made this soup it needed to cook a lot longer. Just periodically check the tenderness of the potatoes to know when its done).
3. Add additional water or stock if mixture becomes too thick. Before serving stir in vinegar and garnish with rosemary. (I skipped this step)

Easy homemade bread?

I have baked homemade bread with my grandmother and mother and lets just say its not my cup of tea. Although the end result is delicious, it just takes too much time and patience! Not to mention muscle when you kneed it.

So I always opt for store bought bread such as Ezekiel (found in the freezer aisle) or locally made breads at the farmers market. Today, I was reading one of my favorite blogs edible perspective   and she posted a recipe to make bread in 5 minute! She must be a miracle worker but this is something I am definitely trying asap!

Here motto for this recipe is flour + water + egg = pancake/flat bread/crepe/tortilla-thingy

 

Pan Bread [serves 1]

•1/2 large egg or 2T egg whites
•4T milk of choice
•1/4c flour of choice- some options are below:

• 2T millet + 2T masa harina [needed 1T extra milk]
• 2T oat flour + 2T buckwheat flour + 1/4t cinnamon
• 3T brown rice flour + 1T oat flour
• 1/4c buckwheat flour + 1/2T chia seeds
• 4T spelt flour [not GF]

Directions

1.Heat a small sauté pan [8” diameter works best] over medium heat, with a little oil [I used coconut].
2.In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients. The batter will be runny. Add more milk if needed.
3.Pour into the heated + grease pan, and turn the pan if needed so it’s evenly spread around. Let cook for about 2-3min, until bubbles form on top and able to be flipped.
4.With a large spatula, carefully flip and cook for another 2-3min, or until golden brown.
5.Eat right away, or let cool, wrap tightly + refrigerate.
tips/substitutions: The small pan works best, because it makes them easier to flip and also makes them the right thickness. It should fill up the entire pan. If you want them thicker, use less milk.

The texture is very light + soft. They hold together surprisingly well, even when loosely rolled. You can even cut them into quarters and make 2 mini sandwiches.

Using 100% raw buckwheat flour and unsweetened almond milk, the nutrition stats are as follows:
146 calories – 20g carbs – 3g fiber – 7g protein

 

 Try them tomorrow for breakfast- use 2 for an amazing veggie egg sandwich or even for a late lunch today.

Tiffin

Since I travel a lot for work, I leave the house with a million bags/water bottles each morning to carry food so I don't have to stop on the road.  I have been on the hunt for a more eco-friendly "lunch box" and I came across this Tiffin from India that I love!



This is perfect for hot or cold foods and it has a small tiffin on the side perfect for sauces, dressings or raw nuts. To clean you can use soap and water or you can throw it in the dish washer.