Saturday, July 31, 2010

Red Quinoa with Veggies














Red what? Red Quinoa (keen-wa). It's a grain. And a really good one too, according to the ancient Incas who believed the crop to be sacred and termed it,"Mother of all grains". Yep, we looked it up on
Wikipedia. We like research, what can we say.

We have been using Quinoa for quite some time now. In our opinion, it's a good rice replacement, and goes perfectly with tofu and veggies.

This recipe is a recent creation and went over real well with the little ones. In addition to it's excellent taste, Quinoa is loaded with protein for all of you vegan/veggies out there who worry about getting enough in your diet.

So get your bowls ready....here comes a yummy meal!

What you'll need:

Red Quinoa
Black Beans
1-2 Tsp cumin
1-2 Onions
Cilantro: as much you like (we love it, so use a ton)use at least 1/2 cup
3 cloves of garlic
1 pound firm Tofu pan fried til golden brown in a tsp of sesame oil (or whatever you like)
Lots of Atulfo Mangos - say one for each person eating
Bunch Spinach
Half a Tomato for each person
Avocados
Salsa to taste
Lime to taste
Tortilla Chips as needed to scoop up yummy stuff

Cook Quinoa according to package directions, only, add a vegetable bouillon cube to the water.
Make your own 'refried' black beans, or use canned, put black bean in a large frying pan with some of the liquid, add add onions, cumin, garlic and cilantro and mash. Cook until a nice thick consistency mashing and stirring often.

Put a layer of chopped fresh spinach in the bowl, add quinoa, beans and other toppings to taste. Enjoy!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Poundless Poundcake



You'll never guess how many times we get the question ,"What do vegetarians eat?" Here's our answer: Salad. Ha! We're joking, of course!


While we do eat our fair share of salads, we also eat plenty of other stuff, as you have probably learned through viewing our other recipes. We also get to eat delicious treats without modifying them at all.


However, when we decided to go a step further and start incorporating some vegan entrees and desserts into our diets, we were pleasantly surprised!. Yeah, we knew that most health care professionals tell you that cutting down on animal products will result in better health. But still, even some part of us had a preconceived notion that being vegan meant boring. Thank goodness we were so wrong!


We love the traditional pound cake topped with whatever fresh berries are in season, but we dislike the heavy, icky feeling we get right after eating it. So, we've created this 'Poundless Cake' with taste and health in mind. This recipe proves just how simple and delicious a vegan dessert can be, so go ahead and indulge a bit! Remember though, even though this pound cake was created without animal fats, it is still dessert!

Enjoy!!
What You’ll Need:

1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 ounces firm tofu (blending or processing first assures no lumps)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 5 x 9" loaf pan. Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in tofu until well combined. Add 1 cup flour and, with mixer on low, mix just until incorporated. Add water and extracts and do the same. End with remaining cup of flour and baking powder. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1-2 minutes. Spoon mixture into pan and lightly smooth the top. Place on the center rack of the oven and bake for 55 minutes.

Top with our cashew cream, or (vice cream) and fresh berries or whipped cream and fresh berries. YUM!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burger



If you're anything like me you love portobello mushrooms. I eat them with pasta, in salads, or I just eat them by themselves. They are perfect for a healthier burger option anytime of year.

What you’ll need:

4 Portobello mushrooms
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbs Red wine vinegar
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Burger buns
Swiss cheese
Sweet onion, thinly sliced and sautée
Tomato, thinly sliced
Lettuce

Clean mushroom caps and remove stems.

In a small bowl combine the, oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Brush over the mushrooms making sure to coat completely.

Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill on medium heat. Put the mushrooms, gill side down, onto the grill and grill about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Once mushroom is cooked on each side top with a slice of swiss cheese. After you flip the mushrooms top each with 2 tablespoons of Cheddar.

While the mushrooms are grilling sautee onions. Remove mushrooms from the grill and serve on the toasted buns with grilled onions, lettuce and tomato slices.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Blueberry Cobbler

Nothing says summer like berry cobblers. They are the perfect dessert for a BBQ or potluck. Just make sure you reserve some for yourself before serving everyone else, cause it will disappear fast!! Seriously, this Blueberry Cobbler was a hit at the Pindur going away Potluck and it was gone the moment I placed it on the table.

Aside from their incredible taste, blueberries are loaded with antioxidants, have been proven to improve brain health and help fight heart disease too. I’ve even read that they help reduce belly fat. Well, that’s perfect, cause we might have a little extra to get rid of after eating this dessert ;)
Seriously though, when in season, blueberries are a great treat and really don’t need anything to go along with them….but they sure do make an incredible cobbler.

For those of you out there who like cobblers, but don’t like them too sweet, you may want to reduce the amount of sugar. Remember, you’re gonna top it with ice cream, aren’t you?

What you’ll need:

3 cups of fresh blueberries
½ lemon
1 1/8 cup of sugar
4 Tbs of butter substitute
1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ cup soy milk
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ Tbs cornstarch
Ground cinnamon
¾ cup boiling water

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Spread blueberries out to cover the bottom of the dish. Squeeze lemon over them.

In a mixer stir together butter substitute and 1 1/8 cup of sugar until smooth. Stir in flour and baking powder, alternating with soy milk, until smooth. Don’t worry about the consistency of the batter it will be fantastic. Mix the batter into the berries and spread evenly over the baking dish.

In your mixer mix together 1 ½ cups of sugar, salt and cornstarch. Sprinkle over the top of the batter. Dust with cinnamon and then pour the boiling water over the entire dish. It seems weird but it works, trust me.

Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour or until golden brown. Serve warm and top with vanilla ice cream. Heaven on a plate.