Yellow Split Pea Dahl...Not Really

So Jaime moved to Bulgaria and left me with a jar of yellow split peas. What was she thinking? I remember her making a dahl and having me trying it, but she didn’t leave me with the recipe. Now what’s a girl to do? Glad you asked. Here’s the answer: try out a few yellow split pea dahl recipes and combine them to make this simple delicious Indian cuisine. Perfect. I do love a good challenge.

What you’ll need:

1 cup yellow split peas, uncooked
2 cups water with one vegan bouillon cube or vegetable broth
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
¼ cup peas
1 1/2 tsp cumin, whole seeds or ground
2 whole cloves
dash pepper, to taste

In a large pot, place the peas and water or vegetable broth, and bring to a slow simmer. Add the turmeric, cayenne and salt, and cover. Allow to cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a large skillet or frying pan, heat the onion, cumin and clove in the margarine. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until onion is soft. Add the onion and spices to the split peas, mix and simmer for at least 5 more minutes.

Add a dash of pepper and more salt, if desired, and serve hot with rice.

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!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

Think burritos are a boring dinner option? Well, I guess at some point we all get bored with our 'same old' weekly standbys. Since roasted sweet potatoes are one of our favorite veggies, we decided to change things up a bit with another one of our favorites. These oughta spice up those old standby burritos. We love these!


What you’ll need:

1 large sweet potatoes, chopped into small cubes
1-2 Tbs olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed ( or use your own homemade beans)
½ Tbs chili powder
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained (or use fresh)
Salt and pepper to task
2 cups of your favorite salsa (fresh is best)
8 large whole wheat or flour tortillas
½ cup chopped red onions


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and toss with your hands. Roast until tender, turning once about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degree. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add beans, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir in sweet potatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish, add a thin layer of salsa over the bottom.

Place a tortilla on a flat work surface. Spoon in a portion of the sweet potato mixture down the middle of the left side of the tortilla and roll it up, folding in the ends. Place the filled tortilla in the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining mixture and tortillas. Spoon any remaining mixture on top of the burritos, top with the remaining salsa and red onions. Cover and bake for about 20 minutes. Serve hot with avocado slices or guacamole.

Tacos

I just got home from work and both boys have soccer practice. I need to figure out what's for dinner, and fast. Something simple, quick, easy and nutritious.... TACOS. These make the perfect meal!

What you'll need:

Taco shells: soft or hard shells, we prefer fresh soft taco shells but realize those aren't always available.

Beans of your choice, depending on your mood you can have black beans, pinto, refried or any others you like. If you would like to make your own beans below is a simple recipe we use for our pinto and/or black beans.

Lettuce, chopped. Skip the iceberg lettuce and opt for something with more minerals and nutrients. You can use raw spinach or mixed greens.

Tomatoes, chopped
Onions, chopped
Cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped
Olives, sliced
Avocados, sliced
Nutritional yeast, in place of cheese, sprinkle it on generously

Salsa, fresh is always best but any of your favorites will do.

Brown rice, cook according to directions

If using dried beans, soak for one hour. Pour water out and replace with new water. Cook beans on medium, added chopped onions, garlic and cilantro. Cook for about 1 -1 1/2 hours or until you can squish the bean easily between your fingers.

For canned beans, heat beans in medium sauce pan. While your beans are heating cut your veggies. Rice should be cooking at this time as well. You can warm your shells during this time if you are not using fresh tortillas.

To make things easier have all your topping in a row so you can assemble them as you move along. Take your tortilla or taco shell add beans, rice, veggies, nutritional yeast, and salsa. Quick, easy and delicious. Dinner is served.... seriously it's that easy.