Vegan Lettuce Wraps

This is always such a good summer food and being in the hot Texas weather only makes me want to eat lighter.  Lettuce wraps are light, easy to eat and delicious. They make a great snack, meal or party munch.

Ingredients:

•  Cashews

•  Tempeh

•  Stir-Fry Sauce

•  Ice berg Lettuce

•  Shredded Carrot (Shredded)

•  Green Onions
 (Diced)

 Heat skillet over medium high heat. Add cashews. Toast cashews until lightly brown, stirring several times. Remove cashews from pan.

Add small amount of vegetable oil of your choice. Remove tempeh from package and dice into manageable bites. Add tempeh to pan.  If you want extra sauce for dipping or drizzling, add to the skillet while marinating.

Add stir-fry sauce and cashews and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed

Remove leaves from the head of bibb lettuce, rinse and pat dry if necessary. Stack smaller leaves inside larger leaves for added wrap strength, if desired

Spoon tempeh mixture onto each lettuce stack and top with shredded carrot and green onions.  

Quick Thai Slaw

Ready for those nice cool summer salads?  Me too!  Here is a new favorite of mine.

Ingredients:
1/2 head of red cabbage
1/2 head of white cabbage
2 carrots grated
4 tbsp veggie broth
4 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp Peanut butter

Lime wedges and crushed peanuts as garnish

Whisk together broth, vinegar and peanut butter until smooth and creamy.

Toss with cabbage and carrots until coated.  Add additional garnishes before serving cold.

Buffalo style tofu bits/ sandwiches

Ingredients:  

Buffalo Style Roasted Tofu
Serves 4

1 16-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Buffalo Sauce
1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Original Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1/8 cup Earth Balance Soy-Free Butter

Ranch Dressing
Makes a little over 1/3 cup

1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup Vegenaise or other vegan mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil, salt and paprika. Cut the tofu into cubes and gently toss to coat with the mixture. Place each tofu cube in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast for 15 minutes on each side.

In a pan, melt the butter. Turn off the heat and add the hot sauce. Stir to combine. Add the freshly roasted tofu and toss until coated. 

For the ranch combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Chill until ready to use.

Serve immediately with celery sticks and ranch or toast Kaiser rolls and make a sandwich with ranch, lettuce and tofu bits.  

Baba Ghanoush

You know what I love about Mediterranean food?  Besides the fact that its part of my heritage, is so awesomely good for you and so nutritionally dense?  It's the fact that it is so easy to make.  There are so few ingredients that I always know what I'm making is going to taste amazing!  From a great hummus to a tomato and basil salad I am always satisfied.  Try this recipe on for size.

• 1 eggplant
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• 
  
• Cut Eggplant in half and place on baking sheet make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, until soft. Remove from oven and let cool. Using a serving spoon scoop out the insides of the eggplant and discard skin. 
• 
  
• Place eggplant, lemon juice (please keep in mind that I like mine super tangy so if that is not your taste use less lemon juice), tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

 Serve with pita, crackers or use as a sandwich spread.

Garbanzo "Tuna" Salad Sandwich

This is an idea I got from Counter Culture and I just had to try it myself.

Ingredients:
- 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 prog of celery, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of non dairy mayo
- salt and pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse 10-15 times.  Place on top of hoggie roll with tomato and lettuce.

As a side just serve as is.

Enjoy!

Roasted Pepper Hummus

Hummus is oh so much more then a dip. We use it for just about everything in the circles that I travel in. Its the all purpose party food, a great spread, amazing snack ect. Not to mention that it is chalk full of protein which non vegans seem to be so concerned about for us.

Now I love hummus but lets face it, its not cheap. So whats a little vegan girl to do? What we always do! Make our own!

The beauty of it is that making it is so easy!

Ingredients:
- two red peppers
-1 can of organic unsalted chickpeas (Drained)
-1/3 cup of Tahini
-1/4 cup of lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic (Crushed)

If you are not a fan of red peppers you're crazy. Just kidding. You can just make regular hummus by not using the red peppers. However, if you do like red pepper roasting them is super easy. Just set your oven to broil and toss the peppers hole. Watch them and turn frequently as the skin bubbles. When it is charred on the outside take out of the oven and place in an air tight container for 10-15 minutes. When that time is up peel off the skin and deseed.

Place rest of the ingredients into your food processor. Add red pepper and blend in as well.

Chill and serve.



If you are into roasted red peppers, which I am, that is the first step.

Vegan Cesar Salad

So this is from Crazy Sexy diet. What a great book. I am doing the 21 day detox right now so there will probably be a lot of recipes I will be sharing from it.

Dressing:
- 1 cup of Veganaise
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
- 2 Cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast

Toss with fresh romaine leaves and carrots. If you would like croutons I toasted some gluten free bread and cut them into squares. Enjoy!

Cabbage Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

Dressing:

- 1/2 cup of grated cabbage
- 2 Tbsp of freshly chopped ginger
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 white miso paste
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp grape seed or canola oil
- 1 tsp agave syrup

Salad:
- 4 cups of thinly sliced cabbage
- 1 medium radicchio thinly sliced
- 1/2 sweet onion thinly sliced
- 1 avocado sliced
- 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds (optional)

To make dressing: Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

To make salad: Toss together all of the dry ingredients. Pour in the dressing and toss gently. If you are using the hemp seeds sprinkle over the top of the salad and serve.

Amazing Raw Lunch

So I tend to eat more raw food in the summer and it does my body good work. I get less bloated, feel lighter and the people who have to look at me in a swim suit while tubing thank my veggies!

Here is my amazing raw lunch for today.

Summer

Salad:
-one avocado, chopped
-1 red chili, diced
-2 roma tomato's, chopped
-1 1/2 cup of corn
-handful of cilantro
-1/2 cup of red pepper, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients into bowl and mix well. Place on two leaves of butter lettuce. You can either roll these into the leave as rolls or just eat as a salad. This will go a long way. Refrigerate rest.

Tomato Cucumber "Caprese"
-1/2 tomato, thinly sliced
-1/3 cucumber, thinly sliced
-1 teaspoon lemon juice
-pepper to taste

Take thin slices and arrange alternating. Squeeze lemon juice over and then sprinkle pepper.

Stuffed Tomatoes/ Peppers

2 large ripe tomatoes
4 tbsp extra version olive oil
2 large green or red peppers
2 onions (Chopped)
2 garlic cloves (Crushed)
2 oz of chopped raw almonds
1/2 cup of brown rice
1/2 an onion of mint (Chopped)
1/2 an oz of Parsley (Chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out the pulp. Roughly chop the pulp and set the outer parts on a paper towel. Half the peppers and leave the cores intact. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Brush the cores with oil. Bake the peppers for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper after removal. Put the peppers and tomatoes in an oven proof backing dish and set to the side.

Sautee onions in remaining olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and almonds and sautee for an additional minute.

Remove from the pan and stir in with rice and all the other ingredients. Season well with salt and pepper then spoon the mixture into the tomatoes and the peppers.

Pour 2/3 of water into the baking pan to keep moist as they cook. Put into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove a sprinkle with any additional almonds and olive oil. Return for another 20 minutes until they are golden.

I served this with an onion soup and bread. Yum!

Cold Summer Quinoa Salad

There is a recipe that is very similar to this at Central Market that I absolutely love! Its close to an addiction that's how much I love it. But at nearly 6 dollars a pound I would be better off having a drug addiction.

So I looked at the ingredients on the label and decided to give it a try myself! This is a great food to have at dinner. Even better then that it keeps for about 4 days and is easy to stick in a Tupperware container and take anywhere with you!

Ingredients:

-1 cup of dried tri-color Quinoa
-2 Cups of water
-1 red pepper (Chopped)
-1 can of organic corn (Drained)
-1 large avocado (Chopped)
-handful or cilantro (Chopped)

Please keep in mind that this will cook quite a bit.

Cook Quinoa as you normally would. For those of you who have never cooked quinoa its almost just like cooking couscous. Bring water to a boil before placing drained quinoa into the pot. Cover and simmer until it is clear.

Move and chill until cold. In a large bowl mix the rest of your ingredients. Mix in Quinoa and stir everything together well.

Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Roasted Tomatos

I love tomatoes. I will eat them any way that I can. One of my earliest memories is of my Great Grand Father salting a raw tomato and taking a huge bit out of it. How Italian!

This recipe is particularly good because the tomatoes are literally exploding with juices when you cut into them. Its perfect for dipping bread into or just eating on its own.

Ingredients:
-2 heirloom Tomatoes (Cut in half)
-1/3 cup of olive oil
-Basil, bay leaf, oregano-any beloved Italian herb
-4 cloves of garlic (Minced)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Take halved tomatoes and place them in a baking pan. Mix olive oil and herbs. Brush over the tops of the tomatoes with a pastry brush.

Place in heated oven for 45 minutes. About half way through the 45 minutes, toss garlic onto the top as well. In my experience if you put it onto the tomatoes with the oil and spices it will char.

Take out of oven. Garnish with bay leafs, salt and pepper if desired. The tomatoes should be golden or black around the top rims.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Onion Medley

Ah, the first of another month...a new beginning. I like to view the first of a month like most people view the new year, a new start and a time to renew my ideals. In this busy life it is easy to forget our basic life style. We need more then once a year to remember what we believe in. I like to start it off with a new recipe!

Ingredients:
-2 sweet potato's (Cubed and Peeled)
-1 red onion (coarsely chopped)
-1 tbs olive oil
-salt
-pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss potato and onion in oil, salt and pepper. Arrange on baking sheets covered with parchment paper and pop into the oven for 30 minutes or until it is soft to a fork.

Dressing:
-4 tablespoons olive oil
-1 teaspoon Dijon mustard.
-2 tablespoons chopped parsley
-salt
-pepper

Whisk together.

Once the medley is roasted toss in the dressing mixture. Serve hot or keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

Traditional Bruschetta

Bruschetta is one of those foods that you actually don't have to put the word "Vegan" in front of. Originated in Italy it follows a very pure Tuscan mentality about food: the simpler and more fresh the better it will taste. Music to my ears!

This is a great summer snack or appetizer that is sure to wine crowds over and well as not damage your wallet, alarm clock or waistline. It tastes a maximum of 15 minutes to prepare and only a few key ingredients. The traditional bruschetta that I am making here is just that, a Tuscan tomato bruschetta. You can find millions of other kinds of with pesto, artichoke ect.

Ingredients:
4 Roma tomatoes (Diced)
3 cloves of garlic (Minced)
8 basil leaves (Torn)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar
Black Pepper to taste
12 slices of bread (Toasted)

Mix all of the ingredients together in large bowl making sure each tomato is coated. Sit aside for an hour. Before serving toast bread at 35 degrees. Spread bruschetta over it and serve.

Pub Style Potato Bites

Also known as Salt & Vinegar Crisps (Potato chips)These are bar/ pub classics! Here I have given them a healthier (And to me tastier!) makeover. Serve this as a munch food at your next party and you'll have people begging you for the recipe!

6 Medium red or Yellow potato's cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbs. Vegetable oil
1 cup of malt vinegar
3 tbs raw sugar

Soak the potato's in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes and then pat dry.

Pre heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss the potato's in oil on a baking sheet and spread them out evenly in a single layer.bake for 45 minutes until golden and crisp, turning 2 or 3 times. Remove and season with salt and pepper if you would like.

Mean while bring malt vinegar and sugar to a simmer in sauce pan for 15-20 minutes (Liquid should be reduced by half).

Serve the malt sauce on the side for dipping or drizzle over potato's.

Home Made Guacamole

Nothing is better then home made guacamole. Store bought just has nothing on it! And it is so easy to make!

Not to mention that I am trying to increase the amount of raw food I eat. For those of you that are not familiar with Raw food and the positive effects it can have on your body, raw food is processed much easier and with its maximum amount of nutrients. I would highly recommend watching "Food Matters" for information on both raw food and the way that nutrients can increase health and decrease or elimination chronic disease.

2 large Hass Avocado
4th of red onion (Diced)
Half a jalapeño (Diced)
1 chopped Roma Tomato
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Lemon juice
salt
pepper

Puree most of the Alvacodos until smooth in your food processor. Set the rest aside. Add the rest of the ingredients into the processor and blend. Take out the guac and fold in the chucks of avocado and the tomato.

Bam! Home made yummy Guacamole!

Spicy Cauliflower and Onion Coucous

Spicy Cauliflower
Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower
Creole Spice
Red pepper flakes
onion flakes
Olive Oil

Slice the cauliflower thin, removing the steams and greens. Mix up the ingredients in a large bowl and sit at room temp for a half an hour to am hour.

Heat up pan at medium to high heat and pour mixture into the pan. Sautee this until the cauliflower is soft. Serve.

Coucous

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of veggie broth or water
1/2 an onion Chopped
1 cup of whole wheat couscous

Boil Liquid. Once it is at a rolling boil. Pour in couscous and remove from heat. Cover. Heat onion in a pan and sautee until clear. If it sticks add a touch of oil. Stir in onion. Serve.

Spinach Salad with Pomegranate and Avocado

Ingredients
*1 pomegranate
* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 2 bunches flat leaf spinach, stems trimmed, well washed and dried
* 2 tablespoons roasted, hulled sunflower seeds
* 1 Hass avocado


1. Halve pomegranate lengthwise and seed. Working in a bowl of cold water, use your hands to separate seeds from membrane. Membrane will float to the top; discard. Scoop out pomegranate seeds and pat dry.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons lemon juice, mustard, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss spinach, sunflower seeds, and pomegranate seeds with dressing in bowl. Transfer to a serving platter.
3. Halve avocado and remove pit. Scoop out flesh and thinly slice lengthwise; drizzle with remaining lemon juice. Transfer to plate and arrange salad on top. Serve immediately.

Fruit Bowl with Apple Tahini Sauce

Oh. My. God. I love international food. Which is a plus because international food tends to love me right back.

Tahini. That is the word of the day. Familiarizing yourself with it. Become part of it. Eat it. Tahini is a sesame paste that is ground from either shucked or un-shucked seeds (depending on what culture you are getting it from). It is high in proteins and complex carbs. It has a nice nutty taste and when combine with the ingredients in this sauce has the perfect satisfying nutty after taste that can throw a sauce right over the edge of good into greatness.

Sauce (4 servings):
1/4 cup of Tahini
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tbsp agave
2 tbsp water

Combine all of these into a food processor and blend well.

Dish:
4 cups of assorted fruit. (I used oranges, banana, pears and green grapes)
1/4 cup of toasted, unsweetened coconut flakes.

Arrange fruit in serving bowls. Drizzle with Tahini sauce and top it off with the toasted coconut.

Thanks Giving- gravy!

Gravy on top of stuffing! These were my favorite things when I was younger so making a guilt free gravy was a dream come true for me!

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons nutritional yeast
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the broth. Season with sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.

Makes about 2 and a half cups