Tag Archives: Vegan

Vegetable Lo Mein for one

13 May

I am in a real international vibe these days…  now I am on an Asian kick.  My mom started it because she’s been craving a tofu stir-fry I make with snow peas and bean sprouts.  The thing is that we have not been able to get together to actually make it. You know how it is with busy schedules…

So, in the meantime, I made for lunch this clean-out-the-fridge stir fry.  It was a completely impromptu dish…  not even planning to share it with you just yet.  But the results were soooo good, I had to take a picture of it. 

This is really a method…  you can change it up as you prefer.  This is what I used this time…

 

 

VEGETABLE LO-MEIN for one

1/8 packet of dry whole grain pasta – spaghetti or bucatini would work well
½ onion, sliced
½ red bell pepper, sliced
1 garlic clove, grated
3-4 leaves of romaine lettuce, washed, dried and cut into thin strips and tough stems removed
Handful of bean sprouts, washed and dried
3 tbs teriyaki sauce
1 tbs olive oil
Squirt of honey
Freshly cracked pepper to taste
1 tbs toasted sesame seeds – for garnish

 

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Once water is boiling, add plenty of salt and add the pasta.  Cook according to package directions, approximately 10 minutes.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onions and peppers.  Stir to coat all the pieces with the olive oil.  Add the grated garlic over the onions and peppers.  Sauté for a few minutes.
  3. When the onions start to get a cooked look, but are still crunchy, add the bean sprouts.  Sauté for a minute.  Add most of the lettuce pieces.  Sauté a few minutes more until the lettuce starts to wilt a bit.
  4. Add the cooked noodles to the skillet and toss to combine thoroughly.  Add the teriyaki sauce and toss again.  Add any remaining lettuce.  The noodles will absorb some of the sauce.
  5. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

 

This was a very nice lunch indeed.  Filled with veggies, light, yet very satisfying.  You can definitely serve this for any weekday meal. 

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Kamut Spaghetti with Simple Tomato Sauce

22 Apr

I am always on the lookout for simple delicious recipes.  And I am indeed a pasta lover.  Pasta dishes are usually simple, no?  I usually see the TV chefs creating their simple tomato sauces, which in my humble opinion are not that simple…  onions, garlic, celery , carrots.

I’ll be honest, I tried Giada DeLaurentiis recipe once, and I was not impressed by the flavor after the amount of chopping that went on.

I decided to take a stab at creating my very own simple version of tomato sauce.  I used something I am not very likely to have in my pantry, canned tomatoes.  I used a 28oz can of organic San Marzano tomatoes with the can lined with something white to prevent the tin metals to go into the acid tomato juice inside.  But I just have heard soooooo much about these San Marzano tomatoes I just had to give it a try.

I tried this sauce with a new kind of spaghetti I found at a specialty store – Kamut, a different type of grain, apparently available in Egypt since the time of the pharaohs.  I liked it a lot.  I read that Kamut is in the wheat family, very much like spelt, but better tolerated by people with wheat allergies.  I do not have those sensitivities usually, but there are times I want to experiment with other grains and give traditional wheat a rest.

 

 

 

Kamut Spaghetti with Simple Tomato Sauce

28oz can of organic San Marzano tomatoes, whole
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced
Basil – fresh preferably about 10-12 leaves, but I used dry – about 1 tbs – and worked great
Salt and Pepper to taste
¼ box of organic Kamut Spaghetti – I used DeCecco brand

 

  1. In a large pot over medium heat, pour the olive oil and sauté the garlic slices and about 1 tsp of salt for about 2-3 minutes, until the garlic is taking some color.
  2. When you open the tomato can, take kitchen shears and cut the tomatoes somewhat.  I have also seen Tyler Florence dumping them onto a bowl and smashing them with your own hands.  It sounds very appealing, but that’s another bowl to wash up.  When I have the kitchen staff Tyler has, I’ll do it his way.
  3. Pour the tomatoes in the pot.   Add some more salt and pepper to taste.  Let the tomatoes simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes.
  4. Check the seasoning.  Add more salt or pepper if needed.  Add the basil – dry or fresh.  Let it wilt a bit for a few minutes.
  5. With an immersion blender, blend the tomatoes into a pureed sauce.  The color of the sauce will change, from an intense red to an orangey color.  Don’t be discouraged by that.  The garlicky flavor rocks!!!
  6. I just let it simmer about 5 minutes more and turn off the heat.
  7. Meanwhile, boil a large pot of water for the pasta.  Salt the water well before adding the pasta.  It takes about 12 minutes to cook al dente.

 

The sauce recipe makes way more sauce than for one serving of pasta… so I transferred most of the sauce to a container and transferred the cooked drained pasta to the pot with the remaining sauce.  Use the amount you deem necessary to dress your noodles.  

I dressed with a dollop of yogurt cheese instead of adding the traditional Parmesan cheese, given I am on a no-cheese-phase in my life right now… believe me, I did not miss the Parmesan and the tangy taste was a sure plus.

Buon Apetito!!!

 

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Hummus Pastelón

11 Apr

These days I am trying to eat less cheese…  And it’s difficult because  I truly love cheese.   I believe the tag cloud on the right is a testament to the amount of recipes I make with cheese.  But the thing is that I should not eat as much cheese as I do. 

Ever since I was 21, I was diagnosed with a chronic IBS (Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome) condition.  Most people react to different things… my main culprit is stress.  So when I am stressed and on top of that, eat too many dairy products, things get ugly.  I promise I won’t go into the details.

My condition was partly why I became a vegetarian…  I started noticing that by eating healthier I could manage my condition without the need of traditional chemical medication.  I would focus on eating as naturally as possible and see what effects that would have on my condition…  the results were positive, to say the least.

April was designated IBS Awareness Month… so in an effort to educate my palate to think outside the boundaries of cheese-laden dishes and to raise awareness of IBS, but more in particular, the fact you CAN BE a vegetarian and thru diet manage your IBS condition you’ll see more and more recipes without using  cheese.

 

 

Hummus Pastelón

2 potatoes, washed well and cut into quarters or eights
½ cup of hummus – it can be home-made or store-bought
Juice of ½ a lemon
5-6 grape tomatoes
1 tbs butter or canola margarine
1 tbs olive oil
Garlic salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbs slivered or sliced almonds

 

 

  1. In a medium saucepan, boil the potatoes.  I cover the potatoes only half way with salted water.  I find they cook faster this way.
  2. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the hummus filling.  You can use my recipe for hummus here or buy it from the store.   If you’re using the store-bought kind, I like to “revive it” by adding a drizzle of olive oil and the juice of ½ a lemon.  I like the tangy lemony taste in hummus.   Set aside.
  3. When the potatoes are done, drain them and return to the same pot.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil, add the butter, buttermilk and mash to desired consistency.  It can be as chunky or as smooth as you prefer it.  Season with a bit of garlic salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Now we assemble the pastelón…  in a medium casserole dish spread ½ the mashed potatoes creating the bottom layer of the pastelón.  Spread the hummus layer as evenly as possible.  Place the cut grape tomatoes on a layer on top of the hummus. Add the remaining mashed potato layer and smooth out the top.  Sprinkle the almonds on top.
  5. Place in 350 degree F oven for about 20-30 minutes, basically to brown the top a bit and for all the flavors to combine and meld.

 

This dish, with its great flavors and all, turned out  a bit monochromatic for me…  so next time I will make sure and include something that will impart some added color to the hummus filling… stay tuned.

 

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Vegetable Noodle Soup

23 Mar

I just came back from a spiritual retreat… the ones I spend in silence, meditating about 10 hours a day and fasting.  Yes… fasting.  No solid food – only water, lemon juice and honey…  We drink that “watered down lemonade” about 5 times a day, which helps our body use up all the energy it usually uses up digesting food to actually eliminate a lot of toxins that accumulate over time…

After these retreats, you feel light and energized, but you also you need to ease your body into taking solid foods again… We usually start with a huge fruit salad – today’s salad had a lot of papaya and bananas with a little bit of mangoes and other “sweet” fruits.  But after that, your body starts getting hungry… and what better way to welcome your system to solid food again than with a hearty vegetable soup.

Literally, it took me 25 minutes to make this soup.  It hit the spot…

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VEGETABLE NOODLE SOUP

4 baby red-skinned potatoes, quartered
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 tbs sofrito
1 tbs olive oil
1 vegetable broth bullion cube
1 bunch of noodles – whole wheat vermicelli
Salt and Pepper to taste
about 2 cups of water
5-6 grape tomatoes, quartered – optional
2 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves – optional
  1. In a medium pot over medium heat, pour olive oil.  When the oil has heat up a bit, add sofrito and the vegetable bullion cube.  Smash the cube a bit so that it dissolves better.
  2. Add the onions.  Saute for a little while.
  3. Add the cut potatoes and the carrots.  Saute for a little while to give it a head start.
  4. Add the tomatoes.
  5. Add enough water to cover the vegetables.  Cover and let it boil at a medium roll for about 20 minutes.
  6. After 20 minutes, the potatoes and the carrots should be done.
  7. Add the noodles and stir so the noodles separate and they don’t stick together.  Cover again.
  8. After the noodles have cooked, about 5 minutes, add the spinach leaves.  They will wilt into the broth almost immediately.  Cover and turn off the heat.  Let the soup finish cooking with the residual heat.
  9.  After about 10 minutes… serve and enjoy.

This is the foundation recipe – to this you can add anything else you might have on your fridge – mushrooms, peppers, celery, etc.  Your imagination is the limit… 

 This is also the same soup recipe I make when I am feeling “under-the-weather”…  so you can say this is my “vegetable soup for my soul”.  From my soul to yours… buen provecho.

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White Lasagna with Spinach and Almonds – VEGAN version

3 Feb

When I did this recipe for the Yoga Center, I adapted it using non-dairy cheeses.  This way, you can crave this lasagna without concern if you eat cheese or not…  I am sure you’ll not be dissapointed.

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WHITE LASAGNA with SPINACH AND ALMONDS – Vegan Version

 4-6 lasagna noodles – I use DeBoles NoBoil Rice lasagna noodles
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs sofrito
3-4oz Toffutti Better -Than-Cream cheese cheese
1 cup soy milk
1 ¼ cup shredded Soya Kaas mozzarella style cheese, divided
1 ½  tbs cornstarch, dissolved in ½ cup of water
Sprinkle of Salt, Garlic Powder and freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup frozen spinach measured frozen, defrosted and squeeze out of most the water but still wet
1/3 cup marcona salted almonds – but any almonds will work
1/2 cup Veggie Parmesan cheese

  1. Pre-heat over to 325 degrees F.
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add sofrito and cook for a few minutes.
  3. Add in the Tofutti cream cheese and whisk in together until the sofrito and cream cheese are incorporated.
  4. Whisk in soy milk. Add in 1 cup of the Soya Kaas cheese and whisk every few minutes to make sure the cheese melts well and does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Reserve the rest for the lasagna topping. Season sauce with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add in the diluted cornstarch. Make sure you the cornstarch is diluted well and is not settled in the bottom of whatever container you’re using to mix it.
  5. The sauce should have a light creamy consistency. Is important the sauce be more on the liquidy side because we’re using no-boil rice pasta and the “liquidy” consistency will help the pasta cook. So you might want to err on the side of a liquidier cream sauce rather than a tight creamy sauce.

 

Now we assemble the lasagna…

  1. In the bottom of a small casserole dish, spoon a few ladles of the cream sauce. Layer lasagna noodles. Spoon more sauce, so the noodles are always touched by sauce on the top and the bottom.
  2. Distribute evenly the thawed spinach in a layer. Sprinkle a bit of garlic salt and pepper. Sprinkle a light layer of the Veggie Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle a 1/3 of the almonds. Spoon a few ladles of the sauce.
  3. Place another layer of noodles and spoon some sauce over them.
  4. Repeat step #2.
  5. Repeat step #3. This will be your last layer of noodles. Pour the remaining sauce all over the last layer of noodles. Sprinkle with veggie parmesan cheese and the remaining ¼ cup shredded Soya Kaas mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the last bit of almonds you have left.
  6. Cover the casserole dish and bake in oven for 30 minutes.
  7. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes until cheese on top is golden brown.
  8. Turn oven off and leave in there for a few minutes until lasagna cool a bit and sets. 

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