I was CRAVING some SPANISH RICE

Woke up too early for comfort this morning due to the dog and cat wresting match taking place on my bed...

(Boston and Blue)

Anyhow its weird that when I actually wake up early I am STARVING at least way more than normal.  Being a food-nerd I went to bed thinking of lunch for today:)

In college I used to buy the boxed Spanish rice mix- the add diced tomatoes kind and loved it.  I knew that I had brown rice and a can of organic diced tomatoes so I made it happen.

To MAKE: In a small skillet sautee chopped onions and garlic until onions are softened.  Then add your brown (uncooked) rice directly to the skillet with a little EVOO- toasting the rice makes it taste just a bit nutty which I like but its totally optional.  Only brown the rice with the onions and garlic for a minute or so making sure not to burn your rice.

Best Baked Eggplant

My mom absolutely hates eggplant, I am thinking that this must be rooted from somewhere in her childhood, and I am constantly trying to get her to re-try it.  So far, I'm unsuccessful, but one day...  :)

PREP- I placed 3 containers side by side, one with organic soy milk (mixed with dijon mustard,) one with unseasoned organic bread crumbs, and one with organic wheat flour.  Lay parchment paper out on a baking sheet pan, and preheat your oven to 400.  Slice eggplant (about 1/2 inch thick) slices, I don't mind the skin so I didn't peel it but feel free to.  Press each slice so that most of the moisture is taken out.

COAT the slices into the flour, and then DIP in the soy milk/mustard, then directly to the bread crumbs...place on baking sheet.

BRUSH each slice with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.

Happy Fall= (Spiked) Apple Cider

One of my absolute favorite things about fall besides Halloween and my birthday is the excuse that because the temperature has dropped to a maybe-65 degrees we MUST make warm apple cider.

Simple as pie- just get fresh apple cider and add some apple juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves, vanilla bean, whatever else you'd like to spice your cider with and bring SLOWLY to simmer.

--- Oh, of course, add the spiced rum and enjoy:) Happy Fall!

Avocado Ravioli (I know it sounds weird)

What to do with if you're stuck with avocado and wonton wrappers?

MASH it- DOCTOR it (I added a dash of soy sauce, chopped spring onions, minced garlic, and enough sriracha sauce)...

FILL it, SHAPE it (just a bit of water on your finger suffices for glue with your ravioli)...

Quick Black/White Bean Burgers

PROTEIN is really important being a vegan, not saying that I don't get and satisfy my cravings for munchies but I still like to for the most part eat lots of greens and get my vitamins so that I have energy and my day is happy:) 

Instead of pretending I enjoy eating a cup or 2 of black beans with no seasoning on them- I just mash them up with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, sprinkle of unseasoned organic bread crumbs, just enough wheat flour, sauteed onions,  and a dash of hot sauce*. Form into patties.

Bake or sautee- serve by itself or build your own burger.

******* THE EXACT SAME THING WORKS WITH ANY TYPE OF WHITE BEAN ALSO*******

 I used Great Northern beans...

Mini Phyllo cups :)

Half of my family is Greek so phyllo is something I'm used to eating.  The thing is that every-single-layer is supposed to be brushed with butter, hence the flaky-ness.  I've made food using phyllo dough before and simply just brushed each layer with Earth Balance.  BUT, for an easy appetizer or snack you can simply buy the mini phyllo cups in the frozen isle of your favorite grocery store (just make sure to check the ingredients,) and stuff them with whatever you like.

 

So I heart caramelized onions in any way, shape, and form- I just sauteed red and white onions with a little of fresh thyme and red wine....placed it inside the pre-cooked phyllo cups and baked until golden brown.  Topped the cups with a balsamic reduction (hint- weirdly enough the microwave + coffee mug works for a quick reduction.)

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DESSERT

Super simple, I just bought some frozen black cherries and heated them up with some agave nectar and sprinkle of brown sugar, filled and baked until golden brown.

Polenta Bake

I think one of the easiest/cheapest/quickest foods to make that will definitely fill you up is polenta.  (Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal and is super cheap to buy)

Making a Polenta Bake is just a few steps and the dish can easily last you a week- that is if you're a single* girl :)

Just follow the directions that come with the polenta, its usually as simple as boil water and stir.  I like to add a bit to mine, such as spring onions for flavor and color.

 Fill a baking dish with your polenta, then top with marinara sauce, with bought or home made (or bought and doctored which I ALWAYS prefer)..

MMM Fried banannas

Quick and easy especially when you're starving at 2 am:)

 Slice the banana in half and in bite sized pieces, then just soak them in whatever sticky/yummy concoction you want to come up with.  I believe I used agave nectar and a bit of vanilla soy milk.  Them toss together your wheat flour with cinnamon sugar and go for it!

I never said it was good for you ;) but it took me minutes and was A-mazing...

Simple Baked Pita chips and Hummus

In layman terms- hummus is just chick peas, tahini paste, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice.  Well thats how I make it.  Drain the chick peas but save some of the liquid just in case you need if if your mixture gets too thick. Throw everything together in a food processor, a bit at a time, Oh- be careful with the tahini (sesame seed) paste its super strong so taste as you go.  And with the garlic and lemon juice, just season to your liking.  Easy :)

 Garnish with whichever you like such as toasted pine nuts or fresh tomatoes and spring onions.

  I made some pita chip wedges to dip in the hummus (I took this to a holiday party last year)-

Just cut up some whole wheat pita bread to small triangles, drizzle with EVOO ad sprinkle with garlis salt ot minced garlic, bake at a low temp till golden brown. enjoy

Easy Taco Night!!

I basically lived on tacos in college, and it wasn't because I was on a budget  and always in a hurry- well maybe that was a huge part, but I seriously love the crunch and the fresh ingredients, oh and the cheese. Cheese has quite possibly been the single toughest thing to get past becoming a vegan!  But...thanks to geniuses out there there are not only alternative soy cheese options, but vegan sour cream and soy crumbles (for your taco meat), soooo, no more sulking and throwing your own private pity party - here is how simple your Taco (Tuesday or whenever) can be!

 Just go to your local grocer and buy one of those already pre-boxed taco mixes, ths ones with your choice of shell, the sauce and seasoning packet.  Pick up some soy crumbles (ground meat alternative) and sautee that but remember that you are not exactly using an entire lb of (ground beef) so I would use not the whole taco spice packet.

Home-made ZEPPOLES!

I never claimed that this was a healthy blog, in fact if you read the title them you can imagine the array of different types of foods I (come up with.)  Saw a Italian show on tv about Zeppoles, which are simply fried dough balls, like Spanish street/fair food and became hungry so I ransacked my pantry for anything that I could use to make this.

Easy- made a dough with wheat flour, soy milk, little sugar, vanilla extract, etc....and decided to stuff the center with organic apricot jam.

Then, best I could, rolled the dough balls together and set them in the freezer for a few minutes to set.

As the oil was heating up I rolled the (chilled) zeppoles into cinnamon and sugar.

Drizzle with either agave nectar or some organic maple syrup:) enjoy

Carmelized Onion Tart

I remember (a while ago) wanting to surprise my boyfriend (at the time) with an amazing meal when he came home from a trip.  I had some ideas of my own then spoke with the executive chef at my restaurant for some more tips.  The final plate came out beautifully.  I did originally plate this warm tart with prosciutto wrapped prawns for him, but for obvious reasons that part is omitted.  

 The key is to find a puff pastry that is egg and dairy free- then simply form then into little flat-bottom baskets. I used both yellow and red onions, steamed them, then caramelized then with red wine, sprinkle of wheat flour, and flavored the onions with fresh rosemary and thyme.

I took a red onion and wedged sections so that they still hold together and baked them at a low temp just so that the ends were starting to crisp.  These I layed atop each tart for extra flavor and beautiful garnish.

 Top with fresh thyme and bake until done.  P.s. drizzle with a simple balsamic reduction and done.