Kale stuffed peppers

So tomorrow I start the BluePrintCleanse again. I did the three day cleanse around this time last year and while I had mixed feelings about it, I have decided to take the plunge again.

I am preparing a little bit better this time around. I am on my third day with no coffee, having cut down from my usual three cups a day to one cup of black tea. And today I ate raw vegan- fruit for breakfast, some veggies for lunch, and some nuts pre-run for energy. For dinner tonight, I ended up making red peppers stuffed with kale and avocado. Super simple, all raw.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, stems trimmed and shredded
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 avocado
2 bell peppers


Cut the avocado in half and mash up one half in a bowl. Mix the mashed avocado with the kale leaves (hands are actually the best method here to get it fully incorporated) and then add in the carrots. Cut the other half of the avocado into small chunks. Add in, mixing lightly.

Cut tops off of peppers and remove inner ribbing and seeds. Stuff with the kale salad.

I added a side salad of shaved zucchini with some olive oil.

Delicious....and the last solid meal I will have for three days. eek.

 

Baked Orange-Teriyaki Tofu with Stir Fried Broccoli and Red Peppers

This baked tofu recipe was adapted from Vegan Bites by Beverly Lynn Bennett. It can be eaten alone, on salads, in a stir fry, or with a side of vegetables. Tonight I used broccoli and peppers, along with some reserved sauce, to make a stir-fry base to add the tofu to.

Ingredients:

1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and cubed

¼ cup tamari

2 tbps apple cider vinegar

1 tbps orange marmalade

1 tbps orange juice

4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

4 teaspoons maple syrup

1 tbps minced garlic

1 tbps minced fresh ginger

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp sriracha

2 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets

2 red peppers, cut into strips

Sesame Seeds for garnish

Directions:

Gently squeeze tofu to rid of excess water. Cut tofu into small cubes and place in a shallow baking dish.   

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place all remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk them together until well combined. Pour sauce over the tofu pieces in the dish and flip over each piece until evenly coated on all sides. Reserve 2 tablespoons of sauce.

Bake tofu for 20 minutes. Flip pieces over and bake for 15-20 additional minutes, until most sauce is absorbed.

Meanwhile place broccoli in a covered microwaveable container with tbps of water and cook for 2 minutes on high. Then heat the remaining sauce in a wok and add steamed broccoli and sliced peppers. Cook until lightly wilted. When tofu is done, add to wok, heat, and serve. Sprinkle sesame seeds over plate.

Rainbow Soba Noodles

I ended my evening run at Whole Foods last night and was intending to just pick up a salad from the salad bar for dinner. Once there, however, I realized I had no plans for lunches this week and given my client's penchant for 11am - 1pm meetings it is difficult to grab something out. I decided to come up with a simple, minimal prep recipe on the spot that would pack well for the office. I had a package of soba noodles at home and decided to just pick up some pre-cut veggies to make an easy noodle stir fry. This dish came together in under 20 minutes and is delicious as a cold (and colorful!) salad for lunch.


Ingredients:

2 tbps safflower oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package of soba noodles
1 cup of diced peppers
1 cup of defrosted shelled edamame
1/2 head of mixed cabbage leaves, shredded


2 tablespoons of peanut butter
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/4 cup of vegetable broth
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tsp of sriracha

Directions:

Cook soba noodles according to package directions, about 6 minutes. Drain and run under cold water.

Heat oil in wok. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (around 30 seconds). Add cabbage and stir fry until slightly wilted, around 2 minutes. Add peppers and edamame and cook until heated through. Add cooked noodles.

Meanwhile heat peanut butter, soy sauce, vegetable broth, honey, sriracha and cook until incorporated.

Add sauce to vegetables and noodles and serve.

Panzanella salad

Panzanella salads are one of my top 5 favorite spring/summer foods. I have been feeling a bit cheated by the tantalizing taste of spring we had the other week. 70-80 degree sunshine followed by 40 degree rain is a bit depressing. So to cheer myself up, I whipped up this summer special a little early. Serve with a glass of rose to really get in the springtime spirit!


Ingredients:

1 box cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 loaf of stale country bread (a baguette would also work here), torn into bite size pieces
1 green pepper, cut into small 1/2 inch pieces
1 English cucumber, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp salt
2 teaspoons herbs de province
1/3 cup of good olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper

Directions:

Add vegetables and bread to a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, herbs de Provence, vinegar, and salt. Toss vegetables with dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld before eating.


*Note: While most recipes call for garlic and basil in panzanella salads, I like to skip the garlic and add a bit of herbs de Provence to make the dish a bit more simple and pure. Using really good ingredients and olive oil is important though, since those flavors really take the spotlight!

Sweet & Sour Tofu

While the ingredient list for this stir fry might look long, it consists mostly of pantry staples. The stir fry comes together very quickly -  perfect for a busy evening after work. Serve over cous-cous or brown rice to make a full meal.

The dish was modified but based mostly on this recipe I found online

Ingredients:

1 pound firm tofu, patted dry cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari
1 teaspoon sirracha
1 teaspoon ginger root
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 cup diced red or green bell peppers
½ cup diced fresh or canned pineapple
2 cups broccoli
Sesame seeds and/or chili pepper flakes, for garnishing

Directions:
1. Lightly steam the broccoli and set aside
2.  In a bowl, coat the tofu with the cornstarch, sesame oil and salt. Set aside.
3.  In a seperate bowl, whisk together the ketchup, sugar, vinegar, tamari, sirraccha, and ginger
4. In a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the tofu and fry, turning, until crisp and golden on all sides, about 8 minutes
5. Add the bell pepper and broccoli and continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes.
6. Add the sauce and stir until it is thick and clings to the tofu and vegetables, 2 minutes.
7. Top with sesame seeds or a pinch of chili pepper on top

Vegetable Jelfrazi

Have I mentioned previously that I love Jamie Oliver? A good looking Brit who cooks and is a great role model for healthier (if not vegan) eating. If only I could understand his choice of baby names. Buddy Bear Maurice? Poppy Honey Rosie? Daisy Boo Pamela? Petal Blossom Rainbow? Seriously? 

I forgive you, Jamie, because you give me recipes like the below Vegetable Jelfrazi. While there is quite a bit of chopping involved,  I promise that this dish is worth it.

A few notes:

• This makes a LOT. I had to switch pans halfway through cooking it....and my huge wok was still barely large enough. Halve the recipe if you do not have a big enough pan.
• Red curry paste can be hard to find...look for it in the Asian section of your supermarket. I could not find the Patak curry paste Jamie uses so I used Maesri Thai Red Curry instead which turned out to be very (!) spicy. 
• I left out butter and switched the red chilli pepper to a jalapeno. Otherwise I kept his original recipe pretty true to form, as it was already very vegan friendly.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion
1 jalapeno
A thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
2 cloves of garlic
A small bunch of fresh coriander
2 red peppers
1 cauliflower
3 ripe tomatoes
1 small butternut squash
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
Vegetable oil
½ a 283g jar of Patak’s jalfrezi curry paste
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons

Prep:

 Peel, halve and roughly chop your onion

Finely slice the chili

Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic

Pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks

Halve, deseed and roughly chop the peppers

Break the green leaves off the cauliflower and discard

Break the cauliflower into florets and roughly chop the stem

Quarter the tomatoes

Carefully halve the butternut squash, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice the squash into inch-size wedges, leaving the peel on but removing any thick skin, then roughly chop into smaller pieces

Drain the chickpeas

Cook:

Put a large casserole-type pan on a medium to high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil

Add the onions, chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander stalks and cook for 10 minutes, until softened and golden

Add the peppers, butternut squash, drained chickpeas and jalfrezi curry paste

Stir well to coat everything with the paste

Add the cauliflower, the fresh and tinned tomatoes and the vinegar

Fill 1 empty tin with water, pour into the pan and stir again

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on

Check the curry after 30 minutes and, if it still looks too liquidy, leave the lid off for the rest of the cooking time

When the vegetables are tender, taste and add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice

Serve:

Serve over basmati rice with a sprinkle of coriander leaves and a few lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Chinese Noodles with Broccoli & Tofu

This dish completely satisfied my craving for Chinese take-out  - and no need to resist ordering egg rolls!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces rice vermicelli
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into strips
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
• 1 tablespooncurry powder
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin matchstick strips
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cups small broccoli florets

Directions

Soak the rice noodles according to package directions until softened. Drain well and set aside. Place broccoli in a covered container with 1 tablespoon of water in the microwave on high for 1 minute to lightly steam.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and stir-fry until browned, adding 1 tablespoon of the soy and a sprinkling of curry powder sauce while cooking.

Remove and set aside on a plate. Reheat the skillet with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the bell pepper, steamed broccoli, and carrot and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Stir in the remaining curry powder and stir-fry 10 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, along with the wine, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes, stirring to mix well. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Add the drained rice noodles and return to a boil, stirring to coat the noodles in the sauce. Add the steamed broccoli and reserved tofu, and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed by the noodles. Enjoy!

Pasta with Roasted Peppers & "Sausage"

Last night I wanted to use up the remaining meatless sausages I had from on hand, leftover from my chickpea, brussel sprout, and sausage salad earlier this week. The sausages were Trader Joe's "Sausage-less" Italian sausages and were really quite good. Probably one of the best meatless sausage products I have tried so far.

I came across this recipe on FatFreeVegan and was inspired to make a similar one. I used a more traditional red sauce for the base than the original recipe called for, but loved the idea of roasting the peppers and sausage before adding them to the sauce. It turned out delicious!

Ingredients:
2 meatless sausages, sliced (I used Trader Joe's Sausage-less Italian Sausages)
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
8 ounces whole wheat rotini
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz can of whole peeled plum tomatoes
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 teaspon dried basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste



Spray a baking sheet lightly with olive oil, put it into the oven and preheat to 450F. Once it’s heated, spread the peppers on one half of the sheet and the sausages on the other. Give them a quick spray of olive oil. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until the peppers just begin to get charred along the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm.
Heat olive oil in a medium sized pan on medium-high. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and dried basil and cook for one minute. Add the tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of water. Let the tomato sauce reduce and thicken over a medium heat, breaking up the plum tomates as they cook for around 20 minutes.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside.

Once the sauce has thickened, add red pepper flakes, and salt and black pepper to taste. Add the sausges and peppers and heat for an additional 2 minutes. Toss with the pasta to coat.