Purple Cabbage

I've seriously always wanted to cut up a purple cabbage... Okay, maybe not *always* but for a long time.  When I saw this salad, I knew I needed to make it.  OMG, so good.

I did almost everything she did.  My carrots weren't cut in as long of strips as hers, I just grated, but overall, I was pleased with how well I followed the recipe.

Here's the recipe in case her site ever goes down. Full credits to Cookie and Kate and Frugal Vegan! 

1 cup uncooked quinoa <-- slightly more than the original recipe (You can go with 3/4 if you prefer)
2 cups water <-- cook the quinoa with the water... these amounts worked well for us, I can't remember if it matched the package. I used the time amount listed on the package.
Set the quinoa aside to cool when done.

2 cups shredded purple cabbage
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup thinly sliced snow peas or sugar snap peas
¼ cup thinly sliced green onion

Dressing  
¼ cup smooth peanut butter 
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce 
1 tablespoon maple syrup 
1 tablespoon rice vinegar 
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 
Garlic / ginger, or both...  <-- deviated here...I used a little dried ginger and about 1/2 teaspoon dried garlic
½ lime (or lemon), juiced (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Mix all the veggies, quinoa, and dressing together.  I put on a few sprinkles of salt as I did this.

Garnish with chopped roasted and salted peanuts and fresh cilantro

Future plums

 
March 6, 2019

Green moustache

 

My favorite vegans!  Eating cheesecake at The Green Moustache.  I didn't get any.... I was skiing. They said it was good. 

 

Straws

 

Love this!  The girls used them and didn't notice that they were not plastic.  

Um, Hi...

I still blog here.

Really.

Last weekend, we went to one of our favorite restaurants and they had an almond ricotta with asparagus dish... So good!

Tonight I made a veggie bake and decided I needed to make some almond ricotta to go in it.

I can't take credit for the recipe--it's really simple and DELICIOUS.

Thanks, Minimalist Baker!

What I did...

1 whole bag of blanched almonds from Whole Foods.  It says 2 and 1/2 cups, but  I measured right at 2 cups
 ~1 cup  of water
~ 1/16th teaspoon garlic powder
 ~2 tablespoons of lemon juice
~1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Blend

YUM.

We put cooked penne, our homemade pasta sauce, some vegan sausage, cauliflower, kale, broccoli, and the ricotta... Baked @ 350 for 45-50 minutes. YUM!  (I can't decide if I want to add red pepper flakes or not.)

(I used frozen, but stuck the cauliflower in with the pasta to unfreeze it.. should have done something with the broccoli, but it turned out okay just sticking it in frozen.)

So full! 

I tried to take a picture of the pasta bake, but it came out really odd looking in the night time lighting.... Next time!

Tofu "fast turkey"

We love our Thanksgiving turkey, but it's a lot of work.  I simplified the original recipe for a "lunchmeat" or easy dinner.  See http://chefinyou.com/2009/11/18/tofu-turkey-recipe/ for the original.  The original involves "night before" preparation. The prep time is streamlined because of how we cook the "turkey" -- we shape it flat for baking so it can cook off the liquid more easily. In the original recipe, the overnight drain really gets you a very dry tofu. 

Preparation (15-30 minutes)
Press the tofu--get as much liquid out as you can.  You'll use 3 14-15 oz. tubs extra-firm tofu.

After it's pressed, put the tofu and the spices in the food processor.

For the Tofu Turkey

All the pressed tofu

1/2  - 1 teaspoon ground dried thyme

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 - 2 tsp. garlic powder

salt (1 teaspoon) and pepper to taste

For the Basting Sauce

1/4 -1/2 cups low sodium tamari or gluten free soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Spread the "turkey" on a baking sheet pan with sides.  You can cook on parchment paper or a silicone liner.  Brush on basting sauce.

     


Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Brush on the basting sauce again.  Bake for 30-45 minutes more. The tofu will crack on top but still be moist inside when done.


Makes an awesome "meat" dish with a side of veggies, mashed potatoes, or salad.  We love it on sandwiches.



We cut off pieces for sandwiches/eating.

Closing in on the end of the year -- reflection time!

I've definitely kicked it up a notch or 5 at work.  I'm enjoying it, but I am not getting time to blog.  I have 4 blogs and posts are down on all of them, but it's okay.  Here I take a moment to reflect on the cooking and working out of this year.

We love "eggs." In addition to our quiche, youngest daughter, Tia, "invented" scrambled eggs.  Tofu mixed with spices (garlic, chili powder, tumeric, curry) and the black salt.  Super yum. 

I'm looking to perfect a veggie muffin this break.  I made one in the past, but I can't find the recipe that I used.  I'll keep digging. There's a chance it's on this blog here, but if not, I'll find another one/try to remember what I did. 

Over break, I'll post a link to our new favorite "turkey" dinner.  Perfect for lunch meat too.  

Made this soup last night for some friends.  I haven't made it for a while.  It's still good!  I did make the PB kind and the cashew cream kind.  It involves more pans, but at least all tummies are happy. 

Oh, I find this little list super helpful for dinner ideas.  Sometimes little lists are a big help!

Working out report (because it's the end of the year): Lots of tap! Okay on the Body Pump 1-2x every week.  Not enough Pilates.  Okay on the Hip Hop/Zumba (very aerobic) (1x a week).  Okay on the stretching.  Next year my goals include more of everything.  I'd like to do 2x a week body pump.  I am going to MAKE MYSELF do Pilates 15-20 minutes 2-3x a week.  My back is so much happier when I do.  Fifteen minutes is nothing. I just need to DO IT.  Hip Hop... If I can't do it more than 1x a week, I guess it'll be okay.  I think I can make it happen to do 2x a week by summer.  I fear I'm going to try to figure out how to stop time to make it all happen. 

Other goals: youngest daughter and I have some Pokemon goals, I want to get funding for a new bit of work.  I'll add here if I think of more.