Vegan Tacos

“Meat” Ingredients
1 cup of walnuts
1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
2 small pearl onions
1 tbsp taco seasoning

“Cheese” Ingredients
1 cup of peeled chopped potatoe
2 small carrots
2 – 3 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of nutritional yeast

Additional Ingredients
Tomato
Kale

Directions
1. Soak walnuts overnight in water
2. Boil potatoes and carrots until soft enough to mash
3. Add cheese ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth and the consistency of nacho cheese
4. Drain walnuts
5. Add meat ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth but crunchy
6. Put together your taco topped with chopped tomatoes and Kale (or toppings of your choosing)

In the mood for a sandwich?

Well it’s been too long but I’m planning to get back to cooking and posting (I swear!). I’ve just gotten back from a couple trips out of town, one international, which it’s on my to-do to do a posting about eating vegan while traveling. Anywho… I wanted a good sandwich tonight and was too lazy to go to my favorite staple Ike’s Lair. So I threw together this bad boy. But who cares about a sandwich right?! Well this was my first time using tempeh bacon and I’m a fan!

Ingredients
Daiya cheese cheddar slices
Vegenaise
Kale
3 slices of tempeh bacon
Mack’s Flax Sprouted Bread
Sliced tomato

Directions
Heat the bacon according to package
Slap it together as you like
Nosh!

Watermelon Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Here’s a nice refreshing salad for the upcoming hot summer months. Its super simple and I find that the watermelon takes away some of the butter flavor of raw Kale. This posting is mainly for the dressing I made

Salad Ingredients
• chopped Kale
• sliced watermelon
• chopped walnuts

Dressing Ingredients
• spoonful of tahini
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 cup water
• 3 – 4 raspberries

Directions
• Blend all dressing ingredients together until smooth and top your salad! Viola!

Vegetable Spring Roll Ravioli

Okay as promised, I made a “ravioli” from the spring roll wrappers. I also decided to give a sauce mix a chance at the same time.

Ingredients

• About 4 medium sized  mushrooms
• 3 to 4 leaves of Kale (less if you don’t want a strong Kale taste)
• 2 “one bite” potatoes
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 to 2 Tbsp of Tahini
• 2 Spring Roll wrappers
• 1 package of Sauce Mix (I used Road’s End Organics Alfredo Style)

Directions

• Place mushrooms, kale, potatoes, garlic, tahini, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and let mix until desired consistency. If you prefer a creamer mixture add the milk of your choice or  a little water.
• Follow the instructions on the sauce mix (Boil 1/2 water and slowly add mixture) – Pretty simple.
• Wet the spring roll wrapper. Once the wrapper is malleable, cut into pieces. I found that triangle shaped worked best for wrapping.
• Put some of the vegetable mixture in the middle and fold up so all ends are sealed. Place with edges down on the plate. Continue wrapping until you have the desired amount of ravioli.
• Once Alfredo sauce is down, spoon amount onto each ravioli. I found these best to be eaten with your fingers. I rolled my ravioli to be bite sized.

Things to think of:

• Hold off on the salt – the sauce mix has a pretty salty taste
• Less Kale and more mushrooms depending on your taste preferences

Spring Rolls

So I’ve been on an Asian food kick and wanted to take a stab at spring rolls. FYI – the package of wrappers comes in like a 24 pack. So unless you plan on making mass springs rolls, you’ll have to repurpose them. I’ll be making some type of ravioli to post, as a possible suggestion.

Ingredients

• 3 Spring Roll Wrappers
• 1 to 2 Mushrooms chopped
• Bamboo Shoots chopped (4 to 5 shoots from a can)
• Water chestnuts chopped (6 to 8 rounds from a can)
• Kale (2 leaves chopped)
• Peanut Sauce of choice (I have the Whole Foods brand)

Directions

• Place wrapper in warm water and let soak for a minute or two
• Place on dry plate and place ingredients inside
• Wrap roll like a burrito folding the ends inside while continuing to roll
• Viola!

“Burger” over Rice

Ingredients

• 1 cup of rice
• 2 cups of water
• 2 kale leaves deveined and chopped
• Onion Slices
• Olive Oil for pan
• Vegan Butter about 1 tbsp
• Herb de Provance about 1 tbsp
• Veggie Burger of your Choice chopped

Directions

• Mix water and rice together and cook on medium heat to stir frequently
• Coat pan with olive oil, add kale, onion, and veggie burger
• When rice is about done, add Herb de Provance seasoning and butter, Stir
• Remove rice from heat
• When onions are brown, remove from heat
• Add kale mixture over rice and ENJOY!

“Cheesy” Kale Cauliflower Bisque

And I’m back in the kitchen! So I’ve been thinking a lot about soups lately, probably because the weather is getting cooler and it’s a comfort food. So I whipped up this bisque with a few simple ingredients.

Ingredients

• Cauliflower ( I used orange) – about a 1/4 of the head chopped
• Kale – 2 leaves chopped
• Cheese of choice (I used Daiya Cheddar) – 3 handfuls
• Garlic – 1 generous spoonful
• White onions – 1/4 onion chopped
• Almond Milk – about 1 cup
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp of olive oil

Directions

• In a sauce pan combine salt, pepper, milk and cheese on low heat stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes
• In a saute pan, add olive oil, cauliflower, kale, garlic, and onions on medium heat until vegetables are tender. Add 1/2 cup of cheese mixture to vegetables and cook covered for about 5 minutes.
• Add vegetable  mixture and cheese sauce to blender (I used the big cup of the Nutrabullet), blend until creamy and smooth.
• Top with a sprinkle of cheese

Related articles

• Cauliflower Ginger Soup (lmiller88.wordpress.com)
• Creamy Cauliflower Parmesan Soup (merchteamcuisine.wordpress.com)
• Cauliflower & Old Cheddar Cheese Creamy Soup (davelaberge.me)

Veggie Mix in a Peanut Sauce

Need a quick meal. Nothing’s simpler than chop, heat, stir, and sauce. 

Ingredients

• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Pepper
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Onions
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Coconut Milk
• Peanut Sauce (I used the organic 365 from Whole Foods)
• Protein of Choice (I used some left over vegan hot dogs I had)
• Cumin to taste about 1 – 2 tbsps
• Coconut Oil
• Spoondful of minced garlic

Directions

• Chop vegetables and protein to desired size
• In a medium size sauce pan, put a spoonful of coconut oil
• Add vegetables to do pan
• Add peanut sauce (enough to coat the vegetables
• Add about a 1/4 of coconut milk
• Add cumin, salt, and pepper
• Cover and cook on medium heat until vegetables are tender about 15 minutes stirring occasionally

Related articles

• Tofu Peanut Stirfry (theeightdollarcook.wordpress.com)
• Peanut Sauce (anniereeves.com)

Smoothie Ideas

So I love making smoothies. It’s such a quick and easy snack or breakfast to go meal. Recently, I started buying too much and my fruits and vegetables were going bad for my overzealous smoothie ideas. This time, I prepackaged the smoothies in ziplock bags. This way I can pull one out the night before to thaw before breakfast.

Here’s some of my smoothie packages:

1. Spinach, Pomegranate – will add coconut milk, flax and chia
2. Spinach, Banana, Pomegranate – will add almond milk, flax, and chia,
3. Kale, Raspberry – will add coconut yogurt, coconut milk, lime juice and chia
4. Spinach, Banana – will add coconut yogurt, flax, lime juice and coconut milk
5. Kale, Raspberry, and Pomegranate – will add almond milk, flax, and chia
6. Spinach, Banana, Raspberry – will add almond milk, flax, and chia

Stuffed Kale Leaves

Stuffed Kale

Ok, so I bought too much Kale this past week and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with it. So I came up with this recipe. It’s similar to grape leaves but with a little twist.

Main Ingredients and Fun Facts:

Quinoa: For those that don’t know, quinoa is a grain and is often referred to as a “superfood”. Quinoa is a great source of protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, and fiber. It’s a great addition to any diet, especially those following a vegan diet or individuals who are lactose intolerant.

Kale: This is another food, that is typically considered a “superfood” because of it nutritional value. It is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and calcium.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• Kale Leaves
• 1/2 cup Quinoa
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 white onion chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 4 spoonfuls of black beans
• 2 tbsps Trader Joe’s Red Pepper Eggplant Garlic Spread
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

• Add quinoa and water to small pot, cook until water is absorbed about 20 minutes
• In the meantime, put the onions, garlic, black beans, and Eggplant Spread in a blender. Mix until smooth
• Once quinoa is absorbed remove from heat. Add quinoa to other ingredients in blender. Mix until smooth.
• Blanch Kale leaves for 5 minutes in covered pot
• Remove Kale from pot, trim stems from the back of the leaves. This way the Kale stays together in one piece. Pat dry with papertowel. Save the water that was used to blanch the leaves.
• Spoon quinoa mixture into leaf and roll tightly.
• Place rolled leaves in deep pan, pour kale water in pan, just enough to cover the bottom of the leaves. Add in salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes. Don’t let it boil here.
• Depending on the size of your Kale leaves, you may have leaf over quinoa mixture. Freeze it up and save it for next time!
• Serve and hope everyone enjoys! 🙂