Rice Noodle Salad Formula

Use this formula to make an asian inspired rice noodle salad....

Prep:
Boil 4 - 6 cups of water

Sauce:
Prepare a noodle sauce. Here's my basic sauce recipe:

• 3 Tb. soy sauce
• 2 Tb. rice wine vinegar
• Dash of sweet - drizzle of honey or pinch of sugar

Noodles:
Once water boils, take the water off the heat and add the rice noodles to soak and soften
Let stand for 6 - 8 minutes until noodles are soft but firm
Drain and set aside

Veggies:
While the water boils and the noodles soak prep some veggies for stir-fry. I always have carrots in the fridge which I julienne. I also had some broccoli slaw at the ready. Use your favorites.

Stir Fry:
Drizzle some oil in your wok or large fry pan. Saute your veggies until tender crisp. Add drained noodles and your sauce. Stir to combine until noodles are warm again.

Top:
Nuts are always a delicious and nutritious garnish. In the summer I like a small diced crisp cucumber on top.

Enjoy!

Guilt-Free and Delicious ~ Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Earlier this week I made up my own vegan muffin recipe and I am going to roll with this concept. Nut butter and mashed fruit form the base for these guilt-free muffins! This recipe is made especially for my little man!

~ Oven to 350°
~ Prepare muffin tins by coating with oil or cooking spray.
(You could also make this in a 4x9 loaf tin. Just cook it a little longer. Or use mini-muffin tins and bake only about 8 minutes.)

Prepare the wet mix in a wide mixing bowl. Combine:

• mash 1 medium size banana
• 1/2 nut butter (peanut butter today**)
• 1 cup "milk" of choice (it's soy here)

Prepare your dry ingredients in a separate medium/large mixing bowl.
Combine:

• 2 cups of flour of choice 
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (if you are cooking for a strict vegan make sure to get vegan chocolate chips!)

Make a well in the center of the dry mix, pour in the wet mix, and stir just until combined. Scoop your mixture evenly in to your tins and bake at 350 for about 8 - 10 minutes. Put a fork in it. When it comes out clean, they are ready.


Believe it! no eggs, no dairy, no gluten (if you used a gluten-free mix), very low sugar, and no sacrificing taste! Enjoy with your kids.


**Peanut butter is one of those foods that is probably worth paying for the organic version. Most peanuts (except organic) are genetically modified. If that word doesn't scare you, I don't know what will. 

Zippy Vegan Sunrise Muffins (Only good stuff in these babies!)

Breakfast today. January 20th. Happy birthday sis! Wish I was with you to celebrate.

~ Oven to 350°
~ Prepare muffin tins by coating with oil or cooking spray.
~ (You could also make this in a 4x9 loaf tin. Just cook it a little longer.)

Prepare your dry ingredients in a medium/large mixing bowl.
Combine:

• 2 cups of flour of choice (I'm using a gluten-free mix today)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• zest of one orange (juice the orange juice and set aside for your wet mix)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom (opt. - I just love this flavor but it's potent - my kids aren't as crazy for it)

Prepare your optional mix-ins

This batter will hold about a cup of whatever you might want to add.

Today I'm using:

• 1 very small apple, peeled because it was nasty waxy, and diced
• 1 large handful of walnuts, chopped
• 2 handfuls of fresh cranberries, cut in half (in summer I might use cherries)

Drop your mix-ins into your dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Prepare the wet mix:

• juice of one orange
• 1/4 nut butter (I'm using almond butter)
• 1/4 cup applesauce (mashed banana will also work)
• 1 cup "milk" of choice (it's soy for me today)

Make a well in the center of the dry mix, pour in the wet mix, and stir just until combined. Scoop your mixture evenly in to your tins and bake at 350 for about 8 - 10 minutes. Put a fork in it. When it comes out clean, they are ready.

Hope you have a great day today!

Warm Winter Slaw

Cabbage and Carrots! What could be better on a cold winter night. If you have kids, you probably know how much they love ketchup. Well, I love Dijon mustard the same way. I could eat it with almost anything. So if you aren't as big as a fan of Dijon as I am, you could just leave it out. 


This recipe will likely turn out to be a base for some more winter recipes. You could add some walnuts to it for a little extra protein power or check out my Veggie Reuben which features a big pile of this slaw and a yummy dressing. 

Ingredients:
1/2 head of purple cabbage sliced into thin ribbons
1/2 head of green cabbage sliced into thin ribbons
2 large carrots grated
2 Tb. olive oil
3 Tb. apple cider vinegar
3 Tb. dijon mustard
a grind or two of sea salt and pepper 

Heat the olive oil in your pan. Add the cabbage ribbons and carrots. Let the veggies cook for a minute or two and add the vinegar and mustard. If your veggies stick to your pan just add a little water. Let them steam for about 15 minutes. Cook until the veggies feel like a good texture to you. I like mine al dente. Season to your taste.

"Go To" Black Bean Soup

This is the perfect soup when I don't have time to A. think about what to eat, B. go grocery shopping, and C. don't have time to cook at dinner-time.  I try to keep all of these ingredients in my pantry or fridge at all times. They work great in this and many other soups.


Because I work many evenings, I often have to prep the food before-hand so my family can eat while I'm off at work.  I often prep dinner at lunch time or if I'm organized enough;-) maybe the night before. For this recipe, I sauté the veggies ahead of time and then pop it all in the slow-cooker so it's ready when we need it. If you didn't want to take the time to sauté the veggies, you could skip that step. Just chop 'em up and put it all in the slow cooker. If you are making dinner at dinner time, skip the crock-pot. Just sauté your veggies in a big soup pot. And simmer until the beans are warmed through.

Heat a skillet over med-high seat. Add 1-2 Tb. olive oil to coat the pan.

Chop these veggies into a fine dice and add them to your pan as you go to soften and caramelize them: (Rachael Ray named this technique "chop and drop.")

• 1 small onion
• 3 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. coriander

Add the veggies to your crock-pot (or keep them in your soup pot) along with:

• 2 cans of black beans*
• 1 can of tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted)
• 2 cups of water
• another 1/2 tsp. sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper

Cook on low heat until you are ready to eat.

You can leave the soup as is or blend it up. I like to blend about 3/4 of the soup and leave 1/4 so there are some veggie bites for texture. 

* I like to use organic beans and then feel comfortable adding the bean liquid in with the beans. If the beans aren't organic, I'll usually drain and rinse them before cooking. You may need to add a little extra water if you drain the beans before cooking. 

Enjoy!

Better Than Chicken Soup

This soup is a sure-fire pick me up when you are feeling down. It's quick and easy to make with simple ingredients. With a base of packaged vegetable stock and hearty root vegetables, you can keep the ingredients on hand so that even if you don't feel well enough to go to the store, you'll have everything you need to treat yourself to a healing and nourishing soup.

Ingredients to have on hand:

1 box of vegetable stock - I prefer organic and low sodium

1 small onion

4 carrots

3 stalks of celery

2 large potatoes or about 6 medium new potatoes

Seasoning

• Put your soup pot on the stove and drizzle in a thin coating of olive oil 
• Finely dice 1 small onion, place the onion in the pot and turn the heat up to medium to soften the onion
• As the onion softens in the pot, peel and cut 4 carrots into coin-shaped slices and add to the pot
• Add 1 cup vegetable stock (water will work if you don't have stock) this will keep the veggies from sticking but will also allow them to get some direct heat to bring out their flavor
• Slice the celery stalks into half moon slices and add to the pot
• Chop potatoes into a dice that is similar in size to your carrot and celery slices
• Add to the pot and add the remaining stock
• Add seasoning* 
• For this soup, I used 1 tsp. celtic sea salt, 1/2 tsp. turmeric, and 1/2 tsp. cumin

*Different spices and herbs can have a different effect on each individual and in different situations. I'm guided by Ayurveda in many of my seasoning choices. Check out this link for an intro article on Ayurveda http://www.yogajournal.com/health/1722 and then maybe join them for their 7 day Ayurveda cleanse starting September 12 http://falldetox.yogajournal.com/. My daughter has a fever so I'm going a calm, cooling soup. Tumeric is a little heating but it's anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and antiseptic are so powerful that I use it a bit. Read more about turmeric here http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78

Last Day of Summer Break Simple Supper - Simple Tomato Gazpacho and Easy Cheesy Quesadillas

I spent most of this day soaking up quality time with my soon-to-be second grader. Like most parents, I'm ready for my kids to get back to school but the change is so drastic it makes me a little sad. We'll go from spending almost every waking moment together to just having a couple of hours between school, work, activities and bedtime. As the kids get ready for school and my hay-fever allergy starts to settle in, I also am acutely aware that summer is waning. It's time to really savor the signature flavors of summer. Looking for a quick, easy and summery menu I thought of tomato gazpacho and an easy side.

I had always resisted gazpacho, thinking, "soup should be warm and comforting. Well one year a friend made the most delicious gazpacho while we were vacationing at the beach and my mind was changed forever. It's a simple recipe filled with loving care and crisp, bright flavor. His recipe and many other gazpacho recipes call for worcestershire sauce but this isn't an ingredient I usually use so I've modified the recipe with ingredients from my pantry and backyard garden. I've got more common ingredients in parenthesis next to my sauce ingredients which are more normal to me but probably more exotic to most.

I knew quesadillas would be a hit at the table but I had no idea everyone would love the soup. There were arguments at the dinner table. Not about disliking the food but about who was more right about the soup being "delicious" or "good."

Simple Tomato Gazpacho
Prepare the Veggies
The loving care in this recipe comes from dicing these veggies super small. It takes some time but it's worth it! The soup flavors meld and deepen with time so feel free to make it a day ahead.

Dice these veggies super small and add to a bowl:

• peel, seed and chop 2 tomatoes 
• peel, seed and dice 1 cucumber
• seed and chop 1 bell pepper (I use yellow just to round out the colors but feel free to use your favorite)
• 1 shallot (or small onion)
• (opt. hot chili pepper)
• 2 Tb. basil chopped

Dress the veggies:
In a small bowl whisk up this simple dressing and then pour over the veggies you've prepared above.

• 2 Tb. olive oil
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. salt

While the veggies soak up their marinade,
Prepare the soup base:
In a large bowl, combine:

• 1 cup tomato juice (I love that I have a juicer now and can make my own! V-8 works too.)
• 1 Tb. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tb. Organic Shoyu (soy sauce)
• 1 Tb. Umeboshi Plum Wine Vinegar (red wine vinegar/worcestershire sauce)
• 1 tsp. jalepeno pepper sauce
• 1 tsp. chili powder

Add the veggies to the soup base and let it rest until ready to serve. Most recipes will suggest you let the soup sit for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before serving but I don't have time for that. I let it sit while I made the quesadillas. No one noticed that I didn't "follow the rules."

Easiest Cheesey Quesadillas
So simple!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
On a baking sheet, sandwich grated cheese between two 8" tortillas. Cook for about 8 minutes until cheese is melted and tortillas are slightly golden.
That's it... enjoy.

Cabbage Wraps with Black Bean Sauce

Prepare the Sauce

Place a saucepan over med-high heat and add:

• 1 can of organic* black beans
• 1 Tb. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• few dashes of hot pepper sauce

When the sauce bubbles, turn down heat and simmer to thicken for about 20 minutes. As the sauce thickens prepare the rest of the ingredients which you can then serve family style at the table so everyone can feel the privilege of making their own food. 

Prepare Cabbage Leaf Wraps

1. You will begin by removing the outer leaves one small cabbage to use as the wraps. 
2. Wash and dry your cabbage so that it is not slippery when you work with it. 
3. Take a small paring knife and carefully cut through the base of the stem to begin to separate the leaf from the head. The cabbage leaves tear pretty easily so you'll want to move patiently as you then peel the leaf away from the head. 
4. I usually pull back the edges all around the perimeter of each leaf working my way into the center. Continue trimming the base of each leaf and pulling them back. 
5. Stack the cabbage leaves into a pile. In our family the kids eat one wrap and the adults usually go for two. 
6. After you've pulled back enough leaves, cut the cabbage in half. You'll use one half of the interior of the cabbage for the filling for the wraps and you can reserve the other half for another day.

Prepare the Filling
This recipe has two fillings. One with mushrooms and one without. Mushrooms are the one thing that my son detests and I let him get away without even tasting. We should all have at least a little control over what we eat, right?

The Family Friendly Filling 
... only different in that there are no mushrooms or herbs. Although I often do include herbs in many of our family meals, fresh herbs are potent, powerful and medicinal so I take it easy if I'm making something specific for the kiddos.


In a large bowl combine:

• 1/2 of the interior of a small cabbage cut into thin ribbons
• 2 grated carrots
• 6 oz. snow peas cut into thin ribbons

Adult Filling

Divide the family friendly mixture in half so you can add adult ingredients:

• 3 shitake mushrooms cut into thin ribbons
• about 20 thai basil leaves cut into ribbons (chopped cilantro would be excellent as well)

Assemble wraps

1. Choose your wrap - (flour tortillas may be more kid-friendly.) 
2. Into your cabbage leaf cup or tortilla, scoop your veggie filling and top with black bean sauce.
3. Wrap up and enjoy! So yummy  - I scraped the black bean sauce bowl clean!

Here is what else was on the menu today and where I got the inspiration for the wraps. 

Breakfast - green go juice

Lunch - backyard garden salad

Dinner Inspiration = vegetarian times article and wanting alternative protein source = black bean sauce?

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asian-black-bean-sauce-10000000665258/

No Chips Needed for this Salsa Verde Salad

Salsa Verde with Corn Cakes and Sweet Potato Chips

This Salsa Verde is my favorite thing to make in summer. I love to add it avocado for guacamole and use it as a healthy and yummy sauce on anything! Today I used it as my salad dressing and it was worth writing about.

Salsa Verde
In a mini food chopper or blender, combine:

• 4-6 husked, rinsed and quartered tomatillos (no need to cook them)
• 1 large or two small shallots
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 handfuls of cilantro leaves (depending on your taste)
• juice of one lime
• a little heat by way of some jalepeno or pepper sauce would be a nice addition if you like it spicy

That's all there is to it. You could add it to some mashed avocado for guacamole; or make the....

No Chips Needed Salsa Verde Salad

• Prepare the Salsa Verde Salad dressing
• In a large bowl, mash one avocado and add 1/4 cup Salsa Verde
• Stir to combine
• Prepare your veggies
• There is so much flavor and healthy goodness in this dressing that I keep the salad really simple. It's just:
• 1/2 head or romaine lettuce
• 1 diced cucumber
• Mix it up and enjoy

The salad recipe makes one large salad and you'll have some leftover salsa for snacking on later.

Emerald Green Vitality "Soup"

In keeping with my recent theme of cocktail inspired soups, this could be called Margarita Soup and I do think it's yummy enough to drink out of a glass. You just whiz it up in a blender and you are good to go. The color might be scary if you aren't used to eating the freshest of food so just think "I am eating (or drinking) pure vitality when I take this in."

Recipe is for one large serving or two smaller portions


Prepare the veggies:

• Chop 1/4 english cucumber* (reserve a little for garnish if you like)
• Halve an avocado **

Place the ingredients into your blender

• chopped cucumber
• half of an avocado
• a large handful of baby spinach
• juice of one lime
• small handful of cilantro leaves***
• 1/2 teaspoon good quality sea salt
• 1/4 cup water

Puree the soup in the blender and add water as needed to bring it to a pleasing consistency. Pour into you bowl or glass and enjoy. If using as a soup you might garnish with a bit of chopped cucumber and pine nuts.


*English Cucumbers have thin un-waxed skin and barely noticeable seeds so they require less prep work and no worry of eating wax. If you are using a conventional cucumber you should peel and seed it first)

**To preserve the other half of the avacado, keep the pit in one half. This is the side you will save the pit helps keep it fresher longer. Sprinkle a little citrus juice on the exposed portion of the reserved avacado. Place in an airtight container in the fridge. You should use the second half within a day or two. When you go to prepare the second half, remove the pit and scrape off the browned top layer. Everything underneath will still be nice and fresh.

***When using this as a drink, I leave out the cilantro.