Bistro Broccoli Chowder - Hold the Parsnips...

Another fine and hearty soup from Appetite for Reduction, using one of my favorite vegetables of all time, BROCCOLI.  For anyone who does not have the pleasure of owning this fantastic cookbook, I found the recipe online here, at GoDairyfree.org.

Here in new England, the only "chowda" in most folks' bowls is clam.  For this recipe, however, we swap out our shelled friends for some broccoli, and leave behind the heavy cream and butter for some luscious potatoes and unsweetened almond milk.  Besides potatoes, the recipe calls for a parsnip, which is not one of my usual pantry staples.  Apparently, it is not Stop and Shop's either, which made me sad because I really wanted to try one in this recipe.  No parsnips to be found.

So, in steps a turnip, and we call it a day.  Turnip can be subbed in some recipes that call for parsnip.  It is described as having a "celery-like" flavor, which I thought would be perfect for a soup such as this one.

And, I was right!  This soup rocked.  Although the directions instruct you to puree HALF the soup and leave the rest a little chunky and thick.  I submerged my immersion blender in the soup pot, and literally  tapped the button, and within 6 seconds, the entire pot was pureed. So much for that... and so much for my Job Lot $15.00 immersion blender been cheap and crappy.

So, since the soup was now silky smooth, and a delightful shade of green. I decided to chop up a bunch of RAW broccoli to add some texture back.  Good call. The crunch of the raw broccoli added just the right body to the soup, and at 150 calories a serving, you can't go wrong.  Thank you, Isa.  This was a fabulous, low-cal lunch for a week. ^_^

Trattoria Pasta Salad

New Year, New Resolutions 

"Forget that tired old pasta salad Aunt Gertrude brings to family reunions - this salad is where it's at! NO mayo required" ~from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbook, Appetite for Reduction.  

With the dawn of the New Year, L and I have made a pact to eat more sensibly and healthy. We have both downloaded calorie counter apps for our phones, and are faithfully keeping track of our daily calorie intake and portion sizes.  I'm using MyFitnessPal, which I really like because they have a TON of vegan ingredients already in their database. If your particular brand or ingredient is not there, the app has a handy barcode symbol, which allows you to scan almost any ingredient with a barcode for complete nutritional information. And, as an added bonus, MyFitnessPal has almost ALL of the recipes from Appetite for Reduction already listed, which has made it really easy for us to have quick, easy and healthy, whole food meals at our fingertips.

So, I just so happened to have two red peppers and some kalamata olives hanging around in my fridge. I also happened to have an open bag of sun dried tomatoes, not packed in oil, as well. And, thanks to my co-worker, Thu, I had just gotten some wonderful Vietnamese rice spiral macaroni from the Vietnamese Market (VMart) here in Providence.

Now if you don't happen to have Appetite for Reduction, Isa has posted the complete recipe for this pasta salad on the PPK website here.  Please check it out, and give the recipe a try.

The only change I made was that I kept the red bell peppers RAW instead of roasting, and added just a tiny touch of agave nectar to the dressing, just to take a bit of the edge out.  Results:  Rave reviews, and it tastes even better the next day.  Perfect for work lunches too.  The tangy bite of the sun dried tomato and balsamic dressing, (made with no oil, but rather a few TBSP of toasted walnuts blended well), goes perfect with the peppers, olives, creamy beans and peppery bite of the fresh baby arugula.  I decided to splurge and added to optional half-cup of toasted walnuts into the mix.  Why not, right? ^_^

Xtra Walnuts and Arugula, please

Happy National Taco Day!

Just because I'm vegan, doesn't mean I can't ROCK THE TACOS!

I plan to read far and wide, through all the Vegan Mofo posts, in search of some of your favorite taco fillings during this whole month of vegan food - so be on the lookout!

Here are a few of mine:


Seitan "Fake Steak" and Green Pepper Tacos (see my review here) served with home made Flour Tortillas


Gallo Pinto (Rice and Bean) Tacos!
Recipe from Viva Vegan, one of my favorite cookbooks.


Home Style Refried Bean Tacos!
Recipe (again) from Viva Vegan


Spicy hummus, taco crumbles, Daiya and XTRA jalapeños!


I'm embarrassed that I have no vegetables whatsoever on this one, but...
The Old Standby: Taco flavored TVP crumbles, Daiya and Tofutti (totally fake, but totally good)


Here, I at least added lettuce and tomato!
Spicy canned vegan refried beans, lettuce, tomato and Daiya - Sprinkled with chili spices


Big, Fat, Taco Salad - from Appetite for Reduction (one of my favorites)  If you have never made Guacamame before, what are you waiting for?!


Sweet & Savory Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos!
Recipe Test from Terry Hope Romero's upcoming book: Vegan Eats World - which is going to be AWESOME and you should all get it!



No cheese of sour cream on my tacos!  It's GUACAMOLE all the way...

Quick & Simple Basic Guacamole
2 avocados
4 scallions or 1/2 a red onion, minced
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño, minced (seeded or not, your choice)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
*combine and mash



Seitan Chorizo Crumble Tacos - from 500 Vegan Recipes.  These crumbles are great, especially if you are pressed for time and can't make a full batch of seitan chorizo sausages.


And, last but not least: a WTF TACO
We have all been guilty of making one of these, I'm sure.  This was actually cubed up Seitan O'Greatness, sautéed with baby spinach and some Teese... not one of my better creations, but still satisfying.

If you've made it to the bottom of this monstrous post, please feel free share with me YOUR favorite taco creations ^_^

Not Your Average Chopped Taco Salad

Today we have time for a quickie (and by "quickie" I mean a quick and simple, no-fuss weeknight meal).

"NOT Your Average Chopped Taco Salad"
Aptly named by my better-half 

Sometimes I try and challenge myself to make a meal from only the things I have on hand, or leftovers in the fridge or pantry.

Here we have:

• Shredded Romaine lettuce (from the Farmer's Market at work) 
• 1 can of black beans, seasoned with garlic, chili powder, and a wee bit of chipotle powder, 
• 1/2 cup of quinoa, cooked in 1 cup of vegetable broth, with 2 tsp of taco spice and some seasoned salt
• chopped tomato and red onion, salt and pepper

1 avocado cubed with 3/4 cup of shelled edamame (leftovers) tossed with salt, pepper and lime juice*I had steamed up some edamame, which I would take to work as a snack.  These last few pods were the leftovers so I thought I'd toss them in with the avocado cubes, in the style of "Guacamame" from Appetite for Reduction.

Dressing was the juice of 1/2 a lime, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil and agave to taste!

Ugly phone pic, sorry

Of course, we had to go and crumble tortilla chips all over our individual bowls, just for added crunch. However, I tried to keep the "food porn" healthy looking.  When will we ever learn... ^_^

Big Fat Taco Salad!

I'm jumping back to Appetite for Reduction, because I seriously LOVE this book!!



(Please note, I used a tiny sprinkling of Daiya vegan cheddar cheese, which is NOT in Isa's original recipe, but it was still really good)!!

Now, most folks who like to cook, or have a basic knowledge of cooking, don't actually need a recipe to make a taco salad.  The beauty of cooking with the recipes from Appetite for Reduction is that it you to take a closer look at the amounts and types of ingredients one might use on say, a simple dish like a taco salad.

For example, instead of blobs of Tofutti vegan sour cream, this recipe is topped with GUACAMAME, traditional guacamole's lighter cousin ^_^



What an innovative recipe!  Instead of the full fat and calories from two large avocados, Isa uses ONE avocado and replaces the rest with a cup of edamame (soybeans).  You season and spice the mixture the same as any other guacamole recipe: lime juice, salt, cilantro, jalapeno or cayenne, and then puree everything until smooth in a food processor.  I must say, as a DIE HARD guacamole fan, the end results of this lighter, lower fat version are quite fantastic!

Now onto the dressing...

Many taco salads in restaurants contain ground meat, and the ones that don't, are usually smothered in some cream-tastical, salty, taco-spice dressing, or loaded with cheese.  The dressing we have for this salad is more like a pourable version of a spicy salsa, mixing tomato, lime and fresh jalapeno.  When I made up our taco salads, I decided to mix the dressing right in with the black beans, then top the lettuce with that.

It made for a pretty picture, and was then easily mixed with the rest of the salad to get lots of delicious flavor in each bite.



Crumble a small handful of (baked) tortilla chips of the top from some crunch, and you are good to go.  Two bowls later... we were happy and well fed ^_^

CAULIPOTS!

Cookbook Challenge Week 1 - Appetite for Reduction



Too many starchy, carbs getting you down? Looking to cut down on your MASHED POTATO consumption, but fear the sudden withdrawal? Well look no further, CAULIPOTS are here!

Caulipots - the fact that it looks like a cauliflower is purely coincidence 

I think Isa sums it up best: "Mashed potatoes are pretty much the clouds of heaven - I definitely indulge - but the fat and calories therein can make them the spuds of hell".

This delectable 'half-and-half' blend of the beloved potato, and the often forgot-about cauliflower, uses no milk or butter (that's 'no unsweetened almond milk and Earth Balance to you and me') but rather, uses a touch of olive oil and vegetable broth to smooth it out and give it flavor.

Now, back in my pregan days, the no-carb, low-carb Atkins thing was running rampant.  And with that "carb be devil" attitude, emerged the phenomena of the Mashed Cauliflower, a heaping mound of boiled cauliflower mixed with HEAVY cream and butter, and them whipped into a mash we all could relate to, because god FORBID you eat a potato!!  I admit, I made it once, and it was well received.  But something inside me thought "someone's got something very wrong here".

Can't we have the best of both?  And I think this recipe proves that yes, yes we can. 

*Best thing about the Caulipots: serving them to my cauliflower-hating GF, waiting until her last bite, and THEN telling her there was cauliflower in them! she was blown away...and converted, yay

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad

Cookbook Challenge Week 1 - Appetite for Reduction





I cannot tell you how excited I am to own this cookbook.  I've been skimming through the recipes, and I have to say, I can see myself making ALL of them.  They are all quick and simple, which is great for me, especially on busy weeknights when I get home from work after 6.

And... there are TONS of recipe ideas that are great for work lunches. One of my (silent) New Year's resolutions was to start packing more interesting, healthy lunches.  I was quite pleasantly surprised as I flipped through the book and was met with tons of great ideas for lunch, like in Chapter 1, for example: 

FULL ON SALADS 

"THERE WAS A TIME -- A LONELY, LONELY TIME -- WHEN SALADS were a pale and limp affair, relegated to the side of your plate, practically weeping.  I think those dark days were also know as the '80s.  Then all of a sudden, salads came alive... the line between salad and entree was blurred. The walls came down, and arugula came up".

Reading Isa's introduction MAKES me want to make and eat salad! Even in the cold, dead of winter, when the thought of a crisp and cool green salad makes me shiver...

So why not start at recipe numero uno?  (I had all the stuff on hand too)  

I give you: Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Delicious! This is going to be my go-to salad for work for a while.  I decided to keep the quinoa and chickpeas in a separate container in my fridge, and then mixed them in with the greens and dressing each morning.  The quinoa and chickpea combo really adds nice bulk to the greens, which made me feel full the rest of the day.

Appetite for Reduction really has some wonderful homemade salad dressing too, great to keep mixed up in the fridge for salad variety anytime.  The Balsamic Vinaigrette that follows this recipe in the book uses soaked cashews instead of oil, to give a creamy body to the dressing. L O V E! Cannot wait to make more...