Herbed Rice & Bean Pilaf

The most delicious and filling rice-and-beans I've ever had... if I do say so myself!

You will need:

1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup dried bean mix (I love Tru Roots Sprouted Bean Trio)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small white onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
4 cups whole baby spinach leaves
1 tomato, diced
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Optional:  6 halved bell peppers

Start by cooking the rice and the beans - in separate pots - following the package cooking instructions for each.  Brown rice generally cooks for 45-55 minutes, and Tru Roots Sprouted Bean Trio needs only 5 minutes on the heat, and 10 minutes off the heat.

In a separate frying pan, combine onion, carrot, and bell pepper.  Saute until golden, then add spinach and mix until wilted.  Add tomato, remove mixture from the heat, and stir in all spices.

When rice and beans have cooked, add them to the pan, mix, and season as required.

Optional:  stuff rice pilaf into bell peppers and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Green Lentil Veggie Soup

When I started telling friends and family that I had decided to eat a vegan diet, the most common question I was asked was "How will you get your protein?"   It's amazing how the world seems to think that if you're not eating animals, there is no other way to get protein into your diet.

I've been doing my research recently to find out exactly how much protein a vegan needs, and what the best sources are.  At 23g of protein per 3/4 cup, green lentils are an amazing source of protein - plus they're yummy and have great texture! 

This Green Lentil Veggie Soup is easy to prepare and tastes delicious... and it makes great leftovers, too!

Using your large soup pot, start by frying one diced white onion and 2 diced carrots in grapeseed oil.  After 5 minutes, mix in 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sage, 1/2 tsp dry mustard, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Stir to combine, then chop 2 large potatoes into quite small pieces and stir in.  Add one half of a medium zucchini, diced, and cook for another 2 minutes.

Pour 4 cups veggie stock into the pot.  Then add 1 1/4c dry green lentils.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Check the lentils to see if they're cooked:  nice and soft means they're done; tough and chewy means they need to be simmered for longer.  Check every 5 minutes until you like the texture of the lentils.

For a thinner soup, add another cup or two of veggie stock. 

Serve topped with croutons if desired.

Veggieful Corn Chowder

With my fridge full of veggies that are on their way out, I set out to make a corn chowder.  It's a cool fall day and I'm in the mood for some comfort food to warm up my insides.   I've used cauliflower to thicken the soup instead of the usual potatoes.

Veggieful Corn Chowder goes something like this...

Steam up about 1/4 head of cauliflower, blend it until it's in small chunks, and set aside.

Using your large soup pot, fry the following for 5 minutes in grapeseed oil:
1/3 of a large red onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped finely
1 large carrot, diced

Add a good pinch of salt, black pepper to your taste, 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sage.  Stir and fry for another 2 minutes.

Add 2 c vegetable stock and 2 c almond milk.  Bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, add the cauliflower and 2 c frozen corn.  Bring back to a simmer and stir occasionally for 10 minutes.

If you want a thicker soup, add 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with a little water.  Repeat until you reach desired thickness.  If you want a thinner soup, add another cup of veggie stock.

Season to taste and serve with crusty bread and a heap of green salad.

Substitutions:  add steamed potato instead of cauliflower.  instead of bell peppers, add zucchini and frozen peas. 

Cooking with... Acorn Squash

I love to grocery shop. 
I know many people feel it's a chore.  I choose to look at it this way:  I can shamelessly put as many items in my cart as I choose, and it doesn't matter what the bill is, because I NEED TO EAT.  That's how I justify my grocery shopping sprees to my husband, anyway.

While rummaging through the fresh produce aisles in Superstore (if you've been to my Superstore location, you know that it does take "rummaging" to find the produce you want), I passed a whole barrel of acorn squash.  I looked longingly at the beautiful squash, unsure of what I could even make with it!  I passed by twice more and finally stopped to pick the cutest squash I could find, and bring it home to be mine, all mine.

And then I did a lot of Googling.

If you don't like squash soup or baked squash topped with nuts and dried fruit, and if you don't have the time/patience to make ravioli, Google can't help you use up that squash.

So I got inventive. 

Here's my recipe for Thai Peanut Squash Noodles:

I prepped my squash (cut in half, removed seeds, drizzled olive oil, sprinkled salt) and roasted it in the oven at 400 F for 45 minutes. 

While my squash roasted, I fried up half a white onion, and half a yellow bell pepper in some olive oil. 

And I mixed my peanut sauce in my blender:  1/2c peanut butter, 1/4c water, 2 Tbsp tamari, 1 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1/2c unsalted peanuts, 1/4tsp red chili flakes (optional).

And then I boiled some white rice vermicelli (150g or so) for a few minutes.

When the squash was fork-tender, I removed the skin from one half, roughly diced it, and threw it in with my fried veggies until it was a little caramelized.  Then I combined everything (veggies, peanut sauce, noodles) in the noodle pot and mixed.  The squash was so tender, it mushed up and became part of the sauce.

And then I offered some to my hubby.  He doesn't think much of squash and was surprised that it blended right into my sauce.  He ate his entire bowlful... and then asked if I was going to finish mine!

Variations:  top with cilantro and peanuts.  Substitute lime juice for rice vinegar in the sauce.

And then I had half of a roasted squash left in the fridge.

So for lunch today, I made Thai Squash Curry:

I put 1c brown rice into 2c boiling water and let it simmer on low for 45 minutes.

Then I fried up the other half yellow pepper and white onion from yesterday, and added 1/4 head of chopped cauliflower.

In my blender, I pureed up 1/2 of the half squash that was left (so 1/4 of a whole squash!) with 1/2 can coconut milk and 2 Tbsp red curry paste, with salt to taste. 

Then I added the other 1/2 of the half squash to the pan with the mixed veggies, and poured in the squash sauce from the blender.  A cup of veggie stock will thin out the thick sauce.

Served over brown rice.

What I love about these recipes is that they don't take much effort (just throw it into a blender!) and they taste great!  ANNND you're getting vitamins you need!

Hope you enjoy!

Learning How...

Hi Friends,

Good news!  I've decided to become a vegan!
My journey into the vegan/vegetarian world started about a year ago after watching Food Inc., but that's another story.  Two months ago, I officially decided to be a vegetarian, and I've recently decided that I should take the plunge into veganism!

The biggest change I noticed in myself since becoming a vegetarian is that I physically feel different.  Lighter somehow.  I'm not sure what that's all about, but I'm enjoying it!

And many friends told me that my grocery bill would be lower because meat is so expensive.  What I didn't take into account is how many more fresh veggies I consume... so no, my grocery bill hasn't gone down at all.  It might have actually increased with all the began pantry basics (nutritional yeast, agave nectar, etc) I've been stocking up on.

So join me as I learn to eat, cook, and live like a vegan!