Carrot-Oat Cake

Recipe and Photo from WholeFoods.com

Serves 16

Enjoy this hearty carrot cake for breakfast, a snack or dessert. Serve it warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

Natural cooking spray
1 cup rolled or quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup dried currants
1/2 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil a (9-inch) square baking pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

Pulse oats and walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt and mix well. In a second large bowl, combine carrots, maple syrup, currants, coconut and vanilla. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture and stir until completely incorporated. Transfer to prepared pan and bake until cooked through and deep golden brown, about 1 hour. Set aside to let cool before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 2oz/67g-wt.): 190 calories (50 from fat), 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 230mg sodium, 32g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 19g sugar), 4g protein

All about Quinoa

If you have ever passed quinoa, pronounced keen-wa, in your grocery's bulk food aisle, pass no more. This gluten free grain is both economical and versatile. You can use it instead of rice in recipes, in place of oatmeal for breakfast, or in numerous other recipes to complete your dinner. Whole Foods "Learn to Cook, Learn to Save" says, "Cooked and cooled quinoa sealed in a tight container will store in the fridge for 3 to 5 days", and I think it easily makes a great topping on lunch salads or in wraps. Also WholeFoods.com says, "Quinoa is a complete protein containing all eight essential amino acids. It is light and fluffy in texture but has that whole grain ability to fill you up."

Photo and Recipes from Whole Foods

To cook quinoa you need...
1 cup quinoa
2 cupes water
1/2 tsp sea salt

Then...
Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear, drain and transfer to a medium pot. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until water is adsorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside off the heat for 5 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork.

Tips & Tricks

• For extra flavor, use vegetable, chicken or beef broth instead of water when cooking quinoa.
• Toast quinoa (after rinsing) in a large skillet for 3 to 4 minutes before cooking to add more depth to its flavor.
• Pour soymilk over hot cooked quinoa and top with nuts and dried fruit for a satisfying breakfast cereal.
• For a healthier twist on pasta or potato salad, toss cooked quinoa with chopped vegetables, fresh herbs, vinegar and olive oil.
• Add cooked quinoa to soups, stews and casseroles.
• Store cooked and cooled quinoa in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Now test your skills...

Quinoa Loaf with Mushrooms and Peas

Recipe from WholeFoods.com

Serves 8

Welcome spring--or vegetarian guests--to your table with this delicious main-course recipe that is destined to become a favorite for family and feasts alike. For killer veggie burgers, serve any leftover slices on toasted whole wheat buns with lettuce and spicy mustard.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 cups cooked quinoa ( Learn to Cook: Quinoa)
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and/or 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
10 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 cup (about 1 onion) chopped red onion
Note: Consider a flax seed egg sub (1 tbs ground flax & 2-3 tbs water) or an egg substitute in this recipe to keep the loaf together better.

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch loaf pan with oil; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, put beans, oats and 1/2 cup water into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, bean mixture, quinoa, peas, parsley, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan, gently pressing down and mounding it in the middle. Bake until firm and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 6oz/172g-wt.): 170 calories (35 from fat), 4g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium, 28g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 8g protein

Mushroom and Peas with Miso Quinoa Dressing

From WholeFoods.com

Makes 4 to 6

Miso adds savory depth to this unique dressing — an excellent side dish for the holidays or any time of year. Transform it into a hearty vegetarian entrée by adding cubed, baked tofu.

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 medium carrots, diced
2 cups sliced white mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups packaged miso broth or 2 cups water mixed with 4 teaspoons miso paste
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup diced green onions

Method

Place quinoa in fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Drain quinoa and set aside.

In a heavy medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add diced carrot and sauté about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic and ground ginger and sauté until garlic is fragrant and vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes. Add quinoa and stir for about 1 minute. Mix in broth. Cover and simmer over low heat until quinoa is almost tender, about 12 minutes. Add peas, cover and continue simmering until quinoa grains are translucent and liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to bowl and stir in diced green onion.

Nutrition

As a main dish (4 servings):Per serving (About 6 oz/161g-wt.): 250 calories (60 from fat), 7g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 10g protein, 40g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 300mg sodium As a side dish (6 servings):Per serving (About 4 oz/108g-wt.): 170 calories (40 from fat), 4.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 6g protein, 27g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium

Eat well,
Carolyn

Black Bean and Avocado Brownies

I love avocados.  I love black beans.  I've just never had them in my desserts.  Okay, I lie.  I have had black beans in Khoa Lam - a sticky rice dessert popular in Thailand.

But now add in avocados, and I think I might be in heaven.  Here is a recipe that is very much worth trying for a sweet vegan dessert.  (I just won't tell my husband about the avocados.)

I first heard about these brownies from this blog which brought me to Cara's Cravings.  Look at her picture. I'm drooling.  Enjoy.


Black Bean and Avocado Brownies

 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/2 of a ripe avocado (60gm)
6 tbsp cocoa powder (30gm)
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons white sugar (75gm)
2 teaspoons instant espresso

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8" pan with parchment paper.

Combine black beans, egg substitute, agave syrup, and avocado in food processor. Blend for a few minutes, until completely smooth. Add remaining ingredients and continue blending until fully combined, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Spread into parchment-lined baking dish. Bake for 30-33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the brownies comes out clean.

These are best if you let them sit overnight before slicing and enjoying!

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 98.0
Total Fat: 1.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 134.6 mg
Total Carbs: 19.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g
Protein: 4.2 g

Broiled Tofu and Steamed Mustard Greens with Spicy Mango Sauce

Happy St. Patrick's Day.  Instead of heading to the pub and drinking some green beer, why don't you get your fixin' of green through food?  Green smoothies, Spinach Salad, or this recipe brought to you by Vegetarian Times.  It combines protein rich tofu AND mustard greens with a sweet and spicy mango sauce.  Other greens to try in this recipe: Asian mustard greens, broccoli raab, Chinese broccoli, or collard greens. Enjoy!

Ingredient List

Serves 8

• 2 Tbs. canola oil
• 1 small onion, quartered and thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
• 1 small red bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
• ¾ cup hot mango chutney, such as Patak’s or use this recipe
• 1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
• 2 16-oz. pkgs. extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry
• 2 12-oz. bunches mustard greens, thick stems removed

Directions

1. Heat oil in medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper, cover, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in mango chutney and tomato. Cover, and simmer 5 minutes more. Keep warm.

2. Preheat oven to broil, and place oven rack in highest position. Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Halve each tofu block crosswise to make pieces the size and thickness of sandwich bread. Cut each tofu piece into 4 triangles. Brush each tofu triangle on both sides with mango mixture (it’s OK if some bell pepper and onion bits stick to tofu); season with salt and pepper, if desired; and place on prepared baking sheet. Broil 4 to 5 minutes. Flip triangles, and brush with more mango mixture. Broil 4 to 5 minutes more, or until browned and crispy.

3. Meanwhile, bring 1 cup water to a boil in large pot. Add mustard greens, cover, and steam 5 to 7 minutes or until greens are crisp-tender, turning occasionally with tongs to make sure greens cook evenly.

4. Divide mustard greens among serving plates. Top each serving with 2 tofu triangles, and drizzle with1/4 cup mango sauce.

Nutritional Information

Per :

Calories	246
Protein	14g
Total Fat	10g
Saturated Fat	1g
Carbs	29g
Choelsterol	0mg
Sodium	490mg
Fiber	5g
Sugar	22g

Coconut Cream Pie in honor of Pi Day (March 14th)

from VegNews Magazine

When this came through to my email, I had to share.  Doesn't that picture just look delicious?  I can't wait to make this.  I am going to use a delicious cashew based whipped cream on top from my favorite raw foodie and blogger - Carmella at Sunny Raw Kitchen.  The whipped cream is from a Banana Chocolate Cream Cake recipe that is to die for. 

Enjoy!

Coconut Cream Pie

Makes 1 pie

What You Need :
1/2 cup vanilla soy creamer
4 cups vegan chocolate chips, divided
2-1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut, divided
1 pound (16 ounces) firm silken tofu
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon coconut extract

What You Do:
1. Coat 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. In a small pan over low heat, heat soy creamer until hot, but not boiling. Add 2 cups chocolate chips slowly and stir until melted. Stir in 1-1/2 cups coconut. Pour into prepared pie plate, smooth out to form a crust, and refrigerate until hard.

2. While crust is in the refrigerator, prepare the filling. In a food processor, place tofu and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary. Add sugar and coconut extract.

3. Melt remaining chocolate chips in microwave or double boiler. In a bowl, combine melted chocolate chips and remaining coconut. Pour into prepared pie crust. Top with vegan whipped cream and sprinkle with more coconut if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 8 hours).

Whipped Cream
Inspired by Cafe Gratitude's I Am Rapture

1 cup cashews or a mix of cashews and macadamia nuts
1 cup fresh coconut milk (simply blend 1 part dried coconut with 3 parts water in high speed blender)
1/8 - 1/4 cup honey or agave (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup coconut butter, melted
1 tablespoon lecithin* (1 tbs + 1 tsp psyllium)

*Lecithin is derived from soybeans and acts as an emulsifier. Look for lecithin (preferably non-GMO), in granules or powdered form, at your local HFS. If using granules, make sure to grind them up in a high speed blender of coffee grinder.

Recipe of the Month: Quinoa Casserole

Now that the wedding has come and gone; the honeymoon has come and gone; and the move has come - but not yet gone - it is time to pick up my "Things to Manifest in 2010" list. One of the things I wanted to make a habit in 2010 was to cook a new recipe each month.  It is probably easier to accomplish now that Dave and I are married, and I can't get away with having a salad every night.

It was perfect timing to start this tradition when yesterday I stumbled upon my friend Kate's blog - Vegetarian Mama.  I was in the Peace Corps with Kate in Thailand.  Kate is a very sweet girl who now resides in Seattle.  She is raising the newest addition to her family, Nora, to be a healthy eater. I'm so excited Kate and Robert are now parents.  Since I met Kate, she always said she wanted to be a Mama.

I've been wanting to try a casserole recipes since Dave and I got a beautiful Casafina casserole dish for a wedding present, but I just haven't found the right one... until last night.  Kate blogged about "Quinoa Casserole" and I thought - this will be March's Recipe of the Month.

Here is the recipe, re-posted, with my modifications noted in parenthesis.

Quinoa Casserole
1 T canola oil (I used 1 T Olive Oil)
1 medium onion, diced (I used 1 large onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced ( I used 3 gloves)
1 red or green bell pepper, diced (optional)  ( I used 1 red bell pepper)
1 cup dried quinoa, rinsed in a wire strainer under cold running water for 2 minutes (We don't have a wire strainer yet, so I didn't rinse the quinoa.)
1 can black or pinto beans, rinsed and drained ( I used Eden's organic black beans)
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes (Dave doesn't like to use canned tomatoes, so I used 2 1/4 cup diced tomatoes and roughly 1/2 cup water as a replacement)
1 T chili powder (optional) (I used 1 T chili powder)
1 tsp ground cumin (optional) (I used 1 tsp ground cumin)
2 cups vegetable broth - approximately ( I used 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth)

NOTE: I also added 1/2 cooked potato - diced - that we had leftover from last night's dinner when I checked on the dish after 45 minutes.

OTHER POSSIBLE ADDITIONS:  I would have liked to of  added fresh corn, cut off the cob, but I didn't have any. Also, diced carrots would have been a nice touch and maybe some spinach stirred in at the 45 minute check to get some greens in there.   And the most needed addition - more spices!

1. Saute the onion, garlic, and pepper (if using) in oil until softened.
2. Mix all ingredients except the vegetable broth in a casserole dish.
3. Add the vegetable broth until the mixture is a couple of centimeters from the top of the dish.
4. Bake in 375 degree oven for 1 hour. Check after about 45 minutes, stir, add more broth if needed.
5. The quinoa is finished when it is puffy and translucent.

THE VERDICT:
My initial reaction was the dish was too bland.  However, I'm a person who carries cayenne pepper in my purse, so take what I say with a grain of salt.  After I added some avocado, cayenne and s&p, the dish was more my style.  Dave doctored his up with some pepper and he thought it was good.  It definitely wasn't his favorite, but he thought it was good.  This recipe is a keeper.  Easy and Delicious.  I will make it again, but with some more modifications as noted above in the "other possible additions."  Also the leftovers will make a great taco stuffing.

Bimbimbap (or Hot Pots)

A few months back I was in DC for work and got to visit one of my bridesmaids.  She went on and on about her Sunday ritual with a friend having 'hot pots.' She insisted I try it since it is vegan friendly, so off we went to the Asian grocery to buy the necessary vegetables.

Imagine a foreigner going into Walmart and feeling like there are too  many choices for cereal.  Well, that is exactly how I felt in the Asian market in DC except this time it was with all sort of rice products.  Totally overwhelming.  People everywhere.  Foreign sights and sounds.  Totally cool, and totally different than the small Asian groceries I was used to in Florida!

After some searching we found the veggies we needed in the prepared food section and were on our way (after browsing every aisle as a novelty).  Among the assortment of veggies we picked up were mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, zucchini, cucumbers, and others.  My favorite was this spicy number that was a mystery vegetable.

We set off for home to make our hot pots, and I watched intensely documenting with my iPhone every step of the way (in between sips of wine!).

Below is my journey into hot pots.

  

Step One: Heat the oil

  

Step Two:  Add the cooked brown rice

  

Step Three: Cook or add prepared vegetables. 

  

Step Three continued

Step Four:  Heat mixture on medium to high heat for 5 minutes.  

ENJOY!

After some digging to get to the bottom of this 'hot pot' talk, I've uncovered the real name of this dish - Bimbimbap.  Learn more about it from Wikipedia.  Bimbimbap is known for the crispy rice bottom and veggies cooked in a small pot (hence my friends calling the dish 'hot pots').  Learn more about cooking in the hot pot (or commonly referred to as dol sot stone bowls) here.

For an amazing video tutorial, visit Yum Yum Asian's Dol Sot Bibimbap post. 

For now, I'll leave with with a recipe adapted from Yum Yum Asia to satisfy your vegan tastes. 


Bibimbap (adapted from Yum Yum Asia)
Ingredients
2 small carrots
1 small white radish
2 small zucchini
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch yellow bean sprouts
1 cup of dried mushrooms
Korean chilli paste*
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tbsp sesame oil
Soy sauce
Salt and pepper
4 cups hot cooked white or brown rice (short grain)* (see method at Step 1)
4 dol sot stone bowls*
* All these items are readily available at any Korean grocery store.


Directions
1. Wash and drain rice with cold water three times. Put into saucepan and place your right hand on top of the rice. Fill with cold water until the water just covers the top of your hand. Place on stove with lid on and on high heat leave for approx 20 minutes.
2.  Soak the dried mushrooms in water until they become soft. Slice thinly and mix with sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and pepper.
4. Cut the carrots, radish and zucchini into matchstick sized slices. Heat sesame oil in a large pan and sauté the carrots with a teaspoon of garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper, remove from pan and place carrots into a bowl. Repeat the above process with the radish and zucchini as well. Set aside.
5. Bring water to the boil and blanch spinach for approx 15 seconds, repeat with the yellow bean sprouts. Combine with salt, crushed garlic and sesame oil. Set aside.
6. Pour a teaspoon of sesame oil in the base of each stone bowl. Divide rice between the 4 stone bowls. Arrange all ingredients on top of the rice side by side around the bowl. Put a teaspoon (or more depending on taste) of the Korean chilli paste on top of the vegetables. Pour a tablespoon of sesame seed oil around the edge of the bowl
7. Place stone bowl on top of stove and on high heat leave for approx 5 minutes or until you can hear the rice popping and crackling.
8. Remove from heat and serve. Be very careful as the stone bowl will be extremely hot.

Serves 4