This past weekend the Hubz and I headed to the boonies to visit my parents for the night. When we arrived we were greeted by howling winds and snow showers and I thought what better way to warm up than a warm cup of soup.
Yields 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 bunch of broccoli, roughly chopped
1 quart of vegetable stock or broth
1 cup quick oats (must me quick)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large stock pot over medium-high heat heat the olive oil; stir in the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes until they being to soften.
Stir in the garlic, cauliflower and broccoli and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the vegetable broth and the quick oats; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 7-10 minutes until the vegetables are fork tender.
Place in a blender (you will have to do this in batches) and blend until slightly smooth; keep it somewhat a rough consistency for a more rustic feeling.
Return the pot to the stove and gentle re-heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
The husband and I love Asian food- Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese, Japanese-you get the point; so for dinner I like to play around with Asian flavors to make yummy dishes. We love to go out for Asian food but we try not to get it out too much because of portion control, high calorie sauces and budget. Making your own “take-in” helps to reduce over eating and allows you to create healthier versions of your favorite dishes; here are three of my favorite “take-in” dishes for two.
This is a super easy, no fuss recipe. It is great for nights when you need something quick, easy and nutritious to eat.
Ingredients:
For the Cheeze Sauce:
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup arrowroot, cornstarch or flour
1 clove garlic, minced
1t olive oil
1/8t tumeric
1/4t dried thyme
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt and pepper
a few dashes of hot sauce
For the Mashed Potatoes:
4-6 red or purple potatoes
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2t nutritional yeast
salt and pepper
For the Broccoli Base:
2 cups frozen broccoli
1/2 cup frozen peas
1(15oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F.
In a medium casserole dish toss together the beans, peas and broccoli; set aside.
Potato topping: Boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and then mash with the vegetable broth, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper.
Cheeze sauce: Whisk together the arrowroot and vegetable broth. In a small sauce pan over medium-high heat the oil and garlic for 1 minute. Stir in the tumeric and thyme. Slow whisk in the vegetable broth mixture. The whisk in the nutritional yeast, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer until thickened. Pour over the broccoli base.
Top the broccoli cheeze base with the potatoes and if you would like dust the top with nutritional yeast. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are lightly browned.
I know I have been pretty absent from my blog lately but I am working on getting back in the swing of things and the posts should start to flow again. Hubby and I spent the day trying to be productive and yet relaxing and fun as well. We started out with a trip to Plato’s Closet so that we could see how much dinero they would give us for our old clothes. We made out pretty well so we treated ourselves to a huge veggie sandwich at Martone’s that was filled with veggies, hummus and tabouli it was massive so we got one to share, I wish I had taken a photo of it. After a wonderful lunch we decided to go to a matinee and we saw Date Night which was absolutely hilarious!
After our relaxing lunch and movie it as time to get down to business and by business I mean shopping. Grocery shopping that is! We picked up some great finds at Costco (greens, broccoli, mushrooms and Organicville no sugar added BBQ sauce). Then we were off to pick up a few more veggies and such for lunches. We picked up this yummy treat to share, a little one serving container of Ciao Bella Sicilian Blood Orange Sorbeto:
For dinner I made a yummy dinner of baked BBQ tofu, roasted broccoli, green salad and garlic-saffron quinoa:
Baked BBQ Tofu
80z of pressed tofu cut into 4 thin slices
1/3 cup BBQ sauce of your choice (I used Organicville no sugar added)
1T soy sauce
3T water
1t sirracha
Preheat oven to 425F. Mix the BBQ sauce, soy sauce, water and sirracha together and pour into a small baking dish. Place the tofu in the sauce and flip over a few times to coat. Bake for 40 minutes, flipping half way.
Roasted Broccoli
4 cups of broccoli
1T olive oil
salt and pepper
Aluminum Foil
Preheat oven to 425F. Toss the broccoli with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the broccoli in aluminum foil and create a closed packet. Place in the oven and bake 15-20 minutes.
Garlic-Saffron Quiona
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2T olive oil
10 strands of saffron
2 cups of water
1 vegan chik’n bouillon cube
1 cup quinoa
salt and pepper
1/2T nutritional yeast
In a small pot heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes. Add the water, bouillon and saffron to the onion and garlic and bring to a boil. Stir in the quinoa and return to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to medium, and cook 12-15 minutes until the water has been absorbed. Take off the heat and fluff with a fork. Add the nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste. Let sit covered for 15 minutes before serving.
For dessert we were cravings something sweet and banana like:
Chocolate Banana Soft Serve
Ingredients
2 frozen bananas broken into pieces
1 T nutbutter (today I used Sunbutter)
1/3-1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
Directions
Place everything in a food processor (a blender really won’t work not even a Blendtec or Vita-Mix) and processes until fluffy smooth and softserve like.
One of my husband and my favorite places to dine in Burlington is A Single Pebble this amazing family style authentic Chinese Restaurant that has a great number of vegan options. Our favorite dish, well one of them we have so many, is Double Garlic Broccoli which is broccoli, garlic, cashews and chili flakes and this delicious soy based sauce.
I was rummaging through my fridge last night trying to decide what to make for dinner based on which produce needed to be used first and I remembered I had bought some broccoli at the Saturday farmers market that I hadn’t used yet. As well I had a huge bunch of Asparagus that was in need of being cooked up, I decided I would make my version of Double Garlic Broccoli and cook the asparagus 2 ways.
Double Garlic Broccoli
Makes 4 large servings, can easily be cut in half
Ingredients:
4 Cups broccoli florets
1 Tbl vegetable oil
8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp chili flakes, more or less based on how hot you like things
¼ Cup of water
2 Tbls soy sauce
½ Cup raw cashews
½ tsp toasted sesame oil
Directions:
Heat the vegetable oil in a walk over high heat.
Add the garlic and chili flakes and let cook for 30 seconds then add the broccoli and toss together.
Turn down the heat to medium-high and add the water, for 4-7 minutes until the broccoli has softened.
Add the soy sauce, cashews and sesame oil.
Serve as a side dish or as a main over brown rice.
Cheezy Asparagus
Makes 4 small side servings
Ingredients:
15 spears of asparagus
1 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl nutritional yeast
½ Tbl goya adobo (if you don’t have this use salt& pepper & a pinch of garlic powder)
Directions:
1.Heat oven to 375F. Place the asparagus in a baking dish.
Toss the asparagus with the oil, nutritional yeast and adobo.
Place dish in the oven and bake for 15min
Plate and garnish with chopped scallions.
Garlicky Asparagus
Makes 4 small side servings
Ingredients:
15 spears of asparagus
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbl olive oil
S+P
Directions:
Heat oven to 375F. Place the asparagus in a baking dish.
Mix together the oil, garlic, S+P and pour over the asparagus
Place dish in the oven and bake for 15min
Plate and garnish with the garlic that has been left at the bottom of the pan.
