Citrus Teriyaki Chickpea and Quinoa Salad

I wanted to make something with chickpeas for lunch, and was thinking the night before.  I decided to make a marinade for them, let them soak overnight, and cook them up in the morning.  This way, the chickpeas absorb in all the flavors of the marinade and become a super awesome chickpea.  I think chickpeas are awesome anyways, but this increases their awesomeness.  I started thinking of what to pair these with.  Did I want a wrap?  Did I want a salad?  Hmmm... the salad sounded good, but not just any salad.  I wanted to add quinoa to the mix.  And kale!  Because I do love kale, and for the last little bit, I have not cooked/used it nearly as much as I'd like.  The result is the following lunch:

It turned out SO GOOD!  I have tried it with different citruses, and I think my favorite is the lime.  I'm not sure why.  I've thought about making some jerk chickpeas ever since.  I can't wait to actually sit down and create them.

This salad was so yummy and almost effortless.  I did have to go pick the lettuce and green onions from mom and dad's garden... and since I decided upon making this at like 10:30 at night, dad help up a flash light on the porch while I picked them.  He said something about crazy daughter and never having heard of picking lettuce with a flash light.  I told him I could see without the flash light, but he insisted.  I do love my daddy.

Ingredients for marinated chickpeas:

Zest and juice of one orange OR 2 limes
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/4 c. agave nectar
1 small shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. pepper mix (I use the Fiery Fusion Grinder from Spice Hunter)
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Directions for marinated chickpeas:

1. Add all ingredients except for the chickpeas and mix together.
2. Add in chickpeas and let marinade overnight.
3. In an iron skillet, cook until the marinade has all reduced, 5-10 minutes.

Ingredients for salad:

1/2 to 3/4 c. quinoa cooked
1/4 of a pepper, diced
1-2 green onions sliced
2 button mushrooms, diced
1/8 c. diced tomatoes
3 slices of zucchini diced
1 leaf of kale with the rib removed and pulled into tiny pieces
1/4 c. shredded lettuce
Marinated chicpeas

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients together and mix.
2. Grab a bowl and fork, and chow down.

This is something that you can adjust the heat on the marinade to make it a spicier dish.  I will probably add some more heat the next time I make it.

Berry Dessert Pizza

I'm in the process of moving back to my mom and dad's house from my apartment.  Before I move away to California, I want to spend plenty of time with them.  I'm trying to move back to Isom and out of my apartment before May 1, and I will be gone from tomorrow until Sunday.  Jen kindly helped me pack some bigger things into dad's truck, and I drove back to Isom.  When I got there, it was just me.  And as soon as I pulled in, my Uncle Tommy came over and asked if I need help.

My family is an incredible one.  I needed help, and he was more than willing to offer it to me.  I wanted to make something for him as a thank you for helping me unload all the heavy stuff.  So, I made him a Berry Dessert Pizza that I came up with at Jeremy's house.

This version is a little more along, and Jeremy's had nothing but blueberries.  This pizza has strawberries, huckleberries, and black raspberries in a strawberry glaze.  My dad has always loved apple dessert pizzas, and I wanted to make a berry one that was delicious and a little on the healthier side for my daddy.  I saved him a piece out of this pizza, and he loved it.  He kept talking about putting pineapples on it.  At some point, I'll try my hand at making him a pineapple version of this one.  I'm pretty sure it'll be awesome and scrumptious, but different from this one in several ways.

It's made with a whole wheat crust, and the glaze is made with agave nectar!  I do love the stuff. But the glaze still has some powder sugar in it.  For the berry mix, you can use whatever berries you want.  If you want to make a cherry pizza, you can just replace whatever berries with cherries, this includes the glaze recipe.  You do need to make sure that you have a total of two cups of berries to mix in the glaze and 3/4 cup of berries for the glaze itself.

Ingredients for powder sugar icing:

3 Tbsp. vegan cream cheese
2 Tbsp. vegan butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. powder sugar
2 tsp. almond milk

Directions for powder sugar icing:

1. In a small food processor, blender, or mixer, cream together the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter.
2. Add in vanilla and cream some more.
3. Add in 1/3 c. powder sugar until mixed in, then add the other 1/3 c. until mixed.
4. Add in almond milk.  If needed, add a little more almond milk to the mixture.  You don't want this to be the consistancy of cake frosting, but not too thin either.  The 2 tsp. should be enough.
5. Place mixture in a bowl and set aside.

Ingredients for fruit glaze and berries:

3/4 c. strawberries + 1 c. more (can be frozen)
1/2 c. huckleberries or blueberries (can be frozen)
1/2 c. black raspberries (can be frozen)
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. agave nectar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Directions for glaze and berries:

1. Add 3/4 c. strawberries and water in a blender.  Blend well then pour mixture into a pot.
2. Mix the remaining berries in a bowl and set aside.
3. BEFORE heating the berry and water mixture, add in the agave nectar and the cornstarch.  Mix until the cornstarch is well blended.  If you heat this before adding the cornstarch, it will lump and not mix.  The result is kinda ugly, not so tasty, and will not gel appropriately.
4. Turn on stove to medium heat.  Continue stirring until mixture starts to thicken and boil.
5. Once the mixture starts to boil, continue boiling for 2 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and let cool down for 10 minutes.
7. Pour glaze over berries and regfrigerate.

Ingredients for oat topping:

2 Tbsp. vegan butter
1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. old-fashioned rolled oats

Directions:

1. Soften the vegan butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
2. Using a fork, mash the brown sugar and cinnamon into the butter.
3. Mash in the oats.

Ingredients for crust:

1 3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour plus more for kneeding
1 package of Fleischman's Pizza Crust Yeast
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. hot tap water (not boiling)
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
1 tsp. agave nectar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of cardamom

Directions for crust:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Add 1 c. of the whole wheat pastry flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.  Mix together.
3. Add hot tap water and oil to mixture and mix together.
4. Add 1/4 c. flour at a time until dough ball is formed.  It may take more flour.
5. Put some more of the flour on a flat surface.  But the dough ball in the flour and begin to knead the dough for 1 minute.
6. Add more flour on the counter.  Flaten the top of the dough ball, then add the agave nectar, cinnamon and cardamom.  Knead this into the dough, adding flour until it is no longer sticky.
7. Knead the dough for at least 4 minutes.
8. Place crust on pizza pan and stretch out the dough or roll out dough until it is around 12" in diameter.

Directions for pizza:

1. On the unbaked pizza crust, spread part of the berries and glaze mixture.  It should only use half.
2. On top of the berries and glaze, pinch off the oat topping and spread it around the top of the berries and glaze.
3. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the bottom of the crust is brown.
4. After taking the pizza out of the oven, spread icing over the top in whatever design you would like.
5. Cut pizza using a pizza cutter, grab a plate and a slice, and chow down.

Tonight, I will be making this again, but one for mom and dad.  With all the different recipes, it sounds a lot more complicated than it is.  It will take very little effort and time to make the pizza, well, except for the kneading.  There is some effort put into the kneading. 

And thanks again Uncle Tommy!  I hope you liked your thank you pizza.

Roasted Veggie Tofu Scrambler

In VegNews magazine, they had an issue on a bucket list.  One of the items on the vegan bucket list was to come up with your very own tofu scramble.  Tofu scrambles are AMAZING.  It's like eating some cheesy scrambled eggs without the guilt and with more health benefits.  I have had a couple of tofu scrambles, and the best I had had was at Pura Vida in Vegas with Jeremy.  We both loved it.  It had beans in it and a southwestern flavor that was just awesome.  So, when coming up with my own, I realized that it needed to be very me.  And if something is going to represent me, it would have to have taters in it.  Also, I have a thing for zucchini.  I've made all kinds of things with zucchini, including several desserts.  I have some serious love for it.  I thought about this and decided to take the ingredients from the veggie bake, herbs and all, and add it into the tofu scramble. 

This led to the question if I wanted to fry the veggies, which was a not completely.  So, I decided to bake them in an iron skillet for a bit, pull it out and onto the stove where I add extra seasonings and the tofu for a bit.  I LOVED it.  It gave it a roasted garlic flavor, since the veggie bake has garlic in it, and some daiya cheese thrown in at the end makes it spectacular.  See for yourself!

 
It was so good, and it even looks like scrambled eggs.  I paired it with half of an everything bagel, which is one of m favorite bagels.  If you don't like everything bagels, eat it with an english muffin or just on its own.

It was colorful and wonderful.  Both mom and dad enjoyed it, and dad even hates eggs.  It is a great breakfast.  I got my base for this recipe through Vegan with a Vengence by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  I LOVE her, but this is my twist.

Ingredients:

3 small red roasting taters, diced
1/8 of an orange bell pepper, diced
1 shallot, diced
2 slices of zucchini, diced
5 baby carrots, diced
1-2 baby bella mushrooms, diced
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
Rosemary
Basil
Sage
Thyme
Oregano
Parsley
Salt
Ground Black pepper
1 package of extra firm tofu, frozed and thawed back out and pressed
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
juice of half a lemon
water
1/2 c. vegan cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2.  In a small bowl, mix together the measured out spices in a small bowl or cup and set aside.
4.  Crumble up the pressed tofu in another bowl and set aside. 
Mix all of the veggies together in an iron skillet.  Toss with just a little bit of olive oil. 
5. Sprinkle a little bit of the rosemary, sage (just a tiny bit), thyme, oregano, parsley (sprinkle the most of this), salt and pepper.  Toss together and pop in the oven.
6. Let cook for about 10 minutes.  Pull out and set on a burner over medium heat.
7. Add the measured out spices and stir.  Add about a 1/4 c. water to keep it from sticking to the pan too much.
8. Toss in the tofu.  Gentle stir and fold.  You don't want to chop to make the tofu finer than it already is.  This will coat with the spices and turn the tofu a gentle yellow. 
9. Cook this together for 15 minutes, occassionally stirring and adding water to keep from sticking too much to the iron skillet.
10.  Add in the nutritional yeast.
11.  Add in the lemon juice. 
11.  Melt in some vegan cheddar cheese.
12.  Grab a plate and chow down.

It is worth every second of cooking and every calorie of eating it.  I'm thinking of making another one in the morning. Mmmmmmm....

Strawberries and Coconut Cream Oatmeal

It is spring here in these mountains, and it is cold.  It was so warm before!  Then suddenly, it got cold again.  That is how March and April go though.  But, it also means something else: the Strawberry Man.  Every year, a man shows up on various random days in a truck selling cartons and buckets of fresh picked strawberries from Tennessee.  You would almost think that a hotline is set up in my family.  They seem him, the phone starts ringing, and whoever is there goes to see the Strawberry Man.  We pretty much buy strawberries from him every time he is there.  There are cobblers, jams, dumplings, glazes, pies, etc. to be made with these wonderful gems.  And they are always just SO GOOD!  I do love fresh strawberries so much.

Mom got me a bucket of strawberries last night.  I could not have been happier.  I immediately had a bowl of them.  They were still warm and so sweet.  I could have sat there and ate the entire bucket.  Instead, I came up with an idea for a great breakfast for me, mom, and some of my coworkers Jen and Ranetta.  I decided to make fresh Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal. 

This is what you should know about how I make recipes.  I get an idea in my head, decide, hey, I could do it this way, and yep, I try it that way.  More often than not, it works fantastically.  Other times, it flops, and I go back to the drawing board.  I rarely follow recipes, and, when I do, it never turns out the way I want it (curse you Mac n' Cheese with agave nectar!  I have yet to live that one down from Jeremy, who, by the way, was the one to encourage me to actually follow the recipe.  I blame him).  This morning, I woke up and decided to make the cream part of the oatmeal, I would use coconut milk, agave nectar, and just a touch of vanilla.  And this is what I ended up with:

It was amazingly good.  It was simple, and those fresh strawberries just popped with the creamy coconut milk.  I added almonds and flax seeds to mine. 

Mom, Ranetta, and Jen just added almonds, but it was a hit across the board.  Everyone loved it. 

Ingredients:

2 c. strawberries, sliced
1 can coconut milk
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. agave nectar (if you want, you can add sugar.  I prefer agave though)
1 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1 tsp. vanilla
almonds (optional)
flax seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, mix together the coconut milk, water, and agave nectar. 
2. Put this on the stove over medium-high heat until it comes a rolling boil.
3. Stir in oatmeal.  Like this come back up to a boil and turn the heat down to medium-low.
4. Let cook until the oatmeal is thickened and cooked (anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes).
5. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
6. Stir in the strawberries.
7. Grab a bowl, toss in the almonds and flax seeds, and chow down!

The hardest part of this recipe is trying to keep yourself from drinking the coconut cream mixture as it is heating up.  IT SMELLS SO GOOD!  And, this was an excellent use of those delicious strawberries. Thank you Strawberry Man for coming every Spring. Without you, I would be lost!

Thin Mint Truffles

Jeremy loves Thin Mints.  They are pretty much his favorite cookie ever.  And he ordered a case of them for the two of us to eat.  A CASE!  Not all Thin Mints are vegan; however, the ones baked by the ABC Baking company are vegan.  He chekced to make sure, and they were!  So, there I was, staring at a case of Thin Mints. 

I wanted to make something good for him with them, so I came up with the idea of making Thin Mint Truffles.  They turned out great and were really easy to do. 

They are simple to make, and just take some time in the freezer to get to the right consistency for rolllig them out.  Exepct to have yourself be chocolatey, since it gets all over your andes at the least, and be ready to roll in the cocoa powder.  It is so very worth it.

Ingredients:

1 sleeve of vegan Thin Mints
1 1/2 c. vegan chocolate chips (Ghiradelli Semi-Sweets are an option!)
2 Tbsp of chocolate almond milk
1/2 c. cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Sit this in the fridge to chill the pan.
2. Take the Thin Mint cookies and place them in a ziploc baggie.  Now, smash the crap out of them.
3. In a microwavable bowl, add chocolate chips and chocolate almond milk.  Put in the microwave and heat for one minute. 
4. Remove and stir chocolate mixture.  If it does not smooth out, stick back in the microwave for 30 second intervals until it is melted.  You don't wanna burn your chocolate.
5. Stir crunched up Thin Mints into the chocolate mixture.
6. Set in freezer for 2 hours.
7. Put the cocoa powder in a medium sized bowl.
8. Take the chilled pan out of the fridge.
9. Remove the chocolate mixture from the freezer.  Takean ice cream scoop and scoop out about 1 inch sized balls of the chocolate.
10.  Roll balls in the palm of your hand to make them round and to warm up the chocolate a little.
11. Once ball is formed, roll in cocoa and set on the parchment paper.
12. When all chocolate is formed into little truffle balls, set back into the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
13. Take out and chow down.

This recipe is simple and delicious.  Totally worth the case of Thin Mints that we'll be working on for the rest of the year.  I'm excited to make him more!

Cajun Seasoned Rice n' Beans

I love beans.  I am such a fan of them.  Almost all of them.  Whether it is a bean or a pea, I've never been sure, but I have never liked Black Eyed Peas.  Maybe I've just not had them the right way.  Whatever it is, those little boogers are not on my list of things to experiment with in the kitchen. 

Back in late October, early November, I went to visit Jeremy and met his folks for the first time.  Larry and Claudia were such wonderful people.  I really enjoyed meeting them, even though I was incredibly nervous beforehand.  The visit went awesome.  I made some tasty food for them, including some stuffed peppers that I will put on here at some point in time, and some pumpkin pie pancakes.  Before I cooked anything for them, Claudia cooked a wonderful meal for me with Rice n' Beans and some steamed brocoli.  It was just fantastic.  She told me that the bean she used was called Anasazi beans.  Jeremy nicknamed them cowbeans because of the pattern on the bean.

I have since found out that Anasazi beans have half the gas producing power of other beans.  A definite plus in my mind.  While shopping in the bulk foods section at GoodFoods Coop in Lexington, I stumbled upon them, and eagerly filled a bulk bag with them.  I love bulk buying, and I can't tell you how excited I was to find these beans!

Then I realized, I had no clue how she had seasoned them or what she had done to them.  But, I decided to experiment with making them cajun style.  I snagged some bulk brown rice.  I went over to the spice section and grabbed some cajun seasoning and bay leaves.  I also got some garlic powder with parsley in it.  I figured this was a good start.  I just needed to add some veggies.  I decided not to make it too spicy or no one else would eat it.  And the result was pretty darn tasty.

(OMG PICTURES!!!)  But yes, this is my version of Cajun Seasoned Rice n' Beans.  On the veggies, I went with Onion, green bell pepper, a serano pepper, a couple of cloves of garlic minced, and just the flesh of some small tomatoes that are still on the vine. 

This is totally worth making and super, super simple.  It does take time if you want to get the flavors and textures just right.  If you don't, swing by and grab some tomorrow.  I still have a good sized crockpot full of the tasty stuff.  If not, I'll take what is leftover to school on Monday to Ranetta and Jen. 

Ingredients for beans:

1 c. beans of choice, soaked overnight
2 good-sized bay leaves
2 Tbsp. cajun seasonings
1 tsp. garlic powder with parsley
1 tsp. salt
water

Directions for beans:

1. Place beans in a crockpot and cover with water.  The water should be about a half inch above the beans.
2.  Add in the seasonings and stir until well combined.
3. Pop the top on the crockpot and cook on high for at least 12 hours, or until beans become creamy.  Depending on how much water you put in, it could take longer.  If you want a short cook time, put in a little less water or cook on the stove. 
4. Once done cooking, remove the bay leaves.

If for some reason you are rushing on this part, just cook the beans on the stove in a large pot.  This will cut down the cook time tremendously.

Ingredients for rice:

1/2 of an onion diced
1/2 of a green bell pepper, diced
1 serano pepper, diced
4-5 tomatoes from the vine, seeds discarded and flesh diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 c. veggie broth
1 c. brown rice

Directions for rice:

1.  Add all the ingredients into a pot or rice cooker.
2. Simply cook until rice is done.
3. Take rice and add to beans and stir until well combined.
4. Grab a bowl or plate and chow down.

If you don't like brown rice, you can use white rice.  And, if the beans don't have enough salt, add as much as you like.  I don't really use a ton of salt, but some folks do. 

Like I said, if you want, come snag some.  If not, more for Ranetta and Jen on Monday!

Impromptu Chickpea Wrap

I have been staying at my Mom and Dad's a lot lately.  Soon, I'll be moving back there and letting my apartment go.  This will make my move with Jeremy a lot easier, and it will save me some cash as well.  Anyways, Mom wanted to pack me a lunch one day.  I think just the nostalgia of it.  I said sure.  Well, she decided to make me a wrap.  I cut up some avocado, onion and tomato for it.  She packed it up, with, what she thought, was a vegan patty and some tortillas. 

About a month ago, Mom grabbed the wrong type of Boca burger.  I am highly allergic to dairy, and I couldn't eat the patty.  Since, Mom has accidentally made three of these burgers for me to eat.  Luckily, you can see that these have actual cheese in them.  When I opened my lunch to put the patty in the freezer when I got to work, I realized the mistake.  So, I formed a plan in my head for a quick chickpea wrap.

I ran to the local IGA and snagged some spinach, mushrooms, some soy sauce, a garden herb blend, and some chickpeas.  When I got back to the school, I made a chickpea wrap.  It ended up being awesome, and I have made it for several others with great compliments for the tasty wrap. 

Ever since this first day, I've been on a chickpea kick.  Last night, I even had Hawaiian Teriyaki Barbecued Chickpeas with a pineapple salsa and fresh lettuce.  OMG! It was amazing!  This was not my recipe.  I got it out of a book called Happy Herbivore.  As always, I didn't follow the directions exactly.  But would I be near as much fun if I did? 

This is going to become my go-to sataple when everything is going wrong.  Trust me, it's that good!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. chickpeas
1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
herb blend of your choice
handful of spinach
1 mushroom, diced
1/2 Tbsp. diced onion
1/2 Tbsp. diced tomato
1 Tbsp. diced avocado
1 tortilla wrap

Directions:
1.  In a microwave safe bowl, mix together the chickpeas, soy sauce, and sprinkle with herbs. 
2. Put the bowl in the microwave and cook for 1 minute.
3. Remove from microwave.
4. Put the tortilla between two paper towels and heat for 5-10 seconds.
5. Take the tortilla and place the ingredients over top of it.  Make it as full or as slim as you like.
6. Wrap tight and chow down!

Heating the chickpeas allows them to soad up more of the flavors.  Heating the tortilla makes it more flexible and stretchy (meaning easier to wrap things with).  I sometimes just eat the chickpeas with the spices sprinkled over the top.  It is really your choice.  Either way, this is totally awesome.

On a side note, I have a new phone and will start taking pics of my food again.  YAY!  The picture quality should be much better as well.  YAY again!