I found this a few weeks ago from a blog that’s been burning up Pinterest of late, Skinnytaste. It’s really great when you need something yummy, quick and simple. Beef it up with Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers for dinner or have it solo for lunch. Either way, it’s pretty darn good!
Vegan Fiesta Lime Rice Recipe courtesy of Skinnytaste
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked long grain rice (I prefer brown)
3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and heated
3/4 cup frozen corn, heated
1 large tomato, diced
1 large scallion, diced fine
2-4 tbs chopped cilantro, to taste
1 tbs fresh squeezed lime juice
salt to taste
If you’re anything like me or my husband, you’re probably thinking something like “Cauliflower? Meh.” And I wouldn’t blame you. However, please don’t let that stop you from trying this recipe. This stuff is so good I was seriously toying with the idea of titling this post something lame like “CaulifWOWer.”
I made this as a side but I’m tellin’ you what, the next time my husband is out of town I’m making this for dinner. Only this. It’s seriously so good it could easily stand alone ala famed comfort foods like mac and cheese or beans and rice.
Make. this. tonight.
Vegan Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe courtesy of ourbestbites.com
Sorry about the unannounced hiatus. Things got busy, yadda yadda, etc.
Anywho, I’m back and I come bearing many yummy new recipes. I got a new cookbook for Christmas, Appetite for Reduction, and I’ve been quietly pounding away at it over the past few weeks. AFR is from the fabulous Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of the fantastic PPK blog and many wildly popular vegan cookbooks, including the holy grail: Veganomicon.
As you can probably deduce from the title, AFR focuses on lean, healthy and quick vegan cooking. I’ve made several drool-worthy things from it so far, including this salad. The original recipe calls for 4 cups of bean sprouts. However, I am not a fan of sprouts, as I think they taste of dirt. I replaced them with sliced mushrooms. Mushrooms lend a similarly “earthy” flavor sans hint of funky potting soil. Feel free to do it your own way.
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
4 cups sliced mushrooms (or bean sprouts, if you insist)
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
1 recipe Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing (recipe below)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro
Lime wedges as garnish
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, toss lettuce, mushrooms, red onion and carrot
Add dressing and toss to coat
Distribute salad among four bowls, garnish with roasted peanuts and cilantro and serve with lime wedges
Dressing Ingredients
1/4 cup roasted peanuts*
2 tbs chopped shallot
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup water
2 tbs agave nectar
2 tbs shoyu/soy sauce
1 tsp Sriracha
*Note: The next time I make this I will definitely replace half the peanuts with 2 tbs of natural peanut butter (in the first step, below). This dressing is awesome, but it doesn’t have anything in it to make it adhere to the salad. I think peanut butter would accomplish that quite nicely without adding too much extra calories and fat.
Dressing Directions
Pulse 2 tbs of the peanuts (peanut butter!) and the shallot in a food processor, just to chop everything up well
Add the lime juice, water, agave, shoyu and sriracha and blend until very smooth
Add remaining 2 tbs of peanuts and pulse for a bit, just to chop them up small
This is the (main) vegetable I served with my Thanksgiving meal last week. If you are not a green bean hater, it is impossible for you not to love these.
I’ve made these several times and I have discovered that it is necessary to use the most giant skillet you own (I use a wok) and a pair of tongs of some kind to get them just right. I don’t know why that is. I don’t make the rules.
1 lb fresh green beans
2 tbs Earth Balance
1 shallot, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted*
*If you’re toasting these yourself, spread them evenly on a tray and toast them in a toaster oven about 5 or 6 min. Watch carefully though because they go from perfectly toasted to burnt as hell in about 5 seconds.
Directions
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat
Add the green beans and let cook until barely tender, 3 to 5 min.
Place Earth Balance in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add shallot and garlic and saute for 2 min.
Drain the green beans and add to the skillet. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, turning frequently with tongs, 6 to 8 min. or until beans are cooked through
Call me crazy, but I am just not a fan of mashed potatoes. No gravy can save the taste and texture of perfectly smooth potatoes. Ew.
I guess that explains why I tried something a little different this year and went the “smashed” route. This also marks the first time I’ve ever used the broiler in my oven and I’ve gotta say, I’m kind of impressed.
Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, these were part of my Thanksgiving menu this year and they were quite yummy. I do think they could have used just a few more minutes boiling and/or should have been slightly smaller potatoes to begin with, but they were definitely a tasty and complementary addition to the meal.
Last year I started a new tradition of inviting whichever side of the family Andy and I will not be spending the Thanksgiving holiday with over to our house on the Sunday before for a Thanksgiving meal. Last year was also the first year I was vegan for Thanksgiving so it was the first time I had made an entire vegan holiday spread as well. With a ‘lil help from Skinny Bitch, Kim Barnouin, the whole thing ended up being a smash hit and I was thrilled to host my family yesterday for a repeat performance.
I didn’t switch up much from last year’s menu as I really like to keep Thanksgiving “traditional,” so to speak. Once again, everything turned out great and the few new additions were excellent!
Aside from just enjoying their company, I really, really love to have the opportunity to cook for my family, especially since none of them are vegan. Not only is it wonderful just to be in their presence, it’s a pretty great chance to showcase how delicious and “normal” vegan food can be. In any case, both last year and this year, I’m pretty fortunate to have a family that is very supportive and open-minded, so thanks to all for being such good sports!
As an added bonus, cooking this pre-holiday meal also turns out to be fantastic for me personally because it supplies me with a whole mess of leftovers to take to actual Thanksgiving, where there are little to no vegan options available. Score!
If you’re in the midst of trying to plan a vegan Thanksgiving menu of your own, below is what I served, which might be useful as a reference. I plan to post several of these recipes over the next few days and into next week, but if you’d like to have something in particular from this list before that, please just send me an email and I’ll shoot the recipe right over.
This salad is a take on your typical Italian house. I’d venture to say that the addition of avocado and cucumbers coupled with turning the volume way up on garlic gives this version an edge over the standard fare.
The next time I make this, I think I’ll sub out the green onion for red and will use half as much dressing, but it’s good as-is too.
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp vegan Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
1 (9 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, leaves or spikes removed
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced (peeled,regular cucumbers work too)
1 large avocado, cut into slices or chunks
3 green onions, minced
1/2 cup garlic croutons, crushed
Note: I mentioned it before, but it’s worth saying again, I would strongly advise making 1/2 the dressing this calls for.
Directions
In a medium saucepan, prepare the dressing by combining the vinegar, oil, cheese, mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper
Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters
In a large bowl, add the lettuce, cucumbers, artichokes and avocado
Sprinkle with green onion and then toss with dressing
Plate and sprinkle each serving with crouton crumbs
You know that killer mac and cheese recipe I’ve been hinting at practically since I started this blog? Here she is.
Mac and cheese was one of the first things I tried to veganize after I made the switch. That inaugural experience was so disastrous, I may have actually cried thinking that I’d never again get to enjoy one of my favorite foods. Many, many, many recipes later, I still haven’t found the perfect stove top version of this dish, but as far as baked macaroni and cheese goes, I knew after the first bite of this recipe that victory was mine!
Interestingly enough, this recipe features absolutely no vegan cheese substitutes and zero nutritional yeast. Do a Google search and you’ll quickly find out how incredibly rare that is. Instead, the creamy, cheesy flavor and texture of this dish comes from a smooth blend of veggies, Earth Balance and cashews.
Honestly, this is the BEST. I’ve served it to non-veg friends and family I don’t know how many times and never has there ever been any trace of it left (my sister will actually lick the serving spoon clean – it’s that serious). That’s why it’s taken me so long to post. I can’t ever manage to get a picture of it before it disappears!
4 quarts water
1 tbs sea salt
8 oz small, whole wheat pasta
2 slices of bread, torn into large pieces
1 tbs + 1/3 cup Earth Balance
2 tbs shallots, peeled and chopped
1 cup yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup water
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
Paprika, to garnish
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: After I made this a few times, I thought it could really benefit from just slightly more sauce. Now I make about one quarter more sauce and stir it in before baking, as usual. The ingredients list above does not reflect that because it makes for some weird measurements (1/16 tsp, etc.). If you decide to make a little more (and you should!), just eyeball it.
Directions
In a large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside
In a food processor, make breadcrumbs by pulverizing the bread and 1 tbs margarine to a medium-fine texture. Set aside
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion and water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 min. or until vegetables are very soft
In a blender or food processor, process the cashews, salt, garlic and 1/3 cup margarine, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper and cayenne. Add softened vegetables and cooking water and process until perfectly smooth
In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta and blended cheese sauce until completely coated. Spread mixture into a 9 x 12 casserole dish and sprinkle with prepared breadcrumbs and paprika.
Bake for 30 min or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown
I’ve found a way to make avocados unhealthy, you guys – and it’s good in a very bad way.
Obviously, these are to be deployed as an occasional treat only, but if you’re in the mood for seriously delicious comfort food, these are an excellent choice. The good news is, they’re very filling, so it would be really hard to do any hard-core diet damage here.
Regardless, I think it’s best to just forget about fat and calories if you make these and enjoy them for the perfect balance of rich, crunchy/creamy goodness that they are!
Canola oil for frying
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 Ener-G eggs
1 1/4 cups panko
2 firm-ripe medium avocados, pitted, peeled and sliced into 1/2 in. wedges
Directions
Preheat oven to 200°F. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 in. oil on medium high
Meanwhile, mix flour with 1/4 tsp salt in a shallow plate. Put Ener-G eggs and panko in separate shallow plates
Dip avocado in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg substitute, then panko to coat. Set on 2 plates in a single layer
Fry a quarter of avocado slices at a time until deep golden, 30 to 60 seconds
Transfer slices to a plate lined with paper towels. Keep warm in oven while cooking remaining avocados
Look who’s posting two salad recipes within a week of each other. Who am I?
Someone where my mom works makes this salad on the regular and has brought it in to share several times. Mom talks about it like it’s the second coming, so I figured I’d make the necessary adjustments (the original version features Roquefort cheese crumbles) and see what all the fuss was about.
As salads go, this one is, in fact, pretty noteworthy. I think I might actually enjoy it more in the fall with a seasonally themed meal. Still, this is a perfectly good addition to a summertime meal as well. Serve it up and see what you think!
1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
3 pears, peeled, cored and chopped
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbs red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
In a skillet over medium heat, stir 1/4 cup sugar together with pecans. Continue stirring gently until sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans
Transfer nuts onto waxed paper. Allow to cool and break into pieces
For dressing, blend oil, vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor until well combined
In a large serving bowl, layer lettuce, pears, avocado and green onions. Drizzle dressing over salad, sprinkle with pecans and serve
