Coco-Almond Quinoa Risotto with Saffron Mushroom Gravy

Just reading the name of this recipe makes my mouth water with how good it was!!!! To me this was perfect date/impress/romantic/thank goodness for leftovers food.

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Coco-Almond Quinoa Risotto with Saffron Coconut Mushroom Gravy
recipe from kblog.lunchboxbunch.com
makes 8-9 cups (lots of leftovers – half recipe to serve just a few, but if you are like me make the whole thing!)
Risotto:
4 ounces coconut milk
8 ounces almonds, sliced
2 cups scallions, sliced (1 bunch)
16 ounces quinoa, dry (about 2 1/2 cups) – rinsed
5 1/2 cups water
1-2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp herbed sea salt

Gravy:
8 ounces coconut milk
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2-3 Tbsp nutritional yeast, pinch salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 cups sliced white mushrooms
a spoonful of cooked quinoa risotto
1/2 tsp saffron (optional)
add a splash of water if you’d like a thinner gravy

1. Using a large pot – bring your water and a pinch of salt to a strong boil. Add the rinsed quinoa. Cover with a small vent and allow to boil for 10-12 minutes on med-high heat.

2. When the ten minutes is up, remove the lid completely from the large quinoa pot. Not all the liquid will be absorbed. Add in: all your almond, scallions and a splash of coconut milk. Also grind in some fresh pepper.

3. Stir with a wooden spoon and turn the heat down a bit. The ingredients will begin to absorb more of the liquid and a thick risotto will begin to form.

4. Next add in the nutritional yeast, maple syrup (just a splash), garlic powder and risotto mushrooms. Continue folding the quinoa until a moist thick consistency forms. Like a very thick oatmeal. Turn heat off and begin spooning the quinoa out of the pot and into a serving/storage bowl. You can also begin plating your quinoa.

5. In the same pot, you will make the gravy. It’s OK if some of the quinoa ( a few spoonfuls) remains in the pot. This will help to thicken your gravy.

6. For gravy: add all the gravy ingredients and stir on medium until sauce thickens. Allow saffron to bloom. Remove from heat and spoon gravy over top plated quinoa – or transfer to a gravy serving bowl.

7. Plate your risotto and then add the gravy. Garnish with fresh pepper and plenty of mushrooms from the gravy. ENJOY!!

Plated Risotto

Plated Risotto

Risotto

Risotto

Gravy

Gravy

Super Fast Emergency Almond Milk

With traditional almond milk, you soak the almonds overnight and then blend and strain the next day. (not hard but not instant) We were all out of almond milk and my kiddos have a new LOVE for Chia Pudding (Banana Date Chia Pudding) so I needed to fix some up Fast!! This was so delicious! We were so happy that there was extra for us as well :)

This really helped me out in a pinch but it is something you can make all the time and so much better than almond milk from a carton!!

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Super Fast Emergency Almond Milk

  • 1 cup of almond flour
  • 4 cups of water
  • small handful of dates (you could use agave or maple syrup as well)
  • teaspoon of vanilla
  • dash of salt

Blend & Enjoy!

Maple-Balsamic Tofu & Spinach with Saffron Quinoa Pilaf

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I have always valued a quick and delicious meal but now it is more important than ever! This was a great meal where I could cut and marinate the tofu in just a few minutes while the kiddos were playing and then whip this all up as soon as they went to sleep. Perfect! I was also able to use the marinade twice; cooking the spinach quickly after the tofu. I have always loved Saffron Rice Pilaf  and thought a quinoa twist on it would be fun!

Maple-Balsamic Tofu & Spinach with Saffron Quinoa

Tofu & Spinach

  • 1 block of tofu, pressed to remove water and cut in triangles
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • dash of salt
  • 6 ounces of baby spinach

Combine and marinate anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. Heat a frying pan and sear the tofu for a few minutes on both sides. Remove from pan and add spinach and any remaining marinade. Stir for just a few brief moments to wilt spinach and coat in the sauce. Remove and serve.

Quinoa Pilaf

  • 2 cups quinoa (4 cups water or stock)
  • 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
  • salt, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • lemon juice to taste
  • sriracha, to taste (optional) (I love that extra kick!)

Combine water and quinoa in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat, add saffron, tumeric and salt, and cover to cook for 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Stir in other ingredients and serve.

Sesame Ginger Maple Baked Tofu

OMG! So Simple and So Amazing! This was one of the best dinners. So healthy (paired with steamed Kale! YUM!) deeeeeeelish and simple! These were amazing to keep in the fridge and soooo good cold even! I doubled the recipe and wish I had quadrupled it!!! So good!

Sesame Ginger Maple Baked Tofu

adapted from Averie’s recipe from Love Veggies and Yoga Thanks!

1 Tbsp Ground Ginger

1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

1/8 cup Sesame Oil

1/8 cup Maple syrup

2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Optional: Garlic, Onions, Salt, Nama Shoyu/Bragg’s Liquid Aminos/Soy Sauce, to Taste

Optional: bake and/or garnish with sesame seeds

  1. Preheat oven to 425F
  2. Blot the tofu with paper towels & cut into uniform slices
  3. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stir and pour over tofu slices.
  4. Bake for 35 Minutes, flipping over halfway through baking.

Italian Potluck Night!!

As you know I LOVE Potlucks! And now we have a pretty regular Vegan Themed Potluck Party happening :) Last nights theme was Italian Night! (last month was Asian) SUPER YUM! Not kidding this meal was out of control. We didn’t end up having dessert, but we all happily had seconds of the deelish food!

Lisa Dawn made this OUT of this world lasagna! We have seen her amazing Ricotta Cheese in her Stuffed Shells, but to taste this you would think that this was gourmet ricotta cheese made in Italy. But happily it was Vegan (but still super gourmet :) ) And the homemade tomato sauce was also deelish!

Joey made this amazing pesto pasta sans cheese of course. It was so gorgeous with the fresh grape tomatoes and basil! Beautiful and super tasty!

I made my favorite Raw Crisp Caesar Salad with Pinenut parmesan and Artichoke Guacamole with mulit-grain pita chips. Yum!!!

On a side note, I can’t help but brag about Lisa & Paul’s overly impressive and adorable son Luke! Lisa had this great deck of cards with all the US Presidents pictures on them. Luke was able to go through all of them and name them!!! SO CUTE!! And he is under 2 years old!

Such a super great night with friends and deelish vegan food!

Amazing photo courtesy of Lisa's fabulous husband Paul!

Spinach & Orange Salad with Maple Sesame Dressing

Simple, fresh, tasty and quick! Perfection! And despite what Scott Conant says on Chopped, I totally Heart Raw Red Onion!! YUM! It is often the star of my salads besides the frequent appearances of avocado :)

Spinach & Orange Salad with Maple Sesame Dressing
Makes 2 servings

4 cups raw baby spinach
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1 orange, peeled and segmented
fresh black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (in a dry skillet, toast for a few minutes, stirring frequently)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons tamari
1/4 teaspoon water

  1. Place spinach in a large bowl. Toss onion and orange segments on top of the spinach. Season with black pepper.
  2. Whisk sesame seeds, maple syrup, tamari, and water together in a small bowl. Add to salad and toss to mix.
  3. SO simple, enjoy!

Orange Pan-glazed Tempeh

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Sorry to have disappeared for a bit there, but Michael and I spent almost a month in India, so please forgive me :) It was one of the most amazing experiences of our lives. (Post to come soon!)

Back to healthy and deelish Vegan goodness for 2011!!!

This dish was amazing! I love tempeh so much but Michael doesn’t typically like it and he really enjoyed this dinner! It is all about these deelish flavors. You can use tofu as well if you prefer it or to mix it up.

I have been a little short on time these days so haven’t been cooking nearly as much as I like. But when I do get to it is really special time in the kitchen and even better at dinner time with Michael :) But I am trying to come up with different time-saving techniques so I can cook more regularly. Normally I would squeeze the orange juice myself (all you need is 3-4 oranges) but instead I bought fresh OJ for the recipe. Just nice to know I can still make a deelish meal and save a little time here and there. I also always keep my ginger root in the freezer so it stays for longer. What I have been doing now is grating most of it and then putting it back in the freezer. That way when I have a recipe or dish that calls for freshly grated ginger all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer and measure, simple and perfect!

Orange Pan-glazed Tempeh
adapted from 101cookbooks.com
serves 3-4
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons tamari
1 1/2 tablespoons mirin
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
roughly 10 ounces of tempeh (or extra-firm tofu)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lime

  1. Put the orange juice in a small bowl and combine with ginger, tamari, mirin, and maple syrup, ground coriander, and garlic. Mix together and set aside.
  2. Cut the tempeh (or tofu) into thin-ish, bite-sized pieces, and if working with tofu, pat dry with a paper towel.
  3. Put the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the tempeh and fry for 5 minutes, or until golden underneath. Turn and cook the other side for another 5 minutes, or until golden. Pour the orange juice mixture into the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced to a lovely thick glaze. Turn the tempeh once more during this time and spoon the sauce over the tofu from time to time.
  4. Serve the tempeh drizzled with any remaining sauce and a squeeze of lime, with the coriander scattered on top.

Maple Squash

Super simple and super yummy side. My mom used to make this or something like this and we always loved it! So def. kid taste tested and approved :) Make sure to buy organic, especially since you are eating the skin. Yum!

Maple Squash

1 acorn squash (or really any squash you want)
drizzle olive oil
drizzle maple syrup
sprinkle of cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spices)
Pinch sea salt

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Cut the squash into 1-inch circles, then halve them. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. Use a brush to spread over and cover the squash.
  3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning over halfway through – until the squash is tender. Serve and Enjoy :)

Meltaway Peppermint Patties

I love Coconut, Chocolate and Mint! YUM!!!!! If you are not into mint just leave it out and enjoy the chocolate coconut goodness! This was super simple and fast to make and more importantly to enjoy!! Love that! Keep these babies cold and they are perfect for these already super hot summer days!

Meltaway Peppermint Patties
recipe adapted from Elaina Love

Mint layer:
3 cups dry, raw shredded coconut
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. mint extract or 3 drops peppermint essential oil

Chocolate or carob layer:
3 cups dry, raw shredded coconut
1/3 cup maple syrup or date paste (made by blending dates and water)
1/8 cup organic cocoa powder or raw carob powder (add until mixture reaches desired color)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. Celtic sea salt

1: Blend the first 3 cups of coconut in a dry blender on low speed with the lid off. Use a spatula to keep things moving until it becomes the consistency of butter. Make sure you do not blend so long as to separate all the oil from the coconut. This step is tricky, and takes a good blender like a Vitamix. If you don’t have a Vitamix, you can still do this step, although you may need to separate the coconut into 2 batches.

2: Remove the coconut and put in a mixing bowl. Add the sweetener and mint extract. use a spatula to mix well. Set aside.

3: Blend the coconut for the chocolate layer. Mix the coconut by hand with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

4: Separate the chocolate mixture into 2 halves. Take one half, and press it into the bottom of a 4 x 4 baking dish or Tupperware. Put it in the freezer for 5 minutes until it is solid.

5: Remove your dish from the freezer and add all of the mint layer. Place in the freezer again for a couple of minutes.

6: Add the second half of the chocolate mixture to the top of the mint layer. Freeze again until solid or refrigerate.

7: Pop the meltaways out of the container by twisting or using a spatula to pry up. Place on a cutting board and cut your candies into whatever shape you like using a sharp, thin knife. Enjoy and store in the refrigerator.

Banana French Toast

These were amazing! The banana was thick enough to really coat and soak the bread. It also gave the french toast the most deelish flavor. I highly recommend this!

Banana French Toast
Makes 4 slices

2 medium bananas
2/3 cup soymilk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
4 slices whole-wheat bread
1 vegetable oil spray

Blend bananas, soymilk, syrup, and cinnamon until smooth. Pour into a flat, shallow dish and soak bread slices 1 minute on each side. Transfer carefully to a vegetable oil sprayed skillet. Cook first side until lightly browned, about 3 minutes, then turn and cook second side until browned.

Recipe from Food for Life, by Neal Barnard, M.D.

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