Vegan Chop't Salad

My birthday is coming up at the end of this month.  Yay!  Hubbs and I have always gone out to dinner and most times a movie afterwards to celebrate.  When we lived in NY we could go anywhere, have an amazing meal then walk over to one of the many theaters.  What a blast!  Now that we've moved to Michigan, the options are slimmer, but still great.  

Hubbs and I were talking yesterday about where we would go for my bday this year, and I'm still deciding.  You see, even though everything I put on this blog is vegan, I have not been vegan for several years.  I have been vegetarian for almost 13 years, but I haven't been vegan for a while.  So, eating out was quite easy.  Now that I have decided to be vegan again (about two weeks ago), the pickings will be slimmer, which is even more motivation for us to get our vegan cafe up and running next year!!  

Several years ago for my bday dinner we went to this place in Union Square in Manhattan where the Hubbs' cousin worked, called Chop't Creative Salad Company.  That place is awesome! They have a giant line of literally hundreds of items you can put in a salad to make it all your own.  Seriously delicious!  And a vegan salad can be made literally hundreds of different ways.  Check out their menu!  First, you start off with the size of the salad (we got the biggest size), then choose your base: romaine, iceberg, arugula, kale or mixed greens (we chose mixed greens).  And you choose from tons and tons of additions.  Then they put everything in their big bowl onto a fresh cutting board (every customers order goes onto a fresh, clean board), use these huge knives and chop away.  Once it is chopped to your desire, they put it in your bowl and send you off.  It's a bit expensive though - for two salads and two waters, it was over $25.  Thank goodness Hubbs' cousin worked there and we were able to use his discount - it ended up being about $13!

Hubbs and I raved about the salads we ate for a long time afterwards, so I decided to start making them at home, using any and everything I had in my fridge to make it even more interesting and tasty.  

Koko's Chop't Salad:

So tasty!

Place the following ingredients into a large mixing bowl:

several handfuls mixed greens
shelled edamame
diced tomato
sliced red onion
diced smoked tofu
chopped carrots
chopped cucumber
Diced cooked beets
couple tablespoons dried fruit and nuts
handful diced seitan or other vegan protein
diced apple or other fresh fruit

Add a hefty amount of vegan chipotle ranch dressing and toss together with your hands (I never bother with chopping up the salad - it's delicious as is).  That's it!  Change up the ingredients and dressing and you'll have a new salad every time!


Koko

Green Dinner: Gluten Free Pesto Pasta, Garlic Broccoli & Simple Green Salad

Finally went shopping.  Yay fresh veggies!  Hubby was helping me bring in the groceries and hung out with me while I was putting everything away.  He had insisted we purchase some beer and went to put it in the freezer  to chill it down quickly.  Imagine his surprise when he couldn't fit even one bottle in the freezer.  Oops!  I am a huge proponent of not throwing things away, so when I make a big batch of soup of a big batch of some other kind of meal, I don't like to throw any of it away, so I put it in a deli container, label it and freeze it.  It makes for some really easy, quick meals down the road too.  So he asked me to try to use up a couple things so his cervezas could chill.  Out came the last couple packages of pesto I made with the basil from our garden last summer.  It turned out great, because then I knew exactly what I was making for dinner.  Yummy pesto pasta!  I have been craving broccoli for a while so I decided to make that and a super simple green salad.  It was a nice tasty meal, not too heavy, and Hubbs was happy about his nice, cold cervezas!

 

 

 

Tasty GF Pesto Pasta and Fresh Veggies!

 

 

 

 

Serves: 2, with a little extra for leftovers

 

 

8 oz. desired pasta - I used Trader Joe's GF Brown Rice Penne Pasta

 

Pesto:

 

Yields: 2 1/2 cups (use what you need and freeze the rest)

 

1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts
3/4 cup olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons white miso
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 oz. basil, rinsed and spun very well

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

 

Garlic Broccoli

1 bunch broccoli, separated into florets, stems peeled and diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

sea salt and black pepper to taste

 

1.  Prepare the pesto sauce.   Toast the walnuts and allow to cool.  Place in the bowl of a food processor along with the following: olive oil, garlic, miso, sea salt and black pepper.  Blend until relatively smooth.  Add in the basil and blend until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times.  Set aside until ready to use.

2.  Prepare the pasta.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain the pasta, but keep the water in the pot.

3.  Briefly blanch the broccoli until it is tender-crisp. 

4.  Saute the garlic in the olive oil until crispy.  Toss with the cooked broccoli.  Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.  Mix well. 

5.  Toss desired amount of pesto with the pasta.  Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.  Serve with the broccoli and a simple green salad.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Koko

 

Vegetable Shepherd's Pie with Spicy Vegan Chorizo and Mesclen Greens Salad

For the last two weeks I have been trying to follow the idea of writing down all of the dinners I am going to prepare for the week on a white board I have on my refrigerator.  So far I have followed 4 out of the 5 items for the two weeks I have done it.  The other three days of the week I either didn't make a big "meal" for the Hubbs and I or I ate leftovers, and one of the days we ate out (Valentine's!).  I think it is definitely a good idea and something I can manage to stick to if I don't get too crazy and rigid about it.  This was not one of the meal ideas for the week, but after looking through my fridge, I realized I had tons of miscellaneous items that needed using up (half used onions and bell peppers - thanks to the Hubby for doing that) as well as some spicy vegan chorizo I made for breakfast, but didn't finish up.  So was thinking of making a pot pie, but was feeling too lazy to make a crust.  I have been testing tons of recipes the last couple days, and the last thing I feel like doing is following another recipe to make the crust.  I decided on a Shepherd's Pie - easy and very tasty to make.  I was able to clean up the fridge and make room for preparing the rest of the dishes on the white board.

 

 

 

Delicious Shepherd's Pie with Spicy Vegan Chorizo

Shepherd's Pie:

Potato Topping:
4-6 medium red skinned potatoes, washed well and diced
3 tablespoons earth balance
unsweetened soy or almond milk
sea salt and black pepper to taste
granulated garlic or a couple cloves of roasted garlic

Filling:
1 cup veggie protein - I used spicy vegan chorizo, but could use seasoned tofu, seitan, etc.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, small diced
1/2 bell pepper - or whatever vegetables you need to use in the fridge
2 cloves garlic, minced
Nutritional Yeast Gravy
handful organic frozen corn or peas
sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil.  Cook till just tender.  Drain.  Put back in pot - add earth balance, desired amount of nondairy milk, sea salt, black pepper and granulated garlic or roasted garlic.  Mash till desired consistency.  Season to taste.
2.  Prepare the filling: have the gravy ready and set aside.
3.  In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and allow to become hot.  Add the veggies: the carrot, onion, celery and bell pepper.  Cook for several minutes until the veggies begin to brown.  Add the garlic and cook for a couple minutes. 
4.  Place the veggies in a large bowl.  Add the veggie protein and enough gravy to cover the mixture.  Stir in frozen peas or corn if desired.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.
5.  Oil a glass pie plate or baking dish.  Place the veggie-gravy mix into dish and smooth out with a spatula.  Top with the mashed potatoes and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden and the filling is bubbly.


Enjoy!

Koko

 

Breaking our Fast!

Our juice fast is officially over!  Yay!  The fast was great and I think I can speak for both my husband and I that we are so glad we did the fast, and also so glad it is finished.  I feel so much better - so much energy and so light!  Of course I lost some weight (10 lbs.), but like I said beforehand, that is not the main reason I did the fast.  Of course immediately after I broke the fast I gained several pounds back, which I again lost and stayed away (thank goodness).  I wanted to come out of the fast with a greater appreciation for health supportive foods and not give in as much to the "bad" foods.  I also want to continue working out with my hubby and just overall become healthier.  So far, hubbs and I have been eating very healthfully (although he did admit he had some ice cream - brat!).

 

I've decided to get back into making a tentative schedule of our meals for the week and post them on our white board on the fridge, so that I can be more organized with our shopping and making sure that we get in enough greens and other vegetables.  We also have one of what I am sure is the biggest organic pantries ever.  Since I used to work in a coop and the Hubby currently does, we are blessed to be the recipients of the "shrink" coming from the bulk departments.  In the case of a coop, the shrink is simply the bags of items customers take and label, then decide against purchasing.  You cannot put the bags of brown rice, beans, nuts, seeds, etc. back in the bins after a customer has handled them, but it's not a good idea to just throw it away.  So the employees split up whatever is left over and get to take it home.  Now I have to find tasty uses for all of the ingredients, which is a fun and challenging undertaking.

 

 

This is what I have tentatively decided to make for the week:

 

 

Monday: Vegetable Tofu Stir Fry over Brown Rice

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday with all the veggie trimmings

Wednesday: Lentil and Quinoa Spiced Loaf with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green Salad

Thursday: Vegetable and Mock Seafood Enchiladas with an Almond Bechamel, Green Beans frozen from our garden

Friday: Southwest Quinoa and Black Bean Bake, Garlic Broccoli

Saturday: Steamed Veggies over Gluten Free Brown Rice Pasta with a Spicy Peanut Sauce

Sunday not sure - hubbs and I are off together, so we'll see what is easy and quick!

 

 

What are you guys making for dinner? Ever plan on what you're making for the week?

 

 

The first meal we broke our fast with:
Organic Mixed Greens with tons of fresh veggies

Second post-fast meal: Organic Red & White Quinoa, Chickpeas
& Raw Zucchini Slices mixed with Fresh Pico de Gallo

Enjoy!

Koko

Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chicken with Sauteed Rice & Green Salad

Hubby and I are officially moving out of NY in a little over a week.  Needless to say, things are quite busy here.  Packing, packing and more packing.  Seriously, where did all of this stuff come from?!  Also, the weather here, as I'm sure it is in most places, is hideously hot.  I love being in the kitchen, but this weather makes me want to take a nice long break.  I would be absolutely happy to eat giant salads everyday, but I have a hubby that works like crazy and goes to the gym everyday and needs some heartier food.  Also, since we are really getting down to the wire, I am trying to use up all of the ingredients in my fridge and freezer.  Have I ever mentioned that I have the refrigerator that came with the apartment, plus an additional refrigerator/freezer combo and a small chest freezer I bought a couple years ago?  So there was quite a bit of stuff to go through. 

I discovered a package of Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chicken that I bought a couple months ago when it was on special hanging out in the freezer.  I usually like to save those kinds of items, silly as it seems, for when I feel like I'm going to need them.  Today was definitely one of those days! Way too hot to deal with being in the kitchen for an extended period of time.  So I just cooked the chicken according to the package directions, made a big green romaine lettuce salad and sauteed some leftover rice I had in the refrigerator with some olive oil, onions, broccoli, tamari and red pepper flakes.  Simple, quick and filling.  Just what the hubby wanted.  I'm in trouble though - as soon as he finished his dinner, he decided he wants pizza tomorrow.  Really babe?  I'm wondering if he realizes I'm going to have to turn the oven on to like 450 degrees for an extended amount of time.  We'll see if that really happens!

Gardein Mandarin Oreange Crispy Chicken with Sauteed Rice & Green Salad:



I love how I didn't notice till now that hubby is standing in the
back of the picture.  Too funny!

Koko


Chickpea Vegetable Soup with Sweet Potatoes

I am fortunate to work in a place where I can purchase large bulk quantities of organic foods.  I do a lot of recipe testing and go through a lot of ingredients that are expensive when paying the retail cost.  I recently purchased a 25 pound bag each of organic unbleached flour, organic sugar, organic chickpeas and a case of soy free earth balance (the 2 lb. containers).  I've gone through almost all of the flour, 1/4 of the sugar and probably a couple pounds of the beans.  I use beans all the time in my cooking at home, the vast majority of the time I cook them from dry, using canned only when I am in a super hurry.  Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are by far my favorite bean - I put them in everything.  Sometimes when I am cooking them from dry, I get carried away and make too many.  I don't love the texture of frozen garbanzo beans, so I try to use them all fresh, but I would much rather freeze them than throw them away, so sometimes they end up in the freezer.  Whenever I freeze them, I use them in soup - how this recipe came about. 

I have pretty much been making soup 2-3 times a week in this cold weather.  Even though today is technically spring, it is still pretty chilly out, so I felt like making this tasty, comforting soup.  I am a fan of the brothier soups and love me some greens in my soups, added at the end to still have a nice bite.  Try this soup before the weather starts to actually turn nice and warm!

Chickpea Vegetable Soup with Sweet Potatoes:

 

So hearty with delicious chunks of sweet potatoes.

Yields: 2 1/2 Quarts (6-8 servings)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 medium yams, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons red curry paste
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 cups vegetable stock
4 large leaves kale, shredded
2 cups chickpeas, cooked


1. Place a large stockpot over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Allow the oil to become hot.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, yams and garlic and sauté for several minutes.
3. Add the seasonings: red curry paste, sea salt, cumin, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Toss to coat.
4. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Once the ingredients boil, reduce to a simmer.
5. Once the yams are just tender, turn off the heat and add the kale and chickpeas, stirring to combine.
6. Season to taste.  That's it!


Enjoy!

Koko

Chickpea Kale Salad

Today is the first day off I've had in several weeks.  I flew back to Michigan a couple weeks ago when my Grandmother wasn't doing well and stayed there for about a week after she passed away to help my mom out.  Then I came back to New York and was immediately thrust back into work with tons of meetings and tons of stuff to catch up on, immediately followed by two classes scheduled on both of my days off.  No complaints, just super tired!  So, today being my day off, I did 4 batches of laundry with our portable washing machine and clothes drying racks.  After actually using a real washer and dryer while in Michigan, it was hard to go back to washing our clothes the old fashioned way!  Time to also do some pre-spring cleaning, including cleaning and organizing the refrigerators and freezers, pantry and writing up ideas for simple meals to make for Hubbs and I when I come back home from work.  After being up and working like a maniac for so many hours, I suddenly discovered that I was starving and wanted to eat something yesterday.  Remembering I had cooked some chickpeas for dinner a couple nights ago and that I bought a bunch of kale from the coop yesterday, I decided to make a warm chickpea kale salad, which always makes me happy and is super tasty and satisfying.  So now I'm taking a nice break, eating my tasty salad and watching some tv.  Sure feels nice to take a break, even if it is only for a couple hours!

Chickpea Kale Salad:

Serves 4 as a side

So simple and delicious!!

2 cups cooked chickpeas (warm)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 very large onion or 2 small onions, sliced into strips
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 bunch kale, sliced into strips
1 tablespoon water

1.  Warm the chickpeas by placing in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through.
2.  Drain and place in a large mixing bowl.
3.  Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and allow it to become hot.  Add the olive oil, onions and garlic and cook till softened and golden.  Remove from heat and add to the bowl with the chickpeas. 
4.  Sprinkle with the sea salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. 
5.  Into the same hot pan add the kale and 1 tablespoon water and cover with a lid to steam.  Allow the kale to steam for about 1-2 minutes, or until vibrantly green.
6.  Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and add to the bowl with the remaining ingredients. 
7.  Mix ingredients thoroughly and season to taste with additional sea salt or pepper flakes.

That's it!

Enjoy!

Koko

Green Smoothie

I love fresh juice as much as the next person.  It's way too expensive for me to purchase outside, so I tend to make it at home.  There are some great things about making your own juices and also some not so great things about juicing at home - namely cleaning the juicer for 20 minutes after 5 minutes of juicing.

I've had several customers at my job lately that have been getting green smoothies - that is whole leafy greens and some kind of fresh juice to make it all blend together.  It's the best of both worlds because you still get the tasty fresh juice, but also the fiber from the leafy greens.  I have been making this quite a bit lately, but I've been making the juice base at work, usually pineapple, purchasing it there and making the smoothies at home.  Tons cheaper to just purchase the whole fruit, juice it at work and make the smoothie with all the beautiful organic ingredients at home.  I pretty much keep the ingredients the same, with a couple variations here and there, depending upon what I have in the fridge and what I feel like.  It's super tasty and super healthy.  Try it - I think you'll be surprised by how good it is and how not "green" it tastes.

Green Smoothie:







Beautifully Vibrantly Green!



Makes 2 hefty Servings

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple juice (or use whatever juice you'd like)

2 ripe bananas, peeled

1" piece ginger, peeled and chopped

1 lime, juiced (helps preserve the color and adds a "brightness" to the smoothie)

3-4 kale leaves, torn into pieces (reserve stems*)

2 large collard leaves, torn into pieces (reserve stems*)

3-4 chard or other green leaves, torn into pieces (reserve stems*)

handful well-washed spinach

1 tablespoon ground flax or chia seeds

1/4 cup frozen strawberries or blueberries (optional but good)

6-8 ice cubes

1.  Place the juice in the base of the blender.  Add the leafy greens, the ginger, lime juice, flax and frozen berries.

2.  Blend on high until all of the leaves have blended smooth  - this may take a couple minutes and several scrapings of the blender pitcher.  If you do not have a vita mix (which I shockingly do not yet), a regular blender will work fine, although will not  be silky smooth.  I think it's great though - you know what you're eating.

3.  Once the smoothie is, well, smooth, add the ice and blend for 30 seconds or so until the juice is chilled.  Sample and if too sour, add a touch more juice. 

4.  Delicious and so healthy!

* If you will be juicing the pineapple or other fruit juice yourself, I recommend saving the green stems and juicing them along with the fruit.  A great way to keep waste to a minimum.  And extra healthy. 

Enjoy!

Koko