Beet Salad

So I experimented with beets for the first time! I saw these gorgeous beets at the Farmers Market and bought them for like 50 cents each and fell in love. I came up with this recipe for beet salad and its fast, inexpensive, healthy, raw, vegan... this recipe is everything. Not to mention beets are soooo good for you. 

Here is what you will need for 4-6 servings...

• 2 medium/large beets, peeled, slivered or shredded 
• 2 large carrots, peeled, slivered or shredded (or about 1.5 cups of shredded carrots)
• 3 Tbsp of olive oil
• 6 Tbsp of white balsamic vinegar (or vinegar of your preference) 
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 1 Tbsp of honey 
• Juice of 1 lemon wedge 

This is what you do...

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, honey and lemon juice. 

In a large bowl combine the carrots and beets. Mix the vinaigrette into the beet and carrot mixture and allow it to soak in the refrigerator for a little while so they vegetables soak in all the flavor from the vinaigrette. 

Enjoy this magenta treat!   

Tzatziki

An impressive dish that is really healthy, really easy and takes no time to whip up!

What you will need:

• 2 cups of reduced fat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup of finely diced cucumber
• 1/3 cup of finely diced white or yellow onion 
• 3/4 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of green pepper Tabasco
• Salt and Pepper (Trader Joe's Everyday Seasonings) 

What you do:

• Mix all ingredients together and serve with pita, crackers or veggies!  

I served this spread on warmed pita bread topped with grilled and seasoned tofu (or chicken) with chopped onions, cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes and shredded carrots and a little bit of sriracha for a kick and folded it up to make a gyro. 

Stuffed Zucchini

Sometimes you have odds and ends in your refrigerator and they somehow come together to make a masterpiece. 

This is one of those times. 

This is what you will need for 2 (sizable) portions:

• 1 large zucchini (South of the James Farmers Market $1.50)
• 1/2 package of soy chorizo (Trader Joes $1.99)
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese 
• 1/2 cup of diced onions
• 1 small/medium sweet potato, peeled and diced 
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, diced (or 1/4 cup of diced sweet bell pepper)
• 2 TBSP of ketchup
• 2 TBSP of olive oil 
• sour cream
• dash of salt and pepper 

What you do:

• preheat oven to 350F
• cut the zucchini in half length-wise and scrape out the seeds so there is a large space to put the filling
• brush or spray zucchini with olive oil
• bake in oven on a baking sheet for 15-20 minutes until soft
• while that is baking saute onions, pepper and sweet potato in olive oil, salt and pepper 
• once soft, add thawed soy chorizo and saute until consistency is similar to cooked ground beef. 
• stir mixture in with ketchup and shredded cheese cheese
• remove zucchini from oven and set oven to "broil"
• carefully add mixture to spaces in the zucchini half's where the seeds used to be
• sprinkle with more cheese if desired
• put back in the oven for another 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melted
• allow to cool and top with dollop of sour cream! 

(Drop the cheese and sour cream and this recipe is dairy free,

 vegan, gluten free and nut free.) 

This recipe has perfect balance! Sweet from the sweet potatoes and ketchup, spicy from the jalapeno peppers, savory and zesty from the soy chorizo. This is an inexpensive, robust and warm fall meal. 

For those of you eager to get autumn started-Enjoy!

Lasagna with a secret ingredient

Lasagna is one of our favorite large dishes. The two of us can eat this for an entire week and never get sick of it! It takes about an hour to cook but its a simple enough recipe. I am going to reveal two amazing tricks that my mother taught me about making lasagna. 

You will need...

• Lasagna noodles 
• 1 large jar of tomato sauce (I often get a second jar just in case... no one likes to run out again to get more because you got sauce happy) 
• 16oz ball of mozzarella cheese (shredded cheese just doesn't cut it!)
• Ricotta cheese 
• Tofu (???????????!?!) you'll see...

Tip #1 Do not cook the noodles! Often, when you cook the noodles before using them in your lasagna the whole thing gets really soggy and mushy. Instead use extra sauce! Allow the water in the sauce to cook the noodles for a firmer and tastier lasagna. 

Anyway, 

• preheat the oven to 400F
• pour some sauce at the bottom of your dish (glass, aluminum or ceramic)
• place your uncooked noodles on the sauce
• add more sauce
• add a layer of mozzarella cheese
• add a few blobs or ricotta cheese and spread it around a little

Tip #2 Ricotta can be both expensive and fattening so what I do is mix one small container of full fat ricotta cheese with one firm brick of tofu in a blender with a little bit of garlic. The consistency is exactly the same as straight ricotta but with less fat and it introduces a complete protein! Tofu on its own is relatively tasteless and takes on the taste of whatever it is being cooked with so when you use tofu in your lasagna it absorbs all the yummy sauce and cheese and you can't even tell something is different!

• okay so you added the sauce, noodles, sauce, and first layer of cheese
• next you add another layer of sauce
• another layer of noodles
• sauce
• cheese
• sauce
• noodles
• sauce
• cheese
• sauce... do you see a pattern? just make sure each noodles has a layer of sauce on either side of it
• make the top layer cheese
• bake for 40-50 minutes until the cheese on top is starting to bubble and brown
• let sit and cool for 15 minutes and enjoy! 

Buffalo Tofu: this changes everything.

This was generating a lot of interest on my Facebook and Instagram so I thought I would share the recipe with the world! 

So oddly enough after almost 5 years of being vegetarian the only thing I miss is chicken wings! Not bacon, steak, ham or thanksgiving turkey- but spicy, messy, medium buffalo chicken wings. On one occasion I caved in and ate a chicken wing and was very disappointed- turns out it was the buffalo sauce I was missing and so I sought out a new vessel for the sauce. Making your own buffalo tofu is arguably better tasting and decidedly better for you, the environment, your wallet and our feathered friends.

So far I have used buffalo tofu on a sandwiches, wraps and pizza! I will share the recipes for all 3 :)

To prepare the tofu..

You will need

• Extra firm tofu ($1.79 at Trader Joe's)
• Buffalo/chicken wing sauce of your choice...Franks is pretty good but I like Wing-Time (Whole Foods Market $3ish dollars
• Flour
• salt, pepper, paprika (optional)
• olive oil 

Directions

• slice the extra firm tofu (make sure you have pressed as much water as possible
• for a sandwich cut into large, medium-thin slices (about 4 slices/block)
• for wraps, cut into medium sized cubes 
• for pizza, cut into small cubes
• toss the tofu in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, paprika (optional) 
• for a sandwich we just flour each side of the slice by putting it down on a plate of flour and flipping it over until both sides are coated
• for the wraps or pizza we put the cubes and the flour in a large zip-lock or tupperware and shake until cubes are evenly coated
• heat up oil in frying pan and cook tofu until golden brown
• add sauce and cook to desired consistency (we have also tried this using BBQ sauce and stir-fry sauce! SO GOOD!) 

The Sandwich

You will need

• whole grain bread
• sliced lettuce, tomato, onions
• cheese (I used manchego which is sheeps milk cheese) 
• 1tbsp ranch dressing (I used Newmans Own)
• a few avocado slices 

Directions

• While the tofu was cooking I sliced a few pieces of cheese and put it on my bread and popped it in the toaster oven, cheese facing up obviously
• then I took it out, added the lettuce, onions, tomatoes, avocado and ranch
• topped it off with my tofu slices and enjoyed immensely! 

I served it with a cucumber salad I made using chunks of cucumber, tomato and onion seasoned with fresh rosemary and oregano with a little bit of olive oil and tomato balsamic vinegar. The cucumber cooled my mouth after eating the spicy sandwich.

The Wrap

You will need...

• wraps of your choice, I like two taco sized tortillas rather than one burrito sized and Trader Joes's has this sun-dried tomato habanero wrap that I am really into. 
• lettuce, onions, avocado, ranch dressing, shredded carrots 

Directions

• simply lay our your wrap(s) and assemble it with all the desired veggies, dressings and tofu cubes
• tip: lose the tortillas for a great salad! 

The Pizza

You will need...

• pizza dough (I use Trader Joe's herb crust $1.00)
• tomato sauce or marinara sauce (I use Trader Joe's tomato sauce and doctor it up with Mrs. Dash Italian seasonings and crushed garlic)
• Mozzarella cheese (the fresh stuff is so worth it! Trader Joe's pre sliced fresh mozzarella is about $4) 
• Shredded cheese
• Buffalo sauce
• Desired vegetables (I use onions, mushrooms and peppers) 

Directions

• prepare your dough as instructed on the package (I make mine on the thinner side) 
• add desired amount of sauce and cheese, evenly distributed (I go lighter on the cheese and sauce for buffalo pizza)
• top with desired vegetables (stop right here and pop in the oven for a great easy veggie pizza!) 
• top with small buffalo tofu cubes
• drizzle with extra buffalo sauce
• sprinkle with shredded cheese
• bake according to instructions on dough package

I really hope you try and enjoy all three of these as much as I have! It really is cheaper and easier than you probably imagined! This, or a variation thereof is a weekly staple in our house. Sometimes we make a big batch of it and I bring it to work in wrap or salad form for lunch all week

Lentil, Rice and Veggie Burger

I had some left over lentils and rice so this was just a culmination of things in my fridge but I was amazed!  

Get ready for the most flavorful garden burger to ever grace your taste buds!

Here is what you will need:

• 1/2 cup of brown rice
• 1/2 cup of lentils 
• large handful of diced onions
• large handful of diced red bell pepper
• a few jalapeno slices, diced
• handful of spinach, chopped
• handful of shredded carrots
• handful of raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic 
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• two eggs
• 1-2 cups of breadcrumbs 
• sea salt, pepper, paprika, hot sauce (dashes and splashes) 

This is what  you do:

• Cook the rice and lentils separately (they cook a little bit differently) 
• Rice:
•  1 cup of water (or I like to use veggie broth), 1/2 cup of rice. 
• once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover until water evaporates and rice is fluffy
• Lentils:
• 1 cup of water (or broth), 1/2 cup of lentils
• simmer in an open sauce pan, adding water so lentils are always covered, for 10-12 minutes, drain. 
• Over medium heat, saute the onions, pepper, jalapeno, carrots, spinach and garlic in olive oil until soft
• Combine rice, lentils and veggies and raisins
• whisk together two eggs and add to mixture
• add enough breadcrumbs to make the whole mixture start to stick together. 
• form into patties about the size of your palm
• cook on frying pan which should still have enough oil left over from the veggies. 
• cook on both sides and then cover to ensure that the middle isn't mushy and the burgers are browned and firm, but not dried out. 

Serve on a bun (I chose brioche) with greens, bread and butter pickles, avocado slices and whatever condiments you like (mayo, honey mustard, thousand island, etc.) 

I recommend a baked sweet potato on the side! Top it with butter, sour cream or goat cheese...

(wash potato, poke holes all over potato skin with a fork, put in the microwave for 4-5 minutes or hit the potato button) 

Aside from being absolutely delicious, there are a few more wonderful things about this recipe...

1. Very cost effective, green lentils and brown rice can be bought in bulk for only a few dollars and they are very filling and make SO MUCH FOOD! (a bag of small sweet potatoes are only $1.69 at Trader Joes! and make a great, nutritious and quick side dish to any meal)
2. The recipe is super flexible so you can put whatever you like, and omit anything you don't like. Not to mention, you may already have almost all the ingredients in your fridge- there aren't any fancy shmancy ingredients so usually no special shopping trip is necessary.
3. You can make a whole bunch of it and it keeps really well... either form into patties, wrap in parchment paper, seal in a ziplock bag and freeze or keep mixture in a tupperware in the fridge for up to a week. 
4. If the mixture is made in advance you can throw this meal together in about 10 minutes total! 
5. You only dirty like 3 things (cutting board, mixing bowl, skillet)

Enjoy!!

Iced Coffee

Okay.

I just did that thing where you freeze the coffee in an ice cube tray and add milk so as to not dilute your iced coffee and WOW!

I used Fresh Market tiramisu flavored freshly ground coffee and unsweetened vanilla almond milk from Trader Joe's and I am NOT disappointed!
It is truly truly delicious!