recipe: mole with veggies and tempeh

Zach and I made the most delicious meal this week. It's so good that we're going to remake it again this weekend because two days of eating it wasn't enough for us. If you've never had mole, it's a classic Mexican sauce with complex sweet/savory/spicy/smoky flavors. Usually the sauce is already vegan, but in this version there's also no added salt or oil. This recipe was adapted from this blog.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried coriander
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce (1/2 T chopped de-seeded chili, 1/2 T sauce)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

3 bell peppers, sliced
1 jalapeno, sliced
1 pkg tempeh, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1 handful chopped cilantro leaves
1 lime, sliced into wedges

Directions:
1. In a pot, saute onion in water  for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, almonds, and raisins and cook for another 5 minutes - add water as needed to prevent burning.  Add the cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and oregano;  heat for 1 more minute.

2. Add the chipotle, adobo sauce, tomatoes with their juices, and vegetable broth.  Heat to boil, then add chocolate and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.

3. Meanwhile, grill peppers, jalapeno, and tempeh in a grill pan.

4. Remove sauce from heat and puree with immersion blender. 

5. To serve, drizzle sauce over a plate of grilled peppers and tempeh. Garnish with avocado slices, cilantro leaves, and a lime wedge.

recipe: blueberry pie smoothie

This smoothie is delicious, it tastes like blueberry pie filling to me, and is very simple.

Ingredients:

1 overflowing cup of frozen blueberries
1/2 banana
1/4 tsp cinnamon (add more to taste once everything is blended)
1 pinch allspice, nutmeg, or cloves (or all three)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (add more to taste once everything is blended)
1/2 cup almond milk

recipe: tropical kale smoothie

I've been wanting to make a smoothie with kale for awhile to use up some leftovers I have in the fridge and to get more greens in my diet, but since an arugula smoothie debacle from last week, I've been hesitant to try kale in a smoothie. I'm been afraid of overpowering the smoothie with a bitter kale taste and wasting a lot of perfectly good fruit. I took a risk with this smoothie this morning though and it was really good. You can still taste the kale, but it's not overpowering or unpleasant:

Ingredients:

1 large kale leaf, rough stem removed
1 peach
1 banana
1 cup tropical frozen fruit (my mix has mango, pineapple, strawberries, & papaya)
1/2 cup almond milk

recipe: simple baked cinnamon apples

I've always been a dessert person, but recently I've been trying to remove added sugar from my diet. I've been substituting fruit for my usual after dinner treats, but lately I've been getting really bored of fruit. One good way to spice things up is to heat up the fruit to get an distinct flavor and texture that's reminiscent of the flavor of delicious, sugar and butter filled baked goods. Here's a quick way to doctor up apples:

Directions:
(serves 1)

1. Spray a small baking dish with a light layer of oil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Chop 1 apple and add to baking dish.
3. Sprinkle cinnamon on apple.
4. Sprinkle apple with about 1/4 c non-dairy milk and another light layer of cooking spray.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
6. Serve with fresh blueberries.

recipe: sesame ginger bok choy salad

Last night for dinner Zach and I had this great, simple salad with miso soup. The greens and cabbage are bitter, but the sweet dressing provides a nice contrast.

Ingredients:
(6 servings)

2/3 c water
1/2 cup tahini (I use Trader Joe's brand)
3 T lemon juice (about 1-2 lemons)
1/2 T miso
1 1/2 T minced fresh ginger
3 dates, pitted
2 cloves garlic
two bunches bok choy, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 small head red cabbage, chopped
3 large handfuls of sprouts
Sriracha or red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

1. Mix first seven ingredients (water through garlic) in a blender. Add more water if you want a thinner dressing. Dressing can be stored in fridge for a week.
2. To prepare salad, toss bok choy, green onions, cabbage, and sprouts with dressing. Add hot sauce or red pepper flakes to taste.

recipe: avocado and hummus wraps

During our Bryce Canyon hiking trip we ate these wraps for lunch while on the trail. They were a bit messy since we overloaded them with vegetables, but the taste made up for it. They'd be a lot easier to prepare in a "controlled environment" and I'd recommend them for a quick and easy lunch.

Ingredients:
(makes 1 serving)

-whole wheat tortilla
-chopped bell pepper
-chopped cucumber
-chopped spinach
-sprouts
-Trader Joe's hummus (Eggplant and Tomato Basil have the least amount of oil)
-1/2 mashed small avocado