Vegan Challenge: Cali Pasta and Tacos

Rather than give a run-down of every meal, which gets boring, here are the most recent recipes I've tried in the Vegan Challenge.

Wednesday 3/19:

Pasta della California

Four servings • 30 minutes to prepare

This is a quick and tasty pasta is easy enough to make any night of the week and can easily be made with a gluten-free pasta if you have an intolerance or just want to cut back on the wheat products. Use avocados that are ripe, but still firm. It’s best the avocado chunks are firm — an overripe avocado might just turn to mush. If you have little ones that think everything is too spicy, cut back the garlic and red pepper flakes to accommodate your pickiest eater. And if you have leftovers your saving, tuck the avocado chunks under to pasta to keep them from browning overnight.

Ingredients
1/2 pound linguine (used orzo because that's what I had, not the best choice in hindsight)
3 cups broccoli, cut into small pieces (used frozen, should have cooked more and cut up more)
2 tablespoons olive oil
7 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cups arugula, loosely packed
2 avocados, peeled and cut into pieces (mine were not firm...oops!)

(added some small tomatoes and chopped brussel sprouts that I had left over)

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prep all your ingredients while the water boils. Add pasta once the water is boiling and cook according to the package.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the garlic, lime zest, and red pepper flakes. Cook for just a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add the wine, bring to a boil and allow it to reduce for about 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, lime juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and add the arugula. Allow the arugula to wilt.
• Add the broccoli to the pasta 1 minute before it's done. Drain both and add to the skillet with the sauce and arugula. Toss well and cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the avocado. Toss gently and serve.

So how I made it, it turned out just ok.  Wouldn't use orzo in it, also would make sure to cook the broccoli with the pasta and then add to the skillet, rather than trying to half defrost them in the microwave and then throw in the skillet.  I always forget to save a 1/4 cup of pasta water to add to the skillet too.  Lessons learned.  

Friday 3/21

Portobello and Zucchini Tacos

Four servings • 45 minutes to prepare

I like to serve these tacos alongside a green salad with tomatoes and avocado.

Ingredients
5 medium portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 medium zucchini, cut into 2-by-1/2-inch sticks
1 medium red onion, halved and sliced 1/4-inch thick
12 (4 1/2-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 cup fresh salsa
1 ripe avocado, halved and sliced

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425° F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss mushrooms with 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 cup water; season with salt and pepper. On another rimmed baking sheet, toss zucchini and onion with remaining teaspoon oregano and tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.
Place both sheets in oven. Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are browned and fork-tender, 25 to 30 minutes (zucchini may cook faster than mushrooms).
Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium-high heat, warm tortillas according to package instructions (they should be lightly browned but still soft). Wrap loosely in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm.
To serve, fill each tortilla with mushrooms, vegetable mixture, avocado and salsa.

These were awesome!!! We forgot to take pictures...sorry!  We must have been so hungry.  The zucchini took longer to roast than expected, and was still a bit too moist than preferred, so in hindsight we would start those first, then put the mushrooms and onion in.  Ended up having to broil the zuc and onion pan for a bit.  We also made a simple pico salsa, which was fine, but in the future I'd do a black bean and tomato salsa for these.  The avocado makes them extra delicious!

Vegan Challenge Days 7-10

Sunday 3/16, Day 7
DC St. Patrick's Day Parade time!  Soy yogurt breakfast, so kept with the challenge for that, then headed downtown to dance.

ONJ School of Irish Dance after the parade

After the parade we headed to Hoban's in Dupont where there was nothing vegan on the menu, nor any easy vegetarian to work with my dairy allergy, so I had a burger without the bun.  Can't win at some restaurants.

Monday 3/17, Day 8
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I was able to keep with the challenge in the morning, cereal for breakfast and some of the leftover slaw and tofu for lunch.  But then in honor of my favorite meal ever (I ask for it on my birthday too) I made corned beef with a ruby glaze, mashed potatoes and sautéed brussel sprouts for dinner with my roomies and the BF.   Oh lordy, it made my mouth sing!  Seriously the glaze is everything in that dish.

Corned Beef with Ruby Glaze

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CORNED-BEEF-WITH-RUBY-GLAZE-1216694

ingredients

10 pound fresh corned beef-soaked overnight before doing recipe
2 onions
8 whole cloves
2 large carrots, cut into 2-inches
2-3 large celery stalks, cut into 2-inches
6 cloves of garlic
12 peppercorns
Port and Ruby Currant sauce:
half cup ruby port
2 cups red currant jelly
half cup finely chopped shallots
quarter cup fresh lemon juice
quarter cup fresh orange juice
4-5 tsp grated lemon peel
1 Tblsp grated orange peel
1 Tblsp dry mustard
1-2 tsp ground ginger
1-2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
half tsp salt
half cup coarse-grained mustard
half cup firmly packed brown sugar

preparation

BEEF PREPARATION: Day 1: Soak beef overnight before doinbg recipe. Day 2: Place beef in heavy large pot. Stud each onion with 4 cloves. Add to pot with carrots, celery, garlic and peppercorns. Cover with water. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beef is tender, about 3 and a half hours, turning beef every hour. (This can be done a day ahead. Just refrigerate beef in liquid and bring to room temperature before baking. It can also be done in the crockpot on low heat for 8 hours, which is what I did this year.)

SAUCE: Combine first 11 sauce ingredients in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until jelly is melted. Let cool for thirty minutes or more. (This, too, can be done a day ahead.)

BAKING: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Drain beef and pat dry. Place fat side up in large roasting pan. Cut off any excess fat and discard. Spread the coarse grained mustard over beef. Pour 2 and a half cups sauce over beef. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake until beef is glazed a deep rich brown-about 45 minutes, basting every 15 minutes. Transfer to a large serving platter. Spoon sauce over top. Also remember to use the drippings on the bottom of the pan for glaze. Serve immediately, using remaining sauce separately. ENJOY!! 

It's a time consuming meal to make, but oh so worth it.  I even ended up having two meals of left overs...my last cheats for a while in the challenge!



Tuesday 3/18, Day 9
I had so much extra food that I was able to eat left overs for lunch and dinner, a spinach power salad from Traders Joes for lunch that I still had and needed to eat, and then some simple minestrone soup for dinner as I wasn't that hungry.  I do snack all day and have a drawer full of food in my desk at school (hint: it's the biggest drawer) and have some trail mix, apricots and those lovely peanut butter filled pretzels from Trader Joes.

Wednesday 3/19, Day 10
Breakfast has been easy so I'll stop commenting on that unless it's anything other than oatmeal (although I started to put chia seeds in them and it helps to get me through the morning!), cereal with almond milk or soy yogurt with fruit and granola.  Lunch was the last of the slaw and tofu from Friday night, and then left over corned beef for dinner before dance.

Vegan Challenge Days 4-6

Day 4: Thursday 3/13
Had the last of the Ethiopian left overs for lunch and chili left overs for dinner

Day 5: Friday 3/14
Had a salad for lunch and some chili, challenge going well
Swim team banquet was that night and to not put up a fuss I ate the BBQ offered (confirmation I will never be 100% vegan after this challenge, that pork BBQ is too good!), but made sure to have some salad on the side to add some veggies in.

Day 6: Saturday 3/15
Brunch out with a friend ended up having no vegetarian or vegan menu items, so I decided that in honors of St. Patrick's Day I would be off the hook until Monday evening.  So I had eggs and corned beef hash.
Dinner was back on the challenge as we made the Asian-Lime Tofu and Slaw recipe that I found at wellvegan.com: http://wellvegan.com/recipes/agave-lime-grilled-tofu-with-asian-slaw-and-mashed-sweet-potatoes

Agave Lime Grilled Tofu with Asian Slaw and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Four servings • One hour to prepare, plus two hours marinading

This is a great recipe when you have time on the weekend for grilling. If you’re looking to avoid gluten, make sure your soy sauce is gluten-free.

Ingredients
Tofu:
1 lb. extra-firm tofu, cut into 8 (1/4-in thick) slabs
1/4 cup light agave nectar
1/2 cup shoyu soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 limes (juiced)
1 1/2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar

Slaw:
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon light agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup safflower oil (mixed 2/3 veggie oil with 1/3 toasted sesame oil to make up for the lack of safflower oil and sesame seeds)
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned (didn't get the next 4 items, just grabbed a bag of broccoli slaw for sake of time)
1/2 daikon radish, peeled and julienned
1/2 head napa cabbage, shredded
1 scallion, julienned
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

Sweet Potatoes: (Ended up just microwaving two sweet potatoes for us, didn't mash them.
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup ground cashews
2 tablespoons Earth Balance
1 canned chipotle pepper, seeded and minced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Place the tofu in a single layer in a shallow nonreactive dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining tofu ingredients. Pour over the tofu and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 300° F. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tofu from the marinade (reserve the marinade) and arrange it in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced to a syrupy glaze, about 8 minutes.
4. Heat an outdoor grill or preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Transfer the tofu slabs from the baking sheet to the grill and grill for 3 to 4 minutes, or until grill-marked. Turn the tofu over and generously brush with the glaze; cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until grill-marked. Remove the tofu to the baking sheet, turning it over so the glazed side is down, and then glaze the top side.
5. Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, agave nectar, salt, lime juice, and soy sauce. Continue whisking vigorously in one direction as you slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream until emulsified. Add the remaining slaw ingredients to the bowl and toss to coat.
6. Cook the sweet potatoes in a pot of boiling water for 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Put the sweet potatoes, ground cashew, all-natural buttery spread, and chipotle pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Alternatively, put the ingredients in a large bowl and use a handheld mixer. Whip on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. To assemble the dish, place one quarter of the sweet potatoes in a scoop in the middle of a serving plate. Top with one quarter of the slaw. Place 2 tofu slices on top of the slaw or angled against the sweet potatoes and slaw. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

The verdict: We like tofu better when it's mixed into things and not just cutting up a block, even when grilled.  We probably could have gotten the tofu a bit more crispy if we had pressed it, and we burned the sauce by not watching it closely enough and too high of heat.  Even still, it was just ok.  The slaw was awesome, will definitely put that in my book of great sides, would be great for a party too, with maybe a bit less oil.  Oh and buying a bag of already julienned carrots because that takes forever and was close to taking a finger too.  Maybe a knife skills class is in order soon!  We also decided that we want to try the mashed sweet potato recipe sometime, and that might have made the whole thing better.

Vegan Challenge Days 1-3

On Monday I made the Ethiopian Tomato Lentil Stew.  Here's the recipe again with my changes and adaptations in red.

Curried Tomato Lentil Soup (Shorba Addis)
Serves 3

(I ended up doubling the recipe to make more for left overs)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder (berbere is preferable - couldn't find, so I used regular curry)
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (Couldn't find so I used fennel seeds)
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (ended up using only 4 cups because that's what I had)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup brown or green lentils
1 Yukon Gold potato, diced
1/4 cup whole wheat orzo pasta

Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion until it is brown. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and fenugreek, sautéing them for about 1 minute. Add the veggie broth and tomato paste, stirring until the tomato paste is thoroughly combined with the broth. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add the lentils and stir. Once the soup comes back to a simmer, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook the soup for 20 minutes. Add the potato and orzo; cook the soup, covered, for 5 more minutes.

The first part of the recipe went well, but then the soup didn't really simmer, maybe because there wasn't enough water, or because I turned the heat on the stove down too low.  I will have a gas stove someday!  So then I guess because it wasn't really simmering, the potato and orzo didn't cook in the 5 minutes.  15 minutes later they were barely done.  Luckily they cooked when reheated for lunch, but in the future I would definitely partially cook at least the potatoes for a minute in the microwave, and add more of the water.  I had some left over roasted cauliflower in the fridge, so I added that too.

Before it starts to simmer

End results: It was ok.  I probably won't make it again for myself.  I'm definitely not a fan of the fennel, taking a bite and getting one of the seeds was not a fun experience, and I'm not a fan of curry powder.  I like red Thai curry, but not Indian curries, and they don't sit well with my stomach either.  Good lesson and on to the next culture to try food from, Morocco!

Breakfasts have been easy, it hasn't felt like that much of a change honestly, and I've continued with the left-overs for lunch plan, along with some hummus with carrots rather than Thousand Island dressing or anything.

Last night we planned to make an Asian Lime Grilled Tofu, got everything out on the counter, and then realized that the tofu needed to marinate for 2 hours.  Being already 7pm, that wasn't happening, so we went to plan B and made a black bean chili.

Black Bean Chili

Four servings • 45 minutes to prepare

http://wellvegan.com/recipes/black-bean-chili 

This is a simple chili recipe for when you’re short on time but eager for something warm and hearty. I like to serve it with fresh cilantro, avocado and green onion.

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cans (15–16 ounce) black beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved
1 can (16 ounce) tomato sauce
1 cup frozen corn
Chopped fresh cilantro, green onions, tomatoes or avocado

Instructions

1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes. Mix in beans, 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid, tomato sauce, and corn (if using). Bring chili to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Ladle chili into bowls. Pass chopped cilantro, green onions or other toppings.

We followed the recipe pretty closely and it turned out well, especially for eating it right after it's made.  Chili is always better the next day when the flavors have had time to meld together.  Plus we were watching Chopped, so what we made looked like nothing compared to those talented chefs.  Especially when they only get 20-30 minutes and crazy ingredients!

Clean Eating Vegan Challenge

After a crazy stressful and too-busy winter I've decided that it's time for a clean eating challenge during this Lenten season.  After reading an article in Cooking Light (http://www.cookinglight.com/food/vegetarian/cooking-light-food-editor-vegan-00412000087133/) where the editor was challenged to go vegan for a month, I realized that I want to get more veggies into my diet, which means I need to learn how to cook them.  Thus, I decided that I'm going to go vegan for the next four weeks in order to force myself to explore the world of vegetables and clean eating, (limiting the processed food).  I'm already partly vegan from being dairy-free and shellfish-free, so we'll see how hard it's going to be!

There will be some exceptions...I'm not going to worry about making life complicated for the Swim Team banquet, and I'll be making corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day on Monday, but otherwise I'm going to attempt, and be blogging about it, mainly for myself to keep track and be able to see how it's going!

I've done some recipe hunting and planning of meals already: for breakfasts I have oatmeal and cereal with almond milk, and soy yogurts with fruit, basically what I already eat.  Weekend brunch will be harder, but there are a ton of ideas online and Pinterest has been a great resource too.  Lunches will mostly be left-overs (what I already do), and making sure that I have peanut butter or almond butter to go with my apple or celery.  I don't think protein will be an issue, but something to watch just in case.  Eating out might be difficult, and if I have to, vegetarian will be an acceptable substitute, but I'll try to keep to it even when eating out.

It all starts tomorrow (Monday!)

The first recipe I'm going to try is:

Curried Tomato Lentil Soup (Shorba Addis)

Serves 3

This recipe is based on an Ethiopian soup with a rich, deep curry flavor and complex textures. It’s easy to make in a big batch for the week ahead, but it’s so good, don’t expect it to last more than a couple of days.

1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder (berbere is preferable)
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup brown or green lentils
1 Yukon Gold potato, diced
1/4 cup whole wheat orzo pasta

Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion until it is brown. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and fenugreek, sautéing them for about 1 minute. Add the veggie broth and tomato paste, stirring until the tomato paste is thoroughly combined with the broth. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add the lentils and stir. Once the soup comes back to a simmer, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook the soup for 20 minutes. Add the potato and orzo; cook the soup, covered, for 5 more minutes.

Making It Simple: Bring the veggie broth and tomato paste to a simmer, making sure the tomato paste is thoroughly combined with the broth. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, curry, fenugreek, and lentils and proceed with the above recipe as if you had just added the lentils.

The Gourmet Touch: This is an Ethiopian soup, so its flavor is best created using berbere—an Ethiopian curry mix.
Core Concepts: The key to this soup is timing when you add the ingredients. Lentils require time to cook, while diced potatoes and orzo pasta need only a few minutes; these are best added to a soup during the last few minutes of cooking.

from: http://www.pcrm.org/kickstartHome/mealplan/meal_plan.cfm#VVV  (Day 1)

Spring style quiz

I took a design quiz that I found in my "Houses" RSS and got...

Your unofficial motto is “put a flag on it,” and your accents imply winning: model sailboats, vintage badminton rackets, and leather head handmade footballs. Some might say you’re preppy or traditional; we prefer classic. And anyway, what’s wrong with a blue- and neutrals-heavy palette, a tufted leather sofa, or a tartan-print throw? In three words:Nothing at all. Now, be a dear and fix us our 4 pm G&T, won’t you? 

In the clique: Ralph Lauren 

Your new best friend: Seersucker striped textiles—like the pants, only in hand-towel and table-runner form.

You can take the quiz here:

http://www.lonny.com/quiz/aYRSijv6bHp/What+s+Your+Spring+Style/result/2j5yHPEaQ62 

I can't wait to have a place to decorate myself after following all these house flipping and DIY blogs! That of course, is going to be a while...