Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders

Tonight, I was in the mood for a quick dinner, so I decided to make Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders with a side salad.  The Gardein tenders took 15 minutes in the toaster, but, in retrospect, I should have left them in a bit longer, as the breading didn't crisp up as much as I would have liked.  I'll cook them for longer the next time, but, in the meantime, I prefer the Mandarin Chik'n.

I think it's also funny that the "serving size" is two tenders.  Does anyone eat two little tenders?  And the five tenders I had aren't really even that scary from a nutrition standpoint: 250 calories, 12 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.  The sodium would clock in at 600mg.  Maybe they thought the fat to calorie ratio was a little scary?  Also, after 75 minutes of vinyasa yoga, I am still hungry.

My side salad was baby spinach, raw mushrooms, grape tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  We've had half a lemon in the fridge for awhile.  I've wrapped it tightly in foil, and I've been squeezing the lemon on my salads over the past few days.  Much better than bottled lemon juice!

Vegan Black Bean Quesadillas and Kale Chips

Yesterday, I cooked up a large batch of black beans to use for this week's meals.  Tonight, I used some in my vegan quesadillas.

To make the filling, I cut 1/2 a red onion and one yellow pepper into strips.  I sauteed them on high heat until they were soft and slightly browned, a little over five minutes.  I then stirred in the black beans and some minced garlic, and generously seasoned the mix with cumin, salt, pepper and fresh cilantro.  Once the mix was heated through, I removed it from the heat and stirred in a few handfuls of baby spinach.

To cook the quesadillas, I used my griddler.  The griddler is essentially a combination of an electric grill pan and an electric griddle.  Using the panini setting on high gave me grill marks on both sides.  Before I put the top layer of tortilla on, I added cheddar and mozzarella daiya.  I then let the quesadilla cook until brown grill marks appeared on top and the quesadilla was flat.

While the quesadillas were cooking, I made a quick salsa with heirloom grape tomatoes, minced red onion, fresh cilantro and lime juice.

I  also made my own kale chips, using this recipe as a guide for prep and cooking time (300 degrees, 20 minutes).  I decided to amp up the seasoning by adding minced onion instead of salt and pepper.  I think I added a little too much olive oil, but the seasoning mix was spot on.

The quesadillas were very filling.  Granted I overstuffed the second batch, which is what I had for dinner tonight.  I ended up eating three of the four slices.  The first one was a little flatter, and that's likely what I'll eat for lunch tomorrow.

Simple Spinach and Lentils with Rice and Quinoa

I know I like to make a lot of dishes that involve multiple ingredients, lots of prep and lots of pots and pans.  But, sometimes I want something super simple, but hearty, and tonight was one of those nights.

I had leftover golden lentils in the fridge, so I decided to do something with them.  I also picked up a big container of baby spinach after yoga (we go through two containers a week here), and decided I would incorporate that in the dish as well.

To start the dish, I sauteed some minced shallots in Earth Balance.  I then added some tomato paste concentrate.  When the brown bits started to appear in the pan, I added a couple of pours of vegetable broth.  I used Safeway Organic brand, which, unlike some other boxed broths, doesn't contain soy. Pacific Organic's vegetable broth is also soy-free.

I then added a few handfuls of the cooked lentils.  As the lentils integrated with the sauce, I futzed a bit with the dish, adding vegetable broth as I thought it needed more liquid, and tomato paste as it needed more color.  I then added several handfuls of roughly chopped baby spinach.  As the spinach wilted, I added even more to get even more green into the dish.

To season the lentils & spinach, I added some freshly ground black pepper and a few drops of sriracha, a Thai hot sauce that has become pretty trendy over the past few years. It's made of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Some srirachas have fish sauce as an ingredient, but the one we use, which is made by Huy Fong Foods, does not.  

Despite the fact that there was salt in the vegetable broth and and in the sriracha, I decided it would benefit from a little bit of sea salt, so I stirred some in.

I wanted some sort of grain to go with the dish, but I hadn't cooked any up in advance.  Situations like this call for microwave bagged rice.  While some microwave bagged rices and grain mixes aren't veg friendly or have lots of unnecessary additives and tons of sodium, I have found a few I like courtesy of Seeds of Change and Safeway Select.  Tonight, I opted for Safeway Select Brown & Wild Rice with Quinoa.  90 seconds in the microwave and, voila, rice

I put the rice in a bowl and then ladled in some of the spinach & lentil mixture and gave it a quick stir.  I was so happy with this dish.  The sriracha had a nice heat that pleasantly snuck up on me, and I loved the texture and combination of flavors.  The warm lentils, rice & quinoa and spinach were very filling and satisfying, the perfect dish for a cold, winter day. 

Still Alive and Cooking

Yes, it's been two weeks since my last blog and likely that long since I actually cooked a meal that didn't involve macaroni and cheese or reheating pizza.  Fear not - I've had a number of work related dinners out over the past few weeks, so I have been eating meals other than those usually consumed by picky three year olds.

While I finally had a night at home, I'm headed out of town on yet another business trip tomorrow.  So, I decided to go simple tonight: whole wheat rigatoni with sauteed onion, mushrooms, garlic, yellow pepper, spinach and grape tomatoes.  The "sauce" was made with tomato paste concentrate, parmesan, black pepper, italian seasoning and a touch of white wine.  It was a light dish perhaps more suited to summer than a Fall, torrential rain filled evening, but at least it didn't come from a box.

The Loaf That Did Not Loaf, But Still Tasted Good

In my quest to use our leftover lentils, I searched out recipes for lentil loaf.  After pursuing a few options, I decided on this Vegetarian Lentil Loaf. I was a bit skeptical that it would hold together without an obvious binder, but I decided to give it a shot.

The recipe calls for sage and Italian seasoning.  Of course, we happened to be out of both.  And I usually make my own Italian seasoning, but we were also out of oregano.  Note to self - restock spice cabinet!  Anyhow, I used 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp parsley, 1/4 tsp basil, a healthy few grinds of black pepper and some tomato paste concentrate to liven up the flavors.

When the loaf had about 10 minutes to go, I made a side dish of white corn, grape tomatoes and spinach that I seasoned with salt & minced onion flakes.  Then, I added a healthy splash of vegetable broth to make a sauce.

The recipe said to let the loaf cool a little bit to help with slicing, but their definition of a little bit might have been, oh, 20 minutes.  Mine was five minutes, and it's 9:00 and I'm hungry.  As you can tell from the title of this blog, it didn't quite slice as much as it kind of splooshed.  But, while I lose points for form, I really liked the flavors.  Having everything mellow out in the oven for an hour really got the spices and onions and tomatoey goodness to combine very well.

The side dish was much more of a success - it had a nice richness that my veggie sautes normally don't have.  I think I'll try the broth and mixed onion trick more often.

Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes with Chickpeas

I, along with the fiance, am a big fan of eggplant.  In addition to having a good amount of fiber, minerals and vitamins, it also is incredibly versatile and lends itself particularly well to filling vegetarian dishes.

A nice way to prepare eggplant is to roast it - it can give the flesh a nice creamy texture.  Tonight, I tossed a whole cubed eggplant (unpeeled, but peel if you wish) with two handfuls of quartered grape tomatoes with three tablespoons of olive oil.  After I spread the mixture on a baking sheet, I sprinkled it with 3/4 of a tablespoon of za'atar, and then a few pinches of freshly ground pepper and kosher salt.  I let it roast in a 450 degree oven for about thirty five minutes.

When there was about ten minutes to go, I minced half a bulb of garlic and sauteed it in more olive oil, and stirred in some leftover chickpeas and roughly chopped baby spinach.  I then tossed in the roasted eggplant and tomatoes.  After turning off the heat, I stirred in a generous handful of chopped fresh parsley.

I did add a touch of mozzarella daiya to my first serving, but I also had a second scoopful without the daiya that was also delicious.  And if you prefer real cheese, a smoked mozzarella might be quite nice with this.

Taking A Step Back from The Fake Meat

Believe it or not, this was done in 15 minutes!

I've been following Vegetarian Times' 28-Day Veg Bootcamp, which is designed to help you kick start a vegetarian diet.  While I consider myself officially kick started, I thought it would be fun to look at some tips and get inspired.

I also got a nice good reminder about something that's pretty important.

VEG DIET MYTH OF THE DAY:
Meat substitutes are bona fide health foods.

BUSTED: In the same way that meat wasn't meant to be a human's primary food source, neither are meat's vegetarian doppelgangers designed to be consumed in mass quantities. Like other processed foods, they should be eaten in moderation, but they certainly can play a part in a healthy diet. For optimum health, resist the urge to rely on packaged meat substitutes to form the basis of every meal, and approach them like treats instead. That way, you'll have time to get acquainted with all the wonderful whole foods out there that make terrific meal centerpieces: meaty mushrooms, hearty squashes, rustic root vegetables, and satisfying grains.

I used to pride myself on avoiding processed meat substitutes.  It was easy for me to do it, given most of them are mainly soy.  Lately, I realize I've been getting a little giddy about soy-free meat substitutes.  In the process, I've gotten away from the core of how I like to cook: fresh veg, whole grains, natural proteins.

So, tonight, I decided to get back to basics and cook a meal that was both convenient and 100% fresh.  I had some Israeli couscous that I grabbed from the bulk bin at Whole Foods a few weeks ago.  While that was cooking up, I sauteed shallots, portabello mushrooms, tomatoes, cannelini beans, garlic and tons of fresh spinach, seasoning it with freshly ground pepper, sea salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes.  I combined the couscous with the veg and added in some vegetable broth to help the cooking along.

I did a couple of things to up the convenience factor.   First, I used a really good knife.  The higher quality the knife, the more smoothy and quickly chopping goes.  However, I also used pre-washed and pre-cut mushrooms and bagged baby spinach, both of which cut my prep time further.  To get the garlic minced, I used a Hand Chopper, rather than cutting it by hand.  Canned beans are practically instant - open, rinse and add to pan.  Since Israeli couscous cooks in 8-10 minutes, I had dinner on the table a little more than 15 minutes from when I started.

Now, I still expect to enjoy Quorn and Grain Meat Company products from time to time - they're not junk food, after all.  But, I clearly have the ability to cook a convenient meal with fresh ingredients, and it's worth the effort.

Choosing My Plate: Veggie Loaf with a Side of Mushrooms and Spinach

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I was super excited about today's USDA announcement of Choose My Plate, especially about the recommendation to make half your plate fruits and vegetables.  Even before I was a vegetarian, I tended to have a ton of fruits and veggies with every meal, and, now that I've given up most animal products, I'm eating more produce than ever before.

So, I kept Choose My Plate in mind with tonight's meal - half a plate of veggies, 1/4 protein and 1/4 grains.

I decided to try The Field Roast Meat Company's Classic Meatloaf.  The "Meatloaf" is made from a variety of veggies - carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, garlic, etc., along with some whole greans and soy-free, vegan friendly protein. To prepare the "Meatloaf," you put it on a baking sheet, baste it with ketchup and let it cook in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  When it's done, slice and serve (and douse with more ketchup - it definitely needed a little more moisture).

For my veggie half, I sauteed red onions and portabello mushrooms in olive oil, then stirred in fresh baby spinach and fresh chopped chives.  I topped the veggies with toasted pine nuts and mozzarella style daiya.  Loved how the veggie mixture came out!  I am usually impatient with cooking mushrooms but I let these go until they really had cooked through, and it was worth the wait.  The pine nuts added a nice crunchy texture to the dish as well.

Linguini with Eggplant, Tomato and Vegan Sausage

Ever on the lookout for soy free meat replacements, I was happy to stumble upon Field Roast Grain Meat Company's products in Whole Foods.  Field Roast takes Seitan and seasons it with European style flavors to make sausages, meatloaf, roasts, cutlets and other meat-style products, all vegan and soy free!

I picked up two flavors of the sausage on my latest shopping trip - the Italian flavor and the Smoked Apple Sage flavor. For tonight's concoction, I decided to cut two Italian sausages into half round slices.  I sauteed the sausage pieces in olive oil until they were browned, then set them aside.  Then, in the same pan, I sauteed shallots and cubed eggplant in more olive oil, then added fresh garlic, two cubed fresh tomatoes and a handful of halved grape tomatoes, freshly ground pepper and two large handfuls of fresh baby spinach.  While the sauce was still coming together, I stirred in linguine to finish.

The fiance was willing to try vegan sausage after smelling it cooking, but he drew the line at vegan cheese.  So, I topped mine with mozzarella daiya, and he topped his with freshly grated parmesan.