Quinoa Salad with Black Bean and Mango

I haven't posted for a long time!  My little man has been keeping me busy, and now I have a new one one on the way.  I think I have convinced my mother and sister-in-law that they need to start posting here as well since I seem to have dropped the ball.  In the meantime I have been inspired to post a yummy summer salad from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  This recipe only takes 15 minutes if you have leftover quinoa.  The authors suggest serving over lettuce leaves but that is too fancy for me.  

Ingredients
1 mango, peeled and cut into small dice
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup chopped scallions (I used chives instead and put in less than a cup)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I added more but didn't measure)
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
lime juice to taste (my addition)
1-2 tablespoons agave (optional, my addition)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
2 cups black beans (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)


Directions
Combine the mango, red pepper, scallions, and cilantro in a mixing bowl.  Add the red wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, lime juice, agave, and salt, and stir to combine.  Add the quinoa and stir until everything is well incorporated.  Fold in the black beans.  You can serve immediately or let it sit for a bit for the flavours to meld.  This tastes good chilled and is even better at room temperature.  

Sweet Potato and Lentil Bake

I adapted this recipe from Vegetarian Times.  In the original recipe each serving is cooked in a separate foil packet, but I put it in a casserole dish instead. 

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 cup green beans, chopped

1/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 cup vegetable broth

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chili paste

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Grease a casserole dish.  Combine sweet potato, bell pepper, green beans, and raisins in medium bowl.  Add oil, and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper, if desired.  Whisk together broth, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and chili paste in a small bowl.  Place sweet potato mixture in casserole dish, add sauce, and stir.  Bake 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft.  Serve over rice or quinoa.

Baked Tofu

 

This is my mom's recipe for bbq chicken that I adapted for tofu.  I added onions and cut the salt in half.  It is my husband's favourite tofu recipe.  I serve this tofu over quinoa or rice. 

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar or agave nectar

2 tablespoons vegetarian worcestershire sauce

2 tablespooons lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons mustard powder

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Add butter to a saucepan on medium heat.  When butter has melted, add chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot.  Stir until combined.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile chop tofu into cubes and place in a lightly oiled casserole dish.  Add the sauce and stir.  Bake in oven for 35-45 minutes.  Serve over quinoa or rice. 

 

Hawaiian-style Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Pepper

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times.  Most of my favourite recipes come from this magazine and I highly recommend it!  I added quinoa and cilantro and cooked this dish longer than the original recipe suggested.


3 cups cubed fresh pineapple
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced 
1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges 
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon safflower oil 
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon coconut flakes
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
3 tablespoons cilantro
2 cups cooked quinoa (or rice)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Arrange pineapple, red pepper, and red onion on ungreased rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and safflower oil, sprinkle with brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.  Toss to coat. 

Roast pineapple mixture for 40 minutes, or until lightly browned, turning once.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with coconut flakes.  Drizzle with lime juice.  Remove to serving bowl and toss well to combine.  Serve over quinoa.   Top with cilantro. 



 

Roasted Root Vegetable Fries

These fries are like candy in my mouth.  Rivers loves them too!  I use my Borner vegetable slicer to save time chopping.  If you think cooking vegetarian meals takes too much time, get a slicer!  I use mine every day.  These fries are great on their own, but they are also great drizzled in peanut sauce.  I used leftover sauce from my Peanut Noodles.

Ingredients:
2 parsnips, peeled
3 carrots, peeled
2 sweet potatoes, peeled
2 potatoes 
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon sage
1 tablespoon basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh herbs (parsley, mint, or thyme) to garnish


Preheat oven to 400 F. Chop vegetables.  Arrange the vegetables in a single layer in a roasting pan.  Pour the oil over the vegetables and sprinkle them with the herbs and garlic.  Stir until the vegetables are coated with oil.  Roast until the vegetables are cooked and browned (45 minutes -1 hour).  Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve.   

Peanut Noodles

 

My husband calls this recipe "freakin wicked."  It started off as a pad thai recipe that my mom found on the internet.  She made a bunch of alterations, then  I did the same.  Now we have perfected it.  I use whole wheat noodles, but the original recipe called for rice noodles.  

1 package of noodles (375 g)

1 block tofu (I like to marinate it ahead with 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1-2 Tbsp agave nectar, and a dash of chili powder)

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons safflower oil

1/4 cup chopped or crushed peanuts 

2 green onions, sliced

2 carrots, julienned

2-3 red, yellow, or green peppers, thinly sliced

1 zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro

1/4 cup bean sprouts (optional)

Sauce: 

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup lime juice

4 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons chili paste (I use Sambal Oelek Chili Paste)

2 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup sugar (less if your peanut butter has added sugar)

Cook noodles according to package directions.  

Whisk together the sauce ingredients and microwave until peanut butter softens.  Whisk and set aside.

In a large pan, sautee the tofu with safflower oil until lightly browned.  Set tofu aside.  Stir fry the vegetables and then add the tofu to the vegetable mixture. 

Add half of the peanut sauce to the cooked noodles.  Stir well.  Top with stir-fried vegetables, tofu, peanuts, green onions, and cilantro.  I set the other half of the sauce on the table so people can add more if they want. 

Whole-Grain Granola

Yum yum yum.  This granola is so delicious!  This recipe is from The Vegetarian Cook's Bible by Pat Crocker.  I use agave instead of honey.  I eat this granola with rice milk, mixed with yogurt, or as a snack.  

2 cups spelt flakes
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup natural bran 
2/3 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raw agave nectar or honey
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Spread spelt, oats, and bran on a baking sheet.  On another pan, spread almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and walnuts.  Stagger the sheets in preheated oven and toast for 8 minutes.  Remove nuts and seeds from oven and let cool.  Stir grains and continue toasting for another 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a small saucepan, heat agave or honey, cinnamon and ginger over medium heat until just simmering.  Turn off heat and keep pan on the element to keep mixture warm.

Transfer toasted grains to a large bowl.  Stir in toasted seeds and nuts.  Drizzle with warm agave/honey mixture.  Add apricots, raisins, and cranberries and stir lightly to mix..  Let cool.

Beanelicious Salad

I adapted this recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. I cook dry beans and then freeze them to avoid the BPA in canned beans.  

2 cups chickpeas

2 cups navy beans

1 cup black beans

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

1/4 cup chopped yellow pepper

1/3 cup red onion

1/4 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons raw agave nectar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl combine the beans, peppers, and onion. In a jar mix dressing ingredients (vinegar, agave nectar, oil, celery seeds, dry mustard, and garlic) and shake well.  Pour over bean mixture and stir.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.