Warm noodles in a hot broth with any veggies and protein you like, spiced up or down to your taste. Pho is a meal that suits everyone, and the interactive part of preparing your soup to your taste makes it a fun meal to enjoy together. 

Once the broth and tofu are prepared for this meal it takes no time to put together. I'd count on 30-45 min to have this meal from fridge to table, with not a lot of hands on time or attention needed so you'll be free to do other tasks as dinner cooks. And you can always prepare the broth and tofu earlier in the day to make this meal ready in 10 min when the time comes.




Pho
(Serves 4)

Broth
6 cups water
3 veggie stock cubes
8 whole garlic cloves
2 inches ginger, peeled and cut into cubes 
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half 
2-3 tbsp rice vinegar 
soy sauce to taste 

Simmer first 5 ingredients for 20 minutes. When finished, add rice vinegar and soy sauce to taste. Strain soup before using, or simply avoid putting garlic, etc. into soup bowls. 

Tofu
Dice one block of firm organic tofu into half-inch cubes. Heat a frying pan to med/med-high with oil and add tofu. Brown all sides of tofu and set aside.

Veggies
Prepare veggies and herbs by washing, cutting and arranging on a plate. I use some combination of red peppers thinly sliced, bean sprouts, bok choy or other green (thinly sliced or even lightly cooked), carrots julienned, broccoli, and so on. For herbs, I always use cilantro and sometimes add basil.

Flavour Boosts
lime (2 or 3 wedges per person)
herbs (above)
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
hot sauce (sirache)

Noodles
Prepare pho rice noodles according to package instructions. I use one package for 4 people.  

When noodles are cooked, drain and portion them out into bowls, adding broth and tofu. Serve with veggies and flavours for each person to add to their own preference. 

Here's a quick little recipe that mixes in a bit of everything. I prepared a few ingredients before hand and threw this together in a pan today for lunch. It was quite similar to an 'egg foo young' dish my sister used to make us when we were kids. Crumbling the tofu as you would for a scrambles gives it a nice texture within the veggies and rice.

This recipe is in loose terms and meant as more of a guide. I'd do one and a half cups of cooked day-old rice per serving for a meal sized portion. Here I used about 2 cups.





Tofu Fried Rice 
Makes 2 small portions

2 cups cooked cold rice (day old)
1/3 block of firm tofu, crumbled
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium carrot peeled and cut into match-sticks
1/2 small onion diced
1 clove of garlic sliced thinly or minced
5 small leaves of romaine lettuce thinly sliced

2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
3 tbsp soy sauce or Bragg's (to taste)
1 tbsp Sirache hot sauce or other
 
1. Prepare all your ingredients by a) crumbling tofu into a bowl, b) dicing onions, garlic and slicing carrots and putting in another bowl, c) thinly slicing romaine and putting it into a 3rd bowl.

2. With a fork, blend the peanut butter, soy sauce and hot sauce together, just to get the peanut butter broken up.

3. Heat pan on med-high heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add tofu and stir-fry until texture becomes dry, but not necessarily golden.

4. Add onions, garlic and carrots and stir-fry with the tofu for about 3 minutes until the onions become slightly translucent. 

5. Add the rice to the pan and stir-fry until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed and hot.

6. Turn off heat and add the sauce. Adjust sauce to taste.

7. After rice and sauce are mixed, add the romaine. It will wilt sufficiently with the heat of the rice. Serve in bowls and enjoy!

These squares of goodness were a happy accident. I pulled out all the ingredients in my cupboards that could aid to the making of some sort of cookie, and I ended up with a sort of brownie.. or, blondie in this case.

This recipe isn't yet perfect, even though the final product was, but that's what you get for baking free hand! I'll share what I've got in mostly estimated measurements but feel free to tweak what I've done and let me know if you hit on any good adjustments. If so, I'd love to hear about it below in the comment section! 

So, here she is! Coconut-Peanut Butter Blondies. 


Pre-heat your oven to 350F.
I used a non-stick 9x9 baking dish which didn't need to be greased.

1. In a small bowl, mix 3 tbsp ground flax seeds with 12 tbsp water.  Put aside for a few minutes to allow the flax to absorb some of the water.

2. In a big bowl mix together the following ingredients with a fork until uniform:
1/2 C room temperature (liquid) virgin coconut oil
1/2 C natural chunky peanut butter
3/4 C brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp ground flax seeds with 4 tbsp water (mix together in a bowl first and allow to sit for a few minutes)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt 

3. In another bowl, mix the following dry ingredients together.
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 C quinoa flour (or other)

4. Mix dry into wet, combine, pour in baking dish and cook for 16 minutes.
*Mixture should be a little thick and not quite 'pourable'. Feel free to use your fingers to smooth it out into the corners of the pan.

5. Mix together the following ingredients for the topping.
1/3 C natural chunky peanut butter
1/3 C raw, unsweetened coconut flakes 
1/3 C icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt

6. After 16 minutes cooking time, take out the blondies from the oven and add crumble topping. Pat topping down into blondies and return to oven to cook for 3 more minutes.

7. Allow blondies to cool completely before cutting and serving. Before they are cooled they'll crumble. Store in the fridge. 

Enjoy! 

Instead of a recipe today, I'm offering some toast inspiration! So often I'm ooh-ing and aww-ing alone at the table while eating one of the world's most delicious open faced sandwiches, so it felt right to share. 

Of course toast and toppings don't really seem to fit into the 'recipe' category.  There is no recipe and you can't go wrong! But sometime we just need a little inspiration about what to eat next. As for my diet, I'm bound to eat something like this a couple of times a week for lunch. These days I've been making some great sandwiches too, even a triple-decker the other day!

So, where to start? Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread, that's where! Of course the choice is yours, but this is the only bread I buy. Made from whole ingredients, sprouted grains and lots of other goodies, there's no other bread like it. Admittedly, I like it because it's crispy when toasted and super healthy. I buy the grain and seed kind- in a blue bag. You buy it directly from the freezer at most stores, and from my freezer at home it goes straight into the toaster. I'm not a fan of it 'fresh' as it's a little try, but for toast- Winner!

As for toppings, I use some combinations of protein/fat, veggies and some flavour. More specifically- a mashed up avocado, hummus, a nut pate or a cheesy cashew spread. Then I go for veggies- spinach, tomato, cucumber, onions, cabbage, peppers, lettuce, sauteed mushrooms, etc. And always salt and pepper. The past few days I've also added olives, hot peppers, sundried tomatoes or something in that 'umph' category to give it a little extra zing. Of course I love Vegenaise as a spread for a sandwich and some sort of Dijon mustard. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are also pleasing. Truly, the opportunities are endless and delicious. 

Now here's a few more pictures to get your sandwich creativity flowing! Enjoy!  
_______________________________________________________________________________

This salad has happened a couple times before today, but today is the first time I wrote down a recipe. If I were more efficient I'd have recipes coming at you every day! But when I get into the groove of cooking it's hard for me to stop and write down measurements and notes... but I'm learning.

I really love this salad. It's good for a whole meal, perhaps a lunch with some carrots and hummus to snack on, or a dinner with some fresh bread. It's perfect for picnics too. 





Roasted Beet and Kale Salad with Wild Rice
(makes 4 meal-sized portions)

Cook 1 cup of wild rice as usual with 1 3/4 cups water. When rice is cooked, cool completely. It's a good idea to make the rice the day beforehand or use some leftover rice.

Roast 1lb of beets. Keep the skins on but trim the ends and wash them. Cut them to a uniform medium size and toss with some oil and salt and pepper in a roasting pan. Roast in the oven for 1hr at 400F, stirring halfway. When finished and cooled, slice beets into small bite sized pieces. 

Wash, dry and de-stem 4 large leafs of kale. Slice kale leafs into thin slices and put in a big bowl.

1/3 c roasted sunflower seeds. (Toasted walnuts or almonds could also work well.)

Add cooled rice and beets to the kale. Mix in sunflower seeds and add  the dressing and toss. Serve cold.

Dressing
1/4 c olive oil
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
1/8 c pure maple syrup
2 cloves of finely minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy! 

It's so interesting how 'comfort food' is simply a must at times. If we look at it, it most likely means that we're really just craving fat, carbs or salt... or sometimes all three. Such was the case yesterday, and for this, I give you... sweet potato fries with curry mayo.

Luckily at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival last weekend I scored two mini bottles of Vegenaise (delicious vegan mayonnaise). Yes, there are other vegan mayos on the market, but I must say that Vegenaise is a cut above the rest. *was not paid to say that   ;)

A few people asked me for the recipe for these fries, mentioning how they looked quite crispy. The truth is that although they're delicious, they're not that crispy.  But the recipe is still worth sharing.

Sweet Potato Fries with Curry Mayo
(Serves 2-3)

Preheat oven to 400F.

1 extra large sweet potato, or 4 small, sliced thickly
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tsp onion powder
3 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Toss the cut potato slices with oil and seasonings until evenly coated. Lay fries in a single layer on a baking sheet, careful that they're not touching others. Bake for 15 minutes, flip once (I use tongs to flip them), and continue baking for another 15 minutes. If fries are not yet brown and crispy looking, leave them in for a while longer. When finished, remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before moving them. 

Note: an extra step to assure crispier fries is to toss raw, cut fries in a couple tablespoons of cornstarch in a bag before adding oil and seasoning.  Shake fries in the bag vigorously to coat evenly with cornstarch.

Curry Mayo

Using just one sample size of Vegenaise (about 1/3 cup, as shown on left) I added 1 tbsp of curry powder and 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast. Prepare this ahead of time so the flavours  can marry. Enjoy with fries, on a sandwich or in a wrap. 

This is a super easy meal that requires chopping a few onions, getting some cauliflower prepped and opening a few cans. I usually have most of the ingredients in my cupboards so I use this and its variations as a go-to meal when I haven't planned much else. 










Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry
(Serves 4-6)

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cooking onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp curry powder
Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce or salt) and pepper to taste
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 can of drained and rinsed chick peas
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 can of coconut milk (optional)
raisins and/or shredded coconut for topping

Directions:
Add onions to hot oil in a large sauce pan equipped with a lid, on med-high heat.
Allow onions to cook for a few minutes before turning heat down to medium.
On medium heat, add minced garlic and curry powder, and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add diced tomatoes with their liquid, salt and pepper, and chick peas.
Allow tomato mixture to simmer with lid on, on med-low, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add can of coconut milk and small cauliflower florets to tomatoes and allow to simmer with lid on for 5-10 minutes until cauliflower is soft, but not overcooked.

Serve on top of couscous or brown rice and top with raisins and shredded coconut. 

Variations include not adding the coconut milk and instead adding the cauliflower earlier to soften. Or adding spinach at the end of the tomatoes cooking instead of the cauliflower, with or without coconut milk.

Let me know what variations you come up with!

Enjoy!
Andréa :)

I'm convinced that if people realized that vegan food is just plain good food (while combating global warming, preventing disease, giving more life energy and enthusiasm, all while limiting the suffering of animals), we'd all see the benefits and bliss of being vegan. 

However, everyone is on their own path, and my path includes making tasty food that just happens to be cruelty free to feed to people whenever I can. :)






Kale and Mushroom Quiche
(makes 2 quiches)

2 store bought pastry crusts (check ingredients for vegan crust)

2 tbsp sunflower (or any kind) oil
2 medium cooking onions
2 cups of any kind of mushrooms, sliced
4 medium cloves of garlic
4 or 5 large leafs of kale, washed, stems removed and ripped into small pieces 
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

1 block of drained firm tofu
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup loosely packed parsley 
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp curry powder
3 tbsp light miso
3 tbsp tahini (optional)
2 tbsp soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos

2 large tomatoes, sliced into 1cm slices. 
--------------------------------------------------

Take pie crusts out of the freezer and allow to sit while preparing the ingredients.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Heat oil on med-high heat in a large frying pan and add onions when oil is hot. Saute for 5 minutes until onions are golden, then add sliced mushrooms and minced garlic. Turn heat down to medium and saute mushrooms until they are wilted. Add kale, and stir for a few minutes until kale is soft. Stir in curry powder, pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a blender, add roughly crumbled tofu and remaining ingredients (except tomato). Blend ingredients together until the tofu mixture is at a smooth consistency with no lumps. You'll probably have to scrape down the sides often and perhaps add more almond milk if mixture isn't blending easily. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary.  

Add pureed tofu mixture to the pan of veggies and mix together. Divide mixture between two pastry crusts. Top with tomato slices and sprinkle salt and pepper over tomatoes. Place quiches in oven on upper rack and allow to cook for 45min-1 hr, depending on how moist your mixture is. 

Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before eating. 

This meal is great with a kale salad on the side! 
Enjoy! 

The meal with which I begin my day often dictates my eating pattern for the rest of the day. In general, healthy choices lead to more healthy choices. My favourite way to break my overnight fast (12 hours between dinner and breakfast is optimal!) is with a fresh, cold smoothie. Starting my day off with a couple servings of fruit, one or two servings of veggies and some omega-3 fats, while staying full and energized for a few hours is my kind of breakfast.

The basis of all of my breakfast smoothies is: 1 ripe banana, 1-2 cups of greens (parsley, spinach, kale, lettuce), 1 cup of frozen fruit (blueberries, mixed berries, mixed tropical fruit, etc), 2 tbsp of high omega-3 fats (ground flax seeds, hemp hearts or chia seeds), and some liquid.

Banana-Parsley-Berry Smoothie
(makes 1 breakfast smoothie, 2 snack smoothies)

1 medium sized ripe/over-ripe banana 
1 cup mixed berries 
1 cup packed parsley, steams included
2 tbsp shelled hemp seeds (hemp hearts)
1 cup of cold water, or non-dairy milk (more if needed)

In a high powered blender, mix smoothie until uniform and all the berries are blended. 

Note: some blenders don't have the ability to liquify greens, especially kale. Experiment with your blender and find its limitations. Depending on your needs, it may be valuable to get a strong and efficient blender to continue using for smoothies, soups, cashew creams, and other sauces. 

People often talk about clean eating as a way of describing their dietary choices. From my perspective clean eating means choosing foods that have the most nutritional density per calorie (greens!) while being the most efficient, least taxing and lowest acid forming in your body during digestion and metabolism. A diet rich in whole, unprocessed plant foods would be my definition of clean eating. 

This wrap is a good example. 





Collard Wrap with Rice and Greens
(makes 4)

4 large collard leaves, washed, dried and lower stems removed
rice and bean mixture
kale
guacamole
sliced sweet onion
hot sauce (optional)

Rice
1 cup of brown short grain rice, cooked in 2 cups of water with sea salt
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1/3 cup of chopped parsley 
1 tbsp chili powder
salt and pepper

Cook rice according to instructions. While still on stove, add black beans, parsley, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir together.

Kale
1 bunch organic kale
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (I use Braggs Liquid Aminos)
1 tsp sesame oil

Wash kale and tear leaves away from steam into small pieces. Put pieces (without drying) into a pot with a lid. With your stove on med-high heat, steam kale for 3-5 minutes, or until kale is brighter in colour. Take off heat and add soy sauce and oil and mix. 

Guacamole 
2 ripe avocados
1/2 small white onion, diced 
1 large roma tomato, deseeded and chopped
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Cut avocados in half and scoop the insides into a bowl. Add the onion, lemon, salt and pepper and mash ingredients together with a fork. When mixed, add in the tomato and mixed gently again.


To assemble wraps, lay collard green with stem horizontally on plate. (Remove lower steam that is too rigid and tough to roll.) Layer kale, rice, guacamole, onions and hot sauce along the stem in the middle, leaving enough room on each right and left side to fold leaves in. To wrap, begin by gently folding in the right and left sides of the leaves, then fold the bottom portion of the leaf over the filling and sides and pull the filling gently toward yourself, wrapping to completion.