Make it Vegan

When I started following the vegan diet, I started by substituting the meat and dairy I was eating for soy based alternatives. However, all the soy alternatives made me very tired and bloated. The lack of meat caused some withdrawal feelings, I was irritable and had a hard time concentrating. Since I've switched to the vegan diet my skin has never been so clear. [I have had acne since I was 12, but now I just get a cluster of pimples now and then, I still have slight rosacea, however.]

I thought I was eating really well, but didn't know why I was feeling so awful. So I talked to a very good friend whom is a nutritional therapist. She told me I was eating too many soy based alternatives, which are processed foods which are hard on the body. Her suggestion was to eat more whole foods, nuts and beans. She was right, and now I am trying new recipes. I've never felt so healthy and I know it's because of the way I'm eating.

BUT I still get cravings for some old favorites, such as the lasagna and shepherd's pie I've shared with you. Another food I get nostalgic for sometimes is deep dish pizza!

Pizza Hut Vegetarian Pizza, without cheese!

Quinoa with Mushrooms

Well, it seems the nice weather has distracted me from photographing food because I've been trying to get the flowers to pose for me!  We are in the middle of preparing for our first move in five years so updates may continue to be a little bit slow, but I'm sure my new kitchen will inspire many new recipes to share with you!

In my last update I posted pictures of our garden seeds.  Unfortunately the peat moss pots molded, the herb and veggie seeds that sprouted were very weak and didn't make it.  But the sunflower is almost as tall as me!  So we went to our local nursery and bought some of our favorites - cucumbers, parsley, oregano, basil, tomatoes, and hot peppers.  Rahne brought home a bean plant from school, which will make a very nice addition to our little garden patch!  I will post some photos, soon!

However, today I have a quick little recipe that I got from my Mom, who got it from a gentleman at a health food store, where she was researching vegetarianism when I first cut out the meat.  Quinoa is a grain, like couscous or rice, but is the best source of protein in all the vegetable kingdom.  This grain can be made as a breakfast cereal by adding fruits, (fresh or dried) and milk, or you can make it savory by adding some grilled veggies, like I am doing in the recipe below!

You will need :

quinoa : you can find quinoa at most grocer or bulk food stores.

A small box of your favourite mushrooms, half an onion, and two cloves of garlic.

Preparation :

Finely chop the onion, mushrooms and garlic.

Over medium heat cover the base of the pot with your preferred cooking oil ( I used olive oil )
Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until tender, add garlic and cook for two more minutes.
Stir occasionally.

Add 1/2 of a cup of quinoa and stir.  Add 1 cup of water ( or broth )
Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cover with a lid.

Add a tsp of Salt, stir and simmer for 15 minutes,
Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes, .
Stir, Serve, and Enjoy!

My yummy lunch all packed up for work!

Spring!

(Though it started snowing, again this evening...) it is spring, and the boys tilled the garden this afternoon so we went out and got the materials to get our garden ready.

We picked up a bag of seed start soil.

Here are the herbs we use the most!

Those baby cumbers are great on there own, or sliced in a glass of water ;)
The hot pepper is for my Mother-in-law <3
And Rahne picked out the sunflowers, these are supposed to have lots of seeds, yum!

Two kinds of tomatoes, a small breed for sandwiches and cooking,
and cherries for snacking and salads!

We also picked up some peat moss pots, that go right into the ground
when the seedlings have sprouted!

Now, we just have to wait for the winter deja vu to end!  Once the sprouts to have at least two sets of leaves we'll start our fifth garden!  We have great luck with ours and I really encourage you to start one, too. Even if it's in pots.  A friend of mine's Mom doesn't have good sun in the backyard, so she sets up at least 10 big terracotta pots in her driveway! She grows all her favourites!

Ideas?

If you have a great recipe that you would like to share, email it to me and I will try it out, shoot it and post it here and credit you, of course!  I realized I have posted two soups and two dinner meals already and am working on a breakfast and a dessert to share with you soon! 
-xo
Rebecca.

Vegan Lasagna

We love yummy pastas and this has become a household fave! (Even the meat-eaters enjoy this recipe!)
We experiment with different veggies now and than, and for this blog entry I tried adding eggplant to the mix, that is a weird vegetable to cook if you have any suggestions please comment below!

You will need:

Four cloves of garlic, a bag or box of baby spinach, a box of mushrooms, two small or one large zucchini,
and an eggplant (or any other vegetables you would like add).

Two bottles of pasta sauce, (this is my favourite, I also like the Catelli sauce,) and some olive oil.

One box of oven-ready lasagna pasta.

Prep:

preheat oven to 450 degrees

Peel and crush the garlic cloves and place in a pot with 2cm (1/2 inch) of water.
(I am using my veggie steamer to try and keep as much nuchies as possible, with about 3cm (an inch) of water.

Fill the rest of the pot up with the spinach, if you are not using baby spinach, trim off the stems.
The spinach really shrinks down so pack it in, turn your burner to medium heat,
turn down to low when the water starts to boil. Cook untill wilted and dark green (about ten mintues)

meanwhile, warm the sauce in a medium sized pot and....

Cut the ends off the zucchini and using a carrot/potato peeler peel off some of the skin,
cut in half and than into thin half moons.

Cut off the ends off the eggplant and cut into thin rounds.

Cut the mushrooms into small pieces.

Steam the eggplant in some water with a dash of slat and pepper.

Coat the base of a large frying pan with some olive oil and saute zucchini untill soft.

Coat the base of a large frying pan with olive oil and cook mushrooms over medium heat untill brown.

and now, we layer the deliciousness!

Using an oven safe dish start with a layer of sauce.

Put down the first layer of (uncooked) pasta.

Start layer veggies, (I've started with the eggplant)

and now the zucchini...

some mushrooms...

and then the spinach...

another layer of pasta....

now, for the second layer of sauce.
Be generous with the sauce, it is the moisture from the sauce that is going to cook the pasta.

(My casserole dish is smaller at the bottom so as I move up I add a third column of pasta.)
I do about three layers of sauce, pasta, veggies, sauce, pasta, and veggies,
putting even a little extra sauce at the top to make sure the lasagna doesn't dry out.

cover casserole dish with aluminum foil for 20 minutes, uncover and cook for another 15 minutes.at this time taste a piece of the pasta from the top to make sure it is fully cooked.

Let it stand for 15 minutes before digging in! Enjoy!

Vegetable, Lentil and Dumpling Soup.

We went over to our friend's house for dinner and while the kids were playing Nicole and I made soup.
This is her recipe. I snapped a few shots to post here for you!

You will need: 

Three stocks of celery, three medium sized carrots, half a head of cauliflower,
four small potatoes, an onion, a large handful of green beans and about a cup of peas.

A good sprinkle of your favorite spices, we used parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage and marjoram.

Two vegetable bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, and enough oil to cover your soup pot.

A large handful of red and green lentils.

Let's cook:

Cut up the carrots, onions and potatoes into small pieces.

Over medium-low heat, cover the base of the soup pot in oil, and add the onions, carrots, potatoes,
and cook until onions are almost transparent.

Cut up the cauliflower and celery and add to the pot.

Give it a good stir.

Sprinkle a good dash of your spices, salt and pepper.

Give it another good stir. Lower heat untill you add the water.

In a glass measuring cup, pour some boiled water over the bouillon cubes.

Once the bouillons are dissolved add the mixture to the pot.

We added about eight cups of water, just a little more than twice as much water as there are vegetables.
Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a light boil.

Add the lentils, these cook fast enough that you don't need to pre-soak or pre-boil them!

Add the green beans, cauliflower and peas.

For the dumplings you will need; soy milk, flower, salt and baking powder.

1 cup of flour; 3/4 cup of milk; a dash of salt and 2 tablespoons of baking powder.
  In a mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients slowly adding the milk until until a soft dough is formed.
Use your hands to mix the dough until is smooth and no longer sticky,
adding more flour or water as needed.

When the potatoes are almost soft, the soup is nearly finished cooking,
pinch small amounts of the dough and roll into balls and drop into the soup.

Cook for at least ten minutes!

This really was the best soup I've had in along time, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!