Sunny Slaw for a Sunny (albeit cold) Day!

Feb 24, 2013 by claudia

It has been a long time, but one of my favorite lunches when we were living and working in San Francisco was the thai chicken noodle salad from Cafe Venue in the financial district.  Bryon found that Trader Joe’s has a thai peanut salad dressing that is pretty reminiscent of the dressing from Cafe Venue, so I made a vegan and gluten-free (hey, why not?) version of a thai chicken noodle salad without the chicken or the noodles.  While I am not a big proponent of ready-made dressings, this one doesn’t contain any HFCS or anything else I can’t pronounce.  Maybe in the near future I will try to re-create this from scratch, but in the meantime, the three of us gobbled this up for lunch today.  Elliot commented that the avocado and cuties were good in the salad and maybe add some jicama next time too!

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

3 carrots, shredded

1 green onion, sliced

1/2 of an avocado, diced

1/4 c. cilantro leaves

1/4 c. slivered blanched almonds

3 seedless mandarin oranges or “cuties”

Trader Joe’s Thai Peanut Salad Dressing, to taste

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Feb 14, 2013 by claudia

One of my favorite memories with Bryon is a long trip we took to Italy and Switzerland pre-Elliot.  Our last stop on the way home was Zurich and we ate at the touristy, but oh so tasty, Adler’s Swiss Chuchi.  We shared a traditional four-cheese fondue and promptly went into food coma, spending the next couple of hours zonked out in our hotel room instead of the last minute shopping/exploring that I had planned to do.  Cheese fondues, alas, are a thing of the past for our family, but I thought it would be fun to do a chocolate fondue for dessert tonight (we had heart-shaped veggie pizzas for dinner).  Vegan chocolate fondue was surprisingly easy to make, delicious and no food coma!

(1) 16 oz. pkg of vegan chocolate chips (I used Whole Foods’ 365 brand, but I’m sure there are others)

3/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

 

Just mix all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat, stirring.  Once the chips are melted, remove from heat and put in a fondue pot for a fun dessert.

We served it with orange slices, raspberries, pineapple, bananas, mini pretzels, marshmallows and lady fingers.  I think this is a new Valentine’s Day tradition!

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…And the winner for Best Eater in the Child category goes to…

Jan 27, 2013 by claudia

If there was an award for Best Eater in the child category, I would nominate Elliot.  If it didn’t at one point have a face, he will at least try it.  And most of the time, he will like it.  He really likes roasted brussels sprouts, but I was a bit nervous when I served up lunch today: Brussels Sprout Slaw with Hazelnuts and Pomegranate

But we all enjoyed this, particularly the toasted hazelnuts and pomegranate seeds.  Yum!

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A Taste of Summer.

Jan 3, 2013 by claudia

There is nothing worse than mealy, store bought tomatoes in the winter.  But when you love tomatoes as much as we do, you have to find other ways to enjoy them.  One thing we do often is buy the cherry tomatoes at the grocery store and roast them with olive oil and salt and pepper for about 20 minutes, until they are nearly bursting.  This seems to bring out the tomatoey goodness and we can then use them for salads, with pasta,  or as a pizza topping.  Even quicker is throwing some home-canned summer tomatoes in a juicer or blender with a cucumber and maybe a slice of watermelon.  Yum.  Is it really only 26 degrees today?  I hadn’t noticed…

 

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The Future is Here…

Nov 4, 2012 by claudia

Wow.  Ive been busy with other things and need to dust off some cookbooks…  We have still been eating vegetarian (Elliot), vegan (Bryon) and 90% vegetarian (me), but we have been in a massive food rut, eating the same things over and over since the cooler temps arrived:  vegetarian chili, black bean veggie burritos, veggie pizza, random roasted vegetables with quinoa.  Yawn.  Certainly nothing post-worthy.  But today marked a bit of a turning point.  Not because we ate something revolutionary, but because I didn’t cook it!  I took Elliot to get his hair cut, and then we were distracted on the way home by a cupcake ATM.  Yes, you heard that right.  Sprinkles Cupcakes has an ATM outside of their shop dispensing cupcakes.  Elliot wanted to try it.  How could I say no?  With an interactive touch screen and a tiny cupcake elevator, it opened up the possibilities to so many other things:  cookie ATMs, frozen gelato ATMs…  The mind reels.  Sprinkles did not have any vegan cupcakes in the ATM, but they did carry a vegan red velvet in the shop, so we picked one up for Bryon and headed home.  We discussed fast lunch options so we could get to our cupcakes faster:  quesadillas, macaroni and cheese, random roasted vegetables…  But then something very strange happened.  When we got home and opened the front door, we were greeted by the smells of Indian food!  Bryon had whipped up a cauliflower, red pepper, tomato, onion curry with brown rice and cilantro.  Garlic naan was in the oven.  Turns out Bryon got a little help from Sukhi.  Normally I try to stay away from prepackaged anything – usually the sodium levels are sky high, but the Classic Indian Curry Sauce from Sukhi’s home chef collection had a reasonable level of sodium, was delicious, was devoured by the three of us, and I didn’t lift a finger!  Welcome to our home, Sukhi.  I can’t wait to see what’s next.

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Farmer’s Market Potato Salad

Sep 12, 2012 by myve9751

Summer is over and we are starting to get back into a routine, but one of our favorite routines to carry into fall is the Green City Market on Saturdays.  I thought it would be fun to create a potato salad (I will cling on to summer with all of my heart) using veggies still available at the market.

2 lbs. mixed potatoes – fingerling, purple, red (I’m sure they have fancier names, like the fingerling, but I don’t remember!)

1 c. green and purple* beans

1 diced red pepper

2 diced tart apples

1 c. cherry tomatoes

1/4 c. minced scallions

2 T. minced flat-leaf parsley

2 T. chiffonade of fresh basil leaves

For the dressing, I use an adaptation of Ina Garten’s:

2 T. white wine

2 T. no-chicken stock

3 T. white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. cracked pepper

10 T. olive oil

* Purple green beans are beautiful, but if you cook them, they turn green, which kind of takes the fun out of them.  They are perfect raw in salads though and I love a colorful plate!

Despite instructions from various recipes telling me to boil the potatoes first and then cut them after they’ve cooled, I like to cut them beforehand and then STEAM them for about 30-40 minutes, until they are just cooked through.  Steaming seems to keep them from getting waterlogged and keeps them more intact.  Then I drain them and while they are still hot, toss them with the wine and no-chicken stock.  Next, combine the vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and olive oil in a jar and shake until it is well mixed.  Pour over the potatoes and then add in any vegetables or fruits that you’d like.  (My mom has always added apples to her potato salad and it is a nice crunchy surprise.)  This can be served warm or at room temperature.

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My Veg Guys on the Road – Day 8: Greenville, SC

Jul 8, 2012 by claudia

Our friends, Jeff and Graham, and their super cute daughter, Elizabeth, showed us a great time in Greenville. We hiked, biked and wandered around downtown. Who cares if the temps neared 100? I checked two foods off my “must try in the south” list – pulled pork at a place called Smoke on the Water (the veg guys had smoky portobello mushroom sandwiches), and pimento cheese – with a thick slice of tomato and bacon at The Bohemian Cafe. Elliot had veggie quesadillas filled with carmelized onions and mushrooms and Bryon enjoyed a burger made with lentils, chickpeas and bulgar wheat. We also shared a key lime pie and a slice of chocolate pistachio bundt cake. Not vegan, but yum!

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My Veg Guys on the Road – Day Four: Asheville

Jul 3, 2012 by claudia

Asheville proved to be a good place to be a veg guy. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe, where we tried black bean burgers, chilled tomato soup, smashed cauliflower, sautéed greens, biscuits and homemade blueberry jam, and blackbean cakes with roasted jalapeño aioli. We went to Early Girl Eatery for breakfast and Bryon had a tofu scramble that was very colorful with fresh peas, tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms. I opted for the veggie breakfast bowl with iron and clay peas, spinach, scrambled eggs and farmstead cheese smothered in vegetarian herb gravy. Wow. Bryon definitely had the healthier option!

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My Veg Guys on the Road – Day One: Louisville

Jul 2, 2012 by claudia

Eating on the road is tough enough, but I was worried about taking a road trip with my veg guys to Kentucky, Tennessee, North and South Carolina. I thought of fried chicken, pulled pork, cheesy grits and cream pies. Luckily, we were able to meet my college roommate, Sara, and her family for dinner in Louisville, KY. We went to Mojito, a tapas restaurant with the best mojitos I have ever had: lots of fresh mint and lime and a stick of raw sugarcane. Elliot had an heirloom caprese salad that he devoured in about 30 seconds. And Bryon had a trio of hummus – black bean, roasted red pepper, and chickpea, and a tasty salad with hearts of palm, avocado, tomatoes, red onion and mixed greens. Thanks, Sara!

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Veganomicon Recipe Review #3

Jun 29, 2012 by claudia

One of our favorite restaurants in Chicago is Frontera Grill.  Rick Bayless throws himself into his work and it shows.  It was at Frontera Grill that Elliot first tried jicama, in the form of a light appetizer with red chile and lime.  He loved it.  So I’m on a bit of a jicama kick and an adaptation of this Veganomicon recipe was worth trying, especially for the dressing!

Dressing:

2 T. rice wine vinegar

juice from one naval orange

juice from one lime

2 T. peanut oil

2 T. chile oil

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. sesame oil

Salad:

1 medium jicama, peeled and shredded

1/2 bunch watercress

1 avocado, thinly sliced

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 c. roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped

3-4 carrots, shredded

1/4 c. cilantro

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Easiest protein snack ever.

Jun 27, 2012 by claudia

This reminds me of the corn nuts I loved as a kid.  Crunchy and salty.
(2 ) 15.5 oz. cans of chickpeas

1-2 T. olive oil

coarse salt, dried chipotle chile, and cinnamon (about a 3:1:1 ratio)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Drain and rinse chickpeas and scatter on a rimmed baking sheet.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and seasoning and roast for almost an hour.  (The ones that are almost burnt are the best.)  Prepare to eat like popcorn.

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Happy Father’s Day!

Jun 17, 2012 by claudia

For us, summer has always been all about the grill.  Food tastes better grilled, and it’s also a nice (or sneaky) way to get your husband involved in the cooking if he doesn’t normally cook much.  I’ve been lucky that my dad, my husband, and even my six year old son like cooking.  Bryon has always been a good grill guy – grilled pork tenderloin, chicken, salmon, burgers, halibut, bison, steak… you get the picture.  And while grilled vegetables are delicious, we were feeling a bit stuck – until I picked up another cookbook:  The Gardener & The Grill by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig.  They have some simple ideas for marinades and sauces that mixes things up.  Tonight we had grilled green onions, red peppers, corn and tofu served over brown rice that was cooked with finely chopped cilantro and half of a lime.  And some avocado for good measure.  But it was our take on their chipotle vinaigrette used as a marinade for the tofu that really got things heated up.

Makes about 1 cup and you can keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

1 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves, peeled

3-4 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus 2 T. adobo sauce

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 c. olive oil

freshly ground pepper to taste

 

Hi-ya!  Why did I think chipotle chiles were more smoky than spicy?!  This definitely had some kick to it (ok… the original recipe had only 2 chipotle chiles, so maybe it would have been milder), but we mixed some of the sauce with plain olive oil for Elliot and he declared his tofu “not spicy at all”.  Move over Bobby Flay…

 

 

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