A Salad a Day...

Fresh, organic, raw veggies (and fruits) are the best way to get vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals in your diet. I will admit, over the cold winter months, I do not eat a lot of raw veggies. They just don't sound good most of the time. But now that spring and summer are fast-approaching, it's time to break out the salad spinner!

This big zesty salad consists of watercress, spinach ribbons, carrot, parsley and sundried tomato, all seperated out so as to look extra pretty.
Over the weekend, I did a little shopping (like I do EVERY weekend) and came across this Spectrum Organic omega-3 Vegan Ceasar. At first I was a little worried about how it would taste (flax oil, the main ingredient, is known to be a little hard to swallow) but it is fantastic! Previously, I favored Annie's Goddess Dressing, (which, truth-be-told is a little high in salt and fat) but this new omega dressing gives the same hearty rich tangy-salty flavor along with that all-imoprtant nutrient we all need.
A tropical fruit salad: yellow mango (so smooth, creamy and tart!), star fruit and organic strawberries.

Durian Diaries

After watching Bizarre Foods and No Reservations on the Travel Channel, it was clear that the exotic fruit called the durian is a force to be reckoned with. Some have described it as having the taste and smell of rotting meat and stinky cheese, yet we have also read that it has a sweet, almond-y taste. Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods couldn't eat one (yes, the same dude that takes pleasure in consuming BBQ guinea pig and bull penis cannot down a bite of this fruit), and Anthony Bourdain practically made love to the thing.
So which is it? A fruit of the gods or a horrible inedible spiny bomb?
We were (or maybe more so Matt was) determined to find out the truth, so a visit to the asian market (and $7 later) we came home with a durian. I expected it to be smelly right away, but it didn't: a cross between a muskmellon and almonds comes to mind.
But after a day or two on the counter, the smell became more pungent, so we decided we had better crack this baby open before it got too ripe (apparently the riper it is, the worse it tastes and smells).
After cutting the durian open, the smell was, honestly, pungent and not pleasant. I wasn't looking forward to tasting this fruit after the scent filled the kitchen. But Matt took a bite (of the creamy flesh, not the seeds--they are poisonous) and said it wasn't bad. The texture is a bit stringy but also very creamy and smooth. The flavor is actually quite complex. When it first touches the tongue it tastes a bit like it smells, but then quickly becomes sweet (simmilar to a banana), with a hint of onion, then a tart and fruity, like a mango. Overall, I would say a not-too-ripe durian tastes like a puree of onion and banana. Not entirely unpleasant, but not something I would buy and eat the whole thing.

Now we can say we've tried durian!

More Medi

Last night for dinner, we had a FEAST! I thought up this amazing (if I do say so myself) green bean and spinach salad: a lemon-parsley dressing tossed with lightly blanched green beans, spinach ribbons and walnuts. Heaven.
Marinated Lentil Salad from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen. This was so simple, yet the flavor and texture is wonderful.
Hummus, of course...
and homemade pita chips.

I could eat this meal everyday.

Walnut Sauce with Penne and Green Beans

I recently picked up The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein and I love it! Matt and I both agreed Mediterranean is overall, our favorite cuisine and we would get a lot of use out of this book. There is a recipe for homemade gnocchi which we are determined to one day (soon) try, the salad recipes sound amazing, and there are plenty of pasta and grain dishes to keep our carb cravings satisfied.
Tonight I made the Walnut Sauce, which is very much like a parsley-walnut pesto but has a hint of tomato-tang from the tomato paste and I added a little fresh spinach for extra nutrients. This is a creamy, fresh, yet rich and delightful sauce that goes perfectly with pasta, green beans and a sprinkling of walnuts.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

Here's another one from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.

Wowie-Zowie! These little cupcakes mean business. I was a bit skeptical as to how much coconut and lime flavor would actually be in the cupcake itself (I didn't use coconut extract), but it really delivered. The frosting for sure is loaded with tangy lime zip--which is good because these buttercreams can be overly sweet and rich for my taste.

Someday (very soon) I need to try one of the cupcake recipes involving chocolate. Mmmm...chocolate cupcakes.....

Spring Comfort Food?

Ahhhh....Spring is here! The days are longer, the sun is brighter, the flip-flops have come out of the closet, and only a few weeks until we start getting CSA boxes!
So, in honor of Spring's arrival, I thought I would make my favorite light and healthy (yet comforting) dish: Lime-Cilantro Rice with Savory Black Beans and Roasted Corn. A long name for such an easy meal-in-one dish.

Start by cooking the rice (I love to use Basmati). While that's going, heat a small skillet over med-high heat, add a teaspoon or so of olive oil and throw in some chopped red onion, fresh or frozen corn, some red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Let this cook (without stirring too much) until it smells smoky but is not burning. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan or saute pan, add one can of black beans, a bay leaf, 1 teaspoon cumin, a splash of liquid aminos, a dash of hot sauce and two crushed garlic cloves. Bring to a simmer and let cook until the liquid is reduced, about 12-15 minutes. When the rice is done, stir in some fresh lime juice, a pinch of salt and chopped fresh cilantro.

Spoon the beans on the bed of rice, followed by the corn and topped off with a sprig of cilantro and a lime wedge. Mmmm...It's so good!!

Yellow Rose extravaganza

Thank you to Bazu for mentioning this fantastic cookbook in a recent post. I hopped right onto the Herbivore site to buy it after reading about all the great recipes it contains. It is published by Herbivore, so you know it will be a.) sassy b.) unique and c.) exciting, and of course the author, Joanna Vaught is all those things too.
So, for a mid-week dinner for one, I made the Twice Baked Potatoes (which I didn't stuff back into the skins, but just mashed up the baked potatoes in a dish and baked them again that way), Sesame Green Beans ("Yum" and "yum" is all I have to say about that) and the Grilled Portobellos. This was like a Sunday dinner feast! But, no feast is complete without dessert....
Spice Cake! This is the first recipe I made from Yellow Rose, because it sounded too damn good to pass up for any length of time. The cake is moist and light and has just enough sweet-and-spicy-spice--and the cream cheese frosting dosen't hurt either. One thing is that I would add some raisins to the batter next time and maybe a touch more cinnamon. Also, I used water instead of the brewed chai tea, and I think I will use the tea next time for more of a spicy flavor.
Get this book! And also visit Joanna's blog, Yellow Rose Recipes.

Pure Pasta Yumminess...

Both of our weekend dinners were pasta! It just sounded sooooo good to both of us. So, first, we made roasted tomatoes (drizzled with balsamic, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper) and nestled them on top of some perfectly-cooked fussili then sprinkled the whole shebang with fresh basil. This was so simple yet amazingly flavorful.
These were our HUGE salads: (with crispy baked pita croutons...yes, more carbs.)

Finally, and probably my favorite was (veganized) Mushroom Ragu, from Everyday Italian by Giada DeLaurentis. All we had to do to veganize this recipe was omit the Parmesan and use veggie stock instead of chicken stock. I love how intense the flavors from the wine and stock become after they reduce.

We were planning on doing yoga shortly after this meal, so I didn't eat nearly as much of it as I had wanted to! I cannot wait to make this again...

Jade-Potsticker Bento

Today for lunch, I had a major Japanese craving. I made some more potstickers (this time the filling is tofu, hoisin, garlic, green onion, ginger and soy sauce), some edamame and raw green beans give plenty of green action....
...and this bunny bento sauce bottle is just too cute!! I got a whole set of them (the bunny is kept company by a lion, panda, chick, and other adorable critters) from I love Obento.

The potstickers were very good cold. Surprisingly, these teeny-tiny sauce bottles held just enough for a light sprinkling on the potstickers.