Mexican Night

My mom is coming to Chicago this weekend! This will be her first time visiting. John and I are taking her to the Art Institute, Tribune Building, around our neighborhood, Karyn's Cooked (vegan restaurant), a wine bar, and The Chicago Diner (vegan restaurant) for brunch. John and I decided to grab dinner out last night knowing we would be marathon cleaning tonight.  I bought ingredients for Mexican cuisine a few days ago and didn't make it yet due to time restraints when I get home after school.

I made fresh salsa, guacamole, Mexican rice, and soft tacos filled with lime infused black beans and roasted peppers.

Fresh Salsa

4 roma tomatoes roughly cut

Use an immersion blender or food processor to break them down a bit

Add about a tablespoon  hot sauce of your choice

2 cloves garlic

pepper

2 tablespoon cilantro

1/2 the juice of a lime

Blend together

Guacamole

2 avocados

1 clove garlic minced

half a roma tomato diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 juice of a lime

Stir together with a spoon/fork

Mexican Rice

I totally cheated and used a boxed rice from Whole Foods

Roasted Peppers

I washed 1 Anaheim pepper

1 poblano pepper

1 yellow pepper

Set the oven to 450 degrees

Roast until the peppers start to brown

Let cool before slicing

Add the peppers to the bean mixture

Bean Mixture

Put one can of bean in a skillet on low

I bought a lime/cilantro sauce at Whole Foods that I used as the sauce. 

Add 3 tablespoons minced cilantro

Cook these on low while the peppers roast

Add the roasted peppers to the mixture

Tortilla

I turned off the oven when I removed the peppers

I then placed the tortillas on the racks

I used the leftover heat to get the tortillas nice and warm

This is a  pretty simple meal. I love making fresh salsa and guacamole. They both taste so fresh compared to store bought. John enjoyed this meal. The lime/cilantro sauce was a bit spicy, but not bad. You could add vegan sour cream to the tacos for added creaminess. 

Happy Cooking!

First Go Around with my Immersion Blender

I got a Target gift card for Christmas and decided to buy an immersion blender. I have wanted one for a while, but never acted upon it. I found one and decided, why not just get it? I wanted to start making homemade sauces and to thicken up soups. I winged my first recipe using it. I made homemade tomato dipping sauce. I used it to go over tofu and rice.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

1 can of dice tomatoes

Fresh cracked pepper

2 cloves of garlic

5 leaves of basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil

I also added a handful of spinach

Method:

Put all ingredients into a tall  container to blend

Blend up and down with an immersion blender

This was such a quick and easy way to make a homemade sauce! I am excited to use the blender for even more things. This recipe would be good to dip with bread sticks or serve on toasted break as an appetizer. I would make it creamier if you wanted to use it as a sauce for pasta. It worked well to drizzle over tofu and rice. 

Happy Cooking!

Lemon Rosemary Gnocchi

Why are things so busy right after you have a little time off? I came back to Chicago thinking it would be calmer, but the school year just picked right back up! I have grades due next week, I'm out for a PD day, I have an IEP meeting to prep for, curriculum maps due, common core assessment stuff, expository samples due, on top of normal lesson planning and routine classroom things. 

I also joined a gym on a one month free membership thanks to my principal! I have gone two times so far. I am debating on whether or not I will actually become a true member. DePaul's Rec center is so close and I want to see how much money it is compared to LPAC which is a train stop north of me. It is nice going back to the gym, even if it smell gross and is full of brahs. 

John cancelled a flip cup tournament his team at work were entered in so I decided to make him one of his favorite foods ( I think it ranks as a favorite); Gnocchi. I didn't go the route of making homemade potato gnocchi. I simply bought vegan gnocchi from Trader Joe's it is super fast to cook. I decided to make a buttery rosemary sauce with spinach as the sauce and serve it with Italian green beans.

Gnocchi

Bring a pot of water to a boil

Add the gnocchi and cook for 2 minutes or until they are floating

Strain and top with sauce

Spinach 

I added spinach to the gnocchi. While you are waiting for the water to boil for the gnocchi:

Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet

Add one package of baby spinach

Heat until spinach is wilted

Rosemary Lemon Sauce

In a sauce pan add the following:

2 cloves garlic and 1 oil-heat garlic for about 2 minutes on medium low heat

Add 3 tablespoons olive oil

Add a little less than 1/4 cup vegan margarine

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Pepper to taste

The juice of one fresh lemon

1 tablespoon of fresh, minced rosemary

Heat over low to medium heat

  

Italian Green Beans

Steam a bag of green beans

In a skillet add 1 tablespoon olive oil

Add 1 diced roma tomato

Add pine nuts (I splurged...pine nuts are so expensive!)

Heat these until the tomatoes of started to breakdown

Add green beans

Add pasta/Italian seasoning

Add about 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Toss and heat

Gnocchi Assembly

Add spinach to the gnocchi

Pour in the sauce and stir

Top with fresh cracked pepper

John really liked this recipe. I was inspired when I "googled" what sauces to use with gnocchi. I didn't use a recipe when making this, I just threw somethings together into the saucepan. John and I ate all the gnocchi, no leftovers for lunch tomorrow. John said the lemon gave it a really nice flavor. I would say he gave it two thumbs up.

Happy Cooking!

Intro to being Vegan and Garbanzo Beans

Last year I decided to start a semi-blog for the teachers at my school. I made a weekly entry that I emailed to interested teachers. This was in January and many teachers were wanting to make healthy diet choices as their New Year's resolution. I decided to share some of these with all of you. Below you will find my first entry which describes why I am a vegan, how to stock a vegan pantry, and several recipes using Garbanzo Beans. I got great reviews from the crunchy chickpea recipe!

Why vegan?

I get so many questions when I tell people I am a vegan; how do you get protein, calcium? Do you miss meat? What do you eat at restaurants? No wonder you are so skinny….

First thing is first, I am not vegan because it is a “diet” in which to maintain being small. I chose to be vegan because of the health benefits and my belief in animal rights. I chose to be a vegetarian as my New Year’s Resolution in sixth grade (I’m a nerd, I know) and switched to being a vegan my junior year of college. Being vegan is challenging at times, but once you know how to order at restaurants, how to stock your pantry, and find the right recipe books, life isn’t so bad. More grocery stores are offering vegan foods to choose from. I am not the type of vegan that will force my views on others. I do think it is healthy and good for the environment. That is why I challenge all of you to try one vegan meal a week. Every little bit we do to help save our earth and keep ourselves healthy makes a difference. Below you will find a website that lays out several reasons I chose this lifestyle and the benefits it can have on you personally and our environment.

http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/

Simple ways to adapt recipes you already have:

Instead of milk: add soy milk

Instead of chicken stock: add vegetable stock

Don’t add cheese on top of salads or pastas

Try out meat substitutes (use boca products because they are almost all vegan)

What a vegan stocks their pantry with….easy version

NON-PERISHABLE DRY GOODS

·         Beans, canned: Look for good-quality beans, without additives, or better yet, organic canned or jarred beans from natural food stores or co-ops, including your favorites from the following:

·         Black beans

·         Black-eyed peas

·         Chickpeas (garbanzos)

·         Great northern beans (cannellini)

·         Pink beans

·         Pinto beans

·         Red or kidney beans

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Beans, dried: If you’re inclined to cook beans from scratch, I don’t object! Black beans, adzuki beans, and navy beans are particularly good cooked from scratch; there’s also pink, kidney, red, and large white beans; brown and red lentils, and split peas.

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Chilies, green, in 4 or 7-ounce cans, chopped, mild or hot, as preferred

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Grains: If you are going to store whole grains at room temperature, don’t buy more than what you will use up in about 3 months. During hot summer months, refrigerate them.

·         Barley

·         Bulgur

·         Couscous

·         Rice (long-grain brown, basmati, arborio,

·         quick-cooking, etc.)

·         Quinoa

·         Wild rice

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Herbs and spices, dried: Keep a good range of commonly used varieties on hand; seasoning blends, especially an all-purpose salt-free herb-and-spice blend, a good-quality curry powder, as well as an Italian herb seasoning blend, are especially useful.

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Oils:

·         Dark sesame oil

·         Extra-virgin olive oil

·         Light olive oil

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Pastas and noodles: Keep a good supply of different sizes and shapes of pasta in your pantry. Some useful shapes to have on hand include angel hair, thin spaghetti, spirals (rotini), ziti or penne, fettuccine, and linguine. A few Asian noodles, such as udon, soba, and rice vermicelli, are available in natural food stores and are nice to have on hand too.

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Soy sauce: Sometimes marketed under the name tamari or shoyu; buy a good natural brand for best flavor.

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Tomato products, canned:

·         Diced, in 14- to 16-ounce cans

·         Crushed or pureed, in 14, 16, and 28-ounce cans

·         Tomato sauce

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Vinegars:

·         Balsamic (dark and/or white)

·         Red wine or white wine vinegar

·         Rice vinegar (for Asian-style cooking)

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PREPARED CONDIMENTS, SAUCES, AND SUCH

·         Barbecue sauce (great for broiling or stir-frying tofu, tempeh, or seitan)

·         Pasta (marinara) sauce (this comes in so many natural and flavorful varieties)

·         Pizza sauce

·         Salad dressings (choose natural, low-fat varieties of your favorites; I find red wine vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, and ranch most useful)

·         Salsa, tomato-based, mild to hot as you prefer

·         Salsa, tomatillo (Salsa verde)

·         Thai peanut sauce

·         Stir-fry sauce

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PANTRY VEGETABLES

·         Garlic

·         Onions (yellow, red, or both)

·         Potatoes, white (red-skinned are an excellent all-purpose potato)

·         Potatoes, sweet (for fall and winter)

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FREEZER STAPLES

·         Pita bread

·         Pizza crusts

·         Tortillas, corn and flour

·         Vegetables of your choice (corn kernels, green beans, green peas, and chopped spinach are useful)

·         Veggie burgers

·         Frozen blueberries for smoothie

http://www.vegkitchen.com/tips/vegetarian-pantry/

I also always keep plenty of fresh veggies handy. I always have Roma tomatoes, green and red peppers, yellow squash, sugar snap peas, organic salad (either spinach mix or spring mix). I also keep tofu and tempeh (soy product that is fermented so it retains the entire bean which gives it a higher protein and dietary fiber count than tofu).

Spices: garlic powder, black pepper, cumin, curry powder, coriander seed, ginger (better fresh), and tumeric

Meet the…..

THE GARBANZO BEAN!

(chickpeas J)

I could not LIVE without garbanzo beans! Below is the nutritional information and why they are so great!

 Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) 
provide an excellent source of 
molybdenum.  They are a very 
good source of folic acid, fiber, 
and manganese.  They are also a 
good source of protein, as well 
as minerals such as iron, copper, 
zinc, and magnesium.  As a good 
source of fiber, garbanzo beans 
can help lower cholesterol and 
improve blood sugar levels.  This 
makes them a great food 
especially for diabetics and 
insulin-resistant individuals.  
When served with high quality 
grains, garbanzo beans are an extremely-low-fat, complete protein food.  

Garbanzo beans contain molybdenum which is a trace mineral that is needed for the 
body's mechanism to detoxify sulfite's.  sulfites are a preservative commonly found in 
wine, luncheon meats, and fresh salad in most salad bars.  Sulfite-sensitive Individuals 
who are deficient in molybdenum may experience headaches, a racing heartbeat, or 
confusion.  

http://www.everynutrient.com/healthbenefitsofchickpeas.html

Snack: Crunchy Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients: garbanzo beans, olive oil, cumin, paprika, and salt

Method:

·        Cook one can of drained garbanzo beans in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and salt

·        Cook for 2 minutes over medium heat

·        Bake for 25 minutes in a heated over at 425

·        Let stand to become crunchy

Hummus

·        Ingredients: garlic, olive oil, cumin, 1 can garbanzo beans, tahini (sesame seed paste  you can buy at Meijer or Kroger) pepper, and salt

Method:

·        Drain one can of garbanzo beans and add to food processor along with the following the ingredients:

·        Add ¼ cup tahini

·        1-2 cloves garlic

·        Pinch of salt and pepper for taste

·        1-2 teaspoons of cumin

·        Start to combine in food processor while adding olive oil until creamy.

Variations:

Roast half a red pepper in the oven on 400 degrees until it begins to brown, chop and add for roasted red pepper hummus

Add cooked artichoke hearts or marinated ones from a jar

Add a pack of sundried tomatoes

Serve hummus with pita chips (simply sea salt), crackers, pita pockets, and fresh veggies

Curried Garbanzo Beans-I often make this recipe. I, however, just eyeball it, so I needed to get exact directions off the internet. The things you see is what I add to the dish J

• 2 cans cooked garbanzos
• 1 T. oil
• 1 tsp. each coriander, cumin, turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 3/8 tsp. each ground cloves, cinnamon
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/3 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 1 T. fresh cilantro
• 1 diced tomato
• Spinach either fresh or thawed spinach that has been drained

Heat oil in saucepan; cook spices over low heat for a few minutes.

Stir in garbanzos and enough liquid to just barely cover.
Stir well; mash a few beans with a fork or potato masher.
Cook beans over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

Add spinach to the mix until it all combines

Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, cilantro (chopped) and tomato.

Serve over brown rice

Pair this with a nice salad (NO ICEBERG lettuce!!!!!!!). Stay away from creamy dressing and stick with vinaigrettes.

Happy Cooking!