Tasty Treats: Raw Balls

I've been trying to eat healthy, high protein snacks (especially after working out), but we're on a budget and we try to avoid overly processed foods.  I found this tasty recipe for Raw Balls in The Kind Diet.  I made them with a few changes and I can't stop snacking on them!

Combine in a food processor and process until a paste:

1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 to 1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Add in 1/2 cup chopped pecans and hand mix.  Rolls tablespoon balls in coconut flakes.  The paste is pretty sticky and tricky to deal with, but just get in there and get your hands sticky.  Once you start rolling them in coconut, they form nicely into balls.  Freeze them.  They are delicious frozen or thawed.  Enjoy!!!

Vegan

Awww, Azuki Beans and Butternut Squash

This is a simple dish that is quite tasty and satisfying.  I started with a recipe from The Kind Diet and fixed it up from there.  Azuki beans are these nice little red beans from Asia that often are used in sweet desserts that contain "bean paste."  They are high in flavor, fiber and protein.  Butternut squash is always a winner, especially this time of year.

Soak one cup of azuki beans overnight in water.

Saute in a large pot:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped and peeled butternut squash (1/2 large squash)
1/2 large onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 teaspoon sea salt

Add azuki beans and cover with 2 inches water.  Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer.  Serve when beans are split and soft.  You may season with garlic salt for extra flavor.  Here, I garnished with steamed edamame.  Enjoy!!!

Pickled!

Sometimes you get stuck in a rut and overwhelmed with life.  As my absence attests, I was victim to both situations.  Thanks to a new job and the support of friends (thanks Diane and Kiran), I am inspired to post today.  It is beautiful in Houston (75 degrees!) so we had a nice trip to the farmers market.  The pickling cucumbers were abundant and a good deal, so I picked up a small bucket to turn into spicy tart pickles.

If you are interested in canning, I recommend The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest.  It has tons of information on pickling, canning, jamming. jellying, drying and any other form of preservation.  If you haven't canned or pickled before, it has lots of key information to doing so safely.  The pickle recipes tend to be large volume, but you can do some math to reduce the recipe or improvise.  You can either make these pickles in regular jars and refrigerate or use sterile canning jars and water seal them.

Here is a good basic Pickling Spice recipe:

2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons whole allspice
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

To make pickles:

Use as many pickles as you like:  whole, quartered or chopped.   Pack them into jars.  Add at least two tablespoons of pickling spice per jar.  For spicy, garlicky pickles, I added 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes and 3 cloves minced garlic per jar. 

Boil (microwaving works well) enough vinegar to top the cucumbers within 1/4 inch of the jar's opening.  If you like them really tart, use white vinegar.  If you want a more mellow taste, use 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 apple cider vinegar.  Cover cucumbers with vinegar, place the tops on the jars and refrigerate or water seal them.  They should be ready in about 24 hours, but for a deeper flavor I like to let them sit for several weeks. 

Enjoy!

Eating In Week Day 4: Spring Rolls

It's Day 4 of Eating In Week and I had a lunch date with Emily at my house.  I've been craving Asian food, so I made spring rolls for the first time!  To prep for it, I made some baked tofu.  You can purchase spring roll wrappers (rice paper) at Asian grocery stores, in the Asian food section or at Whole Foods.  Then you slice up some vegetables, make some rice, wet the rice paper (5 minutes in warm water), roll up the veggies, tofu and rice and serve with soy sauce or Asian peanut dip.  

We stuffed our rolls with baked tofu, cucumber, red pepper, cilantro, green onion, rice, carrots, and purple cabbage.

The whole experience was fun, interesting and a nice way to spend some time with my friend.

Best Bean Salad

Muchas gracias to my friend and neighbor Dawn for this tasty recipe.  On my street, we tend to share our leftovers or magic foods with each other.  Well, it was a nice surprise to come home and have a container full of this delicious treat waiting for us on the porch!  Here's Dawn's post::

Combine in a bowl:

1 can black beans (drained)
1 can red beans (drained)
1 can garbanzo beans- also called chick peas (drained)
1 can black olives (drained)
1 can artichoke hearts
1 bag broccoli or cabbage salad (can be found with the pre-packaged salad at the grocery store)
3 chopped green onions (or sometimes I use 1 small red onion)
Couple tablespoons sliced green olives (to taste)
Couple tablespoons sliced pepperoncini (to taste)
Couple teaspoons minced garlic (to taste)

I just mix all of these ingredients in a large bowl then add a vinaigrette dressing. Sometimes I make my own with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sometimes I use a salad dressing that I buy at the grocery store. Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinegar is my favorite store bought dressing. You can also add cooked pasta or rice, if you like. It is kind of one of those things that you can add in what sounds good to you and take out what you might not like. I am so glad you liked it!  I hope your readers enjoy!

Gentle Ginger "Steaks" and Carrots

So, my shameless reliance of The Kind Diet and its recipes continues.    I'm not much of a tofu eater, but I decided to give it try for the sake of variety.  I made these "steaks" last night.   They're pretty easy to make and even tastier if you give them some time to marinate.  Since I was grating ginger, I decided to make up a ginger carrot and cabbage dish. 

Lately I've been experimenting with fresh ginger because I enjoy its unusual and refreshing flavor.  Ginger is used abundantly in Indian, Asian and African dishes and is also a medicinal herb.  Herbalists recognize and use ginger for its anti-nausea and beneficial digestive properties.  When my stomach is off, I find that a cup of ginger tea settles it nicely. 

Enjoy these tasty ginger flavored recipes.

Ginger Tofu Steaks

To make the marinade, combine in a glass cooking pan:

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame, sunflower, safflower or olive oil

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon cruched red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon brown rice syrup

1/3 cup chopped green onions

Cut extra firm tofu block (1 pound) in to half lengthwise and then half widthwise.  Add to marinade, coat thoroughly and let marinate at least 1 hour. 

Preheat oven to 375F.  Drain off about 1/2 the marinating liquid.  You can keep this sauce for dipping later or discard.  Bake tofu steaks 40 minutes. 

Ginger Carrots and Cabbage

Saute in a pan:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups grated carrots

2 cups grated cabbage

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

Serve with rice and tofu steaks and enjoy!

Mesmerizing Mochi Morning Mix and Warm Cabbage Slaw

You may recall my rave reviews for mochi, the pressed brown rice treat.  Well, I tried sesame garlic mochi for the first time for breakfast.  Since it is not a sweet mochi, I sweetened up the dish with some warm cabbage slaw.

Preheat oven to 450F.  Cut mochi into 2 inch slices and arrange on greased baking sheet.  Cook for 10 minutes- until puffed up and crisp on the outside.

To make cabbage slaw, grate 2 cups green or purple cabbage and one large apple.  Saute in a large pan with:

1 tablespoon
sunflower or safflower oil
handful of raisins
handful of walnuts

Scoop cabbage slaw into a bowl.  Put mochi pieces on top and drizzle with agave nectar or brown rice syrup.

Tortilla Soup

I threw together this soup last night and the result was good enough to eat two bowls!  You can make it pretty quickly in a pinch or you can go for the longer version.  I put the quick ingredients in the parenthesis.  This is a nice meal served with a side of rice and vegetables.  Enjoy!

Saute in a large pot:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large chopped onion
1 chopped jalapeno
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt

Then combine:

2 cans black beans
1 can pureed whole tomatoes (or 2 cans diced tomatoes)
1 small can chopped black olives
handful of chopped cilantro
4 cups of water

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Garnish with tortilla chips.  You can either use chips from a bag or bake sliced corn tortillas at 450F until crisp.

Bulky Buckwheat Pancakes

For Christmas, I received a big box of wheatless flours.  I consider this a baking challenge!  For our lazy Sunday feast, we whipped up some buckwheat pancakes.  The recipe is adapted from The New York Times Cookbook.  They are heartier that ordinary pancakes and full of flavor and fiber.  They are delicious topped with strawberry syrup, honey, agave nectar, maple syrup or brown rice syrup.  Warning:  you do have to do a little bit of advance prep work for these babies.

Combine in a bowl:

2 teaspoons yeast
2 cups scalded milk, cooled to room temperature
2 cups buckwheat flour

Let sit over night (approximately 12 hours).

Mix in:

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used safflower)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water
1 egg
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon honey

Pour cakes onto a hot pan and cook as you would regular pancakes.