Lettuce Wraps
perfect little snack
perfect little snack
Today my Lettuce Wrap lunch consisted of fresh tomatoes, sliced bell peppers, bean sprouts, onion, hummus, goat cheese and of course lettuce leaves. (mint tea and an orange on the side)
I simply spread a little hummus on one leaf, laid a little bit of every item on the leaf, sprinkled the top with goat cheese, rolled it up and ate it. The lettuce part of the wrap can also be replaced with tortillas & you can add any variety of meats and/or veggies you would like!
Sushi
So I like to make sushi at home sometimes, I learned from an in-home experience and I do not consider it professional at all and before you get all huffy if you happen to be a sushi expert, I love cream cheese in my sushi rolls, yes I am aware how 'American' that is. I decided to go ahead and make my self some delicious sushi because 1. I don't want to pay $5.25 for one roll when I could buy all the sushi ingredients for that much and make tons of rolls. 2. I just discovered an awesome International Market on my way to and from work. This reminds me of Seattle when I used to shop at an International Market all the time! I miss it!
As far as ingredients go the necessities are rice (white or brown), seaweed, vinegar (preferably rice vinegar) and a SUSHI ROLLING MAT. (You can purchase decently cheap sushi sets at Pier 1) As far as the innards of the sushi roll, you can choose. For this particular roll that I made I used cream cheese, asparagus, cucumber and smoke tofu. I also cut up carrots and bell peppers to use for other rolls.
- To start I would recommend putting your sushi mat in a gallon size plastic bag or wrap it in saran. Lay one piece of seaweed on top of it making sure the lines in the sushi are running the same direction as the mat (should be horizontal).
- To start I would recommend putting your sushi mat in a gallon size plastic bag or wrap it in saran. Lay one piece of seaweed on top of it making sure the lines in the sushi are running the same direction as the mat (should be horizontal).
- Next you will spread the rice out onto the piece of seafood. Use the vinegar at this point to help keep the rice from sticking to your fingers. Pour a little bit in a bowl and just dip your fingers as needed. Spread the rice evenly, but thinly, leaving a strip clear of rice at the side of the seaweed farthest from you.
- Lay the ingredients you want in your sushi in a thin strip on the seaweed side closest to you. The more you build this area up the fatter your sushi roll is going to be. I always end up making mine pretty 'fat'.
- Now it's time to turn it into a roll! Tip the edge of the mat closest to you up and over, keeping very tight, press down with mat to ensure tightness. This first roll, especially, will make sure all ingredients are tucked safely inside.
-Once you have successfully turned your sushi into a roll place it on a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife. To make cutting easier and prevent tearing of the seaweed run your water under very hot water.
- I would recommend dipping in soy & teriyaki sauces. Pickled ginger and wasabi are also popular sushi sides, they're not my favorites.
Peanut Sauce Stir Fry
*Vegetarian*
Ingredients:
*=Organic (in the ingredients I used)
-1 package Udon Noodles
-Red onion*
-Red cabbage*
-Bell Pepper*
-Carrot*
-Broccoli*
-Green beans*
-Celery*
-Smoked Tofu (meat can be subbed)
-Winter Squash* (must be roasted separately ahead of time)
-Curry powder
-Salt + pepper
-Mushrooms*
-Roasted garlic (or regular chopped garlic)
Sauce:
-Peanut butter
-Boiling water
-Worcestershire sauce
-Teriyaki sauce
-Soy sauce
-Schezchuan spicy stir fry sauce
-Brown sugar
*=Organic (in the ingredients I used)
-1 package Udon Noodles
-Red onion*
-Red cabbage*
-Bell Pepper*
-Carrot*
-Broccoli*
-Green beans*
-Celery*
-Smoked Tofu (meat can be subbed)
-Winter Squash* (must be roasted separately ahead of time)
-Curry powder
-Salt + pepper
-Mushrooms*
-Roasted garlic (or regular chopped garlic)
Sauce:
-Peanut butter
-Boiling water
-Worcestershire sauce
-Teriyaki sauce
-Soy sauce
-Schezchuan spicy stir fry sauce
-Brown sugar
For this recipe I recommend slicing all your vegetables thin (Julienne) when possible. If you like your vegetables chunky, then by all means, cut them chunky. Use as many or as little vegetables as you like. This is a pretty free-range recipe. It is one that I cook often and usually just throw ingredients together. I thought this one turned out very well so I thought I would share what I did this time and include helpful ideas along the way that you can change it into something that works best for you.
-First boil a large amount of water.
-When water is boiled you will pour some over your Udon Noodles and set aside to let them loosen.
-Pore rest of water over your broccoli, carrots, celery, and green beans (vegetables that are usually very hard when raw) and cover to keep too much steam from escaping.
-Boil more water because you need it to make your Peanut Sauce.
-In a large pan add a little bit of oil and garlic, (chop green onion & add here if you like) saute.
-Add onion, cabbage, mushrooms, and tofu, saute for a few minutes until somewhat tender.
-Drain the vegetables covered in hot water, (they should have set for at least 5 minutes by now, longer they sit the softer they should be) add to pan and saute.
-Separate Udon Noodles with fork or fingers so they are not stuck together in one solid square, drain and add to large pan, saute to mix noodles in with everything else.
-Add pre-roasted winter squash, saute.
-Add salt, pepper, and curry powder here. Amount will depend on how many vegetables you are cooking with. If you are cooking for 1-2 people start with teaspoons, if cooking for more try up to 1 tablespoon. Saute for a few minutes.
Sauce:
If good at multi-tasking you can make the sauce in between saute sessions at the pan.
-Start with about 1/2 c. peanut butter
-Add hot water until it becomes the consistency of a thick soup (still runny--like a thick sauce, but not too runny)
-Add the rest of ingredients according to your personal flavor. If you like things more spicy add more of the spicy sauce, or even try adding other hot sauces or chili powder.
-Add less soy sauce and more teriyaki (these are both very salty ingredients)
-If your sauce tastes too salty add brown sugar, (this is really only when I add it into my sauce, but you can add it in for extra sweetness as you desire) sweetness balances saltiness--think sweet and salty.
-Once you have our sauce made, pour as much of it as you like over your vegetables+noodles, mix together well, and enjoy!
>You can also pour the sauce over individual plate portions.
>Egg would be a wonderful addition. If adding egg to your dish scramble in it's own separate pan and then add to the large pan.
>You can use ANY variety of vegetables when making a stir fry.
>Just soy or teriyaki makes for a delicious sauce too.
>If you have fresh or powdered ginger it would be delicious in either the sauce, vegetable mix or both.
Green Bean Casserole
*Vegan*
Original Recipe Here
-This recipe cost me only $12 to make, having flour, oil, soy sauce and garlic already in the house-
Ingredients:
3 cans green beans or 3 cups boiled fresh green beans
~1 pound mushrooms
1 medium-large sized sweet onion cut into thin slices (JULIENNE)
1 can 'French's French Fried Onions' --can be found in the canned veg isle
1/2 c. vegetable oil + some for roasting mushrooms
1/2 c. flour
~3c. almond milk
2 tbsp. minced or chopped garlic
2 tbsp. soy sauce (optional)
salt & pepper
dry cooking sherry (optional)
3 cans green beans or 3 cups boiled fresh green beans
~1 pound mushrooms
1 medium-large sized sweet onion cut into thin slices (JULIENNE)
1 can 'French's French Fried Onions' --can be found in the canned veg isle
1/2 c. vegetable oil + some for roasting mushrooms
1/2 c. flour
~3c. almond milk
2 tbsp. minced or chopped garlic
2 tbsp. soy sauce (optional)
salt & pepper
dry cooking sherry (optional)
Alright so this recipe is a favorite thanksgiving recipe for myself and my boyfriend, so we decided to make it for a pre-thanksgiving potluck we are attending tonight. I did find out that it is a least favorite of my grandmother, however. I tweaked this recipe from the original (link above) and made it so it is vegan. May not be the healthiest for you, but I am just about positive it is vegan. I feel weird saying it is for sure because I'm not 100% vegan and sometimes some things just slip my mind that they would be made with a dairy product...but I tried to watch this very carefully and I'm just about positive I'm in the clear.-First pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees
-Quarter or slice all of your mushrooms and place them in a large bowl
-Toss them with a little bit of oil, garlic, salt/pepper, and soy sauce (soy sauce is optional--I found it listed on a couple recipes and decided to try it out.)
-Lay them out on a large sheet pan (you may want a pan with edges so the soy sauce/oil/juices from the mushrooms don't leak out and run all over your oven)-Roast them in your 400 degree preheated oven for 17 minutes, when done set simply set aside for now, and reset oven for 350.
-Heat a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat (for roux--equal parts flour to fat) and a medium sized frying pan on medium-high (for onion)
-When the sauce pan is warm add the oil and flour, whisk together under smooth than let sit until starts to bubble. Continue whisking on and off, making sure there is no sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the roux smells familiarly of popcorn or toasted nuts. This means the flour is cooked out.
-When the flour is cooked out of your roux add the almond milk and whisk until everything is combined and smooth. Continue whisking on and off, making sure there is no sticking to the bottom of the pan, until consistency becomes quite thick. May turn heat up just a notch at this point.
-Put a little bit of oil in the frying pan and add the raw, JULIENNED, onion. Saute onions for awhile and then add dry cooking sherry (optional) for flavor. Continue to cook on medium-high heat until onions are soft, sweet smelling, and almost translucent looking.-When roux is thick with a soft RIBBON (may need to add a little more almond milk if too thick--think consistency of soup) and onions are caramelized: combine green beans, roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, and 2/3 cup french fried onions to your casserole dish and mix together well.
-Pour the roux over the casserole, spreading evenly over the entire thing. I used a 9x13 pan.
-Bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly
-Top the casserole with the remaining French Fried Onions and bake 5 minutes more, until onions are golden brown.
-Enjoy!!
*Any questions or concerns feel free to contact me or leave a comment*
