Chili sin carne

Happy new year everyone and here is for a 2011 with good food! I'm cooking dinner for tonight and will post recipes in the next days but here is one more fast and easy dinner recipe.

I made this Chili stew without meat off course and it's one of our favorite "fast" foods to make and one of Bella's favorite things to eat. You can easily add more vegetables to this dish to make it more hearty. This time I added yellow corn and broccoli and we ate it with pasta.

1 cup yellow onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, grated

2 tbs canola oil

1/2 cup broccoli, cut into smaller pieces

1/2 cup yellow corn

1 can kidney or black beans

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1/2 bag quorn grounds

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tbs chili powder

Salt & pepper to taste

• Heat oil in large pan and fry onion and garlic for 1 minute without browning them on medium heat.
• Add zucchini and corn and fry another 30 seconds, stirring often
• Add beans, tomatoes, quorn, ketchup, chili powder and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add salt & pepper to taste

Acorn risotto

Last week of this pregnancy and I'm s tired. I'm counting the days until our little man will be here but until then I'm challenged in the cooking department so dinner tonight was a very simple risotto with acorn squash and I at the end also added broccoli to make it more filling. I love doing one pot wonders and risotto is fast and easy to make.

1 tbs olive oil

1 cup arborio rice

1 cup acorn squash, diced

1 tbs bouillon powder or 1/2 cube

2 1/2 cup water maybe more

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)

Heat oil in a skillet and add acorn squash. Fry on medium heat for 1 minute without browning them. Add rice, bouillon and 1/2 of the water. Blend and simmer until water is low. Add more water and simmer until rice is soft. Add salt and pepper.

Oat meal crisps

This my husbands favorite cookies and they are great thin cookies with a carmel flavor. They are great with ice cream. The best part of these cookies is they a super fast to make.

2 1/2 ounces or 75g margarine (I used Earth Balance)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tbs milk (I used oat milk)

1 1/2 tbs light syrup

1/4 tsp baking powder

• Preheat oven to F400
• Melt margarine in a pot on medium heat.
• Remove from stove
• Add remaining ingredients and blend well.
• Place 1 tbs of dough on a parchment paper on a cookie sheet with some good space between since they will spread during baking.
• Bake for about 5 minutes or until golden.
• Let the cookies rest for a few minutes before using a spatula to carefully removing cookies.

African stew

This is a very kids friendly lentil stew with African flavors which will spread a nice aroma in your house when you cook. I put the peanuts on the side for everyone to add to their liking and instead of peanuts you can use roasted and salted cashews. I also added little curry and then added more after I served Bella for us who wanted a more spice.

1 tbs canola oil

1/2 tbs yellow curry powder

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/2 green lentils

1 cup tomato, diced

1/2 cup zucchini, diced

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbs light soy sauce or bragg's liquid amino's

1/3 cup sour cream (I used tofutti)

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup salted and roasted peanuts or cashews

1 banana, sliced

• Heat oil in a dutch oven or a large pot.
• Add curry and onion and fry on medium heat for 30 seconds.
• Add lentils, tomatoes and water and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add zucchini, ketchup, soy sauce and simmer until lentil are soft, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add sour cream, salt and pepper.
• Right before serving add sliced banana.
• Enjoy with rice, millet or barley.

Mango guacamole

For Christmas hubby gave me Rick Bayless Mexican cook book so yesterday I cooked Mexican for dinner and one of the dishes was this delishes mango guacamole. I'm so excited to make more Mexican food as it's one area I feel I'm lacking in and my husband really loves Mexican food. So yes sweeties I get the hint:) Guacamole is a great snack specially for little ones since it's a very nutritional vegetable but then you might want to go easy on the peppers. Avocados provides almost 20 essential vitamins and minerals and contains very good amount of antioxidants to help protect the body against all those nasty germs and viruses going around right now.

3 large and ripe avocados

1/4 cup red onion, diced

2 tbs packed cilantro, chopped

1 tbs lime juice

1/2 Serrano chili, seeded and finely chopped

1 ripe mango, peeled and finely diced

salt to taste

Mash avocados with a large fork or a potato masher. Rinse the onion in cold water. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Christmas falafel

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you all are having as nice Christmas holiday as we are. It's been all about family, friends and eating well. These falafels were part of our Christmas dinner and was a great hit with Bella. To begin with it was suppose to made with only chick peas but I added too much salt so I had to add more beans and I think using two kinds of beans it just made them better. Tonight we have friends coming over for dinner and this will be the menu:

• Falafels with Christmas flavors
• Parsnips in a sweet mustard sauce
• Quinoa salad with oranges and spinach
• Millet casserole
• Kale salad
• Home baked bread
• Saffron buns and ginger snaps

Falafel

1 can chick peas, rinsed

1 can pinto beans, rinsed

1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup spelt flour

1 tbs baking powder

1 tbs cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp cardamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Salt to taste

Canola oil to fry in

Mix all ingredients except oil in food processor until a smooth dough. Shape dough into flat falafels in desired size. Heat oil in frying pan, you need a good amount of oil so they wont stick. Fry for a minute or more and flip once. Place them on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Sun dried tomato & balsamic seitan

Oh my what a major storm we've been having here in San Diego. There are flood warning and high wind warning all over. I have not been outside the door all day because Bella is sick again however I feel it was not a big loss. When it's cold and rainy like this I crave warm and heavy food. Our dinner tonight was seitan in sun dried tomato and balsamic sauce, roasted potatoes with parsley and asparagus. It was so yummy and satisfying, just what me and baby wanted.

4 small garlic cloves, grated

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked in water for 1 hour and then drained and chopped

1 tbs canola oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup bragg's liquid amino's or light soy sauce

1 tbs all-purpose flour mixed with 3 tbs water until smooth

1 packaged seitan stripes

2/3 cup cream (I used mimic)

1/2 cup sour cream (I used tofutti)

Black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a pot and fry garlic and tomatoes for 1 minutes on medium heat. Add balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add flour+water mix and blend. Add remaining ingredients and blend well.

Non-meatballs in a fun sauce

As I promised, here are pictures of before and after of our kitchen. Just follow the link to our family blog. This dish is meal perfect for the fast and the hungry which was my family tonight. The secret in the sauce is cola drink, sounds strange and actually added a fun sweet flavor to the sauce. The "meatballs" very ready made and frozen vegans. We ate pasta and broccoli with it. It was yum, yum!!!

1 tbs canola oil

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

2/3 cup cola drink

2/3 cup sour cream ( I used tofutti)

2 tbs soy sauce

Black pepper to taste

15 frozen vegan meat balls

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat and fry mushroom slices in a single layer until browned, flip once. Add cola, sour cream, soy, meatballs and black pepper. Simmer until meatballs are cooked, about 1-2 minutes.

Finished kitchen and potato & broccoli soup

As of yesterday my kitchen is done!! Off course at the end we had a lot of drama putting in the sink and dishwasher machine but hubby took care of that and got it all done. I really love my new kitchen and will have so much fun cooking in it. I will post some pictures of it soon.

I still have a lot of potatoes left and made a simple potato, leek and broccoli soup for lunch for today.

1 cup potatoes, diced

1/2 cup leeks, diced

1 tbs canola oil

1 cup broccoli chopped in smaller pieces

2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder or 1/2 bouillon cube

2 cup water

Heat oil in a large pot and fry leeks for 30 seconds. Add potatoes and broccoli and fry for another 30 seconds. Add bouillon and water and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

Lentil hummus

I have been in full swing of nesting but I hit a speed bump when I was put on bed rest yesterday because of high blood pressure. I'm not too worried since I had the same thing happening with Bella just earlier. I'm getting so excited to meet and hold our little man which can happen any time now. Until then I want to make sure we're ready so I have made some small dishes to freeze and one of them is lentil humus. I made a lot and froze in smaller portions. Hummus is great on sandwich and personal favorite way to eat it is with roasted vegetables. This hummus is very mild so it's perfect for kids too.

2 cups cooked red lentils, drained

3 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs tahini

Herb salt to taste

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp coriander powder (optional)

2 tbs olive oil

Place everything in a food processor and mix until creamy. Taste and add salt as needed.

Basil cream

I now have counter tops in my kitchen and hopefully by Saturday we'll have a sink, water and dishwasher machine too. It' s so much fun cooking in my new kitchen however, I'm getting so pregnant and dealing with lost of contractions so I just don't have the energy to be as innovated as I usually am. In my last couple deliveries from Sea Breeze I've received a lot of potatoes and carrots which was about to go bad so dinner last night was roasted potatoes and carrots served with vegan nuggets, steamed broccoli and this amazing basil cream to dip everything in. Bella who has never been big on nuggets absolutely loved her dinner minus the potatoes off course. I have no idea how I ended up with a child who does not like potatoes in any shape of form. But since she pretty much eat all kinds of vegetables and fruits so I don't stress about it.

Basil cream dip

2/3 cup sour cream ( I used tofutti)

1/3 cup cream (I used mimic)

1/4 cup fresh basil leaf, diced

2 tsp herb salt

2 tsp honey

Blend everything together and serve.

Obama's nutrition bill

In an effort to make children's school lunches and dinners more nutritional President Obama sign into law the child nutrition legislation on Monday. You might have heard about it or even seen Michelle Obama speak about on TV as she is a huge supporter and joined her husband when this bill was signed. I think it's about time kids food in schools were more available and healthier for those who needs them.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/09/30/AR2010093003989.html

Fajita seitan pie

After a very long week it was nice to just have a very relaxing evening together with my family on Sunday. We watched Toy story 3 and ate this creamy seitan pie with fajita flavors. I accidentally made it a little to spicy but Bella handle it like a pro by drinking a little more water. I served the pie with a mixed green salad. I usually make my own pie crust but got lazy last night and used a pre-made spelt crust from Whole Foods.

1 whole wheat or spelt crust

1 packages chicken style seitan, drained

1 tbs canola oil

1/2 cup leeks, diced

1 cup green cabbage, diced

1/2 cup cream cheese (I used toffuti cream cheese)

1/2 cup cream (I used unsweetened mimic cream)

2 tbs Bragg's liquid amino's or light soy sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

Fajita spice to taste

1 cup cheese, grated ( I used rice cheese)

Preheat oven to F425

• Pre-bake crust for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Heat oil in frying pan and fry leeks until glossy, about 30 seconds. Add cabbage and fry another minute. Add cream cheese, cream, soy sauce or Bragg's and all spices and blend well. Add seitan and mix.
• Place filling in pie crust and bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Sprinkle cheese in an even layer and return to oven and bake until cheese has melted.

Tofu & cashew casserole

I suddenly have all this energy at 36 weeks pregnant and have been cooking and baking up a storm which is freaking out hubby who thinks it's the calm before the storm and I will go into labor soon. I personally think it's just me loving how my new kitchen is coming along and the fact that I can cook in it again.

Because of our kitchen remodel we had to eat out a little more than usual and it's very hard to find healthy food suitable for a whole family. All the eating out gave me terrible heartburn so I did not enjoy my self at all. Luckily we have Whole Foods prepared food available to us and that was better than restaurants sometimes.

I've been craving tofu lately which I don't eat very often due to my thyroid problem. I made a tofu casserole which we ate with millet and green beans, mmmm the creamy sauce is soooooogood.

1 package extra firm tofu

1/2 cup cream ( I used unsweetened mimic cream

1/2 cup sour cream ( I used tofutti)

3 tbs soy sauce or Bragg's liquid amino's

Black pepper to taste

3 tbs mango chutney

2/3 cup salted & roasted cashew nuts

Preheat oven to F450

Drain and slice tofu and pat them dry with a paper towel. Place in a baking dish. Mix cream, sour cream, soy sauce, peppers and chutney together and pour over the tofu, covering thepieces completely. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce starts bubbling. Sprinkle cashews over before serving.

Ginger snaps in half a kitchen

Sorry for the lack of post lately but with no kitchen my cooking has been VERY simple. As of yesterday I now have half a kitchen meaning I have cabinets, fridge and stove but I'm missing counter tops, dish washer and a sink. For me I'm just happy to be able to cook and bake again so I celebrated by making ginger snaps. These are thin and crispy ginger snaps perfect to give away for Christmas.

100g margarine

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbs light syrup

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp cloves, grounded

1 tsp baking soda

250g all-purpose flour

Mix flour and baking soda and set a side. Place margarine, sugar, syrup and water in a pot and bring to boil while stirring. Remove from heat, add spices and let it cool of completely before start baking. When cooled place liquid in a large bowel and add flour little at a time. Work the dough really well and shiny before placing dough in a plastic bag or zip lock bag and make it air tight. Place in fridge over night.

Preheat oven to F450.

Before start baking, take out the dough from the fridge about 30 minutes before. Divide dough in half and use a rolling pin to roll out dough very thin on a surface sprinkled with flour. Use cookie cutters to make the cookies. Place each cookie on a cookie sheet and bake for about 5-7 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

Hoisin seitan and a peek at out temporary kitchen

It's very hard to cook in someone else kitchen and our temporary kitchen is so small it's almost impossible to cook something more advance or bake for that matter. We and Bella had planned to bake ginger breads but will not happen until we get back home now. So now all I cook are very simple recipes and this seitan dish in a hoisin sauce is one of them.

marinade:

2 tsp dry sherry

1 tbs canola oil

2 tsp corn starch

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 package seitan, chicken style, drained

Place everything including the seitan in a ziplock bag and place in fridge for 1 hour. Heat a wok on medium heat and place seitan pieces in wok and cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

Sauce:

1 tsp canola oil

1 large garlic clove, grated

1 tbs dry sherry

4 tbs hoisin sauce

2 tbs cream (I used mimic)

Heat oil in wok and fry garlic for 10 seconds. Add sherry and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Add hoisin sauce and cream and mix well. Add seitan back and mix with sauce. Serve with white basmati rice and broccoli for a tasty meal.