Easter Menu

We're little slow getting up and going today and I'm one tired mama right now after Noah was not feeing good last night and kept calling out for me. Off course it's one of those gorgeous San Diego days with not a cloud in the sky and perfect temperatures. We had a picnic in the garden eating taco with mango and bean guacamole. We're planning and preparing for Easter lunch for tomorrow and this year it will be a simple BBQ style affair.




Menu:

• tofu dog with home baked whole wheat buns
• apple & sage smoked seitan sausages
• Roasted corn on the cob
• mixed salad
• Creamy avocado potato salad
• Chocolate cake served with mango coconut ice cream

Valentine's dinner

Happy valentine's everyone! For us with small children at home my gift to all those on a romantic dates is that I keep my children away from restaurants tonight to let them have a nice and QUIT dinner :) Me and Bella had a girls day out which included ice cream and dress shopping. Later, I made dinner for me and James which we ate after the kids were at sleep. We started with bruschetta and moved on to seitan steak served with olive oil and sea salt roasted potatoes, red wine and fig sauce with wilted greens. For dessert; a lovely chocolate fondue. James very much appreciated my efforts and we had a lovely candle light dinner just us. In this post I feature the red wine sauce.

1 cup red wine

1 cup vegetable broth

2 tbs sugar

1 tsp canola oil

1/4 cup shallots, diced

1 tbs all-purpose flour

3 dried figs

1 bay leaf

Salt & pepper to taste

• Bring to a boil, red wine, broth, sugar, bay leaf and figs and simmer for 5 minutes.
• In a separate sauce pan, heat oil on medium heat and fry shallots until they are glossy but not brown, about 1 minute.
• Sprinkle flour over shallots and mix.
• Pour a little of the liquid at a time and use a whisk to dissolve flour mix. when the all lumps are gone and all liquid and flour mix blended, bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and strain sauce.
• Discard any lumps, figs, shallots and bay leaf.
• Add salt and pepper and sauce is done!

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.

Bella's 4th birthday party!!!

Yesterday our baby girl turned 4 years old and we celebrated with a big party and the science museum which is her favorite place. We were 35 people having a blast. The museum offered to arrange the but we knew that would not work withour idea what good for is about so instead we make it all our self. I purposely kept it simple but off course yummy. Below the picture is the menu:

Birthday menu:

• Sweet potato and lentil quesadilla
• Almond butter & jelly sandwiches
• fruit kabobs with yogurt dipping sauce
• Hummus and pitas
• Spinach & strawberry salad
• Carrot cake

White bread rolls and Easter dinner menu

I always like to have two kinds of breads for holiday dinner so this year I made my whole wheat bread and a white bread roll that came so perfect chewy and crusty. I guess my guests must have liked them because at the end of dinner there were no bread left at all.

Here is the menu from Easter:

• Mixed salad with spring mix, tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli sprouts and yellow peppers
• Seitan in creamy teriyaki sauce
• Roasted rot vegetables with thyme and lemon scented sea salt
• Carrot cup cake with orange butter cream frosting
• Chocolate dipped marzipan eggs
• 

White bread rolls

1/2 package active yeast

1 cup non-dairy milk

1 tsp salt

1 tbs agave nectar

1 apple, peeled and grated

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbs olive oil

Milk to brush the buns with

Sesame seeds to sprinkle over the buns

Blend yeast, flour and salt in a large bowl. Heat milk to finger warm, add agave and add to flour mix and blend well. Add grated apple and really work the dough. take the oil and rub it around the dough. Place in a draft free place under a towel to rise for 2 hours. Kneel the dough on a table dusted with flour. Kneel the dough for a bout 5 minutes. Make rolls and place on cookie sheet and place a towel over and let them rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 450F. Brush each roll with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds over. Bake for about 10 minutes, brushing them again after 5.

dinner menu for this week

The weather has been lovely this week and apparently it's suppose to continue for the remaining of the week. When it's was cold all I wanted was warm and creamy food but now I crave a lot of vegetables and fruits in their natural state, raw. So lunch this week will probably be a lot of salads. I love tossing in whatever I can find in my fridge which usually is a lot. My favorite is arugula, pea sprouts, carrots, bell peppers tomatoes and for protein marinated beans or quinoa. It's easy, good and fast.

Monday-- Chickpea patties with sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli from our garden

Tuesday-- parsley roasted vegetables with baked beans

Wednesday--Stir fry vegetables with yellow lentil sauce and cooked barley

Thursday--Mac n' cheese and broccoli

Friday--veggie burgers served with roasted sweet potatoes fries and asparagus

Weekly menu

I got a question about how I get my protein. This is the most command question I get. I eat a lot of beans, lentils, nuts, mushrooms, quinoa, barley and seitan. All of these contains very good protein. Quinoa is a complete protein source of about 12-18% making ideal for vegan and vegetarians. I love cooking with quinoa pasta for example. I combine all of these protein sources with whole grains pasta, rice and breads. I think people who are thinking about becoming vegan. vegetarians main concern is the protein and it should be a concern. I seen many attempting this lifestyle only eating vegetables, fruit and cheese and it does not work. For calcium I drink at least two glasses of either almond or oat milk and I do make sure they are fortified. Because I have hashimoto disease I cannot drink or eat soy. I also take a multi-vitamin, a B-12 supplements, folic acid and omegas. Eating healthy is very important to me because I'm a yoga teacher and work my body everyday as well I have a 3 year old who eating habits is influence by what and how I eat. If anyone as any questions to me about nutrition and being vegan/vegetarian I'm will happily answer them as best of my ability. To help out here is this weeks menu for our family.

Tuesday:

Lunch-- roasted red pepper and lentil soup sprinkled with parsley and served with spelt bread

Dinner--Whole wheat pasta with mustard sauce and chickpeas and broccoli

Wednesday:

Lunch--Whole wheat tortilla wrap with portabella mushroom, carrots, lettuce, tomato and avocado

Dinner--Indian lentil stew served with broccoli and sprouted brown rice

Thursday;

Lunch--Hummus sandwich on spelt bread with pea sprouts served with mixed salad

Dinner--Chickpea patties with roasted sweet potatoes and root vegetables

Friday:

Lunch--Barley bake served with a mixed salad

Dinner--Seitan sausages serves with potatoes au gratain and roasted brussel sprouts

New Years Dinner

This is a very long post because I finally decided on the menu for New Years eve and wanted to add all recipes. It's been a long time since me and James been out to a party or restaurant for new years eve and I can't say I miss it. Last year we spend it in Bay Area with friends cooking a super meal but this year we're not traveling anywhere which is fine with me. I'm cooking the dinner for friends and it will be completely vegan with an exception of the wine which will be organic and sulfur free. Below is the menu and below that is the recipes. What are you eating on the last day of the year????

Menu:

Appetisers--Focaccia bread with a tomato and garlic dipping sauce

First course-- Warm beet salad with a citrus vinaigrette

Second course--Seitan medallions served with a red wine and cherry reduction and hasselback potatoes with a side of asparagus tips.

Dessert-- Rich and gooey chocolate cake served with a chocolate caramel mousse topped with a maple brittle

Tomato and Garlic dipping sauce (a.k.a tomate enojado=angry tomato)

1 can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

1 tbs ketchup

4 baked garlic cloves

1/4 cup green olives,

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, diced

2 tsp chili powder

salt & pepper to taste

Blend garlic, basil and ketchup in a food processor or blender to a past, add remaining ingredients and process until a puree and serve with bread or chips to dip in!

Beet salad with citrus vinaigrette

4 red beets

2 golden beets

1 cup frisee salad

Dressing:

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs orange juice

Sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

2 tbs chives

Place the beets with peel on a large pot and cover them with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour or until the beets feel soft when poking them with a fork. In the mean time combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette and set a aside. When beets are done drain water and fill up pot with ice cold water and begin peeling the beets under water. Skin should be pretty easy to rub off with your hands. Cut beets into smaller pieces and place on a plate on top the frisee salad. Pour dressing over and

serve immediately.

Red wine reduction

2 cups red wine (sulphur free and organic)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup dried cherries

2 tbs brown sugar

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tbs earth balance butter

salt and pepper to taste

Place everything except butter and and salt and pepper in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until a syrupy liquid remains. Remove from heat and add butter and salt.

Hasselback potatoes

4 large russet potatoes

2 tbs melted earth balance butter

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs rice Parmesan cheese

1 tbs bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 425 F

Peel potatoes and place them in cold water so they wont brown. Cut across the potatoes the short way about 1/8 inch apart. Make sure to cut almost all the way down but not all the way through. Place on a cookie sheet dressing with parchment paper. Brush each potato with the butter and sprinkle with salt & pepper and bake in

oven for about 30-40 minutes depending on size. Sprinkle remaining ingredients and bake for another 20 minutes or until they are golden brown

.

Seitan Medallions

3 1/2 cup Vital Gluten flour

2 cups water

2 tbs vegetarian Worcester sauce

1 tsp Bragg's Liquid Amino's or light soy sauce

2 tbs ketchup

2 tbs warm vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 350F

Blend all the wet ingredients except the stock, together and them blend it with the flour and work the dough into a firm ball. If you have access to a kitchen aid use it and save your arms. Roll the dough into a large roll and wrap it in foil and make kind of a little boat. Take a second foil and place underneath and pour the stock all over the dough. Wrap it up real well, it needs to be snug and airtight, it may require more foil. Place in oven for 1 hour. Let seitan rest and completely cool down. Cut 2 inch thick slice

s and use a cookie cutter to make round medallions from the slices. Melt some compound butter or canola oil (but then make sure to add salt and pepper to the seitan) in a frying pan on medium heat and fry medallions a few minutes on each side.

Maple brittle

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 plain mimic cream

Blend everything in a a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until brittle is done. This is how you check that; Take a dollop or mix and place in a cup with cold water. The brittle is done when it stiffens up in the water and becomes crunchy. Spread the mix very thin on a parchment paper and place in fridge to stiffen. Break of desired size pieces.

Carmel chocolate mousse

3 caramel candy bars, chopped( I used twilight bar by Go Max go food)

3/4 cup mimic cream, unsweetened

1 package soyatoo soy whip

Heat cream in a sauce pot until right before it starts to boil. Remove from heat and add candy bar pieces as stir until all pieces has melted. Place in fridge over night. Whip soytoo according to description, about 3 minutes so it's very fluffy. Fold in the chocolate mix and serve immediately because it melts very fast.

Merry healthy Christmas everyone!!!

On the Christmas eve we have a vegetarian christmas dinner at our house and in a couple of hours the guest will arrive. Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!! This is what is on the menu: at our house tonight.

• Vegetarian ham (I bought it frozen in Sweden and brought it home and it's so good).
• Janson's Temptation
• Beet salad
• Saffron marinaded beans
• Kale salad
• Vegan neatballs
• Brussels sprouts
• Mustard
• Bread with beets
• Saffron Buns
• Truffels

This weeks menu

I love it when I'm already with the menu on early Sunday. However this week will be short since we're flying to Hawaii on early Thursday morning. We'll be gone for a week but I will try to blog from the island about cooking and eating hawaiian food. Yummy!!!!! For kicks I added what we ate on Sunday too. I wish you all a great and healthy week!!!!

Sunday:

Lunch--Quorn turkey burgers, avocado, salad made with arugula, carrots, beets and sprouts

Dinner--Bean and tomato soup served with avocado sandwiches

Monday:

Lunch --Quinoa salad with vinagrett dressing, avocado, tomatoes, arugula and grape fruit

Dinner--Indian Lentil stew, served with sprouted brown rice and chapati

Tuesday:

Lunch--Fava bean hummus sandwich served with spinach salad, tomatoes and carrots

Dinner--Quinoa pasta with chanterelle sauce

Wednesday:

Lunch--Barley and mushroom soup

Dinner--tortilla wraps with beans salad, rice and vegetables

Weekly menu

Per popular demand here is our menu for this week. I have to plan it out in advance because between me and James we run a tight schedule on who is home mornings, lunch and dinner with Bella and who is is working or taking a yoga class. I'm also the only one who cooks so planning each day saves me some time and stress for James. This week is different because daycare is closed on Wednesday so I'm home with Bella until 3pm and then James will take over. So lunch that day is Bella's favorite and I get a feeling we might not eat it at home. For breakfast we usually eat oatmeal with almond milk and always a fruit or a green smoothie.

Monday;

Lunch--Hummus sandwich and kale salad (yup same as the sampling)

Dinner--Quinoa pasta, tossed with vegetables, olive oil and garlic

Tuesday:

Lunch--Pasta salad

Dinner--Quorn meatless balls served with baked sweet potatoes and broccoli

Wednesday:

Lunch--Veggie burgers, bun, avocado and raw cut vegetables with a vegan ranch dressing for dipping

Dinner--Indian stew with spinach and chick peas served with rice and broccoli

Thursday:

Lunch--Rot vegetable with seitan sausage served with sauerkraut's

Dinner--Carrot and ginger soup served with bread with hummus

Friday:

Lunch--Quinoa pasta with artichoke pesto and a green salad

Dinner--Potatoes Au gratin with lentils