58 Boxes

Oh thank heavens- it's the last week of school!!!!  Words cannot even begin to express how much I am looking forward to the summer :)  I currently have 58 boxes packed in my classroom due to the fact that our school is being remodeled over the summer.  It's been quite the long week, trying to keep 20 Kindergartners busy and entertained, despite the fact that all my teaching supplies are packed up and staring at me through floor to ceiling packed boxes!

I have treated myself to a Venti Iced coffe with soy & vanilla every morning this week AND yummy dinners in the evenings.  This week I found inspiration again through my Vegetarian Times magazine subscription and my Good Veggie Eatin' Pinterest board of course :)

First up: an Israeli Breakfast Salad from Vegetarian Times.  I threw away the recipe b/c it's pretty easy to remember.  It's very versatile and you can make it as a brunch item, a light lunch, or a dinner side dish.  I chose to make it as a side dish, then I reused it the next morning for breakfast which consisted of a small whole grain tortilla, smeared with hummus, topped with this salad, & 2 strips of Smoky "Bacon" Marinated Tempeh made by Tofurkey.  Sooooo good- tasted just like a BLT!

Chop & place in a medium sized bowl each of the following;

1/2 a large seedless cucumber

1/2 a yellow bell pepper

4 roma tomatoes

3 green onions

A good handful of chopped parsley

Mix with the juice of 1 lemon, a drizzle of EVOO, & season with S&P to taste.

Then I made this yummy pasta dish, also from Vegetarian Times!

Spicy Broccoli Raab & Gemelli

8 oz. gemelli pasta

1 small bunch broccoli raab, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3T. Evoo

1/2 cup dried currants

1/3 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

4 cloves of minced garlic

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2T. Marsala wine

My Substitutions:  -I used corn fussili instead of gemelli

-Regular broccoli

-I drizzled the final product with evoo, a little bit of lemon juice, S&P, and some chia seeds.

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions

Blanch broccoli in a pot of salted water for 2 minutes, then drain

Heat large skillet over med-high heat and add chickpeas and oil.  

Cook 2 minutes until chickpeas start to pop

Add currants, garlic, red pepper flakes, Marsala wine, and broccoli.

Cook 3-4 minutes until broccoli is tender

Drain pasta and place in a medium sized bowl.  

Add broccoli mixture, pistachios, and dress with S&P, lemon juice, and extra evoo if desired.

Together = DINNER!

Now tonight, I looked to Pinterest for a dinner idea and I came across this yummy looking Black Pepper & Thyme Crusted Tofu from a cute blog called Olives For Dinner.  Now her tofu came out looking uh-mazing, like the kind you get from Pei Wei.  Mine didn't quite turn out the same but it was allll good nonetheless!  Here's her recipe:

INGREDIENTS
for the tofu

1/2 cup mirin
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TB raw agave nectar
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB olive oil
1 block of tofu, pressed very well
a few dashes of liquid smoke (optional)
1-2 tsps dried thyme

1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
for the couscous
1 cup large-pearl couscous
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1 tsp salt
1 TB Earth Balance
1 TB olive oil
3-4 shallots, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
7-10 oil-cured olives, depitted and chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
METHOD
In a large glass pyrex dish, combine the mirin, balsamic, agave, soy sauce and olive oil. Place the very-well pressed tofu into the dish, flip over once and place into the refrigerator to marinate for a few hours.

When you are ready to prepare the dish, place the couscous, broth or water, salt and Earth Balance into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover. Stir it every five minutes or so.

In a a separate skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the shallots and saute for about 10-12 minutes, or until nicely caramelized. Don't stir them during this time to allow a nice caramelization to develop. After 10-12 minutes, stir them around gently. Add the garlic on top of the shallots, so it will soften, but won't burn by making direct contact with the skillet. After 5-7 minutes, give everything a good stir. Add in the olives and parsley and stir to combine, and add this mixture to the cooked couscous, which should be ready by now.

You can now use this same skillet to sear your tofu. Gently place as many pieces as you can into the skillet and saute for 5-7 minutes. Flip the tofu over, and sprinkle with a generous amount of the thyme and black pepper. Continue to saute for 5-7 minutes more. Flip the tofu over again and add a bit more thyme and pepper, then add a few dashes of liquid smoke.

Serve immediately with the couscous and a side of some of the unused marinade.

Here are my pictures.  I added some fresh green beans as well :)

Serve immediately with the couscous and a side of some of the unused marinade.

The israeli couscous was delicious, FYI!

9 more hours of teaching... I think I can, I think I can!

Peace, Love, & Veggies

Don't Be Afraid...

Why is it that 4 day weeks seem to drag on and on and on...??  Now don't get me wrong, I love having a Monday off but for whatever reason the shorter week seems to take longer than a full one.  I filled my extra day off with a hike with my husband and some friends, followed with a veggie burger from my favorite local sports bar, Zipps.  What I love about this place is that you can make any of their specialty burgers into a veggie burger, or make it with turkey or chicken instead of beef.  I obviously get the veggie burger, but my favorite version is their "BBQ Bacon" minus the bacon.  They also include cheddar cheese and a large onion ring to top it off.  It's delish and I ALWAYS find myself lifting the bun to make sure there is indeed no bacon on it because the mixture of the flavors and the texture of the onion ring convince me that I am in fact eating a piece of bacon.  It is AMAZING!  However, at this go around, there was a piece of bacon on top.  I was annoyed because I specifically asked for it with no bacon and told the waitress and the waitress-in-training that I was a vegetarian.  So to fix it, they just took the bacon off.  I'm glad A) I'm not allergic to it OR B) That it goes against my religion.  To be honest, it annoyed me that they didn't make me a new burger but I never really complain.  I think the next time I will, even if it means that they spit in my food...


Has this ever happened to anyone?  If so, what did you do?


I made a lot of yummy food this week.  Much of it was inspired from my new obsession, Pinterest.  I follow Vegetarian Times and got some of my ideas from them and their magazine.  I also "wung" it a few times and won!


Here's some of the things I made...

 I learned the art of "poaching" vegetables for this light Sunday night dinner.  It's a Vegetarian Times recipe that you can find in their latest issue (it's not online yet).  I added brussels sprouts and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt at the end.  It was a wonderful dinner that helped to balance out all the wine I drank this weekend...  :)  Oh, wait- I drank wine while eating it.  Oops!

This is also a Vegetarian Times recipe from their latest issue.  It's a Paella Primavera and it was delish!  Both this recipe and the one above are not up on their website yet.  If you're interested, I can post the recipe when it pops up.  This recipe called for saffron which is uber expensive but definitely made the recipe come together!

I made this one up.  It was a side-dish with my Quorn (meatless) chicken nuggets.  It's a sweet potato inspired hash.


1cubed sweet potato
1/2 of a thinly sliced onion
1 large clove of garlic, minced
Fresh chopped parsley
Smoked paprika
S&P
EVOO


Oh so yum!






I also made another Veggie Times recipe: Whole Wheat Pasta and Fennel Ragout  which was like a party in my mouth!  I forgot to take a picture of it...sorry!  I have never used fennel before but thought I would give it a try.  It has a similar texture to celery but less stringy with a slight black licorice taste.  Now, I very much dislike black licorice but I really enjoyed the fennel.


This week, I feel like I experimented a lot with ingredients and techniques that I've never tried before.  Fennel, saffron, poaching...   It was a lot of fun and I found a love for all three!


Don't be afraid to try something new... you never know what you will find!


I hope you all have a fantastic week!  I'm back to watching the Academy Awards, kicking my husband's butt in our award game bet, and drinking my glass of wine. 


Be.Well.


Peace, Love, and Veggies




Which cooking method or ingredient have you experimented with and loved???  Tell me about it!

Where do YOU get your Protein?

As a vegetarian, this is the most common question I get asked.  "So, where do you get your protein from?".  And let me be honest... as I transitioned into vegetarianism, I actually did my homework.  I am a teacher after all :)  I changed my eating lifestyle to be healthy so when I did it, I learned what vegetarians most commonly lack and how I could make sure that I would not become deficient,  I've learned that people think that just because you don't eat meat, then you aren't getting enough protein.  When in fact, I get more than enough!

Well let me know you where I get my protein from:

Soymilk
Tofu
Beans
Legumes
Quinoa
Seeds
Whole Grains
Broccoli
Potatoes
Peas
Spinach...  


I mean, I could go on a on.  Did you know that too much protein could be a bad thing?  Check out this website on that topic: Here  And just a little tidbitty for ya- 100 calories of spinach has MORE protein in it than 100 calories of steak.  Yea, you heard me right!   Google it!

I guess I don't really understand why people care so much about where I'm getting my nutrients from.  All I can say is that I've done my research and I feel great since making this change.  In fact, if you're following a strict diet and not eating enough or you eat a lot of junk, you are likely to be protein deficient.  Here's some more info:


According to LiveStrong.com...LiveStrong
Individuals who do not eat enough food to meet their energy needs due to illness or dieting are likely to be deficient in protein, as are those who consume primarily junk food and protein-poor foods such as fruit, sugar, fat and alcohol. Someone who relies only on a single source of protein or very few sources may also become deficient in one or more essential amino acids. Consumption of a variety of protein-rich grains, legumes and nuts is necessary to ensure a healthful vegetarian diet, especially for strict vegans.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/60597-protein-deficiency-risk-vegetarian-diet/#ixzz1mVMIFP7f

I will leave you with some amazing food I've made this week.  Enjoy!

Toasted quinoa with broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and squash

After yoga lunch: stir-fried veggies with BBQ tofu and leftover coconut rice

As you can see, I am trying to use up my broccoli and carrots :)

Sicilian Swiss Chard over Quinoa

I made this for dinner tonight after getting inspiration from Pinterest.  It's a Vegetarian Times recipe.  You can get it Here.  I did add some mushrooms and tofu, and swapped the pine nuts for unsalted sunflower seeds, but otherwise I followed the recipe.  The recipe had wonderful flavor; salty, sweet, hot, crunchy, nutty...  YUM!  My husband loved it and we will definitely be making it again.  The next time however, I will use less red pepper flakes.  This is one of those meals that makes you feel good when you eat it and I sure like that!

So, where do you get your protein???   ;)

Peace, Love, and Veggies my friends!