Optimus Smoothie

This week's smoothie before being completely mixed into an ugly purple-green. 

Even before I started eating plant-based, I would throw together a batch of smoothies every once in a while in order to keep my body fully supplied with micronutrients and to stave off sugar cravings. I found that my body would crave less sugar when it was satisfied with enough proper nutrition. Now in addition to creating impulse vegan brownie purchases, my body also tells me that I want real cheese and bacon when I haven't properly stuffed it with enough vitamins via my food. That's when I know it's time to call upon Optimus Smoothie!

This is another one of my recipes that's more of a framework or merely inspiration for your own food. The beauty of the smoothie is that you can throw whatever ingredients you want into that blender! The basic formula I use is: fruits, vegetables, source of fat, and liquid needed to blend to desired consistency. 

My liquid base in generally grapefruit juice (not from concentrate and, please, not from a can! I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit just thinking about it). The reason for this is that I just love grapefruit juice, but it's also lower in sugar than most other juices. Some people use water as their base, but I find that it dilutes the flavor too much for my taste. 

I also boil flax seeds (about 1/2 cup) in water (about 2 cups) for about 15 minutes so they're easier to digest. Just make sure you let the mixture cool before adding it to the blender and the rest of your smoothie; you don't want to kill all of the vitamins in the fruits and veggies. (If you don't have time to let it cool, you can throw some frozen fruit in there that you didn't have time to thaw. It's a win-win, really.) Another reason I use flax seeds is to have a source of fat for better absorption of the vitamins in the fruits and veggies. Alternately, you can use avocado.

For fruit, I use whatever is in season or that I'm in the mood for. The smoothie in the picture above contains apples, pears, blueberries, mango, and kiwi. Later in the summer I'll use peaches, nectarines, cherries, etc. If you find that your mix is too sour or you added too many vegetables, more mango always sweetens it up. 

For veggies, I always use at least one bunch of kale. This last batch also included a bunch of spinach and parsley. It's important to get your greens into your smoothies, and the bonus is that you (or your children) can barely taste them when they're mixed with fruit.

An optional additional for more punch and flavor (not to mention anti-inflammatory benefits) is fresh ginger and/or fresh turmeric. I used to always add these to my smoothies, but I found that my husband and son would drink more if I omitted them. So, maybe I add too much ginger...I might have a problem...       

The important thing is to have fun. If you don't enjoy a batch, play around with ingredients until it's something that you love and you enjoy drinking. 

Deep Dish Pizza

If you're looking for a simple dish for busy weeknight dinners, this is it. You can make it more complicated by making your own crust, but there's no need. I buy cornmeal pizza crusts in the frozen section at the grocery store, add spaghetti sauce and whatever toppings and seasonings I'm in the mood for. 

Ingredients:

Frozen cornmeal pizza crusts (or any other type of pizza crust)

Spaghetti sauce 

Combination Suggestion #1: mushrooms, frozen (or not so frozen) peas, onions (or quartered pearl onions), smoked salt, and dried ground rosemary.

Combination Suggestion #2: zucchini, bell peppers, onions, fresh basil, and fennel seeds (optional, but adds amazing flavor if you have them on hand). 

Preheat oven to the temperature suggested for your pizza crust. Add spaghetti sauce to the pizza crust shell (be generous; the sauce will keep the veggies from drying as the pizza is baking). Add any toppings and seasonings you'd like; my combinations are just suggestions (albeit very wonderful suggestions). Bake for about 20 minutes or until the crust is perfectly toasted and the veggies are mostly cooked.  

Mushrooms, onions, and peas combination.

Zucchini, peppers, onions, and basil combination.

Mango Daal

Mango daal over rice. 

This is such a warming dish that's great for fending off those late fall/early winter chills. You know, that time of year where your body isn't quite used to the cold weather yet, but you've finally gotten used to wearing sweaters and winter jackets. Caution: this recipe is for internal use only.

I became interested in cooking Indian food when I took a Food and Culture class as an elective in college and my group picked India as our country of interest. There are so many different cuisines within this largely-populated country, as many curries and seasoning blends as there are families in India, and so many spices and ingredients utilized that it was (and still is) endlessly fascinating to me. Since that time, I generally have most spices needed to prepare an Indian dish in my spice drawer at all times. And the great thing is that many Indian dishes are plant-based and pack a lot of flavor.  

Display of color: garlic, red lentils, red pepper, mango, turmeric, and ginger.

Ingredients:

2 cups red lentils (rinsed thoroughly and drained)

1-2 T coconut oil

1 large onion (diced)

4 cloves garlic

1 T fresh ginger (approximately) 

1 T fresh turmeric (approximately; or powdered if you absolutely have no way of getting a hold of fresh)

1 t ground cumin

1 T ground coriander

salt (to taste)

mild to spicy red pepper (depending on your heat preference)

1 large or 2 small mangos (peeled and diced)

sprigs fresh cilantro

2 cups rice (any type; I used basmati this time), rinsed thoroughly and cooked

Rinse and drain lentils and add to a pot with about 4 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, adding more water if needed for desired consistency. Salt to taste. Note: red lentils don't keep their shape, at least for me, so I've stopped trying to come up with a way to keep them whole during the cooking process. In this recipe, they will cook down to a sort of thick sauce, perfect for spooning over rice.

Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a large pan then add onion and cook until softened. Add ground cumin and coriander at any time. Prep garlic, ginger, and turmeric then finely mince them altogether on a cutting board. Add to onion mixture and cook for 4-5 minutes. Finely chop red pepper (or if you have no access to fresh peppers, use dried chiles or cayenne powder) and add to mixture, cooking for about a minute. Stir in the lentils and combine thoroughly, then add diced mango. Taste for salt content; the right amount of salt will make the spices pop and give the dish amazing flavor. 

Prepare rice at any time. I have been cooking my rice like pasta lately. Boil about 3 times as much water as your desired (uncooked) rice amount, add salt, then add rinsed rice and cook uncovered for 10-30 minutes (depending on which type of rice you're using). Brown rice takes 30 minutes, and white basmati rice takes 10-15 minutes. Drain using a strainer then put it back in the pan, covering to lightly steam until ready to use. 

Spoon lentil/onion/spice mixture over rice and top with fresh cilantro. 

Basmati rice and mango daal.

Veggie and Bean Pot Pie

Did you know that purple carrots have more nutrients and antioxidants than regular orange carrots? You probably did, cuz you're smart.

Purple carrots from my garden! I was finally able to harvest some. 

Autumn is in full swing here in the PNW with spatterings of blustery days and my perpetual hot tea by my side. Gone are the summer days where a nice mix of fresh veggies with beans would fill me up for dinner; heartier meals are required. 

When I stopped eating meat, I discovered this Thyme and White Bean Pot Pie recipe from The Minimalist Baker and it was immediately added to my list of go-to recipes. With this last round of modifications to the recipe, I even found myself going through a split-second ingredient check in my head a couple times to make sure I was really supposed to be eating what I was eating.

Sidenote: Do any newer plant-based eaters/vegans still stop mid-bite in a slight panic because you think you might have eaten something that you're not supposed to be eating anymore? Kind of like you think you may have accidentally "relapsed" without being conscious of the act until you're on the second or third bite. I only do this rarely now, but when I do it's when I'm eating something phenomenally delicious...like this pot pie. 

Back to the recipe...so, here it is with my alterations and modifications.

Ingredients:

• Filling:

1 onion (diced)

1lb carrots (diced into small pieces that will cook rather quickly)

1 heaping cup green beans (chopped into pieces about 1/2 inch long)

1 cup fresh or frozen peas (optional)

1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 cups veggie broth

2 t fresh thyme

15oz canned or cooked beans (rinsed and drained; any kind of beans will do)

salt and pepper to taste (smoked salt if you have it)

• Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 t salt

4oz vegan butter

4-7 T cold water

Carrots, onions, and beans sautéing. Beans are purple too; snagged those from Alvarez Farms. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat stock pot on medium heat and add onions and carrots. (You can add oil if you're worried about the veggies sticking to the pan, but I just add a little water if that starts to happen.) Cook until carrots are soft (5-7 minutes) and season with salt and pepper. Add green beans and peas in at the end and cook just until the peas are thawed (if frozen) or slightly cooked. (The peas are optional only because I was going to add them but forgot to buy them at the store. I love peas in pot pie, by the way.) Sprinkle flour in and stir thoroughly, then gradually add the veggie broth making sure to scrape the bottom. Add thyme and beans. Lower heat and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and keep covered while preparing the crust.

Filling after the flour has been added.

For crust, stir flour and salt together in a bowl. (I use whole wheat flour and it turns out great, but you can also use regular flour.) Measure your vegan butter using a kitchen scale (or if your vegan butter has ounce markers on the package like real butter, use those). Add vegan butter to the flour mixture and cut in with a pastry cutter until you have a crumb-like mixture. Then add the water one tablespoon at a time and incorporate thoroughly until you have a nice dough that's not too sticky. Form the dough into a ball, transfer to a clean floured surface, and roll to about 1/8 inch thickness. (Here are some tips if you're not used to working with dough: It works best to roll the ball of dough out with the rolling pin a bit then flour the rolling pin so that the flour actually sticks, then roll the dough out some more. After that, flip your dough over and lightly flour the surface underneath. Continue rolling and lightly flouring as needed to keep dough from sticking and until you've reached the desired thickness.) 

Pre-oven.

Pour filling evenly into either a 12-inch round oven-proof dish or cast iron pan, or a 9x12 baking dish and gently lay your crust on the top. I sprinkled a bit of smoked salt on top (an idea that I stole from one of our favorite restaurants). Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is slightly browned. And then eat the whole thing by yourself in 2 1/2 days.  

Pot pie perfection.

Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup

The oldest trick in the parent book is sneaking vegetables into foods and your kids being none-the-wiser. They love it, they ask for seconds, and you secretly give yourself a high-five on the way back to the kitchen. Some daring parents will even reveal the supposedly disliked/repulsive ingredients after their kid is on their third helping and it's already packed for their lunch for the next day. "Guess what you just ate...and liked!" (That would be me.) Sometimes it backfires, sometimes it does not, and sometimes it just gets them to eat the above-mentioned four portions (which I'll take!). 

This soup is one of those recipes that you can hide at least two other vegetables within. Technically, this is a tomato, red pepper, squash soup but I simply titled it Tomato Soup in case a child or husband sees the recipe pop up somewhere (you're welcome!). I prefer using squash for this soup (kabocha, butternut, or any other rich, sweet squash) but this time I used a pumpkin because we had leftover from a pumpkin stout my husband was making. 

Ingredients: 

2lbs tomatoes (fresh or canned)

1lb red sweet peppers 

2lbs (or roughly 2 cups after it's cooked) squash (kabocha or butternut are best)

10 fresh sage leaves (or basil or cilantro)

salt and pepper to taste

To bake squash: cut in half, deseed, add about 1/2 inch water to pan, and bake for about 1 hour or until cooked through. This time around I discovered a new way of cooking my cucurbitaceae. I deseeded it, cubed it, put it in our cast iron dutch oven, added about 1/2 inch water, put the lid on and baked it for 45 minutes to an hour. 

Deseed peppers and slice. Slice tomatoes. Combine tomatoes, peppers, squash (I left the peel on but you can determine how much effort you want to put forth), and sage in blender until desired consistency. You'll probably have to blend in batches. Pour blended mixture into a stockpot, simmer for about 20-30 minutes, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Sometimes soups can be less than filling for me, so I often fortify mine with any grains or beans I have around. Suggestions are rice, quinoa, buckwheat, black beans, or garbanzo beans. 

Tomato soup with quinoa added.

Pumpkin in the dutch oven.

Pimento peppers from Alvarez Farms. These are my favorite peppers!

Purple sage before it gets the blender.