Tempeh in Coconut Sauce

A couple of nights ago, I made way too much rice for a stir-fry so we had tons of brown rice left over in the fridge. I needed to use up all of this extra rice and I didn't want to buy any new groceries. As it turns out, I had all of the ingredients required to prepare this tempeh dish and it ended up being a delicious dinner!

Here are the ingredients that you will need:

1 package tempeh, sliced
1 tsp cumin
1 can of coconut milk
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, sliced
2 chili peppers,diced
2 tsp sugar
1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece ginger, grated or chopped fine
Thai basil, chopped
4 cups cooked rice

Saute the tempeh in the oil until browned. Add the onion, cumin, ginger, and garlic; saute for one minute. Add the coconut milk with the pepper, hot peppers, sugar, and Thai basil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Since Paul and I tend to like our veggies to taste a little more fresh and crispy, I think I will make a few small alterations for next time. I will fry the tempeh as usual, and then add the garlic, ginger, and cumin to saute for a minute. Then, I will add the coconut milk, sugar, hot peppers and Thai basil as per the recipe. When the mixture has about 3-5 minutes left to cook, I will add the bell pepper and onion to the mix.

In addition, I think I will add some green beans and bamboo shoots because there is a dish at a Thai restaurant that I love ordering that has those two ingredients. You really could add any of your favourite veggies, like broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, snow peas, or any others.

Fresh Restaurant in Toronto

Whenever I'm shopping or walking around downtown Toronto with my girl friends, we always try to stop at Fresh if we get the chance. Last week, we did just that! Once again, Fresh did not disappoint and we enjoyed a satisfying, delicious, and nutritious lunch. I'm so happy that my friends, although not vegan themselves, totally embrace vegetarian food!

Fresh is an entirely vegetarian, almost completely vegan (with the exception of adding cheese to items if requested) restaurant with an emphasis on fresh food and juices. Pictured above is my main course meal, the Sam Houston burrito with a kale salad on the side.  The burrito included slow cooked soy & sweet potato taco filling, sautéed peppers & onions, salsa, avocado chipotle sauce, lettuce and alfalfa sprouts...yum!

I also ordered a side of quinoa onion rings with vegan garlic mayo on the side. These were super crispy and so tasty! I actually was so full from my burrito that I never ended up eating more than one of these in the restaurant, so I packed them up and brought them home to share with Paul. Amazingly, these onion rings were not soggy a few hours later and still tasted really yummy.

Sarah ordered the Grilled Vegetable and Pesto Burrito on a lettuce leaf rather than inside a whole wheat wrap. Look at all of those yummy veggies! The ingredients included grilled red pepper, zucchini & sweet potato with pesto, house mayo, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, red onion, and alfalfa sprouts.

A trip to Fresh would not be complete without ordering one of their fresh fruit smoothies! I couldn't resist ordering the Tropical Transfusion - a mix of pineapple, coconut, strawberry and banana. It's the second best thing to actually being in the Caribbean sipping a tropical beverage!

Be sure to get out to sample Fresh for yourself at one of their three locations in Toronto - at Bloor & Spadina (326 Bloor St. West), 894 Queen St. West, or Queen St. W & Spadina (147 Spadina Ave).

Raw Tacos with Walnut Taco Meat and Cashew Sour Cream

I was shopping on Friday at McEwans Grocery at "Shops at Don Mills" in Toronto, which is a fancy grocery store with lots of unique items. They had an entire raw section with many pre-packaged lunches, including various zucchini noodle bowls with different sauces, raw lasagna, and desserts. Amongst the pre-packaged dishes were these taco wraps, similar to those that I've tried in the past at raw restaurants. Using these wraps, I attempted to prepare a raw taco dish at home myself. It was actually much easier to do than I expected!

I made Walnut Taco Meat as the primary filling for the tacos, as I've enjoyed it in the past at some raw food restaurants. It was extremely easy to make, using walnuts, soy sauce, olive oil and spices. Please do not over-do it with the food processor as your walnut taco meat could quickly turn to walnut butter! It only took a few whirls in the food processor to chop it up to a chunky consistency. For both the Walnut Taco Meat and the Cashew Sour Cream, I used recipes from the My New Roots blog. I did substitute regular soy sauce for the nama shoyu and in doing so, the recipe came out a little salty for my liking. I would recommend cutting back on the 2 tbsp soy sauce in the recipe to 1 tbsp if you are using regular soy sauce.

2 cups raw walnuts
2 Tbsp. nama shoyu (raw, unpasteurized soy sauce)
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle pepper
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Then, I prepared the Cashew Sour Cream. It was just as easy to make as the Walnut Taco Meat - I just threw some ingredients together in the food processor! Start by adding all of the ingredients together except the water. Then, add the water 1 tbsp at a time and process with each tablespoon, until it has reached the consistency that you like. I opted for a very thick paste, using only 4 tbsp of water. You might want it to look more like a dressing, so you might end up using all 10 tbsp.

1 cup raw cashews
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
10 Tbsp. water (approx.)

In each taco wrap, place some walnut taco meat, cashew sour cream, fresh salsa, or other toppings you may like. We put diced onions and chopped cabbage in our tacos. You might want to include guacamole, cilantro, peppers, or any other veggies that you like!

These were so delicious and I will definitely be making them again! It was also surprising how filling these tacos were - they made for a very substantial and nutritious meal. Hooray for being able to create restaurant-quality raw meals at home!

Carrot Cupcakes from the Babycakes Cookbook

My friend Sarah and I got together at her house for a cupcake baking day. We decided on two recipes - Carrot Cupcakes from the Babycakes cookbook, and the Chocolate Gluten-Free Cupcakes from the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World cookbook (not pictured). We've made the chocolate ones in the past and since they were such a success, we just had to bake them again. This time, we added some shredded coconut to the batter as we both love coconut! I'm going to focus more on the carrot cupcakes as it was my first time baking anything from the Babycakes cookbook, even though I've had it on my bookshelf for some time now.

All of the cupcakes we baked were both gluten-free and vegan. It was very interesting for me to combine all of these new flours - rice flour, quinoa flour, tapioca flour, and others! Both kinds of cupcake ended up being light and fluffy and tasted very similar to a wheat-based cupcake. I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference unless someone pointed out the cupcakes were gluten-free. In the carrot cupcake recipe, gluten-free all-purpose flour is used, as well as xanthan gum, rice milk, coconut oil and agave nectar. You should be able to find most of these ingredients in the natural section of your local grocery store.

For the frosting, we decided to make a vegan cream cheese frosting using a recipe found in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. It was very easy to whip up and tastes fantastic on these carrot cupcakes! In the cookbook, they recommend making vanilla frosting which could work great, too. These cupcakes taste amazing!

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes.

Carrot Cupcakes:
3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 cup coconut oil
1 cup agave nectar
1 cup rice milk (we used soy milk instead)
1 T. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water
3 cups shredded carrots

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line two 12-cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
Add the oil, agave nectar, milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until a thick batter is formed.  Fold in the carrots with a rubber spatula so they are evenly distributed.
Pour approximately a 1/3 cup of batter into each prepared cup.  Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes on the center rack, rotating the pans 180 degrees after 14 minutes.  Cupcakes are done baking when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes rest in the pans for at least 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting: 
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
1 cup vegan cream cheese , softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar , sifted 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Cream together margarine and cream cheese until just combined. Use a handheld mixer to whip while adding the confectioners' sugar in 1/2 cup batches. Mix until smooth and creamy, then mix in the vanilla. Keep tightly covered and refrigerated until ready to use.

Sundried Tomato Pasta

This is one of Paul's specialties that he made for me back when we first started dating. Now, we make it all the time at home when we're looking for a quick and easy dinner.  Although we love cooking together, sometimes he will make dinner for me and will prepare this one on his own, which is a nice treat for me! (Thank you, sweetie!)

This is a wonderful pasta creation with pesto-like sauce made from sundried tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, and red pepper flakes. Can be made with your favorite pasta, but we usually use macaroni. A great alternative to the same boring pasta with tomato sauce!

Ingredients:  
1 package whole wheat spaghetti (375g) 
1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil 
3 tbsp olive oil, if needed 
3 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes 
2 tbsp granulated sugar 
1/2 tsp salt 
3 leaves fresh basil

Directions:
1. Bring large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once the water boils, cook the pasta until al dente, about 9 minutes.

2. While the water boils, prepare the sun-dried tomato sauce. Put sun-dried tomatoes into a food processor, keeping most of the oil separate and reserved for later. Add garlic, basil, red pepper flakes to the food processor. Puree until blended together into a smooth paste, about 1 minute.

3. Put the reserved oil into a frying pan, about 3tbsp (add additional olive oil if needed). Add sun-dried tomato mixture to the pan. Add salt, sugar, balsamic vinegar to the mixture. Mix the ingredients together and spread the mixture across the pan evenly to flatten. Heat the mixture on medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes, being careful not to burn or overcook.

4. Drain pasta, mix sun-dried tomato sauce with the pasta thoroughly, and serve.


Serves four people, or for two people with some leftovers.

Veggies, Tempeh and Noodles with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

I was inspired to create this meal after enjoying a delicious dinner this past Saturday at The Naked Sprout in Burlington, Ontario. Paul and I celebrated our seven-year anniversary by going out for dinner at what has become one of our new favourite restaurants. After going here for lunch one day last week with a friend, Paul was dying to try it out and I definitely didn't mind going back twice in one week!  One of the main dishes we tried was the Soba Noodle Bowl with "100% Buckwheat soba noodle, grilled tempeh, red peppers, onions, massaged kale, cremini mushroom, steamed broccoli, sesame ginger sauce".  It was delicious and I thought that I could probably try to make this at home!

Here is my version of the Naked Sprouts' Soba Noodle Bowl! Of course, it is a bit different as I used whole wheat spaghettini noodles (we ran out of soba and just had the regular pasta noodles in the house), plus we added some veggies.

Soba noodles, or whole wheat spaghetti noodles
Broccoli, cut into florets
Kale, cut into pieces
Diced pepper, onion, green onion, snow peas, or whatever other veggies you'd like
Tempeh (I used the Tofurky brand Sesame-Garlic Tempeh strips)
Toasted sesame seeds

Sesame-Ginger Dressing:
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp water
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Mix all of the dressing ingredients together and set aside. Cook your noodles in boiling water. Saute the tempeh in a bit of oil. Steam the broccoli and the kale together. All of the other veggies can be added fresh without any cooking required. Put all of the ingredients (pasta, vegetables) into a large bowl and toss with the sesame-ginger dressing. Serve, top with the tempeh, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

I must also add that before this weekend, Paul hated kale with a passion! I served him raw kale a while back in a salad and the raw kale totally turned him off this super healthy veggie. However, he really enjoyed the steamed kale! I am very happy that both of these dishes won him over and he now likes kale! I now know that most people don't like raw kale as it is quite bitter; I guess I'm just one of those strange people who will eat it raw in a salad!

Lunch at The Naked Sprout in Burlington, Ontario

First of all, Happy 2012 everyone! I am so sorry that I have not posted for months! It seems as though I started posting nearly every day and was so excited to have my brand new vegan & healthy foods blog, and then life got a bit hectic and I just stopped posting all together! I have learned from this rookie mistake as I am sure so many people out there start blogs and quit writing in them quickly after - I need to pace myself a little bit better. I don't need to write in my blog every single day, but update it as often as I'd like!

Today, I went to the Naked Sprout with a friend of mine for lunch. It is a Vegan/Gluten-free restaurant in Burlington, Ontario with an extensive raw menu. In fact, about 2/3rds of the menu is raw with a selection of cooked items.  You can view their full menu at their website.  The Naked Sprout serves a selection of appetizers, pasta, wraps, salads, quinoa and rice bowls, pizza, and much more! From the website:

At The Naked Sprout, we aim to provide delicious, nutritious, vegan, plant-based meals (cooked and raw) to everyone. We aim to be organic wherever possible, support local farmers, protect our animals and our Mother Earth. By spreading the love of healthy eating and the vegan lifestyle, we hope to inspire everyone to transform themselves, their life and the world around them.

Of course, this is a mission statement that I fully support! For lunch, I got the "Twisted Tacos" made with soft shell carrot flax taco, guacamole, salsa fresco, sunflower taco meat, and cashew sour cream.  I also got the "Tropical Twist" smoothie with freshly squeezed orange juice, pineapple, mango, strawberry and raspberry.

Everything was absolutely delicious! You could tell that everything was freshly prepared with love and care. I will definitely be back...perhaps this weekend! Paul and I will be celebrating our seven-year anniversary on Saturday and he was quite jealous that I was going to this restaurant today. I brought him home some pasta from the restaurant as a treat! But, I think we will have to go to The Naked Sprout very soon together! It would be the perfect place to celebrate our anniversary since I quite enjoyed my meal today! Plus, it is easier to eat meat-free/dairy-free/egg-free at a restaurant that has an entirely vegan menu!