PLANTAINS AND PECAN FRIED WILD RICE

Today I Made:

PLANTAINS, MIXED GREEN SALAD, SOUTHWESTERN BLACK BEAN PATTIES WITH CHIPOTLE VEGENAISE, AND LEFTOVER PECAN FRIED WILD RICE for DINNER.

This dinner was made up of all cravings.

Husband was craving plantains, so I sauteed some in a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

I was craving the SOUTHWEST PINTO BEAN BURGERS WITH CHIPOTLE SAUCE, but I didn't have any pinto beans, so I used black beans instead.

This time, I forgot to add the Egg Replacer and I ended up adding more breadcrumbs which I think might have dried out the patties a little too much.

Also, no buns tonight.

And of course we also had leftover fried rice from last nights dinner.

Everything was great and best of all, my husband really enjoyed it.

BASQUE VEGGIE KABOBS WITH KEY LIME SAUCE AND PECAN FRIED WILD RICE

Today I Made:

BASQUE VEGGIE KABOBS WITH KEY LIME SAUCE AND PECAN WILD RICE.

Kabob recipe from GREAT CHEFS VOOK VEGAN.

Rice recipe from VIVE LE VEGAN BY DREENA BURTON.

For the kabobs, I used red, yellow, and green bell peppers, zucchini, and red onions.

They were marinated in a dry rub consisting of chili powder, salt, pepper, and orange rind.

Broiled in the oven and then smothered in a SUPER spicy sauce made with poblano chili, jalapeno, basil, parsley, lime juice, vinegar,flax seed oil ( ran out of olive oil ), and a few other herbs.

The rice was my favorite part of the meal.

Brown rice, wild rice, greens onions, peas, tamari, and toasted sesame oil.

Very fall like with an asian twist to it.

I could see this stuffed into a bell pepper or even acorn squash.

CAULIFLOWER STEAK WITH QUINOA

Two Days Ago I Made:

CAULIFLOWER STEAK WITH QUINOA, SPICY GARLIC SPINACH, CAULIFLOWER SOUP, AND GARLIC BREAD for DINNER.

Steak recipe from GREAT CHEFS COOK VEGAN by LINDA LONG.

Simply browned 1" cauliflower steaks atop a bed of creamy quinoa with leeks, zucchini, and chives.

This is another example of a fine dinning dish.

Hearing that, you'd think that this was an extremely difficult and time consuming dish.

But it wasn't.

It's all about being organized and having your ingredients ready to go.

It takes no longer than 10 minutes to brown the steaks.

In the meantime, you cook the quinoa in vegetable broth.

And while all this is happening, you cut the remaining cauliflower florets, blanche, then throw in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until they have dried up.

Then you saute the leeks, shallots, and garlic.

Add the florets and puree.

In a large saute pan, saute the zucchini.

Add the quinoa and more vegetable stock and the rest of the ingredients, including 2 T of the cauliflower puree.

To plate, you place the cauliflower steak on a bed of quinoa.

The original recipe calls for BASIL OIL to be drizzled over and around the plated steak, but I used chipotle adobe sauce instead.

*With the leftover cauliflower puree, I made a simple soup just by adding vegetable stock, salt and pepper as suggested in the book. I topped the soup with even more chipotle adobo sauce.

For the SPICY GARLIC SPINACH, I used my usual recipe of olive oil, chili pepper flakes,minced garlic, salt and pepper.

And for an added crunch, our favorite garlic bread.

I highly recommend making this entire meal for a fancy dinner.

Your guests will be highly impressed.

SOUTHWESTERN PINTO BEAN BURGERS WITH CHIPOTLE MAYONNAISE

Today I Made:

SOUTHWESTERN PINTO BEAN BURGERS WITH CHIPOTLE MAYONNAISE and BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES for DINNER.

Pinto beans, corn, onions, cilantro, jalapeno patties on a whole wheat bun.

Then smothered with a tangy and spicy chipotle VEGENAISE (instead of mayonnaise).

All we can say is:

WOW!!!

This was by far the best burger EVER!!!

Perfectly spicy.

Flavors just melt in your mouth.

This will definitely be my go-to veggie burger recipe.

The sweet potato fries were satisfying, but they could use some work.

Pretty simple recipe:

sweet potatoes (cut into thick strips)

olive oil

salt

pepper

Bake on a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Then flip over and bake another 15-20 minutes or until medium brown.

They came out a little too soft for my taste.

I was hoping they would turn out crispy.

But I guess you have to fry them to get them crispy.

VEGAN MEATBALLS

Today I Made:

VEGAN MEATBALLS WITH PENNE ARABIATTA, GARLIC BREAD, AND KALE SALAD for DINNER.

Meatball recipe from My Vegan Cookbook.

Brown rice, lentils, oatmeal, whole wheat flour and a plethora of spices.

But best of all, they are TOFU FREE.

All you do is mix the precooked brown rice, lentils and the rest of the ingredients and form into balls, then bake until brown.

Mix with your favorite tomato sauce and pour over pasta.

ROASTED GARLIC AND WALNUT LINGUINE

Today I Made:

ROASTED GARLIC AND WALNUT LINGUINE AND SPINACH SALAD for DINNER.

Linguine recipe from FRESH AND FAST VEGAN PLEASURES by AMANDA GRANT.

Roasted garlic, toasted walnuts, parsley, and whole wheat linguine.

This recipe calls for 2 whole heads of garlic, but they become sweet and very subtle when roasted.

So worries, no garlic breath.

The combination of the roasted garlic and walnuts was wonderful.

Another restaurant quality dish which I highly recommended it.

For tonight's salad, I decided to use spinach instead of our usual mixed greens.

But everything else is pretty much the same: carrots, red onions and Asian Miracle Dressing.

I prefer the mixed greens.

Can't wait for left overs tomorrow!!!

NO-BEEF STEW AND WHOLE WHEAT BISCUITS

Today I Made:

NO-BEEF STEW AND WHOLE WHEAT BISCUITS for DINNER.

Both recipes from My Vegan Cookbook.

Thick and rich stew full of mushrooms,carrots, potatoes, and peas.

The mushrooms give it its "beefy" flavor.

This stew really surprised me, since both my husband and I aren't mushroom fans.

IT WAS SOOOO AMAZING!!!

The biscuits were so easy to make, it's almost too easy.

Mix dry ingredients.

Mix wet ingredients.

Mix both dry and wet.

Then add oil and mix until combined.

Add more flour if dough is to wet.

Spread dough onto a floured surface and cut into 3" circles.

Then bake for 8 minutes.

Dip the biscuits into the stew or slather some Earth Balance, and you have a perfect winter dinner.

KABOCHA SOUP WITH SPICED PEPITAS

Today I Made:

KABOCHA SOUP WITH SPICED PEPITAS, SALAD, AND GARLIC BREAD for DINNER.

Soup recipe from VEGETARIAN TIMES JAN. 2009 issue.

Kabocha squash, onions, and smoked paprika are the star ingredients.

This was THE best pureed soup I have ever made.

I was a little hesitant since my husband doesn't really care for creamy, pureed soups.

But at his request, I did leave it a little bit chunky.

The original recipe called for 2 Tbs. dry sherry, but since we don't care for alcohol in anything, I used orange juice instead.

The soup is sprinkled with SPICED PEPITAS.

Small pumpkin seeds tossed together with olive oil, agave nectar, smoked paprika, salt, and then baked until puffed and slightly darkened.

They added such a great crunchy mouth feel.

As far as the salad goes, it's our usual recipe... spring mix, julliened carrots, thinly sliced red onions.

I also threw in some dried cherries, avocado, and leftover SPICED PEPITAS.

This time instead of making my own dressing (Asian Miracle Dressing), I used FOLLOW YOUR HEART SESAME MISO DRESSING.

First time trying this bottled dressing.

It's good for emergencies.

I decided to round out the meal with our new favorite: GARLIC BREAD.

This meal turned out to be so comforting, so colorful, and so mutritious,I didn't want it to end!