Maryland's Pick May 27, 2011

Your Maryland’s Pick bag will contain the following produce:

From Homestead Farms (Poolesville, MD):

·         Dandelion Greens

·         Mustard Greens

·         Turnips

·         Green Leaf Lettuce

·         Red Leaf Lettuce

From Godfrey Farms (Sudlersville, MD)

·         Asparagus

·         Strawberries

The bag will also contain a list of recipes we compiled based on this week’s produce.

Black Beans and Rice Salad

Black Bean and Rice Salad

6 cups cooked brown rice

6 cups cooked black beans

4 carrots chopped 

2 green onions chopped

1 bag frozen corn

8 T rice wine vinegar

1 T chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t oregano

few shakes of garlic powder

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 jar salsa (I used 1 jar chunky salsa)

1/4 head of kale, torn into small pieces

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Adjust seasonings for your taste.

We ate this salad with corn chips! Yummy!!

Raw: Kale Sushi Bowl

Raw Kale Sushi Bowl

1 head kale, torn into bite size, and massaged to break down the leaves

1/2 cucumber, diced

2 carrots, diced

5 nori sheets, diced

1/2 avacado, diced

rice wine vinegar and soy sauce to taste

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl.

Enjoy with a cup of green tea

Pumpernickel bread

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

By request from the boys...oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  YUMMY!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 c earth balance butter
4 t ener g egg replacer
6 T water
1/2 c brown sugar
2/3 c sugar
2 t vanilla
1 t baking soda

mix ingredients until fluffy

add
1 c whole wheat flour
2 c white whole wheat flour
1 c oat meal

slowly add to the wet ingredients

once the dough looks clumpy (but holds shape when balled in hand

add a 12 ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

form into balls (I used ice cream scoop)

put on a cookie sheet (lined with silpad)

bake in 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on your oven)

I rotated the 2 pans every 3 minute to insure proper baking.

Raw: Pad Thai Massaged Kale

Pad Thai Massaged Kale

1 whole head of kale, washed, de-stemmed and torn into bite size pieces

Massage for 4 minutes until kale is broken down.

in a bowl combine:

1 heaping T of peanut butter

1 T chili garlic sacue

1 lime squeezed (not in photo--used in dish)

2 T soy sauce

1 t ginger finely grated

then toss in:

1/2 bag of bean sprouts

Enjoy!!

Tempeh Sausage

Tempeh Sausage
1 tempeh crumbled, steamed
1 t fennel seeds
1 t rosemary
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1 t garlic
1/4 cup olive oil

Steam the tempeh.  Combine seasonings and the tempeh. Fry the tempeh until brown.
Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

We are in the process of selling our home. I was requested by Ed to bake some cookies. We had a 2nd visit from a family that might just put a bid on the home!
So, I decided to make Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies!! They are so yummy! I actually ate way to many.
The house really smelled fantastic!!
I will update you with the offer...

Side note:
The homey smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven worked! We got a contract on the home!!

Veggie Lasagna with Lentil Sausage

Vegan Pasta Bolognese

I have been craving some good Italian food. Ever want the Old World taste but, not sacrifice your health? So, I made myself a challenge....To make a remake Pasta Bolognese from the Food Network but, in a healthy vegan way.

Here is how I revamped this recipe.


Vegan Pasta Bolognese
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, grated
4 cloves garlic
2 pack of tempeh (Trader Joe's brand)
1 zucchini, grated
1 cup coffee, brewed this morning
1 cup red wine
1 T basil, oregano, fennel seeds, garlic powder and tyme (dried)
3/4 cup tomato paste
1 t marmite
1 t vegan worcestershire
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used the 365 brand at Whole Foods)
3 T onion soup mix, vegan
3 cups water

I cooked the onion, garlic and carrot in 1 cup water for 15 minutes. Then I crumbled the temphe and cooked for another 10 minutes. Adding water if it was to brown. Then I added the remaining ingredients. Brought the pot to a boil. And then simmered the dish for 3 hours. Keep an eye on the sauce, if it gets to thick just add some water.

I will serve the sauce on a bed of Whole Wheat pasta and a huge Italian salad.

My home really smells Italian! Yippie! Ed's Nana would be happy to see him eat such healthy food.  The family gives this dish 2 thumbs up!!

Noteworthy: When I was showing the home (for sale) the Bolognese was cooking...they said it smelled fantastic. The kid said he wanted to eat here!  Little did they know it was vegan!

I  came across this blog via facebook....felt like the information needed to be shared. You can find the blog: How to ID Genetically Modified foods at the supermarket at Friends Eat

Vegan Sweet Potato Curry Pie

My family just loves Curries and we love Shepard's Pie. So, I wanted to combine two of our favorite dishes to make a curry pie.

First I baked 5 sweet potatoes in the oven for 1 hour. Then I took them out of the oven to let them cool. 

While they are cooling combine the following ingredients in a pan:

1 large onion, chopped

5 carrots, diced

Cook the onions and carrots in 1 cup water until soft. Then add...

1 bag frozen peas

2 cups spinach

1 cup cauliflower

2 cups red pepper

1 can light coconut milk

2 cups chickpeas

1 cup chopped beef seitan (leftover from dinner)

2 T mild curry powder
1 T tomato paste

Then simmer for 15 minutes.

Once the potatoes are warn peel . Add 1 cup of coconut milk. Mash the potatoes. 

I did the cooking and baking in one pan. So, I layered the mashed sweet potatoes over the curry mix. 

Bake for 25 minutes in a 350-degree oven until bubbly and crisp on top.

Caramelized onion with seitan pepperoni and daiya cheese pizza

Hand tossed pizza dough

topped with home-made seitan pepperoni

fat free caramelized onions

tomato sauce

daiya cheese

Home-made seitan

recipe from Vegan on the cheap

Caramelized fat free onions:

I cut 1 onion in slices, placed in a pan of water (about 1 cup) 

cook down 4 or 5 times on Medium heat

 Letting the onions turn lightly brown

(this process can take 10 to 15 minutes)

Beefy Seitan

 Beefy Seitan
Well, I have made pork and chicken seitan. So today, my mission was to make a beefy seitan. Success once again! Once again I used the slow cooking oven method of making Seitan. I must say that the meat was moist and juicy.

I cooked the seitan with carrots, onions, celery and baby potatoes.
If you would like to make this type of seitan you can visit Notes from the vegan feast kitchen

Raw corn chips

I have been intrigued with the Raw food diet.

So, I decided to make a chip.

This chip is great for Mexican dips.

Raw Corn Chip

1 bag frozen corn, defrosted

1/2 onion

a few slices of red pepper

 a sprinkle of garlic powder and lime juice

Blend all ingredients.

Pour on lined baking sheets.

Bake in oven at lowest setting for a few hours.

I turned the oven off a few times during this process. (for several hours at a time)

The baking pans were always warm not hot.

I do not have a food dehydrator. So, I had to use the oven method. 

To make sure the food is raw, you can leave the oven door open. I will consider doing that during the winter!

The chips were crispy! Tasted good. But, not what we are used too.

So, I will try this chip again with modification in the seasonings.

Live foods...means less processed foods!

Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

Vegan Sausage Breakfast Sandwich

The boys have been craving a real breakfast. Begging me for something other than a smoothie, cereal, or baked good. So I thought how about a S.L.T.? Sausage Lettuce Tomato breakfast sandwich?
Well, it was a huge hit! I started with some Black Russian Bread, then fried up some Gimme Lean Sausage, lettuce, tomato, and vegan cream cheese.

The boys have already requested to repeat this breakfast again. It's a win/win! They get to eat veggies for breakfast and have a fantastic breakfast!

Maryland's Pick

I just joined the Maryland's Pick at the local Whole Foods.


What does the this mean? I will pick up a red bag at Whole Foods each Friday, starting May 27 to September 30th. 


Each bag contains between 6 and 10 varieties of freshly picked produce. Types and amounts of each will vary according to season, weather and what is being harvested on our partner farms that week. All produce is local, so you’ll get what’s grown right here in Maryland. Our partner farms will vary according to the season and what each has available for harvest. 


I will blog the contents of the bag and the menu's that we make of the fruit and vegetables. 

Pad Thai: JT's pick

Pad Thai: JT's pick
JTs pick tonight. He picked Thai. He loves Thai food and most of all he loves Pad Thai. So I made Pad Thai two ways.

First, as a salad as in Appetite for Reduction. This salad was delicious. It gave you the taste of Pad Thai without the extra starch of the noodles.

Second, as the more traditional recipe. I made this recipe from The Vegan Table. I did add broccoli and carrots to increase the vegetables in the dish. I substituted oven baked tempeh for the tofu. I baked it with some of the salad dressing from Appetite for Reduction's Thai Salad recipe. I marinated the tempeh for an hour then baked it for 30 minutes.

Pad Thai

• rice noodles
• tempeh, baked
• organic creamy peanut butter
• brown rice syrup
• Briggs soy sauce
• lime juice
• garlic cloves
• broccoli
• carrots
• cilantro
• peanuts

Cook the rice noodles. I cooked the carrots and broccoli in the same water as the rice noodles. Combine peanut butter, brown rice syrup, soy sauce, lime juice, and garlic cloves. Drain the noodles. Add the sauce. Top with the cilantro and crushed peanuts.  

This dish was overall a fantastic dinner! I actually ended up combining the two Pad Thai's. Yummy!! JT has requested this to be made again. (I do believe he had 3 bowls of it!)

Black Beans and Rice Salad

Black Beans and Rice Salad
The yummiest salad ever! I cooked the black beans with fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, salsa, onions, seasonings, and I hid a few ingredients zucchini and carrots finely grated. I put the black beans on a bed of lettuce and brown rice. Then I topped it off with mango, tomatoes, salsa and toffutti sour cream.

Coconut-peanut Chickpeas and Vegetables

Coconut Peanut butter Chickpeas and Veggies

inspired from 1,000 vegan recipes

onion, 1/2 large chopped

1/2 bag of frozen mixed bell peppers

water, 1/2 cup

garlic, 1T

curry powder, 2T

peanut butter, 3T

1 can light un-sweet coconut milk

1 can green chilies 

chickpeas 

tomatoes, 2 chopped

1 frozen bag chopped collard greens

pepper

Cook onion, pepper and fresh tomato in water until soft. Add curry powder and garlic for 30 seconds. Add the peanut butter and coconut milk. Add chickpeas and collard greens. Cook 14 minutes. Serve over hot brown rice and a few crushed peanuts.

This peanut curry was a huge hit in my family! A few of us had seconds! This recipe will be remade!

Brazilian Stew

This black bean stew is so delicious. I just had to have seconds. I used the recipe from Color Me Vegan

• onions
• garlic
• home-made chorizo sausage, crumbled
• 2 yams diced
• black beans
• water
• peppers (I used tri-color)
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• oregano
• cumin
• can chopped tomato with juice
• cilantro
• mango 

I cooked the black beans. Then I added all of the ingredients except cilantro and the mango. I brought the stew to a boil then cooked covered for 20 minutes on low heat. After you put the stew in the bowl add the cilantro and the diced mango.

This yummy stew was eaten on a bed of brown rice by my boys. While I enjoyed the stew alone. 

This Brazilian Stew is so delicious I will be making it again! This stew was enjoyed by the entire family. And it adheres to the Eat to Live diet.

Avocado, Chocolate Chip & Pecan Scones

Avocado, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Scones

Today I wanted to give my family a hot breakfast. Something sweet and good. I did some research and found out that some cooks were using avocados to replace fat in vegan dishes. This got me thinking. This would be a good fit for my scones.  Besides, how much food do you want to taste like bananas, coconut or apples!

If this works for my family......
It will be a nice change to change up my fats.

I started with 1 frozen scone and mixed white whole wheat flour, 1/3  cup brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla almond milk, chocolate chips, pecans, and energ egg replacer. 

They came out moist and good! YUMMY!!