Tag Archives: Recipe
Millet Pilaf and My New Secret Ingredient
Last week, I made an impromptu quinoa pilaf that came out amazing– of course, I failed to snap any pics because I didn’t think it would come out as wonderful as it did. So, this week, I decided to recreate the dish, but this time with millet instead. There is one secret ingredient I used to make it taste extra amazing, so follow me down the recipe road if you want to find out what it is!
Here’s what I did:
First, I sautéed in a bit of olive oil one small onion, half of a shallot and four cloves of garlic, all of which were chopped finely. I also added in one diced red pepper. I let them saute for about four minutes.
As the veggies cooked down, I measured out a cup of millet.
It was then time to whip out my secret ingredient. . . these vegan Rapunzel brand bouillon cubes!
Check out the ingredients. . . what you have is a bunch of herbs, sea salt and a little coconut oil.
It’s basically the ideal way to flavor up any pilaf!
Into my pot went the millet, 3 cups of water, and the bouillon cube. I let it come to a boil, and once it did, I brought it down to low heat and let it simmer away, covered for about twenty minutes.
The next time I opened the lid, I was greeted by a fluffy, flavorful millet pilaf!
Guys– it came out so flavorful! I am not one to eat grains without some sort of saucy curry or chili on top, but this pilaf can stand alone! In fact, I ended up eating it as is with a slab of baked tofu– no need for any additional flavor!
Not only was it amazingly tasty, this recipe made plenty! I was able to eat all week, pairing it up with different veggies and proteins, including chickpeas and tempeh.
Those bouillon cubes are heaven-sent. I can imagine throwing them in so many dishes for instant flavor!
So if you all are looking for a simple and tasty pilaf recipe, give this a try. I can attest to the fact it works just as well if you sub the millet for quinoa, and I bet it would also be incredible with rice too.
Do you have a “secret ingredient” that makes various dishes you cook flavorful?
Pumpkin Socca
So, I have been making a conscious effort to eat more protein as well as mix up my diet a bit. I have been stuck in a vegan, gluten-free food rut to say the least, so that just means I need to get my behind in the kitchen more often and branch out in the recipe department. Before I go any further with this post, though I must give credit where credit is surely due. I have been reading Lori and Michelle’s blog over at Purely Twins forever, and find so much inspiration in them as they are undergoing their own intestinal healing journey and have been experimenting with many foods to see how they react with their bodies. While we’re on different sorts of journeys, I love reading what they’re up to and really learn a lot from their blog.
One of the things I have learned about from Lori and Michelle is how to make socca! Socca is basically a flatbread made up of garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour and water. When you mix the two together, it creates a magical batter than can be cooked on a skillet or in the oven to produce a cross between a pancake and bread. The great thing about socca is that the chickpea flour has a decent amount of protein and fiber. I actually use a fava bean and garbanzo bean blend when making socca, with a quarter-cup of the good stuff clocking in with 6 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber. I have made socca before, but it has been a while, so when I spotted the flour lurking in my freezer, I figured it would be a perfect, easy thing to cook up in efforts to diversify my diet.
Since I forgot the proportions of flour to water to use, I consulted Lori and Michelle’s page dedicated to socca. I noticed their pumpkin socca recipe, and because I have a ton of canned pumpkin in my pantry, I decided to make a version of their pumpkin socca! I modified there recipe though based on what ingredients I wanted to use and also so it would produce three single-serving sized flatbreads. Here’s what I did. . .
I grabbed my can of pumpkin (bought about two years ago and expiring this month!).
I took my fava/garbanzo bean flour out of the freezer. . . yes I use old newspaper as a mat so I can make a mess with minimal cleanup!
Into a bowl, I mixed two tablespoons of pumpkin, 1/4 cup of the flour and 1/2 cup of water. I also added a few dashes of turmeric and sea salt. These are the measurements for one single-serving sized flatbread. I repeated two more times to produce two more flatbreads.
I used turmeric because of its neutral taste and anti-inflammatory qualities.
I mixed up the batter so there were barely any visible lumps. I love how the turmeric and pumpkin produced such a vibrant orange color!
Next I heated up a skillet with a spray of sunflower seed oil until it was nice and hot.
Into the pan the batter was poured! It spreads naturally so there was no need to do anything but pour it in.
After about three or four minutes (when the batter was firm), I flipped it! Here’s how it looked on the side that cooked first!
After another three or four minutes, it was done! Here’s how it looked on the second side that cooked.
A perfect pumpkin socca pancake/flatbread. . . so good and so good for you! In case you’re wondering, I estimate this one pancake comes in at 120 to 130 calories, with at least six grams of protein and six grams of fiber.
Like I said, I made three of these beauties and after they cooled, wrapped them up to be eaten as part of easy, healthful lunches.
The beauty of socca, other than its nutritional stats and taste, is that it can be doctored up any way you wish! To make more breakfasty pancakes, add a little sweetener and cinnamon. For a more savory, flavorful version, add garlic and onion powder. Make em spicy, or keep em mild– it’s up to you and your taste buds!
Socca is such a perfect way to mix up a vegan and gluten-free diet. Check out Lori and Michelle’s site for an incredible list of socca ideas!
Have you ever made or tried socca? Is it something you’re interested in trying if not?
Veggie-fied Tofu Scramble
Don’t asked me what possessed me to make a tofu scramble, but it was all I could think about Sunday! I think the first episode of Top Chef Seattle is the culprit– they showed the chefs in an omelet-making competition and while that didn’t make me crave eggs per say, it definitely had me interested in something egg-like! Regardless, the idea of a tofu scramble popped into my brain, and I simply had to make one!
I have never made a tofu scramble before, so I decided to wing it. What ended up coming out of my kitchen that day was a totally delicious, must-be-shared recipe!
I started by assembling my supplies.
First, I got out my coconut oil spray and the block of extra firm tofu.
I decided to incorporate these spices (minced onion, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and turmeric. I also ended up adding some black and red pepper to the mix.
For the veggie component, I stuck to a bag of baby spinach, red and green bell peppers, and onions.
After I took out all of my ingredients, I decided to handle my tofu. Basically, I just squeezed the heck out of it in between paper towels, and once it was dry, I crumbled it up.
Next, I chopped up the onions and peppers into smaller pieces.
I sprayed my skillet with some coconut oil spray and heated it up on the stove for a few minutes before tossing in the veggies to saute.
I seasoned the veggies with some black pepper. I purposefully avoided salt in this recipe since I knew I would later be dousing it with hot sauce come dinnertime.
Once the veggies cooked down a bit, I added in the crumbled tofu.
I immediately showered the mixture with a bunch of spices. I added about a half-teaspoon each of turmeric, minced dried onions, and garlic powder, plus more black pepper and a few shakes of red pepper flakes and smoked paprika. I stirred it all together to distribute the spices.
I love how the turmeric made it look like eggs! For the next ten minutes or so, I just kept tossing around the mixture with my spatula, basically until there was some nice browning of the tofu and caramelization of the onions.
My last step was to basically add the whole bag of baby spinach into the skillet, again, tossing it all together until the spinach cooked down. I had to add the spinach in a few batches due to its volume, but the spinach wilted down tremendously so in the end, it was the perfect amount!
The finished product looked and smelled amazing!
Just in terms of visuals, I am extremely proud of this dish. It looks beautiful– so nice and colorful! Now, taste-wise, I was even more impressed with myself. Seriously, this goes down as one of the best things I have ever made! It was so savory and flavorful, with a nice but subtle hint of spice such that the salt was not missed. I think tofu scrambles are going to be a new thing for me. . .
The best thing about them is how easy and customizable they are! I can’t wait to experiment with different spice mixes and veggies– in fact, the next scramble I make will definitely be curried!
One block of tofu in combination with all those veggies yielded a substantial amount, which is perfect because I live on leftovers!
While the scramble was cooking, I quickly threw a mix of quinoa, amaranth and millet into my rice cooker. I need carbs with my tofu!
This rice cooker is a cheapie one I bought at Target years ago, and I must say, it serves me well.
Again, I made plenty– planned leftovers all day.
Why did I never make a tofu scramble before? Thank goodness for Top Chef and omelets!
Have you ever made tofu scrambles? What is your favorite combo?
Copy-cat Recipe: Steakhouse-Style Greens
After my wonderful dinner at Fleming’s a few weeks ago, I had quite the realization. I discovered how totally awesome steakhouse-style sautéed greens are! The typical steakhouse offers as a side at least some version of “sautéed spinach” or another kind of green, and every time I have ordered that side dish at a steakhouse, I have thoroughly enjoyed it! While I have a tendency to prepare greens “Asian-style,” with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil, it dawned upon me that I should give preparing them “steakhouse-style” a go.
I think the factor that makes greens taste like they are prepared in a steakhouse is that they are super garlicky, and often prepared with onions as well. So, I decided to experiment with those sorts of ingredients to see what I could come up with. I am happy to report I created a copy-cat recipe that may be tastier (and probably way healthier since the greens are not drowning in oil) than the original inspiration!
I started by grabbing two huge bags of greens– when you cook in large quantities so you have food for the week, you need two bags of greens because they wilt down so much! This particular blend included baby spinach, bok choy, and two types of baby chard.
I took about ten cloves of garlic (yes, you need a lot!) and two shallots and processed them in my mini-chopper until they were finely diced. I decided to go for shallots instead of onion since I really love the flavor of shallots. I then sautéed the garlic and shallots together in a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes.
Next, I added one bag of greens to the pot, put the lid on and let them steam down a bit. I gave the whole thing a good stir to distribute the garlic and shallot bits.
Just to make sure there was enough moisture in the pan since I didn’t use much oil, I added a few splashes of low-sodium veggie stock. Of course, a crack of salt and pepper were added for proper seasoning.
Once the first bag of greens wilted down in the pan, I had room to add in the second. Look how much they wilted!
I basically repeated the process of adding the second bag, letting them steam down a bit, giving it a mix and adding some more stock, salt and pepper. You definitely don’t need more than a splash or two of the veggie stock since the greens release water as well. You just want enough so the greens don’t stick to the pot.
This whole process literally takes like ten minutes! While the greens were cooking, I cubed up some tempeh and cooked it stove top in some Braggs liquid aminos.
After all of the greens have cooked down to a texture of your liking (I like them super soft) you are done. Don’t be surprised if the smell in your kitchen is intoxicating– that’s just a mere indication of how flavorful the greens will be. I think the key is tons of garlic and shallot– I think I may just like shallots more than onions for flavor now! I am so obsessed with these greens and this non-recipe recipe because they truly are better than any of the sautéed greens I have ever let pass my lips in a steakhouse!
Do you like sautéed greens? What’s your favorite way to season them?
Pizza Party!
I think I have only had pizza once since I gave up dairy and lowered my gluten intake. I remember coming home from NYC a few months ago with nothing whatsoever to eat in the fridge, so I turned to my freezer stash, in which I spotted a vegan and gluten-free Whole Foods roasted veggie pizza. I added a bit of Daiya to it and called it a meal. It was good, but not great.
I miss pizza. I really love pizza! So when I noticed Sami’s Bakery offered a millet and flax pizza crust on their website, when I made my huge order, I made sure to order a crust too! I figured if I couldn’t find great pizza options around here (though there is one place called Nice Slice nearby that has awesome vegan pizza!), I would just make my own!
When the Sami’s Bakery shipment arrived, I was so happy to see a big, thick gluten-free (though the wrapper does say it may contain traces of wheat and gluten) pre-made pizza crust! I put it in the fridge, and waited until this past weekend to create the pie of my dreams.
I just wanted to show you all the stellar nutritional facts of this pizza– check out the fiber and protein content per slice!
More importantly, look at the ingredient list– not bad right? Millet, flax, brown rice. . . these are all foods I normally eat!
I plopped the crust on a pizza pan. . .
and chopped up my favorite pizza veggies! Red peppers and onions are my go-to pizza toppers!
I opened up a can of this Muir Glen organic pizza sauce, which smelled heavenly!
I spread about half of the can of sauce on the crust, followed by a sprinkle of dried Italian herbs and a generous dose of veggies. I even added some broccoli florets I had hanging around too!
For me, cheese is an essential part of pizza, so I was happy to have some Daiya pepperjack cheese in my fridge. I really enjoy Daiya– it’s flavor and melting abilities are fantastic, and it is allergen-free! Sure it is processed, but I don’t find the ingredient list to be all that bad.
A hefty sprinkle of Daiya topped the pie.
I popped the pizza into a 385 degree oven for about 25 minutes. I watched it carefully to make sure there was no burn action. The crust nicely browned and and the veggies got that hint of char on the top that I just love! The pizza came out wonderfully!
I let it cool for a bit and then sliced it up. I noticed the crust held the weight of the toppings well– no soggy pizza here, that’s for sure. The pizza was perfect– nice, thick and doughy! I cut it into quarters and stopped there– I knew I would never just eat an eighth of it! This is a four slice pizza!
If you want to know how it tasted, check out my post from yesterday. I will say though that I definitely plan on ordering a few more of these crusts to keep in the freezer!
Cheers to homemade, veggie-filled vegan and gluten-free pizza!
What are your favorite pizza toppings? Pepper and onion was always what my parents ordered when I was little!
