New Quinoa Side Dish & Zipper's Divine FroYo (but not at the same time!)

With dinner tonight, we needed a side to accompany baked Quorn chik'n cutlets and haricot verts. Seeing our bin of dry quinoa, Zips scoured the internets for a recipe for me to try out and found one that we improvised off of. The original called for diced bell peppers, which we swapped out for diced onions, and called for walnuts which we omitted. I also added parsley. It's fantastic, has subtle flavors, and makes a tasty, healthy side to your lunch or dinner. I bet it'll be good cold too!

Cranberry Coriander Quinoa (side dish)

Add 1 c. quinoa to 2 c. of boiling water and simmer for about 10 min. until the liquid is absorbed. While that's simmering, saute:

3 ribs celery diced finely

1/2 c. yellow onion diced finely

in 1-2 Tb. olive oil

and add

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

salt & black pepper

Saute until onions and celery are tender then add to the cooked quinoa. Toss in

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. chopped parsley

and serve warm.

Afterward, we had planned on just macerated berries (that's fancy talk for slicing berries and tossing some sugar over the top and letting them sit until they get all juicy) for dessert, but Zips really outdid herself in deciding with all the yogurt we have in the house, it's a shame we've never tried to make frozen yogurt. So she did, ignoring all the imperatives she found online that you have to have full fat yogurt. We didn't, and it turned out just fine with the non fat Greek yogurt we have on hand.

Divine Blueberry Lavender Frozen Yogurt

2 c. plain fat free Greek-style yogurt

12 oz. (2 packs) fat free blueberry yogurt (we have Chobani)

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 Tb. vanilla extract

1 Tb lavender buds

Mix all the ingredients together until you're sure the sugar has dissolved. Then dump it all into your ice cream maker. The result is floral, tart, sweet, and heavenly (not to mention fairly guilt-free!)

I'm sure this is only the beginning of much experimentation in the FroYo genre of desserts I can't wait to see what she hankers for next.

Improving on Perfection: Crumble Topping

After the success of the banana raisin muffins, Zips has been on a quest to discover more and even better breakfast recipes. So she found a vegan blueberry muffin that looked healthy-- and they taste healthy. For me they had all qualities that I avoid in baked treats-- they were a bit dense, grainy, not terribly sweet. But these same qualities are why Zips ended up liking them a lot. She agrees they taste healthy, but in a good way. She likes how they smell like whole wheat. I'll spare you the recipe so you go find a better one. But these'll do in a pinch.

So rather than strike off in new territory this morning, I decided to just swap the raisins in last week's banana muffins for blueberries. And to be extra delicious, I decided to look for a crumble topping recipe.

And am I ever glad I did! It's super easy to remember the quantities of the ingredients-- just grab your 1/4 c. measuring cup.

Crumb Topping for muffins (and other things, I'm sure!)

1/4 c. all purpose flour

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. oats

1/4 c. butter (best if kept cold and cut into small pieces)

1 tsp. cinnamon

mix everything together with a fork until clumpy but well incorporated. Then fork pieces over each muffin-- whatever sort of muffins you decide to make.

It made the muffins smell and taste like PIE! I look forward to making more kinds-- I'm thinking of looking up something with apples and raisins. Oh, and despite Zips' love of blueberries, she likes the banana muffins with raisins better. But she loved the crumble!

Midnight Baking!

Summer has officially landed. We've had more than one 90 degree day and I've just finished my last official commitment on campus until fall orientation starts again in August. This explains why, at 12:22am I found myself hunkered over my oven waiting for a batch of muffins to rise.

Vegan banana raisin muffins discovered by Zips on stumbleupon (I tell you, it's an addiction!). She happened upon a wonderful vegan foodie blog that I've fallen head over heels for. In any case, "Super Skinny Banana-Pecan Muffins" definitely turned my head. Since we're cutting down on nuts for a bit (something complicated having to do with L-arginines and L-lysines and myelin sheaths), I swapped the pecans for raisins. We're going to have them for breakfast!

Skinny Banana Raisin Muffins (vegan!)

preheat oven to 350

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. oats

1/4 c. raw sugar (I just realized while typing this that I forgot to use raw sugar!)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Mix these together and in a separate bowl, mix together:

1/3 c. soy milk

1 egg replacer (the original on Crunch & Chew uses flax "eggs," I use ener-g)

2 Tb. veg. oil (the original uses applesauce instead, which I don't have)

1 large overripe banana mashed up (we had 2 medium sized, so I used them both)

mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then add 1/3 c. raisins (or pecans, walnuts, etc) . Spoon into muffin pan and bake 15-20 minutes.

I accidentally spread a bit of veg. margarine onto one and ate the whole thing without chewing. I don't know if I'll even sleep tonight. It smells so good in here. Think I'm crazy? Go make some of these in the middle of the night and see how you do!

Decadent Dessert (toppings!)

With Memorial Day weekend coming up and holiday weekend movies starting tomorrow, we decided to beat the rush and have a cookout today (Wednesday). After gorging ourselves on potato salad, veggie burgers and corn grilled over the fire, we scraped together change from the couch for some fresh strawberries and heavy whipping cream for dessert. Zips missed the episode of Barefoot Contessa I caught that featured her summer berry pudding (to be attempted sometime soon!) that she tops with some rum whipped cream. We still have some dregs of Bacardi, so we figured, why not?

Rum Whipped Cream (thanks Ina!)

half pint of heavy whipping cream

3 Tb. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tb. rum (the original calls for dark rum, I say use what you got!)

Since I've never actually whipped cream, I decided to be good and put the stainless steel bowl, the cream, and the beaters for the mixer in the freezer for about 10 minutes (this is supposed to be helpful). Beat the cream by itself until it's beyond frothy and starts to actually thicken. Then slowly add the rest of the ingredients and continue beating until stiff peaks form and all that. Goes GREAT with fresh strawberries. Would also be excellent on anything chocolate or coffee flavored. I'm interested in trying this with brandy instead of rum. We'll see. Enjoy!

Pineapple-Soy Glazed Tofu recipe that Zips stumbled upon

So Zipper has stumbled upon the web discovery engine StumbleUpon.com and is completely hooked. It's her new evening pasttime. She's clicked off Vegetarian Recipes among her fields of interest, and so stumbled upon the basis for our new dinner adventure: Pineapple-Soy glazed tofu.

The original recipe called for pineapple preserves, orange or pineapple juice and diced pineapple chunks. Having just peeled and cored our first perfect pineapple of the summer, I just substituted finely minced pineapple for the preserves and juice portion. One of the user comments also suggested adding 1/2 c. sweet and sour sauce, which we don't have. So I looked up several recipes for that too, which I'm including. The result is deeelicious. I'm only sorry we didn't have any more bell pepper (used it last night in the tagine) or green onions. We agreed that cashews or peanuts would also be a great addition to this. But once you have the sauce down, you'll be great to go!

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1/4 c. ketchup

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. white vinegar

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1-2 tsp. soy sauce

1 Tb. cornstarch

Mix these together in a microwaveable bowl and heat it for 1 min. Stir and heat it 1 more minute until cornstarch is "cooked" and the sauce is glossy. Yields about 1/2 c. (would also be great with spring rolls!)

Pineapple-Soy Glazed Tofu

1 package firm tofu cut into cubes or slices (I sliced mine and pressed it to drain out the liquid-- lay them out on several paper towels, cover with another paper towel and set a cutting board on top. Then add weight to the cutting board to press the tofu)

1-2 Tb. oil (I used half sesame and half veg. oil)

2 cloves minced garlic

After the tofu has been drained/pressed for 10 minutes, heat the garlic in the oil and brown the tofu on both sides. Lower the heat and whisk together:

1/2 c. finely minced fresh pineapple (and whatever juice leaks out of the fruit while you're chopping it)

2-3 Tb. soy sauce

1/2 Sweet & Sour Sauce

Pour these into the tofu and add 1/2 c. diced pineapple (cut it the same size as the tofu). Now would also be a good time to add other veggies-- bell pepper, baby corn, whatever strikes your fancy. Simmer tofu and pineapple in the sauce until well incorporated and heated through. Serve over brown rice with sliced green onions and cilantro.

New Summer Tagine Recipe

(First off, let me admit I do not own a tagine. Nevertheless, this is delicious and easy to make.)

Driven by the usual summertime necessities (65% poverty, 35% laziness) I found and tweaked a wonderful Moroccan-inspired chickpea/chik'n recipe for dinner tonight:

1 12 oz. bag Quorn Chik'n Tenders

1 14 oz. can vegetable broth

1 14 oz. can whole tomatoes

1 14 oz. can garbanzo beans

1 med. yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 bell pepper, diced

2 Tb. olive oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

In your tagine (or dutch oven or other large-ish heavy-bottomed pot) saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 min. Then add the quorn tenders spices and saute for another 5 min. or so. Pour in broth, tomatoes (and juice from the can), garbanzos, and bell pepper. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until everything is nice and incorporated and the aroma of everything drives you insane. Salt and pepper to taste (but you probably won't need it at all).

While that's happening, bring to a boil 1 1/4c. vegetable broth, a little of the juice from the canned tomatoes, and a sprinkle of cumin, coriander, and chili powder. Stir in 1 c. of whole wheat couscous. Cover and turn off the heat immediately, and allow the couscous to absorb the liquid (5-8 min).

Serve the "tagine" mixture over the couscous, and don't be stingy with that sauce. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Another good protein, low fat dinner that we didn't even have to leave the house for!

Veg-Friendly in San Antonio!

On a quick trip to San Antonio, we tried out the lone star's lone all-vegetarian restaurant (well, in that town anyway), Green Vegetarian Cuisine.

It has an eclectic, arty look on the outside, and I was encouraged by the fact that the small parking lot was full and that the street out front was lined with parked cars. A full restaurant is a good sign!

I was also excited to see they also have several thriving garden beds out front that are chock full of herbs, kale and other greens that are served in the restaurant.
The inside has two narrow, funky boho-chic dining rooms.
Since we're in San Antonio, Zips was feeling like Tex-Mex and got the chalupa plate-- with refried black beans, guac, pico, tvp crumbles that came with a side of quinoa with cilantro and red onions. (She was waffling between that and the taco salad)
I opted for comfort food and ordered their "neatloaf", (tvp and breadcrumb base) which was a little dry, but very tasty. It had a pleasantly tangy, smoky flavor. And the mashed potatoes & gravy were delicious-- there were pieces of carrot in with the potatoes. And the wilted greens (from the garden out front) have left me completely craving this again. I'm going to have to go out and find me some kale!
They came right up to the table with a platter of desserts (rather than asking if we want to see the dessert menu-- they make it impossible not to order dessert). They boast a whole case of vegan desserts-- cupcakes, cookies, and even offer whole cakes and wedding cakes!

We got a take-away cookies and cream and a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. My cookies and cream was tasty-- the frosting tasted a bit like cookie dough (in a good way). Zips' peanut butter chocolate was less of a hit-- a little dry and unexciting.

We'd love to try eating here again, though. Especially the breakfast menu! We had a whole meal planned out, but then found out they're closed on Saturday! Next time.