East Meets West Veg

Quinoa with Fresh Vegetables and Herbs

Tonight we had a very fast, simple and healthy dinner. It was one of those 'we need to clear out the fridge and we need to eat right away' type of dinners. Since quinoa cooks in only 15 minutes and goes well with all vegetables and herbs (what was filling my fridge), I knew this would be the perfect combination to meet our needs. If you are not familiar with this ancient superfood of the Incas, it is a versatile seed that is usually treated as a grain and can often replace rice or other more familiar grains in dishes. It's quick cooking time and excellent nutrition have made it very popular as of late.

A lot of vegetarians, especially new vegetarians, like quinoa because it is a complete protein and is packed with minerals and nutrients. It is a good source of protein, iron, fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium. It's also a source of vitamin E and calcium. Quinoa has a low Glycemic Index (GI) ranking. Of course, it's also cholesterol free as all plant foods are, and is low in fat, with no saturated fat or trans fat. I found some of this information by looking at the Self Nutrition Data for Quinoa. You can see the amino acid profile and amounts of each nutrient there.

This is not really a recipe, but describing it in a paragraph didn't feel right so I wrote out the steps I followed to give you an idea of a starting place. Again, this was just a very simple meal so you could really get creative here. I also listed the ingredients I used for a reference point.

Ingredients:
Vegetable bouillon or other vegan bouillon
Chicken curry masala (it's vegan)
Turmeric (1/4 tsp)
Quinoa
Cashews
Assorted vegetables (we had green bell pepper, chilies, carrots, radish greens, lima beans, green peas, potatoes)
Assorted herbs (we had fresh basil, parsley, dill and cilantro)

Method:
1. Dissolve vegan bouillon and spices in hot water.
2. Add half as much quinoa as water, chopped vegetables and herbs (you can save the herbs until the end when it's all cooked if you're not feeling too lazy and hands-off).
3. Boil quinoa, then simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Toast cashews and garnish finished dish with them.

I just made this recipe for the first time, but it was an instant favorite! I couldn't help but share it, especially because I've been talking about it to everyone I've seen lately.

I slightly adapted this recipe from a fabulous blog that has really inspired me in so many ways. I substituted heirloom tomatoes, chili infused olive oil, and Ezekiel English Muffins for the tortillas. I think just about no matter what you do with this recipe, it will still be absolutely delicious! It seems simple, but it is so full of flavor and so healthy! You won't feel like anything is missing when you bite into these!



Easy Roasted Tomato Pizzas with Basil Cashew Cheeze:
http://ohsheglows.com/2012/08/21/easy-roasted-tomato-pizza-with-basil-cashew-cheeze-2012-vegnews-awards/

Where to Find: This recipe calls for Nutritional Yeast (NOT regular yeast!) which can be found at Health Food Stores, Whole Foods Market, and specialty stores. Whole Foods has it in the bulk spices section. Ezekiel English muffins can often be found in the freezer section, near the health foods or gluten free breads.

I am so excited for the debut post from my sister from another mother (also my husband's cousin), Shriya. I am always thinking about the time she stayed with us for two weeks and we had so much fun sharing laughs and cooking together. She knows a lot of great tips because she studied Hotel Management in India. In India the word hotel means both restaurant and the place you stay when you are on vacation, so she learned a lot about cooking and catering in her classes. Without further ado, here is a little background and a great tutorial from one of my favorite people in the world!!


This is one of my favorite Indian desserts. Shrikhand always takes me to my childhood and I remember the golden time I spent with my family, my uncles, aunts and wonderful cousins! Shrikhand is also special to me because it is the first Indian dessert I made for my husband the first time after we got married (when I was trying to learn to cook.)

This recipe requires some preparation in advance, but it is simple to make. It is a dessert popular in Marathi and Gujarati cuisine, made of strained yogurt. It can also be eaten as a side dish with Indian breads like poori. This is a lighter, healthier, dairy-free version of the typical Shrikhand. It has no cholesterol and is low fat.

Ingredients:

So, rewind to 2009, the first year of my marriage. I had been thinking for a few days that we needed to incorporate more greens into our diet. I know, I know, we're vegan but we weren't really eating many greens. We hardly even ate salad. That's weird because when I was a kid, I ate (and really looked forward to eating) salad almost every single day! Plus, when I was old enough, I was the one entrusted with the responsibility of making the salads and I loved decorating them and making them beautiful. I took pride in my work. Maybe I got sick of all those years of doing the same job? Or maybe I'm waiting until I have a child of my own so I can employ a family salad maker?
At any rate, I was really concentrating on this - how to incorporate more greens into our diet and how to keep it interesting. Then, I happened to turn on the Food Network and catch an episode of 'Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller.' Lo and behold, she was cooking bok choy - a green I had never worked with before! Sure, I had eaten it in Chinese restaurants. At least I thought that's what it was I had eaten! But I never dreamed of cooking it. Here it was, the answer to my prayers (or, at least, my concentrated contemplations), a new AND EASY way to incorporate greens into our diet! Hooray!

It seems like greens are the big thing right now. We just keep hearing more and more about the health benefits of greens. They are full of phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Bok choy in particular is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin K, which helps with bone strength and alzheimer's disease. It also has many B-complex vitamins including folic acid (great for pregnant women), calcium, phosphorous, potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. As a cruciferous veggie, bok choy helps protect against different cancers and reduce LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol. And, I can not forget to mention that bok choy is a great source of fiber. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, this is most likely not an issue for you because you're probably getting adequate fiber since fiber comes from plant foods. Bok choy is also low in calories and can help with weight loss. Need I say more?

Little effort, great taste, great nutrition! This is my kind of recipe! This became a recipe I would make when I'd come home starving after work or running errands! You can certainly make tofu or tempeh with this, but I find it to be a satisfying meal with brown rice alone (or another grain). I have included a simple, easy tempeh recipe, that would go well with this without adding much more cooking time.

Quick & Easy Tempeh:

Ingredients:
1 block tempeh (about 8 ounces)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1&1/2 Tbsp tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg Liquid Aminos

Method:
1. (Optional) Steam or boil the tempeh for 10 minutes. (Many people swear by this. I almost never bother for this recipe, but I really love tempeh, any way you serve it)
2. Cut the tempeh on the diagonal into 1/2" wide slices.
3. Heat the oil and tamari in the pan on medium heat.
4. Add the tempeh. Try to flip the pieces so that more than one side gets tamari.
5. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring a few times, until the tempeh is hot and golden.

Warning: If this is your first time eating tempeh and you do not like it this way (especially if you don't steam or boil it first), try a different method - marinade it, get a chargrilled tempeh burger, get creative. This is just the quickest and easiest method I know and that was the aim of this post.

Wilted Bok Choy:

The recipe calls for reduced-sodium soy sauce, but if you use tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos (which I do), this becomes a gluten-free recipe.



Recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/wilted-bok-choy-with-soy-sauce-and-cashews-recipe/index.html