Vegetarian – Page 6 – morestomach

Crunchy Quinoa Salad with Miso Tahini Dressing

Published on September 12, 2016September 10, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach8 Comments

i’ve been doing yoga consistently for 2 months
which is to say,
i go once a week.
that’s a big deal.
it’s part of my
I’m Getting Old AF concession
so i do the crusty bendy breathing stuff
and my dr doesn’t give me shit for being lazy.
speaking of lazy though,
i have been lax this summer with cooking.
i tend to make a big pile of food
and call it lunch for the week.

when Friends of Great Kids Farm reached out to me
to participate in a back to school healthy lunch challenge
i was going to decline.
i sat on it for a day and decided to join after all.
i pack a lunch for dw + me everyday,
it’s hard sometimes when i’m uninspired or tired.
i’m assuming it’s like that for everyone,
whether you’re a parent,
or just feeding yourself.
this particular week’s lunch is a repeat,
i make it often because
it’s easy
affordable
nutritious
delicious.
what do you usually have for lunch?

Friends of Great Kids Farm is a 501(c)3 foundation partner to Baltimore City Public Schools’ Great Kids Farm. Friends financially supports, enhances, and promotes the Farm’s experiential gardening and nutrition education and career training programs to benefit as many of Baltimore City Schools’ 85,000 students as possible. In 2008, an overgrown, unused property owned by City Schools was transformed into a working farm and dynamic outdoor classroom. This unique facility now provides: a working farm where students connect with healthy foods through cross-curricular, hands-on learning activities; fresh produce for school cafeterias and nutrition education programs; a professional kitchen where students cook and taste Farm produce guided by a chef educator; classrooms for healthy food demonstrations and tastings linked to core instruction; internships for high school students in agriculture and the culinary arts; and support for the development of schoolyard gardens throughout the district. The Back to School Healthy Lunch Campaign seeks to bring attention to healthy eating and support innovative education with local creativity.

for more information, hit up
Back to School Healthy Lunch Challenge

Crunchy Quinoa Salad with Miso-Tahini Dressing

*note: this salad is never the same every time, it’s usually whatever is available at the markets and offered from our csa and the season. you’re aiming for a balance of freshness, tart & salty & sweet, and most important: your preference. if you’re feeling fancy, add some kind of protein, ranging from grilled chicken to chickpeas to tofu. sometimes, time allowing, i add a hard boiled egg. if you’re super fancy, cook the quinoa in stock for even more flavor.
**note: any miso paste is fine, i have the mellow brown rice miso but i’ve used red, yellow or white before, it’s according to your flavor preferences.
***note: this dish is best as a leftover and at room temp, which makes it a perfect lunch. the flavors meld and you’re not having to worry about heating it up. if making for a picnic or potluck, make it the day before, so it makes for a stress free dish.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup amaranth
1/4 red cabbage, shredded
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced fine
1/4 small red onion or shallot, diced
1 carrot, shredded
bunch chopped cilantro
3 stalks scallions, diced
sunflower seeds, optional
cashews or peanuts, very optional
lime wedges, to garnish at the end
toasted sesame seeds

DRESSING
1/2 cup tahini
1 2″ knob of ginger, freshly grated
3 TBL tamari or coconut nectar (or soy sauce)
1 TBL maple syrup
2 TBL rice vinegar
1 TBL miso paste
1 tsp sesame oil
salt/pepper to taste
water to thin

rinse quinoa in a mesh sieve under cool water for a few minutes.

cook quinoa + amaranth according to quinoa package instructions. adding the amaranth doesn’t change cooking time. fluff, set aside to cool.

mise en place everything that you’re wanting to add to the salad.

to make the dressing, use a big bowl to mix everything, or use a vitamix to do the heavy mixing. add in the tahini & miso paste with a splash of water. blitz it up until well incorporated, the aim is to break down the miso. add in the rest of the dressing ingredients, with splash of water if needed. i shoot for 3/4 cup to a full cup of dressing, season to taste.

in a big mixing bowl, add in the quinoa with the vegs. drizzle the dressing in, starting off with just half of it and mix through. you can add as much as you want, keeping in mind that the quinoa will absorb it. you don’t want soup though. you may not use up all the dressing, and it makes for great dipping or regular salad dressing.

top with diced scallions, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds or cashews/peanuts if using. spritz with lime juice.

serve cold or room temp.

BAM!

3 years ago: chicken masala
2 years ago: spice poached pears
1 year ago: steamed egg loaf

where the wild things are smash cake

Published on August 31, 2016August 31, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach18 Comments

following in the same thread
as last post’s boxed confection,
i recently created a small cake
for a small bae
with a wild streak.
a smash cake was reqested
and since i figured it was going to be,
well, smashed to smithereens,
i went boxed, again.
but since it’s for a most beloved child,
we did go organic.
i still have standards y’all.

the theme was
Where the Wild Things Are,
a book i vaguely remember.
i doubt NT will recall this occasion,
though there were plenty of pictures that captured it.
in any case,
it was so easy to put together,
though you’da thunk i slaved over it
by the reactions of everyone in attendance of the party.
that’s winning at adulting,
if there were such a thing.

Where the Wild Things Are Smash Cake
makes 1 2 layered 6″ cake

1 box of cake mix, i used Immaculate Yellow Cake Mix
1 can of frosting, i used Wholesome Chocolate frosting
half bag of chocolate chips, a brand i like is enjoy life
1 tube of pre-made pie crust, i used immaculate ready to bake pie crust

bake the cake as per box instructions. for 6″ i baked for 35 minutes. it did dome a smidge, so it had to be leveled.

for the crown: on a lightly floured counter top, lay out the crust layer. with the mind set of an heir and a spare, i made 2 crowns. i measured out 2 10″ wide rectangles. i’m bad at math and space, so one of the crowns was taller, while the other was stubby. just make a chevron/jagged crown. using either the upside of a muffin or popover tin, wrap the crown around the base. for shininess and some color, do an egg wash. bake for 12 minutes, until gold brown. hopefully 1 of the 2 will come out. in my case, the heir died and i had to use the stubby spare. set aside, be careful, try not to break it.

for the textured bark: you can either melt the chocolate in the microwave or double boiler style. when the chocolate is fully melted, spread it into a rectangle on parchment paper, you want it as thin as possible, so use an off-set spatula. carefully fold the parchment paper into a roll and fridge it until set.

to assemble: lay the first cake layer on a plate or whatever you’re gonna serve the cake on. pipe in a layer of frosting, spread and then top with 2nd layer of cake. crumb coat it. it does not need to be perfect. you do want to make the top be as smooth as possible though, the sides can be bare minimum though. when ready, take the role of schmeared chocolate out and crack it. unroll the paper, you should have varied sized shards of chocolate. adhere them to the sides of the cake, you may need to dab on some frosting to get it to stick. again, it does not need to be perfect, just think of what a tree stump looks like. when the sides are sufficiently covered, re-melt the remaining chocolate shards and with a pastry brush, dab on the chocolate to the the cracks and fill in blank spots. you’re aiming for something rustic.

fridge it. take out about 30 minutes prior to smashing. top with the crown.

BAM!

3 years ago: tofu gyoza – vegan
2 years ago: peach ginger scones – vegan
1 year ago: summer salsa – vegan

nile + smash cake

boxed everything but the topping brownies

Published on August 17, 2016August 16, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach10 Comments

on weekends i spend precious time
thinking up ways to keep myself and dw fed,
not just for breakfast, or lunch or dinner,
but more importantly,
for dessert.
i also think about what i can
make in bulk that can be repeat meals
for the work week.
all of this thinking is usually
before i get out of bed on saturday
to pick up the week’s CSA stash.
inevitably things fall to the wayside —
we go out for a meal
or two
i get distracted with a book
or a craft
or snuggling.
so i give myself permission to make a
boxed item.
because yolo.

this isn’t a recipe,
this is what i did for 1 hour on saturday
before sitting my ass down to some Olympic viewing.

i saw this sexy beast last week,
i knew it had to be in my life.
i pulled a few things together,
and shit, i got it done.

for the from scratch recipe, go to
the beach house kitchen

i used an entire box of smoreables graham crackers + 5 TBL melted coconut oil + scant 1/4 cup coconut sugar + healthy dash of cinnamon
i used namaste brownie mix, under baking it at 20 minutes, instead of the bake time of 35-40 min.
i made king arthur’s marshmallow fluff

have a great week friends!

3 years ago: vietnamese vermicelli noodle bowl
2 years ago: dairy free blueberry swirl muffins
1 year ago: summer salsa

homemade chocolate covered chocolate popsicles

Published on August 10, 2016August 9, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach1 Comment

it’s full swing olympics right now
which means there’s a lot of
dw yelling from the living room:
GO! GO! GO! GO!
and me in the kitchen yelling:
WHAT’S GOING ON?!
in the end
we’re both exhausted
and we have no medals to show for it.
except we have these popsicles.
no one’s gonna write headlines about it
but it’s a small comfort to know
that magnums can now be reintroduced
back into my diet.
Lactose-Free Gold, y’all.

homemade chocolate covered chocolate popsicles
inspired and adapted from the beaming baker
makes 10

*note: this can totally be vegan, if you want to use up two cans of coconut milk or some vegan yogurt. i only had one can of coconut milk and i had kefir hanging out to be used. next time i make this i’ll make fancy custard base, cus i do what i want.

chocolate ice cream:
½ cup raw cashews
the fat from 1 can full-fat coconut milk
pure maple syrup, amount to your sweetness liking
healthy splash of vanilla extract
1 TBL cocoa powder
1 shot of strong black coffee (optional)
whole milk kefir
healthy pinch of salt

chocolate coating:
1/2 cup coconut oil, liquid
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup maple syrup

optional topping:
crushed almonds, though i think crushed peanuts would be better but i forgot to pick some up

morning of: soak cashews in some water. put can of coconut milk in fridge. go about your day.

afternoon of: drain cashews and put in vitamix. take out the cold can of coconut milk, flip upside down, open and pour out the liquid. save it for soup or whatever. scoop out the fatty coconut milk and add it to the vitamix. pour in the kefir milk till it’s about 3 cups (so scientific i know, but you never know much fatty stuff you’re gonna get out of the cans, it varies!) add in the maple syrup, cocoa powder and shot of coffee, as well as the vanilla and salt. vitamix the shit of it, until very smooth and creamy, you might need to scrape down the side but you’re aiming for a very smooth consistency.

pour into popsicle molds, don’t go all the way to the top though, give it some room. if you need to, top off with more kefir. lid, add sticks and put in freezer.

allow to freeze over night, or in my case, 1 week.

when ready, take the pops out about 10-15 minutes before dipping, to thaw them. if needed, run under tap water.

have a cookie tray lined with wax/parchment/freezer paper ready.

in a bowl mix the coconut oil, cocoa powder and maple syrup together until thoroughly combined. pour the liquid into a shallow pan, i used a pie pan. one by one dip the popsicles into the chocolate mixture, work fast as the cold ice cream will freeze the coconut chocolate quickly. sprinkle with chopped nuts if using.

lay the popsicles onto the prepared cookie sheet and then put back in the freezer to firm up.

or you can treat your patient husband to a treat while he watches the olympics.

BAM!

3 years ago: 2 ingredient chocolate mousse
2 years ago: blueberry pie smoothie
1 year ago: thai popsicles

zucchini ravioli

Published on August 3, 2016August 2, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach9 Comments

we had a massive storm here in MD over the weekend
mayhap you saw the headline in your fb feed
or you’re local and you were hunkered down in your abode
like we were in the city,
the lightning and thunder really close.
at one point,
i turned to dw to ask him if he even
knew where the flashlights were.
like the lazy asses that we are
we decided that our phones can suffice
as torches.
meanwhile, with Stranger Things on tv
the kitchen was slowly flooding.
the deluge of water falling from the sky
could not be contained by the fancy gutters
we bought when we fixed the roof last year.
just kidding.
it wasn’t slowly flooding,
it was fucking gushing,
from the back door and onto my new tile floors.
and so, with winona ryder crying in the background
dw & i spent our saturday night
catching water and wringing out towels.
we’re such party animals.

prior to the storm
we picked up our csa and
it’s full on zucchini season,
this week’s recipe really makes good use of this summer veg.
for more inspiration,
hit up maria’s space.

zuch ravioli gif

zucchini ravioli
inspired and adapted from delish
makes about 12-13 raviolis,

*note: i made a full on dairy version with mozz & ricotta cheese for a friend returning from vacation, and i made a completely vegan version for us. click the link for the cheese.
*note**: i doctored up a jar of marinara sauce: sauteed onions + diced garlic scape, chunky over-ripe csa tomatoes and a few TBL of tomato paste.

3-4 zucchinis, sliced thin, with a knife, peeler (which is what i used) or mandolin
1 package of firm tofu, pressed of excess water
2-3 garlic scapes, rough chopped
healthy/generous bunch of parsley
salt&pepper to taste
1 cup of shredded vegan mozzarella, i used daiya
marinara sauce, jarred or doctored or homemade
shredded basil, to garnish

preheat oven to 350F.

slice the zucchinis as described. any nubby bits leftover can be added to the filling, or used for baking, or added to soup.

to make the filling: in a food processor add the pressed tofu. pulse it a few times to break it down. add the garlic scapes and parsley, pulse to incorporate. add in salt & pepper to taste and pulse a few times more. you’re aiming for a well combined ricotta-like mixture.

assemble the raviolis: lay two zucchini slices one way and another two across it, you’re aiming for a lower case T. spoon/scoop about 1.5-2 TBL worth of the tofu mixture in the middle (i used an ice cream scoop). fold the legs over, alternating, until a package is made. continue with the rest of the slices and remaining filling.

in a casserole dish, have a thin layer of marinara sauce. lay out the raviolis, seam side down. spoon sauce over and around the raviolis. they don’t need to be covered, but the amount is entirely up to you. finish with the shredded cheese.

depending on the size of the casserole dish you used, bake for 30-35 minutes (for the smaller batch, i baked for 20 min). the zucchinis came out just at done which dw loved, but i would’ve liked it to go a smidge longer.

garnish with shredded basil.

BAM!

zuch ravioli casserole