Avocado Monster Salad

Last night, I wanted to eat something filling. I had a ton of produce and didn't want anything to do to waste, so I made a so-called "Monster Salad" (not to be confused with monster ballads).

The Salad

4 cups spinach/kale mix (Earthbound, from Costco)

heirloom tomatoes

3 multicolored carrots

2 tbsp watermelon radish (a Whole Foods purchase)

2 avocados

1 scallion

1/2 cup cashews

The Dressing

juice of one lemon

2 tbsp miso

splash of Mirin

rice wine vinegar

2 tsp honey

The colors and the contrasting textures and flavors made for such a unique and delicious vegan treat. 

Vegan Stuffed Poblano Pepper

The Ingredients

2 poblano peppers

1 cup of brown rice

1 package of firm tofu

1 cup of mixed bag of spinach/kale

two tomatoes

1/4 cup red onion

1 tbsp olive oil

cumin

coriander

salt

red chili flakes

First, clean the poblano peppers and scoop out the seeds from the inside. Set them aside on a baking sheet. Then, bring two cups of salted water to a boil. When boiling, add the cup of brown rice and let cook thoroughly. This should take about twenty minutes, so you can do your filling prep work in the meantime. 

Lightly coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil. Chop some red onion and add to pan on medium heat, so it sizzles and the onions slightly caramelize. Dice the tofu and let it sautée with the onions. When slightly beige in color, add the cup of spinach and kale and keep on medium heat. Dice two tomatoes (I used tomatoes on the vine). Add them to the mixture and stir so everything gets evenly cooked. Add salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander to taste. I love cumin and coriander and didn't want something super spicy, so I went more heavily on those things than I did the red pepper. The mixture should look like this:

Once rice has thoroughly cooked, you can add it to the mixture. Continue to stir and season so everything is evenly spiced and cooked. You may now stuff your peppers!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cook the peppers for 20 minutes. Enjoy! 

Celery Root + Leek Purée

I got a little fancy at Whole Foods! I saw they had celery root, something I had been wanting to cook for quite some time, so I went for it. It's a great alternative to potatoes. Quite the struggle to clean, peel, and cook, but worth it. Here is a recipe of mine that I tried out:

The Ingredients

2 celery roots

1 12 oz. bag of frozen leeks

2 cups of cashew cream

1/4 cup red onion

1 tbsp olive oil 

salt

pepper

First, clean the heck out of the celery root. It can be hairy and twisty at the bottom, so make sure you get out all the dirt and chop the knobby ends off. Once you have done this, you can peel away. You want to keep peeling until you only see white (this takes a while). Place the celery root into a pot with salted water and bring to a boil. It will take around 25 minutes to cook two roots. 

While the celery root is cooking, chop up 1/4 cup of red onion and set aside. Gently coat a pan with olive oil. Bring up to medium heat and add the bag of frozen leeks (mine were from Trader Joe's). Let them sauté for a bit, until their texture changes. They should be soft and sort of fall apart a bit. 

Next, add the cashew cream. I made my own from the night before. Just take a standard bowl and fill it with raw, unsalted cashews. Cover them completely with water and let them absorb the water overnight. They will soften enough that when you blend them for two minutes they become a beautiful, thick cream.  

At this point, the celery root should be cooked. Chop it into smaller chunks and add it to the leek mixture. Then, use an immersion blender to turn it all into a purée. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy! It's a great side dish option.

Cranberry Almond Maca Truffles

The Ingredients

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 cup sliced raw almonds

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp maca powder

1 cup dried cranberries

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp raspberry jelly

juice of one large lemon

cocoa powder 

Blend all ingredients in a food processor but the cocoa powder. It will thicken up and will be easy to mold into little balls. 

I formed mine like so:

Roll the balls into the cocoa powder or dust them with it. 

The finished product should look like this. I leave mine in the freezer and enjoy a sweet and cool snack! 

Shiitake Kale Soup

The Ingredients

1/2 tempeh "block"

1 container of fresh shiitake mushrooms 

2 cups kale

4 cups water 

1 cup miso paste

1 tbsp grated ginger

1/4 white onion

1 cup tamari

1 tbsp coconut oil

First, cut the tempeh into small cubes and stick in a ziplock bag. Pour all but one tbsp of tamari into the bag and let it marinate for a few hours. Set aside.

Coat the bottom of a pot with coconut oil and heat at medium heat. Take the onion and dice it into small pieces. Cook the onions until they are translucent. 

Pour the water and miso paste into the pot and let it simmer. 

Cut the mushrooms into long strips and set aside. Then, cut the kale into pieces similar in size to the mushrooms. I use pre-cut Trader Joe's kale, which saves a bit of time. Add both the kale and mushrooms into the broth mixture. Then, add the tempeh. dd the ginger and leftover tamari  and cook for 20 minutes. And enjoy! Filling and vegan! 

Miso Dressing

The Ingredients

1 tbsp miso paste

1 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 splashes tamari

2 tbsp water

Shake ingredients and BAM! Enjoy it on any type of salad. My choice was a sprouted lentil and beet salad with a hard-boiled egg. Super tasty and light. It makes around 8 oz. If you'd like, you can add some ginger and/or lemon. Serious nom noms! 

Lemon Miso Ginger Hummus

The Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp sweet miso paste (low-sodium)

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 small garlic cloves

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp sesame oil

I love hummus. And as of a few days ago, I discovered a new love: a love of miso paste. What a great way to make things more tasty without adding a ton of calories. I wanted to make hummus and I wanted to use miso paste, so I found this recipe: 

http://www.thesmartkitchenblog.com/2012/08/lemon-miso-hummus.html

I followed it, but added some toasted sesame oil for an earthy flavor to balance out the citrus and tanginess from the ginger. Blend and enjoy! I plan on using miso in the future for some new hummus creations, so stay tuned... 

Miso hungry!!!!!