Category Archives: Sides

January 5, 2012 · 2:30 pm

COOKING WITH SIRICA – Barbecued Portobello Sandwiches

Another great recipe post from Sirica…

Even before my husband and I went vegan we avoided certain animal products, pork being at the top of that list.   So one of the dishes that I truly have missed is a pulled pork sandwich with lots of creamy coleslaw and pickles. A couple of months ago I was craving BBQ so I started working on this recipe and after a few attempts, it is perfectly delish and vegan!

SANDWICH INGREDIENTS – Serves 2-3***
2 portobello mushrooms cleaned, stemmed and thinly sliced
½ white or yellow onion thinly sliced
1 Tbs. olive oil
½ – ¾ cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I use Amy’s BBQ sauce, some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a little maple syrup)
2-3 sandwich buns Earth Balance butter spread

***Note: Since writing up this recipe, I have experimented with this dish and have added a handful of diced baby bela mushrooms (or crimini) to the mushroom onion mixture. Made a huge difference, much more meaty texture!

COLESLAW
3 cups green cabbage shredded
1 cup red cabbage shredded
½ cup carrot shredded
1 Tbs. red onion diced
1 Tbs. red bell pepper diced (optional)
½ cup veganaise
½ tsp. of Dijon mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice
1-2 Tbs. vinaigrette dressing (I like Girard’s light champagne dressing)
½ tsp. agave nectar or sweetener of choice (maple syrup would work also)
Salt & pepper to taste
 

Depending on your preference you can either remove the gills from the mushrooms or leave them. Stem and thinly slice mushrooms.

Thinly slice onion.

Sauté onion and mushrooms in olive oil on medium for 10 minutes till tender. Pour out any excess moisture/water from pan before adding BBQ sauce.

Add sauce and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until thick. Be careful to add the sauce slowly, you can always add more later.

While mushroom onion mixture is simmering, prepare coleslaw. Combine Vegenaise, mustard, lemon juice, vinaigrette and sweetener of choice, adjust according to your liking. Toss dressing with cabbage, carrot, onion and bell pepper.

Toast buns under broiler for a minute or two then top with Earth Balance butter spread.

Assemble sandwich on plate with a good serving of mushroom mixture on bun topped with coleslaw. Serve with more coleslaw on the side with a few pickle slices.

Enjoy!

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

7 Comments

Filed under Cooking With Sirica, Guest Blog, Kid Friendly, Main Dish, Recipes, Salad, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian

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September 15, 2011 · 3:35 pm

GUEST BLOG – Crunchy and Healthy Jalapeno Poppers by Veg Obsession

Another blog that I frequent is Veg Obsession.  Isobelle created the site as a means to share the delicious vegan recipes she makes with her friends and family.  Through Veg Obsession Isobelle wants to show people that delicious, mindful, and compassionate eating is easy to achieve.  One of the main reasons Isobelle is vegan is for her daughter and her future…it is clear that she is a very committed mommy!

While cruising through Isobelle’s site I came across her recipe for Crunchy and Healthy Jalapeno Poppers.  I contacted her and she has graciously agreed to share the recipe on Veggie Grettie.  Traditionally jalapeno poppers are laden since they are loaded with cheese and fried.  Isobelle fixed that problem by filling the jalapenos with hummus and baking them.

Enjoy this healthy variation!

My husband and I love spicy!  We have a jalapeno plant in the back yard that has been producing plenty of peppers.  And, of course, all of them are used.  I used to make jalapeno poppers with Toffuti “cream cheese” (which are a lot healthier than the traditional fried poppers with the greasy/fatty real cheese).  But, my husband suggested trying to make it even healthier.  So, he gave me the idea of hummus in the jalapeno, and I am so glad he did, because this is wonderful and delicious!

*Jalapeno peppers are very good for you.  It helps cure headaches, congestion, and it even helps fight off cancer!

*Garbanzo beans are also super healthy!

Ingredients:

Directions:

Slice the top off the jalapenos, cut them in half (lengthwise), remove seeds and placenta.

Note: if you like REALLY spicy poppers, you can add the seeds and jalapeno placenta to your hummus.

Spoon hummus into jalapenos.

Dip the jalapeno in the unsweetened nut milk (almond milk).  Then, roll the jalapeno into the whole wheat (or gluten free) flour.  Dip it into the nut milk again.  Then, roll into the panko bread crumbs.  Place onto a slightly greased cookie sheet and spray a little bit of olive oil onto the poppers (just a little bit!).

Bake for 25 minutes and then enjoy!

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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Filed under Appetizers, Guest Blog, Recipes, Sides, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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July 5, 2011 · 1:33 pm

GARLIC GINGER BOK CHOY – ala Elana’s Pantry

photo provided courtesy of elanaspantry.com

I made this recipe (from Elena’s Pantry…an awesome gluten free site) to accompany one of our dinners last week and we plowed through it…yum!  I didn’t have any fresh ginger on hand, so I used powdered ginger and it still turned out great.  Believe it or not, we ate 2 pounds worth of bok choy in one sitting, so I just doubled the sauce and saved some of it for later.

Garlic Ginger Bok Choyprinter friendly

  1. Slice bottoms off baby bok choy
  2. Slice bok choy into lengthwise strips ½-inch wide (like long noodles)
  3. In a small bowl, combine fish sauce, agave, sesame oil and arrowroot
  4. Make a paste-like slurry dissolving the arrowroot
  5. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat
  6. When oil is hot, add bok choy and salt
  7. Cook, tossing frequently with metal tongs until slightly wilted
  8. Add scallions, ginger and garlic and stir constantly until fragrant
  9. Stir in sauce and quickly mix with vegetables, until thickened
  10. Serve right away, while hot
For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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April 21, 2011 · 2:29 pm

GRILLED CORN ON THE COB

This weekend I bought the most amazing tri-color corn at our local organic farm stand…our first fresh corn of the season.  I immediately knew how I wanted to prepare it.  Grilled.  Grilling corn imparts a slightly smokey taste, but what I love about it is the fact that the corn husk protects the corn from direct contact with the grill.

At dinner I think we all would have eaten two ears of corn each (If I had been smart enough to buy that much!).  Instead I bought 5 ears and we were all left fighting over the last ear…

~

INGREDIENTS

Corn on the cob (As many ears as you would like)

Earth Balance® Natural Buttery Spread – Soy Free

Seasoning (i.e. Celtic sea salt, pepper, OR Chili con Limon)

Trim the corn and make sure there is not excess husk or stem.

Soak the corn (in its husk) in water for 30 minutes (My in-laws bought me the tub below from an Asian market and I use it ALL THE TIME for soaking produce). 

Preheat the barbeque to medium heat.

Place the soaked corn in its husk on the barbeque.  Turn the corn every 3-5 minutes for a total of 15-20 minutes.

Remove the corn from the barbeque and allow it to cool until it is cool enough to shuck. 

Once shucked spread the Earth Balance® Natural Buttery Spread over each ear of corn.

Season immediately.  The Earth Balance® Natural Buttery Spread will add wonderful flavor and will also help the seasoning stick to the corn.

Chile Con Limon NET WT. 4 oz.

My favorite seasoning for grilled corn is Chile Con Limon by Via Nueva…so good!  For more information about this seasoning click here.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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March 29, 2011 · 1:34 pm

FRESH MEX CORN SALAD

I am so happy that Spring is here!  Although it isn’t quite April yet, we definitely are experiencing the “showers” part.  Now that Spring has arrived, the amazing produce Spring brings has started making its way into farmer’s markets and the grocery stores…yay! 

While I do cook this salad slightly, it would be very good completely raw as well.

INGREDIENTS

6 cups freshly cut corn (I used 8 small ears)

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

½ head cilantro, chopped

1 ½ cups jicama, diced

1 lime

1 tsp olive oil

½-1 tsp ground cumin

salt to taste

pepper to taste

 ~

Pour the tsp of olive oil into a pan.  Over medium heat lightly sauté the onions and peppers for 2 minutes (you want to maintain their crunch).  Add the corn and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.

Squeeze in the juice of the lime and turn off the heat.  Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.  Sprinkle in the cumin and mix well.  Add the cilantro and jicama and mix thoroughly.

Let the freshness of the ingredients speak for itself.  Do not overpower the salad by adding too many spices.

This salad tastes phenomenal accompanied by flavorful black beans…I ate this for lunch three days in a row!

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

5 Comments

Filed under Gluten Free, Main Dish, Recipes, Salad, Sides, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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March 9, 2011 · 4:48 pm

ROASTED GARLIC

When you roast garlic it becomes so flavorful and takes on a whole new dimension.  Way back when I used to roast garlic by cutting open the head and pouring olive oil on it before wrapping it up and throwing it in the oven. 

As a result of my nutrition education I understand the need to drastically reduce consumption of added fats (especially processed fats).  I will post later in more detail about this topic, but for now lets just say that added fats contribute to our risk of heart attacks and strokes…yikes!

When it comes to roasted garlic, the good news is that it still tastes great with no added oil.  Those of you out there who have trouble digesting raw garlic will find that roasted garlic is mild and easy to digest.

Keep some on hand for adding to salad dressing, whole grain pizza, rubbing on whole grain bread, in sauces, dips, you name it…the applications are endless.

INGREDIENTS

2 heads of garlic

foil

Cut the bottom off of the heads of garlic and separate the cloves.  Wrap the separated cloves tightly in foil.

Bake at 375° for 45 minutes.  I bake mine in my Cuisinart toaster oven.  When I do not have a big casserole to bake, I really love using the toaster oven since it heats up so fast and does not expend as much energy as the regular oven.

Once roasted, allow the garlic to cool down and then squeeze the roasted garlic out of each clove.  It may get a little sticky, but it will still come out clean.

The garlic is now ready to use!

6 Comments

Filed under Recipes, Sauce / Spread / Jam / Yogurt, Sides, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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March 5, 2011 · 4:44 pm

ROASTED BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER

Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

Roasted Veggies always taste so good.  This recipe is another easy one and so basic…preheat the oven, clean the veggies, mix in a tiny bit of oil and spice, pop it in the oven, and by the time the table is set they are ready to go.

 
INGREDIENTS 

1 head of broccoli

1 head of cauliflower

Simply Organic garlic salt

olive oil

~

Preheat the oven to 425°

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets (save the stems for juice). 

Stems for Juice

Stems for Juice

Wash the florets in a colander.

Wash in a Colander

Wash in a Colander

Wash in a Colander

Wash in a Colander

Spin the florets in a salad spinner to get rid of any excess water.

Place the florets in roasting pan and coat LIGHTLY with olive oil.  Season the florets with garlic salt.

Spun and Ready for Olive Oil and Garlic Salt

Spun and Ready for Olive Oil and Garlic Salt

Put the roasting pan in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until tender and golden brown.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

12 Comments

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March 2, 2011 · 1:56 am

APPLE PIE INFUSED PECANS

Apple Pie Infused Pecans

Apple Pie Infused Pecans

If you have ever soaked nuts in an attempt to destroy their enzyme inhibitors and increase their digestibility, then I am sure you have noticed that they swell to twice their original size.  It was this observation that inspired my latest nut recipe.  I thought, if nuts are able to absorb such vast quantities of water, then surely they are able to absorb any liquid…and boy did they!  The result is subtle, but oh so good.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups pecans

3 cups fresh squeezed apple juice

1 cup crock pot applesauce OR apple juice concentrate*

1 Tbs. honey or agave syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

*to make this recipe completely raw, you can either eliminate the applesauce or add date paste for sweetness

~

Blend the fresh squeezed apple juice, applesauce, honey, cinnamon, and allspice in a high speed blender.

Blend in Your Vitamix

Blend in Your Vitamix

Add Spices and Sweetener into the Blender

Add Spices and Sweetener into the Blender

Place the pecans in a large Glasslock™ container and cover with the apple juice mixture.  Allow the pecans to soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Pour Spiced Juice Mixture Over Pecans

Pour Spiced Juice Mixture Over Pecans

Ready for the Fridge

Ready for the Fridge

In the morning pour the pecans into a colander and rinse them.

Pour Pecans and Juice Mixture into a Colander

Pour Pecans and Juice Mixture into a Colander

Rinse the Soaked Pecans

Rinse the Soaked Pecans

Place the soaked pecans on a mesh dehydrator tray (not a Teflex sheet) and dehydrate at 115 ° for 6-8 hours.  To ease clean-up, I place a Teflex sheet on the tray below the pecans so it can catch any drips.

Place Pecans on Mesh Tray

Place Pecans on Mesh TrayDehydrate in Excalibur...Tray Below Has a Teflex Sheet

These pecans are so good on their own.  I keep mine in the freezer and eat them straight out of the freezer (they are extra crunchy that way).  The Apple Pie Infused Pecans would also be a great trail mix ingredient!

 

Apple Pie Infused Pecans

Apple Pie Infused Pecans

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

4 Comments

Filed under Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Nuts, Raw, Recipes, Sides, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian

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February 24, 2011 · 11:53 pm

VEGGIES and WHOLE GRAINS THAT KIDS WILL LOVE – Guest Blog by Alexandra Jamieson

Alexandra Jamieson

Alexandra Jamieson

I first became aware of Alexandra Jamieson while watching the documentary Super Size Me.  Due to her vast knowledge base as a professionally trained healthy gourmet chef and certified health and nutrition counselor, Alexandra was the right person for the job when it came to whipping Morgan Spurlock back into shape after he gorged himself on fast food for the documentary.  She successfully accomplished the task at hand and that led to her book, The Great American Detox Diet.  She has also penned Living Vegan For Dummies and Vegan Cooking For Dummies.

Alexandra Jamieson has been featured on Oprah, The Final Word, 30 Days and The National Health Test with Bryant Gumble, and the award-winning documentary Super Size Me.

Alexandra is now married to Morgan and they have a young son Laken which gives her great insight into tips and tricks for getting young children to eat and enjoy healthy food.

To learn more about Alexandra and the services she offers click here. 

I hope you enjoy her contribution…

Kid Friendly Grain Molds

Kid Friendly Grain Molds

Even though I stock my house with natural food, keep fresh fruit on the table at all times, and offer healthy snacks at every turn, my son sometimes turns his nose up to my offerings.

I’ve noticed that Laken refuses beans in almost every state lately. He’ll eat lentil soup, but when presented with home cooked chickpeas, sauteed pintos or black bean soup, I invariably hear “I don’t like beans, Mama!” This is a little upsetting because I think he needs beans on a regular basis for protein and minerals. Eating a variety of beans provides iron, potassium and zinc, and I don’t like to feed him soy every day. Yes, he eats some tofu and organic, unsweetened soy yogurt, but I would rather not go overboard on the soy products.

I’m going to assume it’s just a phase – just like the four month stretch when he decided he didn’t like avocados anymore. Funny, he happily devoured avocados daily for 2.5 years, then one day decided they were no longer acceptable. It was probably my insistence that he “liked them before” that made him refuse.

A few weeks ago I started making mixtures of veggies, beans and whole grains and pressing them into kid-friendly shapes using these awesome Japanese sushi molds and nori paper punches. If anyone knows how to make food cute, it’s the Japanese!

Knowing that marketing to kids works (see Super Size Me!) when it comes to junk food, I thought “why can’t marketing healthy food work too?”

The recipe is really easy, and my son happily ate several pieces for dinner. Here’s how it works:

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup shiitake mushrooms

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (any beans would work)

1 cup cooked whole grain (brown rice, quinoa, etc)

Directions:

– Saute the olive oil, garlic, mushrooms, and beans with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes over medium heat. I like to use a cast iron skillet which lends some iron content to the final dish.

– Combine the cooked veggies, beans and grain in a food processor and pulse 10 times.

– Press the veggie and grain mixture into the molds and hand pack them. Place molded animals on a plate and use the nori paper punch to create mineral rich nori eyes and a mouth.

These healthy, yummy grain animals are a perfect snack or side dish with some steamed veggies.

You can order sets like this by clicking here.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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Filed under Beans/Legumes, Gluten Free, Grains, Guest Blog, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian

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February 24, 2011 · 1:50 am

HOMEMADE CORN TORTILLAS

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Homemade Corn Tortillas

It’s confession time…I bought yet ANOTHER kitchen gadget (My husband is always teasing me about all of my kitchen gadgets)!!!

I have been eyeing the tortilla press in the Williams-Sonoma catalogue for some time now and I finally broke down and ordered it from their website.  Trust me, paying the shipping cost is worth it because I know if I actually went into the store I would do a lot more damage to my finances.

Fresh tortillas are soooooo good.  Has anyone gone on the Mission Tortilla Factory tortilla tour at Disney’s California Adventure?  That’s what I was dreaming of when these puppies were cooking.  The kids really went crazy for these and they were crazy easy to make.

The recipe comes from the back of the Maseca Instant Corn Masa Flour bag.  I may experiment and change the recipe for fun next time, but it is oh so good just as the recipe reads…

INGREDIENTS – makes 16 tortillas

2 cups instant corn masa flour

1 ¼ cups water

¼ tsp celtic or Himalayan salt

TOOLS

tortilla press

plastic wrap

 ~

Cover both sides of the tortilla press with plastic wrap.  Make sure that the inside sections of plastic on the press are smooth.

Plastic Wrapped Tortilla Press

Plastic Wrapped Tortilla Press

Combine the masa flour, water, and salt in a bowl and mix well.  Add more water if the mixture is too dry…you want the dough to form a nice workable ball.

Mix the Masa Flour, Water, and Salt

Mix the Masa Flour, Water, and Salt

Mixing In Progress

Mixing In Progress

Finished Dough

Finished Dough

Once the batter is mixed well, form it into a 4 inch disc and cut the disc into 16 equal parts. 

16 Sections of Dough

16 Sections of Dough

Take one of the sections and use your hands to roll it into a ball (cover the remaining sections with a damp towel so the batter does not dry out).  Place the dough ball onto the prepared tortilla press. 

Dough Ball Ready for Pressing

Dough Ball Ready for Pressing

Use the lever and press the plates together.  When you open the press the tortilla should be uniform.  Carefully use a spatula to release the tortilla from the plastic.

My Daughter Making a Tortilla...Love the Gloves!

My Daughter Making a Tortilla...Love the Gloves!

Ready for Cooking

Ready for Cooking

Heat a nonstick pan to medium heat (no oil needed).  When the pan has come to temperature, put the freshly pressed tortilla in the pan and cook for approximately 50 seconds on each side.

In the Pan

In the Pan

Nice and Brown

Nice and Brown

Repeat with the remaining dough sections.

For  printable version of this recipe click here.

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Filed under Breads / Crackers / Muffins, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian

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