DDD #54 – Broccoli & Cauliflower Rice Salad with Rainbow Chard, Basil, Mint, Avocado & Citrus Vinaigrette

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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Living alone can make eating all the food I buy difficult.  I buy produce with a thousand inspirations in my head – often forgetting that I have to eat everything I make myself.  That can get difficult – especially with produce like avocados & leafy greens that have a short shelf life.  Yesterday – I made a Spicy Vegan Szechuan Beef & Vegetable Stir-Fry (seen above) that used a lot of the veggies I had around – but – it did not use everything.  I also had a lot of leftover basmati rice.  So – I dreamed up this salad.  I used a little (1 cup) of the rice I had.  You could use more – or less – depending on how light you want this to be.  You could also use quinoa or brown rice or some ancient grain of your choice.  Or – as I do in the video – use grated cauliflower in place of rice.  Whatever you decide – this salad is full of nutrients & tastes clean & light & fresh.  If you do not add the avocado – this salad will keep in the fridge for a few days.  Just add the avocado just before serving.

Vegan “Eat Your Greens” Warm Broccoli Rice Salad with Rainbow Chard, Basil, Mint, Avocado & Citrus Vinaigrette

Serves 2-4 depending on appetite

INGREDIENTS

2 TBS olive oil (or coconut oil)

1 cup cooked rice or other grain (optional) or 1 medium head of cauliflower – grated

1 head broccoli – grated or pulsed in a food processor

1 cucumber – chopped

1 zucchini – chopped

Avocado – amount at your discretion – sliced

2-3 scallions – sliced

1 bunch (6-8 leaves) rainbow chard (or other greens of your choice) – ribs removed & chopped

1/3 cup fresh basil – chopped

1/3 cup fresh mint – chopped

Pepitas (or other nuts) – amount at your discretion

GARNISH: basil, mint, lime wedges

for the dressing

2 TBS olive oil

2 TBS cider vinegar

2 TBS fresh lime (or lemon) juice (or a combination)

1 tsp lemon or lime zest

2 TBS Dijon mustard

1 or 2 TBS agave (I used 2 but might go less next time)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the dressing together & adjust flavors to suit your tastes.

Pulse the broccoli in a food processor or grate it (grating is very messy).  Do the same with the cauliflower – if you are using it n place of rice.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over high heat.  Add the broccoli & cauliflower/rice & toss.  Add the zucchini & chard.  Add a few TBS water & cover the pan & remove from heat.  You just want to warm everything through & get the chard & broccoli & zucchini wilt a bit.

In 5 minutes or so – put the rice mixture in a large bowl (or in the pan) & toss in the scallions, mint & basil & cucumber & some (not all) the dressing.

Put some of the warm salad on plates & garnish with avocado slices, pepitas, extra basil and/or mint, lime wedges, additional dressing & freshly cracked pepper.

DDD #53 – Spicy Garlic & Ginger Green Beans

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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So easy & delicious over rice or my Garlic & Ginger Cauliflower Rice.

Spicy Garlic and Ginger Green Beans

INGREDIENTS

12 oz green beans

1 onion – sliced

1 TBS (more or less – to taste) crushed red pepper

Splash of soy sauce

1-2 TBS coconut oil (or olive oil)

4 garlic cloves – minced

1 TBS ginger – minced

Sesame seeds as garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a very large saute pan (or wok) – heat the oil on high heat.  Add the onions, green beans & crushed red pepper.  Stir & cook until the green beans are cooked to your desired softness.  I like them a bit crunchy & probably cooked them for between 5-8 minutes.  At the very end, add the minced garlic & ginger & stir to incorporate.  Cook for maybe a minute or two.  Garnish with sesame seeds & eat it as a side or over rice.  Ymmmmmmm!

The top video there is trailer for my novel.  The second is me reading from it a while back – at Vroman’s.

DDD #52 – Vegan Pasta & Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Creamy “Gorgonzola” and Pear

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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I saw these odd looking apple pears at the awesome Super King (the one in Van Nuys is FAR roomier than the San Fernando location & much more civilized) – and thought they would make a nice pizza topping.

Ultimately – I burned out on pizza before using them so – using what I already had around – I came up with this pasta.

Anyway – this comes together in the same time it would take you to cook some dry pasta & it is full of surprising flavors.  The garlicky Brussels Sprouts & the sweet pear & the creamy cheese – it is really yummy.

You can control how much cheese to use.  Blue cheeses are really powerful & I recommend going light-handed with them – and then you get the added benefit of a fairly healthy dish that still tastes decadent.

Pasta with Crispy Brussels Sprouts and Creamy Gorgonzola and Pears

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb pasta – cooked & drained

1 pear – any variety – seeded & cubed

10 Brussels Sprouts – sliced thin

2 garlic cloves – minced

Vegan Gorgonzola or other vegan blue cheese (or even vegan cream cheese) – in the quantity that suits your taste

Olive oil

S&P

DIRECTIONS

Cook your pasta.  Drain & set aside.

Meanwhile – heat a little olive in a pan that is large enough to hold all the ingredients – including your pasta.  Saute the Brussels Sprouts over medium heat until they begin to brown – maybe 5 minutes.  Add the garlic & pear & saute another minute or so.  Stir to warm through & then add the pasta.  Cook long enough to incorporate & warm everything & then stir in the cheese.  Stir to get the cheese creamy & incorporated & then season with S&P.

Serve!  See?  EASY!

DDD #51 – Vegan Red Coconut Curry Pad Thai Noodles with Crispy Garlic Tofu

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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Red Coconut Curry Pad Thai Noodles with Crispy Garlic Tofu

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

1 lb tofu

oil

3 TBS red curry paste

1 15 oz can lite coconut milk

1 TBS fresh ginger – minced

2 TBS minced garlic

1 TBS soy sauce

for the marinade

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS low sodium soy sauce

1 TBS minced garlic

1 TBS minced ginger

1 TBS crushed red pepper

for the noodles

1 lb noodles (either fresh Pad Thai noodles or a pound of cooked & drained noodles of your choice)

1 small onion – diced

1-3 jalapenos – sliced

Your mix of fresh vegetables (I used 1 15 oz can of baby corn, 1 small can diced water chestnuts, 1 cup broccoli florets, 1 cup chopped purple cabbage, 1 cup chopped carrots, 1 cup sliced snap peas, 1 cup frozen peas)

Garnish: lime wedges, cilantro, sesame seeds and maybe another can of warmed coconut milk with red curry paste whisked in to use as a gravy over the noodles – for those that like a saucy dish)

DIRECTIONS

Optional – cut the tofu in half so you have two large squares about 3/4 inch thick.  Put them between paper towels & cover with a heavy pan for 30 minutes to release some moisture.

Cube the tofu.  Whisk the marinade together & marinate the tofu for 30 minutes or longer.

Heat a TBS or oil & over high heat – fry the drained tofu.  Let it sit a few minutes on each side before turning until it is well browned.  Set aside.

Heat 1 TBS oil in a pan & saute the onion & jalapeno.  When soft, add the remaining vegetables (retaining the frozen peas to add later) and saute a few minutes.  Add garlic, ginger & soy sauce.  Stir to combine.Add curry paste & coconut milk.  Stir & add fresh or cooked noodles.  If it gets too dry – add some water.  Heat through.  Stir in the frozen peas & heat through.

Plate each serving & top with the crispy tofu.

Garnish as you desire.

I warmed another can of coconut milk & whisked in more red curry to drizzle over each serving.

Devour!

DDD #50! – Vegan Mongolian Beef

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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This dish might be one of the tastiest & easiest recipes I have ever posted!

I steamed the broccoli separately.  I recommend this highly as a way to avoid overcooking it & to keep it from turning an unsightly dark brown color from the sauce.  You can use any kind of rice you like – or put this over noodles of some kind – but try it!

This is a REALLY easy dish to make.  It made my house smell like a Chinese restaurant (in the best way) & was so shockingly good – it was all I could do not to eat the entire recipe in one sitting.  The leftovers were even better today & I wasted no time devouring them.  I think you will be blown away by how Goddamn tasty this fucker is.

Ultra Easy Vegan (or not) Spicy Mongolian Beef 

serves 2

INGREDIENTS

Steamed rice of your choice

1 (8 oz) of your choice of faux beef

1-2 TBS avocado oil (or vegetable or olive oil or oil of your choice)

Cornstarch

1 tsp – 1 TBS crushed red pepper (or sriracha or other chili paste – or hoisin sauce) – optional

1 TBS minced ginger (I used jarred)

4 garlic cloves – minced

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup water

1 heaping TBS or more (to taste) brown sugar

1/2 cup shredded carrots

4 scallions sliced

Garnish – sliced scallions, sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

Toss the fake meat in just enough cornstarch to cover it.

Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add the crushed red pepper & the meat.  Fry the meat until the outside begins to brown or get a bit crusty.  Maybe 3-5 minutes.  If using real meat – cook it to your desired doneness.  Put the meat on a plate & set aside.

Lower the heat on the pan to med-low and add another TBS (more or less) of oil  Add the garlic & ginger & let saute about a minute & then add the water, soy, carrots & sugar.  Increase heat to a boil.

The sauce should thicken pretty quickly.  Add the cooked meat & scallions.   Add some rice to the situation & eat the two servings on your own.  Get drunk & start shit-talking on Facebook about what a badass, cooking muthafuckah you are.

It happens.  Don’t judge yourself.

 

DDD #49 – Spicy Vegan Red Beans & Rice

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Click the image below for a video of this recipe.  In it there is an easy & inexpensive recipe, a peek at all my dogs & look at my trip to Chicago to see 90210 The Musical! Complete with a clip from the show! #EmilyValentine

OK – I decided I had to make these for two reasons.  1) Sir Mix-a-lot & his Baby Got Back song.  Is there EVER a time when this song doesn’t sound great?  For a novelty-sounding song – it really holds up over time.  Anyway – one line is “Red beans & rice didn’t miss her.”   While that makes it sound like red beans & rice give you a huge ass – this recipe is clean & healthy.  I hear this song at the gym rather frequently & it always makes me crave red beans & rice.

2) It has been hot as FUCK this week and these can be made stove-top (or in a crock pot) – minimizing the heat added to my already sweltering kitchen.

I am sitting at my desk in my un-air-conditioned office (the hottest room in my house) – I will simply show what it was like outside before 10AM today:

Yes.  That says 100 degrees at 9:58 am.  UGH!!!!!!!!

So – I will keep this brief & slink down to my kitchen – the coolest room in my house – for the remainder of the day.

One note – I used two kinds of veggie sausage here but I am not 100% certain either is vegan (though I think they are).  Just check the brand you use to be sure – assuming you are vegan.

Also – I browned the two Field Roast links you see there before adding the other ingredients & that was sort of a waste of time because they just got sort of soggy after the stock was added.  So – I browned additional sausage:

and set it aside & just added it at the end – sort of like a garnish.  That way, it retained it seared qualities.  You can do this – or not – your call.  Combined – the two varieties of sausage made this a “meatier” dish than it need be but those fake sausages are yummy – so fuck it.  I did add a couple of zucchinis to lighten the beans up a bit.

QUICK SOAK METHOD

Presoaking beans overnight not only cuts down on cooking time by up to 25 percent, it also helps the beans cook evenly without splitting. It’s easy, too (if you remember to do it). Still, we prefer the “power soak” method. Not only is it faster than soaking beans overnight, it also breaks down more of the complex sugars that can make beans hard to digest. The process is simple: Place beans in a pot and cover with water by three inches. Bring to a boil and simmer briskly for two minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for one hour. Drain. Your beans will be ready to use in your favorite recipes.–Kay Chun

Healthy Spicy Vegan Red Beans and Rice

Feeds a lot – 6 or more

INGREDIENTS

Cooked rice ( I used brown basmati)

1 lb dry small red beans (soaked overnight or quick-soaked as outlined above) – try to use small red but kidney will do in a pinch

Olive oil

4 celery stalks – chopped

1-3 chipotle peppers in adobo (I used 3 & these beans were SPICY!) – minced

1/2 large onion – diced

2 zucchinis – cubed (optional)

1-2 jalapeno peppers – seeded & diced (I used two)

4 garlic cloves – minced

1 bell pepper – diced (traditional in the dish – but I didn’t have one & I didn’t miss it)

2 tsp dry thyme

3 bay leaves

1 TBS dry rub (I used that Road Kill stuff above but any rub you like will do)

1-3 tsp Creole seasoning (I used Zatarain’s)

Vegan sausage (I ended up using 6!) – in a quantity you feel suits your taste – sliced

5+ cups vegetable stock

Scallions for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Quick-soak the beans if you did not soak them overnight (instructions are above).  The soaking helps to stop the gas beans are famous for giving us.

As I explained above, you might want to brown your sausage & set it aside – and add it at the very end – so it retains its texture better.  If texture doesn’t matter to you – just add it with the onions.  Or – divvy it up & do a little of both – as I ended up doing.

Cook your rice.

Heat 2-3 TBS olive oil in a LARGE stock pot & saute the sausage until browned & either set it aside or just continue.   Some vegan sausage is pretty dry & you might need more olive oil.  Add onions, celery, bell pepper (if using), jalapeno & saute til softened a bit.  Again – add more olive oil if you think it is getting too dry.  Add chipotle, zucchini, dry rub, thyme, Creole seasoning, bay leaves & garlic & stir to incorporate & then add the red beans & 5 cups of stock.

Then bring this all to a boil.  Lower the heat & cover & simmer for 2 hours or so – or until the beans are tender.  Stir every once in a while & add water if it gets too thick.  I added 1-2 cups of water by the time it was all said & done.  At some point – when the beans are soft – smash a cup or two with a wooden spoon against the pot – or (as I did) – drop an immersion blender in there & mash a cup or two – so there is a thick broth.

When you are ready to serve, put some rice on each plate, add the red beans & garnish with sausage (if you set some aside) & chopped scallions.  A cold beer or two – and you are good to go!

DDD #48 – 10-Minute Spicy Vegan Sriracha Chicken & Broccoli Bowl

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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This chicken & broccoli comes together faster than the rice – so – if you have warm, cooked rice ready – you can serve this in ten minutes.  None of the ingredients are particularly exotic but it is GENUINELY spicy.  I like a lot of heat & this took it to my limit – so – if you are more timid in the spice department – cut the spicy things way back or drop them completely.  I used – as always – Beyond Meat brand vegan chicken because it is absolutely the best on the market.  It comes in 9 or 12 ounce packages.

10-Minute Spicy Vegan Sriracha Chicken & Broccoli Bowl

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

9 to 12 ounces vegan chicken – cubed

1 jalapeno – seeded & diced (optional)

Olive oil

1-5 dry red chilies – halved & seeded (VERY optional as these are VERY spicy – and if you use hem – do not chew & swallow them – but pick them out when you eat)

1/2 cup vegan hoisin sauce

1-2 TBS sriracha sauce

1-3 tsp crushed garlic (I used jarred)

1 TBS ginger (I used jarred)

Broccoli for 2 – fresh or frozen

Salted peanuts

Sliced scallions as garnish

Cooked rice for 2

DIRECTIONS

Cook the rice.  If you are using fresh broccoli – steam it a few minutes until it is done to your taste & set aside.  If using frozen – cook it according to directions & set aside

Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a pan.  Saute the jalapeno & red chili – if using them.  When the jalapeno is softens (a few minutes) – add the garlic & ginger & saute 1 minute.  Add the hoisin & sriracha and the chicken & heat the chicken through.

Assemble the bowls with the rice, broccoli & chicken & garnish with peanuts & scallions.