Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Vegetable White Bean Hash

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:


Leeks, red bell pepper, garlic, turnip, sweet potato....sounds like this would be a yummy fall weather meal. Ugh-then I added the zest and juice of one orange; neither myself nor my hubby liked that addition! It seems like quite a few of these recipes rely on some type of citrus to add flavor. Doesn't always work though. And I sauteed my leek and pepper in olive oil-I feel so naughty when I use oil and/or salt now. I'm about done with this cookbook for now. I'm eating healthy enough as it is; I need some oil, salt and spice. :)

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Green Chile Rice with Black Beans

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 
I made this quick and easy recipe the day before Thanksgiving. It has two of my favorite ingredients-cilantro and lime! I'm ashamed to admit that as a native Arizonan I have never used a fresh poblano pepper before. I was perusing all the peppers at the grocery store and found every conceivable pepper available except for a poblano. So I got on my droid and discovered that poblanos north of Mexico are usually called pasilla peppers. Wow! Learn something new every day. I should have taken a picture of it-hehe! The recipe called for a jalapeno pepper which I didn't add; I felt it was hot enough. As you can see I added Daiya cheddar shreds and then I garnished each serving with sliced green onions.  Love the fresh lime zest and the green onions added just that little extra to make this dish delicious. I've been eating the leftovers as a hearty, savory breakfast. This morning my husband even ate a big bowl of it for his breakfast!
 
 
I had to share a pic of my contribution to the family Thanksgiving dinner. Every year I'm responsible for cooking the tofurky for the herbivores and my mom cooks for the omnivores. I also made Florida Slaw from La Dolce Vegan and a gallon of Hibiscus High tea. Plenty of food for everyone!



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Fall Harvest Vegetable Chowder

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 
Delicious fall soup! I know this cookbook is all about no oil and no salt so I tried to follow the directions in this recipe. I used low-sodium vegetable broth and sauteed my onion, celery and carrots in 1/2 cup of it, which worked out just fine. While cooking and tasting the chowder I added 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. When it was all done I still needed to add more salt and some freshly ground black pepper. I should have just used the regular vegetable broth and then it wouldn't have needed so much adjusting. Most of these recipes could benefit with a little salt to bring out their delicious flavors! After all of that, this chowder is yummy with some toasted garlic/nutritional yeast bread for dunking. The recipe makes alot and I still kick myself because I always forget to halve the recipe. My husband and I can only eat so many leftovers; I'm going to try and freeze some of this and see how it tastes after defrosting.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Red Lentil Dal

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 
I love red lentils. So many different ways to use them in recipes. I like the way they cook down and get mushy! I'm not a stickler for no oil cooking so I used a Tbsp. of olive oil to saute' the onions. If you make this recipe definitely add the lemon zest at the end of cooking. It gives it a bright, fresh taste. I hadn't cooked in awhile so I used up all the odds and ends of veggies I had in the fridge. Just got back from the grocery store today and wow!-did I buy alot of veggies and fruit. Now I can get back to cooking again.


I served the Red Lentil Dal with garlic sauteed spinach, steamed broccoli and Sweet 'N' Sour Red Cabbage from La Dolce Vegan. Everything went together deliciously. I topped my red lentil dal with a little sriracha sauce for a some kick.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Kale Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 
I'm finally making my first recipe from this month's cookbook. I've been trying to clean out my fridge, freezer and pantry and use what I have; still working on it. :) I'm always looking for new ways to use kale so I thought I would try this salad recipe. It makes a Big salad-I had to dump it in a larger bowl to get it mixed up.
 
 
I added a little more lemon juice to mine. The acidity helps cut the bitterness of the kale. This will taste better the next day after the flavors marinate and the kale softens up a little. Still not my favorite kale salad; my favorite is Massaged Kale Salad. I probably make that one once a month. But I will make this again and add more lemon juice and maybe some apple cider vinegar. I served the kale salad with some Vegan 'Sausage' Hash.