Tag Archives: balsamic vinegar

Nov 13 2013
1 Comment
Recipes

Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts

We write about Brussels sprouts quite a bit, and it’s because they are freaking delicious! They’re definitely a winter veggie for me. I see a Brussels sprout and I think of Thanksgiving and Christmas and Sunday dinners. I’ve toyed around with several recipes, but I finally found one that I think is going to be my go-to recipe.

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Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
(adapted from About.com > Vegetarian food)

1 1/2 cup Brussels sprouts, cut in half
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp safflower or canola oil
1/2 tsp mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together the vinegar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate the olive oil until a dressing is formed.

Gently toss the Brussels sprouts in the dressing.

Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt on those babies if you’d like.

Bake for 20 minutes, turning once. Sprouts are done when they are lightly browned.

zOMG. These were so good! The mustard added a nice little pop of flavor that’s been missing from other recipes I’ve tried. The best thing about this is that they can easily be served with any meal, from a vegan roast to pasta to tofu to pizza! Yum. –Melissa

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Jan 26 2013
2 Comments
Brown Bag Vegan, Raw

Brown Bag Vegan Lunch: Tofu & Tomato Salad

I’m really proud of myself, you guys, because I brought coffee, breakfast, and lunch to work everyday this past week. It’s a huge deal for me because I had grown accustomed to buying coffee and lunch everyday (I would buy coffee or soy lattes twice a day most days) and either skipping breakfast or eating junk from the cafeteria. So, here’s what I know about myself: while I don’t mind leftovers, I don’t want to eat the same thing for lunch and dinner for a week, which is pretty much what happened when I made the pasta bake, and I still had some left after that. In order to keep this up, my challenge will be to prepare and plan ahead so that lunch can be easy and not boring.

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One of the lunches I brought this week was a tofu and tomato salad. It took minimal effort, but did require some planning ahead. Here are the ingredients I used:

1 block extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
dill (fresh is great but I keep a bottle of Litehouse Freeze-Dried dill which is the next best thing)
salt and pepper to taste

I’d like to note that if I was eating this at home, I would have added some onion, but I didn’t want to offend anyone with my onion breath. Also, hot peppers or red pepper flakes would be a nice addition to this.

First, I had to make sure to press a block of tofu. I put my tofu in the TofuXpress before going to bed one night. Then, the next night, I drained it, cut it into cubes, and put it in a bowl with the chopped tomatoes. Then I mixed in the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dill, and salt and pepper. I then placed all of it in my lunch container and put it in the fridge. In the morning, I grabbed the container, put it in my reusable lunch bag, and took it to work. All I had to do when it was lunchtime was grab a fork and chow down!

Not only was this really easy and about as effortless as lunch can be, it was totally vegan, raw, healthy, and a perfectly substantial lunch. It was also a lot cheaper than anything I would have bought for lunch. Yay! –Melissa

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Dec 10 2012
1 Comment
Main Dishes

Pasta with a side of protein, please…

I like pasta. It’s easy to make and easy to request with no meat or cheese at restaurants. The problem with veganizing pasta (other than the obvious, which is doing your best to ensure that the actual pasta is vegan) is that it very often will lack a good amount of protein. I like having some Italian sausage or ground turkey or meatballs or chicken or fish with some pasta. I love hot dogs in my spaghetti! But I’m vegan now. I had a pressed block of tofu and some vegan spaghetti waiting for me in the fridge, so I had to get creative.

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I “ground” up the tofu with a fork and mixed it together with the following:

1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
minced garlic
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

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I took my leftover spaghetti out of the fridge, put some on a plate, topped it with some of the tofu and heated it up in the microwave.

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Mix it up a little and it just looks like there’s some cheese in there! It was delicious on the pasta and also on its own. I’ll be making this tofu mix again. –Melissa

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Aug 17 2012
1 Comment
Raw

Figs and Cashews, another Dynamic Duo!

I was a big fan of the tart savory of zing of goat cheese paired with the sweet honeyed flavors of figs but goat cheese is no longer in my repertoire so what’s a girl to do? Well, fortunately there’s Punk Rawk Labs and their delicious cashew cheese. We started with some simple ingredients:

mixed greens with spinach

arugula

figs (fresh or dried)

cashew cheese (make your own or try Punk Rawk Labs’)

marinated tofu (optional)

balsamic vinegar

I started by putting a handful of greens on each plate.

Then I added another handful of arugula.

And then tastefully arranged (I just threw it on there…) some sliced figs, cashew cheese and tofu if you’re into tofu.

This is one version (above) with smoked tofu and dried figs. The more intense sweetness in the dried figs complemented both the savory smoky tofu and savory creamy tartness in the cashew cheese. We drizzled this one with raspberry dressing that really brought out the spicy and herbal flavors in the arugula. I’m a sucker for arugula. I liked the sienna of the figs next to the white tofu and the rich green but preferred the scene in the fresh fig salad. Salmon, ebony, white and emerald green kind of does it for me.

The second version (above) is more cashew cheese with fresh sliced fig. We drizzled it with balsamic vinegar and lots of cracked black pepper. The fig flavors were subtler in the fresh fruit: more fruity and less sweet and honey-like. I preferred it to the dried fig salad which was Brent’ favorite. These are salads that would impress company because they taste decadent and look beautiful. I hope you get to try some!

This is Christie, signing off!

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Mar 06 2012
4 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes, Thoughts

Squash “ribs”, green beans, and cilantro lime quinoa!

People often cite being vegan as being too difficult as a reason for continuing to eat meat, dairy and eggs. I was ruminating on this idea, this afternoon as I was thinking of what I would prepare for dinner this evening. I picked a handful of ingredients: green beans, butternut squash and cilantro. These were left over from other things I’d prepared this past week.

I sliced up the squash, leaving the skin on, sprayed it lightly with olive oil and sprinkled it with sea salt. I put it into the oven on a tinfoil lined baking dish and set the timer for 30 minutes at 350F/175C. I also put the seeds from my squash onto another piece of tinfoil with a light sprinkling of garlic salt and checked every few minutes or so until they were crispy and delicious. You can do this with pumpkin seeds or the seeds from spaghetti squash as well. I snacked on these while I was tending the rest of the meal.

While that was happening I washed my green beans and snapped the ends off each one. I put them in a covered steamer and waited until they were BRIGHT green. This takes 8-12 minutes, because I like mine crispy and green. As soon as they got really bright green, I took the lid off the beans and took them off the heat.

While I was waiting for that to happen I put collected the following:

1/2 cup red quinoa (any sort of quinoa will do)

1 cup of water

1 cube of bouillon

1/2 onion, chopped

3-4 sun dried tomatoes, sliced into strips (optional)

1/4 cup of cilantro leaves

juice from 1/2 lime

I put the quinoa and water into a microwave safe bowl and microwaved it for a minute. I stirred it and added the bouillon cube and microwaved for another minute. I stirred it and added the sun dried tomato and microwaved for a minute. I stirred it and added the onion and microwaved it for a minute. I microwaved for another minute and then all of the liquid was absorbed and I stirred in the cilantro. I squeezed some lime over it before serving.

I placed the green beans on the plate and sprinkled some almond slivers over them (omit these if you’ve got a nut allergy and use the baked squash seeds instead). I ended up drizzling some balsamic vinegar on them too but that’s not in the picture. I was starting to check that the squash was tender with a fork at this point and as soon as it was ready, I put the squash on the plate with everything else and because I didn’t take off the skin, I ate them like they were ribs… except there was no hunks of fat or gristle to get in the way of my eating pleasure. As I ate, I thought about how I made something really healthful, beautiful, fragrant and tasty in 40 minutes. As far as I’m concerned, the best food nourishes your mind and your body.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Dec 20 2011
1 Comment
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Butternut squash: that’s what she said!

Butternut squash is so easy to prepare and so delicious you might punch yourself for not having prepared it for yourself and your family sooner. It’s loaded with vitamin A and C and is also a great source of calcium and iron. All you have to do is slice it into bite sized pieces, coat the pieces lightly with olive oil and space them out on a metal baking sheet lined with wax paper. Bake them at 375F/190C for 40 minutes, turning them at 2 or three times. They should begin to caramelize around the edges. Sprinkle with a little salt and serve.

I ate mine with my variant of bachelor chow which I prefer to prepare in the microwave. I add 1/4 cup of French lentils to 1 cup of water, microwave it for 2 minutes and add another 1/4 cup of red quinoa. I microwave it 2 minutes at a time until all the liquid is absorbed. I season it with the following.
1 teaspoon of onion salt
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
a few dashes of hot sauce
a 1 inch cube of Teese mozzarella cheese (this makes it sticky enough to eat with chopsticks)
and salt to taste


You might also have noticed some Brussels sprouts on my plate too. I cut a cross into the top of each one, drizzeld a little balsamic vinegar over it and placed them on the baking sheet with the squash for the last 15 minutes of the bake. I like my green veggies pretty crispy, if you’re used to softer vegetables, cook them 25 minutes and turn them once.

This is Christie, signing off… to go bake the seeds from the squash!

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