Tag Archives: onion

Feb 14 2012
4 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Portobello Tacooooh yeaaaah!

I love tacos. Who doesn’t? Except for communists, of course. Just kidding. I know communists love tacos too. Anyways, I’m making some fajita-style portobello mushrooms and I’m going to stuff them into some corn tortillas. I do recommend the flour sort because you can stuff more into them but I have this whole concept of avoiding gluten for my gastric health. Personal problems aside, you might want to gather together some toppings: diced bell peppers, Daiya pepperjack cheese, seasoned black beans, salsa, hot sauce and guacamole are among my personal favorites. Follow your heart… to TACOS!For the portobello fajita filling (for 1-2 people), assemble the following:

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

3 portobello mushrooms, cut into strips
1/2 cup onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
juice from 1/2 lime
1 serrano pepper or jalapeno, minced (optional, for spice)
flour or corn tortillas
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté 5 minutes or until almost tender.

Add onion and garlic. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 4 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat; stir in cilantro, lime juice, salt, and peppers. I used jalapeño peppers. I keep a bag of them in my freezer, tops cut off. They keep really well that way. I cut them after they’ve thawed partially.

Spoon about 1/4 cup mushroom mixture down center of each tortilla. Add whatever toppings you like: the more the merrier. Roll up. Insert into mouth and enjoy!

I add some shredded soy cheese, hot sauce, bell pepper and wrapped it in a lightly toasted corn tortilla. This is a perfect treat for a Saturday evening game or a Wednesday night fight. You’ll have to scale up my recipe but this is social food to enjoy with good friends (though I think all good food is made better by good company.)

This is Christie, signing off.

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Feb 11 2012
9 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Vegan alfredo!

A few days ago, LuminousVegans posted a creamy alfredo recipe and reminded me how delicious creamy pasta sauces are. I’m making my own soy-based creamy alfredo which can be made nut free for those of you with nut allergies. If you’re sensitive to soy (or even if you’re not), definitely try LuminousVegan’s alfredo recipe. Her recipes are amazing!

The ingredients are as follows:
1 12 oz. box silken tofu (I like MoriNu)
1-2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1-2 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 pinch nutmeg
soy or almond milk as needed
garlic or sea salt and crushed red pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender, adding soy or almond milk as necessary until you get a rich creamy sauce. That’s it, you’re done making high protein, low-fat, low-calorie alfredo sauce. I do recommend heating it either by microwaving or in a skillet with some white wine but this isn’t necessary, it just helps to marry the flavors.

I tossed it with hot pasta and a sliced soy sausage that I browned with some garlic.

I also added some raw red and yellow bell pepper. I tore up some more fresh basil for presentation but it wasn’t pretty for long because I ate it.

I love the sienna with the red and yellow on the creamy backdrop and vivid green. I’m a sucker for food that’s beautiful as well as delicious and good for you. Food should nourish your mind and your body. I love the sweetness of the pepper, the spice of the soy sausage with the creamy tofu and savory nutritional yeast and pasta.

If you want creamy pesto instead, add a generous handful of raw basil, a dash of lemon juice and about half a bulb of garlic.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Feb 02 2012
5 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes, Snacks

Experimental pho is quick and dirty photastic!

A few days ago LuminousVegans posted some Vietnamese pho that got me thinking I should try to make my own. I started by slicing up some ginger, turmeric, garlic and the end of a stick of cinnamon.

I put that in about a quart of water with some veggie beef bouillon (this particular brand is AMAZING and very “beefy”!), a dash of hoisin sauce, a dash of tamari and the ends of this lemon. I also sliced half an onion into rings and added that too.


I simmered them while I took a shower. Then I picked out the cinnamon stick and lemon peel (the ginger and turmeric should have gone too, but no matter) and then I poured it over some tofu noodles that I parboiled. These noodles are gluten-free, low calorie, and vegan. Nom? I think so.

I garnished it with some cilantro, lemon grass and chili paste after squeezing 1/4 of a lemon over it.

Next time I’ll probably add some fried tofu or soy curls. Overall it wasn’t a bad effort, especially for something quick and dirty like I made. It had the stereotypically aromatic broth, noodles, lemony goodness and spicy chili. It reminded me of some pho I had in New York City over New Year’s Eve break. Let me know if you try it and come up with some improvements.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Jan 28 2012
8 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes, Snacks

Quesadillas… you know you want some.

Tonight I’m making quesadillas, vegan style. For the basic recipe you only need 5 things:

tortillas, corn or flour

hot sauce

onion, diced

bell pepper, diced

vegan cheese (I use Daiya pepperjack but their cheddar and mozzarella work fine too)

I’m dressing things up a little tonight and adding soy curls.

They’re a lot like chicken except that all by themselves they’ve got a nutty flavor and no gristle. I prepare mine by reconstituting in water in my microwave, draining, and spreading out on a foil lined baking sheet. I sprinkle them with a little soy sauce, flaked red pepper, nutritional yeast (optional), and a spray of olive oil. I bake them at 300F/150C for 30 minutes or until the edges start to brown. This is what they look like before baking.

Now comes is the easy part. Place a tortilla in a lightly oiled nonstick pan, add some “cheese” and a light sprinkling of  onion and bell pepper. I added a few strips of my soy curls and then put a little more cheese on top.

You don’t need a lot of cheese: just enough to get things to stick together. Add a few drips of hot sauce as your personal taste dictates.

On medium heat, wait until the cheese starts to melt (use your nose to avoid scorching), then add that second tortilla and flip. Push any fillings that fall out back into the quesadilla. The cheese will hopefully trap it as it melts.

This is such an easy meal or snack. I literally keep a container of mixed bell pepper and onion in my fridge. It looks like this.

I made some guacamole to go with it and sliced up some tomato and cilantro to go with my vegan quesadillas.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Jan 27 2012
4 Comments
Cooking, Recipes, Snacks

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Stereotypes about vegans often include the idea that they’re anemic. I’ve donated blood for years and I panicked after I went vegan, worrying that I wouldn’t be able to donate anymore. I’m a little more pedantic about my eating habits than most people so it’s probably not surprising that my iron levels were in the high end of the healthy range when I donated Thursday evening. There are a lot of reasons you might want to give blood. I’m including 2 links to scientific papers whose results suggest that regular blood donations can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, especially if you’re a dude.

My personal reasons for donating blood is that one out of every 4 people will need a transfusion in their life. Imagine 4 people you care about. Now imagine your life without one of them. Wow, that’s depressing. Anyways, there are benefits to donating blood other than patting yourself on the back for saving lives: I got a free movie ticket and a snack, I know my blood pressure and my blood iron levels are healthy and in a week I’ll know my cholesterol level. You’ll also learn your blood type which is a good thing to know if you’re ever seriously hurt.

Spinach is another one of my favorite vegan goodies. Spinach can help you prepare for and recover from donating blood. One cup has enough vitamin K to give 2 people their recommended daily intake of vitamin K. WTF is vitamin K? It’s a crucial nutrient for blood clotting. This is important for after you’re done donating blood to help you stop bleeding and reduce your risk of bruising.
So why is spinach better than beef if you’re thinking about donating blood? Beef has less than 2/3 the iron and almost 10 times the calories compared to spinach, ounce for ounce. Spinach also has 600 times the vitamin K of an equal weight of lean beef. (according to http://www.nutritiondata.com)
Did I mention I’m making spinach artichoke dip? Yeah. I’ve gotta recuperate the nutrients I donated (excuse to indulge). Assemble these ingredients.
1/2 onion, diced
1 generous bunch spinach, chopped (frozen is fine, one 12 ounce package should do it, just make sure it’s thawed and well drained)
1 tin marinated artichoke hearts
1 tsp olive oil
1 12 oz. package silken tofu (I used Mori-Nu)
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 garlic cloves
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp flake red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sautee onion, spinach and artichoke hearts in olive oil until onion is soft.
Blend together tofu, nutritional yeast, garlic, vinegar and spices in blender until smooth.
Combine all ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a glass baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes, after that, observe until lightly browned on top.
Garnish with some shredded basil. Serve warm with crackers, raw broccoli florets or carrots.
As I’ve written it, this recipe contains about 350-500 calories (depending on how much olive oil you sautee with and what sort of tofu you use). That’s about the number of calories in a blood donation. Coincidence? I think not.
This is Christie, signing off to go see that free movie.
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Jan 25 2012
2 Comments
Cooking, Recipes, Snacks

Tabouleh… gesundheit…?

Tabouleh is an awesome snack, exotic salad or side dish that’s relatively simple to prepare and sure to impress. You can use traditional bulgur if you want but I can’t make any recommendations on how to prepare it.I make mine with quinoa because of the whole gluten thing and this is my interpretation of the traditional dish. Parsley is the star in this dish: it’s a great home remedy for bad breath (truly, it works… don’t tell my boyfriend) so if you’re inviting that good looking soul with the gnarly breath over for dinner, consider this bad boy for your appetizer. You’ll need the following:

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup  water

1/2 lemon

1 generous bunch of parsley

1 tomato, diced

2 tbsp chopped mint (optional, but makes it very authentic)

pinch of sea salt

pinch of pepper (optional)

1 tsp olive oil

Combine the quinoa, olive oil and the water in a microwave safe dish and microwave at 2 minute intervals until the water is absorbed. Here’s my quinoa in the microwave… don’t judge me. I’m a little lazy.

Meanwhile, chop up the parsley (make sure it’s well rinsed so there’s no grit in your tabouleh), mint if you’re adding it, tomato and onion.

Put the tomato and greens in a bowl.

Add the onion to the quinoa after the liquid is absorbed and microwave another 2 minutes, until it starts to get soft. The onion will add some sweetness to balance the tart lemon and herbal parsley. Combine the tomato and parsley with the hot quinoa, sprinkle salt, and squeeze the lemon over the top. The heat will cause the parsley to wilt slightly and take on the flavors of the dish.

Mix again and refrigerate until you’re ready. I think it’s better cold, but warm pleases too.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Dec 31 2011
2 Comments
Cooking, Recipes

Lentil Soup

I usually have soup for lunch. I’m a  graduate student and this is cheap for me considering my budget. I make a batch on Sunday and have a bowl each day for 5 days. My favorite is lentil soup. Lentils have less sulfur compounds than most beans and that means I’m not offending my co-workers with my bowels, if you get what I mean. Whole lentils are also high protein, high fiber and have twice the iron, ounce for ounce compared to beef Get a medium large sauce pan combine and assemble these ingredients.
1/2 onion, diced
1lb (450g) of split red lentils
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp of your favorite curry powder (optional, for extra zazz)
1 cube of veggie bouillon
1-2 dried red peppers, minced (more or less if desired)
2 tbsp lemon juice
cumin seeds (optional)
olive oil
salt to taste
Put a half tablespoon or so of olive oil to a big pot and a few pinches of cumin seeds (sometimes I add fenugreek seeds that crush lightly with the bottom of a glass or pan). Heat the oil until the seeds begin to sputter. Add onion, garlic and saute until the onions begin to caramelize.

Add the lentils and stir for 1-2 minutes until everything is mixed and coated with the oil. Add the pepper, bouillon and about 1L of water.

Bring to a boil and then let simmer for an hour or until the lentils begin to break down. Add up to another 500mL of water or until you like the consistency.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and salt to taste.

This is Christie, signing off.

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