Vegetarian Foodie

Almond Milk Recipe

 

We have recently gone off soy milk around here for many reasons... We have switched to rice milk but thought we would have a go at making a batch of almond milk. Thanks to our pals who offered a tutorial as well as the almonds and the mesh to strain the almonds -we had a successful round of almond milk.

It is very easy to make your own.... so easy.

1/2 Cup almonds (preferably raw and organic) to 4 times the water. Soak for 24 hours then place in a blender. Pass through the mesh and there you have it: Almond mIlk. Feel free to add vanilla to taste, I am quite pleased with it as is. The yield is about a quart-feel free to adjust recipe to suit your needs.

It is my understanding that there are plenty of uses for the almond paste that the mesh collects when straining the liquid. I myself have yet to explore the uses...

Baked Tofu

Pictured, a family lunch for your Friday afternoon. Front and center, baked tofu in BBQ sauce.

• Tofu Block
• BBQ sauce

• Preheat oven to 450 F
• Smother block of tofu in your favorite BBQ sauce or sauce....
• Bake for about 40 minutes

Serve with your favorite meal sides (see some of mine below), or even better as one of the fixings for your vegetarian taco spread...

In this case, pictured: Gazpacho, steamed artichokes and olive oil for dipping, a simple tomato salad, and greens.

Enjoy and have a splendid week end.

Tomato and Onion Salad

To round up the wedding week festivities, the ladies that traveled from across the pond fixed all of us dinner.

The menu was a squash curry that was so good we all devoured it before a photo was shot, a delicious salad on the side, Cucumber Mint Yogurt Dressing, Naan (store purchased) and plenty of wine.

Here is a sneak at the girls prepping the ingredients:

Tomato and Onion Salad

• Cherry tomatoes halved
• Chopped white onions
• Chopped cilantro
• Lime juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

This salad goes perfectly alongside a curry.

Thank you ladies-this was one of my favorite dinners of the summer!

Curried Lentils in a Lettuce Wrap

I didn't have a chance to post last week because I was busy eating these lentils at any chance I had:

• Brown Lentils Washed and Boiled until Soft
• Heat Chopped Onion and 3 Garlic Cloves in Olive Oil
• Add Cumin and Turmeric to Taste
• Add Lentils
• Mix and allow all tastes to marry for a few minutes

Serve in a Lettuce Leaf posing as a wrap and if you are not Vegan, top with this delightful Greek Yogurt, diced cucumber and chopped mint topping:

A variation on the lettuce wrap: I also ate these lentils atop baby spinach and with the yogurt topping-salad delicious!

Bruschetta

It was a raw foods dinner that was once again a party on my palate.   

I don't really know what made these raw fajitas so darned good....... Mushrooms?  Thank you Kirstin for the yummy food.

And the following bruschetta was simply lovely...Yes, those crackers are raw, and like the fajitas, the result of a dehydrator.

Still, bruschetta can be enjoyed beside or on top of so many different foods. What makes this bruschetta really good is the fresh heaps of basil...

• A few ripe tomatoes, diced small
• A few cloves garlic, diced small
• A whole bunch of basil, julienned
• Generous drizzle extra virgin extra nice olive oil nice salt, nice fresh pepper
• Mix all together, spoon onto bread or crackers, or serve as a dip with crackers

Cucumber and Radish Salad

Finally after days of rain the sun has come out. I am looking forward to a brisk walk and smelling the after rain smell. I also must confess that I love to admire the droplets of water that rest on the underbelly of leaves.

Things here have been crazy busy and there is a lot of exciting things brewing but more on that soon.

Our annual Valentines Day dinner was a smashing success and the daughter did a great job of decorating the table:

And from OutDoor Living a great salad recipe that we have made our own and is currently the favorite among friends and family:

Cucumber and Radish Salad

3 Cucumbers sliced
4 Radishes thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of fresh dill chopped
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 Garlic Cloves minced
A drizzle of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional: Top with Feta Cheese

1. Mix the cucumber and Radish in a serving bowl
2. Whisk lemon juice, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, dill and garlic
3. Pour dressing over salad
4. Add dill, salt and pepper and Feta if you choose

Enjoy your week end!

Fresh Tomatoes, Garlic and Basil...

This week end past we had the pleasure of having friends over for dinner. The husband enthusiastically decided to cook snapper for dinner with a sauce consisting of fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil. I agreed to prepare the sides (I don't eat fish myself).

My favorite moment of the evening was me leaning against the counter sipping wine while the husband impressed me with his garlic skin peeling technique. He placed the knife sideways and pounded it with his fist. The skin separated quite easily leaving the clove there naked -ready to be chopped.

Notice how much garlic has been chopped in the bowl. Then the husband says, "Wow, it sure is time consuming to chop two cloves of garlic". I almost spit out the wine in my mouth as I held back a laugh.  Yes, he thought two cloves meant two heads of garlic. Imagine how the sauce might have turned out...

The following sauce not only could not only top a fresh fish but also top a plate of angel hair pasta or crusty bread (in every case just add Parmesan!)

Fresh Tomatoes, Garlic and Basil
3 Ripe Tomatoes blanched, peeled and chopped (This Gazpacho recipe explains how to blanch tomatoes)
2 Garlic cloves chopped
8 basil leaves shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic cloves until they are browned
Mix together garlic, basil and tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Stuffed Tomatoes

The following recipe for stuffed tomatoes is very delicious especially beside a salad. If you need a delicious appetizer I suggest you stuff cherry tomatoes. 

Stuffed Tomatoes

4 Large Tomatoes
3 Cups of Sunflower Seeds
1 Cup of Sun Dried Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Basil Chopped
2 Garlic cloves Chopped
A handful of Kalamata Olives
Salt and Pepper to taste

• Soak the sunflower seeds in water for 6 hours
• Cut off the tomato top and scoop out the seeds in the middle.
• Blend the sunflower seeds and sun dried tomatoes.
• Mix with olives, basil and garlic.
• Stuff the tomatoes and replace the lids

Thai Coconut Soup

We recently enjoyed another raw dinner around here with our raw foodist pals. Preparing raw food is always a challenge and adventure for me and on this occasion it just so happened that I was preparing a Thai Coconut Soup that would compliment a Thai dish that Ryan and Kirstin were bringing over. The plate on the right was their smashing dish of coconut meat, black sesame seeds, shredded zucchini, raw noodles and more. Quite gourmet and frankly far beyond my raw food prep skills. I made the soup on the left.

Raw soups are rather great because of three reasons:

1. Just put all the ingredients in a blender
2. Clean up is a simple rinse of the blender
3. Raw soups taste fresh and delicious

.

2 Garlic Cloves
1  Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 Thumb of Fresh Ginger
The Juice of 2 Limes
1/2 Cup Basil
Cayenne Pepper to Taste
1/2 Cup Cilantro
1 Cup of Diced Tomatoes
1/3 Cup of Green Onions
1 Thai Pepper
1 Can of Coconut Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Chuck it all in a blender and hit Go! Garnish with chopped veg or cilantro or even a beautiful edible flower.

Garbonzo Beans and More

This is one of my favorites for lunch. Quick and easy: saute garbonzo beans in olive oil for a short time-until they begin to brown. Transfer to a warmed pita and top with red onion, tomatoes, cilantro and yogurt.