I’ve been cooking up a STORM lately. It’s part of my New Year’s Resolution. I’m going to stop going to Starbucks and ordering take-out and START cooking and REALLY paying attention to what I’m putting into my body. And, INDEED, with a little motivation, some good slippers, some help from must-have STAR cookbooks, like…

…and a little creativity, I am SO good to go. I’m, like, DINING in my own home.

This particular recipe was adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero’s brillers tome Veganomicon (recipe p. 201). And it is UNBELIEVABLE. My little 2-year-old was begging me for “MORE NOODLES, MAMA!” And I…. I could not SPEAK while eating this dish. (I was even able to take a GOOD PHOTO of it — see above? — which NEVER happens; I am NOT a food photographer most days.)

In my adaptation of the recipe, I lowered the fat and salt content, and I added chickpeas for protein — making this a complete, one-dish vegan meal!

OH! And some of the ingredients may seem scary, I know. But, just buy a pack of Udon noodles (I used Kamut), some delicious Umeboshi vinegar (or Mirin, a Japanese rice wine), some brown Miso, and, really, any mushroom will do — I splurged on Shiitakes because they’re apparently among the most healthful. Just go out and buy them. Be adventurous! It’s no biggie, really, and the recipe’s a cinch.

Speaking of healthful, among the shiitakes, the miso, the umeboshi vinegar, the kale and the chickpeas (cooked from scratch), this is not only a ridiculously delicious dish, but it’s also a disgustingly HEALTHY dish.

Check it!

INGREDIENTS

1 package Udon noodles
1 tbsp Oil (I used olive oil – and cooked dish at low to medium heat)
1/2 Onion (thinly sliced into “half moons”)
3 cloves Garlic (minced)
1/2-1 cup Shiitake Mushrooms (stemmed and chopped)
2 tsp fresh Ginger (grated/minced — use 1 tsp ground ginger if you must!)
1 tbsp Umeboshi Vinegar (OR Mirin)
1 cup Water
3 tbsp Brown Miso

2 cups cooked Chickpeas
2 big handfuls Kale (lovingly tear it up into bite sized pieces)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook the Udon noodles (see package instructions).

2. Meanwhile, using low-to-medium heat, sauté onions, mushrooms, and garlic in the olive oil — until onions and shrooms are just softened (about 5 or so minutes).

3. Sprinkle ginger and continue to sauté a little longer.

4. Next comes the umeboshi vinegar, water and miso. Sauté, sauté, sauté.

5. Add the kale and chickpeas, stir it up, and cover until kale is softened.

6. Add in the noodles, mix, and mix.

7. I’d let it sit for a bit — allowing the noodles and chickpeas to really absorb the flavours — if you can resist, that is….

8. ENJOY!

9. Let us know if you LOVED it, too!

Serves 4-6.

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It was my part-time nanny who discovered little Rascal’s love for rice — “RASH, Mama, RASH!” And it was my part-time nanny who fed him hot dogs for lunch today. I almost had a heart attack when she told me, especially since I’m trying REALLY HARD to adopt the DR. FUHRMAN’s eating plan for my children (sshhhh! don’t tell Josh) — which emphasizes loads of vegetables and very little animal products. I’ll leave MOST of the treats and animal products to grandma and the nanny…. The kids’ll thank me later.

Because they had hot dogs for lunch (God help me), I wanted to give them a straight vegan dinner. And it was NICE for me to be able to eat exactly what they were eating. I made this great pesto rice dish and some grilled peppers and portobello mushrooms — which EASILY take the place of steak on a vegan plate. YUM. I finished the meal off with a KALE/banana/strawberry/omega 3 oil smoothie. The ingredients of which I could never duplicate (but see sidebar tag cloud for sneaky smoothie ideas).

And now for the recipes. Check it….

PESTO RICE

INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6)
1 cup Brown Rice
2 cups Water
1/2 cup Chopped Mushroom
Basil (to taste)
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1-2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
Salt (DASH; optional)
Pepper (to taste; optional)
Handful Pine Nuts (or so)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. COOK RICE: In a medium-sized pot, pour in the rice and water and BOIL. Turn heat down to low when water starts to boil, and let sit for 15 mins. Turn OFF heat, and let sit until all water is absorbed.
2. Sprinkle the mushrooms on top as rice sits cooking (this will steam them to perfection).
3. Once rice is done, and enough water absorbed, add the oil, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and pine nuts. Note that HEAT IS OFF. We want to keep the oil, etc., raw, for maximum health benefits!

Et voila!

ROASTED RED PEPPERS AND PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS
Portobello Mushrooms (thickly sliced)
Red Pepper (sliced)
Any other veggie
Canola Oil Spray (preferably high-heat resistant Spectrum, organic)
Tamari Sauce (or soy sauce)

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place reusable silicon mat on baking sheet (to make it nonstick). Place veggies on baking sheet and SPRAY until just covered. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until peppers start to darken and crisp lightly at the edges. Place veggies in a bowl and mix with tamari sauce to taste. ENJOY!

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For a complete overview of the plan I’m on, check Cheaty Monkey. I designed it myself! There’s something to be said for putting the diet books DOWN and listening to your own body.

By far, the best thing I ever did — I HAVE TO SAY — is ditching the dairy. In fact, I attribute how great I’m feeling to that alone. I feel lighter, less congested, clearer-headed. And, it’s because I gave up dairy, FASHIZZLE. And, I was ADDICTED to cheese. I’d have cheese on EVERYTHING. Peanut butter and cheese on a bagel was, like, MY FAVOURITE THING! Now, though, not an INCH of a craving.

One thing I thought I’d really miss is parmesan cheese. BUT, in the following pasta recipe, I used a FAKE parmesan cheese (with no casein — very important to look out for that in fake dairy products), and it did the job. It wasn’t PERFECT, but it satisfied my craving for the texture and saltiness of parmesan.

CHECK IT!

TASTY TOFU BASIL PASTA

INGREDIENTS
(serves 4-6)

1 block (organic) tofu, cubed
4 cups cooked brown rice pasta
Bunch Portobello Mushrooms (optional)
Bunch Spinach (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1 tbsp canola Oil
1 tbsp olive Oil
Basil (generous amount)
Pepper (to taste)
Fake Parmesan Cheese (to taste)
Pine nuts (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Get your pasta cooking…. When pasta is halfway done, toss in portobello mushrooms. Drain them with the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, heat canola oil — MEDIUM HEAT (never heat oil on high) — in medium-sized pan. Lovingly…, throw in the garlic and onion, and saute until softened.
3. Throw in the tofu, flipping it over and over gently, letting each side brown.
4. Sprinkle with TONS of basil and a little bit of pepper. TONS of basil.
5. Mix pasta and tofu together.
6. Drizzle with Olive Oil. Add MORE basil — you really can’t have too much.
7. Pour into dishes. Sprinkle fake parmesan on top, and PINE NUTS. And, ENJOY!

Serve with a nice raw green salad with flax seed oil dressing (see next post!).

By the way, this dish is of course great WITHOUT tofu, as well. The pine nuts and the portobello mushrooms provide ample protein.

Let us know how YOU like it!

xo Haley-O

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So, the other day, I mentioned BRIEFLY at Cheaty Monkey that I made a lasagna. And, since then, I have gotten TONS of requests for the recipe. So, here it is!

As with all lasagnas, this one incorporates a mish mash of things — like, whatever I had in the fridge that day. Errmmm, I happened to have an eggplant and portobello mushrooms in the fridge, which aren’t ANYONE’S usual fare. I’d bought them for some specific recipes that I ended up being too lazy to try…. So, they started rotting, and I thought LASAGNA! They ended up being perfect ingredients for the lasagna because they’re both very “meatie” vegetables — perfect for a vegetarian lasagna. Anyway, feel free to have fun with this, and throw in WHATEVER! Anything goes with lasagna!

INGREDIENTS

(Makes 8 servings)

9 whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 onion, chopped
1 eggplant, sliced
3 portobello mushrooms, chopped
1 16-oz. container low-fat cottage cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
1 can chickpeas (optional — for an extra punch of protien and fiber!)
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
1 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz.)
1 bottle of favourite tomato sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook noodles according to the package directions.

2. Blend cottage cheese, garlic, and chickpeas (if using) in food processor/blender for 3 minutes, or until smooth. Stir in spinach and egg.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat large pyrex dish (or whatever you’re using to bake the lasagna) with cooking spray. Place 3 noodles in bottom of pan, then 1/3 of the spinach mixture on top, then 1/3 of the eggplant and mushrooms, THEN pour a layer of tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle with 2 Tbs. feta. Repeat the layers twice, and top with remaining feta and the shredded mozzarella.

4. Coat sheet of foil with cooking spray. Place it over the lasagna, and bake for 45 minutes.

5. Uncover, and bake 5 minutes more. Let stand 5 minutes more before serving, or cool completely, and freeze.

NOTE: To reheat, let lasagna sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 20 minutes

ENJOY! And, let us know how you liked it in the comments!

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