Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Well I'm back, I haven't quit! Just a bit overwhelmed with all my new chores and responsabilities.
I'm not complaining, just saying that having an elderly person in your care is alot of extra work but it's so worth it just seeing how much he's changed in the last 7 1/2 weeks. He went from a completely frail, gray in the face, never speaking, lost soul to a much more vibrant person. He has a rosy glow in his cheeks, eats his 3 meals a day without much fussing, walks around without his walker , only using it when he's really tired. He talks so much more now and even cracks little jokes once in a while. When he arrived we could barely get a yes/no answer out of him. Now he speaks in full sentences!! Amazing what proper nutrition and care will do!

Me on the other hand....I sort of slipped back a bit... but I'm trying really hard to grab hold of the reigns and gain control of my life again. I was at the point where I would skip breakfast or if I did eat it was a peice of toast with peanut butter. Lunch was the same, a bagel with tofutti cream cheese or something similar. Nothing healthy, I was at the point where I was throwing away veggies that had sat there too long which is sad but I just didn't have the time to care. If I would have lost a pound a week like I was hoping I would have been 143 this morning but no... :( back to 150, I GAINED 1 pound instead. I can't let this get me down, I just have to get back on the horse so......................
This weekend I turned a new leaf, I've decided I have to make the time I need to cook and eat properly and my husband decided he was joining the club. Why? Because my copy of "Forks over Knives" finally arrived and I made him watch. He was amazed with it and he wants to go vegan also!! YAY!!!
I'm sure he's going to have a problem with a few things but I'm going to do my best to make it stick with him.

Saturday I made Quinoa stuffed peppers and they were fantastic! Everyone loved them!
Anyway, I'm back, I'm not saying I'll be posting everyday so you'll just have to check in once in a while.......

Also, I'm going to try to start listing the nutritional values for my recipes whenever I can... enjoy!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
3+1/2 large bell peppers (the 1/2 is for chopping)
2 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
5 green onion
1 small onion
1/2 tsp oregano, ground
1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
1/4 tsp savory, ground
1/2 tsp thyme, ground
1-340 gm package Yves Veggie Ground Round, Original
1 cup  frozen corn
1 lg + 1 sm. can Gattuso Pizza sauce (about 600ml. total)
6 oz. vegan cheese (I use Daiya) optional

Method:
Rince quinoa in a strainer to remove the bitter saponin residue (depending on where you buy it, most quinoa has been pre-rinsed so just a quick rinse is ok) and cook in water for about 20 minutes or until water has all been absorbed.
Cut the 3 peppers in half from top to bottom, rub with 1 tsp. oil and place on a baking sheet with 1/4" water. Bake at 400f for about 20 minutes.
Chop onions, green onions, garlic and the 1/2 pepper. Saute in remaining tsp. of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the Yves Veggie Ground Round with spices and continue cooking for another minute or two. Add the corn and mix well. Divide into 6 and stuff the peppers, bake for about 20 minutes in a 350f oven. Meanwhile heat sauce. When ready add about a 1/2 cup sauce and top with "cheese"
Microwave individually for about 20 seconds to melt the cheese.

Yield: 6 Servings

Without cheese:
Per serving: Calories: 247; Total Fat: 4 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 548 mg; Carbohydrate: 41 g; Fiber: 8 g; Sugars: 12 g; Protein: 15 g; Calcium: 99 mg; Iron: 6 mg; Vitamin C: 142 mg; Vitamin A: 957 IU.
This recipe is 15% fat.

With cheese:
Per serving: Calories: 337; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 828 mg; Carbohydrate: 48 g; Fiber: 9 g; Sugars: 12 g; Protein: 16 g; Calcium: 119 mg; Iron: 7 mg; Vitamin C: 142 mg; Vitamin A: 957 IU.
This recipe is 27% fat.

Roasted Pepper and White Bean Salad

I'm a bit depressed, didn't lose any weight this week :( but I shouldn't let that bother me because in my mind I'm still motivated and I have yet to quit going to the gym.

Taking care of another person is really messing with my inner clock so I'm going to have to start putting aside some me time and get back to taking care of what I'm eating. I've been sort of eating on the run mostly and what I'm sticking in my pie hole is not really conductive to losing weigh or healthy for that matter.
I'm going to the gym tonight so that's a good thing. I've been going at least 3 times a week and squeezing in a walk here and there. Weird to say but I look forward to the gym! I never thought I'd ever say that! Ha!
I did try a new recipe this week that is actually really tasty. It came out of a Canadian Living magazine but I doctored it to fit the vegan bill! It was supposed to have crumbled goat cheese in it but instead I replaced it with a very good tofu feta.

Roasted Pepper and White Bean Salad

4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbs. olive oil
1 small jar *roasted red peppers, chopped
4 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried or 2 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 block tofu feta, crumbled
19 oz. can white navy or kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Lightly saute the garlic in the olive oil, add thyme and set aside until cooled.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt and olive oil, garlic, thyme mix. Add the beans and peppers and mix well, sprinkle in the tofu feta and toss lightly.

Roasted Acorn Squash

Been really busy lately but it's Monday morning, time for the weigh in! I guess not being bored really makes a difference because I haven't had time to even think about snacking and have actually lost 2 pounds this past week. YAY! Down to 149, I'm finally out of the 50's!!

Anyway, I have to establish a new routine now, my father in law has come to live with us, (he doesn't know this yet) so lots of extra work ahead. He's 91 and is at a point where he really can't take care of himself anymore and needs constant supervision. Just making sure he eats, drinks and takes his pills is a job in itself, but I'm more than happy to do it especially knowing that he's comfortable and relatively happy.

So today's recipe is Roasted Acorn Squash. I like making that for lunch, it's easy, quick and tasty.

Preheat oven to 375f.

1 acorn squash, halved lengthwise and seeded *
2 tsp. vegan margarine, melted
4 tsp. agave syrup**
salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the margarine and agave syrup. Brush the halves with the mix and pour the remainder  into the squashes evenly. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Fill a baking pan with 1 inch of water, add the squash halves and bake for about 30-35 minutes.
You can eat these right out of the shells with a spoon.

* If your squash halves are a bit wobbly you can cut a small slice from the bottom to make a flat spot but be sure not to cut too much or you'll end up with a hole in the bottom and the syrup will just leak out.

** You can also use maple syrup or any other syrup you may have laying around.

Delicious Miso Soup

Yeah Yeah, I've been neglecting my blog, been so busy lately with cooking and the gym, housework, yard work....blah blah blah...

I was also a bit upset this week with the Monday weigh in, instead of losing a pound I gained one, not sure why but I decided I didn't want to post it but I'm over it now! :P  The pouting is all over....

I thought going to the gym and sweating my ass off would make it come off a bit quicker but now I'm getting ahead of myself, I did say I was going to take a year to lose the weight so I'm still on track :D

Today I found a new website where you can map a walk and print it out (there's a link at the bottom of the page for those of you who are interested), what's fun about it is you can make it as long or short as you want, once you're done it tells you how long it is including hills and whatnot, I LOVE it! My first mapped walk was 3.9km and I did it in 42 minutes, YAY!!

Also last week I discovered my new favorite soup, Miso soup to be exact, it's very tasty and it's supposed to have several health benefits to boot, too many to list, but either way whether or not there are benefits, I like because it fills you up with almost no calories.
In Japan they have it everyday for breakfast, I haven't tried that yet but hey, who knows, maybe tomorrow I'll give it a try.
It's not a pretty soup but this is one of those foods that doesn't have to be!

I make my miso one bowl at a time since I like to have it ready at the drop of a hat. It only takes about 5 minutes to make once you have your dashi (soup base).

Delicious Miso Soup
1 serving

Dashi:
32oz. water
6-8 dried Chinese mushrooms
Bring water and mushrooms to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Scoop out your mushrooms and let them cool to slice them. Slice and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.

The water in your pot is your dashi, pour it into an airtight container and keep in the fridge until needed.
For the soup you'll need:
1oz. extra firm silken tofu, cut in 1/2" cubes
3/4 cup dashi
1 tbs. sliced mushrooms (from the above dashi recipe)
1 tbs. sliced green onions
1/4 tsp. dried wakame
1 rounded tsp. white miso paste
Bring the dashi to a boil and add the tofu and wakame, lower to simmer and add mushrooms. Add the miso paste to your bowl and add about 1/4 cup soup base from the pot into your bowl and whisk the miso paste and soup until smooth. Then pour the remaining soup into your bowl and top with green onions. (You don't want to boil the miso paste as it destroys all the goodness out of it.)

The Best Vegan Chili ANYWHERE!!!

We were watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory the other day and they were all sitting around at Raj's apartment eating chili and "BAM!!!" it hit me, time to veganize a chili recipe and boy did this one turn out great!!! I used a package of Yves Veggie Original Ground Round to replace the ground beef and you REALLY can't tell the difference once it's all cooked down in all the other stuff.
Mine turned out medium but I'm posting the HEAT adjustments so you can make it the way you want :)

The Best Vegan Chili ANYWHERE

1 large purple onion (300gr.)
1 large bell pepper (225gr.)
*3 Jalapenos, chopped very fine, seeds removed (60gr.)
1 tbs. canola oil (15gr.)
1- 28oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup Heinz Chili sauce -------------------------------------->
2 - 12oz. bottles of budweiser beer
2 tbs. chopped garlic (50gr.)
1 tbs. chili powder
2 tbs. Frank's RedHot sauce
1.5 tsp. cumin
1.5 tsp. salt

2 pkgs. Yves Veggie Original Ground Round
1- 19oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinced
1- 6oz. can tomato paste

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the onions, pepper and jalapenos and cook until tender. Add the remaining ingredients except the last 3. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to almost low, so it's just lightly bubbling and don't cover it, you want it to reduce quite a bit. You'll notice it's quite soupy at this point but not to worry it will be nice and thick once you're done. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 hours. Add the Yves Veggie ground round and cook for 30 minutes longer. At this point you should notice that it has thickened up quite a bit. Now add the beans and tomato paste and cook for 1 more hour. Remember to bring the pot back to a boil after each addition. Voila! Great vegan chili! Just like the big boys eat! :P

Serve with corn bread and a dollop of vegan sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped green onions.... and a big glass of water!

*7 Jalapenos = INFERNO!!!!
*5 Jalapenos = HOT!!
*3 Jalapenos = MEDIUM
*2 Jalapeno  = MILD

HEAVENLY PIZZA!!!!!

It's 6:30am, and I'm sore and tired but I couldn't sleep any more because I just couldn't find a comfortable position. I really hope that in the long run going to the gym will help this. I'd love it if I could wake up in the morning and feel refreshed instead of beat up. :P

Well anyway it's time to stop whining and post my recipe. Well it's not really a recipe, it's more like how to put together a great vegan pizza! :D

You can use your own pizza crust or a store bought crust but home made is probably better and I use a bread machine cuz I'm a bit lazy when it comes to yeast dough..
This is my dough recipe:

1.5 cups warm water
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
4 cups flour
4 tsp quick rise yeast
1 tsp dried basil.

Throw it all in the machine in order that it's listed and set to dough. OR you can make it the traditional way if you don't have a machine. This will give you enough dough for 1 extra large pizza or 2 small pizzas.

then.....

time to add the toppings, I used commercial pizza sauce, one small can was more than enough and then I added:

sliced mushrooms
green and red peppers
black olives
pine nuts
marinated and chopped artichoke hearts
sliced tomatoes
large chunks of garlic (6-8 cloves) sauteed in 1 tbs. olive oil (Drizzle the oil on the pizza)
*Daiya vegan mozzarella

I put this one on the BBQ for about 6-8 minutes but you can also bake it in the oven at 500f for about 8-10 minutes.

* Daiya cheese is pretty new and it really helps a vegan pizza if you insist on adding a "cheese" product. And I know it must be pretty good because my SIL gobbled it up and said he liked it so THERE! :D

Weez's Scrambled Tofu

I went to the gym for the first time yesterday without being told what to do by a trainer, I looked at my card and then Katrina's card and realized I wouldn't even break a sweat with mine so I did hers! :P
We were there for a bit over 2 hours but I'm sure we can work it out to about an hour and a half once we get the hang of sharing machines.
Also the Doctor's office called today to let me know that I don't have high blood pressure after all! Just a few cases of white coat syndrome, so I'm really happy about that, one thing less to worry about!!

Here's another tofu recipe, can you tell I like tofu? It can be used in so many ways and there are so many different tofus out there, the possibilities are endless.

This is my 4th tofu entry, great for breakfast or lunch... or dinner... or snack... hmmm I guess anytime! :) 

Scrambled Tofu

Serves 1

1/2 of a 12oz block of extra firm silken tofu

2 tbs. green onion, chopped
1/4 cup mixed bell peppers

1 baby potato (1/4 cup)

1 tsp. canola oil
1/4 tsp. turmuric
1/8 tsp. each salt and black pepper


Press the tofu lightly in 2 layers of paper towels and set aside while you chop your veggies.
Chop the veggies into 1/4" pieces. Add oil to your pan and add the turmuric to the oil and cook for a few seconds, add veggies and cook over medium low heat until potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes. add the tofu, salt and pepper and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes more.

Fried Tofu in Sauce (Dubu JoRim)

My poor lotus will spend the day in the rain :( but at least I got to see it in all its glory. That's it until next year...

Today is going to be the first day I go to the gym and workout without the trainers watching over me like vultures and telling me what to do, hopefully I can at least work up a sweat!
I have 5 different exercises to do and the treadmill but I can probably add a few to make it worthwhile.

Anyway time for the recipe!  Yesterday I decided to go with Korean again and this one is now one of my favorites, and definitely my favorite tofu recipe. It's called Dubu (tofu) JoRim (in sauce) and it's really tasty!

Fried Tofu in Sauce (Dubu JoRim)

serves 2-3
1 block extra firm *silken tofu cut into 12 pieces
about 1/3 cup cornstarch
oil for frying
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 carrot, chopped fine
2 green onions, chopped fine
2 tbs. soy sauce
1/4 cup water
4 tsp. sugar
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Dip the tofu in the cornstarch and fry in a few tbs. oil until lightly browned on both sides. Remove to a paper towel and set aside.
Prepare the sauce by mixing the remaining ingredients an a bowl. Pour into the drained tofu pan and bring to a boil, add the tofu and keep cooking, stirring gently until most of the sauce has cooked away.
Serve with a bowl of steamed rice. YUMMY!

*Taken from about.com:

There are two main kinds of tofu: silken and regular. Silken tofu, also called soft, silk or Japanese-style tofu has a softer consistency than regular tofu and will fall apart if not handled carefully. You may notice that silken tofu (soft tofu), unlike regular tofu, is sometimes packaged in aseptic boxes that do not require refrigeration. Because of this, silken tofu is sometimes sold in a different section of grocery stores than regular tofu, which is packed in water and requires refrigeration.

Both silken and regular tofu can be found in soft, medium, firm and extra firm consistencies. They are made from the same ingredients, but they are processed slightly differently, and are not interchangeable in a recipe. 

Silken Tofu

Most recipes will let you know when silken tofu is needed. I find that there is little difference between firm and extra firm silken tofu, and for most purposes, the different kinds of silken tofu are interchangeable, so don’t worry if your grocer only stocks one kind.

Salad dressings, sauces and desserts usually use silken tofu for a thick and creamy texture. Silken tofu in an aseptic container has a shelf life of up to a year, unopened. Once opened, submerge any used portion with water in a container, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week. 

Regular Tofu

Regular tofu, also called Chinese-style tofu or bean curd is more common than silken tofu and comes in a plastic container in the refrigerator or produce section of most grocery stores. Firm or extra firm regular tofu is best used in stir fries, tofu bakes or any dish where you will want the tofu to retain its shape. For recipes that call for crumbled or mashed tofu, such as mock ricotta or scrambled tofu, firm tofu will work just fine, though medium or soft tofu will have a smoother consistency.

Dumplings in Syrup (Grandpères)

Today I'm going to indulge a tiny bit, dessert will be Dumplings in Syrup or in the bon vieux Québécois "Grandpères"

But first things first...

Lotus on day 2...

AND...

Looks like I forgot to give an update on my blood pressure results, I haven't gotten a call back from the doctor yet but I was given a report after they took the ABPM off. Mostly my BP looks ok but there are a few spikes here and there, one of them I caused on purpose because I wanted to see what it would do so 30 minutes before leaving I did 15 minutes on Kat's elliptical trainer, so that's the reason for the big spike at the end. No idea why the first one is there, maybe the stress of having that thing on so who knows.... although I do remember that I did not stop doing what I was doing like I was told to during a reading so maybe that's what that is.

AND...
Monday morning weigh in, 1 more pound gone, YAY!!! :)
Pretty amazing considering I'm not really dieting at all!

So now it's time for the fattening recipe, I don't post junk food often but we need comfort food sometimes eh!

Dumplings in Syrup (Grandpères)

Syrup
1 1/4 cups brown sugar (250gr.)
3 cups water

Combine and bring to a boil in a medium sized pot. The pot should be more than 3/4 empty to leave room for bubbling.

Dumplings
1 1/2 cups flour (180gr.)
1/4 cup sugar (60gr.)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Combine/sift these together in a bowl.
Cut in 2 tbs. (30gr.) *vegan margarine until crumbly and stir in 1/2 cup *almond milk (120gr.)
Lightly roll into 1 1/2" balls and drop into syrup and cook covered for 3 minutes at medium high heat then lower to simmer and cook again covered for 10 minutes longer.

*you can make these with regular margarine and milk.

Vegetable Tagine

What a beautiful day this was, perfect temperature, nice breeze, not a cloud in the sky. I got quite a bit of yard work done and I also sat with my feet in my pond, hoping the fish would come out of hiding. I think they may have had a visitor a few days ago because they've been hiding for the last few days.

Also my lotus opened today, it will be here for 4 days and then gone til next year, but it's so worth the wait!

I managed to get some exercise today. Walked to my Mom's and back (4km there and back) before 9am this morning and this afternoon I took Lola for a 20 minute walk.

Hopefully I will be able to go to the gym tomorrow, if Kat doesn't go I guess I'll have to go by myself which is a bit of a drag but if I have to I will.

Another Tagine recipe, I was pretty happy with this one, very different from the other tagine recipe I posted and I served it with a nice chunk of olive bread....

Vegetable Tagine

1 onion sliced into thin rings
2 tomatoes, sliced
6 carrots, sliced 1/8" thick
2 large potatoes, sliced 1/4" thick
2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. ginger
1 cup water

Put 1 tbs. oil in the bottom of the tagine*
layer in the onions, then tomatoes, then carrots into the tagine.
Mix the seasonings together and sprinkle over the potatoes in a large bowl and shake them around to coat them. Layer them over the rest of the vegetables. Add the water to the bowl and swirl around to get the remaining spices and pour over the veggies, drizzle the remaining tbs. of oil over the potatoes.

Put the covered tagine over medium low heat until boiling, then lower heat to simmer, covered for 2 hours. Serve with a good crusty bread.

*Don't forget to put a heat diffuser under your tagine and never use high heat!

Potato Salad, who doesn't like it?

We're going through a heat wave, yeah I know, how hot can it get in Canada? Well pretty damned hot!
Yesterday with the humidex it was 114, without 98!! today just a bit less. Phew!! I'll tell you one thing, I LOVE my air conditioner!!

Yesterday I decided to keep my gym appointment and give them and myself another chance. I went through the whole joining process, made out my checks and back to the blood pressure thingy again. This time it was even higher than the first time and the trainers were looking at me like I was going to drop dead!

178/108!!!

What he didn't know was that during the week I had been taking my blood pressure 4-6 times a day and most of the time it was normal, sometimes below 120/80 and sometimes higher but never over 135/85 and before leaving home I plugged my blood pressure thingy to the computer and made a printout for him. He looked at it and even wondered if his machine might be off so he took his own and it was good. So............

He was very hesitant but made me a descent workout sheet anyway. He let me do 1/2 the workout and handed me a bunch of papers to be signed by a doctor.
I figured what the hell, I may as well just buckle and do it!

So this morning I was sitting outside the clinic at 6:30am waiting until it opened at 8:00am. My turn comes along, Dr. take my BP and again it's high? 149/101
I showed her my printout and she says I probably have "white coat syndrome" (when you're nervous at the dr.'s office, makes your BP rise) and admitted that she has the same problem. But to be safe I am now wearing an ABPM (ambulatory blood pressure monitor) for the next 24 hours, so far it's pretty good but I do have a few spikes but nothing crazy.

I will update with results tomorrow...

Anyway, since it's a hot one, what's better than a burger with potato salad? So today's recipe is my vegan potato salad... I don't use vegan mayonnaise because to tell you the truth I hate them all LOL!! BLECH!
Instead I use Tofutti brand vegan sour cream and mix with lemon juice and vinegar, I find it way better.

Weez's Sunshine Potato Salad

3/4 pounds of small new potatoes
1/2 stalk of celery, chopped
1/4 green pepper, chopped
1/2 green onion, chopped
1/3 cup frozen corn
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup Tofutti Sour Supreme (vegan sour cream)

Cut up your potatoes into small bite sized pieces and boil for about 5-6 minutes, drain and let them sit in cold water for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the rest of the veggies and mix them in a large bowl, add the potatoes and voila! For even better flavor, let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two.

I had it with a veggie burger topped with mushrooms and tofutti sour creammmmmmmmmmmmm!

We're Back!

Turns out it was a good thing going early, the heat wave is horrible! But the plus side is we had a good time. Bought a few things at the chinese grocery, Kathy bought an adorabubble Chinese PJ for her soon to be born first grandson and Gilles bought himself a silly hat, not very Chinese but that's how he is /:)



Then we had lunch at one of the restaurants, we opted for the buffet and I was amazed to see that they had a whole section of vegan choices!

Of course being out at a restaurant, I went back for seconds but I guess I'll just have to behave tonight and maybe finish off the left overs.

And I really wanted this little lantern but at $115.00 it will have to wait!

Chinatown Woo Hoo!

Yesterday ended up being leftover day so no recipe and today we're off to Chinatown in Montreal. I hate the drive there but once we're parked it's great!
I actually convinced my mom and sister, Kathy to come along which is amazing since my mom hates Montreal even more than I do. Don't get me wrong Montreal is a great city but the traffic, bad drivers and crappy roads leave much to be desired!!
We're leaving around 10:00am and should be back early afternoon, it's only a 45 minute drive...
Update later....

Roasted Veggies

We had a crazy thunderstorm last night, I was sure something would be broken this morning but I guess I was lucky all is good this morning, no damage anywhere, in my yard anyway.

So last night I decided I would start keeping tabs on my blood pressure. I already own a B.P. machine and a pretty fancy one at that. It can be set to keep records for 2 different people so now I'm one of them. This morning it's at 133/87 which is better than at the gym. I will probably start posting my B.P. with my weight on Monday mornings.

I'm pretty happy with this week's weight loss considering I haven't been dieting all that much but I did have that 5 mile walk and yesterday morning I also walked to the store and back, only 1.5 miles but still a good walk since one way was uphill.

So drum roll please brrdrrpththtbrrr.....................I lost 2 pounds! down to 152!

For lunch today I made roasted veggies, one of my favorite ways of eating alot of different veggies at once and it's a real great way of getting lots of fiber too!

Roasted veggies

preheat oven to 400f

1 small sweet potato, peeled
1 medium zucchini
1 red onion
1 bell pepper (I used 1/4 pepper of 4 different colors)
2 carrots, peeled
2 small potatoes
3 clove garlic
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp dried basil

Chop all veggies to bite sized pieces add to a large bowl, toss with oil, lemon juice and basil. Spread out on an oiled baking pan or on non-stick foil. Bake 15 minutes, stir around and bake another 15-20 minutes.

Tibetan Momos

I was going to join a gym yesterday, I was pretty motivated since I had been waiting over a month for my evaluation appointment. So off I go with my daughter, towel and water bottle in hand.
We start the interview, lots of questions, normal stuff like my age, weight, height, what do I want to accomplish. Also a few health questions like do I have heart disease, diabetes, bla bla bla.
Then she starts up with the stuff that made me start wondering if I was in the right place.... Do I have sore muscles, back pain, articulation stiffness etc??? What was she a doctor? I highly doubt it given the fact that she was only about 19 /:) Of course I have ALL those things! I'm 51 and haven't exercised regularly for years, DUH!! Isn't that why you join the gym? Get in shape, lose some weight?

Of course the smart answer to her questions would have been "no" to all, but I stupidly told her that I did have calcified tendonitis in my right shoulder, so now I need a permission slip from my physiotherapist. At this point I'm beginning to get annoyed. :-L

Then she takes my blood pressure.... 138/88 resting heart rate 72. (almost borderline high blood pressure) Well that did it right there, I was almost banned from doing exercise! She took me around to show me the equipment, puts me on the treadmill at 5kmh and shuts it off after 5 minutes... WTH!!!
Then she shows me a leg machine, 10 reps, that's it. The crunch machine, 20 reps, that it!
Then she says OK that all I'm ALLOWED to let you do today!! At this point I was getting pissed!
Apparently only healthy fit people are supposed to join the gym. Since Katrina and Dan still had over an hour left, I walked 5 miles home. Other than a blister on the back of my heel I was fine. That sure beat the crappy workout I got at the gym!

I do have an appointment on Thursday to meet with the trainer who's supposed to make out my fitness plan but I think I'll be cancelling that and taking care of my workout myself. I really don't feel like paying $50.00 a month to be allowed to do a 15 minute granny workout.

One good thing came out of all this, I did find out that I have borderline high blood pressure so now more than ever I am motivated to lose weight and exercise since that is one of the natural ways of lowering your blood pressure.....

So on to the recipe of the day:

Tibetan Momos

2 cups very finely chopped cabbage
1 carrot
3 garlic buds
3 green onions
1/4" ginger
1/2 cup broccoli
2 small potatoes or 1 large one
3 tbs. oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
36 round dumpling wrappers

Start by chopping all your veggies (except the potatoes) really fine, the finer the better. You should have about 3 cups total. Peel and chop the potatoes and boil until soft, mash and put aside.
heat the oil until hot in a small pan and add to the veggies while still hot, mix well to coat the veggies. Add the seasoning and potatoes and mix again. It should look like this:

Now it's time to make your little dumplings. I used this video to help me get the hang of it and it helps to wet the edge of the wrapper with a little water to help them stick well.

I cheated and bought my wrappers but you can also make them if you have that sort of patience.

Once you're finished making 12 of your little momos you can start steaming them in a bamboo steamer for 15 minutes.

While they're cooking you can continue making more momos until all 36 are done. Voila!!

Serve with chili dipping sauce.





General Tso NOT Chicken

I finally found a way to prepare General Tso Chicken without the chicken! YAY!!!

While I was at Kim Phat yesterday I found a few new (to me) things and one of them was dried tofu knots. They are neat little knots made of tofu skin and then dried.

I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised, a bit chewy but pretty good, especially with the sauce which was so perfect. My only regret was that I didn't make more sauce which would have been great with the rice too.

Anyway, on with the recipe...

General Tso NOT Chicken

For the simulated chicken:
2 cups of dried tofu knots
1.5 cups vegan chicken broth, warmed in the microwave for a minute
1/2 - 3/4 cup cornstarch
1 large plastic ziplock bag
oil for deep frying

Place the knots in a deep bowl and pour the broth over them. Let soak for about 30 minutes until softened and drain well.
Add the cornstarch to the ziplock bag and add the knots and give them a good shake to coat them well. They should be fairly dry.
Deep fry in the oil until lightly golden. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

For the sauce:
2 tsp. oil
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4" piece of fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp. dried ginger
1/2 cup vegan chicken broth
4 tbs. sugar
4 tbs. rice vinegar
2 tbs. hoisin sauce
2 tbs. sesame oil
2 tsp. chili paste
2 tsp. cornstarch

In a large skillet fry red peppers, green onion, garlic and ginger until almost tender. In a bowl mix the remaining ingredients well and add to the vegetables, stir until thickened. Add tofu knots and mix well until coated with sauce. Serve with hot Jasmine rice. Bonne appetit!

Hawiian Rice and Coconut Pudding

TGIF!! Not sure why I said that, makes no difference what day it is! LOL... But anyway...

I have a really tasty dessert for today's post, it's Hawiian Rice and coconut pudding, mmmmmmmmmmm....

But first I'm going to introduce you guys to a different kind of coconut. Most of you probably never saw these before but trust me they are really good and good for you. I know some of you are saying "but coconuts are fattening" and you're right if you're talking about the brown ones you buy at your local grocery store but I'm talking about green coconuts or fresh young coconuts. Not fattening at all!

Follow this link for nutritional info and lot of other interesting facts.

Because they are young coconuts they are completely different from the brown ones. The shell is still thin (but still very hard) and the meat inside is also thin and still very soft. Also they are completely full of water, very tasty water!
I usually cut mine open and drink it straight from the coconut with a straw then I use a long handled spoon and scoop out the meat... YUM!
You may have seen them before and just didn't know what it was but next time you see one try it!

I also make coconut smoothies with bananas and pineapple since they contain about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of meat and water.

Opening them is a bit tricky but if you're not afraid to swing a heavy knife you shouldn't have any problems.

I usually do this outside on the patio but you can do it in the kitchen too. You'll need a really heavy knife or cleaver and you're going to have to make 4 swings into the coconut as shown. I never hold the coconut because knowing me I'd chop off an arm or something so if you're like me be careful.
Once your 4 cuts are made just stick the point of the knife into one of the cuts and pry off the top.
At this point you can just pop in a straw and drink the water or pour it into your blender with the meat and make a smoothie.

So here's one of many recipes you can make with these coconuts:

Hawaiian Rice & Coconut Pudding

Ingredients:

*2 1/2 cups (1 batch) cooked Chinese sticky rice (at the bottom of that post)

**2 1/2 cups coconut milk (550 gr.) 
1 cup brown sugar (180 gr.) 
1/4 tsp. salt 

Method: 

In a small saucepan add coconut milk, brown sugar and salt, bring to a slow boil for about 
2-3 minutes. Pour 1 cup of the coconut sauce into the cooked rice and set the remaining sauce aside.
Mix the rice and sauce mixture well and cool for about 30 minutes. Form the rice mixture into 18 balls and place them into 6 small bowls. Top with sauce and serve.

* I want to make sure you're clear on the rice, it's 2 1/2 cups of already cooked rice, not 2 1/2 cups rice, cooked, that would make about 4 cups of rice which would really mess up this recipe.


** to make the coconut milk, drain the water into a high powered blender, scrape out all the meat and add to the blender, blend until smooth.

My Famous Roasted Garlic Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Who says vegan food has to be yucky? These mashed potatoes can beat any butter and cream slathered mashed potatoes hands down.

My Famous Roasted Garlic Vegan Mashed Potatoes

3 medium potatoes, 500gr.

1 whole garlic bud

1 tbs. Olive oil, 15gr.

1/2 cup unflavored almond milk, 120gr.

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

Place the garlic head in a muffin tin lined with foil. Drizzle a 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the  head. Close up the  aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

 Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Drain the oil into a small bowl. Use a small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Save the oil for the potatoes.

Peel and cut potatoes and boil until tender, drain and return to pot and mash. Add the contents of the garlic bud with the oil, the salt and pepper and 1/2 the almond milk, mix well and keep adding the almond milk a bit at a time until the desired consistency.

serves 4

Moroccan Vegetarian Carrot and Chickpea Tagine

For once dinner was a big success, what I mean by that is there was no nitpicking, EVERYBODY loved it which to me is a big deal because I have a hard time finding something that pleases everyones palate at the same time. There's always something with at least one of us such as Katrina and her dislike of mushrooms, or Gilles and anything saucy, you get my drift.

Also the tagine itself is really fun to use although a bit tricky. You have to use a diffuser under it so it's not on direct heat and never cook on high heat but that's the whole point with this cooking vessel, everything cooks nice and slow.

Anyway, this will knock your socks off, you have to try it!

Moroccan Vegetarian Carrot and Chickpea Tagine

1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon Ras el Hanout, or more to taste (optional)
2 or 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4" thick sticks
2 small potatoes
1 cup vegetable broth

1  cup cooked or canned chickpeas, drained
1 tbs.  agave syrup
1/3 cup golden raisins

In the base of a tagine or in a large skillet with a lid, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil over low heat for several minutes.

Add the spices, parsley, the carrots, potatoes and the broth. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the carrots are cooked to desired tenderness. In a skillet this may take up to 25 minutes; in a tagine a bit longer.

When the carrots are cooked, stir in the agave syrup and add the chickpeas and raisins (if using). Continue simmering until the chickpeas are heated through and the sauce is reduced and thick, about 20 minutes more. Taste, adjust seasoning if desired, and serve.