Quick (30 minute) Korean Dinner

I made this dish so quickly, I barely remembered to take photos. I was so damn hungry (and so was AJ! He was asking when dinner would be ready the whole time!) But it is an easy one.

This dish is vegan and gluten free.

What you will need:

7 ounces of extra firm tofu, cut into rectangular pieces

1 cup of short grain/sushi rice, rinsed and drained

Sesame oil

1/2 of a white or yellow onion, cut into long thin strips

1 carrot, cut into nickel-thick rounds

1 cup of green cabbage, shaved or cut into strips

1 small zucchini, cut into quarters

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

Tamari

1/3 of a cup of rice vinegar

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

Green onion, minced

Sesame seeds

Garnish:

kimchi, sriracha, chili-garlic paste

Preheat oven fo 350 degrees. Lightly drizzle olive oil on your tofu so that they are covered on each side with a fine layer or oil.

On a greased cookie sheet, lay your your tofu rectangles down and bake on each side for 12-15 minutes, until they are browned on the outside and soft on the inside.

While the tofu is baking, begin cooking your rice, 1 cup of sushi/short grain rice to 1 and 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 20 minutes once boiling. Remove from heat after the 20 minutes is up, but leave covered and standing for another 10.

Saute the onions and carrots over medium high heat in sesame oil for 7 minutes, then add the cabbage, zucchini, pepper and garlic for another 5-7 minutes, until they are softened but not mushy. This is a "stir-fry" so high heat for a short period of time so that the veggies remain crunchy. Season with a splash of tamari. For the last few minutes before you serve, stir in the green onion and turn the veggies to low heat.

When the rice has stood for the 10 minutes after it simmered for 20 (so 30 minutes into your rice's process) uncover and add a whisked vinegar-sugar-sesame oil mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon gently (like making sticky sushi rice)

Serve in a bowl with a nest of rice, scoops of sauteed veggies and slices of baked tofu. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and offer kimchi or sriracha condiment.

Cheers! xoxoxo

Quick Seared Eggplant Salad with Lentils and Rice

The evening I made this I was desperate for two things: to eat quickly and NOT to go out to the store.  I was tired (and did I mention, hungry?!). So I made this up with what was in our fridge. AJ approved.

This is VEGAN and gluten free :)

You will need:

Olive oil

10-12 Indian eggplant (or a medium sized eggplant)

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

2 carrots, cut in quarters

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

1 cup of green lentils

1 cup of basmati rice

Handful of chopped parsley

1 lemon, juiced

2 small green onions, sliced into thin slices

Salt

A handful of spinach or other salad greens

For the dressing:

1 cup of tahini

1/2 cup of white wine vinegar

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 clove of garlic, peeled

1 large tablespoon of honey or maple syrup

First gather your materials and wash your eggplant because you will keep the delicate skins of these adorable little eggplant on.

Next quarter the eggplant and oil a pan slightly. Turn the pan to medium high heat and caramelize the eggplant. After the first five minutes, flipping them side to side occasionally, add the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, so that they are shriveled slightly, and caramelized on the inner fleshy sides.

Meanwhile prep your carrots and onions. 

Add diced carrot, diced onion and lentils to a small soup pot with two cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover, letting them cook for 20 minutes.

Start your rice in another small soup pot, 1 cup of basmati rice with 1 and 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then cover, allowing it to simmer for 20 minutes. Then remove from heat, leaving it sealed with the cover on for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, your eggplant should be looking like this... once it does, turn the heat off let them sit until you are ready to put together your salad.

While you are waiting for your lentils and rice to cook, make your dressing! Add tahini, wine vinegar, oil, garlic and honey into a small food processor and blend until smooth. I had a few basil leaves to use, so I added them (if you have cilantro, extra parsley or dried herbs you want to try?) blend in as well. If it is too thick add a tablespoon of water or two until it is a dressing-like consistency.

Juice your lemon and prep the parsley and green onion. These will be added to the lentils and rice when they are cooked.

When the lentils and rice are fully cooked, blend together with lemon juice, green onions and parsley. Salt to your liking and add olive oil sparingly.

On a bed of salad greens (spinach pictured) place a nest of lentil-rice mixture and delicately add the caramelized eggplant around the top. Dress with the tahini-deliciousness. Enjoy!

xo

Quick Vegan Taco Filling: Anasazi Bean and Yam

So, geez. It's been a long couple of weeks. I sort of feel like I have been swallowed up under a tidal wave of a schedule, and so I am completely lacking time, especially Monday-Wednesday. Though it is all exciting a stuff I still can't help but feel like I don't have the space to concentrate on the things that make me feel good (like going to yoga and cooking delicious dinners for my woo-bear, AJ). In order to compromise both my tight schedule and my desire to cook a solid meal at the end of the day, I chose TACOS as a quick way to make a really satisfying dinner.

I will try to post a lot of taco fillings throughout the life of this blog as we eat them often and they always have basically whatever I can find in my cupboard or in the dredges of my refrigerator...so it is always a random, wild interpretation of the traditional taco fillings we are used to.

Tonight, I had yams.

What you will need for this recipe

2 cups of cooked beans (I had made anasazi beans in the slow cooker, with just water out and no seasonings of the sheer hurriedness of my life this week, they cook identically to the black bean recipe previously posted on this blog)
2 medium to small yams, skinned and diced
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 bunch of kale, chopped roughly
Salt
Cayenne (a pinch!)
Cumin, ground or whole or both
Coriander
Taortillas (we get Abbo Blue, local organically cultivated blue corn tortillas by Abbodanza farm/seeds: Rich, AJ's mentor found and culivated the strain of corn they are made of from a heirloom variety in Mexico: they are SO DELICIOUS)
1 avocado
Salsa, any other condiment you like on your tacos

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You will need the oven for your tortillas later.
Then saute the onion until translucent in a good layer of olive oil on medium high heat (I prefer, when cooking in my cast iron, especially with taco fillings, to get a "blackened" quality to my ingredients, especially with the likes of potatoes or yams). Add yams and saute, constantly flipping so as to keep them from sticking for about 6-10 minutes, or until they are soft and getting golden (or blackened edges, like I like them). Add your drained beans and garlic and stir in over medium heat for about 2-4 minutes. Season with salt, cumin, coriander and pinch of cayenne or another chili powder if you like spice.

Add chopped kale and let it wilt and get a little crispy, stirring for about 5 minutes. Taste and continue to season accordingly if you so desire.

Meanwhile, while the filling is resting on low heat and covered (because it is now done) lightly paint olive or grapeseed oil on your tortillas and place on a cookie sheet. Set in the oven and let them get soft and warm-- if you like them slightly crispy leave them in for up to 10 minutes, but I usually keep mine in for about 7. Certain tortillas are denser and take longer, so stick your nose in at 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes etc. and you'll know when they are heated and to your liking.

 While the tortillas are warming up in the oven, slice your avocado and ready any other condiments you might like (cheese, sour cream, crema, salsa, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.)

We kept ours simple and when our tortillas were ready we filled them with the yam-bean-kale fillings and only added the sliced avocado and salsa.

Twenty minute dinner, YAY. Who doesn't like tacos????