Italian herb spaghetti squash

I've been really wanting to cook "autumn" foods lately - the weather has cooled, leaves are starting to change, and since I moved from Tallahassee to Winston-Salem, this is my first real fall in awhile!

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this recipe turned out to be, and how delicious. I used a lot of fresh oregano and some dried thyme and rosemary. I really wanted to use fresh basil, but my plant just died and I couldn't believe that the grocery store didn't have any! Even with this sacrifice, it turned out great. EJ and I will be eating good tonight!

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Israeli cous-cous with tons of broccoli

Israeli cous cous is so cool looking and so fun to cook with, I don't know why I don't use it more often. Just like regular cous cous, it goes well with pretty much anything! This was a spin off Heidi Swanson's double broccoli quinoa. I tried to make it taste a little creamy and cheesy and not too healthy. Even though its super healthy and low-calorie, you'd never know it, I swear!

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Spiced Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato is my favorite of the fried starches - or in this case, of the baked starches. Baking the potatoes is just as easy and a million times healthier, and oh so yummy.

I recently heard something I hadn't heard before about making french fries - that with regular potatoes, you should remove excess starch by soaking them in cold water, but that with sweet potatoes, you should try to add some extra starch to add crispiness. I gave it a try with these, and they came out wonderful! Two thumbs up from me and EJ!

I used an Indian spice blend called garam masala - it should be available in the spice section of any grocery store. I've also made sweet potato fries with cajun seasoning, plain old salt, salt and sugar, or with garlic and onion powder. Use what makes you happy!

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Watercourse Foods Tempeh Burger

This isn't the first time I've linked to Watercourse Foods in Denver, CO. I have only been there once, but I am now making it my personal mission to visit every time I visit Denver!

I did not try the veggie burger when I went, but I have heard raves about it. Their recipe has now been published, and since my wonderful husband loves veggie burgers, I thought I'd test it out. I took some liberties with the recipe*, and the burgers came out a little dry. Other than that, they were super tasty, and these sweet potato fries were the perfect accompaniment! There was a lot of prep work, but my food chopper gets the job done (or if you have a nice sous chef, that works also).

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Whoopie Pies

Who doesn't love a whoopie pie? As a New Englander, I grew up with whoopie pies, but I never realized that they were a regional thing. So, for those of you unfortunate enough to be unfamiliar with the whoopie pie, it is a marshmallow-cream filled pie/cake/cookie combo, originally from the Amish. According to legend (legend? Are the Amish that old?), Amish women would bake these and pack them in lunches for their husbands. When the husband opens his lunch box for the day, he would see the pie and shout "Whoopie!" (Disclaimer: I'm not totally convinced that this is true, but whatever).

Anyway, this is a fun and easy take on the whoopie pie that my friend Kathleen showed me. Bonus: They're fat free, gluten free, AND they only need 3 ingredients! Kathleen uses a can of pumpkin puree, but I used squash puree instead, and it worked out just fine. I made these for my sister's graduation party and they were a HIT!

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Mango-Banana Smoothie

I freaking love smoothies. I make them a few times a week, especially now that it is officially summer and extraordinarily hot outside. I've been tempted in the past by those smoothie restaurants, and yes, I'll admit to getting them now and again if I'm in a hurry. However, every time I do, I'm disappointed by two things: There are way too many calories in those things, and they're never even half as good as the ones that I make at home with fresh, organic produce.

This smoothie was the perfect post-run snack. It has everything I need to refuel after a strenuous workout, plus its cold and satisfying. I added flax seeds to this, which are super healthy, especially for vegetarians (they contain a lot of nutrients like omega 3's that are primarily found in meat).

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Cold Soba Salad

This recipe was definitely a blog win! I adapted it a bit from this, and I was extremely happy with the result. This salad went together really fast, I usually have these ingredients on hand, and it was very, very healthy and flavorful. There's not a whole lot else to say about this, other than two thumbs up!

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Falafel-Crusted Tofu and Spinach-Pomegranate Salad

Three words can describe this meal - yummy, easy, and healthy (only two of these words describe the fried version). This tofu and salad would go great with Israeli Cous Cous (check back next week for the recipe) for a wonderful Middle East inspired meal. It also looks pretty fancy, which is good for the cook, because this really didn't take any time to throw together. I used two methods of preparing the tofu - baking and frying. They both have their perks, just depends on what you're into. Obviously, the baked tofu is way healthier, but tasted a little dry (but I bet a tzatziki sauce would be great!) . They were both easy, so try both and see what you like!

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Carrot-raisin-yogurt shake

Every morning, I go running with my good friend and fellow blogger, April. We live in Florida, and its summer, so as you can imagine our runs are pretty grueling. This morning, it was particularly hot and humid. After the run was over, she told me about a shake that she's made that she thought would be a great post-workout snack. This is the kind of shake where you think about it, and you can't imagine that it would be that good. So, after I got home, I really wanted a good, refreshing, healthy post-workout snack, and I decided to give April's shake a try. Holy cow it was good!  April used actual carrots in her shake, but I had carrot juice on hand so I just used that. For extra protein just add some plain or vanilla protein powder. Enjoy!

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Weeknight Stirfry

Too lazy to cook but you still need to eat? Fear not - This is the easiest stir fry you'll ever make. It came together in under 20 minutes, and there are totally a few shortcuts you can take if you have even less time. There's not much for cleanup, either!

I just used what I had in the house - you could take this any direction you want! Scramble an egg and throw it in (don't crack the raw egg into the dish and cook it in the dish - I've done that before and its not the same), add some sprouts (yum!) or any random veggies or beans that you have on hand.

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1/2 block of extra firm tofu
about 1 cup frozen broccoli
about 1/4 cup slivered almonds
several shakes each of soy sauce and rice vinegar

1. Cook the rice. I have a rice cooker that I am obsessed with. I can never get the proportions rice : water to be perfect for brown rice - its always too dry. After the rice was done, it wasn't completely cooked, so I added about 1/2 c more water and cooked again. This time it was perfect.

2. While your rice is cooking, get your tofu. I didn't even drain mine - I just gave it a good squeeze over the kitchen sink. Cut it into cubes and saute for about 10 minutes, until its mostly brown.

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3. Grab whatever veggies you're going to use. I basically always have frozen broccoli and/or brussels sprouts on hand for nights like this. I used broccoli this time. To thaw it, I threw it in a saucepan with a little water, covered, and heated it for about 4 minutes, until - and this is a no brainer - the broccoli is thawed. (You can use the same wok or skillet that you cooked your tofu in, just remove the tofu first.)

4. Throw everything together in a wok or skillet, add the sauces, taste for flavor, and you've got yourself a weeknight stir fry!

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Pantry Challenge Day 5 - Farfalle with crumbled tofu

Wow, I'm on day 5 already? Well, the rest of the recipes will be a little more pantry-esque, but they will still be tasty (I hope)!

Farfalle with tofu was good - I accidentally added way too much pepper. It was still ok, just a little overpowering. The fresh basil was nice (I keep a large basil plant in my kitchen), though I really wish I had a few garlic cloves in the house. That would have added a better flavor. Cheese makes things taste better - Romano cheese sprinkled on top would have added a lot here.

Ingredients:
1 block firm or extra firm tofu, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 box farfalle pasta
2 tsp olive oil
4-5 leaves fresh basil
salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder

1) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente.

2) Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the oil, spices, tomatoes (drain them) and taste for spice levels.

3) Crumble the tofu in your hands until it resembles feta cheese and drop it in the pot. Heat for about 10 minutes, until the tofu has lost its extra liquid and is heated through. Add the basil. Enjoy!

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Not-so-bad-for-you stuffed french toast - Take 2!

This version is actually vegan, and in my opinion it tastes much better. I didn't care for the egginess of the previous recipe, and this version eliminated that.

Ingredients:

1 slice of bread, cut in half
2-3 tbs chickpea flour
1-2 tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch ground cloves
a pinch nutmeg
2 tbs vegan cream cheese
2 tbs your favorite jam or preserves (I used pear with honey and ginger)

1. Spread the cream cheese on both sides of the bread, and spread the jam over one of those. Put the bread together like a sandwich.

2. Mix the flour with the milk and spices; whisk. Make sure there are no lumps.

3. Soak the sandwich in the flour mixture.

4. Heat a small skillet (medium heat) and spray with cooking spray. Cook the sandwich on both sides until golden brown.

5. Dust with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. I ate mine with just a little maple syrup. Yum!

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Not-so-bad-for-you stuffed french toast

I'm always sorely tempted when I go to an IHOP or Denny's and see the stuffed french toast. I've never gotten it because I imagine its similar to eating an entire funnel cake by yourself, but dang it looks good! (I'm not going to lie, I'm also tempted by the grilled cheese/mozzarella stick sandwich at Denny's...but I digress).

This recipe was pretty tasty - I actually made it for a dessert rather than breakfast. I used low-fat cream cheese and 1 egg white to cut calories. I'm tagging this as vegan because I'm also including a vegan version, though I didn't make the vegan version myself.

Ingredients:
1 slice of bread, cut in half
1 egg white
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch ground cloves
a pinch nutmeg
2 tbs cream cheese (but I bet this would be awesome with brie)
2 tbs your favorite jam or preserves (I used pear with honey and ginger)

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1. Spread the jam on one side of the bread, and the cream cheese on the other. Put together like a sandwich.

2. Mix the egg white with the milk and spices; whisk

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3. Soak the sandwich in the egg mixture. The egg should coat both sides, and you can press the bread to make it really absorb the eggs.

4. Heat a small skillet (medium heat) and spray with cooking spray. Cook the sandwich on both sides. Here is where had a problem - runny eggs gross m out to the point that I am super paranoid and always overcook eggs. I stopped cooking the french toast at the time when I thought other people would like it and that was when I took my photographs. Then I put it back on the stove and purposefully overcooked it.

5. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy! I added a little more preserves to mine as well.

VEGAN VERSION:
Obviously use vegan cream cheese (or leave the cheese out all together)
For the "egg" mixture, mix 2-3 tbsp chickpea flour with soy milk and add the spices. Cook as above.

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Seitan pockets

These were really easy and fun to make. They also made fabulous leftovers. You can really fill them with anything you want - be creative!

Ingredients:

1 recipe Basic, all-purpose dough
1 package seitan
2-3 tbs soy sauce
a few shakes liquid smoke
2-3 tbs vegetarian-friendly steak sauce (I like the Annie's Worchestershire)
About 1 cup shredded cheese (for these, I prefer a sharp cheddar)

Preheat oven to 450

1. Prepare the dough. On the final rising step, you can prepare the seitan.
2. Cut the seitan into strips and saute in a small amount of oil for about 7 minutes, until slightly browned. (Yes, I know its already brown).
3. Add the sauces and saute a bit more. Taste for flavor.
4. Cut the dough into about 6 pieces of equal size. Flatten each piece so that it is about the thickness of a pizza crust. Shape into a circle if you can. Place about 1/6 of the seitan mixture into the lower-center of the dough and top with cheese. Fold the dough over the filling. Press the sides and corners - you can roll them a bit to make them look pretty. Brush the top of each pocket with milk or egg yolk.
5. Bake about about 450 for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is browned.

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Seitan from scratch

Seitan is this uber healthy food made from what gluten flour. The main ingredients here are wheat gluten flour and water; everything else is for flavoring, so feel free to change it up. I found this recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance. Its a little time consuming, but its so worth it.

Ingredients:
2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 c cold vegetable broth
1/2 soy sauce
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs olive oil
2 cloved garlic, minced super fine, or grated

Broth:
12 cups cold water or cold veg broth
1/2 cup soy sauce

1. In a large bowl, mix vital wheat gluten, yeast, and flour. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients (not the broth).

2. Pour the wet into the dry and mix. Knead (i do this inside the bowl) for about 5 minutes. The dough should be spongy and elastic.

3. In the meantime, prepare a pretty large saucepot with the broth. Keep the broth cold though, this is important for the texture of the seitan.

4. Isa suggests rolling the seitan into a log about 10 inches long and cutting it into about 6 pieces of equal size. I felt like these would be HUGE pieces, so mine were a lot smaller. I made several logs about 4 inches long with about the width of four fingers. The smaller the pieces, the more spongy and soft the pieces will be is what I gathered.

5. Place the seitan pieces in the broth and bring the broth to a boil, partially covering the pot.

6. When the broth is boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer for an hour (covered), turning the seitan periodically.

7. Turn the heat off and let the broth/seitan cool for 30 minutes. This helps the seitan become firm.

8. If you're not using the seitan right away, cut into chunks and store in the broth in a sealed container for a few days.

Filipino Torta

This is sort of like a meat and potato pancake...but way better. I use Morningstar veggie crumbles to vegetarianize it. You will need Jufran to add the final touch of awesomeness, which you can get at any asian supermarket. Jufran is banana sauce, and tastes like sweet ketchup. Its made in the Philippines and very delicious. You can get a regular or spicy variety, but warning, the spicy one is pretty spicy.

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Ingredients:

3 cups thawed Morningstar veggie crumbles
4 eggs, beaten
1 potato, diced very fine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
salt, pepper

1. Cook the potatoes so they are slightly soft, but not too long because they will fall apart. I submerged mine in boiling water for less than 10 minutes (but I also cut mine larger than I would have liked).

2. Add all ingredients (except eggs) to a large bowl and stir. Let them cool (so that when you pour the eggs in, the eggs don't cook).

3. Add the eggs and combine all ingredients. The contents should be relatively smooth. Like I said, my potatoes were larger than I would have liked, so I smashed them with the back of a spoon.

4. Spray a nonstick skillet with oil, and when the oil is hot, drop a large dollop of meat/potato mixture onto pan. Cook it like a large pancake. If you use a large spatula, you should have no trouble flipping them.

Serve hot with rice and Jufran. Yum!

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Tempeh-Polenta casserole

And the blog is back! Sorry to have taken such a long hiatus, but you know, getting married and all takes time! Now that I'm back to my normal life, I can start blogging again.

I got the idea for this recipe from my friend (and awesome running buddy) April. Its very easy and super healthy, a perfect meal for those weeknights that you really don't feel like cooking, but have a hungry husband to feed.

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Ingredients:
I package tempeh, cut into cubes
about 1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tube polenta (i got the tomato-basil one, but you could do whatever)
about 1 cup tomato sauce
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2-1 cup cheese (optional) (I used mozzarella, which was great, but next time I would try a combo of mozz and feta)

1. Cook the tempeh. Saute the garlic in a little oil for about a minute, then add oregano, tempeh cubes and veg broth. Cover and steam, occaisionally moving the tempeh around so that all pieces are evenly steamed. Crush some pieced with the back of a wooden spoon. If the broth gets low and the tempeh isn't done yet (it takes 4-7 minutes), add a little more. You can tell the tempeh is done when it is nice and tender. Set aside.

2. Preheat the broiler.

3. Prepare a 13x9" casserole dish by coating the bottom lightly with oil.

4. Take the tube of polenta and slice it into thin rounds (about 1/4-1/2" thick). Line the polenta over the bottom of the casserole dish. You'll have to overlap a little.

5. Bake the polenta for 2-4 minutes in the broiler. Keep an eye on it, you want the top to be nicely brown, but not burned.

6. When the polenta comes out of the oven, top it with the cubed tempeh. Top that with the spinach, tomato sauce, and then the cheese.

7. Put the dish back in the broiler for a couple of minutes, just until the cheese melts.

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Quinoa-Stuffed Avocados

This salad actually makes a lot of food. I usually only buy a couple of avocados and stuff those, then eat the rest of that salad from the bowl. If you've never had quinoa (keen-wah), you should definitely make it a staple in your diet. It has super high protein for a grain, and is very low fat. Some people call it the super food. You can get it in any health food store, and most grocery stores carry it, possibly near they organic flour/grain section.

Quinoa-Stuffed Avocados

To make the quinoa:
Measure about 1 cup dry quinoa and add to about 2 cups boiling water. I actually don't measure this, but you should make sure the quinoa is completely submerged. Once the water is boiling, reduce heat to low and cover for 10-20 minutes. After 10 minutes, give it a stir. If its still liquidy, put the cover back on and give it some more time. If the water is gone and it has a cous-cous consistency, taste it to make sure its cooked. If it still tastes hard or chewy, stir in some more water and cover (keep on low heat).

for the salad:
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 red onion, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
1/3 cup fresh mint, minced

1. combine everything in a large bowl and toss.

for the dressing
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced very well. you could also grate them
2 tbsp dijon mustard (i like stone ground).

2. Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over quinoa salad and add salt and pepper to taste.

3. You probably have more salad than will fit in a couple of avocados, unless you are about to throw a dinner party. One rule of thumb about avocados is that once they're peeled, you pretty much have to eat them right away, so don't cut more than you will eat.

Once you have figured out which avocados you are going to use (they should be kind of squishy when you give them a light squeeze), you need to half them. I take a knife and cut from top to bottom all around the pit. Carefully take the two halves of the 'cado apart. One half will have the pit - take it out and toss it. Use a spoon to scoop out a little more of the meat so you have more room to add the salad.

4. Spoon the salad into the 'cado half. I added a little bit of greens to the side to eat with the pieces of the avocado that were scooped out, and i drizzled some balsamic vinegar over it.

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Bento Bowl

Is it just me, or does food taste better when eaten with chop sticks? I don't know why that is, but making this dish over and over again forced me and ej to finally go out and get a set of our own...which we use all the time. This dish is super easy and healthy - it can be thrown together as a last minute dinner or can be dressed up to serve to guests. Don't forget the chop sticks!

Japanese Bento Bowl:

1 pkg firm or extra firm tofu, drained and then cut into long, thin strips
1 avocado, sliced
1 carrot, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 white onion, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 cup brown rice
**add any other veggies you might like - just saute them with the onions. Baby bok choy and spinach are my greens of choice.

about 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Marinade:
about 2 tbsp soy sauce
about 2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 greek yogurt (or other plain yogurt)
**i'm writing this recipe from memory, so the amounts of ingredients are approximate. Add more or less of anything to give it a new flavor!

1. Cook rice according to package instructions. the ratio is usually about 2 water:1 rice, but brown rice always needs more water. Add salt and garlic powder to the water to give the rice a little more of its own flavor.

2. In one pan, saute garlic in water for 1 minute. Add onion and saute until onion is translucent, but do not overcook. Add more water if needed.

3. In another pan, spray some cooking spray (or just drizzle some oil if that's what you have), turn heat to med-high, and add tofu. Toss with spatula every minute or so to allow all sides to brown. Once browned on all sides, remove from heat.

4. Prepare marinade: mix together all ingredients with a fork until combined. Combine tofu with onions and garlic, add marinade, sesame seeds and toss well.

5. In each serving bowl, put about 1/2-1 cup cooked rice. Sprinkle with soy sauce. Add several strips of tofu, making sure to get the onions too, and top with avocado and carrot. Toss some sesame seeds on top and you have yourself a meal.

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Seitanic Sandwiches

Truly one of my favorite recipes.

These sandwiches are a must for any vegetarian - or for that matter, any non-vegetarian who wants a healthier alternative to steak and cheese. EJ and have them about once a week - sometimes more. They are very tasty and very easy to put together. Seitain is extremely versatile and uber healthy. This is super low fat and simply packed with protein. It is made from wheat gluten protein. Youo can buy seitain pre-packaged (I get mine at New Leaf), or you can make it. I've done both, and its just easier to buy it, but making your own does have advantages (you can flavor it yourself - packaged seitan has no flavor).

Ingredients:
1 package seitain
1 green bell pepper (sliced or diced)
1/2 a white onion (sliced or diced)
2 sub rolls (some weird people call them hoagie buns)
2 tbsp vegan worchestershire sauce (or any steak sauce)
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp soy sauce
a drop of two of liquid smoke
a couple of shakes of garlic and onion powder
shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever you like in your steak and cheese sandiwches!)

Have oven preheated to 350.

1. Saute the peppers and onions in a non stick pan with a little cooking oil for about 304 minutes, or until slightly tender.

2. Add sliced seitan.

3. Add all other ingredients. Saute until everything is hot and peppers and onions are tender.

4. Lay out sub rolls on a baking sheet. Top with desired amount of seitain mixture and add shredded cheese.

5. Put in oven for about 5 minutes, or until bread is lightly crispy and cheese is melted.

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