FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Tempeh Lettuce Wraps

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Lettuce wraps…  The crunchy little world where warm meets cool.  It surprises me how often I forget how much I enjoy that world.

The last time I made lettuce wraps I used this VegTimes recipe.  And although I remember liking it a ton, I decided to replace tofu with tempeh this time around, thinking it would yield a texture more similar to a classic wrap.  My thoughts were spot on.

In addition to using 8 ounces of tempeh instead of 1 pound of tofu, I replaced vegetable oil with coconut oil and soy sauce with liquid aminos.  If you decide to try this recipe, I highly recommend using these modifications.

Another bonus of using tempeh, besides the whole texture thing, is nutrition.  Tempeh has substantially more protein, fiber, and vitamins than tofu, making it the obvious choice between the two for this dish.

Quesadilla Crush

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Bean quesadillas of sort have been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember.  It’s one of the few things my mom would make when I was younger that didn’t cause a tantrum.  In college, I rotated between bean and cheese quesadillas, egg sandwiches, and spinach mac and cheese (and probably some whiskey…).  When I did the vegan thing in Dallas, I subbed the cheese with spinach.  And today, after an almost 30 year bean quesadilla love affair, I’m still changing things up and totally crushing.

After giving up dairy for most of 2011, I now have a better understanding of which dishes don’t need cheese as much as others.  For instance, pizza will always taste better with real cheese.  Always.  But with bean quesadillas, on the other hand, there’s not much of a difference either way.  However, there’s something about super spicy salsa and cool sour cream that makes me weak in the knees, so I kept it.

FoodFash Spinach, Salsa & Refried Bean Quesadillas (yields 1 serving)

 1 large whole wheat tortilla

1/2 cup refried beans

4 tablespoons of salsa

1 giant handful of fresh baby spinach

1 dollop of sour cream

extra salsa

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Spread refried beans over half of of the tortilla.  Place directly on oven rack and bake for about 5 minutes or until beans are heated all the way through.  Meanwhile, heat salsa over medium heat.  Add spinach and stir until wilted.  Remove tortilla from oven and use a slotted spoon to place spinach over beans, leaving excess liquid in the pan.  Fold tortilla in half and use a pizza cutter to slice quesadilla.  Serve with sour cream and salsa and enjoy!

Quinoa Meatless Balls

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Ever since the grape leaves and quinoa recipe, I’ve become a ton more confident cooking with quinoa.  Quinoa tabbouleh, truffled quinoa and cheese, and now… Quinoa meatless balls.       

I’ve also become severely addicted to using my food processor to “chop” veggies.  Shredded, chopped, same difference to me if it means tear-less eyes.

FoodFash Quinoa Meatless Balls (yields 12 balls)

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 Not-Chick’n Bouillon Cube

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 yellow onion, shredded

1 green pepper, shredded

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 eggs

1 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a small pan, bring water, quinoa, and bouillon cube to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes.  While the quinoa is cooking, brown garlic in olive oil over medium heat.  Add shredded onion and green pepper and continue to cook over medium heat until the onions are wilted and transparent.  Stir in seasonings and quinoa.  Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in the eggs and breadcrumbs.  Form into 2″ balls and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes and serve.

I was super happy with the way these meatless balls turned out.  I had tried a couple store-bought varieties over the years and was never happy enough to buy them again.  In this recipe, the egg and veggies keep the quinoa moist and held together, while the bread crumbs add a crispness to the outside and texture throughout.  And there aren’t 16 unpronounceable ingredients in these, which is a huge plus.

The Not-So-Easy Way

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You know how most of the time people are on a mission to make things easier?  At work, at home, everywhere in life, the easier route is typically the preferred route.  Well lately always, I’m fairly certain that I subconsciously choose the more difficult route.  Tonight was no exception.

I’m going on my third weekend in a row of out of town guests and I have a chore list a million items long.  I should have stopped at Whole Foods on my way home from work and picked up something from the salad bar.  If I felt like cooking, I should have reached in my bag of quick recipe tricks and whipped up something that would make a minimal mess in my kitchen.  I should not have wandered the aisles day dreaming and recipe creating.  I absolutely should not have settled on a recipe that would destroy my kitchen and double my chore list.  But I did.

I took a meal that could have easily been thrown together with spaghetti squash, jarred sauce, and frozen meatless balls and turned it into something uber homemade.  Like uber, uber.  For the record, if you want to make this meal in a hurry you can do just that.

If you want to take your time, listen to sweet tunes, and get your hands dirty, then make your own sauce and meatless balls.  For the sauce, barely brown a few cloves of crushed garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil, add 6-ish chopped vine tomatoes and some salt, and boil on high heat until some of the moisture is gone (10 to 15 minutes?).  For the meatless balls, check back tomorrow for the step-by-step!