Okay people, here it is! I know, finally, after many days of teasing you with pictures. This recipe can make about 2-3 jars of prepared Chimichurri. This stuff tastes great on everything from bread (especially Cuban bread), skirt steak (churrasco), black beans (frijoles negros), tofu and even corn on the cob. This sauce will help any vegetable taste fabulous! I brought this today for Father’s Day with 2 lbs of prepared black beans (frijoles negros), 4 lbs of skirt steak and 6 packages of roasted tofu and it all went. There was just a small amount of sauce left and my sister in law claimed it. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Base Mixture – makes a little more than two cups (steps 1-4)
6-8 cups of cilantro leaves (about 3-4 bunches)
1 cup shallots
1/2 cup garlic cloves
For the items below, you will need the ingredients for each one cup of mixture (see step 4) (e.g. 1-1.5 tsp of salt in each jar, so if making 2 jars, then each jar gets 1-1.5 tsp of salt)
1-1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh)
1/2- 1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup of vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil
Directions
Place all of the cilantro leaves in a food processor or chop by hand. It will come out to about 2 cups chopped. Set aside in a large bowl.
Place 1 cup of peeled shallots in the food processor (or chop by hand) and pulse until finely chop. Add to the cilantro and toss until combined.
Place the garlic in the food processor, a garlic press or chop by hand. Add to cilantro and shallots and mix completely.
After combined completely, scoop out 1 cup and place in a glass container with a tight fitting lid. I use mason jars that hold 2 cups. If usually make enough for 2-3 mason jars or I make 2 and freeze any extra cilantro, shallot and garlic mixture for future use.
Add remaining ingredients into each mason jar.
Stir to combine.
Allow to marinate on the kitchen counter for 6-8 hours.
Okay, I am disclosing the recipe for my magical smoothies. I enjoy these bad boys most days of the week because 1. I am usually on the “run” moving from patient to patient, and/or shuffling my kids around to and from activities (activities I am usually involved in), 2. I need something to provide the most nutrition possible in a form that is acceptable to consume when in my office, and 3. I cannot afford to skip meals, or I will hit a wall and pass out. If you have trouble with bowel movements and don’t go after a day or 2 of these, then you need to seek out the help of a professional.
Ingredients
1 cup of unsweetened plant based milk such as unsweetened almond milk.
1 cup of water
2 tbsp or 14 grams of ground flax seeds
20 grams worth of plant based protein powder such as Garden of Like Sport (my favorite)
2.5-5gm of amla powder (2-3 times per week)
1 serving of any variety of frozen berries
1 serving of other frozen fruit (e.g. mango, pineapple, cherries or banana)
Directions
Place all ingredients in a decent grade blender (I am partial to my Blentec) and blend together on the smoothie setting. Enjoy!
This is an easy, quick dish that can be used as a hearty soup for 2 people or a dip serving about 4 people. I usually make a vegan cheese sauce from another website (Brand New Vegan). When I make this cheese sauce, I freeze about half of it to use at a later date. Feel free to use 2 oz of shredded cheese instead.
Ingredients
3 oz sliced kale (stripped from the stalk, then sliced)
1 cup black beans (if using canned, make sure to rinse)
4-6 oz diced tomato (any variety)
3 oz chopped scallions
1/2 cup salsa
2/3 cup frozen sweet yellow corn
2 cups of vegetable broth or reconstituted bouillon
This is one of my favorite additions I gained from meeting my husband. This rice porridge has become a comfort food for me on a rainy day (although not a favorite of his). I either make the base plain or get plain congee from my local Chinese restaurant. Pictured is plain congee (about 2 cups) I added to a field roast apple sage vegan sausage and 3oz of white button mushrooms sautéed in 1 tsp avocado oil and 1-2 tbsp soy sauce. If I am having it for dinner I usually add about 1/2 cup canned white beans.
I am always trying new recipes, however unless I am baking I never follow a recipe to the letter. I made this stew from a recipe I found on the Vegetarian Times website (search “spicy tofu stew”). I substituted about 1 lb. of sliced white button mushrooms for the spinach (added some broth to sauté them in at the beginning), used 1 sliced red, 1 orange and 1 orange pepper (about 2 cups), and added (at the end) 1 tbsp sesame paste, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp sesame oil. One night I served it over pasta one night over roasted potatoes. For the carnivores out there, feel free to add any cooked protein of choice (however the tofu was lovely all by itself). Enjoy!
Happy Earth Day! Do you know the best way to protect the planet? Eat more plants!
Today is a cold and rainy day in New Jersey, however yesterday we spent the bulk of the afternoon clearing the yard of leaves for the compost pile. This will be the year my garden is bountiful!
After a day of leaning how cheese and ice cream are made, we headed over to The Skinny Pancake in Montpelier for lunch. Funny thing is, this place used to be an ice cream shop when I was in graduate school. Thank goodness for hotel pools and gyms.
My wonderful lunch at skinny pancake (aka a crepe).
In celebration of EARTH DAY this year, the Hopatcong Community Garden is hosting Gardenfest: An Afternoon of FamilyFun on April 22, 2012 from 12-4pm (rain date April 29, 2012) at Modick Park. Please see picture for details.
The Hopatcong Community Garden is completely funded by fundraisers, donations (like from Nutrition Map) and grants. Come support a great project that is bringing the gift of good health to Hopatcong, NJ.
Nutrition Map will have a vendor table in support of the garden. Come by to learn how to use up all those fresh goodies from the garden.
Not only do I get paid (most of the time) to talk about food all day, but thanks to food models, I get to play with it too.
When I am really lucky, patients bring me some awesome treasures from their gardens or from their favorite restaurants. Last night a patient brought me pico de gallo which tastes awesome on, well, just about everything. Had some this morning over cream cheese (vegan, but feel free to use the dairy variety) on top of a slice of wheat bread.
Nutrition Map 