Ceasar Salad

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a while now but every time I make it , it gets eaten so fast that I never get a photo.
I have tried several Ceasar recipes and this version is the best and so easy.

4-5 ounces of firm Tofu (wildwood is the best)
Juice from 2 lemons
2 T caper
1-2 tsps of chopped garlic
1 -2 T nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T olive oil
Romaine lettuce
Viper milk

Puree in vita mix or food processor , mix with salad and top with croutons

Raw Power

This is by far the best raw, flavorless, soy free protein powder that  I have found.
It is made by Garden of Life and does not have a chalky after taste when added to shakes.
I have purchased it at Rainbow before but you can also buy it from the GOL website.

XO,
C

Bring on the BBQ - Zucchini & Arugala Salad, Kobocha Squash with Cilantro Pecan Pesto + BBQ'd Tempeh

`

New patio furniture is in place as well as a new BBQ so it seemed perfect to have pals over to celebrate the first BBQ of the season.  The first item on the menu was a
zucchini ,yellow neck squash and arugula salad.
It takes this:
4-6 small zucchinis
2-4 small crook neck squash
2 T olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 lemons
1/4 cup sliced almonds 
sea salt + pepper

Slice all of  the squash in to ribbons and salt and start to chill while preparing the dressing.
Mix garlic , lemon , salt and pepper together to taste , add 3-4 cups of arugula and sliced almonds to the zucchini and mix together and serve .

Kabocha Squash with Pecan Cilantro Pesto
In the picture the squash looks a little crisp but it was actually perfect. I intended to grill the squash on the BBQ initially and then ended up baking it .

To make:
Cut medium Kobocha Squash in 4 coat with olive oil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until tender.
You will need a food processor for the pesto - my inspiration was from a recipe book  I spied on the Whole Foods app. (yeah,  I peruse recipes every chance i get -DORK!)

1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup pecans
3/4- 1 cup cilantro
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 lemon
course sea salt to taste
puree until tender and top the squash , burgers, bread , and everything else with this deliciousness!

 

BBQ'd Tempeh
The marinade for this one is great on everything!!
Tamari or soy sauce, olive oil, garlic,and fresh chopped ginger. Let it sit for a few hours before you grill.
The variation is slightly different by batch , as long as it is light brown it is a success and as with any marinade the longer you can leave it the better.

When I took a tofu/tempeh class with Compassionate Cooks last Fall one of the tips Colleen Patrick Gordeau offered up was to steam tempeh for a few minutes before you do anything with it to make it chewy and less crumbly.

Grill on medium until crisp. This is a great salad addition.
and as always there were Boca burgers at this BBQ topped with avocado, red onions, dill pickles, tomatoes that aren't quite in season just yet. (therefore not from these parts)  so, i wait!!
Would you believe Whole foods , Faletti's and all markets in between were sold out of burger buns ?!


Thank you Stephanie , Josh and Joaquin for the all the treats.
Everything was delicious but the most important ingredients for this past weekend : good friends, good music, great food , goofy dogs and a very tired Chad.
XO,
C

Meghan's lentil dip & Joaquin's Homeade Pasta

I was lucky enough to have Joaquin and Meghan make us all dinner last week. It was amazing.
I couldn't remember a time that I had actually had homemade pasta. And I had no idea how delicious lentil pate could be. It inspired me to make some. I will post the results soon.

Recipe from Joaquin Castillo Arana

3 cups whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup water
5 teaspoons Olive Oil

14.5 Ounces whole stewed tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons oregano (dried or fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup diced onion
2 teaspoons chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon capers

MARINARA:
I prepare the marinara sauce first and let it simmer while I make the pasta.
Peel, chop and caramelize onions.
Put all the other marinara ingredients in a blender, blend on pulse until you get the desired consistency (I don't like my marinara liquefied).
Add marinara to caramelized onion and garlic, let simmer, stir occasionally.

PASTA:
Make a mound of flour on a counter-top.  Make a hole (like a volcano) in the center.
Combine oil and water
In the crater slowly mix in water/oil in a circular fashion, introducing more flour to the crater to slowly incorporate the water/oil evenly to the flour.
One of the tricks to homemade pasta is getting the dough the right consistency, it should be slightly flaky but should adhere to itself when pressed together.  The texture will be firm but not necessarily easy to work.

Once all water/oil is used begin slowly kneading dough till you get the right consistency, add water as needed.

Once you get the right consistency, make small palm size balls of dough and roll them out flat enough to fit in the pasta maker and begin cranking the pasta through the setting till it gets to the desired thickness, then run through the desired noodle type.
I have a pasta maker which rolls out the past via a hand held crank and also has a fettucine and spaghetti cutter.
If you don't have one of these you can do it by hand (which is fine if you are ok with pretty crazy manual labor) with a rolling pin and a pizza cutter.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, at a tbls of olive oil to the water and a 3 tsp of salt (I like lots of salt because it flavors the noodles)
Once you have the noodles made, toss them in the boiling water for 90 seconds.

and I used the noodles to make a mushroom pesto pasta with oyster mushrooms and and pesto sauce.

Saute the mushrooms with teaspoon of olive oil and add the pesto , while cooking the pasta .
The pasta was amazing the second time, too.

Thanks Joaquin and Meghan 
xo,
Christel

Banana Pancakes - Who needs eggs??

I haven't had pancakes in FOREVER and,unfortunately, the pancakes at Herbivore leave A LOT to be desired. So, when I made these I was thrilled.
The trick is the the egg replacement. I have tried egg replacement products, bananas, ground flax seeds with water, but the best to date for all egg needs is pureed tofu and applesauce.

1 part tofu , 2 parts apple sauce is all it takes. I use about a quarter cup for 2 "eggs". .
The tofu and applesauce flavor do not come through, just fluffy eggy goodness.
This works perfectly in muffins, cupcakes and cakes.

Enjoy

Burritos and Brunch About Town

Mariachi's Taqueria
508 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110-1115
(415) 621-4358

Mariachi's has great veggie burritos. They have soyrizo as an option and a lot of different veggies to add.
Thanks Stephanie!!

Enormasaur Burrito 

And then there is St Francis Fountain
2801 24th St
(between Bryant St & York St)
San Francisco, CA 94110

They have Soy Shakes! Who knew?  

As you may know, the most boring and challenging meal as a vegan is brunch. I usually end up cooking at home for those who originally  suggested brunch. It is all about Sunday mornings and pals that  I rarely get to see. I don't like to suffer through a long line for oatmeal with soy milk, even if the company is enjoyable . When I heard that St Francis Fountain (an old pre-vegan haunt) had soy milkshakes and soysauge I was thrilled!

Finally, there is... Samovar!

Blood Orange Puerh tea at Samovar on Page St.

TLT - Tempeh, lettuce and tomato at Samovar Tea Lounge

Butternut Squash Dumplings At Samovar 

Brunch options are continuing to grow. I am so excited.
Please hit me up if you have any brunch suggestions.
I have heard Weird Fish on Mission does a good vegan brunch, I will investigate soon.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Spinach Marinara

This Ravioli is so great and easy. This is a recipe that is more about assembling items for all of you non cookers.  IT IS EASY!!
I also list all of the local items featured for the quick assembly (they are most likely things you see often at your favorite market).

The Pasta Shop makes several varieties of fresh pasta. My favorite are their pumpkin vegan raviolis
Start by boiling them for 7-10 minutes.

The Pasta Shop also makes a variety of pasta sauces that are vegan as well. I chose their basic marinara for this dish and started by  simmering  it and adding morning star "soysauge"  and a packet of prewashed spinach. Simmer until hot and spinach mixes in..

This is my favorite local bread. You can find it at Faletti, Rainbow or most of the weekend farmers markets and even Safeway. I used the Olive Batard to create garlic bread.
Slice it, top it with  olive oil or Earth Balance spread and add chopped garlic and salt and toast.

All of the ingredients make for one of the most simple decadent vegan meals in minutes.

I often worry that things I create may not be worth posting to the blog  it if they aren't complicated, but I often read simple recipes and am inspired.
Next time I would like to try a sage brown "butter" sauce with this ravioli and Acme's walnut bread.

Time to dream up dessert.

xo
C