Vegan Black Bean Quinoa Burger

Recently I bought the cookbook Big Vegan, and so far everything I have made has been delicious!! I have made this burger twice now. The first time I made it, I use the sesame seeds as the recipe recommended. However my older daughter and husband did not like it, and since I LOVED it; I had to try again. Whew! The second time my husband declared that it was the most delicious sandwich he had ever eaten! I agreed! YUM!

can of black beans drained and rinsed
1/2 cup quinoa
2 scallions or spring onions
1/4 cilantro
2 tbsp gluten flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin (I used 1/2 tsp so my kids would still eat it!)
1/2 tsp chili powder (I used a couple of shakes of red chili pepper flakes)
salt to taste
onion
tomato
hummus and or salsa
bread or bun

I cooked the quinoa per the box, but I only cooked half of a cup. Then put the drained and rinsed beans in a bowl with the chopped cilantro, spring onions, chili pepper flakes, cumin and salt. While the quinoa was still cooking I cut and onion to saute them. I sauteed it in a pan with olive oil and a very small amount of german rock sugar once the onions were translucent. When the quinoa was done I added it to the bowl and used and potato masher to mash them.

Preheat the oven to 425. Make 4 patties and put them on a greased baking sheet and bake them for 15 minutes and flip them over for another 10 minutes. I lighted toasted the buns and spread hummus on them. My husband also had salsa on his. Add the sauteed onions and sliced tomato, unless you have salsa on it as well.

Vegan White Bean Spread Sandwich

I first had a white bean spread sandwich at Sweet Butter in Sherman Oaks and loved it so much I had to try and make it at home! It was a delicious success and I am now obsessed!!

bread (Rudy's 7 grain with flax or whatever you prefer)
white Beans (raw)
garlic 2-3 cloves
1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil (or more)
1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
salt and pepper to taste
onion
grape tomatoes
onion
water
wild arugula

I bought a bag of white beans and soaked them over night and then the next day cooked them for about an hour and a half. Then in a food processor I added 2-3 gloves of garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, lemon juice squeezed from a lemon, salt, pepper and water. Pouring the water in slowly to make sure you don't make it too runny, is a great idea.

I sauteed the onion in a pan with olive oil. Once the onions were translucent I added a little german rock sugar and then the tomatoes that I cut in half.

I lightly toasted the bread, spread the white bean spread on the bread, added the sauteed onions and tomatoes and then the arugula. YUM!

Kale Mango (Pear) Salad

1 bunch kale (stalks removed and discarded, thinly sliced)
1 lemon
1/4 olive oil

kosher salt
2 tsp agave nectar or honey
freshly group pepper
1 mango
handful pumpkin seeds

This is one of my favorite salads. My mother in law found it on foodnetwork.com for me one day when I wanted to make something with fresh kale. It is amazing! Tonight when I made it; our mango turned out not to be ripe so I used pear instead and it was just as yummy!

In a serving bowl, put the kale, half of the squeezed lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and some kosher salt and massage for 2-3 minutes until it softens and kind of wilts. For the dressing whisk together the other half of lemon, the 2 tsp of agave nectar, lots of fresh ground pepper and the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Pour the dressing over the kale add the mango and top with pumpkin seeds. YUM!

Vegan Beet Salad

I found this salad in Whole Living Magazine and I LOVE it! I have already made it a second time! I admit the first time I toasted the bread a little less and I do think that is better.

1 small bunch beets (1 lb)2 slices rustic bread, torn into 1 inch pieces (2 cups)1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil coarse salt (I use kosher salt) and freshly ground pepper
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. orange juice
2 avocados, sliced
2 navel oranges, peel and pith removed, segmented
2 cups fresh spinach (I used a lot more than 2 cups)
1 tbsp. toasted salted sunflower seeds

1. Heat oven to 425. Wrap beets in foil with a little butter and salt and roast until tender. About an hour. Once cool, remove skin and slice. 2. Meanwhile, toss bread pieces with 2 tbsp oil, season with salt and pepper (I only used pepper), and toast until golden brown about 6 minutes. 3. Whisk vinegar, orange juice and remaining 2 tbsp oil. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over beets, avocados, oranges, spinach and croutons. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Sunflower seeds.

The first time I made this salad I tossed the whole salad. It was very tasty that way, however not as pretty.

Vegetarian Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad

baby spinach

quorn vegetarian chicken

avacado

chopped candied walnuts

goat cheese

I didn't have any when I made this, but mandarin oranges would have been a great addition.

I baked the chicken with a little oil on each side and lemon and pepper on each side. I used the bake time that was on the box. I think it was at 400 for 18 minutes, flipping at 9 minutes.

Wash the spinach, if you have a salad spinner, spin it. Chop the walnuts, avacado and then do what you can do crumble the goat cheese. We actually didn't do use any dressing, which is highly unusual! I think the avacado was just at that peak ripeness that it didn't need any.

Grilled Portobello with Goat Cheese, Tomatoes and Glazed Walnuts

This is delicious, but since I made this recipe up it's not exact measurements.

If you want to marinate the mushrooms you can but it's not a must. I used 1/4 cup olive oil, a few drops on each portobello cup of balsamic vinegar and minced garlic sprinkled in each cup. I put it in the fridge for about 4 hours.

1/4 olive oil

balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

tomato

goat cheese

glazed walnuts (chopped)

basil

Coat the skillet with olive oil (approx 1 1/2 tbsp) and heat. When hot put the portobellos in the skillet, flipping until done. Place a sliced tomato in the cup of the portobello, spoon some goat cheese and sprinkle with chopped glazed walnuts and sprinkle some basil on top. Turn the fire off and place the lid on for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Five-Spice Chicken and Green Bean Stir-Fry

Tuesday night dinner with my mother in law and we made Five-Spice Chicken and Green Bean Stir-Fry. The original recipes calls for pork but we used Quorn Vegetarian Chicken instead. It was quite a tasty dish!

For sauce
3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh gingerroot
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mango chutney such as Major Grey's
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder (I couldn't find this so we made our own using recipe below)
1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek (Indonesian chili paste)

Chinese 5 spice recipe (I still didn't have everything for this but this is what we used)

1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper

1 medium red onion
1/2 pound fresh green beans
a 3/4-pound piece green cabbage (about 1/2 medium head)
1/4 cup packed coriander leaves
4 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 pound fresh bean sprouts (about 2 cups)
1 cup snow-pea shoots or daikon (Asian radish) sprouts
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
Accompaniment:Rice (I used quinoa)

Make sauce:Mince garlic and in a small bowl stir together with remaining sauce ingredients until combined.
Halve onion lengthwise and cut into thin slices. Diagonally cut beans into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Core cabbage and cut into 1-inch pieces. Chop coriander.
Heat a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat until a bead of water dropped on cooking surface evaporates immediately. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil, swirling wok or skillet to coat evenly, and heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion and stir-fry until slightly softened. Add beans and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to wok or skillet and stir-fry cabbage until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add bean sprouts and stir-fry until sprouts are slightly wilted, about 30 seconds. Transfer cabbage mixture to bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to wok or skillet and heat until just smoking. Stir-fry chicken, transfer to bowl.
Add sauce to wok or skillet and bring to a boil, stirring. Return chicken-vegetable mixture to wok or skillet and stir-fry until heated through. Stir in coriander, snow-pea shoots or daikon sprouts, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve stir-fry over rice, quinoa or whatever grain you would like.