Posts by admin:
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 lime, peeled
- 2 inches of ginger, peeled
- 1 Tbsp agave nectar
- 1 cup packed spinach
- 1 1/2 cups jasmine tea or water
- protein powder
Warm Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Goddess Dressing
October 15th, 2010
This has completely been a weird Friday for me. I woke up and then it felt like it has flown by.I mean, I wanted to start the weekend, but not all weird! Maybe there’s a full moon somewhere, right? Nah,I think I have had a little of a rough week. Once I hit Thursday it seems like I hit the wall. On top of having my day job, I also have to plan meals and prepare them for when we are on the road or when Ryan is on the road. I am trying to come to terms that I am not a great meal planner for JUST the 2 of us. I have to get on the bandwagon, becasue as soon as kids start coming into the picture, I am going to HAVE to be better at planning. Don’t get me wrong. Somedays I know what I am going to make ahead of time, but on other days I seem to hit a wall or I just don’t have the strength.
I have to admit that the past few weeks my fellow foodies have been an inspiration to me. I read a post and see pictures and realize I have all the ingredients. Even though I am very much the person that can look in my pantry and fridge and winf something, sometimes it’s not there. Sometimes, I find that after working out 5-6 times a week does not make me want to cook but it makes me want just a salad and some legumes tossed on it with some bread on the side. Simplicity is good, right? I tend to complicate it for myself, setting my own standards when I come into the kitchen.
Ryan does not expect anything gourmet, but I set my own standards and feel disappointed if I do not meet that.I am my worst nightmare sometimes, even though I like pleasing and I wait for Ryan’s reaction. Anyway, I made a recipe that was super simple yet filling and very gourmet. Thanks to the ladies at Smitten Kitchen and Oh She Glows, I tried a new combination of flavors. Even though these two recipes focused on warm squash, I decided to use sweet potatoes since I was not able to make it to the market that week.
Since I have reduced the intake of red or white potatoes in our weekly meals, I have focused on sweet potatoes due to their being low on the glycemic chart. When I feel the need to enjoy some comfort food, sweet potatoes tend to be the go-to healthy carb for me. The dressing for this warm salad is so creamy and very different than any dressing one could enjoy. Throw out ranch, ceasar or blue cheese dressing and bring IN Tahini Goddess Dressing. I did not use the listed dressing from wither website but since I had made my own from a wonderful cookbook I found at the library, I had some already prepared and ready to pour on my warm salad. YUM!
I know I chatted with some people about their dislike for the flavor or consitency of the chickpea. Some people can manage eating it ONLY in hummus and others none at all. It all depends. I find that the bean can be grainy if you use from a can, but if you cook it on your own the bean can have a softer texture. Try it sometime.
What is your FAVORITE way to eat chickpeas?
NExt week I will be featuring another recipe using chickpeas that took the flavor to another stage! Can’t wait! Meanwhile, enjoy this side dish as a main meal with a green salad or for the upcoming holidays. Such a delicious dish!
Warm Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad
serves 2
For salad:
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped in 1 inch pieces
1 medium garlic clove, minced
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2-3 pinches sea salt
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato, garlic, peppers, coconut oil, and salt. Toss the potato pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool. Meanwhile, make the tahini dressing.
Tahini Goddess Dressing
slightly adapted from the book jam it, pickle it, cure it
makes 1 cup (perfect for regular salads)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup raw tahini
4 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons chopped parlsey
Place all ingredients, except the parlsey, in a small bowl and using an immersion blender or food processor, blend ingredients well until smooth. Add the parlsey at the end and mix well.
Assembly
In a medium bowl, mix the roasted potatoes, chickpeas, red onions, parsley and 1/3 cup dressing. Combine ingredients well and serve. Eat with a green salad or by it own. Enjoy!
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Pumpkin Pecan Cinammon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
October 13th, 2010 |
| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
I realized as I started writing today’s post that I really had not eaten so much pumpkin or made so mnay recipes using pumpkin before this month. I techically was happy making the normal pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and that’s it, but my pumpkin usage has reached a whole new level for me. Maybe it is the fact I live in a place where foods change as the seasons change. I do not remember feeling or seeing this back in Texas. Decorations for seasons changed in stores but somehow everything else did not impact me the same way.
I love going to the markets on the weekends because booths are overflowing with all kinds of apples, sqaushes, vegetables and more that have been grown by locals. Who would NOT want to support the locals when you see it fresh weekly? Obviously the last few posts have been focusing on baked goods and desserts but I promise you this is not ALL that I am eating. Ha! I know some people can live on just desserts or baked goods but my enjoyment in the kitchen is heightened when I BAKE. This is just one part of me despite the fact I enjoy cooking as well, but my family knows that when it comes to desserts, it is where I have fun.
Just to show I have not just been eating desserts I will share the last few things I have eaten. Oh wait, I think I posted them already. Last night I ate dinner at 4pm so that I could workout at 6:45pm. I came home only to consume my protein shake that I invented in a flash. It was also seasonal!
Post-Workout Cranberry Green Monster
Blend in a high-powdered blender until smooth and enjoy. It was ingigorating and held me to this AM.
Last night I focused on my new quest to perfect cinnamon rolls. I have tried making vegan cinnamon rolls 3 times with NO luck. They either did not rise or they did not cook correctly. I pretty much gave up and decided that maybe cinnamon rolls were not meant for me to bake them. I finally realized that perhaps the yeast I was using was not fresh.
Ryan had made his famous deep-dish for company a few weeks ago and even though the pizza came out, the dough did not rise like it usually does. We finally decided that somehow the refrigerated yeast does not last too well for us. I think it is because we do not use it all the time. I decided to switch and use the packets for now. So now I rolled up my sleeves and tried a seasonal recipe that scared me a bit, because it was a lot of work and I did not want them to mess up after all the hard work I put into them. I prayed over my work. There is nothing wrong with thanking God for our gifts, so I did.
The result? The recipe is SUPER easy, it is the process. Waiting for rolls to rise is agonizing when you want the finished product, but I let them rise for an hour then rolled them out and filled them and rolled them up and let them rise again and then baked them. It actually was LOTS of fun and I was patient. I veganized a recipe I found at Good Life Eats where Katie adapted the roll dough from King Arthur Flour. I cut the amount of butter from the recipe and the sugar because it sounded a tad too sweet to me. I also created my own frosting that was perfection folks! I love experimenting because when it comes out right, you feel good! I hope you enjoy the recipe and photos!
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Pumpkin Pecan Cinammon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
makes 15-16 rolls
Roll Dough:
1/4 cup warm water (not hot, about 110 degrees)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk (or non-dairy milk)
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp water (equals 1 egg)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned
1 tablespoon melted Earth Balance buttery spread
2 cups (approximately) All-Purpose Flour
1 1 /4 cup Whole Wheat White Flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Filling:
3 Tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread, softened
1/4 cup white vegan sugar
2/3 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each of allspice and ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 ounces Tofutti cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk
In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Let rest for 5 minutes before stirring. Mix flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add milk, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4 cups whole wheat white flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.
Gradually add remaining flour (all purpose), a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Start with about 1 1/2 cups and increase if necessary. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.
Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Combine the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl, set aside. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat or roll it into a 16″ x 12″ rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Roll the dough into a log the long way; it’ll stretch to about 20″ long as you roll. Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 15 slices. In order to cut down on drag, it helps to rinse the blade in hot water, and wipe it off, between slices. Place slices in a greased 9×13 inch baking pan (or in two 8 or 9 inch round cake or pie pans). Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Bake in a preheated 375°F oven. Bake the rolls till they’re brown around the edges and beginning to turn golden brown across the center, about 20-30 minutes.
While rolls bake, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Add the cream cheese, vanilla, milk to a small food processor or use an immersion blender. Blend until smooth and combined. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending in between, until well mixed and desired consistency is reached.
Frost warm rolls with the cream cheese frosting and serve immediately and enjoy with your favorite coffee.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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Creamy Tahini Soba Noodles with Black Sesame Tofu Meatballs
October 12th, 2010 |
| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Can you tell I have been on an Asian kick lately? Why not? It ensures me that I am going to be getting my full dose of vegetables for the one meal. Where do I get all the ingredients to be inspired with an Asian meal? One of my favorite things to do is go shopping at the Asian supermarkets because there will always be something fun to buy or try that I have never cooked with or even just sampled.
I had a friend ask me where I get all my ingredients for Asian foods and was it worth it. Oh yes. Food items that you could sometimes find at your local grocery store were at least half the price if not more. YES, can you believe it? Here are some pictures of my favorite store.
The one exciting thing I found the last trip I made was black salt. I mentioned in my Tofoo Yung post that the traditional dish takes eggs and that black salt makes a perfect substitute for the egg flavor. Even though I had heard it was close to 7 dollars in most specialty stores, I found a bag for a BUCK! I am telling you. DO NOT be intimidated by Asian grocery stores. Most of every item is in English or with English translation so that you know what you are buying. Not only are Asian foods available at these places but sometimes they are more of international stores. They have Indian products, Mexican products (like Goya), and Mediterranean products. I love my store and go often. Let me know if you have problems finding a product and I can see if I can locate it for you!
This is why I probably why I make stir-fries or other Asian dishes, because it is so readily available and it is exciting to make new dishes with fun and healthy products. I continue my recipe creation inspired by Ricki and Kim’s Sweet and Savory Challenge for the month of October which are sesame seeds. I have toasted white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds, but I do not usually use my black sesame seeds. They stay in my freezer so they will not get old and useless.
I focused on a creation that I had been formulating in my brain. I finally put it down on paper and created a whole 2 new recipes for this challenge focusing on sesame seeds in a whole new way for me. I love these challenges because I challenge myself to try something new! I make tofu meatballs with black sesame seeds and spices and a creamy cold noodles salad made with tahini paste and condiments. Ryan asked me why I did not make more tofu meatballs because he like them so much. You never know what this guy is gonna WHOLE block of tofu instead of half. 🙂 This complete dish was easy to make and super savory. I felt like this dish was more Japanese than anything, since I added Hijiki seaweed and used white rice vinegar along with some mirin and sriracha. Please give this dish a try because it will blow you out of the water.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Creamy Tahini Soba Noodles
serves 4
4 cups cooked soba noodles
1/2 red pepper, julienned
3 green onions, chopped
2 carrots, julienned
3/4 cup daikon, julienned
1 cucumber, seeded and julienned
Creamy Sauce
1/2 cup raw tahini paste (sesame paste)
1/3 cup mirin
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 Tablepoon sriracha hot sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon tamari sauce
1 Tablespoon Hijiki seaweed
1 Tablespoon agave nectar
Cook soba noodles according to package directions and drain water from noodles when cooking has finished. Run cool water on the noodles and drain properly.
Add the vegetables to the noodles in a large bowl and toss well. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour over noodles and mix well until the sauce has evenly mixed. Prepare the tofu meatballs.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
Black Sesame Tofu Meatballs
serves 2 (double recipe)
1/2 package extra-firm tofu (7 ounces), patted dry
2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 green onion, chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoons sriracha hot sauce
1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds
1/2 Tablespoon dulse flakes
1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
In a medium bowl, crumble tofu until it looks mealy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form into 10 tofu meatballs and heat wok with 2 Tablespoons sesame oil on medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add the tofu meatballs and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side. If they are not quite browning quick enough, turn the heat up a little below medium-high heat. Total time to cook was 15 minutes until they were golden brown. Set aside to semi cool. Place on top of noodles.
Enjoy with some Jasmine Oolong tea.
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| From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen |
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Spicy Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Fig Preserves and Spiced Buttercream Frosting
October 11th, 2010
What a great weekend! We had GREAT sunshine and weather thanks to God! On Friday night we went to an MSU fundraiser that featured the 5 accapella groups at MSU. They were all pretty cool, especially when one of the groups sang Nothin’ on You by B.o.B.
Saturday turned out to be a perfect day starting with an hour of zumba with my favorite teachers. We headed out with 5 friends to the Cider Mill at St. Johns. The people started peeling into the mill waiting to get in line for some apple cider and pumpkin donuts. There were wagon rides to the pumpkin patch and the apple orchard too. I got my dose of Vitamin D. I also got a perfect pumpkin to decorate the front of the house and candy pumpkins to decorate the inside of the house. It was wonderful being able to pick up our own pumpkins.
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| My friend’s baby, Adelle |
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| Apple orchards |
After this great little trip, we headed to my friend’s home for dinner, where my friend made FRESH bread for French Dip Sandwich. I prepared salad and the spice cake for dessert. I had a leftover main dish for myself so I enjoyed that with a lot of green salad and some fresh bread.
After we took a break from dinner to clean up the dishes, we sat down for some coffee and dessert. Let me tell you a bit about the spice cake. I grew up not really caring for spiced cakes over the holidays but seeing all the options for pumpkin, I decided I would try a new recipe and see how I liked it.
The cake recipe came from the The Conscious Kitchen, a great website for vegan baked goods. Even though the author has not posted in a year, her recipes still sounds delicious. I used here cake recipe and made my own Spiced Buttercream to complete the cake. I also decided to add fig preserves between the one layer. The cake layer really rose but then somewhat flattened a bit so I sliced it in half so it could have a little more heighth. You can also just double the recipe and make two layers as well.
My friends asked me if my dessert was vegan because they all loved it. They asked me how I made the frosting since it tasted like a regular dessert. Who knew that healthy dessert could taste so sinful? Oh, pick me! I knew! 🙂 I can’t wait to try these as cupcakes, because they would be amazing! I will be making this for Thanksgiving and for my family in Texas when I go. Enjoy!
Spicy Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
makes one 8-inch cake
3 oz chopped dark chocolate
¾ cup pumpkin purée, fresh or canned
½ cup water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup canola oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare an 8” cake pan with parchment in the bottom and oiled sides. Over a saucepan of boiling water in a bowl or in a microwave, working in 30 second increments, melt chocolate.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, water, vinegar, sugar, vanilla, oil and sea salt.
In a large bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add in spices and whisk to combine.
Pour liquid into dry mixture while whisking until combined in a smooth batter. Pour in melted chocolate and whisk well to combine. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Spiced Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup Earth Balance, buttery spread (vegan)
1/4 cup Spectrum organice all-vegetable shortening
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground all-spice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon non-dairy milk ( I used coconut milk)
Place all ingredients in your mixer and whip the buttercream until very light. This buttercream is light in its spices but it has a perfect balance with the cake.
3/4 -1 cup fig preserves
chocolate shavings
Assembly
After the cake has cooled completely, slice the cake in half and divide set aside. Place bottom layer on cake plate and add the fig preserves first and layer evenly. Then add 3 Tablespoons of frosting and spread evenly.
Add top layer and begin icing the side of the cake with an icing spatula or wide knife. Continue icing the top of the cake and frost evenly.
Using a grater, take a block of chocolate and shave some chocolate on the top layer of the cake. Enjoy!
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Vegetable ToFoo Yung with Pressed Black Sesame Cabbage Salad
October 8th, 2010
Friday!!!!! I really like the sound of it. Even though I am tired this morning after our normal midnight arrival from our Holland jaunt on Thursdays, I am surviving, after 2 cups of coffee. I only had 5 1/2 hours of sleep and managed to wake up at 5:30am to pick up my friend to break out with kickboxing. Whoa, was it super hard to get into it! After 15 minutes of warming up and teaching my friend how to punch on hand pads, I started waking up.
This week has been a good one and at that one that somes a blur too. I managed to work out 4 days at 6am and I plan to do a zumba class on Saturday before heading out to the cider mill for some fun! I cannot wait to pick out my own pumpkins and chow down on some apple cider donuts and hot apple cider. Looking forward hanging out with friends.
My kitchen inspirations have been somewhat exciting this week, with only the whole Banana Coconut Cream Pie to show for it. I did make a lunch dish inspired by OhSheGlows that I will be sharing soon and also a new Asian dish I had never tried before.
I have come to realize that I tend to keep it safe when it comes to making Asian dishes. I know how to prepare vegetable sushi, stir-fries galore, and noodle dishes, but I am not very familiar with standard Chinese favorites, like Chop Suey or Lo Mein, Moo Shu dishes, Sweet and Sour and so forth. When I came across Chow Vegan’s post on Tofu “Egg” Foo Yung, I knew I had to try my hand at making something different.
The Asian cuisine tends to be one of my FAVORITE cusine to focus on weekly. It promises a huge plateful of vegetables with some delicious protein and carb on the side. Egg Foo Yung is typically an omelette that is found in the British and Chinese American cusine, according to Wikipedia. The authentic Chinese recipe comes from Shanghai and is known as Fu Yung Egg Slices.
Even though Chow Vegan used black salt to bring in the “eggy” flavor to this Chinese-American, I did not have time to go and search for this product so I used dulse flakes and tamari to go with a more alternative fishy flavor. The tofu, after it is pressed is normally used for tofu scrambles to substitute for regular eggs so I figured I would be fine not using the black salt. I also decided to pan-fry the tofu cakes in sesame oil as the traditional recipe calls for, since I was making this on a really busy evening.
Vegetable ToFoo Yung
makes 4 patties
4 fresh button or baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 stalks green onion, chopped
2 ounces water chestnuts
1 garlic clove, minced
7- ounce package of extra-firm tofu (1/2 a package)
1 Tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons dulse flakes
1/4 cup flour or a little less
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
Drain and rinse the tofu, wrap in paper towels and place a heavy weight on top. Press for about an hour or use a tofu press. While the tofu is pressing, chop the vegetables.
Heat a medium non-stick skillet with 1/2 Tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat. Add the 5 ingredients and sauté for 5 minutes. Place in a bowl and set aside.
Heat another 2 Tablespoons sesame oil on medium heat.
Crumble the tofu and add the rest of the ingredients and blend well together. Divide the mixture in 4 patties and add to the hot skillet. Pan fry for 5 minutes on each side until lightly browned. (My oil was to hot, whoops, so they came out a little darker) I drizzled with Sriracha sauce.
Pressed Black Sesame Cabbage Salad
serves 2 generous portions
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 carrots, julienned or shredded
1/2 cup daikon julienned
1 1/2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds
Julienne or shred the vegetables and place in a bowl. Add the rice vinegar, salt, maple syrup and using your hands, massage the dressing into the vegetables. Set aside for 10-15 minutes and massage the vegetables again. You can also use the tofu press to place portions of the salad to press excess liquids.
You can keep the dressing, and serve alongside the Tofoo Yung and wild rice. Enjoy!
