Veggie Hunt! Traveling in Unfamiliar Areas

So I'm visiting my best friends hundreds of miles from home. No juicer, no idea were to find a natural food store like the ones in my neighborhood, feeling like junk from eating stuff I don't usually eat, no blender or jucier so smoothies and green drinks are out! What to do?!?


A quick local search for "natural foods" on google and

A Meatlessly Magical Day At Disneyland!

So yesterday I was in "the happiest place on earth," Disneyland. This was my first time sense starting my plant-based way of life. Now I must be honest I wasn't 100% vegan yesterday however, I was impressed to find out

What's For Breakfast?

Its 6:00AM. You're trying to get the kids off to School. You're staring blankly into the fridge at all this produce and thinking, 'what in the world can I make for breakfast?' It was all so easy in your meat loving days. Grab an egg, grab some bacon, slice of bread in the toaster, make the coffee (ok maybe you make the coffee first :-D ) 10 mins later "Breakfast is served!" Now you're sitting here with all these fruits and veggies and for some reason, you've got nothing for breakfast, that's fast and tastes good, right? Wrong!

Horseradish Mayo Sauce

I found this recipe in Tal Ronnen's book The Conscious Cook. This tastes a lot like the sour cream horseradish sauce you might have with prime rib. (not that you ever ate that in your meat eating days) Amazing as a

Red Wine Marinade

Here's a great veggie marinade you can make in advance for added flavor in your meatlessly mouthwatering meals.

Garden "Steak" sandwich with Baby Greens, Red Peppers and Horseradish Mayonnaise

So making the switch from meat eating to plant-based or vegan can be ruff sometimes. I've gotta admit, there's times when you just want a nice juice bite of steak! Well this week

Smokey Winter Bean Soup with Thyme, Parsnips and Fennel

I made this savory smokey bean soup for "Meatless Monday" and it was a real hit with my workmates, friends and family. 

Tal Ronnen - Vegan Chef of Amazingness!

Who is Tal Ronnen? He's the Vegan Chef of Amazingness!

I just discovered him the other day when Michelle brought home his book The Conscious Cook from the Library. This book is now a must buy, must own for myself and for

Kale Pear Salad with Raspberry Almonds

Here's a tasty fall salad I just whipped up to take to our friends house for dinner tonight. Bitter kale, sweet tart pear, sweet crunch of

Alicia Silverstone - The Kind Diet

Have any of you read Alicia Silvertone's book The Kind Diet ? 

My wife Michelle picked a copy up at the library and has been mentioning different bits, here and there, that she's picked up. I've been to Alicia's site, thekindlife.com , a number of times and

3 Quick Tips to Start Cooking Meatlessly Mouthwatering.

Does this look like dinner to you?

I hope not! But for some when it comes to the idea of eating meatless meals, this is pretty close to the exact picture that comes to mind. Maybe that's how it is for you? 

Well let me show

Farmers market today. Whats in season?

Here's a little photo display of some of the produce still in season at our local farmers market in California.
What Veggies are in season where your live?

Greens Quiche (from New York Times online)

What a great breakfast or brunch idea! I found this in the New York Times online. They had a surprising amount of beautiful looking vegetarian dishes. This one happens to be

Quick easy breakfast this morning

Monday's demand easy. Lol!

Mushroom Red Wine Barley Stew

So fall is in the air. Stews are now on the menu! Here's one I created this evening. All those fall root veggies, warm thick broth, aroma of wine and herbs .... sooo good. 

Olive Oil 2 Tbs (or so)

Onion 1-2 (chopped)

Bell Pepper 1/2 (diced, any color)

Mushrooms 1lb (cleaned, stems removed)

Garlic (3 cloves smashed and chopped)

Sage (fresh 2 Tbs, dry 2 tsp.) 
Thyme (fresh 2 Tbs, dry 2 tsp.) 

Salt

Pepper

Whole Wheat Flour 1-2 Tbs

Red Wine 1 cup

Vegetable Broth 4-6 cups (homemade if you have it)

Baby Potatoes 1/2 to 1lb (cleaned left whole)
Celery 3 stalks (cut into biggish chunks)

Carrots 3 (cut into biggish chunks)

Parsnip 3 (quartered lengthwise)

Rosemary (fresh chopped fine)

Bay Leaf

Barley 1 cup (soaked over night, sprouted if you have the time)

1. In large pot on medium-high heat add first 9 ingredients and sauté until tender. Sprinkle Flour over cooked veggies and stir (if too sticky add extra olive oil). Let flour brown slightly. Add wine and continue stirring. (this will thicken quickly) Slowly add broth and continue stirring until everything is fully incorporated, making sure there are no lumps.

2. Add remaining ingredients. Taste to see if additional seasoning or wine ;-) is need. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low/simmer, cover and allow to simmer for 45 mins. Remove lid and check Barley for doneness, it should be tender. Taste and re-season as needed. 

3. Remove Bay Leaf. Transfer to bowls and enjoy.

Meatless Monday | Cook Time with Remmi

This kid is awesome!

Pear Arugula & Smoked Vegan Cheese Sandwich

Who says a sandwich has to be just meat and bread. You will be very surprised just how

Pumpkin Bisque with a Pear Arugula & Smoked Vegan Cheese Sandwich

A perfect fall meal, this one combines many seasonal flavors all together on one plate. A creamy bisque with a hint of nutmeg. Toasted bread with pears, smokey cheese and a fig surprise inside. SOOOO GOOOOD! This is really

Basil Alfredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Mushrooms over Whole Wheat Pasta and Spinach

Yum! yum! yum! All the creaminess of the Original with 1/3 the Calories, way less fat and did I mention YUMMMY! I forgot to take a picture :-( so I'll have to make it again and take one! :-D In the mean time I borrowed this photo that I got from a google search at the Cooking Channel.

Cashew nuts (at least 1cup more if you like more sauce, best if soaked over night in water)

Almond milk (or any other vegan milk)

Nutmeg (ground, start with a dash or two)

Nutritional Yeast (start with 2 Tbs)

Lemon Juice (start with 1/2 a lemons worth)

Salt (start with 1/4 tsp)

Pepper (start with 1/4 - 1/2 tsp)

Basil (one bunch chopped)

Sun dried Tomatoes (start with 5 chopped, more or less if you like)

Olive Oil

Mushrooms (sliced or chopped,  mix any kind you like)

Garlic (powder or fresh chopped)

Onion (powder or fresh chopped)

White Wine

Whole Wheat Pasta (I love the spiral kind, they soak up the sauce)

Bacon Bits (vegan or vegetarian kind of coarse!)

1. Blend first 7 ingredients with enough almond milk to keep blender blending. Blend until smooth. Add more milk to reach the consistency you prefer. Taste and re-season. Add Basil and blend a couple seconds. Add sun dried tomatoes and pulse the blender a couple times. Taste and re-season if needed. You don't need to heat this if you are going to use on hot pasta. Or you can put in a sauce pan on very low heat. 

CATION: too much heat or heating too long, will over thicken your sauce. Be sure to stir often and add additional milk as need.

2. In a pan on medium heat add your olive oil, mushrooms, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Saute until veggies are tender and golden. Add wine a splash or two of wine and continue stirring until liked is almost gone. Remove from heat.

3. Cook pasta according to package. Drain and drizzle with olive oil to keep pasta from sticking. Pour sauce over hot cooked pasta. Top with mushrooms. Sprinkle with Bacon Bits. If you have a little extra Basil it would be amazing on top. Try not to eat it all before you even get to the table.

Thai Inspired Wraps with Peanut Sauce

So this recipe is being served as the start of a Meatless Mondays lunch service I'm trying out at work. I was going to make it with out Seitan (a wheat based meat substitute) but as many of my coworkers are new to this I thought I'd go ahead and use it as a way to ease everyone into this idea of getting all your nutrients from plant based foods. So it's totally optional here and I think it would be an awesome wrap with out it.

I'm not going to pretend like it's the easiest recipe ever, it has a lot of prep time, but the flavors are amazing! So I'll try to keep it as easy as possible.

So here goes:

Oil (any kind you've got is fine)
Shitake Mushrooms (sliced)
Seitan - Chicken Style (cut into match sticks)
Onion - small (diced)
Ginger (grated)
Garlic (chopped or pressed)
Lemon grass (dry is easiest to use)
White wine
Braggs Aminos (or Soy Sauce)
Hiziki Sea Vegetable (soaked in warm water or broth)
Cabbage (sliced thin)
Rice Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Lettuce leaves (washed and dry)
Basil leaves (ruff chopped)
Mint leaves (ruff chopped)
Brown Rice Noddles (cooked according to package)
Carrot (grated)
Cucumber (cut into match sticks)
Green Onion (cut in half then sliced length wise into thin strips)
Sprouts (any kind, I used sunflower)
Tortilla (I used flourless Sprouted Grain Tortillas)
Thai Peanut Sauce (See Recipe)

1. Heat oil in pan on Medium-Med Low heat add the next 5 ingredients to the pan and saute until mushrooms are tender. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Season with Braggs Aminos. With a slotted spoon remove the Mushroom Seitan mixture, leaving all the liquid in the pan. Add Hiziki and soaking liquid to the pan (eyeball the amount based on how much liquid you have, Hiziki should be toally covered by liquid) Cover and let simmer about 10mins. Remove lid, with slotted spoon remove Hiziki and let cool. Raise the heat to Medium High and reduce liquid down until it is thick. (there will only be a couple tablespoons or so left) Save this and use it in place of "Oyster Sauce" in the Thai Peanut Sauce Recipe.

2. Put cabbage in a bowl and squeeze with hands until cabbage is softened. Add some Rice Vinegar, Braggs, Sesame Oil and stir in the Hiziki. Make the Peanut Sauce.

3. On a flat tortilla, lay down 2 lettuce leaves near on side of the tortilla. On top of the leaves add some basil, mint, noddles, carrots, cucumber, green onion, and some of the mushroom mixture. Top with the peanut sauce. Now roll. Start by folding the bottom towards the top about 2 inches, then starting from the edge closest to the toppings, roll the tortilla over the toppings and continue rolling until completely wrapped.

Now grab with 2 hands and devour!

Oh, so "you mean you're giving up protein?!?"

That must be one of the most common questions/statements ever. Along with, 'how will you get protein?!?' or something similar. The truth is,

Shelless Tacos

This dish is supper easy. Has amazing texture and flavor and is very filling. It can be served in a dish as in the picture or loaded on to lettuce leaves, dipped with any kind of chip, of placed in a wrap. Get creative!

I made this dish today and shared it with a couple friends at work today. I served it on fresh lettuce leaves from the farmers market. I received lots of yummy compliments . :)

You'll need:
Olive oil
Onion (chopped)
Garlic (chopped)
Bell pepper (any kind of peppers you like)
Soy chorizo (Trader Joes has a good one)
Beans (cooked any kind you like)
Corn (fresh off the cob if it's in season)
Lettuce leaves (large, clean and dry)
Cilantro (chopped)
Tomatoes (diced if they are large)
Avocado (sliced)
Lime wedges
Soy cheese - optional

What to do:

1. Put first six ingredients in a pan. You decide how much of each. There's no right or wrong here. Be sure to save some onions for step 3. Heat that up to the temp you like and the veggies are cooked the way you like. I like to put the corn in last so it stays crunchy This is your taco filling.

2. Load a lettuce leaf with the filling. Using the rib of the leaf as the bottom of the shell, hold the sides in place. You may need to double layer your leaves.

3. The rest of the ingredients are your toppings. Layer them over the top. Be generous with them. More is better!

Please give me your comments below.