Super Simple Mexican Rice

What's Mexican food with out some rice huh? I tried out this recipe and served it with the tacos on my previous post. I was really impressed how simple this ended up being, and the flavor was great....much better than those icky Rice A Roni packages.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice

1 15 oz can of vegetable broth

1 cup plain tomato sauce(if you don't have tomato sauce, tomato soup works just as well)

3 cloves finely chopped or minced garlic

1/4 of a medium onion

2 tablespoons oil

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the fresh garlic and onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add in dry rice. Stir for about 5 minutes until rice becomes a golden brown color.

Add in broth and tomato sauce (Slowly into rice, not directly onto hot pan). Stir it up and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

Original Recipe from http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/quickmexicanrecipes/r/SpanishRice.htm

Tacos the Easy Way

I am American...therefore I am lazy and love shortcuts. Now that I'm here in Columbia, and despite what these Southerners say, I have yet to eat some bomb Mexican food here. So as the strong willed woman I am I decided to take things in my own hands....domestic mini van mom style :)

I love Smart Ground. I think it is hands down the best ground beef substitution around. I usually use it in sloppy joes, and on rare occasion in spaghetti sauce...but bottom line: it's just freaking awesome.

For the Tacos:

1 package Smart Ground crumbles

1 packet vegan taco seasoning

12 hard or soft taco shells

Anything you like on your tacos. I like lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, salsa, and from time to time Tofutti vegan sour cream.

Brown the crumbles over medium-high heat for three to four minutes until thoroughly heated. Add 1/2 to 2/3 cup of water and packet of taco seasoning. Cook for another five minutes or until nice and brown. While you're browning your crumbles heat up your taco shells for about 7 minutes at 325F in the oven or 1 minute in the microwave. Make sure you have all your toppings ready and chopped up, I like to line them up in the kitchen buffet style so everyone can get in a line and get what they want.

Enjoy :)

Lentil Stew

My boyfriend's favorite food in the world is Beef Stew. Since the weather has been getting cold I have been poking around trying to find a yummy alternative that is just as satisfying and this is it! This recipe is yummy and warm, and can be easily adjusted to fit your more soupy or more stewy needs!

P.s. This is also a very simple recipe and is made from things you probably already have sitting around.

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced

1 large onion, cut into chunks

2 celery stalks, diced

1 carrot, sliced

1 potato, cut into chunks

1/4 cup soy sauce

32 oz vegetable broth

2 tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks

1 1/2 cups brown lentils

2 slices of bread, cubed

Combine the garlic powder, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano, and basil in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a large soup pot (make sure it's big since you will be adding lots of liquid later) over medium-high heat, and add the garlic, onion, celery, carrot, and potato. Stir in half the seasoning mixture and the soy sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, for 7-10 minutes or until the onions are tender.

Add 5 cups of water, the broth, tomatoes, and lentils (You may want to add more or less water depending on your preference of consistency. I like a little more water so it's more soupy). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid askew for 30 minutes. Add the remaining seasoning mixture, and cook for 20 minutes longer or until the lentils are soft. Meanwhile, pan-roast the cubed bread in a dry skillet until toasted. Garnish the stew with those croutons and a nice drizzle of olive oil.

Recipe from The Kind Life by Alicia Silverstone

Crunchy Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies

I have been on a quest for a vegan peanut butter cookie that is decent, forever. I spent months trying all sorts of recipes and totally failed. I kept creating these chalky, dry awful cookies that no one even made effort to pretend they liked. I finally found this recipe in one of my favorite cook books ever, Vegan with a Vengeance. Given, it's not a plain peanut butter cookie, but it's not bad as far as peanut butter or oatmeal cookies go. One day I may just find what I'm looking for, but until then this will do just fine. AND....if somehow you have managed a delicious secret peanut butter cookie recipe please please please share it with me!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups rolled oats

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup chunky all-natural peanut butter (creamy is okay if that's all you have, it just looses some good texture)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets.

Toss together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. in a spearate bowl mix together the oil, peanut butter, sugars, soy milk, and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix. The dough will be very firm and moist. For large cookies: pack a 1/3 cup measuring cup with dough, pop out and roll the dough into a firm ball and flatten just baely on a prepared cookie sheet, spacing them well apart, about an inch. Flatten to 1/2 in thickness. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes till cookies have puffed a bit and are lightly browned. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes to firm up before moving off the cookie sheet.

You can also make these cookies normal size by using 1 to 2 tbsp of dough and bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Garlic Kale dressed with Apple Cider Vinegar

Years and years of my childhood was spent refusing to eat any kind of greens my mom made. Well maybe I was just refusing anything she asked as a general rule, but that's beside the point. Kale has made a scrumptious return to my life and lately I can't get enough. I don't really have a recipe for this one, and to be honest I can't cook the damn things anywhere near as well as my mom. I just felt the need to proclaim my love for kale and greens alike, and possibly inspire a meal that welcomes their presence.

Ingredients:

5 or 6 Cloves of garlic, sliced or minced

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped

Directions:

Once again, me sharing how to cook kale is borderline "the blind leading the blind," but who cares. I'm still gonna tell you how I do it!

I saute the garlic in the olive oil over medium high heat for 1-1 1/2 minutes stirring frequently, until golden brown. Add the kale and throw in some water....whatever looks good. Toss it around so the garlic and oil get evenly distributed and cook until tender. Most recipes say about 5 minutes but I don't believe that. I feel that kale is pretty tough for a leafy vegetable. I just play it by ear and taste it every few minutes.

I like to dress kale in vinegar, apple cider vinegar to be exact, but you can use any or none at all!

Eggplant with Sweet Chili Glaze

I love eggplant. It has this rich dark flavor that I love, which makes it easily one of my favorite vegetables. I have been exploring new ways to cook eggplant, since the ones I was familiar with were very limited. I came across this recipe on Vegweb.com and I love it. This recipe is simple, delicious, and super fast to make.

P.S. This sweet chili sauce is just as good as store bought, and consists of things most people ALWAYS have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant

1 garlic clove

2 teaspoons hot sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup water

oil for frying

Directions:

Glaze:

In a small saucepan heat water, hot sauce, sugar and minced garlic until sugar is dissolved. Boil for 2 minutes.

Eggplant:

Slice eggplant into 1/2 in to 3/4 thick rounds. If you're concerned that it might be bitter, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 10 minutes, then rinse.

Heat oil in a skillet. Fry eggplant slices for about 3 minutes over medium to low flame (covered). Now flip them over and carefully spread a teaspoon or so of glaze over them. Cover and fry for 2 more minutes. Test with a fork - it should be tender.

Recipe submitted by keda

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=25777.0

Vegan Lifestyle

Hello, I am Gabbe. I currently live in Columbia, SC which I have found rather depressing thus far. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting any vegetarians let alone vegans around here, but there's a theory about that. So in a nutshell I'm gonna make my own animal free fun. I'm currently unemployed and I haven't had much to do lately besides cook...and I am wanting to document it so that's what brings me here. All of these recipes are from my favorite cook books, that I will note. Many of them I have modified to my liking. Also. I love Isa Chandra Mosowitz.