Vegan meal a week challenge: Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Red Quinoa Soup

Wow these weeks seem to fly by!  With planning to share/ discover a vegan meal a week (and now one that my dad will be up for trying too...) it soon seems to be back to Monday again.

Life is anything but dull at the moment.  The snow has given me a lovely respite from thinking I should be running/cycling (and even swimming seems to have suffered at the minute) however I've discovered rebounding which am just loving - great for chi according to lots of people (and I did have a similar reaction after being on the trampoline as I did after using a friends chi machine - a great feeling!) Studying wise my homeopathy postgraduate course is going well and I plan to graduate from that in April.  I'm coming to the end of a nutrition diploma and about to start on case studies for my kinesiology qualification.. Aside from that my homeopathy work is getting busier all the time, life with my wonderful 6 year old is lots of fun and learning to be done (for me) and am just setting out on my raw food 21 day transition (well on day 3 so far)...

So for my vegan meal this week I've been very lazy (hopefully the above goes some way towards justification for this!) and looked to find inspiration online instead of trawling through my growing collection of great veggie/vegan/raw cookbooks...

Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Red Quinoa Soup

Inspired by: Sprouted Kitchen & Coconut & Quinoa
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked red quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil (or other oil)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cup diced sweet onion (about 1/2 large)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded if preferred and diced
• 1 large sweet potato (350 g), peeled and chopped to 1/2-1 inch dice (2.5-3 cups)*
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1.5 cups cooked black beans (one (15-oz) can rinsed and drained)
• fine grain sea salt and black pepper, to taste (I used 1/2 tsp salt or a bit more)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes)
• 2 handfuls Spinach or kale leaves, optional
• toppings: avocado, corn chips, cilantro, cashew cream, lime juice, tomatoes or salsa, green onion

1. In a medium-sized pot, add quinoa along with 1.5 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cover with tight fitting lid. Simmer covered for about 17 minutes or until the water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with fork, and keep it covered until ready to use.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large wok or pot. Add garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Now add in the jalapeno and sweet potato and sauté for 5-7 minutes more.
3. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, coriander, and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 18-20 minutes uncovered, or until the potatoes are tender.
4. Just before serving, stir in the cooked quinoa, drained and rinsed black beans, cayenne, and optional spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding more spice if desired.
5. Garnish soup with cherry tomatoes, cilantro, green onion, corn chips, avocado, and/or cashew cream.

6. Feast on tasty, vibrant comfort food!

http://ohsheglows.com/2012/11/30/black-bean-sweet-potato-and-red-quinoa-soup/

Just off to have a quick look at OhSheGlows - people have kept telling me about it so do check out the site as well....

One vegan meal a week challenge... (this is an easy peasy squashy one)

Here's one I made earlier:

My lovely Squash Salad with a Sweet Balsamic Glaze

To serve two you'll need something like:


1 butternut squash
100g baby leaf spinach
6 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cucumber
1 yellow pepper
1 carrot
2 small beetroot
4 spring onions
handful of grapes
1/2 a small tin of sweetcorn

For the dressing:
A generous splash (30-50mls or so - I generally just swirl a bit into the pan) in equal quantities of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and maple syrup/agave nectar/other plant based sweetener

Preheat oven to 200 Deg C, cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds.  Place on oven tray and drizzle with olive oil.  Cook for one hour.  Allow to cool a little.

Make the salad - share the spinach between two plates, chop the cherry tomatoes (I like to do mine in 4 so I get more cherry tomato bits), cucumber, pepper and spring onion.  Grate the carrot and beetroot, sprinkle the sweetcorn and grapes on.

To make the dressing:
Pour your balsamic vinegar, sweetener and olive oil into the pan and heat gently.  Keep stirring and allow to thicken slowly.  You're looking for a still pourable dressing but a little thicker and stickier than it was when you poured it into the pan.  Remove from heat and allow to cool (it'll thicken a little now also so take off heat a bit before you think it's ready - you can always put it back on if need be).

Score lines on your butternut squash so when you scoop the flesh out of the butternut squash skin it comes out in more cube like shapes (or just scoop it if you want more of a rustic look), put on top of the salad and drizzle the dressing over both plates.

Vegan meal a week challenge - Tagliatelle with Pan Fried Pumpkin and Red Pepper Oil

Helloooo!

It is my intention to trial these recipes that I share however this week I'm doing a juicing detox (actually the http://www.worldsbiggestjuicedetox.com/) so am feasting on yummy, life enhancing juices - feeding and cleansing my body at the same time. Having quit caffeine several years ago, been involved in actively reducing sugar to just about zero and largely removed wheat from my diet I've been lucky not to have been experiencing the withdrawal symptoms from these.  However it's worth going through them if you've not reached that point - it rocks to get to the other side!

Today's recipe looks fantastic and is a definite on my list of ones to make once I've juiced and done my raw food challenge (more about that another time). This is from a lovely book (easy vegan; simple recipes for healthy eating) that I picked up at Salts Mill the day after my sister's wedding earlier this year.  It reminds me of my number one favourite ever meal - eaten on a warm evening at a pavement table in Melbourne, Australia. Delicious pumpkin and pasta - and this looks like a great vegan, potentially wheat free alternative - win, win!

You'll need:
1 tblsp light olive oil
1 lb/450g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
14oz/400g vegan friendly tagliatelle (or spaghetti - you can make it wheat free too if you use a pasta such as corn and rice spaghetti)
finely grated peel and juice of 1 lemon
a large handful of rocket
a large handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the red pepper oil:
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
6 large chilies
1 small red onion, sliced
 4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup/65ml olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas 4

Put the red pepper, chilies, onion, garlic, cumin seeds and 2 tblsps of olive oil in a roasting pan.  Cook in the preheated oven for an hour, turning often.  Transfer the contents of the pan to a food processor while still hot.  Add the remaining oil and whizz until smooth.  Let cool, then pour the mixture into a clean and dry screwtop jar.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet/frying pan set over high and add the pumpkin.  Cook for 10 minutes, turning often, until each piece is golden brown all over.  Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions and drain well.  Put it in a large bowl and add 2-3 tblsps of the red pepper oil.  Add the cooked pumpkin, lemon peel and juice, rocket and parsley and toss to combine.  Season with the salt and pepper and serve immediately.


The remaining red pepper oil will keep for a week when stored in an airtight jar in the fridge.  It can be used as a dip for baked potato wedges ot the enrich tomato based sauces and soups (or really whatever you'd like to eat it with!)

Let me know how you get on...

Our halloween Warlock's Wife pumpkin (probably not the most tasty type for this dish though - steer towards less stringy pumpkins or butternut squash for a yummy result)

Take a walk on the wild side

Rosy cheeked, relaxed, happy girls after a lovely afternoon at Forest School.  Got me thinking about re-grounding, re-connecting to the deeper being/entity/source of all things/energy.  Call it what you will, for me there's an amazing energy out there and being inside just seems to cut me off from it.  Being immersed in woodland, with a fire burning, leaves underfoot - I feel reconnected.

I ran last night too - my first barefoot run for ages and it was wonderful. Felt amazing to be able to get out (combination of reasons why not - holidays, not wanting to ask for help (I MUST learn my lessons on this one - working on it!), bad weather and busy with work) and just made me realise how good for me running barefoot is. Again.  There is something much purer, lighter, boundier about it - I love it!

(Sure I must just mention not to run barefoot without building up gradually - I spend most of my time when I'm in the house barefoot and in summer walk outside a lot shoe-less so doing a quick 2 mile run felt fine.  Do build up slowly though as you're using muscles you don't usually when running in regular training shoes.  There's lots of info and advice out there to assist with this.)

Time to swim now - here comes a mile in the pool (will be missing the great outdoors... visualising mountains and maybe Canada's glorious Lake Louise's turquoise splendour - although not it's glacial temperature).

Happy grounding people.

One vegan meal a week: Vegetable Biryani

From the fabulous Forks over Knives Cookbook

Serves 4 to 6

Rice:
2 cups brown basmati rice
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
salt to taste

Veg:
1 medium onion, peeled, diced
2 stalks broccoli, cut into florets
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp whole cumin seeds, toasted
2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
salt to taste

To make the rice - bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan.  Add the rice and bring the pot back to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook the rice, covered for 40 minutes.  Stir in the tumeric, cumin, coriander, cardamon and cinnamon.  Season with salt if like and cook for another 5 minutes or so, or until the rice is tender.

For the veg - place the onion in a large saucepan and saute over medium heat for 8 minutes.  Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the onions from sticking to the pan.  Add the broccoli, cauliflower and carrots to the pan and cook until the vegetables are tender - about 8 to 10 minutes.  Add the garlic, coriander, cumin and ginger, mix well and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add the cooked rice, raisins and almonds.  Season with salt if needed and mix well.

As always if there's an ingredient you particularly don't like - omit or replace with one that you do!

Enjoy!!

I didn't know that! Biryani originated in what is now Iran.