Lemon Basil Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Veggies and Tofu Croutons

I've been wanting to work with wheat berries for a while because of their unique texture, appearance, and yummy flavor. I was feeling particularly ambitious one afternoon and decided to create a dish utilizing these guys along with summer veggies and one of my favorite flavor combos, lemon and basil.

Apparently I had some spare time as well, since I decided to add yet another component to the recipe. About a month and a half earlier, I had lunch at Marty's Market and discovered a new way of serving tofu... Tofutons! Tofu croutons are essentially small pieces of tofu baked for a long time until they become crispy on the outside. They were great on salad and worked really well on the recipe I ended up creating.

If you have an afternoon of nothing to do, give this recipe a shot! Timing is important, as each item is either cooked in the oven or on the stove for different amounts of time. If you're planning on serving this warm, plan ahead. If you're going the cold route, which is equally tasty, you can cook in whatever order your heart desires. I'm not going to plan for you, but I will give instructions for each individual recipe.

NOTE: Everything prepared in the oven uses the same temperature- 400 degrees F. Preheat your oven to 400 at the start and don't change it until you're done!


Lemon Basil Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Veggies and Tofutons
By Caroline Mac


Wheat Berries

Some sources will tell you to soak dry wheat berries before cooking them, but I also read that they cook about the same whether soaked or not. Since I didn't have prep time the night before, I decided to do the no-soak version and hope for the best (they turned out just fine!)

Ingredients:
1 c uncooked wheat berries
3 c water

Step 1: In a large pan, bring wheat berries and water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 30- 60 (or more) minutes. Start checking the wheat berries at 30 minutes, as cooking time varies. When done, they'll be chewy but not tough. My wheat berries took an absurdly long 75 minutes to cook... Maybe I should have soaked them...

Step 2: When wheat berries have cooked, drain them and set aside.

Roasted Eggplant

Ingredients: 
1 large eggplant
Olive oil
Italian seasoning

Step 1: Slice eggplant in half lengthwise. Score the eggplant flesh in a diamond pattern (intersecting diagonal lines) without completely cutting through the skin.

Step 2: Brush a light layer of olive oil all over eggplant halves and sprinkle flesh side with italian seasoning. Place eggplant face-down on a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 40 minutes at 400*, or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes.

Step 3: Once eggplant is cool enough to handle, separate the flesh from the skin. I gently sliced between the two and then scooped it out with a spoon.


Roasted Squash

Ingredients:
1 large yellow squash
Olive oil
Italian Seasoning

Step 1: Slice squash lengthwise and then into thin slices (they'll look like half circles)

Step 2: Place squash in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients: 
1 head of garlic, intact
Olive oil
Aluminum foil

Step 1: Remove the outer layers of the head of garlic until you've reached the individual cloves. Slice off about 1/2 an inch from the top of head, or enough to expose the raw tips of the cloves.

Step 2: Coat garlic with a light layer of olive oil. Wrap in foil and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Using a small spoon, scoop roasted cloves from skin, leaving them as whole as possible.

Tofu Croutons

Ingredients:
1-14 oz block firm tofu, rinsed and lightly pressed to remove excess liquid
Approx 1 T olive oil
Salt, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste

Step 1: Slice tofu in half to form two thinner rectangles. Slice those into 1/2 inch cubes. Spread cubes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings.

Step 2: Bake tofu at 400* for around 50 minutes, or until outside is golden and crispy. You want this tofu to be a little crispier than your typical baked tofu, since you're trying to create a crouton-like consistency.

Lemon Basil Dressing

Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lemon
1 c fresh basil
2 t olive oil
Lemon pepper, to taste

In a blender, puree all ingredients until smooth.



You're almost done! 

Once each component is complete, combine everything in a large bowl and stir until evenly mixed and coated with dressing. Top with tofu croutons and serve warm or cold.


Whew! It took a while, but is totally worth it.

Enjoy!


~Caroline~

Raw Cucumber Beet Salad with Parsley

This salad was incredibly refreshing after a long day of dancing and is

packed with cleansing, delicious ingredients. It was very easy to make, apart from the shredding of the beet. My Zyliss julienne peeler did the job, but not without a fair amount of frustration on my part. The salad was worth the labor though!

Raw Cucumber Beet Salad with Parsley
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
1 large beet, peeled and shredded
1/2 large cucumber, diced
1/2 cup parsley, washed with stems removed

Dressing
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 t lemon juice
1/2 t balsamic vinegar
1/4 t tamari
1 clove garlic, minced
Lemon pepper to taste


Step 1: Combine all salad ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together. Drizzle over salad and mix until thoroughly coated.

You can serve this dish immediately, but I thought that it actually tasted better after a night in the fridge. Even a few hours would allow the flavors to blend more and the beets and cucumber to marinate in the dressing.


Enjoy!

~Caroline~

White Bean Dip with Lemon and Rosemary

Here's another healthy and delicious dip that I whipped up for a party this past weekend. There is only one step when making it: Put everything in a food processor and hit purée!


White Bean Dip with Lemon and Rosemary
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 T olive oil
1 lemon, juice and zest
1/2- 3/4 t Penzey's Trinidad Lemon-Garlic Marinade (you can also use garlic powder)
Lemon pepper to taste
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Serve with your favorite chips, crackers, or veggies.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Fennel and Clementine Salad With Lemon Garlic Dressing

Since it's getting warmer outside, I've been craving more and more raw, fresh food instead of hearty warm dishes. The result? Salads galore. I usually have pretty much the same salad during the week- a combo of dark greens, mixed veggies and cottage cheese for protein. Even though I love this salad, I decided it was time to switch it up and make something a little more gourmet. I decided that fennel was the way to go. 

I love the taste of fennel. It's similar to black licorice, with a sweet flavor that is great raw or cooked. I thought that it would go especially well with tangy and sweet clementines topped with an acidic splash of lemon combined with savory garlic. 

Fennel and Clementine Salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing

By Caroline Mac

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1/2 bulb of fennel, outer layer peeled and thinly sliced, some greens reserved for garnish

Approx. 1 cup salad greens of choice (I used Trader Joe's Power Greens)

1 clementine, peeled and broken into sections

1 t olive oil

1/2 t lemon juice

1/2 t apple cider vinegar

1/4 t minced garlic

1/8 t ground black pepper

1/8 t Penzey's Trinidad Lemon Garlic seasoning (You can use a combination of lemon pepper and garlic powder as well)

Step 1: Spread greens across the bottom of your dish to create a bed of lettuce.

Step 2: Place clementine sections around the edge of the greens. Create a tower of fennel in the center.

Step 3: Whisk oil, lemon, vinegar, garlic, and seasoning together until thoroughly blended. Drizzle over  the fennel. Garnish with fennel greens.

Enjoy! 

~Caroline~

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

My friend Paige and I were overdue for a cooking night. Our choice? Stuffed bell peppers! Since neither of us had ever made this dish, we decided it would be safest to follow a recipe. Next time I'll definitely create my own! This yummy recipe is protein packed and was really delicious. I added a little extra heat to up the Mexican-style feel of the dish. It would still taste great without the spice, which I why I put "to taste" next to the cayenne. I can't wait to create my own fillings in the future!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 T olive oil
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 T ground cumin
Cayenne pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, partly thawed
2 15-oz  cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
15 oz can black beans, no salt added, rinsed and drained
3/4 c dry quinoa
3 carrots, peeled and grated
1 c shredded cheese (I used vegan cheese)
4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Step 1: Heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onion, celery, and garlic until tender and fragrant. Add cumin and cayenne and saute for another minute. Reduce heat to medium, add tomatoes and spinach and cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is mostly evaporated (there will still be some, which is ok).

Step 2: Stir in beans, quinoa, and carrots, as well as 2 cups water. You can use a little less water is there is still a lot of water from the spinach and tomatoes. Bring this to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Quinoa should be tender. Stir in cheese.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour tomato juice in the bottom of a baking pan. Fill each pepper half  as full as possible with quinoa mixture and place in baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before eating.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Spicy Roasted Garlic Brussel Sprouts

Give these garlicky brussel sprouts a try the next time you're craving a healthy, flavorful vegetable dish.

Spicy Roasted Garlic Brussel Sprouts
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
1 lb brussel sprouts, cleaned and cut into halves
9 cloves of garlic, whole and peeled
2 T olive oil
1/4 t Trinidad lemon garlic seasoning
1/4 t cayenne pepper


Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread brussel sprouts and garlic on  a baking dish.

Step 2: Mix olive oil and seasoning together and drizzle over brussel sprouts. Gently toss until evenly coated.

Step 3: Roast for 15- 20 minutes or until brussel sprouts are tender and the outsides are browned and slightly crispy. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

It's a snow day today! That means I can post some of the stuff I've been accumulating!

I haven't made soup from scratch in a very long time. On Sunday, I decided it was time to change that. The result was a hearty (and easy!) soup packed with colorful veggies in a flavorful broth!

Note: This makes a LOT of soup. I won't have to cook at all this week, as a result. I also thought the soup tasted even better after sitting in the fridge overnight, since the flavors had time to come together; so don't be afraid of leftovers!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients: 

4 c low sodium vegetable broth

1 can low sodium kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced

10 asparagus spears, chopped

1.5 c broccoli florets, broken into smaller pieces

1 c sliced white mushrooms

1  14-oz can diced, no salt added tomatoes in juice

1/2 c chopped fresh basil

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 t chili powder

1t ground cumin

1 1/4 t salt

1/4 t ground black pepper

1/2 t Penzey's Trinidad Lemon Garlic marinade

Step 1: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add all vegetables and garlic and saute until they begin to tenderize and onions turn translucent. This may take a little while, due to the large amount of veggies. 

Step 2: Add chili powder, cumin and basil and stir for another 2-3 minutes. 

Step 3: Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Add salt and Trinidad marinade. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Step 4: Serve warm! Refrigerate remaining soup for delicious leftovers.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Crispy (And Spicy!) Baked Tofu

Here's yet another delicious way to prepare tofu! My goal for this one was to duplicate the spicy tofu I  buy at Food Front Co-op in Portland. My absolute favorite tofu, I've never been able to find this tasty, charred, and spicy version anywhere else. I'll be the first one to say that my tofu isn't the same as the goal, but I did achieve a spicy and flavorful version with a crispy skin. This tofu is great on it's own as well as chopped up in a salad or stir fry.

My New Tofu Press!

Crispy and Spicy Baked Tofu
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 16 oz package extra firm tofu (I like Trader Joe's high protein tofu)
Sauce:
2 T sesame oil
1t rice vinegar
1/4 t soy sauce
1/2 t sweet chili sauce
1/2 t red chili pepper
1/4 t garlic powder

Step 1: Rinse block of tofu and press it in a tofu press or under weight for 30 minutes. Remove and cut into slices no more than 1/2 inch thick. Set aside.


Step 2: Whisk together all sauce ingredients until thoroughly blended. Brush sauce onto both sides of each slice of tofu. Place slices in a dish and refrigerate for two or more hours.









Step 3: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place tofu slices on a non-stick cookie sheet and brush any remaining sauce over slices.

Step 4: Bake tofu for one hour, flipping the tofu every 20 minutes (a total of three times). Tofu should be brown/ golden and crispy on all sides. Remove from oven and serve!

Enjoy!

Veggie Quinoa Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce

One of my goals for my blog this year is to start creating more of my own recipes. I thought a good first one would be a classic tomato sauce. I decided to make it a little more interesting than your average marinara by adding basil and a kick of chili pepper. I made a meal out the sauce by adding veggies, beans, and some protein-packed quinoa pasta! 

Veggie Quinoa Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

Sauce

6 oz tomato paste

3/4 c fresh basil

2 cloves garlic

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled

1 t olive oil

1/2 T Italian seasoning

4 pinches salt

1/4 t plus 1 pinch chili pepper

Veggies

1 squash, diced

1 zucchini, chopped

1/2 onion, diced

1 1/2 c mushrooms

1/2 c great northern beans

Olive oil to sauté veggies

Chosen amount of quinoa pasta 

Step 1: In a food processor, combine all sauce ingredients and puree until relatively smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Step 2: In a medium saucepan, sauté onion and mushrooms in olive oil until tender and onions become translucent. Add squash and zucchini and sauté until tender. 

Step 3: Add beans and sauce to pan and stir until everything is evenly coated. Cover and set heat to warm until pasta is cooked.

Step 4: Cook pasta according to directions on the package. Top with sauce and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Christmas Special: Vegan Holiday Loaf

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of friends, family and delicious food. I cooked for the first time in my apartment's newly renovated kitchen! It was also my first time cooking a legitimate meal since Nutcracker performances began. I didn't have to cook nearly as big of a feast as for thanksgiving, but I chose two dishes that I felt would stay in the traditional Christmas realm of foods, but were also vegan and healthy!

I'm only sharing one of these recipes today, since I feel that the other one needs some work and troubleshooting. Here is the main course for the evening!

Vegan Savory Holiday Loaf
Adapted from A Tasty Love Story

Ingredients:
12 oz mushrooms
1 1/4 cup cashews
1 small celeriac (aka Celery root), peeled and cubed
2 white onions
4 cloves of garlic
10 prunes, sliced
1 Apple, sliced
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
Pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Boil celeriac cubes for 10 minutes, or until tender and soft. Remove from water and blend in food processor or blender until smooth.

Step 2: Chop each ingredient EXCEPT the apple and prunes in the food processor until finely chopped. It is best to chop each ingredient individually as to retain the unique textures. The loaf won't be as good if you blend everything at once.

Step 3: Mix together all chopped ingredients and celeriac until evenly blended. Add salt, soy sauce and pepper.

Step 4: Spread half of the mixture in a greased or nonstick bread/ loaf pan. Next, spread the apple slices in an even layer across the top, followed by a layer of prunes. Leave a few  apple slices for garnish. Cover the fruit layer with the rest of the mixture and place remaining apple slices on top top.

Step 5: Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until loaf is golden and slightly crispy on top. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Loaf will be soft and probably won't hold the shape of a slice, but will taste delicious.


Enjoy! Happy holidays!

Thanksgiving Special: Apple Chestnut Stuffing

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know I haven't posted in ages, but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking! Brace yourselves for an onslaught of recipes.

First off, I'll share a couple of the dishes I made for Thanksgiving. Since some of us couldn't go home for Thanksgiving, we all got together for a potluck! Here's my first pick:

Apple Chestnut Stuffing
Adapted from Vegetarian Times
Ingredients:
20 slices of hearty, crusty bread, cubed (I used a Multi-seed whole wheat and a Cranberry walnut from whole foods)
Olive oil to saute veggies
1 sweet white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 ribs celery, chopped
2 tart apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup peeled roasted chestnuts, halved
1/4 cup chopped sage
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees f. Spread bread on a 9x13 baking pan and toast in oven for about 15 minutes.

Step 2: Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes. reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook for 7 minutes. Add  apples, chestnuts, and sage and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

Step 3: Add salt, pepper, bread and broth to mixture and stir until evenly incorporated. Transfer mixture to a greased baking pan.

Step 4: Increase heat to 350 degrees. Cover pan and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15- 20 minutes, or until top is crispy and browned.

Serve Warm!

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Coconut Rice

Tonight was my first night of group cooking! Well, two person cooking. I had my friend Emily over for  dinner, who is also a vegetarian and also gluten-free! I eat gluten, but I was totally up for making a gluten-free recipe. This was a relatively elaborate meal, but it was so worth the extra effort. Better yet, I finally know how to make a delicious sweet and sour sauce! We both agreed as we ate this meal that it was delicious. Utterly delicious.

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Coconut Rice
Adapted from Peachy Palate
Ingredients:
Tofu
1 block extra firm, high protein tofu (Drained and cut into triangles)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 white onion
2 T diced pineapple
1/3 c bamboo shoots
1 T olive oil

Sauce
Note: Separate 1/3 of the sauce once made for cooking the veggies
4 1/2 T Rice vinegar
1 1/2 T cane sugar
3 T tomato Ketchup
3 t minced garlic
6 T pineapple puree


Rice
1 bag Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, defrosted/ cooked
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
3 t shredded desiccated coconut
1 t coconut oil
1/2 t black pepper
pinch salt

Step 1: Combine all rice ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until rice is evenly coated and sauce completely mixed. Set aside. Reheat rice in the microwave for 40 seconds when everything else is ready.

Step 2: Combine all sauce ingredients and whisk until completely blended. Transfer to a sauce pan and heat until boiling. Stir constantly. Reduce heat slightly and continue to cook sauce until it thickens. This should take less than 5 minutes. Remove from heat and separate 1/3 of the sauce for the veggies.

Step 3: Coat the tofu with the remaining 2/3 of the sauce and set aside to marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Step 4: Once the tofu is marinated, add red bell pepper, orange pepper, and  half of the onions to a pan with olive oil. Saute until onions begin to go clear. Add the bamboo shoots, pineapple, and tofu. Cook until tofu begins to turn golden, constantly stirring (6-8 minutes).

Step 5: Add remaining sauce to the pan and stir until veggies and tofu are evenly coated. Let simmer for a couple more minutes.

Step 6: Serve tofu and veggies over coconut rice with a sprinkling of onion.

Enjoy!

Vegan and Nearly Raw Fettucini Alfredo

One of my favorite restaurants back in Portland is Prasad. It's a vegan cafe located within a yoga studio. If you're ever in the Pearl District, be sure to check it out. Prasad introduced me to a new raw and ultra healthy phenomenon: Veggie noodles. That is, vegetables cut in such a way that they are nearly pasta-like in consistency. The dish I had at Prasad was a zucchini noodle linguini with pesto and a cashew ricotta. It was delicious! Tonight, I made my own version of this tasty dish. I used my Zyliss julienne peeler to slice zucchini into pasta-like strips, made a cashew cream, and cooked up a veggie burger. The end result was delicious!

Vegan and Nearly Raw Fettucini Alfredo

Ingredients:

2 zucchinis

1.5 cups raw, whole cashews

1 cup boiling water

1 clove garlic

Pinch of salt

1t Italian seasoning

1 veggie burger (or one per person dining)

Step 1: Run cashews in the food processor until finely chopped. Add Cashews and water to a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Add garlic, salt, and seasoning and blend thoroughly. 

Step 2: Using a julienne peeler or spiralizer, cut long, thin strips of zucchini so it resembles noodles. Set aside.

Step 3: Cook your veggie burger according to the directions on the package. I used a Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burger.

Step 4: Dish out zucchini noodles and toss with sauce to taste. Top with a crumbled veggies burger.

Enjoy!

Balsamic Beet and Carrot Salad

Hi all! It's been FOREVER since I've posted a recipe, so I figured I'd stop being lazy and post something. I had a bunch of beets from Trader Joe's in the fridge, so I decided to use them up.


I don't think I used as many veggies as the original recipe called for, so there was a lot of excess dressing. Just know that you may have some tasty dressing left over to use on future salads.

Balsamic Beet and Carrot Salad
Adapted from Simple Spoon
Ingredients:
1 package Trader Joe's pre-cooked beets (or 3-4 cooked beets)
1-2 cups baby carrots
1/2 cup raw almonds
Crumbled Feta cheese for topping
1T agave syrup
Sea salt

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
15 basil leaves, shredded
2 cloves minced garlic

Step 1: Heat saute pan to medium. Add almonds and cook until fragrant, stirring regularly but not constantly. Once they've darkened slightly and are fragrant, turn off heat and add agave. Stir until almonds are evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt. Transfer to a clean plate. Syrup will solidify, creating candied almonds!

Step 2: Steam baby carrots until al dente.

Step 2: Add all dressing ingredients together and mix until homogenous. Drizzle beets and carrots with dressing and top with feta cheese and almonds.

Enjoy!

Vegan Ratatouille

Saturday was a big cooking day for me. I made my Garlic Green Beans with Lemon for the potluck the next day, but also had to make something for dinner that evening. My mom had picked up some delicious summer squash earlier in the week and I wanted to make something that incorporated the colorful veggies. My mom suggested making a ratatouille. I thought that sounded great and went ahead with it! I can't give a definite recipe here, as I think it will vary from kitchen to kitchen depending on the ingredients on hand. I will share the general recipe I came up with, though, and you can do the rest!

Summer Ratatouille

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

Variety of summer vegetables, chopped into large chunks (I used assorted summer squashes, red onion, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes)

2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and left whole (Less if you're doing a small portion)

Olive oil to coat veggies

Italian seasoning

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 can Italian stewed tomatoes (canned), drained

Salt to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the fresh veggies and garlic in a large casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and mix until thoroughly coated. 

 

Step 2: Shake Italian seasoning over vegetables and mix again until evenly distributed. I was very generous with the seasoning, as I like a lot of flavor. Sprinkle veggies with salt to taste and mix again.

Step 3: Cover and bake for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove from oven and spread beans and canned tomatoes over the veggies. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with more seasoning. 

Step 4: Bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm. 

Enjoy!