Creamy Tomato Sauce with Brown Rice Pasta!!

This is one of my favorite creations, it is simple and yummy and with a couple of sneaky additions on my part, I have my kids eating all their veggies without even knowing it!!!  For this recipe it is a good idea to have a powerful blender, like a Blendtec or vita mix, because the creaminess comes from the cashews, so in order to have a smooth texture, you will need to blend until smooth.  Now if you don't have, you could try soaking the cashews in water overnight and then drain and try to blend into the sauce using a normal strength blender, so that is always an option.  So as I said before the creaminess is coming from the cashews, it is amazing what these little nuts can do to transform a dish.  They are so versatile and the flavor really doesn't make it too overpowering, I can't even taste them in the sauce to be honest.  I just love the idea of having a creamy pasta with no heavy cream, I mean we all know that stuff is not only horrible for our body, but forget about your waist line!  To save me time in the kitchen I usually do a store bought pasta sauce, but if you home make yours, my cheers to you:)  Just make sure to read the labels on store bought because a lot of times they will try to sneak in some cheese or other cow's milk product into the sauce.
   This brings me to an important note, if you don't read labels START!  If you want to know what you are putting into your bodies as well as your childrens', become educated.  There is so much research and news in the world that is showing us how much of a link there is from what you eat to your health!!! I am not a doctor, but I do try to stay up to date, there is even findings that link genetically modified foods to causing infertility!!! This is craziness to me, it would be the end of our world, not to mention the heartbreak it would cause my kids later in life, so just the question and doubt alone that this brings up can make me spend that extra money on organic and local food.  I really think you have to look at it like this, do you want to spend more money on your food to keep you healthy or would you rather spend it on your medical costs that will come because you didn't take care of yourself?  My husband and I have decided that although are grocery bills are high, it is worth it to take care of us now and prevent, rather than skimp on quality.  Sorry, this is just my little rant because it really upsets me when people don't care, I mean this is the foundation you are laying for your kids, think how much the whole food industry has changed in just 20 years, we need to be working on going back to where it started. Local and Organic, not all this GMO(genetically modified) food!!!  I am done, thanks for listening:)
  Back to the sauce...  It is just as simple as throwing some carrots, kale, pasta sauce, and cashews and blending it up.  If you want an adult version of this, you could just saute the veggies and leave it chunky. Also depending, I will sometimes throw a veggie sausage or "meat"balls in to give it another element.  Have fun with this and I promise you will not be disappointed on how amazing this tastes, it is almost unbelievable its possible without all the fat.  Tip: You want to use raw cashews because the dry roasted almost always have a large amount of sodium added to and it just tastes better too!!  We serve over our favorite brown rice pasta from Tjoe's with a salad and some crusty french garlic bred, mmm delicious!!!

Creamy Tomato Sauce
1 Jar  Marinara Sauce
1 handful of kale, about a cup
1-2 medium carrots
1/4-1/2 cup Raw Cashews (depending on your desired creaminess)
2 TBSP. Nutritional Yeast (optional but works like a Parmesan)
Bragg's Amino Acids to Taste

Blend all ingredients together until smooth, if sauce is too thick add a little water, heat on the stove top until hot and serve immediately!

My ingredients!

Ready to Blend!

Blending!

Ready to heat or just toss with hot noodles to keep it Raw!!

Dinnertime!

Yummy!!

Close up!!

Bagel Sandwiches!!!

Yummy!!

Up Close

Lunchtime!!

Kids version

Hungry Boy!!

Now these truly take me back to my Bruegger's Bagel days when I used to work there in high school.  I had never even heard of putting cream cheese with a deli meat, but when I first tried this I was hooked!!  So...  After making a couple of vegan adjustments, me and the family can enjoy these delicious and quick lunches!!  We always buy our bagels at Trader Joe's, one because they are Vegan and two they are soooo good, and it doesn't hurt that they are reasonably priced too!!  There I go selling Tjoe's again, but really when I find a good deal or great product I want everyone else to enjoy it too!!  I usually buy these in bulk and pre-slice and freeze them.  Then when you are ready to use, toast and enjoy.  We go for the everything and mini plain for the kids, they are perfect size too!  My son loves to top the sandwich off with jalapeno peppers (yes that is my three year old, they are no heat, so I think he just likes the flavor:)  For the adult version we top with a spicy Dijon mustard that is also from tjoes and its produced in France, so this stuff is legit too!!!  This is so easy and quick and its a nice change up from the everyday sandwich, and perfect for the kids lunch box too!  You can find vegan "cream cheese" just about anywhere, I prefer the tofutti brand for the best taste and the tofurky is a "fake meat", this is so like the real thing, they have all different types, smoked, hickory, peppered, you name it they got it, and you can find this pretty much anywhere too, in the natural food section usually!!  You'll have a deli style sandwich in no time and for half the price of a bagel shop too!!

Lentil Loaf!!!

Ok, so its been awhile... Life in our house has been not only busy but very crazy from our dog being diagnosed with diabetes:( I didn't even know dogs could get this, but he was genetically disposed to it and has gotten very sick, but he has leveled out for the time being, keep him in your thoughts and prayers!!) to work, work, and more work!!!  We are not complaining, just explaining:), but happy to be back.  We have been really busy while we've been away, I have gotten my hands on this amazing cookbook called "The Vegan Diner" and let me tell you this book rocks, everything that I have made from it, has been sooo yummy!!  I can't wait to share all the goodies from it too!!  I thought I would go ahead and tell you about an oldie but goodie in this house, the Lentil Loaf!!!  This is a great dish to serve with mashed potatoes and green beans, but it is also super delicious the next day in a wrap or sandwich with some veganaise and lettuce!  The first time I ever made lentils, I was a bit nervous, but they are so easy and you just have to boil until tender, there is no way to mess it up!
  This dish takes no time at all besides chopping up the veggies and mixing it all up, so it can be done in an hour or better yet, done the night before!!  The one step that I do instead of leaving the veggies big is to process them in the food processor, just so that I get a more consistent texture, but if you are wanting that chunky feel, then leave them big.

Lentil Loaf:
3/4 cup drained lentils (about 1/2 dried)
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats (processed until course)
1/2 Block of Tofu
1 cup Onion
1/2 cup Carrot and Celery
1/2 cup Bell Peppers
3 TBSP. Cornmeal
2 TBSP. Nutritional Yeast
1 TBSP. Ketchup
1 TBSP. Balsamic Vinegar
1 TBSP. Braggs Amino Acids
1 TBSP. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Vegan Worcheshire and Hickory Smoke Seasoning
1 tsp. Chili powder, Parsley, Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cumin, Garlic, Salt
1/4 tsp. Onion powder, dried Mustard,Thyme

Begin by boiling the lentils in water until tender, about 15 mins (depending on the type of lentil you use, I usually just use the brown lentils, but you can definitely experiment:)  While these are cooking, saute the onion, carrot, and celery in a little oil or water. Tip:  If you get the pan hot enough you can add your veggies and only add a small amount of water to saute with no oil, you will still get that flavor without the fat, just be careful not to add to much water or it will steam the veggies instead, so just add a couple drops of water at a time! In a mixing bowl mash the tofu with all the seasonings, balsamic, braggs, cornmeal, and ketchup, Let this sit until you are finished with the veggies and lentils.  Process the oats until course and wait to add until the end.  After you are finished with the veggies add them to the tofu mix.  Drain the lentils when tender and add into the mix with the oats, mix well and then form two loaves onto parchment paper or silpat to prevent it from sticking. Top with Ketchup if you so desire (I always do because it reminds me of my mom's!!)  You want to bake at 375 for 20 mins, then cover with foil and bake for additional 10-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve immediately!!

Brown Lentils

Veggies

Processed!!

Seasonings

Tofu with seasonings

Adding veggies to mashed tofu mix

Adding in Lentils

Mixing it all up

Oats in!!

Ready to be Loaved!

Bake Me Please!!

Up Close!!

Seitan and Broccoli!!!

This is my version of the classic Asian stir fry that is always a tasty yummy meal, perfect for anytime, and super easy to mix up.  This has become one of my favorite meals to make because my kids always eat it up and I really don't have to do much except mix up the sauce.  I sometimes cheat and buy store bought seitan, it just depends on my day, but if you have the extra 20 minutes, it is definitely worth it for homemade seitan!  I always serve this dish over rice, but you could do over some udon or rice noodles.  Seitan is basically vital wheat gluten flour mixed with spices and liquid, in order to get a doughy consistency or its sometimes referred to as "Wheat Meat", but whatever you call it, it really does resemble meat!! You then bake just until firm and add to any dish, it will absorb the liquid and get nice and chewy, you will never know the difference. When I first began making homemade seitan, I really had a tough time to get the taste just right because the wheat gluten can be quite strong, so it is important to season it correctly.  I can also adjust the ingredients depending on the type of food I will be using it in, so for any Asian dish, I will always add a bit of toasted sesame seed oil, which really gives it a great flavor!!!  We normally eat this with steamed edamame and seaweed with sushi rice, my kids love, love seaweed!! Yes, I know its hard to believe my one and three year old love seaweed, but its true!! It definitely runs in the family...  if you go to my moms house, you will see all my nieces and nephews (and my kids) eating up dried seaweed, they fight over the stuff, seriously.  I can remember as a kid, for one every night we had rice, actually at any time, there was always rice in our house (one of those perks growing up Asian:), but me and my siblings would just love to have rice rolled up in seaweed, that my mom had just got done toasting,mmm...its taking me back:)  Now they have made it easier to have seaweed, you can almost always find toasted and seasoned, just make sure to look out for sodium, some can be way high!!! Anyways, this is definitely a delicious, wholesome meal that is sure to impress the adults and the kids will really eat!  Enjoy!!

MaiMai's Seitan:
1 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
1/4 cup nutritional Yeast
1 tsp. Thyme
1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning, chili, garlic, onion powders.
1 tsp. Vegan Worcheshire
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/4 cup Bragg's
1/2 TBSP. oil (for this recipe, use sesame oil)
1/2 cup H20
Preheat the oven to 375.  Mix all the wet/dry ingredients separately, then mix together until well mixed.  Knead the dough until it gets somewhat elastic (usually a couple of mins).  Let rest for 5 mins, then slice depending on the size pieces, smaller is usually better.  Bake for 15 mins, flipping halfway between baking.  Then add to the sauce and enjoy!!!

Seitan and Broccoli Sauce:
3 TBSP. Cornstarch
4 TBSP. Bragg Amino Acids
4 TBSP. White wine
3 cups Water or no-chicken broth
4 tsp. sugar
2 TBSP. toasted sesame oil
Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

To make the stir fry, you will want to heat your wok up to medium heat.  Start out with 1TBSP. fresh ginger and garlic with a tsp of sricha (Asian hot sauce), and use a little sesame oil to saute for 2 mins, then add in 1/2 onion, large chopped pieces; cook until translucent.  Then add in the sauce, heat until thickens and clears (it will start out white b/c of the cornstarch).  One tip:  Make sure to let this cook enough to get all the corn starchiness and flavor out of it, it will need to heat for about five minutes, with you stirring, this will ensure a good flavor and no chalkiness!! Add in the seitan (it will hold its shape) and a pound of frozen or fresh broccoli, cover to let the broccoli get tender and serve over warm rice!!  This is a home run dish, go and make soon:))

Seitan Mixed up!

Seitan Resting:)

Ginger and Garlic

Onions cooking!

Seitan Baking

Just added the sauce, see the whiteness?

Thickening up...

Ready for broccoli!

Covering to get the broccoli tender.

Finished Product!

Kids Version

Adult version with Kim Chi (korean spiced cabbage and a staple in this house, delicious!!!)

Another day:)

GB's QB's (Quinoa Burgers)

Making quinoa!

Roasting the Spices

Adding to mix

time to blend!

Looking good, smelling amazing!

Hand Mix the Quinoa in!!

Ready to Chill!

Patty form, covered with nutritional yeast

Finished Product!!

yummy!

Good job!!

aww, she was soo little and loving QB's then too!!

  On those days when I look in my pantry and I am drawing a blank for what to make for dinner, my hubby's quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) burgers come to the rescue.  I will admit the first time my hubby was making these one night, I said to him, "you really think the kids are going to eat that?"  I was thinking okay he is going to make dinner but I will have to make the kids something else to eat, a big headache.  Well, if he had a camera on hand he would have taken a picture of the shock on my face when my kids were both eating it up and asking for seconds!!!  Getting asked for seconds is the closest thing to a miracle in this house and it wasn't ice cream (vegan of course), it was a healthy yummy dish!!  These are the easiest things to mix up, store, and have on hand in the fridge the whole week so you can have fresh "burgers' on demand!!!  These are filled with yumminess and goodness, so you feel absolutely no guilt for enjoying, that is until you start topping it, then it could go a little haywire;)  Anyways, if you have never used quinoa before, it is so easy to make and use in dishes, not to mention it is a complete protein and amazing for you!!!  The most important part about this dish is to dry roast the spices at medium heat for only 5 mins, these can go from fragrant to burnt fast.  So the second you start to smell the aroma, pull off the heat.  We also use our food processor to mix everything and then hand mix in the quinoa, that way we have a bit of texture in the burgers.  You really need to refrigerate these for at least an hour (preferably 2) so they have time to firm up.  We usually griddle them up with a little earth balance and coat the burgers with nutritional yeast, and mmm... they crisp right up.  My kids love to eat these plain with a Goddess dipping sauce (a.k.a. salad dressing from Trader Joe's, and if you have never had, get some, the stuff is delicious!!)  These are amazing to eat plain, on a bun, wrap, bread, you name it it's all good.  The best part about these is they are the BEST foundation to create the perfect meal, knowing that you have a great start, there is no way to not have a delicious finish, and who doesn't love burgers!?!  Vegan ones that is!!!!

GB's QB's

1 1/2 cup cooked Quinoa
1/2 cup black beans or hummus
1 TBSP. Tomato Paste
2 TBSP. Flax seed
2 TBSP. Bragg's
1 tsp. basil and thyme
1/2 cup Old Fashion Oats
Dry Roast:1 tsp. Coriander1/2 tsp. Paprika, Garlic, Cumin
Nutritional Yeast for coating
Olive Oil for frying

Cook the quinoa and set aside.  In a food processor add all the ingredients and blend until well mixed, adding a little bit of water if too thick.  Dry roast the spices for 5 mins, careful not to burn, add to the mixture.  Stir in the quinoa by hand. and refrigerate for 2 hours.  After this form the mix into patties, coating both sides with nutritional yeast and fry on a medium heat griddle with a little bit of olive oil.  Enjoy!!