No time to cook

Work, exercise, return phone calls (I try), etc., etc. . . it's all of the sudden 7 p.m. and I haven't made anything for dinner.  It's tough eating healthy with variety (no matter what kind of diet you have) when there isn't a lot of time to cook.  

The past few days I've kept a container of field greens in the fridge and ready to go as well as some soup (Pacific Natural Foods Organic Soup is delicious - many vegan varieties and recently on sale at City Market and Vitamin Cottage).  

It's just about crock pot season which will make having a healthy, hearty dinner easier - more recipes to come when it cools off a little more.  Until then, don't sacrifice your last days of after work sunshine over the stove.  Cook a large pot of quinoa or brown rice (my rice cooker was well worth the money) and add some steamed veggies, canned beans and your favorite vegan salad dressing - Drew's is my favorite brand.  

Black Bean Quinoa Wrap

Quinoa is the super grain.  This delicious wrap is full of what your body needs and it won't leave you feeling sluggish.

Ingredients

• 2 whole wheat tortillas 
• 1 cup of quinoa
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 tablespoons of vegannaise 
• 1 teaspoon of lime juice
• 2 teaspoons of hot sauce (or as much as you want)
• 1 sprinkle or so of garlic salt

Cook quinoa according to directions (similar to cooking rice, quinoa to water ratio is 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups of water).  Warm the beans and tortillas.  Tip:  tortillas taste best when cooked on the stove in a pan with a little bit of olive oil.  Mix together the vegannaise, lime juice, hot sauce and garlic salt.  Add the quinoa, black beans and special sauce to your tortilla and enjoy.  

Pablo's for Vegans!

Yipeee!  I am pretty sure this is the first time any restaurant in town has taken an intentional step to serve a vegan diet.  I have asked Pablo's to offer vegan cheese for a while now and amazingly, they are doing it.  I hope this means that lots of people were requesting it -- go vegan!  I went there for lunch today to try the vegan cheese in a calzone.  It was heaven.  I'll often use vegan cheese on my homemade pizzas, but I have a difficult time getting the cheese to melt completely and I haven't found a creamy cheese yet.  Pablo's figured it out -- the cheese was completely melted and the cheese was creamy and delicious.  I am certain that nonvegans would love this stuff.  The next time you're at Pablo's try something new -- the vegan cheese and your mouth and arteries will love you for it.  

Vegan Lasagna

Last night my girlfriend, Des, joined me for dinner.  Des is definitely not a vegan, but she seems to enjoy what I make for her -- at least she says she does.  Last night she helped me cook a delicious lasagna.  She told me that she doesn't usually like lasagna, but she like this one.  I recently purchased a few gorgeous basil plants at Lowes for about $4 each -- they have already gotten plenty of use.  So much so that for this dish I had to purchase some more basil -- Albertsons has small, but full, basil plants for sale for about $3.50 that can be potted and reused.

Ingredients:

• lasagna pasta
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 small jar of roasted red bell peppers, sliced thinly 
• 1 small jar of artichoke hearts, sliced thinly 
• 2 cups of baby portobellos, sliced thinly 
• 1 jar of tomato sauce 
• 1 container of firm tofu, 
• A handful plus some of fresh basil leaves, sliced thinly 
• 2 T of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
• 5-10 garlic cloves (I love garlic), minced 
• salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook the lasagna according to package directions.  Add olive oil to a pan on medium heat on the stove and throw in 4 of the minced garlic cloves (about 1/2) and onions.  Wait about 2 minutes and add the mushrooms.  Wait a few more minutes (until the mushrooms show a little brown) and add the zucchini. Cook a little longer, but don't letter the veggies wilt.  Once complete take the pan off of the heat. 

In a medium sized bowl add the tofu and crumble with a fork.  Add the lemon juice, basil, nutritional yeast, remaining garlic and salt and blend well.  

Add about 1/4 of the pasta sauce to the bottom of a glass baking pan.  Layer the pasta and veggies your favorite way.  The top layer will be the remaining sauce and the tofu mixture.  Bake for about 30 minutes.  

Great friends and people that I know

Thursday night my talented dancing friend, Laura, invited me over and made me a delicious vegan dinner.  Laura is not a vegan, but doesn't seem to mind eating that way sometimes and definitely is a great vegan cook.  She made delicious grilled tofu, rice topped with perfectly cooked cherry tomatoes and sauteed kale seasoned with lemon juice, salt and garlic.  I loved it!  I don't use lemon enough in my recipes and it was a perfect spring dish.  The tomatoes were super flavorful so I didn't need to add any seasonings to the rice.

This morning I went to my Leads group with the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce.  We meet every Thursday and each week one of us gives a presentation -- usually about our business.  The person that gives the presentation also brings breakfast.  I eat before going to most networking events that serve food because as a vegan I'm definitely in the minority and not expecting to have something available that I can eat.  Well . . . this morning the presenter, Wade, made me homemade vegan burritos in addition to homemade non-vegan burritos for the other members of the group.  The vegan burritos contained grilled tofu, squash, potatoes and he made a bowl of fresh salsa for everyone.  Awesome show of thoughtfulness.  Not only was it vegan, but it tasted like a meal from a fancy vegan restaurant.

These vegan meals were shared with me because people care.  It may sound rice-cheesy, but it warms my heart.  Even if Laura only eats vegan when she dines with me and even if Wade never makes another vegan burrito -- they know about veganism and that eating vegan food can be completely satisfying.

Pizza night

Homestyle Bakery (on 7th Street) offers pizza crust -- white and wheat, rolled (for approx 50 cents more and comes with a pan) and unrolled.  Making pizzas can be a fun date night.  Add your favorite vegan toppings -- I like mine with tomato sauce, black olives, roasted garlic, green chili (sometimes Tofurky Italian [soy]sage and Vegan Gourmet (http://www.followyourheart.com/products.php?id=25).

Cook the pizza dough in the oven on 350 for about 10-12 minutes (after one or two times you'll figure out the best time for your desired crispiness of the crust).  Remove the pizza dough from the oven and add your favorite ingredients -- place back in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

The Veganist, Kathy Freston and Easy falafel wrap

I just checked out Kathy Freston's website and it's full of great vegan information including answers to common questions about being a vegan, benefits of a vegan diet and great looking recipes:  http://www.kathyfreston.com/index.html

It's tough for me to find time and energy to cook when I get home from working a long day and mountain biking after work.  Tonight I made falafel (made from chickpeas) wraps.  I used Fantastic Foods (http://www.fantasticfoods.com/productlist.aspx?catid=Vegetarian+Entrees) mix -- simple, just add water and some olive oil.  Follow the directions on the back of the box and pop in the oven on broil for a healthier meal.  Use a tortilla or pita and add any veggies that sound good (cucumber, olives, spinach).  The best sauce can be made with vegenaise, chipotle seasoning/sauce and a splash of lemon juice.  It's filling, but not heavy.

Eating in anticipation of a big ride and a happy ending for a foster pup

This weekend Mark and I headed to Gooseberry Mesa -- a place I've wanted to mountain bike for at least the last 3 years.  We checked the weather the night before we left and the forecast told us we'd have sunny skies and temps in the low 60s -- perfect for mountain biking.  I took Cody, the foster pup, to Roice Hurst to spend the weekend with an awesome volunteer, we packed up the car and were off.  On the way I started eating like I was going to be riding all weekend long.  Tip:  don't eat like you're going to ride hard until you are 100% positive you're going to be riding.  I was doing fine snacking on bananas, wasabi mix and primal strip jerky (delicious vegan jerky), but it was the potato chips that I should have avoided.  That night we ate a big dinner of linguine pasta, red sauce and bread -- carb loading for lots of riding.  The short of it -- the weather was not as predicted -- it rained and snowed and didn't stop.  We still had a great trip, but I thought I'd loose some weight riding and instead gained it.

For approximately 6 weeks Mark and I fostered a 3-4 month old mix, blind puppy -- Cody.  We had a wonderfully challenging experience with Cody.  I don't remember the last time that I took care of a puppy . . .  He taught us a lot.  Cody was blind, but he doesn't let that bother him -- he runs, plays, learns fast and acts like a sighted dog.  Mark and I definitely fell in love with that puppy, but we didn't think we could provide him with the best home.  Today I found out that while we were gone a great family was introduced to Cody and want to provide him with a permanent home.  The mother is a teacher and has only a 4 day work week.  The couple has an 8 year old daughter, a dog and cats.  Cody will be super loved and get lots of attention.  There's a little pressure on the heart, but I'm smiling for him.

A tasty packaged vegan dessert:  Mi-Del cookies -- my favorite flavor is Lemon Snaps!

TBLT

When we were in Dallas over Thanksgiving Mark took me to the Spiral Diner (http://www.spiraldiner.com/).  I would love to open a restaurant similar to this in GJ.  I had a fabulous sandwich that was similar to a BLT.  I got home and modified it a bit and it's one of my favorites . . .

Ingredients:

• whole wheat toast
• spinach
• grilled tofu
• tomatoes or cucumber  
• Bac'uns Bacon-less bits (from Vitamin Cottage)
• vegannaise 
• chipotle seasoning (I use Frontera chipotle hot sauce)
• a little lime juice 
• a little olive oil

To make the sauce combine the chipotle seasoning, lime juice and vegannaise -- mix to taste. 

To make the sandwich, grill the tofu in olive oil (cut block into 4 thin slices).  Coat both sides of bread with chipotle vegannaise and sprinkle bacon-less bits on one side.  Add other ingredients and enjoy!  If you want to make it more like a club add a 3rd piece of toast to the middle.


Vegan Shoes
Brown's on Main Street doesn't always have vegan shoes displayed, but they are happy to place an order for you.  I've ordered super comfortable Earth shoes from there.  Check out these super cool boots from Earth shoes:  http://www.earthfootwear.com/ourfootwear/ourfootwearproducts/tabid/65/language/en-us/p-330-elite.aspx?language=en-US&  (I'm gonna have to figure something out to be able to reward myself with these).  

Flavor packed pasta

Last night I made dinner for some girlfriends.  A few of my friends had seconds so it must have been good.  Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:

• whole wheat linguine pasta
• canned artichoke hearts 
• kalamata olives
• tomatoes from the City Market olive bar
• asparagus 
• olive oil
• dried basil 

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Cut artichoke hearts and place into a large bowl with olives.  Cut asparagus into 1/2-1 inch pieces and place in a skillet with olive oil -- heat at medium on the stove.  Add the tomatoes and some dried basil.  Once cooked, add to large bowl and mix with cooked pasta.  Add salt and pepper to taste.