Published on
May 19, 2010 in
Entrees, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Side Dishes, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: 20 minute dinners, 20 minute entree, 20 minute main dish, 20 minute salads, easy entree salads, easy vinaigrette, low glycemic recipes, main dish salads, peanut sauce, peanut vinaigrette, SOS challange, spianch recipes, Vegan Recipes, wilted spinach.
It’s strange. I don’t like peanut butter, but a good spicy Thai peanut sauce is one of my favorite things. I love it drizzled on just about everything and I discovered that it is a fabulous flavor pair with spinach. This recipe is re-worked to make it low-glycemic and vegan this time around and for the May vegan recipe challenge – SOS (a.k.a Sweet or Savory) - by Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs and Kim of Affairs of Living. We agree with these two fabulous food bloggers: spinach is one of the healthiest things you can put in your mouth – calorie for calorie dark greens have the most nutrients of any food! We should all eat it every day!
I always had trouble making good peanut sauce until it finally dawned on me: to have really good Thai peanut sauce, you must start with really good peanut butter. It was one of those “Duh” moments for me! It is a little more expensive, but you only use a little and it is well worth it. I like the all-natural “dark roasted” style with only two ingredients: salt and peanuts. I made this recipe with the idea of serving it cold on salads, so it is more like a vinaigrette than a sauce you would serve warm with chicken. I must admit that I tried to mimic Trader Joe’s Peanut Vinaigrette, which is also good BUT mine turned out even better – fresher tasting and more of a flavor punch!
I very lightly and briefly sauteed some rough chopped spinach for less than a minute until it just barely started to wilt. You could also blanch it quickly in boiling water. I then drained it and drizzled it with peanut vinaigrette, and sprinkled it with some diced roasted peanuts. Wow! Such an explosion of flavors!
Continue reading ‘S.O.S. Challenge: Wilted Spinach Salad with Thai Peanut Vinaigrette’
Boy, do we have a treat for you today. I (Anne) am currently in town visiting Donna, and as is our habit, we’re cooking up a storm. Sunday dinners are always some of the best blowouts, and given that today was also Valentine’s Day, with a good crowd coming over to boot, we wanted to go all out. We were already planning on Donna’s My Heart Beets For You salad, plus the glorious Julia Child chocolate almond masterpiece for dessert, but what to do for an entree? Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: Paella Primavera’
Published on
February 8, 2010 in
Appetizers, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: asian lettuce wraps, asian tofu recipes, lettuce wraps, low glycemic recipe, tofu, tofu recipes, vegan entrees, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees, vegetarian lettuce wraps.
Ever since discovering the Asian Lettuce Cups made with ground turkey on Kalyn’s Kitchen for my Phase One Bonanza, this has become one of my favorite recipes. Seriously, I’ve probably had this 6 times in the last month, and will probably continue to do so forever, at least once a week or so. It’s that good.
But I do try to avoid meat as much as I can (and have been contemplating returning to being a full-time vegetarian). I had to eliminate soy from my diet due to some sensitivities in my breastfeeding daughter (along with gluten, eggs and peanuts), so my protein substitute choices were limited. We recently got re-tested and found that she is fine with soy now! So I’ve been making up for lost time, and thought this was one recipe that might also be equally tasty in vegan form. I tried it out last night – success! And perfect for Meatless Monday. Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: Asian Tofu Lettuce Wraps’
Published on
January 25, 2010 in
Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: Gluten Free, gluten-free stew, hominy, Meatless Mondays, Mexican stew, Mexican vegetarian entrees, posole, pozole, vegan entrees, Vegan Mexican entrees, Vegan Mexican stew, vegan posole, Vegan Recipes, Vegan stew, vegetarian posole.
Yes, I know, posole is most commonly enjoyed with pork. And Donna had already brought it down a notch in the food chain with her Weeknight Chicken Posole. But consider this: The original posole was determined to have been made with human flesh. Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: Vegan Posole’
With yesterday’s AMAZING Brussels sprouts slaw, it seems to be Cruciferous Veggie Week around here. Perhaps some broccoli and cauliflower coming up? Anyway, on to today’s recipe from the archives. It doesn’t sound very sexy, but I thought it was just delicious. I adapted this from a Top Chef recipe, in fact! I saw contestant Stefan Richter (kind of the villain of the show, but undeniably talented) from the most recent season make this and was intrigued by the concept. So I snagged Stefan’s original recipe from the Bravo site, did a little tinkering, omitting more expensive ingredients like rendered duck fat, and simplifying it a bit, and voila.
Continue reading ‘Braised Red Cabbage a la Top Chef – on a budget’
Published on
December 30, 2009 in
Entrees, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: curry, curry recipes, lentil recipes, lentils, red lentils, vegan entrees, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees, vegetarian recipes.
Whenever I haven’t had the chance to shop in weeks, am running low on produce, and need something hearty yet nutritious and suitable for everyone in the family, this is one of my most beloved go-to items. Lentils are full of iron and fiber and protein, this is flavorful and spicy and rich (the heat can easily be adjusted for your own preferences; my 20 month old likes it spicier than her daddy does, in fact). The only fresh items you need are onions, garlic and ideally ginger – but the ginger can be frozen or, in a pinch, powdered. You could also use garlic powder if you were really low, so the only absolute must is an onion! Continue reading ‘Red Lentil Curry – a Pantry Go-To Fave’
Published on
December 17, 2009 in
Desserts, Gluten Free and Vegan Recipes.
Tags: fruitcake, Gluten Free, gluten-free cakes, gluten-free desserts, holiday cakes, holiday desserts, holiday recipes, vegan cakes, vegan desserts, Vegan Recipes.
It's not so scary.
“It just doesn’t add up! Fruit = good. Cake = great. Fruitcake = nasty crap.” — Jim Gaffigan
Okay, I have to be honest, I really have never liked it before, but after reading this from Adventures in Crunchy Parenthood:
Now before you go telling me how nasty fruitcake is, let me tell you a little secret: there are two kinds of fruitcake. The one you are thinking of is the one with all the little candied fruit bits that have a weird flavor. Granted, it does have a weird flavor, but honestly, I love that kind too (don’t ask me why). But what you are really missing out on is REAL fruitcake. The fruitcake most people know today is full of little processed, candied fruits which have a flavoring called citron added to them. That’s the weird/gross/funny taste most people complain about. REAL fruitcake is made with just plain dried fruits and nuts, and can be customized to suit your particular tastes.
. . . as well as this from the esteemed Noble Pig, I decided to try making one that I might actually like, focusing on dried fruits I actually like, like dates and pineapples and such. Lo and behold, it really is a whole different experience! Continue reading ‘Fruitcake Without Fear’
Anyone out there feeling like they need to repent a bit from a Halloween weekend binge? I’ve got just the thing for you. Continue reading ‘Virtuous Veggie Curry with Veggie Sauce’
Some more legume love coming your way – I eat lentils more regularly than just about any other pantry staple. Dahl, soups, and stews are the most common, but I’m always up for more. Of course, the Legume Love Affair event is the perfect excuse! (Thanks to Susan for the original concept!) Continue reading ‘Loving the Legumes: Lentilburgers’
Published on
October 7, 2009 in
Appetizers, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: lentils, soup, spinach, stew, stoup, sweet potatoes, Vegan Recipes, vegan soups, vegetarian recipes, vegetarian soups.
Whatever your personal feelings might be re: Rachael Ray, particularly some of the nicknames and abbreviations she comes up with, honestly, I think this fits into the RayRay-invented category known as “stoup”, somewhere between a stew and a soup. Continue reading ‘Sweet Potato, Spinach & Lentil Stoup’
