Too Easy Vegan Pasta Alfredo!

This dish was inspired by a post from my friend Cinnamon, it's healthy, quick and easy and can be done with any pasta type. I like to prep food on the weekend such as pasta, baked potatoes, salsa, baked corn on the cob, chopped fruits and veggies and various cooked beans. So with that prepped spaghetti in mind, I whipped up the sauce, reheated my al dente spaghetti noodles and had a delicious meal in a few moments. Serves two.

Vegan Pasta Alfredo Sauce

2 medium Haas avocados
fresh basil to taste, a few leaves (for me, a fistful might be a better description)
2 cloves of garlic
2 heaping tbs of nutritional yeast
1 heaping tbs of Trader Joe's Green Olive Tapenade or 3 to 4 of your favorite olives
juice from 1/2 a medium sized lime
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
garnish with chopped tomato

The more basil you use the more this tastes like pesto, but that's good too. Throw everything (except tomato) in a mixing cup or bowl and have at it with a hand blender or whatever blender works for you. Blend to a smooth consistency.
Toss sauce into warm pasta. Garnish with chopped tomatoes and serve.
I've made this a few times now and I have used lemon instead of lime. They're both good and the difference is subtle. This last batch I added two tbs of vegan smoked cashew cheese, all I can say is:  WOW! THAT was a yummy twist on the recipe.

Quick and Delicious Vegan Fried Rice

So now you've got a rice cooker and you've already ate it twice. Boring! So take that leftover rice and veggies and make a new dish. The fried rice I've made is a little different than most.  I've borrowed from three Asian cultures to make this and everyone I serve it to loves it. In this case I had about 3 1/2 cups of leftover Japanese style sticky brown rice. The veggies I used were just some frozen medley of corn, carrots, peas and green beans.  This can be a meal or an awesome side dish. Now let's get down to it.

Vegan Fried Rice

3 - 4 cups of leftover rice ( any kind will do )
1 1/2 cups frozen vegetable medley
2 tbs virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil ( I like the richer flavor of the toasted )
2 tbs powdered garlic ( saute fresh garlic and onions if you want, this is the quick version )
1 tbs Tamari soy sauce
1 tbs Magi Sauce
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
a couple of lime wedges

Add oils to a large skillet and heat to about 325° ( medium on a gas stove )
Add rice, leftover or frozen veggies ( don't worry they'll cook ), garlic powder and peanuts and stir until rice is fluffy and separated and the veggies are done.
Add Tamari and Magi sauce and stir, stir, stir for another two minutes
The rice should have a nice savory flavor, add more Magi sauce as necessary
Serve and garnish with a lime wedge, squeeze a little lime juice on your fried rice, it compliments the salty taste and give it a citrus note that makes this a household favorite.

Tamari soy sauce is a richer, more savory type of soy sauce and not as piquant as say Kikkoman.
Magi Sauce is a fermented wheat sauce similar to soy sauce but to me more flavorful as opposed to the saltier Kikkoman flavor. You should keep both handy as an alternative to regular soy sauce.

Miang Kham, Yummy Vegan Thai Lettuce Wraps

This is an easy Thai dish that you won't usually find at a Thai restaurant. It's very satisfying as a meal or an appetizer. It's complex combination of sweet, spicy, salty, nutty and citrus make every bite a flavor explosion. The actual recipe calls for betel leaves but I've never had it served that way. In my case I'm using green leaf lettuce but you can use whatever type of leaf wrap you prefer such as red leaf lettuce or Chinese broccoli leaf. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of one rolled up but we were eating them as fast as we made them so I guess I'm lucky I got this picture at all.

Miang Kham

10-12 green leaf lettuce leaves, washed and pat dried
3/4 cup of toasted shredded coconut ( keep on eye on the coconut while browning, it burns easily )
1/2 cup of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup of jalapeño pepper, chopped and seeded
1/2 cup of diced red onion
1/2 cup of roasted unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup of lime, chopped with peel ( yes you are going to eat the peel )
1/2 cup of dried shrimp ( like those little pink ones, only dried ) if your vegan, use salted peanuts instead
1/2 cup of Katsu sauce, mixed with 2 tbs of agave syrup or brown sugar ( should be sweet with a little tang to it )
Katsu sauce is an apple and tomato based sauce generally used on Japanese breaded pork cutlets. Mixed with sugar, the taste is indistinguishable from Miang Kham sauce and it's easy to obtain from most markets.

 There's no set rule on the balance or amount, so just place a little of each ingredient on the leaf, top with sauce, roll it up and go to lettuce wrap heaven!

Vegan Lamb Curry

 

This is one of those tasty dishes that I like to feed to people and then tell them they're not eating meat! Sneaky… definitely. The Vegan Lamb has a spicing that reminds me of Moroccan food and works well in Mediterranean and Asian style dishes. VegeUSA has many great meat substitutes. Are they all winners? No way! But the ones I talk about here can pass the carnivore muster. I buy the bulk stuff at their Monrovia, CA store, but Whole Foods carries a few items in the freezer section. The Citrus Sparerib Cutlets are a good one. But I recommend you call their store to find out where to get the bulk items, it will save you a little money in the end.
Serve with a small green salad and a side of rice. Try a fragrant Jasmine rice, we use Three Ladies Brand from the local Thai market or Calrose Shirakiku, a sticky Japanese rice available at most Asian stores.
If you don't have a rice cooker you should really invest in one. It's a great time saver and it really helps to have cooked rice handy to go with any dish you might whip up.

Lamb Curry

12 pieces frozen Vegan Lamb Chunk cut in half ( from VegeUSA ) http://www.vegeusa.com/
1 jar Trader Joe's Red Curry Sauce ( feel free to make your own, but try the T.J.'s it's tasty, quick and easy )
2 cups vegetable broth ( Better Than Bouillon Vegetable )
1 whole onion
1 whole diced tomato
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
sea salt
crushed black pepper
Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (optional)

Saute chopped garlic, tomato and sliced onions until onion is translucent
Add broth and curry sauce
Bring to boil
Add frozen vegan lamb
Add salt, pepper and chili sauce to taste
Bring to boil then simmer, about two minutes should do it. Remember this a vegan meat, so no need to cook very long,
Top pot with chopped cilantro when done or top the serving
Tip: the easiest way to chop cilantro is to make a ball in your fist and chop the ball on a cutting board to your desired size. Enjoy!