Couscous a food so nice you say it twice

This week has been a bit busy. We are leaving for a backpacking trip tonight. All week we were occupied with planning and prepping our survival for the coming weekend. So for our dinner had to be quick, healthy, tasty, and full of protein. This couscous dish is just that. It is such a versatile dish, and can be made so many ways as long as you have a grain, bean, nut, dried fruit, fresh herbs, vegetables, garlic lime, dried cumin, cinnamon, and other spices you are all set. It can be made for dinner, lunch, cookout, picnic, potluck...
possibilities are endless.
This particular night I threw all these goodies into the mix:

• 1c. whole wheat pearled couscous
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/4c pine nuts
• 1c. apricots
• 1 bunch green onion
• 1 bunch fresh mint
• 1 lime, juiced and zested
• garlic
  
• 1tbs cumin, and cinnamon (the marriage of the two are delightful)
  
• S&P

 While the couscous is cooking (according to pkg directions)

dice dried fruit

 mince mint

chop green onion

 and rinse garbanzo beans.
The couscous should be done by now, add all the ingredients in the pot and mix until well coated with the herbs and you have created a beautiful mosaic of color. This dish can be served hot or chilled.
It literally has all the flavors you could wish for: sweetness of the dried fruit, spice of cinnamon, depth of cumin, crunch of crisp green onion, zest of citrus, and bold flavor of fresh mint. 

 

**The lime should give the dish enough  juice to moisten it up, but if you want to give it a little extra creaminess add some earth balance or EVOO. 

In the past I have made this salad with white beans, dates, pistachios, mint, and pomegranate seeds. Or black beans, cilantro, pepper, mango and cucumber and avocado. Or basil, sun dried tomato, parsley, almond, pepper and onion.... again the possibilities are endless! This dinner doesn't have to involve a trip to the market, just look in your kitchen and play around.

Made with love, 

Emily

Veggie grill

I am not really sure how I have lived in California for 5 years, been a veggie for 3 and not gone to the Veggie Grill  yet. Luckily there are 8 locations to choose from in LA. We went to the one in El Segundo on the way to Manhattan beach. Truth be told, my man and I were looking for a lameass subway to grab a quick sandwich to-go for our beach day. As we were cruising down the road I saw a sign for Veggie grill in a shopping center.

 

I immedietly squealed and practically took the wheel and pointed it in the direction of the building while loudly and enthusiastically yelling about veggies. Nicho was driving. He is always so great about going along with my unexpected and uncontrolled excitement. He safely maneuvered us into the parking lot-which had ample space**bonus points. 

My heart literally started to race, I was that excited about this place. I have heard so many great things about it and my time had finally come to try it for myself.

This place is like the apple store equivalent to the healthy chain food. Modern, clean, neat, staff are super nice and menu is perfectly descriptive.

 

We ordered our food, and was ready to-go in less than 10 min. Off to the beach.  It was pretty hard not to devour the lunch while we were driving up, down and all around Manhatten Beach looking for street parking.

 

Nicho ordered the Buffalo Bomber, and of course he sweetly sacrificed a sample large enough to allow for my research and development of this blog post. It is almost creepy how much the texture is like a real hunk of chicken. I personally would have liked more spice to the buffalo sauce, but I am a spicy kinda gal. The sandwich was perfect in a messy kind of way. Right down to that Ranch dressing.

 

He also upgraded his side to a spring mix salad with more ranch. We love that stuff. The salad  had the delightful surprise of quinoa in it. Yum. 

 

Ill admit, this photo looks gross, it is sloppy food porn. But damn was it tasty. It is the crab cake sandwich. An obvious choice for a beach picnic. It was more than satisfying. They must have used some nori seaweed for the perfect amount of that oceanic flavoring. The crispy outer fried crabby patty paired with the creaminess of the tartar sauce was rich and savory with a hint of sweet and tangy with an added pickle. I ordered the red cabbage 'slaw. The 'slaw was so-so, but the cabbage had a fresh crunch to it. All in all it was an indulgently mellow picnic. 

I must have really worked up an appetite after all the reading and napping that took place on the beach because we also stopped back at the Veggie Grill for dinner on the way home. Twice is nice.

This time we came back at dinner time rush, for another to-go order, be eaten at home later. Even though the place was packed, the food service was quick and friendly yet again. Swoon.

 I just love the easy and simple packaging they offer with their to-go orders.

 Round 2; I ordered the All-American stack, a grilled veggie-steak sammie with pickles, lettuce, tomato, crispy onion rings, and thousand island dressing. And this time I had to upgrade my side to mac&cheese. The mac&cheese was alright, I make a much better one. I did enjoy the fact that the noodles are made with quinoa pasta. Ohhh, the problems of being a foodie,such high standards. Sigh. Don't get me wrong though, I ate every last morsel in that container, so it was not terrible by any means. The sandwich made up for any lack in the mac. A bit on the salty side, but really friggin' good. Good thing this meal was cholesterol free, other wise I would have died of a heart attack.

Oh yeah, and of course I got dessert. Chocolate pudding parfait. Perfectly sweet, layers of chocolate pudding, chocolate sauce, crushed oreo cookies, walnuts, and whipped cream. Creamy and dreamy.

I am in love with this place. The prices are just right, total cheap eats. They have SO many other healthy options like wrapping their sandwiches in kale, and lots of nutritionally charged salads to choose from.... I just chose to eat like a fat kid.

There are not many fast food vegan joints these days. There need to be more. I hope to see this place grow, with branches popping up on every corner. Maybe someday replacing all McDonnalds and Burger Kings. A gal can dream right?!
One thing I admire about this delicious, satisfying, natural, wholesome, casual and convenient establishment is their lack of the scary V word. Vegan. That word tends to scare people away. There tends to be a tainted vision of what vegan means. But their friendly and tasty approach to plant based food can be universally appreciated.

Lots of Love,
Emily 

Its hip to be square, when you are a lemon square.

Let me start by saying I don't love lemon. Especially not as a dessert. In my life, if it doesn't have chocolate, it is not a dessert. Which is probably why I made the chocolate chip coconut cookies the same night I made these lemon squares. But, I have now changed my mind. It is ok to skip chocolate if one of these squares are in sight. If it were not for the towering lemon tree we have in our front yard I would not have looked through every index of every cookbook under L for lemon until I found an intriguing recipe for lemon bars. Of course this recipe was put together by the brainy gals behind Veganomicon, Isa and Terry. It is an involved recipe with time spent on several different stages of prep and assembly. But, the glory that awaits at the end is SO worth it. Most of the time is spent as down time, chill time anyway. Here is how this late night cooking activity went down.
Make crust:

•  1 3/4 c flour
• 2/3 c confectioners' sugar + more for finishing touches and decorative purposes
  
• 1/4 c cornstarch 
• 1 c coconut earth balance 
• 1 lemon shandy leinenkugel, to sip while baking, not to add to the mix.
  

Throw it all  into the food processor and pulse until coarse and crumby-10sec. Spoon and press into greased 9x13 dish. Play tetris in the fridge by shuffling around jars and produce boxes to make room for this dish to cool for 30 min in the fridge. Then bake for 30 min at 350.
While that is going on, continue to sip beverage, and prepare the filling.
 Fill crust:

• 1 1/3 c water
• 3 tbs agar agar flakes-interesting lil ingredient - vital to vegan substitution of gelatin
• 1 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp tumeric-natural food coloring
• 2/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tbs arrowroot powder
• 1 tbs lemon zest
  
• 1/4 c almond milk 
• 1 more lemon shandy leinenkugel to sip while stirring, not to add to the mix. 

Let the agar agar flakes soak in the water in a saucepan for 15 min. Once soaked, begin to heat until the mixture boils for 10 min. 

 

Go outside and pick your lemons from your tree,

juice them,

 and zest them

Mandolin lemon into slices and remove rind for decoration later.

 Once agar agar mixture has boiled for 10 min, add tumeric and sugar, stir until all is dissolved. Turn down heat and add arrow root and fresh lemon juice. Let dissolve. Lastly add lemon zest and milk. Whisk until thick. Be careful not to boil, bubbles are cool, but don't let it get out of hand. Take a deep inhale through the nose, it smells citrusy and sweet.
Pour the lemony mixture onto the shortbread crust you created earlier. Let it cool at room temperature before you stick back into the fridge. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hrs.
Once the lemony filling has jelled and is jiggling with a good shake you are ready to slice and square these lemon bars up. Sift confectioner's sugar over the beauties and top with sliced lemon decoration.

Share a square with a friend on a summer afternoon.

 

Made with lots of lemony love,

Emily

Vegan chocolate chip coconut cookies

When the worlds of chocolate and coconut come together magic happens. Tropical and comforting. Yes, comforting is an adjective for a flavor that only chocolate can bring on.
I made cookies that create this very magic coupling. Chocolate chip coconut cookies, or CCCC. These treats have just the right texture, slightly crispy on the outside and a wee bit of softness on the inside. There really is not much else to say about these sweeties. You are just going to have to make them for yourself to taste the magic.

 

Whats in em':

• 3/4 c coconut earthyB
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 c coconut milk 
• 3 tbs pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 1/4 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c vegan semisweet chocolate chippies
• 1 c shreadded coconut

How to make em'

• Oven @ 350
• In a bowl mix all wet ingredients until light fluffy and smooth
• In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients, except for chocolate and coconut. 
• Add dry to wet. 
• Fold in chocolate and coconut
• Use ice cream scooper to make perfect lil mounds 
• Save some dough to eat raw, go ahead. no eggs, lick that spoon. 
• Bake for 17 min

I am always surprised that I actually manage to bake cookies, and not just eat the entire bowl of batter. When I pull out all the ingredients I might as well tell my boyfriend I am making cookie batter, not actual cookies. However, on this occasion I knew I was making them to share with guests. So I had no choice ;)

 How to eat em'

• Pour yourself a chilled glass of coconut milk, 
• Grab a stack of cookies (just to save yourself all those trips back and forth from the cookie jar, one is never enough, lets just come to terms with that right now) 
• Sit down,  put your feet up
• Enjoy the magical taste of chocolate and coconut in a cookie.

Made with love,
Emily
 

Ranchy buffalo chicken(less) pasta salad

I was having a really hard time figuring out what to make for the picnic we were having on the 4th of July. Typically, I always know exactly what I want to eat. Days in advance. Especially for a thematic celebration such as this one-The birth of our country's freedom...But that's the thing. We have so much freedom and choice in all our daily lives that in picking the menu this particular year,  I couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude. Even for such simple things as having the freedom, convenience and opportunity to make whatever the hell I wanted to serve up for such an occasion. Now, I am not trying to say that defeating the red coats and the signing of the Deceleration of Independence had a direct and profound impact on the food I whipped up in my kitchen yesterday. But, it is important to acknowledge how  fortunate we are as a culture to live in this modern day country where our possibilities are endless. Right down to culinary creations. And apparently I also have the freedom to an endless amount of  caloric consumption on such a holiday!
'Merica.

So here is where my freedom to choose took me.
Menu:

• Ranchy buffalo chicken(less) pasta salad
• lemon bars 
• coconut chocolate chip cookies

The Ranchy buffalo chicken(less) pasta salad was crazy tasty. In an indulgent, creamy, spoon licking kind of way. Also, super easy to make.

Ingredients to feed and please a crowd:

• 1 bunch of green onions-chopped 
  
• 1 medium red onion-chopped
• 1 c carrots-chopped
• 1 box whole wheat pasta shells - I used shells b/c the pockets are like chambers of creaminess to hold the dressing perfectly
  
• 1 bottle of creamy garlic dressing
• 2 pkg of boca chix
• 1/4 c texas pete sauce- for medium spice
• S&P  to taste

Directions: 

Cook pasta.

 Chop veggies.

Bake patties.

Cube patties once they are crispy and golden delicious.Strain pasta, add texas pete, and entire bottle of dressing. I thought I could get away with using half the bottle, but its worth it to add all the creamy garlicky goodness. Toss it all together with chopped veggies and patties. Dash and splash the S&P in there. Give it a good stir until all the ingredients are well coated.
From start to finish this recipe took 15 minutes to make. Only 5 minutes to inhale. You could serve and eat this dish hot, like I did. Or refrigerate and serve chilled, like I also did. Multiple times over. This grub is that good.

 These are my favorite brands, but play with yours.

Scoop, serve, and savor.

Made with love,
Emily

P.S. recipes for the 2 deserts are coming right up.

Apples, peanuts, and almonds. oh my.

I LOVE peanut butter. I LOVE almond butter. What to do when one can't decide which to smear on an apple? Use both.

1 organic fuji apple
1 heaping knife full of gooey peanut butter
1 heaping knife full of almond butter

slice apple
smear nut butter
serve
savor

Made with love,
Emily

tasty energy bites

I love to cook in my kitchen. But, sometimes, the the oven heats things up a bit too much. That old saying, "If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen" should actually go something more like "If you cant handle the heat, make a raw vegan treat" 

'Cause that is what I did.

These lil' balls pack a powerful flavor. I think they taste like apple pie. Luckily these are much more healthy than grandma's warm apple pie. You will not be able to eat just one, nor should you have to.

Ingredients:

1c. Oats 

2tbs flax

1/2c  nut butter -I used almond

1 Fuji Apple -finely chopped

1/4c  Agave nectar

1tbs Cinnamon

1/2tbs apple pie spice

1/8-1/4c almond milk 

Grab a bowl, mix all ingredients.Gradually add the milk, only enough to moisten yet still maintain a thick batter. Use an ice cream scooper to ball these treats up, give em one good roll between the palms and place them onto a mini cupcake wrapper or right onto a plate. Refrigerate for at least 30 min to harden slightly. 

**So many variations you could make with these 

chocolate peanutbutter

coconut almond

honey banana 

sunflower rasin

...

use any kind of nut butter, any kind of non dairy milk and your favorite spice and you, my dear, have yourself a mighty treat. 

Made with love, 

Emily