Eccentric Hummus May 15, 2008

 

Or maybe Weirdo Hummus is a better name, I don’t know.  Anywho, I was starving like crazy and needed a quick snack before dinner (the boy is making bbq tempeh sammies, yum!) so hummus came to the rescue yet again.  Oh hummus, what can’t you do?  Being in an adventurous mood, I decided to play around with my standard recipe.  My first change was to add in a can of soybeans that have been sitting in the pantry for a while.  Straight out of the can, I can’t say I was impressed with the soybeans, and I usually love beans right out of the can.  But with everything else, they worked out nicely.  All in all, the hummus was tasty although it took a few bites for it to really grow on me. 

 

 

Eccentric Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can soybeans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced (I would have used more but this is all we had)
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 2 TB tahini
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• handful of raw spinach
• big pinch of salt
• 3 TB chili garlic sauce like Sambal Olek

Instructions:

1. Throw everything into a food processor and process until smooth.  You may have to add in some water, depending on how thick and chunky you like your hummus.
2. Serve with tasty papadums!

 -Kala

Black and Blue Smoothie April 24, 2008

This is my standard go-to smoothie recipe and it’s super easy, just like a smoothie should be.

 

 

Black and Blue Smoothie

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup frozen blackberries, rinsed
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, rinsed
• 1 cup soymilk (I use Silk Vanilla Light)
• 1/2 cup soy yogurt (I use Whole Soy and Company because it’s good and doesn’t try to kill me with traces of dairy like some soy yogurts do)

Instructions:

1. Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth. 
2. Be a fancy pants and serve it in a wine glass.

-Kala

Two Bean Salad April 12, 2008

 

Maybe if I make food that’s Spring/Summer appropriate, the weather will cooperate.  Ok, probably not but I had a weird desire to making something with black eyed peas so I came up with this simple little bean salad.  It may be snowing outside (it’s mid-April, this is so wrong!) but dinner was totally picnic worthy. 

 

 

Two Bean Salad

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
• 2 TB apple cider vinegar
• 1 TB Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 tsp. chili sauce  
• 1TB maple syrup
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red peppers
• 1 16 oz can of black eyed peas
• 1 16 oz can of garbanzo beans
• 12 medium button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, roughly chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped

Instructions

1. Combine the first eight ingredients in a small bowl.  Set aside.
2. In a medium to large pan, saute the onion and bell pepper for a couple of minutes or until they start to soften up.  Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Add in the zucchini and mushrooms and continue to saute until all the veggies are as soft as you like. 
4. Drain and rinse the beans and add them to a large mixing bowl.  Add in the veggies and the dressing you made earlier and mix well. 
5. Serve warm or set it in the fridge for a while to cool.
6. Enjoy!

-Kala

Spicy Tempeh Salad on Toast April 5, 2008

This is something I just kind of made up, mostly because we didn’t have the stuff for the tofu scramble I wanted for lunch.  But it turned out really yummy I’ll definately have to make it again!  The recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of food, perfect size for a lunch for two.  Or one if you’re really hungry. 

 

Spicy Tempeh Salad on Toast

Ingredients:

• 4 oz tempeh
• 6 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 TB Vegenaise
• 1 TB dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. sesame chilli oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• salt and pepper to taste
• slice of bread (We use Rudis)

Instructions:

1. Crumble the tempeh into a medium sized frying pan and cover with water.  Bring this to a simmer and let cook until the water is all gone.
2. While the tempeh is cooking, sautee the bell pepper and mushrooms until browned and somewhat soft.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 
3. In a small bowl, combine the Vegegnaise, mustard, sesame oil, and garlic.  Mix well.
4. When the tempeh is done and cooled a bit, place it in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Add in the veggies and mix well.  Add in the Vegenaise mixture and stir. 
5. Toast the bread and top with the tempeh salad.  Enjoy!