Another quick Tortilla dinner & chinese inspired Veggie Rice Stir-Fry

More groceries! I'm really in the mood for grocery shopping at the moment it seems..

The crunchy amaranth cereal is fantastic in yogurts and the dried mango strips... well, I ate them all yesterday and felt sick because it were too many but they were seriously too good to stop =p



Also, I finally bought Hoisin sauce as you can see in the first picture! After I got back from Amsterdam I ate at this chinese place in Kreuzberg twice. They have all kinds of dishes, sushi, vegetarian dishes and even burgers that can be ordered vegan with tofu instead of fish.

I chose their veggie rice which was so good that I got the same thing twice. The sauce was delicious!! And they topped the whole thing off with pine nuts... yumm!!!

So I recreated the dish with much more veggies of course. I failed to get soy sprouts, but this was a fantastic light and very satisfying dinner nonthless.



I used a handful of baby asparagus and broccoli, 1/4 yellow and red bell pepper, 1/4 cup scallions, 1/2 carrot and pine nuts. I used to be not too fond of pine nuts and their flavor for a very long time and when I tried them this time the taste kind of reminded me of the fake ham flavor potato chips used to have... odd =p



Then on another day I had wanted to make a nice and finally more complete than usual mexican dinner à la me(meaning it's usually just inspired and I always end up making up my own variation to my liking anyway)tonight... with rice, guacamole and whatnot. But plans for tonight changed & I was left with very little time so I just cooked up a quick garlic-onion-black-and-white-bean-peperoni-tomato something and used roasted baby asparagus in it and as "the sprinkle" of my salad. Along with the new balsamico-basil dressing I bought (all the way to the left).

I used to roast it with some olive oil, but now I just wash it and put it right into the oven for about 20 minutes and it turns out perfectly.

Grilled Veggie Bagels, Sundried Tomato Zucchini Mix & Linguine with Pesto

Half the fun is getting there... even if it means you have to sit between bikes!



Amsterdam was so much fun! I went with my best friend, the one I made all the PB birthday treats for. He gets along perfectly well with my sister so we explored the city together and enjoyed lovely hours at Cafés & Bars and the Vondelpark of course, where I also spent my birthday lying in the sun!



Ha ha, loved it!



The parrots were there, too! I woke up, looked out of the window and was like "See, the parrots came to greet you!" "Huh, PARROTS???" Ha ha =p



I also experienced Queensday for the first time. Lovely, great weather, great music! Like a small Loveparade ;)



I did not eat out a lot though, because I had to watch my money. I got this Avocado & Tomato Bagel the first day we got there which was 4.40 or something and very tasty!





I spent lots of money at Albert Heijn, basically living on the typical soft toast-like bread that I spread with a tomato pasta sauce, ready-to-eat salad mixes and fresh tomatoes. Oh, and not to forget the tasty ontbijtkoek!

I was more than happy to come home and find a wrapped Veganomicon upon my birthday gifts =D
I was looking at the recipes and pictures going "Ohhh, I craved something like that all week!" at basically each and everything that contained veggies =p

So as much as I missed preparing my own meals I now miss my sister a whole lot and would happily go a week without vegetables again if it meant I could see her again.
Oh well, I'll see her in two months hopefully!



So after my craving for veggies and the rediscovered love for healthy bagels I finally used my grill pan I got at IKEA and it works so well, I can say I'm in love!

The grilled veggies: eet smakelig!!!



I marinated a sliced zucchini, asparagus, scallions, a can white beans, a jar roasted bell pepper and fresh mushrooms (for le boyfriend) in a Tbsp. olive oil, 3 or 4 cloves of minced garlic and lots of rosemary (fresh aswell as dried) and thyme.

With an everything bagel.



My whole-wheat sunflower seed bagel.





Het waar lekker!

Then I made this a few days ago. I don't know what I should call this. Stir-Fry? Side dish? Anyway, it was good ;)



Long grain white rice, wild rice and some special red rice which I can't remember the name of.
I used 1 zucchini, 1/2 cup asparagus and 1 cup sundried tomatoes cut into small pieces. I mixed the vegetables with 2 Tbsp. tomato paste and 3 heaping Tbsp. of a spicy sundried tomato-walnut paste I had bought, along with black olives marinated in garlic on top. This was pretty spicy! I liked the taste, but my stomach isn't used to even the slightest heat so I didn't feel too well after eating it. I gave the rest to my parents and they both liked it very much, it being spicy in particular! Seeing people happily eating my food and complimenting me always makes me wish I had my own vegan Café/Bistro =) Someday... he he!

After buying fresh basil again I finished off the whole plant in one sitting because I craved pesto. I bought whole wheat linguine because I was really in the mood for pasta.
As for the preparation... I had VwaV, HiaV and a vegetarian cookbook lying open looking at the recipes and in the end didn't follow one.



I used 3 1/2 cups basil, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 Tbsp. pine nuts and 3 Tbsp. grated almonds (estimated, I just tipped them into my blender from the bag) and about 1/3 cup water and a little salt.

Then I mixed under some zucchini sautéed in garlic and topped it off with fresh tomatoes!



This was exactly what I had needed! Pesto never fails to make my day when it's homemade. So much better than the jarred stuff!
The boyfriend ate it too. And you know what? He didn't say anything about the noodles. He HATES (better yet fears for a to me unknown reason) anything whole-wheat like so many people do. Just another proof that What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over. Hope the translater gave me the right saying here =p

It's good to be back! Hope everyone's doing good!

PBJ Banana Goodness and an "Asian" Veggie & Rice Stir-Fry

A few days ago I had the grilled Peanut Butter Jelly Banana Sandwich people seem to eat all the time. It was so good! I just couldn't decide how to cut the banana =p



Last night I made a simple, light and satisfying dinner after being inspired by the take-out chinese food I had this weekend that was way too oily in my opinion.
Seriously, why do people think it's neccessary to drown tiny vegetable pieces in cups of oil? Not only am I pretty sure that most people would appreciate low-fat versions (I don't demand them to be no or low fat, but get the amount right damnit), the restaurant itself would probably save quite some money in the long run if they used 4 Tbsp. less oil for each dish.

Oh well, in that case I'll rely on myself and recreate the dish the way I want it to be. And that would be it:



Ingredients
2 bell peppers, chopped (I used 1/2 yellow, 1 red & 1/2 green)
3 cups chinese cabbage, chopped
1/3 bamboo shoots
2 carrots, shredded
3 scallions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced
soy sauce
salt, a dash pepper

First sautee the bell pepper & celery for 10 minutes, then add the bamboo shoots, carrot and chinese cabbage and under stirring cook for 5 more minutes.

Completely fat free and again, boyfriend and father approved!

I had rice left over and craved something dessert-like, but didn't have anything on hand really so I came up with this. Rice, 3 Tbsp. apple sauce, a squirt agave and a few dashes of cinnamon. And not to forget cashews.

Cabbage Rolls & Sauerkraut

Mhh, this leftover stuffing did a good job serving as a filling for cabbage rolls!





I love this meal, despite of the smell that lingers in the kitchen afterwards.

Equilinia-Veggie Stuffed Bell Peppers

A winner!!!



My mom said "Oh, yummyyyy!" between each and every bite and my fathers only complaint was that it wasn't salty enough. They both really appreciate the fact that I cook for them. In particular that I cook very healthy!
My mom said after dinner "That's what I love about meals like these... you don't feel so full and bloated afterwards!"
My father already thought of additions "Falafel would taste great with this!"



My boyfriend came over with a steak (the sight of that bloody red piece of flesh seriously made me sick) and fries his mom got him that he wanted to make for dinner.
He asked if he could have a stuffed pepper first and inhaled it within a matter of minutes!



Another dinner he really enjoyed, because after he ate his steak and fries - he kept complaining that the steak didn't taste good because it wasn't medium anymore - he asked if he could have another plate of my delicious vegan veggie food! Well that's not how he put it, ha ha! But he wanted more of it.

So he got it, topped with fresh basil! Mhhhhhh!!!!



The stuffing itself would have made a delicious dinner. I bought this Uncle Bens mix a while ago (a mixture of brown & wild rice, spelt, oats, barley, rye & wheat) and mixed it with the following:

Ingredients
1 can mushrooms, finely chopped added to 2 medium sauteed onions, seasoned with salt & pepper
1 cup asparagus, chopped
1 green and 1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup paprika-hot pepper spread (based on sunflower seeds)
1/3 cup tomato puree
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

I prepared the mushrooms seperately, sauteed the bell pepper with the asparagus and just cut the fresh tomatoes in small pieces and folded them into the rice mixture along with the basil.

I preheated the oven to 428°F

Then I cut the bell peppers in half. I didn't fill whole ones because that would've made only three. That way we had six =)

I filled the halfs with stuffing, lined them up in the baking dish I had filled with about 1/3 cup tomato puree (I'd usually use half a can of tomatoes but I only had a pack of tomato puree on hand), put more filling into the middle of the dish (I still have leftovers - my mom had the fantastic idea last night to make cabbage rolls with the stuffing, I LOVE IT!) and poured the rest of the tomato puree (I used one pack, 1/3 cup for the stuffing) over it.

Covered it up and baked it for about 25 minutes.

Mhhh, can't wait to have that in cabbage rolls =)

Asian Stir-Fry, Brussels Sprouts and 2 Minute Chocolate Cake

Yesterday I had some Asian Stir-Fry my mom made for Dinner.



And I had Paulinas Chocolate Cake for Dessert.



I added crushed cashews to the batter and had 3 layers of sliced banana. I was out of oil and my applesauce had gone bad so I used apple apricot sauce instead. Not a good decision because it tasted pretty much just like that and maple syrup. And I think using carob powder didn't help to save anything either.
I'll try it again with the right ingredients the next time, because honestly - who doesn't dream of cake that can be devoured after 2 minutes in the microwave?

And here's a picture of Brussels Sprouts with nutmeg and some mustard for dipping from few days ago. I borrowed my dads fisheye lense as you can see =p

Chili Con Vegetales & a simple sandwich

Like many people I have trouble sticking to a recipe. I can't help it, when my eye catches something lying around in my kitchen that appeals to me, I throw it in. Most of the time this is not particularly a bad thing though.

I kind of followed the Chili recipe from HIAV. I used kidney beans instead of black beans and also threw in a few cherry tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, some Pesto Rosso, many many spices(a hint too much chili powder) and a tiny bit soy sauce.



Before going to bed I made myself a simple sandwich. A toasted whole-wheat bread roll with a thin layer of my homemade Onion Cream Cheese(I added some garlic and more pepper), followed by a thin layer of mustard and topped with fresh salad, orange bell pepper and tomato slices sprinkled with fresh black pepper. Sometimes it's the simplest things that are the best.



I went grocery shopping last night and bought regular Tofu along with silken Tofu. I really want to try Scrambled Tofu, because everyone around the blogsphere seems to love it. And either I will give the Tofu sour cream another try or bake something really fancy with the silken Tofu. We'll see!
And I bought chickpeas because I'm dying to try out the roasted tomato hummus recipe. That on a sandwich... I imagine this must be simply delicious!

Change of plans.

I accidentally locked myself out of the apartment last night.

And I had been so excited to make Pierogis & Borscht.
I was actually lucky because my mom brought me my keys after "only" forty minutes.




I was still so mad at myself, so instead of cooking what I had planned I settled for my moms Lamb's lettuce with Mango and threw myself together a quick spinach-broccoli-rice-bell pepper combination.




Tonight I'm going to bake some cupcakes. Probably the Golden Vanilla ones I've done before. They're for my ex's birthday.
But this time I will use either a blueberry or a raspberry filling, or a mix of both. And maybe a mocha ganache frosting. Mhh, not sure. Do you know any easy and quick to do toppings? I'd really appreciate any suggestions =)
Yumm, I hope they'll turn out well.


When I went grocery shopping a few nights ago I discovered a chocolate soy pudding which I bought in case I got a craving for chocolate.
For those who don't know, I'm a real onehunderedpercent chocoholic to my very core and I basically lived on chocolate and chocolate alone for several weeks damn often in the past. But obviously I can't eat Lindt chocolate every day anymore, boo =(
But anyway, it turned out to taste amazing. And I'm not even that much of a pudding fan. Some almonds on top and I had a rather healthy bedtime snack.