Vegan Jalapeño-Lime Coleslaw

Last week we had a post-Mother's Day celebration lunch for my mother-in-law and she asked what dish I would like to bring.  She was going to have BBQ chicken and pasta salad and I wanted another side that would compliment the spread and an additional option for my now vegan husband to eat.  I love a good coleslaw that has a bit of a kick and some tang, so I used a basic vegan coleslaw recipe and added some ingredients to make it my own. The result was delicious and I'm so glad I made enough to use the two days following to compliment our meals at home.  I may make some more this weekend for a Memorial Day BBQ.

Ingredients:

heads of cabbage (purple and green)
shredded carrots
3 jalapeños (seeded and chopped)
3 juicy limes
dashes of celery salt and onion powder
1/3 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
3 tbsp whole grain mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
chopped cilantro

Chop the cabbage (to see how to best chop, go HERE) and all other veggies.  Add everything together in a giant mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

Served the next day with vegan avocado burgers.

Vegan Enchilada Bowl

Ever since my husband started eating vegan again, I have been trying to think of ways to alter some our favorite dishes.  I absolutely love enchiladas, but they aren't the same without cheese...and no, I am not a fan of cheese substitutes (give me the real thing or nothing at all).  This bowl was inspired by one of my favorite neighborhood spots, Sage in Echo Park.  Their Mole Bowl is so delicious and my husband's favorite so I decided to recreate it as an enchilada bowl.  It only took about 25 minutes and was so simple that it is now my go-to meal.

Recipe:
While the quinoa is cooking, chop up desired veggies and sauté in coconut oil with cumin and lime juice (I used onions, bell pepper, zucchini and cauliflower).  When veggies are nearly done, add black beans to the pan and then enchilada sauce.  Simmer over low heat for about 3-5 minutes.  Mix cooked quinoa and veggies together in a large bowl, serve, garnish with avocado and fresh salsa and enjoy!

Vegan Asian Salad

Sometimes you go to the fridge and realize you need to go to the store. This salad is great because it was created out of the need to use up the rest of our produce before heading to Trader Joes again.  My husband and I were both surprised at how delicious this turned out! Not to mention it is super healthy and took only 25 minutes to make.  A perfect weekday night dinner.

Ingredients:
kale
broccoli
red bell pepper
cucumber
avocado
celery
bean sprouts
quinoa
sesame oil 
rice vinegar
lime
salt and pepper

While the quinoa was cooking, chop the kale and all the veggies and massage them with sesame oil, lime and rice vinegar (this is important to soften the kale and let the flavors sink in). Then toss it all together and enjoy!

Summer Cocktail: Rosemary Gin Fizz

I am keeping my word to begin making delicious and fresh summer evening cocktails while I am on break.  For something refreshing and simple, I made a standard gin fizz but added fresh picked Rosemary from my herb garden.  It was perfect for a lovely evening to enjoy with friends!

Recipe:

1 lemon

1/2 tsp agave nectar (add more if you want it sweeter)

Rosemary sprig

1 1/2 oz Gin (I used Aviation)

splash of Club Soda

**Make sure to muddle some of the rosemary with lemon juice and agave nectar, then add gin and ice and shake. Top with soda water, garnish and enjoy! So simple.

Vegetarian Green Pozole

 This weekend, we were finally able to have a few friends over for dinner at our new house, but my husband came down with a cold.  I was a little torn because I wanted to make something soothing for him, but filling enough for our friends.  My favorite soup ever is Pozole and I have been dying to make the green kind so I thought may as well try it.  I made guacamole to have with chips as an appetizer and we shared a growler of Black Rye IPA (thanks Haven!), then made a simple chopped Kale and Radicchio salad with pepitas, dried cranberries and blue cheese tossed in a blush wine vinaigrette as a starter while moving on to drinking a Rangeland Syrah.

For the green sauce: Roast peeled Tomatillos, a Jalapeño, Serrano Chiles and
Garlic cloves.  While roasting, blend 1/2 cup of pepitas in a food processor.
Add the roasted veggies (remove all seeds from peppers) and blend until almost
smooth while adding a little olive oil.

On to the main event, my friend sent me her family recipe for a Green Chicken Pozole, which I used for the green sauce, but for the broth I ended up using the Trader Joe's Vegetable Broth. I don't think I completely nailed the green pozole as I wanted to roast the veggies for the tomatillo sauce before blending them, but instead simmered them in water.  Also, next time I am going to make it with chicken for more flavor than the vegetarian broth.  However, it was still very good and we had a great time!!

Once the green sauce is made, put it in a small pot and let it simmer on very low while you take the large pot and toss in diced onions, red bell peppers and garlic with a little olive oil.  Cook on medium heat for 4 minutes, then add rinsed Hominy (maize) and add cumin and cayenne pepper.  After 5 more minutes of stirring, add in vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, then add green sauce and simmer for 20-30 minutes to let the flavors combine and settle.  Right before serving, add oregano, salt and pepper and lime juice.  

The best thing about pozole is adding all the condiments after! We used
chopped onions, radishes, cabbage, avocado, lime and tostadas!

Weekend Libations

Happy Friday! Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day which for most people means corned beef and hash, green beers and Irish Car Bombs.  However, if you are having a get together at someones home or just making cocktails, here are some other great options--not everything has to be Irish themed, but there is a little green in all of them to assure you won't get pinched ;)

Moscow Mule
1/2 oz. lime juice
2 oz. vodka
4 oz. ginger beer

Black and Blue Mojito
3 blackberries
10 blueberries
7 mint leaves
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. simple syrup
2 oz. light rum
top with club soda

Strawberry-Jalapeno Margarita (with a sea salt and chile rim)
2 strawberries
2 slices jalapeño
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. agave nectar
1 1/2 oz. silver tequila of your choice
1 oz. Cointreau

Jameson and Pickle Juice

The last one was taken at Casey' Irish Pub downtown and is a MUST TRY. If not there, try it at home--so good!

Oh, and craving a healthy yet delicious green snack this weekend? Then make this easy recipe of Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts with fresh squeezed lemon, ginger and cracked pepper.  

Lime Avocado Chickpea Salad

Okay, so this dish is not really a salad, it is more of a side dish or a light lunch, but it is delicious!!!  Last week, I made Veggie Enchiladas (recipe seen before here) and this dish and invited some friends over for dinner.  Everyone loved it as it was healthy, flavorful and not overly heavy like rice can be.  I used a recipe adapted from thediva-dish (I used the same step process, just slightly altered the ingredients).

Ingredients:

1/2 C. dry quinoa

1 C. vegetable broth

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 C. Heirloom tomatoes cut in half

2 avocados diced

2 C. spinach

1 bunch cilantro

1/4 C. onion

2 small cloves garlic

For the dressing:

Juice of 2 limes

zest of 1 lime

2 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. cumin

dash of salt and pepper

Vegan Mexican Quinoa

A few months ago, I made a Mediterranean Quinoa bowl seen here.  I wanted to change it up a bit and decided to make a Mexican Quinoa bowl.
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

1 red bell pepper

1/4 onion

2 zucchini

2 cups kale

1 can black beans

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tbsp olive oil

cumin

cayenne pepper

2 limes

avocado (optional)

While the quinoa is cooking, mince the garlic and let it simmer with olive oil for 2 minutes on medium low heat.  Then add diced zucchini, kale, cumin and cayenne pepper (to season) and sautee for 5 minutes.  Add in the rinsed black beans and cook for 5 more minutes.  Meanwhile, cut red bell pepper and onion to put in the food processor to make a sauce.  Squeeze limes on the veggie mix, then mix quinoa, veggies and sauce together well.  Top with avocado and ENJOY!

Homemade Tortilla Chips and Vegan Posole

I love chips! They are probably hands down my favorite thing to eat. The crunch, mixed with the salt and the fact you can eat them with anything makes them the ultimate food item.  I decided to make my favorite food at home with the whole wheat/corn tortillas from Trader Joes.  I made some crunchy and some chewy (if you have ever eaten at Malo/Mas Malo you will know the amazingness of chewy chips)!

Heat some Canola Oil in a saucepan on med-low while
you cut tortillas in eighths.

Place them in the oil and let cook for 2-3 min each
side (only 1-2 min for chewy). Then set on paper towels
to absorb extra oil and sprinkle them with sea salt.

Eat plain, with salsa or a dish you like.

I ate mine with Vegan Posole (my favorite soup)! I used this recipe as a base and altered mine with what I had/liked. I garnished it with onions, cilantro, shredded kale and lime!  Muy Delicioso!

Vegan Pumpkin {Bread} Cookies

This weekend, I finally was inspired to bake (our oven does not work right now so visiting my parents provided the perfect opportunity).  I made this recipe for Soft Vegan Pumpkin Cookies and they were a big hit! The consistency was kind of bread-like, hence the name.  =)

The end result with a pour over. So delicious!

Mohawk Bend

The other night, I was not in the mood to cook and it was still pretty early so we decided to go to Mohawk Bend in Echo Park.  It has been open for two months now but everytime we have gone before it was super packed!! Luckily we got in no problem and enjoyed a couple beers (they have almost 70 on tap) and delicious vegan food!  I got the Able Farmin Pizza and the husband got the V is for Vegan Burger.  For drinks I got the Red Rocket Ale and Red Barn Saison and he got the Speedway Stout and Pliny the Elder. We even got dessert (something we rarely do) and it was great as well!

I love the red leather chairs, long curtains and
the colored glass tiles.

Seitan sausage, vegan mozzarella, peppers, fennel.
SO GOOD!

Vegan Cast Iron Chocolate-Chip Cookie!

We can't wait to go back and try more!  Check out their menu here.