Easter Brunch!

Spring has sprung!

Daffodils and cherry blossoms in bloom, sunshine abounds, chickens laying an egg a day AT LEAST, first official run without gloves and a hat AND first weekend in the garden planting!

And of course it was Easter weekend to top it off! I officially have spring fever.

Look how pretty and spring-y our table looked :)

So what's on this years Vegan Easter Menu?

• Fresh baked baguette
• Mojito Fruit Salad
• Deviled Eggs (Courtesy the lil' chick-peas who have been laying up a storm!)
• Vegan broccoli and leek "quiche"
• Mushroom, spinach and yam hash
• Field roast sausages
• Mimosas!

Got up early early to cut fruit and bake bread.

Nothing like fresh baked bread in the morning!

Except maybe a fresh fruit salad, of course.

This salad is kind of my staple - a close friend of mine made it in undergrad once and I have essentially co-opted the recipe as my own and use it frequently; it wins every time (Thanks, Jane!) :)

"Mojito" Fruit Salad
Basically, I cut up fresh:

• Strawberries
• Apples
• Grapes
• Blueberries
• Mangos
• Pineapple
• Banana
• (Pomegranate seeds -- not in season so I couldn't get them)

And toss all that beautiful fruit with

• A GIANT handful of mint, finely chopped
• Juice from 4-5 LARGE limes
• 2-3 Tbsp of Agave (more to taste but just to counterbalance the acidity from the limes - fruit is naturally sweet so don't overdo it!)

Viola! Mojito Fruit Salad! Perfect for potlucks, special occasions and especially Easter Brunch.

I know deviled eggs aren't technically vegan so I won't go into them too much but they were too pretty and delicious to leave out entirely. Plus, aside from the eggs from the girls - they are totally vegan so it kind of counts, right :)?

To make these beauties I just hard-boiled the eggs (poked a hole in the bottom with a needle prior to dropping them in to make them easier to peel), cut them in half and scooped out the yolks, vigorously mixed the yolks with Vegenaise, Yellow Mustard, Sriracha, Paprika, Apple Cider Vinegar and a lil' salt and pep and then using my piping bag to pipe the mixture back into the hollowed out whites.

This puppy is vegan though:

Broccoli/Leek Quiche - adapted from Vegan Brunch

This quiche uses cashews and tofu as the base and the texture was absolutely wonderful. Even though I eat eggs again, I can tell you this quiche holds its own and I didn't miss eggs in it at all!

Broccoli/Leek Quiche

• 1 prepared vegan pie crust
• 1 block tofu
• 3/4 cup raw, unsalted cashews, soaked for 2-3 hours
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 large white onion, diced
• 1 large leek, finely chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 giant head of broccoli, finely chopped
• 2-3 tsp dried spices of choice (tarragon, thyme, italian spices, etc...)
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 2 tsp prepared yellow mustard

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Partially cook pie crust (5-6 minutes as the oven warms)

Heat the coconut oil over medium-low heat and saute onion, leek and garlic for 8-10 minutes or until soft and fragrant.

Toss in broccoli and spices and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes. If it looks dry, feel free to add in veggie broth or water.

Meanwhile, in the food processor, combine cashews, tofu and mustard and pulse until fully combined. Add about half of the broccoli/leek mixture and process until you get an "eggy" consistency.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining broccoli mixture with the cashew/tofu mixture and taste for salt.

Using a spatula, spoon the mixture into the par-baked pie crust and throw it back in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until edges and top just begin to brown.

Let sit for at least 10 minutes if not longer! It will allow the quiche to firm up and achieve the correct consistency.

Mmmm quichey...

The next item on the menu was a little last minute but actually might have been my favorite thing.

I absolutely love hash.

I can't give you the exact recipe because I totally made it up and didn't write it down and don't remember to any degree of accuracy, but I will give you the general guidelines :)

Basically I boiled a couple yellow potatoes and two large yams for about 15-20 minutes or until they were super soft. When they were done I cut them up into squares - leaving the skins on (the yellow potatoes were much firmer than the yams which got mushier and actually combined to make an awesome texture).

Then, in my cast iron pan, I sauteed onion and oil for about 5 minutes and then added the chopped up potatoes and 3 large handfuls of spinach.

Pretty much after that I just tasted and seasoned continually until I had flavors I liked. I used lots of smokey salts, some hot sauce and some liquid smoke to create some layers of flavor which complemented the natural sweetness of the yams beautifully.

Top off with some salt and pepper and enjoy this power hash! Vitamin packed!!

Last but not least I cut up 2 each of the Smoked Apple Sage and Mexican Chipotle Field Roast Sausages (Hello Costco Mixed Pack!!) and sauteed them in just a touch of coconut oil until brown and crispy.

My moms (non-vegan) foodie boyfriend was impressed with the Field Roast (and, being an athlete - loved the protein content). Further evidence that Field Roast is awesome and is a great thing to serve up to meat-eaters and vegan or vegetarian-experimenters.

Delicious!


And the very best part about this brunch (other than it being cruelty free, low in cholesterol, fat and high in flavor) was that I got to share it with my wonderful family.

I'm so grateful for them every day and I absolutely love holidays because they give me an excuse to show my appreciation and re-center my crazy life to focus on what matters.

And the mimosas!!

I hope you all enjoyed your Easter as much as I did!




Live long and prosper! And remember to step back and appreciate the people you love :)

Mushroom Chana Masala with Cheesy Rice

As part of upping the rigor of my training schedule I have been trying to incorporate more varieties of protein into my diet. I have never believed that I have been protein deficit, but let's just say I've always gone a lot heavier on the veggie and grain portions of my diet and now that I am training at a higher capacity, I find myself craving proteins a lot more.

Fortunately, there are tons of creative and delicious ways to get proteins at all means and - aside from picking up a new protein powder which I love - I have been consciously trying to create recipes that are packed full of plant-based proteins.

Also making an appearance in this dish was broccoli! Not because I thought it was a particularly necessary ingredient but because it came in my second box from Organics to You!

Along with the broccoli was kale, lettuce, beets, carrots, leeks, garlic, tangelos, oranges, tangerines, 3 different varietals of pears and pink lady apples! I love these boxes beyond words. Thursdays are my favorite days of the week!




















Nothing makes my week like fresh produce!!



Anyway, back to the food...

This recipe, adapted from a traditional chana masala, utilizes mushrooms and broccoli and coconut milk for some new flavor combinations.

I served it over steamed brown rice with 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast stirred in (Cheesy rice! So easy - 2 ingredients!)

Mushrom Chana Masala

• 2 tsp coconut oil 
• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• 8 oz. crimini mushrooms (or baby bellas) washed and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 small head of broccoli, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 Tbsp coconut milk
• 1/4 cup veggie broth 
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 2 tsp garam masala 
• 1/2 tsp salt

Start by sauteing diced onion in coconut oil until it begins to turn translucent.

Add sliced mushrooms and saute for an additional 4 minutes.

Add garlic, broccoli, chickpeas and saute everything for 3-4 more minutes.

Then add in the coconut milk, veggie broth and spices and allow the mixture to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Spoon over cheesy rice and enjoy the vitamin, protein, fiber and flavor power combo!



Live long and prosper!

Easy Weeknight Dinner Idea - Calzones!

Being back in school means I have a lot less time to prep weekday meals but that does NOT mean I will sacrifice flavor OR nutrition - especially with the amazing box of produce that is shipped to my house every two weeks!

I often post more in depth recipes but calzones are simple, satisfying and (if you do them right) healthy weeknight meals that have become a staple around my house.

You can stuff a ton of veggies inside and with all the pre-prepared whole wheat pizza dough availability out there, calzones come together in a snap.

For these calzones I bought the whole wheat dough and pizza sauce from trader joes and then stuffed them with  spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, heirloom cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. Field roast sausages and daiya are also excellent additions if you happen to have any on hand.

Calzones can be tricky to put together at first but a couple tricks are 1) to stretch the dough out as much as possible without causing rips for maximum flexibility 2) to not fill the calzone too full (especially if you have never done it before - most common mistake that will cause you to not be able to close your calzone properly! and 3) to make absolutely sure all seams are sealed (otherwise you will have calzone juices all over your pan and oven.

Otherwise go crazy!

Live long and prosper and enjoy this easy weeknight meal idea!

Field Roast Scramble

  

As many of you know, I'm not terribly big on "faux meats" but man, oh man do I love Field Roast.

I especially love field roast when it comes in Costco sized packs of 12 sausages (which it now does, along with the Celebration Loaf - woo woo!)

The meal pictured above is pretty standard fare during busy law school nights and, since the field roast does most of the work, it's as simple as it is satisfying.

And, it is full of protein (each field roast sausage has 25 grams of protein!) fiber, vitamins and all the other delicious good things in the universe pretty much.

Wanna hear how easy it is to make?

Just take 2 smoked apple sage field roast sausages, one bell pepper, one head of broccoli and one onion and dice them all up. Then put a tsp of oil in a large fry pan and let it heat up before adding in all  your amazing ingredients.  Saute them all together for about 6-7 minutes.

Follow up with 4 cloves of minces garlic and two handfuls of spinach and let everything cook together for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Then plate and serve!

Hello delicious!

And because this post wasn't long enough - here is a photo of Wyatt in a fitting room at Banana Republic for your viewing pleasure.

 

See why I take him everywhere? So patient.

Live long and prosper! And get yo' self some Field Roast from your local Costco!