Tofu Steaks in a Holiday Marinade

Yesterday I shared a bright and seasonal kale pomegranate salad with a creamy sunflower seed, mustard, and avocado dressing. Here is another beautiful vegan dish featuring fresh satsuma oranges and rosemary, from the same Whole Foods pamphlet. The two recipes together cost me just over $20, though I had several of the ingredients already. The flavors in this one taste very appropriate for a holiday meal! Here is a printable version:

from Whole Foods, love that it's vegan!

Prepping the marinade, trying not to drink up the fresh satsuma juice.

The dates, cinnamon, and cayenne really gave this a unique sweet and spiciness. The marinade gave me an excuse to use a sprig of fresh rosemary from our garden!

Tofu steaks marinating, and smelling delicious already!

I only had time to marinate for 1/2 an hour, and that seemed to work fine, but they can be done overnight too for more flavor.

Warming the oranges in the steak pan after turning the heat off

The satsumas really brighten the plate, in taste and in looks!

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As of today I have a short holiday off work, which means more kitchen time. Lots more holiday recipes coming right up!

How-To: Make Perfect Rice Every Time

Happy Sunday!
The weekend is always great for cooking work-week meals ahead of time. I am healthiest (and happiest) when Monday rolls around and my lunch is already ready to go. Since I eat a lot of veggies, I am often cooking grains to go with them. I don't have a rice cooker, but I don't find that I need one! This rice recipe works perfectly every time:

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Perfect No-Cooker Brown Rice:
Cook Time: 50 min (mostly inactive)

• 1 cup organic medium grain brown rice (tho it will work for any kind, really!)
• 8 cups water (I use filtered)
• dash of salt (optional, recommended)
• a fine mesh strainer

There are 3 secrets to perfect rice:

1. Rinse & Strain:   Before cooking your rice, rinse it and strain the water through the mesh strainer. That way you wont loose any tiny grains. 
2. Add Water:  You need a large water-to-rice ratio for great rice. Measure out 8 cups of water per 1 cup rice. I use a soup pot. Granted, I only make about 1/2 cup of rice for 2 days worth of meals, because I keep my plate mostly veggies, but if you need to cook a lot at once you may need a bigger pot. Add the salt and rinsed rice to the water, and once it is boiling reduce heat to a medium boil and partially cover the pot. I leave the lid on halfway, balanced on the pot handles. Set a timer for 30 minutes. This is a great time to go cook your veggies!
3. Steam:  After the 30 minutes is up, remove the pot from heat. Once again use the strainer to pour out all the water and return the rice to the pot. You could technically eat it now, but for truly perfect rice, cover with the lid and let it sit for another 20 minutes. Fluff and serve and enjoy the perfection!

(Raw) Vegan Ice Cream & PBJ Sundae

This is a not-so-well-kept vegan secret that many of you may know already. My roomie, who does Crossfit and is not a vegan, had a similar recipe up on our fridge before I moved in. Everyone seems to have their own version, but they all have one thing in common-
YOU CAN HAVE CLEAN, EVEN RAW, TOTALLY DELICIOUS VEGAN ICE CREAM, AND IT'S GOOD FOR YOU.
If you didn't know that, Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, here you go:

Basic Vegan Ice Cream, 2 Ways

1. Raw Ice Cream:

• As many bananas as you want
• A bit of water or homemade nut milk of your choice

2. Non-Raw Version:

• As many bananas as you want
• Store-bought nut milk of your choice (almond, sunflower, etc etc)

Both recipes essentially work the same. First, cut your bananas into smaller pieces and put them in a tupperware in the freezer. Don't just stick whole bananas in there, it will be very difficult and gross getting the frozen peel off later (and yes, I know because I did it wrong the first time!). After a few hours when they are good and frozen, put them in a blender. They may need help getting out of the container, a zap in the microwave if your container is safe, or carefully use a utensil to coax them out. This is another reason you cut them up.
Blend 'em up with a teeny bit of liquid, just enough to get your blender to mix it all, because the liquid will take away from the ice cream consistency if you add very much.
Enjoy on the spot or store it in the tupperware for later use. I'm not sure how long it lasts but since you are using a fresh ingredient it won't be hard to tell if its gone bad!!**

And now!:

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Raw Vegan Banana Peanut Butter and Jelly Sundae:
Follow recipes 1 or 2 as written above, but add peanut butter to the blender step. Dish into a bowl with a cookie scoop.
Meanwhile, blend up your favorite fresh berries, on their own or with a touch of agave. Drizzle it over your ice cream and add some fresh fruit to top!

**If you are storing your ice cream, I recommend adding an ingredient like the peanut butter because if the bananas start to oxidize and turn a darker color it is more appetizing to think of it as being peanut butter-colored than "bad banana color."

Yes, this is good for you! GET on the train to loving your beautiful fruit carbs and you'll never want for regular ice cream again! MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm!

Corn Salsa Lettuce Wraps

Yesterday I posted my super healthy and yummy mango salsa recipe. I must be on a salsa kick, because to day I bring you one better:

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Vegan Corn Salsa Wraps w/ Romaine "Chips"

• Romaine leaves, washed and separated, plus I chop a few up into "chip size" pieces for dipping
• Fresh raw corn sliced from 1 ear
• 1 chopped tomato
• 1 avocado, cubed or mashed*
• 1 minced garlic clove
• chopped fresh cilantro
• Fresh lime juice, to taste
• Salt to taste (optional)
• Cayenne to taste (optional)

Combine everything in a bowl. *I cubed the avocado for looks, but it honestly holds a wrap better if you mash it! Spoon onto lettuce leaves or use the small, crispier romaine pieces to dip like chips.

Note: If you are not concerned about eating raw food, adding some hot sauce to this might float your boat. This is another crowd-pleaser and a great vegan "show-off" dish, so go for it if you've got a BBQ or party on the horizon!

Easy Spicy Mango Salsa

One of the joys of moving to a bigger house has been entertaining more company. I love having people over and practicing my vegan recipes on them! This one is great for summer BBQs or as an appetizer for game night:

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Spicy Mango Salsa

• 1-2 ripe mangos, peeled then cubed
• 1 tsp minced jalapeno
• 1/4 red onion, sliced in long, thin strips then minced
• chopped fresh cilantro to taste (I use about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, minced

Although this can be thrown together quickly, I like to make it a few hours ahead of serving if I can and let the flavors marinate in the fridge. The last time I made this it tasted a million times better the next day than when I'd served it the night before!